Ch. 6 last line:
"Miss Stratford, please come with me." Professor McGonagall said.
"Of course Professor." Charlotte replied. "See you two later?" she asked, looking at Fred and George.
"Like we are going to leave you alone now that you're living here!" Fred said, winking.
Charlotte smiled and waved goodbye. She turned to follow Professor McGonagall into another room. It appeared to be a mostly empty room, save a few chairs and a few people. The wall was covered with what appeared to be a huge family tree, branching out. A few black marks covered the walls as well. She spotted the headmaster sitting in one of the chairs, the other chairs occupied by Sirius Black, Professor Lupin, Professor Snape, and now, Professor McGonagall. The headmaster motioned for her to sit in the last empty chair. Charlotte smiled cordially and sat down.
"The reason why we have called you in here away from the rest of the people is to inform you of your mission, Miss Stratford. It is dangerous, though. It would be perfectly acceptable if you decided not to do it." Dumbledore began. When Charlotte didn't reply with any objections, he continued.
"Like I said, what I am going to ask you to do is very dangerous. We know that Lucius Malfoy is Voldemort's right hand man. He is in the inner circle so to speak. Whatever Voldemort has done, Lucius Malfoy has been a big part of. We know that he is hiding some rather dark items in his house. These dark items are ones in which have to be destroyed completely in order for Voldemort to be brought down. I hope you have heard of the term 'horcruxes' before." Dumbledore asked.
"I have heard of it, headmaster, but I'm not exactly clear on it..." Charlotte said.
"Ah yes yes well, a horcrux is the receptacle in which a Dark Wizard has hidden a fragment of his soul for the purposes of attaining immortality. We know that Voldemort has split his soul into seven pieces. We have already destroyed 3 of the 7. According to the knowledge we have, the other 4 should either be in Malfoy Manor, or the whereabouts would be known by Lucius Malfoy. Professor Snape has tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to gain knowledge of where the horcruxes are at. That is where you come in." Dumbledore explained.
"What do I have to do, headmaster?" Charlotte asked.
Dumbledore sighed and looked over at Professor McGonagall, who had a look of pure horror on her face. He nodded and continued speaking.
"I ask that you come back to Hogwarts, as a 7th year student. You will of course be disguised and given a new identity. And you will be sorted into Slytherin. We would like you to become friends with Draco Malfoy, Lucius' son. Not only friends, but possibly dating. He will most likely invite you to the Manor for Christmas holiday, where he will introduce you to his parents. You will need to get on Lucius' good side as soon as you can. What I am getting ready to suggest is something that Professor McGonagall does not approve of, however." Dumbledore said.
"What is it, headmaster?" Charlotte asked.
Dumbledore sighed again and closed his eyes. "To become intimate with Lucius Malfoy in such a way that he trusts you and confides in you. You can't outright ask about horcruxes, that would be too dangerous. But perhaps, if he feels secure in your trust, he'll be more likely to divulge information about them. This entails great risk for your person..." Dumbledore explained.
"I realize the risk headmaster. I want to do this. I have a feeling he was responsible for the death of my parents and my brother. I cannot let that go without doing anything. If I have a change to help in bringing that bastard down, then I'll do it, screw the risks to my person." Charlotte stated firmly.
"Albus! You cannot ask this of her! She is just a child! What that monster will do to her! She'll be his new toy, Albus. His new sexual toy. She'll be nothing more than a whore to him! How can you even ask this of her!" Professor McGonagall blurted out, angry.
Charlotte closed her eyes at what Professor McGonagall said. Anger was starting to boil over inside of her. She tried to keep her breathing even and steady. She stood up and opened her eyes to look at Professor McGonagall. She narrowed her eyes and whispered in a deadly voice.
"A child, Professor? You think that I haven't seen what that bastard can do? You are sorely mistaken. I was the one who had to go to my house and see the bodies of my parents. I saw what those horrid Death Eaters done to my parents bodies. You have no idea of what I saw, Professor. You didn't see their death scene, you only know what people have told you. I saw their bodies hanging from the rafters! I saw what they had done to them! My mother was raped, beaten, and the brutally murdered! My father was tortured and made to watch what they did to my mother and then he was murdered! I saw the results of his work, not you. So before you go on with these statements, Professor, I strongly encourage you to think of what you are about to say." Charlotte finished, shaking with ungodly anger.
Professor McGonagall sat in her seat, her mouth agape. In truth, she hadn't seen what had happened to Charlotte's parents; she only knew what Dumbledore and the Auror's had told her. In truth, she had no idea what Charlotte had to see. She could scarcely imagine it. For once in her like, Minerva McGonagall had not only been put in her place, but she was speechless. She merely closed her eyes and nodded once.
The raw magic that came from Charlotte was crackling in the air of the room. Remus kept his eyes trained on Charlotte; he could sense something, but he wasn't sure what. Sirius kept looking to McGonagall and then over to Dumbledore and then Charlotte. To say the least, he was impressed. He had never seen Professor McGonagall at a loss for words. Professor Snape had a glint in his eyes, something akin to awe. Professor Dumbledore was the first one to speak after Charlotte's rather informative impromptu speech.
