. . . Chapter 8

. . . Short Shorts and Dumbledore . . .


Ron woke up to Harry muttering something about socks.

"What is it, mate?" Ron asked sleepily.

"Socks. Socks and he won't give them back."

Ron rubbed his eyes and looked over at Harry. The nutter was still asleep.

"Oi," Ron threw a pillow at Harry's head, "wake up. S'morning."

"Heeeeyyy," Harry said groggily, pushing the pillow off and onto the floor.

Ron stood up and stretched, walking over to put on a shirt with his pajama pants. He picked up his watch off of his night table and looked at the time: 6:34am. Early. They wouldn't have to leave for the ministry for another two hours. He stretched and kicked Harry's cot lightly on the way out of the room to wake his arse up.

"I'm going, I'm going." Ron heard him say as he headed down the stairs. At the first landing, he saw mum standing frozen at the doorway of the living room. She looked up at him descending the stairs and put her finger to her lips. As he got closer he realized she had tears in her eyes.

"Mum, what's wrong?" he whispered.

"George must've come back. Hermione's down here too and Ron - oh, Ron - her poor arm. We saw it yesterday with the dress shopping and I asked her about it, said she didn't want to talk about it," mum wiped her tears away with short fingers. "She's been tortured, Ron," she whispered significantly to him, letting tears fall.

Ron looked over his mother's head and saw George on the yellow couch, stretched out and drooling on one of the maroon pillows. Crookshanks was asleep on George's pillow with his tail curled around the top of George's head. Hermione was asleep on her back with her arms flung up above her head. She looked so peaceful except for those angry marks on her left arm. Every time he saw them, Ron felt so sick and angry. Thank Merlin that his mum had killed that bitch at the battle of Hogwarts. He hoped that every single moment of Bellatrix Lestrange's afterlife was pure hell.

"You knew?" mum asked, turning to look back into the room at Hermione. He nodded, keeping his eyes trained on her sleeping form.

Hermione stirred on the loveseat and twisted her body around so that she moved to her side, facing them. Her shirt wasn't made of very much fabric, Ron noticed with a sudden clarity. Blimey she was beautiful, he hadn't seen her sleep since they had been at Shell Cottage and there was nothing restful looking about those first few nights after they had been captive at the manor. Now she looked peaceful, curvy with the way she was laying on her side, and completely distracting with all that skin on her shoulders and legs -

"Let's go make breakfast. You'll help?" mum's teary voice shook him out of his appreciation of Hermione's skin.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'll help," he agreed quickly, trying to cover the fact that he'd been ogling his - girlfriend? friend? Maybe-a-girlfriend-soon? - in front of his mum.

He followed his mum silently into the kitchen and grabbed the tea kettle off of the stove to fill it.

"Ronald," mum started. Bloody hell, here we go. "I've tried to stay out of your business and much as possible about this last year because I know it was what you three thought you had to do but Hermione has been tortured, all three of you look like you were starving so I've been making this mountain of desserts . . ." she motioned over her shoulder to all the desserts on the counter and turned to inflict her watery glare on him. "Who did that to her? She wouldn't tell us but now that I know that you know - "

"Morning," Harry appeared in the doorway, just in time.

Ron put the tea on the stove and elbowed Harry and quickly left the room. He could feel his mum's eyes boring a hole in his back as he slipped out of the kitchen like a kid avoiding a walloping. His ears colored in shame, here he was adult and all and couldn't even face a questioning from his mum.

"What is it?" Harry asked as they went into the living room. "What's she doing down here?" he asked when he saw Hermione.

Ron shrugged and walked over to Hermione, she was breathing in really quick and shallow breaths. Ron found himself distracted by the way her chest rose and fell, her tank top was lower than most of the necklines she normally wore. Ron reached out and gently touched Hermione's shoulder to wake her up. Her skin was so smooth -

In one blink Hermione had woken up, grabbed her wand, stood up and cast a shield between herself and the rest of the room. He and Harry were pushed back from the force of the spell and Ron stepped back further, hands up, feeling stunned and guilty. Her eyes and hair were wild as she looked around the room for anything unfriendly.

