Finding the Truth

“This is amazing.” Anna said in awe. Hermione had just led her into the most spectacular library Anna had ever been too. She would even go so far as to say the most amazing place Anna had ever been to in all her life. The library was so vast, she could barely make out the opposing wall on the other side, and there were multiple storeys of shelves filled with books to the brim. The very room itself seemed bursting at the seams with knowledge and Anna was eager to soak it all up.

They sat down together at the nearest table and Hermione asked, “So what do you need to look up?”

“Because if anyone can find what you need it’s probably Hermione.” Ron said, as he and
Harry sat down next to them. “The only one who knows this library better than her is probably Madam Pince herself.” Ron nodded to the very stern looking woman behind the desk used to check books out.

“Thank-you Ronald,” Hermione said in an aggravated tone.

Anna chuckled, “I really want to figure out who my parents are, who I am. Last night, the hat said that all the answers I am looking for are in my mind and that there are good people who will help me if I ask for it. So I guess what I am looking for is how to unlock the answers when I don’t know the right questions.” She explained.

“Let’s start with the simplest possibility,” Hermione said and Anna leaned forward with interest. “Have you asked your uncle?”

Anna scowled, “Yes, he said it wasn’t the time for him to tell me yet. I only found out a few days ago that he isn’t even my father, and until a few days ago he had never mentioned my mother.”

“Never?” Harry asked with disbelief.

“Never. I always assumed that her death was too painful for him. He said that she gave me too him to protect from my real uncle, which is the whole reason I’m here.” She said quickly.
Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“He received a letter from my mother’s brother that freaked him out and he decided he wanted to send me here since Hogwarts is the safest place he knows. Durmstrang is too far away, he couldn’t be sure that my uncle wouldn’t find me there.” Anna explained, she glanced at the clock, making a mental note to be aware of the time so she wouldn’t be late for Dumbledore.

“What’s his name?” Ron asked, his brown eyes looked at her with concern and she couldn’t help but compare him to Fred.

“I don’t know.” She said simply.

“Ok what’s your mother’s name?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know.” She said frustrated. “I wanted to send a letter to my uncle asking all these questions but I couldn’t find the right words. I didn’t want to hurt him,” Hermione looked at her, her eyes filled with sympathy. “He may have lied to me about my whole life but he did raise me. I didn’t want him to think I’m ungrateful.”

“Well, we’ll start with your last name, Prewett. We should be able to find something somewhere; if they are dead then we should be able to at least find an obituary.” Hermione said apologetically.

So they split up, and as the clock drew nearer to one o’clock they still hadn’t found anything.

“Well, guys, I have to go meet Dumbledore to pick my classes, perhaps we should pick this up another day.” Anna said wearily. She picked up her History of Magic textbook and put it back in her bag, she intended to read it later.

“Do you mind if we come along?” Hermione asked timidly.

“Of course not, you can help me choose.” She said as they made their way down the corridors. “I’d like to take some advanced courses, my uncle started teaching me magic when I was five so I have the basics down pretty well.”

“What did you use for a wand?” Hermione asked.

“He let me use his, it didn’t work as well for me and mine does. I’d never go back to his after having mine.” She explained as they stopped in front of the gargoyle statue, “Acid pops.”

“Well, the wand does choose the wizard.” Harry said with a smile as they hopped onto the winding staircase.

Anna chuckled, “What does that mean?”

“Just something someone said to me once.” He explained; his eyes shone as he said it.

She knocked on the door to the office and the door opened of its own accord. Anna and the trio walked into Dumbledore’s office to see him sitting behind his desk. “Welcome, children, please have a seat.” With a wave of his wand, he summoned two more chairs and they all sat down in them. “Making friends, I see.” He smiled at Anna.

“Yes sir, and some enemies too I’m afraid.” She said grimly.

“The Malfoy boy means well, he’s just doing what he’s been ordered too.” Albus said wisely.

“I’m perfectly able to take care of myself sir.” She said indignantly.

“I have no doubt. I do wonder though; have you ever met Draco before yesterday Ms.Prewett?” Albus asked, peering at her from behind his half-moon glasses. His robes were the colour of the afternoon, summer’s sky.

“No, sir.”

“So I wonder if perhaps your caregiver is close to the Malfoy family.” He asked, with genuine interest.

“He’s never mentioned them but we’ve never really talked about his work, he says that when he’s at work he wants to think about work and when he’s at home it’s a place for relaxation and peace.” Anna explained. “Maybe I’ll ask in the letter I’m going to write.”

Dumbledore perked up, “Which letter?”

“I haven’t written it yet, I want to word it right. I don’t want him to think I’m ungrateful even if I am a little steamed at his lies.” She said.

“Anna, you have a right to lose it at him.” Ron said she turned to look beside her at him; the look in his eyes was puzzling to her. Like he was angry at her for not being more upset with a man he had never met.

“Ron-“Hermione started, but he cut her off.

“No, this isn’t right, he lied to you, and he is still lying. You can’t sit there and me it’s not true.” She just stared at him, completely confused. “You have no idea who you are, or where you came from. Doesn’t that make you angry at all?”

She turned her head and looked at Dumbledore, he smile gently back at her, “You think I’m not angry, Ronald.” She turned her cold, hard stare back to him. “What if you woke up one day your mother said oh Ron, guess what you’re not really our kid. You are just some ginger kid we adopted and we were just praying you’d fit in with the others. Oh and by the way I know who your parents are but just for the fun of it, we’re not going to tell you.” She got up from her chair and stood into front of him as her voice got louder. “But no, I can tell by your friends and your brothers seem like really good people, that your mother has always loved you. Your life isn’t a lie Ronald Weasley, so why are you sitting there getting angry at me. You can’t even comprehend the amount of anger I have been feeling for the last few days. If I saw his face right now I would punch him so hard in the face, it would make his ass a hat!” She was yelling at him now, and it felt so good to let some of the anger out that she wanted to keep yelling but the look in his eyes stopped her.

