Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had decided to walk a little ways away before Apparating, and now appeared at the edge of a grove of trees.
"We'll just Apparate to Hogsmeade, and then walk to Hogwarts," Hermione had explained. "Because you-"
"Can't Apparate or Disapparate inside Hogwarts," Harry and Ron had chorused. "We know, Hermione."
Now, however, Harry realised something.
"Shouldn't we change into robes?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah," said Hermione. "Meet you at Hogsmeade in five minutes?"
"Sure," said Ron, and the Apparated their separate ways.
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Having gone straight to his bedroom, Harry lost no time at all in pulling on his black robes. He swept around the room, stuffing his pockets with anything he might need: his wand, his new D.A. coin, a quill and ink, and a small vial of silver liquid that rested on his bookshelf.
He Disapparated away with a CRACK, and found himself just outside Honeydukes. Ron was sitting on a nearby bench, and Harry went to join him. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione appeared with a second loud CRACK.
"Let's go, then," she said brightly. Ron stood up, and the three made their way through Hogsmeade ignoring the usual stares. It was surprisingly quiet as they made their way up the path taken by the carriages every year, which gave Harry an odd feeling of suspense.
"This is where the wards start," Hermione said. "But we've got permission, so don't worry."
They fell silent after that, and walked for several minutes, the whoosh of the wind the only noise. The silence was once again slightly eerie, and Harry found himself wishing someone would say something.
"Why'd Ginny kiss you?" Ron demanded abruptly.
"Why does it matter?" Harry asked, completely surprised by his question.
"Oh, I dunno, she's my sister," said Ron. Hermione sighed at this, clearly exasperated. "Anyway," continued Ron. "She told me you two had an agreement."
"Yeah, that we weren't going to start dating again until things had been rebuilt."
"I wouldn't exactly call this rebuilt."
"Hogwarts is five days from being finished, the monument is going to be done in two weeks, and George reopened the shop," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "It's rebuilt."
"The war ended four months ago! You shouldn't be dating my sister."
"Ron," said Hermione quietly. "You know very well that the last thing Ginny needs is you not letting Harry date her, especially after she's just started thinking he might actually like her!"
"It's about her nightmares, isn't it?"
"Nightmare. One recurring nightmare."
"It's only one?" Harry interrupted.
"She told you about them?"
"Not what it's about."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully, then turned back to Ron. "Besides, Ginny wouldn't listen to you anyway."
"Alright, then. But you better not hurt her," Ron growled at Harry.
"I won't," said Harry quickly. He could see Ron's hand beginning to creep to his pocket, where he no doubt kept his wand, and he didn't fancy having his face hexed off.
Ron set his face determinedly forwards, and didn't talk again until they had reached the gate. Hermione pulled out her wand, muttered some sort of a password, and the gate swung open to admit them.
Several people were set around the courtyard, Levitating large stones and performing different charms. Hannah Abbot stood next to a large stone, directing several members to perform certain tasks, and some of them headed into the Forest for materials. A large dust cloud puffed up from the middle of the grounds as someone dropped a stone, and Hermione started coughing.
"I'm okay," she said once the coughing had subsided. "Let's get inside."
They walked into the part of the castle that was completely finished, and Hermione led the way to Professor McGonagall's office. She was waiting for them at the stone gargoyles, and nodded her head, spoke the password, and gestured for them to step onto the moving staircase when they arrived.
"The memories are in that closet," she told them. "And there's the Pensieve. Do you need anything else?"
"Actually…" Harry stared up at the portraits lining the walls. Phineas Nigellus looked down haughtily, Professor Dippet and several other feigned sleep, and Dumbledore's bright blue eyes twinkled at him from above. But one portrait, which Harry was sure should have been up by then, seemed to be missing. "Where's Snape?"
Hermione gave Ron and I-told-you-so look, which Harry chose to ignore, and Professor McGonagall's eyebrows disappeared under her hat. "Well, they weren't going to put one up," she explained. "Because he was head for less than a year."
"And that entire time he was risking his life."
"I'm sorry, Potter, but it seems as though many people from the Ministry think it's a bad idea to add him to the wall."
