Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Sorry this chapter took so long – it was hard to get right! The next chapter should be up quicker.

I don't own any of this! It all belongs to the wonderfully brilliant JKR!


Chapter 12 The Past Year

The tea was gone. Harry and Ron were playing with Teddy on the floor. Everyone was looking at them, waiting. Taking a deep breath, Harry picked Teddy up, kissed him and placed him back into his grandmother's arm. "I guess we should continue," he started.

"Our plan was simple," Harry began. "Find the horcruxes and destroy them. We needed to find out who RAB was and the real locket. We needed to find Hufflepuff's cup and something belonging to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw and destroy them. Then, we would kill Nagini and finally be able to defeat Voldemort." Harry smiled. "That was our complete plan; we knew nothing else about what we were going to do."
"WHAT???" gasped Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Bill and George. Mr. Weasley continued, "You must have had some idea?"

"We had less in previous years before we started investigating," Hermione said. "However, I had obtained a copy of a book about Dark Arts that explained how to destroy horcruxes. But, we really didn't have that good of a plan the night we left."

"But, we went to Grimmauld Place after the wedding and by sheer luck, the next morning we had our first success. We figured out that RAB was Regulas Arcturus Black – Sirius's younger brother. Do any of you remember that locket from the cabinet in the drawing room that we couldn't open?" Ron had continued. There were nods from George, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

Ron continued, "Turns out that locket we all tried to pry open was a horcrux belonging to Voldemort." Mrs. Weasley shuddered. "We found out how Voldemort took Kreacher to the cave and made him drink the potion and then left him." Ron went on to explain how Kreacher returned to Grimmauld place, how Regulas found out the truth. Ron told the story of Regulas taking Kreacher to the cave and drinking the potion, sending Kreacher away with the real locket with orders to destroy it and tell no one. He told of how Kreacher tried to destroy the locket and was unable. He finally told of how Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket along with other Black family heirlooms and sending Kreacher to find Mundungus. He ended, "We really got lucky stumbling onto the information that way."

Harry agreed and picked up the story. "It took a couple of days, but Kreacher finally returned with Mundungus. We found that he had not sold the locket. He was confronted by a lady in Diagon Alley asking if he had a license for trading in magical artifacts." There was laughter all around as everyone tried to imagine Mundungus with a license for anything. Harry continued, "The lady let him off because she took a liking to a locket, so she took it for herself." Harry smiled, wondering the reaction, "He described her as a little woman, bow on top of her head and looking like a toad."

"Umbridge" both Ginny and George exclaimed.

"Correct," Hermione answered. "So, we started planning how we could get the locket from her. It was really obvious. We watched and planned the entire month of August. Finally, we put our first plan into effect on September 2nd at the ministry."

Mr. Weasley gasped, "That was you."

Harry chuckled, "Yes, it was. We used polyjuice potion. Hermione became Mafalda Hopkirk, Ron became Reg Cattermole and I became Runcorn."

"You…" Mr. Weasley was looking at Harry.

"I had been in Umbridge's office and saw your file. When we were alone in the elevator, I wanted to warn you. But I wasn't sure how," Harry answered. Mr. Weasley just looked at Harry in surprise. Harry continued, "I did take Mad-Eye's magical eye off of her door. I buried it later in the woods. When I couldn't find the locket in the office, I knew I had to get Ron and Hermione and continue the search. Hermione was in the courtrooms with Umbridge, so I went down to the courtrooms. That's when I ran into Mr. Weasley – and you too, Percy." Harry smiled, despite the story he was telling. "What I found in those courtrooms…well, it was unbelievable." Harry looked at Hermione and she nodded slightly. Harry deposited this memory in the Pensieve. They watched as Harry approached the courtrooms, as he approached the corridor with the muggle-borns and dementors. The family gasped at the sight. Harry heard whispered "I had no idea" coming from around him. They watched him enter the courtroom and watched the hearing unfold. He approached Hermione and they saw the locket together. They watched as Harry stunned Umbridge and Yaxley. They watched Hermione get the locket, conjure a new one. The memory played as Harry, Ron and Hermione made their escape, freeing all the muggle-born wizards that were in for hearings that day. Harry stopped the memory as they apparated away.

"We learned an important lesson that day – no matter how much you plan, something will go wrong." Ron stated as the memory faded. "We weren't able to go back to Grimmauld Place. We ended up in the woods near the Quidditch Cup."

