A/N: Thank you all for the much appreciated reviews. They really encourage me to write more! I've had this posted on my profile for a while, but I'll re-post it here. This week marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month, which means that there is a chance my updates may temporarily become sporadic. I'm going to try to keep working on my fanfiction on the side, and barring any unforeseen circumstances I should be able to do that, but if I miss an update you all know what happened. Having said that, I hope that this chapter doesn't become confusing to anyone. I tried to make it as clear as possible. Enjoy the story!
Important Note: The last part of this chapter is based off of Luna's description of the events that occurred in the Space Room. I tried to match it up as closely as possible, but she didn't give a lot of detail. In addition, I know that my personal description of how a pensieve works is likely not right... but I'm claiming artistic license.
Memoria Amotio = Memory Removal
BOY-WHO-LIVED LEADING OTHERS TO DARKNESS?
By Rita Skeeter
Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, is supposedly the paragon of good when it comes to our society. But is he really? His record is less than stellar, and even though Mr Potter was ultimately proven to be correct about the return of You-Know-Who, the Prophet has heard from many sources who wish to report that Potter's grasp on reality is tenuous at best. Not only is he a Parselmouth (a trait that is well known for being evil), he is also now being rejected by prominent light families. For those readers who have yet to be informed, the familial bonds between the Potters and the Weasleys, who are well known supporters for the light, were recently severed by one Ronald Weasley.
Potter and Weasley have fought before, most noticeably during the Triwizard Tournament, but were reportedly close friends until this year, when they began arguing more heatedly than ever. "You would just see them going at it all the time," says Michael Corner, a seventh year Ravenclaw student. "It got so that you could hardly turn a corner without finding the two of them at each other's throats. Weasley would tell anyone who listened that Potter's gone dark. And he knows Potter best, doesn't he? You have to wonder if maybe it's actually true and Weasley has just gotten tired of covering for him."
Many students of Hogwarts Academy have grown wary around Potter, who is reported to have a volatile temper. One inside source who wishes to remain anonymous reports that Potter is frequently in detention for talking back to professors and picking fights with other students. She adds that Potter "has an inflated ego, and he honestly believes that he can get away with anything and not get into trouble for it. There's no use trying to argue with him because he knows that he's got everyone wrapped around his wand."
But this is all news that we have kept you informed of as we become aware of it, so what brings this story to the front page? Well, we have a very interesting piece of news that needs to be shared immediately. This reporter is certain that all readers recall the trouble that occurred at Hogwarts four years ago, when a fearsome, evil basilisk was unleashed on the castle and many students were petrified. Although Headmaster Albus Dumbledore did his best to keep the real story a secret, sources at the school have reported that young Ginevra Weasley was at the middle of the problem, culminating in her disappearance, which Potter just so happened to save her from. Efforts to interview Ginevra have always been rebuffed by her parents, but this reporter is forced to believe that the fact that Dumbledore has kept the truth from the public is a red flag. If Ginevra was not the cause of the basilisk, why not tell the honest truth? What does Dumbledore have to hide?
Could it be, dear readers, that Ginevra has already gone dark? Only a dark witch or wizard would willingly consort with a basilisk. An informant close to her tells the Prophet that Ginevra has always carried a torch for Potter, and that it would be easy for Potter to sway her away from the light. This fits in with the news that the staff of the Prophet received last night. Ginevra disowned herself from the Weasley family in support of Potter.
Yes, readers, you read that correctly. What sort of light oriented young witch would willingly disown herself just to be with a boy who may already be dark? Did she seduce Potter to the dark side, or perhaps it was the other way around? It is impossible to know. Pictured left, you can see that Ginevra and Potter have already begun planning against the general public. Merlin knows what Potter collected from Gringotts, but we can only hope that it is nothing with which to terrorize us further. The Weasley family should count themselves fortunate that this bad egg willingly detached herself from their ranks.
