"Blimey…and he actually said all that?"

For a change in setting, the trio had left the common room behind to spend some time in Lupin's office, with Sirius completing the line-up. Following his meeting with Professor Snape, Harry had immediately known that he needed to talk to someone about it, so it was good to have so many potential candidates for that honour in one room. Throughout the rest of the day, trudging through lessons, Harry had barely stopped thinking about the conversation he'd just relayed to his captive audience.

To say they were taken aback by Snape's words was an understatement.

Matthew had completely abandoned his mug of tea, which very rarely happened. Hermione had that look on her face that she only ever wore when she was faced with a particularly vexing puzzle. Lupin was scratching his chin in thought, apparently of the opinion that silent contemplation would help him understand this most bizarre of developments. And Sirius was wiping his eyes in comical fashion, attempting to make it abundantly clear that he didn't believe any of it was possible.

"It's so absurd that I couldn't have made it up even if I tried," Harry said. "When I cornered him in the classroom, I never imagined that he'd open up so…willingly. No, scratch that, there was nothing willing about it. He didn't want to be doing it. Snape looked as if he would have rather taken one of his more unsavoury potions than talk to me about everything. But it was like he…had to. He had to get that off his chest."

"Do you think this means he'll treat you with a bit more respect?" Matthew asked.

"Let's take things one step at a time. This is already more of an improvement than I could have seen coming."

"I think it's rather noble of him," Hermione commented.

Harry furrowed his brow. "Noble?"

"Yes. It takes a lot to admit to one's mistakes, especially when you're as proud as Snape obviously is. To admit when you're wrong to someone you don't like…very few people are capable of that, in all honesty."

"I'm not about to applaud him after he's made my life a living hell, just because I happen to have green eyes."

"I wouldn't expect you to. But…baby steps, right? It's much better to have a man like that on your side, rather than working against you."

"The fact of the matter is that he was working against us," Sirius growled. "He was a spy for Voldemort and you don't just get to walk away from that."

"You do when you have Dumbledore on your side."

"It's all too easy."

"Not everything has to be dark and twisted. Some people can just see the error of their ways. And he's at least partly made up for it, don't you think? He saved Harry's life."

"It's the one thing I'm willing to praise him for, but that's where I draw the line. Don't expect me to be hugging him anytime soon."

"Boys," Hermione murmured with a roll of her eyes. "No matter your age, you're all still the same. You don't have to like Snape. Frankly, I'd be surprised if you did. But he's apparently someone who lost a person he deeply cared for, and that led him to doing things he now regrets. Trust me, as someone who's speaking from recent experience, losing a partner can completely change the way your mind works."

She turned her attention towards Matthew, who smiled sadly at the young woman. He reached out towards her, their fingers interlocking in a silent show of support. It didn't need explaining as to what she was referring to. And, as much as the other three had gone through personal loss, none of them could relate to the loss of someone they loved romantically. Perhaps it explained why Harry was so worked up over Enola, the loss impacting his senses.

"That being said, it does seem remarkably out of character for Severus to talk in such a candid fashion," Lupin pointed out.

"Maybe he's just tired of living a lie," Matthew suggested. "Maybe, before it's too late, he wants to approach life with a smile, rather than the usual scowl he tends to wear."

"He wouldn't have mentioned any of this if I hadn't prompted him," Harry said. "So is it just a matter of pent up guilt?"

"It's like a dam bursting," Hermione proposed. "You cracked the wall and, once the water started spurting it, it couldn't be stopped. I bet he was mortified once you left him on his own."

"I was mortified, let alone him."

"The way I see it, Snape knows that the odds against Voldemort are stacking up," Sirius reasoned, leaning against the nearby fireplace. "Every single time he's faced Harry, he's been embarrassed. There comes a time when that isn't just a matter of luck, but a common theme he can't escape from. And let's hope that continues to be the case until that pasty bugger finds himself in a shallow grave."

"You've always had a way with words," Lupin grumbled sardonically.

"Thank you. But if we know that, then Snape has picked up on that. The best chance for his continued survival post-Voldemort is by having you onboard, or at least ensuring that you don't hate his guts. I'd imagine this is all tactical. His need to survive outweighs every other principle. He's like a cockroach in that regard, as well as general appearance."

"Does it matter what his intentions are if it means he's more pleasant towards Harry?" Hermione wondered.

