- An answer -

It was already evening when Harry woke up in his bed in Gryffindor Tower. There was silence all around: who was there was sleeping, the others were probably in common room or still around the castle. Unsurprisingly, he had had a restless sleep; populated by events that had occurred one after another that night, and that hadn't really given him the rest he needed. Harry got up slowly, comforted by the idea that he could sleep again in a few hours. Without really knowing why, he hid under the Cloak of Invisibility before exiting: perhaps, the death of all those people (although it had not been in vain) was still too hard to accept, and he felt the need to be alone.

After a few steps, it was clear that the festive air still hovered, several hours after the end of the battle. Teachers, students and their relatives were still meeting to comment on the events, and to make plans for a certainly better future. Harry gave them a smile they couldn't see, then he continued to walk the corridors aimlessly until his feet led him in the Great Hall, or what was left; the walls would have been rebuilt easily, he thought, but the bodies they still hosted would have left their memory there forever. After entering the door, Harry realized immediately he was not alone: there was Neville too, next to the Gryffindor table, and he seemed intent to put on it some vials with a silver-white content. Overcome by curiosity, Harry took off his cloak and approached. They contained just what he expected, and the label placed on each of them confirmed that.

"Hey, Harry" greeted him Neville, slightly surprised to see him there.

"Hi Neville. What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm gathering thoughts" he replied, nonchalantly. "It's amazing, isn't it? A lot of people decide to leave their memories to the world, before they die".

"So… You know that memories can be collected? You know about the Pensieve?" Harry was a bit surprised.

"Yes, I do. I saw one in Dumbledore's office once. I knew immediately what it was, because my grandmother owns an almost identical one. She says it's useful to remember what over time she forgets!" The boys laughed together, as the idea of Neville's grandmother dipping into a milky liquid took shape in their minds.

"You know, I think we should give these to their families. Perhaps, there is something in there they would want to say, but they had time to".

Harry nodded sadly, sliding one by one the names on those labels. He thought of Fred, of Lupin and Tonks… and their baby, who would be raised without his parents. No one could know what that meant better than the two boys in that room.

"What you do is admirable, Neville" he complimented.

"It's just an idea, that's all".

Harry was about to say goodbye and leave him to his mission, when a particular text came under his eyes: a name and a surname, light and glaring on the label, the last he would have expected to see there.

"Her?" he asked, with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Why? What do you want to do with the memories of Bellatrix Lestrange?"

Neville turned quiet, serious, as if expecting that question at any moment. "I want to know, Harry. I want to know why she did what she did".

"But there's not a reason! She was a Death Eater, like any other. She followed Voldemort's orders".

Neville winced for a moment, hearing that name. Harry wondered how long it would have taken for people to stop being afraid, even now that he was gone.

"Well, not really. She was a woman, one of the few, and she was also the worst. She took initiatives alone, sometimes… Her master was gone, when she tortured my parents".

Harry lowered his tone, trying to be understanding. "Tonight you avenged them very well, Neville. You showed the valor of a true Gryffindor, and you killed the snake. You cannot imagine how important this is".

"I know, we won, and I'm happy. But that question has haunted me all my life. Now that it's all over, and I get the chance, I want to look for an answer".

His words seemed to leave no room for opposition. "Are you sure, Neville?"

The boy nodded gravely. Harry, instead, had a lot of doubts: he feared that the idea wouldn't lead to anything good, and that, indeed, would give him just an unnecessary pain.

"Aren't you afraid... To see her, when she used the Cruciatus Curse on your parents?" he couldn't help but ask.

That time, Neville didn't show the same control as a second before. "Actually, it's the only thing I fear. But I can run away, right? After all it's just a memory, it can't trap me".

Harry almost agreed, but he wasn't convinced. "Let me do it, then" he decided. Neville looked at him blankly. "I'm quite used to go in there, and to see a lot of things, even unpleasant. If I feel like it's worth it, I'll give you the bottle. At least you'll be prepared. "

Neville hesitated for a moment, perhaps to assess whether he should trust him. "I will give it to you, I promise" Harry reassured him.

"Okay" he decided finally. He picked up the bottle with the memories of Bellatrix and handed it to Harry.

"I'll be back in a minute".

While returning, for the third time in a few hours, in the Dean's office, Harry wondered if he had made the right choice. The temptation to go outside and throw everything to the winds was strong, he had to admit it, but he had made a promise to a friend and would have kept it. The truth was that the idea of entering the mind of that insane woman made him sick, and frightened him too. As accustomed as he was to see death and pain, what that woman had done in her life must have been unimaginable, and he wasn't sure he was ready. He was afraid to relive the time when she had killed Sirius, which must have been an overwhelming joy for her. Harry hated Bellatrix with all his heart, and nothing in the world would have changed his mind.

He tried to ask himself, once again, if at least the effort would have led to a result. What could be good, as a possible mitigating factor for the crimes she had committed, in the memories of such a person? He also hated Snape, when he collected his memory, but things were different then: he was looking for an answer, which he found and changed everything. And now, in fact, even Neville wanted an answer. Taking courage, Harry took a deep breath and walked over to the stone gargoyle.