A “Fan Fiction” Based on the Harry Potter Series By J. K. Rowling
Chapter 24 “ Snape’s Mistakes
Please R&R, it makes for better stories!
A/N: For those of you who didn’t like my characterization of Snape before, you’re really going to hate it (me) now. (My wife is still nagging me about making him Headmaster.) But don’t despair, keep the main plot thread in mind.
Sunday evening at the Burrow found Harry and Ginny on the sofa in the parlor, leaning against each other, asleep. Since early morning everyone had been busy taking down the tents, folding the chairs and tables, returning borrowed or leased items, picking up trash, and trying to regain some of the previous days cheer. Molly and Arthur had left early to visit Percy, but did not stay away long. Upon their return, Arthur went outside to help the family and Molly disappeared into the house until she rang the bell for lunch a few hours later.
The afternoon was much of the same, but by dinner the fields were clear and everything looked in order once again. Harry and Ginny had spent a couple hours getting Hog House ready for Ron and Hermione’s return. There was not a great deal to do except some general cleaning, changing the twin bed in Ron’s room to a queen size, and setting up Harry’s old room as a den. When they returned to the Burrow, Arthur broke out an old bottle of fire whiskey and gave everyone a shot, including Ginny. (Fred and George helped themselves to another when their mother was not looking.) Harry regretted the single shot he had; already tired, the alcohol was putting him to sleep. Dinner was leftovers from the reception, and Molly sent home a week’s worth of food with Fred and George.
By 7 o’clock only Molly and Arthur remained standing, watching their daughter and “son” nap on the sofa. “Arthur, they remind me of that last day Harry was unconscious at the hospital. I still wonder what was going on between them that week.” She did not need to say more; the only word anyone could use to describe it was “magic,” and that was inadequate. “Dear, why wouldn’t you go up to Ron’s room last night?” Molly asked this with a tenor of curiosity, not anger or reprehension.
“Mol, they needed each other then, just like they did in April. I don’t think Ginny realizes how much she’s carrying around inside her. She never mourned for Bill and Charlie, and Percy is almost a non-entity to her. You saw her leave last night when I started telling Deb and Gerry about, about...” But Arthur couldn’t continue, it was just too much in too short of a time for them to absorb.
“Well, Harry has to get back to Hogwarts, do you want to wake them? I’m heading upstairs.” Molly kissed her husband and touched both of her children’s heads lightly as she left the room.
Arthur remained a few more minutes, just watching and wondering about their future, then gently woke Harry. “I think Ginny’s out for the night. Would you carry her up to her room, please?” ”Out for the night.” I used to say that about her when she was a child.
Harry nodded and picked Ginny up, carrying her up the stairs with ease. Arthur opened the bedroom door then pulled the covers back on Ginny’s bed where Harry set her down a few seconds later. Waiting at the door for Harry, Arthur watched him remove Ginny’s shoes and socks and loosen her belt and the top button of both her jeans and blouse. Then, for a moment, Harry seemed to just hover over Ginny, watching her, making sure she was safe. With a tender kiss on her lips, Harry left the room with Arthur’s arm around his shoulder.
Monday morning at his room in Hogwarts, Harry found reality crashing back in around him. In one week the students would return, he had lessons to plan, a meeting with Rudy’s parents and uncle to conduct, and another meeting with Snape and Moody about the progress of their students. On Wednesday night he was dining with Remus, Tonks, and James. That was something he was looking forward to! Tonks was not able to go to the wedding, the baby was sick and she had been fighting a bad head cold. Harry knew she was heartbroken over missing the event, so he planned to bring pictures to fill in where Remus could not.
The school grounds felt empty and Harry found himself wondering down to Hagrid’s hut almost every day. But even this daily retreat did little for his sinking spirits, Hagrid had not been the same since Dumbledore’s death, and more so since the final battle. He seemed to be getting grayer and he was in obvious pain from arthritis in his knees. Harry knew Hagrid was at least sixty, and he made a mental note to look up the life span of giants. If Hermione was here I could ask... No, Harry realized, I have to do this myself.
Tuesday, while walking around the grounds, Harry came across Snape standing behind a large pine tree near the lake. He did not notice his former Potions teacher until they were only a few meters apart. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Harry apologized, starting to back to the school. Snape, who had never flinched, motioned with his left hand for Harry to approach.
“Mr. Potter. Do you see something out near the center of the lake?”
Harry looked, but could not see anything unusual. “No, sir.”
“Nevertheless, something is happening. Would you be interested in taking a little swim?” Snape turned toward Harry and held out a handful of Gillyweed. “I believe you’re familiar with the use of this. Are you up it?”
Harry smiled very weakly and nodded. Stripping down to his pants, Harry took the disgusting plant and ate it; it tasted like eating raw rat tails. Walking into the frigid water shot waves of pain, like icy needles, into his legs, then stomach, and finally his head. Waiting for the gillyweed to finish his transformation, Harry noticed that the water warmed as his gills began to appear. After a minute or so, when Harry was breathing through the gills and no longer cold, he started off to the center of the lake.
With the webbed hands and feet it did not take long to reach the center of the lake, but twice he had to surface and look for Snape to point out the right direction. When he arrived at the location Harry did see something unusual happening. The water seemed to be filled with bubbles, thousands of them, millions, perhaps, and they were coming from the deepest part of the lake. Staying clear of the bubbles, Harry dove and swam to the bottom of the lake where he knew the Mervillage was located.
The bubbles appeared to be coming from a large depression just outside of the village. As Harry swam closer he saw a few mermen and mermaids standing around the edge of this depression. Approaching cautiously, Harry tapped one of the mermen on his shoulder. The head slowly turned toward Harry and he saw an old, sad face looking back at him. Startled, Harry left quickly and swam around a bit more. After making a complete circuit of the depression, Harry noticed that all the mercreatures were old and had a sad look on their faces.
