Chapter 57: Love is a Blessing

Albus hardly saw Hogwarts for the next few weeks. He spent all his time travelling across the country, trying to learn all he could about Voldemort's past, and for any leads he could get on finding a Horcrux. So far however, he had been unsuccessful. Ever since finding the location of the ring, it just seemed to be one dead end after another. But if he had to be honest with himself, he thought that he was doing very well… considering that Rufus had felt the need to set a few Auror's on his trail. He had already been forced to curse Dawlish as the man followed him from a bar.

It was always a great relief that brought him a sense of peace when he was able to return briefly to Hogwarts and hear of all the things that were happening. Such as how the Quidditch teams were progressing, and who was going out with who… his portraits were always ready to exchange gossip with him. And for a short time he could get out of his head and enjoy himself as he listened to ordinary talk.

But here and there, he would get wind of all the Dementor attacks and ridiculous false arrests that the Ministry had been conducting.

"Stan Shunpike?" he said tiredly.

"They say that he was arrested after he was overheard talking about the Death Eaters' secret plans in a pub," Dilys explained.

He sighed tiredly, feeling wearier with each passing day. "Yes, I did hear about that… I had hoped it was merely one of the wild rumors flying around. It sounds like he was trying to make out he knew more than he did. Taking him seriously like that…?"

He remembered Stan from school, and knew that young man didn't have a sinister bone in his body. The idea of him being a Death Eater sympathizer was unheard of to him—though there was always the chance he was under the Imperius Curse. But really, he knew that the Ministry was trying to make it look like they were doing something about it. Already, a couple more students were sent home just last week.

"But you would think that parents would want their children here," Armando pointed out, in a feeble voice. "I mean Hogwarts is safer than their homes! We've got Aurors, and all those extra protective spells set up!"

But Albus knew better… especially after what happened when Hannah Abbott's father came and took her home the other day. Families want their children close by… and he couldn't blame them one bit. Already, most people were going into hiding… several families he knew had even sought to leave the country… heading to anywhere but Britain. Dilys suddenly brought up another very good point.

"After everything that's happened in the last five years you honestly believe that?" she demanded. "Hogwarts isn't as safe as it once was…"

Phineas snorted. "Funny how all this trouble starts the same year that Potter boy did."

Albus was not interested in hearing Phineas talk and was thinking longingly of retiring for the day when a knock came at the door. Not in the mood to really talk, he called for them to enter. It was Argus… and sighing, he made himself listen to all of his suggestions to how to search for Dark Artifacts that the students could be sneaking in or out of the school for the next Hogsmeade trip. Albus had planned on leaving again once he got a good night's sleep and set things up for Argus to have several new Secrecy Sensors before he was finally allowed to sleep.

Exhausted, he collapsed fully clothed onto his bed—asleep in seconds.

*The next day*

That one night felt like he slept for a week as he dragged himself out early that next morning, awoken by his hand now hurting worse than ever before. Gritting his teeth, he held onto his wrist and breathed deeply as he went to the cupboards—thankful to see that Severus had refilled the potions he needed while he had been away.

Once the pain had been numbed, he quickly changed clothes and left, having found a possible lead much farther north. Though he couldn't help but grimly wonder whether these trips to Hogsmeade would continue for much longer. But it did bring a slight peace of mind to know that the students were able to leave the castle ground and enjoy themselves for a few hours.

But the day of the Hogsmeade trip, he had received an urgent message from Minerva, informing him that a student had been cursed. Feeling fear in the pit of his stomach, he turned and went back to the castle a full day early, needing to know what was going on. He had discovered that it had been young Katie Bell, whose condition was in such a state that they had to move her to St. Mungo's because of a cursed necklace.

"What happened?" he asked both Minerva and Severus when they met him at his office.

"Katie was visiting Hogsmeade," Minerva explained, her voice oddly stuffed up—showing how scared she had been, "And it was her friend Leanne who explained it. From what I understand, Miss Bell came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding a package and said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it."

"We believe that she was under the Imperius Curse," Severus said silkily, "And I have to agree that seems to be the most logical reason."

"But Leanne was suspicious about it and soon the two were arguing about it," Minerva went on. "They got into a fight and the package tore open."

Albus looked to his deck to where the necklace now lay, looking innocent and harmless, but in the low light—it seemed to glint maliciously.

