Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff in italics in the beginning, that's all situations from the Chamber of Secrets book…yes, I was actually looking at it while writing that part. Shut up. Also, I obviously don't own Gilderoy Lockhart. I do, however, own Elleyne Anderson. Other than that, I was really happy with this chapter.

Gilderoy edged down the dimly lit hallway, hardly daring to breathe, feeling her next to him, astounded at himself but knowing it would be worth it when she saw…

A great crowd of awed and inspired onlookers swayed in front of the blond young man, and he was speaking to them, excitement pumping through his veins at the thought of where he was, what he was doing. Excitement and also fear.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd went wild.

A sound echoed from behind the two teenagers in the ornately carved hallway, and Gilderoy turned to the girl next to him. He could feel her confusion, palpable in the darkness, but he had no time to explain. He pushed open a door to his left and ushered her in quickly…then waited.

"I have found something that disappoints me gravely, Gilderoy…"

"But when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now. In fact, I'd say I was even more of a nobody!"

He stared down smilingly at the young boy with the black messy hair and the glasses. Harry Potter, the boy who lived.

The clock struck two a.m. from the lower level of the mansion. One, two. Gilderoy forced himself to stare into the shadows that was the face of the monster in front of him. Already he knew how this would end. But he didn't care. Because this time he wouldn't run. This time he would fight.

"Fame's a fickle friend, Harry. Celebrity is as celebrity does, remember that."

The candles in front of him flickered and guttered, blurring the image of the bespectacled boy, sitting across from him, writing wearily.

Gilderoy hit the cold stone with the feeling that all of his bones had just shattered. He had been pondering this moment, he realized, for a long time. And now it had come. He felt shattered in a way that was completely non-physical.

He lay on the ground staring up at the soulless night sky, and wondered what there had ever been to paint. In a world like this…

He had lost the fire. But he would get it back, he thought with a sudden vengeance. He would get her back.

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Gilderoy stared up at the shadowy ceiling of the ward, sweating profusely and trying to calm his racing heart. There would be no more sleep tonight. And almost randomly, as if it made a difference, he wished Elleyne were there.

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Elleyne took a deep breath as she stared up at the huge, black door. The mansion and the landscape around it, (filled with large, forbidding trees which reached out to entangle you in their branches if you got too close) was certainly designed to keep unwelcome guests away. And here, anyone would be labeled as such.

Elleyne had suffered a great deal of frustration in order to even find the house in the first place. Now that she was here, she was starting to wish she hadn't.

Forcing down the instinctual dread that had roiled up in the pit of her stomach, Elleyne knocked on the door loudly, twice. Her knuckles smarting, she pulled back and waited, trying to convince herself that it was ridiculous to be feeling mortal dread at the concept of meeting some crotchety old man.

After a couple of minutes, Elleyne decided that no one had heard her knock, and was in mid-reach for the door, when it swung open, crushing two of her fingers.

Trying to keep from swearing, she squinted into the darkness, looking for any recognizable shape and finding none.

"Miss can come in now," a squeaky voice sounded from below, and startled, Elleyne looked down to see a house elf standing in the shadow of the door, wearing what looked like a dishrag.

Elleyne entered the house, clutching the pamphlets of medical information she had brought on Roy to her chest, and followed the house elf through a large, shadowed hallway and up a set of spiral stairs, into a type of sitting room. At first Elleyne was unable to see anyone in the room, and was about to ask the house elf about it, when a stern, hard voice came from the corner of the room.

"Leave us, Perry."

The house elf immediately scurried away, not before bowing deeply at something behind Elleyne.

Wheeling about rather awkwardly, Elleyne got her first look at Roy's father. Tall and thin yet well-muscled, with a lined face and sleek blond hair, Lockhart senior didn't exactly look like the inviting type. His cold, pale eyes looked her over, and he came from the edge of the room to sit stiffly on the one long couch available. Elleyne gathered that he was going to leave her standing.

"How did you find out about this place?" Nerolinus Lockhart demanded quietly. He had a strong voice, and Elleyne hated to admit it, but she felt intimidated.

"Albus Dumbledore told me how to get past the concealment charm," she said.

Lockhart narrowed his eyes for a second, before speaking. "It must be very important, what you have to say," he said, in a tone that suggested he highly doubted anything she would say could be of any importance.

"Yes, it is," Elleyne said pointedly. "I am Elleyne Anderson, a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital, and I have been put in charge of Gilderoy."

"Gilderoy."

"Yes, Gilderoy. Your son." Lockhart made no comment, and Elleyne took the opportunity to make the plunge.

"Recently, Gilderoy has been having what may just be dreams of his past. He's been trying to regain his memory since the Obliviation, and it's been tough going. Well, here are the records, you can see for yourself…"

Elleyne handed the pamphlets she was holding to Lockhart, who opened the topmost one, glanced at the paper inside with indifference and handed it back to her.

"If there is anything you can think of that might trigger his memory-

"It is regrettable, this memory loss, but there is nothing I can do about it," Lockhart said abruptly, cutting her off.

Elleyne felt her anger rising to the surface.

"Well then, I hope you won't mind my asking some questions. What was Gilderoy like as a child?"

"Like any other child. What is there to say?" Lockhart said shortly. "A bit lazier than most, infatuated with the girl across the street."

"What was her name?" Elleyne asked, taking a quill from the pocket of her robes.

Lockhart stared at her hard, before replying.

"Reid is their surname, they still live across the street. But I wouldn't waste time looking for the girl, she's died. Now if you don't mind, I would like to cut this meeting short. I have things to attend to."

Elleyne stared across at him in silence, fury pounding through her head.

"Perry!" Lockhart called, shifting his gaze from her for a moment. The house elf came bustling into the room, and he stood up. "Show our 'important guest' out of the house," he ordered.

Elleyne didn't move.

"Tell me," she said coldly "how did your wife die?"

In a violent, knee-jerk reaction, Lockhart senior lurched forward, his hand going to his wand, his face hardened with fury. Then, all at once he stopped, his hand dropping back along his side, and smiled icily.

"I think your visit is at an end, Healer Anderson," he said.

The danger in his voice did not go unheeded, and as Elleyne left the mansion and went out into the chilly outdoor air, she wondered at what exactly had made her say what she had.

It doesn't matter, she thought, as she stared across the street from the now invisible mansion at a plain, white house, a bit run down. I have what I need.