Chapter Thirty-Three
The December session of the Wizengamot was just coming to a close. Now that Arabella was a part of their little family, a portal had been created from her house to the trunk, Now Remus came with him to every Wizengamot meeting, and Arabella would port over to the trunk to watch Harry. They still absolutely refused to leave Harry alone with the Dursleys. Whenever they were forced to see the Dursleys nowadays, Vernon seemed to have a permanent scowl along with the purplish tinge to his face that they had become familiar with over the years that said his temper was near to exploding.
Dumbledore had not attempted to talk to him again, apparently hoping to maintain the status quo. Umbridge, after having her last two attempts thwarted rather soundly, contented herself with glaring viciously at them at every opportunity, along with the occasional snide comment. Sirius knew she was far from done with them or her foul laws.
Remus was just packing up his notes and talking quietly with Sirius about the session when they were approached by Lady Augusta Longbottom.
She smiled at them, "hello Lord Black, Mr. ….Lupin, or is it Lupin-Black?"
Remus smiled as he shook her hand, "it's just Lupin, Lady Longbottom."
"Please call me Augusta," she said, "perhaps we could talk. Would you have tea with me at Longbottom Hall?"
Remus and Sirius looked at each other, they both wanted to get back to Harry, but they couldn't say that. Lady Augusta Longbottom was known to be one of Dumbledore's staunchest supporters.
"That would be wonderful," said Sirius, "we can't stay long though. My husband and I have….plans later." He said with a crooked smile.
Augusta smiled knowingly at them, "of course. I promise I won't keep you long then."
The three quickly flooed to Longbottom Hall, where the elves soon had a lavish tea set out.
"Now," said Augusta, taking her cup and adding sugar and cream, "first, I want to apologize for the lateness of this..talk. I admit I've been struggling with this for awhile now."
The two Marauders looked at each other, "what do you mean?" asked Sirius.
"The same time as the letter that freed you appeared, so did this." She pulled a letter from a drawer near her chair and handed it to Sirius. He took it and read aloud;
Dear Alice, Frank, and Augusta,
I hope you never have to read this, but I wanted to leave you something. Things haven't felt right for a while now, and I want to warn you. I have some serious concerns about this prophecy, and Albus' seeming obsession with it. I have no proof of anything, it's just the way he looks when he talks about it makes my instincts go crazy. I know how much you look up to him, how much we all do, but please be careful. Give Neville a kiss for me.
Love,
Lily Potter
Sirius and Remus finished the letter at nearly the same time and looked at each other.
"You can see why I wanted to talk to you," said Augusta, "but I hope you can understand why I haven't before."
Sirius nodded, "I can understand that."
Remus nodded. "we all looked up to him."
Augusta smiled, "thank you. Now, I wanted to talk to you about this prophecy. Do you know about it?"
Remus and Sirius looked at each other and nodded, "James and Lily told us there was one, but they didn't know the exact wording. Something about Albus not wanting it to get back to Voldemort, and since we didn't know who the spy was back then, we all agreed."
Augusta nodded, "so did we. After…..after what happened…." She seemed to struggle for words, "he told me it was Harry the prophecy talked about. That he was marked. But that's all he would say. And I admit….I was…too distraught to question him further.
Sirius nodded as Remus passed the distraught witch a handkerchief, "completely understandable," said Sirius.
Augusta blew her nose lightly, "thank you. Now, I wanted to talk to you about young Harry, and how to prepare him for this."
Remus and Sirius just looked at each other.
Augusta cleared her throat, "I've been reading Frank and Alice's journals. It's only been in the past year or so that I've been able…." she cleared her throat again, "and I see that Alice had some of the same fears as Lily. I heard Albus put him with his Muggle relatives, and I'm concerned he has some kind of plan. I know Minerva agrees with me, and she had concerns when Albus placed Harry with his relatives."
Sirius and Remus looked at each other again, they wanted to talk to Augusta, and even Minerva, but they were both a bit too close to Dumbledore. More people in their camp and looking out for Harry, the better as far as they were concerned. At the same time, they didn't want to take the chance that Dumbledore would find out evactly how much Harry knew.
Augusta took one look at the pair and held up her wand, "I Lady Augusta Longbottom, of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, swear on my magic to never knowingly harm Harry James Potter, or reveal any of his secrets."
Remus and Sirius both looked at her surprised. They hadn't been expecting a magical oath.
"Now," said Augusta, putting her wand away, "how long have you been in contact with Harry, and what does he know?"
The two Marauders looked at each other again, stunned. The words How did she know? Were written all over their faces.
After looking at each other for a few more seconds, Sirius nodded slightly and Remus cleared his throat, "Lily and James left him a trunk…"
And from there, they told her everything.
…..
Harry smiled as he showed Mrs. Figg….No he told himself with a smile, Aunt Arabella. His garden and the woods they had planted. Thanks to his Mum's fertilizer, the trees were flourishing and even starting to bear fruit. She had also been teaching him potions, which he loved. He loved the way the ingredients mixed together like in cooking. This was one of the reasons he had loved cooking for the Dursleys. Not just for the fact that they left him alone, but for the way he'd been able to put all the different foods together to make something new. It gave him a small sense of accomplishment. No matter what they said, he'd been able to do it, and the few times he'd actually been able to taste his own cooking, he thought it had been pretty good. And even though Remus and Sirius didn't let him cook on his own anymore, he knew he could still do it, and had surprised them a few time with breakfast in bed, especially after the full moon. They always told him that he didn't have to cook for them, but Harry was always happy to help his family.
And that was all that mattered.
