AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wasn't going to get this chapter posted until after Christmas but I had some unexpected motivation, so I had to get it out or else. Luckily, I was able to write this one with ease and no writer's block. I hope everyone has a very, Merry Christmas!!!!! If you haven't yet, please read my Christmas fiction, "Please Come Home for Christmas" PORTKEY.ORG >> Please Come Home For Christmas - Chapter: 1---it is a companion piece to "All Along".
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 18
Across the Universe
"Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe"
"Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world"
("Across the Universe" by my favorite band The Beatles)
"This has to be a sign of the Apocalypse," Harry said, ushering his guests inside.
"I must say I never thought I'd see you darken my doorstep," Harry said, looking at the tall, thin man with pasty white skin and who was dressed all in black.
Sirius chuckled. "Believe me; he didn't want to come here, either. But he wants to help."
"He wants to help?" Harry asked chagrined. "You've got to be kidding me! Since when has he ever wanted to help me?"
"I told you he would act like this," Severus Snape said coldly to Sirius. "I don't know why I agreed to come here at all. It's not as if he wants my help."
"Harry, Severus," Sirius said, stepping between them. "Please. This is very important. Harry, please hear what I have to say. If you still want to throw him out afterwards, you can and I won't stop you, but I think this is something you have to hear. It could change everything."
Harry looked thoroughly unconvinced. It was no secret, and never had been that he was the least favorite of Severus Snape's people. Harry reckoned that Snape would probably have preferred to be sent to a spa for a makeover than spend one second in Harry's presence. Still, if Sirius had brought him here, there had to be a good reason. He trusted Sirius' judgment.
Harry nodded and walked into the sitting room. He and Sirius sat down on the couch and Snape took a seat in the armchair. He looked about as uncomfortable and out of place as Harry had ever seen him.
"So," Sirius said, clapping his hands together, nervously.
"So," Harry said.
"Are we going to waste time just sitting here looking at each other are you going to get on with it, Black?" Snape said impatiently. "I don't have all day to play catch up with you and Potter, alright?"
"No one's twisting your arm to be here, Snape," Harry spat back at him.
"Fine," Snape said, getting up from the chair.
"Sit down!" Sirius said. "Please. Will the two of you please put aside the petty differences and the misunderstandings and bad blood between you and concentrate on the greater good, here. We're all here because we care about Hermione."
Snape sat back down, but Harry looked at his godfather incredulously.
"He doesn't care about anyone or anything else but himself, Sirius," Harry said. "He doesn't care about me and he sure as hell doesn't give a damn about Hermione!"
"Contrary to popular belief, Potter," Snape said coolly. "I am not just some poor, heartless bastard. I was deeply sorry to hear about what happened to Miss Granger."
Harry stared back at Snape, shocked at what he had just said.
"I never wanted anything bad to happen to her, or to you, for that matter," Snape said, his voice softening a bit.
Harry was utterly speechless. This didn't seem right, somehow. Snape had a conscience? This was about as surreal an experience as he could ever remember.
"Which brings us here," Sirius interjected.
"Alright," Harry said.
"For the past few years," Sirius began. "Sniv-, I mean, Severus, here, has been working on some potions."
"Well," Harry said exasperated. "He's the Potions Master at Hogwarts, Sirius. I would expect he would be working on potions."
"Not just any potion, Harry," Sirius said. "He's been working on memory modification potions. Namely, he's been working on one that would allow those whose memory has been erased, to regain their lost memories…completely."
Harry took an audible deep breath at what his godfather had just said.
"For real?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between Snape and Sirius.
"For real," Sirius said with a smile. "He came to me this morning at the Ministry wanting to share what he'd found. He told me all about his research and his experiments and what he could do to help Hermione."
"What's the catch?" Harry asked. "There's got to be something you're not telling me about this."
Sirius exchanged a pensive look with Snape. "Well, there are some other things that you must know about this before we could even entertain the notion of giving this potion to Hermione."