Ginny stared down at the copy of The Daily Prophet that had just been handed to her by one of her dorm mates, unsure of whether she wanted to laugh or cry at the absurd headline and accompanying story that Rita Skeeter had come up with. The outrageous article was complete with a black and white photo of her and Harry leaving Gringotts, walking close enough together so that it almost appeared as though the two of them were holding hands. Harry was carrying the pensieve under his arm, though from the angle that the photo had been taken, no one could tell what he was holding. Tonks was nowhere to be seen, perhaps having been edited out so that Skeeter could get the picture she wanted.
Was there anyone who could make a wilder story than Rita Skeeter? How had she even found out about Harry's and Ginny's visit to Gringotts the day before? And how dare she bring up the Chamber of Secrets, and insinuate that both she and Harry were dark? Nothing could be further from the truth, but it wasn't like the wizarding public would know that. Ginny had never really been slandered before in a newspaper article – Dumbledore's intervention in her first year had stopped Skeeter from writing anything too outrageous – and she didn't like her. Her cheeks were pink with outrage when she slammed the paper down on the table and fought back the urge to cast a good old-fashioned Incendio. All that would accomplish was drawing extra attention to herself, and enough students were staring at her already.
"I'm sorry, Ginny," said one of her dorm mates, casting her an uncertain glance. "You know, when Dumbledore made the announcement last night about you disowning yourself, I could hardly believe it."
"He what?" Ginny's eyes went with astonishment. She shifted uncomfortably, regretting her outburst when even more eyes turned her way. It was like they were expecting her to jump up and start casting the killing curse left and right. She made an attempt to swallow her rage as she leaned forward and glanced down the table to see how Harry was coping. He had a deep scowl on his face as he spoke heatedly to Neville, Seamus, and Dean, probably explaining that the article was a complete lie. Had he found out that Dumbledore had apparently outed them last night? No wonder Rita had come out with the article. A dozen seats further down from Harry, Ron was reading the article with a great big smirk on his face, leaving no doubt in Ginny's mind as to just who the anonymous source was in Rita's article.
"Bastard," she said softly, wishing that she could hex her brother. Her eyes connected with Astoria's, and the sympathy that she saw there helped to soothe the sting a little. She really hadn't wanted the news of her disowning to spread through the wizarding world so quickly, and she hadn't told anyone for that reason. Only a select few, including her friends, had known about it. Obviously she should have known better than to trust the information to Dumbledore, who had chosen to out her to the school and the wizarding world. Twisting, she cast a severe glare in the direction of the head table.
Severus Snape met her gaze without flinching or glancing away. His deep, dark eyes held neither sympathy nor condemnation, and there was a suspicious looking burn mark on the table in front of the man that indicated he might have given in to the very urge she was suppressing. She flicked her eyes away from him and moved on to Professor McGonagall, who was holding a copy of The Daily Prophet and outright glowering at Dumbledore, who was frowning down at the paper. The man didn't look very happy, which meant that something had not gone according to plan, and now he was getting yelled at for it. There were few things that could cause Minerva McGonagall to lose composure and scold the headmaster in public, and the health and safety of her lions was one of them.
Before she had the chance to really contemplate what might have gone wrong, the man glanced up. Blue eyes connected with golden brown, and Ginny rocked backwards as an intense pain surged into her head, sliding across her temples. Immediately, she slammed her mental shields up, throwing Dumbledore out so hard that the headmaster jerked back as though he'd been slapped. Professor Snape glanced back and forth between the two of them and began to rise as Dumbledore's eyes narrowed and he caught her gaze again. His magic slammed against her shields, aiming to break them down by overwhelming her. Ginny struggled, but it was an intense battle; even for all of her practice, she was not quite at the level where she could defend against a full out attack from someone with that kind of power. What was he looking for? Evidence to prove that she was dark?