"I believe we have our answer. It seems Miss Stratford is determined to make her mark in the downfall of Voldemort, and she will be a force to be reckoned with." Dumbledore smiled as he talked. "Now, I have specific jobs for each of you, to help Charlotte with her upcoming task."
The group of people nodded, awaiting to hear what the headmaster had in store. Charlotte's shaking had calmed somewhat, but she was still seething, her magic giving off crackle sounds at random moments. Dumbledore smiled and continued talking.
"Severus, I ask that you help Miss Stratford to practice Occlumency as well as Legillimency. It would also be rather helpful if you raised her level in the making of certain potions." Dumbledore requested in a grave voice.
Professor Snape nodded once, affirming that he would help. Immediately, his mind began devising a plan that would encompass everything the headmaster asked. Dumbledore then turned to Remus Lupin.
"Remus, I ask that you help Miss Stratford with getting her magic back to its original glory. Review spells, making sure to cover some non-verbal, and if you have time, some basic wandless magic. It is hard to tell what spells the Malfoy's have over their manor."
"Of course, headmaster." Remus replied, smiling.
The headmaster turned slightly to look at Sirius Black. He smiled at him.
"Sirius, I ask that you help Miss Stratford gather the facade of a 'haughty pureblood maniac'. Just remember what your parents and brother were like. She needs to act like that. Give her the history of pureblood families and practice potential scenes with her, to prepare her. Etiquette is at the utmost importance as well."
"It will be a pleasure." Sirius said, looking over at Charlotte and giving one of his trademark smiles. Charlotte didn't smile back, her eyes clearly lost in space. This wasn't lost on any member of the room. Professor Dumbledore let his gaze rest on Charlotte for a moment before speaking to her.
"Miss Stratford? Are you still with us?" Dumbledore asked.
Charlotte's eyes stared forward, unseeing. Dumbledore put his hand to Charlotte's forehead, a muggle way of taking someone's temperature. His hand flew back suddenly, her forehead scorching to the touch.
"Severus, conjure a deep tub. Sirius, get Kreacher to bring in ice cubes and cold water, and a lot of it. Remus, help me get the heavy clothes off of her. Tune into her, spell her if you have to. Hurry!"
Severus stood up to conjure a deep tub out of a abandoned quill he found while Sirius yelled at Kreacher to bring ice and water, himself running back and forth from the kitchen. Dumbledore stood in front of Charlotte, blocking her form while Remus took her shoes, socks, pants, and shirt off, leaving her in her bra and panties. He picked her up, the skin on his arms burning from the heat radiating off her body. He quickly but gently lowered her into the icy water, trying to keep her head from going under. Sirius came in, pouring buckets of ice in the tub of water. Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at Charlotte, speaking "Ennervate". Charlotte's body startled, her eyes coming into focus. Her body was shivering fiercely. She made a move to climb out, but Dumbledore motioned for Remus to keep her in. Her face displayed the fear she felt inside.
"You will have to stay in there, Miss Stratford, until your temperature has returned to normal." Dumbledore said, his tone leaving no room to argue.
Remus put his hand to Charlotte's forehead, pulling it back quickly. Severus muttered something to which Dumbledore nodded, and Floo'd directly to his personal office.
"She's still burning up, Albus." Remus said, worriedly.
Sirius threw his robes off and climbed into the deep tub with Charlotte. She was still shivering fiercely. She turned to Sirius, her eyes pleading. It took all of his self control to not lift her out of the icy water.
"Fuck!" Sirius muttered as his body hit the icy water. "More ice, Moony, hurry!"
Remus poured the buckets of ice as the appeared, Sirius holding Charlotte as still as he could. Charlotte turned to face him, holding tightly onto him as the ice came in contact with her body. Sirius looked down at Charlotte and whispered "I'm sorry." before dunking them both in the water. He held her down there as long as he could stand it, before they both emerged. Sirius' teeth were chattering from the icy water. Remus put his hand to Charlotte's forehead again.
"She's cooling down, Albus." Remus said, relieved.
"Dunk her in the water again Sirius." Dumbledore ordered.
Sirius nodded as they both held their breath. Sirius wrapped his arms around Charlotte and pulled them both under, staying down as long as they both could. When Sirius came back up, Charlotte's head was laying on his shoulder. Remus held his hand to her forehead again.
"Her temperature has returned to normal." Remus said.
Sirius lifted Charlotte out of the tub and handed her to Remus. He climbed out and ran to his robe, bringing to drape over Charlotte's shivering body. Professor Snape returned holding a bag full of what could only be potions.
"Lay her down on the couch" Professor Snape ordered.
Remus carried Charlotte over to the couch, laying her down gently. Sirius came and knelt by her side. Professor Snape came over, opening various vials. "Open your mouth and swallow these." Snape said. Charlotte weakly opened her mouth, trying to stay awake. Professor Snape began pouring the vials into her mouth for her to swallow. Once she had swallowed 10 potions, he took a few steps back.
"I've given her a couple calming draughts and some stabilizer draughts. Until we figure out what happened, that is all I can give her." Professor Snape said.
Dumbledore nodded. "Take her upstairs and let her rest. She is undoubtedly exhausted. Make sure you both put a spell on her to make sure she is still doing well. Contact me immediately if things get worse. I will be in my office." and with that, Dumbledore Floo'd to his office.