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 37
So Much Passion
Harry returned to the common room after lunch to find that their steamer trunks had been delivered. Ron and Hermione must be back! He accepted Neville’s assistance with controlling a locomotor charm as he eased his trunk around the tight corners of his room, then asked if he had seen the others.
Neville colored slightly and allowed that Ron and Hermione were apparently bidding Hogwarts castle a particularly heartfelt hello “ in the small anteroom adjoining the Great Hall.
“You mean the one that has no back way out?” Harry asked as the germ of an idea began forming in his head. “Neville, do you know those two first-years who think that the main common room is their personal gymnasium?”
Neville rolled his eyes before replying, “Everyone knows the Crane brothers. They only wind down at bedtime, and then only because they haven’t figured out how to sleepwalk. You know they’re fraternal twins, don’t you? Morgan and Melvin. Thank goodness, they don’t look that much alike or I’d have even more trouble keeping their names apart.”
“Are they back from holiday yet?”
“Oh, yes, they arrived earlier this morning with their rather frazzled-looking parents. Wouldn’t surprise me if they left half of their belongings at home; their mum’s always sending them packages of stuff they forgot to pack.”
Absolutely perfect, Harry thought to himself as he whispered his idea into Neville’s ear.
“But I’m Head Boy!” Neville protested. “I’d get in serious trouble if I told them a lie, even if it would be worth it to see the look on Ron’s and Hermione’s faces.”
“Who says it has to be a lie? Can’t we rustle up some candy and junk to throw in a box for them? They won’t know the difference if it isn’t exactly done up like their mum’s packages.”
Ten minutes later, Harry levitated the small box through the decorative grate in the high window that separated the small anteroom from the main floor hallway. By standing at just the proper spot on the second landing of the marble staircase, he could see over the sill enough to guide the package soundlessly onto the small patch of floor that was visible. He nodded to Neville who was standing next to the Fat Lady. Neville disappeared inside the main Gryffindor common room and seconds later the Crane twins exploded out the portrait hole and flew down the stairs and into the Great Hall. Neville followed at a brisk pace.
Harry saw them whiz by from the vantage point of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and made room for Neville on the bench beside him. Lunch was still being served and the room was about half-full of students. Their attention was riveted on the door to the anteroom just on the other side of the Slytherin table.
Despite the sound-proofing provided by the wooden door, they heard Ron’s voice bellow, “WHAT IN MERLIN’S BEARD DO YOU TWO HELLIONS THINK YOU’RE DOING?”
Every conversation in the Great Hall stopped in midstream, every spoon and fork was soundlessly replaced on each plate, every pair of eyes turned toward the closed door. Those that had heard the commotion through the open transom poured in through the Great Doors to bear witness to the day’s floor show.
Harry hid his smirk behind a fake yawn as they heard the shrillness in Hermione’s voice. “Don’t you realize that this is a private conversation? Don’t make me have to write to your mother… Yes, I’m certain she can read!”
Ron’s voice carried even more clearly in the ensuing silence as he growled, “I’ll report you to the Head Boy, even if it does gets points deducted from my own house!”
The giggling started all around as Harry grabbed Neville’s arm by the elbow to keep him from sneaking off. “You don’t want to leave before the payoff,” he whispered.
He felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder and looked up as Lupin leaned over and murmured, “I suggest you and Neville visualize images of Dolores Umbridge to wipe the last of those smirks from your faces. Without any clear evidence of malicious intent, the headmistress will drop the matter. Here she comes now.”
The silence was more profound than before as Minerva McGonagall swept her way through the crowd. The entire hall held its breath as she slowly opened the door and made as if to slip silently into the room. But the doorknob flew from her hand and the door banged heavily open as the Crane brothers made a dash for it, one of each side of her long tartan robes. They would have made it, too, had Lupin not swiftly barred their way as they neared the Great Doors. The laughter was growing around them enough that Harry and Neville felt that they could finally join in.
From the other end of the room, the headmistress’ voice was clearly pitched so that everyone could partake of the entertainment. “Yes, I know they are a handful, but they came to retrieve a package that was placed here for safekeeping. I don’t see any parcels with tags identifying them as yours. Do you, Miss Granger? How about you, Mr. Weasley?”
The crowd oooh’d appreciatively as the headmistress ushered Ron and Hermione into the Great Hall. The flushed look on their faces together with Ron’s partially untucked shirt told a very compelling tale.
“Seeing as how all four of you are Gryffindors, I’m going to turn you over to Professor Lupin. His peace-making skills are far superior to mine. As for the rest of you,” McGonagall suggested archly to the assembled crowd, “I recommend you return to your food or your stomachs will be disappointed with the long wait until supper this evening.”
Seeing that a large portion of the onlookers were leaving the room, Harry nudged Neville so they could pretend to wander innocently back to their common room. They found that Ron and Hermione were already seated glumly on opposite ends of the sofa. The sconce had barely closed when it reopened to admit Lupin, his face unreadable.
“I see the entire party is assembled,” acknowledged the professor as he ushered them all towards the hearth.
“What did you do to the Crane brothers?” Hermione posed with a nervous quaver in her voice.
“I suggested that they learn to knock on closed doors before entering or I won’t be so lenient next time,” Lupin supplied with a small smile. “Some tranquilizer darts would have been a nice touch, but then I would’ve had to complete all that extra paperwork for Madam Pomfrey.”
Harry hid a smile behind his hand as Lupin surveyed the group of seventh-years sternly.
“As to the two of you…” Lupin nodded to Ron and Hermione. “You do realize that public displays of affection are prohibited by the school bylaws? Tell me you didn’t skip that section in your trusty copy of Hogwarts: A History, Miss Granger.”
