In the Great Hall, It was quite empty after the second class, when the guys decided to have a little snack before the potion's class. Actually, it was Ron's idea and Hermione just snorted and decided to accompany him together with Harry. While Ron was eating fried sausages, reading the number of «The Daily Prophet". All the front pages were devoted to the investigation of the Death Eaters and warnings to the magical community about the revived Voldemort. Hermione was looking through her transfiguration homework. By the way, she was not very interested in the checking task for six scrolls, she was more worried about their friend May, who has been never appearing at the common room of the Gryffindor Tower for two weeks. Hermione kept glancing nervously at the doors when someone appeared there. She just was hoping to see happy May's face after the summer vacations.
"Are you waiting for her, too?" - Harry asked quietly looking at Hermione closely." She hasn't been here for two weeks and I haven't seen her in the common room of the Tower Gryffindor either. "
"Who are you talking about?" - Ron asked while he was chewing and added: - You look like someone died.
"Ron!" - flared Hermione." If you did not notice someone is missing!
"Actually, I noticed," Ron answered grumpily, swallowing the sausage, and leaning closer to his friend, lowering his voice, said: "I just overheard that the Order decided not to send her to the school this year. Did you see Malfoy and his mommy in Knockturn Alley? I do not think that they come to buy the mandrake root".
"Did the Order decide not to send May to school? But why? And you were silent!" asked Harry, who was surprised as Hermione.
"Well, you know how they all care that we don't hear anything about You-Know-Who and started to worry about it. They think that's less of a danger, "Ron shrugged, wiping his hands and mouth with napkins.
What about May?" She did not write to any of you in the summer? Hermione asked looking closely at the friends' faces. She does still not completely believe that her friend had been suspended from the school. There were no objective reasons for the suspension; unless Dumbledore himself decided that it will be better for everyone.
"Nothing," Harry shook his head and Ron supported him with the same gesture.
"They cannot just suspend her," Hermione remarked as they are going to the dungeons, where Horace Slughorn was waiting for them. Ron and Harry were not particularly enthusiastic about the Potions class but they decided that Slughorne was at least better than Snape.
"They cannot," Harry agreed. "But maybe it's Dumbledore's plan? Maybe, he wants to help May by this way?
"It's probably hard time for her now," Hermione said, nodding her lower lip in thought: "It was a great blow for her and if Dumbledore knew about it, which is most likely, he tried to be as gentle as possible with May. I think she is now suffering from serious emotional distress and being here at Hogwarts next to those whose loved ones he killed ... It is not the best way to get used to"
The guys just looked at each other and agreed with the arguments of Hermione. May really had to be very difficult after truth she opened in the Ministry. Harry remembered how May was trying not to cry. She stood clenching her teeth next to the other members of the Dumbledore's Army, hiding her eyes and being afraid to look at anybody. When Fudge appeared and the flashlights of the Prophet's reporters clicked May could not stand it and used the fireplace to appear the Grimmo Square. The whole night Mrs. Weasley, Tonks and Remus tried to calm her because she was crying all the time and sitting shutting herself from everyone else in the small storeroom. She had no desire to go to their common bedroom where they all lived together. May felt like she would fall apart into small pieces of guilt. They did not know what happened to May later because when they returned to the house of Sirius May disappeared and all the members of the Order refused to answer any questions about her or to tell anything.
"We don't know anything about her," Ron summed up as they tried to weld a blood-renewing potion.
Harry has discovered an old Potions book which belongs to Half-Blood Prince, coped with it better than Hermione.
"No one wants to tell us what's wrong with her. We could help her..."
"Yeah, we could but apparently no one thinks so," Hermione whispered. "I tried to write a letter to the old address, but the owl returned to me again."
"The old address?" Harry asked, stirring the potion that had acquired a crimson hue of venous blood.
"I think so," the girl shrugged. "I think Dumbledore has changed her place of residence so that she will not be found."
"You think he..." Harry fell silent because he saw how Slughorn had come close to him. The professor could overhear their conversation.
"Oh, I see you're doing great, Mr. Potter. You have an absolute talent. Lily was also an excellent Potion Master" he praised, smiling.
At each lesson, Horace did not deny himself the pleasure of comparing the magical talents of Harry and his mother. He was smiling in a special way as if they both knew a secret.
"Thank you, sir," he said politely, and he thought:
"And somebody else was a great Potion Master."
The rest of the lesson they kept silence only looking at each other but not daring to start a conversation about May because Slughorn is creeping around. He was listening carefully to everything that they could accidentally say. When the lesson was over, the guys hurried out of the dungeon, taking the professor to check their homework about amortization and its properties.
