Harry Potter, currently of 12 Grimmauld Place, the Black Manor, drank a toast to his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, the new Gryffindor prefects, along with the other residents and guests, all of whom were members of the Order of the Phoenix (or too young to actually join). The only person missing was Arthur Weasley, away on business for the Ministry.
Everyone split up to eat and talk, but Harry stayed on the sidelines, drinking Butterbeer and feeling decidedly depressed. Everything was weighing upon him; in particular, the death of Cedric Diggory, murdered by Lord Voldemort simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the recent Dementor attack that had nearly resulted in Harry being expelled from Hogwarts.
A sudden ring of the doorbell startled them all, and the portrait of Mrs Black, Sirius' mother, started screaming. Mrs Weasley and Lupin dashed off to open the door and silence the pictures in the hall. Everyone had become accustomed to this by now, since it happened every time the doorbell rang.
Harry was surprised to see Mr Weasley coming down the stairs in a great hurry, crossing the room to speak urgently with Dumbledore, who lowered his plate, a frown creasing his forehead. Mrs Weasley followed close behind, but Lupin did not reappear.
"I got her away from there, but it's only so long before the Ministry discovers I've got her," Arthur was saying quickly. "We need to protect her, Dumbledore. She's already gone through more than enough, and I shudder to think what Fudge may decide to do when-"
But the girl now wandering down the stairs captured Harry's attention. Thin to the point of emaciation, her ragged gray remnant of a robe hung from her shoulders to her knees, revealing pasty skin so pale she seemed almost transparent, as if she were not really connected to this world. Her waist-length black hair was matted and dirty, as if it had never known brush nor shampoo. But it was her eyes that captivated him, huge in her thin face, pale grey and older than stone.
The room went quiet as everyone stared at the girl. Sirius' reaction came as a surprise to everybody. Stepping in front of her, he looked thunderstruck. Pale grey eyes met. "I know you," he whispered in astonishment.
The girl's head tilted as she regarded the man before her. "You are the one who remembered," she murmured, her voice hoarse and rough, yet Harry found it captivating nonetheless. "You are the one who left."
Arthur turned to Sirius. "You remember her?" he asked.
"I do now," the ex-convict said in shock. "But…"
Dumbledore held up a hand, and Sirius stopped. "Perhaps introductions are in order," he suggested gently, smiling at the girl. She stared unblinkingly at him for a moment, then smiled back, ever so slightly.
Arthur nodded ruefully. "I'd hoped to start with less. Oh, well. Everybody, I'd like you to meet Avalon. Avalon, these are some of the people I was telling you about. Uh, Sirius Black; my wife Molly; my sons Bill, Fred, George and Ron; my daughter Ginny; Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt; Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore and – ah, there you are – Harry Potter."
Harry felt a cold shiver race up his spine as Avalon's pale eyes met his bright green ones. His entire body became numb, then waves of icy heat crashed over him. All he could see was two pools of silvery madness, drawing him deeper and deeper…
Suddenly the contact was broken. Harry staggered backwards, his head spinning, to be caught by Ron and Hermione. Looking up, he found that Remus Lupin had placed himself between the two of them, breaking Harry's line of vision. A deep growl was rumbling in the usually impassive man's throat and Harry could see quivers running through him, though if they were of fear or anger, he couldn't be sure.
Avalon pursed her lips as she stared at Lupin, then smiled enigmatically. "You know madness as I do," she stated, her voice a dark, stirring whisper. "You know survival." Lupin's only response was another growl, deeper, more demanding, as he crouched lower, determined to protect his charge.
Arthur stepped between the strange girl and the werewolf. "Remus, please!" he said, shocked, somewhere between pleading and demanding. Lupin backed away slowly, and his posture straightened, but he remained tense and wary.
Harry shook his head to clear it. That was one of the strangest things that had ever happened to him, and he'd been through a lot. But Lupin's behaviour was just as surprising, though welcome. He'd never seen so much as a shadow of the wolf in Remus' human features… but he felt better for the protection. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but the iciness clinging to him, inside him, reminded him harshly of the Dementors – but there was an eerie comfort in this chill. He shivered slightly. "Who are you?" he whispered.
The girl looked over at him again, and though the madness was still there in her eyes, it did not drag him into their depths – this time. "I am Avalon."
Lupin moved to stand beside Harry, gripping his shoulder in a gesture of mutual comfort. His gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the girl. "I think the question should be; what are you?"
Arthur frowned. "She is a young girl, Remus. One who has been through horrors and cruelty that none of us has had to endure." He looked around the room. "As far as I have been able to determine, Avalon has spent her entire life within the walls of Azkaban." A deep silence spread through the room at his words.
Hermione broke the silence. "How did she end up there?" she asked in an appalled whisper. "A child couldn't have done anything that would warrant being sent to the Dementors!"
Arthur shook his head. "I can only suppose that she was born there. There is simply no other credible explanation."
Harry shuddered. "She knows nothing but Dementors?" He could not imagine a worse fate, though it explained a great deal about the madness in those eyes – a madness he could easily lose himself in…
Mr Weasley nodded sadly, but Avalon herself interrupted. "Not so. I know you… all of you." She gazed around at all of them. "Deeper than some of you know yourselves." Her eyes widened further as she stared at Professor Dumbledore. "You are as hard to read as a book with no writing. One must read the pages through other senses."
Harry shook his head at this strange statement, but Dumbledore merely chuckled. "Well said, my dear."
Sirius was still in shock. "She was there. First time I saw her, she was just a little baby, barely crawling. I thought that I had gone mad."
"You had. No one else saw me. No one else remembered." Avalon's voice was a harsh whisper. "I remember…" Her voice trailed off, and her eyes became so much more distant.
"How is it she knows speech?" Kingsley wondered out loud, his smooth deep rumble a huge contrast to Avalon's hoarse tones.
Her grey eyes swung to him, coming back from miles away. "I remember… everything… they remember, I remember… I remember…"
Arthur sighed, his expression heartbroken. "As far as I'm able to determine, she has all the memories of every inmate of Azkaban."
Harry shuddered, and saw that most of the others had a similar reaction. "How horrible," he heard Hermione whisper, and couldn't agree more.
"Not so," Avalon disagreed. "Not all." A strange half-smile came to her lips. "Strong heart, strong dreams. Dragons, dogs and spiders. I remember… love."
Harry stared at the strange girl. "Hagrid," he said in wonder. "You have Hagrid's memories."
Her eyes fixed on his again, the smile becoming luminous. "Green eyes, small boy," she whispered. "Great heart."
Dumbledore stepped forward. "Molly, am I correct in assuming that you would accept care of this child?"
Mrs Weasley looked startled. "Of course, Albus! Where else would you send her?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Very well. I must be going. But first…" He stepped up beside Harry. "Avalon… are you willing to come to Hogwarts? Become a student, learn the ways of magic that are your birthright?"
The waif's expression became very solemn, and serious. "I am. I will safeguard your dreams."
Harry frowned, but again, Dumbledore seemed to understand the girl's cryptic sentences. "Wonderful. I will see you all again at the next meeting." With that, he left.
Mrs Weasley ushered the girl up the stairs. "Come along dear, we'll get you cleaned up, then you can eat. Ginny, would you please get some of your clothes for her?"
"Sure, Mum," Ginny agreed swiftly, and darted up the stairs, her mother and Avalon following more sedately. Avalon glanced back meet Harry's gaze for one more brief moment; then she was gone.
Harry felt the icy chill leave his bones and he sagged as his whole body relaxed. Only Lupin's firm grip on his shoulder stopped him from hitting the floor.
Sirius looked shell-shocked as he moved to Harry's other side. "She… I…" He stared down at his godson. "Are you alright?"
Harry shook his head. "No." He was surprised when Lupin chuckled. He looked up at him. "What?"
His former teacher was smiling crookedly. "That has to be the first time ever you haven't answered that query with 'I'm fine'."
Harry smiled weakly. The rest of the gathering had broken up into small groups and were discussing the girl. Avalon.
Sirius was peering at Lupin inquisitively. "What was up with you?"
Lupin lost his smile. "I – I don't know. I just – I didn't -" He took a deep breath. "I didn't like her scent."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Her scent?" he asked, incredulous. "She's been trapped in Azkaban for – however many years she's lived – and you get growly because you don't like the way she smells?"
"No," Lupin refuted. "I got growly because -" He sighed sharply.
"Because she gets in your head," Harry said quietly. "Like everything you ever were is open to her." He shivered again.
Sirius was regarding his godson with narrowed eyes, but Lupin was nodding. "That's it exactly."
Harry sighed, remembering the depths of madness in those silver eyes. "All I know is, Hogwarts is in for a shock."