Just a short explanation as there was a question about it: DMLE means Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I think it is an expression used in the books, yet I'm not entirely sure about it. But basically, it is what it says: wizarding law enforcement. I don't use overly many abbreviations, yet this is one I use quite often as it is quite tiring to write the whole thing each time. Hope this clears up the confusion. On to the chapter.
Chapter 27 – The NecromancerHarry remained in the library for the entire afternoon. Over and over again, he worked his way through all the books about Necromancy he could lay his hands on. But no matter how much he read about it, he didn't have the feeling that he was getting any further. He gathered knowledge about what Necromancy was, all right, and the more he learned the more he got convinced that the solution to the problem of how Sirius was to be brought back was to be found somewhere relating to all this. He had the feeling that the solution was there, right in front of him, and that he was only too blind to see it. And that feeling was slowly driving him mad.
With a loud sigh, Harry closed the book he had been reading in and leaned back in his chair, letting his eyes drift across the room. A number of books from the restricted section of the library were lying in front of him, everything he had found that seemed to be dealing with Necromancy and ways to bring back the dead. As always when Harry doubted whether he was truly on the right track, he simply allowed his thoughts to drift off. Mostly, they quickly turned towards how much he missed Sirius and that he owed it to his godfather to pursue every line of thought that suggested a chance to bring him back. It simply had to be the right way, throughout his entire researches Harry had not noticed anything else that sounded this promising.
Absent-mindly he picked up his quill and started to doodle on the parchment with notes in front of him. He desperately needed to sort through his thoughts, and he needed a distraction from his brooding about those ancient books. His eyes caught on the cover of the book he had just closed – The Secrets of a Hidden Art: Potentials and Dangers of the Cursed Bloodlines in the Wizarding World. The only reason why he had found it at all in the restricted section was the symbol on its spine and cover, a symbol Harry had seen often before since he researched Necromancy. He had immediately recognized it as he had browsed the shelf for another book and had taken it out to have a closer look at its contents. Now, as he allowed his thoughts to drift through everything he had learned, his right hand automatically doodled a copy of the symbol from the cover onto his parchment. He didn't need to focus very much on it, it was a simple enough symbol – a pentagram in a double circle, the tips of the pentagram's five points touching the outer circle while the inner circle was interrupted whenever the line crossed one of the five points. The space between the two circles was filled with a deep red colour, so that it gave the impression that the pentagram was framed with a deep red band. In the pentagon which the lines of the pentagram created, another small pentagram had been painted, this one filled out with black ink so that the lines o this pentagram could not be seen and it appeared like a black, five-pointed star. Harry had seen quite a number of pentagrams during his time of studying magical books, but never quite that design. The Encyclopaedia Magica had shown this symbol in the article about Necromancy, leading Harry to research it. In the Middle Ages, this symbol had been used to brand the families in whose bloodline the doubtful talent for Necromancy ran. It had appeared on all documents that concerned those families, making it obvious to everybody who had business with those families just whom they were dealing with. But during the late Middle Ages, this had changed. The wizarding world's view on Necromancy had not changed, but the early Goblin Wars had thrown the wizarding societies all over Europe into a turmoil in which Necromancers had been their smallest problems. During a period of nearly two generations during which their whole society had been turned upside down more than once by different conflicts, the Necromantic bloodlines had moved from the spotlight of public interest to become forgotten. Documents had vanished in fires or had been deliberately destroyed in physically violent excesses of those rebellions. Most wizards and witches knew that there were those with the talent to raise the dead, but as there weren't any names or faces to connect this dreaded ability with, Necromancers became a faceless whisper, a thing to threaten children with and a thing about which the older generation spoke in hushed and fearful voices.
But the families who had been shunned for their inborn ability to cross the line between life and death kept their secret as well as their knowledge to themselves. Some wizards and witches tried to use their gift, with differently dreadful results, and some saw it as a curse which was best kept hidden and suppressed. But those who were not willing to submit to the public fear of what they were turned to the only ones who could understand what they were struggling with – the people who had the same talent running through their veins. Necromancers in general were never very apt about telling others what they were, but they were willing to share their fate amongst themselves. Over the years, contacts were established and secret societies were formed. Most of those took it as their first step to change the meaning of the symbol that had once branded them into a symbol they used at free will, to recognize those who had to suffer from the same gift.
