Just like our beloved series, this is getting darker. You may guess where they all are by the conclusion of this chapter — or you may not.
Again, Riverwoman's beta skills are responsible for the largely error-free text. Any lingering errors are mine. Please do connect with me if you wish.
When the residents of St Osric's started trickling into the common-room that next night, they found the tv and DVD player already set up.
'What the -' (Dean)
'Who?' (Seamus)
'This is -' (Draco)
'Hold your water, the lot of you.'
A figure detached itself from the shadows and shuffled slowly forward. The once-lustrous iron-grey hair had thinned noticeably, and the laugh-lines around the eyes and mouth now resembled the strokes of a stone-age artist. But it was the eyes which would haunt the younger men for the rest of their lives. They had once again taken on that deadened look which the Trio had found so disturbing, even long after his release from prison.
'By Salazar, Sirius,' blurted Draco. 'You look as if you're bound for the guillotine.'
The others rolled their eyes.
'Rubbish,' retorted Sirius gruffly. 'I just came in here early to set up.'
'Did you get any sleep at all?' Dean wanted to know.
'No,' replied Sirius shortly. 'And I wasn't the only one. Seen our Harry lately?'
They shook their heads.
'And I'd say that's unusual,' mused Seamus. 'I thought I caught a glimpse of Ron earlier, but I've not seen hide nor hair of the usual crowd all day.'
'Actually, you're right,' came Neville's voice from the doorway. 'It's been too damned quiet around here. Where the hell is everybody? We won't get two discs in if they don't get their skates on.'
'Who's got skates on?' demanded a voice right behind Neville's left shoulder?
'Bloody hell, Ronald,' cried Neville, 'What are you trying to do? Kill me?'
Gales of laughter accompanied this sally as they trooped in: Neville, Ron, Hermione, Remus, James and Lily.
'I take it the others are coming?' James glanced at the wall clock.
'They'll be here,' said Sirius in a dead, flat voice. He had stretched himself on a recliner as far away as possible from the tv screen, and now lay with his eyes closed. He needed no charm; every line of his form trumpeted do not approach.
Everyone else had settled themselves in clusters, easily manipulating the furniture with their wands. Dean, Seamus, Draco and Neville had gathered chairs into a rough semi-circle towards the door, while the elders had clustered more or less in front of the tv, with places left for the latecomers.
'I wish you'd join us, Padfoot,' coaxed Lily, failing to keep a plaintive note from her voice.
'Nah, you're all right,' returned Sirius in that same, tired tone. 'I'll be getting square eyes if I get too near that thing.'
'Git,' snorted James. 'How many muggles have you ever seen with square eyes? They watch these things all day and night, or so I've heard.'
'I haven't seen many muggles full-stop,' declared Sirius.
'These things would be more likely to square your brains than your eyes,' put in Draco.
'How the hell can you get a square brain, you ninny?' demanded Ron.
'What I meant,' Draco huffed indignantly 'was that these things probably mess with your head if you watch them long enough.'
'Shouldn't affect you too much, then,' chimed in Dean. 'Yours is already pretty messed up.' He received a mild itching hex for his trouble.
'What shape is a brain, anyway,' wondered Neville.
'What sort of question is that?' protested Draco.
'I read somewhere that it looks like a walnut,' replied Seamus.
'Well, yours would be about that size,' countered Draco.
'I think they're much larger than that,' supplied Hermione. 'From what I've read, the brain is all folded in on itself. If you laid it out flat, it might be the size of a tablecloth.'
'Please, no!' Draco turned away in disgust. 'I absolutely do not wish to think of brains and tablecloths in the same sentence.'
'Have you never eaten brains, then?' asked Seamus innocently.
'Not knowingly, no,' huffed a scandalised Draco.
'They're from sheep, you silly article,' laughed the Irishman, getting a look at Draco's face.
'How the hell did we get onto eating brains?' Sirius wanted to know. Oh, here they come now.'
The familiar wheelchair glided its silent way into the room, with Ginny and Harry walking behind. All noticed, with varying degrees of concern, that Snape was not propelling it himself this evening. Instead, he sat ramrod straight, with the aid of a harness, while Ginny and Harry floated the chair using their wands.
'Come and join us, Sev dear,' invited Lily. 'You look tired tonight.'
'Want to?' asked Harry.
'Where's Sirius?' Snape demanded as they came to a halt.
'Here,' came the wan voice from the corner.
Snape turned in that direction as far as he could. 'I have taken your advice,' he said simply, before nodding his assent that he should be placed beside Lily, who grasped him by the hand as soon as he had reached her.
'Good man,' came the monotone from the corner.
Harry, who looked as if he'd spent a hard night on the tiles, gazed blearily around the room before deciding on a spot with the younger set, as close to Sirius as he could get without entering the "do not approach" zone.
'What was all that about?' whispered Ron.
'Search me,' replied Neville.
'Okay, people,' began Hermione, effortlessly taking charge. 'We have yet another Director.' This elicited groans all round. 'Don't panic,' she continued 'There was another writer, also; perhaps we can hope. This is called Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.'
'It's a much longer book,' added James. 'There'll probably be tons left out of it.'
The scene began with Harry walking towards a local playground on an oppressively hot and hazy summer day. The viewers could almost feel the heat baking into them as they tracked the teenaged Harry Potter as he morosely seated himself on a swing.
'Is it me, or is it really hot in here?' said Lily, attempting to fan herself with a paper serviette.
'I'd say it's the air conditioning,' replied Seamus, also fanning himself. 'It's probably taken a holiday.'
No one but Sirius and Harry heard the small sigh from the corner to the left of the tv, but all noted a marked decrease in the hazy heat permeating the room.
No one spoke as the scene with the dementors and its aftermath played out.
'Well, there was definitely less fuss than I remember,' commented Harry as the Dursleys were pictured driving off to hospital with Dudley. 'I think there were five letters that night. I found out Aunt Petunia knew a lot more than she'd let on because she insisted I stay when Uncle Vernon wanted to throw me out.'
'There's Tonks, and Kingsley,' cried a delighted Hermione as a group of Order members showed up to rescue Harry.
