Chapter 8: The Past Awoken

A dark gray mist hovered over the black asphalt street. The only source of light was the silver of a moon in the sky. It faded in and out of the clouds above. Most of the stars were hidden behind the dark clouds above, making it almost pitch black dark. Raindrops fell softly from the sky upon the ground. The only sound that could be heard was the pitter-patter of the rain.

But soon footsteps could be heard in the distance. A small person in a long black overcoat and matching black pants walked out from the alleyway. She turned the corner and stood next to the tall lamppost. Light flickered above and so illuminating the person. It was a woman, with short dark hair that was wet from the rain. Her hazel eyes held the sorrow and grief of a lifetime. She pulled her collar closer to her neck as a breeze brushed past her. Icy cold air came out her mouth every time she let a breath escape her lips.

The girl stood alone underneath the lamppost for several minutes. Soon a black car drove past her. She watched drive by her, water splashing up as it drove through a puddle. It drove by once more but this time it slowed to a stop. The back door swung open and the girl got inside

When she got in the back seat she found out that she was not alone. There was a man sitting next to her. She looked him for a second before taking a deep breath. He did not smile nor show any emotion. His greasy black hair seemed to illuminate in the scarce moonlight from above.

"Severus good to see you. I hear Christine is doing a good job." She said, her voice was shaking ever so slightly.

"Good enough. But I am more concerned with what you are doing Lora." He said softly but it was the voice of a distant thunder rolling across the hills.

"Well I do have news for you. He still has no knowledge of who he really is. But something more interesting has come across my ears. Really quite remarkable actually."

"Get to the point Lora." He said sharply. She jumped a little as the car made a sudden turn down another street. But neither of them was paying any attention to where the car was actually taking them.

"Albus Dumbledore is alive. He was last seen in a little village in Guam."

"And is that all you have? Just that is alive and is probably a thousand miles away from Guam now?"

"Well rumor has that he is trying to find the Potter. My guess is he went back to his roots." There was a moment of silence where Lora looked into the eyes of Severus. They were dark, cold, and held many secrets. But she could not see what mysteries the eyes of Severus Snape held.

"Yes. Hogwarts. You know what you must do. Search the place. Come back with what you find. And take haste. Time is not our friend."

"What about Christine? I fear her friends will soon realize what she is up to."

"She will not let that happen. The stakes are too high. I know she will perform. And it is not your place to worry about her. You need to focus on your mission and your mission alone. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir. I will not let you down." She said her voice shaking slightly. Severus looked at her with the same emotionless voice that he always had. Lora looked into his eyes once more but saw nothing. As Severus looked into her eyes he saw fear and despair. The car pulled back up to the same lamppost they came to earlier. Lora got out of the care and she watched it as it drove off into the distance.

She stood there on the curb for a moment as the rain slowed down. She pulled her coat closer to her as she walked back to the alleyway. There was not a soul in sight as she walked back to her apartment. The rain stopped and the clouds slow moved, uncovering the stars above.

"He's alive?" Exclaimed Ginny when she found out that Harry was alive. She was away looking for him in America and was impossible to trace. "Well why didn't you say anything?" Her face was almost as red as her hair. Hermione, her future sister-in-law, stared at Ginny lost for anything to say. She looked to Ron for a better answer.

"We tried Gin." Ron said weakly. "But we kept missing you. You were traveling so much that it was impossible to track you at all. We really wanted to tell. But frankly it was a bit shocking to have him appear at our doorstep. I mean when Hermione's cousin, Christine, brought him…"

"A girl brought him!" Ginny exclaimed. She was more confused and upset than she was before.

"Well there is something we left out… Harry can't remember who he is. So it isn't likely that he would remember you much less pick up where you left off." Hermione said meekly. Ginny was at a loss for what to say. Every time she opened her mouth, no sound would come out. She just stared at Hermione and Ron, bewildered and confounded.

"But… how can this be? So he really doesn't remember?"

"He doesn't remember anything. Look Ginny we've told him everything we know, including about the two of you but he still doesn't remember. We think someone put a memory charm on him. But we haven't been able to find anything leading to real evidence for that. So just go talk to him. Maybe then he'll remember."

Hermione said to her as Ron but his arm around her shoulder. Ginny walked out of the room in a furry. She had dedicated so much time to finding Harry and this is not how she thought things would turn out when he came back. Just then someone came into the room that Ron and Hermione were in. Ginny could hear his familiar voice in the distance. She walked into the room but she was heartbroken when he said nothing to her.

How can this be? This is not the Harry I remember. Why did it turn out this way?

"Um… Harry." Ron started as he looked at Ginny who was about ready to burst into tears. "You remember Ginny don't you?"

"I remember you telling me about her. But that is it." He said plainly. After a long period of silence Ginny ran out of the room in tears. Hermione went after her leaving the boys alone. Harry looked confused and Ron looked hurt. Neither of them spoke to each other but sat in the couch in silence. After five minutes of this Christine walked in through the front door with two large bags in her hands.

"I bought dinner. There's a deli right outside the hotel." She said cheerfully but her good mood faded as soon as she saw Harry and Ron's faces. "What did someone die in here?"

"Ginny." Ron said but this was not helpful at all to Christine. She looked at Ron confused, hoping he would explain more. "She and Harry dated before she disappeared but of course he doesn't remember who she is. And she is very upset." This was the first time Christine had heard about Ginny. She tried to hide the disappointment from her face.

"So naturally she wanted to pick up where the two of left off. Well why don't we get the table set. I wasn't expecting a fifth member but I think we should have enough food. I bought extra anyways." Christine said with a forced smile as she walked into the kitchen. She got out five table settings and starting placing the food out. She took a deep breath as she tried to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes.