Chapter 17: The Man With Two Faces
"Don't tell me" Sirius said before Mad-Eye could begin. "This is going to be hell on my nerves."
"You must have gotten at least an A in Divinations" Harry told his godfather.
"I got a T" Sirius admitted before signaling Moody to go on.
"The Man with Two Faces."
"Isn't that the truth" Flitwick whispered to McGonagall thinking of how Quirrell had been a Death Eater all that time.
"He was FAKING?!" Fred asked stunned.
"Class was torture due to that stutter!" George added.
"It's worse than that" Harry admitted.
"Do I WANT to know?" Molly asked frantically.
"You're going to learn anyways" Harry said before signaling Mad-Eye to continue.
"It is shocking" Remus admitted earning a look from said Potions' Master.
"Mirror?" Everyone who hadn't been there or heard the story before asked.
"How?" Remus asked Dumbledore.
"It's explained" Dumbledore assured the werewolf.
"Odd" Sprout said turning to Snape. "I thought You-Know-Who's follower's called him 'The Dark Lord.'"
"Quirrell had been a recent recruit." Snape explained. "My guess is that the Dark Lord let him get away with this because he was weak at the time. Should he have regained strength, he would have informed Quirrell while Quirrell was under the Cruciatus curse."
The two Marauders and Harry all turned to Snape who was watching Mad-Eye read while the magic eye trailed between the four. Snape didn't realize he was nodding in agreement with Quirrell at the fact he never wanted Harry dead. Being Lily's son counted for SOMETHING.
"Please say no. Please say no" Molly chanted quietly.
"HE WAS IN THE SCHOOL!?" everyone but the trio and Dumbledore shouted.
"I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it...
"Professor?" Harry asked seeing Snape's fists clinch.
"It's nothing Potter" Snape said.
However, it was everything. The way Voldemort had gotten Quirrell to join his cause was the same way he had gotten Snape. However, Voldemort had used his first followers' children to recruit at school. A group that had pried Snape from Lily's friendship causing him to take her for granted thus resulting in his loosing her to his arch rival.
"Oh bloody hell. He's in the room" Sirius whispered as he tightened his grip on Harry.
"It won't work with HIM in the room" Snape stated.
"Wait. Where are James and Lily?" Remus asked confused.
"Why?" Charlie asked.
"HUH!?" Everyone except the Trio and Dumbledore asked.
"On hindsight, I probably should have mentioned what I had originally seen that Christmas" Harry mused under his breath "That might have been more believable to Voldemort."
Remus turned to Harry quickly having heard. So Voldemort had found out Harry had lied.
"No" Sirius said. "As much as I want you out of there, he'll know something's up if you make a break for it."
"Sirius. This happened four years ago" Harry said.
"Technically three." Hermione stated.
"Not helping" Harry told her.
"NO!" Molly and Sirius chorused. Shocking to Harry, they had been joined by Remus, McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Tonks, the other Weasleys, and even Snape.
"A good question" Charlie said.
Molly looked ready to faint.
Harry chanced a look up at Sirius and gently shook his godfather who seemed to have forgotten how to breath.
"Sirius. I'm okay" Harry assured his godfather. "On hindsight, he was more ugly than terrible."
Remus reached over Harry and cuffed Sirius upside the head.
"OW! What was that for?!" Sirius exclaimed.
"To bring you back out of 1992 and into 1995" Remus said.
"Wait a minute!" Fred exclaimed.
Everyone turned to the twins who were gapping at each other.
"That Christmas" George whispered.
"The snowballs" Fred realized.
"What?" Tonks asked.
"We were throwing snowballs…" Fred explained.
"At You-Know-Who…"
"And LIVED!" the twins said before high-fiving each other.
Molly gave a small scream as she covered her mouth in horror. If Voldemort remembered that (had he had known it was her boys), Fred and George were DEAD!
"LIAR!" McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Remus, Sirius, and to Harry's shock, Snape, all exclaimed. However, Snape's was more for Lily.
"Of course he did" Remus whispered "He wouldn't have gone any other way."
That caught Snape's attention. So Voldemort HAD taken his request. However, that didn't change his loyalties. Voldemort could have EASILY stunned her. He didn't need to kill her. But then again, Snape knew that it wasn't in Voldemort's nature to simply stun.
"Huh?" Arthur asked.
"It's explained later" Harry assured him.
"NO!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Sirius. If he did, I wouldn't have been in the shack that night we met" Harry reminded his godfather as Sirius' grip got tighter by the second.
"What happened?" Molly asked.
Harry chanced a look over to her and couldn't help but to smirk. Molly had been hugging Ron as a life-line and his best mate had been turning blue from lack of oxygen.
"You might want to read Professor. Before Ron passes out from lack of oxygen and Harry's arm bruises" Hermione said having seen the look on Ron's face and just how tightly Sirius was gripping Harry.
"Huh?" Sirius asked confused as Remus turned to Harry.
"You just had a near death experience and you're worried about catching the snitch?" Remus asked Harry.
"Instincts" Harry said.
"Thank Merlin!" Molly and Sirius sighed with relief as they released their children who also let out breaths of relief, but theirs were for just getting air in general or out of a tight grip that was hurting and feeling like it was going to bruise.
"At least you were down to business" Bill said shaking his head.
"I would so love to see that" Ron muttered under his breath.
"Looks like you're Mr. Popular again" Tonks teased Harry.
Molly's jaw dropped as Harry turned to the twins.
"Thanks for the thought though" Harry told them.
"No sweat" they said.
"I thought I told you two NOT to blow up a toilet!" Molly lectured her boys.
"We didn't blow it up" Fred said.
"We made it a fountain" George said.
"Through the use of explosives" Fred added.
