Chapter 9 – "Back to the Books"

by Ann

Key

'' is thoughts

"" is speech

"Lemon drop?" offered Dumbledore cheerfully.

Both of the increasingly impatient people in front him declined as politely as they could; both currently in foul moods.

"Remus, Severus. What do I owe this pleasure?" asked Albus, as he sat in his chair drinking his tea.

"Headmaster, we are here about a slight problem," began Remus. "It's about Török," he said.

"You see, we found Gustav Török's Of the Mind, the Memories, and the Mysteries, on the floor. Apparently Harry tripped over this book and then hit the mirror and the penseive."

"Get to the point Lupin, or I will, and I haven't got all day," interrupted an annoyed Severus.

"I was getting there, until you interrupted. Anyway, Harry is now lying in a veritable coma, completely and totally out of his mind. His mind is swarmed with his, Severus's, and Török's memories, and whatever that bloody mirror has seen," Remus explained quickly, not wanting to face the wrath of an angry Severus.

The headmaster just sat in his chair, the sparkle completely gone from his eyes. He sat like that for quite some time before he spoke again. "For the first time in a long while, I don't know what to do," he said. His face showed composure, yet his voice lacked emotion. He, for once, was at a loss of what to do.

Remus spoke up again, "Severus over here has begun work on some potions, trying to find a cure for Harry. I, on the other hand, have been in the library doing a light bit of reading," he said as he placed the large book on the Headmaster's desk.

Albus was quite shocked to see Gustav Török's Of the Mind, the Memories, and the Mysteries. "Why, I haven't seen this book in years.

Remus, where on earth did this come from?" he asked. The shock in his voice was apparent to all who were in the room.

"Like I said before, I found it on the floor. It seems that Harry tripped over it," Remus replied

"I have never seen a copy of the book, nor would I have ever stored it with my pensive," Severus added.

"Well," Albus began, "I don't know what to say or do, but I believe the library is a good place for you to start. There should be some good books in the restricted section; if not, you may use my personal library. I'm sorry to leave this in your hands, but I have to leave in the morning. I have Order business to attend to.

"You will be alright, I hope. Minerva should be returning late tomorrow night, and she should be able to help you. I wish you good luck and bid you both good night," he finished.

"Great!" exclaimed Remus, "Now look what you've done!"

"What I've done? Look at what you've done, Lupin. The Headmaster is gone tomorrow, and I'm stuck with you!" Severus shouted.

"No need to get angry. What's done is done and now we have to fix it, and if we want to get this done, we'll have to work together." Remus took a deep breath before continuing on, "That means we'll have to get along for a change. I'm willing to try if you are."

Severus thought it over for a minute before he stuck his hand for Remus to shake. And as they shock hands, Remus said, "Deal?"

"Deal," replied Severus, "But that does not mean I have to like it."

"Harry's memories"

A little boy stood in front of his uncle, whose face looked ready to burst. He was only about six or seven and was in a small kitchen, pressed up against the ugly peach walls.

"Who do you think you are? Well, if you don't know, I'll tell you! You are a useless FREAK who is no good for anything except getting these chores done!"

As the large man continued to yell at the boy, he kept getting closer and backing the little boy into the corner.

'What's going on?' Harry thought. 'That's me, when I was five and didn't finish the dishes on time.'

The scene changed and suddenly he was in the basement of a very large house.

A large man with long greasy hair stood over his son and began to beat him with a large bullwhip.

"What do you think you were doing? Having contact with a mudblood. You're a disgrace to the family name. That's no way for a Snape to act." The father yelled at his son between hitting him with the whip.

'Why would father whip me for writing to Lily? It was just a letter.' was Harry's only thought at the moment. 'How could he do that to his own SON! I didn't mean to do anything wrong! It was just a simple little letter.'

The scene changed again and he was in very large room about 500 years ago. The room was finely furnished with beautiful chairs and a tall mirror standing against one wall. The mirror had intricate carvings on the wood that held the glass in place. Everything in the room was very old fashioned and extravagant.

There was a young man sitting at a desk. He had a large pile of papers in front of him and was writing what appeared to be a book.

"Gustav, are you ready to go?" a woman yelled up to him.

'Why does she have to call me now? Does she not understand the importance of this book? It could change lives!' Harry was quite angry with his wife, as he was quite into his book. What he didn't quite understand was why he felt the way he did.

"Just a minute, love!" he yelled back. "Just let me finish this page."

"We're late as it is! Hurry up!" she called to him again.

As Gustav stood up, the world changed again.

Harry was back in the graveyard with Cedric, and Voldemort.

"Kill the Spare!" Voldemort yelled. He saw it all again, as Voldemort killed Cedric right in front of him.

Then Harry's world went black.