Harry next looked around the village but found no activity whatsoever. With his time running out, Harry returned to the surface and swam to the shore near Snape. Sitting in shallow water for the last few minutes, Harry exited the lake when he felt the icy sensation return. Exiting the lake, Snape threw a drying spell on Harry while he rushed to put clothes back on. When finished, Snape motioned for Harry to follow him.
“Did you see anything unusual, Harry?”
“Yeah, a number of...” Harry stopped talking and froze in his place. Snape took a couple more steps then also stopped, turning back to look at Harry.
“Headmaster?”
Snape looked his usual self, same scowl, same long crooked nose, and same greasy hair; however, Harry had distinctly heard Snape address him as “Harry.” Snape did not say anything for a few seconds, he seemed to have noticed what he had said, also. Then, to Harry’s further surprise, Snape asked Harry the same thing Harry was asking himself. “Did I just call you ‘Harry,’ Potter? Never mind, if I did it was an accident. What did you find?”
Harry gathered his thoughts and continued his report. “I saw few merpeople, and all the ones I saw were old and looked sad, like they were in mourning. The village...sir, why did you call me ‘Harry?’”
Snape stopped again and looked at Harry as if he were an annoyance. “I don’t know, Potter. But don’t worry, it won’t happen again. Continue.”
GIT! “Um, the village was empty and looked sort-of dead.”
“’Sort-of dead,’ Potter? A very professional observation. Do you know what happens to a merperson when they die?” Harry had no idea and shook his head. “They turn into foam if they die on the surface, if under water, into millions of bubbles. I performed a number of tests on the lake water today and there is nothing wrong with it; however, our observations say otherwise.” Snape paused again, looking at Harry, almost as if he were trying to read his mind. “Harry, something is very wrong, please let Moody know that I wish for both of you to dine with me tonight.” Then Snape turned away and headed quickly back to the school.
Harry stood there, stunned. Twice in a minute Snape had used his given name, and he was quite sure that it was not a slip of the tongue. What’s going on? Indeed!
“No, Harry, I don’t believe it was an accident, but it’s very curious. I’ve been seeing reports, informal, scattered, and with no obvious pattern, about this type of personality change, but the reports started well before 9/19. They have to be connected and I suspect that they are happening only in our world. Muggles would have seen this in their kind long ago. Harry had walked straight from the lake to Mad-Eye’s office and told him about Snape’s two “mistakes.”
“Until I started noticing these,” Moody pointed to the small stack of personal and unofficial looking memos, “I thought the 9/19 event was isolated to that day, to spells and to the things we’ve seen, like with Rudy Keane. Changes in personality are well outside the realm of magic, unless there is a mass Imperious Curse, which seems highly unlikely. This worries me, Harry. Something is very wrong, somewhere.”
“Yeah, Snape said the exact same thing.”
“Harry, you need to address Snape as ‘Headmaster’ or ‘professor.’ This is common courtesy with school staff.”
Sheesh, Moody sounds just like Dumbledore. “Ok, it’s just hard to break a seven year-old habit. Did you notice any patterns in the people affected?”
“Not really. Some became more irritable, some less, some showed symptoms like Severus.”
“What about common threads? I know we can’t tell with students from other schools, but were the ones from Hogwarts all from one house or another?”
Moody looked stunned for a moment; he had not even considered this possibility. “Damn good, Harry! I hadn’t thought about that sort of classification.” Moody drummed his fingers on his desk and looked deeply thoughtful. “I’ll have one of the office secretaries check the records and see if there is any commonalities like that. Good idea, Harry.”
“Have you heard anything about the Ministry’s investigation?”
“No, I’ve heard rumors of something happening at their last meeting in early November, but nothing concrete, and they haven’t met since then. Why not pop over to the Ministry and talk to Fudge? I’d do it but I think you would behave in a more civil manner than me.”
Harry had no desire to meet with Fudge, especially after what he had shown Mr. Weasley, but Moody was the boss. “Ok, I’ll get changed and see if he has some time today. And Snape wants us to sit with him at dinner tonight.”
“Thank you Mr. Potter.” Mad-Eye spat out Harry’s name in a perfect imitation of Snape, then looked up to see a startled expression on Harry’s face. “Don’t worry, Harry, I DID say that on purpose.”
The Ministry of Magic was quiet this time of the day; most of the witches and wizards being off to lunch. Harry walked down a couple aisles just to see if he recognized any names, but nothing looked familiar. Walking back to the information desk, Harry asked for directions to Fudge’s office. After more hallways, an elevator, and another hallway, Harry found himself outside the office of the Assistant Secretary for Muggle Relations, Cornelius Fudge. Harry could hear someone writing inside the office and knew it had to be Fudge. Trying to suppress his lingering anger with Fudge, Harry knocked on the door.
“Yes, come in.” Fudges voice had not changed much, but he did sound irritated and anxious.
“Good afternoon, sir.”
“Harry Potter! What a surprise, come in, come in. Have a seat. How are you, my boy?” Fudge was turning on his charm, in all flavours.
“I’m well, sir. Do you have a few minutes?”
Fudge had an odd expression on his face, and looked out his door before answering Harry. “Certainly, Harry, anything for you. What’s on your mind? Looking for a job in the Ministry?”
You’ve got to be kidding! “No sir, actually I came to see if you can give me any additional information on the 9/19 events.”
Fudge had never referred to the “phenomena” as the “9/19 event” and it took him a moment to make the connection. Then his expression was not one Harry expected.
“Harry, it’s lunch time, let’s go out for a bite, eh? My treat.” Before Harry could answer, Fudge took his Muggle coat and hat, leaving his formal Ministry robes behind, and dragged Harry out of the office. He did not say a word until they were well away from the building and into the crowds of Muggle London.
“What was that about?” Harry asked, and none too politely.
“Harry, walk with me to the park and I’ll fill you in. For now, just act and speak like we were old friends. I’m glad you stopped in.”
