AUTHOR'S NOTE I always thought Sinistra would make a good Headmistress – plus this story takes place after the series ends, so they would have a new headmaster anyway. Thanks as always to Lauren for betaing.

DISCLAIMER Don't own anyone.

Harry and the others entered Headmistress Sinistra's office quietly. Late afternoon sun filtered through the paned windows and many of the former Heads snoozed lazily in their portraits.

One, however, was not asleep, although Harry may have wished that he was. Albus Dumbledore smiled down at the visitors. "Hello Harry!' he said brightly. "What brings you by?"

Ron and Hermione glanced at Harry sadly. Talking to Dumbledore's portrait would never be the same as having him there while he was alive. It only drove the knife deeper. But Harry resolutely smiled weakly. "We have to check the Hogwarts book, Professor. One of us is missing."

Dumbledore looked troubled. "Who is it?"

"Cho Chang," Ron answered.

The lines on Dumbledore's face deepened. "Oh dear. I was afraid of this."

The group shared a confused look. "What do you mean, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Please Harry, check the book. Tell me what you find."

Harry glanced at Sinistra, who shrugged. He turned back to the portrait. "Of course, Professor."

Sinistra led them through the office up to a closed door hidden in the corner. It sprang open at her touch. She gestured through the archway. "In there."

Harry didn't smile. "Thank you, Professor."

She smiled slightly. "I hope it helps. Miss Chang was always a great student. I hope you find her."

They shared an uneasy look and, one by one, filed into the small room. The door closed behind them.

Hermione pushed Harry toward the table where a thick, ancient book lay. "You do it," she whispered. Ron, Gabrielle, Luna, and Bill nodded their agreement and Harry took a deep breath and nodded.

The book fell open to the middle. The names were more neatly organized than he had expected, with name, date of birth, and date of death all primly in a row. Harry quickly found that he'd opened to birth dates in the 1950's and a cold chill crept down his spine as he ran his finger down the page.

Sure enough, nestled snuggly on the page were "Lily Evans" ("Potter" was added in parentheses after it), "James Potter," "Sirius Black," "Peter Pettigrew," and "Severus Snape," all with matching dates of death. A combination of sorrow and rage filled his heart as he looked at the black ink, imagining the day those names first appeared and how innocent they must all have looked. He felt Ron's hand on his shoulder. "Come on, mate," he said softly. "Cho was born in 1979."

Begrudgingly, Harry turned the pages. As he went, he noticed more death dates for Percy Weasley, Oliver Wood, Roger Davies, Alicia Spinnet, and Cedric Diggory. Trembling, he finally found the correct page and began scanning the names.

"Her birthday's in September," Hermione said helpfully. Harry dropped down to the students born in September, but soon looked up again, puzzled.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Hermione looked vaguely offended. "She was just on holiday for her birthday, remember?"

Harry looked deeply troubled. "She isn't here."

"What?" Bill said.

"Let me see," Hermione said and ran her finger down the page. She looked back up, perplexed. "He's right. Cho's not listed."

"What do you mean she's not listed?" Bill asked. "That doesn't make sense."

Harry shrugged. "See for yourself. There isn't even a space where her name should be. It's like she was never here at all."

A collective chill swept through the room. "That's impossible," Hermione said. "Isn't it?"

"How could she have just disappeared?" Gabrielle asked.

"Dumbledore will know," Harry said firmly. "He suspected something was wrong, remember?"

Ron and Hermione shared a worried look. "Harry…" Hermione started to say.

"You don't have to say it," Harry said stoically. "I know. It's just his portrait." He closed the book and headed back to the door. "Come on. We're done."

…

Cho woke up sprawled on her bed, Gadding with Ghouls still standing crooked in the corner where she'd thrown it the night before. She sat up and rubbed her eyes blearily. There was no way to tell if it was morning, but it didn't really matter.

Nothing really mattered to her anymore, not even being held hostage by Death Eaters. What were Death Eaters to her anyway? Everything in her life was a lie.

