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Dumbledore carefully closed the small, carved box and set it safely on one of the top shelves in his cabinet, where no curious student would ever find it.
Inside it, he had enclosed a spell, the most ancient kind of magic ever created.
Three days before, he had found out the awful news of the deaths of two of the best people he had ever known. He knew the events surrounding their death were clouded with mystery, and it would be many years before the whole truth was uncovered.
He also knew that the memory of that night would haunt everyone involved for many years to come, with or without his help.
But he had seen signs of days to come, and much later in the future there was to be one Halloween night, just like the one three days ago, complete with a full moon. Hopefully there would be no deaths, but it was to be a night filled with magic...magic and memories. It would be the first time in fourteen years that was so painfully similar to the night James and Lily died. And that could only mean one thing.
Everyone involved in the death of James and Lily would be haunted by their memories, stronger than ever before. So strong, in fact, that they would be kept awake all night, and most likely sucked into them. No one knew better than Dumbledore knew how dangerous it was to be driven by horrible memories. It was what kept Voldemort strong; his evil works were fueled by his awful childhood experience and his will to gain power.
Dumbledore knew that the deaths of Lily and James was strong enough to be a painful memory that could easily drive everyone involved to do evil, if they chose to dwell on the memory. And, if something was not done, that was exactly what would happen fourteen years from now on Halloween.
So he had spent forty-eight hours straight, looking through his most ancient books for the correct spell. And at last he had found it - a spell that would lessen the painful memories of all involved.
In the normal way of things, everyone would have been kept awake for hours, delving more and more deeply into their memories until they either killed themselves, were driven insane or went on killing sprees - or worse. Dumbledore knew this could easily include himself.
But the spell he had found would lessen the effect, so the people involved would simply fall asleep and, around midnight, dream of the strongest memory in a more vivid way than ever before. They would wake, wonder what it was all about, then fall back into a dreamless sleep.
The carved box would hold the magic of the night back until midnight before it would open and release it in a much milder form.
Dumbledore glanced back at his cabinet one last time before leaving his office and descending down the steps towards the Great Hall for dinner. As he went down the steps, he remembered more pressing problems of the minute. Steps turned to hours, hours turned to days, weeks, months and years that went by in their own time.
And the small, carved box lay on the highest shelf of Dumbledore's cabinet, unseen and forgotten.
Albus Dumbledore's ice blue eyes opened to meet the bright sunshine that was to characterize November 1st. He blinked once, slowly, as the memory of his dreams came back to him. A small smile lit his face as he climbed out of bed and walked towards his cabinet.
There it was, on the very highest shelf. He had to reach to get it. As Dumbledore pulled the box down, he realized it was open. There, inside it, he could see the bright green crystal in which the spell had been contained. Once upon a time, it had been pure white, but the nature of the spell and memory had turned it green...no, not only green. Green with a black center, which was laced with a thin red line.
Green for Lily's and Harry's eyes. Green for snakes which were Voldemort's trademark. Green for the Dark Mark shining over their house. Green for the Killing Curse, and the flash of light that Harry remembered even when he was with the Dursleys.
Black for the night, for James' and Harry's hair, for their glasses, for the black magic done that night. Black for Sirius, black for Voldemort's heart, and for the hearts, robes, and masks of his servants. Black for the deeds Peter did, for his tainted friendship. The red vein was for the blood. Peter's blood, as he cut off his finger, and for the unshed blood of James and Lily. Red for Harry's scar, freshly made, a mark that would remind the world of what had happened that night.
As Dumbledore lifted the crystal, he could see it shining in a pearly, white, almost unearthly way, and he knew what it was for. White the full moon. White for the pure love that binds parents to their children, for the pure friendship of Remus, and Sirius, and James and Lily. And white, also, for tears. For the tears of James and Lily worrying about their son, for Remus thinking he had been betrayed, for Sirius in Azkaban and his tears of rage at Peter, for Peter's tears of fear. White for memories modified, made clean so they would not have to remember that awful night or the next day. And white for the new beginning that was made when Voldemort fell, when Harry lived and (yet to come) when Sirius was finally proven innocent.
