A/N: Well HELLO! Okay first things first. I'm soooooo sorry for this taking forever. I had this project to do and it took over my life. I'M SO SORRY! This chapter is the longest chapter I've ever written. I hope you enjoy it and keep reviewing! I don't have a whole lot coming up, so I should be able to write more soon! Also I will try and add more fun stuff to my chapters! The fun stuff will probably happen when they return to Hogwarts. Love always, padfootqueen!

The snow had accumulated on the ground and trail leading back to Hogwarts. The frigid air nipped at Cory's face blowing its way past her to the east, swiping up little things off the ground and playing with them among the air. The sky was a stormy gray and they were supposed to get more snow later on that night. The sky color was very reflective of Cory's mood. Sad, low, depressed and most of all lonely. She was going to be alone for two whole weeks. That just wasn't fair. She brought her glove covered hands to her mouth and blew hot air on them to try and warm them a bit more. Her hands. They had been warm an hour ago in Sirius' hands. She had been warm an hour ago in Sirius' arms. Now she was cold and her warmth provider was on a train speeding towards his home. Home. That was something Cory had no idea about. Not her own, but his. Sirius never talked about his family. He sure didn't want to go back to them, Cory thought. He had said that he wanted to stay with her. Oh how she wished that he could have. What was his family like? Were they like him? Would they like her if they ever met? She didn't know anything about them. Little did she know that in time she wouldn't want to know them.

In the last hour, Cory had done things in Hogsmeade trying to postpone her journey back to the castle alone. She stopped in at the post office and made arrangements for all her Christmas presents to be sent. Overall she was very happy with her present selections.

For Lily, Cory made a necklace using of seashells from the beaches back in the States that Lily was so fond of. James was an easy guy to buy for. She got him something that he could use, a gift certificate to Zonko's. As for Remus, Cory got him a set of Moon Astrology books that he had been eyeing in a shop window. Quinn was getting a broom servicing gift that she would be more then happy to have. Bethany and Emma were gifts that she had a lot of fun buying. Emma's middle name was Sapphire, so Cory got her a pair of sapphire earrings. Bethany, though, got the fun gift. As a joke, Bethany and Cory joked around saying it would be fun to take a road trip once they graduate in two years. So, Cory bought her A Bad Girls Guide to the Open Road!.

But, it took Cory the longest to figure out what she wanted to get Sirius. He liked so many things. Though Cory wanted to give him something that would be important and sentimental. She thought of a picture of the two of them from that night after the snowball fight, but that didn't seem to be enough. Quidditch stuff seemed to be too unsentimental, and pranking was not cutting it. Then she had an idea. Sirius loved to talk. Just talk about things. He said once that letters took too long to get places and flooing was a pain in the ass. That was when she realized what she could get Sirius; a two way mirror. She would have one and so would he. It would be the perfect way to talk to one and other. Cory knew he would like it. Or at least she hoped he would.

After making the arrangements she went to a very empty Three Broomsticks and had some butterbeer. She was so sick of being alone there that she realized why be lonely in public when I can be lonely in private? So she left. Now she was making her way back up to Hogwarts wishing with every step she was with Sirius and her friends. But she wasn't. She was alone.

Finally, thank Merlin, she made her way back to Hogwarts. Freezing, she made he way to the Griffindor Tower. Upon entering, she saw that a few people had stayed behind. But, unfortunately, none of them she knew. There was a second year and a third year who were studying by the fire. When Cory walked in they looked up at her and the two younger boys smiled small smiles at her. She smiled a small smile back and went up stairs.

The girls' dorm was just so quiet and empty. It was eerie. She leaned back and fell on to her bed. She shut her eyes and tried not to, let the loneliness get to her.

About two hours later Cory woke up. She had fallen asleep. She got up and glanced at the clock. It was 6:30. She got off her bed and decided that she would leave early for dinner. Because not many people stayed at Hogwarts over break, there was just one table set up. She wasn't sure who had stayed at Hogwarts and who had left so she made her way down to find out. In the main hallway she stopped abruptly. Something wasn't right. There was this thing in her stomach. A bad feeling. Something was wrong. What was it? She thought for a little while then decided she would think about it after dinner. She entered the Great Hall and looked at how different everything was. The Hall looked strange without her fellow classmates running and yelling form table to table. The four house tables were gone and in its place was the single table.

