Book II: Age of the Pheonix

Chapter XXII: Tomb of the Mind

Music Theme: Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Spinner's End - August 1977...

Eileen Snape rounded the corner to Spinner's End when she noticed the sun setting. Had she really been roaming around Cokeworth most of the afternoon? There wasn't much appeal to strolling about the town as the odor from the polluted river filled the air, but anywhere was better than her home. She'd fled another argument with her husband, afraid of his temper. The sticking point of their discussion had been what would become of their son, Severus, when he graduated Hogwarts next year. Eileen wished for him to stay at home while he explored opportunities to advance his magic, but her husband, Tobias, wanted Severus to abandon the hopes of a magical career and get a steady Muggle job that could allow his father to retire.

Eileen neared the broken mailbox with the 'e' faded on the name 'Snape' when she spotted her son sitting on the curb, his ratty suitcase beside him.

"Well well... waiting for the Knight Bus are we?" She said as she stopped next to him.

"It won't come with you here," he grumbled without looking up.

"Of course not, because you're not stranded as long as I'm here." She sat beside him on the curb and he kept his head turned away from her. "Severus?" When he refused to look she reached over and gently grabbed his chin to turn his head which bore a black eye. She didn't seem startled by it, but huffed in defeat, "How..."

"Potion experiment gone wrong."

"That doesn't sound like you," she said and reached towards his head but he pulled it away.

"Don't go in there."

Mrs. Snape dropped her hand and said, "If you won't tell me the truth I have no other recourse but to find it up there." She gently tapped her finger on his forehead.

"So I'm granted no privacy at all?"

"Don't shut me out, Severus. Please."

"What option do I have? You can't always help but to hear my thoughts so I have to practice shielding my mind. Otherwise nothing in this world belongs to me, not even my thoughts."

"But you know you can trust me with your thoughts. I've never used legilimency against you. I'll always protect you, Severus."

"Will you? Aren't you the woman who just fled, leaving me here with that drunk? You go for a nice stroll to clear your head and I'm left to deal with his temper?"

"So... he did hit you then?"

"Why shouldn't he? After all, I'm just the freak who messed up his entire life. I'm not the son he wanted. He wants a boring, pathetic, Muggle."

"I'll keep fighting for you, Severus. I know you have a future with magic. I know you do. We will find a way to ensure you can use it-"

"I got a letter from Mulciber..."

Eileen tilted her head wondering what that would have to do with the conversation, when suddenly she could hear her son's thoughts. She heard his memory of the letter as if she was reading it herself and shivered.

"See?" Snape watched her from the corner of his eye. "Poke around in the dark crevices of my mind and you might not like what you see."

"You think that's the best use of magic? Joining forces with the likes of Mulciber and Avery? I didn't like who you became in school once you spent time with them. I much prefered when you spent time with that Evans girl," she said and nodded up the road. "What happened between you two?"

"None of your business," he grunted.

Eileen sighed and rest her hand on her son's arm. "What is it you'd have me do, Severus?"

"Leave Tobias," he said. Snape had refused to call his father anything but his first name since he was 12 and the abuse started.

"I can't," Eileen said.

Snape grimmace at his mother. She'd always been so weak and afraid. She found so many methods to retreat from the world, rather than finding ways to change her circumstances, and leaving Severus to fend for himself.

"I'm sorry, Severus. But one day, things will be ok. Your father's fortune will favor him once more and we will be in a better place than we are now. If you can just wait a little longer and have some hope-"

"I get so tired of that word. Hope. It's just another word for dilusion. A sorry excuse for being lazy and expecting the world to owe you something in the end. There is no damn hope in this world, just fate. Some people go get their fates while others are left to deal with the ones they are handed."

"And you want to go get your fate, I see?" She said nodding to his suitcase.

"Depends. Are you going back in the house?"

She stared at him a while then nodded.

"Then yes. I'm going to get my fate."

"What about school?"

"It starts in one week. I can manage until then. I'll holdover at Christmas you and Tobias can rent out my room for some money."

"Severus, stop this nonsense. Come back inside. For me?" She stroked his cheek, "I can't manage without you. I promise, your father will leave you alone the rest of the night. I'm sure he already is so sorry for striking you."

