Note: That's it, folks. The end, and just in time for HPB. This story started as a crack idea and I never expected it to evolve this far or to be so popular. Thanks to you, mugglenet, and my betareader rambkowalczyk! I'll miss this.
(The title of this chapter is also the title of a book by T.H. White. The Once and Future King is King Arthur).
14 The Once And Future King
Remus didn't even dare to open his eyes, as he really didn't want to look at the body of a beheaded man who looked altogether too much like Sirius. So he started by staring numbly at the vine-covered walls of the cavern. He lowered his gaze until he saw the sword. He realised that he was still gripping it far too tightly but he felt unable to do anything about it. There was no blood on the gleaming blade, just a murky smudge of something tar-like.
Remus wasn't squeamish. He was a man who was used to having his skeleton rearranged once every month, a man who was used to terrible wounds. A few days ago he had been able to bite off one of his own fingers. But he really didn't want to look at Regulus’ body. And yet he did, feeling that he owed that much to Regulus.
It was a mistake.
Clamping a hand over his mouth in shock, he stumbled backwards, almost knocking over one of the chairs by the table and then turned around to hurry away. Without thinking he sprinted towards the corridor that led out of the cavern, not noticing in his panic that the light of the glowing vines grew dimmer. He stopped and forced himself to breathe more regularly.
Then he sensed movement behind him in the cavern and nearly jumped in fear. But it was merely the Grey Lady, turning her head and stretching her silvery arms. Then the Bloody Baron growled and peered around wildly. Nearly Headless Nick scratched his head and Remus really, really hoped that he wouldn't do any of his tricks with his neck. The Fat Friar and Peeves were the last of the Hogwarts ghosts to wake up. Peeves made a blubbering noise of surprise and immediately drifted higher up in the air, from where he spotted Remus.
"Scoundrel! Villain! Murderer! Thief!" He instantly started to crow as loudly as possible and with as much delight as outrage in his voice. The other four ghosts turned around and Remus knew that he had to do something quickly.
"I'm not the one who imprisoned you down here, I had to kill him to set you free," he said, pointing back in the general direction where the body of Regulus Black lay. "I was a teacher three years ago. Surely you remember me.”
"A werewolf and a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher no less," said the Grey Lady doubtfully. "And a troublesome student, as I seem to recall."
"There's no time for this," Remus pleaded as he suddenly remembered there was more to do. He walked back into the cavern, being careful not to look at the beheaded body. Then he unveiled the portraits that stood along the wall so they could listen to him as well.
"The castle is in grave danger and it is your duty to protect it," he said to the ghosts and portraits.
"Grave danger!" they whispered in hushed voices.
"Headmaster Dumbledore has been under a spell for some time and he was unable to prevent the Dark Lord from his current plans to attack the school with his Death Eaters. You have to warn the students and teachers immediately that he intends to kill Harry Potter tonight!"
"He is right," Nearly Headless Nick said. "It is our sworn duty to protect the castle and grounds. Let us not waste our time!"
He soared up into the air, with the silvery forms of the other three and even Peeves following him. They passed through the strangely glittering ceiling and were gone. Most of the portraits left their frames, too. Only one wizard remained, staring at the table and the immobile form of Regulus Black. Remus recognised him as one of the members of the Black family who still had their portraits in Grimmauld Place.
"He died to save the school," Remus said. The stern faced Slytherin headmaster made a huffing noise, but didn't respond otherwise. Then he turned away swiftly and left his portrait frame as well. Remus paused, unsure how to proceed, when he was startled by a soft voice from the other side of the cavern.
"You said that Albus Dumbledore is under a spell," it said. Remus turned around to face a centaur with the body of a palomino horse and light blond hair and the most stunning blue eyes. His expression was gentle and, Remus thought, slightly sad. Remus had completely forgotten that he had been in the cavern, too, petrified like the ghosts.
"Er, yes," Remus replied. He had never talked to a centaur before. Most magical creatures and beings were wary of him, except for house elves.
The centaur swished his tail. "What kind of spell?" he asked patiently as if he were used to talking to slow people.
"It's called 'Merlin's Tree'," Remus explained. Now he realised whom this must be: it was Firenze, the centaur who had taught Divination last year after Professor Trelawney had been sacked by Umbridge. "It made him fall asleep under an enchanted tree in the Forbidden Forest. The spell should be broken now “ the one who cast it is dead."
Firenze nodded sagely. "Ancient and dangerous magic if I'm not mistaken. Someone should look after the headmaster."
"I suppose you would be better suited for that, as I can't Apparate from within the castle and you know your way around the Forest much better than I do," Remus replied. "Lord Voldemort might already be inside the school. In fact, we should hurry."
He wasn't sure if he had the strength to fight many Death Eaters, but he had to do something. He jogged up the corridor that was the only way out of the cavern. Firenze followed him easily; his hooves making a loud clanking noise.
"You're the boy who used to spend the full moon in the Shrieking Shack," Firenze observed. Remus thought that it was a rather nice way to say 'you're a werewolf, aren't you?' He and the other three marauders must have irritated the inhabitants of the Forbidden Forests quite a bit.
"My name's Remus Lupin," he panted. "Yours is Firenze, isn't it?"
"It is." Firenze replied and gave him a critical look. "This path is still long and you seem exhausted already."
"Sorry." He was exhausted but he could still run if he needed to. "You should leave me behind, you're probably faster that way."
"But this path will lead us into the vicinity of the kitchens. From there I'll need the help of a wizard to get outside the castle and to the headmaster. There are staircases," Firenze explained.
"Oh," Remus said, and tried to run faster. But Firenze stopped him with an arm on his shoulder.
"I really think you should accept my help."
"Your help?" Then it dawned on him: the centaur wanted him to ride his back. He almost said 'but I've never been on a horse before,' but then he remembered that this would be a grave insult.
"Alright," he said awkwardly and Firenze lent him a hand. Once he was on the centaurs back, he had no choice but to grip his shoulders not to fall off again.
This way they moved three times as quickly and soon Remus, who had a good sense of orientation, felt that they were only a short way from the Great Hall.
"Where exactly does this passage end?" he asked as Firenze slowed down.
Wisps of white blond hair tickled the backs of his hands as the centaur turned his head to look over his shoulder at him. "The cavern was located beneath the Chamber of Secrets “ the ceiling you saw is in fact the surface of a body of water within the Chamber. This passage leads into a corridor beneath the kitchens. I do not think we will meet any Death Eaters here, not if they entered through the Chamber and took one of the passages away from there."
They turned around a last curve and found themselves in front of a massive stone wall. But Firenze didn't hesitate a second and simply trod on, right through the wall as if it were no more than smoke. Behind it, was a stone corridor that smelled strongly of food, lit by bright torches.
"I know where we are," Remus said gratefully and slipped off Firenze's back. "Thank you very much. Now we need only to get past the stairs...".
But how could Remus remove the stairs without a wand? He searched all his pockets, but he didn't have it.
They were rescued by a house-elf appearing with a soft cracking noise. His green tennis-ball eyes were wide with panic. "Master Lupin! You are a friend of Harry Potter!" the elf immediately said to Remus. "Bad things are happening! Harry Potter is in danger “"
"We know that," Remus cut him off gently. "You're Dobby, right? Can you tell me where Harry is now?"
"In Gryffindor Tower, Master Lupin, Sir." The small creature quivered.
"Good. Could you fetch me a wand?"
"A wand, Sir?"
"Quickly. Take one from a student, we need it."
Dobby wobbled slightly, twitching his ears, but then he nodded and vanished with another soft cracking noise. Remus raised his head and listened hard. Now he could hear feet running, probably in the Great Hall and the clanking of wood on stone “ perhaps chairs being knocked over.
Dobby returned, carrying not one, but three wands. "I did not know which one to take, Sir," he squeaked.
"That's quite all right, Remus said, taking the one that resembled his own the most closely and pointing it at the staircase. He hoped this spell would work, it was meant for straightening cloth and not stone.
"Aeqour!" he said as loudly as he dared and was startled by the burst of sparks from the borrowed wand and the subsequent rippling motion that went through the stairs, neatly pulverising them and then turning them into a not quite so flat ramp. It wasn't pretty and it had been terribly noisy but it would work.
The centaur nodded appreciatively and carefully walked up the ramp. Remus bent down to Dobby and took the other two wands as well. "Now go and organise the other house-elves. Defend the school," he ordered and then he quickly followed Firenze, hoping that Dobby would be able to do what he had been told to do.
This staircase was the smaller one next to the great marble staircase that led from the Entrance Hall to the first floor of Hogwarts. To their left was the entrance to the Great Hall, open now and showing a mess of knocked over stairs and tables. A group of wizards had barricaded themselves behind the teacher's table and was firing spells and something that Remus couldn't see at the far end of the Great Hall. He wasn't sure whether these people were Death Eaters or teachers but once he thought he saw Professor Sinistra's dark-haired head peeking out behind the table.
