This story is set in Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts when a new student (who will be in her fourth year) comes to Hogwarts. For the rest of the story, well just read ahead!

Disclaimer: I only own my original characters (which hopefully is going to be only one...), everything from the Harry Potter books comes from the wonderful JK Rowling.

Thank you to my fantastic Beta, Aubrey, who is playing "Super Beta" these days with both of my fics. My sincerest thanks to you!

Please, please remember when reading this that the story is taking place in Harry's fifth year.

On to the fic then!

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Prologue

Misunderstanding.
It was a word she had heard and thought about far too much. She dreaded that fact because misunderstanding causes confusion, confusion causes pain, pain causes hate, hate leads to reckless decisions. There were far too many reckless decisions in her life. Many, if not all of them, were not even of her doing. Other people had made choices for her that now controlled her life. Most of these decisions had been decided too quickly, through white-hot anger and fear. It seemed like fear and hatred controlled her. She loathed it. She despised it. Sometimes, she even loathed and despised herself. But not anymore, she was determined not to let anything control her. She was so determined to be accepted, to be appreciated, to be loved. Love, such a simple thing to have, but one thing she had never felt, but so desperately longed for. She had never had anyone to teach her what love, even joy, was like. All she had ever known was fear and hate of the world. She was taught fear of the people on this earth and what they could do. Fear of carelessness. Fear of haste. Fear of unacceptence. Fear of hate. Fear of limitation. Fear of hurting. Fear of misery. Fear of pain. Fear of hate. Fear of death.
Fear.
It ruled her, controlled her. Every thought, every action, every decision she ever made was based on fear. She dreaded it because she could not escape it. That required bravery. Bravery was a trait which she never possessed. She envied the other children who could come and go as they please, walk into the city without hesitation. She was so frightened to do so. So scared to venture outside of the place she knew as ‘home’. She was so unsure of what to expect, unsure of people, their choices, even herself.
She knew she had hit rock bottom. She knew that there was no way out. No one wanted to help her, no one cared. They no longer looked at her with pity or even scorn; they seemed to just look through her. But yet the light at the end of the tunnel would not extinguish. A new hope came to her, in the form of a simple letter. Rather, it was an invitation, the the only thing in her life that she could say she was truly proud of. This invitation asked her to come to a new school called Hogwarts. This school was for very special young children who possessed magical talent. She was a witch. She always knew that she was different. Always knew that there was something very unusual about her, but she never, ever thought it was paranormal. But yet. If she stared at something too hard, it would move. If she wanted something that was too far away, she could concentrate hard enough so that it would come to her. If other children started to bother her… No, that happened only once, it was a mistake.
Magic.
So this was what her unique, little talent was called. If she was so unique and special than why had no one bothered to take her out of the orphanage? Why had no one ever helped her? Why had they just left her alone to wallow in her self-pity? She had learned to live and accept isolation for what it was; It was a gift. It gave her time to think, time to refine her ability. She could practice her gift without others questioning her. No sideways glances or awkward stares. If isolation was an indefinite part of life, then why push it away when she could embrace it? It wasn’t all bad being alone. She had been this way since her birth. Her stupid, careless parents left her all alone. Her mother had given birth to her and left her at the orphanage. They didn’t care about her. In their eyes, she was worthless. She knew she wasn’t, at least not completely, if she was, then why did this Hogwarts send her an invitation? She would prove to her parents that they were wrong and show them what she could really do.

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Chapter One

Ardelle kept the letter under her mattress, the only place the other children would never think to look. She wasn’t sure how exactly she was going to ask Mrs. Cole, the matron of the orphanage, for the money to go to Hogwarts.

That wasn’t Ardelle’s only problem, how was she going to explain magic to Mrs. Cole? Didn’t most people see magic as simple card tricks or fantastic illusions? That is what Ardelle perceived magic to be for her entire life, but her magic was different. It was special, even extraordinary. No, a simple being like Mrs. Cole could never understand real magic. Her feeble mind could not possibly comprehend what real magic was. Still, Ardelle had to ask her; otherwise she’d never get out of this dump.

