Chapter 40
Quicksilver
Having created two sizable stacks of discovery concerning Severus Snape, Harry left the headmistress’ library that afternoon feeling like he had truly made a dent in his assignment. He would have to return tomorrow to be sure, but he was certain that the horizon was finally in sight. He delivered one stack to his room and arrived at Lupin’s office balancing the other. He was too busy maneuvering his way past both doors to immediately notice that Ginny had arrived before him.
“Where would you like me to drop these?” asked Harry, looking around the room for the first time. Lupin motioned to the far right sideboard as Harry added, “I tried to keep everything in order, but there’s still more to…” He was arrested by the sight of Lupin and Ginny near the window, standing frozen in the same positions as when he’d walked in. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” Harry offered, looking from one face to another.
Lupin clearly looked flustered but managed to find his voice nevertheless. “Ginny got here early “ apparently with the sole purpose of admiring my suit,” he remarked in an off-hand manner, but the fierce glance he gave to Ginny made her back away a few paces.
“Well, you have to admit, Professor, you’ve been looking rather stylish since the start of term. A different suit every day,” Ginny commented with a twinkle in her eye. “Don’t you agree, Harry?”
Caught off guard, Harry wasn’t sure what to say. Yes, he’d noticed that Lupin had decided to update his image, but it was hardly the sort of thing one man commented about to another. “I hadn’t realized that the native dress in Africa was so similar to ours,” he rejoined lamely.
“There is no privacy around you two, is there?” Lupin chuckled. “I’ll have you know, though, that these are not new suits. Tonks said that they were from her father’s academic days. He suggested I might give them another life at Hogwarts. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
“Oooh, vintage,” Ginny remarked as she daringly fingered Lupin’s lapel.
“Please tell me you’re not implying that’s why Tonks agreed to marry me in the first place,” Lupin suggested in response, staring her down with a rather earnest expression.
Ginny laughed in reply, the sound like the musical notes of a waterfall to Harry’s ears.
“If I’d known it was a fashion show, I would have changed before coming,” Harry joined in with a wide grin.
“I’ll make sure you get the schedule of all the special theme days,” Ginny quipped.
“If you two are quite through, let’s go up to the Room of Requirement for a bit of dueling practice,” Lupin intoned with authority. “I know that the ban on underage magic has kept you from being able to work on anything over the break.”
“Ron and I did try one morning,” Harry admitted. “But it was hard to put our hearts into it when we knew we wouldn’t be able to include Ginny.”
“When was that?” Ginny prodded.
“The day you went to London. Hestia Jones made such a big deal about the underage magic thing that Ron and I had to abandon all our plans of setting odds for your upcoming match with Hermione. We’d really been talking it up, too “ at least among the visitors to the Burrow.”
“I was rather disappointed that one never came down,” Lupin improvised. “I had a fair chunk of galleons put aside for my wager.”
“Very funny, you two,” Ginny replied as she narrowed her eyes. “I would’ve taken her, you know.”
“Since we’ve arrived at the room, why don’t you demonstrate with Harry instead?” Lupin recommended as he settled himself in one of the spectator’s armchairs.
Despite all the friendly banter beforehand, dueling was serious business and it soon consumed all of Harry’s concentration. Ginny must have been practicing even without the magical elements as her footwork was more precise and confident than ever. It wasn’t long before she had him in a purely defensive posture, losing ground with every step. None of Harry’s attempts to gain some high ground proved successful against her relentless onslaught. Each time she intercepted him, her smile widened until she was practically gleeful as she hit him with an impedimenta curse in the end.
In the face of his frustration, Harry turned to Lupin and beseeched, “Rematch with Ginny? Permission to let out all the stops, please?”
“Absolutely not!” Lupin cried. Looking intently at each of them in turn, he drew his own wand and intoned, “Expelliarmus,” followed immediately by a quick movement that had him holding both their wands in his free hand. “How dare you duel in anger! Do you know how dangerous that can be? One false step, one overzealous movement can result in irreversible spell damage! Madam Pomfrey would have my hide mounted if such an accident occurred during my watch. What were you thinking?”
