Chapter 19 – Breakaway
Note: Chapter Title from Kelly Clarkson's song 'Breakaway'
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Now that that's out of the way, let's begin…
Last time,
"She…She says she was sent to kill you," Harry tells them, looking at Dumbledore, everyone gasps and looks around in surprise except Dumbledore who continues looking into Harry's fearful eyes.
"By whom?" He asks, Harry looks anxious.
"Someone named Inimicus."
Now,
Albus watches as the hall comes alive with horrified, intrigued, and, in some cases, excited whispering. He holds a hand up to silence everyone.
"Severus, the snake –"
"Melana, her name's Melana," Harry interjects awkwardly.
Albus gives him an indulgent smile before turning back to Severus, "Melana should be returned to her habitat, the edge of the forest perhaps?"
Severus sighs as he nods, standing. "Of course, Headmaster," The Potions Master replies, levitating the snake out of the hall and following after it. Albus looks around the hall, finding many surprised faces, and none-expectant, not even among the teachers, so none here are conspiring against him at least. A closer look at Potter's face convinces him that, despite now knowing his true parentage, the boy is still firmly against his Father. I really should bring him into my office to deal with this…new-found knowledge problem, Albus thinks to himself, then he stands to address the Hall.
"Everyone, I realise this may be frightening, but everything will be all right. Remain calm, and allow the situation to be dealt with, without anyone trying to be a hero," He says, directing the last part at the Golden Trio. Ron flushes slightly, Hermione raises her chin and holds his gaze defiantly (He's struck again by how much being able to tell the truth has changed her. Had he known what she is like, who she truly is, he'd never have allowed her to grow so close to Harry. Now they knew and he had a potion's master and angry/protective/very angry Werewolf both breathing down his neck to ensure the safety of both children, no longer trusting him to even protect Harry.) Harry, for his part, seems bashful but not regretful, just as Dumbledore predicted. "I ask that you all put your faith in our staff, and in me, to keep you all safe."
"What about you, Headmaster?" A child, first year, calls out, fear in her voice, his face softens. Sometimes, he finds himself forgetting there are those out there who haven't been fighting war after war for over a century, that innocence exists. It's in these moments he questions his actions, his motivations, only to look around the school and remember the most important thing. Hogwarts must survive.
"I assure you, Miss Einsley, I am in no danger," He tells the girl, she seems convinced, many others do not. "Now then, I suggest we all finish our dinner, and then head off to bed."
After the students retire to their Common Rooms, the teachers converge in the Staffroom.
"Albus, what is going on, who is Inimicus?!" Minerva demands immediately, the room erupting into chaos soon after.
Albus holds a hand up to silence them, just as he did with the children, and just like the children, the Professors settle down almost immediately. "I haven't the faintest idea who it is, Minerva. However, there is no safer place than Hogwarts, and should they wish to kill me, it will most certainly take more than a snake."
"Everyone knows that," Severus says, Albus nods, Severus shakes his head, "No really, Headmaster, everyone knows that."
"What is your point Severus?" Minerva asks impatiently.
Severus rolls his eyes, "My point, Minnie, is that no one is going to try and kill Albus fucking Dumbledore with a snake. This wasn't an assassination attempt, it's a warning. Whoever this is, they're screwing with you," He concludes.
Lucius looks at him in exasperation, "You have been spending far too much time with Re."
"Because I'm being practical and seeing plots everywhere?"
"No, because your language is foul."
"Can we focus, please?" Poppy requests, they both turn back to the rest of the table.
"Why would someone be doing this?" Pomona asks.
Albus sighs, "Unfortunately, Pomona, there are a great many reasons and an even greater amount of people who would be willing to do this. For now, there is nothing we can do."
"Wow, is this the Chamber of Secrets?!" Hermione shrieks as Harry leads his sister, two best friends, Neville, and Luna into the Chamber.
"Because that is not the plan!" Pansy hisses.
Blaise glares at her, "No, but it could work!"
"Both of you, shut it!" Draco demands as he notices the others walking up, Harry raises an eyebrow at them.
