Stolen Memories

"Harry Potter." Dolores positively tasted the boy's name as she said it. "Hiding an Invisibility Cloak in violation of the Educational Decrees. Well, well, well. It seems that the Minister and I will be able to see him expelled after all." Her pointy little teeth gleamed in the sputtering torchlight. "Cornelius will be delighted when I tell him."

"I'm sure he will," Minerva said dryly. As Dolores looked down to caress the silvery-grey fabric of the Invisibility Cloak once again, Minerva sent a narrow-eyed glare across at Snape. They had never been friends, but as colleagues and fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix there had been a certain measure of trust between them, even with Snape's suspicious past. She'd never quite believed that he would betray Harry, despite the enmity between the two of them.

Severus didn't bother to respond to the venom in her gaze, or even to acknowledge that it was there at all. Instead, he trained his attention on the gloating Headmistress.

Dolores, gleefully preoccupied with Harry's cloak, didn't even see it coming. Snape fished inside his robes for his wand and, pointing it at her, whispered an incantation. The effect on the Headmistress was immediate. She swayed on her feet and grabbed at the wall, the cloak slipping unheeded through her fingers. Staggering, she slid unceremoniously down the wall, her fingernails scraping against the stone. She landed on her backside with a heavy bump.

"Confundus Charm," Snape explained tersely to Minerva, slipping his wand back inside his robes. "You'd better get rid of that cloak now if you wish to save your precious Potter from expulsion."

Minerva bent down and scooped up the cloak from where it lay crumpled beside the Headmistress. "I'll take that, Dolores," she murmured with smug satisfaction. "It seems that you won't thwart Harry's ambition to become an Auror quite so easily. You won't be able to justify expelling him without proof, will you?"

"We'll have to be quick," Snape noted, casting a professional eye over the dazed Headmistress. He retrieved the Veritaserum antidote. Pouring a small measure of it into a glass, he held it up to the dazed Headmistress's mouth. "Drink this," he instructed. "It will help you feel better."

His actions made sense. If, when the confusion wore off, Dolores realised she was forced to be absolutely truthful, the realisation that she had been drugged was almost an inevitable connection. Minerva nodded approvingly at Snape's quick thinking.

Dolores gulped down the liquid obediently, her eyes vacant.

"We'll need to modify her memory too," Minerva decided. "If she realises how much she has revealed to us, she will do everything in her power to remove us from our positions."

"I almost wish someone would modify mine," Snape snorted. "The image of that woman with the Minister of Magic is enough to turn me off my food for the rest of the school year."

Privately, Minerva agreed with him, although she never would have come out and said so. "Best to get our friends out of here first," she mused. Carefully, she avoided using Harry and Sirius's names. One never knew when a memory modification might work imperfectly. It was imperative that Dolores never even suspected either of them had been there.

"Please do," Snape growled. He glared around the shambles of his office. When he spoke again, his voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Delightful as this visit has been, I do have work to do. This is my office, not the Great Hall or even the Hogwarts Duelling Club and Social Hour. You all may leave."

Minerva ground her teeth at Snape's hostility and, with difficulty, bit back a retort. "If you'd be so kind as to distract her," she said, nodding towards the bemused Headmistress. "I'll get our friends out of here"

Snape fixed Minerva with one of the most disgusted looks in his repertoire, but he did reach down and roughly turn Professor Umbridge about so that she was facing away from the door. "Do it quickly." His words were more of a command than a request, but in the interest of parting him from two of his greatest adversaries, Minerva ignored his tone.

It only took a brief moment to turn Harry and Sirius back to their previous forms. "Sirius," Minerva told the dog quietly, "change back and get yourself and Harry out of here. There isn't much time."

The dog became man in one fluid blur of motion. He still looked bruised and sore, but he was in much better shape than Harry, whose face was pale and who was beginning to sway on his feet.

Sirius wrapped his arm around Harry, allowing the boy to lean on him and support his weight, wasting no time in steering him towards the door. "What happened?" he whispered, staring at the huddled form of the Headmistress.

"There will be time for explanations later," Minerva said reprovingly. "Take the cloak and get Harry up to the hospital wing. We'll take care of Professor Umbridge."