Crossing the Hall she made her way over to the table. At it's head sat, none other then, Professor Dumbledore. To the Professors left sat a man Cory had never seem before. But when she looked into his eyes she felt like she had met him somehow. Next to him sat many professors. There was a side for professors and a side for students. Cory must have been the last to arrive. She had to start being more on time. Even though she left early she was still late. Damn.

As she approached, she realized something. There was only one open seat. Due to her awful luck, it was between none other then Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy. Cory gagged. How was she going to eat when she had to sit next to a guy who never showered and a guy who tried to rape her? This was going to be a fun dinner. Yea right.

"Well now that we're all here, I would like to say Happy Christmas! Or perhaps I should say Happy Christmas Eve!", Dumbledore said in his usual cheerful voice. "I believe we are all just as hungry as each other, so let us eat!"

With that food was displayed on the table in all forms. As always it was delicious. Cory sat silently through dinner. For the first time in he life she felt small. She sat in-between the two Slytherin that were higher up then her. This of course pissed her off. She kept getting the feeling like something was wrong. It was the same feeling from before, but now she was compelled to think about it.

As much as she didn't want to think about it, she was a little scared. How could she be scared when Dumbledore was three seats away? Easy, just being near Lucius Malfoy could make anyone scared. Well except for a few people. Though sadly after that day by the lake, Cory was one of the people that was scared of him. She would have given anything in her world to have Sirius walk though the main doors right that second and take her away from him. Anything. But she knew he wouldn't.

Dinner ended and Cory got up with the rest of the students. Passing through the high doorway she stopped suddenly after she made her right turn to take her back to the Griffindor common room. There waiting for her was Lucius. She halted in her tracks.

Then at that moment just before Lucius was about to speak, a voice came from behind them. "Ms. Ash, could I please see you for a moment?"

She knew that voice. Turning around she saw her Headmaster standing there with a small smile on his face. Thank Merlin! Cory nodded and followed her Headmaster down the hallway. That had been close. What would have happened could have been very bad for Cory. She shivered at the thought and tried to not think about it.

By that time they were in front of a large gargoyle. Dumbledore said, "Skittles."

She looked at him and down to his hands. Stupidly she thought he was offering her one or something. Then to her great surprise, suddenly the gargoyle moved and in its place were a set of stairs. Dumbledore smiled as she looked at him and gestured for her to go up them. Soon she was sitting in Dumbledore's office trying to take in the amount of things that were in it. All sorts of things hung off the walls and so many objects surrounded her that it would have taken her at least two years to look and think about every single one.

He sat across from her and looked at her over his half-moon spectacles. "Now you're probably wondering why you're here, correct?" Cory nodded. "Well, I have to know something. Before you came to us you stayed in foster care, correct?"

"Yes, sir." Cory responded wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but, last night there was an attack made on a muggle family in New York City. The family was your previous foster family."

He paused and the information that he had just divulged set into her mind. Her foster parents were attacked?

"They're dead, Cordelia."

Cory's head sprang up. She had been looking at the ground wondering whether to care or not and once he said those three words, she returned her attention to her headmaster. Had she heard him right? Dead?

"I'm sorry, but that was how the America magical police found them. I'm so sorry."

"No, you didn't kill them, so don't be sorry," Cory said. All she wanted was to run away from all this immediately. She felt like running to Sirius. He would comfort her. He would understand. He'd know what to do, because Cory sure as hell didn't. Sure, she had wished that they would pay for what they did to her, buy never had she wanted them to be killed. Yes, she strongly disliked them, but for them to be dead? She would never flat out say that she wanted someone to die. Be severely punished, yes. Locked away in prison, sure. But never death.

"I have to tell you something else as well. When the magical police got there, there was something there that made everything very complicated. It makes this conversation complicated. It makes your life now very complicated. Above the house where you use to live was the dark mark."

He paused again.

So, Cory thought, he did it. Voldemort did it. He was after me. Me.

"Do you know-" Dumbledore began.

"Yes, Professor. I know what the dark mark is. I may have been raised in America, but I know what it is. I know what it means. It means that Voldemort killed them."

"You know who he is?"

"Yes, Headmaster. He killed my parents."

There was silence. Cory noticed something that she thought to be rather odd. When she mentioned her parents, Dumbledore closed his eyes, as if trying not to believe what she said. When he opened his eyes he looked down.

