Chapter 61
For the next half an hour Harry explained his Occlumency lessons with Snape, including why he stopped going. James expressed his regret that Harry had to see such a childish moment in his father's past. Harry admitted that he had wondered whether Snape had been correct in his accusations about James being an arrogant berk, which led him into explaining the whole situation of sneaking into Umbridge's office to Floo Sirius to ask some questions.
After that, Harry explained his visions of the long hallway and locked door. He even showed everyone a short memory of the dream. After that, he told them all about the vision right before the Christmas holiday of Arthur being attacked by Nagini. Arthur's family declined wanting to see a memory of that particular moment since they recalled all too vividly seeing the results of the attack at St. Mungo's, so only Sirius, James, Lily, Hermione, and Minerva went into the Pensieve that time. Percy decided he wanted to see the memory despite his siblings trying to talk him out of going.
When they all emerged from the Pensive (with Percy looking very weak and green tinged) Harry went on to explain how he'd been getting more and more frequent bursts of Voldemort's emotions throughout the year and his and Dumbledore's guesses as to why this was occurring. Ron and Hermione verified that Harry had been getting more and more moody and unstable as the year went by as well. He'd snap at his friends quicker and they could see a definite change in their friend.
Harry was surprised by this, since he hadn't felt too much different all that year. He'd known he was a bit more short-tempered than usual, but the way his friends were describing his attitude, he almost felt like they were describing someone else. Ginny could sense he was upset, and placed a hand on his arm. He smiled at her and they shared a quick peck.
Harry went on to explain that his O.W.L.s went relatively well, other than Astronomy and History of course. Hermione showed everyone their bird's eye view of Minerva getting several stunners at once. Harry told them all about his vision of Sirius' at the Ministry and then put the memory into the Pensieve.
When they all exited, Sirius was white faced. Harry was even a little pale.
"I can't believe how real it felt," Hermione said quietly. "I mean, I knew it had to be fairly realistic for you to react the way you did, but I'm shocked at how realistic that actually was."
"That was why Dumbledore wanted me to learn Occlumency. He knew Voldemort would try to use the link we shared against me. But the biggest mistake he made was not telling me why I needed to learn it. If I had known why I was supposed to learn that stupid skill, I may have never had that vision. But once again, Dumbledore kept important information from me and someone suffered. Several people suffered," Harry finished softly.
Harry took a moment before continuing. While he was thinking, Ginny decided to explain their plan to distract Umbridge while they used her fireplace. Ron and Hermione added their thoughts as well. When they got to the part where Umbridge caught them, Harry put the memory in the bowl and stood.
They arrived in the cramped Defence office and could see Harry being pulled out of the fireplace by his hair, Umbridge looking like she'd caught a particularly juicy fly in her web.
"You think that after two nifflers I was going to let one more foul, scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge?" she said slowly.
George looked sheepishly at Harry.
"Sorry 'bout that mate. It was me 'n Fred's idea after we noticed how garishly her office was decorated—Left a few with Lee before we took off. If we'd have stayed we'd have been the ones doing it," he said. Molly gave him a disapproving look but didn't say anything.
"It's okay mate. It was worth it seeing her face after they trashed the place. If you want I can show you the memory later," Harry said with a laugh. George chuckled. They turned back to the memory with smiles.
"I was – trying to get my Firebolt!"
"Horrible lie!" Bill said with a grunt before grinning teasingly at Harry.
They all watched transfixed at the scene before them; Harry being questioned, then thrown into the desk harshly, and the Inquisitorial Squad arriving with the other DA students. The parents in the group watched their children struggle in the arms and hands of the Slytherin students, steadily growing angrier.
"My goodness Hermione, look at you go. Feisty little bookworm aren't you?" George said jokingly. Hermione had been pushed up against the wall by Millicent Bulstrode and then the large girl leaned into Hermione, squashing her against the wall even further. George was right though, Hermione had been fighting intently and nearly escaped several times before Bulstrode slammed her fist into the other girls' thighs and gave her two dead legs.
"Very well, Mr. Potter … I have no alternative but to force you. Draco – fetch Professor Snape."
"Quick question Harry," Sirius said. When Harry turned to him he spoke, "What happened to the mirror I gave you after Christmas that year?" Harry looked down at his feet.
"I forgot about it. When I found it after you … died, I ended up throwing it and breaking it. But … having one of the shards ended up saving my life earlier this year, so as bad as I feel for breaking it, I don't regret it," he said with finality.
