Dumbledore

Late at night, fragile emotions were more likely to take root, and romantic tension often took the opportunity to change into something more.

But they were still half a year shy of thirteen, and Rose thought that even if kids their age secretly found someone of the opposite sex particularly noticeable, they would rarely connect it with the idea of "dating."

So she was perfectly comfortable with having spent an entire night with Sirius Black-all she had to do was imagine she was James or Remus.

When Sirius heard what she thought, he looked as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself. After a long silence, he nodded and praised her extraordinary wisdom.

Over the next two days, Madam Pomfrey announced that Rose needed another two days of observation before she could leave, so Sirius stayed only for a little while during the day and hurried back to the common room as soon as it got dark.

After dinner, Rose leaned against her headboard, fiddling with the Christmas present Marlene had sent her—a beautiful peacock-blue quill. Marlene had written that it came from a male macaw and that she had found it in a parcel from a great-aunt who had lived in Peru for many years.

"A beautiful quill-"

Rose looked up. It was Dumbledore, standing at the entrance to the Hospital Wing, his wise blue eyes studying the quill in her hand through his half-moon spectacles.

"Professor-Professor Dumbledore." Rose put down the quill, a little flustered, and tried to sit up in bed.

"Good evening, Miss Claude." Dumbledore smiled and waved his hand several times, signaling for her not to worry. He sat down on the little stool Sirius had placed beside the bed, his wizard's robes, studded with sparkling blue stars, trailing on the floor. "I have a quill just as beautiful. It came from an old friend of mine-" he said, his tone reminiscent.

"Professor Dumbledore, you're here to ask me about the Diadem, aren't you?" Rose wanted to get to the point quickly. Professor Dumbledore always liked to be a little secretive, and although his words were often illuminating, she was still more accustomed to being direct.

"Quite clever, Rose—I had thought this was merely a case of two mischievous students stumbling upon a diadem lost for centuries, but your reaction tells me that it seems not to be so. Extraordinary intelligence is humanity's greatest treasure, Rose. Perhaps the Sorting Hat considered putting you in Ravenclaw.

"Professor-" Rose felt sure he had discovered something from the Diadem. Perhaps Dumbledore had discovered Voldemort's greatest secret twenty years early.

"Extraordinary intelligence is a double-edged sword, Rose," Dumbledore said quietly. "Decades ago, I taught an outstanding student. He was learned and talented, with exceptional gifts-yes, very, very clever." A dim light reflected off his spectacles, and the eyes behind the lenses studied her sharply. "But he went down a path none of us wished to see him take, and that grieved me deeply."

Rose knew he was talking about Tom Riddle, Voldemort himself. The Diadem had drawn Dumbledore's attention to her, to this girl who shared Voldemort's origins. They both came from orphanages, their parents were unknown, and their identities were suspicious. But unlike him, Rose had been sorted into Gryffindor House, and in over a year at school, she had shown no extraordinary gifts-yet Dumbledore felt she still needed to be tested.

As the greatest white wizard of the century, Dumbledore possessed tremendous insight and absolute, formidable power. Now he sat beside Rose's bed, his blue eyes gentle yet imposing. Meeting his gaze, Rose felt as though he could see everything in her heart.

"I don't know what to say, Professor." Rose was stiff all over, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. She had a faint sense that she was facing a momentous choice: tell him the truth or conceal everything.

One voice in her head urged her on urgently: Who could be more dependable and trustworthy than Dumbledore? Another voice was faint but sharp: What if he can't do it either? What if fate can't be changed or defied?

"Perhaps you could use Legilimency on me-" Rose murmured in a very quiet voice. She seemed to have made an enormous decision, and tiny beads of sweat covered her forehead.

"I will not use Legilimency on a student, Rose," Dumbledore said gently. His calm, accepting voice gradually soothed her. "I believe in you. It is a person's choices that determine his fate-when you feel the time is right, I'm sure you'll be willing to tell me everything."

"Yes, sir." Rose nodded. Perhaps she had missed the best chance to confess, but she still did not have enough courage to reveal everything. Guilt forced her to lower her head.

"When I'm feeling down, I always want something sweet," Dumbledore said brightly. "Poppy says I mustn't eat any more, but everyone makes mistakes, don't they?" He winked playfully at Rose, pulled a large handful of chocolate balls and a few Ice Mice from his pocket, and placed them on the empty tray beside her bed. "Sweet dreams."

Only after the hem of his robes disappeared through the doorway did Rose pick up an Ice Mouse and put it in her mouth. Her teeth chattered and squeaked, and Madam Pomfrey came rushing over, thinking mice had got into the Hospital Wing.

Rose could only pull the covers over her face and pretend to be fast asleep. Before she knew it, she really did drift off.

Rose spent half her Christmas holiday in the Hospital Wing. At last, on the day before classes resumed, Madam Pomfrey announced that she could leave.

Back in the common room, Rose received concerned inquiries about her health from Lily and Marlene, who had just returned to school.

"We heard all about it," Lily said, looking both pleased and worried. "You earned the house a hundred points!"

"It wasn't just me. Sirius did too," Rose corrected her, but Lily did not seem interested in Black's part in it at all.

"And we heard you found the Diadem for Ravenclaw!" Marlene said excitedly. That seemed to thrill her even more than the hundred points for their house. "The Ravenclaws are overjoyed. They're even telling everyone that you originally wanted to join Ravenclaw House, but the Sorting Hat insisted on putting you in Gryffindor-Potter and the others even got into an argument with them over it."

Early the next morning, several girls who had all overslept hurried to the Great Hall for breakfast and ran into Edgar Bones, who was just about to leave.

As soon as he and his friends saw Rose, they looked at her with anticipation and admiration.

"Everyone says you can find Hufflepuff's Cup!"

"Do you know where it is? Do you need Divination?"

"What kind of Divination would you use? A crystal ball or tea leaves?"

They fired questions at her all at once, and in the end they nearly came to blows arguing over which method of Divination Rose would choose.

Marlene took the opportunity to pull Rose away. At the Gryffindor table, they had time for only a few hurried bites of mashed potatoes and pan-fried bacon.

"Merlin—the Hufflepuffs' enthusiasm is really something to handle!" Marlene said, still shaken.

"They really are adorable," Rose said with a smile. She was quite fond of Hufflepuff.