Author's Notes: Short chapter detailing the memory removal. Something
Dumbledore says comes back to haunt him in the next chapter.
Disclaimers: Nothing from the books or movies belongs to me.
Chapter 28: Fragments of a Dream
Dumbledore entered the room, motioned for Mira to sit in the chair in front of his desk, and then turned towards the professor. "Severus, I'm afraid that I will have to ask you to step into the sitting room while I perform the memory extraction." Snape nodded and went to the door and walked out of the office. He stopped and took one last look at Mira, and closed the door behind him.
Dumbledore took a stone basin with strange writing around the rim out of a cabinet of magical objects behind his desk. He set it on the desk in front of Mira and crossed around so that he was standing in front of her.
"There now. This won't hurt a bit. I am going to extract your memories and transfer them to this pensieve where they will be safely stored until they can be returned to you. I will also need to perform a simple charm on you afterwards to implant a false memory of how you came to be here. You will be very disoriented and confused, but the effects are only temporary. You will remember nothing of your time at Hogwarts and nothing of your adventure with the professor. You may have fleeting impressions, especially during dreamtime, but they will not form into concrete memories, they will be merely fragments of a dream, more emotional than conscious. Are you ready Mira?"
"Yes, I'm ready."
"You have served your purpose very well my dear."
Dumbledore raised his wand and muttered a brief incantation. A cloud of gray mist flowed from his wand and enveloped Mira's head. She quickly drifted into a state of unconsciousness. Dumbledore spoke another incantation and began to draw his wand around over her head in circles. A stream of silvery images began to spiral up from the center of her head and swirl around like a mercury whirlpool above her. Dumbledore watched the images playing backwards until he came to the day in the tailor shop when the professor came to be measured for his new academic robe.
"There, she can keep that one" said Dumbledore as he flicked his wand gently, the memory of the fitting spiraling gently back into her head. He used his wand to direct the spinning vortex of memories above the pensieve on the desk. He spoke an incantation, and the memories spiraled down into the bowl, swirled and then settled into a softly undulating surface of quicksilver.
He carried the basin to the cabinet, and replaced it on the shelf. He returned to Mira and performed a memory charm on her, so that she would not have unaccounted for missing time. He looked at her and smiled, and as an afterthought embellished the story a little. Once the procedure was finished, he went into the sitting room and asked Mira's grandmother, who had just arrived, to join him in his office.
Dumbledore performed a waking charm and Mira came slowly to consciousness, with a very puzzled and dazed look on her face. She looked up at the headmaster.
"Who, who are you?"
"Mira, I'm Headmaster Dumbledore, you're at the Hogwarts School outside of Hogsmeade."
"Why am I here at the school?" She looked around the room, trying to get her bearings.
"Grand-Mere. What, why are you here? What happened?"
Mira's grandmother, Eloise DelMare, stepped forward and placed her hand on Mira's shoulder.
Dumbledore leaned against the desk in front of the two women.
"Mira, there was an accident. You were walking home late from the café with your friend, and the two of you were attacked by dark wizards who wanted to rob you. Your friend managed to run away, but in the confusion, you fell down and hit your head very hard. You were unconscious for a very long time, we were not sure you would ever wake back up."
"But how did I get here, to the school?
"One of the professors here at the school was in the village running an errand and he found you on the ground and brought you back to the school. It was decided that it would be dangerous to move you in your condition, so you remained here for treatment. You woke up earlier today, and we helped you to my office so that your grandmother could take you home. But, I'm afraid that the walk was too much for you and you passed out when you got to my office. Your memories will come and go, due to the head injury, but you will recover completely in time."
"Why can't I go back to the store or to stay with Susan and Albert?"
"Mira dear, while you were unconscious, many things happened in the wizarding world. There has been an uprising of dark wizards and witches, which is leading to an all out war. Your cousin and her family are safely in hiding, waiting out the conflict. You must go stay with your grandmother, and live as a muggle until this battle is over with. The dark wizards who attacked you are wanted men, and they are afraid that you could identify them to the ministry. Until they are rounded up with the rest of the enemy forces, you cannot return to England. And I'm afraid you cannot return to your home in New Orleans either. There are dark wizards working there as well. The only real safe place for you to be is with your grandmother in France."
Mira looked at the old wizard, trying to find familiarity in his words. Slowly, a look of recognition came across her face as she remembered bits and snatches of the story he was telling her.
Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out the miniature sneakascope he had previously sent Mira away with. "Mira, this is called a sneakascope. To any muggle who sees it, it is simply a very fancy little glass bauble on a chain. But you must wear it always. If it starts to vibrate, it means that there is somebody who intends to do you harm nearby. If it ever starts to tremble, you need to get to a safe place. You need to lose yourself in a crowd of muggles so that you will not be spotted. I'm also afraid that you cannot send owl post to any of your wizarding friends or family until this battle is over. Do you understand?"
"Yes headmaster Dumbledore, I understand."
"Please dear, call me Albus, my students call me headmaster."
She smiled at the old wizard. "Okay Albus."
"Now I'm afraid you must go. Your grandmother needs to get you settled in at home. Arrangements have already been made in New Orleans; your tenants send their love and wishes for a quick recovery. When this battle is over and done with, you may return and visit them, but not a day sooner."
Mira's grandmother patted her on the shoulder. "Come chere, it is time for us to go."
Mira rose shakily, and leaned lightly on the old woman. Dumbledore showed them to the floo network fireplace and bid them farewell.
Once the two women were gone, he opened the door of the office and called Snape back in. "Come Severus, we have much work to do to prepare for battle."
