Chapter 29: The Last Marauder
“Morning, Harry.” Remus Lupin smiled, and Harry took a moment before returning it with an ear-to-ear grin.
“When’d you get back?” he asked happily, still blinking in his disbelief.
“Just last night, actually,” Lupin replied, standing up from the table and crossing the kitchen to pour himself more tea. Harry surveyed him carefully; it had been seven months since he had last seen his former teacher, and there were significant changes in his appearance. He did not look as ragged or tired as he used to, though his skin was much paler; it was almost ghostly. He no longer wore patched and frayed robes, but new ones. They weren’t particularly extravagant or impressive, but they were much nicer than his old ones. “How have you been?”
“Not bad,” Harry answered, still grinning happily, sitting down and grabbing some toast and butter. “What about yourself?”
“Better than ever,” Lupin answered with a yawn. “But exhausted.”
Harry eyed him carefully; he was wondering why Lupin had returned from Manchester. Was it just for the holidays “ or had he achieved the purpose for which he had left? Had he been cured of his lycanthropy? Harry could not dare to ask though, for fear that the answer was not what he hoped it to be. Even as he tried to voice the question, the words were stuck in his throat, pushed back by the anxious lump that had formed there.
“How “ how was Manchester?” he asked instead.
“It went well,” Lupin answered somewhat cryptically.
“How well?”
Lupin put down his cup of tea and turned his eye to Harry, giving him a slight smile.
“I’m still a werewolf, if that’s what your asking,” he said.
“Oh… I’m sorry “ I didn’t mean to push… I just…”
“There is nothing to apologise for, Harry,” Lupin said, and drank more tea. “To expect a cure for an age-old condition in seven months is to be rather optimistic. However, an amazing amount of progress has been made, already.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, though I have not been cured “ the remedy being researched has been working when administered before the first full moon since the bite. We have cured several werewolves already, and Mr Ionus “ he’s the wizard in charge of all this “ is sending the research results to the Ministry with an appeal to begin this treatment at St Mungo’s.”
“That’s “ brilliant!” Harry said, knowing that Lupin must be very happy to have helped other’s and feeling a sympathetic surge of pride.
“Yes, it is,” Lupin replied simply. “And, we’ve been making slight adaptations to improve it’s effects on those who have had the condition long-term, and we seem to be getting closer.”
“So “ there’s hope, then? That you’ll be cured eventually?” Harry asked tentatively.
“Yes, it seems so,” Lupin said. “But let’s not get to excited. It might not happen in my lifetime.”
”Don’t think that way,” Harry said quickly, causing Lupin to raise his eyebrow slightly.
“And why do you say that?”
“I don’t know,” Harry mumbled. “I just think “ it’s better to have hope than nothing at all.”
“You’re philosophies never cease to be admirable, Harry,” he said with a smile. “And, on that note, I think we’ve talked enough about me. What have you been up to? How’s school?”
“School is fine. The least of my troubles most of the time,” Harry said with a sigh. “I imagine you heard about the Quidditch Incident?”
“Yes, I did,” Lupin said gravely. “This war is looking grimmer by the day. I’m sure it must be hard on you.”
Harry nodded austerely.
“And Katie’s dad has been missing since early November.”
“Christopher Bell?” Lupin asked in surprise. “What happened?”
“He’s joined the Sphinx Militia. Katie and I saw him during the attack in Diagon Alley, but he hasn’t made any contact with her since. He’s just… gone.”
“Katie must be devastated,” Lupin said woefully.
“Yes, though, I don’t know if his disappearance has been as hard on her as his association with the Militia has been. Now she’s worried for him, before she was hurt and angry.”
“I’m taking it Katie does not agree with the Militia’s intent.”
“Do you?”
Lupin furrowed his brow.
“I’m not sure they understand the ramifications of their actions.”
“But… do you agree with them?” Harry asked, and Lupin gave him a penetrating look. It was not an accusatory question, nor was it in any way simple. “Do you think murder is alright… if it’s for a good cause?”
