Disclaimer; original story, contents, chapters and characters belong to the great JK. I own nothing etc.
Chapter 2
Tabitha shook Amy awake early on the morning of the 31st of July. The chambermaid looked flustered as she rushed across the room, opening the wardrobe and taking out Amy's best clothes; a long sleeved cream coloured t-shirt and a pair of jeans that were a little less worn than the rest.
Curious, Amy rose from the bed and accepted the clothes, along with a towel.
"What's going on?" she asked, as Tabitha opened the door and herded her out into the hallway and towards the bathroom a few doors down.
"You have a visitor." The chambermaid replied, sounding as surprised as Amy felt at hearing it.
"What sort of visitor?" no one ever came to the orphanage to see her apart from the occasional inspections carried out by social workers, checking up on the children's welfare and school progress and assessing the staff.
"I didn't catch a look, the matron came out of the office and told me to get you up and make sure you were presentable, so get in there and hurry up." Tabitha closed the bathroom door on her and she washed and dressed in record time, her curiosity piqued.
It wasn't until she was halfway down the stairs on her way down to the matron's office that she suddenly became very nervous. What if this mysterious visitor was here because of the melting plate incident? What if that had been the last straw for the matron and she had called in the men in white coats to drag her off. Would she do that? She recalled the look on the matrons face that day and the lack of severe punishment and wasn't so sure that she wouldn't have. There could be someone waiting behind that door with sedatives and a straight jacket for all she knew.
Panicking, she decided to run for it. She would have to be very sneaky to reach the front door unnoticed, as the matrons office was located in the hallway that led to freedom. Listening intently she heard only the humming of the cook as she prepared breakfast and little creaks and squeaks as some of the other orphans got out of bed.
She crept down the rest of the steps and tiptoes down the hall. She made it two steps past the office when the door swung open and the matrons voice called out to her.
"There you are Amy. Come on in here please. There's somebody here to see you."
She took one last longing look at the front door before turning and following the old woman into the office, her window of opportunity gone. If she had run then, in full view of the matron, she would have been caught in minutes. Once inside the room her mysterious visitor stood to greet her.
"Ah, this must be Miss Prince. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you this morning." The old man who stood before her certainly did not look like an orderly come to drag her away; he was tall and thin, with long white hair and a matching beard. He wore a brown suit that looked a bit dated, but that's not where her eyes lingered; instead she was transfixed by his twinkling blue eyes that shone out from behind half moon spectacles. She got the feeling, from his statement and by the way his eyes seemed to see right through her, that he knew she had been attempting to leave. This unsettled her. She moved further into the room and took the proffered seat across from the matron and beside the visitor, who sat back down after she was in her seat.
"This is professor Dumbledore, Amy. He has come here today to talk to you about his boarding school." Amy was intrigued. She had no idea there would be more options for her than the secondary school down the road, then her suspicion piqued.
"What sort of school?" She wasn't about to let herself be tricked into ending up in some special facility. She had heard of a boy who had lived in the orphanage many years before who had been shipped off to some unknown school for troubled children back when the matron was only a young maid. She used the story as a warning for the children to behave; You don't want to end up like Tom Riddle do you?
"Quite a selective one." He said, not giving much away. "Firstly allow me to say that your name has been on our lists since the day of your birth and that the fees have already been paid in full."
"Who paid them?" she asked, still suspicious.
"Why, your parents of course. They attended Hogwarts themselves. I remember them fondly."
This gave her a shock. She felt her eyes widen in wonder. This man sitting beside her had known her parents! He could probably answer a lot of her questions about them. She sat up straighter in her chair, preparing to bombard him with questions when he spoke first.
"Mrs Crowley, I wonder if Miss Prince and I might talk alone for a while. I have much to tell her and if I'm not mistaken, she has many questions to ask of me." There was a moment of hesitation from the matron, but then she nodded and left, patting Amy on the shoulder as she passed, a comforting gesture Amy hadn't received in quite some time.
"I'll have some tea sent in" she said before closing the door behind her.
Dumbledore gestured for Amy to take the matrons vacated seat and she did so, barely able to contain her impatience for information regarding her parents. She wasn't about to get any answers on that score yet as the old man began to speak.
"Now," He said. "I have brought your acceptance letter. It includes lists of books and equipment you will need to purchase before the start of term and I have included directions to the shopping street where you will find everything you will need. I have also included a key which you will require in order to access to your bank vault, which is conveniently located in the same area."
"I have a bank vault?" she asked, a little excited at the thought. The orphans received pocket money weekly, but she had never had a bank account before and the word "vault" sounded to her as though there might be quite a lot of money involved.
"Yes." He handed her an envelope and continued; "The instructions and lists are included. Under normal circumstances you would be required to write back to the school accepting your place, as their letter would arrive in the mail, but on occasions such as this, where the student has no prior knowledge of our world we like to deliver it and receive the answer in person."
He was quiet for a moment and it took her a while to catch on that he was waiting for her to say whether or not she was accepting her place at the school. She still had a niggling doubt at the back of her mind and so decided to put the matter of her sanity to rest for once and for all.
