PART ONE: IN VITAM

Chapter II: Page of Swords Reversed

"Where were you last night?"

At the question, I fought back a sigh. I had snuck into the dormitory well after hours when all of the other seventh-year girls had been asleep. At the time, I'd been relieved, believing I had avoided their questions, but of course, I should've known better.

The one who spoke now was a curvy girl with a long face and dark brown skin. Her curly hair had been tied back with a yellow scarf that matched the Hufflepuff colors. She stared at me, who still lay in my four-poster bed. As I pulled the covers back, I wondered if what I had acted out of character—perhaps the real Marlene was an early riser.

"I, uh, fell asleep in the lavvy." Always tell the truth, or as close to the truth as one could manage. That's what my da had told me once. All it took was for one person to see through a lie that I had been in the library or out on the grounds, and then I'd have suspicious looks following me everywhere.

My throat tightened at the memory of my da. I wondered if he would cry when he learned that his only daughter was dead. Probably not.

"Oh, ew," said a tall girl with feathered, blonde hair. "Who falls asleep in the loo?"

"Me." I tried to smile like a nice Hufflepuff, but it probably came out as if I was baring my teeth at her. Not a good start. "Sorry," I said as I rolled out of bed. "I'm a bit crabby this morn."

"You slept in today," said the blonde girl.

"Tired. Sleeping in the lavvy is not comfortable."

She laughed, shot me a curious glance, and said, "I'd imagine not."

I went over to the dresser beside my bed and started rummaging through it. The top drawer contained knickers and bras. The next drawer down had muggle clothing: embroidered jeans, low-cut t-shirts, crop tops, tennis shorts. I cringed at the 70s fashion choices, knowing that I was doomed to dated fashion for however long I lived as Marlene McKinnon. The third drawer had the Hogwarts uniforms. There were five different versions of the same skirt, the same sweater, and the same white blouse. I never thought I'd wear a uniform again after finishing secondary school, but here I was, donning the black and gray outfit with a splash of Hufflepuff colors. I found my robes on a hanger in the closet alongside a set dress robes, a handful sundresses, and what looked to be Quidditch gear. I hoped to God that I wouldn't have to play Quidditch.

After rummaging through the nightstand, I found a toiletry bag.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" asked the black-haired girl.

"Yeah, thanks," I said. As I slipped out the door, I noticed the surprised expression on the girl's face and I wondered if I'd said something wrong.

I took a guess that the lavvy was down the hall and found the words WC marking the room that contained the communal showers and toilets. Once I'd brushed my teeth and washed my face, I examined my new self the mirror.

We really did look exactly the same. What had Helena called us? Different versions of each other. I was one year older than the real Marlene. Though, of course, Marlene had been born 6 December, 1959 (or so Helena had told me during our walk to the Hufflepuff dormitory last night), and I had been born 16 May, 1999. Forty years apart and in different worlds, but we looked the exact same.

One small girl who was probably a first or second year gave me a strange look, and I realized I'd been staring at myself in the mirror too long.

I pulled my hair back and braided it, mimicking the hairstyle I'd had last night. If the real Marlene had liked to wear her hair in a braid, then that was how I would wear it from now on. The fewer changes I could make, the less likely I was to be discovered. Then, with a smile at the scrawny girl, I headed back to my room.

Time to start the first day of my new life.

The seventh-year girls' dorm had only four beds. Just as Helena had told me, Marlene's bed was the one furthest from the door. Above the bed was a poster of some Quidditch player in a black uniform and several pictures of Marlene with her friends. I hadn't had a spare moment to look over the pictures yet, but it seemed like the girl with curly black hair was one of Marlene's good friends along with a red-haired girl and a small girl with a bob cut.

One bed, which belonged to the blonde, was surrounded by magazine cutouts of what looked to be a wizard band. Her pillowcases and sheets had been switched from the standard white to a shade of pastel pink. Good thing she'd left already, so she missed the face I pulled as I looked over the lace trimming on her pillowcases.

