Ghost of My Former Self

When daylight streamed into the dormitory the next morning, Harry woke up immediately. He really couldn’t sleep all that well after thinking about everything that Malfoy revealed to him yesterday. A part of him didn’t want to wait to discover more about his life. Harry dragged himself out of bed and got ready for the day. Before he could head out of the Common Room, someone grabbed hold of his arm. Spinning around, he came face-to-face with Vega. “Oh, hey, Vega,” Harry said. “What do you want?”

“I heard you met this world’s Fred and George, that they were Weasleys where you came from.” She laughed. “I bet that was a shock, seeing people you knew from one family in a complete different family.”

Harry nodded. “It was definitely one of the biggest shocks of my life,” Harry informed her. “Especially when Fabian and Gideon Prewett died in my time. They were in the Order of the Phoenix, trying to defeat Voldemort. I guess that sort of explains why Fabian Prewett is the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher; both he and his brother were rather skilled duelists. It took five Death Eaters just to kill them. I really don’t know how Fred and George could have possibly switched families, even if it is their uncle.” Harry doubted that it would ever make any sense for Fred and George to exist in a family other than the Weasleys. To Harry, Fred and George would always be Weasleys; nothing could ever change that.

Vega shrugged. “You may not ever find out.”

“Why would you say that?” Harry asked her.

“Because there’s really no way to know for sure what might have happened, how the two of them could have switched families,” Vega replied. “Now, come on. We should probably go down for breakfast. I want to get to Care of Magical Creatures as soon as possible.”

“Favorite class?” Harry asked.

“Absolutely,” Vega grinned. As they exited the common room and headed down to breakfast, Vega got all glassy-eyed as she explained it to Harry. “I’ve always found animals to be fascinating. And, the way Hagrid has taught the class makes it all the more fun.”

Harry’s eyes widened at that. Within his own timeline, Hagrid was expelled because dear old Riddle needed a fall guy for Moaning Myrtle’s death just outside the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Here though, Harry was not quite certain as to what happened. How did Hagrid come to be at Hogwarts in this world? It seemed as if Vega needed to explain what was going on to him. Malfoy hadn’t done so yesterday when he regaled Harry with the Marauder/Raider story and he didn’t even think to ask at the time. “Hagrid’s still here at the school?” he questioned.

“Still?” Vega asked. “What was Hagrid like in your world?”

“June 13th, 1942. Voldemort unleashed a basilisk on the school, intent on killing muggleborns like Hermione. Only one death occurred, a girl named Myrtle. After speaking with Professor Dumbledore, Voldemort learned that the school would surely close if the culprit was not caught. Intent on remaining in the school, Voldemort framed Hagrid for what happened. Since Hagrid was known for caring for strange animals, it wouldn’t seem all that suspicious that he might be the culprit. Rubeus Hagrid was expelled that day. But, because he was an orphan, he was allowed to stay at the school; becoming the Hogwarts Gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys in exchange for boarding on the grounds.

“It was through him that I initially learned of the past my Muggle relatives refused to tell me. And, while I was attending Hogwarts, Hagrid was one of my closest friends, aside from Ron and Hermione. He was one of the people I turned to when I needed help with something. If not for Hagrid’s friendship, I might never have figured out what was going on during my first and second years.” Harry hoped that the friendship he had with Hagrid would remain intact; he didn’t want to lose that as well. Ron was already gone. Hermione was too. If Hagrid disappeared from his life as well, this world just wouldn’t seem right. He had to know; Harry had to know what Hagrid was like in this dimension. “What’s Hagrid like here?” Harry asked her. “What happened in Hagrid’s past to make him the way that he is, if anything at all?”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Vega replied.

Harry shrugged. “Fine.”

Vega nodded. “I normally spend my free period in the library with Hermione. But, considering the situation, I suppose I can skip that for today and help you understand what’s changed about your life. Draco wants to wait to do this, but I have to disagree; there are some things you need to know right now. The rest can wait until after dinner as initially planned.”

“Thanks, Vega,” Harry replied.

“No problem, Harry,” she grinned.

