Sirius whimpered as he heard the heavy pounding of footsteps on the stairs of Grimmauld Place. He made a mental note to make a rule about running up the stairs when he had a hangover. He cracked his eyes and peered about the room. His hand was wrapped about Remus's ankle for some reason and they were both sprawled on the floor. Sirius tugged at Remus's ankles and mumbled, "Remus mate…. You 'wake?" The effort of talking made his head hurt more.
At the sound of his voice Remus chuckled. "Of course, I've been waiting for you to wake up. I didn't want to move and introduce you to the hangover I knew you were going to experience that much earlier." As he spoke Remus stood and disentangled himself from Sirius's grip. Sirius groaned in annoyance and contemplated cursing Remus with something nasty. The thought of the effort involved made him decide against it- at least for now. After all, revenge was a dish best served cold, not conjured like magical blue fire.
"If you weren't my friend I'd kill you." He pressed his face into the ground. "Stop smirking" Even though he couldn't actually see his friend; Sirius knew that Remus was smirking. Remus ALWAYS smirked when he didn't get a hangover and Remus rarely got hangovers. It was a positive aspect of the whole werewolf thing. Remus said that'd he'd gladly trade his disease for a few hangovers, but Sirius contested that that was just because he'd never experienced a real, full-blown hangover. James had always said he'd trade turning into a monster once a month for the ability to drink like a sailor and get up the next morning without blinking. Of course James had always been the one that had downplayed Remus's condition. He'd referred to Remus's 'monthly cycle' so many time that a few of the younger male students became confused about the whole concept of menstrual cycles. Sirius had wanted to play it up for a few months, telling the boys horror stories about terrible periods and cramps and discomfort and terrifying them out of their minds but then James found out and made him stop. After James had started dating Lily he had really become a lot less fun.
When he felt the tap on his shoulder he sat up and blindly reached his hand above his head with his eyes closed. Sure enough a glass was pressed into his hand and he gulped down the burning contents. There was a few nauseating moments, an intense pressure on his head, and then his hangover was gone. "Bloody hell Remus, do you always make a hangover remedy before you drink?"
"No Mr. Black, this time I was the one who made the potion." Sirius glanced at the door as he staggered to his feet. Dumbledore stood there, his blue eyes twinkling and that annoyingly unreadable look on his face. Sirius always found it frustrating that Dumbledore always seemed to know what was going on and why. It wouldn't surprise him if Dumbledore knew why they'd been drinking. It just wasn't fair that one person should know so much about everyone else's business. Sirius couldn't count the number of times that Dumbledore had appeared in the middle of the night just as they were setting up a complex prank. It was one of the reasons the four of them had created the map, an attempt to avoid being caught by Dumbledore. He had an excellent sense of humor but he often made them head back to bed and call of the prank. "I was hoping to find both of you here." Where else would I go? Sirius thought to himself slightly bitterly. "I have to confess I haven't always been quite… honest with you. I had to keep some things from you, from everyone. It was all to defeat Voldemort. I have to say I didn't think that this would happen after all this time…. But one can never rule out miracles. I want you both to prepare yourselves." Sirius's interest was definitely piqued. It wasn't that he hadn't expected the old man to be honest, but he'd never expected him to come right out and admit it, to tell them his secrets. Whatever this was, it had to be big. The old man surveyed them both seriously before glancing back toward the door. "You may come in now."
A slender figure in a blue cloak stepped through the door, the hood of the cloak pulled up tightly. Sirius found himself tense up and something deep within the pit of his stomach shudder and he suddenly realized that his hands were shaking. The figure raised one pale delicate hand and pulled back the hood. The woman had wavy dark hair and an uncertain smile on a face that was practically a twin to Sirius's own. She was thin and pale and had light lines about her eyes and mouth that hadn't been there the last time Sirius had seen her. He felt dizzy and terrified and exhilarated, and he prayed that this was not all some cruel dream or trick. This had to be real, she had to be real. A part of him wanted to grab her and shake her for leaving, for not contacting him for sixteen years and letting him think she was dead, and for walking back in like nothing was wrong. But another part of him wanted to hug her tightly and never let her go. He felt for a moment like he might be violently ill and he had to try three times before he managed to speak out loud. "Colista….." he said, speaking her name for the first time since almost a year before he was put in Azkaban. A heartbeat after he spoke the door slammed and he realized that Remus had stormed out of the room without speaking.
