I am SO sorry for the VERY long wait! I know-I'm a terrible person! And I truly do feel awful. But I tried to make up for my slothfulness by writing an EXTREMELY long chapter-by my standards, for certain-and you will get a BIG revelation here! I hope you like!
Chapter 14: James's Pensieve
Harry glanced around.
Where was Ginny?
He was standing on a hardwood floor, next to a crackling fire. There were brown dragon skin couches and chairs dotting the room, and large paintings and tapestries of ancient looking individuals and faraway places coated the walls. And a small boy, who looked very familiar, ran into the room. The small, shaggy-haired child was sitting next to the fire, a quill in hand. He was scribbling on a very long sheet of green and yellow striped parchment, humming a song cheerfully to himself. The little boy looked about five years old, and Harry felt an odd pang somewhere in his throat. He was in his father's Pensieve. His father's memories. And he was looking at his father. It felt strange.
Harry watched anxiously, wondering in the back of his mind where Ginny was, but not really caring at the same time. He was in his father's memory jar. Ginny would be fine, and in the meantime, he appreciated some one-on-one time in his dad's memory.
Young James Potter scribbled merrily, oblivious to his future-son's presence. Harry noticed that he continuously looked up into the fire, as if expecting someone to pop in. And then, someone did. It was an elderly man, with a matted, gray beard and a shiny, bald head. He had big blue eyes magnified by enormous spectacles, and a big, genuine (albeit rather crazy-looking) grin on his wrinkled face.
"Jamie, my boy," the man said. Harry was surprised by his voice. It wasn't croaky or weathered, like most old people's. Instead, it was energetic and youthful sounding. "Jamie, your dad did it again! He just shook hands with the Prime Minister!"
James Potter grinned.
"Can't I please come and celebrate with everyone? Please, Grampappy?" he begged, his high little voice cracking a bit.
The elderly man shook his head wearily.
"No, my boy. Not tonight. But your mother will be home soon. There's still paper work. Details to go over. Your father and I will probably be here until tomorrow 'round suppertime."
James sighed in disappointment.
"Daddy's never home," he whispered. "Neither are you."
"We'll be home tomorrow," the old man said encouragingly. "We'll bring you a surprise, too. And we'll have your mum make some roast, and maybe we can go out to ice cream after dinner. And we'll tell you everything. Promise." James looked up at the old man solemnly.
"Promise?"
"I swear on my life, Jamie. But I've got to go now. We'll see you tomorrow."
The old man's face vanished, and the child James Potter looked down, defeated.
And Harry found himself being whirled from the memory, and immediately placed in a new scene.
James was sitting on a marble countertop, his brown eyes merry as he talked animatedly to a woman wearing a blue checkered apron over her clothes. The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, and had the same expressive, dark brown eyes as her son. Her dark blonde hair was cut short, and she was very petite. Harry stared at the woman. She must be his grandmother. Her round face was pleasant as she listened attentively to her son, and her eyes smiled all the while. She held her wand casually in her left hand as she conducted a pile of potatoes in a ceremony of scrubbing, peeling and chopping, her attention not wavering from young James.
"…and then I'm going to buy Gringotts and become very, very rich, and I'll buy a mansion bigger than the Minister of Magic's, and marry the prettiest girl in Europe-maybe a princess-and we'll have 5,000 house elves to wait on us, and we can go on vacations all the time!" James's mother raised an eyebrow at this.
"Whatever would you do with 5,000 house elves, dear? Don't you think having one is just fine? I think Hinkary is quite an efficient house elf for our family."
"Well, I don't want my very beautiful princess-wife to have to cook or sew or iron like you do," James said.
"But maybe she'll want to," Mrs. Potter reasoned. "I would be so bored if Hinkary did everything. And I like to sew and cook and iron."
"Well my wife won't," James said firmly. His mother just laughed.
