Disclaimer: The fine tapestry of plot and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling. I am merely pulling threads at will and weaving my own design in counterpoint to hers.
Chapter 26
Locked Out
The rumors had started even before Harry awoke the next morning. Word was that the party had continued in high gear until the early hours of the morning when it had finally been broken up by the appearance of the headmistress herself.
Having lingered much later than Harry and Ron, Hermione explained that she and Ginny had accompanied a group of girls to the bathroom and had been forewarned by the sound of the headmistress’ brisk footsteps down the deserted corridor. Needless to say, they had not returned to the party to witness the finale.
A rather sleepy Neville confessed that he had only escaped due to Daphne’s quick thinking. Alerted by the sudden silence, she had ducked them into an alcove that contained an exit door hidden among the bookshelves. A quick glance at Hermione convinced Harry that she, too, thought that there was probably more to Neville’s story -- but they would have to wait for him to volunteer it. The fact that Neville was blushing furiously as he told his tale was remarkable only if you knew that he was usually much more at ease among the four of them.
The Slytherins were a subdued bunch at breakfast but that could be attributed to a simple lack of sleep. It was surprising that no additional facts leaked out throughout the day, though, as if the lot of them had entered into a secrecy pact.
In the end, it was Hermione who reached the definitive conclusion that, regardless of the outcome, Professor Slughorn was to be commended for casting the Slytherins in a new light. “Just look at us,” she observed. “In the past we would have been secretly gloating over any punishments that they received. Now, we’re concerned that they don’t get the book thrown at them for offering a bit of hospitality to the entire school. We’ve all become part of the same team.”
Harry noticed that Slughorn’s popularity seemed to have increased overnight, as well. As the Professor moved among the students, he was the recipient of many more friendly waves and overtures than ever before.
Tonks was already seated by the roaring fire in Lupin’s inner office when Harry arrived for his next appointment.
“Wotcher, Harry,” she waved happily. “Heard we missed a great party this weekend!”
Lupin entered from a door on the far side of the hearth and placed his hand on Tonks’ shoulder to forestall any further comments. “I take it you were there,” Lupin commented with an encouraging smile.
“Together with about three quarters of the school!” Harry replied. “I think the only hold-outs were the Ravenclaws, even though Professor Slughorn said that they would have been welcome also.”
“I believe even a few of them showed up later in the evening,” Tonks offered.
“They didn’t get into a fight over the Quidditch match, did they?” Harry inquired.
“No, everything was friendly as far as I know. I just can’t figure out why everyone is acting so differently today,” Lupin admitted.
“You should have said so sooner,” Harry confided. “Hermione already came up with an analysis.” Relaying Hermione’s conclusions as accurately as he could, Harry added, “What will happen to Professor Slughorn?”
“Nothing more than having to face the headmistress.” Lupin shrugged as if that were a negligible concern.
“I think I’ll go put in a good word for him anyway, Remus,” Tonks volunteered as she headed for the door. “I have just enough time to stop by the headmistress’ office before my next class. Good to see you, Harry. Sure I can’t convince you to sit in on one of my classes again? Give a bit of perspective to the younger ones?”
Harry shook his head as he smiled regretfully. “What are you teaching them now?”
“The Patronus Charm,” Tonks responded with aplomb. “I understand you had great success teaching that one yourself.” With a final wave, she was gone.
“Forgive me for asking, Professor, but is Tonks teaching the Patronus Charm to all of her classes? I always understood that was rather advanced magic.”
“It is, but we have no other fool-proof method of identifying one another. With the Christmas holidays almost upon us, there are bound to be lots more comings and goings. You may be surprised to learn that many matters are not as calm in the outside world as they are within the confines of the school.”
That did not surprise him at all, Harry admitted inwardly, then added aloud, “So you and Tonks went away for the weekend?”
“Just up the coast. Madam Pomfrey seemed to think some sea air would be beneficial. I hate to admit it, but I do feel more rested.”
Harry looked at Lupin critically: he no longer had such dark circles under his eyes and seemed to have acquired a hint of a ruddy glow. He decided that it was as good a time as any to put forth the request that had been nagging at him for weeks.
“Professor, I’d like to visit Godric’s Hollow.”
