Disclaimer: I am J. K. Rowling. Okay, so maybe I'm not, but I'm not making any money for
writing this so what does it matter?
A/N: Please bear with me on this one. It's my first real attempt at a fan fic, (no really it is).
And it's most definitely my first shot at writing about Harry & Co. So any feedback will be
highly appreciated. Oh and, I chose to give this piece a 'working title' for now as I have no
idea what to call it.
Prologue
"I'm not quite sure why you called this meeting John", Albus Dumbledore stated abruptly,
signalling for his guest to take a seat. "You haven't been heard from in years and I'm most
surprised that after all this time I would be the first person you contacted. As far as anyone
in the magical world knew you it seemed you had forsaken us and gone into hiding.
Choosing to live your life as a muggle if I'm correct?"
"Yes, that's correct", John Barton nodded, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Dumbledore
sat opposite him, and between then was the large wooden desk that dominated the
headmaster's office.
"But I have far from forsaken the magical world Albus. I try my best to keep up to date with
what's going on here, gathering as much information as possible from the few wizards I've
kept contact with. That's why I'm here in fact, due to something one of them told me just a
few weeks ago."
He paused and glanced across the desk at Dumbledore. His half moon spectacles caught
the light making it impossible to read the look in his eyes. John straightened up slightly; his
back becoming rigid, and then proceeded with caution.
"He said there's been a lot of talk, it started of as speculation but now it seems almost
certain. People have been saying that Vol- that the dark lord has returned to full strength".
He stopped and sat staring at Dumbledore awaiting his response. Albus seemed to be in
deep thought. He stroked his silver beard then pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of
his long, crooked nose before letting out a long sigh.
"I'm sorry John but if you came here looking for reassurance you aren't going to find any.
It's true, Voldemort is back". John took a sharp intake of breath and began rubbing his
temples. He'd half been expecting this but it still came as a shock.
"Well then, Albus", John spoke slowly, "there's something I must tell you". Dumbledore
lifted a hand to silence the man.
"Before you start with your confessionals there are questions that need to be answered. So
much was left unsolved when you disappeared the way you did, John. And now, it needs to
be resolved. You can start by telling me what happened that day, you can start… by telling
me what happened to the girl".
John gave a small cough, clearing his throat and quickly nodded his head. This was what
he'd planned on telling Albus tonight anyway, that's why he was here.
"You know she was placed in my hands then? The morning of-"
"Nothing was known for sure John, we thought it was a possibility but then, there were lots
of possibilities."
"Yes, well, maybe I should tell the whole story then, right from the start".
"You see, once a house had been selected in which they were to hide, James and Lillian
began packing there things and preparing to leave but something was wrong with the girl,
she was sick. No one was quite sure what to do. The girl needed to be seen by a doctor but
James and Lilly couldn't take her, nor could they call some one out to the house once they
arrived there. It seemed there was only one solution, they had to leave the girl behind,
entrust her to some one who could take care of her until things returned to normal. So Lilly
called upon my wife, as you know, Jeanie and Lilly were the best of friends whilst at school
together. Jeanie collected the girl just before the left and brought her home. I wasn't happy
at first but what was I to do?"
"So the girl was never even at the house with James and Lilly?" Dumbledore interrupted
suddenly.
"No, it was just James, Lilly and the boy, the girl was with us, Jeanie and I. We took her to
the doctor who diagnosed a mild case of hypothermia and instructed us to take her to the
hospital immediately."
"And you did this?"
"Yes of course but we had her admitted under the assumed name of Whittaker and claimed
her to be our child. It saved us the trouble of having to answer awkward questions about her
parent's whereabouts. We stayed in the hospital for two nights then returned home and
that's…" he took a long pause to catch his breath and steady his shaking hands as best he
could.
"That's when we found out what had happened to Lilly and James. As I'm sure you can
understand we were shocked, horrified even, especially Jeanie, she was beside herself. We
didn't know what to do. The girl's parents had been murdered and her brother had barely
escaped with his life. All we could think was if he found us, she'd be next. So that's when
we decided to run. Of course, we should have handed the girl over to the ministry, or
delivered her safely to her surviving relatives but we weren't thinking clearly. Jeanie was
adamant that she was safest with us; she didn't feel it fair to abandon her. So, we gathered
as many personal belongings as possible and fled, with the girl, to the North of England."
