Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own
A/N Not much going on this chapter, but it's necessary.
Hope was staring at the Mirror of Erised. Her parents were smiling back at her, beckoning her forward. They were starting to fade... No, no, no... She had to see them! She pressed forward and her arm slid through the glass like it was water. But she couldn't go through... Her friends were waiting for her...
Grief-stricken, she pulled her arm out and turned around... only to find herself staring into blood-red eyes.
Hope jerked awake with a gasp. Her head was swimming and she fell back down again... pillows? She looked around again. She was lying in a bed with white linen sheets and next to her was a table piled high with what looked like half a candy shop. Her glasses were buried underneath a packet of chocolate frogs and she yanked them out.
"Tokens from your friends and admirers." Hope turned her head as she put on her glasses. Albus Dumbledore was standing at the end of her bed with a soft smile. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic and confiscated it."
"How rude." Hope croaked.
"Yes, she's rather un-agreeable at times but completely irreplaceable." He smiled merrily.
"How long have I been here?"
"Three days. Mister Granger and Missuses Malfoy and Weasley will be most relieved you have come around. They have been extremely worried. There were talks of a riot if they weren't allowed in to see you soon."
"Sounds like them." Hope murmured. "Is Regina okay?"
"It was nothing Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix."
"The stone..." She murmured, trying to focus.
"Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. You did very well, I must say."
"You got Hermes's owl?"
"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to see you finish off Quirrell yourself."
"I killed a teacher." She mumbled; surely, if nothing else, that was grounds for expulsion.
"We can make an exception that rule today." Dumbledore assured her and Hope smiled.
"You saw it?"
"I feared I might be too late. The effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Hope echoed. "But your friend, Nicolas Flamel-."
"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" Dumbledore asked, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat and agreed it's all for the best."
"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"
"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die." Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Hope's face. "To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all. The trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."
Hope lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.
"Sir?" Hope asked. "I've been thinking... sir. Even if the Stone's gone, Vol-. I mean, You-Know-Who-."
"Call him Voldemort, Hope. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."
"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?" A very large part of Hope wanted to believe that she had killed Voldemort. But she had a terrible feeling she hadn't.
"No, Hope, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Hope, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time... and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power." Hope nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made her head hurt. Then she said:
"Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me... things I want to know the truth about..."
"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."
"Voldemort said he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. Why did he want to kill me so badly in the first place?" Hope asked, feeling a sob working her way up into her throat. Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.
"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day... put it from your mind for now, Hope. When you are older... I know you hate to hear this... when you are ready, you will know." Hope knew it would be no good to argue, though every fiber of her being wanted to.
"Why couldn't Quirrell touch me?" She asked instead.
"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good." Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Hope time to dry her eyes on the sheet.
"And the invisibility cloak. Do you know who sent it to me?" She already had a feeling about that one.
"Ah... your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things... your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."
"I think I would've liked him."
"I have no doubt."
"There's something else..."
"Fire away." Dumbledore invited.
"Quirrell said that Professor Snape hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"
"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Ms. Parkinson. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."
"What?"
"He saved his life."
"What?"
"Yes..." Dumbledore hummed dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt... I do believe he worked as hard as he did to protect you, indirectly or not, this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace..." Hope tried to understand this but it made her head pound, so she stopped.
"And sir, there's one more thing..."
"Just the one?"
"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"
"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone, find it, but not use it, would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes..."
"One last thing-."
"I doubt that, but go on."
"You knew." Hope told him. He looked at her with a completely blank express, waiting for her to clarify her statement. "You addressed the first letter to the house I was staying in when I shouldn't have been. You knew I was a runaway. You didn't tell Hagrid, but you knew. Why didn't you do anything?"
"That, I'm afraid, is something I will live to regret." He responded with a quiet sigh. "As long as I knew you were safe, I didn't bother to interfere."
"Because you needed me like this, didn't you? To stop Voldemort."
"Actually, Hope, I did not expect you to be like this at all. I wanted and expected a brave Gryffindor like your parents before you. You being a cunning Slytherin was something I was not prepared for." He admitted. "But I won't deny that you are brave." He added with a smile.
"But you did need me to be strong enough to stop Voldemort." She insisted.
"I did. Perhaps that is another reason I did not interfere. However, I am now."
"I'm not going back to the Dursley's!" Hope protested immediately. "I'll just run away again."
"No, no." He calmed her. "I thought perhaps you'd prefer to live in another place. It would be just you, but you would be safe. Of course, it would be better if you didn't mention that I am allowing you to live alone at eleven."
"Of course." She would agree to nearly anything at that point. Dumbledore handed her a piece of parchment. On it were directions to an address. She squinted at it, making sure she was reading it right. "Number twelve Grimmauld Place?"
"It might need a bit of work, but I assume you're up to the challenge of making it your own." Hope smiled and folded up the parchment, sticking it under her pillow for safe-keeping.
"Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them. But I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?" Dumbledore smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said: "Alas! Ear wax!"
Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict.
"Just five minutes." Hope pleaded.
"Absolutely not."
"You let an old man come in and watch me sleep for who-knows-how-long." Hope told her dryly. Madam Pomfrey glared at her.
"Well, of course, that was the headmaster and quite different. You need rest."
