Disclaimer – all J.K. Rowling's, in case you somehow missed the previous
seven disclaimers.
Author's Note – we finally find out everything in this chapter. If you're bored sometime, after you read this, look up all three of Dominic's names, you'll probably get the joke. And milk and cookies for my reviewers. Someone – here's more on Dominic, like you asked ... and the answer to your other question also lies here.
Chapter Eight Revelations
"Here is the house Where it all happens."
—Depeche Mode
"Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly. "'But Professor Lupin ... Scabbers can't be Pettigrew ... it just can't be true, you know it can't...' "'Why can't it be true?' Lupin said calmly ...'" —from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"It just can't be true, you know it can't ..."
"Yes," said another voice in the doorway. "It most certainly can."
Everyone turned in perfect unison, including Crookshanks. Remus passed a hand over his eyes. In the doorway was Dominic Phineas Cole, looking very young. Behind him stood Cambri.
"Cole?" said Ron disbelievingly. "Holy hell, how many other people are in this story?" Ignoring Ron's voice like commentary from a literary critic who'd never read the book he was criticizing, Remus waited for another twist thrown into his already corkscrewed life.
Cambri was looking at Sirius, and his eyes were fastened on his face like she was a messenger from God. "Cambri," he said hoarsely.
Cambri took three running steps and threw her arms around him. He clung to her, breathing in the scent of her curly black hair. "Cambri," he said again.
"Yes," she whispered.
Hermione looked like she was about to cry from confusion. Remus appreciated the emotion. Cambri and Sirius broke apart, sensing that this was neither the time nor the place for a reunion, and everyone stared at each other for a moment.
Finally, Hermione broke the silence. "All right," she said. "Professor Lupin, tell us how Pettigrew can be alive, please."
Remus obliged. Cambri watched him with great sympathy as he revealed everything – all the things he had slaved so long to hide. Once he had finished, she took over again. "So, you see, little Peter outsmarted us," she said bitterly. "I told James never to trust him, but I couldn't say that to Sirius. I couldn't. And Sirius didn't tell the Potters he was going to switch. By the time the charm was actually performed, I was out of the country, doing work for Dumbledore – and I never knew what happened until it was far too late."
"Who are you?" Harry demanded, staring at her.
Remus smiled a little. "This is Cambri Black. She is the fifth, and last, Marauder," he said. "She joined us in the middle of fifth year. And she can turn into a ferret." They all waited for someone to make the connection.
"Oh," said Hermione softly. "Oh. I see. You're Persia." And then, her voice going shrill: "Who's Hedwig, then? Professor Lupin's girlfriend?"
An odd expression took Remus's face and he didn't answer. "No," Sirius said softly, in his harsh and croaky voice. That was what brought it home to Cambri the most; his voice, once so resonant, a voice people listened to – now as wasted as the man himself. "No, Remus's fiancee was killed. I heard one of the other prisoners talking about it." Hermione looked stricken.
Cambri stiffened, raising her eyes to her friend's face. "Marsha was killed, along with our unborn daughter Ellen," Remus said quietly.
"Oh, Moony, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I should have asked, I noticed you only had the one picture. I'm sorry."
Remus raised a hand and lowered it, a familiar think-nothing-of-it gesture that had always made Cambri think of a saint's benediction. "Anyway," he continued. "That's the story. And it's up to you whether to believe it or not."
There was silence, broken only by the frantic squeaking of Scabbers. Hermione spoke up timidly. "But...Professor...Mr. and Mrs. Black..." Cambri stifled a misplaced giggle. "I can't...even if Peter is alive, even if he is Scabbers, that doesn't prove anything. Maybe it's... I don't know..."
"Circumstantial evidence?" Remus suggested.
Hermione nodded vigorously. "It's a very neat story, but – maybe it's too neat. It all ties up so well. There's so much coincidence. And if Peter was a Death Eater, why was he your friend?"
She was interrupted by Dominic. They'd all forgotten he was there, and his voice made them jump. "I know that it's true," he said. "I knew the plan. And I knew Peter, and he really was a rat. He went to Voldemort as soon as he was sure that he'd be protected and rewarded there."
"Waiting for him to be the biggest bully in the playground," Sirius snarled.
"You can't have even been alive," said Harry.