"We chose a small, scarcely populated, remote village at the foot of a crag named Warton.
There, we bought a house and set about starting our lives a fresh. We left behind the name
Barton, instead opting to use Whittaker as a permanent label. I found a job in the next town
working as an estate agent and eventually set up my own real estate branch in the village,
while Jeanie stayed at home taking care of "our" daughter. And, that's the way it's been
ever since".
John stopped talking now and instead chose to examine his hands. Dumbledore didn't
speak either; he was so astounded that he didn't know quite what to say. Slowly he rose to
his feet and walked over to a cupboard across the room. He pulled the doors open and
John looked up briefly to see a pensieve inside.
Dumbledore placed the tip of his wand against his temple, and then against the rim of the
basin. This was something John had witnessed many times as his father had kept a pensieve
too. Albus was siphoning his thoughts.
A moment later the door snapped shut and Dumbledore returned to his seat.
"So, what your telling me, is that the girl is alive?" he asked with a disbelieving tone.
"Yes", John replied simply.
"Do you know how long we searched for her John? How many people were questioned
and homes raided trying to discover her whereabouts or what had become of her? When no
trace was found it was assumed, by most, that she was dead. That Voldemort had found
her, wherever she was, and killed her. And so, the investigations stopped, people simply
gave up, and nobody has spoken of the girl since. All memories of her have been washed
away and all remnants of her early existence destroyed. Even the boy has been kept in the
dark, he knows nothing of his sister at all."
"I'm sorry Albus. We, Jeanie and myself, we never meant to cause any trouble. I don't
suppose we ever really considered what the consequences would be, if we had, maybe
we'd have done things differently but we honestly believed we were acting in the girls best
interests".
"Yes, I'm sure you did and perhaps you were right, but it's not for me to say."
John glanced down nervously at the floor. He felt somewhat disappointed. He had hoped,
that after all these years, finally being able to share this secret would allow him to unburden
himself of the guilt that went along with it but it hadn't helped.
"Am I to assume that the girl knows nothing of any of this?" Dumbledore asked. It took
John a few moments to shake himself back to reality.
"No. No, as far as she's concerned Jeanie and I are her parents. However, she's fully
aware of what she is. She's known she was a witch since the tender age of five, when she
blew the next door neighbours bike up because he was trying to run over a cat", John
couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Ever since then myself and Jeanie have tried our
best to help her appreciate and harness her powers. We've taught her everything we learnt
here at Hogwarts and as a result, she's very advanced for her age. She's mastered charms
and incantations that I could only ever dream of achieving." John now realised that he was
beginning to sound too much like the overly proud parent and quickly quietened down to let
Albus speak.
"She must be told John." He said sternly, a solemn expression darkening his features and
showing his age. "Now's the time."
"Yes", John agreed numbly. "After a life time built on lies, the least she deserves is to know
the truth."
"And then, once you've told her, you are to bring her to me." John jolted in his seat and
gave Dumbledore a startled look. "I know it will hard, John but it's for the best, surely you
can see that?"
"But Albus, you don't understand, I can't just, give her away, I can't just let her go. And
Jeanie, she wouldn't survive without the girl, she's our whole world Albus, and we are
hers".
"Ahh, but she's not is she John, no matter how much you love that child, no matter how well
you've cared for her over the years the fact still remains that she isn't your daughter John.
She never was, and never will be. She belongs here, she belongs with her brother."
Dumbledore gave John a look of deep sympathy. "If you want what's best for her, then you
know what you must do."
John ran a shaky hand through his hair and clutched his other hand tightly around the arm of
the chair. He took a deep breath and let it escape in a hollow sigh.
"If you feel that that's what must be done Albus, if you're sure there's no other way-"
"No, there's no other way, especially when you take in to account the happenings of late, I
doubt very much that she'd be safe anywhere else."
"Very well. I'll tell her tonight, and if all goes well, I should arrive back here tomorrow, with
the girl".