Even today, not much was known about which wizarding bloodlines carried the talent to raise the dead from generation to generation, the only ones who knew for sure were the Necromancers themselves, and only those who were willing to share their dark secrets. The only thing that was publicly known was that it was a rare gift that was spread amongst the oldest of the wizarding families, and that it was a talent that could be dormant for generations before revealing itself again. Even then, a Necromancer required training to perform the rites necessary to raise the dead, and not even a Necromancer could cross the border into the netherworld under any circumstances. There were many misconceptions about Necromancy, and Harry was aware of the fact that this entire history of hiding, persecuting and prejudice didn't exactly make his task of finding out how Sirius could be brought back any easier. But he simply had to try.
With a sigh, Harry put the quill down and focused his eyes on the parchment. Using the black and red ink he used to make notes and to underline important points, he had drawn quite a good copy of the pentagram-symbol that was the front cover of the book. So far, so good, but artistic moments would not bring him much farther in his researches. Harry shook his head, got up to open up a window and let in some fresh air, then he set back down and opened the book again. Enough break for this afternoon, now he had work that needed to get done.
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Remus didn't see much of Harry for the remaining day. As usual, the teenager was in the library and only came back when it was time for dinner. Remus had the strong suspicion that he would have stayed in the library all night had it not been for his Occlumency lesson with Severus Snape at eight. The teenager was obviously still convinced that Sirius could be brought back, and with everything that was being set into motion right now, time was running out for him. Not that Remus could not sympathize with what Harry was doing, but he feared that it might hurt him even more to lose Sirius under those circumstances. Dealing with what was about to happen would be hard enough, it would be even harder if Harry blamed himself for not finding another solution in time.
Dinner was a relatively silent affair. After their talk earlier in the afternoon, Remus felt the tension between him and Harry not as strongly anymore, but it was still there. No small wonder, after the decision Remus was about to make. He was the one who would ultimately decide to sever the connection with Sirius, Remus could understand that Harry was not exactly having warm thoughts about that.
Harry left quickly after dinner, mumbling something about not wanting to be late, and then he was gone. Remus sighed and stacked their empty plates onto a tray for the house-elves to clean away. As he did so, his eyes fell onto the stack of parchments Harry had brought down from the library before dinner. It wasn't his style to pry into other people's affairs, but something in Harry's notes caught his eye. He turned to throw a closer look at the parchments, and his blood turned to ice. If he had only known what Harry was working on in the library…
The parchment was filled with Harry's scrawl, looking as if the notes had been made in haste.
Necromancy à how does it apply to Sirius – not really dead!
requirements for necromantic rite – what about Sirius' body?
Connection between the archway and ritualistic resurrection? What is behind the veil?
Need: Book which describes necromantic rite and its requirements in detail – restricted section?
Remus tore his eyes away and heavily sat down in the nearest chair. Necromancy. Harry was taking this more serious than he had thought the teenager would. Far too serious. It was one thing to research the archway and blood bonds, that was what Remus had suspected Harry to be doing. But it was another thing entirely to think about Necromancy. Those were powers Harry would hopefully never be able to yield, and Remus was worried that he had already researched far too much about it than was good for a boy of his age. He would have to talk to Harry about it, and quickly. No matter if he thought that Remus had been snooping around in his things, but Harry needed to let go of that ridiculous thought. Immediately.
Ten minutes later, Remus was still sitting in his chair, contemplating that ridiculous thought. Of course he would not want Harry to be involved into anything that had to do with Necromancy, but the more he thought about the idea…
Remus got up and fetched Harry's notes from the table. It was not everything there was to know about Necromancy, but it was a start. Maybe he'd stumble across something which would convince him that it was impossible to bring Sirius back, but before he completely pushed that thought aside, he needed to make sure. In his momentary situation, he simply needed to be sure before he ruled out a possibility.
Another half an hour later, Remus put Harry's notes back onto the table and left the room, heading up to the library. Contrary to Harry, he knew which books he had to look into the get the proper information quickly and without lengthy researches. And depending on what he would find, he'd have to make another tour to the dungeons later this evening.
