A/N: - SORRY SORRY SORRY! Yes, I know I keep saying I will update more often but it's so difficult – however, those of you who like this story and are reviewing it for me will be pleased as I have to have this finished before JK Rowling releases the Half-Blood Prince on the 16th July – I can't wait to read it! Please review for me! There will only be two more chapters to this and there may be a character death – and you will find out more in the penultimate chapter if you review…enjoy!

Chapter 20 – The Altar of Life

"How long will we be safe for before he attacks again?" Harry asked that night at the meeting.

"About six months…he will need to regroup his forces – we killed a lot of his werewolves at his lair and we injured a lot of Death Eaters here."

"He won't attack until he is back to full strength again," Flitwick sighed.

"Um…Headmaster?" Hermione looked up at last.

"Yes, Miss. Granger?"

"On our way out of the Dark Forest earlier, we heard Pettigrew talking to a werewolf. The werewolf told him about Professor Lupin and the Altar; Pettigrew said he could make it work to his advantage. What's it all about?"

"I had hoped that Pettigrew would never find out – but that was a faint hope."

"Why? What did he mean?"

"He is now bound to obey one command from the master of the Altar – Voldemort, in this case. Voldemort will use this to his advantage. Who knows what he will do?"

"So Lupin in now a threat to---"

"No, Severus, not unless he is in the presence of Voldemort."

"Where is he right now?" Patricia asked, noting for the first time since the start of the meeting that Lupin wasn't there.

"Under the care of Madam Pomfrey; the Altar merely brings people back to life and gives them enough strength to fight for another forty-eight hours, but it in no way cures them."

"It can bring anyone back to life?"

"No, not anyone,"

"Then why---?"

"Because he is a werewolf; the origin of the Altar does not matter at the present time. But there is no way of avoiding this – Remus is now indebted to Voldemort and the Altar's curse will force him to follow one order, any order, or be forced to kill himself – if he can fight it."

"So Voldemort can make Remus do anything?" Tonks interrupted, "even kill Harry?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Dumbledore glanced at Harry to see the boy's reaction, but the boy's face was blank, "there is, however, a possible way around this. He may be able to throw off the curse if he can fight it long enough to…kill himself."

"Then let us hope he is not ordered around – or that he has the strength to counter it before he has to resort to killing himself." McGonagall added.

"Have you told him of this?" Moody growled, "Lupin, I mean?"

"I have explained it all to him and he is determined to throw off this curse, although he was a little shocked by the news, to say the least."

"When will school be starting again?" Ron's face lit up as he thought of the prospect of a day off.

"Next Monday; fortunately, no-one was killed on the attack tonight thanks to the extra wards I put around the House Towers before I left…but the Fat Lady disappeared as she was scared, causing the wards around Gryffindor Tower to weaken so the more skilled Death Eaters and the Dementors could enter. So, I think we shall need to repair it all and completely re-do it."

"It's about time the students left, don't you think, Headmaster?" Snape scowled, "before the formal meeting…?"

"Indeed, Severus; you will return to the Great Hall while the Gryffindor Tower is repaired. There are sleeping bags waiting and all the other Gryffindor will already be there. Severus, go and ask Poppy to report on any student injuries and we will wait until you have returned before we start the meeting."

"Of course, Headmaster," Severus nodded, then following Harry and the other students out.

"It's not been a good few days for any of the Hogwarts' teachers and students, has it?" Harry grimaced to Hermione and Ron as they walked a little ahead of everyone else.

"Worse for some than others," Ron added, thinking of Lupin and of Pettigrew's silver hand.

"Ronald Weasley, I suggest you be a little more careful about what you say – Dumbledore does not wish for the little…excursion…to be too widely discussed," Snape almost spat in Ron's ear.

Next morning, Hermione visited the library while Harry and Ron were still asleep in their own dorm. She dug out every book she could find that might contain some sort of clue to the Altar of Life and its origin.

"Hermione?"

"Harry – I thought you were still asleep. And I didn't see or hear you come in."

"Invisibility cloak," Harry grinned, "sorry."

"I assume Ronald is still asleep?" Hermione continued, shrugging off the, in her opinion, pointless apology.

"Yeah; so what have you found so far?"

