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The Memory Box | ||||
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Category: Post-OotP Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 7 Summary: Something doesn't seem right at Hagrid's hut, but when Harry and Ginny go to find out what it is, they discover something unexpected. Hitcount: Story Total: 4268 |
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A/N: Don't worry, Down Came the Sky is still being written. This is a short one-shot that I wrote for the hpgw_ficafest. The challange was: use these three ingredients: "That doesn’t go there!"—Invisibility cloak—a memory or vision of a baby crying. I cheated slightly and used the phrase "That doesn't go there!" without an exclamation point, but oh well ;). Thanks to hermy189 for giving this a read over. The Memory Box It was a sudden crack! that jolted Harry’s concentration from his essay. His eyes shot to the window, which still seemingly vibrated with the sound as he let his vision rake over the quiet grounds of Hogwarts. “What was that?” Ginny Weasley, Ron’s younger sister, stood at the top of the dormitory stairs, peering out the window, squinting as she looked around. Harry shrugged and pushed himself up off his chair to get a better look through the window. The grounds stood stationary while a slight breeze ominously rustled the trees and died, as if swallowed by the stillness. Ginny lightly padded down the stairs and approached the window, staring tensely as if something secret would pop out from behind the trees at any moment. He could hear her shallow breathing near his ear. “Strange,” she finally said, puncturing the balloon of uneasy silence that surrounded them. It made Harry’s ears ring. Harry pressed his palm to the window, thinking hard at what would cause such a disturbance as he felt Ginny back away. And, as if it was destined to be Harry’s mystery, a barely audible crash came from Hagrid’s hut. His heart began thudding, threatening to bruise his chest, and he narrowed his vision on Hagrid’s hut. It, however, appeared undisturbed save the dwindling stream of smoke drifting up from the chimney. “D’you reckon he’s okay?” Harry was startled and he craned his head around to see that Ginny was standing behind him, staring fixedly out the window. There was a fearful edge in her voice. “I’ll go and see,” Harry replied, distancing himself from the window. “I’m going with you.” “What? You don’t have to–” “I want to.” Harry turned his attention to the window again, feeling a nervous quiver in his abdomen at the sight of Hagrid’s eerily still hut. “Let’s go then,” he said, moving toward the portrait hole. He felt the shock of cold fingers grip his forearm and he turned to Ginny in question. “It’s too late to go out on the grounds–we should probably use the Marauder’s Map.” Harry shivered and gave her a quick nod, bolting up the stairs to his dormitory to retrieve both the map and his invisibility cloak. Ginny’s mouth fell open when she saw the shimmering, silver fabric folded up in Harry’s arms. “No wonder you get away with so much,” she smirked. Harry grinned weakly at her and unfolded the map, muttering the incantation under his breath. Ginny calmly followed him out of the portrait hole when it appeared all the authority figures were sufficiently out of their path and they made their way silently to the entrance of the castle while Harry continually checked the map. “We should probably put this on,” Harry said quietly when the reached the edge of the grounds. He turned to her, suddenly feeling awkward, and spread the cloak over them. He felt Ginny step in back of him, gripping the outside his forearms with her cold fingers. “You lead,” she whispered. Harry swallowed and began walking forward. He felt Ginny shift her fingers and he shivered again. “Your fingers are freezing.” “I have bad circulation,” she muttered back. “You should feel my toes and nose.” The air outside hung around them in a curtain of coldness — the night was windless with the last bit of winter cutting into the early March air. Harry heard Ginny suck in a shivering breath as they continued their slow pace down the grassy slope. He understood the feeling; he too felt like his lungs might squeeze shut at any moment and he felt quite foolish for not bringing any sort of cloak, or even a jumper. He stopped abruptly as they reached one of the windows of Hagrid’s hut and felt Ginny lightly bump into him. “Sorry,” he murmured as Ginny’s hands left his arms. “S’okay,” she mumbled back. “Why d’you stop?” “Maybe we should look in first,” he replied, grabbing Ginny’s arm to pull her up to the window with him. She shivered. “Your fingers are cold too.” Harry adjusted the cloak and peered in. As much as Harry expected it, it still disconcerted him that the hut was