Lupin was silent for a moment and then replied thoughtfully, “I can’t say I haven’t been expecting that. You told the headmistress as much when you agreed to return for a seventh year… But Harry, we’re in the middle of a lock-down here! I, myself, do not relish leaving school grounds anytime soon in light of the events that are being reported by the Muggle press…”
“I assumed that it might take a while to iron out all the details,” explained Harry. “I just wanted to put my request out there….You’re aware that the headmistress herself promised that we would be allowed to leave school grounds with prior approval “ either from her directly or a member of the Order.”
“Yes,” Lupin responded, choosing his words carefully, “but you’re unlikely to get either right now. Look, Harry, I’m not trying to dissuade you, but you need to pick your battles carefully. The reality is that the headmistress was probably painting a much rosier picture than the situation warranted. Why are you so anxious to visit Godric’s Hollow, anyway?”
“I should think that would be obvious,” Harry returned more curtly than he intended.
“Because your parents died there? Perhaps….But just what do you hope to accomplish with this pilgrimage?”
Harry composed his thoughts before continuing in a more reasoned tone, “For one thing, I’d like to visit my parents’ home “ or at least what remains of it after the Death Eaters finished with it.”
“There’s nothing to see.” At Harry’s bewildered expression, Lupin elaborated, “It’s a site that is still protected by the Fidelius Charm and the Secret-Keeper, Peter Pettigrew, is still alive. Unless Peter sings for you, the house “ the rubble “ or whatever’s left, will not be visible to you. It’s just like number twelve, Grimmauld Place.”
“You mean that if Dumbledore had never provided me with that little slip of paper, I wouldn’t be able to see the house “ even though Sirius left it to me in his will?”
“Essentially so. Although in that case, any Order member that was privy to the secret could share it with you after Dumbledore’s death. But if Dumbledore were still alive, we couldn’t even do that.”
“Right,” Harry considered, as he pondered the new information before him. “So all I have to do is find someone that Peter confided in and that person will be able to see the house, but not tell me where it is. Do I have that right?”
“Such a person would be able to take you there in person,” Lupin confirmed.
“Forgive me, Professor, but I don’t see the problem. Surely, my parents confided in you.”
Lupin’s eyes clouded over as he sadly shook his head. “You recall that I wasn’t even aware that Sirius had not been chosen as the Secret-Keeper in the end. There was no time, or reason, for Peter to have confided in me in order to betray James and Lily.”
“But Sirius knew--”
“Sirius was present when the charm was cast; he also knew that Peter had been substituted as Secret-Keeper,” Lupin continued in a voice that implied that he had already gone over this territory a number of times himself.
“What about Dumbledore? He knew where to find them, didn’t he?” Harry asked hopefully.
“Yes, he did. But Harry, he didn’t know of the last minute substitution, either, so he could not have been present at the time of the casting. I can only assume that he had visited James’ and Lily’s home, as had I, so he had some vague notion of where the house had been originally located, but he would no longer have been able to see it.”
Harry’s mind was reeling from trying to unravel the convoluted web of secrets. “Let me get this straight, Professor, the only people that we know for certain that Peter confided in were Sirius and Voldemort. What about my parents? Would they have been able to tell anyone else -- like my Aunt Petunia?”
“Harry, please understand that I don’t have all the facts,” Lupin cried, “and I cannot ask either Sirius or Dumbledore for answers. I can make a few conjectures, but please remember that is all that they are. The value of a Fidelius Charm is that it controls who has access to a secret and how it can be passed on to others. The more people that know the secret, the greater the chances that one of them will be captured and tortured for the information. So to answer your question: I think James and Lily would have purposely forbidden Peter to reveal the secret to them so that if either of them were captured, the other would not be put in danger.”
“But how would they be able to get back into the house then?” Harry asked, determined to find even a tiny hole.
“I don’t think it was their intention to leave. They were going into hiding.”
“What about if they ran out of food or water or needed anything else?”
“I believe they had Dumbledore as some sort of backup. Did you never wonder how Dumbledore ended up in possession of your father’s Invisibility Cloak? He would have needed that to smuggle in anything unseen, although I’m not certain where they would have had him drop off the goods since he was not in possession of the secret at the time of Lily’s and James’ deaths. Perhaps this was a plan that was never fully put into play in light of Peter’s other priorities. To this day, there’s just so much we don’t know.”
“What if Voldemort had been defeated in some other manner? How would they have been able to lead a normal life again?” Harry implored desperately.