These thoughts ran through Dumbledore's head, quick as lightning before they were gone. He knew he should wipe the crystal, destroying the deep, magical memories contained in it, but somehow he couldn't. This was ancient magic, the strongest there was. There was no use in erasing the crystal, and no harm in keeping it how it was.
He sent it to Harry instead.
And every time Harry looked at it, or touched it, he felt a strange sense of both comfort and sadness, as if his parents were near but not near enough. And yet, somehow, it made him feel better, as if everything would be all right.
There was no mistaking the love that radiated from it.
The End.
There will probably be more of this later, if I think of someone else to add.
Aaaaaaaand now, a special thanks to all my reviewers! I love you guys so much, you have no idea how excited I get every time I get a review from one of you. Thank you!
BlueRose - :) Thanks for saying that!! That made me feel really good, it was what I was trying to do with this story. I was hoping it would work, and I'm glad it did!
Cimorene - Your screen name kicks pants. AAAAAAH!! I'M ON YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS LIST!! EEEEEEEEEEEEE!! *runs around screaming and announcing this to the whole world* Someone loves me!!! YAY!! Thanks for the review! :)
Dragyn - I dunno if you've come back to read the rest of this, but thank you anyway! Thanks again for pointing out my wonderful mistake, I did fix it thanks to you. I hope you did get to read Sirius, it wasn't my favorite chapter but oh well...
Ella - short, sweet, and to the point. Two words for you: THANK YOU!
lightning bug - Just let me say...I LOVE YOUR SCREEN NAME!! *ahem* okay, now what else? I wrote more, obviously. I think maybe you'll see who else there is to write for. And if you haven't, oh well. I'm glad you reviewed anyway.
Lyra - I did continue! I hope you read it, and I'm glad you liked it. Does that make any sense at all? :)
norafran31 - I didn't think I was gonna write more for a while, but this chapter just had to be done. Maybe if I think of something later I will write more. Until then...THANKS FOR REVIEWING!
Katameran - AAAAAAAAAAAH!!! YAY!! *runs around screaming KATAMERAN LIKED MY STORY!! KATAMERAN LIKED MY STORY!!!* You're welcome for reviewing Broken Trust!! I love that story, have you updated? *runs off to see...gets lazy on the way and decides to look later* Buuuut anyway, thank YOU for reviewing!
Kaylin - Dude, cool, I gave someone goosebumps. Especially you!! Did you know you wrote one of my favorite stories in the whole world?!! James's Face and Lily's Eyes, that is the one of BEST stories portraying Peter that I've ever read. It really makes me feel fuzzy and cool when one of my favorite authors reviews!! THANK YOU!!!
Kiara5542 - awwwwwww...yayes, Voldemort sucks. Thanks for the review and the comments!! *gets all weepy all of a sudden* I LOVE YOU!! No, not like that...:)
Shayla - awwwwwwwww!! I made someone cry!!! *sniff* I can't believe it. Now you're gonna make ME cry!! I'm glad I'm not the only one wondering about the mystery of what on earth a HP author fic is. Maybe I'll email ff.net about it...if I do, I'll be sure to tell you what the hell it is!
SimonJumper - awwwwww...thanks! But, at the risk of being modest, I really didn't do much. I just wrote it how it was...or I how I think it was. Thanks for letting me know I did a good job!
Tarawen - let me just say, I LOVE all your reviews. Thank you a million times for reviewing every chapter. I always look forward to reading what you have to say! It's always so insightful and intelligent (whoa, big words, I'm getting dizzy...it's summer, my brain doesn't work too good). Thankyouthankyouthankyou...never mind. But anyway, you're one of the best authors I know and I hope you keep writing more.
WingedWolf - STOP CHANGING YOUR SCREEN NAME!! IT CONFUSES ME!!! but, anyway... Thbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt!! You have a dream about Voldemort being evil and scary and then we'll see if you still make fun of me!!