As he struggled to catch his breath, Harry made a more careful assessment of Ginny’s expression. Gone was the forced smile and instead her lips were pressed together in a straight line; the incendiary look in her eyes spoke of a barely banked fire. Lupin was right, she had been trying to incite similar anger from him. She would have succeeded, too, if he’d allowed himself to respond without restriction.
“I suggest you talk this one out instead,” Lupin ordered as he motioned them to join him in front of the fire. “Ginny, do you want to go first since you took the offensive?”
Without looking at him directly, Ginny mumbled words that it was a private matter and none of Lupin’s business.
“You bring it to my class, it becomes my business.” Lupin glared.
“What about Harry?” Ginny returned defiantly. “Are you just going to let him off the hook?”
“No, I’m not. He was about to let himself be pulled over the edge without a second glance.” Lupin softened his tone considerably before adding, “Take a moment to compose yourself and then tell me “ tell us “ what’s got you so worked up.”
“I don’t appreciate it when Harry talks about in me in front of his classes,” Ginny announced bitterly. “Happy now?”
Harry had not been expecting this. “Whatever do you mean, Ginny?” he implored.
“An example please, Ginny,” Lupin coached from the sidelines.
“You told everyone about how I thought deducting house points was for amateurs.”
“I said I had a friend who thought that. I never mentioned you by name,” Harry corrected her.
“Everyone knew who you meant!”
Harry could not deny it based on the comment he had overheard, but he didn’t think he should share that with Ginny. To his surprise, it was Lupin who came to his rescue.
“Your comments about house points are the stuff of legend, Ginny. Move on.”
“I wasn’t very pleased with what he said about his past girlfriends, either,” Ginny added.
“Again, I didn’t mention any names,” Harry maintained in his defense.
“Everyone knows,” Ginny flashed back.
“And whose fault would that be?” Harry retorted. “You were the one who kissed me in front of the entire Gryffindor common room. Even the portraits on the walls failed to miss that!”
“You didn’t seem to mind then!”
“I didn’t!...I don’t.” Harry felt the air leaving his sails as he sank back down in the armchair.
“Why did you answer such a personal question, Harry?” Lupin prompted.
“ ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’ only seems like a nosey question on the surface,” Harry explained. “If you don’t have anything to give them, it’s pretty harmless. What were they to make of ‘no and I’m not in the market for one, either’?”
“Don’t forget the follow-up question,” Ginny urged. “They wanted to know why not.”
“Great Merlin’s beard, Ginny! Did you have the bloody room bugged?”
“I’m sure the Gryffindors present filled her in,” Lupin surmised. “What were your exact words, Harry?”
“That I was concentrating on my studies and that my past two girlfriends had stomped all over my heart,” Harry answered mechanically.
“How do you think that makes me look?” Ginny cried.
“It was an uncomplicated answer, Ginny, it wasn’t intended to tell them anything,” Harry returned. Feeling like he’d been put upon enough today, he added rakishly, “Are you familiar with the term ‘metaphor’ or do you want me to show you the hoof prints on my chest?”
He poised his fingers over his shirt buttons as he waited for her to answer what was essentially a rhetorical question, but Ginny just stared daggers at him. Harry hadn’t meant to lose his temper, but how dare she just sit there, so blithely unconcerned, when she had been the cause of all of this.
“This is all about my decision to start seeing Robert, isn’t it?” Ginny’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“That’s hardly all of it,” Harry declared with sudden clarity. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to share with you “ both of you “ and somehow it would seem a shame to waste such a splendid forum.”
“Tone down the sarcasm, Harry,” Lupin suggested although his tone was kind.
Harry nodded and then stopped for a moment to collect his thoughts. “I need you to understand where I’m coming from and there’s no other way. Dumbledore witnessed the original prophecy that was smashed. Later that same night, he showed me the entire thing in his Pensieve. The wording is as follows, and I assure you it is etched in my mind:
“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.” *
Harry looked at the stricken faces around him and implored, “Please promise me that this will stay between us; there are only three other people who know.”
“Have you told Neville?” Lupin inquired.
