Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and her publishers, not to me.
Spoilers: All five HP novels.
PRELUDE TO WAR--CONVERSATIONS
VI. Severus, Remus and Albus
The library search had not been too successful, but what they had found, Snape brought back to Hogwarts with him. It was too late to confer with Dumbledore that night, but he left a note of his return and the book titles, and asked for a conference late the next morning, for the time he and Lupin had agreed would be all right for both of them. He then added the next ingredient to the Wolfsbane before it needed to simmer quietly for a day. After putting away his working tools, he fell into bed for a few hours of sleep.
About ten the next morning, Snape headed out to the Entrance Hall and met with Lupin. "Ready?" he asked.
"Not really, but I doubt any of us are," Lupin replied. "Let's go up; I want to see what sweet Albus is using for a password this week!"
Snape scowled, as the two men climbed the stairs. "It's worse than just sweets. He seems to be in a cycle of those damnable prank sweets the Weasley twins invented. Last week it was 'Nosebleed Nougats'; Minerva was appalled. I wonder if he wasn't something of a prankster himself, when he was at Hogwarts."
Lupin smiled wryly. "Well, since there are not many living contemporaries of his to ask, and the Headmaster of his time likely was never told everything, I guess we'll have to ask him. But do you really want to know that much?"
Snape considered that, and shook his head. "I think we're going to have enough to deal with today, without dredging up really ancient history. Somehow, I don't think it will be helpful." The two continued in silence.
Arriving at the gargoyle guardian, Snape offered, "Ton-Tongue Toffees". He gave the other man a look, almost daring him to smirk, as they both ascended the moving staircase and arrived at the door. Lupin refused the bait and kept his face calm, as they entered the Headmaster's office.
"Severus, I didn't know you were bringing Remus in on this. Welcome, both of you," Dumbledore greeted, rising to hold out his hand. Both men shook hands with him, then settled down on the guest chairs. After accepting tea and refusing lemon drops, Snape opened the discussion; as was his custom, he went directly to the point.
"Headmaster, I know that you received a letter from Harry Potter yesterday, as you know I did. I was quite disturbed by my letter, the more so since he asked about the same thing you asked me about: the Dark Lord's revival ritual. In fact, the entire letter was so disturbing—and had a sense of urgency I could not understand, but felt—I took the liberty of going to the only other adult in the Order who knows the boy well enough—and who knows about some of what was brought up in the letter—to give me a clearer perspective on it. For the purposes of both this discussion, and for Order reasons, we—Remus and I—have decided to call a truce between ourselves. We spent a good part of the afternoon and evening yesterday dissecting the letter and related background information, and now we need to discuss it with you."
Lupin took up the thread. "However, we are likely going to need you to tell us a few things: what did you tell Harry after the Ministry incident? And what is he asking of you? If we are to help Harry, wouldn't it be better to work together, so that our interests don't collide? Too much is at stake now."
Dumbledore sat back in his padded armchair, considering the two men before him. He had long hoped that they would come to something of a working arrangement, but hadn't expected it so quickly. Harry had obviously upset the Potions Master far more than the man was willing to show; that he had acted so quickly and decisively to make a truce with one of his most detested enemies, about one of his least-favorite students, spoke volumes. While he ached with the pain Harry had shown in his own letter, he could rejoice in the reconciliation—even if temporary--that Severus' letter had obviously caused. Maybe the outlook wasn't quite as grim as he feared.
"I think that the first thing to do, if Severus does not object, is for the two of us to exchange letters and read them; then you, Remus, should read mine as well. Once all of us have the same information, then we can discuss it intelligently." Dumbledore reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a scroll addressed to him. This he handed to Snape, who drew out a similar one from a robe pocket and handed it back. The room was silent as the two men read each other's missives, broken by a soft exclamation of "Merlin's beard..." from Snape. He then handed the scroll to Lupin, who read it quietly, but looked increasingly pained.
