Authors note: Sorry about the last posting of this chapter. I was writing another chapter that was extremely hard to write and wanted to concentrate on getting it finished. The good news is that Chapter 16 is now written. The bad news is that I am only three chapters ahead of what I am posting here. Hopefully I will be able to stay ahead so that you only will have to wait a week between postings.

This chapter is a bit of a short one, and a retelling of the events in several of the books, but from Emily's point of view. This chapter is very important in the development of Harry and Emily's relationship. As usual I would love feedback, if you like this story and chapter leave a review, if you hate it leave a review. I cannot improve as a writer if I do not hear from my readers....

13

Spectres of the past

Harry just glared at Ginny, trying to keep his anger in check, but not believing what she just said. After a few minutes of silence he asked.

"Why would you do something like that? You were just suppose to let her know I could'nt meet her for lunch! " He asked angrily. He immediately regretted this because Ginny fired up on him right away.

"I didn't do anything but answer her questions! How was I supposed to know you still hadn't told her anything about the war!" She jabbed him in the chest as she continued. "You told me you told her about the war!"

"I did tell her,,," Harry started to fire back, but he never got to finish.

"Yes you told her about the war," Harry felt like a little boy as she glared at him, fire burning in her eyes, "However you didn't tell her what part you played did you?"

Harry looked away from Ginny as he answered. "Since when is what I tell or don't tell my girlfriend any of your business?"

Big mistake Potter, he thought to himself as Ginny started to get up angrily. As she started to leave she said softly. "You're right Harry, its none of my business. If you want to push Emily away go right ahead."

Harry grabbed her arm as she started to leave the room.

"What do you mean?" The worry in his voice as he asked stopped Ginny dead in her tracks.

"I mean you're doing the same thing to Emily you did to me." She answered softly.

It was clear by the way Harry looked at her he had no idea what Ginny was talking about. So she continued to explain.

"You're shutting her out, and she likes it less than I did." Ginny shrugged out of his grasp and said as she left the room, "If you keep shutting her out you are going to lose her just like you did me."

Harry stared after his ex fiancé for a good twenty minutes, thinking hard about what she had just said to him.

***

Emily stepped into the living room of Harry's condo. The first thing she noticed as she walked in was what appeared to be a stone basin sitting on the coffee table. Harry was standing at the window looking out on the London skyline, he seemed to be deep in thought and unaware that she had arrived.

Emily was a little worried about Harry, when he had called her earlier he had sounded a bit depressed. She was not sure why he would be depressed, but it did concern her none the less. As she walked in he turned and smiled gave her weak smile.

"Thanks for coming." He motioned for her to sit down.

Emily sat down on the couch, she noticed that the basin was full of what appeared to be cloudy water. On the side it had symbols on it that Emily did not recognize. She noticed that Harry seemed a bit apprehensive. She wondered if he was going to end things with her. She had been pushing him about his past. She was not sure why, but he did not want to tell her about what he had done in the past.

She was bothered that he did not want to tell her what he did in the war that everyone kept mentioning. Even worse, she had no idea that Harry had even taken part in a war until Ginny let it slip out. As she thought about things, she had found out more about Harry's past from his ex fiancé than him. Emily felt a flash of anger as she thought about this. If he was going to break up with her for wanting to know about his history, then she didn't need him.

Harry must have seen something in her expression, she could see he was a bit apprehensive as he sat across from her. After about ten minutes of an uncomfortable silence, Emily started to get up, saying.

"Maybe coming over here wasn't a good idea."

Harry reached over and took her hand.

"Emily, please." Harry sighed softly as he continued. "I have been told by a reliable source I have been a bit of a pratt about some things."

Emily raised her eyebrows. She had a pretty good idea of who that source was, she had done a little bit of venting the other day when Harry was not able to make their lunch date. She had been just a bit irritated to find out that Harry was part of the "Golden Trio." She had asked him several times about them and he had lied to her, stating he knew nothing about them. Emily could not hold back her anger any more.

"I guess if you call lying to me being a pratt, then your source is right." Harry winced at the sharp tone of her statement. He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't give him the chance.

"You knew all about the Golden Trio, yet you told me you knew nothing about them. Why?"

Harry looked at her, she could see a deep sadness in his eyes, as he began to speak.

"Emily, I owe you an apology." He pulled her back down to the couch gently as he continued. "The reason I did not tell you about the Golden Trio is…"

She could see this was going to be hard for him…she didn't have any idea what Harry, Ron and Hermione had done during the war, and now she was not sure she wanted to know. What could have been so terrible that it would affect Harry like this. Harry was one of the most kind and gentle men she had ever met. Would what he had done in the war change her opinion?

"Emily, I cannot talk to you about what the three of us did in the war, I am sorry it is just too…" He faltered.

Emily decided she was not going to force him, if it was that painful she had no right to make him go through it all again. Before she could tell him though Harry motioned to the stone basin on the table.

"This is a pensive."

Harry then explained to her what the pensive was. He explained it would allow her to see his memories of the past, if the pensive would work for her. He warned her that it would be like she was there with him. He also told her that he wanted to share this with her, if she still wanted him to.

