Chapter22-Hogsmeade Part One

Ally sat on the edge of her seat on the carriage to Hogsmeade. Her eyes were glazed and unfocused as she watched rain pour down from outside. The rain streaked the glass window that provided a view outside the carriage. Her mouth was open and she was drooling lightly.

Sitting next to her was Pria, who was having a one sided argument with Lily. Lily was on the opposite side of Ally. She was also staring out of the window. Nodding slightly when Pria made a point and wrinkling her nose when she said something she didn't like. Carla had been as quiet as she normally was, giggling along with everyone else when Ally mumbled something incoherent.

The reason Ally and Lily were unusually tired had something to do with the previous night.

Twelve Hours Earlier.

Gryffindor tower was silent. The only noise that could be heard was the scratching of a quill, the rare squeaks of a disgruntled mouse and furball, and the turning of a page. No one other than Ally was awake and working. Lily had fallen asleep hours ago, claiming that she was too exhausted from N.E.W.T studying and had most of her homework finished anyway.

Books and papers were askew around Ally's bed. Her charms essay lay forgotten at the foot of her bed. Ally's mouse that she was supposed to transfigure into a cactus ran rampant around the room chasing Lily's pink Puffskein. A tower of old library books was stacked hazardously on the night stand next to Ally.

Another page turn and the Puffskein was hiding in Lily's hair. Lily snorted and turned in her sleep

"James..." she muttered and the Puffskein burrowed under the covers.

Ally had to shove a pillow in her mouth to stop laughing out loud. Someday she would work up the courage to tell the fiery red head that she spoke her enemies name in her sleep, someday - when she no longer valued her life.

Ally turned back to the page she was deciphering. The large green and silver book titled The Family Gaunt was resting in front of her on askew her blankets. Ally herself was writing on another piece of paper, attempting to finish her homework while she still could. Hogsmeade was tomorrow and Ally had promised Lily that she would attend... If there really was an attack, Ally and Lily would be there to prevent it. Sam, they weren't sure about her. She said she would be going with Remus and would possibly meet up with them. She was going to be in the area that... was all they knew.

Ally turned another page decorated with random letters and words.. She turned yet another page to find more nonsense writing.

Flight from—

Flight from phoenix.

Flight from the shadows.

Flight from life..

Ally sighed and rolled her eyes. Whatever teenager wrote this obviously needed more to do with their time. She turned the page once more. She knew she was reaching the end of the book. Only a few pages left until the end.

M—O—R—D—E—

Flight

A—V—I—A—T—

From

D—E—

Death

M—U—E—R—T—A

Then there was a large scribble.

French translation

V—O—L—D—E

TMRIDMAROLO

Then there was another scribble.

Ally flipped the page over; it was completely blank. The only written words were in slanted letter. The writing seemed resolved, the word was resolved. It was definite and fine. The black ink seeped indefinitely into the page.

Voldemort.

Ally stared in horror for what seemed like hours at the page. Voldemort. The word echoed in her mind. It took her ages for her mind to react. At first she didn't really process what she was reading. All she knew was that she needed to know more.

With a hungry expression on her face, she turned the page once more.

Lord Voldemort... Yes, I like the title of a Lord.

She turned the page again, searching for more of this mystery. More random letters popped up. Ally grabbed her quill eagerly and snatched a paper from her stack. She copied the letters down with a vengeance.

M—A—I

Ally tore through the back of the book to the last page.

For a moment she didn't react. She simply wore an expression of shock and horror. Green light and the carnage she saw in pictures by the Daily Prophet wrapped around her mind. She froze. Death Eaters Attack Again... Or Do They? Another Green Skull over Muggle Residents. He—Who—Must—Not—Be—Named Must NOT Be Named. The Dark Lord Strikes Again. War or Not? You—Know—Who Recruits Followers... War... Lord Voldemort.

