Chapter Five Concerning the Matter of Adria Thornwood

Professor Dumbledore opened the door with the griffin knocker, and ushered them into the dimly-lit office.

Fawkes sat on his perch beside the door, long scarlet feathers dropping from his tail. He looked the worst Harry had ever seen him. "Hello, Fawkes," Harry said as he gently stroked the phoenix's featherless head.

"I've been telling him for days to move on, but as always, he sits and waits until the last possible moment," said Dumbledore from behind Harry. "I believe the rebirthing process must cause him pain, as he always delays until he resembles nothing more then an extremely ugly plucked chicken."

The portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses along the curved walls heralded his return as Dumbledore moved to conjure extra chairs in front of his desk. They landed with a soft thump alongside of the two currently in front of Dumbledore's claw-footed desk. Harry watched as he moved the Pensieve from his desk to the cabinet, taking care to close and lock the doors.

"Never in all my time at Hogwarts have I seen such destruction of one of our rooms," Professor McGonagall said as she walked towards the headmaster's desk. "And without a wand!"

"Our kind has always been able to produce magic without a wand under extreme duress, as I'm sure Harry himself can attest, Minerva," said Dumbledore as he looked at Harry meaningfully over his half-moon spectacles.

Harry straightened his shoulders under the headmaster's glance. He knew about wandless magic, and had performed some in the past, that much was true. But never had he destroyed a room with it. All he did was somehow transfer himself to the top of a chimney and make the glass disappear from a snake display on Dudley's birthday, many years ago. Well, there was the Aunt Marge incident, Harry thought, suppressing a smile even though he couldn't help but think she deserved what she got considering how horrible she had been to him while he was growing up.

"Yes, I know," Professor McGonagall said with a slight nod, her lips still pinched in a thin line. "But the power she displayed, Albus! Why would she have destroyed the Hospital Wing?"

Professor Dumbledore went to the windows and pulled aside the curtains, letting in the waning gray light from outside. Shadows in the room were not dispelled in the slightest as the sun was setting behind the gray gloom covering the sky. With a wave of his wand, the numerous candles above their heads flickered to life, banishing the slowly encroaching shadows along the curves of the room. "Well, Minerva, I do believe it would not have made a difference what room Miss Thornwood awoke in. I would imagine she felt her outburst had been justified."

"Justified?" Professor McGonagall said in disbelief. "How could she justify shattering the glass in every single window in the Hospital Wing?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Visualize if you will, finding yourself in her situation, at the school you attended, but surrounded by no one you recognize. Now imagine you are suffering from a curse such as hers, and you might be surprised at the power you could wield with just your two hands."

Professor McGonagall sniffed as she moved to an end chair, her skirts and robes swishing gently around her ankles as she sat down. "I suppose you are right, but still," she said, bringing a hand up to briefly touch the perfectly coiffed bun at the back of her head. "What could she have been thinking?"

"She may not have been thinking at all," Bill said from the back of the room where he was still watching scarlet feathers fall from the phoenix's tail. "I would say it looked as if she were operating purely on primal instinct; the fight or flight reflex. She may have believed she could escape through the windows. When she realized she would not be able to use that route, she resorted to hiding in the cupboard, hoping she would not be found."

Harry looked over at Hermione who was standing close to Ron. The muscles around her mouth tightened into a thin frown. She looked as if she would rather be in detention with Snape then attending this meeting in the headmaster's office. He tried to catch her eye, but she was looking down at the faded carpet, avoiding the eyes of everyone else in the room. He watched as her hands fluttered restlessly to her hair, trying to smooth the bushy tendrils escaping her braid.

Ron met Harry's eyes over her head. He nodded at Harry and went over to her. "Come on," Ron said gently as he put his arm around her shoulders. "It'll be okay, Hermione." He led her to a chair and waited until she sat down to look at his eldest brother.

Bill caught his eye and walked over to Ron, clamping a hand on his shoulder in hello, before turning quickly to shake Harry's hand. He leaned in to say hello to Hermione who nodded at him before he took the other end chair. Once Harry and Ron were settled in the two remaining middle chairs, Professor Dumbledore summoned an old iron teakettle from a low shelf behind his desk and with a flick of his wand, steam began to wisp from the spout in operatic form.