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"Well, this potion has never been tested on human subjects," Snape finished. "I've only tested it on insects and lab rats."
"Well, now we cut to the chase," Harry said, contemplatively. "You've never tested this on a human and now you want me---someone you can't stand---to allow you to use Hermione as their guinea pig?"
"Harry," Sirius interrupted.
"No," Harry said, ignoring his godfather's words. "It's now all making sense. The pieces are
beginning to fit finally. He doesn't give a damn about Hermione or her wellbeing. He just needs a test subject. I
knew that this was too good to be true. I'm not going to allow him to use her and put her life in jeopardy so that
he can get his name in all the Potions' Journals!"
"Better to put her in jeopardy by constantly putting her in danger as she fights at your side against the Dark Lord?" Snape asked sarcastically.
"Why you miserable son-of-a-bitch!" Harry asked, making a move forward at Snape. Sirius reacted quickly and held his godson back.
"Touch a nerve there, did I, Potter?" Snape asked almost gleefully.
Harry stared coolly back at Snape, his cheeks red with anger, his eyes cold with hatred and distaste.
"If you would allow me to finish," Snape said, leaning back in the chair. "I'd tell you that I'm fairly certain that this potion could help Miss Granger."
"Fairly certain?" Harry asked. "Fairly certain? I'm sorry, but fairly certain isn't good enough reason to sacrifice her health. So, tell me, Snape. Tell me what could possibly happen to her if she agrees to take this?"
Again, Sirius and Snape exchanged pensive, worried looks.
"Well?" Harry asked again.
"Well, best-case scenario, we give the potion to her and she remembers everything about her life before she was taken from us," Sirius said.
"And the worst-case scenario?" Harry asked.
Snape looked straight at Harry. "She takes the potion and she could forget everything. She'd be alive, but it wouldn't be any kind of life she'd want. You remember what happened to Frank and Alice Longbottom? What happened to them would be mild compared to what could happen to Hermione."
Harry felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him at those words.
"Well, it's settled, then," Harry said, after a few moments of silence. "We can't give this to her."
"That's not your choice to make, is it?" Snape asked.
"Although I hate to admit it," Sirius said. "He's right, Harry. Hermione needs to know that there is something out here that could help her regain her memories. Then, she can make the decision for herself whether or not she wants to try this."
"She'll never agree to it," Harry said. "She's been through enough. We've all been through enough. Not just me, but her parents. If we give this to her and she---well, it would be like losing her all over again. I don't want to go through that again."
"You're assuming the worst could happen," Sirius said. "And I don't blame you for that. You should never enter into anything without considering the pros and cons of each situation. Merlin! I sound just like Remus!"
Harry didn't laugh at this.
"Let her make the decision, Harry," Sirius said. "It is her choice to make, after all, not yours."
"I know," he said, getting up from the couch and looking out the window. "I know it is. I just don't want anything else to happen to her. She's already been through way too much."
"Well, we both know that she's never been one to like someone to tell her what she was and wasn't going to do," Sirius said. "She needs to be made aware of the options available to her. Then, when she knows what could and couldn't happen, then she can make her decision. She's got a good head on her shoulders. She'll choose what's best for her."
"I know all that," he said.
The room was silent as Harry thought about everything that he'd just heard. Snape fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair. Sirius shot him a warning look. Snape just rolled his eyes.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Snape said. "I do have to get back to Hogwarts. Let's go and tell Miss Granger about this."
Harry stood stick still, staring out the window.
"Okay," he said, finally turning around. "Let's go."
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At the same time that Harry was talking with Snape and Sirius, Hermione was visiting with Kit and Ron. Hermione's parents had decided to go and check into a hotel and promised to come back soon.
"So how far along are you?" Hermione asked Kit.
"Six months to the day," Kit said. "I can't believe I have three more months of this to endure. I'm already the size of a beached whale."