"While we there, I saw into Voldemort's mind again, watching what he was doing." Harry told them. "It happened quite a bit this past year. Most of the times, I was fortunate because I saw something that would help later. I had that connection the night I escaped Privet Drive. I had another one that day. The first one was Voldemort torturing Olivander about why my wand overpowered his that night. This time, I saw Voldemort and Gregorovitch arguing on the location of something."

Ron continued, knowing that this part of the story was his and while he was ashamed of his actions, he knew it had to be told. "We moved around a lot so we couldn't be found. We took turns wearing the locket. It affected us when we wore it – Harry couldn't conjure his patronus, Hermione got a little short tempered and quieter, but I became moody, mean, angry…" Ron took a deep breathe, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy. "One night, we got into a fight about food – I complained about how horrible it was. It was a night I was wearing the locket. We heard sounds outside, and we used Extendable Ears and were able to overhear a conversation between Griphook, Gornuck, Ted Tonks, Dean Thomas and Dirk Cresswell. We heard about Ginny, Luna and Neville trying to steal the sword and getting punished. Afterwards, Hermione had the picture of Phineas Nigellus…"Ron faltered. "Harry, just show the memory, I can't…" Hermione put her arms around Ron and looked at Harry, nodding.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. Ron hesitated, but nodded. Harry extracted the memory and placed it in the Pensieve. "But, I'm also showing how you saved us," he told Ron, before starting the memory. The memory started with what Ron had already told them – the argument about Hermione's food. It played through the overheard conversation about Ginny, Neville and Luna. The memory showed Hermione and Harry talking to Phineas Nigellus, learning about how Dumbledore destroyed the ring. It showed Harry and Hermione's elation in learning something to help them on their mission. Then, the part the trio was dreading. None of the three watched as Ron exploded at Harry. Ginny looked at her brother in disgust as he yelled at Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's face was full of disappointment as Hermione was forced to put a shield charm between Ron and the two of them. They watched, horrified, as Ron left.

The silence seemed to stretch on. Wanting to get through this without anymore harm to Ron, Hermione broke the silence, "Harry and I continued moving from place to place to avoid detection. We tried to figure out where the real sword was, where Dumbledore might have hidden it. Finally, I relented and agreed that we should go where Harry wanted to go in the first place – Godric's Hollow. We made plans, deciding to use polyjuice potion. We finally were ready, able to apparate underneath the cloak. We arrived in Godric's Hollow one evening and discovered that we had lost track of time – it was Christmas Eve." Her voice faltered as she looked at Harry.

Harry took a deep breath, remembering that night he visited his parents grave for the first time. "We went to the graveyard because I wanted to see my parents' grave. Afterwards, we were going to try and find Bathilda Bagshoot. She lived there and we thought she may have some answers for us. We wanted to know what the symbol that Krum had said was Grindelwald's mark meant because it kept popping up. We were also hoping she knew what direction to point us in in our search for the sword since she knew Dumbledore and my Mum and Dad."

Harry looked around, "Remember, Remus had said that we would see magic we had never imagined before – and this is one of the best examples of that we saw this past year." Harry hesitated as he placed yet another memory in the Pensieve. He was actually glad to have the Pensieve, because it meant he didn't have to talk, he could just watch and remember. The memory started as a figure approached them, and they followed her to her house. Everyone stared, transfixed as they entered Bathilda's house and looked around. Harry and Bathilda went upstairs and Harry heard the words 'hold him' in his head, his connection with Voldemort. He heard the gasps in horror as Bathilda was replaced by Nagini, heard Hermione's exclamation as well. Harry's eyes closed as the memory played, the fight between Nagini, Harry and Hermione, of Voldemort's arrival and their narrow escape. Harry stopped the memory as his connection to Voldemort solidified – he was not showing everyone his parents' murder.

"Harry, what was that you stopped?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Voldemort and I connected and I was in his mind as we apparated away." Harry told her. "I was able to see, from his eyes, his approach to Godric's Hollow, and everything that happened the night he tried to kill me, when he killed my parents," Harry told her, while everyone else looked on, horrified at what they had seen, at the thought of what Harry had to endure. He saw the look of sorrow on Mrs. Weasley's face, her eyes trying to catch his, but he couldn't allow them to connect – his emotions were too raw, too close to breaking. "Well, there was magic we had never imagined, just like Remus warned us. Hermione, can you continue with the next part?" Harry just wanted to close his eyes and think for a moment. That memory had taken more from him than he wanted to admit. He wanted comfort from Ginny's arms around him as Hermione's had been around Ron but knew that it wasn't yet possible. Instead, he had found comfort in a surprising place these past few weeks and he sought it now. He took the now sleeping Teddy in his arms and held him close for a few minutes. Holding Teddy gave him hope for a future, and watching the sleeping infant's face brought Harry the peace he needed.

