Mysterious Ways

The following morning Alice got ready with a feeling of dread, knowing that by breakfast time everyone would know about her uncle. She walked downstairs as slowly as possible, noticing with dismay that the rain was coming down in sheets. She would have to face everyone in the Great Hall.

Alice pushed open the doors as quietly as she could, hoping that nobody would notice her come in. The post didn't seem to have come yet; nobody even glanced in her direction.

Alice headed for the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Lily. Lily paused in the middle of buttering her toast to give Alice a strange look. "Are you OK? You look pale."

"I'm fine," Alice lied, sinking lower in her seat as a large barn owl swooped in through the window. Oh no - here it comes.

More owls came in through the window, dropping parcels here and there. Lily's copy of the Daily Prophet landed on Alice's plate, knocking her bacon to the floor. Not that Alice cared that much - she felt too sick to her stomach to be hungry.

Lily unrolled the newspaper. Alice caught a glimpse of the headline:

MUGGLE-BORN MURDERER STRIKES AGAIN!

Alice winced.

"Look at this," Lily fumed, jabbing her finger at the bold, black letters. "I don't know who these so-called 'purebloods' think they are. It's disgusting, the way they kill people just because their parents are Muggles. I don't see how anyone could do such a sick, evil thing. Oooh, if I ever bumped into that heartless bastard..."

"Mmm," Alice agreed weakly, her heart beginning to pound against her rib cage. She wondered whether she should run away now and save herself the humiliation. Meanwhile, Lily was still ranting.

"I mean, if being a pureblood is so amazing, why do they feel they have to lower themselves to committing such a terrible thing like murder?" Lily asked furiously. She caught sight of Alice's face and, misinterpreting it, her expression changed to one of slight guilt. "I'm sorry, Alice. You're a pureblood, and your family's not like that at all."

Alice cringed. That was the worst possible thing Lily could have said.

She watched as Lily lifted the paper and began to read. Alice's body tensed as Lily's green eyes widened with shock as she read the first few lines. Lily lowered the paper slowly, gazing at Alice with an emotion in her eyes that Alice couldn't read. Her mouth opened and she looked as if she was going to speak.

Suddenly Alice knew she couldn't face what Lily had to say. She jumped up from her seat, knocking her plate to the floor, where it shattered into pieces. Alice didn't notice this, however, nor the surprised stares she got as she fled from the Great Hall. She was convinced that Lily was going to hate her.

Alice pushed open the heavy doors and dashed outside, not caring that the rain was still coming down in heavy sheets. She made for the tree by the lake; the one that she and Lily had sat under so many times. Alice sank to the ground, her clothes soaked and her hair hanging around her face in soggy wet strands, letting the rain mingle with the tears that were now falling down her face. She huddled up, her head in her knees, until she felt someone touch her shoulder.

Alice looked up. Lily was standing there, a look of determination on her face. Alice opened her mouth to say something, to start apologising, anything. But Lily got in there first.

"Alice," she said, a hint of a wobble in her voice. "I don't care what anyone in your family does. There's no way it could ever turn me against you. You're like a sister to me, and I would never blame you for something you didn't do."

Alice looked up at Lily - sweet, loyal Lily and threw her arms around her. "Are you sure?" she sniffled. "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me."

"As if I could ever hate you!" Lily replied. Alice released her and noticed that Lily was still carrying the newspaper.

"Let's see it," Alice said.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Let's see it," Alice repeated dully, gesturing towards the newspaper. "Come on, I want to see how bad it is."

Reluctantly Lily handed over the newspaper. The ink was slightly smudged, but the words were still eligible. Alice smoothed out the front page and began to read:

On the morning of October 27^th, Muggle-born Susan Pinkett, 38, was murdered by Cameron Tyler, 43, by the Avada Kedavra curse.

Mrs Pinkett was just leaving the Three Broomsticks in the village of Hogsmeade when she bumped into Mr Tyler. The pair reportedly got into an argument and Mrs Pinkett pushed past Mr Tyler in an effort to walk away. Eyewitnesses say that Mr Tyler said to Mrs Pinkett, "How dare you, you filthy Mudblood scum," before turning his wand on her. Several people witnessed the attack, but Mr Tyler Disapparated before anyone could stop him.