“I’m sorry Ron; I don’t know what came over me.” She sat down quickly and turned back to Dumbledore. “Can we choose my classes now?” She asked wearily and noticed for the first time the glass that littered the floor. In her anger she had lost control and shattered the overhead windows, and as she stared at them, a flash of familiarity crossed over her mind.

She met Dumbledore’s eyes in shame and apologized, she couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling this had happened before as she watched him wordlessly fix the windows. She was woken from her daze by Hermione shaking her shoulder, “Anna, are you alright?”

“I think it’s too soon to tell,” she said quietly. “I’d like to take some advanced classes.” She tried to get them back on the whole reason she was there.

Dumbledore silently took out a sheet of paper, “I would recommend Care of Magical
Creatures, Hagrid said you might like that.”

She nodded, quickly, “I like him, he seems really nice and I’d like to start advanced potions.” Her mind felt foggy and weak but she tried to stay on point.

“Professor Snape only takes the very best in his advanced classes but if you feel you’re up to the task I’m sure he’d love to have you. We also have defence against the dark arts, I believe they didn’t offer this class at you last school” She shook her head with a frown. “Will you want advanced charms and transfiguration as well?”

“Charms but not transfiguration, I had trouble with that one at Durmstrang.” She said regrettably.

“I also recommend Muggle Studies, would you like Ancient Ruins or Divination? History of magic and herbology are some that all our OWL students must take till next year.” Albus explained.

“Ok, I guess I’ll go with divination.” She smiled at him.

“Regrettably, all of our studies must take flying lessons,” She shook her head quickly and her skin paled. “But as I can see that I would be worried about you staying on the broom. I’ll just excuse you.” He smiled at her.

“Thank-you so much sir.” She said with genuine relief. Her eye’s burned with tears and the exhaustion from keeping them in made her want to sleep.

“Now that we have that all settled, would you excuse us Ms. Prewett I have a few things I need to discuss with these three.” He smiled gently at her.

She got up wearily, knowing full well they were going to talk about her but she couldn’t bring herself to care and walked out the door. As they heard her footsteps fade away, Hermione suddenly hit Ron hard on the arm, “Hey, what was that for!” He exclaimed.

“What was that about? That poor girl has been through enough without you throwing her pain back in her face. She was trying to cope, to help herself try and find the truth.” Hermione explained.

“Well, Hermione, I feel like if she keeps bottling up her anger like that she’s, not only, going to hurt herself but she could end up hurting other people. Did you see her explosion? She could give my mother a run for her money. I feel sorry for her future children.” Ron finished with a smile.

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but Dumbledore interjected, “I’m afraid, I have to agree with Mr. Weasley.” He said, quietly.

The expression on Ron’s face turned smug and Harry remained quiet, “You do?” Hermione asked, in shock, and added quickly, “Sir.”

“I do. Wizards who keep their anger in can turn volatile. That explosion of anger was probably the best thing for her at this point, the few windows she broke was probably the least bit of damage she could have done, and I’m assuming it was the look in your eyes, Mr. Weasley, that made her draw her anger in.” Dumbledore hesitated. “And I think it’s a good sign that she was able to keep from hurting you.”

Harry broke the ominous silence that followed, “What do you mean sir?”

“Everything I tell you from this moment on is to remain between the four of us.” Dumbledore said sternly, and as they nodded, he continued, “Ms. Prewett is without a doubt, probably the most dangerous person here and the story of her life is a complicated one.”

Harry leaned forward with interest, and his green eyes widened with shock, “Professor, how is it that she knows nothing of her life, but you do?” He asked, carefully.

“When she was an infant, after her father died during the first war, her mother was being pursued by Voldemort. It’s unsure, till after her death, whether he was after her or her mother, but her mother knew Voldemort’s plan so she left her daughter, Katie, with a friend.
Then, about a year after Enid left her daughter, she was stolen from her friend by a few deatheaters and a werewolf by the name of Fenrir Greyback.” Dumbledore finished quietly.

The trio sat quietly in shock, “So you think Anna is Katie?” Harry asked, with awe radiating in his voice.

“I think it is a definitely a possibility.” Dumbledore leaned back in his chair.

“So what happened after the death eaters took her?” Ron asked.

“I can only speculate but I assume he isolated her away from the world so no one would find out about her and sent her to Durmstrang because the headmaster is an old friend.” He said smiling with a twinkle in his eye.

“But Professor, why now? He could have kept lying to her for the rest of her life but he chose to send her here knowing full well he’d have to tell her the truth and what makes her any more dangerous than Malfoy or any of the other Syltherin’s?” Harry asked.

“Has she said anything about why she was sent here?” Dumbledore asked, curiously.

“She said the man who she thought was her father sent her here because her mother’s brother sent him a letter that freaked him out. He wanted her to be closer this year because her uncle is a dangerous man.” Hermione explained. “Her ‘father’ said that he sent her here because it was the safest place he knows.”

Dumbledore’s eyes softened, “If this is the same girl, then the man who raised her isn’t wrong, her uncle is a dangerous man, and moving her here was the best thing for her.”

“Who is her uncle, Professor?” Ron asked.

“Before Enid Prewett got married, her maiden name was Pettigrew.” Dumbledore explained, gently.

Harry’s eyes suddenly turned cold and hard as emerald’s, “As in Peter Pettigrew!” Harry bellowed.