Wild child

Similar room, similar scene.

Fanny and Dumbledore sat opposite each other across the table. The difference from last year was that Fanny, who drank syrup for half a month, firmly opposed sweet drinks. In front of them was ice water with lemon slices.

Said to be hospitalized for two weeks, but actually only stayed in bed for three days after waking up. Fanny got bored and wandered around the campus with an arm that couldn’t move, regardless of the objections of Pomfrey and Mrs. Conwell. .It's been a really disastrous year for her arms, as if she hasn't had both arms intact since joining the team.

When she recovered from her injuries and was legally discharged from the hospital, Fanny, fed up with the sweet taste, donated all the candies the twins gave her to Madam Pomfrey before she left.On the same day, she received an invitation from Dumbledore to "chat alone".

"I think it's yours, Fanny." Dumbledore handed over a small jet-black stick.

"Thank you. This is so great, I thought it was lost." Fanny happily took the wand, and the familiar wave of magic power came from her fingertips, bringing her a feeling of kindness and peace of mind.

Of course, just to return the wand so that Dumbledore wouldn't bother him so much, Fanny felt that Dumbledore had asked her to come for something more important than small talk.

But before getting down to business, small talk is also essential.

"How are you feeling, Fanny?" Dumbledore asked with concern in his piercing blue eyes.

"Not very good." Fanny supported her head.

"I thought you'd be proud of yourself after what happened that night."

"After I've crippled a man who saved my life?"

"I guess you're tired of hearing 'it's not your fault'."

"Yes."

"Then I will put it another way. You are partly responsible for this, Fanny. But it is not all that happened that night," said Dumbledore. Fight Death Eaters like the best and bravest grown-up wizards, risk your life to cover a friend, and save Hermione's life. You're at least six-fifths of the vital need to bring people to the truth To the credit of one."

"I'd rather it went so that I knocked Harry unconscious and stuffed him into the school hospital, then attended an all-night post-exam celebration, and now Sirius is still morosely trapped in his hideout."

"We often wish things were going in a different direction, even though we all know that doesn't change anything."

"That's right, I guess I've bumped into the truth again." Fanny curled her lips.

Dumbledore smiled indulgently.I don't know when Fanny spoke to him more and more casually, and she seldom used honorifics anymore.

He hadn't spoken to someone so naturally in a long time, just as Albus Dumbledore.

Of course, Fanny didn't know what Dumbledore was thinking, so she asked whatever she wanted to ask.

"And Dolokhov? Is he dead?"

"No. He was sent to St. Mungo's in time to plug that hole in his lung."

"That... is really bad." Fanny spat out.

"Really?" Dumbledore gave a faint smile.

If the man had really killed Hermione, Fanny would not regret his death at all.But since Hermione was fine, Fanny didn't think she was ready to kill—at least not with her own hands.

"That dead guy, what's his name?" The bloody back flashed in Fanny's mind. At that time, she was in the extreme state, but she remembered this scene very clearly.

"Leo Burst," said Dumbledore, "he was buried in the Burst family graveyard five days ago."

Dumbledore obviously knew exactly what she was thinking, she wanted to see the burial of the man who had died at her hands, or to see his grave.No apology for his death, no tribute, just a visit from the living to the living.Fanny wondered what a Death Eater's family would say on his tombstone, and even though everyone thought he deserved to die, she wanted to hear from those who missed him.

But in any case, now is definitely not a good time to pay a visit, and she doesn't want to be carried out at all.So Fanny put this idea aside and asked again: "I heard from them that Black, Lupine, Mad-Eye, and the Weasleys all belong to a secret underground resistance organization that works for you, right?"

"Yes, they are all members of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Order of the Phoenix." Fanny couldn't help but glanced back at Fox, who was combing his feathers proudly.

"I have something to do with the Phoenix," said Dumbledore.

"Is your patron saint a phoenix?" Fanny didn't know why she suddenly thought of asking this.

"Yes."

"Oh, that must be..." Fanny really wanted to see what Dumbledore's patron saint of the Phoenix looked like, but she remembered another thing, "Where is Mrs. Conwell? Is she also a member of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Bella works for the Order of the Phoenix, but is not a full member."

"Because she's a Squib?"

