Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.
(21) More Memories
"I'll be right back Harry, I'm going to take these bracelets to Mum and Dad for tomorrow … do you want to come with me?" She said, giving him a quick kiss. Before he could respond she said, "I think I'm starting to like flying, but I'm still not thrilled with flying on a broomstick. It's a whole different perspective to be able to fly as a bird.
They stood and Harry said, not looking her in the face, "I was wondering if you liked Fawkes a bit too much when you were gone so long."
She looked at him and could feel a little jealousy coming from him. She looked straight at him, smiled, kissed him gently and hugged him tightly, saying, "It's you I love … now and always."
Harry relaxed in her hug and shifted closer, returning the hug while drawing her tight to himself. Hermione could sense he needed some more reassurance, she gave him a tight squeeze and whispered, "I love you Harry, and only you," into his ear, before releasing the hug.
Harry released her and when they parted Harry said in a quiet voice, "I guess I'm being silly … I love you too … maybe a little too much. If you're confident in your new found abilities then go to your parents and confirm them for tomorrow. I'll meet you in the Hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey … we'll show her the potion and find out what she thinks. Have a safe trip."
"Thanks Harry, I'll meet you there in a few minutes … bye love." She said then she gave him a peck on his cheek, changed back to her Phoenix form and apparated home.
She arrived in her bedroom with a flash of white light and a faint pop, appearing over top of her bed in case she needed a soft landing spot. Hermione had assumed that her bedroom would be empty, however, Emma had picked today to change the bed coverings and was doing so in Hermione's room when she appeared as a white Phoenix. Both were surprised causing Emma to jump back while Hermione almost fell out of the air before she got her wings going. She flew around the room once and landed on a chair before transforming back to herself. "I'm sorry Mum, I didn't think anyone would be in here." She said in an apologetic tone of voice.
"You … you … were a bird … a moment ago?" Emma said questioningly.
"Oh … yes, a bit of a long story for right now. I found out how to do that yesterday, I can turn into a Phoenix … interesting bird really." She said.
"Phoenix … a Phoenix as in 'risen from the ashes' Phoenix … the mythological bird?" Questioned Emma.
"Yes Mum, I'll explain it tomorrow." She said as she held out two bracelets to her Mum. "Wear these tomorrow when I pick you up and you'll be able to visit Hogwarts without any problems. Is ten o'clock a good time for me to come?"
"Yes … sure." Emma said, still in a bit of a daze. She'd remember later that they needed to be ready for ten.
"Love you Mum … say hi to Dad, I want to get something from Harry's room and then I have to go … bye, see you tomorrow." Hermione escaped to Harry's room and did a quick but thorough search for The Marauders Map and couldn't find it. "Must be at Privet Drive … oh well." Then she transformed into her Phoenix form and apparated back to Hogwarts, appearing in the hallway just outside the Hospital Wing where she flew around for a few moments with a twelve foot long flying snake before landing beside it as it turned back into Harry. Hermione changed back to herself and said, "All we need now is a Griffin and an Eagle Owl lined up beside us and we'll be a flying zoo."
"How did it go with your parents?" Harry asked as they walked into the Hospital Wing.
"I shocked Mum senseless … she was in my bedroom when I popped in. I didn't really explain too much … Sunday at ten is good and I gave her the two bracelets. I took a quick look in your room for The Marauders Map and couldn't find it."
"It's in my trunk at The Dursleys."
Poppy's alarm chime went off as they came through the Hospital Wing doors; she came out of her office and asked, "What have you gotten yourselves into this time?"
Hermione answered, "We've come up with a different potion that we'd like your opinion of." Harry pulled out Salazar's Potions Notebook and it opened to the page they wanted. Poppy motioned them to follow her into her office where they all sat down.
Poppy looked at the potion recipe and instructions, and then looked up at Harry, before moving her gaze to Hermione, and back at the book. She flipped the book over looking at the cover first then the first inside page before saying, "Did you get this book from Rowena Ravenclaw and is it really Slytherin's old notebook?"
"Yes and yes." Said Harry. "Does it make sense … Rowena said we could trust it?"
"It makes sense and it should be the perfect answer for you two … my question is, Hermione, do you trust Harry to take it regularly and on time?" Asked Poppy.
"Absolutely." Responded Hermione.
"Alright." Madam Pomfrey sighed, "Personally, I wouldn't trust any boy that far, probably why this potion's been lost for so long."