It took her over a month to work up the courage. She made a plan of exactly how she was going to do it.

One day, just before dinner time, Ardelle walked up the stairs to Mrs. Cole’s office. She paused at the door and took a deep, steadying breath before she tapped on the door three times. A voice from within the room called out “Yes? What is it?”

Ardelle opened the door and stepped inside. “Mrs. Cole? My name is-“

Mrs. Cole cut her off mid-sentence “Yes, child, I know who you are, I’m the one who pulled your mother off the street for Heaven’s sake.” She took a glass of crimson liquid and drank deeply before sitting down and gesturing Ardelle to do the same. “Hurry now, girl, I am a very busy women. What do you want?”

Ardelle walked sheepishly into the office and perched on the chair in front of the desk. She didn’t know how to begin, she started as best she could “Well, I… Umm…”
“Come now Ardelle! Hurry it up! I haven’t all day to listen to you babble.” Said Mrs. Cole.
Ardelle had lost the little self-confidence she had, she could not do this. “I, I, I, I got a umm… a umm…”

“A what?!”

“A letter.” Ardelle breathed a sigh of relief as she breathed the word. She smiled to herself for her courage. She took a chance from glaring at the floor and looked up at Mrs. Cole. Mrs. Cole would not look up from her paperwork. She did not seem the least bit concerned with Ardelle. Ardelle felt what little hope inside of her diminish completely.

Mrs. Cole still would not look up from her writing. “Well, it is not unusual for children to get notes from their biological parents. Is your mother well?”

Ardelle immediately looked up. No one had ever spoken about her parentage. “No,
Mrs. Cole, you misunderstand me. This letter is from a place called Hogwarts. It’s a school and they want me to attend.”

Mrs. Cole dropped her pen. "Hog- Hog- Hogwarts?!"

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Chapter Two

Mrs. Cole knew of it! Maybe there was hope of Ardelle going after all! "Yes ma'am!" Said Ardelle "Isn't that exciting?"

Mrs. Cole stood up and walked around her desk, standing in front of Ardelle. "Who gave you this letter?"

"From the new helper.... I think Katie is her name."

Mrs. Cole looked at her sternly for a moment before saying "I will have to remember to fire this Katie."

Ardelle stood up, taken aback by bewilderment and anger. "Why? Katie is the nicest helper we've ever had here and you are going to fire her over a letter?" Ardelle felt an incredible hatred swell up inside her. Katie was the only person who had ever continuously spoken to her. Katie had always comforted Ardelle when the other kids laughed at her. She felt like hitting Mrs. Cole for even considering to fire Katie over something as stupid as a letter.

The glass on Mrs. Cole's desk suddenly shattered.

Mrs. Cole did not even flinch when it exploded. "Look, I know that it is very hard for you to understand, but which I take on any new staff I tell them that if they ever get mailed delivered to you by owl, they are to ignore it. She did not listen to me. I've been telling all my staff members this for three years, ever since we got your first letter."

Ardelle felt the need to punch Mrs. Cole again. Ardelle suppressed her anger by clenching her fists together.'There have been more letters?' she thought. She took a step closer to Mrs. Cole "You've been hiding these letters from me for three years?"

Mrs. Cole did not break eye contact with her and simply said "We cannot afford it. I did not want to raise your hopes only to have them crushed again."

A silence lingered in the room for many minutes while Ardelle And Mrs. Cole just stared at each other. An owl flew abruptly into the room through the open window and landed on Mrs. Cole's desk.

Mrs. Cole sighed and walked around her desk again and opened the letter.

Ardelle looked eagerly at her. "What does it say?"

Mrs. Cole's eyes scanned through the letter. "It appears the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, knows of our dilemma. He has decided to come and get you in three days time. He will pay for you to go to the school." she said.

Ardelle felt her heart skip a beat. "And... what do you say Mrs. Cole? May I go?" asked excitedly.

"I say I have one less mouth to feed. Now go, be ready to leave when Dumbledore gets here." Mrs. Cole said as she rubbed her temples with her hands.