"This is also a big reason. Officially joining the Order of the Phoenix means becoming a target of the Death Eaters, which Bella obviously cannot cope with. Moreover, members of the Order of the Phoenix have a set of secret and specific ways to contact each other and pass information. People with magical powers can't do it."

"Oh, that means..." Fanny shook her head after thinking about it, "Forget it, that's how it is anyway."

What do you say?She dies for you and isn't even a full member of your camp?Is she just a pawn in your banner?forget it.Mrs. Conwell wanted to join on her own initiative. Knowing this, there is no point in saying anything else.

"This summer vacation, you have to be extra careful." Dumbledore said slowly, "Have you read the news in the past few days? A large number of Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban with your help."

Fanny nodded.How could she not know?Draco has not appeared in front of her for a while, no matter whether it is intentional or unintentional, Fanny is very grateful for this.Knowing that she was an accomplice in sending his father to prison, she didn't know how to deal with it.

Why did Dumbledore bring this up in particular?A thought flashed through her mind, and it was definitely not a pleasant inspiration for her.

"Including Lucius Malfoy," Fanny said.

"Yes." Dumbledore looked at her.

"He has lost his reputation outside, and he has ruined Voldemort's major affairs. The Malfoy family should have no status among the Death Eaters."

"Not necessarily. The Malfoy family is one of the ancient pure-blood families with the longest history, and the heads of each generation are very talented. Not only have they always maintained marriage relationships with major families, but they are also keen on charity, and have a very wide influence in all walks of life. ... Voldemort cannot do without the support of the Malfoy family if he wants to maintain his rule."

Fanny looked at Dumbledore too.

"If you can understand Malfoy's information, you can grasp Voldemort's movements to a large extent," she said.

"That's right." Covered by the glasses, Dumbledore's blue eyes were bottomless.

Fanny put the glass to her lips and didn't drink, and sat holding it, looking through Dumbledore as if she were looking at the air.

The cold touch continued to seep into the skin of the palm, and after a long time, Fanny poured the water in the glass together with the remaining ice cubes and lemon slices into her mouth.The lemon zest was a little bitter to chew, and she swallowed it all down.

"I wish your plan goes well, sir." With a soft sound, the cup was placed on the table, "I think I should go, thank you for your hospitality."

Then Fanny left the principal's office without looking back.

At the end of the year, Slytherin won the Academy Cup. Even though McGonagall added 50 points to each of the few who broke into the Ministry of Magic, it failed to save the foregone conclusion.Umbridge's investigation team really played a key role, and the scores of the other three colleges were all deducted before the end of the period.

Having regained the long-lost honor, the Slytherin table was naturally full of joy. Of course, it was much more restrained than the Gryffindors who knocked on the table and threw tableware.However, a few key people seemed to be out of shape. Needless to say, several student representatives whose family members were thrown into Azkaban, even Snape had a smile on his face, and he couldn't see Slytherin. His usual smugness when he was honored.

Maybe it was an illusion, Fanny always felt that Snape glanced at her several times.

The good news is that Umbridge was finally fired. She was not traumatized, but she spent a few days longer than Hermione and Fanny in the hospital bed before returning to "normal", and she packed up and left the same day she was discharged.No one knew what the centaur had done to her, and how Dumbledore single-handedly rescued her.Fanny originally planned to ask, but the plan couldn't keep up with the change.

Fanny didn't join the crowd of onlookers. According to Ginny, all the teachers' chalk boxes were empty that day. Most of them were used as stones for the students, and some of them were put into socks by Peeves and turned into chain hammers. part.At the same time, he also borrowed McGonagall's cane, which had just been discharged from the hospital, so he could bet a Galleon that it wasn't a forced loan.

Two days after being discharged from the hospital, it was time to take the train home, and Fanny was alone when she got on the train.

On the night of June 6th, a group of people who broke into the Ministry of Magic together with the Weasley family and Fanny's two families held a lively birthday party for Fanny in the ward. Without it, the wizarding world still felt unnatural to them after all.

At the birthday party, Amelia also brought Fanny's other two roommates. Parvati dragged Fanny to apologize repeatedly for doubting her. Lavender was not as straightforward as her, and left after being awkward for a long time Came over and apologized.

Indispensably, everyone was very curious about what happened at the Ministry of Magic that day. These days, all the parties concerned were entangled with such questions, and they were very good at breaking the topic.

This was the best birthday Fanny had ever had. Surrounded by all these laughing people, she finally felt that the horror and bloodshed of that night were far away from her.

When the birthday celebration reached its climax, while everyone was focusing on the twins' pyrotechnic trick, Hermione, who was still a little disabled at the time, gestured for Fanny to come over.

"Malfoy came twice before you woke up the other day," said Hermione.

"What did he say?" Fanny asked, not intending to make a secret joke with Hermione.

"Take advantage of Ron and I to make fun of me and Ron while the others are away." Hermione paid close attention to the changes in Fanny's expression, "I visit your bed every time. I think... what happened to his father hit him hard. big."

"Of course." That's a man who values ​​his family more than anything else.

The two of them didn't say anything after that, but Fanny had been thinking about it from then until now when she was carrying her luggage on the train.

What would you say to me if I was awake?

What do you want to say to me?

Hermione pulled Fanny out of her own mind, Ron took care of the luggage, she took care of Fanny, and got Fanny into their compartment, person and stuff.

It was awkward being in the room with Harry, and Hermione and Ron tried to liven it up.Busy with cheering up Harry's low spirits, Fanny had little time to think about her own affairs.What's more, those things have actually been settled long ago, and she didn't know how many times she thought about it this year.

After getting off the car, a group of members of the Order of the Phoenix unexpectedly greeted her, and Fanny was able to witness the intimidation of three Muggles by a group of top wizards.Harry's uncle, aunt, and cousin were so frightened that they almost collapsed to the ground, which was a way to vent their anger on Harry who had been abused for many years.

Not long after the holidays began, Fanny received two emails.

One was sent by Harry's iconic white owl, Hedwig, in which he told Fanny that the Order of the Phoenix would arrange for him to visit Sirius once in July and asked Fanny if she would like to come.Fanny gave an affirmative answer without much hesitation.

Another unsigned copy is a yellowed photo.In the photo, a [-]-year-old blonde girl is holding a hand that may belong to her elders, laughing and bouncing around what seems to be a station.

Below the photo is Fanny's very familiar italic words: Josephine on a mission.

The same lettering on the reverse: Belated Gift, Happy Birthday, Fanny.

Fanny looked at the photo in reverse for a long time. Although her appearance had changed a lot, she was sure that Josephine was CC, her mother.

"Oh, this is..." Mrs. Conwell looked at the photo Fanny handed her, with complicated expressions, "I didn't expect Dumbledore to leave a souvenir, maybe he thought it was time to tell you. I Promised CC never to mention this past, but... I think her daughter always has the right to know what her mother did."

Mrs. Conwell continued to look at the photograph, collecting her thoughts.

"Where do you start? ... Fanny, you remember when I told you that Squibs are good for special tasks?"

"Yes. Because Squibs aren't registered with the Ministry of Magic, and they're at the crossroads of the wizarding and Muggle worlds," Fanny said quickly.

"Yes. This is one of them." Mrs. Conwell turned the photo around. The blond girl was smiling and her innocent face was carefree. "The last time the mysterious man gained power, he used some extreme measures to deal with those who opposed him." Or, if you don’t want yourself or your family to be included in the missing and dead list, you can only choose to cling to him. Therefore, many people choose to emigrate to escape his influence—you know, just like your grandparents and uncles. "

"At the same time, there are also a large number of Muggle-borns who need to be relocated abroad, some upright wizards targeted by the mysterious people, people rescued by the Order of the Phoenix after being persecuted by the mysterious people, and some who want to leave the camp of the mysterious people Death Eaters. The total number of these people plus their families is very large, there are hundreds of people in the first list alone. The Order of the Phoenix provides them with protection, but the problem is that many of them have lost their wands and cannot Apparate Apparatus, and all the transportation channels commonly used by wizards are closely monitored.

"You must have guessed it, yes, the Order of the Phoenix decided to take these people abroad through Muggle transportation. Muggle transportation is more suitable for transporting a large number of passengers, and it is not easy to be detected. Because the group of the mysterious man's blood theory Few of them know about Muggle life, and Muggle stations and docks are always crowded with people, so it is not easy to check.

