Disclaimer: The same as the previous chapters.

Chapter 39

Hermione watched her husband return back and swiftly empty a vial in the pensive. This time, all the others had brought over their hands and had already vanished into mists. They two were the last to leave. Moments before taking the plunge, Hermione had grabbed Severus's palm. Surprised by the sudden gesture, he jerked his head up. Squeezing it, she said," I trust you," then tugged it down into the pensive and both disappeared. Fawkes chortled and said to himself," well played, that was quick a checkmate, spymaster, I hope you can last it any longer."

The scene hadn't changed much. The office was still dim with only the hearth burning. Though Hermione did notice the tea service had been refilled. That would be the work of the Hogwarts elves. Andromeda was leaning over and so were memory-Snape and Remus. In hushed voices, she was talking to them, visibly wary of her surroundings. But the visiting witches and wizards could hear her loud enough.

"Possibly the first Mondes were against putting things into writing because whatever had occurred were too shameful to speak off. But the first Lupine's grandson, Gerade Mitternacht Lupine thought a little differently. He had shared bits and pieces of his unique history with a wandering bard, Oden, and the next part of the tale is based on his folklore songs.

According to Oden,

~The spirit mourns in the depths of the forest.
Mourns his fate, mourns the loss of his people and love.
The white witch no longer resides in the Wunder Hutte.
The place is no longer there.
There are new spirits in the forest instead,
that hides away the love and loss,
the blood and secret,
It awaits for the masters to return.
It might take centuries,
but Time will once behave like the great ocean.
It will return what is lost now in its blue depths.
The call of the night is never gone,
it speaks in the mind of the pack.
Until then, the curse will live
and run through the blood.
Til the blood of the pure ones,
innocent and just will caress
the barren land of forest ground,
dark, forlorn, bare, and forgotten.~

Pausing a bit she conferred, "I couldn't make much sense out of it until I met Remus."

Snape looked at the DADA professor and opined," So, that is how you know about Greyback's plans. You can hear him, and he is not aware of it, but maybe has started doubting. He never showed much enthusiasm when your name was brought up in one of the Dark Lord's meetings, but I think he had lapped onto every drop of information Yaxley had brought in." Suddenly, straightening up, looking directly into Mrs. Tonks eyes, he gasped, his face growing paler by the second," You are afraid he is after your infant grandson, if he can't tame the father, he will go after the babe."

The grandmother whimpered, then confirmed," Oh, yes, but that is not all, he already has the Veela girl, and if we don't hide Ted…" Cutting her mid-sentence, aware that his mother in law was shaken beyond comprehension, Lupin implored," Severus, the thing is Helga Flammore also kept a patch of dried up deerskin and a piece of silk. Andromeda can't see anything on it, but I can both see and read what is written on the skin. Not read exactly. I don't know how to say this, I don't know the letters, but someone else in me can read it fluently."

Snape leaned forward looking hard at Lupin, tapping his finger on his thin lips he asked," Do you think Greyback can hear your thoughts as well?"

The man shook his head," No, I am most certain of it, though, I do have this feeling he can't hit me hard enough each time we have come face to face. Something stops him and his thoughts are more sorrowful than being hateful, I can't find any logic in it."

"Do you think he considers you as kin because he has sired you, I mean turned you into a werewolf in the first place and maybe wants Ted…"

The grandmother's sharp voice had surprised both the men," You got it wrong, Snape. Just hear me out." Remus shrugged his shoulder and implied," Yes, you need to hear the whole thing."

"Yes, though I can't read it, and I met Remus quite late. I had no way of knowing what two folded pieces laying rolled up at the bottom of the first trunk was in the first place. It is in one of the smaller trunks…"

Snape arched his brow and asked genuinely confused," Trunks?"

The woman tutted and apologized," Forgive me, I forgot to mention, I actually inherited six trunks of different sizes from my distant Aunt and in them those documents, journals and parchments were kept."

"And Dumbledore and Authur read through all of them?"

"Well, they did flip through them, The former Headmaster did cast several spells over them, but found nothing malicious."

Rubbing his lip, Snape narrowed his eyes and just said," I see, then what happened? I mean did you find another clue?"

The woman exclaimed," yes, this has perhaps the Veela version, but at least it is in French," fishing out a parchment from the box, for the first time, she read it aloud," It is composed by a court singer the rough translation goes like this:

"The brothers are lost in the forest dark
Where beastly ghost still lurks and growls
They ask me, to remember them
But warn me not to come any nearer.
They gave their lives they say
And not in vain like we believe.
The wolf did not kill them
Neither did it want to kill anyone that night
It was the knife that tore through love.
We guard the place where Grezel last slept
We are keepers of the blackened rose.
We weep with the lover here,
Who roams around raving wild~

Why was I born with claws so sharp?
Why did you have to look back at me with love
Etched in your dying eyes?
Why couldn't I say it aloud,
How I love you, rose?
Will you ever love me so?

