Memory Loss (Harry Potter Drarry slash)

20: [And so the Tables Were Turned 9] Of Poisons and Fellytones

He looks at his son, his youngest since Blaise is dead, and wonders what Joz possibly could have done to change him that much, because this is not the same Timothy that Harry and Draco raised. Sure, he has always been a very troubled boy because of his ability to see and feel the future as well as the past, and because of the immense weight on his shoulders caused by his duties as a Time Manipulator, but none of that had ever weighed him down like this. He had always been able to smile and have fun, and he had always been a very pleasant child.

But now ... there is only pain left in him, a pain that Harry can relate to all too well. It is the same pain that weighs down his own heart—the pain of loss and the pain of awareness, but also the pain of one's actions. And if Harry's instinct can be trusted in this matter, he thinks that Timothy has done some really bad things under Joz's control.

Studying his son, Harry tries to figure out where it went wrong, when this started, but he cannot remember when Timothy started to turn into this emotionless robot.

He has succeeded to persuade Timothy into sitting down with him in the parlour, a room which Harry has not entered for more than eight years. There are too many memories that might be triggered by coming into this room, and it is still too painful to think about Draco and everything that he has lost. But he sits there for Timothy's sake, and maybe the fact that he is willing to sit in the parlour is what has made Timmy consent to this chat.

Harry chooses his words carefully. "What exactly is it that Joz has done to you?" he asks. "And what is her agenda? Do you know anything at all about her intentions, other than her wish to make the world a beautiful place again?"

The boy is silent for a very long while, and Harry almost believes that he has lost the ability to speak altogether. But then he opens his mouth. "She is sleeping," he says cryptically.

Harry frowns. "Sleeping? Does that mean that her hold on you isn't as strong as it usually is?"

"That is correct."

"So this is pretty much our only chance to figure out a way to free you?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Have you any idea how we're going to manage that?"

"I am afraid not. But we have two hours. Usually she likes to sleep for three hours in the middle of the day to collect her strength and recharge her powers. She has now been asleep for sixty-two minutes."

"Only two hours ... so we don't really have time to look up any spells ..."

Harry almost jumps when Timothy begins to laugh. It is the first sign of humanity and life that he has given him since he came home.

The boy shakes his head, and says, "And you of all people should need books to find useful spells? How many years have you fought the dark side now? Twenty-eight years, no? And you really think you need to rely on books?"

Harry stares at him with his mouth hanging open. "You're laughing ..."

Timothy abruptly stops when he realises that he is actually displaying emotion. "You are right, Harry—I am." He is silent for a few seconds. "Perhaps her hold on me is not as strong as I thought."

"Correct me if I'm wrong: You're aware of her influence on you, but you can't ignore it?"

"That is correct," Timothy says again.

"So all we need to do to fully free you of her spell is to eliminate the source of it. The necklace."

Timothy shakes his head. "Not just the necklace—you need to eliminate her. Only then will I be free. Are you prepared to kill your own daughter if it comes down to that, Harry?"