Do you remember Dobby, the Malfoy's House-Elf?" Harry asked. When Dumbledore nodded, Harry continued, "He knew, somehow, what Lucius Malfoy had planned and tried to keep me away from Hogwarts in order to keep me safe. First, he tried to make me think my friends had abandoned me by intercepting my mail and then having a talk with me."
Harry frowned as he remembered the outcome of that talk.
"I figured out he had intercepted my mail and refused to not return to Hogwarts. Dobby then decided to make sure I couldn't go back by using a Hover Charm in front of some guests to float a pudding." Harry continued, "This got me a warning from the Improper Use of Magic Office, letting the Dursley's know I couldn't use magic on them.
Uncle Vernon locked me in my room, put bars on my window and installed a cat flap so I could be fed. I was let out twice a day to use to toilet and shower, but was otherwise confined to my room. Three days later, Ron, Fred and George showed up and rescued me."
The twinkle had gone out in Dumbledore's eyes as he listened to Harry's tale. His face grave, he asked Harry, "Were you fed adequately?"
"I had a bowl of porridge for breakfast and a bowl of cold soup for dinner, all three days." Harry replied, somewhat grimly, "Hedwig had some owl treats, but I gave her some vegetables from the soup to keep her fed properly."
"I believe I shall have to go and have a word with your Aunt and Uncle about the manner in which you are treated, as well as visit the Improper Use of Magic Office." Dumbledore sighed, "Do you recall who sent you the letter, Harry?"
"It was…Mafalda Hopkirk I think." Harry tried to remember the letter from last year.
"Ah yes. A former Ravenclaw Prefect." Dumbledore mused, "Now she's Commander-in-Chief of the Improper Use of Magic Office. How time flies. Might I have a memory from you to prove your innocence?"
"A…memory?" Harry said uncertainly, "Ummm…how…?"
"Ah, pardon me. You will not have come across such a thing, I'm sure." Dumbledore apologised, "Allow me to demonstrate."
With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore summoned a shallow stone basin from a cupboard nearby. Harry looked at it in awe. The rim was encrusted with odd runic symbols that glowed with power and it was filled with a silvery liquid that glowed a luminescent silver colour.
"What is this sir?" Harry asked softly.
"This, Harry, is my Pensieve." Dumbledore told him with a smile, "This will not be the case for one as young as you, but occasionally, I feel as if I have too many thoughts and memories crammed in my mind. When that happens, I used the Pensieve. It allows me to view my memories either from the perspective of an observer from without or from within the memory as is needed. Links and patterns become much easier to chain together when viewed as such, when you can take the time and leisure to view them as you please."
"That silvery stuff's your thoughts?" Harry said in astonishment.
"Indeed." Dumbledore said, "Now, to draw out your thoughts, you press the tip of your wand to your temple and concentrate on the memory you wish to extract, then you gently pull the wand away and the memory emerges as a silvery strand affixed to the end of your wand. Allow me to demonstrate."
Dumbledore paced the wand at his temple for a moment, and then drew it back, a thin strand of pure memory emerging, which Dumbledore placed in the Pensieve. He then raised it slightly and swirled it around before putting it down and prodding at it with his wand.
Immediately, the silver liquid surged up and took the form of a beaming Gilderoy Lockhart, which began to rotate atop the Pensieve as the memory spoke in Lockhart's familiar, expansive, narcissistic voice.
"Hi! As I am sure you know, I am Gilderoy Lockhart, holder of the Order of Merlin Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League and Five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award!" memory-Lockhart said, flashing his teeth in his oft-used charming smile, adding a roguish wink at the end before continuing to speak.
"I heard through the grapevine that you're having a spot of bother filling the DADA position this year. I thought I would help you out and offer my services. I need no resume; merely look through my published works and you can see that I am the best man for the job. What do you say then, Headmaster?"
"That is quite enough out of you, Gilderoy." Dumbledore muttered and prodded the silvery memories again, prompting the figure to seep back into the tray.
"Was that his interview?" Harry asked curiously.
"An abridged version." Dumbledore replied, "He spoke at great length about his 'heroics' and it took quite some time to bring him to the point of actually asking for the job. Care to try and extract a memory?"
"Okay." Harry said and lightly placed the wand tip on his temple and focussed on when Dobby had visited him, from when Harry had walked into his bedroom to just after the Mason's had left. Feeling a warm sensation, Harry slowly drew back his wand, a silver strand attached to the end. He quickly placed it in the Pensive.
"Well done Harry. Now let's go in." Dumbledore said with a smile, "Merely touch the surface of the memories with your finger and you will be drawn into the most recent memory added."
Nervously, Harry reached out and touched the surface with his finger. He felt like he was being tugged into the silvery liquid. He fell through blackness before landing lightly in what he recognised as his own room at Number 4 Privet Drive, joined a few moments later by Professor Dumbledore.
"This kind of reminds me of Tom Riddle's diary, when he showed me when he framed Hagrid." Harry scowled at the thought of his first friend in the Wizarding World being framed by the person who would one day become Lord Voldemort.