Chapter 11
• The Pensieve •
Harry blinked furiously as he woke up startled.
It was dark around him, and he felt Tonks under his arm. He took a moment to breathe. Until now he had not had a single dream that might be related to what Voldemort was doing or seeing. But suddenly it had changed. Harry grimaced but did not move. He didn't want to wake Tonks.
There hadn't been much to the dream, a black doorway and a glowing symbol. But, as his scar prickled, Harry knew that it wasn't just a dream. He wished he'd seen more, found something he could use, but there was nothing. No faces, no animals, nothing but a dark door.
Finally deciding he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore that night, Harry carefully slipped his hand away from Tonks and rubbed his scar. He glanced over to Tonks as he pulled himself from the bed and saw she was sleeping soundly. Last night she'd come in late, even later than usual, and hadn't said a single word. It was better that way. Harry found it more comfortable if he didn't speak with her at night. Even though he'd gotten used to her presence he still was slightly uneasy about it.
Closing his eyes, Harry stretched and focused, trying to remember anything that might have helped him remember the dream. He thought to write to Dumbledore but decided against it as he continued to think about it in his mind. Dumbledore knew everything he thought cantankerously. Besides, it wasn't as if a dream of a black doorway was going to help him much.
Hedwig hooted in the corner, she had caught some small creature and was in the process of tearing it apart when Harry had woken up. "Hey girl," Harry whispered, "keep it quiet. Tonks is asleep."
Hedwig's huge eyes blinked once and then a second later she continued to rip apart the animal she'd caught. Harry sighed and looked at the time. Today was his birthday and he was up before 5 am. Naturally the damned dreams had started the day of his birthday. He sighed and rubbed his scar unconsciously again as the prickling faded, quicker than usual.
Another minute ticked by on the clock that sat in the corner of Harry's vision and he groaned audibly. It seemed as though he were sleeping less and less lately. The spells Tonks had done didn't seem to be helping much; it was possible that he was gaining some sort of immunity to it. After all, Tonks had been performing it since before the island.
As Harry washed his face and hair, he thought about the time he'd spent at the flat. Tonks was gone a good deal of the time working and so were the twins. That left him alone in the flat, with only his thoughts. The twins for some odd reason didn't want him to use magic. It wasn't all that hard for Harry even though he wanted to practice magic now that he'd started already during the summer. There was the curious reason that the twins didn't want magic in their house. They were wizards and had been all their lives. They had never not known magic but now wanted to stay away from it altogether.
They had books though, and kept some of their notes about creating. Harry ran across these by accident the first time when he was cleaning the kitchen up. They seemed to have some extremely unique ideas and he was happy that their business was going to do so well.
Other than cleaning and reading Harry would practice the fundamentals of some of the spells and thought about how to teach them to the other members of the DA. The thought never even touched him that perhaps there wouldn't be a DA anymore now that Umbridge was gone. The only difference was that now they wouldn't have to be so secretive about things.
Somehow his thoughts always wandered by the end of the day and eventually coming to Sirius, Hermione or Ron. Somehow even when he thought about Sirius, he didn't even cry. He was angry with himself about it, but it was the oddest thing, every time he started getting sad he felt as if he were floating. The closest thing he could relate it to was the Imperius curse when the fake Moody had placed it on him.
He also tried to figure out everything that Tonks had once showed him. He wished he had a Pensieve so he could go over it easier. He was able to remember a good number of the things she showed him when they first started. Some of it he wrote down on several parchments that he tied together as a makeshift book. He wanted to remember exactly how she introduced it so when he showed the others he could do it properly.
Once he finished his morning ritual he found his scar was throbbing again. He cleared his mind as best as possible, hoping it would just go away. While Snape's lessons hadn't gone well, he did learn a few things from them. Harry shook his head at the thought of Snape. He knew he had to start training for Occlumency again, but the thought of Snape trying to teach him made Harry debate on whether to just let the dreams continue.
