Disclaimer: I do not, in anyway own the wonderful world of Harry Potter, or Charmed. I am just dabbling in the world they left for us.
Chapter 52...part 1
The Unknown.
Harry awoke in a cold sweat, pale and shaking, the images from his nightmare still fresh on his mind. He didn't know what caused the nightmare, but he was sure about one thing; he wanted nothing more than to forget it. Though it seemed that no matter how hard he tried to push the images out of his head and go back to sleep, they just kept playing themselves over and over again, taunting him. Giving his head a shake, he stood up and made his way quietly to the bathroom so that he could get ready for the day. As he stood in the shower, trying to calm down, he forced his mind to focus on other things… like the fact that last night he and Ginny had a great make-up-date for the one that they had missed on Valentine's Day due to the extenuating circumstances that had occurred.
Harry had spoken to Dobby at length about what he wanted to do for Ginny and the little elf had been over the moon to help Harry make this night special for his "Wheezy". First he had taken Ginny for a walk around the lake and once they had reached a certain spot Harry asked her to cover her eyes. This of course had been met with some opposition, but eventually she conceded and allowed Harry to cover her eyes with a piece of cloth that he had brought along with them. Ginny later described the walk, from when Harry covered her eyes to where he took her, as though hours had passed due to her anticipation of what he had planned. He had not led her far before he stopped and made a gesture with his hand and a swirl of blue lights lit the ground in front of him.
"You can take off the blindfold now." He had said to her, and when she did she saw a blue and green checkered blanket on the ground with a basket full of food and what looked like a chilled bottle of butterbeer sitting on top of it along with a dozen white roses. 'She liked those'. Harry thought to himself as he began to get dressed. As he continued to get ready, his eyes drifted across the bed of one of his dorm mates, and the events that took place those three weeks ago charged to the forefront of his thoughts.
It had been three weeks since Hermione had come to him asking for a favor; Three weeks since he had cast the Give-Me-A-Sign spell for one of his best friends so that she could figure out which of the two boys she should be with; Three weeks since they had left the safety of the castle to save Remus Lupin from his captives; Three weeks since finding out that someone he had thought he knew, someone who he had spent the last Five years sharing a dorm with, was someone he never really knew at all…and this person was none other than Neville Longbottom.
As Harry was putting on his shoes, his gaze once again fell to the bed of said dorm-mate. It was empty. He was sure that he had seen Neville come in at some point during the night, but he wasn't totally sure. He had heard the door creak open, it was what woke him up. 'You don't spend a summer training and playing pranks on your Aunts without learning to get a good-night's sleep while at the same time being able to know your surroundings no matter what time it was...' Harry thought to himself as he made his way down the spiral staircase into the common room. It was a Sunday and still early enough in the morning that no one was up yet so he had the common room all to himself. Well he usually did at any rate. This morning however the common room held another occupant.
"Hey Gin, what are you doing up so early?" Harry asked as he sat down, draping an arm over her shoulders.
She smiled warmly and leaned into him, welcoming the kind touch that she had become so accustomed to. "It is kind of hard to go back to sleep when you have a nightmare…" She replied, closing her eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You had one too... What was it about?"
Ginny sighed, "Tom."
"He really needs to die…" Harry said in serious tone.
"You're telling me…by the way, how is it coming along?"
This time it was Harry's turn to sigh, "Not as well as I would have liked, but like my Mom and Aunts say, you can't rush perfection although that could have been because all three of them were spending way too much time in the bathroom at the time..."
Ginny laughed, "How are they doing?"
"Well enough. My mom keeps on writing to me through the journal telling me that I need to come 'round more often, but honestly when do I have the time?"
"You have time now…"
"And I had already planned on making a trip there today."
"Do you mind if I tag along?"
"Not at all" Harry said as he stood, offering Ginny a hand. "In fact I know that my mom would be very glad to see you again."
They walked in silence pretty much the entire way to the seventh floor corridor, just glad to be in each other's company. Neither of them took any notice of the pair of eyes that seemed to be following their every move.
After walking in front of the blank wall three times, the door appeared and Harry ushered Ginny in. Once the door had closed the figure that had been watching them smirked widely, turned and headed off in the direction of the Entrance Hall.
