Disclaimer: I own nothing. Duh!
AN: ah, the angst. Also in this chapter: the fluff. sighs with happiness
Sirius continued to read. "The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black--" Sirius paused and made some sarcastic gagging noises. Harry laughed softly. "—has generously left me, apart from a moldy old house and a lot of deep- seated emotional scarring, the entire family fortune. Actually, I'm fairly sure they would have wanted to give it all to Regelus but he kicked it before I did...Stupid git." He added, muttering.
"More gold?" thought Harry derisively. "At this rate I'm never going to have to work a day in my life..." Of course, the idea of spending Sirius's money made him feel slightly ill.
"I do hereby will two-thirds of my family fortune to Harry J. Potter. I will the remaining third to Remus J. Lupin." Lupin shifted uncomfortably in his seat and began muttering under his breath. Harry glanced at Lupin's robes and wondered why Sirius hadn't given Lupin all of his money.
"I know Remus is probably turning bright red right now—or pink, depending on the time of the month—" Sirius laughed. "so Harry, I'm leaving it up to you. Force him to take the money. Be creative. I've already got the guilt angle covered." He turned to Remus and put on a sad, puppy-dog style face. "Remus! I'm dead. Why won't you take the money? How can you refuse your dead friend's last request?!"
Lupin turned even redder. "I know!" said Sirius brightly. "Transfer the money directly to his Gringott's vault, and then go to Malkin's and buy some new robes. What a great plan! Everyone always felt kind of awkward buying you anything, Moony. Even though it was obvious that you couldn't find a paying job anywhere. Hey, I don't have to feel guilty about giving you money now!"
Sirius laughed for a few moments before falling silent. There was a lull in the one-sided conversation which seemed to last forever. "Well...I suppose that's all there is...Oh, Harry, my motorcycle is in the basement...I think Bill can show you how to ride it. Well..."
There was another pause. "I'm very sorry you two. If I really am dead I suppose I should act more serious about this whole situation." More silence. "I guess this is goodbye, then. Take care...Harry, Remus..." Sirius hung his head. "Goodbye..."
The scene slowly dissolved. Harry couldn't speak. He looked at Lupin. For the first time he wondered silently how much Lupin had been hurt from the losses that had shaken Harry's life so violently. He had lost all of his friends to death and perhaps worse—betrayal.
"What now?" asked Harry quietly. Lupin jumped slightly, seemingly having forgotten Harry was standing beside him. Lupin swallowed and spoke for what Harry realized was the first time since the two of them had arrived in the Pensive.
"Well, Dumbledore should be here to pull us out and sign some paperwork." Lupin frowned and looked around. He and Harry were standing in the center of a slowly revolving vortex of vibrant colors. "Perhaps he got held up somewhere..."
"Can you get us out of here?" Harry asked him. "Not from inside, no. I could probably get us out of one of my own memories, I think there are a few in here somewhere."
"You mean, your will?" Harry asked as gently as possible. "Yes, all members of the Order made one," Lupin said distractedly. He was sill looking around the vortex as if he expected to find a door somewhere. "It was quite a task...I remember poor Molly cried for hours before after and during hers...Perhaps I can find..." He trailed off. The colors swirling around them were now forming into a solid formation. Harry recognized the scene around them immediately. It was the Hogwarts Express.
"Whose memory is this?" asked Harry in mild surprise. He realized that everyone in the Order had probably ridden on the Express dozens of times. "Probably Sirius's," said Lupin quietly. "Most wizards place a whole bunch of memories in the Pensieve to accompany their will--an old tradition I suppose. In the interest of time we didn't really have a chance to choose which memories we threw in..." Lupin explained.
Harry and Lupin were standing in the middle of a deserted corridor on the rapidly moving train. Suddenly, two dark haired boys raced up the corridor and hurtled right through the two intangible bodies in their way. "That will never cease to be weird..." muttered Harry, absently waving his hand around, ghost-like, inside one of the compartment doors.
Harry turned around and stared at the two boys. They were muttering excitedly to each other. "Really? An invisibility cloak? Wow!" said the taller boy obviously impressed. "Yep," said the shorter boy proudly. "My dad gave it to me as a going away present. By the way, my name's James Potter." "Sirius Black," the taller boy replied, extending his hand.