"It's a heavily cursed object," Severus explained. "I was going to destroy it, but thought that you might like to see if first, Headmaster. Miss Bell is incredibly lucky. I found that there was a small hole in her glove and it brushed against it when the necklace fell out… that's why she's the way she is now. But she is still alive. She should recover given some time… but if she had put it on, or even held it in her hands, I believe that it would've killed her."

"And then what happened?" Albus asked them and watched carefully as Minerva then said, "After she touched it, she rose in the air before she began to scream and collapsed. Potter and his friends were nearby and went to get Hagrid and he brought her up to the Hospital Wing. But Poppy couldn't do much for her… she was able to stop her from screaming, but Katie isn't responding to anything. We had to move her to St. Mungo's for more care."

Albus sighed. "And did she say who did it?"

Minerva hesitated for a fraction of a moment before she confessed, "Potter seems to think that it was Mr. Malfoy who did it."

Albus looked up, Minerva misreading the look of surprise on his face. "I know," she told him. "It sounds ridiculous."

"That is a very serious accusation," he said softly, glancing at Severus at that—whom, surprisingly, hadn't said a word against that and was looking away—giving him all the answer he needed. "Did Harry give his reason?"

Minerva explained what Harry told her about how he had followed Malfoy to Borgin and Burkes before Hogwarts started and the conversation they had over-heard between him and Mr. Borgin.

"Draco took something to Borgin and Burkes for repair?" he repeated slowly, this was news to him.

"Said something about mending something," she answered sounding skeptical, "I know it's crazy and we cannot point the finger of blame at Mr. Malfoy purely because he visited the shop where this necklace had been purchased. We looked into it, and it turns out that it had been in there until about a few weeks ago. But that wasn't until after Hogwarts started. And also, Mr. Malfoy was serving detention with me today. So it couldn't possibly be him."

Albus nodded, but keeping this all quiet as he thanked her, and promising that he would talk to Katie's parents. He then asked that she would bring them up to him as he finished talking to Severus about destroying the necklace.

Once she had left, he turned to Severus and asked, "I take it from your expression that it was Draco?"

Severus stood there stiff for a moment before he slowly nodded. "Yes," he answered softly.

Albus sighed as he said, "I'm surprised that Harry guessed it… but then again, he is far too observant for his own good at times. After all…" he glanced at his cursed hand grimly, "I am sure that if he knew a little more about Dark Curses, he might've guessed what was happening to me. Already I can see that he's suspicious about this."

"It's hard not to notice," Severus hissed softly, looking at the hand with a critical eye. "Time is quickly running out for you, Headmaster…"

"I know," he answered softly. "But I can't die yet though… I need to hang on for a bit longer."

He looked up and Severus answered his unspoken question, "Miss Bell should be just fine."

"That's good," Albus sighed in relief, "I'll speak with her parents. Please keep a close eye on Draco. We don't want to risk this happening again."

*Days later*

It wasn't easy speaking to Katie's parents, they were demanding to know who had done such a thing to their daughter—and he did his best to reassure them that Katie would make a full recovery. But as the days dragged on, he could feel his old body growing more and more tired, and he was barely able to stay awake as he prepared everything the night of the next lesson. But he still smiled when he saw Harry enter the room.

"You have had a busy time while I have been away," he said, both of them knowing what he was talking about, "I believe you witnessed Katie's accident."

"Yes, sir," Harry said at once, "How is she?"

It had been hard for all the Gryffindors when they heard of that attack, and he knew that not much information had been spoken about when Katie would be released, or even how she was doing.

"Still very unwell, although she was relatively lucky," he told him honestly, and explained everything that Severus mentioned about the necklace. It can be taken both ways… while it had been terrible for Katie to have been the victim, it was a miracle she was still alive.

"Luckily Professor Snape was able to do enough to prevent a rapid spread of the curse —"

"Why him?" asked Harry quickly, his eyes narrowed, "Why not Madam Pomfrey?"

"Impertinent," said Phineas from his spot on the wall. "I would not have permitted a student to question the way Hogwarts operated in my day."

"Yes, thank you, Phineas," Albus interrupted, knowing how Phineas could go into long rants about how he ran Hogwarts in his day. "Professor Snape knows much more about the Dark Arts than Madam Pomfrey, Harry. Anyway, the St. Mungo's staffs are sending me hourly reports, and I am hopeful that Katie will make a full recovery in time."

