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Chapter 15 - Chapter 15

Headmaster's office

After the two officials left the office, McGonagall broached a subject that she had been holding back, knowing that Dumbledore liked to keep issues such as this in-house, so to speak. "Albus, there is something that I probably should have brought up before," Minerva hedged, not wanting to get a coworker in trouble, but needs must. "When I found Mr. Potter, he informed me that he ran from the castle because there was a 'creepy man' and 'a hologram of a man in bloody robes'. He stated the real man threatened him, so he ran. Now, he did confess that he did not get a good look, only that the person had dark hair and a hooked nose," she added quickly, lifting her hands in a 'don't jump to conclusions' way.

"Oh dear, that is destressing. Only two people come to mind; however, there is only one ghost that matches that description. I will therefore have to have a tête-à-tête with the Bloody Baron," he said, stroking his beard and running calculations through his head. If he could keep this knowledge to himself then he would have blackmail material over one of the two men he was thinking of. He could work harder in bring whichever one it was to the Light. There was no doubt that Severus was closer, but he still delved into the Dark Arts. Much to Albus' displeasure. "It is best to not tell anyone, they may make inaccurate guesses, and someone could 'pay the price', I believe the saying is," he said, giving her his best 'I know better than you' look. "We do not want that. It would reflect badly on the school if we were to accuse an innocent man. No, best let me deal with this," he said kindly.

"Yes, I suppose you are correct," the professor conceded with a huff, thinking that maybe she let Severus off too easily and wondering who the other person might be. However, Albus usually knew what to do and most of the time things worked out for the better when she left it to him. She would need to concentrate on the tournament and Harry's little problem.

"Well, that is for another time," he said, waving it away and picking up a quill. "At the moment, we need to have you, and a few others, ask around the streets near the Leaky Cauldron to see what Mr. Potter has been up to this last week. While I did see his memories of the last week, my word does not appear to be satisfying Bartemius. Therefore, this must be done the hard way," Albus said, writing a few notes on a piece of parchment.

"Very well," the old woman sighed.

In the infirmary

"Let's wait until you're released from here, and then I'll walk you through how to use one. But, Harry, it might not be easy with your memory being as it is. Plus, if you don't believe in magic, that might make it harder," she said firmly. "Now, tell me how you know so much about science fiction. I'm not sure how amnesia works, but I am almost positive that you shouldn't know as much as you do," she said, peering at his face as if she could solve this puzzle just by his expressions.

"Well, I just knew it," he answered with a confused shrug. "I remember everything I've ever read, seen, or heard. I know who the Prime Minister is, and how the government works. All my lessons in Primary. And, I watched Star Trek in the appliance store, until the clerk kicked me out, and then I went to the library. It's pretty boring being homeless, not to mention bloody cold. There's nothing to do all day but dig in the bins for food and beg for money. Anyway, I went to the library to try and figure out why I know this stuff. I looked up amnesia, but it was all in medical terms, so I gave up, and read a lot of comic books and science fiction. There was some reason I did all that, but it's missing now. I just know I was driven to research things like, experimental chemistry, holograms and horsemen. Does that make any sense?" he asked, thinking perhaps she would know.

"We have a few ghosts that you might have seen when you left. That could be the holograms," she deducted thoughtfully as she bit her lip. "There are centaurs in the woods that you might have seen as well, which are the horsemen. And except for potions, I'm not sure why you would look up chemistry. I mean, how could that affect your memory? There are no potions that are that mind-altering, unless you overdosed on something," she added absentmindedly as she went over the ones she had read about in her mind.

"Woah, ghosts, centaurs, really?" he exclaimed, and then rubbed the back of his head when she gave him a 'duh' look. "Oh yeah, you told me about them, something about a detention, a Death Day party, and a female ghost that cries a lot," he said sheepishly, remembering her tales of his first and second years. "I think that whatever caused my amnesia is still affecting me. I mean, I seem to keep losing memories. Unless I was correct, and some other adult messed with my head," he snarled and folded his arms, more than ready to believe the latter.

"Or, as the famous Vulcan saying goes, 'Humans do have an amazing capacity for believing what they choose and excluding that which is painful,'" came an airy voice from the doorway. "That would actually explain why you think this is all some sort of large scientific experiment. I mean, if rumors are true, you didn't have a good time at Hogwarts these last three years."

"Wotcha, ducky, 'ho 're 'ou then?" Harry said in his worse Cockney accent, with an exaggerated wink and a complete perusal of her robe clad body. The girl was a cute little blonde that he wouldn't mind getting a hug from.

"Wotcha, 'arry Potter, I'm Luna Lovegood," she snarked back in much the same accent, doing a much better job than Harry did. "Sugar and spice ter meet ya at Present and Past. I've 'eard so much abaht ya," she added, much to the confusion of the other two teens.

"Right. Luna, Lovely, come, have a seat, and tell me how you know the wonders of Star Trek," Harry said with a beaming smile as he patted a part of the bed near him.

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