"This school… It's not for crazy people is it? I mean, you're not here to take me away to some government facility to run tests on me are you?"
She thought for a moment that he might be offended, but then he laughed. She relaxed a little as he did so. Maybe this was legit after all. It was at that moment that Mrs Finnegan brought in a tray holding a teapot, two cups with saucers, a small jug of milk and a bowl of sugar cubes. It was the fancy china, as she clearly hoped that this man had come to take her nemesis away forever.
She looked Dumbledore over, who was still chuckling a little and the face she made clearly showed that she didn't think much of what she saw. She lingered, probably hoping to eavesdrop on a little of the conversation until he thanked her and informed her that that would be all and she looked sour as she left.
"I usually explain a little more about Hogwarts before I'm asked that sort of question." He said after the old bat had vacated the immediate area. This information set fire to her short lived calm and she felt like bolting for the door.
"No, Miss Prince." He said. "Before you jump out the window let me explain." He smiled at her, still amused. "Hogwarts is not a government facility. It is not a place for crazy people as you call them. It is a school of magic, for young people like your self."
Alarm bells rang in her head. Perhaps it was he, and not her, who should be locked away in a padded cell.
"People like me?" she asked, trying to keep him talking long enough for her to come up with an escape route.
"Are you not different from the other children here Amy? Do strange and unexplainable things happen around you?" This caught her attention.
"At Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry you will have the opportunity not only to control your powers, but also to learn charms and potions. You will be accepted into a community most people don't even know exists."
"Amy Prince. You are a witch."
It was her turn to laugh. She had never heard anything quite so ridiculous in her life. Professor Dumbledore busied himself with pouring the tea as he waited for her mirth to subside.
"I was here before, you know, back in my teaching days. I was sent here for the same reason I have come to visit you. The young man I met that day was also suspicious of my motives. He demanded a demonstration before believing that he was a wizard. Would you care for some proof?"
She nodded in reply, taking a sip of the hot drink he had handed over. She nearly dropped the teacup as she witnessed what happened next (if she had broken it, Mrs Finnegan would have had her guts for garters)
He took a long, thin stick from his jacket pocket and pointed it at the filing cabinet that stood behind her chair. One of its doors opened and out flew a folder she recognised. It landed with a small thump on the table in front of her and opened. A small envelope rose out of it and hovered before her eyes. She saw once more the green spindly writing scrawled across the front of it and it triggered an immediate response. She fumbled for the envelope he had handed to her a few minutes before. The writing was the same; the ink was precisely the same shade. They were without a doubt written by the same person.
She stared up at it once more, enthralled, and then recoiled as the letter she had wanted to open so badly before burst into flames. Her scream never left her throat as just a second later the flames died out and to her amazement the envelope was still intact. The little flap opened and the hand written note within floated over to her. She took it gingerly and read it in silence. Professor Dumbledore waited patiently, sipping on his tea as though nothing had happened.
Dear Martha,
I am entrusting into your care this child, whose parents have recently perished. Her name is Amy Prince and she is a little over a year old.
I would kindly request that you do not attempt to inquire after any living relatives and I ask that you keep this out of the papers as she may be in danger. I would not place you in such a position but I'm afraid it is of the utmost importance that her whereabouts be kept secret.
It weighs on me heavily to ask more of you after all these years but I know that you are to be trusted. I will come personally when she is of age to attend Hogwarts and until then it would be best that she remain ignorant of the wizarding world, for her own safety.
Sincerely yours and forever in your debt,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Amy read it twice before placing it on the desk. She looked over at him to find him watching her intently.
"Its all true." She said, her voice sounding very far away. "I always knew that my parents were…that they are dead…but to see it written down is…and this makes it seem as though…" she cleared her throat before continuing.
"It wasn't an accident was it? I always thought it was some sort of accident. They were murdered weren't they?"
He nodded. "Yes Rodderick and Annora Price were murdered." His tone was very serious but his eyes were sad. "Before you were born the magical community was at war. On one side stood a very powerful and dangerous wizard and his many fanatical followers. He craved absolute power and hated people who's blood was not, as he and many others think of as pure, that is to say that perhaps one or both of their parents were muggles; those who have no magic. We use the term muggle born in the latter case. Those who stood against him were in terrible and constant danger. Many perished. Families were torn apart."
He seemed lost in memories for a moment and she brought him back to the present by asking;
"Were my mother and father muggle borns? Is that why they were killed?" he shook his head, no longer meeting her eyes.
"No. Your parents both came from long lines of magic users. As far as anyone knew they were non participants who believed in his cause. Secretly, they betrayed him, feeding our side information about his plans, information they received from acquaintances who were active followers. Nobody knew of their involvement but me. Not even your fathers own brother, until Lord Voldemort, for that is what he called himself, found out about it and from what I have gathered immediately went to your home to murder them personally. It was on that very same night that he disappeared."
It took her quite some time to take in the all the information she had just received in so short a period of time, and when she did finally speak again it was to ask the most pressing question that had arisen from his last sentence.
