Chapter 43: Object Lessons - Dec 1994

Slughorn's continued presence at the school meant that Slughorn hosted more "little get-togethers."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were the only students invited that were not in sixth or seventh year. But there were still the friendly faces of the Weasley twins.

Shortly after the younger group arrived, George made a beeline for Harry. The pair sat next to each other at a large circular table while they enjoyed a multi-course dinner.

On Harry's other side was Hermione, who spent much of dinner talking to an older student Harry didn't know about applications for runes.

Across the table, Neville told a joke to Ron and Slughorn about a mimblus nimbletonia that had them all laughing heartily.

Partway through the evening, George told Harry, "My brother and I have really been enjoying the new professor. Snape never tolerated experimentation in his classroom, but Slughorn actually encourages us. Slughorn even compared our potions experiments to one of his favorite students, Lily Evans."

"That's nice to hear." Harry used a forkful of pheasant as a distraction. "What sorts of things are you working on now?"

"Percy gave us an idea for a product, believe it or not. He wants an assortment of candies with mild but amusing effects that he can give as a gift to the foreign dignitaries he's trying to win over. It's less dramatic than we tend to like, but it's good business."

Later, Slughorn announced, "You all must come to my Christmas Party! I'll be sending out invitations next week. You won't want to miss it," he teased.

That wasn't the only note Harry received in early December. His aunt also sent him a letter:

Dear Harry,

I hope school is going well for you. Sirius, Remus, and I are proud of you for taking challenging courses as well as self-studying for the Care of Magical Creatures OWL exam.

My novel is now on non-magical bookstore shelves! Sirius has been instrumental in that. I'm grateful for his help in making my dream come true, even if I know that I don't deserve it.

Dobby has perked up some since the summer. We've been making elf clothes that he "gives" (loses in poker) to other free elves. He's a good sort.

You can write to me, if you like. See you at Christmas if I don't hear from you between now and then.

Sincerely,

Petunia Evans

Harry sent a response with Hedwig the next day.

Ron had been anxious for many weeks as a result of Harry's letter back in September. Voldemort's defeat reduced, but did not eliminate, the redhead's concern.

Ron didn't see anything else in the papers on the topic of the Ministry control of the dementors until early December.

Ministry Obstructing Investigation

Since the Hogsmeade incident where two dementors menaced village residents and Hogwarts students, this dedicated journalist has been hard at work to uncover the truth.

All dementors are said to be under the control of the Ministry for Magic, and yet two of the foul creatures were seen in broad daylight by dozens of witches and wizards. Who sent them there, and why?

This reporter has attempted to look at publicly available records and conduct interviews with the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the office of the Minister himself.

One insider, who declined to be named in this article, has pointed to the Minister's office as the "primary source of obstruction in the matter but could not speculate to what end. This may not resolve until there is greater oversight of that office."

Minister Cornelius Fudge declined to comment, but one of his junior secretaries offered this rebuttal: "the complexities of bureaucratic procedures are not well-understood by those not on the inside."

When this same witch was asked about the calls for increased oversight made by the unnamed Ministry source, she said that "watchers only drive rule-breakers and other criminals to be sneakier."

Ron thought the reporting was fairly simplistic, but at least there was something. Harry's letter probably wouldn't have been printed without his name attached and the compliments for the paper that it contained.

The redhead passed the article to Harry to read next. Luna read it over his shoulder.

Harry summarized the story as "disappointing, but not terribly surprising." He passed the paper back to Ron and said, "Sadly, I don't think there's more I can do about this. I don't really have a mind for Ministry politics or, like, journalism."

Luna said, "I see how the profession wouldn't suit you, Harry. But Ron, you might be a good reporter! You have an eye for the truth, and why it matters."

Harry complimented, "That's very perceptive." He turned to Ron, "I agree with Luna, for what it's worth."

"Er, I'll think about it."

Ginny brought Harry his second scroll from Dumbledore with a meeting time. She passed it to him without speaking either a greeting or goodbye. Harry supposed that indifference was better than the barbs she sent his way the previous year.

Harry went up to the lesson wondering what, if anything, Lily-as-Snape had told Dumbledore. Did the old man know that Voldemort had been vanquished?

On one hand, Harry didn't like withholding information. On the other, he'd been so stressed over the last two and a half years about Dumbledore getting in the way of the trio's plans that his goodwill for the man was exhausted. He resolved not to say anything unless Dumbledore seemed to prompt him for the information.

Dumbledore greeted Harry and launched into a mostly familiar lesson. He talked about Merope Gaunt selling a family heirloom to Borgin and Burkes for a pittance, Dumbledore visiting an eleven-year-old Tom Riddle at the orphanage, and a teenage Tom Riddle framing Morfin Gaunt for the Riddle family's murders. Dumbledore concluded the session by pointing out that Voldemort was a sentimental collector.