'I seem to remember I was with that party,' put in an annoyed Remus. 'And that flight was a hell of a lot less fun. Mad-Eye went out of his way to make sure we weren't seen.'
'I should think so,' growled Snape.
Everyone sighed as 12 Grimmauld Place was revealed for the first time.
'Neat trick,' said Draco. 'I wonder how they accomplished it?'
'Computers, I daresay,' replied Hermione.
They watched through the reunion and the attempted eavesdropping of the meeting downstairs.
'Wish we had heard all that,' giggled Ron as Cruickshanks was pictured running off with the ear.
James guffawed at the twins' antics in scaring their mother using their newfound ability to use magic outside school.
'Not funny, mate,' put in Sirius. 'As I recall, they nearly had my bloody hand off interfering with the dinner.'
'Why do they keep omitting important details?' sighed Remus. 'You set Voldemort's plans at nines by first surviving the graveyard and then informing Dumbledore. That forced him underground. How are they going to get round that one, then?'
'Wow! They sure spruced up the ministry,' said Harry as the film cut straight to the morning of the hearing.
'Muggle money,' huffed Snape as Arthur deposited it into the Ministry's phone box entrance. 'Ridiculous, and a security risk.'
Everyone sat the edge of their seats through Harry's hearing, which then cut almost immediately to King's Cross Station.
'Bollocks,' ejaculated Sirius. 'There is no fucking way I would have been stupid enough to appear in human form in that crowd.
'You were stupid to go there at all,' Snape remonstrated.
'Ah, I see what they're doing,' said Harry as Voldemort appeared in front of him as he made his way to the train. 'They're trying to establish the connection between him and me. Nice touch.'
'Hang on,' protested Ginny. 'Where's our Luna?'
'And they left out that bit about our being made prefects,' added Ron.
'And that mess you made with the cactus,' laughed Harry.
Neville blushed.
'Ah, there she is,' said Hermione as Harry examined the thestral. 'It'd be criminal if they left her out, and haven't they done her well?'
'And there *she*Is,' said Ron as Dolores Umbrage interrupted the Headmaster's speech and rose to address the school. 'Somebody, give me a bucket.'
A bright red, child-sized plastic one bounced off his head, causing every head to turn.
'Ow! Where the fuck did that come from?'
'Wish granted,' smirked Draco. 'Don't say I never give you anything.'
Everyone laughed, including Snape.
'Oh, Hermione,' he said a few seconds later while the children discussed Umbridge's speech. 'No one has to tell you anything twice, do they? Except perhaps to shut up occasionally.'
Hermione gave him a poke. 'You'll keep, Prof.'
'Here we go,' said Seamus as the film cut straight to their first Defence class with Umbridge.
Snickers changed to gasps of horror, however, as the scene switched immediately from the classroom to the detention.
'What?' ejaculated Snape. 'Rewind that at once!'
Hermione obeyed without comment.
'I want to see it again,' stated the ancient wizard, his face an unreadable mask.
Hermione rewound the action slightly and pressed play. The scene showed Harry writing with Umbridge's quill. They all heard the describer say 'As Harry writes on the paper, the words appear cut into the skin of his hand. "I must not tell lies."'
'God, Harry,' said Draco, his pale face draining of colour. 'Who knew?'
'Only us,' said Hermione grimly, 'and that wasn't right away.'
'And you didn't even think to tell Prof McGonagall,' breathed his father in wonderment. 'She'd never have tolerated that.'
'We told him to go to Dumbledore,' said Ron defensively.
'Oh, yes,' countered Harry, rounding on his father. 'Dumbledore was treating me as if I didn't exist. Like I was really going to tell him anything.'
'How long did this actually last?' Snape's soft voice cut through the rising babble.
'A week,' replied Harry flatly. 'This only shows the first time.'
The old wizard's mouth all but disappeared as he scowled and turned his head away in disgust and despair.
'It's all right, Sev,' said Lily, putting a comforting arm around him. 'Probably a good thing you didn't know, eh?'
James gave his wife a look as Hermione resumed the film.
'Hey, I didn't do that,' protested Harry as he was pictured cutting a lonely figure outside Hagrid's empty cottage.
Everyone paid close attention to the conversation between him and Luna as she fed the thestrals.
'Ah, I see,' smiled Lily. 'That's the key, isn't it? Allies are crucial.'
Harry nodded. 'I think this writer is trying to show how isolated I felt, and how I should stick to my friends.' He smiled over at Ron and Hermione.
The film then cut to a nice little montage which began with Umbridge's appointment as High Inquisitor and portrayed her disciplining students, interrogating teachers and issuing many decrees.
'Isn't that a bit over the top?' commented Neville. 'If we'd had that many decrees, we'd never have been able to move, let alone learn anything.'
'Nice bit of theatre, though,' put in Remus.
'If you say so,' retorted Snape. 'I have seldom been so tempted to hex anyone, despite the consequences. And, until that time, I had never been tempted to hex a colleague.'
A hollow laugh came from Sirius' corner as the film showed the children in the Gryffindor common-room and Fudge blaming the spate of disappearances on him.
'Ah, now that wasn't fair,' said Lily sadly. 'If they'd shown the right details in the beginning, they wouldn't have needed to do that.'
'Yep, but it dovetails nicely with this,' replied James as the head of tv Sirius appeared in the fire.
Everyone ooohed appreciatively as the falling rain became swirling snow, briefly showing the face of Voldemort.
'Nice artful touch,' said Draco. 'This director clearly has style.'
Snape, sitting across from him in the cluster of elders, huffed dismissively.
'Wow, Hermione,' breathed Draco as they all watched the students sign up to Dumbledore's Army and wend their way back to school. 'Am I ever glad you were on the right side. I doubt I'd have been able to pull off something like that.'
'We were just lucky we had Harry to teach us,' she countered. 'We'd have been in a right pickle otherwise.'
'Yes, and we'd have been in an even bigger one if you'd been caught talking with me that time,' came the hollow voice from the corner.
'Oh, of course,' remembered Harry. 'That was too bloody close for comfort. I clocked Umbridge's hand just as you were leaving, Unc. Glad that wasn't in here.'