"Are we going to orb from here?" Ginny asked as she watched Harry reach into his back pocket.
Shaking his head, Harry bent down and placed the small piece of wood upright against the wall and said 'Mischief'. Ginny watched in amazement as the small piece of wood grew into that of a door. Noticing the look she had on her face Harry smiled and said, "You have seen this I don't know how many times and yet every time I open it you and the others just stand there looking as though have never seen it before. Well, you and Ron at least…"
Ginny hit him playfully on the arm and then reached out, turned the handle and walked on through. "I just can't get over what an amazing piece of magic this is. Your Dad does great work."
"This was the first, of many, doors he and I ever worked on together over the summer." When he saw Ginny looking at him strangely he continued. "Mom decided to blow up quite a few doors, mine specifically, and this one my Dad managed to save from her wrath."
"Wrath…?"
"I did a lot of training this past summer Gin, it took a lot out of me, so when my Mom came knocking at sunrise well…" Harry stopped and gestured with his hands the same gesture that his mom used when she blew something up.
"Ah, I see." Ginny said, finally understanding.
"Anyway, this one cannot be blown up, too many protective charms and what-not for that to happen."
"I thought that I heard your Aunts saying how there was no such thing as a protective charm."
"Well there isn't, not really at any rate, just your basic unbreakable spell, not unlike what they use on the Firebolt." Harry said as he turned the handle of the door and motioned Ginny across the threshold. After he shrank the door down to its tiny state with a quick 'Managed' he turned to face his girlfriend and saw her staring at him with a gleam in her eye.
"You know Harry, if you wanted to get me alone in your room all you had to do was say the word…"
Harry froze at her comment, "I…you…brothers…me…dead!"
It didn't take long before the gleam left Ginny's eyes and she broke into fits of laughter, "Oh you should have seen your face…priceless!" She said in between laughs. "Do you honestly think that I would let that happen? What kind of girl do you think I am?"
Harry relaxed a bit when he saw that she was just messing with him and his nerves. "Ha ha, very funny; what do think your brothers would say if…"
"One; my brothers, with the exception of Percy, know that I can take care of myself. Two; that will not ever happen until there is a ring on this finger," She said holding up her left ring finger, "My mother raised me right I can assure you of that. And Three; the most important one of all, I really wish that you could have seen your face cause it was hilarious!"
"This means war, you know that right?"
"Harry, I am a Weasley, and have twin brothers who just so happen to have followed in the footsteps of the most famous of Hogwarts pranksters. Do you really want to mess with me?"
"Ginny," Harry said in a mock-serious tone, "I am a Potter, a direct descendant of, and the Heir to the Legacy of the Marauders, a group of people whom your twin brothers just happen to look up to. Do you really want to mess with me?"
They both stared at each other, a look of pure seriousness etched on their faces, neither one backing down. It took only a few moments to pass before they both dissolved into fits of laughter. They were interrupted, however, when the door swung open, "What are you two doing up here alone?" The figure at the door asked.
Instead of getting a response the figure was met with only more laughing. "I really would hate to explain this to both of your mothers…"
"Oh, come on dad, we were just getting ready to head down."
"Well then I suggest you do that sooner rather than later. I just got Chris down, he has been sick and needs to get his rest, but he won't get the rest he needs with the noise you two are making." Leo relied.
"Sorry dad, were heading down now."
Leo shook his head and turned around and headed towards the stairs, the two teenagers following close behind. Neither of the two saw the smile he had on his face. "So how are things going?"
"Well enough. Your mother and aunts had a rough night last night."
"What happened, are they okay?"
"They're fine."
"I sense a 'but' somewhere in there…" Harry pushed.
"Well, Chris just happened to be in the room when the demon attacked and well…"
"Oh I bet mom just loved that. Did they kill the bas…"
Leo stopped mid-step and rounded on his son, "You will watch your mouth while you are in the presence of a lady young man. In fact you should watch your language period, Am I clear?"
"Yes sir."
"Good, it's bad enough you hear your mother and aunts curse, and goodness knows I have done my fair share, but I will be damned…crap…I apologize Ginny. Here I am reprimanding my son for his language and then I go and do what I am getting onto him for, it is not appropriate."
