Harry knocked quietly on Dumbledore's door and waited for a response. As always, Dumbledore was sat at his desk- looking as though he had the world resting on his shoulders "ah, good evening Harry- I trust you had a pleasant holiday?"

Harry smiled awkwardly; Dumbledore surely knew that it was never 'pleasant' at the Dursely's "as expected really- you?" Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes seemed to twinkle as Harry seated himself "oh you know… I was here and there- it was rather educational"

A strange pause followed; Dumbledore was humming quietly with his chin resting in his hands. Harry looked around the office and smiled fondly at Fawkes before returning his attention to Dumbledore "erm…Professor? Did you need me for something?"

Dumbledore sighed quietly "forgive me Harry…I seem to have been stalling, you see what I have to tell you isn't something that is easy!"

A shadow had settled into the pit of Harry's stomach "what is it sir?"

Dumbledore rose from his feet and bridged the distance between them "I see that you have a new classmate this year- Hope Malfoy?"

Was he stalling again? What did Hope have to do with anything? "I barely know her sir, but she seems nice" Dumbledore nodded and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I would expect so…Harry, I ask that you listen to what I have to tell you. If- after that, you wish to enact any wrath on me at all I will not stop you! I will completely understand if you become angry with me"

Whisperings of Dumbledore's madness had always angered Harry- sure he was a bit eccentric, but Harry had no doubt- he was anything but Mad. Still, in this moment Harry began to wonder.

"Sir, I could never...'enact any wrath' on you!" With a slight chuckle, Dumbledore returned to his seat and sat back looking weary "as always you are too kind Harry, but I wonder if you will feel the same shortly"

Wondering just what Dumbledore had done to cause such guilt to shadow his face as such, made Harry nervous. What he was going to hear from Dumbledore was nothing good!

"Have you ever heard of Intersolecular twins Harry? I would be surprised if you have…it is an extremely rare phenomenon. A single child is born but months or even years after their birth they 'develop' an identical Twin- not only splitting their being in two but also their souls"

Harry sensed where this was heading and the shadow in his stomach darkened "Sir…are you trying to tell me Hope is my twin?"

He couldn't understand why Dumbledore looked so grave- Harry was ecstatic! He had a sister!

"Not quite Harry…the term 'Twin' is only a name for it. There is no doubt you are a single child. Again I can only offer you my guess work- you see Hope is you. She is a part of you that has been given a physical form and as long as she believes she is real she will remain so"

Harry felt as though someone had dropped a hammer on his head…Hope was him? His head lowered as he fought the dizziness that had overcome him "I don't understand Professor- you're trying to tell me that if she ever knew she would disappear?"

Dumbledore nodded "Her soul would recognise you as its true owner and would seek to return. Nothing is known about why this happens- the only other known incident happened over 300 years ago but the twin only existed for 2 hours- upon learning of their true nature they combined once again"

Dumbledore sighed deeply and continued "The problem we now face Harry, is that I cannot fathom the complications that will arise from Hope's existence- you see, Hope was already with you when I sent Hagrid to retrieve you…"

A frown appeared on Harry's face- did Hagrid know? He shook away this unwelcome thought and returned his attention to Dumbledore "I did not know who- or what she was. I had simply believed she was an Innocent bystander- whose parents must have perished at the hands of Voldemort moments before his endeavour to claim your life"

Harry nodded in understanding "you sent her to an orphanage where the Malfoys eventually adopted her?"

Dumbledore's face was etched in guilt again "the orphanage notified me that she had been adopted out of courtesy- I visited the Malfoy Manor a few years ago and then I saw her striking resemblance. I finally understood what had happened"

It was the first time Harry had ever seen Dumbledore hold his head in his hands! "Hope has remained apart from you for too long Harry, should she return to you I believe that her consciousness would be so strong it would not combine with you- it would rival you!"

So Dumbledore was telling him that Hope had indeed become a person in her own right- if she were to merge with Harry their bodies would combine but their consciousness' would remain apart.

"I am sorry Harry, perhaps it would be more adequate to call her your twin- considering she has been alive long enough to make an impression upon this earth as an individual. I should have guessed what she was immediately and returned her to you"

Harry shook his head "No professor! I am glad things worked out this way- whether she was born from my magic and soul or not. Hope is Hope- I am glad to have met her. Whether she knows or not- she is my sister!"

Dumbledore shook his head, his words remained gentle but his voice had become firm "I fully understand why you would feel that way Harry but while half of you is separate your strength is at half capacity, your life is at half capacity- and Hope is a direct link to you!"

Harry knew immediately what Dumbledore was getting at; were Voldemort to learn of her existence he would undoubtedly use her to get to Harry! The fact that his lifespan was cut in half did not bother him- he couldn't see Hope as him, he considered her a sister and he would gladly give up half of his life so she could live!

"Why is Hope female Sir? If she is a part of me- why is she not a guy?" Dumbledore's face became slightly more cheerful as he chuckled "it is your genes that make you male or female Harry- your soul doesn't have a gender. I have no answer why the part of your soul that has been detached developed a female form"

Harry had been there a while, he still had a hundred more questions but he sensed that he was overstaying his welcome- he had lessons in the morning and Dumbledore was a busy man "Harry, before you leave please let me finish with this; No one must know about her link to you; I'm sure you know why- we cant risk her fading until we know what will happen to you both. We also can't risk Voldemort learning of her existence"

Harry nodded as he headed for the door however it seemed Dumbledore had still not finished "And Harry? I would encourage you to keep your distance; both Hope and Voldemort have a direct channel into your mind if you don't control your thoughts either one of them could discover Hope's identity!"

This was news to Harry; he already knew about the connection with Voldemort- but Hope too? "Sir, wouldn't it have been easier to have not told me at all?"

Harry already knew the answer but naively hoped he was wrong!

"I have told you this now so that you have time to consider what may need to be done and to prepare for it. I know that to ask you to keep your distance from that of which you have always craved seems cruel! So, I stand by what I said; I will endure your fury Harry!"

Harry's hand was gripping the door handle tightly "I'm not mad Professor; I just want to know one thing- why did it have to be the Malfoys who adopted her?

Dumbledore's mouth curved into a slight smile "I can only say that it must be the workings of fate- it seems ironic that she must be kept hidden from Voldemort at all costs and yet by being adopted into the Malfoys- who are undoubtedly connected closely with Voldemort, she has been sat right under his nose this whole time"

Dumbledore's eyes were peering at Harry over his glasses as he rose once again from his seat "I know your real question is; why did I not take her away when I discovered her identity? The answer is what I just told you- she was hidden in plain sight. If I made any effort to remove her from the custody of the Malfoy family, I would have only drawn attention to her"

Harry went to open his mouth but fell quiet when Dumbledore raised his hand gently "Harry I am sure you have thousands of questions; I assure you I will answer them in time however it is now time for bed- pip pip!"

Harry had been about to request further occlumency lessons to help him retain the secret about Hope, However, remembering that it was Snape who would be teaching him- Harry decided against this. He just simply needed to keep away from Hope- how hard could that be?

"ok, good night Professor!"