Disclaimer: You know the drill dearies. I only own Karmina. All other characters along with the sub/side plots belong to JK Rowling. The poem "The Truer Knowledge" belongs to Oscar Wilde and again, I would implore you to read the poem in full.
"Thou knowest all; I sit and wait
With blinded eyes and hands that fail,
Till the last lifting
of the veil
And the first opening of the gate."
-From "The Truer Knowledge" by Oscar Wilde
"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked softly, leaning over her embroidered coverlet. Karmina had woken from a vivid nightmare to see him staring at her in the darkness. With a flick of his wand and a muttered spell, he lit the candle next to her bed. He conjured a piece of parchment and a quill, handing them to her.
Why are you here? She wrote, trying to distract him from his questioning.
"I couldn't sleep and I peeked in to check on you. Remus said you had nightmares." Harry answered with a shrug. She wondered how exactly Remus knew of her nightmares. It wasn't as if he could hear her. "I have had a lot of experience with nightmares; maybe I could help."
I don't think so. She wrote with as much finality as she could muster. She hoped he would let the subject die. It had been over a week since she had first awoken in Grimmauld Place. She found out later that she had spent two days in an exhaustion-induced coma. Her father still wouldn't let her up from the bed, however. Part of her thought it was so he could better avoid her. Harry said he was quite busy but she didn't believe him.
"Why not try me?" Harry asked hopefully.
Why are you so eager? Karmina wrote, her anger rising. She wanted nothing more than to forget the first sixteen years of her life but no one was letting her. If she had been able to make a sound it would have been an annoyed huff.
"I don't know; you're Remus' daughter which kind of makes us siblings in a skewed kind of way. Remus is the closest thing I have to a father any more."
Because of Sirius? She wrote without thinking. Harry nodded sadly.
"Yes, because of Sirius." Karmina bit her bottom lip. She had been wracking her brain about possible solutions. Since Magic was real there must be a way. It had opened beautiful, new possibilities. Deciding to change the subject completely, Karmina again took up the quill.
Is there a library in this house?
"Yeah, yeah a big one. It's filled with mostly dark magic books but I could help you if you wanted. Do you like books?"
I love books. I read as many as I can get my hands on. The quill fell from her hands and both looked away from each other.
"I could bring you to the library if you'd like. I'll have to ask Remus first but I'm stuck here too for the time being." Harry put in slowly.
I'd love that. She wrote, giving him a reassuring smile. As long as they stayed away from the past everything would be alright. There was a small knock on the door and both turned to see Remus Lupin leaning against the doorframe. He looked exhausted, something that did not go unnoticed by either Karmina or Harry.
"And what's this little midnight tête-à-tête?" the aging professor asked. He wasn't sure why the two were spending so much time together and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. He didn't even know how to interact with Karmina.
"Karmina was wondering if she could visit the library tomorrow." Harry answered simply. Remus brightened at the suggestion.
"That can definitely be arranged. Do you like books?" He didn't notice the slightly darkened look on his daughter's face as she nodded slowly. "Good, something we have in common." He didn't have to add the "finally" for both knew it was implied. "How about you both try to get some sleep; it's late. I can give you some dreamless sleep potion." It was obvious the offer was directed at both teens. Harry had not been sleeping so well himself over the past couple months.
"Okay," Harry accepted the offer of potion as he headed out of the room.
"It's on the kitchen counter." Remus called after Harry. Both Lupins followed him with their eyes.
"How about you?" Remus asked. Karmina shrugged and Remus left the room to retrieve the potion. She was getting very tired of the numerous potions. She wasn't entirely sure she trusted them. Remus entered a moment later, a vile of potion in his hands. Without thinking, Karmina shook her head. Remus' eyebrows arched. "Okay," he took a seat next to her. "What kind of books do you like?"
All kinds. She wrote.
"I have to admit muggle Mystery Novels as guilty pleasures of mine," Remus related mildly.
She bit back a smile and without thinking wrote, me too.
"My favorite author is Ian Rankin."
Good, but I'm partial to Ruth Rend. . . Karmina started feeling a little sleepy and the quill dropped from her hand. Guessing what had happened, Karmina turned to Remus who was holding an empty vile in his hands and a guilty look on his face. Bugger she thought before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
In conferring with Harry over a pile of very old, dusty books, Karmina found out the reason why Harry was still at Grimmauld Place. His initial intention, of course, had been to go on a solitary hunt to "find a way to defeat Voldemort" was how he put it. He hadn't gone into the particulars with Remus, or Karmina for that matter, holding to his promise to Dumbledore. Remus, accepting the vague answers, at least for the time being, convinced Harry that going into any quest blindly was a decidedly bad idea. Harry had then grudgingly conceded to doing as much research as he could at Grimmauld Place. Remus helped him with what Harry would allow.