“Whoever cast the charm, Lily probably, would also have been able to repeal it, uncast it as it were, so that everything would return to normal. I don’t profess to be an expert on charms and jinxes, Harry, I’m sorry. Perhaps Professor Flitwick knows some little detail that I’m missing.”
Approach the problem from a different angle, Harry reminded himself. “What if I told you that I wanted to visit my parents’ graves? To pay my respects? That’s something that the Dursleys would never have allowed me to do.”
“Harry, please understand.” Lupin sighed with utmost sadness. “There are no graves. The bodies were never recovered from the house. No one but Sirius would have been able to see them and Peter saw to it that he was sent to Azkaban the very next day.”
“But surely the Order held some sort of memorial service; that is their custom, isn’t it?” Harry felt like he was grasping at straws.
“Yes, and I was there at the memorial service. But there was no tomb, no graves, no marker of any kind. Just our hopes and dreams scattered to the wind….” With that, Lupin lowered his face into his hands, overcome by the feeling of despair this memory always brought back to him.
“Professor, how did they manage to rescue me from the rubble then?” Harry asked quietly, not wishing to stir up painful memories but being driven by an overwhelming need to know the truth.
“Hagrid rescued you….Dumbledore called on Hagrid. Perhaps the charm worked imperfectly on him because of his giant’s blood “ you’ll have to ask him directly.”
Feeling the last tie to his parents beginning to evaporate, Harry made one last attempt. “What if I wanted to explore Godric’s Hollow anyway? To search among the streets and lanes for some last tie to my parents; for something that might seem insignificant to anyone else, but which stirs some long forgotten memory in me?” Something that might turn out to be a Horcrux, he added silently.
Lupin’s eyes still glistened but his voice was steady when he replied, “It’s too risky to undertake such a wild goose chase. The Order believes that Voldemort’s forces are expecting you to show up there sooner or later. They are laying a trap.”
It took Harry a moment to recover, then he inquired, “The Order is continuing to meet? Surely not at Grimmauld Place?”
“Yes, the Order still meets on a regular basis,” Lupin replied with a wan smile, “but not at Grimmauld Place. Do not ask me where, I am not the Secret-Keeper.”
“And you think they are laying in wait for me at Godric’s Hollow?” Harry asked apprehensively.
“I know I would if the situations were reversed… Look, Harry, I’m not saying we shouldn’t ever go to Godric’s Hollow, we just need to be prepared to spring the trap when we do.”
The need to find out more about the workings of the Fidelius Charm weighed on Harry’s mind as he prepared for his first dueling practice with Lupin and Ginny. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some little detail that he was missing, a key point that would suddenly shed light on the whole tangled mess. None of the texts, even those in the Restricted Section, had anticipated the Gordian knot that the little rat, Pettigrew, had created. But right now Harry’s brain ached from trying to make any sense of it and he was grateful for the prospect of some sort of physical activity.
He arrived at Lupin’s office to find that Ginny was already in the inner office chatting animatedly with the Professor. They both looked up and smiled as Harry entered.
“Help yourself to some tea, Harry,” offered Lupin. “We’re taking a moment for the crowds to clear out before we make our way to the Room of Requirement. You did bring your Map, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Professor,” replied Harry warily, “but why the sudden secrecy?”
“New procedures from the headmistress. In light of the incident with the Vanishing Cabinets, she wishes that everyone who uses the Room of Requirement to keep a very low profile. Besides, it would be next to impossible to schedule the room if its presence became common knowledge.” Lupin’s tone seemed oddly breezy as if there was a hidden agenda that he was not ready to disclose.
The anticipation of dueling had Harry feeling a bit reckless, so he ploughed ahead, “Why not just cast the Fidelius Charm on it? That would certainly keep it from being discovered now, wouldn’t it?”
“Are you offering to be the Secret-Keeper?” Lupin shot back at him.
Harry was about to open his mouth for the next volley when Ginny spoke up, “Excuse me, is this a private game? Or can anyone play?”
“I’m sorry, Ginny, we get carried away sometimes,” Lupin replied, not a bit chagrined. “Harry and I don’t always keep to strict classroom protocols. A bit of verbal sparring is a traditional warm-up to a duel, but Harry should have waited for the ground rules to be established.”
