One To Battle, Two To Conquer

Chapter 1

"We have to act fast," Albus Dumbledore explained. He was an elder wizard. He had a long, silver beard, dark-green wizarding robes, and twinkling, blue eyes hidden slightly under half-moon spectacles. He was the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was a very powerful wizard, often called a genius, but occasionally others referred to him as a bit mad. Dumbledore was sitting at the head of a long wooden table in the large stone kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, in London, England.

Surrounding him were six other witches and wizards in the Order. To his left were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley was a short balding man with extremely red hair. He was the head of the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office in the Ministry of Magic. Mrs. Weasley was a plump, kind face woman with extremely red hair also. They were the parents of the seven Weasley children, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny; all whom, you guessed it, had extremely red hair. Nymphadora Tonks was an Auror, or a dark wizard catcher, and a Metamorphagus; she could change her appearance at will. At this moment she had short, bright, purple hair. Next to her was Remus Lupin. He had been a friend of James Potter and Sirius Black in school. He wore shabby robes and had graying hair, though he was still fairly young. Among them were other Aurors; Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody. Kingsley was a tall, black wizard with a golden hoop earring hanging from one of his ears. Moody was an older wizard that had scars that seemed to cover his entire body. There was a large chunk taken out of his nose, but most spectacular of all, was his single electric-blue eye which whizzed around his eye socket, while the other one was normal.

In the center of the table was a golden bowl, ancient markings encrypted on the rim of it. It was a Pensieve. Still, this wasn't any other ordinary Pensieve; this one didn't just show memories, it also showed what a certain person was doing at the present time. Inside was a silvery substance that swirled around continuously.

Dumbledore stared at it for a moment than looked back to the Order. "She's not safe. She never has been. I made a very bad mistake putting her there in the first place. We all knew this. Sirius and I did this in hopes that she would never have to learn the truth, but it is what we feared, Voldemort has found it. Something has to be done."

"Where did he acclaim such information?" Lupin shook his head.

"That's the question, isn't it?" Moody said in a growling voice. "Someone must know more than we do."

"What are we going to tell Harry? He's gone through so much and now this! This should never have happened like this," Mrs. Weasley murmured.

"We knew this would be difficult. There's no doubt about it," Dumbledore spoke, "but don't worry about Harry, we're going to tell him the truth. Since the prophecy was destroyed and most of it was forgotten, Harry had the only part known about by man. We knew there was a part missing. Deep inside we all knew but we were too blind to worry or care about it. How many lives have we put in jeopardy now that Voldemort has found it?"

"Additionally, he question really is where the records located and what it contains." Dumbledore said this while taking a look around the room observing the looks on the Order's faces, all blank and quite expressionless from weariness and anguish. "Tonight," Dumbledore continued, "tonight, I will go to the Smyth household and start the explanation. It would be best if Mindy is not present at the time."

"Good thinking, Albus. It wouldn't be exceptionally safe either," Kingsley said while leaning back in his chair crossing his arms over his chest.

Dumbledore nodded, "Would anyone else like to accompany me?"

"I would be flattered,"

"I will go too," Lupin responded proudly. Dumbledore acknowledged. A drowsy silence followed. "That settles it, tonight we will be off." "I hate to run, but I have a very important meeting with Mindy's teachers and then to find Sirius."

Dumbledore rose, glanced at the door from above his spectacles, and turned toward the door and was gone. The meeting was adjourned.

*

Exactly at a quarter to four, Professor Dumbledore walked through the door of the kitchen once again, this time to find Mrs. Weasley sitting at the table with Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They looked up when he entered. Lupin and Kingsley were both clad in muggle clothing, jeans and simple t-shirts; it was to hot outside for anything else. Dumbledore was still in his wizarding robes. He took a seat across from them.

"Now the plan... we are going to separate Mindy from her parents. It would be a good idea for her to know just what she needs to know, nothing more, nothing less, though her parents will be harder to convince. I had Snape make a potion to reverse all the effects that we made and return her to the fashion she would be as if this never even happened. It will take the potion a week exactly to have its full effects." Dumbledore pulled a crystal phial out of his robes. It contained a moist, greenish liquid splashing around inside.

Lupin took a glance at his watch. "Oh, look at the time."

"Oh, yes, we should be gone by now," Dumbledore said.

They said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, and then they were off to the United States.

*

Professor Albus Dumbledore, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Remus Lupin apparated right to the front door of the Smyth residence in the small town in of Medical Lake Washington, USA. The home was on the outskirts, in the country. Around them were a big red barn, two story farm houses, and pastures with woods. In the pasture at their left, there were horses; the yard had three Dobermans and a Dalmatian that were barking warningly at them. Dumbledore raised a hand and the dogs quieted and began wagging their tails. There were cats on the doorstep, peacocks and chickens in the coop, dusty old farm trucks, and a wood shed piled high with wood. The sun was slowly setting on the tree tops giving the setting a warm purplish tint.

