Thursday, January 7th 1999

Minerva slunk around in the shadows of the Hogwarts corridors following Dorcas. She felt horrible. She shouldn't be invading her privacy like this but it had to be done unfortunately. She had to make sure that Dorcas and Remus were not the spy feeding their secrets to the Death Eaters. She trusted them both but she still had to make sure. If not for the Order, for Lucy's safety.

Dorcas and Remus had no missions assigned but they did sometimes take guard shifts at the Hogwarts gates or down. The only places Dorcas and Remus ever Apparated to were the Potter's flat, Peter's flat, or the Ministry of Magic to talk with Amelia or Moody. Remus sometimes Apparated to Scotland to visit his father as well. They also sometimes went into Hogsmeade to the Three Broomsticks for a drink and to hear all the rumours Rosmerta had picked up. That woman was worse at keeping a secret than Lucy was. Other than that, they mostly stayed at the castle.

Minerva had slipped a small piece of magical glass on the bottom of both Dorcas and Remus's shoes. This was a silly little device Dumbledore had invented that proved to be quite useful. It allowed her to find them even if they Apparated away. He called it the Invenietor, which Minerva knew was a play on the Latin word for 'find'. The Invenietor was probably one of Minerva's favourite of all of Dumbledore's silly inventions and she may keep it when this was done. It may help her keep track of Lucy. Was that ethical? Maybe not but that girl definitely had a knack for getting herself into trouble.

Today though, Dorcas was acting quite strange. She was leaving the castle but wasn't telling Remus where she was going. Minerva frowned as she watched the girl pull her travel cloak on and pull the hood over her head.

"I'll see you after dinner, Remus," she said, as she headed for the door.

"Bye, Dorcas," Remus said, looking up from the book he was reading. "Stay safe."

Minerva waited a minute for Dorcas to leave the classroom they had been sitting in and Remus to turn his attention back on his book before slipping out the door as well. She followed Dorcas through the corridors towards the Entrance Hall when she heard giggling.

She and Dorcas turned a corner to find Lucy and Tonks whispering and giggling together as they walked in towards them. Dorcas smiled at them and said, "what are you two doing?"

The two girls stopped laughing immediately though they were smiling big smiles. They exchanged a look before both saying, "nothing..."

"Uh huh," Dorcas said skeptically.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lucy asked, noticing that she was wearing her travel cloak.

"Oh, I just have a meeting that I have to get to," said Dorcas. "What have you two done? I know you've done something."

Tonks laughed. "We may have done something."

"No, no, we didn't do anything," Lucy said, elbowing Tonks. In a lower voice she whispered, "plausible deniability."

Minerva sighed. This was probably something she would have to deal with when she returned. Dorcas wasn't buying it either. "Where are Bill and Charlie?"

"They didn't tell us," Tonks said innocently.

"We don't know what they're doing," Lucy said.

"Okay, well, I have to go," Dorcas said with a laugh. "I hope the castle doesn't go up in flames by the time I come back."

"It won't. They're not doing anything that involves fire," Tonks said with a laugh, earning her another elbow from Lucy. "I mean, I don't know what they're doing."

Dorcas laughed. "Okay, I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Dorcas," the girls said.

"Stay safe," Lucy added. Dorcas gave her a smile before continuing to walk towards the Entrance Hall. Minerva moved closer to the wall so she wouldn't be seen but Lucy caught her eye. "Hey! It's -"

Minerva gave her a meaningful look and shook her head. Lucy stopped and looked away quickly. Tonks looked at her friend with a frown. "What?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, it's nothing," she said. She took Tonks's hand and started pulling her down the hall. "Come on, let's go find the boys."

"Okay," Tonks said.

Minerva watched them disappear around the corner before quickly heading out to follow Dorcas again. She raced down the corridor until she found Dorcas exiting the castle from the front door. She slipped out of the open door too and followed her through the grounds. She watched her go through the gates, talk to Moody and Podmore for a minute before Apparating away. Minerva waited a couple more seconds before transforming back into herself and walking through the gates too. Moody and Podmore greeted her and she walked a little further down the path before pulling out her wand to follow Dorcas.

"Invenietis Illos," she said quietly and disappeared.

Minerva reappeared in front of a small pub in London. It was a dingy little place. Was this it? Was she about to find out that Dorcas was here to meet with a Death Eater? She quickly transformed back into a cat, waited for someone to leave the pub and slipped inside. When she did, Minerva saw Dorcas sitting at a table with a man she had never seen before. He had brown skin like her, black hair and a beard that looked a lot like a lion's mane. Minerva snuck over and hid under their table.