"What mirror?" asked Lily. James' eyebrow lifted as he glanced between Sirius and Harry.
"One of our detention mirrors. They acted as a method of communication between us," said Sirius.
They nodded and turned back to the memory as Snape entered the room.
"Ah, Professor Snape. Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can please."
The people watching (who hadn't been there at least) all gasped.
"It's illegal to use that on a student!" Lily said angrily.
"You used my last bottle to interrogate Potter. Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be sufficient."
"Harry! Why didn't you tell us!" said Hermione. Ginny's jaw had dropped as had Ron's.
"Mainly because it didn't work. I wouldn't drink anything she gave me but I pretended to drink. I wasn't under the serum's influence so I was able to lie when she asked where Dumbledore and Sirius were located. That was just before Fred and George let off their Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs inside the school. I was fairly distracted as we ran out of her office and I guess I forgot to tell you," he replied.
"Certainly, it takes a full moon's cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month."
"Ha!" Minerva said suddenly. When everyone looked at her she smiled. "I know for a fact that Severus had several bottles at that point. He just blatantly lied to her."
"Really? Well it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules."
They watched as Harry and Snape had a moment where they stared at each other.
"I was basically screaming in my head that Voldemort had Sirius and where over and over again. I don't know why, but I had forgotten that Snape was in the Order until that point," said Harry with a frown.
A few moments went by as everyone watched Snape deny assistance and his subsequent 'probation'.
"He's got Padfoot! He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!" Harry shouted.
"Padfoot? What is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"
Sirius groaned, "I can't believe she said my nickname…It sounds so dirty when she says it." Harry, George, and James all laughed loudly.
"Sorry, Sirius, I couldn't think of another way to inform the Order that I'd had a vision. If it helps, she never found out that Padfoot was you," Harry added helpfully. Sirius pondered that for a moment and replied, "It helps…a little." While everyone chuckled Harry watched Hermione in the memory. He could see her mind working a mile a minute as she stood stock still behind Bulstrode.
"Very well … I am left with no alternative … This is more than a matter of school discipline … This is an issue of Ministry security…. Yes …yes …" Umbridge was saying.
"You all should watch this part," Harry said to get everyone's attention again. Instantly, all eyes were back on the memory.
"You are forcing me, Potter….I do not want to, but sometimes circumstances justify the use… I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice…."
"What—" Molly said but Arthur hushed her by placing a hand on her arm. Lily was watching the short, fat witch suspiciously.
"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue."
The group all sucked in their breath as the younger Hermione shrieked. Lily had pulled back her upper lip into a snarl that shocked even James.
"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him. He never knew I ordered Dementors after Potter last summer, but he was delighted to be given the chance to expel him, all the same…"
"Where is she now? If she is in a position of power I will end her," Lily said in a low voice. Harry smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"She's in Azkaban…her trial is coming up in a couple more months after all the evidence is complied. She won't ever be free to walk about again. I promise," he said. She looked into his eyes but was startled back to the memory when she heard, "NO! No—Harry—Harry, we'll have to tell her!"
George was watching the younger Hermione in shock. "You caved, Hermione?" Bill was also watching her in disbelief.
"Just keep watching guys," she said with a smirk. The next few minutes everyone was watching the two Hermione's like a tennis match. It wasn't until Hermione said, "Well, he was trying to speak to Professor Dumbledore…" that anyone realized Hermione was lying. Expertly.
"I must admit Ms. Granger, I never cease to be amazed by you," Minerva said proudly.
"You and me both Professor," Hermione said with a smile.
The next ten minutes the group followed the memory to the forest and inside.
"Er, Hermione, did you know where you were heading?" asked Ron.
"I was just focusing on making noise and going deep into the forest why?" she asked.
"Erm, because you're heading straight for Aragog's den," Ron said with wide eyes.
"How much further?" demanded Umbridge.
"Not far now! Just a little bit —"
Minerva and Lily jumped since they were standing closest to Hermione and saw the arrow flying towards her and thump into the tree above her. George and Bill chuckled when they saw Umbridge use Harry as a human shield.
"Who are you?" asked the Centaur.
"Oh, this is not good…" said Minerva. "The centaur herd was getting more and more upset over the way the Ministry was treating them. They will not like Dolores Umbridge," she finished with a content smile that left Harry thinking to himself how he would never want Minerva McGonagall as an enemy.
