A/N: You can thank the guy who broke my heart and made me feel like I wanted to die for this chapter. Adios!

-CatJetRat

Chapter 9

Letting Go

HBP

Normal POV

Breaking the long silence, Mnemosyne finally looked up. "So are you going to tell me what happened to your hand?" she asked softly.

Dumbledore raised his eyes to her face, studying the hard lines which were etched within. Lines which would fade if only she wanted them to. But no. Never.

Dumbledore flexed his fingers. "I put a cursed ring on," he told her. "It had one of Voldemort's Horcruxes in it. I was curious…stupid, really. But I destroyed it."

Mnemosyne's eyes widened. "So it's true? He has seven Horcruxes?"

"I strongly suspect so," Dumbledore sighed. "Which makes destroying him that much more difficult."

Mnemosyne cast eyes away from him, frowning. "How many have you destroyed so far?"

"Well, you already know about the diary, after all, that was what made us suspect that he might have Horcruxes. The ring's gone, so that leaves five."

"Any ideas on what they might be?" Mnemosyne asked.

"I know that Voldemort stole Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Salazar Slytherin's locket from a descendant of Hufflepuff, so I suspect that those two are Horcruxes. I also think that his snake, Nagini, might have been made a Horcrux. After that, he probably sought out something of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's to use. What that might have been, I have no idea." He paused.

"That still leaves one Horcrux," Mnemosyne pointed out quietly.

"You already know," Dumbledore said, a pained expression on his face.

"I think I know," she whispered. "Please tell me I'm wrong."

Dumbledore's eyes drifted closed. "I can't."

Tears Mnemosyne had held back finally spilled forth. "Shit," she hissed. "What in Merlin's name are we going to do?"

"You know what we have to do." Dumbledore's eyes snapped open, a blue fire erupted within. "We have no choice."

"You—"

But whatever Mnemosyne was going to say was lost in a pounding on the door. Dumbledore shot her a warning look, and she concealed herself in invisibility.

"Enter," Dumbledore said. Minerva McGonagall came in, a frantic expression on her face.

"Headmaster, Ron Weasley has just been poisoned. His family is on the way. You should come to the infirmary at once."

Dumbledore stood up and swept out of his office without so much as a backward glance. Mnemosyne bit back a groan of annoyance. She settled herself in on a chair and began to speak with the portraits on the wall, trying to learn as much as she could.

By the time Dumbledore returned with Arthur and Molly Weasley, Mnemosyne had learnt of Dumbledore's impending doom, of the fact that Harry was slowly learning about the Horcruxes, and all other tidbits of gossips the portraits felt she should know.

She shrank into the shadows, going into deep contemplation as Dumbledore comforted Ron's parents, and assured them that everything possible would be done to find the culprit.

The Weasleys finally left at around nine to go see their son. Dumbledore jumped at the sound of her soft laughter.

"You're such a liar, Dumbledore," she sneered. "What would Molly and Arthur say if they knew that the boy who tried to kill their son is only floors below, hanging out with his friends?"

"Don't talk about things you don't understand!" Dumbledore snapped.

"'Don't understand?'" she snarled. "If it wasn't for you, Draco and his entire family would be safe. But you were so damned impatient to forget about me that now everyone is worse off! Just because my father made life for everyone terrible, it doesn't mean I had the same effect! I spent all of my life trying to be a good person, trying to help others be happy, and find the best way of being happy. You're so foolish, you couldn't even recognize this!"

"I'm not perfect!" Dumbledore exploded. "You of all people should recognize this! Look at who I fell in love with!"

Mnemosyne sobered instantly. Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore's only love. Mass murderer, dark wizard.

"Very well," she said. "I'll grant you that. But—"

Dumbledore laughed harshly. "You'll grant me that? Has anyone ever told you how arrogant you are?"

"You know of my power, Dumbledore," Mnemosyne snapped. "My wisdom—"

"Only fools call themselves wise," Dumbledore snarled. "And you are not so powerful. I heard you tried to convince Lord Voldemort that it was you who protected Harry when he was a baby. Said something about the world being on your side."

