Chapter 27
Moonlight and Sunrise
There were at least three more hours of confusion before the conversation was able to continue.
The party, unconscious Harry in tow, made their way to the Hospital wing in silence. The halls were mostly empty, and the few students they saw on the way were too young to recognize James and Lily by sight, and too cowed by the combined presence of Dumbledore and Severus to do anything but return to their common rooms as quickly as they could. Because of this, the trip to the hospital wing was uneventful.
The hospital wing, however, exploded with chaos the moment they arrived.
Hermione and Ron were sitting in adjacent beds. Hermione, already in her pajamas, was sitting up with a large book. Ron, who was unconscious, moaned softly as Madame Pomfrey tended to his head. Minerva, however, was pacing the room with nothing else to distract her, and when she saw Lily and James enter, she gave a little shriek.
"Oh! You've turned into ghosts, or…"
James stepped forward, holding out his arm. "I'm as solid and alive as you are, Professor. Pinch me."
Minerva rushed forward, pulling James into a tight embrace before doing the same with Lily, crushing Harry slightly between them. Tears streaked her usually stern face.
"A miracle- it is a miracle," she whispered.
"But- how…" Madame Pomfrey said in a trembling voice. She stood and stared at Lily and James with wide eyes, her other patient seemingly forgotten.
"The all will be explained at last," Dumbledore said firmly. "Poppy, please give Mr. and Mrs. Potter a full examination once you've finished tending to the boys-" he gestured to Ron, and then Harry. "I believe young Mr. Potter is just exhausted, but it's better to be safe."
Hermione, who had been watching the exchange with a curious expression, dropped her book in her lap when the names "Mr. and Mrs. Potter" were said.
"Is it- is it really Harry's parents?" she said. "I read there have only been four confirmed resurrections in history, and the first one was-"
"You need to rest, Miss Granger," Madame Pomfrey said firmly, taking Hermione's book and closing the curtains around her bed. Then she quickly finished patching Ron's head, made a cursory examination of Harry, and got down to the business of examining James and Lily.
A couple of hours later, after performing dozens of spells, Madame Pomfrey took four vials of blood from each of her miraculous patients.
"It will take some time to run these tests," she said, capping the last vial. "Rest in the meantime. Lily- James…" her expression softened. "It's good to have you back."
"I'm sorry Minerva," Dumbledore said when Madame Pomfrey had gone. "I know you have questions, but they will have to wait. Please watch over the children while I speak to Mr. and Mrs. Potter Privately."
"And Sev," Lily said firmly.
"And Professor Snape, yes."
"Oh wow- Professor Snape?" Lily said as Dumbledore led them to a small examination room next to Madame Pomfrey's office.
"Headmaster Dumbledore likes to keep his spies very close," Severus drawled after Dumbledore had sealed the room.
"You've been spying for 10 years?" James said. "The war isn't over yet?"
"The war has been halted, thanks to Lily's actions," Dumbledore said. "But, as Severus saw tonight, the Dark Lord is not fully gone. Remnants of his spirit still linger."
"Wait- what did Lily do?" James said. "Did she defeat him?"
"I didn't think it would work," Lily said softly.
"What did you do?" James repeated.
Lily licked her lips, and then heaved a heavy sigh. "Severus, do you remember that mad plan I told you, to defeat all of the dementors and take down Azkaban?"
Severus nodded, a sense of foreboding blooming in his heart.
"I got the spell to destroy dementors from a book of ancient charms that Dumbledore gave me. It was a present when I got my mastery; he said he wanted me to see how far wizard-kind has come, so I would never become afraid to innovate."
Lily stopped and cast an accusatory glare at Dumbledore. "The book was mostly full of old charms we never use any more, because much more efficient ones have been developed. There was one small chapter, though, that dealt with light rituals that have been banned by the ministry. One of those rituals, of course, was the spell to destroy dementors. Another was a charm to protect someone from death. That spell required a willing sacrifice- someone to give up their own life to save another."
"Indeed," Dumbledore said, nodding. "However, anyone familiar with charms will tell you that it is intent, and not form, that ultimately gives a charm its power. Because of this, I needed you to believe that the sacrifice would be true. I sent an owl to you shortly before the Dark Lord attacked Godric's Hollow, telling you that the Dark Lord had discovered Severus's treachery, and had killed him. That way, you did not face death with the knowledge you could come back."
The room fell silent for a while; the only sound was the ticking of the clock on the far wall. Then James spoke.
"You knew everything, then, about our secret," James said.
Dumbledore nodded sagely. "My dear boy, there is very little that happens in this castle that I do not know. Most of the house elves are bound to keep the students' secrets, it's true, but my personal house elf, Mimsy, works the kitchens here when I am not at my summer home. She told me the true nature of your relationship, and the plans you were hatching to spy on the Dark Lord."
Severus, who had been perched on the edge of the examination table, rose in anger. "You knew I was a spy, and you did nothing to stop me, or at least help me? I started when I was sixteen years old."
"I know, my boy, but those were desperate times. I did not think you would appreciate my help, nor did I wish to spook you when our side had so much to gain by your actions."
"So- you knew that we were all together, and you knew Sev was a spy," Lily said. "But how did you know about …the rest?"