"Hermione, did you plan this in the office, or were you winging it?" asked Bill.
"Mostly winging it, at least until I got outside and started towards the forest, then the plan was fairly made up by that point," she said.
"By the laws laid down by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half-breeds such as yourselves on a human –"
"What did you call us?"
"Uh oh…" Ron and George said together. The next few minutes of cringe-worthy insults and anger left the group in awe of how incredibly thick Umbridge was. Most people would realize in a forest filled with dangerous creatures, you resist insulting the herd of arrow-wielding, furious centaurs. Really it was simply common sense. So they all watched with gaping mouths and wide eyes as the squat woman was carried off screaming by many of the centaurs.
"She deserved it," Lily said wryly.
"We do not attack foals," said Ronan.
"They brought her here, Ronan. And they are not so young….He is nearing manhood, this one…." Hermione was staring at the ground shaking her head.
"And now I ruin everything," she said caustically.
"You see Ronan? They already have the arrogance of their kind! So we were to do your dirty work, were we, human girl? We were to act as your servants, drive away your enemies like obedient hounds?"
"What is his problem? Is he like the Umbridge of Centaurs? 'We hate full-breeds!' 'Down with Humans!'" George said in a high pitched voice. Everyone chuckled to themselves half-heartedly.
"We do not help humans! We are a race apart and proud to be so….We will not permit you to walk from here, boasting that we did your bidding!"
"I am utterly surprised the Centaurs would succumb to mob mentality like this. They are under binding laws to not harm any students who happen to venture into the school. I will probably have to journey out there to speak to their leader and elders, perhaps a renewing of the contracts is in order," Minerva said with a frown.
"Well they helped fight in the final battle, didn't they?" asked Hermione.
"Did they? I didn't notice," said Harry.
"Well you were a little preoccupied…you know, fighting Voldemort," said Ron with a chuckle.
There was an abrupt crashing sound which drew everyone's attention back to the memory. All the centaurs had raised their armed bows, and the two holding Harry and Hermione had dropped them as well. All the arrows were pointing to a place above and behind the group of memory watchers who all turned around slowly and looked up.
"Good sweet Merlin," James whispered. "That's Hagrid's little brother?" he asked.
"Hagger."
"Er…What?" asked Sirius who finally found his voice again.
"He's asking for Hagrid. His English wasn't very good, I'm afraid. Hagrid actually asked us to visit him if he was sacked, and try to continue teaching him his words," Hermione said.
"HAGGER!"
"Oh my," Lily said with wide eyes.
"Hermy."
"Goodness, he – he remembered!"
"HERMY! WHERE HAGGER?"
"Little tyke knows what he wants that's for sure," said Sirius with a grin.
"GRAWP WANT HAGGER!" Everyone watched as Grawp reached his enormous hand toward Hermione, who screamed, stepped backwards, and tripped. She curled up into a ball as Harry stepped forward with his fists raised comically as if preparing to launch himself at the giant's hand.
"Aw, Harry you were going to protect her," George said in a sickly sweet voice. "That's so cute!" he squealed as he pinched Harry's cheek. Harry slapped his hand away in good humour.
"Oh no!" said Ginny worriedly as dozens of arrows pelted Grawp's face. Everyone watched in horror as Grawp started to attack the herd and Harry and Hermione escaped into the forest.
The memory faded and they all ended up back in the drawing room.
"Well what happened after that?" asked James.
Harry let Hermione finish the forest story with Ron and Ginny jumping in to explain what happened in Umbridge's office. They explained how they decided to get to the Ministry and the flight there on the thestrals. Harry sat and emptied and then re-filled the bowl with new memories.
When he finished placing the memories he sat and thought for a moment before interrupting Ron.
"Professor, may I talk to you for a moment? Over there?" he pointed to the corner of the room. Professor McGonagall nodded and stood up. The others looked on in confusion but Harry just waved at Ron to continue.
Over in the corner he waved a Muffliato spell around the two of them and then asked, "Professor, I'd like your opinion on a memory, whether or not I should show it or skip it. Do you remember in Ravenclaw common room, the spell I used after Alecto Carrow spat at you?"
"I will remember it for as long as I live Harry. Why do you ask?" replied Minerva.
"It…That wasn't the first time I'd cast that particular spell," Harry said sadly. Minerva simply raised her eyebrow in response. "The first time was against Bellatrix Lestrange after I'd thought she killed Sirius. It didn't work very well against her though," he said looking at the floor.