empty. “Where is he?” Harry wondered aloud, pressing his nose to the glass as if it would give him a better view. Ginny didn’t respond, but he could hear her breathing heavily beside him. “What’s that?” she finally said, pushing herself up on her tiptoes. “What?” Harry could feel her breath on his cheek. It came in fast, humid spurts and was unlike anything he had felt before. He shivered for reasons other than the permeating cold. “That. On the table.” Ginny’s voice was close to his ear. Harry shook his head and squinted at the table. “What on the table?” His table’s pretty full–” He halted as Ginny’s fingers gripped his arm again and she pointed across his line of vision to a strange looking box that lay on the table with thin silvery squares littered around it. “Hagrid has a Memory Box.” “What’s a Memory Box?” "I wonder why he has one–those are something sentimental old witches usually keep, but they’re completely out of fashion now…” Ginny continued as if Harry hadn’t said a thing. “But what’s a Memory Box?” Harry repeated, tentatively reaching out and placing his hand on her arm. “It’s sort of like a scrap book,” Ginny replied, grabbing Harry’s sleeve and tugging him toward the front door. “But without any pictures.” “With out any–what?” Harry asked, confused. Ginny shot Harry an anxious look as they reached the front door and she gingerly put her hand on the knob. “Open it,” Harry urged and Ginny gripped the handle, pushing the door open and leading him inside. Harry tossed the cloak aside and watched as Ginny approached the table and curiously began examining the silvery slips. “It looks like he hasn’t finished putting it together,” she observed, opening the hinge of the box. “But he’s already put some memories in.” “How can you tell?” Harry questioned as he approached her. Ginny wordlessly held up a silver square which displayed a wispy, embossed figure of a baby dragon emerging from an egg. “It’s like a pensive,” Harry breathed, touching his finger to the surface to see if it had a similar sensation. Ginny looked at him quizzically and picked up another silver square. Harry peered over her shoulder and felt all at once felt his stomach contract at the embossed image: it was a familiar house reduced to ruins. Ginny stared at him with worry as he snatched the slip from her hands and peered closely at it, feeling himself become overwhelmed with curiosity. “Can we go into them?” he asked, trying to keep the quiver from his voice. “No. These memories come to you,” Ginny replied softly as she ran her fingers over the unassembled box. She picked up a strangely shaped rod and began examining it. “Do you know how everything goes?” Harry asked, moving closer to Ginny so that he could peer more closely at the box. She shrugged. “Mum has one, but I’ve never seen it taken apart.” Harry picked up another oddly shaped metal rod and turned it over in his hands. “What does this do?” “You hang the memories from it.” Ginny took the rod from his hand and wedged it between two pegs in the box. “We have to say the incantation and hang the memory slip from the bar.” Harry felt the pace of his heart quicken and he attempted to attach the memory slip to one of the tiny hooks on the rod, but couldn’t get it to hang. “No…Harry…you need a hanger… Harry!” Ginny growled in frustration. “Where’s the hanger?” Harry asked eagerly, picking up a smaller piece of metal on the table to examine it. Ginny sighed. “Let’s finish assembling the box first.” “Right,” Harry replied, picking up another thin spiraling metal piece that didn’t appear to fit anywhere and attempted to find a place it would slide into. He let out a huff of frustration as the piece failed to fit into one of the holes and, thoroughly irritated, he jammed it against the opening. “That doesn’t go there,” Ginny said, sounding as if she was masking amusement. She gently reached out and pulled the spiral rod from Harry’s hands. “I’ll do it since I’ve seen one of these before.” Harry watched her examine the box, lightly testing the rod in different holes, until she found one where the rod easily inserted in the bottom of the box. Her tongue poked out, touching her upper lip as she picked up another, smaller rod and maneuvered it into an empty space. A lock of her hair fell in front of her vision and Harry absently reached out to tuck it behind her ear. She paused, looking at him oddly and he shrugged, looking away quickly so that she wouldn’t see the blush staining his cheeks. “Did it!” she exclaimed, setting the box back down on the table. She picked up the memory slip and attached a tiny metal clip to the top, which Harry assumed to be a hanger, and hung the memory on the rod. Harry held his breath as she muttered memoriter. In a fine, silvery and almost ghostlike mist of the image of ruins rose around Harry and