Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who is still reading! Sorry they take so long to get out, I have to find time between work and university stuff. Please review
Summary: A continuation of Complexities of the Heart,
Things Between People
By katemary77
Chapter Seven:
Memories are hunting horns
Whose sound dies on the wind
- Guillaume Apollinaire, 'Cors de Chasse'
It was nearing midnight. Most of the Order had passed through Headquarters by now, either to receive healing from Madame Pomfrey or check in with Harry and Ron, who had a long list of names in the back of their book which they ticked off whenever a new, tired face emerged. There were only a few names left. Anna and Remus were two of them.
"Fred! George!"
Ginny jumped up from where she'd been sipping on a cup of tea and threw her arms around the twins
"Hey Gin," George mumbled, returning the hug gently.
"Do you need anything? Are you hurt?"
Both twins shook their heads and Fred answered; "No, we're fine. Has everyone else come through?"
Ginny nodded; "Yeah, Mum, Dad and Bill are fine, probably worried sick about you; we should get home so they know you're safe."
"Of course."
Ginny and the twins moved over to the fireplace and each grabbed a handful of Floo Powder.
"Wait," Harry called. The twins turned to him. "Have either of you seen Remus or Anna?"
"Sorry, Harry," George answered with a frown, "We got separated from them straight away."
Harry hung his head and a loud woosh alerted him to the fact that Ginny, Fred and George had now departed Grimmauld Place.
Where were Anna and Remus?
Half an hour of frantic worrying later, Harry's fretting was interrupted by a loud bang from upstairs. It was followed by a resigned, "Ouch," and a weak chuckle. Recognising the voices, Harry jumped from his chair and hurried to the staircase. There they were, both tired and a little dirty, climbing slowly down the stairs.
"Hey, Harry," Remus said when he spotted the Gryffindor.
"You're not hurt?"
They both answered in the negative.
"Then how come you're back so late? Everyone else was back ages ago!" He didn't mean to sound so snappish, but Harry had been worried sick and hadn't enjoyed it at all. "Anna, why is your hair blonde?" Looking closer he realised her eyes were pale green instead of warm brown like usual.
Remus sighed.
"There was something I had to take care of at the Ministry. Anna came along with me and we thought we'd better change her up a bit. Here. Finite Incantatum."
Her hair and eyes returned to their normal brown; her skin paled a little bit and freckles reformed across her nose.
"That's better."
"What happened at the Ministry?" Harry asked, curious.
Remus sighed again.
"You might want to sit down, Harry."
Complying, he sat at the long kitchen table.
"Voldemort released all of his Death Eaters tonight. We're not sure if part of his objective was to take over Azkaban or just release the prisoners and dementors, but we managed to drive him off eventually and he and the Death Eaters retreated to wherever they're hiding at the moment. During the cleanup, somebody…" Remus shook his head and Anna placed a hand on the werewolf's shoulder. "Harry, somebody from the Ministry found Peter Pettigrew. He'd been knocked out in battle. The auror who found him went to Hogwarts with us and recognised Wormtail. He's in Ministry custody now. Amelia Bones is heading up an investigation that is likely to end in Sirius' exoneration."
Harry didn't think he could breath. Free. Sirius was going to be free. But he was dead, what good would it do now? How ironic, he thought darkly.
"You should go to bed, Harry." Anna had moved forward and was standing by Harry, running a hand through his unruly hair. She must've been using her Empathy, he decided, because he suddenly felt a lot calmer than he had before. He leaned into her touch slightly. "All of you should go to bed."
"We'll talk in the morning," Remus insisted and looking up at him Harry saw that he was looking at Harry a little pointedly. Harry realised the werewolf meant they would talk about Prongs and what had happened with the dementors earlier in the evening. When they'd arrived back at Headquarters, Harry, Luna and Ginny had filled the others in on what Harry had produced from his wand. They'd been just as stumped. "Neville, Luna, we spoke to your grandmother and your father earlier. You can stay here tonight; we'll take you home tomorrow."
Moving towards the staircase, Harry turned when he reached the first stair.
"I'm really glad you're both okay," he said.
