Hey gang! Sorry for the delay! But we took the kids on one last vacation before school starts in a couple of days. Thanks for sticking with the story. This chapter was a little difficult and not one of my best, so please be kind. Things were left hanging for a reason and I promise I will get back to the conversations that seem unresolved in future chapters!
Enjoy!
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The Lives We Touch | ||||||
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Category: Pre-OotP, Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black Genres: General Warnings: None Rating: PG Reviews: 152 Summary: *** The author has been reminded via the e-mail address on file that this story is listed as incomplete and has not been updated in over 2 years *** When ten year old Harry Potter is assigned to Maggie Thompson's fifth year class at Little Whinging Primary School, the young teacher takes an immediate interest in and liking to the strange but sweet young boy. As their friendship grows through the years, Maggie finds herself pulled into a new world beyond her wildest imagination that sets her on a course for love and adventure. Hitcount: Story Total: 67154; Chapter Total: 3871 Author's Notes: |
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Chapter Eleven - Kitchen Conversations “Her name is Maggie Thompson and she was my teacher at Little Whinging Primary School.” Maggie paused on the stairs as Harry’s familiar voice floated up from the kitchen. She should have known that she would be the main topic of conversation that morning. “She saw everything.” Harry continued, unaware that Maggie was listening on the stairs. “She saw Sirius transform from his Animagi form, saw him confront Wormtail, and the wand behind Peter's back. She heard him cast the spell. She saw the explosion. Everything.” “The poor woman.” Said a female voice that Maggie vaguely remembered belonging to Harry’s friend Hermione. “It must have been awful for her. So confusing.” Maggie heard Ginny’s voice next as the young girl explained bitterly, “She feels like she has been going a bit mad for the last twelve years. Now she knows that she is not and you don’t even believe her?” “He‘s not saying that he doesn‘t believe her,” Remus explained quietly in his calm tone. “He is just saying that your plan to free Sirius may not be as foolproof as you think.” “But why not?” Maggie heard Harry ask, a hint of desperation in his voice. “She knows the truth. All Miss Thomp…Maggie…has to do is testify before the Ministry that she was on the street in Godric’s Hollow and saw Pettigrew turn himself into a rat. You do keep records about the memories that you charmed that day, don’t you?” Not knowing whether she should flee back up to her bedroom or make an appearance in the kitchen, Maggie simply froze when she heard the next voice. “Yes, Harry, but it is not as simple as you might think…” “That voice.” Maggie whispered, shrinking back against the wall as her mind involuntarily flashed back to the last time she had heard that deep, velvety smooth voice. "Did you see anything, girl?" "Maggie," she had managed to say, still trying to figure out what happened. "What?" "Maggie. My name is Maggie." "Maggie,” the voice said in a gentler tone as she looked up at the tall, black man crouching down beside her, “what did you see?" "He," Maggie waved her hand at the black-haired man, who was still laughing, "chased another man -" "How did he look?" But before Maggie could answer the black man’s questions, chaos once again erupted around her. "That's him!" "Sirius Black?" "Look at the street!" "God, look at all the Muggles. This will take days to cover up." "Whose finger is that?" "Look at the street! Cracked the sewers, he did." “Maggie!” The twelve year old girl blinked quickly as she looked up in confusion at the dark skinned man with the kind eyes. Shaking her arm, he asked urgently, "Tell me about the man you saw, girl." "Short, rather fat. Light brown hair. He was holding a stick and pointed it at the ground..." “Pettigrew.” The man swore quietly under his breath and then he was gone. “She’s a Muggle and a pretty unreliable witness.” The familiar voice continued, dragging Maggie back to her present reality. “I was there that day, Harry. I performed those memory charms myself and…” “Something went wrong, Kingsley!” Harry cried out suddenly and Maggie could swear she heard Harry’s palms hit the wooden kitchen table. “Because she saw it! She dreams about it! Muggle or not, Maggie Thompson can prove that Sirius didn’t kill Peter Pettigrew!” “Harry, dear, please calm down.” Mrs. Weasley’s voice cut in and the young teacher could just picture the matronly woman moving over to comfort