Chapter 1) Reports and Rumors

Selected Listening: Dumbledore- James Newton Howard

Author's Note: Hi, friends. I'm back! This is Part 3 of The Headmaster's Daughter, which is as great a place as any to begin. If you haven't read Parts 0-2, doing so may help you catch up on some of the finer detail of what has occurred. I plan to update every week through the summer months. Please favorite/R&R.

Anastasia Dumbledore peered out at the faces of nearly ten reporters at Hogwarts gates. They were all trying to jam their way through the iron bars, pushing their arms through and reaching for her, snapping their cameras with big flashbulbs.

"Miss Dumbledore! Miss Dumbledore just one word! It will only take a moment."

"Anastasia Dumbledore, please, give me the story. I'll make it worth your while!"

Anastasia said nothing to them, staring quietly as if she were looking at animals in a zoo. She had come down on a mission. She planned to give an interview, because she was tired of them standing and yelling at the fence, clamoring over each other like monkeys.

Now she felt intimidated. Now she was not so sure.

Anastasia and Albus enjoyed a restful two days together in public before the press caught wind of the announcement. The two went to the cinema and the tea shop and the museum, and although people stared at the stray girl walking around with Albus Dumbledore, no one bothered them. It wasn't until the third morning of summer break when the daily prophet delivered front page news:

HEADMASTER ANNOUNCES HEIR

Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, announced more than the awakening of five muggleborn students and a ghost from petrification on the final day of term. He also identified one of the afflicted students as his own daughter, who had been hiding as a muggleborn for her first two years at Hogwarts school. While Dumbledore has not responded to our request for confirmation and comment, information has been consistent among students who have returned home for summer break.

Anastasia Dumbledore, who reportedly turned thirteen in June, is the sole heir to the Dumbledore name. She was previously featured in our quidditch special on last year's Gryffindor-Slytherin game, which she won for Gryffindor as an alternate under the false surname Green. Examining our previous photo, she bears some of the resemblance of her father's younger self: a trademark ginger with fair skin and pointed nose and shoulders, but there are other traits—hazel eyes and a rather rounded face—that must come from the heir's mother.

Therein lies the true mystery. Considering Albus's age is one hundred and twelve, come this August, he must have courted a very young witch to have a school-aged child. Childbearing years for the average witch span from 17 years of age to 55 years of age. Therefore, the current estimated age of Anastasia's mother must be somewhere between 30 and 68 years.

Other information we received from children of our reporters and those who owled in suggest that Anastasia is a bright and plucky student, who can perform basic algorithms for the transmutation of dragon's blood. We ask anyone with further information please owl the Daily Prophet correspondence desk.

Ever since the article had been released, the journalists had swarmed the entrance of the school, pounding at the gates, doing anything to get their scoop about Anastasia and where exactly she had come from. Every day, they would wait there with their cameras and their notebooks and quills.

Minerva and Albus suggested she stay inside for most of the day, which Anastasia hated the most. The whole reason she wanted Albus to come out about her identity was so that she could live in public as a normal person. Now it felt as if she were just as trapped as before.

So, she was standing at the gates, trying to decide which reporter would not eat her alive.

"It's so hard to know for sure isn't it?" A woman in a beetle green skirt suit appeared beside her. She had blonde curly hair and red triangular glasses. Her notebook and quill floated next to her, already scribbling.

"H-how did you get in here?" Anastasia said, stepping back.

"Really, don't bother with these fools. Your story will be safe with me, Rita Skeeter." The woman handed her a business card that glinted with arial font. Anastasia reached for it, but then felt something fluffy rub against her leg.

She looked down. It was a tabby cat. The cat stepped in between Anastasia and Skeeter and morphed into a full-grown witch in emerald green robes.

"What do you think you're doing, trespassing on school property?" Minerva asked fiercely.

"I'm not trespassing," Skeeter said, "If you remember, Minerva, I was once a student here too. Ravenclaw was my house."

"Oh, I remember you, Skeeter. You may have been a student in 1983, but no longer. Now, you may choose to leave on your own, or I will make you leave," Minerva threatened.

Rita leaned around Minerva's form so she could make eye contact with Anastasia.

"I believe the girl wants an interview, Professor," Rita said.