Anna just smiled and Remus said; "Goodnight, Harry."
As he ascended the stairs, he heard Remus ask Anna quietly; "Firewhiskey?" and smiled when she replied with a groan; "Please."
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It was around eleven o'clock the next day and Anna was hovering a teapot and five teacups over to the kitchen table. She and Remus had just Apparated Neville and Luna back to their homes and once back at Grimmauld Place had called the kids down to the kitchen for tea.
Once they were all seated, Hermione, impatient as ever, spoke up.
"Remus, Anna, do you have any idea what happened yesterday? Harry told us about his Patronus."
They looked at each other and then turned back to the kids.
"Honestly, Hermione, we have no idea," Remus said, "We looked over some books this morning and couldn't find any mention of a corporeal Patronus actually becoming corporeal. It must've taken a huge amount of power, Harry."
"How did it feel, when you cast the charm?" Anna asked him.
Harry thought for a minute.
"Like… I don't know, like there was all of this magic inside me and it just spread out, right to my fingertips, when I cast the spell. It was like when I blew up Mrs. Black."
Ron snorted but sobered quickly when Hermione shot him a glare; "Have you ever been able to do that before, Harry?"
He shrugged and said; "Not to that extent."
They were all silent for a moment – thinking – until Hermione finally spoke up.
"In the summer holidays last year, I was reading this rather obscure book about Morgana le Fay's childhood," she began, "And it's been suggested by some old scripts about her that her mother, Igraine, placed a block on Morgana's magic when she was very young because her accidental magic was going haywire; it was too strong and Igraine couldn't teach Morgana how to control it. When Morgana grew older and more disciplined the block was lifted. D'you suppose something similar could be on Harry?"
"That's a fine theory, Hermione, but who would've placed a block on Harry's magic?" Remus posed.
They were thoughtfully quiet again for a while before Anna straightened in her chair.
"Someone else didn't have to place it," she said, "What if Harry did it himself?"
"What?" he burst out, "How did I do that?"
She frowned.
"Harry, for the past few weeks I've been inside your head during Occlumency lessons and I've seen a lot of your memories. Do you mind if I share some of them with the others? I know they're private."
"Of course not," he answered, glad she had asked anyway.
"I've seen numerous memories of the Dursleys denying you food or beating on you whenever you excelled in school or used magic; when you turned your teachers hair a different colour, when you brought home good report cards, when you shrunk that jumper – every time you did better than Dudley or used accidental magic you were punished for it and some of that accidental magic was quite advanced. I didn't really think about it till now but that time you ended up on the roof when Dudley and his friends were chasing you? That was Apparation. I've never heard of an eight year old Apparating before."
"You know, now that I think about it, I remember you used a lot of magic when you were a baby," Remus said pensively, "It used to drive your mother and father insane. You'd always be summoning toys or your bottle to you. I think once you even summoned Lily; you were chucking a tantrum and she was ignoring you."
"So you think Harry put some sort of subconscious block on his magic when he was little?" Ron asked.
"I've heard of this kind of thing in er… Muggle child abuse cases," Hermione said, glancing at Harry apologetically. He shrugged. "Some kids who are abused can become stunted academically. It would certainly explain why it takes Harry forever to learn something simple like a Summoning Charm yet he can cast a corporeal Patronus at thirteen."
"Well, how do we find out if this is true?" Harry asked eventually. "And if it is, how do I get rid of it?"
"Everyone can see into their core," Anna said, "It takes some practice, like any kind of meditation, but I think you'll be able to do it Harry."
"How?"
"You need to cast a spell," Remus said, "Just a simple one. Concentrate enough and you should be able to feel the magic of the spell pass through you and into the wand. Try and follow it."
Anna reached into her pocket and handed Harry her wand.
"Here, use mine. You're used to it by now."
Taking her wand in his hand, he swished it round in the air and said, "Avis!"