"Tea?" he asked and without waiting for replies, he conjured a silver tray and enough porcelain cups for everyone. Professor Dumbledore took a tin from a drawer and scooped a healthy portion of tea leaves into the kettle. He rested his elbows on the desk, taking care not to jostle his bad hand as he allowed the tea to steep.

"Bill, you may have already gathered we believe the girl below in the infirmary is suffering from a curse," Dumbledore said as he looked soberly at the eldest Weasley brother.

Bill nodded, and said, "I could feel it as soon as I entered the room. I won't be able to fully grasp the intricacies of the spell until she is in a better frame of mind. It interferes with trying to break it down, if I'm able to at all. I've never encountered a curse like this before. It's very primitive in construction but at the same time quite complicated." He tilted his head to the side, thinking. "Her tongue is missing, yes?"

Dumbledore nodded, sliding the tray to him. He lifted the lid of the kettle to sniff the liquid inside. He nodded slightly and poured the amber tea into the delicate cups. With one hand he smoothed down his long beard as he used his wand to float towards everyone a delicate teacup. Only once the tea was served and the tray returned to wherever he conjured it from did he settle back into his chair with his own cup. The wizard in the portrait behind his desk looked down at the adults and students with unmasked curiosity.

Dumbledore glanced at a portrait to the right of his desk. "I know all of you must have many questions regarding our guest, and Professor Dippet, I hope you will be able to fill us in on some of the details of when Adria first joined us here at Hogwarts." All heads looked up to the portrait of the former Headmaster of Hogwarts above Dumbledore's desk. Harry recognized him from the vision Tom Riddle had shown him in his second year. Armando Dippet was a small, wizened wizard who only had a few wisps of gray hair floating on his bald head. Professor Dippet sat up straighter in his chair and cleared his throat. "You have sent an owl to my person, as I requested, Professor Dumbledore?" he asked in a shaky voice.

Dumbledore nodded his head. "I did, and he deferred to you on this matter. He stated your portrait was commissioned soon after the events of that year and felt you would recall the circumstances much clearer than he at this time."

The portrait of the former headmaster bowed his head briefly. "Then I am ready to be of service when you need me."

Harry looked at the portrait incredulously. Professor Dippet was old when he was painted more than fifty years ago. No wonder he couldn't answer their questions directly. He must be positively ancient by now, Harry thought.

Dumbledore looked at everyone in front of him in turn. "Now, what I have to say in regards to the girl in the Hospital Wing may come as a bit of a surprise to you, Bill," he said as his mouth curled in a slight smile. "Or not, depending on how the keepers of Gringotts have used your skills."

Bill shifted in his seat. "I gathered from your owl you considered her a bit of an anomaly."

"Ah, yes. An anomaly is very good way to describe Adria. She is a girl out of place in time. Born in 1927 and here today looking as if she were a contemporary to the students sitting alongside of you. The last any of us heard of her was in 1944, when she disappeared from Hogwarts."

Bill leaned forward in his chair. "Has she used a time turner?"

"No, we've already ruled out the time turners as an option," McGonagall said, shaking her head.

Bill nodded as he glanced at Ron sitting next to him. "Please forgive me, but I'm not sure how my brother and his friends figure into this conundrum, Professor Dumbledore."

"They were the first to discover her return, Bill. I believe they found her in the hallway leading to the Gryffindor common room."

At Harry and Ron's nod, Dumbledore picked up his wand, twirling it in his uninjured fingers for a moment before laying it back down on the desk. "If you will allow me, I would like to give you all some insight on what the world was like for us back in 1944. Professor McGonagall remembers all too well, I'm sure.

"You are already aware of the trials the school was presented with towards the end of term in 1944. The heir of Slytherin had opened the Chamber of Secrets and a Muggle born student died. Of course, now we know for sure Tom Riddle was the wizard who opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was the one who controlled the basilisk that year and not Hagrid as nearly everyone was led to believe. After Hagrid was expelled, the attacks stopped and the school year ended. When the new term began in September of 1944, Professor Dippet and the rest of us teachers were ready to put the horrors of the previous year behind us and move on with our students and our studies.

