Her Frozen Heart

"Pass your homework to the front, now." Dozens of papers were passed up towards Professor Riley. Hermione Granger reached out and handed the Gryffindors' papers to her. Reaching out her hand she walked over to the Slytherin side and gathered their papers. "I certainly hope that these essays are more to the level you should be working at. I am sick of your pathetic attempts." Professor Riley placed the papers on her desk and sat down in her high-backed Victorian chair. Tapping her fingers on the top of the desk she looked out over the students. "Open your books to page 253 and begin reading the chapter. When you are finished we shall discuss the contents."

The papers sat piled in front of her and Riley had the urge to fling them all into the wastebasket on the left side of her desk. The students had not been working at their level since the beginning of the term. Riley knew that they should be capable of much higher quality essays and yet every time she graded them she was disappointed. The only student that had not disappointed her was, of course, Hermione Granger.

Riley had wanted to attend Hogwarts when it was time for her to start her schooling. She envied these students and could not understand why they did not work harder. The Riley family was a pureblooded wizarding family and her parents despised muggle-borns. They could not imagine their daughters attending a school that allowed those undesirables to share the same air as them. Riley had been shipped off to Durmstrang kicking and screaming the entire way.

Her heart had leaped to her throat when she received the owl from Dumbledore to come and teach at Hogwarts. The Defense Against the Dark Arts position had been offered to her originally but she had passed on it. Riley was more than qualified in this field but had no desire to teach the subject. Her best subject at Durmstrang had of course been the Dark Arts. Days later another owl arrived from Dumbledore asking her to come and replace Professor Binns for the year. Supposedly he had decided to take some time off from teaching. Upon her arrival she discovered that in fact Binns was still haunting his classroom and had no intentions of leaving it. Riley immediately asked for a different to use.

A cough from the back of the room brought Riley back to the present. Every eye was upon her waiting for her next request. "You've finished?" A few nervous students nodded their heads. Many students were holding their breath. Riley had a habit of quizzing random students about the reading. "Longbottom, what month, day, and year was the first wizard ever giving the Order of Merlin, and what was that wizard's name?" Longbottom's eyes grew wide; he quickly looked down at his book that was open in front of him. "I saw that. You know the rules Longbottom; no using the book for help. I want a two scroll essay on the history of the Order of Merlin awards by next class."

Dumbledore stood in the corridor and watched the students as they made their way to their classes. Several titled their heads in his direction and waved. His heart was full of joy at the sight of their beaming faces. A golden pocket watch was in the palm of his hand; he looked down at it. Now was the best time to do this, she did not have another class for an hour. Dumbledore adjusted his robe slightly to be more comfortable and knocked twice on the arched wooden door.

A flustered woman swung the door open and glared up at him. "Headmaster, hello." There was an odd tone to her voice; she was agitated by the interruption but tried not to show it.

"Professor Riley, may I come in?" A confused look answered him; she stepped aside. "Thank you. Might I bother you for a cup of tea?" Riley forced a smile at the headmaster and went to the cupboard to fetch her teapot. A small black teapot with gold stenciling sat on the middle shelf in the cupboard. Riley filled the kettle with water and heated it with her wand.

"Any certain kind of tea Headmaster?" Dumbledore smiled and pulled out a teabag from his pocket. The teacup matched the black and gold of the teapot; Riley placed it on the long mahogany table that sat near the back wall.

"Thank you Emma. Please sit and have a cup with me." Dumbledore pulled out the chair next to his for Riley. "I wanted to speak with you about an important matter." His eyes twinkled at her and his voice soothed her.

"Is there something wrong, Headmaster?"

"I have a proposition for you. There is a group that is working against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It is called the Order of the Phoenix."

"I have heard of the Order. What does it have to do with me?" There was not the usual coldness in her voice; it was dripping with curiosity.

"I would like you to join the Order and help with the fight against Voldemort. You have many connections and I believe that your knowledge could be very useful to us."

Riley leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. Dumbledore wanted her to join the Order of the Phoenix. The Riley family was very connected with those individuals who fancied the Dark Arts. Both of her parents had been Death Eaters the first time around, and to her knowledge still were at this time. Emma Riley was a rarity in her family; she had a blatant dislike for the dark side.

"Is this why you were so eager to have me teach here?" Dumbledore gave a slight nod. "Professor Binns didn't really want to take a sabbatical from his teaching?"

"Emma, it took endless hours to convince Professor Binns to take the year off. I had hoped you would take the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, when you didn't I had to think of someway of getting you here." Silence filled the room for several minutes while Dumbledore watched Riley wrestle with what he had told her. Dumbledore sat and waited not wanting to interrupt the thoughts in her head. Joining the Order would mean going against her family. Riley would have to lie and deceive those who she had grown up knowing in order to get the kind of information the Order wanted from her. What better way to spy on the Death Eaters than to find someone who they already knew and trusted?

"I will help you." It is amazing how four little words can change everything about your life. From that moment on, nothing would be the same. Emma Riley was now a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. A mix of pride, excitement, anticipation, and fear overcame her.

A small piece of yellowed paper was slid across the table to her. "Memorize this." Dumbledore stood, placed a hand on her shoulder, and squeezed it gently. "We will talk again soon."

Riley looked down at the paper after he had left. There was a time and a day written in green ink. On the back of the paper there was an address, which she memorized quickly and then, turned the paper to ash.