A Need For Memories

by aviendha15

This story is shared with SailorMartin3 with express consent.

24. After The Burial

Part 24

"After the burial"," Frank read out. "Whose?" He put the question to the Trio.

"Aragog's," replied Hermione, as it wasn't too big a giveaway. But she didn't elaborate any further.

Lily grimaced slightly. "So, Aragog dies," she said. "Poor Hagrid. He is going to be distraught. That spider was his oldest pet, I think."

"And the one who got him expelled," James pointed out subtly.

Harry chuckled aloud at this. "It is kind of funny," he said. "But, Hagrid never cared about all these, he never held grudges. If it had affected only him, he might have forgiven even Voldemort for getting him expelled."

"I guess all Gryffindors are alike in this regard," said Snape, smirking at the lot. "Emotional fools, really. But it is better than being sneaky, I guess." He sounded and looked a little disappointed.

"Being sneaky has its own benefits too. We could have certainly used some more sneakiness in our pranks," said James, trying to cheer up Snape. It was slightly difficult for James to not resort to snarky comments, but he couldn't do that when Snape was being so vulnerable. And it must feel odd (not to mention, insecure) to be the only Slytherin in a room-full of Gryffindors.

Snape grinned hesitantly at James, while Frank started with the chapter.

Patches of bright blue sky were beginning to appear over the castle turrets, but these signs of approaching summer did not lift Harry's mood. He had been thwarted, both in his attempts to find out what Malfoy was doing, and in his efforts to start a conversation with Slughorn that might lead, somehow, to Slughorn handing over the memory he had apparently suppressed for decades.

"Oh dear!" Lily fretted a little. "Why doesn't he hand it over, already? Doesn't he really care about Voldemort's destruction?"

"Of course he does, Lils," James said, frowning at his girlfriend. "He was just too afraid!"

"That's just a stupid excuse," she said, glaring at James, her voice increasing ominously. "Afraid? For simply giving up a memory? Maybe, he was afraid about his reputation? But does he even bloody realize that, if Voldemort is not destroyed that stupid reputation won't get him a Knut!"

"He knows it, Lily," said Dumbledore gently. "But like many others, he needs that extra push in order to accept the situation and act accordingly."

"Yeah maybe," said Lily, relenting slightly. Even in the last chapter, she was able to overlook Slughorn's indifference but now it was getting on her nerves. And, the curiosity about knowing about Horcruxes was getting slightly overwhelming.

"For the last time, just forget about Malfoy," Hermione told Harry firmly.

They were sitting with Ron in a sunny corner of the courtyard after lunch. Hermione and Ron were both clutching a Ministry of Magic leaflet — Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them — for they were taking their tests that very afternoon, but by and large the leaflets had not proved soothing to the nerves.

"Then why are you still reading them?" Sirius asked. "Just chuck them off. You know how to Apparate. And, it is not something where books can help. Much like flying."

"Blame Hermione for that," said Ron, smirking at his girlfriend. "She was the one who wanted to look through them, again and again."

Hermione huffed at that. "I thought it would be useful," she said. "It is always required to know about the common mistakes. Not my fault, that the pamphlet made everything sound so…umm…so excruciatingly difficult."

Ron gave a start and tried to hide behind Hermione as a girl came around the corner.

"It isn't Lavender," said Hermione wearily.

"Why were you hiding from her?" asked Frank meeting Ron's eyes from above the book.

"She was bugging me to break off my friendship with Hermione," Ron replied. "I think she was feeling insecure."

Harry snorted. "She had good reasons to. And you proved her right too." Ron blushed slightly and motioned Frank to continue with the chapter.

"Oh, good," said Ron, relaxing.

"Harry Potter?" said the girl. "I was asked to give you this."

"Thanks..."

Harry's heart sank as he took the small scroll of parchment.

"Oh no! Poor you!" Sirius exclaimed, looking at him Godson pityingly. "You are again going to be lectured by the Headmaster again?"

"No," said Harry, grinning at the slightly affronted looking Headmaster. "The letter was not from Dumbledore."

"Oh!"

Once the girl was out of earshot he said, "Dumbledore said we wouldn't be having any more lessons until I got the memory!"

"Maybe he wants to check on how you're doing?" suggested Hermione, as Harry unrolled the parchment; but rather than finding Dumbledore's long, narrow, slanted writing he saw an untidy sprawl, very difficult to read due to the presence of large blotches on the parchment where the ink had run.

"Hagrid!" remarked Alice. "And he's been crying."

"Great deduction, genius," Lily teased her friend. "Alice 'future' Longbottom; our regular 'Sherlock Holmes'!" Alice stuck out her tongue at Lily in response.

Dear Harry, Ron and Hermione!

Aragog died last night. Harry and Ron, you met him and you know how special he was. Hermione, I know you'd have liked him. It would mean a lot to me if you'd nip down for the burial later this evening.

I'm planning on doing it round dusk that was his favorite time of day. I know you're not supposed to be out that late, but you can use the cloak.

Wouldn't ask, but I can't face it alone.

Hagrid

"Oh dear!" Molly fretted. "You all should go. Hagrid will definitely need the support."

Ron raised his eyebrows at his mother, looking decidedly surprised. "You want us to go out in the grounds even when it is absolutely forbidden?" he asked. "Even when there could be danger lurking?"

"Danger in Hogwarts? As if!" Molly scoffed, though she missed Ron turning slightly pale at the comment. "And it won't be the first time that the three of you will break curfew to visit Hagrid."

Ron shared a look with Harry that clearly said that his mother will change; a whole lot, after having seven kids.

"Look at this," said Harry, handing the note to Hermione.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," she said, scanning it quickly and passing it to Ron, who read it through looking increasingly incredulous.

"He's mental" he said furiously. "That thing told its mates to eat Harry and me! Told them to help themselves! And now Hagrid expects us to go down there and cry over its horrible hairy body!" '

"Don't be so mean, Ron," Lily scolded lightly. "Nobody wants you to cry over Aragog, just go there for Hagrid." Ron blushed lightly sharing a look with Hermione who was also looking a little guilty. Maybe they should have gone to Hagrid's. But, then Harry's memory-retrieval might not have gone so well. And anyways, it was a little late for regretting things.

"It's not just that," said Hermione. "He's asking us to leave the castle at night and he knows security's a million times tighter and how much trouble we'd be in if we were caught."

"We've been down to see him by night before," said Harry.

"Yes, but for something like this?" said Hermione. "We've risked a lot to help Hagrid out, but after all — Aragog's dead. If it were a question of saving him —"

"— I'd want to go even less," said Ron firmly. "You didn't meet him, Hermione. Believe me; being dead will have improved him a lot."

"I can understand Ron's fears," said James, meditatively. "He has a phobia of spiders. But I think you should go, Harry."

"And what about me?" Hermione said. "Shouldn't I go with Harry too?"

"I think Ron would like you to stay with him," replied James smiling at the heavily blushing girl. "And Ron let's hear more about these things that Harry does."

"Not really," Ron grumbled but stopped, on seeing the knowing smirk on Harry's face. It was a fact that, even though Harry was the one who had grown up without a family it was Ron who needed the most reassurance. And he does not react well to being left out.

Harry took the note back and stared down at all the inky blotches all over it. Tears had clearly fallen thick and fast upon the parchment. . . .

"Harry, you can't be thinking of going," said Hermione. "It's such a pointless thing to get detention for."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I s'pose Hagrid'll have to bury Aragog without us."

"You should have gone," said Lily, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief. "Hagrid is sounding so upset."

Harry shared a secret smile with his friends, also warning them non-verbally to not let their Parents know that Harry will end up attending Aragog's burial. Even though, it was a bit obvious from the title. But, they didn't seem to have guessed him. In fact, Harry could still see his parents (aka James and Lily) looking at him a little disapprovingly and disappointedly.

"Yes, he will," said Hermione, looking relieved. "Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests. . . . Try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!"

"Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?" said Harry bitterly.

"Lucky," said Ron suddenly. "Harry, that's it — get lucky!"

Gasps were heard around the room as most of the people cottoned on to the idea. A few echoes of 'Brilliant' went around in the room causing Ron to fidget under all those appreciative looks. Though, not everybody had caught on.

"But, how on earth do you get lucky?" asked Sirius, sounding genuinely confused. Quite obviously, he was one of the few who had not caught on the implication.

Lily rolled her eyes at the black haired boy, unable to resist the urge to tease him. "By stealing others' luck, Sirius. That's obvious."

"Huh?" Sirius' eyes went even rounder, if that was possible. "Stealing luck? You are kidding, aren't you? How can Harry steal luck? There are no spells for that."

"Of course not, you dolt," said James, smacking Sirius affectionately on the back. "She is just pulling your leg. By getting lucky, Ron meant to use the Felix Felicis."

"Oh!" said Sirius. "That's a brilliant idea, Ronnie" Ron glared at Sirius for the use of that stupid name. "And, you are a meanie, Lily," Sirius added glaring at the girl.

"Thank you," replied Lily, winking at Sirius. This caused Sirius to pout and the others to laugh even harder at his childish antics. It took a while for Frank to control his laughter before he could continue reading.

"What d'you mean?"

"Use your lucky potion!"

"Ron, that's — that's it!" said Hermione, sounding stunned. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it?"

"Always the tone of surprise!" Ron grumbled, though he had a teasing smirk on his face.

Harry chuckled. "This is not about you, Ron," he said. "Our Hermione is always stunned whenever she is not the one to think up ideas."

"And she has good reason to be," said Remus, shaking his head at the Trio. "But, using the Felix is really a superb idea."

"Funny too," piped up Sirius. "Using something against Professor Slughorn; that was presented by him in the first place. It is sort of ironic."

"I never did think of it that way," Harry mumbled to his friends. "But, it is rather ironic. And I never got to know, if Slughorn ever found out about what happened that night."

"I don't think so," said Hermione. "Otherwise, he would have reacted somehow. Slughorn is not one of those, who can keep any secret for long. Other than their own memories, of course."

Harry stared at them both. "Felix Felicis?" he said. "I dunno . . . I was sort of saving it. ..."

"What for?" demanded Ron incredulously.

"What on earth is more important than this memory, Harry?" asked Hermione.

Harry did not answer. The thought of that little golden bottle had hovered on the edges of his imagination for some time; vague and unformulated plans that involved Ginny splitting up with Dean, and Ron somehow being happy to see her with a new boyfriend, had been fermenting in the depths of his brain, unacknowledged except during dreams or the twilight time between sleeping and waking. . . .

"You needed Felix to gain my approval?" Ron asked Harry incredulously. "Why didn't you just ask me? I might be protective of my baby-sister but you didn't have to use 'a lucky potion' for gaining my approval."

"I wasn't thinking straight, I guess," Harry mumbled, sneaking an apologetic look at Ron. "I thought you would hate me or something, if I got together with Ginny." Harry cringed at the look of hurt that crossed Ron's face for a moment. Though he wasn't really surprised at this reaction. He had been expecting the rebuke for quite some time. The day after that' Kiss' with Ginny, Hermione had told him that Ron was pretty hurt. Not because of the fact that Harry had kissed his sister or because he was going around with her; but because he hadn't confided anything to his best friend.

"Then you didn't know me too well, did you?" remarking Ron sarcastically, and not giving Harry an opportunity to pursue the topic further motioned Frank to continue reading. Harry sighed a bit, but did not interrupt Frank.

"Harry? Are you still with us?" asked Hermione.

"Wha —? Yeah, of course," he said, pulling himself together. "Well. .

okay. If I can't get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, I'll take some Felix and have another go this evening."

"That's decided, then," said Hermione briskly, getting to her feet and performing a graceful pirouette. "Destination . . . determination . . . deliberation . . ." she murmured.

"Not those idiotic D's again, Hermione" Sirius groaned, putting his head in his hands. "They would give anyone nightmares for weeks!"

"I just mentioned them, once," Hermione replied indignantly. "And they weren't so bad. They did help me pass my apparition test."

"As if you would have failed otherwise! That would have been a record," mumbled Sirius, dodging a pillow thrown by Hermione and smirking at her.

"Oh, stop that," Ron begged her, "I feel sick enough as it is — quick, hide me!"

"It isn't Lavender!" said Hermione impatiently, as another couple of girls appeared in the courtyard and Ron dived behind her.

"Cool," said Ron, peering over Hermione's shoulder to check. "Blimey, they don't look happy, do they?"

"They're the Montgomery sisters and of course they don't look happy, didn't you hear what happened to their little brother?" said Hermione.

"I'm losing track of what's happening to everyone's relatives, to be honest," said Ron.

"Well, their brother was attacked by a werewolf. The rumor is that their mother refused to help the Death Eaters.

Frank stopped and sneaked a look at Remus. True to his suspicions, Remus was looking downright depressed.

"It is the same thing again, isn't it?" said Remus morosely, scrubbing at his eyes. He was a little shocked and embarrassed to find trace of tears there. Both Sirius and James had engulfed him in a hug yet again. "I bet it was Fenrir Greyback's work. Loves kids, doesn't he."

Almost everyone flinched at Remus' harsh tone.

"It could be someone else, mate," Sirius mumbled in a soothing voice. "And even if it is; it's okay. There are people working against it! Greyback will get his comeuppance."

"I don't doubt that," commented Remus. "But, he will destroy so many lives till then!" James and Sirius just squeezed their friends' shoulder in reply, not knowing any words of comfort. After all, Remus' entire life was wrecked because of the maniacal Werewolf.

Frank continued with the chapter.

Anyway, the boy was only five and he died in St. Mungo's, they couldn't save him."

"Goodness Gracious," Molly sighed. "He was only five!"

"Probably that's why he didn't survive," said Remus. "My Father had managed to stun Greyback before he could do much damage, so my life was saved. Maybe I would have been better off, dead."

"How could you say that, Remus!" Minerva exclaimed. "After all that your friends did for you! That's hardly fair to them." She glared at James and Sirius who were trying to interrupt. "You have had a bad life, no doubts about that. But, you have people who care for you. And that's more than what some others have."

"Sorry," Remus mumbled, sounding and feeling totally chastised. Minerva gave a curt nod of acceptance; though James and Sirius waved off his apology.

"He died?" repeated Harry, shocked. "But surely werewolves don't kill; they just turn you into one of them?"

"They sometimes kill," said Ron, who looked unusually grave now. "I've heard of it happening when the werewolf gets carried away."

"What was the werewolf's name?" said Harry quickly.

"Well, the rumor is that it was that Fenrir Greyback," said Hermione.

"I knew it — the maniac who likes attacking kids, the one Lupin told me about!" said Harry angrily.

Hermione looked at him bleakly. "Harry, you've got to get that memory," she said. "It's all about stopping Voldemort, isn't it? These dreadful things that are happening are all down to him. . . ."

"Hit a nerve there, didn't she?" Lily remarked, wincing a little at Hermione's words. All this was making her feel a little worthless, and the others too she reckoned. It was a little bewildering to read about your son and his friends doing so much to thwart the dark side; at the same age where your own concerns are limited to homework and friends and school.

"It was a sort of mind-opener," Harry confessed, smiling his mother. "It did make me try harder."

The bell rang overhead in the castle and both Hermione and Ron jumped to their feet, looking terrified.

"You'll do fine," Harry told them both, as they headed toward the entrance hall to meet the rest of the people taking their Apparition Test. "Good luck."

"And you too!" said Hermione with a significant look, as Harry headed off to the dungeons.

There were only three of them in Potions that afternoon: Harry, Ernie, and Draco Malfoy.

"All too young to Apparate just yet?" said Slughorn genially, "Not turned seventeen yet?"

