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Chocolate Frog by L A Moody

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Disclaimer: With humble gratitude to J. K. Rowling for allowing me to build castles in her sandbox once more.



Thirty - Three
Remus: Heaven and Hell


–Tell me again how you wrangled us permission,” he demanded as the sharpness in the air hit the back of his throat.

–Must you always be so literal, Remus?” Tonks chided. –We didn't need passports or a visa; just an inkling of how we could accomplish our goal.”

–How did you work things out then? No one else is likely to take credit for this.”

Her lips took on the tiny pout he found so endearing. –Don't you like it?”

He surveyed the snow-capped boulders jutting forth like the tailbones of a prehistoric behemoth. In the pre-dawn hours, everything was still bathed in shades of blue and lavender. –Where are we?” he breathed. –If it weren't for the ocean looking like spun sugar, I'd say we were in the Aleutian Islands.”

–Think again; those are clouds. We're on top of the world!”

–We’re always looking down on humanity these days. Rather comes with the territory, I'd say.”

–If you must know, these peaks are called the Three Mountain Siblings.” She waited for him to consider the amorphous lumps that rose from the blanket of clouds at their feet.

–Not Everest then?” he uttered, even though he knew they were barred from accessing the same areas as the living.

As if reading his very thoughts, she supplied, –These peaks have never been conquered. Political issues in Bhutan banned climbers since 1994. We’re straddling the border with China.”

Remus squinted into the distance, shading his eyes with a thick red mitten. He could've fallen into a vast of nut-studded pudding for all the landmarks he could see.

With a hint of impatience, Tonks urged, –Now that you have your bearings, are you going to whinge all through the adventure I arranged?”

–So that's what you’re calling it.”

–Never had the courage to mountain climb while I was alive. Crikey, I tripped on the stairs enough to know I didn't want to do the same on slippery ice a mile above the ground.”

He considered the crooked stake Tonks had just driven into the snow. –Forgive my bluntness, but you're still not exactly the picture of grace.”

She pulled a face even as her wand directed a trail of pickets to snake up the incline. –I can float over any obstacle just by thinking about it,” she shot back.

In the next moment, the pickets were threaded with a bright yellow guide rope.

Eyes twinkling, he teased, –So if you start to slide, I shouldn't grab the safety rope?”

–Don't you dare let go, Remus! It would be just like you to imagine yourself as a pancake and make it come true.”

Such was the realm of their existence that they could choose to interact with their environment or not, whichever they preferred. Remus stopped himself from thinking that it was the best of both worlds; that would be a lie. He’d give anything to be at his son’s side once again, regardless of the hardships that entailed. Instinctively, he knew that Tonks felt the same way, but he wasn’t about to mar their outing with dismal thoughts of what might have been.

Instead, he skipped up the snowy steps her ice ax has been carving of its own accord. –Lupine agility,” he reminded her with a cocky grin. –Why don't we just Apparate to the summit?”

–You’re determined to be a killjoy! Where would be the sense of accomplishment in that?”

–Adventure and accomplishment. You should've prepared a syllabus.”

–There's no schedule here. It's all about the journey.”

–Is that why we started so early?”

–Storms can blow in unexpectedly. You wouldn’t want to have to turn back before we’d summited.”

–And then what? A picnic at the very top?” He waited for her to catch up to the narrow patch of snow that served as a resting spot of sorts.

–Couldn't have done that through the oxygen masks that ordinary climbers require. Altitude sickness is nothing to scoff at.”

–Which explains why this particular peak has never been scaled.”

–Fickle blizzards often choke the lower slopes. We simply bypassed that. If the clouds clear to the west, though, we might get a glimpse of Everest.”

–Hard to miss the Muggles in their bright parkas.”

Taking firm hold of the guide rope, Tonks looked down at her fuchsia alpine jacket, cobalt blue padded trousers and lilac mittens. –You don't think their Omnioculars are strong enough to see this far, do you?”

–Binoculars, that's the Muggle equivalent. And even if they do, we'll be nothing but animal tracks in the snow to them. You and I inhabit a different part of the light spectrum now.”

–Right,” she allowed, trudging up the steep incline before him. Ice chips dislodged by the crampons on her boots danced like rainbow crystals before losing themselves in the snow. –Never had much of a head for elementary physics.”

–Didn't you ever wonder about Peeves when you were at Hogwarts?”

–You mean if he liked girls?” she tittered. –Or boys?”

Remus’ laughter echoed hollowly in the couloir they were following. –I doubt he would've had takers either way. I meant: how he could appear just as solid as everyone else and then disappear in the next moment.”

