Chapter 32 – Brave

"Potter, you are late." Prof. Snape barked when Harry ran into the class. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

The rest of us were still settling in class, so, technically Harry was not really late. He glared at Prof. Snape and sat next to Ron.

Prof. Snape collected our essays and ordered us to open our textbooks, when Seamus interrupted him.

"What is it Mr. Finnigan?" He looked like he was going through something intolerable by letting Seamus speak.

"Sir, I wonder if you could tell us the difference in between a ghost and an Inferius. There was an article…"

I cringed. I wished he phrased the question in a better way. Of course, Prof. Snape could tell us the difference.

"If you read the article carefully," Prof. Snape interrupted him, "you would have realised that the thief was only pretending to be an Inferius."

"Shouldn't he be upset? Mundungus and Snape are on the same side, right?" Harry whispered to us.

"It seems like Mr. Potter has something else to add. Why don't you tell us the difference?" He smiled wickedly at Harry.

"Well…Ghosts are transparent." Harry started.

"After six years of magical education you finally realised this, well done, Potter." He mocked clapped at Harry. The Slytherins snickered.

Harry didn't lose his nerve, "Inferius…is a dead body. So, they are solid."

"Yes, thank you, Potter. A five year old could have told us that." Prof Snape interrupted him and went on to explain the difference himself. "Inferius is a corpse which is used like a puppet with the help of Dark Magic. They do a wizard's bidding. Ghosts, well, we all know they are imprints of the departed souls on earth. And like Potter so aptly put it, they are transparent."

"But what Harry said is more useful. If we were in a dark alley, we won't go ask them if they were an imprint of a departed soul, would we?" Ron came to Harry's defense. Everybody started laughing.

This made Prof. Snape even angrier than before, "Well I can't expect more from you, Weasley. You are so solid that you can't apparate an inch. Ten points from Gryffindor." Prof. Snape smirked at Ron.

Harry would have launched himself at Prof. Snape if H hadn't put her hand on him and stopped him. The rest of the class went on without an incident.

After the class, Harry and Ron went into the boy's bathroom to escape Lavender. H and I didn't wait for them. We went to our next class, Arithmancy.

"Harry is right though, Snape should be upset that someone from our side got caught." H said.

I shrugged, "Maybe, he is. Maybe, he doesn't want to show it in front of a bunch of sixth year students. I won't be surprised if Prof. Snape doesn't trust Mundungus' loyalties. And to be frank, I find it difficult to trust him either."

"Why?" She looked confused.

"For one, he was stealing from the headquarters. Imagine if he'd gotten to the locket before we did. What would have happened then? And two, he is very fickle. He will choose a side which is beneficial for him, so I'm not big on trusting him."

"You're right, I actually forget about that. But how do we know if destroying the locket did any good? Or bad?"

"We don't. But we can only hope that it was for good." I shuddered, "I still remember the things we saw. It was horrible."

She closed her eyes and cringed like she remembered something particularly nasty, "I still don't believe it, you know. I wonder if we had done it after Ron and Lavender…"

"If he would have the same fears?" I asked.

She nodded.

"I guess it depends on how real his feelings for her are. Rather how real they were. By the looks of it, he will dump her any minute now."

"You really think so?" She sounded happy.

I raised my eyebrows at her. She sighed and we entered the classroom just before the bell rang. When will she realise that things will not work out for the both of them.


H and Ron just left for Hogsmeade. The students, who were taking the apparition test on April 21st, were taking an extra apparition class before the test. When they left, I turned to Harry, "What do you want to do?" I asked him excitedly.

"I'm going to go the room of requirement and try to get in and figure out what Malfoy is doing." Harry spoke with so much conviction in his voice that I was afraid he might actually figure things out.

"But we hardly get 'you and me' time. This is a rare opportunity are you sure you don't want to take advantage of it." I pouted at him.

He laughed, "I almost want to let it go. But you know this is important. Once this is over, we'll have plenty of opportunities." He assured me.

I sighed in defeat, there was no way I could sway him. OMG! This is totally making me doubt my sexual quotient. Here I am, suggesting a make out session or maybe even more and my boyfriend doesn't even bat an eyelid before refusing my offer.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" He asked me with concern. I was looking sourly at the wall.

