The Werewolf's Child

The Pensieve

It was a peaceful day at Spinner's End. The sitting room was turned into a kind of hospital wing, where Ron and Hermione dozed and drank their potions, with Harry watching anxiously beside them. Draco and Dudley took charge of Gavin, and retreated with him to the greenhouse where there was room for him to run and jump. Amanda attached herself to Remus and ghosted after him as he cared for the injured and cooked in the kitchen. She was a good helper, quiet and attentive, her eyes wide, taking in all that was happening.

When Remus went out to the greenhouse about noon to tend to the plants he found that Dudley and Draco had been busy. They'd cleared out the unused, back half of the large structure and attached a couple of primitive bunks to the wall, using old boards they'd found lying about and, Remus was sure, a good dose of magic. They were using a bunch of old wooden boxes and some more boards, to create a divider, walling off the crude bunkhouse they'd made at about waist height. The coal stove glowed cherry red. Gavin swung from a rope swing they had attached to the high central beam.

"You keep taking in new people," Draco said to Remus, dryly. "You're going to need some place to put them."

By evening Hermione was up and about and Ron was able to sit up groggily and drink some broth. Draco and Dudley stayed camped out in the greenhouse. "I've no desire at all to sit around socializing with Potty and the Weasel," Draco said, disdainfully. Dudley too, seemed relieved to avoid being forced to interact with his cousin. Remus made an enormous pot of bean and bacon soup, and a tray of cornbread. Sev arrived home with several Hogwarts issue squashy purple sleeping bags. They reminded Remus painfully of his own youth. He and his friends had nicked several similar ones from school, and they had been kept in the attic of his parents house for use during marauderly sleep overs of long ago.

"I need to speak to Potter," Sev announced, stepping out of the floo and depositing the sleeping bags on the sitting room floor. He held a bulky, heavy looking box in his other hand. "Alone," he added, looking at Ron and Hermione meaningfully.

"He's not going anywhere alone with you," growled Ron, with surprising energy, from where he lay on the sofa with a huge bandage around his head.

Sev looked around the room, where three teens glared at him with open hostility.

"Remus can come," Sev declared, and headed for the stairs. "Come along, Potter, I'm not looking forward to this any more than you are."

                                                                               *********

In the box was Dumbledore's pensieve.

Sev set the pensieve in the middle of the bed. Remus and Harry sat down on either side of it. They watched, solemnly as Sev got out his wand and started pulling wispy, grey strands of memory out of the side of his head. He placed them carefully in the stone basin. He poked at it occasionally and images would swirl up from the grey mist of memories for a second and then melt back in; a young girl flying from a swing, looking beautiful and free, James Potter, handsome and dashing, Dumbledore, looking like an old man, worried and bent, Remus as a teenager, followed by Harry himself, as an eleven year old boy.

At last Sev straightened and looked at Harry. "What I am about to show you is highly personal. Remus knows most of it all ready. I know you will share this with Granger and Weasley, and well, that can't be helped. But I would appreciate it deeply if you would refrain from telling anyone else."

Harry looked at Sev and nodded once. Sev took Remus' hand, and then took a deep breath in, as if he were about to dive into cold water. Remus was reminded, vividly, of Harry diving into the forest pool to retrieve Gryffindor's sword. Sev and Harry looked each other in the eye and then, wordlessly they all lowered their heads into the grey mist.