Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Student of Memories ❯ cryptic allegiance ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

After Harry managed to change, he was led to an empty room, at the end of the hall, where he gratefully collapsed into one of the overstuffed chairs.

“Next time someone decides to make me disappear for three hours, I need to ask that they allow me a chair.” He said, sighing heavily.

A chuckle from the chair opposite him, startled him into looking up.

“I see you've met young Martin.” Prof. Dumbledore said, from across the coffee table.

Prof. Dumbledore was drinking from a teacup, before setting it back onto the table.

“Prof. Dumbledore?” he asked, quietly. The man nodded. “You hired Martin, didn't you?”

“Yes, actually. You see, in order for him to reach his seventh year in schooling, he needs to transfer out, while completing one… job, shall we say?”

“You didn't... he wasn't hired to protect me, was he?”

“Yes, to an extent. Although, at to his main purpose for being here, I can not say.”

“You brought a Memory student, into the English wizarding community?” a voice, sounding very similar to Mr. Fudge said, from behind him. “Do you have any idea how dangerous it could be, were You-Know-Who to get his hands on him?”

Harry resisted the urge to move his neck at all, after using it so much, while past the point of utter exhaustion.

“It's quite impossible Cornelius.” Dumbledore told him, while calmly taking another drink from his tea.

“And why exactly is that Albus?” Fudge asked, using Dumbledore's first name.

“Because, I am currently the keeper of the little secret of who the Memory student is.”

A slow smile began to appear on Harry's face, as Cornelius Fudge began to sputter.

“Besides, if I am correct, there may already be Memory students working for Voldemort.”

“Y-yes, but, WHAT!?!?” Cornelius stuttered, dropping something that shattered upon impact. “Not only are you bringing in muggles, and hiring a Memory student, but Voldemort may also have Memory students in his employ?”

“Technically… we can't really be sure the Memory student we hired will remain loyal to us?”

“W-W-WHAT?!?!” Cornelius shrieked.

“Careful Cornelius. Remember your blood pressure.” Dumbledore told him, sipping from his cup. Harry could make out; a small smile forming that was just barely visible from behind the rim of the cup.

“WHY wouldn't he remain loyal to us?!?! He's on Ministry payroll, which is a great achievement when you consider they charge an arm and a leg to begin with.”

“If he wishes to graduate early, I have it on good authority, that one or both sides involved during their sixth year, will suffer.”

“Albus, I need to know, now, who this Memory student is!” Cornelius demanded, coming into view. He was glaring daggers down at Dumbledore, where he sat.

“I'm afraid, Min. Fudge, that certain promises have to be kept. One of them being that I would not tell.”

Cornelius Fudge looked as if he were going to remove Albus's head, from his shoulders. Instead, he decided merely stomping from the room would be better.

Harry was facing down. So many things had seemed funny today. Hilarious.

The last thing he wanted to do now, was to start; chuckling, giggling, laughing, or even to smirk. That would be rather impolite, to say the very least.

Glancing up, briefly, he decided, that, yes. It had been a good idea to keep his face down.

“Did I say something wrong?”

This time, he couldn't help but look up. Prof. Dumbledore's face was the perfect mask of ignorance, and innocence. Slowly, he began to chuckle, before, it became full blown laughter.

When Dumbledore decided to let out a chuckle, Harry was gasping for air. The lack of oxygen had cut off his laughter rather well. He didn't stop wearing the smirk though.

“Are you ready to start listening again Harry?”

Nodding, he tried to control the urge to laugh, a simple smirk now gracing his face.

“Have you been finding things…. Excessively funny lately Harry?” Albus, asked, more out of curiosity then anything else.

Harry nodded a little. Things were much funnier… not excessively so, but they were.

Slowly, Prof. Dumbledore pulled his wand from inside his robes.

“Revel Incantatum” Dumbledore said quietly, waving the wand at Harry.

Harry suddenly felt the extreme urge to laugh. Loudly. The sounds of it filled the entire room, he had been laughing so hard.

While he didn't hear Dumbledore's next spell, he felt the effects rather quickly.

Slowly, it began to die. Nothing was funny. No urge to laugh, chortle, or even chuckle. Just the need to breathe deeply, and regain lost oxygen.

“What…. Was that?” Harry gasped, in between breaths.

“Someone cast a simple spell on you. I'm afraid, I, temporarily made things worse.” Dumbledore admitted, by way of an apology.

“What was the spell?” Harry asked, after finally catching his breath. He was still breathing heavily, but he could talk without gasping for air.

“While I cannot name the spell, it is meant to keep someone from feeling sadness, or despair.”

Sirius. It was meant to keep him from thinking about Sirius, in the same manner he had been doing for the past few weeks. But why-

“Martin did it, didn't he?”

“That is… likely.” Dumbledore replied.

It was…… very confusing, to say the least, how he felt about this. Betrayed, came to mind, but he just barely knew Martin.

“Will he be going to school?”

“Yes, although I cannot tell you what his name will be. Or even if he will have the same appearance.”

Harry nodded, remembering the African and the tall, severe looking gentleman from the Human Rights department.

“Harry, there is something else.” Dumbledore added, waiting for Harry to look up before continuing. “What I told Minister Fudge is correct. Martin may, or may not, help us as we need him to.

“The students at his school are taught to manipulate everything to their advantage. Trust, loyalty, love, and hatred are tools in getting what they need, done.”

