Chapter 14: Mysteries

Rain poured down, icy daggers cutting through flesh, tearing it open and numbing all inside, without any sign of ceasing. Cheers had stopped ages ago, the bitter cold drowning out all heat and will in bodies. Harry felt numb on his broom, his flying just a mindless rouse. He had almost lost the will to find the Snitch, even though he knew he never would lose that drive. Everything had slowed, guided into monotony. Harry doubted whether any of the Quidditch players wanted to play anymore. He shook the thought from his head. How could he dare think such a thing? He had to find the Snitch, and fast. No point in biding time anymore. There never was a rational point in biding time, he thought, filled with a new vigor.

He picked up speed on his Firebolt, putting forth almost all of his energy into finding the Snitch and ending this soaked game. It was nearly impossible to detect something tiny and golden with thin wings in the pelting rain, but Harry was focused and determined. He was so single-minded, in fact, that he didn't notice the Bludger heading his way.

The Bludger sped toward him recklessly. Harry noticed it at the last second, when the large ball threatened the bridge of his nose. He quickly pulled his broom upward, encouraging the Bludger to follow. Harry remembered his second year with a feeling of dread in his gut, telling himself it was impossible that the same thing was happening again. Dobby had no motive for attacking him, and no one would try pulling the same trick twice. He wondered if someone was after him or if he was just letting his imagination run wild without restraint.

Harry climbed higher and higher, the air becoming colder. He turned around for a moment to check if the Bludger was still following him. It was. Exhausted and confused, Harry pulled out his wand. With his words, the Bludger turned around and returned to the game. He knew that couldn't have worked if someone powerful was controlling the Bludger… if it was being controlled at all.

Confused, Harry returned to the game, the urgency of finding the Snitch returning. As he searched the pitch for the winged golden ball, he heard the whizzing of a Bludger behind him. Exasperated, he waved his wand behind him again, and the whizzing ceased. Harry was confused. Was this legal?

"Potter," Ginny Weasley hissed, flying by on her old broom. "Cut it out."

"But… it's following me…"

"It is not. You're going to get us in trouble. Just dodge it."

Harry nodded and pulled his broom handle to circle the pitch again. He had to find the Snitch quickly so he wouldn't have to stay and deal with the Bludger again. As that thought crossed his mind, he felt the wind from a Bludger fly past his left arm. Deciding to play the game the way it was meant to be played, Harry pulled the handle of his broom to avoid it. As he turned, the Bludger turned with him. Not in the mood, the rain worsening, Harry picked up the speed to almost its full potential, racing the Firebolt around the pitch. The Bludger followed. He dodged and dived and maneuvered around obstacles in his way, even other people, but never once did the Bludger divert from its course. He reached into his robe.

"Don't," whispered a voice in his ear. Harry turned to find Adrienne flying along beside him.

"Hi," he said, surprised. "What—"

"Just leave it alone," she hissed. With that, she flew off to perform her duties as Chaser.

Bemused and aggravated, Harry tucked the nose of his broom in for a dive. The Bludger followed, Two inches from the ground, he pulled up, causing his stomach to leap into his throat, but also causing the Bludger to create a crater in the grass. After it surfaced from the hole, the Bludger seemed disoriented and carried on its way of randomly pursuing objects in its pass.

Harry sighed. That was weird. He suddenly spotted something golden fluttering between his eyes. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around the Snitch. Suddenly, his back made a sickening crack as it was impacted by a heavy object that felt three times heavier than a bowling ball. The last thing Harry saw before all went dark was Adrienne's wand pointed at the Bludger, her eyes narrowed and deeply immersed in a chant, and then he heard the Bludger racing away from his body.

Everything was hazy when he opened his eyes; all he could perceive was light, an immense amount of white light. Slowly and painfully, objects came into focus and Harry began recognizing faces. Hermione's was one of them.

"Harry! He's awake, everyone, he's awake! Harry, can you hear me? Are you all right? Does anything hurt?"

"Let the poor boy breathe," said another voice. It sounded familiar, but Harry had to think hard to place it, his head aching.