"He's always sorry... until he's not," he grumbled and his mother wrapped her son in a hug. "Why did he have me?" Snape muttered more to himself than to his mother.

The night fell and Eileen convinced her son to stay home until the semester started. She always was rather good at gaslighting him into compliance and preying on his love for her. Their codependence would not last long though as Snape would soon find solice in a new companion - Voldemort.

Saint Mungos Hospital - March 16, 1980...

Sirius did his best to carry himself well as he strolled along the halls of Ward 49. He wondered if this is what prison felt like, only worse, as cackling voices came from every corner and echoed through the halls. Peter stopped outside one room where he identified himself to the door as if it was a guard and then spoke the password allowing it to open. He glanced back and spotted Sirius, staring into one of the open rooms where a maid was cleaning around a patient. The man didn't look much older 30, confined to a straight-jacket, slumped against the wall and staring at the door as if it was his liberation just out of reach.

"Sirius?" Peter softly called and pulled his friend back to focus. "Come on in."

Sirius attempted to abandon the visual of the young imprisoned man as Peter escorted him in to a padded room when a dainty woman sat in a wheelchair, staring at a wall as if there was a window there to gaze through.

"Mum? I brought a friend to meet you."

"Peter? Is that you my darling boy? Who've you brought?"

"This is Sirius Black."

"Oh," she beamed when they stepped in front of her. "Your father will be so proud of you. The Blacks are so well known in society. He'd be thrilled to know you're making the right kind of friends." Sirius stiffled a scoff at this but his smirk vanished from his face as the woman added, "Have you told your father yet?"

"No, Mum," Peter answered in a soft tone. "Not yet."

"Well, he should be home soon. We must get washed up for dinner!" She pushed on the arms of her wheelchair and attempted to stand.

"No, Mum!" Peter insisted and forced her to stay seated. The poor woman, plagued with dimensia, often forgot her legs no longer moved. "No you stay seated."

"Oh no, Peter. I've got a busy day planned. Dorothy and I are going to have tea. Have you met her yet? Very nice lady, lives in the house across the way. She's got a daughter about your age going to Hogwarts too. Perhaps it's assumptive of me, but I think you two would be a good match together, such strong Wizarding families."

"Sure, Mum," Peter nodded as he humored her reality. In Twilagh Pettigrew's world, the wards of Saint Mungo's were streets of London, the cold, padded rooms were elaborate homes and the patients within them, members of high society. He would not refuse her this imaginary world and force her to realize her true circumstances. "Sure, I'll meet the girl. Sirius here has shown me how to flirt, haven't you Black?"

Sirius stuttered a bit, never hearing Peter address him with such formality and confidence before, "Y-yes, ma'am. I've shown him the ropes at school. He's going to be quite a stud soon."

"Well of course he is! He takes after Hector like that. Wonderful man." She turned and faced her son again and said, forgetting they weren't alone, "Don't ever forget, Peter. Hector is your father. Not that filthy mud-"

"Mum," Peter cut her off. "I got you birthday gift!"

"Really? Oh my darling you're so sweet." She pecked him on the cheek and clapped her hands together gleefully. Peter nodded to Sirius who, as previously instructed, set the box on the ground and tapped it with his wand. The ribbons unfolded and beautiful butterflies fluttered from the box as the lid vanished. They had different colors and sizes, leaving trails of pixie powder behind them, their wings sounding like soft wind chimes. As each butterfly landed on the padded walls, they sunk into them, creating a sparkling and elaborate design like wallpaper which brightened the space. Mrs. Pettigrew leaned back in her wheelechair and admired the magic like a young girl at a picture show.

"Damn, Wormtail," Sirius whispered. "Where did you get that spell?"

"Lily. She gave it to me for my birthday last month."

"And you're regifting it?"

"She thought it would be a nice reminder for me that butterflies represent rebirth and coming into your own-self, but I don't want that reminder. I know who I want to be, Padfoot, but I don't want to wait for some ugly and painful metamorphosis. Besides, this room is ugly and Mum can use all the beauty she can get."

