"Why can't we just go do our homework, in the common room?" Ron asked, as the trio headed into the third floor, towards the library.

"We need to get books for Professor Flitwick's paper." Hermione reminded him.

"We have a whole month."

"So we shouldn't waste any of it."

"It's only a five page paper, Hermione." Ron reminded her, as they stepped into the library.

There were rows of books, one tall shelf into another, a soft green, gold embroidered carpet to walk on, wooden desks and tables scattered about, and it was divided into a downstairs and upstairs.

Madame Pince, who sat behind her desk, near the front entrance, immediately, told Ron, "Shhh." and Ron nodded, apologetically.

The trio went into the back and met up with Ginny, who had been sliding a book back into place on the shelves. She greeted them a little awkwardly, "Oh, hi. Er," she glanced in back of her and then turned back to them, "you should probably come down here, with me."

Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron, before she answered, "Sure,"

The trio exchanged puzzled glances, as they followed Ginny, to the last table, where Ernie, Justin, Hannah, Susan, and Neville, who was standing, were.

They had just heard Ernie say, "Well, Harry and Hermione must know, and Ron too, that must be why Harry and Hermione have been hanging around them."

Ernie was the first to notice Ginny lead the trio in and his grim expression made everyone else look over.

Neville, immediately, went over to ask Harry, demandingly and a bit hurt, "Why didn't you tell me that Snape, his siblings, and Mr. Filch were friends with my parents and your mum?" He looked over at Hermione, to give her a look that inquired the same thing, which made her feel like a rat had clawed into her heart and vomit was ready to slide over her tongue.

"I…" Harry looked at Hermione for help.

Hermione told Neville, gently, "We thought Mr. Snape was going to talk to you."

"When he came into the greenhouse?" Neville guessed.

"Yes," she nodded. "I..." Hermione paused, to think over what she should say. The memories she and harry had seen flowed through her head, over lapping, but mostly she thought of when Frank and Isacc had been pinned to the ground, baby Neville beside them, then the way Bellatrix had blasted Frank and Isaac with the Cruciatus curse.

She finally offered, a little shakily, "Well, he knows how Professor Snape treats you… I think he feels badly about it. Harry and I—and Ron, but he left shortly after-met up with Natalie, Mr. Snape, and Mr. Filch before church. Then, they told us about Harry's mum, your parents, and them-well, except Natalie of course-being friends."

Neville looked from her to Harry, "Well, what do you think? All those years of Snape having it out for us and he was friends with my parents and your mum."

Harry admitted, "Well, he has been a git, but I'm going to try to be nice to him, for Natalie's sake. And Mr. Snape-"

"I like Mr. Snape." Neville assured him. "He's better than his brother. Natalie seems better too."

Harry nodded, so did Hermione.

Ron even said, unable to look at anyone, "Natalie didn't even take house points away from me, after I insulted her and her family."

"Ron." Ginny growled.

Ron turned to her, "Well, I'm making up for it."

Ginny gave him a stern You better be. look.

Hermione finally thought to ask, "How did you find out about all of this, Neville?"

"Professor Sprout told us, yesterday, after you, Natalie, and Mr. Filch ran after Mr. Snape." Neville replied.

Justin chimed in, "And if that wasn't enough to shock us, the part about Alison Knott…" He shook his head.

Harry and Hermione shared a confused look, then asked, "What about Alison Knott?"

Neville, Ginny, Ernie, Justin, Hannah, and Susan looked completely surprised and turned to each other, in disbelief.

Hannah asked, "They didn't tell you anything about her?"

"Well, they said they were friends with her." Harry explained. He glanced at Hermione, "We reckoned she's dead, but they didn't really go in to detail."

Hermione added, "Harry and I suspected something awful had happened to her, so we didn't press them."

Neville looked down, Ginny and Susan gave them all a horrified look, Hannah stared at something outside the window, and Ernie and Justin exchanged a grimace.

Harry and Hermione felt dread seep into them, like when a doctor came out to the waiting room and you know they have bad news.

"What happened to her?" Hermione asked.

Susan forced herself to flick her eyes over to Hermione's, "She joined You-Know-Who, after she left Hogwarts. Her whole family was killed by him and then a week later she joined him. She helped him kill another death eater, Daniel Edmund, and then she just disappeared."

Hannah added, "Apparently, she was Mr. Filch's girlfriend."

Harry and Hermione locked eyes. A squib in love with a death eater. It made them feel like they had eaten rancid celery that had been left out in the sun. Ron looked away, as he forced himself not to ask what house she was in.

Ernie remarked, "A typical Slytherin-Death Eater. She didn't even care about her own family."

Harry and Hermione felt like that rancid celery was stuck in their throats, while Ron avoided looking at them.

Hermione darted her eyes around, down cast, and then put her bag on one of the nearest tables. Then, she asked, "Harry, do you want to look for that book, now?"

Harry was confused for a moment, but then caught on and nodded, "Yeah."