the boy. “Kingsley is on our side in this. He is in charge of the search for Sirius, after all.” “And there are a few realities about this situation that you are conveniently forgetting, Harry.” Maggie was pretty sure that was Bill’s voice, but it could also have belonged to his father. She was still pretty shaken up by hearing the deep voice from her dreams when she heard it again. “The Ministry doesn’t want to hear anything about Sirius except that he’s been captured and returned to Azkaban,” The man with the deep voice explained patiently. “Magic for Muggles is an element of fiction, used to manipulate the mind into wonderful tales of fantasy that enthrall their imaginations into wishing it were real. To tell people that this woman has been introduced to the darker end of the tale would be enough to disturb even the most steady of rocks. And some people in the Ministry would make her out to be crazy, Harry. They would go to any lengths to discredit her story…especially once they find out that she is a friend of yours.” Maggie pursed her lips at that statement but couldn’t give it another thought as Harry suggested, “Then we’ll take her to Dumbledore. He will believe her and…” Sirius’ bark-like laugh interrupted Harry as he exclaimed, “Dumbledore? Harry the only person less popular than you at the Ministry right now is Dumbledore.” “Why can’t you understand?” Harry cried and Maggie finally decided that she had to enter the kitchen. As she descended the last few steps, the deep voice said again, “Yes I do understand, Harry. But I also understand that as far as the Ministry is concerned, all of the Muggles on the street that day think that there was a gas explosion. No wands, no magic, no people turning into little fluffy animals at a blink of an eye. And if we turn up out of the blue with this woman who says that is not true…“ “But it is true,“ Maggie announced, walking into the kitchen to find herself face to face with the same crowd from the night before and a tall dark man that seemed oddly familiar to her, “It’s all true. It was the last thing I saw and it's coming back to me clearer than anything else. Last night, after being in this house, it was as if I could sense every step, every voice with an extra edge of clarity. I remember every little detail, and believe me, I remember who killed all those people.” Nodding over at Sirius, who was standing near the fireplace with his arms crossed over his chest, she added, “He's not a murderer. And I’m ready to tell that to whoever will listen.” “Well, first we have to find someone willing to listen.” Mr. Weasley muttered, moving out of the way as his wife brushed him aside and descended upon Maggie. “Good morning, dear.” Molly Weasley chirped cheerfully, taking Maggie by the arm and leading her through the crowd and over to the table. “How did you sleep? Are you hungry? We have eggs and bacon and toast…George, please make Maggie a cup of tea, will you?” Peering down at her, Molly continued without taking a breath, “What a pretty color shirt, dear. It really brings out your eyes.” Maggie was sure she heard Sirius snort from somewhere behind her, but her blue eyes were focused on the dark man in the long, royal blue robes staring at her from his seat in the corner. She could practically feel his eyes boring into her as she raised her eyes to meet his and asked quietly, “Do you remember me?” Everyone in the room seemed to freeze at once as the two stared at each other for a few more moments before the man breathed, “It can’t be.” “Your voice,” Maggie whispered back, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. “I know your voice. You were there…that day.” The man nodded as he continued to study her and she started again, “My dream always ends after the explosion, but when I heard your voice a few moments ago…I remembered more. I remembered you.” “It is this house.” Ginny remarked quietly, staring at Maggie as the young teacher continued to stare at Kingsley. “It’s making your memories even more vivid than ever!” “You spoke to me…on the street.” Maggie continued as if Ginny hadn’t spoken. “You asked me what happened.” “Maggie,” The dark man finally said, seeming to break himself free from some sort of trance. “You couldn’t have been more than ten at the time…” “She was twelve.” Harry interrupted. But Kingsley kept talking as if Harry weren’t even in the room, “But those eyes….I remember those eyes of yours. You told me that you had seen a small, fat man who was pointing a stick at the ground.” “And then you were gone.” Maggie remembered. “This is unbelievable.” He breathed again and then looked beyond her over to Sirius and said, “That’s why I never really believed that you were guilty…why I agreed to take