Once all had finished reading, there was silence—which was broken by Fawkes, who flew down from his perch and settled onto Dumbledore's desk within easy petting range; he then trilled a soft song that managed to ease the minds of all three men a little. Dumbledore smiled fondly at the Phoenix and petted his head.
"So you think there's hope, do you?" he softly spoke to the bird. "I do wish you could be more detailed, so that we could all sleep better at night."
"Damn bird is more cryptic than oracles, and you know my opinion of Divination," grumbled Snape. He sat up a little straighter. "Now that we've all read both letters, I have to say that my initial opinion hasn't changed much. Potter is obviously driven by some urgency to put aside five years of justifiably detesting me, and probably some of the blame for Black's demise, and both Black's and his father's feud with me, to ask for more of what was obviously painful to him the first time around—and on top of that, offers in exchange to settle the old scores in a manner I had not thought him capable of. Now that I see Albus' letter, I also note that Potter has not only actually paid attention to what I am doing, he is showing a concern for my life and health that I would have thought impossible, to say nothing of his endorsement of my loyalty. He wants to protect his friends, yes; that shows quite clearly, in this and what I've seen over the years. He doesn't want to lose anyone else. That I can understand. But me? Or has he finally taken the blinders off and calculated what I can do to help him achieve his goal?"
"That, I think I can answer, Severus," replied Dumbledore calmly. "This is the same thing that saved him from Tom in the Ministry. Harry has more compassion, more caring, and more heart than any other three people I can think of; with those feelings, Tom cannot bear to stay in Harry's mind. He also carries around a horrific amount of totally unwarranted guilt for not preventing all of Tom's depredations. However, he is finally realizing that while the final battle is his, getting to it is not his alone. He is finally learning to ask for help, and is trying to give us advice and help, so that what needs to be done is done sooner rather than later. Only then, assuming he survives, will he feel free to accept the life that he is entitled to; in his own mind, until Tom is gone, he is bound to put aside all the rest. I think he is also realizing that he must survive long enough to get to the end, and the battle that awaits him. And Sirius' death, while immensely painful for him, served not to drive him deeper into depression, as I feared it would, but to catalyze his resolve, as I hoped it would."
"That still doesn't answer this: why does he act as if he cares about my life? Surely he understands that if he's willing to give up his own to bring down the Dark Lord, mine is equally expendable, as I am pledged as an Order member. I find it far more easy to believe that his new resolve to complete his...task...has finally shown him sense and that I can help him get there if he lets me do what I must, which includes risking my life."
"For exactly the reason he stated in his letter to Albus," Lupin put in. "You're a human being, in a way another victim of Riddle; and no matter what he thinks of you, or you of him, he doesn't want any action of his to cost you your life if it can be at all prevented. To him, lives are too precious to waste, and that is the lesson he just learned so bitterly." Lupin picked up both letters and scanned parts of each. "Severus, I know what you're thinking; that he's willing to put aside all the bad feelings long enough to win the war, then take it up afterwards, assuming you both survive. You're wrong there. I think what you're seeing here—and it's so rare I've hardly seen it myself—is the real Harry Potter. Not the Boy-Who-Lived, not the Wizarding Savior, not the Gryffindor Golden Boy, not the Quidditch star, not the unwanted freak, and most definitely not just the son of James Potter. He's very open about his feelings in some ways; in others, his masks are almost as good as yours. It bothers you, because he's never let you see it before. All you've ever seen is what he thinks he needs to be in your class, or the little you've pried out of him in training with you; he has never fully trusted you, so he never showed everything. That, I think, is more of what he learned at his relatives'. But now, he's dropping pride, masks, everything, to do whatever he has to do, and do it quickly, before more lives are lost. As he pointed out, a life lost cannot be given back."
"Unless you're a Dark Wizard who knows a revival ritual," Snape reminded. "And while we're on that: just what does Harry have in mind that requires a live Pettigrew—apart from the obvious intelligence advantages--complete with silver hand?" He seemed a little relieved to get the discussion off himself; he hadn't even noticed that he said "Harry" instead of "Potter".