Hermione’s eyes went wide with apprehension as Ron scoffed, “I’ve never seen any of that rubbish actually enforced by anyone other than Dolores Umbridge!”
“Things have a way of changing, don’t they?” Lupin shot back at him. “I believe the inimitable Ms. Umbridge was on many people’s minds today. Neville, Harry, do you wish to take credit for the execution and planning of today’s events?”
“Not particularly,” Harry quipped, “seeing as how you’ve not one shred of evidence to link us to this spectacle.”
“No?” Lupin rejoined. “How about this label that was attached to the Cranes’ package? I believe it said Neville Longbottom on the back before it was crossed out.”
Harry gave Neville a reproachful look as Neville motioned that he didn’t know what Lupin was talking about. In one graceful movement, Lupin placed the label on the low table before them. Harry snatched it up immediately and turned it over.
He looked up slowly at the spreading grin on Lupin’s face and remarked, “Professor, you are absolutely shameless. It says ‘Neville Longbottom’ in your handwriting!”
“I didn’t have much time to think,” Lupin admitted with a laugh. “Seriously, though, keep in mind that you have a semi-private common room. Need I say anything more?”
“You really had me going there, Professor,” Hermione admitted as she gave him a hug in thanks.
“I really thought we were going to get detention,” Ron observed wryly.
“I don’t think that I’ve ever seen the professor assign any detentions,” noted Neville. “Have you?”
With a small shrug, Lupin confessed, “I have better things to do with my evenings.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lose your temper, either,” Harry observed as he accompanied Lupin down the grand staircase to assume his position among the teachers at the Patronus checkpoints. Long lines were beginning to form in the entrance hall as mid-afternoon approached.
“Oh yes, you have,” Lupin affirmed. “Yesterday, when we came for you at the Burrow.”
Considering that Lupin had implicated them all, Ron and Hermione grudgingly admitted that it had been a funny prank. Although Ron remarked that it would have been much more satisfying if Harry and Neville had selected other victims.
“Imagine if you had been able to entrap Malfoy like that,” he suggested with a wistful sigh.
“Sure, Ron,” replied Harry, “and just who do you think we might have found snogging Malfoy?”
Ron’s expression showed that he was about to admit that Harry had a point when Neville interjected, “How about his own reflection in the mirror?”
Everyone laughed at Neville’s all too accurate assessment of Malfoy’s ego even though Hermione indicated that it would not have had the same impact on the assembled crowd.
“Oh, Harry, I almost forgot in all the excitement,” Hermione cried. “You’ll never guess who’s the new conductor for the Knight Bus!”
Stan Shunpike must still be in custody as a suspected Death Eater, Harry thought. How short-sighted can the Ministry be?
“None other than Lavender Brown!” Hermione announced with glee as Ron looked on glumly. “Ron was a bit put out by that, at least in the beginning. Fred “ he was our escort again “ made such a big point of chatting her up for most of the trip that she barely even noticed that Ron was one of the passengers.”
“What has she been up to?” Neville asked conversationally.
“Kind of at loose ends, that’s how she ended up taking the conductor post. They told her upfront that it was likely only temporary,” Hermione supplied. “Ron was sitting there like a rather cross turnip most of the trip--”
“I was not!” Ron defended himself. “I was just bored.”
“So Ron’s boredom gave me some time to think,” Hermione continued without missing a beat. “And I remembered how Lavender and Pavarti were such great fans of Sybill Trelawney.”
Harry’s attention was suddenly sparked by the mention of the elusive Professor Trelawney. “And…” he urged her impatiently.
“I was able to ease myself into the conversation a bit--” Hermione began.
“”with a shoe horn, you mean--” added Ron.
“”and I was able to steer it towards the old school classes we had shared. After a bit of meaningless small talk, she told me that she had been corresponding with old Sybill who had confessed that she was pining away for an old love.”
That did shed a whole new light on things, Harry considered. It certainly fit with the image of the women of yesteryear who waited for their sailors to return from atop their widow’s walks. But did that mean that her friend was someone who could easily access school grounds or was she able to see the main gates from her aerie? No, she had definitely been searching in the direction of the Quidditch pitch when Lupin had captured her image on the Omnioculars. Surely, she couldn’t have been looking for Snape; talk about the two unlikeliest people to be involved with one another.
Harry’s attention was drawn back to Hermione’s story as she concluded, “”not too much else that I was able to learn from her, but it was tough competing with Fred for her attention. I invited her to come by some afternoon for tea; you know, a little bit of girl talk. She even offered to bring the Patil twins with her so we could have a reunion of sorts.”
Ron rolled his eyes copiously at the thought of being confronted with all of his failed attempts at connecting with members of the opposite sex in one sitting.
“Did Ginny return with you as well?” Harry tried to inquire casually even though he felt his heart lurch anxiously.
Hermione nodded grimly. “She was uncharacteristically quiet the entire trip, just sat there with a steely look on her face. Then when she got here, she went immediately in search of Robert… I’m sorry, Harry,” she added softly, placing a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I thought it would be kinder if you heard it from me.”
Harry acknowledged her honesty with a curt nod while Ron caught his eye with a commiserating shrug. If only their concern could loosen the sharp stones that had become permanently lodged in his chest.
It had been a pointless question to ask, Harry chided himself. It’s not likely she was going to be asking after him anyway. He turned his full attention to unpacking his trunk as he felt the dull ache intensify.
Not too much later, Harry looked up to find that Neville was standing in the doorway to his room. He composed his facial expression into something more civil before motioning him inside. In the background, Ron and Hermione were having one of their animated discussions, punctuated by much giggling.