"In open air it'll last about a month, in a full bottle with no air space it will keep for years. It's a bit tricky to make, but the ingredients are normal enough … I'll ask Professor Slughorn to make a years worth for you … he may need some more bottles; I'll let you know if he does. I would suggest that you help him with the bottling, but there's no need for him to know who it's for. You might, if you're going to be around here, volunteer to help him in a more general sense as he's making my potion stock for next year in his spare time. I'm sure he'd be very happy for some company, even part time, I expect it gets a little lonely down there for him."
Madam Pomfrey scanned the whole book quickly and copied the pages that were needed before giving it back to Harry. "If Horace sees that book he'll want to keep it and try all the potions." She said. "It might make a good bargaining chip later if you want another batch of potion."
They thanked Madam Pomfrey for her assistance and assured her that one or both of them would offer to help Professor Slughorn over the summer.
Once out of the Hospital Wing and into a hallway they decided it was almost Lunch time, they agreed to fly to a corridor near The Great Hall and appear from there. About half way there they met up with the others. Luna was herself as her Centaur form had trouble with the stairs while Ron was running around and barking at Ginny and Neville who were flying around above them. When Harry and Hermione joined the mix, Ron went even crazier and almost tripped Luna. As they neared the main floor they came across Madam Pince and Mr. Filch walking together. Irma recognized the menagerie and kept Argus from saying or doing anything about them as they disappeared around a corner. Luna had continued directly towards The Great Hall. From around the corner that the menagerie disappeared into, came the other five teens. Speeding up to join Luna they all marched into The Great Hall for lunch.
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Sometime after Hermione left home:
Emma was carrying a basket of clothes and bed linens downstairs, her mind, uncharacteristically, hundreds of miles away with the image of her daughter morphing from a Phoenix that almost soundlessly popped into existence in front of her.
Dan watched her come down the stairs and could tell her mind was elsewhere, she was weaving across the wide staircase as she descended and the weave was in the wrong direction considering where she should be taking the laundry. As he approached her he could see her eyes were glazed over. He let her get to the bottom before taking her hands and the basket, bringing her to a sloppy halt that brought her back to reality. Dan took the basket from her and led her to the sofa before trying to find out what was on her mind. He saw the two bracelets that were still in her hand and asked about them first.
It took a while, but Dan finally got the bulk of the story out of Emma. She wasn't trying to hold back, she simply hadn't finished processing everything herself.
"We'll definitely have some questions to ask her tomorrow." Said Dan as he got up and took the laundry away.
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After lunch Minerva joined the teens in The Gryffindor Common Room to review more memories, the first one Harry had planned was to be The Chamber of Secrets. He took Ginny aside at the start, not so much to ask her permission, though that was part of it, but to ask if she wanted to see it or not.
"Sure," Ginny said, "I don't remember any of it other than the part after I woke up. It isn't embarrassing is it?" she asked.
"No … mostly you're lying on the floor of the Chamber until I destroy the diary, killing Tom and then you wake up. No white horse and no Knight in shining armour, just a red Phoenix, Godric's sword and a basilisk tooth.
"What do you mean 'no Knight in shining armour'," Ginny snickered, "Yeah, let's do it Harry, but keep it short okay." She said as they made their way to their seats.
"The first thing I'm going to show you is my memory of The Chamber of Secrets. Ginny and Ron were there for some of it and everyone here has heard the story, but I think seeing it is important to gain a batter understanding of Tom Riddle, here goes." Said Harry as he pulled out his wand and placed its tip at his right temple drawing out the silver strand of memory and stirring it into the Pensieve. It will start from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and end just before Fawkes takes us out of the Chamber.
When they fell into the Pensieve the memory started, even though Harry stated that it would start in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom all but Ron and himself were a little surprised to find themselves in there. They saw Myrtle explain how she died, Harry finding the tap and opening the chamber and finally they all slid down the pipe with the original Harry, Ron and Lockhart, to the chamber entrance. Harry made sure everyone stayed up front with him when they saw Lockhart obliviate himself with Ron's broken wand and cause the cave in. They followed Harry and young Harry into the chamber, Ginny and Minerva gasped when they found young Ginny, lying on the stone floor as if dead. Then Tom showed up and called the basilisk, and Fawkes came with the sorting hat that produced Godric's sword. The chase and fight with the basilisk caused some gasps and whimpers. Finally, Ginny waking up after Harry pierced the diary with the basilisk fang, killing the image of Tom, and then their escape from the chamber back to Ron.