Mr Tyler, a pureblood wizard, has often displayed his hostility towards Muggle-borns. He left his job as a Hit Wizard at the Ministry of Magic after refusing to work with a Muggle-born. Mr Tyler had expressed his feelings about Muggle-borns being unworthy to be involved with magic many times to the Ministry. He is also believed to have been involved in the murder of David Beardsley, who was also a Muggle-born. Mr Beardsley was found dead on April 14^th, 16 years ago. Like Mrs Pinkett, he had been killed by Avada Kedavra. Mr Tyler was a suspect; however was released when his wand found no traces of using the curse.

Those who knew Mrs Pinkett say she was a kind and gentle woman. "She would never have hurt a fly," her sister, Mary Collins, 41, told the Daily Prophet. "It was an unprovoked, evil attack that was for no good reason except that a heartless man had a grudge against Muggle-borns."

Mr Tyler is still at large and has not been seen since that morning. Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold, insists that they are hunting for him. "Attacks like these are taken very seriously," she says. "The Ministry is doing everything in its power to ensure that the growing attacks on Muggle-borns are stopped once and for all."

Alice let the newspaper slip from her fingers and fall into a puddle at her feet. She looked at Lily, who was watching her warily, waiting for her reaction.

"Uncle Cameron," Alice said lightly, trying to make a joke of it. "He needs to work on his people skills, doesn't he?"

"Alice, it's OK," Lily said softly. "You don't have to pretend."

Alice sighed. "I know. It's just the only way I can deal with it, you know?"

Lily nodded in understanding. She linked her arm through Alice's. "Come on, let's go inside or we'll be late for Charms. We're getting soaked!"

Alice took a deep breath and she and Lily made their way to the castle. When they reached the doors, Alice paused.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"I - I don't know if I can face everyone," Alice said, her voice breaking. "I mean, they must know he's a relative of mine; we've got the same last name. What if people think it's my dad or something? I don't think I could face the humiliation."

"Come on," Lily said, tugging on her arm. "It doesn't matter what people think. That's their problem, isn't it?"

Alice chewed on her lip. "But I -"

"No buts." Lily said firmly, pulling Alice through the doors. "You're coming." Alice had no choice but to let Lily drag her along the corridors and into the Charms classroom.

Most people were already sitting in their seats, and as soon as Alice and Lily entered, they all turned to look. Alice took one look at the sea of faces glaring up at her and her resolve disappeared. She tried to turn and run out of the room, but Lily had her in a vice-like grip.

"Just ignore it," Lily instructed in muttered tones. "Ignore it..." Whispers followed the two girls down the aisle. As Alice sank gratefully into her seat at the front, she distinctly heard someone hiss, "Murderer!"

Lily whipped around at once, but before she could do anything, Alice heard a male voice speak. "Who said that?"

Alice turned to see James had rose from his chair, wand out. "Who said that?" he demanded again. Alice looked around at the nervous faces surveying James and saw that Suzanne Wallace, one of Belinda's closest friends, had turned bright red.

What a bitch! Alice thought, her feelings of embarrassment and shame disappearing and being replaced with anger. Who does she think she is, criticising my family? She was about to jump out of her seat and confront Suzanne as well, but James, who had noticed Suzanne's blush, strode over there first.

"Was it you?" James asked, waving his wand threateningly under Suzanne's nose.

Suzanne lifted her chin defiantly. "It's true," she said in a clear voice. "It was in the paper this morning. Her family, that Cameron guy, he murdered two Muggle-borns. I don't know how she can show her face around here," she added, nodding towards Alice. "If I were -"

She didn't get a chance the finish her sentence. Lily jumped from her seat, whipped out her wand and yelled, "Furnunculus!" Suzanne gave a shriek as hideous purple boils sprouted all over her face. James, obviously not satisfied, added, "Densaugeo!" Suzanne gave another scream as her teeth began to grow at a tremendous rate. She jumped up, knocking her chair to the ground, and fled from the classroom. Belinda followed her, but shot Alice a look filled with malice before she left.

"Does anyone else have anything to say?" James addressed the class. Nobody moved.

"Good." James glared at them all before pocketing his wand.

"Sit down, Mr. Potter." Professor Flitwick entered the classroom, his head concealed by the stack of papers he was carrying that were almost as tall as him. He apparently hadn't noticed anything amiss.