Harry headed towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Even though it was his birthday it didn't feel all that different from any other morning. He cooked breakfast for the others; the twins would probably be up in an hour and Tonks… she just woke up whenever she woke. Harry also knew that they would probably throw him a party later. He'd heard the three whispering amongst themselves and he wondered if Ron and Hermione would be able to come – he suddenly grown to miss them a lot more, especially now that Tonks was gone most of the time.
As he padded across the floor of the room he glanced at the bed and felt a tug, like he wanted to sit and watch her. He had done it some mornings, wondering why she did everything she did for him. But there wasn't even a face visible. She was completely concealed by the covers, so he continued past her.
Harry stopped at a trunk near the door. He opened it silently and touched the pillow to make sure it was still warm. Sometimes he had to prod it with his wand when it started to cool since the egg needed to stay constantly warm. Harry stared at it, some brown speckles had formed on since the night before – he would have to see if the notes said anything about that. Harry still wasn't sure what he was going to do with the animal. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't let him keep it. But then he would have to wait until it hatched. After reading through the notes he found that a lot of them were a great deal more like a dog than any of the other combined species.
Harry shut the lid and sighed, trying to keep his mind clear. He walked out the door and closed it quietly, trying to keep it from clicking, which often was loud enough to awaken Tonks. The door to the kitchen creaked slightly ahead of him and Harry stopped dead. His hand slipped into his pocket and pulled his wand from it and he checked to make sure that the second wand was secured against his arm beneath his long sleeve. There was a second noise, a light scratching, like a mouse… or a rat, Harry though savagely. He thought for a moment, trying to decide on a spell before he burst through the door. If Pettigrew was on the other side then he was going to make sure he didn't get away. If Sirius wasn't on the run… then… then… Harry shook his head again and focused on the task at hand.
Taking a deep breath Harry charged into the room. It was unnaturally black, almost as if all light had been sucked from it – it typically had a little bit of light coming through from the window as the sun came up. With his other hand Harry reached across his body uncomfortably searching for the light switch he knew was next to the door. His outstretched fingers found it and he held his breath as he flicked it.
"Surprise!" three separate voices shouted loudly as the light flickered on.
Harry had already said half a spell before his mind connected who they were. Tiny bits of confetti fell on him, followed by lazy balloons. As they neared the ground they seemed to disappear completely. In front of him were the twins and Tonks, with a huge cake sitting on the small table. The red and gold icing looked as though someone had tried to make it represent Gryffindor, on the top a ridiculous looking griffin. It didn't seem to have been done with much artistic talent, but at the same time Harry thought it looked like it had been done with a lot of thoughtfulness.
Standing there, Harry had no idea what to do. The sixteen candles that sat atop the cake were now lit and the flickered as Harry watched them, transfixed. He knew what he was suppose to do, he'd imagined it a hundred times before, but now that he was standing there and the cake sat before him he found it hard to actually do it.
"Well," Tonks said smiling, "blow them out. The charms that keep magic from registering aren't going to sit much longer."
Harry continued to stare at the cake, feeling the urge to blow them out, but wanting that moment to last forever. "Blow them out or we'll have a fire and the whole building'll show up."
Waiting another moment he finally heaved a deep breath and blew hard. He failed horribly to blow out more than half the candles. He however leaned in as his breath finished and helped him finish off the rest.
Having never had a true birthday party he continued to stare while George pulled out a knife and began to cut the cake up. Someone was with him on his birthday for the second time in his life, someone was there and willing to celebrate it with him. Hagrid had been the first and given him perhaps the best birthday present ever, revealing who he really was.
A small stack of presents was uncovered by a grinning Tonks, each bearing separate names. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Tonks… "Hedwig went out and got presents and brought them to Dumbledore. He delivered them to us."
Harry looked at the clock on the wall to insure it really was 5 am and laughed. "It's just barely five in the morning guys. I've never seen any of you up before six, unless you count Tonks coming in at 4:30."
There was a moment's pause before anyone answered. It was Tonks who did. "It's your birthday silly, we can afford to wake up early one morning."
"As long as we get to go back to bed," the twins added simultaneously. "It was her idea to surprise you this early."
