HEATHENS - Harry Potter ✔

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"Could you come to Dumbledore's office with me?" Kiera asked quietly once she had found Harry again. "Show me where the Pensive is..."

"Have you got it open?" Harry asked, both excited and surprised.

"No, not yet," replied the girl. "But I think I know how..."

Harry looked at her for a few seconds. "Yeah," he then said. "Yeah, I'll come." And he led her out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. They walked in silence, neither knowing quite what to talk about. They stepped over the gargoyle once more and were pleased to find that all the portraits of the previous headmasters were asleep or gone.

Harry summoned the Pensive and nervously Kiera took out the bottle from under her shirt. It had been there since she had gotten it, tied onto a thin rope around her neck, only removed whenever she attempted to open it.

The girl took a deep breath before speaking. "My mum used to always say that you can't open up if you don't first accept who you are," she said to Harry, then turned to look at the swirling light blue contents of the flask. "So, here goes nothing ... I'm a witch; I'm a Slytherin, and I'm damn proud of it," she smiled quickly, so did the boy, before she became more serious again. "I'm a friend; I'm a girlfriend ... hopefully."

"Definitely," spoke Harry, and Kiera smiled at him before continuing.

"I'm the Fatis Scriptor; I'm an orphan; I'm – I'm a murderer -"

"Kiera," Harry interrupted but she did not let him speak.

"It's true, Harry," she said, tears appearing in her eyes but they never rolled down her cheeks. "I'm myself, whether or not that's good enough..."

Her hands shook as she moved to uncork the flask, prepared for it to not even budge like every other time she had tried, but this time the lid came off as easily as if it was oiled. A quick, surprised breath entered her lungs as she glanced at Harry with wide eyes.

The boy smiled at her and gestured for her to come forwards where he stood by the Pensive. Slowly and hesitantly Kiera poured the memories into the swimming contents of the bottomless bowl. She wasn't certain anymore whether she really wanted to see the memories. What if they showed her terrible things, things she'd much rather not know.

She glanced up at Harry again who smiled encouragingly at her. "Go on," he said, but still she did not move.

"Will you – will you come with me?" Kiera asked.

At first, he seemed like he would decline, but seeing the expression on her face, Harry nodded. "If you want me to then yes, of course."

He reached out to grasp her small hand in his calloused one and together they bowed down so that the very tips of their noses touched the memories and they dived into the Pensive.

They materialised again only a few floors down in the Charms corridor though it was evident that it was in a different time. The pictures on the walls were slightly different, the stone floors didn't seem as worn out as they were now. The largest difference, however, was that there were students walking in both directions in the corridor, smiling and laughing, frowning and complaining, shouting and arguing, just like teenagers were supposed to. Nobody was talking in hushed, scared tones, casting weary looks around as they hurried to get out of the corridors.

A girl about their age walked past them, happily talking with a friend. She had curly blond locks that framed her oval face. Her ocean blue eyes were sparkling lightly as she laughed at her friend's harsh but accurate imitation of their Ancient Runes professor. A strand of hair fell from behind the girl's ear and landed on her pink lips only for her to blow it away again. Alinda Stonewall.