t o u c h

t e n

"Ten minutes," Professor Dumbledore's voice rang through the Great Hall as time counted down to the end of the O.W.Ls.

Alexandra closed her quill in her booklet as instructed, and handed it to the professor before walking out of the Great Hall. She was unable to look him in the eyes after what he had told her. She hasn't been able to look anyone in the eyes recently. If she did, she would start crying.

Without the time turner, there was no way Alexandra could return home. She was as good as dead here now.

"Alexandra," she heard echo throughout the empty corridors. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard the voice so familiar yet so foreign to her.

"Mum?"

Tom peeked around the corner, waiting for her to walk far ahead before he began following her. His plan had worked. If he played his cards correctly, everything he needed to know about Alexandra would be revealed.

"Come find me, Alexandra," her mother's voice echoed once more. Alexandra recognized the carvings on the wall as she stood in front of where the Room of Requirement revealed itself. The door opened, and she entered, but the door closed before Tom could follow her in. He cursed to himself, knowing he would not be able to find her without knowing what she most desired.

It turned out, she desired the exact same thing he did: answers.

Unsuccessful and frustrated, Tom pounded on the wall. He had never seen the door seal so rapidly before. He wondered if the room simply did not want him in it, and he was curious to know why.

Meanwhile, Alexandra continued following the voice until she approached a table. Sitting on the table was a glass ball similar to the ones both Dumbledore and her divination professor had shown her recently. As she got closer to the ball, the voice she heard got louder yet less coherent. Although the glare of the light above her made it hard to see, she noticed a small inscription on the metal object that held the sphere in place. It was her name. Wrapping her hands around the glowing sphere, it was as if she was taken into another world once again.

"She is the perfect pawn, professor," Dumbledore stated, looking at the small child sitting in the window of her small home.

"She's just a girl, headmaster," Snape replied.

"Yes, but she is also the answer we need to stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Severus, I would not take these actions unless they were entirely necessary," Dumbledore defended, knocking on the wooden door in front of him. "Mr. and Mrs. River, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I would like to speak with your daughter if you would allow."

"And you?" Mrs. River asked, nodding towards Snape.

"Professor Snape," Snape introduced.

"One of my greatest professors, might I add," Dumbledore added with a twinkle in his eye as he smiled. The River's were reluctant at first, but they allowed the two wizards into their home.

"Alexandra! You have visitors!" Mr. River called into a room around the corner from where they were standing. The sound of small, excited footsteps filled the room as Alexandra ran into the room holding a white teddy bear. She was only eight.

Alexandra willingly followed Snape into the kitchen as Dumbledore distracted her parents with one of his many off-topic conversations. As Alexandra sat at the kitchen table, Snape placed multiple items in front of her.

A red book, a black journal, a green and silver tie, a quill, what looked like a compass, a chocolate frog, a lollipop, and a vile of a bright pink liquid.

"Pick four items that appeal to you, Miss River. Take as much time as you need."

Snapes posture tightened as he watched Alexandra pick the black journal, green and silver tie, time turner, and love potion with no hesitation.

"Did I do good?" She asked when she noticed the professor's silence. He nodded slowly.

"Yes, you did very well," Snape smiled, making eye contact with the headmaster in the other room. Time seemed to freeze as Alexandra's head felt fuzzy. She watched as all pictures of her faded away, and pictures of her family became pictures of her parents alone. All of her toys and clothes disappeared into a number of suitcases, and her parents walked into their room with no acknowledgement of what was occuring around them. Confused, Alexandra squeezed her white teddy bear like her life depended on it. A blue light flashed towards her, and a sequence of events began playing in her head; none of which she recognized. The most prominent one was of two men in black cloaks entering her house. She heard a distant scream, saw a bright green light shine through the door of her parents' room, and then it was silent. Her parents had been murdered.

The vision moved ahead to the moment Alexandra moved in with the Malfoys, and then once again to when she was forced to leave the manor as a result of her house placement. Finally, she was in Snape's office.

"I'm sure you understand the effects of this love potion, am I correct?" He asked. Alexandra nodded. "Those conceived under the effects of a love potion-"

"Are unable to love. I'm aware, professor."

"Are you aware that you, Miss River, were conceived under the effects of a love potion?" Snape kept a straight face as he explained the scenario to Alexandra, but it was evident in the slightest twitch of his lip that he was uneasy. Having experienced love himself and having it ripped away from him so recently he felt guilty taking the possibility of love from someone else, especially a child.

"Everyone can love, professor," her small voice rang in an echo. "If you believe in love enough, anything is possible. That's what my parents always said."

Alexandra backed away from what she assumed was her prophecy, angry and upset. She had just learned that her entire life was a lie. Everything she thought was real was just a fake memory planted in her head by Dumbledore so she could become the girl he wanted her to be. She was his puppet, and he was her master.

"Is something troubling you?"

Alexandra's head whipped around to see exactly who she didn't want to see. She felt a pounding in her head, and glared at the boy in front of her.

"Stop trying to read my mind, Tom. You've been trying for weeks. Maybe it's time to give up," Alexandra fought, crossing her arms. "Wait, how did you-"

"What did you see?" He asked. "That's a prophecy. What did it say?"

"Did Dumbledore tell you that you were conceived under a love potion, or did you find out yourself?" Alexandra asked, changing the subject. Tom furrowed his eyebrows. Ignoring her question, he began walking towards what he also imagined was her prophecy. Alexandra grabbed his arm in an attempt to stop him, and the stinging feeling ran through his arm once more. Only this time, he didn't push her away.

"Dumbledore told me," he answered. Much to his dismay, she pulled away from him.

Taking the glass ball in her hands, she threw it against the wall behind her. Tom looked at the sphere with a straight face as it shattered, but he was angry. That could have very well contained the information he was looking for.

"Why would he lie?" She asked angrily. "Why attempt to take the possibility of love away from us?"

Deep in thought, Tom asked himself the same question.

"Perhaps love is more powerful than we once thought."