Minerva looked back and gave Anastasia a disapproving eyebrow. She flustered and shook her head no.

"No, no it's fine. Maybe some other time."

"You heard her, Skeeter. Out." Minerva reiterated, pointing her wand at the woman.

"You're not going to let dear old mumsy tell you what to do, are you—"

"Out!" Minerva shouted, and blasted Rita with a white spell that sent her flying over the iron bars and to the other side of the crowd. Skeeter landed on her bum and scowled.

Then, Minerva lifted her wand to her throat.

"Albus, one found a way in. The obnoxious one. We'll need to put up wards above the castle as well. Right. See you in a moment."

Minerva repocketed her wand and looked at the reporters.

"What are you all waiting for?" she asked. "There will be no interviews today. Shoo!"

Minerva waved her hands aggressively until all of them trudged disappointingly back down the slope.

Anastasia watched the professor's expression. Her face had turned red and furious.

"Minnie, I'm sorry I came down here. I just don't understand why we can't do an interview. Don't you want to clear your name?"

The press leak had hurt Minerva too. At the time of the first article, Anastasia's mother had yet to be identified, and everyone knew there was no one closer to Albus than Minerva. The gossip columns began to circulate, and when she found her name on the list of speculations, Minerva tore up the paper and set it on fire.

Anastasia had been in Minerva's office doing homework at the time, and not understanding why the professor was so upset, Anastasia became quite upset herself. She wondered what she had done to make Minerva not see her as worthy of being her daughter, despite Minerva always treating her as such. To sufficiently comfort her, Minerva had to explain quite a lot about life.

"It's not about whether people think I'm your mother," she said. "You know that I care for you. The problem is that the article insinuated that I had relations with your father, and that would be highly inappropriate. If that rumor were true, I would resign immediately."

"But you do have relations," Anastasia continued, "you're best friends."

Minerva froze, almost laughed, and shook her head. Then, she poured them a cup of tea and explained how people come about in the world. After which, Anastasia very clearly understood the professor's earlier outrage.

"Your father didn't tell you about his agreement with Narcissa Malfoy, did he?" Minerva asked as they stood at the gates on that sunny day, waiting for Albus to come down from the castle to set the wards.

Anastasia frowned and shook her head.

"What's it got to do with her?" she asked.

"Last term, Albus found out that you were stealing the inhalers for Draco Malfoy. He convinced Narcissa that if she revealed the truth about your birth publicly, that we could supply Malfoy with his asthma medication discretely while he's at school. Poppy supplied enough to last him through the summer, but if Narcissa does not call a special into the Daily Prophet, Poppy will not give him his medication next year. That was their agreement."

Anastasia knew Narcissa was her godmother, that Narcissa and her mother had been best friends when they were young. She also knew that Draco suffered from asthma, which was considered a muggle illness by pureblood families, and if his ailment were to be revealed, he would lose his financial and magical inheritance.

"But that's not fair, he can't do anything about having asthma," Anastasia argued.

"I agree," Minerva said sharply. "But because of Mr. Malfoy's stubbornness against letting us treat him, they're forcing our hand. If Narcissa wants under-the-table medication provided to their son, she's going to have to pay for it with an honest report to the Prophet. Neither you nor I are going to make that any easier for her by spilling the beans ahead of time."

Anastasia nodded. At that point, her father appeared with Poppy.

"I figured three heads are better than one for this spell," Albus said. He assigned points at which Minerva, Poppy, and himself would stand at three points surrounding the grounds. Anastasia stayed with Minerva, squatting in the grass beside the path and picking dandelions out of the ground. Once Poppy and Albus had walked to their places and signaled back, the three adult magics pointed their wands into the sky, and a great crosshatched net of light formed a dome above the castle. It flashed rose pink, and then disappeared.

"What will that do?" Anastasia asked, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"I'm not sure how Skeeter got in," Minerva said, "but if she comes from above, it'll give her a right shock."

Later that eve, she lay on her bed in her room listening to muggle albums on her CD player. Charity Burbage had gifted her the entire Simon and Garfunkel discography for her birthday before leaving to visit her family in the country. Anastasia heard the vague sounds of Minerva and Albus arguing in the den of the headmaster's suite. She hit pause on The Sound of Silence to listen.

