Chapter 18
Uncharted Territory
Did you ever have one of those days when you just wanted to scream? Harry was certainly having one of those days…for the fifth day in a row. Ever since the first Apparition lesson, every sixth year from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff continuously bombarded Harry with questions on Apparition. They wanted to know everything. It took every ounce of self restraint not to jinx the lot of them, regardless of whether he was friends with them or not.
In a desperate attempt to escape from it all, Harry found himself spending all of his free time in the Marauder Quarters with Cho, Hermione and (occasionally) Ron. Cho had become a lifesaver, always offering an ear if Harry ever needed to voice his frustrations. He rarely did but it was nice to know that the offer was there. For some reason, it just felt different coming from Cho than Hermione, Ron or even Remus. He couldn't explain it and wasn't sure he wanted to try. Explaining would bring about more questions that Harry didn't even want to touch.
In addition to all of the insanity, Harry was still suffering from periodic nightmares that made him jump at any shadow after waking. It took him a long while to calm down which was even more unnerving since he couldn't remember anything except for screams, distorted voices and immense pain. At first, Harry thought that he was suffering from visions again but his scar wasn't hurting, not one bit. So if it wasn't a vision, what was it and why was it affecting him so?
With all of the chaos that was Harry's schedule, he had barely enough time to ponder anything for a long period of time. His nightmares were pushed aside so he could focus on schoolwork, the D.A., training, healing sessions, and obtaining the memory from Slughorn. In fact, nightmares seemed to be rather low on the priority list if you thought about it so Harry didn't. They would pass in time like they always did. He just wished they would pass sooner rather than later.
The second session of Apparition was no better than the first, except Harry didn't force himself to Apparate this time. He spent the entire hour trying to Apparate while turning on the spot and had no luck with it. Wilkie Twycross had even approached Harry to give him pointers and ask a few questions on how Harry had managed Stationary Apparition so quickly. That had been one conversation Harry couldn't escape from quick enough. He hated trying to explain how he did the things he did, especially when it included training that no one was supposed to know about like Occlumency and Empathy.
When the time arrived for the D.A. meeting that night, Harry wanted nothing more than to slam his head into something. The questions had stopped, only to be replaced with ridicules from everyone who believed the first lesson had simply been a fluke. Harry did everything in his powers to ignore the comments but it was just so irritating that out of all of the students in the school, he was the only person jeered for whatever he did or didn't do. Was it too much to ask to just be treated like everyone else? Because you're Harry Potter, that's why.
The D.A. meeting was over before Harry knew it. Hermione had bested Susan Bones in one of the most magically dependent duels Harry had ever seen, Justin had bested Dean in a rather impressive blend of magic and physical defense, Neville had quickly bested Terry Boot, and Padma Patil had barely defeated her twin sister, Parvati. It had been a sight to see identical twins duel seriously since Fred and George could never duel without resorting to humor. It was hard to figure out whether the Patil twins had been able to read each other's thoughts or they simply knew each other so well that they knew how to react. Whatever it was, it was certainly an eye opener to the majority of the D.A. Few of them had ever seen a duel that was so evenly matched.
As everyone left the Room of Requirement, Harry was finally able to collapse in a comfortable sofa couch that appeared out of thin air. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay long but, at the moment, the thought of five minutes of relaxation was too good to pass up. Closing his eyes, Harry tried to push away all of the chaos that was consuming his mind. He couldn't continue to worry about everything whether it was Sirius, the memory from Slughorn, classes, the never ending attention, or Quidditch. He needed to return to his training and focus on only what he could control. As much as he hated it, there was nothing he could do about Sirius or about the fact that everyone felt it was their place to criticize him. The sooner he obtained the memory the sooner he could put Horace Slughorn out of his mind. I should stop putting it off. If he doesn't give it to me now, he never will.
"Harry?"