He put his books down beside her bag and followed her out of the back, over to the other side of the library, hidden from view by a lot of bookshelves, near the restricted section.

Hermione looked around a moment, then whispered, "Maybe, that's why Snape joined Voldemort in the first place. He clearly never believed in what Voldemort stands for, so maybe he was just trying to find Alison."

Harry nodded, "You, Ron, and I would do that for each other."

Hermione reflected over how similar Snape's connection to his friends was like the trio's bon, "I suppose we would."

Then, Harry suggested, "What if Alison wasn't really with Voldemort? Maybe, she was just a spy, like Snape, but just not officially. Voldemort did kill her whole family. She'd be out for revenge."

"Yes, of course! Maybe, father McKenzie, Mr. Filch, Mr. Snape, and everyone suspects that she must have been trying to defeat Voldemort from the inside."

Harry nodded.

Hermione broke eye contact with him, after a few seconds, "Well, we should probably get back to the others." She eyed some books with him and pulled out one Harry was surprised to see: Pride And Prejudice.

Harry took it and looked up at the sign above the shelves: Muggle Studies.

"It was required reading, when I took the class." Hermione shared. "It was very good. Jane Austen really was a great author. The story felt so modern."

Harry glanced at the book, then promised her, "Well, I'll tell you what I think, after I've read it."

Hermione couldn't help but smile, a fluttery feeling in her stomach, same as Harry.

Suddenly, something felt too private about the section of the library they were in and Harry said, "Well, I should go check this out."

Hermione nodded and went with him. Madame Pince did a little double-take, when she saw the book, and swung her eyes from Hermione to Harry. Hermione, who figured Madame Pince was thinking she wanted Harry to take some lessons from Mr. Darcy, had to look away.

Harry turned to Hermione, as he realized, "I have to go see Dumbledore." and Hermione widened her eyes and nodded.

"Professor Dumbledore." Madame Pince corrected, as she handed over the book.

Then, Harry and Hermione, who insisted on going with Harry, headed into the back.

Harry and Hermione slid in front of McGonagall's office and, immediately, as they gulped down air, pounded on the door and called out for her.

As soon as she started to open the door, she heard Harry and Hermione's voices overlap each other about why they had to see Dumbledore, that they trusted Snape, Natalie was their friend now, they liked the whole Snape and Filch family, they had seen Genevieve's statue.

"Calm yourselves. I can barely understand the both of you." McGonagall told them. "I'll take you to the headmaster. I'm sure he'll want to see you."

So they followed her and took a ride up the spiral staircase. McGonagall had them wait outside, while she slipped into his office. A moment later, she popped her head out, "You can come in, now." And pushed open the door.

The walls without paintings were lined with, mostly, thick ancient books, the gold tasseled rug, chairs, and tapestries were all Gryffindor red, there was a miniature of the Hogwarts express that circled around a mini Hogwarts close to Dumbledore's desk, along with other enchanted objects, like a slowly turning globe that represented the actual movement of the earth, and there was a coffee table, in front of Dumbledore's desk, with two couches that faced it, that had the school crest on the glass part. Up the stairs they could see not only the door to Dumbledore's bedroom, left slightly ajar, but a black table with doily under a white porcelain box with various silhouettes on it.

Dumbledore was standing, with traces of sadness in his hopeful face, in a black, gold embroidered robe and hat, by Fawkes, who suddenly burst into flames.

Hermione widened her eyes and rushed over, "I've never seen a phoenix die and be reborn before!"

Dumbledore confessed, "I still find it very powerful to watch myself."

He turned to Harry, who took this as his cue to share, "I thought I'd somehow killed it, the first time I saw Fawkes die and be reborn." He added to Hermione, when she turned to him, "Back in our second year."

Hermione nodded and then looked back at baby Fawkes emerge from the ashes and squawk faintly.

McGonagall came over to observe it all too. She mused, "I sometimes wish people's lives worked like that."

Dumbledore reminded her, "Even phoenixes eventually have a lasting death. Well, from this world, anyway. Fawkes will have one at the end of this cycle."

"Oh." Hermione said, softly, as she turned to him, when she caught the depression in his statement.

Dumbledore gave her an appreciative smile, "I'll miss," his eyes drifted to Fawkes, "my old friend—I've had him since I was a boy—but it isn't goodbye forever. Death never is."

The meaning of Dumbledore's words seeped into Harry and Hermione, as well as McGonagall, and they pictured Harry's parents and Sirius together, as they always had, but, now, also with Benjamin and Genevieve. There were others, like Emma and Violet, but they didn't know what they looked like.

Finally, Dumbledore gestured to the couches by the coffee table, and said, "We can talk over here. I'm sure we have a lot to discuss."

Harry and Hermione sat on one couch, while McGonagall and Dumbledore sat on the other. Harry turned to Hermione and asked, "Do you mind if I-"

"No." Hermione shook her head, understandingly.

"Thanks." Harry told her.