"If you say so, dear. We'll see-"
Suddenly, the front door slammed open. James and his mother peered from the kitchen counter, around the wall dividing the kitchen from the entryway.
"Daddy!" James cried cheerfully. He struggled to get down from the counter and ran over to the tall man with a mass of jet black, ruffled hair, and embraced him.
"Will!" Mrs. Potter said, smiling at her husband.
"Jamie, it's great to see you!" William Potter said happily. "Why don't you run upstairs and fetch your sisters so we can have some family time before dinner?" James nodded eagerly and darted up the stairs.
Will Potter turned to his wife, is cheerful expression gone. Harry glanced at the staircase, wondering if he should follow his father. But James had stopped at the top of the staircase, sensing something important was about to happen, and was leaning over the stair rail, listening intently to his parents. Harry turned back to his grandparents anxiously.
"What is it?" Mrs. Potter asked, concern etched deeply into her pleasant features. "Where's your father?"
Will Potter had the same shocking blue eyes as the man Harry had seen in the fire earlier. They were now very sad, full of emotion.
"Charlotte, Dad had an accident. It was that damned Black-Gregore or something. They got into a dual, and Dad-you know he's getting older-he didn't come out of it so well."
"Oh Merlin! Will, is he alright?"
"I don't know. I took him to St. Mungo's. Now all we can do is pray."
Harry glanced up and saw his father staring down in horror as he took in the news. And then Harry felt himself whisked away…
Scenes flashed past.
He saw his father, looking a few years older, flying on a broomstick alongside another dark haired boy; his father anxiously waiting to be sorted; his father exchanging high-fives with Sirius while a furious Professor Flitwick scolded the two boys…
And then he landed again, in a new scene.
James looked older now-probably about thirteen or fourteen. The setting had changed: They were now outside, on a rainy, blustery day, in the center of the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. Sleet slashed through the air, mud puddles gushed higher every second. James was standing on the sidelines of the pitch, his broom in hand, donning Gryffindor Quidditch robes. He was currently yelling something unintelligible as the crowd roared a mixture of swear words, boos and applause.
"NO WAY!" the commentator yelled. "What a load of dung. Well, according to the ref, Boron will be sent to the sidelines for the rest of the game. (Which, I might add, is totally unfair.) So Slytherin calls an emergency time-out in hopes of finding a replacement for Boron, while Gryffindor checks on their team's pathetic little injured seeker, not to mention captain. I guess that's what happens when mudbloods lead a team."
There was a scruffy chuckling that trickled through the intercom, and a few students yelled out obscenities indignantly. It came as a surprise to Harry that no teacher censored this student's commentating, as McGonagall always did for Lee Jordan. By the sounds of it, the commentator was a Slytherin. He then realized that Lee Jordan wouldn't be commentating for Quidditch matches this school year. 'Oh Merlin-don't let it be some dumb Slytherin, like this bloke' he thought.
James ran over with another reserve player as the Gryffindor team came to the ground and surrounded a very bloody girl, who apparently has been attacked by two bludgers and a beater bat at once.
"Flip!" someone yelled. "Damn Slytherin and that bloody Malfoy!"
"Hallie, are you okay?"
The girl shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Dang it, I'm so sorry, guys," she sobbed. "Martin, why don't you take over? I think I'm gonna pass out. I fell terrible. As captain I should stay…"
"No way, Hallie, you're going to see Madam Pomfrey immediately. I'll do my best," the boy Harry reckoned was Martin said brazenly.
The team agreed, and Captain Hallie was transported to the hospital wing.
"Alright, we need a seeker," Martin said firmly. "We've got to win this game. Damn it, we HAVE to!" He looked furiously about at his teammates.
"Potter can go in," a tall, freckly boy said.
"Potter, what position do you play?" Martin demanded.
"Chaser." James looked terrified and gleeful all at once.