"How are you Samir?" Dorcas asked. "How's India?"

Minerva tried to get a look at this Samir's arms to check for Dark Marks but his arms were covered.

"It's fine," he said. "A lot safer than it is here, Dorcas. Your parents are really worried about you, you know."

"I know," Dorcas said with a sigh. "I know but I can't run away from this. They know that. I have to stay here and help fight."

"We've read the articles about you in the paper," Samir said with a smile. "You're definitely good at what you do. Fifteen Death Eaters arrested at once, all on your own. That's very impressive."

She smiled a little. "I do what I can."

"I'm sure the Death Eaters are very scared of you."

He wasn't a Death Eater. Why would he talk about them like that if he was? Minerva would still feel better if she saw his arm, though.

"My name sends chills down their spines, I've heard," she said with a smile. "I'll be fine. Tell Ami and Abu not to worry."

"They still worry. We all do," Samir replied, smile fading. "War is not an easy thing to send your child off to. Come back to India with me."

"I know that's why you're here, Samir, but the answer is still no," Dorcas said, her smile fading too. "You know that I can't."

"I know," he said with a sigh. "I know."

"Let's not talk about that. Let's just be friends again and talk about something else," she said. "Not about our relationship or about the war. Tell me something new."

"I don't think I can," Samir said with a sigh. "I think we have to talk about this, Dorcas. I love you. We've been set to get married since we were young. Our parents are friends and your aunt is the one who set it up in the first place."

"I can't marry you, Samir. I've told you."

Suddenly Minerva felt very awkward and even more horrible. She definitely shouldn't be listening to this. This was much too personal.

"Why?"

"Because I don't love you," Dorcas whispered, looking down at her glass. "You are my friend. We've been friends since we were babies. Why can't we keep being that?"

"Your parents -"

"Do not speak for me," Dorcas interrupted with a frown. "Even if I did love you I can't marry anyone right now. I have a job to do, to focus on. I need to focus on that and then I can decide if I want to get married."

"But you won't marry me?" he asked with another sigh.

Dorcas gave him a small smile. "You are a wonderful person, Samir. You are very successful, intelligent and kind, but I'm not the one for you. You will find someone. Someone who will love you better than I can."

"Is there someone else?"

"There doesn't have to be. I know how I feel."

Minerva found her opening. Dorcas and Samir were distracted when a waitress came up to her table. She quickly moved from under their table to another, and then another, until she finally got to the door. She waited for it to open again and slipped out onto the cold London street. She found an alley where she transformed back into herself and Apparated back to Hogwarts, feeling absolutely horrible.

...

"Mum?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, love," Minerva said. She was sitting at her desk getting caught up on some marking that she had forgotten about. She didn't look up when she spoke.

Lucy walked around the desk and looked up at her. "Why were you following Dorcas the last night?"

Minerva looked up at Lucy. She looked the girl over and debated if she should lie or not. "I - well... I was just seeing who she was meeting with."

"Why didn't you just ask her?" Lucy asked with a frown, crossing her arms.

Minerva sighed. She put down her quill and rubbed her eyes. "Lucy, right now it's a little complicated. Your Uncle Albus has asked me to make sure nobody's meeting with someone they aren't supposed to be meeting with."

"But Dorcas would never meet with a Death Eater," Lucy said still frowning. She was not very happy with her mother spying on Dorcas. "She beats up bad guys! She doesn't help them!"

"I know," Minerva said. She picked Lucy up into her lap. "She wasn't meeting with them. We just wanted to be sure."

"You said that we have to trust our friends," Lucy said accusingly, glaring up at her mother and pushing her arm away. "You're not trusting Dorcas! She would never do anything to hurt anybody!"

"Lucy, yes we have to trust our friends but it's very complicated," Minerva said.

Lucy looked at her for a second. "You were watching Dorcas and you've probably been watching Remus too, right?"

Minerva sighed and nodded.

"They were both at James and Lily's Christmas party," Lucy continued, sounding deep in thought. "That's where I told them that we were going to Castletown and after that we were attacked."

"Lucy -"

"That means one of them had to have told the Death Eaters where we were going," Lucy deduced. Suddenly her face fell and she repeated more quietly, "one of them told the Death Eaters."

"Darling, you don't -"

"That's why you're following them. You're trying to find the person who's actually working for the Death Eater!" Lucy said, breathing getting faster and tears filling her eyes. "Someone we - we know is a Death Eater!"

