Conversations in the Kitchen

As soon as the door was shut behind him, Snape caught Philomena's eye and allowed a truly evil grin to overtake his face. Less then a second past before it disappeared completely. She grinned back at him.

"I do believe we did it," she whispered. "Got them, and good."

Severus rubbed his palms together, his face falling into his traditional knowing smirk. "Just you wait until you hear what they start whispering."

"Did you see Podmore's face?" she giggled in undertone. "He thought he was going to die!"

"I was rather busy watching Fletcher's face," answered Snape, taking her elbow and leading her down the hall. "Stupid man…"

"Thank you for that, by the way," she said, still unable to stop grinning. "He did scare me."

He made a careless motion with his free hand. "Think nothing of it," he said. "Payment, perhaps, for all the chocolate and tea."

She shook her head. "Remus is quite put out about the chocolate, you know," she confided. "He just doesn't want to say anything about it."

Snape's lips twitched in amusement. "Suffering in silence is one of his strong points," he quipped. "Yours as well, must run in the family."

She gave him an offended glare. He gave a jerk of his head to show he hadn't actually meant it. With a sigh, she relaxed. "Why were you so adamant about not trying the Tergum Visum?" she asked.

Instantly, Snape stiffened, all traces of levity gone. "Not now," he said tersely. "I'll tell you later."

Unnerved by his reaction, afraid he was angry with her, she lost her grin. "I'm sorry."

He gave an irritated grimace, but said nothing as he continued to lead her through the twisted hallways of Grimmauld Place until they finally reached the kitchen. A buzz of conversation reached their ears.

"Here you are, Ms. Lupin," he snapped, throwing the door open with a bang. "I hope you'll be able to remember your way, since I shall not take the time to lead you about again."

Unsure whether this was part of his act, or whether he was truly upset with her, she simply nodded, and edged into the room.

The conversation died, as they all stared at her. As usual, Molly Weasley was the one to smooth over a tense situation. "Come and sit down, dear," she said warmly, hopping over to lead the girl the nearest seat, between Bill Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks. "You must be tired, have something hot."

Philomena gave Molly a smile, as she sat herself. "Have a cuppa," said Tonks, helpfully pouring Philomena a cup of tea, and rather unhelpfully filling her saucer as well.

Philomena was about to take a sip, but Snape snatched the cup from her. "What," said Severus, in a dangerous voice, "did I tell you about caffeine, young lady?"

The room fell into in a tense silence. "You said not for a day," she answered, bewildered.

"I said at least a day" snapped Severus, crossing the room and slammed the cup with a splash on the side table. "Just be glad you didn't asphyxiate."

With a scowl, Severus turned on his heel and stalked to his chair, which was slightly set off from the rest, and helped himself, careless of what he was eating. Molly sighed, and automatically cast a cleaning charm, which took care of the spill.

"Don't mind Professor Snape, deary," said Tonks dismissively, "He's an old grouch, and far too paranoid about allergic reactions."

Philomena looked towards Snape in surprise. "Professor?" she asked. "I didn't know he taught."

Snape slammed down the serving spoon he'd just used. "I'm a Potions Master," he snapped. "I live in a school, associate with academic riffraff like your father. What did you think I did?"

"Oh, I don't know," she returned, now thoroughly confused as to how much of his snapping was caused by actual anger and how much was affected, "for some odd reason I thought you were a spy or a Dark Arts expert or something. Never dreamt you'd willingly mentor children in your spare time."

Hestia Jones choked on her potatoes. Arthur Weasley tried valiantly not to snort, as he patted the woman on the back.

"Silly girl," gritted Snape. "I believe you're watching the future too closely to see what's going on right about you."

"Don't be harsh on the girl," chided Hestia Jones. "You've only just met her."

"Just met her?" mocked Snape. "I'll have you know I'm the one responsible for the talent she's flaunting."

"With all due respect, Professor," said Tonks, "the Seer Gift is inherited, not learned."

"It's just that- a gift," stressed Snape. "And like any talent it's innate. It must be brought to the fore, recognized, honed, trained. I did that."

Philomena, hoping to make up for whatever she'd done to anger him flashed him a grateful smile. "He's absolutely right. I would be completely helpless were it not for his help. Without his potions, I would be no better a Seer than any of you. I will never be able to thank him enough."

"Stop that emotional gushing," said Snape sourly, mutilating his turnips, "you're breaking my heart."

