Author's Note: The title of this chapter is stolem from Oscar Wilde's masterpiece "The Importance of Being Earnest."
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Chapter 23: The Importance of Being Adrienne
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Harry stared quietly through the glass in the hospital wing door, watching the darkening light of dusk slipping through the room, watching Adrienne siting quietly in her bed, her knees up to her chest, her head resting on them. He reached for the door handle and made to open it, but stopped, turning his head to hear the filtered conversation floating through the tense air that had engulfed the castle with Adrienne's arrival.
"What is it that she can't tell us." The voices drew closer and Harry squinted down the corridor, trying to discern who was speaking.
"She didn't say anything, nothing at all? She didn't say anything in her sleep, Joe?" came a woman's voice. Harry slowly backed up against the hospital door, trying to flatten himself against it, wanting to hear what they were saying.
"Nothing, except she got in a fight and she wanted to tell Ralph about it," Joe replied as he and Mia came better into Harry's view. Harry's green eyes flashed around the corridor, trying to find a hiding place. A statue of an old wizard several feet away from him caught his attention, and he ran towards it, grabbing the wizard's outstretched hand and swinging himself around the statute, ducking down behind it.
"What is this business about it being all her fault?" Joe asked as the two stopped at the hospital wing entrance. Mia shook her head.
"That's Adrienne for you, always talking in code. Remember that staff meeting, when she said she just had to go to Hogwarts... and that was her only reason, that she just had to?" Mia asked, shifting her feet so she could better see Adrienne through the window. Joe turned.
"Yea, and what was that about?" Joe replied, looking at his wife and shaking his head slightly. Mia didn't answer but instead just sighed.
"That Potter boy, he's the one who went after her, Mia," Joe continued, now walking even closer to the window and staring intently at Adrienne, who still was staring at her knees.
"They look alike, Joe," Mia replied, taking several steps backwards until she was leaning against the corridor wall. Joe turned, raising an eyebrow, which Mia couldn't see in the dark corridor.
"What does that have to do with anything, Mia?" he asked shortly, his nerves finally beginning to show the wear of the last few days. Mia looked past him, through the hospital window, her eyes resting on Adrienne, who had now looked up and was staring at the ceiling.
"Just an observation," Mia muttered, "Look, Joe." Joe followed Mia's finger through the glass to Adrienne, who's yells were audible through the closed door.
"It isn't true!" Adrienne screamed, standing up on her bed, swaying slightly. Harry fought the urge to jump up and run past the two professors to tell her she'd fall. Mia thought the same thing and rushed towards the door, but Joe grabbed her.
"She isn't going to hurt herself, let her talk," he whispered, pulling Mia slightly down the corridor so Adrienne wouldn't see them if she looked through the window.
"You're wrong! You know that? You came for the wrong person! It's not me. Not me!"
"Who is she talking to?" Mia whispered, knowing the answer.
"You-know-who," Joe replied, swallowing hard.
"Do you hear me! It's not me! I'm Adrienne Miles, no one else. You're wrong!" Adrienne slowly sat back down on her bed, breathing heavily, a small smile on her face.
"It was all a horrible mistake; he didn't know what he was talking about," she whispered to herself. Adrienne's smile grew wider and she pulled her knees back up to her chest.
"Me, a Perfect?" she whispered to the dark.
No one answered except the slight howling of the wind and the branches through which the wind was rushing. The wind slowly faded away and the hospital wing filled with a silence that slowly pressed in on Adrienne, coming from every direction, surrounding her. Adrienne stiffened, her smile fading off her face because with the silence came the voice that had been taking over the back of her mind, haunting her, tormenting her.
'You can't keep lying to yourself,' came the echoing voice. Adrienne shuddered and slowly raised her hands to her head.
'Do you know what you are capable of?' Adrienne slammed her eyes shut.
'You're not Adrienne Miles. You're not Adrienne Miles. You're not Adrienne Miles,' echoed the voice as Adrienne grabbed her hair.
"Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, stop, shut up!" she whispered, starting to rock slightly atop the sheets, pulling her hair, forcing her eyes shut.
'You're not Adrienne Miles.' Adrienne's eyes snapped open.