"What you may not realize was the Muggle world was in the final thralls of a World War. Germany was being led by a fanatical leader who believed there was one true race to rule the world, a race he deemed pure. A master race, if you will. A race of blond-haired blue-eyed people who he felt was superior humans in everyway. Any other breed of individual that fell shy of his ideal, especially in religion, was corralled into camps and put to death. It was a very dark and bleak time, even for the wizarding world," Dumbledore looked down at his hands spread over his desk. "Wizards were a bit removed from the fighting, of course, but it affected us all the same. However, I am getting a head of myself a bit. I feel I should travel even further a bit in time, to when the First World War ended.

"In the years following 1917, there was an influx of Muggle children born who showed magical promise. Their names were written down in the Magical Registrar as every magical child is, and once they were of age, they were invited to join us here at Hogwarts."

Harry noticed Hermione's head shoot up as Dumbledore continued to speak, and she was listening attentively. It seemed her love of knowledge overpowered her fear of being in trouble. Of course this was part of her heritage as a Muggle-born and Harry realized she probably had relatives who partook in the fighting. But I probably did too, Harry thought with sadness for his lost heritage. His mother, Lily Potter, had been a born a Muggle.

Harry leaned forward to place his untouched teacup on the edge of Dumbledore's desk. He would have bet ten Galleons this piece of narration would not be found in Hogwarts, A History and would never be taught in Professor Binn's History of Magic class.

"During the time of the Second War, when it became apparent more and more Muggle children began to attend Hogwarts, a ripple went through our wizarding community. There were quite a few of the old families who believed allowing their kind into our school and our life was a travesty," Professor Dumbledore paused to sip his tea.

"Even some of our more progressive families secretly believed the affiliation between Muggles and Wizards would come to no good end. What a few of our oldest families feared was by allowing Muggles into our world, we were inviting more of them to learn of us and possibly infiltrate us to use our talents for evil. Even some of our Council members believed it undermined the Statute of Secrecy to allow the continuation of Muggle students to attend Hogwarts.

"At this time, rumors of a group of Dark wizards believing the doctrine of the German leader was something to be upheld began to spread. Rumors began to spread of their wishes to align themselves with Hitler, if only to help rid the world of Muggles."

Dumbledore paused and looked down at his cup. He picked up the kettle and poured more steaming tea into his cup. "When the attacks on Muggles began, at first no one paid them much mind because of the horrors the Muggles were inflicting on themselves during the war." He picked up his tea cup and blew across the top before continuing.

"I remember," Ron breathed in the silence.

All eyes shifted to him, Dumbledore's expression had not changed although the skin around his eyes seemed to tighten. Harry and the others looked at Ron in shock.

Ron looked from side to side. "What?"

Dumbledore lifted an eyebrow over his glasses as he lowered his cup slowly. "Indeed," he said evenly. "You remember what, Mr. Weasley?"

"Oh," Ron's face flushed a deep red. "It's those brains. You know, from the fight with the Death Eaters last year in the Department of Mysteries. Sometimes I get flashes in my head," he brought his hand up and waved it around his ear. "Memories, I guess. Not mine, I mean, but they're there all the same. When you were speaking, I saw the bombs dropping on London in my mind as if I was there, standing outside watching them fall."

Dumbledore stroked his long white beard with his hand. "Do you have these flashes of memories, often?"

"No. Well sometimes," Ron amended. "Usually a word or a scent will bring one on, but they've been pretty manageable. I don't have nightmares," Ron's eyes shifted to Harry. "They don't upset my day or classes or anything."

Dumbledore looked at Ron with an odd expression on his face. He pursed his lips tightly for a moment and it was as if he was weighing his words carefully. A decision made, he shifted forward in his seat before speaking. "If you begin to notice they are coming upon you with increasing frequency or change in their tone, if they are no longer benign to say, please notify Madam Pomfrey or myself immediately, Mr. Weasley."

Ron's flush crept upwards to his ears, making the tips of them gleam red. Harry saw he was absently rubbing the scars he still carried under the arms of his shirt. "All right."

Harry threw him a questioning look. Ron shrugged and cleared his throat as he looked at Hermione who was giving him quite a dirty look. She sniffed at him once, as if to let Ron know they would be talking about this later and then turned back to Professor Dumbledore.