Philomena concentrated on eating, hoping the others would simply resume their previous conversation. After a short uncomfortable silence, it happened.

"What were you saying, Bill," said Hestia, "about that tomb you were working on?"

"Oh yes, that," said Bill. "Like I said, there wasn't anybody actually buried in it, due to a very grave mistake, if you'll pardon the pun."

Arthur let out a snort of laughter, which he covered with a cough when he caught his wife's frown. Snape shook his head in disgust, and crossed to the cabinet on the far side of the room.

"Did they forget the coffin?" asked Emmeline in a bored tone, "or did they somehow manage to destroy the body in the process of trying to preserve it?"

"Worse," said Bill. "They decided to test the Wards before the funeral, but they couldn't take them back down in time for the funeral, as they'd not developed the Wards with a Cancellation clause. Our historian speculated that they didn't inform their customer, ran off with the offerings, and disposed of the body covertly, and that they might even have done it on purpose, knowing nobody could enter the tomb to check whether all was in order."

Arthur, being seated at the head of the table, was the only one who could see Snape get out a large tumbler, and fill it with milk. Hiding his surprise was difficult, as he watched the Potion's Master add cocoa and stir with the same precision as he would a Calming Draught.

"How did you break the wards, then?" asked Philomena.

Bill fingered his earring carelessly. "The Wards were extremely complicated, specific types of attack triggered different curses. Like a booby trap, really. There were provisions in the Spells which prevented everything from a crowbar, to Avada Kedavra, unleashing the most terrible Curses… Mind Leaching, Irreversible Transfiguration…"

"Seems a lot of work for nothing," sniffed Emmeline Vance. "There was nothing in it, why bother breaking in? What good did it do?"

"There were two reasons to destroy it," replied Bill, "The first was that the Bank is looking into replicating some of the Curses to protect the Bank, in particular one intended to freeze time for the robber until apprehended. The other reason is Anti Muggle Security. There have been several attempts by them over the years to open the tomb, because of the records of the lavish burial treasure. But they've all disappeared, or been killed, you see, and it was only a matter of time before the Muggles realized something out of the ordinary, for them anyway, was going on."

"You still haven't told how you broke the Curse," Hestia pointed out blandly, tucking a stray strand of dark hair back behind her ear.

Bill grinned. "Dynamite."

"Dynamite?" repeated Arthur eagerly, excited enough to tear his eyes away from the odd sight of Severus casting a very precise warming Charm on his glass of cocoa. "That Muggle equivalent of an Irradicus? You didn't tell me! You took pictures, I hope."

"That's impossible," protested Emmeline, ignoring Arthur, "If the wards were so strong, a Muggle device couldn't possibly have-"

"That's where you're wrong," interrupted Bill. "You see, the Curses are all set to specific triggers. They didn't have anything set for a dynamite attack since they didn't know it existed. Sometimes, a Muggle device is the only way to subvert Magic, except those relying on electricity, which tend to go haywire around large amounts of Magic."

"I don't see why there wouldn't be a trigger for an explosion," mused Arthur. "I was sure Muggles knew about explosives for quite some time, and I know those chaps were paranoid about grave robbing, they'd be just as worried about a Muggle attack as a Wizarding one."

"But they didn't have them until at least the ninth century, common time," said Tonks. "And I'm sure the tomb Bill's talking about is at least a thousand years before that."

Bill nodded. "That's right," he answered. "And even when they did have it, it was a while before they used it for more than fireworks."

Snape slunk behind Philomena's chair and abruptly slammed the perfect glass of hot chocolate next to her plate. She started so violently that she nearly fell into Bill's lap.

Philomena took a deep shuddering breath as she righted herself. Her eyes darted from Snape's face to the glass and back again, as she realized that this was his way of not only apologizing for his earlier snapping, but also of furthering the plan of deception. She smiled quickly to show she understood.

"Drink up," he said, returning to his place, "before it becomes insipid at room temperature."

Snape returned to attacking his meal as though nothing had happened. "What were the Muggles told?" he asked.

"What Muggles?" asked Tonks distractedly, staring at Philomena's glass as though it was about to bite somebody.

"Tomb. Egypt. Explosion," clarified Snape sourly. "Surely they asked questions?"

Bill swallowed. "Not my department. I just studied the Wards until we could determine how to dismantle them."

Philomena sipped her drink and smiled at Severus, who scowled back, though he understood that she'd accepted his apology.

