We miss the point to carry on.
All things fall through.
That's how it feels, when you hear the sound of disappointment.

August 27th 2PM Saturday

"Jenny!" Hermione yelled at me from the ground, "Slow down or you're going to get yourself killed." I let out a loud whoop of joy in reply as I flew through the air on one of the Weasleys old Comet broomsticks. Draco and Ron were flying a short distance away from me, lazily passing a quaffle back and forth.

Hermione was sitting on a blanket below us working on some ministry paperwork. Ginny was away from the Burrow taking care of the twin's shop for the day. Fred and George had left early in the morning to go to New York for some kind of wizarding joke shop trade show. Arthur was off at the ministry and Molly was working in the garden.

"Jenny, you stop that foolishness right now!" Molly shrieked as I dove towards the ground, pulling up at the last moment. The old Comet I was riding wasn't as fast and nimble as my father's Firebolt but I was able to pull off some pretty reckless stunts nonetheless.

"Would you two stop worrying so much down there?" Ron shouted, "I'm sure Jenny will be fine."

"This is getting boring," Draco groaned as Ron passed the quaffle to him once more, "Why don't we take out the practice snitch?" Ron stopped in mid-air and gave me a nervous glance before shaking his head.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," he said, "What if we lose it?"

"Come on Weasley," Draco sneered, "He's been gone for almost twenty years."

"What are you two talking about?" I asked as I flew up to hover next to them.

"He doesn't want to use the snitch because it was Harry's," Draco replied.

"That's not it," Ron snapped, "We haven't used it since the last time Harry was here."

"Why not?" I asked.

"We just haven't," Ron answered quickly, "Who knows if it even works anymore."

"Only one way to find out!" Draco called back to us as he flew down to the little wooden broom shed in the backyard. Ron let out a small sigh and then flew down after him. I trailed along behind him. "I'm going to release it now," Draco said as he walked out of the shed holding a small box, "First one to catch it wins."

He flipped open the lid on the box and I could see a small gold ball lying inside. Suddenly two small wings shot out from the ball and it flew off into the air. I watched it for a moment but soon it disappeared into the sky.

"Let's go," Ron said as he flew off after the snitch.

"Come on Jenny," Draco said as he motioned me to follow him, "If you're half as good as Harry was at being Seeker you should be able to find it in no time." His lips twitched slightly as he added, "But I was pretty good myself so don't get your hopes up." And with that he flew off after Ron. I glanced over at Hermione and she gave me a nervous smile before clapping her hands together in encouragement.

I joined Ron and Draco as they flew above the backyard searching for the small, winged ball. Every once in awhile one of them would see it for a moment and go tearing off after it. After following them with no luck I decided to just hover in the air and search the air with my eyes.

"Close your eyes," a voice suddenly whispered in my ear.

"What the hell!" I exclaimed as I lost the grip on my broom and nearly fell off.

"Jenny," Hermione yelled, "are you okay?" I looked behind me to see where the voice had come from, but there was no one there.

"I'm fine," I called back, "Just lost my balance for a moment." I gave her a nervous smile which she returned and then she went back to the paperwork laid out on the ground in front of her.

The voice had said I should close my eyes. How could I catch the snitch if my eyes were closed? It just didn't make any sense. I watched Draco flying off to my right with Ron trailing behind him, both of them searching the sky intently. I thought about joining them but decided to stay put and continue my search from my current place in the air. There was no reason to blindly fly through the sky hoping to spot the little golden ball.

"Blindly," I said to myself as the gears in my brain began to turn, "blindly….blind… That's it!"

"Jenny!" Hermione called out, "did you say something?"

"No," I replied quickly, "just thinking to myself." I had figured out what the voice was trying to tell me but I wasn't sure if it would work or not. I remained hovering in my spot and slowly closed my eyes.

