Chapter 10: Forgetting

Harry lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Sirius was still alone in the Room of Requirement, without his memory. Harry felt a little guilty that he had been out having fun with Adrienne while Sirius was suffering from brain damage.

He remembered fifth year in the Department of Mysteries, when Bellatrix Lestrange hit him with the curse. He remembered the very look on Sirius' face. Every second passed like an eternity as he fell behind the veil. Harry remembered the clenching feeling on his heart as his chest tightened when Sirius didn't get up from behind the veil, making it hard for him to breathe. He remembered the pain—all of it—as he sat by the lake.

And then he thought of how Sirius didn't remember any of it. A lone tear slipped down his cheek. He opened his trunk, pulled something out, and crept silently down the dark, sleeping halls.

"Hi, Sirius."

Sirius spun around. "Well hello, Harry. What brings you here?"

Harry avoided the question. "You're awake at this hour?"

"So are you," Sirius noted.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Same here."

"Any idea why?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Nope. None."

"Well, I brought something for you," Harry said, sitting down next to Sirius. "Hagrid gave this to me," he said, pulling out the scrapbook of his parents. "This is one of my favorites. It's their wedding. That's you, their best man. Do you remember?"

Sirius shook his head. "Sorry, kid. You know my current memory situation. You can't expect me to just remember because you remind me."

Harry knew it was true, but he refused to accept it on some level.

"Well, what about Snape?" Harry asked. "Severus Snape. You and my dad and your friends hated him more than anything, and he hated you, too. Black, greasy hair, big nose, Slytherin… you may have seen him; he teaches here now."

"Nope. Sorry."

"You don't remember Padfoot? You, a dog; and Remus, a werewolf; my dad, a stag; and Peter Pettigrew, a rat. You stole into the Shrieking Shack once a month to transform."

Sirius shook his head. "No."

"James Potter! My dad! He looked just like me. You guys were like brothers. You did everything together. You were inseparable. You ran away from home at sixteen and my dad's parents took you in."

Sirius shook his head. "I'm sorry, kid, but I can't—"

"You were my dad's best friend. You were the Marauders. You were the school playboy. You hated Severus—or "Snivellus"—Snape. You loathed him and hexed him and made fun of him. You ran with a werewolf once a month. You played practical jokes on everyone, all the time. You were betrayed by someone you thought was a friend, who killed my parents. You cared for me more than anyone. And you're telling me you don't remember any of this!" Harry screamed, hot tears now flowing rapidly down his face.

Sirius stared. "That's not true," he said quietly.

"Wh-what—?"

"That girl. That girl I remembered. I cared for her, too. Not just you."

Harry waited for him to say "And your dad." He didn't.

"Why, Sirius? Why can't you remember? Remember, damn it! We spent so much time together, so much emotion… you were a father and a brother to me. Why can't you remember! I'm your godson!" he nearly screamed.

Sirius said nothing, only stared at his godson, whom he didn't know. There was no recognition in those black eyes. No sadness, or longing, or memory, or pain. They were completely void of emotion.

"And don't call me 'kid.' I'm seventeen, damn it."

Harry prodded the food on his full plate silently. Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, and Hermione said, "Harry? What's wrong?"

Harry stared at the pitcher of pumpkin juice, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "I blew up at him. I just got so frustrated with him because he didn't remember anything about me or my father. The two most important people in his life," he said, not mentioning the girl.

"Harry, you do know that you blowing up at him might hurt his mental state, right?"

"Yes, Hermione! I'm not stupid! I just… lost it."

"Don't worry about it, mate," Ron chimed in. "Tomorrow all three of us will go down there, all right?"

Harry nodded.

There was a loud knock that seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall. Harry looked up from his Charms essay, puzzled. The knock sounded again. With a small sigh, he put his quill down, stood up and walked to the portrait hole. It swung open and he looked around. Adrienne stood to his left, holding a cauldron.

"Hurry let me in," he said. She pushed him out of the way and started walking into the Gryffindor Common Room briskly, leaving a shocked Harry in her wake.

"Adrienne, wha—" Harry hurried in after her.

"Which one's yours?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Dorm. Which one's yours?"

"Uh… that one." He pointed. Adrienne started walking quickly up the stairs. Harry ran after her again. "Adrienne, you're a Slytherin."

