And here comes another one! Thank you to my stellar reviewers, I love you guys! Seriously, it's your faithful reviews that motivate me!

Silwen Aurdomiel: Thanks for your support! Evil cliffies, huh? They could be worse! :)

Me262: Ah, thank you! I think I'll plan a Harry/Luna/Ginny triange for a future story, because twisting it up would be fun.

The Wolf's Pen: Thank you! :)

WolfMoon: Read this chapter and it'll set the stage for future stuff. Thanks!

And here it is:


Chapter 7: Pensieve in a Jar

It was 9:45, and Harry was seated in the front row of a small conference room at the Ministry of Magic, along with Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Mrs. Figg, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hagrid, Mundungus and about five others he didn't know. Hermione was there as well--she had used a portkey to arrive, and quickly informed Ron and Harry that she had also received an owl, but had just barely arrived home in time to come.

A short, plump little man stood in front of the group, dressed in black robes, holding a small stack of parchment.

Ginny was anxiously consulting her watch, muttering to herself.

"The letter said 9:30, and it's a quarter 'til ten! Inconsiderate, unreliable..." Dean was scheduled to arrive at the Burrow sometime around noon. His mum was a muggle, and would therefore be driving him there, as the Thomas family lived about an hour from the Weasleys. Ginny was worried that the will reading would keep the family from arriving home in time to clean up the house for her guest.

By 9:50, Ginny wasn't the only one in the room getting restless. Kingsley stood and went to talk to the plump little man in front. Harry caught an ounce of what Kingsley said, something about a meeting he needed to be to soon, and the little man nodded vigorously.

"I understand, sir, but I cannot read the will until all who are mentioned are present. It's law."

"Who are we waiting for?" Kingsley demanded. The man consulted his list, looking around the room and checking people off.

"Dear Merlin, I suppose I miscounted! Everyone is here, indeed. Jolly good, my apologies." Everyone murmured a little at this, and the stout man in front waited for silence to return. He then ceremoniously cleared his throat.

"The reading of the will of Sirius Craigon Black will now begin." And the wizard tapped the top sheet of parchment with a petite glossy wand. What happened next nearly knocked Harry out of his chair. The entire stack of parchment rose up into the air and floated near the ceiling. And then sparks of gold and red sprinkled from the papers, and the queerest thing happened. From the sparks of gold and red, a voice, speaking clearly and carefully, filled the room. It was Sirius's voice.

"I, Sirius Black, hereby certify that the following will was written and approved by me, February 15th, 1996, to be executed in the occurrence of my death, as advised by Albus Dumbledore."

Harry glanced swiftly at Dumbledore, his heart thumping wildly. Hearing Sirius's voice stirred up new emotions in him. Memories filled his mind, and he felt his heart break all over again as he remembered that cursed day in the Department of Mysteries...

"The house under my family's name, located in London, England, I hereby leave to Albus Dumbledore to do with as he pleases. I also leave him the burden of tending to Kretcher, the old family house elf."

Sirius's voice spat the name of his family house elf with such distaste, Harry grinned. It was as if Sirius was right next to him. And then he remembered Kretcher, letting him think Sirius really had been captured by Voldemort, and his smile vanished.

"To Minerva McGonagall, I leave my prized collection of foreign dung bombs, with hopes that she will remember me fondly whenever her very sensitive nose senses dung bombs in the area. Sorry about that prank we pulled on you sixth year, McGonny--we only did it because we loved seeing your nostrils flare. Wasn't a month of detentions a bit harsh of a punishment?...Okay, maybe it wasn't." Harry laughed at this as McGonagall blushed and wiped her eyes swiftly and Fred and George chuckled.

"To the last living Marauder, assuming I'm dead whilst this is being read, and not counting the slime bag knave whom I won't name: Moony, thank you for keeping James and me from being expelled. You're the most considerate friend I ever had. I leave you the Marauder's Quill, and hope you will use it when you want to remember your ridiculous old school mates. I also leave you 500 galleons from my vault at Gringotts. And you'd better not give it away, mate. You need some new robes."

Lupin's face was concealed in his hands, and Harry noticed that his robes were indeed on the shabby side. And the Marauder's Quill?...

"Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny--I enjoyed getting to know you all, and it was great having help cleaning up the old Black house. Please accept the remaining 4,500 galleons from my vault as payment to your family for your assistance, and as a thank-you for your friendship." Mrs. Weasley gasped, and Ron seemed to choke on his own saliva.

"4,500-" he whispered, astonished. The voice continued.

"Mundungus, I leave you the rest of my alcoholic drinks, assuming I still have any. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. And you can have the silver goblets you were so anxious to nick from me, as well." Harry smirked as Mundungus tried to look embarrassed, but failed miserably, really looking quite pleased. Wondering when his name would come up, or if Sirius had forgotten about him, Harry returned his attention to the speaking glimmers of gold and red.

"Kingsley, please take my faithful old motorbike (Dumbledore will get it for you, I think he has it in storage), and ride it often to remember the one criminal you never stuck in Azkaban.

"Arabella, although I don't know you well, I'm grateful to you for the assistance you've rendered to the order over the years, and for your watching over my godson. I hear you like cats, and so I leave you a bottle marked 'Mutt Determent.' It's a potion that will keep dogs away from your cat, if you rub it on your cats' collars. Trust me, I know it works." Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged meaningful looks at this, and smiled as they wondered why Sirius had 'Mutt Determent' in his possession.

