Episode One Hundred and Ten

Part One

            Dumbledore was well again, before anyone had hoped or expected. He had only been in his crazy stupor for nine days and his recovery was full and satisfactory to Madame Pomfrey. Hogwarts recovered much faster than anyone expected as well. Most of the holes were filled and everyone at the top level in the Order was working to scout out a new location for the prisoners in the Chamber.

            It might have been one of those moments where Gwen let her guard down, if she was prone to that type of behavior, but she was edgy still.

            She knew exactly where the Dark Lord was and while she couldn't explain it she felt just as connected to him as Harry had once described to her. She knew what had caused his disappearance and she knew right where he was hiding. She didn't think he was capable at this moment of trying to conquer the world again, but she didn't want to fall into that simplistic way of thinking. Her nose wrinkled in disgust thinking how spineless that creature really was when he didn't have a wand handy.

            But the things he had said to her…

            No. She couldn't think about it. Not yet. She needed more time to heal. She needed time to figure out why he would tell her the truth. She needed to find her real father.

Part Two

The problem with trying to find something is picking a place to start.

Gwen had no idea and as such she wandered around Diagon Alley aimlessly. She had given Harry and Graves the slip, sneaking off grounds and apparating as she so often did. She drank several butter beers and wandered in and out of the quaint shops.

The alley was essentially empty. Even though the Dark Lord had disappeared again people were not so easily swayed into believing that he could be gone. They had believed before that he would never be a problem again and they had been proven wrong. They wouldn't let their guard down so easily this time.

The shopkeepers were surprised to see the young lady with the gingery hair and the big brown eyes wandering through their shops, looking here and there for inspiration. She seemed out of place in the empty corridor of shops, something that didn't belong.

Finally she plopped into a cushy chair inside of a little cafe called the Serene Tea. She ordered an Earl Grey, no sugar, light cream, an acquired taste no doubt. She remained there, lost in her thoughts sipping idly with nothing to look at through the great round window looking out on Diagon Alley.

She hardly noticed when a man in a black cloak, his hood up entered, ordering a plain black and orange pekoe tea and taking a seat beside her. She was so lost in her thoughts that she barely even registered when he said: "you must be Guenivere. The fabled Queen who couldn't make up her mind."

"Yeah." She said distractedly.

"I've heard all about you."

"Where from?" She said, still looking out of the window with little interest in what the stranger had to say. It hardly seemed remarkable to her in that moment that he knew her name, even though she knew nothing of him.

"Doesn't matter." He said in reply to her question. "Just saying I wouldn't want to be in your shoes."

"Why's that?" She asked, barely caring about the answer.

"If the Dark Lord wants your Lancelot dead, he'll be dead sooner or later. I wouldn't want to be the one standing in between him and that fate."

"Haven't you heard? The Dark Lord has fallen and I doubt he'll rise again." Gwen said irritated with the conversation already.

"Shows what you know Princess." He said.

"And what do you know about it?" She said aggravated, taking in her companion for the first time. She recognized him, but she couldn't say from where. Princess sounded familiar too. Hadn't someone called her that not that long ago?

"I have friends in very strange places." He laughed, which set off a series of lung wracking coughs. "They keep me well informed." He choked as the coughing fit ended.

Gwen looked at him severally. "And who says he'll rise again?"

"No one you've met." Her companion said slyly, sliding away from her and sneaking out of the cafe door.

Part Three

            Gwen didn't think this was something that could wait. She rushed into Dumbledore's office and explained the conversation

"It didn't sound like anything I should be concerned with until he said that the dark lord would rise again."

Dumbledore observed her, his blue eyes cool. The twinkle that used to reside there was gone now and hadn't been seen for days. He spoke softly, trying to console her. Her hurt and her need to understand was obvious, as well as the urgency of her words. "He has fallen again. Let life return to normal Gwen. We don't need to be at defcon one again already." He attempted a joke.

"He won't die, will he Dumbledore?" She said suddenly. "You taught him very well."

"That sounded very much like an accusation Guenivere."

"It wasn't. It was a warning. I'm going to be prepared to take him down, whether or not the Order is with me." Her eyes filled with some of that flame that had been licking at her brain for close to two years now.

Dumbledore gazed at her as she fumed. She truly was terrifying and if Dumbledore had never been scared of another wizard before now it was simply because he never felt challenged. Gwen was the only one who could put Dumbledore back in his place. She stormed out of the room, leaving a trail of palpable anger behind her.

Harry rushed in, missing her grand exit by moments. "Where's Gwen?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "I imagine she would be trying to save us all."