Once they were all out of the Pensieve, everyone including Ron congratulated Harry for killing the basilisk and the diary that was a horcrux. Harry blushed at the praise and tried to explain that was not the purpose in showing that memory. Primarily and unknowingly it was the start of destroying Voldemort's horcruxes and the proof that once you get past the protections Voldemort put in place, they could be destroyed safely. Secondly, it brought up the question: why was Albus hurt destroying Marvolo's ring and Harry unharmed destroying the diary?
Harry removed the memory from the Pensieve and placed it in a new vial that Hermione gave him, then said I have another memory from the same diary. Tom was trying to trick me into believing that Hagrid was responsible for Myrtle's death and the opening of The Chamber of Secrets. Harry used his wand and picked another memory out of his temple to put into the Pensieve. He stirred it around while saying, "This one is short, maybe twenty minutes."
They saw Myrtle's body being carried away and Tom and Albus discussing that Headmaster Dippet may have to close the school if the killer was not found. In the next scene they found themselves following Tom into the dungeons and confronting Hagrid, then trying to kill Aragog as Aragog scampered away to safety. Harry noticed Ron cringe and dodge out of the way when Aragog ran past them.
Moments later they popped out of that memory and Harry said, "Tom is the reason why Hagrid was expelled after his third year. It wasn't Hagrid's spider that killed Myrtle fifty plus years ago, it was Tom's basilisk. Ron and I met Aragog shortly after Hagrid was taken away to Azkaban by Minister Fudge. Aragog refused to name the creature that killed Myrtle just as most wizards refuse to call Voldemort by name. Shortly after Hermione figured out that the creature was a basilisk, Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets."
"If the order of these memories seems a bit odd to you, please bear with me. I was originally going to show them in chronological order, from oldest to newest, but I thought there were some memories you needed to see before others and I've changed my mind several times since on the order I wanted to present them. Hermione handed Harry an empty vial to store the last memory when Harry said, "The next memory is a short one that shows Merope trying to get some money by selling Slytherin's locket to Caractacus Burke of Borgin and Burkes. Again we will have to fall into the Pensieve to watch the action.
They followed Harry into the Pensieve to watch the scene play out between Mr. Burke and Merope. At the end they emerged back into the Common Room and a short discussion ensued where Harry reiterated Albus' statement that Mr. Burke was not known for his generosity.
With Hermione's assistance, Harry again swapped memories in the Pensieve so they could see the eleven year old Tom Riddle. Harry explained how Tom was born and that Merope died shortly after naming him. "This is Albus' memory of his visit to Tom at the Orphanage where he explained about Hogwarts and magic." Harry said as he stirred it into the pensieve with his wand tip. "This memory will be a longer one, well over an hour I think."
The same as before, it started out with Albus arrival at the orphanage, locating and talking with the Matron, their discussion of Tom's oddities and his need to return each summer and ending in Tom's room with his Hogwarts letter, a small bag of money and directions to Diagon Alley. Once they all returned to the Common Room there was a long discussion about many aspects of the memory including the hanging rabbit and the two children in the cave as well Harry brought up Tom's collection of stolen 'trophies' that Albus had chastised him for. They discussed how the arrogance, independence and brutality of Voldemort was already showing in Tom Riddle.
"The next one is short, it's the first and as far as I know the only meeting between Tom and his uncle Morfin."
Harry went into his prologue, "Once Tom stopped looking for a father named Riddle in the magical world and looked up his mother it probably didn't take too long with his Slytherin connections to find Morfin. Marvolo and Merope were long dead by this time and he wanted revenge against his muggle father. This memory is from Morfin so all we're really going to see is his first meeting with Tom. Albus believed that Tom overpowered Morfin, took his wand, killed his father and grandparents, returned the wand and took Marvolo's ring from Morfin." As he stirred in the memory he said, "This will be a short trip … about ten minutes." They all followed him into the Pensieve.
After they came out of the Pensieve Harry said, "Morfin was later accused of and confessed to killing the Riddles, Tom apparently modified Morfin's memory and Morfin's wand was proven to be the murder weapon having fired the unforgivable curses.
"It's almost suppertime and there are three more memories to show you, the last one is quite long as it's the night Albus was killed by Snape. If you can all handle them tonight, then tomorrow is available for other things."
They all responded with a yes and Harry said, "I know it's pushing a lot of information on you today and I don't expect you to remember all the details. The point is to give you an understanding of Tom Riddle and the way he thinks … his motivation … if we can anticipate his actions and reactions then we might get ahead of him and have a chance to stop him. Any of you can look at these memories again any time you want."
