Faith, Hope, and Love: Faith

Preparations

The next morning, to Kari's surprise, no owl came. However, her confusion was cleared immediately when her mother called her downstairs. They had a visitor. Kari didn't need to see the old man to know who it was. All the same, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive when his twinkling blue eyes caught hers. Would she really be able to do this? Shaking such thoughts from her head, she politely greeted the headmaster and sat down as he spoke with her parents.

Dumbledore explained that there had been a temporary change in policy at the end of the school year at Hogwarts and that this was the reason Kari had been expelled. However, those changes were no longer in effect and, thus, Kari's offenses were no longer considered offenses and she was free to return to school when the term started.

Mother and Father, being logical people, asked Dumbledore many questions. Some of these, Kari noticed the headmaster skived a bit from the truth on. But for the really important ones, he answered simply and truthfully, at least to the extent of Kari's knowledge. Then Father asked a question that really caught Kari's attention.

"Will she have to make up her end-of-term exams that she missed last year?"

Kari's head shot up and she glanced desperately at Dumbledore. There was no way she could help him and study for Hogwarts' exams, there was no time! Dumbledore just caught her eye and smiled. Instantly, she knew he had been waiting for her parents to ask that question.

"Most of Kari's teachers have already agreed that her grades were so high last year that she would've passed their exams with flying colors," Dumbledore said slowly. "However, a couple have expressed some concerns in certain areas that they all feel Kari could make up by doing a special project over the summer."

"What kind of project?" Father asked.

"A study of magical artifacts," Dumbledore replied. "Or, one in particular that she has shown an interest in."

"Which one?" Mother asked, looking at Kari.

"It is called the Death Veil," Dumbledore said. 'Clever, Dumbledore,' Kari thought to herself.

"The WHAT Veil?" Father shouted, also looking at Kari.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Dad," she said quickly. "It doesn't actually kill anyone; I don't think."

"You don't think?" Mother exclaimed.

"Mr. and Mrs. Tomoe, please," Dumbledore said placatingly. "Kari will not be anywhere near the Veil until I am satisfied that her knowledge of it is enough to keep from accidentally activating the artifact's abilities."

"Which are?" Mother prompted him. Dumbledore glanced slowly from her to Kari.

"We don't really know, Mum," Kari said slowly. "All we know is that the people who go through it don't come back out."

"You're going to make her go through it?!" Father exclaimed.

"Of course not," Dumbledore said. "I will simply toss something in and see if Kari can force the Veil to send it back. It will require quite a bit of research and some rather tricky spells, if I'm not mistaken. But I will be grading her on effort, not ability."

"Oh." Father looked as though he had nothing more left to say.

"Kari, honey," Mother said, turning to her daughter again. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Kari glanced at Dumbledore. What could she say?

"Um, Mum, Dad, could I speak to Professor Dumbledore alone for a moment?" she asked.

"Of course, dear," Mother said getting up. Father quickly followed her out the door.

Kari sighed as it closed, leaving them alone, and leaned back in her chair. Then she looked at Dumbledore.

"I hate you," she said despairingly, closing her eyes. She heard him chuckle softly. She sat up and glared at him. "I'm not kidding, old man. That nightmare of yours was horrible!"

"And effective," he replied, looking at her benignly from his chair. She opened her mouth to scream at him. "However, I don't think it was really necessary. Considering your reaction to it, your subconscious probably would have given you a dream similar to that sometime in the future."

"My dreams are never that bad," she declared, still glaring at him. He simply shrugged.

"What else did you want to speak to me about?" he asked. Kari thought for a moment.

"I'm going to need some help," she said slowly. "Even after I retrieve the book...."

"You know where it is then?" Dumbledore interrupted her. Kari nodded, rubbing her arm.

"We sorted that out last night," she said. "But after I get it back, I'm going to need some help."

"Can't read your own notes?" he asked teasingly. Her handwriting was one of her teachers' worst complaints about her.