"So you wish to ask my opinion if you should show your loved ones this memory, am I correct?" she asked him. He nodded while still looking at the floor. She watched him for a moment before taking her hand and tilting his head back so he could look her in the eye.
"Harry, I cannot be your fallback conscience. In the end it is up to you and only you. You are a remarkable young man, and your family and friends love you. If you show them your moment of weakness I assure you, they will not disparage you. They may be disappointed in you, but their disappointment will help you to remember next time there are better ways to fight someone then to sink to that persons level. Trust yourself to make the right decision," she finished. She smiled at him and patted his cheek before turning around and walking back to her armchair. Harry stood there for a moment before making his decision. He returned to the bowl and placed the memory into it quickly before he could change his mind.
The others had finished their tale so he continued with his own.
"In my dreams getting from the corridor to the Hall of Prophecies was simple and had no real stops, turns, or detours. Point A to point B. But in reality…it was a bit harder. The doors were difficult because if you opened the wrong one then shut it the whole room rotated. All the doors looked the same, there were no identifying markers on the wall to tell you which one you'd just opened and shut. So we had to mark them ourselves with red X's. It took a few tries and I ruined my pocket knife trying to unlock one of the doors, but we finally found the right one.
"We travelled through a room and into the Hall of Prophecies. In my dream I went straight to row ninety-seven, so that's where we went. But when we got there Sirius and Voldemort weren't there. It was then that Ron saw my name on a little plaque under a glowing orb. So I picked it up. That's when the Death Eaters arrived." He stood up, but as he started to raise his hand to enter the bowl, Kreacher called for him.
"Master Harry? Young Master Teddy is needing you, sir," said the elf from the doorway. He was holding a whimpering bundle in his little arms.
"You guys go on ahead. I'd rather skip this one if you don't mind. I'll join you once Teddy calms down, okay?" the others reluctantly nodded their heads and entered the bowl. Sirius was last and gazed at the Pensieve hesitantly. He looked at Harry who had picked up the baby and was gently cooing to him. Harry looked up and saw Sirius watching him.
"I'm sorry Harry. I knew that by accepting Dumbledore's offer I'd be leaving you for a while. I just…didn't want to die yet. I knew that if I took his offer, I'd at least get a chance to see you again, maybe be here for you after the war was over. I didn't want to cause you more pain, but…" Sirius trailed off.
Harry walked over to his godfather and spoke. "Sirius, you did what you thought was right. You've had a hard life and I don't blame you for choosing to live rather than die. Maybe after these memories are over, you can show me your memory of that night."
"Yeah, I think I can do that," Sirius said with a crooked smile. He turned to the Pensieve.
"Sirius," Harry said stopping him from entering the bowl. "I…didn't really know my mum and dad so their 'deaths' left me with more of a what-could-have-been feeling, and I didn't miss them so much as I missed the idea of them. I'm sure that if the Dursleys had been kind to me, I wouldn't have wished for my parents so much growing up and wouldn't have been so willing for a replacement parent when you came along. You were the first real parent figure I had, someone who wanted me, treated me well and didn't like me for my name. Losing you was hard, I won't lie, harder than anything I've ever had to go through. But your 'death' was what pushed me to finish what I had to do. In a sense, it was necessary for me to complete my goal and end the war. So I hope you can understand why I say this, it's something that was very difficult for me to learn…You have to forgive yourself. The guilt will eat you alive if you don't. I don't blame you and I'm almost certain my parents don't either."
Sirius looked surprised for a moment before he nodded and smiled faintly. "I'll keep that in mind, kiddo," he said softly before entering the Pensieve.
Harry stared at the spot where Sirius had been for a moment and it was only Teddy's whimpering that drew him back to the present. Kreacher was still standing in the doorway so Harry asked him, "Did you feed and change him?"
"Yes Master Harry. The painting also sang to him for a while. Kreacher is not knowing what to do to comfort the babe," Kreacher said sadly.
"It's okay Kreacher. Sometimes Teddy just likes to be held and talked to," Harry said with a smile. Kreacher bowed slightly, since he knew Harry didn't like that, and left the room. Harry sat down and shifted Teddy so they could see face to face. Teddy sleepily gazed up into Harry's eyes and cooed to himself as he stuck his fist into his mouth. Harry smiled.
