Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, so I don't own Harry Potter.
~*~*~Chapter Twenty-Five: Tampered Memory~*~*~
Larisa sat on her bed, twirling her wand between her fingers, deep in thought. She never really thought about how her spells could get very powerful with her current wand, but when Bellatrix brought up the subject, she couldn't get it out of her mind. She had a feeling it was time to ask Karina more questions...
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"You have more questions?" Karisa asked with a small laugh as she set her teacup down on the kitchen table. Larisa nodded quickly. "Well, ask away." Karisa leaned back in her chair, her eyes on Larisa. Larisa quickly pulled her wand out and set it on the kitchen table.
"Well, it's about my wand...You see, I got this almost two years ago, and, well, the magic I do with it is a lot more powerful than with my old wand..." Larisa explained, and Karina reached out and picked the wand up, twirling it between her fingers.
"What's this made of?" She asked.
"Elder, eleven inches, unicorn hair core..." Larisa explained again, waiting. Karina furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips.
"This is quite odd...What was your old wand?"
"Vine, ten inches, with a veela hair core."
"Does this wand work better with you than the last one?"
"Well, yes...It feels strangely warm whenever I hold it...My old wand also worked well, it felt warm, but this one seems to like me more..." Larisa said, her voice getting quieter and quieter.
"Did this wand choose you?" Karina asked, her eyebrows arching. "I need to know everything."
"Well, alright. Ollivander brought this out, and opened the box. Then it suddenly just flew up out of the box and into my hand...It was one of the few wands he made with elder wood that he could recall on the spot, and he was mildly surprised to see how compatible it was with me." Larisa said, looking away from Karina, who was still twirling the wand in her fingers.
"Do you know what Sophia's wand was?" Karina asked suddenly.
"Y-yes...Ollivander saw Sophia when we came in and recounted the story of when she bought her wand...It was holly, twelve inches, with a dragon heartstring core." Larisa said, racking her mind. Karina looked up at Larisa, thunderstruck. "What was Borislav's wand?"
"Oak, thirteen inches, with a phoenix tail core...'When his wand's oak and her's is holly, then to marry would be folly.'" Karina recited, handing Larisa's wand back to her. "I knew this would happen..."
"What will happen?" Larisa asked, taking her wand and putting it back into her pocket.
"You'll find out eventually." Karina said, her voice sounding strangely distant.
"Do you know what's going to happen?" Larisa asked, determined to find out what she could.
"Yes, but I'm not telling you...Have you been hearing a voice?" Karina asked, looking Larisa in the eye.
"Well, yes, but I haven't heard it since November, and believe me, I'm not complaining." Larisa said, leaning back in her chair. "Why?"
"Again, you will find out eventually." Karina said, again in a distant voice. Larisa started to feel slightly agitated, but also a little fearful. "You should try to remember some things..."
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Larisa paced around her room the next night, deep in thought again, remembering what Karina said.
Remembering...
Larisa froze, then snatched up her wand, which she had set on her nightstand.
Remember...
Without thinking, Larisa set her wand tip on her temple. She made to pull it away, when she saw a silvery substance clinging to the wand tip. She gave a quick gasp, and the silvery substance zipped back into her head.
Remember...
Larisa set her wand back down on her nightstand, they lay down on the floor. She looked under her bed, and there was a large, wooden box. She slid and hand under the bed and grabbed onto the box's handle, then pulled it out from under the bed. The key was laying right on top of the box. Gingerly, Larisa picked it up, slid it into the lock, and popped the box open. The shelf that held the pensive slid out, and Larisa picked her wand back up and pressed it to her temple. She pulled it away, then looked at the wand tip.
Nothing.
Larisa began to think. She furrowed her eyes, deep in thought, before she snapped her fingers. She then began to think only of when she got her wand at Ollivander's. Absentmindedly, she placed her wand tip back on her temple, then very slowly pulled it away. She willed herself not to panic, and she held her breath. Finally, she brought her wand around so that it was right over the pensive. There was a silvery substance clinging to the tip of her wand. She gave her wand a quick shake, and the memory fell into the pensive. Larisa quickly gave it a prod, then stuck her head into the basin, feeling herself fall forwards.
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A hot summer breeze blew by as Larisa opened her eyes. Diagon Alley wasn't very crowded, as Larisa remembered the day. She kept her eyes peeled, and finally saw who she was looking for; herself and Sophia. She charged across the street towards her fourteen year old self, standing next to Sophia, blissfully unaware that in eleven months she would be horribly scarred for life. Larisa had almost forgotten what she used to look like, instead of a disturbing red right eye, it was a soft brown. There were no slashes, no lines, no scars. Just a girl who was slightly shorter, with waist length white hair and a black streak, pale skin, and mismatched eyes. Sophia towered above her, over six feet tall, her long, sleek black hair tied up in a high ponytail and her pale skin slightly burned.
"Where to?" Larisa's younger self asked.
