Albus had finally figured it out. After accepting he was in Slytherin, his anxiety about the houses lessened and his problem was solved. With it solved he moved on to his next problem. Rhyleigh. Why did she look familiar? Why did he not know her last name? Had she ever talked about her family or where she came from? His mind was filled with these questions and occupied all of his thoughts. Well most of them at least. He still read constantly and by now the teachers had given up telling him to stop. Albus was grateful for the problem because otherwise he was afraid he would die of boredom. He knew all of the information in his classes and nothing was new. In charms, he was the first to say the spell right and in potions, he was the first to correctly brew a potion. He often filled his time helping Scorpious and Tevya with their homework, which they gladly asked for. However, whenever he asked Rhyleigh, she always shook her head and headed off to her dormitory. Albus wanted to help because Rhyleigh was still struggling in her classes. She had been asked to stay after class multiple times but she never improved. She still didn't do her homework or take notes. Albus was worried about his friend but she refused help.

"Al, you can't worry about everyone. She'll figure things out. Girls always do," Scorpious said one day after Albus expressed his thoughts. Albus rolled his eyes.

"Look, she's probably struggling with something and has too much pride to ask for help," Tevya offered, "My mom gets like that sometimes." Albus nodded and the three went back to talking about quidditch. Albus had discovered that both his friends worshipped quidditch and couldn't wait to try out next year. They compared broom models, favorite teams, and the best gear. Albus tried to listen but wasn't really interested. He had flown on his brother's broom at one of their family gatherings and he enjoyed flying. It was a nice stress reliever and it was cool to be on the birds' level. However, he wasn't very good at quidditch. He knew he wasn't very athletic so that was one of the reasons he threw himself into learning everything and anything.

"Hey Al! We're gonna go watch a quidditch practice, wanna come?" Tevya asked excitedly. Albus declined using the excuse that he wanted to work on their transfiguration homework. Scorpious pointed out that he could finish his homework with his eyes closed. Albus shrugged and his two friends walked off towards the pitch. Albus took his time walking back to the common room looking at the architecture of Hogwarts. He'd read the book a couple of times and found it interesting how they'd built the entire castle using magic. It seemed logical that wizards would build everything with magic but magic took a lot of energy. So to have built a castle that was this big and this heavily fortified was a huge accomplishment, not to mention that they'd repaired it the same way they'd built it after the Second Wizarding War. Albus was still marveling at the enormity of the castle when he walked into the common room. He stopped abruptly when he heard a sniffle come from the other side of the room. He turned and saw Rhyleigh curled up on one of the armchairs, crying softly.

"Rhyleigh?" Albus called. Her head snapped up and she quickly tried to wipe her eyes.

"H-hi Albus. I-I didn't t-think anyone w-was in h-here," she stuttered. Albus sat down next to her not sure how to help. He looked at her eyes and felt another jolt of recognition.

"Did someone do or say something to you?" Albus asked quietly. Rhyleigh sniffled and then looked Albus in the eye, confused. Suddenly, it all hit Albus. He had seen Rhyleigh before and he knew exactly where he had seen her. He felt his jaw drop and watched Rhyleigh's face go white.

"I've never met you before that day on the train," Rhyleigh whimpered pitifully. Albus shook his head and stood up.

"You were the girl at the fountain who was playing the violin last Christmas. I remember your eyes! They were such a beautiful chocolate brown color. But why didn't you want me to know?" Albus asked. Rhyleigh looked down and didn't say anything. Albus started pacing.

"I don't understand why you didn't tell me before. I mean, I think it's cool that you play the violin! Especially in public! I mean, I couldn't do anything like that. Why didn't you want me to know? unless…" Albus thought out loud. He stopped pacing, remembering what the burly man had said, "We don't want your kind around here!" Albus closed his eyes finally realizing why Rhyleigh hadn't said anything. He turned towards her and sat down next to her.

"Rhyleigh? Do you have a home?" Rhyleigh shook her head. She wouldn't look at Albus.

"Do you have a family?" She shook her head again. They sat in silence for a while letting the information sink in.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Rhyleigh," Albus said. Rhyleigh looked up with sad eyes.

"I don't b-belong here," Rhyleigh whispered. Albus looked into her eyes and saw sorrow. Sorrow that I'd figured out her secret. Sorrow about her situation. Sorrow that she didn't fit in at school. A final light bulb went off in Albus' head.

"Rhyleigh, how long have you been homeless?" Albus asked. Rhyleigh looked at him, gauging how much she wanted to confide in him. She sighed and said, "Since I was five." Albus was stunned.

"And you've been living on your own since then?" Rhyleigh nodded. Albus took a deep breath, trying to find the most gentle way to approach his next question.

"Rhyleigh," his tone of voice made her look at him, "Can you read?" Rhyleigh's eyes filled with tears and her sorrow deepened. Albus also saw a little bit of fear.

"Can you write?" Rhyleigh closed her eyes as the tears flowed down her cheeks. She shook her head. Albus didn't know what to say.

"I was stupid to come here," Rhyleigh turned away and made to get up.

"What!?" Albus nearly shouted. Rhyleigh spun around and sat down. Albus rarely shouted or even raised his voice.

"You're not stupid!" Albus tried to control his tone. Rhyleigh looked at him with disbelief and said, "You can't seriously think that."

"No I know that! You're not stupid!" Albus shouted. Rhyleigh shook her head and looked down.

"Fine! If I'm not stupid, than what am I?" Rhyleigh challenged.

"Just because you can't read or write doesn't make you stupid. It just means you weren't given the tools to excel," Albus explained. Rhyleigh looked at him with disblelief.

"Look, you're smart. You'd have to be to live on the streets for six years," Rhyleigh's disbelief faded a little bit, "You survived by yourself for six years. You have to be smart because you'd have to avoid thugs and bad places, not to mention child services. Speaking of that, why aren't you in an orphanage or in foster care?" Rhyleigh had been looking down, thinking about what he was saying, but the question snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I was in an orphanage at first but it was crowded and disgusting. I felt I could live better on my own so I left. I've never regretted my decision," Rhyleigh explained. Her eyes had gone cold and Albus knew there was more to the story but she wasn't going to elaborate. Albus nodded and sat down. Slowly, Rhyleigh sat down next to him.

"Please don't tell anyone," Rhyleigh whispered. Albus looked over at Rhyleigh and said, "We should at least tell the Headmistress." Rhyleigh shook her head and the fear returned to her eyes.

"She'll kick me out," she pleaded. Albus shook his head, a plan forming in his head. He stood up and held his hand out.

"The Headmistress will understand and she'll help you. Trust me," Rhyleigh looked at him, then to his hand. She struggled for a few minutes and then took Albus' hand.

"Ok, we'll tell her," Rhyleigh said. Albus smiled and they walked out of the common room together.