Reluctance Part 29
Hey ho! The second last part, please enjoy.
Oh man! I'm so tired. I had to be up @ 6:45 today for my first swim practice of the year ( I'm a competitive swimmer) but because of daylight's savings time, to my body it felt like 5:45. What made it worse was for and April fools joke, the coaches showed up a half an hour late. So me and my friend Caite had to coach the little kids? Way to start a day, huh? It's now 9:35... but it feels like 8:35..... I got cheated out of an hour of sleep!!!!!
Okay so to the story.
And they lived happily ever after, the end.
I'm Kidding, April Fools.
Cornelius fudge opened the letter.
Minister of Magic,
Professor Albus Dumbledore requests that a Dementor be sent to Hogwarts immediately. Will please be so kind as to accompany it to the castle.
This is an urgent matter, please do not delay.
Arabella Figg
"Is this some sort of joke? Why does he want a Dementor on the school grounds now? I swear, he's gone batty..."
He grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire.
"Headmaster's office, Hogwarts." He stepped into the fire.
Albus, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, stepping out into the office and dusting himself off. Dumbledore and Arabella were sitting in the chairs, sipping tea.
"What do you mean, Cornelius?"
"Why do you want a Dementor on the grounds?"
"Cornelius, are you aware of the situation with Harry, of late?"
"What has happened now?"
"He's lost his memory." Said Arabella.
"What?"
"Yes. And we need Dementors to restore his memory."
"Why?"
"Ron lost his memory too, but it was restored with the spell. It had no effect on Harry. We've searched and searched, and concluded that Dementors are the only way."
"But why Dementors?"
"In simple amnesia, memory is usually restored by a trigger. Something that strongly reminds that person of their past. The dementors feed on despair and bad memories, brings them back. What's Harry's worst memory?"
"I guess when his parents were killed."
"Exactly."
The Minister sighed. "As always, Albus, I give you considerable free reign. You should have had this job, not me... but honestly, there comes a point... fine. I will bring a Dementor. But if it does not work, it's not my fault."
"How soon can you get it here?"
"By eight this evening."
"Good evening Minister."
"You too Albus, Ms. Figg."
He stepped into the fire and disappeared.
"Honestly, Albus" said Arabella. "He's right. You should have had that job. You would do whole hell of a lot more good than him."
Dumbledore smiled. "Alas, my dear, he sends me owl after owl asking for advice. I might as well be the Minister. But I just couldn't bear part with the school.... And besides it has its advantages. He often doesn't dare oppose me in some things."
Arabella laughed. "Well, yes I guess it does have some advantages. Thank you for the tea. I'm going to find Sirius, maybe check on Harry."
"Your welcome, my dear. I think you'll find Sirius at Harry's bedside."
She nodded, and with a smile, left the office.
********************************************************************************
********"Come on Padfoot, hurry up!"
"Prongs, slow down, we're not going to get caught."
"We just bewitched Snape so that he turns green every time he says the words Slitherin or Proffesor. Of course we're going to get caught!"
"Yeah, but we won't get in too much trouble... Dumbledore knows he deserves it."
James finally slowed down as they approached the portrait hole. They muttered the password and went in.
"What have you too been up to?" Lily asked, slipping her arms around James' waist. "I can tell it's nothing good."
"No! It's brilliant! We bewitched Snape so he turns green for an hour every time he says the words Professor and Slitherin."
Lily couldn't refrain from giggling. "You've done it again." She paused. "Where's Remus?"
"Hospital wing. I swear, being a werewolf comes with some major downfalls."
"No kidding." Said Lily. "How long until the next full moon?"
"Three days." Said James, eyes twinkling.
"I know I can't stop you, but be careful..."
"Lil" said Sirius, "Relax..."
"Yeah we'll be fine." James said, giving her a kiss.
"We always are!" Sirius laughed as Peter came up to meet them. *******
Sirius snapped out of the memory there. Peter would ruin it... he seemed to ruin everything else. He looked back down at Harry. He slept on peacefully, oblivious to Sirius wandering mind, or anything else for that matter.
Someone slipped their arms around his shoulders. Arabella.
"Hey" she said.
"Hey."
"Come take a walk?"
He sighed. "Yeah, I guess."