Harry turned to Tonks to thank her but his words disappeared before they were able to come out. Bits of red and gold were flying everywhere and Tonks made and umph sound as the cake was crushed under her. Tonks' face was quickly coated with the frosting that had only moment before been decorating the cake.
Staring, open mouthed, at Tonks Harry wasn't sure exactly what to say. As Tonks struggled to pull herself from the large cake Harry's senses snapped back and he reached down and helped he up. "I'm sorry," she said, almost crying as she looked back at the cake. "The chair was just… and I… I mean, I don't… I'm so sorry I. I worked all night to get it right and then I go and ruin it."
Laughing at her as she tried to brush off the cake he took some from what was left of the cake and tried it. "It's good Tonks, it's too bad it was used to make me laugh," he said as he chuckled. Her behavior was confusing, Harry figured she'd take it lightly like she did most other things, but for some reason she didn't. Tonks frowned and, looking depressed, stalked out of the room.
"Well," Fred said when Harry looked to them, confused. "Go after her, tell her it's alright. She really did spend all night getting it ready for you."
With little more than a nod Harry went after her, heading back into the room where they slept. There was a second bathroom that was attached inside their room, and he could see the door swinging as he entered the room. Not thinking twice about it he followed her in. "Tonks, really I loved it," he said as he pushed the door open.
He paused a second as he got a glance of her face in the mirror, it wasn't the same Tonks he knew. It was her, but it looked so much younger. But, she turned to him and the face was gone, it was no different from the usual look. Tears were streaming down her cheek. "I'm sorry Harry; it was supposed to be perfect. I wrote Hermione about it and everything to find out what sort of cake you liked and I made it Gryffindor colors. It was all perfect, but then I had to go and fall into it. I hate that I'm so clumsy, but sometimes I just can't seem to step right.
"Tonks, really, it's alright. I saw it, and it tasted good…" he was going to finish with something else but decided not to, rather choosing to stop speaking and see what she'd do.
"I got a present for you," Tonks said uncertainly. "I don't know if you'll like it… I just thought since you know, you lost your picture book and all that maybe I could try and get you something that might help you replace it."
Harry looked at her confused. He remembered mentioning the book once, not long after he had taken him away from his house and he did really miss it, everything he had of his parents and friends had been in it.
"Let's go open it then," Harry said, still trying to maintain his position of comforting her.
When the two appeared back in the kitchen the twins had already cleaned up the mess. "Sorry mate," George grinned, "we could go and buy you another, but it just wouldn't be the same." He winked when he saw Tonks smile slightly.
"Mine last!" Tonks said as she seemed to have cheered up completely.
Harry just shrugged as he looked at the stack of presents. He picked Hermione up first, it looked remarkably like another book and Harry wasn't surprised. As he pulled off the wrapping he came in contact with soft leather. The book was not a book, rather a type of journal. Hermione had attached a note explaining that she'd seen him making notes last year for the lessons and thought that maybe it'd be best to keep them in a book. She seemed to have collected a good deal of them and already entered them, adding some of her own notes. Everything was in order of what they'd done in the DA. The few things he hadn't been able to get to were added on the end. Harry smiled at the gift; unlike the homework journal he'd make good use of it.
Ron had gotten him a wand holster. It was used, but had been cleaned up well. Harry smiled brightly as he read the note attached to it; Ron seemed to have thought that it would help him draw his wand quicker – as if he couldn't draw it fast enough anyway.
Luna enclosed some sort of necklace. She said she and her father had come across it while they were on vacation and she thought he might like it. Supposedly it was supposed to ward off evil spells. Harry shook his head, doubting it would block any of the evil spells that would be headed his way, but still clasping it on his neck.
Ginny got him a box of chocolates and told him that she hoped that everything was alright wherever he was. It was then that the twins announced that they'd also had a present, surprising Harry and Tonks.
Fred announced like it were in the middle of some sort of ceremony. "We've gotten you a present," he said taking a knee before Harry and bowing, holding his hand above him with a scroll in it. It was held together by what looked like a set of gold rings.
"Don't worry," George said, loosing his smile, "we promise that it's not some sort of prank."
