Fazing

Dumbledore waved his hand, the door opened and the three of them stood up. As Albus walked around the table, Sev and Deborah approached Lily and Remus and greeted each other with brief hugs, without the usual joy and excitement. Then they greeted the Headmasterr by shaking hands.

They went trough the dueling room and into the meeting room. Albus let the teens pass in front, there were five seats around the table. (He doesn't say anything to us, he lets us choose our seats.) Sev moved to the right of the head, Deborah to his right, Lily across from Sev and Remus across from Deborah. (The hierarchy, I am Albus's right hand, Deborah is mine, Lily will be the left hand once she finds out about the Horcruxes, and in the future, when she is a professor at Hogwarts and McGonagall's successor as Head of House, and the less decisive is Remus.)

They all waited for the Headmaster to sit down. When he did he told them, "Guys, you shouldn't keep so many formalities with me."

"It's just a show of respect, Albus," Sev replied. "This is a formal, very formal meeting."

"Of course."

(He is also worried about what we have already told him, he is not going to say 'there are only two or three, let them die'.)

"I imagine that Lily and Remus already know everything you've told me so far," the old man said.

"Yes, they also looked in the Mirror with us. Lily does not possess Clairvoyance, she did not see Alice and Frank's children when she looked at herself, but Remus did, probably since his birth, it is one of his Celtic horoscope characteristics."

"Wow…" amazed and interested.

"And he has drunk from springs in the Forest far more often than we have," Sev added.

"Then his premonition is more reliable. Did you see the same thing as them, Remus?"

"No, Albus," Remus answered, "When I looked alone at myself, I saw Potter with a partner and two children, and Black alone with them."

"This is good news, although perhaps your desire prevailed there because they are your friends. When I look in the Mirror of Erised I do not see premonitions, what I see will never come to pass."

(He probably sees the family he lost,) Sev thought.

Dumbledore continued, "Go on, Prince, you were telling me that you are trying to change destiny."

Sev briefly explained that they had been invited to join the training, hidden from Pettigrew, since they did not trust him.

"Risky…" said the Headmaster, shaking his head.

"Of course, Albus, but it's worth it to save their lives, don't you think?" Sev asked.

"It seems incredible to me that you are taking so much trouble for those who have not had compassion for you for five years."

(Same old ditty. He won't have it for me either when it comes time to propose to meto become a double agent.) "Let me finish telling you and you will understand that it is worth it."

"Okay, I won't interrupt you."

He told him about Sunday's training, a summary of the conversation and the readings. The old man's countenance reflected growing admiration and surprise. While he didn't stop talking, Sev's occluded mind thought at the same time. (He's dying to interrupt me and tell me what he's feeling, that he's on our side, that he's going to do everything possible for us to achieve what we're trying to do.

(And wow… I'm managing to think while talking about other things without losing the thread, I had no idea this could be done, hold two streams of thought at the same time. That's amazing, I have to check it out with Lauren, or better yet, go through the Occlumency book or check it out with Albus himself. No, not the old man, one more reason to become a double agent. I'm never going to tell him that. Wow… what a power. Of course, I have a privileged mind.)

He then asked Lily and Remus to summarize what they had found out. Lily began, who was the one who had spoken to Sirius in the first place. While he listened to her, Sev's occluded mind appraised the conversation they had had.

(Wow… Sirius is going to do his best, he hasn't even risked confessing the secret to his lover without being sure that she won't betray him, even though I already gave him permission. He's not going to to take a step without consulting us and he has discretion as to who to do it, Lily, who knows his girl so much better than Remus or I. And Lily answered him very well, she can be trusted to advise him.

('Ugh... how sorry he is, he's having a terrible time, he does have a weight on his soul. How lucky that Lily also ended up forgiving him and crying with him. Of course, she also knew how to win him over, in even less time than me, with her sensitivity and empathy. Sirirus is not going to let either of us down, we can fully trust him, and she did well not to continue talking about more controversial topics until consult to us, although I think she will know how to handle herself perfectly.)