James sat down, shooting Alice an apologetic look. Alice smiled back weakly and turned back to face the front. The lesson began, but Alice couldn't concentrate. She had seen the glares that most of the class had given her. Nobody dared to say anything in fear of angering James, but Alice knew what they were thinking. Everybody thought her family were murderous Muggle-born haters. Only two people in the entire school were on her side, and that was her best friend and her cousin.

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Alice. Everywhere she went, whispers and accusations followed her. Alice always liked to pretend she didn't care what people thought of her, but the truth was, she did. She wanted to be accepted and liked. She couldn't stand the thought of everyone hating her for the rest of her life, and try as she might, she just couldn't accept it. She knew that she would have to face up to it eventually - she couldn't run away from the past, no matter how indirectly she was involved.

By the last class of the day, Alice couldn't wait to escape to the library. It was the only place she could get peace and solitude. She decided to skip dinner, although she was hungry. She didn't want to be around so many people, people who had judged her so harshly. The only thing that mattered now were her studies. Alice was determined to do well in her NEWTs and prove everyone wrong.

Alice worked on her homework until early evening, when Lily came in. "Where were you?" Lily asked, plonking herself down into a seat. "You missed dinner."

Alice shrugged. "I just didn't think I could face everyone, that's all."

"Oh." Lily frowned, waiting for Alice to elaborate more, but she didn't. Lily took a hand mirror out of her bag and began examining herself critically. "God, my hair is so boring," she murmured. She pulled her long red hair up with one hand and held it there for a minute. "Do you think it looks more sophisticated up?"

Alice frowned. "It looks fine like it is, Lily."

"OK." Lily let her hair drop. She suddenly looked down at herself, a panicked look spreading across her face. "Does this make me look fat? Oh God, it does. Maybe I should change out of uniform..."

Alice put her quill on the table, puzzled. "Lily, why are you suddenly so self-conscious about your appearance? It's not like you're going anywhere special."

Almost as soon as she'd spoken, it dawned on her. A grin broke out over Alice's face. "Oh, I get it. It's the prefects' meeting tonight, isn't it?"

Lily snapped shut her hand mirror and stowed it away in her bag. "Is it?" she asked casually. "I'd completely forgotten."

"Right." Alice smirked and began gathering up her things.

"Where are you going?" asked Lily.

"Back to the common room," Alice said, making up her mind impulsively. "I'm going to have to face Suzanne sooner or later. I mean, we do share a dormitory."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "Will you be OK?"

"I think I'll be able to handle it," Alice grinned. "I mean, it's only one person, right? It's not like I'm standing up to the whole school on my own."

"I guess so," Lily said doubtfully.

Alice swung her bag over her shoulder decisively. "I'll see you later. Have fun!" she added cheekily over her shoulder. Lily rolled her eyes.

Alice left the library and set off for the Ravenclaw tower at a brisk trot. When she reached the end of the corridor, though, her pace had slowed until she had stopped completely.

Alice flopped backwards against the wall, letting her bag slide off her shoulder until it fell to the floor with a dull thud. Her act of bravado in the library had been just that - an act. Suzanne Wallace had been following Belinda around since first year. She was one of those girls who didn't seem to have a personality of her own. And yet she was the only one who had stood up to both Alice and James! Alice was quite shocked by Suzanne suddenly growing a backbone. It was obviously a subject she had strong feelings about. Were her parents Muggles? Alice realised she didn't know anything about Suzanne's background. How can that be? Alice wondered. She had been living in the same dormitory as the girl for six years!

Something passed across Alice's mind that she hadn't even considered yet. What if the woman her uncle had murdered was related to someone in school? What must they be going through? Alice had been so wrapped up in worrying about what people were going to think of her, she hadn't even thought about how it might be affecting other people. What if it was someone's mother? Alice thought about how she'd feel if her own mother was killed and her stomach gave a lurch. She'd probably hate whoever did it and their whole family, too.

Alice's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of voices from around the corner. Not wanting to eavesdrop, Alice began to move away, but something stopped her.

"Have you decided yet?" one of the voices was saying. Alice realised with some disgust that it was Severus Snape. She grimaced. Snape was a Slytherin in their year who James quite frankly detested. In fact, he was actually a bit of a bully towards Snape, although Alice realised he hadn't done anything to him since the start of term. Lily always defended Snape - she said that he was just misunderstood and she felt sorry for him. Alice didn't much like him, though. He had called Lily a Mudblood on more than one occasion.

"I don't think we should be talking about this here," a nervous voice squeaked.

Alice eye's widened. Wasn't that Peter's voice?

Alice edged along the wall and peeped around the corner. Snape and Peter were standing there, alone in the deserted corridor. Snape was glaring at Peter, who kept glancing around nervously.

Alice frowned. Why was Peter talking to Snape? They had never been particularly close, as far as Alice knew.

"You didn't answer the question," Snape said coldly.

"Well, I - I -" Peter's voice faltered, then broke off.

"Pettigrew, you know he's not a patient man." Snape's icy voice cut through Alice like a knife.

Peter flinched. "I know," he mumbled.

"Well?"

Alice leaned in a bit closer to hear what Peter was saying. She couldn't catch the whole sentence, but she heard the last word "- help."

"Good," Snape said briskly. Alice tried to lean even closer to catch the rest of the conversation, hanging onto the wall for support, but she lost her balance and tumbled forwards, landing heavily on her knees.

Snape had his wand out in an instant. When he realised it was Alice, he lowered it, however he didn't put it away.

"Um..." Alice got up, brushing dust from her knees, embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping.

"We were just..." Peter looked at Snape in a panic.

"Talking about Potions homework," Snape cut in. "We were paired together to write an essay, but Pettigrew hasn't made up his mind yet what to write about." He shot Peter a glare, then looked at Alice with distaste. "What are you doing here, Tyler?"

"I'm walking," Alice replied defensively. "Not against the law, is it?"

Snape sneered at her and Alice marched away, her mind whirling. Were they really just talking about homework? It would make sense, what Snape was saying. Slughorn wasn't a patient man.

But it hadn't sounded like an innocent essay discussion. Snape had sounded like he was threatening Peter. That I can believe, Alice thought grimly as she reached the suits of armour. Snape was too much of a coward to challenge Peter while he was with James, but on his own, Peter was as wimpy as a bowl of mashed potatoes. "Grindylow," Alice said to the suits of armour and they sprang apart.

Alice climbed the stairs to the common room, debating whether to tell James about what she'd heard or not. When she got to the dormitory, however, she forgot all about Peter and Snape. Belinda, Suzanne and Jennifer were all sitting on Suzanne's bed, glaring at her. Suzanne's face was back to normal; Madam Pomfrey must have removed the boils and shrunk her teeth again. Alice hoped against hope that Suzanne had forgiven her for the incident in Charms class, but the venomous looks she was shooting her said otherwise.

"We want a word with you," Belinda snapped.

"OK. How about goodbye?" Alice replied cheekily, a sick feeling rising up in the pit of her stomach. She made a move to walk out of the room, but Belinda was too quick for her. She pulled out her wand and said, "Impedimenta!" Alice found her feet frozen and unable to move.

Belinda walked over to her, a sneer on her face. Taking Alice's arm, she dragged her across the floor, panting a little at the weight. Alice tried to wriggle out of her grasp, but with her feet immobilised, she couldn't exactly run away.

Belinda pushed Alice hard so that she landed on the bed, then she, Suzanne and Jen crowded around her, glaring down at her. "What?" Alice snapped, annoyed at herself for letting them trap her so easily. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage; she knew it was something to do with the scene earlier in Charms class.

"It's about Susan Pinkett," Belinda said haughtily.

"Who?" Alice asked, confused.

The three girls stared at her as if she had suddenly sprouted an extra head. "Susan Pinkett," Suzanne said, putting heavy emphasis on the last word. "You know, the Muggle-born who was murdered!"

Alice flinched. Every word Suzanne uttered felt like a blow to her stomach. "Oh," was all she could say.

"Yes, oh." Belinda gave her a look of hate. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Do?" Alice couldn't believe her ears. "What do you want me to do? What can I do?"

Belinda stared at her as if she was mad. "He's a relative of yours, isn't he?"

"Yes," Alice reluctantly admitted.

"So then you know where he is!" Jen chimed in.

Alice shook her head. "I haven't got a clue where he is. Why would I? My family don't have contact with him any more. He's been disowned by practically everyone."

"You're lying," Suzanne said flatly.