"You know Teddy, I can't wait until you start sleeping through the night," Harry sighed. He tapped the bottom of the chair with his wand and transformed it into a rocking chair and spent the next several minutes rocking and humming the latest Weird Sister's ballads to the baby. Slowly but surely Teddy's eyes closed and his fist fell limply onto his chest. Harry smiled at him and carefully stood up.
After putting the sprog in his cot, he returned to the drawing room. He took a deep breath and let out a huge sigh before entering the Pensieve.
Harry arrived just after Bellatrix tried to stun him and instead hit two orbs after Lucius deflected the spell. He watched as his parents and Sirius gaped at the younger version of himself. He overheard Sirius say, "Damn kid's got some balls talking about Voldie like that to my hag of a cousin." James chuckled half-heartedly. Harry smirked and decided to stand behind everyone to watch their reactions, since it was more interesting that way.
"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over."
Harry watched as his younger self stepped on Hermione's toes and Lucius' distracting scar speech.
"Hey, did he just say something to you Hermione?" asked Bill.
"Yes, you'll see in a moment what he said," she replied quickly.
Harry smiled at the intense look on Hermione's face as she relayed the message to the others while he and Lucius exchanged words. The other four took careful aim so the Death Eaters wouldn't notice them pointing their wands and then they waited.
"NOW!" memory-Harry shouted, then seconds later as soon as the curses and spells hit the shelves, he yelled "RUN!"
The wild chase through the Ministry lasted only several minutes, though when it was happening the first time it had felt like forever. Soon enough the six kids were together again. As they paired up to get to the exit they were discovered and chased back to the brain room. Luna was knocked out and thrown across the room and Harry decided to try and draw the Death Eaters to him by running the opposite direction and leaving Neville and Ginny to hopefully keep Luna, Hermione, and Ron safe. But as always his plan didn't work quite the way he'd planned.
"Accio Brain!" shouted Ron with a demented giggle.
"Yeesh," said George as the brain latched itself to Ron. Bill and Sirius chuckled.
"Even the Death Eaters stopped to watch," Bill said with a grin, which made Harry force a chuckle down to stay quiet.
Harry sprinted away and Hermione, Ginny, and Ron all perked up.
"This is the part where we don't know exactly what happened. Harry took off with Neville on his heels, and he never really said anything except the Prophecy broke and Sirius was killed by Bellatrix," Hermione said softly.
"I didn't go into detail," started Harry, which startled the group who hadn't known he was there, "Because it was one of the worst moments of my life. Just watch."
The next three minutes left the group staring in awe at Neville who, despite having a broken nose and other serious cuts and bruises as well as a wand that was not his, followed Harry and charged headlong into battle with five to one odds. When Bellatrix cursed Neville with the Torture curse the women in the group all whimpered and cried out.
"Oh Neville!" Ginny cried. She latched on to Harry's arm. "He never said anything! To be tortured like that by her of all people!" she shook her head back and forth, tears shining in her eyes.
Just then, the Order members arrived. The next five minutes went by in a blur. Sirius began fighting Bellatrix while Lucius attacked Harry. The Prophecy was broken and all the Death Eaters but Bellatrix were taken down and restrained.
"Sirius, when exactly were you swapped?" asked Harry.
"Before all of this. Actually it was before we even left Headquarters," Sirius replied. Harry and James looked at him with confusion, to which Sirius replied, "I'll explain later." They watched as Sirius laughed and then was hit with a Stunner and started to fall backwards through the veil. Harry shuddered just as his counterpart screamed and was held back by Remus. He closed his eyes and squeezed Ginny's hand hard enough to make her wince, though she'd never say anything to him.
Everyone had tears in their eyes watching the younger Harry's agony and denial. Minerva gave the older Harry a look, as the younger ran after the deranged witch. She knew roughly what might be coming next and she hoped the rest of the group held it together for their hero. She looked to her left and saw Sirius' face and moved to be next to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and he looked at her with the saddest puppy eyes she'd ever seen.
She smiled at him and he sighed.
"Am I a coward for wishing I'd not seen that?" he whispered to her. She shook her head slowly.
"I thought you were here to avenge my dear cousin!"
"What a bleeding bitch," Sirius muttered.
"Did you love him, little baby Potter?"
Everyone was watching Bellatrix with such hatred they didn't notice Harry jump out from behind the fountain.
"Crucio!" he shouted.
Everyone gasped and spun to look at Harry who was staring intently at himself and shaking slightly.