Nicky smiled humorlessly. "Oh, trust me, I was alive. You see ..." He took a deep breath. "I am...I was Tom Marvolo Riddle. I was Lord Voldemort."
Remus raised his eyebrows, Hermione gave a gasp that was almost a shriek, Ron let out a yell of frustration, and Harry just stared. Sirius looked far beyond being shocked at this point. Cambri went to Dominic and placed an arm around his slender shoulders. Dominic was as tense as piano wire, and she doubted he noticed.
"Yes," said Dominic. "What you met, Harry, last year, was a shadow, an imitation of what that memory was supposed to be. Cambri was caught when she was on business for Dumbledore, and they had the journal. They made her use her special powers to make me. But she had learned some control, and she didn't do everything they told her to do."
"I have you to thank for that, Remus," Cambri explained quickly. "Remember, back when we shared a room at James' house ... your nightmares ..."
Remus nodded heavily. "And you could soothe the memories without even waking me up. I might have guessed you'd gain more control."
The silence screamed. Finally Ron put it out of its misery. "You little bastard," he said hotly. "You almost killed my sister."
"I didn't," said Nicky defensively. "That was me later. Most of what I really am is here." He touched his chest. "Cambri brought me back at seven, nine years younger than the memory was meant to be. The spirit of lord Voldemort couldn't really inhabit a seven-year-old, a child, without destroying it. That might still have been his plan for me, I think now, but we got away. The journal was supposed to be able to bring Tom Riddle full to life the instant anyone wrote in it. But most of it went into me. All I have is this body ... and my memories. I kept a great many of those. It hurts," he added reflectively. "I don't like them much. But anyway. Because I have those memories, I remember the plan. I remember when that traitor told me...him...him-me...that he could give up the location of James, Lily, and Harry Potter. I know that that rat is Peter Pettigrew. So there you go. Enough evidence to convince even you, Hermione."
He turned away, shrugging Cambri off violently, and went to the tiny corner window. He stood there, looking out at an eastern horizon, over which the moon had not yet risen. His eyes widened suddenly as he started reckoning up the date. He didn't know the time of moonrise – they would just have to hope. Very softly, he cursed.
Harry found his voice at last, staring at Dominic. "Cole," he said quietly, "how can you be Riddle? And if you are, why are you in Gryffindor?"
A spare smile, lost on the others, except for Cambri, who saw him in profile. "I argued with the hat for ten minutes. It couldn't decide, in the end, so it let me pick."
"And you look like you used to?" said Hermione. "That must be why Ginny doesn't like you." Ron still looked enraged.
Harry looked furiously at Sirius as though it was all his fault. "First I find out that my godfather is a murderer – then I find out that he isn't, but he keeps company with a werewolf, an illegal Animagus, and a miniaturized version of the man who did kill my parents."
"I didn't know anything about this," said Sirius defensively. "And as you could probably tell, this is the first time in thirteen years I've actually seen Remus. Or Cambri."
"Just stop!" Hermione said shrilly. "Everyone stop a minute." She buried her face in her hands, then turned to Nicky. "Are you really Lord Voldemort?" she asked.
"No," said Nicky without turning around. "I was born from a memory of Lord Voldemort."
"Close enough," Harry snarled.
Cambri spoke. "Not close enough. He's mine more than anything. I made him."
"That's not possible," said Hermione.
"Oh?" Cambri said sweetly. "How about Ginny, then? How do you think Riddle was able to use her? She has the same gift, just not as strong. If it worked once, it would work again, right? She was too young to have learned any control. And, you, Ron, has your sister ever picked up on any of your memories? You probably dreamed them – there's a certain time of night when the hippocampus becomes more active and the subconscious starts taking impulses from it, so you dream of memories. Has Ginny ever picked up on them?"
Ron looked a little unnerved. "Once," he said slowly, "or twice."
"Probably more than that, and she just didn't tell you. And notice," Cambri went on, "that Tom almost came back with her power. Now, I know how to control my gifts a little, so I knocked nine years off the memory and turned him into Nicky. Is it so hard to believe? Harry can talk to snakes, your sister and I can talk to memories."
Hermione nodded doubtfully. "I suppose so."
Cambri looked at everyone else. "Any further objections? Or can we proceed, and prove to you once and for all that Peter is alive?"
Everyone traded glances and nodded.
"Well, then," said Remus. "Let's see who the rat really is. I won't hurt him if he is a rat, Ron. I promise you that." He raised his wand and cast the spell.