He spoke very softly, "You remember your parents' deaths?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you know why Voldemort would attack your foster family, Cordelia?"

"Yes, sir. He said that he would come after me one day, I guess he's starting to now."

"Yes." Dumbledore said and then continued, "I understand that you're a unique, correct?"

Her wand less magic. "Yes, sir."

"Do you use it often?"

"No. I was told not to."

"Well, due to the situation I think that it would be best if you learned to control your powers, don't you?"

"Okay."

"Cordelia, you do know that your gift is very rare, correct?"

"Yes, supposedly I inherited it from my father."

Dumbledore nodded. "Parents often give their strong powers to their children. Your gift was from your father and your talent in Defense Against the Dark Arts, I believe comes form both your parents. You look very much like them, Cordelia, very much."

Cory's eyes widened. The way he was talking abut her parents was as if he knew them. But he couldn't of. She was about to ask him when a knock came from the door. In walked the stranger from the dinner. "Ahhh, Alastor.."

Cory stood up as Dumbledore did. She was still, however, lost in her own thoughts. He knew her parents? How?

"Albus." The man know as Alastor said.

"I'd like you to meet one of our newest students, Miss Cordelia Ash. Cordelia, this is Alastor Moody. He's a close friend of mine. Here to celebrate the holidays with me."

"Nice to meet you." he said and extended his hand. Cory shook it and tried to act normal while on the inside she was going crazy.

"Cordelia, we'll continue this conversation tomorrow. Good night."

Dumbledore dismissed her and she left the room feeling like she was in some sort of haze. What in the name of Merlin was going on?

Though her thoughts were rudely interrupted when a voice came from behind her and said, "So, what was that about?"

She turned and there he was again. Lucius Malfoy took a step towards Cory and she took one back away from him. She turned on her heel and started to the common room.

"You know," Lucius began falling into step with her, "we're very much alike."

"Really? Somehow I doubt that very much." Cory said trying to restrain herself from hitting him across the face.

"We are really. One way is by blood. You're pure and no matter how you spin it you always will be. The blood in your veins can save you, Cordelia. You're making a mistake by making friends with blood traitors and such. It's a mistake you can fix very easily if you just see the light."

"Light? Really? That's interesting because I always thought it was dark."

They had reached the Great Hall and Snape was there waiting for them.

"Lucius, come." he said and gestured towards the staircase that lead to the dungeons.

"Just a minute, Snape." he said then yelled across the Hall to Cory, who was now on the other side because she kept walking. "You know, one day you will be mine. Pure bloods belong with pure bloods. It's the way things are! Even if you won't see it, you will join us. All pure bloods at one point or another turn evil. Or black!"

He put specific exaggeration on the last word. Cory stopped. The last word echoed through her mind. She turned to face Malfoy and Snape, but when she turned she saw that no one was there.

Sirius Black descended from the train with his friends and wished he could just stay on board. People were running towards their families and friends with smiles displayed across their happy faces. Sirius looked for his parents but couldn't see them. It would be great if they weren't here! On the train James had said that he could come and stay with him and if his parents weren't here, then he would.

Soon it was just him and James. They had said their goodbyes to friends and were just standing there looking for their parents.

"James!" Came a voice from the crowd and they looked over at it. There was Mr. Potter. Both male Potters were very close and James' face brightened when he saw his father.

"Dad!" James yelled back. Mr. Potter came forward and hugged his son tightly. Then he saw Sirius. Mr. Potter loved his son's best friend. He thought Sirius was a great guy and had the best sense of humor.

"Sirius!" He said and hugged his son's best friend.

"Honestly, Sirius, sometimes I think my Dad likes you more then me!" James said with a bright smile on his face.

They all laughed and then another voice came from the crowd. "Sirius."

It was a firm voice from a tall man clad in robes as dark as his soul. Tynan Black. Sirius' smile fell from his face. He starred at his father. He looked a lot like his father and that plagued him. He hated looking like him. It proved they were related.

"Father." Sirius said and pulled away from the Potters.

"Tynan." James' father said to the other man.

"Atticus." Tynan responded with a nod. Tynan surveyed his son, then nodded saying, "Let's go."

Sirius nodded and he turned to face his best friend.

"Goodbye, Sirius." Atticus said giving Sirius a one arm hug around the shoulders.

