Chapter 9

He wasn't sure what it was exactly that he wanted from the mysterious couple, but Dumbledore was positive they were important in some way. They'd turned up out of nowhere, practically on his doorstep, potent residual magic radiating off of them. From the way they had behaved that morning in the grey light, he thought they might not have even noticed it.

The first thing he'd done after packing them off with the Prewett twins was to look into their story. Claiming to be a distant cousin of the family had been an easy thing to refute. As one of the sacred twenty-eight, the Prewett Lineage was a matter of public record and there had only been one George Prewett in recent memory. He had died some thirty years earlier.

But Gideon had been correct. Family magic was not something that could be faked. It was obvious that George and the twins were blood kin. How and why he was not marked down in their lineage, Dumbledore could not discover. Perhaps he had been the child of a squib? He could have lied about his education, for he could not have been homeschooled if he were the child of a squib. Young George Prewett remained a mystery.

Information on Helen Wilson had been even harder to come by. Dumbledore was not on good terms with the current headmaster of Beauxbaton's and so any student records were closed to him. For all he knew she really was who she claimed to be. There were precious few muggleborns in the United Kingdom that didn't end up at Hogwarts but if they'd lived in France most of her life she wouldn't necessarily have shown up in the book of Magical births. If only she hadn't noticed his attempts at legilimency and thus shut her shields when they had first met, perhaps he might have learned something.

Besides the rather obvious questions they posed, the accusations they had laid at his feet at their first meeting had rankled. Perhaps that was the real reason for his continued interest. They did not approve of his methods. In fact they seemed hostile towards him personally. Odd considering the excuse they had given for their presence at Hogwarts, but their disdain could not be more plain. It was a rare experience for him.

Returning to his office after the rather disappointing afternoon meeting, Dumbledore tried to resign himself to the idea of forgetting them. They clearly wanted nothing to do with him or the Order. As fascinating as George and Helen may be, he had to focus on Tom. He couldn't afford to get caught up worrying about a pair of non combatants who would scarper off across the channel as soon as they could.

Sighing heavily, he leaned back in his plush desk chair and stared at the ceiling as if every answer he sought lay in the swirling plaster. More than one former headmaster pestered him for news, but he ignored them. Tom gained power every day and despite what Miss Wilson implied, Dumbledore didn't believe it would be as simple as confronting him.

A knock at his office door pulled him from his thoughts. Wiping at his eyes and sitting up, he bade whomever it was to enter. When he realized who it was, he suppressed an exasperated sigh and smiled genially.

"Ah, Miss Trelawny."

Sybill Trelawny, a fifth year Ravenclaw and great granddaughter of the last true seer Cassandra, wandered into his office as though searching for something. Feeling himself fortunate for it, Dumbledore hadn't had too many encounters with the girl in her years at Hogwarts. Though, he'd heard plenty about her from the staff. According to Flitwick, she had mentioned more than once wanting to teach Divination after graduating.

Famously critical of the particular branch of magic, beyond the prophecies of true seers, Dumbledore hoped her interest would lead her elsewhere.

"Good afternoon professor."

She sat down at one of the chairs across his desk and watched him expectantly.

"Can I do something for you, my dear?"

Wide eyes swiveling around the room, she shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure, professor. You see, I've just come from afternoon tea and my leaves… they were very clear. I must be here exactly now."

"Ah, I see." He did not see. In fact he had many other things to do besides entertaining her tea leaves. "Lemon drop?"

"No… no."

In the silence, Dumbledore found his irritation—lingering from the earlier rejection—growing with every quiet minute. Doing his best to maintain his peaceable smile, he stood and rounded the desk to usher her out. "I apologize, Miss Trelawny. I'm afraid I am terribly busy just now. If there's nothing else I can do for you?"

Rising slowly and reluctantly, she nodded. "Well… I suppose, professor. I was certain…"

Then she paused, face frozen and mouth agape, her fingers digging into his arm. When she spoke after a long, sucking breath, her voice was changed and Dumbledore found himself transfixed.

"Two with the knowledge to vanquish the Dark Lord, across a river have traveled.

With fire and serpent they will change the course.

Souls will burn to blackened ash, once and future heroes cast aside.

Life and death they know all, hold all.

Two, with the knowledge…"

The smoke that had seemed to cloud her eyes cleared at once and she blinked twice and smiled apologetically up at him. "I apologize for taking your time, headmaster. Perhaps I was off by a floor or two in my reading…"

And then she was gone. Slipped from his office as though nothing so important had occurred. But Dumbledore stood rooted to the spot, unable to think fast enough.

Sybill Trelawny had just given him a true prophecy. And it had been about Tom.

Snapping from the trance, he rushed back around his desk and threw open the cabinet that held his pensive. Quickly, he pulled the fresh memory from his temple and cast it into the bowl. Portraits clamouring in their frames, he dove into the mist.

For hours he watched it. Again and again he listened to the seer's words. Five lines, so brief and vague but he was positive he knew their meaning. At least, in part.

Two with the knowledge to vanquish the Dark Lord, across a river have traveled.

It was George and Helen. Who else could it be? River, channel… the muggles swam across it didn't they? Surely the words meant the same thing. They'd traveled from France, across a river. But what knowledge could they possibly have to vanquish the Dark Lord? What could these two young people know that he did not?

And the rest… Fire and Serpent? Burning souls and heroes? Damn the gods for favoring such vagueness, he could make nothing of it. Once and future heroes… could it mean himself? He had defeated Grindelwald and been a hero once. They had said, and he knew it was true, that he was the only one who could face Tom. Was it his soul that would burn? Would they vanquish him as well as the Dark Lord?