"Albus, why didn't you organize a press conference? You just had to announce it in front of the students without any warning?" Minerva cried.

"I promised Anastasia moments before she was petrified, that we would come out about her identity as soon as the chamber had been sealed and the students revived. I held my promise. Besides, I thought you were happy with this decision," Albus said back in a voice, straining to remain calm.

"I am! I only wish you had given it a moment's more thought."

Minerva wasn't the only one who was frustrated with Albus's seeming lack of courtesy. Suddenly, people were coming out of the woodwork to give her father a piece of their minds. A day later, an elderly man, who looked nearly exactly like Albus with a little more weight on him, strode into the headmaster's office unannounced. The fellow turned out to be Anastasia's Uncle Aberforth. Aberforth nearly cried when he saw her and did so when he pulled Anastasia in for a startled embrace. When he decided to leave, he turned to his brother.

"I'll be checking in from now on, brother. I won't let this end like it did the first time. You better be treating her well, raising her right, paying attention to her—" Aberforth looked furious, red in the face like he could have gone on for ages.

"Noted." Albus said simply and waited for him to leave.

"What did he mean the first time?" Anastasia asked as soon as Aberforth left. "You're telling me I had an uncle all this time who lived practically next door and I never met him?"

"Aberforth and I have not been on speaking terms in a very long time. As for his statement, I would prefer you didn't mention it. It's an old fight that doesn't concern you."

"Sure, seems like it did." Anastasia commented.

"Well, it didn't, you're your own person, not at all like—it doesn't concern you."

"You keep saying that…"

Albus shut his mouth and didn't say a thing more, and Anastasia traversed up the stairs to try and complete her summer homework. She and Hermione owled back and forth constantly, comparing notes and attempting to catch up on all the curriculum they missed while petrified. That was even more difficult for Anastasia who missed six months of classes instead of three. They had started an owl-train of notes and helpful hints with the other students who had been petrified, but there seemed to be some disconnect between herself and Justin Finch-Fletchley. Whenever Hermione sent him something, he failed to send it to Anastasia.

"Justin, would you please send me Hermione's charms notes on scourging charms?" she wrote.

"Sorry, must have misplaced them," he replied.

"Hermione, could you send me those charms notes again? Justin lost them."

"I thought you already saw them. Penelope has them now," said Hermione.

"Penelope doesn't even need them for that topic," Anastasia argued, "She's three years ahead of us."

"I wrote an advanced section on scourging for rust and corrosion," Hermione replied, "Penelope wanted to take a look."

Finally, Anastasia gave up on Justin sending her anything, and decided to learn everything on her own.

The worry that Narcissa Malfoy would not come clean about the whole situation, plagued Anastasia even more. What would happen if Minerva's name was not cleared, and the gossip continued? Would Minerva leave? What about her father? What would happen to Draco without his medication, considering he almost died the year before? She picked up a parchment and quill to write him, but she couldn't think of the right words to begin the conversation.

Luckily, she did not have to worry much longer.

HEAD GENEAOLOGIST REVEALS SECRET NEONATAL STUDY IN DUMBLEDORE CASE

Dr. Narcissa Malfoy, head of the genealogy department and director of the neonatal unit at St. Mungo's Hospital announced a press conference following an incident on Monday, when people swarmed the unit, demanding to see the birth certificate of Anastasia Dumbledore.

During the press conference, Malfoy divulged the extent of her research in magical neonatal innovations, admitting she used specialized magic to help Anastasia's mother conceive the child, and the girl's mother and professor had no romantic involvement.

Malfoy also revealed that Anastasia Dumbledore's mother was a witch named Holly Sinclair, widow of auror, Francis Sinclair, and member of the resistance in the fight against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Narcissa Malfoy had been close friends with Holly Sinclair (maiden name Cambridge) since their years at Hogwarts. Malfoy reported that motherhood had been a long-term goal of Sinclair's and was crushed by her husband's murder. Francis Sinclair died in a Death Eater raid in 1979.

But the circumstances surrounding Dumbledore's birth grow even murkier when considering an incident that occurred on June 5th, 1980. Narcissa Malfoy's office was raided by he-who-must-not-be-named, in attempt to burn all records and data contained within. Holly Sinclair had been in Malfoy's office at the time of the attack and was killed by the dark wizard himself. Originally, Malfoy had claimed she was not present at the time of the attack. A viable alibi, as she gave birth to her son Draco Malfoy, hours later.