“Earlier this week,” Harry confirmed with a nod. “I’m not certain that Dumbledore’s reasoning was foolproof and I felt he had a right to know. Likewise, I need you to understand, Ginny, Remus, that I am essentially a marked man. Even if I chose to run away from this battle, and believe me, I would very much like to at times--” He purposely let his gaze linger on Ginny’s face. “”it would be pointless; Voldemort would still seek me out.”
“What can I do, Harry?” Ginny had pulled up a footstool and was sitting at Harry’s feet. Her gaze was so compassionate and vulnerable that it made his heart ache.
“Just keep yourself safe,” Harry replied, averting his eyes from hers. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
“But you’re going to let Ron and Hermione fight at your side!” Ginny declared.
“And the members of the Order also,” Harry solemnly added.
“Then why are you excluding me?”
“Surely, Ginny, you’re not comparing my friendship with Ron and Hermione with what I had with you?” Harry replied softly.
“No, but I’d like to amend that last statement,” Ginny remarked fervently. Stretching her upturned palm to forestall Lupin’s intervention, she beseeched, “Remus, please look away.”
But before she could regain her feet, Harry had put the chair between them. “Don’t, Ginny, it only makes things worse!” Feeling his control slipping, Harry searched the room for Lupin. Obviously, the man had taken Ginny’s request for privacy to heart and was now intently studying the books on the far shelf. “Remus, please! This is torture!” Harry pleaded.
Lupin returned his attention to the scene before him. With a quick glance at his pocket watch, he noted, “Class time is over anyway… Not so fast, Ginny. I’d like a word, please.”
Harry quickly threw his belongings together so that he could put this behind him as soon as possible. As he bent over to retrieve his wand from the side table, he was arrested by Lupin’s insistent tone. “Harry, my office. Now!”
Fine, Harry fumed as he stood outside the Room of Requirement, he too had a few choice words he’d like to share with Lupin “ and he would prefer that Ginny didn’t witness those. He leaned against the cold stone wall, willing his hammering heart to calm itself before he set out for Lupin’s office. Through the cracked door, he could hear Lupin tear into Ginny, his tone so uncharacteristically harsh that Harry stood transfixed.
“What in Merlin’s name were you thinking?” Lupin railed at her. “You come into my office and make personal comments like that to me… Yes, I know it was intended as a compliment, but anyone else would have concluded differently… You were way over the line!”
It was clear that Lupin was referring to the scene Harry had interrupted before class although he couldn’t make out Ginny’s soft replies.
“You think so?” Lupin returned in a menacing low voice. “I suggest you accept that the world is full of amateurs, practically overflowing with them, in fact.”
The pause was long enough that Ginny must have said something else as Lupin’s tone was considerably softened when he replied, “You’re wrong; I love you both. But you put me in an untenable position, Ginny. I can’t keep including you in his training if it’s this disruptive. No one thrives on this type of constant chaos.”
Harry heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door and then the unmistakable click of the lock being turned.
As he wound his way through the castle corridors on his way to Lupin’s office, Harry was reminded of the conversation he’d shared with Hermione at the Burrow. Initially, he’d been surprised when she had steered the discussion to Lupin. But in light of the ordeal she had survived in London, he should have understood she was just trying to put everything into perspective.
“There’s a darkness in his soul. A ruthlessness that he wants to disown,” Hermione observed.
Her intuitiveness was not unusual and Harry replied simply, “It’s the wolf in him.”
“Doesn’t that scare you?”
“It’s a part of who he is.” Harry shrugged. “To be his friend is to accept that as part of his nature. Were you scared when you were with him?”
“Not by his behavior; it was more of a situational thing,” Hermione admitted. “There was something unsettling about the places where he had us Apparate. They were so desolate -- not just the sort of places where you would go to get away from civilization, places where you would go to get away from yourself, as well. There was no shelter, no help of any kind if you were stranded.”
“Where you would draw an enemy if you wanted to kill him?” Harry suggested darkly.
But Hermione’s reply had been even more disturbing. “Or if you wanted him to kill you instead… We need to know where these places are, Harry. We need to be able to rescue Remus if it ever comes to that!”
Lupin was usually so light-hearted in their day-to-day dealings that Harry hadn’t really given much thought to that conversation before now. But Lupin’s mercurial mood today had brought it all home.
