"Catching Lightning in a Firewhisky Bottle
Chapter 3: Recall
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Catch lightning in a bottle - to do the impossible
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The wizarding world was in uproar. Everywhere, Death Eaters were being arrested, while prisoners were freed. Some fled their houses, while others finally dared to leave their own. Creatures of the dark retreated to their own territory, while others breathed in relief as they returned to their home.
Celebrations, jokes, laughing – it was a wave of happy and relieved emotions that washed over the wizards and witches. The sense of euphoria affected nearly everyone. Guilt of doing nothing and cowardly actions were swapped with boastful exclaims of 'I was just about ready to join the fight' and 'I knew he would be taken down soon!'
Rumors and speculation of what had happened flew about – one even sillier or weirder than the next. The Potter's had set a trap, using their child as bait. A baby of all things had killed the Dark Lord! No! They had all been killed and Dumbledore had put an end to him! Often, people didn't know what to believe anymore.
Accidently, the excitement also carried across to the muggle world. More than a few muggles stared with wonder at all the weird activities that seemed to be happening that day. Were those clothes some kind of robes? Was it really raining stars? Children excitedly tugged at their parent's clothes and pointed at all the owls flying about.
A certain muggle called Vernon Dursley had noticed these odd happening as well and had started to develop a feeling of extreme dreadfulness that his normal life might be disrupted. Having spotted a tabby that seemed far too intelligent, an awful amount of people in those weird clothes, as well as having been hugged and congratulated by those weird robed strangers about someone- someone he in fact did not know thank you very much! - made the man understandably nervous.
The last drop to tell his wife about his worries was the rumor that certain Potter's had 'in fact' been killed and that their baby had killed him.
"Poor baby. Do they have any family that can take care of him?"
Family?
That day the whole wizard community – and now two worried muggles- waited with suspense for the answer for that one question:
What the hell had happened at the Potter's place?
At Potter's place, they hadn't quite managed to figure it out either. One thing was clear though…
"It was fucking Pettigrew." James muttered angrily.
The shaken parents had claimed their places on one side of the table, while Harry was peacefully sleeping in his mother's arms. Remus and Sirius sat across from them, looking troubled. Their ruffled appearance and the way they evaded each other's eyes made Lily silently wondering whether they had fought.
James didn't seem to notice. Like Sirius, he was practically seething and probably was too focused on keeping himself in his seat instead of going out and hunting down that bastard! Lily would have gladly joined him, but she felt oddly empty. Maybe she was still in shock after all? She caught the worried eye of Remus in front of her and smiled in an assuring manner.
It didn't seem to assure the man very much though.
Dumbledore cleared his throat as he walked into the room, having checked the scene itself to find any clues.
"It is clean." The old wizard proclaimed and groaned as he took his place near the fire.
He had been rather distracted after having been lured to other attacks, the others knew. It was during the fight that his opponents had bragged about the Lord's plans. They had been defeated not much later and he had rushed here as fast as he possible could, only to find them safely in their bed, sleeping fitfully. He would have never forgotten the way James had shot out of bed, ready to curse him.
Once the man had recognized him, James had sat down tiredly and requested him to call his friends over. Albus had been curious why James had asked him to get his friends, but looking at the wound-up Sirius, it had been a good idea.
"You weren't the secret-keeper?" He had to check, looking at Sirius. The man looked even more furious, his hands clutched tightly.
"NO! I would never- Fuck it! I shouldn't have suggested switching it to that… Rat!" The man howled. He slammed his hand on the table, which earned him stern look from Lily as Harry moaned in protest. They held their breaths and released it when the baby stayed asleep.
"Sorry." Sirius muttered guiltily, crossing his arm. Lily simply sighed.
"We agreed to it. We didn't expect this to happen either." James placated him, while mentally blaming himself for agreeing.
Dumbledore sighed and nodded. "I'm incredibly sorry that this has happened, but I can only feel glad that all of you made it out safe. Is Harry alright?"
The two parents twitched and looked down on their son, who was still napping peacefully.
"Yes. Yes, he is." James confirmed. "But not thanks to me." He grumbled, more to himself than the others. Lily didn't answer, but leaned against his shoulder instead. At the moment, the gesture would tell James more than any words would.
"Why don't you take a shower and then we will talk." Albus suggested as he took in the parent's pale and high-strung forms. They wouldn't be able to say much at the moment.
The two nodded and stood. The visitors watched them leave, noting how lifeless their actions seemed. It was as if they were puppets.
"They will be alright." Dumbledore placated the two worried friends.
Sirius and Remus looked at each other uncomfortably. An awkward silence ensued as neither of the men spoke. Dumbledore simply watched them silently, his eyes meeting both of their eyes knowingly. The two barely looked into each other's eyes, but the moment that they did -
"I'm sorry for suspecting you." Black blurted when he saw the hurt in the man's eyes.
The werewolf sighed and nodded. "It's not the time and I'm sure that you had your reasons. It just… hurts. To make it even, for a moment I heard what had happened, I feared you might have hurt them as well."
