Betrayed [Harry Potter]

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter 18:  Dark Revelations

Bella's Point of View

Only a few days have passed since we've arrived at Hogwarts. Britta and I were walking out of potions laughing over something horribly funny. I was so thrilled we had potions with the Gryffindors, because Snape despised them. It was so amusing to see his reactions to their potions. Ginny Weasley was in my class. I snuck a small wave to her without Britta noticing. She warned me to avoid Gryffindors at all cost. I was in no position to upset my new friends. "You're a genius!" I said between my laughs.

"Tell me something I don't know," she said with a proud laugh. Britta dropped ten servings of rat claw into Collin Creevey's cauldron which caused an amazing explosion on the Gryffindor section. They will be picking green sludge out of their hair for months. "So what do you want to do?" she asked me. "We have our free period now."

"I don't..." I admitted sadly. On my schedule it said I had a private study with Snape, but he told me at the beginning of class that I have to visit Dumbledore. I had a feeling it had to do with my grandparents... "I have to go see Dumbledore." They better not be sending me home. I was already having the time of my life here.

"What would you need to ask him?" she said disgusted. She clearly didn't like Dumbledore. She actually has told me eight times already today.

"He wants to see me...surely it's nothing," I said to her. I finally told her the other night that I didn't know my parents growing up. I admitted that I only knew about them. I confessed my mother was dead and that my father was in Azkaban. That part caused her to look extremely shocked. I then told her how badly I wanted to know more about them, considering my grandparents decided to lie and hide everything from me. Britta said she would help me out the best she could. I knew she would try to find things out about them. I haven't asked too many people. I knew my father's last name was Lestrange, but I was afraid to bring it up to most people. My grandparents and even the sorting hat warned me it was an infamous name.

"Alright, I'll meet you back at the common room then," Britta said and walked off with other classmates.

I found Dumbledore's office and muttered the password Snape had told me to say. I was running late. I had a hard time finding it. I stepped into the staircase that had a statue of a Phoenix, a creature I saw in a book, in the middle. Quickly, I touched my family necklace I've worn since birth. I've always thought of it as a good luck charm. Then I tucked it deep beneath my robes. I opened the hardwood door and stepped inside. "Professor Dumbledore?" I called. I noticed a real red Phoenix was sitting in the room. It was incredible, and so rare! I pet its head and then looked around for Dumbledore. I never thought I'd get to see one in person. It was beautiful.

"Ms. Stone," he greeted me kindly coming down from his balcony. "How nice to see you." I smiled and nodded. "I'm sure you know what brings you here," he said and gave me a knowing look.

"My grandparents," I stated quickly and Dumbledore nodded while giving me a look, but he still held a smile on his face. Honestly, I never thought I would have made it this far. 

"I admire you eagerness to come here Ms. Stone, but I think you should have at least left a note of where you were going," Dumbledore said to me and I nodded. Well, it should have been obvious to my Grandparents where I was going. I only asked them a million times to let me go to Hogwarts.

"They were dead set on not letting me go...and I just had to come here...sir," I said to him, hoping he wouldn't send me home. My heart was aching already. I could feel the tears begin to burn from behind my eyes. There was no way...I wasn't leaving.

"I talked to your grandfather, and after explaining to him that you would be completely safe here and that you seemed to settle in very well, he agreed to let you say." My face lit up in excitement. So I wasn't being sent home! "Though he feared a bit after finding out you were in Slytherin and he really wants to talk with you. So he has asked if you could please owl him." I smiled and nodded. I wasn't being sent home. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening." Dumbledore said and nodded a good by before turning around. Might as well use this time wisely.