–Never gave it much thought,” Tonks mumbled as she concentrated on placing her boots just so. –Wandless magic, I suppose. Like the house-elves.”

–Elves are living beings. A poltergeist is not.”

–But he isn't like a ghost who can move through walls. It was possible to close a door in Peeves' face to evade him.”

–Poltergeists are a different sort of elemental being. One which can shift from one end of the light spectrum to the other at will.”

–How is that different from the workings of a Disillusionment Spell then?” she countered.

–Can't say. Physics is strictly a Muggle discipline. Most don't believe in magic, remember?”

She rolled her eyes at his deft sidestep. –And you never knew the first iota of physics until you searched out the likes of Bohr and Einstein -- once you reached the other side.”

–They're entertaining dinner companions, you have to admit. Einstein conceded that he'd have to integrate magical laws into his cosmological constant if it was going to have any significance at all.”

She turned to face him as he scrambled around chunks of hardened snow as large as Hagrid’s hut. –In other words: you, Remus Lupin, single-handedly destroyed nearly a century's worth of that man's theorems.”

–Better that he get it right in the end. Besides, he’s entranced with the idea of Time-Turners actually existing.”

–Did you tell him that they were all destroyed in a freak accident inside the Department of Mysteries?”

–That’s irrelevant to Einstein.”

She gave him a withering look. –Of course, it’s relevant! It’s like giving someone an ice cream cone and then snatching it from their hands!”

–Seems that their very existence proves Albert’s more abstract postulations have merit. Get him and Dumbledore tinkering together and who knows what they’ll come up with.”

As they crested a rather challenging ridge, Remus was caught short. –You didn’t tell me it was a full moon,” he hissed.

–I wanted you to be awestruck of your own accord,” Tonks supplied. –Technically, that’s last night’s moon. It’s just not due to set until a few hours after dawn. Why does it matter, anyway? You’re no longer a werewolf.”

With a hint of sadness, Remus returned, –I’ll always be a werewolf, Dora. Nothing can stamp that out of me.”

She gently removed his glove and held his hand out so that it was bathed in moonlight from one side and the rosy rays of the sunrise on the other. –Then how can you do this and remain in human form?” she challenged.

He shrugged as a smile tugged at his lips. –I could transform into a vicious wolf if you’d prefer an invigorating romp through the snow.”

–Not with slavering jaws snapping at my bum, I wouldn’t!”

–Good. I can’t say I’m much in the mood for enduring the excruciating process then. But I’ll have you know, I could if I wanted to.”

–At will?” she inquired as she wrapped her arm through his.

–Seems so.”

–That makes you an Animagus, Remus. Didn’t you teach that to your students once upon a time?”

He stopped for a minute to consider her words. –I’m not certain I buy into your hypothesis, though. Shouldn’t I be able to change into an animal more suited to my temperament?”

With a mischievous lilt, she quipped, –James’ infamous misbehaving rabbit?”

–I was thinking of a mighty snow leopard,” he corrected.

–For that, sweetheart, you’d have to be a Metamorphmagus like me.” She emphasized her point by changing her hair to icy white interspersed with black streaks, then growled seductively.

His eyes shone in response. –Just an overgrown kitten. Purr and I’m all yours.”

–Seriously, though. Why do you feel you must continue to label yourself a werewolf?”

–Because that reality changed the shape of my life from a very young age.”

–So it’s more of a werewolf state-of-mind?”

–You could say so.”

–Do you ever wonder what your life would've been like if you’d never been bitten?”

–Once it was an all too painful road to travel; then after I met you, it became immaterial.” He offered her a tentative smile.

–I can just see you,” Tonks continued in a light-hearted vein. –Married to your Hogwarts’ sweetheart with a cauldron full of babies by the time I started my Auror training.”

With unmistakable regret, he noted, –Then we wouldn’t have met.”

–Likely passed each other in the Ministry corridor as you were leaving your esoteric research in the Department of Mysteries.”

–My life would’ve been diminished for that. Not to mention that being an Unspeakable always seemed like such a conversation ender in and of itself.”

Tonks gave a derisive snort. –You at a loss for words? I’m certain you would’ve found other subjects to discuss besides your work.”

–Most people consider me to be the quiet one,” he harrumphed.

–Only because James and Sirius are always yammering on about some inane topic or another!”

–So Padfoot’s recaptured his youth. Is that such a bad thing considering how much Azkaban stole from him?”