Harry stared at them. It was hard to imagine his father had ever been 11 years old, and yet, there he was, right in front of Harry's eyes. "Come on," said James, tugging heartily on the trunk behind him. "Let's find a seat." Harry and Lupin trailed along behind the two boys as they searched for an empty compartment.
"Can you get us out of here?" Harry asked Lupin quietly, as if James and Sirius might hear them. "I'm not very experienced with Pensieves," said Lupin apologetically. "I could probably pull us out from one of my own memories, but not someone else's." "Do you know how to—eh—navigate in her?" inquired Harry, not taking his eyes off his father. "Not really," replied Lupin. "We'll probably have to go through all of Sirius's memories first..."
James and Sirius had stopped. Sirius stood up on his tiptoes and peered through the door of one of the compartments. "There's only one person in here," Sirius observed. "Brilliant," said James, pushing open the door. Harry followed them inside. The compartment was empty except for one small boy. He was curled up in the corner, fast asleep. He looked pale and slightly sickly, and Harry noticed one or two stray gray hairs in his light brown hair--eleven year old Remus Lupin.
Harry looked at the adult Lupin and grinned. "This actually looks oddly familiar," said Harry, smiling. Lupin grinned back. "I should probably bring a pillow when I travel..." he mused.
"Do you reckon he's all right?" asked James, staring at the sleeping Remus warily. "I dunno, he looks kind of sickly," replied Sirius. He leaned over and poked Remus's shoulder, but Remus remained fast asleep. James joined in. It took them five minutes to get bored with this activity, but Lupin continued to sleep. The adult Lupin was shaking with silent laughter.
"Do you--remember this--at all?" asked Harry, gasping for breath between bursts of laughter. Lupin shook his head, still laughing. James and Sirius were now staring out the window. "I'm bored," said Sirius, "Hey, why don't we—" Sirius was interrupted by a loud bang and a flash of light from the corridor. Little Remus woke up suddenly and fell out of his seat with a yelp. James and Sirius, who had been scrambling out of their seats to see what was going on in the hallway, turned and stared at him for a moment. Little Remus blushed and got up to follow the duo into the hallway.
A gang of menacing looking first years was advancing upon another tiny eleven year old boy, who was cowering on the floor in terror. "I'm—I'm sorry!" the cowering boy squeaked in fear. A dark haired girl with dark, sunken eyes was standing at the front of the group. Behind her, a boy with greasy black hair and a large nose was brandishing his wand.
"You broke my mirror!" shrieked the dark haired girl furiously. "I'm sorry!" sputtered the mousy haired boy, inching backward. "I tripped! It was an accident!" "When we're done with you—" she growled. "Leave him alone!" said James, boldly standing in front of the boy on the floor. Sirius stood next to his friend. "Stop being a git, Bella." He snarled. "Oh?" said Bellatrix smirking. "Are the two of you going to stop us?" The crowd behind her glowered menacingly. Young Snape raised his wand a little higher. "They're not alone!" piped up Remus, standing next to James and Sirius. James glared at the wand wielding boy, who glared right back at him.
Suddenly, the compartment door slid open and two 5th years entered. "What's going on here?" demanded one in a familiar drawling voice. Harry immediately recognized Lucius Malfoy. There was a shiny prefect badge glinting on his chest. "Nothing." Bellatrix lied. She scowled and turned around. The rest of the crowd followed obediently.
"Th—Thanks," said the small squeaking boy, as the two prefects exited the cabinet. James and Sirius pulled him to a standing position. "Sorry those gits were picking on you. I'm ashamed to call them my cousins," said Sirius in an apologetic tone. "What's your name, mate?" "Peter Pettigrew." Squeaked the boy.
James turned and faced Remus, who was still staring at the door Bellatrix and her cronies had just walked through. He had turned an even paler shade of white during the confrontation and looked shocked at his own daring. "What about you, mate?" asked James, smiling. "Remus Lupin." Responded young Lupin. "Thanks for backing us up back there, Remus." Said James, shaking his hand.
The scene began to dissolve. "Snape and his father really had hated each other from the moment they set eyes on each other." Harry mused. He looked at Lupin, who appeared to be lost in though as well. He was glancing at the fading scene fondly.
AN: What do you guys think? Please review and let me know! Should I take the story in a different direction? Any other random scenes I should make up?
