Disclaimer: Obviously, if I owned Harry Potter, Harry wouldn't be such a pushover.

Warnings: Manipulative!Evil!Dumbledore, Sheep!Order, Darker!Harry, Possibly eventual slash?, somewhat sane/reasonable Voldemort, Sane!Tom Riddle.

Through the Veil

Charming Illusions

It was early morning on the thirty-first of July when Albus Dumbledore received a letter from one Alice Crooket of the Ministry of Magic, requesting his appearance immediately at St. Mungo's Bonham ward. She stated that the matter was, indeed, urgent and she wouldn't have bothered writing him had it not been, knowing of the Hogwart's Headmaster's and her Minister's relations at the moment.

The letter had made Albus pause. Not only did he not recognize the woman's name, but he knew what the Bonham ward was used for. It had been one of the first wards established by Healer and founder of St. Mungo's Mungo Bonham. Further, most people did not believe of its existence. It had become nothing but a rumor, for most people were not admitted to the ward. From the gossip he had heard, Albus could conclude that the ward was for people that the ministry did not want to know about and the healers that worked within the ward were as secretive as Unspeakables. It was obvious in saying that Albus was eager to discover the truth about this secret that had been kept from him.

Being requested there was what made Albus leave immediately, putting his plans for Harry to be thought through at a later date. After all, the boy had waited a majority of the summer the year before. An extra week would not hurt the boy, whether he be grieving the loss of his godfather or not. Yes. Harry Potter could wait if it meant discovering one of the wizarding world's most well kept secrets.

Through the Veil

Alice Crooket's was a lean woman with mousy brown hair that hugged her jaw line. Her skin was pale and nose sloped. The most remarkable thing about her were the deep pits of brown that were her eyes, but Albus had seen the same type of eyes on his potions master and was easily able to dismiss them. She was, simply, a very forgettable person and, had he not been looking for it, he would have missed the thin line of magic that marked her glamour running along the edge of her jaw. Upon closer inspection, Albus would notice the slight shimmer of magic on many of her features, making it difficult to identify what had been glamoured and what had been her original features. Her first words upon seeing the headmaster were, "Do not bother, Mister Dumbledore."

That caused Albus to blink in confusion before he realized she was referring to the glamour. He smiled, bringing the twinkle to his blue eyes. "Yes, I assumed as much Ms. Crooket. Shall we get to the reason you have requested my presence?"

Alice gave him a skeptical look before simply accepting his demeanor. "Very well. This way Mister Dumbledore."

The hallway he was lead through was unremarkable and Albus did not doubt he would not remember it the moment he left. It would only look like another ward, which was no doubt what they had hoped for. It was only when he was lead into a room and saw the patient within that he paused, his breathing catching.

The young woman was asleep on the bed, magical monitors attached to the woman. A healer stood at her bedside, making notes of her progress as he checked her. Upon seeing Alice and Albus, the healer offered them a nod before leaving the room. The older wizard zeroed in on the woman within the white sheets as he and the ministry official were left alone in the room.

She looked almost the same as when Albus had last seen her. The only differences that he noted from young Abigail Nightingale was the, now, pale tent to her skin and the length in her raven hair. If she were to wake, Albus was sure he would see his old student's pale jade eyes, either lacking emotion or full of mischief.

"From your reaction, I see that we made the right decision in informing you," Alice commented, watching Albus with a calculated gaze. Seeing she had the man's attention, she went on. "Her magical signature is cloaked with a type of magic we have not seen before. The ward's best healers are currently working on breaking down whatever barrier she has put around herself.

"We asked for your presence, Mister Dumbledore, because we were able to pick up on your magical signature." Alice barely suspense her smirk at seeing the frown that marred Albus' face. "From what Healer Jaysue can detect, you were the last magical person around her. My colleagues and I were hoping you could inform us on your last encounter with this woman as well as any other information you can give us. We would like to be able to inform her family."

It took longer than Albus would have liked for him to tear his gaze away from the unconscious Abigail and focus on Alice. "Do you think I did this to her? That I could have put her in this state?"