"That, I think, we are going to have to ask Harry, as he mentioned in my letter, Severus," the Headmaster replied. "I must admit that I'm curious as to just what he has in mind. One event about which Harry has horribly mixed feelings is the fact that he spared Peter Pettigrew that night in the Shrieking Shack, rather than see Remus and Sirius commit murder, or do so himself. Had he not done so, Peter would not have been in a position to escape, then to participate in the revival. This is a matter of unintended consequences: to prevent a wrong, he unwittingly helped set the stage for a far worse wrong. On the other hand, had Peter been killed, Voldemort would certainly have found some other way; when or how, I have no idea. We would have also lost not one, but two fighters for the Light, as Remus would have certainly been taken as an accomplice once he had returned to human form, and Fudge was just a little too eager to use the Dementors. Whether the children would have been charged I don't know, but the fact that they had stunned you would have both spared you from charges and in turn added charges to them." He refreshed his tea, and took a sip. "However that may be: we must deal with what is, instead of what we wish were so. And what is, is that Harry spared a man's life within his power to justly take or allow to be taken, and thus is owed a Wizard's Life Debt. How that may be made use of, I do not yet know." He looked from one to the other. "Did you find anything in the Black Library?"
"Some books on Blood Rituals in general, and two that mention it, but nothing that specific," Snape replied, and Lupin nodded in agreement. "I may try to see if I can find anything in Malfoy Manor's library; until Lucius is out of prison—and it's a matter of when, not if--I can deal with Narcissa and Draco, especially if they think it's something for the Dark Lord. However, I would not be surprised to learn that the Dark Lord devised the ritual himself; he is that competent. I think we may learn a great deal from the Pensieve memory that Potter has offered me—and that offer was a surprise in and of itself."
"Do so if you can, but do not risk yourself greatly," Dumbledore responded. "This is possibly useful, but not worth your life."
Snape nodded. He also had his own family books to look through, but his titles tended to deal mostly with potions. "I, too, would be interested in this idea of his," he commented. "For that matter, and this also surprises me, some of his other suggestions have a certain amount of merit. Getting a decent DADA professor should be very high on the priority list; I don't think this school can survive another Umbridge. Continuing the DA is also an excellent idea, but I think the advanced members are going to need an adult advisor; there is just too much potential for serious injury. I would suggest Tonks, if you can get her, unless she's your DADA candidate this time."
Dumbledore sat back with a little smile. "As a matter of fact, I do have an idea, and this is one I intend to bring up at the House Heads' meeting Monday. Severus, I want you to look through the lists of recent graduates and find someone competent to teach Potions to the first four years; you will still be the Potions Master, teach the three upper years, and cover as needed. I would prefer a Journeyman or a new Master, who will understand that he or she is subordinate to you. A retiree will be acceptable as well. You will also be the Defense professor for the same three forms. Remus, you will have the first four years of Defense; Severus will cover your classes on Full Moon days, and if he cannot, I will, or call in someone; even a student teacher, such as Miss Granger, will do well enough for the lowest classes. This will give Severus time to do more upper-year independent study mentoring in both subjects, which is, I think, a much better use of his time and exceptional talents in both subjects than the beginner levels. It will also give us two trusted Order members in two dangerous subjects, and allow both of you the time and ability to work with the students who will need you the most—the Fifth- and Sixth-Years who are the core of the DA, and the Slytherins that are most vulnerable to recruitment." His smile grew broader at the shock on Lupin's face. "Every one of the Fifth- and Seventh-Year students who was a member of the DA scored an E or O on their DADA OWLs and NEWTs. All the other years' members did comparably well on their end-of-year exams. Those who depended on the 'approved' teaching course scored almost acceptably on their written tests, and poorly on their practicals; in fact, there will be at least one remedial class for all Houses devoted to practical DADA for those students who scored an A or less on the OWL and wish to retake it with this years' Fifth-Years."
Lupin gulped down the lump in his throat; the job he had most enjoyed in the last few years was the year he had taught at Hogwarts. "Albus...how can I possibly teach here, especially the younger children? The Ministry and the Board of Governors will never allow it, to say nothing of the parents! That is why I resigned the last time!" He carefully failed to mention who had exposed him as a werewolf; that was past, and part of what he and Snape would have to ignore, if their truce was to hold.