"Later?" Pansy requests sheepishly, Harry frowns but nods.
They all move into the room they've converted into a meeting room and sit around the table.
"All right, Pansy, how's the translation going?"
"Well, actually. Do you remember when we were wondering about one of the entrances being in the girls' lavatory and came to the conclusion that he must have been allowing a female student to enter?"
"It was Ayleth?"
Pansy nods, "By which logic, I sent Blaise to look at the boys' bathroom on the floor and, low and behold, there's another entrance. It leads into a different section of tunnels, but he managed to make his way here. It only requires the parseltongue to open."
Harry nods, "Good work, both of you."
"Why do those two entrances only take parseltongue, but the one in the potions' lab and the one in the Slytherin Common Room, both use the blood seal?" Draco asks.
Pansy flips through some pages before her, "'Merek came to me, an odd request on his lips. He asked that Helena be granted access to the chamber. Afraid was she that her mother's schemes would not bode well for her, Merek wants her to have a safe place to hide. The girl is intelligent, I am certain she can learn the tongue of snakes, but Ayleth is already crying favouritism, demanding I allow Godric's bastard child entrance as well. She is enthralled by his magic, but I cannot allow it in here. You often tired of my ways, yet try as you might I never learnt the one thing you craved to teach, acceptance. Perhaps in this I can teach them what you would have, perhaps I can do this one thing to make you proud. And proud you would be, of Merek, of Ayleth, and I pray, of me.'"
"Godric's son, the one Rowena and Godric were afraid of?" Harry questions.
Pansy shrugs, "I don't know. There's mention of him having children in here, but they were all quite respectable human beings from what I've found. This 'bastard child', and I think he means that literally, is the only one he appears to have a problem with, so I'd say it's likely."
"This explains why the entrances are in such public places instead of places only accessible by Salazar and his children," Blaise comments, Harry nods.
"You lot have been at this for a while, haven't you?" Ginny asks, the four look over to see four surprised faces and a Luna.
"If you teach someone parseltongue fluently, does it get passed down their line?" Hermione asks, Harry shrugs, no one else seems to know except one.
Pansy nods, "Actually Mio, yes, it does. Everyone, be prepared to have your understanding of wizarding history warped once more," She warns, the others sigh. Harry waves for her to continue, she's buzzing with excitement to reveal what she's found. "So, you know how everyone says Merlin was a Slytherin?" They all nod, she grins manically, "He was."
"Okay?" Blaise asks in confusion.
Pansy rolls her eyes, "Literally, he was a Slytherin." She's met with blinking faces and confusion. "Merlin Slytherin." Still confusion, "Oh for Merlin's sake…heh, Merlin, anyway, Merlin Slytherin, younger brother of Salazar Slytherin!"
"Holy shit," Hermione states, the sentiment is shared by all.
Pansy nods again, "Mmhmm, see, the Order of Merlin started off as…sort of a muggle rights organization. Merlin felt that wizards should help Muggles and live with them in peace. Obviously, this was a point of tension for the brothers."
"That must have made Wizard Dine unpleasant," Ron comments, Harry looks at him in confusion, "Wizard Dine, it's an old term for the third Friday dinners."
"Third Friday dinners? I think Remus mentioned them at some point but, what are they?" He asks, the rest of the room heave a collective sigh, Harry rolls his eyes, "Yes, yes, irritating half-blood doesn't know wizarding culture, just fill me in," He requests, they chuckle at his annoyance as Pansy does just that.
"Third Friday dinners, or Wizard Dine, is a dinner held on the third Friday of every month. Family gets together regardless of any drama or anything happening, and spend time together, catching up. The elder generations chose games to play, usually revolving around the gaining of knowledge, and you have a good time. Old, young, accepted by family or a relative outcast, for once, everyone is equal. The tradition tapered off after people started disowning family members entirely, but it was only two or three decades ago that it really dropped off completely. The Malfoys do something a bit similar during the summer holidays, apparently while Lord Malfoy and the others were in school, something happened and Remus decided to fix it and the dinners came back for a while, so they modified the tradition slightly after the war."
