The Raven Chronicles: Lions and Dragons

Prologue

Lupin stood in front of Dumbledore's office, staring at the wooden door with the brass knocker. He'd returned to Hogwarts on the Headmaster's request. He'd been quite surprised when the owl came with a letter from Dumbledore requesting his presence today, August 24th at 16:00.

The school year had not started yet and the castle was almost deserted. There were no teachers present. Only Filch roamed the corridors with his cat Mrs. Norris, probably preparing the classrooms for the beginning of the school year. He'd greeted him in the Entrance Hall, but Filch had only nodded as if Lupin had never left the castle. To be honest, Lupin also felt at home despite having resigned from his teaching position a few months before. He was glad that despite of everything Hogwarts was still a place he felt welcome. He took the brass knocker and knocked it twice against the solid wood. Dumbledore's voice followed immediately and asked him to enter the room.

The Headmaster sat in his high backed chair, behind his desk which was overflowing with parchments and quills. He smiled as Lupin entered the room, beckoning him to take a seat as he looked at him over his half-moon spectacles. He wore a long dark robe, almost black, which Lupin found odd. Dumbledore usually wore lighter and brighter robes.

'Thank you for coming, Remus,' Dumbledore said as Lupin sat down. 'I'm sorry my request was so short notice and secretive.'

'That's quite all right,' said Lupin quickly. 'Though I must admit I am curious for the reason of my visit.'

'I'm sure you are,' Dumbledore picked up a tea pot, 'Tea?' He asked, not waiting for an answer as he already poured both of them a cup. Lupin observed him carefully, noticing a slight tremor in his hand.

'Are you all right, sir?'

'What?' Dumbledore looked at him, confused. 'Oh yes, quite all right. I just…well…you see I have been thinking about this for some time. Whether to do this or not, and when, and who to ask…'

'I'm afraid I don't understand…'

'Do you believe he's back, Remus?' Dumbledore met his eyes. 'Voldemort…do you believe Pettigrew was indeed reunited with his former master? As Professor Trelawney foretold?'

'To be honest…I haven't really thought…haven't allowed myself to think…' Lupin picked up his teacup and took a sip, his own hands now showing a tremor. 'He might have been, Albus.' Dumbledore observed him for a moment. Then, Lupin nodded.

'So do I…' the Headmaster said heavily. 'I mean, I haven't found any proof of it yet…but I do fear Pettigrew has found him again. At least what is left of him after all these years…but, even if he is not yet at his full strength I think we should at least prepare in case he does return fully… '

'You mean, like we did last time?' asked Lupin interested. Dumbledore nodded. 'We lost half of our people last time…'

'Yes,' Dumbledore sighed. 'We will need to find new allies.'

'I can try and ask around… Carefully of course.' Lupin added, realizing all too well how cautious he had to be.

'Numbers alone…will not save us.' Dumbledore folded his hands in front of his lips. 'Have you heard from Sirius?'

'A little,' Lupin said. 'Enough to know he is safe.'

'There is something I need to tell you, Remus,' Dumbledore chose his words carefully. 'Something Sirius must never know.' Lupin looked at him, confused. 'About Briana.'

'Briana?' Lupin asked confused.

'You must swear to never tell Sirius about this,' Dumbledore pressed. 'It is vital that you don't.' Lupin hesitated, torn between his curiosity and his loyalty to his friend. Finally, though with a pain in his heart, he nodded. 'Briana did not die because of Sirius…she died because of me…because of what I asked of her.'

'What did you ask of her?' Lupin asked, forcing himself to stay calm.

'I asked her to infiltrate the Death Eaters.'

'You did what?!' Lupin jumped out of his chair.

'I knew Voldemort would be tempted to use her Sight. Briana pretended to join the Death Eaters in secret.' Dumbledore explained.

'But how?' asked Lupin confused. 'How did she manage to keep this a secret from us? From Sirius?'