–Some would say he never grew up in the first place,” Tonks mumbled under her breath. In a more conversational tone, she added, –Really, I don’t know how you ever got a chance to open your mouth at school.”

–They always came to me when they needed answers.”

–Or a truly well thought out prank, I wager.”

The sun shone like a lantern behind milky curtains, small and feeble as if it couldn’t hope to penetrate the perpetual winter. The cold didn’t affect them, though. Even if they shed their mountaineering garb, they would still be impervious to the chill. Blithely, they continued on their way, visitors in a climate that no longer dictated their actions.

Before long, they had reached a wide, open area where the wind was strong enough to whip their words away. The path before them led across a narrow strip of ice that hung like a suspension bridge connecting one rocky peak to another. Struts and girders made of sugary meringue, Remus couldn’t help thinking.

It took all of their concentration to avoid looking down at the icy maw of the crevasse below. Remus suppressed a shiver as he followed behind Tonks. In the back of his mind, he kept reminding himself to think of floating if he lost his footing. With a sigh of relief, they left the snowbridge behind and stepped out onto an oval plateau balanced between heaven and earth.

It was disconcerting that his breath didn’t smoke in the bitter cold, Remus considered. Then it did -- just by thinking about it. He pursed his lips and issued a controlled stream to build gossamer shapes that writhed in the wind before joining up with the other clouds.

–I prefer a different medium,” Tonks noted from his right.

In the next instant, a snowball exploded against Remus’ chest, sending icy granules into his mustache.

–That was unfair,” he protested to Tonks’ triumphant smirk.

A single thought and he made Tonks’ crampons melt into thin air. Unaware, her purple snow boots encountered a slippery patch and she lost her balance. Chortling with glee, Remus caught her in his arms and waltzed her to safety.

–Portable swamp, courtesy of the twins,” he confessed.

Still holding tightly to his hands, Tonks bent closer to the surface to discern the shriveled vegetation that huddled under the top layer of snow. He caught her elbow before she could deliver one of those condescending curtsies which would’ve gotten her clamped into leg irons if ever performed before true royalty.

Checking that the crampons had miraculous reattached themselves, she led them to a flat boulder which crosswinds kept clear of snow. Leaning precariously over the natural observation deck, she cried, –Do you think we can see Moody from here? He's in the Indian subcontinent, right?”

Remus wrapped his arm protectively around her waist. –If you know where to look. The jungles can be rather dense --”

–-- and the cities congested. But surely his magical eye is distinctive.”

With absolute certainty, Remus intoned, –Then he'll have discarded it in favor of something that blends in with the Muggle world. Alastor's not likely to overlook such a detail.”

–So we're looking for a balding, one-legged man wearing an eye patch.”

–Have you stopped to think how many street beggars might suit that description?”

–Fine,” she grudgingly allowed. –Do you think we'll have our own window if we're selected for the next edition of chocolate frog cards?”

His eyes dimmed with sadness. –Unfortunately, Albus is dead certain that spell has to be cast while a person’s still alive. And he's not entirely sure how he managed it in the first place.”

–Perhaps because he knew he was hovering on the cusp after the accident with the ring Horcrux,” she noted dryly.

–Desperation as a motivator, I suppose it's possible. Most people don't anticipate their death like that.”

–You make it sound like he welcomed it with open arms,” she complained.

–He accepted its inevitability once the dark magic invaded his body,” Remus amended. –I daresay he fought it tooth and claw for as long as he could.”

She took a few extra moments to gather her thoughts. –If finding Mad-Eye's such an undertaking, how do we always manage to locate Harry then?”

–We know where to look.”

–Or we wait until he shows up at Mum's to see Teddy. Do you think we can use our longitudinal vision to see Harry from here?”

–Probably, but it's logarithmic vision that folds distance in either direction,” he chuckled. –What you describe would only allow us to move from north to south.”

She stuck her tongue at him in response. –Whatever you call it, do you think Harry's in his flat?”

–It's the middle of the night there. What's the point of looking in on a sleeping form?”

–What if he's not alone?” Tonks giggled wickedly.

–These days, I can practically guarantee that he is.” Remus drew her towards him as he sat atop the flat rock to rest. –We did right to choose him to be Teddy’s godfather. He takes that job very seriously.”

Tonks sighed into his chest. –I wish his personal life wasn't in such a pathetic state, though.”

–It won't last. He's just going through his werewolf phase.”

She gave him a quizzical look. –I suppose you mean that metaphorically, now.”

He smiled lovingly at her windblown curls. –See you do understand me after all.”