over the search for you when Dumbledore assured me of your innocence. Because of her…a little blond girl with beautiful blue eyes.” Looking back at Maggie, he added, “But I didn’t perform the memory charm on you. Someone else did. Someone who…” “…obviously wasn’t as powerful a wizard as you are, Kingsley.” Mr. Weasley stated, the pieces beginning to fit together for him. “You see? Something did go wrong…” He didn’t get to go any further as the conversation was interrupted by a horrible shrieking sound and Sirius simultaneously shouting, “Oh mother, shut up!” Everyone seemed to spring into action as Sirius looked back at Maggie and stated, “He must not see her here.” “Sirius, Snape is…” Remus began to say but quickly shut his mouth when Sirius shot a deathly glare in his direction. “Fine, let’s go. We’ll meet up in the drawing room today.” “What’s going on?” Maggie asked as everyone began disappearing up the stairs. “Professor Snape is here.” Ginny informed Maggie, setting down a plate of breakfast in front of her as if nothing strange were going on. “The Order of the Phoenix is going to meet upstairs today, I guess.” “But why don’t they want him to see me?” Maggie asked, ignoring the food in front of her. “Isn’t he a member of the Order?” “Yes,” Ginny shrugged, pouring a bit more tea into the mug that Maggie had never touched to warm it up, “but Sirius doesn’t trust him. He’s just protecting you.” “He seems to be doing a lot of that lately.” Maggie muttered and then suddenly realized that they were the only two left in the kitchen. “Where did everyone else go?” “To spy on the Order.” Ginny answered simply, settling herself down across from Maggie at the table. “It’s their favorite past time.” “But not yours?” “Oh, I enjoy it,” The redhead informed her with a grin. “But I didn’t want to be rude and leave you here by yourself. Hermione or the twins will fill me in later.” “Oh.” Maggie replied, as if she understood exactly what Ginny had just explained to her. Maggie took a few bites of her eggs before Ginny remarked, “I like your shirt. It’s a good color on you.” She almost choked on her breakfast as she swallowed and replied, “Because it brings out my eyes?” “Yes, now that you mention it…” The younger girl replied, looking at Maggie strangely. But Ginny simply shook her head and said instead, “That was intense, huh? All that stuff with Kingsley?” Maggie nodded and said, “I was always afraid that no one would ever believe me, you know? I would pretend to lie awake for hours on end as someone else's memories had a bachelor party in my head and my brothers and sister all thought I was nuts or that my imagination had gone into overdrive. It was always so hard to explain everything I had seen and heard in my dreams.” Peering at Ginny‘s understanding face over the table she asked quietly, “What do you think is going to happen now?” Ginny shrugged and said, “They’ll probably talk it over with Professor Dumbledore…” “Professor Dumbledore?” “The Headmaster of Hogwarts.” Ginny explained, stealing a piece of uneaten bacon off of Maggie’s plate. “He’s the most powerful wizard around. You’ll like him.” Maggie nodded and was quiet for a minute as she picked at her eggs and finally asked, “The man who remembered me…” “Kingsley Shacklebolt.” Ginny supplied, crunching on Maggie’s bacon. “He works for the Ministry.” “Yes, him…he said that the people at the Ministry wouldn’t believe me because I was a friend of Harry’s,” Maggie continued, “And then Sirius said that this Professor Dumbledore was the only person less popular than Harry. Why is that?” Ginny munched thoughtfully on her bacon before she said, “There are a great many parts to the story that I still don't understand, but I do know that Harry is a threat to the ministry and to Voldemort. I don't know why Voldemort wanted to kill Harry’s father and mother, but when he returned a few months ago…the ministry didn‘t want to hear anything about it. Dumbledore tried to tell them what Harry had seen, but they have turned a blind eye and that‘s why Dumbledore got the Order of the Phoenix back together.” The younger girl laughed at the confused look on Maggie‘s face and added, “This is a story with so many twists that even when you live it you can barely keep up with it. But don‘t worry, I‘m sure that Sirius or Harry will explain it all to you soon.” “Now that I’m right in the middle of it?” “Well, it’s really important to Harry that Sirius’ name be cleared.” Ginny informed the teacher, folding her arms on the table in front of her. “Not only does it mean that he doesn’t have to go back to the Dursley’s, but it means that Sirius will be able to join in the fight against Voldemort…and that is what Sirius wants more than anything. So