The remainder of their fifth year was almost fantastic until it wasn't. The tragedy that struck at the end of the Tournament cast a dull haze on the memory of that year. What was far more concerning though was the rise of someone who no one dared to say the name of.
Dinah and Alice were not well versed in the politics and culture of the magic community They were well and truly in their own bubble of muggle life, Hogwarts, and the Weasleys. Now, however, such things came knocking on their door and no one could feign ignorance any longer. Doing so would get someone killed. That someone might very well be Dinah Chessur.
At the end of that year Molly and Arthur all but insisted that Alice and Dinah stay at The Burrow. Alice was remiss to accept their invitation for fear of taking advantage of the hospitality but Bill and Charlie persuaded Alice to make the safest choice. That first summer evening at The Burrow found Alice, Bill, Charlie, Molly, and Arthur sitting at the table after dinner. Molly encouraged the Twins to take Dinah for a swim at the nearby lake.
Bill placed a gentle hand over Alice's, "We know about your family, I am not sure if you are aware of who they were but, they were Deatheaters." Charlie could tell that Alice was unsure of what this news meant by the expression on her face. "Deatheaters are followers of Voldermort…" Molly gasped, "Do not say that name in this house!" Charlie apologized and continued, "The followers of the Dark Lord, they carry out his will and often recruit from within' the family ranks of Deatheaters." Alice spoke, "Does that mean they will try and find me?"
Arthur spoke up, "Not so much you my dear, since you have no ability, but your sister will surely be sought after." Alice shook her head in disbelief, "No. No… no, no, no, no…" Everyone at the table was concerned by her reaction. Alice looked at Bill with wide and fearful eyes, tears were starting to collect at their rim, "It's no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then. So was she, and what a lovely unbirthday gift she was from my dear friend the Hatter. We celebrated so often and he gave me so many lovely treasures. I thought she would be perfect for my parents."
Bill could tell she was getting lost in her own mind, he gently grabbed her face to bring her attention toward him. "Alice darling, what are you trying to tell us?" She stared into his warm brown eyes, "Oh you'll hate me" She looked at the whole table, "You'll all hate me." She began to cry, "Dinah will hate me most." Molly moved to sit on the other side of Alice. "Alice dear, there is absolutely nothing you could tell us that will make us hate you. You're a kind heart and we all make mistakes in our lives that we are not proud of. Please tell us and I promise you we will all still love you when you are finished."
Alice looked to Molly and saw the absolute truth in her eyes, then she looked to Bill, "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to end whatever this is between us." Bill grabbed her hand, "Darling, there is nothing in this world, or the next, that could make me want to end this relationship, wherever it leads."
Alice steeled her nerves, and spoke plainly without her beautiful lilts in her voice, "When I was young I was very lonely. I loved Aunt Imogen but she was a bit daft and often left me to care for myself. I explored the forest around the house quite frequently. One day I fell into a hole of sorts. I felt as if I was going to fall for an eternity but then I ended up rolling out the other side of the tree but everything looked far different. The colors were different, and the creatures were fantastical.
I made many friends there, as well as a few enemies. One of my good friends was someone everyone called The Hatter. We celebrated all manners of events quite frequently. That tree was like a doorway into that world and I visited often." She paused to see Charlie and Arthur looking perplexed, "What? You don't believe me do you," asked Alice.
"Oh no, quite the contrary. There has been a rumor around for decades that there are hidden magical worlds that were created by wizards in an attempt to escape various atrocities throughout the centuries." Charlie stated, looking at Arthur, "Do you suppose the ministry has any information on this pocket world?" The elder Weasley thought for a moment, "I am unsure but I will look into the matter."
"Pocket worlds?" Alice asked, Bill squeezed his hand, "Yes, in the same way, that we can enchant bags, boxes, or rooms to expand without taking up more space in this physical realm. We can set spells for different climates and often wizards would create their own world to live in." Charlie added, "I suspect your Hatter may have been a wizard."