"Talk about obvious questions!" said Sirius. "And you guys tease me!"

"He is right, Prongs," said Remus, in a teasing tone. He seemed to have gotten over his 'Werewolf Gloom'. "After all, our Padfoot is at least better than Professor Slughorn."

"I am better than many," announced Sirius, throwing a death glare at Remus. "In fact, I am the best!"

"Of course, Padfoot," said Remus soothingly, trying his best not to burst out laughing. "You are the best Joker around." He added in a stage whisper to James, earning him a smack from Sirius; who then continued to sulk.

They shook their heads.

"Ah well," said Slughorn cheerily, "as we're so few, we'll do something for fun. I want you all to brew me up something amusing!"

"That sounds good, sir," said Ernie sycophantically, rubbing his hands together.

Malfoy, on the other hand, did not crack a smile. "What do you mean, 'something amusing'?" he said irritably.

"Oh, surprise me," said Slughorn airily.

"That should be a good lesson," commented Severus. "It is always interesting to make new stuff. Something out of the normal syllabus."

"Interesting for those who like Potions," said Harry with a grimace. "Not otherwise."

"I would still maintain that you are good at Potions," said Snape. "Not inventive or innovative, but good!"

"Thanks…I guess," murmured Harry, but he looked pleased.

Malfoy opened his copy of Advanced Potion-Making with a sulky expression. It could not have been plainer that he thought this lesson was a waste of time. Undoubtedly, Harry thought, watching him over the top of his own book, Malfoy was begrudging the time he could otherwise be spending in the Room of Requirement.

Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy, like Tonks, look thinner! Certainly he looked paler; his skin still had that grayish tinge, probably because he so rarely saw daylight these days. But there was no air of smugness, excitement, or superiority; none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort.

"Poor dear!" Molly murmured softly, earning a few surprised looks but ignoring them. "Death Eater or not, he is still a young boy," she said explaining her concern." "And he obviously doesn't want to do the job."

"Then he shouldn't have taken it on," pointed out Frank.

"I don't think he had a choice, Frank," reasoned Arthur, speaking up for his girlfriend. "That much is obvious from Draco's actions and behavior. You

can't always put blame on someone. Many a times, circumstances force you to act a particular way."

There could be only one conclusion, in Harry's opinion: The mission, whatever it was, was going badly.

Cheered by this thought, Harry skimmed through his copy of Advanced Potion-Making and found a heavily corrected Half-Blood Prince's version of "An Elixir to Induce Euphoria," which seemed not only to meet Slughorn's instructions, but which might (Harry's heart leapt as the thought struck him) put Slughorn into such a good mood that he would be prepared to hand over that memory if Harry could persuade him to taste some. . . .

"As if!" Hermione scoffed. Even Ron smirked, though he was still apparently angry at Harry.

"You certainly expect a lot, Harry," said Snape dryly. "Professor Slughorn is an expert at Potions. How on earth can you trick him using a Potion...And the Felix is something else totally." Snape added this as an afterthought on noting Harry's raised eyebrows and realizing his slip. After all, the Felix Felicis was a Potion too.

Lily frowned, apparently thinking something. "Does the Felix act as we want it to?" she asked, directing the question to Severus and the Professors. "I mean can we accomplish whatever we want, with its aid?"

"Yes and no," Dumbledore answered. "The Felix certainly helps us to achieve whatever we wish to. But, at times it might just follow its own path instead of the one that you had wished for. But it will always help you to achieve what you needed and wanted." Lily nodded her understanding. Frank continued with the chapter.

"Well, now, this looks absolutely wonderful," said Slughorn an hour and a half later, clapping his hands together as he stared down into the sunshine yellow contents of Harry's cauldron. "Euphoria, I take it? And what's that I smell? Mmmm . . . you've added just a sprig of peppermint, haven't you? Unorthodox, but what a stroke of inspiration, Harry, of course, that would tend to counterbalance the occasional side effects of excessive singing and nose-tweaking. ... I really don't know where you get these brain waves, my boy . . . unless —"

Harry pushed the Half-Blood Prince's book deeper into his bag with his foot.

"— it's just your mother's genes coming out in you!"

"I was never so innovative. Just good." murmured Lily, blushing crimson. "Being innovative is Severus's field of expertise." She smiled at her friend, who grinned back.

"Oh…yeah, maybe," said Harry, relieved.

Ernie was looking rather grumpy; determined to outshine Harry for once, he had most rashly invented his own potion, which had curdled and formed a kind of purple dumpling at the bottom of his cauldron. Malfoy was already packing up, sour-faced; Slughorn had pronounced his Hiccuping Solution merely "passable."

"It is a little childish," said Sirius. "Alright for Fourth years or even Fifth. But, certainly not Sixth year."

"He didn't have any reason to really make an effort," said Harry, shrugging. "I think he just wanted to get through the class."

"Fair point," said Snape, chuckling. "But, how is he at Potions?"

"Pretty good." It was Hermione who answered, though it did gain her an irritated glare from Ron. And caused Harry to break out into chuckles.

The bell rang and both Ernie and Malfoy left at once. "Sir," Harry began, but Slughorn immediately glanced over his shoulder; when he saw that the room was empty but for himself and Harry, he hurried away as fast as he could.

"Coward," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"One of the biggest," James added, ignoring Remus' disapproved look. He knew that in spite of all the surface disapproval, Remus totally agreed with them.

"Professor — Professor, don't you want to taste my po —?" called Harry desperately.

But Slughorn had gone. Disappointed, Harry emptied the cauldron, packed up his things, left the dungeon, and walked slowly back upstairs to the common room.

Ron and Hermione returned in the late afternoon.

"Harry!" cried Hermione as she climbed through the portrait hole. "Harry, I passed!"

"Congratulations," cried out everyone (from the past, of course).

"Though it was a little expected," Sirius added, though he was grinning admiringly at the girl. After all, Apparition was really no child's play.

"Thanks," said Hermione, looking pleased though a faint blush was tingeing her face.

"Well done!" he said. "And Ron?"

"He — he just failed," whispered Hermione, as Ron came slouching into the room looking most morose.

"It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted that he'd left half an eyebrow behind. . .

"That even counts?" asked Snape, sounding surprised. "It's just half an eyebrow!"

"It could have been more," pointed out Minerva. "And it is better to perfect your technique before you attempt serious Apparition. Splinching is not pretty."

"No kidding," murmured Ron, darkly causing Harry and Hermione to snigger.

How did it go with Slughorn?"

"No joy," said Harry, as Ron joined them. "Bad luck, mate, but you'll pass next time — we can take it together."

"Yeah, I s'pose," said Ron grumpily. "But half an eyebrow – like that matters!"

"I know," said Hermione soothingly, "it does seem really harsh. ..."

They spent most of their dinner roundly abusing the Apparition examiner, and Ron looked fractionally more cheerful by the time they set off back to the common room, now discussing the continuing problem of Slughorn and the memory.

"So, Harry — you going to use the Felix Felicis or what?" Ron demanded.

"Yeah, I s'pose I'd better," said Harry. "I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twenty-four hours' worth, it can't take all night... I'll just take a mouthful. Two or three hours should do it."

"Smart move," said James, grinning at his son. "That way you will still have quite a bit left over."

"That was the idea," said Harry, turning to share a grin with Ron but meeting with a cold glare. Ron was still furious at him. "Why are you still so angry, Mate?" asked Harry sighing. Obviously this stupid thing wasn't just going to tide over; though Harry had certainly hoped that it would. Usually he and Ron never needed words to make over their differences. But, this one obviously needed them. "It was so long ago," he continued. "And it's not as if we discussed about our crushes and everything. For example, you never told me that you loved Hermione." Harry knew that it was a low blow, but he was totally irritated by Ron's temper.

Once again, the entire room had become deadly silent with Ron and Harry being the only ones talking.