"If his loyalty can be so easily won, then it can just as quickly be lost. What if Voldemort earns himself a victory? What if Snape senses a turning of the tide and ditches us? If he has access to you, he could use that against us."

"If that was his endgame, then he could have done that plenty of times by now," Harry countered. "Or are you forgetting that he willingly defended me against a Death Eater not too long ago?"

"To cover his reputation?"

"In an empty corridor where no one on our side was present?"

"Stop trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. It's too big of a gear change. Things were much simpler when you despised him just as much as I do."

"Really, I'm not concerned about Snape, at least for the time being. The people I've got more doubts over are…well, the two of you."

If Harry hadn't been so nervous about the steps he was taking, he might have found their mutual reactions rather comical. Sirius' hand had been resting on the mantle of the fireplace, but it slipped as he registered the comment. He staggered haphazardly and Harry half considered moving to keep him upright, although that might have undermined the point he was trying to make. Lupin, on the other hand, looked as if he'd spotted a full moon, with how wide his eyes currently were.

Meanwhile, Matthew and Hermione were looking distinctly uncomfortable about how the whole fiasco was unfolding. They probably didn't want to be a part of the mess, feeling as if they were intruding on a private family matter. But Harry knew for certain that he wouldn't have been able to approach this without them by his side, whether they were willing accomplices or not. And, in truth, the only way to see them was as his family, so they had a right to be there in his opinion at least.

The problem was that Harry had wanted to avoid the matter in its entirety, but had known as soon as it had cropped up in his heated conversation with Snape that he wouldn't have been able to let it go. He needed to discuss it and he needed to hear their version of events. And yet he was absolutely terrified as he considered the potential ramifications of what he was planning. By confronting them, he was putting the relationship they'd forged in jeopardy, he was risking pushing them away when he'd only just started to appreciate what having a family was like.

"What do you mean?" Sirius stuttered, moving closer. "What have we done?"

"It's probably more a case of what you've done," Lupin argued.

"You could have insulted him during one of his lessons! Did you make it out as if he's just a normal student? Because you know he's much better than all of them put together!" Sirius paused, awkwardly glancing at the other two people in the room. "No offence."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Some taken."

"It has nothing to do with classes," Harry said, trying to keep the conversation on track.

"Ha!" Lupin exclaimed. "Then it must be your fault, Sirius. Did you try to give him a bit of your world famous advice? It's no wonder that he's angry then."

"You always like my advice," the other man grumbled.

"I always like ignoring it. There's a crucial difference."

"Please, guys!" Harry butted in desperately. "It's…the two of you. It's something you've both done."

Sirius was fidgeting with his hands nervously and Harry suddenly picked up on something he'd initially missed. He, himself, was worried about what this conversation was going to lead to in terms of their established dynamic. But it was growing increasingly more apparent that Sirius, too, was concerned about what was going on. He evidently didn't want to lose Harry, especially if it was down to his own fault, so it was no surprise that he now looked so scared.

"Well…let us know," he said, trying to force a smile onto his face and failing spectacularly. "If we've done anything to upset you, then it's good for us to hear about it. That's the only way we'll fix it, after all."

"It's to do with Snape. Because…we've known each other for a good few years now, and there have been plenty of times where you've been more than happy to share stories about your time at Hogwarts. So how come you've barely ever mentioned the fact that Snape was there at the same time? You've brought it up a few times, if just to complain about him and call him names. But…he made it seem that…"

"It's not a topic we like to discuss," Lupin explained. "At least that's my stance on the matter."

"Why not?"

"Out of shame, I'd say."

"I'm going to need a stronger drink if we're doing this," Sirius sighed.

"No," Harry countered. "We're going to do this properly. Why are you ashamed? Snape said that he was friends with my mum but…he made it seem as if it wasn't allowed to stay that way once she started dating my dad."

"That was his own fault! He couldn't accept that Lily liked someone other than him. In the end, she got tired of him chasing after her."

"So how come Remus is saying he still feels ashamed about what happened?"

"Well, I would have preferred it if he hadn't phrased it that way."

"Is he wrong?"

"...no."

"You've got to remember that we were teenagers at the time," Lupin said. "And, as a result, we did things that were incredibly stupid, naive and simply vindictive when you look back on events."

"What did you do?" Harry asked once more, feeling as if they were going around in endless circles.

