Harry burst into the headmaster's office, clutching at a stitch in his side. Outside, the battle for the castle raged on, occasional blasts shaking the office as the duelists fought fiercely. In some part of his mind, Harry recognized that the office remained the same as it had when Dumbledore had been headmaster. The only noticeable difference was that the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses were, without exception, empty, their occupants gone to cheer the defenders of the castle on in their fight.

Snape hadn't changed a thing, and some part of Harry understood why. Deep down, the man was still working for the old headmaster, or his wishes anyway. Harry had never been surer of which side Snape stood for than when he saw the office, looking the same as it always did, the sight bringing a wave of nostalgia, comfort, and safety crashing over him in a rush.

Trying, and failing, to shake off the feelings crowding up in him, Harry made for the cabinet that he knew contained Dumbledore's old pensieve. It was of course inside, still glowing as he remembered it, and without hesitation, Harry poured Severus Snape's memories into the basin. As he held his breath and prepared to plunge into the swirling silver, he caught sight of an object on a small shelf just above the basin.

Harry felt his heart stop for an instant as he recognized it to be a very familiar object. A time-turner, the very same one he and Hermione had used to rescue Sirius four years before. It sat there on the shelf, sparkling innocently in the silver light given off by the memories. Unable to help himself, Harry plucked the magical item from its resting place, possibilities racing in his head.

The device's powers were limited of course, he knew that. But with it, he could right so many of the wrongs that had been done just on this day. Tonks, Remus, Snape, all the deaths that happened too soon could be prevented.

Then a vicious explosion rocked the office, and the time-turner slipped from between lax fingers to fall towards the pensive below. Harry scrabbled uselessly for the chain, and watched in mute horror as the object landed solidly in the swirling memories and shattered, the strange contents of the hourglass slipping out to quickly mix with shining silver.

Harry pounded a fist uselessly against the wall, feeling like crying for the first time in a long while. Then a strange sound came from the pensieve. He watched in astonishment as the liquid started to bubble like a kettle that had just been put on the heat. The office rocked under another explosion, and this time Harry heard voices accompanying it.

The door to the room, which had until now been left ajar, suddenly became aglow with green and silver light, before snapping shut with a great speed and melting away, leaving a blank expanse of wall. Seconds later someone pounded against the place it had been. "Damn it! It's sealed itself!" The voice belonged to none other than Bellatrix Lestrange.

"There's no point hammering at it!" came another voice, this one low and gruff. "It's obviously protecting someone, or it wouldn't have closed up."

Then I say we blast it open!" Bellatrix shouted. Harry gripped his borrowed wand as she began a spell. "Bomb-" She broke off in a shriek as red and gold flames erupted from the door space, blazing high and giving off great heat.

"Let's get out of here before it fries us!" Someone else shouted. "Let whoever's in there be, they'll go up with the office anyway!"

"But what if it's Potter?"

"All the better! Now come on!"

As their footsteps faded, a soft trill came from the cabinet. Harry looked up and was startled to see-"Fawkes?" he breathed. The phoenix trilled again and let several pearlescent tears fall into the pensieve.

The now frothing liquid turned a strange shade of light pink, and began bubbling more than ever. The phoenix landed on Harry's shoulder and nudged at the bag around his neck containing the broken remains of his wand.

Harry winced slightly and pulled out the broken pieces. "Sorry about your feather Fawkes." The phoenix simply cooed at him in a soothing tone. Then he nudged the pieces towards each other and cocked his head, obviously waiting for something. Harry blinked, then gently put the ailing wand together. The phoenix leaned over the wand, more tears falling from his eyes to land on the fissure in the wooden instrument. Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry Fawkes, but it can't be fixed."

The phoenix ignored his words. As more tears fell, the wand suddenly began to glow with warm red and gold light, as did Fawkes himself. The heat and light intensified. Then there was a flare of magic from the wand, and a veritable fountain of red and gold sparks poured from the tip, sending a rush of magic skirling up Harry's arm and tingling through his body.

Harry gave it a wave and was delighted to see a curtain of red and gold trail out from it, as if the wand itself was rejoicing at being reunited with its owner. Clutching it he looked at the phoenix. "Fawkes, I-um, thanks."