Hermione paced in the Headmaster's office as her hands fiddled with her wand, spinning it to and fro in her hands. More than anything she wished that Ron was here, or Harry or Ginny or someone. She didn't want to do this alone. She wasn't the most patient person and she was far too nervous for her own good. Combining the two- making her wait for something that made her nervous- was sheer torture. If she only had a friend to wait with her, she would feel that everything would be better. Ron would never have let her get this worked up. He would have cracked a joke or said something pratty so that she could yell at him or just sat there and watched her in the way he had that made all thoughts leave her mind. But this, this was terrible.
Professor McGonagall had cornered her as she left the Great Hall to go to Charms with Harry and Ron. Harry and Ron were doing some last minute reviewing for the test Flitwick had promised they'd have on cleaning charms and she had been scolding them for playing chess the night before rather than studying. When she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face a grim looking McGonagall whose lips were thin and eyes sympathetic she felt her stomach drop to her toes. She hadn't yet heard back from her mother and all she could think about was poor Hannah Abbott, who had been pulled from class to be told that her mother had died. At the memory Hermione felt herself start to tremble. She was terrified for her mother; she was terrified for her every day and had been terrified since long before Voldemort returned. She knew that as the best friend of Harry Potter she was a target but she couldn't stand the thought of her parents being targeted for who she was and who she knew. "If he hurt her," she said aloud to the silence of the office, and when she spoke she was not speaking only of Voldemort.
The door to the Headmaster's office creaked open and Hermione whirled, inhaling sharply. Dumbledore stood there, looking at her gravely, his purple robes appearing almost florescent against his skin. "Greetings Miss Granger. I have a visitor for you." With his words Dumbledore stepped to one side to reveal a woman with thick brown hair, sunken cheeks, and a dark bruise smeared across her cheek. Her tired brown eyes were lined and her skin looked like it was made of plastic.
"MUM!" Hermione cried and threw herself across the room into her mother's arms. The two women- one young and one old- clung to each other. Hermione held her mother as tightly as she dared, trying to reassure herself that everything was alright, that the fears she'd had for her mother had in fact turned out to be false, that her mother really was here in Hogwarts. At that thought she pulled slightly away to look into her mother's face. While the defeated look that she hated was still present in her mother's eyes, there was a faint spark of something else. Hope perhaps? Hermione couldn't tell, all that mattered was that her mother was here, alone. "What are you doing here Mum? Won't Dad be... worried?" She'd almost said angry but she caught herself before she gave them away. Neither she nor her mother ever discussed her father and his moods, or the way he would treat them when they were alone. It wasn't something they brought up, and it was no one's business but theirs. Hermione knew that all her friends from Hogwarts assumed that she had a typical, loving family and she'd never disabused them of that notion. It would be too hard to tell anyone, even Ron whose face would go red and who would pace and shout and make things harder or Harry who would go pale and get that angry look he got sometimes, the look that always frightened Hermione just a little bit.
"I don't care what that man feels." Despite the brave words her mother's voice trembled slightly. "I've left him darling. We're free now." Hermione's eyes widened and she hugged her mother fiercely again. She knew what courage it had taken for her mother to walk out the door and while she was terribly proud, she was also terribly worried. Her father would be furious that she had left and would be sure to try and hunt her down to exact his revenge. Hermione knew that if he managed to catch up with her, be it in public or in private, the results would not be pretty and things would not end well. When Hermione opened her mouth to speak Mrs. Granger touched her daughter's lips lightly. "Hush darling. Don't worry, I will be fine. But I have to confess something to you."
The bedraggled woman glanced at the Headmaster as if for help and he motioned to a pair of chairs by his desk. "Take a seat, both of you. There is a great deal to discuss. Hermione, your mother and I have had a very long conversation, and I had a much briefer one with Mr. Granger. I am pleased to say that he will not be bothering either you or your mother in the future." Hermione closed her eyes, partly out of shame and partly out of relief. She could only imagine what Dumbledore would have said and she knew what she would have liked to have said and done. She opened her eyes when Dumbledore continued. "I'm afraid this is all going to be rather shocking to you, and perhaps a bit upsetting. You must be patient and allow your mother to tell the story all the way through before you ask questions." The aged Headmaster regarded her seriously. She'd stopped feeling nervous when she had seen her mother safe and sound, but now her stomach started to tighten up again. She nearly jumped through the roof when her mother placed her hand on her daughter's.