"You've kept this secret about her so long, Wormtail."

"She didn't used to be this way. Dad and Mum were hit by a car one day, a muggle drunk driver. Mungos did everything they could for her but the trauma of seeing it all never left her. Her mind never really came back after that. It's why I never talked about my parents. I didn't want anyone to know she was here."

"You're a private person. Sometimes I confuse privacy for disloyalty. I shouldn't have done that, Wormtail. Not with you..."

"My secrets are about protecting my family, Padfoot. Yours are about protecting yourself."

"Damn!' Sirius shoved him slightly. "That was a bit far out of the quidditch pitch, don't you think?"

"Well am I wrong?" Peter looked him in the eye with a mischevious smirk.

"Bloody hell, Wormtail," Sirius said proudly. "Maybe it's the fact that everyone else in this building is a nut job, but you're starting to sound really wise these days."

"I want to trust you, Padfoot. And I want you to trust me. I just want you to know, there's nothing wrong with protecting yourself. I udnerstand that now more than ever before. You said it yourself - 'The only one you can depend on is yourself'. I understand."

"I do trust you, Wormtail."

"Orion?" Mrs. Pettigrew called to quickly end their conversation. When both boys looked up, they saw a mortified and contorted look on her face.

"Oh, no..." Peter whispered.

"Orion Black!" She shouted and pointed a finger at Sirius that left him unsettled. "This is your fault! You turned us away! He's dead because of you!"

"Wormtail? What's she talking about?"

"Orderly!" Peter shouted towards the door before rushing to his mother. "I'm here, Mum. Calm down."

"Your refused our family! You embarrassed Hector!" Her voice grew shrill as she attempted to leave her chair, only for Peter to wrap his arms around her waist and lean his entire weight on her to keep her seated.

"Get off me, you bastard!" She shouted as she pounded her fists against his back. "Get off!"

"Mum! It's me! It's Peter!"

"I don't know you! Get away from me!" She screamed louder and louder, eyes fixed on Sirius. "You'll pay for what you did, Orion! You'll pay for it!"

"Mum! Stop!" Peter cried. "Please!"

The doors flew open and two orderlies, dress in white scrubs, hurried in and set their wands on the woman, one on her head and the other on her neck. Peter clung to his mother as one oderly cast a calming charm and the other whispered and mind bending charm. Though the latter was forbidden in most modern medicine as it sometimes caused the patients mental state to worsen, it was resorted to when Mungos residents grew restless and had to be restrained.

Twiligh shut her eyes and fell into sleep as Peter backed away from her. He tripped over the box which had brought the birthday surprise and kicked it away as tears rose in his eyes. Sirius assisting him up and pulled him towards the door.

"I don't understand," Peter cried. "She's never reacted like that. She forgets who I am sometimes but never has grown so angry."

"Wormtail, we should go."

"Why did she think you were your father?"

"I don't know, mate. But we shouldn't stay to find out." He wrapped a comforting arm around his friend and escorted him out, looking over his shoulder one more time at Twiligh who had opened a single eye to glare at them as they departed.

Meanwhile at the Ministry of Magic...

Alice felt as if she was entering a high-security prison as she simply made her way towards her desk, showing her wand for identification through every vestibule. She told herself the unsettling feeling of eyes upon here were only the extra security measures in place, but she wasn't so certain as suspicions of traitors in the ministry grew more and more. Just the other day she caught one of the records keepers rummaging through her desk claiming to be looking for a spare quill.

Finally she arrived in what was once a bustling office. It was outdated and cluttered, with wanted posters circulating through the air. It still smelled of cigars from the late 1940s when aurors had a daily smoking club to celebrate the capture of Grindlewald. What most people considered a sad reminder of how brief the good times lasted, Alice reveled in it as a reminder that one day, a celebration of Voldemort's demise would commence in these small cubicles. She'd even purchased Frank a humidor for the occasion upon his reinstatement as an Auror.

"Getting used to our new security measures?" She asked him upon locating him at his desk.