"'Mione? I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you. It's morning," he said unnecessarily. Light streamed in the window beside the couch. "We're gonna have breakfast, get ready, and Floo in today for the Ministry, yeah?" She didn't move from her defensive stance at first. "Ok?" He gulped, guilty in the face of her fearful awakening.

She lowered her shield and took a couple steps toward Ron and Harry who moved forward toward them slightly.

"No, it's - it's ok. I just...last night, had a few - so I came down here and he," Hermione yawned silently, "he was down here."
Well that explained one thing at least.

Hermione blew a stray piece of hair out of her face and stretched her arms up at the ceiling, rising up on her toes. The way she was stretching gave Ron a really nice view of her typically hidden curves and he caught himself gaping when she looked back up at him. She blushed crimson and muttered something about a shower and went quickly out of the room. Those shorts were fantastically short. That girl was gonna end him completely.

After Ron had very reluctantly gone back to help his mum with breakfast, it had been decided - after Hermione told Ron and Harry about the amount of alcohol involved with the night before - that George would continue to sleep. Mum grabbed a Ministry owl that flew in with a message for dad and sent a package of pastys to Lee. Ron decided immediately as Hermione told them about the Firewhiskey that he'd - or Bill, or Charlie - have to talk with George about it if it every happened again. Finally, the three and Mr. Weasley went into the living room and Flooed into the grand fireplaces in the Ministry.

It was nice to see the Ministry the way he remembered it from when he was younger, before fifth year even, looking busy but polished with busy, polished people everywhere. The second Harry had come through the fireplace, the lobby full of people had started to roar and Ron put his arm around Hermione trying to protect her from the people that were pressing in. This time, they had been ready for them. Cameras flashed in every direction and Ron felt Hermione snake an arm around his waist and grab his side nearest Harry.

Dad was saying something behind Ron but Ron didn't want to turn around, they had to get to those blasted elevators through this bloody annoying crowd. Ron realized that it wouldn't have annoyed him so much if he hadn't felt like each one reaching out might have been a threat to him or Hermione or Harry. They were all jumpy after the last year, he thought wryly, remembering Hermione expression as she startled awake that morning. They finally got to the elevator and Mr. Weasley said he'd catch a different one.

Hermione reached out and pushed an unmarked button.

"Hey, how do you know which one to push?" Harry asked.

"I paid attention yesterday," Hermione said, shortly. Ron noticed she was wearing long sleeves sadly. He wished she felt comfortable enough to not hide it. He wondered absently if she ever would. "And I've been thinking," she said as the elevator lurched to a stop. "We should have started with Dumbledore and the ring, Harry."

Ron stared at her. Of course they should've, why hadn't they done that? Percy had suggested -

"Yeah, I was thinking the same. I can give testimony about the ring and I figure I can give testimony about the cave, since it wasn't the real horcrux we shouldn't have to revisit it or, or that night and then we'll restart at Grimmauld Place and go into RAB and how Lupin came and gave us information."

Ron immediately remembered what a complete horse's ass Harry had been to Lupin and started to say something about just giving verbal testimony but Harry caught his eye before he could speak.

"I'm not going to give them the memory. The three of us can just tell them what he told us," finished Harry as he opened the large glass doors.

Lenora and Percy were already there. Ron glanced at his watch, five minutes til nine.

Ron watched Hermione take the same seat she'd been in yesterday so he sat beside her. These chairs were bleeding uncomfortable.

"How was your meeting with Kingsley?" Percy asked from his seat across from Hermione.

"Good, we actually haven't gotten to talk about it much though," he looked at Hermione who was playing with one of her yellow sleeves.

"He said he made job offers."

"Yeah he did but, like I said, we haven't talked about it a whole lot yet," he bugged his eyes up so that Percy would know to shut it and then, when his eyes were a normal size again, cut his eyes down at Hermione so Percy would get the gist of what he was trying to say.

Percy looked back at Ron puzzled but thankfully let it drop and they sat in a long, still silence until Parnell's voice rang out from the hall.

"Yeah! Better you than me, Russell. Say hi to the wife, yeah? Oh, will do."

Parnell pushed through the doors and walked, rather like a monkey, to his seat. He was wearing the most ridiculous tie - might've been a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes product - tiny fireworks were going off a couple centimeters off of the front tie. The golden light in the room muted the tie only slightly.

"Hi all. Good meeting yesterday and another good one today, yeah?" Parnell grinned at the table.

"Yes, we're all ready?" Lenora asked, expectantly.

"Yeah but we've talked and we might not have started at the exact beginning," Harry started but looked around at Ron and Hermione with an expression of marked discomfort.

"Well, we started where Ron and I really started but Harry and Dumbledore had already begun working toward this before Dumbledore died," explained Hermione.

"Very well, we will just start wherever and fill in the blanks," Lenora said, kindly. She wasn't a very pretty woman, she looked. . .fluid and smoky, like she had no bones at all. Her arms just sort of bent around when she moved. Creepy.

"Ok, well I'd prefer to just give testimony on the first part?"

When Lenora nodded, Harry started talking.

"During sixth year, Dumbledore and I started having more in depth meetings about Tom Riddle and about the extent to which he had gone to protect himself from dying." Harry stopped to clear his throat. "Dumbledore had a theory that Riddle had used Horcruxes to protect himself. Horcruxes are objects in which a person can split their soul, through murder, and then assign a piece of their soul to an object. This way, if a body is killed, the soul lives on and can be resurrected. That's really what this mission was that the three of us went on - hunt these down and destroy them and then go after Riddle."

Harry paused for a moment. Ron glanced around at the rapt faces that glowed gold in the room.

"When Dumbledore and I were in one meeting, and we had uncovered how many Horcruxes that were known to exist, he revealed that he had destroyed one - a stone in a ring - that had belonged to the Gaunt family."

Ron realized and looked at Hermione who nodded slightly to him. He knew instantly that the Hallows were to be left out of this discussion entirely.

"The Gaunt family were decedents of Salazar Slytherin. Tom Riddle's mother was Merope Gaunt. And Dumbledore knew I had destroyed another in second year - Tom Riddle's diary. This mean that two of the seven were gone but five were left. Of the five we knew that Riddle's part of his soul still in him was the seventh so we had to find four. On the night that Dumbledore died, we were going to find the third horcrux and - "

"And may we have that memory?" Lenora asked politely.

"Oh, um," Harry looked at his hands.

"For historical purposes, not to be passed around," Lenora pushed gently.

Harry sighed and shut his eyes, putting his wand to his head and dropping the copy of his memory for them all to see.

"Alright? All in?" Parnell asked.

Ron stood and everyone leaned in.

A moment later, all of the Reviewers were eerily floating above the water's surface as Harry and Dumbledore stood on a rock outcropping. Ron looked over at Harry, he and Hermione had heard about this night from Harry's perspective and that had been hard enough on Harry, rewatching this, knowing what comes next was going to tear Harry apart. They'd need a pick-me-up for sure after this.

"They brought the kids from the orphanage here?"

"Not here, precisely. There is a village of sorts about halfway along the cliffs behind us. I believe the orphans were taken there for a little sea air and a view of the waves. No, I think it was only ever Tom Riddle and his youthful victims who visited this spot. No Muggle could reach this rock unless they were uncommonly good mountaineers, and boats cannot approach the cliffs, the waters around them are too dangerous. I imagine that Riddle climbed down; magic would have served better than ropes. And he brought two small children with him, probably for the pleasure of terrorizing them. I think the journey alone would have done it, don't you."

Ron looked around and saw Hermione do the same. Harry's eyes were staring at Dumbledore's profile. The whole place felt evil, although, maybe it's because what - or who - he knew was once here.

"But his final destination — and ours — lies a little farther on. Come."