"That's why there's such an emphasis on familial respect in pureblood society?" Harry asks, the others nod, "Huh."
"Anyway, it did, in fact, make it awkward. All the more so because, as often happened in the Middle Ages, their parents died quite young. Salazar raised Merlin since he was ten and Merlin six. Though, three years after, Salazar met Godric whose mother took the brothers in, in exchange for Salazar's help. She ran an apothecary, but Godric was terrible with potions, and his father wasn't around for reasons unspecified in the diary. Merlin and Salazar grew up being raised as the best potioneers in the country."
"This is just explaining so much," Ginny comments.
Pansy nods, "They drifted apart even further when Salazar met a girl named Morgana shortly before Hogwarts was founded. He fell in love with her but…well, I'm sure even you have heard of Morgan le Fay," Pansy tells them, Harry shakes his head. "Good god man, did you even go to school?! Read a book? Anything?"
"Well I wasn't exactly given a library! Besides, I've never really been very good at reading," He explains sheepishly, "I was eight before I got my glasses so…"
"Is that why you're so bad at potions?" Hermione asks.
Harry shrugs, "It's hard to read and focus on a potion at the same time, the new book I have makes it better. The handwriting is easier to read." Hermione frowns in confusion.
Luna nods, "It's because of the magical imprint. Powerful wizards can leave the intent behind words in the paper sometimes, usually by accident, so you can feel what they're trying to say," She explains, "It attracts hallubogs though, so one must be careful." Harry nods, the others wonder if he truly knows what a hallubug is or if he is just indulging her.
"That's actually pretty cool," Ron says.
Hermione nods, "Now if only we knew who the Half-Blood Prince is."
The three Slytherins look up, instantly. "Sev," They all say. The others look confused.
Harry gasps after a moment, "'A child I suspect he cares for' He meant Snape," He realises, remembering the curse his Father had used on him in the Graveyard after Cedric had – Harry cuts off that line of thinking.
Then Pansy suddenly stands, "Oh, oh! Harry, that seer Rowena and Godric were talking about, Lady Prince, it's got to be an Ancestor of Sev. He has visions, not ones open for interpretation either, they come true." Harry continues looking confused.
Blaise rolls his eyes, "His Mother's maiden name is Prince."
"Ohhh," Ginny comments.
"How does that help us at all?" Harry asks.
Pansy sighs, "Particularly powerful visions of things far in the future can be passed down through generations of seers. It gets stronger the closer to the actual event it is, if we're right then it should happening within Sev's lifetime, he must have seen the castle be destroyed. He might know who's involved, and if he does, maybe we can stop it."
"No one's ever seen something that far into the future, we're talking over a thousand years, Pans," Blaise points out.
"There's only one way to find out, we have to ask Sev."
"What's this got to do with Dumbledore though?" Draco asks, the two stop bickering and look at him. "Fascinating as all this is, it's not our problem."
"What use is stopping Dumbledore if the school gets destroyed?" Hermione asks dully.
"All the information we've needed has fallen into our lap as usual, ours, not someone else's. That means we're likely the only people who have it all, who know enough to stop it and save the school. We don't have a choice, that's how these things go," Ron tells the others with a resigned and tired voice, an emotional state shared by Harry and Hermione.
Blaise frowns, "I always thought you lot went looking for trouble."
Hermione scoffs at him, "All I wanted was to keep my head down and get through school unnoticed, to be just like any other kid. Harry wanted to get away from the Dursleys and be safe, to have a good time for once and not be some hated slave. Ron wanted to relax and just glide through school like his brother Charlie did. Believe me, none of us wanted any of it, but stuff happens, we get pulled into it, and if we don't deal with it, people die."
"Lot of pressure for an eleven-year-old," Ginny comments, Harry smirks slightly, Hermione groans as Ron chuckles.
"Don't say it Harry, don't you dare."
"…it's almost like I'm –"
"Don't finish that sentence!" Hermione screeches.