A second before her shields would have broken completely, a body slid in between her and Dumbledore, physically breaking the spell. She came back to herself with a start and tried to gasp quietly as an ugly headache formed at the base of her neck, realizing that Harry had stepped in front of her and Snape had distracted the headmaster, snapping the spell from both ends. Hands gripped her arms and pulled her out of her seat, half carrying her out of the room and away from the gossiping students. Ginny regained the ability to walk a moment later, though she was still grateful for Harry's and Astoria's help as the two of them led her outside and down the hill. They sat her down on one of the benches around the lake, and she caught Harry flashing Astoria a suspicious look as he handed Ginny a small bar of Honeydukes best chocolate. With hands that shook, she unwrapped it and popped half into her mouth. The intense sweetness helped to break the pain and anger lashing through her head.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, his face a mask of concern. "I saw what he was doing. Does your head hurt? Do you need a headache potion? I can run to the Hospital Wing..."
"I'm okay," Ginny said, her face still pale. It was a good thing she didn't have classes that day. "Bloody Dumbledore. One of my dorm mates told me that he announced the disowning to the whole fucking castle last night."
"He what?" Harry's mouth dropped open and he sat down beside her.
"I wanted to tell you about it, but I didn't get the chance," said Astoria quietly. "You came to breakfast late this morning. He made the announcement at dinner last night. I suspect that he was trying to spin the news in a way that wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass. Judging by the newspaper this morning, that plan failed."
Harry shook his head slowly, green eyes flashing in silence as he and Ginny exchanged looks, both thinking the same thing. Just what was going on with Dumbledore? "I can't believe he did that," he muttered, upset. "I never thought that Dumbledore would do something like that. He knew that you wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible. And then he tried to use fucking Legilimency on you? I'm pretty sure that's illegal." He dropped his head into his hands. "I swear, I'm beginning to really think the man's lost it. I hope he didn't get anything private from you, Ginny."
"He didn't get anything," she replied with a certain amount of satisfaction.
"You mean he didn't get through?" Harry looked surprised.
"My shields aren't quite up to that level, but they're not that bad," she said, a little miffed at the implication. She finished the last of the chocolate and sighed with relief as Astoria began to gently massage the nape of her neck, soothing away the pain.
"I just didn't know you knew Occlumency," he said slowly, glancing at her with more respect. Clearly the news had distracted him from Dumbledore's latest betrayal. "Snape tried to teach me so that I could learn to keep Voldemort out, but he's a crap teacher. Who taught you?"
"No one. I taught myself. I wanted to learn after my first year," she replied quietly. "Mum and Dad thought that the best way for me to get over the Chamber of Secrets was to completely ignore what happened. But I started doing research into possession, and most of the books I found suggested that Occlumency was one of the best methods for preventing it. I didn't want anyone to be able to possess me like Tom Riddle did." It had been one of the things that she and Astoria had begun learning together in their second year, starting with more simple tasks, like meditation, and then slowly working their way up.
Harry frowned slightly and cast a curious glance between the two of them. "I didn't realize you two were friends."
"No offence, Potter, but you're not exactly the kind of person who keeps tabs on anything that's not right in front of you," said Astoria, rolling her eyes. She looked at Ginny. "Are your shields okay? Need help?"
Ginny considered the offer and then nodded as she held her hand up. "Hang on a moment, would you, Harry?" she asked as Astoria intertwined their fingers together and looked deeply into Ginny's eyes. The connection between them sprang up instantly the second their eyes met. It needed no encouragement, for it was a well traveled path, and Ginny welcomed the soothing brush of Astoria's magic against her mental shields. There was no need for them to venture further into her mindscape, as Dumbledore hadn't had the time to broach more than the first couple of layers, and the repair was not a difficult or time consuming one to make. She blinked, breaking the link, to find Harry staring at the two of them with outright fascination.
"Could you teach me how to do that?" he asked immediately.
"It's usually better if you have an actual teacher," Ginny said hesitantly. She could remember many hours spent with a painful headache that potions did nothing to help because she and Astoria had overdone it, and she didn't wish that on Harry. "It took us a long time to learn, and we're still not Masters even now."
"You've got to be better than Snape was," Harry said wryly. "All he would do is use Legilimency to attack me after telling me to clear my mind."