The uneasiness between them decreased slightly. It would take a while to mend their friendships completely they knew, but they would figure it out.
"So Pettigrew. Who would have thought?" Dumbledore mused, as he thought back to the years they had all still been at Hogwarts. Albus admitted that he would have never expected it during those years. He had always seemed to be so loyal. Now though, the wizard could see so many signs. Peter had pretty much always been a follower, an easily scared one at that.
What a mess.
He glanced towards the still furious man in front of him. "Killing him now won't solve anything. James and Lily need you two." He warned them seriously, thought pointedly looking at Sirius.
Sirius relaxed slightly, but couldn't help but make a personal vow.
"The next time I see that fucking Rat, he better hide!"
"What's on your mind dear?"
Rosmerta startled and leaned back as the cook peered closely at her face. She spluttered out an evasive reply.
"Just thinking."
The cook smiled knowingly. "Thinking about a certain someone upstairs perhaps?" She asked, referring to Whisky.
"Not like that!" The girl growled, cheeks flushing slightly. "He's way too old!"
"Since when is love limited by age?" The woman teased and laughed when she saw her disturbed expression. She laughed as Rosmerta made a show of pointedly ignoring her and pretending to have been called out of the kitchen for 'something' – no matter that she couldn't possibly have heard any call as she was covering her ears with her hands.
When she returned, there was a comfortable silence between them as Julia cooked and Rosmerta cleaned after her and brought the guests their food once it was finished. They chatted about the rumors they heard – could a baby really have killed Voldemort? – before they inevitably turned their topic to Whisky once again.
Somehow, the drunken wizard had slipped into their lives so naturally that it only seemed obvious that he was present. Plus, the man had so many mysteries and contradictions about him that people couldn't help wonder but about him.
"He still hadn't come down yet." Rosmerta complained to the cook, who was still enthusiastically producing more food than people would be able to eat. The cook too had been in an incredible good mood ever since they had heard the news that he was no more.
"I'm sure he will be alright." The cook tried to assure her, but she didn't quite seem to believe her own words either.
Rosmerta regarded the cook for a moment before she hesitantly asked. "Are you alright?"
The cook stilled, before she put down the knife with a sigh.
"I'm glad that it is all over. I still miss my daughter every day dear, but I have been mourning her for many years. She protected Sharon with her life. I know that she was the most important to her. The best thing I can do is to live on and to care for Sharon." She shot Rosmerta a teary smile.
"And now with that potion almost being ready, I will be able to care for her for many more years." She continued thankfully, emotions getting the better of her.
"I'm glad." Rosmerta said, hugging the now happily-crying older woman. Slowly they released each other and broke out laughing.
"He-who-must-not-be-named is gone and it is like Whisky is the only thing we can talk about."
"Well, he deserves it more than that vile creature. Whisky is a good man." Julia grumbled. "He just needs some people to care about him."
Rosmerta's expression turned slightly worried again. "I don't know how he does it, to lose everything and still manage."
"At least he is still eating." The cook attempted to sound optimistic.
A suspicious pause made her turn back to the girl who wasn't meeting her yes.
"He is… right?" The older woman asked forebodingly.
"…"
"Rosmerta…"
"Actually…I'm not really sure?" The barmaid started sheepishly, knowing how obsessed the cook could be when it came down to making sure everyone was fed properly.
Just like that, a dangerous glint appeared in Julia's eyes. "When has he eaten last?" She asked warningly, causing the girl to swallow.
"Y-yesterday?"
Within a minute the female cook barged right into Whisky's room, while barely having taken time to knock.
"I have had it Whisky or whatever you name is. Come down right now." She snapped before she paused in her step.
Whisky barely looked up from his creation. A large tower from carefully piled bottles stood before him. How had he ended up with so much liquor? Julia wondered. She made mental note to check the cellar.
"Don't wanna." Whisky mumbled almost inaudibility.
Absorbed in his work, the drunk reached out with a swaying hand to place another bottle on the pile. However, the moment the bottle touched his tower, everything crumbled and fell down to the ground. Whisky moaned as he watched his creation fall apart and turned accusingly towards the pleased-looking woman standing in his door opening. She put her wand back in her pocket and crossed her arms, expression turning serious.
"That's nut nishe." He told her, shaking his bottle at her.
"That was asking nicely. I'm telling you one last time, come down to eat. Now."
Whisky let out a suffering sigh, recognizing a losing battle when a stubborn woman like her was involved. He reluctantly but obediently pushed himself to his feet, bottle still in hand.
"Yesh M'am."
When they arrived downstairs Whisky absently noticed the way Rosmerta shot Julia a thumbs-up, as well as the way that the woman grinned victoriously back at her.
Women.
Lily and James looked slightly better when they returned to the kitchen.
However, Lily still looked slightly pale as she sat down. James watched her worriedly, but followed her anyway. He gave her the now awake Harry, who squirmed in his arms in attempt to sit in his mother's lap. Both parents had been unable to let the other two out of their sight all day, too afraid that they would disappear.
