Summary: A gruesome memory might provide the fuel that Tonks and Lupin need to destroy the pensieve.

Pensieve Moments
Cuts Like a Knife

Hogsmeade
Three Broomsticks

"Thanks for meeting with me, Professor McGonagall," said the old woman with the iron gray hair as she stepped out of the floo. She spoke to the tabby cat that waited patiently on the table. The cat sat like a sphinx, then quickly morphed into the Transfiguration Professor.

"It was kind of Rosemerta to arrange this," said McGonagall as she walked over to the tea set that had been left for them. They were in Madam Rosemerta's parlor above the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.

McGonagall continued as she poured the tea. Her voice sounded incredulous as she asked, "Did I read your message correctly, Tonks? You and Lupin intend to destroy a pensieve? You realize there could be valuable information there."

"It's warping my cousin's mind," countered Tonks immediately as she accepted her cup and settled into a chair.

"Well, that, my dear, is a matter of argument. Twelve years in Azkaban doesn't promote mental stability." The Professor sipped at her tea thoughtfully. Her gentler tone belied the severity of McGonagall's words, but she prided herself in being direct.

"Then it's more important that we eliminate any further threat to his sanity," argued Tonks. "And if Sirius becomes unstable, what's to keep him from seeking out Peter Pettigrew or others to avenge James Potter? He'd be a hostage that Harry Potter couldn't resist."

"Why not just confiscate the pensieve and seal it?" asked McGonagall.

"It only appears when Sirius is most likely to be alone," said Tonks. She leaned in to add, "I'm not sure what's making it accessible. I wonder if, well, if his father didn't cast a spell for it to appear if Sirius ever came back to Number Twelve. The room it's in sort of shimmers into existence, like a Room of Requirement."

"There could be something to that," agreed McGonagall. "How will you know when Sirius has his next encounter with it?"

"I've tagged Sirius with a Stalker charm so that we know when the pensieve appears again," said Tonks. She pulled out the smooth stone she held in her hand. Lupin had a similar one that would grow cold to the touch when it was activated.

McGonagall nodded, but then said, "Remus Lupin will be challenged to destroy the pensieve even under optimal conditions. He's a powerful wizard, but his lycanthropy might tarnish the purity of his magic in the pensieve. It's unfortunate his line doesn't extend back to the Roman wizards."

Tonks missed her swallow of tea and began coughing. Lupin's venificus primo status was not something open for discussion. Instead she assured, "I'll be there with him to help."

"Yes, I hear the two of you have become a very effective team," said McGonagall without insinuation.

Still, Tonks could feel a blush creeping up the elderly face she wore. "We know that the Shadow charm will be the best way to enter the pensieve. That level of immersion will allow us the corporeal form we need inside of the basin to call the Implosion spell."

"Yes, that would be best. I remember you being quite adept at transforming into a shadow, " said McGonagall with a quirked eyebrow. Nymphadora Tonks was a natural at transfiguration. "Do you remember anything about the runes on the bowl of the pensieve?"

"We were so intent in getting out of the room that we never had time to inspect them," replied Tonks as she shook her head. She felt quite incompetent at not having kept her head in the situation.

"Each pensieve has a character of its own and in certain cases, well, it can even develop a power of its own. Those created with Dark Magic demand to be fed, almost like a Dementor. It becomes a web of thoughts and the magic is fueled by the strength of the dark emotions contained within the memories it has collected."

Tonks took a deep breath as she accepted the information. "Remus said we had to gauge the right moment to break the pensieve or we'd be ineffective, that it had to become intense."

"The intensity of the emotion is necessary to drive the Implosion spell," confirmed McGonagall with a nod. "I would assume that as this is the Father's pensieve, the emotion you're looking for is anger. Don't judge the situation by what you're feeling or what you think is disturbing Sirius."

"What are the consequences of something going wrong? I need to know what could make us abort this mission," explained Tonks.

"The memory vortex instigated by the implosion will likely draw out memories from anyone physically near, especially the invaders like you and Lupin. If the drain is too strong, you could wind up at St. Mungo's," said McGonagall. As she sipped her tea, she muttered, "And in the same ward as Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Now there's a motivation to succeed," said the Auror.

"There is also the danger of actually getting caught in the memory vortex as the pensieve collapses. A pensieve made from Dark Magic will act defensively in an effort to reassert itself. You could become suspended in a mnemonic cycle. You need to be prepared to face some intense memories of your own before you can break free of it."

