Happy Labor Day, my fellow Americans! And Happy Monday to everyone else! We're meeting Esme and Alice today, as well as viewing part of the memories Rissie was left! Whose memories are they, and what story do they tell Rissie? I'm warning you right now, Rissie's deaf accent may be a bit difficult to understand, but please remember that she just barely lost her hearing completely and has to learn to talk without it for now. Please let me know what you think! By the way, thanks again, dream lighting, for reviewing! To everyone else, read, enjoy, and review! Thanks!

-Owlix

Chapter Ten: See It Through

The next day, Dr. Cullen came in during breakfast to talk to me, like he always did. This time, however, he was accompanied by someone other than the nurse who brought me my food.

She was about half-a-head shorter than him with caramel-coloured hair and golden eyes that were just as warm as his. She was already smiling when she came into the room, but when she saw me, her smile became warmer and kinder and more ... motherly. It was like I was a member of her family that she hadn't seen for a long time, and it reminded me of pictures of my mother when she was smiling at me. Thoughts of my mother almost made me emotional, but I didn't want to look like a basket case in front of this lovely woman.

"Pleased to meet you, Rissie," she said, signing hesitantly but clearly. She'd obviously been practicing for this moment. "I'm Esme Cullen, Carlisle's wife."

"... It's n-nice to beet you, too," I said out loud, trying to make her feel more comfortable since she wasn't fluent in sign language. I was still awkward talking out loud since I couldn't hear myself; I had a hard time modulating volume and tone, and I was sure that certain sounds didn't come out quite right. To their credit, Dr. Cullen and Esme didn't mention it at all.

"D-Dr. Cuwen ... 'as dold me ab-bout you. I can r-rread lips," I added, seeing her try to come up with the proper sign.

"Oh, good!" Esme said, coming over to take my hands in hers. They were ice cold and I almost jerked away, but I remembered Remus, my beloved werewolf godfather who was nothing more than a victim of circumstance and had tried to make the best of his situation. These people were doing the exact same thing, and I had to be polite and respect their differences as I would Remus's.

"It's so lovely to finally meet you," Esme was saying. "The others are very excited to see you, especially Alice. She thinks it will be nice to finally have another girl around."

"D-Deya not w-wowied ... I-I'll blab?" I asked.

Esme reached up to place her hand against my cheek and smiled at me reassuringly.

"Rosalie is worried about that," Esme admitted, "but we're trying to tell her that you won't hurt us."

"Of cour' not!" I said, a bit angry that they were still scared I would betray them. "My m-mudder's a w-witch, my fadder's a w-wizar'! My brudder's a wizar'! I c-can keep deir secre', so I can keep your!"

Esme's smile widened, and much to my surprise, she leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you so much, darling!" she said, everything about her showing warmth and love. "I'll be sure to tell her that."

The rest of Esme's visit was full of that same warmth and love. I have to say, I was very sad to see her go. She gave me a hug before she left, filling me to the brim with warmth that I hadn't felt since Mrs. Weasley hugged me last. I actually had to hold on extra long to make sure I had my emotions under control; otherwise, I would've turned into a weepy little girl. She gave me another kiss on the forehead and called me darling again, saying she'd see me soon.

The next day was Alice's Day. She stayed by Dr. Cullen's side at first, but when I held out my hand for her to shake, she danced forward with a big grin on her face to wrap me in a VERY friendly hug.

"You smell so pretty!" she said, signing perfectly but very quickly. "Not like 'food' pretty, but like ... flowery perfume 'pretty'! And, oh my gosh, you are absolutely beautiful! That blush, that smile, those eyes, that HAIR! Oh wow, I could have SO much fun with that!"