********

This felt… wrong.

Where was she? She had been falling before, but now….

All around her was dark. She wasn't standing on any surface she could see, but… she was upright.

An electrical crackle could be heard, low, and constant.

Slowly, she reached out, and touched… nothing. There was nothing around her. She was nowhere, and yet… she was somewhere.

Where was she? Why was she here? She had been trying to sleep, and then, she rolled over… and she started falling.

She didn't know why or when she had, but she started crying.

It felt as if the darkness was closing in on her, suffocating her.

---------------------------

A thin brown cord was slowly being wrapped around her throat, as she lay in bed.

He wouldn't ever hurt her, not after all he had helped her to experience.

A lump was in her throat. Or was it the cord? She reached behind her, gently feeling around her neck.

There was a ring on the cord! A ring! Could this be… was he going to ask her now?

Looking up, she saw his eyes. He was smiling at her. She was kneeling in front of him, and he was smiling down at her.

He rested his hands on her head, before slowly letting them slide down, until his hands came to the ring.

He WAS! HE WAS!! She thought, tears coming to her eyes.

Then, the ring was twisted.

She couldn't breath! What is he doing?! Why is he doing this to me?!?!

I've always done whatever he wanted! Everything he wanted!

She looked up at his face, to see him smiling down at her.

---------------------------

She shuddered, and the darkness shook.

She could see the electricity now. It was crackling, all around her, for as far as she could see.

Great, purple sparks dotted the darkness, like stars in the sky.

“Miss, please, you can't be here.”

She shuddered again, and there was no longer black.

The bits of purple energy now dotted a red sky, filled with gray clouds.

Gently, arms wrapped around her from behind-

The garrote!

She struggled, trying desperately to get away. Wanting to be anywhere but here.

“STOP!!” the voice said, commanding.

She stilled instantly, not wanting to incur the wrath of the one with the voice. She was still shuddering, still scared, but that had to do with the fact that, no matter what happened, if she did something wrong or not, there would always be pain.

Slowly, the arms retreated, before pulling her into a protective hug.

She didn't struggle, but this still felt….

Where there would be someone, there was an empty space. She was burying her face in someone's chest, definitely male, but she couldn't see him.

“I'm sorry if I've frightened you. It's just, you're in a very sensitive place right now. It can get very painful for me.”

“Where am I?”

“I will tell you that, after you tell me how you got here.”

“I don't… I don't know. I was just trying to get some sleep at the Leaky Cauldron.”

“You are still at the Leaky Cauldron, and you are asleep young Padawan.”

A small giggle escaped her.

“This isn't a Star Wars movie.”

“No, it isn't Padawan.” He said, a smile evident in his voice. “But when it comes to jedi mind tricks, you still have much to learn.”

When the meaning of that sunk in, she was furious.

“You. You're the reason I'm here. You're the Memory Student.”

“Yes I am. But I'm not the reason you're here.” When she tried to get away, he held her tight. Not painfully so, but it was obvious she wouldn't get away.

“Please, just let me wake up. Don't make me a prisoner in my own mind.”

“You aren't in your mind,” He told her, while gently brushing her hair. “you're in mine.”

“In your mind?”

“Yes. Which is why it was so painful. I could wander through your mind at will, without leaving a single footprint. You though, Padawan, couldn't breathe in here without letting me know.”

“Why am I here? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, if I did. Please, I promise, I won't do it again.”

Gradually, the arms pulled away from her. She looked around, but couldn't see anything.

Is he going to punish me now?

She lowered her head, offering up her hands in the classic dog, begging position.

“Please. No pain.”

“You have done nothing deserving of pain… or punishment for that matter.”

“Then… what?”

“I need you to willingly let me bind your mind.”

“Bind my, but, you said, you told me I wouldn't be punished.”

“Remember what I said about footprints?”

“Yes.” She said, weakly. Things could still turn out badly for her after all.

“You aren't yet ready to deal with the wonders, and, the disasters that lie in the human mind.”

“…Will this affect my magic?”

“No it won't. If, and when, you are ready to learn, I will remove the bindings. I will teach you whatever you wish. But right now…. You have no idea what kind of pain, and misery you can cause with this.”

“Will this happen again?”

“Not after I bind you. Just your normal dreams. Trust me, please. I have no reason to want to harm you.”

“Other people… have hurt me without reason.”

“Yes they have, and for that, I am sorry. From here, I can see you are truly undeserving of the harm they caused, but please. If I were a normal person, you could have crippled me. If I were a pregnant woman, you could have killed my child. Trust me, please.”

“Alright.”

A hand gently poked at her forehead, and she moved away.

“Please.”

She held still, trying to calm herself. Gently, she felt something poking her forehead, before passing through, into her.

“Will I remember this?”

“What?”

“Feeling safe, with a guy? Will I remember that?”

“Yes, you will Padawan. You will remember everything.”

There was a quiet snip, before she felt herself drawing away. Away from, everything.

********

“HERMIONE, wake up!” she said, shaking her.

Her friends eyes popped open, and she stared blankly up at Ginny.

“Hermione, it was just a dream Hermione. Please, be okay.”

Gently, Hermione pulled her adopted sister close, crying into her shirt.

“I'm okay Ginny. Please, just hold me close right now.”

Hopefully, one day she would be ready.

********

I hope so too, young Padawan.