"Like when Remus was bitten," murmured Tonks. Or his first transformation, she thought. Then she gasped, "What if we enter a memory that has a full moon? Will Remus transform if he's in the pensieve?"

"No, no it's like seeing a paper moon," assured McGonagall, "Although I'm sure the image will be very disturbing to him."

"Any last words of advice?" asked Tonks.

"Keep your head clear, Tonks. Remus and Sirius have a lot of history. If they draw you into one of their shared memories, it'll be up to you to pull them out."

Tonks blew out a deep breath, then gasped as she touched the signal stone. "It's happening again! I've got to run. Thanks for the advice, Professor."

The Auror was in the floo before McGonagall could set down her tea cup. She pursed her lips and mumbled, "I hope it's only like a paper moon..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

London
Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

Sirius Black had made a promise, but it fled his mind as the door to the room suddenly shimmered into existence. He didn't even have to reach for the doorknob for it to swing open and reveal the now familiar glow from the pensieve. Soon he was looking into the memories of his father.

Tonks and Lupin maintained their disillusionment charm as they approached the shimmering doorway. A quick wave of his hand stabilized the entrance, but rather than walk in, the two figures chanted, "Umbra effusio."

Two shadows could be seen extending into the room until the light of the hallway lost them in the depths of the darkened chamber. The shades crept along the floor until they approached the pensieve. Then two streams of shadow flowed up the bowl and seemed to bleed into the pensieve.

Sirius Black was too immersed in the memory to notice, however. He was staring at the stark beauty of the night scene in the pensieve.

It was a winter night and young Sirius Black was taking point as the party tracked their prey. The nine-year old boy called over his shoulder in excitement. "Here they are! I see tracks!"

The party hurried forward and a man's voice said, "Looks like you'll have your hide tonight, McNair."

"That I will, Mister Black, and a big one, too." The smile on the face of the Ministry's Executioner was particularly vile.

"There it is!" yelled the boy excitedly.

The wizards followed, but left no tracks to mar the trail of their prey.

Lupin scanned the scene for signs of Tonks as his form emerged in the pensieve. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he saw the brief flash of pink hair in the moonlight. Unlike the viewer, he and Tonks had actually entered the memory at the edge of the woods.

But then a new fear arose in Lupin as he looked at the night sky of the memory. It was a full moon! He felt the familiar prickling of his skin and the stretching tension begin at his mouth. Then he heard her voice.

"It's just a memory, Remus. It's not real; it can't affect you."

"I can feel it! I need to get out of here. You need to get away from me," whispered Lupin harshly.

"No, your eyes aren't changing, your limbs aren't extending. It's just conditioning, Remus."

Lupin forced himself to take a full breath and soon his hands were patting his body to ensure he wasn't transforming.

"Want me to frisk you?" asked Tonks. She managed to insert a suggestive tone into the whisper, but it served to relieve the stress. She soon added, "I met McGonagall at Hogsmeade today to ask about penetrating a pensieve in case something like this happened." She pointed to the moon and said, "It's like when you meet a Boggart, Remus. It's just an illusion."

Lupin looked at her sharply, then said in all sincerity, "I'm glad you're more than just a pretty face."

"Well, this pretty face was ready to chant the homorphus charm and drag you out of here if need be," admitted Tonks. "Feel all right then?"

Lupin looked up at the full moon for a moment and felt Tonks slip her hand into his. His voice almost sounded surprised when he whispered, "It's beautiful."

She squeezed his hand quickly and said, "We better catch up to the hunt."

Lupin scanned the ground out of curiosity. Were the wizards hunting a Magical creature or a Muggle one? He soon found the tracks. "It's a wolf hunt."

The tone of his voice made Tonks cringe. She could only hope it was a Muggle wolf.

The scene went by in a flurry of images as several wizards converged on the Wolf. It stood as tall as a man, but the wizards who were hunting it were powerful. Soon the Wolf was tangled in the charmed steel net cast by a tall man. McNair wasted no time dispatching it.

"Better skin it while you can, McNair."

Sirius turned to the man's voice with a question. "What's the rush, Father?"

The men around the boy just laughed at his naiveté. The boy watched as McNair saw to his task with strokes that bespoke his experience.

Tonks heard Lupin draw in his breath as they watched the men in the hunting party. She knew it must be painful for him to watch the scene, but she was shocked when she heard his words.

"It's my Grandfather. The Wolf Hunter with the net; it's him," he murmured. Lupin's hands were clenched into fists at his side.