Nothing happened at first, but after a few minutes my senses were assaulted with sounds that normally went unnoticed. Hermione's paperwork rustled below me as she thumbed through it, Molly's shoes made small crunching noises as she stepped over dried leaves in the garden, I could even hear Ron and Draco flying through the air above me.

My eyes shot open as I heard a whirring noise somewhere below me. Without another thought I leaned forward and dove. The ground was rising up to meet me but the only thing I noticed was the small glint of gold flitting back and forth above the grass. I could faintly hear Ron and Draco swooping down to follow me and Hermione yelling at me to stop while Molly rushed over from the garden.

If I had been riding my father's Firebolt I may have had a chance but since I was riding the old Comet it didn't take long for Ron and Draco to pass me, Draco on his Lightning Bolt and Ron on his Nimbus 2010. I pulled up to watch as Draco and Ron sped toward the ground. Draco leaned down to flatten himself completely on his broom and he slowly inched past Ron.

Draco reached out one hand and snatched the snitch out of the air, pulling out of his dive gracefully while Ron followed behind him. Draco was smiling as Ron glared at him.

"Well Weasley," Draco said triumphantly as he waved the snitch above him with one hand and waved at Ron with the other, "I guess that will show you that you can't beat…" Draco was cut off as he suddenly disappeared and his Lightning Bolt clattered down to the ground. Ron flew down to the ground in stunned silence and I followed after him. Hermione and Molly ran up to stand beside us and we all stared down at Draco's broom with matching expressions of shock and disbelief.

"WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED?!" I exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Ron exclaimed as he picked up the Lightning Bolt to examine it, "Hermione, what…"

"It was a portkey," Hermione replied before Ron could even ask, "I'd recognize it anywhere."

"Where in the hell did it take him?" I asked. Hermione just shook her head and Molly began to cry. "What do we do now?"

"Let's head back inside and I'll go and call Arthur," Hermione said as she regained her composure. "Ron, you go and see if you can find Severus," she said as she shook Ron out of his stupor, "He may have some idea where Draco might have gone."

"What should I do?" I asked.

"You help Molly inside and try to calm her down," she replied as she pushed me toward Mrs. Weasley. I tentatively took Molly's hand and began to lead her back to the Burrow.

ONE HOUR LATER

"I had someone check all of the ministry records on portkeys," said Arthur, as his head floated in the green flames of the fireplace, "and that portkey was definitely not an authorized ministry portkey."

"I didn't figure that it would be," Hermione replied, "but what do we do now? Isn't there any way to find out where it took him?" Arthur shook his head.

"We have no way to track unauthorized portkeys," he answered back dejectedly, "but I'm going to send a team of aurors out to search for him."

"But Arthur," Molly cried, "there must be something we can do. What if he's being tortured?! Or he could be killed!"

"Molly," Arthur replied, "this is Draco we're talking about. He's not a child and he knows how to take care of himself, I'm sure we'll find him." His head disappeared and the flames became red and gold once again.

Hermione moved to the couch to comfort Molly as she cried while I sat on the floor next to the fireplace staring into the flames. Suddenly the fireplace glowed green and I leapt to my feet just as Ron stepped out of the flames, followed by Severus a moment later. They both stood in front of us for a moment and took in the scene. Ron walked over to the couch to sit on the other side of his mother while Severus came to stand next to me.

"I'm assuming that Arthur wasn't able to help," he said softly.

"Apparently there's no way to track unauthorized portkeys," I answered with a nod, "but he said he was going to send out a team of aurors to search for him."

Everyone jumped slightly when there was a knock on the front door. "Anyone home?" a voice called out, "It's Dean, I came to fix your clock!" We all sat there for a moment until Dean knocked once more.

"Jenny dear," Molly said, "could you get the door and show Dean into the kitchen?"

"Sure," I replied softly as I headed toward the door with Severus trailing behind me. I opened the door to find dark-skinned young man with short brown hair. He was dressed in a plain blue t-shirt and jeans.