"Nothing." I said quickly. I moved away from him, "I'll just get back to my never ending pile of homework. See you later." I turned and walked away before he could say anything.

"Ya, see you later." I heard Harry say behind me.

On such a beautiful day, I'm stuck doing homework. I should be outside with Harry, hand in hand, walking around the lake or something like that. Instead, I'm feeling let down because my boyfriend is more interested on spying on my best friend, who by the way, wants nothing to do with me. Can sixth year get any worse than this?"

I was just about to start on my Arithmancy homework when a parchment swan flew over to my table. 'Draco!' I thought.

I opened the parchment excitedly.

Nat,

Ron and I just got back. We are in the great hall.

H

I deflated a little. I thought this was from Draco. Well, I did finish my Tranfiguration and Charms essays, so I deserved a break. H and Ron were sitting in front of each other. Ron looked really happy. Lavender was sitting with Parvati and throwing less than furtive glances at H and Ron. As soon as I settled down next to H, Ron looked happily at me and said, "I did it."

"Wow! Congrats! Next step Apparition License." I cheered for him. We high-fived.

"Yeah! I mean, yeah, I was supposed to apparate in front of Madam Puddifoot's teashop but I appeared in front of Scrivenshaft! But I did something." Ron told me.

"I'm happy for you."

"Where's Harry?" H asked me. "I thought you both would be together. That's why I sent a note to you only."

I made a face and then answered, "He's trying to get into the room of requirement."

"What? I wish he was doing something else." H said with frustration.

"It's like he is obsessed with Malfoy. You know what he told me after he woke up in the hospital wing?" Ron wanted us to ask him.

"What?"

"He said he wanted to follow Malfoy instead of going to play the match."

"That's so not like him. We should not encourage this anymore." H said.

"It's not like that will stop him." Ron weighed in.

"Ron's right. There's nothing we can do to stop him."

"We at least have to try."

I saw Harry coming over. "He's here we shouldn't talk about this now."

Harry sat next to Ron. Ron began to tell him about his apparating experience. While listening to him, Harry put his hand on mine. My ego was still a little hurt by what happened earlier so I moved my hand. He looked at me questioningly.

After Ron completed his story and Harry had given him appropriate reaction, H asked, "What were you up to? I hope you didn't spend your entire time standing in front of the room of requirement."

"Guilty. But guess who I ran into?"

"Prof. Slughorn?" H guessed to irritate Harry.

He gave her a look and then said, "No. Tonks."

"What was she doing here?" I asked.

"Why would she leave her post and come to school?" H asked seriously.

"She wanted to see Dumbledore. But he is away apparently." Harry told us. "She looked worse than when I saw her at the beginning of school. She asked me if someone kept in touch me. I told her Sirius was the only one who kept in touch with me. She started crying as soon as I took Sirius' name."

"I always thought she was odd but after what happened at the Ministry I think she's going mental." Ron told us seriously.

"Don't say that! I want her and Will to get back together. I've been wanting that for a while."

"Wait, your brother dated her?" Ron asked. I nodded. "Poor guy!"

"Hey! They both had a great time together. They were in the same year during school. They were really close."

"And then he dumped her because she was too weird for him." Ron concluded.

I glared at Ron.

"But what happened if they were together?" H asked.

"I don't know the details but they realised they are better as friends." I told them. "They are still best friends."

"But I think," Harry spoke like I hadn't said anything, "she may have been in love with Sirius."

"You just want to crush my dreams, don't you?" I asked Harry.

"I'm serious. She started crying when I mentioned Sirius. And her patronus is a large four-legged animal, I wonder…you know…if it is him."

"It is possible." H said thoughtfully.


On April 21st, the four of us we were sitting in front of the lake. H and Ron were going to take the apparation test in a while. The rest of us who were not eligible yet had a free afternoon, yay! I mean, we had classes but with most students appearing for the test, the professors would go easy on us, it's as good as getting a free afternoon. Ron saw someone approaching and he hid himself behind H, or at least he tried to.