"Not anymore, you don't. Now mount on to that flippen broom of yours, and lets win this bloody match!" Martin roared. The team exchanged bemused looks as they remounted their brooms and kicked off the ground. James glanced back at the other reserve player and smiled a small smile at him. Harry suddenly realized it was Amos Diggory. Diggory looked a little older than James, and Harry sensed his keen disappointment as James accelerated with the rest of the team.
'So that's why he was so arrogant about Cedric beating me in third year,' Harry mused. 'Old grudges die hard, I guess.'
Harry lost track of time as he got caught up in the match. Slytherin was ahead by thirty when a collective gasp overwhelmed the crowd.
"James Potter's got it!" a breathy girl on the sidelines said eagerly to her clan of Hufflepuff friends. They all watched in eager anticipation, squealing and giggling.
James was soaring through the air, the Snitch just centimeters from his outstretched hand. And then, as he finally wrapped it inside his fingers, and let out a victorious yell heard even by Harry, the Quidditch pitch evaporated from the scene and Harry found himself whisking past random memories again.
He caught a glimpse of his mother, looking to be about fifteen, shaking hands with his despised Potions professor, Snape. And then he saw more small glimpses, of James and Sirius skinny dipping off a cliff above a moonlit lake; the Marauders transfiguring into animal forms; Remus Lupin dancing with Lily; James holding a fire whiskey bottle out to Sirius with a quizzical look; Lily crying into James's shoulder, her hand enclosed around something by her neck…Harry watched in wonder as little clips swirled by. 'I should probably find Ginny soon,' he thought offhandedly. How he'd find her, he had yet to figure out…
And then he stopped in a new scene. He looked around anxiously, and realized abruptly that he was at King's Cross Train Station, at Platform 9 ¾ with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. And a red-haired girl, whose back was to him. He grinned. It was probably him mother. This could be interesting.
"I'll race you through, Moony," Sirius said, waggling his eyebrows challengingly.
"Merlin, please don't do that, Padfoot. It makes your eyebrows look like flobberworms," Remus said.
James and Peter laughed, and James quickly said,
"I'll race you, Padfoot." Sirius grinned.
"Right on, bro. Okay, on your mark…"
James and Sirius prepared themselves, holding their heavy laden trolleys bracingly before them,
"Get set…"
Remus and Peter stepped away from the dangerous duo,
"GO!"
As the two charged toward the barrier, the red-head turned to watch.
Her eyes met Harry's, and they both blinked.
"Ginny!" Harry grinned at her. "I didn't recognize you!"
Ginny Weasley grinned up at Harry.
"Whoa! I didn't see you here, Harry! Thank Merlin! I was beginning to worry that we'd be stuck in here forever!"
"Er…"
"What?" Ginny's soft brown eyes looked warily at him.
"I have no clue how to get out of here," Harry said.
Ginny blinked.
"Really?" He nodded. "Dang it! I've tried everything! I tried jumping, wishing my way out, walking away from stuff-"
"What?"
"Walking away-like out of memories. Like, for instance, everyone has walked out of this memory-or your dad has, at least. So here were are, in a white…abyss."
Harry started as he looked around. The train station was gone. The four Marauders were nowhere to be seen. All there was left was white…It was like a never ending white room.
"Has this happened to you yet?" he asked Ginny nervously.
"Oh yeah, twice, actually. This is the third time," Ginny sighed. "See, it's blank space in the jar. The memory left, 'cuz we didn't follow it. So now we're in an empty spot."
Harry looked around.
"How do we get out?"
"We don't," Ginny said with a shrug. She laughed at Harry's panic-stricken face. "But eventually something will come fill up the white space-you know, the contents are swirling all around and stuff."
"Er, right," Harry said, utterly confused.
"So, seen anything interesting?" Ginny asked.