"He refused to get the message," Sirius explained. "If he wasn't going to leave Lily alone, then we were going to make sure he backed off."

Lupin looked rather uneasy about the whole matter. "They were largely just harmless pranks."

"That's what we did. That's what made the Marauders famous! You know the drill. Turning his robes pink, or putting certain potions in his goblet, or there was one time when your father quite spectacularly hung from a tree branch upside down."

"You bullied him."

"It wasn't bullying! We only acted the way we did because we were looking out for Lily, and making sure that the years James had spent pining after her were worth the effort. It's not as if he just sat back and took the punishment. At times, he gave as good as he got. I don't want you thinking that this was just one-sided taunting. He might have gotten in your head, but I refuse to let him tarnish the way you view me. That was a long time ago but, to be fair, I don't know whether I would have acted any differently. He became a Death Eater after all, so you could see it as a form of pre-punishment for all the sins he'd commit at a later date."

"Have you ever considered that it was because of what you did to him that he ended up joining Voldemort's ranks?"

"He made that choice because, deep down, he was resentful about every part of his life. He was ashamed of his background. Giving him any sort of excuse for those choices is just a way of letting him off the hook."

For a few moments, Harry sat in silence, trying to come to terms with what he was hearing. All his life, he'd heard gallant stories whenever his parents came up in conversation, tales he'd cling onto to keep them alive. But now he was being faced with a reality where they weren't actually as perfect as people claimed. Had his dad been a bully? Just because he'd happened to like a girl? Harry had spent his time at Hogwarts resenting people like Draco for their mean behaviour, only to be discovering more recently that things were never that black and white.

"So Snape did know my mum well?"

Lupin nodded his head. "Growing up, Severus lived close by to Lily in a house on Spinner's End. I believe it was his father who was a muggle, with his mother being of pure blood descent. From the few details that Lily brought up, he didn't enjoy his family life."

"That's the reason why he joined Voldemort," Sirius argued. "It's the same hypocrisy that the Dark Lord was sprouting. Pure blood ideologies whilst being half blood. It was a form of escape, because they both believed they deserved better than the hand they'd been dealt with. As the years went by and we approached our final days at Hogwarts as students, I like to believe that we all mellowed. James was transformed from a juvenile jerk into a devoted partner, and we were happy to follow his example. Snape, on the other hand, only got worse, growing more resentful."

"In truth, when Dumbledore told us that he'd betrayed Voldemort the first time, we didn't believe him at first. But I suppose people do change. It just might take a longer journey for some. The fact he spoke to you, albeit not entirely willingly, added to the undeniable truth that he saved your life…well, maybe the journey is finally coming to an end for old Severus."

"I'll only pat him on the back for what he did for you in the manor, Harry. But everything else…the way he's treated you…the way he behaved back in the day…let's just say that we're never going to be close friends. The best we're going to get is a mutual nod of the head whenever we pass one another in the corridor."

Harry played with his fingers, just to give his mind something else to focus on. "Thank you for…um…you know, telling me all about that."

Sirius slapped him on the back. "You have a right to know these things. Just…don't let it picture your dad in another light. The James who Snape knew wasn't your father. He did a lot of growing up. We all did."

"Sorry for unloading all that on you."

"It's what I'm here for. It's basically the first clause on the guardian contract, right below always being there for a hug."

Sirius opened up his arms in invitation, with Harry hesitating just momentarily. He felt slightly awkward at embracing his godfather in front of other people, but Matthew and Hermione subtly averted their gazes to give him the space to enjoy the sensation. He sighed contentedly as they hugged, some of the fears melting away as he realised Sirius wasn't going to punish him for asking difficult questions.

"Can we move on now?" Sirius asked. "Because there's only so much talking about that slimeball that I can bear."

"There are a few other things I wanted to discuss whilst we've got this moment together. I feel as if it's been put on the backburner as of late, thanks to all of the madness we've been dealing with, but there's still a war to fight."

"Jeez, you're keeping it light and breezy today."

"That's the thing, I don't get to be light and breezy. Other people can enjoy that, whereas I've got all these pressures weighing down on me."

"Hey, now…that's why we're here, so that we can share the load and make it feel lighter."

"We know that Voldemort is recovering from my escape, and I imagine he's going to return with a vengeance. If he's planning his next steps, then we should be doing the same. He could arrive on our doorstep at any moment and we're still not properly prepared."