'She used a Time Turner. That is why none of you knew she was gone.' Lupin paced the room, doing his utmost to control his breathing. But his fists were clenched. 'I truly am sorry,-'

'He blames himself for her death…' he said, his voice strained. 'I watched my friend turn from a care free man to an overly concerned father…fourteen years, Albus. Fourteen years! He deserves,-'

'You swore!' said Dumbledore as he now quickly rose from his chair.

'I don't care what I said. Sirius deserves the truth!' Lupin retorted. 'And so does Judy. Merlin's beard she lost her mother, he lost his love because of,-'

'Judy knows,' Dumbledore cut across him. 'I told her last year.'

'You told her? Why would you…' Lupin fell quiet. He looked at Dumbledore in disbelief and shook his head. 'You can't,' he said hoarsely, walking back to his chair and sitting down as his heart sank and his knees gave in. 'You can't, please. She can't control it. She still has nightmares about…' he broke off, resting his head in his hands.

'It is developing isn't it?' Dumbledore asked, unable to hide his hope. 'She doesn't See the past anymore does she?'

Lupin looked at him, pleadingly. 'It's shifting from past to present and future. She Sees things just before they are about to happen now. But she can't…you can't ask her.'

'How is she coping?' asked Dumbledore interested. 'It's not draining her as much as it used to is it?'

'A nap is usually sufficient,' Lupin said, staring at the parchments on the desk. 'There has to be another way.'

'We need her, Remus.' Dumbledore sat down again as well. 'If there is going to be another war, we need her Sight to win it. Perhaps she has a different role to fulfill than Briana, her gifts are developing differently after all, but she must join our fight. If she can See Voldemorts plans…'

'This is why I can't tell Sirius, isn't it?' Lupin asked. 'You never asked him with Briana, because you knew he never would have let her fight. And If I tell him the truth now he will never let Judy play her part either. Even without the truth about Briana he will not be easy to convince.'

'I was hoping you might help me with that...' said Dumbledore carefully.

'What about Judy? You said you told her about Briana, but have you asked her about this?'

'I have,' Dumbledore said, folding his hands and contemplating his words. 'I promise I will not ask anything from her that she cannot handle. But she said she will do it, as soon as she learns to control her gift.'

'She's only sixteen...' Lupin pleaded. 'You cannot expect her to do this.'

'Not yet,' agreed Dumbledore. 'But she is starting her final year at Hogwarts. And Briana wasn't that much older when,-'

'Briana died!' Lupin snapped, unable to hide his emotions.

'There are things we can do, Remus,' said Dumbledore carefully. 'Things she can learn to prepare herself.'

'You do not really believe Trelawney can help her with her Sight, do you?' asked Lupin in disbelief.

'She doesn't need help with her Sight,' said Dumbledore quickly. 'From what you just told me her body and mind are already learning how to cope with its aftermath.' He paused for a moment. 'She needs to learn how to protect herself from Death Eaters...and most importantly from him...'

'Occlumency?' asked Lupin doing his utmost to control his emotions. 'There is one teacher here who has mastered it...'

'Severus is our only option,' Dumbledore affirmed, observing Lupin over his half moon spectacles. 'And the only person I trust with this information and this task.'

'With all do respect...Sirius will kill you when he finds out.'

'Sirius only needs to agree to let Judy join the Order,' the Headmaster explained. 'We cannot tell him more or,-'

'He will find out the truth about Briana,' Lupin sighed. He picked up his cup of tea and drained it, hissing as the hot liquid burned his tongue. 'We should wait for the right moment,' said Lupin, thinking. 'I will tell him when I see him face to face. We can't risk putting anything concerning this in writing.'

'I agree,' said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. 'However, she needs to start preparing as soon as possible. I can ask Severus to start with her this school year.'

'Are you certain we can trust him?' asked Lupin, not convinced. 'He hates Sirius and he's expressed his dislike for her more than once...'

'I would trust him with my life, Remus,' he said in earnest.

Lupin eyed him for a moment. 'All right,' he said in defeat. 'I suppose the sooner she starts, the better.' He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. 'Now, about my task...'