“Obviously, the Death Eaters will do the same,” Ginny quipped.
Harry gave her an appreciative look, then turning to Lupin, added, “Trial by fire, Professor.”
“You two are absolutely incorrigible,” Lupin admitted with a long-suffering sigh. “Why do I already feel like I’m going to regret this?”
“It’s the legacy of Fred and George,” supplied Ginny with a sly smirk as she allowed herself to be ushered into the now empty corridor.
Once ensconced within the confines of the Room of Requirement, Lupin settled himself into one of the comfortable armchairs by the hearth and suggested that Ginny and Harry take the floor. “Are you ready to count off, or do you need to call each other out a bit more first?” he asked in mock seriousness.
“I think I’m ready to go,” Harry replied, trying unsuccessfully to hide his smile. He could hear Ginny trying to suppress a giggle as she lined up behind him.
Lupin gave them a few extra moments to compose themselves, then started the slow count to ten. Ginny was out of the gate like a ball of fire and it was all that Harry could do to keep her from undercutting him at every turn. Obviously Lupin had told her that he wanted to learn the new back-to-back spells as she used them mercilessly and to great effect. Harry found that he was mainly in a defensive posture much as he had been with Snape; but with the unpredictability of Ginny’s attacks, there was no chance of reaching that plateau where the seconds seemed to lengthen. Almost totally winded, Harry felt himself being pushed back towards one of the walls nearest the hearth and did not have the power to resist any longer. As he felt the cold stones through his shirt, he found one last bit of energy to quickly deposit his wand on the mantelpiece and raise his hands in surrender.
“Enough, Ginny, I concede,” Harry panted as he bent over double, trying to catch his breath.
When he finally felt the spots before his eyes receding, Harry straightened up and half-staggered into one of the chairs next to Lupin. Ginny was sitting, very straight, on one the floor cushions, her concentration clearly intent on her breathing. Harry hazarded a glance towards Lupin and found him watching each of them in turn with a definite twinkle in his eye.
“You two are very evenly matched--” he began with a small smile, only to be assaulted from both sides almost immediately.
“I had him on the run--” Ginny cried, while Harry declared, “I could never find an opening--”
Lupin’s smile broadened as he motioned them both for silence. “It looks a lot different from the outside looking in,” he explained. “That was a very impressive performance, Ginny, but you need to hold yourself back a bit. Otherwise, your opponent will just wait until you’ve tired yourself out and then attack… Harry, that was a very effective defense but you should have used that extra breath, the one you found at the end, to turn the tables on her sooner. She only had the advantage of split second at the onset…. Ginny, your attempts to keep Harry on the defensive worked very well, but I think I saw a few places where you left yourself open…. Tell me, Harry, was it always like this when you two practiced before?”
Harry thought a moment, then shook his head as he searched for the right words. “Frankly, Professor, I’ve never seen her go at it like that. What was with you, Ginny?” Harry asked, turning to her directly.
Ginny looked uncertainly to Lupin, who urged, “Tell him what you were visualizing.”
“Umbridge, I was thinking of all the grief we took from Umbridge,” Ginny admitted.
“I don’t think I ever knew the details, Ginny. What did Umbridge do to you exactly?” Harry inquired.
“Come on, Harry, we all hated her…” Ginny answered, her eyes suddenly caught by the motion of Harry unconsciously rubbing the top of his hand.
Lupin noticed the look that passed between them and he was standing next to Harry’s chair in the next heartbeat, examining the scar on Harry’s hand in the firelight. “She did this to you? Umbridge did this to you?” Lupin asked softly. Harry tucked his hand self-consciously underneath the other and hung his head.
“He refused to back down when Umbridge insisted that Voldemort had not returned,” Ginny replied softly from the foot of Harry’s chair. She must have drawn nearer when he wasn’t looking. “It spells out ‘I will not tell lies’”or it used to anyway, it’s faded quite a bit since then.”
“There was no cause for that kind of punishment, no matter what the infraction,” Lupin asserted, his voice hard as stone. “That was torture, plain and simple “ no different than using the Cruciatus Curse. No wonder there are those who think that the Ministry is riddled with dark wizards… Harry, you know I’m going to have to report this to the Order.”
Harry nodded glumly. “I know I should’ve reported her to someone--but I felt so powerless--as if anything I did was only going to make it worse; if not for me, then for someone else.”
