"Albus, this activity only confirms what we have feared. Something is brewing, and for that group to get THIS close to Hogwarts…" Severus said. Albus watched the dark man pace back and forth. As he took a breath to speak, an owl swooped in with a ministry seal. The headmaster daintily broke the seal and let his eyes wander over the parchment.

"Severus, was Alexander in Hogsmead today?" He asked slowly.

"No, he was with me at the manor today." He said quietly. Dumbledore handed Severus the letter. He took it slowly and read over the ministry report.

"Dergen lost all of his magic?" He asked.

"As it said, his magical core was…"

"…Completely removed." Severus said, his eyes moving much faster over the page.

"There are other ways, albus."

"But all quite time intensive. And there were only students in the area."

"Of course." The men were quiet for a long moment.

"I will be heading to the ministry tomorrow, and subsequently to Azkeban to question this fellow. See if we cannot find out a bit more about what transpired at Hogsmead today." Albus said, popping a lemon drop into his mouth. He sucked on the candy thoughtfully for a moment, staring out the window.

"…please… let me know" Severus said, his voice was quite thick as he nodded to the headmaster. He stopped with the door partially open as if to say something as well, but he then closed it and continued on his way.

XxXx

Emily sat in the library and she quickly drummed her fingers on the table. Everything since yesterday completely baffled her. All morning during her classes she had issues with her magic. During transfiguration, they were to transfigure a plate into a cup, which she succeeded at, but as the cup took shape the metal became so hot it melted. Emily could feel that the strange sparking sensation had died down, but she could feel the energy, like she was suddenly wide-awake. Her entire lunch had been spent in the Library reading about anything that was strings, or white spirits or anything of that nature. Truthfully, she hadn't come across anything so volatile, and anything that was mentioned said to reference a title that was currently stuck in the restricted section of the library.

She gathered her things together and made her way out of the library and down the hall to try to catch the end of lunch. As she walked she froze as she saw whom she thought from behind was the tall figure of Professor Snape, only to feel a wash of relief roll over her as the person turned to reveal Alexander Prince.

"Hey…" He said brightly, but Emily could see his face change from pleasant to concern. "Is everything okay? You look… stressed." He said. Emily stared at him for a moment. She wondered if Alex was the type of friend she could take into confidence or not. It was unnerving to ponder that decision right then but she finally decided she would have to tell someone and the thought that his growing up in the magical world might provide some answers spurred her on.

"Well… no… I mean, I'm not sure" She said, she looked up into his eyes, wondering how he would react.

"What happened?" He asked. Emily shifted her weight before answering.

"At Hogsmead, yesterday, one of the death eaters had Hermione Granger and I cornered. I saw something… it was like strings of light… and I grabbed it…" Emily watched his eyes. His eyebrows lifted up his forehead in surprise.

"White threads, wispy, but you only see them for a second, right?" He asked. Emily nodded vigorously, her eyes wide at his recognition.

"Well, that's how they usually are. This time I saw them, but they were solid and I touched them. And Hermione said she didn't see anything…" Emily said, watching him.

"You've touched them?"

"Yes. Is that bad? What are they?" She asked. She watched his forehead wrinkle.

"My father won't tell me. He said that it is very rare, but whatever it is, he wants to wait until I'm older to tell me." He said slowly.

"Oh… well, something else happened…" Emily said, looking at him nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I grabbed them, it, it felt like fabric, and sort of warm. Then I pulled and it pulled away from him." She said.

"Pulled away?"

"Yes, it was grey when it was attached to him, but I pulled really hard, and it came off, it turned white and it kind of… absorbed."

"Into the ground?"

"Into me." Emily said in a weak voice. He put his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes for a moment.

"Are you feeling well? Anything wrong?"

"No, I don't know, my magic has just been a bit less… controlled." He eyed her with a stern glare.

"I really don't know what it is, and whatever it is, it's important enough that my father doesn't want me to know… not yet anyways."

"I've been searching the library about them."

"I already have, over summers here… my father won't let me into the restricted section, and I think Uncle Albus pulled those books off the shelves..."

"You're related to the Headmaster?" Emily interrupted. She could see his eyes dart back to hers sharply and he recoiled a bit as if in shock at her words. "…and I thought you went to durmstrang?" She said, confused. She stared at him, and she could detect the hint of panic in his face.

"Well, I'm not really related, he's my… err, standing uncle, a family friend." He said quickly, but his voice was calm. Emily watched him warily. Should she trust him?

They stared at each other with a heavy glare. Emily stared at him, and she took a deep breath, feeling her stomach unsettled.

"Whatever you're not telling me… it's for a good reason?" She asked slowly. He looked at her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes…It... I haven't lied to you." He said.

"So you see them too?" Emily said, turning the conversation back.

"Yes…and as far as I know, you're the only other person I've talked to who can. My father instructed me to never speak of it with anyone else." He said. Emily watched him think for a moment. "I'll see what I can do" He said. Emily watched him carefully.

"I'm... trusting you." She said in a whisper. He nodded his head and they parted ways.

A/N

Cheesy? Completely terrible? Should I be cautiously optimistic? I would really REALLY appreciate your reviews/suggestions. Thanks! x