"Hello," he said nervously as he eyed Severus standing behind me, "Ginny called me and said that their clock needed to be fixed."

"Yes," I replied with a nod as I waved him into the house, "Let's head to the kitchen and I'll show you where it's at."

"I know where it's at," he answered with a chuckle that turned into a cough as Severus glared down at him. "Well then, I'll just go take a look at that clock." Dean walked toward the kitchen with Severus and I following behind him. I slowed down a bit and turned to look at Severus.

"Always have to scare the children don't you?" I whispered with a grin.

"Of course," he said with a smirk.

"So what's wrong with the clock," Dean asked as he eyed the clock. "The only thing I can see that's strange is Draco's hand sitting on lost," he added.

"At the moment he is lost," I replied quickly, "but that's not that problem. We need you to reattach a hand to the clock." Dean looked back and forth between Severus and myself with a puzzled expression.

"Reattach a hand?" he asked, "whose hand could you possibly want to reattach?" I handed him the wooden box holding my father's hand for the clock. He gasped in surprise as he stared down at the picture. "Is this who I think it is?" he questioned.

"Yep," I answered with a grin. Dean continued to stare at the hand until Severus cleared his throat causing Dean to jump in surprise.

"It would be in your best interest Mr. Thomas," Severus sneered, "if you would keep this matter to yourself." Dean appeared to be confused for a moment before nodding his head in understanding.

"Of course Professor Snape," he replied anxiously, "I won't tell anyone about this. I doubt anyone would believe me anyway. Why don't you two go back in the other room? This is going to take awhile and it looks like the Weasleys could use your company more." Severus and I both nodded in agreement and walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

"Do you think they'll find Draco?" I asked Severus quietly.

"I should hope so," he replied sadly.

"What if he doesn't return by Monday? Are we still going to leave for Hogwarts?"

"Of course we will. I have classes to teach and with Draco gone all of the professors will need to help take his classes," he answered grimly, "I doubt that Albus would be able to find someone to take over with such short notice."

"I suppose you're right," I replied as I sat down on the floor in front of the fireplace, stretching my legs toward the flames. Severus sat down in the chair next to me. Molly was quietly sobbing while Ron and Hermione were whispering words of comfort to her.

Severus pulled a potions magazine out of one of the pockets of his robe and began to read. I decided to go upstairs and grab my backpack so that I would have something to read as well.

"I'll be right back," I whispered to Severus, "I'm just going to get something upstairs." Severus nodded his head to show that he had heard me. I pushed myself up off the floor and headed upstairs. I was halfway up the stairs when I heard a small popping noise and a gigantic red and gold bird appeared on the banister next to me.

"Holy crap!" I yelled as I lost my footing and began to fall backward. I tumbled down the stairs and landed on the floor with a small thud.

"Jenny!" Molly exclaimed, "Are you okay?" Everyone rushed over to stand above me and Severus bent over to help me up.

"Thanks," I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

"What happened?" Ron asked as Molly and Hermione began to look me over for any injuries.

"That big bird made me trip," I grumbled as I pointed up the stairs. Everyone turned to follow my gaze.

"It's Fawkes," Severus said as he moved past me to walk up the stairs. He watched the bird for a moment until Fawkes held out one claw to reveal a small envelope. Severus untied the envelope and the bird disappeared with another small pop.

"What exactly is Fawkes?" I asked in confusion.

"It's Professor Dumbledore's phoenix," Hermione answered. Severus headed back down the stairs and handed the envelope to me.

"Why are you giving this to me?" I asked.

"It's addressed to you," Severus replied. I turned the envelope over in my hand and found that he was correct.

Jenny Riddle – The Burrow

"Why would he send a letter to me?" I wondered out loud.

"Just open the damn thing already," Severus snapped impatiently.

"Fine," I said angrily as I ripped open the envelope to pull out the letter inside.