"You should," said Harry, and it didn't escape his notice that Hermione looked extremely relieved he wasn't making a bigger deal about this.
"Well, then," said McGonagall. "I suppose you ought to get to work." She stepped toward the doorway, then paused and turned to look at Harry. "And feel free to use the Pensieve," she added.
Harry's heart began to thud in his chest. There was no way she knew what memory he had in his pocket, was there? No, there couldn't be. If she knew what it was then she would know he had no intention of looking at it. He simply wanted to leave it here.
Hermione opened the cabinet door and began to scan the vials, looking for Slughorn's.
"Here," said Harry, handing it to her. It bore the label Horace Slughorn, 1943.
"How do we get rid of it?" Ron asked.
"Like this." Hermione opened the vial and poured its contents into the Pensieve. She began waving her wand in a complicated motion.
She continued the pattern of two minutes, muttering under her breath the whole time, and still Harry could see no difference in the memory. Finally, with one last flick of her wrist, the contents of the Pensieve vanished.
While Ron and Hermione examined the Pensieve for any pieces of the memory, Harry took his chance. He extracted the vial from his pocket, and held it out in front of him. He waved his wand, and a label appeared. Harry Potter, October 31, 1981. He placed it carefully into a slot in the cabinet, and returned to his original spot just as Hermione and Ron decided the Pensieve was completely empty.
"Should we just leave now?" asked Ron.
"Yes, I think we should," Hermione said. She walked over to close the cabinet doors, and as she did, she gave Harry most peculiar look. She must have seen the memory, but she didn't say anything about it.
They walked down the corridors in renewed silence, and Harry was about to say something when they were greeted by an odd sight. A group of house-elves were gathered at the top of the marble staircase, all crowded around one thing.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked them.
"A new house-elf is just came, miss," said one of them.
"She is very needing bath, miss," said another.
"She is free."
"Naughty house-elf, to be freed," muttered one. "Naughty, naughty, house-elf."
"Kreacher!" demanded Harry. The muttering elf looked up. Kreacher had been sent by Harry to work at Hogwarts, and clearly he had forgotten a command before he did so. "You are to stop all the muttering."
"Yes, sir," said Kreacher.
"Now, let me see the new elf." They all stepped back to reveal a small, shivering elf with her long ear pressed tightly to her head. She was, indeed, very dirty, and so was the old and worn green knit scarf she had around her neck.
"What's your name?" Ron said.
"Lucy," she whispered.
"How did you get here?" said Harry.
"I is a Hogwarts elf, but then I is told to hide until safety is come back. So I is hiding, and I is reading the papers, and I is staying aways for some almost twenty years, and then I sees that now is safe, so I comes back. But Hogwarts is all down on ground, and I says I can't go in now, no, no, I can't. So I is waiting in forest, and then I sees you come, and you is in the paper, sir, so I is just coming to see if safe, and now is safe!"
"Who freed you?" asked Hermione.
Lucy shrugged sadly.
"Tell me something about Hogwarts, then. Before you went to hide."
"I is not remembering anything, miss."
"Nothing at all?"
"No, miss."
"Obliviated," Hermione breathed softly. "Someone's Obliviated her. But why on earth?"
"If she knew something…" Ron suggested.
"Then you could just command her not to tell!"
"Not unless you weren't a student or staff at the time," said Hermione. "But then how would she have been freed?"
"Anyone can free a Hogwarts elf, miss. As long as they are at Hogwarts grounds, miss," said one of the shorter elves.
Hermione frowned. "It still doesn't make sense… What do you remember after being Obliviated?"
"I is walking away, miss, and there is pumpkins," said Lucy.
"So… it was in the fall?"
"I thinks so, miss."
"Hmm…"
Just then, Professor McGonagall came up, looking worried as she came up the staircase.
"Oh my," she said. "Well, I suppose we can sort this out. Ms. Granger, are you finished?"
"Yes, we are," Hermione said, smiling.
"I'll see you in September," she said, and gestured to the elves to follow her back down the marble staircase.
Thank you for reading! There will be a letter next week, I promise. Cassandra30, ragsweas, and Aithne, thank you for your reviews. Teddy is coming soon, and more Sirius interaction. Please review!