–Not that you came with an instruction manual.” she grumbled under her breath. –So you're saying Harry's like a lone wolf?”

–To some degree. He's feeling displaced by the world. Needs to decide what his priorities are and do what it takes to secure them.”

–Rather like you did when you finally stopped pushing me away,” she threw over her shoulder as she pointed to the steep corridor that led to the final summit.

Heeding the tug of the cord which anchored them together, he admitted, –Different reasons, but I suppose the underlying insecurity is the same.”

–Do you think he'll be successful?”

–That depends on Ginny, doesn't it?”

–Are you so sure that's his destiny?” she panted as she leaned against a wall of bluish ice.

–Oh yes. But time will tell if he's ready to admit it to himself.”

Tonks favored him with a cheeky smile. –Sounds vaguely familiar. What about Ginny? You’re the one who’s known her since she was still in nappies.”

–She's idolized him since he first became Ron's friend.”

–People outgrow childhood fancies.”

–She did, too. She sees him quite clearly, foibles and all.”

–Then she should take the initiative herself like she's always preaching!”

He looked at her pointedly. –You mean like you did?”

–The situations aren't comparable,” Tonks huffed as she took to the incline once more. –Not to mention that Harry's not as intractable and hard-headed as you were!”

With a deep belly laugh that resounded to the heavens, Remus affirmed, –I love you, too. But Ginny's main stumbling block is that she has to own her mistakes as well. And that's a bitter pill for anyone.”

He leaned over to grab Tonks' mitten and with a gargantuan pull, they were both standing atop the highest point for miles around. True to her predictions, a soft curtain of snow hid many of the surrounding peaks from view.

It was an awesome sight: the world continuing its hurried existence at their feet. It would’ve been inspiring and humbling at the same time had he still been able to interact with the human population. Instead, it intensified Remus’ feelings of isolation.

–We should’ve done this while we were still alive,” he offered. Even his voice seemed insignificant against the vastness.

Tonks shook her head as she clutched his hand that much more tightly. –Much too dangerous then.” The expression which painted her young face displayed the regret that she felt about their current circumstances. –The slopes of Everest are littered with the remains of those who dared, but failed. It’s rumored that their ghostly voices linger among the restless winds.”

Remus shuddered at the imagery. What a useless way to die, he considered silently. An eddy of swirling snow on a lower slope sprayed up in a plume as if to illustrate the point. It wouldn’t take too much imagination to distinguish an unearthly face shrouded in a white gown -- especially if the low oxygen level was already affecting a climber’s brain.

–If we had, we wouldn’t have been able to linger,” Tonks issued in a cheery voice that said she was determined to make the best of the situation. She urged them to the peak’s other side so they would be sheltered from the wind. –Come, this is as good a spot as any.”

The wall at their backs resembled nothing more than a cresting ocean wave, each wind gust throwing a smattering of fresh snow over the top. Not likely to melt at this altitude; nonetheless, Remus kept the bluebell flames as far away as possible as he heated the teapot. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Tonks enlarge a wicker hamper and lay out an assortment of their favorite delicacies.

The tartan blanket she wrapped around his shoulders was totally unnecessary, but it was a loving touch regardless. The multicolor threads on the red wool brought images of Minerva McGonagall to mind. Who would've ever thought their indomitable Head of House would outlive every one of the Marauders?

Vividly, he recalled how she'd fisted her bony hands on her hips and grumbled, –You boys are going to be the death of me! Do you hear me? The absolute death!”

May your tenure be as long as Dumbledore's, he toasted her with his teacup. Then confided to Tonks that she'd likely have scolded them for not having the presence of mind to pack any brandy -- or better yet, Firewhiskey.

Despite being only a few meters below the summit, Remus' view of the surrounding area was quickly irising closed as the afternoon storms blew in as predicted. With minutes of having settled down to their repast, nothing but a swirling blanket of snow was visible beyond the slopes of the Three Mountain Siblings. The howling of the wind rose in pitch to resemble a chorus of angry banshees, yet their little cocoon remained intact.

–Great spot you picked,” Remus remarked. –But surely you employed an extra bit of magic.”

–Just an Impervious Charm,” she acknowledged.

He nearly splattered his tea at her nonchalance. –A ruddy Impervious Charm keeps the snow off your boots! Or your goggles! The entire mountain is being shielded!”

She gave him a humble smile. –I admit I tweaked it a bit.”

–You tweaked it a whole mountain's worth!” he noted in awe.

–Can't really take credit for the idea,” she demurred. –It was something Einstein suggested when he heard I was taking you mountain climbing.”

