| HIDDEN IN SECRETS |

PART TWO (sneakpeak)

A NEW HOME

•

A small cottage sat on the outskirts of a little town. Verena stared at it, a bit doubtful. It was a brick structure with a thatched roof. Moss and vines grew over the cottage and the shrubbery was overgrown. It was surrounded by a cobblestone wall with a broken-down mailbox and an old fence. Everything about it was grey, old, and abandoned.

"It's not much," said Lupin.

"No, it isn't," Verena commented. "I like it."

Lupin smiled. They walked to the door as Lupin fiddled with the keys in his hands. He unlocked the door, and almost immediately, a large black dog growled at them – toward Verena.

"Come on, Sirius," Lupin said, rolling his eyes.

The dog turned into a human. Sirius looked at Verena, crossing his arms. He looked better than before. His hair was combed and his face was washed. His teeth were better, too. The only thing was that it looked like he was borrowing Lupin's ragged, patched clothes.

"You can take the room upstairs," said Lupin. "Second door to the right."

"That's my room!" Black argued.

"You can just turn into a dog and sleep on the ground," Verena told him as she headed up the stairs.

"You little— "

"You won't be staying here forever, Sirius," Lupin told him.

"That girl is not the same as Dahlia, Remus," he remarked. "She will run back to her family before you know it."

"With that attitude, she just might," Lupin said. "And how would you know anyways?"

"I just know," he replied.

"She isn't your brother either," Lupin said, and Black left.

Upstairs, Verena was settling into her room. At first, she had to clear up all the dog fur she found, replacing the sheets with her own. She didn't mind annoying the mutt. She actually felt happy to see him so agitated. Her parents always told her the Black family were dramatic.

"He sheds everywhere, I know," said Lupin at the door. "I can't make him clean up after himself, even after all those years."

"What's going to happen now?" she asked. "With the Dark Lord back... "

"We recruit," he replied.

"Remus," Black warned.

"Just know that you'll be well taken care of," Lupin assured her.

Then, there was a pecking sound coming from the window. They all turned their heads to see a white snowy owl with a letter attached to its leg.

"Isn't that Harry's owl?" Verena questioned.

"Hedwig," said Black, walking to the window.

He opened it and the owl came inside. He took the letter from her leg.

"It seems a little unfair, don't you think?" Verena said. "While I'm here, Harry has to stay with his Muggle guardians?"

"Dumbledore has a reason for everything," said Lupin.

"He should be with our kind," Verena said. "He should be here or – or with the Weasleys. The Muggles don't understand what he's been through."

"Dumbledore will let us know when the time is right," Lupin told her. "But for now, it is you we are concerned about."

"I bet Black doesn't give a damn about me," Verena said, glaring at him.

"Ah, she is smart," Black commented. "For a moment, I thought she would be as stupid as her father."

"You mean as stupid as yourself, you fleabag," she retorted.

Black, offended, scoffed. He was about to say something, but Lupin gave him warning looks.

"All right, settle in," Lupin told her. "Dinner might be a little later... Make yourself at home."

"Wait," Verena called, and she grabbed a robe hanging on the bed. "Take this ugly robe back... Black."

She threw it towards him and he caught it, doing all he could to refrain himself from cursing at her.

"I hate her," he said to Lupin as they walked downstairs to the kitchen. "I hate her. A fleabag! Do you know how offensive that is? I couldn't help it when I was in my dog form. Fleabag... "

"Remember, she is fifteen, Sirius," Lupin said calmly. "Stop acting like a child and start acting like an adult. We must prepare her. She's already turned, but if you keep up your acts, she'll leave. We can't have her leave."

"Does Dumbledore have a plan?" Black asked.

"He's working on it," said Lupin. "Obviously, it will take some time."

Black sighed and said, "Whatever. You're doing the talking."

Lupin, who was now looking in the refrigerator, said, "What happened to all the food?"

Black scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed, and said, "I ate it... "

Lupin turned to him saying, "All of it?"

"I was hungry," Black defended. "I thought you were coming back with food."

"You do realize that we're broke, right?" Lupin told him. "You used most of the money on alcohol, you drunkard— "

"I'll just get us a few things then," said Verena, who had heard their conversation. "I've got money that I've been saving up. I can exchange the money for pounds... "

"A Salvador? Being independent?" Black said sarcastically.

"Merlin's beard, a Black going broke?" she remarked. "Never heard of it."

"I was in Azkaban," he defended himself.

"You were disowned," she said back. "You borrowed Potter's money most of the time."

"All right then," Lupin said before they could bicker more. "Come on. We'll be back soon, Sirius. Stay here and stay hidden."

"Oh good, dog commands," he mumbled.

"Don't bring any fleas in the house while we're gone," Verena told him on her way out, and Lupin gave her a disapproving look.

Black sighed. "I hate her."

•

This was so fun to write. I had most of this story written before publishing it officially. Truthfully, school has driven me away from writing.

Book two has been in the works being over halfway through Verena's fifth year. While I suck at updating, Verena's story is something that I am so proud of. Thank you for reading :)