She went white and threw the book in fear against the wall. But the book rebounded and landed on the floor. The pages rifled in the wind of the open window. Finally it landed on the last page, the only page in the book that Ally truly feared. Below a drawing of a snake entwined with a skull, words in green ink were written.

I am Lord Voldemort.

A cruel high pitched laughter filled her ears and she screamed as loud as she could. Lights flew on out in the halls and Ally could hear the stomping of feet. Lily tossed aside her covers and took one look at the book on the floor. Her face was pale as she mouthed the words in green ink. Soon, Pria and Carla barged into the room. Ally was still screaming. The book was kicked aside by Pria who went over to Ally's bed to calm her down.

"Al! Ally! Stop it!" Pria shook her by the shoulders and Ally stopped to stare at her. Lily still was frozen at the edge of getting out of her bed. Pria helped Ally take a few calming breaths before going over to Lily to get her out of the trance.

Ally looked feverishly around for the book. She spotted it half covered by their rug. Jumping up, it was awkward to move, she hastily grabbed the book. Forcing herself not to dwell on the final four words, she slammed the book shut with a bang that was louder than she intended it to be.

The girls from other levels of the dormitory were crowding around Lily's and Ally's room to get a good look at what had happened. Lily was finally shaken violently out of her trance. She slowly got up and took the book from Ally's hands. Ally allowed her to look through the final back pages. Stopping briefly when her eyes flickered across the page that expressed how he liked being called lord. She flipped through the nonsensical letters and rested upon the final page. The skull and snake burned through Ally's mind. Ally could not bring herself to look down at the page. After a long while Lily slammed the book shut, also louder than she intended too.

By now the Gryffindor girls were clambering over each other to get a good look at what was going on.

"What's going on?"

"What did Al do now?"

"It's too late in the night for this."

"Somebody get Professor McGonagall."

"What are they doing now?"

"Evans is reading a book!"

"Typical."

"Isn't Ally always reading that book?"

"What's going on her?" commanded Professor McGonagall. "Why are you all doing up and who was screaming?"

The Professor appeared in her nightgown. Her normally neat bun was undone and she was holding her wand up high. She looked frazzled; the scream must have startled her out of sleep.

"Don't ask me."

"It was Lily and Al."

"They're reading a book... Not anymore."

"Maybe it was a horror book."

"Oh! I hate those. Punish them Professor, it doesn't match the Gryffindor colors."

Professor McGonagall stared at the last girl who had spoken and then rolled her eyes.

"Out of the way... Out of the way. Get rid of that gum Joanne. Out of the way."

The crowd stepped to the side and McGonagall's eyes washed over the situation in front of her.

Pria and Carla were standing to the side. Carla was on Ally's bed and Pria was spinning the disco ball on her fingers. Lily still stood, pale as ever with her whole body trembling. Ally was shaking slightly too. Her face was plastered with horror and disgust. She looked down at the hands that previously held the book she had laughed and obsessed over so many times. With a look of fear she held her hand s away from her.

"Oh dear..." she said softly, looking at the state Lily and Ally.

"I take it that you -" she pointed at Ally, though not in a cruel manner, "Screamed."

Ally nodded slowly and placed her hands farther away from her in revulsion. Lily was shaking badly and Professor McGonagall looked worried and weary of them.

"Perhaps you two would like to tell me exactly what happened?" she said cautiously.

Ally shook her head. "No," she said very quickly and violently at the same time Lily whispered a very quiet "No thank you."

"Alright then..." Professor McGonagall took Ally and Lily by one shoulder. "Let's get you two to the hospital wing... Do you want to put that book down?"

She said the last words softly and nearly silently, sensing the weight the book carried.

"No." Lily and Ally both said together. Ally felt drained of energy of explaining. She felt the need to sit down and rest.

Professor McGonagall looked at them both suspiciously and glanced at the book again. Ally saw her gaze and quickly covered the book with a robe she found on the floor. McGonagall raised her eyebrows and then turned to the crowd that was growing by the second in the doorway.

