Forbidden

-3-

Madison took the afternoon to walk around Hogwarts, there were a couple of students back before the actual start of classes also, for various reasons, but she knew most of them couldn't stand their parents, or didn't really have a home.

She didn't stay to chat with anyone but as she made her way to Dumbledore's office she overhead conversations about how Harry Potter was a liar, and he shouldn't be back at school.

It made her angry to see how people were actually believing the Ministry, but then again she was on the inside of the loop, former and acting death eaters like Lucius and her father, both worked secret agendas inside the Ministry, so she tried to comprehend that her colleagues were indeed just misinformed.

She looked around to see if anyone was watching her before she made her way up the stairs, she knocked thrice on the heavy wooden door however, had no response. Halfway down the stairs she decided to turn back and break in to snoop, that is if the spell worked to open the door.

To her surprise the alohomora spell did work, and she was in the headmasters office. She made her way in casually, like she was doing nothing wrong, it came to her that the paintings were always watching so all she would really do is look around.

"Professor?" She asked rhetorically.

Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes was full grown and beautiful at the very back, behind his desk, that caught her attention.

"Hey you beautiful creature..." she whispered to it, he made a sound back, sort of nodding his head in greeting. She carefully turned around to see what was on his desk, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, a copy of the Daily Prophet, some notes on staffing of that year, new students that would be coming in, and what not. She sat on his chair and opened the drawer in front of her, and came across an object that she'd heard much about but had never actually seen it, a leather diary with a wounded hole in it's very middle, almost like it was a tiny dead animal that seemed to have a life at some point.

"Second year...I remember this, why would he keep it?" she whispered to herself.

Suddenly Madison flinched as a reflex to the crack swoosh sound of someone appareling in the office, it was the headmaster himself, when he saw her she completely froze and widened her eyes, she looked pale to be caught right handed snooping.

"Miss Rowle" he said with his hoarse voice, in a very calm way, too calm, like he knew she was there.

She stood up immediately after he greeted her, "Professor,I am so sorry, I was-"

"I heard what happened to you, I was just with your father in fact..." he started, making his way to his chair while Madison silently got up and circled around to face him.

"What do you mean, he reached out to you?" She was very curious, that would at least mean he cared a little bit and wanted to know if she was well.

"No, not really, no...he was at Harry's hearing" he responded, watching her expression change when she noticed that her father could careless, she looked down her feet almost in shame of being so insignificant to him.

"Harry was cleared of all charges, and your father alleged that the trace was mistaken..."he leaned forward on the desk to catch her eye, "he said Harry Potter was never in his house"

Madison raised her eyebrows, why would he deny it? Maybe he did care for her.

"He sent the dementors...I know it" she spilled, knowing Dumbledore liked information, that was one of his power moves, he knew things and other wizards and witches never guessed how, this was how, his spies. She wondered how many eyes he had collecting information for him.