"Where were you this weekend, sir?" Harry asked, as Phineas hissed softly.

Albus gave him a blank look, wondering just what to say. Finally he decided on the truth… or rather a small portion of it. "I would rather not say just now. However, I shall tell you in due course."

"You will?" Harry asked, looking completely taken aback at that.

"Yes, I expect so," Albus confessed as he pulled out another bottle of his memories. Unfortunately, he knew he only had so much time left… he would have to come clean and tell him what he knew before it was too late.

"Sir," Harry suddenly said hesitantly, "I met Mundungus in Hogsmeade…"

"Ah yes, I am already aware that Mundungus has been treating your inheritance with light-fingered contempt," Albus said, remembering with Tonks had informed him and Harry's reaction. Though he knew that Harry didn't care about any of the items that Mundungus had stolen; merely the fact that he stole from Sirius. It probably felt like disrespecting Sirius and robbing his grave… "He has gone to ground since you accosted him outside the Three Broomsticks; I rather think he dreads facing me," he informed him. "However, rest assured that he will not be making away with any more of Sirius's old possessions."

"That mangy old half-blood has been stealing Black heirlooms?" said Phineas roared out from his portrait and without waiting for an answer, he turned and left, most likely going to visit his other portrait to see for himself.

"Professor," said Harry, after a short pause, "did Professor McGonagall tell you what I told her after Katie got hurt? About Draco Malfoy?"

"She told me of your suspicions, yes," Albus said softly, and he also knew that it was true.

"And do you —?" Harry began, but he interrupted him.

"I shall take all appropriate measures to investigate anyone who might have had a hand in Katie's accident," he assured him, not wanting him to get involved this time. He and Severus were dealing with this their own way, and he knew that it could end up making things more complicated if Harry kept looking into this. "But what concerns me now, Harry, is our lesson."

But he could tell right away that Harry didn't look happy about this—however, he didn't continue to argue like he half expected him to as he watched him pour the memories into the Pensieve.

"You will remember, I am sure, that we left the tale of Lord Voldemort's beginnings at the point where the handsome Muggle, Tom Riddle, had abandoned his witch wife, Merope, and returned to his family home in Little Hangleton," he reminded him softly, "Merope was left alone in London, expecting the baby who would one day become Lord Voldemort."

"How do you know she was in London, sir?" Harry asked him in surprise.

"Because of the evidence of one Caractacus Burke," he informed him, "who, by an odd coincidence, helped found the very shop whence came the necklace we have just been discussing."

And without another word, he swilled the memories around to show them the memories of Caractacus Burke confessing that a young woman came into his shop and sold the locket for ten Galleons.

"He only gave her ten Galleons?" said Harry indignantly.

"Caractacus Burke was not famed for his generosity," he told him. "So we know that, near the end of her pregnancy, Merope was alone in London and in desperate need of gold, desperate enough to sell her one and only valuable possession, the locket that was one of Marvolo's treasured family heirlooms."

"But she could do magic!" said Harry impatiently. "She could have got food and everything for herself by magic, couldn't she?"

"Ah," Albus said softly, "perhaps she could. But it is my belief—I am guessing again, but I am sure I am right — that when her husband abandoned her, Merope stopped using magic. I do not think that she wanted to be a witch any longer. Of course, it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen. In any case, as you are about to see, Merope refused to raise her wand even to save her own life."

He was suddenly reminded of Ariana, and how she had grown to hate that 'Witch' part of herself. And it was his belief that something like that happened to Merope. That perhaps, she had come to blame magic for all the suffering in her life and had simply wanted to find a sense of peace.

"She wouldn't even stay alive for her son?" Harry asked softly, almost to himself.

Albus raised his eyebrows at Harry's oddly stunned tone, and asked if it was possible that he felt pity for Voldemort.

"No," said Harry quickly, but there was still confusion in the green eyes, "but she had a choice, didn't she, not like my mother —"

"Your mother had a choice too," Albus reminded him gently. "Yes, Merope Riddle chose death in spite of a son who needed her, but do not judge her too harshly, Harry," he added, knowing that he couldn't bring himself to resent her. "She was greatly weakened by long suffering and she never had your mother's courage. And now, if you will stand…"

"Where are we going?" Harry asked as he came to stand by him.