Frank twirled around in his desk chair. "It took ten minutes to get to the records room. Three wand verifications, eight passwords - all different, and one secret handshake which may have just been the records keeper pulling my leg." He propped his feet on the desk and leaned back in his seat. "Remind me again why I wanted to return to being an auror?"

"I think it had something to do with something our child could be proud of?" Alice replied as she plopped onto his lap.

"Speaking of..." Frank started but Alice pushed a finger against his lips.

"If the next words out of your mouth are about me taking an extended maternity leave, I won't hear it."

"Aliph," he muttered through her finger, "Iph not faph."

"What?" She removed her finger with a snicker.

"It's not safe," he whispered. "The prophecy..."

"Could be talking about any child. We've never come face-to-face with Voldemort, Frank" She pushed off of his lap and paced around the small cubicle. She ripped open the drawer and pulled out the magical ultrasound photo of their child, it's small movements on the page causing her to smile. Alice rest the picture on her heart.

"Alice. You know we are being watched here."

"Of course I know."

"Eventually they will follow us and realize where we're staying. You heard what they did at the Potter Estate. Do you want that to happen to our host's home all because of us being careless?" He asked as he shielded Benjy's name in case they were heard.

"You worry too much."

"And you don't worry enough."

"Franklin," Alice huffed. They aren't going to follow us. They aren't going to find us. We are aurors. We are the ones who do the hunting." She tilted her head as she noticed something upon his desk. "What's that?"

Frank flicked his wand and levitated the page towards her. "Lists of muggle towns where the popluations are shrinking. Muggles are vanishing in the middle of the night and not seen again. Recognize the locations?"

She skimmed it quickly, "All just outside of Kent..."

"Where the Lestrange house is."

"But if they are killing muggles, then where are the bodies?"

"Where indeed?" Alastor Moody asked as he limped in.

"Still no luck breaking into it, Madeye?" Frank asked.

"No. The Bones are going to work on the McKinnon boy's mind to see if they can pull some memories from the interior. He said he just remembers bits of the torture but not an inch of the space where they held him, says it was too dark. Maybe Edgar Bones' magic can pull something out of there."

"What about legilimency? Albus has the skill."

"Aye he does and he tried, even used the pensive. Nothing came back to the boy. Speaking of legilimins though..."

He slashed his wand towards his desk, casuing a stack of papers to fly across the room and thud in Franks lap, making him wince, "Easy!" Frank only had to glance at the first page before he said, "All these legilimens are missing?"

"Or converted to Voldemort's cause. Old Voldy knows he's got to protect his mind in order to protect his secrets. All ligilimens wizards I know are falling into his ranks more and more every day. Anyone with any kind of mind-reading skill is a target for you-know-who. They've gone into hiding or offered their services to him by now."

"Or are hiding their abilities for their own safety." Frank added. He briefly looked up from the page and notice his wife, deep in thought. "Alice? You ok?"

"Oh my word," she whispered to herself. "How could I be so stupid." She scooped up her wand from Frank's desk.

"Alice?" Frank stood quickly allowing the stack of papers to flop onto the ground as Alice raced up the hall. He picked up the ultrasound from where she dropped it on his desk and pocketed it.

"Pregnant women. So bloody unpredictable."

"No, boss," Frank quickly said as he chased after her. "She's got that spark in her eye. Alice has just figured something out. Follow me."

Alice cantered up the hall, speaking every password, presenting her wand at each door and finally throwing the middle finger to the single Ministry guard who requested a secret handshake, forcing him to back off. Her determined look stayed fixated on her cousin's office door as she neared it. She took a strong inhale as she reached for the knob, only for the door to fly open and Mary MacDonald to emerge, nearly coliding with her."

"Alice!" She jumped. "I was just coming to get you."

"We need to talk," Alice grunted.

"Aye, we do." Mary pulled Alice by the arm around the corner to a quiet section of the hall. "There's going to be an attack on the Bones family - tonight."

"How can you be sure?" Alice asked with a cautious tone.

"I'm sure, Alice. I overheard Barty talking about it just now."

"Kinda careless of him to speak so openly about it in front of you." Alice gazed at her.

"W-well I just heard him through the door."

"Talking to whom?"

"Um, I don't know. He was on the telephone."