The next bed, the one closest to the door, belonged to a girl I hadn't met yet. The wall behind the headboard hosted a collage of pencil drawings and watercolor paintings. It seemed she was an artist, and she loved drawing animals. There were the regular cats, owls, butterflies, and then there were the magical creatures: dragons, phoenixes, and what I guessed was a hippogriff.

The black-haired girl sat on the bed closest to mine. She hadn't decorated her walls and kept only a stack of textbooks on her nightstand. She had a book open in her lap, reading as she waited for me. I squinted at the book and could make out the words at the top of the page "A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration: Chapter 3: Human Transfiguration". Oh hell, I hoped I wasn't in that class.

"You ready?" the girl asked, looking up from her textbook.

"In a moment." I stumbled around my bed to the nightstand and opened the top drawer. Just like Helena had told me, a timetable had been left there. Keeping my back to the girl so she couldn't see what I was doing, I pulled the carefully folded piece of parchment out and opened it.

I prayed that Marlene had signed up to take easy classes like Muggle Studies. But no. To my horror, I saw that my first class for the day was Potions. Marlene, that cow, had been taking NEWT-level Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Divination, and Ancient Runes.

Who even took NEWT-level Divination?

Helena had led me to believe Marlene was of average intelligence. But apparently Helena Ravenclaw's standards for intelligence differed from everybody else's, because Marlene McKinnon had managed to scrape together at least seven OWLs.

"Did you finish your Charms essay?" asked the black-haired girl, still sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Uh, yeah." There was a Charms essay? What in the hell was I supposed to do about that? Did Marlene expect me to tell Professor Flitwick—or whoever was the Charms professor in 1977—that I hadn't done my homework? Was I going to spend my first day as Marlene McKinnon getting detention in every fucking class?

It was then, by pure luck, that I noticed the roll of parchment in the nightstand drawer. I could hear the black-haired girl putting her Transfiguration textbook away, so while she was occupied, I snatched the roll of parchment out of the drawer and shoved it into the pocket of my robe.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Yeah." I grabbed the bookbag from the foot of my bed and slung it over my shoulder. When I placed my hand on top of it, I could feel the sharp edges of Ravenclaw's diadem through the fabric. It probably wasn't wisest to carry a piece of Voldemort's soul with me to breakfast, but leaving it alone in the dorm room seemed like a worse decision.

I followed the black-haired girl down a set of stairs to the common room. I'd seen the common room last night after Helena had escorted me to the entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitory. I'd followed Helena's instructions to tap the stack of barrels, and to my surprise, it had actually worked. A wooden barrel opened, revealing a hole large enough for me to step into and a staircase leading down to the Hufflepuff Basement.

One of my friends, the one who was a true Harry Potter nerd, had once mentioned to me that Hufflepuff had the best common room. At the time, I hadn't cared about comparing the comfort-levels of fictional common rooms. But now, I saw that my friend had been right. Despite being in the basement, the common room was well lit and filled with flowers and plants. The walls had been decorated with paintings of landscapes to open up the room, and everything was either bronze, yellow, or black in color. The armchairs and couches were all soft and squishy, focusing on comfort rather than appearance. Standing beside the main fireplace was a bronze statue of a badger, his right paw extended as if wanting to shake one's hand. If there was one benefit to being a Hufflepuff, it was the common room. That, and being close to the kitchens.

There weren't words to express my gratitude to the black-haired girl for staying behind. If she hadn't led the way to the Great Hall, I never would've found it. Not because the Great Hall was hidden, but because Hogwarts was bloody difficult to navigate. The people in the paintings often moved, so I couldn't use those as reference. Sometimes doors didn't feel like being in the same place and shifted down the corridor. The whole journey was dizzying and confusing, and we didn't even have to use stairs to get to the Great Hall. Find the classrooms would be torture.

"Do you know where Jenn got off to this morning?" asked the girl.

I shook my head. Jenn must be the missing dormmate, the one with the animal drawings over her bed.