"…cursed."
"I hate you so much." Ron continues laughing, the others chuckle too. "That pun got old years ago," Hermione complains.
"Your reaction to it gets better every time though."
"Draco's my favourite Brother."
Harry pokes his tongue out at her, "So, you were saying about Merlin? Before we got entirely off track? Oh, and, someone does need to ask Snape about the vision," He dictates.
"I will," Ron says, everyone looks confused, he shrugs, "No one would expect me to be working with them, so it'll show your reach."
"You're just imagining this is one giant chess game, aren't you?" Blaise guesses.
Ron nods, "If I beat McGonagall in death chess at eleven, I have maybe an 0.025% chance of outmanoeuvring Dumbledore, so I might as well try."
Blaise debates something for a moment before turning to Harry, "I want to work with him."
Harry considers this and then nods, "Ron, you're on tactics and security. Now, Merlin."
"Right," Pansy begins, "So, Morgan le Fay, also known as Morgana, the name she's referred to as in the diary, is the half-sister of King Arthur."
"Him I know!" Harry states proudly, Draco smiles encouragingly at him which Blaise and Ron both pretend not to notice for their own sanity.
"After Salazar voices his intention to marry a fellow Orphan, Morgana, Merlin tries to 'feed him lies of his love's vileness,'" Pansy quotes, "Tried to convince Salazar not to go through with it. He leaves, stating his intention to find out more about her because Salazar had insisted he didn't need to know anything about who she was, only who she is now. That philosophy had come from Morgana herself, I think that's why Merlin didn't trust it. Anyway, that's how he meets King Arthur. He comes back and once again tries to convince his brother she's evil, but Salazar doesn't listen, uses some creative insults when speaking of his brother from there on out. I don't know exactly what happened, he doesn't talk about his brother much again, only that Merlin joined King Arthur in attempting to bring her down and, in Salazar's mind, committed the worst betrayal. It was this in particular that seemed to push Salazar over the edge about Muggles and blood purity, though, Morgana does seem to attempt to convince him otherwise. She truly does preach acceptance at every opportunity, which doesn't fit with anything I know about her. Whatever her reasons, they were lost to history. Anyway, the reason I'm telling you all of this, is to finally answer your question properly Mio. Parseltongue can be taught to another, the gift is then passed down in their lineage. Merlin and Salazar weren't born Parselmouths, they were taught when they were children by Godric's Mother. For some reason it didn't get passed to Godric and, like potions, he showed no aptitude for learning it, nor interest in doing so. Because he didn't learn the language, it ended in his family line at him. Still, he and the two Slytherin brothers were all practically brothers for a very long time, so he and his mother always considered it, and the apothecary, to be in the family still anyway."
"How is this both the most adorable and most tragic story I've ever heard?" Draco asks.
Blaise snorts, "You should hear the full story of Sev's childhood, that's both tragic and adorable. And then tragic again, and then adorable, and now it's just a sodding mess."
"Let's hope it ends happier than this story does," Pansy comments, "See, the entire diary is Salazar's way of dealing with grief. At first, it's sort of like letters to his parents, updating them on how he and his brother have been doing since they died, but as you'll have noticed from the original sheets we found, it ends as though talking to Morgana herself, which lead me to two possible conclusions. One, they split up and he was hung up on her, or two –"
"She died," Neville realises, flushing slightly when they look his way.
Pansy nods seriously, "I went looking for mention of it specifically, obviously I haven't translated the diary of his entire life in one afternoon, but I did find it. Salazar doesn't know the particulars, only that Merlin and Morgana faced off one final time, and neither walked away." Everyone falls into an intense silence after that as they all consider the words and what it means for their history.
"What about Mordred?" Neville asks, Harry and Ron both look at him in confusion, "Mordred, often considered the son of Morgan le Fay."
"That's where things get…awkward." Everyone turns back to Pansy. "There's no mention of him."
"Why does that make things awkward?" Draco asks.
