im here!!

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Chapter Twenty Four - Time For A Change

She made no haste to get to Dumbledore's office, continuing along the corridors at her regular pace. It seemed to work just fine for her. Indie knew she had to tell Dumbledore what had happened. There were too many possibilities, and not enough solutions that Indie could manage to collect on her own.
But, even though she had more pressing matters on her mind, or rather, in it, she still couldn't help but let one niggling thought push everything else aside.
She was supposed to be meeting with Harry today, after classes ended. Her stubbornness had gotten her this far with believing there were no feelings in her heart for him. Too bad her heart was always going to be the one that won out in the end.
"Sherbert Lemon."
Before her emotions could get in the way of her better judgement, Indie had reached Dumbledore's office, and her privileges allowed her to climb the staircases to the huge doors that Dumbledore was most likely sitting behind.
"Come in."
To some, the Hogwarts Headmaster's mind tricks might have wowed some, but Indie was fairly used to them by now.
"Good afternoon, Professor," she said, smiling as she took a seat opposite, "difficult morning?"
He looked more tired than usual, more rundown. She didn't blame him, with all that was going on in the school, in the wizarding world and not to mention the Daily Prophet taking every opportunity it had to slander Dumbledore.
"Not difficult, simply productive," he said, smiling, "unfortunately porductivity can often end in weariness. Always be mindful of that."
Nodding, Indie let her smile drop into a more serious expression, as she began to recount the night terror in it's entirety. Well, no more tell than show.
Looking thoughtful, though not concerned, Dumbledore adjusted his posture before speaking.
"It is my belief, Indie, that this is not a deterrent from the other side," he began, his blue eyes meeting hers in the moment of relief.
"However," he continued, not allowing Indie to finish her internal sigh of relief, "you should not let this occurrence tamper with your judgement. Ï urge you strongly to not pursue this tangent further, for fear of you tripping without a hand to help you up again."
Indie was one of the few people who could fully understand Dumbledore's crypticism, but that didn't mean she was always in agreement with it.
"What if it happens again, Professor?" she began, "What will I do if the memory haunts me, and impedes on my...responsibility...to the Order?"
"Do not let it into your heart," Dumbledore firmly stated, "for that is the thing you will need to lead with from now on; in place of your head."
Indie nodded, choosing not to speak at the moment. Considering, before she'd entered this meeting, she'd scolded herself for letting her heart take control, even though it was the blatant truth.
"Enjoy your afternoon, Indie," he added, "I'm sure you will."
Thanking the headmaster, Indie took herself back into the hallways of Hogwarts, and wandered aimlessly in the direction of the staircases. There was only a few minutes until her next class, meaning she'd avoided the dread of Toad Face once again. Not that Herbology was much better...
But, by being out in the greenhouses, it meant that she was closer to the place she intended to go after lessons. The thought of this made her heart flutter. Maybe, she was a little more excited about this meeting with the Chosen One than she cared to admit. Until this summer, it hadn't really been an issue. She'd been so caught up in getting her head into everyone elses. For Voldemort, and everyone else on that side, that was all they had; their head. It got Indie thinking that, maybe, it would be harder for them to get to her, because they could only get to her head. They wouldn't have a clue what was going on in her heart. Perhaps it was time to take Dumbledore's cryptic conversations seriously.

It was time for a change.