Disclaimer; I own none of the Harry Potter characters or the plot.

Chapter 2; The Best and Worst Birthday Present

Amy woke to the sounds of the busy city, alive with cars and buses. She had been dreaming of bright green lights which had faded to become eyes; almond shaped green eyes just like her own, but belonging to someone else; someone she should remember, but couldn't. She tried to hold on to the dream, but try as she might it slipped away from her as it always did. She turned over in the creaky old bed and pulled the covers over her, trying to get back to sleep, but her attempts were futile. She thought about the day ahead of her. It was her Birthday, not that that meant much more in this place than a card and some nice dessert. Every other day was somebody's birthday at the orphanage. And so nobody's was very special, least of all hers.

Amy's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Without waiting for a reply, Mrs. Grant, one of the orphanage staff, entered the room.
"Morning!" she said briskly, "Time to get up. It's a lovely day!" She placed crisp white clean sheets on the foot of Amy's bed and opened the thin curtains to reveal a cloudless bright blue sky.
"Up!" and with that, she left. Amy swung her legs out of bed and sat there for a few seconds wishing her dream would come back to her.

In the refectory, a few kids were already eating. She got herself some cornflakes and orange juice and sat alone at the end of a long table. When she was done, she made to leave but the exit was blocked by Jeremy and his cronies.
"Get out of my way."
"Sorry Ginger Minger," he replied, ever so originally. They all laughed as she pushed her way through.
She was just about to say something scathing when the old matron called her from the door of her small office down the hall.
"Amy, come here, dear!"

Amy was very surprised by her motherly tone, but then realisation dawned on her. There must have been someone with her in the office. Amy walked down the hall slowly. Standing at the door, she could see the matron sitting at her desk, eyebrows arched in surprise at something that the stranger must have said. He sat with his back to her. She heard him say absently how the place hadn't changed much since his last visit. Amy cleared her throat politely, feeling nervous.

"Ah here she is, our little Amy," the matron said in that same, odd motherly tone that was so unlike her, "Do come in, dear, Mr- Ah, I'm terribly sorry I seem to have forgotten...?"
"Dumbledore, Madam, Albus Dumbledore." He didn't seem affronted at all and as Amy looked at the matron again she noticed the woman's eyes seemed vacant, as if her mind was elsewhere.
"Yes, yes," she continued, "Well, he would like to speak with you."
"Alone," Dumbledore stated firmly.
"Yes," said the matron, and after an awkward pause "Oh! Yes, alone. I'll...I'll leave you to it." And with that, still slightly flustered, she left.

"Do sit," said Dumbledore kindly and Amy sat in the older woman's vacated seat. As she looked across shyly at him she noticed that his bright blue eyes seemed to twinkle, and Amy got the feeling she was being x-rayed.
"I bring with me a letter of the highest importance," he told her, placing an envelope on the neat table. Amy gasped. Upon the envelope was the same spindly green writing as the one in her files.

"Have you noticed strange things happen around you? Are you different from the other children?" he asked in a tone that seemed more statement than question. Amy didn't answer. She was shocked and still a little shy.
"Well, I may be able to give you the answers you have been searching for." When she stayed silent, he went on.
"Amy potter, you are a witch."

She managed to then break her silence. "A...witch? But I can't be! Can I? That's...that's impossible. You have the wrong person sir. My surname is Evans."
"Evans was your mother's maiden name. I placed that name on your documents when I brought you here Miss Potter. As for the fact that you are a witch…do you wish for proof?" Dumbledore asked, his voice still kind. He looked around him at the shabby little office "The last time I was in this orphanage it was for the same reason; to inform a youth of his magical lineage. He demanded proof. You may have heard of him, stories perhaps...of Tom Riddle?"

Amy had heard the name before in a story of a boy who had supposedly once lived there, long before her. He was a cruel, young boy who had bullied the younger orphans and who thought he was better than everybody else. Strange and wrong things happened around that boy, too. The matron used him to frighten the little ones into being good. Telling them she had known him when she was a young nurse, and that he was so bad he was sent to school in a special institution but came home every summer. That he was a mad, cruel boy. The matron - now well into her seventies - had been talking about a very long time ago. "I'm not like him am I? I'm not mad?" was this man here to take her to the same institution? "You're not going to lock me away are you?" she was scared now. After all, she had heard a snake talk just the day before. He smiled at her and shook his head.

Amy now wondered how old this man was before her. She took in his long hair, his beard and his odd clothes. Maybe it was him who was insane.
"I would like some proof, if you wouldn't mind," she said, trying to be as polite as possible.
"Of course," he replied, and without further ado he took a long, thin stick out of his pocket and waved it in a swish and flick movement. The envelope he had left on the desk flew up and over to her. She caught it, eyes wide with shock, and he put back down the wand.

"I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry," he proclaimed, still watching her over a pair of half-moon spectacles, "You have been accepted to the school where you will learn all you need to know about magic. Term begins on the first of September. All you need to know about that is in there," he indicated the envelope." Amy looked at it and then back up at him. "Were my parents…did they do magic?" Dumbledore nodded sadly. Your parents were some of the best of their age." He said.
"Can you tell me about my family?" she asked.
"I can," he replied and she felt a surge of anticipation rise in her abdomen. "I am sorry to inform you that your parents, Lily and James Potter, are deceased. They were murdered trying to protect you and your brother, Harry."
"I...I had a brother?" She asked feeling the tears well up for a family she never knew she had.
"You have a brother. A twin in fact."
"But-"
"Please defer your questions just for a moment. I will explain as best I can".

He seemed to gather himself before continuing. He then proceeded to tell her the story of her parents' death; of how a terrible wizard known as Lord Voldemort had targeted her brother Harry, had tried to kill him. He told her that Harry was the only person known to have survived the killing curse. When she asked him why she and Harry had been split up, he told her it was for their own protection; that Lily had given birth to them while in hiding and, for all the general public knew; there was only one Potter child. Voldemort was not aware until he had entered their home, and the few others that did know of her were either dead, incarcerated or could be trusted.

Dumbledore sat, giving Amy time to think. She didn't realise she was crying until he handed her a handkerchief. When she had composed herself she asked when she could meet her brother. "I'm afraid that Harry must not be informed of your existence, not yet." She protested to this but he held up a hand. "Not until the right moment. He must remain ignorant. This is vital if he is to survive. The opportune moment will present itself one way or another. You will have a big part to play in the future. This is how it must be. There is a war coming. I do not know when, but I know that Lord Voldemort will return. When he does he will go straight for Harry. We must keep him safe. We must keep him alive. Can you understand what I am trying to explain?" Amy did not understand. She felt as though she was being robbed. She had found out that she wasn't alone. She had felt like maybe there was somewhere she belonged. Only to have that all ripped away moments after it had been given.

"This is not fair," she said, feeling hot tears welling up in the corners of her eyes once more.
"I know. The sacrifice is a lot to ask of you. I hope you will one day understand the necessity of secrecy. Voldemort will return; there is no doubt in my mind of the fact. It is for you and Harry's protection. They would use you in order to get to him, and vice versa. Amy nodded in watery eyed agreement. "Harry is our only hope. And you are his."

Dumbledore got up to leave, his strange cloak billowing out behind him. He turned back to her at the last moment and with a last, fatherly smile he said, "Happy birthday."