"You knew that I loved Hermione," Ron snapped. "You were the one who had told me that! I didn't have the slightest inkling that you liked Ginny. My sister and my best Mate get together and I am the one who who's left gawking in surprise."

"I did apologize for that Ron," said Harry, softening his voice a little. "I…I thought that you would disapprove. And then…you know…'spur of the moment' stuff happens."

"Whatever," Ron mumbled, though he was looking relatively less angry. "Just don't spring such things at me ever again!"

"You will be the first to know when I decide to propose marriage to Ginny." Harry whispered to Ron. "And when we are ready to make you an Uncle. Wizard's word!"

"Marriage?" said Ron weakly, gaping at Harry. "Uncle? I didn't want to hear that, Potter!" Harry wisely ignored him (Other than smirking at him) andgestured Frank to continue reading the chapter.

"It's a great feeling when you take it," said Ron reminiscently. "Like you can't do anything wrong."

"What are you talking about?" said Hermione, laughing. "You've never taken any!"

"Yeah, but I thought I had, didn't I?" said Ron, as though explaining the obvious. "Same difference really ..."

"Really?" said Snape smirking. "You must have done your Potions homework very diligently. You have got the symptoms correct to the T."

"Ha Ha," said Ron humorlessly. "How difficult it must be, to describe the symptoms of the 'Lucky Potion'! Like you will feel anything other than extremely lucky and have loads of self-confidence."

As they had only just seen Slughorn enter the Great Hall and knew that he liked to take time over meals, they lingered for a while in the common room, the plan being that Harry should go to Slughorn s office once the teacher had had time to get back there. When the sun had sunk to the level of the treetops in the Forbidden Forest, they decided the moment had come, and after checking carefully that Neville, Dean, and Seamus were all in the common room, sneaked up to the boys' dormitory.

Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle. "Well, here goes," said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and look a carefully measured gulp.

"What does it feel like?" whispered Hermione.

Harry did not answer for a moment. Then, slowly but surely, an exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through him; he felt as though he could have done anything, anything at all... and getting the memory from Slughorn seemed suddenly not only possible, but positively easy. . . .

"That's…That's a little scary," remarked Lily, her voice shaking a tiny bit.

"It is," agreed Remus. "It's like someone else is controlling you."

"Like the Imperius curse," stated Harry. "It does fill you with the same happy feelings. But in case of Felix, you are still the master of your own actions. The Felix, sort of guides you, but the Imperius forces you to do something."

He got to his feet, smiling, brimming with confidence.

"He scared us a bit," Hermione confessed, grinning at her friend. "It seemed that he had morphed into a different person altogether."

"Especially with the staggering confidence," added Ron. "Harry always has had misgivings over the decisions that he takes. But, this time he was sounding absolutely confident and sure!"

"Shows how much confidence the two of you have in me!" said Harry, in a mock-hurt voice.

"Excellent," he said. "Really excellent. Right. . . I'm going down to Hagrid's."

"What?" said Ron and Hermione together, looking aghast.

"Hagrid's…"murmured Arthur, speculatively. "The Potion is already taking a different path instead of the one that Harry had thought out."

"I just felt that something good would come out of visiting Hagrid," said Harry. "And the feeling was really strong. You know, like I would be really sorry if I skipped visiting Hagrid's."

"Hagrid would be pleased," said Lily, approvingly. "The two of two should have gone with him…"

"Harry wanted to go by himself, "replied Ron. "And, it worked better that way." He added in an undertone.

"No, Harry — you've got to go and see Slughorn, remember?" said Hermione.

"No," said Harry confidently. "I'm going to Hagrid's; I've got a good feeling about going to Hagrid's."

"You've got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?" asked Ron, looking stunned.

"Yeah," said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. "I feel like it's the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?"

"No," said Ron and Hermione together, both looking positively alarmed now.

"We thought that he had lost his marbles," Ron muttered. "All of them."

"This is Felix Felicis, I suppose?" said Hermione anxiously, holding up the bottle to the light. "You haven't got another little bottle full of— I don't know —"

"Essence of Insanity?" suggested Ron, as Harry swung his cloak over his shoulders.

"Now that would give rise to some mess!" said Sirius, laughing hard. "Professor Slughorn won't know what hit him."

"It would be a nightmare!" Lily snapped. "And Harry would make a complete fool of himself."

"It would be a laugh," said James, offhandedly. "And there's no harm in making a fool out of yourself once in a while."

"You will obviously think so…"

"Why are they even having this conversation?" Harry turned to his friends and said in an exasperated stage whisper. This made Lily cut back her retort to James' comment. Frank chuckled at the pair before continuing to read.

Harry laughed, and Ron and Hermione looked even more alarmed.

"Trust me," he said. "I know what I'm doing ... or at least" he strolled confidently to the door— "Felix does."

"Hopefully," Alice groaned. "I want to know, what on earth the Horcruxes are…and soon."

"I think you will," Harry said, smiling at the girl

He pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head and set off down the stairs, Ron and Hermione hurrying along behind him. At the foot of the stairs, Harry slid through the open door.

"What were you doing up there with her!" shrieked Lavender Brown, staring right through Harry at Ron and Hermione emerging together from the boys' dormitories. Harry heard Ron spluttering behind him as he darted across the room away from them.

"Uh ho," said Molly. "That must have looked bad."

"It was terrible," said Hermione. "And terribly embarrassing. Especially her screeching in the middle of the common room. In front of the whole Gryffindor house."

"Poor you," said Molly, sympathetically. "Though, Ron deserved it." She glared a little at her son, though it was noticeably milder. Ron pouted…once again.

Getting through the portrait hole was simple; as he approached it, Ginny and Dean came through it, and Harry was able to slip between them. As he did so, he brushed accidentally against Ginny.

"Don't push me, please, Dean," she said, sounding annoyed. ; "You're always doing that; I can get through perfectly well on my own. ..."

"That was you?" Hermione said weakly. "That one thing led to their break-up, Harry."

"It was accidental, Hermione," Harry said defensively. "I didn't mean to."

Hermione nodded. "I know that. But, it is still not very fair. Maybe you should tell Ginny." Hermione valued honesty on any relationship, so it didn't come as any surprise to Harry that she wanted him to confess to Ginny.

"I will,' said Harry, smiling at the girl. "I know it won't make a difference or anything but maybe I should tell her. She deserves to know."

The portrait swung closed behind Harry, but not before he had heard Dean make an angry retort... His feeling of elation increasing, Harry strode off through the castle. He did not have to creep along, for he met nobody on his way, but this did not surprise him in the slightest. This evening, he was the luckiest person at Hogwarts.

Why he knew that going to Hagrid's was the right thing to do, he had no idea. It was as though the potion was illuminating a few steps of the path at a time. He could not see the final destination, he could

not see where Slughorn came in, but he knew that he was going the right way to get that memory.

When he reached the entrance hall he saw that Filch had forgotten to lock the front door. Beaming, Harry threw it open and breathed in the smell of clean air and grass for a moment before walking down the steps into the dusk.

It was when he reached the bottom step that it occurred to him how very pleasant it would be to pass the vegetable patch on his walk to Hagrid's. It was not strictly on the way, but it seemed clear to Harry that this was a whim on which he should act,

"All this is sounding mightily strange," said Frank, eyeing Harry a little warily. "I don't think this Felix is very good. It seems to make you much too reliable on just your luck."

"Which is one of the many reasons why it isn't used on a regular basis," said Dumbledore. "It can make you foolhardy."

"All this wasn't mentioned in the Potions book," said Snape sounding a little indignant. "It should be. I don't think many would be deterred by just the physical side-effects. They might still be inclined to use it on a regular basis."

so he directed his feet immediately toward the vegetable patch, where he was pleased, but not altogether surprised, to find Professor Slughorn in conversation with Professor Sprout.

"It's actually working," Lily shrieked. "You found Professor Slughorn in the Greenhouse!"

Harry smiled at his mother's excitement. "It was always supposed to work, Mum," he said.