Astoria frowned, her violet eyes flashing. "That is not how you teach Occlumency," she said, looking angry. Like most Slytherins, she usually liked how Professor Snape treated the Gryffindors. But Ginny's affection for Harry Potter had always made him off limits, and even she could tell that Occlumency was a magic that Harry desperately needed to learn. When it came to the safety of the wizarding world, she knew that hatred and old grudges should not have a place. "If you really want to learn, Potter, I can lend you books that will help more than the ones you would find in the library."
"Thanks," he said shyly, clearly surprised by the offer. "I'd appreciate that."
"Well, if that's the case, I guess I could try to help," said Ginny doubtfully. "But it will take a while."
"I have lots of time. I was thinking about asking Dumbledore if he would be willing to teach me since he's no longer avoiding me," said Harry. "But after the way he's been acting, I don't trust him. I don't feel like going to classes today, so I could help you back to the Tower if you want?"
"Let's go to the Room of Requirement," she suggested, standing up. "I'd rather not talk to anyone right now. I know my dorm mates will be dying to ask me questions about the disowning, and I don't feel like discussing it." The world threatened to tilt and she staggered. Harry grabbed her arm and steadied her before she could fall.
"Are you okay?" Astoria asked.
"I'm fine. You go ahead," Ginny said, flashing her a smile. Astoria nodded back to her before she turned and headed back up to the castle. Ginny watched her, feeling warm all over. She knew that she was fortunate to have a partner like Astoria, who was willing to stand beside her even though it would garner questions from people like Draco Malfoy and Daphne Greengrass. No doubt Astoria would have a lot to answer to by the time she got back to her dorms that evening, but that hadn't stopped the other girl from helping Ginny out of the Great Hall.
"She seems like a good friend to you," Harry observed, wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulders and helping her to walk. The two of them began making their way up to the castle at a slower pace than Astoria, since they weren't concerned about classes. "I'm surprised that you're friends with a Slytherin."
"Tori has been good to me," she replied hesitantly. "Not all Slytherins are bad, Harry."
He shot her a half smile. "Yeah, I know. Just like not all Gryffindors are good."
That comment was enough to cast a silence over the two of them as they made their way up the seventh floor. The occasional student that spotted them stopped short and stared openly until Harry glared back, which generally sent them running in the opposite direction. Hiding her smile, Ginny realized that she felt well enough to pull away from him by the time they reached the seventh floor. She leaned against the opposite wall as Harry paced back and forth in front of the wall with a serious look on his face. The door appeared and, much to Ginny's surprise, opened from the inside to reveal Hermione waiting for them.
"Hermione! You were released from the hospital!" Ginny exclaimed, moving in to hug the older girl. Hermione smiled and returned the embrace quickly before ushering the two of them into the room.
"Madame Pomfrey let me go about half an hour ago," she said happily, closing the door behind them. "I just have to take it easy for a day or two. She recommended that I take today off so that I wouldn't have to walk all over the castle, and she said that tomorrow she'll write me a pass so that if I'm a little late to each class, it's not the end of the world. I'll even be able to go to Hogsmeade on Saturday if I want to." She beamed.
"That's awesome," said Ginny, smiling. "It's good to see you up and around. I was starting to think that you were going to be down there forever. And you!" Turning, she glared at Harry. "You knew she'd been released and you didn't tell me!"
Harry laughed. "I was trying to surprise you," he said with his best innocent look. "I thought you could use a bit of cheer after this morning." He took a small package from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"What happened this morning?" asked Hermione with a frown.
Harry scowled. "We found out that Dumbledore told the whole school about Ginny disowning herself," he said, his voice shaking with anger. "And not only that, the Prophet had a huge, slanderous article about it, so now it's safe to assume that everyone in the wizarding world knows."
"Merlin, Ginny, I'm sorry," Hermione said, her face pale. She had picked up a book but held it loosely as she looked between them. "That's awful. Why would Professor Dumbledore do something like that?"
"Good question," he muttered grimly. A quick wave of his wand returned the package on the table to normal size. As the bindings fell away, Ginny recognized the pensieve that they had taken from the Black Family Vault, along with the vial.