"All ministry phones are under surveillance now. New protocol. Doors also have soundproofing charms, especially in Cousin Bartemous' office."

"Well I-"

"How long have you been spying on us?" Alice blurted out, now cornering Mary against the drinking fountains.

"What?"

"Weasley was right all along when he suspected you of corruption. I always wondered why your special skills and qualifications file was tampered with in our employee records. Now I know why. You're a legilimens and you didn't want us to know."

"Alice."

"And the only reason you don't want us to know is because you're a spy." When Mary didn't reply she repeated, "Aren't you?"

"Yes!" She harshly whispered, "But I'm not spying on the Order, I'm spying FOR the Order. But Alice you can't say anything. Fabian is the only one who has found out other than Dumbledore. This whole thing was Dumbledore's idea." When Alice didn't reply she said, "You don't believe me."

"Get out of my head."

"I don't need to read your mind, your face says it all. You don't trust me."

"We tell each other everything, Mary," Alice said in a wounded tone.

"Well, listen to what I'm telling you now. The Bones family is in trouble. You need to warn them. The two of us can work out our own issues later. Right now, we have jobs to do. Please. The Death Eaters are waiting for Amelia to go home from work so they can follow her and force her to reveal the house. They indend to recruit the Bones family by force."

"I've been waiting on something like this," Alice finally spoke up. "Edgar said at the last meeting he had a feeling he was being watched. I'll get a group together to head to old York."

"Wasn't McKinnon going to the house tonight?" Mary asked. "To have Edgar help unlock his mind?"

"Aye he was. I'll try to warn them. You try to stall Barty."

"I can't. He's already gone to get Malfoy. We're running out of time."

"Just tell me one thing," Alice requested before leaving.

"Of course anything."

"The Prophecy about this child, this 'chosen one' Dumbledore told us about. Do the Death Eaters really think it's going to be my kid?"

Mary's heart broke at the question and softly said, "It could be..."

Alice didn't reply as she heard the answer she knew was coming. She just gave a stiff nod before leaving Mary and hurrying back to get Frank and Moody.

Meanwhile at the Bones' Home...

"I feel like a science experiment," Marvin said as he reclined on the sofa in Edgar Bones' study. The man let out a chuckle as he assembled different methods of mind manipulation from stones to potions to books filled with spells.

"Well, that makes me Dr. Frankenstine I suppose."

"Well, what's my diagnosis doctor?"

"I've gone over every spell in the book, Marvin. I think this will do the trick. Dumbledore told me everything you've tried with Seer Trelawney and himself but still no memory has surfaced?"

"None. Just some sounds. Screams. Whispers. And..."

"And.."

"And," he shrugged. "No it's dumb."

"It may be important, Marvin. Tell me."

"Well, there is this moment of peace I remember. I don't know why. Maybe it's just when the torture ended and they left me there. But I felt warm and comforted as if I was being protected and nursed. Then the pain all comes back..."

"Focus on that feeling, Marvin. You'll need something to chase while we use this." Edgar carefully passed a yellowish and black stone into his hands. "You've heard of a dreamcatcher?"

"Yea. Removes bad dreams before you have them."

"Well this is what inspired them. These ancient stones are called 'Clach Uaighe' by the druids. It means Memory Tomb. They pull suppressed trauma from the mind so it can be confronted or literally burried. Many of them were donated to my family who were magical members of the Red Cross during the First World War. They'd sneak them under the pillows of soldiers to have a more peaceful pacing when they were beyond help. After that they were used for post traumatic stress in convalescent homes which mine used to be. I held onto this one to remind me that our magic is supposed to help people... all people. Wizards have magic that can help people escape the prisons of their minds. We can't gatekeep that kind of help from people, even if muggles never realize it's magic that's helping them."

"On the flip-side, magic made my mind a prison," Marvin examined the stone. "Looks like a bruised potato."

"The black marks are traumatic events from other people's minds, trapped in there, never to be let out. As you use the rock, it will show us what's buried in that noggin of yours. Then it's stuck in there for you to set aside and move forward." Edgar leanded back on his desk and glanced at the clock. "The rock's going to pull you into a deep sleep. Try not to resist that. You'll wake up once the memory fades."