AN: ah, the angst. Also in this chapter: the fluff. sighs with happiness
Sirius continued to read. "The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black--" Sirius paused and made some sarcastic gagging noises. Harry laughed softly. "—has generously left me, apart from a moldy old house and a lot of deep- seated emotional scarring, the entire family fortune. Actually, I'm fairly sure they would have wanted to give it all to Regelus but he kicked it before I did...Stupid git." He added, muttering.
"More gold?" thought Harry derisively. "At this rate I'm never going to have to work a day in my life..." Of course, the idea of spending Sirius's money made him feel slightly ill.
"I do hereby will two-thirds of my family fortune to Harry J. Potter. I will the remaining third to Remus J. Lupin." Lupin shifted uncomfortably in his seat and began muttering under his breath. Harry glanced at Lupin's robes and wondered why Sirius hadn't given Lupin all of his money.
"I know Remus is probably turning bright red right now—or pink, depending on the time of the month—" Sirius laughed. "so Harry, I'm leaving it up to you. Force him to take the money. Be creative. I've already got the guilt angle covered." He turned to Remus and put on a sad, puppy-dog style face. "Remus! I'm dead. Why won't you take the money? How can you refuse your dead friend's last request?!"
Lupin turned even redder. "I know!" said Sirius brightly. "Transfer the money directly to his Gringott's vault, and then go to Malkin's and buy some new robes. What a great plan! Everyone always felt kind of awkward buying you anything, Moony. Even though it was obvious that you couldn't find a paying job anywhere. Hey, I don't have to feel guilty about giving you money now!"
Sirius laughed for a few moments before falling silent. There was a lull in the one-sided conversation which seemed to last forever. "Well...I suppose that's all there is...Oh, Harry, my motorcycle is in the basement...I think Bill can show you how to ride it. Well..."
There was another pause. "I'm very sorry you two. If I really am dead I suppose I should act more serious about this whole situation." More silence. "I guess this is goodbye, then. Take care...Harry, Remus..." Sirius hung his head. "Goodbye..."
The scene slowly dissolved. Harry couldn't speak. He looked at Lupin. For the first time he wondered silently how much Lupin had been hurt from the losses that had shaken Harry's life so violently. He had lost all of his friends to death and perhaps worse—betrayal.
"What now?" asked Harry quietly. Lupin jumped slightly, seemingly having forgotten Harry was standing beside him. Lupin swallowed and spoke for what Harry realized was the first time since the two of them had arrived in the Pensive.
"Well, Dumbledore should be here to pull us out and sign some paperwork." Lupin frowned and looked around. He and Harry were standing in the center of a slowly revolving vortex of vibrant colors. "Perhaps he got held up somewhere..."
"Can you get us out of here?" Harry asked him. "Not from inside, no. I could probably get us out of one of my own memories, I think there are a few in here somewhere."
"You mean, your will?" Harry asked as gently as possible. "Yes, all members of the Order made one," Lupin said distractedly. He was sill looking around the vortex as if he expected to find a door somewhere. "It was quite a task...I remember poor Molly cried for hours before after and during hers...Perhaps I can find..." He trailed off. The colors swirling around them were now forming into a solid formation. Harry recognized the scene around them immediately. It was the Hogwarts Express.
"Whose memory is this?" asked Harry in mild surprise. He realized that everyone in the Order had probably ridden on the Express dozens of times. "Probably Sirius's," said Lupin quietly. "Most wizards place a whole bunch of memories in the Pensieve to accompany their will--an old tradition I suppose. In the interest of time we didn't really have a chance to choose which memories we threw in..." Lupin explained.
Harry and Lupin were standing in the middle of a deserted corridor on the rapidly moving train. Suddenly, two dark haired boys raced up the corridor and hurtled right through the two intangible bodies in their way. "That will never cease to be weird..." muttered Harry, absently waving his hand around, ghost-like, inside one of the compartment doors.
Harry turned around and stared at the two boys. They were muttering excitedly to each other. "Really? An invisibility cloak? Wow!" said the taller boy obviously impressed. "Yep," said the shorter boy proudly. "My dad gave it to me as a going away present. By the way, my name's James Potter." "Sirius Black," the taller boy replied, extending his hand.
