As Harry made his way home with Ginny and the kids, he smiled to himself. He had had a wonderful time with Ron and Hermione. The dinner had been delicious and after eating, the kids had run back out to play. Harry had still been a bit weary about Jason on a broomstick but the rest of the adults appeared to be okay with it so he did not say anything.
When it was only the adults around the table, Hermione quickly cleared it with a flick of her wand. Harry thought that could come in handy. The adults had reminisced about their school days for the second evening in a row. Harry was intrigued by their stories and was very excited to regain his memories. During the evening, it had become clear to him why he had been such good friends with Ron and Hermione. He smiled again as he wondered if they had always argued so much. Despite the bickering though, it was clear that they were very much in love with each other.
After the events of the day, Jason was exhausted and Harry had to carry him home. When they reached the house, Harry carried Jason to the guestroom and laid him on one of the beds and covered him with a blanket. He sat on the other bed and kicked his shoes off. He had only meant to sit down for a moment to clear his head but the bed was so comfortable that he laid down.
"Harry? Harry? Wake up," Ginny called from the doorway. He slowly opened his eyes and was shocked to see that it was morning.
He jumped out of bed, "What time is it? I'm supposed to meet with Mr. Dumbledore and your brother this morning." He began quickly pulling clothes out of his suitcase.
"Harry, it's okay," Ginny giggled. "It's only eight. You have plenty of time. I put some towels and things in the bathroom for you."
"Oh, thanks," Harry told her. He made his way to the bathroom to get ready for his meeting while she headed down to the hall towards the kitchen.
Once he was ready, he went to join everyone else in the kitchen. He was surprised to find only Ginny sitting at the table with a steaming cup of tea reading the morning paper. "Where are the kids?" he asked.
"They're out back with Ron and his kids," she answered. "My parents invited Jason over for the day, if that's okay with you. Jamie and her cousins will be there. He can go with them. And then you won't have to worry about him while you are meeting with Bill and Professor Dumbledore."
"Are you sure they won't mind?"
"There will be so many kids there they won't notice one more," she reassured him.
"Okay, tell them thanks for me. I'm sure he will have a better time there."
"Sure," she told him.
He went to tell Jason good bye. After Jason promised to behave himself and listen to Molly and Arthur, Harry embarrassed him by hugging him. Harry laughed at him and waved to Ron. Then he made his way back to the living room where Ginny was waiting for him.
She reached for the container of Floo powder and his heart dropped. He really did not like to travel this way but did not want to say anything. "Do you want me to come with you?" she inquired.
"If you don't mind, I would love for you to come," he smiled at her.
She smiled back at him and held the container out to him. "I'll be right behind you."
He reached for a pinch of powder and with a small sigh, he threw it into the flames. After clearly stating his destination, he stepped into the flames. The world began to spin and soon Harry was stumbling out of Bill's fireplace with Ginny right behind him.
Bill rushed forward to prevent Harry from crashing headfirst into his desk. Once Harry regained his balance, he gave Bill a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Thanks," he told him. "I guess I need to work on my landings."
Bill chuckled, "No problem." He then greeted Harry fondly with a strong handshake, "It is so great to see you again, Harry. We've really missed you." He indicated the sitting area on the other side of the office where Ginny had joined Dumbledore. "Come on over and have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?"
"No, thanks, I'm fine." He sat down on the leather sofa next to Ginny and greeted Dumbledore who was seated in a matching chair across from her. "Hello, sir. It's good to see you again."
Bill joined them and handed Dumbledore a cup of tea. He sat down in the remaining chair with his own cup. "If everyone is settled, why don't we get started. I imagine Harry is eager to begin. Professor Dumbledore, I'll let you run things."
"Thank you, Bill and please call me Albus, like I have told you many times, it has been a long time since I was your professor," he laughed at the other man. Then facing Harry, he began, "As I indicated yesterday, I do not feel that it would be wise to give you all of your memories at once. As you will soon learn many will be difficult to deal with. But before you get too worried, there are many light-hearted and loving ones as well. I feel that we should reintroduce you to your memories by alternating each type. That way," he explained, "you will understand why you loved your friends and family so much you were willing to give up everything to ensure their safety and you will remember the circumstances that drove you to such a drastic decision."
Harry spoke up, "Okay, do you think we can begin soon, I would really like to get started."
"Absolutley, the memories are stored here at the ministry, but I feel we would be more comfortable working in my office at Hogwarts. The school term does not start for over a month so we will have plenty of time before the students return. I think you will be surprised at how quickly the process will be completed. Since memories are tied to one another, when you regain one it will have several attached to it that you will also remember."
Dumbledore then looked to Ginny, "I think Harry will need to do this on his own and he can share with you what he remembers. That way he will be able to decide on his own what to share. We will work for most of the daytime hours but Harry can spend his evenings with you and your family. After all, he will have to be told about the past ten years."