"So you sent HIM a toilet seat when you promised ME one?!" Ginny exclaimed to her brothers.
"We figured you and Harry…"
"…could share it when you two…"
"…got married."
That got the needed chuckled to ease the tension as Ginny and Harry blushed bright red.
"He still could have used you" Sirius muttered.
"You got there. You got Hermione's owl."
There was a very awkward silence as Harry once again felt his godfather's arm around him.
Harry noticed Ron, and the other Weasley kids, looking a bit uncomfortable. Instantly he knew what was wrong. They, or at least Ron, were very uncomfortable with their financial situation and would very much like to have the type of fortune he had. However, to hear Dumbledore say that money was one of the things that is worst for humans was a bit of a wake up call.
Those that used the name all gave a pointed look at those that didn't.
"I wish" Harry pouted.
Sirius' and Remus' jaws dropped and gave Dumbledore a pointed look. Here he had been giving the PERFECT opportunity to tell Harry about the Prophesy around the time when James and Lily had WANTED him to know about it so he could use his time at school to train.
"I'm older now, Sir" Harry said.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Molly argued before anyone could say anything.
Sirius opened his mouth, but Remus caught his attention and pointed to the books.
Sirius nodded understanding. Chances were that the prophesy would be mentioned in at least one of the books.
Moody had ready that sentence pointedly at Harry. He was on Sirius' side with Harry's knowing the Prophesy, but also knew that it was pointless to argue with Molly. Besides, he had seen Remus' and Sirius' silent conversation with his fake eye.
"That is a good question" Flitwick said.
Snape couldn't help but to nod. It was why he hadn't gone to Lily's wedding. He hadn't trusted himself not to speak up, but knew that Lily, for SOME unknown reason, was happy with James Potter. And her happiness came first no matter how painful it was for him.
"That's deep magic" Remus whispered.
"Nope" Sirius said smirking. The cloak had been mostly used to get out of the prank scene closely followed by trips to the Willow.
Everyone laughed as Snape rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe you told him" Snape said glaring at Dumbledore.
"When?" Tonks asked.
Sirius went beet red.
"Fifth year" Snape said glaring at Sirius and Remus.
"For the umpteenth time Snape" Sirius sighed. "I was the only one involved in that. And maybe I wouldn't have been tempted to do that if you hadn't used that curse on MacDonald who, I might add, had been Lily's best Gryffindor female friend."
"What happened to her?" Harry asked.
"Not sure. Lost touch with her after James and Lily died" Remus answered. "Last I heard she was dating Reg Cattermole."
Everyone, even Snape, rolled his eyes at that. However, Snape was grateful that Dumbledore didn't tell the whole truth. If Harry Potter learned that Snape had been watching over him as a favor to Lily…he'd jump off the astronomy tower.
"Good one" Bill said.
The younger group laughed as the adults rolled their eyes.
"You got her to cave!" Remus gasped remembering the number of times he had begged her to let his own friends visit.
"You had looked so fragile" Hermione said. "I actually was afraid I would break you."
Ron blushed as Molly gave her son a look, but Dumbledore didn't seem to mind.
"The best of us are, Mr. Weasley" Dumbledore said.
"He BETTER not have!"
It was all Harry could do not to let his jaw drop open. It hadn't been Molly to say that. Nor had it been Sirius.
It had been Remus. And he was giving Dumbledore a pointed look.
"I agree with my past self" Harry spoke up seeing all the accusing looks being shot at the headmaster. "This run-in with Voldemort gave me a better idea of what I was up against last June. There weren't any REAL times between that June and this past June. And I did face him when he was weak my first year. It made me realize how important Defense Against the Dark Arts is and inspired me to pay more attention in class…until I found out what a nut job the next year's professor was, but we'll get to that next book."
Harry then turned to Dumbledore.
"I don't, nor will I ever, resent you for that had my 11 year old self been right" Harry said.
Dumbledore smiled at Harry as everyone gapped at the 15 year old.
"I know another one like that" Charlie whispered to Tonks while looking at Harry.
"Yeah" Ron joked sarcastically. "Eating is a real risk to your health."
"You should know. You do it enough" Ginny teased her brother.
Ron stuck his tongue out at her.
"At least he knows he messed up" Sprout muttered.
"So THAT'S what he wanted those for" Remus mused "Had I known, I would have helped him make the album."
"When we're done," Harry suggested "Maybe you two can go through it with me and tell me the stories behind the pictures."
"Of course" Sirius said with a smile.
"Did you have to do it publicly?" Snape asked Dumbledore.
"Consider it making up for the points you neglected to award and take away and all those other wrongfully taken away points" Flitwick answered.
Ron glared at Harry playfully.
Ron frowned at the memory. He had been so happy to hear Percy say that at the time. And now Percy wanted nothing to do with him.
"I did not!" Hermione declared.
"What DOES happen in the event of a tie?" Remus asked.
"They share it" Dumbledore answered.
Flitwick and Sprout looked between Snape and McGonagall before bursting out laughing.
Harry nodded. That feast was a memory that could create a decent patronus.
"Maybe if you didn't scare the poor boy so much" Molly told Snape.
Everyone frowned at the reminder of the Dursleys.
Of course not" Ron said sarcastically.
Ginny blushed as everyone laughed at her expense.
"I'll say" Molly muttered now knowing the full details.
"That sounds promising" Sirius said with a smirk that matched Fred and George's.
THE END
Moody closed the book.
"Aw!" Fred said.
"We didn't get to read!" George said.
"You two can read the first two chapters of the next book" Remus promised them.
"Should we start now or later?" Arthur asked.
"Let's break" Harry suggested "Sirius, Lupin, and I can go through that album while dinner cooks."
End Part I
