𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 | 𝐜𝐨𝐝

42. albeforth dumbledore.

So the four Apparated to Hogsmeade, since they couldn't directly appear at Hogwarts. The plan was to find someway into the school.

Instantly after they had appeared, Death Eaters surrounding the area began to yell out Harry's name.

"They must've put a spell here or something to let them know if Harry was here." Addy whispered as they hid behind a wall.

"Lets release the dementors!" a Death Eater called. Sure enough, a dementor came in their direction.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry cried. His Patronus emerged and protected them from the dementors.

Unfortunately, the Death Eaters noticed this.

"Potter's here, under his cloak. Search quickly!" footsteps were approaching them.

Before the four could be found, an old man quickly motioned for them to follow him inside a building. It was dark inside as they were led down a staircase. Addy nearly tripped over a box on the floor, but Harry had quickly caught her by the waist. She remembered how this happened back at the Quidditch World Cup, years ago. It was like they came in a circle. Sort of.

"Thanks." she whispered, slightly flushing from his touch. He nodded.

They made it down the stairs and into a small room.

"You were the one that sent Dobby to us at the Malfoy Manor!" Harry exclaimed, looking at the man. Addy noticed that he looked really familiar.

"My name is Albeforth Dumbledore." he said laying out a plate of food that Ron quickly grabbed.

"You're Dumbledore's brother!" Addy remembered reading about him in Rita Skeeter's book that they had took from Bathilda Bagshot's house.

"What about it?" Albeforth snapped as he turned on the fireplace.

"You also had a sister named Ariana, who died. Didn't she?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Yes, several Muggle boys had spotted her doing magic at a young age. They did something to her, I don't know what. She wasn't the same again. She was never able to control her own magic."

Addy, Hermione, Ron, and Harry all listened intently.

"Albus had an arrogant friend, Grindewald. The two would always spend time alone in their greatness." Albeforth grumbled, "He had a plan to leave our family to go and take on the world with him."

"How did your mother die, if you don't mind me asking sir?" Addy asked.

Albeforth answered, "Ariana was in one of her rages. My mother wasn't as young as she used to be, and she killed her."

"I-I'm sorry sir." Addy felt guilty for bringing it up, but he continued.

"My brother no longer continued with his plan to leave with Grindewald, who became angry. Albus needed to stay home with his family, but he didn't want him to.:

Albeforth kept his gaze on the fire, "Me, Albus, and Grindewald were fighting. Ariana, bless her heart, wanted to help. I don't know who did it, but she was dead moments later."

Hermione gasped and threw her hand over her mouth.

Addy already figured Dumbledore's childhood may not be the best, but hearing Albeforth's story only intensified it. She shared apprehensive looks with Ron and Harry.

The five were silent, staring into the fire.

"Sir, we have to get to Hogwarts." Harry spoke up after a while.

"No, it's too dangerous." Albeforth snapped, "I'll sneak you out of here in the morning and you can go live up in the mountains. That's where Hagrid is right now. Anyone is kidding themselves if they think we're going to win this war!"

"Dumbledore left us to do something." Harry continued, "If you're not going to help us, then we'll just be on our way."

Albeforth sighed. He then turned to a portrait and nodded his head towards it, "You know what to do."

The woman in the portrait nodded and disappeared as she walked away.

"Who's that?" Ron asked, "Is she-"

"Ariana." Albeforth finished, "My sister."

"Where is she going?" Hermione motioned to the portrait.

"Be patient, she's coming back." Albeforth said.

The four watched as Ariana soon appeared again.

"I think someone's with her!" Addy and the others could see someone trailing behind Ariana.

The portrait door swung open. Neville Longbottom was standing there, looking beat up but glad to see them. He looked older than he was when they last saw him.

"Neville!" Addy exclaimed and went to hug her friend. She pulled away and noticed that he was sporting a black eye.

"What happened to you?" Ron grinned, shaking Neville's hand.

"It was the Carrows, brother and sister." he grinned back and led the four into the portrait.

"Thank you." Harry had stopped to say goodbye to Albeforth who was watching them leave. He gave them a curt nod and disappeared as the portrait door closed.

"Is it true you guys broke into Gringotts's? And rode a dragon?" Neville asked as they hiked.

"Yeah, we let it go though, but Hermione was all for keeping it a pet-"

"Don't exaggerate Ron!" Hermione muttered, but even she couldn't keep a grin off of her face.

"People have been saying that you guys have been on the run. I think it's more than that though. You're trying to stop You-Know-Who, aren't you?"

"You're right, but tell us about Hogwarts, Neville. We haven't heard anything." Harry said.

"It's not that bad with Snape. We rarely ever see him. Addy would get into so many detentions if she were here."

"Probably." she smirked. She may not be the troublemaker of the school, but she had a good reputation for gaining detentions for giving Snape sass or hexing Draco.

"What were you saying about the Carrows again?" Ron asked.

"Like I said, they're brother and sister. They're in charge of the punishments. I got this one," Neville motioned to his black eye, "For refusing to use the Cruciatus Curse on a first year."

"Hogwarts really has changed." Addy shook her head, "Are we even going there?

"You'll see." Neville grinned. They finally reached the end of the portrait hole, "This was where Harry kissed Cho Chang, just to warn you."

She glanced over at Harry who was flushing embarrassedly. He shot her a weak apologetic smile, but knowingly.

Neville was taking them to the Room of Requirement.

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