"This time," he informed him, "we are going to enter my memory. I think you will find it both rich in detail and satisfyingly accurate. After you, Harry…"

Together, the two of them went travelling through to the past to about fifty years ago. As Harry gazed around at the old-fashioned London, Albus looked ahead to where his past self was crossing a road, and pointed him out. It was always a surreal moment to look at yourself through a memory. It was strange how they forget the littlest details as they followed after him.

"Nice suit, sir," Harry muttered suddenly, and Albus chuckled—already aware that his suit was old fashioned even fifty years ago. He led the way down the road to the orphanage and they watched in on the conversation he had with Mrs. Cole all those years ago.

It was here they looked about how Merope had died, living only long enough to give Tom his name. As well as about how he bullied the other children, how strange accidents seemed to keep popping up. And so they were then taken to the room where they met the handsome, young child who would one day grow up to be none other than Voldemort.

"How do you do, Tom?" he said, coming forward to shake his hand, which Tom took reluctantly, "I am Professor Dumbledore."

"Professor'?" Tom said cautiously, "Is that like 'doctor'? What are you here for? Did she get you in to have a look at me?"

"No, no," his past self smiled gently.

And the interview was like that the whole way. Tom was used to getting what he wanted, and didn't like that someone was here to challenge him. But as soon as he mentioned the word 'magic', he had gotten Tom's attention.

Albus had always been struck by how quickly Tom believed it. Normally it took a little demonstration before they would realized it was true if they had been raised by Muggles. But Tom went on about all the things he could do… how he has a surprisingly amount of control over them…

He even demanded that he proof that he could use magic too… he wanted to see and note his reactions… Tom was like a puzzle to him. Even after all these years, he continued to act that way to him. He remembered how he had looked into Tom's mind and seeing how he had a bad habit of stealing from the other children.

So he gave him a friendly warning once he told him to return the objects he stole; as well as warning him that magic must be used responsibly and abide by the laws or he will be punished. It saddened him greatly to think of all the ways he had managed to twist them around.

Harry never once said a word as he watched the scene… watched how Tom had refused company to Diagon Alley, and how he discovered how he disliked his own name, how he believed that his mother couldn't have been a witch since she had died, and how Tom had confessed about his ability to talk to snakes.

"I think that will do," Albus finally said when his past self had left the room. Soon they were back out of the past and in his office again.

"Sit down," he said to him calmly. As Harry did, he said, "He believed it much quicker than I did — I mean, when you told him he was a wizard. I didn't believe Hagrid at first, when he told me."

Albus wasn't surprised by that. That was the normal reaction. "Yes, Riddle was perfectly ready to believe that he was — to use his word — 'special,'"

"Did you know — then?" asked Harry quietly.

"Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time?" Albus asked him softly. No… how could he have possibly known that? He had never been talented at Divination, but he doubted that even then, he could've seen what Tom would turn out to be.

"No, I had no idea that he was to grow up to be what he is," he said, "However, I was certainly intrigued by him. I returned to Hogwarts intending to keep an eye upon him, something I should have done in any case, given that he was alone and friendless, but which, already, I felt I ought to do for others' sake as much as his."

He had believed, he had hoped, that if he arrived at a place that could understand him, then he would change his way. He would turn his life around… but in many ways, he is still that dark child who didn't desire friends… he had only grown to be more powerful.

"His powers, as you heard, were surprisingly well-developed for such a young wizard and — most interestingly and ominously of all — he had already discovered that he had some measure of control over them, and begun to use them consciously. And as you saw, they were not the random experiments typical of young wizards."

Even back then, he was showing dangerous signs… he wished that he had seen through it sooner… have figured out that this was something serious…

"He was already using magic against other people, to frighten, to punish, to control. The little stories of the strangled rabbit and the young boy and girl he lured into a cave were most suggestive… 'I can make them hurt if I want to…"

"And he was a Parselmouth," interjected Harry, looking at his shoes for a moment, and Albus knew that Harry must still feel a little shame at this ability that he shared with Voldemort.

"Yes, indeed; a rare ability, and one supposedly connected with the Dark Arts, although as we know, there are Parselmouths among the great and the good too," he added kindly and smiled when Harry turned red. "In fact, his ability to speak to serpents did not make me nearly as uneasy as his obvious instincts for cruelty, secrecy, and domination."

He suddenly glanced at the dark sky through the window, and realized that it was almost curfew. "Time is making fools of us again," he said in mild surprise, "But before we part, I want to draw your attention to certain features of the scene we have just witnessed; for they have a great bearing on the matters we shall be discussing in future meetings."

