The Pensieve and the Stranger
Harry Potter went into the pensieve, hoping to find the memory he had left in there. But he soon grew confused as a vision unfolded before him that he could not recognize as his own.
He was in an elaborate palace, standing at the top of a spiral staircase. There was a tall man running up the staircase, his dark brown curls bouncing, as if trying to keep up with him. "Ah, yes." he said, sitting down and putting his hands in a steeple in front of his chin. "This is the best place in my Mind Palace to think. Now then..." he looked in Harry's direction, and Harry almost ran and hid, but then he remembered that Sherlock couldn't see him. This was a memory, not an interactive experience. "Solving a mystery. What fun! So, what do I have to go on?” The man looked into the distance and thought for a while.
"Liberty." A loud bell began to ring. It sounded like it was quite large, and Harry was confused until he realized it must be Liberty Bell. But why would the bell be here? It was American! And how could this stranger replicate the noise? He had no wand; how could he possibly have done it? Harry didn't have long to think about this, for the bell was soon to be replaced by a huge marching band. They walked right through the place as if it was perfectly normal to do so. Who was this wizard, to bring so many musicians here? Or else, who was he to conjure up such a detailed image? Harry was so deep in thought he almost didn't hear the man.
"Liberty, liberty, liberty..." The man kept repeating it to himself as if it was of crucial significance. "Never mind. Moving on. In..."
The palace transformed into a hotel. An inn. Harry looked around, amazed. Who was this man? Then a large map of Asia appeared out of nowhere. Harry would have suspected the man was using accio to summon it there, but he had said nothing. Harry walked closer to get a look at the map, remembering that the man would be unable to see him. A country that Harry recognized as India was highlighted on the map. Harry tried to think about what was going on. Maybe the man wanted to book an inn in India… but Liberty Bell and the Liberty March were American. It didn’t make sense. Perhaps the man was planning a long trip? The scene changed again. Harry found himself in Germany. Okay, definitely planning a trip. Harry looked up at a sign to see where in Germany he was. He was in Ingolstadt, or at least, that was what he saw around him. Harry reminded himself that he hadn’t actually moved. Then the scene dissolved and they were back in the palace. Harry noticed a small chunk of metal. The man picked it up and muttered to himself. “Indium. Atomic number 49… No, that’s no good. There’s got to be something!”
Harry thought a moment. Then he remembered what the man had said earlier. This stranger wasn’t planning a trip, he was trying to solve a mystery. All these different things that had shown up were clues. Or rather, what he was trying to make of the clues.
Two dogs ran up the stairs, but the man quickly decided they weren’t relevant. Then an American came in and started singing. Harry didn’t recognize the singer at first, but the song sounded familiar. To his surprise, the man joined in with the singer. It was then that Harry recognized the song as “Hound dog”. As Harry began to wonder what a hound had to do with anything, the man dismissed the singer quickly and looked very frustrated.
Harry realized that that must have been the last of the clues. He wished he could do something, so he thought a moment. Then it occurred to him: the least he could do was put all the clues together. This was a pensieve, but maybe it would work. Harry used his wand to write the words “Liberty in Hound”. He let them float for a moment. Then he realized that “in" wasn’t capitalized, which didn’t look quite right. He fixed it: “Liberty In Hound”. Wait a minute, wasn’t “In" an abbreviation for Indiana? All three of the clues had had possible links to America. “Liberty IN Hound”. Liberty, IN. Maybe Liberty was in Indiana. “Liberty, Indiana Hound”. No, that didn’t look right. What if “hound” was all in capital letters? “Liberty, Indiana HOUND”. If it was all capital letters, it must be an acronym. “Liberty, Indiana H.O.U.N.D.”
The man did see, and he smiled in satisfaction and accomplishment, then disappeared. The memory was over, and Harry left the pensieve, utterly confounded by this strange phenomenon.
***
A few months later, Harry saw the man again. Could this really be him? Harry was awestruck.
“Well, what are you gaping at? Don’t just stand there, you idiot!”
“I’m sorry, I just…”
“Just what?”
“I just… thought I’d seen you before.”
“I’m known by the whole of London, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve seen me in the papers.” Harry hadn’t read a muggle paper in a long time, and he certainly hadn’t seen the man in any of the wizarding world’s papers.
“No, not like that.” Harry decided to take a chance. “Liberty in hound. Liberty, Indiana. H.O.U.N.D.” The man’s face froze.
“How did you know that?” He relaxed a moment later. “Oh, you read John’s blog, don’t you?” Harry shook his head.
“Never. I don’t even know your name… So how did it go? Did you solve the case? It was a case, right? Are you some sort of detective?”
“It went very well, thank you. I always solve my cases.” The man stuck out his hand. “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective.”
“Harry Potter, wizard. I’ve also been known as the boy who lived, and the person who defeated Voldemort.”
“Well, then. Nice to meet you, Mr. Potter. It seems you have quite the resume.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, if I ever need a wizard’s help in a case, you’ll be the first one I ask.”
“Thank you. Goodbye!” But the enigma of a man had already left.
No comments:
Post a Comment