Dumbledore's smile grew into a smirk. "Well...it seems that after this last fiasco of the Ministry appointing a Professor, I have been given a free rein to appoint whom I please this time. When I pointed out that the most truly competent professor we have had in the last five years was also the most popular, despite his condition, the Minister was willing to allow me to give you another trial. Besides, your teaching style is more suitable for the younger ones than Severus' is; the older ones are used to him. I have guaranteed on my personal bond that you will faithfully take your Wolfsbane, provided at school expense by the Hogwarts Potions Master, and will be suitably secured at the correct times, with a competent substitute." The smirk grew into a genuine grin at the shocked face of the werewolf. "I am more than pleased that the two of you are now able to work together, as you are going to be doing a good deal of it this year."
Snape looked dismayed. "Are we to continue our public enmity, or are we to appear to work together? I can see a good many complications here. And how well did the Serpent's Fang students do?" As there had been no Slytherins in the DA, a separate secret defense practical seminar had been held in the dungeon for Slytherins, who had seen the same faults in Umbridge that the DA students had, but would or could not work with a club led by Gryffindors loyal to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore's smile did not fade. "Quite well, actually; no one scored below an A and the majority were Es and Os. As to your joint public image, I see no reason not to continue as before in public; it will certainly show both of you off well on your respective sides. In fact, I can see a sort of rivalry as to which of you can teach DADA better!" His smile dimmed a little, although the twinkle in his eyes did not. "Seriously, Remus will be setting an excellent example of how to behave in public under the stress of your usual acid wit, without challenging you to a duel every other day—same as he did last time, only under better conditions. The same rules apply as before: no unprofessional behavior. If you want to start a Dueling Club, you may, but both of you should be involved."
Snape nodded; that was a role he was used to. Lupin, however, had been seriously thinking on some of the other points that Dumbledore had mentioned.
"You said that 'the final battle is his alone'—what do you mean by that? One of the theories that we discussed yesterday is of Harry being the Prophecy Child. Severus says he fulfilled it, if not completely; I say that since it was an incomplete result, it isn't fulfilled yet. The conclusion we drew is that you believe he has to do it again."
Albus sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, you are right; Harry is the Prophecy Child. I will not repeat the entire Prophecy, if only for Severus' sake, as the entirety of it was what Tom spent so much effort to get; but it is indeed Harry who is fated to make a final end of Tom. Unfortunately, it does not rule out the reverse. Since the copy was broken last month, Harry and I are now the only ones who know the full prophecy, and I intend it to stay that way. And in answer to one of your original questions, that is one of the things I told him when we returned; the rest was admitting to my errors over the years in handling him, one of them being not telling him about the Prophecy last year after the Tri-Wizard Tasks, and admitting my share of the fault in Sirius Black's death." He bowed his head. "Needless to say, he did not take it well; that is the matter for which he apologized to me."
"What about the prophet?" asked Lupin.
"Sibyll Trelawney is a Trance Seer; she does not remember what she Sees in trance, or even that she has Seen," Dumbledore replied. "This one was one of her two known accurate ones; the one she made in the Divination classroom two years ago was the other."
Snape gave an answering sigh. "So—this is what we are dealing with: the Dark Lord is fated to be brought down by someone who is barely half-trained, and is only now realizing what his teachers and mentors are for, and acts as if he's cooking up another Gryffindor mad scheme for dealing with the matter in a hurry!" He rubbed his forehead; he was getting another headache, and some of his customary pessimism was returning. He had decided, though: he would help the boy as much as he could, while still dancing on the tightrope of being a spy, until the inevitable day when he was found out—and helping Potter too much in school was likely to be looked upon as just as treasonous to his other Master as failing to provide information. Perhaps one of the Advanced Potions students could help him with a way to survive that day, instead of relying on having a Last Friend Potion at hand. The one thing he craved, and refused to let himself have, was hope—hope that he could help win the war and survive it, and have a life afterwards.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, that is what we have to deal with now. But, before you condemn his 'mad Gryffindor scheme' out of hand, the least we can do to help him is to find out what it is. I propose that we meet with him tomorrow: Fawkes can bring him here, or we can go there; all three of us should go."