They left the hospital wings and went out on to the grounds.
"Let's walk around the lake."
"You know," said Sirius. "I was thinking. Remember that time James and I bewitched Snape so that he flashed green every time he said certain words?"
"Yeah" said Arabella, giggling.
"Well, I was thinking back to then, and what happened after, and then Peter came in and it totally ruined it." He sighed. "I hate it. I don't want to remember him... he did this, all of this..."
"Sirius, you will never not remember. Peter is a part of your past, he was one of your best friends... no matter how much you hate him now, for what he did, you didn't hate him then. You could have never known. Just remember him as a friend, like he was back then."
"How Arabella, how? He sent me to Azkaban for twelve years. He's dead now, but it doesn't matter. He'll always be there. A mistake, something I couldn't prevent..."
"Forgive him. Though in reality, you may never be able to do something, try to make yourself believe. Or just remember, he's dead now, it doesn't matter."
He paused, then said "Thank you. Seriously Arabella I-"
"A long time ago, I didn't think you could be serious."
"Did I surprise you?"
She shook her head.
"But Bella, I, all that time, while I was in Azkaban, all I could think of was, what does she think of me now? Does she hate me, is she disappointed, did she ever cry... I hated letting you down... if I made you cry... I didn't know... I didn't know anything, except that I didn't kill James and Lily, that it was Peter..."
She pulled him into a hug. "At first, I didn't believe it. I couldn't. I knew there was no way you could've killed James and Lily. But then, they sent you to Azkaban, without a trial. I didn't know what to think.... But even Dumbledore thought you did it. He didn't want to believe, but he had to. I went to the Ministry and pleaded for them to at least give you a trial...I even went to see Albus... Eventually, I had to believe it, I didn't know what to think.... I never did believe it... I knew you could never do what Peter did, Sirius. And I was right, Sirius. I was right. You couldn't harm James. And I knew... you couldn't hurt me- deliberately. I trusted you... I still do."
They walked on in silence for a few minutes, hands clasped tightly. Arabella added, tears welling up in hers eyes,
"I trust you, but don't ever do anything like that to me again."
"I promise..." he said, pulling her into a long kiss.
********************************************************************************
Hermione and Ron were wandering around outside. Now, at least, they had hope. Dumbledore had an idea.
The two were reminiscing.
"Remember when Harry and Krum pulled us out of the lake, in the second task? And he actually took it seriously..."
"I'm sorry... nothing, of all my memories at Hogwarts, can beat the time that Moody turned Malfoy into a Ferret."
"Wait!" said Hermione. "What ever happened to Malfoy?"
Ron shrugged. "I don't know... I think they're still trying to fix him..."
"Ron!" said Hermione, giggling, look!"
She pointed out towards the lake, Sirius and Arabella we're standing there, apparently deep in conversation. Arabella wiped her eyes, and then Sirius pulled her into a kiss.
"That is no friendly kiss... Harry maybe right... he might be moving in with both of them."
Hermione laughed... "Oh if only Harry were here to see this."
"People watching?" Came a voice behind them.
They spun, and there stood Albus Dumbledore.
"Oh, Professor, well, uh, we were just taking a walk."
"It's quite alright, Miss Granger. I just came to tell you the Dementors here, I thought you would like to be present."
Their faces lit up. "Yes, we do! But, what about them?" Ron asked.
"Well," said Dumbledore, bemusedly. "I think we should interrupt them... I think they need some air."
Hermione laughed out loud. The trio walked towards them.
"Sirius" said Hermione in a mocking tone. "Don't you think you need some air?"
Sirius and Arabella pulled apart and looked at who had interrupted them. They stared for a moment, then all of them began to laugh.
"We are going to try now. I thought you guys would like to be there" Dumbledore said once they had all recovered.
They all walked back up to the castle together, and headed to the hospital wing.
Once they were all assembled, Dumbledore, Sirius, Arabella, Ron and Hermione, Cornelius entered.
"The Dementor is downstairs." He shivered.
"Bring him up." Dumbledore said.
"But are sure it's wise to have all these people expose-"
"We are armed with Chocolate" he said. "Let's get it over with!"
He nodded and left.
Arabella laughed in the uneasy silence.