Harry had no intention to speak with Fudge like he was an old friend. Of all people, he could have done the most to help Dumbledore when he was Minister of Magic. Instead he chose to ignore reality and it had cost the lives of many good people. Walking a few blocks, Fudge pointed at a sidewalk cafe. “They have excellent Bangers and Mash, shall I buy two?” Before Harry had a chance to turn down the offer, Fudge had already placed the order.
Watching the Muggle pedestrians walk by seemed so odd. Harry had become used to the relatively quite life at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Burrow; here there were simply too many people.
“Here you are, Harry. Let’s walk to that park there.” Harry followed Fudge, carrying his bag of food and the water bottle Fudge had purchased for him. After nearly being run over by a taxi, Fudge led Harry over to an unoccupied bench and started to open his lunch. “Eat up Harry, I want it to look like we’re just talking.”
“Pardon me, but we are just talking.” The paper bag remained closed on the bench next to Harry, but he did open the bottle for a drink.
“Harry, something is going on...with Scrimgeour, or with another higher-up in the...Ministry. Eat.” Between chewing his food, Fudge’s tone indicated urgency, so Harry slowly started opening the bag. “Harry, do...not repeat this...to anyone you do...not completely trust. Do you...understand?”
“Mr. Secretary, I really don’t want to talk to you about this, or anything for that matter. I’m here at the request of Alastor Moody. We’re trying to see if there’s a connection to the widespread events of 9/19 and some other things we’ve noticed.”
Setting his food down, Fudge went directly to his point. “Harry, at our last meeting we started discovering a connection between Percy Weasley and the “events,” as you call them. One of the board members, Elvira Tumult, was walking us through some remarkable discoveries she had made many years ago. But before she could finish, Scrimgeour cut her off and dismissed the committee.”
“Dismissed it? For how long? Why?”
“We received a notice that we were to meet again next week. This time without Madam Tumult, the witch seems to have opened a can of worms and Scrimgeour wants it shut.”
“Do you think the Minister was trying to cover something up?”
“Oh yes, he certainly was doing that. But the only reference he made to Tumult’s comments was that ‘her work was sacrilegious.’”
“Can you tell me what she was talking about at the meeting?”
“I can do better than that. Here, take this.” Fudge reached into his trouser pocket, spilling part of his lunch as he did, and handed Harry a small round stone about the size of a marble. “Harry, that’s my memory from the meeting. It’s only good for a single use and you should dispose of it when you are finished. Use it just as you would a pensieve. I’ve added a few personal observations at the end. Eat, Harry. Or at least pretend you’re eating.”
Still not opening the food, Harry challenged Fudge. “You just happened to have this ready for me?” Sarcasm and mistrust were clearly evident in Harry’s question.
“Harry, Scrimgeour is trying to squash the committee’s work, and as far as I knew, we were the only group doing any investigation. It may be nothing at all, then again, it may be significant. I can’t do much looking when I’m right under the Minister’s nose. When you mentioned 9/19, I was happy to find another group investigating this mess; that’s why you have that memory.”
Fudge turned away from Harry and started eating the remains of his lunch. Harry eventually joined him, taking a few bites of sausage, but his mind was on the stone he now held. A few more minutes went by, and Fudge finished eating. Collecting his things, the Secretary offered his hand to Harry as he said good bye. “Harry, it was good to see you again. Please be very careful about who you talk to.” Fudge paused for a moment when Harry refused his hand and added. “Harry, I’m sorry about the things I did, or didn’t do, in the war; especially the people I hurt. I may have been a fool, but I never meant anyone harm.” Then he walked away.
Harry ate a few more bites of his lunch and then threw the rest into the rubbish bin as he walked out of the park. Fudge has always been dramatic, Harry remembered. What’s so special about this memory? Otherwise, Harry felt like he had wasted a couple hours, though Fudge’s apology did sound sincere.
Dear Gin,
We knew this would happen so I’m not really surprised I couldn’t get back to the Burrow this week. I’ve seen Hagrid a couple times and he is slowing down more. Even Fang can tell something is wrong; he just rests at Hagrid’s feet looking sadder than usual, if that’s possible.
Ginny, something is going on here and at the Ministry; I hardly know where to start. Moody and I have talked about this, but please don’t tell anyone. Earlier today Snape called me “Harry,” twice. He seemed annoyed at himself, but Mad-Eye thinks something is happening to him related to the 9/19 events, or even before then. He sent me off to see Fudge and I had a very odd meeting. Fudge has become very secretive on the subject of the Ministry’s investigation. He gave me a memory to read, saying it might help me understand some of the committee’s problems. Now I feel like a spy receiving stolen plans. I’m going to speak with Snape and Moody tonight at dinner about it.
Tomorrow I’m having dinner with the Lupin’s. I wish you could join us but I’ll be seeing you on Saturday. With Ron, Hermione, and you gone it gets lonely here and I don’t think Snape has improved his ‘appreciation of my personality’ enough for me to have a drink with him!
Off to dinner now, I can’t wait to see you.
All my love,
Harry
Snape and Mad-Eye had no problems eating roast chicken at dinner. Harry, on the other hand, found his appetite lacking. Snape appeared to be his old self again; rude and hateful, though Harry wondered if he was forcing himself to act in that fashion as a way to hide whatever was affecting him. Eventually Harry had something to eat, but he still finished long before Snape.
“Potter, when will Ms. Granger, pardon me, Mrs. Weasley, be back?”
“She returns this Saturday.”
“Good. Please ask her to contact me as soon as she can. Moody, any new news?”
“Only what I showed you earlier, Severus. Harry has some more information, I believe.” Snape snorted, acting like Harry’s “news” was of no importance.
“Sir, you yourself said ‘something was very wrong,’ have you changed your mind?”
