Gone Awry

After a few minutes of running and stumbling and falling down the corridors, a couple of stair and into a few doors, a dishevelled looking Ash reached a Gargoyle statue. Panting she stood in front of it, dumbstruck. She didn't know the password...

"Lemon Soda," a calm voice suddenly appeared from behind her, and she quickly turned to see Dumbledore stand behind her. Just slightly behind him she saw Harry look at her, just as confused she was by his being here, but that was unimportant right now.

"Professor! I need to talk to you," she panted, looking at Dumbledore with big watery eyes.

"Harry, please come back in an hour or so, will you?" Dumbledore asked softly, only turning his head by a small degree, never leaving Ash out off his sight.

"But Pro-" Harry started, looking at her in concern.

"Harry, please," Dumbledore interrupted him, leaving Harry a bit dumb folded.

"Alright," Harry said, giving Ash one last glance of concern and confusion before turning around and walking away.

"Now, Miss. Weasley. If you please?" he said and pointed at the Gargoyle that was slowly spiralling upwards. Quickly Ash followed his lead began ascending the stairs to the Headmasters office. When they reached the top of the stairs, they passed through a small door in front of them and walked into a large tall circular room with many windows and many portraits of -what she assumed too be - old headmasters and headmistresses. The portrait right above the door being the largest and showing a thin man with a shortish white beard and friendly eyes. Under the portrait it said Armando Dippet.

Armando Dippet? asked herself before she remembered where she had seen his face before. He had a Chocolate Frog card. He had been the former Headmaster of Hogwarts and Rita Skeeter had once written an Biography of him... "Armando Dipper: Master or Moron?" it had been a very amusing read.

While Dumbledore walked up to his desk and sat down, Ash awed at the room a bit more. The office hosted to a number of spindly tables upon which were set delicate looking silver instruments that whirred and emitted small puffs of smoke, as well as an incredible collection of books, which Ash couldn't help but want to read. Also there was a cabinet that was open just a bit and let a Pensieve and a couple of memory jars shine through.

Lastly she turned to look at the headmasters table and jump a bit when she saw a bird burst into flames.

"Don't worry about Fawkes, he's a phoenix."

"Fascinating creatures," Ash said quietly as she went over to the ashes and saw a small newly born bird appear before her.

"Yes are they not?" Dumbledore said with a small smile playing on his lips as he softly stroked the birds head. "Now Miss. Weasley, why are you here?"

Ash stiffened a bit as she remembered why she had come to his office. "I didn't know whom I could turn too," she said honestly. "Normally I would ask Professor Snape for his advice, but I am afraid that he is part of the reason I needed to talk to you."

"I understand," the headmaster said quietly, before gesturing for her to take a seat. "Please, tell me what happened."

A bit uncertain Ash took one last slow look around the office - avoiding looking at Dumbledore. Then, taking a deep breath, Ash said, "I don't know where to begin."

"The start would be helpful," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.

"Well I guess you know that me and Draco - Draco Malfoy - had a relationship."

"Yes, I was aware."

"Well, I cut the ties."

"Because he had an affair with Miss. Parkinson," Dumbledore recounted.

"Your well informed," Ash said with a small smile. "Well, but that wasn't the only reason. But you must promise me that you won't tell anyone about it, nor that it will give him any trouble!" Ash said quickly, glancing up at the older man and seeing him nod in agreement before continuing. "He'saDeathEater," she said quickly.

"What did you just say?" Dumbledore said friendly.

"He's a Death Eater," Ash repeated slower this time.

"Alright. Continue."

Confused at his lack of offence Ash frowned but continued anyway, she was used to her headmaster being weird. "Anyhow, I couldn't be together with him any more after I learned that. So yeah we split up and well, lived our lives again... But back why I'm here. This morning I meet Draco in the common room and he looks really bad and behaved weirdly, so I decided to follow him. He went straight to Professor Snapes office and I ... casually listened to the conversation." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the description of her eaves-dropping, but he didn't interrupt her. "Well... He said something that concerned me. Something to do with me. He said that I wasn't supposed to remember. That Snape promised him that I would not remember him being a Death Eater and they were always talking about 'that night'... I have no idea what that's supposed to mean..."

"So you want me to check if someone messed with your head?"

Ash stayed quiet, just looking at the headmaster confused. "I ... I don't know... No. No, I don't think I want to know what they made me forget," Ash finally spoke, confused at her own words. "Is that weird?"

"No, not really. You have learned to trust those two over the last year. Now you probably think that they must have a good reason for them to make you forget. Especially because you and I know that Professor Snape would never hurt you- never would do something like this to you if it wasn't for our own well being," he said in his soft voice.

"But.. I mean it must be something important! Maybe I figured out why Draco became a Death Eater or what Voldemort is making him do... What if that information that they hid in my head somewhere is important... What if it can save some ones life or stop Voldemort from regaining power?" Ash asked getting paranoid, eyes wide.

"Do you really think they would do that?"

"Their Death Eaters, aren't they?"

"Severus was a Death Eater once, that is correct. But you know that he's in the Order now."

Ash's eyes snapped up, "you know what they did! You know what memory they manipulated and shoved into my subconscious," she whispered and slowly got off her chair, pushing it between them.

"Miss. Weasley... Ash don't be like that. You know I would never hurt one of my students," he said calmly and motioned her to sit again. "It is true that Severus did come to me a few weeks ago and told me about an incident with two of his students. Although he did not tell me who exactly it was because I told him not too."

"Do you know what happened?"

"Most of it. But trust me, its better off in you subconciousness."

Ash looked at the man before her in shock. Was it really that bad, that even Dumbledore told her not to try to regain it?

"Don't worry Ash, everything will be alright," he comforted her with his soft, warming voice that made her relax into the chair, nodding.

After a few minutes for the silence to settle, Ash broke it again. "Why was Harry here?"

Dumbledore smiled at her and accepted the change of topics. "He and I have a little project we're working on. Which reminds me, Harry and I need to carry on. Is there anything else that you want to talk to me about?"

"No, thank you professor," she said with a small smile and together they walked up to the door.

"No problem, if you ever have any concerns, please feel free to come to me, I will gladly help."

"Alright professor,"

"And Ash, don't be to hard on yourself or Draco for that matter, he's going through some troubling times," he said softly.

Confused Ash frowned at her headmaster and just before the reached the door another question jumped into her mind, making Ash look up at her Professor once again.

But all she received was that twinkling all-knowing smile of his as he opened the door for her and signalled a waiting Harry to enter his office. Just before he closed the door again, he nodded subtly and held up his finger to his mouth.

Once the door closed Ash was still staring, nodding to herself in slow motion.