Though he would have liked to learn what was going on with Hagrid right now, Harry was appreciative to Vega for offering to help him. It wasn’t immediately as Harry would have liked, but the offer was a nice gesture. There was really no reason for Vega to make an offer like that, but she did anyway. And, Harry appreciated it. With her help, Harry might be able to gain a better understand on his life, even greater than if just Malfoy told him about his life. Despite yesterday’s events, Harry was still very unsure of Malfoy’s motives. He still had his suspicions about Malfoy and could not completely trust what he had to say. With Vega he could; she seemed far more trustworthy that Malfoy ever would.

Harry bid Vega goodbye for the moment, agreeing to meet her at the Room of Requirement during their free period, and headed down to the Great Hall. He slid into a seat beside Dean and began piling his plate with food. As he devoured the food, Harry couldn’t help but shift his emerald gaze to the Ravenclaw table where Hermione sat talking with Padma Patil. How am I to convince her that I’m one of her best friends? His gaze turned to Ron who was pouring over several books, even at the breakfast table. And, even worse, how am I supposed to convince Ron? He hates me even more than Hermione does right now.

Things certainly seemed to be getting worse for Harry. And, it would only get worse. Despite the fact that his parents and godfather were alive, if he lost his friends in the process, it might not be worth it. Ron and Hermione were as much a part of his family as everyone else. Maybe even more so as a result of all the time he spent with them. Rachel, Brianna, Vega, and Malfoy may have been like family for the Harry of this world—with Hermione being a person he made contact with only when he needed to because of their mutual dislike for each other—but there was no way that Harry could ever live with it; for him, it just didn’t feel right to befriend his enemy and people who would never come to exist within his own world rather than the first two friends he had in his life, ignoring their existence. Harry desperately needed to find a way to make friends with both the Ron and Hermione of this world; to have some semblance of the life he truly wanted, a life with all the people who cared about him: his parents, his sister, his godfather, and his closest friends.

The time between breakfast and his free period passed rather quickly and uneventfully, mostly because Harry could barely pay attention to what was going on around him. He vaguely recalled passing each of the Raiders at least once, but felt no need to acknowledge them; it could get dealt with later. Harry’s last class before free period ended and he hurried off to seventh floor where he knew the Room of Requirement to be. There waiting for him was Vega, a bag slung over her shoulder. “Ah, good; you’re here,” Vega said. She walked past the empty corridor three times to bring the door into view. “Come on. I’ll explain what I can to you. For everything else, you need to wait for Draco to show you.”

Harry nodded, understanding what she meant—and duly followed the raven-haired girl inside the Room of Requirement; there were some things that she simply couldn’t answer, despite being one of Harry’s closest friends here. Peering around at his surroundings, Harry found that the room transformed into a comfortable sitting area. A few red armchairs and a matching red couch were place around the fireplace, circular table just between them. Lining the walls were shelves of books, of any imaginable. It reminded Harry a little bit of the Gryffindor common room in the way the room was colored and the layout to the room. The sixteen year-old slumped down into one of the armchairs and looked expectantly at Vega as he dropped his bag on the floor. “Hagrid?” he asked.

Vega sat down. “Ah, well, from what I’ve learned over the years—from McGonagall and Dumbledore—something happened to him in his fifth year. Hagrid never gave any specifics, not wanting to talk about the past or something-” Harry nodded, remembering the same, “-so I don’t exactly know what happened. All I know is that it was something truly devastating that he couldn’t bear to talk about.” She groaned, beginning to talk to herself. “It’s hard to explain. You know what; I think this should be done now, at least for a few the things that Draco can’t show you. With Hagrid in particular. I’m the only one other than you who knows Hagrid; and you can’t very well understand in your current condition.”

Harry looked at her confusedly. “What are you thinking?”

Before Vega could speak, the table in front of them disappeared and a large stone vessel appeared before them. “Harry, do you know what this?” Vega asked as she removed her wand from her bag.