“I just wanted you to know, Harry, your secret’s safe with me,” Neville offered tentatively. “I wouldn’t have dared to tell anyone; S-S-Snape threatened me in the most ingenious ways.”
“I’m sure he was just trying to be intimidating. I’m fairly certain that most hexes can’t be effective via long-distance,” Harry consoled him.
“So you think he was speaking from far away?”
“Not really. The range of the mirrors is probably only a few miles at most.”
“Then how can you be so sure he hasn’t come up with more effective spells on his own?” countered Neville with a bit of his earlier fear creeping into his eyes.
“You know, Neville, you’re probably right: it’s best to handle Snape with dragon-hide gloves at all times.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, Harry,” Neville inquired apprehensively, “what did Snape want with you?”
“I’m not sure myself,” Harry admitted candidly. “It might be that he just wanted to test if the mirrors still worked. He was interrupted before he could finish. There’s no denying that we have a significant amount of unfinished business and I’d just as soon keep that confidential for the time being.”
Dinner with Lupin and Tonks was a relaxed affair, just roast beef and Yorkshire pudding like was being served in the Great Hall below. Harry found himself just as much at ease around the two of them together as he had become when he was alone with Lupin. They entertained him with tales of their holiday trip to Africa, Mombassa to be exact, where they had launched their hiking expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro.
“My dad hates the cold weather so he was determined to visit a more equatorial location,” Tonks explained. “Not that it doesn’t still get mighty cold at the higher altitudes but it’s not like we were going to be summiting on this trip anyway. We just hiked the lower slopes.”
“You’ve done mountain climbing before?” Harry inquired.
“Not so much. I don’t like having to cover my face with an oxygen mask to get at some of those heights. What’s the point of being outdoors if you’re not breathing the fresh air?” admitted Tonks. “Now my dad, on the other hand…Well, I think he’s still trying to live up to the legend of his own father.”
“Tonks’ grandfather claimed to have climbed Mount Everest as part of Edmund Hillary’s famous expedition,” Lupin supplied.
Harry was prepared to be impressed until Tonks added, “He would have been old enough “ barely “ but there is no real documentation to support his claim. Believe me, I searched valiantly when I was a child. So we’ve relegated that tale to the realm of legend, although it seems to have served as a great selling point when Grandfather set up his first sporting goods store. Not to mention the inspiration that it gave my dad.”
“You two did quite a bit of rock climbing as well,” Lupin added. “They tried to rope me into that one “ literally “ but I don’t fancy any sport where you’re required to truss yourself up like a pig before starting. I could just see myself hanging on a cliff side in Kenya, like a broken kite helplessly twisted in its own string!”
“Oh, Remus, you exaggerate,” Tonks admonished him with a laugh. “We wouldn’t have left you behind!”
“What did your mum do during all this?” Harry asked through his laughter. “I don’t see her in any of the photographs.”
“She’s the photographer,” Tonks clarified. “She took that up as her new hobby in desperation when she got dragged to all these rustic locations. Her true vocation is shopping. She found me a few shaman’s masks, all authentic, to hang in my office, but she was rather frustrated that she couldn’t find much to suit herself on this trip. Ethnic fashions aren’t really her cup of tea.”
“I was surprised how easy it is for wizards to visit all of these exotic locales when all they have to do is Apparate and bring their own wizard’s tent,” Lupin observed. Harry couldn’t help thinking how artfully Lupin must be able to research possible relocation sites for Plan B in this manner, also. “To think I could have been visiting the world during all those agonizing years after Lily’s and James’ deaths…”
“Then you would never have met me, silly,” supplied Tonks in just the perfect light-hearted manner to keep Lupin from starting down that painful road.
Lupin flashed her a quick smile of gratitude before turning to Harry. “Before I forget, Harry, could you please remind Neville to come by my office within the next few days so I can assist him with his Patronus?”
“I’d be glad to tell him,” Harry replied with a small satisfied smile. “But if it’s about achieving a fully corporeal version, he’s already managed that. You might want to amend the student roster to show that his appears in the shape of a fox.”
“He did this all by himself?” Lupin asked incredulously.
“Well, I helped him a bit,” Harry admitted, hoping the subject would die right there.
He should have know better when Lupin prodded, “And just what manner of assistance did you render?”
Harry sighed in surrender, knowing that he could not find it in himself to keep many secrets from Lupin. “It occurred to me that Neville’s past was a lot like mine. Too many painful childhood memories, the few good ones knotted up with the bittersweet.”
“Yes, I’m aware of the current condition of Neville’s parents,” Lupin admitted somberly. “Alice and Frank were contemporaries of mine in the Order during Voldemort's last bid for power.”
“So I guided him to a more recent, happier memory. One that was more personal in nature.” To Lupin’s quizzical look, Harry supplied, “Neville connected with a girl at Slughorn’s party, one that he’s been seeing since then. I just helped him to visualize the scene from that first night, to place himself back at that party and recreate the happy moment in his mind.”
Harry noted the inexplicable look that passed from Tonks to Lupin as he finished his explanation.
“I think Tonks has a proposal for you,” Lupin offered, giving her a nod of encouragement.
“Harry, would you consider helping me out with some of my younger classes?” Tonks posed tentatively. “I’m having a terrible time getting some of them to produce a true Patronus and I think you might be just the person who can teach them the proper concentration skills. I would consider it a personal favor.”
“Would this be part of my class assignments?” he asked Lupin directly.
“Only if you wanted it to be,” Lupin assured him. “The headmistress and I agreed that it would do you good to interact more among the other students. But we could come up with other options if this doesn’t appeal to you.”