"I was a little doubtful," replied Lily, blushing deep. "Though I still don't have any inkling as to how Hagrid comes in this scenario." Frank continued with the chapter, more than eager to know how exactly the Felix Felicis worked.

Harry lurked behind a low stone wall, feeling at peace with the world and listening to their conversation.

"I do thank you for taking the time, Pomona," Slughorn was saying courteously, "most authorities agree that they are at their most efficacious if picked at twilight."

"Oh, I quite agree," said Professor Sprout warmly. "That enough for you?"

"Plenty, plenty," said Slughorn, who, Harry saw, was carrying an armful of leafy plants. "This should allow for a few leaves for each of my third years, and some to spare if anybody over-stews them. . . . Well, good evening to you and many thanks again!"

Professor Sprout headed off into the gathering darkness in the direction of her greenhouses, and Slughorn directed his steps to the spot where Harry stood, invisible. Seized with an immediate desire to reveal himself, Harry pulled off the cloak with a flourish.

Remus gasped. "You would get into trouble, Harry," he said worriedly. "You are not supposed to be outside at this hour."

"Professor Slughorn get Harry into trouble," James scoffed. "No chance in hell! And not just because of the Felix."

"Well, that's a fact," Remus agreed. "The maximum that he might get is a warning…or maybe not even that After all, the Felix is guiding him."

"Good evening, Professor."

"Merlin's beard, Harry, you made me jump," said Slughorn, stopping dead in his tracks and looking wary. "How did you get out of the castle?"

"I think Filch must've forgotten to lock the doors," said Harry cheerfully, and was delighted to see Slughorn scowl.

"I'll be reporting that man; he's more concerned about litter than proper security if you ask me. . . . But why are you out then, Harry?"

"Well, sir, it's Hagrid," said Harry, who knew that the right thing to do just now was to tell the truth. "He's pretty upset. . . But you won't tell anyone, Professor? I don't want trouble for him. ..."

"You are going to use Hagrid?" James questioned incredulously. Harry's 'Felix-induced' plan was becoming clearer to him. "That's not very…very…I don't know…Doesn't sound good."

"It was for a good cause," said Harry defensively. "Hagrid wouldn't have minded."

"And I don't think Harry really had too big a control over what was happening," Hermione added. "And he was almost desperate to get that memory." James nodded, satisfied with the explanation.

Slughorn's curiosity was evidently aroused. "Well, I can't promise that," he said gruffly. "But I know that Dumbledore trusts Hagrid to the hilt, so I'm sure he can't be up to anything very dreadful. . ."

"Well, it's this giant spider; he's had it for years. ... It lived in the forest. ... It could talk and everything —"

"I heard rumors there were acromantulas in the forest," said Slughorn softly, looking over at the mass of black trees. "It's true, then?"

"Yes," said Harry. "But this one, Aragog, the first one Hagrid ever got, it died last night. He's devastated. He wants company while he buries it and I said I'd go."

"Touching, touching," said Slughorn absentmindedly, his large droopy eyes fixed upon the distant lights of Hagrid's cabin. "But acromantula venom is very valuable ... If the beast only just died it might not yet have dried out. . . .

"I can see his point of view," said Snape dryly. "Acromantula venom is almost priceless for Potioneers. And some free venom would be like landing with a treasure."

"But, that's just selfish," snapped Lily. "Hagrid has just lost his pet and how can he just think of Acromantula Venom?"

"He is just noting his own benefits, Lils," said Snape frowning at his friend. "And it is a bit difficult to feel too deeply about a dead Acromantula."

"Typical Slytherin," Lily grumbled, glaring at her friend. Snape smirked at

her, not even slightly offended. Lily had used this insult much too often in

the past. Or to be precise, she had used it every time Snape had disagreed

with her for some reason. And Snape knew very well that she did not even mean it as an insult; it was just a comeback she always reserved for him.

At least that's something she reserves just for me, Snape thought bitterly,watching Lily lean up against James and smile at him. But, he could not bring himself to resent their relationship; not when Lily was looked so happy. And so proud of having a son like Harry…Snape broke out of his fore brooding and concentrated (tried to at least) on the chapter.

Of course, I wouldn't want to do anything insensitive if Hagrid is upset. . . but if there was any way to procure some ... I mean, it's almost impossible to get venom from an acromantula while it's alive. ..."

"Professor Slughorn was not really being insensitive," James pointed out to Lily. Lily huffed and did not reply.

Slughorn seemed to be talking more to himself than Harry now. ". . .

seems an awful waste not to collect it... might get a hundred Galleons a pint. ... To be frank, my salary is not large. . . ."

And now Harry saw clearly what was to be done. "Well," he said, with a most convincing hesitancy, "well, if you wanted to come, Professor, Hagrid would probably be really pleased. . . . Give Aragog a better send-off, you know ..."

"Yes, of course," said Slughorn, his eyes now gleaming with enthusiasm. "I tell you what, Harry, I'll meet you down there with a bottle or two. . . . We'll drink the poor beast's — well — not health — but we'll send it off in style, anyway, once it's buried. And I'll change my tie; this one is a little exuberant for the occasion. . . ."

He bustled back into the castle, and Harry sped off to Hagrid's, delighted with himself.

"Yeh came," croaked Hagrid, when he opened the door and saw Harry emerging from the Invisibility Cloak in front of him.

"Oh! Poor dear," fretted Molly. "He sure sounds heartbroken."

"Much like when he was about to send Norbert away," reflected Ron. "Though, even till this date I can't bring myself to accept how some can present a Teddy Bear to a vicious Dragon!"

"Yeh," agreed Harry. "It was somehow even weirder than having an Acromantula as a pet. At least he acknowledged that Acromantulas are dangerous. Except for Aragog, that is." Ron grimaced, remembering their experience with Acromantulas during their second year. That one still gave him nightmares.

"Yeah — Ron and Hermione couldn't, though," said Harry. "They're really sorry."

"Don — don matter . . . He'd've bin touched yeh're here, though, Harry. . ."

Hagrid gave a great sob. He had made himself a black armband out of what looked like a rag dipped in boot polish, and his eyes were puffy, red, and swollen. Harry patted him consolingly on the elbow, which was the highest point of Hagrid he could easily reach.

"Poor Harry can't help being scrawny and undersized," teased Ron. "At least he can reach till Hagrid's elbow."

Harry took a swipe at Ron's head but missed it. "I can't help being scrawny, idiot," he murmured sulkily. "Staying in a cupboard didn't help."

Ron smirked. Though Hermione did give Harry a comforting hug. "Don't try that guilt trip here, Harry," he said. "It won't work. Not after we have met your father. You are genetically scrawny."

Harry threw an annoyed glare at James, obviously blaming him for his own scrawny physique. "Can we please stop discussing about my body build?" he snapped. "I am sure it has nothing to do with Horcruxes. Continue with the chapter, Frank. Please. And stop smirking like an idiot, Ron." Ron obviously did not heed his words though Frank did continue with the chapter.

"Where are we burying him?" he asked. "The forest?"

"Blimey, no," said Hagrid, wiping his streaming eyes on the bottom of his shirt. "The other spiders won' let me anywhere near their webs now Aragog's gone. Turns out it was only on his orders they didn' eat me! Can yeh believe that, Harry?"

"We can!" was the unison chorus in the room.

"But it must have been a shock for Hagrid," reasoned Alice, looking glum. Her love for Herbology had often led her to have extensive conversations

with Hagrid, who was the most knowledgeable about the forest. She could almost relate to Hagrid's loss. "He loves all the creatures so much."

"If he could he would probably adopt the whole forest," commented Arthur. "Maybe, except for the Centaurs. I don't think he is much too fond of them."

The honest answer was "yes"; Harry recalled with painful ease the scene when he and Ron had come face-to-face with the acromantulas. They had been quite clear that Aragog was the only thing that stopped them from eating Hagrid.