"So, you simply detonated it?" asked Philomena. "Surely that didn't cancel all the Wards? There must have been some attached to the stone itself, and the triggers have yet to be tripped."

"Well," explained Bill, "an explosion, if strong enough, can physically separate Magic from the object charmed. The object reverts to its original state, and the Magic diffuses into the atmosphere, as harmless Neutral Essence."

"I see," said Philomena. "In that case, wouldn't an Irradicus have the same effect?"

"Because the Irradicus is Magic," explained Bill, "and as such recognizes other Magics as part of their Objects. Even if it hadn't been warded against, it would have caused more harm than good, simply physically destroying the place, leaving shattered pieces of rock still imbued with horrific Trigger Wards. They could scatter over a tremendous area, be impossible to find, worse yet, impossible to neutralize, due to a scrambled and altered Essence."

Hestia put her chin in one hand, and carelessly twirled her fork in the other. "So, why can't you use the same explosive on Gringotts? Or Diagon Alley?"

Snape let out a growl low in his throat. "Just what we need, Jones," he said. "To destroy the entire Wizarding World, with a Muggle device. I assure you, there's little chance of that happening, unless we do it. Any Dark Wizard with his self respect wouldn't even know such a think existed."

"Dark Wizards have no self respect," snapped Emmeline Vance. "And even if they did, we would be foolish to dismiss any risk unnecessarily."

"Emmeline," said Arthur, in an attempt to keep the peace, "we know that Wizard's from all walks of life can turn to You-Know-Who. He's been known to temporarily overlook less than perfect Blood in a follower if they are a good enough asset, and their status is not generally known. It is quite possible that he would recruit a Muggle Born, who could suggest the idea, which could-"

"Not happen," interrupted Bill. "Wizard, particularly the Elitists, have a very warped idea of what Muggle explosives are capable of. Besides, Gringotts, as I'm sure you know, handles Insurance for most of the Wizarding World. It would be devastating to them should a large disaster destroy Diagon Alley, or Hogsmeade. They spend an exorbitant amount researching possible disasters, then creating and testing Wards against them. All publicly owned Wizard land in countries that Gringotts has bases in is Warded. I led the team that did it myself. It was one of my first missions."

"I thought you were a Curse Breaker," said Emmeline.

Bill shrugged. "It's not all I do for the Bank. My team periodically checks the Wards, making sure there hasn't been the slightest irregularity, or weakening. We also apply new Wards as they are added to Policy."

Just then Remus opened the door causing the room to fall silent once again. "Severus," he said, "Albus wants to talk to you. He's in the study."

Severus dropped his fork and arose. "He'll have to get out of the study, then," he snapped, swiftly leaving the room. "That room is cursed."

The kitchen door slammed behind Severus with a bang. Remus looked around the room, and realized that Hestia and Bill were staring at him with curiosity, while Emmeline looked down her nose at him.

Tonks jerked her chin towards Philomena and asked loudly, "Well?"

"Well what?" Remus asked, daring them to ask him for the information they wanted directly. "Albus wanted more information on the Wards that failed."

Philomena raised an eyebrow, guessing that by 'wards that failed,' he referred to Ralf's entry in spite of the Fidelius.

"Have some pie, Remus," said Arthur quickly, hoping to avoid any embarrassment, "it's quite good."

"How could it be otherwise?" asked Remus lightly, taking the chair between Hestia and Severus that was normally empty. "Your wife made it, and Mundungus recommended it."

"That man needs a shave," said Molly sourly, quickly making a subtle cutting off motion in Hestia's direction, as she looked about to ask Remus a question.

"Not as badly as your son needs a haircut," returned Emmeline, annoyed that Molly had tried to silence them like one of her children.

"It's my hair," snapped Bill, who had missed the silent exchange between the women, "and before you say it, it's also my ear!"

Remus smiled, glad the subject had been changed.

"So, Remus," asked Hestia, who hadn't understood Molly's signal, "where have you been hiding her all these years?"

Caught off guard, Remus' smile froze. Philomena, who'd been expecting questions, answered quickly, "Naturally, I didn't live with him before, but now, with the Wolfsbane, it's possible."

Remus looked down to hide his face. He knew the others had never really been comfortable knowing his 'condition,' and he didn't like it when it was brought up. They usually ended up uncomfortably fidgeting, unable to find anything positive to say.

