A/N: It's really hard for me to have time to update…I'm so sorry and I'm really making an effort to post. I feel like if I wait too long between updates, you're going to all lose whatever modicum of interest you've developed for my interpretation of events. So, read on my friends!
The swirl of silvery liquidy smoke that usually distorted Harry's reflection was not there. Harry stared confusedly into his brand new Pensieve, and he saw only his very clear reflection in an unfamiliar, yet just as unnamable substance as that which normally found itself settled in the small basin. He had no idea how to make this magical item work. He'd only ever seen people add memories to it, or he'd entered them without permission.
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sat anxiously on the edges of both Harry's and Ron's beds. Harry was planning on shooing Ginny from the room before he, Ron, and Hermione entered the first memory. Harry felt that they should start from the memory of the Triwizard Tournament. He didn't want Ginny to see that. He didn't want Ron and Hermione to see it either, but he appreciated that they could probably find the experience useful. They might be able to pick things out that he hadn't seen or recognized at the time, and they would have an idea of just how horrible Voldemort could really be. No surprises when or if they met up with Voldemort. Ginny didn't need to see it. He was adamant on that. But, for now, he was just trying to figure out how to work the thing.
"Harry?" Hermione questioned, softly. She was aware of the fact that Harry was having a very hard time allowing them to see inside these memories, and she didn't want to push him, but she wanted to know what was wrong.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Ginny said, realizing how hesitantly Hermione was posing the question. Ginny didn't care about pushing Harry; she wanted to know what was wrong and she would get it out of him.
Harry turned around, and the trio sitting, waiting anxiously for an expression of reluctance or foreboding were instead faced with an undeniable air of confusion.
"Um, well, you see…I don't really know how to…I'm not sure how I, you know, out the memories in the Pensieve," Harry said abashedly.
Ginny laughed out loud, Ron looked amused, and Hermione seemed incredulous.
"You mean to tell me that you spent almost more time last year in the Pensieve than you did out of it, and you don't know how to extract memories and put them in?" Hermione said in a tone that conveyed obvious amazement.
Harry was immediately defensive,
"Dumbledore was a bit more concerned with showing me all I needed to defeat Voldemort, Hermione. It wasn't a classroom, you know, the Basics of Using Your New Pensieve."
Hermione looked ashamed, and Ron looked thoroughly chastised-even though he hadn't said anything-but Ginny spoke up,
"Harry, don't do that. Don't bring him up to make her feel bad. She was just marveling at the fact that you've had so much exposure to Pensieves, but you're not sure how to go about working it. It's no reason to bite her head off."
She spoke softly, but the scolding tone was clearly underlying. Harry had enough sense to sigh and say,
"You're right, Ginny. I'm sorry, Hermione, I just…I should know, that's all."
Hermione nodded, and Ron squeezed her hand saying,
"It's alright, Harry, we know it's hard on you, mate, but we're on your side, you know?" Ron kept his voice light, but Harry understood that he was serious.
Hermione jumped up, letting go of Ron's hand. He looked up, surprised at her outburst,
"Hermione, what?" Ron asked, but he didn't finish the question.
"If…but, yes, I think it would be there…not sure, can't hurt to check," Hermione said absentmindedly as she drifted, her mind occupied, towards the door.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny watched her walk out the door, and Ron spoke,
"I just love it when she tells us exactly what's going through her mind, you know, because don't we just hate it when she leaves us hanging."
Ginny giggled, then said,
"I think we should follow her. Ron, don't you have a manual, or something? You know, What to Do When You're Girlfriend Goes Temporarily Mental? We could use it right about now."
"Shut up, Ginny," Ron snarled.
"You were just making fun of her, you hypocrite," Ginny said angrily.
"Yeah, but, I'm allowed to poke fun at her; it's what I do. You're not," Ron retorted.
"Oh, please, Ron-" Ginny began, but Harry walked over and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Do you two ever stop fighting? Don't answer that," he said quickly a Ginny glared up at him, "Listen, you're right, Ginny, we should follow her. I assume she's found whatever it is she's looking for by now. C'mon."
The brother and sister stared daggers at one another,
"Truce, guys, we have to follow Hermione right now," Harry said, tightening his arm around Ginny in a manner that said very clearly, "Get on with it, now."