"No, it's not that," she said, blushing slightly. "The Veil has multiple configurations worked into it that have most likely changed since the last time it was used properly. I haven't taken Arithmancy, and I'm not sure I trust my math skills enough to try and recalculate them all by myself. I need someone who is good at Arithmancy and advanced Algebra to check my work."

"Hmm. A situation easily remedied," Dumbledore said. "Is Professor Vector alright, or would you prefer a student?"

"A student, please," Kari said. "They ask fewer questions and you could simply say it's for extra-credit."

"Very well," Dumbledore said, pondering a bit. "How about Hermione Granger? Her marks are the highest in her class."

"She's also in my House," Kari said, chewing on her lower lip. "She knows me too well. Unless you made it so I wasn't mentioned at all...."

"Easily done," Dumbledore said.

"You do realize you're putting me in a very dangerous situation, right?" Kari pressed. He smiled at her.

"And I am sure you will perform your duties admirably," he said.

"What happened to free choice?" she asked.

"What happened to Ambergate?" he countered, his expression turning serious. Kari ground her teeth. Would she never be free of that...monstrosity?

"I'm not her," she said. Dumbledore raised his eyebrow and looked straight into her eyes, but Kari refused to give ground on this one. She looked right back into his eyes, not afraid of what he might see there. Finally, he smiled in satisfaction.

"No, you aren't," he said. "So, Kari, do you want to do this?"

"No," Kari said, honestly. "But I don't feel right about just leaving him there, either." Dumbledore nodded sympathetically. Then, she thought of something.

"What was he doing there anyway?" she asked. Dumbledore sighed.

"Saving Harry," he said wearily.

"And what was Harry doing there?"

"Saving Sirius," he said. She blinked.

"How the hell does that work?" she asked.

"It's a long story," Dumbledore said. "To make it short, Voldemort tricked Harry into believing that Sirius was in the Department of Mysteries and Harry went to save him. The Order was alerted of his movements and Sirius and few others went to the Ministry to save him."

"Sirius Black, the wanted mad, mass murderer, went to the Ministry of Magic? Willfully?" Kari asked incredulously. Dumbledore sighed and Kari just shook her head in despair.

"Dare I ask why Voldemort wanted Harry Potter to go to the Ministry?" Kari asked.

"Not just the Ministry, Kari, to the Department of Mysteries," Dumbledore said. Kari gave him a confused look so he added, "the Prophecy."

"But Harry would never...!" Kari stopped her exclamation as she noticed her headmaster looked decidedly guilty. "You never told him where to find it, did you?" She had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"I never told him about it at all, truth be told," he said.

"You WHAT?" she cried, jumping to her feet. "You never told him that he...." Dumbledore put up a hand to stop her.

"He was eleven," he said, sternly. "What eleven-year-old can bear to hear that the reason his parents died was because of a prophecy about him?" Dumbledore's face grew extremely tired and sad. "In fact, his fifteen-year-old self isn't taking it too well, either."

"So you told him?"

"Yes."

"Good." Kari sat down slowly. "So, how's he taking this business with Sirius being lost?"

"Quite honestly, everyone thinks Sirius is dead," Dumbledore said.

"What?"

"The general consensus on the Veil is that it kills people," he said. "Since no one has been there to correct us...." He looked at Kari significantly.

"Oh no, old man, we are not even going to go there," Kari said. "You promised."

"Very well," Dumbledore said.

"So when are you going to tell them?" she asked.

"After this 'project' succeeds," he said. "There's no use giving everyone false hope." Kari nodded.

"That's probably the nicest way," she said. "So, how's Harry dealing with Sirius being 'gone'?"

"Badly," Dumbledore said, soberly. "His uncle made the mistake of insulting Sirius the other day and I had to take him out of there before he hurt someone." He sighed. "Now he feels I'm trapping him in a place that reminds him of a man he thinks he wants to forget. But, at least he's with friends who know him and understand what he's going through."