Ardelle was smiling the most genuine smile she had ever made in her life. "Really? You mean it? Thank you, Mrs. Cole! Thank you!"

She skipped to the door and paused. There was still one thing bothering her. She had to ask this question, "How did you know what Hogwarts was?"

Mrs. Cole walked to the door and gave Ardelle a nudge out of the office. Mrs. Cole looked at her for a long moment before saying 'Tom Riddle' and closing the door in Ardelle's face.
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Chapter Three

'Tom Riddle?' thought Ardelle. That name meant absolutely nothing to her. Maybe she would ask this man, Dumbledore, when he came to get her.
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The next two days past quicker than anything in her entire life. On the third day, Ardelle was so excited she could barely see straight. She just couldn't believe that this incredible opportunity had come to her. Ardelle was not sure what to expect for the day and decided to spend it drifting around the orphanage. She had rarely come out of her room, with the exception of meals, but was now too happy for words and walked carefree. The other children clearly noticed the change in her also: a total of four people asked her if she wanted to hang out with her. She had declined all these requests because she was so used to being on her own and was unsure how to treat the human contact.

While she was taking her twenty-second walk around the orphanage, (Ardelle decided to count how many times she took the journey from front door to the last room on the third floor and back again to keep her mind from wandering too far) at around dusk, Katie, the helper, came to find her.

"Ardelle, Mrs. Cole wants you. She said to bring all your belongings." said Katie. "There is also a very old man in her office."

Ardelle couldn't contain her joy,this was the moment she had been waiting for for two days. She took Katie's hand and raced toward the matron's office with the little bag she had been toting around.

She stopped at the door and looked toward Katie. Ardelle had never given a real goodbye before. "Err... Well Katie, you've been really nice to me, thank you for everything you've done." She turned to walk into the office.

"Ardelle, wait," she started as she grabbed Ardelle's hand "I know that they say to not get attached to the kids in here, but you've been like my baby sister. You're really a sweet girl and I will truly miss you." Ardelle could see her reflection in Katie's wet eyes.

After Katie released her, Ardelle stared at her, still in shock of Katie's sudden rush of emotion towards her. She had never encountered such feelings from other people toward her, she didn't know how to deal with it. "Bye then, sorry if you get fired."

Katie cocked her head in confusion as Ardelle turned the door knob and stepped inside of the office.

She found Mrs. Cole conversing with a very tall, very old (but somehow still looked slightly youthful) man that Ardelle could only assume was the Hogwarts headmaster. Although Ardelle had never truly stepped foot into the city, she had watched as it, and all it's weirdness had passed by. In all her years of watching and waiting for one of those odd people to come and claim her, she had never seen anything quite like this man.

He was dressed from head to toe in purple. He was wearing robes which had silver stars on them. His long, silver hair reached well below his waist. Perched on the top of his head was a matching pointed hat. His beard was equally as long as his hair and was tied with a golden ribbon that had two stars on each end. On his face were the strangest glasses that Ardelle had ever seen, they looked like the shape of crescent moons. Ardelle would have found him quite funny and laughed at him if she hadn't known he was the one who was taking her.

"Ardelle! Come in, come in." said Mrs. Cole while beckoning her inward with her hand "I would like you to meet Albus Dumbledore."

She stared at him, again unsure of what to do. She gave Dumbledore a stretched smile.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he stared into Ardelle's. "Charmed to meet me, I'm sure." he said. "Do you have all of your things, Ardelle?"

Ardelle nodded and held up the little bag that Katie had given her two days previous.

"Good," said Dumbledore "We best be off then." His attention changed back to Mrs. Cole. "Hopefully this will be the last of our meetings, Mrs. Cole."

"I can dream, Dumbledore, but your kids always have a knack for turning up at my orphanage." Mrs.] Cole said, looking extremely exhausted.

He chuckled to himself. "Then Ardelle and I will be going. Thank you for your hospitality."

Mrs. Cole nodded then looked at Ardelle. "Behave yourself, child."

It finally hit Ardelle that she was leaving. "Oh I will!"

