July 10, 2003
Updated July 14, 2003
Harry Potter's Pensieve: Finding Sirius
Chapter 3: Birthday Wishes
Harry awoke the next day, in his sopping wet bed, to the sound of tapping at his window. The sun had come out and the sky was a clear blue, with no indication whatsoever that a mighty thunderstorm had blown through the neighborhood just a few hours before. The birds on the tree outside his window seemed to be making an enormous racket, and his head was still pounding from staying up late the night before, so he walked grumpily over to the window to see what was making such an obnoxious noise. What he saw made him gape in surprise. In fact, he was so astonished that it took him a few seconds before he finally realized that his mouth was still hanging open.
Outside, on the tree beside his window, were dozens of owls, all carrying packages covered in brightly wrapped paper. Harry was surprised that nobody else in his neighborhood had noticed this odd occurrence, but he was glad since no one was supposed to know about the wizarding world and this event would most likely be very suspicious to normal Muggles. He breathed a sigh of relief that the Dursleys were not up yet, but his belief was proven wrong when, just a second later, the shrill screech of his Aunt Petunia rattled the windowpanes. "VERNON! Vernon, you will not BELIEVE what the boy had the nerve to do!" And then, a moment later, his uncle Vernon's thunderous voice joined the ear-splitting yells of his aunt. "THOSE RUDDY OWLS!!!! HARRY! WHAT on earth are you doing up there!!!"
Harry gulped as he surveyed the owls outside, then, feeling that it couldn't be any worse than it already was, opened the window and shooed the owls inside. Owl after owl rushed into his room and perched everywhere: on his drawers, on his desk, on his bed…and even on his head! He gave a sigh of relief when the last owl flew in, then closed the window and surveyed the group. His own snowy owl, Hedwig, flew over and landed on his shoulder, giving him an affectionate nip on his ear. Harry still stared at the owls in amazement. He had never had so many letters before in his life! Most of the owls also carried parcels. There was one package in particular that Harry's eyes landed on instantly. It was held up by a group of four owls, which were apparently very tired from their journey since they decided to flop down in unison on his bed.
Harry walked over to the bed and quickly untied the package from the owls' legs. The parcel was thickly wrapped in brown wrapping paper and was tied up crudely with a piece of knotted string. Harry could not contain his curiosity as he hastily unwrapped the present. What was underneath those layers and layers of brown paper? The package didn't even come with a letter or card, he noted quickly. Finally, he removed the final sheet of brown paper and found, to his amazement, a beautiful silver-colored box, along with a note. He opened the note first, while sneaking brief glances at the mysterious box, which now showed a picture of a silver unicorn galloping around in a meadow.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I really hope you like the present Ron and I got you! Well, it was Professor Dumbledore who actually bought the present (we couldn't go anywhere!). However, I first had the idea after I read about it in a book and Professor Dumbledore thought it was a good plan! Ron was the one who asked everybody for their memories! But, in case you haven't figured it out yet, why don't you take a look inside the box? Professor Dumbledore put an Unbreakable Charm on the box so that we wouldn't have to worry about it being broken! We stored some of our memories in there so that we could give you a personal welcome!
Love,
Hermione
Harry was perplexed by this cryptic message, but decided that, since it was from Hermione and Ron, the present couldn't be that dangerous. He slowly lifted the cover of the box off and gasped in surprise as he saw what was beneath it. A silvery light enveloped him as he stared down at his very own Pensieve. Then, remembering Hermione's message, he cautiously stuck a finger into the silvery white substance and was rapidly jerked into the contents of the shallow stone basin.
The transition happened just like the last two times he had been sucked into a Pensieve. He was thrown into the icy-cold darkness, but, just as suddenly as he had tumbled in, he came to a halt inside the very familiar surroundings of 12 Grimmauld Place. His heart gave a lurch as he remembered the house that Sirius used to live in. He did not want to be back here…he did not want to face these memories again.
"Hello Harry!"
Harry jumped in surprise as he heard his name. He turned around to see the members of the Order of the Phoenix waving energetically at him. They were seated around a large rectangular dining table, which was overflowing with wrapping paper and presents. It seemed like a tornado had hit, since there were bits and chunks of wrapping paper flying across the room as the people at the table feverishly worked on wrapping their presents. Harry had to duck as a particularly large wad of paper came flying his way.
Hermione, who was in the center of the group, had started talking again. "Well, since you're here, I suppose you would like to know what in the world we're doing! And also, please sit in the chair over there, just in front of the fire, so that at least I can pretend I'm talking to you!"