"Plenty, but none of it certified fact. For example, it says in this book that the Altar moves to wherever its Master puts the sacred staff. And to gain control of the Altar, you must find out the password from the previous Master and gain possession of the staff."

"It sounds so far-fetched and ridiculous…" Harry scoffed.

"That's exactly why everyone thought it was mere mythology – why most people still think it is mythology. The Altar was erected in 1077 by a so-called evil wizard whose name is not listed in any of the records. Anyway, he fashioned a staff out of the bones of the craftsman who made the Altar."

"Nice," Harry remarked, stifling laughter.

"Are you going to let me finish?"

"Sorry,"

"Fine; anyway," she glared at Harry meaningfully, "it can bring half-breeds or cursed beings back to life."

"Why not ordinary wizards and witches?"

"Because the wizard who designed it was a half-giant, like Hagrid. He hated anyone and everyone who wasn't a half-breed or curse bearer."

"Wow, talk about weird!"

"It gets worse. Because of how much he wanted fame and glory, this guy bound his spirit to the staff so that when he died, the Altar could continue to help half-breeds everywhere to live on when all other hope seemed lost. And by doing so, whoever is brought back to life by the Altar must obey one favour from the Master of the Altar. And the Master of the Altar is whoever possesses the staff at the time which someone is brought back to life."

"How do they know?"

"They just do; it comes to them in a flash of vision. They won't know who has been brought back but they will know it has happened. They then remain the Master until such time as someone else possesses it at the time of a 'resurrection'. Does that make sense?"

"Kind of – so Lupin is bound to obey one command from Voldemort?"

"Possibly," Hermione hesitated, biting her lip.

"Possibly?" Harry looked up, eyes wide.

"Voldemort may not be the possessor of the staff…Pettigrew could have it. But if Voldemort has it then yes…that is the situation."

"What if Pettigrew is the Master of the staff?"

"Lupin will only obey the order from the Master so in that case it would be Pettigrew's order he would follow."

"And if no-one was holding it at when Lupin was brought back."

"The previous Master will still retain control."

"Then let's hope it's someone who's dead or totally anonymous," Harry chuckled nervously.

"We would be so lucky – but with the bad fortune we've had over the past five and a half years, then that is highly unlikely."

"Shame," Harry grunted in response, sighing miserably and wishing for the millionth time since the start of the year that he could be an ordinary kid for once.

"So this Altar thing is pretty mysterious?" Ron asked, having just been told of what Hermione had found out in the library.

"Big mystery…no-one even knows the name of the guy who made it."

"Whoa, strange," Ron shuddered.

"Yeah," Hermione smiled pensively, "do you want to go and help at Hagrid's?" Hermione asked.

"Ok, whatever," Harry shrugged.

The three students walked down to Hagrid's hut and were shocked by the damage that had been done.

"Hello, 'Arry, Ron, Hermione – wha' brings yeh down here?"

"We just wondered if you needed any help to clear some of the rubble," Hermione replied brightly, receiving a groan from Ron.

"Well, seein' as yeh've come down here then yeh could help clear some of the debris from the forest," Hagrid beamed, setting them to work straight away.

"Have you heard anything from Dumbledore? What happened in the meeting after we left?" Harry asked once they were hard at work.

"I'm afraid I can't tell yeh that – see, it was all about how we're going teh trick you-know-who."

"A plan? Like a trap?"

"I shouldn't have said that…now, listen, you three – yeh can't know everything. It's private Order business."

"Please, Hagrid," Harry pleaded, "I really think we should know – after al, it's bound to involve us, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, it does involve yeh, as a matter of fact, and---" Hagrid cut himself off and hit himself on the forehead, "I shouldn't have said that."

"And does it---"

"No more!" Hagrid interrupted Ron quickly, "I think yeh should go back up to the castle now."

"Not until this last bit of rubble is lifted off the Niffler pen," Hermione stated in her bossy manner.

"Nah, let's go now," Ron stretched lazily.

"Oh come on, Ronald!" Hermione folded her arms and glared at him coldly.

"Fine – but only until the Niffler pen is cleared."

"As long as you're helping," Hermione smiled.

"As long as I'm helping," Ron mimicked her voice, batting his eyelashes and pursing his lips.

"Ronald, please---"

"ATTACK! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"