He found both office doors unlocked and he let himself in as instructed. Not knowing what to expect when Lupin returned, Harry busied himself with preparing a pot of tea. If nothing else, it would serve to soothe his own frayed nerves.
Harry had only taken a few sips when he heard the outer door open. Lupin strode into the inner office, locking both doors behind him with an impatient flick of his wand. Not a good sign, Harry thought to himself, Lupin was not generally one to waste his magical energies on everyday tasks.
“Secrets and lies and half-truths,” Lupin mumbled more to himself than anyone else. He loosened the knot in his tie and hung his school robes and suit coat over the nearest chair. “How did Dumbledore ever expect anyone else to pick up the threads? I can’t believe he was arrogant enough to think himself immortal.”
“I made tea if you’d like some, Remus,” Harry offered in a conciliatory tone.
Lupin looked at Harry as if he were seeing him for the first time. “I expected you to be angry with me,” he replied candidly.
“I was… but it blew itself off,” Harry allowed with a small shrug.
“I had a whole speech drafted in my head and everything,” Lupin admitted.
“Don’t let me interfere with the lesson plan then.”
“Seems rather pointless if you’re no longer angry.”
“Am I still sitting detention then?”
“You never were. That was just the most efficient tone to get you out of that room and someplace where we could go over the issues at our own pace.”
“So what you’re telling me is that you manipulated me,” Harry concluded.
“I suppose I am.”
“Then I think you still owe me an apology.” Harry grinned.
“How about some dinner instead?” Lupin suggested. “Keep an old man company?”
“Are you sure that doesn’t count as punishment?” Harry quipped.
“Only if Tonks does the cooking!” Lupin added with a wry chuckle. “Good thing she’s planning to be with the Hufflepuffs tonight.”
Taking his cues from Lupin, Harry undid his tie and appropriated the nearest footstool. Lupin returned with a steaming mug of tea and settled himself into the other chair. His impatience was practically palatable.
“Tell me again about the prophecy, please,” he insisted, searching out some stray parchment on the nearest side table.
“I will, Remus, but I can’t let you write it down. Too many people have already died because of this prophecy; I can’t run the risk of it falling into the wrong hands.”
“I suppose this means you won’t consent to my sharing it with the other Order members, either?”
Harry shook his head sadly. “What’s to say there isn’t another Peter Pettigrew hiding in their midst?” He couldn’t help noticing the brief shadow that crossed Lupin’s face at the mention of the name.
“And we’re still struggling to establish the true loyalties of Severus Snape,” Lupin added gravely. “Would it change your mind if I offered to induct you into the Order right now? It could be done.”
“It won’t make a difference, not on this issue. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though. For now, I’d prefer to just deal directly with you, if you don’t mind. I’ll help you memorize it, if you like.”
They devoted their full energies to the task until Harry was reasonably certain that Lupin had all the words exactly correct.
“Make sure you repeat it to yourself a few times each day to keep it fresh,” Harry reminded him. “At least that’s what Dumbledore suggested and it hasn’t failed me yet.”
“I didn’t realize Dumbledore held Divination in such high regard,” Lupin commented.
“I don’t think he did, actually. Dumbledore made a big point of telling me that it was Voldemort’s actions that made the difference. Had he ignored the prophecy, the events described might never have come to pass; now they are virtually certain.”
“It’s true that the Hall of Prophecy is full of false predictions. What’s to say this one is true?” Lupin theorized.
“I don’t think we can afford to take that risk,” Harry stated solemnly. “There was another prophecy from the same source and it has already been fulfilled.”
“Another--” Lupin was interrupted by a discreet knock on the outer door. “That will be Tonks,” he whispered, holding a finger to his lips.
With a flick of his wand, Lupin unlocked the inner and outer doors. Harry was astounded that the man was able to direct the spell through solid wood and made a mental note to ask him how he did it.
Tonks poked her head in and smiled when she saw them together. “I had a feeling I’d find you both here.”
“Something’s come up, cherub. I should’ve let you know sooner,” Lupin apologized as she bent down to give him a quick kiss.