"It's okay Mr. Wyatt, I have six older brothers…I've heard worse."
"It still does not excuse anything. Now," Leo said looking at the two of them "How about we got get some coffee?" and then turned around and continued on down the stairs, completely missing the shared look between the couple.
"So what happened?"
"What?" Leo asked, stopping on the landing.
"You never said what happened to the demon. Did mom vanquish him?"
"Actually," Leo began with a laugh, "Your mom didn't vanquish him."
"But"
"Chris did."
"What!" Harry and Ginny exclaimed at the same time.
"Well, just as your Mom and Aunts went on the offensive the demon made the mistake of grabbing Chris from the playpen."
"What did he do?"
"You can imagine how….ticked… off your mother was becoming and just how much Chris was opposed to the idea of a demon holding him. Because as Piper was about to make a move, the demon exploded into tiny bits of ice."
"Wow! Chris displayed his first bit of magic, I am so proud." Harry said with a wide smile.
"Second actually, last week he summoned a cookie from a batch that your mom had just made." Leo said with his own smile.
"Summoned, you mean like the way Aunt Prue could or Aunt Paige?"
Leo nodded, "Prue. And as for him freezing the demon, we think it was the power we saw him use when he orbed you out of here that night."
"You mean the cold hands?"
"Yea, we say 'we think' it was this power because it would stand to reason that at some point in the future he would know how to control it and use it for whatever situation might arise."
"That is so cool." Harry said, "When do you think I will be able to see my favorite little brother?"
"Let's how he is feeling after his nap."
That's cool." Harry replied as he followed his dad off of the landing and through the dining room.
When they entered the kitchen they were each met with a hug from Harry's mom. "Oh," Piper exclaimed as she released Ginny, "It is so good to see you both again."
"It is good to see you as well Mrs. Halliwell." Ginny replied with a smile.
"Ginny, how many times do I have to tell you, call me Piper."
Ginny nodded, smiling as she felt a hand squeeze hers briefly. "It is going to take some getting used to, but I will try."
"That is all I ask. Now, who would like some brownies?"
"You could give me the entire plate if you wanted to Mrs. Halliwell." A newcomer said with a smile.
"Moony!" Harry exclaimed as he ran to greet the man. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I had some free time and decided to stop on by, besides, Piper and Leo insisted I stop by regularly. Something about a boy who might miss me if I didn't…"
"And they are right, I would miss you." Harry said with a smile.
"You are a part of this family Remus, you are welcome to come over any time you can." Leo said with a smile. He remembered how hard it had been for Remus to adjust to what Harry had told him once he had finally woken up. He had not taken the news that well. While Harry may have been related to his best friend by blood, however distant, he was just not the son of James Potter. It was only after Harry had led him up to the attic, stood in front of a massive tome and said, "Professor, I think I might know some people that would be a lot better at explaining this than I can." that the Defense professor actually began to understand what he was being told. Leo had to stifle a laugh at the memory of his son telling him what had transpired up in the attic.
"And then she all but Ordered Moony to call them, or rather to have me or mom summon them, so they could stay in touch! Oh you should have been there…"
Leo shook his head at the memory, still laughing silently, and brought his attention back to the conversation at hand, "…So she is at home now resting." Somewhat confused Leo turned to look at everyone in the room and asked "Who are we talking about?"
"Dad, were you not been paying attention?"
"Leo…"
"Sorry Harry, Piper, I was lost in my thoughts. What were you saying Remus?"
"Just that Dora is recovering well. I expect she shall be able to come with me for a visit next time I stop by."
"I can't wait to meet her Remus." Piper said with a smile.
"Well she would be with me more often, but the Ministry…"
"Is a bunch of idiots, with the exception being your dad Ginny, who don't have the time of day to pull their heads out of their…"
"Harry, Language!"
"It's alright Mrs. Halliwell. While I might have put it a bit differently, Harry is not wrong. The Ministry is far from perfect. But enough about me and the Ministry, how about we talk about Harry and what he and the young Miss. Weasley are doing here today."