"Lucy, it's okay," Minerva said, wrapping her arms around her daughter and trying to calm her down. "Sh... don't cry. We're going to find whoever it is. The spy is not our friend."

"But - but we trusted them... I - I trusted them," Lucy cried, burying her face into her mother's chest. "That means that it is my - my fault that Nani's house got destroyed! I shouldn't have told anybody! I'm s-sorry!"

"It's not your fault, darling," Minerva said softly, rubbing circles on her back. "It's not. You have to trust people. We have to have people in our lives that we can be open and honest with. That we can let all the way in. You were not wrong to trust your friends."

"But - but one of them is e-evil," Lucy whispered.

"We don't know it's one of them at all," Minerva lied. "It may have just been a coincidence. They may have just found us without being told where we were." She wasn't sure if this was any more reassuring. Lucy looked up at her, wide eyed, making Minerva realize, yes, not very reassuring. Minerva sighed and reached up to wipe the tears off Lucy's face. "Listen, I'm looking into it. I followed Dorcas and Remus, yes, but the only reason I did them first was to make sure they were safe to take you to and from school. I followed them and I found nothing. They were cleared. We can trust them."

Lucy nodded and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She rested her head down on Minerva's chest, wrapping her arms around her. "I won't tell anyone anything," she whispered. "I can keep a secret. I shouldn't have been so stupid."

Minerva sighed and put a hand on the back of Lucy's head. "You are not stupid for trusting someone, darling. They're stupid for breaking your trust."

Sunday, January 10th 1999

A grey and black tabby cat ran through the open office door and jumped up on the desk. Dumbledore smiled down at it and reached out to pet it but before he got close enough it hissed and he quickly retracted his hand.

"My apologies," he said with a chuckle. "I assume that you're just getting back from your mission. Considering it is the last day before the start of term you are cutting it quite close, aren't you Minerva?"

The cat hissed again and jumped off the desk. It transformed back into a person and sat down on the chair. "I am thorough, is all," she said as she fixed her robes a little bit. "That's why you've given me that task, is it not?"

"Of course," Dumbledore said with a smile. "So what do you have to report?"

"I've been following Dorcas and Remus for the last week and I must say, I expected more from them. Especially Dorcas. She has such an interesting look and yet she is quite boring," Minerva said, making Dumbledore laugh. She had decided not to tell anyone about Dorcas's friend from India. It wasn't her story to tell. "All she does is drink with Remus and read. She is definitely clear. Remus does nothing either. I was hoping to find out that they were dating but I didn't even get that!"

"So they're both clear then?"

"Yes, but you're missing the point," Minerva said with a sigh. "They are not together but they are together."

"I do not follow."

"It's very complicated," she replied dismissively. "You should ask Nina to explain. I don't have time at the moment."

"Duly noted," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Alright, well I'm glad Dorcas and Remus have been cleared. It's very reassuring since they have been with Lucy every day this year."

Minerva nodded. "Yes, I'm glad I still have a good enough judge of character."

"I don't think you should take this that personally," he said, smile fading. She sighed and nodded again. "Excellent. So, next up I think you shall be stationed in front of the Potters' home in London."

"My timings will be altered and it will take much longer now since the term is underway," Minerva replied. He nodded. "Also I'll need someone to stay with Lucy at night. She's still frightened after the Castletown attack. She's not going to be very happy that I'll be leaving almost every single night."

"Well, Dorcas is at the castle. I'm sure Lucy will love the chance to have some sleepovers with her," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Of course," Minerva said with a small smile. "I'm so glad that Dorcas was cleared. I don't know what I would have told Lucy. You should hear her. 'Mum, Dorcas is so cool! She can do this and that.' 'Mum, Dorcas told me this today.' 'Mum, Dorcas showed me how to do this spell today.' 'Mum, did you know Dorcas knows how to play piano and guitar? She taught me a new melody. Well, it wasn't new, I knew it already but I pretended not to know it to be nice.'"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her.

Minerva crossed her arms. "Of course not," she muttered. "I'm her mother. I don't need her to talk about me like that."

"I believe the only other person she talks about like that," Dumbledore said, "is that fictional hero she loves. What was her name? Oh, yes, Wonder Woman."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Oh you had to bring her up, didn't you?"

"Ah ha, you are jealous."

"Shut it," she muttered. "She also talks about Peggy Carter like that too now. Has she not told you about her yet? She learned about her two months ago and she already decided that she's her hero now. She had to write an essay about her hero for school and she chose to write about Peggy Carter. She was one of only three students who didn't write about one of their parents."