Okay, I really, really need at least one person to review this and tell me if made sense.
writing this so what does it matter?
A/N: Please bear with me on this one. It's my first real attempt at a fan fic, (no really it is).
And it's most definitely my first shot at writing about Harry & Co. So any feedback will be
highly appreciated. Oh and, I chose to give this piece a 'working title' for now as I have no
idea what to call it.
Prologue
"I'm not quite sure why you called this meeting John", Albus Dumbledore stated abruptly,
signalling for his guest to take a seat. "You haven't been heard from in years and I'm most
surprised that after all this time I would be the first person you contacted. As far as anyone
in the magical world knew you it seemed you had forsaken us and gone into hiding.
Choosing to live your life as a muggle if I'm correct?"
"Yes, that's correct", John Barton nodded, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Dumbledore
sat opposite him, and between then was the large wooden desk that dominated the
headmaster's office.
"But I have far from forsaken the magical world Albus. I try my best to keep up to date with
what's going on here, gathering as much information as possible from the few wizards I've
kept contact with. That's why I'm here in fact, due to something one of them told me just a
few weeks ago."
He paused and glanced across the desk at Dumbledore. His half moon spectacles caught
the light making it impossible to read the look in his eyes. John straightened up slightly; his
back becoming rigid, and then proceeded with caution.
"He said there's been a lot of talk, it started of as speculation but now it seems almost
certain. People have been saying that Vol- that the dark lord has returned to full strength".
He stopped and sat staring at Dumbledore awaiting his response. Albus seemed to be in
deep thought. He stroked his silver beard then pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of
his long, crooked nose before letting out a long sigh.
"I'm sorry John but if you came here looking for reassurance you aren't going to find any.
It's true, Voldemort is back". John took a sharp intake of breath and began rubbing his
temples. He'd half been expecting this but it still came as a shock.
"Well then, Albus", John spoke slowly, "there's something I must tell you". Dumbledore
lifted a hand to silence the man.
"Before you start with your confessionals there are questions that need to be answered. So
much was left unsolved when you disappeared the way you did, John. And now, it needs to
be resolved. You can start by telling me what happened that day, you can start… by telling
me what happened to the girl".
John gave a small cough, clearing his throat and quickly nodded his head. This was what
he'd planned on telling Albus tonight anyway, that's why he was here.
"You know she was placed in my hands then? The morning of-"
"Nothing was known for sure John, we thought it was a possibility but then, there were lots
of possibilities."
"Yes, well, maybe I should tell the whole story then, right from the start".
"You see, once a house had been selected in which they were to hide, James and Lillian
began packing there things and preparing to leave but something was wrong with the girl,
she was sick. No one was quite sure what to do. The girl needed to be seen by a doctor but
James and Lilly couldn't take her, nor could they call some one out to the house once they
arrived there. It seemed there was only one solution, they had to leave the girl behind,
entrust her to some one who could take care of her until things returned to normal. So Lilly
called upon my wife, as you know, Jeanie and Lilly were the best of friends whilst at school
together. Jeanie collected the girl just before the left and brought her home. I wasn't happy
at first but what was I to do?"
"So the girl was never even at the house with James and Lilly?" Dumbledore interrupted
suddenly.
"No, it was just James, Lilly and the boy, the girl was with us, Jeanie and I. We took her to
the doctor who diagnosed a mild case of hypothermia and instructed us to take her to the
hospital immediately."
"And you did this?"
"Yes of course but we had her admitted under the assumed name of Whittaker and claimed
her to be our child. It saved us the trouble of having to answer awkward questions about her
parent's whereabouts. We stayed in the hospital for two nights then returned home and
that's…" he took a long pause to catch his breath and steady his shaking hands as best he
could.
"That's when we found out what had happened to Lilly and James. As I'm sure you can
understand we were shocked, horrified even, especially Jeanie, she was beside herself. We
didn't know what to do. The girl's parents had been murdered and her brother had barely
escaped with his life. All we could think was if he found us, she'd be next. So that's when
we decided to run. Of course, we should have handed the girl over to the ministry, or
delivered her safely to her surviving relatives but we weren't thinking clearly. Jeanie was
adamant that she was safest with us; she didn't feel it fair to abandon her. So, we gathered
as many personal belongings as possible and fled, with the girl, to the North of England."