"Never bin an area o' the forest I couldn' go before!" said Hagrid, shaking his head. "It wasn' easy, gettin' Aragog's body out o' there, I can tell yeh — they usually eat their dead, see. . . . But I wanted ter give 'im a nice burial... a proper send-off. . ."

"That is understandable," remarked Snape. "No one would want their pets eaten after they died."

"Gross!" Molly murmured, shuddering a little.

He broke into sobs again and Harry resumed the patting of his elbow, saying as he did so (for the potion seemed to indicate that it was the right thing to do), "Professor Slughorn met me coming down here, Hagrid."

"Not in trouble, are yeh?" said Hagrid, looking up, alarmed. "Yeh shouldn' be outta the castle in the evenin', I know it, it's my fault —"

"No, no, when he heard what I was doing he said he'd like to come and pay his last respects to Aragog too," said Harry. "He's gone to change into something more suitable, I think…and he said he'd bring some bottles so we can drink to Aragog's memory…"

"You are not going to drink, Harry," Lily said sternly. "Though I don't think Professor Slughorn will let you cross your limits or something."

Harry sniggered softly. After all, Professor Slughorn wasn't much in control over anything that night. Not after drinking himself to stupor…

"Did he?" said Hagrid, looking both astonished and touched. "Tha's

— tha's righ' nice of him, that is, an' not turnin' yeh in either. I've never really had a lot ter do with Horace Slughorn before. .. . Comin'

ter see old Aragog off, though, eh? Well . . . he'd've liked that, Aragog would. . . ."

Harry thought privately that what Aragog would have liked most about Slughorn was the ample amount of edible flesh he provided, but he merely moved to the rear window of Hagrid's hut, where he saw the rather horrible sight of the enormous dead spider lying on its back outside, its legs curled and tangled.

"Thank goodness I didn't go then," murmured Ron grimacing violently at the description. "That's just sick!"

"What else did you expect at an Acromantula's funeral, Ronald?" Hermione snapped. "There has to be a dead body for a funeral to take place."

"I have to be as thick as anything to not know that, Mione," said Ron in an affronted voice. "But that doesn't mean that I have to like that. I am just grateful that I didn't go."

"Are we going to bury him here, Hagrid, in your garden?"

"Jus' beyond the pumpkin patch, I thought," said Hagrid in a choked voice. "I've already dug the — yeh know — grave. Jus' thought we'd say a few nice things over him — happy memories, yeh know —"

His voice quivered and broke. There was a knock on the door, and he turned to answer it, blowing his nose on his great spotted handkerchief as he did so. Slughorn hurried over the threshold, several bottles in his arms, and wearing a somber black cravat.

"Hagrid," he said, in a deep, grave voice. "So very sorry to hear of your loss."

"Tha's very nice of yeh," said Hagrid. "Thanks a lot. An' thanks fer not givin Harry detention neither. . .."

"That would have been a sight," said Sirius smirking. "Slughorn giving a detention to Harry would be like Severus assigning one to Malfoy Jr."

"Hey!" protested both Harry and Severus in an annoyed voice, though no one really paid heed. After all, all Sirius did was point out the truth. Both Harry and Draco did receive some partial treatment from Slughorn and Snape.

"Wouldn't have dreamed of it," said Slughorn. "Sad night, sad night. . . Where is the poor creature?"

"Out here," said Hagrid in a shaking voice. "Shall we — shall we do it, then?"

The three of them stepped out into the back garden. The moon was glistening palely through the trees now, and its rays mingled with the light spilling from Hagrid's window to illuminate Aragog's body lying on the edge of a massive pit beside a ten-foot- high mound of freshly dug earth.

"Magnificent," said Slughorn, approaching the spiders head, where eight milky eyes stared blankly at the sky and two huge, curved pincers shone, motionless, in the moonlight. Harry thought he heard the tinkle of bottles as Slughorn bent over the pincers, apparently examining the enormous hairy head.

"Hagrid didn't notice?" Arthur queried.

Harry shook his head. "No, he didn't," he said. "He was much too distraught to notice anything at all. And Professor Slughorn knew it."

"Just don't know how he managed to actually recover the poison from its pinchers," said Ron, shuddering. "Even the thought seems gross."

"It's not ev'ryone appreciates how beau'iful they are' said Hagrid to Slughorn's back, tears leaking from the corners of his crinkled eyes. "I didn' know yeh were interested in creatures like Aragog, Horace."

"He is interested in their by-products," stated Remus, smirking slightly. "Not really the same thing!"

"Interested? My dear Hagrid, I revere them," said Slughorn, stepping back from the body. Harry saw the glint ofa bottle disappear beneath his cloak, though Hagrid, mopping his eyes once more, noticed nothing. "Now . . . shall we proceed to the burial?"

Hagrid nodded and moved forward. He heaved the gigantic spider into his arms and, with an enormous grunt, rolled it into the dark pit. It hit the bottom with a rather horrible, crunchy thud. Hagrid started to cry again.

"Of course, it's difficult for you, who knew him best," said Slughorn, who like Harry could reach no higher than Hagrid's elbow, but patted it all the same. "Why don't I say a few words?"

He must have got a lot of good quality venom from Aragog, Harry thought, for Slughorn wore a satisfied smirk as he stepped up to the rim of the pit and said, in a slow, impressive voice, "Farewell, Aragog, king of arachnids, whose long and faithful friendship those who knew you won't forget! Though your body will decay, your spirit lingers on in the quiet, web-spun places of your forest home. May your many-eyed descendants ever flourish and your human friends find solace for the loss they have sustained."

"Wow, nice speech," Molly mumbled. "Makes you actually feel sad and all for Aragog."

"Aragog was alright," said Harry fairly. "It was his descendents…or children who were not."

"You are mental!" said Ron glaring at Harry. "That monster actually presented us on a platter to his children… He was definitely not alright!"

"Maybe he wasn't," said Harry. "But he was definitely better than the others of his lot. At least he didn't seek to satisfy his own hunger through us! We might have not been able to escape from him. Even with the car." Ron shuddered again, but did not reply.

"Tha was . . . tha was . . . beau'iful!" howled Hagrid, and he collapsed onto the compost heap, crying harder than ever.

"There, there," said Slughorn, waving his wand so that the huge pile of earth rose up and then fell, with a muffled sort of crash, onto the dead spider, forming a smooth mound. "Let's get inside and have a drink. Get on his other side, Harry. . . . That's it. ... Up you come, Hagrid . . . Well done ..."

They deposited Hagrid in a chair at the table. Fang, who had been skulking in his basket during the burial, now came padding softly across to them and put his heavy head into Harry's lap as usual.

"Awww!" Lily cooed. "Poor Fang was feeling jealous. Hagrid was probably feeling too down to pay any attention to him."

"Well, Fang is one of Hagrid's pets that is totally lovable," said Molly, smiling. She really liked that boar-hound.

"And Buckbeak!" Ron added, grinning back at his mother. "He is equally brilliant. And much more useful than Fang. Though Fang's great too."

Slughorn uncorked one of the bottles of wine he had brought.

"I have had it all tested for poison," he assured Harry, pouring most of the first bottle into one of Hagrid's bucket-sized mugs and handing it to Hagrid. "Had a house-elf taste every bottle after what happened to your poor friend Rupert."

"It's RON, not RUPERT!" Ron yelled, at the same time that Hermione screeched "WHAT?"

"How dare he use a house-elf for that?" Hermione said, her eyes flashing with anger and indignation. "If the drink is poisoned again, some elf could die!"

"Horace shouldn't really have done that," agreed Dumbledore. "He is a Potions Master; he should have just tested it against poison."

"And why didn't I get to hear about this?" Hermione demanded, turning her glare at Harry.

"I forgot…" Harry said, hoping that Hermione would buy it. But at her continued skeptical look he admitted, "I knew that you would turn mental. So I…umm…sort of skipped telling about it. Sorry." He gave her his practiced puppy-dog eyes.