"Love, you've seen my wedding photos with your… father. You know you were a toddler." Hermione's mother took a great shuddering breath and Hermione was alarmed to realize that the woman was trembling as hard as she was herself. "I am afraid I've lied to you for a very long time. It wasn't that we had you and then waited a few years to get married. I didn't meet… Mr. Granger…… until you were about a year old. Darling, he is not your father." Hermione gasped despite herself. For a moment she felt nauseous and dizzy and then she just felt a massive flood of relief. The evil man who had hurt her mother and hurt her for so long was not her father. She owed nothing to him, not life or genes or anything. She was surprised she felt no anger at her mother for not telling her sooner, but the relief was so overpowering that she felt nothing else. As tears filled her eyes she turned to smile at her mother. Hermione had not felt this light, this free since she had received her Hogwarts letter. She didn't need to feel guilty anymore for hating him, because he was not her father and she had no connection to him. "I am sorry for not telling you earlier… He didn't want me to. He thought it would make you difficult and moody and hard to control." Even as waves of relief continued to pound Hermione she couldn't help but wonder who her real father was, it was the way her mind worked, jumping from one question to the next.
"Mum?" she started tentatively, "then who…"
Her mother cut her off. "When I was just sixteen my parents died, as you know. I moved to live with my grandparents who lived in a tiny village in northern Scotland. There was hardly anyone to talk to, let alone anyone my age. I was terribly lonely, and I used to go for long walks by myself, often with one of my grandfather's sheep dogs. My favorite was a sable collie named Lucy, and she became my constant companion. One day while I was out walking with Lucy in a deserted field she was attacked by another dog. I thought for sure she was going to die, she was so badly injured." Hermione was mesmerized as she watched a light she had never seen before come into her mother's face. "That's when I met him.
"He was just about my age and at first I thought he was wearing a bathrobe, but then I didn't care. I cried out to him, begging him to help my dog. I could see Lucy was dying, there was blood everywhere. He never even hesitated, he was beside me in a moment and he waved what I thought was a stick in the air and then Lucy was squirming to her feet, no longer broken and bleeding. I stared at him for a few long moments and then he waved his wand again and my clothes were clean of blood. He raised his wand toward me again for a moment, and then he hesitated and introduced himself. He told me later he was supposed to erase my memory, but he couldn't bear it. We talked a bit and soon we were meeting regularly. I adored him, but he was a bit block-headed and it took him a bit longer to come around to my way of thinking. Eventually we married and I became pregnant." Hermione gasped. She had seen where this was going but she could hardly believe it. Her dad… was a wizard?
"We were terribly happy though it was hard times. He'd gotten wrapped up in some bad things before we were married and he was involved with some very bad people. He put me, and my unborn child, in hiding so we would be safe as he took huge risks to try to save the lives of strangers. One night he kissed me, told me he loved me, and walked off like he couldn't be touched. He never came back, I heard later that he'd been killed." Hermione's mother took a deep, shuddering breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Hermione had never seen such an intense look of pain on her mother's face, even when her mother's husband had been in a rage. "I married Mr. Granger because I was so lonely and I so wished for you to have a father. I failed there." Mrs. Granger took a shaky breath. "But then you told me about that photo. There is only one person who could have a photo of me, waving and smiling and pregnant. I gave that to him before he left the final time. I contacted Dumbledore when you wrote to me about it. At first I was afraid that he was here and had proved to be evil after all and that is why he did not return. I was afraid to you. But after I spoke to Dumbledore…" Her mother squeezed her hand and then turned her gaze toward Dumbledore. Hermione followed her eyes, her thoughts reeling. Her father was… a wizard. She wasn't a 'mudblood'…. She was a half blood, like Harry, like Voldemort. If her father was still alive, he must have left her mother, alone and pregnant and grieving. The relief Hermione had felt earlier was washed away with anger.
