40 Days

December 6, 1997

I sat in front of him on the floor while he sat behind me on the sofa braiding my hair, his hands moving expertly now as he parted my locks.

"So you saw it?" I asked.

"Mhmm. Well, I know I did. I don't remember it any longer, really."

"What?"

"I removed the memories."

My mind remembered the day almost two weeks ago as I had come out of the tent and spotted Harry not far away. Harry's wand had been at his head pulling out a silvery whisp before casting it off. "How does it work?"

"When you pull a memory to share with others through a pensieve there are variations on the spell to extract the memory. Dumbledore and Snape taught me the different variations. You can make a copy of your memory to share, you can pull out the memory leaving the knowledge you gain behind, or you can remove it completely - similar to obliviation except there is no possibility of reversal."

"So that spell you were doing two weeks ago..."

"Yes. Since I learned that spell, I've been removing those memories as I get them." He laughed, his hands busily twisting my hair into the braid. "Tom is actually capable of shagging someone."

"How come you never said anything before?"

"I told you I can see into his mind sometimes. Should I have gone into his torture methods or shagging technique?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Have you seen anything else recently? Something that might help us?"

He was quiet for a long minute as he continued my braid before finally answering. "No."

Something about that tone made me hesitate. When he finished, I turned to face him, reaching up to card my fingers through his long hair. "You still want to find the other horcruxes and destroy the locket, right?"

He looked away from me, not responding, and my heart sank. I needed his help. "Harry, you know what will happen to me if we don't defeat him?"

"Nothing will happen to you. I'll make sure of it."

"They'll kill me."

The glassware on the table burst into pieces, but neither of us paid attention. Harry turned back to me, his long hair falling forward to brush my face. "I won't let anything happen to you."