Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 71: Memory
"Do you really want to know the truth?" asked Dudley, his expression serious.
Gulp.
The room fell into a tense silence. Many of the students had come here with doubts about Voldemort's return, and Dudley's words only made their nerves worse.
"Yes," said the same student quietly. "Please, tell us."
"What's your name?" Dudley asked.
"Alice Daisy. I'm a second-year student," she replied.
"Muggle-born?" he followed up.
"Yes," said Alice with a nod.
'No wonder she looks anxious,' Dudley thought, reading the fear and uncertainty in her eyes.
"Alright. If you really want to know, then I'll show you the truth," he said, turning to his cousin. "Harry, I need your help."
Harry nodded, expecting to recount the story, but Dudley raised his hand to stop him.
"I don't want you to tell them the story. I want you to show them the memory."
"You mean..." Harry looked surprised.
Dudley nodded firmly, then turned back to the group. "You all wait here."
He muttered a word under his breath, and a door appeared inside the Room of Requirement. Without further explanation, Dudley stepped through it. A few minutes later, he returned, carrying a shallow, stone basin with ancient runes etched along the rim, the Pensieve.
"Who here knows what this is?" he asked, placing the Pensieve in the center of the room.
Harry and Susan exchanged glances, they both recognized it. They had spent quite some time reviewing memories in one just like it.
Most of the student inside the room remained silent, unsure.
Only Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes, Ms. Granger," Dudley said with a slight smile.
"It's a Pensieve. It allows someone to view memories, either their own or those given to them by others," Hermione explained.
"Correct. Congratulations, Ms. Granger. Unfortunately, I can't award house points," Dudley teased.
Laughter broke out across the room, and Hermione's cheeks turned pink.
Dudley's expression turned serious again. "This," he said, gesturing to the Pensieve, "is how we'll show you the truth. You came here wondering if the Dark Lord has really returned. Professor Dumbledore and my cousin, Harry, have said it over and over but still, many of you didn't believe them."
He paused, letting his words settle over the crowd.
"So today, we'll show you. Are you ready?"
Silence.
Dudley could practically hear someone gulp again.
"Good. It seems no one's against it. Harry, come here."
Harry stepped forward. Dudley leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Show them everything from your first year until the Dark Lord return."
Harry nodded. Dudley then raised his wand and gently pressed it to Harry's temple, focusing as he channeled the spell. He had studied both Occlumency and Legilimency, enough to perform this carefully.
A silver thread, shimmering and fluid, was drawn from Harry's head. He motioned it toward the Pensieve. As it made contact with the liquid surface, the thread dissolved, and a misty image began to swirl and take form.
"I need everyone to line up and enter the Pensieve," said Dudley firmly.
One by one, the students obeyed, curiosity and fear swirling in their eyes. Within minutes, the entire group had stepped inside the pensieve, to learn the truth of last year event.
The memory shows when Harry met Tom-Quirrell in his first year, then followed by the Basilisk and Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. That wasn't all. The scene shifted again, this time to the encounter with a hundred Dementors and the daring escape of Sirius Black. Finally, the Pensieve brought them to the graveyard, where Cedric Diggory landed beside Harry Potter.
Each time the scene changed, Dudley could hear someone gasping for breath. He could also see Cho Chang crying quietly, tears streaming down her face, while Marietta Edgecombe tried to comfort her with trembling hands.
"Kill the other one," a cold voice rang from afar.
"Avada Kedavra!" The words shot out, followed by a flash of blinding green light.
"Arghhh!" The girls screamed in horror. They watched helplessly as Cedric's lifeless body fell to the ground. Cho Chang, unable to hold back any longer, ran forward and tried to touch him, but her hand passed right through Cedric's body. It was just a memory, and nothing she did could change what happened.
Before she could say anything more, the memory shifted again. Now, they were watching Peter Pettigrew slicing Harry hand and collecting his blood. Dudley noticed Cho Chang sobbing slowly faded. Her eyes were wide with fear as she witnessed Voldemort getting a new and stronger body, he woke up from the cauldron.
The creature that emerged was nothing like the normal man, Voldemort snake nose less face screaming a work Dark Lord. Pale, serpentine face, with glowing red eyes, Voldemort had returned, in full strength. Gasps and whispers rippled through the students, many clinging to one another. Susan Bones clenched her fists eventhough she had seen this memory before it still give her a goosebumps while Ernie Macmillan muttered under his breath, "Merlin Harry told us the truth"
"Wormtail… robe me," said the newly formed Dark Lord with a voice that sent shivers down their spines. Voldemort then started his ranting and finally touched the Dark Mark on Wormtail hand. Everyone could feel the change in atmosphere, the graveyard was filled with Death Eaters now, forming a half circle around Harry, who was tied on the tombstone alone.
"What is this? Harry was just a boy… how did he survive all this?" Hannah Abbott whispered, shaking slightly.
The next scene showed Harry tied to a gravestone. Voldemort was monologuing, taunting him, demonstrating the loyalty of his followers. Then came the duel—the first connection of their wands, the strange golden web of magic that held them in place. Sparks flew. Shadows appeared—the magic formed the memory form of the past people who had been killed by Voldemort and Wormtail including Cedric, Harry's parents, and others.
"Hold on, Harry," James Potter memory echo said.
"You can do it," whispered Lily memory.
Guided by those voices, Harry broke free. Grabbing Cedric's body, he ran through the chaos as spells whizzed by. Wormtail screamed. Death Eaters shouted. Voldemort snarled in rage. But Harry held on.
The portkey glowed.
A flash of blue light.
And then, silence.
The Pensieve dimmed and the image faded, leaving everyone standing breathlessly in the Room of Requirement.
Dudley exhaled slowly and turned to face them. "Now you understand," he said softly. "The Dark Lord has returned. And this… this is what we're up against."
No one said a word, but in their eyes, Dudley could finally see it: belief, fear, and most importantly, determination.
"Who's with me?" he asked.
One by one, hands began to rise.
Author Notes: To read advanced chapter you can go to my patreon.
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