Who knew?

[Rasalas Jones]

Rasalas looked at the man confused, "Who?" She asked quietly, it seemed to her that he did in fact know her father. She kept eye contact with him for a few moments longer before looking away. "Do you know who my father is?" She, of course, didn't know her father might not be alive nor did she want to think he might be dead. She wanted to get to know her father, she didn't care much about her mother seeing as she had been the one that abandoned her.

Angel, sensing Rasalas's nervousness rose up and placed her head on her knee. Ras looked down at her dog when she felt something touch her knee. She smiled then ruffled her fur before looking at Sirius, "If you know who he is please tell me." She hoped he was alive but the way Sirius was looking it might not be.

She bit her lower lip as she waited for him to answer any of his questions. She ran a hand through her hair as she took a deep breath. She looked down trying to keep herself from getting her hopes up about finding her father. She kept her focus on her dog as she listened for his reply.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius didn’t recognize the confusion in her eyes because he still refused to look into them until he could comprehend what was going on. He had left house with his brother was younger and had only seen him briefly during school because Regulus had been sorted into Slytherin. Granted, he had been their seeker, so Sirius had seen his brother during Quidditch games, but they rarely socialized. Slowly, the pieces fell into place. Regulus had followed the path of most of the Black family and followed Voldemort. At some point, he had turned against the cause and sought out one of the horcruxes in an attempt to destroy it. Yet through all of that, he had found himself a wife – or at least a girlfriend – and had a daughter. That daughter was sitting across from them. Rasalas. Explained the name well enough, surely.

She was asking if he knew, and he did, so he nodded slowly, daring to look up at her briefly. He held back tears and fought to keep his voice calm as he spoke. “Your father’s name was Regulus. Regulus Black. He attended Hogwarts and was a pureblood, sorted into Slytherin. But he was much more than that, Rasalas. Regulus was my brother.”

[Rasalas Jones]

When she heard him speak she looked at him, if her father was his brother then that meant Sirius was her uncle. "I guess he is not alive, is he?" She could guess he was not alive since Sirius kept using 'was'. She looked down with a sigh, she had wanted to get to know her father. She looked at Sirius and wondered what to say, she had not expected to be related to the first person she told about herself.

"Can you tell me what he was like?" She bet he would not like that her mother had abandoned her. Though she would not know, she looked at Sirius in hopes that he could shed some light on who her father was. She had heard him say he was a Slytherin and pureblood but she wanted, no needed, to know more about him. She knew nothing about her parents, she did not even know why her mother had abandoned her.

She would have to tell Damon about finding out who her father was and finding out that her uncle was Sirius Black. She did not know what he would think about it but to her it was good news.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius hadn’t even paused to consider that his brother being her father made them related, he being her uncle. In fact, most of the thoughts he needed to make, needed to consider, refused to come because he preferred to shut out his emotions. It was an old habit, and one he held to well. Her words, spoken so candidly, shocked him, but he couldn’t say much. He nodded. “You need to know one thing about your father, Ras. He made mistakes. But he gave his life to correct them. He died attempting to bring down Voldemort. That was his parting gift to the wizarding world. Well, besides you.”

He knew she wanted to know more about him, but there wasn’t a lot Sirius could say. It brought on a fresh pang of grief to think that he hadn’t gotten to know his brother as well as he should have. “Regulus was a Slytherin and he was their seeker. Not the best in the school at the time, of course, but he was good at it. He had a group of friends, but I didn’t see him much. Younger brother. Fought with him a lot. I was the opposite of my entire family. Reg. . . well, he followed the majority of my family into believing that Voldemort was the answer to a prayer. Became a Death Eater, the whole thing. But somewhere along the line, he realized that it was wrong. Very wrong. He turned to the good side, knew he would be hunted, killed even, so he wanted to do something worthwhile. He died to get one of Voldemort’s horcruxes, the locket. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Slytherin’s stupid locket.”

[Rasalas Jones]

He gave his life to correct them. Ras sat there almost in shock from those seven words. When he was finished talking she sat in silence not knowing what to say. She held back tears, she might not have known her father but hearing that he died to correct his mistakes made her realize he was a hero. He might not have been in her life long but he was still her father and a part of her. That. She would never forget, she did wish he hadn't died though.

She nodded, she knew of that locket, it was hard not to learn about Slytherin's locket. All that information about her father kept her silent while she took it all in. “I just wish I knew why my mother gave up on me. Just because he's gone didn't mean she had to leave me.” She shook her head just to keep herself calm. “Anyway, at least maybe we can get to know one another.” She smiled at him then looked down and shrugged, “I mean if you want to.”