–But he's a Muggle. Or should I begin to think, a Squib?”

–He's nothing of the kind. He just listens as intently to you as you do to him.”

–How then?” he demanded.

–Refraction of light from the ice gets funneled into his formula somehow and magic is amplified.'' At his doubtful look, she added, –I'm rubbish at explanations, Remus. Ask the man yourself. You can't very well doubt the evidence before your eyes.”

–Why didn't he share his idea with me?” he stammered.

–Really, Remus. Any scientist tests his hypothesis before presenting it to his colleagues. Einstein just couldn't do it firsthand in this case.”

–Admit it! You, too, find the man entertaining.”

–He does have a way with totally inappropriate ethnic jokes,” she smirked. –Even if his head does look like a dust mop that got caught in an electrical current!”

Not that a wooden pole topped with rope fibers could conduct electricity, Remus considered inwardly. Then stopped himself from launching into a lecture about the principles of conductors versus insulators. After all, they were hardly dressed to play Professor and Curious Schoolgirl at the moment.

True to form, the blizzards died down as the afternoon sun neared the horizon. Cloaked in long blue shadows, the nearby peaks rose like uncharted islands in a mist-shrouded sea.

Due to the thinness of the atmosphere, sunset was limited to pastels. The robin’s egg blue of the expanse slowly gave way to the tender green of new shoots which leached into the pale yellow of fledging chicks. The barest hint of apricot intensified until the very heavens seemed to be blushing profusely. Through mauve and then lilac, the pigment deepened until the first star could be seen on the cobalt horizon at their back. Before them, the lengthening rays of the sun created a golden carpet of snow at their feet.

As the orange sun neared the horizon, it was eclipsed by an inky patch of black.

–I must say,” Remus observed, –you haven't lost your knack for making a dramatic entrance.”

Severus Snape cleared his throat ominously as his obsidian eyes took in the remnants of their picnic. –Didn't have too much trouble spotting your garish garb against the frozen expanse.”

Tonks threw the newcomer a wide smile. –Wotcher. Couldn't stay away from our little afternoon tea, could you?”

–Hardly,” Snape sneered. –You do realize that it's no longer necessary to eat, don't you? Rather a waste of perfectly good food, if you ask me.”

–Nobody did,” Remus shot back with relish. –But if you must know, the food's conjured, too.”

–Then why bother?” he snarled. –Or do you two feel a need to keep your mouths continuously working in some manner?”

The innuendo was so blatant, Remus instinctively reached for his wand. Then recalling that Snape loved nothing more than to get a rise out of his fellows, he returned a smug smile instead.

–What exactly do you call this?” Snape prodded as he waved a dark arm over the table and chairs fashioned of ice.

–It’s something I saw in a Muggle magazine once,” Tonks explained. –An exclusive resort carved out of the Scandinavian ice. Each year the structure was rebuilt in a completely different style so no two visits were ever alike. Prices were exorbitant.”

–Muggles,” Snape cursed under his breath even as he took the chair Tonks' wand created. –A regular recipe for hypothermia. It's a wonder they don't annihilate their entire race single-handedly.”

–You don't know what you're missing,” Remus cajoled, urging his uninvited guest to partake. –Just thinking about the taste as it crosses your lips makes the receptors in your mind explode with flavor.”

–I don't buy into your sentimental claptrap, Lupin.”

–Sentimental? You? Never!” Remus affirmed. Inwardly, he allowed how much more tolerant he'd become of Snape's contentious nature after learning the man had harbored a grand passion for Lily all those years. Rebuffed at every turn in his youth, no wonder Snape had learned to coat his heart with ice. Sarcasm was his only outlet.

–Try the strawberries,” Tonks coerced. –Their tartness offsets the silkiness of the cream.”

–Devonshire cream?” Snape inquired. –That was one of my favorites as a lad. Of course, my mother never served it. Blackberries are more to my liking, though.”

As he said the words, a yellow bowl full of fat purple berries materialized at his elbow. With lips curled back in distrust, Snape placed a single cream-coated berry on his tongue. His fathomless eyes glazed over in ecstasy as he allowed the flavors to melt in his mouth. As he took as second spoonful, the creases relaxed from his brow and the corners of his eyes crinkled with pleasure.

Remus nudged Tonks to not stare as the dour Potions Master's lips eased into a tiny smile. If Snape caught them watching, it would surely mar his enjoyment. Instead, they concentrated on the last of the chocolate cauldron cakes.

–Finally got tired of tagging along with James and Sirius?” