.Chapter 13.

Throughout the story, Remus had respected Dumbledore's request for patience while he finished the tale, and had deliberately restrained himself from blurting out the questions that hammered in his brain.

Now, however, some of the fog was beginning to clear, and pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. But Remus wasn't at all sure he like the picture that was forming.

"You think – " he began, then stopped and cleared his throat. His voice had grown rough. "You think Elena is an Heir of Dumbledore, don't you? You think she is your brother's child?"

"Grandchild, yes. And if that is indeed the case, then it is very likely that she is an Heir of Dumbledore."

"You sound uncertain, though."

"That's because I am uncertain. I told you, Remus – I have no proof. Only scattered pieces of circumstantial evidence. Resemblances, patterns that could be co incidences, 'gifts' that might be no more than natural talents. For instance, there is the fact that Elena saw a resemblance between myself and her late father. That is a very weak link, I agree. But Aurorus was my twin, and it is reasonable to assume that their son took after us both is appearance.

Then there is the matter of names. You may have noticed during the course of my story that the Dumbledores have a penchant for naming their children in accordance with a theme. My grandfather was Phoebus, meaning Sun God. My father was Lux – 'light'. My brother and I – Aurorus for 'dawn' and Albus for 'white'. Aurorus never did tell me what they named their son, but Elena has told me that her father's name was Amon – the name of another god of the sun. She had a sister named Dawne, and Elena itself means – "

"Shining one," Remus finished for him, speaking under his breath. He sounded defeated.

Dumbledore looked sideways at him. "Yes," he agreed slowly, and there was a faint edge of speculation in his tone. "However, she also mentioned a brother whose name was Gerald. As far as I can tell, this name has nothing to do with light at all, which rather disrupts the neatness of my theory.

And of course, if she is the daughter of Aurorus's son, her last name ought to Dumbledore, not Greenstone. But on the other hand, it would have been foolish for Aurorus and Sabrina to go into hiding under their own names, even in the Muggle world. So it is probably to be expected that she has not inherited the Dumbledore surname. Whatever her heritage is, it has been kept from her. Her parents were apparently very secretive about their family history, and vehemently opposed to their children having anything to do with the wizarding world. From what I can tell, Aurorus's fear that a Dark Wizard would discover his family was absorbed by his son, and the boy, not fully understanding the nature of his father's concern, learned to fear the all the wizarding world - almost to the point of paranoia."

Remus was watching Dumbledore's face closely as he spoke, knowing that he was building up to something. Something momentous. He held his own and waited to hear what it was. Sure enough, the Headmaster's tone began to change, and he leaned forward in his armchair, his eyes bright.

"But there is one thing, Remus, that has affected my suspicions more than any of these vague fragments of evidence.

You might have surmised by now that Elena has received scarcely a shred of real training in the magical arts. She went to a Muggle school, rejected her letter of acceptance to Hogwarts at the insistence of her parents, and just learned what she could from old spell books that she said had belonged to her grandfather. The only real magical instruction she received was as a Charmer. That she learned from her mother, who no doubt recognised that her daughter had inherited her gift and was able to teach the girl herself. Beyond that, what little she knows has all been self taught. And Remus – I watched her casting spells. She's clumsy and she doesn't always get it exactly right. But she is powerful. She only knows the most basic levitation charm, the kind we teach to first years, but she could lift buildings with it and not raise a sweat. She'd never heard of a summoning charm, so I demonstrated it to her, and she was summoning trunks from her upstairs bedroom on her third try. She has talent that I can't help but suspect is more than that. So yes, you are correct when you surmise that I suspect she is Aurorus's granddaughter."

Remus avoided the Headmaster's gaze and stared into the fire. "I suppose that would explain why Death Eaters targeted her family," he speculated slowly, "They discovered somehow that the Greenstones were related to you and had the potential to be just as powerful. It's a strong motive for murder. But surely Elena has a right to know all of this? Not only because she needs to know why her family died, but because if it's true, then you … well, you are all that she has left."

Dumbledore leaned back, and his tone became very serious. "I know that," he said quietly, "But I must first I be sure. And I will be. There is a spell - a potion actually, which Severus is working on probably as we speak. It works like this – when two people drink it and then prick their index finger tips and dip them into a bowl of clear water, then the liquid in the bowl will thicken and turn to gold – if they share a common ancestor. Blood is thicker than water, see? But if the two are not related, there is no change. Unfortunately, the potion takes a month to prepare. And until then, all I can do is wait."

His emphasis on 'I' did not escape the younger man's notice. "I see," Remus said quietly, after a pause. The last pieces of the puzzle were dropping neatly into place. For your safety, and for ours…

"She is in danger, Remus," Dumbledore reminded him gravely, "Even if she is not my grandniece, it is obvious that the Death Eaters have some reason to wish her harm. She has been lucky to survive this long. At Hogwarts we can offer a measure of protection, but not anonymity. I don't doubt that the Death Eaters have traced her here already. They will be waiting for their chance to strike again. They must know she can't defend herself. This, of course, is where you come in."

Remus smiled grimly, but Dumbledore pretended not to notice.

"As our defence against the Dark Arts professor, I propose that you take her into your care. Become her guardian, if you will, and while you're at it, try to teach her all the counter curses you can. Keep her out of danger, don't let her go wandering the grounds alone. Attend her classes when you can – I will be encouraging her to attend all of yours. In two weeks time, the potion will be ready, we know exactly what we are working with, and we'll be able to make some long term plans." The Headmaster's shrewd gaze was fixed on Remus's face. "Of course," he added carefully, "The decision of whether to accept this role or not rests entirely with you. It is your choice to make. But quite frankly, Remus, I can think of no one better suited for the job that yourself. No one I would trust more with the responsibility. And …" he hesitated, and smiled a slight, sad smile which Remus had never seen before.

"Well, you said it yourself only minutes ago. If she really is my brother's granddaughter, then I'm all the family she had left in the world. But you have to remember, Remus, that it works both ways. She's all that I have left, too. And if anything were to happen to her ... "

Remus closed his eyes. Thoughts and feelings tumbled over him, conflicting and swirling inside him with a kind of dizzying nausea. Heir of Dumbledore … My family is dead … If anything were to happen to her … No one better suited … Bite of a werewolf … I told her nothing … Did not die peaceful deaths … Absolutely alone in the world … All that I have left ...

By all that's sacred, does he even know what he's asking of me?

The Headmaster's quiet voice broke through the chaos in his head. "If you need more time to think, there is no need for you to answer n - "

"I'll do it."

The words were spoken before he realised he had opened his mouth.

Dumbledore looked a little startled, but then exhaled, smiled, and relaxed back in his chair. "Thank you, Remus. I knew I could rely on you. I'm sure you won't regret your decision."

But that, Headmaster, thought Remus dazedly, as he stood up to leave, Is where you're wrong.

I'm regretting it already

-_-_-

A/N: Well? Did you like it? Did you? J Do you think you know where it's going? Any suggestions? Complaints? Comments on the weather? Whatever, guys, I don't care – just review me, please! And keep checking back, because if everything goes according to plan then chapter 15 should be about where we start getting into some serious angst, drama, and romance … which is what we're all here for, right? J Thanks for reading, everyone!!