Dumbledore's voice was soothing and calm, as if he knew what Hermione was thinking. It wouldn't really have surprised her if he did. "When your mother wrote to me I must say I was stunned. I had not known that anyone in your family had previously been associated with magic. I thought almost immediately of a member who joined the first Order of Phoenix at an even greater personal risk than most members. When he first joined he spoke to me about protection for his muggle wife and unborn child. I promised to do my best and for a time everything seemed fine. Then he came to me one night and told me that their safe house had been destroyed and that everything was gone. He was grief-stricken and angry and he has been a cold bitter man ever since. The destruction of the safe house was our first indication of a spy, a traitor in the Order. For a long time I thought that the same person who had betrayed the Potters had betrayed this man and his family." Dumbledore cleared his throat and nodded to Hermione and her mother. "After speaking to your mother I know believe- know- that you are his family. He was deceived into thinking you were both dead. He has grieved for you for a long time now, and I know your loss still pains him. Hermione, your mother has said she wishes to see him again. I know he would like to meet you as well, but you are 17 and can decide for yourself. Would you like to meet your father?"
Hermione hesitated and glanced at her mother. She'd just learned that her father was not who she thought it was and that he was, in fact a wizard. A wizard who had fought bravely with the Order of the Phoenix in the first war, a wizard who Dumbledore knew well enough to know he grieved, and a wizard who had mourned her for seventeen years. This father seemed so much warmer, so much brighter than her previous father with his angry voice and hard fists. Her mother's eyes were pleading and Hermione smiled at her. She felt no sorrow to learn that Mr. Granger was not her father and she felt only hopeful anticipation for her real father. "I think…. I know I'd like to meet him." Her mother gave a soft cry and threw her arms about her daughter's neck pulling her close and the two women cried together, for relief and anticipation.
Harry felt like hexing something. Or rather, there were a few people he particularly wanted to hex, but for now he settled for pacing in front of the fire, growling under his breath. He was vaguely aware of the first years cowering in a corner as far away from him as the Common Room would allow but he didn't care. He was terribly worried about Hermione- she turned so pale when McGonagall had cornered her. And now he had to deal with Ron who was even more worried about Hermione than Harry was… Ron had actually progressed to hexing anyone who tried to ask him what was wrong and was spending the rest of the time sitting on the couch and twirling his wand with a dark look on his face. No one had approached him in a few minutes and Harry knew that those who had not been hexed had learned from the example of those who had.
It wasn't just Ron and Hermione that was bothering him however. When she first heard that Hermione had been dragged off by McGonagall, Ginny had been concerned and stayed near them, waiting with them for news. Then Dean had returned to the Common Room and now he was 'comforting' her in the corner. Every time Harry glanced over, they were totally wrapped up in each other, Ginny sitting in Dean's lap with his arms wrapped tightly about her waist. The sight of them snogging made Harry want to hurl Dean from the highest astronomy tower. He settled for scowling out the window and studiously avoiding looking at them. He wished he could throw Dean in a few more detentions, but they were being fairly tame and no one else seemed bothered by their display, it was, after all much less intense than the sessions Ron used to have with Lavender.
He missed exactly what happened but there was suddenly several people shouting and a loud thump. He whirled to see Ginny sitting on the floor looking extremely peeved and Seamus and Dean both standing and screaming into each other's faces. Harry started forward, ready to leap to Ginny's defense, when he finally realized what his roommates were saying to each other. Seamus's face was red with anger as he bellowed, "You make me SICK. Trying to hide this, deny this. Trying to deny ME! It's like the astronomy tower never happened it's like I never told you how I felt, like you didn't say you felt the same way!"
Dean was equally upset. "You were the one who wanted to hide it! You didn't want everyone to know. I wanted to tell people! But you said we had to keep it secret, they wouldn't understand! Have you changed your mind then? FINE!" And with the final word Dean seized the front of Seamus's robes, pulled him close, and then they were snogging like they would never stop. There was a moment of intense quiet in the Common Room as everyone stared at the couple.
Behind him Harry distinctly heard Ron mutter, "Bloody HELL!" and he had to agree with his friend's assessment. Then he heard the thump of the portrait opening and he saw the hem of Ginny's robes disappearing out of it. Before he knew for sure what was happening he was after her, running as fast as he could to try and catch up with her head start.