Fred hit him, "Well, it's not something that's really a prank. It won't do anything, not right now at least, just read the scroll," he said glancing to George. Harry wondered what it was and unrolled the parchment.
The scroll was actually two separate scrolls. The first, the outside scroll, had an official look. He read it over and then looked at the twins, eyeing their eager grins. "I can't," he said slowly.
"Oh, don't worry," George said, "It's already done, you're one quarter owner of our shop. You're not going to have to supply any more financial aid. Our store is doing quite well. In fact we've just hired another person other than Lee to help keep the store up. She's quite insane, you should meet her."
Harry was speechless. "Can't let your support go to waste," Fred added, grinning as widely as George. "Lee thought it up when we started to make the business all formal. He's our other partner or you would've gotten more than a quarter of the business."
"But I don't want this," Harry said. "I gave you that money so you could use it, I didn't want anything else from you."
"Ah come on Harry. It's not like you're required to do anything, it just gives you some special privileges." Fred said.
"Yeah, like the other part of the present," George piped in.
The other scroll was lying on the table and Harry picked it up, glancing at it. He looked at the rings and then back to the scroll. "You're not serious?"
Fred and George nodded eagerly. "It was your idea anyway," Fred said.
"Yeah," George added, "last year when we were talking about not being able to get the extendable ears into a closed room that had the Imperturbable charm on it you said we should just make a hole in the wall. Well, it's not exactly a hole in the wall, but it's a hole."
"Try it out," Fred said excitedly, almost tripping over himself to have Harry play with it. "It took a long time to make, but we'll make others."
Gently Harry pulled apart the two rings that were clasped together. They seemed to be stuck together like magnets and came apart with some force. They both had tiny arrows on them that pointed one direction and Harry put both of them with the arrows facing up beside each other on the table. Tonks was watching, curious and seemingly amused. She'd read the note from over Harry's shoulder while he was speaking with the twins.
She rolled up the parchment tightly and handed it to Harry. "Try it," she nudged him on.
Taking the paper Harry looked at the two rings and then plunged the tightly rolled parchment into the center of on of the rings. He gasped and let go of it as it popped out the other side. It dropped a little but didn't go anywhere, bobbing half way inside the ring. The other side seemed to have an equal length floating from the ring.
Fred pulled the parchment out of the ring and then excitedly shoved his finger through it. It popped out the other end. Harry laughed as the lone finger motioned for him to come forward. When Fred had pulled his finger back out he picked up one and handed it to George who walked out of the room with it.
"It works great," George's voice floated through the room clear as day, "when you're trying to listen to conversations that are happening in another room. Or you can watch things," he added.
Fred held up the ring and Harry placed his eye near it, seeing George's eye in it. George pulled it back until most of his face was visible. "Like you said: a hole."
"But this hole is transportable," Fred added as Harry sat the ring back down. George entered back into the room. "We're trying to work out a few things, like making the hole one sided – but for now you just have to put a silencing charm on yourselves so that people can't hear you. We blocked out the visual easily enough, just tap it with your wand and say dark and the other ring wont be able to see into the ring you have for a few hours or until you tap it and say light."
"We did add a little extra to this," George said and he pulled out his wand, tapping it. He plainly said 'off' and then picked it up and put his finger inside it slipping it on just like a typical ring. "You can just turn the voice on if you want. It opens a tiny hole instead of one that goes all the way on the inside of the ring. We set up an amplification spell so that it sounds just like the normal sized hole."
Tonks was examining the other ring that Fred had had. "You could put it on someone to keep track of someone. We're trying to make it so one ring can connect to multiple rings so that we could have one that could listen on multiple people, you know sort of like a communication device, if we could just figure out how to make all the holes the same hole."
"How'd you figure out how to do this anyway?" Tonks asked as she pulled it close to her eyes, trying to figure out where the hole was.
"It wasn't easy," George said. "We found this really old book about creating something like a Portkeys and, well, after that it didn't take long to figure out how to make the hole. We just couldn't make a big one – not yet at least. But the rings do enough for now."