Hermione took a deep breath, "I had used a Blasting Curse that rebounded. It broke Harry's wand. I was unable to repair it. I told Harry I didn't think we could because of what happened when Ron broke his wand crashing the car. Harry and I then read parts of the book on Professor Dumbledore's life, the chapter about his friendship with Grindelwald. We argued over what kind of person Professor Dumbledore was – if Rita was telling the truth or stretching it or whatever. We moved the next day to the Forest of Dean."

Harry was at the Pensieve, still holding a sleeping Teddy, and had placed another memory in it. The memory started without Harry saying a word. Everyone watched Harry sitting on guard, brooding. They watched a silver doe approach, watched Harry follow it to the clearing. They watched as Harry saw the sword in the pool of water. They watched Harry jump in and almost drown until someone pulled him up, gasping as those words "are you mental" were uttered by Ron. Everyone looked at him, confused. They turned their attention back to Harry's memory as Ron asked if he could come back, as Harry searched to see if the person who had conjured the Patronus was still around. They watched as Harry told Ron that he was going to open the locket and that Ron should stab it. They watched as Ron argued. Ron finally relented and as Harry said, "One, two, three, open", the memory stopped. Harry looked at Ron, whose face was full of relief that no one would see what the locket had done. Harry told everyone, "What came from that locket was pure evil and Ron battled it and his own worse fears. He was able to destroy the locket. We returned to the tent and Hermione and Ron had a fight. Ron explained to us what happened when he left. Since that's his story," Harry turned to Ron.

Ron looked around, not sure how to tell the story of his betrayal and return. Taking a deep breath, he started. "The night I left, I apparated away in anger. I regretted it as soon as I did it, but I walked into a bunch of Snatchers. I got away, but couldn't find Harry and Hermione when I tried to get back to them – the protections we were using work really well. I didn't know what to do, so I went to Shell Cottage and stayed with Bill and Fleur – I couldn't face the disappointment from the rest of you. On Christmas morning, I heard Hermione's voice saying my name and something about a wand come from the Deluminator. It helped me apparate to where they were, but it took me some time to find them. I had to wait until one of them came out from under the protection. That happened when I saw Harry and the doe."

Hermione gave Ron a hug, and then continued. "We went to see Xenophilius Lovegood a few days later to see if he could explain the symbol. When we visited, Harry and I heard the Tales of the Three Brothers for the first time. It seems this symbol represented the deathly hallows and that some people believed they were real. We also found out that Luna had been captured to try and control her father and we left when Death Eaters arrived."

"We then had a few days where Ron and I argued with Hermione about the Deathly Hallows, wondering if they were real or not," Harry picked up the story."Ron was able to find an episode of that radio show you guys did – it was amazing. Afterwards, I was using the show to point out that Voldemort was looking for the Wand when I said his name, forgetting about it being Taboo."

"That's how you were caught," Ginny said, looking at Harry.

"Yeah, not my one of my better moments," Harry replied. "And that's why Greyback, Scabior and some others showed up. They figured out who we were and took us to Malfoy Manor." With a glance at Hermione, Harry started another memory in the Pensieve. The scene showed the group arriving at the manor, Draco not recognizing Harry, Lucius recognizing them and preparing to call Voldemort, of Bellatrix stopping them. Ron pulled Hermione close as Harry and Ron were led to the cellar and Bellatrix decided to question Hermione. Hermione trembled as Harry, Ron and Dean found Luna and Ollivander in the cellar. Everyone heard Hermione's screams. They heard Draco come for Griphook and heard Harry ask Griphook to tell them it's a fake. They watched Griphook leave and Dobby appear, Dobby leaving taking Luna, Dean and Mr. Olivander to Shell Cottage. They watched Peter appear and try to kill Harry, only to be killed by his own hand. They watched as Ron and Harry rushed upstairs, Griphook telling the Malfoys the sword was a fake. They watched the struggle, Dobby saving the day when the chandelier dropped. They watched Ron and Hermione escaping; harry and Dobby apparating as the knife struck Dobby.

Harry looked around. Hermione had her eyes closed, head on Ron's shoulder. He took a deep breath, wiping away the tears that had fallen, "Dobby died, saving us, saving me. That night, I asked Griphook to help us break into the Lestange vault at Gringotts. I knew that Voldemort had asked Bellatrix to keep something of his in her vault because of the way she reacted to the sword which was supposed to be in her vault. It's the safest place in the world – next to Hogwarts. We then talked to Mr. Ollivander and learned about wand magic and that the Elder Wand existed. We learned that Gregorivitch had the wand and it was stolen by Grindelwald. We learned that because Dumbledore had defeated him, Dumbledore had possession of the Elder Wand. That night, I saw into Voldemort's mind again and watched as he broke into Dumbledore's tomb and stole the wand."

Ron continued, "We stayed at Shell Cottage while we planned our next move. Griphook had agreed to help us. We were going to break into Gringott's"

I have to see this," Bill told them.

Harry chuckled, "Did we make extra work for you?"

"No one would have believed that three kids could have broken in," Bill answered.

"But we're not any three kids," Harry answered back, smiling. He had placed this new memory in the Pensieve and it started playing. It started as the three arrived in Diagon Alley - and there were gasps as the family saw, not Harry, Ron, Hermione and Griphook, but Bellatrix and a strange wizard. They watched as they tricked their way into the building past the Probity Probe, and gasped when Harry Imperiused the goblin to gain them entry. They watched in fascination as the Thief's Downfall drenched them, revealing their true identity. The scene continued to unwind as they finally approached the vault. Bill gasped in wonder when they were able to access the vault, other wise there was silence except for the sounds in the Pensieve. They watched Hermione pick up the wrong goblet and get burned, as a shower of burning goblets fell. They watched, awestruck when Hermione levitated Harry up to retrieve the cup. Harry released the dragon and the three climbed on. They watched as the dragon realized it was free and took flight, bringing Ron, Harry and Hermione to safety as it took off. The memory ended as the dragon soared over Diagon Alley. Harry looked around. Ron was smiling at their success, and Hermione seemed to have a slight smile on her face. Everyone else sat in wonder – amazed that they had pulled this off.

"Well, Bill – what do you think of your baby brother, now," Ron joked. "We were able to break into and out of Gringott's – and we were making it up as we went along from the point Hermione showed them Bellatrix's wand."

Bill had nothing to say. He was truly amazed, as was everyone else. No one ever broke into Gringott's and succeeded. He looked at the three of them. He shook his head and just laughed, "They told me when I went back to work, bit I didn't really believe it until now."

Harry continued the story, "We jumped off the dragon into a lake. When we got to shore, we were planning on camping there for the night. However, I connected with Voldemort again. This time, I felt his anger at the vault being broken into. And he knew what we were doing. He was starting to panic – and when he did, I was able to find out where the last Horcrux was hidden – Hogwarts. He didn't reveal what it was or exactly where, but at least we had a place to start looking."

"Yeah, Harry, I wanted to tell you," Ron interrupted. "Thanks for not telling us I told you so over and over again. You had known right form the start that one was at Hogwarts, but we wouldn't listen."

Harry continued, "We apparated into Hogsmeade, but were immediately discovered by Death Eaters. Aberforth helped us get away by bringing us into the Hogs Head. He showed us the passage into the school and you basically know everything else that happened." Harry was hoping that he could end the story here, not go into what else had happened.

It was Mrs. Weasley who spoke first, "No, Harry we don't. We know that the three of you did more than you want to talk about and we don't know what happened when we thought you were dead. You said you were going to answer all of our questions. I want to know exactly what you did and how you did it that night."
Harry looked around, knowing that he had promised to answer everything. He also knew that as hard as telling them everything had already been, it was nothing compared to the rest of what happened. He held Teddy closer to him, tears swelling as he did. He knew he owed them the whole truth, but wasn't sure how to explain everything, how to survive reliving it when it haunted his dreams every night.

Taking a deep breath, never taking his eyes off Teddy, he replied, "Your right, I said I would tell you everything. But, I don't think I can go on tonight. It's late and this has been too hard. I promise I'll continue – just not tonight."

Bill spoke up, "He's right, Mum. It's late and we have to go to work in the morning. And I think we all need a break to digest what we heard."

Mrs. Weasley reluctantly agreed. Everyone drifted off – Bill, Fleur and Charlie left for Shell Cottage and Andromeda took Teddy home.