Harry couldn't stop himself from jumping in alarm as he quickly opened his eyes and turned to see Cho standing nervously behind the sofa. Cautiously, Harry glanced around and saw that everyone else had left. It wasn't surprising. Ever since Sirius had left, Remus had given Harry a little more freedom as long as Harry remained on guard. Of course if anything happened, Harry would most likely be restricted to the Marauder Quarters for the rest of the term.
"Something wrong, Cho?" Harry asked curiously.
Cho fidgeted slightly as she bit her lower lip. "Could we talk?" she asked tentatively.
Harry stared at Cho uncertainly for a moment. This wasn't the girl he knew and had spent so much time with. Cho had always been extremely outspoken around him and Hermione. That was why he trusted her opinion. She didn't bother hiding her opinions in order to make someone feel better. "Aren't we already talking?" Harry asked simply, a grin appearing on his face.
Cho rolled her eyes before walking around and sitting down beside Harry. "I'm serious, Harry," she said firmly as she stared at him, her dark eyes urging him to believe her sincerity. "I don't know how to say this without being blunt so I'm just going to say it." She let out a long breath, appearing to gather up her courage. "Harry, the past few months have been a dream come true for me. I've gotten to know the real Harry. I saw how you helped Hermione through the Ron/Lavender situation. It was almost like you knew exactly what she was feeling."
Harry let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Imagine that," he muttered while his mind started working frantically. Cho had noticed. Was there anyone else? What was he going to do? Suddenly, the ridiculing he had been receiving didn't seem so bad. If people were to ask the wrong questions…Harry didn't want to even think about it. The wizarding world already treated him different because of the entire 'boy-who-lived-to-become-the-chosen-one' rubbish. If they learned he was empathic…if Voldemort found out…
A hand took hold of his, snapping Harry out of his thoughts. His eyes slowly moved down to the clasped hands. He suddenly realized where this was going. Oh please no. The last thing I need right now is one of my friends fancying me. Harry slowly raised his gaze to see Cho smiling at him. Waves of relief and happiness rolled off her. This is not happening. Harry opened his mouth but before he could say anything, soft lips touched his. Fingers ran through his hair and the effect was instantaneous. His eyes closed and his body relaxed.
Pleasurable waves washed over him with such intensity that it was impossible to fight. He was vaguely aware that his body was moving backwards until it rested against a cushioned surface. Through the fog of emotions, Harry thought he felt something caress his tongue but the sensation was gone before he knew it. He started to feel dizzy even though he was already lying down.
The haze started to slowly lift allowing Harry to regain control over his empathy. Turning his face away, Harry gently pushed Cho away and quickly moved to the far end of the sofa couch. He forced himself to ignore the confused look on Cho's face and focused on finding something to say that wouldn't destroy their friendship. Yes, Cho was everything anyone could possibly want in a girlfriend. The problem, however, was that Harry wasn't looking for a girlfriend now or any time soon. If Ron's relationship with Lavender was anything to go by, Harry certainly didn't need an additional complication.
"Listen Cho," Harry said at last. "I'm extremely flattered that you—er—well—feel this way about me but—right now—I can't feel the same way." Cho's shoulders slumped and her head bowed in disappointment. Harry knew he needed to think of something quickly or their friendship would be over. Sliding forward, Harry gently rested his fingers under Cho's chin and lifted her head so their eyes met. "You're a beautiful person, Cho…both inside and out. You deserve so much more than what I can give you."
"But I want you," Cho protested weakly.
Harry let out a long sigh as he cautiously rested a hand on Cho's. "Sometimes we can't have what we want, Cho," he said sincerely. "It's not you, trust me. I just can't be involved with anyone. I barely have time for my friends at the moment. You know that." Cho closed her eyes and nodded as tears started to fall. Soft waves of sorrow and disappointment brushed against Harry. He hated causing her pain but he didn't know what else to do. How could he tell her that she deserved to be with someone normal? How could he make her see that being involved with Harry Potter was only asking for trouble?
Pulling away, Harry ran his hand over his face as he tried to think of something—anything to say that would ease Cho's pain but nothing came to mind. What else could he say? If the circumstances were different, Harry knew his reaction to everything would probably be different but he wasn't sure if his answer would be. Cho was a good friend and he didn't want to lose that. Did that make him a coward? Probably.