Tonks scanned the men and saw a tall man at the perimeter. He'd been the one to cast the net and set the binding spell on it. His faced turned and for a brief moment, Tonks could see the family resemblance. "Let's end this now, Remus."

"No, we need to wait until Sirius does something that makes his father angry. We need that emotion to drive the spell that will break the pensieve."

Tonks pressed her lips together as she remembered the same admonition from McGonagall. What could be worse than watching this butchery?

"Won't you let me help?" asked the boy.

"Go ahead, McNair. Let him have a go at it," said the boy's father. "It's about time he showed some backbone. I expected he'd be too weak to last through the hunt."

"I can do it," assured the boy with false bravado.

"No, Sirius, don't," whispered Lupin as he watched the boy eagerly take the knife.

Tonks couldn't speak, but she felt the tears streaming down her face as she bore witness to the scene. They needed to end this soon. When would Sirius realize the true nature of the hunt?

McNair watched with approval as the boy executed a number of fluid strokes before taking the knife back. "You've picked up a taste for it, I see. Maybe you should train to be an executioner when you grow up?"

When the deed was complete, McNair held his trophy and laughed in delight as the others joined in, even Sirius. The Wolf Hunter moved forward to chant a preservation spell on it. The night was drawing to a close as the party walked away.

Lupin's heart felt his stomach turn as he again found his Grandfather's face. He couldn't bear to look at Sirius at the moment. Then Tonks tugged on his sleeve and said, "Look, it's coming, I think. We need to be ready."

The first streaks of dawn fell on the killing field. The boy Sirius turned one last time to look. The blood drained from his face and his mouth opened in a horrific scream that resonated against the tranquil dawn. His father slapped him sharply in anger, but the screams wouldn't stop.

The father's rage at being embarrassed yet again by his son held all the energy Lupin and Tonks needed to cast the spell to destroy the pensieve. Together they raised their wands and called, "Memoria recido!"

Sirius Black could hear the spell being chanted as he peered into the pensieve and saw a whirlpool form around the figures in the scene. But he could also feel the torrent as it began to pull memories from his very mind. He wanted to believe he would never hurt Remus Lupin, the Werewolf who was his friend, but his memories revealed the truth. There was a night when he had hunted Lupin with one intention: kill the traitor. The silver threads flowed from his head with ease, but each tendril was like the approach of a Dementor for him.

Inside the pensieve, Lupin used all his energy to dampen the memories of his transformations. But the presence of his grandfather in the hunt fueled the heartbreaking memory of the wizard whip. The loathing filled him, as did anger at how the lycanthropes were treated. Now, part of that anger was directed at his oldest friend, the boy who had wielded a knife. The tumultuous emotions roiled around him as another memory surfaced: the night he had let himself be used as bait so that he could kill Sirius Black.

Tonks was caught in a maelstrom of emotion as dark memories were pulled from her. This pensieve, being created with Dark Magic, wanted to feed on them. It was easy to latch on to the hatred. She despised Lupin's grandfather for what he had done to Remus and for his role in the Wolf Hunt. She was angry at Sirius' father, the man who had mentally tortured her cousin, a man who would be entertained by watching children tread on the Dark side of magic. She felt the wave of negative emotions washing over her and remembered too late McGonagall's admonition: Keep your head clear, Tonks.

The despair in the room belonged only to the humans present. The house elf who witnessed the event held a gruesome smile on his face. Sirius Black would suffer at the hands of the very people who wanted to help him! The half-breeds, the mutants, the vile shape-shifting creatures would also be eliminated! Oh, what wondrous luck he had. Kreacher's feet moved in a macabre dance that reflected his delight.

TBC

Author Note:

Any information about how the pensieve works is pure conjecture on my part. I thought it plausible that such instruments could be created through a variety of methods, one that would include a warped pensieve created by Dark Magic.

The umbra effusio spell is not canon, nor is the memoria recido. Likewise I know of no actual Stalker spell or signal stone, although the latter is similar to the coins that Hermione charmed.

I actually worked at this to keep the tone down, so I hope none of you think the rating should be higher. There is a purpose in the wolf hunt because the important thing was that Sirius was able to understand the true nature of what had occurred.

And, yes, the story isn't over. The last chapter will describe the memory they have fallen into and resolve certain issues that developed. Should have that up in a few days.

Thank you for your patience. And will try to get a chapter up on Seducing a Nymph to make up for the intensity of this one, but after I finish Pensieve Moments.