“I noticed how patient you were with some of the younger ones when you were helping us at the checkpoints,” Tonks added. “You seemed to have an instinctive rapport with them.”
“When does the class meet?” Harry asked with bated breath. Not Thursdays at ten, please, he chanted inwardly.
“Tuesdays at eleven to start out with,” Tonks supplied. “I might want to option you later for the older students if it works out well.”
“All right,” Harry agreed with a smile. “I’d be willing to give it a try.”
“Great!” replied Tonks, beaming. “Just meet me in my office at half-past ten on Tuesday so I can brief you a bit before class.”
Tonks was so excited about the new arrangement that she insisted on ordering a special dessert by way of celebration.
“I need to work on a few lesson plans for the upcoming week in my office, but I will stop by the kitchens on my way to make the arrangements,” she volunteered. “I think the regular dinner hour is over by now but I want to make sure before I impose on the house-elves. Will you boys “ I mean, men “ be all right without me for, say, an hour?”
“If you’re ordering what I think you’re ordering, it will be well worth the wait,” Lupin affirmed.
“Remus and I always find stuff to talk about, Tonks,” Harry added. “Take your time.”
Retiring to the familiar leather chairs before the fire, Lupin poured them each a cup of herbal tea. “Tonks swears this helps in the digestive process,” he explained. “I just like the way it tastes. Please make yourself at home, Harry. I apologize if the air feels a bit colder than usual; we had the windows open earlier today to clear out the mustiness in this room.”
The warmth of the tea and the hearth created such an atmosphere of relaxation it was hard to believe for a moment that there had been so much turmoil in his life recently. But those thoughts soon rose to the surface of Harry’s consciousness, bidding to be shared with someone who could provide him with some perspective. The enormity of the task left Harry wondering where he should begin.
Sensing this, Lupin suggested gently, “Harry, what happened at the Burrow? What stressed you to the point where you couldn’t sleep properly? Was it residual worry about what might have happened to the girls in London?”
“Not entirely,” Harry allowed. Taking a deep breath, he detailed his confrontation with Ginny and how they had avoided each other pointedly for the rest of the time at the Burrow.
“I know it sounds almost comical,” Harry admitted, “but it was maddening to not be able to put it from my mind for very long because there she was in the same house. It was like I was always conscious of her presence by just trying to stay out of her path. Ginny just pretended like absolutely nothing was amiss during the day, but I could hear her crying at night, Remus, long after she thought everyone else was asleep. I couldn’t get back to sleep. I wanted so much to just comfort her, tell her that I was a heel, a louse, whatever it took to get her to stop hurting. I even went so far as to stand right outside her bedroom door one night, my hand poised on the door knob; but I knew I couldn’t go in, not in my nightclothes, not in her parents’ house.”
Harry purposely omitted any mention of the silent tears he had shed in unison with her, concluding that Lupin had probably already filled in that detail for himself.
“Do you still hurt, Harry?”
Harry closed his eyes at the fresh anguish that flowed over him at the memory. “Yes,” he muttered.
“Then it’s not very comical, is it?”
“Hermione and I tried desperately to find some angle from which to make light of the situation, but we couldn’t come up with anything. I just kept thinking how heartless and cold my actions had been.”
To his surprise, Lupin chuckled. “Those are the adjectives that you came up with: heartless and cold?”
“Well, I could add callous and unfeeling, if that would help.”
Lupin looked at Harry very directly and countered, “Are you sorry that you stood up for yourself? Do you think you would hurt any less if you had just meekly accepted Ginny’s declaration that she was going to start seeing someone else?”
Harry took a moment to consider, then replied, “‘No’ to both counts. What are you getting at, Remus?”
“Simply this: I contend that you are using the wrong adjectives to describe your actions. How about: passionate and primal?”
“Surely you don’t think Ginny sees it that way!
“That’s exactly the way she sees it… I will demonstrate. For a moment, take all the words that were said out of the picture “ they represent the lies that we hide behind. It’s the actions that hold the greatest impact, that's why you were compelled to do something. At the point at which you kissed her, Ginny had several options. If she was totally unmoved by your actions, she would have just continued on her way up to the house. If she had been enraged by your actions, she would have shouted at your back as you walked away from her. Yet she did neither of these things. Instead, she followed you resolutely back to the greenhouse and then confronted you face to face. I contend that she wanted you to kiss her again.”
Harry was speechless. “How are you able to unravel the threads like that?”
“Too many years observing human nature instead of experiencing it, I’m afraid,” Lupin responded candidly. “But you were half-way there when you remarked that you were not certain if the encounter had worked out the way that Ginny had intended in the first place. As far as the tears go, what makes you so certain that she was crying over your actions? Did you consider that she might be upset over her own decision instead?”
“And to think that I came inches away from telling her that I loved her the night before,” Harry declared.
This confession brought Lupin up short. “I didn’t realize that you were ready to admit that to yourself yet,” he observed.
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” Harry conceded. “But I was certainly not going to tell her after she announced that she wanted to start seeing someone else. If only she’d given me a few more days to screw up my courage again, things might have turned out differently.”
“I understand. That can be a devilishly difficult confession to make. What stopped you the first time?”
“Arthur walked into the room,” Harry explained. “Not that his attention wouldn’t have been automatically drawn to the snake dance that Ron and Hermione were doing on the sofa.” Lupin laughed at Harry’s description. “But there I was laid out right next to the fire, gazing pretty intently into Ginny’s eyes, and I’m not certain what he made of that.”