They nodded at each other, forming a temporary ceasefire, and Harry steered Ginny towards the stairs, tucking the Pensieve under his arm. Ron trailed after them.
When Ginny opened the door to her room, they were met with the sight of books, scattered all over the floor, Hermione, barely visible, sprawled in the midst of the many volumes.
Ron laughed heartily at the sight and said in a half amused half exasperated voice,
"Hermione, what are you doing?" he inquired, flopping down as close to Hermione as he could get, what with all the debris of literature nearly creating a wall around her.
"Hold on," she said, not even glancing up.
The bed was covered in books, as was most of the floor space, leaving only one chair open as seating options for Harry and Ginny. Harry sat down and pulled Ginny into his lap. She settled comfortably against his chest, and Harry felt that he could stay here forever. It just seemed right. Hermione buried in books, Ron at her side, looking lovingly at her, even though Harry knew he was completely exasperated with her. Ginny leaning against Harry, her weight comforting in his lap. He brushed a kiss across her temple, and she turned her head, smiled, and gave him a small kiss.
"Ha!" came Hermione's triumphant cry, and Harry was jolted back to the present.
"What?" Ron asked.
"I found it! In Magical Items and Their Uses: A Complete Guide to Any and All Magical Items and How to Use Them."
"All of that fit on the cover of that book?" Ron inquired, "Why is it that book titles are so long? Why can't they just say 'This is the book you're looking for', and that could be the end of it?" Ron ranted.
Hermione silenced him with a glare and continued,
"I knew I had something that would tell you how to use the Pensieve. I just had to find it. Here it is:
'The Pensieve is among one of the most useful and rare inventions of wizard kind. Invented by Toban Goodkin in 1437, the Pensieve allows the owner to review their own memories from an objective point of view. This allows him/her to make connections he/she had not been able to make when the occurrence actually happened. It also takes a load of his/her mind, giving the chance for the owner to take in new information and face ever new day with a fresh outlook.'
"Okay, it's an advertisement. When does it tell me how to use this wonderful product?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"Get off my back, Harry, I'm getting there," Hermione said briskly, evidently immersed in her reading enough that she didn't hesitate to make a retort without worrying about Harry's reaction.
Harry, very wisely, returned to his silent state when Ginny elbowed him gently and gave him a look that said,
"Cut it out."
Hermione continued,
'To use the Pensieve, one must think up the memory he/she is attempting to transfer into the device. They must then put a wand to his/her temple and think the incantation 'memorabius' drawing the wand slowly away. A small, silvery thread should trail from the wand, and it can either be transferred directly into the Pensieve or into another receptacle before being transferred into the Pensieve. The surface of the Pensieve should turn from clear to smoky.'
"It's actually quite fascinating; the description of why and what the substance inside the Pensieve is what it is. It's-"
"No offense, Hermione, I would like to know, really, but I think we should get to putting my memory into the Pensieve, you know," Harry said, trying to speak in a calm tone, lest Ginny elbow him again.
"Oh, of course, you're right," Hermione said, "I was just thinking out loud."
"Hermione, how on earth are you going to fit all that into your trunk? Come to think of it, how did you get all of those books here in the first place?" Ron asked as Hermione began gathering and stacking books.
Hermione beamed,
"Well, the first thing I did when I became of age was to write to Mum and Dad. I asked them to send all the books I had had to leave at home because they didn't fit in my trunk. They sent them over the course of a few months, and I was able to acquire all the books I'd wanted to."
"And this is because…" Ron queried.
"Because I can charm them now, and fit them all into my trunk!" Hermione said, as though stating the obvious.
"Oh," said Ron, shooting Harry a look that said, 'Of course! What was I thinking?'
They all watched in avid fascination as Hermione checked and double checked that she had gathered all of the books scattered about the room, and then, when she seemed to be content and sure of her collection on the bed, she whispered an incantation. The books tied themselves together and shrunk to the size of a matchbox. She slipped them into a small, velvet bag and put the bag in her trunk.
"Ok, shall we go, then? We should get to the Pensieve, shouldn't we?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, she's right," Ginny said, "We should get that done now so that we have time to recover before dinner. This is pretty traumatic," she said seriously, "we should give ourselves time to put ourselves back together; put on a face for Mum, you know."