"As I was saying, Muggles were being attacked. Soon it became apparent the Muggle families who were targeted had children who attended this school. The attacks were tame at first, as it seemed the wizards who wished to cause mayhem had no real direction to follow. No lives were lost, but many Muggle-born children were called home.

"When the children began to leave, it was then we began to question the very nature of these attacks. After the first murder was performed, we realized it was time to step in. We knew then as we know now there have always been certain families who cling to the old magic, the Dark Arts. Professor McGonagall was called in to work for the Ministry, putting her talents to work for them in her Animagus form. Through her, the Ministry was trying to infiltrate some of the pureblood families, to glean information from who came to visit them and what meetings they were holding."

"And what a thankless job that was," McGonagall sniffed. "Half the time I was chased off by dogs and other times I was taken in by children and banished to nurseries."

Dumbledore nodded at Professor McGonagall. "Then we received a very lucky break. Professor McGonagall learned this small group of Dark wizards discussing a plan to join a powerful man who was taking full advantage of the war in Germany. His name was Stuttgart Grindelwald."

Professor Dumbledore stopped speaking for a moment as he looked over the group assembled in front of him. The only sounds came from the number of curious silver instruments scattered throughout the office, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. Not even the portraits were moving and by the look of the wizard hanging behind Dumbledore, they were as enthralled by the impromptu lesson as the five people seated in front of him.

"What you do not know is that for a very long time, we wondered if Grindelwald even existed in a corporeal form. Why had we never heard of him before? Professor McGonagall learned through the Dark wizard she fostered with that Grindelwald was the leader of a very nasty underground movement in Germany. He wished to remove Muggles from our world at all cost. Our Dark wizards here in the United Kingdom adopted his rhetoric," Dumbledore picked up the teakettle and rattled it, listening to the inadequate amount of liquid sloshing inside. He sniffed and with a wave of his wand, the kettle was full again. He pointed his wand at the teapot and it was soon steaming. He opened his drawer again, and pulled back out the copper tin.

"More tea, anyone?" he asked. All of them shook their heads and he pulled a pinch of leaves from the tin and dropped them into his cup. He poured himself some more of the steaming liquid before continuing.

"You see the juxtaposition, don't you?" he asked the group. "The Muggles were fighting the leader of a country who wished to annihilate whole groups of people because he did not agree with their beliefs and their ways. We had our very own wizard doppelganger bent on doing the same to our world.

"Our Minister at the time was much more receptive to rumors of dissent among our people. Millicent Bagnold was quicker to use Aurors and others employed by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to separate the rumors from truth. Through their efforts we learned the group of Dark wizards in this country were calling themselves the Knights of Walpurgis. Their goal was to bring Grindelwald to our country so they could exact the same measures here. What they did not plan on was the number of wizarding families who opposed their creed and methods."

Dumbledore looked off to the windows, his blue eyes sad as he was caught in memories. "The numbers of pureblood families was larger then, unlike now. What these Dark wizards failed to realize is by their reign of terror, they accomplished in our world what they wished to inflict upon the Muggle world. Instead of ridding the world of Muggles, many wizarding families were lost while resisting the Knights of Walpurgis and Grindelwald and then again during Voldemort's reign."

Dumbledore stopped as his eyes floated to Ron, who winced at the Dark Lord's name. "Sorry," Ron mumbled. "It's habit."

"I understand completely, Mr. Weasley."

"I'm not sure I understand what this has to do with Adria Thornwood," Harry asked, allowing his impatience to show on his face and in his tone. From his past dealings with Professor Dumbledore, he knew there was more to this story than he was telling. Harry wished he would just move on to Adria's story.

Dumbledore looked on him kindly. "You will, Harry. In a moment, you will," he said as he took a deep breath.

"You must understand this is all conjecture on our part, but we believe when the Knights of Walpurgis realized many families were not interested in joining their cause, they began to use more drastic measures. It was believed they targeted the Thornwood family because of Alazar Thornwood's position as the Head of International Magical Cooperation. If anyone could clear Grindelwald to enter our country freely, it would be him. But Alazar Thornwood resisted and they took their wrath out on his family, in the most devious way they could. The attack on their home reportedly occurred on Christmas evening.