"Why did you come home today?"
"Phoebe!?" Piper exclaimed.
"What? It's a fair question." Phoebe said as she set her purse down and turned to give Harry a hug. "How're you doing kiddo?"
"I'm good Aunt Phoebe; it is good to see you too." Harry replied as he gave her a hug. "Actually I was hoping to kill two birds with my trip today."
"And said birds would be…" Piper asked.
"Well I was hoping I could talk with dad for a little bit and then get with you, mom, and possibly Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige to talk about…" But as he was explaining why he was there, Harry was swallowed up by a flurry of green lights.
"Harry! Leo?" Piper exclaimed.
"I'm on it." Leo said already in mid orb.
"I'm still a bit new to this…so you will have to explain to me what exactly is going on." Remus said to the room at large. "I get that Harry is gone, but what is Leo doing?"
"If where he went where I think he went…" Just as she had started to explain to Remus where Leo had gone, a swirl of blue lights filled the kitchen taking the form of-
"That was fast. What did they say?" Piper asked in desperation.
Leo sighed, "It was almost like they knew it was going to happen. As soon as I had orbed in, one of the Elders was waiting for me and said that "He is safe". He didn't say anything else."
"Well what do you expect Leo? You spoke to an Elder; they are not known for giving anything but cryptic information."
"So what do we do know?" Phoebe asked as she moved to stand next to her sister, who just shook her head.
"The only thing we can do." Leo replied, pulling his wife closer to him. "We wait."
The long hallway was shrouded in darkness; the only source of light came from the few lanterns that were hung along the walls at specific points so as to give the traveler some sort of light. The flames of the candles themselves danced merrily about in their iron cage in no real pattern, casting ominous black shadows on the stone floor. Out of the few people that were moving about the hall, only one was unmoving. 'He should have been here by now…' the figure thought to himself. And as if on cue, a swirl of green lights bathed the dark hallway in a bright light. And as quickly as the green lights came, they went; leaving a very confused green young man in their wake. The young man in question had a red ball of energy floating just inches above his hand as soon as the last green light left.
"Cool trick, you wouldn't mind teaching me that would you?"
"Who are you and how did you summon me here?"
"It's okay, you are safe here." The figure against the wall said.
"And I am supposed to just trust you on this? You took me away from my home."
"Your home, wait you mean you weren't at Hogwarts?"
"No genius. Now if you could send me back, I may entertain the idea of not vanquishing you."
The figure, who, was still standing in the shadows smirked. "You might find that you will not be able to vanquish me, seeing as I am one of the good guys and that, my friend, would be considered murder."
"First off, I am not your friend. Secondly, if you were one of the good guys then you would not have kidnapped me away from my family."
"You were supposed to be at Hogwarts, which is where I last saw you. You had just gone into the Room…"
"You were following me?!"
"I had to make sure…"
"Make sure of what, that you would be able to get to me?"
"I had to know where you were for the spell to have worked."
"Well here I am. And just so we're clear, no matter where I am, if you whisk me away against my wishes that is kidnapping. Now, again with my question, who are you?"
Just as the figure was about to speak, another figure appeared out of thin air between them. "Now boys, you need to play nicely and Mr. Potter would you please extinguish that energy ball, we are on the same side after all." Harry mumbled under his breath as he let the red ball of energy go out. "What was that Mr. Potter?"
Standing up straighter Harry turned to the man, "I said that it wasn't an energy ball."
"Then please enlighten us as to what it was."
"It was a stunning spell."
"Ha! That's rich. No one can do that. Now why don't you tell us what it really was?"
"Rune that is enough, you did your job, and now it is time for you to leave."
"Yes sir." And in the blink of an eye Rune was gone.
"How did he do that?" Harry asked in alarm.
"What? Blink?" Harry nodded and the figure just smiled, "We have much to discuss Mr. Potter so if could please grab a hold of my arm, I shall take you to my office."
Harry just stood there, unmoving, not sure if he should take the arm or not. At seeing his hesitation the figure just smiled and gave his head a shake. "I see you are going to make me work to get you into my office." And in one swift movement, the figure walked over to the wall Rune had just been standing against and laid his hand upon it. Harry gasped as he watched a section of the wall disappear only to be replaced by a door. Done with his chanting, the figure turned the handle and the door swung open without so much as a creak. "My office" The figure said gesturing to the room that was beyond the door.