"Thanks for the update," she said. She sat on the floor next to Harry's bed and began making a fire. She put the cauldron on top, stirred it slightly to make sure it was okay, and stood up.

"How did you know which bed was mine?" Harry asked.

"Oh. The cloak on your trunk. Harry, I really can't stay," Adrienne said, closing her eyes and running out.

"Wait!" Harry said. "I'll show you out since… your eyes are closed…" he said, confused. He took her arm. Electricity shot through his body and his scar seared with pain. Adrienne opened her eyes at his flinch. Her eyes filled with tears and she ran from Gryffindor Tower.

Harry, Hermione and Ron walked down the deserted hall and reached the Room of Requirement. "Padfoot," Harry said. The door swung open and the three entered the room.

"Hello, Sirius?" Hermione called out. Sirius came out of the bathroom, wearing a towel around his waist.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I just took a shower. Be out in a minute." He disappeared into the bathroom again. When he returned, he was wearing an old Hogwarts robe, but his hair was still wet. "So, all three of you today, huh?" he asked, smiling.

Harry smiled back, "Yeah, I brought you something again." He pulled out an old piece of parchment from his robe. "This is the Marauder's Map. You, my dad and your friends made it when you went to school at Hogwarts." He tried to pry it open with his fingers, watching Sirius out of the corner of his eye.

Sirius took it from him. "You can't do it like that. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said, touching his wand to the parchment. It opened, with the words Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP on it.

"Sirius, you remembered!" Harry yelled, leaping onto Sirius and knocking him down, hugging him tightly. Hermione and Ron cheered.

"Hey, what's this?" Sirius asked, pointing to a moving black dot on the parchment approaching the Room of Requirement. Harry glanced at the parchment. The dot was labeled Adrienne Harper.

"Adrienne? What's she doing here?" Harry wondered aloud. Adrienne stood in the doorway.

"Um, hi, Harry," she said. "Ron, Hermione… Sirius."

"Hello," Ron said. Sirius said nothing.

"Listen… its Adrienne, right?" Hermione said. "Why don't you come with Harry, Ron and me for drinks tomorrow after class? It'll be like a double-date. And it'll give Ron and me a chance to get to know you. What do you say?"

"Um… okay, I suppose," Adrienne said uncertainly, surprised.

"Great. We'll meet in front of the Fat Lady," Hermione said.

"Adrienne, what did you come for in the first place?" Harry asked.

"I… um, never mind. See you," she muttered as she hastily scurried away.

"Weird," Ron commented. "Well, I'm gonna go—I kind of have homework."

"Me too," Hermione said. "You coming, Harry?"

"I think I'll stay here awhile," Harry said.

"All right. Bye, Sirius. Bye, Harry."

"Bye," Ron said.

After they had left, Harry exclaimed, "I can't believe Hermione set me up like that! I'm not dating Adrienne; I don't know what gave her that idea."

"Just be careful," Sirius said, suddenly serious.

"Wha… why?"

"That girl's trouble," Sirius warned.

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

"I just do. I told you I had seen her before. That little piece of memory just came back to me. I'm just warning you."

"Okay. And listen, about what happened yesterday, I'm really sorry—"

"Don't worry about it," Sirius reassured. "I know how frustrating it is. I get frustrated with myself, too. Especially when I have dreams, or sometimes I get glimpses, but before I can catch or recognize it, it's gone." He smiled.

A/N: I like the praise, I really do. But criticism is what I'm looking for. Tell me everything I'm doing wrong or could improve—writing style, sentence structure, grammar even… stuff like that. And please, no or little "needs to be longer"s, because I already know this. It's not going to help me when I write a book. Tell me mostly how my writing style can be changed to better affect the reader… that goes for sentence structure, etc. Praise is good. Criticism is better. Both are best.

Oh yes, and I've decided to mostly target LTNO right now so at least I get one story finished this summer… my goal is to finish both. Don't forget about this one while I'm updating Letters!

Thanks,

OutofAzkaban

IamSiriusgrl- I know I should've, but I couldn't really think of anything… I feel really sheepish admitting this. Is this better?

roxygurl25- I already replied to most of this in an email… and my A/N. Don't tell!

code112358132134- Write more in your review, kid!