Lupin nodded in sympathy, then turned his attention to the lesson at hand. “You don’t mind sitting this one out, do you, Harry? I think I’d like to try my hand against Ginny this time. If she’s sufficiently recovered, that is.”
Harry watched in awe as Ginny turned on Lupin quickly only to find that he was already waiting for her with a defense of his own. He used his momentum to quickly take the offensive and drive her back. The first opening she saw, though, Ginny was right back at him -- only to realize that she had been set up as Lupin caught her with a jelly-legs jinx. Releasing the spell, Lupin helped her back to her feet and they both joined Harry by the fire.
“It does look a lot different when you’re not in the thick of it,” Harry admitted.
“Give us your assessment then, Harry,” Lupin urged.
“Ginny was quick, but you were already waiting for her so that you could grab the lead. Her speed was not enough to overcome your momentum. I think that I would have to say that Professor Lupin anticipated your every move, Ginny.”
“Good assessment, Harry,” Lupin nodded. Then looking Ginny straight in the eye, he explained, “I could not have done that if I had not just watched you with Harry. You would have had me winded much faster than him in that first round. Just don’t ever let yourself become predictable. Do not repeat your opening gambit; if your opponents can predict you, you have just given them an unprecedented advantage… Is there any butterbeer in that side cabinet, Harry? I’m feeling a bit worn out.”
Harry was able to locate a pitcher of ice water and some glasses that the room had anticipated they might need. Any other types of refreshments, they would need to bring on their own.
Lounging around companionably after having consumed most of her water, Ginny ventured, “Professor, any chance of my getting to critique you and Harry?”
“Absolutely,” Lupin assured her. “You will excuse me if I postpone that until our next session, though. I don’t have the stamina that you two do. The opportunity to size up your opponent from the sidelines in an invaluable tool. Admittedly, it’s infrequent that you’re afforded the same option in real life and evaluating them at wand point is considerably more difficult.”
“A bit of clarification, Professor,” requested Harry, “how were you able to determine that Ginny was using visualization so easily? Or was it something that you had suggested to her beforehand?”
“I confess to having an unfair advantage in that respect, also,” Lupin supplied. “Tonks uses that technique sometimes and I’ve learned that her eyes take on a certain far-away look.”
“So you’ve dueled with Tonks before?” Ginny asked demurely.
“Only as part of training for the Order. We prefer to resolve any household disputes without the use of wands,” returned Lupin without missing a beat.
Harry couldn’t help marveling at how Ginny had set up Lupin with such ease and how effortlessly he had deflected her, clear evidence of their long-standing familiarity.
“All right, when we meet next week, I’ll be anxious to dive into those back-to-back spells,” Lupin continued. “Please be thinking about which spells you want to use so that we can trade some ideas back and forth. Remember: unpredictability is our goal. My compliments to both of you on a very impressive display today.”
As they neared the door, Lupin added in a more serious tone, “Just so there’s no mistake, Ginny, none of this free-wheeling stuff will fly in my Transfiguration class, understood?”
Harry knew she was going to do it before the words came out of her mouth. “Of course, Remus,” Ginny replied on her way out the door. Harry was certain that she had not said it loudly enough for anyone else to hear, but decided that he did not want to turn around and see what Lupin’s reaction had been.
Ron and Hermione reported that the Room of Requirement would not reveal itself to them. Harry handed the Marauder’s Map to Neville who had been trailing a bit behind to make sure that they were unobserved.
“Give me some sort of signal if you see anyone heading this way,” Harry whispered to Neville as he prepared to make another attempt on his own. Three times he walked before the blank wall, stating their requirements in an unequivocal manner. The wall remained impassive.
“Do you think the room is already in use?” whispered Hermione anxiously.
“I suppose that’s possible,” Harry agreed. “Although, I didn’t see anyone headed this way earlier.”
“What about that group of third years that I saw when we were en route?” Neville suggested.
“We gave them the slip,” Ron replied. “Didn’t even look twice at Hermione and me huddled in the shadows.”
Hermione colored slightly and tugged on Ron’s hand as if she wished he would be silent. Harry turned away to avoid them any further embarrassment but the situation was all too clear to him: they had likely engaged in a bit of a snog to divert suspicion. Quick thinking on their part, he conceded.