Dumbledore walked to the front doorstep and the rest followed. He knocked a few times on the door and stepped back. A few moments later a women opened the door. She was of average height with blue eyes and shoulder length curly brown hair. "Hello?" she asked in a questioning voice.

"Mrs. Smyth, I am Albus Dumbledore and these are Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt. We are here to talk to you and your daughter," Dumbledore said. "Brenda, isn't it?"

Brenda looked at him like he was crazy. "The Headmaster at Hogwarts?" She looked as if she was surprised at herself for even pretending to believe this. They did look like they could be. "That's just an old children's story."

"I can insure you that we're more than that," Dumbledore said calmly. "Would you like to see some magic?" Brenda stood there for a moment than nodded looking around nervously. "What would you like me to do?"

"Um...you could... like... levitate something?" she asked and with a slight hand movement, she pointed to the rock that was near the steps. It rose to knee-height and fell back to the ground again as Dumbledore waved his wand. Brenda looked absolutely astonished and mystified. Little did she actually expect that there was actual magic as witches and wizards levitating stuff and flying around on broomsticks.

"So, why are you here?" she asked rather grouchily not noticing that her question had already been answered. Dumbledore had the impression that she wasn't going to let in just yet.

"We're here to talk about your daughter Mindy," he said all the more calmly.

Brenda just looked questionably protective at him. She paused a moment then backed through the door. "Come in." Brenda opened the door for Dumbledore, and led the way into the house.

The house was big and cozy. Dumbledore and the others took a seat on the couch and chair as Brenda offered them. "Would it be alright if Remus Lupin talks to Mindy separately for the time being? We think it would be in her best interest."

Brenda looked leery. "Sure." She started down the hallway and headed downstairs.

"Mrs. Smyth is cooperating nicely," Dumbledore told Lupin and Kingsley. "I had expected more of a fight. Of course, this is only the beginning."

About five minutes later, Brenda came upstairs followed by a teenage girl. That had to be Mindy. She was tall and thin. She had long dark hair and hazel eyes. She smiled when she came into the room.

"Her father and grandmother are on their way as quick as they can. It'll probably be ten minutes," Brenda commented.

Mindy bypassed her and introduced herself. "I'm Mindy," she said excitedly but politely. A younger boy came into the door and stopped short. "This is my brother, Orion." Orion was a husky, brown-haired, green-eyed, eleven year old boy. Orion looked totally oblivious.

"Who are you?" he asked. Mindy glared. "What?"

"Well, I thought it was kind of obvious," said Mindy.

"Because Mom told you."

"Oh, no, she didn't!"

"Kids!" her mother snapped. The small argument came to an abrupt halt. Mindy felt embarrassed realizing that all eyes were on her.

"Mindy," the man called Lupin started, "would you mind going and getting your books?"

"Yes, um, sir, um...Orion, come here," she replied uncertainly, and her brother and she started down the hallway.

"Orion," she whispered when she was out of earshot, "the older one. You know who that is, don't you?" Orion remained quiet. "Don't you see why Mom is acting so weird? That's Professor Dumbledore."

"That one dude in those creepy old books?"

"Yes, Orion, and the other ones are Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Who are they?"

"Read the books."

She started gathering the book that they had been talking about in her arms. The Harry Potter books, that's where all this came from. Professor Dumbledore was the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. R.J. Lupin was a teacher at the school and he was also known as a werewolf. There was also Kingsley Shacklebolt. Mindy didn't know too much about him; he was in the last book they had found of the series, the fifth one. He was an Auror. They were all part of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society, people who fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

They were here, standing just down the hall.

It made no sense. These books had just appeared one day in the attic. They were all dirty and worn. They were stacked neatly right beside the door that led from the staircase, like waiting to be found. Nobody knew where they had come from. They all thought that the previous owners of the house had left them. That didn't convince Mindy to this day; why did they just appear there? They would've come across them before. Once she tried to research them online, but nothing was found on them. They weren't even heard of. No author's name, no title, no nothing. They were just acclaimed by the name 'The Harry Potter Books'. All of her family had eventually read them and loved them. The fifth one was different, though; it just ended. All of the others had an ending where the next one had picked up off. The fifth book didn't really end at all. There had to be more too it. There was no way that was the end of the series. There were too many questions unanswered, too many things just left standing.

A smile came across Mindy's face. She was going to get the answers to all her questions, she was sure of it. It still didn't make any sense, but she was willing to bet this would be a very odd afternoon.

