The Pensieve's Aftermath

It is hereby noted that the copyright of this notebook belongs to Bill Weasley.

"Aaaaaaargh—!"

Hah... hah...

My breath came in ragged gasps, scraping the back of my throat. My chest hammered like it wanted out. I could hear my own heart slamming against my ribs, a dull, relentless thud-thud-thud right beside my ears.

My fingertips wouldn't stop shaking. Sirius Black's dark-crimson spell still burned across the inside of my eyelids every time I blinked.

"Ugh, this is some bullshit. Eugene, get up already. The instructor's doing the briefing again. A bunch of kids showed up late. Lucky for you, he didn't hear you cussing him out—he went to seat the latecomers."

A warm hand hauled me upright, the owner of it laughing at me the whole way. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠When I looked up I met clear blue eyes set in a face that was pure, straightforward kindness.

Handsome, sly-smiling noble brat. My first real friend in this life. He had the aristocratic looks that screamed "canon Cedric," but a mouth that was ten times more of a smart-ass than the original ever was.

"Cedric, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why are you already out? Don't tell me you died before me."

"Exactly one second earlier."

I was about to call him on that suspiciously straight-faced lie when a beautiful blonde girl held out a towel with a bright little smile. Only then did I notice my clothes were soaked through with sweat.

"He's lying, Eugene. Cedric got blown up thirty seconds in."

"Ah—Penny. Thanks."

I took the towel and scrubbed my face. Sweat kept dripping. My robes clung to me like I'd just climbed out of a pool.

A low ringing still filled my ears, like distant explosions that wouldn't quit. I glanced at Cedric; he was tapping the side of his own head the same way, so he was hearing the phantom blasts too.

"When did you get here? Baby brother arrive okay?"

I kept my eyes off hers on purpose, tossing the joke out to hide the way my heart was still trying to punch through my sternum.

"Yeah. Mum kicked me out the second he was born. Said academy fees are too high to skip the first day. Still—my first little brother and she boots me after one day? Cold."

I pinched the inside of my thigh hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough to hurt, just to make sure this was real, then asked the next question like nothing was wrong. Penelope scratched her head and grinned.

"What's the kid's name? Please tell me you didn't go with 'Laundry Clearwater' like I suggested."

My legs were still jelly. I threw the joke out anyway, and Penelope smacked me across the back with the easy familiarity of long practice.

Damn, her hand had gotten heavier while I wasn't looking. The solid thump actually helped; the wild hammering in my chest eased a fraction.

"Don't start talking shit the second you wake up, Eugene Kim. Name your own son that when you have one. Grandma settled on Jessica Clearwater. I wanted Eva."

She looked me up and down, head tilting.

"Was it that realistic? You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two look like you took a sweat shower. I saw the state of you from over there and ran over with the towels."

"Penny, don't even start."

Cedric waved both hands.

"I legit thought I was dying. Legs just gave out. When am I ever going to dive into the actual memory of a Department of Magical Law Enforcement special-ops Auror? Only someone like me would clock it was fake right away. I'm fine now—look at Eugene, though. Still shaking like a leaf."

His voice was trembling just a little.

Cedric, you absolute idiot—you still haven't noticed your own legs are vibrating like aspen leaves in a gale. Dumbass.

Still, watching him try to play it cool melted a little of the ice knotted in my gut.

The speakers in the Pensieve room crackled to life.

Cold. Flat. Zero emotion.

We scrambled out the door and headed back. My legs kept wanting to fold the whole way down the corridor. I hadn't actually died, but my body clearly hadn't gotten the memo.

I pushed open the classroom door.

A beautiful East Asian girl with glossy black hair smiled and waved. Beside her sat a boy with the classic Weasley red curls and oversized glasses, scribbling furiously in a notebook.

"You three—sit. Plenty of students missed the first run-through, so we're starting the briefing over."

Marcus Weybridge. The Auror whose body I'd just been riding.

His voice carried that drill-instructor rasp, all iron and gravel.

"Some of you came early this morning and already tried once."

His eyes swept over me, Cedric, and a few other early birds.

"Not a single one of you even graduated, so I'm explaining the mission in detail again. Not that I expected much."

He pointed at the stone basin in the center of the room.

"From this moment you will run live combat simulations through the Pensieve that holds my memories. This is the same equipment real Aurors use."

"Jihyun, when did you get here?"

"Call me Karina. We're in Britain. If the Korean kids only use Korean names, the others get weird about it."

Karina waved me off with a glare.

"I don't mind, Karina. Only Eugene Kim minds. And your Korean name's pretty."

Cedric's legs were still doing their little earthquake, but his voice was pure warmth. Percy and Penelope both nodded hard in agreement.

"Ah, understood, Miss Karina. Might this humble Eugene Kim dare inquire as to the precise hour of your arrival?"

The soft smile vanished the second the words left my mouth. Karina turned and scowled at Percy instead.

"I could've been here earlier, but Percy kept begging for a ride. So the bodyguard unnies said they'd take him too and we ended up late."

"It was on the way! Dad was going to drive me, then an emergency hit the Ministry and he had to go."