"Move along," she said while shooing them away, "best get to bed, move along now. I told you to get rid of that gum! Get to bed, Hogsmeade is tomorrow."

She turned around to face Pria and Carla after she was certain every last Gryffindor girl that was teeming around the entryway was in their bed.

"You two," she pointed at them, "Get to bed with the rest of your house. You'll need your rest."

"Couldn't we just—"

McGonagall gave her one stern look and Pria went scurrying out the door. Carla gave one last worried look at Lily and Ally before retreating after Pria.

"You two are obviously hiding something..." she said with her lips pursed. "I think a visit to the Headmaster's office will suffice, since you are obviously hiding a book from the restricted section."

Ally looked up at her with a neutral look on her face. Lily watched the defiant exchange of glares before the Professor spoke again.

"I have been to the library many times before. I think, as a teacher, I would know what students are, and are not, allowed to read."

Ally averted her gaze to the side. Lily's eyes were focused on a spot on the wall. Unexpectedly, Lily walked over to the window swiftly. Ally and the Head of House followed her with their eyes.

Lily opened the window, and to everyone's surprise, a red phoenix soared gracefully into the room. The bird trilled lightly and Ally felt herself relax. The phoenix landed on Lily's bed, next to a trembling Puffskein. Ally went over to the phoenix she recognized as Dumbledore's and pulled at the letter that was tied to its foot. It came undone easily and Ally unfolded the letter. She read it out loud to the two other occupants of the room.

Minerva,

If you would please escort Miss Pierce and Miss Evans to my office immediately. We have an important matter to discuss.

Albus

Professor McGonagall sighed and took Lily by the shoulder.

"Are you coming Ally?" she called over her shoulder while exiting the room. Ally stood silent for a moment before running after them. The phoenix bounced lightly up and down on her shoulder as she ran down the stairs. Lily and the Professor were standing in front of a bunch of Gryffindor boys.

The Marauders were next to the seventh years and Ally could hear a few snatches of conversation.

"—heard a scream."

"It was from the Girls' Dormitory."

"There's Professor McGonagall and Lily."

"Al's there too."

"Is she holding a book?"

"Typical."

"Professor, what happened?"

That last comment came from a frazzled James. He was standing, as was everyone else, in his pajamas and was holding his wand out. He was standing next to Lily with a strange look on his face. If Ally didn't know him as the confident, egotistical Potter that he was, she could have sworn that he looked afraid.

He reached out to place a hand on Lily's other shoulder, the shoulder not held by McGonagall. Lily did not recoil at the touch, as she normally would.

Ally went to stand on the other side of the Professor.

"Boys, Boys!" the common room silenced. "Return to your dormitories at once. Hogsmeade is tomorrow and you all need to get some sleep. Fifth years have O.W.L.s and seventh years have N.E.W.T.s. We do not need to lose extra sleep!"

Several disgruntled mutters were made, but the crowd made their way back to their beds. Only the Marauders remained behind. Lily was still shaking slightly and Ally was breathing deeply and muttering to herself.

"Professor," James spoke out, "Maybe we should escort Lily and Al to the Hospital wing?"

He spoke the last few words with a hopeful tone. The Marauders looked up at McGonagall with curiosity. The fire crackled loudly while McGonagall considered her words.

"I don't think that's—"

"What a wonderful idea."

Ally, Lily, McGonagall and the Marauders all wheeled around to look at the portrait hole.

There stood Albus Dumbledore. His beard was a dull white and he looked tired. His pajama style blue robes were crinkled slightly. Holding his wand, he stepped forward and repeated what he said.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." his voice came as a shock to Ally, for once, Dumbledore sounded... old. "But I must say we cannot have the entire group of Marauders out and abroad. How about just our young Mr. Potter? He can escort these two young ladies back to the Gryffindor tower once I am down talking to them."

"That is... of course... if you don't mind?"

That last question was directed at James who shook his head and tightened his grip on Lily's shoulder. Lily did not react. Dumbledore stood and watched as the rest of the Marauders left the common room to go back to bed. As they were leaving Sirius mouthed 'talk to me later' to Ally. Ally nodded slowly and breathed deep.