Harry wants it for him.” “Even if it means that one of them may die in the process?” Maggie asked, the words sending a shiver down her spine as soon as they left her lips. The reality of this world was just beginning to set in and it frightened her a bit more than she had anticipated. “They both say that there are things worth dying for,” Ginny shrugged, her voice tinged with sadness, “Harry would join the Order now if he could.” “He’s not in the Order?” Maggie asked, suddenly realizing that Ginny had said that Harry and his friends were spying on the meeting instead of participating in the meeting. “None of us are,” Ginny informed her. “Not until we finish school.” “Oh.” Maggie said again and turned back to her eggs as she tried to digest them and all of this new information. Looking up at Ginny again, she remarked innocently, "You seem to understand Harry pretty well, don't you?" Maggie smiled as the young girl's face turned a color as red as her hair and knew something was up. “Can I ask you a question?” Ginny asked suddenly as Maggie continued to eat her breakfast. “Sure,” Maggie replied, “as long as it doesn’t have to do with dogs or rats or evil wizards.” The girl grinned and asked, “Why are boys so stupid?” “Ah, boys,” Maggie answered with a grin, “a subject I am much more familiar with.” She raised her eyebrow at Ginny and asked slyly, “Are we talking about all boys in general or one boy in particular?” “Is it obvious?” Ginny asked in alarm. “Probably not to Harry.” Maggie tried to assure her. “He knows.” The girl said glumly, and began to scratch the table with her fingernail. “But he pretends that he doesn’t.” “So, why is he stupid?” “Well, Harry and I are friends and everything…but there is so much that he won’t share with me. He and Hermione and Ron are always locked up in their room, making plans that they won’t include me on.” “What does Hermione say?” “That there are things that I just don’t understand,” she answered glumly. “But I won’t be able to understand if they don’t let me in, right?” “Well, maybe they are trying to protect you?” Maggie suggested. "It seems to be a common trait with the men around here." “No,” Ginny replied stubbornly, “they’re always like that. The Holy Trio." Ginny screwed up her face as she said those last words mockingly before adding, "And it only gets worse when we go back to school. In a few days, I’ll have lost my chance to get to know…” “You’re going back to school in a few days?” Maggie interrupted in alarm. “All of you?” “Me, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George.” Ginny informed her, looking at her strangely again. “The next term at Hogwarts begins September 1st.” “And what about your parents?” Maggie asked quickly, the wheels in her mind turning. “Are they staying here after you leave?” “No,” Ginny answered with a shake of her head, “they will go back to the Burrow…our house.” It finally seemed to dawn on Ginny what Maggie was asking and her lips curled into a smile as she said, “And then you will be here alone with Sirius. That could be interesting.” Maggie tried to sound nonchalant as she asked, “Why is that?” “I may only be 14, but I’m not blind!” Ginny exclaimed with a wicked grin. “The man is hot!” Later, she would have sworn that time stood still. Maggie choked loudly on her bacon as she felt the color drain from her face, the remaining pigment of her disabled eyes flashing for an instant, like a long distance sensor ringing loudly in her head. Alone with Sirius... Her mind flashed briefly to the tingle that had gone through her when he had touched her skin with his calloused hands. Shaking that thought out of her mind, she asked, “But Remus will be here, won’t he?” “Yes, but he is gone a lot on mysterious business for the Order,” Ginny said knowingly, “Sirius, on the other hand, can’t leave the house. And neither can you.” “But…” “Ginny!” Molly’s voice suddenly filled the kitchen as she bustled through the doorway. “Come on upstairs. We are going to clean out a room for Maggie to sleep in while she is here.” Turning to the young blond, the red headed woman clucked motherly, “We are going to have you out of Sirius’ bed before nightfall, young lady.” “Do you need some help?” Maggie asked, standing up suddenly as Ginny silently shook with laughter at her mother’s choice of words. “Of course, dear.” Molly said, heading back to the doorway. “We’ll show you how witches take care of household chores. It will be a real education for you.” “Great.” Maggie said as she followed the two Weasley women out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. This whirlwind of an existence, for her, had just become an emotional one. |
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