On the other side of the Entrance Hall, another open door led to a wing of the castle with several classrooms. From there, as well as from the first floor, they could hear the sound of people running and shouting. A stray curse hit the floor at the foot of the marble staircase. Suddenly two figures dressed in black hooded cloaks appeared in the doors that led to the classrooms. They hesitated a moment, staring at the entrance to the Great Hall and whispered to each other.
Remus beckoned the centaur back a few steps down the ramp. "I can give you cover for a few seconds from those two," he whispered. "Will that be enough to get outside?"
The centaur nodded and waited for Remus to creep forward again. Remus threw a look at the two Death Eaters. They seemed to be arguing over something.
"Now!" he shouted and Firenze darted past him, galloping through the hall..
"Expelliarmus!" he yelled, hoping that this basic spell would work with the borrowed wand. He hit one of the surprised Death Eaters, throwing him back a few meters into the corridor that led to the classrooms.
But the other one reacted quickly and sent a Stunning Spell into Remus' direction.
"Protego!" Remus called in the last moment and it worked, protecting him from the Stunner. Meanwhile Firenze had reached the double doors and opened them.
Remus tried Expelliarmus once more, but this time his wand fired the spell with an alarming angry crack and it hit the ceiling instead. The standing Death Eater sneered beneath his silver mask.
"Locomotor Mortis!" he cried and even while Remus dodged the spell he thought that a Leg-locking Curse was a rather unusual curse to use in a serious wizarding duel.
Firenze slipped through the doors just as the second Death Eater got up again and Remus could hear the loud clatter of his hooves as he galloped towards the Forest.
"Petrificus Totalis!" Remus yelled, pointing his wand at the Death Eater who had tried to use the Leg-Locker. It worked; the short man fell to the floor like a stiff board.
"Take this!" the other one screamed in a rather light and not very dangerous sounding voice, giving Remus time to renew his Shielding Charm. "Reducto!"
Remus thought that those two were not the most dangerous Death Eaters he'd ever come across. Perhaps they weren't even real ones; perhaps they were just some misguided Slytherins. He fired another Petrifying Spell. The Death Eater froze, the part of his face that wasn't hidden by the mask became red as a tomato and then he fell to the ground like his partner.
Remus took a deep breath and turned around to find another three Death Eaters on the big marble staircase. They had calmly watched the whole duel.
"Surrender," one of them said and Remus almost dropped his wand in sheer surprise - the man in the black robes and the silver mask who was asking him to surrender was, quite unmistakably, Severus Snape.
"Expelliarmus," Snape said coldly and Remus' wand flew out of his slack hand and into Snape's.
"That one wasn't on the list," complained the Death Eater to Snape's right. "He's not a teacher or an Auror...".
"He's a member of the Order of the Phoenix," Snape replied, sounding as condescending as if he were speaking to a group of especially slow First Years. "Use your brain, will you?"
He strode down the stairs until he was standing directly in front of Remus. Most of his face was hidden by the silver mask, but a few strands of lank black hair and his gleaming black eyes betrayed his identity. Remus didn't know what to believe. Of course Snape was a better actor than most people thought and of course it was entirely possible that this was all just an act. But why would Snape do this? Being captured and missing gave him the perfect excuse not to take part in any Death Eater activities. If he was free and unharmed by Regulus, shouldn't he be trying to help Dumbledore or save Harry instead of prancing around in a Death Eater costume?
"Where did that creature run to?" Snape asked sharply. Remus was confused until he realised that Snape was talking about Firenze.
"He fled to the Forbidden Forest," Remus answered as convincingly as he could. "Centaurs live there," he added.
"Don't lie to me, half-breed scum!" Snape snarled. "This one has been expelled by the other centaurs. He has been living in the castle for months. Where did he run to?"
Remus clenched his teeth. The silence was disturbed by the sound of breaking glass as one of the tall windows in the Great Hall was smashed. A rain of shards fell to the floor, followed by painful yells. Snape raised his wand. His mouth was tight and his bearing tense. Remus realised that the Death Eaters were winning, even though everyone in the castle and perhaps even the castle itself was fighting them. Where was Voldemort? Had he already found Harry? The two Death Eaters who were with Snape seemed distracted by the noise from the first floor.
