After The Battle Of Hogwarts, But Before The New School Year Began, Dumbledore’s Pensieve Was To Be

after the battle of hogwarts, but before the new school year began, dumbledore’s pensieve was to be found standing in the hogwarts courtyard. harry and mcgonagall had agreed on it between themselves. it was protected against everything they could think of; offensive magic, physical attack, the weather. hogwarts extended its protections to cover it, and so it stood there, glowing invitingly, the memories flowing inside its bowl.

over the summer, they had discreetly invited as many people as they could think of to add their memories to the swirling mass. at first, it was just the people who had lost a family member - the weasleys, dennis creevey, tonks’ parents, aberforth dumbledore, lavender brown’s family. but others came, people who weren’t related to the dead but still held their memories, and the pensieve welcomed them.

those who visited the pensieve in that first year usually did with a person in mind. it wasn’t just hogwarts students, either - people made the journey by special permission of the headmistress, and were let in to see it for themselves. the same memories were replayed, over and over. fred grinning as he watched a first-year’s face break out into boils. dumbledore’s eyes twinkling as he addressed the great hall. dobby’s face lighting up as ron gifted him those mismatched socks. colin snapping pictures of harry and plastering them up around gryffindor tower. tonks making everyone laugh at the dinner table as she changed her nose into a pig snout. that first practical lesson with lupin, when they learned how to fight boggarts. lavender checking a star chart in divination. cedric and cho dancing at the yule ball. sirius feeding buckbeak in 12 grimmauld place. lily and james kissing at their wedding.

it wasn’t just harry’s friends. people harry had never heard of added their contributions for those he hadn’t known. a sixth year ravenclaw who had fallen whom harry had seen briefly before the fight, a seventh year hufflepuff who had vocally supported harry but whose name he couldn’t recall. one day crabbe’s mother appeared with a small silver bottle of her own, and they let her add her memories of a laughing baby boy among the rest. molly weasley arrived one day with two vials, one for each of her brothers. 

some people, they had no memories for. harry wished sorely that someone would come forward with memories of regulus black. all of the marauders’ school days were gone, at least as they saw them. people who had been the last survivors of their families and friends, up to the battle of hogwarts. their names were all that was left of them, and the deeds they left behind.

after a while, it wasn’t just the good memories. harry remembered seeing his father and snape, remembered how it had hurt - but also the satisfaction, in the end, of knowing that his father wasn’t a saint, that he was a person with flaws and failings as much as any. he looked at teddy lupin, who was just beginning to walk, and decided he had a right to know the whole truth, when he chose to see it.

harry confronting lupin in grimmauld place. sirius talking to kreacher. dumbledore turning away from harry. james and snape. all of this went into the mix, a record of lives that were complicated, of people who did things that were both for good and for ill.

this is who they were, the pensieve was there to say. this is who we were. remember us like this, those who are blessed to have any memories of us at all. we were people, all of us. remember us in our triumphs and our joys; remember us in our sorrows and our heartbreaks. look upon our deeds and judge us by them, if you will, but remember we were only human. keep this little part of us with you as you go about your days. we are gone, but you are not. so remember our lives.