“Yes, I recognize that obsessive look in your eyes,” she replied. “I assume you and Harry are planning to work through supper?”
“Probably.”
“Then I will stop by the kitchens on the way to the common room and see that they send you up a proper meal. And Remus, stick to the butterbeer tonight “ there are still a few left over in the cold cabinet. I will make sure that they send up an iced tub so you can thoroughly drown your sorrows, if need be.”
She ruffled Harry’s hair affectionately as she walked by his chair, then whispered in his ear loudly enough that Lupin could hear. “I’m leaving you in charge. Don’t make a late night of it; it’s too much for the first week back. Please, don’t let me find you still at work when I return tonight.”
Harry gave her a mock salute as she waved from the doorway.
At the sound of the outside door closing, Lupin sprang up and relocked both doors. Then he swung open the door to the small cold cabinet and retrieved two bottles of butterbeer. He handed one to Harry and then grimaced as he looked at the bottle in his own hand.
“What’s wrong?” Harry asked.
“This is hardly what a man craves on a cold winter’s night,” Lupin commented with a woeful sigh. “I really don’t like being dictated to by a harpie with an overblown Napoleonic complex.”
Harry gasped. “Remus! Tonks would be scandalized if she heard you say that!”
“No, she wouldn’t. She’d say that it was a rather accurate description of Poppy Pomfrey,” Lupin replied with a perplexed expression. “You didn’t think I meant--” He chuckled heartily at the unspoken thought.
“I guess I did,” Harry acknowledged with a sharp laugh.
“A toast then,” Lupin proposed with glee. “To Napoleonic harpies!”
They took a long pull and then dissolved into laughter. To Harry, it seemed like the silliness went on much too long even though Lupin was obviously enjoying himself.
When they had recovered sufficiently, he was prompted to say, “Remus, I know this isn’t any of my business, but your moods are all over the place today. Are you feeling all right?”
Lupin rubbed his temples self-consciously as he answered, “Is it that obvious?”
“Perhaps only to me. Look, forget I said anything.” Harry was feeling embarrassed that he’d even broached the subject.
There was a long pause before Lupin spoke. “But you’re right, you know, I’m definitely not feeling like myself today,” he admitted with a hollow look to his eyes. “The problem is I never feel like myself anymore.”
“Doesn’t that concern you?” Harry felt like he was tip-toeing.
“Of course, it does!” Lupin replied, his earlier impatience returning. “I just don’t know what to do about it.”
Well, he did, Harry thought to himself, first opportunity he got he was going to mention it to Tonks. If she told him to butt out, so be it. But there was a good chance that she would listen.
“Perhaps it would be better if we took this up again tomorrow,” Harry suggested diplomatically.
Lupin shook his head stubbornly and attested, “I don’t want to forego our planned practice session with the alternate wands. I need to stay primed myself. Besides, you can’t drop something like this into my lap and just walk way. I’ll just stew about it all night.”
“Promise me that you’ll give it up if it becomes too overwhelming then. I’ve had a few years to come to terms with everything.”
“That’s a reasonable compromise,” Lupin agreed. “Now you were saying something about a second prophecy…”
“Yes, although I actually heard it first.” Harry explained how Professor Trelawney had startled him with her words and then acted as if nothing had happened.
“Can you remember the exact wording?” Lupin urged.
“Unfortunately, no; only that it concerned Voldemort’s servant. I was so shocked I didn’t even realize that it was a prophecy until Dumbledore mentioned that it brought Professor Trelawney’s score of true prophecies to two.”
“Would you be willing to submit your memory to a Pensieve? I can show you how it’s done.”
“All right.”
“First step is to relax and think back upon the day in question. Try to put yourself back in that room, feel your surroundings. Follow the path that you have been teaching others to use for their Patronuses. I will be back in a moment.”
Harry’s allowed his thoughts to be suffused with the smell of the warm June sunshine as it peeked through the drawn curtains of the Divination Tower. Motes of dust swirled lazily from the blood red velvet tablecloths. The crystal ball that he had just consulted in his examination seemed to mock him with its one-eyed stare. He heard Lupin re-enter the office as if from far away. A part of him noted that Lupin had placed a small Pensieve container on the nearby table, but it was as if his body was still in that stuffy, over-perfumed room.