Their playing done, the rings were handed back to Harry. He clasped them together and thought of putting on his finger but then decided against it. Tonks suggested putting them on the necklace that Luna had given him and Harry did, but turned them off just in case. He didn't want the necklace to disappear from around his neck.
"Mine now," Tonks said as Harry was snapping the necklace back in place. "It's not just from me either, we found it among Sirius' things and thought… just go ahead and open it."
Harry blinked and stared at the package. It had been something of Sirius'. Tonks was a goof sometimes, but she'd been really careful about the Sirius situation barely even mentioned it until now. Harry knew that Sirius was related to her, and that they probably knew each other better than he knew Sirius. Her gift seemed to get larger on the table as he thought about things and he almost dared not open it.
Tentatively Harry touched the gift, it was obviously a box or within one of some sort and he tore the paper away slowly taking much longer than he would have normally. It was enclosed in a wooden box with very little decorations. Harry could see that Sirius had carved his name into the bottom corner of it. For a minute Harry just fingered the name wondering things that he didn't want to wonder about.
Slowly he gripped the lid and pulled it off looking down into it to see what lay inside. A stone basin, filled with a silver substance. "A Pensieve," Harry murmured under his breath. It reacted to his presence and the thick silvery-white substance swirled. An image appeared as Harry felt himself getting closer and closer to it. Sirius, Peter, Remus and his father were outside somewhere. Harry's nose was so close to the material that he almost touched it when Tonks pulled him back.
"Sorry Harry, but there's a note. I think you should read it first, I think he knew that we'd give it to you when he… well just take a look."
Somehow in the few moments Harry had been staring at the note the twins had disappeared. Harry unfolded the note that was tucked into the side of the box and read it carefully.
Harry,
If you're reading this now I'm dead, unless I forgot to remove it. In which case I forgot, so forgive me please. I know you don't have much to remember your father by and, after our little talk about him, I decided that this might be the best way to show you.
Moony and I discussed this for a long time before he finally approved it and we asked Dumbledore to get one for us. They're not the easiest things to come by so please be careful with it. Because of our talk I realized some things, some things that I'd forgotten a long time ago. What James and Lilly died for was something I've always regretted, but now I don't.
Harry you were the best thing that ever happened to me after James died, maybe the best thing ever. I want you to know that. I wish I could give you more than you'll ever get from me.
I know I've never been a father to you and never could be, I'm not the sort. But I wanted to give you one last gift in case one of these days I defy Dumbledore and end up with your parents. It's hard without them Harry, I miss James ever so much and my memories aren't enough anymore.
Here's the best I could give you. Memories you've wished for all your life. Don't ever think that your father was a bad person. I know it seems like it from what you've seen and what you do see, but remember that we grew up and realized our mistakes.
I realized how childish it was to fight with Severus a long time ago but we still can't get along. Will you tell him that I left his little keepsake in a box? It's in the secret passage behind the picture of Godric on the third floor. He'll have to use his wand because it's on the ceiling near the entrance. That's the best apology I can give him, and I couldn't while I was alive so do it for me as a last request – tell him it's from your father and me and don't be around when he gets it.
If you want to use this Pensieve yourself you'll have to ask Dumbledore the spells a bit complicated and it was hard enough to learn myself. I'm not good at explaining things. Besides, you'll have enough memories in there to last for a while if you can't ask right away.
Oh, one last thing. Go and kill Voldemort for me will you? I'll be rooting for you wherever I am. Tell Ron and Hermione that their promises still apply too.
Sirius
Harry stared at the letter, it was written in jerky writing, as if Sirius had been in a hurry when he'd written it. Some of the ink was blotted and he'd had a hard time making it out, but in the end it was all there no matter how much little he could stay to one topic.
Sirius was ready to die, he was sure of that. Harry may not have been ready for it, nor was he willing to accept it. But then he couldn't accept a lot of things and that's why he was himself. One last time Harry looked into the swirling mass of memories again and wondered how much Sirius had put in there then he closed the lid with a sigh, he'd wait until he was alone to explore.
Tonks was waiting for him in the other room. "Let's go out," she said when Harry came out of the room.