"Now..." said Dumbledore, "Follow me. Minerva, I don't believe we need you to accompany us on this trip. They will have me with them."

Professor McGonagall nodded and took that as her sign to leave.

James took Ally's arm, while holding Lily's shoulder, and steered them out of the common room after Dumbledore.

The halls of the castle were dark. Ally's favorite suits of armor, that she normally loved to talk to, looked menacing with their spades and swords. The torches on the walls cast tall shadows that danced frighteningly against the stone walls. Ally shivered and Lily must have felt the same way because she shuddered rubbed her arms for warmth. James noticed and gave her his cloak before latching onto the both of them again.

Ally couldn't help but smile, no matter how wrong the moment was, it was cute to see them like that. Lily was going to kill her later if she ever mentioned this. The simple motion by James brought Lily out of her stupor and she looked at him in surprise, just realizing he was there. Lily looked at Ally and stared at her.

"The book was—"

"Ah," Dumbledore interrupted, "Here we are."

Ally and Lily stood in front of white stone gargoyle. Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke the password.

"Candied Strawberries."

He looked back at the three Gryffindors standing behind him and led them up the stone steps. He motioned for them to enter his office. Ally collapsed into her favorite cushy chair in front of the large wooden desk. Dumbledore took his usual seat facing them and James took care to help Lily to her next to Ally. James then sat down close to Lily.

Dumbledore took a bowl in front of his desk and held it out in front of Ally and Lily.

"Lemon drop?"

It wasn't a question, it was an order. Ally and Lily both took a lemon drop and slowly placed it in their mouths. Ally wondered if the lemon drop was mixed with a potion because she immediately felt herself relax, the thoughts in her mind cleared and she could see clearly. Lily was now fully awake next to her and was blinking. Her eyes fell onto the book she was carrying.

She shrieked at the sight of it and tossed it from her hands. With reflexes Ally didn't know Dumbledore had, he caught it and flipped the book open.

"This..." he held up The Family Gaunt, "is the reason you two are here."

Ally glanced at James wearily and Dumbledore interceded.

"James is a student whom I know will not use the information you and I are about to reveal to harm anyone."

James looked at Dumbledore, his face was stunned. Then he smiled warmly and settled into his chair, his hand on Lily's shoulder.

"Shall we start," Dumbledore said, "where you found this book?"

"Oh." Ally said. "Yes, we'll start there."

"It may shock you to know that I was not aware you were in possession of this book. I was not aware that it had been taken from the library. I cannot tell you how surprised I was when I was informed by the castle wards that it had been thrown against a wall in the Gryffindor Dormitories. As far as I had been concerned... it was still laying on the shelves of the restricted section, safe, and gathering dust by the second."

He paused to set down the book her was holding.

"First, I must ask you two a couple of question so I may piece together my story.."

"Now..." he folded his hand in front of him and turned to Lily. "I believe that when Ally, the Marauders, and you snuck out in the middle of the night some time ago, around Christmas time, you made a visit to the library. Miss Evans... What sort of charm did you use to steal books from the restricted section?"

Lily was fazed by the question. She blushed and lowered her head. James squeezed her shoulder to urge her on. Dumbledore leaned forward to catch what Lily was whispering.

"I invented it."

"I thought so..." he said wisely. "What kind of Charm was it?"

"It froze the time in the library."

Dumbledore looked impressed for a moment, but his face quickly covered it up.

"That would explain why the library did not detect the book being stolen... I must warn you to exercise caution when performing that spell again." he warned. "That is a most powerful spell and when in the wrong hands could bring devastation. I am, however, astonished that a sixth year could perform magic of that magnitude. Congratulation, Miss Evans, I never doubted your ability to be one of the best."

Lily blushed even more profoundly and sunk into her chair.

"Now, even if I could not foresee the book being taken, I would have been able to tell where in Hogwarts it was... that is... if the book touched Hogwarts' stone?"