Snape dropped his fork and looked up slowly to answer Harry. “No. I can’t deny it. You were not the only person who noticed a...vocabulary slip, Potter. I am puzzled, however, by the lack of change I feel within myself. When I used your given name I did so with no forethought, it was just as natural as calling dung ‘dung.’”
“I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor, Severus.” Moody thought Snape’s choice of words funny, Harry did not, and vented his anger at Mad-Eye.
“Yeah, very funny, Mad-Eye. But you haven’t had to put up with him” Harry pointed his finger at Snape, “for eight years.” The words were out of Harry’s mouth before he realized what he had said. Unlike Snape, however, Harry knew it was his frustration talking, not a personality change that caused the remark. Moody’s smile disappeared with Harry’s remark and he tried to distract Snape’s imminent wrath by correcting Harry himself.
“MR. POTTER, whatever personal feelings you have toward the Headmaster you will remember his position deserves and requires your respect. Am I clear?” Moody was either very serious, or a very good actor, Harry was not sure which. Turning to Snape, Harry apologized.
“Never mind, Potter. I was not completely undeserving of that comment.” Snape just stared at Harry, as if waiting for another apology.
“Professor Moody is right, Headmaster, regardless of my personal feelings, you do not deserve my rudeness.” While Harry no longer felt the hatred towards Snape that had consumed him for years, it was still difficult to ignore his blatant impoliteness. The tension in the room was palpable and Moody was intrigued by the change in Snape, but it was also distracting them from the reason for their meeting.
“Severus, let’s talk about 9/19. Did Mrs. Weasley find anything before she left?”
Snape gave Moody a particularly nasty look but nodded his head. “Yes, let’s get back on topic. Mrs. Weasley wrote me a report of her investigations shortly before she left for holiday. Her efforts had not turned up anything of consequence. I fear that she may be in over her head; there may simply be too much material to review. Unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of a multitude of researchers hunting for our ‘needle in the haystack.’”
Harry still had not told Snape or Moody about his conversation with Fudge, but this seemed the appropriate time. “Um, I think I might have an idea why Hermione is not finding anything.” This did get the attention of the other two men. “When I spoke with Fudge this afternoon he mentioned that there might be an organized effort to suppress any information about what happened on 9/19. Fudge said this included a document used to make a connection between some events around 450 A.D. and the 9/19 events. He also said the witch who presented this information was dismissed from the committee by Scrimgeour and all the members were told to forget what they heard because it was sacrilegious.”
Both Moody and Snape were watching Harry very closely and listening to his report. However, it was Snape who appeared most impressed with the information. “When did Fudge give you this information?”
“About noon today. He wanted to speak with me outside of the office; he was acting paranoid about the entire situation.”
“Well, apparently he had reason to be paranoid.” Snape shot back. Then with a look of resignation he finished his news. “Cornelius Fudge ‘retired’ from the Ministry about an hour ago. Scrimgeour sent out the news, praising Fudge for his hard work during the war which had led to an emotional breakdown. He’s retired to Darbin, the bulletin said.” Snape finished, but the look on his face begged a question from Harry.
“Where’s Darbin? We can still talk with him if we need more information.”
“There is no Darbin, Potter. That name was used for years during Grindelwald’s reign of terror in the early 1940’s. The Ministry, particularly the Department of Magical Research, often referred to this non-existent place as the location where they held Grindelwald’s followers. After Dumbledore’s defeat of Grindelwald in ’45, everyone assumed the prisoners were moved to Azkaban, but few ever were.”
“What happened to them?”
“Potter, what do you think happened to them? They ‘disappeared.’ Darbin never existed, it was more of a death sentence than a location.”
“Nice, but why was the Department of Magical Research so involved with this place?” Harry asked.
Moody answered this one. “Harry, Aurors used to be under the Department of Magical Research, until about 1960, I believe it was. No one wanted the Aurors, even good Aurors, under the direct control of the Minister of Magic. They felt it gave him too much power.”
“Excellent, Alastor. But you left out one piece of information.” Snape acted as if he had been brushing up on his History of Magic.
Moody thought back almost forty years to his first years as an Auror. I graduated from Auror school in ’59...first job a few weeks later...reorganizations started in ’60...attended the International Association of Aurors in late ’60...the convention was... “Scrimgeour! He was the one responsible for the reorganization. I remember him addressing the IAA convention in 1960. I’ll be sha...”
“That’s right, Alastor.” Snape broke in. “Very good. However, I don’t believe that the Minister’s actions are as obvious as that. He’s shown a willingness to wait forty years to have control of the Aurors. He may simply be power-happy. What could be in that document he’s trying to suppress?”
Harry had been listening to Moody and Snape go back and forth. When Snape asked his last question Harry remembered Fudge’s memory and he jumped up, a little to eagerly. The table was partly upset and Moody’s plate was dumped in his lap. “Sorry. Sorry, Moody!” Harry dug into his pocket and pulled out the marble-shaped object. “Here. Fudge gave this to me at lunch today, he said it was his memory of the last meeting of the Ministry Investigation Committee.” Harry sat down; the consequences of his meeting with Fudge had just registered. “He must have known something was going to happen. He told me he was waiting to find anyone outside of the Ministry committee who might be looking at the same information. Fudge got me out of the building as fast as he could and was acting very strange, very paranoid. I guess he had a reason.”
Suddenly Harry felt like he was back in the war all over again. He disliked Fudge for his actions, thought him a buffoon and coward, but he did not deserve to “disappear.” Moody and Snape were speechless, then started to talk between themselves, ignoring Harry. Quietly excusing himself from the table, Harry left Moody and Snape to decide the next actions by themselves. Heading back to his room, Harry made it just in time; he ran to his toilet and emptied his stomach.