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, until next time, Mrs. Cole." He bowed low toward her and gestured for Ardelle to follow him as he walked away.

Ardelle turned and walked after Dumbledore out of the office, down the stairs, and out the front door of the orphanage into the city for the first time in her life. She felt like a horse let out of a barn, able to go where she would, no longer stuck in the confines of four walls. She felt... free.

They walked for at least twenty minutes, not saying a word to each other.

When they had reached the outskirts of the city, Dumbledore stopped and said "Ardelle, there are many things I wish to talk to you about, but here is not the place. We're going to try something and I do not think you are going to like it."

Ardelle gulped, nervous with anticipation.

"It's called 'Apparation'. There might be a strange, tingly sensation, but be brave. It's short. All you need to do is take my hand. Are you ready?"

She wasn't. "Err..."

"Good!" shouted Dumbledore as he grabbed her hand. "3... 2... 1!" He turned on the spot.

Ardelle felt like her body was being compressed by thousands of ropes and then being fed through an extremely small tube. When she thought all the air stored in her lungs had gone, it all suddenly stopped and Ardelle found herself in a old, shabby village.

She looked questionably around as she regained her composure. This couldn't be the place for a school. "This is-?"

"No, this isn't Hogwarts." said Dumbledore. "Follow me."

Ardelle tramped after him on a muddy path. The walk was very long and Ardelle felt exhausted as they came around a hill that revealed the best sight her eyes had ever seen. The castle was incredible extravagant and beautiful to say the least. Far better than anything Ardelle could have ever imagined.

They walked into the Great Hall and Dumbledore turned to look at her. "Welcome to Hogwarts." he said.
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Chapter Four

Ardelle looked around her at every place she could see, drinking in every detail of her new school, everything from the number of doors lining the Hall to the fairies carved into the woodwork. She was shocked and amazed by the beautiful marvel of this building.

"It's really gorgeous..." she said, meekly.

Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you. Are you hungry?"

Ardelle hadn't realized how hungry she was; she hadn't eaten anything all day, she had been too excited for Dumbledore's arrival. Her stomach growled at the mention of food. "Yes, very."

"Then I invite you to have dinner with myself and a couple of your teachers." said Dumbledore.

Ardelle was taken aback by his desire to spend more time with her than absolutely necessary. Perhaps it was just the invitation itself, after all, she had never received such a request before.

"I... would love to." she chose her words carefully.

"Splendid!" Dumbledore walked forward and sat down at the small circular table in the the Great Hall.

Ardelle hesitated, then followed him. She wasn't sure what to say, Dumbledore seemed like a very important man and Ardelle couldn't imagine why he wanted to eat with her of all people.

Dumbledore decided to take the initiative. "We have much to talk about," he said "but I'm sure that you'd prefer to eat first."

Ardelle was about to answer him when a woman walked into the hall. Her very presence appeared to demand attention. She continued to walk forward and looked intently at Ardelle. She was dressed almost as strangely as Dumbledore; she also wore robes and a pointed hat. Her robes, however, were bottle green.

As she reached the table, Dumbledore door stood up. "Hello Minerva, I trust your evening is going well?" he said while he pulled out her chair.

She sat down. "Thank you, Albus. It has been wonderful."

"Lovely." said Dumbledore, retaking his seat. His attention turned back to Ardelle. "I would like you to meet Professor Minerva McGonnagall. She will be your Transfiguration teacher."

McGonnagall reached over the table and briefly grasped Ardelle's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Ardelle." she said.

Ardelle nodded in response as another man entered the Hall. Though he was dressed in the same style as the other two, his robes were all black, which made his appearance somewhat more normal and likable appearance. His face however, betrayed his looks. He wore a sulky smile and anger was etched into the lines of his face. Though he looked worn and indignant, Ardelle felt she could relate to this man.

"Severus! I'm glad you could join us. I'm pleased to introduce to our new fourth year, Ardelle." said Dumbledore, inclining his head to Ardelle.