'Yes,' Kari thought. 'Friends are good things to have. Especially in times like these. Speaking of friends....'

"And Rem--Professor Lupin?" she asked, barely catching herself. Dumbledore took a deep breath and shook his head.

"That bad?" she asked. Dumbledore just looked at her.

"Excuse me," Kari's mother's voice said from the door. Kari quickly looked behind her to see her mother standing in the doorway. "I don't mean to interrupt, Kari, but your father and I have to go."

"Oh right, the appointment!" Kari said, jumping to her feet.

"It's alright, honey. You can stay here and talk to Professor Dumbledore some more if you'd like," her mother said quickly. "It's just more of the boring pictures and x-rays, anyway."

"How long will it take?" Kari asked. She wanted to be there for her mother, but appointments like these bored her to tears and she couldn't do anything anyway. She felt so useless.

"Probably until late this afternoon," Mother said.

"Actually, Mrs. Tomoe, I would like to take Kari to get some supplies for her project while you're away. If you don't mind, of course," Dumbledore said, standing up.

"Oh," Kari's mother said. She looked at Kari. "So, you've decided to do this project then?" Kari nodded slowly and her mother turned back to Dumbledore.

"I really am grateful to you for giving her a second chance, Professor Dumbledore," she said. "But, please, I need your promise that you aren't putting my daughter in any danger by making her do this, this, 'Death Veil' thing."

Kari sucked in her breath. How was Dumbledore going to get out of this one? He was putting her in more danger than her mother could imagine and he knew it. Kari was sure he wasn't going to tell her mother all of the risks, if he told her any of them.

"Unfortunately, Mrs. Tomoe, the Wizarding world has many dangers, as does the Muggle world," Dumbledore said, slowly. "I cannot promise you that Kari will be in no danger if she rejoins it, but I can assure you that, when she faces the final test of this project, I will be with her to correct any mistakes she might make." The old headmaster allowed himself a small smile. "Although, even I am prone to make mistakes." Kari rolled her eyes.

"Don't let him scare you, Mum," she said. "Professor Dumbledore has been hailed as the greatest wizard of our time by more than one authority."

"You flatter me, Kari," Dumbledore said, inclining his head a bit in her direction. "However, I will be the first to admit that I am still human, and that humans are prone to mistakes." Mrs. Tomoe smiled at that. Kari had a feeling that Dumbledore's humbleness had won her over better than having a million authorities vouch for the man.

"Mum, if you don't mind, I think I need to get started on this project as soon as possible," she said. "After all, the clock's already ticking." She looked at Dumbledore, who nodded.

"It's no problem at all, honey," Mrs. Tomoe said, still smiling. "Will you need some money?"

"No, I can just use the money Mr. Flamel gave me," Kari said, thinking a bit. "Wizarding money for Wizarding purposes, remember?" Mrs. Tomoe smiled and nodded before kissing her goodbye. That was the one limit Nicholas Flamel had put on Kari when he had given her a small fortune when he died. The money was only to be used in the Wizarding world. Kari gave her mother a big hug before watching her and Father leave to go to the hospital. Then she turned to Dumbledore.

"Shall we go, then?"

.....

Diagon Alley hadn't changed much since last year, although there was at least one shop that Kari was dying to go to. However, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was already very busy and she only got a peek. Besides that, being with someone like Dumbledore meant that they got stopped every couple of seconds by someone who just had to talk to him. It took them nearly an hour to get to Gringotts alone.

When they finally got there, the goblins running the place weren't half as mean as they had been when Kari had been there with her parents, and they certainly worked faster. Kari handed one her key and instead of the usual rude glare, he simply nodded and took them down to her vault himself. Dumbledore stayed behind in the cart, but when she got out at Number 714, she felt Shadow join her for the first time since she'd been in Dumbledore's presence.

"What is it about you and treasure?" she asked as the goblin opened the vault.