Harry spied the chair and gingerly settled himself in it. However, he had an unsettling feeling that, although it was only a memory, Hermione seemed to be looking directly at him. So, instead of staying in the chair, he walked over to the table to see what the other people were up to and to avoid being under Hermione's gaze. She continued, still staring at the chair that Harry no longer occupied, "Well, as you can see, we're preparing for your birthday! We just wanted you to have a special day, and we're also making up for the fact that we weren't too helpful last summer…. So anyway, we recruited some of the members of the Order who wanted to help out!"
At this, Ron, who was standing beside her, gave a groan and muttered, "When are you going to get to the point, Hermione?"
Hermione flushed and said vehemently, "I was just getting to it! So, after reading about the Pensieve in one of my books, I thought that it would be a great gift for you since it stores all your memories in a convenient place! That way, if you have any more dreams, you can just place it in there and not have to worry about forgetting about it! Also, I spoke to Professor Dumbledore. He comes around here once in a while, so I asked him how the Pensieve worked. He said that you would be able to store all your bad memories in there and erase them from your mind. For the good memories, however, the Pensieve only makes a copy of the memory! Isn't that great? That way, if a Dementor ever gets near you again, it won't have any power over you because you will only have the good memories left. Professor Dumbledore also cast this incredibly difficult spell on the Pensieve so that other people could contribute to it. That's how we were able to fit this memory inside it! However, you will be the only person who can see inside the Pensieve, unless of course, you bring us along! Anyway, we did that because we didn't want other people to sneak inside it and see your thoughts."
At this, Harry was strongly reminded of his last two encounters inside the Pensieve. Both times, he had "snuck" into them while the owners (in his case, Dumbledore and Snape) were away.
Hermione had stopped talking and instead, turned around to the people at the table, who broke into a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Harry, Happy Birthday to you!!!"
Harry, who had never had a song dedicated to him before, felt a surge of gratitude toward Hermione, Ron, and the members of the Order. Despite living almost his whole entire life with people who wouldn't hesitate to get rid of him, despite having his family killed before his own eyes, and despite everything that had happened to him so far, he had found the best friends that he could ever have. Their unwavering support and loyalty had helped him overcome all the obstacles in his life and kept him smiling through his tears. Even though he knew they wouldn't hear him, he quietly whispered, "Thank you…for everything."
As Hermione's memory came to an end, Harry felt himself rising up slowly from the floor. 12 Grimmauld Place was quickly evaporating into thin air as the living room succumbed to the darkness. Harry was once again plunged into the icy cold shadows and within seconds, tumbled out of the Pensieve feeling as though he had just walked out of the freezer. Gazing around his room, he observed that the owls were still patiently waiting for him, probably because he was the only one who could untie the packages from their legs. He felt as though he had been gone for hours, although in reality, it was only a couple of minutes. He glanced back at the Pensieve, which was still shimmering with a luminous white light, then placed it carefully back into the silver box and hid it beneath the loose floorboard under his bed. Although he knew the Dursleys would rather live off rat droppings than come into his "wizard-infested" room, he wanted to make sure the present was safe. Glancing at the hiding spot with satisfaction, he was pretty sure that the present wouldn't be found. He untied all the packages and letters from the owls and watched as they took flight out through the open window. Taking one long look around his bedroom strewn with birthday packages, he felt a feeling of elation spread from his head to the tips of his toes. He did have people who cared about him, after all…
Author's Notes: So what do you think? I'm sorry I didn't update sooner! But this chapter is longer than the other two! It's 4 pages long (the first chapter was only 1 page). I was going to add more, but I'm just going to start a new chapter instead. If there are any mistakes in this chapter, it's probably because I didn't look over it after writing it! (Well, I'm writing the Author's Notes now and I'm getting distracted because I'm also listening to songs on my computer!) Anyway, what do you think Harry, Ron, and Hermione's Animagi should be? I wanted to include it in this story. I'm thinking of having Harry's Animagus be an eagle (he loves flying and wants freedom), lion (he's courageous, plus it's the Gryffindor mascot!), wolf (sometimes he's lonely and independent), or phoenix (his wand is made from a phoenix feather). I think Ron should probably be an Irish Setter dog (since he's very loyal; plus the dog has reddish fur!). I was thinking Hermione should be an owl (she's wise) or unicorn (she's wise, loyal, and innocent) or cat (she's cunning; plus if Ron's the dog, it would go perfectly because cats and dogs always fight! Hehe)