“Arthur’s no fool,” Lupin agreed. “The two of you do get a rather blazing look in your eyes when you look at each other.”
“Am I that transparent?” Harry asked abruptly.
“Only to those who know you well; it’s the same for all of us,” Lupin commented. “So tell me, what decision did you make?”
Harry was taken aback for a moment before responding, “How can you ask me that? I didn’t follow your advice at all.”
“I didn’t expect you to. At best, I expected to give you enough to think about so that you would be empowered to make your own decisions. That you accomplished admirably. So again, what did you decide?”
Harry was about to reply that he hadn’t decided anything at all, that Ginny had pulled that rug right out from under him. Then he concluded that Lupin had once again cut through all the tangle. “I decided that I was going to give her the space to see other people if that’s what she truly wanted.”
“Is that all?” Lupin urged with that knowing look of his.
“And that this is not the way that things are going to end between Ginny and me,” he added with conviction. Deep inside, Harry conceded that when this was all over, when he had done the deed he’d set out to do and he was no longer a marked man, he would make it right with her. It wouldn’t matter whose arms he’d have to pry from around her, either; just as long as it was not the bony arms of Death itself.
“So I would say that you accomplished both goals that you were set,” Lupin attested with an unexpected smile. “You came to a decision that you can stick with for the time being and you turned your sights to the future. Admittedly, you may have colored a bit outside the lines in the process, but you found your own way “ which is ultimately the most important thing.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little bit generous?” Harry asked pointedly.
“Not particularly.”
“Tell me this then, Remus. Does it ever get any easier to tell someone that you love them?”
“I suppose you mean: it is easier with subsequent persons?” Lupin clarified. At Harry’s nod, he returned, “How in blazes should I know?”
Harry laughed at the tacit admission. “Why, Remus, I thought you were a sophisticated man of the world.”
“I am,” Lupin confirmed with a laugh of his own. “I just happen to have been a rather lonely man of the world. Although if I’d had half your imagination and fire when I was your age, things might have turned out differently.” He chuckled again as he added under his breath, “So much passion…”
Harry had to admit he felt infinitely better, as if the pain had somehow been made more bearable.
Lupin returned Harry’s smile of gratitude and then suggested, “I believe I’m in the mood for a nightcap after all. Will you join me? I laid in some extra bottles over the holiday break.”
“Of course,” Harry replied. “Have you had any additional news about the London bombings?”
“Last I heard was that very few bombs were found despite all the threats and only one actually exploded. The rest were disarmed successfully. All sorts of militant groups are claiming credit, though. The biggest news remains the widespread disruption caused by such a rather insignificant event. Understandably, the Muggles remain blissfully unaware of the presence of the dementors which were the direct cause of the panic and despair.”
“What do you make of the unexpected presence of dementors?”
“Clearly Voldemort is up to something that will involve using Muggles as his pawns. I see this event as a sort of dress rehearsal, timed to coincide with the holidays to maximize its impact and fuel greater anti-Christian sentiment throughout the world. I also suspect that many of these so-called terrorist organizations have been infiltrated by Death Eaters who are using them for their own ends. I can’t tell you know much this all troubles me as it leads me to think that Voldemort has been carefully planning for world domination. If he attacks us on all fronts at once, we won’t have a chance against him. Our only chance lies in vanquishing him before his plans are fully realized, which means we don’t have a lot of time left to prepare ourselves.”
“Do you believe that either you, Tonks, or the girls were directly being targeted?”
“It’s impossible to tell. It’s very likely that it was just a reconnaissance mission, and not finding their intended target, they did not attack anyone else instead. But it just makes the Order even more resolute in keeping you out of harm’s way. I’m sorry, Harry, I know that makes you feel like you’re being incarcerated.”
Harry was about to ask if Arthur’s suggestion that the two of them not travel together would prevent them from spending any time outside school grounds, but his words were cut short by the unmistakable sounds of Tonks’ return.
“Dessert should be ready shortly,” she announced happily as she closed the door to the outer office behind her.
“Will you join us in a nightcap?” Lupin asked genially as he made for the far cabinet.
“After all the champagne that you consumed last night,” she chided him playfully as she accepted a glass.
“Dancing is thirsty work,” Lupin replied with a twinkle in his eye.
“You’re going to absolutely spoil Harry at this rate, you know.” She smiled back.
“It’s about time someone did,” rejoined Lupin.
Feeling as if he should remind them of his presence in the room, Harry commented, “I’ve never had champagne. Is it any good?”
“It can be,” Lupin responded. “It all depends upon whether it’s the real deal from France or a pale imitation. The imitation can give you the most beastly headache imaginable.”
“Did the headmistress serve the good kind last night?” Harry asked.
“Yes!” they responded on top of one another.
A diminutive house-elf that Harry did not recognize by name popped in at that moment to announce that their dessert was ready for them in the adjoining dining room. Waiting until they were seated, the elf snapped her long fingers for the chocolate soufflé to materialize in the center of the table before them. The luscious smell of warm cocoa immediately permeated the small dining room.
Rather than individual portions, Tonks had requested a larger version that had to be individually scooped into each small bowl and then garnished with whipped cream. Time was of the essence, she explained, as the soufflé would begin to collapse upon itself once removed from the heat of the oven and the whipped cream would begin to melt atop the hot soufflé.
“It’s still hot, so be careful to scoop some of the cold cream onto each spoonful to keep from burning your mouth,” Tonks urged.
From the first taste, Harry felt as if he had been transported into a new existence, as if all previous desserts had been but pale imitations of reality. Each mouthful contained the totality of experience in one perfect bite: the soufflé was bitter and hot, the cream was cold and sweet. The complete sensation in his mouth was practically indescribable to anyone who had not already experienced it for himself.