"It's shiny," he replied immediately, his eyes gleaming at the sight of all the jewel and money that was inside, "and I live in the darkness."

"You aren't allergic to sunlight, Shadow," Kari said rolling her eyes.

"I know. Nighttime is just more my style," he said. Kari just shook her head at him and went in to fill her bag with coins.

"In the back," she whispered to the cat, "there is a small ivory box. I'm going to need that and a couple of sapphires. You know the size and shape."

The cat disappeared off her shoulder for a second and returned with the items she had requested in his mouth. She took them from him and quickly put them in her pocket. Then she smiled. His tail was positively twitching.

"Oh, go ahead and pick something for yourself," she said, giggling. "Something small though, so you can wear it."

He was off again in a flash, coming back with a small lump of silver, a small lump of gold, and a beautifully cut emerald that matched his glowing eyes.

"I couldn't choose," he said mournfully, looking at the gold and silver.

"If you pick the silver with the emerald, people are going to wonder which house I'm in," she said, "and the gold sets off your fur really well."

"Do you think it's too bright?" he asked nervously. "How am I going to even catch a mouse with that thing reflecting off every piece of light?"

"Right. Like you have a hard time catching mice," Kari said, rolling her eyes. "Think of it as a challenge." Shadow nodded and she picked up the gold lump and the emerald and put them in her pocket.

"Nice choice, by the way," she said as they left the vault and the goblin locked it behind them. "That emerald was really expensive." Shadow sniffed and jumped onto her shoulder again.

"You said you needed my help and I said it was going to cost you," he said. "Since you won't give me what I really want...."

"No, Shadow," Kari said sternly. "You got your treasure, and I expect you to do a good job." Shadow didn't reply.

They rejoined Dumbledore in the cart before the headmaster noticed the cat on Kari's shoulder. Instantly, his usual benign expression turned serious.

"You still have that-- thing?" he asked crossly. Kari looked away and nodded, her hand going up automatically to stroke the cat. Shadow purred and rubbed up against her hand, obviously hoping to incite the man more.

"I don't like having him in my school," Dumbledore said. Shadow glared at him.

"If you don't have me, then you can't have her, old man," he spat. "Kari's mine."

"Shut up," Kari mumbled to the cat. She didn't want them to start fighting. Again. She turned to Dumbledore. "So, do you think I have enough?" She held up her bag. He gave her a look that told her she had changed the subject too quickly for him to actually believe she cared, but he played along with it.

"You should have plenty," he said. "If not, we can always come back down here." He looked up at Kari's vault number with a sad smile. "Nicolas?"

"Yes," Kari replied. Nicolas Flamel had contacted her when she was about six, saying that he had known her mother, her grandmother, her great-grandmother, her great-great grandmother, and so forth and hoped that she would visit and write to him, just as they had.

He knew all about her family's past, ever since her many-times great grandmother had been such a close friend to him and had died, leaving her small daughter in his care about six-hundred years ago. Since then, he had tried to keep in touch with all of her children, but Kari was the only one he'd said he'd been able to locate. She had had her mother help her write letters and go with her on visits to the kind old man.

But then, when she had been nine, he had contacted her one final time, saying that it was finally time for him to die. He had willed Vault 714 to her with a small fortune in it to help her with her studies at Hogwarts and anything else that had to do with the Wizarding world.

She had gone to his funeral with her parents and had met Dumbledore there. Quite a few people had recognized her because she looked so much like her birth mother, but were confused when she told them how old she was. Finally, Dumbledore had stepped in and explained to everyone there that her mother had died in childbirth and, since she had no known living relatives, she had been adopted by Muggles.

Now, racing through the tunnels and caves, Kari hoped Nicolas had found what he was looking for. He had always wanted an adventure and had used his extensive life-span to journey the world multiple times.

'Death is the final adventure,' she thought to herself.

