The Search Is Over

Chapter 56

In the next several weeks, Grindelwald had removed most of the Death Eater's memories that made him who he was. All thoughts, opinions and memories of his life that gave him his identity were stripped, only leaving him with basic knowledge such as how to write or apparate. Well not just how to write and apparate, but the understanding of magic, a Hogwarts education, an understanding of geography...What made a person an educated human was left, what made this particular human Boris Bane was erased.

By the time that was finished, Wolfgang, Gellert, Regulus and Albus had all studied the book Mag had supplied so they were all familiar with the concepts of emotional empathy via thought sharing as well as how to apply it to their Death Eater via Severus's real and fake memories. When Albus implanted the memories Severus had put into the pensieve in the Death Eater's mind, the man was able to feel what Severus felt when experiencing the memories.

When Albus implanted the memories he'd faked concerning Harry Potter's mother, he simply added the feelings he thought were suitable using the method of emotional transference described in the book, Empathic Experience.

Watching Dumbledore at work was fascinating. The older man handled the situation with a focused detachment that did much to remove his lighthearted demeanor, leaving him almost grim and highly concentrated for the most part. Regulus clearly recognized this state as the defense mechanism it was.

Albus liked to believe that most people were redeemable, and he was, to save Severus's life, taking Bane's opportunity for redemption away forever. Of course Regulus did not believe the man would be redeeming himself or that he deserved the opportunity. Before Bane's memories were wiped, Regulus had clearly seen in the man's head that he'd done enough harm to deserve exactly what he was getting and more.

When it came to Regulus himself, Wolfgang, Gellert and Kreacher, none of them had a single qualm. Bane's demise would not cost them a single second of sleep or a twinge of guilt. There were enough things to lose sleep over and feel guilty about that were actually true, after all. What they'd done over the past few weeks, was all to save Severus's life. Bane was, in essence, now ready to take Snape's place at a moment's notice.

"It's nearly disconcerting to see him," Regulus marveled as he stood with the others before their finished product. At present, Kreacher had Bane resting under a sleep spell. He lay peacefully on the bed in the guest room Wolfgang had chosen for him.

"He looks like Severus, his mind feels like...a rather relaxed and out of it Severus but still Severus for all that. I truly think it's believable! We did it!"

Granted if Regulus dug long enough, he'd see that there weren't enough memories to be Severus, but there wouldn't be time or cause for anyone to dig so deeply when Bane was at last put into play.

"We done good," Grindelwald quipped with a roguish grin that made Regulus smile back.

"I must admit the process of combining the various forms of magic it took to accomplish the feat was quite a fascinating exploration."

Regulus caught the fleeting frown on Dumbledore's face at Gellert's words. It was obvious that the former headmaster disapproved of Grindelwald's open fascination with how they'd basically implanted an, at least on the surface, personality into another human.

"I'm so tired," Albus murmured.

"So ready for all of this to be over."

"Welcome to the club," Regulus said, flashing the old headmaster a sincere smile as Kreacher and Wolfgang nodded in agreement.

Grindelwald was the only one to remain impassive, seeming unburdened for the most part, but he was the one literally most unaffected by Voldemort. He'd been cooling his heals in Nurmengard during Voldemort's entire reign of terror...both of them, so the weight of the Dark Lord's shadow had never made its impression on him. Just as he was unmoved by mention of Voldemort, he was unmoved by Albus's disapproval, if he'd even noticed it at all.