“It’s a Pensieve,” Harry stated. It was the Pensieve and the memories Dumbledore showed him about Voldemort that started this whole thing. The Pensieve in Dumbledore’s office caused Harry to wonder about what life might have been like if Voldemort never existed. And, because of his musings, Merope Gaunt’s infatuation with Tom Riddle Senior never occurred and the bane of Harry’s existence never entered the world. Harry eyed Vega, wondering what was going on. “Exactly what do you need a Pensieve for?”

“It’s part of Draco’s plan for later,” Vega explained. “But, for right now, I think that you might want to view a few memories of mine. It could help you understand things a little better.”

“What memories?” Harry asked.

“Just watch,” Vega replied as she used her wand to pull one of the memories she needed from her head. The memory fell into the Pensieve and showed a scene of Vega sitting in Hagrid’s hut. Harry leaned over to look at the memory and was sucked inside with Vega right behind him.

Harry looked around at the inside of familiar hut and saw a younger-looking Vega sipping a cup of tea as she talked to Hagrid. She seemed about thirteen or fourteen at the time. Vega elbowed Harry and confirmed hi suspicions. “Three years ago. After he showed us the hippogriffs.”

“Really?” Harry asked. “He showed you guys the hippogriffs. Was one of them named Buckbeak?” Vega nodded. “Well, I hope that class went better for you guys than it did for me. When I first met Buckbeak—which also happened to be the first Care of Magical Creatures I ever had—Malfoy decided to provoke him; Malfoy’s stupidity caused Buckbeak to attack him. Things got really out of hand when Malfoy went complaining to his father about his injured arm and how it got that way. Buckbeak was to be executed because of what happened. If not for the action that Hermione and I took to rescue him, there’s a very good chance that Buckbeak might have been killed.” Harry intentionally left out the fact that her father might also have been killed that same day. Vega did not need to know of that.

“Draco did that!” Vega exclaimed.

“He did,” Harry replied.

“Wow. Well, I suggest that pay attention to the memory. This is kind of important for you to know, especially if you want to know what’s been going on with Hagrid,” she explained.

Harry nodded and did so.

After her first day back, Vega decided to go down and visit Hagrid. Talking with Hagrid often offered some form of comfort to Vega, sometimes even more so than Hermione, Harry, and Draco. The first day back was one of those instances. She felt much more comfortable talking to Hagrid about certain aspects of her life. Considering how much she loved animals, Hagrid seemed the best person to talk with. And, now that the Raiders were planning on becoming animagi, the love Vega had for animals would come in handy. So, she would talk with Hagrid for awhile; maybe get a little insight into the animal she might become.

“Hagrid?” she asked, wanting to think of anything but school and her upcoming animagus training, “what were your years at Hogwarts like?” Since coming here, Vega wondered about Rubeus Hagrid; he never really spoke about his years at Hogwarts and Vega was curious. Since the boat ride to Hogwarts, Vega was fascinated by the Hogwarts groundskeeper. After her first day of classes, Vega snuck down to see the half-giant, to talk things out with him. This became a regular occurrence; whenever she couldn’t—or didn’t want to—spend time with Harry, Draco, or Hermione, Vega would come down to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and speak with Hagrid. During the past two years, the one thing Vega never learned was about Hagrid’s past. And, she wished to know what that was like.

“I can’t talk about it,” Hagrid insisted

“Why not?” she asked.

“I jus can’t,” he replied.

Harry glanced over at Vega, confused by what this memory meant. In fact, he was more confused by this than all the memories Dumbledore was showing him to help him gain an understanding of what Voldemort’s weakness was and what type of person he was in his younger years. “Vega, what’s going on here? Why did you show me this memory?” he asked.

“Just wait,” Vega warned. “There’s more to this memory than you think. After two years of never hearing about Hagrid’s past, I was intent on finding out. I went to McGonagall and Dumbledore immediately, wanting to know about Hagrid’s past. And, you might be interested to see this next part.”

“Alright,” Harry shrugged. Though unsure of what he might find, Harry turned back to the memory and watched the past play out before him. He wondered what Vega was talking about.

“You sure?” Vega asked.

Hagrid nodded. “Sorry yeh came down here fer nothing.”