Cho shakily brushed away her tears and rose to her feet. "I understand, Harry," she said as steady as she possibly could. "I wish you would give it a chance but if you're sure…"
Their eyes met again which was all the confirmation Cho needed. Without another word, Harry watched her walk out of the Room of Requirement before letting a groan escape his lips while burying his face in his hands. For some reason, he knew he had just lost a friend and would most likely have a lot of explaining to do to Hermione tomorrow morning. With Ginny so wrapped up in her relationship with Dean, Cho was her closest friend of the female variety. Harry hated the thought of making Hermione choose between him and Cho.
Don't get ahead of yourself. There is the chance everything could go back to normal.
A very small chance, if any at all. If history could prove anything, Harry knew that Cho didn't take rejection well at all. It had taken her weeks to move on after her previous relationship with Michael Corner and they still weren't speaking to each other. Harry groaned again as he rose to his feet. Everything had been so much simpler when he had been eleven-years-old and everyone thought he was a small and skinny kid with glasses. He missed the days when he only had to worry about schoolwork and finding his classes on time. But I wouldn't trade Sirius and Remus for that life with the Dursleys. I couldn't imagine life without them.
With curfew nearing, did what he could to push his fears out of his mind and hurried off to the Gryffindor Tower in the hope of a decent night's sleep. He would talk to Cho tomorrow and try to work this out…after talking to Remus…and possibly Hermione. He knew he would have to think of something to convince Cho that their friendship could remain with no awkwardness, even if he didn't believe such a thing was possible. No amount of words could chance the fact one of his close friends fancied him and that he had rejected her.
Harry was out of the Gryffindor Tower at dawn which was saying a lot since it was a Sunday. The halls were completely empty as he took the familiar path to the Marauder Quarters. The first rays of sunlight peaked through the windows, casting shadows along the walls. The majority of the portraits were still asleep which only intensified the silence. Every noise echoed throughout the halls and the moving staircases felt like they could wake the entire castle. It felt strange seeing the normally busy hallways so bare. It's amazing what difference the presence of student body can make.
The Marauder Quarters were still completely dark when Harry entered which was somewhat of a surprise. Remus usually was an early riser since Sirius always had to be pried out of bed by any means necessary. But Sirius isn't here. He's off on some top-secret mission for Dumbledore, risking his life. Harry shook the train of thought out of his head as he sat down in front of the dying fire in the fireplace. He wasn't going to start thinking about that…he couldn't. Focus on the matter at hand!
Burying his face in his hands, Harry forced his thoughts to shift from one headache to another. He had spent the majority of the night tossing and turning in bed, his mind frantically thinking of every sort of reaction imaginable from Cho and Hermione. Logically, Harry knew that Hermione would remain friends but he didn't want her to be in the position he had been in only months ago, having to choose between two people because she didn't want to lose either as a friend. It was a headache that Harry wouldn't wish on anyone.
"Harry?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Harry quickly turned around to see a drowsy Remus approaching. His hair was disheveled and his night clothes were wrinkled. Remus blinked the tiredness out of his eyes as he snapped his fingers, causing the room to light up and the fire to roar to life in the fireplace. Reflexively blinking away the sudden brightness, Harry felt the sofa couch shift on his right and a hand rest on his shoulder.
"What's bothering you, Harry?" Remus asked gently. "You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders."
Harry's shoulders slumped forward as his gaze fell. This wasn't going to be easy. "Something happened last night between Cho and me," he said softly. "She told me she fancies me."
Remus smiled compassionately. "So she finally told you," he said thoughtfully. "She's braver than I gave her credit for."
Harry stared at Remus in shock. This was not happening. "Y—you knew?" he cried. "You knew she fancied me and didn't tell me?"
Remus let out a chuckle. "Harry, anyone could see that Cho is completely smitten with you," he said truthfully. "She had all of the signs that James had when he fell for Lily. Whenever you talked, Cho would stare at you with a dreamy look in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. This past week she's been at your side whenever possible. I'll admit she has been more discrete than most concerning her feelings but they are there."