Harry thought about his father's Quidditch match, and seeing his grandparents for the first time. He remembered seeing clips of his parents just moments ago. His mother sobbing into his father's shoulder; Sirius and James skinny dipping. For a few minutes, Harry forgot entirely about the question that had been prodding at his curiosity, demanding his full attention for weeks, and instead of worrying about his mother's eyes, his thoughts turned entirely to random, little questions about his parents' past. Like, why had she and Snape been shaking hands? And the way Lupin had looked when he danced with Lily…
Ginny was looking quizzically at him. He quickly averted his eyes from her piercing brown orbs and shrugged.
"Not really. Well, nothing interesting about my mum's eyes," he muttered.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at him and sat down on the white, blank floor that Harry was surprised to note existed, patting the empty space next to her.
"Sit down," she said. It wasn't an order, but it wasn't a question either. Harry obediently sat down next to Ginny, slightly irritated.
"Why are we sitting?"
"Harry, we're not in your dad's Pensieve to solve a mystery. We're here because I was curious, and you didn't seem to mind the idea of coming along. We're here so you can learn about the parents you don't remember. We're here to just check things out; observe stuff. I didn't come with any notions of finding out more about your mum's eyes. It's not like that's all I think about. It is, yes, it is a very intriguing mystery. I want to know what happened as bad as you and Hermione and Ron. But it's not like everywhere I go with you, I go with the motive of learning about your mother's eyes. We're friends, Harry. Come on. Don't be thick. There's more to life than solving unsolved mysteries. So your mum has a mystery in her past. It's cool. If we solve it, that's great. But Harry, don't let it bother you! You're in your dad's Pensieve, for Merlin's sake! It's an amazing opportunity! Forget your mum's eyes just for now and enjoy a nice lesson in 'Getting to know your father.'"
Harry raised an eyebrow at Ginny.
"You should be a motivational speaker, you know that? Or maybe a politician." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Right. I won't even ask what provoked you to say that." Ginny smiled at Harry, and suddenly Harry felt something slip into his hand. After a moment, it dawned on him that it was Ginny's small, slightly cold hand intertwined with his. He looked at their hands in surprise, and then glanced at Ginny, who smiled a little half smile at him and squeezed his hand. He returned the smile and stored the memory of the feel of her hand, the feeling he got when she smiled at him, when her eyes met his, all in a little imaginary Pensieve in his mind, swearing to himself that if he ever got a Pensieve, this memory-in-the-making would go in it.
Harry wasn't sure how long he and Ginny sat there, hands intertwined, lost in their own thoughts, but all too soon Ginny leapt up and said,
"Here we go. The blank space is filling up. 'Bout time." Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets, pocketing his disappointment that the moment was over as well.
"This is pretty different from the normal Pensieves," he told Ginny. She eyed the nearing rush of jumble swirling toward them cautiously.
"Oh?"
"Yeah," Harry said. He would've expanded if not for the sudden thrust of memories whirling by the two.
"Ooh, this one looks good," Ginny said, and she led the way, sprinting toward a nearby memory lashing by.
Harry had no clue what gave her cause to think this would be a could memory to investigate, but followed the girl, jumping into the flashing-past scene with her.
The outside jumble of scenes and sounds vanished, and Harry found himself a dormitory very much like the one he lived in at Hogwarts.
The circular room was furnished with four beds, each with deep red curtains pushed to the side. There was a window seat between two of the beds, and trunks were pushed to the foot of each bed.
One trunk was closed, the bed behind it neatly made. A skinny boy with sandy brown hair that was slightly overgrown and curly was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed with his attention focused on a thick book.
The bed next to this one was in a completely opposite state. The bedding was crumpled to the floor in a shapeless heap, the trunk open with its contents hanging out and around it, and only the plump pillow seemed to be in place in the chaotic area. A dark haired boy with spectacles and dark brown eyes was pacing around this bed.
The next bed was rather messily made, and the occupant was lying on top of the covers, his hands behind his head, eyes closed. He was tall, well-built and had longish, dark hair that fell neatly over his closed eyes.