"You're not," Hermione said genuinely. "You're positively glowing."
"This is what getting by on very little sleep gets you," Kit said. "A positively glowing face."
"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "You should probably be at home. You didn't have to stay here for me."
"It's exactly where I want to be," Kit said sincerely. "You're my friend. You need me and this is where I'm going to be---where we both are going to be." She looked over at her husband.
"Right," Ron agreed.
"So you're not a witch," Hermione said.
"No," Kit said. "I'm about as Muggle as they come."
"How did your parents react to the marriage?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, well my mum was surprised at first," Kit said.
"To say the least," Ron said. "She thought I was just some traveling magician like that David Copperhead person."
"Copperfield," Kit corrected. "Like David Copperfield."
"Her exact words when she met me were, "No daughter of mine is going to go traveling around to carnival shows with some two-bit magician," Ron said.
"But she came around?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah," Ron said. "After I showed her a few spells. See, I turned her hair brown."
"And that helped?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Kit said. "My mother was going gray and with Ron here---she has her own personal color stylist."
"Don't tell anyone that," Ron told Hermione. "That's all Fred and George need is any further ammunition to drive me crazy with."
"Fred and George?" Hermione asked. "Your twin brothers, right?"
"Yes, twin terrors, more like," Ron said. "They pretty much live to make my life a living hell."
"I've been told that I did a good job of that, too," Hermione said.
"No, you just nagged me to death all the time," Ron said. "You were always pushing me to finish my essay or do my homework and to catch up on my reading."
"But I drove you crazy?" Hermione asked, laughing.
"Absolutely nutters," Ron concurred. "But I'm glad you're back. More than glad,
actually."
"Me, too," she said. "I wish I could remember everything."
"You will," Kit said optimistically. "Just give it time."
"Well, I've definitely got loads of that," Hermione said.
There was a slight knock at the door and Ron, Kit and Hermione turned expectantly to see Sirius, Harry and Snape standing in the doorway.
"What's he doing here?" Ron asked, looking pointedly at Snape.
"I'll tell you later," Harry said. "Could we have a moment with Hermione?"
Ron looked worriedly at Harry, but nodded.
"Sure," he said, turning back to face Hermione. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek. Kit grasped her friend's hand tightly.
"We'll be back soon," Ron said.
"Take care, Hermione," Kit said.
"Thank you both for stopping by," Hermione said. They all watched as Kit and Ron exited the room. Harry closed the door tightly behind them.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked.
"There's something we need to talk about," Harry said, stepping past Sirius and Snape and giving his girlfriend a kiss hello.
"You look worried, Harry," she said. "Is something wrong?"
Harry motioned for Sirius and Snape to come closer.
"Hello, Sirius," Hermione said.
"Hermione," Sirius said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"This is, um, Severus Snape," Harry said, tilting his head towards the dark cloaked figure standing beside Sirius. "He taught you and me at Hogwarts. He was the Potions Master at Hogwarts."
"Nice to meet you," Hermione said, extending her hand to him. "I know it sounds strange to say if I knew you before, but-"
"It's okay," Snape said, shaking her hand. "I understand."
Hermione smiled good-naturedly at him before turning her attention back to Harry.
"What's going on Harry?" she asked.
"Um, there's something you have to know," he said.
"What?" she asked. "Please tell me its good news. I can't take any more bad news."
Harry looked worriedly at Sirius before continuing. "Well, it's up to you to decide if you think it's good or bad."
"Okay," she said, confused. "Shoot."
Harry took a seat beside her bed and took her hand in his.
"You're scaring me, Harry," she said. "Please tell me what's going on."
He was silent for a moment and her heart went out to him. Whatever this was, it was obviously quite troubling for him.
"Tell me," she urged.
He looked up into her brown eyes and took a deep breath.
"Okay," he began.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I KNOW IT'S ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER, BUT I COULDN'T STOP MYSELF!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME..IT IS CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL!!!