Harry looked from the man and into the room, "But if your office was right there then why…"
"Son, my office is in another part of the complex. I merely created a "doorway" that would allow for quick access."
"Then why travel by 'blinking'?"
"No need really, though to be honest it is quite a bit faster than creating a doorway." The figure replied as he stepped across the threshold and into his office. Turning around he looked at Harry and asked, "So are you coming?"
Harry looked back and forth between the man, who he could have sworn he had seen somewhere before and the room. 'My mom…and Ginny are going to kill me.' This was the only thought to pass through Harry's head as he stepped through the open door and into the unknown.
Piper and her sisters, along with Leo and Ginny, were sitting in silence around the kitchen table staring at the food that was on their plates. It had been several hours since Harry had been taken from them in a swirl of magic. As soon as her son had vanished from where he had stood, Piper had Leo orb up to check with the Elders to see if they knew anything. Much to Pipers dismay, Leo had come back with nothing more than a simple "He is safe."
Usually when he had to orb 'up there', as the sisters put it, he had to seek out an Elder which could take some time to accomplish. But this time, as soon as the blue lights had reformed, he saw an Elder waiting for him and the three, simple words she uttered "He is safe", sent a chill down his pine. He didn't know why, but this didn't sit well with him. Maybe it was because there was an Elder waiting for him this time to give him the message…or maybe because it seemed that this was all the Elders knew. And as much as he hated to, he opted for the latter.
'He is safe…what kind of a crap answer is that?' Leo had asked himself. 'If I wanted to know if he was safe we, the sisters and I, could have found out for ourselves. It's like they are in the dark as much as we are…and that is not good at all.'
The fact that there was someone out there with the power to get to his son, and make it so that not even the Elders could track him, shook him, Leo, to the very core of his being. Leo then did something that to this day he wished he wouldn't have done; he voiced his thoughts to the rest of the family and watched as his wife, the one who was usually very vocal, especially when it came to the Elders, shut down right in front of him. She had just sat down at the table without a word and all Leo could do was watch as an empty, vacant look, one that he had not seen since the death of her older sister Prue, made its way across her features.
Looking back, Leo, if he had to guess, would have said it was mere minutes before Paige walked through the front door that Phoebe had joined her sister at the table. When Paige had walked into the kitchen and took notice of the morose atmosphere, she decided to fix some lunch for everybody in hopes to pull them out of the shell that they had built around them. This plan had not worked. Once she had finished preparing lunch and sat down with her family and Ginny, the mood of the room seemed to puncture her upbeat attitude and shatter it; effectively pulling her into the silent stupor that had claimed everyone else.
Leo sighed once again, for what had to have been the hundredth time, and looked at the group assembled around him. Piper, Phoebe and Paige all had looks of emptiness on their faces as they stared at the plates of food in front of them. He then turned to look at Ginny and noticed that her face held the same look that his wife and sisters-in-law had. Just as he took his eyes off Ginny and directed his gaze to his own plate, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Ginny. She had looked up from her plate and turned in the direction of the kitchen door with a gleam of hope in her eyes. This one action had caused a reaction to occur in the others. Piper was the first to move, followed closely by her sisters, lifting their gazes from the table and to Ginny, who was oblivious to the change going on around her.
In one swift, quick movement Ginny was up from the table and through the door before the others had time to react. Piper looked from the seat that Ginny had just been occupying and then to her husband, who didn't' fail to notice the hopeful gleam that had just been in Ginny's eyes, now shone brightly in his wife's. Following Ginny's lead, Piper jumped out of her seat and was out of the kitchen in a flash with her sisters and husband following close behind. They didn't have to look long before they found Ginny in the conservatory, arms wrapped around a messy, raven-haired teen who was returning the embrace with a large smile on his face.
It didn't take long for Piper to take in the scene in front of her, before she rushed forward and pulled both of the teens into a bone-crushing hug. "I am so glad that you are safe!" She exclaimed as she kissed the top of her sons head.