In the last bed, buried under the blankets, rested a short, plump lump. White-blond hair stuck out a bit from under his covers, but his face was covered by his blankets. He breathed evenly and deeply.
"Wormtail?" Sirius asked from his resting position. The lump didn't reply.
"He's already asleep," a pacing and anxious seeming James replied.
"Flip. I wanted to see if he'd get me some food from the kitchens."
"We just got back from there," James retorted. "I'm surprised you're not as big as Wormtail, the way you've been eating this year!"
"I'm a growing man!" Sirius said indignantly.
Remus snorted and looked up from his book.
"I hope to Merlin that you're done growing, mate," he said. "You're the tallest kid in the school."
Sirius grinned.
"You've got that right, Moony. It because Mrs. Potter fed me so well this summer. She cooks like a goddess! I think I'll marry your mum, Prongs. Think your dad'll mind?"
James rolled his eyes at Sirius, not replying.
Harry glanced at Ginny, who sensed his eyes on her and looked up at him.
"Do you know how old they are now?" she asked him softly. Harry nodded.
"Sounds like their in their sixth year. Maybe seventh…no, I think sixth." She nodded, and sat on the window seat. Harry sat next to her, and the two continued to watch the Marauders' exchange.
"Will you please stop pacing, Prongs?" Remus suddenly snapped. James stopped, teetered a bit in place, and then exasperatedly returned to pacing.
"What's wrong, bro?" Sirius asked. His eyes were still closed.
"Nothing. It's just…"
"What?"
"Ugh…nothing, I guess. Look, remember how we got up to the girls' dormitories once by flying on our brooms?"
Remus looked up swiftly, snapping his book shut. Even Sirius's eyes shot open.
"What are you planning?" Sirius asked eagerly.
"Why do you need to go to the girls' dormitories this time?" Remus groaned.
"Why wouldn't he need to go to the girls' dormitories?" Sirius asked Remus incredulously. "So, Prongsie, what's going on in that thick cranium of your tonight?"
"Oh Merlin, I don't think I want to hear this," Remus said. He was grinning slightly.
James looked awkwardly around.
"Sorry, mates. I'll tell you later," he finally said. He then made his way to his hectic trunk, and extracted a broomstick, that to Harry, looked like an antique, but was very highly polished, and looked rather expensive for the time period.
"Can't we come, Prongsie? Please?" Sirius begged. "Are you gonna try something on Lily? 'Cause you know it won't work…"
"Shut up," James said irritably.
"Sorry bro, but you know it's true…"
"Right." James pulled out his invisibility cloak.
"James," Remus said seriously.
"Chill, Moony. He'll be good," Sirius said as James disappeared under the cloak.
"We need to follow him" Harry said to Ginny, standing up.
"He has an invisibility cloak," Ginny said doubtfully. "That'll be tough."
"We'll manage," Harry said confidently. "He's obviously going to the girls' dormitories."
"Think you'll be able to get up the staircase?" Ginny asked him dubiously.
"Er…Yeah, I reckon," Harry said. "I mean, we're just inside a memory."
"Alright," the girl said doubtfully. "Look, here he goes." The door to the Marauder's dormitory opened, and they heard a slight whisk as James flew out.
Harry and Ginny jogged after him. They followed James all the way to the girls' dormitories, where Harry was indeed able to travel up the stairs without them turning into a slide.
As he and Ginny jogged after the whishing sound of James's broom, they eventually found themselves at the threshold of a dormitory. A gold plaque over the door read: 'Sixth Year Girls.' James had apparently stopped here, unsure of what to do next. And then the doorknob slowly turned, pulled by some unseen force which the two knew to be James's hand. And the door slowly inched forward. It opened more and more, and finally stopped moving. Ginny dared to peer around it, and Harry followed suit, but the two were quickly forced to pull back as the door began to shut again. The whishing sound returned, and the two followed it back to the Marauder's dormitory.