"The children had planned on returning home for Christmas day, but fortunately a last minute change of plans kept them at school. Gabriel Thornwood was a seventh year and of age, so he left Hogwarts as soon as we received the news to join in the search for his parents. It was only a week or two after his departure that Gabriel disappeared. I believe Gabriel was never seen or heard from again and Adria…."

Dumbledore looked up at the portrait of his predecessor. "Professor Dippet, if you could please continue from here."

The portrait of Professor Dippet cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his chair. "I must say, it was quite a surprise when you spoke of what transpired last evening, Professor Dumbledore," the former headmaster said in a feeble voice. "Imagine, Adria Thornwood not dead after all," he paused and shook his head in wonder. "Albus, you remember how we all searched the castle for hours. I believe it was only after a student came forward to say he believed she returned home, the search was called off."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said evenly with no change of expression on his face. "It was our Head Boy if I recall correctly who passed us that information. It seems he was wrong."

"It was simply terrible to read in the Daily Prophet a few days later of what was found at Thornwood Manor. So many believed she was the body found in the library. That girl has been a burden on my thoughts for many years before and after I retired. I felt I failed in my promise to keep her safe."

Dumbledore looked to the ceiling of his office. "I, of course knew of Alazar from my meetings with the International Confederacy of Wizards and we were also members of the Wizengamot together. However, I never had the opportunity to speak with him. Perhaps you remember, Professor Dippet, why the children remained at Hogwarts?"

"It was a very interesting circumstance, if I remember correctly. I received an owl from Alazar Thornwood, the day before the school closed for the Christmas holidays. He requested an immediate audience. The note was not very coherently written and I responded as quickly as I could. It was quite a surprise to hear from him, as I knew him to be quite busy during the strife of the Muggles."

The old wizard sighed and looked down, showing the top of his bald head. "When he arrived, I was much shocked at his appearance. Alazar looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks and whatever he was involved in affected him greatly."

The old wizard looked at the people before him and cleared his throat. "Before I summoned Professor Dumbledore to my office, I had a private conversation with Alazar Thornwood. He was afraid his family was being targeted by supporters of Grindelwald. He was raving about spells and hexes affecting his staff through out his home. It was then I learned his wife was already missing."

Professor Dippet paused, scratching the top of his head absently. "At least that's what he said. His wife had gone for a walk two days before and had not returned home. At the time of our meeting, there was still no word of the whereabouts of Olivia Thornwood. Alazar was beside himself, as you could imagine."

"By this time, I had requested Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn's presence in my office as they were the heads of the children's houses. Between the four of us, we managed to convince Alazar to inform his children of their mother's disappearance. So the children were summoned and while we waited, we left Alazar alone to confer in private in the hallway.

"I must say they were two of the most well-behaved and mature children I had ever come across when they arrived. Adria arrived with another student after her brother and looked on the verge of tears, but Gabriel spoke up for both of them. If I recall correctly, Henry Potter was the prefect who waited in the hall for her while we ushered them into the office."

"Was Henry my grandfather?" Harry began.

"Yes. Henry and Adria were good friends, not unlike your friends Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley beside you." Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Gabriel was visibly not happy about this, but Adria would not allow Henry to leave her side."

Professor Dippet continued. "Alazar wished for me to allow his children to remain here over the break in classes because he no longer trusted the safety of his own home. Gabriel protested fiercely at this, but Alazar was adamant he remain here at least through the Christmas holiday. If their mother was not returned before then Gabriel would be allowed to come home. But Alazar knew his children would be safer here then at home. Even then our school was legendary because of the procedures Hogwarts has in place for security. "

Hermione nodded her head at this, and Harry knew she was thinking of her many readings of Hogwarts, A History.

"I knew I could not deny his request. You remember how Alazar was when you entered my office for the first time," Dippet looked down at Professor Dumbledore who nodded slowly. "His eyes flickered all around the office as if expecting an attack at any time. I was struck by the tragedy of it all, and instantly wanted to keep the children safe."

Armando Dippet took a handkerchief from his breast pocket and blew his nose quite loudly before he continued speaking. "After Adria heard the news she went straight to the wall beside the window, and leaned against it. I believe the wall was the only object keeping her standing. Her eyes continually flickered over the office, never settling on one object or person for too long. She was visibly shaking. Finally she stepped in front of the windows there and stood looking out as if transfixed by what she saw."

There was a loud shriek and a whoosh of heat from behind them, making Hermione jump in her seat, and the students turned to look. Fawkes had combusted, the small ball of fire rising towards the ceiling before disappearing to wisps of smoke. Dumbledore watched its progress, his eyes following the small conflagration to the ceiling. It was strong enough to send the remaining scarlet and gold feathers floating to the floor. The ash drifted towards the perch below the golden post, gathering in a small gray and black heap. Harry knew the newborn Fawkes would be found within the pile of ash.

One of the portraits on the wall gave a soft sigh, "I remember, Professor Dumbledore," a small witch dressed in vibrant orange robes spoke up. "The whole family was drowning in misery."

They turned back to face the headmaster, who took off his half moon glasses and polished them with a soft cloth.

Armando Dippet said, "Alazar was quite vehement in his belief these followers of Grindelwald were targeting his family specifically. He would not elaborate, but we were under the impression they were pressuring him to do something he did not wish to."

"He shouted while you were summoning Professor Dumbledore," said the small portrait witch again. Professor Dumbledore looked up and the others looked behind them to the portraits lining the walls, many of whom were also nodding their heads.

"How was it, Agnes?" Professor Dumbledore asked quietly. "I was not aware of it."

"When Headmaster Dippet left him alone to summon you, he stalked around the office in a fury. He yelled at the fireplace that he would be damned if he would allow them to be used as a pawn in their game. He stood in front of the fireplace and –"

"And," another witch broke in. "He punched the marble. We were so afraid he was going to destroy the office, that's how angry he was."

A witch Harry recognized from the night Mr. Weasley was attached in the Department of Mysteries cleared her throat.

"Yes, Dilys?"

"When his daughter entered the room, Mr. Thornwood was turned away from you. He was right in front of my portrait and he had closed his eyes, whispering, 'Please keep her safe here. Please don't punish her for my mistakes and failings. She is an innocent in all of this.'"

Professor Dumbledore was quiet for a moment as he stared at all the portraits in turn. "Why have none of you ever spoken of this before? Most of you were in this very room this morning when I was speaking to Professor Dippet's portrait concerning the matter of Adria Thornwood's return."

Silence from all the witches and wizards along the walls and then came a cold voice from an empty portrait. "I imagine they wouldn't have wanted to interrupt the Great Albus Dumbledore," said Phineas Nigellus as he entered his frame from the left. "I'm sure most of them were under the impression you were all-knowing."

From his cold words, it seemed the former headmaster had not forgotten or forgiven Dumbledore for the death of his last descendent, Sirius Black.

"Ah, Phineas," Professor Dumbledore said, ignoring the insolent tone as he addressed the former headmaster. "May I say how nice it is of you to join our discussion?" Dumbledore spoke with great respect for Phineas Nigellus. "I trust everything is well at your other portrait?"

Phineas Nigellus snorted and it was not a very nice sound. "Oh, no, I find I can not stay away for too long with just the portraits of my mad descendents to keep me company."

The snide comments of Phineas Nigellus had broken the mood of the group. Dumbledore sipped his tea and said, "Now, what were we discussing before we lost our way? Ah, yes, Adria and Gabriel. Is there anything you would like to add to the discussion, Phineas?"

The portrait of Phineas did not bother to reply; instead he feigned sleeping by snoring very loudly. A few of the other portraits uproariously voiced their disapproval at his blatant rudeness, but Professor Dumbledore raised his hand and they all settled, including Phineas Nigellus.

Once order was restored, Professor Dippet continued his story. "Right after her father and Gabriel left, Adria sank to her knees as if she had no more strength left to stand. When Professor Dumbledore and I rushed to her side, she looked up at us with wide eyes and said, 'winter's arrived' before falling into a dead faint. To our amazement, we looked out the window and discovered snow had covered the grounds. We had a blizzard that evening, one of the worst I remember in all of my time at Hogwarts. Adria spent the next few days in the hospital wing recuperating from her ordeal. Professor Dumbledore and I each assigned her a student to look over her during her recuperation period. Henry Potter, our Gryffindor prefect and Tom Riddle, our Head Boy."

