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Deanna walked down the stairs while yawning. It was the day that she would go back to Hogwarts and her uncle and aunt let her sleep in because they wanted her to get all the rest she can before the start of the school year. Fawkes went off first because Dumbledore needed him for something, but at least, Anais still visited from time to time.

"Here you go, love. Eat well." Aberforth set down a plate of hotdogs in front of her and ruffled her hair. It was the last day that Deanna would be staying here so he and Ariana wanted to make sure she was well before she would go back. Deanna was everything to them and they both may have felt sad that they wouldn't have someone squealing every time they cooked hotdogs, but there was always the weekends for them to see each other.

"Ah, we'll miss you, Deanna. Study well, alright?" Ariana said softly, smiling as she watched her niece gobble her hotdogs. "And you can Floo to us anytime you need us."

"I will, Aunt Ari. Thank you for everything." Deanna grinned at them and gave them a hug across the counter. "Don't worry, I'll come visit anyways." Aberforth and Ariana just chuckled and let her eat.

A knock on the door made Deanna turn and look behind her. "Who is that? Come in!"

"Ah, Dumbledore Jr." The door swung open to reveal Sirius, Remus and Tonks.

"Sirius, Remus, Tonks!" Deanna ran to them and hugged them with a big grin on her face. "It's nice to see you three again."

"Yeah, it's been a long time, Deanna." Remus chuckled and looked over the girl. "Have you been doing well?"

"Yeah, Uncle Ab and Aunt Ari have been taking good care of me." Deanna then stepped aside to introduce them. "Uncle Ab, Aunt Ari, this is Sirius and Remus Lupin-Black and Nymphadora Tonks. This is my Uncle Aberforth and Aunt Ariana."

They exchanged greetings and while Sirius and Remus chatted with Aberforth and Ariana, Deanna noticed how Tonks was looking down so she pulled her to the side. "Are you alright, Tonks?"

"Y-Yeah... No." Tonks let out a sigh and smiled weakly at Deanna. "How did you know?"

"Your hair. It's usually purple or red." Deanna pointed out. "Are you heartbroken?" By the widening of Tonks' eyes, she knew she hit the bullseye.

"W-What?"

"You look like a person who got her heart broken." Deanna squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You can tell me about it."

"It's just that the girl I love broke up with me. She thinks we shouldn't get together because she's a Muggleborn and it will be dangerous for the both of us." Tonks sighed shakily and leaned her head on Deanna's shoulder. "But I still love her despite everything, and it just hurts. What should I do, Deanna?"

"You hold on, Tonks." Deanna rubbed her back comfortingly. "Don't let go. I know someone who let go of everything he had because he was scared. She's just scared, and sometimes, even if it's hard to do so, one of you has to hold on and make the relationship work. She just wants to protect you, but I know she loves you too. So, don't cry and get your hair back to purple, yeah?"

"Thank you, Deanna." Tonks hugged her quickly and wiped away her tears, her hair now turning back to purple. "You really are your father's daughter."

"That I've heard." Deanna chuckled and the two of them went back to rejoin the group where Sirius and Remus now had her things.

"Ready to go, Deanna?" Sirius asked her.

"Yeah, just a moment." Deanna turned back to Aberforth and Ariana and hugged them tight. "Thank you for everything. I love you."

"We love you too, little Ari." Aberforth kissed the top of her head. "Stay safe."

"Don't forget to visit." Ariana waved to Deanna. Deanna sent them one last smile before going into the Floo Network after Sirius, Remus and Tonks.

"Hogwarts!" And after a few moments, Deanna was back in the familiar castle. Home. Remus helped her up and to her surprise, she saw Tonks staring a girl down, and she realized that must be the person Tonks was in love with.

"Remus, what's her name?" Deanna whispered to him.

"That's Ria. Ria Docherty." Remus whispered back. He cleared his throat and that seemed to take Ria and Tonks' attention off from each other. "Ria, this is Deanna. Deanna Dumbledore."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Ria shook Deanna's hand with a smile on her face.

"Likewise." Deanna grinned back at her and winked at Tonks who blushed because Ria kept on glancing at her. Everyone's attention went to the door that suddenly opened.

"Deanna!" Pomona, Minerva and Hagrid swooped her into a hug.

"It's been too long." Deanna patted them all on the shoulders.

"It's been a week, you dramatic child." Minerva said teasingly and laughed with the others when Deanna pouted.

"This dramatic child just missed you." Deanna rolled her eyes but she smiled again at them. "Where's Pops?"

"Right here, little phoenix." A deep and calm voice spoke behind her.

"Pops!" Deanna ran to him and hugged him tight. Dumbledore held back his wince and caught his daughter, but Deanna immediately let go and looked at him worriedly once she remembered Dumbledore's hand. "Are you alright?

"Yes, I am, love. Thank you all for bringing her here safely and for keeping watch." Dumbledore smiled gratefully at Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Ria who just smiled back at him. "And thank you for coming, Minerva, Pomona, Hagrid."

"Of course, Professor. We should welcome Deanna back, of course." Hagrid said cheerfully.

"And it's because we want to know more about this date in Diagon Alley." Pomona smiled teasingly, and Deanna let out a groan once she saw the expressions on their faces. She glared at Hagrid who smiled teasingly. Now everyone would know about her crush on Hermione.

"Oh, love. It's not like you're keeping it a secret. Well, if you were, I'm afraid you were doing a bad job at it." At Dumbledore's remark, everyone around them laughed loudly while Deanna pouted. Bullies, the whole lot of them. Though she couldn't help but blush. Was she really that obvious for what she felt for Hermione?