"Right," Marvin set the stone on the pillow that Edgar had provided, set his head down beside it and said, "Wish me luck, Dr. Frankenstein"

"Can I at least be the Gene Wilder version of the character?"

"I'll allow it," Marvin laughed.

"Then good luck."

Marvin went under almost as fast as his eyes took to close. His body felt frozen in panic for a moment and then a great calm came over his mind. He felt as if he was in a dark room, but not alone, as Edgar watched carefully.

"Atti?" He heard the voice calling. It was a young boy he knew well. "Atti?" it came again and Marvin smiled in his sleep as he recognized his own young voice calling for his older brother.

"Go back to bed, Marvin."

"W-what's going on? What's wrong with Marley? Why is mummy crying?"

Atti did not reply but led is brother down the grand, stone steps where they took seats, peering between the pillars. Atticus McKinnon performed tiny compressions on his newborn daughter. She appeared blue in his grasp while Mae McKinnon sat on the floor where she had crumpled when she found her child on death's doorstep.

"Do something Atticus! Do something!"

"I'm trying, Mae! I'm trying everything!"

"She's dying. My daughter's dying!"

Edgar could see the memory playing out in a mist that flowed through the stone as if it was a portal when suddenly it vanished. Marvin jolted awake the stone slipping from the pillow and onto his lap. He shoved it back into Edgars grasp, "Get it away!"

"I'm sorry, Marvin! I'm sorry." Edger set the stone down in order to console Marvin who was sweating in a panic. "It was assumptive of me to think you'd not had an experience more traumatic than that night at Lestrange Manor. Your family has been through a lot. Although-"

"Although, what?" Marvin snapped still catching his breath.

"Well, Marlene is fine. She's alive and well. Surely that should allow you to let this particular memory go. This stone only pulls unresolved trauma from your mind. Marlene survived her illness. There's nothing more to worry about, right?"

"Right."

"Then... why did the rock pull that memory first?" Edgar asked calmly as if he knew there was something more to that moment in Marvin's life.

"Maybe it's broken, I don't know!" Marvin deflected as he stood and began to gather his things. "I should go. Thanks for trying, Bones, but maybe my mind can't be searched. We will just have to find a new way into that house."

"Marvin, there are innocent souls there. Surely reliving some hard past experiences for a moment is worth the lives at risk."

"Of course it is, but the damn rock didn't work!"

"We can keep searching," Edgar said. "I have other ways."

"So you'll rummage through my entire life to find a single moment that we may or may not find!?"

"Uncle Edgar?" A voice called and both men jumped nearly out of their skin at the soft child's voice from the doorway.

"Bloody hell, where did she come from?!" Marvin asked as he clutched his chest where his heart was pounding.

"Lydia," Edgar calmed. "Please, I told you to announce yourself when you come into places and stop sneaking up."

"Sorry. But a swan just came and talked to me."

"What kind of swan?" Marvin asked quickly.

"A patronus swan. It said you've been followed home."

"I'll go get Fabian," Marvin started forward.

Edgar grabbed his arm to stop him. "No, you can't go out there. If we are being watched then you can't reveal the location of the house."

"My best friend is out there."

"I'll send for Amelia. I've had a feeling I've been being watched. Amelia and Madeye have had aurors ready to defend the house all week. Please, stay with my kids and Lydia, Marvin."

"Fine," he said knowing there was no time to waist. "Just hurry."

As Edgar departed, Marvin anxiously tapped his foot feeling helpless. He glanced at Lydia. "What kind of swan patronus? A black or white one?"

"All patronus charms are white."

"Yea, but the swans look a little different."

Lydia simply shrugged. "I don't know. It was a lady's voice."

"Alice," he said softly. "Had to be Alice. Wonder who warned her." Lydia stopped responding but kept her eyes on Marvin as he grew lost in thought. He glanced at the child and said, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"She has a pretty voice," Lydia said in such a chilling tone it gave Marvin goosebumps.

"Who does?"

"The lady talking to you."

Marvin looked around the room in confusion. "What lady?"