"It's not Lavender." I told him plainly.

"Oh good." Ron was relieved.

"You should end it if you don't want to continue dating her." I told him.

He mumbled something like it's not as easy as it sounds.

"Harry Potter?" The girl held out a note for him, "This is for you." She left as soon as Harry took the note.

"Dumbledore told me there weren't anymore memories left to show me." He said while unfolding the note.

"Maybe he found another one." H suggested. "Or maybe he wants to find out if you got the memory yet?" She said with an edge in her voice.

He read the note and said, "It's from Hagrid for all of us." He gave it to H to read it. Ron peered over her shoulder to it.

"He's mad!" Ron said when finished reading the note. "We're not going to say goodbye to the spider that tried to eat us, are we?" Ron asked uncomfortably. I wondered what the note was about.

She handed me the note after she read it.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Natalie

Aragog died last night. Harry, Ron and Natalie, you met him and know how special he was. One of me best friends. Hermione, I know you would have like him. I'm plannin' to bury him at dusk, it was his favourite time of the day. I'd like the four of you to come. I know, you are not supposed to but you can use the cloak. I wouldn't ask but it is difficult for me to go through this alone.

Hagrid.

"Of course not Ron! Not to mention Hagrid is asking us to break a hundred rules. If it were a matter of saving someone then maybe we would have done something but this… I don't think so." H answered Ron while I was still reading the note.

"Well, I have to go." I said.

"What? Are you out of you mind? Aragog ordered his children to 'feast' on us." Ron reminded me.

"I was there, Ron!"

"Well, you're pretending like you weren't."

"I take CFMC. I see him more often than you guys. Do you think I'll be able to concentrate on class if Hagrid glares at me all the time?" I put out my side of the story. "Besides, he hardly ever gives us essays, only reading assignments. So, it's the best subject ever! I don't want to get on his wrong side."

"You have a point and a very valid reason to go." H told me.

"Told you not to take the subject." Ron commented.

"Did you hear? No essays! I mean, ya, I have to deal with some dangerous creatures but other than that CFMC is not a bad subject."

"What if you get caught when you're coming back?" Ron asked.

I thought about it, "I'll just ask Hagrid to sign a note. The note will say 'I worked with him on some project for extra credit.'"

They snorted.

"What about you Harry? You've been quiet." H asked.

"I…" He hesitated.

"Harry, its not worth it! Plus you have to get the memory from Slughorn." H told him. "Listen, the potions class will be almost empty, I think you should use it to your advantage."

"You're right. I'm not going to attend Aragog's funeral. I've tried to get the memory so many times! I've lost count, I wish I was lucky." Harry sounded dejected.

"Harry, luck! That's what you need. Use your lucky potion." Ron told him excitedly.

"Ron's right." H said.

"You're right but…" Harry hesitated.

"What could be more important than getting the memory?" Ron put him in a spot.

"I suppose, I could use it. But I might not need the entire vial. Just a little should be enough for a couple of hours."

"Then it's settled." H said

"If I'm not able to get the memory during the class, then I'll use the potion."

"Great!" H said.

The bell rang. We got up to get back the castle. Harry and I wished H and Ron luck for the test and made our way towards the dungeons.

"You seem to be a bit withdrawn lately, what's going on?" Harry asked.

"Nothing." I said casually.

"Come on, tell me." He cajoled me.

"That Saturday, when Ron and H were gone?" I started.

He nodded.

"You wanted to get into the room of requirement instead of spending time with me."

"You're still thinking about that? I told you, it is important." He sounded frustrated. Lately, he's been getting a lot more frustrated with the three of us because we collectively decided to not encourage Harry. He was tired of explaining to us why he felt the need to do this.

"You think it is important. You don't know for sure. You are doing all this on the basis of assumptions."

Harry looked angry. He spoke in a low, icy voice, "He is a death eater and it's only a matter of time before I prove it. He is up to something. It's not like he's planning a surprise birthday party for Trelawney. He can be up to no good. So, yes this is important for me."

"I know it is important for you. That doesn't mean my ego didn't take a beating. You spent the entire time there. Once you realised you weren't going to get in, did it cross your mind to come find me?"