Two weeks later they had their final lesson of the calendar year. Dumbledore showed Harry that Voldemort had applied to be the Defense professor, that a young Riddle had probably stolen Hufflepuff's cup from Hepzibah Smith, and that Slughorn had given Dumbledore an altered memory.

"I believe that when you get the original memory from Professor Slughorn, it will be most illuminating."

"Okay." Harry knew what the memory would show, but he realized that he might have to collect it anyway. He'd do it after New Years, he resolved.

Dumbledore looked at an instrument on his desk, then said, "In the Spring term, I'd like you to take Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape. He has indicated that he will be returning from his sabbatical early, having achieved some success in his research."

Harry wrinkled his nose at the mention of Professor Snape, as the old man would expect.

The headmaster leaned forward conspiratorially, "Privately, I think he misses the school."

Wanting to avoid the topic of Snape, Harry asked, "Occlumency?"

"This is an art that will help you hide the contents of our lessons from Voldemort, should your paths cross in the future, and it is of utmost importance that you learn it well. I hope that I can depend on you to give it your best effort."

Dumbledore paused, so Harry nodded that he understood.

"This is enough, I think. So, I bid you a good night."

Because of plan CRISP (Cautious Research and Internal Study on Parent), Harry let himself continue to work through his thoughts about Lily, Snape, and Sev during the quieter moments in between normal school activities.

In particular, Harry's spur-of-the-moment decision to ask Sev about his patronus as well as Harry's trips into Dumbledore's pensieve called to mind a distant recollection:

In the previous timeline, Harry had seen Lily-as-Snape's memory of casting a patronus for Dumbledore. The phrase "always" had suggested to him at the time that Snape still cared for Lily a decade after her death.

Perhaps Lily of that timeline was still playing the role she had crafted to hide her secrets.

Or maybe, it was symbolic and that she mourned for the her life with James and baby Harry, or the parts of herself that she lost when her counterpart died. Keeping Harry alive was possibly a way to keep that piece of her love or her past alive.

Or maybe, just maybe, someone could have told Harry that Severus Snape's patronus took the form of a crow. Maybe that other version of Lily-as-Snape had wanted her lie to be unraveled, after the dust of the war had settled in the other timeline. Maybe she had wanted to be known.

While Harry could never be sure if that was true, Harry allowed the idea to give him a small measure of comfort. He could never talk to the Lily-as-Snape of the previous timeline. That was part of the price he paid to rewrite the end to her story.

Dumbledore's lessons dredged up more than just Harry's memories of Lily-as-Snape from the other timeline.

Harry also started to feel hypocritical for hiding Voldemort's death from Dumbledore. How could he resent the old man for his secrets when Harry hadn't come clean about his own lie-by-omission?

But Dumbledore was so very sharp. And, Harry had already said he would maintain the trio's "forever secrets": time travel, Snape's true identity, and the trio's secret defeat of Voldemort. Harry had made a promise to his two best friends, which was more important than lies in Harry's view.

Still, Harry was uneasy. He decided to seek out advice from Luna on a cold, dark day in December.

"Luna, How do you handle keeping a secret forever? Especially one that, like, affects you a lot."

"I handle them poorly, I think. Especially before I met you."

Harry considered this. "Still, I think you're the best of my friends to give me advice on this topic. Hermione's never been fundamentally bothered by secrets. Ron values information; he can learn and use secrets. Neither view their own secrets as much of a burden."

"I see your point. Let me think about it." After a while, she said, "You know my biggest secret. Do you think less of me for not telling people?" She was referring to her Sight, Harry knew.

Harry immediately said, "No."

"If it were your secret, would you tell people?"

"No." True Seers often had tough lives and were in high demand. They were lucky if they maintained control over their own lives.

"So secrets are okay sometimes?"

The answer was obvious. "Yes."

"Not all truth can be shared with everyone."

Harry sighed in disappointment. "You're right, of course."

Luna took Harry's hand in her own. "I would also say that some people don't have the right to your truths. You should focus on the people who deserve to know you."

Harry swallowed thickly. "Okay." No secrets for Dumbledore, then. In that moment, Harry felt the rightness of that decision. Dumbledore's lessons were all attempts to lead Harry by the nose, and the old man discouraged open conversation at every turn.

Luna bit her lip and said, "This is not quite what you asked about, but I would like to give you some additional advice anyway. Is that okay?"

Harry said earnestly, "Please."

Her voice got quieter. "I know that there's a lot about yourself that you feel that you can't share, and I respect that. I'll never press you for information, even though I can see that your secrets hurt you. This is because I know that you're honest when you think that you can be."

Harry gave a small nod. He didn't like not being able to share all of himself with Luna, who was his closest friend other than Ron and Hermione. However, it was a relief that Luna didn't resent him for it.