"The lady in your head. She sounds sad. Does she always say the same thing to you?"

Marvin didn't reply. He heard no voice, saw no woman, felt no ghostly presence. Still Lydia spoke with assurance that she could hear some internal dialogue in his mind he didn't hear himself.

Later that Night - A Werewolf Sanctuary in the Scottish Lowlands...

Remus found the vacant tent he'd been instructed to claim and dropped his duffle bag. He felt out of place looking at the plain tent while he wore clean brown slacks, his burgundy button-up and plaid jacket that Kip had mended and cleaned with great tiny cot had neatly folded blankets and pillow beside it. There was a supply of bandages and ointments stacked on a shelf across the tent and the ground was coverd with a rug to hide the grass and keep in some warmth.

"So the rumors are true," came a female voice from the tent's entrance. Remus faced his guest and instantly grinned when he recognized her. "Samari."

The smiling young woman, mid-twenties, had cascading black hair which complimented her dark eyes and Lacey boho style. An overweight brown sweater kept her warm but she stood barefoot in the grass. "I thought you'd left us."

"I did, but I hope you know it wasn't personal. I had a job to do. My friends needed me."

"I'll admit, Remus," she walked inside. "I'm glad you left. I could tell you missed your friends and family and you were here for the wrong reasons last summer. You were hiding from the world. I know it was only a couple of months, but whoever wrote you asking to come home, I'm grateful to them. It only leaves the question... why are you back?"

"Because of this," Remus pulled a potion bottle from his pocket. "Wolfsbane."

"The woman stepped back, "R-Remus!"

"It's ok! It's a special potion that uses wolfsbane to help us control the change."

"Is that possible?"

"It's worked for me. Samari, I know this camp is full of young werewolves. If we can get them this potion, it may help them."

"Or give them false hope," she muttered as she gently handled the bottle with care once Remus passed it to her.

The word stung every time Remus heard it now, his own mother's name constantly being used in speeches these days. "It will also make them less desirable in the eyes of those who want to weaponize werewolves in the war. You remember, I told you about the war back home-"

"Trust me, Remus. I've no shortage of knowledge of your world. In fact, I find it rather unfair that I had to grow up not being a wizard but somehow have been lumped into this grizzly crowd - present company excluded." She plopped herself down across from Remus in a humble wooden armchair.

"Hopefully the entire camp is excluded," Remus said. "The whole reason I came here last year is because I heard this was a sactuary, not a colony. Your efforts to provide a safe home for werewolves to transform safely each month and live in peace is just great, Sam."

"Mine and my husband's efforts. I'd like you to meet him but dealing with... other issues, right now."

"Other issues?" Remus leaned in more.

"There are whispers going around the camp, Remus. Things aren't the same this year. There are characters here I don't trust. They keep persuading people to leave the camp and join a colony, embrace their wolf or some drivel like that."

"Would any of their target audience include people under the age of twenty?"

"W-wow... yes. All the refugees here are being left alone for the most part, but our teens are becoming clicky and distancing themselves from the others. They're growing anxious."

"And are some of them wizards?"

"Some are. Some aren't or haven't admitted to being one."

"I'd like to speak with them. Can you point some out to me?"

Samari's demeanor changed and she tilted her head. "What are you doing here, Remus? Why are you asking these questions? What are you intensions with these young werewolves?"

"I... I told you. I brought the potion."

"Along with a dozen questions about this insaine war in your world. My husband and I want these kids left alone, Remus. It's the entire point of this sanctuary."

Remus watched her carefully and his lack of response caused her chuckle.

"Oh, blimey. You don't believe me."

"You told me your husband is a Wizard but he never comes to the camp. Why?"

"It's none of your business why."

"You started this sanctuary just over a year ago... interesting timing with the political climate, don't you think?"