"Then who the hell am I?" she screamed into the dark room, causing the three people in the hallway to jump in surprise.
* * * * *
"Were you able to talk to her at all, Harry?" Hermione asked as he walked through the portrait hole. Harry shook his head.
"She was arguing with thin air for a while," he replied, walking over to where she and Ron were working on homework, Ron rather reluctantly.
"So, decided to start on your homework, since you only have a week left, eh?" Harry asked, pulling out a seat next to him. Ron looked up with a very annoyed expression playing on his face.
"She wouldn't shut up until I agreed, that annoying git," he said, glaring at Hermione, who just rolled her eyes in return.
"Those professors of hers were saying some interesting stuff though, mainly about there being no real reason for her desire to come to Hogwarts, or at least not that they knew of," Harry said, reaching for one of Ron's text books. Hermione looked up from a library book about dreams.
"Did they say anything else?" she asked, staring at Harry.
"No, they have no idea what is going on with her; seems she likes to refrain from telling them much," Harry replied, "She was yelling into the dark that she's Adrienne Miles, that she isn't anyone else, that Voldemort came for the wrong person." Hermione took a deep breath.
"She doesn't know, Harry, someone should tell her," Hermione replied. Ron nodded.
"Yeah, that'll cheer her up, to know that she's not as alone as she thought," Ron said, not looking up from his Potions' essay. Harry shook his head.
"I don't think it'll cheer her up."
Hermione and Ron stared at him, confused expressions covering their faces. Harry didn't say anything, just looked around the empty common room. Hermione stood up slowly, and then walked around the table to stand between the two boys.
"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked cautiously. Harry shifted in his chair uncomfortably.
"That day I was late getting back from Quidditch practice, the day that Adrienne brought my broom back," Harry began, mainly as a diversion.
"What about it?" Hermione asked, sitting down on the table. Ron turned in his chair to look at Harry through the flickering torchlight.
"Professor McGonagall asked me what was on the other side of a mirror."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "What kind of question is that, a reflection, obviously," Ron interrupted.
"That's what I thought too, at first," Harry said quietly.
"But it isn't just a reflection, it's a reflection of reality, it shows the world, just backwards," Hermione said. Harry nodded.
"I don't get it," Ron said, "What are you two on about?"
"McGonagall was giving you a hint, Harry," Hermione said, raising her eyes to the ceiling in thought.
"A hint about what?" asked Ron, leaning forward in his chair.
"McGonagall knew who Adrienne was," Harry said.
"I don't see how you were supposed to see that Adrienne was your sister by thinking about what was on the other side of the mirror," Ron interrupted, shaking his head.
"She wanted him to look at his reflection, to stare at it, trying to figure out what she had meant. There's no answer to her question besides it's just a reflection, but she made it sound like there was one. That way Harry would think about it, trying to figure out what his reflection meant, and hopefully he'd realize that when he looked at Adrienne, it was almost like looking in the mirror. It was just a hint, an unconscious one. He'd never make the connection to Adrienne if he didn't truly see the physical similarities," Hermione said, still staring at the ceiling.
"There's more," Harry said, drawing Hermione's attention away from the ceiling, "Professor Dumbledore told me Voldemort didn't want her just to use against me, he told me there's another reason."
"And that is?" prompted Ron.
"He said it's only Adrienne's business," Harry muttered. Ron shook his head.
"But you're her brother," he argued. Harry looked at his friend, who looked pale in the torchlight, his red hair accentuated even more with the presence of the flames.
"Physically, but not emotionally. She thinks I'm just her friend," Harry replied. Hermione looked back up at the ceiling.
"She's not telling us something," Hermione muttered. Harry leaned back dejectedly in his seat.
"And we're not telling her something either, we equal."
* * * * *
Adrienne rolled over in her bed, keeping her eyes shut, knowing that Mia and Joe were waiting for her to wake up. She didn't want to talk to them. She didn't want to look at them. She didn't want them asking her questions. Adrienne swallowed hard and buried her face in her pillow, her mind racing in front of her eyes, making her feel as if she were in a movie theater, strapped to a chair, her eyes taped open, forced to watch a replay of everything that had happened since Joe had woken her up Christmas night. Adrienne clenched her hands and bit her lip, trying to force from her mind the image of the burned girl lying in the street.
Adrienne slowly rolled over and opened her eyes slightly. Joe and Mia were asleep on the hospital bed next to her. Adrienne opened her eyes all the way and slowly sat up, looking at her professors. Mia was lying on her side, a washcloth on her forehead: She had been complaining about headaches since she arrived. Joe lay behind her, his arm around her waist. Adrienne stared at them for several minutes and then slowly looked away. She looked around the dark hospital room, following the streaks of light provided by the dim moon. She stood up and walked awkwardly to the nearest window and looked out over the white lawn.
Mia slowly opened her eyes and watched Adrienne standing next to the window, the moonlight bouncing off her, making her look pale, almost like a ghost. Adrienne looked down at her bandaged hands and slowly raised her right hand to her mouth, grabbing the end of the bandage with her teeth. After several seconds, the white bandages, the insides covered with a dry gray potion, fluttered to the floor. Adrienne stood silently in front of the window and slowly moved her fingers, raising her hand in front of her face.
Mia squinted in the dark and leaned over slightly. In the moonlight, on the middle of Adrienne's right hand, a triangle was glinting, shining, as if it produced its own light. Mia shook her head and looked back at Adrienne, who was staring at her hand, at the triangle. Adrienne closed her eyes.
* * * * *
"How are you feeling?" asked Hermione as the three pushed their way, past an enraged Madam Pomfrey, into the hospital wing.
"She didn't sleep well last night, she needs her rest; and may I remind you that this is not a socializing spot, this is a hospital wing!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as she followed the students towards Adrienne's bed. Adrienne laughed.
"I'm fine, really, let them in," she said, sitting up and tossing her hair behind her head in a way that made Joe turn to see if that Ron boy was watching.
"You're just as bad as him!" Madam Pomfrey snapped, gesturing towards Harry, and then turned on her heal to stomp back to her office. Adrienne raised her eyebrows and nodded her head.
"Wow, she's just a little uptight, isn't she?" she said as Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped at her bedside, right next to where Mia and Joe were sitting. Adrienne turned and smiled sweetly at them, giving them an expectant face, which Mia had no trouble reading at all.
"Joe, I'm hungry, come down to the kitchens with me," said Mia, standing up and reaching for her husband's hand. Joe looked longingly from Adrienne to the blushing redhead standing behind Harry.
"No, I think I'll stay here, if you don't mind," he replied, mentally promising himself that he was not leaving Adrienne alone with a teenage boy, even if her friends were there. Mia scowled and grabbed his shoulder.
"Joe, I do mind; I want to go down and eat, with YOU," she said, emphasizing the last word.
"I'm not hungry, darling; I'll stay here . . ." In a second Mia had drawn her wand, tilted her head, and raised an eyebrow.
"Let me rephrase that, Professor Glenn, get out of that chair, or I will make you. Then you'll be the one spending your nights at Dothberg, and I won't be there, waiting for you to wake up; I'll be eating. Now, are you going to be a good little boy and follow my verbal directions, or must I demonstrate this for you?" she asked in a tone that made Harry think immediately of McGonagall. Adrienne smirked. Joe shifted slightly, then slowly stood up, casting a long glance from Adrienne to Ron, shaking his head slightly.
"I see your point, Professor," he mumbled, walking out ahead of Mia, who slowly lowered her wand and turned to look at Adrienne, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Worse than my students, he is," she whispered, "Only way to get him to listen, threaten him."
"They seem like an interesting couple," Hermione commented, taking the seat where Joe had been sitting just moments before. Adrienne turned in her bed.
"Yeah, well, they sure are funny. Never was a dull day at Salem with those two, honestly, they fight more than anyone I know," Adrienne said, shaking her head in amazement.
"Feeling better, Adrienne?" Harry asked, walking closer to her bedside. Adrienne looked at him.
"I feel as fine as I could be, what with nearly being cursed to pieces, frozen, and then flown halfway across a country by a black-robed hero on a Firebolt," she said, raising a hand to her forehead in a pretend faint.
"Glad you're feeling back to normal," replied Harry, trying not to laugh. Ron raised an eyebrow, obviously not amused. Adrienne opened her eyes.
"Normal? Since when was she normal?" asked Hermione, trying to join in on the sarcasm game, which she had never actually mastered. Adrienne raised her eyebrows defensively.
"I am too normal," she shot, her expression turning stony. Harry shot a quick glance at Hermione, rolling his eyes at her for making Adrienne act defensive again.
"I was joking, Adrienne," Hermione answered quickly. Adrienne looked around at the shocked face Ron was wearing, then to Harry, who was still staring annoyed at Hermione. Adrienne took a deep breath.
"Right," she said rather quickly, mentally chastising herself for thinking they were about to call her a Perfect, thus starting that entire voice thing again. Ron's and Harry's faces relaxed and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. Adrienne turned her attention to Ron.
"I got a dress," she said, trying to change the subject. Ron smiled slightly.
"It's back at the castle, and whether it's wearable now or not is still questionable; however, if it hasn't been cursed, burned, or ruined, I still have it. If it has been tortured in any way, shape, or form, Professor Hartel will go buy me another one, provided you guys lock Professor Glenn in the dungeons first. He wasn't too thrilled about my dress selection abilities; but come to think about it, he'd probably prefer me to wear a nun outfi."
* * * * *
Minerva McGonagall stood in the corner of the kitchen, holding a cup of tea in one hand and gesticulating angrily with the other.
"Severus, keep your mouth shut!" she snapped, glaring at Snape, who stood several feet away from her, his face impassive.
"I was just saying that we could make it quite entertaining if we don't tell her right away," he said snidely.
"Albus, she's gone fifteen years not knowing, it's about time that she's told who she is," McGonagall snapped, turning to look at Professor Dumbledore, who was sipping a cup of hot chocolate.
"Yes, I agree, Adrienne must be told; however, I'm not sure of the best way of going about it," he said thoughtfully, lowering his mug.
"It can't be that much harder than telling Potter," McGonagall exclaimed, putting down her cup in fear of smashing it over the sparkling marble floor.
"You forget, Deputy-Headmistress, that Miss Granger told Potter for us," Snape said, a small smirk playing on the corners of his lips, she hated it when he called her that.
"How many times must I ask you to call me Minerva?" McGonagall shot, glaring at Snape with an expression which would have caused the majority of her students to wet themselves in fright. Snape returned the same expression. Dumbledore shook his head.
"And how many times must I ask you two to stop with these incessant insults?" Dumbledore asked, shaking his head disappointedly. McGonagall straightened her face, pulled on her robes, and in an instant replaced her combative demeanor with a more professional one.
"All I'm saying, Headmaster, is that the longer we wait to tell her, the greater the chance that complications arise," she said, the noise of her feet shifting muffling the entrance of two people on the far side of the kitchen.
"What do you propose then, Deputy-Headmistress?" asked Snape, his voice filled with excessive sarcasm, "Should we just waltz into the hospital wing and tell little Miss I'm-Going-To-Be-The-Downfall-Of-The-Modern-Magical-World-As-We-Know-It that her name isn't Adrienne Lily Miles, that Adrienne Lily Miles died fifteen years ago. Instead, she's Adrienne Lily Potter, who everyone thought died fifteen years ago. So, she now has a brother, and to top it off, she's a Perfect, and the major player in Voldemort's new plan to conquer the world and prove himself to be greater than "the boy who lived."
McGonagall's eyes flashed.
"That isn't exactly what I had in mind, Severus," Dumbledore said, taking another drink of his hot chocolate.
"Well, that's my idea. Don't tell me that I didn't offer any help," Snape said, smiling evilly at McGonagall.
"Why don't we just calmly call her to the Headmaster's office, sit her down with Sirius, Harry, and all of us, and tell her the story, starting with the mix-up at the hospital," she said.
"Or we could ask Harry how he thinks Adrienne will best respond to the news," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"Or," came a new voice that caused the three professors to whip around, "You could all sit down right here and explain to us what exactly you are talking about."
Joe and Mia stepped out of the corner, Joe in a look of complete shock, and Mia completely calm, looking like she was again preparing herself for a duel.