Snape glared at her. "Charming." he said before looking back at Dumbledore. "Headmaster, may I speak with you in private?"

"Oh Severus, I would really like to enjoy this dinner. If it is something that can be said in front of these two, then please continue. Otherwise, I'm sure it can wait. So please, take a seat." Dumbledore's voice was soft but authoritative.

Snape considered Dumbledore for a moment before taking his seat.

"Now that we are all seated, let's eat." As the last two words left Dumbledore's mouth, food appeared on the plates in front of them.

Ardelle was amazed and confused. She stuck her head under the table to see if she could find the source of the meal. When she withdrew from the table's underside (with no success) Dumbledore smiled, his eyes glittering knowingly. McGonnagal and Snape had ignored her and started their meal.

"So Severus," said Dumbledore "would you like to talk?"

Snape's eyes bore into Ardelle. She looked down and fiddled with her meal. She felt like he could see into her soul.

"I do, Headmaster. I went to err... Sirius's place today."

"Yes, I remember you told me that you were going last night. Have they found out anything new?" Asked Dumbledore lightly.

"No, but I would really prefer to go there less. Black is still persistent about Potter joining him. He will not relinguish that point. I tried to explain your reasoning, but he is, as usual, very argumentative. I can't argue with him anymore, it is wearing on me." said Snape, his food untouched.

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. "Once Sirius has his mind set... No, Harry must remain where he is for just a little longer. I will speak to him about it."

Ardelle had no idea what they were talking about. She decided it was easier to concentrate on her food and try to be ignored. She looked up at the ceiling and above her and wondered how it was displayed all the glittering stars.

The three of them talked for a long time over someone name 'Harry Potter' and 'Sirius Black' and something about 'The Order'. She just tuned it all out, feeling extremely out of place.

"We have forgotten our guest." Dumbledore's words barely drifted into her mind.

Ardelle looked down from the ceiling and realized that they were all looking at her.

"I have asked you two to join us," Dumbledore nodded at McGonnagal and Snape "because Ardelle needs teaching. She needs to catch up on three years of magical education. I thought the three of us would be sufficient to catch her up on everything she needs to know. Would you be willing to educate three missed years?"

"I'm more than happy to help, Albus" answered McGonnagal.

"I will be too, in my time off from my... other demands." said Snape slowly.

"Excellent, we will start as soon as possible." said Dumbledore "For now, you must excuse Ardelle and I. We have much to talk about before it gets later than it already is. "Thank you Minerva, Severus." He stood from the table and reached out his hand to help Ardelle.

She took the assistance and stood. She looked at the two remaining. "Thank you very much." she said awkwardly. Ardelle and Dumbledore turned from the table and walked out of the Hall.
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Greetings everybody! Sorry (to the select few who have been following this) that I've taken so long to update! School, you know how it is. But anywho, I'm trying to get back on top of things.
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Chapter Five

Ardelle followed Dumbledore through the castle. She took in every single crack in the wall, every door, reminding herself to look in each one if she ever got the chance. She had no idea where Dumbledore was leading her, but she really had no other choice except to follow.

"Did you like them?" Dumbledore asked as they walked.

Ardelle didn't know what she thought of her new teachers. "Err... They were... nice." She was sure the her unsure attitude was echoed in her answer.

Dumbledore laughed. "I am sure that they will grow on you." He pointed to one of the adjacent hallways."Turn right here."

She followed Dumbledore's directions and soon found herself face to face with an ugly gargoyle.

"Blood Pops." Dumbledore said to it in a sing-song voice.

Ardelle looked at him strangely and almost missed the gargoyle leaping aside, revealing a staircase.

Dumbledore waved her to go in front of him, Ardelle went up the stairs without question. When she arrived at the top, she was in a room filled with odd trinkets, lots of books, chairs, a desk, and several portraits all the way around the office. She stepped closer to on of the portraits and when she stared hard at it, the man in the frame smiled and winked at her. Ardelle jumped backwards, hitting the desk and falling flat on her back.

The portrait snickered in its frame.

"Phineus," said Dumbledore as he bent down and reached out his hand to help Ardelle. "why don't you go check on Sirius, please."