Vega finished her tea in silence and handed the cup back to Hagrid. “That’s alright, Hagrid. I have to get back up to the castle anyway. Snape assigned a two foot long essay and I really don’t want that to wait until the last minute.” Though a bit of Hermione rubbed off on her over the years, Vega had no intention of starting that Potions assignment, at least not yet. Before doing that, Vega had one more thing to do. And, that was something that Hagrid couldn’t know about. “See you in class, Professor Hagrid,” she laughed as she left the hut and ran back up to the castle to find who she was looking for.

Harry and Vega ran after Memory Vega, stopping just outside the Great Hall. There waiting was Memory Harry. Seeing this, Harry’s jaw dropped. “I’m a part of this memory?” he asked. Here was his chance; Harry’s first chance at seeing the type of person he was in this world.

“Yes. Now shut up,” Vega chided. “Just watch.”

There was no need for Vega to give such an order. Harry intended on paying very close attention to his memory self. Maybe he could figure out the type of person he was from this.

“Oh, hello Harry,” Vega grinned. Out of the Raiders, seeing Harry in front of her was probably for the best. Her dear cousin never really liked Hagrid all that much and Hermione preferred to sit in the library than visit the half-giant. Only Harry would ever accompany Vega down there, at least when he wasn’t out chasing the Snitch with Draco. “What are you doing here?”

“I was waiting for you actually,” Harry replied, giving a shrug. “Seeing as you, Draco, and I agreed to meet and discuss the plan we have for this year, I thought I might come get you and then contact Draco using the mirror. Now that the taunts have died down a little, I thought we could do this now; maybe connect to the Floo and speak with Ray and Ri about this. They want to talk to us about all of this, and I doubt they intend on waiting, especially Ray.”

“Very true,” Vega laughed. “But, I really can’t do it this second. I have something I need to do before anything else.” Harry gave her a confused look, so Vega elaborated. “It’s about Hagrid.”

“Hagrid?” Harry asked.

Vega nodded. “Yeah. I tried asking Hagrid about his past, but he refused. There’s something going on with Hagrid. I mean, why would he be here at Hogwarts unless something happened.”

“What do you intend on doing then?” Harry asked.

“It’s quite simple really. Just ask someone who was here when Hagrid was in school. Maybe McGonagall or Dumbledore,” Vega told him. “One of them must know. I just have to find out which one of the professors has the answers I seek, the answers that I need.”

Harry shrugged. “How about I come along with you?” he suggested. “I may not be as close to the man as you are, but I still I’d like to know what’s going on. Come on; let’s go.” Vega’s eyes widened. Harry shrugged again. “Jeez, Lyre, did you think I wouldn’t care?”

“No, I was just surprised is all,” Vega explained. She didn’t exactly suspect that Harry would agree to help her figure this out. “Okay then, phoenix; let’s go talk to Dumbledore and McGonagall.”

As Harry and Vega followed the memory versions of themselves to Dumbledore’s office, Harry questioned Vega about how they were addressed. “What’s with the nicknames?” he asked.

“Knew you’d ask that,” Vega chuckled. “When we were younger—before our animagus transformations—we each had our own little nicknames. Rachel and Brianna are Ray and Ri respectively; we like to jokingly call them R&R. Then, I’m Lyre since Vega is the brightest star in the Lyra constellation, named after a lyre. Draco; I’m sure you know that we like to call him dragon. With you, your nickname was tricky; eventually we went with phoenix because of the birthmark you have on your inner arm that happens to be in the shape of a phoenix.”

“A phoenix?” Harry chuckled. “I never do seem to escape the phoenix. In my world, my wand’s core came from a phoenix called Fawkes. Then, considering that I never do seem to die completely, but rather rise up from the ashes, I guess you really could call me Phoenix.” It seemed as if, even in this world, he was associated with a phoenix. What in the world are the chances of me receiving a phoenix-shaped birthmark? He rolled his sleeve up to find the birthmark Vega mentioned. It was indeed in the shape of a phoenix, just as Vega told him it would. How did I not notice this before? Harry supposed it had to do with the fact that he never had the birthmark before and felt that there was no need for him to even check.