Then it was Remus's turn, what he had discussed with Sirius when Lily went to bed, "The first thing he did was apologize to me again, three times in two days. He also cried with me for a long time, he hadn't had a chance to do it yet behind James' back."

Meanwhile, Sev valued. (Sirius is knackered, we must help him as soon as possible, today if possible, and he has been holding back so that James does not suspect anything, but he must be given permission to express that feeling.)

"Then he asked me if he should talk to James about how sorry he was," Lupin continued.

(It's convenient.) Sev interrupted, "Did you answer him?"

"I told him to let me think about it and consult with Lily."

"Very good answer. Waiting to consult with me without showing him we're in close contact, great. Did you talk about something else?"

"We didn't. We went to bed, he cried for a long time, he was exhausted," Remus answered.

"Did you read him?"

"No, Sev, I didn't want to read him under those conditions."

"You did very well, Remus, and so did you, Lily, by not reading him. Don't do it again unless you think it's strictly necessary. We have him on our side, he is not going to tell anything without consulting us first. What do the rest of you think?"

"That you're right," Dumbledore said.

"I think so too," Lily said.

"I've told you before, Prince, he's reliable," Deborah said.

"I'm the one who knows him best and I'm sure, even if he didn't tell me, that he's already more loyal to you than to James, I read it in him that morning," Remus said.

Sev, meanwhile, thought. (We are speaking in order of hierarchy, although now it would be time for Remus to speak first, who knows Sirius best and who read him that morning.)

"I think we have to allow him to express what he feels so that he doesn't have a bad time," said Sev. "You, Remus, stay alone with him today, take him for a walk and encourage him to tell you everything he feels, especially on the subject that you and I already know, that he takes out everything that eats him freely. And remind him of everything I told him yesterday, every time I valued him, let him feel forgiven for me again through you, who also know me well. Does it seem like a good idea to others?"

Meanwhile, he thought. (We are going to talk about everything right now, it is not necessary to do two sessions, I think that it is not necessary to think too much about all this. Also, I can think while I speak or listen, assess everything properly. If we have something pending because someone has doubts, we shorten the invisible session and talk about it at the end. A wave of 'of course'.)

"And about James, what do I answer?" Lupin asked.

"That he can also talk to him about it, as soon as possible, also, James is going to understand and support him."

Sev projected to Remus, Lily and Albus, "James avoided the tragedy that Sirius almost caused." "What do the rest of you think?"

(Another wave of 'of course'.)

"And if he brings up compromising topics, Sev, like Legilimency and Occlumency?" Remus asked.

"Tell him to wait until Saturday to talk about it with me. You two come on Saturday, let James stay with Pettigrew."

"And what excuse do we give James so that I go instead of him?"

"That we need to talk alone among the three of us about a certain topic," Sev replied.

He projected to Albus, Lily and Remus, "About what happened last year in the Shrieking Shack." He asked, "What do you think?"

(A wave of 'of course'.)

"And if he asks me about Lily?" Lupin continued to ask.

"The same thing, we'll talk about it on Saturday. What do the rest of you think?"

(Another wave of 'of course'. How easy it is turning out, they leave everything to my discretion. I should be the one who should be sitting at the head.) "Any other questions, Remus?"

"Not for the moment."

"Alright. Lily, I think you should also meet to talk to him on the sly like you did yesterday some other night this week, strengthen the relationship you've started and allow him to vent again if he needs it. Are you willing?" Sev asked.

"Of course, Sev, I've already thought about it," Lily replied.

"Encourage him to also tell you what is eating him, but if he asks you compromising questions, the same, let him wait to talk about it with me."

"I don't think he'll ask them, Sev. He started the conversation by telling me that he didn't want to put me in a bind, knowing that I could read him."

"Okay, but maybe when he has more confidence he will ask them to you," Sev said.

"Maybe so, he also told me that he had so many topics to talk about that he didn't know where to start."