"Gladly, sir." said the picture. He looked down at Ardelle once more and maliciously smiled at her before getting out of his chair and laughing to himself, walk out of his frame.

Ardelle took Dumbledore's hand and got to her feet. "Thanks." she mumbled while brushing herself off.

Dumbledore smiled once again. "Take a seat." He pointed to the chair in front of the desk as he took his rightful place behind it.

Ardelle sat down. Her feeling of being out of place nearly overwhelmed her. She felt like she was wasting the headmaster's time. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have left the orphanage.

"You must have many questions." said Dumbledore. "Feel free to ask me anything, any time they come into your mind."

Ardelle narrowed her thoughts to only her most important question. "Why me? Why did you choose me for this?"

Dumbledore stared at her for a long moment before answering. "Ardelle, you must understand this; you have a gift that most people do not understand. I did not choose you at all, you are a born witch."

She still did not understand. "Yes, I know that, but why? Why did magic choose me over everybody else? Surely it could have picked a better person than me."

"Ardelle, something you will learn is that you should never doubt yourself. Magic chose you because you can handle it, you're special."

She never had received a compliment of any sort, she could just assume that this was what one felt like, yet she was still unsure. "I..." but she could not think of a retort. "Thank you." She thought for a moment and realized that magic, like appearance, could be genetic. "Did I get it from my parents?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and rested his head on his fingertips. "Yes," he said slowly "your parents were also magical."

"Then, you knew them?" Ardelle pressed.

"Ardelle, I do not think this is the time to get into your family" Dumbledore said in a final tone of voice. Realizing he came off harshly he added "I am sure you are getting tired in any case and we have more pressing matters to get to tonight. We will talk about them, I promise, but not tonight, I think."

Ardelle was disheartened, she didn't understand why he wouldn't tell her anything about her parentage when he just promised to answer any question she could think of.

"I want to get you sorted before you're too sleepy to show your true self."

Ardelle was extremely lost. 'Sorted into what?' she thought.

It seemed like Dumbledore could read her mind. "At Hogwarts, there are four houses. Your house is your home and your family." Ardelle snorted and Dumbledore continued as if he hadn't heard her. "You will be sorted into either Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw by" He stood up and walked to the bookshelf and took a raggedy, old hat off the top shelf. "this."

"But how is that suppose to tell me where I belong?" asked Ardelle, perplexed by the idea of a talking hat.

Dumbledore chuckled. "You forget that you are in the world of magic now."

He walked back to Ardelle and placed the hat on her head.
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Anyway, thanks for reading, enjoy!
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Chapter Six

Ardelle looked up at Dumbledore, thoroughly confused.

He held up his hand before she could speak, "Just sit."

Ardelle folded her arms just as she felt the hat on top of her head begin to wiggle.

As it moved, Ardelle nearly fell out of her chair. She could have sworn the hat laughed when she did.

"Ahh yes." Ardelle heard the words ringing in her head as she felt it move. "This must be the one you told me about, eh Dumbledore? Ardelle Archer, daughter of-"

Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly, "On to business, please." He said sternly.

"Haven't told her yet, Dumbledore? She'll find out sooner or later, but that's your business."

Ardelle through the nasiest look she could at Dumbledore. Why wouldn't he just tell her? What was he trying to keep secret?

"Right, let me see what is in your mind..." said the hat.

Ardelle felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

"You're opinionated, I see that. Except, you can't always express yourself out loud and on top of that, you like to be alone; you prefer it, in fact."

Ardelle could feel her cheeks getting hot. "I..."

The hat stopped her before she could explain herself. "I didn't say it was a bad thing, did I? You're very courageous, even if you don't admit it. You like to live your life unpredictably. Sometimes, you don't believe in yourself, but you always are able to regain control over your emotions."

She felt like the hat was wrong, she knew the hat was wrong, but she didn't say anything.

"I'm going to place you in... Gryffindor!"

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Congratulations, Ardelle! I think you will be able to find some great friends in Gryffindor."