"Dumbledore, he does everything you say. It's actually quite pathetic."
"No, he just knows I'm right. Wake Harry, please."
Arabella woke him with her wand.
"What's going on?" he asked, waking.
"Come here." Dumbledore said.
Harry stood up, and tottered for a moment, until he regained balance. He then walked over to the small group.
They all felt a chill as the Dementor entered.
"What is that?" Harry asked, but stopped. His eyes widened with fear, and he held his head in his hands.
********************************************************************************
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"
"Stand aside you silly girl... stand aside, now..."
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead- Not Harry! Please... have mercy... have mercy..."
Harry heard the voice inside his head, and felt the chill, it was soaking through to the bone. Who was screaming? One of the people who was standing around him?
Then it clicked. His mother was screaming. There was a Dementor. He searched in his pockets for his wand. He found it tucked into his shirt. He pulled it out and yelled,
"Expecto Patronum!"
A white stag burst out of the wand and charged at the Dementor, pinning it against the wall. I stood there for a moment, then disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
"Harry!" Sirius said, jumping forward and gathering his godson in his arms. "It worked. Oh my god, it worked. You remember!"
"What happened?" Harry asked as Sirius let him go.
"The Anam Cara snapped." Said Hermione. "You and Ron both lost your memory. Oh god Harry- you scared me..."
She ran over to him, and threw her arms around him, burrowing her face in his neck so no one else would see her tears.
He cupped her chin in his hands and brought her eyes up to meet his. He kissed her softly on the lips.
"I love you so much." She said, whispering so no one else heard.
"How could I forget?"
Okay, so that was the second last part. Kind of mushy at the end, but hey, well al luv fluff!
I will tie up some loose end in the next part, and that will be the last part. Oh... how sad... but I promise I won't get sentimental 'til the next part.
If any of you are tired of the constant monotone, boring typical fics, I have something for you.
Snitch! By Al
It's a very different story, and well written, but it is rated R, and deals with Homosexuality (Slash). It's very good, for those who aren't queasy, or uncomfortable about sexually innuendo, it's very funny. I recommend it!
~Danie
Please review! Or e-mail me!
Hey ho! The second last part, please enjoy.
Oh man! I'm so tired. I had to be up @ 6:45 today for my first swim practice of the year ( I'm a competitive swimmer) but because of daylight's savings time, to my body it felt like 5:45. What made it worse was for and April fools joke, the coaches showed up a half an hour late. So me and my friend Caite had to coach the little kids? Way to start a day, huh? It's now 9:35... but it feels like 8:35..... I got cheated out of an hour of sleep!!!!!
Okay so to the story.
And they lived happily ever after, the end.
I'm Kidding, April Fools.
Cornelius fudge opened the letter.
Minister of Magic,
Professor Albus Dumbledore requests that a Dementor be sent to Hogwarts immediately. Will please be so kind as to accompany it to the castle.
This is an urgent matter, please do not delay.
Arabella Figg
"Is this some sort of joke? Why does he want a Dementor on the school grounds now? I swear, he's gone batty..."
He grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire.
"Headmaster's office, Hogwarts." He stepped into the fire.
Albus, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, stepping out into the office and dusting himself off. Dumbledore and Arabella were sitting in the chairs, sipping tea.
"What do you mean, Cornelius?"
"Why do you want a Dementor on the grounds?"
"Cornelius, are you aware of the situation with Harry, of late?"
"What has happened now?"
"He's lost his memory." Said Arabella.
"What?"
"Yes. And we need Dementors to restore his memory."
"Why?"
"Ron lost his memory too, but it was restored with the spell. It had no effect on Harry. We've searched and searched, and concluded that Dementors are the only way."
"But why Dementors?"
"In simple amnesia, memory is usually restored by a trigger. Something that strongly reminds that person of their past. The dementors feed on despair and bad memories, brings them back. What's Harry's worst memory?"
"I guess when his parents were killed."
"Exactly."
The Minister sighed. "As always, Albus, I give you considerable free reign. You should have had this job, not me... but honestly, there comes a point... fine. I will bring a Dementor. But if it does not work, it's not my fault."
"How soon can you get it here?"
"By eight this evening."
"Good evening Minister."