"Undoubtedly, the mysterious man also thought of this. He set up sentries at major stations and docks to arrest those who behave abnormally. Many wizards know nothing about Muggles, and they will be very conspicuous among Muggles. Therefore , they need some people who understand Muggle life to guide them, deceive the eyes of the guards, and contact all aspects of the retreat plan at the same time.

"For this, Dumbledore recruited a special operations team, mostly Squibs and families of Muggle-borns. CC was one of the first to go."

Fanny listened intently, she did not expect such a part of the war. "Did you go too?"

"No, I didn't." Mrs. Conwell's face flashed a little haze, "I was not willing to accept the reality that I was a squib, I stayed at home all day reading magic school textbooks, and I didn't know anything about Muggles. .And even if I knew Muggles as well as CC, I doubt I would have had the courage."

"Of course you have courage." Fanny retorted, "You have already taken the initiative to join this war."

Mrs. Conwell shook her head, "These things are what CC told me later. At that time, my parents and I moved frequently to avoid the influence of the mysterious person, and we cut off contact with CC—I was not as brave as CC from the beginning. .”

"CC was under the alias of Josephine when she was performing tasks, and her identity was a French Muggle girl. She was 15 years old at the time, and she looked younger than her actual age. That innocent and lovely face was the best cover. She went to boarding middle school , so seldom home, so the rest of the Fields don't know what she's doing - and I don't think they care.

"CC was very clever, took a few crises out and did a great job. But about a year after she started doing it, there was a twist.

"Sam would bring friends home sometimes and one of his friends... was obsessed with CC - I really hate to insult the word 'love' here. The boy was obsessed with CC but he looked down on it as much as the others Squib. He was ashamed to pursue her, yet wanted her.

"He followed CC and discovered her secret. He found CC and asked her to exchange her body for him to keep the secret. Forced to do so, CC agreed. He cast a spell on her, as long as she dared to tell the story If someone else, or dared to hide and not keep the appointment, she would die.

"I don't know if they really happened... Later, half a month later, CC asked him to meet him late at night under Tower Bridge in London. She tied the shoelaces together and made a noose and strangled him."

"Her what?"

"She strangled him."

"She..." Fanny was dumbfounded, subconsciously looking for a flaw in the story, "She's only 15 years old! That boy...he's older than my mother, right? And he's a wizard, why would he call my mother casually? ... strangled to death?"

"I don't know, CC doesn't want to recall the details." Mrs. Conwell's face was pale, "I guess it's because of the reasons you said, that boy is totally defenseless against CC. CC... anyone who knows her will feel that as long as she goes down Once you make up your mind, there is nothing you can’t do.”

"My..." Fanny was tongue-tied.

"Afterwards, CC sank the boy's fucking body in the Thames. She burned his wizard's robes and wand, put the laces back into those shoes, and continued with the mission as if nothing had happened. Just She left home for good that year, and I think partly because of that, she couldn't face Sam.

"During that period, law enforcement was semi-paralyzed, and a boy's disappearance wasn't a big concern. He obviously didn't want to be noticed. He went to find a squib, well hidden, and no one suspected CC. His parents disappeared shortly after that, and he has no other relatives except Sam, who asked for an investigation before going to Egypt, and the case was closed after Sam left.

"After another year, the Death Eaters finally became suspicious of CC, and Dumbledore let her leave the operation team. She never mentioned this experience to anyone, and she didn't tell anyone until after the downfall of You-Know-Who She demanded that I never tell anyone about her participation in this war. She rejected all possible honors and carried the guilt for the boy alone. Even though she saved so many people, she Still ashamed of the experience."

"How many people... did she save?" Fanny asked softly.

"In two years, more than 100 people have been sent and brought in by her. She is the best 'delivery boy' recruited by Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore...knows about the boy?"

"I think he didn't know it at the time. Anyway, there must be a better solution. He won't let CC kill people. But sometimes I think... If he can pay a little more attention to CC or the boy, maybe This terrible thing could have been avoided. But it's impossible, he has so much work to do, he's too busy."

Mrs. Conwell had tears in her eyes, "It is said that the 'goods' she sent included the Field family. They tried to persuade CC to go to Egypt with them, but CC refused, so they decided to leave her in the UK alone. I think their 'delivery boy' was specially arranged by Dumbledore, who wanted to give the family a chance. But on the day of the 'delivery', CC was so perfect that they didn't recognize her."