Conversation was incidental as they worked their way through subsequent bowlfuls until both the soufflé dish and whipped cream bowl were totally empty. Lupin refilled their glasses with more port as a communal sigh of contentment spread around the table.
“I did tell you it was worth the wait,” Lupin commented.
“I don’t know what to say, Tonks,” Harry offered in a blissful tone. “There are no words…”
“Another convert, I see,” she replied with delight.
“Do you get this kind of food at home?” Harry asked. “If so, I’m seriously considering relocating.”
“Unfortunately, no,” Tonks admitted with a dramatic sigh.
“But I bet she can tell you every restaurant in London where it’s available,” Lupin asserted.
“Would you like the list to be organized alphabetically, geographically, or in order of sheer deliciousness?” she quipped in response.
“How about the ones that don’t list it on menu, but will make it for you specially if you ask?” Lupin returned.
Harry looked on merrily as Tonks replied, “Oooh, I can name those, too!”
Retiring to their chairs in front of the blazing hearth, Tonks was reminded of the small folder she had left on the side table.
“Minerva stopped by with a few preliminary photos from last night,” she supplied as she handed Lupin a small envelope. “I thought you might like this one for your office. We probably have a frame that size somewhere.”
Lupin smiled beatifically as his eyes devoured the image before him. “I could never put this on my desk, cherub, I would never get any work done. I think this would be better displayed in the inner office. You did look ravishing last night… Here, Harry, have a look for yourself.”
Harry moved over to the wall brackets where the light was brighter so that he could get a better look. The wizard photograph before him showed Lupin and Tonks dancing together in a tight circular pattern, the tails to Lupin’s coat flaring out behind him as they swirled in unison. At one point, he released one of Tonks’ hands so she spun precisely to arms length before being wound back. Lupin himself looked very dashing in his inky black tuxedo, his hair slicked back into a fair semblance of a young David Niven. Harry’s eyes were irresistibly drawn to the image of Tonks, though, who did indeed look ravishing in a vintage gown of heliotrope blue, her usual fresh-scrubbed features accentuated by her upswept hairstyle. Peering carefully into their faces, Harry finally understood what Lupin meant by the ‘blazing look’ that often passed between Ginny and himself.
“It looks like you had a wonderful time,” Harry smiled as he looked up at them. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you in person.”
“Well, it’s not exactly like we didn’t give you an opportunity, sleepyhead,” Tonks teased him affectionately.
“Two, in fact,” Lupin added with a grin. “Although, I admit I wasn’t as crisp looking in the wee hours of the morning. As for Tonks, she’d already peeled off her gloves and shoes by then.”
“I don’t remember seeing gloves in the photo,” Harry remarked.
“I must have already removed them by then,” Tonks attested. “They were hardly comfortable, even though they made for a great look. I hope I was still wearing them in one of the earlier photographs that we don’t have back yet.”
“Let’s just hope someone doesn’t have a moving photo of you taking them off, dear,” Lupin suggested archly. “I don’t think Gypsy Rose Lee was supposed to be your character for the evening.”
Tonks tittered playfully in response.
“You mean to tell me that it was a costume party?” Harry responded as the meaning of their comments suddenly became clear.
Lupin nodded and elaborated, “The theme was ‘Vintage Hollywood: Glamour from the Black and White Era’. We were supposed to be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.”
“Other than the clothing and the dance moves, neither of you really looks like Fred or Ginger,” Harry noted wryly.
“We decided we would go with a more subtle impersonation,” Tonks explained. “It’s just so easy for a Metamorphmagus to do a literal copy that it takes the fun out of it for everyone else.”
“Please tell me all that practicing paid off,” Lupin urged with a sharp laugh.
“Oh, the dance moves looked great,” Harry assured him. “Where did you find the vintage wear, though?”
“My parents’ closets, believe it or not!” Tonks giggled. “They have all sorts of goodies buried in the deep recesses, too nice to just donate to charity. I did tell you my mum was a professional shopper, didn’t I? She’s obsessed with filling her closets; I like to clean them out and see what treasures I can find.”
“Ted Tonks maintains that if Elton John had Andromeda’s closets, he would never have come out!” Lupin added merrily.
“I’m thinking of adding that to the official family motto,” Tonks agreed through her giggles. “Never much cared for the ‘toujours pur’ from the Black side of the family.”
“Maybe we should re-stitch that on the tapestry at Grimmauld Place, as well!” Harry smirked. “Speaking of that, Tonks, I feel rather awkward that Sirius left his townhouse to me. After all, you and your mother are blood relations.”
“Just one more reason to think of you as family, Harry,” Tonks replied with a smile. “Mum doesn’t need another house “ not unless the closets are an improvement upon what she has now, which I sincerely doubt.”
“So who did the other teachers impersonate?” Harry posed innocently, dreading that Lupin was going to shoot him down.
“Now, Harry,” Lupin began in predictable fashion, “you know we aren’t really supposed to discuss those things. It’s one thing to talk about our own antics, but anything that doesn’t directly involve us personally, well--”
“Wait, I think I can work within that premise!” Tonks offered gleefully. “I helped Minerva prep for her portrayal, kind of like a dialect coach, so that means I’m directly involved.”
“Indirectly, more like it,” Lupin observed. “But go ahead, cherub. You know I have no willpower when it comes to you.”
“Minerva dressed up as--”
“Don’t just tell him!” Lupin admonished her. “Do the full impersonation. Harry deserves the complete experience before we have to Obliviate his memory.”
Good thing Tonks giggled in response, Harry thought to himself.