The invisible platform on which the Reviewers seemed to be standing descended with Harry and Dumbledore as they climbed

"Lumos...You see...You will not object to getting a little wet?"

"No."

"Then take off your Invisibility Cloak — there is no need for it now — and let us take the plunge,"

As a much younger looking Harry - this had been. . . Merlin's foot, only about a year ago. How many things had happened in just one year . . . - and Dumbledore swam in the water, all of the Reviewers seemed to sink into the water with them. Lenora shrieked and pulled her floating scroll of parchment up but Ron realized even though he was at waist-depth in the water that the water wasn't penetrating their clothes.

Parnell let out a booming laugh that echoed eerily in the memory and Ron turned to see even Harry and Hermione smiling. Hermione was dragging her fingers through the unmoved water and marveling at the sensation of them still being dry. It was like they were standing on a flat floor that was being pulled by Harry and Dumbledore into the cave.

When the cave tapered down to about three feet Ron gasped as he saw Percy's torso go straight through some rock and grabbed Hermione and put her in front of him, one of his hands on her waist, so he could watch for rocks. Deep down, he realized it didn't hurt Percy and wouldn't hurt any of them and that they were fine but it was the principle of the thing.

"Yes, this is the place," Dumbledore said.

"How can you tell."

"It has known magic . . . This is merely the antechamber, the entrance hall. We need to penetrate the inner place. . . . Now it is Lord Voldemort's obstacles that stand in our way, rather than those nature made. . . ."

They all watched Dumbledore circle around and touch every surface in the cave until he found a spot.

"Here. . . We go on through here. The entrance is concealed."

A white outline of an arch shone brightly as Dumbledore pointed his want at a section of black rock.

"You've d-done it!"

As the outline faded, Ron looked at the younger Harry who was obviously shivering. He and Ron had never mastered the everyday, simple spells like the one he watched Dumbledore perform that dried off Harry's robes and clearly warmed him up. Hermione knew spells like that. Ron tightened his grip on her waist and slid his arm around her a bit more, he stopped before he could get to the middle of her stomach. He'd hate to push it too far, he didn't quite know where the boundaries were yet. . .

The Reviewers stood in silence and watched Dumbledore obviously working something magnificent out in his head for a few minutes.

"Oh, surely not. So crude."

"What is it, Professor."

"I rather think, that we are required to make payment to pass."

"Payment?" said Harry.

Ron knew this part, Harry had lamented it at the time, thinking that if Dumbledore had been uninjured from this "payment" and the potion that he could have fought off Snape. Instead, they knew now, that the way Dumbledore died had been his intention. He didn't know it was coming on this very evening, perhaps, but it was still one of his many, many plans.

He looked over at Percy. He used to be so jealous of Percy - prefect, Head Boy. He never actually finished Hogwarts . . . At least he'd never have such daft looking eyewear that he had to strut around in.

The wall opened into an archway after the payment had been received.

"After me, I think."

As Dumbledore and the younger Harry moved through the arch, Ron pulled Hermione closer. The invisible platform moved them through the arch and Ron noticed smugly that he, Hermione, and Lenora behind them were the only three to not have to travel creepily through the rock. Success.

Inside the cave was a huge black lake with an other-worldly green light shining and reflecting off of the water. It felt weird in there, like the air was pressing on his face.

"Let us walk," said Dumbledore quietly. "Be very careful not to step into the water. Stay close to me."

"Professor, do you think the Horcrux is here?"

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore. "Yes, I'm sure it is. The question is, how do we get to it."

"We couldn't... we couldn't just try a Summoning Charm."

Ron realized that the younger Harry looked really nervous.

"Certainly we could," said Dumbledore, stopping. "Why don't you do it."

"Me. Oh . . . okay . . . Accio Horcrux!"

At that moment, a whitish figure blasted up out of the water and splashed back down. The Inferi, Harry had told them. Ron stifled a shudder.

"What was that?" Harry asked, horrified.

"Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux."