A twinkle of her own entered Alice's eyes. "We would simply like to know more information about her," she said neutrally.

Albus cursed silently as he realized how much that single statement could have given away about his involvement with the girl. From the twinkle in Alice's eyes, she had picked up on it. No matter. He could easily spin this to be in his favor. Clearing his throat, Albus focused his eyes on the unconscious woman again. "Her name is Abigail Nightingale and she was a student of mine at one point, when I was still a professor." He paused, allowing those words to sink in. Not receiving the reaction he had been hoping for, a gasp from Alice, he went on. "It was a few weeks before her graduation for Hogwarts that she went to the Headmaster at the time, Armando Dippet, and asked to leave Hogwarts for the weekend. Miss Nightingale explained that it was a family emergency, that an aunt was dying and she wanted to see the woman before she passed. I was requested to escort her to Kings' Cross Station so that she may apparate home.

"Something seemed off with her that day. I did not place it until a few days later, when she did not return for classes on Monday. You see, Miss Nightingale had said something to me before she left. She had said 'I have done many things in this world which I regret, I merely hope I will be forgiven for them and he will learn from my mistakes'. I told her that everything can be forgiven and asked who she was speaking of. Miss Nightingale never answered me, simply giving me a sad smile and disapparating." Albus turned to took at Alice now. "I must say, looking back on it, I wish I would have stopped her. For many years, I have blamed myself for her disappearance."

"Did anyone ever contact this woman's family?" Alice asked calmly despite the annoyance turning inside her. She could understand why the Minister did not like this man at the moment. He had a way with words, but she had been specifically trained to see around those types.

"Of course," Albus chuckled. "They had not seen her. We lost contact with the Nightingales after that. They simply disappeared from Britain." A sense of triumph filled him as the old wizard knew the ministry employee believed his story. They always did. "Can you tell me what has become of young Abigail? Why has she not aged since the last time I saw her?"

Alice Crooket met his eyes. She felt the slight probing at her mental shields and barely contained a frown. Deciding she would play along, she dropped the first of her shields and allowed him to see what she wanted of her memories of Abigail. "We are still working on that. She was found on the ninth level of the Ministry, in the Death Chamber. Ah, now you understand why we have been so secretive about the whole event. If someone discovered how she had gotten in there, the press would have a field day."

Albus' eyebrows shot into his hairline in both shock and surprise. The Death Chamber? His eyes darkened a shade as he looked to the young Nightingale, remembering his last encounter with her. It, too, had been in that fated Death Chamber. That was why this all troubled him so. He had seen Abigail die in 1943. Like with Sirius, there should be no possible way for her to still be in this world. "Extraordinary." His mind raced as he thought how to right this wrong. "What will happen to her?"

"She will be studied within this ward until she wakes. When, if, that happens, she will be questioned. What happens after depends on her answers."

Nodding, Albus sighed in what would sound like defeat. "I request to be there for her questioning." He straightened and turned fully to Alice. "Miss Nightingale never finished her stay at Hogwarts. She is technically under guardianship of the school, as she is still registered. Seeing as I am Headmaster of Hogwarts, I wish to be with her through ever step of this." It would insure Abigail only revealed what he wanted. "Also, if she is deemed not to be a threat, I would hope she is able to be released into my custody until she has completed her education."

Now, it was Alice's eyes who darkened. "We will see, Mister Dumbledore. You may be present for when she wakes, but after is still in question. As I said, it depends on her answers. Also, now that we know her name, it depends on if we can find members of the Nightingale family still alive. If we do, she would be released into their custody."

Giving a tight nod, Albus nodded. "Yes, that is understandable." He brought the smile back to his face, along with his twinkle. "I shall be leaving now. You will inform me when young Abigail wakes?"

Alice nodded, giving her own smile. "Of course sir." As she watched the old Headmaster leave, her smile disappeared. She did not like the man, but there was little she could do about him. Glancing back at the girl she now knew as Abigail, Alice decided to keep an eye on her. Whatever the woman had to say would change the way many of them thought.