"Hagrid, I'm so grateful that you took Harry to his awful relatives, and that you returned him to the wizarding world. You've been a great mentor to him, and seeing as I must be dead if you're listening to my will, I want to ask you to continue to keep an eye on my godson. To you, I leave possession of all the inhabitants of the wildlife room at my house. It's a room in the basement, and I doubt if Dumbledore wants any of the creatures down there. There're some great things down there I think you'll like very much. But please be careful."

"Oh no," Hermione whispered, looking horrified. Ron and Harry agreed fervently.

"Tonks, you're a downright klutz, but you know we all love you anyway. And so I leave you the indestructible china my great grandfather 'found' on a holiday in India. It's really quite nice, in case you ever want to invite a certain handsome werewolf over for dinner." Tonks looked shocked, and Lupin looked like he'd like to Apparate right then and there. But Ginny and Hermione exchanged knowing looks, leaving Ron and Harry to shrug at each other, slightly stunned and very amused by Sirius's suggestion.

"Hermione, you and Harry saved my life. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I leave you my old invisibility cloak--incase you need to get out, but you don't want to bother Harry. It's not the best quality--in bright lights, you'll be visible, but colored like a ghost. But the darker the lighting, the more concealed you'll be. Have some adventures in your final years at Hogwarts, and don't always bring the boys. Maybe you can start a new group of Marauder-ettes or something."

Harry and Ron snorted at this, and Hermione blushed, but she was grinning.

"I also leave you a book on House Elf Rights that I nicked from my dad when I was young. He was going to burn it with some other books at a specially ceremony, and I felt like stirring up trouble. And I think you may like it."

Ron groaned loudly at this.

"Not spew again!" he whined.

Sirius's voice continued. Harry noticed that the gold and red sparks were decreasing, as were the papers up at the ceiling. It must be nearly over.

"And finally, to Harry, my godson, the son of my best friend. As I've said a few times, I guess I finally snuffed it. I'm sorry I'm dead. I was excited to see you grow up. I've already seen you mature over the past couple years." Harry felt his chest tighten, and he tried to block out thoughts of that night, "But Harry, don't grieve because of my death. I assure you I'm happier now, and I promise you that we'll be together again, (although hopefully not anytime soon--you're still fairly young). I look forward to the day that you and I and your parents are all together again. I love you, Harry. You're so much like James--like a cross between my best friend and a son. Take good care of yourself. As I said, we'll be together again, so please don't waste any sorrows grieving for me. You've got a promising life, so get out there and do what makes you happy.

"Anyway, enough of this sappy mush. I leave you ownership of Buckbeak, but don't worry--you can keep him at my place until you graduate, I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind. I also leave you all of the items in my bedroom, and in my storage closet. You'll find some things that interest you greatly there, some of which I wasn't planning on showing you for a few years, but it's all yours now. I have a Pensieve of your dad's stored in a jar, and some diaries of your mum's. Not sure how I got that stuff, but you should have it.

"I also leave you my Quidditch stuff: my two broomsticks, my beater's bat and my practice bludger--it's plastic, so it won't hurt you. Also an old snitch your dad nicked while we were in school. As for the broomsticks, one is an antique by now, and the other was my lucky game broom. It's bewitched to fly really high and really fast, so be careful.

"Well, I think that about does it for my will. Sorry I up and died on you all. I love each and every one of you. Please enjoy the worldly stuff I left you. Signed, Sirius C. Black, February 15, 1996."

The papers and glitter were gone now. Everyone sat in silence for a moment, and then people began to slowly file out of the room. Harry sensed Ron and Hermion get up from beside him, but he was still remembering the sound of Sirius's voice.

As he finally joined the Weasley's and Hermione outside of the conference room, Harry felt strangely lighter. 'Do what makes you happy.' Sirius's words had been very comforting. As he gave Hermione a brief hug before she returned home, he remembered that Sirius had left him some interesting things. Buckbeak, Quidditch supplies and possessions of his parents. His mum's diaries and his father's old Pensieve.

He felt someone standing next to him, and Harry glanced at Ginny, who gave him a small smile.

"Those diaries and that Pensieve--maybe they'll help," she said softly, resting a hand on his arm. Harry smiled a small smile at her.

"Maybe." Their eyes locked, and Harry felt immobile until Mrs. Weasley called them over to the family.

"We need to get home. Dean should arrive any minute," she said. Ginny looked giddy at the thought of seeing her boyfriend again. Ron, George and Fred looked irritated.

"We'll see you lot later," Fred said, casting Ginny a disgusted look.

"Yeah, we'll be by tonight to meet Dean," George added

"I'm surprised you two were able to get away from the shop," Mrs. Weasley said to the twins. "Aren't you losing business?"

"No, Lee's watching it while we're here. But we must be going."

Ginny looked angry as the twins disappeared with two bangs.

"They know Dean. They're being so stupid about this," she huffed. Harry was watching her, silently approving of her brothers' behavior towards her boyfriend. Ginny looked up at Harry, and he quickly looked away.

"I wonder when we'll get that gold," Ron said longingly. "That was real nice of him." He glanced sideways at Harry, making sure his friend didn't mind talking about the will.

"I don't know. I'd like to get some of the stuff he left me soon, though," Harry said earnestly, thinking of the Pensieve in a jar in particular. It sounded especially interesting.

"Come along now," Mrs. Weasley said, standing before a fireplace. "We need to get home."

Harry wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but Ginny suddenly looked much less excited over the prospect of seeing her boyfriend as he tried to smile at her. No, that was stupid. He imagined it.


And there it concludes. Thank you for reading, and please review and let me know what you're thinking! I value your opinions! :) I was going to put more hidden info in this chapter, but I wound up making it a little shorter, so I could post sooner. But I'll get the next one up by next Saturday, hopefully, and it'll be loaded with subtle hints. So please review, and thanks again!