A/N: Yippee dippy ki yay! Finally got around to finishing of this chapter! Man this was hard! Unfortunately this is still kinda a fill-in chapter until all the good (a.k.a BAD) stuff starts happening. But that should be in either the next chapter or the one after that! So I'm finally getting somewhere!
A/N2: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed! It has meant SOOOOOO much to me!
Sovereign Of The Heart
Chapter Six: Importance of the truth.
-No matter how I push you away
-I've known right from the start
-That you're the only one for me
-The sovereign of my heart
Anon
Later that evening Minerva stood pacing her quarters, her brain fluttering a hundred places at once. She had never felt so confused in her entire life. She just couldn't understand how this situation had gotten so far out of hand, or why the whole idea of Lucius Malfoy spending more time at the school sent a shiver up her spine. Sitting down in frustration, she yanked out the pins with a little more force than was necessary and pricked her finger. Minerva looked at the welling of blood and forced herself to calm down, this was getting her nowhere. Sighing she resolved to go and speak with Albus. Grabbing her cloak she made her way to the door and out into the cool evening.
Strolling through the corridors Minerva felt a slight peace and tranquility wash over her, as if the steady feel of the floor below her was whisking her troubles away. Tentively she approached the stone gargoyle that would grant her access to the Headmasters office. Taking a last glance around the corridor, she muttered the password "Fudge Flies" and walked through the open doorway. As she reached the forbidding wooden door, Minerva suddenly felt very self-conscious, a feeling she was not accustomed to or comfortable with. She realized how idiotic she was going to sound, but knew she had to say something or regret it later. So with newfound resolve she knocked on the door. There was a brief shuffling noise from within the office and then a slightly hoarse voice called "Enter."
Minerva opened the door slowly and walked inside "Er.. Hello Albus, I was wondering if I could have a little talk?"
Dumbledore shot her a bemused look from behind his desk and gestured for her to take a seat "Of course Minerva, what brings you here at this hour?"
The younger Professor shifted slightly in her seat "Erm… Well I wanted to talk to you about the Ministry visits. I don't feel that they are going to help matters Albus, personally I think they are just going to hinder things and their choice of leader is simply appalling!"
The Headmaster considered her a moment and then spoke, his voice soft "Minerva, I am as unhappy about this as you are. But I have to at least maintain a slight standing in the Ministry, and this is the only way I can convince Fudge that I am not working against him."
Minerva looked down at her lap, fighting the impending vomit that was working its way up her throat. She simply nodded in reply and the Headmaster sighed.
"What's wrong Minerva?" He asked, clearly concerned by her silence.
The Professor looked up into Dumbledore's dazzling blue eyes and felt some of her trepidation melt away, mustering her courage she answered him. "It's nothing really… It's just I'm not comfortable with Lucius Malfoy hanging around the school on a weekly basis. You know his reputation Albus, I just can't understand why Fudge would pick him."
The Headmaster gave her an amused smile "Well I'll definitely have to take this into consideration, now that three of my staff have complained about it."
Minerva looked up stunned "Three?" she asked hoarsely
"Three" Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling "Severus was most … vehement in his objections, and I don't believe I've ever seen Remus so worked up about something, and you just seem quietly concerned."
Minerva felt a smile creep onto her face, imagining both men's little tirades; she could imagine both must have been quite a show.
"I imagine that was quite something headmaster?" she asked, the amusement she felt, creeping into her voice.
The elderly man just smiled in return. "Indeed it was." He replied humor blazing in his eyes.
Minerva finally rose from the seat and went to leave, but Dumbledore stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder before she could make her escape.
"Minerva" he said solemnly "You know if there is anything wrong you can tell me, you do know that don't you?"
The other Professor turned on heel, to face her mentor. His blue eyes were boring into hers and it felt as if he'd hopped inside her mind and taken a look around. He 'knew' there was something else bothering her and this only proved to make her feel more uncomfortable.
Slowly taking a deep breath she answered him, in a voice surprisingly calm to even her own ears.
"Yes Albus, I know" And then she practically fled the office, before she said something she might have regretted.
After the initial shock of Dumbledore's announcement relative calm roamed through the school. Even though there was a plainly visible strain on certain staff and students. Many of the Gryffindors were most unhappy with the thought of Lucius Malfoy hanging around, in particular Harry. Whose last encounter with Malfoy Senior had been far from pleasant.
"I just don't get it!" He grumbled, the evening after the announcement to Ron and Hermione "I really don't! Why Malfoy?"
Ron rolled his eyes and Hermione just sighed, this was really starting to bug them. It wasn't that they didn't share Harry's view, far from it. It was just the fact that he had been complaining about it straight for twenty-four hours, and that was enough for anyone.
Finally Hermione snapped, "Right that does it!" She growled, glaring at Harry "I can't take this anymore, Harry will you please stop complaining. It's getting old! If you're sorry worried about it why don't you go and speak to someone who knows more about it!"
Harry fell silent and stared at his friend in shock. He hadn't heard Hermione lose her temper like that in quite a while.
"Sorry" he muttered quietly.
Ron laughed, "Don't be sorry, It doesn't suit you."
Harry smiled in return "Okay, but you're right. Come on let's go visit Lupin, maybe he can shed some light on the situation."
The other two nodded in agreement and followed him up to the dorm to retrieve the Invisibility cloak.
Ten minutes later they were traipsing through the darkened corridors of Hogwarts, shrouded by the invisibility cloak and making as little noise as possible. Which was proving to be quite difficult, considering that they had all grown over the summer and that Ron now had a good 4 inches over the other two.
"OW! That was my foot!" cried Hermione, throwing Ron a pained glare.
"Sorry Herm" Ron muttered in apology looking down 'God dam feet' he grumbled mentally.