"Oh… have you seen? The nuances are also important, when summarizing we lose information."

"Sure."

"Answer him as I told you, he will understand that they are secrets that cannot be revealed to just anyone and he will take keeping them even more seriously."

"Sure, Sev."

"What do the rest of you think?"

(A wave of 'very good'. I hope they at least help me strategize for Saturday, I'm a little sick of being responsible for everything myself.) "Any more questions, Lily?"

"Np, Sev."

"We could talk today about what to confirm and what not about what he already knows on Saturday and leave the matter settled, so that I can forget about it for the rest of the week. Do you need time to think about it?"

"Not me," Dumbledore spoke, "I think you can talk to him freely about everything. You will earn him even more by giving him that trust, he will not betray you, he has many more things in common with you than with James, and also, a very serious debt to pay, a debt that he contracted precisely because of James."

"I think so too," Remus said. "Both the readings in the morning and his attitude at night fully confirm it. Literally, he thought of you 'I would marry him if he was a woman, I who never commit myself'."

As Remus spoke, Sev valued Albus' opinion. (He knows a lot about debts to pay, it took him forty years to pay off his and he still doesn't consider that he did it. And despite having spent practically all his life alone, he knows deeply the human soul, he is ninety-four years old.)

When Remus finished he thought, (Wow… like Lucius. He loves me. And Remus is the one who knows him best, we have to tell him everything as soon as possible, decided.) "Lily, Deborah, what do you think?"

"I'm not very pleased that he knows about our relationship, Sev," Lily replied. "Not so soon."

"Lily, he already knows, he's not stupid. If we don't tell him about it, his loyalty may turn back to James. We have to strengthen the friendship in less than a month, then he will spend two whole months alone with him."

Meanwhile, he was thinking, (If I don't convince her I'll ask Remus and the old man to do it, and in any case, we would be a majority. Besides, I also have the right to tell him if I want, as a friend, to trust another boy, she has her girly secrets with whom she wants. She doesn't answer me, I haven't convinced her. I'm telling her.) "Lily, I'm going to tell him. I want to have one more friend to trust him with these things. You don't have to talk about it with him if it seems to lower you."

"It's just that I think you forgave him too easily, Sev." She projected to him, "He was about to kill you. If you had died, you would not have suffered it, the one who would have grieved it would have been me."

He replied, "But that wasn't what he wanted, Lily. He's not a murderer, he just wanted to play a stupid joke on me, and in a way I brought it on myself by sticking my nose in things that weren't my business. Do your part, come on, don't make me spend the whole week thinking about the subject, I'm very busy."

Meanwhile he was thinking, (The others are keeping quiet, they all know we're projecting to each other. I'm going to ask Deborah to give me a hand if I don't talk her into this, she hasn't talked about it yet.)

"You are so busy because you get too involved with people who are not worth it, and now, a new one, and you are neglecting those who truly love you," Lily told him.

"Lily, don't blame me, please. I'm learning to carry it and I'm doing the best I know how. I know I make a lot of mistakes but I try to fix them as soon as I realize it, I also have the right to make mistakes."

Meanwhile he was thinking, (Ugh… she's absolutely right, I've abandoned her. I'm about to cry, and I can't keep thinking while I'm talking or listening, while being emotional is very difficult, and besides, it's very tiring.)

Lily thought, (Ugh… he's about to cry. I'm selfish, I only think about what I feel, I've already hurt him again and put him in a bind, I fail him too, continuously.)

She held out her hand, he clung to it and cried. She spoke out loud, "Forgive me, Sev. Do what you think is convenient, I'll do my best to help you. I'll also talk to him about it if he brings it up once you've done it, he also confided in me last night telling me about his relationships. You are right when you say that he deserves our trust, he is giving it to us, knowing that we can read him, he does not run away from us, he has sought us out trying to obtain our forgiveness. He is already one more."

"Thank you, Lily."

"Come on, don't suffer."

"It's because I have abandoned you."