“You’ll narrate then,” she offered.
“Don’t I always play the straight man?” Lupin deadpanned. “Imagine a grand curving staircase, slightly narrower than the one in the entrance hall. Minerva waits until all the guests are assembled to make her entrance, walking majestically down the stairs, the train of her elegant wrap trailing behind her.”
Tonks could not really capture the effect of walking down the stairs, but you could tell by her halting steps that the heavy fabric of the train was exerting a pull. She held her right hand up at an artificial angle to signify that the headmistress was holding a long cigarette holder. Pausing dramatically, Tonks assumed an even more exaggerated pose and then looking deliberately over the heads of the assembled guests, she intoned, “I vant to be alone.” Her voice was a deep Nordic contralto.
“I know I’ve seen this one,” Harry admitted. “But I can’t come up with a name on the spot. It’s no reflection on your presentation, Tonks; I’m absolutely hopeless at charades, always have been.”
“Greta Garbo,” supplied Lupin softly.
Of course, Garbo, Harry thought to himself, he had known that one.
“The headmistress did a pretty acceptable job with the accent, also,” Tonks admitted as she resumed her seat by the fire. “I was just polishing it up for her when we got the Patronus from Arthur yesterday.”
“Who did Professor Slughorn impersonate?” Harry urged.
Lupin rolled his eyes dramatically, as Tonks readily supplied, “W.C. Fields. Which meant that Pomona, our very own deputy headmistress, dressed up as Mae West.”
“Which about Filch?”
“Boris Karloff.”
“Professor Flitwick?”
“George Raft. A rather fore-shortened version,” Lupin noted. “Professor Trelawney and Madam Pince were not in attendance.”
Obviously, neither was Madam Pomfrey, or you wouldn’t have had such a good time, Harry noted inwardly.
“What about Simon Stevens?”
Tonks spoke up, “Oh, you mean Rolanda Hooch’s--” but at Lupin’s fierce look, she amended her comment to, “Dance partner? He went as Marlon Brando in the Stanley Kowalski role.” At Harry’s blank look, she added, “That boor in the torn T-shirt that keeps yelling: ‘Stella!’”
Harry nodded as Lupin amended, “At least until somebody adroitly reminded him that perhaps it would have been more appropriate to yell ‘Rolanda’ in this case.”
“Remus, that was you!” Tonks remarked.
“Only after Filius prodded me to do it! He gets credit for catching the discrepancy.”
This had to be as good as the Hufflepuff show, Harry though wryly, as he unabashedly enjoyed himself. Too bad a yawn had to kick in to remind him that there were classes tomorrow. While he had the luxury of a lie in if he chose, he knew that Tonks and Lupin both had full schedules.
With more regret that he had felt in a long time, Harry brought the conversation around to the subject of classes. “Do you have me scheduled for tomorrow, Remus?”
“You know, I hadn’t even given it a thought,” Lupin replied honestly. “How about half-past three? Do you have any idea what you’d like to discuss?”
With even more regret, Harry brought the merriment to a close with his simple reply, “Severus Snape.”
“We’ve come back to that finally,” Lupin sighed with a resigned look on his face. “Then you will have to do a bit of research yourself. It’s the only way that I can get around the issue of not revealing personal information about a colleague. Believe me, I’ve thought about this for a long time, knowing that this moment would come. The information you seek can be found in the archived copies of the Daily Prophet. Use the ones in the headmistress’ library; they are more complete and you’ll have fewer interruptions there. You shouldn’t have any trouble preparing that data by tomorrow’s appointment time. Just have Hermione teach you the spell that allows you to copy documents from one page to another.”
“Everything sounds fine, except I’m not certain of what Hermione’s schedule looks like for tomorrow. It’s her first day with Professor McGonagall as her advisor and I suspect it might get a bit manic, if you know what I mean. I’ll get her to teach me the spell tonight, but I’m not certain I’ll be able to count on her to help me access the headmistress’ library in the morning.”
“Naturally,” Lupin nodded in understanding, “you need the password. I know Minerva just changed it and all I can think is that it’s a good thing she did. Talk about her old password being inappropriate…”
“The new password’s Black Watch,” supplied Tonks. “Like the tartan that I fancy.”
“Thanks,” Harry smiled. “That’s a bit easier to remember than the usual passwords.”
“Not that I’m likely to forget Glenfiddich after last night,” Lupin remarked with a dry chuckle. “That was the previous password.”
“You mean like the whiskey?” Harry’s curiosity was piqued once again.
“No, like the Scotch,” Tonks corrected with an amused lilt. “Don’t ever let Filius skewer you for that mistake.”
Harry watched as she tried to catch Lupin’s eye for support, but when he just started laughing, Tonks broke up herself.
“I don’t think Filius is ever likely to forget Glenfiddich!” Lupin gasped through his laughter.
“You know that’s just plain cruel, not letting me in on the story,” Harry remarked. “Sending me to bed with nothing but visions of Snape when I could be giggling instead!”
Harry’s feigned petulance was enough to send Lupin and Tonks into gales of laughter all over again. Harry joined in, knowing that he already felt their resolve crumbling.
“You know, it’s hard to resist a tale of woe like that,” Tonks commented. “What do you think, Remus?”
“I think you’re determined to get us both sacked, cherub,” Lupin returned but shook his head in capitulation.
“As the evening wore on, Filius was determined to corral someone into a round of wizard’s chess,” Tonks explained. “He’s usually not very successful as he’s already proven himself a superior player too many times before.”
