Chapter Six
Harry stood alone in Snape's office with the Potion's Master pacing the floor shouting at him. "Don't you understand when you went into her mind she was also in yours! How could you do it, Potter? I said specifically, DON'T DO ANYTHING! How is it you fail to understand she can't be trusted. Do you not know your aunt? How is it you have lived with her so long you still can not see what she is capable of doing? You just never think! When will you trust when someone knows just a little more than you?"
Harry remained silent. He thought he probably deserved Snape's anger. He'd been standing for ten minutes as the man ranted.
"There are things in your mind of which your aunt should never have been made aware. Do you realize she played a part in your parent's death? How many times must that be explained to you!" Snape stopped and squared up with Harry. "She is the conduit so information can be passed back to Him."
"Why don't you just say Voldemort, Professor?" Harry asked.
"Don't cheek me, Potter," Snape snapped, tightening his jaw. "You walk a fine line right now. If I were you I'd keep my mouth shut!"
Harry didn't. "I'm just as angry as you are, maybe more. I'm the one who lived with her all of these years and she fooled everyone. Do you know what I had to endure in her house? What makes it worse is to find out she is a fraud and a… an accomplice to my parent's murder. I...I don't know what to tell you... say to you. Nadya is pregnant. She's going to have my child and I can't talk to her or find her. It's driving me mad. If you or Professor Dumbledore had just told me what you had in mind I would have gone along with it."
Snape seem to lose steam and spoke coolly, "Potter, when will you learn to appreciate the sacrifices people are making for you. Why must you continue to ignore the rules? You have taken very carefully laid-out plans and thrown them to the wind. Now another person is in danger."
Snape paced the room. "You also came very close to killing yourself and never knew it. When you performed Legilimency on your aunt what you didn't know… and didn't need to know… was that I had already done so. I also planted something in her mind and you very nearly stumbled into it. The fact you are still alive tells me you didn't. The next time you may not be so lucky."
"What plans did you make?" Harry asked. "What did you plant in her mind?"
"Suffice it to say there will be a time when someone does try Legilimency with her, a very powerful wizard, let's say, and when they do there will be something there that will take care of both of them."
"She is a walking bomb," Harry breathed.
Snape busied himself at his work bench and continued to talk, "In the meantime, I am trying to impress something in your mind, Potter. Dumbledore was aware when your aunt stepped onto Hogwarts grounds something unusual was happening. He set things into motion that would have made it possible to find out what was going on and would have protected everyone involved. I want you to know you're inability to follow rules is going to mean someone's death someday. It is the cause- I say again, the cause- for what has just happened. Can you live with that?" Snape's stopped to look up. "No?" The eyebrow went up. "Good. You can think about what you've done this evening while your down in the kitchens helping the house elves."
Harry continued to stand without making any further comment. Snape continued his work. A minute later he said, "You can go now, Potter," without looking up.
Still dressed in Quidditch robes from practice after school, he returned to his room and changed clothes before leaving once again. The tower was silent, everyone was still asleep as he made his way to the hallway where the kitchens were located. Harry reached up to tickle the pear in the portrait leading to the kitchens and nostalgia struck him. It had been Hermione who had discovered the kitchens and Dobby, the house elf that Harry had set free.
"Hermione, where are you?" he asked and leaned his head against the wall. "I'm so sorry, so…so sorry." He hit the wall with his fist and groaned. Snape had been right. He had caused all the problems, he had not protected Hermione or his own wife. Instead of being with her, he was in school, practicing Quidditch. It was the first time Harry felt like he deserved whatever was coming.
Several days later, Harry was on his way back to the castle after another long trip around the perimeter and the grounds when he stepped around a curve in the trail and found Jonas sitting on a rock. He stopped and waited for the man to acknowledge his presence. Jonas sat quietly his head down on his chest, the broad-brimmed hat covering his face. His hands lay unmoving in his lap. The setting sun colored him and the rock behind him a chili red.
"Mr. Potter," he said in a clear deep tone in his own tongue. "Lacshi ti rat (good evening)." He continued to sit motionless.
"And to you, Jonas," Harry gasped, out of breath. "Do you have news?"