“Think of how the memory begins, hold it like a bubble in your mind.” Lupin’s voice had assumed a strangely hypnotic cadence. “Now place your wand at your temple and say ‘accio memorium’. As you draw it out slowly, the threads of the memory should be pulled. Your mind will feel that the scene is being sped forward at a very fast rate. When you reach the end, just bring your thoughts back to your present surroundings and that will cause the threads to break.”
Harry followed the steps as if in a dream, the glistening silver strand issuing from his forehead and leaving his mind with a pearlescent empty spot where it had once resided. Lupin caught it deftly in the bowl of the Pensieve where it swirled around as if it had become conscious.
“I know it’s extremely unsettling the first time.” Lupin’s assurance came in response to Harry’s anxious expression. “You’ll feel better once the memory is returned to you.”
“What happens if the memory is not returned? Can you give it to someone else for safe-keeping?” Harry inquired as his innate curiosity took over.
“I understand that the hollowness fades over time,” Lupin supplied. “Whether you always remember that you once knew but know no longer, I cannot tell you. It’s not something I’ve experienced first hand. As to giving a memory to someone else, why would anyone wish to do so “ unless perhaps it was on their deathbed? But the memory can only be shared with another using a Pensieve; another person would never be able to implant your thoughts into his mind. What’s more, if memory threads from more than one person are combined into the same Pensieve, separating them is surprising simple; the memories will recognize their owner’s wand and be drawn immediate to it.”
“What about creating a duplicate memory? So you could share it without losing the original, even for a short period of time?” Harry remembered Slughorn’s false memory about the Horcruxes and how he had retained full recall of it after he had provided it to Dumbledore.
“I’ve used that technique in my translation work for the Order, but it’s trickier than you would think. It involves reviewing the memory from the Pensieve in order to re-establish it in your mind. You end up with the duplicate. I don’t recommend it “ if your timing’s not absolutely perfect, it’s not always possible to reconcile two different versions and it’s the original that is lost to you.”
“Speaking of being overwhelmed…” Harry admitted candidly.
“It’s best if we review the memory then so you don’t feel disoriented for so long.”
With a long swirling motion to his wand, Lupin coaxed the wispy form of Sybill Trelawney to rise from the center of the stone bowl. Harry could barely discern that she was seated in the flowered armchair that he recognized from her classroom. In contrast, the images of her magnified eyes and the fringed scarves wrapped around her bushy hair were crystal clear. In a raspy, spectral voice that sent strange shivers down his spine, Trelawney pronounced in an oddly detached manner:
“It will happen tonight.” (Harry heard his own voice echoing hollowly as he posed from the sidelines, “Sorry?”) “The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant’s aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will set to out rejoin his master….” **
Harry stayed Lupin’s arm before he could conclude the memory. “Wait to see how she reacts,” he added in a whisper as if the ghostly image of Professor Trelawney could actually hear him. “I left the rest of the memory attached on purpose.”
Intently, they watched the image of Trelawney come out of her trance and then scoff at Harry’s assertions that she had made a prediction concerning the Dark Lord.
“See, she doesn’t remember,” Harry reiterated. He was feeling much less unsettled now that they had reviewed the memory.
“You feel that this is significant?” Lupin inquired with mounting interest.
“Yes, especially when you consider that Dumbledore claims that she was interrupted when she was giving the other prophecy, the one that Voldemort was so determined to obtain from the Hall of Prophecy.” Harry went on to relate how he had discovered the true facts about the prophecy that had resulted in his own parents’ deaths.
“Seems like Snape’s claws are into everything,” Lupin muttered.
“Here’s what’s been bothering me, though,” Harry elaborated. “Since Trelawney is so unaware that she is prophesizing, I don’t see how she could have been interrupted in mid-sentence nor how Dumbledore could have had her resume once the spy had been evicted. He couldn’t very well ask her to simply repeat her last statement when she wasn’t even aware that she had made it.”
“I see your point. Did you ask Dumbledore about it?”