Harry looked up interested.

"Firstly, I hope you noticed Riddle's reaction when I mentioned that another shared his first name, 'Tom'?" he asked him curiously.

Harry nodded, obviously wondering what he where he was going with this.

"There he showed his contempt for anything that tied him to other people, anything that made him ordinary. Even then, he wished to be different, separate, notorious," Albus said, "He shed his name, as you know, within a few short years of that conversation and created the mask of 'Lord Voldemort' behind which he has been hidden for so long."

Harry nodded again, and he was glad to see that he was keeping up. Though he supposed that Harry would know better than anyone… especially after the incident with the Chamber of Secrets.

"I trust that you also noticed that Tom Riddle was already highly self-sufficient, secretive, and, apparently, friendless?" Albus added, feeling a great deal of sadness for that. "He did not want help or companionship on his trip to Diagon Alley. He preferred to operate alone. The adult Voldemort is the same. You will hear many of his Death Eaters claiming that they are in his confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They are deluded. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one."

Once again, proof that Tom is still the same that he was when he met him… in many ways he hadn't grown up at all.

"And lastly — I hope you are not too sleepy to pay attention to this, Harry — the young Tom Riddle liked to collect trophies," he finished, and his heart ached at the thought that Tom had inherited that terrible habit from his mother's family of valuing objects more than people. "You saw the box of stolen articles he had hidden in his room. These were taken from victims of his bullying behavior, souvenirs, if you will, of particularly unpleasant bits of magic. Bear in mind this magpie-like tendency, for this, particularly, will be important later."

He let Harry absorb this new information before he said, "And now, it really is time for bed."

Harry got to his feet without another word and went to the door, but as he neared it, he noticed that stopped. Following his gaze, he realized that he was now looking at the table where he last saw the ring… much like how he did before.

"Yes, Harry?" he asked, wondering just what was going through his mind at that moment.

"The ring's gone," said Harry, looking around at him, a strange look in his eyes as if he just realized something. "But I thought I you might have the mouth organ or something."

Albus beamed at him, peering over the top of his halfway moon spectacles, feeling his own spirits lift at those words. "Very astute, Harry, but the mouth organ was only ever a mouth organ," he answered with a slight wave, and watched as Harry turned and left.

Now alone in the office, he chuckled, feeling better than he had in a long time.

"Strange boy," Dilys said shaking her head at the closed door.

"Maybe," he smiled, "But I needed that. It's been a long time since I had a laugh."

"But what on earth did that mean?" Dexter asked curiously.

Albus smiled again at her. If he had really thought about it, he probably would've realized that it was almost as if they were old friends sharing a private joke. "Just that he meant that the ring was more than he first thought," he answered.

For the next few weeks after that, he went traveling again. It sadden him greatly that he was forced to leave so often, but kept telling himself that he was short on was swirling against the icy windows once more; Christmas was approaching fast, and it was a painful pang that he would never see the decorations around Hogwarts ever again.

He left the school a few days before the semester ended for the holidays, and he didn't return until about a week before the holidays ended. He had been looking but his search now becoming almost desperate after all these months. He could feel it in his body, it was as if there was a poisonous snake bite and the poison was spreading from the wound—pumping death throughout his body.

Soon, the potions wouldn't be enough to stop the pain…

He only made any real contact with the Order, keeping up to day about any information, and visiting for the occasional meetings about how things were going. A few days before term was to restart, he met with Remus at the end of one particularly hard meeting, with Molly seeming more emotional these days. It wasn't until later did he learned why.

"So Percy came back for Christmas?" he asked hopefully.

"He brought the Minister with him," Remus answered grimly, "It was obvious from the start that Scrimgeour talked him into this so that he could meet Harry. A bit low to resort to such measures…"

"I see," Albus sighed, "I guess I can't say that I'm surprised. It sounds like Rufus finally got his chance to meet with Harry. Just what happened? Do you know?"

"Well, he came in and just happened to ask him to take a walk around the garden with him," Remus said sarcastically, "Harry agreed."

'Poor man,' Albus thought to himself, suddenly feeling sympathetic to Rufus. He knew that Harry wouldn't be willing to listen to anyone in the Ministry these days—and this was only going to make him angry.