Harry let out a frustrated sigh. If it had been so obvious then why hadn't he noticed it? Only two answers entered his mind. He had either been too wrapped up in his own life to notice or he had subconsciously ignored the signs to avoid the headache he was facing now. Or you are simply too thick to notice something that's right in front of your face. "Why didn't you tell me?" Harry repeated quietly.
"It wasn't my secret to tell, Harry," Remus said honestly. "I take it you don't feel the same way about her." Harry shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. Remus let out a long sigh, as if he were preparing himself for an extremely long discussion. "How do you feel about Cho, Harry?" he asked firmly.
"What does it matter?" Harry countered as he quickly stood up and walked to the fireplace. "I'm barely holding onto my own sanity at the moment." Staring into the fire, Harry tried to ignore the waves of sympathy that were rolling off of Remus. The last thing he wanted was someone feeling sorry for him. "I can't be involved with anyone," Harry continued. "It's too dangerous. I can't take the risk that Voldemort would use them to get to me."
"Shouldn't that be their choice?" Remus countered patiently. "Harry, everyone knows the dangers of being around you, especially the members of the Council. Every member of the Defense Association is prepared to go into battle with you tomorrow if you asked them. Don't use the possibility of danger as an excuse, Harry. What is the real reason you don't want to pursue a relationship with Cho Chang?"
Harry remained silent for a long moment. The 'danger excuse' was the strongest one he had. Why couldn't Remus see that keeping those he cared about out of danger was extremely important to him? "She's a friend," he said quietly. "That's good enough for me. If the circumstances were different…if I was normal then maybe there could have been something more."
Remus rose to his feet and slowly approached. "Harry, you are normal," he said tenderly. "You are a normal teenage boy who is experiencing the same trials that every teenage boy faces, wizard or muggle. Claiming that you're not normal—"
"—which I'm not!" Harry interrupted as he turned to face Remus. "You don't understand! I was completely helpless last night! Her emotions completely blindsided me! If she hadn't stopped kissing me, I don't know what would've happened!"
Remus' face shifted from compassion to alarm. He clearly hadn't been expecting that. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Remus started to pace back and forth, something he usually did when he was trying to mentally figure out an extremely complicated problem. "Intense emotions in combination with nervousness and fear," Remus muttered to himself as he continued to pace. "It makes sense but would the opposite emotions cause the same reaction?"
"Moony?" Harry asked cautiously.
Remus snapped out of his thoughts and quickly turned to face Harry. "I'm sorry, cub," he said sincerely. "I never anticipated this happening. I—we—never thought that your empathy would prevent you from having a normal relationship with someone." Remus let out an uneasy sigh as he moved to the nearest chair and sat down. "I don't know what to tell you, Harry. This is something completely different. I take it you didn't tell Cho about this?"
Harry shook his head as he bit his lower lip nervously. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, Remus, but we have to accept that I'm not normal," he said softly. "Even though I've managed to tone the ability down, it's still there. I'm still susceptible to it getting out of control like it did last night. I don't even know what she did."
Remus let out a chuckle. "I wouldn't let her hear you say that if I were you," he said candidly before he turned serious. "I'm sorry. This isn't a laughing matter." He cleared his throat as he straightened in his chair. "I'll talk to Poppy about this." At Harry's horrified look, Remus clarified. "She's the only one who can help us, Harry. Poppy knows more about your abilities than anyone else. If we can discover a way to prevent this from happening again then that's what we need to do."
Harry could see the point Remus was making but he still hated the thought of Madam Pomfrey (or anyone for that matter) finding out about this. This is so ironic. The one person every girl in school is trying to date can't date anyone because of an ability that isn't supposed to exist. "Fine," Harry said tiredly, "but if she starts laughing at me—"
"—she won't," Remus said firmly. "She never has."