"That was an exciting field trip," Ginny said sarcastically as the two slumped back onto the window seat in time to watch James throw off the invisibility cloak and toss him broom aside. He was holding a leather-bound, green book.
"That's your mother's diary, Harry!" Ginny whispered. "What in the heck is he doing? The git! He stole her diary!"
"Whatchya got there?" Sirius asked James from his bed, where he was currently partaking of a pumpkin pasty.
James didn't reply.
"What did you steal, Prongs?" Remus asked sternly.
James didn't reply.
"Does it have to do with Lily?"
No reply.
"That's a yes," Sirius said wisely.
James was flipping through the pages. He finally found what he was looking for, and immediately became engrossed in the book.
"Is that a diary?" Remus suddenly demanded. He stood up. Sirius followed suit.
"Prongs! No way, mate! You stole Evan's diary!" Sirius chortled.
James was still reading anxiously. And then a huge grin crossed his face.
"Uh-oh. What's he smiling about?" Remus asked Sirius.
"Dunno, but it mustn't be something good. I think we'd best-" he swooped over to James and snatched the dairy away-"confiscate it."
Remus bounded over to Sirius, and read over his shoulder, while James jumped up defiantly to protest.
"I wasn't finished yet!" he snarled.
"No problem, bro," Sirius said cheerfully. "I can read aloud!"
James began to protest, but was overruled by Sirius, as he began to read in a high, girly voice, which seemed to be his imitation of Lily.
"Dear Diary,
"Oh Merlin. You're going to die when you hear this. Really.
"Okay, brace yourself.
"You braced?
"Merlin. I hope so.
"I KISSED JAMES POTTER!
"I know. You don't believe me. I barely believe myself. It's mad. Positively mad.
"So it was all very strange. We were talking, and actually being civilized with each other all last week. And then, tonight, it just happened. Just like that.
"Wait, Prongs-did you snog her tonight?" Sirius asked in wonder. James's proud blush confirmed this. "No bloody way!" Sirius then continued:
"I think I'll go shoot myself. Who'd of thought I'd kiss James Potter? James Potter, my arch enemy? I just can't get over it.
"What's even worse is how much I enjoyed it. When I kissed James, it felt like the world stopped spinning, and like it was spinning twenty times faster, all at once. I felt like a goddess. And I felt like I was in Heaven. Kissing him was amazing."
James was now grinning like a fool.
"Whew! Go Prongsie!" Sirius hooted. "She felt like a goddess in Heaven!" He then returned to his girly voice:
"And now, even though it's time for me to be sleeping, I just can't get the image of James's dark brown eyes piecing into mine when he asked me what I'd do if he kissed me. I wasn't able to reply-I was too surprised. Not surprised that he asked-that was a very Potter-ish thing for him to do. But I was very surprised about what came to my mind when he asked.
"My first thought was, 'Oh Merlin,' and my next thought was, 'I've wanted to snog this boy for years!' and then it happened. We both just sort of leaned in, and IT WAS AMAZING! It was beyond amazing. And it was JAMES POTTER. James Potter and amazing don't belong together! What is happening to me?
"I just can't get over it. We kissed. And I loved it. I haven't told anyone yet, and Potter had better not open his big mouth…his very kissable mouth. Ugh, I need to stop thinking that. Anyway, Natalie is going to spaz when I tell her.
"I still don't believe it.
"James Potter.
"Who would've guessed?
"I reckon life is full of surprises. I just hope he doesn't ask me out anytime soon, because I think I'd say yes, and that would destroy my reputation.
"And, ah crap, I just remembered-what will Remus say?
"I hate soap operas. Why is my life turning into one? Gurrr….
"Well, good night. I'll keep you posted. That is, if I don't shoot myself tonight.