Wednesday morning Remus Lupin was planning to visit a Pediatric Healer with Tonks and James. His wife’s cold had cleared up but the baby still had a deep cough and was cranky. Probably due to lack of sleep. I can identify with that. The day was cool but not cold or windy so the parents decided to walk the short distance to the office, located behind a Muggle Asian grocer. After arriving, Tonks sat in the waiting room and tried nursing James to sleep; Remus went up to the desk to fill out some paperwork. After finishing the forms he returned the clipboard, pen, and three sheets to the receptionist and took a seat next to Tonks.
A few minutes later an aid called for “James Lupin” and Tonks took the baby into the examination area while Remus dozed in his chair.
“Mr. Lupin, Mr. Lupin. Please wake up.”
Remus had fallen asleep and was dreaming of sleeping; a real good nights sleep was his most active fantasy these days. Now there was an aid above him shaking him. Where are Tonks and James?
“Yeah, yeah. I’m awake.”
“Would you please follow me? The Healer on duty would like to speak with you and your wife.”
Too tired and sleepy to care about much of anything, Remus just followed the woman through a couple doors and down a long hallway. “In here, please.” Remus saw Tonks sitting, holding James. But the expression on her face woke him up instantly.”
“What’s wrong? Is James alright?”
“I wouldn’t know. I waited for an hour in here before that idiot of a Healer came in and said he wouldn’t look at James.” Tonks was near tears, something that almost never happened. Her hair had turned fire red and looked like she had put her finger in an electric socket.
“He ‘wouldn’t’ or ‘couldn’t’ see James?”
“Remus, he refuses to treat James because his father is a werewolf.”
“I’m not a werewolf. Where is this git?”
“He said he would return shortly, of course that was twenty minutes ago.”
“Let’s give him five more minutes.” Sitting down next to Tonks, Remus tried to calm himself, but he did not have the opportunity. The Healer walked in, without knocking, just as Remus sat.
“Mr. Lupin, your wife asked me to explain to you why we can’t treat your child. This practice can’t expose itself and it’s patients to a possible infection from a werewolf or any of their immediate family members...”
Remus was boiling inside from the first moment the Healer walked into the room. He had not offered his hand, even a gloved hand. The more the man said, the more infuriated Remus became.
“I am NOT a werewolf, and haven’t been for over three months. Whatever was in me that transformed me is now gone. My son has shown no signs whatsoever of infection, either. How can you stand there refusing us on these grounds?”
“I’m sorry, there is nothing I can do. I have to ask you and your family to leave this facility immediately and not return. If you do not, I will be forced to notify the authorities.” With that the Healer turned and left the office.
Wednesday morning Harry woke with a headache that reminded him of his worse days fighting Voldemort. The pain was not coming from his scar, but that did not matter. He wished Ginny were lying with him, if for no other reason that to distract him from his lingering thoughts generated by yesterday’s dinner meeting. Dragging himself out of bed and to the loo, Harry found he had to force himself to do every little action. As his mind started clearing, Harry went through his schedule for the day. Moody at eight for plans; Snape at ten to arrange a special Potions lesson for the seventh year DADA students; a quick trip to visit Hagrid before lunch; lunch; meet with Rudy’s father and uncle, probably a waste of time; Dinner at Grimmauld Place. At least the day will end pleasantly.
Harry started to leave his room when he heard a tap on his window. Looking back he saw Pig pecking the window with his beak and grasping a large envelope with his small talons. Opening the window, Pig fell into the room leaving the envelope on the window stool, he then hopped up to Hedwig’s cage where the two owls started jabbering. Examining up the envelope, Harry noticed immediately it was heavily padded with something rigid inside. Turning it over he saw his name in Ginny’s handwriting. Ok, the day is getting better. Harry sat on the bed and carefully opened the top flap, then shook out a wrapped gift and a letter.
Dear Harry,
I miss you, too, and I’m counting the hours till Saturday. I’ll be on the express so I should arrive about four. I was so surprised by your letter, I knew you must be lonely with nobody there except Snape and Moody (And Filch.) But you sound like you have your hands full. You can tell me all about it in three days. Your comment about Snape is REALLY odd.
Mom took me to Diagon Alley after I received your letter and suggested that this gift might help you pass the time a little easier. I hope you enjoy it. Dad and I are heading to Muggle London later to buy me some new blue jeans, I’ll never understand why we don’t carry them in Diagon Alley.
Well, my love, be good and don’t let Snape get under your skin. I live for the time we can be together all day “ and night.
Your Gin
Harry noticed that the letter smelled flowery, like Ginny’s hair, and for a moment he forgot every care and worry. Eventually, curiosity about the gift brought Harry out of the self-induced trance and he started to open it.
The gold-framed picture of Ginny, wearing the same clothes she wore for her seventeenth birthday, melted Harry’s heart and he did nothing for the next ten minutes but look at his fiancé. It was not a wizard photograph, like the one he kept of his parents, but the artistry of the picture was superb. Setting it on his night stand, Harry went off to breakfast feeling considerably better than he had a half-hour before.
Harry’s morning meetings went quickly and painlessly, or at least as painless as a meeting can go with Snape. Leaving the building in a light rain late morning, Harry threw a rain repelling spell above himself to keep from becoming drenched. He reached Hagrid’s hut but did not even have the chance to knock; Hagrid, knowing he was coming, had been waiting for him, and opened the door just as Harry raised his arm to knock.
“Hello ’arry. ‘ow are yer today?” Pulling him into an embrace, Hagrid rubbed his knuckles on the top of Harry’s head just as he always did.
“Hi Hagrid, how are the knees today?”
“Oh, yeh know. I can tell I’m alive every day because of the pain in my knees, but I’m not complainin’.”
Chatting for a while, Harry thought Hagrid looked better today, but he did notice something else about him that concerned him deeply. Hagrid had lost weight, perhaps not a lot of it, but a noticeable amount. He hid much of it with his bulky clothes, but Harry knew something was wrong. Unfortunately, Harry did not have the time today to bring it up with Hagrid and left with only twenty minutes remaining before his next meeting.