Fred's face appeared. "Feelin' all right, there?"

"Gave us quite a scare, you did," George chimed in. Harry's head was spinning from all the noise. He supposed this was what it felt like to have the worst hangover, times twelve. The light made his head feel woozy and the sounds were too loud. The noise wouldn't stop; the faces swam above his eyes…there were echoes…

He leaned over and vomited.

"Yuck, mate," Fred commented. Harry lay his head back down on his pillow, wishing they would all go away. Luckily, Ron got the hint.

"Let's leave him be for a while," Ron suggested. Hermione protested, but with the firm guidance of Ron's arm, she complied. The twins followed suit, making crude comments and jokingly prodding Ron in the back. The room was quiet once again, and Harry closed his eyes, hoping that a few hours' sleep would heal his aching body and throbbing head.

He drifted in and out of sleep, undistinguished voices swimming around in his unconscious, not telling him anything. Figures came and went, leaving Harry confused. It was an uneasy rest. Harry then noticed a pressure on some part of his body… he couldn't discern which part, but he knew something was touching him… he didn't know if it was part of a dream or real life. What was real life, anyway? He could hardly feel it.

Painfully, he forced his eyes open, curiosity taking the better of him. For a few moments that seemed like hours, he struggled to wrench his eyes open and then tried to sit up in bed, failing miserably at the latter. He realized the pressure was gone from his body, but now that he was awake he was determined to find out what had happened.

Being near-sighted first, Harry found a piece of paper in his hand before he could discern who the person was that left it (if they were still there). Suddenly he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head slightly to accommodate the object and discovered Adrienne walking towards him.

"It's our Potions grade," she said.

"Wha…" Harry was still groggy.

She gestured to the scrap of paper in his hand. "The grade we got on our Confusing Concoction," she said. "Thought you might want to know."

She was the normal Adrienne, Harry realized, the one who acted like a human. "Wait," he croaked. She stopped. He unfurled the paper and, with a feeling of pleasure, sank back down into the bed.

"Thanks," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"For what?"

"For… this," he said, holding up the fist with the grade still clamped inside. "For all your help. Thanks."

"Oh. You're welcome," she said stiffly. Although she was stiff and formal, Harry knew she wasn't, at this moment, acting like the haunted girl she was when he first met her. He wondered what was behind this façade she put up.

"Get well soon," she said, her voice void of emotion, and with that she left. He didn't try to stop her. He closed his eyes and clenched his fingers around the paper that had had an "O" on it.

After a few more days of being the Gryffindor hero in the hospital wing, Harry returned to his living quarters in the Room of Requirement with Sirius. As he slowly made his way into the room, not wanting to make any sudden movements and re-injure his back, he noticed Sirius was nowhere to be found. With a small sinking feeling he had learned to ignore, Harry found his suitcase where he had left it, propped up against a wall, and began to unpack. He tried to make himself feel comfortable and at home in this strange, new room, but his attempts failed.

At that moment, Harry thought he heard a knock. He paused, waiting for the knock to resound. When there was no second attempt, he resumed putting away his belongings in his new room. Just then, there was a second timid knock. He emptied his hands and opened the door. Adrienne stood, holding two glass bottles of pale blue liquid.

"Hi. C-come in," he stuttered, surprised.

Adrienne walked into the room, not making a sound. She held out one hand containing a bottle of blue liquid.

"What's this?" Harry asked.

"Confusing Concoction. Half of it. It's half yours, so I thought you should get half. Do what you want," she said.

"Oh… thanks. That was, uh, considerate." Harry held out his hand to receive the potion. Adrienne let go too early and Harry attempted to catch it too late. The glass bottle fell to the floor, smacking the stone they were standing on and breaking. Shards of glass flew everywhere. Adrienne flinched.

"Oh, sorry, my fault," Harry gushed. He noticed Adrienne's grimace. "What's wrong?" He then noticed a river of blood flowing from a wide gash in Adrienne's leg where a large piece of glass was wedged. "Merlin," Harry breathed. He pulled out his wand.

"No, leave it," Adrienne said. He looked up at her, confused. Her face was resolute, her eyes set, but there was a clarity about them Harry had never seen before. She seemed like she was seeing clearly for the first time, like she was acting thus, and that everything was lucid and she understood. No mood swings, no character changes.

"What?"

"I mean, leave it alone. I'll take care of it. …Um, Harry," she began awkwardly, although Harry had never seen her this sure in his life, "would you… er, I know this is kind of odd, my saying this and all, but would you… like to go out tonight?"

"Out?" Harry squawked, his voice not yet fully recovered, coupled with surprise.

"We're just friends, of course, but I feel like I owe you something. And this is all I can think of right now to make it up to you… would you mind?"

"Uh… no, sure, I guess," Harry said, completely taken aback. "But you don't owe me anything, Adrienne, trust me."

"No, Harry," she said, an unreadable expression on her face. "I really do."

Sirius entered the living room from the adjoining room, his quarters. At the sight of Adrienne, his face furrowed up.

"Do I know you?" he asked, his brow wrinkled from the strain of trying to recollect.

"N-no," Adrienne said. "I don't see why you would. I'm Adrienne," she said, offering a pale hand to shake.

Sirius didn't take it. Harry wondered if he even noticed it; he was so concentrated on her face. "I know I've seen you somewhere before," he articulated slowly.

"Maybe around the school or something," Adrienne said, shrugging, her voice cool.

"Maybe…" Sirius said, but his voice betrayed that he didn't buy the idea at all. "But you seem a lot fuzzier in my mind, not like someone I recently met…"

"We haven't met yet," Adrienne said hastily. "Well, we are just now. I'm Adrienne."

"Sirius," Sirius said slowly, still pondering as he stared at her face.

"Well… I'll see you later, Harry," Adrienne said briskly. "Nice meeting you, Sirius." Sirius said nothing. She turned around and began limping away.

"Wait!" Harry called. "Your leg."

Adrienne looked down at the blood still trickling from the open wound as if not really seeing it there. "Oh, yeah… I'll take care of it."

It was officially dinnertime, but Harry sensed that neither he nor Sirius was really hungry. Sirius was standing at the kitchen counter, about to prepare food, but he seemed to have forgotten what he was doing or had lost interest. Things had been even more awkward since Harry started living with Sirius. He had seemed happy to accept Harry into his living quarters at first, but Harry now thought it was because he was obligated, surprised or a slew of other things. The awkward energy between them had increased, neither of them knowing what to say. Sirius didn't have any of the old memories and had no recollection that they had been much closer than this. Harry had all the memories, and the pain that came with the acknowledgement that they couldn't relive them or act like they even existed.

"How was your day?" Harry asked, trying to relieve the tension.

Sirius turned, as if he hadn't quite heard him. "It was fine. I looked through your scrapbook a bit and read. Mostly read. How was yours?"

"It… was okay. I got an "O" on the potion we had to make for Snape. Six weeks of hard work… glad it paid off." Here he decided to try something. "Snape can be a real git… I was amazed that he didn't fail me, you know?"

Sirius nodded slightly, turning around again. He didn't remember Snape at all. Didn't harbor feelings of resentment toward him. Harry didn't think the day would come when he wished Sirius hated someone with a passion that could never be stilled. But it had been stilled. The impossible had happened.

He bent his head to the floor and remembered, since that was all he could do.

He had agreed he would meet Adrienne by the stairs, so there Harry waited. He didn't have to wait long; she was awfully punctual. They strolled into Hogsmeade, the chill clearing up a bit since it was almost mid-February. Tea lights twinkled in windows and the wind swirled through the air. The night wasn't particularly magical, but it felt like it was.

They stopped at a café first because Adrienne said she was hungry. After they had ordered, Adrienne asked, "So how's your friend… Sirius?"

Harry gave her an odd look. "He's fine."

"Look, Harry, I know I must have treated you awfully in the past."

"Must have?" Harry asked.

She continued. "But I don't want it to affect our friendship now. I'm really sorry. I would like to be your friend, though. I care about you. I care about what happens to you. Please forgive me."

Harry sighed, considering it. "Okay," he finally decided. "I was never mad at you or anything… just confused."