"Don't know," Remus confessed. "I didn't hear what they were saying, though I have a good guess. I wanted to go with them, but Harry said he could handle it. Arthur was with Percy, and I have to say that it didn't end well. Ginny and the twins were especially angry that he came back. Not that I blame them… did he really think we were all too stupid to see through this ploy? That we wouldn't think that it at all odd that Scrimgeour just happened to pick Harry Potter to show him around the garden? I didn't buy it for a second that he couldn't recognize him."

"How did the Weasleys take it?" Albus asked as they walked across the yard.

"Arthur didn't say anything," Remus told him. "Molly was in tears… but his sister and brothers? You could cut the tension in the air with a knife."

Albus shook his head, his own morale falling a ways at every word. "And?" he asked.

"Well, they didn't take long," Remus informed him. "Harry came back inside with the Minister, and I have to say that Scrimgeour did not look happy."

"I didn't think he would," Albus said lightly, feeling amused. "After all the trouble the Ministry had given him, I didn't think Harry would be interested in listening."

"He could've let us speak for him," Remus stated, almost to himself as he thought it all over.

But Albus shook his head. "It sounds to me like Harry took care of it by himself," he disagreed, "If anything, it's more likely that it was Harry who bothered Rufus. We can't protect him forever, and he's more confident than he was last year. This is good for him. After all…" he added softly, "We won't always be there to protect him."

Remus didn't say anything to that as they walked together down the street. Albus looked over at him, noticing the miserable expression on his face.

"Remus, you don't seem too well lately. And," he added as Remus started to speak, "I do know that it is not because of the full moon."

His former student froze for a moment and Albus watched as Remus's hands went to the scars on his wrists and rubbed them gently, looking lost in thought. Albus suddenly had an idea and asked hesitantly, "Would this perhaps – correct me if I'm wrong, of course – have something to do with young Nymphadora?"

Remus stopped dead, his eyes widening in shock.

"Ah… I think that's it," Albus smiled a little. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing," he said stubbornly.

"On the contrary," Albus stated, "I've been quite worried about Nymphadora lately. I'm sure that if you were to talk to her…?"

"I've tried," Remus said, "But she's not interested."

"I think she is… she's just not happy about the cold shoulder you've been giving her lately," Albus said gently, "Why is that? I'm sure that if you just…"

"It's nothing," Remus interrupted harshly. "I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself. She's too young and…?"

"Personally, I don't see what the problem is," Albus said to him. "Miss Tonks is old enough to know what she wants. And I think I am right in saying that she wants to be with you, Remus."

"She's too young," said Remus stubbornly, "Too young to see the consequences of her choices. She wants me because she's-"

"In love," Albus said, interrupting Remus who froze a third time. "She is in love. Is it so terrible to fall in love with a man when you're a young woman?"

"With a man, no," he said, his face red around the ears, "But with I'm not a man… I'm a werewolf!"

"Nymphadora already knows your condition, Remus," he reminded her softly, "And she has accepted it a long ago."

"She doesn't know the full extent of it!" Remus came close to shouting, "She's never seen me on a full moon. She is completely blind to how dangerous it is! She doesn't know…"

"And didn't James and Sirius accompany you on full moons even when they knew it was dangerous?" he asked softly. "You're friends knew what you were, and how dangerous it was, but they wanted to be with you anyway, Remus."

"I didn't even realize what they were planning until it was too late," Remus confessed sheepishly. "They kept it secret from me until they had been able to pull it off. I think I fainted when they first came in and transformed in front of me. After that, they started to keep me company… and I'm not proud of it."

"Maybe they weren't fully aware of the danger, but Nymphadora is. And with the Wolfsbane potion, you no longer have to worry about losing yourself," Albus admonished.

"What does she see in me? I'm poor… I don't have any money and I can't keep a job longer than a few months," mumbled Remus, trying his last argument.

"Money doesn't matter in love. An even if it did, Miss Tonks is a respected and brilliant Auror who works at the Ministry of Magic," he reminded him softly. "My dear Remus… you honestly think she's vain enough to marry only for money?"

"Of course I don't!" he cried out loudly as Albus beamed at him.

"Then at least give it a try," he said softly. "Love is a blessing, Remus. How much longer are you going to inflict yourself this pain?"

(A much shorter chapter than what you're used to, but I like to think I covered a lot of ground as well as the important parts. As for me skipping over the memory with Tom, I never liked that part, and the idea of writing it out was torture. So I figured do it this way. I hope that you liked it.)