The Doe

Madison Merlin

My shoes made a clacking noise as I rushed down the corridor, books held close to my chest. The chatter from the students around me slowly died down as I passed, curious looks being thrown my way. I rolled my eyes, straightening my back and strutting forward.

"Do you believe it?" one voice asked.

"She's got the ring, I think I do," said another.

"Well I don't not for one second, for love of Merlin, she's a mudb-"

I whipped around, my anger boiling over.

"I'm a what?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

The small brunette stared back at me, eyes wide and lip quivering.

"I- I didn't mean anything, I'm so sorry," she stammered.

The fear in her eyes made my anger simmer and my eyes softened from their cold stare.

"No, it's fine, don't worry," I tried to tell her.

She continued to stare at me with the same fearful expression. Glancing around the corridor, I saw the same look multiplied on the faces of the other students. I gently clutched my books again, turning slowly and carried on to the lake. The late February sun kissed my cheeks as I took a deep breath of the crisp air.

"I don't know what's happening," I huffed, sitting down beside James, putting my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked, stroking my hair.

I huffed again and sat up.

"People keep looking at me like I'm a monster! People whisper about me, but when I react then they become scared and can't get their words out," I explained, looking at him, "James, you're doing it, too!"

I threw my books next to me and put my head in my hands.

"Maddie, your eyes look different," he whispered.

I looked back up.

"What?" I asked in a frustrated tone.

He traced his thumb across my cheek and moved his face closer to me.

"They have flecks of gold in them."

"What?!" I asked, louder than I expected.

I ran to the lake, peering in to confirm what James had just told me. The gold seemed to swim around my eyes as I watched. Sitting back on my knees, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The noise surrounding me seemed to stop momentarily as I took another, my anger slowly leaving me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, so stood up and turned around. The caring brown eyes of James met mine and I smiled at him.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I....I think I need to understand what's happening to me."

The setting of Dumbledore's office had begun to seem familiar to me, as James and I sat in front of his desk.

"There is a way you can learn about your abilities," the professor explained, peering at us over his half-moon spectacles as usual, "more than any professor at this school can teach you-"

"I want you to teach me professor," I insisted, as he sat back and watched me, " I trust you, more than any random person teaching me about my own family. I want you to teach me."

He said nothing for a short while, before leaning forward again.

"There are many things I can not teach you, Madison. Would you settle for an extremely good friend of mine?"

I nodded, slowly.

"You will be excused from the final exams, all of you. You will stay with my good friend Nicolas Flamel, he can teach you much more than I would ever be able to. You will leave at the start of next month," he told us, writing something down as he did, before putting down his quill and leaning closer to me.

"All of us?" I asked.

"You, Mr Potter, Lupin, Black and Pettigrew. This is going to be a gruelling process, Miss Chase. A magical gene as ancient as this is never easy to fully activate, so you may take all of the support you require. You are the priority of many people at this moment. The Ministry's, Hogwarts', Mr Potter and your friends', and the wizarding world."

I looked back at him with wide eyes.

"We will discuss your potential next year, as that will be the next time I expect to see you after your departure."

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed, looking between James and Dumbledore, "that's 7 months away!"

Dumbledore eyed me and leaned forward again.

"I don't think you understand how important you are, Miss Chase. You are the last living descendant of the most powerful man to ever exist in the Wizarding world. The fact you do not understand this is exactly why you need to do this."

I nodded, gulping down my nerves.

"Have faith, you will learn a lot about yourself."

I pulled my tie loose as I briskly left Dumbledore's office.

"Mads!" James called after me.

My eyes were wide and manic and they darted around the now empty corridors. I felt my palms become sweaty again as my breathing became quicker and shallower.

"Maddie, wait," he shouted again, his footsteps picking up pace.

I ran a hand through my hair as he gently grabbed my arm.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's ok," he soothed, cupping my face.

"James, I can't breathe," I croaked.

I pulled away from his touch, running to the courtyard and gulping in air. I put my hands on my knees and took multiple deep breaths as I felt a hand rub my back. There were a few moments of silence as I sank to the floor and crossed my legs, staring at the moon above me, James mirroring me.

"7 months, Prongs.... I can't miss 7 months of learning," I whispered.

"Well... I mean... technically it's 4.. you know, the summer," he murmured, rubbing his neck and smiling at me.

I chocked out a breathy laugh, James' smile growing at the noise.

"I have other things to do than just be a Merlin, and I know I was the one who started all of this with my research," I huffed, " But I want to be the Head Girl, I want to pass my N.E.W.T.S, I want to help people and make a difference. My mum always told me that I would change the world and that's what I intend to do."

"Maybe this is the way you are meant to make a difference. Maybe this is the world you were meant to change."

I looked over at him, his crooked nose prominent as I examined the length of his eyelashes whilst he watched the moon.

"You're amazing, you know?" he asked me as he stared up at the sky, " you can do anything you put your mind to."

I looked forward again, dropping my head as I played with a blade of grass.

"I'm scared, James. What if I'm not able to do the things that people expect me to? I can't disappoint them," I whispered.

Prongs' hand gently covered mine as his other turned my face to his.

"You are the brightest witch this school has known, even without the power you are about to access, you are still so powerful and you are able to do so much more than you know," he told me, staring into my eyes urgently.

I smiled softly, lacing my fingers with his and resting my head on his shoulder.

"What would I do without you?" I asked, shaking my head.

"It makes a nice change you wondering that rather than me about you," he chuckled, leaning his head against mine and rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.