The next day, things with the Hogwarts girls went a little better... almost as if I hadn't murdered anyone. Well, not entirely, but at least I managed to stabilize a tense situation that, sooner or later, would end up returning to normal. However, there were certain factors that could accelerate that process, and I couldn't allow any delay.
So, in order to prepare them for what was coming, I took the girls to an exhaustive training session, severely reprimanding them for their lack of discipline while I was away. I wasn't soft on them; in fact, the pace began to look like abuse, and most of them weren't long in complaining. Even Hermione seemed to have a lecture prepared for me, but I was very clear and laid out the harsh reality for them: they would have to use every ounce of this training very soon, as the crucial moment was drawing near. Hearing that, the complaints ceased. Many seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, especially Hermione, who realized that what they had fought so hard for was just around the corner. From that instant, they all tried to squeeze the most out of this final session.
The snake was restless and had almost no places left to hide. All that was missing was a trigger, a piece of news that would make him understand that anonymity was no longer an option... and I remained attentive to that moment.
The intensive training was applied to all the girls equally, without distinction. Well, with a few exceptions: Ginny, Luna, and the guest, Astoria, received much more rigorous private lessons as part of our agreement. The level of demand was such that I myself had to employ my powers to heal their bodies at the brink of collapse, only to force them to train once more the moment they stood up. This infernal rhythm was driven mainly by Ginny's fervor; Luna simply backed her up, and well... Astoria could only accept it out of "loyalty" to her friends, even though she detested training until practically losing consciousness.
And the trigger we were waiting for so much wouldn't take long to manifest. No matter how much one tries to suppress the truth, certain news always ends up defeating censorship thanks to word of mouth.
...
When the weekend arrived, Dumbledore altered his plans to return to the Hog's Head tavern. In reality, every time the old man had free time, he no longer spent it secluded in Hogwarts as in the past; now he preferred to share it with his sister and his brother, something he never believed possible to recover. His relationship with Aberforth had improved considerably. Mind you, the change in dynamics left many regular customers dissatisfied, since Aberforth, determined to prevent his little sister—now infantilized—from having the slightest contact with the sinister clientele of the place, kept the business closed. That was partly the real reason why Dumbledore had to show up. Both brothers needed to resolve Ariana's situation; after all, the dead are not supposed to return to life...
To make matters worse, Aberforth was already having friction with Madame Rosmerta, who had noticed the presence of the mysterious girl and wouldn't stop asking questions.
One day, the owner of The Three Broomsticks, that woman who seemed immune to the passage of years, managed to secretly take Ariana to her establishment, bypassing all of Aberforth's precautions. She sat the little girl at a table and began to gently question her while treating her to food.
Rosmerta and Aberforth were no strangers; in fact, they knew each other quite well. Although they ran competing businesses, a real conflict had never existed between them. Since they both resided in Hogsmeade, they were, in essence, good neighbors. However, the old man's coarse and surly character didn't make him the most accessible neighbor, and for that very reason Rosmerta had been dumbfounded to discover that a child was living under the roof of that old man who barely tolerated his own customers. Much less a child, and one who looked so fragile.
Rosmerta's surprise increased upon noticing that the little girl possessed an extremely childish mentality, not to call it an evident developmental delay. She didn't mean to doubt Aberforth's intentions, but the situation was far too strange, especially when she managed to extract a crucial fragment of information from the girl, who referred to the tavern keeper as her "brother."
Any guesswork was suddenly dissipated when Aberforth burst into The Three Broomsticks, kicking the doors down, with his wand held high and his eyes bloodshot like a wild beast. He gave the impression of being ready to demolish the entire premises the very next second. He aimed directly at Rosmerta without hesitation, completely ignoring the years of neighborhood and camaraderie.
Fortunately, the tension didn't escalate further. The girl, with her lips stained from a sugary drink, ran happily to hug her brother's legs, eager to tell him about all the delicacies she had been treated to. At that precise instant, Aberforth's temperament softened like jelly.
Rosmerta witnessed how that cantankerous and grumpy old man, who had entered like a fierce wolf ready to protect his cub, transformed into the living image of a protective and harmless father. Seeing how happy and secure the girl felt by his side, the woman's dark suspicions evaporated.
Even so, the atmosphere remained heavy. Aberforth's violent entrance had alarmed the passersby on the street. The worst thing that could happen now was for Ariana's identity to be leaked. Aberforth didn't even have the necessary time to cast an Obliviate on Rosmerta and erase the information she shouldn't possess. Without losing a second, the old man scooped the girl up in his arms and apparated directly back to his business. He had to contact his brother immediately to find a way out of the problem.
But barely had he set Ariana on the floor, the echo of firm knocks resonated on the main door.
"We're closed!" Aberforth bellowed instantly, betraying a clear note of anxiety in his voice.
"It's me, Ab..." Rosmerta's voice was heard from outside.
"What, don't you have a business to attend to? Beat it!" roared the old man, as he pushed Ariana to hide her behind the counter.
"I closed for today, just like you've been doing lately," the woman countered, showing herself unaffected by the tavern keeper's rudeness.
"Well go somewhere else! What, haven't you caused enough trouble today?" he snapped, pointing his wand directly at the door. Ariana was too important to him; panic prevented him from reasoning clearly.
"Aberforth, open this damn door!" Rosmerta demanded, adopting an authoritative yet unaggressive tone. "I remind you that you just knocked mine down, and I swear I'll do the same to yours if you don't open up for me right now!"
The old man, tense, forced himself to calm down to think coldly. With a subtle flick of his wand, he executed a sensing spell to make sure Rosmerta was alone, and immediately afterward, unlocked the latch with a magical click. Only at that moment did it dawn on him that the situation played in his favor: he could erase her memory with an Obliviate and cut the problem at the root. Nerves had clouded his judgment before, but now... his gaze turned icy, calculating.
Rosmerta, completely oblivious to his intentions, walked decisively into the tavern; she had scores to settle with him. Aberforth sealed the door behind her with a magical bolt, but the gesture didn't alarm the woman. Despite the coarse character the old man exhibited day to day, deep down she considered him a good person.
The tavern keeper watched her like a cold snake measuring its prey, ready to cast the memory charm at any second... but, just then, Ariana came darting out from her hiding place. With the overflowing joy of a small child, she ran to seek refuge in Rosmerta's arms like a daughter seeking her mother.
"Ariana!" Aberforth exclaimed, alarmed by the recklessness of the restless girl.
The truth was that Ariana was fascinated by Rosmerta. The woman always smelled of sweets and delicious food, so the little girl loved to bury her face in her clothes. And, of course, when Rosmerta knelt down to receive her with open arms, Ariana's favorite hiding place continued to be that prominent, soft, and welcoming cleavage.
Aberforth was forced to abort his attack; it was impossible to aim with Ariana interposing herself in the middle. He lowered his wand slightly, though staying on guard, and tried to pull the little girl away.
"Well then... don't you think you owe me an explanation?" the tavern mistress reproached, holding the child close as if she had no intention of letting her go. However, upon looking up, her eyes crossed with the portrait hanging on the wall, and she froze completely petrified.
Rosmerta had already contemplated that painting on countless occasions, but she had never paid real attention to it. Now, alternating her gaze between the canvas and the girl she held in her arms, the resemblance hit her with such force that it left her breathless. Especially when Ariana raised her innocent eyes, overflowing with joy as she continued to settle against her breasts.
"Definitively... I demand an explanation," Rosmerta sentenced, pinning Aberforth with a gaze of strict maternal questioning. For an instant, she even feared the hermit had crossed unforgivable boundaries.
Before Aberforth could utter a word, a sudden flash of fire illuminated the room. From the ashes emerged Albus Dumbledore and his phoenix; after receiving his brother's distress message via a Patronus, the headmaster had apparated immediately... bumping head-on into that compromising scene.
...
In the end, things didn't turn out so disastrously. A while later, the three adults found themselves sitting at the table while Ariana, oblivious to the tension, played quietly on Rosmerta's lap with her toys.
Although the two experienced wizards would have been able to subdue the woman without the slightest effort, they opted to exhaust the less illegal avenues first.
Rosmerta meticulously examined the little girl, making sure over and over that there was no kind of transfiguration to pass her off as the deceased sister of the Dumbledores. After verifying that everything was real, she let out a sigh of relief upon confirming that it wasn't anything shady; nevertheless, the massive question mark of her identity still floated in the air.
It was then that Albus, displaying his usual eloquence—and perhaps applying the subtle tactics of manipulation he had learned from his student and now boss—crafted a lie with absolute naturalness. The farce consisted of the little girl being an extremely distant relative of the Dumbledore line, an orphan located barely a few days ago. By whims of fate and pure genetic coincidences, the child possessed an identical resemblance to the late Ariana Dumbledore; which was why Albus hadn't been able to resist taking her under his wing.
It was a far-fetched story, but the conviction and solemnity with which Dumbledore recounted the tragic demise of the supposed parents, the search process, and the profound shock he felt upon seeing her for the first time were overwhelming. No one could explain such visual cloning, but for Rosmerta it was infinitely more credible to accept a family coincidence than to assimilate that a person dead for nearly a century was walking among the living again. Furthermore, the mental state and some subtle physical alterations that Albus discretely wrought upon the girl's features while Rosmerta was distracted helped mark slight differences from the young girl in the painting.
The ruse worked to perfection. Even so, Rosmerta did not deprive herself of severely reprimanding the two old men for forcing the unfortunate girl to call them "brothers" for the sole purpose of satiating their past traumas and longings. She even went so far as to brand them eccentric and somewhat twisted old men, causing both brothers to blush at the impossibility of confessing the truth.
To close the matter, Rosmerta imposed a non-negotiable condition: she must be allowed to care for the girl on a regular basis. Even though she still harbored doubts, her primary concern lay in the fact that the Hog's Head was, by no means, a healthy environment for raising a minor. She knew she wouldn't manage to convince the Dumbledores to hand the little girl over to another family due to the obvious emotional bond, so she decided to offer her help. Shielding herself behind the argument that two old bachelors would never be capable of providing her with the care and feminine attention a little girl required, she got the brothers to accept. And deep down, both felt an enormous relief; they truly needed someone of absolute trust to back them up in that task, at least temporarily.