Chapter 18: Difficult Decisions

After his conversation with Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore figured out he'd been waiting too long to investigate the possibility of Voldemort having used Horcruxes to become immortal. The Headmaster would rather wait until he had confirmation that Voldemort made them but the idea of the Gaunts having the only Deathly Hallow he never owned was the last drop. He had to check for himself.

What he found at the Gaunt Shack made him both happy and sad. After all those years, he finally found the Resurrection Stone. Had Dumbledore gone there without any expectations about the Deathly Hallows, there'd be a chance the surprise would excite it to the point he'd put the ring on without checking if it was a Horcrux or not. Fortunately, it wasn't much of a surprise and Dumbledore was careful enough to inspect the ring for every kind of dark magic he could think about and that's where the sad part came: the Resurrection Stone was indeed turned into a Horcrux.

Albus Dumbledore only knew two ways to destroy Horcruxes: Basilisk venom and a dark spell known as Fiendfyre. Between them, Dumbledore would rather use the venom because the other option was too hard to control and was more likely to destroy the Resurrection Stone as well. Unfortunately, basilisk venom was so hard to come by it wasn't an option. Sadly placing the greater good above his own personal desires, Dumbledore reluctantly pointed the Elder Wand at the ring without caring about the irony of one Deathly Hallow being used to destroy another.

"Stop!" He suddenly heard a girl's voice say. Looking at the ring, he sees an image of his deceased sister Ariana Dumbledore. "Didn't you spend the best years of your life trying to find this stone so you'd be able to talk to our mother and me again?" 'Ariana' asked the Headmaster.

"I, I…" The Headmaster hesitated.

"Albus, what're you waiting for?" Another image asked. This time, it was of the Headmaster's late mother Kendra Dumbledore. "I'm certain you can keep our return a secret." 'Kendra' reassured him.

"Fiendfyre." Dumbledore painfully said and the ring and the shack were destroyed. Once the fire was out, Dumbledore sadly picked up what was left of the ring and the stone. He might have destroyed the Horcrux but it'd take some time until he got over losing his one chance to see his family again before the day he finally went to his 'next great adventure'.

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Professor Sirius Orion Black was receiving the visit of an old friend of his. "Guess what I'm reading, Moony." Sirius asked.

"I'd say a joke book but you're not laughing." Remus Lupin reluctantly answered.

"It's a photo album with moments of Prongslet's pre-Hogwarts childhood with Snivellus and the Longbottoms." Sirius explained. "Frank gave it to me for Christmas. Quite nice, isn't it?"

"Yes, Sirius." Remus eagerly said, seeing no harm and acknowledging Frank's good deed.

"Both of us are absent from these photographs, Moony." Sirius stated with a malicious smile. "I was in prison for crimes I've never been tried for. What's your excuse?"

"Sirius, back then I didn't know Harry was living with Severus Snape and, to a lesser extent, the Longbottoms." Remus explained.

"Couldn't you have asked the Dursleys since it was believed by those not into Snivellus' scheme they were the ones raising Harry?" Sirius suggested.

"Headmaster Dumbledore told me not to contact the Dursleys unless they contacted me first, Padfoot." Remus explained.

"And you certainly trusted the Headmaster to actually tell them about you." Sirius commented like he deemed his friend stupid for trusting Dumbledore.

"Either way, I never expected the Dursleys to welcome me into their lives." Remus said. "Not only they're reluctant about the wizarding world itself, I'm a werewolf. I wouldn't blame them for not allowing me near them or near Harry."

"True that but I think you should be back into Harry's life now that he's with friends who know about and accept your 'furry little problem'." Sirius suggested.

"You're only saying it because you want to provoke his new Godfather." Remus accused Sirius.

"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT TITLE TO REFER TO SNIVELLUS!" Sirius angrily shouted. "Even you calling him 'Severus' doesn't harm me that much. Anyway, getting under that slimy snake's scaly skin is just one of my reasons to want you back in Prongslet's life. Remember how James and Lily insisted on you being an honorary Uncle to him and the anti-werewolf laws being the reason you weren't chosen to be his Godfather?"

"After all those years, I'm not certain I should." Remus sadly commented.

"I'll put a word with Frank and Alice to see if they invite you for Easter." Sirius said.

"What about Severus?" Remus asked.

"Who cares about what Snivellus thinks?" Sirius dismissed Remus' concern.

"Harry cares." Remus answered.

"He doesn't know better." Sirius stated. "Just bring up all those fun moments from the good old days. For example, back when Snivelly called Lily Flower a 'mudblood' or all those times he and his fellow Death Eaters to be picked on muggleborn students."

"Or back when James picked on him for existing?" Remus teased.

"I'm certain Snivellus already told him that too many times." Sirius answered. "Harry needs to know Snape for the slimy snake he is."

"Was, Sirius." Remus corrected his friend. "Severus Snape is no longer the slimy kid you and James loved to pull pranks on."

"Once a slimy snake, always a slimy snake." Sirius proudly declared. "That Prongslet still sees him as a Godfather shows that, in spite of the Longbottoms, there's still a lot to do to negate his Dark influence on Harry."

Remus was about to reply when Sirius' office door opened and a Harry entered. "I was told you wanted to see me, Professor Black." Harry said.

"Oh, yes." Sirius replied. "Please come in and allow me to introduce you to Mr. Remus John Lupin. Your Dad and I used to be friends with him."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin." Harry said and then shook hands with Remus. "Are you really a werewolf?"

Remus was uneasy about that. "Yes, but there's no need to worry. I'm already leaving."

"We're not that close to the full moon, Sir." Harry reassured Remus. "Your presence here doesn't bother me."

"Thank you, Harry."

"You're welcome, Mr. Lupin."

"You may call me Remus or Moony."

"Okay, Moony." Harry replied after evaluating the options. "You're not here to say bad things about Uncle Severus. Are you?"

"Just the truth, Prongslet." Sirius maliciously replied.

"No, Harry." Remus answered. "I'm here to see an old friend and the son of another friend."

"Okay." Harry replied and then looked at his watch. "If you don't mind, I don't want to tell Professor McGonagall I'm late for her class because of two Marauders." Both Padfoot and Moony laughed at Harry's comment and he left.

"There's still hope for him." Sirius commented.

"True." Remus agreed. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now that's not a difficult decision, Moony." Sirius commented as he picked up a piece of parchment Remus presumed to be the Marauders' Map. "Since I have no classes to teach right now, I'll look for troublemaking snakes. The idea of a Marauder becoming a Hogwarts Professor doesn't sound so ludicrous with this perk."

Remus rolled his eyes in frustrations. Some people would never grow up.

End chapter.