Faded Away ↠H. Potter Twin [Dean Thomas]

SEVEN: Somebody to Confide In

Mary straightened up in her seat. Here came the moment she had been dreading. "What is it?"

She feigned to not know, even though she was fully aware that she was in trouble. The thing about trouble was that you could only wade in so deep. The real harm had already been done. The most Professor Dumbledore could do was subject her to yet another long lecture – certainly not fun, but nothing she couldn't sit through.

"Long ago, there was a wizard about your age who lived in an orphanage –"

Okay, that was not the way she thought this was gonna go. Perhaps Dumbledore was going to teach her a lesson through a story. Mary was not going to protest; it was far better than the alternative she had been expecting. Besides, she loved stories.

"- but it was a Muggle orphanage. As a result, he suffered not only because he was different, but also because Muggle orphanages are in many ways unethical. His future did not turn out well – for many reasons, one of them being his upbringing. He was deprived of love, you see. After that incident, the Ministry of Magic decided to establish a foster care system in the wizarding world –"

Mary didn't like where this was going. "But what has that got to do with me, professor?"

Professor Dumbledore's blue eyes were sad. "The Ministry has placed you into the system."

For a long minute, Mary was speechless. She was not sure she had heard him right. The reality of never seeing her adoptive parents again was sinking in. Sure, she'd told Harry she wanted to move in with the Dursleys next summer to support him, and she spent an entire month without them in London. But that was when she was still in the running away mindset. She was getting to know Harry and the wizarding world and now she was in a boarding school and -

Hagrid had said something about the Ministry not letting the Muggles be alone with her without supervision. She remembered the man in the coat tailing them at Kings Cross. It didn't make sense. The Campbells weren't a danger to her. Mrs Campbell could be a bit extreme sometimes, but she only did it out of concern. And now that they knew everything, Mr Campbell would keep her in check this time. Mary was sure of it.

"Me?" she said, confused. "B-but I already have a family – and they - they love me. It's nothing like that boy's story where he wasn't loved."

"The Ministry believes that your adoptive parents have not treated you well –"

"Alright, I was forbidden to use my magic and go outside, but that's because they didn't understand. But it's different, now," she insisted. "It's not like before. They understand now. So – so you see, it's alright."

"Do they understand now, Mary?" Dumbledore said calmly.

Mary recalled the way Mrs Campbell had spoken about her magic – like a part of her still refused to believe, like it was something unnatural - and how she wanted to steal Mary away.

"Well – it will take some time to adjust to," Mary allowed. "But that's the same for all Muggleborns, isn't it?"

"The problem is, Mary, that you are not a Muggleborn."

"You can't be serious!" she cried. Everything was happening too fast. It felt like one month ago someone had ripped a carpet from under her feet and she was still reeling from that stumble. She was terrified, but she could not safely show her fear at this time when circumstance demanded that she be strong and fight for herself. So, she leaned into anger. Who did the Ministry think they were messing about with her life without even asking her what she wanted?

"I cannot say I agree with the Ministry," Professor Dumbledore admitted, "but my hands are tied. I have tried to dissuade them to no avail. The least they could do was let me break the news to you."