“I’m pretty sure that you’ll know what Hermione’s nickname is since you seemed to have known her in another world,” Vega muttered as they continued to run up to Dumbledore’s office, following their memory selves. “Surely, you must have called her so at one point in your life.”

“Mione,” Harry said knowingly.

“Correct,” Vega replied. They arrived at the gargoyle statue leading to Dumbledore’s office where their memory selves and Professor McGonagall were standing. As McGonagall gave the password and headed up the spiraling staircase with her students after the gargoyle statue moved, Harry and Vega followed just behind them to listen in on their conversation.

Upon reaching Dumbledore’s office, the pair moved the side of the office where Dumbledore’s own Pensieve rested. Harry was intent on discovering what was going on with Hagrid, how different he was in this world. Nothing in the world could deter the sixteen year-old from learning about all the differences between this world and his own. Information about his friends in particular was of vital importance; he needed to hear about this.

The two Gryffindors took a seat as Dumbledore addressed them. “Miss Black? Mr. Potter? To what do we owe this visit?” Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes twinkling just as they always did.

“We wanted to talk to you,” Vega explained to the headmaster. Seeing as this was her idea, she might as well be the one to question the professors about it. Harry only came for support; he wanted to know what plagued Hagrid as well, though not to the extent Vega was curious.

“About what?” Dumbledore asked, almost knowingly.

“Hagrid. We were wondering about his past,” Harry replied.

“Ah. I wondered when this would come up,” Dumbledore laughed.

Vega eyed her headmaster, wondering how he could possibly know that she would one day question about the half-giant man. She had only just come to a decision to ask him about it during the holiday. Upon questioning her father, James, and Remus about what they knew about Hagrid and learning that they didn’t know much more than she did regarding Hagrid’s past, Vega came to the decision to question Hagrid about it. Professor Dumbledore would have no way of knowing that this was her intent. “Sir, how did you know? How could you have guessed that I would ask about something like this?” she asked.

“Your level of closeness to Hagrid,” Dumbledore explained with a knowing smile. “Since Hagrid has been here, you are the only student willing to get close to our groundskeeper.”

“No one!” Vega exclaimed.

“Not even the Marauders,” the headmaster replied.

Vega knew that to be true. Throughout all the stories she’d ever heard during the Marauder History lessons, Vega never once heard anything about any of their fathers caring. None of them really seemed all that interested in anything that did not involve torturing Snape or Filch. Vega always knew that a part of her personality came from her mother; she just never knew exactly how much until that moment. “I wish they did,” Vega muttered softly. She turned to Harry and addressed him. “Dad and the other Marauders never seemed to appreciate things the same way that the Raiders do, wouldn’t you agree, Harry?”

“One of the only true differences between us them,” Harry agreed. “The Marauders used their years at Hogwarts to play pranks, a lot of them dangerous. Those Marauder lessons definitely paid off; and of course the lectures we got afterwards about following their example. We might as well have been repeating their mistakes, if not for listening to those lectures.”

“Thank Merlin,” Vega laughed.

Harry looked to Vega for an explanation. Vega grinned. “You can thank Lily for knocking some common sense into us before we went off to Hogwarts and making the same stupid mistakes our fathers made. If it was James and Dad, we’d be exactly like the Marauders.”

“Makes sense,” Harry noted. This was why Harry missed his parents so much. Their conflicting personalities would have balanced Harry out. James was known for his mischievous streak while Lily had the brains and common sense. Growing up them would have most likely prevented Harry from attracting trouble as often as he did; though that did happen to be an effect of surviving every attempt to kill him. “Mom would never want her son acting like a mini-version of her husband. Snape never liked that either,” he admitted.

“Still doesn’t,” Vega chuckled.

Sort of figured out that one for myself, thanks, Harry thought. But, what was it that set him off this time? It couldn’t be the same reason. The chances of Snape hating Harry in this world for the same reason that he hated him in his own world were unfathomable. “Why does Snape hate me anyway?” Harry asked the raven-haired girl. “Surely you must have some clue.”