"Answer my question," Snape demanded. Remus made a decision.
"The witch is dead, the spell's undone," he muttered. "The fortune teller's picking apples, the once and future king's to come."
Nothing happened for the fraction of a second and Remus feared that Snape might not have understood the coded message, even though it was a terribly obvious one. Or perhaps he had and he was really a traitor “ but Remus found that he trusted Snape, or else he wouldn't have told him what was going on.
Snape turned around to his two companions. "We're wasting our time," he said calmly. And with the same absolute calm, he directed a bright red Stunner at the left one, who collapsed and rolled down the stairs. The other one ducked behind a statue and yelled an unintelligible curse. It went past Snape and hit Remus in the leg. Wild fire filled his bones and he fell to the ground with an agonised scream.
"Mutilocorpus!" the Death Eater screeched just as Snape's next hex hit him and he slumped limply to the ground. The Slashing Hex hit Snape with full force and he stumbled backwards with a surprised groan. He tripped over Remus limp legs and fell.
A moment of painful and dazed silence passed in which Remus wasn't entirely sure that he wasn't mortally wounded. He couldn't feel his legs and couldn't tell if Snape was still breathing. He heard the noise of the ongoing fight as if muted by thick glass.
Then his breath became a little easier, but his legs still remained stubbornly numb. He grabbed the closest object “ Snape's right foot “ and drew himself closer to the wounded man.
Blood dampened the black Death Eater robes, but Snape was still breathing shallowly. Remus managed to free his paralysed legs and crawl to a spot closer to Snape's face. He pulled off the silver mask. Snape had his eyes closed and a nasty bleeding cut split his right cheek.
"Damn, that was close," Remus whispered to himself. Suddenly Snape grabbed his arm.
"Black's dead?" he wheezed.
"A long story," Remus said weakly. Black spots started to appear in his vision. "He was on our side after all."
Snape opened his eyes just slightly, but they remained blank and unfocused. He seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness. Something huge crashed down the marble staircase, making Remus flinch.
"We did our best," whispered Remus. Even though he knew it to be true, it wasn't very comforting. "I think... we made a good team." Snape didn't reply, perhaps he was unconscious again.
Their fight was either lost or won, but it was over for the two of them.
Remus couldn't keep his head up any longer and finally rested it on the stone floor next to Snape's shoulder, facing the entrance of the castle. The tall double doors blurred in front of his eyes as his vision grew darker, but then light blinded him and a wisp of air cooled his face. He thought he saw a tall figure standing in the doorway, a king come home.
Epilogue 1 : Rewards
Albus Dumbledore arrived just in time to save Harry's life. Voldemort fled, leaving more than a dozen Death Eaters, most of them young and inexperienced, behind to be captured. On their side there were many casualties among the student and teacher body. Two Hufflepuff students, one of the Ravenclaw prefects and a Slytherin Seventh Year were killed. Professor Sprout, Professor Sinistra and Professor Vector would all have to spend at least two months in St. Mungo's hospital.
Regulus Black's body was retrieved from the chamber beneath the castle. The headmaster testified that Black had been a spy for the Order from the start and that he had been acting under a mind control not unlike the Imperius Curse.
The sentence against Remus Lupin and Severus Snape was rescinded immediately and they both spend the next days recovering in the hospital wing of Hogwarts.
*
Remus felt good enough to get up, but Poppy refused to let him get up for anything else but to go to the bathroom. She was fussing over him like she had when he had still been a boy. He felt a bit silly, but somehow he enjoyed it.
In the bed to his left, closer to the windows, laid Snape. The many cuts from the Slashing Hex were now bandaged and made him look like an especially sour faced and half unwrapped mummy. The other beds were all occupied by students who had been injured during the attack. Remus had never seen the hospital wing so full of patients.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny Weasley had visited him today. All except Hermione “ who had helped them enough to make up for mistrusting them in the first place “ were terribly sorry to ever have fallen for Regulus' Glamours. Especially Ron and Harry just wouldn't stop apologising. But Remus also noticed a certain sadness about Harry. How much had they been told about Regulus? Even though it had only been the Glamour, Harry had been almost as attached to Regulus as to Sirius. Did Harry know that Remus had killed him? He couldn't bring himself to tell the boy.
Of course they also thanked him for rescuing them. Remus briefly considered telling them to thank Snape as well, but then he reminded himself that Snape would never forgive him for doing so.