He caught her on the stairs that led to the charms corridor and he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to him. She struggled violently and knocked him off balance so that he fell backwards, pulling her with him. Harry sat up and released her, but she was done fighting and just stayed there, pressed against him, and trembling slightly. Harry could feel several spots where he would have bruises from her fists or heels but that didn't bother him for the moment "Gin?" he asked softly and it was like his words released a flood gate. She was crying hard into his shoulder, her whole body wracked with sobs. As Harry put his arms around her gently, unsure of what to do, he decided then and there that Dean and Seamus would both suffer painful deaths. He wished he had listened more to Hermione after he'd comforted a crying Cho, because he didn't know what to do in this situation either. He just kept his arms wrapped around her and stayed quiet, listening to her cry. It was nearly an hour before she stopped and pulled back violently to stare him in the face.
"It's not that I liked him that much." She stated as if it was a fact and Harry found himself nodding, though he knew she and Dean had been dating for over a year and a half now and she had to have liked him at least a little bit. "But I can't stand the thoughts of the gossips. They'll all say I t..t… turned him. People won't leave me alone. If I act upset they'll assume I'm heartbroken. If I'm happy they'll assume I was using Dean." Ginny's voice wobbled on her ex-boyfriend's name and Harry wished that there was something he could do to make it easier. He touched her shoulder lightly and uncertainly and Ginny closed her eyes at his touch, swallowing hard. "Did you know?" she whispered. "You shared a dorm with them. Did you know?"
Harry shook his head and then realized that Ginny couldn't see him. "No," he said and his voice was hoarse with regret and pity. If he hadn't been so thick maybe Ginny wouldn't have been dating Dean and she wouldn't be hurting so bad right now. "I didn't know. If I'd known I'd have told you…. I've wanted to tell you…. I" with a frustrated sigh he ran a hand through his hair. Ginny opened her eyes and stared at Harry with a slightly accusatory, slightly puzzled look. "I didn't like you and Dean dating, I didn't like seeing him with you, touching you. I wanted it to be me…. But I'd rather have him with you than see you cry. God Gin, you're amazing, incredible, the best….. if Dean couldn't…." Ginny stared at him for a moment after his outburst and then lunged at him, tackling him backwards onto the stairs as her lips found his.
A woman in a cloak hurried up to the entrance of the castle. The sun shone though the forecast had been for rain and the joy of the day was reflected in the smile on her face. The heavy doors opened before her and she ducked through, only to be caught up in a tight hug by the older woman waiting there. "Mina! It's good to see you!" the younger woman cried in an American accent
Professor McGonagall pulled back with a smile. "No one else calls me that Razi. Don't speak too loud, you'll make the students think I'm soft." In response Razi threw back her brilliant head of long blond hair, with its blue, red, and honey colored highlights and laughed musically.
"No one would dare mistake you for soft. Besides, I doubt any of them have known you since they were toddlers, so I am allowed a certain license, aren't I?" Razi smiled sweetly at her godmother as her eyes, golden with hints of purple, danced merrily. Her lips were full and bright red against her tanned skin and her smile was infectious and kind.
The strict professor chuckled and hugged the younger woman again. "It is good to see you outside of photographs. Writing letters is not the same as seeing you in person. If it weren't for that damned expensive inter-continental floo tax I'd not have had to miss the last few Christmases." The younger woman laughed in agreement and then the pair linked arms and walked up the stairs side by side, talking merrily and rapidly. Professor McGonagall motioned a blond seventh year Slytherin. "Grab her trunk and bring it along now."
The young man hefted the heavy trunk, his muscles rippling as he followed the women up the stairs. Strangers might have seen his dazed look as one of unintelligence, but those who knew him could tell that he was entranced with the beauty of the young woman ahead. Her trunk, he noted as he carried it, read "Property of Razi Adora Carminda Marnin Haldeman"
Severus Snape was in the middle of a very good dream. He and his wife were sitting in the crowd at the Hogwarts graduation. It was their daughter's graduation day. His wife smiled at him, her eyes shining with love and pride, and his daughter crossed the stage to stand at the podium. She had been elected to be on of the three class speakers. He had to swallow as touched her wand to her throat to amplify her voice, and he reached blindly for his wife's hand. She took his lightly and rested his palm against her abdomen, which was starting to swell slightly.
