"I'm going to go first. Wait a couple minutes before following," Ava said, giving Albus a hug goodbye.

"Remember your story," Albus leaned in for one last kiss. They had spent the night lying side by side, hand in hand, thinking of separate alibis. Albus said he would tell everyone he got sick and went to the nurse, but she wasn't there, so he found an empty classroom, threw up, and passed out on a desk. Ava decided she would tell everyone that she got bad news from her family and didn't want to talk to anyone.

"I will." Ava gave him a smile and walked out into the corridor that was now lit by orange of the rising sun.

She tiptoed out of view. Albus already missed the sweet smell of her skins and the brightness of her eye. He went back inside the room to collect anything he may have left behind. Something shiny caught his eye lying on the floor next to the bed. It was the small bottle that Ava wore around her neck. She called it her "reminder." Albus picked up the small bottle and shook the liquid around. Silvery droplets swished around like liquid mercury.

The first time I saw a Pensieve it was in Professor Dumbledore's office. It glowed with a soft silvery shine. Of course I was curious and I went to take it look. The liquid that was glowing looked like the mercury that Muggles blame for radiation. I bent closer and closer to it until my nose touched it and I was sucked into a memory. It felt like I was being dunked in a basin of cold water as the liquid seemed to suck me deeper and deeper into thoughts of Dumbledore. Nobody in the court room noticed me, it was like watching a Muggle film, but instead, I was in it. If it weren't for the memory, I would've thoroughly enjoyed it.

That's what it was; Albus thought he had seen something like it before. His father kept a closet full of memories that he couldn't bear to keep in his head. Sometimes, if the memory wasn't bad, he would let his children wander around in it.

Albus wondered what memory was so important that made Ava keep it so close to her all the time. There was only one way to find out, but Albus knew that was wrong. It was an invasion of privacy. Yet, Albus could feel his curiosity dragging his hand to the cork. Uncap it! his heart told him. The rational part of his brain struggled to resist. If Ava found out, she would hate him forever.

A pop startled Albus; he had uncorked the bottle without even realizing it. A bowl appeared on the table next to the bed. Silently, Albus cursed the Room of Requirement for reading his mind so well. Shaky hands poured the memory into the bowl. There was a moment of hesitation as Albus' mind screamed for him to stop. Curiosity overruled everything and he leaned over the bowl and found himself falling into the memory.

It was cold, almost unbearably cold. The trees bent to the will of a powerful wind that ripped through the grounds of a dark forest. A force pulled Albus forward to the light of a small wooden cabin hidden amongst large trees and bushes. A beautiful woman stood at the doorstep. Her familiar curls whipped around a face that Albus knew so well. She had the same brilliant blue eyes and full lips as Ava. In her arms was a tiny baby, sleeping.

"Ava, if you are seeing this, you've woken up already. I just," the woman looked at Albus and gulped down a sob, "I just want you to remember. Ignorance is not the way I want you to live."

Albus' heart pounded as the woman turned to unlock the door. He realized that this memory was the story of Ava's past.

Inside, Ava's mother set the baby down on a bed of straw and sat down next to the small bundle.

"Your father is an honorable man. It's just that nobody understands him. They don't get the pain that is driving him to extremes. to hide his identity, your own blood and name, from you is wrong. Just make sure nobody finds out. My maiden name is Eveline; use that as your own in public." She paused and rubbed her tired eyes. "Your father, he is not evil. You must not hate him for who he is and I beg you," a tear rolled down her cheek, "I beg you not to hate me either. This is not what I wanted to do. You should have been able to grow up like a normal witch, but it did not turn out this way. Don't blame your father. Ava, before I tell you who he is, I just want you to know I love you. He loves you too, but his heart and mind is clouded by something that scares me. It is not him. He has changed form the man I loved. The man I loved was ambitious and clever. Now, his intelligence has led him down a path that I do not agree with, but I am his wife and I will be a loyal wife. I have hidden you away in a forest for from his reach. Later, I will perform an anti-aging spell and put you to a deep sleep. The spell will only be broken when your father no longer exists on this planet. I will return to him after the spells are done and tell him you died." Her eyes were pained from the thought of leaving her daughter.

Albus wanted to comfort her because she looked so much like Ava. It was only the soft breathing of baby Ava that reminded Albus that he was in a memory.

"Ava, I'm so sorry. I hope that one day you will understand. Your father is Tom Marvolo Riddle."