Alice's tears dried and she smiled, "You believe me?" Bill hugged her close, "There are so many things that exist beyond our understanding, I have no doubt this exists as well." Alice couldn't stop herself, she reached up for Bill's face and kissed him gently, "Thank you, my Aunt Imogen thought I was mental. I learned to hide my experiences when she called for a professional evaluation." Alice recomposed herself, retelling her tale with a lighter heart.
"One day Hatter gave me a small kitten as a present. I knew by the look in his eyes that this was a goodbye present. He said, 'We cannot stay here a moment more Alice' When I left that day I tried to go back, I really did. But I could no longer go through the tree. The most wondrous part though, when I left that day, my beautiful green-eyed tawny kitten turned into a baby." Alice chuckled, "Aunt Imogen was furious and tried to return Dinah to someone, anyone for that matter. I thought maybe Mum and Dad would want her since I was an abomination to them. They turned their nose up at her." Alice hugged herself pausing for a sip of water.
"Dinah was the sweetest baby and I took to calling her little sister. Her hair was so red and her eyes were so green. It was hard to see the kitten that I took home that day. As she grew we just treated her as the human she was here. Dinah doesn't know about any of this and I just don't know how to tell her."
The Twins apparated back with Dinah just outside with minimal noise. As they entered the house Dinah heard the tail end of her sister's words. As Dinah walked she asked, "Tell me what sister?" Everyone looked at the small girl flanked by Fred and George with concern.
Molly stood up, "I'll make some more tea, the three of you will get out of those wet clothes." Dinah and the Twins trudged upstairs. Alice looked at her hands, "What if she hates me? What if her Tweedles don't want her now? What if…" Charlie grabbed Alice's hand from across the table, "If we know Dinah the same way you do, you know she won't hate you. As for those two brothers of mine, they are besotted with her." Bill agreed, "Little details like not being human won't bother them in the least." Bill winked at Alice to break the tension in her body.
Molly returned with a pot of tea, "Don't you worry about those two boys of mine. I see the way they look at her." Molly chuckled to herself, "If they are anything like Fabian and Gideon, well then that will be interesting." Arthur chuckled at Molly's comment. Bill and Charlie both looked at their parents but they could tell they weren't going to say anything further.
Alice looked at everyone, "I'm scared." Bill hugged her, "I will be right over in the living room." She looked, "Stay?" Bill pondered her question, "Do you think Dinah would be ok with it?" Alice looked at her hands again, "I don't know."
As Dinah and the Twins came down Charlie, Molly, and Arthur excused themselves. Dinah sat across from Alice as Bill stood. Alice was reluctant to let his hand go. Dinah read the room pretty quickly, the concern etched on Bill's face, the fear in Alice's eyes. Dinah looked back at George, he was watching their interaction intently, while Fred was looking confused.
"Whatever is going on, whatever you need to tell me. Bill can stay but only if Fred and George can as well." Alice looked at each of the boys, she was even more concerned. Bill leaned into Alice, "I promise you, they won't leave her." Fred and George glanced nervously at each other, having heard his comments despite how low Bill spoke.
Dinah grabbed each of their hands and pulled them into each seat beside her. Dinah may have been a frivolous soul but she was intelligent and intuitive. "Allie, what are you so afraid of?" Alice just sighed as she began, "I am not sure where to begin so I suppose the beginning is good enough." Dinah nodded, "That would be the safest place to begin."
"You know I was born without magic, and you know Mum and Dad cast me aside, well it turns out Mum and Dad were Deatheaters." Dinah's eyes widened at the implications of this news but dared not speak. Fred grabbed her leg under the table and squeezed it gently.
"I was a very lonely little girl, and you certainly know how Aunt Imogen was." Dinah chuckled, "She was daft as a rabbit dressed in a vest." Alice's eyes shot up at Dinah's words, "He was always late, that silly thing." Dinah grew nervous about her sister's eccentric statements but Alice continued. "When I was little, I wandered the forest constantly, and one day I found a tree with a very good Alice-sized hole in it. So I entered and found myself on the other side of the tree but it was so different. I loved exploring that magical place and I made so many friends. That is where I met Tweedledum and Tweedledee, but my most treasured friend was The Hatter." Dinah was following her sister's story, but all her life she had known it was a fairy tale world her sister spoke of.