But then someone had the gall to knock on his door and jerk him out of his very private, very pleasant dream. With the urge to hex whoever it was to oblivion, he stood and crossed his quarters in a few quick strides, yanking the door open with a growl. He was somewhat pleasantly surprised to see it was Draco, and more pleased that the boy didn't flinch away from his professor's obviously bad temper. He'd always said that the boy would make a good wizard one day. He had common sense, he was powerful, and he was not easily intimidated.
"I just wanted to check in on you sir. You looked ill in class." Snape surpressed the urge to growl at the boy. He hated to be disturbed and he hated personal questions. But the boy looked concerned and this was a boy who had never been concerned about anyone, who had been raised to be hard and punishing and cruel, and who was now standing at his door asking him if he was alright. Perhaps there was more to the boy than the potential for a powerful wizard, perhaps he had the shot of becoming a good man.
He held the door open and motioned his favorite student in. "Come on in." He probably could have been politer, but polite and kind did not come easily to Severus Snape.
An hour or so later Draco was staring at his professor with wide and sympathetic eyes. "You haven't been able to find the photo? Could someone have picked it up?" The potions professor flinched at that suggestion and Draco hurried to add, "perhaps it was a prefect and you can just search in lost and found." Even as he spoke he knew his head of house would be reluctant to formally ask if the photo had been found to the Head Boy or Girl, who were technically in charge of lost and found. It would be tantamount to admitting a vulnerability to two of his least favorite people. To tell Draco about Jane and his loss of her photo was one thing. But Snape would see it as a weakness to even approach one of the Gryffindors to ask if the photo- clearly of a loving, kind woman- had been found. "I could ask for you sir… say it's of a distant Aunt and my mother sent it to me for a family project."
Even as he spoke Draco was calculating. Granger would probably be the easier to approach. It was hard to approach Potter without getting hexed, and these days the Gryffindor knew quite a few nasty ones, all of which he liked to use on Draco. Draco had never quite forgotten the last time they'd seriously crossed wands, or its bloody aftermath. He had no desire to repeat that experience. Then again, you had to be careful approaching Granger as well. The youngest Weasely boy was as likely to hex you as blink when it came to her and she showed a sickening desire to spend as much time with him as possible. Perhaps he'd be able to catch her after her arithmancy class, she didn't take that with her two male companions and therefore would be safer to approach. When Snape lifted his head and gave him a half pleading half hopeful look Draco knew he would find a way to talk to Granger, no matter what it took.
Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick had all gathered in the staffroom at Dumbledore's insistence. It was late for such a meeting, but Dumbledore had been away from Hogwarts at Grimmauld Place for much of the morning and tied up in a meeting with the Granger women for much of the afternoon. So now, with it nearly midnight, the four Heads of Houses were gathered together. Minerva noted that Severus looked more pale and drawn than usual, but she doubted that he would confide in her. It wasn't her business in any case and she turned to Sprout with a question about a third year Hufflepuff who was struggling with Transfiguration.
Apparently she was having trouble with Herbology and Charms as well, and the three professors rapidly became involved with discussing possible aids and solutions. Minerva offered the tutoring abilities of the Head Girl, a favorite student of hers, while Flitwick insisted that Terry Boot of Ravenclaw would be an excellent tutor. In the end it was decided that it would be easiest to assign a tutor from the girl's own house, who could perhaps guide her and police her study habits a bit. Justin Finch-Fletchy was discarded for being slightly too overbearing and intimidating for a young girl, but Susan Bones was thought to be a perfect candidate. Sprout resolved to talk to her as early as possible the next day. Minerva noted that Severus stayed unusually quiet for a discussion about the shortcomings of a student not of his house, indeed, he didn't comment at all.
Their discussion was ended by the arrival of Dumbledore, who had a strangely pleased look on his face. When Minerva had seen him earlier this morning he had looked tired and stressed, reading an article in the paper about an entire city block that had been wiped out. She doubted it was a coincidence that the block was the same one that Tom Riddle had lived one as a young boy in an orphanage. The headmaster settled into on of the comfy chairs surrounding the staff table and waited for them to take their seats before speaking. "I have had several interesting pieces of news today. The first is what sent me to London to speak to Sirius and Remus, for it concerns them more than anyone. Flitwick my good friend, I must apologize for not giving you advance warning, but as it is rather good news I hope you will be pleased.