"Umm ... Thank you?" I said, trying to remember everything she'd signed to me. I looked her over as I tried to think of something to say. Her dark hair would probably be chin-length if she left it down, but it was perfectly straightened and curved slightly away from her face. Her golden eyes twinkled merrily as she grinned widely at me. She wore clothes that were probably very fashionable: a feathery-looking shirt-dress over dark leggings with a long-sleeved cardigan and silver ballet flats. I wasn't a fan of the cardigan, but I loved the rest of her outfit.

"Your dress is gorgeous!" I said, sensing that she'd like that. "Where'd you get it?"

Turns out I was right. Alice's golden eyes lit up like little twin suns and her grin almost split her face in two as her hands started signing a hundred words a minute, LITERALLY! I tried to keep up, but fortunately Dr. Cullen managed to get Alice to slow down. We spent the entire visit talking about the wardrobe Alice wanted to buy for me. I wanted to wear more subdued, earthy colours like green and brown, but Alice was insisting on putting something gaudy into my wardrobe somewhere. I would just smile and shake my head, telling her that "gaudy" just wasn't me. I wanted to look nice, but I didn't want to be in the fashion spotlight if I didn't have to be.

Alice and I had a few awkward moments, though. She would fade out of the conversation for a moment and then start talking about something completely different. She would also talk about things that she wanted to happen as if they were already going to happen. If I didn't know better, I'd say Alice was a Seer or something.

For example, she asked me if I'd seen the memories yet, completely out of the blue. When I floundered and told her that I hadn't, she gave me this unusually serious look and signed,

"You need to see them before Edward gets here tomorrow. If you don't, things will get messy and confusing."

"In what way?" I asked, feeling more than a little apprehensive.

"You won't trust us," Alice signed, closing her eyes as if she was concentrating on a memory. "You keep talking about Death Eaters and dark magic ... 'necromancy' is one word that stands out. You get very upset with us, yelling and crying ... you leave after a while without telling anyone ... and you get hurt badly ... something with fur and claws ..."

I stared at Alice in slight confusion before getting a small idea.

"When's the next full moon?" I asked.

Dr. Cullen frowned before checking a calendar on the wall.

"Fifteen days from now," he said.

I felt my face drain of blood. The way Alice was talking, I would run away in a couple weeks and get attacked by a werewolf if I didn't see those memories tonight! As much as I loved my godfather, I didn't want to become a werewolf anytime soon. I had a hard enough time in my world as a Squib – becoming a werewolf on top of that would be social suicide!

"Should I see them now?" I asked.

Alice and Dr. Cullen nodded.

"After Alice leaves, I'll come back and we'll view them together," Dr. Cullen said.

He looked at Alice, as if to ask if that was OK, and after staring into space for a moment, she nodded.

"She won't run away," she said out loud, "but she will be upset. Be prepared for that."

"Should Jasper be here?" Dr. Cullen asked.

Alice stared off into space again before shaking her head.

"She won't like him keeping her calm," she said. "She needs to let out her emotions, and what she sees will help her do that."

With that in mind, I wasn't looking forward to that evening. It seemed that no matter what, I would be breaking down again tonight, and that was the one thing I hated doing most.

Later that night, Dr. Cullen made sure that no one would disturb us as we viewed the memories. I had the Pensieve on a bedside table, Dr. Cullen keeping me upright as we stood beside it.

"You know how to do this?" Dr. Cullen asked.

I nodded.

"My brother told me how," I said before taking hold of the vial. I carefully pulled out the stopper and poured the vaporous memories into the Pensieve. They swirled and danced in a lazy circle, shimmering in many hypnotizing shades of silver. I couldn't keep from mouthing out the word "beautiful" as I stared into it.

"Now we place our heads in," I said. "The memories will pull us in, and we have to decide when we're done."

I saw Dr. Cullen nod just before I turned back to the Pensieve. Taking a deep breath, I leaned forward and dived into the memories.

I found myself in a park, full of sunshine and trees and flowers. A moment later, Dr. Cullen appeared beside me, looking very astonished at what he was seeing. I looked around for the owner of the memories, knowing he'd be close.