She looked down at Angel and smiled at her since she hadn't realized her dog had laid down and fell asleep. “I know I have family but you are my family as well. I never imagined that I could be related to you,” she paused then quickly added, “not that that's not a bad thing or anything.”

[Sirius Black]

Sirius managed to hold back his tears fairly well, focusing his attention on Angel for a moment rather than the interesting drama that was unfolding. He had known his brother to have a girlfriend or two in school, but of course, he had never taken the time to get to know her. Could one of them be Rasalas’s mother? Perhaps, but somewhat unlikely. . .

“Your mother was probably too upset over your father’s loss. Or perhaps she didn’t appreciate his change of heart. It was brave, of course, but dangerous. You know what happened with the Malfoy family,” he said, his voice more hollow than before, trying to black out the memories and guilt that were threatening to engulf him. Her next words were somewhat expected, yet surprising all the same. “Yes, well, you’re my niece. I’d love to get to know you better. Despite my age, I’m not a stranger to teenagers, you know,” he said with a bit of his old pep and a smile. It was very true; he tended to know more younger people than those his age, especially Harry.

“Trust me, I wasn’t expecting to be related to you when I first saw you, though something did strike me as familiar. Still, I’m glad for it all the same. You remind me of him.”

[Rasalas Jones]

“So Slytherin's can be brave as well as Gryffindors.” She grinned, she was glad that she had found him or rather ran into him. She looked at the ring that was still in his hand, it had been her father's. “Can I have it back? I almost feel naked without it.” She laughed a bit at the words she had used but it was the truth. She looked at Sirius, still not able to believe that he was her uncle. “How do I tell my family about this? What will my brother say?” She didn't know what to do, how could she tell them?

“I do? How?” Ras asked glad that she was like her father in some way. “Oh you will have to visit the farm sometime, I've got chickens, pigs, cows.. almost everything.” She laughed at the fact that she was naming off her animals. But after a few moments she asked, “Was all the family strong supporters of Voldemort?” She was curious about her new found family, though it would take her a while before she could really call it her family aloud. “Are you married or anything? Do you have kids?”

[Sirius Black]

Sirius was becoming normal as he grinned at her statement. “I’m sorry, but you’ll never hear those words come out of my mouth. Gryffindors still have a better record.” He glanced down at the ring that was his brothers and silently handed it back over to the girl with a nod. He could understand what she meant. Plenty of people he knew kept pieces of jewelry that belonged to loved ones. At the mention of her family, he looked up with a smile. “Well, you tell them you ran into a crazy old man who knows your life story,” he joked with another smile. “Or, if you’d prefer being honest, tell them that being a pureblood makes your history easy to track. And that your ring gave away your family history when you ran into your uncle at an ice cream shop. That shouldn’t be too much to take in one sitting, right?” He countered his words with another laugh, realizing how much that would be to dump on a family at once.


“Your eyes, Ras. And your name. Certain things you do. He died when he was around your age, you know. You just remind me of him.” His eyes moved to his ice cream, which was only just beginning to melt thanks to the temperature outside. “Well, I don’t have a farm, but you’re welcome to come visit Buckbeak. He likes visitors. I live with Harry Potter – he would’ve been in your year, right? Or was he one year older. Anyways, no I’m not married and I have no children, but he’s about as much of a son as I could ever have.”

[Rasalas Jones]

“I know, you Gryffindors with your pride, you wont admit anything.” Ras smiled in a joking way. She was glad that they could already joke around even though they were from different houses in school. She put the chain with her father's ring back on. “I can't just dump everything on them at once.” She told him with a shake of her head and a smile on her face. “It might be better for my to tell my brother and get his advice on it. He was a Gryffindor when he was in school.”

Ras smiled, she was glad that she had something of his other then the ring. “I may be 20 but I was in his year,” she paused, “wait, wasn't Buckbeak that hippogriff that Draco insulted?” She thought he had escaped but she might have heard wrong. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Where do you live?” She looked at him when he sad he lived with Harry Potter, “I don't know if he would want a former Slytherin at his house.” She hadn't spoke to him much in school and as far as she knew he still disliked Slytherin's. “You didn't answer my other question, was the rest of the family into the dark arts and thought highly of Voldemort?”

[Sirius Black]

Sirius countered her comment with a joking smile and laughed as he said, “Ah, but we have so little to admit that it would seem to be rubbing it in.”[/color] He knew it was true though. Gryffindors did have a better record compared to the other houses though they weren’t usually huge braggers. As she told him that she couldn’t just dump everything on her family at once, he nodded and smiled. “I completely understand. Just take it slowly. Telling your brother first would be good if you’re close to him. What year was he? He’s older, you said, didn’t you?” he asked calmly, trying to figure out how he would feel if he were in her place.