"Bye…." Sirius said back to him and faced his best friend. This was the part that the best friends had been dreading the most. "Riiiiight, wellll……"

"We'll be seeing each other soon." James said trying to hide his sorrow and sadness.

"Yea. It's just two weeks." Sirius replied talking like this was nothing to him.

"Exactly, it's nothing."

"Yea, nothing…" Their game of trying to make themselves think it wouldn't hurt saying goodbye failed.

The two best friends hugged and then pulled back. James said in a low voice to Sirius in the hug, "If he does anything, tell me."

Sirius nodded and then turned away. He looked at his father and then followed him out to the train station and towards hell a.k.a. home.

Someone screamed. Sirius shot out of bed. It was nighttime, around one in the morning. He looked around his room wildly trying to find out what was wrong. There was another scream and this time it came from downstairs. Sirius recognized that scream. It was Regulus. Granted, Sirius wasn't fond of his brother, but he still wanted to protect him. As Sirius ran down the stairs he could hear crying and a lot of yelling. It was coming from in the kitchen. He ran in and there was his whole family. His mother was standing and so was his father, they were fighting over something. In the corner rolled up into a tiny ball was Regulus.

"….well maybe if you had said something!" His father yelled his eyes burning with anger.

"What! What could I have said, Tynan?" His mother screamed back at him.

Sirius just stood in the doorway trying not to believe what he was seeing. Was this what it was always like when he was gone?

"Sirius!"

Sirius broke gaze and stare that he was having with his parents fight and looked over to where the voice had come from. Regulus had called him and was running over to him. Regulus collided with Sirius' legs and wrapped his arms around Sirius' lower back. He was crying.

Sirius used his voice and asked his parents, "What's going on?"

"Get out of here, you worthless piece of shit! What are doing!" His mother screamed at him and Sirius looked down at Regulus. He took Regulus and tried to get him off himself. Sirius thought that Regulus wouldn't want to go with him. Honestly, his little brother acted as if he hated him the whole time. But when Sirius tried to get him off, he just held on tighter.

His mother and father went back to their fighting. Sirius thought he should straighten some things out.

He kneeled down in front of his six year old brother and said to him, "What do you want to do?"

The young boy shrugged. Sirius sighed.

"Either you stay with Mommy and Daddy or you come with me? Which one?"

Regulus seemed to be thinking this through. Sirius studied his brother. In the four months they had been apart, Reg had changed. The normal things hadn't changed but two things were very hard for Sirius to miss. One was his eyes. It was the Black male trait; they showed all emotion through their eyes. His eyes had changed. They were never filled with fear before. Never. He was always listening to what his parents said and repeating it. It seemed that in the four months Sirius' had been gone, things had changed. He wondered how and why? The second was that ever since Sirius had come home, Reg was never in a room Sirius wasn't in. Even when he went up stairs to bring his trunk up, Reg had followed and just watched him unpack. Sirius had thought it strange, but now….he wasn't sure.

"You," was his final decision. His brother had chosen to stay with Sirius and not his parents. This never happened.

Still squatting, Sirius said, "Alright, let's go."

With that Sirius started to walk away, expecting Reg to follow him. He didn't. When Sirius saw him do this he thought he must have changed his mind. Instead, Reg did something that Sirius thought a lot of normal younger brothers did, he held up his arms to be carried by his older brother. Shocked, Sirius bent down and picked up his brother, letting him lean against his chest.

They left the kitchen and went up the stairs. As Sirius climbed the stairs he thought of how much he really did hate this house. The smell of it. The look of it. Everything. The way the stairs creaked. The house elves. But most of all the memories.

"Why do they do that?"

Sirius looked down at his brothers tear stained face. "What do you mean, Reg?"

By now they had reached Reg's room. Sirius set his brother down onto his bed as Regulus said, "Why do Mommy and Daddy fight all the time? What did I do?"

Sirius stopped. He had been picking up something that was on the floor, but he stopped. Regulus thought his parent's fighting was his fault.

"Reg…..in no way is mom and dad's fighting your fault. No way. You didn't do anything. They're just…a little messed up right now."

He didn't know how else to explain it. What could he say to his brother? That they were bad people and pretty much hated each other half the time? No he couldn't say that.

The small voice continued, "But why?"