Harry stared at them. It was hard to imagine his father had ever been 11 years old, and yet, there he was, right in front of Harry's eyes. "Come on," said James, tugging heartily on the trunk behind him. "Let's find a seat." Harry and Lupin trailed along behind the two boys as they searched for an empty compartment.
"Can you get us out of here?" Harry asked Lupin quietly, as if James and Sirius might hear them. "I'm not very experienced with Pensieves," said Lupin apologetically. "I could probably pull us out from one of my own memories, but not someone else's." "Do you know how to—eh—navigate in her?" inquired Harry, not taking his eyes off his father. "Not really," replied Lupin. "We'll probably have to go through all of Sirius's memories first..."
James and Sirius had stopped. Sirius stood up on his tiptoes and peered through the door of one of the compartments. "There's only one person in here," Sirius observed. "Brilliant," said James, pushing open the door. Harry followed them inside. The compartment was empty except for one small boy. He was curled up in the corner, fast asleep. He looked pale and slightly sickly, and Harry noticed one or two stray gray hairs in his light brown hair--eleven year old Remus Lupin.
Harry looked at the adult Lupin and grinned. "This actually looks oddly familiar," said Harry, smiling. Lupin grinned back. "I should probably bring a pillow when I travel..." he mused.
"Do you reckon he's all right?" asked James, staring at the sleeping Remus warily. "I dunno, he looks kind of sickly," replied Sirius. He leaned over and poked Remus's shoulder, but Remus remained fast asleep. James joined in. It took them five minutes to get bored with this activity, but Lupin continued to sleep. The adult Lupin was shaking with silent laughter.
"Do you--remember this--at all?" asked Harry, gasping for breath between bursts of laughter. Lupin shook his head, still laughing. James and Sirius were now staring out the window. "I'm bored," said Sirius, "Hey, why don't we—" Sirius was interrupted by a loud bang and a flash of light from the corridor. Little Remus woke up suddenly and fell out of his seat with a yelp. James and Sirius, who had been scrambling out of their seats to see what was going on in the hallway, turned and stared at him for a moment. Little Remus blushed and got up to follow the duo into the hallway.
A gang of menacing looking first years was advancing upon another tiny eleven year old boy, who was cowering on the floor in terror. "I'm—I'm sorry!" the cowering boy squeaked in fear. A dark haired girl with dark, sunken eyes was standing at the front of the group. Behind her, a boy with greasy black hair and a large nose was brandishing his wand.
"You broke my mirror!" shrieked the dark haired girl furiously. "I'm sorry!" sputtered the mousy haired boy, inching backward. "I tripped! It was an accident!" "When we're done with you—" she growled. "Leave him alone!" said James, boldly standing in front of the boy on the floor. Sirius stood next to his friend. "Stop being a git, Bella." He snarled. "Oh?" said Bellatrix smirking. "Are the two of you going to stop us?" The crowd behind her glowered menacingly. Young Snape raised his wand a little higher. "They're not alone!" piped up Remus, standing next to James and Sirius. James glared at the wand wielding boy, who glared right back at him.
Suddenly, the compartment door slid open and two 5th years entered. "What's going on here?" demanded one in a familiar drawling voice. Harry immediately recognized Lucius Malfoy. There was a shiny prefect badge glinting on his chest. "Nothing." Bellatrix lied. She scowled and turned around. The rest of the crowd followed obediently.
"Th—Thanks," said the small squeaking boy, as the two prefects exited the cabinet. James and Sirius pulled him to a standing position. "Sorry those gits were picking on you. I'm ashamed to call them my cousins," said Sirius in an apologetic tone. "What's your name, mate?" "Peter Pettigrew." Squeaked the boy.
James turned and faced Remus, who was still staring at the door Bellatrix and her cronies had just walked through. He had turned an even paler shade of white during the confrontation and looked shocked at his own daring. "What about you, mate?" asked James, smiling. "Remus Lupin." Responded young Lupin. "Thanks for backing us up back there, Remus." Said James, shaking his hand.
The scene began to dissolve. "Snape and his father really had hated each other from the moment they set eyes on each other." Harry mused. He looked at Lupin, who appeared to be lost in though as well. He was glancing at the fading scene fondly.
AN: What do you guys think? Please review and let me know! Should I take the story in a different direction? Any other random scenes I should make up?