He looked a little lost when I said that but he held his ground, "I had to keep trying. I can't keep explaining the same thing over and over. I have to find out. I don't care if you think all of this is on the basis of assumption."

"The last time we went by your assumption we lost…" I stopped before I say it out.

A look of horror passed his face. Then, it was replaced by a look of pure anger.

"I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." I apologised. I didn't want to bring up Sirius. But I couldn't deny that Voldemort had fooled Harry.

"Oh, you meant it." He dashed into the class before I could say anything else.

I was debating if I should skip class. I didn't anticipate our conversation taking such a drastic turn. This is the very reason I kept a safe distance from him these past few days, I didn't want to say anything that would hurt him. If I skipped class, I could get into trouble. I also have to attend the funeral so I cannot get into trouble now.

There were just four other people in class – Prof. Slughorn, Ernie, Draco and Harry.

"Ah, Ms. Shepherd. Come in, we are just about to start." He said cheerfully.

I knew Harry would not want to sit with me so I took the desk in between Harry and Draco. Ernie was sitting with Harry on the other side. As I was sitting I could feel Draco's eyes on me. Ever since our spat, I've stopped even looking at him. Looking at him makes me sad. It breaks my heart. If he goes on this way, not eating or drinking properly, then I'm afraid that he'll just drop dead one day. So, I don't look at him. But being so close to him, it was difficult not to. He was looking at me questioningly. I shook my head slightly.

"Alright! Since we are so few today, let's keep it light and fun. Brew me something amusing." Prof. Slughorn said with mirth.

"What exactly do you mean by amusing?" Draco asked agitatedly.

"Surprise me, Mr. Malfoy."

He didn't look pleased with the answer. I looked at Harry, he was already going through the Prince's book to find something amusing, I guess. By his stance, I could tell he was still angry. But he kept his calm because he had to get that memory by the end of this class or else he'd have to use the potion. When Ron suggested using the potion, Harry hesitated like he had been saving the potion for something bigger. My first thought was that he must have been saving it for the time when he'd have to finally fight Voldemort. It is a very valid reason. Another part of me thought what if he was saving it for something else.

I open my copy of Advanced Potion-Making. I looked through the contents deciding which potion to brew. I felt lost. My mind was not really here. I wanted to make it up to Harry and I wanted Draco to make it up to me. I heard Draco clear his throat so I looked at him. He was not looking at me but he subtly held up his book for me. The page was turned to the Giggling Potion. As soon as I saw it, he turned the page.


Summer of 1995

Draco and I were in my room, lying on my bed, staring at the roof. We were bored, colossally bored.

"Why are we staring at the roof?" I asked.

"We have nothing to do." Draco answered automatically.

"Let's do something. Think of something." I urged.

"Let's make a potion."

"What? It's summer vacation, I'm not brewing a potion."

"It'll be fun."

"I'm beginning to doubt your idea of fun!"

He shook his head like he was trying to forget I just said that, "We'll take one from Andy's potions textbook and brew something."

"Draco, I'm already bad at fourth year potions, I don't want to attempt a sixth year potion! Even H wouldn't do that. She'd only concentrate only on fifth year now. We're jumping way ahead."

"Come on." He got up from the bed and started dragging me out of it.

"Fine."

We borrowed or rather stole Andy's textbook and went back to my room. We kept looking through the potions.

"How about this one?" Draco asked.

"The Giggling Potion?"

"Yup. It looks easy enough. I'm pretty sure your parents must have all these ingredients. Some of them we can just take them from the fridge." Draco said confidently.

I giggled at Draco's confidence, "Okay."

"We've not even started and you're already giggling. Let's go."

We went to the kitchen and cut the ingredients that needed to be cut. We started brewing. We were not tall enough to see into the pot once we put it on the stove. So we stood on stools, so we'd know when to add the ingredients.

"What are you both doing?" My mom startled us.

"Mom! Don't disturb us. We're busy."

"But what are you doing? Draco?" She looked at him.

"Ummm…"

"We'll tell you once, we are done." I interjected.