"Really. I KISSED JAMES POTTER! This is earth-shattering! Anyway, I need to get to bed, before Natalie realizes something big happened, which she will, if she sees how much I wrote in here, since I barely write in my diary anymore. I don't want to talk about this yet, to anyone, not even her. Especially her! She probably won't even be surprised.
"So, anyway, I must be going. Good night!
"Love, Lily-who still can't believe she KISSED JAMES POTTER! I think the world is about to end."
Sirius looked up from the diary at James, and then at Remus.
"I can't believe you bloody snogged Lily Evans!" he finally yelled. "Remus, what did she mean by "What will Remus say?""
Remus looked uncomfortable.
"I have no clue. But James, you should probably return that diary soon, before Lily realizes it's missing."
"No bloody way! I want to look at this thing more!" Sirius said, holding the diary to his chest protectively.
"Let's keep it a little longer-she'll never know," James said confidently.
"Poor idiots," Ginny muttered. "A girl never loses her diary without knowing it within two hours."
And then the memory was whisked away, and a new one immediately followed.
James and Lily were in a back corner in the Library. James looked terrified, and Lily looked furious.
"So I just heard a rumor, directly from Sirius, that you and me snogged for two hours last night in the Astronomy Tower. Which is entirely NOT true. Well, mostly not true. It was less than a minute, you bigheaded prat, and it wasn't even in the Astronomy Tower. You're so arrogant, Potter. I knew you'd be immature about that. I can't believe I wasted a kiss on you."
James sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
"I didn't tell," he said honestly.
"I know," she said icily. "My DIARY told. You stole it-it's missing, and I know it was you. How you got in my dormitory is a mystery to me. You're unbelievable. You make me sick! And you don't even feel bad about any of it!"
"Lily, you felt something when we kissed. It felt so right. You know that," James said pleadingly. "Can't we forget all the little pieces of animosity and just try…being together…Please?"
Lily looked up at James, her emerald green eyes brimming with tears.
"I can't believe you stole my diary, Potter," she said, trying to make her voice steely and cold, but the hurt she felt shined through as she spoke. "I didn't think that even you would stoop so low. I never thought of you as a totally morally base human being, but then again, maybe you aren't really human. Maybe your just a 'wizard being,' no human strings attached."
James gaped at Lily.
"Lily, I'm sorry. It was awful of me, I know."
"For once, Potter, you're right. It was." Lily reached her hand up to enclose it around the amber stone dangling from the almost invisible silver chain of her necklace. She held the stone for a long moment in her slender, long fingers, as it trying to draw strength from it. "There can never be an 'us,' Potter, because you are a prat, and I hate you." She didn't sound like she meant it, but James was, none the less, wounded by her harsh words.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Please believe that. Please forgive me?" Lily didn't reply-she just gave James one last, long, searching look. Tears returned to her eyes, spilling over, and the girl silently whirled around and left the young man to gape after her.
When Lily was gone, James banged his head on a nearby bookshelf, swearing loudly.
And then the memory dissolved, and Ginny and Harry found themselves in yet another white rut.
"These stupid blank spots," Harry said vaguely.
"That was intense," Ginny said.
"No kidding."
"Your parents were amazing, Harry. Even though I only saw them when they were, like, 16 and under, I can tell. And you're a lot like them."
Harry snorted.
"My dad was a total prat, she was right," he said.
"Don't you think you're being a bit hard on him?"
Harry shrugged, and the two were silent for a long moment. And then-
"Hello, strangers," a soft voice said from behind them. Harry and Ginny whirled around to see Hermione and Ron grinning at them.
"What are you two playing at, running off and hiding in a jar, leaving 'Mione and me with no clue as to where you are?" Ron demanded, but he grinned.
"Looks like you didn't mind," Ginny said coyly. Ron colored a bit and shrugged.
"So, do either of you two know how to get out of here?" Ginny asked, after exchanging brief pleasantries with her brother and friend. Ron shrugged, but to nobody's surprise, Hermione quickly spoke up.