Harry gave a sigh and shushed to his fellow compatriots in crime. They both instantly shut up and followed Harry through the school; after all, he was the only one who knew where they were going. There were a few more mishaps and a close call with Filch, but finally they made it to the right corridor.
"Right his office is around here somewhere" muttered Harry, he wasn't quite sure of where though. His previous two visits had been during the day, and things generally looked a lot different at night.
"Are you sure Harry?" asked Ron looking through the folds of the cloak, blinking owlishly.
Harry gave a swift nod in reply "Positive."
"Did you consider if he'll even be up? I mean it is 11 in the evening." asked Hermione, clearly worried what would happen if they were disturbing the Professor's bed-rest.
Harry hadn't considered this, but he didn't say anything. They'd deal with that when the found the dam room.
From behind them came a chuckle and an amused voice answered the question for them "I can assure you Hermione that I am most certainly awake."
The three stunned teenagers swiveled around to face the smiling face of Professor Lupin, who was staring directly at them. It appeared that during their little conversation they had walked straight past the darkened doorway, but how had he known they were there? The Professor seemed to sense their query and raised his eyebrow. "Lycanthropic hearing does sometimes pay off. But I'm surprised half the school didn't hear you? Well come inside, before you get me into trouble as well."
The trio walked into the room, feeling for the first time a little nervous about this escapade. The older man however seemed perfectly at ease with their presence, as though he was expecting them.
"You can take the cloak off you three. I'd rather be speaking to faces rather than thin air." He smiled, as they did as he commanded and took the proffered seat on his bed.
"Right, I am surmising you came to see me for a reason besides my sleeping habits, so what's this little night time excursion in aid of?" he asked calmly sitting down in the bedside chair.
The students looked a little uneasy and shifted on the bed, balancing the invisibility cloak precariously over their laps causing them to vanish from sight.
"Er… Well.." Harry started eloquently, Remus smirked encouragingly and Hermione gave a Harry a not so conspicuous elbow in the ribs
Harry shot her a glare and continued "Well.. We were wondering if you knew anything about.. The school visits?"
Remus's smirk melted into a frown and for a moment the three students thought they had upset him.
"Ah it's about that is it" he stated bluntly, running a hand through his hair. The three nodded and looked at him expectantly.
"Well to be perfectly honest I don't know much more than you lot do.. All I know are the people that are coming on the visits."
Harry and Ron looked at one another and finally Hermione voiced the unspoken question "So who's coming..?"
Remus's frown deepened "Well obviously Lucius Malfoy, he's the team leader. Then there's the vice chairman of the Wizarding Law
Enforcement …. Gerald Brankin and a few other Ministry officials. But that's basically it."
Hermione shot the Professor a look "Hmm.. There's someone else coming who you don't particularly like isn't there Professor" She asked him bluntly, catching the man off guard.
Remus gave a quiet snort "Is it that obvious?" he asked and noting the look on Hermione's face it clearly was.. To her at least. "Yes there are a few people whom I've had.. Run in's shall we say with in the past, and not particularly happy with their presence here."
The three raised their eyebrows questioningly "So who is it?" Harry questioned, surprised at his Professors disdain.
Remus's frown returned "MacNair's coming from the Disposal of Dangerous Creature's department and please DON'T ask about it. It's something I'd rather not go into."
Harry, Ron and Hermione remained quiet, silently honoring his request. They had a feeling that it would be better if they didn't know.
The heavy silence continued for a few minutes, and it was finally broken when Remus stood and yawned widely. As if setting off a chain reaction the three teenagers yawned.
Remus smiled "Well… it seems yawning really is contagious. I think you three should be off to bed. Unless of course you have something else to ask?"
Harry yawned again, his brain muddied with lack of sleep, but something occurred to him and it jolted him awake.
"How's Siri.. Er I mean Snuffles. I haven't heard from him in a while. Did he get to yours okay?"
The Professor gave a nod answering the question "Yes he's fine. He's staying at my house… Don't worry it's in the middle of nowhere, no-one ever goes out there. He's perfectly safe and I'm sure he's in the process of getting in touch. He's just been very busy." Remus's reply was quiet and he couldn't hide the loneliness in his voice.
Harry returned the nod mollified, and noticed the tone in his Professor's voice. He had never realized what Lupin had done after he had resigned, and probably even before he had come to Hogwarts. But he did now, he'd been alone, living practically like a hermit and in that one moment of clarity he realized how much having this job, and his Godfather's friendship meant to him. Harry flashed him a brief smile, look directly into his eyes and a brief moment of understanding passed between them.
The as if it had never happened Remus snapped back to his usual self and hastily cleared his throat.
"Come on you three bed. I have got classes tomorrow as have you and I don't think it will be very good if either of us show up half asleep."
The three chuckled and rose to their feet, it was now well past midnight and they were beginning to feel the effects of their night time excursion. Showing them to the door Remus bid them a final farewell as they slid under the invisibility cloak and disappeared out into the corridor. He shut the door behind them and rubbed a hand through his hair yawning again. He kicked off his shoes and not even bothering to undress fell into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
Out in the corridor the trio hurried down the corridors, not really bothering to be quiet. Their brains were to full of information for them to even notice their surroundings.
"So are you feeling any better now?" Ron asked Harry, eyeing his friend apprehensively. Harry had been silent for the past few minutes.
"Hmm.. What.. Oh yeah. I'm feeling a bit better about this situation" He lapsed back into silence, thinking about the conversation. His two friends joined him in silence, each following their own train of thought.
Eventually they reached the portrait hole and muttered the password. Heading up to the dorms they bade one another goodnight and made their way quickly to bed, looking forward to the relief only refreshing slumber could bring.