With a Girl Like You

Chapter 4 – To Be Alone

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[a/n: Sorry, I realize these first few chapters are really dragging along, but please bear with me! This chapter is particularly dark and heavy.]

All suggestions are welcome! R&R! Thanks! ^_^

Acacia dashed up the stairs to the girls' dormitories and dove onto her bed. Drawing the curtains around the four-poster, she cast several charms to avoid any intrusions. Then she buried her face in her pillow and cried silently.

What was she going to do?

Surely, she had let on too much about herself. The best way to avoid attention was to keep quiet and act as normally as possible. She had blown every bit of the advice she told herself daily. Just look! What sort of sixth-year student would know the spells she performed? Aurors-in-training did not even learn those until their last year. Acacia could only hope that no one, other than qualified professors, knew what she had done.

Okay, so she made a mess of things. Those problems could be fixed and/or dealt with later. But why was it so difficult to remain detached from the others?

They were too nice.

That was it. Hogwarts students were just too compassionate, too friendly, too warm, too open…

No.

They were wonderful. She was the problem. Acacia Victoria-Linette Elcombe.

She had always wanted real friends, people who cared about her. All she received when she was a little girl was pity. She could remember parents telling their children to sympathize with the little girl who lost her parents. The adults were often worse, pretending to be caring and kind, but really shunning her for who she was. Just a little girl on the streets, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to.

Lost.

She supposed that it wasn't entirely her fault then, that she always wanted friends. Life kicked up a notch when she came to the wizarding world, but it was nowhere near what she dreamed it would be. Or should be. She was always alone at the private witches' academy. At Beauxbatons, everyone hated her. Absolutely despised her.

And all along, she had known almost every spell a fully trained Auror knew.

How? Well, Acacia didn't know exactly, but it had something to do with her father, and his memories. She wasn't sure that Uncle Reggie or Aunt Evelyn knew, either, but she knew for certain that Dumbledore did. Furthermore, Dumbledore knew what to do with her, and what was expected of her.

FLASHBACK

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Elcombe. The headmaster is expecting you. Please follow me."

Acacia, her hair neatly tied up in a bun and her powder blue Beauxbatons robe billowing behind her, followed Professor McGonagall into Hogwarts. She explored the surroundings with her eyes, taking in every sight, sound and smell as if to remember it forever. This was rather true, for she wanted to remember every detail of Hogwarts. She always dreamed of attending the famed School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was her chance, and she hoped her dream would come true.

The severe-looking lady came to a stop in front of a strange statue, touched it lightly and muttered something. Acacia couldn't catch what she said, but soon the door opened, admitting the pair. Acacia nearly gasped when she saw the entire room. It was a strange room, indeed.

A tall, aging, silvery-bearded man stood up behind a desk littered with peculiar objects, some making strange noises, others flashing odd colors, and still others doing nothing at all.

"Albus, this is Miss Elcombe."

"Ah, Miss Elcombe. We finally meet. I am Professor Dumbledore." He paused, as if contemplating something.

"Pleased to meet you, sir."

Dumbledore turned to the lady who had brought her to his office. "I trust you have other things to attend to, Minerva." The lady nodded, and departed. Dumbledore took his seat once again, and motioned for Acacia to do the same. A chair appeared from nowhere and settled in front of the desk. Acacia obliged, though she perched on the edge as if she was ready to jump and sprint away at any given moment.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily as he watched the young girl. However, he recalled that many Beauxbatons hovered on the edge of their seats in a similar manner. He couldn't imagine why, since the headmistress at Beauxbatons was known, in her extreme anger, for banishing students from the room and expelling them for not moving quickly enough.

"Sir?" Acacia wondered if he already had an answer for the question she posed in her letter.

Dumbledore answered, "Yes, the professors and I have come to a conclusive decision. You may attend Hogwarts beginning next term. We are pleased to have you as a student, and expect the best from you. You have certainly been through quite a bit in the last few years."

Acacia was more than stunned. First of all, she hadn't even asked her question. Secondly, she was accepted! (at this, she jumped for joy—that is, without moving) And lastly, how did Dumbledore know about her past?

Again, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind the crescent-shaped spectacles. "I once knew, a long time ago, a certain Sirius Black, a distant relation of yours. And I still know, now, that same Sirius Black, godfather of none other than the famous Harry Potter. Your past is not unknown to me."

Speechless, Acacia could only stutter, "Sir?" once again.

"Did you not wonder why you knew of the magical world of witches and wizards? You grew up as a muggle, yet you retained your original memories, and perhaps, the memories…of others," Dumbledore continued slowly, watching Acacia carefully as the information began to sink in. "What I am about to tell you must not leave this room. It is of utmost importance that the information that passes between remains between us. I shall ask, however, your permission and agreement, first."

Acacia nodded. She could hardly speak. The news was overwhelming. The memories of others? What?

"Good. I felt certain you had distinctive qualities worthy of the task before you."

Acacia blushed, even though she had no idea what the headmaster was talking about.

"Now, this will be difficult, yet you are accustomed to a difficult life." Dumbledore saw in the girl's eyes that she was still willing to take part in her task. "Your father was an auror. He, along with three others, was in charge of guarding a camp of muggle-born witches, wizards, and their families. Obviously, he knew when the attack was coming. Instead of making the futile attempt to protect the camp against Voldemort and his Death-Eaters, he spent the last few precious moments concocting a powerful potion before putting a spell on his only child, a baby girl, and drinking it."

He paused again. Acacia was deathly pale, and she was gripping the chair forcefully.

"The potion, once taken, allows the mind and memories to be transferred to something else, whether it is an object, an animal, or person, etc, provided that whatever it is has a specific spell cast upon it. The entire process takes only a few moments. Once completed, the person who drank the potion is left unconscious and partially "unsound", and the person, in this case, is apparated to a predetermined safety point and unable to retrieve the memories in full until a given age."

Acacia managed to croak out, "Unsound!?"

"Ah, yes. Your father was fading away. He gave you all he had."

She didn't know how to comprehend this last bit, or any of the rest of it, for that matter. It was too incredible. Too inconceivable.

"Wh-where was the safety-point?"

Dumbledore's face darkened. "Unfortunately, we never knew. At the exact moment before the transfer was completed, the Death-Eaters attacked the camp and the connection was lost. You ended up in the hands of Voldemort himself."

If it was possible for Acacia to lose color completely, that is what happened. She shuddered uncontrollably, an icy feeling tearing through her body.

Dumbledore looked at her with kindly pity, but he knew she wanted him to go on. "However, he did not want you, and would have killed you, but found the memories stored within too valuable to dispose of. Ironically, he left you alone somewhere, probably supposing that a little baby would die on its own, alone and uncared for. But you did not. In fact, someone rescued you."

Rescue? Someone had rescued her?

Dumbledore again revealed his mind-reading skills. Sighing, he concurred his original statement. "Yes. I cannot divulge information as to who the person was, due to a binding agreement made sixteen years ago."

"Wh-what…what of th-the…the task?"

"You would ask, Miss Elcombe? Very well. Your rescuer, though of great skill, talent, courage, and integrity, was later captured by Death-Eaters and secretly tortured. Not surprisingly, he lost his mind." Dumbledore seemed to pause, which alarmed Acacia. All the things he had disclosed so far were abominable to her, yet he did not hesitate to expose them. And now…

Finally, he continued. "This person is now a drifter, unsound and severed from his original mind. He walks unguided, always in search of something. Until now, no one has made the connection between the baby he saved and the object he is searching for."

Acacia gasped in distress, putting a hand near her throat. Her?

"You. He will stop at nothing to kill you, if and when he finds you. The only reasonable conjecture as to why he wishes to kill the one he saved is guilt. The Death-Eaters have most likely tortured a preposterous amount of shame into him. The only way to redeem himself, since he cannot go back into time, is to kill you."

"Wh-what can I…what can I do?" Acacia whispered, her hazel eyes large and teary.

Dumbledore sighed. Acacia did not like what was coming already.

"This will be a terrible risk for you and all who associate with you, but it must be done. You cannot allow this person to kill you, at any cost. There are two ways to solve the problem…"

"I can't kill him!" Acacia cried violently. "I don't want the one who saved my life to die by my own hands! It isn't possible!"

"I see, Miss Elcombe," he answered rather solemnly. Despite her words, Dumbledore cracked a smile, his eyes bright with mirth. "I trust you shall be a Gryffindor yet."

Acacia did not reply. She looked positively livid.

"The other option is to capture this person. In doing so, we can perhaps perform a spell that will reform and replace his memories. There is no guarantee that it will work, and it may lead to death in the end. Is this preferable for you?"

"Definitely." She remained in an enraged state, since killing her rescuer outright was still a suggestion.

"Acceptable enough. Now, please remember that you cannot speak of this to anyone. You will receive your invitation to Hogwarts in the post this summer with your list of supplies. I hope you have an enjoyable summer, Miss Elcombe."

"Thank you, sir. And, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Can I still…?"

The headmaster hooted with laughter. "My dear child! Yes, of course.
She smiled tentatively, and darted out of the room.

Dumbledore ceased laughing to ponder her departure.

"Curious. Must be Madame at Beauxbatons…"

END OF FLASHBACK

A/N: How's it goin', everyone? What does Acacia still want to do? Well, find out next time!

Thanks for reading! PLEASE R&R!!!!!