Okay, I changed my mind. More of Agnes for you! I hope I didn't calculate wrong… the years I mean. I'm sorry for not updating faster, but I had holidays, exams and I wanted to write something decent. I hope you enjoy this... but I can only know that if you people REVIEW!… Please Review… pretty pretty please.

Chapter 5 – Adjustments

December 21th 1977, Hogwarts, Sunday, House of Slytherin, Girl's dormitories

Agnes Diary – entry marked as August 15th (year unknown)

It was strange, all of this castle. It was incredible how I had come into this time. A magic mirror, a gate to another time, it was truly something I had only heard in the stories our teachers told in Crystal City, about a Age long dead, of a past far far away.

As I write this to you, whoever you are, I suppose you will be my daughter, or son, most likely, and I must tell you, I had thought, and felt, in my dreams, that I wouldn't be the average Soul Healer, tussling with the mountain people. I've felt, since I had left the City, different among my people, as if I did not belong among them. I only felt at peace or even truly at home in the Autumn Forest. You should see it. There are all sort of blessed creatures there – and still so much to learn from them.

But in this school, Hogwarts (strange name, I must say), there was also a Forest. Mainly classified as Dark, Forbidden. In the beginning I struggled with the language of this people, I had once known it much better than today, but my mother language remains as a main scheme for thoughts and concepts. We call English the language of Stones, and were simply taught of it by tradition. I suppose I can easily connect with this people's thoughts for it is much simpler to speak their tongue when in their presence. Now I have no problems with main vocabulary and beyond. Anyway, I was speaking of the Forest – most fascinating, albeit different from our own. But I had many difficulties, still do in fact, with certain ideas, such as Dark and Light. Both cannot exist without the other. You can only know one exists thanks to the presence of the other, and complete in cycles, such as the day and night. Albus, teacher of a subject called Transfiguration, meaning transforming something in another form, as tried most fiercely to teach me these concepts – Dark and Light, Evil and Good, but it is hard for me. I then asked and told him, how can someone be the complete personification of only Good or Evil? That cannot be, we are all rather imperfect and have our flaws, just like all other forms of life. We all end someday. The time we have here is granted to live as balanced as possible and propagate ourselves, loving and cherishing the ones who brought us in this world and love Life as it is, as much as we can.

When I finished this little speech, there was a glimmer, perhaps hope and something more, in this man's eyes. I wished to communicate with him through my mind but I don't do that very often here – they consider it an unwelcoming intrusion. They hide themselves so… but, alas, it has been more confusing than now. He smiled and never again tried to tell me the difference between Dark and Light. At this I was relieved.

There is so much I could tell about my home. I have been showing it to Albus from time to time, whenever he visits. I have been living with his brother in a mansion, near a forest, almost since I came back from the castle, almost straight from the nursing wing, after discovering the mirror was gone and there was no way to send me back. I have been studying all that I can in these last few years, I even learned to use my wand more properly, although I don't really need it. My powers are much better now and completely restored and balanced. I will return to Hogwarts soon. I feel that I must explore the place better. Soon I will be able to finish my schooling there and then join this strange new world.

Sometimes, as I said, Albus comes to visit. I hear him discuss many things with Aberforth, his brother, especially from a student. I didn't understand his name very well. It does not matter. He seems to be very skilled and Albus joked saying I would beat him in a minute. I don't enjoy fighting unless for skill. Of course I can, and very well, from mind to body and weapons. But this boy seems to be very unbalanced or, as Albus says, to dark for his own taste. He is a leader, but the less adequate type, apparently. Perhaps I'll meet him, someday.

Christine

I decided it would be nice to stop and go to bed for a while. Eight hours of sleep were becoming very much needed indeed. I suspected of this boy, his identity. I didn't wanted to think that my mother might have met… ugh, the very own idea is preposterous!

December 22th 1977, Hogwarts, Monday, Great Hall, breakfast time

Albus Dumbledore

I had decided to join the students and teachers in one table. Hermione looked a bit dishevelled. I chuckle at this. No doubt she has already started wondering who the mysterious student was. In the end of breakfast I raise ate the same time as her and join her for a walk to my office. We settle there, and she words her worries.

"Albus, what happened to Erik?" I sigh.

"Here I thought you were going to ask a thousand questions on your mother… Hermione, you know I'm not going to tell you."

"Did he find someone?"

"Yes." She moans and then releases a sigh of relief. "Someone he thought had been lost, a long time ago." Time is such a relative thing, after all… she has this smug smile on her face.

"Define a long time ago…" she is too smart for her own good. I sigh dramatically.

"Your mother was quite amazing." She snorts. "No, really, amazing how she managed to hide all of it so well, from you and everybody. She was not a witch, Hermione. She was something that cannot be truly defined by wizarding standards." She nodded. "After she arrived here I managed to hide her from everyone – quite a difficult task but not impossible I assure you, and brought her to a secure location. There we began, Aberforth and I, her magical education, she had great talent. She quickly mastered spells and theory on everything, in a four year period. Although I had the feeling that even when she waved a wand, she wasn't really using it. I suspected then she did not need a wand to access her power core. Your mother was a truly remarkable being. During Summer, before her last year of schooling, she returned to Hogwarts. She soon became rather familiar with the place, elves (they loved her), portraits (just like you she liked to chat with them), as if she had been there all of her life. She quickly discovered the Room of Requirement once again and the path to each House Common Room. She never needed passwords – the portraits simply let her pass. Headmaster Dippet wasn't very happy with this, of course, but nevertheless he too was found of her. At least, once, he chose well."

"What do you mean?" I remained silent.

"The Summer ended and she was to finish her schooling that year. We decided she would simply join the students and the House of her choice, of course. The Head Girl met her in the first day of classes, and on the second day …" I lead her to my Pensieve and we soon emerged in a memory.

Christine

Agnes was wandering, coming out of the green houses and walking quickly, but silently, through the Halls of Hogwarts. She often looked behind her shoulder and smiled. I felt a tug inside me, I hardly remembered that particular mischievous smile of my mother, Albus chuckled at this and simply said that I'd understand in due time.

I recognized the corridor we were in, it was part of the prefects' and Heads' rounds, and led to several making out hidings. I smiled at this – really, some things never change, do they? Suddenly, a boy almost knocked down my mother, after turning to right at the end of the wing, running like a maniac. Another youngster, a teenager in his late years, possibly a seventh year, suddenly showed up and stopped on a spot, hexing the fast runner and then approaching him.

"Immobulus! Ha, got you Corncrip, 20 points from Gryffindor and a detention with Filch. Now get back to your Common Room or I'll make them 30." The boy soon managed to run again, this time towards the opposite direction, after a sheepish grin. This seventh year truly was frightening. My mother simply stood there. "And you! Are you a seventh year? I don't recognise you. How come your robes don't have a House crest?" he pointed his wand at her.

"I have yet to choose a House." The young man looked at her as if she were insane.

"I beg your pardon? You will come right away with me to the Headmaster's office so I can report you! And then…" he was interrupted, Albus had just come out under an Invisibility Cloak. There was something in my mother's eyes then.

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Riddle."

I simply gapped and then the memory ended.