"If we go there," offered Lupin, "I suggest that we meet at Arabella's. Considering that his relatives hate us, I don't want him suffering consequences for having more 'freaks' in his house."
Snape shook his head. "On the contrary: I think we should go directly there, possibly having Fawkes take us into his very room. I wish to get some idea of the people he is with, and his study surroundings, so that I may make the best recommendations for the books he has asked me for." He gave one of his sardonic smiles. "And if we three, of all people—a Death Eater, a Werewolf, and the greatest Light Wizard alive—cannot get the better of three wretched Muggles, one of them Potter's age, we should all give up our wands and retire to the locked ward at St. Mungo's; we would not be fit to be men, let alone Wizards." The other two men chuckled at that; some of the acidic Snape they were used to was returning.
"I think I agree with Severus; his aunt's greatest fear is having odd people on her doorstep for the neighbors to see. Using Fawkes will also avoid the protection and anti-Apparation wards, which are unfortunately set now to keep out anyone with the Mark." Dumbledore's calm voice belied his emotions; inside, he was cheering madly. He had hoped that Snape would someday see a reason to work with Harry without constant quarrelling. This, at least, was a start. "We are agreed, then: we shall answer both his letters in person, with Remus to be a buffer and friendly voice. I think this time tomorrow morning will do."
The other two men assented, so Dumbledore took out parchment and quill and sent a note off with Fawkes.
It was Remus who brought up the next question. "However, there is one item that he asked about, and I don't have an answer yet. What about Sirius' estate?"
"I am expecting a communication shortly from the Goblins at Gringotts," Dumbledore replied. "One of the matters I impressed quite firmly upon Cornelius Fudge that night at the Ministry, and subsequently, was that one of the wrong men that the Aurors had been chasing was Sirius. Remember, Fudge was the first investigator on the scene after the original explosion. I have submitted a Wizarding affidavit of Sirius' innocence and the fact that Peter is alive; if my word and Wand Oath are not good enough for the Ministry and the Wizengamot, then they will have to take the word of Harry Potter and his friends, who after all were witnesses to Peter's transformation, and Harry himself to the revival ritual; I would prefer that the students not have to endure that. At any rate, one of the matters I told Cornelius was of Sirius' demise through the Veil, so his estate should clear very soon. He did have a will, as all of us do, and had it in Gringotts; while I do not know all the details, I am the executor, along with one of the Goblin estate officers. The Goblins don't particularly care about a man's legal status in our society, so long as he doesn't cheat them. As the last male Black, he had more freedom to dispose of the estate than if there were other male Black heirs. He was planning to disinherit the Death Eater relatives, so anything that was entailed should go to Andromeda Black Tonks, and to her daughter. The rest, apart from some residual bequests and trusts, was for Remus, Harry, and the Order; the house would stay for our use. In any case, Remus, whichever one turns out to actually own Grimmauld Place, you will have rights to lifetime tenancy in that house, or in any other real estate in the holdings."
The werewolf's eyes were now full of tears that he would not let fall. "Thank you, Albus," he said. "I know Siri would never have wanted anything of his to go to the Malfoys or Lestranges."
Snape leaned forward to make a comment. "However, one of the very few things about which I did agree with Black wholeheartedly: is there any way to remove that abominable portrait? Maybe get Bill Weasley and Filius to team up on it? And soon, before one of us snaps and takes down the entire wall and half the house?" This broke the tension, as he had intended it to do; his truce with Remus was still new and fragile and he did not want to make matters worse by witnessing the other man break down.
"Maybe you can devise a potion to take the portrait off the canvas, Severus," Dumbledore smiled. With that, the three men went down to the Great Hall for some well-deserved luncheon.