I found him in the form of a young boy, probably nine or ten years old, hiding behind a bush. He was very skinny with overlong black hair that needed many good washes. His outfit was so horribly mismatched that it was obvious he was a magical child trying to look more Muggle: dirty, holey jeans that hit him about mid-shin, a shabby army-green greatcoat that most likely belonged to his father, and a patched smock-like shirt that was probably a hand-me-down from his mother. The poor kid was sallow and stringy, just like Harry had been before he'd gotten his Hogwarts letter; maybe he'd been kept in a closet, just like Harry and I had been. Something else about him seemed very familiar, especially his hooked nose, but I couldn't place it properly.

His thin face was full of unabashed greed as he stared into the distance at something. I followed his gaze and found two girls playing on the swing-set. One of the girls was tall and slender like an aspen tree, with mousy brown hair and dark brown eyes. The other was shorter and skinnier like a sapling, with brilliant red hair and dark green eyes, like mine!

I gasped and took a few steps closer, watching in delight as my mother swung higher and higher on the swings until she let go at the height of the arc ... and FLEW! I gaped in astonishment and delight, watching Lily Evans flying through the air like a trapeze artist and landing too lightly on the ground about twenty feet from me.

After applauding for a moment, I looked over at who must have been Aunt Petunia as she rushed over, looking frightened, concerned, and relieved.

"Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!" I saw her say. Aunt Petunia always enunciated very clearly, and it seemed that she had learned it as a child.

Mum just giggled and picked a flower, beckoning over to Aunt Petunia. I stepped closer as Aunt Petunia did the same, looking very apprehensive and excited, like she was about to break a very big rule but wanting to do it anyway.

I grinned when I saw Mum make the flower petals open and close, like an anemone or an oyster.

My grin fell when Aunt Petunia looked frightened and backed away, obviously shrieking in fear. Mum's grin fell away as well as she threw the flower away.

"It's not right!" Aunt Petunia said, though there was a look of longing on her face as she stared at the fallen flower. "How do you do it?" she asked.

She flinched and shrieked as something happened behind me. I turned and saw that the boy had come out from behind the bush, no doubt frightening Aunt Petunia with his presence. His cheeks turned a dull pink as he stared at Mum, no doubt regretting his hastiness.

"I know what you are," I saw him say.

I looked over at Mum as she asked what he meant.

"You're ... you're a witch," the boy mumbled. I had to focus a lot to figure out what he was saying. He looked a bit terrified to be saying that, and I understood why. If he was wrong, he could get in a lot of trouble with the Ministry. I wondered what Mum's reaction was and turned just in time to see her say,

"That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"

I laughed so hard at that, remembering that I'd said something similar when Hagrid had told me the news.

I looked up and stopped laughing when I saw that Mum was marching towards Aunt Petunia, making the boy flap in a ridiculously bat-like way after her. I followed closely after the boy so I could continue to read his lips.

"You are!" he said. "You are a witch! I've been watching you for a while! But there's nothing wrong with that! My mum's one, and I'm a wizard!"

I looked over at Mum and Aunt Petunia and saw that Aunt Petunia had a very familiar expression on her face as she talked. She was trying to hurt the boy by acting all high-and-mighty, just as she had with me and Harry many times before.

"They live down Spinner's End by the river," she was saying to Mum. Obviously, Spinner's End was the more unsavoury part of the town where they lived. "Why have you been spying on us?" she asked the boy.

The boy mumbled a little, saying only the word "spying" clearly. I guess he's been saying he wasn't spying. He gained his courage, lifted his chin, and spat at Aunt Petunia,

"Wouldn't spy on you, anyway. You're a Muggle!"

I turned just in time to see Aunt Petunia say, "Come on, we're leaving," to Mum, who obeyed immediately, glaring at the boy. The bitter disappointment in the boy's face was so poignant that it almost left the pair of us in tears. He'd obviously planned this moment for a long time, and it had gone all wrong.