For the rest of the day Harry spent time with Tonks as she paraded him around London taking in sites he'd never seen. It was enjoyable, like most of the time he'd spent on the island had been. But as it started to get dark Tonks grabbed a cab and they ended up in front of a huge clock tower that Harry recognized.
"What are we doing here?" Harry asked suspiciously as Tonks. She took a walkway right passed the gate as if it didn't exist. Harry followed, at a quick pace, not getting any answer.
Guards were all around it seemed, but none of them seemed to notice Tonks as she strode right up to a tower and began fiddling with a lock.
It had been hard enough to stay right next to her as the snuck in the gates and around the guards, even if they didn't seem to be. Harry wasn't sure he wanted to be caught playing a prank anywhere near the place, he'd seen more police officers in this area then he thought he'd ever seen in his life.
As soon as Harry noticed she wasn't able to get the lock open he pulled a penknife from his pocket, opened up the special blade and handed it to Tonks. "Use it like a key," he whispered is silently as possible. Other than his Firebolt this was the one other thing that Sirius had given to him.
The key easily slipped into the keyhole and turned silently. "Come on," Tonks whispered as she opened the door silently. "We need to get inside before the guard comes back around."
Harry quickly followed her in. He knew exactly what they were doing there. The idea that the twins had told him about when he'd first come to their flat.
Once inside Harry made sure that the door was locked again. A flight of stairs was just to the right, Tonks headed towards them.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Harry asked as one of the stairs creaked under his weight.
"Yes," Tonks said as she slowed. "Just last year we chased a muggle up here that had gotten a hold of some magical items. He couldn't use the wand, but there was a quite a few items he was using to rob the town dry. Actually, he had a knife quite similar to the one you let me use. He was hard to catch because he was a muggle and magical devices don't put off much of a signature."
Harry just nodded, and continued following her. After several flights of stairs he stopped and waited for a few minutes and then started going again. Why, he wasn't sure, but he heard footsteps occasionally, they echoed through the stairwell.
"This idea is too great to resist – we just can't get caught. I don't think I could talk my way out of being in here."
After what seemed like ages Tonks stopped in front of a door. "Here it is," she said, putting her ear to the door.
A moment later, inside the door Harry was staring at a huge assembly, and the inside of the clock they were playing with. Beyond the clock he could make out shapes, and he suddenly wanted to see outside.
"Is there a window?" he asked, as he watched Tonks bang the Weasley product with her hand.
Tonks nodded and pointed back to the stairs. "It's on the next level. You should be alright, I don't think there's guard up here, but just keep it quiet."
Nodding, Harry headed back to the stairs, wanting to see outside. They still had a good thirty minutes before the bell would ring again and so he wasn't worried about ear protection.
It wasn't a window, it was much more. A balcony extended all the way around the tower. Slowly Harry stepped out onto it, it wasn't that late and the tower was lit up, so people could see him if they were taking pictures. The caution was soon lost as he took in the view. London was more beautiful than he'd ever imagined.
A slight scratching sound, faint over the murmur of the crowd below, made Harry turn quickly. In an instant he'd drawn his wand from his cloak and was pointing it into the shadows of the corner pillar.
"Good evening," a voice said calmly from the shadow.
A face appeared almost as if something had lit a light just above the man, but it was only enough to show his face. "Oh," the man said lazily, a smirk on his face, "there'll be no need for magic here." Then he turned back towards the city, staring out at it as Harry had been. "I'm not one to fight about such a magnificent sight. You were smart enough to get up here, we can share the view," he said calmly as Harry's grip loosened just slightly on his wand.
"Who are you?" Harry asked awkwardly, never taking his eye from the man. He wasn't about to go looking out at the city now that someone else was here.
Sighing, the stranger turned back to Harry, shaking his head. "Children, they must know everything," he said, and Harry was suddenly reminded of Snape. They both had the same chalky skin complexion. But at the same time this mans face was more drawn out and from what Harry could tell, long dark hair. Somewhat like Sirius. "So many people have asked me that question," he continued, "and yet I never have a real answer."
