Chapter six
October 10, 1990
Renee finished her story. The three had left the tunnel a while ago. Renee was disappointed that it only led around the corner from the room.
"That's…quite a story," George said.
"Almost unbelievable," Fred continued.
"Well, it's true," Renee answered. "I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a liar."
"Never said we didn't believe it."
"Oh, you implied it."
"So," Fred spoke. "You've missed out on the last nine years?"
"I guess. But Andie's been living since seventy-one. She's gotta be like thirty-one by now." Renee visibly shivered at the thought. "She's gotta be so old by now."
The twins laughed.
"She's probably all wrinkly by now," said Fred.
"With a hunchback and a walking stick," George continued.
Renee laughed along with them.
"I can just picture the white hair, and the old person voice. Renee then put on a croaky voice, trying to sound older than she did. "You youngins, get off my lawn."
The three cackled as they walked. Their voices echoing off the walls. A few of the portraits scolded them.
Quiet.
Don't you have somewhere better to be?
Don't make me get the headmaster.
The trio ignored the portraits and made their way towards the Grand Hall. It wasn't that late that it would be odd for any students to still be there. Be it meeting with friends or doing some last-minute class work in peace. The three sat at the Gryffindor table. There were bowls up and down the center of the table, filled with snacks. Renee grabbed a small handful to munch on. She looked up to the ceiling.
"At least some things haven't changed," she commented.
"We're gonna have to show you around. Introduce you to the new world," Spoke George.
"That would be great,"
"And we're gonna have to show you some more passages."
"I'd love that. Although, not sure if I'd be allowed to stay. My parents are gonna be so mad."
"Well, it's not entirely your fault."
Tears welled up in Renee's eyes.
"It is though," she sobbed out. She leaned forward, placing her head in her hands. "If I hadn't done what I did, this would never have happened. I don't know how she'll ever forgive me."
"I'm sure she will," Fred said. "And if she hasn't by now, well, then she was never a good friend; and she didn't deserve you."
Renee sniffed. She rubbed her hands over her face, removing the tears, before resting her hands on the back of her neck.
"I'll have to find her first. Try and apologize. I'm sure Dumbledore would help."
"I…don't know about that. He doesn't hand out that information to just anyone. Not even family members."
"How-" Renee started.
"We tried getting some info on our oldest brother. See what he was like in school. Dumbledore wouldn't help and caught us before we could sneak the file out."
Renee chuckled.
"Well, I'll just have to get creative, before I'm inevitably sent home."
The twins had an identical smirk spread over their faces.
"Oh, that should be easy enough. We just need to get Dumbledore out of his office long enough for you to search. We should go back and make a plan."
A matching grin spread across Renee's.
"Ooo, are we gonna cause some mischief?"
"You know it."
"Count me in. I live for mayhem."
"Alright, let's go."
The three hung out in the spare room, going over almost a hundred different ideas. They had finally settled on a plan, just before the sun began to rise. The three didn't bother going to sleep. They were working on the assumption that Renee was on a deadline.
"Remember the plan?" George asked.
Renee nodded.
"Wait for the second firework to go off. Wait two minutes, then go into the headmaster's office."
"And the password?"
"Sherbert Lemon."
"Good. Now Fred and I will probably get caught. We'll be okay. If we do get caught, we'll meet you back here."
"Are you sure you don't need me to bail you out if the plan goes south?"
"No. it's best for you to keep your head down." George rose to his feet. "We're the Weasley twins. Mischief is expected of us." He turned to his brother. "Ready Fred?"
"Ready George."
"Let's go."
The three left the room via the passage. The twins went in one direction, while Renee went in the other. She did her best to avoid anyone that might stop her for looking too suspicious. It didn't take long before she reached the statue of the headmaster's office. In the distance, she heard the unmistakable sound of a firework being set off. Renee ducked behind one of the stone braziers next to the statue. She was glad to be small enough to not be seen from behind it. She waited. Another firework went off. Further away this time. Renee then started to count in her head. When she got to about thirty seconds, the statue moved, and Dumbledore emerged from his office. He strode right past Renee's hiding place, not noticing that she was there. Renee didn't move. She continued to count. Reaching two minutes, she dashed out and stopped at the statue.
"Sherbert Lemon," she said.
The statue turned; a staircase being formed. Renee quickly got onto the steps and went up as the stairs emerged. She burst into the office, then scanned the room. The twins had said the files were further in the office, up the steps past the desk. Renee half-jogged across the room and up the steps. She scoured the shelves, protected by glass doors. Each one held files with names on the spines. She made her way to the sections with the last names starting with P. There were more names than she thought there would be. Running a finger along the glass, she scanned the files.
F, Palmer
O, Parker
X, Pederson
G, Pereira
I, Peres
Y, Perez
N, Perry
C, Persson
A, Phillips
T, Porter
U, Powell
Finally, she made it to the three Price files. A, Price. C, Price. V, Price. Renee reached out to the small handle, wanting to open it. She pulled. It was locked.
"Oh, come on," she groaned. "Stupid teachers, locking stupid locks."