The phoenix cooed at him and rubbed his head under Harry's chin like a cat before giving one ear an affectionate nibble. Then he spread his wings and rose gently into the air, and singing a strange melody that was both haunting and bracing, vanished into thin air, though his song continued on, echoing about the room, and Harry was sure, the entire castle.

Unable to help himself, Harry sniffed loudly and dashed a hand across his eyes. Then he drew in a deep breath, and clutching his newly restored wand and concentrating on Bellatrix, thought, "Levicorpus!"

He knew he had succeeded when a distantly muffled screech erupted from somewhere nearby. Harry grinned viciously and lowered his wand. There. Let's see how she likes being at someone else's mercy for a change. Then he contemplated the wand he had taken from Draco Malfoy. Placing the tip of his wand to it and thinking firmly of its owner, he uttered, "Banishio." The borrowed wand sailed out of the office window, and out of sight. He smiled slightly.

Then a loud and bubbly hiss made him whip around. Five years of Snape's potions class had taught him to be very wary of that sound, as it generally meant an imminent explosion.

As it did this time. The substance inside the pensieve was frothing now, a busy mass of pearlescent pink. Then it let out a hiss and blasted up and out of the basin. Harry let out a gasp as he was drenched, and felt the peculiar rush that he was beginning to associate with entering a memory. Then the sensation worsened, and it felt as though he were apparating and portkeying at the same time. After that all sensation melded together, and Harry could make out nothing at all.

Harry came to what seemed like an interminable time later. Rising to his feet, he groaned, feeling very sore. Spotting his wand, he stooped and picked it up. Placing it in his wrist holster, he looked around, feeling very lost.

He was outside, that much was obvious, the wind blowing through the trees and the warm sun wasn't something that could be mistaken. It felt too real to simply be a memory. The feeling was bolstered as he managed to pick up and crush a handful of leaves.

Then he turned around and did a double take. A very young looking Severus Snape was facing an almost carbon copy of Harry, and another Gryffindor.

In a flash, Harry realized what he was seeing. Severus Snape's worst memory.

Then he drew his wand, thinking fast. If this really wasn't just a memory, and it didn't seem to be thus far, then maybe he could do something. He aimed it at the two Gryffindors, who were undoubtedly James Potter and Sirius Black, and muttered a spell.

It was a childish one really, and certainly not one that he'd ever use under normal circumstances. Granted he would tell anyone that asked that his idea of "normal" was undoubtedly rather skewed, given what he had to deal with from year to year.

James Potter and Sirius Black were quite suddenly very naked.

Neither noticed it immediately, but the young Severus certainly did, a look of mingled amusement and disgust crossing his features. Several girls behind Harry started giggling madly. "I swear, I always knew they were compensating for something." One of them said.

Giggling mercilessly, one of the others said, "Black must have done an engorgement charm wrong, it's much too small."

Harry was highly thankful that he was spared from having to hear any more by the sudden arrival of Professor McGonagall, who looked as fierce as ever, though with a few streaks of red in her hair. "Mister Potter! Mister Black! What are you doing?"

The two Gryffindor's jumped and finally discovered their state of undress. Both went a brilliant shade of red and James Potter's wand whisked about very quickly, restoring their robes.

Professor McGonagall, Harry decided, had evidently had a rather large amount of experience dealing with the two of them. After chastising them soundly for their idiotic behavior, she removed a sound thirty points from each of them and threatened to write their parents.

While Black simply looked bored at the threat, James Potter seemed to pale. The two of them practically bolted when she told them to leave.

Harry put away his wand, grinning, as the young Severus said something to one of his classmates and left.

"Well now, I suppose that is one way to settle an argument." Harry jumped at the sudden voice behind him. Then he turned to find Headmaster Albus Dumbledore regarding him with a hard and curious expression. "Precisely where did you come from?"

Fighting anther surge of emotion, Harry swallowed and said thickly, "A complete and utter fiasco, sir."

The headmaster's expression softened somewhat. "I think perhaps, you had better come with me." Harry could tell it wasn't a request.