“Last night, though, he announced proudly that he’d found a way to even the playing field and make the game more competitive,” Lupin took up the narrative. “He unveiled these new chess pieces that perched themselves atop shot glasses, so that every time the better player captured a piece, his judgment became clouded by swallowing the contents of the glass.”
Harry gave a soft, amused snort. “I’m familiar with the concept. Hermione and Ron were testing that set earlier this autumn. There was some debate over whether they could get the actual pieces to react according to the mental state of the player, but they couldn’t configure a spell that worked consistently. Too many variables.”
“You don’t mean to say that it’s manufactured by Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, do you?” Lupin’s voice was laced with amusement.
Harry nodded weakly. “Based on the timing, I think Ron gave Professor Flitwick one of the very first manufactured sets. Said it would be the ideal gift for a chess master.”
“He was certainly right on that count!” Tonks giggled.
“Are you sure you want us to continue, Harry?” Lupin inquired in mock seriousness. “You know you’ll never be able to tell this story to Ron.”
“If I decide I can’t trust myself, I promise I’ll voluntarily submit to Obliviation,” Harry returned.
“Wouldn’t it just save time if we wiped Ron’s memory of giving the chess pieces to Filius in the first place?” suggested Tonks with glee.
“Right, we’ll put that down as Plan B then,” Lupin agreed.
“So to get back to the story,” Tonks continued with a deep breath, “Filius filled all the shot glasses with Glenfiddich, but he still couldn’t get any takers.”
“Probably because he’s been known to drink everyone under the table!” Lupin added. “Or so I’ve heard.”
“So the legend goes,” Tonks admitted. “Finally, Minerva, Rolanda and Pomona decided they would like to take him on as a team if he was willing. That way they could split the shots between the three of them. He agreed.”
“Well, you can imagine how it went,” Lupin continued. “He made a move, the three women entered into a hushed conference and debated their options and about five minutes later, they made their move. They abandoned this after the first three or four moves as it was just too slow and decided that they would each take turns in rotating order, although the shots would still be shared equally.”
Tonks took over. “Now the game started to get more exciting and everyone drew around the action. Only a few pawns had been captured by both sides, so it looked as if Filius had finally met his match. But soon it became clear that the chess master had been leading the ladies into a very clever and artful trap and that when he finally sprung said trap, their entire army would be decimated in so few moves that the Scotch wouldn’t have time to go to his head.”
“Flitwick was so excited that he was standing on the seat of his chair, barely restraining himself from jumping up and down, clasping and un-clasping his hands with glee,” Lupin explained. “And it was Rolanda’s turn to make the next move for the ladies. Ideally, I could ask Tonks to assume the same outfit with her Metamorphmagus skills, but I’m fairly certain that she’s too modest to present herself in such a fashion.”
“You’re right about that,” Tonks agreed. “But I will demonstrate. Rolanda was dressed as Marlene Dietrich, the German cabaret singer personified. She was all blonde waves, black top hat, fishnet tights, and this little skirt that was basically very long fringe and not much else.”
Tonks returned from the back of the room with a small wooden desk chair. She placed it in the center of the room and waited for Lupin to resume the story.
“So, it was Rolanda’s move and she was determined to turn the tide,” Lupin intoned. “She looked at the chess pieces from all angles, walked around behind Filius and studied them from there as well. We all assumed she was stalling for time because the situation on the board looked pretty grim. But all of a sudden her face lit up with an idea and she walked over to her side of the board to make the quintessential move. Perfectly in character, she leaned across the chair…”
Harry watched Tonks assume the role in slow motion, mesmerized as she flung her leg ever so casually over the back of the chair so that her foot rested on the seat. Then leaning her body over, she brought her face down to look more closely at the imaginary game board, her right hand resting on the chair back for balance. Harry felt that he could picture the scene perfectly.
“It was at this point that Filius’ attention wavered from the chess board.” Lupin began to smirk. “For when Rolanda stretched her body in just such a fashion, the little fringed skirt fell away to nothing.” He took a long dramatic pause, then continued, “And Filius leaned forward a bit too much himself and lost his balance right into the chess board!”
“The pieces were flying every which way, the Scotch was oozing all over the wood floor and the shot glasses were mostly in shards!” Tonks finished.
Finally, Harry was able to gasp, “So did they declare the game a draw?”
“Officially, yes,” Lupin replied as he tried to get more air into his lungs. “But Tonks came up with a different interpretation.”
“I still contend that the ladies won,” she replied with panache. “After all, it was Filius’ pieces that fell into Rolanda’s trap, or lap, or however you want to phrase it!”
“If it helps to put your minds at ease,” Harry wheezed, “I could never tell that story to Ron. He would never be able to look his advisor in the eye again!”
It was just as well that everyone else was sound asleep in the seventh year suite when Harry returned, still chuckling to himself over the fate of poor Professor Flitwick. No one to ask him questions he would have to evade about what was making him smile like an idiot and laugh to himself. Tomorrow when they asked, he would be able to tell them with a straight face that they had spent the hours discussing the state of world politics, or some other ponderous subject that was sure to curtail any extra questions. If need be, he would relay the portions about how dementors figured into the London bombings to satisfy their curiosity.
Determined to get with Hermione in the morning, he repeated the password to the headmistress’ office again, Black Watch, before falling into instant darkness. His dreams were of twirling Ginny across the dance floor while drunken chess pieces stumbled merrily out of their way. Not a single black garbed Potions master was to be found among the guests.
Harry Potter and the Hero's Lament by L A Moody
Chapter Notes: An impromptu joke on Ron and Hermione is turned on its head; Lupin lends Harry a sympathetic ear; Harry is cheered by Tonks’ and Lupin’s animated retelling of their recent exploits.