nyctophilia
nyc·to·phil·i·a (nĭk'tə-fĭl'ē-ə)
n. A preference for the night or darkness; the love of darkness or night, or feeling like you belong in the dark.
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This story is AU. Harry, Ron, and Hermione never went searching for Horcruxes. The Battle of Hogwarts didn't happen. This is set in the August right after Harry and the others graduate. Sirius is alive, as well as anyone who died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Basically, everything in the books happen up until the end of Order of the Phoenix, where Sirius lives and is cleared, though the Death Eaters are still captured and imprisoned. In sixth year, Dumbledore tells Harry about the Horcruxes, but they have no leads in finding any. In seventh year, more raids and Azkaban breakouts happened, but nothing major went down.
.x.X.x.
"WE'RE still not sure how exactly Voldemort accessed this information, as only full members of the Order were aware of it." Albus Dumbledore paused, meeting the gaze of each person in the room solemnly. "The only conclusion that I've been able to draw—and, believe me when I say that I've tried for every other possible answer, none of which fit—is that there is indeed a spy in our midst." Murmurs broke out through the room.
"I suspected this from the beginning—"
"That means that the spy could be in this room—"
"What does it mean for us, now that You-Know-Who knows that his daughter is alive?"
"Quiet!" shouted Dumbledore. Everyone immediately stopped talking, surprised, as the old wizard very rarely raised his voice. "Now, I know that you all have questions. I am doing my best to find whoever is leaking out information to the Dark Side. But, please remember, we can't turn against each other and become paranoid, treating everyone like they could be a traitor. If we can't trust the people around us, then we can't trust anyone."
"That's sort of the point," said Sirius Black. He shot what was supposed to be a discreet glare at Severus Snape. "We can't trust the people around us." Dumbledore ignored him.
"And about his daughter," Dumbledore continued. "It does leave us at a disadvantage, with him knowing that she is alive. However, he is not aware of her identity, which is what matters most. Only a select few of you know who she is. She doesn't even know who she is. Let me assure you that Voldemort's daughter has been raised well away from the Dark and is not associated with him or any of his followers at all."
"But she's still devil spawn," Ronald Weasley muttered to his girlfriend, Hermione Granger, who was sitting beside him.
"You can't know that, Ron," Nymphadora Tonks whispered, overhearing their conversation. "She was raised away from her father. For all you know, she could be a total angel."
"Come off it, Tonks," he said exasperatedly. "She's Voldemort's daughter. There's no way she can be anything but evil."
Hermione pursed her lips, before admitting, "It is rather difficult to believe that anyone related to him wouldn't have a dark streak."
"Whatever you say," Tonks muttered quietly.
"If that's all," Dumbledore concluded, "I would like to have a quick word with Sirius and Arthur. Everyone else is free to go." Everyone slowly began to filter out of the room, to pursue their afternoon plans. Molly Weasley announced that she'd be making lunch for whoever wished to join at the Burrow. The room slowly emptied, leaving Dumbledore, Sirius, and Arthur Weasley standing in the center of the room.
"Close the door, Arthur," Dumbledore said quietly. After the wizard had done so, he cast a silencing spell over the room to ward off eavesdroppers. Dumbledore cleared his throat, managing to look his companions in the eye, and began, "I know that this is disconcerting—"
"Disconcerting?" interrupted Sirius, looking angry. "Voldemort knows that his daughter is sill alive! He knows that we stole her from him, and that we've trained her, his only heir, to hate him." He lowered his voice, cautious despite the fact that there was no one to overhear him. "He knows that we stole the one person who can ensure that he rules over the Wizarding World."
Dumbledore sighed. "As I was saying, I know that this is not an ideal situation." Sirius snorted again. "But the Dark Side must not find out who Voldemort's daughter is. She's the last person they would expect, and I don't think that they'll figure it out on their own. However," he continued, "I want you to keep a closer eye on the girl. She's immensely powerful; of course she would be, as she's the daughter of the Dark Lord. Keep her either here, in Grimmauld Place, or at the Burrow. Make sure you know exactly where she is and who she's with at all times. Once she returns to school after the summer, I will be able to watch her."
"I'm just afraid," inserted Arthur, "of what she'll do if she ever finds out the truth about herself."
"I know," said Dumbledore. "This is why no one can find out that Hermione is Voldemort's lost daughter. Not even Hermione herself."