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In the end, it was quarter past ten the next evening when Remus knocked on the door to Severus Snape's private workroom. He was not overly worried that the potions master was not there, or already asleep in his private rooms, his biggest worry was that he would disturb him during something he considered important. If that was the case, then Severus would be unbearable. But he was worried about a lot of other things, things that had barely let him sleep the previous night. His research in the library had been confusing for him, to say the least. He now had a picture of things that was a lot clearer than before. He could understand why Harry had pursued that thread with such a stubbornness, but there were still far too many unanswered questions. And far too many possible consequences, most of which were not only pleasant. There was only one person who could tell Remus whether he was pursuing a hopeless train of thought, and this person was separated from Remus by the door he was standing in front of.
"Enter!"
It didn't sound overly angry – at least not yet. Remus steeled himself with a last deep breath, then he opened the door and entered the workroom. Snape didn't have a potion boiling, that at least was something. Disturbing him while he was brewing a potion was the worst thing somebody could do if they didn't want to enrage the man's temper. But instead of brewing a potion, Snape was sitting behind his desk, a cup of tea beside him and a stack of parchments in front of him. He looked up as Remus entered, and almost immediately his face fell and he rolled his eyes.
"Lupin, what is it this time?"
"Good evening, Severus", Remus said as pleasantly as he could, and sat down in the chair in front of Snape's desk. The other man was still glaring at him, but Remus had learned over the years how to best ignore that.
"What is it?", Snape repeated, less patient this time. Remus crossed his legs and scratched his chin for a moment before he answered.
"It's a bit difficult to explain."
Snape sighed a martyr's sigh and put his parchments into one of the desk drawers. "Listen Lupin, just get out of my office, and as soon as you know what it was that you wanted, you write it down and send me an owl. I might even read it before I throw it into the fire."
"The world should consider itself lucky that you didn't chose a career as a comedian, Severus. I promise that as soon as this whole affair is over, you will not have to see me for a long time, outside of the Order. But for now, there is something I need to know. Something that concerns my connection to Sirius."
Snape leaned back in his chair. "I thought Albus had told you that we'd discuss the details of the procedure as soon as you've made a definite decision."
The procedure. Snape was talking about cutting Sirius off from his last connection with the world of the living as the procedure. And to him it wasn't more. Not that Remus blamed him, but for him it was so much more than merely a procedure. So much more.
"I'm not talking about the…about what we might be going to do. Not tonight. In fact, I wanted to talk about something else."
"And what would that be? Contrary to popular beliefs, I have not stolen my time, Lupin. I have things to do."
"I won't keep you long. But there is something I might need your help with, considering that you have a more…ah, more personal insight into the topic than I have."
"Which topic?"
"Necromancy", Remus said, his voice level. Snape's expression did not change at first, but he paled rapidly before a distinctly irate red colour began rising to his ashen complexion. In his eyes, however, a scorching rage was smouldering, and his gaze was turned on Remus.
"Out."
Remus shook his head. "No, Severus. Let us talk about this like the adults that we are. I didn't suggest anything, I only need your expertise to understand why Necromancy has to be ruled out as a possibility to bring Sirius back."
At that, Snape actually sneered at Remus, something that Remus knew not to be a good sign. But still he didn't say anything and rather waited for his former classmate to say something. He didn't really know how to deal with this reaction, he wanted to know why exactly Snape was grinning like that before he started to defend himself.
"First Potter, now you, if that's not an interesting thing."
"What do you mean Severus?"
Snape chuckled hoarsely and got up from his chair, looking at Remus for a long moment before he turned towards his bookshelf. He walked up and down in front of it for a moment, pretending to be absolutely absorbed in the titles of the books that stood there, just as if he saw them for the first time. If he wanted to wear down Remus' patience with that, however, he was wasting his time. Remus Lupin was a very patient man. Finally, Snape turned around and looked Remus straight in the eye.
"What I mean, Lupin, is that first I have to listen to Potter's mindless ramble about how he would do anything to bring his beloved godfather back and how he knows exactly that I can help him, and now you as well seem to have fallen for the delusion that Black can be brought back from where he is. Not to mention that both of you seem so convinced that he'd be worth the effort even if it was possible. A very amusing scenario, I have to admit."
Remus made a mental note to talk to Harry about this as soon as he found the time. As much as he could understand that Harry was desperately searching for a possibility to bring his godfather back, but the thought that the sixteen year old was actively trying to persuade his least favourite teacher to help him was worrying Remus quite a bit. Researching Necromancy was bad enough, but asking Snape about it…But there would be a time for that later, not now.
"What I do here has nothing to do with Harry, Severus. And though I don't know what he told you, I can imagine that he didn't really know how to bring Sirius back. I know that he desperately wants it, but he is too young to actually know how it can be done, if it can be done."