Harry felt stunned again by the name of someone else in his family who was so close, but yet so far away.. "Henry Potter? My grandfather? The girl, Adria called me Henry, right before…"

Dumbledore smiled at him. "Yes, Harry. Henry was your grandfather. I must say there has always been quite a resemblance between the Potter men. You look remarkably like James, and James was the spitting image of Henry. I believe when Adria first looked upon you in the hallway, she probably mistook you for Henry. Now as for her outburst in the hospital wing, let's discuss that, shall we?"

There were so many questions whirling through Harry's head. Why was this the first time he had ever heard of his grandfather? How could he have not been curious enough to ask about his heritage before? Harry looked over at Hermione as she shifted in her seat, and she seemed to be struggling to make herself look smaller. The creaking leather of her chair only caused Professor Dumbledore's gaze to settle on her.

"Now, Miss Granger, I believe Madam Pomfrey said you were sitting with Miss Thornwood when she first awakened."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. She swallowed thickly before answering. "That's correct, Professor Dumbledore. I was sitting beside her bed, reading the newspaper. I couldn't tell at first she was awake as I was holding the newspaper up so I could read it."

She shifted in her seat again so she was sitting on her hands. "I don't know what I did, Professor!" she burst out. "I felt someone staring at me, and when I pulled the paper down, she was looking at me with absolute horror on her face. I tried to calm her, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," she turned to her Head of House. "But she jumped from the bed and stumbled backwards away from me until she was against the windows. She threw her arm out as if she was trying to summon something to her."

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Her wand, I would presume. Please continue, Miss Granger."

Hermione took a deep breath before continuing. Ron placed a hand on her upper arm, and she threw him a grateful look. "I guess when she realized she couldn't speak, that's when," Hermione's breath hitched. "That's when she began to make those horrible sounds and the mattresses and pillows began to rip and tear of their own accord."

"Where is the newspaper now?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"It was caught up in the melee in the infirmary," Hermione said as she placed her hand over Ron's and squeezed it gently.

"I don't believe you had anything in the least to do with her outburst, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore said.

Hermione looked up, her eyes hopeful. "You don't?"

"No and I believe Professor McGonagall and Bill would agree with me. Now, let's see today's edition of the Daily Prophet. Accio newspaper!"

They didn't have to wait long. Within a few minutes, a folded Daily Prophet slid under the crack in the door and into Professor Dumbledore's waiting hand. He spread it out over the desk so only the front and back page of the paper was visible. "Now, you said you were holding it in front of you reading from an article inside, is that correct, Miss Granger?"

"Yes sir," Hermione said as she leaned forward over the Headmaster's desk.

Harry and Ron leaned over the desk also, tilting their heads to the side to read the upside down headline. Suspected Death Eater's Trial Date Set For May 1st..

The photo showed Draco Malfoy's father, looking entirely too smug and sure of himself as he was lead from Azkaban prison. He was trying to tear his arms from the grips of the Aurors that held him as he walked up the stone steps.

"Well, it certainly seems Lucius's plight has taken up most of the front page. On the back of the newspaper are advertisements. I suppose we could show this to her again to see if she shows any reaction, but personally, I believe her reaction and subsequent wreckage of the infirmary was because of learning the curse was in effect."

Hermione looked visibly relieved. She patted Ron's hand and looked over at Harry with a smile on her face.

There was a sudden sharp knock on Professor Dumbledore's door. "Come in." Professor Snape opened the door and stopped sharply at the sight of the group gathered around the headmaster's desk.

"Ah, Severus. Please come in. I believe we have finished our discussion?" Professor Dumbledore asked the group in front of him. "We can always meet again tomorrow after Bill has a chance to look over the curse in more detail should you have any more questions."

They all nodded with the exception of Harry, who felt a flash of anger at Snape for disturbing them. He had so many more questions he would have liked to have asked Dumbledore about his grandfather and Adria Thornwood.

"I trust you three will be able to find your way to the Great Hall for dinner, am I correct?" Dumbledore asked as he folded his hands on his desk. The meaning in his words was clear, and they carried a warning to stay away from the hospital wing. "Bill, Professor McGonagall, please remain seated as I'm sure that whatever news Severus has to impart will concern the two of you, too."

