31 December 1996 - Daddy Issues

I nodded and smiled.  I was glad that Professor Dumbledore was able to help Iggy as much as he had.  "That sounds lovely," I said, standing up.  I could not wait to speak to Iggy alone about everything -- I did think roaming the halls and grounds might be a good idea.  Besides, I had a curiosity of where my parents went to school.  They always spoke highly of Hogwarts and I was already beginning to see why.

I stood up when Miss Williams did and led the way to my office door.  "By all means, follow me," I said to them, wondering how far they would be able to get on their own.  They were clearly brilliant children -- they had created a Portkey at the age of sixteen... not many students would be able to do that.  Even some fully grown wizards had issues with that.

We followed Dumbledore out of his office and through the hallways, our heels clicking lightly on the stone. I was trying not to look too enthusiastic for fear of getting my hopes to high, but it was hard not to. I had never been this close to the discovery that I'd yearned for before.

Dumbledore showed us the trophy room before leading us to the Great Hall, where he said we were more than welcome to dine. I thanked him graciously before he left us, and then I took at seat at what appeared to be the Ravenclaw table.

With a grin, I looked at Madelyn: "Hopefully we remember how to get back to the trophy room."

"I have a feeling we'll get lost," I said, chuckling slightly as I looked at all the food that was spread out on the table in front of us.  The house elves really do make a good amount of food.  "Maybe that's exactly what Dumbledore wants, though... we might find more by just walking through the halls rather than in one single room."

"Either that or he just wants us out of his way," I said, thinking about how cumbersome it would have been for the world's most powerful and most intelligent wizard to allow a couple of teenagers along for the ride. "Who knows, maybe he thinks we'll be able to lay some fresh eyes on something he's looked at for years."

I happened to glance over at the table, which had been empty mere moments before, but now had a glowing golden turkey atop it with all the American fixings - mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, cranberries. I looked at Madelyn, salivating.

"Well... let's not let this food go to waste. What do you think?"

I chuckled and sat down.  "I think that's a brilliant idea," I said, realizing how hungry I was.  As I started to pile my plate full of food, I looked over at Iggy.  "Well, let's think positively about everything... even if he just wants us out of his way, we could stumble upon something that even a great mind like his has overlooked?"

"Excellent," I said with a large lump of mashed potatoes in my left cheek. "Just like these potatoes. Maybe our investigation can work until after dinner?"

I glanced at the roster Dumbledore had given us and thought about just how many students could have gone here with the initials RAB. It seemed like a wild goose chase, but I had to trust him.

I chuckled slightly and nodded, taking a sip of the pumpkin juice that was in front of us.  "That sounds like a wonderful plan," I agreed, thinking that this food was rather delicious.  I followed Iggy's eyes to the stack of documents and sighed.  "Well, at least there are two of us... you won't have to go through it all on your own."  I tried to look on the brighter side of things.

"That's true," I said with a smile. "Thanks."

I piled more of the food onto my plate and reveled in how delicious it was.

<<We can end this here if you want, or we can fast-forward to the part where they are going through the trophy room and the archives and such...? Up to you! >>

<< I'd say fast-forward!!!   ...if you want lol Just let me know if you want me to edit this>>

I was sure that we each had a few helpings of everything before we found the trophy room again.  This castle was beautiful -- it was hard to not appreciate the beauty despite our mission.  I opened the door and gasped at the large room.  "Split up?" I suggested, thinking it might be best to divide and conquer.

I took a deep breath as I looked at the task ahead of us. "yeah, that's a good idea," I said taking a few steps forward. Our footsteps echoed slightly in the dusty room as I went right and Lyn went to the left. The shelves were to the ceiling and full of dust. "I would imagine that they would be alphabetized?" I suggested as I started to look for the B's. At least RAB was pretty significant that the last name started with B, right?