"You too Albus, Ms. Figg."
He stepped into the fire and disappeared.
"Honestly, Albus" said Arabella. "He's right. You should have had that job. You would do whole hell of a lot more good than him."
Dumbledore smiled. "Alas, my dear, he sends me owl after owl asking for advice. I might as well be the Minister. But I just couldn't bear part with the school.... And besides it has its advantages. He often doesn't dare oppose me in some things."
Arabella laughed. "Well, yes I guess it does have some advantages. Thank you for the tea. I'm going to find Sirius, maybe check on Harry."
"Your welcome, my dear. I think you'll find Sirius at Harry's bedside."
She nodded, and with a smile, left the office.
********************************************************************************
********"Come on Padfoot, hurry up!"
"Prongs, slow down, we're not going to get caught."
"We just bewitched Snape so that he turns green every time he says the words Slitherin or Proffesor. Of course we're going to get caught!"
"Yeah, but we won't get in too much trouble... Dumbledore knows he deserves it."
James finally slowed down as they approached the portrait hole. They muttered the password and went in.
"What have you too been up to?" Lily asked, slipping her arms around James' waist. "I can tell it's nothing good."
"No! It's brilliant! We bewitched Snape so he turns green for an hour every time he says the words Professor and Slitherin."
Lily couldn't refrain from giggling. "You've done it again." She paused. "Where's Remus?"
"Hospital wing. I swear, being a werewolf comes with some major downfalls."
"No kidding." Said Lily. "How long until the next full moon?"
"Three days." Said James, eyes twinkling.
"I know I can't stop you, but be careful..."
"Lil" said Sirius, "Relax..."
"Yeah we'll be fine." James said, giving her a kiss.
"We always are!" Sirius laughed as Peter came up to meet them. *******
Sirius snapped out of the memory there. Peter would ruin it... he seemed to ruin everything else. He looked back down at Harry. He slept on peacefully, oblivious to Sirius wandering mind, or anything else for that matter.
Someone slipped their arms around his shoulders. Arabella.
"Hey" she said.
"Hey."
"Come take a walk?"
He sighed. "Yeah, I guess."
They left the hospital wings and went out on to the grounds.
"Let's walk around the lake."
"You know," said Sirius. "I was thinking. Remember that time James and I bewitched Snape so that he flashed green every time he said certain words?"
"Yeah" said Arabella, giggling.
"Well, I was thinking back to then, and what happened after, and then Peter came in and it totally ruined it." He sighed. "I hate it. I don't want to remember him... he did this, all of this..."
"Sirius, you will never not remember. Peter is a part of your past, he was one of your best friends... no matter how much you hate him now, for what he did, you didn't hate him then. You could have never known. Just remember him as a friend, like he was back then."
"How Arabella, how? He sent me to Azkaban for twelve years. He's dead now, but it doesn't matter. He'll always be there. A mistake, something I couldn't prevent..."
"Forgive him. Though in reality, you may never be able to do something, try to make yourself believe. Or just remember, he's dead now, it doesn't matter."
He paused, then said "Thank you. Seriously Arabella I-"
"A long time ago, I didn't think you could be serious."
"Did I surprise you?"
She shook her head.
"But Bella, I, all that time, while I was in Azkaban, all I could think of was, what does she think of me now? Does she hate me, is she disappointed, did she ever cry... I hated letting you down... if I made you cry... I didn't know... I didn't know anything, except that I didn't kill James and Lily, that it was Peter..."
She pulled him into a hug. "At first, I didn't believe it. I couldn't. I knew there was no way you could've killed James and Lily. But then, they sent you to Azkaban, without a trial. I didn't know what to think.... But even Dumbledore thought you did it. He didn't want to believe, but he had to. I went to the Ministry and pleaded for them to at least give you a trial...I even went to see Albus... Eventually, I had to believe it, I didn't know what to think.... I never did believe it... I knew you could never do what Peter did, Sirius. And I was right, Sirius. I was right. You couldn't harm James. And I knew... you couldn't hurt me- deliberately. I trusted you... I still do."
They walked on in silence for a few minutes, hands clasped tightly. Arabella added, tears welling up in hers eyes,
"I trust you, but don't ever do anything like that to me again."