"I thought you wanted to learn Occlumency?" she asked, confused and grateful for a change of subject.
"You know Occlumency?" Hermione exclaimed.
At the same time, Harry said, "I figured that you would be too tired after what Dumbledore did to you. I know that a few sessions with Snape always did me in, and Dumbledore's got to be more powerful. Besides, I had already planned to meet Hermione here with the pensieve so that we could look at the battle together."
"Wait, wait, what happened to Ginny? What else did Dumbledore do?" Hermione interrupted, holding her hands out. She looked distressed as the realization that one of her favourite authority figures had been acting so unscrupulously. "And just when did you learn Occlumency?"
She let Harry explain what little they knew about the situation while she glanced around the room. Hermione had conjured up a large but cozy sitting room with two plush couches decorated in lively tones of red, gold, and white, clustered around a dark wooden table. There was a large fireplace on the far wall, and best of all, no one would be able to interrupt them. Ginny sat down on one of the couches and rested against the back as Harry concluded. A thoughtful look crossed Hermione's face as she contemplated what she had been told.
"I wonder what he was trying to find?" she said slowly. "Did you do or say something to him, Ginny?"
"Not that I'm aware of. I've been barely spoken to him during the last few days," Ginny replied. She rubbed her head. "The only thing I could think of was that maybe he really does suspect that I'm dark, but that's stupid. Just because I disowned myself doesn't mean I've switched sides."
"Maybe he thinks that Harry told you something," Hermione suggested. "Or he found out more details about your trip to Gringotts than we realized." There was a sly smile playing about her lips that indicated that she had heard every detail, and Ginny found herself blushing for some reason she couldn't identify. "No doubt Gringotts has already told him that he's no longer got access to the vaults, but they might have also told him that you do, Ginny."
"It's none of his business why Ginny has access," Harry snapped, picking up the vial. Talking about Dumbledore's actions seemed to make him edgy and uncomfortable. "Come on, Hermione, let's begin."
"Alright, Harry." She flashed Ginny a look that said they would finish their discussion later and sat down beside Harry, across from Ginny. Placing the book she'd been holding on the table, she opened it. "It says here that to use a pensieve, you place the Memory Potion inside and then add your memories to it. Now, you can just add your memories to a pensieve without a potion, which is what most people do, but the use of a Memory Potion makes the transitions smoother and gives you more versatility when it comes to controlling the memory. It also requires less power and energy from the caster." Her eyes rose. "Normally they're quite expensive so we wouldn't worry about it, but since you guys found one in the vault, I think we should use it."
"That makes sense. What do I do with it?" he asked, popping the cork.
Hermione frowned down at the page. "Pour it into the pensieve," she said, flipping to the next page. "Then need to think of the memory you want to put into the pensieve. I'll put my wand to your temple, say the incantation, and your memory will be pulled right out of your mind. There are two different incantations we can use." She looked up at them. "One will remove the memory from your mind entirely and is more risky. The other creates a copy, but it takes longer and the quality won't be as good, so we might miss details."
"Use the first one," Harry said immediately. "We might only get one chance at this, Hermione. I don't want to mess it up." He glanced at Ginny. "Are you okay with that? There was a time when Neville, Hermione and I were separated from you and Ron and Luna. Ron was acting a bit funny when we found him again and Luna told us that he'd been cursed. Maybe this whole situation is because of whatever they hit him with..."
"That's fine with me," Ginny replied, smiling at him. The battle at the Department of Mysteries was mostly a blur to her, but now that Harry had mentioned it, she did remember being separated from the others while the Death Eaters were chasing them. "You can put the memories from more than one person in at a time?"
"I hadn't thought of that," Hermione said doubtfully. "Alright, Ginny, we'll do you first, and then we'll look at Harry's memories if we have to. Alright, Harry, go ahead, then." The two of them watched as Harry upended the vial. A clear, filmy liquid that looked something like water flowed out into the pensieve, filling it halfway. Ginny leaned over and looked into it doubtfully.
"Are you sure that's right? Isn't it supposed to be silver?"