Now it was late in the evening and Poppy had shooed all visitors away. Most patients were sleeping. When Dumbledore quietly entered the infirmary, Remus thought that he would probably visit Snape to get a report from him about their activities as he had tried the day before, when Snape had still been too drugged with Painkilling Potions to reply coherently, but instead he sat down gracefully on a chair next to Remus' bed and smiled brightly at him.
"I see you're well? Poppy isn't smothering you too much?"
Remus smiled and shook his head. "No more than usual."
Dumbledore chuckled, then his face grew sombre. "I have to thank you, of course. You saved all our lives," he said.
Remus still couldn't get around that notion. James had always been the live-saver. Harry was the hero. He was just Remus. Usually, the best he could do was not to eat anyone.
"I'm very pleased that you and Severus could work together so brilliantly, too," Dumbledore went on. "I always knew you would make great friends if you could just work around your differences."
Remus couldn't suppress a small chortle. "I don't think we're quite as far as friends," he said.
"But surely you will now be able to tolerate each other as colleagues?" Dumbledore asked innocently but with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Colleagues?" Remus narrowed his eyes. "We don't work together much in the Order."
"Not in the Order, my boy. As you might recall, the post of the teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts is once more vacant."
Remus was stunned at the proposition. The reminder that he had killed Regulus dampened the joy he felt at it quite a bit. "I almost wish it wasn't," he confessed.
Dumbledore looked at him for a long time. Then he shook his head ever so slightly. "You did him a favour, Remus. Death was a mercy to him."
"I know," Remus said softly. It was wrong to expect fairness from life. Little boys got bitten by werewolves. Babies got cursed with destinies too hard for even heroes to live up to. Men sacrificed all they had for a cause and never got the slightest reward. People died for nothing, all the time.
"There is a reward," Dumbledore gently said. "A reward for all of them. It's silent and wordless and it exists only in our hearts, but I think it's the greatest one can expect. Regulus knew this and that's what made him strong enough to stay a human being after all."
Epilogue 2: Full Moon Circle
Remus gulped down the steaming potion and grimaced. "Is there a new ingredient? I think it tastes worse if that is even possible."
They were in Remus' room, not his office, which was still a mess from the fight. It was the night of the full moon. Snape had brought him the Wolfsbane potion, but to Remus surprise he sat down stiffly in on of the armchairs around the coffee table instead of leaving as soon as he had handed him the goblet. They hadn't talked much since they had both been released from the infirmary, only shortly when Snape had acknowledged the fact that Remus was a teacher again. Remus hadn't been able to tell whether Snape was angry or glad or simply indifferent.
"Werewolf finger, minced," Snape replied. Remus stared first at him, then at the empty goblet, then at Snape again. Then he laughed in relief.
"That was a rather tasteless joke, Severus." The Potions Master smiled thinly but said nothing. Remus raised his brows.
"Is there something else?" he asked.
"No," Snape said.
A clock on the mantelpiece chimed. Remus was getting unnerved. "The moon will rise in a few minutes, Severus. Unless you want to observe the effects of your potion firsthand, I suggest that you leave now."
Snape didn't reply, but he also didn't get up. He simply stared at Remus. Tiredly, Remus gave up.
"I understand. You want to watch, don't you?"
"Unless it embarrasses you," Snape answered coolly.
Remus got up and paced to the window. He could feel the pull of the silver orb behind the mountains, but the heat in his blood was dulled by the potion. Slowly, with his hands shaking only slightly, he unbuttoned his robes. It was cold in the room as there was no fire in the grate.
Snape wasn't so wrong. It was not exactly embarrassing, but he certainly wasn't comfortable having an audience when he changed into the wolf. Sirius was the only one who had ever seen him transform with permission from Remus.
But if Snape willingly stayed to observe this, then this was almost a peace offering.
"I guess it will have some symbolic value," Remus said, willing his voice to remain steady and human. "If we hadn't managed to work together, we would still be in that cell right now."
He turned away from the window and looked at Snape. The other man appeared to be calm, but his posture betrayed fear and apprehension. Remus put his robes over the back of a chair and remained standing in the middle of the room. He felt naked even though he still wore his undergarments and Snape, fully clothed, seemed just as naked to him.
"Are you still afraid of what I am?" Remus asked as long as he still could.
"I've seen what you are," Snape replied. Beneath the apprehension, Remus thought he glimpsed raw fascination.
Remus smiled crookedly, even as he felt his bones starting to bend and shift beneath his skin. "And you still want to look at me?"