"Whenever and however you choose to show yourself, you will probably be the most comfortable if what you share is… similar somehow to your inner truth. As long as you keep what's real straight for yourself, I think you can find a sense of contentment. I'm confident that you can work through your struggles with time."

Harry wrote down her words in his secret journal later. Luna was right that Harry still had many heavy secrets. The weight of Harry's secrets in general was far greater than how they related to Dumbledore in particular.

Harry then brainstormed some near-truths that he could organize his many unsharable thoughts and experiences with.

Quill in hand, he thought about time travel. It's sort of like reading an alternate-reality story. It's also like Ron's impressive abilities to observe closely and predict accurately.

His mother's identity was like a concerned professor, an uncle, or a parent's friend who stepped into a parent-like role from time to time. It was like a grumpy fairy godmother who showed up unexpectedly to point out his mistakes.

The trio's secret defeat of Voldemort was like his original defeat of Voldemort: poorly understood by the public but still good. It was like a covert operation for public safety.

The older Harry got, the more spots in his life he'd be able to connect to his real, secret experiences. It would be a lot of work, he could already tell.

Luna was wise beyond her years. With an hour's work, Harry felt a little more at ease.

A month after the trio's success in the graveyard, Hermione reflected that she didn't feel as victorious as she had expected to.

The final confrontation with Voldemort couldn't have gone more perfectly. Voldemort was resurrected just long enough to be able to hold a wand. Barty Crouch Junior was ultimately Snape's problem now, though Hermione did her due diligence.

Harry would be able to get the last bits of truth he needed from Lily-as-Snape when she returned to the school, which she'd said she would. Hermione wasn't above threatening "Professor Wicket" to drag Lily back here, if needed.

The "Save Lives" part of their plan had gone incredibly well. Hermione wasn't aware of a single death beyond Wormtail and Quirrell as a result of Voldemort in the past four years (Hermione didn't quite count Dumbledore's probable upcoming demise).

Hermione searched though her various journals for hints of any loose ends. She stumbled upon the prophecy that Professor Trelawney gave her almost a year earlier. "Favored. Locks. Unlocks. Love. Fate."

Hermione had thought about dropping the Divination class from her schedule, but she held on for her friends Lavender and Parvati and continued to write alternate assignments.

She twisted a curl on the end of her finger, thinking about how Lavender identified the similarity of her hair and the divination professor's. Locks unlock. But what do they unlock?

With that realization, she thought about the first word. "Favored" could be a form of address, with "Love" as the start of a signature. She had even met the eldritch entity Fate.

Hermione went to find Lavender Brown.

Hermione found Lavender in the common room and asked her to come talk to her in the dorm. Both sitting on Hermione's bed, she recited the prophecy that Trelawney had given.

"Ooh ooh ooh! That's so exciting! What have you worked out so far about it?"

Hermione told the other girl nervously about her theory on hair and wondering if the message was structured like a letter with a greeting and signature.

"Whoa! Like, you're literally favored by Fate itself. That is SO cool!" Lavender chattered excitedly for a while before saying, "It sounds like you have it all figured out then. What did you need me for?"

"Er, well, I think I want to perform a charm with Trelawney to see if we're related. But you're way closer to her. Do you think she'd be okay with it?"

"She's all about knowing things, using her Sight to learn. I don't think you have to be subtle about it."

At Lavender's urging, the pair went to the Divination Tower after classes let out. Lavender waited at the base of the ladder while Hermione ascended into the dark room.

"Professor?"

The witch was seated at the front of the classroom. She tapped a sphere on the table with her wand and the room became slightly more illuminated. "Miss Granger. The Fates told me to expect you today, but I don't know why."

"Lavender told me that she mentioned that my muggle parents adopted me as a baby. I don't know who my birth parents are."

"Ah."

"I — I was wondering if it'd be okay with you if I saw how closely related you and I are? It's a simple spell. I've done it with my friends, and it just shows a colored light. Red for twins, Yellow for siblings, and blue for unrelated people."

"I myself am curious. You may proceed."

Hermione cast the charm. "Yellowish-green."

"I would call that lime, myself."

Hermione frowned as she thought about the colors. "We're related. A cousin?"

"An aunt, perhaps. I have a sister who fell out of touch and died in those dark days, before."

"You mean while Voldemort was rising to power?"

"Indeed I do." Trelawney nodded with uncharacteristic gravity.

"So… we're family."

Professor Trelawney stared at Hermione in shock. Suddenly, she proclaimed, "This calls for a toast!" The professor opened up a desk drawer and pulled out a bottle and two glasses. She poured one drink, then asked, "Sherry?"

"Sure." Hermione was secretly 24 years old, so it seemed harmless.

"My sister was three years younger than me, and far more beautiful. I can see something of her nose on you — let me find a picture…" The professor nearly knocked the bottle off the table with the end of her shawl as she moved toward an end table with a tiny drawer.