Leah White 

Leah couldn't sleep. Not after that event-packed night. She went from going on a somewhat-date with Sirius Black, to running from her attacker, to discovering that her attacker was her sister's ex, to kissing Sirius Black. 

It was all too much. Leah lay in her bed, staring at the canopy of her bed. She could hear Marlene's soft snoring two beds down from her, both their curtains drawn.  

She wasn't surprised to see Steven underneath that Death Eater mask. She had figured it out days before she saw him on the Hogwarts grounds. While in the hospital recovering from the attack, everything had clicked in and she realized where she had seen his face before. Leah had then sent Christina letters, telling her older sister her suspicions and asking about Steven's recent behaviour. It made so much sense. Steven came from a pure-blooded wizarding family that believed that all muggle-borns and half-bloods were a menace to society and needed to be erased. Leah was surprised that Steven even tried dating Christina, as the White's were a half-blood wizarding family. Her mother had been half pure blood, half muggle born, and her father was fully a muggle born. Leah realized with a jolt that Steven probably never even loved her sister. He was just using her to gain access to her family's whereabouts. 

After Steven broke up with Christina, Elaine had told Leah, "That's why you never date pure-bloods. They're bad news." 

Leah shuddered. Sirius was a pure-blood. His family were extreme muggle-born haters. While she knew Sirius hated what his family valued and wasn't like that, she still needed to be cautious. And she hated that she had to be. 

Leah couldn't lay awake with her thoughts any longer. She threw the red bedsheets off of her, then sat up. Her shoulder-length dark hair sat like a birds nest on her shoulders. She pulled the bed canopy open, sitting in silence for a bit, with her feet hanging off the side of the bed. 

"Leah?" A voice whispered. 

Leah looked up, to find Lily staring at her. Lily had opened her canopy curtains and was sitting on the edge of her bed too. 

"Lily? Why're you awake?" Leah said quietly. 

"Why're you awake?" Lily countered. 

"I can't lay in bed with my thoughts anymore. It's too much." Leah said with a sigh, making sure to keep her voice down so that Marlene and Alice could sleep. 

"I thought so," Lily replied. "I don't think I could sleep either. Then I remembered that while you were gone, a letter from Christina came." She pointed to the open envelope on her bedside table. "We read it already," Lily said sheepishly. "We were worried. Sorry," 

"It's okay." Leah reached out for the letter, and unfolded the slightly crumpled paper. 

Dear Leah, 

I've been thinking about what you said last. I can't believe Steven would do that to me. Did he use to me to get to Mom?  I'm so sorry if me dating that asshole led to you being attacked on the school grounds. I hate that I ever told him anything about our family. Do you think he was in on Dad's death? I keep thinking about this. 

Speaking of Mom, I think I'm going to ask her about her big secret. This big secret is the whole reason the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord are after us in the first place. Don't you think we have a right to know what it is, especially if it's putting us in danger? I get Mom's point that knowing the secret will make us a target rather than a way to get to her, but who cares at this point. If we're going to get attacked, at least let us know what it's for. Mom's been acting really odd lately. In her letters to me, she's saying things like, 'Keep your sisters safe. Make sure to always watch over them.' and 'If I don't make it back to the orphanage for the next visit with Francesca, tell her I love her.' I'm worried, Leah. It sounds like she knows something bad is going to happen to her. I sent her a letter asking her what she meant, but she hasn't replied yet. It's been three weeks. She's never gone this long without talking to us. She doesn't even know that you got attacked by my ex. 

Sorry if I'm rambling. I'm going to do more research on what Mom's big secret could possibly be, and then I'll get back to you. Maybe you can do some research too. The Hogwarts library is extensive. Look for anything about You-Know-Who from around two and half years ago. Apparently that's when she learned about this secret. 

Give my love to Reagan. Tell her to learn how to use the Owlery, I think she's forgotten because she's not responding to any of my letters. Elaine and Fran say hi. 

Love, 

Christina

Leah stared at the letter in shock. She almost didn't believe what Christina was saying their Mom said. It sounded like she was on a suicide mission. Leah suddenly remembered that she hadn't gotten a letter from her mother in over a month. 

Leah held the letter, unable to speak for a few moments. Lily's voice brought her back into reality. 

"Leah?" Lily said gently. "You okay?" 

"Um- yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Leah said, as she rested the letter back on her night side table. "I'm not ever going to see my mom again, am I?" 

Lily was taken aback. "No- no. Leah, you don't know that. Your mom's a great Auror, she knows what she's doing! That's the whole reason the Death Eaters are after her, right?" 

Leah stayed silent for a bit. 

"Leah?" Lily said tentatively, as if Leah was a fragile bomb that would explode at any moment. "This- this secret, do you know what it is?" 

The gears in Leah's head were turning. Was someone eavesdropping on her? 

"Leah?" Lily said again. "Are you okay?" 

Leah didn't reply. She got off her bed, and rummaged through her book bag until she found a blank sheet of parchment. She also retrieved her quill and ink pot from her bag. 

Leah's loopy handwriting etched a single word into the parchment: yes. 

Lily was confused. "What the-" 

Leah put a finger to her lips, signalling to Lily to stop talking. Lily clammed up immediately. 

I think I'm being listened to, Leah wrote. I know my mom's secret. The Death Eaters sent Steven to try and extract the my mom's location from me. They know that my mom knows You-Know-Who's secret, though I don't know how..they probably know because of me. They're going to kill her to stop her from potentially spreading the secret. 

Lily was confused as she read what Leah wrote. 

Thats why I think I'm being followed or listened to or something. The only person I told was Fran...I was venting to her because she never knows what's going on. She can't be a spy, right? 

Lily motioned for Leah to pass the quill and parchment to her. Leah hurriedly gave to Lily. 

No. Fran is six! I doubt You-Know-Who employs six year olds. Are you sure no one else was around? Are you sure you never told anyone else? 

Leah hesitated for a moment, trying to think. She had told Fran last summer, in the comfort of Francesca's orphanage room. Nobody else was around; the walls were soundproof and the door had been locked. Leah had been talking quietly. Francesca hadn't known what she was saying; she just listened and asked many questions. 

Had Francesca unknowingly told someone else the dangerous secret? 

No, Leah thought. She had told Francesca to not tell anyone, not even any of their sisters, and Francesca always did what Leah said. She would have never disobeyed her sister. 

So..it must have been Leah. She must've accidentally said something to someone that tipped off the Death Eaters. 

Suddenly it came to her mind. In a fit of shock, she grabbed the parchment from Lily and sat back down on her bed, writing as fast as her hands would let her. 

When she was finished, she held it up for Lily to see. In the darkness, it was hard for Lily to see what was written. She squinted, trying to make out the words. 

The library. In October I was sitting in the library, doing some research on...well, the secret. I was writing down all the details I could remember about what I found out, and someone must have seen. 

Lily's brows furrowed. So..if someone saw, then they had to have reported it to You-Know-Who, in order for him to send Steven after you. That means...

"Yes," Leah whispered. "There's a spy at the school." 

Hey! This is my first update in almost a year, and that's my bad😣. However, I had so much fun writing this chapter, and you can expect more frequent updates now that I'm back from my hiatus. Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you thought of it :) 

- Isa