"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey..." Hope put on her best puppy-dog-eyes.
"Oh, very well." She said. "But five minutes only."
She let Regina, Hermes and Cassie in. The three sprinted over and Regina jumped onto the bed next to Hope to hug her. Hope flinched, as she was still sore, so Regina released her with a quick apology. Cassie hugged her gently, Hermes gave her a big smile and they all settled down around her on the edges of the bed.
"Oh, Hope, we were sure you were going to-."
"Dumbledore was so worried-."
"The whole school's talking about it."
"You looked awful."
"Cassie, that's terrible to say."
"What really happened?" Regina demanded.
It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors. Hope told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Her friends were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places and when Hope told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Cassie screamed out loud.
"So the Stone's gone?" Hermes asked finally.
"Flamel's just going to... die?" regina pressed.
"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that... what was it? 'To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure'."
"I always said he was off his rocker." Regina murmured, looking quite impressed at how crazy her hero was.
"So what happened to you three?" Hope asked.
"Well, we got back all right, thanks to Hermes figuring out that riddle." Cassie explained. "We brought Regina around, that took a while because she was out like a rock from one little head injury-." Regina slapped at her, laughing. "And we were running up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall. He already knew. He just said, 'Hope's gone after him, hasn't he?' and ran off to the third floor."
"D'you think he meant you to do it? Sending you your father's cloak and everything?" Regina asked.
"Well!" Hermes exploded. "If he did... I mean to say that's terrible... You could have been killed." He sputtered, looking as thought Dumbledore had personally insulted every family member he possessed and his cow.
"No, it isn't." Hope said thoughtfully. "I know he meant me to do. He told me so. But he's a funny man, Dumbledore. He seemed to know just what to do to make sure we saved the day."
"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right." Regina said proudly.
"I wouldn't trust him to watch my pet rock." Cassie agreed. "He'd probably put it in a magic mirror." Everyone had a good laugh at that.
Hope turned to the pile of candy boxes and began disputing them. There was nothing like eating candy to celebrate a victory.
"So, when were you going to tell us you're a runaway?" Cassie asked calmly, in a truly Slytherin manner. Everyone stared.
"What?" Regina asked, jaw hanging open.
"What do you mean?" Hermes demanded, looking between Cassie and Hope.
"How did you know?" Hope asked Cassie quietly.
"When Professor McGonagall said she was writing to all our parents to inform them of the 'incident', I reminded her that you're living with your aunt and uncle. She told me the truth. You're not living with anyone, you were living on the street!"
"What?" Hermes was turning red in the face. To Hope's right, Regina looked like she'd been slapped.
"You can come to my house for the summer-." Regina began.
"My parents surely will allow you to stay with us-." Cassie interrupted.
"My parents are Muggles, but you could stay with-." Hermes stammered.
"I've got a place." Hope cut them all off. She dug the note out of from under her pillow. "Dumbledore gave me directions to a place I can stay over the summer. I'll be okay." She assured them.
"Are you sure?" Hermes asked anxiously.
"We don't have much extra space, but you can stay in my room with me." Regina added.
"I'll be alright." Hope told them, trying to laugh off their concern. The truth was, she couldn't remember a time someone was so concerned about her. She wanted to change the subject before she did something stupid, like cry.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Cassie demanded, leaning against the foot-board of the bed and folding her arms across her chest. Hope didn't have an answer for that right away; she busied herself readjusting the sheet over her.
"I don't know... I just..."
"You thought we'd judge you." Cassie realized.
"The rich girl looking down on a homeless kid? Yeah, the thought had crossed my mind." Hope admitted bitterly.
"I'm not rich." Regina reminded her.
"I'm just a Muggle-born." Hermes added.
"And I'm your best friend." Cassie protested pointedly.
"I'm sorry." Hope murmured, barely audible. They were all silent for a moment, all staring at uninteresting things like they were the most interesting things in the world.
"Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow." Regina finally changed the subject, leaning close to Hope. "The points are all in and Gryffindor won... Which I guess isn't great for you, a Slytherin. But the food'll be good."
At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over.
"You've had nearly thirty minutes, now out!" She said firmly.
After a good night's sleep, Hope felt nearly back to normal.
"I want to go to the feast." She told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened her many candy boxes. "I can, can't I?"
"Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go." She said stiffily, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."
"Who?"
Hagrid sidled through the door as Hope spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Hope, the bed creaking under his weight. He took one look at her and burst into tears.
"It's... all... my... ruddy... fault!" He sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"
"Hagrid!" Hope protested, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."
"Yeh could've died!" Hagrid sobbed. "An' don' say the name!"
"VOLDEMORT!" Hope yelled and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying. "Hagrid, I've met him, I literally killed his host and I'm calling him by his name." She informed him. He didn't say anything, just sniffed and wiped at his eyes.
Hope sat up against the headboard of the bed and put her hand on Hagrid's arm.
"Please cheer up, Hagrid. My friends and saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads..." She offered. Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said:
"That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."
"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" Hope asked anxiously and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.
"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead... anyway, got yeh this..." It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Hope opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at her from every page were her mother and father. "Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... knew yeh didn' have any... d'yeh like it?"
Hope couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.