"Except when you're immediately reborn," Shadow hissed in her ear, flashing her a picture of a phoenix. She said nothing. She didn't really want to think of Magical Creatures until she took the class again this fall.

.....

Their first stop was Ollivander's. Kari knew the old man would not be happy to see her. She had only had her wand for three years before Umbridge had snapped it. She was right. If Dumbledore hadn't been there, she was sure he would've started yelling at her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, clicking his tongue in a disapproving way. "I'd heard you were expelled, young lady."

"Circumstances have changed, Mr. Ollivander," Dumbledore said. "Kari is being allowed to come back to school."

"Still snapped your wand, did they?" Ollivander asked, still staring at Kari.

"Why else would we be here, you nosy, old coot?" Kari quickly clamped Shadow's mouth shut. But it was too late. Ollivander's eyes bulged as he saw the cat on her shoulders.

"Never!" he shouted. "I will not sell to someone who deals with creatures like that!"

Shadow rose up on Kari's shoulders hissing and spitting, while she tried to control him as Ollivander shouted curses and swear words at her, trying to chase her out. However, Dumbledore was standing directly behind her, trying to placate the man in a calm voice, which was having no affect on the shop keeper whatsoever.

"Please, Mr. Ollivander, Shadow isn't really a demon!" Kari shouted over the noise. Both men fell silent and looked down at her in surprise.

"What?" Mr. Ollivander said.

"He isn't a real demon. My grandmother created him out of nothing. He's a construct." Kari spoke softly, hoping not to incite the man further by speaking the Dark Mistress's name. However, his eyes still narrowed and Kari could hear his teeth grinding.

"And she, no doubt, used Dark magic to create him," he said, still angry. Kari nodded slowly.

"But only to create him," she said quickly, before either man could open his mouth. "And even then, she still gave him a heart. He's not evil. He's just got a twisted personality."

"Thanks," Shadow muttered sarcastically.

"But he has still been living since Ambergate's time," Dumbledore said. "Does that mean she made him immortal?"

"Not exactly..." Kari said slowly. Shadow immediately hissed at her and sank his claws into her shoulder. She shut up. Then, she looked at the two men pleadingly.

"Please," she said, "you're just going to have to trust me. I can keep him under control. That's why we're Bonded." Shadow hissed again in annoyance.

"Bonded?" Ollivander said incredulously. "You Bonded yourself to a construct?" Kari nodded. "No Dark Wizard has ever done that...."

"Because there's no other construct like me," Shadow muttered. Kari silently told him to shut-the-hell-up before he got them into more trouble.

"Well, Ollivander?" Dumbledore asked, turning to the wand maker. He didn't appear to have heard Shadow. Neither did Ollivander, who bit his lip.

"I still don't like it," he said. "What proof do I have that you won't do Dark magic?"

"The fact that I will use your wand to correct the mistakes Ambergate made," Kari said, raising her head. "The fact that I now live with Muggles, which most Dark wizards can't stand as anything more than amusement, and the fact that I have as much cause to hate what the Dark Lord has done as much as anyone," she added, swallowing. Ollivander looked confused for only a second before comprehension dawned on his face.

"Ah, yes. I remember now," he said. "Sora Caritas and Lil--"

"Please," Kari said, interrupting him, "are you going to sell me a wand or not? If not, I can go somewhere else, but we really don't have a lot of time."

Ollivander glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded. The wand maker signed resignedly and selected a wand from the shelf.

"Eleven inches, mahogany with a unicorn hair, nice and springy," he said.

.....

She stepped out of the fireplace at the Ministry, and grabbed onto Dumbledore's hand to stop herself from falling over. Her stomach was still spinning, though. She hated traveling by Floo powder.

"As soon as I'm old enough," she muttered to herself, "I'm getting an Apparation license." Beside her, Dumbledore smiled and led her to the elevator to go to the Department of Regulation of Underage Wizardry.

