Disclaimer:

All characters in the story are the property of J. K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Books, with the exception of Eleanora Sterling and a few supporting characters, who are my own creations. This story is created purely for the entertainment of myself and other like-minded readers and no copyright infringement is intended.

By mentioning J.K. Rowling in this story I do not intend to present her as a fictional character or to imply that the Harry Potter books are not her own 100% original works.

Any opinions, political or otherwise, on world events, personages or governments expressed in these pages, are the opinions of the characters speaking them and not necessarily those of the author.

Chapter 10: A Second Opinion

The following morning Snape asked Nora to show him what he had to do to see if he had received a reply from Lupin.

"It's quite simple, really," she said. "I have this program set up to check for mail as soon as I open it, and this is the in-box here. If you want to check your mail during a session, just click that button there. And if you want to reply to a message you've gotten, just click that one there."

"Ah. That seems simple enough. And here is a message from Lupin, now," Snape replied, suddenly getting very possessive with the computer.

"Fine, I'll just leave you two alone, then!" Nora said, rolling her eyes. "But no reading my personal mail, please. Just be sure what you read is really meant for you!"  As if I could stop him, Nora thought, shaking her head.

From: moony5478@freemail.com
To: doctornora@strat.net
Subject: document
Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 02:15:26 +0100

Severus:
Got your message.

Yes, I can take care of that little problem for you right away. Did you want to have the document in your own name or would you prefer to use an alias? Just a thought—I'm using one myself, as one can't be too careful in these times.
Anything else you'd like me to do for you?

- Remmy Wolfe


Hmm, thought Severus. So Remus was using a false name in this dimension. Yes, it probably would be best to have the new passport under a false name and to use that name when he returned to London. It would certainly save him from a lot of the wretched difficulties he'd had by using his real name the first time around.

But what name to use? He had used the name "Steven Parsons" when they were staying in London and trying to evade Welkin. Maybe a different name was required. He wasn't sure his choice was terribly important, but it had to be a name he felt comfortable with. The name "Sandor Paine" came to mind. Could he live with that? But would he need to, for very long?

He hit the reply button and composed his answer.

Remmy:

A suitable moniker, if not terribly original. What do you think of the name "Sandor Paine"? Can you make the arrangements as soon as possible?
As to your other question, yes, there might be something else you can do for me. Perhaps it would be best to speak about this on the telephone. Call me at your earliest opportunity.

S.S.

Would Remus, once he had heard certain facts and theories about this dimension, be willing to at least listen to his ideas for defeating Voldemort without alerting Dumbledore? Or would he merely listen and gather information, then betray his plans to the elder wizard? Snape was getting used to this new way of communicating (certainly faster than owls, at this distance!) but like any written medium there was no way to gauge his correspondent's tone or intent. It would be somewhat easier using voice communication, but face-to-face would have been best. That was impossible in this situation, so he had to settle for what was possible.

* * *

Much to Nora's annoyance, Severus had insisted in staying around the house all day, refusing to leave in case the phone rang. He had commandeered the computer repeatedly, checking e-mail.

Nora was somewhat amused by his sudden interest in his new toy, and assumed that it had something to do with the plot he was cooking up. As much as it pleased her that he was busy and interested in something, her concerns that he would run off to London and put himself into danger clouded her desire to see him active and purposeful. Hopefully Remus would assist in getting enough operatives together in Britain to see the plan through without Severus having to be there in person. That was, if he agreed to help at all. Nora had sensed that Remus felt great loyalty to Dumbledore and his methods and might not agree to help with a plan she knew would be considered very risky.

A call came through later that afternoon, much to both Nora and Severus' relief. Naturally, he insisted on taking the call in private.

* * *

"Well, Severus, I hope this is going to be good. I had half a mind to call you collect except I realised that Nora would be the one paying for it," Remus began when Snape came on the line.

