The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow II » Harry Potter

2.33 | A Trip Down Memory Lane

This chapter is dedicated to AnonymousPerson653 Thank you for all the great comments! ❤️

-x-

Later that evening, Margaret found herself in the Headmaster's office again, this time with Harry. The Headmaster was back in his eccentric, bright purple robes, complete with a pointy wizard hat that had bright yellow stars on it.

"You have had a busy time while I have been away," Dumbledore was saying to Harry. "I believe you witnessed Katie's accident."

"Yes, sir. How is she?"

"Still very unwell, although she was relatively lucky. She appears to have brushed the necklace with the smallest possible amount of skin: There was a tiny hole in her glove. Had she put it on, had she even held it in her un-gloved hand, she would have died, perhaps instantly. Luckily Professor Snape was able to do enough to prevent a rapid spread of the curse-"

"Why him?" asks Harry quickly. "Why not Madam Pomfrey?"

"Professor Snape knows much more about the Dark Arts than Madam Pomfrey, Harry. Anyway, the St. Mungo's staff is sending me hourly reports, and I am hopeful that Katie will make a full recovery in time."

"Professor," begins Harry, after a short pause, "did Professor McGonagall tell you what I told her after Katie got hurt? About Draco Malfoy?"

"She told me of your suspicions, yes," says Dumbledore, withdrawing a fresh bottle of silver memories from within his robe pockets and uncorking it with a touch of his wand.

"And do you-?"

"I shall take all appropriate measures to investigate anyone who might have had a hand in Katie's accident," Dumbledore tells him calmly. "But what concerns me now, Harry, is our lesson."

Margaret watched Harry sink back into his seat, trying to hide his annoyance. She knew he was right in feeling resentful after to so many unanswered questions when Dumbledore had promised to tell him everything.

However, impatience was never the key, and Margaret found herself on Dumbledore's side for once - Harry should focus on these lessons, they were incredibly important and he would need to piece together all the clues later on.

The Headmaster poured the vial of memories into the pensieve.

"You will remember, I am sure, that we left the tale of Lord Voldemort's beginnings at the point where the handsome Muggle, Tom Riddle, had abandoned his witch wife, Merope, and returned to his family home in Little Hangleton. Merope was left alone in London, expecting the baby who would one day become Lord Voldemort."

"How do you know she was in London, sir?"

"Because of the evidence of one Caractacus Burke," Dumbledore replies, "who, by an odd coincidence, helped found the very shop whence came the necklace we have just been discussing."

He swilled the contents of the Pensieve with the tip of his wand - Up out of the swirling, a silvery mass arose: a little old man revolving slowly in the Pensieve, appearing as a ghost but much more solid, with a thatch of hair that completely covered his eyes.

"Yes, we acquired it in curious circumstances. It was brought in by a young witch just before Christmas, oh, many years ago now. She says she needed the gold badly, well, that much was obvious. Covered in rags and pretty far along . . . Going to have a baby, see. She says the locket had been Slytherin's. Well, we hear that sort of story all the time, 'Oh, this was Merlin's, this was his favourite teapot,' but when I looked at it, it had his mark all right, and a few simple spells were enough to tell me the truth. Of course, that made it near enough priceless. She didn't seem to have any idea how much it was worth. Happy to get ten Galleons for it. Best bargain we ever made!"