"It is not your fault that we have to keep up appearances," she responded projecting.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Jo, Sev, I'm so sorry, I've made you feel guilty for the usual, I really don't learn."

"This week I will be with you no matter what."

"No, Sev, I don't want to."

"Yes, Lily. We're starting to have a terrible time and you are the most important thing in this world to me. This week we will be together without fail."

Lily thought, (I've already screwed it up again. He'd be much better off with the girls from his House, who really know how to take care of him. Today he was kissing Valerie in the Great Hall when we walked in, in front of everyone. He can be with them whenever he wants, he'd better forget about me, but he's never going to.) "Whatever you want, Sev."

He spoke out loud, "Albus, do you think it's safe for Lily and I to meet alone this week?"

"Do you have a safe place to do it?" asked the old man.

"We do."

"Then do it. You both need it."

"When are you going to appoint us for the next session of invisibles?" Sev asked.

"Thursday or Friday, when you prefer. Two hours." Dumbledore projected to him, "For you three, I must teach you to control Fiendfire."

"And the flight classes?"

"Whenever you want, Prince, that no longer depends on me."

"One, tomorrow," Sev replied. "On Wednesday I have Time Turner again, I'm going to take the new Sly oclumnants to perform the Druid ritual."

"Have they got it yet?" the Headmaster asked, interested and admiring.

"Yes, all three. They've already started on Legilimency."

"You are fantastic."

Lily thought, (Ugh… Sev is so busy. I'm terribly stupid and self-centered.) She projected to him, "Sev, I don't want to meet this week. Get as you want, we are not going to meet."

"Lily, don't faze like that."

"I'm so sorry, Sev, I'm selfish. I don't want you to get sick."

"Okay... we'll talk about it." (It hasn't even been an hour since breakfast and I'm already exhausted, I'm going to fall ill,) Sev thought. (I'm going to ask Deborah her opinion on speaking out with Sirius, she hasn't spoken.) "Deborah, you haven't told us what you think about talking to Sirius about everything he already knows."

"I think it's very appropriate, a good way to create strong ties, especially the secret with Lily, he also keeps his relationships secret," Deborah replied. "Male camaraderie, he's going to love that you confide in him on that subject, surely he will also tell you about himself because he knows that you will also keep his secrets, something that James would not do. You're going to beat him by the hand."

"Bravo, Deborah. Great assessment," Dumbledore said, admiring, "Prince, I see that this time you have hit the right person to second yourself."

(Which I would never be,) Lily thought.

(Deborah is magnificent. She's been waiting for Lily to give her the go-ahead to speak up and not turn against her in front of the others.) Sev released Lily's hand.
"Do you have anything else to say, Deborah, about what we've talked about?"

"Yes, you don't have to go to the fir tree on Wednesday, I'll take them," she replied.

"But you only went once."

"But I remember the way. I took a good look at the way and I have the orientation of the Druid Magic."

"But I wanted to do a joint ritual with you and Paul and maybe also with Anthony, Valerie and Andrew, I really want to," Sev disagreed.

(Me making it hard for him and Deborah making it easy. I'm bad at it,) Lily thought. "Sev, go to the fir tree, let's not meet this week."

(Ugh… I'm in a mess,) Sev thought.

"Look at me, Prince," Deborah told him.

(She's going to project to me.) They locked eyes and she projected to him, "We can go to that natural space that you say is in the Room of Requirement, without Time Turner, from dinner to curfew. Are there trees nearby?"

"Yes, there are."

"What do you think?"

"I don't want to take so many people there," he disagreed. "It is very tempting, everyone would go continuously."

"No, Prince, you are wrong. We all know that you need the Room, no one is going to go without consulting me to know if they can use it. With not taking Jack, it's enough."

"Okay, Deborah, we'll do it like this." (Maybe if we give the Time-Turner a couple of hours I can take them to the cave, too. Great. So I'm not meeting Lily at the moment. I feel sorry for her, she fazes me.)

