The past is warm

The future bright

Which fire draws me more?

Bill felt himself 'falling' through the penseive, into the hazy mist of someone else's memory.

"At the time, Joe was a seventh year. Slytherin." He heard Snape's voice come into clarity as Snape entered the pensieve just behind him. "Deatheater now, but not very bright. Wasn't too hard to get a chance at his brain."

Bill had no time to respond to the information as he saw a group of older boys come into focus, opening the door between train-cars.

'So, it's Bill's little twin brothers, as ugly as the rest of the Weasleys, too.'

Bill felt himself bristle. Even if it was a memory, no one was allowed to pick on his little brothers but him!

"There she is." Snape pointed, bringing Bill back to attention. The girl lecturing Joe and his gang was quite young, but unmistakably the same Sheranaqua he had met on the train to Hogwarts in his last year of school.

"Yes, that's her." Bill's breath caught, his pulse pounding at the realization that Snape had found a missing memory from that day.

Memory-Joe pulled out his wand as did the rest of his gang. "I would say that was "illogical" of you to say, girl." He reached for the cat on Sheranaqua's shoulder and grabbed it. "Hey Fred, this your girlfriend?"

"Yabby, the animagus." Bill nodded, remembering the scraggly cat.

"I've been trying to get her to participate in my experiments and uncover her memories as well." Snape informed, "But no success yet. I can't pressure too hard without Dumbledore catching on."

Bill stepped forward instinctively to rescue Sheranaqua as one of the boys grabbed her, but he went through the memory-people as if a ghost.

One boy snickered, "How 'bout I give your scraggly kitty here some really ill-favored looks."

Sheranaqua kicked him in the shin in return. "Let her go!"

Joe and another boy moved in to help their friend pin the struggling girl to the wall. Then Joe turned to address the younger memory version of George. "You think she's pretty?"

"All girls are pretty." George answered.

Bill smiled slightly, after all, it was true.

Joe turned on Fred. "How 'bout you, Fred? You think your friend here is pretty? Come on, say it!"

"She's pretty." Fred mumbled.

"Well then, boys. We better rectify this situation." Joe waved his wand wildly. "Now, what should we do? Nothing permanent of course. Ah yes, that uglifying spell should do the trick!"

"Yah, Joe." One of the minions agreed.

Joe spread out his arms and pointed the oak wand at the trembling girl. "FerANto DelaHEN!" A green beam shot out of the wand, striking Sheranaqua squarely in the forehead.

A bright silver flash engulfed the room, and both Sheranaqua and the Slytherin boy screamed.

Snape paused the memory at this point, with a frozen memory-Snape coming through the door behind them, and Joe and the boys frozen in various positions of dissaray. "I have watched this part many times." Snape walked forward towards Sheranaqua, brushing back a few of her bangs. "Note her scar."

"Is it supposed to glow like that?" Bill swallowed, noting that the young girl's face was contorted in extreme pain.

"She seems to have had some warding that was activated when the spell was cast at her." Snape explained. "This is the most crucial part of this memory, though the rest is interesting as well. Shall we continue?"

"Please do." Bill nodded as memory-Snape unfroze and promptly disarmed the wands of the entire room.

Sheranaqua woke thrashing in her bed, the blankets tangled in a sweaty mess. She choked back a scream and a sob, trying to figure out where the pain was coming from and why her limbs would not stop flailing.

"Shhh, let's not wake anyone." She heard a familiar voice and felt a soothing touch on her shoulder.

"Sleeper?" She whispered, turning her head as best she could to tall, lean but muscled brunette man was kneeling by her bed, the curtains spilling over his shoulders. His brown eyes met hers with sternness softened by concern.

"You are having a seizure." He spoke lowly, some of her pain dissipating through his touch at her shoulder, "I will tend you as best I can." He placed a hand on her forehead, atop her scar. Belatedly she realized that the soft silver light was emanating from herself.

"You should not have to bear this curse." Sleeper spoke so softly she was not sure she had heard him at all. The pain was fading slowly and her limbs stilling, but a deep exhaustion was spreading within her.

Sleeper leaned in, "You need to come home for a time."

"I can't leave now." Sheranaqua protested weakly. "Learning so much."

"Just for a few days," Sleeper reassured her, but she did not feel reassured. The silver light mixed with a pale amber light from Sleeper's hands on her forehead and shoulder, the effect was somewhat ominous on his features. "I am your guardian, your teacher. Trust me in this."

"If I must," Sheranaqua agreed weakly, not about to argue further.

Sleeper nodded, and she felt the warmth of his gathering magic. Beautiful magic, complex, like music and home. She felt the corridor more than saw it, her eyelids fluttering and closing against the violet-tinged light of her personal chamber in the castle in the ice.

They were home.