"My name," he said, stepping down from his seat on the railing, "is Hadwin…" He paused for a moment, as if he might have forgotten his own name. Finally he smiled briefly and continued. "Wendel Hadwin, and since we're introducing ourselves what might your name be?"
"Harry, Harry Potter," Harry replied, taking a step towards the stranger. There was no reaction and so Harry's mouth continued to speak even though he wasn't quite sure he should. "But, you already knew that, didn't you?" he asked as he stared at the man.
The stranger, Wendel, was Sirius like, more so than Harry had at first thought. A pang of grief washed over Harry but he pressed it aside, he needed to focus if he was to use magic. Sirius was dead, and this man, whoever he was, was not the man he loved. His cloak was rather shabby not unlike Lupin's, but at the same time it was different. Completely black, it wrapped around the man's body fitting his stature perfectly. The bottoms of it were so ragged that no hem remained. Some of it even came up several inches from where it had once been.
Underneath he had crimson clothing, and though none of it was quite as shabby as his cloak, it was all well worn. Harry's eyes searched out a wand or a place where it was possibly kept. Tonks had taught him it was best to try and keep one step ahead of the opponent but at the same time always be ready for the unexpected.
"My wand?" the stranger asked, his eyes locking into Harry's and not moving. He neither blinked nor lost Harry's eye. Harry almost winced under the gaze. It was almost as if the man were breaking him apart from the inside. The familiarity of it washed over Harry and he gasped, then closed his eyes and focused, trying to push the man out of his mind. While it was not the same as the way Harry had intruded this man was inside him, breaking his will rather than his body.
There was silence.
For a few moments Harry felt the need to draw his wand, but he suppressed the urge, the man had made no move towards him nor had he made any movement at all since he'd turned his head back to the streets.
"Your friend had better hurry, there's a set of guards headed up the tower right now to check on things."
"How do you know what we're doing?" Harry asked.
The stranger moved, standing to his full height on the balcony. Had Harry not known he was real he might have taken him for a black gargoyle watching the tower at night. His robes covered him completely, except for his hands which were gloved, so Harry could see nothing of him except for his face. "I know you," he said quietly, trying to recall where exactly he'd seen the man. No place came to mind, but he recalled seeing his face before.
"I doubt it," he said.
"Did you do something important?" Harry asked, thinking it was possible he'd seen a picture of the man. "Maybe I saw you in the newspaper or on the telly."
The stranger laughed deeply, and a strange sensation overcame Harry. "No, I don't think you would have. I have done things, yes, things you might see as important. But, they're not what you'd expect. I do those things for my own purposes."
When Harry had nothing to say he smiled. "What we do in life echoes in eternity," he added cryptically.
Harry had done important things too, but he would have rather stayed out of the spotlight like this stranger claimed. It was nice, getting gifts from admirers, but he rather disliked not being able to walk around without a disguise on.
A horn below honked for the second time and Harry took his eyes away from the odd stranger, taking the time to look down at the street below him. The people were like ants, moving ever so slowly on whatever paths they had chosen. A few had stopped and were looking up at the tower.
It didn't surprise Harry that a great deal of people would stare up at the clock tower and take pictures. "Don't worry," the stranger said as Harry pulled back so that his picture wouldn't be taken. "The tower's got a few tricks of it's own. From below you can't see magical people up here; it's an inventive little charm and works quite well. You could jump and no one would see you until you'd almost hit the ground."
"Why are you up here?"
A sudden movement behind Harry startled the man and then, he was gone. Harry wasn't even sure if he'd seen it correctly but the man looked as if he'd jumped off the tower.
"Nutter," Harry muttered as he turned to a bewildered Tonks.
She was staring at the ledge, her face locked in some form of terror and surprise. "Someone was there, right?"
Harry nodded and stepped past her, whoever the man was he was long gone. Maybe he played Jack too.
"Let's go," she said quickly. "If someone was there then this probably isn't the best place to be hanging around. Don't apparate," Harry finished as Tonks was preparing a quick escape. "That'll only get us in more trouble, I didn't exactly tell Dumbledore about that little trick you learned, or about Jack, so please don't mention either."
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