He smiled as she mentioned being in the same year as Harry. “Oh wow. Same year as Harry and Hermione and Ron and Draco. Lucky you,” he said with a chuckle. “As for that, yes. Buckbeak was the hippogriff, but I assure you, he is a wonderful hippogriff. That awful Draco provoked him is all, and you can’t do that to a hippogriff. Lucky Draco only left with a hurt arm, you know. As for me, I live in the countryside in a cottage. And any friend of mine is a friend of Harry’s. He’s my godson, and he would welcome you as part of the family. As for your brother and my family, yes. I regret to say that they were."[/b]

[Rasalas Jones]

Ras shook her head with a smile, she was glad they could joke with each other. "He's seven years older then me so we really wouldn't have been at school at the same time. By the time I started he was out of school, though he was the only Gryffindor I knew didn't mind me being a Slytherin." She hadn't seen her brother in a while and wondered how he was doing.

She held back a sneer at the mention of Ron, though that was because she wasn't sure if it was Weasley her uncle was talking about. She didn't know why she didn't like him, perhaps it was because Draco didn't like him. She listened to Sirius as he spoke, once he was finished she spoke. "I'd love to see Buckbeak again. I don't know, Sirius... I wasn't all that nice to his friend Ron Weasley." She felt bad for how she acted but she wasn't sure if they could be friends.

"I mean I always believed Harry and all but for some reason Ron and I never got along and I doubt we would today." She looked down, she wondered if she was jealous of his big family and of him being with his biological parents.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius couldn’t wipe the grin off his face at being able to joke with someone far younger than himself – someone who was family. Yes, he had Harry, but it was nice to have more than one person with whom he could have some fun, especially since Harry was now a father and had children to care for on top of his job training. He cracked a smile at hearing that her brother was a Gryffindor. “Ah, so you’re brother was a Gryffindor? Good man he must be!” He gave a bark of laughter and winked.

He gave a grin as she mentioned visited. “Well, you’re welcome to visit anytime. Buckbeak loves visitors.” He paused for a moment so she could explain what she meant about Ron. He was thankful she believed in Harry – if she hadn’t, that would’ve proved to be a major obstacle. Still, the Ron situation was a tad tricky also. “Well, that’s probably because of your houses. Besides, you and Ron are both family to me, so we’ll see about getting you righted. I can’t very well have a family dinner with the lot of you missing, now can I?” he said with another bark of laughter before realizing how odd it was to consider having a family dinner that actually consisted of a blood relative of his. The thought made him smile, confused as he was.

[Rasalas Jones]

"I don't know about good, he left me holding the farm by myself." And the money her grandparents left for it is dwindling down. She looked down at her sleeping dog as she thought about the day the will was read. When they got to the part about the farm was given to Ras and Damon he had jumped up and almost shouted that he didn't want anything to do with it. She would never understand why, their grandparents loved him and wanted him around. The only time they got to see him was Christmas and that had to be at their parents home.

Ras was jerked out of her thoughts when Sirius spoke, she smiled and nodded. She lost that smile though when it went back to Ron. "I don't think it was the houses, Sirius, I think it might be because he had his birth parents and a big family." She loved the family she had but she had never felt like she belonged and when the hat told her of her blood status she had to know who she really was. "I'm running out of money and I need a job and I don't think Damon will be of much help." She didn't even know if he would even owl her back if she wrote.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius smile was broken as he heard that Rasalas’s Gryffindor brother had left her with the farm. “Perhaps there’s a reason he left that you’re not aware of. Sometimes. . . people do stupid things that hurt others unintentionally. Sometimes leaving is the only way that they feel they can make things better, either for others or for themselves.”[/b] He demeanor had grown more somber as he spoke, and he fought the urge to lose himself in his thoughts as he found himself doing more often than usual. And though he brought back a light smile at hers, it quickly faded to a more neutral expression when the conversation proceeded to more serious talk.

“Jealousy can be a very powerful emotion, Rasalas, and it can bring with it envy, strife, and hatred. You may have wanted your birth parents and big family, but you can’t equate such things with happiness. Look at your father and I. Birth parents meant nothing but trouble. A big family led to fighting. I felt more a part of the Potter’s family than my own. Ron’s family is a very special case of a close family; and perhaps, one day, you’ll have a family like that of your own.” He shook his head this time, placing it between his hands for a moment to try to keep the thoughts in his head from pouring out. He should have tried harder. He should have been better. But then again, so should his parents. They should have supported him. They should’ve been better too. And that thought - the fact that they failed and he could do nothing to remedy that - killed him more than any other.

Rasalas’ concerned tone brought him back to the present. “Rasalas, if you need money, all you need to do is ask. And if you’re interested in finding work, have you considered owling Dumbledore? I’m sure he could find you something.”