Hermione nodded and then turned to watch Dumbledore and McGonagall.

Harry opened his mouth, then closed it and looked down, as he was watched, sympathetically, by everyone. He felt like a drill was being turned into his chest and his throat felt tight. He took a deep breath and then looked right at Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry." Harry admitted and saw amazement pass through Dumbledore's clear blue eyes. "I'm sorry that I kept accusing Professor Snape of being out to get me and that he was still a death eater. I know I was wrong. I know what he did for Neville." McGonagall's mouth parted, slightly, while Dumbledore sat very still, focused on Harry. "Mr. Snape and Father McKenzie showed me," he glanced at Hermione, "and Hermione. Mr. Filch and Natalie saw it too. I also know that Mr. Filch's mum tried to save my grandma."

Harry paused a moment and started to lower his eyes, but flicked them back up, immediately. He continued, "No one ever gave me even the smallest hint about what they did for my family or that Mr. Snape and Ashley rescued Professor Lupin, when he was nearly dead. I didn't think they would be good people…" He had started to look away again, but snapped his eyes back over to the headmaster, "Professor Dumbledore, last year I saw a memory of Professor Snape's—I thought it was his parents—I saw two adults arguing in front of Professor Snape, when he was a kid—I don't know if they hurt him-"

Everyone was surprised to see Harry shaking, out of concern for Snape. Hermione locked eyes with McGonagall, who was at a loss for words, her hand on her chest.

Dumbledore felt like icy slime had seeped into his skin, but he remained fairly calm and assured Harry, "I'll talk to Professor Snape about it, Harry."

Harry decided, "You can tell him I told you."

Dumbledore nodded.

Then, Harry explained, "Sir, I saw—in the memory that Father McKenzie and Mr. Snape showed me—you go with Fudge to talk about where to place me—"

Dumbledore's eyes dimmed, guiltily, "Fudge decided it was either you would live with your relatives or you would get adopted by whoever he thought was good enough. There was a man…"

Dumbledore lowered his eyes, he felt like vomit had been jammed into and was now stuck in his throat. He sobbed into the palm of his hand, as soon as he started to tremble, and said, softly, "I'm so sorry, Harry."

McGonagall, immediately, moved closer to Dumbledore and held his shoulders, simultaneously, as Harry knelt in front of him. Hermione stayed where she was, alarmed, unsure of how appropriate it would be for her to get up.

Harry took Dumbledore's free hand in both of his, which earned him everyone's attention. "It's alright. It's alright." Harry assured him, obviously just hit by the realization himself. He admitted, "Growing up, I always dreamed that I had some long lost relative who was going to take me away from the Dursleys and coming to this school," Harry's voice slipped into a sentimental tone, that made McGonagall and Hermione smile, "meeting you was the closest I ever got to that. I met Sirius and Professor Lupin here, and Hagrid and all my friends. I got to meet Natalie and I feel like she's my sister." He chuckled in realization, "I'm glad I met Professor Snape, his siblings and Natalie's dad, Mr. Filch, and Father McKenzie. I want to meet Professor Snape and Mr. Filch's dads too."

Harry looked away a moment to take in all that he admitted, same as the others. It was like having and witnessing a religious epiphany, like winning against Voldemort and Grindlewald.

Harry turned back to Dumbledore, who's eyes were teary and helpless, just like last year. Harry told him, "I never wanted to live with the Dursleys, but I reckon that man Fudge had ready seemed worse."

Dumbledore nodded and explained, "He seemed much too eager to have you. I didn't trust him. I…" Dumbledore started to avert his eyes, but looked back at Harry, "I thought he would exploit you." Dumbledore closed his eyes, his face contorted in a grimace, "I may have been over thinking-I hope I was…" He shifted his hand, so that he could hold on of Harry's and he placed his other hand over Harry's, "I was afraid he might be a pedophile." Dumbledore opened his eyes, "I was distressed…"

Dumbledore had stopped because of the way Harry's eyes glistened, the scared look in them. It made him, McGonagall, and Hermione feel sick, like a thick goo was lodged in their throats and stomachs. Harry didn't know why but that part about the man possibly being a pedophile hit him hard and clung to his mind. His heart beat sped up and his mouth felt dry.

Harry nodded, eyes down cast, "Thank you for getting me placed with the Dursleys."

"I tried to convince Fudge to let me raise you." Dumbledore confessed.

McGonagall who had never heard about this, until now, almost gasped, but restrained herself.

Harry locked eyes with Dumbledore. He moved his mouth, but couldn't form a sentence. He stopped trying and just stared into Dumbledore's eyes.

It was long overdue. They both realized that, as soon as it happened. Harry stood up a little and hugged Dumbledore, who hugged him right back. Harry felt like he had, when he had discovered he had been accepted to Hogwarts. A rush of security over took him and his heart stopped racing, while his throat felt less dry.

McGonagall and Hermione were surprised for only a second. Maybe, even just half a second.