"So you think it's a breeding ground for a werewolf army, is that it?" She clapped back as she shot out of her chair. "Well, if you knew the entire reason this place was started you'd eat your words. I don't know what you're doing here, Remus, but if it doesn't align with this sanctuary's intensions then you can rest assured we will ask you to leave."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you'll be a trespasser. And we know how to handle those." Samari abruptly turned and sped towards the door but just before she left she heard Remus call her name. When she turned, he had his hand extended as he said, "I'll be keeping that." Samari looked at the flacken of potion in her palm and tossed it across the tent. Remus dove for it as if it was his heart. He caught the bottle before it reached the ground and clutched it tightly, although he wasn't sure if it was the potion he cared to protect or the flacken gifted to him by Tabitha. When he glanced over his shoulder he found he was alone, once more.

Later in Spinner's End...

Snape swore to himself as he strut up is walkway towards the house. He found the door adjar and shoved in with frustration. "Narcissa? I know you're here. Stop leaving the bloody door open."

"Forgive me, Severus," a cold voice whispered and Snape dropped his bag of groceries on the floor and reached for his wand but paused and tucked it back in his pocket as the voice called, "Reaching for your wand? Afraid I'm here to kill you, Severus?"

"Of course not, my Lord," Snape replied and closed the door slowly as he kept his eyes fixated through the foyer archway onto the shadowy figure in his sitting room who was examining the pictures on the wall. "Why would you think that?"

"Because everyone thinks I killed the Black Boy..."

"I-it's true then?" Snape asked softly as he joined Voldemort in the room. "Regulus is dead?"

Now Voldemort turned his gaze off the pictures and Snape shuttered slightly at the visual of the man's face, if you could still call him that. He looked even worse than last time. His skin had paled further, his eyes lost their round shape and seemed to turn almost upward like a Snake's and his head, although often shaved, looked as if had never seen a strand of hair. "Yes. And I'll allow them to think I did it. I'd prefer that over the alternative option - the truth you and Narcissa Malfoy worked so hard to conceal."

"My Lord, I assure you..."

"Max Forrestor told me the boy killed his brother. The boy's elf failed me by cowering back to his master instead of returning to me after a task I'd assigned. Now the boy is dead and Forrestor missing. Let the dead burry the dead on this matter."

"Forrestor may not be dead though, my Lord. His plans to remove the Delaney girl and frame her as The Guardian were a success. He may be laying low until the search for him 'has passed by the Ministry and Dumbledore's rabble."

"Yes. Yes. Albus Dumbledore manages to stay hot on our trail, doesn't he. Almost suspiciously so..."

"What are you suggesting, My Lord?"

"Sit down, Snape..."

Snape did as he was told without a word, but he attempted to seem relaxed as he crossed his legs and folded his hands upon his lap.

"Malfoy and Goyle took a group of our brethren to find the Bones' family tonight. You recall from our last meeting that they'd been tracking the alchemist routine in York the last few weeks and final felt they could follow him home."

"Of course, my Lord. That's why I expected Narcissa here tonight. Malfoy wanted me to keep an eye on her during the mission."

"Your guarding of Narcissa was my idea, Snape. I don't want anything happening to the child she carries yet."

"Yet, my Lord?"

Voldemort gazed long and hard into Snape's eyes but refrained from expanding as he returned to the events of the evening. "Someone warned Bones about tonight's mission. The youngest Prewett boy was in the street and ran, leading our brethren down a street where Aurors attacked, arresting Tarwin Goyle and forcing the rest to run away like dogs."

"Goyle never was one to be discrete. He likely was spotted by Bones days prior who sent for the Aurors."

"And yet he did so on the very day we planned to attack." Voldemort drew his wand and tapped it into his palm the way a cross teacher does with their ruler. "We have a traitor in our midst, Severus."

"Why are you telling me this, my Lord?"

"Nobody else knows the reason we share a bond, Severus. You are the only one who knows the truth of my bloodline. Both of us resentful of our filthy muggle fathers and our... excentric mothers. Nobody understands us like the other, Severus. For this reason, I trust you most of all." Snape exhaled at that but tensed with one word Voldemort added, "Except..."

"My mind." He looked away, "My Lord, I meant what I said. I do not wish you to see my childhood embarrassments."

"Then you must prove your loyalty in other ways, Severus, ten-fold if needed." The room grew colder as he rest a hand on Snape's shoulder.

"How?"

"We have a traitor in our midst. You will find them. And bring them to me."