Emily started to feel just a little bit of fear as he spoke. As he explained this to her his voice took on a haunted tone that she had never heard before. Harry asked if she had any questions before they began. She shook her head.

Harry then explained to her how the pensive worked, he also told her he would be in the memories with her, and any time she wanted to stop, they would. He also told her he thought it would be best if they could try and go through all the memories at one time. He told her he was not sure he would want to go back if they came out. She found herself wondering once again what could be so terrible.

Harry took her hand, and just whispered "Are you ready?"

She nodded her head, and the two of them plunged their heads into the cloudy liquid. She was shocked to find herself being pulled into the liquid, then she found herself looking at a much younger Harry with another young man in a graveyard. The older teen ager with Harry was asking the younger one

"Did anyone tell you the cup was a portkey?"

The younger Harry answered no and asked if this was part of the task. The other boy with him said he didn't know. After a few minutes the younger Harry said. "Someone's coming."

Emily looked and could see a short man walking towards them holding what appeared to be a baby. Suddenly the younger Harrry grabbed his forehead, clearly in agonizing pain. Then Emily heard a voice that she would never forget, she had never heard anything as cold and heartless as that voice as it said "Kill the spare"

Before she could take in what she heard the short man screeched "Avada Kadavra"

Emily felt her knees go week as a green light shot from the short man and struck the older teenager, throwing him back, he was lying next to the younger Harry, clearly dead.

Emily watched in horror as Harry was suddenly bound, and the ritual to bring Voldemort back to life was performed. She gasped as Harry was released and forced to duel then now resurrected lord Voldemort. She could not be sure about what she saw as the Harry and the Horrid man that called himself lord Voldemort battled with Harry, then before she knew it Harry was back in a clearing where a older man started to comfort him.

Over the next two hours, Emily was witness to some of the worst experience of Harry Potter's life. She had to fight back her tears as she watched Harry's godfather killed during the battle of the Ministry. She then learned all about lord Voldemort's past, as well as Horcruxes. She once again almost cried as she watched the silver bearded man killed at Hogwarts, then the battle that followed it was one of the fiercest she thought she would ever see. She was then touched as Ron and Hermione told Harry they would stick with him. She even cried when Harry broke up with Ginny.

The next thing she knew she was watching the wedding of Bill and Fleur Weasley. She had no trouble recognizing the Weasley family. She found herself wondering why Harry was sharing this memory with her, then when the what appeared to be a silver lynx of fox appeared at the wedding all hell broke loose, and she was suddenly in a alley when that memory faded.

Then she was with Harry as the fought their way out of some kind of courtroom. She still was not sure what the trial they had interrupted was about, but she knew they were after a locket worn by the same toad faced women that had tortured Harry in some of the earlier memories she had seen.

Then Harry and Ron were fighting, and Ron took off. They were visiting Harry's home town, when they were attacked by a giant snake. She realized that Harry and Hermione had barely escaped the man that called himself Voldemort.

Then Ron was pulling Harry out of a pond, then destroying the locket they retrieved from the toad faced woman. She did manage a short laugh as Hermione beat Ron when they returned to camp.

Again she was shocked as a Luna Lovegood's father tried to turn the three of them in. She knew that the trio barely escaped. The worse memory for her was the trio being taken to Malfoy Manor, and Hermione's subsequent torture by one of the scariest woman she had ever seen.

The second battle at Harry's old school nearly broke her heart. She now knew who Fred was, and felt bad about asking about him at the last Weasley dinner. Then Started to cry as Harry found out he was a Horcrux, and he too had to die.

She did not know how Harry would have been able to walk so calmly to his death, but he did. Kings Cross station with the now white haired and bearded wizard that had been killed was very different. She wondered if Harry had imagined the whole thing while he lay unconscious in the woods.

Then the final battle between Harry and Voldemort played out before her, and she felt herself being pushed out of the pensive onto the couch. It took her a few seconds to get her bearings and she then looked over to Harry, she saw that he was crying. She quickly took him into her arms and whispered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

It took about an hour for Harry to finally stop crying, he then looked at her and just asked her.

"Do you have any questions?"

Emily shook her head no. She let him know, she did not have any questions now, but she might later, once she had a chance to digest all that she had seen. She held Harry tight until he finally fell asleep.

Once Harry was asleep, she could not fall asleep. She could not believe all that she had seen that night. How could people have allowed all that she had seen happen? She wondered what other horrors had been committed that Harry was not aware of since he was on the run.

She remembered how the boy named Neville looked when he met up with Harry, he looked like he had lived through hell, and he was at school. Then all those kids that had to go into hiding for fear of what the masters in charge of the school would do to them.

She also was glad that Harry had Ron and Hermione, and understood why the three of them were so close. They had gone to hell with each other and managed to escape. She also wondered how Ginny could have broken up with Harry, he had given up his own life to defeat what she felt was one of the most evil men she had ever seen. As she fell asleep she was thankful for the dark haired young man next to her, even if the world he lived in scared the hell out of her.