Malfoy admitted during the press conference that she had been present the day he-who-shall-not-be-named entered the office to destroy the records. In her revised account, Holly Sinclair stepped into her office to complete paperwork regarding Anastasia's birth. The dark wizard intruded and mortally wounded Sinclair. After he departed, Malfoy was able to save Sinclair's child.

As for the type of magic required to conceive young Anastasia, Malfoy refused to reveal it, calling it patented. She stated that her research was one reason the dark wizard targeted her, and she lied to protect her family from the rage of the dark wizard.

Prophet reporters later reached out to Lucius Malfoy at their household but received no comment.

Although Anastasia was thankful that Narcissa made the right decision and cleared everything up, she realized that it didn't help her much. Since Narcissa Malfoy's press conference, the commentary had run wild. People were calling Anastasia everything from a bastard child to a genetic abomination. Albus and Minerva tried to hide the papers from her by burning them after reading, but she managed to always find an extra near the greenhouses. Pomona had gone on a botany trip to South America, and the mail had piled up at her office door.

Whenever Anastasia read one of the horrible articles, she took a breath and placed it down, knowing there was nothing she could do about what others thought of her.

One afternoon after the article came out a Hogwarts house elf appeared in the headmaster's office. Anastasia worked feverishly on counterspell theory in her transfiguration textbook at a small writing desk Albus summoned so they could keep each other company.

"Sir, there's a couple here to see you."

"A couple?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Cambridge, sir."

Albus rubbed his face, took a deep breath, and looked up with tired eyes.

"See them in."

Anastasia frowned at the door as a slovenly, senior couple hobbled into the office and approached the desk. Upon seeing Albus, the woman with dark curly hair gained some spring in her step and approached, slapping the newspaper on the surface in front of him.

"We trusted you. We trusted you and it turned out you inducted our daughter into some secret society? You're the reason she got into so much trouble those years. The reason she is dead."

"Mrs. Cambridge, I have nothing but the highest respect for Holly's sacrifice…for your sacrifice…but if it weren't for Holly and Francis, we would not have defeated Voldemort in the first place—"

Anastasia stood, realizing these people were her blood grandparents.

"Don't say that horrid name in front of me." The woman glanced at Anastasia and looked her up and down with a mixture of scrutiny and solemnity. "Is this her? The child?"

"Her name is Anastasia, and she is a teenager," Albus explained.

The woman took slight steps towards her until she could reach out and touch her face. Anastasia stood nearly her height.

The woman drew her hand back.

"I am your grandmother. Tamara Cambridge."

These grandparents of hers were easily fifty years younger than Albus.

"I-it's a pleasure to meet you." Anastasia managed to mumble awkwardly. She saw similar features in this woman's face as she had the ghost of her mother in purgatory.

"And I'm Eli Cambridge." The man also stepped forward, extended his hand, and shook Anastasia's. He had nearly black hair, combed over his head, and wrinkles striating his cheeks.

"You are so like her," he said.

"Thank you." Anastasia could think of nothing else to say.

"She has Hufflepuff blood," Tamara said as she turned and shuffled to the door, "I suggest you not anger her."

"Understood," Albus said, but he could not repress a smirk.

Anastasia cocked her head to one side in curiosity.

The woman squinted at him suspiciously and disappeared down the stairs. Eli tipped his hat at Anastasia with a smile and followed behind his wife.

Anastasia couldn't remember ever being angry with Albus before she began attending Hogwarts. He revealed to her, mere weeks ago, that she had been angry with him the first time she manifested an obscurus, but he had taken her memories from that experience to save her life.

Anastasia looked towards the pensive and wondered if there would be a way to see what happened three years before.

Albus cleared his throat.

"What did she mean? I have Hufflepuff blood?" Anastasia asked, turning to him.

"As I am a descendent of Godric Gryffindor, Holly was a descendent of Helga Hufflepuff. You have the blood of two Hogwarts founders…very rare for someone of your generation."

Anastasia looked down at the polished wood floor. It hadn't seemed to have mattered how many Hogwarts founders she descended from. Her life was impossibly difficult either way.