Secretly, Harry wished he could tell the professor more; he had always trusted the werewolf. Remus also posessed a keen scent for information. His help would have proved invaluable. Without Remus' help, Harry had to admit the quest for the Horcruxes was not going as well as he had hoped. He had found very few leads but it felt better to be doing something.
Karmina was very secretive about her research as well, something that made Harry slightly nervous. He looked at her over the ever-growing pile of discarded books. Karmina looked slightly ridiculous. Seeing that she didn't have any proper clothes, only the stained, tattered winter duds she'd come wearing, Mrs. Weasley had brought some of Ginny's old clothes. Since Karmina was so small, she received the clothes Ginny had worn at twelve. At the moment, she was wearing a sunshine yellow sundress with lace around the collar. Her curls were thrown up in a messy bun and she had her legs folded underneath her. Her mouth moved slightly as she read, her eyes darting from one side of the page to the other.
Harry studied her out of the corner of his eye, noticing the matching slope of her nose, a trait she shared with Remus. "Anything interesting?" Harry asked. Karmina looked up, slightly dazed. Blinking a couple times, she shook her head. She arched her eyebrows and gestured at his book as if to ask him the same question. Harry rubbed his eyes under his glasses, sliding the book onto the table. "No, it's getting rather annoying actually."
I wish you'd tell me what exactly you were looking for; then maybe I could help. She wrote hurriedly, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to help anyway. It had felt good though, to have someone tell her things; it made her feel. . .well. . .human. Harry shook his head slowly.
"I can't tell you. I just. . .can't." Both teens went back to their books. Karmina was coming across a lot of difficulty; much more than she had expected. She had thought that finding the spell or charm would be easy enough. She had expected the actual execution to be the hard part. So far, she had not come across one single spell that would bring a person back from the dead.
While bringing someone back from the dead has been deemed impossible, special measures can be taken to assure a person does not die. Karmina's eyes froze on the passage. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts she had merely glanced over it the first time. Use of a Horcrux can ensure that a person does not die as long as the object which stores part of his or her soul remains intact. Maybe Sirius and Professor Dumbledore did not die at all. Maybe they had taken this precaution. With shaking hands she wrote Harry a note and slid it across the table.
Would it have been possible for Professor Dumbledore or Sirius to use a Horcrux?
The reaction was immediate. Harry slammed shut his book and jumped up from the table, a look of rage dominating his features. At first, he seemed too angry to speak.
"Why would you ask me something like that?" he demanded in an angry hiss. "Answer me!"
Her hands shaking worse than before, Karmina handed Harry the book. He scanned the passage, the look of anger never fading. "Did you happen to see that part?" he asked, pointing at the sentence below what she had read.
To secure one's soul in an object requires the act of murder. Her eyes widened. She could see why Harry was so angry. All hopes of using Horcruxes to bring Professor Dumbledore or Sirius to life vanished. Her eyes filled with tears; every road led to a dead end. I'm sorry she mouthed and for a moment she thought she had managed to say something. His features softened slightly and sat down in his seat again though he didn't make any move to pick up his book.
"Why are you reading up on Horcruxes?"
Karmina bit her lip; she really didn't want to tell him but figured simply saying she was interested wouldn't work. How do you know about them? She asked instead, hoping he would forget about questioning her. His features hardened again though not in anger. She tried to read his features the way she had done so many times with Eldred and Amycus. She had become good at finding out when they were really angry and if that anger was directed at her. She had also been able to sense when they were going to lash out. Do you think Lord Voldemort could be using them? She wrote in a flurry. It seemed obvious to her; every evil psycho murder wants everlasting life.
Harry blanched; how would he answer her? Weighing his options, he figured a girl who couldn't talk and wasn't allowed out of Grimmauld Place was the safest person to tell. "I know Voldemort's using Horcruxes. I'm trying to figure out what they are and where he hid them." Harry explained, sighing. He ran a hand over his face. That was all he felt comfortable telling her. "You can't tell anyone, not even your dad." She raised her eyebrows as if to say "like I could".