"It changes colors when you add the memory. Ginny, think of that night, okay?" Rolling up her sleeves, Hermione took out her wand, checked the book one last time, and then placed the tip against her temple. Ginny closed her eyes and frowned in concentration for a moment before giving a tense nod. "Memoria Amotio!"
At the same time as she spoke, Hermione smoothly pulled the wand away from Ginny's temple. Dancing tendrils of wispy silver magic followed her wand as she lowered it into the pensieve. The memories were sucked into the liquid when her wand was about a foot away, causing it to turn a beautiful silvery color. All three of them bent over the pensieve and exchanged hesitant glances. Then Harry squared his shoulders and leaned down far enough to touch his face to the liquid. He was sucked in immediately. Hermione followed, and then Ginny, until the room was empty except for the fire and a bowl of churning liquid that had turned a vivid shade of red.
NIR
Ginny had the distinct impression of falling, even though she knew that she wasn't. Feeling dizzy, she opened her eyes when it stopped, and felt a chill go down her spine when she saw that they were standing in the Space Room of the Department of Mysteries. Her past self, Ron, and Luna were huddled against the closed door. Ron was swearing loudly under his breath. Hermione made an odd, horizontal movement with her wand that froze the memory, giving her and Harry the chance to look around. The room was a fathomless dark space that seemed to stretch on for infinity. Spaced apart on a smaller but still accurate scale were the nine planets, including a small moon that was orbiting around the Earth.
"Fascinating," Hermione breathed, looking truly impressed as she turned in a circle. The lack of gravity didn't seem to affect the three of them this time around, a fact that Ginny was grateful for. "You can tell how much work has been put into it. The Unspeakables must have been working on this place for months."
"Yeah, it's great," Harry said impatiently. "You mind, Hermione? Let's get on with it."
Hermione shot him a look but chose not to comment. Instead, she flipped her wand, causing the memory to re-start. The door burst open right away, revealing four masked Death Eaters. Ginny watched with a critical eye as a short battle ensued, before Ron accidentally wandered too close to the end of the platform and ended up rising off into space. His startled cry as his feet left the ground made Harry snicker. Luna and past Ginny quickly followed him, but the Death Eaters were right behind them. All seven of them were still firing spells, but a lack of gravity appeared to have an effect on spells and curses as well. Many of them were going off course for no reason at all. Ron just barely managed to stupefy one of the Death Eaters, but a second one turned and caught him with a bolt of orange light.
"Hmm, orange light," Hermione murmured over the sound of past Ginny and Luna screaming for Ron. "I've heard of a few spells that show up with that color, but nothing that would do whatever it is happened to Ron..."
A funny look came over Ron's face, and he began to giggle and play with his wand, creating a bunch of little bubbles that amused him to no end. Past Ginny stared at her brother and then she and Luna began casting a volley of curses at the Death Eaters. The one who had cursed Ron made a desperate grab for past Ginny and managed to get a hold of her ankle. He clung desperately even though past Ginny tried her best to shake him off. By that point, the group was floating past Pluto. Luna scowled deeply and twisted, pointing her wand at the planet. She used the Reductor curse and blew the planet up before swiftly casting a shield charm to protect her and Ginny. One of the pieces struck the Death Eater in the face, and past Ginny cried out as his hand was forcibly wrenched off of her ankle. The sickening crack that resulted was enough to make everyone, even Harry, Hermione and present Ginny, flinch.
"That didn't sound pleasant," said Harry.
"It wasn't," Ginny replied, grimacing. Her own ankle was aching a bit in sympathy, even though Madame Pomfrey had successfully healed the damage done in a couple of days.