"She probably forgot to do her Transfiguration homework." As she spoke, the girl's accent starting coming through, dropping the h's at the beginning of words. "McGonagall will have her head if she doesn't turn it in again. I can't believe that girl got an O on her Transfiguration OWL."

I fought back a groan. I was about to be on McGonagall's shit list for not turning in homework. Transfiguration was my second class of the day according to the timetable.

My silence must have thrown the girl off, and she gave me a sideways glance. I remembered the odd look she'd given me when I'd wanted her to wait, and I felt the panic started to rise in my throat. It hadn't even been half a day and someone had already become wary of my behavior. Searching for something to say, I settled on, "Well, we all have to have a best class."

The girl let out a sigh. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just jealous, that's all. I worked so hard and barely scraped an E."

Marlene must have at least gotten an E in Transfiguration, because I remembered that being the requirement for taking NEWT-level. I hoped the real Marlene had struggled to get that grade because otherwise my disastrous magic was going to raise some eyebrows.

The girl glanced at me again. "Are you all right?"

Half-truths were always the best answer. I rubbed my nose and said, "Yeah. Just a bit tired. One of those days."

I noticed, as we walked down one of the ground floor corridors, something silver in the corner of my vision. When I looked to my left, I could see the dark gray eyes of Helena Ravenclaw watching me. Helena drifted, half-hidden behind a suit of armor. Her long face looked even more sorrowful than it had last night in the lavatory.

The black-haired girl must have caught where I was looking, because she said, "Is the Gray Lady following you again? Should we talk to Professor Chen about controlling his house ghost?"

"No," I said quickly. "I don't want to bother Professor Chen. Besides, the Gray Lady is harmless enough. Now, if the Bloody Baron starts stalking me, then I'll worry."

The girl shuddered. "I hear he gives even the Slytherins nightmares."

So it seemed that Helena had been following Marlene around the castle for some time before I'd come here. Of course, that made sense if Marlene had told Helena she was in possession of Ravenclaw's diadem. Helena had stolen the diadem from her mother, and even if it was of no use to her in death, the object no doubt still fascinated her. Marlene seemed to have been some sort of observation study to Helena, and now I had taken Marlene's place.

"Ghosts are strange," I muttered.

The girl gave me another sideways look. By that time, we'd arrived outside the giant double doors of the Great Hall, and any questions she might have asked were interrupted when a warm voice called out to us.

"Dorcas! Marlene!"

I turned to see who had spoken and found myself facing the beautiful red-haired girl from the photos on Marlene's wall. The red-head was older now, probably a seventh year as well, and judging by her red and gold tie, a Gryffindor.

"Morning, Lily," said the black-haired girl, whose name must be Dorcas.

Lily? My gaze landed on the Head Girl badge that had been pinned to her robes beside the Gryffindor one. I fought the urge to groan. Lily Potter. Actually, she would be Lily Evans right now. In the Harry Potter books, Lily had been devastated by the deaths of the McKinnons. Which meant Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon had been friends. Which meant I had to be friends with Lily as well. This could only lead to disaster.

"How were Head Girl duties with Potter last night?" asked Dorcas with a knowing look.

Lily scrunched up her nose. "He threatened to hex Rosier again."

"What was Rosier doing this time?"

"Nothing for once," said Lily. "Potter just felt like hexing him. I mean, at least Potter didn't actually hex him. But it's the thought that counts."

I figured now was a good a time as any to ask a question I'd had since reading the fifth Harry Potter book. With a dramatic sigh, I asked, "Why did Dumbledore even make Potter the Head Boy?"

Lily blinked in surprise, as if she hadn't expected me to speak, then quickly recovering, she said, "I suppose it's because of what happened in Hogsmeade last year." Her gaze darkened, which meant that nothing good had happened in Hogsmeade last year. But then, she shook the shadow away and said, "You seem to be feeling a lot better, Marlene."

"Am I?" My voice came out too high, too unnatural.

"You've, uh…" Lily and Dorcas exchanged glances, and then Lily said, "You've just been a little out of it ever since we got back from summer holidays. And, you know, last week you barely spoke to us."

"Uh…" My thumb traced the ridge of the diadem through my bookbag. "Sorry. I've been…preoccupied." I took a stab in dark and hoped it worked. "What with the war going on and all…" I looked down at the ground, trying to look as sad as possible. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Marlene." Before I knew it, Lily had pulled me into a tight hug. "It's not easy for any of us. But remember we're here for you if you ever need to talk."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I hugged Lily back. Then, I stepped back and gave them my best smile. "Thanks."

"You can always talk to us rather than keep it bottled up," said Dorcas.

"Yeah. You're right." Though, of course, I had no intention of sharing my current problems with them. I could only imagine the looks on their faces if I told them the truth. They'd probably cart me off to St. Mungo's faster than I could say "horcrux."

"I'm starving," said Lily, starting towards the Great Hall.

Dorcas moved to follow her. I could feel the heavy eyes of Helena Ravenclaw on my back, and I didn't budge a centimeter as I said, "You two go on ahead. I need to use the lavvy."

Dorcas paused, glanced at Lily, and then said to me, "I'll come with you."

I silently cursed girls' need to go to the lavvy together. When I'd gone out to get guttered with my friends, I had been more than happy to travel in a pack, but right now, I needed to be alone. I gave them a thin smile and said, "No, you go on. I'll catch up."

"But the Slytherins…" Dorcas hesitated. "Remember what happened to Mary?"

Obviously, I hadn't a clue what happened to Mary, but I nodded anyway. "I'll be fine." I wouldn't be. If any Slytherin-wannabe-Death-Eater attacked me, I had no magic to defend myself (unless, somehow, wingardium leviosa was a good defensive spell) and I doubted they'd take too kindly if I threw away my wand and punched one of them.

Lily hesitated and then said, "We'll be sitting at the Gryffindor table today."

I nodded even though I had no idea which table belonged to Gryffindor. Then, I turned and started down the corridor in the direction Dorcas and I had come from.

In a cautious voice, Dorcas said, "The loo's the other way."

Oh fuck.

I spun around and laughed as if this was the funniest thing that had happened to me in a week (which, by the sound of how Marlene had been acting, wasn't exactly wrong).

"God," I said, "I've been so out of it this morn." And, before Lily and Dorcas could say anything more, I fled in the opposite direction.

I walked until they were out of sight. Then, I turned the first corner I came across and collapsed against the stone wall. My heart pounded in my chest, the sound filling my head and ears until nothing else existed. I closed my eyes and tried to stop the world from spinning out of place.

This had been the most stressful morning of my life. Not even taking the GCE could compare. Every word that I said, every action that I made, every step that I took, felt like a neon sign screaming "I am not the real Marlene." Any second, Lily was going to accuse me of taking Polyjuice Potion. There's no way they bought it. There was no way I resembled the real Marlene McKinnon. That I said "fuck" far too often should've given it away. That I had to look through all the dresser drawers to find her uniform should've given it away. That I didn't know where the lavvy was should've given it away. It was so fucking obvious that I wasn't Marlene McKinnon! Why weren't professors—or hell, aurors—swooping in to take me out of Hogwarts already?

But no. Apparently, Lily and Dorcas believed me, though I had no idea how.

Well, from the sound of it, Marlene had been acting with increasing strangeness for almost a month, leading up to her decision to trade places with me. Perhaps, in some odd way, that was what saved me. Lily and Dorcas just felt so relieved that Marlene no longer isolated herself, refusing to speak to them, that they didn't mind that she now swore every other word and had a tendency to get lost.

But someone would figure it out. There was no way everyone would just accept the sudden changes in Marlene McKinnon. This was a world where magic could turn one person into another or force someone to act as a puppet. Eventually, someone would grow suspicious, and I would have to find a way to properly convince people that I was the real thing. Even though I wasn't. I was just some cow the real Marlene had decided to trade places with.

"You look as though you have had a trying morning."