“Hello, Rudy, good to see you again! You must be Rudy’s father.” Harry introduced himself, “and please, everybody call me ‘Harry.’”
“Liam Keane, a pleasure to finally meet you. My brother told a great deal about you. Tiernan?”
Harry looked suspiciously at the man standing a half step behind Rudy’s father.
“Hello Harry, Tiernan Keane, class of ’76. Good to see you...again.”
Huh? “I’m sorry, not trying to be rude, but have we met?”
“Well, it was more me meeting you than us meeting each other. I was in the emergency room at St. Mungo’s when you were first brought in. I was volunteering there at the end of the war. I made the very serious mistake of trying to move a lovely red-haired girl away from you so the Healers could get to work.” Turning his head, Tiernan pointed to a faint scar. “I even have the proof.” Tiernan was obviously not concerned with the event, he laughed it off as if it were a joke.
“Well, you get points for bravery, Tiernan.”
“Harry, was that Ginny?” Asked Rudy quietly.
“Yes, Rudy, and she asked me to tell you ‘hello’ and that we would all get together next month for dinner with Ron and Hermione. You still hanging around with Lisa and Carol?”
Rudy instantly blushed and mumbled something sounding like “Oh, sure.”
Liam was delighted to see Rudy had an excellent rapport with Harry. He also knew of Ron and Hermione from Tiernan’s stories months back. “Well, you two sound like old friends. Who’s this Ginny?”
“Rudy! You didn’t tell your father about your new girlfriend?” Harry was enjoying the joke but quickly let Rudy off the hook. Turning to Liam he explained. “Ginny Weasley is my fiancé, Liam, she’s in her seventh year.”
Tiernan had not heard of this, either. “This should be an interesting story.” Rudy’s uncle was looking directly at him, but he also had a smile on his face. “Say Harry, are you related to James Potter?”
The unexpected question shocked Harry. “Oh, um, yeah James is, was my father.” Then seeing Liam’s curious expression, Harry finished his explanation. “James was my father. Both he and my mother were murdered by Voldemort when I was a year old.”
“I’m sorry, Harry. I knew James my last two years here and forgot that he died. Then Lily Evans must have been your mother?”
Harry just nodded, but then realized something. How could Tiernan know about Lily? She did not start seeing his father until a couple years after Tiernan had left Hogwarts. But Harry’s face must have shown his question because Tiernan explained further. “Harry, I knew Lily about a year before your parents started at Hogwarts. I babysat for her and her sister off and on one summer; it must have been between my second and third year. Your mother was a delightful girl, but her sister could put a sour face on a lemon. She had a flowery name, too, didn’t she?”
“Uh, yeah, Aunt Petunia.”
“That’s right, Petunia. Well, enough of this reminiscing. Are you ready to start interrogating my nephew?” Everyone laughed except Rudy who just looked a little scared.
“Nah, no worries, Rudy. This is really just a formality. Whenever a student injures a teacher we have to do an interview and write a report that no one ever reads.”
“Sounds like my job.” Tiernan joked.
“Oh, one other item before we begin. Liam, I want to compliment you on the work you did here. Everyone loves the design and especially the warmth in cooler weather. The old dorms were about as much fun as an outside tent in the dead of winter.”
“Thank you, Harry; it certainly was an interesting job.”
“So, shall we go into the Hall and find ourselves a table?”
Harry led the three Keane’s into the Great Hall where a single table had been placed, with five chairs around. As they approached, Harry saw Dobby waving at him and he delivered a cart with tea and cakes for a snack.
“Alright Rudy. Let’s talk about what happened that day.”
“And that’s it. Rudy, would you please read over this and make sure it’s factually correct? Then I’ll send it off to never land.” Harry removed the enchantment from the pen so it would stop recording their conversation and slid the parchment to Rudy.
“May I interest anyone in tea?” Tiernan stood to get a cup and waved Harry down when he started to stand to help. Liam joined them after Tiernan and Harry had gotten their cups.
“Say Harry, I have two daughters younger than Rudy. Margaret is 8 and Mary 6. Is there any way to know if they will have magical abilities?
“Sometimes, Liam. Just observe them; if they have natural magical abilities you’ll see and hear of strange things happening to them. I used to grow my hair back right after my aunt had it cut.”
After tea and a brief walk around the building, the Keanes departed. Harry stopped by Snape’s office to give him a verbal report on his meeting, then returned to his room to wash up and change for dinner.
“Harry! Come in, why are you knocking? This is as much your house as ours.” Remus took Harry’s cloak and after hanging it up, walked him to the first Floor parlor where Tonks was feeding James.
“Hi Harry!” Tonks called out cheerfully.
“Hey, Tonks. How’s my favorite nephew?”
“He’s doing much better this evening. He had a cough the past few days but it seems better now. Wanna burp him?”
Not quite sure what he had to do, Harry accepted. “Um, sure. What do I do?”
Tonks reached under the blanket she had across her shoulder and chest, apparently fiddling with something, then she took the blanket off and Harry saw James wide awake, looking at his mother. “Ok, Harry. Remus, give Harry one of those cloth diapers, will you?” Remus handed him a clean but worn cotton diaper.
“Harry, you don’t hold the diaper with your hand. Put it over your shoulder.” Remus showed Harry how to prepare for “burping.” There, now take James...that’s good. Support his head, now put him over your shoulder. No, not that much. There, perfect. Now comes the fun part. You want to pat him on the back until he burps or vomits, either one works.”
Tonks was greatly amused by Harry’s lack of experience, but he seemed to be having a good time. After a minute or so, she heard Remus. “Uh oh, Harry. I don’t suppose you have another shirt with you?”
“Why? Oh! Um, I guess he didn’t burp.” Harry handed James back to Tonks and looked to his left shoulder where he saw a fair amount of thick, yellow-white liquid running off the diaper and down his back.