A flock of birds erupted from the wand but Harry wasn't thinking about this, instead he closed his eyes and concentrated solely on the tingly feeling that paced through his fingertips, trying to trace it back to its source. He travelled along his fingers, through his arm, up through his shoulder and down into his chest, to where he imagined his heart was. There! A great, golden orb, made up entirely of webbed golden threads, was pulsing and pounding away, restricted by a blackened blot that covered it on every side. Pulling back, Harry opened his eyes. Remus had his wand out and was Banishing the last of the birds.
"What did you see?" Hermione asked.
"I think you're right. How do I get rid of it?"
"Just rip it off, I think," Anna answered.
Taking hold of the wand again, Harry readied himself to venture back into his magical core when Remus said; "Wait just a second! I think maybe we better move this to Hogwarts."
Thinking back to the amount of power he had felt coursing through him the day he exploded Mrs. Black, Harry thought this was probably a good idea.
"I'll Floo Albus. Just a moment," Anna said, rising from her seat to kneel by the fireplace. "That's fine," she said after a moment, "Come on."
A minute later, they were all grouped together in the Headmaster's office. Remus was just finishing explaining to Dumbledore what they planned to do.
"We think maybe it would be better to unleash Harry's magic here," the werewolf said, "The magical foundations of Hogwarts should be better equipped to deal with any backlash than those at Grimmauld Place."
"Of course," the Headmaster hummed, "Do you mind if I tag along?"
"Not at all, Professor," Harry acquiesced.
"To the Great Hall, then! It's always empty during the summer."
As the small group began moving through the long corridors of Hogwarts and down the stone stairs, Harry reflected that it was a little strange seeing Hogwarts so silent; completely devoid of the racket hundreds of students tended to make.
"I think everybody should stand back," Dumbledore said when they entered the Great Hall, a shrewd twinkle in his eye. "And I might cast an absorption spell over Harry that should take care of any recoil."
Moving into the centre of the room, Harry took up Anna's wand and once Dumbledore had conjured a large dome over him, flicked the wand and muttered, "Lumos."
Following the tingle of magic into his core, just like he had earlier, Harry focused on the black blot surrounding the golden orb of his magic and pulled. Nothing happened. Opening his eyes, he shrugged at the assembled audience.
"Try again, Harry," the Headmaster called, "Perhaps with a little more power."
Nodding, he cast Lumos again and reached back down into his core. Harry gathered every bit of strength he had in him, clenched his fist and pulled at the blackness. There was a great explosion and Harry felt heat rip through his body. When he opened his eyes, he saw the dome Dumbledore had erected was gone and the stones in the floor that it had covered had been liquefied. His audience had been pushed back a few metres, looking a little windswept and for some reason were floating about three feet high in the air.
"Uh, Harry? Want to let us down, mate?" Ron asked and Harry instinctively reached out with his hand and lowered them back down to the floor. Once they touched down, he looked at his hand a little perplexedly. Had he just used wandless magic?
"Well," the Headmaster said, "That was a little unexpected."
"I'm sorry, Professor, about the floor," Harry said, unsure of what else he could say.
"Not at all, my boy," the Headmaster said with a smile, "We can get that fixed up with not a problem at all. I think we will, however, have to start training you in wandless magic," the old mage said, glancing pointedly at Harry's hands. "Anna, Remus, I believe you both took preliminary courses in wandless magic in your seventh years?"
They both nodded.
"Then perhaps you can begin instructing Harry during the holidays. When he returns to Hogwarts, I will take over his lessons and coach him in a more advanced fashion." As Remus and Anna nodded again, Dumbledore moved a little closer to Harry. "This is a good thing, Harry," he said softly, with his usual omniscience, "This will give you the advantage you need. Work hard on this for the rest of the holidays."
"I will, Professor."
"We should get back to Grimmauld Place," Remus said and the small group moved through Hogwarts and back through the fireplace in the Headmaster's Office.
"I'll get us something for lunch," Anna said once they'd arrived in the gloomy basement kitchen. "There's some lasagne left over from last night." As she moved over to the pantry, Anna brushed her hand over Harry's shoulder. "Are you alright? You've hardly spoken."
He nodded.
"Yeah, I'm okay…
"Well, dig in everybody."