"Transfiguration is now," Ron groaned, remembering what a huge task McGonagall had given for today: "Why can't she give less work? Or more time? In the end, we showed ourselves well in the Department of Secrets."
"Did you use a lot of transfiguration there?" Hermione chuckled as they crossed the corridor filled with students
Ron did not answer but only grunted in displeasure and went to the fourth floor. But they could not reach the transfiguration class. McGonagall is waiting for them on the way and ordered to follow her. The face of witch was extremely troubled but the mark of austerity persisted on it even in times of danger. Trio looked at each other and followed McGonagall with a quick pace. They did not even attempt to ask anything, realizing that they were being led to the director's office and each of them guessed who the conversation was about.
"Lemon slices," the professor called the password and the gargoyle moved away, taking visitors. In Dumbledore's office it was quiet and light, the portraits of the former directors of Hogwarts looked from the walls and the phoenix sat majestically on his pole, carefully looking with a beady eye at the newcomers. A moment later, Professor Dumbledore and Rimus appeared from somewhere on the right. Lupine looked not in the best way: crumpled and tired. He was affected by the full moon.
"Hello, Harry, Ron and Hermione," Remus said, smiling warmly and folding his arms over his chest. "I think it makes no sense to explain why we called you but we wanted to discuss something.
"What exactly? "Harry asked and added, remembering the morning conversation between them in the Great Hall:" Hermione said that the owl could not deliver the letter, as if there was no address.
"There are really no addresses," the director said, looking at the trio. "We had to change it so that the Death Eaters would not capture May."
"Where's May?" "Hermione asked, looking anxiously at Dumbledore and Lupine." When will she be back? You didn't just call us to let us know that May has been gone for two weeks already".
"No, of course not, Hermione, besides, May will be at school this evening," the director said, smiling softly at the girl. "We want to ask you to be gentle with her and show all the care and support that you ever can. She is going through hard times and needs your help as never before. May is very worried and blames herself for all the terrible things that Voldemort did."
"It's hard for her to accept it. To accept the idea of kinship with him," Remus added. "It's hard for her not to blame herself for what Voldemort did. She can't look at you, talk with you, and a lot of things will not be the same. It is very difficult for us to get her out of this psychological cocoon."
"How did it happen? - Ron slipped out.
He is like Harry and Hermione could not understand how May was born.
"I'm afraid even Voldemort can't understand this." Dumbledore answered. "I can assume that this happened long before the murder of your parents, Harry. We have found May's mother and she said that the girl was born in a month after your birth. Relationship with Tom developed rapidly and he did not understand that he gave birth to a great with, giving her some of his amazing abilities".
"Does she also know Parseltongue?" Harry guessed.
"Not only, but she is also good at occlumency," Remus added. "We were fortunate that she does not practice dark arts otherwise she would be more dangerous than her father."
"But You-Know-Who avoids May ..." Hermione said after a moment's hesitation, remembering how the most dangerous wizard of their time stubbornly avoided contact with her daughter: "Why?"
"Unfortunately, we can't give an answer to this question. However, neither we nor May can ever say that this is love. You-Know-Who can't feel anything similar to love" Remus chuckled, answering Hermione's question:" We also wanted you to look after May and her friends from Slytherin. There is a suspicion that she will be tried to lure out of Hogwarts. Who, when and why - is unknown. I do not think Voldemort will come for her. Most likely he will send someone of the Death Eaters.
"Voldemort can't love?" Harry asked.
But he did not feel surprised at all. He did not know much about his the worst enemy but he never avoided the chance to learn more.
"Yes, because he was born under the influence of a love potion," Dumbledore explained. "His mother, Meropa, got his father drugged and became pregnant and when the love potion ended, Riddle Sr. kick them out. This is the reason why Tom hates his family so much."
"Does May have something similar?" Hermione asked. "She did not get it?"
"No, May was born the same person as you. Certainly, the mother genes affected" Lupine explained, and after a short silence he said:" For the second time, I ask you to take care of her. She will deny everything, try to avoid the conversation but I ask you to endure it. It is psychologically difficult for her to handle it and it will be a long time before she gets used to it and it will be good if such wonderful friends as you are near her.
"All right," they said in chorus, waiting for further instructions. Dumbledore offered to continue the Transfiguration class. Ron just grimaced behind McGonagall, remembering how unintelligible his homework looks at the scroll in comparison with the six scrolls of Hermione.
"And I was hoping that we will not go to the lesson. My homework looks terrible compared to what Hermione did" he whispered softly to Harry and the friend agreed with him with a significant nod.
" Our homework always looks awful compared to her."