The memory changed, leaving Dr. Cullen and me in a thicket of trees. I found the boy and Mum together in the middle, talking as they sat cross-legged on the ground. The boy had removed his coat, making him look much less like a boy playing dress-up, but he still wore the same outfit as he had before. Either this had taken place on the same day, or that outfit was his only one.

I couldn't really understand all of what they were saying, but from what I could read, the boy was telling Mum about the world she'd been born into. Mum twirled a twig in her hand, no doubt imagining it to be a magic wand. They kept talking, and at one point, they got on a subject that made the boy's face go hard with a small crease between his eyes. But then Mum said something that made a small smile appear on his face, making him look much younger. As he kept talking, he got rather passionate about what he was talking about, but then he broke off, turning bright red and shredding leaves he found on the ground.

Then the two of them leaped up, staring at someone behind me. I turned and saw Aunt Petunia being caught spying on the two kids. She said something, probably hurtful, and a branch over her head cracked and fell onto her shoulder. She staggered backwards, holding her now-visibly dislocated shoulder and ran away in tears.

I turned back and saw Mum yell at the boy, who had obviously tried to hurt Aunt Petunia for whatever she'd said. Mum stormed out of the thicket after her sister, leaving the boy looking miserable and confused.

The scene changed again, revealing the Hogwarts Express. I gave the familiar train a smile and watched as Aunt Petunia finally revealed her jealousy over Mum's magic, leaving Mum in tears. The scene moved to a compartment, where the boy joined Mum, obviously on better terms with her, but not good enough for her to smile at him when he came over. She was still crying and the boy was trying to make her feel better, but that only attracted the attention of the rowdy pair of boys in the compartment.

I looked over at them and jumped when I saw a boy that looked very much like my brother: slight, black mess of hair, and confident hazel eyes. With a jolt, I recognized him as my father, James Potter, who seemed to carry himself much like my cousin Dudley had when we were much younger: arrogant, above everyone else around him, like we should all bow down and let him walk all over us if it pleased him. Despite the fact that he was my father, I didn't like the look of him at all. I was glad that he'd found a way to get out of that funk enough to make Mum fall in love with him.

Dad sat opposite a boy who was lounging carelessly in his seat, a boy with perfectly coiffed dark brown hair and depressed gray-blue eyes. It wasn't until he grinned that I recognized him as Harry's late godfather, Sirius Black! He seemed to have the same arrogance that Dad had, but Sirius seemed to be saying "take it or leave it" with his while Dad's arrogance was more in your face. Sirius said something that made Dad roar with laughter but also made Mum flush with anger and storm out of the compartment, dragging the boy by the hand behind her.

I saw the scene change three times: to the Sorting Ceremony, to a scene where Mum and the boy were in a small argument a few years later, and to a scene outside the castle, probably after exams at the end of the year. I watched in horror as Dad and Sirius attacked the boy for no reason, ending up hoisting the boy up in the air by his ankles. That's when Mum came in, whipping her wand out as she prepared to defend her friend. Despite the fact that the boy was upside down, I saw clearly the exact moment of humiliation and anger when he called my Muggleborn mother the most unforgivable name: "Mudblood".

As I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened, the scene changed again. The boy was apparently trying to apologize, but Mum was anything but interested. It was clear that either he'd apologized for similar things before and this was just the straw that broke the camel's back or that he'd waited too long to apologize and left Mum to stew in her anger. Mum ended up tearing the boy a new one and leaving him heartbroken in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.

The years blurred forward until Dr. Cullen and I came to a hilltop, where a now-recognizable Professor Snape stood, looking frightened out of his mind as he looked around at the wind-swept trees.

The moment I saw him, Professor Dumbledore's murderer and one of Harry's greatest tormenters, I wondered if I should just abandon the memories for good now that I knew that they were all his, but I remembered his letter's plea for understanding. It took everything in me, but I eventually decided to stay and see this whole thing through.