Author's Note – we finally find out everything in this chapter. If you're bored sometime, after you read this, look up all three of Dominic's names, you'll probably get the joke. And milk and cookies for my reviewers. Someone – here's more on Dominic, like you asked ... and the answer to your other question also lies here.
Chapter Eight Revelations
"Here is the house Where it all happens."
—Depeche Mode
"Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly. "'But Professor Lupin ... Scabbers can't be Pettigrew ... it just can't be true, you know it can't...' "'Why can't it be true?' Lupin said calmly ...'" —from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"It just can't be true, you know it can't ..."
"Yes," said another voice in the doorway. "It most certainly can."
Everyone turned in perfect unison, including Crookshanks. Remus passed a hand over his eyes. In the doorway was Dominic Phineas Cole, looking very young. Behind him stood Cambri.
"Cole?" said Ron disbelievingly. "Holy hell, how many other people are in this story?" Ignoring Ron's voice like commentary from a literary critic who'd never read the book he was criticizing, Remus waited for another twist thrown into his already corkscrewed life.
Cambri was looking at Sirius, and his eyes were fastened on his face like she was a messenger from God. "Cambri," he said hoarsely.
Cambri took three running steps and threw her arms around him. He clung to her, breathing in the scent of her curly black hair. "Cambri," he said again.
"Yes," she whispered.
Hermione looked like she was about to cry from confusion. Remus appreciated the emotion. Cambri and Sirius broke apart, sensing that this was neither the time nor the place for a reunion, and everyone stared at each other for a moment.
Finally, Hermione broke the silence. "All right," she said. "Professor Lupin, tell us how Pettigrew can be alive, please."
Remus obliged. Cambri watched him with great sympathy as he revealed everything – all the things he had slaved so long to hide. Once he had finished, she took over again. "So, you see, little Peter outsmarted us," she said bitterly. "I told James never to trust him, but I couldn't say that to Sirius. I couldn't. And Sirius didn't tell the Potters he was going to switch. By the time the charm was actually performed, I was out of the country, doing work for Dumbledore – and I never knew what happened until it was far too late."
"Who are you?" Harry demanded, staring at her.
Remus smiled a little. "This is Cambri Black. She is the fifth, and last, Marauder," he said. "She joined us in the middle of fifth year. And she can turn into a ferret." They all waited for someone to make the connection.
"Oh," said Hermione softly. "Oh. I see. You're Persia." And then, her voice going shrill: "Who's Hedwig, then? Professor Lupin's girlfriend?"
An odd expression took Remus's face and he didn't answer. "No," Sirius said softly, in his harsh and croaky voice. That was what brought it home to Cambri the most; his voice, once so resonant, a voice people listened to – now as wasted as the man himself. "No, Remus's fiancee was killed. I heard one of the other prisoners talking about it." Hermione looked stricken.
Cambri stiffened, raising her eyes to her friend's face. "Marsha was killed, along with our unborn daughter Ellen," Remus said quietly.
"Oh, Moony, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I should have asked, I noticed you only had the one picture. I'm sorry."
Remus raised a hand and lowered it, a familiar think-nothing-of-it gesture that had always made Cambri think of a saint's benediction. "Anyway," he continued. "That's the story. And it's up to you whether to believe it or not."
There was silence, broken only by the frantic squeaking of Scabbers. Hermione spoke up timidly. "But...Professor...Mr. and Mrs. Black..." Cambri stifled a misplaced giggle. "I can't...even if Peter is alive, even if he is Scabbers, that doesn't prove anything. Maybe it's... I don't know..."
"Circumstantial evidence?" Remus suggested.
Hermione nodded vigorously. "It's a very neat story, but – maybe it's too neat. It all ties up so well. There's so much coincidence. And if Peter was a Death Eater, why was he your friend?"
She was interrupted by Dominic. They'd all forgotten he was there, and his voice made them jump. "I know that it's true," he said. "I knew the plan. And I knew Peter, and he really was a rat. He went to Voldemort as soon as he was sure that he'd be protected and rewarded there."
"Waiting for him to be the biggest bully in the playground," Sirius snarled.
"You can't have even been alive," said Harry.
Nicky smiled humorlessly. "Oh, trust me, I was alive. You see ..." He took a deep breath. "I am...I was Tom Marvolo Riddle. I was Lord Voldemort."
