A/N: Thank you for giving my fic a read! Please feel free to leave a review (mainly to help me find the motivation to write more!)

Chapter 6

Albus Dumbledore may be a strategic and powerful man and wizard, but nevertheless, he was human. Humans make mistakes. Evalane Lily Potter was possibly one of his greatest mistakes. When Harry defeated Voldemort, at least for the time being, Dumbledore made his safety his number one priority. He will sadly admit that he assumed the sister had been killed as Lily and James had, so he simply put her out of his mind. Besides, her being dead made his life much easier and far less messy than had she been alive. Now, almost twelve years later, Evalane was back in the picture, and the old Headmaster was panicking.

"I need to ask a favour from you, Professor." Lily Potter came to Hogwarts about a week before the family went into hiding. Dumbledore would say she seemed frightened, but Lily was never the type to cower in the face of adversity.

"Of course, Mrs. Potter," Dumbledore welcomed her into his office, completely unaware of what he could possibly do to help the woman who had been marked for death.

She took a seat, fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater. "It's about Evalane…"

"You asked to see me, sir?" Evalane's voice, strong and firm, snapped the Headmaster back to the present. Merlin, she looked as much as her mother as Harry did James. In fact, besides the dark hair, she did not seem to have a lick of James Potter in her, which was worrisome.

"Have you ever seen a Phoenix, Miss Potter?" He walked over towards Fawkes' cage, where the bird was fluffing his scarlet feathers. "Beautiful, isn't he?"

"I thought Phoenix's were only in literature, sir," She followed the old wizard, but she seemed unamused by his ramblings. Interesting…

"They are found in many tales and legends, yes, but why should that mean they can't exist in reality?" The bird made eye contact with the young Potter, tilting its head with curiosity as if he were trying to read in an unknown language for the first time. "How are you enjoying Hogwarts so far?"

The girl shifted her gaze to Dumbledore. He was praying she would not ask too many questions because he knew she was not ready for the answers. "It's a lot bigger than I expected, I suppose. I haven't been here long enough to really give an honest response."

"You have a point, Miss Potter," he chuckled, moving over to his desk, and offering Evalane a seat and a piece of the new lemon candies he found in Diagon Alley, though she declined. "Now, why don't we discuss your options for this upcoming term? First things first, it's obvious that you are not at the same academic level as your peers, but you also would not fit in well with the other first years…"

"I was worrying about that myself, sir," Evalane pondered aloud to the old wizard. In her mind, she knew that if anyone knew the answers to her questions- like why no one looked for her after her parents' death, what even killed her parents, and countless of others -Dumbledore would be the one with the information; however, the Headmaster was clearly nervous by her presence. He would not hold eye contact for longer than two seconds, and he kept fidgeting with just about everything on his desk. The man was clearly hiding something. Secrets? Guilt? Whatever it was, Evalane could assume he was not the kind of man who would not spill his secrets because of being cornered by a total stranger. No, this would take time, and she had been given all the time in the world. "If the circumstances had been different, I would be happy to start with the other first years, but I'm sure you can see how no one could benefit from this. The age gap between myself and my peers is reason alone to promote the need for an adjustment. Is there anyway I could be tested on the information I already know? That way I can at least move further along in the curriculum?"

Raising his eyebrow, Dumbledore asked her if she would be able to take such a test, as she most likely had not had much experience with magic.

"I haven't, sir; however, I was able to look at some of Hermione Granger's textbooks on the train ride here. You see Professor, I have a photographic memory, as they call it. I can easily recall every word, picture, and memory that I have ever seen, read, and heard in my life. If you allow me to, I'm sure I can pass any test you can concoct over the last four years of material. All I would need is about a day or so in order to read and practice the material." The wheels began to visibly turn in Dumbledore's mind, and Evalane was starting to believe that she may actually convince him to permit her this ridiculous request. After a long pause, he finally spoke.

"Naturally, I will need to speak to all of the professors, as this would be a large sum of material to prepare in a short amount of time, but I don't see why that can not be possible." The Headmaster rose from his seat, and he offered his hand out to the newest student at Hogwarts. She graciously accepted his gesture, noting that while his hand seemed old and fragile, he kept a firm grip. This was clearly a man who not only knew how to remain in control but will always be. "What's today? Wednesday? How about we schedule this little test for Friday evening? That way you will not miss too much material from your current courses. For tomorrow and until your test, just attend the first year classes you have been scheduled for."

"That's perfect, sir! Thank you very much!" Evalane rose to leave for her dormitory, or maybe she could tell Harry the good news. She was certain that he would want to know about this, and maybe then she could find Fred and George! Even though she was slightly disappointed that the twins were in a different house, she saw no reason that she could not still be friends with them.

"It has been a pleasure speaking with you, Evalane," Dumbledore smiled and walked with her to his office door. "That is a lovely name, I might mention. Do you go by Evalane or perhaps Lanie?"

"Thank you, sir. My mother once told me that it was a name from my father's side of the family; I used to hate it growing up, but it has grown on me over the years. My friends would call me Eva for short, so that's fine with me!"

"Well, I look forward to having you here at Hogwarts, Eva Potter."

"Likewise, Professor."

Once she left the Headmaster's office, the sun had set over the rolling hills outside, leaving the sky a blended mixture of the deepest blue and purple Eva had ever seen. The moon was peeking over the sea of dark trees like it was playing peek-a-boo with the world, and if you looked closely, you could see tiny stars- shinier than diamonds -begin to shimmer in the skyline. Tomorrow would begin her new academic journey at Hogwarts, but what she did not know was the real trouble brewing in the castle ever since she set foot inside.