Dreams mixed with old memories had plagued her through the night. Memories of a dark-haired man and woman, who Cho realized must be her biological parents, faded into images of being in Bellatrix's house. It was confusing. Cho wondered how she'd gone from her parents in Smallville, Kansas to the house in which Bellatrix Lestrange, the neo-Voldemort, now lived.

There was another man she remembered, but only his voice. He told her that he was her father now. That she was his daughter. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Maybe her birth parents had given her up for adoption. Maybe they'd abandoned her.

It made sense. Whoever had adopted her must have been horrible people. She remembered Dumbledore bursting in through a doorway. Maybe he had come to rescue her. Maybe the memory charm was meant to help her forget those horrible people. It brought her some peace to think that Dumbledore was only trying to protect her.

But why erase her memory? Why not return her to her real parents?

'Because they didn't want me,' she thought bitterly. 'They gave me away. I wish I could find them and tell them exactly what I think of them.'

The more Cho thought about tracking down her real parents and giving them a piece of her mind, the more attractive the idea became. It would certainly ease the blow to know exactly why they gave her up.

Of course, the only flaw in her plan was the fact that Bellatrix had her imprisoned. She'd tried Apparating, to no avail. If there was any way to escape, first she'd need her wand to find it.

Then suddenly, it was right there. Her wand sat still on the bedside table beside her. Not stopping to think about how it had come to be there or why, Cho grabbed it and ran for the door.

"Alohamora!" she whispered. The lock clicked open. She peeped into the hallway to find it quite deserted. Praying that no one would discover her, she crept through the corridors, searching for a window, a door, anything that could lead her to the outside.

Finally, the fourth door she tried led her to a room with a single window. A well- placed, silenced Reducto curse shattered it and Cho vaulted through the opening out onto the grass. She didn't even glance back at the house before taking off in a run.

If she had, she might have seen the evil grin as Bellatrix watched her from an upstairs window.

…

Professor Sinistra was waiting as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Gabrielle, and Luna filed out of the small room. "Any luck?" she asked.

Ron and Hermione shook their heads sadly. Harry ignored her and went straight for Dumbledore's portrait. "Cho's not there, Professor. What's going on?"

The former headmaster looked deeply troubled. "Oh dear, oh dear. I was quite afraid this would happen."

"That what would happen?" Harry pressed.

A look that very nearly reflected guilt clouded Dumbledore's face. "Harry, you must believe that I am very sorry for what I've done. I hope that all of you, including Miss Chang, can forgive me."

Struggling to keep his often-volatile frustration in check, Harry paused before replying, "If we don't find Cho, she won't be able to forgive you."

That seemed to affect Dumbledore and he turned his attention to Sinistra. "Headmistress, in the closet behind the desk, you will find a small vial marked with my name. Will you retrieve it, please?"

Sinistra nodded. Everyone watched expectantly as she rummaged around in the cupboard and emerged with a small corked container. Harry's jaw dropped when he recognized the silvery gaseous liquid. "Professor, is that…?"

"Yes Harry," Dumbledore said. "It is an old memory of mine. I have kept it for nearly sixteen years now, in case this specific situation ever arose."

Harry took the glass bottle and moved to open it, but Dumbledore's gentle voice stopped him. "Harry, please wait. There is another that I must ask you to share this memory with."

Harry frowned. "Remus?" he asked.

"No, not Remus."

"Then who?" Ron asked.

"You must travel to the Salem Witches' Institute in America. Their headmaster is Silas Hawthorne. He too will be most interested in what that memory has to show."

"Silas Hawthorne?" Hermione asked. "Isn't he the grandson of Nathaniel Hawthorne?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Miss Granger. Professor Hawthorne will be able to offer you more help in finding Miss Chang than I." The smile faded from his face and was replaced by a look of worried urgency. "Hurry to America, Harry. I fear Cho may be in great danger."

An anxious look passed among the group. Harry stowed the memory safely in his pocket. "Thank you for your help, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Good luck, Harry."

Harry nodded and turned away. Sinistra too wished them luck as they filed out of her office.