"Fine." She looked suspiciously at us. "You guys remember the fire rules, right?"

"Yes!" We both said in unison.

"We should be careful. We should not touch the fire or anything hot. We should use protective gloves while handling the hot pot. Also you want us to clean up after we are done." I recited the rules.

"Ditto." Draco said after I was done.

"Okay. I'll be leaving now." She was stalling.

"Mom, I mean this really politely. Leave."

"Okay." She left.

It was finally done. It was orange. Not the orange, that makes you cringe but makes you feel nice.

"So are we going to drink it?" I asked Draco.

He looked at me like I'm crazy, "No! That would be nice, though. We are going to add this to everyone's drinks tonight."

"You mean at my grandparents' place? At the dinner?" I asked.

He nodded mischievously.

"Oh my god! Dinner's going to be epic!" I hugged him. "Draco, you are a genius."

"Keep the compliments coming." He said haughtily.

Draco came to dinner with his mother. Mr. Malfoy almost never attended our dinners. And since the Quidditch World Cup last year, he has not made an appearance, even if it was just for appearance sake.

Once everyone arrived, Draco and I slipped into the kitchens. I handed the giggling potion to the head elf, Flounder and ask him to mix it in everyone's drinks except ours.

It was a fun night. Draco and I laughed so much that our stomachs hurt.

I laughed. Everybody looked at me.

"Anything funny, Ms. Shepherd?" Prof. Slughorn asked.

"Sorry, I just remembered something."

I looked at the book quickly before he could ask me anything else. It has been so long since Draco and I laughed together. It was settled then. In the memory of that good night, I was going to make the giggling potion.

I had some of the ingredients and the rest I found in the supply closet. Harry concentrated on the potion like his life depended on it. Draco didn't look like he was even concentrating on the potion. Ernie' potion was smoking a little too much.

At the end of the hour, Slughorn asked us to stop.

He made a sour face when he passed by Ernie's potion. When he looked into Harry's cauldron, he was delighted and started complimenting him and the talent he got from his mother. He looked at my potion and said, "That's a good attempt, Ms. Sherpherd." He told Draco his attempt was passable. The bell rang and we began to pack our things. Draco left the classroom quickly. I ran after him wanting to catch up with him.

"Draco." I called out when I was close to him.

He stopped but didn't turn around. I stopped in front of him. He looked so horrible. The once handsome face was now gaunt. I wondered when was the last time he ate a proper meal. The circles around his eyes were more profound. When was the last time he slept? It hurt to see him like this.

"Hi." My voice came out in a whisper.

He looked perplexed, "Hi."

"Thanks for helping me in the class."

Ernie looked at us strangely when he passed by us. Guess, it's not everyday you see a Gryffindor and a Slytherin talk courteously. When Ernie turned around the corner, Draco pulled me into a dungeon and closed the door.

"It was nothing really." He said like we were not interrupted.

"Remember when we used it?" I asked him.

He smiled, "Yes, It was one hilarious dinner. I could not stop laughing that night."

"Too bad, even amidst the giggles they figured that we might have something to do with it."

He laughed, "Ya! Getting grounded for it was totally worth it though."

When was the last time he laughed?

"How are you?" I asked.

He was startled for a moment like he hadn't expected me to ask that. "I've had better days."

My eyes were quickly filling up, "I can see that."

"So what happened between you and Potter?"

I was not expecting him to ask me that. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." He dropped his bag and came closer to me.

I gently placed my hand on his cheek, well, as much of the cheek he had remaining, "I miss you, you know."

He lightly pecked my palm on his cheek, "I know, me too."

"Promise me one thing Drake." I looked at him seriously.

"What?"

"You won't…die. Don't…don't die on me. Please."

He looked sad. "Nattie, I don't think I can promise that."

"You better not die on me Drake. I will not like it if you do."

He smirked but it looked more like a pained smile, "I will try."

I nodded uncertainly, "Good enough."

He came closer to me and rested his forehead on mine. He closed his eyes. I closed my eyes. We just stood there. Everything else just melted away. Time stood still. This was enough.


