A/N: Guess who's back?! :) After a MUCH-needed week away (I apparently missed one hell of a snowstorm in Toronto while I was in the Dominican), a performance, and a week of playing catch-up, it's nice to be back writing again. I'm pretty sure I've stated it before, but this story is already completed, so it's just a matter of getting it edited and out to you all. We're just about at the halfway point now, so things are going to start picking up soon (including lots of questions and answers for our characters, and some sweet and sexy scenes coming down the pike as well). Thanks to everyone for sticking with me and my horrible updating schedule so far! On with the story!

*** 15 – The Old Ways ***

It had been almost two weeks since Liz's exhausting adventure through the pensieve, and she hadn't been pushed to go through it again. After the trip, once she had woken from her sleep, she proceeded to talk about it with Dumbledore and Draco, but that had been all.

Since then, Dumbledore had tried many other spells and techniques to try and help her remember. Memory retrieval charms, several potions, and even a Muggle psychic were brought in to help, but nothing seemed to work for Liz. It was very discouraging.

After the constant failures with the memory retrieval techniques, it was Tonks who had thought up another idea.

"What if we're going about this the wrong way?" she asked one day, after a long session involving Dumbledore and several incantations that Liz didn't understand.

"What do you mean, Dora?" Remus used his pet name for her as he asked.

"Obviously the wards that the Ministry put on her mind are strong. What if, instead of attacking the wards directly, we try to go around them?"

Liz must have had a confused look on her face, and as Tonks opened her mouth to continue, Liz glanced around and was comforted to see that she wasn't the only one.

"She's already proven that she has some magic in her. What if we were to stimulate it? Teach her some simple spells that she's used in the past. Maybe it'd be like learning to ride a broom again after being off one for years."

"My dear Nymphadora, I think you may be onto something." Tonks looked so pleased at Dumbledore's statement that she completely disregarded the use of her full name. Everyone looked like they would kiss her at the suggestion, and Remus actually did. Grins were wide as plans were made to commence the next day.

Deciding to take some time for herself, Liz headed for the massive library that was housed on the third floor. She had come across it a few days after her arrival, and had been significantly shocked at its size. There was so much to read, and she didn't know how much time she had to do it. So over the last few nights, after everyone had gone to bed, she had taken to creeping up the stairs and sneaking into the library for some late-night reading. Someone seemed to have discovered her actions recently though, as she had woken up in the library the past three nights in a row with a blanket over her that had not been there when she sat down hours before. Shrugging her shoulders at the idea of someone being behind it, she hurried up the stairs eager for another night of reading.

When she arrived in the library, she found that she would not have her alone time. In the corner of the room, his eyes downcast on a think tome, was a familiar messy-haired man with glasses.

"Hello Harry," Liz whispered as she closed the door behind her.

Chuckling, Harry turned to give her a grin. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you found this place."

"Why's that?" He fixed her with a penetrating stare, and she made the connection. "She was a fan of reading."

"That would be the understatement of the century," he replied. "She spent every spare moment in the library at school."

"Doing what?"

"Reading as much as she could. Research, pleasure, it didn't matter. As long as she had her books, the world made sense."

"We are alike, then. I'm the same way."

"I know."

Liz looked at him oddly, and then realized what he was saying in that simple statement. "So you're the one who has been bringing the blanket every night."

He nodded as he smiled. "I don't know if you're as heavy a sleeper as she was, so I didn't want to wake you if I could avoid it. So, I settled for getting you comfy, and covering you up. I used to do it with her all the time."

"Thank you."

"So how is the memory retrieval going?"

"Terrible, to be perfectly blunt. We haven't made any progress at all over the last few weeks, except for putting my emotions through the ringer."

"It's been rough?"

"You have no idea." Liz sighed deeply. "I wish I could remember it all. It's very disheartening when the reportedly most powerful man in the wizarding world can't find a way to help me get my life back."

"He'll find a way."

"Well, we're trying a different approach tomorrow. Tonks suggested trying to get the magical juices flowing in me again."

"Spellwork?"

"I would assume so."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He turned and faced the shelves behind him, and ran his fingers along the spines of the books on a high shelf. Finally settling on one, he drew it from the stacks, and turned back to her. He headed in her direction, and held it out for her to see. "This might help," he said.

Liz looked at the cover. "Standard Book of Spells?"

"It's a first year text we used. I thought it might be a good place to start."

Liz shot him a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said.

"I'll leave you to it," he replied, giving her a friendly hug before leaving the room. Liz gazed at the closed door behind him and then down at the book in her hand. Briefly flipping through the pages, she noticed some very interesting looking writing and illustrations. Very curious, she headed for her favourite couch in the room, and prepared to lose herself in the literary world.

But her relaxation was short-lived, as the door opened a few seconds later to reveal Kingsley Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley. Liz looked up at them smiling, but the smile left her face when she saw the seriousness in theirs.