Harry gave a small chuckle, "Mom, I'm okay. I promise."
At hearing her sons' statement, she pulled back from the hug slightly and began looking him up and down for anything that might tell her if he really was okay. When she seemed satisfied that he was indeed okay, she put on her best "mother look" she could muster and asked, "Are you sure you're okay? What happened?"
"A lot…" he replied with a bark-like laugh. When he saw the looks he was getting he continued, "A lot did happen, and I want nothing more than to be able to tell you, but I can't. Well, other than the fact that this was kind of a good thing and everything is going to be okay…for now at least."
"Harry…"
"Look, I promised a bunch of…well, I made a promise and I do not intend to go back on it. I will tell you everything once the time is right, but not a moment before. I'm sorry."
"We will talk about this later young man." Piper said, trying her best to sound put out. But the fact remained that she was just so glad to have her son back in her arms that relief seemed to overpower any other emotions she may have had.
The rest of Harry and Ginny's time spent at the Halliwell manor passed much too quickly for their liking, and it was only after getting an iron-clad promise from the two of them that Piper let them go back to Hogwarts.
"Do you think they're going to be okay Leo?" Piper asked as she watched her son's magical, oak door shrink and vanish without a sound.
"He will be fine. He is safe at school."
"From what he told us about his first five years at that school, it is a wonder that he is not dead…and don't even get me started on that Headmaster of his."
"Piper, sweetheart, we have to trust our son to take care of himself. Besides, he is a Halliwell and has your blood running through his veins."
Piper paled, "You're right, he does have Halliwell blood running through him…which is why I am going to go and write to him through the journal to make sure he got back safely."
Leo just shook his head and watched as his wife pulled out her brown journal and begin to frown. "What's wrong?" Leo asked.
Without a word Piper passed the book to her husband, who, had begun to chuckle slightly at what he was reading.
'Mom, stop worrying, I am safe and so is Ginny.
We are just about to meet up with some friends.
Talk/ Write to you soon.
Love,
Harry!
Ginny watched as Harry put his brown, leather journal on the table that had just materialized between the two sets of couches, which had also just appeared, in the Room of Requirement. "What did you just write in that book Harry?"
"Oh," Harry began with a laugh, "I knew that as soon as we stepped through the door that my mom was going to worry herself about me, so I decided to write to her before she wrote to me asking if we were safe."
"She cares about you."
"I know, but she is…well, she is my mom and if I know here like I think I do, then right now she is trying to decide if she should respond to what I wrote. I wonder if she'll cave…"
"You really think your mom is that predictable?" But before Harry could respond, the little jewel that sat in the clasp began to glow. Harry smile and said, "Yes, she is."
Ginny just shook her head, "So what are we going to do with the rest of our day Mr. Potter?"
"Well, what I wrote to mom was true; we are going to meet up with some friends." And with a wave of his hand, Ron and Hermione appeared in a swirl of bright blue lights and fell to the floor with a reverberating thud.
"Ouch, what the bloody…Harry, Ginny, what are you two doing here?" Ron asked as he helped Hermione to her feet. "And why are we in the Room of Requirement?"
"Ginny and I just got back from visiting my parents. We didn't catch you at a bad time did we?"
Oh, uh…no, we were just studying." Harry and Ginny both raised an eyebrow. "Really, we were. We were sitting on one of the couches in the Sanctuary and Hermione was going over the…um…"
"Hermione?" Ginny questioned, but Hermione just looked away as her cheeks began to turn the shade of Ron's hair.
"Look, that question was meant to be rhetorical and now, thanks to an awful image I now have in my head now, I am going to be up for a while tonight doing Occlumency." Harry laughed as he saw Ron's face turn the same shade of red that Hermione's was. Deciding to get to why he summoned his friends to him, he took a breath. "Look, all joking aside, I wanted to tell you that Ginny and I visited my family today and while we were there I was taken away from the manor and to an unknown location."
Hermione and Ron now turned to face their friend, "Are you okay?" Hermione questioned.
Harry nodded, "I am, they didn't want to hurt me. They wanted to talk."
"Talk, about what?" Ron asked, stepping closer to Harry.