The man continued his silence for several more minutes before taking a deep breath and raising his head. Harry noticed that he didn't squint as the light from the flaring sun hit him full in the face. He also noticed Jonas had no expression on his face. The man looked up at the sky and took another deep breath.
"Winter is long. It will snow tonight," Jonas said and stared at Harry. A smile began to curl at the corners of his mouth. "I know some things. We shall talk."
Harry walked beside the man, across the lawns, up to stairs hugging the castle wall. He had used these stairs before to enter the woods on the far side of the castle, the furthest from the side facing Hagrid's hut. These were not used by students and Harry didn't think many knew that just beyond the grounds, in the woods, there were ancient stone ruins lying in the shallows of the mountains. When he wanted privacy he would seek refuge in one of the stone houses, start a fire and sit thinking to himself.
"How did you find me?" Harry asked as the man walked with him.
Jonas smiled, "This is always the first question people ask me. The snow told me."He pointed to Harry's footprints in the snow.
"How did you know they were mine?" Harry asked.
"I smelled them and they smell like you. They are the size of your feet," Jonas said. "I know your footprint when you step down into the snow. There are no others out here like yours. The deer, the animals in the forest; they are silent, they don't huff and groan as they walk. I could hear you coming."
Harry thought about it and realized it probably wasn't all that hard to follow someone in the snow, but he didn't like the condescending tone Jonas used. "Sorry. It probably is boring to get the same questions asked time and again. I'll try not to ask before I think next time."
Jonas appeared not to hear the sarcasm or chose to ignore it. "Professor Snape says you are training to be an Auror and this is your last year here at Hogwarts. He says he is your teacher in this work." Jonas spoke to him in English.
Harry was mildly surprised Snape told Jonas. He didn't know Snape was even aware of his intent unless Professor McGonagall had mentioned it. "It's something I'm thinking about," he said.
"Does that include learning to hide one's trail?" Jonas asked, stopping to look behind them.
Harry became irritated, and answered shortly, "It would if I was trying to hide my trail." Jonas stared back at him and then once again looked back at their trail. Harry looked back too. There was one set of footprints.
"It is wise to think ahead at all times," Jonas said and walked ahead.
Harry stared at the ground for a minute and then caught up. "What news have you?" he asked in Romani.
"I want to tell you a story," Jonas said in English. "We call them grandfather stories. They are called that because the wisest men are the ones who have lived many years. This story is about a sparrow who thinks he is an eagle. This sparrow doesn't know he is a sparrow. He flies up into the blue sky and looks down and sees his shadow; and his shadow is big."
Jonas spread his arms in front of a the wall of rock; the setting sun emphasized the arms until the shadow spanned ten feet. He continued pointing to the shadow. "He thinks to himself, 'that is how big I truly am.' His family knows he is only a sparrow and they try to tell him, but he doesn't listen. He says in anger, 'Why are you lying to me? I am not a sparrow. You are jealous, leave me alone.' He's proud. He struts like an eagle, he talks big like an eagle and he is angry and won't listen to anyone," Jonas stuck out his chest and grunted, acting out the scene.
"Then, one day he sees a rabbit running on the ground. He says to himself, 'I am hungry. I'll just fly down there and get that rabbit.' So he flies down. He flies down and sees that he is small and the rabbit is big, and he realizes, then, he really is a sparrow. But he has shamed himself and he can't go back to his family and say, 'You were right, I am a sparrow and from now on I will act like a sparrow.'"
Harry listened and considered what the man was saying. He didn't want to look foolish asking questions. They walked on in silence into the growing twilight. At first he thought the story was about him and that he was being arrogant and then he realized what the man was saying. "Are you talking about Percy Weasley?" he finally asked. "He's been spying on me?"
Jonas stopped and in the darkness of the steps leading up to the castle; it's warm lights twinkling above them, Jonas lit his pipe with a wave of his hand and stared at Harry from beneath the brim of his hat. The dark eyes were even darker than the surrounding twilight.
"This boy could not find a way back into his family. He wanted to belong but didn't know how. He listened to them talk and wanted to share in their news and their celebrations and their laughter. He was both angry and sad that he could not find his way back down that road," Jonas spoke quietly.
"Percy Weasley watched your wedding from the shadows of the forest. He knew you were married and he knew who you married. He followed Nadya's wagon when she left Hogwarts grounds. I think he very much wanted to be you, to walk in your shoes; you were the person who took his place in his family."