"Hermione's parents are going to be here tomorrow around ten o'clock and one or both of us are going to be occupied showing them around. She and I haven't been totally open with her parents about all the things that have happened over the last six years and we don't want to frighten them tomorrow. Seeing the castle, the ghosts, Hagrid and some of the other things around here will probably be enough for them to handle without them finding out about Voldemort, Death Eaters, basilisks and the like. You will likely meet them unless you want to go home early. If they ask what we're doing here, just say we're doing a joint summer project for Defence Against the Dark Arts for extra credit. I'm sure everyone can say that with a straight face, it is essentially the truth." Said Harry.
"There will definitely be extra credit if you are even half way successful. I don't know how Albus could have left so much for you to handle." Said McGonagall in a huff and shaking her head."
"Have Mom and Remus found anything at Grimmauld Place?" Asked Ron.
"I haven't heard back from them, but they may not have arrived at number 12 yet." Replied McGonagall.
"I hope that wasn't part of the loot that Mundungus stole." Said Hermione.
"No … I'm sure it's in the house." Said Luna with conviction. Ron and Minerva looked at her quizzically, prompting her to continue. "I saw a gold locket that had a silver chain, in a vision a few weeks ago. Mrs. Weasley and Professor Lupin were giving it to you, Professor McGonagall. I had no idea the significance of the locket at the time.
Harry pulled the last memory out of the Pensieve to put it in a vial as the others were getting up to leave for the Great Hall. Once they had all left and the memories were put away, he and Hermione also left for supper.
After supper they all convened in the Gryffindor Common Room again to see the last three memories that Harry planned to show them. The unaltered memory of Slughorn talking to Tom about Horcruxes and how powerful the number seven is. Then Hepzibah Smith and Tom with Slytherin's Locket and Hufflepuff's cup, and he told them that a day later Hepzibah died and Hokey, her house Elf was blamed for poisoning her accidentally. Harry now asked Professor McGonagall a question. "Professor, if, in my memory Albus and I apparate somewhere, does everyone viewing the memory get dragged along?"
"That can get tricky, if it was Albus' memory, he would know how to get around that. I suggest you split the memory into pieces so that we exit when you two apparate and we can enter the next segment after the apparition." Suggested Minerva.
Harry pulled the entire memory out of his head and put it into a vial for Hermione to put away, then he pulled out one segment at a time and they entered the Pensieve each time. First was the agreement in Dumbledore's office, there was no point wasting everyone's time with the walk to Hogsmeade. The next segment was at the cliff side and they watched Harry and Albus swim to the cave. The following segment started in the cave with Albus finding the entrance arch. They walked along the side of the cavern until they found the boat. They watched the little boat start across and in the next segment they were on the small island. At last they exited the cave and apparated to Hogsmeade. In the final segment they flew on Madam Rosemertas' brooms to the Astronomy Tower where Draco disarmed Albus and Snape killed him.
Following the memories, Harry suggested that if they were going to be around for a while tomorrow, They might have some fun looking up old curses and hexes in Rowena's library. Luna said that she had found some information on Horcruxes, but not what Harry had asked for, so she was going to continue looking.
"Whatever you can find Luna, would be more than we know now, bookmark it and bring it back or copy it so we can take it away, then all of us can read it. We can't take Rowena's books beyond the castle walls or they will disappear. When you want to leave tomorrow, let me or Harry know and Fawkes or I can apparate you wherever you want to go." Said Hermione. Do you want to meet here for breakfast around nine?"
They soon left in pairs; Ginny had to help poor Neville as he wasn't interested in moving. She, however, got him motivated and they left too. Hermione reminded Harry that he promised to tell his Aunt and Uncle on Sunday, what time they expected to arrive on Monday. Harry took the Pensieve and Hermione took the memories and they went back to the Heads Common Room, a very short walk, thankfully. After carefully storing the Pensieve and the memories they flopped on the sofa and Harry lit the fireplace while Hermione snuggled into him. In a few minutes they were warm and comfy and soon they drifted off to sleep in each others arms.
Sometime around midnight Harry woke and tried to massage a kink out of his neck. A groggy Hermione asked what he was doing, then took over the neck massage. They finally ended up in Harry's room and after doffing most of their clothes except boxers and knickers, they ended up snuggled together in his bed. Harry thought to himself as he fell asleep, twenty-four hours ago this wouldn't have happened as naturally as it just did. He couldn't believe that they had in reality always been together, but not recognized it for the love it really was. They had ignored or confused the love for a simple friendship and it had snuck up on them since that first train ride so many years ago.