Chapter One: A New Friend, A New Mission.

Headmistress McGonagall sat in her office staring out into the school grounds. She didn’t expect the story she was told in the letter that she received very early that morning, a letter signed by someone she now loathed so much.

She got up from her desk and walked up to the portrait of the man she admired more than anyone else even after death.

“Albus are you perfectly sure this is the right thing to do?” she asked with a tone of urgency in her voice.

“Yes Minerva believe me when I say this is the right thing , as Headmistress of this school it is your duty to make sure that the students who belong here find their way to the school,” the late headmaster answered , the usual glint never leaving his eyes.

“Yes but Albus have you not learned since the end of last year that there is a chance that the children of Death Eaters do take after them,” she retorted thoroughly exasperated, “have we not taken enough of a risk already allowing Draco to return to school, is it not pushing our luck to send him off in search of another of his same situation?” she finished.

“Tell me Minerva has the boy not redeemed himself by changing his attitude and his ways?” said Dumbledore, the headmistress nodded slightly. “Has he not been forgiven by his classmates? By Harry himself?” she nodded again.

“Will he not be accompanied by his newly found friends who will keep him in the right path?”

At this point she stopped pacing to answer the knock at her door, “Yes I suppose you are right as always Albus,” she said with a small smile before opening the door to her office.
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A group of students made their way anxiously to the headmistress’s office chatting about the many reasons why she might have requested their presences, they laughed and joked around and listened to each other intently. The truth is that they might not have called any attention at all had Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny been the only ones making their way up the tricky staircases of the castle. But the fact still remained that they were going to this particular meeting with a new and very unlikely friend, and because Draco Malfoy was walking around, joking, and all around having fun with the ‘Gryffindor Greats’ , a large span of staring, pointing, and whispering was going on around them. But the friends didn’t seem to notice at all and casually went on with their conversation.

“Well I still say that she’s finally found out about the twins’ ‘black market’ inside the school and we, being their connection, are going to be expelled” said Hermione quite serious as she always was when mentioning her greatest fear; expulsion.

“Hermione don’t be ridiculous, after the load of madness you four have gotten away with the only one prone to expulsion here is me,” said Draco with his characteristic smirk that now a days served more the purpose of humor rather than intimidation. As he said this they stumbled upon the gargoyle leading to the headmistress’s office.

“Fortitude,” said Ron and Harry in unison sending Ginny into a fit of giggles because only minutes ago she had pointed out how they had a tendency to say things in chorus. The gargoyle spun open and revealed the staircase which they quickly climbed. Knocking on her door they were swiftly greeted by the headmistress and asked to come in and take a seat.

“I’m guessing you are curious why I’ve asked you to come meet me so hastily on a Saturday morning,” she began, all five teenagers nodded.

“Well, it seems that there is a mission to be completed and Professor Dumbledore and I believe that you five are the ones for the job,” she continued.

“Is it about the Horcruxes professor?” Harry asked.

“No Mr. Potter this charge does not concern He-Must-Not-Be-Named and is not as dangerous as many you have had before , however I do not believe it shall be any more simple than the ones you have already encountered,” she added quickly.

“So what does it concern?” asked Draco in a new found humbleness towards the headmistress who had gracefully allowed him to return to Hogwarts once he had seen the error of his ways.

“The task Mr.Malfoy is to find what we call a ‘lost-witch’. That is a witch who has no knowledge of her powers and has never had a chance to join our world,” she said.

“I’ve read about ‘lost-witches’,” said Hermione.

“Well of course you have,” said Ron with a snicker. Hermione shot a lethal look at him that shut him right up.

“That means that one or both of her parents was aware that she was or could be a witch since she was born and intentionally kept her away from the wizarding world,” she finished. “What about her Hogwarts letter?” asked Ginny suddenly.

“The person that was keeping her in the dark about magic, in this case her father, intercepted the letter and sent a reply saying that she would be attending Beuxbatons and we thought nothing more of it, we expected that since he was connected to the school he might not want her attending, we never thought that he would shield her from our world all together,” came the reply but it was not the headmistress who had answered. Instead the voice had come from the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. They all turned to look at the deceased headmaster as he spoke , it saddened them all that the great man had been reduced to being a decoration in what had once been his office but the new headmistress always took care of treating him as if he were standing amongst them.

“Her father was connected to the school professor?” asked Ron.

“Yes he was indeed” answered the portrait.

“Who is her father professor?” asked Harry.

“Do we know him?” asked Draco his eyes filled with the guilt that he couldn’t hold back when he spoke to or about Dumbledore.

“Yes,” said the portrait again “, his name is Severus Snape.”