"So, Gryffindor is good, then?" asked Ardelle as Dumbledore took the hat off her head and set it on its place on the shelf.

"Each house has its good and bad qualities. Gryffindor is no different. It just all depends on which attributes you want to look at."

"Hmm..." Ardelle wasn't entirely sure about this whole magic business.

"You will learn to appreciate it, in time. As for tonight, I think it is about time to retire to our beds." Said Dumbledore as he made his way back to the desk and sat down in front of her.

"But I wanted to talk about my parents." Ardelle was getting angry, and she persisted the subject.

"All in good time, Ardelle. Wouldn't you like some rest? It has been a very long day." Her face remained unchanged. "I think we'll place you in one of the guest rooms. It would be ridiculous to have you sleep up in the dormitories all by yourself. The guest rooms are just down the hall and to the right from here. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"No." said Ardelle, realizing she might have been too quick and harsh in her answer and added "Thank you for the offer, sir."

She could tell that was not the answer Dumbledore was expecting and was relunctant to let her go on her own in the castle.

"Very well. We will start your lessons in the morning and I will be here in my office all night in case you need something." said Dumbledore.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning, sir." Replied Ardelle as she stood up and started toward the door.

"Goodnight, Ardelle. Sleep tight!" called Dumbledore as Ardelle moved out of the room and shut the door.
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Chapter Seven

Ardelle had no intention of going back to her room. She was remembering how she wanted to go inside every room in the castle.

She looked at the door next to her, opened it and peered inside. Just a classroom… Nothing special about it. There were desks aligned neatly in rows and at the front of the room was a teacher’s desk and a chalkboard.

Walking further into the classroom, she noticed the pictures on the wall. Every picture showed a different man or woman; all holding a wand in their hand and something in front of them. Some of the objects were levitating; some looked like they were in mid-transformation.

Before Ardelle had a chance to look any more, a sharp click of the door sounded behind her and she whirled around.

There stood the man in the black robes that she had met earlier that evening: Professor Snape.

He glared at her before saying, “Why are you here?” His tone was angry; but it was not a raging anger, but simply a bored anger. She suspected he had asked that question a countless number of times before.

“I…” she couldn’t think of a plausible excuse. “I was trying to get back to my room and I… I got los-“

“Don’t lie!’ Snape cut across her sharply.

She felt her cheeks redden. “I just wanted to see what was in here.” She said the words to the ground, when she looked up she saw Snape’s head in his hands.

“Look,” he said “I’ve had a very long day today. I’m not in the mood to deal with you or whatever you were intending on doing. I’m going to do you a favor: I won’t tell Dumbledore you didn’t listen to him and I won’t get you in trouble. Be warned, this is quite unusual behavior on my part, and should you ever not listen to directions again, you will face my anger.”

Her cheeks blushed more, if that were even possible. “I’m sorry, sir. Might I ask, why was your day so terrible? It wasn’t me was it?” Had she been more used to talking to people, she would have known that this was a very rude question to ask. Unfortunately, she wasn’t aware of that.

“Ardelle,” he looked at her, she could see his exhaustion reflected in his eyes and reading on his face, “just go to your room.”

This made her angry. Such a command was one she had received many times at the orphanage. It was such a simple command, such a childish command. It was something an angry parent says to a child. It infuriated her, he wasn’t in control of her, and he didn’t know anything about her! How dare he think that he could just order her about!

Her face turned into a frown as she glared at him. He wasn’t looking at her, but the second she took a step toward him, his right palm split open and blood spurted out.

Snape yelled in pain and took hold of his right hand with his left. Ardelle put her hands to her mouth and rushed to his side.

Through gritted teeth he looked at her. “What did you do!?”

She looked with horror at his angry eyes and his bleeding hand. “I’m sorry, sir! I wasn’t trying to do anything!”

“Control your emotions, stupid girl! That’s the only way you’ll control your magic!” As he was saying this, he tore a part of his black robe and wound it around his hand. “I’ll admit though, that was powerful for your age.”