“Here you go, Harry.” Remus took the diaper and pulling out his wand said “Scourgify,” and Harry’s shirt was instantly cleaned.
“Thanks, Remus.”
“Say Harry, Remus told me about the trick he played on you and Ron before the wedding. I thought it was priceless.”
Harry blushed, both for his part in playing the fool and because both Remus and Tonks obviously knew that he and Ginny had been doing a little more than snogging. “Uh, yeah, Ron and I were, um, thrilled, too.”
“Don’t worry, Harry,” Tonks said, looking at Remus, “Passion is a hard thing to fight, sometimes. Eh Remus?”
“No idea what you’re talking about, dear.” Both Harry and Tonks noticed Remus getting a bit red, too.
“Sure, Remus, dear. I know. Say Harry, have you and Ginny started making wedding plans yet?”
“Just a little, we’ve booked the Great Hall at Hogwarts and the front grounds, but besides that we won’t be starting the details until next month.”
“Wow, Hogwarts in October is beautiful. I can’t wait.” Tonks noticed that Harry had an “I can’t wait” look on his face, also.
“Well, shall we continue this over dinner?” Remus said, handing James to Tonks. “I’ve been working on this all afternoon.”
“He said what? Exclaimed Harry loudly. Remus had just finished telling Harry about their trip to the Healer that morning, and he was glad he had waited until after dinner, too. Harry was obviously upset and did not eat when he was upset.
“Yeah, pretty sad, isn’t it?” Tonks added with a frown. “Remus has all ready written a couple nasty letters. In the meantime, we will just take James to our usual Healer. He’s never had scruples about who he associated with.”
The rest of the evening was more pleasant except when he told Remus and Tonks about Fudge. Remus seemed skeptical about Snape’s Durban comments, but Tonks looked a little worried. Trying to change the subject, Harry started talking about Ron and Hermione’s wedding and passed around pictures, telling stories about this and that happening. Tonks loved Harry’s thoughtfulness but frequently sounded irritated about not being able to attend.
“This bloody war has messed up so much; Remus and I only had a few people at our wedding, though I suppose...oh, I don’t know. Look Harry, I have to get James and myself to bed. You’re welcome to hang around and talk to Remus.” Getting up, Tonks walked over to Harry and kissed his cheek, then let Harry kiss James. As the mother and son walked away, Tonks was holding James’ arm and waving “bye-bye” with it.
“Well, Remus, I think I’ll be heading back. Thanks loads for the great dinner.” The two men shook hands and embraced.
“Harry, hang on a mo. When is your next holiday from school? Around Easter?”
“Yeah, I think so. Why?”
“I want you to plan to take that week off. You look tired and overworked. I know preparing for Hermione and Ron’s wedding kept you from having much of a Christmas break, and you really do need to work on your personal maintenance.”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Yes. Ever been to the beach? Not the ones around here, real beaches, like the beaches in the United States, or the Caribbean?”
“No, never been overseas, but I think I’d like the idea of warm sand and all that.”
“Ok, leave it to me. Tonks and I will plan a five day vacation for you and that will still leave you time to prepare for the final quarter when you return.” Then grinning broadly, Remus asked, “Shall I make arrangements for Ginny to join you?”
“Right, Moony, and how are you going to do that? It would be wonderful, but...”
“Well, leave that part to me. I know Molly Weasley well enough. Think about it. I don’t want to push you and Ginny into something awkward.”
“Yeah, ok Remus. I’ll let you know.”
“Ok, we can work the details out later. See you, son.” Remus and Harry embraced again and Harry Floo’d back to Hogwarts.
By Friday afternoon most of the school staff had returned to Hogwarts and Harry was finished with his class schedules and lesson plans. Earlier, he had taken a trip over to Ron & Hermione’s house. (Harry knew the title Hog House would never last now that he was not there to support it with Ron.) He checked for anything he and Ginny had missed on Sunday. On the way he stopped at the flower shop and purchased two bunches of flowers, one for the dining room and the other for the bedroom. Checking the ice box, and finding it empty except for a piece of very moldy cheese, Harry made a quick run to the grocer for a few items. When he was finished at the store he had purchased much more than he had planned, but thought the items would be appreciated. There was just one last thing he wanted to do. Stopping at Zonko’s, Harry purchased a large “Welcome Home” sign and hung it in the parlor. Everything looked ready.
Lunch on Friday was much noisier that it had been during the week. There were about three dozen teachers and staff seated around the hall and head table, but Snape was missing. When Harry walked into the Hall he immediately saw Moody motion for him to come up. Taking the seat next to Mad-Eye, Harry listened to Moody’s news.
“Harry, Snape is meeting at one o’clock this afternoon with someone from St. Mungo’s and the Headmaster asks that we attend. And, uh...” Moody leaned closer to Harry, “Snape’s taken a ‘turn for the worse,’ if you know what I mean.” Moody was trying to sound serious but was clearly amused. Harry just shook his head.
At one o’clock Harry met Moody as he was hobbling toward Snape’s office. “Harry, I spoke with Snape a few minutes ago and he’s in a foul mood.” Then smiling he added, “Just wanted to be sure you knew.”
Rounding the last corner before the Headmaster’s office, Harry and Moody saw an elderly witch waiting in the corridor. “Do you know who she is, Mad-Eye?” But Moody shook his head.
Approaching Snape’s office door, the witch turned to Moody and Harry. “Hello there, Olga Windshine from St. Mungo’s. I know you, Mr. Potter, but I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your colleague.”
Harry suppressed his deep-seated annoyance of people who knew him, and whom he did not know, and introduced Moody. “Hi, this is Alastor Moody, and yes, I’m Harry Potter, but please, call me Harry.”