Adrienne smiled. "Thank you for the drawing book and the charcoal pencils."

"I thought you'd like them."

They chatted amiably, as if they were old friends. Hours passed with a fleeting moment. The café had long since emptied, but Harry and Adrienne still sat talking at the same table. The owner had cleaned up to the best of anyone's ability and politely asked the teenagers to leave. Laughing, they obliged and took a stroll through the cold early morning air.

Harry said something and Adrienne laughed, causing Harry to smile. She had a pretty smile when she wasn't so sullen or threatening. Harry still wondered deeply where the mood swings had come from and gone to, but he was willing to push them to the back of his mind for one night. He didn't want to spoil this feeling.

At that moment, Adrienne boldly leaned over and pecked Harry on the cheek. She pulled away, blushing, her hair falling to hide her face. Harry realized he had never noticed this side of her, or anything about her. They had only talked about school, Quidditch, Harry's life. He had addressed Adrienne's mood swings once, and she said, "It's really complicated. But I promise I'm okay now. I'm sorry for all I put you through," deciding that that was enough to explain away all the misunderstandings.

Harry grinned and kissed her back, this time on her lips. He grabbed her hand and led her back to the castle. After they had entered the castle, they proceeded to the staircase, where they had started their night, continuing their chat.

"Sirius hasn't been too great lately," Harry confided. "He's been pretty depressed, and he doesn't talk… I honestly thought that by moving in with him I could fix things, but I was wrong there. Again."

Adrienne pulled her hand back. "What?"

Harry's brow crumpled in puzzlement. "I don't understand…"

"You're living with Sirius?"

"Yeah, in the Room of Requirement… remember, you met him—"

"Damn it, Harry! Why'd you…" Her eyes filled with tears and her face contorted with anger, disappointment, and oddly, sadness. Her face crumpled up. It was awful watching the disintegration. Harry couldn't comprehend what she was talking about.

"What is it?" Adrienne didn't respond, just turned and ran toward the dungeons, face cradled in her hands and tears falling on the stone. She turned abruptly and ran back to Harry, eyes red and swollen, cheeks glistening.

"Thanks for a lovely night," she said. "Honestly, I had fun." She kissed him lightly and ran back to the dormitory.

Harry couldn't fathom why she was angry. He was, at least, glad that they had this night together.

"Sirius," Harry said suddenly. An idea had struck him. He didn't know if it was going to work, or if it was even a good idea to start, but it was too late now. It had made him too excited and he didn't want to wonder about the possibilities, which would only cause regret to ensue. "Do you remember any spells? Any magic from before the… accident?"

Sirius shook his head. Harry couldn't stand seeing him so quiet. The sense of adventure had left him, the life that flowed through him with such energy and vigor, the wild flame that danced in his eyes, making him almost certifiably crazy… it was all gone, leaving an empty shell.

"Do you… do you want to learn?" At this, Sirius turned to face Harry, something he hadn't been doing often. He peered long and hard into Harry's face, then consented.

"Okay."

The lack of enthusiasm hurt Harry, but maybe if Sirius remembered magic and remembered the passion he had for it, he would be the old Sirius that Harry remembered.

"Great. Let's start right now. Are you busy?"

Sirius looked at his hands. "No."

Harry pulled a book from his book bag. "Let's start with something simple. The unlocking spell, Alohomora." Harry locked the door. "Try it."

Five minutes later, Sirius had mastered the spell. A glint returned to his eye—the old maniacal glint. Harry grinned.

"I did it!" Sirius cried. "This is amazing. This spell seems… I don't know… did something every happen with this?"

"Want me to tell you about the time Hermione and I helped you escape something worse than death?" Harry asked, the grinning spreading wider across his face.

"Please, Harry," Sirius whispered. "Help me remember. I do want to remember," he said. "I need you to know that."

A/N: No guarantees about Chapter 15 being up anytime soon… I'll be really busy since I'm preparing to go out of the country for about three weeks… but I'll write while I'm there and upload when I get back.

IamSiriusgrl—Thanks for always reviewing.