The familiar voice caused me to open my eyes. Helena hovered in front of me, her gray eyes wide and unblinking. On the other side of the corridor, a blonde woman in one of the paintings watched us curiously. I hadn't been in Hogwarts long, but in my gut, I knew that as soon as I left her earshot, the woman would leave the painting and spread word of whatever she overheard.

I took a deep breath. Time to put myself back together.

Pushing off the wall, I stood in front of Helena and said, "Just the ghost I needed. Where's the nearest lavvy?"

Helena led the way, and it turned out that the girls' lavvy was only two doors down from where I'd been standing. The first thing I did was check the stalls to make sure we were alone.

"Are you not going to lock the door?" asked Helena.

Unlike the lavvy where the trade had taken place, there was no bolt on the door. "I can't."

Helena gave an unladylike snort. "There is a spell for that."

"And you expect me to use it?"

"The incantation is colloportus."

I knew exactly how this would end, but just to stop Helena's nagging, I pulled out the black walnut wand and pointed it at the door. I didn't know how I was supposed to move the wand, so I just waved it in a lazy circle and said, "Colloportus."

Obviously, nothing happened.

"Of course it is not going to work if you do it like that," scoffed Helena. "You have to at least believe it will work. Besides, the wand movement is completely wrong. You have to curve downwards and then flick." She demonstrated with her right hand.

With a sigh, I tried again. Still nothing.

"By Merlin, you might be duller than Marlene," said Helena.

"Marlene got at least seven OWLs. I hardly think she's stupid."

"She only got those OWLs because she studied for months," said Helena. "She's never gotten a spell right on the first try."

"And you have?"

"Of course."

The real challenge of my new life wouldn't be deceiving Marlene's friends or trying to save the McKinnon family. No, it would be putting up with snooty Helena Ravenclaw. Maybe I could send her down to the Chamber of Secrets, and the basilisk would petrify her for me.

Well, as my magic clearly needed some work, I would just have to hope no one needed to use the lavvy while I talked to Helena. I sat on the stone counter and pulled the roll of parchment out of my pocket.

"What is that?" asked Helena, peering over my shoulder. She stood in one of the sinks to see what was in my hands, and the porcelain cut her off at the waist.

"It was in the drawer along with the timetable—" I broke off. The parchment was empty. I flipped it over in my hands, examining it from all sides, but not a trace of writing could be seen.

"Try your name," said Helena abruptly.

"What?"

"Marlene told me that if you were ever in doubt that you should say your name."

I stared at the ghost for a good moment, and then with a long sigh, I turned back to the parchment. I announced my name to the parchment. Nothing happened.

Helena snorted. "Obviously, you have to tap it with your wand, you flobberworm."

I gritted my teeth and tried to hold back my temper. Petrification sounded like a very appealing solution to Helena Ravenclaw right then. I pulled the black walnut wand out of the pocket of my robes and tapped the parchment with the tip. Again, I said my name. Again, nothing happened.

Even Helena seemed stumped at this point. She drifted through the sink, staring at the lavvy floor. "Perhaps you must say your full name."

I tapped the parchment again and again, saying my name in various ways. Still, nothing happened. Perhaps I was mistaken in thinking Marlene had meant this for me. Perhaps this was simply a scrap piece of parchment she'd left in the drawer. But even as I began to fold up the paper and put it back in my pocket, a voice, husky and soothing, rung in my head, "You are now Marlene McKinnon, and you must save your family."

Ah, I had been using the wrong name.

I lifted the wand again. Helena watched my every movement, studying me carefully as I tapped the parchment and said, "I am Marlene McKinnon."

At once, black ink began to appear, starting from the point where the tip of the wand touched the paper and spreading outwards. Curling words in what I assumed must be Marlene's handwriting appeared before me forming a long note.

"Do you see something?" asked Helena.

I ignored her and began to read the words visible only to me.

To Marlene,

I am sorry to have put you in this situation, to have taken you from your old life and dragged you into this one. However, I was desperate. The world around me has begun falling apart, and you, who have read the books, are the only one who can change its course.

