Dumbledore looked around at the ladies before him. They had joined him from the Department of Mysteries, and were prepared to do whatever he asked. They had overridden Fudge's own command to stay at the Ministry when they had threatened to leave him if he didn't believe Dumbledore. When Fudge continued to refuse, they left, the Ministry losing their greatest weapons. That had been nine months ago. He had had no major jobs for them like they were used to until this point, and now he was giving them one of the hardest jobs of all. Dumbledore looked at the three before him again.
A girl with gently waving light red hair on the left looked at him inquiringly with her hazel eyes, waiting for her duties. A very skinny, lanky girl, Heather knew that she was not center-point in the mission, and was quite all right with that. She liked being in the background, the backbone of the entire mission where she made sure there were no flaws. She was constantly found going over a plan for the hundredth time just to make sure she didn't miss anything, though she still occasionally did, infuriating her to no end. She wasn't quite as quick-witted as the other two, so she was glad to be where no could see her. She did have quite a brain, however, having to be ready for any situation and already preparing a back-up plan. She was also the one the other girls went to for injuries, being the most knowledgeable about medicine. None of the girls had been sorted at Hogwarts, but Heather probably would have been something close to a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw, Dumbledore decided.
The girl on the far right had blonde hair that was a little more crimped and was longer than Heather's. Elyse's physique was stockier than Heather's, and she quite often attracted boys when she was seen, though she drove them away with her eyes. She had gorgeous blue eyes, and she knew it; she prided herself in being able to stare down any man because of those eyes. They stared at Dumbledore almost defiantly, though he knew it was not because she didn't like him—he was the only man she had met she could not stare down. She was the one who was always nearby in case Heather missed a flaw in the plan and action needed to be taken, or the center of the mission failed or blew cover. She would be there to swoop down and modify memories or whatever needed to be done; she was the one who was always watching.
The girl in the middle was the only one not looking at Dumbledore. She was staring at the floor, her odd eyes hidden. They were mostly blue, but in the corner of her right eye was a deep brown. She was in between Elyse and Heather when it came to physique, but she could care less about her appearance, as everyone close to her knew. She was the one who got down and dirty, and almost always the center of the mission, where it got rough. This mission was no different. Katie shuffled her feet nervously—she had been picked for the center of the mission again. Her straight, long brown hair swished as a light breeze swept in through an open window. Slowly, she looked up at Dumbledore, her eyes unsure—pleading, maybe—as she spoke.
"You wanted us?" Katie asked.
"You've been debriefed?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Yes," Elyse answered.
"Then there is little more I have to tell you. You know what you are to do, when to do it; all the arrangements have been made. I have talked to everyone who needs know, and still this remains a great secret. Katie, if you blow up this mission, no one will be able to go in like this again. The field is set, and it's you three who determines who the winner will be," said Dumbledore.
"I know," Katie whispered. "We know."
"You can do it, Kate," Heather whispered encouragingly. "We'll be right there if something goes wrong. Well, Lyse will, but I'll be one call away."
"Yeah, I'll be right behind you," Elyse agreed. "You won't even know I'm there."
Katie snorted. "With you behind me, even Longbottom will know you're there!"
Elyse glared. "Oh, be quiet! He will not, and neither will you!"
Dumbledore just smiled as the three friends argued. He had known them since the day they were born, and they were the most unlikely witches to become a trio at the time, if he did say so himself. Elyse had been born screaming so badly that the Healer in charge had put a silencing charm on her. Heather had been born silent; she wasn't much of a talker unless you got to her innermost secrets, something Katie and Elyse had been destined to do from the moment they saw her. Katie was born always wanting to be held, to know that she was cared for. The nurse couldn't put her down without her softly crying and putting up a face no one could resist. And he, Dumbledore, had sat and watched it all from a distance, smiling as the trio had been born.
He frowned, however, at those memories, too. At that time, all of their parents had been around—but no more. Elyse's mother had died hours after giving birth to her, and her father had disappeared when she was three. They had yet to find out what really happened to him. Heather's parents had been muggles, and they were killed in a car crash when she was one and a half years old. Katie's—Dumbledore flinched at this. This was the worst memory of all, the one that sometimes would haunt his dreams. He had never forgotten that day, and still wondered if he could have stopped it. Voldemort himself had murdered Katie's parents when she was eight months old. She and her sister had been sent to the O.O.O., or Olex's Optimistic Orphanage, after being rescued by Dumbledore himself, though he was not in time to save their parents. All three girls were sent there when their parents left them, and that's when they met. When they were four, Dumbledore came to get them and put them in one of the Ministry's programs, since they were showing amazing capabilities in one particular subject that the Ministry desperately needed at the time.
Since then, they had been secrets of the Ministry, known only to Dumbledore, Fudge, and those who worked inside the Department of Mysteries. Anyone else who knew of them as who they really were was dead. When they left the Ministry and came to Dumbledore, the Order found out about them, but no one else even knew of their existence as what they were now. Mr. Olex had them on his records, of course, but he had no idea of what they were doing now, who they served, or where they were. No one would be able to tell who these three were if they really didn't want people to know.