After a short moment Molly strode over to Harry and pulled him into a very tight hug and quietly whispered to him while everyone, eyes wide, reluctantly turned back to the memory.
"You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain – to enjoy it – righteous anger won't hurt me for long – I'll show you how it is done, shall I?"
Lily, James, and Sirius were all shaking with repressed anger. Arthur, Bill, and Minerva shared a look and the three of them each took one of the parents and Sirius and pulled them to the side and softly talked to them, slowly calming them down as the memory continued. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all huddled together and whispering, sending worried glances back towards Harry, who was still clutched in Molly's arms though he'd stopped shaking. George, Fleur, and Percy were watching the memory and were the first to catch sight of Voldemort.
As soon as his high, breathy voice spoke everyone went silent and focused again on what was going on.
"So you smashed my prophecy?"
Unconsciously, all ten people watching Harry's memory closed in around him, all within reach to lay their hand on his shoulder or back. This show of solidarity made Harry's heart glow and he knew, despite how hard the questions would be when it was all over, his friends and family loved him still no matter what.
"I have nothing more to say to you, Potter. You have irked me too often, for too long. Avada Kedavra!"
"NO!" Lily and James had both screamed. But before the spell reached him a statue leaped into the spells path. George, Ron, and Bill all cheered when they saw Dumbledore.
Harry had forgotten that he'd been in too much shock to move then. He wondered what would have happened if the spell had hit him then, in the Ministry, instead of two years later in the forest. He turned his mind back to the battle in front of him. Despite being furious with Dumbledore now, he was still in awe of his duelling capabilities.
Everyone had their mouths gaping as the two greatest wizards of their time battled it out in front of them. Spells whizzed past them back and forth, and though they couldn't actually feel the force behind the spells, they could see the effect they had on the room around them. Marble stone chipped off the walls in chunks. Pieces of the metal statues melted or simply evaporated leaving grainy dust behind when they were hit.
When Voldemort disappeared everyone breathed a momentary sigh of relief but seeing Harry tense up just as Dumbledore commanded he stay where he was made them pause. When the younger Harry crumpled to the floor and began writhing they all gasped in unison.
"Kill me know, Dumbledore … If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy…"
Harry had to admit, seeing himself speak those words and the red eyes replacing the green, creeped him out so much even he shuddered along with the group. But he breathed a sigh of relief when the red disappeared and the grief filled emeralds returned.
The group remained silent for the next several moments when all the Ministry workers arrived, along with Fudge. George gave a hearty guffaw when Dumbledore reamed the Minster out about chasing the wrong men and believing his own eyes for once. James and Lily both muttered something like 'serves him right' and 'self-righteous bastard'. Shortly after that the memory faded out and everyone returned to their seats in the drawing room.
No one spoke for several long minutes. James and Lily were sandwiching Harry on the sofa, touching him on his arms or rubbing the back of his head, while staring off into the distance frowning.
Finally, Bill cleared his throat. "Why did he stop possessing you? It seemed fairly sudden, him leaving," he said.
"Well, when Voldemort was possessing me, I was in horrible pain. It was worse than the Cruciatus. Anyway, all I could think about was if Dumbledore really did kill me to get rid of Voldemort, then I'd see Sirius and my parents again. Dumbledore said that my love and the pain I was feeling from Sirius dying was unbearable for Voldemort, so he chose to leave me and flee instead," Harry said calmly.
There was a long pause before Lily spoke.
"The Curse didn't work for you," she said softly. Harry looked down at his hands sitting in his lap.
"No. Like she said, righteous anger isn't the way that Curse gains its energy. You have to want to cause pain," he said.
"Well, I guess that's a good sign," said Hermione. "If even after seeing her kill Sirius, you couldn't gather enough hatred for her to hurt her with that spell, then I guess that's a good thing. Right?" she finished. Harry glanced at Minerva who raised an eyebrow at him.
He heaved a sigh before speaking. "Maybe then it was a good sign. Or maybe at fifteen, I just couldn't wield that kind of power. But at seventeen I could…and did." No one said anything for several minutes.
"What do you mean, Harry?" asked Lily.
"I…during the final battle I saw…" he hesitated. He knew the reason behind the second curse was not as sentimental as the first, and he wondered if they could forgive him for the first curse, would they forgive him the second as well. "I saw one of the Carrows' disrespecting Professor McGonagall and, what with all the stress I was dealing with, I guess I snapped and cursed him also. That time it worked better," he finished ducking his face down to avoid looking at anyone.