“I do,” Vega replied. Harry grinned at that answer, hoping that she might explain it to him. This was one thing that Harry needed to know; why did Snape hate him? “But, now is not the time.” Harry face fell. “If we have enough time after viewing this memory, I’ll tell you what I know. For right now, I need you to pay attention if you want to know how Hagrid came to be here at Hogwarts.”

“Well, if we can get back to our original topic, Hagrid’s past is not something he openly discusses,” Dumbledore explained, a somber look gracing his once smiling face. “His fifth year was not a very memorable on and he’d do anything to forget it. Rubeus begged us to oblivate all memory of that particular year from his mind, but we could not. Important events from his fifth year could not get removed and that’s exactly what might have happened if we did as he asked.”

“And, what did happen?” Vega asked.

“It cannot be discussed,” McGonagall warned.

“Why not?” the raven-haired girl questioned. Vega was extremely intent on discovering the secret Hagrid hid and the effect said event had on him. Every so often when Vega came down to speak with Hagrid, she would find the half-giant wistfully looking out at the horizon muttering something about flying pigs. Vega never understood what that meant, but she was determined to find out; she needed to understand why this was happening.

“It is something that only Hagrid can tell you,” Dumbledore explained. “But, suffice it to say, the event in question occurred not two days before Christmas. Maybe that will help you figure out what occurred all those years ago. “Mr. Potter, Miss Black, I wish you luck in your search.”

“Yes sir,” they replied.

The memory faded and the pair of Gryffindors found themselves back within the Room of Requirement. Harry glanced at Vega. “Was that it?” he asked. “It didn’t even mention what I wanted to know.”

Vega nodded. “I know. Therein lies the problem. We never did find out what Hagrid’s worst memory was. Our animagus training got in the way. In fact, a lot of Raider plans got in the way. Every time we tried to go talk to Hagrid about the events of his fifth year, something else got in the way.”

“Malfoy?” Harry asked. Vega nodded. “I suppose his dislike of Hagrid is mostly to blame for there being absolutely no progress in your search.” Considering all that Harry knew about Malfoy from within his own world, it seemed as if certain aspects of his personality would remain the same. It would seem as if Malfoy’s hatred of Hagrid was the one thing that would never change.

“Yeah, well, my cousin never really did understand how much I cared about Hagrid; Draco preferred Quidditch and Potions to caring about Hagrid,” Vega replied. “I could never convince him to understand.”

“Now could be your only chance,” Harry realized.

“My thinking exactly,” Vega grinned.

“I suppose that means we should go down there huh?” Harry asked.

Vega nodded. “I know for a fact that Hagrid spends the hour after teaching my class caring for the animal. He told me so just after the Welcome Back Feast at the beginning of this year, so that I might be able to come help him. My free period was scheduled so I could go help him, if I so chose. I only ever go down there once or twice a week. Maybe if we both go down there, Hagrid will tell us what happened. Even with you having very little knowledge of this world, there’s a chance you can help. In fact, it might even be advantageous for us; your knowledge of that could make Hagrid realize that maybe what happened to him is not as bad as what could have transpired.” Vega grabbed her things and strode out of the Room of Requirement. “Come on, Harry. If you want your answer, we need to go down and talk to Hagrid about this.” She left the room, leaving Harry inside to think.

Harry sat there for awhile, wondering if he should follow Vega. He did want to know what happened to Hagrid in this world. Something happened to him that fifth year, something so terrible he wanted nothing more than to forget it. The sixteen year-old shrugged and, grabbing his effects, ran out into the seventh floor corridor. “I need to find out.”

“Took you long enough,” Vega replied from where she was leaning against the wall. “Honestly, I expected you to take even longer.” The door to the Room of Requirement disappeared and Vega started walking. “Better hurry, Sahara!” she called, using his Raider nickname.

“I’m coming, Rhapsody!” he answered. He quickly caught up to Vega—Quidditch definitely came in handy—and questioned her. “Why Rhapsody anyway? I get all the other names, but not yours.”