Harry wanted to interrupt and tell Jonas it wasn't true or at least he had not intentionally taken Percy's place. But there was no reason to share such information even if it was true.
Jonas began climbing the stairs, speaking at the same time. "I cannot really tell you what is in a man's heart. What I can tell you is he did not have the strength to endure the torture he suffered at the hands of a very evil wizard, the Kalo Beng you and Jolie speak of. You had been a guest in Percy Weasley's house many times and he knew a lot about you. He also resented you. I think perhaps he told all he knew when he was tortured and lied when he didn't have any more answers."
Harry walked one step behind him. He'd forgotten how tired he'd been twenty minutes before when he was still making his circuit of the castle and the walk through the woods. He now felt guilt once again. He knew in his heart the Weasley's had been very kind to him and they had resented Percy's behavior.
"I understand what you're saying Jonas and I don't think I can be angry at him for that," Harry decided. "I don't know what I would say or do if I were being tortured and I know Percy didn't like me. He made it clear to Ron, his brother, he should stay away from me. But it's hard to believe he would intentionally try and hurt me. Do you think the Dark Lord used the Imperious Curse to make him go to my aunt?"
"I know of these curses, Harry," Jonas replied and waved a dismissive hand. "You must understand, I cannot make a judgment about the boy. I can only tell you what I know from the information I gather. He was with this man, Minister Fudge when there was a battle, when both were taken. You rescued them from a wizard..." He held his breath and turned to Harry. "A very dark wizard who looked very much like you." Harry immediately thought of Jeremy Potter but didn't say anything to continued to climb the stairs until they reached a point where they could turn and look out on the darkening forest and the bloody orange sunset.
Harry replied, "Yes. Fudge, the Minister of Magic and is now in St. Mungo's hospital. Do you think he was involved, maybe asking Percy to go to my aunt?"
"I think it is best to follow the trail left by the boy, Percy and not get lost by all the ones which join it," Jonas said. "Your aunt is not important. She has done what she has done. Now we must move on.
"What else have you learned?" Harry asked, his head bowed.
"It is not my way to explain everything in detail, but to let you learn as you solve the problem yourself." Jonas stood watching the night fall. "Your Professor thinks I can begin to take over your teaching. This is not a choice for him to make, I think. This you must decide."
Jonas turned to him, the glow of the embers from his pipe briefly lighting his face. "I can be your guide, but I don't have the answers. What I see now is everyone looking at the wind riding through the tops of the trees and they do not see the quiet place beneath. That's where we need to be. You cannot find these two women if you let your heart be your guide. Your Professor knows this and he has told you many times. I will say this only once and you will listen or I will not help you. You cannot let your feelings get in front of your head."
Harry nodded.
Jonas cleared his throat and continued, "After Percy Weasley returns to his home, the paths become entangled. It is like a spider's web. However, there is a Rom saying that is helpful, 'Kai zhalo vurdon vurma mekela' . Have you heard it?" he asked.
"Where the wagon goes a trail is left," Harry translated.
"Va (yes)," Jonas nodded and said, "I will help you to find them. There is always a trail to follow. I do not know how they will be when they are found and I hope they are safe." He shook a finger at Harry and said, "But this you must remember, let this be your first lesson. I will not go into the dragon's lair with someone who is careless. Cover your trail."
Harry continued to look out over the tops of the trees until it grew dark and cold. The man stood quietly beside him without speaking. He thought of Nadya and missed her. Everything he had been doing in the past, all of the work had been worth it because he knew he'd see her in the summer after Hogwarts and they could plan their life together.
Somehow he knew he was avoiding the task he would eventually have to face, denying the truth; somehow he knew Voldemort was fishing, throwing out the line, hooking him and slowly drawing him in. Was this all just a plot to get him out in the open to kill him? He wondered. It seemed to complex for just that. Voldemort could have easily found another means to get him in the open."
"I will place my heart in your hands to do with as you please," he said to the man. It was the traditional words given by the Roma to let the other know he would agree to the deal.
Jonas continued up the stairs and Harry followed until they reached the door to the castle.
Harry stared at the wall before him. It's Christmas eve, he thought. I just want one thing, just one gift and I'll never ask for another.