"Mr. and Mrs. Glenn, how nice to see you," Professor Dumbledore said, stepping past a white McGonagall and a glaring Snape, who was eyeing Joe as if he were a skunk.
"Professor Dumbledore," acknowledged Mia, nodding her head to a nearby table, "Let's talk."
* * * * *
"Now, let me get this straight, you never once pegged Draco with a snowball?" asked Adrienne, who was now sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed, her re-bandaged hands set in her lap. Harry shook his head regretfully.
"I'm sorry to say, Adrienne, that never was accomplished during your absence," he replied, pursing his lips in mock sorrow.
"Incapable fools!" Adrienne said, jumping up and standing atop of her bed, raising her hands in mock anger.
"I leave you for two weeks, and you can't manage to torture Malfoy!" she exclaimed, now pacing her bed, "You've failed." Hermione stole a glance at Harry, who just shook his head.
"It isn't that hard, making snowballs. All you do is grab snow, pack it in your hands, find Draco, and throw it!" she exclaimed, her eyebrows rising into her hairline.
"We are sorry, your highness, we ask your forgiveness," Harry said sliding out of his seat and kneeling on the ground, deciding to play along with Adrienne's new little game. Hermione shook her head exasperatedly.
"Be careful, Adrienne, you don't want to fall off and get a concussion atop everything else that's wrong with you," Hermione said reasonably, leaning back in the hard chair.
"Treason!" Adrienne yelled, pointing a bandaged hand at Hermione.
"Adrienne? What exactly are you doing?" asked Mia as she walked into the hospital wing, followed by Joe, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape, and a black shaggy dog bringing up the rear, "Playing student government?"
Adrienne looked down from her perch atop of her bed and then raised her arms in front of her, as if welcoming all into her area of the wing.
"I was practicing for my role as future dictator. Look at the fear in my followers' eyes. Student Government . . . Ha! More like Adrienne Government!" she said, raising an eyebrow, challenging anyone for a comment.
"A thirst for power, one of the best paths towards the Dark Arts," Snape whispered to McGonagall, "Voldemort is quite sure she'll change sides."
McGonagall snapped her head in his direction. "One more word, Severus, and I'll be taking a lead from Moody, or whoever he was, and you'll be bouncing around your dungeon as a horned-toad until kingdom comes," she whispered.
"Get down from there, Adrienne, before you fall," Joe said, rushing forward. Adrienne sighed.
"You guys ruin all my fun," she whined before sitting back down.
"I don't know, Adri, practicing to be a dictator, what ever happened to being an Auror," said Mia, pulling a chair up to sit next to Harry. Adrienne shrugged.
"I lied; I never wanted to be an Auror," she said nonchalantly. Joe opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it, and instead pulled up a chair, strategically placing himself next to Ron, who gulped as he drew his chair closer.
"So, it's a party, eh?" asked Adrienne, smiling vaguely as everyone piled around her bed.
"A party isn't the appropriate word, Miss Miles," sneered Snape.
"Sticking to appropriate words are we? Then I guess I have nothing to say to you, Professor Snape, as all the words I had in mind don't quite fit under that category," Adrienne said, smiling sweetly. Joe leaned back in his chair so he could see Mia.
"Mia," he whispered. Mia leaned back and looked at him. "Must that idiot be here?" Joe mouthed. Mia stole a glance at Snape who was now glaring at Adrienne, who seemed to be returning the face.
"Excuse me Professor Dumbledore, but perhaps it would be more appropriate if there were less people present?" Mia asked, standing up. Dumbledore looked at her and nodded.
"Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, your presence is no longer needed, thank you," he said, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.
Minerva nodded and cast a rare smile at Adrienne before making towards the door, Snape reluctantly following. Professor Dumbledore turned his gaze to Joe, who nodded towards Ron and Hermione. Dumbledore looked at them, contemplating, and then shook his head no.
"What's going on?" Adrienne asked, watching Snape close the hospital wing door. She looked around at the faces staring at her; all of them wearing the same expression, one which she couldn't read.
"Adrienne, there's something you need to know," Dumbledore began, but stopped upon seeing Mia lean over in her chair.
"Adri," she interrupted. Adrienne looked at her and then broke into a huge grin.
"We're going to open Christmas presents?" she asked hopefully, the voice in the back of her mind breaking through the barrier that she had set up while laughing with her friends.
'They're going to tell you it's all your fault, that you can't come back because you're a murderer. That all those people died because of you, Adrienne.' Adrienne blinked and forced herself to hold her smile.
"No, we're not going to open presents now, honey," Joe said, looking down at his hands. Harry cast a glance at Hermione, who took a deep breath.
"I don't know exactly how to ask you, or tell you this," Mia interrupted. Adrienne jumped up.
"I'm not telling you what happened! It isn't my fault! I swear, it was a mistake, they came for the wrong person!" she exclaimed, her mind succumbing to the voice that had began beating through her head. Mia sat up straight, her eyes wide.
"No, Adrienne, stop, hold on there. I don't have a question about that, I promise," Mia said, holding up a hand, "Sit back down." Adrienne smiled embarrassedly and pushed the pulsating voice back into the corner of her mind. She slowly sat back down atop her sheets.
"Adrienne, what exactly do you know about your past?" Mia asked slowly, her dark eyes boring into Adrienne's. Adrienne smiled a slight, confused smile.
"I'm an orphan, what is there to know," she said, reaching up and pulling her hair into tight bun at the top of her head, tying it with a hair tie Hermione had brought her.
"What do you know about your parents?" Mia said, rephrasing her question. Adrienne's face tightened.
"My dad left my mom, my mom died, and my gran hated me so much that she took me to an orphanage... on the far end of the Atlantic Ocean... on a completely different continent," Adrienne said, a bitter tone in her voice, "There's nothing else to know." Mia bit her lip and cast a glance at Joe, who raised his eyebrows.
"Um, well, not exactly," Mia stuttered, making a stressed face. Adrienne raised an eyebrow and laughed amusedly.
"Wait, let me guess, this is going to end up like one of those cheesy Muggle soap operas, right?" Adrienne began, "You're going to tell me that my mother never died, that this entire time she's been following my entire life story with great interest and regret, and now, after fifteen years she's willing to admit that she made a mistake and welcome me back with open arms?"
"Adrienne," Mia started, but Adrienne had again stood up and raised a hand.
"And I'm supposed to be overcome with joy and happiness and run into her arms and tell her I've missed her so much?" she asked, a hand on her face. Mia pursed her lips and glanced at Joe, who had an amazed smile plastered on his face.
"Well, Professor, I'm not your typical soap opera character, see I'll . . ."
"Adrienne, please stop standing up on the bed, either do that upon your own free will, or we'll tie you down," Joe said, standing up and looking at her in the same way he had when she had told him that Ron was taking her to the formal.
"Ai Ai, Captain, must you get violent about things?" Adrienne said, sitting back down.
"Seems she's back to her normal self," Hermione whispered to Harry. Harry nodded. "Except for those occurrences where she breaks out in defense about the attack," he added
"Adrienne, do you know where you were born?" Professor Dumbledore asked as Joe again sat down. Adrienne turned to look at him.
"In a hospital, I suppose," she replied, a hint of impatience in her voice.
"In Mercy Hospital to be exact, on July 31, 1981," he continued. Adrienne raised her eyebrows and smiled impatiently.
"What a development! We've established that the day I was born does indeed happen to be my birthday; wonderful, is that what you all wanted to tell me?" she asked, a smirk slowly engulfing her face.
"Adrienne, shh," Mia hissed at her, "Listen, please." Adrienne turned her attention to Harry and Hermione, who just looked at her with a sad face. Adrienne's smirk fell and she turned to look at Ron, who inched away from Joe and smiled a reassuring smile. Adrienne swallowed.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"That's what we're trying to tell you, except you seem to want to add a running commentary," Joe said, throwing up his hands in impatience.
"Well get on with it then!" she exclaimed, reaching behind her for a pillow to hug, something she always did when she felt uncomfortable.
"It seems, Adrienne, as odd as this sounds, that two Adrienne Lilys were born that day, in the same wing, in the same hospital," Dumbledore continued, "One of them was born to a Heather Miles . . ."