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Deanna was walking along the halls since she wanted to have peace and quiet before the start of the school year. She smiled slightly as she passed the library, remembering the last time she was there with Hermione, and she stopped in her tracks because she remembered that Hermione's birthday was coming up, and she still didn't have a gift for her. The previous year, they just held a party for the Prefect, but this time, Deanna wanted to give her something.

"Ow!" Deanna fell down to the ground and rubbed her forehead. She looked up and saw that it was Severus Snape she bumped into. "Oh, sorry about that, Professor." She got up and smiled at him.

Snape simply nodded at her before going on his way. Deanna followed him with her gaze, seeing how he was clutching his left arm. She shook her head and went on her way. It was probably something about Voldemort. Snape did have his mark on the left arm. Deanna stopped walking and looked back curiously. What could have made his arm ache like that?

Snape finally arrived at his office and let out a sigh. He was exhausted. The Unbreakable Vow, the Dark Lord's calls, Dumbledore's task. Not even the fact that he was finally the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor could help relieve him from the weight of the tasks he must do.

A knock on the door made him look up in surprise. "Who is it?"

The door opened slightly and Deanna Dumbledore's head popped up from behind the door, a small smile on her face. "Hello, Professor. Can I come in?"

"Miss Dumbledore." Snape raised an eyebrow. "And what are you doing here?"

"Give me your arm, Sir." Deanna held out her hand. Snape immediately hid his surprise and stared at her, wondering what she was going to do. Deanna held back the urge to roll her eyes and took his arm.

"What are you –"

"And I thought you were always a quiet one, Professor." Deanna said teasingly and lifted the sleeve of his left arm. She just glanced at the Dark Mark and brought out the ointment she got from Madam Pomfrey. "You should take care of yourself, Professor. Defense Against the Dark Arts is a hard one."

Snape stared at the Hufflepuff who was applying ointment on his burning Mark. He wondered why was she so kind to him despite him being so cold to her and being a bully to most children.

"You're quite the bully, Professor." Deanna said in a soft tone. "However, being unkind to you would not make the situation better." She stopped for a moment smiled at him. "Always be kinder than you feel. Those were my mother's last words. And I've always done that ever since. I hope you can do so too one day, Sir." Deanna pocketed the ointment and smiled at him, making her way out of the office.

"Wait." Snape suddenly said, making Deanna stop and turn around in confusion. "Thank you."

Deanna smiled at him and nodded, walking out of the office, her heart unexpectedly feeling light.

'Always be kinder than you feel.'

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

"I already told you that I'm not cheating." Myrtle moaned in frustration.

"Then, don't throw and hide your cards!" Helena said in annoyance. The ghosts were currently playing a game of Exploding Snap. They were playing in Deanna's room while Deanna was watching them lazily while stroking Fawkes' feathers.

"I win!" Sir Nicholas suddenly exclaimed and he put down his cards. The ghosts grunted and groaned at that and threw down their cards on the table, muttering about how they could have won and blaming each other.

"If a person likes phoenixes, should I give that person a phoenix?" Deanna asked out of the blue, making them all look at her in confusion.

"Can you say that again?" The Fat Friar asked her.

Deanna sat up and continued muttering. "And I'm a phoenix right? So, can I give myself to her?"

The ghosts looked at each other in alarm. What was Deanna planning to do?

"Deanna, you're too young for that." The Bloody Baron said with caution. "You –"

"Maybe the one with chains would be good too. What do you call that again?" Deanna sighed and rubbed her forehead, not seeing how the ghosts were exchanging horrified looks. Was she really going through with it? She was too young. She hadn't even turned 16 yet and she was already planning to–

"Ah, bracelet. Maybe a phoenix bracelet would be good." Deanna nodded proudly at herself. "I think I have one." And now they were confused. Just a few moments ago, the badger was talking about giving herself and now she was talking about bracelets?

"What do you think?" Deanna held up the bracelet with a grin. "Do you think Hermione would like this?" The ghosts glanced at each other and burst out laughing, making Deanna and Fawkes look at each other with confusion. All this time they were thinking of Deanna taking a step towards maturity but actually she just wanted to give Hermione a birthday present. Of course Deanna wouldn't know that yet. She was just too innocent.

"Oh, Daredevil. Never change." Peeves cackled and ruffled her hair.

"Of course. I'm supposed to be 68 this year now. I don't think change wants me." All of them started laughing again at that. Despite the changing of the world and the growing of Deanna Dumbledore, her spirit and these friends she made in these ghosts would never change.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

"Rest well, love. Good night." Dumbledore smiled at his little phoenix.

"Night, Pops." Deanna kissed him on the cheek and started on her way to her room. She began to fix the things she needed for tomorrow and suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She turned around and her eyes widened in horror, blue meeting red. "Voldemort."

"What? Where am I?" Voldemort said in surprise then he turned around and his eyes widened as well. "What? H-How?"

"Why are you here?" Deanna glared at him and observed her surroundings. It seemed like a dark room, but Deanna didn't know where she was. "How did you find me? Where am I?"

"Do I look like I know?" Voldemort shook his head then sighed. "You're in your room. In Hogwarts."

Deanna let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. Why did this happen after a whole summer of not having any dreams about him? Was he in Hogwarts? But it was impossible to Apparate to the school. It made Deanna's head ache even more. "How did this happen?"

"I don't –"

Deanna's eyes widened once more because she felt as if an invisible force was pushing her back and Voldemort started fading away. Groaning, she fell onto her back and she opened her eyes. She was back in her room at Hogwarts, and Voldemort was not there anymore.

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