"Professor McGonagall?"

Minerva looked over at Harry, enquiringly.

"Thank you."

She allowed herself a thin-lipped smile. "It might be better if you kept to your dormitory at night, Potter," she said.

Harry inclined his head. He and Minerva locked gazes, both of them aware that his response was not an assent. She offered him another of those half-smiles and did not insist. She judged it wiser not to push him into promises that he would inevitably break.

"Good night," she said. "I hope to hear tomorrow from Madam Pomfrey that you are making an excellent recovery."

"Yes, Professor," Harry responded, his voice reflecting the weariness that was becoming increasingly evident in his face.

"Come on Harry," Sirius urged. "Let's go."

"Mr. Filch may be about," Minerva reminded them, handing them Harry's cloak. "Do not allow him to see you."

Sirius tossed her a mischievous grin as he helped Harry outside. With difficulty, Minerva suppressed a reproving sniff. The man was every bit as incorrigible as he had been as a student. Some boys never grew up.

"If the touching farewells are over, perhaps we can get back to business," Snape sneered. "The Headmistress will not stay so delightfully confused all night."

Minerva once again centred her attention on Dolores. The woman hadn't moved since Snape had turned her around. Eyeing the potions professor suspiciously, she noted, "That Confundus Charm was rather intense, wasn't it? Usually people can at least walk afterwards."

"She irritated me," Severus responded smoothly. There was a vindictive gleam in his eye as he contemplated the bemused Headmistress. He did not elaborate further.

"It's probably best that she never remembers being here at all," Minerva mused. "This is more your field than mine, Severus. Can you remove all recollection of having encountered us tonight?"

"Quite simply," Snape responded arrogantly. If he was flattered by Minerva's compliment, he did not let it show.

He approached the Headmistress. She was still sitting amongst all the debris on the ground, her limbs akimbo. Crouching down beside her and easily fending off her attempts to stop him, he touched his wand to her head. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. A whispered word sufficed for the incantation, and then he was drawing a silvery substance away from her head with the wand. "A jar, if you please, Professor. You will find several in the intact cupboard against the wall."

As she retrieved the requested object, Minerva watched Snape curiously. She'd never even considered using this spell on another person. The process was almost exactly like removing memories for a Pensieve, and yet Minerva noted the look of heightened concentration on Snape's face. The wand movement was different too. Instead of drawing the memories out gracefully in one easy motion, Severus's wand moved back and forth and fractionally in and out as he withdrew it, much like Hagrid used his fishing line to draw in fish. Professor Umbridge groaned.

"Is it hurting her?" Minerva demanded.

"The discomfort is slight," Snape responded in a bored, uncaring tone. "Far less than that which she has caused your students during detention."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Minerva snapped, glaring at him.

"Perhaps you should ask them," Snape responded smoothly. "Currently, I am performing a rather difficult task and would appreciate it if you would allow me to give it my full attention. Have you got that jar handy?"

Grinding her teeth, Minerva passed it over. She watched silently as he touched the rim of the jar with his wand and allowed the silvery substance to flow down inside it. He peered into the jar, stirring the contents with his wand and staring intensely at the result. Finally, he nodded in satisfaction. "Crude, but it will suffice," he muttered. He turned and, producing a key from within his robes, unlocked a drawer in the cupboard. He slipped the memory jar inside and locked the drawer again.

"You had better remove her from this room before the disorientation wears off," Snape suggested shortly. "I have no wish to perform that spell again tonight."

Minerva had no desire to see it again either. The whole process had made her feel uneasy and a little unclean. She glanced at the locked cupboard drawer. "What do you intend to do with the memory?" she asked him.

"It may become useful," Snape said curtly. "One should never discard anything until they know it will not be of service to them.

Just then, Dolores mumbled incoherently.

"Time is short," Severus said pointedly.

Minerva nodded curtly and conjured up a stretcher. She levitated the almost inert form of Dolores onto it and sent it floating out of the door. "Do you require assistance to restore your office to order?" she asked Severus.