Alice's blood began to boil. If there was one thing she hated, it was being called a liar. "I am not," she spat. "You think I'm pleased about this? Do you think I wanted this to happen? I'm as shocked by it as you, thank you very much. But there's nothing I can do about it!"

Belinda glared at her. "I can't believe you can just sit there acting as if it doesn't matter. You obviously don't care that your family's name is being dragged through the mud. You don't care that your family is always going to be remembered as murderers!"

She looked at Suzanne and Jen. "It's what I expected from her," she said conversationally. "All purebloods are the same."

Alice fairly exploded. "My family are not murderers," she burst out. "OK, fine, my uncle is. But the rest of my family isn't like that! You think just because we're purebloods, we hate everything to do with Muggles. It's completely unjustified! My best friend is Lily Evans, for God's sake! Do you think I'd be friends with her if I hated Muggles and Muggle-borns? You know," Alice snapped, glaring up at the three girls who surrounded her, "I'm not the prejudiced one around here. You are."

Alice stopped her ranting for a moment, breathing heavily. It had been a while since she had lost her temper like that. She only got like it when someone was insulting her friends or family.

She waited for a moment, expecting one of them to come back with a scathing reply, but it didn't happen. Alice looked up cautiously. Belinda, Jen and Suzanne were all staring at her, but not one of them made any move to speak. Eventually, Belinda piped up.

"So you're just going to carry on as normal, like nothing's even happened?"

"Belinda, there's nothing else I can do," Alice said through gritted teeth. "I've told you already. I don't know why you're coming down on me. I wasn't even involved. I hadn't even heard of the woman until this morning! Now take this bloody jinx off me, I want to go."

Belinda ignored this request and carried on looking at Alice in disbelief. "You don't even know who she was?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

Alice was suddenly too tired to argue any further. She barely shook her head, looking down as she noticed Belinda's blatant use of the past tense.

"She was a good friend of my mother's," Suzanne said, shaking her hair back importantly.

"That's it?" Alice couldn't hide her relief. "So she wasn't related to you?"

"No," Suzanne said with a frown. "She has a daughter who goes here, though. Violet - she's in first year."

First year? Alice couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. She could barely imagine what the poor girl was going through. An eleven-year old has just lost her mother, Alice thought dully. And what's worse, she was murdered!

Rage and hate sliced through her, almost overpowering her. That bastard. He should pay for what he's done! Alice bit her lip to keep from screaming at Belinda. "Take this jinx off me, now," she ordered grimly.

Belinda obviously noticed her expression and heard the angry tone in her voice. Looking slightly scared, she took out her wand and said, "Finite Incantatem." Alice stood up, testing her feet to see if they worked. When she was certain she could walk, she marched over to her bed, yanking the pillow off and throwing it onto the floor. She snatched up the letter that she had been keeping under there and, without even glancing at Belinda and her cronies, left the dormitory, shutting the door behind her with a click. She turned around and almost bumped into Emmeline Vance.

"Oh - Emmeline -" Alice paused. Was Emmeline going to tear a strip off her too? She had never been very close to her - Emmeline was friends with Hestia Jones and the other Hufflepuffs - but they had always been allies, sort of, in that neither of them had much time for Belinda.

Emmeline gave her a small smile. "Hi, Alice. How is - everything?" she asked cautiously.

Alice knew that was Emmeline's way of saying she had seen the incident in Transfiguration, and also that she didn't resent her in any way. "As good as it can be, under the circumstances," Alice said, smiling gratefully back.

"Good." Emmeline paused, gesturing with her head towards the door. "Are the evil triplets in there?"

Alice nodded. "Unfortunately."

Emmeline pulled a face. "Maybe I'll go and read in the library instead," she said with a grimace.

Alice laughed. "Good idea. Belinda's on the warpath." Remembering her own purpose for leaving the room, she said a quick "see you later" to Emmeline and headed for the stairs.

Alice was surprised by how calm she felt as she left the Ravenclaw Tower and strode purposefully down the corridor. When she rounded the corner, she bumped into James and Lily, who were obviously just coming out of the prefects' meeting.

"Alice?" Lily asked warily. "Are you OK?"

"Yes," Alice replied stiffly, not slowing down.

Lily and James both scurried alongside her, trying to keep up with her pace. "Where are you going?" James asked, panting a little as Alice's steps quickened.