"We chose a small, scarcely populated, remote village at the foot of a crag named Warton.
There, we bought a house and set about starting our lives a fresh. We left behind the name
Barton, instead opting to use Whittaker as a permanent label. I found a job in the next town
working as an estate agent and eventually set up my own real estate branch in the village,
while Jeanie stayed at home taking care of "our" daughter. And, that's the way it's been
ever since".
John stopped talking now and instead chose to examine his hands. Dumbledore didn't
speak either; he was so astounded that he didn't know quite what to say. Slowly he rose to
his feet and walked over to a cupboard across the room. He pulled the doors open and
John looked up briefly to see a pensieve inside.
Dumbledore placed the tip of his wand against his temple, and then against the rim of the
basin. This was something John had witnessed many times as his father had kept a pensieve
too. Albus was siphoning his thoughts.
A moment later the door snapped shut and Dumbledore returned to his seat.
"So, what your telling me, is that the girl is alive?" he asked with a disbelieving tone.
"Yes", John replied simply.
"Do you know how long we searched for her John? How many people were questioned
and homes raided trying to discover her whereabouts or what had become of her? When no
trace was found it was assumed, by most, that she was dead. That Voldemort had found
her, wherever she was, and killed her. And so, the investigations stopped, people simply
gave up, and nobody has spoken of the girl since. All memories of her have been washed
away and all remnants of her early existence destroyed. Even the boy has been kept in the
dark, he knows nothing of his sister at all."
"I'm sorry Albus. We, Jeanie and myself, we never meant to cause any trouble. I don't
suppose we ever really considered what the consequences would be, if we had, maybe
we'd have done things differently but we honestly believed we were acting in the girls best
interests".
"Yes, I'm sure you did and perhaps you were right, but it's not for me to say."
John glanced down nervously at the floor. He felt somewhat disappointed. He had hoped,
that after all these years, finally being able to share this secret would allow him to unburden
himself of the guilt that went along with it but it hadn't helped.
"Am I to assume that the girl knows nothing of any of this?" Dumbledore asked. It took
John a few moments to shake himself back to reality.
"No. No, as far as she's concerned Jeanie and I are her parents. However, she's fully
aware of what she is. She's known she was a witch since the tender age of five, when she
blew the next door neighbours bike up because he was trying to run over a cat", John
couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Ever since then myself and Jeanie have tried our
best to help her appreciate and harness her powers. We've taught her everything we learnt
here at Hogwarts and as a result, she's very advanced for her age. She's mastered charms
and incantations that I could only ever dream of achieving." John now realised that he was
beginning to sound too much like the overly proud parent and quickly quietened down to let
Albus speak.
"She must be told John." He said sternly, a solemn expression darkening his features and
showing his age. "Now's the time."
"Yes", John agreed numbly. "After a life time built on lies, the least she deserves is to know
the truth."
"And then, once you've told her, you are to bring her to me." John jolted in his seat and
gave Dumbledore a startled look. "I know it will hard, John but it's for the best, surely you
can see that?"
"But Albus, you don't understand, I can't just, give her away, I can't just let her go. And
Jeanie, she wouldn't survive without the girl, she's our whole world Albus, and we are
hers".
"Ahh, but she's not is she John, no matter how much you love that child, no matter how well
you've cared for her over the years the fact still remains that she isn't your daughter John.
She never was, and never will be. She belongs here, she belongs with her brother."
Dumbledore gave John a look of deep sympathy. "If you want what's best for her, then you
know what you must do."
John ran a shaky hand through his hair and clutched his other hand tightly around the arm of
the chair. He took a deep breath and let it escape in a hollow sigh.
"If you feel that that's what must be done Albus, if you're sure there's no other way-"
"No, there's no other way, especially when you take in to account the happenings of late, I
doubt very much that she'd be safe anywhere else."
"Very well. I'll tell her tonight, and if all goes well, I should arrive back here tomorrow, with
the girl".
Okay, I really, really need at least one person to review this and tell me if made sense.