He placed his lips on my forehead, picked up his bag and left before I could say anything. My legs gave out and I landed hard on the floor. The pain didn't matter much. I wanted to cry, just a little. I wanted to let it all out. But no matter how much I waited I couldn't, so I just thought about my day. When is this day going to end?

I didn't go back to the common room. I doubted Harry wanted to see me so soon. I went down to the kitchen. As usual, when I entered the kitchen, all the elves surrounded me wanting to make me happy.

"A bowl of dark chocolate ice cream please?" I asked.

"I get it, Ms. Shepherd." Dobby answered happily and dashed off.

He returned minutes later with a bowl filled to the brim with dark chocolate ice cream. I guess, he remembered my last ice cream craving. I thanked him and took it from him.

"Anything else Dobby can do for you?" Dobby asked.

I wondered if Hagrid had eaten anything. He will want to eat after the funeral. When people are sad they don't eat much, some eat a lot.

"Hmmm…will you pack some dinner for Hagrid and me, please. Some butterbeers, if you have any." I doubt Hagrid would want to drink something as mild as butterbeer. Should I ask for dessert as well? It is a sad occasion for him and dessert does cheer people up to an extent. "Maybe some cookies, pies and cake also." He can choose whatever he wants to eat.

"Okay." He dashed off assembling my dinner basket.

I sat down on one of the benches in the corner and watched the elves work. They looked so content working here. I wonder if all the elves are paid, I know Dobby gets paid. I thought about Hagrid. He had Aragog since he was an egg. I could understand losing a friend. Draco and I have been friends since we were in our diapers. At least my friend is alive. Did I ask Draco to not die because Hagrid just lost his best friend? I don't want to lose Draco.

"Here." Dobby placed a small basket in front of me.

I knew the basket had an undetectable extending charm on it. "Thank you so much, Dobby. I'll see you around."

"Happy to help." Dobby told me.

I left the kitchen. The shortest route to get to Hagrid's hut was going through the great doors in the entrance hall. But it is also the easiest to get caught there. So, I decided to leave the castle through one of the courtyards, which led to the grounds and then to the hut. It is a long way but it a safe way. I made my way to Hagrid's hut without any interruptions. I could hear sobs from inside. I knocked.

I heard the noise of the chair moving and footsteps coming towards the door. Then Hagrid opened the door. He looked terrible. I wonder if he stopped crying since he found out Aragog died.

"Hagrid!" I exclaimed in panic. I hugged him though my hands couldn't cover much distance.

"Thanks for coming. Where are the others?" He asked in between sobs.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that the others may not turn up. "They should be here any minute. Let's go inside, it's cold. I'll make some tea."

I had no idea how long I was there. Hagrid recounted Aragog's stories. I really didn't want to know that Aragog came to Hagrid for approval when he found the perfect She-Acromantula for himself. I got Hagrid to eat something. In between I kept dropping hints that maybe we should just get on with the funeral but Hagrid insisted on waiting. He said and I quote, "Harry will be here, I know it. He will be there for me."

There was a knock on the door, Hagrid looked at it hopefully and said, "See, I told you." He went to open the door.

And Harry was actually standing on the other side of the door. I was surprised. But something was off. He had a very calm, pleasant look on his face. I assumed he would not be very happy to see me right now but he didn't look angry at all. How is this possible! I started to feel really sorry for what I had said. Now, our argument felt so insubstantial. He sat in between Hagrid and I.

While thinking all this I forgot to pay attention to what they were saying.

"You sure? He wouldn't turn you in?" Hagrid asked seriously.

"Nope." Harry said a little to happily. "In fact he said he would be here to… uh… pay his respects."

"Um…whom are we talking about?" I asked.

"Slughorn." Harry answered normally.

"Slughorn?" I was stunned.

"Slughorn." He didn't explain further.

"Harry?" He looked at me, "Harry. I'm really sorry for what I said. I'm not going to say I didn't mean it, a part of me meant it but I shouldn't have sprung it on you like that. I'm sorry." I slid my hand on his. "Whatever happened last year, it was the hardest on you, so, I know have no right to go there."

"It's okay. We will talk about this later."