“Harry. It is wonderful to see you again. I looked in on you a number of times last April. I’m glad to see you’re well on the road to recovery. You must have that young lady friend of yours speak with me, she is the reason you’re alive; but I’m sure you know that already.” The witches voice was soft but penetrating, almost like a...but Harry could not put a finger on it. He also noticed two things she said that surprised him greatly and he made a mental note to ask her about them. As the introductions finished, the door to Snape’s office opened and he invited his guests inside.
Harry noticed that after everyone was in the room Snape had locked his office door. He also cast at least three spells; the only one which Harry recognized was a silencing charm. Walking behind his desk, Snape addressed them. “Please have a seat. Before we begin I must impress upon you the gravity of this meeting and the need for absolute confidentiality. I can’t stress this enough. It is very likely that one, and possibly two persons, have run into serious trouble because of what we are about to discuss. Do I have everyone’s agreement? Olga? Thank you. Alastor? Good. H...Potter? Thank you.”
Snape had obviously caught himself before he finished saying Harry’s given name, and they all noticed it, but it was Windshine who immediately spoke up. “Severus, that is exactly what we talked about. How long?”
Snape was clearly uncomfortable but answered truthfully. “It’s been building since May, but we can address it later. The purpose of this meeting concerns a suggestion made by the Healer attending Percy Weasley. It is his belief that his case may not be hopeless. That is why Madam Windshine is here, she wishes to discuss a treatment.”
Harry wondered how he or Moody could have anything to do with healing Percy.
“A number of weeks ago, Weasley’s attending Healer made a suggestion to Olga about a possible course of treatment. Olga, would you please speak to this?”
Harry saw that Moody was still watching Snape closely, even when Windshine began to speak.
“As you all know, I’m sure, broken memory transfers have never been treatable. This is due, primarily, to the fact that both wizards have died immediately. We have no recorded memory transfer in the sixteen hundred year history of Wizarding where this has not been true. However, as you also know, both Percy and Peter Martin, the Muggle boy affected by this tragedy, are still alive.”
“I must be very honest with you, we have no idea why either are alive, with the possible exception of the fact that Peter is a Muggle. However, with memory transfers, the magic is not in the body of the recipient or donor, it is within the memory itself. So this possibility seems very remote.”
“Percy’s Healer came up with another theory. It holds less weight than the first, but I eventually thought it worth exploring. His theory is based on the actions of the two Healers who first attended Percy and Peter. Arriving only seconds after the break, one of the men immediately saw that Percy’s wand was still expelling the memory. By chance, or quick thinking, or even luck, he immediately took the wand and placed it to Percy’s temple where, over the next few hours, the threads appeared to re-embed themselves into Mr. Weasley’s mind.”
“When I first heard about this I was appalled. I’ve studied a great deal of Muggle medicine and it appeared to me that all he had done was restarted the heart of a brain-dead patient. But the Healer was able to convince me that there was a slight possibility that it was these returning memories that had prevented Percy from dying. And further, if they were keeping him alive might there not be a chance for recovery?”
Even though Harry had little affection for Percy, it was difficult to hear Windshine speak of him so casually. As he was thinking this thought, he noticed Windshine turn her head slightly in his direction, but she continued her story.
“Yesterday, when Severus visited me, I shared with him this idea and he volunteered to be part of an experiment. What is not common knowledge, and what Severus demonstrated to me, is that he is among the top legilimen in the world. As such, he would be an excellent choice to probe Percy’s mind and discover if there is anything to recover.”
The room was dead silent for a moment as Windshine finished. Snape’s face was completely expressionless but Moody’s was not.
“You sure as hell will do no such thing, Severus.” Moody yelled at Snape. But Snape returned with as much force.
“I will do what needs to be done.” Then more softly, “Besides Alastor, if something happens to me, YOU get to be Headmaster in this madhouse. Why do you think I brought you here today?”
Moody was completely speechless, looking back and forth between Snape and Windshine for support. Harry asked the next question. “Why is there so much concern about the Headmaster’s safety?”
Windshine answered this one. “Harry, intelligent wizards do not go probing brain-dead minds. It tends to make them ‘brain-dead’ also. This IS a documented outcome of an untrained Healer’s rash action. There will be enormous risks. If there is no brain activity, Severus will die. This is a certainty. But if, like the Healer proposes, Percy is only locked away in a corner of his mind, unable to get out, Severus may be able to assist him. Harry, do you understand why you are here now?”
“Partially. Do you think that this was what happened to me in my battle with Voldemort, and Ginny was able to get me out?” The witch looked at Harry intensely and without realizing it he knew the answer. “You’re a legilimen, aren’t you?”
“Yes Harry, and she’s the best there is. That’s how she was able to confirm my abilities.” Snape explained.
“Severus, you’re slipping again.” Windshine teased Snape for having called Harry, ‘Harry.’ Snape closed his eyes and looked like he was trying to refocus himself. Windshine made a suggestion. “Severus, stop fighting it, when you find the answer to your other problem you can return to calling him ‘Potter’ again.”
Harry had to hold back a laugh at Snape’s obvious discomfort, but he realized that Snape also needed to be focused on something other than himself to help Percy. “Professor Snape, please, just call me ‘Harry’ until this is over. Olga’s probably correct; it will just be a distraction otherwise.” Snape looked like he was about to explode at Harry, but he calmed down quickly.
“Severus, when are you going to attempt this insane exercise?” Moody was still not at all happy with Snape’s offer to help.
“Sunday. And Potter, I will need the Weasley’s permission. I would like you and Ms. Weasley to accompany me to her parent’s home Sunday afternoon. After that meeting I will head to St. Mungo’s. Alastor, would you care to come along and watch?”
Moody finally exploded. “I bloody well would NOT. You should be relieved from your job for STUPIDITY!.” Getting up, Moody threw a report he was going to give on the Floor, then he nearly tripped and fell as he limped out the door, slamming it behind him.
A/N: Does anyone know why Harry stayed clear of the bubbles in the lake? Ten house points for a correct answer!