Unforgivable Love.

Chapter 3: Nothing Is What It Seems.

     Dumbledore motioned me to sit down in a dusty chair beside of his desk. There were multiple stacks of books around his chair and on his desk. The room looked as if it had been around for centuries, (it actually was) and he could use some remodeling. A small portion of his office resembled a library with a desk right in the center of the room. Behind his desk were two stair cases leading to one point, holding more books. I could spend a lifetime in there and never finish all of the books he had, but then again, I don't read many historical books. On the outer part of his office were portraits of every headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. I thought that was cool. Lucius was standing in a corner with a shadow cast upon half of his face. He looked very creepy. I guess it was a Malfoy thing, only Draco made it look nice...in a weird kind of way. He was looking at me the entire time until Dumbledore broke the silence.

"Miss Bodford, my sincerest apologies. I never expected something like this to happen to your father." said Dumbledore folding his hands over his stomach. Just as he said that last part Lucius shifted and looked down at his shoes. His expression went from annoyed to uncomfortable. He looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but there right at that moment. This made me feel very uneasy. More than I already was. 

"Renai, I uh-" Lucius began. "I don't know if you were ever aware, but your father and I-" He cleared his throat as I shifted in my chair. "we were actually very close friends. He helped me every time I needed it, and I tried-" he suddenly stopped. Dumbledore was pretending to read a book. I looked up at Lucius and whispered "Go on. Please, tell me what happened!" He rubbed his forehead then began again.

"I tried to convince...You-Know-Who...but sometimes...sometimes he cannot be persuaded. You see, Volde-" I winced and Lucius apologized.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is very persistent." He stopped again. I swear I seen tears build up in his eyes, but he blinked them away. I don't know what happened but i knew it was something big. I felt tears streaming down my face because now I didn't even know if my father was alive. You never know what happens when the dark lord is involved, but it was usually death.

"Pl-please tell me he's alive. Please. My mother is already gone and I don't know what I would do if he was gone too." I said as I tried to control my tears. They were streaming at a steady pace now, leaving black trails of mascara down my cheeks. It was silent for a long while and I knew what he was going to say.

"Renai, I'm sorry. I'm so...so sorry." I saw a tear escape from his eye, and I thought I was hallucinating. I didn't know Lucius Malfoy very well, but I knew he didn't cry.

"Your father was a great man, Renai." he said as he quickly left the room. The door slammed and it made me jump. I sat there crying for at least three minutes or so before Dumbledore walked over to me. He placed his hand on my shoulder and handed me a letter. I opened it and it started speaking.

"It's in parseltongue. I don't fully understand it, and I'm sure no one here, except Harry, knows how to speak it." said Dumbledore.

"What are you talking about, Dumbledore? It sounded like english...what is parseltongue?" I was so confused. I have never heard of parseltongue, and I don't think I wanted to. It sounded...a bit dangerous. Dumbledore looked at me weirdly. He shook his head and began to whisper.

"You...you understood what it said?" He looked away fast and put both hands up to his face. He stood there for a minute and the spoke again. "How is it that you don't know what parseltounge is? Your parents never brought it up? You never heard about it here. Never? You know it's serpent language, right?"

"Sorry sir, but no...I haven't and I don't. Is it...is it bad?" I was so worried. Not only was my father dead, but he kept this...this language from me. Why would he do that? We told each other everything. Or so I thought. He didn't even tell me he knew the Malfoys, let alone that he was their friend! What about my mother? Did she know the Malfoys? Did she know about parseltongue? Of course she did. Apparently everyone did. Except me. Why is it that everyone always knew things before I did. Why is it that no one ever told me anything useful. I decided to take the letter with me and look it over while I was alone.