“A lyre is a stringed musical instrument, similar to a harp,” Vega explained “And, as I told you before, the constellation Lyra, of which the star I was named for resides, was named after a lyre. So, in honor of that, Marauders and Raiders alike agreed that my nickname should have something to do with music. One of Dad’s rare bright ideas.” She laughed. “Though, what I find even funny is that they almost named me Vulpecula, which, if you knew Astronomy as well as Draco and I do, is a fox. When I first transformed, James fell into a bout of laughter at the form I took: a black fox; they all knew I’d have black fur considering the family I was born into, but the form was another story. It took him a good ten minutes to stop laughing about that and promptly began informing me of what I was almost named.”

“Wish I remembered that,” Harry said wistfully.

“You’ll see it,” Vega replied as they made it out of the castle and headed down to Hagrid’s hut. “It’s one of the memories that Draco plans to show you this afternoon. Since we have limited time to do this, showing you the first time we each transformed seemed the best option to go with. Draco has nine days to do this before Christmas break begins.”

“Christmas is that close?” Harry asked incredulously.

“That’s why Draco was given ten days,” Vega confirmed. “Everyone figured that the Marauders would get suspicious if one of the Raiders was completely clueless as to the goings on of the world. Then, there’s also the full moon that occurs on Christmas Eve. Surely, your knowledge of the Marauders must make you aware of what that means.” Harry nodded. “Right, meaning you need to be able to transform into a lion by then. James, Dad, and Remus will get suspicious if it you aren’t acting like yourself; we simply can’t risk that. For all we know, you could get sent out to St. Mungo’s because of what happened; so, we’re dealing with it internally. Since all but Hermione grew up with you, we’re the best people to ask about your life; we’ll know about anything you wish to ask.” They arrived at the door to Hagrid’s hut and Vega knocked twice. “This time I am going to figure this out.”

“No kidding,” Harry said from beside her.

Before behind them, a voice could be heard. Based on the size of the shadow, Harry knew it was Hagrid. “’Arry, Vega, so nice to see yeh. What brings yeh down here?” he asked.

“We came to help you, Hagrid,” Harry replied.

“And, we also have some questions,” Vega added.

“Question? What kinda questions?” Hagrid asked warily.

Vega looked at Hagrid, her gray eyes pleading with him to give her the answers she desired. “Look, Hagrid, I know it’s hard for you, but could you please tell us what happened in your fifth year. It might help if you talk about it with someone,” she explained.

“I can’t,” Hagrid murmured. “I jus can’t.”

“Why?” Harry wondered. “What happened that you can’t bring yourself to even speak of it?” Harry remembered there being only one thing that Hagrid never wished to speak of; though it was only in his own world: Voldemort. It was only during second year that Harry realized why the half-giant man never wished to discuss things of that nature; through Riddle’s diary, Harry learned that Voldemort ensured Hagrid’s expulsion after Myrtle’s death. Hagrid hated Riddle for forcing him to give up magic. What was it here though?

“I don’t like thinking about it,” Hagrid replied.

Harry eyed Vega and could see the frustration growing on her face. She desperately wanted an answer to this question. “Okay, how about this, could you please give us the memory so that we can view it ourselves?” Harry asked. If Vega was so determined to find out what was going on with Hagrid—and he as well—they might as well do it in a way that Hagrid could not get upset over. This way, everyone would be happy with the arrangement.

“I suppose,” Hagrid said after a few moments. He pulled out his wand, a sixteen inch oak wand, and, upon removing the memory in question, handed it to Harry. “’Ere ya go, ‘Arry.”

“Thanks, Hagrid,” Harry said, handing it off to Vega who placed it in a container to view while they were in the Room of Requirement. They still had a little time before their next class, so they could probably view the memory now. After saying goodbye to Hagrid, the pair headed back to Room of Requirement. He turned to Vega as the same room before appeared and they went to take a seat where they did earlier. “Ready to watch the memory.”

Vega dropped the memory into the Pensieve and nodded. “I’ve been ready since third year.” The two Gryffindors peered over the Pensieve and were absorbed into the memory of what was Hagrid’s fifth year to uncover what happened on the date in question: December 23, 1943.