"Did you think that would happen, sir?"

"I thought something would happen if we made an obvious attempt to get our hands on the Horcrux. That was a very good idea, Harry; much the simplest way of finding out what we are facing."

"But we don't know what the thing was," said Harry.

"What the things are, you mean," said Dumbledore. "I doubt very much that there is only one of them. Shall we walk on."

"Professor - "

"Yes, Harry."

"Do you think we're going to have to go into the lake?"

"Into it. Only if we are very unfortunate."

"You don't think the Horcrux is at the bottom."

"Oh no ... I think the Horcrux is in the middle," Dumbledore said, pointing toward the green light.

"So we're going to have to cross the lake to get to it."

"Yes, I think so."

Hermione shifted against him, changing which foot she had put pressure on. His arm around her slid just a little and, as if she had realized it was there for the first time, reached around with her left arm and put her hand on top of his wrist. If they weren't in such a creepy place he would have turned her around and kissed her on the spot. It ached how. . . infrequent their physical contact was and how quickly he and Lavender had progressed into snogging around every corner. But this was Hermione and if he ever compared her - he shuddered to imagine the consequences of the hexes. He couldn't push her either. Not even two weeks had gone by, everything still felt so dreamlike and new.

What would he do next year if she did go back to Hogwarts? They hadn't gotten to talk about it yet with each other. Hermione had been helping his mum when they came in from Diagon Alley, then dinner, then dessert and listening to dad rattle off about the brick-thing Ron had seen - a mobile felytone...that wasn't right . . .a mobile telephone. Someone had hexed the thing and when Muggles used it to answer a - what did Harry call it. . .oh, a call - they were horrified to find that the wand on top transfigured into a hand and started dialing its own buttons. Then after dad's recounting of having to use memory charms on no less than six Muggles, Hermione had gone up to bed with Ginny. Then this morning and that tiny outfit, and breakfast -

Suddenly, Ron realized the invisible platform was moving again, being dragged along behind the boat Harry and Dumbledore rode in. After less than a minute Harry's voice broke the silence.

"Professor!"

"Harry"

"I think I saw a hand in the water — a human hand!"

"Yes, I am sure you did."

"So that thing that jumped out of the water — There are bodies in here!"

Harry's voice had jumped up to near where Hermione's was in pitch, Ron thought, but then immediately felt guilty, it was easy for him to think Harry's hysteria was funny: they knew he got out ok, knew what to expect because it'd already happened.

"Yes, but we do not need to worry about them at the moment."

"At the moment?"

"Not while they are merely drifting peacefully below us," said Dumbledore. "There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."

"But one of them jumped. When I tried to Summon the Horcrux, a body leapt out of the lake."

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "I am sure that once we take the Horcrux, we shall find them less peaceable. However, like many creatures that dwell in cold and darkness, they fear light and warmth, which we shall therefore call to our aid should the need arise. Fire, Harry."

"Oh . . . right. . ."

"Nearly there."

The invisible platform carrying the Reviewers over the flat surface of the water stopped and they watched Dumbledore and Harry climb out of the boat and onto the rock in the center of the lake. Percy was edging over toward Ron and Hermione, looking like he wanted to speak.

"Ron," Percy whispered. "I'm sure Harry stopped this memory before Dumbledore died but the Reviewers will need to watch that and see all the Death Eaters involved, yeah?"

Ron nodded, silently.

"You three won't have to watch that because the Ministry already has a file on his death and that night at Hogwarts," murmured Percy.

"Yeah, that's better," Ron said under his breath.

"Oh, and Harry's memory of destroying the first Horcrux, the diary?"

Ron looked at Percy.

"We'll need that too, most likely. It might be painful for Harry to revisit but we'd need that memory and him re-watching it with us will give him the chance to point out anything we might miss. Think he'll do that?" Percy asked softly.

"Yeah," Ron whispered, as he noticed Lenora looking at them with a scalding burn in her eyes, "We're about to be murdered, Perce."

Percy looked over at Lenora and quickly took a large step away from Ron.

"- it can I empty the basin and see what lies in its depths."

"But what if— what if it kills you."

"Oh, I doubt that it would work like that. Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island."

What? Voldemort was some cuddly pygmy puff now? Not kill the person? Right. He listened as Harry offered a rebuttal to Dumbledore's sunny view of Voldemort but then Dumbledore explained.

"I'm sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island. He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defenses and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes...Undoubtedly, this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Harry, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand."

The Reviewers all seemed to edge closer during Dumbledore's monologue. Ron felt Parnell's beefy elbow against his arm and saw that Harry was the only one of the six that wasn't intently observing, well, himself at the moment.

"You remember the condition on which I brought you with me."

"But what if—."

"You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you."

"Yes, but—"

"I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger."

"Yes, but —"

"Well, then, you have my orders."

"Why can't I drink the potion instead?" asked Harry as Dumbledore finished rolling up his sleeves.

"Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable," said Dumbledore.

"Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking."

"Couldn't — ."

"Do I have it."

"But—"

"Your word, Harry."

"I —all right, but—"

The Reviewers watched Dumbledore fill the goblet with the liquid.

"Your good health, Harry."

Dumbledore leaned over the basin looking sick.

"Professor, how do you feel?"

How does he feel? Harry, look at the bloke. Not bloody good. Hermione's light resting of her hand on Ron's arm had started to become a painful grasp, her thumb nail was pressing against his inner wrist. He looked down at her - in the glowing, green light she looked fragile, like she didn't want to be here. Should she have stayed behind in the office at the Ministry? He didn't want to be the one that suggested she sit out on any of these, she'd hex him into eternity or worse get offended and stop this thing that they had before it really started . . .

"Professor, can you hear me."

"I don't want. . . Don't make me ... . . don't like . . . want to stop . . ." Dumbledore croaked out, seemingly afraid.

"You . . . you can't stop, Professor," said Harry. "You've got to keep drinking, remember. You told me you had to keep drinking. Here . . ."

Ron immediately saw why Harry had felt so guilty as he told them about this. He'd had to be the one that weakened Dumbledore. Everything was always on Dumbledore's orders - Harry weakening him, Snape carrying out his death, Harry getting close to Slughorn. Not in a bad way exactly, just in a highly controlled way, Ron decided.

"Make it stop, make it stop," Dumbledore groaned after Harry had refilled the goblet again.

Yes.. . yes, this'll make it stop."

An ear piercing scream rang out and echoed over the water and rocks around the cave.

"No, no, no, no, I can't, I can't, don't make me, I don't warn to. . . ."

"It's all right, Professor, it's all right!"

Harry's hands were shaking so bad as he refilled it again. Ron glanced over at Harry who looked like he was being tortured, going through this again. They would definitely be getting butterbeers at lunch. At least butterbeers, preferably mead or something stronger, if Hermione wouldn't judge them drinking with lunch.

"It's all my fault, all my fault. Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I'll never, never again ..."

"This will make it stop, Professor," Harry said, almost letting a sob break through.

Hermione was cutting off the circulation in his hand and probably scarring his wrist for life with her nail but he didn't have the heart to move her hand when she was obviously this upset.

"Don't hurt them, don't hurt them, please, please, it's my fault, hurt me instead ..."

"Here, drink this, drink this, you'll be all right."

"Please, please, please, no ... not that, not that, I'll do anything ..."

"Just drink, Professor, just drink . . ."

"No more, please, no more ..."

"We're nearly there, Professor. Drink this, drink it. ..."

"I want to die! I want to die! Make it stop, make it stop, I want to die!"

"Drink this, Professor. Drink this. . . ."

Hermione moved her digging nail and hand away from Ron's, sweet relief flooded him until he saw that she was wiping her face with the hand she'd just moved. He moved his arm and put a hand on her shoulder.

"KILL ME!"

"This — this one will!" gasped Harry. "Just drink this .. . It'll be over ... all over!"

