holding on {t.r.}

t e n

In 1992, Harry Potter sat in his bed with Tom Riddle's diary in his hands.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"It was Hagrid. Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago. Where's Hermione?" Harry asked in a rush, as if he had something even more important to say.

"In the common room."

"Come on," Harry encouraged, jumping off of his bed and rushing down the stairs. He quickly found Hermione, and hoped he wasn't the only one particularly intrigued by a strangely familiar name he heard Tom Riddle utter in the flashback. "Does the name Alexandra River sound familiar to you?"

"Alexandra River!" Melissa called, back in 1943. She approached her friend, trunk in one hand and owl cage in the other. "Did you really think you could get away with not saying goodbye?"

"I don't like that everyone is leaving," Alexandra huffed. "I should have thought twice before deciding to stay in a huge castle all alone."

"Avoiding it won't stop it from happening," Melissa stated. "Besides, you won't be alone. Some professors stay, and you'll have Tom."

"I'm sure he'll continue avoiding me," Alexandra frowned. "It's my fault he's mad anyway."

"Don't say-"

"Did Avery mention why Tom decided to stay last minute?" She asked, slightly changing the subject. "He's not the kind of person to make unplanned decisions."

"Maybe he did it because he knew it would bother you," Melissa joked. "Look, since you two will be alone, you have to swear-"

"I'll let you know if his behavior is concerning," Alexandra laughed. "I promise."

"Alright," Melissa smiled, placing her things on the floor. "I'll write you as much as I can."

Alexandra hugged her friend, pushing away her slight fear of being along for a short moment as she wished her friend the best for her summer holidays. Melissa did the same, jokingly wishing for her friend's survival as well.

Melissa was not only concerned that her friend could get hurt, but she worried that Alexandra's dreams would get much worse when she didn't have as many distractions. It was true that they were better when she spent her free time with Tom rather than by herself, but with Tom not speaking to her and no schoolwork to keep her busy, she could easily go mad all over again.

What Melissa didn't know, however, was that Alexandra had been keeping busy by studying astronomy. She had become increasingly interested in constellations. More specifically, the Draco constellation.

Ever since Alexandra had such a strong reaction to the word 'Draco', she figured it must have somehow been of significant importance to her. She needed to know why, so she studied everything she could about the name and it's meaning. Unfortunately, she found nothing.

She didn't have a single idea for what could be causing her sudden unnatural spike in emotions until she shifted her studies back to time. With her dreams hovering in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but relate them to what she read about the known dangers of traveling through time. For the first time, things began to make sense.

"I'm not from here, am I?" Alexandra desperately asked Dumbledore, hoping he could help her or at least make her forget everything that's been torturing her for so long. "This isn't where I'm supposed to be."

"I'm afraid I don't-"

"Save it," Alexandra stated angrily, not caring about whether or not she insulted the man. "You've known what's wrong with me this whole time, but you did nothing to help me. Instead you've been studying me. Seeing how much I remember, or how much I forget. I should've seen it from the beginning."

"Miss River-"

"I said save it," she interrupted once again, becoming more and more angry by the minute. His calm, do-no-wrong demeanor let her know that she was right. She began to cry, her chest hurting from holding in her sobs. "I'll never believe you're a good man. If you were, you would have never let a little girl throw her life away, no matter the reason. You would have never put me through all of this pain."

Dumbledore decided not to intervene, so Alexandra continued.

"I'm sure, by now, it's been determined that I'm stuck here. Not that I expect you to send me back if you had the choice. If you did, you would have done it at the proper time instead of leaving me for a world of suffering like you've always done," she cried, holding her head high despite her world falling apart all over again. "I just need to know how to stop this. I'd rather forget everything than remember it all with no hope of getting it back. You can obliviate-"

"I'm afraid that is too dangerous," Dumbledore protested, being the one to interrupt this time.

"It's much more dangerous if I do it myself, and I'm willing to," Alexandra persisted. "There's a reason I'm stuck here; a reason you don't want me to remember my true life. You need me here, and I can't do what you wish with one foot still in the future. You know exactly which memories don't fit, so get rid of them. You've risked my life for your benefit before, what's stopping you from doing it again?"

Alexandra continued to sob, hope filling her heart as Dumbledore gave in and brought his hand to the side of her head. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as Dumbledore carefully extracted every old memory he possibly could without causing any damage. A string of green light ran from his hand to the side of her head, while his other hand reached for one of the very familiar glass spheres he held in his office. Carefully, while her eyes remained closed, he transferred the memories into the sphere, keeping yet another secret from the girl.

Removing the memories was difficult for a number of reasons. In order to be truly successful, he would need to erase the memories of Tom, Melissa, and Madame Lilith as well, but that seemed impossible. Instead, he has to be very careful, making sure she remembers having the visions, but not what those visions were, or that they were truly memories. Furthermore, Alexandra and her friends all have to be convinced that the memories faded away on their own.

The final step, although Dumbledore is completely unaware of it, is to ensure that Alexandra finds a love great enough to trump the love that still lives deep within her. If that does not happen, then her visions will surely return, and they will not be as subtle.

"I'm glad to hear the visions have been fading away," Dumbledore smiled, returning to his seat behind his desk. Alexandra slowly opened her eyes, not remembering why they were closed in the first place. "If you could hand me your journal... It will ensure those visions will not return."

Alexandra hesitated, taking her journal out of her bag and handing it to him. Her face felt wet, and she was surprised to notice she had been crying.

"I understand your worries. It is never good to be alone, especially during hard times," Dumbledore stated, noticing her confusion. "But you show promising improvement. I expect you to be fully healed very soon, and your worries will wash away."

"Do you know what caused them? The visions?"

"I'm afraid that was my fault," Dumbledore sighed, building his next lie. "An unexpected side effect of the love potion. As you know, taking a love potion alters one's mind; their thoughts and, more importantly, their feelings. It seems, to me, that the potion had more significant effects on your mind. Perhaps because you took it in a state of vulnerability. It's the only explanation."

Alexandra felt uneasy, still not trusting a bone in his body but being thankful that the visions seemed to be going away. She felt much less emotionally strained, and she wished to stay that way. Unless they came back, she wasn't going to ask any questions, and she definitely wasn't going to mention this conversation to Tom.

Meanwhile, in 1992, Hermione was having a difficult time answering Harry's question.

"Alexandra River?" She asked. Harry nodded. She looked at Ron, hoping he could help her remember the name, but he just shrugged. "No, the name isn't familiar. Should it be?"