Chapter Ten

Remembering


Harry Potter lay in the clearing, curled in the fetal position and whimpering quietly. As he lay there, everything came rushing back to him. He was helpless to the pain and anguish caused by the sudden suffering of everything in his life all over again, and all at once. He felt every hurtful event twist his heart as the memories returned. He saw again the blinding flash of green, the flying motorbike, the beatings from his cousin and uncle, the constant derisive comments spewing from the lips of Draco Malfoy, the blinding pain that told him when Voldemort was near… Shit! Voldemort…


Lord Voldemort lifted his boot to see what he had stepped on. There was a tiny pile of crushed crystal laying there. He shrugged inwardly and raised his eyes to where Harry lay curled in the fetal position, shaking in pain from the Crutiatus Curse that was still trained on him.


Draco Malfoy glared at his father as all his memories came flooding back. He pointed his wand at the elder Malfoy, crying, "Expelliarmus!" Lucius' wand flew at Draco and Draco plucked it easily out of the air. With one last sneer at his father, he stepped back a step and muttered, "Petrificus Totalus." Before he could say anything to bring his son out of his seemingly insane state, Lucius Malfoy felt all his limbs snap together, and his entire body went rigid. Draco grinned maliciously as the older man teetered and then fell with a thump flat on his face. Now that was fun…


Ron Weasley was pounding away at Peter Pettigrew, beating the living daylights out of his ex-rat. His memories were flooding back as his fists landed on the flab of Pettigrew. Finally, Ron stood and towered over Peter. "This is for all those years of you hiding away in my home, you filthy piece of manure." Ron sent a Full-Body-Bind Curse at Pettigrew, his voice harmonizing with Draco's as they sent the spell simultaneously. At the sound of "Oh Merlin!" yelled in the next instant, Ron's blue eyes snapped up to look at the others still in the clearing.


Draco was the one who had yelled. He watched as Voldemort was torturing Harry with the Crutiatus Curse, and with a roar of rage, Draco thundered at the Dark Lord. Ron joined him, and the two sixteen-year-olds tackled Voldemort easily. They pinned him under their combined weight and Ron snatched the wand out of Voldemort's hand. "Don't you fucking move, you bastard," snarled Ron, both his and Voldemort's wands trained on the Dark Lord.


~ " * " ~


Blaise Zabini lay on his back in the dirt of the path and Parvati Patil lay on top of him, their lips smashed together in a scorching kiss. Their tongues battled back and forth first in Blaise's mouth, then Parvati's, then back to Blaise. Their fingers were flitting over undiscovered bodies, tugging at fabric. One of them moaned quietly, neither knowing whose throat the moan had escaped.


Suddenly, Parvati's eyes snapped open at the same time as Blaise's. They stared at each other for a second, their lips still connected. Parvati pulled back fast, eyes fixed steadily on the bright blue of Blaise's irises. Her mouth fell open a bit.


Blaise broke the gaze to look at their position. One of his hands was tugging at the hem of her tight, pale purple, cotton top. The other was resting lightly on her backside. Her hands were in his hair and just under his white button-down shirt. His breath was coming in short gasps as he took in the scene. So was hers.


She removed her hands from Blaise's stomach and hair, and she pushed herself up so she was straddling his thighs. Her hands went to her hair to attempt fixing it, as it was coming loose from the ponytail. He propped himself up on his elbows and their gaze connected again.


"What were we doing here?" she whispered, tucking stray hairs behind her ear.


A small smile spread on Blaise's lips. "I believe that's what is known as snogging, Love."


She sent a scandalized look at her companion. "Do not call me 'Love,' Zabini!"


Blaise looked on her with mock offense. "Oh dear me. Have I defiled a proud Gryffindor?" he asked sardonically. "Please, excuse me!"


Parvati pushed herself off the ebony-haired Slytherin and stood. "Don't speak to me like that." She turned and walked a little bit away.


Blaise stood and followed her. "How am I supposed to speak to you, Pet?" He glanced down at himself and started brushing off the dust and grime.


Parvati spun around to face the boy. "I- You-" She stopped and looked down at her hands. "I don't know," she said quietly.


"Well good, me neither." Blaise sent her a rueful smile. "I'm sorry I upset you."


Parvati shook her head. "It-it's alright, I suppose. We're both a tad confused at the moment."


The smile on Blaise's lips spread a little. "Can I confess something?" He adopted a shy look that Parvati found unnaturally cute. For a Slytherin, that is.


Parvati met his eyes, hers filled with questions. "What?"


Blaise looked away a second before staring back into the girl's deep chocolate eyes. "I'm glad it was you I woke up with."


~ " * " ~


Hermione Granger, Pansy Parkinson and Seamus Finnigan stood before Professor Severus Snape in shock. Suddenly, the severity of the situation dawned on them all at the exact same moment. Along with many memories of who exactly was in that clearing. All at once, they started stammering.

"You-Know-Who-"


"In the woods…"


"Harry, Ron, and Malfoy! Fighting him-"


"…Lost Patil and Blaise…"


"…Fighting in a clearing…"


"…Mister Malfoy and Wormtail too…"


"You've got to do something!"


As his students were jabbering, Snape's eyes grew wide. He glanced over his shoulder toward the castle that was out of sight range. He looked back at the two Gryffindors and one Slytherin with anxiety. "Right, you three get to the castle. Find Dumbledore. I believe he is in his chambers."


Pansy, Hermione and Seamus nodded. Pansy and Seamus started to rush off. But Hermione stopped. "Professor Snape, sir?"


The hook-nosed professor had started into the Forbidden Forest. He stopped and scowled back at the girl. "What the devil to you want, Miss Granger?"


Hermione hesitated. "There's no time, girl. What is it?" he growled.


Hermione squared her shoulders and looked at her professor. "Harry, Ron and Mal-er. Draco. They might not remember who they are. Please hurry."


Snape's scowl softened slightly. "I will," he said. With that, he turned and hurried off in the direction of the only clearing he knew of on this side of the forest.


A tear released due to her fear made a path down Hermione's cheek. She stood at the edge of the forest, staring after her professor. Please… Please let them be alright… She stared into the darkness another second, and then turned to hurry off to the castle.

~*~ TBC ~*~