"We had many adventures and I received lots of unbirthday gifts from Hatter. On our last day together he gifted me the most precious kitten. She was beautiful with green eyes and soft tawny fur." Dinah had a sinking feeling in her stomach and she grabbed George's hand under the table. He squeezed gently.
"When I left that wonderful place for the last time, I walked home with a baby. I named her Dinah." Alice's eyes began to flood with tears, "Aunt Imogen was so angry and Mum and Dad didn't want you. I… I am so sorry." Alice's head fell into her folded arms as she openly wept. Bill soothed her by rubbing her back.
Dinah wasn't quite processing whether Alice thought this was a real thing that happened or part of her fantasy she had made up as a child. "That world, it isn't real Allie, it was a pretend world, remember?" Dinah was desperate for confirmation. "It was real Dinah all of it. Charlie said that Wizards can make pocket dimensions for their things and for themselves. They believe my friend The Hatter was a wizard." Dinah nodded her head, it was a stretch for her to grasp but she grasped it.
She looked at her hand entwined with George's, he didn't let go. She looked at her other hand trying to picture herself with cat paws. She laughed, but it wasn't a healthy, hearty laugh. It was full of confusion and fear, through her laughter she asked, "I… I am not even human?" She laughed harder, "I am certainly not a cat." Her magic relaxed in her body and her hair turned auburn and her eyes green. She looked at Fred, "I am not anything." A thought occurred to Dinah, as she looked at Alice's body shuddering in tears, "Allie, do you not want me anymore?"
Alice bolted upright, "Dinah, you are my sister, you always have been and you always will be. Whether your a human, a cat, even a red rose, it doesn't matter to me because I love you." Dinah just stared at Alice, so many questions swarmed her mind. The three Weasley brothers looked to one another communicating silently with one another. Bill tried to gauge Fred and George's reaction to the news, hoping that he was right that they wouldn't turn their back on her. As if Fred knew what Bill was thinking he sent him a scowl and then put his arm around Dinah and kissed the top of her head. George pulled Dinah's hands to his lips at the same time.
She looked at each of them and they could see the concern swimming in her eyes, "You are still our little Dinah and nothing can change that." George said. Fred leaned in closer, "We still want to play with you darling." Fred smirked as George slapped him upside the head. Dinah giggled, as George scolded Fred, "Not the time, or the place brother." Dinah just looked at George, "Now now Georgie, there is always time to play." His cheeks turned bright red.
Alice smiled at the exchange, relieved that her Tweedles remained loyal. "You know, it is more likely that Dinah is some variant of an Animagus." Bill stated. Dinah's eyes lit up, "Like Professor Mcgonnagal?" Bill smiled and nodded his head. "I don't know how to turn into a cat though." Dinah pouted. Alice spoke up, "Your hair and eye color is normal."
"The magic in my body is hard to keep in control when I am stressed. It let's go in order for me to relax a bit more." Dinah said very matter of factly. "Well I wonder if your body is just holding onto the magic that transforms you." George stated. Fred smiled, "Kind of like a reverse Animagus, instead of using the magic to transform into a cat, she is using the magic to stay human."
Charlie walked into the room, "I don't think it is quite that simple." He smiled as he leaned against the door frame. "I suspect she has a dual natural form. If she were in the other magical pocket she would be a cat, but in this world she is human." Alice looked up to Charlie, "like a split personality?" Both Fred and George looked at one another, "Wicked!" Dinah pouted at both of them. "I am not of a split mind, I suppose it's more like I have an alternative version of myself."
Bill redirected the conversation, "More importantly, if the Deatheaters know anything about her, she will be on their radar. Whether they want to recruit her we cannot be sure." Dinah frowned, "Or kill me. Since I am not pureblood, or resolutely human… Unless of course they like to experiment then I may be of interest… or if they wanted a pet… I don't think I would make a great pet." Right after she spoke those words, she looked to Fred and said, "Quiet you" He just winked in response.
The rest of the evening was spent determining the best course of action for the time being. Molly and Arthur had come to the table again for them to come up as a plan as a whole family.