“He died before I was able to do any more than confirm that it had indeed been Snape listening at the door. It was only when I thought about the whole thing later that the pieces just didn’t seem to fit. The image that Dumbledore shared didn’t stop or slow down nor were there any background sounds to indicate that anyone had been discovered at the keyhole.”
“I think it’s very possible that an accomplished wizard like Dumbledore may have been able to edit those extraneous sounds as he retrieved his memory,” Lupin postulated. “The fact that he shared it with you through the Pensieve instead of just retelling it in words suggests that his memory of it might have been imperfect “ which is consistent with someone who had been distracted by an eavesdropper. Pensieves allow us to review memories from different angles and to pick up details that are stored only in our subconscious.”
“So you think my suspicions are unfounded?”
“Not at all,” Lupin assured him. “We just have to consider that there may be an alternate explanation.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that Trelawney and Snape are caught right in the middle of this web?”
“Everything Sybill Trelawney does seems capricious to me,” Lupin conceded. “As far as Severus is concerned, he’s always been a puzzle to me. It was your mother that was his friend; they always sat together in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, which were the only classes that Gryffindors and Slytherins shared. Their friendship seemed to sour as he grew closer to his Death Eater pals.”
This was a revelation to Harry. His mother and Snape were mates? It just couldn’t be.
Catching on immediately, Lupin added, “This is a surprise to you? Didn’t you know that your mother and your aunt lived in the town of Leeds as children? Lily said that Severus had just shown up at the playground one day. Their magical abilities gave them something in common, much to Petunia’s dismay.”
Well, that did seem to make sense of the few disjointed facts that Aunt Petunia had let slip about her relationship with her sister, Harry admitted inwardly. Could it be possible that she had first labeled Lily as a freak due to petty childhood jealousy?
“You don’t mind if we listen to Sybill’s prediction again?” Lupin inquired, bringing Harry’s thoughts back to the issues at hand.
“That’s fine by me. I also think there’s no harm in writing this one down since it has already come to pass,” Harry noted.
When a female house-elf arrived to announce that their supper awaited them in the next room, they took their notes into the private dining room to continue their discussion there.
“When exactly did you tell Dumbledore of the prediction concerning Pettigrew? I think the timing may be crucial in this case,” Lupin commented as he speared a large chunk of pork chop.
Harry thought for a moment while chewing and then answered, “It was after I had said goodbye to you, so it was definitely the next day. Why is that so important?”
“Well, look at this part of the prophecy here where she says, ‘His servant has been chained these twelve years’; then later it says, ‘the servant will break free’. If you didn’t know that Sirius was innocent “ and for years, many people did not accept that -- you would think that she was referring to Sirius as the Dark Lord’s servant. Sirius had been literally chained in Azkaban for twelve years. The Daily Prophet even reported that Sirius had escaped from Hogwarts while awaiting the dementor’s kiss that same night. We know for certain, however, that she was referring instead to Pettigrew who had been chained figuratively as he hid in his Animagus form.”
“There’s no doubt that Pettigrew showed his devotion by chopping off his own hand to assist his master’s return, but that didn’t occur until the next year,” Harry expounded. “Yet it was certain to Dumbledore that the prophecy referred to Pettigrew from the start.”
“Only because you, Ron, and Hermione were able to convince him that Sirius was innocent. The only other person who could attest to that was me and I was in no condition to bear witness that entire night.” Lupin shuddered self-consciously at the memory. “Anyone else that heard that prophecy would have likely thought it referred to Sirius. Had its contents been publicized more freely, it would have even fueled the Ministry’s continued search for Sirius “ a search that only ended when he fell through the veil.”
“You think that the wording of the prophecy is deliberately misleading?” Harry replied, wondering exactly where Lupin’s reasoning would take them.
“Absolutely, but that’s often the way with prophecies. It’s that very ambiguousness that makes me distrust them so. Too many people can use them as they see fit. What’s even more alarming is when you compare the wording of this prophecy with the one that led Voldemort to kill your parents, Harry. In the former, it is the figurative, or secondary, interpretation that points to Pettigrew and holds the truth. However, in the later prophecy, Dumbledore held that it was the literal interpretation that pointed to you as Voldemort’s vanquisher. The figurative interpretation would apply to Neville as you so ably concluded for yourself.”