"Just add it to my tab, Remus, or should I say 'Remmy'. I'm more than happy to reimburse you for any expense you incur on my behalf," Snape replied with a hint of a sneer in his voice.

"I see, well, what can I do for you now? I'll speak to the passport people tomorrow, and by the way, the name 'Paine' is oddly appropriate, somehow. Perhaps we should get you a commission in the army and then you can be 'Major Paine'."

"Hah, hah," Snape responded without mirth. "Actually, Lupin, this is a rather delicate matter. Can we speak frankly, just between us, about a few theories I've been having since I arrived here?"

"If you mean by 'just between us' that you don't wish this conversation to go any further, you have my word of honour, but I can't promise you that I'll agree to any schemes you might be plotting."

"Now, what makes you think that I'm plotting anything?"

"Oh, I don't know, Snape," he replied dryly. "You've been unusually transparent lately. I suppose the problem of distance makes it harder for you to operate with your usual subtlety, but asking for a new passport was a pretty large tip-off that you're already planning to return. For what purpose, I can only imagine. I presume you're about to enlighten me?"

"You are obviously aware, since you now spend so much time in this dimension yourself that our abilities to do magic are severely dampened here. And that although you probably still do posses a few of your native powers, you yourself are no longer a werewolf in this dimension, because those creatures simply do not exist here."

"Very true, though yes, I do still have a few skills at my disposal. And of course, those of us who do know of this dimension have known all along that there is very little magic present here. But, what is your point?"

"My point is more of a question. Just for the sake of conjecture, what effect do you suppose this dimension might have on Voldemort, if he could be induced to pass into it?"

Remus was silent for a few moments. "Hmm. That is a very interesting question. If he were still in his original human form, I'd imagine he'd be just like us... not terribly powerful at all. But since he's had to resort to extraordinary means to remake himself in his present form, it would be hard to say what the effect might be on him... or on this dimension."

"Do you think it might be possible that he could be destroyed outright?"

"How, exactly?"

"I'm wondering, since his original body was destroyed in the attack on the Potters, his present body is more or less a construct, conjured up by supernatural means, at least according to young Potter's eye-witness account. In a way, he has become a demon or other sort of supernatural being. Therefore, if he were to enter a dimension where supernatural beings do not exist, he might—simply vanish."

"An interesting theory, but what if it's wrong? He's a very powerful wizard, able to draw upon terrible dark magic.  What, if by passing over here, he were somehow able to summon whatever dark forces that might exist here and unleash them upon this world?"

"But there are no dark magics here for him to draw upon," Snape insisted.

"I'm not entirely certain of that. I don't think we have accurately assessed the forces at work here. Certainly I feel there is great evil here, even if it only exists in the hearts and minds of men. You might be aware of that if you've been paying attention to recent world events."

"Indeed, I am paying attention, and I have been doing a great deal of research into the history and politics of this dimension. I would tend to agree with you that they are, on the whole, a very warlike people. But that is only human nature, not dark forces at work."

"But the things that are going on here have not happened in our dimension. It seems to me that this place does have more evil in it somehow."

"That's a very interesting thing, Lupin, the differences in the timeline of this dimension and ours. Are you aware that they were identical right up until 1914?"

"I'm not sure I'm following you. I thought the timelines were completely different. We don't even have the same monarch or government leaders."

"No, but from my own research and from what Nora has told me, the two dimensions ran on a complete parallel up until 1914, when the first World War started here. In fact, I'm going to venture to say that the Mundane dimension and ours were actually one and the same up until that point."

"Now I'm really not following you. Do you mind terribly explaining yourself?" Remus asked.

NEXT: Origin of the Mundane

A/N

It's been bothering me that Snape is not operating with his usual subtlety. I got quite stuck on this point for a while. But it occured to me that he is feeling so "out of the loop" at the moment that perhaps his customary caution is being thrown to the winds. I also think his devious nature would be quite well known to Remus... who might suspect him even if he were being more subtle.

- Grey Lady