"I don't know, Reg." Sirius turned off his brother's light and whispered, "Good night, Regulus."

"What!" Regulus said alarmed. He started to look around franticly, "Where are you going?"

"I was going to go to sleep…" Sirius said and looked at his brother who turning awfully clingy.

"Don't go…what if they come in here and start to fight?"

Sirius knew that his parents would never fight in Regulus' room, but he still said to his brother from his doorway, "Fine, do you want to stay with me?"

Regulus shot out of his bed and ran into Sirius' room. Sirius sighed and shut his brother's door so his parents would think that he was asleep. He went to his room and saw his brother already in his bed. All Sirius could think was, Well this is turning out to an interesting Christmas holiday…..

The next morning came and Sirius got dragged downstairs by his now completely inseparable younger brother. Regulus got all the presents as usual and Sirius pretended to be excited with him about his gifts. After all the presents were presents were opened, five owls pecked at the window. Tynan went to the window and opened it. They flew in and landed next to Sirius. He bent forward and untied their packages. To his great surprise they were all addressed to him. He smiled.

"Open them! Open them!" Regulus yelled eager to see what his brother had gotten.

"Alright…" Sirius wasn't going to lie, he really thought that his parents would take his presents away, but they didn't. He was going to pay for this later.

Two Zonko's gift certificates, a set of How to Prank and Not Get Caught books and a broom services kit later, Sirius was on his last present. He had saved it for last and he reached for it. But, Regulus grabbed it and took the card.

"Regulus, give that to me." He said warningly. He knew who it was from. It had to be from the only person who hadn't sent him one yet; Cory.

"What does it say?" He ran over to his father. Shit. Was all Sirius could think.

His father took the present and opened the card. "It says," he began, " 'Sirius, Use your brain and figure out what this is. When you figure it out, use it. Merry Christmas! Love, Cordelia'. Whose Cordelia, Sirius?"

His father looked at him with eyes that showed anger. How was he going to explain this without getting in trouble for dating a girl who was a pureblood but didn't care? Shit, he was screwed.

He opened his mouth to speak, but his brother spoke first, "Is that Cordelia Ash?"

Sirius whipped his head and gaze to his brother. How does he know that? "What did you just say!"

"Cordelia Ash. She's that new girl at Hogwarts that Lucius was dating, right? Adrian said that."

Adrian? Then Sirius remembered. Lucius' younger brother was Adrian Malfoy who was Regulus' best friend. Great. Yea right. Was all the gossip of Hogwarts rotated around the pureblood families? Merlin, he hoped not.

"Regulus, did you say Ash?" His father said in a soft, dangerous voice. Why was his father asking this.

"Yes, I believe he did, Tynan." His mother said in the same tone. His parents looked at each other then did something that caused Sirius to feel nauseous; they turned and smiled at him.

"Sirius, are you dating Cordelia Ash?" Tynan said to his son.

How should he answer this? If he lied they would find out and he would be in serious trouble. If he told the truth he could get in serious truth as well. He decided to just tell the truth.

"Yes, I am." He waited for a response. Did he just make the biggest mistake of his life?

"Really?" His mother said with a growing smile.

"Ahhh, yea." Sirius said uncertainly. This can't be good…

"An Ash!" Tynan said with actual happiness in his voice. "Oh, Merlin. Finally Sirius you see the light! An Ash! Imagine, my son with an Ash. Just think, dear if she's not like her idiot parents, then she'll be perfect!"

"I know, love! This is perfect. Oh, Sirius!" His mother responded with equal happiness as his father.

"How do you know Cory's parents?" Sirius said with the most surprise he had ever felt. His mouth made an 'o' shape and his eyes were the size of quarters.

"She must be Aidan and Ophelia's daughter. They were very powerful. Idiots, but powerful. They didn't join up with the Dark Lord. So, the Dark Lord had them killed very long ago. But, they had a daughter, supposedly a very powerful one as well." his father said.

Cory's parents were dead? WHAT! This was too much. She never told him this. Needless to say, Sirius' head was spinning.

His mother picked up where her husband had left off. "But, no one knows what side she supports. Oh, Tynan, imagine if it's dark!"

"It must be, dear, if dated a Malfoy." His father said. "You picked a good girlfriend, Sirius. We should meet her."