“Remus, I think you should take into account that I never gave Dumbledore the exact wording of the Pettigrew prophecy. To me, it was just some batty old bird spouting gibberish.”
“But Dumbledore should have immediately seized on its significance and it was a grave oversight that he didn’t,” Lupin asserted with conviction. “Had he done so, it would have led him to believe that perhaps the figurative interpretation of the other prophecy was more likely to hold the key to the truth.”
“Then you think that Neville’s truly the one instead of me?” Harry posed tentatively.
“It’s hard to come to any consensus with only one other example to use for comparison,” Lupin responded. “I’ve never been a great believer in prophecy so I can’t say that I’m an expert by any means. Logically speaking, though, it would be reckless to discount either one of you; I believe that you both will have a role to play before this is over.”
“I have a different interpretation.” Harry surprised himself with his boldness. “Forgive me if I see more sinister motives at work. Imagine for a moment that Trelawney secretly supports Voldemort. Then the Pettigrew prediction could be deliberately worded to make everyone think that it was Sirius who was the Dark Lord’s servant and thus continue to hide the identity of Pettigrew.”
“What is it that makes you distrust Trelawney so?” Lupin asked pointedly. “This isn’t the first time you have focused on her.”
“Nothing she does makes any sense and we all try to blame it on her flakiness. It would certainly make for a very convincing cover. Take the fact that she had been seeing the lightning-struck tower come up in her tarot deck every time she laid out the cards for months before Dumbledore’s death. An omen of imminent calamity and disaster, she told me, and confessed that Dumbledore had branded her as nothing but a pest. What if instead, her intention was to lure Dumbledore to the Astronomy Tower in order for him to be ambushed?”
“Following your line of reasoning then,” Lupin took up the thread, “would you have thought that Trelawney was already compromised at the time that she issued the original prophecy, the one that lead to your parents’ deaths?”
“I don’t think so.” Harry knew he was going out on a limb, but this was all theoretical anyway. “It’s more likely that she didn’t come to Voldemort’s attention until after her prophecy. She could have been recruited once she was already teaching at Hogwarts.”
“And you’re suggesting that the recruiter would have been Severus himself?”
“Who else?”
“Then we’re right back to where we started months ago: where do Snape’s true loyalties lie?” Lupin concluded with a sigh. “I think there is something else that you should consider, Harry, and I’m not sure you’re going to be very happy about this.”
“I’m ready,” Harry urged as his desire for the truth overwhelmed his caution.
“I think that it may have been you who invoked the Pettigrew prophecy.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?”
“Sirius and I were both prepared to kill Pettigrew that night -- right after he’d finally admitted that he’d been the one to betray your parents,” confessed Lupin. “I don’t presume that we were justified, or even thinking clearly, only that it was you who stayed our hands. You told us that you didn’t think that Lily and James would want their two best friends to become killers. In so doing, you saved a bit of my soul that night and Pettigrew found a way to escape.”
“Am I supposed to feel guilty that I did this?” Harry returned, feeling the first embers of anger stirring in his chest. “Because I would do the same again, Remus. Your souls were worth much more than a bit of revenge on a mangy ex-rat!”
“You misunderstand. There is no end to the gratitude that I feel for your intervention that night,” Lupin returned calmly. “It’s just to illustrate how unpredictable the outcome of prophecy can turn out to be.”
“Remus, we really should call it a night before Tonks returns,” Harry suggested as he caught sight of the time. “She did put me in charge.”
“Tonks is a good judge of character.” Lupin smiled in return. “Before you go, though, I wanted to ask you if you needed to talk anything over concerning Ginny. She did manage to stir up quite a hornet’s nest today.”
Harry thought for a moment before replying, “Not really. I’m glad she prompted me to tell you both about the prophecy. It’s been weighing on my mind a lot lately. Other than that, she pretty much demonstrated that she was determined to go in for a kiss herself, if need be.”
“I’m not always right, you know,” Lupin volunteered with a touch of regret. “Does the name Peter Pettigrew ring a bell?”
* page 841, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, American hardback edition
** page 324, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, American paperback edition