The scene showing the discovery of the Room of Requirement cut straight to a defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Harry.
'Hang on, where's all the quidditch stuff?' Ron wanted to know. 'Wasn't that the match where you and the twins got banned, Harry?'
He nodded. 'If it hadn't been for Dumbledore's Army, I'd have talked Sirius into letting me out of school. That was turning out to be one shitty year.'
Then began a montage of defence lessons featuring a character called Nigel, and a mildly embarrassing mock duel between Ron and Hermione which Ron lost.
'You know, I'm sick of them portraying my husband as some kind of jackass,' scoffed Hermione. 'The least they could do is try to remain true to us.'
'Who the hell is this Nigel?' protested Dean. 'We never had a Nigel in school.'
'And I'm sure as hell Filch didn't know anything about what we were up to,' put in Hermione.
'You're right,' added Ron. 'He didn't have the brains.'
'Exactly how did you communicate?' Snape wanted to know.
Hermione pressed pause, just as Harry was beginning his pep talk to the DA.
'Now that, Prof, is something of which I'm particularly proud,' she announced with a huge grin. She pulled out a galleon from her dress pocket. 'I've always kept it,' she continued, passing it to Lily who handed it to Snape. 'This was our secret messaging system.'
'We even used it in your year as Headmaster,' supplied Ginny.
Snape gave a low chuckle. 'So that's how you nearly drove the Carrows out of their miniscule minds. Had I known I might have been tempted to congratulate you myself.'
He passed the coin back to Lily, who passed it to James, Remus and then Draco, who examined it with undiluted admiration before handing it back to Hermione.
The montage continued, followed immediately by a romantic little scene with Harry and Cho kissing under a blooming mistletoe.
'Any chance you still have that bucket?' enquired Draco?
'Ah, you're just jealous,' retorted Seamus, reaching over to kiss Dean, eliciting mock applause from the Potters and a blush from Dean.
Just then, a rather larger version of the bright red plastic bucket appeared upside down, so that it covered Draco's entire head.
'Hey,' called his muffled voice from inside as he tried in vain to remove it.
'Hey, Buckethead,' called Ron. 'Smile for the camera.'
'What on earth …' demanded Snape.
'Oh, just the boys playing silly buggers,' laughed Lily. 'Ron enlarged the bucket Draco sent him, and it's now covering Draco's head, right down to his shoulders.'
'I believe you may live to regret conjuring that bucket, Mr Malfoy,' called out Snape.
But the bucket vanished with a pop just as teenage Harry was entering the dream state which presaged the attack on Mr Weasley.
'Hey, this doesn't make any sense,' protested Ginny. 'We were all whisked off to HQ, including Harry. There is no way Dumbledore would have made him do occlumency right away — not in the state he was in.'
They then watched a Christmas scene which had been cut together out of incidents from all through the break, ending with a fictitious but powerfully poignant scene between Harry and Sirius.
'Nicely done,' observed James.
'Wish it had happened like that,' said his son wistfully.
'I'm just glad they left out St Mungo's,' put in Neville.
All looked across at Sirius, who lay very still on the recliner, staring far into an unseen distance.
The film cut straight back to Hogwarts' courtyard, a short chat with Cho and then immediately to Hagrid's return.
'Excellent,' cried Hermione. 'I was afraid they'd left him out completely.'
The scene then cut to the dramatic escape from Azkaban, featuring Bellatrix Lestrange, accompanied by an article in the Daily Prophet with Minister Fudge once again blaming Sirius Black.
'A lot he knew. Eh, Sirius?' said Harry, glancing over into the corner. But all he received in return was a grunt from his godfather.
'Oh no,' cried Hermione in dismay, following Seamus' apology and the immediate switch back to the Room of Requirement. 'They left out that entire arc with Rita, your interview and all of us giving Umbridge the virtual finger by spreading the Quibbler far and wide.'
'Yeah, that was brilliant,' put in Ron. 'The bitch was too stupid to realise that banning it would have the opposite effect. We all had it hidden on us the whole time.'
'At least they also left out my disastrous date,' mused Harry.
'Do tell,' encouraged Draco.
'Another time,' replied Harry curtly, watching intently as he and Neville examined the photograph of the Order's original members in the Room of Requirement.
'Excellent work, Harry,' came Snape's papery voice from opposite him, as teenage Harry took his students through the Patronus charm.
'Thanks, Prof,' replied Harry, beaming at Snape. 'They were a great bunch. I was really proud of them.'
'Ah,' cut in Hermione as the room darkened, revealing Umbridge's presence behind the smashed mirror. 'I wondered how they were going to tackle this without including Dobby. He was the one who warned us.'
'Oh no,' said a dismayed Harry as Draco Malfoy was revealed holding back a distressed Cho Chang. 'Now we know how they got round having no Marietta. There's no way the real Cho would have done anything like that.'
All the DA members nodded their agreement.
Everyone watched, many in admiration, as Dumbledore disappeared in a burst of flame from under the noses of Umbridge, Fudge and the Aurors.
'I hope you were satisfied with your night's work,' said Lily, looking daggers at Draco. 'Enjoyed being (what do the young people call it) a suck, did you?'
Draco lowered his head but said nothing.
'Decree 119? That's just preposterous,' declared Dean. 'How many were there really? Anyone remember?'
'Only about 30, I think,' answered Hermione absently.
'No way,' put in Seamus. 'We didn't do that, thank Merlin.'
On-screen, the DA members could be seen writing with Umbridge's quills while she watched from the stage with obvious satisfaction.
'That's because, in reality, most of us weren't caught,' replied Neville with a smirk in Draco's direction.
'Bloody hell,' ejaculated James as they watched Hagrid's giant half-brother emerge from the trees.
'Oh, he wasn't so bad,' said Hermione.
'Speak for yourself,' rejoined Ron.
'I want to know how they did this,' declared Dean. 'It's bloody amazing.'
'I think I saw something about it somewhere,' replied Harry absently. 'Computers again, I think.'