I'm glad you told me. She wrote and meant it too. He had told her and no one else. He trusted her. No one had ever trusted her before; no one had ever taken the time. He gave her a weak smile, still not sure if he had done the right thing. Telling Hermione and Ron was one thing; Karmina was close to a stranger.
"So, Kara," she blushed at the nick name. "Why are you reading up on Horcruxes?"
Is there any way to bring someone back from the dead? She wrote, hoping he wouldn't be angry. He stared at her, a look of confusion on his face.
"Why?" he asked softly. She shrugged, looking away. "Well, no. There's no way to bring someone back from the dead. Magic can't solve every problem." From the way he said it, she imagined he had asked the same question of someone at some time. A feeling of devastation grabbed hold of her stomach, sending it plummeting to the floor.
There was no way to bring Professor Dumbledore or Sirius back from the grave.
Harry and Remus attended a "top secret" meeting in the dining room that evening. Not invited and clearly not wanted at the gathering, Karmina opted to spend her evening in the library. She didn't feel up to studying the books though and had, instead, brought her trunk. She hadn't looked through it properly for quite some time. She had always been afraid Eldred and Amycus would discover she could open it and take her precious treasures.
She laid each item out on the carpet in front of the fireplace. There was a tiny china doll with a white face and rosy lips and cheeks. Its blonde, porcelain hair glinted in the firelight. There was an old photograph of a young man and woman with a teenage boy and a little girl. On the back, in a curvy hand the words The Lynch Family, Majorca were writtenShe assumed it was her mother's family. There was also a picture of the man she recognized now as her father. He had one armed wrapped around a short woman holding a tiny blanket bundle. At the bottom of the trunk, under a few more pictures and old letters a tiny hourglass gleamed. She brought it out. It had always seemed odd to her that an hourglass had been thrown in with a bunch of family heirlooms.
At the top were tiny buttons. She looked closely at each one in turn: Seconds, Hours, Years. When she had examined the instrument before she had assumed it was simply a very sophisticated hourglass. Now, as if struck by a sudden bolt of inspiration she wondered if it might be some sort of magical instrument. She got up, the hourglass still in hand and approached the rows of books. She read each spine, hoping the one she picked wouldn't bite off her hand A sudden burst of courage propelled her.
Finally, she paused in front of a thick, red tome. Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Magical Devices by Sir Reginald Tailor III. She pulled the book from the shelf, nearly falling over from its weight. She lugged it over to the table and opened it. Beside each device there was a postage stamp sized picture; underneath the picture Sir Reginald had written a small description of the object along with its most common uses.
She read about Anti-Burglar Buzzers, Foe-Glasses, Self-Correcting Ink, many things that, while interesting, were of no real use to her. She looked up at the clock above the fireplace. It was nearly midnight and she still hadn't made any real progress. For some reason, she didn't feel like showing Remus or Harry the hourglass or her trunk. She packed everything up and slid the book under her arm before going back to her room. She closed the door with a click and hid the trunk under her bed. She could still get some reading in before she went to sleep.
She must have fallen asleep somewhere in the P's for when she woke up the sun was just rising. The Encyclopedia lay open on her chest. She had had a strange dream about Harry and the Horcruxes. Somewhere in the dream, Remus and the short woman with the bubblegum hair had sung karaoke to a song she had heard on the radio. She shuddered and pushed herself up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
By the sun, she guessed it was still early and decided to get at least to S. An hour later she still hadn't found anything and was about to go down to breakfast when she caught sight of a small, gold hourglass. "Time Turner", her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she read further. A Time Turner is one of the oldest of magical devices. Though common use of the Time Turner was banned in the mid nineteenth century, several Time Turners are still believed to reside in private residences. The Ministry of Magic has a supply of Time Turners as well and can be accessed through. . . Karmina stopped reading. She didn't' need to find the proper arteries through the Ministry; she had one. She scanned the rest of the small article to find how to use it. To use the Time Turner, the traveler should secure the device around his or her neck with the use of a chain. The Traveler then should rotate the hourglass backward or foreword depending on which direction in time he or she wishes to go.
Her task now seemed perfectly clear. If she could not bring back the Professor and Sirius from the dead, she would go back in time to ensure that they did not die at all.
A/N: So now you know. All isn't going to go as smoothly as she would have liked, however. Please REVIEW and tell your friends if you like this fic. I'm sorry it took so long; there were some technical difficulties with my beta. I don't think it should take as long for the next chapter.