"He can't tell you that. They made him promise." Ginny put in somewhat dejectedly.
"Actually…they made me promise not to tell my mom, dad and aunts as well as anyone else, other than you three that is."
"But why didn't you…"
"And risk being grilled by my mother…no thanks, besides, they will find out eventually."
"Find what out?" Hermione asked.
"I could probably explain it, but I would rather not…too much detail."
"But you just…"
"I said I would rather not tell you Ron, not that I won't. There is a reason why I summoned you both here to this room." Harry paused, closed his eyes and a moment later, sitting atop the small table that was between the four friends, was a pensive. "I am going to show you my memory from the time I got there up until I left."
As Harry put his wand to his temple and began to withdraw the proper memory, Hermione stepped closer to Harry and asked, "Harry, are you sure that you are allowed to tell…I mean show us? I mean, couldn't you get into trouble for it?"
"NO," Harry said with a shake of his head as he placed the memory into the bowl, "Before I promised not to tell my family, I made sure that I would be able to tell you all about it. I was actually surprised that they said that that would be okay."
"And why did they okay us and not your mom and dad?"
"That, my dear Hermione is something you will find out when you see the memory."
"And just how do we watch your memory Harry?" Ron asked, as he surveyed the silvery substance before him.
"Well, the first time that I used a pensive, or rather used a pensive without permission, my nose touched the stuff in the basin and I was pulled into it."
Ron looked taken-aback, "You mean we all have to let our noses touch this stuff in order to see what you saw?"
"Well, I'm not that well versed in how a pensive actually works, but I would hazard a guess that simply a finger would suffice."
Ron still looked unsure, and at seeing the look her brother had, Ginny stepped forward. "Oh, why do I have to be the one to do things first?" Ginny touched the unknown substance with her index finger she vanished, but not before the other three in the room heard a muttered 'Boys!' Not going to be outdone, Hermione was next and she too touched the strange mix in the bowl and was pulled into the stone basin like Ginny before her.
"It's your turn Ron." Harry prodded. Ron didn't move. "What's wrong mate?"
Ron lifted his eyes from the basin, "What did Ginny mean by always having to go first?"
"She was probably referring to the fact that she was the first to jump through the door that led to my parent's' house." Ron looked back to the basin, unmoving. Harry gave a sigh, "And now, I am going to tell you the same thing I told Hermione that night. I love you like I brother, Ron, but I will grab your hand and shove it into the pensive myself if I have to. Besides, the memory has already started and we need to join the girls."
"Okay, okay, you win, no need to get physical mate…" Ron said as he put his hand into the bowl.
"Now that is more like it." As Harry touched the strange substance the Room of Requirement gave an almighty lurch- pulling him forward into the stone basin. Unlike last time, he landed on his feet and next to his three friends. "What part are we at?" He asked as he watched the scene begin to fold out in front of him.
"He just made the door appear, now shush!" Hermione replied. Harry smiled at his bushy-haired friend and then turned back to watch.
"But if your office was right there then why…"
"Son, my office is in another part of the complex. I merely created a "doorway" that would allow for quick access."
"Then why travel by 'blinking'?"
"No need really, though to be honest it is quite a bit faster than creating a doorway." The figure replied as he stepped across the threshold and into his office. Turning around he looked at Harry and asked, "So are you coming?"
The group watched as 'memory' Harry seemed to have an internal battle as to whether he should go or not. "I would apologize for stepping through that door, but something inside of me told me to and I am really glad that I did." Harry commented as he and his three friends followed 'memory Harry' and crossed the threshold into this mysterious man's office.
A/N: I can't say how sorry I am for this being so late. It would have been posted sooner, but due to cramming for the end of year exams and getting the H1N1 (Swine Flu) and the plans for Thanksgiving...updating was on the bottom of my list. As you can see, this is a two parter chapter. I am working on part two and hope to have it done soon. I went ahead and posted the first part now because you all have been waiting so patiently. Thank you all. I hope you all enjoy it.
(By the way readers, I tried to get my chapter title and chapter number to be centered, but the site kept changing it back. So just imagine my chapter number and title are centered.)
Mudbloodpotter