"Because, it means that, if he did exist, Salazar isn't his Father." Everyone looks around awkwardly. "There are plenty of reasons and opportunities for this not to be about adultery but, given what we know of Morgana, and the history I have read, I would stipulate that if he did exist, the father is most likely to be either Arthur or Merlin."
"That is awkward," Harry concludes, everyone else agrees.
"It wouldn't have been hard to hide either, at the time Salazar was here and very busy, Morgana was the Queen of Avalon. They met frequently for a long time but never at Hogwarts, Godric wouldn't allow it. That's what initially started the tension between the two, and after Morgana and Merlin died and Salazar started to go off the rails about mud…muggleborns, well, things escalated." Hermione looks at her girlfriend, very unimpressed, Pansy smiles sheepishly. "Remus is currently going through libraries, archives, museums, and all sorts, though no one knows why, except us. I'd like for him to be looking for reference to Morgana, Mordred, Merlin, or Arthur. Things not commonly known, I'd like to know what happened to Merlin and Morgana, and who Mordred really is."
Harry nods, "I'll get the message to him."
"Then that's me done, for now. I've found nothing more about the potion but he does speak about suspicions of Godric, I'd say it's definitely him he was afraid of."
Harry nods to her again, "Good work." She smiles happily.
"Father came to see me after the staff meeting broke up, he has news about the trial," Draco tells them, everyone looks over expectantly, "It's next week."
"Next week?! That's not enough time!" Hermione cries.
Draco responds calmly, "Mio, we have exactly two pieces of new evidence and they're both in Harry's head. We don't have a proper defence, we have nothing to base it on, and if we aren't careful, we'll be admitting we were in kahoots with him while he was a fugitive."
"They already know that."
"No, they know the Order was, Dumbledore refused to give any names of said Order members, only reason he isn't in trouble is because Fudge gave him no choice but to take matters into his own hands and he made them believe it."
"Hold on, we were in kahoots? What did you lot have to do with it?" Ron asks.
"I helped Jamie hide him when he was here two years ago," Draco admits.
"Really?" Harry asks in shock, Draco nods. Harry suddenly remembers questioning why his voice didn't sound disused at all. "You're who he was talking to."
"I brought him food and kept him company, tried to heal his mind in some small way," Draco explains, "I owed Jamie a favour of…similar magnitude. Besides, she's family, so when she asked for help, I gave it." Harry smiles at him, Draco smiles back.
"That's only one of you involved," Ron points out.
Blaise shrugs, "I was living with Remus for a while before he moved to wherever he went after the raid. I didn't tell the Aurors that Dumbledore and Remus were hiding him, therefore I was aiding and abetting the hiding of a fugitive."
"Blaise talks in his sleep," Pansy adds.
"You're just coming up with reasons to be involved in case that does come out so that we don't go down alone, aren't you?" Hermione asks, Pansy nods.
"Well don't," Harry orders strongly, "That goes for all of this too. If I get caught, no one admits to anything. Don't try to continue this on, don't try and seek revenge, let it go and go on with your lives. None of you are going down for any of this, ever." Everyone goes to argue, including Neville, but Harry holds a hand up, everyone is silent, "That is an order, and not one to be taken lightly." Draco, Blaise, and Pansy look annoyed, but nod. One by one, the others do as well. "Good."
"So, the trial is next week," Neville says, bringing them back on topic.
Draco nods, "I'm hoping that everyone will still be focused on Dumbledore after this snake thing with Mel…ana?" Draco looks to Harry for confirmation, he nods, seeming pleased that Draco is referring to the snake by name. "Melana, comes out in the Quibbler and then, hopefully, the Prophet. Ideally, this entire trial flies under the radar until the Wizengamot votes. But we've got the whole of it, so I doubt it'll stay under wraps for long."
"At least Umbridge won't be there this time," Harry says, the others nod, "What did McGonagall have to say after reviewing our information?"