Harry rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he moved over to the sofa couch and sat back down. Deep down he knew that Madam Pomfrey would never openly laugh at any discomforts Harry had as a result of his newfound abilities but that didn't mean he was eager to reveal experiences he'd rather forget. "What about Cho?" Harry asked at last. "I don't want to lose her as a friend."
"Then you have two choices," Remus said honestly as he leaned forward in his chair. "You can either tell her the truth or you can think of an extremely feasible excuse for why you two can't be involved. Cho is seventeen-years-old, Harry. She's old enough to make her own choices on who she wants to be involved with and the dangers that come with the relationship."
Harry stared into the fire, mentally weighing both choices. He hated lying to Cho but to tell her the secret that he had worked so hard to keep was something he wasn't sure he was ready to do. He trusted Cho but he also trusted the Weasleys, the Order and the majority of the teachers at Hogwarts; all who still had no idea that Harry had any sort of special abilities. No. He couldn't tell her. Revealing a rather large secret to make someone feel better wasn't the answer. He would talk to her and figure out where to go from there.
At the moment, it was his only choice.
Being Harry Potter was an absolute nightmare. By Sunday night, the majority of the school noticed that Cho Chang had rejoined her Ravenclaw friends, abandoning Harry and Hermione. This brought about a new slew of rumors. Everyone was certain that Harry Potter had finally chosen Hermione Granger over Cho Chang. This meant that Cho received a lot of sympathy and Hermione received a lot of angry glares. It seemed that everyone had believed that Harry would have chosen Cho.
Hermione had been just as shocked as Madam Pomfrey to hear of Harry's reaction to a simple kiss. Madam Pomfrey had insisted on running every test she could think of while Hermione had retreated to the one place that never seemed to fail her…the library. Both of them were determined to find a way to ensure it never happened again. To Harry's surprise, Hermione had taken everything extremely well, almost as if she had expected it to happen. It made Harry wonder just how close Hermione had actually been to Cho.
With Cho doing everything in her power to avoid Harry and Hermione spending whatever time she had with him, everyone from Slytherin and Ravenclaw felt it was their place to voice their opinion concerning Harry Potter's love life. The worst of it had come on Tuesday morning when the new issue of 'Witch Weekly' had been released with a moving picture of Harry, Hermione and Cho on the front cover. Harry didn't bother reading but he had heard that there had been plenty of pictures of him from the past few years. This only served as more ammunition for the Slytherins who seemed to have a lot of fun referring to page fifty-three which gave a sort of report card for all of the girls in Harry's life. Hermione, Cho, and Ginny were among the many listed.
That had been too much for Ron to take. Lavender had taken it upon herself to comment loudly on how compatible Harry and Hermione where, congratulating them for finally getting together. Harry and Hermione glowered at her. Lavender was only acting like she so she could to hold onto Ron. Unfortunately for Harry and Hermione, her tactics were working. Ron remained by Lavender's side, ignoring Harry and Hermione whenever possible. Harry would have been angry with Ron's abandonment but he knew Ron needed time to cool down. The overwhelming waves of anger and betrayal were testament to that.
This made it incredibly difficult for Harry to keep his mind focused on his meeting with Professor Slughorn Friday night. It was all planned out. Remus had bought a bottle of mead from The Three Broomsticks which Harry would offer to Professor Slughorn. Harry had already measured out an hour's worth of Felix Felicis since that was how long his meetings with Slughorn were. It was risky but that was all the time Harry had. Their meetings never went over an hour since Professor Slughorn tended to turn in early. Harry didn't mind the shortness. This prevented Slughorn from going into long winded stories about former Slug Club members.
The Council meeting on Wednesday night was uncomfortable with Cho refusing to meet his eyes. It was a good thing that the meeting consisted solely of discussing weaknesses and strengths of those who had dueled the previous week. Cho's refusal to participate irritated quite a few members, especially Ginny and Neville. Justin and Hannah had refrained from taking sides while Luna appeared to be oblivious to what was happening around her.
At the end of the meeting, Ginny pulled Cho off to the corner of the Room of Requirement. No one heard a word that was said but it was clear from the growing paleness of Cho's face that Ginny had certainly put Cho in her place. Harry hadn't said a word to Ginny about his falling out with Cho but had a feeling that Hermione had said something to make Ginny so furious with Cho's behavior.
The Ravenclaws caused no more problems after that. There were even a few groups of girls that returned to giggling whenever Harry passed them. He was so sick of that sort of thing that he sort of wished they were still mad at him. Having girls years younger than him stare and whisper about him as if he were nothing more than a piece of meat rather humiliating. He hated that people never seemed to notice that he was a person too.
By the time Friday afternoon arrived, however, Harry was too preoccupied to notice anyone looking at him. This week he had planned on discussing the dreamless sleep potion in contrast to other sleeping potions until Slughorn had consumed enough mead. Of course, that all depended on the potion. Not much was documented of Felix Felicis other than the overall affect of what the cause was. Did it compel you to do and say things you wouldn't normally say or compel people around you to act in a way that benefited you?
After a nerve-wracking dinner, Harry and Hermione hurried to Harry's dorm room in order to avoid any awkward questions. No one other than Hermione, Ron and Remus knew of the meetings and Harry wanted to keep it that way. The last thing he wanted was for people to think he was becoming like Cormac McLaggen. These meetings were a means to an end. Nothing more.
In silence they packed up Harry's school bag with everything he needed. His potions journal, a bottle of ink, a quill, his potions textbook, as well as a couple other books on potions and healing that Madam Pomfrey had recommended. With only one thing left to do, Harry pulled out the vial that contained the portion of Felix Felicis he had measured out drank it. All of his nervousness instantly vanished and was replaced with a confidence that he had never felt before. Suddenly, something so small as obtaining one little memory from Slughorn seemed so easy that he had to wonder why he ever doubted himself.
"Well?" Hermione asked quietly. "What does it feel like?"
Harry turned to her and smiled confidently at her before he leaned towards her and kissed her on the forehead. "Excellent," he said as their eyes met. "Thanks for everything, Hermione, but I should get moving. I'll see you later." He left the room without another word, hurrying down the stairs and through the Common Room. He could hear people trying to get his attention but he had no time to waste.
Leaving the Tower, Harry came face to face with Remus who handed over the bottle of mead. They shared a quick look of understanding before Harry hurried off again, hiding the bottle of mead in his bag. He ran the familiar path to Slughorn's office and was there before he knew it. Without hesitation, Harry knocked on the door, waited for a moment the slowly turned the knob. He had no idea why he was doing this since he normally waited for Slughorn to answer. It just felt like the right.
Opening the door, Harry poked his head in and noticed the door leading to Slughorn's quarters was open. He was obviously early, giving him the ultimate opportunity. As quietly as he could manage, Harry pulled out the bottle of oak-matured mead from his schoolbag, tiptoed to Slughorn's desk and set it down without making a sound. With a flick of the wrist his wand was in his hand, allowing him to conjure two mugs and set them next to the bottle.
Without even thinking about it, Harry retreated to the door and knocked again, this time louder. "Professor Slughorn?" he called out.
Slughorn appeared in the doorway separating his quarters from his office wearing dark green teaching robes that looked like they were at least a size too small. "Harry, my boy!" he exclaimed cheerfully as he entered the room. "You're early. I wasn't expecting you for at least another ten minutes but no matter." Slughorn moved towards his desk only to stop when he noticed the bottle and glasses. "Funny," he said as he continued walking towards his desk and took a closer look at the bottle. "I don't remember putting this out here."
"It was on your desk when I arrived, sir," Harry lied smoothly as he closed the door, the potion ushering him to create a distraction. "If you don't mind, sir, could we perhaps start a little early? I have a lot of schoolwork and with Apparition lessons tomorrow…"
Slughorn snapped out of his thoughts and at down behind his desk. "Say no more my boy," he said as he opened the bottle. "Would you like some? This is one of my favorite years."
"Perhaps a little," Harry said with a smile as he pulled up a chair and sat down. While Slughorn poured mead in each of the mugs, Harry pulled out his journal, ink and quill. "Sir, I have some questions about sleeping potions in contrast to the dreamless sleep potion. I've compared ingredients and I was curious if it was possible to swap anything with a relaxant to make the dreamless sleep potion less addictive."
Slughorn handed Harry a mug as he took a large gulp from his own. "Ah…a common debate," he said with a smile. "You're not the first to question the dreamless sleep potion, Harry, and you most likely won't be the last. The problem with the dreamless sleep potion is that everything is so dependent on everything else. One ingredient affects the next two, they affect the next four and so on and so on."
Harry raised the mug to his lips and pretended to take a sip before setting it back down. Once again the potion was urging him on. "Have you tried, Professor?" he asked curiously.
Slughorn took a long drink from his mug then filled it up again. "Of course, my boy," he said truthfully. "Every Potion's Master has tried. The market for a non-addictive dreamless sleep potion is unbelievable. The inventor of the potion would no doubt be able to retire and life comfortably the rest of their life." He took another deep draught from his mug then looked at Harry and smiled. "That's the problem with many of the complicated potions, my boy. They're so hard to alter."
"I see," Harry said thoughtfully. He felt the sudden urge to look at the bottle of mead and noticed that it was nearly empty. As he discretely pulled out his wand and silently cast the Refilling Charm on the bottle. "What variations have you tried, sir?"
Slughorn immediately dove into explaining attempt after attempt while drinking mug after mug of mead. Truthfully, Harry was amazed Slughorn hadn't passed out yet but he remained silent, dutifully taking notes whenever necessary. Felix Felicis was telling him to be patient and wait for the right moment. He had refilled the bottle two more times before Slughorn's words started to slur. Quietly, Harry closed his journal and put everything back in his bag, doing what he could not to disrupt Slughorn.
"Did you know I 'elped Damocles Belby with the beginnin' stages of the Wolfsbane Potion?" Professor Slughorn asked woozily. "Should've stayed 'n 'elped."
Now. "Well, we all make mistakes, sir," Harry said sympathetically. "We all have done things we regret." Slughorn nodded. "That's what makes us human. Unfortunately there are people in the world who like to use our mistakes against us. Voldemort is notorious for doing exactly that."
Slughorn flinched at the name. "Too right you are," he said and took another drink from his mug.
Harry sat back in his chair with a thoughtful look on his face. He felt an urge to continue on with the 'guilt card'. "Of course, if I were to make a mistake I would do everything I could to correct it," he said sincerely. "Wouldn't you, Professor?"
"Of course, my boy," Slughorn said quickly…well, as quickly as possible for someone as intoxicated as Slughorn. "We all must correct our mistakes."
"Would you really?" Harry asked as he rose to his feet. "Would you do what was necessary to correct a mistake made? Would you help countless people even if it meant revealing a painful secret?" Slughorn stared at Harry in confusion. "As a teacher and a member of the Wizarding Community, would you do everything you could to help rid the world of Voldemort?"
Slughorn flinched again but it wasn't as noticeable as before. "I'm just an old man, my boy," he said woozily. "Wha' can I do?"
Harry rested his hands on Slughorn's desk as leaned forward. Felix Felicis was urging him to be direct now, forceful even. After all, Slughorn wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. "You have information, Professor," Harry said seriously. "Information that can help The Chosen One stand against Voldemort and his followers. Aren't you tired of hiding in fear? Don't you want to return to a normal life?"
Slughorn nodded shakily.
"Then help me, sir," Harry continued, the words just falling out of his mouth. He couldn't stop now even if he wanted to. "Help me and your troubles will go away. Give me the memory of that night you told Tom Marvolo Riddle about Horcurxes." A sharp pain erupted near his right temple but vanished before Harry could even wince. "Allow me to see that one little memory and your part in this war is fulfilled. By doing this you will mend the mistake that have caused so many people their lives, including the lives of Lily and James Potter. You remember my parents, don't you? You remember Lily. Help her son avenge her death."
