A/N: Apparently I really missed writing this! I know its a short chapter, but it seemed to be a good place for the break! More when the inspiration strikes again!

Missy woke slowly the next morning, reluctant to leave her dream world for the complicated one she now inhabited. For the first time she had dreamt of her old life, back in the muggle dimension, and she wondered if her parents missed her, or if their lives had just gone on as if she had never been there. She did miss her friends and her little brother, and even her parents, who she knew had loved her despite their strict parenting style.

These thoughts played through her head as she rolled out of bed and strolled into her bathroom, her little pink shorts-and-tee pyjamas not quite doing enough to keep her warm in this big draughty castle. She shivered and crossed her arms, rubbing them to keep warm as she stepped in front of the sink to begin her morning routine. Her thoughts slammed back to the present as she looked into the mirror while brushing her teeth.

A harsh reminder of the night before stood out, red and oblong against the white skin high on her collarbone. She remembered Draco kissing her neck while they sat entwined in each other's arms on her couch, but she hadn't realized he had been that aggressive. A blush rose to her cheeks as she recalled silently opening her door and letting him back her into the sitting room, their eyes never breaking contact after that kiss. Missy hadn't started when her legs hit the couch behind her, and she had sighed as Draco had wrapped an arm around her tiny waist and lowered her to a sitting position. Their interlude had only lasted about a half an hour, but Missy had replayed it in her head over and over as she had tried to fall asleep the night before.

She wasn't usually the type of girl to kiss one boy one day, and another the next. The heat of the moment had come over her, and she had let things go a little further than she probably should have. Her head was also still reeling from the fact that her life had just been turned upside down.

Missy decided she would have to talk Hermione into another girl's night. She needed someone to talk to about all of this. She knew that Hermione would encourage her to pursue a relationship with Harry, but Missy wasn't in a place to have a relationship with either of them. Neither was she going to live like a nun. She just had to figure a way to tell both boys that she was keeping her options open at the moment.

With those heavy thoughts running through her head Missy prepared for her day, making sure to use a special concealer to the hickey Draco had left on her neck. She took her time eating her breakfast as she didn't have any where to be for the morning, sitting with the Ravenclaws so as to avoid both the boys on her mind.

Spending the morning in the library studying didn't appeal to her slightly melancholy mood, so she wandered to where she knew the entrance to her father's office was. Once she got there, she realized she didn't know the password to open the secret door. After trying all the passwords she could remember from the movies and all the types of candy she could think of, she was ready to give up. Just as she turned away she heard feet shuffling down the corridor, and she saw the man she had come to visit approaching.

"Artemis...I mean, Missy, how lovely to see you this morning," Dumbledore said genially. "What can I do for you? Everything is progressing well with your studies? No problems with the other students, I hope?"

Missy fought the urge to fold her hands behind her back like a student caught out breaking the rules. "No, Father, everything is going well. I am enjoying my classes, and the students have been very kind to me," she told him. "I just wanted to come by to talk to you, and realized I did not know the password to access your office."

"Would you like to come up and have a sweet with me, then?" the headmaster offered. At her nod he turned toward the alcove that was the entrance to his office, and then glanced back at his daughter. "Whenever you need to see me, you can always use your own password. It has been a special password for the last fifteen years, and will always allow you access." When Missy returned his gaze with a question in her eyes, he smiled sadly. "Your name, my dear. Artemis," he intoned softly, as stones began to move and a spiral staircase appeared.

He took his usual seat behind his large desk as Missy chose one of the chairs on the other side, but then he stood again and took the chair beside hers, turning to face her. "Sitting behind the desk, I feel like a headmaster, but today I am your father, not your teacher," he explained. "Now, what is it that is plaguing you, my dear? You seem troubled."

"Am I that obvious?" Missy sighed. Her father gave her a small smile and an encouraging nod. "I am just feeling a bit lost. I mean, I love it here, of course I do, but I was wondering about my family back home. I know they weren't my blood relatives, and they don't know about this world, but they did love me in their own way. Did they know I wasn't theirs? They never told me I was adopted or anything..."

Dumbledore gently took one of Missy's hands in his own as she trailed off. "It's all right, Artemis. It is natural that you have these feelings about the people who raised you. But you need not worry about their missing you, since they have been living under a spell for the last fifteen years. They have returned to the life they would have led had their own daughter not died in her infancy a few days before you were born. I am afraid you will not be able to return to them, my dear," the older man explained carefully.

"They...they don't remember me?" Missy choked out quietly.

"No, I am afraid not," her father returned softly. "I thought...were you not worried that they would miss you?"

Missy hastily swiped away a tear that was making its way down her cheek. "I know, of course I don't want them to worry, but..."

"But they were the people you thought were your parents and it is disconcerting to think of them not remembering you at all," he finished for her. Missy nodded. "It's all right to be disappointed that they do not remember you. Just remember that you do have two parents here that have always remembered you, every day, and are so grateful to have you back."

"I know you are here, and I am so glad to have you and Mother, finally. It's just a lot to take in, all at once, you know?" she said tearfully, wiping her nose.

Dumbledore looked down pensively at his hands folded in his lap. "Your mother and I may have underestimated the effect this sudden change would have on you. We had anticipated that by the time you were returned to us the Dark Lord would be defeated, and that we would have been able to prepare you for this world via the mirrors. Unfortunately with Voldemort still alive, it was too dangerous to contact you without giving away your location and connection to two of his most powerful enemies. We could not delay your return either, for as soon as the window opened on your fifteenth birthday, anyone could have brought you back to our world. This was our only option, to return you to Hogwarts and keep you as safe as we could."