Snape sneered again, and no matter how often Remus had seen this expression before, he could not help but shiver slightly as he thought of the magical potential that was hidden beneath Snape's arrogant mask. Not to mention the fact that if it came to the crush, this man could very well be the only one standing between the Order and Voldemort, the one person who could decide the war. Severus Snape had walked on a very thin line between trust and betrayal for the past decades, unbeknownst to most of the people around him, and Remus knew very well how dangerous it could be to dismiss him as nothing more than a sourly potions brewer. There was a huge potential hidden under Snape's surface, a potential the redeemed Death Eater tried to suppress as much as possible, because he knew of its dangers. Unfortunately, what Remus would ask of him might demand that he unfolded that dark family heritage he carried to its peak. And Remus was sure Snape would not willingly agree to that, much persuasion would be needed, if it was possible at all.
"But it can't be done, Lupin."
Now it was Remus' turn to sneer slightly, though he could try as much as he wanted, on his face it always kept a somewhat friendly quality.
"Maybe there you are mistaken, Severus."
Remus saw what little colour remained on Snape's face drain and he knew that he had hit a nerve with what he had said. He knew that Snape was intelligent enough to make the remaining connections on his own.
"No." Snape pressed out from between clenched jaws, the hands at his sides balled into fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "The answer is no, and if you dare to approach me one more time with this nonsense I will get very unfriendly."
But Remus did not stop there.
"You know that it could work, Severus. And do you really want to deny us that possibility? Are you really willing to dismiss that thought if it could help us win this war?"
"Black has absolutely no meaning for the outcome of this war!" Snape was shouting so loud that Remus actually flinched slightly. The tall head of Slytherin house slammed his hands on the tabletop for emphasis and did not take his eyes off Remus, boring his black gaze deep into Remus' amber one. But Remus did not back down under that gaze. He had already lost too much, he had too few hopes left to give up on them now.
"He hasn't? If you really think that you are badly mistaken. You have seen Harry lately, you have spoken to him. For Merlin's sake, you even entered his mind on a regular basis for the past days! Didn't you take a closer look at what's going on with him, just this once? Because if you had, even you should have realized what it has done to him to see Sirius fall through that veil. Maybe you are right and Sirius is not meant to actually play a role in the outcome of this war, but you can't deny that Harry undoubtedly will. And Harry has lost what little faith he had with Sirius' death.
Severus, you might not understand it, but for once try to see it from Harry's point of view. He is a teenager who was just recently told that he is supposed to rid the wizarding world of its incarnation of evil because otherwise he'll get killed and our world is lost. A world which Harry didn't even knew existed until five years ago! Harry doesn't trust easily, especially in adults, and he never had a parental figure he could look up to in his life. No, let me finish for once!"
Snape abruptly closed his mouth again which he had opened in an attempt to disagree. He was not used to somebody snapping at him in that manner, not the otherwise so bloody polite and well-mannered werewolf, so surprised was he about that outburst that he closed his mouth again.
"I know you cannot understand why, but Harry decided to trust Sirius. He trusted him and put all his hopes of maybe one day having a family into Sirius, and Sirius alone. And then he has to see him fall through that blasted archway in an attempt to rescue him, and the next thing he knows is that everybody tells him Sirius is dead.
Severus, Harry is devastated by losing the one person he considered his family. Not devastated enough to try and take his own life as we thought, but devastated enough to lose his hope. Harry doesn't believe in us winning this war anymore, he doesn't see the sense in him fighting against Voldemort because he doesn't know what he is supposed to fight for. What's left for him even if we win? He won't have another family except from Lily's muggle sister. You and I know that there are a lot of reasons to continue this fight, but Harry just doesn't see them. Can't see them at the moment. And please tell me what chances we have of winning this war if Harry has already given up?"
Snape shook his head as if he was trying to block Remus' speech out.
"Listen Lupin, I don't know why you are telling me this. You might not be able to imagine it because you as well as the rest of the wizarding world are prone to mollycoddling Potter, but I'm not the least interested in his emotional welfare!"
"Even if the outcome of this war depends on it?"
Snape was breathing harshly for a moment, his gaze straying through the room as if he was searching for something to say. Then he shook his head again.