She answered him, "Whatever you think is best for Harry is okay with me." She smiled warmly at Harry after she said this.
Dumbledore rose, "Well, Harry are you ready? We can go to Hogwarts now and get started." He glanced at Bill, "Will you have the information sent to me?"
"Of course, it will be there when you arrive," he stated. Then he addressed Ginny, "So sis, would you care to join me for some breakfast?"
She agreed and after giving Harry a quick hug and telling him good luck, the two of them left to go eat.
Dumbledore held out a Chocolate Frog wrapper to Harry, "Just hold on to a part of this and we will be on our way."
Harry looked at him with confusion but did as he was told. Instantly when he touched the wrapper, he felt a tugging behind his navel and the room began to spin. In a few seconds, he found himself on his back in the middle of Dumbledore's office. He stood up and gazed at the many pictures hanging on the walls and at the trinkets scattered throughout the room.
He jumped when one of the portraits spoke, "Harry Potter! What are you doing here? I thought you were dead!"
Dumbledore spoke from behind Harry, "Have a seat Harry and try to ignore them." He gave the portraits a stern look and sat down behind his desk. "Oh, good. Bill was right, your memories are already here," he said when he saw a container filled with a silvery substance sitting on the top of his desk.
He looked at Harry with an excited look in his twinkling blue eyes, "Let's start with some pleasant memories today. We can move on to the darker ones later."
Harry took a deep breath, his heart was racing with excitement. He wiped his palms on his pants and uttered, "I'm ready."
The two of them spent the entire day restoring Harry's memories. They took a quick break for lunch, which was delivered by a very excited house elf by the name of Dobby. He had nearly bowled Harry over in his excitement to see him. Harry had laughed at his enthusiasm.
When the sun was beginning to set, Dumbledore said, "I think that is enough excitement for one day. I imagine you are anxious to see your loved ones now that you have some memory of them. Why don't you come back here tomorrow morning? We can work some more and I know there are several staff members here who would love to see you."
Harry spoke excitedly, "Thank you so much, sir. You're right I am anxious to see them. I will meet you back here tomorrow."
Dumbledore picked up a coin from his desk, "Here this will take you to Ron and Hermione's. Ginny is waiting for you there."
Harry reached out for the coin and once again felt the tug behind his navel. He landed on his backside once more, this time on Ron's living room floor. It sounded as though everyone was in the kitchen so he jumped up and ran to the other room. There he found Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and all of the kids. He grabbed Ginny and spun her in circles while he laughed heartily.
"Wow, what was that for?" she asked as she smiled at him and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"That is because I remember all of you. I remember Hagrid coming to get me and bringing me to Hogwarts. I remember meeting Ron and Hermione on the train. I remember seeing you at your parents house, Ginny. I remember the first time I flew on a broomstick and having a Firebolt. I remember so many fun times," he finally took a breathe. He plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs and grinned at everyone who was laughing at him.
Suddenly, he looked at Ron, "Hey, do you have a broomstick I can use? I want to fly!"
Ron chuckled, "I can do better than just letting you borrow a broom. Stay here, I'll be right back." He ran out of the room and they heard him race up the stairs. In a few moments he returned with something held behind his back. "I kept this for years now and I think it is time to return it to you."
Harry whooped with joy when Ron held out his Firebolt to him. The two men ran outdoors with Ron grabbing his own broom on the way. Soon, they were flying through the air like they were eleven years old again.
After several hours, Harry and Ginny along with Jamie and Jason returned home. Harry said that he was going to bed because he wanted to get to Dumbledore's office early the next day to get started again. He gave everyone huge hugs before heading down the hall whistling.
The next day Harry returned to Hogwarts. He was greeted by several members of the Hogwarts staff including Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout even Filch greeted him. Hagrid was there and cried giant tears and nearly cracked one of Harry's ribs with his embrace. Once everyone had said his or her hellos, Dumbledore led Harry back to his office.
"Well Harry, you seem to be in a good mood,"Dumbledore said with a grin.
"Yes, sir, I am. It is so wonderful to remember everyone. I'm finding it hard to understand why I would have left. Really the only bad memory I've had so far was my mum and dad dying. And that happened when I was a baby so I don't see why that would make me decide to leave."
Dumbledore looked at Harry with a sadness in his eyes, "Unfortunately, we will get to that soon. But today maybe we should work with some events that led up to your decision." He looked into the container on his desk, "Oh, this one will be good to start with. It will lead to many others."
At first Harry did not understand why Dumbledore choose this memory, although he was enjoying the memory. He was with the Weasleys and they were at the Quidditch World Cup. Harry watched his younger self walk through the crowd with Ron, he heard himself ask where all the wizards had come from. Ron explained there were witches and wizards all over the world. They walked by a group of witches standing under a banner that read "Salem Academy".
The younger Harry and Ron continued on, but Harry stopped abruptly when he saw two of the young witches. This is not possible, he thought to himself. He was looking at Lori and Meg, Jason's mother!