Slughorn's shoulders slumped forward. "Lily," he whispered brokenly. "So funny…so brave…so full of life…"
"Help me put an end to it, sir," Harry said softly yet forcefully. "The fate of Lily's son is in your hands."
Slughorn let out a shaky breath as he pulled out his wand and touched the top if it to his temple. A long, sliver thread of memory began to appear forcing Harry to silently summoned a small, empty bottle. He uncorked it and handed the bottle over to Slughorn who lowered his wand to the bottle, allowing the extremely long memory to fill it. For a long moment, Slughorn stared at the swirling silver substance before he handed the bottle back to Harry.
"Just don't think too badly of me once you've seen it," Slughorn said regretfully.
Harry corked the bottle and cast an unbreakable charm on it. "I won't, sir," he said firmly as he pocketed the bottle. "After all, you're only human." Harry waited in silence as Slughorn put his head on his arms and instantly passed out. That was his cue. As quickly as possible, he grabbed his school bag and left. The moment he entered the hallway, Harry couldn't stop himself from running to the Gryffindor Tower. He had done it! He had dreaded it for so long, worried that he would fail…worried that he would disappoint Professor Dumbledore. Now, still under the influence of Felix Felicis, Harry had to wonder why he spent so much time worrying about it. With a few guilt enforced comments and a lot of alcohol, Slughorn had been extremely easy to convince.
Harry's confidence, however, slowly vanished as he approached the Gryffindor Tower. With every step, his worries returned along with his awareness of the reality of everything. He may have obtained the memory but there were still so many other tasks he needed to complete. Apparition was tomorrow as well as the D.A. meeting and he still needed to talk to Cho to work everything out. Truthfully, Harry didn't know what else to say to her. He had been honest, reiterating what he had told her months ago. He didn't have the time to be in a serious relationship with anyone. He also didn't have the time to figure out how to control his empathy but he wasn't about to mention that.
Shaking the overabundance of thoughts out of his head, Harry stopped in front of the Fat Lady portrait guarding the Gryffindor Tower and told her the password. He had barely taken one step into the Common Room before a hand grabbed his and pulled him towards the stairs. Harry was so shocked by the abrupt gesture that it took him a moment to realize that it was Hermione who was pulling him. This was extremely odd behavior, even for Hermione.
Not a word was said between them until Hermione pulled Harry into his empty dorm room and locked the door. "Did you get it?" she asked eagerly as she turned to face him.
Harry pulled out the bottle with the silvery memory swirling inside. "I got it," he said with a curious smile. "You realize you could have asked me that downstairs, right?"
Hermione rolled her eyes as she pulled out an old newspaper clipping from her robes. "I was in the library just now and you won't believe what I found," she said excitedly. "Remember Eileen Prince?" Harry nodded as he set his schoolbag down by his bed before moving to his trunk to tuck the bottle of memory safely away. "Well, Eileen Prince was a pureblood witch who married a muggle…a muggle named Tobias Snape."
Harry froze as he slowly turned to look at Hermione in disbelief. It wasn't possible. This wasn't happening. There has to be some plot against me. I know it. "Do you mean to tell me that the Half-Blood Prince is actually Professor Snape?" he asked.
Hermione shrugged her shoulders unhelpfully. "The Prophet only had one birth announcement," she said as she walked over to his bed and sat down. "It makes sense, Harry. Professor Snape was a Slytherin and we both know how important blood is to Slytherins. He probably relied on being 'half a Prince' to survive. Also, the book was left in his old classroom. With as much work that was put into those notations, no one would have left it behind."
Harry let out a long sigh as he sat down beside Hermione. The way Hermione described Snape sounded so familiar and it didn't take long for Harry to realize why. Professor Snape was 'half a Prince' just like Voldemort was 'half a Gaunt'. The similarities between the two wizards were rather alarming: half-bloods in the 'Pureblood House', intense knowledge of the Dark Arts, accomplished in Occlumency and Legilimency, along with being loners. The more Harry thought about it the more he didn't like where his train of thought was going. How well did he and everyone else actually know Professor Snape?