"Stupid prat!" Hermione murmured, but ruffled his hair tenderly unable to ignore his pleading look. "But I a definitely having a word with Professor Slughorn!"

Harry saw, in his mind's eye, the expression on Hermione's face if she ever heard about this abuse of house elves, and decided never to mention it to her.

"One for Harry . . ." said Slughorn, dividing a second bottle between two mugs, ". . . and one for me. Well" — he raised his mug high — "to Aragog."

"Aragog," said Harry and Hagrid together. Both Slughorn and Hagrid drank deeply. Harry, however, with the way ahead illuminated for him by Felix Felicis, knew that he must not drink, so he merely pretended to take a gulp and then set the mug back on the table before him.

"Good!" murmured Lily. "You need to keep your head clean."

"One drink wouldn't have harmed him, Lily," said James in a placating voice. "He is sixteen for heaven's sake."

"Whatever," said Lily, obviously in no mood to prolong the conversation.

"I had him from an egg, yeh know," said Hagrid morosely. "'Tiny little thing he was when he hatched. 'Bout the size of a Pekingese"

"Sweet," said Slughorn.

"Used ter keep him in a cupboard up at the school until . . . well..." Hagrid's face darkened and Harry knew why: Tom Riddle had contrived to have Hagrid thrown out of school, blamed for opening the Chamber of Secrets.

"If only the creature in the Chamber was really just an Acromantula…" murmured Hermione.

"At least you can stare at them without any fear," Harry joked, grinning at the yet another incredulous look that Ron was directing at Hermione.

"And their poison is relatively less lethal!" added Sirius.

Slughorn, however, did not seem to be listening; he was looking up at the ceiling, from which a number of brass pots hung, and also a long, silky skein of bright white hair. "That's not unicorn hair, Hagrid?"

"Oh, yeah," said Hagrid indifferently. "Gets pulled out of their tails, they catch it on branches an' stuff in the forest, yeh know ..."

"But my dear chap, do you know how much that's worth?"

"Hagrid does not care about money!" James scoffed. "He hates selling anything that he finds in the forest. Especially if it has anything to do with the creatures around."

"Yup," agreed Sirius. "He just gives away the things. All you have to do is ask."

"As you all must have done so many times…" said Lily, huffily.

"Of course!" chorused the Marauders grinning cheekily and Lily was a trifle surprised on noticing Severus joining in their assent.

"I use it fer bindin' on bandages an stuff if a creature gets injured,"

said Hagrid, shrugging. "It's dead useful . . . very strong."

Slughorn took another deep draught from his mug, his eyes moving carefully around the cabin now, looking, Harry knew, for more treasures that he might be able to convert into a plentiful supply of oak-matured mead, crystallized pineapple, and velvet smoking jackets. He refilled Hagrid's mug and his own, and questioned him about the creatures that lived in the forest these days and how Hagrid was able to look after them all. Hagrid, becoming expressive under the influence of the drink and Slughorn's flattering interest stopped mopping his eyes and entered happily into a long explanation of bowtruckle husbandry.

The Felix Felicis gave Harry a little nudge at this point, and he noticed that the supply of drink that Slughorn had brought was running out fast. Harry had not yet managed to bring off the Re-filling Charm without saying the incantation aloud, but the idea that he might not be able to do it tonight was laughable: Indeed, Harry grinned to himself as, unnoticed by either Hagrid or Slughorn (now swapping tales of the illegal trade in dragon eggs) he pointed his wand under the table at the emptying bottles and they immediately began to refill.

"Impressive," said Minerva. "That means that all you need is a little more confidence in the class, to get the hang of the non-verbal spells."

"I thought that I could do it because of the effect of the Felix," said Harry, sounding confused.

"Not really," replied Minerva. "That did help you to perform the spell, but you could not have done the spell at all if your magic hadn't allowed it. All you needed was a little more concentration and confidence." Harry groaned. If he had known all this at that time, he might have got the hang of the non-verbal spells much much faster. And without beating himself up too much about it.

After an hour or so, Hagrid and Slughorn began making extravagant toasts: to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore, to elf-made wine, and to-

"Harry Potter!" bellowed Hagrid, slopping some of his fourteenth bucket of wine down his chin as he drained it.

"Yes, indeed," cried Slughorn a little thickly, "Parry Otter, the Chosen Boy Who — well — something of that sort," he mumbled, and drained his mug too.

"Parry Otter?" Ron repeated incredulously. "What a brilliant twist to a stupid name! And how come we did not get to hear about this?"

"I don't really fancy anyone taking the mickey out of me…or my name," said Harry dryly.

"And your point is…." said Ron raising an eyebrow. Harry rolled his eyes at

his friend.

Not long after this, Hagrid became tearful again and pressed the whole unicorn tail upon Slughorn, who pocketed it with cries of, "To friendship! To generosity! To ten Galleons a hair!"

And for a while after that, Hagrid and Slughorn were sitting side by side, arms around each other, singing a slow sad song about a dying wizard called Odo.

"Aaargh, the good die young," muttered Hagrid, slumping low onto the table, a little cross-eyed, while Slughorn continued to warble the refrain. "Me dad was no age ter go ... nor were yer mum' an' dad, Harry . . ."

"Oh!" Lily murmured, leaning against James and closing her eyes. She felt a pang of grief every time their deaths were mentioned. And more so because of the horrible childhood that Harry had to endure, on account of their deaths.

The atmosphere in the entire room also turned from jovial to melancholy in a moment. Frank clearly his throat anxiously and continued with the chapter.

Great fat tears oozed out of the corners of Hagrid's crinkled eyes again; he grasped Harry's arm and shook it

"Bes' wiz and witchard o' their age … I never knew... terrible thing . . . terrible thing ..."

"And Odo the hero, they bore him back home

To the place that he'd known as a lad," sang Slughorn plaintively.

"They laid him to rest with his hat inside out.

And his wand snapped in two, which was sad."

"Our…Our wands?" James asked Harry, his voice breaking slightly. "Do you know what happened to our wands?" It seemed that the song had made James think of this question.

"Buried with you," said Harry, desperately trying to steady his voice. Hermione placed a comforting arm around her friend. "I got to know from Professor McGonagall a few months back." James nodded, struggling hard to maintain his composure and not to blubber like an idiot.

". . . terrible," Hagrid grunted, and his great shaggy head rolled sideways onto his arms and he fell asleep, snoring deeply.

"Sorry," said Slughorn with a hiccup. "Can't carry a tune to save my life."

"Hagrid wasn't talking about your singing," said Harry quietly. "He was talking about my mum and dad dying."

"No, Harry," Lily said, lifting her head from James's chest and looking at her son anxiously. "Don't do that, dear. You don't have to."

Harry smiled at his mother sadly. It seemed that she had understood what Harry would take aid of, in order to gain the memory. "I had to, Mum," he murmured. "Gaining the memory was essential."

"What on earth are you two talking about?" James demanded, trying but failing to understand what Harry and Lily were conversing about.

"You will see," said Lily darkly. "Please read on Frank."

"Oh," said Slughorn, repressing a large belch. "Oh dear. Yes, that was — was terrible indeed. Terrible . . . terrible ..." He looked quite at a loss for what to say, and resorted to refilling their mugs. "I

don't — don't suppose you remember it, Harry?" he asked awkwardly.

"No — well, I was only one when they died," said Harry, his eyes on the flame of the candle flickering in Hagrid's heavy snores. "But I've found out pretty much what happened since. My dad died first. Did you know that?"

"Oh no!" moaned James, comprehension drawing on his face. "He is going to send Slughorn down the guilt trip."

"I am not that concerned about Professor Slughorn, James!" Lily snapped. "Just imagine how hard it must have been for Harry to recount our deaths…"

"I know, Lily," said James, letting out a large sigh. "I know that. But sometimes you just have to do some things for the greater good."