"Of course I do. And I'm assuming you and Harry don't? I cannot believe you came here without knowing how to get out! What would you two have done if Ron and I never came?" Harry and Ginny shrugged.
"Dunno, but fortunately, that's not an issue, because you did come," Harry said, smirking with Ron and Ginny as Hermione got an irritated look on her face.
"Someday, you're going to expect someone to come to your rescue, Harry James Potter, and when they don't…"
"Alright, alright, Hermione. He gets it," Ron cut in swiftly. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Well, are you two ready to leave?"
"Yeah, I reckon," Harry said. Ginny nodded.
"Good." And then Hermione waved her wand around, and the four were encircled by a gold beam of light. She muttered an incantation, and the four youth were lifted up, out of the swirling Pensieve.
After thanking Hermione for helping them out, Harry sat down to partake of the sandwich Ron had brought him, while Ginny went downstairs to get herself some food.
As Ginny spread marmalade over a slice of homemade bread, she pondered the events she and Harry had just witnessed in the Pensieve. What was bothering her? Something kept resurrecting itself in her memory, but never long enough for her to realize what it was. Something about the Pensieve had struck a familiar chord…
As she smothered her two slices of bread together, Ginny suddenly realized what it was that was nagging her. She knew what she had subconsciously noticed. It was so funny to her now to realize that she had never noticed…
Lily had that necklace with the huge amber stone. She held it when she confronted James, as if extrapolating from it what she was missing.
Could it be the necklace? Could that copious pendent be the key to solving the mystery of Lily Evans's eyes?
Forgetting her sandwich, Ginny Weasley sprinted toward the staircase, eager to tell Harry, Ron and Hermione about her sudden realization, hoping she was onto something.
If this chapter is loaded with mistakes, I'm sorry! It's late at night, and I've been dying to get this typed and posted for ages, so I may've missed some stuff while rushing to get this up.
So, to my reviewers: You're all STELLAR!
Priscilla Ryu: Thanks for the review! I hope this chapter makes up for my extremely long break, and the extremely short last chapter!
Nightwing 509: Thank you! )
HecateDeMort: Thanks!
hahaha-evil: I didn't think it was that funny…but thanks!
Ron's Only Girl: I really was going to do a little song, but I tried, and it was awful. Hopefully next chapter. ) And of course McG is capable of crying! She just tries to look tough. But I think she's actually cried in the books before…if you can't tell, she one of my favorites characters, right up there with Sirius…Oh, and thanks!
fire-icecat: Thank you!
ObsessivePerfectionist: Next chapter will definitely do some in-depth explaining. Thanks for the helpful review! )
tina7610813: You're sorta close…and sorta not. That's all I'm saying! Thanks!
Kaiden: Hey, thank you! It's not that awesome, though, so if you want to constructively criticize, that'd be welcome.
moodyboy66: Thank you! )
beast210: Thanks! I'm flattered, really.
megan7: All I'm saying is that Margaret did not kill herself. Thanks for reading!
NebraskaChick2009: Thanks for the review! And romance takes time, so let it go naturally. If you want to think Ron and Hermione are dating w/o telling Harry, go for it. I personally don't think they'd do that, but a lot of people do. I think this story is written in a way that you can rationalize either way.
Well, there's chapter 14-FINALLY! I am truly ever so sorry about the wait!
Thank you to all of my readers! I love you guys!
And double thanks to my reviewers-I love reading each and every one of your reviews!
I don't know when I'll update next-I truly hope soon, but next week we have a paper coming out, and it'll be a late deadline night, and the next is finals week here, so we'll see what happens. But do please drop me a review.
NEXT CHAPTER:
-Secrets of the necklace are revealed...or at least, begin to unravel
-Chemistry is explored
NEXT NEXT CHAPTER:
-Harry finds something interesting among his inheritances from Sirius
-We find out how Margaret ties in to the story
And, of course, much more coolness. Stay tuned!