"Like you predicted, she requested she be allowed to keep it overnight. I've left it with her, I'll be picking it up tomorrow, counting it out and everything, but she's promised not to make copies, understanding it would blow the entire thing were he to find it before we have everything. She's probably going to ask about what happened at dinner when I go to pick it up, how do you want me to handle that?" Blaise asks. Personally, he felt the action was rather rash and will only make things harder on them, but Harry seems sure of it and he is the one who knows the plans for the future.
"Tell her that what you said remains true, everything we find of his past and present actions, along with plans for the future, will be revealed to the public who will then decide how to deal with it. The snake would never have hurt him, its purpose was simply to remind everyone that Hogwarts is not impenetrable, and Dumbledore cannot stop everything. When things come to light, we want him to be viewed as a person, as accountable for his actions as everyone else, not someone half the population worships out of either loyalty or fear. Assure her he is in no danger from us."
"Is that true?"
"I'm not going to ask you to lie to Minerva McGonagall's face, we'd be blown out of the water right there. So yes, it is true. A carefully chosen truth, but true nonetheless," Harry replies, Blaise nods. "Luna, let me know when your Father wishes to interview a snake," He requests, she nods, looking pleased that he remembered.
"Did you kill Danielle?" Neville suddenly asks, looking as though it's been on his mind for a while. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all look to Harry rather suddenly. Harry taps his fingers on the table repeatedly as he debates something, then he leans forward, ceasing his tapping.
"Did you know, that after the first wizarding war, Fenrir Greyback was not sent to Azkaban?" Everyone seems confused, most shake their heads, a few nod. "He's never actually been arrested, the closest he's been was when Lyall Lupin insisted he was a sadistic beast who learnt to control his monster just enough to set it on young children, no one believed him until Greyback left proof in the form of one Remus John 'Moony' Lupin." The confusion doesn't lift off of anyone's faces. "Danielle Smigin had the unfortunate luck to have gone holidaying in a forest cabin in Albania along with her family three years ago. This forest happened to be where Greyback was hiding at the time, she was bitten."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Blaise asks, voice carefully controlled as he reminds himself that Harry is perfectly accepting of Remus' condition and isn't going to have targeted this girl for that reason. He can't help being protective of his Remus though, given how often the man has protected him.
"Dumbledore allowed her to attend the school on the condition she be taking wolfsbane the entire time, which he would provide. Started doing so a few months before coming here. Unfortunately, she's allergic to newt's eyes. There isn't much in wolfsbane, not enough to be lethal. But, as it turns out, after repeated use, it is enough to begin being seriously debilitating. Still, he wouldn't give in. They were all too happy to help discredit the man and they needed to get away from here and from him anyway before the potion caused permanent damage. I asked Remus to go and see her, try and teach her to mesh with the wolf as he has so that she can find control too. I assume he'll be doing so whilst out doing whatever personal research it is he's running away to do. So no, Neville, we did not kill her, we saved her."
Neville smiles, just slightly, and nods.
"Guess I do know you after all."
After the meeting breaks up, Ron heads down to Snape's office, being fairly certain the Dungeon Bat will be there. He knocks on the door and waits to be invited in.
"Weasley?" Snape asks, confusion clear in his voice.
"Inimicus has a question."
Snape raises his eyebrows, "And he sent you to ask?"
"Hey I just do what I'm told, didn't even know you were following him until today," Ron replies, which is true.
Severus nods, "What's his question?"
"Did you ever have a vision of the school being demolished in a battle?" Ron asks. For once, Snape's shock is perfectly clear on his face, Ron nods, "Guess you really are the Half-Blood Prince," He adds, more to himself than Snape.
"How exactly is Inimicus getting all this information?"
Ron shrugs, "Dunno, guess he just has a lot of people feeding it to him. Can you tell me about this battle?"
Severus lets out a shaky breath, "I had the vision when I was about…fifteen, I think? It was in the courtyard, there were people and creatures everywhere fighting each other, the place was in shambles. I didn't know who he was at the time, only that he looked like James, but I saw the scar, and after I had a vision about Godric's hollow I realised who it was. I saw Harry running across the courtyard, he cast the killing curse like it was nothing," Severus tells him, Ron frowns in concern, Severus nods, "There were so many dead, from both sides. Minerva was fighting alongside the students, they were fighting Death Eaters. The battle was inside the castle too, I saw a man. I didn't recognise him but I recognised his scars, quite distinctive, and realised it was a decades older Remy. He was killed in front of me by a man I now know to be Antonin Dolohov."
