The Traveler's Secret

Dumbledore stood on top of the astronomy tower, looking out over the golden land, and ruminating over the past hour. A cool breeze wafted over the tower with delicate smells of spring riding in its rivulets. Dumbledore closed his eyes.

He was trying hard to forget the twisted expression of pain on Sergei Krum's face as Albus had performed his spells and counter spells. Their first session had led to some positive results, but Dumbledore still wondered if what he was doing was right. Sergei had agreed to undergo the spell treatment, but still the pain in Krum had been almost too much for Dumbledore to witness. It had only been Sergei's wife and son, Elena and Ivan, whom had kept Krum sane. Albus knew this because it was their names Krum had screamed out for, repeating them like a prayer, as if their names alone could protect him. No matter what others would ever say about Krum, Dumbledore would remember that Sergei had the heart of a lion, strong and brave.

"Albus..."

Dumbledore's eyes popped open, and he swiftly turned around. He had heard his name whispered, falling on his ears like velvet. He would have recognized his sister's voice anywhere. Dumbledore scanned the rooftop, his eyes searching every nook and cranny he could find. Ariana had spoken to him, Dumbledore was sure. Albus' heart raced with joy and anticipation in seeing his little sister again. His rational mind screamed she was dead, but his heart believed in the impossible.

The soothing smell of lavender perked his nose, and Albus could have sworn his sister was nearby, as if she were right by his side.

"Albus..."

There it was again, that soft whisper, but this time it was followed by a musical laugh, subtly hidden in the wind. Dumbledore thought he was losing his mind. He knew his sister would haunt his nightmares until Grindelwald was dealt with, but he had never imagined that he would be followed by her voice and laughter into the waking world.

Suddenly he felt a tug on his robe. When he looked down, a tiny hand was clasped around his much bigger fingers. Ariana looked up at him with her wide blue eyes, her auburn curls falling around her face like beams of amber sunlight. Dumbledore blinked. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and feeling. His rational mind was thrown into a frenzy, swirling around for a plausible explanation for this. It settled on that he was seeing Ariana because he was either crazy, or his subconscious needed to take on a form to speak with him (another form of crazy). Either way, it was not a good thing that he was seeing his sister who had been dead for years.

And this apparition wasn't the older Ariana that Dumbledore had seen dead; it wasn't the mentally damaged Ariana, or the despairing Ariana. It was Ariana as she had had been when she was younger; it was Ariana before she had ever met those horrible Muggle boys. This young Ariana smiled sweetly, her eyes glistening with innocence. She didn't speak, didn't have to. Her scent and her laughter was all that Albus needed; it comforted him to be around her, even if she was just an illusion.

"Are you real, or just apart of my subconscious mind?" Dumbledore asked softly.

Ariana nodded, but said nothing. Dumbledore wasn't sure which question she had answered. A tidal wave of emotions bore down on him, as if they had waited years to come. Dumbledore sighed; it was a wet, jagged sigh that was filled with tears. His eyes were hot and moisture brimmed on the edge of them. Dumbledore trembled. He closed his eyes, trying to control his emotions. When he opened them, Ariana was gone, and Albus could feel a little bit of his heart had gone as well.

He turned around, scanning the Astronomy Tower rooftop for any sign of her. As Albus searched, the door to the Astronomy Tower roof edged open, and Professor Vikious strode towards Dumbledore. Albus stopped searching for his long, dead sister, and replaced his grief with a smile. He could not allow his grief to show. People depended on him to be strong.

Professor Vikious stopped a few feet from Dumbledore, a huge grin covering his face. Vikious looked like the cat whom had finally caught the canary. Dumbledore was made uneasy by this. Vikious never looked this triumphant, and Albus knew something must be going on.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you Albus, but I've recently learned of some disturbing news, and I thought I should bring it to you first before I tell Headmaster Dippet. You may be able to do something about this new development I've found," Vikious stated proudly.

Albus turned to fully face Vikious, his eyes now stern and ready for whatever Vikious was about to say.

"How can I help you Professor Vikious?" Dumbledore replied.

Vikious' smile widened, and he moved closer to Dumbledore.

"It seems that our little Muggle guest--"

"You mean Jean Fulver," Dumbledore corrected.

"Yes. This Jean Fulver has some contact outside of Hogwarts communicating with him. With the news of a traitor amongst us, I thought it important to know that the Muggle is talking to someone outside of Hogwarts!"

Dumbledore was stunned by the news. If this was true, then Fulver must be the traitor. All the trust that Dumbledore had put into Fulver was starting to crumble away. What's worse, but Jean Fulver has been in Sergei Krum's company for a long time. Wolfbane may be able to watch Krum most of the time, but one of these days Wolfbane was going to slip up. Dumbledore seriously hoped that he had not brought the traitor to Hogwarts with him. Something nagged at Dumbledore. Some part of this picture was wrong. Dumbledore remained silent for a moment, contemplating what it was that was out of place. Then it hit him.

"How did you know there was a traitor amongst us Professor?" Dumbledore asked.

The smile on Vikious' face faded. Puzzlement and doubt replaced his pride. He had not expected Dumbledore to ask him that question.

"Rumors fly, Albus, faster than anyone can anticipate. You should know better than anyone how people will talk!" Vikious stated.

Dumbledore wasn't convinced by this answer. There was only one person who had loose enough lips to let secrets out, and Albus had the wisdom not to tell Mr. Borden anything about a traitor. Yet somehow Vikious knew there was a traitor.

"What evidence is there that Jean Fulver is communicating with someone from the outside?" Dumbledore asked.

Vikious' smile returned, though it wasn't as triumphant as it used to be.

"I have just been to see Mr. Borden, our dear caretaker. He has informed me that a letter arrived to Hogwarts addressed to the Muggle. It came during the middle of the Quidditch match, while no one was around. Don't you find it curious that not only does the Muggle seem to know a lot about our world, but also that he is communicating with someone outside of these walls?"

"Is there evidence of this claim Professor? If there is, the evidence must be brought to the Headmaster immediately!" Dumbledore responded. A small part of him had dropped to his stomach. He still didn't want to believe that Jean Fulver had managed to fool him.

"Well there isn't any evidence yet. The letter in question disappeared out of Borden's office, but there was a letter. I'm sure if we brought the Muggle in to see the Headmaster for questioning, that we may be able to get the truth out of him. Or better yet, let's get rid of this Fulver now before he betrays us all!"

"And what led you to Mr. Borden's office in the first place?" Dumbledore asked. He still had a feeling that something was off about this situation.

"Well, I have been following Jean Fulver and Professor Frederick for awhile--" Vikious started.

"Why were you following Jean Fulver, and why on earth would you follow my cousin? I'm sure Professor Frederick is not the traitor!" Dumbledore stated angrily.

Albus was broiling inside. Ever since his father had been put into Azkaban for what he did to those Muggle boys, everyone in Albus' family had had a stigma placed on them. The pure-blood families applauded them for their supposed hatred for Muggles, and the rest of the wizarding world scorned them for this supposed hatred as well. No one could seem to understand that Percival Dumbledore had not gone after those boys who had tortured Ariana because he hated Muggles; he had gone after those boys because he hated the boys for what they had done to his daughter. That was a major difference no one ever seemed to notice. It saddened Dumbledore to know that Frederick was just as affected by this stigma as the rest of his family.

Professor Vikious was stunned to hear the anger in Dumbledore's voice. He hated that Dumbledore had taken what he had said in a way that the Potions Master had not intended, but Albus had to be made aware of the facts.

"Dumbledore, I never meant to offend you. I've been following Frederick around because he always seems to be around Jean Fulver, and if Jean Fulver is the traitor, then you must be ready to accept that Frederick may be a conspirator as well. I mean he knows more about the Dark Arts than anybody else here. He may have gone over to Grindelwald's side!" Vikious stated.

"Frederick knows a lot about the Dark Arts because he is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He has to know what is out there in order to teach a defense against it. I have complete faith in Frederick. I know for a fact that he is not working with Grindelwald. In fact, he is working on something with me that may stymie Grindelwald's plans. I will entertain the idea from you that Jean Fulver may be a traitor, though I believe in my heart that he's not, but I will not tolerate Frederick being slandered!" Dumbledore's voice rang out. He hadn't been this angry for a long time.

Professor Vikious was dispirited by Dumbledore's reaction. He had too much respect for the man to say anything more about his suspicions, but he really did think that sometimes Dumbledore could be blind to the people he had around him. Albus wanted to believe that everyone was good, and Vikious was afraid that he was going to, one day, be disappointed. Vikious knew for a fact that most people were selfish, greedy or ambitious, and that they will one day let you down.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss Professor?" Dumbledore asked curtly.

Before Vikious could answer, the door to the Astronomy Tower's rooftop banged open, and Johnny Wolfbane burst out of it. Albus and Vikious turned to face Wolfbane, stunned by the man's entrance. Albus knew something was wrong by the look of sheer panic and terror on Johnny's face.

"Albus! I just had a vision! Hogsmeade is going to be attacked, and it's going to happen soon!"