Within forty-five minutes of sending the owl back with her reply, Charlotte decided it was time to face her old stomping grounds as well as her former headmaster. She gathered a handfull of Floo Powder and stepped into the old stone fireplace. "Office of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts." she stated in a firm and clear voice. Charlotte was instantly whisked away in the warm sensation of the Floo and within moments, landed in the grate of Albus Dumbledore's fireplace. She calmly stepped out, brushing the dust off of her robes, and smiled. 'Wow,' she thought, 'I haven't been here in so long...'

"Welcome, welcome Miss Stratford! Thank you for coming on such short notice. If the matter weren't urgent, then it could have waited. Of course you remember Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape?" Professor Dumbledore inquired.

"Of course," Charlotte smiled. "Hello Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape."

"Hello Miss Stratford, I trust you are doing well?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes Professor, I am getting along well." Charlotte reassured.

"Miss Stratford," Professor Snape acknowledged.

Charlotte nodded her head at Professor Snape's acknowledgement. She slipped into her memories of her past school days, remembering things she hadn't thought of in years. One of them being Professor Snape himself. She didn't by any means have a lust filled crush on the man, no. She was merely intrigued by him. His intellect, his manner of being, his always calm exterior. Charlotte wondered how, especially as he was a spy for Dumbledore, he always remained so calm and unbothered by what was going on around him. She admired him not only for this, but many other things that a lot of people couldn't be bothered to notice. Charlotte was sure she wasn't the only one who noticed this, but she was sure of the fact that she was one of the only ones who would actually admit it. But one thing about Professor Snape always bothered her. She could recall when she attended Hogwarts that during the holidays, Professor Snape never left the grounds unless to have a drink or when he was called away to one of Voldemort's "meetings". Merlin, she abhored that...man...with such a passion that couldn't be rivaled. Well, almost no other person could rival it. The only other exception could be the famous Boy Who Lived, and she doubted highly that his hatred could match hers. But no matter now. She was startled out of her thoughts by Professor Dumbledore's inquiry of whether or not she would like a lemon drop. She shook her head and crossed the room to sit in an empty chair beside of Professor McGonagall. Charlotte smiled at her former head of house and looked at the headmaster expectantly.

"Miss Stratford, the reason why I asked you to come so quickly is because we need your help." Professor Dumbledore began.

"Need my help? With what, exactly?" Charlotte asked.

Professor McGonagall eyed the headmaster warily, still feeling uneasy about the whole situation. Charlotte noticed this out of the corner of her eye; this made her a bit nervous. Although seeing the ever calm demeanor on Professor Snape's face didn't really help to put her at ease. She was sure the man could be put through the Cruciatus curse and still remain ever so calm. Her attention was rapidly brought back to the headmaster.

"I will understand if you choose not to want to help; it is perfectly acceptable. However, I still think you should know not only what I am going to ask of you, but the Order of The Phoenix is asking of you as well. It is to my understanding that you wish to rid the wizarding and muggle world alike of Lord Voldemort. Would you be willing to help in this crusade?" Professor Dumbledore questioned."Yes, headmaster, I do wish to rid everyone of that horrid and despicable wizard. What can I do though to help? I'm no great witch by any means." Charlotte replied.

"Oh but you are, my dear! You are one of the best witches of the century! Why it was your mother..."

"Is dead..."

"But she was a great witch, as you are."

"She was a great witch...was...but as good as she was, she was still no match for his Death Eaters."

"The truth is, Lord Voldemort wanted your mother, as well as your father, to join him. He knew of their exceptional powers. He realized that they could pose a threat if not on his side. When they refused, an order went out to have them murdered, you as well. But luckily, you were here at Hogwarts, away from harm."

"Luckily? Luckily! How is getting the letter saying 'Oh sorry but your parents have been murdered by You-Know-Who, but we can't get inside thanks to the blood charm on your house, so you'll have to come here and see the gruesome remains of what used to be your parents, but are so hideously difigured thanks to that BASTARD!" Charlotte finished in a scream.

Charlotte sat back down after her tyraid, unaware that she had even stood up in the first place. Her head fell back as she calmed down and realized she had just yelled at her former headmaster. She groaned at the realization that not only had she had a fit, but also because she had just rid herself of the demon that had been riding her conscience for so long.

"Professor, I apologise. I..." Charlotte began, but was interrupted by Dumbledore.

"No apologies my dear. It is very understandable. However, it is my hope to continue what I was saying earlier." Professor Dumbledore interjected.

"Yes, Professor. Please, do continue." Charlotte softly replied.

"As I was saying, you are a great witch, with exceptional powers. Very much like your mother. Do not discredit her abilities because she was killed by Death Eaters. You know she did not go down without a fight. Lord Voldemort lost some of his faithful followers that day. It was lucky that you were not there, as you would not be with us today. That brings me to what I am about to ask of you. I know that you want revenge for your parents' death. Are you willing to go to the lengths that I am about to ask?" Professor Dumbledore inquired.

"I will do anything to make sure he is brought down...permanantly." Charlotte answered, with a fierce look in her eyes.

This, however, did not go unnoticed by Professor McGonagall. A stern look made its way onto her face, her features alive with anger. It was only a matter of seconds before...

"Albus! You cannot let her do this! Its too dangerous!" Professor McGonagall blurted.

"She is of age. Legally we cannot stop her. It is up to her whether or not she wants to do this." Professor Snape drawled.