The film then cut immediately to an occlumency lesson with Snape, which showed Harry breaking into Snape's mind and witnessing his torment at the hands of James and Sirius.
Lily, who had once again put an arm around him, felt Snape stiffen under her hands. 'It's all right, Sev,' she soothed. 'At least they didn't show … you know … the worst bit.'
'And they left out the cockroaches,' put in Harry, who instantly regretted it when he caught the look on his father's face.
'The what?' James rose to his feet. 'What cockroaches?'
Hermione discreetly pressed pause, as a little scene showing Harry comforting a small boy followed the disastrous occlumency lesson.
'It — it was nothing, father,' said Harry, desperately attempting to back-pedal. 'Give it a rest. It was years ago.'
James glared at his son. 'What … cockroaches?' His voice had taken on a dangerous edge.
Harry sighed. 'Okay, so the disc doesn't show everything I saw. Nor does it show everything that happened exactly, thank Merlin.'
He proceeded to relate how Snape had been called away from his office, how he had looked in the pensieve out of sheer curiosity and had witnessed a scene beginning with the end of the Defence of the Dark Arts Exam in 1976, through the humiliation of Snape and the resultant insult which ended his friendship with Lily. 'Then the Prof grabbed me out of there, threw me against the wall, told me to get out and never come back — and threw a jar of dead roaches after me for good measure.' Everyone winced. 'Then I legged it as fast as I could,' concluded Harry sheepishly.
'So that's why you were so gloomy and evasive over the easter hols,' said Hermione, her voice growing faint as she caught the blank look on James' face.
James Potter stared around the room as if he recognised nothing and no one. Everyone watched in horror as he slowly and deliberately drew his wand and turned to face Snape and Lily.
'Snivellus, you will apologise for assaulting my son — to him and to his parents or ...'
'I don't think you want to do that, Prongs.'
Harry, Neville and Remus had slipped quietly up to the group and inserted themselves strategically around Lily and Snape, still seated stiffly upright — his face completely unreadable.
But James could not hear. His wand tip was rising with the careful deliberation of someone making very sure of his movements.
'Sit down, you prat,' barked Sirius, coming to life from his corner.
Still the wand tip rose at that deliberately glacial speed.
'James Potter.' Lily's voice was soft and dangerous as she drew her own wand with her free hand. 'Sit down this instant, or I swear I'll hex you myself.'
Something cleared in her husband's face then, but instead of resuming his seat he moved, stiff-legged and straight-backed, to the nearest exit and, without looking back or uttering a sound, quit the room. When Remus started to move that way, Lily waved him over to his original chair. 'Just leave him for now,' she advised. 'He'll have some thinking to do.'
Harry moved over to his mother's side and reached for Snape's free hand. It felt cool, limp and dry as he took it between his own. 'I'm sorry, Prof. I shouldn't have said anything. Me and my big mouth. What's that American saying? My tongue runs on both ends and is hung in the middle? Something like that.'
'I'm afraid he gets his babbling tendency from me,' said Lily apologetically.
Snape nodded, but remained mute and rigid, neither acknowledging Harry's hand nor Lily's attempt at levity — though he made no attempt to pull away from either of them.
'Join us, Unc, why don't you,' invited Ginny after the ensuing silence threatened to lengthen from awkward to torturous.
Sirius seemed to consider for a moment, then nodded jerkily. He arose and, with uncharacteristic stiffness and deliberation, approached the elder grouping and gingerly sank down in James' vacated place.
Everyone looked around at one another, as if checking to see whether they were still whole.
'Erm … ' Hermione was strangely timid and tentative. 'Do we want to unpack this now, or should I just continue playing the disc?'
'I don't think there's much to unpack,' replied Harry. 'Basically, I shouldn't have looked in the pensieve. It was an unforgivable violation of privacy. I'm really, really sorry Prof.'
The hand tightened in his, but still Snape said nothing.
'Would you rather we went somewhere private?' asked Harry softly. 'How about we go and get a drink of something? Just the two of us.'
Snape nodded mutely, and Harry propelled him away into the kitchen area.
'Bloody hell,' said Ron. 'I had no idea.'
'Nor me,' put in Ginny.
Everyone looked askance. 'He never told a soul,' she added.
Draco had crossed the room, riffled through the books and picked out the fifth.
'I think you'll find it's the end of chapter 28,' said a familiar voice from her place to the left of the tv screen. 'I don't remember the exact page number. Turn to chapter 29 and go back a few pages. You'll find it.'
All turned to the light being suspended in the air and smiling at her friends.
'The thing that bothers me is,' began Dean 'Can any of us honestly say we wouldn't have looked in that thing if we'd been in Harry's place? I mean …' He faltered under their combined attention. 'Here's a kid who's been picked on by a teacher from day dot, sees some random memories lying about (obviously the teacher's trying to hide them because he keeps taking them out of his head whenever they do this occlumency thing) so wouldn't you be dying to know what he was so keen to hide?'
'If you put it that way …' mused Neville.
'Well, I wouldn't,' replied Luna serenely. 'It'd be like reading someone's mind without their permission or looking at them naked without their knowledge.'
'Also, a good point,' remarked Sirius. 'But most people aren't like you, angel, especially when they're 15, angry and confused.'
'I just hope they work it out,' said Hermione fervently.
They sat in silence, each unsure how to proceed.
'You know what?' said Lily brightly, 'Harry's idea was a good one. I think we could all do with some refreshment. How about I just pop my head round the door and check to see if they're all right? Who wants to place their orders?'
She arose and, gathering up the small paper aeroplanes which held requests for everything from water to whisky, glided her way along the short corridor towards the kitchen and the faint voices issuing from within.
The first thing she noticed upon cautiously entering was the laden trolley. It seemed her son had had a similar idea. She then clocked the two figures; Snape in his wheelchair, a side tray with two glasses clipped to one of the arms, and Harry squatting in front of him, their hands clasped.
'It seems you are not your father at all,' Snape was saying softly, almost wonderingly, as if this had only just occurred to him.
'I'm not, Prof,' replied Harry with a sigh. 'I never have been. I'm me — an individual.'