Mnemosyne went red. "I was weak," she muttered. "I thought if I could make him believe I was extremely powerful, he might not kill me. And the world does love me," she added resentfully.

"Yes, I know," Dumbledore said mockingly. "The world loves me too."

"And I survived passing through the veil!" she added, almost desperately.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore said, finally fed up. "I'm not denying your power, but there are many who match you and some who exceed you. You must learn humility. If you do not then you will fail. You almost did. Taking Avada Kedavra head on—what were you thinking? It would have been just as easy to Apparate away with Harry!"

Mnemosyne didn't respond. Mostly because she knew he was right, and wasn't willing to admit to being wrong, and party because she just simply could not think of an answer. Dumbledore sighed.

"You expected too much from me. I cannot be there for you constantly. I cannot overlook who your father is, and I cannot overlook the things you have done. Mnemosyne—I thought it would be easier on everyone to forget who you are. To be honest, I was somewhat relieved when I thought you were dead. You've hurt a lot of people. I admit it was a mistake to erase you. But you must understand. I had my reasons."

Mnemosyne swallowed. "I can't change the past," she whispered. "You of all people should know that. But let me be in this future. Please. Let me come back to Harry. Get to know him all over again."

"If you are looking for my permission, I will never grant it," Dumbledore said. "I know though that I cannot force you to do anything. The best thing you can do is help the Order. I'll introduce you as a new ally. You can fight. Forget about Harry. Just let it go."

Mnemosyne looked into his eyes, and was finally able to do just that.

"Okay."

DH

P-

Athena. I like it. Thanks for the recommendation. Since she's part Kneazle it really fits, goddess of wisdom and all.

As for you telling Weasley, what am I going to do, chastise you? It was your choice, and if you decided to trust him there isn't much I can do to change that. I must say though, I find it odd that you trust him simply because he said Voldemort's name. It seems that you are a bit too willing to find an excuse to let go of his past behavior. But again, it's your choice. I just hope your trust wasn't misplaced.

I'm getting better at cooking. I made beef stroganoff the other night and it turned out really well, then again, I was the only one eating it.

I must admit that I regret I won't be at Hogwarts for Halloween. Slytherin always threw mad parties. I heard you Gryffindors get pretty crazy as well. It was always my favorite holiday.

Life is excruciatingly boring here. I've read everything I have about Horcruxes so far and my next shipment of books doesn't get in for another three days. I wish McGonagall would buy me firewhiskey. I would prefer to be bored and drunk than just bored.

-D

It was because of this letter that Harry found himself in Hogsmeade on October 15th, trying to find a place that would sell him a bottle of firewhiskey. He'd already tried and failed twice, but he was about to try the Hog's Head.

The door creaked open, and Harry shuddered. The place was almost entirely empty, though there was a man and woman in the corner muttering to each other. Harry spared them a quick glance, and went to the counter. The old man, who still looked unnervingly familiar after two years, stared at him blankly.

"H-how much for a bottle of firewhiskey?" Harry said, wincing inwardly at his stutter.

The bartender continued to stare at him, and Harry was beginning to think it might be better if he just left, but then the man opened his mouth. "Two galleons," he grunted.

Harry quickly dug in his money bag and placed two galleons on the counter. The bartender took the money and went into the back to retrieve the bottle. Harry glanced at the man and woman. The woman had reddish-brown hair, but her back was to him. The man's face was hidden in shadow, though his hands looked pale and bony. They had both fallen completely silent, and just as Harry was starting to feel slightly uneasy, the bartender returned with a dusty bottle of firewhiskey.

"Here," he said, and thunked it on the counter. Harry grabbed it and rushed out. He'd had enough of feeling nervous for one day.

"And why, exactly, did you feel the need to get him alcohol?" Three hours later, back in the common room, Hermione's icy tone was less than welcome.

Harry shrugged. "He said he wanted it. Besides, think about how horrible it is to be stuck there!"

Hermione glared at him, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "It would be peaceful." Harry rolled his eyes and returned to the letter he was writing.