"I promise..." he said, pulling her into a long kiss.
********************************************************************************
Hermione and Ron were wandering around outside. Now, at least, they had hope. Dumbledore had an idea.
The two were reminiscing.
"Remember when Harry and Krum pulled us out of the lake, in the second task? And he actually took it seriously..."
"I'm sorry... nothing, of all my memories at Hogwarts, can beat the time that Moody turned Malfoy into a Ferret."
"Wait!" said Hermione. "What ever happened to Malfoy?"
Ron shrugged. "I don't know... I think they're still trying to fix him..."
"Ron!" said Hermione, giggling, look!"
She pointed out towards the lake, Sirius and Arabella we're standing there, apparently deep in conversation. Arabella wiped her eyes, and then Sirius pulled her into a kiss.
"That is no friendly kiss... Harry maybe right... he might be moving in with both of them."
Hermione laughed... "Oh if only Harry were here to see this."
"People watching?" Came a voice behind them.
They spun, and there stood Albus Dumbledore.
"Oh, Professor, well, uh, we were just taking a walk."
"It's quite alright, Miss Granger. I just came to tell you the Dementors here, I thought you would like to be present."
Their faces lit up. "Yes, we do! But, what about them?" Ron asked.
"Well," said Dumbledore, bemusedly. "I think we should interrupt them... I think they need some air."
Hermione laughed out loud. The trio walked towards them.
"Sirius" said Hermione in a mocking tone. "Don't you think you need some air?"
Sirius and Arabella pulled apart and looked at who had interrupted them. They stared for a moment, then all of them began to laugh.
"We are going to try now. I thought you guys would like to be there" Dumbledore said once they had all recovered.
They all walked back up to the castle together, and headed to the hospital wing.
Once they were all assembled, Dumbledore, Sirius, Arabella, Ron and Hermione, Cornelius entered.
"The Dementor is downstairs." He shivered.
"Bring him up." Dumbledore said.
"But are sure it's wise to have all these people expose-"
"We are armed with Chocolate" he said. "Let's get it over with!"
He nodded and left.
Arabella laughed in the uneasy silence.
"Dumbledore, he does everything you say. It's actually quite pathetic."
"No, he just knows I'm right. Wake Harry, please."
Arabella woke him with her wand.
"What's going on?" he asked, waking.
"Come here." Dumbledore said.
Harry stood up, and tottered for a moment, until he regained balance. He then walked over to the small group.
They all felt a chill as the Dementor entered.
"What is that?" Harry asked, but stopped. His eyes widened with fear, and he held his head in his hands.
********************************************************************************
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"
"Stand aside you silly girl... stand aside, now..."
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead- Not Harry! Please... have mercy... have mercy..."
Harry heard the voice inside his head, and felt the chill, it was soaking through to the bone. Who was screaming? One of the people who was standing around him?
Then it clicked. His mother was screaming. There was a Dementor. He searched in his pockets for his wand. He found it tucked into his shirt. He pulled it out and yelled,
"Expecto Patronum!"
A white stag burst out of the wand and charged at the Dementor, pinning it against the wall. I stood there for a moment, then disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
"Harry!" Sirius said, jumping forward and gathering his godson in his arms. "It worked. Oh my god, it worked. You remember!"
"What happened?" Harry asked as Sirius let him go.
"The Anam Cara snapped." Said Hermione. "You and Ron both lost your memory. Oh god Harry- you scared me..."
She ran over to him, and threw her arms around him, burrowing her face in his neck so no one else would see her tears.
He cupped her chin in his hands and brought her eyes up to meet his. He kissed her softly on the lips.
"I love you so much." She said, whispering so no one else heard.
"How could I forget?"
Okay, so that was the second last part. Kind of mushy at the end, but hey, well al luv fluff!
I will tie up some loose end in the next part, and that will be the last part. Oh... how sad... but I promise I won't get sentimental 'til the next part.
If any of you are tired of the constant monotone, boring typical fics, I have something for you.
Snitch! By Al
It's a very different story, and well written, but it is rated R, and deals with Homosexuality (Slash). It's very good, for those who aren't queasy, or uncomfortable about sexually innuendo, it's very funny. I recommend it!
~Danie
Please review! Or e-mail me!