"What is it?" she asked them.

It was Arthur who stepped forward to speak. "Herm – Liz," he corrected himself, and Liz simply nodded for him to continue. "We know that you've been under a lot of stress lately with trying to recover your memories, but we need to ask you something."

"Anything," Liz replied earnestly.

"We don't mean to put pressure on you to answer, but even before your memories were modified, you were the best authority on Muggles we ever had."

"And since you've been implanted with 24 years of Muggle memories, you're now even more of an authority," Kingsley continued.

"Ok, enough with the flattery," Liz joked, causing both men to chuckle. "What can I do?"

The two men shared a glance, and then Arthur took point again. "What do you know of Muggle science?"

"Only what I learned in school. What do you need to know?"

"Do you know anything about genetics?" Liz nodded. "We think that the people who experimented on you, the ones who the Ministry tried to protect people from, we think they're using genetics to rid wizards of their magic."

"Blaise has managed to take what he can from the compound you were held in, and we've been trying to decipher the information. But unfortunately, although Arthur loves his Muggles, understanding their scientific terminology is about as easy as understanding Bulgarian."

"Do you have these documents here?" The men nodded, and Liz stood up from her perch, leaving her book there. "May I see them?"

Kingsley opened the door for them all, and Arthur led the way to the study. There were papers spread out all over the desk, and even a few on the floor. Liz glanced at it all, and then turned to face the men in front of her.

"I'll need some time with all this," she stated. "And possibly a scientific dictionary."

"We'll get that for you immediately," Kingsley assured her.

"Ok then," Liz said, and moved to sit down at the desk.

"Thank you," Arthur said sincerely. Liz shot him a smile, and then her face grew serious as she began to sift through all the information that was set out in front of her.

An hour later, she had managed to organize the documents into piles of relevance. She was about to delve into the first one when she was interrupted by Arthur knocking on the door. He came in, holding a fairly thick book which he deposited on the desk in front of her.

"Your dictionary," he indicated, "And Molly is insisting that you come to lunch. According to her, you can lose yourself in this all afternoon, as long as you've had a decent bite to eat."

Liz chuckled at this, and followed Arthur to the dining room where she shared a fantastic lunch with the rest of the inhabitants of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Once again, the boys regaled them with stories of their youth, and Liz spent a little time planning an excursion into the basement with little Isabel. After promising Remus and Dumbledore that she would start with the next phase of her retrieval the following day, Liz excused herself and went back to the study, where she remained for the entire afternoon.

When dinner was announced by George, she kindly refused, wanting to continue with the files. Harry, Ginny and Remus all came to persuade her, but to no avail. They eventually settled for bringing her a plate of food after dinner, which went completely untouched.

Liz scanned each page carefully, making notes with the parchment and quill that had been provided for her. She was constantly cross-checking terms in her dictionary, and trying to make connections between it all. Since the files were somewhat incomplete, she did the best she could to find the links.

She worked well into the night, constantly checking and re-checking her facts and completely ignoring the chimes that the clock sounded each hour. Liz knew it was incredibly late, but she tried not to think about it too much. Her mind was so full with facts that she didn't even notice her eyes getting droopy, and her head nodding to sleep.

Liz woke up with a start two short hours later, to bright sunlight streaming through the windows of the study. She shook the cobwebs from her sleepy head, ignored the growl of her stomach, and continued to pore over the papers on the desk. She barely noticed when Ron stepped into the room, but did look up as a steaming mug of tea was placed on the desk in front of her.

"I thought your brain could use a little help, since you've obviously reverted to your old ways." Liz sipped the tea gratefully, and gave him a puzzled look which forced him to explain. "You used to fall asleep over your books nearly every night. Sometimes you'd miss breakfast because of it, and Harry or I would bring you tea so you wouldn't be a grouch all day."

"Sounds like my mother back in Canada. She knew never to get me going early without giving me my caffeine jolt."

"Smart woman," Ron commented, chuckling. "How's it going?" he asked in seriousness.

"I'm close, I think. I can feel something just out of my grasp, but I know it's here in these pages."

"Maybe you should take a break for breakfast," Ron suggested. She shot him a skeptical look before turning back to her notes, and once more, he elaborated. "Maybe getting away from it for a few minutes will let you come back with a fresh outlook."

His suggestion did have merit, but Liz was too close to leave now…wait a minute…She ran her eyes over all of her notes, making sure that she was correct in her assumptions. She let out a triumphant "Yes!" as she leaned back in her chair victoriously.

"Uh oh, looks like I was wrong on this one. I know that tone," teased Ron. "You're onto something, aren't you?"

Liz nodded happily, and rose from her seat, her notes in hand. "I think I know what they're trying to do to those wizards and witches they capture."