M-

Glad you like the name. I thought it sounded fitting.

You may be correct about Ron. Lately I've realized that all the things I formerly thought about him are still true, despite him having said Voldemort. I think he's trustworthy, but I also think we're drifting apart. Lately I don't really know what to say to him. It's hard to let go, though. Hermione and I are getting closer, however, which is a good thing.

You're welcome to cook for me anytime. I still remember that omelet you made.

I don't know how great Halloween will be this year. Everyone's kind of on edge around here; no one's really thinking about parties.

I actually kind of wish I wasn't here. I initially was actually going to look for the Horcruxes this year, but a certain female best friend of mine convinced me that N.E.W.T.s are important, and I should still be preparing to fight Voldemort.

I'm sorry you're bored. Hopefully this will help.

-H

Harry looked over his letter, slightly embarrassed when he realized that he'd actually opened up to Malfoy a bit. It was true that ever since he'd told Ron a week before about Malfoy, Ron had stayed arrogant and obnoxious, rude and inconsiderate, and frankly, just interested in things Harry didn't find appealing. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hold up a conversation with him, and Harry was frustrated as hell trying to figure out how to stay friends with someone who, half the time, he couldn't remember why he was friends with him.

Harry reread his letter, and sighed. He'd lied about Halloween. From what he'd heard, there was going to be a joint House party in the Room of Requirement (not including the Slytherins), and it was supposed to be the craziest one yet. Still, no way of Malfoy finding that out, and Harry wasn't particularly interested in making Malfoy feel worse than he already probably did.

Harry tied the letter to the bottle of firewhiskey, and cast the charm Malfoy had taught him on it. He called Hermione over and she looked at it. A second later, the letter and the bottle were gone.

Hermione mumbled a quick good night and went upstairs. A frown creased his brow. Hermione had been acting rather strangely for the last week, and oddly skittish. But every time Harry asked her about it, she said something dismissive. Harry felt rather at a loss, but there were other things to worry about.

Like that. Ron walked in, and Harry smiled tensely, a greeting which he hoped would suffice, and Ron might keep on walking…but no, no, he kept coming.

"Hey mate, what's up?" Ron asked cheerfully. Harry shrugged.

"Just studying," he replied, indicating the books on the table, which had fallen in ranking of importance for Malfoy's letter. Silence fell, the silence he had been dreading.

"So…I was thinking I might ask Susan Bones out," Ron said. "You know, the girl with red hair, the one who was in the DA?"

"Really?" Harry said, trying to sound interested.

"Yeah, I figured that maybe making Hermione jealous again was the way to go," Ron said. "You know, let her see what she's missing."

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to this comment, so he grunted and grabbed his potions textbook. Ron sat there for a few more minutes, then muttered a good night, and stumped up the stairs. Harry continued to sit there, fake reading, in case Ron came back down.

"You know," said an amused voice. "It's easier to read when your eyes move."

"Hi, Seamus," Harry grinned. "Sorry, just avoiding something."

Seamus smiled and sank down into the couch next to him. "Let me guess—your "best" friend?"

Harry winced. "Let's not talk about it. Actually, let's not talk about anything important at all. I can barely hear in here." That wasn't actually true, because full though the common room was, it was pretty quiet. Laughter and games had become rare. That was actually one of the reasons that the Halloween party would be so intense. Everyone needed a release.

"Okay, then let's go somewhere else," Seamus suggested. Harry couldn't suppress the smile that came to his face.

"Like where?"

"Places…" Seamus said mysteriously. Harry laughed.

"That's…very descriptive." Harry glanced at his forgotten homework, and shrugged. "What the hell," he said, gathering up his papers and shoving them in his bag, which he then put under the couch for safekeeping. "You lead."

A/N: Okay, yeah, that's a shitty thing to do considering how often I update this thing, but I think I'll be updating it more from now on, because honestly, though it's less popular than some of my other stories, it's my personal favorite. "Love Not Forgotten" is okay, but I like this one. I know people think it's a Mary-Sue, but it really isn't. Please review this and recommend it to others if you like it. Adios!

-CatJetRat