ruins ; harry potter [1]

nineteen ; prophecy

She heard the loud crack signaling her arrival. It was dark, but she knew the sun would be rising soon. She was right in front of the door to the Hog's Head, and she reached out to grasp the doorknob and turned it--miraculously, it was open,  and the only light inside were the dozen candles lined around the room.

Aberforth Dumbledore sat at a table in the empty room, sipping on a dark liquid in a dusty glass. When the door opened, he looked up, his eyes bloodshot and face especially worn and tired. She halted in the doorway, attempting to be polite, but she suspected Aberforth wasn't one to appreciate manners.

Aberforth focused on her face, and after a moment, said, "Vera?" in a strangled voice that Diana had never heard from him.

She closed the door and shortened the distance to the table he was sitting at. "No--uh--my name is Diana. Vera was my mother."

He looked almost disappointed, and he took another sip of the liquid. "That means your father is You-Know-Who," he stated indelicately. "She never could resist that boy."

"Yes, unfortunately, it does. May I sit?" she asked, gesturing to the chair across from him, unfazed by his last blunt statement.

After a moment, as if deciding, he nodded once. "Don't have anything else to do."

She sat down and took a deep breath as she knotted her fingers together. She was so tired. "I have a message from Albus. We need your help," she said.

He scoffed loudly, slopping some of the liquid down his front. "Help? I'm not going to help you or my brother."

She expected as much. She decided to take a new approach. "You were close with my mother?" she said after a long pause.

He grunted once, determinedly looking anywhere but her eyes. "Vera was like a daughter to me. I cared for her ever since she was a little kid."

Diana chewed the inside of her cheek and watched Aberforth take another long sip. "Do you know what happened to her?" she asked lightly.

He gave an actual growl and slammed his drink on the table. "Ran off with that Riddle boy, that scum. I got a few letters from her, but I think she moved around a lot. For all I know, he probably killed her when he got bored with her."

Diana sat still for a moment as she pondered this. She saw the pain in Aberforth's eyes, the loss. He was an old man with old sadness and it was obvious. "I need you to do something for me," she said quietly, and added, "One last favor for my mother."

There was a silence, where he took a sip and set the glass on the table loudly and then proceeded to sit. She held her breath, awaiting his response. "What is it?" he grunted.

She gave a relieved exhale. "There was a fight in the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort was there with his Death Eaters. Neville Longbottom's grandmother, Xeno Lovegood, and Molly and Arthur Weasley need to be told their children were involved. I need you to send a message to all of the Order as well, tell them that Voldemort was seen by Fudge. Everyone knows he's back now. Tell them about the fight at the Department of Mysteries. Tell them that Sirius Black is dead."

He rested his forehead in his hand and sighed, a long, deep, strangled sight. "Just this once. Now go, before I change my mind," he said gruffly.

She made her way to the door with heavy footsteps. Before she turned the knob, she turned around and said quietly, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Before the door shut behind her on her way out, she could've sworn she heard, "I am, too."

+++

It was awhile before she arrived at Dumbledore's office. She had taken her time trudging through the brisk night air, not quite ready to confront the inevitable.