"Can you tell us more?" Dumbledore prodded gently as Remus served them all tea. He turned to Lily first. "Did you see him?"
"I don't know who it was." The mother said softly as she hugged her baby close to her chest.
"He carried a cloak yes – probably the invisibility cloak that James mentioned before. I still remember the green light rushing towards me. Yet it never touched me. Something pushed me down just before that moment. It felt like being tackled before it disappeared. It froze me completely. The-" She swallowed heavily. "The killing curse exploded right in front of me – the way it does when it touches someone." She continued quietly, fighting down a croak.
"For a moment I thought I had really died. I couldn't move, not even breath, but I remained consciousness. It was so confusing."
She looked up at Dumbledore with red eyes. "It was horrible, feeling so helpless." She breathed, shaking.
"I thought he was going to kill Harry and I couldn't do anything. But, my magic in the room could sense that there was something else in the room. He appeared right when he cast the k-killing curse. I couldn't see him, except for a shadow on the floor. He stepped right in between them, right in front of him, just as the curse activated the defenses I had made for Harry. The shadow was flung back. I remember crying so hard in my head. I don't know what happened, but suddenly everything went silent except for Harry's crying and the man's screaming. I never heard someone in so much pain." She let out a shuddering breath and looked down at her son, as if to remind herself that everything was alright.
"The next thing I know is that the stranger lifted the paralysis on me just enough to breath. I managed to look at him from the corner of my eyes. I couldn't see much except for a greyish cloak and dark hair. Then he took Harry." She let out a strangled noise. "For a moment I thought he would do something to him, but he soothed him instead. He joked as if it all had been nothing. He saved my boy. He saved you." She looked at James with teary eyes.
James put a hand on her shoulder and she laid her hand onto it. "I thought you died." She muttered to him.
"I thought so too." He agreed with her.
"So your magic deflected the killing curse?" Their old mentor repeated slowly, mystified. Remus and Sirius also looked stunned.
Lily shook her head. "Maybe, in a way, but I should have been dead. The old ritual requires an eye for an eye, so to speak. Once the curse would have struck Harry, it would have killed him and demanded a sacrifice. So much magic… "
"It would have killed you instead." Dumbledore mused, earning a shaky nod.
"But if I had just died…" Lily continued.
"All magic would have been able to protect Harry anyway." Dumbledore nodded in understanding.
Another silence fell upon them, each of them pondering how she was even alive. "Was the man struck by the killing curse?" Remus offered.
"I don't know." Lily admitted, which raised even more questions. Surviving the killing curse seemed impossible.
"He spoke to me." James spoke up. "First when I had been… nearly killed. He assured me that it would be fine. Then, when I woke up he was there again. I'm sure he was the one waking me."
"What did he say?"
James closed his eyes, trying to think back to the man's words. He had been too focused on Lily and Harry. "Something about me realizing that he was hiding beneath an invisibility cloak. I couldn't summon it though. 'Don't bother trying to find me' and 'Voldemort is gone.' The last thing he said was something about calling my friends."
Sirius twitched uncomfortably as Remus frowned before speaking slowly. "After you called I came down her to check on you. On the way in, Sirius here was leaving. I had to run after him and stop him rather forcefully from hunting down Pettigrew." He muttered, earning a glare from the man next to him.
"I nearly had him as well." The man growled.
"It wouldn't have been safe." Lily finally spoke softly. "I'm glad that you are all here. I didn't want to Harry to have no godfather."
Sirius flinched slightly.
"I have a request to make." Dumbledore decided to cut in.
The group looked at Dumbledore as he took out two vials and looked at them with a regretful expression.
"I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you please - now the memory is still vivid – put it aside? We could look at it again to figure out who helped you."
"We owe him our lives." James nodded slowly before his expression turned icy. "I will be keeping them here for now though. You can look in our pensive."
Dumbledore nodded slowly – having much preferred to be able to look at them himself but he refused to ask it from them. Taking someone's memories with you was regarded as very personal. Voldemort was gone, he reminded himself. Everyone could use some rest and quiet. There was no need to be so cautious yet.
Seeing the man nod, James took out his wand and held it near his temple, shivering as he remembered the horrible events that had just passed. They watched as the memory swirled fiercely in the small vile – warning them for the strong emotions that were contained.
"I can't give an objective view." James muttered. "It's too early."
Dumbledore nodded and handed the other one over to Lily, whom shakily handed Harry to James. She brought out her wand as well and concentrated.
There was a long silence before Lily's hand lowered slowly until it rested under the table.
"Lil's?" James asked worriedly, looking at the pale face of his wife. His hand found her face and he startled as he felt tears hit his hand. "Lily?" He asked more firmly.
She looked him in the eye, eyes sad.
"It's not working." She breathed.
"I don't understand."
She brought up her hand again and cast one of the easiest spells. "Lumos."
Nothing happened. The atmosphere turned heavy.
"I can't cast magic, James."
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Next chapter: a certain Longbottom gets into trouble!
And where there is trouble... there is...?
Till next time!