She whipped her wand out and aimed at the lock. She gave a silent prayer that it would work.
"Alohomora."
She got lucky this time, as the door made a soft clicking noise. Renee grinned.
"Heck, yeah."
She pocketed her wand. Renee opened the glass, just enough to pull out the file labelled A, Price. She opened it up. There were stacks of files inside. Each part labelled with a tab.
Grades
Financial
Health
Incidents and disciplinary action
Personal information
Oh how Renee wished she could read every little detail right then and there. But that would have to wait. The sound of grinding concrete reached her ears. She quickly snapped the file shut, then closed the glass door. She was about to sprint back to the entrance. She made it all of three steps, when the top of Dumbledore's head came into view. She wasn't going to be able to make it before he spotted her. She ducked down behind the half-wall that separated the top section from the bottom. She clutched the file close to her chest, as she tried to control her breathing. She could hear Dumbledore move around the office and sit at the desk. Renee peered out around the corner. Dumbledore's back was turned to her. He was hunched over the desk, muttering something about dung-bombs.
'Think, think, think.' Renee thought. It wasn't going to be too much longer before the stairs merged back into the wall. She looked around. Spotting a heavy-looking object, she cringed at the idea she just had. She picked it up, testing the weight.
'This is gonna suck. Sorry Dumbledore.'
She wound up her arm and tossed the object straight into one of the bookshelves that held fragile items. The sound was loud. More than one item broke, shattering on impact. Fragments fell to the ground. Dumbledore looked at it. He stood and walked over to it. He pulled out his wand and cast a spell. The items began to mend themselves. While he was busy, Renee came out from her hiding place and snuck towards the stairs. Her foot had barely touched the first step, when Dumbledore spoke.
"Be sure to return that file once you're finished with it. I would hate for word to get out that the files can be taken easily."
Renee froze, before speaking in a quiet tone.
"Uh, yes, Sir."
Before she could get into any more trouble, Renee bolted down the stairs and back to the teacher's room. She dumped the file onto the desk and sat down. She opened it to read.
Year one
Transfiguration- E
Charms- E
Potions- T
Herbology- O
History of magic- O
Defense against the dark arts- A
Astronomy- P
Flying- T
Year two
Transfiguration- A
Charms- E
Potions- P
Herbology- A
History of magic- P
Defense against the dark arts- D
Astronomy- P
Year three
Transfiguration- T
Charms- O
Potions- E
Herbology- A
History of magic- P
Defense against the dark arts- D
Astronomy- T
Care of magical creatures- A
Study of ancient runes- D
Year four
Transfiguration- D
Charms- O
Potions- D
Herbology- E
History of magic- P
Defense against the dark arts- E
Astronomy- P
Care of magical creatures- A
Study of ancient runes- O
Muggle studies- P
Year five
Transfiguration- A
Charms-A
Potions- O
Herbology- A
History of magic- D
Defense against the dark arts- D
Astronomy- E
Care of magical creatures- O
Study of ancient runes- A
Muggle studies- D
Year six
Charms- E
Herbology- O
Study of ancient runes- D
Potions- O
Care of magical creatures- A
Alchemy- E
Apparition- O
Year seven
Charms- E
Herbology- E
Study of ancient runes- A
Potions- A
Care of magical creatures- E
Alchemy- A
Apparition- E
Renee laughed to herself at Andie's last two years of grades.
"Oh, Andie, you are such a nerd."
Renee flipped to the next lot of information. The financial records. Starting from October 20th, 1971, a constant amount of money was paid to Andie every month. Just enough to last those months, without being too much or too little. At the start of each year, her education was paid for by one Dorothy Price. The name sounded familiar. Renee did a quick math equation in her head.
"Must be her grandma," she mumbled. She then clicked her fingers. "Grandma Dot."
The name Andie had told Renee before she had met the woman. Renee had met her only a few times. A strict woman, who always had a neat appearance and an even neater household. She was one of the families from a long pureblood family line. The woman was scarier than Renee's own mother. Renee shuddered at the though of the last time she had met the woman, and the last thing that was said.
I forbid you from associating with this half-blood.
Renee shook her head, clearing her mind of the memory. It wouldn't do any good to think about that now. Another flip and she had reached the health section. Nothing overly exciting. Everything average as Andie grew up. And too much information for Renee's curiosity. The next lot was incidents and disciplinary actions. Renee's eyes widened at the size of this section.
"Whoa," she exclaimed. "What the hell?"
This section was bigger than all the others combined. Oh, she had to read through this. She didn't know Andie had this side of her. She would read it later. Maybe let Fred and George read through as a reward for helping her. She set it aside, reaching the final page.
Name: Andrea Grace Price
Date started: October 19, 1971
House: Ravenclaw
Emergency contact: Dorothy Price
Adress: 10 Rue de la Pompe, Manosque. 04100
Pet: Barred owl
Date graduated: June 27, 1977
Current address: 38 Heatherfield Glade, Livingston, West Lothian. Scotland
Renee perked up. This was exactly what she was looking for. She grabbed an empty piece of parchment, and a quill. She began to write.