Percy Weasley—fellow third-year Gryffindor and longtime friend—flushed scarlet.

"We told you from the start we'd give you a lift. Uncle Arthur being busy isn't exactly news. Your stubbornness made half of us late."

"Karina, I think the bastard just wanted to ride in the limo."

"Isn't Percy Weasley the only person who can drag actual swear words out of our sweet Jihyun? I've known her seven years and the only time I've ever seen her lose her temper is with him."

Percy kept scribbling even while he talked to us. He finally looked up with a pained expression.

"Eugene, Karina—can you two keep it down? I need to take notes. Oh, right. Here."

"What's this?" Cedric's eyes went round.

"What is it, Percy? A thank-you gift for the morning ride?" Karina smirked and held out her hand.

"Chocolate? Is it poisoned? Eugene, you try it first." Penelope wrinkled her nose and pointed at me.

"Fuck off, Penny. You first. Percy—did you make these? Wait, is he possessed? This guy never does stuff like this."

Four rapid-fire questions later, Percy clutched his head like it was about to split.

My hands still shook while I peeled the wrapper, but I kept them low and out of sight and spoke to Percy like everything was fine. Next to me Cedric still couldn't manage the foil, so Karina opened his for him. Useless prince. I still had no idea why the rest of Hogwarts called this guy the Prince of Hufflepuff.

He'd skip meals from lunch to dinner arguing Quidditch tactics with Oliver Wood, get chewed out by Snape on night duty, then stay up all night in the dorm gaming. StarCraft II and WoW addict. Nearly flunked first-year finals, only scraped by borrowing Karina's and Percy's notes for last-minute cramming. Outside our circle nobody knew the real Cedric Diggory. That secret belonged to the five of us alone.

"Possessed? Mum packed them for all of you. I've also got two trunks of lunchboxes and snacks later—we have to eat together and send her proof photos. That's why I asked Karina for the ride. How was I supposed to haul all that alone?"

Percy scratched his head while he answered me.

"Aww, Aunt Molly made these? Holy shit, they're amazing."

"You absolute psycho. Look at that 180. Two seconds ago it was 'possessed' and 'poisoned.'"

"Who said that? I didn't hear anything."

"Me neither."

"Percy, tell her thanks. Two months of Aunt Molly food is like five years for the rest of us. Even if a zombie apocalypse hits tomorrow, one of your trunks and we'd be set. But what are you writing so hard?"

Cedric and Karina piled on the praise like proud parents.

"Percy, seriously, what is that? What are you memorizing?"

I managed to get the chocolate into my mouth with trembling fingers and leaned over to peek at Percy's densely filled notebook.

"Dude, they're going to cover all of this in the briefing. Why are you writing it down? And this isn't even yours—it's Bill's."

"Then why do you eat if you're just going to take a dump later? You need it, that's why. Bill hyung gave it to me so I'd do well. He went here too. Professor McGonagall paid his fees."

I caught the instructor's steady stare aimed our way and shut my mouth.

Marcus pointed at the basin again.

Above it sat a massive computer linked by a tangle of circuits. The monitor bore an elegant gold-foil logo in cursive: H.S.

"Is that it? Slughorn's Special Pensieve?"

Penelope whispered the question to me, but Percy answered first.

"That's right. Britain's first wizard to win a Nobel Prize in Physics. Former Professor Horace Slughorn. Currently the Queen's magical advisor."

"Weasley's explanation is correct, Clearwater. As a reward for the kind briefing you just gave your friend, both of you will run two extra laps of the grounds tomorrow morning."

Percy and Penelope went paper-white.

"This special Pensieve was donated free of charge for educational use by Professor Slughorn, co-founder of this academy. It's the same model Aurors train on—ridiculously expensive."

Marcus kept going.

"Anyone who's already been in knows: one of your senses—magical sensitivity, hearing, even digestion—will feel off compared to normal. That means it's the weakest sense in your body. Train it hard."

A couple of guys in the corner snickered about whether it boosted "stamina" too. One elegant flick of Marcus's wand shut their mouths.

Idiots. From their Facebook profiles they weren't even Hogwarts kids. I wondered if those filthy mouths would still be running after one trip through the Pensieve.

"Long-trained Auror bodies operate on a completely different sensory level from yours. Feel it. Dissect it. Remember it. When you return to your own bodies you must still hold onto that sensation. That's the primary goal of this training. Don't flinch just because it hurts a little."

Swallowing sounds rippled around the room.

My own throat went dry. The pain from minutes ago flooded back—the impact against the wall, skin burning, ribs cracking. All of it had been real.

Marcus lowered his voice.

"I called it educational equipment earlier, but that was just describing the device. This is not a field trip. Real people were hurt and killed in this incident. These are my actual memories from the scene. From this moment forward, you will think and act as Aurors deployed into a live operation."

Cedric's hands were still moving on their own, like those inflatable tube men outside petrol stations on windy days.

Yeah. He went through the same thing I did. Dead in thirty seconds... probably right next to that Tobias guy...

I watched Karina's hand settle gently over the back of Cedric's, then turned my eyes forward again.

A briefing screen lit up on the blackboard. The projector hummed to life, casting a pale glow across the slate.