"I have an uncle? Was he…is he still alive?"
"Yes. Your father's half brother. He survived the war and is your only living relative."
She couldn't believe it. After all this time feeling so alone and believing she had no one left who she could call family it turns out that she had an uncle out there somewhere.
"Do you know where he is? When can I meet him?" she exclaimed, thinking about a tearful reunion, hopefully in the near future.
"If you accept your place at the school you will meet him on the first of September. He is a teacher at Hogwarts." Dumbledore told her and she nearly fell out of her chair.
Of course she accepted her place at the school on the spot. She then asked the rest of her questions.
"The man who killed them…Lord Voldemort…you said that he disappeared?"
"Yes. He paid another house call that evening, this time to a family quite similar to your own. He murdered Lily and James Potter and then turned his wand upon their son, Harry. When he tried to kill the boy however, it is said that his curse rebounded and hit him, killing him instead.
Harry somehow managed to survive, with only a scar to tell the tale but I do not believe that Voldemort perished that night. I believe he will return and he still has followers out there. People who believe in his cause who would return to his side through loyalty and fear, which is why it is imperative that you tell no one the true tale of your parents deaths. No one must know.
"That sounds like what you wrote in the letter." She said, indicating the note that still lay out on the desk before her.
"Yes when you were left here that night Voldemorts followers were for the most part still at large. Many were arrested and tried for their crimes. Some had already done terrible damage trying to find their master, not believing that he could be defeated. I feared for your safety."
He made her promise that she would keep the real details of her parents murders secret. She was to simply tell people that they died in the war and feign ignorance about the how's or whys. He impressed upon her that it was safer that way and she agreed to do as he bid. Not long after that and on a happier note he left, telling her he looked forward to seeing her in September and wishing her a belated happy birthday. She thanked him as she walked with him to the front door.
After he was gone, disappearing into the night she stood at the door, deep in thought until an all too familiar voice called out to her;
"Well I see you haven't been carted off where you belong yet Prince. Bring in those tea things. They won't wash themselves!" Mrs Finnegan called from the door to the kitchen.
After cleaning the tea set under the watchful glare of the cook she went up to her room and skipped lunch. She assumed, because Tabitha had not been sent to hunt her down the stairs, that the matron had told the staff not to bother her. She sat on her bedroom floor and attempted to read her acceptance letter. She had opened it excitedly at first but hadn't gotten past the first line. It wouldn't go in. she couldn't concentrate on it. As exciting as it was to have learned about a whole other world, she had also learned the truth about her mother and fathers deaths, theirs and many others, and though she had grown up knowing they were dead, she found herself grieving for them as though it had just happened. Tears filled her eyes until she could no longer make out the words on the page in front of her.
Mrs Crowley found her sitting there around dinner time. She had stopped crying but hadn't been able to bring herself to move yet. The matron sat down on the bed behind her and waited for Amy to begin the conversation.
"How much do you know?" Amy asked finally, not looking back as she spoke.
"Only what was in the letter. I take it he showed it to you?" Amy nodded in reply. "I don't know any more about where you came from, but I know a little bit about the school"
"Are you a witch?"
"No. I only know what Albus wrote to me years ago. As you already know, he was here before, to see another child. I was very young then, and a couple of years later, when I had climbed the ladder a bit here Albus wrote to ask me to keep an eye on the boy when he was home for the summer."
"It was Tom Riddle wasn't it" Amy guessed in a whisper. "You used to warn us about ending up like him."
Mrs Crowley got slowly down onto the floor and sat beside her then, wrapping an arm around her. Amy was surprised, but comforted by the gesture.
"Believe me Amy. You are nothing like him. He was a mean, cruel boy. You don't have a cruel bone in your body. I'm sorry to have been so hard on you. Truth be told at first I was worried that you might be similar, after all he was the only other…wizard I had ever met, but I was wrong, it didn't take long for me to see that." She gave Amy a little squeeze.
"And I thought you'd be safer if I had you wash a few dishes and write a few lines when something odd happened rather than letting it go and having people suspicious." Amy saw the sense in her words.
"It didn't work with Mrs Finnegan" Amy chuckled.
"Between you and me Mrs Finnegan is a suspicious sour goat to begin with." Amy laughed aloud and the matron joined in. "now help me up, I'm too old to be sitting on cold floors. I'll send Tabitha up with a dinner tray. No more skipping meals young lady."
Amy felt a lot better after that and with stiff legs from sitting in one place for so long, helped Mrs Crowley to a standing position. She watched her leave with a new found respect and affection, before picking up her letter and reading it fully. She then read through her list and directions to Diagon Alley. She found a little key in the bottom of the envelope and put it on her bedside table along with a train ticket. She felt hopeful for the future, as well as massively nervous at the thought of beginning a new life as a witch, making friends (she hoped) and meeting her uncle. Soon after that she ate the dinner that a complaining Tabitha had carried up for her and got into bed, falling asleep quickly and drifting into a dreamless sleep.