"I've had my suspicions about the Potter clan for a long time," Dumbledore said. "I have long studied the nature of the hallows, and the history of the Peverell line, because my family also has deep ties to Godric's Hollow. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw the sign of the deathly hallows on James's cloak- the night you played the 'prank' on Severus at the whomping willow. My suspicions were, again, confirmed when I attended the obviously staged funeral for the elder Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
"I know of two methods for attaining immortality, and I knew a family like the Potters would not hold with the other method, so I deduced that you possessed the recipe for the philosopher's stone. I don't approve of such devices, but it was not my place to meddle, so I let the matter rest."
"You let the matter rest, until we were actually marked for death," Lily deadpanned.
Dumbledore sighed, and the twinkle in his eye seemed to go out, without which he looked very old, indeed. "When I learned of the prophecy, and I learned that Voldemort knew the prophecy, I saw, instantly, the way to defeat him. If Voldemort sunk so low as to go after an infant, he would have to face the mother, and what weapon is more powerful than a mother's love? As you deduced, I gave you the book, Lily, knowing that you would not hesitate to use the forbidden charm, and make the sacrifice the instant it was required of you. The only obstacle was the stone."
"So you told Lily I was dead, let her use the charm, and…" Severus drew a deep breath. "You used her as your weapon."
Dumbledore nodded. "I knew you were alive- knew that Lily would be able to return- so yes, I allowed her to make this small sacrifice for the greater good." He turned to Lily. "Am I wrong in believing that you were willing to sacrifice yourself to save your child, and to defeat the greatest Dark Lord in history?"
Lily breathed in a sharp hiccup and shook her head. "You aren't wrong. I was willing."
Severus, however, couldn't contain himself. He stood up and shouted- "The sacrifice wasn't nothing, Headmaster, it was TEN YEARS! I could have brought them both back at any time, and you prevented me. You obliviated me- tore out a piece of my soul- and let Harry grow up without his mother. Why? How can you possibly explain that?"
"I had no choice!" Dumbledore said in a pleading voice. "I only realized too late that Voldemort couldn't be fully killed. He was still present- his spirit lingering in this world. You saw that tonight, Severus. I don't know how Voldemort's remnants can be killed, but I know that the sacrifice Lily gave was enough to destroy the original, and the power of that sacrifice remained in Lily's blood only as long as the sacrifice remained true.
"There are three places Lily's blood remained in this world. The first is within Lily's sister, the second, within Lily's son, and the third was the stone that Lily infused with her blood. I did not wish to sacrifice Harry- it was imperative he remain safe- so I decided to set a trap for Voldemort's remnant with the stone as bait. I knew he would not be able to resist a philosopher's stone, and its limitations are not common knowledge. I spun a tale that I possessed Nicholas Flamel's stone, in the hopes Voldemort would try to take it from me. If Voldemort, seeking immortality, tried to use the stone, Lily's blood would surely destroy him. The only problem was that I could not set the trap properly while the stone was in Gringotts, and I could not access the private vault where the stone was stashed- only the heir to the Potter fortune could do so."
Severus sat down and groaned. "So you waited until Harry turned 11, sent Hagrid to accompany Harry to his trust vault to get money for his school supplies, and told Hagrid to retrieve the stone while he was there."
The headmaster nodded. "Harry was present, along with the vault keys, which I obtained from the rubble at Godric's Hollow, so the Goblins did not object."
At these words, James's face went oddly pale. "Rubble? Did you say rubble?"
"That is strange. The charm I cast shouldn't have done anything to hurt the house," Lily said. "I don't think that the Dark Lord would be stupid enough to cast anything but Avada Kedavra to kill his prophesied destroyer- whatever his other follies. How could the cottage have been reduced to rubble?"
"Uhhh-" James said, and then cleared his throat. His face was bright red.
"James," Lily said gently. "You didn't mess with anything in the garden shed, did you?"
"I- may have placed one of Sev's timed explosion potions there, yes."
"Why?"
"I…" James looked panicked. "I was going to lure the Dark Lord into the shed before it exploded. I know I would have been caught in the blast, too, but I was desperate."
"James! I was keeping the liquid oxygen tanks in there," Lily said. "Of course the house got caught in the blast. Never mess with my rocket fuel."
"I'm sorry," James said quietly. "I never meant to endanger you or Harry."
"But you did mean to sacrifice yourself, just like Lily," Severus said with a sigh. "I don't blame you- either of you. I was ready to sacrifice myself, too. There was no reason for certain people to take advantage."
Dumbledore stood. He eyes still didn't twinkle, but his face was serene. "I am sorry; I have been a fool. I knew each of you were willing to sacrifice yourselves for the greater good, but I see now that you weren't willing to sacrifice each other. Please forgive me, Lily, James, Severus, and if there's anything I can do to assist you in rebuilding your lives…"
He bowed slightly, and then left the room, leaving them to themselves.
#
The three sat in silence for a time, and then Lily spoke. "Do the two of you trust-"
"It would be best if we had this conversation away from the castle," Severus said.
Lily chuckled slightly. "There's my answer, I guess." Then her laughter died, even as tears gathered in her eyes.
"It hasn't fully hit me yet," Lily said. "It's like my body is crying on its own, and my mind isn't participating. Is it relief, or…"
James spoke in a dark voice. "Dumbledore never said if there were any more remnants of the Dark Lord lingering. Our son may still be in danger."
"He grew up without us," Lily whispered.
"He grew up with no-one," Severus said.
Three lovers sat together in a circle of moonlight, which poured through the infirmary window. Joy, sorrow, and pain intermingled, for though they were together at last, nothing would ever be the same again.
The End
Note- Trans women are women, and black lives do matter. Thank you to everyone to provided feedback for my first real fanfiction. I hope everyone enjoyed it.