Ardelle wasn’t sure whether to be honored or ashamed. She looked at his hand again. “Is it going to be okay?”

“It will be fine, just go. You start your lessons in the morning.”

His anger bore into her one final time before she had the chance to leave. She left the room and caught her breath outside the door. She really hadn’t been trying to hurt him, she was just angry. Ardelle walked back to her room and sat on her bed, feeling like an embarrassed child who had been sent to her room.
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Four months since I updated this? Really? Sorry guys! I'm hoping that I'll be updating regularly as it's summer and I have a renewed interest in this now so, cross your fingers!
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Chapter Eight

The next morning, Ardelle awoke refreshed. At first, she had had a very sleepless night; she hadn’t been able to get comfortable or to keep her mind off what happened with Professor Snape. After a couple of hours of tossing and turning, Ardelle had been able to fall asleep and rest uninterrupted until morning.

Those few peaceful hours had managed to take her mind off everything and for the first time since she met Dumbledore, she was able to feel relaxed.

After stretching and taking a much needed shower, Ardelle exited her room with the intention of making her way back to the Great Hall for breakfast. As she opened the door however, she realized that she had no idea to get back to the grand room.

Before Ardelle could give herself completely to hysterics, she looked down and noticed a small envelope at her feet that had her name scrawled across the front. She opened it quickly and found directions from Dumbledore inside.

She felt incredibly relieved and made her way down to the Hall. Even with directions, it was very hard for Ardelle to find her way there. She took several wrong turns and more than once, she had had to stop just to get her bearings.

As she walked into the Hall, she saw the three teachers, McGonnagal, Snape, and Dumbledore, in the same places they were seated last night. Ardelle managed to catch some of their conversation.

“There’s no way she can do this, Albus!” McGonnagal was saying.

“I agree,” nodded Snape “She’s too weak; even the most powerful wizard could not get four years of education, the four most potent years, completed in a mere matter of months."

Dumbledore looked at them, “I hope you don’t take that attitude when you see her, she is the most-” He turned around and looked at Ardelle.

When they saw her, their conversation stopped abruptly before Dumbledore waved her over.

She also took her place up from the previous night. As she sat, a significantly large breakfast appeared in front of her. Complete with eggs, bacon, toast and jam, Ardelle started eating like a starved wolf. After all, these last two meals had been the best she’d had in all her life.

She looked up to three pairs of eyes staring at her. Feeling self-conscious, she slowed her pace. Dumbledore chuckled softly.

“I trust you slept well then, Ardelle?” he asked.

She forced down a large bite of food. “Yes, best sleep I’ve had in a while.” She nodded her head frantically.

Dumbledore laughed again. “Good, Good.”

Ardelle looked up from her meal and noticed Professors McGonnagal and Snape had not touched their food. Her cheeks glowed bright red from embarrassment and she set her utensils down.

Dumbledore followed her gaze. “Minerva, Severus, surely Ardelle is not the only one who worked up an appetite while she slept?”

They both seemed to snap out of a trance at the same time. They both started eating without saying anything and Dumbledore tried to hide his frown.

“Well, before you got here, the three of us were discussing the best course of action to get you caught up to the fifth years. Now, as we have such a short amount of time before the school year starts, I’m afraid that I have to make you promise me something before I even explain how we will proceed.” His eyes were stern as he looked at Ardelle. She nodded, hoping it was the right sign to mean he should continue.

“No student before you has had to do nearly four years of work in such a short amount of time. Not to mention, you’ve had no prior training or knowledge of wizardry. If nor for your age and natural ability, I would have surely placed you with the first years. Therefore, you must promise me that you will do everything in your power to study as often as possible. You will work diligently and around the clock. Even in your dreams, I expect you to be reciting spells. Do you understand me?” Dumbledore’s entire figure was stiff and expectant.

Ardelle suddenly felt the need to prove herself. Maybe it had been a good thing to have eavesdropped on them.

“I will be the most dedicated student you’ve ever had.”

Dumbledore seemed to approve. He clapped his hands together and a smile lit up his entire face. “I’m glad to hear it!”

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