"All right, let's just assume for one moment that I would acknowledge Potter's…emotional distress as important for the outcome of the war. Which – in my humble opinion – doesn't change anything about the fact that Black would be the least suited person for the job of being a role-model and a guidance for Potter, but let's put that insignificant objection aside for the moment. That still does not change the fact that what you are suggesting here is not only highly illegal but also completely impossible!"
"It is not impossible, and I never got to know you as a person who cared about what was legal and what not."
Remus was surprised to hear Snape actually laugh at that. Whatever reaction he had expected, it definitely had not been a sudden burst of hilarity.
"I should have known. Even with all your friends dead or lost you keep up that 'once a Marauder, always a Marauder' attitude, don't you? I had thought that by now you would have realized that the real world works a bit different than the dreams of a careless group of childhood friends. Some people have something to lose, Lupin, and I for one won't risk going to Azkaban just to try and bring Black back. That prize would be too high. Hell, a nosebleed would be too high a prize to attempt and bring Black back from the dead!"
"But you have to admit that it could be possible. Don't treat me like one of your students, I know what I'm talking about. You would do not to forget sometimes that I'm not completely incompetent when it comes to those topics."
The sneer was back promptly and full force. "Of course a Dark Creature would know about Dark Arts, Lupin. I didn't expect anything else."
"That was a low blow, even for you. And not one with which you will get me this time. You still didn't answer my question, and I can't get rid of the feeling that it's because you'd rather bite your tongue off than to agree with me. Sirius can be brought back, and you know that it's possible."
"For Merlin's sake Lupin, just listen to what you are saying for once!" If possible, Snape's expression had turned more angry than any student at Hogwarts had ever seen him. He was pacing behind his desk now, throwing angry glances at Remus every other moment. Remus, on the other hand, sat on the other side of Snape's desk and watched the man calmly. That probably infuriated Snape even more.
"We're talking about Necromancy here! Finally call it by its name and stop beating about the bush. What you want to attempt is Necromancy, you want to try and bring somebody back from the dead! Not only that this is extremely dangerous, it is also - as I already pointed out - illegal! Our law does not allow resurrection, and that has its reasons! Do you even know what the outcome of such an attempt could be if it went wrong? And it will most probably go wrong, because you will have to do it on your own. I won't do anything to help you with such an idiocy."
"It won't go wrong", Remus replied calmly, following every of Snape's movement with his eyes. "Don't you think I spent some thoughts on this? Try to abstract it Severus, just a little exercise of mind, on a completely theoretical basis. What does a necromantic rite require?"
"Lupin, I neither have the time nor am I in the mood to partake in one of your quizzes. I would advise you to save them for your students, alas, you no longer are a teacher so I would advise you to just shut the hell up."
Remus did not let show how much the remark about his lost professor-position stung, especially since it had been Snape who had indirectly cost him that position, instead he continued with his face trained into a façade of calm which he had brought to perfection over the years.
"Then let us shorten this. And correct me if I'm wrong, but to successfully perform a necromantic rite, you need either the body of the deceased or, if that cannot be done, you have to create some sort of channel towards the…let's call it netherworld for the moment. Furthermore, an emotional connection to the deceased is a not necessary condition, but it helps immensely for the success of such a rite. And finally – most importantly - you need a Necromancer who, in simple terms, knows how to work a necromantic rite. Am I correct?"
Snape merely glared at Remus but the werewolf decided to take that as a yes rather than anything else. He flashed a short, slightly triumphant smile at Snape, knowing that he would not be able to deny the logic of his next line of thought.
"We have all that. Well, we don't have Sirius' body, obviously, but there is no need to put any energy into creating a portal or channel of sorts through which to bring him back. It's already there, has been for decades. The archway is a constantly open portal, and nothing tells me we can't use it for that purpose. Furthermore, there is an extremely strong connection between Sirius and me, one of the closest magical bonds that exist. We have two people - Harry and me, though I don't want Harry involved in this - who are willing to do anything to bring Sirius back. And we have somebody who has the inborn abilities to just do that."
"It's illegal", Snape repeated, obviously not convinced by Remus' reasoning. But Remus only shook his head.
"It is not, because Sirius is not dead. He might have fallen though that archway, and normally I'd know that this would mean his death. But if Sirius was dead, then he would not still be drawing strength from me, then our bond would have vanished by now. And I have not heard of a law that forbids performing Necromancy in the case of somebody who is not dead."
