Chapter 3: Obscurial

"Welcome to the Prince Club," the other Severus said. "Can I get you anything?"

Gestalt looked down at the other Severus's nametag, which read 'Obscurial'. "Do you have wine?" he asked.

Obscurial nodded and took a bottle of red out from under the counter. "You're Gestalt, then."

"So your wife's told me," Gestalt replied as he watched Obscurial pour a glass. Seeing his counterpart's nametag gave him the feeling he knew why he would be touchy about the subject of magic. "Is there a particular reason I'm so famous?" Gestalt asked.

"Time travel," Obscurial said briefly. "I assumed Dumblefucker told you."

"Sev," the other Lily chided gently.

Obscurial gave the other Lily an odd look, and Gestalt gleaned a thick layer of regret on the surface. "I'll behave," Obscurial said. He turned back to Gestalt and said, "As you're the first one here, I have one rule."

"By all means," Gestalt said as he took a sip.

"No magic," Obscurial said.

"That seems fair," Gestalt replied. "As you've already heard about me, I assume I don't have to share my entire life story with you."

"I have a general idea of what you've been through," Obscurial said.

"What about you?"

Obscurial stiffened at the question.

"Maybe, we should wait until more people arrive?" the other Lily asked.

"No," Obscurial said. "It's fine."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Only if you're busy with something else," Obscurial said.

"I'll let Cookie know we've started," the other Lily said as she kissed Obscurial on the cheek.

As the other Lily left, Gestalt asked, "Cookie?"

"She's another Lily that works in the kitchen," Obscurial explained. "Her husband's the janitor here."

Gestalt looked around before he said, "What exactly happened?"

Obscurial froze for a moment before relaxing his shoulders, resting his palms on the countertop. "You remember the incident by the Black Lake."

Gestalt nodded.

"And how Lily didn't forgive us."

"Of course."

"I went back to my room and thought over what I'd done over the seven years of our friendship." Obscurial poured himself a glass of whiskey before taking a sip. "I mapped out every single aspect of myself that Lily could have taken issue with. In my mind, if I could find the root of the problem, I could solve everything."

"And?"

"There were two roots. The first root was my relationship with magic; I thought magic was bringing the worst out of me. The second root was me; in my mind, I was inherently wrong about everything, and I thought I didn't deserve to pursue what I wanted.

"That night, I packed my things and left the following morning. I sold everything in Diagon Alley, exchanged my money, and went back home. I kept myself busy by working at Cokey's."

"The pub?"

Obscurial nodded. "In three years, I worked my way up to being the manager; when Cokey died, I took over ownership. I even hired Dad on as the bartender."

Gestalt felt himself stiffen.

"What?"

"What was he like?"

"Cruel," Obscurial said, "but after I returned home early, he and Mum noticed I'd changed. He started mellowing out."

"... our mother was alive?"

Obscurial furrowed his brow. "Yours wasn't?"

"Tobias murdered her earlier in the year," Gestalt answered.

"... it seems those ripples you caused had a bigger impact than I thought," Obscurial muttered. "Anyway, about five years after I left Hogwarts, Lily showed up at my door. She needed my help in regaining custody of Harry."

"Harry Potter?"

Obscurial nodded. "She'd divorced Potter Sr. and lost custody, and after the latter died, she saw an opportunity. So, she showed up and asked me to marry her."

Gestalt raised an eyebrow. "Did she?"

"Under wizarding law, the only way for her to regain custody would be to either have a permanent place of residence and a stable job or need to get married. After the divorce, her reputation was ruined, and just about everyone sided with Potter Sr. I was her last option."

"You obviously accepted."

"The first years were torture," Obscurial said, drinking more whiskey. "I felt like I was being used, and the self-loathing didn't help. I moved out and found a flat in Birmingham... to make a long story short, we reconciled."

Gestalt pointed to Obscurial's nametag. "Why are you called that?"

"Take a lucky guess," Obscurial said with a sneer. "When you quit magic, it's never a clean break. The only reason I survived as long as I did was because of Occlumency."

"You learned Occlumency?" Gestalt asked.

"Apparently, I'm a natural," Obscurial replied. "We all are. Well, except maybe for our janitor."

Gestalt nodded. "How was Harry?"

"He was a good kid," Obscurial said. "Fell in love with Mum and Dad almost instantly. His first words were 'Toby' and 'Gran'. He ended up in Gryffindor."

"Just like mine, then," Gestalt said with a smile.

"Just like," Obscurial replied.

"Did you ever..."

"Spit it out."

"... pick up magic again?"

Obscurial paused, clearly uncomfortable with the question. "Lily thought I ought to."

"And?"

"... I considered it. I think part of me still hated myself for... well, it was self-loathing in general. Not a very good motivator. But, eventually, I did, if only to shut Harry up."

"Insufferable, was he?"

"Always."

Gestalt was about to say something else, but his attention was turned to whomever was about to open one of the doors along the side of the room. "Someone's coming."

"Must be useful to be a Seer," Obscurial said. "But I already know who it is."

"Who then?"

"The janitor."

The door opened, and out came a scruffy, mop-holding Severus Snape.