Luna hooked her arm around past Ginny's waist and began trying to get them back to the path by using her wand to create a small burst of wind that pushed them in the direction of the door. The other two Death Eaters were floundering, giving them a chance to escape. Ron, unfortunately, didn't seem to be in agreement with that plan. His face was chalk white and a thin ribbon of blood had dribbled down his cheek, and he giggled inanely when Luna attempted to coax him into following them back to the path. He seemed to have a great deal of fun exaggeratedly kicking his arms and legs in a swimming motion as Luna hauled him to safety.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny found themselves physically pulled along as the past three dashed out of the room and met up with past Harry, Neville, and past Hermione. Present Hermione was taking close notes as the group of four (past Ginny wasn't much interested in speaking, and past Hermione was unconscious) chattered anxiously to each other. Ron continued to act strangely, grabbing onto past Harry's robes and nearly dragging the black-haired boy to the ground with him. Suddenly, Death Eaters burst into the room, causing their past selves to flee into the nearest room, which turned out to be the Brain Room. While past Harry, Luna and Neville were trying to deal with the danger, Ron turned and cast the summoning charm on the tank of brains.
Ginny's jaw dropped as one of the brains impacted Ron, wondering how she could have forgotten his foolish actions. Her brother began screaming and writhing, trying to get free. Past Ginny was knocked unconscious as past Harry tried to help, but the Death Eaters were fast approaching, and there were too many of them to fight. Hermione froze the memory for a second time just as past Harry made a run for it with Bellatrix Lestrange on his heels. She stepped over to the inert form of Ron and bent over him, examining him quickly and trying not to pay attention to the look of agony that was on his face. When she glanced up at Harry and Ginny, her eyes were glittering with excitement.
"I think this is it," she said. "It's a combination of that curse he was struck with and this... this brain. I bet the curse lowered his body's natural defences, allowing either the curse itself or the brain itself to do something to him."
"Ew," Ginny mumbled. She didn't know whether to be grossed out or pissed. That brain could have hit any one of them, including Harry, and then they all would have been completely screwed. It wasn't completely Ron's fault, considering that he'd been hit by some weird spell, but still. "Do you know whose brain it was?"
Frowning pensively, Hermione turned and looked at the tank. It had shattered with Ron's spell, and the liquid had been soaking into the floor while the brains flopped about, looking suspiciously harmless. The plaque in front of the tank, however, was still intact. She tried to walk over towards the tank, but the memory grew fuzzier and filmier the further away she got from the group. By the time she was standing in front of it, she could barely make out the brains, much less any writing that might have been on the plaque. At last she was forced to give up and shook her head.
"Pensieves work by showing you a third person objective to what you saw. The magic builds a world based on what you've seen but might not have consciously noticed," she said, looking disappointed. "Ginny, you never got close enough to read what it said on the tank. From what I saw, none of us did."
Harry frowned. "So all we have to do is find out what spell was used and whose brain hit Ron, and we have a place to start from?" he asked, sounding less than enthused.
She sighed. "That about sums it up."
"On the plus side, I think we're a step ahead of the professors," Ginny volunteered. "None of them know exactly what we do. We didn't give them pensieve memories of the event."
"I wish that filled me with more cheer," Hermione muttered, giving a snap of her wand. That disorienting feeling began again, except this time it was of rising instead of falling. As the three of them were expelled from the pensieve and back into the Room of Requirement, she added, "Ginny, could I keep your memory for a bit? I'd like to do a more intensive study of that Death Eater's wand movement when he cursed Ron. He cast it wordlessly, so that's all we've got to go on. I'm hoping that if I watch it again, I might remember a little more about it."
"Sure, Hermione, keep it as long as you like. I have no interest in putting that back into my head anytime soon," Ginny replied. Right now, there was a noticeable gap where her memory of those events should be. It was kind of nice. She could see why wizards used a pensieve to deal with bad memories. "If you need our help, just let us know."
Looking distracted, Hermione nodded absently, clearly already miles away. Harry and Ginny exchanged grins, knowing that it was likely Hermione wouldn't bother to ask unless she absolutely had to. She had a very specific system when it came to research, and after six years of perfecting said system and having little confidence in the research abilities of Harry and Ron, she had the tendency to live by the saying, 'if you want something done right, do it yourself'. For that reason, the two of them quietly left the Room of Requirement after a huge stack of books appeared beside Hermione and she began to flip through them, mumbling to herself under her breath. Hermione didn't even notice that they were leaving.
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