The potions professor cast her a withering look. "Hardly," he responded ungraciously. He glared around at the shambles of his office and, brandishing his wand, he muttered, "Reparo." As he pointed the wand at the glass on the floor, it flew back together to form the jars which had lined the walls in the room. Disgustedly, he cast his eyes over the fluid and other debris that still littered the floor. "Some of these ingredients will be salvageable," he muttered darkly. "Some, however, will not. This collection took years to assemble."

"I am sure Albus will be happy to use the resources at his disposal to assist you in replenishing your stocks when he is reinstated," Minerva responded. "Good night, Severus."

Snape grunted, whether at the prospect of restocking his supply, at the idea of Dumbledore returning, or at her farewell, Minerva did not know. He did not deign to look up as she left.

With time of the essence, Minerva set a quick pace, the stretcher skimming before her. She hastened towards Umbridge's quarters, her feet positively flying over the stone floor.

So preoccupied was she by the urgency of reaching her destination that she only had a moment's warning before Filch rounded the corner. With no time to come up with a better option, she sent the stretcher flying into one of the nearby unused classrooms.

Filch was covered in swamp water and was looking more disgruntled than usual. "She promised me he'd be expelled," he wheezed darkly to himself as he shuffled along the corridor. "As if I don't have enough work cleaning up after those filthy hooligans, I have to contend with that miserable poltergeist as well."

"Good evening, Argus," Minerva said repressively.

Filch looked up, startled to see her there. "Professor," he responded promptly. "That nasty Peeves has been up to his old tricks again. He's been worse than usual tonight, exploding that swamp. There's mess everywhere! It took me hours to clean it."

Minerva managed to hide a smile. The distraction had been more successful than she could have hoped. "Terrible," she commiserated. "You've more than earned your rest tonight, Argus. Perhaps it's time you were in bed."

"More than time, Professor," he responded. "Good night then."

"Good night, Argus."

Suddenly, there was a loud thump from the classroom in which Minerva had stored Dolores. "What was that?" Filch demanded. "More student pranks?"

He shuffled wheezily towards the classroom, but Minerva was quicker. A glance inside revealed Dolores staggering in a drunken manner towards the door. The stretcher hovered behind her. Hastily, Minerva vanished it before Filch saw it and became suspicious.

"Dolores, are you okay?" Minerva asked, with as much real concern as faked surprise.

"Headmistress!" Filch yelped, looking stunned. "What happened to you?"

Dolores tottered towards them. She was shaking her head as if trying to clear it. Her expression was still bemused. She blinked at Filch as if trying to focus her eyes.

"She seems to have fallen foul of a spell," Minerva noted in a professional manner. It was, after all, obvious.

"But how?" Filch demanded, staring at the Headmistress fiercely as though the answer might be found tattooed across her forehead. "Who would dare to attack her?"

"Perhaps it wasn't an attack at all," Minerva suggested equably. "Even Albus admitted he didn't know all of the castle's secrets. Remember what happened to Montague. Everybody thought he'd been the victim of some powerful dark magic, only to discover that he was in one of the fourth floor toilets."

"Those sneaking students have been at it again!" Filch insisted. "There must be an investigation!"

"And there will be," Minerva assured him soothingly. "However, our first priority must be the Headmistress's health."

"Of course," Filch wheezed, frowning. "We'll take her to the hospital wing, and then, with your permission, Professor, I will look into the matter."

Umbridge in the hospital wing and Filch investigating a possible attack were the two last things that Minerva needed right then. "You are very kind, Argus," she said, "but I believe that such an investigation had better be headed by me," she paused, "and of course, the Headmistress, when she recovers."

"Of course, Professor," Argus responded, "and when you catch the culprits, it will be my pleasure to administer their punishment." Minerva shuddered at the glee in his voice.

"It's very kind of you to offer, Argus," she said. "But I believe I can handle it."

Filch looked very disappointed, muttering, "I've polished all the whips and chains."

"I'm certain they will not be required," Minerva responded reprovingly, not bothering to hide her distaste.

With Filch assisting her to support Dolores, they made their way haltingly up to the hospital wing. Minerva could only hope that Harry was well out of sight and that Sirius had made his escape before they arrived.