Hermione nodded, in agreement, and Harry shifted uncomfortably and Ron looked deliberately at the ceiling. Harry knew that Ron stood in the same place as Harry on the whole issue of Ginny going into the Pensieve. This was the moment that Harry had dreaded. He was going to have to address his feelings now.
"Ginny, listen. I don't want you coming with us."
"What?" Ginny shrieked, attempting to move from Harry's lap.
He tightened his arms around her waist, binding her to the spot. He didn't want her walking off.
"Oh, honestly, I'm not going to walk out. No need to resort to Neanderthal means of force to keep me here. But I swear, Harry Potter, if you don't let me go right now, I will slap you," Ginny bit off each word with anger.
Harry let her go and stood up. He felt like he should rise to this fight.
"Why is it that you can tell me you love me, tell me that I mean so much to you and then cut me out of this? How on earth can you mean all those things and then do this? Were you lying, Harry? Only saying what you thought I wanted to hear?" she spoke calmly, but with such disdain in her tone that Harry was not fooled. She just wasn't the type e to engage in a shouting match with anyone but Ron or one of her other family members. With Harry, he knew, it was going to be calm rationale.
"Ginny, that's not it. You know I love you; you know that. I just don't want you to see this. It's bad…really bad."
"Oh, so it's really bad. I must not be able to handle it. The real world must be that far from my grasp, Harry, that I can't be involved in something this close to you. It might be too real for me, is that it?"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Harry's blood was beginning to boil. How could she say these things? She was completely missing that he loved her enough to protect her.
"I know you think that you just love me enough to protect me, but think a bit more deeply than that, Harry."
Harry was too slow, getting over the fact that she knew him so well, and he missed his chance to throw in a retort.
"You are so blinded by nobility and doing what's right for other people, Harry, and I love you so I accept that, but this is just ridiculous. Sometimes, what you think is right for a person isn't what's right for them. What's right for me is to be able to understand what you went through. There's a big part of your life that Hermione, Ron, and I don't understand. They're you're best friends, and they should understand, but I'm a big part of your life too. At least I hope I am."
"You are," Harry said, feeling as though he needed to reassure her of this fact, at least. He thought maybe she was right, but he still wasn't keen on her seeing Cedric die.
"Listen, Harry that was a low blow. I'm not trying to make you profess your undying love, alright? I just want you to respect me enough to let me in on this, to let me see what you went through. Don't you think it will bring us closer? Not that that's the only reason for me to go, but it's a factor you should consider."
She was silent. Harry was hesitant to speak.
"I'm done, Harry. Whatever you decide is your choice, and I won't try and change your mind. I just want you to know that I can handle it."
Harry thought that this was one of those defining moments in a couple's relationship, and he wanted to do what was right. True, if he let Ginny come, she may be scarred, but maybe she wouldn't be. She'd truly proven that she could handle tragedy, and she was strong. Harry knew that. So, he said,
"Yeah, alright. You can come, Ginny. I don't think less of you than Ron and Hermione; it's just that I wanted you to be safe, you know. I didn't want you to see this. But, you're strong enough, I know that. If you want to see, than you can absolutely see. I'm sorry I tried to keep this from you."
Though he meant what he said, Harry felt like he was reciting from the handbook of things boys do to keep their girlfriends from being angry with them. If such a manual existed, Harry thought to himself that he needed to pick it up.
Ginny nodded and hugged Harry,
"Thank you." She said softly, and simply.
Harry knew the matter was closed, and though Ron still looked a bit unsure of Harry's decision to let his baby sister come along, Hermione seemed satisfied by the outcome.
"Right, then, let's get this done, shall we?" Hermione asked, heading for the door.
The rest followed, and Harry wondered how this was going to play out. He was not looking forward to this, and he knew that his friends were not going to take this well. But he would be there for Ginny and Ron would be there for Hermione. Things might be better once his friends began to understand what he'd been through over the last years. Time would tell.
A/N: OK. Now we're moving…slowly, but we're moving along. Next chapter will reveal more insight. This was sort of necessary filler. I threw some fluff in too because, I'm a romantic at heart. I know Ms. Rowling wouldn't have put that much mushy stuff, but I wanted it in there. Please review guys!