“Who can say what a good cause is, Harry?” Lupin replied obscurely. “Perhaps Voldemort believes his cause is a good one.”
“Would you have killed Pettigrew, had I not stopped you?”
“Well, you did stop us, didn’t you? So, we can’t know. But “ I was certainly going to. What is this about, Harry?”
“I have to kill him,” he said desolately. “I don’t know if I can. I “ I don’t know. I don’t think I can perform an Unforgivable.”
“There are more ways than one to kill, Harry.”
“But it all comes down to killing, doesn’t it. Does it take more to perform the Killing Curse than it does to murder someone another way?”
“I would not know. I have never killed,” Lupin sighed. “But, we are talking about Voldemort, here. He is barely human. He is twisted, and has pushed away most of what associates him with mortals, including love and emotion.”
“But he is human. Maybe more now than he was before. And I have to kill him. And, like you said, how can we determine what a good cause is?”
“At the risk of sounding very much like Albus Dumbledore “ you will know what to do when the time comes, Harry.”
“You sound exactly like Dumbledore,” Harry replied in frustration, his thoughts bearing down upon him harder than they had been in sometime. He felt it might be time to change the subject, and felt an excited leap in his stomach as he remembered something else he had wanted to discuss with Lupin. “What do you know about Aurora Virgo?”
Lupin gave a slight choke and splutter on the tea he had been drinking, before turning to Harry with a feigned expression of ignorance.
“Who?”
“You know who she is, and that she was killed at the end of the last war,” Harry said haughtily. “What do you know about her?”
“I see there’s no fooling you,” Lupin said with a small wink.
“She was friends with Sirius, wasn’t she?” Harry pressed.
“Yes, she… was friends with Sirius.”
“And?”
“And… well, he was very attached to her. I think because her family was a representation of what he stood for “ to be a pureblood and not get caught up in the prejudice. They became close. I’m sure you understand that having a close-knit group of friends doesn’t mean you are always together, and it does not stop you from befriending others?” Harry nodded. “Well, Aurora was Sirius’ confidante outside the Marauders.”
”They were just friends?” Harry asked, feeling as though there was something more.
“Yes and no,” Lupin said indecisively.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry asked, confused.
“Well “ as far as I understand, they were never involved romantically. Not at all. However…”
“Yes?”
“They did marry.”
“What?”
“That was James’s reaction, too,” Lupin chuckled.
“But “ you said they weren’t romantic “ Sirius never told me he had a wife “ ”
“They weren’t romantically involved, Harry. Sirius married her to invoke protection charms over her. I don’t know if you know this “ but to dedicate yourself to someone for life creates very strong magical bonds. And also, the Virgos were infamously anti-Voldemort. Having the name ‘Black’ on paper and for introductions was much more suited to safety.
“We all thought it was a rather rash decision, because it meant a lifelong commitment to Aurora, and it would prevent him from marrying for love in the future. But that’s how Sirius was, wasn’t he? Rash, impulsive. He had never considered marriage before; he wasn’t really the type for it. And, being young and not all too interested in a romantic commitment, he married Aurora to protect her, because if nothing else, he was a loyal friend. As you must realise, it sadly turned out not to matter. Not only because Aurora was murdered, but also because he never had the opportunity to fall in love, anyway.”
“And “ the Aurors murdered her, because they thought Sirius was a Death Eater?”
“And because she refused to give him up, and she wouldn’t give evidence he was a Death Eater “ not that it mattered since they locked him up, anyway. She made the mistake of fighting back; and, they saw that as hostile actions and killed her. Killings like Aurora’s are why Amelia Bones isn’t authorising murder of Death Eaters unless it becomes a matter of self-defence.”
“But the Sphinx Militia are doing it anyway,” Harry muttered.
“And they are being regarded as criminals by the Ministry,” Lupin replied simply.