'You are unfailingly kind like your mother,' continued Snape. 'Even when you have little reason for being so.'
'It wasn't always like that,' admitted Harry sheepishly. 'I hated you with a passion for most of my school time.'
'Oh, have no fear,' returned Snape wryly. 'The feeling was entirely mutual. The only difference was that I deserved it. It was far less painful to think of you as your father than to actually examine you too closely, lest it threaten my world view.'
'I don't suppose I helped by breaking all those rules,' smiled Harry.
'No, you did not,' growled the professor. 'However, I am coming to realise that world views are over-rated.'
'So is obeying rules,' countered Harry.
That earned his hands a slap. 'Get away with you. We should re-join the others before they send out a search party. Come along, Trouble.'
They made their slow way back through the door, neither of them noticing two figures lurking beside the tall refrigerators.
'Did you talk to him?' Lily asked her husband.
'A little,' replied James contritely. 'I think we made a start, anyway. Feel like going back?'
'Yes, but let's keep to the background for now,' suggested Lily as the trolley sailed out of the kitchen under its own power.
No one commented as all four absentees trooped back into the common- room. Snape and Harry joined Sirius, while James and Lily sat a little apart from the others, holding hands and gazing expectantly at the screen. Everyone else moved about, grabbing drinks from the trolley and resettling themselves for the final quarter of the movie.
'Mind if I stay?' asked Luna? 'I want to see Fred and George's fireworks.'
'Sure,' said Sirius. 'Come over here and join us, sweetie.'
'I can't, sorry,' laughed Luna. 'Not yet, at least.'
Hermione pressed play, to hear Fred opine that their talents lay outside the world of academic achievement. Then the film cut directly to the OWL exams which showed Umbridge in the supervising position.
'That's not right,' began Seamus.
'Shhh,' said Luna. 'Just wait.'
Everyone leaned forward in anticipation as a series of sounds out of shot caused Umbridge to come to attention.
'Uh oh,' smirked Neville, as Umbridge's heels could be heard clacking the length of the hall as she strode purposefully towards the doors.
Everyone smiled as the first firework whizzed past her nose and into the Great Hall, followed closely by Fred and George on their broomsticks.
'Oh, no,' said Remus, beginning to laugh.
'You ain't see nothing yet,' said Harry, his own smile widening in anticipation.
'Beautiful,' yelled Sirius over the racket. He, too, began to laugh in earnest.
'Nicely aimed,' mouthed Snape to Harry as Goyle received a whizzbang up his arse.
Then everyone sat, mouths open, as the great white dragon proceeded to chase Umbridge from the Hall, destroying all her decrees in its wake.
'Beautiful piece of charm work,' commented Snape.
'That's my brothers,' replied Ginny, smiling hugely.
When the huge letter W appeared in the sky, everyone cheered. 'Nice touch!' yelled Sirius.
'Hey! It didn't go on long enough,' protested Ron, pausing the disc just as the scene dissolved to Harry's strongest Voldemort vision yet. 'Fred and George messed with old Umbridge for weeks before they exited.'
Snape began to laugh.
'What's that for,' asked Sirius.
'I was just remembering the swamp,' spluttered Snape before dissolving completely.
'That's right,' laughed Hermione. 'Filch had to r — r — row us across …'
She, too, dissolved into helpless giggles.
'And not even old Flitwick could get rid of it,' put in Seamus, trying and failing to stem the tide of his own mirth.
'Of course he could, dunderhead,' laughed Snape. 'He simply claimed to the pink toad that he didn't have the authority.'
That did it. Later, the younger ones would never be able to decide whether it was simply their own mirthful memories overtaking them, or whether it was their dry old professor referring to their then Headmistress as a pink toad. In either case, everyone spent the next few minutes giving themselves entirely to their laughter.
'I believe,' said Snape, groping for a handkerchief 'that a residue still remained during my year as Headmaster.'
Neville and Ginny nodded. 'I think you're right,' confirmed Ginny. 'What a memorial; a miniature swamp.' And she was off to the races again.
When everyone had settled, they watched in growing tenseness as Harry's vision of Sirius' torture at the hands of Voldemort played out.
'Oh, kiddo,' mourned Sirius, putting an arm around his godson. 'Seems that connection was stronger than we thought.'
'Bloody Kreacher didn't help, either,' replied Harry with a sigh.
Snape smiled as his on-screen counterpart informed Umbridge that she'd used up all his Veritaserum.
'They didn't include the scene with the Toad trying to feed you Veritaserum, did they, Harry. You could have enjoyed a drink, you know. The serum I gave her contained no active ingredients.'
'What? It was fake?' cried Harry.
'I believe that is what I implied,' replied Snape tartly. 'Although,' he mused, 'you were probably wise not to drink anything she served you. I shouldn't have put it past the twisted tart to pop anything into her tea without any notion of its effect.'
'You do know it was she who sent the dementors,' supplied Harry casually.
'That wasn't shown here,' exclaimed Snape. 'I might have hexed her despite the consequences, had I known. Damn the woman.'
'But you didn't give me any clue you knew what I was talking about when I gave you that message about Padfoot,' said Harry reproachfully.
'And how, pray, could I have done that without blowing all our cover?' retorted Snape. He reached out for Harry's hand. 'This is going to be difficult to watch. Try to avoid self-recrimination if you can.'
By this time, Hermione was leading Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest towards Grawp and the centaurs.
He couldn't help but smile at the little scene when Umbridge pleaded with him to tell the incensed creatures she meant no harm.
'I'm sorry, Professor. I must not tell lies.'
'Wish I had thought to say that in reality,' he said wistfully.
'Hey, that's a bit on the nose,' cried Ginny. 'We hexed our way out of that trap. That's an insult to my prowess, that is. No Puking Pastels were consumed on this mission.'
They watched intently as the six young people flew the thestrals to London and the Ministry of Magic.
'Have you any idea how bloody hard it is to fly on something you can't see?' said Hermione to no one in particular. 'I hate flying at the best of times.'
'Correct me if I've misremembered,' put in Neville ironically, 'it has been known to happen after all. But didn't we have to search around quite a lot before we got to this Prophecy Room?'