Setting her jaw, Molly rose, reheated Philomena's much abused cup of tea, and handed it to him.

"I'm sorry, Remus," said Molly briskly, "I should have realized. Have some tea, it'll make you feel better."

Remus, used to her method of consolation, accepted it quietly. "Thank you, Molly."

"Well?" demanded Molly. "What are you all looking so horrified for?"

Wordlessly, Philomena went to her father and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come, love," she said softly. "Let's go home."

He shook his head, not looking up. "I'll need to talk to Severus when Dumbledore's through with him."

Philomena shot Emmeline a glare over his head. "Come, love," she said again. "Your head must still hurt. You need to lie down."

Remus, gladly grabbing onto her excuse, raised a hand to his head and prodded it gently. "Yes, it does still throb a bit," he said rising, "and I could rest a bit in the other room until Severus is finished."

Philomena put her arm about him and led him from the room. "Tell Severus I'm in Regulus' room," said Remus, as they left. "It's about the Fidelius."

With another pointed glare over her shoulder to discourage anyone from following, Philomena shut the kitchen door firmly behind them.

Molly held up her hand for silence, as she opened the door a crack to make sure they were out of hearing, before rounding on them.

"Just what were you thinking?" she snarled. "How dare you even bring it up?"

"I didn't think-" began Hestia.

"Precisely," snapped Molly. "You didn't think that Remus never does anything without a very good reason. You didn't think that he's been obviously not himself all night, that's he's obviously very uncomfortable with the situation. You didn't think to notice that he deliberately said very little about the girl or her origins.

"You didn't think that perhaps the answers to what you were asking could be very painful memories for him. You didn't think that considering his condition and the laws he's put his life in your hands! You obviously weren't thinking about anything but your petty desire to know everything about everybody and stick your nose into other people's business!"

The bell of the lamp above Molly's head rang slightly as she finished. Arthur, sure the storm had passed, took her arm. "Now, Molly, dear," he said, "stop yelling at the poor girl. She didn't mean it."

Molly huffed and tossed her chin. "No respect for human dignity, you lot have," she snapped. "Nor any sense of tact."

"Not that he's really human," said Emmeline, sniffing. "And that was a very poor excuse for him to run off and not explain."

This was the wrong thing to say as it set Molly off again. She stalked over to the woman, put her hands on her hips, and glared down at her.

"I have had enough of your prejudiced idiocy," she shouted. "'A Muggle device couldn't possibly,' you say. 'He's not really human' you say. Don't you realize that this is what we're fighting against? The type of closed minded, bull headed stubbornness that enabled You-Know-Who to rise to power? How dare you? He doesn't NEED to explain himself to you!

"I know you're set in your ways, Emmeline, and I know you've long traditions, your civility to uphold, but you know, Emmeline, I don't give a damn!"

Hestia paled, and Tonks hair fell back to its original limp mousy brown. Neither could remember ever having heard Molly swear in the least before, and to hear her say 'damn,' could only mean that she was extremely peeved. Bill fingered his earring and exchanged a sympathetic long-suffering glance with his father.

Emmeline slammed a hand on the table. "You don't give a damn for tradition Molly Weasley?" she shouted. "That's no news! You married this good-for-nothing! You had seven good-for-nothing children! You're a disgrace to the Prewett name, you are! I knew your mother, and she's probably rolling in her grave!"

"My mother is not dead!" roared Molly.

"Then this will kill her," snarled Emmeline. "To know there's a Werewolf in the Order, not to mention a Death Eater. And now, we're letting some little ninny, barely twenty, just waltz in with no guarantee whatsoever of her identity, and just a mere party trick to 'prove' her abilities! A pretty pass, Molly Weasley, a pretty pass! We're digging our own graves, we are! We can't fight against the enemy, if the enemy is in our own RANKS!"

"Remus has proven his loyalty time after time," shouted Molly, "As has Severus. I trust their judgment- and if the judgment of a Prewett, the judgment of a Weasley isn't good enough for you, prissy, then the judgment of the Supreme Mugwump ought to do in a pinch! Do you think Albus doesn't know what's going on?"

"You can't hide behind Albus, Molly!" snapped Emmeline. "This Order is only as strong as its weakest members! We cannot afford to let men as strong as he is to be bogged down by… by Dark Creatures!"