Surely not. It must mean something else. He was Albus Dumbledore, defeater of one dark lord already and leader of the light. No one would ever cast him aside.

Ignoring his own fate, the rest of the prophecy was rather dark and implied George and Helen had some kind of supernatural powers. Burning souls, knowing all about life and death? The very idea of anyone having such knowledge, such power, gave him chills.

He needed more than ever to convince them of the merits of the Order and of working with him. It was the only way to have any sort of control over them, over the prophecy. Whatever this knowledge was, he must know it as well. If he could not break past their occlumency shields without detection he would convince them they needed to share their information on their own.

There must be some way to convince them.

GH

"You were right. I've never noticed before. Never thought to have my shields up around him, did I? To do that without permission?" Fabian made a disgusted face and threw himself back into his chair but his brother only laughed from across the room.

"As soon as I noticed, I started thinking about that bird I brought round. Remember, Fabian? The leggy blonde from the Ministry?" Fabian pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Gave him a right steamy show. Didn't stick around for much of that."

Hermione couldn't help the small chuckle but gave Fabian a sympathetic smile. "Dumbledore is a master legilimens You wouldn't notice if you weren't paying attention. When I think about my early years in school and what he must have gleaned... It was so easy for him to manipulate us."

"Well…" George, standing beside her as usual, elbowed her arm gently. "If we do our jobs right, that won't happen this time round."

"That's right." Her smile for him was determined, which he returned easily. Turning back to the other two men in the room—just catching the end of some look they'd been sharing but not sparing it much thought—she flicked her wand and summoned her notes from her room. "Now that we're rid of Dumbledore for at least a few days, it's time to get to work."

George helped her arrange the fast arriving notes on the coffee table as she pulled the most ominous from the stack. Before they could go any farther, they needed Snape.

"You remember what I told you about the horcruxes?"

Gideon nodded, sitting on the arm of his brother's chair. "Yeah. Soul bits in hard to reach places. I've been wondering how we're meant to even get near them."

"Sacred twenty-eight we might be…" Fabian cut in. "We're not exactly on the invite list for Malfoy holiday parties. How do you expect us to get something you think he's got in his personal library?"

"I actually have a plan." She glanced nervously at George and looked down at her parchment. "It's not full-proof and you won't like it but… honestly I think it will work and besides it's the best I've got."

Both men leveled her narrow eyed glares. "Out with it."

"Try to keep an open mind and remember that we know more about this person than you do."

Looking up and seeing them begin to turn mutinous, Hermione rushed on. "We need someone that will be able to go into the homes and secret places of other Death Eaters. And as it happens, we know just the man…"

"Not a Death Eater..."

"...The man who served Dumbledore as a spy. If we can get to him, show him some of his future, I'm sure he'll help us. The reasons he had for helping Dumbledore were as important to him in two years as they are now. It can work, I'm willing to bet everything on him."

They looked dubious, glancing at George to see if he agreed. "This sounds extremely risky. Isn't He Who Shall Not Be Named something of a legilimens as well? How do we know this man of yours won't give the game away the next time he goes before his master? Who is he anyway?"

"His name is Severus Snape."

Gideon screwed up his face as if trying very hard to remember something he did not know. "Can't say I've ever heard that name before. Should I have?"

"No." Hermione sighed. "He's currently finishing his last year at Hogwarts but I believe he's already taken the dark mark. The Dark Lord has taken an interest in him for his prodigious skill at potions. He might be a poor half blood, but he will prove to be extremely useful. Lucius Malfoy is going to sponsor his mastery, it's one of the main reasons he was so eager to join. It would have been out of his reach otherwise."

Still looking uneasy, neither Gideon or Fabian interrupted her so she went on. "Severus is a complicated man with an already complicated story, but suffice it to say that despite their falling out, his childhood muggleborn best friend is another important reason. I've no doubt he imagines he can protect her somehow by earning the Dark Lord's favor.

"Unfortunately, he's the one that will overhear the prophecy I told you about the other day. Not until it's nearly too late will he realize his mistake and that's when he'll go to Dumbledore to beg for help protecting her. That's when he turns spy and he remains in that capacity until the end of the second war."

Absently fingering a biscuit, Fabian nodded thoughtfully. "So you want to show him how badly he cocks up and hope he'll help us?"

"He's going to dedicate his life to ending You Know Who, watching over the son of a man he hates for the love of his dead mother. More than anyone else he'll risk his life, give everything everything for this cause. If we can convince him, he'll do it. And as to his mind… the Dark Lord is perhaps the greatest legilimens that's ever lived. But Severus Snape looks him in the eye for years and lies. We needn't worry about that."

Gideon looked between her and George with amusement. "Are you sure you want to work with this bloke, George? Will your relationship survive if she meets her hero so young and virile?"

Bursting out laughing at the horrified look on her face, George waved his uncle away. "No fear of that, mate. He is a powerful wizard and in our time definitely a brave hero but…"

Hermione shook her head profusely as he laughed again. "No, I could never! He was my professor! And besides he's… not really my type…" She knew she was blushing furiously, for more than one reason as she watched George laughing. "That's not… we need to get back on task."

"Alright woman." Fabian smirked but elbowed his brother. "Come on, Gid. Let's hear the rest of the plan. You can tease them later."

With everyone focused again, Hermione fleshed out the rest of her plan to get Snape. "Would either of you have a way to find out the next Hogsmede weekend without alerting Dumbledore?"