Snape didn't react immediately, and because Remus knew that the other man normally was a sharp and fast thinker, he realized that he had hit a nerve with what he had said. After what seemed like an endless stretch of time he finally sat down in his chair again and cocked his head slightly to the side.
"Fine, I might be willing to admit that Black is not dead - unfortunate as that might seem to the more clear-minded people in this room. But that does not automatically mean that he can be brought back, especially not with magic which was designed to bring back the dead. Because you just wasted a lot of precious breath in explaining that he is certainly not dead, then what good would my skills at Necromancy do?"
"Don't try to outtalk me with petty little details…"
"If you don't mind those 'petty little details', then your attempt is already doomed to fail, Lupin!", Snape roared. "Those 'petty little details' are the most important thing where such a complicated magic is concerned."
"What I wanted to say is that I am convinced it doesn't matter in this case. The situation is the same as if Sirius had died, and you as well as I know that he will be dead in a very short time if we don't do anything. But he isn't dead, though the place from which he has to be brought back is the same as if he was dead. The risk is lower, the chances to succeed are better, even you have to admit it."
Strangely, Snape didn't answer immediately. He looked at Remus for a very long time and his expression lacked most of its usual hostility. Instead, Remus had the impression that there was a certain notion of interest in the Slytherin's gaze. Eventually, Snape spoke, and it was not what Remus had expected to hear.
"So what you are saying is that you are convinced it will work?"
Again, there was neither hostility nor doubt in his voice and slowly Remus was getting unnerved by this completely unusual behaviour.
"If you help us. Or rather, if you help me, because I wouldn't want Harry involved in this. But yes, I think it will work."
"And you are aware that - in case it actually does work - it could be possible that Black is not the same that he was before he fell through the archway? Are you aware that we're talking about manipulating death here? What you want to attempt is meddling with forces so strong that even the Dark Lord had his hesitations in using them?"
Remus nodded.
"Yes. But I am convinced that because Sirius is not dead the situation is slightly different, especially concerning that problem."
Snape raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he continued his strange interrogation.
"And you are willing to sacrifice yourself for this. You know what happens in case you get caught, don't you? Are you really willing to bear those consequences?"
Remus caught Snape's gaze and looked him square in the eye, unblinking.
"If I can manage to bring Sirius back with this, I am more than willing to go to Azkaban for it, yes."
"Even if you managed to bring back his body, and nothing more? Even if you bring back an empty shell, or Black's body carrying a mind and soul which could not be any more different from the man you call your friend? Are you willing to take the risks even under those circumstances?"
The question took Remus aback a little, and he couldn't answer immediately. Remus would have expected another sneer or one of Snape's sour grimaces at this, but instead the other man only shook his head.
"I have one piece of advice for you, though I know that you won't take it anyway. But maybe it would be better for Potter, for yourself as well as for the Order and the outcome of this war if you finally stopped thinking that Black was so much better than you. He was no saint, he was - in my opinion - not even a very good person, and Merlin only knows what influence he would have had on our cause if he had stayed alive. Accept that Black is dead and try to bring your mind to the present, because if you had paid any attention to what is going on in the real world you would know that the Order needs every person we can get. It surely has a reason why Black fell through that archway and you are still alive, and if you would not sit here and steal my time I could better use it to find a way to let it remain that way, just like Albus asked me to do. If I were you I would not try to change the course of things.
And now, if you please, stop bothering me with your hopeless attempts to piece your life back together. I've got work to do."
And without as much as another glance at Remus Snape got up from his chair, left his office and went into the workroom. Remus leaned back in his chair and let his head drop backwards. He closed his eyes with a weary sigh and remained in this position for long minutes, allowing his thoughts to simply drift to and fro in his mind. He had not really expected Snape to help him with the plan that had been forming in his mind for the past two days. But he had hoped that this conversation would help him to discover the flaws of his plan, would make him see the things that he in his hope to bring back his friend had not allowed himself to see. But if anything, the past minutes had told him clearly just how many flaws there were. Remus was ready and willing to attempt even something illegal and dangerous to bring Sirius back, and he had not lied to Severus when he had said that he'd even accept going to Azkaban as a consequence, but those were probably too many things that could possibly go wrong. If he accepted Necromancy as a possible solution, he had to be absolutely sure that it would work. And right now, he was anything but sure about it. He didn't particularly care about what happened to himself, but the danger for everybody else involved was simply too big.