Out of the corner of their eyes, the Trio saw Dumbledore grimacing slightly. The phrase 'For the greater good' obviously still brought up bad memories for him. Though he himself followed that principle till the last day of his life.

"I — I didn't," said Slughorn in a hushed voice.

"Yeah . . . Voldemort murdered him and then stepped over his body toward my mum," said Harry.

"Of course," said James, tightening his arms around Lily. "I wouldn't let him get to Harry and Lily while I am alive!"

"And I actually made it easy for that lunatic to go after my Godchild," said Sirius bitterly.

"None of that, Padfoot!" James said in a mildly reprimanding tone. "You were not at fault! And don't dare to blame yourself anymore. Things are bad enough without all of us blaming ourselves too!" Sirius stuck his tongue out at James though he looked suitably chastised.

Slughorn gave a great shudder, but he did not seem able to tear his horrified gaze away from Harry's face.

"He told her to get out of the way," said Harry remorselessly. "He told me she needn't have died. He only wanted me. She could have run."

"As if!" Lily scoffed, glaring a little at Harry. "Some Mother that would make me. Running to save me life and abandoning my baby!"

"But why did Voldemort even give Lily a choice?" Remus mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. "With no offense, Lily is a Muggle-born and Voldemort positively hates that kind. He could have just killed Lily…" He turned to the Trio, obviously demanding an answer.

"Can't tell," replied Ron, sharing a hasty look with his friends. "Not yet."

"But, there is a reason?" Remus questioned again. Harry nodded at this.

"Oh dear," breathed Slughorn. "She could have . . . she needn't . . . That's awful. . . ."

"It is, isn't it?" said Harry, in a voice barely more than a whisper. "But she didn't move. Dad was already dead, but she didn't want me to go too. She tried to plead with Voldemort. . . but he just laughed..."

"That's enough!" said Slughorn suddenly, rising a shaking hand. "Really, my dear boy, enough . . . I'm an old man ... I don't need to hear ... I don't want to hear ..."

"He can't hear?" Minerva scoffed. "And what about the kid who has to recount the deaths of his parents? Just because he is so adamant about supplying a stupid memory. You should not have put Harry to his task, Albus," she added looking at the Headmaster. "This must have been terribly difficult for him to do!"

"But I was the only one who could have done it," interjected Harry before Dumbledore could reply. He didn't want Dumbledore to be blamed more than what would perhaps be strictly necessary. "And, it was alright. The Felix sort of acted like a numbing agent for the feelings too. It didn't seem like too big a deal. Not as much as it would have been normally."

"I forgot," lied Harry, Felix Felicis leading him on. "You liked her, didn't you?"

"Liked her?" said Slughorn, his eyes brimming with tears once more.

"I don't imagine anyone who met her wouldn't have liked her. . . .

Very brave . . . Very funny... It was the most horrible thing. ..."

"But you won't help her son," said Harry. "She gave me her life, but you won't give me a memory."

"Hit the nail right on the head!" Snape said. "Brilliant! There is no way that he could not give the memory to Harry."

Hagrid's rumbling snores filled the cabin. Harry looked steadily into Slughorn's tear-filled eyes. The Potions master seemed unable to look away. "Don't say that," he whispered. "It isn't a question ... If it were to help you, of course . . . but no purpose can be served . . ."

"It can," said Harry clearly. "Dumbledore needs information. I need information." He knew he was safe: Felix was telling him that Slughorn would remember nothing of this in the morning. Looking Slughorn straight in the eye, Harry leaned forward a little. "I am the Chosen One. I have to kill him. I need that memory."

"Wasn't that a little reckless, Harry?" Hermione said, worriedly. "What if he did remember all that?"

"He wouldn't have," stated Harry confidently. "He was too much under the influence of the drink and all. And he wouldn't have blabbed even if he did remember it."

Slughorn turned paler than ever; his shiny forehead gleamed with sweat. "You are the Chosen One?"

"Of course I am," said Harry calmly.

"But then . . . my dear boy . . . you're asking a great deal. . . you're asking me, in fact, to aid you in your attempt to destroy-"

"You don't want to get rid of the wizard who killed Lily Evans?'"

"Harry, Harry, of course I do, but —"

"You're scared he'll find out you helped me?"

"Of course he was afraid," said Arthur sympathetically. "Everyone is. And that's alright till he does what he should."

"I think he will," stated Lily. "Professor Slughorn is no coward! He came to Hogwarts too, didn't he? He might grumble and all but he does the right things at the end." Harry nodded, knowing that his Mother was right. After

all, Slughorn did battle Voldemort and his Death Eaters during that Final Battle even though he had grumbled in the beginning. But, he had shown his courage when he had to.

Slughorn said nothing; he looked terrified.

"Be brave like my mother, Professor. . . ."

Slughorn raised a pudgy hand and pressed his shaking fingers to his mouth; he looked for a moment like an enormously overgrown baby. "I am not proud . . ." he whispered through his fingers. "I am ashamed of what — of what that memory shows. ... I think I may have done great damage that day. ..."

"At least he can try to undo it," murmured Molly, wiping at the few tears that had escaped while hearing about Lily's and James' deaths again. "Nobody would think badly of him."

"Not when he has the guts to go against Voldemort!" said Sirius, chuckling merrily.

"You'd cancel out anything you did by giving me the memory," said Harry. "It would be a very brave and noble thing to do."

Hagrid twitched in his sleep and snored on. Slughorn and Harry stared at each other over the guttering candle. There was a long, long silence, but Felix Felicis told Harry not to break it, to wait. Then, very slowly, Slughorn put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wand. He put his other hand inside his cloak and took out a small, empty bottle. Still looking into Harry's eyes, Slughorn touched the tip of his wand to his temple and withdrew it, so that a long, silver thread of memory came away too, clinging to the wand tip. Longer and longer the memory stretched until it broke and swung, silvery bright, from the wand. Slughorn lowered it into the bottle where it coiled, then spread, swirling like gas. He corked the bottle with a trembling hand and then passed it across the table to Harry.

"He got it!" Alice exclaimed excitedly, clutching at Frank. "Finally, finally we would get to know about those stupid Horcruxes!"

"At least dishing out all that emotional crap led to something," said Frank.

"Sorry!" he added hastily on seeing the disapproving look on Minerva's face.

"Thank you very much, Professor."

"You're a good boy," said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his fat cheeks into his walrus mustache. "And you've got her eyes. . .

Just don't think too badly of me once you've seen it . . . ," And he too put his head on his arms, gave a deep sigh, and fell asleep.

"Done!" Frank announced, shutting the book with a flourish. "So, who wants to reads next?"

"Can't we take a break or something?" Harry spoke up before anyone could volunteer for the reading. "The next chapters are somehow interrelated, and we might not want to stop in between." In reality, he wanted to speak to Sirius about the Snape issue.

"But we just had lunch….Oh! Alright!" Lily grudgingly gave to the pleading

looks that her son was sending in her direction.

Harry waited till most of the others were either moving towards the dining room or towards the temporary dorms before approaching Sirius who was still lounging on his armchair. "Hey Sirius, can I have a word?" he said, taking care to keep his voice low. "There's something that I need to talk about with you."

Sirius frowned at Harry, taking note of his serious tone. "Sure Harry. But where?"

"I am sure the room can provide us with a study room of sorts…" said Ron, as he and Hermione joined Harry. True to his words, the room instantly provided them with an adjoining study room.

"Cool!" exclaimed Sirius. "Can we get over this 'talk' soon so that I can grab some snacks? Not that I don't want to talk to you, Harry…But I am hungry."

"Me too," Ron grumbled causing Harry to burst out laughing and Hermione to shake her head in exasperation.

"Sure Sirius," replied Harry. "We will try and get it over with soon."

"Harry!" whispered Hermione, grabbing hold of his hand and letting Sirius and Ron move ahead. After she was sure that they could not overhear she asked, "Do you think we should involve Snape in this conversation too?"