Ginny. An artificial sound of wind hummed in Harry’s ears and was punctuated by the faint sound of a crying baby. Harry felt all at once nervous, yet reckless…he couldn’t quench the insatiable curiosity welling up inside him. “Can we go inside?” Harry asked, walking through the wispy rubble to the illusion of the crumbled front door. He heard the tinny sound of heavy footsteps as Hagrid’s lumbering frame emerged, appearing ghostlike amid the memory. Ginny whispered a “no” quite close to his ear. He didn’t turn around, but instead watched Hagrid push past the damaged front door and entered what was left of the house. The image shifted so that they seemed to be traveling with Hagrid inside. Harry shoved his shaking hands in his pockets. “We can only go where the person who copied their memories goes–” Ginny continued. “Hagrid found me…that night,” Harry interrupted, feeling entranced. The thrill of reliving the experience shook him inwardly and he watched in rapt terror as the cries of the baby Harry knew to be himself grew louder. A door inside the house swung open to reveal a screaming baby sitting at the foot of a destroyed bed with a fresh cut like lightening on his forehead. Ginny sucked in her breath. Above the baby stood a young, handsome man with longish dark hair, staring in horror at a figure behind the bed. Harry squinted at it and realized it was the crumpled form of his mother. “That’s my mother,” Harry whispered in awe, “and Sirius. He found me first.” He idly noticed Ginny’s hand spread over his back, rubbing it in soothing circles. Sirius looked from baby Harry seemingly straight into Harry’s eyes, causing him to feel like the wind was momentarily knocked out of him. “Should I take him?” Sirius’s voice was higher in its youth, yet hoarse, as if he’d been weeping. “Dumbledore sent me to get him,” Hagrid’s voice rumbled in response. “T-take my motorcycle then. It’ll get you to him faster.” His voice cracked and he turned away, pressing the back of his arm against his eyes. Baby Harry released a particularly loud wail and Sirius reached down to pick him up, touching the lightening cut affectionately. Harry started to feel nauseous. Hagrid reached his enormous arms out for the baby and Sirius pressed a light kiss on baby Harry’s cheek before handing him over. “I want to go,” Harry mumbled, stopping the motion of Ginny’s hand. “Can you turn it off?” “Oh, of course–yes–” Ginny stammered. Hagrid and Sirius exchanged some more words as a painful swell grew in Harry’s chest. “Please, end it,” he choked, closing his eyes. “Okay…I think I have it,” Ginny replied, her voice shaking slightly. Harry heard the clanking of metal and Hagrid’s voice fade, saying, “…safest with Aunt…” “Make it stop!” Harry exclaimed, covering his ears. He could hear the screams of his mother echoing in his head...see the piercing flash of bright green...see the graceful image of an older Sirius falling through the veil… “…since I’m his godfather,” Sirius’s voice rang softly as it disappeared all together. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to focus on the ache those words magnified. In a sudden rush, Hagrid’s hut felt perfectly still and Harry opened his eyes carefully, relieved that the memory was gone. He slowly dropped his hands from his ears, feeling very stupid that he letting Ginny see him that way. Mustering his courage, he turned around toward her and was startled so see tears streaks tracking down her face. He felt his resolve shaking again, much to his dismay, and he pulled the top of his shirt up to wipe off his face, willing himself to calm down. He was surprised when Ginny wordlessly reached up and pulled him down to her as she hugged him firmly. He had never felt such an embrace before. He pressed his forehead on her shoulder, feeling the frames of his glasses indent around his eyes, but slowly forgot the discomfort as he dwelt upon the feeling of her hands running up and down his back. “I would be curious, too,” she said softly in his ear. He heard her breath hitch. “That was horrible,” she choked. Harry made a soft noise in agreement and relished in the rhythmic feeling of her hands on his back and the light press of her body against his. Realizing where his thoughts were taking him, Harry took a breath and stepped back from Ginny, plopping into the nearest chair. “We never found out what happened to Hagrid,” he said dully. Ginny pursed her lips and sat herself in a chair near his, shrugging. “How can we find out?” Harry gave her a half smile and peered out the window as the bushes rustled. He narrowed his vision, his heart beating frantically again. “Ginny,” Harry said urgently, retrieving the cloak off the ground, “come here…quickly.” Ginny raised her eyebrows but quickened to his side, allowing him to cover them both with the cloak