“Let’s just reschedule for tomorrow evening,” Harry suggested, thinking that would give him a chance to see if it was anything to do with the new protocols that Lupin had mentioned.
Although Harry was not scheduled for a lesson with Lupin the next day, the Map allowed him to see clearly when the Professor was teaching a Transfiguration class. Harry simply waited outside of the classroom until the students were dismissed. Ducking soundlessly inside, he was surprised at how many students were hanging back to have a bit of personal time with Lupin before moving on to their next class.
Not wanting to short-change anyone, Harry strolled to the back of the classroom and stared out on the courtyard that was that was quickly filling up with sixth years on a break. His eyes immediately attempted to locate Ginny even though he knew that she was not scheduled for a free period at this hour. It seemed like an eternity until their next dueling session with Lupin, but it was too much to hope that she could squeeze in another practice with him somewhere, anywhere, in the meanwhile -- especially knowing how much trouble she was having just scheduling Quidditch practice.
“Looking for anyone in particular?” Lupin posed as he leaned his hip casually upon the windowsill next to Harry. Seeing Harry steal a glance towards the front of the classroom, he added, “Everyone’s gone. You seem like you’re miles away.”
“Actually, I came to see you, Professor,” Harry replied.
“Seems a shame we can’t just join them in the sunlight “ without being mobbed,” commented Lupin, nodding to the groups in the courtyard. “Still, I think I know another spot. Come.”
Lupin led the way to a small door behind the teacher’s desk. It was opened, Muggle-style, with a small key that Harry had never noticed attached to Lupin’s watch chain. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure that they were not being followed, Lupin ducked through, closing and bolting the door behind Harry. They were inside what looked like a tall broom closet, but as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he could see that it was actually a circular room with a narrow staircase that wound its way up to a trap door.
“We’re in one of the castle turrets, aren’t we?” Harry asked in awe as he calculated how many stories it was to the top.
Lupin nodded with a sly, crooked smile that Harry recognized as the Marauder’s trademark. He could only imagine what sort of mischief that little group had wrought in their day. It was like being in the presence of a legend sometimes.
“This door is always kept locked and it is quite tamper-proof, I assure you,” Lupin whispered with a twinkle in his eye. “But before the ascent, we need to prepare ourselves for a different climate zone.”
Lupin hung his robes on a hook and shrugged on a thick, black jumper that he extracted from his briefcase. Harry followed suit and retrieved a long, striped scarf for his neck. They started up the stairs, holding on to a thin metal railing that felt like ice despite Harry’s gloves. The resemblance to the tower room where Professor Trelawney taught Divination was reinforced by the presence of the trap door; but when Lupin threw it back, they were bathed in clean, crisp air and yellow sunlight.
The air was so cold that it practically burned his lungs at first but it was exhilarating to have a bird’s eye view of the castle and grounds. The walls of the tower were crenellated battlements designed with long bowmen in mind; to Harry, though, they made comfortably wide benches on which to relax, as long as he remembered not to stare straight down. Lupin opened a metal grille imbedded in the base of one of the battlements and withdrew two dusty, but cold, bottles of butterbeer.
“This is fabulous, Professor!” Harry commented. “What would the headmistress say?”
“Probably that it’s her stash of butterbeers that we’re raiding,” Lupin replied with a wide smile.
“You’re not serious?” Harry laughed and then took a long pull of butterbeer.
“Absolutely. This is her aerie, bequeathed to me as part of the Transfiguration classroom. She used to bring me up here when I was a Prefect and she was my Head of House. Admittedly, those stairs are a lot easier for feline feet to climb.”
Harry took in the panorama, bearing in mind that it was less stressful to look at scenes in the distance. There was Hagrid’s hut with the smoke beginning to curl out of the chimney and a corner of the thestral pen in the distance. The sparkling lake with the ever-present smattering of students along its banks. The imposing gates to the school and, further on, even some of the gabled roofs of Hogsmeade village on the far horizon. He felt as if he could almost see the train station around a bend in the lane, but it was obscured by trees. Turning a bit to the left, he could just see Gryffindor Tower -- although his own room was not visible. The open window identified Hermione’s room and that indistinct flash of ginger fur must be Crookshanks weaving back and forth on the windowsill.
“I’d forgotten how beautiful and serene it all seems from up here.” Lupin sighed. “One can almost forget that there is such evil threatening us from all directions, almost to our very doorstep at times.”