Remus raised his eyebrows, Hermione gave a gasp that was almost a shriek, Ron let out a yell of frustration, and Harry just stared. Sirius looked far beyond being shocked at this point. Cambri went to Dominic and placed an arm around his slender shoulders. Dominic was as tense as piano wire, and she doubted he noticed.
"Yes," said Dominic. "What you met, Harry, last year, was a shadow, an imitation of what that memory was supposed to be. Cambri was caught when she was on business for Dumbledore, and they had the journal. They made her use her special powers to make me. But she had learned some control, and she didn't do everything they told her to do."
"I have you to thank for that, Remus," Cambri explained quickly. "Remember, back when we shared a room at James' house ... your nightmares ..."
Remus nodded heavily. "And you could soothe the memories without even waking me up. I might have guessed you'd gain more control."
The silence screamed. Finally Ron put it out of its misery. "You little bastard," he said hotly. "You almost killed my sister."
"I didn't," said Nicky defensively. "That was me later. Most of what I really am is here." He touched his chest. "Cambri brought me back at seven, nine years younger than the memory was meant to be. The spirit of lord Voldemort couldn't really inhabit a seven-year-old, a child, without destroying it. That might still have been his plan for me, I think now, but we got away. The journal was supposed to be able to bring Tom Riddle full to life the instant anyone wrote in it. But most of it went into me. All I have is this body ... and my memories. I kept a great many of those. It hurts," he added reflectively. "I don't like them much. But anyway. Because I have those memories, I remember the plan. I remember when that traitor told me...him...him-me...that he could give up the location of James, Lily, and Harry Potter. I know that that rat is Peter Pettigrew. So there you go. Enough evidence to convince even you, Hermione."
He turned away, shrugging Cambri off violently, and went to the tiny corner window. He stood there, looking out at an eastern horizon, over which the moon had not yet risen. His eyes widened suddenly as he started reckoning up the date. He didn't know the time of moonrise – they would just have to hope. Very softly, he cursed.
Harry found his voice at last, staring at Dominic. "Cole," he said quietly, "how can you be Riddle? And if you are, why are you in Gryffindor?"
A spare smile, lost on the others, except for Cambri, who saw him in profile. "I argued with the hat for ten minutes. It couldn't decide, in the end, so it let me pick."
"And you look like you used to?" said Hermione. "That must be why Ginny doesn't like you." Ron still looked enraged.
Harry looked furiously at Sirius as though it was all his fault. "First I find out that my godfather is a murderer – then I find out that he isn't, but he keeps company with a werewolf, an illegal Animagus, and a miniaturized version of the man who did kill my parents."
"I didn't know anything about this," said Sirius defensively. "And as you could probably tell, this is the first time in thirteen years I've actually seen Remus. Or Cambri."
"Just stop!" Hermione said shrilly. "Everyone stop a minute." She buried her face in her hands, then turned to Nicky. "Are you really Lord Voldemort?" she asked.
"No," said Nicky without turning around. "I was born from a memory of Lord Voldemort."
"Close enough," Harry snarled.
Cambri spoke. "Not close enough. He's mine more than anything. I made him."
"That's not possible," said Hermione.
"Oh?" Cambri said sweetly. "How about Ginny, then? How do you think Riddle was able to use her? She has the same gift, just not as strong. If it worked once, it would work again, right? She was too young to have learned any control. And, you, Ron, has your sister ever picked up on any of your memories? You probably dreamed them – there's a certain time of night when the hippocampus becomes more active and the subconscious starts taking impulses from it, so you dream of memories. Has Ginny ever picked up on them?"
Ron looked a little unnerved. "Once," he said slowly, "or twice."
"Probably more than that, and she just didn't tell you. And notice," Cambri went on, "that Tom almost came back with her power. Now, I know how to control my gifts a little, so I knocked nine years off the memory and turned him into Nicky. Is it so hard to believe? Harry can talk to snakes, your sister and I can talk to memories."
Hermione nodded doubtfully. "I suppose so."
Cambri looked at everyone else. "Any further objections? Or can we proceed, and prove to you once and for all that Peter is alive?"
Everyone traded glances and nodded.
"Well, then," said Remus. "Let's see who the rat really is. I won't hurt him if he is a rat, Ron. I promise you that." He raised his wand and cast the spell.