Molly took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, it was in a whisper, but a powerful whisper, quivering with fury, each word pronounced slowly, with the utmost venom. "Emmeline Vance. You should know better than to think we simply are fighting You-Know-Who, or even his Death Eaters. We are fighting his ideas. Ideas you obviously share, about the supposed purity of blood guarantying character. If all those of 'impure,' descent are inferior, with mediocre talent, then how do you account for yourself?"

Emmeline rose to her feet as though she'd been slapped. "How dare you," she snarled, her hands curling into fists. "How dare you!"

"Ha!" crowed Molly triumphantly. "There you have it! You don't care that I insulted your loyalty, or your courage. You cared that I insulted your BLOOD. Remus Lupin was the only one we denied a place in our Order during the first war despite repeated requests from others that he be included, and despite a guaranty of his character from not only James Potter himself, but Minerva McGonagall as well! Both he and Severus remain the only ones we've ever seen fit to question under Veritaserum of their loyalties before allowing them to participate. They've proved enough! I don't think YOU have!"

"How DARE you!" shrieked Emmeline. "How dare you?"

"I dare, because I have an open mind!" seethed Molly. "I can think for myself! I do not blindly place my trust in things like blood! I allow myself to think, to judge, to decide for myself whom to trust. The weakest faith is the faith that never doubts. Only a strong mind can overcome doubt after doubt and still believe.

"I've doubted every person in this room – yes, even my husband. I have even, on occasion, doubted Albus. And now, Emmeline Vance, I doubt you. And I hope to Merlin I can find a good reason to have faith in you again."

"Hestia," said Emmeline, desperately, "you know I'm right, don't you? You know she's wrong...?"

Molly turned to Hestia as well, smiling a very predatory smile. Hestia licked her lips nervously.

"I don't know," she hedged. "I… I've only just joined the Order a year ago, and I am no judge of any of that."

"You see, Molly Weasley?" sneered Emmeline. "The type of Witch we admit, not even thirty, hasn't even got the sense to judge other members after a whole year of working with them."

"Which is better?" returned Molly dangerously, "to refuse to judge, knowing it isn't one's strong suit, or to judge based on outmoded classifications?"

Insulted, Emmeline tried to think of something to say, but failed. Finally, she settled for tossing her head, and stalking from the room.

Bill released a sigh of profound relief, which unfortunately proved to be premature.

"I can't believe the woman," ranted Molly. "Her and her 'purer than thou,' attitude."

"Eh, Molly, dear," said Arthur. "I think… I think you need a nice relaxing cup of tea, or…"

"Cup of TEA?" shouted Molly, rounding on her husband. "You think I want a CUP OF TEA at a time like this?"

"Well," said Arthur, "if you'd rather I bean Emmeline with a crusty roll…"

"Molly," said Tonks, in a small voice, "I didn't know Remus was… with anybody."

"That's none of your business!" snapped Molly. "And shame on you for asking him! If you'll just think about it for a bit, would you stay with a man, even if you loved him very much, if you knew that every month he'd become a complete monster and a danger to your children?"

"Yes," answered Tonks fiercely. "If I loved him."

"I wouldn't," answered Molly. "Merlin help me, but I wouldn't. I wouldn't care how much he promised to be careful, I wouldn't care how strong the chains on the basement door were. Can you honestly say you'd stay with a man was not always in control of a mad desire to tear you to pieces?"

Tonks winced and looked at her feet. "I don't know," she answered miserably. "I don't know."

"Poor man," sighed Hestia. "She must have left him when she found out there'd be a baby. Makes sense, you know. In love, you don't care about yourself, you're reckless as anything, but you'll fight tooth and nail for your child."

"I forbid you to ask him about it!" Molly was nearly hysterical. "All of you! Don't you dare mention it to him! As if he needs more on his mind now."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley," said Hestia. "I didn't mean it."

"Poor Remus," said Molly sadly. "He's had such a hard time of it, poor boy, and … and… there isn't anything I can do for him. Merlin help me, but… Arthur… I can't help but- but check the lunar charts every time we have a meeting… I'm afraid of him."

Molly began to cry, and Arthur quickly gathered her into his arms. "He's so young," she sobbed into his shoulder, "and the gentlest thing this side of Mars, and it isn't his fault, but I'm afraid of him…"

Arthur caught Bill's eye and jerked his chin towards the door. Nodding, Bill rose and pulled Hestia and Tonks from the room, shooting a last concerned look over his shoulder, which Arthur was too busy comforting Molly to see.