Dumbledore's breath rasped and he rolled over, his face on the rock.

"No! No, no, you're not dead, you said it wasn't poison, wake up, wake up — Rennervate! "Rennervate — sir — please —"

Ron watched Dumbledore's eyes flicker and saw that Hermione was looking over at Harry's face, shifting slightly to try to get his attention. Ron dragged his eyes back to the sight in front of them.

"Water," croaked Dumbledore.

"Water, yes —" Harry had leapt up and was trying to fill the goblet. "Aguamenti!" Harry took the goblet to Dumbledore but it had vanished. "But I had some — wait — Aguamenti!"

Ron knew what was coming, Harry was going to make the impossible choice to use the water from the lake. Harry had seen Hermione and was scooting over toward them, not turning his back to Dumbledore and when he got to them Ron saw Hermione reach out a hand and take Harry's in hers. He swallowed back a stinging feeling.

He should never have said the things he had said and it was horrible that Harry had seen some of the things he always feared when he'd had to destroy the locket. How could he let go of that jealous feeling when it had been there for so long?

An Inferi was reaching up and holding the younger Harry's arm, pulling him down. All the white heads and arms started popping through the still surface were aimed at Harry.

"Petrificus Totalus! Petrificus Totalus! Impedimenta! Incarcerous! Sectumsempra! SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Ron watched as Harry frantically tried the spells, none of which slowed down the horrific creatures. Then suddenly, Dumbledore was on his feet and was lassoing fire around Harry and himself, fending off the Inferi.

The invisible platform started to move with the boat as it journeyed to the other side of the lake.

"Sir, sir, I forgot - about the fire - they were coming at me and I panicked. "

"Quite understandable."

The group of them reached the bank behind Harry and Dumbledore and then the memory turned blank and Ron was pulled upwards and landed, staggering in the conference room.

"Tough old man, that Dumbledore," Parnell said, breaking the silence. "To go after the Death Eaters that were responsible for Dumbledore's death, Harry, may we have that memory as well?" Parnell glanced and Percy and Ron realized they had talked about this while he had been observing the memory.

Ron looked over at Harry who looked stunned and as Harry opened his mouth to say what Ron thought might be a 'No', Parnell spoke.

"Oh, Lenora, Percy, and I will watch that and the skirmish at Hogwarts that same night. You won't have to revisit it with us," Parnell said as softly as his usual vocal exuberance would allow.

Harry nodded and put his wand to his head for the second time that day and let it fall into the Pensieve.

"Well," Lenora said, sitting up straighter in her chair. "Thank you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. That'll be it for you all today. Meet tomorrow at nine?" Lenora asked, satisfied when all three of them nodded.

As they stepped out into the sun in Diagon Alley a few minutes later, Ron felt Harry relax a bit beside him and looked over at him.

"To Swelps then?" Ron asked.

"I'm not really hungry yet," Hermione said, "are there any shops you want to visit?"

"Magical Menagerie . . . Well, I know that none of them could replace her but I'd like a new owl," Harry said quietly.

Hermione smiled brightly and put an arm around Harry.

"I think that's a lovely idea! Female or male?"

"Female, she had a good temperament so I'll see how that goes, I guess," Harry said, brightening at the prospect of a new owl.

"Names in mind?" Hermione prompted. Ron eyed her hand wrapping around Harry's side warily.

"I'll have to see her and decide," Harry said.

As they stepped through the door of the Magical Menagerie, Ron looked around in disgust at the Puffskeins, Rumblans, Carloptus, Yanklems, and Streelers. Thank Merlin they could pick an owl and get out. When he was younger, Ginny would make them stay in here for hours, cooing over every Puffskein and remarking over the 'baby soft skin' of the Rumblans. While Harry looked at owls, Ron's eyes caught on a bin of rats - not bloody likely, could turn out to be a fifty year old man with a severely twitchy disposition. He felt a twinge or remorse for that thought, remembering how Wormtail had died.

After careful consideration of the owls, Harry picked one - a tawny female that he named Persephone.