The Contradictor

Aberforth Dumbledore trudged back to the Hog's Head with a scowl on his face. His pub was dirty, as usual, but at least it was empty, at least it would give him a quiet space to think. It had been necessary to go to Diagon Alley, but Merlin, it was crowded as hell there; the noise, combined with the summer heat, gave him headaches.

With an over-the-shoulder flick of the wand, he locked the front door while he walked, rucksack in tow, into his back office. As he began to brew a potion for dreamless sleep - it was the only thing that got him to sleep at all, these days - he sent a wave at the portrait of his sister. "Have a good day, did you?" he asked her, unloading various ingredients from his rucksack.

(Ariana didn't say anything. She never did.)

"Diagon Alley was terrible, as usual," he told her. The water in his cauldron had come to a nice simmer; he began to chop caterpillars against the cutting board he also used to prepare sandwiches. "Too many people. Especially in Gringotts. I dunno what it is about the summer holidays. Everyone's determined to empty their bank accounts, apparently." He scraped the caterpillar guts into the water. "There was a line at the apothecary out the door." With a crunch, he started to grind up several dried beetles. "I made sure to stock up on ingredients. I shouldn't have to go back for at least six months." The beetles fell into the cauldron.

"Saw Minerva on my way back," Aberforth continued. Ariana was still listening politely. "Didn't speak to her, though. I didn't know what to say. I didn't - what do you say to someone from the old days, you know?" He dropped in a few ashwinder eggs. Plop, plop, plop. "It was a different time. We were united back then, against You-Know-Who. Turns out, none of us at the Order had very much in common other than our enemy."

There was a pounding on the front door. "Ab?" a muffled voice called. "Abbie, you here?"

Aberforth narrowed his eyes. "I'll be right back," he told his sister, heading for the front door. "Dung," he called, peering through the peephole. "I thought I told you not to come back here."

"You did!" Mundungus Fletched had his eye pressed up against the tiny window. "But I had some news. Lemme in!"

Aberforth sighed as he unlocked the door. "You can't come in," he said quickly as Mundungus started to step inside. "You can tell me your news from right there."

Mundungus twisted his hands together. "Walburga's dead."

"Walburga?" Aberforth repeated blankly.

"Black. Sirius' mum. I'm on my way to Azkaban to tell him. I thought maybe you'd like to join me."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Old time's sake. Nobody else from Order can make it. Moody's out of the country, Albus can't leave the school, McGonagall's dealing with her own loss - "

"What loss?"

Mundungus blinked. "You didn't hear? Elphinstone passed away last month."

"Her husband?"

"Yes, her husband." He gave Aberforth a strange look. "Don't act like you don't remember the old days. They weren't that long ago."

"There must be other people who could go with you."

Mundungus shook his head. "Remus Lupin's mother is ill, he can't leave the house. Severus wants nothing to do with Sirius. Diggle is tied up at the Ministry, there's a hearing, it's expected to go on for weeks. Everyone else is dead." He shrugged. "If you don't want to come, I'll go alone."

Aberforth exhaled. "I don't want to come. Goodbye, Dung. Please don't come back."

When Aberforth got back to his potion, it had boiled over, spewing caterpillar guts all over the floor. He muttered a curse. Ariana watched him with a sorrowful look on her face. "The old days are over," he said to her - or maybe to himself - as he cleaned up the floor. "That's why they're the old days. We can't get them back. We have to move on." He glanced up at the portrait of his long-dead sister. "It's just not healthy to live in the past."

Ariana didn't say anything.

(She never did.)

[Forbidden Words: "and"]

[Monthly Drabble-A-Thon: Dreamless Sleep]

[Fiddler on the Rood Character Challenge: Lazar Wolf - write about any Dumbledore except Albus]

[30 Harry Potter Prompts: Diagon Alley]