"Sixteen years ago I sent a secret member of the Order on a task for me." All four of his Heads of House were members of the Order, though they were members of separate groups and rarely worked together. It was easier that way. "She didn't return and I feared she had died, and no amount of digging turned up any evidence to the contrary. I could not tell her family and friends what had become of her, for her mission was far too secret, too sensitive and I would not risk the cause she'd given her life for. Her friends and family thought she'd merely walked out one day and never returned, with no warning whatsoever. Her loss was tragic and terrible for those who loved her, but it was wartime and not entirely unexpected. She had strong ties with some of the most powerful members of the resistance and it was thought that this was the reason she disappeared." Flitwick was growing steadily tenser and his intense eyes had not left Dumbledore's face. The headmaster had to bite back a smile. Ravenclaws could not be said to be fools and he knew the short teacher had a strong suspicion as to who he was talking about. "I recently received some surprising information. Our- my- worst fears were not to be realized. She did not die on that mission, but it turned out to be far more involved that I anticipated. She was tied up for three weeks there with no way to contact me to tell me she was running late. We had not planned for a long term mission and by the time she tried to return she had been discovered and her escape route cut off. She was not killed but captured and detained in a trap we had not anticipated. Fortunately she had her wand with her and could use it as needed, though she could not escape. As soon as I heard the rumors I deployed two trustworthy individuals to investigate. Their mission was a success, and they returned today. Calisto Black has returned to us." There was an immediate flurry of gasps and questions but Dumbledore held up his hands in a soothing manner. "She will be the best to answer any questions you can have. She's been very lonely and she's aged a bit more than she might have otherwise, but she is in good health and is happy to have returned. She said she will come visit tomorrow, she looks forward to visiting with you all again." Flitwick's eyes looked damp. Teachers never really recovered from the loss of their favorite pupil, and Calisto Black, as one of the most charming, talented, and lovely Ravenclaws in recent memory, had definitely been a favorite of Flitwick's. She'd been a favorite of all of them.
Dumbledore allowed them a few moments of marveling silence before he cleared his throat and continued. "There is more. Filch notified me earlier that the Founder's Indicator has at last been activated. The heirs of our four founders have become adults and now we must gather them and notify them. It will be up to them to battle the greatest evil the wizarding world has ever faced. I do not need to tell you that it is likely we are facing that evil right now." The emotion in the room at this announcement was electrifying. The Heirs of the Founders- they would appear every few generations- were exceptionally powerful witches and wizards. They were not necessarily descendents of the founders, though they often were. The Heirs were said to be those who most modeled the characteristics of a particular house, the ones who were the closest to the ideals of a particular founder. They were always very close in age, and they were said to come into their powers when the youngest turned seventeen. "There is a simple spell that will reveal their identities to us, and I will gather them tomorrow to start their training. You will all, of course, be a major part of their training. I need not tell you that their appearance is a top secret matter and should not be discussed with anyone. And now let us begin." He quickly explained the spell and the professors arranged themselves in a loose circle.
Sprout raised her wand and with a gentle flick spoke, "Auris. Hufflepuff" A jet of yellow light shot out of her wand to the center of the circle, just above the professor's heads.
"Aerius. Ravenclaw." A jet of bright blue light sprang from Flitwick's wand to met the yellow beam. Both seemed to brighten and pulsate where they touched.
"Aquarius. Slytherin." As Snape spoke green light burst from his wand to join others, and the glow intensified more than it had before.
Professor McGonagall was the fourth to lift her wand and speak, and as she did so a bolt of crimson light leapt to join the lights from the wands of her fellow professors. "Ignis. Gryffindor."
Finally Professor Dumbledore lifted his wand to speak. "Sophos accipio excusatio. Acclaro su haeres. Auris. Aerius. Aquarius. Ignis." A brilliant white light shot from his wand to join the others. The light intensified so greatly that they were forced to close their eyes and when they reopened them, there, written in the air in four different handwritings, each in the colors of one of the four houses, were the names of four students of Hogwarts, one from each house.