"Why are they here?" Orion asked rudely interrupting her train of thought.

"I don't know. That's why I was trying to be polite." She breathed stacking the five books in her arms. "Can you take these?" she asked, handing Orion three of the books.

"Yeah, sure."

They started back down the hallway and as they entered the room.

"Would you mind coming stepping outside. She glanced at him then to her mom. She half expected her to pull the "whatever you have to say you can say in front of me argument," but when she didn't she obliged. Everyone was acting quite strange for having three strange people who claimed themselves to be wizards.

"Hello, Mindy, my name is Remus Lupin." He offered his hand Mindy took it smiling. The suspense was almost overwhelming. "Do you have any idea why we're here?"

"Nope."

"Of course not," There was a long pause as if he was thinking. "There is no easy way to tell you what I volunteered to tell you." He started, "I rehearsed all the ways I could to explain this to you. First off, I have to tell you that I'm going to give you as much information as I possibly can, which is more than I'm supposed to. Many believe that we shouldn't be doing this, I think their wrong." Mindy stared at him apprehensively. "Those books," he jestered to the pile of 5^th hard bound books now resting on the table, "you've read them, haven't you?"

She nodded intently. "More than once."

"Well, there is one, very significant character missing from the story." She raised her eyebrows. "That is you. You see, you are not the person you think you are, you're a witch." Lupin paused. Mindy took this time to stare at him stupidly. Feeling it impolite to follow her impulse and agree, she continued to sit in silence. As he continued she was debating within herself the reality of all this. "On top of that, you're not just any witch James and Lily Potter are also your biological parents."

Pinching failed. As she refocused on Lupin's rather young but strained appearance. She knew this couldn't be a dream. This would be an awful joke. No actor was capable of playing Lupin's role. "Sister...twin sister."
She shook her head. "That doesn't make sense."

"You're right." Lupin replied, "Logically, it would be impossible, but you must remember who I'm talking about. You're a witch, Mindy, fifteen years ago, your parents' were murdered by You-Know-Who, the pervious afternoon you were taken and placed with a foster family."

"They know-my family, I mean?"

"That is an answer that is more complex than you think. The important thing is that you first understand this. You're in extreme danger. The last few years we've had had an inner conflict, we've been debating whether or not we would bring you in on all this. Now it seems we have no choice."

"I don't understand." She started, "Your saying that this is all real? That a book, not a very descriptive one for that matter, is actually a reality."

"If the book was so descriptive our world would be discovered."

She disregarded his reply; it would be much harder to convince her. "Voldemort is real?" He nodded, "-and he's back?" He nodded again. She pieced the puzzle together piece by piece. "Before Voldemort murders the Potters I was put here? Why all of a sudden? It has been fifteen years! Why did you send me off in the first place?"

"It was too dangerous if you remained with your family." Lupin explained, "they were in hiding and they knew that if you stayed with them you would be killed."

"Wait," she interrupted, "I would be killed? What about Harry? He would have been killed just as easy as me, the prophecy didn't clarify-"

"Mindy, it was your parents' choice. They chose Harry to remain behind, if both of you went it would be too conspicuous. They knew they had to risk one of their child's lives."

She sat for awhile staring at her lap, deep in thought. "But why now?"

"The circumstances have changed. We need you." She didn't understand why they would unexpectedly need her after fifteen years. She had a mixture of feelings brewing inside. First, she was asked to believe that the whole wizard aspect was real, now it had risen to a level that she couldn't comprehend. "It's not that they didn't want you, its not that we couldn't have retrieved you after the war was over, and Harry was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. We felt that remaining here would be best for you."

"So," she asked slowly after a few moments of silence, "what's going to happen to me? Your not going to leave me here are you?"

Lupin cracked a smile, "not if you don't want to." She met his smile. "We figured that Hogwarts would be the best place for a young witch like you."

Inside, the atmosphere had completely changed. When Mindy walked in the room everyone had a mystified, bewildered, and almost sad, look about them.

They were still her family, nothing could ever change that, but they didn't feel the way Mindy felt about this.

She sat next to her dad and her grandma, who looked at her sadly. Who knew if Dumbledore had told them something completely different than what Lupin had told her?

Dumbledore pulled a crystal phial from his robes and handed it to her.

"This is the potion?" she asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Take it before you got to sleep tonight, and you will start to slowly feel the effects. By the time we pick you up next week you should be completely changed." She, like that, was leaving her home forever. She was in such a state of shock, that she couldn't tell if it was a good feeling or not. All she could think about when she saw Professor Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, and Kingsley Shacklebolt walk away in the night and disapparate was that her life was going to change forever...