That last part was directed at Ally. Ally sat up straight when she was addressed and looked from the book to Dumbledore. She was thinking.

"But it didn't..." she said slowly. "It didn't touch the stone. It was always in my backpack or my hands... The first time I put it down... it didn't touch the table directly, there was a book beneath it. It didn't touch my bed either because my blankets weren't Hogwarts blankets. The blankets were my own, charmed to our Dormitory."

Ally thought back to the times that she had read the book. Every time she had had the book there was a robe or a person covering it from touching anything. She sighed to herself, if only she hadn't been so obsessed with the book.

"I figured that." he sighed and sat back in the chair. "Since the book was taken while there was a charm on the library, and since it was always blocked from Hogwarts by a back pack or a robe... the book remained undetected."

"Until..." he trailed off and flipped to the back of the book, "Until you came upon this."

The green ink made Ally's mind whirl and she held a hand to her hand. Lily leaned against James and covered her eyes. James was staring at the page with a mix of horror, confusion, and shock

"I'll take that as a yes." he said while handing a Lemon Drop to James. "In your fear and surprise you threw the book against the wall. Hogwarts' wards sent me a message informing me of a stolen book, a book I thought was safe... You screamed. Lily woke up and discovered the book. The rest of the Dormitory woke up and I brought you here."

Dumbledore's gaze flickered between Ally and Lily. He looked stern and tired.

"I assume that you have some speculation on who wrote these notes?"

"Tom Riddle." said Ally. "I know it was him. I just know it."

Dumbledore did not hide the emotion on his face. He looked surprised, amazed and confused. Then his face cleared up and he asked Lily.

"Do you agree?"

"Well... I..."

"You..." Dumbledore repeated.

"If you rearrange the letters in his name it fits."

It was Ally's turn to look confused. When did Lily figure that out?

"Sorry, but what did you say?" Dumbledore said.

"If you rearrange the letters, Tom Marvolo Riddle, you can spell... I Am Lord V—Voldemort."

James was looking from Lily to Ally and the book. Ally could tell he was absorbing this information up.

"There were dates in the book and names too." Ally said. "Dates of meetings... Death Eater meetings from when he was still in school. He was playing with the letters in his name. It means Flight from Death. V—Voldemort means Flight from Death. Thought he was being smart, I suppose."

She paused and started to shake.

"I—I thought he was just being funny in those books when he said he was going to kill the muggleborns in front of him... I never though—he—he really did do those things—"

Dumbledore didn't need to hand her another Lemon Drop, Ally helped herself to the bowl.

"I did not think that this book would ever be found." Dumbledore said sternly. "I will be taking this from you, I think I will flip through the pages once more and observe what my old student has written. Perhaps it will come in handy."

Dumbledore sighed once more and rubbed his eyes. For the first time, Ally noticed that he did not have his normal half moon spectacles on.

"I must ask you to forget whatever was written in this book."

"Professo—"

"I know I cannot ask you to forget his identity. In fact, I know it is impossible to forget what you have just learned. But I must ask you to forget, at least, the personality and the comments written. The dates and the letters, throw it all aside."

He stood and Lily, Ally and James followed him. He stopped at the door that led outside his office and turned to face them.

"You will not be punished, curiosity is not a sin. Please... be careful."

The three students nodded at what sounded like a plea coming from Dumbledore. They left the office and said nothing on the way back to the Dormitory.

Lily stopped James outside the portrait hole.

"Tell no one?" she asked softly.

"Sirius." he whispered back.

"Sure, but no one else." Ally said.

They all agreed to this and climbed into the common room. It was late in the night already, but they know they would get very little sleep.

The carriage halted to a stop in front of the entrance to Hogsmeade. Ally jolted awake and rubbed her head. She shook herself awake and left the carriage while casting an 'impervius' charm. This is going to be a long day... she thought while she walked to the Three Broomsticks with Lily. Very long...