It was a little bit surreal. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours – Voldemort attacking Azkaban, Pettigrew being found and now this discovery that Harry's magic had never been at full capacity – there was so much to talk about, and here they all were, calmly and silently eating reheated lasagne.
"Well," Remus said eventually, as if he too couldn't quite figure out where to start.
Harry thought he'd better throw him a bone; "I don't understand this wandless magic stuff, I thought every wizard needed a wand."
As Remus went to answer, so did Hermione. With a wry grin, the werewolf gestured to the Gryffindor; "Why don't you tell us what you know, Hermione, and we'll fill in the rest."
"Okay, well, I know that a wizard doesn't really need a wand to do magic, nor does a wizard have to say a word like 'Lumos' for light to appear."
Ron frowned; "Really?"
Hermione nodded and continued; "Wands are just focusing objects that channel the magic out of the body. You need a lot of focus and intent to cast spells and so theorists thought that saying words and doing certain movements would help a caster. It's actually kind of limiting though… And wizards and witches haven't always used wands – in fact, some magical people in Asia use hand movements. Before wands, staffs were used and before staffs, it's believed that the ancient magicians used amulets – artefacts have been found in Greece, Mespotamia…"
"Hermione, you're like an encyclopaedia," Ron said with a wry grin, "You know something about everything."
She blushed; "Not everything."
"Most things at least," Anna laughed, "Wandless magic is taught at Hogwarts in Seventh Year as a recommended extension class to those the faculty think will be able to manage it, but there isn't much practical work to the course."
"Most wizards can't use wandless magic," Remus said, "Or at least can't use it beyond quite simple tasks, such as moving things, giving light, etcetera, or in life-and-death type situations, where adrenaline and desperation make it easier."
"And how do you do it?" Harry asked.
"Like Hermione said, it takes a lot of focus, which is why a lot of people can't do it – most of them can't be bothered training their mind when they can just use a wand."
"I think you're already half way there, Harry," Anna said, scratching the ears of Nimue the cat, who had settled contentedly on her lap. "You've gotten really good at Occlumency and it's the same kind of thing."
"So when do we start?"
Remus looked at Anna and shrugged.
"This afternoon? Hermione, Ron, you should join in."
Hermione's face lit up.
"Really! That'd be fantastic, wouldn't it Ron."
The redhead looked a little dubious.
"If you say so."
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Harry groaned and collapsed onto his bed. They'd been practising wandless magic all day and night and all Harry had to show for it was a piercing headache in his temples. He and the others hadn't been successful at all, though at one point he'd managed to hover a book two inches off a table for all of about ten seconds. Remus and Anna assured them that it took a long while to master even the smallest form of wandless magic and that eventually they'd get the hang of it, but Harry doubted this.
Just as he was pulling off his shoes and preparing to go to bed, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Harry, it's Remus. Do you mind if I come in a moment?"
"Sure."
The door opened and the werewolf entered, holding a large, wrapped box in his arms.
"May I sit?"
"Of course."
Both Remus and Harry sat on the bed, legs dangling off the edge.
"I was going to give this to you last night, Harry," Remus said, tapping the box with his hands, "It was meant to be a gift for you from Sirius, for your birthday. He'd been planning it for a few months before… before he died."
Remus handed Harry the package and after a brief, wavering moment of hesitation, the Gryffindor unwrapped the paper and opened the box.
"A Pensieve," Harry said, tracing the engraved, stoned dish with his fingers. "What are these?"
Remus took one of the vials from Harry. There were five in total, and each held a thick, silvery substance.
"Memories," the werewolf answered. "Mine, Sirius'… some of the teachers from Hogwarts contributed as well."
"Memories of what?"
"Your parents. Sirius thought maybe you were getting tired of just hearing stories. I think Anna even convinced Snape to add a couple of memories… you know he and Lily were good friends."
Harry hardly registered that last part, completely and totally aware of nothing but the treasure in his hands.
"I'll leave you alone with it."
Before Remus got to the door, Harry called his name.
"Thank you, Remus."
The werewolf turned and nodded before leaving the room. Hands trembling, Harry poured the first vial into the stone dish and dived in.