Harry’s thoughts wandered back to Sirius, and to Aurora. He would have known her, he thought, had she not died. She must have been a great person, for Sirius to have been so loyal.
“Was Aurora a Gryffindor?” he asked casually.
“A Slytherin,” Remus said with a smile, which became a small laugh at Harry’s shocked expression. “They aren’t all bad, Harry.”
“Yeah, I know,” Harry said, reminded of Siobhan. “Speaking of Slytherins and friends outside our usual circles… do you know Siobhan Murphy?”
“Yes, she was a student,” Lupin said with interest. “A cheeky little Irish girl, isn’t she? Very smart though.”
“Yeah, that’s her alright.”
“Harry Potter, befriending Slytherins, now?” Lupin said with feigned astonishment. “And what else happened this year?”
“Ron and Hermione broke up,” Harry said glumly, and quickly changed the subject, not wanting to discuss his friends at that moment. “And… I’ve decided not to become an Auror. I want to be a professor, instead. I’m going to go away a few years, do some studying, take some temporary positions, and then I’ll return to Hogwarts and take the Defence Against the Dark Arts post.”
“I’m sorry about Ron and Hermione,” Lupin said in earnest. “Though, I like the decision to become a professor. It’s admirable. You do know, your father “ ”
“Taught Defence Against the Dark Arts, yes,” Harry said with a smile. “Professor McGonagall told me. I never knew before… And my mum was an Unspeakable.”
“Yes “ she was rather annoying about it, too,” Lupin said. “We’d ask her what she’d been up to at work, and she’d put her nose up in the air and say ‘You know I can’t say, so I suggest you stop asking.’ Then she’d smile at us mischievously and ask what we’d ‘wasted’ our day doing.”
Harry laughed, hanging on to ever word of Lupin’s anecdote of Lily Potter, a familiar ache inside him as he wished once more to have grown up with his parents, and to have known and loved them.
“I’d like to visit Godric’s Hollow,” he said quietly. “I think… it would give me something to connect with.”
Lupin eyed him tentatively, but said nothing.
“Can you take me there?” Harry asked. “Not now, but… sometime?”
“I’m afraid I can’t,” Lupin replied sadly.
“Why not?” Harry asked.
“It’s still protected by the Fidelius Charm. I can visit it, as can Dumbledore, or Hagrid, or anyone else who was told where it was by Peter. I think because you only lived there as an infant, and have not lived there for many years… you can’t possibly see it.”
“Unless Pettigrew tells me,” Harry said, feeling his face grow heated. A moment ago, the thought of visiting Godric’s Hollow had been a fond musing, something he was only considering, and had not made up his mind. Now, however, it was something he was being deprived of, something hidden from him by the man who was responsible for their deaths.
“Harry “ Peter is in prison “ ”
“Then I’ll go see him..”
“I don’t think…”
“Pettigrew owes me his life. The least he can do is let me see the home I shared with my parents. Or what’s left of it after he allowed it to be destroyed.”
“And you really want to see that?”
“He is holding control over my parents’ home, and he has no right to!” Harry said, growing indignant. “Perhaps I want to restore it and live there myself one day.. I’m going to see Pettigrew. And then I want you to take me to my home.”
“Harry “ ”
“If Sirius were still alive, he would support me in this, Remus,” Harry said, unconsciously using the man’s first name. “But he’s gone. And so are my parents. But I have memories of Sirius, I have his home, his portrait, my Firebolt. And I have you. I have nothing but a map and a cloak to know my father, and nothing of my mother’s. Godric’s Hollow is one of the few things that remain, and it’s where I belong.”
He was standing up now, straight shouldered, his jaw set with determination. Remus, still seated at the table, looked up at him, and gave a slight sigh.
“Of course, Harry. Not only do I have no right to deny you, I don’t think I have reason to, either. You’ll have to forgive me and my reservations. When it’s safe, I will take you to your Godric’s Hollow. To your parent’s house. To your home.”