Helena will explain most of this to you. While she is a bit strange, she has a good heart and wants to make amends for the choices she's made in the past. She will watch over you as best she can while you still remain in school.

Now, I suppose I should begin with how I found you. I saw you in the Veil, you see, in the place that connects all worlds, for in death we are all one. I saw many things there. Things that I will not repeat. There is a reason the people who work in the Department of Mysteries are called Unspeakables. All you need to know is that what I saw in the Veil led me to you.

When I first saw you, you were in your room. The door was locked, and even though the music had been turned on full, you could still hear the sounds of your parents yelling. You were reading a book on your bed, and when I saw the title, I knew that we were connected in more than just our appearance. For you were reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I found the other six books on a shelf in your room, and I could not believe what I was seeing. It was an entire series about my world. I do not know this Harry Potter, but I do know a James Potter and I know of the Order of the Phoenix. The other book titles contained similar references to my world. The legendary Chamber of Secrets and the infamous prison, Azkaban. It was no coincidence, I knew. And as I read over your shoulder, I realized that these books foretold the future of my world. This Harry Potter will be important, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would return a second time.

But in reading over your shoulder, I also saw that dreadful line. The words forever etched in my memory: "…that's Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken, they got her whole family."

And so, by accident, I learned of my own death. My own death I can accept. The photograph was of the Order of the Phoenix, which I must have joined after finishing school. I know I must have died for fighting for what I believe in. I accept my fate. But my family, my beloved family, to die like that. I cannot accept it. I will not accept it.

You can save them. You have the knowledge of the books. You are also not bound to the same course that we of this world are. There are things you can do, choices you can make, that I cannot, even with the power of the diadem.

You have not met my family yet, I would guess, but you should know them. My ma, June McKinnon, works in the owlry in Diagon Alley. She loves her birds almost as much as her own children. Her ma and da are muggles, and they couldn't be prouder to have a witch for a daughter. My da, Collin McKinnon, is an auror. His family are mostly purebloods, though I believe there are a few muggles and muggleborns in his family tree. He was a Gryffindor, unlike the rest of the family, and you can imagine how horrified he was when all three of his children ended up in Hufflepuff.

My older brother Owen followed in our da's footsteps. He became an auror last year, and after his initiation into the ranks, he married a pretty witch named Yuki. She's pregnant with their first child. My brother hopes it's a girl. He says he hopes she's as clever as her ma, as kind as her granny, and as full of life as me.

I also have a younger brother, Hartley, who is now a fourth-year Hufflepuff and wants to play Keeper on our Quidditch team. He's a wee bit mad at me at the moment, because I rejected the captain's badge and resigned my position as Chaser this summer. Hartley wants to work in professional Quidditch. He isn't a good enough flyer to play professionally so he wants to be a Healer for the Montrose Magpies. He's a good boy, so forgive him if he's short with you because of my decision.

This is my family. They are the love of my life, and I would do anything for them. I do not know the exact day my family will be attacked, but I know it will occur in 1981, two weeks after that photograph is taken, you know the one. My parents' home will be attacked by Death Eaters. My da, my ma, my brothers, my new sister, my unborn niece… All of them will die.

Do not begrudge my decision. If I had stayed in my world, I would have died with them. I do not mind trading places with you. If I must die a little sooner so that they can live, then that is a choice worth making.

I know it is a heavy burden I place on you, but I know that you can succeed.

The diadem and the books will be your guide. It may seem intimidating at first, to wear Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, but you will understand. Trust the diadem. With your foresight and its power, you can save my family.

Thank you.

P.S. The homework for first few classes are in your bookbag. After that, you will have to rely on the diadem to help you catch up. In the trunk at the foot of my bed are all my coursebooks from first year until now.

I stared at the letter, the words that Marlene McKinnon had written to me before she swapped her life for mine. The words she'd poured onto this page filled with her love for her family and her hopes that I could save them.

Anger coiled in my stomach as I stared down at the parchment. What an idiot. She'd thrown her life away on the thin hope that I could change the future. I'd been lying on the road, desperately clinging to my miserable life, while she had thrown hers away so easily.