"That's where the adults come in," Lupin pointed out. "Dumbledore doesn't stop working, let me tell you. I'm pretty sure that the man no longer requires sleep, as if he's evolved past that basic human need. He's in constant discussions with the Ministry and plenty of other governing bodies. Organisations from all over the world."

"Really?"

"He's trying to learn from his mistakes of the past. During the first war, Britain basically closed itself off and, as a result, nearly collapsed. This time around, he's hoping that a few extra allies can turn the tide in our favour."

Hermione sat up straighter, eyes gleaming at the suggestion. "Such as?"

"Well, we've already got established relationships with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang thanks to the Triwizard Tournament. It might have ended in a mess, but that might just help us, seeing as those schools got a first hand look at what Voldemort is trying to do."

Harry perked up. "Beauxbatons?"

Matthew snorted in laughter. "I wonder why you're getting so excited about that…"

He didn't like how quick he was to blush. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hold on," Sirius said, leaning forward. "What are you talking about?"

The grin hadn't left Matthew's face. "There's a certain girl at Beauxbatons who captured dear Harry's heart, and it looks as if she still hasn't let go."

"Ah…Miss Margot. The perils of young love."

"I…I wasn't thinking about her!" Harry tried to protest.

"Say that to your bright red face," Matthew retorted.

It was strange, in truth. Because Harry hadn't thought of Margot for quite some time. He could remember how devastated he'd been at the fact that their short relationship had come to an end, solely because of factors outside of their control. But he'd been able to move on, only until her name had just cropped up in passing. Matthew appeared to be right in that the impact she'd left on him still lingered. How could he forget the first girl he'd ever properly kissed?

There was, of course, an added dilemma that he wasn't going to bring up given his present company. And that was the fact that someone else had caught his eye recently. It would just be his luck that, having found someone new, the previous girl who'd tugged on his heartstrings was potentially returning to the mix. Would he have to pick? Enola or Margot? Why was he suddenly hyperventilating over something that wasn't necessarily bound to happen?

He'd rather face Voldemort than worry about girls, it turned out.

"It'd just be nice to get some support from the other schools," he said, folding his arms in defiance.

"Yes, and if that also comes with a kiss or two from a French girl, then that's just an added bonus."

Hermione nudged her boyfriend. "Stop messing with him. I'm sure that Harry's thinking in purely tactical terms and…I can't even finish that sentence with a straight face."

She burst into a fit of giggles, with Matthew soon joining her. Harry wanted to be annoyed and disgruntled at their behaviour, but how could he be mad at such a joyous spectacle? With everything that was weighing down on him, it was nice to still have those moments, when life was just normal. When life was just about trivial matters such as fancying a girl or teasing your friends. And so, going against his instincts, he allowed the smile to form on his lips, cementing the fact that the other two had won.

"I'll make a special request with Dumbledore for Margot to be included in any convoy that gets sent over," Sirius told him.

Harry's eyes went wide. "What? No! Do not do that! That'd be mortifying beyond belief!"

"Which is exactly why I'd do it. I might be your guardian, but I'm also a Marauder too. I've got to juggle both responsibilities."

"Is there really a chance of Durmstrang responding to a call to arms?" Matthew wondered. "I'm not one to judge, but they struck me as exactly the sort of people who'd eat up Voldemort's rhetoric."

"You're always judging people," Hermione countered. "It's pretty much your one hobby."

"That, and winding you up."

"And you're frustratingly good at both."

"Durmstrang does have a serious track record when it comes to the dark arts," Lupin admitted. "But you've got to look at things from their perspective. Voldemort taking over magical society as we know it isn't going to come with any positives for places such as Bulgaria. Voldemort doesn't care about them. At the moment, they're allowed to thrive thanks to cooperation between various magical countries. Voldemort would put an end to that."

"And whilst they've farmed plenty of Death Eaters, the younger generation aren't so easily swayed," Sirius added. "If Dumbledore can get his message right, and that's a big if, then there's every chance that we could add their wands to our side of the fight. With their reputation when it comes to heavy duty curses, I'd much rather have them beside me than opposite me."

"Will you keep me updated about all that?" Harry asked.

"As soon as we find out something, we'll come running to you, don't worry."

"How quickly could they reach Hogwarts if we were under attack?"