Once there, Dumbledore explained about her project (he was a bit sketchy on the details, of course) and the wizard in charge agreed. However, the restriction would be in place once again during Christmas and the summer holidays until she came of age.

When they got back into the elevator, Dumbledore pushed the big 10 button. Surprised, Kari looked at the headmaster, but he remained silent until they got out on the correct floor.

"You will most likely need to be sworn to secrecy," he said. "They might also decide to modify your memory, depending on how you behave." Kari snorted. Her, not behave? Since when had she not behaved herself? (The incident with Umbridge notwithstanding.)

They got to the end of the long, windowless hallway and the doors in front of them swung open of their own accord. Instantly, conversations were dropped all over the place and many people quickly put away things they had been working with. All Kari saw was something that looked like a watch and a huge but broken glass ball.

"Dumbledore!" one wizard hailed them, coming over and holding out his hand. Dumbledore shook it. "So nice to see you again. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"School business," Dumbledore said, patting Kari's shoulder gently. "One of my students needs to do a project involving an artifact."

The man raised his eyebrows and looked down at Kari. She blushed immediately. She knew she must look younger than she was, people were always mistaking her for an elementary child. It was one of the disadvantages to being small and frail.

"And you need to use one of our artifacts?" he asked. Kari resisted the urge to snort at the possessiveness in the man's voice. If he ever tried to control the Veil, he would quickly learn just how much it was 'his.'

"Unfortunately, Kari has the interesting ability to find almost every detail of any artifact that we have. However, she doesn't like to use what she finds and often gets into trouble because of that. My colleagues and I believe that this will not be much use to her in the future if she doesn't start to learn to actually do things, so we decided she needed something untried by anyone else," Dumbledore said. Kari blushed harder. He was making her out to be some sort of genius! Gods, how was she going to live up to this?

"Really?" the man said, looking interested. He squatted down to be at eye level with Kari. "And old are you, young lady?"

"Fourteen," she said. He started to say something, but Dumbledore held up his hand.

"I have already cleared this through the Office of the Regulation of Underage Wizardry," he said. "All that we need is your okay so she can come down here to test her theory." The wizard stood up awkwardly.

"Well, she'll have to be sworn," he said, scratching his head nervously. "What, exactly, did you want her to study?"

"The Death Veil," Dumbledore said. The Unspeakable started and immediately shook his head.

"Too dangerous," he said. "you of all people should know that."

"I do know that it is dangerous," Dumbledore replied. ""I also know that it is even more dangerous because of how little we know about it. And you must understand that I will be there personally to make sure Kari doesn't make any fatal mistakes. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone."

"Fine then," the man said reluctantly. "Merlin knows none of our people have had any luck with it. At least, none that have lived to tell the tale. Come with me."

Dumbledore waited while Kari was sworn to secrecy (he'd already been through that process), given a number (08547) and then they were both brought to another room that was completely made up of a circle of doors.

"The Death Chamber," the man said aloud, apparently to no one.

"Identification, please," a disembodied voice said.

"Numbers 08072, 07941, and 08547," the Unspeakable said.

"Confirmed," the voice said. A door on their right swung open. Kari and Dumbledore followed their host into it.

"Your number will only allow you access to this door," he said to Kari. "So should you 'feel the need' to go anywhere else, you'll have to play musical chairs with that room. However it will always let you out of the department if you just ask." The look he gave her told her she'd better not feel the need to wander if she wanted to stay here long. She nodded and looked around the room they had come into. It was built like an amphitheater, with the Veil right on what would be center stage. Kari felt an uneasy lump in her stomach. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew it was true....

"The Ministry used it for executions, didn't they," she said, making it a statement rather than a question. She looked at Dumbledore and he nodded shortly. The Unspeakable looked surprised, but said nothing.

"That was before the Ministry allied itself with the dementors," Dumbledore said. Kari shuddered.