"She loves you just as much if not more, if that's what you're worried about Minerva," he said with a smile. "You don't have to worry about Dorcas Meadowes or Peggy Carter or Diana Prince."

"Diana Prince?" Minerva asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's Wonder Woman's alter ego. Has she not told you all about her? She loves going on and on about her," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. "I feel like I know the woman personally now."

Minerva sighed and rubbed her temple with two fingers. "I've heard so much about her and the Batman and Peggy Carter. I just block it out now. I miss the days of princesses and fairies."

"Ah but Miss Prince is a princess," he replied smartly. "Daughter of Queen Hippolyta of the island of Themyscira."

Minerva shook her head. "You and her both are exhausting."

"Maybe that's the reason she doesn't talk about you the way she talks about them," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Okay," she said, standing up. "I think this meeting is over."

He laughed as Minerva exited the room.

...

"But I don't want you to go," Lucy whined. She was sitting on Dorcas's bed wearing her pajamas with her backpack sitting beside her. Minerva was kneeling in front of her holding her hands. "I hate it when you leave!"

Minerva sighed and gave her hand a little squeeze. "I'm sorry, darling," she said. "I'll be back before morning, I promise. You'll have fun with Dorcas while I'm gone."

"Yeah, we can stay up late and tell ghost stories!" Dorcas said with a smile. Minerva gave her a look and she quickly amended. "I mean, tell totally age appropriate stories and go to bed on time so that we are not tired for school in the morning."

Lucy laughed and Minerva shook her head. She stood up and tousled Lucy's hair. "Alright, I'll see you soon, my love," she said. "Sleep tight."

"Bye, bye," Lucy mumbled.

Minerva sighed. She looked over at Dorcas. "Thank you for this, Dorcas."

"Of course. It's no problem at all," she said with a smile, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Lucy. She pulled Lucy into a hug and tickled her. Lucy laughed. "I love having Lucy over. Besides, Remus is coming by a little later so he be able to control some of our combined crazy. Won't he, love?"

"Stop!" Lucy exclaimed, laughing hysterically. "Hahaha... please! Stop!"

Dorcas smiled and let her go. She stood up so that she could walk Minerva out. Minerva gave Lucy one last smile. "Goodbye, sweetheart."

"Bye, stay safe Mum," Lucy said.

"Of course," she said with a smile. Minerva walks out of the classroom, transformed into a cat and ran out of the castle so she could take up her station outside of the Potters' apartment.

With Minerva gone, Dorcas walked to the bed and sat back down. "Okay, love. What should we do?" Lucy shrugged. "Hmm... well, what's in your bag?"

Lucy picked up her backpack and opened it. Her cheeks went a little red and she closed it again quickly. "Nothing!"

"What is it?" Dorcas asked with a smile.

"It's... it's nothing," Lucy mumbled. Dorcas snatched the bag from her. "No! No!" Dorcas pushed her back with one hand and opened it with the other. Lucy glared at her. "You're just like my brother."

Dorcas laughed. "I never had a little sister but I assume this is what it would be like," she said. She opened Lucy's backpack and pulled out a stuffed tabby cat. "Ah! This is cute!"

Lucy snatched it back quickly. "Please don't."

Dorcas looked at her. "I'm sorry. Is it really important to you?"

"No. I don't need it. I'm a big girl," she said, putting the cat down on the pillow beside her, crossing her arms and sticking her nose up. "Big girls don't need stuffed animals to sleep."

"Oh, really?" Dorcas asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's news to me. I thought I was a big girl but now that you've told me that big girls don't need stuffed animals I guess I'm not."

Lucy looked at her and furrowed her brow. She thought Dorcas was lying. "You like stuffed animals too?"

Dorcas nodded. She stood up and walked over to a chest by her bed. She pulled out a stuffed light brown teddy bear. "Lucy, meet Mr. Tubby," she said with a smile, holding out the bear towards her. "Great name, I know. I got him when I was two. My dad won him at a fair for me in the Isle of Man."

"Really?" Lucy asked, taking the teddy bear from her and taking a closer look.

"Yep! Had it ever since," she said with a smile, walking back to the bed and sitting back down beside her. "So, what's the story behind yours?"

Lucy sighed. She handed Mr. Tubby back to Dorcas and picked up her stuffed cat. She held it out for Dorcas to see. "This is Tula. My daddy bought him for me when I was born," she said, looking down at the cat so she didn't have to look Dorcas in the eye. "He said that I was even tinier than him when I was born. I've had him ever since."