“That’s because evil lurks in the cold, dark recesses of people’s minds; not out in the open in full view of everyone.”
“I’m afraid you may be right, Harry. It is man who manufactures hatred himself out of the pettiness and slights of the world, brewing it like a bitter potion in his heart.”
“So do you think the situation is hopeless?”
“No, I wouldn’t be here if I did,” Lupin admitted. Then shaking his head, he added, “But how did we get off on this tangent, Harry? Obviously, you sought me out for some purpose today….” Lupin allowed his words to trail off expectantly.
The concerns of the world below seemed so insignificant from this vantage point that Harry almost hesitated to say anything at all. It was only the realization that he would feel differently later that made him forge ahead. “We couldn’t get the door to the Room of Requirement to open for us last night. I told everyone we would reschedule our dueling practice for tonight instead, but I was hoping you could help me determine what I was doing wrong.”
“By everyone, you mean: Neville, Ron and Hermione, correct?”
Harry nodded, “I used the exact same request that I used successfully before.”
“Was there anything about the situation last night that might have been different?”
Harry explained how Ron and Hermione had volunteered to go ahead. When they had encountered others unexpectedly, they had improvised a reason to be on the seventh floor corridor.
“Well, no doubt they were very convincing,” Lupin agreed with a barely concealed smile, “but I believe that is the crux of the problem. I meant to warn you about that yesterday since I know that you have valid reasons for using the room. I apologize for the oversight, it totally slipped my mind after we started the dueling session with Ginny.”
“I understand completely, Professor; Ginny gets under my skin all the time, although in quite a different way.”
“All joking aside, the headmistress has altered some of the charms that control access to the Room of Requirement. The magic that created that space seems to be almost as ancient as the castle itself, so it is not possible to protect it with a Fidelius Charm,” Lupin explained, looking pointedly at Harry. “Her goal was to keep the room from being used for questionable activities like Draco Malfoy did last year; so somehow it is now able to refuse admittance to someone whose intent is inappropriate. It works in a similar manner to the barrier outside the rooms in your residence tower.”
“What will it consider inappropriate?” Harry inquired.
“Unfortunately, I cannot give you a definitive answer,” admitted Lupin. “It is a judgment call at best, subject to all manner of grey areas.”
Harry felt an uneasiness begin in his stomach as he thought of the textbook that he had hidden. Would these new protocols put it out of reach forever?
“So you think that Ron and Hermione’s little snog locked us out?”
Lupin nodded. “But the room would reset itself at some point, so they won’t be locked out forever. Make sure that either you or Neville perform the opening sequence tonight just to be on the safe side. Let me know if you experience any additional problems.”
“Thanks, Professor, it was truly an unexpected pleasure today.”
“As always, Harry. I’m not one for spending much time in the staff room with the other teachers between classes, anyway; this is so much more fun. You know, I almost hate to go back down. Who knows when the weather will be pleasant enough again “ now that winter’s almost here?”
“Is this the first time you’ve been up here? Since you acquired the key, that is?” Harry asked.
Lupin nodded. “I considered bringing Tonks up here for a private picnic but then remembered that she doesn’t really care for heights.”
“I can’t image that Hogwarts needs a wailing madwoman dancing among the turrets,” Harry added with a sharp laugh. “Kind of like a modern-day Lady of Shallot.”
“Somehow, I think that role has already been taken,” Lupin remarked as he directed Harry’s line of sight to a similar turret on the far side of the castle. There standing with her face to the wind, bright scarves dancing wildly around her, was the enigmatic figure of Professor Trelawney. It was the reflection of the sunlight on her oversized glasses that allowed them to identify her from this distance. The illusion that her aura was pulsing was eerily convincing.
Harry Potter and the Hero's Lament by L A Moody
Chapter Notes: Harry learns that the events surrounding his parents’ deaths were more complicated than he ever imagined; Harry and Ginny have their first dueling lesson with Lupin.
Chapter Endnotes: Please note that my interpretation of the workings of the Fidelius Charm differs from JKR’s as evidenced by the remains of the Potter home as revealed in Deathly Hollows. However, my conclusions are based on the information available at the close of Book 6 as well as what was presented on the JKR official website in answer to the query: What happens when the Secret-Keeper dies?