Meanwhile Lily thought, (Deborah spends her time thinking of solutions and not looking for problems like I do. Now she's giving him someone else that Albus can't know about, probably going to the natural space of the Room of Requirement, where he was with Lauren. I'm a real mess. Sev already looks exhausted and it's not even two hours since he woke up.)

Sev spoke out loud, "Lily, I'm sorry, I'll let you know if I can date this week."

"Of course, Sev, I already told you."

(Yes, after making me cry and remembering how busy I am,) he thought. (I am tempted to stay with Deborah and that's it, I really want to Bond with her as a Couple.)

(He's hurt with me, and rightly so, too,) she thought. (I feel abandoned because I'm not enough for myself, not because of him. He can't take care of me now.) "Sev, I'm so sorry, I won't get like that again."

"It's okay, Lily. Albus is right, we need to be alone, but I don't know if I'll be able to this week. Resist a little more or think hard if you want to continue with me. In the next few years you will only have me at your disposal on holidays, and it won't be like before either, now I will have to work and more people to attend to."

"I feel like a real idiot, I didn't appreciate you until I lost you."

"You haven't lost me, Lily, you will never lose me, but we will never be like before, that you had me just for yourself. So think about it, you can find people who are just for you, who correspond to you as you deserve."

"You already correspond to me as I deserve, Sev. I don't deserve more."

"That is not true, you deserve much more. You know that if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here."

"I wouldn't be either if it wasn't for you."

"We'll continue talking in private about this," he spoke out loud. "Now we have a lot of work to do."

"Of course, Sev."

"Do we have anything left on this subject, Albus?"

"No," the Headmaster replied.

"Remus?"

"No," Remus answered.

"Deborah?"

"No," Deborah replied.

(I don't ask Lily, she doesn't have a good judgment about this, she doesn't know how to separate it from her own emotions,) Sev thought.

(He doesn't ask me, normal, after the one I've messed with instead of thinking constructively about the subject,) Lily thought. (I've had time to do it since last night and they just a few minutes this morning.)

"Is there anything else you want to tell us all, Albus?" Sev asked.

"No, guys, I didn't count on seeing you all today. The only thing, to appreciate once again the fabulous team work that you are carrying out, and for a reason as noble as saving lives that you should not care about at all. You are doing it perfectly. Tell me what you see in the Mirror of Erised the next time you look at yourselves, because I am convinced that you have already managed to change that fate."

"We'll do it soon, Albus, maybe this week. In that case, Deborah, Remus, go back home if you want."

"And where do we go at home, Prince?" Deborah asked. "Our beds are taken."

(Not hers, but she's concealed from Lily that we've slept together. How tactful she is.) "Then go to the Room of Requirement and wait there until breakfast time. Have a good time together, don't stay bored here."

"We're not bored, Sev," Remus told him, "I really want to be with Deborah."

He projected to both of them, "Speak projecting to each other, one can read through the door."

Remus replied, "Thanks for the warning, I did not know."

"Wow... Remus, you already project without looking."

"Yes, I got it yesterday with Lily."

"Great." Sev said, and out loud, "Enjoy the good company, I want to hear your laughter through the door. Deborah, you can tell Remus what happened this morning at breakfast."

Albus, Deborah and Sev all laughed. Lily and Remus didn't get the joke, but Lily thought, (Some of the Slys have messed up at breakfast, there was something more than that kiss, something crazy, and Albus must have found out from Minerva, because we got in before him, he has not seen the kiss.)

"Tell him in detail," said Sev.

They laughed again.

(Indeed, they've done something big, they've done it right there, in front of everyone else, how irreverent they are,) Lily thought. (And to think how shy Sev was less than two months ago. It's incredible, of course, he's born again. What awaits me in the summer, I can get ready now, I can't wait.) She smiled knowingly.

Sev looked at her. (She smiles at me complicitly, is already guessing what happened, I'll smile back to her.) He projected to her, "When I catch you, you will find out what is good."