This was just plain weird. What the hell was going! They thought that Cory was a dark witch? Ha, they'd freak when they meet her. Wait, no way are they meeting her. He didn't want Cory to meet his screwed up family. They'd probably try to corrupt her.

"No." Sirius said shaking his head. "No way in hell are you meeting her. She's a good witch. When I say good, I mean that there's no way she'd ever fight for the Dark Lord. No way. She's good."

He walked over to his father and took his present from Cory. His father was in such a state of shock that he didn't even notice. His father and mother thought that their son had finally joined the Dark side. But he hadn't and he had been so close in their minds to being the perfect son.

Sirius left the room and went up stairs. He sat on his bed and thought for a long time. He thought of Cory's parents and how they died. How maybe Cory looked like them. If she did, which one? Were they what she dreamed of? He wanted to know. He suddenly wanted to know everything about Cordelia Ash. Every single thing he could.

His door creaked and his head snapped up to see who was there. It was Regulus.

"I'm sorry I said something…" He said in a small voice trying to dig his foot into the floor. He was nervous, obviously.

"Don't worry about. They would have found out eventually. Cory and I are going to be staying together for a while. At one point or another they would have seen her or met her." Sirius said. His brother further entered his room and sat next to him on his bed.

"What did she get you?" he asked eyeing the object still wrapped up in Sirius' hands. Sirius looked down to his hands. He had been in such deep thought that he hadn't even opened at it yet. Slowly, he ripped away the paper. There in his hands was a mirror. That was it. He looked at the card again and tried to think what it was. Regulus asked him after he got a good look at it, "What is that?"

"I'm not sure…." Sirius answered and thought about what was in his hands.

Cory woke to the sound of laughter. She followed the noise and soon found herself in the common room. There were two younger boys opening presents. Smiling Cory went further down the stairs and said to them, "Good morning! Merry Christmas!"

The younger one said in a cheer filled voice, "Morning! Happy Christmas, Cordelia!"

"Hey! Happy Christmas! Those are for you. They came earlier this morning," the older boy said with bliss on his face and pointed to the left side of the fireplace. She sat down on the ground next to the two boys and followed in doing what the other two boys were doing; opening presents. By now Cory had learned that the third year's name was Mark and the second year's name was Chaz. They were nice and it seemed to Cory that Chaz had a little thing for her. Cory couldn't wait to tell Sirius. He'd probably go and threaten the poor kid if he ever looked at her.

She opened all her presents and with each one she got more cheerful. From Lily she got a Hanna Kit which Cory had been wanting for a long time. When she reached for her second gift she smiled when she saw it was from James. Upon opening it, she burst out into laughter. Her fellow present openers asked her why she was laughing and she handed the present over. They looked at it. It was a book. But it wasn't just a book. The title was Everything You Need To Know About Quidditch by James Potter with a forward by Sirius Black. Everyone started laughing and Cory moved on to her next gift. It was an other book, and surprise surprise it was from Remus. This one was Quidditch Through The Ages. She had yet to need it so this was a good gift. Another marauder gave her a picture. It was a wizard picture of Quinn and herself in their Quidditch uniforms. They were both smiling up at her and would pause to look at each other briefly then Quinn would say something and they both would laugh. After laughing they would enter their attention back to the camera. Emma gave her a set of colored inks that she couldn't wait to use. Bethany got her possibly the biggest pair of dark sunglasses which was a joke between the two of them. They thought that it would be fun if they could stare at people without them knowing it. With these she could stare at anything one and they wouldn't know. But by far the last gift was the best. It was from Sirius. She took the card first and opened it. It read; 'Cordelia, I thought I'd show you what I do when I'm not with you and missing you. Which all the time we're apart. All my love, Sirius'.

The gift was quite large and as she pulled back the paper she gasped. It was a frame with a portrait of herself. But it wasn't a normal portrait. It was her exact reflection. Her face was turned to the side and she was looking down. Her hair was in a loose bun and some of it was hanging out and gracing her shoulders and face. There was a smile on her lips and she wore an off the shoulder sweater.

"Wow…" Cory said in a soft voice and drifted off. She was so taken aback by how much the drawing resembled herself. It was remarkable. She never knew that Sirius could draw! Come to think of it, she didn't know a whole lot about Sirius. She knew the way he leaned forward when he laughed and she knew how he could remember facts from History of Magic without even taking notes. But she didn't know what his favorite color was or what his favorite food was. There was a lot she needed to know and that she wanted to know.