"I need a drink," I muttered.

And I still didn't understand why it needed to be me. Why couldn't Marlene have saved her own family? She knew the rough time when their deaths would occur—all she needed to do was make certain they weren't at home that night. For someone who had been wearing Ravenclaw's diadem, Marlene seemed to be missing a few steps in her reasoning.

"What does it say?" asked Helena.

I glanced up at the ghost, wondering how much I should tell her. Unlike Marlene, I was not for one second under the delusion that Helena felt any sense of loyalty towards me. Most likely, she would keep the truth as long as it interested her, and as soon as it became more interesting to share, she would spill my secrets to the first person who asked.

"She repeated most of what you told me already," I said, weighing my words carefully. "She also told me a bit about her family, and that she's done all the essays for the first few classes this week." I breathed a sigh of relief at that last.

"Hmm. What do you plan to do?"

"I don't know." That was the honest answer.

The task that Marlene had laid before me felt monumental, a specter looming over me. My throat tightened as I tried to process what Marlene asked of me. The murder of the McKinnons would not happen for four years. Even with all that time, I had no idea where to even begin in altering that future. Even if I did manage to save the McKinnon family, who's to say that I wouldn't change the fate of someone else in the world by doing so? What if, by saving the McKinnons, I killed off someone more important? What if Sirius Black or Remus Lupin died in their youth because of my decision? What if the Potters died earlier than they were meant to and Harry Potter didn't become the Boy Who Lived? Would I doom the world by trying to save Marlene's family?

And then, there was one more issue: the diadem contained a part of Voldemort's soul.

Did Marlene truly not know what she'd been dealing with? Had the horcrux stayed silent and allowed Marlene to do as she pleased?

No, I refused to believe that.

The horcruxes in the Harry Potter books had tricked, deceived, and manipulated the people around them. Perhaps Marlene had hidden the truth of the diadem from me? But surely, she, who believed in the all-knowing power of the books, would guess that I knew about the horcruxes. So then, did she truly not know?

As Marlene was gone from this world, the only way to find out was to wear the diadem myself. Marlene had advised it, saying I would need to wear the diadem to catch up on six years' worth of school work. But even the idea of wearing the diadem filled me with a sense of foreboding. Nothing good would come of Ravenclaw's diadem. If I could. I'd rather avoid wearing it altogether.

As I went through this internal struggle, Helena had watched me silently. Her gray eyes surveyed me up and down before, growing impatient, she finally asked, "You are going to save her family, are you not?"

I closed my eyes and pushed away the weight that had been threatening to come crashing down around me.

I couldn't think about it now. Deep, even breaths. Not now. I still had the school day ahead of me. Saving the McKinnon family and dealing with the horcrux in my bookbag were less pressing issues than the one that faced me today. I still had to convince everyone that I was Marlene McKinnon.

The suffocating feeling began to fade, and finally, I felt I could open my eyes without fear of collapsing onto the lavvy floor.

Helena hovered in front of me, her gray eyes narrowed. "Well?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to try." Despite my better judgment, I then asked, "What will happen to me if they find out I'm not Marlene McKinnon?"

"It would probably depend on who finds out. I imagine most would believe you to be under the Imperius Curse, in the control of Death Eaters. Once they determined that you were not Imperiused, they will either send you to the Department of Mysteries for study or to St. Mungo's for observation." She offered me a wry smile. "Depending on whether they believe you to be telling the truth or not."

I nodded. I'd figured as much. Neither option appealed to me. The odds of telling the truth and being permitted to continue on as Marlene seemed slim right then. Perhaps the time would come when I would want to tell someone who I was and where I came from, but for the time being, pretending to be the real Marlene McKinnon seemed like the best choice. Provided, of course, that I could pull off the act.

"Let's hope I don't end up in St. Mungo's."

Helena smiled. This time it was genuine, and for a second, I almost believed that she cared whether I succeeded or failed. "Good luck."

I was going to need it.