"That depends on a lot of factors," Lupin reasoned. "The Floo Network is obviously the quickest route between locations, but it only works with one person at a time. Hogwarts might have plenty of fireplaces at hand…"

"...but there'd still be a giant bottleneck at the precise moment we'd need to be making a united stand."

"Precisely."

"I don't expect them to be arriving in a flying horse-drawn carriage or on a giant pirate ship, at least," Matthew murmured. "Then again, those horses could do a bit of damage just by trampling through Voldemort's army. And a pirate ship comes with cannons, which are always handy."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Hermione suggested. "We're not fighting a war just yet. We're of the opinion that Voldemort isn't going to do anything of note, at least at Hogwarts, for the foreseeable future. I know it's difficult not to worry constantly about what's to come, Harry, but it'd do you some good to think about other things."

"Such as homework and lessons?"

"You know me so well. You took the words right out of my mouth."

"I suppose we should follow Hermione's advice," Lupin said, standing up. "My classes don't prepare themselves."

"And we're getting close to Christmas." Sirius grinned wolfishly. "That means plenty of present shopping needs to be done. I've got a list as long as Santa Claus, and I don't even have any elves to help me out."

"I'm sure that Dobby would be willing to lend a hand," Matthew remarked. "Although he'd ask for a price now. Since he's discovered the world of capitalism, he's become a different creature, holding more respect for himself."

"As he should be," Hermione commented with a firm nod of her head.

Harry noticed that they were all making a move. Lupin had work to be getting on with, Sirius had his secretive shopping, and Hermione no doubt wanted to whip her boys into shape, just in case they thought she'd go easy on them because the festive season was slowly approaching. But, having already faced one excruciating topic, Harry knew that he wouldn't be brave enough to take on the challenge again. It was like ripping off a plaster.

"Wait."

To his surprise, they all came to a juddering halt, all well trained by the looks of things. Harry almost wished that that wasn't the case, seeing as it meant they were now all staring at him in anticipation and mild curiosity. He idly wondered what they were expecting, and whether they could have possibly imagined what he was about to tell them. It was all about biting the proverbial bullet.

He'd rather deal with the topic of girls, which was saying something.

"We can't ignore the fact that we've stalled on the horcrux front," he began.

"I think we're doing fairly well," Hermione replied. "We've destroyed the diary, locket and the ring. That's pretty good going, to give ourselves some credit. And, believe it or not, but we've had a few reasons to be distracted as of late."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that Voldemort is going to be distracted. What happens if he does turn up next week or something? We're still going to be missing out on four of them."

"Three," Matthew said. "Unless you're counting Voldemort himself."

"Right…yeah…but the principle remains the same. We should be picking up the pace, especially if we now have a way of destroying them more easily. Myself and Hermione have proven that we can wield enough pure magic to make it possible, and now we have Matthew back in the fold, who can lend his many talents."

"Why thank you. Flattery will get you everywhere."

"The problem you're ignoring is that we don't have any clues as to where the others are," Hermione sagely pointed out.

Harry had been fully expecting such an argument. "Yeah, but I've been thinking about that. Because, when I was locked up in Malfoy Manor, Voldemort discussed the topic of horcruxes. And he did so in front of his most loyal servants. Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Junior were all there when it came up, which means that they must have known about their existence beforehand. Voldemort wouldn't have risked letting that slip otherwise and, even then, he wouldn't have told them in the first place if they couldn't prove to be useful to the cause. We already know that Malfoy was involved with the diary getting into Hogwarts."

"So it'd stand to reason that the other two have played similar roles," Matthew pressed on. "It certainly makes sense."

"And it's something to go on at least," Hermione added. "Though I would have preferred it if you'd told us about this sooner, Harry. We could have been working on figuring out these clues for a while."

"Well…that's the thing…because I need to tell you all something else too. I don't know how you're going to react. Just…try to be calm, okay? Otherwise I'm going to start spiralling and I've done well to be cool with the idea so far. I'd hate for that to go to waste."

Sirius gripped Harry's shoulder. "Whatever it is, we're here for you. Even if you're absolutely terrifying me right now with all this cryptic nonsense."

"I know where one of the horcruxes is. Another horcrux, one we didn't know about, one we didn't factor into our equations."

"Brilliant!" Matthew exclaimed. "Let's go find it and turn it into dust."

Harry went significantly pale. "Maybe…we should find a different way of dealing with it because…because…oh, just spit it out, Harry…it's me. I'm the horcrux."