The others nodded.
'Oooh, this is creepy,' observed Lily as the scene showed the towering shelves of prophecies, each encased in its own glass sphere. 'Rather you kids than me.'
Every wrinkled arm sported goosebumps when the prophecy recited itself, and they only increased upon the appearance of Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.
'By Godric, she's good,' said Sirius with a shiver. 'I could almost believe …'
Harry and Snape each took one of his hands and held on tight.
'Hey, that's twice they've tried using Levicorpus,' protested Ginny. 'Far as I remember, none of us knew that one until your sixth year, darling.'
But Harry was, by now, too intent on the proceedings to reply or notice. He was too fiercely concentrated on holding onto Sirius, while keeping a close watch on the screen.
'Very dramatic,' commented Luna. 'Shame it didn't turn out that way in real life. I think most of us were injured by this point.'
The six were now shown in the room with the veil, being swooped upon by clouds of dense smoke containing the pursuing Death Eaters.
'Oh, really!' Huffed Snape with all the indignance his frail form could muster. 'As far as I am aware, I am the only one — beside Dumbledore and Voldemort — who ever possessed the gift of flight. Every time I become confident these people are performing well, they do something like this.'
But his grip tightened on Sirius' hand, and he grew silent as the battle proceeded in earnest.
From across the room, James smiled as tv Sirius was heard to congratulate Harry for disarming a Death Eater by calling him by his father's name.
Mere seconds later, both Harry and Snape found their hands were empty. However, intent on the scene, most did not notice.
'Pause that bloody disc,' cried Snape with all the force he could muster.
Hermione snatched up the remote control without looking, pressed pause and then looked around, wide-eyed.
'To me, Harry,' whispered Snape. 'Now.'
Harry obeyed numbly and found himself held in two sets of arms; Snape's and Remus' who had slipped over to where they sat without a word or a sound.
Everyone else sat in varying poses of stunned horror, gaping alternately at the paused tv screen, which currently showed Lupin holding Harry back from the misty veil, and the space that Sirius — their wise, wise-cracking Sirius — had so recently occupied.
Harry half-lay with his head buried in Snape's robes, both frail wizards barely able to hold him as he shuddered helplessly. Lily went to rise and go to her son, but James held her back. 'Not yet,' he mouthed. 'They were there; we weren't.'
Harry heard his father, despite James' attempts at discretion. He raised his head and glared at Snape.
'You weren't there, were you,' he accused. 'Did you goad him when you found he wasn't at the Ministry after all? I do remember you calling him a coward that time, though it wasn't shown here.'
'No, I did not goad him; I did not need to,' replied Snape calmly. 'In fact, I attempted, uselessly as it turned out, to inform him of the folly of his participation.'
'You knew Sirius,' placated Remus. 'He'd never — in a thousand years — have stayed behind when there were battles to be fought, especially ones involving your safety. Severus did absolutely everything he could, including staying out of the way. Going to the Ministry would have been far too risky.'
'They're right, son,' soothed James. 'Don't blame any of them — or yourself. If you need somewhere to aim your anger, be angry with Voldemort and his pet witch.'
'Well said,' declared Draco, to everyone's astonishment. 'You know,' he continued as he got slowly and painfully to his feet, 'it's only by seeing things from the outside — like this — that I've finally realised how bloody stupid I was.'
'You were just a kid who worshipped his dad,' replied James sadly. 'No harm in that, so long as the dad's worth worshipping. And questions of that stripe only come with maturity.'
'Cousin Sirius always knew where his loyalties lay,' said Draco.
'Yep, but he was one in a million,' replied Remus. 'It takes a huge amount of strength to go against your upbringing, especially when you're a kid. It's hard enough to decide to do it when you're grown.'
Draco nodded ruefully. 'Don't I know it.'
He glided over and attempted to kneel down beside Harry but was prevented by the pain of his severe arthritis.
'Don't you fall on us,' growled Snape, still with Harry's head buried in his robes. 'I'm not strong enough to support you as well.'
In truth, he was not really strong enough to support anyone, though a Cruciatus curse would not have extracted that information from him at that moment.
'Sit down before you fall down, silly boy,' chided Lily gently as she trotted over, put her arms around Draco and helped him to a nearby seat.
She then crossed to Harry, Remus and Snape, and bent to pry her son loose from the ancient wizard, who was now extremely pale and trembling with effort.
'Come on now, Harry darling. Let's get you to your lovely wife.'
Helped by Remus and James, she manhandled her distraught son off Snape, who was unable to hide a look of gratitude and relief.
'Don't you just hate being old?' he mourned.
'Sometimes,' smiled Lily as Ginny came across to claim her husband.
Throughout this exchange, the others had sat shocked and unmoving. Now Neville ventured a tentative question.
'Are we going to watch the end of this? There can't be much more.'
'Hell yes,' replied Dean. 'I want to see that bastard Voldemort get creamed by Dumbledore.'
'Hear, hear,' put in Ron.
'Anyone against?' asked Hermione wearily.
Receiving no reply, she took up the remote and pressed play.
On-screen, Harry struggled free of Lupin's hold and went after Bellatrix in a towering rage. He caught up with her in the Ministry's main hall and shot her the cruciatus, which worked far better than he remembered — not that he cared much at this point. Seeing Sirius disappear had been like losing him all over again, and all he felt was numb and crushing weariness. He sat leaning against his wife and his parents, watching expressionlessly as Voldemort tried to get him to finish Bellatrix off.
'Bloody hell, they did well with this,' breathed Ron.
'Glad they smashed that hideous banner,' drawled Draco. 'It clashed with the décor something horrible.'
This earned him a look from various of his schoolmates.
'Look out,' cried Hermione as the fine sand which had been Voldemort moved towards Harry.
All watched in silent admiration as Harry struggled to extract Voldemort from inside him. Hermione's face lit up as he finally succeeded by remembering all the happy times with his true friends and loved ones.
'Lily was right,' she cried exuberantly. 'We are so much stronger together.'
'I don't remember saying anything like that,' mumbled Harry.