Dear Miss Riddle,

Severus has informed me that you will be joining him on the train to Hogwarts on August 29th. I am writing to formally extend an invitation to stay at Hogwarts as long as you like. I am certain that you have many things to discuss with me and many questions you would like to ask and I would be more than happy to answer your inquiries to the best of my ability.

I would like to make one request. Do not discuss your relationship to Harry Potter with anyone besides those that already know. If the public were to find out your identity it could prove to be extremely dangerous to yourself and the Weasleys.

I look forward to meeting you on September 1st, until then, please stay safe.

Albus Dumbledore

"Well, what does the letter say?" Ron asked. Hermione gave him a small jab in the ribs. "What was that for?"

"Don't be rude Ron," Hermione snapped, "If Jenny wants to share the letter with the rest of us then she will."

"I don't care," I said as I shoved the letter into Ron's hands, "It's just an invitation to stay at Hogwarts." Everyone crowded around Ron to read the letter and they all seemed confused by it.

"I wonder why he thinks it would be so dangerous if anyone found out who you are," Hermione said thoughtfully as she read the letter once more, "It's not as if there are any Death Eaters left."

"He must know something we don't," Ron said as he ran a hand through his hair. Severus snorted loudly making everyone jump.

"Dumbledore always knows things that no one else does," he replied in an annoyed tone, "And apparently he doesn't think we need to know."

"I'm finished!" Dean's voice suddenly called out from the kitchen. Ron shoved the letter back into my hand as he rushed to the kitchen with everyone else. I crumpled it up and threw it into the fire.

"Was there a reason for that?" Severus asked with a smirk.

"Not really," I replied with a frown, "just felt like it." In the kitchen we found everyone crowded around the clock staring at it intently.

"Why isn't it doing anything?" Ron asked.

"It won't move until I flip this switch in back," Dean explained, "I thought everyone might want to be here when I turned it on." We all nodded and waited for him to reach back and flip the switch. Almost instantly my father's picture began spinning wildly.

"Is there something wrong with it?" I asked nervously. Dean shook his head and stepped away from the clock to watch with the rest of us.

"It may take awhile to find the right spot," he explained. We stood there and waited for the hand to come to a stop but it continued to spin wildly and then it stopped.

"What did it stop at?" I asked as I looked at the clock over Molly's shoulder. No one spoke as the hand began to shake back and forth. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Dean replied as he continued to stare at the clock. I stepped between everyone to get a closer look and I noticed that my father's picture had turned black.

"He's gone," I said with a gasp and everyone crowded closer together to get a better look. The hand continued to shake until a small crack began to form down the middle. It split down its length and we were no longer staring at one complete hand but two halves instead.

"Bloody hell," Ron exclaimed as the two halves began to pull away from one another. Finally one stopped on 'Deceased' and Molly let out a loud sob. A moment later the other half of the hand stopped next to Draco's on 'Lost'.

"There must be something wrong," Dean said as he began to unpack his tools. I held out a hand to stop him. I glanced at Severus and gave him a pointed look. He nodded his head slightly and pulled out his wand.

"What on earth are you doing Severus?" Molly asked just as Severus pointed his wand at Dean's forehead and whispered "Obliviate."

No one said a word as I picked up Dean's tools. Severus took Dean by the arm and led him out of the kitchen while telling him what a good job he did in fixing the clock. Severus led him to the front door and I handed him his tools. He appeared to be slightly confused but after a short farewell he left without another word.

"Are things always this exciting around here?" I asked Severus as he closed the front door.

"Only when we have a Potter in our midst," he replied with a smirk.

"Does the same apply to a Riddle?" I asked with my own smirk. He raised an eyebrow and headed back toward the kitchen.

"Not quite," he called back to me, "Riddle's cause more of a terrifying feeling rather than one of excitement."

"So which one am I," I said in amusement, "exciting or terrifying?" He stopped for a moment and glanced back at me with a smile.

"Perhaps you are a little bit of both."