"That's intense," Ron comments dumbly.
Severus rolls his eyes, "Unfortunately a lot of the details are a little fuzzy, it was twenty years ago. I may well know more about it now if I could see it again but, unless Inimicus has a pensieve handy, I don't know anything else."
Ron nods, "Thanks, Professor. I'll get that to him."
"How did you come to be involved in all this anyway?" Severus asks.
Ron shrugs, "Gryffindor sense of justice." Severus rolls his eyes, Ron leaves.
Shortly after he leaves, Severus' phone rings.
"Hello?... …Did you just say Vienna?... …Assassinated?... …What the hell?"
When Ron tells Harry what Severus had to say, Harry looks out the window in their dorm pensively. "How very curious." Then his eyes light up and he grins, "I have an idea."
Remus is sitting in a bar in France. He knows he probably shouldn't even be in the country everyone knows he loves so very much but, well, he really loves it. His phone starts ringing and he looks at it in surprise, answering it and putting it to his ear.
"I have to say, I didn't think I'd be hearing from you for a while," Remus says, he hears a huff on the other side.
"You can't just say hi like a normal person?" Severus asks in exasperation.
Remus takes a gulp of his drink, "Nope."
"Where are you?"
"Out."
Severus huffs again, "How much have you had to drink?"
"You know, I could have sworn we got divorced." Remus grins slightly, feeling the anger radiating down the phone line in the silence.
He hears muttering in the background before Severus speaks again.
"I need you to meet me at Black Manor." Remus looks at his phone in surprise, quickly finishing the rest of his drink. "Remus?"
"Hi, can I get two shots of gin?" Remus orders after flagging down the bartender. The drinks are placed in front of him and he downs them both, ignoring the sigh on the phone. "What the bloody hell do you want to meet there for?"
"No one will look for us there."
"Because they know I won't go there." Remus hears talking in the background once more.
"No, will you just let me deal with this?" Severus asks, though his voice is faint so he's pulled it away to speak to the other person. Remus waves his hand at the bartender for another shot which he immediately drinks. "Okay look just, stop drinking for a moment." Remus glares though Sev can't see it. "I promise you this has absolutely nothing to do with war or wizards or anything like that at all, it's a totally Muggle world problem with a convoluted solution that we need your help with. Please, will you come?"
"Who is we?" Silence greets his question for long moments.
"It might be better if you just come and see." Remus raises an eyebrow despite knowing it won't be seen. "I can practically feel the eyebrow raise."
"Oh good, I was concerned you'd miss it."
"Will you just back off and let me do this?" Remus hears an annoyed response of some kind but can't quite make out what is said. "Please Remus, just trust me."
Remus sighs, "Fine." He hangs up the phone, getting another shot before paying his tab and leaving the pub. He goes down an alleyway before taking a deep breath and then apparating to his old home.
"Ah good, you're here," Severus says when he walks into the entrance hall, rolling his eyes at Remus' stumble as he turns to face him, "We're in the study."
"Weren't like two people murdered in here?"
"Three actually," Lucius voice replies as the two enter the room.
Remus looks surprised to see him but smiles and hugs the man, "Lucius, long time no see. I hear you're working at the school now."
"Yes, he's even managed to prevent Draco and Harry fighting to a certain extent," Severus tells him. Remus chuckles, looking impressed.
"Who in God's name thought it was a good idea for you to be a teacher?" A voice comes from behind Remus, Lucius rolls his eyes.
Remus turns in absolute shock to see the face of someone he truly thought he'd never see again, "Severus, what the fuck is happening here?"
"I told you, we need your help," He replies, Remus gives him a bewildered look before turning back to the voice.
"It's nice to see you too, Brother," Phia Lupin says with a smirk.