"To see Dumbledore," Alice informed them. She saw Lily and James exchange looks over the top of her head.

"Did Suzanne say something again?" Lily questioned. "Because you shouldn't take any notice of her, she talks absolute -"

"This has nothing to do with Suzanne," Alice said. She stopped as they reached the stone gargoyle. She turned to face them. "Did you know that the woman my uncle killed was someone's mother?"

Lily and James exchanged glances. "Well..." James began.

So they knew. Everyone probably knew, and they hadn't told her. "A first-year," Alice said quietly. "A first-year," she repeated more loudly, "has been left motherless, thanks to my bastard of an uncle. You know," she continued, turning away to face the gargoyle, "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. The Ministry will just fuck it all up, they always do. They'll never catch him. Mint humbug," she said, and the gargoyle sprang to life. Alice began to ascend the stairs, with Lily and James scurrying after her. "If anyone can find him, it's Dumbledore," she continued, talking as if to herself. She had almost forgotten that James and Lily were there. "Find him and send him to Azkaban, where I hope he rots..."

They had reached the big oak doors. "Alice," Lily said timidly. "Don't you think you should calm down for a minute? You don't have to -"

"I am calm," Alice interrupted. "In fact, I'm calmer than I have been in a long time." Alice thumped on the doors determinedly. The sound echoed all around the small space in which they were standing.

"Come in," Alice heard Dumbledore call, and the door swung open. Alice walked straight up to Dumbledore, where he was sitting at his desk. "Professor," Alice said loudly. "I got this letter yesterday from my mother." She passed the letter to Dumbledore and watched him as he read it. A tired expression came over his face as he finished it and handed it back to Alice.

"Ah, yes," he said heavily. "I read about it in today's Daily Prophet."

Alice stood where she was, shuffling her feet. She had come to Dumbledore's office on the spur of the moment, and Dumbledore's calm manner as he read the letter had made some of her anger ebb away. "Well -" she said, beginning to feel quite foolish and not knowing how the rest of her sentence was going to end. "Can you do something about it? Find him, I mean? The Ministry won't - he's too clever for them."

"Why do you want me to find him?" Dumbledore stared at Alice. His piercing gaze felt like it could sear straight through her soul.

Alice bit down on her lip so hard that she felt her teeth pierce the skin. She could taste blood. "Well, I want him to go to Azkaban. He's - well, he's a murderer!" she cried, watching Dumbledore to see his reaction.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I have known Cameron Tyler for many years. At school, he was always a follower, not a leader - he was easily manipulated by others, which is not always a bad thing. Unfortunately he was manipulated by the wrong people."

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment. Alice, Lily and James hovered, unsure what to do, but then he spoke again.

"I think I know where he may be hiding."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" James asked, looking puzzled at the sorrowful expression on Dumbledore's face. "You can tell the Ministry where he is and they can arrest him."

Alice continued to chew on her lip. Much as she detested her uncle, she couldn't help but wonder if she had done the wrong thing by going to Dumbledore. After all, Cameron was still family. She didn't really want him to go to Azkaban - did she?

Dumbledore shook his head. "It's not that simple, James. Now isn't the time for rash actions. The situation is not as simple as black and white, good and bad. Cameron Tyler is one of those men who operate in shades of grey..."

Alice and Lily exchanged confused looks, not quite sure what Dumbledore was talking about. James seemed to understand, though, and nodded wisely. "What are you going to do, Professor?"

Dumbledore sighed again. "For the moment, there is nothing I can do. If Cameron hears the Ministry are onto him, he'll flee faster than a jackrabbit. I will go and talk to him myself, but not just yet. Let him lay low for a while until all the fuss has died down. He may be more willing to listen then. Hopefully I can convince him..."

Dumbledore let the rest of his sentence trail off into thin air. Alice glanced at Lily, who looked as unsure about what to do as she was.

James rose up from his chair. "Alice, Lily, we'd better go."

Alice and Lily both stood up and followed James to the door. Alice cast a glance over her shoulder at Dumbledore and was startled to see he was looking straight at her. There was tiredness in his eyes; tiredness and something else Alice couldn't quite place - like a sadness, but much more intense...

Alice shivered as they left the office and began to descend the stairs. For the first time in her life, Alice felt that things were going to happen that were out of her control, and she didn't like the feeling at all.