"Ollivander's." Sophia replied briskly, her tone still cold and angry. Quickly, the two walked towards Ollivander's, and Larisa darted after them. She followed them through the hot summer sun, until they finally reached the shop. Sophia pushed the door open, and both Larisa's walked inside. Ollivander came walking out from the back, and instantly recognized Sophia.
"Ah, Sophia...Holly, twelve inches, with a dragon heartstring core, I presume?"
"Correct. We're here to buy Larisa a new wand." Larisa's younger self nodded excitedly, pulling her old wand out.
"I see." Ollivander said, walking over to the younger Larisa.
"Dang, I really was short..." The current Larisa muttered to herself, seeing how short her younger self was. Ollivander pulled out his measuring tape.
"Your wand arm, please?" He prompted, and Larisa's younger self stuck out her left arm. Sophia's eyes were wandering around the shop, their usual mad glint shining bright. Larisa saw that Sophia's left eye was normal, her nose was straight, and she had all of her teeth. Ollivander was walking around the shop, selecting box after box. The big moment was about to arrive. The measuring tape fell to the younger Larisa's feet, and Ollivander came shuffling over. He set the boxes down, then picked up the first one and took the lid off.
As soon as the lid was off, the wand in the box shot upwards, and the younger Larisa caught it in her left hand, a shocked look on her face. Ollivander looked a little shocked as well, but the younger Larisa held the wand out to him, and he took it.
"Oh, I remember this one very well...Lets see..." He twirled it between his fingers and then gave it a slight bend. The memory suddenly got foggy, and current Larisa heard him say in a strangely distant voice; "Elder, eleven inches, unicorn hair core...Quite flexible..." The fog subsided, and he handed the wand back to the younger Larisa. "Just swish it through the air, dear." The younger Larisa obeyed, and she swished it through the air. Instantly, a shower of red and green sparks flew from the tip, and Ollivander clapped. "Lovely." He said, taking it back. The older Larisa somehow heard a small amount of strain in his voice. "It's odd though, nobody has been this compatible with this..." His voice trailed off, and he got very quiet. The younger Larisa looked politely confused, and Ollivander gave the wand a quick, rapid spin. Red sparks flew out of both ends, and it seemed to shrink a few inches. "Odd, very odd...I have-" The memory suddenly went blank, and the current Larisa couldn't understand what had just happened. Suddenly, the memory returned, only the younger Larisa and Sophia were walking out of the shop now.
"I see you figured out how to put your own memories in." A strained voice behind the current Larisa said. Larisa's heart slammed into her throat, and for a minute she couldn't breathe as a hand rested on her shoulder and pulled her up out of the memory.
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Larisa fell face down onto the carpet in her room, and she forced herself to get up. Quickly, Larisa looked around, and saw Bellatrix standing in the doorway.
"Good God, Bella, you nearly gave me a heart attack..." Larisa gasped, running the back of her hand across her forehead. "How long were you there?"
"Long enough to tell me everything I need to know..." Bellatrix said, looking at her nails. "Your wand, let me see your wand." Slowly, Larisa handed her wand to Bellatrix, who took it and looked it over. "Oh God..."
"What?" Larisa asked. Bellatrix gave the wand a very fast spin, and green sparks shot out of both ends.
"Just as I suspected..."
"What did you suspect?" Larisa asked, and Bellatrix seemed to hesitate for a minute.
"You've got your calculations mixed up..." She said quietly, as if she was choosing her words very carefully.
"What do you mean?"
"Notice that it got very foggy when Ollivander was talking about your wand and he had a strangely distant voice...Then it went completely black..." Bellatrix said, again very quietly. She then looked Larisa in the eye. "Sophia tampered with your memory. There's no other explanation."
"WHAT?!" Larisa nearly screamed, giving a sharp intake of breath.
"Didn't you notice that Sophia's wand was pointed at you as soon as the wand touched your hand?" Bellatrix asked.
"Well...No, I was really more focused on the wand flying out of the box." Larisa said sheepishly.
"Well, take a look at your wand now..." Bellatrix said, handing it back to Larisa and pulling her own wand out. "Compare the lengths." Larisa took both wands, and held them up next to each other.
"Mine grew when you spun it around."
"Yup. Just as I suspected..." Bellatrix said as Larisa handed her wand back. "Did you say your old wand was at Gringotts?"
"Yes." Larisa said, twirling her wand between her fingers. "Why?"
"I think you need to get it and have it examined by Ollivander...I'll have to get a message out to Karina, she can get in contact with Andromeda..." Bellatrix's voice trailed off as she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Larisa confused. Suddenly, Bellatrix reappeared in the doorway. "Would you, ah, teach me how to do a patronus?"
In May, 1980, the last will be born.
Different than the rest, but many traits the same as the one before.
Skilled she will be, like the one before.
She will survive the attack when she is five,
but at a horrible price ten years later,
yet bringing her special abilities, not at all like the one before.
Now WHY would Sophia not want Larisa to remember something? And why Andromeda? You'll see...You'll see...(Read&Review!)