"So we went from bad to worse," she said. Dying by way of the Veil looked like holiday compared to having your soul sucked out. The Unspeakable shuffled and looked like he was going to say something. Probably to ask them to leave now that they knew where to find the room. Kari stepped forward.

"I'd like to take a closer look," she said. The Unspeakable made a move as if he was going to stop her, but Dumbledore held up his hand.

"Just be careful, Kari," he said. "Don't go onto the platform." She nodded and started down the stairs.

Execution. The Ministry had used the Veil for execution. Just as Ambergate had. Was the Ministry then as bad as the former Dark Mistress? Had they, in destroying one monster, become a monster themselves?

She stopped when she was eye level with the Veil and began to circle it slowly. It was in very good condition. Some of the spell symbols had worn with time, but they were still recognizable. She could do this after all. Just a little reconfiguration....

As soon as the Veil was between her and the Unspeakable, Kari slowed down even further.

"Shadow," she said lightly. He jumped from nowhere onto her shoulder. "Look into the Veil," she said. "Is Sirius still alive?'

"Yes," he said sullenly.

"How much longer will he live if he stays in there?"

"A minute."

"WHAT?" Kari panicked for a second before cold logic took over. She forced herself to be calm. "I mean in our time, Shadow."

"Fine. About a month. Maybe less if we're lucky."

"You scared me."

"I meant to."

"Return," Kari said, angry. She felt his weight lift from her shoulder and completed her circle of the Veil. As she returned to the Unspeakable and Dumbledore, she saw that they were wearing respective looks of total bewilderment and interested expectation.

"I can do it," she said to Dumbledore. He nodded and, with a brief thank-you to the Unspeakable, they left.

.....

"It's around here somewhere," Kari said, looking through all the graves in the cemetery.

"I thought you said you knew where it was," Dumbledore said.

"I don't. Shadow does."

"Then summon him."

"I thought you didn't like him."

"I don't. Bu there are times when you have to do things you don't want to."

"Alright then. Shadow!" Kari called. The cat sprang to her shoulders and hissed his unhappiness in her ear. "I know you don't like it here," she said lowly. "Where's the book?"

"Seventeen plots to your right and then two up," Shadow said, every hair standing on edge.

"No tricks?" Kari asked.

"No tricks. Just get the hell out of here," he said.

Kari started down the row Shadow had indicated, Dumbledore following at a distance. The headmaster was confused by the cat's strange behavior. He could feel no evil presence.

"It's not dark out yet," he said. "Why is your cat-creature afraid of this place?"

"It's hallow ground," Kari explained, ducking under a tree. Dumbledore stopped dead.

"I thought you said he wasn't a demon," he said sternly.

"He isn't. But he was modeled after one, so it's still in his nature. If he really was one, he wouldn't be able to be here at all," Kari said. She stopped at a small grave. "Here it is."

Dumbledore looked at the headstone she had indicated. It seemed perfectly ordinary; not too big, not too small, no ornate statues...It was decorated with the image of a lit candle on either side of the name "Maribel Tinder--June 30, 1789 - July 15, 1789." Underneath that, the face and wings of an angel had also been carved above the epitaph, "VOCATUS ATQUE, NON VOCATUS, DEUS ADERIT." Underneath all of this, a small simple cross was also carved into the headstone.

"One of your ancestors?" Dumbledore asked as Kari knelt before the grave.

"Not exactly. She was the daughter of one of my many-times-great grandmothers, but her mother tried to make her immortal and it didn't really work out the way she had planned," Kari said sadly.

"What does the epitaph mean?" he asked gently.

"'Invoked or not invoked, God is present,'" she replied.

"Well spotted."

"Are you ready, Shadow?" Kari asked, before that conversation could go further. He hissed his reply. He was more than ready. Kari settled herself on the ground. Taking the two sapphires she gotten earlier, she placed them on the angel's face, right in the place of the eyes. Then, slowly, softly, she began to sing.