As my life leaves my body,
I hear the Sokressin chant
In her death
Love never dies,
To this place
It shall once again return
In a different age, in darker times."

This time when the memory fizzled away and they came back to the dungeon study, Snape had just given them a couple of moments to catch their breath. Putting out another vial from his robes, he muttered," This one was entrusted to me by Remus himself. I had suggested both of them to approach Mrs. Fleur Weasley at the earliest. And Shacklebolt was able to arrange the meeting on that very night." Minister Shacklebolt confirmed with a nod and was first to disappear into the mists of the pensive in which Snape had dropped the memory. One by one all of them entered the pensive.

The familiar living room of the shell cottage was visible. Hermione noticed Fleur and Bill were present, sitting side by side, and their traveling robes, where haphazardly thrown over the back of the couch. Andromeda, Remus, and Shacklebolt were also present. It was Fleur who spoke first, her hands still holding on to her husband's large one, tears rolling down her eyes, but they were not focused on any person, they were staring at a banner of sorts, or probably an old tapestry. To get a better look, Hermione had tried to walk further into the room and peer over their shoulders, but her husband had stalked her moments, placing a hand on her shoulder and whispering the words'' stay here."

Biting her lips the French wife managed to say," I always thought this was all fantastic tales our nanny loved to entertain us with...trust me, I grew up hearing, how the bad wolf gobbled the old grandmother and then made the unsuspecting granddaughter chew at her bones and teeth. And finally raped her and killed her. But the Veela magic was too powerful and since he had violated the White witch he died shortly after. Our nanny would say with a flourish- "it is evil that dies the most painful of deaths." pointing over the embroidered runes, she mused," but here it says something entirely different!"

Andromeda implored," what else does it say?"

Fleur pursed lips and scrunched her brows," This is mostly in Old French, but it is still readable. Its piece of cloth is magically weaved and the thread is old but has strong magic entwined around it. Can you all hear the dull hum, like someone is singing from over the wind?" When all of them had stared at each other confused and Fleur realized that only she could sense it, she gasped," do you think it is a Veela thing like only I can hear it? Turning to Remus and Andromeda she asked," where did you find it?"

"It was left to me by my aunt," Andromeda mentioned hastily.

Bill narrowed his eyes and asked," What does it have to do with Greyback, Teddy and Gabrielle?"

Fleur had turned abruptly to look at her husband and then her eyes flew open. Looking at Andromeda she whispered in fright," Fluch von Rout!" The cloth in front of them fluttered on its own and had morphed into a face. The witches and the wizards had aimed their wands at it, but they could not think of any spell because the face had begun singing. When it was over the veela had started crying hard, sobbing into her husband's arms.

At the same time, she managed to speak," I don't know why it made me so emotional, but it mentioned the following:

I made the heart that loved me so much
bleed over my treacherous knife.
But all that his burning eyes
could offer me, was love.
He tried to get hold of me,
but instead, his claws dug into my throat,
the last thing,
I saw was, him crying over me.
His eyes had kept me awake
for days and nights,
his eyes could
make the moon and sun shy,
his eyes could kill the fire
and even set it ablaze.
I don't wish to die just yet.
He was not the evil,
he never killed for sport,
his eyes kept telling me just that,
he was as innocent as a babe.

"Curse to all those wolves then
who tainted the black angel
that holds me close to his dying heart.
I curse the Grauer
who killed a noble Hache.
The moon will make you
turn into monsters.
Vile Rucken, You shall have to hide
and flee for your lives until a veela
half-willingly gives away
what is most precious to her.
And the monster claims
it not deserving it at all.
But oh! Pure Nacht stays right here
till your Lupine returns."

"Mother unwed will give birth to a rose, bright as the sun and delicate as the moon," gulping down the rising bile she pressed on," though the rose will also belong to a grey vile and a black just. But the father must die from the crimes that its blood had always committed and the lover shall stand by his love redeemed."-

"I...there was a lot more but the rest sounded gibberish. I don't know what to think of all of this, you are telling me, my sister is alive and you all suspect that Greyback has her held captive and that she is pregnant?"

When they had returned back to the study, Minerva flopped back on her armchair, thoroughly exhausted and Snape had at once kneeled in front of her, worried. Without opening her eyes, the Scottish woman mumbled," Stop hovering, I am just a bit tired. Would you mind if we talk about it later? And I would rather want both Kingsley and you, to rest, and not drop dead with exhaustion at the foot of some stairs."

A/N: I hope the story is making some sense, at least...