I was not sure if he was icing me out or genuinely meaning it.

Someone knocked on the door and Hagrid opened the door again. Prof. Slughorn was wearing clothes that looked like his designated funeral outfit. He brought a few bottles of wine. Everything about his behaviour was so calculated. He said the perfect things to Hagrid, he had the perfect expression on his face and when he noticed me, he nodded sadly at me like it was him who lost someone.


Harry's plan was to get Prof. Slughorn drunk. We buried Aragog, Prof. Slughorn delivered Aragog's eulogy. I have no idea why he did it. It should have been Hagrid. We came back the hut and Prof. Slughorn poured each of us a glass of wine. We toasted to Aragog and drank it. I saw Harry charm the wine bottles to keep refilling.

"What are you doing?" I whispered to him.

"You'll see. I want you be as quiet as you can be." Harry instructed me.

"Okay." I reached for the wine bottle to refill my mug but Harry stopped me. I deserved a few drinks after the past couple of months.

"Don't drink too much. On second thoughts, you've had enough for tonight." Harry stopped me.

I wanted to protest but I decided not to. I realised Harry was up to something but I couldn't pinpoint what. And neither was he telling me anything. He was maintaining this aura of mystery. I pouted at him.

He smiled kindly at me. He pulled the basket of food and pulled out some cookies, "Here you go."

Again, though I didn't really want to eat a cookie at that moment, I still took it and nibbled on it.

Hagrid and Prof. Slughorn began singing Odo, the hero. Never in my life did I think I would see Hagrid and Prof. Slughorn singing together in drunken stupor. I wish I could take a picture. Hagrid muttered something about Harry's parents and dozed off.

The Prof. Slughorn looked at Harry apologetically, "Sorry, I'm a terrible singer. And sorry about your parents as well."

"Yes." He said sadly.

"I don't think…I don't suppose you remember how it happened do you?"

Harry shook his head, "I was only one when it happened." He paused, "But I found out later how it happened. He killed my father and then my mother."

"I didn't…know that." Prof. Slughorn muttered.

Harry was now looking at the table, "Yes, he killed my dad and stepped over his body and then killed my mom."

"Terrible." His eyes were filling up.

"He… Voldemort told my mom to get out of the way and that she didn't have to die but she wouldn't budge so he killed her too." There was slight malice hidden in his voice. He told us this before so I knew this already.

"Enough…boy! Do you think I can take all this in at this age!"

He nodded morosely, "Yes, you liked her." He said it like he just remembered it.

"Like her? There was nobody who knew Lily Evans and could not like her. She was brave and funny, what happened to her… it was the most unfortunate thing."

"But even then you won't help her son. She gave me her life and you can't give me a memory?"

"I want to help… I will do anything…but that memory will not serve any…purpose." I could tell his last line of defence was crumbling.

"It will help. I need information." He took in a deep breath, "I am the Chosen One. I will have to kill him when the time comes."

Prof. Slughorn turned pale, "You really are the Chosen One?"

"Yes. Please professor, be brave like my mother." He pleaded unleashing the full power of his green eyes.

If he looked at me like that, I'd probably end up telling him everything about Draco.

Prof. Slughorn looked like he was deliberating, "I…I'm not very proud of the memory. I may…I may have done great damage that night." He took out an empty vial from his pocket. He touched the tip of his wand to his temple and pulled out a long, silver thread of the memory and put it in the vial. He placed the vial in Harry's hand.

"By giving me the memory, you have redeemed yourself. Thank you." Harry told him kindly.

Then Prof Slughorn put his head on the table and dozed off.

"Harry, how did you manage to do it?" I asked in shock.

He looked startled, guess he forgot I was still there, "Felix Felicis. Now, I have to go see Dumbledore."

"But remember Tonks told you, he is not here."

"Right, I'll go to his office tomorrow then."

We were just about to get out of the hut when Harry pulled me closer and said, "I'm sorry too. I love you."

"I love you too." I smiled at him.

He kissed me and then we went back to the castle.


This is a really big chapter! I hope you like it! Please read and review! thanks for the support!

Enjoy! Neepa...:-)