'I don't give a rat's arse,' retorted Hermione, her eyes still radiant with understanding. 'This is what it's all about — all of it: love, friendship, they're everything.'
Most of the viewers nodded thoughtfully. No one but James Potter who, seeing himself all but redundant now that Ginny and Lily had care of Harry, and had crept quietly nearer to Remus and Severus, noted the look of infinite sadness in Severus' white, exhausted face.
'At least they didn't put in my meltdown,' said Harry in his new, mumbling monotone. 'I smashed some of the stuff in Dumbledore's office.'
'Albus wouldn't have minded, sweetheart,' reassured Lily. 'I read that bit. Let's see what these people make of it.'
'Was that it?'' Harry was disgusted as the all-too-short conversation with Dumbledore gave way to a scene in which he was back in Hogwarts' main hall. 'They left out all the important info. That bloody Kreacher went running to Narcissa Malfoy and helped set up the trap for Sirius. And — and …'
'Shhh,' soothed Ginny. 'There'll be time to discuss all that when you're feeling a bit stronger. The disc's almost done.'
'By Salazar, that girl was uncrushable.' Snape smiled to himself as he listened through Harry and Luna's conversation.
'Yes,' agreed Neville. 'She was something else. Where did she go? Did anyone see?'
No one replied as they watched the three children make their way to the train and yet another summer.
'Something worth fighting for,' whispered Snape, unaware that James was well within close earshot. He'd been sitting silently, lost in deep contemplation, not really watching the film at all. At Snape's comment, he raised his head and gazed at his old nemesis as if he'd never seen him before.
'Tell me something, Severus, if you would. How, by all the gods, did you manage it?'
Snape started, as if from a doze. 'What was that, Potter?' He'd spoken more curtly than he'd intended; he was exhausted, in pain and grieving.
'Everything,' blurted James. He moved a little closer, aware not to startle the blind man. 'The girls were right, you know. How the hell did I not see it earlier?'
Snape sighed heavily. 'Potter, I am extremely tired, and have neither the energy nor the inclination to play at riddles. Either speak plainly or go to bed and leave me be.'
'Well,' said James hesitantly, 'it's like this. Our Harry had all those people around him; Dumbledore, Minerva, Molly and Arthur, Sirius, Ron and Hermione and so many others — even you, in a sense.'
'Yes,' sighed Snape (He couldn't even bring himself to sneer; he just didn't have the strength.) 'Even me. What of it?'
'Well,' continued James, more uncomfortable than ever. (He was beginning to wish he'd never started this.) 'You — you didn't have any of that, did you? Lily told me a bit about you two before Hogwarts — your home life and all that. Then there was us being jerks the whole way through school; and I don't suppose those accursed Slytherin pure-blood supremacists were much better, either. And — well — did you have any actual friends among the faculty?' James halted yet again to check the emotional weather, but found no help from that quarter. 'And yet, you still went and played old moldy Voldy like a bloody violin — for years. On top of that you managed Dumbledore, and that would have been no mean feat all by itself. And all that without all the love, friendship and support our Harry had. How, in Merlin's name, did you do it?'
James sat back and waited for the inevitable explosion. He'd said his piece, difficult as that had been, and now all he could do was hope the response wouldn't be too terrible. As the silence stretched from seconds to minutes, he willed himself not to fidget. He had hit the poor old bugger with a bit of a load, after all. Perhaps he needed time to process.
Suddenly, a skeletal hand shot out and nearly poked his eye out.
'Where the hell are you, Potter, you old bastard?'
'Right beside you, git,' retorted James, trapping the flailing hand between his.
Severus was reminded painfully of the last time his hand had been grabbed like that – and by whom, but he squeezed with all his failing strength.
'I'll tell you something for nothing, James Potter,' he rasped. 'You think your wife — my Lily — is stubborn? She's got nothing on me.'
There was a long silence as James processed this statement. He even surprised himself by not reacting to the clear slur intended by the phrase "my Lily". Then he began to laugh.
'Oh, Severus. You're bloody amazing. No, make that flaming remarkable. I — I can't think of anyone … anyone on this insane planet who could pull off what you did. You're a right git, but you're a fucking genius. And I'll bet my last galleon that I'm not the only one who thinks so.' And he dissolved into paroxysms of mirth.
Now it was Snape's turned to be floored. Was this a compliment? From the great James Potter? By Salazar, he thought it might be, backhanded as it was. Would wonders ever cease? First Black, now him. He felt a renewed pang of grief over Sirius Black. They'd just started to talk to one another like the gentlemen neither of them was, and now he was gone.
Not far, though, he mused as he listened to James' peals of laughter. 'I'll catch up with you soon enough. Then we can pick up where we left off.'
James tailed off and looked at the other man. By Merlin, but he looked like the Ancient of Days; thin as a rail, blind as a bat, but still (he had to admit) sharper than most men a fraction of his age on an average day.
'Hell's teeth, Severus,' began James.
'What now?' Even his voice, such as it was, was giving out.
'You are bloody hard to converse with, you miserable old sod.'
Probably because I … I …' But he had no strength left.
'Gin, sweetheart,' called James, noticing Snape's face suddenly relax and his eyes close, 'Get over here and help, please.'
Ginny and Hermione rushed over in tandem.
'Ah, he's fallen asleep,' said Ginny. 'Poor old thing.'
'What did you do to him?' Hermione's query was light, but was there the faintest edge of an accusatory note?'
'Well, I like that,' retorted James. 'We were just … talking. I was trying to compliment him, actually. All that stuff about being stronger together — well — it made me think.'
'First time for everything then,' mocked his daughter-in-law, who received a slap on the hand for her trouble.
'How's our boy?' James figured a change of subject was needed.
'He's also asleep,' Ginny informed him. 'Hermione gave him a calming draught and he went out like a light.'
'He'll need all the sleep he can get,' added Hermione. 'Tomorrow night's disc is also going to be rough: on him, on Draco and on the professor.'
'I'm not exactly looking forward to seeing it portrayed either,' stated James. 'But I see what you mean.'