"Wow, that's really cool," Dorcas said with a smile. "So, do you like having Tula in the bed with you at night?"

"Sometimes," Lucy whispered. "Sometimes when Mum's away... I get scared because..." she lowered her voice even more, "Death Eaters."

"Oh," Dorcas said with a sigh. "I know they're scary but they won't come here. Hogwarts is very safe."

"Mum says they're scared of Uncle Albus," Lucy said.

"Yes," Dorcas said with a laugh. "They would never come here because they're afraid of what Professor Dumbledore would do to them if they did. He doesn't like them very much because they're so mean."

Lucy nodded. "They are mean. They found us in Castletown and now my nani can't stay in her house anymore. She has to stay with my uncle but I'm not supposed to tell anyone where they live."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Dorcas said with a nod. "Don't worry, love. When the war is over your nani will be able to go back home. And so will you and me and everyone else who lost their home to the Death Eaters."

"Where did you live before you moved to Hogwarts?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, I lived in London."

"I like London," Lucy said. "I want to live there when I grow up too. Like my Uncle Raj."

"Yeah, London is a great city," Dorcas said with a smile. "I can't wait to be able to go back when the war is over."

"And I can visit you!'

"Of course!" Dorcas said with a laugh. She tousled Lucy's hair a bit. "I expect you to come over all the time."

"And you can visit us in Rochester too," Lucy said. "I expect you to come over all the time too."

Dorcas laughed. "Okay, I promise."

"And Remus and James and Lily and Sirius too."

"Yes, of course."

"Are you and Remus going to live together after the war?" Lucy asked.

"W-what?" Dorcas asked.

"Like how James and Lily live together and Daniel and Nina live together," she replied.

"I - well... I don't know," Dorcas stammered. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you like each other!" Lucy exclaimed with a smile. "Nina thinks so too."

"Does she?"

"And Mum."

"Right," Dorcas said. She shook her head but smiled. "I don't know, Lucy. We'll see what we do when the war ends."

"But you do like him right?"

Dorcas thought for a second before nodding. "Yes, I do. Very much so."

"How do you know when you like someone?" Lucy asked thoughtfully, putting her finger on her chin. "I like people but not like... like-like."

"Well, you're still little," Dorcas said, shaking her head and laughing. "When you grow up you learn what you like-like in someone. It's not really something you can learn in a book. You have to learn as you age."

"Hmm..." she said. "That's stupid. I want to know now."

Dorcas smiled. "I'm sorry, love. I can't help you. It's something you have to figure out for yourself."

Lucy made a face and looked down at Tula. She thought about Nina and Daniel and James and Lily and her mum and dad. She made a face and said, "well, I like you and I like Anne and I like Wonder Woman. I don't need boys. Boys are gross."

"I agree," Dorcas said with a laugh. "Boys are a little gross."

Lucy smiled and looked up at Dorcas. "So, do you wanna play a game or something?" she asked.

"Sure? What should we play?"

"Hmm..." Lucy said thoughtfully, picking her bag back up and digging through it. She pulled out things as she spoke. "I have cards and I have books if you'd rather read or I have this board game called Guess Who or this one called Pay Day."

"Ooh, I haven't played Guess Who in a while," Dorcas said, taking the board game from her. "Do you want to play that?"

"Sure!" Lucy said.

Dorcas helped her put the other games back in Lucy's bag and then opened the Guess Who box. They started playing and played for a little while before Remus showed up. Lucy did get to stay up late, despite anything Minerva may have said or implied, and Dorcas and Remus told her stories. Some from their own lives and others that they had picked up from other people. Some true and some not so true. Lucy liked staying with Dorcas and Remus and Dorcas liked having Lucy around. She thought of it as practice for when she had her own kids. She liked watching Remus with Lucy. She knew that Remus would be an amazing father when the time came, even if he thought that he wouldn't.

They had not meant to but eventually all three of them fell asleep laying in uncomfortable positions on Dorcas's tiny cot. Lucy had her head on one of Remus's arm and he had his other resting around her and Dorcas. Dorcas was curled up right beside Lucy. They were like their own little family staying here at Hogwarts as the war raged on outside.

Wednesday, February 10th 1999

"Look at this Lily!" James called excitedly, pointing at Harry who was starting to push himself up onto his hands and legs.

Minerva smiled. She was sitting low on the window sill of their living room window watching them like she did almost every night after getting off her classes and saying hi to Lucy when she got home. She saw Lily run into the living room.