"…and his great-great-great-great-grandmother had horrible hearing, so Longbottom couldn't possibly hear me!" Elyse argued.
"Oh yes, after seven generations, it still must carry on!" Katie said sarcastically.
"Can't we get along?" Heather pleaded.
That was Heather. She was always trying to be the peacemaker.
"Not until she admits she won't hear me! I've put up enough evidence, and it's not like I'm that loud!" Elyse argued.
That was Elyse. She put in extra effort on her part, whether it made her win or lose. No one knew why she did that—her parents certainly hadn't done anything of the sort—but she did, and that was all they cared about. She put in the extra effort, one of the reasons she was on the team. It helped with her job, too; she put in the extra precautions necessary.
"Yeah, well I'll knock that pretty little head off your shoulders if you don't stop yelling!" Katie said warningly.
And that was Katie. Not the peacemaker, but she always had the last say in anything. However, there was one exception… but they weren't going into that. Katie hated the subject, and would start screaming, pretend the subject didn't exist and that she was totally clueless, or start talking about the weather when it came up. One day she would have to face her problem… but apparently today wasn't the day.
"So," Dumbledore said quietly, raising his fingers together to peer over them at the trio. They silenced immediately. "I can tell you are anxious to begin? No doubt Elyse is quite ready to prove she's not as loud as our dearest Tonks?"
"You better believe it! I'm no klutz!" Elyse exclaimed.
"Ready when you are," Heather agreed.
Katie remained silent. She had not spoken specifically about her role in the mission yet to Dumbledore, and he stared at her intently as he so often did to see what she thought on the subject.
"I… I won't pretend I'm not nervous or frightened that I'll mess up," Katie said quietly. "There are several reasons why me being head of the mission scares me. It seems, however, that out of the three of us, whether I want to or not, I am the only one capable of doing this. You know, because of…"
She stopped. Everyone nodded for her to continue, all understanding.
"I do wonder, however," she began again, "why such measures must be taken. I mean, I understand it, but—"
"Say no more," Dumbledore interrupted. "Such measures must be taken because of Voldemort's arising. I know, he has been back for a year now, but it is only now that the wizarding world believes it. He will strike fiercely with no reason to relent or show mercy, and Harry Potter will be at the top of his list to kill. If someone isn't there, someone who will go with him—no, not Riles. She has been restricted since the end of Harry's fourth year."
Elyse and Heather had been about to interrupt, but Dumbledore stopped them. They had gone through this option, and he knew exactly what they would ask next.
"But why can't she, Dumbledore?" Elyse asked. "Not that we don't want a mission, but—"
"Why she cannot is something between her and myself, rather like why I trust Professor Snape."
Elyse scowled. "Dirty-nosed, slimy-haired, unappreciative, insensitive git, you mean."
"My dear Elyse, I know Professor Snape is not the nicest of people, but do try and be kind to him. He is our insider. Without him…"
Unnoticed by Dumbledore, Elyse had started mouthing rudely while rolling her eyes. She'd clearly heard this speech many times.
"I could do it," Katie said suddenly in the middle of Dumbledore's lecture.
There was silence for a moment.
"What?" Heather asked, sure she'd misheard her.
"I could take Snape's job. It would be so easy, and you know I could, Dumbledore. We don't need Snape, you just don't want to use me," Katie said, staring him in the face.
His eyes looked up in hers, the twinkle in his eyes bright despite the minimal amount of truth in her statement. "I would not want to separate you from your colleagues."
"You say it like that would be a bad thing," Katie said with a knowing smirk on her face, racing around behind Dumbledore's chair.
"EXCUSE YOU?!?!" Elyse and Heather burst out angrily, racing around Dumbledore's chair to catch Katie for her comment.
Dumbledore couldn't help but smile. He held many secrets, some the greatest there would ever be, but one secret had just gotten out—Harry Potter's permanent shadows enjoyed playing tag.
A/N:
Oh, goodie, lots to say….
BAH! Well, that was a nice hello, wasn't it? Hello! Just here to give you fair warning, okay's? Kelly Damen was originally not meant to be a Mary Sue, but before I knew it, that was exactly what she had become. After the editing process, I was amazed at how much I managed to make her not-so-Mary-Sue, though I don't doubt for a second that she may still have that aurora about her. I beg you to read on and ignore the whole gay Mary Sueness. -stabs self- I was WAY into the Fic before my highly underused brain processed just what she'd become. I know the editing process helped some, I'm just unsure how much. Do tell me, won't you?
This my latest—please R and R. Flamers, please keep it to a minimum. Because this is my latest Fic, I welcome comments, good and bad, but DO try and say it nicely, won't you?
Sequel to "Voldemort's Tale" and the many before that. I'll tell you what you need as you go. If I forget something or you still don't understand, you can read my other Fics or e-mail me at: If you can't see that, check out my profile. It's there.
Thankx!
Riles
FYI: For anyone who's been waiting for me to add on to the first Fic, Snape's Warning, I'm going to do that as soon as this one is posted. . When you see how many chapters this thing is at the end, you'll understand why it's taken so long….