Harry, Ron and Hermione stood up from their chairs and walked to the door as Snape entered the office, flicking his black robes so they snapped. Harry could not help but give Snape a look of utter loathing as their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher sneered at them in passing. Harry knew he would pay for his rudeness during the next lesson, but his anger managed to get the best of him before he could control it.

Once they were in the hallway, the wooden door swung shut behind them on its own accord with a resounding thump.

"Can you hear anything?" Ron whispered to Harry as the three of them stared at the knocker on the door.

Harry put his ear to the door and shook his head. "No. They must have put Imperturable charm on the door. They have to be talking about Order business though, if Dumbledore asked McGonagall and Bill to stay behind."

"I wish they would let us in on some of their meetings and such," Ron said as the three of them began to walk down the spiral staircase.

Hermione unleashed her bushy hair from the braid it was escaping from and scratched at her scalp, making her look for a moment as if she put her finger into an electrical outlet. She ran her hand through the freed brown locks, smoothing them the best she could and looked at Ron. "We're still too young."

"Yeah, Hermione, but I'm sure we've accomplished more then some of the other members of the Order, fighting Death Eaters and all that," Ron countered.

"Oh, they know," Hermione said as she stepped onto the now descending staircase. "I bet if Voldemort is still a threat after our seventh year, we'll be asked to join the Order."

"Yeah," Harry said snidely. "If he doesn't kill me first."

"Don't be so facetious, Harry," Hermione said sharply as she walked into the hallway from behind the stone gargoyle. She turned to face the two boys as soon as they were clear of the closing wall.

"I do think it's interested how they won't allow us to join the Order, but Voldemort will brand Malfoy a Death Eater at sixteen." Harry said as he stepped down into the hallway.

"We still don't know for sure if Malfoy was branded by Voldemort—" Hermione stopped speaking and rounded on Ron as he winced again at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. "And you! How could you not say anything about those memory flashes you've been having? How could you keep something like that away from me--I mean us!" she added quickly, her eyes sliding to Harry as her cheeks pinked a bit.

"I didn't want to worry you," Ron said, looking down at her seriously. A look Harry didn't quite know how to identify passed between them.

"You didn't tell Lavender, did you?" she asked Ron and she folded her arms over her chest.

Ron snorted. "No! She knows about the scars on my arms, but she thinks I got them playing Quidditch. She wouldn't understand even if I told her." Ron's face cleared as if he had just been struck by a very serious realization.

"Are you still hiding from her?" Hermione said as she dropped her arms to her sides. "Don't you think that's a bit unfair to her?"

"What? Of course not!" Ron said.

"Good," Hermione said with as her mouth tilted up into a grin. "Because she's coming down the hallway behind you."

Harry stood off to one side trying to keep his face straight as Ron jumped and looked from side to side as if searching for a place to hide.

"See what I mean? You need to make a decision, Won-Won," she snapped peevishly as she started walking down the hallway towards the Great Hall. Ron took off after her as she said over her shoulder, "maybe you'll be able to make a decision sooner if I'm no longer available to help you with your… homework."

At that, Harry ran to catch up with Ron who was pleading with Hermione to change her mind. "Come on, Hermione. You know how I am," Ron said.

Harry wondered why Ron just didn't go ahead and break up with Lavender. It was obvious from the way Ron was avoiding her she was no longer important to him, so Harry couldn't understand why Ron kept her hanging on. What he needed to do was kiss Hermione, Harry thought, tipping the side of his mouth into a smile as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. Ron looked positively miserable.

Harry knew what he himself needed to do was kiss the other Weasley who attended Hogwarts. But as long as she was going out with Dean, she was off limits. Well, she might still be off limits if Ron were to find out how I feel about her, Harry thought.

Harry had to admit there had been quite a few side glances between him and Ginny, and all the accidental bumps when Harry could manage it. He was getting tired of dancing around how he felt about Ginny. He wanted to kiss her badly and soon.

Harry shook his head as if to clear it. He had so many other things he needed to accomplish right now and obsessing about Ginny Weasley was not one of them. He still needed to get that memory from Slughorn and he also needed to find out what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. His main priority right now was getting the memory from Slughorn, but he couldn't help be curious about what news Snape had which was so important he had to interrupt their meeting.

He walked behind his still bickering friends, his mind filled with Riddles, Weasleys and Malfoys.