An owl pecked at the window and Chaz got up to let it in. It flew over to Cory and she untied the note from it's legs. She opened the note and read what it said. 'Cordelia, At one o'clock please come to my office. Happy Christmas, Professor Dumbledore'. Cory thought about this. What could he want? Was this about her parents?

One o'clock came and Cory left the dormitory and went towards the Headmasters office. She knew her way around Hogwarts quite well by now and felt at home inside its walls. She finally reached the gargoyle statue and she realized she didn't know the password. But like the gargoyle was waiting for her, it opened up and the stairs appeared. Traveling up the stairs she made her way to the Headmasters office. She knocked twice and waited for a reply. She didn't have to wait very long. A voice came from the other side of the door and said, "Come in."

Opening the door she entered the office that amazed her in so many ways. "Happy Christmas, Cordelia! I'm glad you could come!" Her energetic Headmaster stood up and gestured for her to sit in a seat. She followed his gesture and sat. "Now you're probably wondering why you're here. Well I was wondering if we could continue the conversation that we were having yesterday. Alright?"

"Sure." She said nodding her head for her Headmaster to continue.

"Now yesterday we were about to discuss your talents, correct?" She nodded and he continued, "I believe that because of Voldemort's rise and his wanting for you that you should learn to control your powers of being unique. How do you feel about this?"

"I think it's a good idea, Headmaster. But, how can I learn to control it better?"

"I can teach you. You will come here every other day for lessons. Every night. How's that?"

"That's fine. Thank you." Cory was a little shocked that she would be under the tutelage of one of the greatest wizards of all time.

"How about we do a little bit now?" The older wizard questioned.

Cory thought. She had no where to go, why not. "Sure, why not?"

The Headmaster grinned and stood. Cory followed his suit and stood as well. "Right, let's start small." He picked up a gold paper weight from his desk and placed it openly on his palm. "Summon this."

Cory rolled her neck letting it crack and she took off her zip up sweat shirt. She placed it on the chair and rose her arm. Opening her hand she said firmly, "Accio ball."

The ball flew out of his hand and into Cory's. She smiled and tossed the ball up and down and from hand to hand. Dumbledore smiled and said, "Very good, Cordelia."

For the next two hours, they did various spells and Cory completed each one of them without any problems.

"You're doing very well Cordelia. I must admit that I'm surprised. Don't be offended, but when you said that you didn't use your powers often, I thought they would be under developed. I see that I was wrong. You're quite powerful for a young witch. It can take a witch or wizard much longer to do a simple spell without a wand when they're a unique. Only the highly powerful ones can do them right away. Very good work!"

Cory beamed. She couldn't believe how well she did. She never knew that all uniques couldn't do as powerful magic as she. She was about to speak when someone knocked at the door. Dumbledore said loud enough for the person to hear, "Come in."

In walked Alastor Moody. "I'm sorry I'm late Albus-" But he stopped when he saw Cordelia sitting there. "Ah, Miss Ash, how nice to see you again."

Cory smiled. "Hello, again. I'll leave. Merry Christmas."

With that she left the room. She felt bad imposing on the meeting they were going to have. She hugged her shoulders when she felt the cold air hit her arms. Then it hit her, her sweatshirt she had left it back in Dumbledore's office! She turned back and headed for the office. She thought of what Dumbledore had said yesterday to make the stairs appeared and repeated it, "Skittles."

To her great surprise the gargoyle moved out of the way. She climbed the stairs but stopped when she heard the conversation on the other side of the door.

"…first saw her, I thought I was looking at the girl version of Aidan!"

"Yes, I thought the same. She has all Aidan's and Ophelia's talents. It's quite remarkable. She plays Quidditch and could probably give both of them a run for their money. But, Alastor, I wonder just how much she remembers about that night?"

"I was thinking the same thing, Albus. I don't know if I could bear for her to have the memory of their deaths plaguing her mind. It's not right, Albus."

"That's just what I think too."

They were talking about her. Cory suddenly felt dizzy. They knew her parents. She looked like them. They must have been friends of her parents. They were discussing that night. They had to have been talking about the night her parents died. This was too much. Cory ran down the stairs and to the girls dorm room with a million things swirling through her mind, just like her boyfriend.