just as the door opened. Hagrid walked in, grumbling to himself, with his arms full of rocks. “…should know it bothers them…never listens…” he mumbled, dumping the arm load on the table. Harry grabbed Ginny’s wrist and pulled her toward the cracked door until they slipped out into the coldness once more. They walked a little way from his hut until Ginny spoke. “I should have known it was one of his creatures.” “I should have, too,” Harry replied, feeling oddly defeated. Ginny placed her hand lightly on his back to stop him. He turned around to face her and Harry was very aware that the invisibility cloak caused them to stand uncomfortably close. “I’m sorry,” Ginny said, resting her hand on his shoulder. Harry turned his head to stare at it, feeling a strange feeling well up at the simple, intimate gesture. He shrugged and blinked his eyes to regain control. “We all knew it happened,” he said tonelessly, dropping his head to look at the ground. “It can’t be easy to relive it though,” Ginny replied, her fingers tightening slightly on his shoulder. Harry shook his head. “We should get back into the castle,” he said, shrugging, and Ginny nodded as she removed her hand quickly. “Lead the way,” she said swiftly, turning Harry around. Harry frowned and moved forward as her fingers curled around the back of his forearms, however, this time he found he didn’t mind the chill. He pulled off the cloak when they got inside and tucked it under his arm, checking his watch. “We don’t have to be back in the Tower for another 40 minutes,” he said. Ginny nodded silently as they started climbing the stairs. Harry turned stole a glance at her as she slid her hand up the banister and absently tucked her hair behind her ear. He let his eyes fall to his feet and continued to climb in silence. They paused as they reached the next staircase and Ginny was staring at Harry in question. “What?” Harry asked. “I thought you were going to tell me something,” Ginny replied with a half shrug as she moved forward to the next staircase. “Oh. Er–” Ginny stopped on the third stair and turned around to look at him. Harry quickly climbed up to her level. Feeling daring, he smiled and lightly touched her arm. “I’m glad it was you–I mean–I’m glad that you were with me.” Ginny raised her eyebrows in disbelief, but Harry steeled himself to continue. “You, er–seem to know,” he finished lamely, wondering if he made any sense. Ginny smiled softly at him and clasped his hand in hers. “Thanks,” she replied. When she looked up from their hands, Harry felt his eyes anchor to hers and they stared at each other until the staircase shifted, causing them both to grip the banister for balance. Harry laughed nervously, and Ginny briefly followed suit until the staircase halted and they both clamored up. Harry was only aware that they had not let go of each other’s hands until they reached the next floor. Ginny must have realized it too, because she dropped her eyes bashfully to the ground and attempted to pull her hand out of Harry’s. Harry took a breath and tightened his hand around hers so that it couldn’t move. Ginny’s head snapped to up and she stared at him in amazement. Harry felt his mouth go dry and he smiled at her hoping she wanted to hold his hand too. He felt a rush of relief when she shifted her hand so that it felt comfortable in his as they continued forward. Though Harry had a barrage of thoughts flooding his head while his heart drummed in his chest and his breathing grew shallow, he could not bring himself to utter a word. He attempted to say something when they passed a row of empty classrooms, but only a squeak emitted from his throat, much to his embarrassment. They continued on and Harry cleared his throat, checking to see that his voice was in the right octave. “Ginny?” She stopped, turning slowly to face him, but didn’t release his hand. She had a light blush grazing her cheeks. “Yes?” “Maybe I fancy you.” His stomach turned over as he said the words and he watched a small smile curl in the corners of her mouth. “Me too,” she replied, stretching up on her toes to quickly kiss him on the cheek. Harry felt a light buzzing around his head as she lowered herself fully to her feet again. Her eyes seemed to dance. Harry reached down, lightly touched her chin and tilted in up, pressing his lips against hers. He pulled away quickly, staring at her nervously. Ginny continued to stand with her eyes closed while a smile played across her mouth. Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed at Harry making him want to kiss her again. “We better get back to the Tower,” she whispered, coiling her arm around Harry’s. Harry slipped his hand into hers and continued back to Gryffindor Tower in a daze, feeling her fingers warm up in his. |
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