"Is he doing it? Is he doing it?" she asked, just as excitedly.

"I think so! Where's the camera?" James asked, standing up and looking around the bookcases. He found the camera behind some books and pointed it at Harry. "Okay, Harry, let's see you go! Come on!" James got back down on his knees and really close to the baby. "Just one arm in front of the other. You can do it!"

Lily came over and pushed him back slightly. "Don't overwhelm him! You're making him nervous!"

Minerva laughed as the two doted over Harry. She was sure this kid would be very spoiled by the time he arrived at Hogwarts.

Harry finally moved one hand in front of him and then shakily lifted up the other. He moved forward slowly making Lily clap and cheer. James snapped a photo and it came out of the front of the camera. He held it out for his wife to see. She smiled as she watched the baby in the picture crawl for the first time.

James put the camera down and picked Harry up. He threw him up and down in the air making the baby giggle. "My son's a little baby genius!"

Lily laughed as she picked up a pen and started writing the date down on the photo. She walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a photo album to put the picture away. "Soon enough he'll be running around here driving us crazy!"

"And then after that, running around Hogwarts driving Minerva crazy!" James said with a smile, hugging his baby close. "Won't you, little one? You'll keep up the Potter family legacy, won't you?"

"What legacy is that?" Lily asked with a laugh.

"Being the most handsome and troublesome student at Hogwarts, of course," James replied happily.

"Troublesome probably but handsome? I don't know about that," Lily said with a smile. "I still think Sirius has you there."

James gave her a glare. "How dare you! My best friend? Really!"

Lily laughed, walked over and took Harry from her husband. "You are so lucky that you have me, love," she said quietly. "I will protect you from all your daddy's craziness."

Minerva smiled and watched them walk into the kitchen, James yelling about how he wasn't the crazy one, she was and Lily just laughing and telling him to calm down.

...

"Do you know where Mum is tonight, Uncle Albus?" Lucy asked as she moved her knight across the chessboard. She was staying with Dumbledore tonight while Minerva spied on some other Order member. She never told Lucy where she was going or who she was watching that night, no matter how much Lucy pestered her. Minerva didn't want Lucy to worry but not telling her only made her worry even more.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore said, staring down at the chessboard and furrowing his brow. "I'm sure wherever she is, she is being careful."

"Hmm," Lucy mumbled. She sighed and waited for him to take his turn. He was taking a very long time. "Do you think that there's a spy in the Order of the Phoenix?"

Dumbledore looked up at her. He studied her for a moment before giving a small nod. "I do," he said. "It's the most likely explanation for how they keep finding out what we're doing."

Lucy nodded, looking away again. Dumbledore finally made his move and Lucy quickly moved her bishop. He frowned and looked down at the board intently again.

"Do you think we'll win?"

"Win? I'm sure I'll beat you just give me a minute," he said, not looking up.

"No, the war. Do you think we'll win the war?" Lucy said, staring at her uncle.

Dumbledore looked up again and nodded. "I think we will."

"How can you be so sure?" Lucy asked.

"Because I think we have better people on our side," he said with a smile.

"But we have a spy," she said with a frown.

"Maybe but we still have some of the brightest witches and wizards on our side," he replied. He picked up his rook and moved it across the board. "And we have something that they don't have."

"What's that?" Lucy asked, wasting no time taking his piece. She had anticipated this move.

"Love," Dumbledore replied though he was looking down at the board very unhappily. He sighed and shook his head before looking back up at her and giving her a small smile. "I would never bet against love."

"What good would that do if they have power?" Lucy asked with a frown. She thought that he had some secret weapon that would wipe out all the Death Eaters and was thoroughly disappointed.

"Oh but, my dear, love is what gives you power," he said with a smile. "Without love you have nothing. The Death Eaters have nothing." He moved a piece across the board. "Check."

Lucy wasn't sure about that. It felt like the Death Eaters had numbers and power over them. It didn't feel like they had nothing. She sighed, moved her piece across the board and said, "Checkmate."

Dumbledore stared at the board for a moment before shaking his head but smiling. "Good game, Lucy, but I would have won in two more moves."

"I know," she said. "I knew what you were trying to do."

"You were toying with me then?"

Lucy smiled. "Maybe a little bit."

He laughed and put the chessboard away. "Alright, why don't we do something else now?"

"Tired of losing at chess?" Lucy asked with a laugh.

"You are too much like your mother."

Author's Note:

And so it begins. The hunt for the spy is on!

I hope you liked this chapter. Please review!