"Harry, no one is going to judge you for any of that. Just because you're the hero of the Wizarding world does not mean you aren't allowed to make mistakes. No one here is going to tell anyone about this, are we?" said Ginny firmly. Everyone quickly agreed. "See? We're your family. Maybe not by blood, but in every other way that counts. We're just glad you told us the truth."
"Yes, and since I know you wanted to go in order lets finish fifth year and head off to bed soon," said Hermione. James and Lily smiled at the two girls.
George raised his hand and gave the group a lopsided grin.
"Yes, George?" asked Harry with a chuckle.
"If the Prophecy broke in the Ministry, how'd you figure out what it said?" he asked.
"I was told by the person who it was originally spoken too, Dumbledore. He told me in his office about an hour after that last scene in the Ministry. I figured I would just tell you all about that instead of showing you. It's not one of my better moments," Harry mumbled.
"Harry mate, you just showed us a memory of you casting one of the worst spells in history on someone and told us of another time, and yet that's not your worst memory? What the hell happened in that office?" asked George in concern. Harry's face burned red as he mumbled.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" asked George.
"I trashed Dumbledore's office and screamed at him," Harry said quickly.
The Weasley's, Hermione, and Minerva all stared at Harry for a few seconds before all breaking into smiles. This left Harry (and his parents and Sirius) looking incredibly confused.
"Harry, do you not remember what happened less than two weeks ago?" asked Hermione. "When you found out about your parents and Sirius?" she prompted.
"Yes, I remember that, and believe it or not, I don't regret yelling at him then. I do regret trashing your office Professor," Harry said looking at Minerva.
"My dear young man, there is no need to apologize for that. It is completely understandable," she replied.
James looked at Harry and asked, "You make it a habit of trashing your professor's offices?" Everyone laughed at Harry's abashed blush.
Harry answered a few more questions and then explained what happened in the Headmaster's office. It didn't take him long to explain how he trashed the office then got to where Dumbledore explained about the Prophecy. He recited the Prophecy for everyone since he knew Bill, Percy, George, and Fleur couldn't possibly know what it said.
"The next day Fudge told the public Voldemort was alive and everyone realized Dumbledore and I hadn't been lying all that time. Umbridge was rescued by Dumbledore from the centaurs and placed in the infirmary in a catatonic stage, where the only way you could get a reaction from her was to make a clip-clop sound with your mouth like horse shoes. Hagrid came home, Ron and Hermione left the hospital, and I found the two way mirror in my trunk when I began packing. When I realized what it had been for and how if I'd have used it that night, I may not have caused Sirius' death, I threw it into the bottom of my trunk where it shattered. That's where it stayed until summer after my sixth year," Harry finished. He sighed.
Telling the tale of his fifth year had been exhausting. He checked his watch and realized it was nearly three in the morning.
"Well, it looks like we'll have to finish Sirius' side of the story tomorrow. It's way too late to begin more memories," he said as he rubbed his eyes. Before anyone could say anything, they all heard a loud cry coming down the hallway.
Kreacher arrived at the door holding a screaming Teddy. Harry leaped up and scooped the baby up into his arms.
"I'm going to say goodnight now, everyone. I'll see you all tomorrow," he said as he bounced the baby.
Everyone called goodnight as he left the room and headed upstairs.
"Oh Teddy, Teddy, Teddy. I really can't wait until you can sleep through the night."
a/n: Okay, I'm sorry this took so long. I only have the same excuse I've used before with memory chapters. It kicked my arse. I think I did the one part where Harry asked Minerva what he should do about the Crucio memory like 6 times...I hope I did that well enough. Another part that as pretty darn difficult was the quick scene with Harry and Sirius.
Sorry I didn't get to Sirius' memory of that night. This chapter was taking too long, so hopefully I can get another chapter done before classes start on the 22nd.
I've been dealing with some major issues lately. My second car in 2 years died on me while I was on vacation, and of course, then my dad's car died and our friend moved out of the house, so in actuality we lost 3 working vehicles in one week. And none of us have any money to get a new one any time soon. But I blogged all about that on my LiveJournal and HP Website. Links are on my profile if you want to read about my hell.
The only bonus about car issues is I'm stranded at home...with my computer. lol Thanks to Teufel1987 for betaing this chapter so quickly! Please review! I'm so close to a thousand reviews I can almost taste it!