Lily laughed too. The only one who wasn't laughing was Remus.

Deborah spoke, "I will Prince. You know I have a good memory for jokes."

"We'll call you guys when we're done," Dumbledore said, getting up.

Sev and Lily did as well, and immediately, the three of them moved into the adjacent room to give their second invisibles session for the rest of their time. They did very well, they already managed to make entire halves of their body disappear, the upper and lower half, the left and right. It was very comforting for both of them and it raised their spirits to hear the laughter of their friends through the door all the time.

Sev thought, (Deborah would be perfect for Remus too, she would take him out of his eternal melancholy.)

At eight thirty sharp, Deborah and Remus came out of the meeting room and interrupted them. Deborah said, "Prince, I'm going home to get an uniform for you, and Remus to the kitchens to get some food for everyone, we'll be back in ten minutes."

"Of course, Deborah, go," the Headmaster replied.

They left in a hurry. Dumbledore addressed Sev and Lily, "We can leave it for today, I think that this week you are going to achieve it, you are exceptional."

"Thank you, Albus," Lily replied.

"Thank you, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't be making it," Sev replied. "Transfiguration is the most difficult subject."

"You're right, that's why I dedicated myself to it, it was a challenge for me," said Dumbledore.

"We've never seen you as an Animagus, Albus. Can you transform?"

"Of course, but in return I want to see something of yours too. Professor McGonagall has told me that she has heard about several twin Patronuses."

"Of course I show you. Let's do them, Lily."

Both conjured up the lionesses, who played.

"It's amazing…" Albus, excited. "I've never seen anything like this."

"When Deborah returns we will show you the twin of hers," Sev suggested.

"Okay, try to see if you have that new one today."

Sev laughed. (McGonagall has told him everything in detail.) He recalled the recent memory of breakfast, a small bird emerged, which fluttered over and landed on his shoulder.

"Oh…beautiful and amazing," the old man said, deeply amazed and excited. "I think it's a lark, a songbird."

"Is it with Valerie, Sev?" Lily asked.

"Yes, this morning at breakfast," Sev replied. "She sings, you know."

"Of course, it's her, I'm sure it's also the twin of hers. Do them together today at home, she will be very excited."

"Of course, she saw Deborah's with me last night and was sorry she didn't have a twin with Andrew."

"Yeah, poor girl… but now she has it with you," Lily said.

"Come on, Albus, it's your turn, Transform."

The Headmaster immediately Transformed into a phoenix and took a few flights around the dueling room.

"Fantastic!"

"Wooow… I've never seen an Animagus before, Sev."

"Me neither, Lily. We will be too soon, and now six of us will go out on a foray and not four, Sirius and James will also come."

"Then Potter will find out about us."

"By the time we can register, February of next year, James will have had plenty of time to guess everything and get used to the idea."

"Of course."

Dumbledore morphed into a person again.

"Now I am tempted to Transform myself into a bird," Sev told him. "I would love to fly."

"You have a Patronus that is a bird, once you have learned from me you can do it on your own, you can Transform into as many animals as you want," the Headmaster said.

(Another interesting thing for him when it comes to me becoming a double agent,) Sev thought.(I screwed up commenting on it, I will not tell him.) "I doubt I have time to dedicate myself to that."

"Yes you're right."

Deborah and Remus arrived. She handed the uniform to Sev and he went to change into the meeting room, putting the warrior clothes in his backpack. Meanwhile, Lily and Remus ate something.

When Sev left he said goodbye to them and the Gryffs went home. He did the twin Patronus with Deborah and the she-wolves played, the Headmaster loved it too. They ate quickly while Albus extended the Time Turner's chain for him and headed off to class.

Sev arrived first, before the teacher. When Anthony arrived in a hurry but on time, he exclaimed in surprise, "Incredible, you've changed your clothes!"

Sev laughed. "I don't know why you are surprised, knowing Deborah."

"You are absolutely right," with a wide smile.