One hour later, three women sat down to tea in the residents'-common-room. Gone were the modern Muggle fittings, the glass coffee tables and light furnishings. This was a world of over-stuffed Victorian opulence; of dark woods, plush, handmade fabrics and lace edging almost everything.
'Thanks for coming,' began Ginny Potter. 'I figured we three should probably get our heads around a few things while the guys sleep. After all, we can't exactly rely on many of them to be sensible about all this.'
The other two laughed.
'Well, as the Americans say,' prompted Lily, 'it's your nickel.'
'Hang on,' put in Hermione. 'There's something that's been bothering me since earlier in the evening. Where the hell has Sirius gone?'
'Oh, come on, sis. Surely you know the answer to that.' Ginny gave her sister-in-law a pitying look. 'He's finally gone on.'
'But — but' Hermione was lost for words. 'There's nothing there: there was no crack of disapparition, no fireworks, no nothing. Just … not there.'
'Of course, silly,' chided Lily. 'Have you forgotten where we are?'
'I — I try not to think about it,' replied Hermione curtly. I thought — well — I thought … this is not how I pictured things.'
'Do you think it is for any of us, sweetie?' Lily's voice was gentler now. 'James and I were here on our own for ages before Sirius showed up. That was some reunion party, I can tell you. Then Severus and Remus arrived almost together, and that was it for years and years. The place was very different back then; it seems to change according to our changing needs. Draco was the first of you younger ones to arrive, and that was some time ago now. By then, I'd long given up wondering about this place. I just thought we would all … you know … just keep growing older and more decrepit together – and so we have.'
'Well, apparently, things have now changed,' said Hermione, her face radiating confusion.
'I'd say so,' put in Ginny. 'I think something — or someone – has decided it's finally time we all moved on.'
'So, why not just … you know … wave a wand and shift us to onto whatever comes next?' asked Hermione. 'Why all this palaver?'
'I'm not sure it is palaver,' returned Lily. 'Have either of you girls been watching the guys over the past weeks? I'd say it started ever since that Stevenson arrived. He soon proved to be a right pain in the arse.'
'Exactly,' put in Ginny. 'So much so that Dad Potter and Uncle Padfoot actually went to the professor and asked for his help. Not that long ago, such a thing would have been unthinkable. And that's led to the little escapade which has us where we are now.'
Hermione refreshed her tea and sat, her fingers steepled under her chin.
'Yes,' she began carefully. 'Did either of you see Harry's and the Prof's faces when they came back from their sojourn to the kitchen after James blew up?'
'I was a bit occupied,' returned Lily blandly.
'I did,' said Ginny. 'Harry has already mentioned it obliquely — when we all had that talk last night. All about not being alone. So, today I watched them a bit more closely. The professor's been behaving towards Harry more like a concerned uncle than an enemy. I mean … he's tolerated all of us up till now but …'
'Hmm. I see what you mean,' mused Hermione.
'I think,' continued Ginny, refreshing her own cup, 'that we should prepare for the very real possibility that we'll all be going over very soon. Let's see there are three more discs. That means two more nights — three at the outside. I can't think that tomorrow's little effort will be any easier for any of us than tonight was.'
The other women nodded. 'I, for one, don't want to see it,' declared Hermione. 'But I will anyway. Has Harry ever talked much about what happened that night?'
Ginny shook her head. 'I've tried asking him over the years, but he always seems a bit vague, and I didn't want to push.'
'Well, he's going to get a faceful tomorrow night and no mistake,' said Lily. 'I just hope they don't make a hash of it — for all our sakes, but especially for his and Sev's.' She drained her teacup and set it on the cork coaster with a firm thunk. 'Well, I don't know about you girls, but I'm for my bed.'
'Just a minute.' Ginny also drained her cup. 'How much do you suppose the Prof knows about all this?'
The other two gave her a sharp look.
'Why do you ask that?' Hermione arose and collected all three sets of tea dishes, sent them over to the sink and started them washing themselves.
'It's just a feeling,' replied Ginny equably. 'Only, you did notice how unwell he looked tonight? And that also went for Uncle Sirius.'
'Yes,' drawled Hermione, reseating herself with some effort. 'Draco made some crass comment about how he looked bound for the guillotine.'
All three rolled their eyes.
'Hmmm,' mused Lily. 'I can see a quiet conversation with Remus in my near future. That man always knows far more than he lets on.'
The three sat silently, each lost in her own thoughts. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they all arose and made for the door.
'Just one more tidbit to sleep on, ladies,' said Ginny as they closed up the common-room, 'Harry has periodic dreams of King's Cross Station, where he visits Dumbledore and they have a catch-up — a bit like meeting a mate for a beer. Well, those dreams have been increasing in frequency over the past few months. Goodnight, all.'
As she entered their bedroom, Ginny watched her husband's outline, vibrating slightly as he lay fast asleep, his eyes darting back and forth as if in conversation with someone. Making no attempt to be quiet (she'd come to realise that a bomb wouldn't have awakened him in this state), she slipped in beside him with a tired sigh.
'And how is your lovely wife?' asked Dumbledore?
'Busy putting the wind up her in-laws if I'm any judge,' laughed Harry. 'We're coming down to the business end now, aren't we?'
'Yes, but there is still some way to go — some work to do,' admonished Dumbledore with a twinkle. 'You are all bonding nicely, but you will need to become closer yet for the plan to work.'
'And how do we do that,' enquired Harry, somewhat frustrated. 'I've had a truce of sorts with Snape. Even my dad made an approach tonight and, after he threatened him with his wand earlier, that's almost a bloody miracle.'
'You say Ginevra is bringing the others up to speed?'
'Only Mum and Hermione at this point, I think,' replied Harry.
'Then consult Remus and Severus,' advised Dumbledore. 'They know, instinctively, what's coming. As for the others, all I can advise is that you (What do they say?) go with the flow. Do whatever must be done. The discs' contents will test you, but so will the changing circumstances. I don't think there will be any further need for us to meet in this place. I will see you in two nights — three at the outside. Until then, my dear Harry, continue to be your best self.'
Harry sighed. Why did everything with this man have to be wrapped in riddles? Luckily this is an easy one, he thought as he turned over and went back to sleep.