An angel face smiles to me

Under a headline of tragedy

That smile used to give me warmth

The images of candles started glowing a bright red and yellow, as if that were really lit. Next, Kari took the ivory chest and opened it, revealing a small silver cross. She placed that on top of the small cross carved into the headstone. Dumbledore was not surprised to see that it fitted perfectly.

Farewell, no words to say

Beside the cross, on your grave

The images of the candles burned brighter. Kari looked straight at them and continued to sing with her hands folded before her.

And those forever-burning candles.

The light coming from the stone candles immediately went out. Kari ignored it and kept singing.

Needed elsewhere

To remind us of our time

Tears laid for them

Tears of love, tears of fear

Bury my dreams, dig up my sorrows

Oh, Lord, why do the angels fall first?

The earth beneath them trembled and the now-silver cross split into four quarters. Those quarters then curled back into their respective corners like wet paper. Dumbledore looked at the space they had uncovered. There was a chamber hidden in the tombstone and he could see the book they were after sitting right there. However, Kari made no move towards it, so Dumbledore stayed put too.

Not relieved by thoughts of Shangri-La

Nor enlightened by the lessons of Christ

The opening closed in on itself immediately. At the same time, the angel's new sapphire eyes started to glow.

I'll never understand the meaning of the right

Ignorance lead me into the light.

There was a bright blue flash from the angel's eyes and eerie hum permeated the air around them. The next words that filled the area didn't come from Kari; that much Dumbledore knew. They seemed to be coming from the angel head. Contrary to his expectations, the voice was low and menacing.

Sing me a song of your beauty, of your kingdom.

Kari answered it right on beat, this time with Shadow joining her.

Let the melodies of your harps

Caress those whom we still need.

At this, Shadow dropped out and Kari continued on alone.

Yesterday, we shook hands,

My friend

Shadow once again joined her, but this time he sang the melody while Kari switched to the descant. Dumbledore had to admit it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard.

Today a moonbeam lightens my path,

My guardian.

On that last word, the angel eyes flashed again, this time a bright red. When Dumbledore's eyes had adjusted once again, he saw a book hovering in midair over the tombstone. Kari didn't hesitate as she reached up and took it. She turned to Dumbledore as the area returned to the way it was, in fact, the tombstone was exactly like it had been before they had come here. There was no sign of the silver cross or the sapphires. Dumbledore looked at the book and saw that the cover read The Book of Phoenix Song in ancient runic lettering. It was obviously very old. It was covered in dark leather, which made the gold lettering shine even more brightly against it.

Kari opened the book and flipped it to a page near the front. Quickly, she ripped it out and handed it to Dumbledore.

"That's for Granger," she said. "I would prefer it if she didn't have to use that page, but I don't trust any copies to be made. The Veil basically slows time down for anything that goes through it instead of killing them outright. However, that means we have to get the two times synchronized in order to get anything back. It's tricky, but luckily, Ambergate wrote down the formulas to do just that.

"The two formulas I need her to reconfigure are all that's on those pages, so we don't have to worry about her learning more than she needs to know. She'll also need to add about fifty-two years to that figure there," she pointed at one of the numbers, "and there, and there, and there, and there." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.

"Then I need the figures and their counters for the day he went in and the day we are going to get him out. For this formula," she went on, flipping the page over to the other side, "I'll need her to invert this whole formula and try to clean it up as much as possible without losing anything and not changing the order in which each element comes because...."

"It's like a complex potion. Every ingredient needs to be added or taken away at the proper time," Dumbledore finished for her.

"Exactly," Kari said. "When are we going to try this? He's got less than a month left in our time."

"How much time do you think you'll need for the reconfiguration?"

"At least a couple of weeks. I need to figure out quite a few of these notes."

"How about the first of August. That gives you two and half weeks."

"Sounds fine. Be sure Hermione knows that as well. What time?"

"How about noon?"

"Fine."

"Is that everything?"

"For now."

"Good! Then can we please go home?" Shadow whined on her shoulder.