Disclaimers: Nothing from the books or movies belongs to me.
Chapter 28: Fragments of a Dream
Dumbledore entered the room, motioned for Mira to sit in the chair in front of his desk, and then turned towards the professor. "Severus, I'm afraid that I will have to ask you to step into the sitting room while I perform the memory extraction." Snape nodded and went to the door and walked out of the office. He stopped and took one last look at Mira, and closed the door behind him.
Dumbledore took a stone basin with strange writing around the rim out of a cabinet of magical objects behind his desk. He set it on the desk in front of Mira and crossed around so that he was standing in front of her.
"There now. This won't hurt a bit. I am going to extract your memories and transfer them to this pensieve where they will be safely stored until they can be returned to you. I will also need to perform a simple charm on you afterwards to implant a false memory of how you came to be here. You will be very disoriented and confused, but the effects are only temporary. You will remember nothing of your time at Hogwarts and nothing of your adventure with the professor. You may have fleeting impressions, especially during dreamtime, but they will not form into concrete memories, they will be merely fragments of a dream, more emotional than conscious. Are you ready Mira?"
"Yes, I'm ready."
"You have served your purpose very well my dear."
Dumbledore raised his wand and muttered a brief incantation. A cloud of gray mist flowed from his wand and enveloped Mira's head. She quickly drifted into a state of unconsciousness. Dumbledore spoke another incantation and began to draw his wand around over her head in circles. A stream of silvery images began to spiral up from the center of her head and swirl around like a mercury whirlpool above her. Dumbledore watched the images playing backwards until he came to the day in the tailor shop when the professor came to be measured for his new academic robe.
"There, she can keep that one" said Dumbledore as he flicked his wand gently, the memory of the fitting spiraling gently back into her head. He used his wand to direct the spinning vortex of memories above the pensieve on the desk. He spoke an incantation, and the memories spiraled down into the bowl, swirled and then settled into a softly undulating surface of quicksilver.
He carried the basin to the cabinet, and replaced it on the shelf. He returned to Mira and performed a memory charm on her, so that she would not have unaccounted for missing time. He looked at her and smiled, and as an afterthought embellished the story a little. Once the procedure was finished, he went into the sitting room and asked Mira's grandmother, who had just arrived, to join him in his office.
Dumbledore performed a waking charm and Mira came slowly to consciousness, with a very puzzled and dazed look on her face. She looked up at the headmaster.
"Who, who are you?"
"Mira, I'm Headmaster Dumbledore, you're at the Hogwarts School outside of Hogsmeade."
"Why am I here at the school?" She looked around the room, trying to get her bearings.
"Grand-Mere. What, why are you here? What happened?"
Mira's grandmother, Eloise DelMare, stepped forward and placed her hand on Mira's shoulder.
Dumbledore leaned against the desk in front of the two women.
"Mira, there was an accident. You were walking home late from the café with your friend, and the two of you were attacked by dark wizards who wanted to rob you. Your friend managed to run away, but in the confusion, you fell down and hit your head very hard. You were unconscious for a very long time, we were not sure you would ever wake back up."
"But how did I get here, to the school?
"One of the professors here at the school was in the village running an errand and he found you on the ground and brought you back to the school. It was decided that it would be dangerous to move you in your condition, so you remained here for treatment. You woke up earlier today, and we helped you to my office so that your grandmother could take you home. But, I'm afraid that the walk was too much for you and you passed out when you got to my office. Your memories will come and go, due to the head injury, but you will recover completely in time."
"Why can't I go back to the store or to stay with Susan and Albert?"
"Mira dear, while you were unconscious, many things happened in the wizarding world. There has been an uprising of dark wizards and witches, which is leading to an all out war. Your cousin and her family are safely in hiding, waiting out the conflict. You must go stay with your grandmother, and live as a muggle until this battle is over with. The dark wizards who attacked you are wanted men, and they are afraid that you could identify them to the ministry. Until they are rounded up with the rest of the enemy forces, you cannot return to England. And I'm afraid you cannot return to your home in New Orleans either. There are dark wizards working there as well. The only real safe place for you to be is with your grandmother in France."
Mira looked at the old wizard, trying to find familiarity in his words. Slowly, a look of recognition came across her face as she remembered bits and snatches of the story he was telling her.
Dumbledore reached into his pocket and pulled out the miniature sneakascope he had previously sent Mira away with. "Mira, this is called a sneakascope. To any muggle who sees it, it is simply a very fancy little glass bauble on a chain. But you must wear it always. If it starts to vibrate, it means that there is somebody who intends to do you harm nearby. If it ever starts to tremble, you need to get to a safe place. You need to lose yourself in a crowd of muggles so that you will not be spotted. I'm also afraid that you cannot send owl post to any of your wizarding friends or family until this battle is over. Do you understand?"
"Yes headmaster Dumbledore, I understand."
"Please dear, call me Albus, my students call me headmaster."
She smiled at the old wizard. "Okay Albus."
"Now I'm afraid you must go. Your grandmother needs to get you settled in at home. Arrangements have already been made in New Orleans; your tenants send their love and wishes for a quick recovery. When this battle is over and done with, you may return and visit them, but not a day sooner."
Mira's grandmother patted her on the shoulder. "Come chere, it is time for us to go."
Mira rose shakily, and leaned lightly on the old woman. Dumbledore showed them to the floo network fireplace and bid them farewell.
Once the two women were gone, he opened the door of the office and called Snape back in. "Come Severus, we have much work to do to prepare for battle."