"My mother," Adrienne interrupted.
"And the other, she was born to a Lily and James Potter," Dumbledore continued. Adrienne didn't say anything here. She just sat there for a second, trying to understand what he had just said; finally, she smiled.
"Hear that Potter, they thought you were a girl," she said laughing and turning to look at Harry, who just dropped his head into his hand in disbelief.
"No, Harry was never for one second called Adrienne; that was his twin sister's name," Dumbledore said. Adrienne stopped laughing abruptly and turned around to look at the Headmaster, who was staring intently at her through his half-moon glasses.
"There was an Adrienne Lily Miles and an Adrienne Lily Potter born that day. Several hours after their birth, in the nursery, Adrienne Potter was thought to have died of a pulmonary embolism," Dumbledore said calmly, watching Adrienne as she slowly turned away.
"I'm so sorry, Harry, how terrible," she said, looking at Harry, who still had his head in a hand.
"Adrienne, I'm not done yet," Dumbledore said, cutting through the silence that had just fallen through the room. Adrienne turned.
"Adrienne Potter never died," was all he said. Then he stood up and walked to the opposite end of the wing, leaving Adrienne sitting, confused, atop her bed.
"What do you mean she never died?" she asked slowly, her mind starting to reel, the voice in the back of her mind starting to resurface again. Harry looked up at her.
"The babies were switched, Adrienne," he replied. Adrienne let her green eyes turn to Mia and Joe, who just looked at her and nodded.
'Dou know what this means, Adrienne?' came the tortuous voice. Adrienne clenched her fists.
'You know why he came then?'
"Shut up," Adrienne whispered. The people grouped around her bed looked at her in interest.
'You're a Perfect. He wants you, because he wants to kill Harry,' came the voice. Adrienne shut her eyes. 'He wants you to help him. He wants to use you against Harry.'
"I won't," Adrienne whispered.
"You won't what, Adrienne?" Dumbledore had walked back over to her bedside, and was carrying something. Adrienne opened her eyes.
"Nothing, Professor," she muttered.
'They've made a mistake, that's all. Don't listen to them, they can't be sure,' she told herself, fighting back the voice until it only existed as a dull echoing murmur in the back of her mind.
"Adrienne, look," Dumbledore said, handing her a mirror and motioning Harry to come forward. Harry slowly stood up, walked the few feet to her bed, and then sat down next to her.
"You guys look exactly alike," Mia said slowly as Adrienne raised the mirror in front of her and Harry. Adrienne didn't move for a moment. She stared into the mirror.
Two faces stared back at her. Two sets of green eyes, to sets of black hair, one set longer than the other. There were two sets of identical lips and cheekbones. Adrienne didn't say anything, she didn't blink, she didn't breath. Her eyes settled on Harry's scar, which was also reflecting back at her.
"Your name isn't Adrienne Miles," Dumbledore said into the quiet room.
"It's Adrienne Potter," Joe finished, looking at her intently. Adrienne slowly lowered the mirror and stared around the room, her eyes falling onto every person.
'The only reason he'd want a Perfect is to become more powerful.' The little voice was back, and Adrienne tightened her grip on the mirror.
'He wants it to finish off Harry. He wants you to help him. You're a murderer.' Adrienne held her breath.
"Adrienne, are you all right?" Mia's voice interrupted the one in her mind, but Adrienne didn't respond.
'Look in the mirror. When Harry looks in there, a hero stares back out: The face of the person who delivered the wizarding world from Voldemort. Look in the mirror, Adrienne. When you look in, what do you see? The person who Voldemort wants to use to conquer the world, to kill Harry; the person who is responsible for the massacre on Christmas night.'
Adrienne slowly raised the mirror to eye level and looked at it, staring at her reflection with disgust. Then she slowly stood up, holding the mirror in a trembling hand. Adrienne took a deep breath and then forced herself to smile, desperately trying to push back the voice, desperately trying to push back her tears, desperately trying to push back her fear that she was the one at fault.
"Adrienne Potter, eh?" she asked quietly, struggling to keep a forced smile, and turned to look at Harry, "I guess I can get used to that one."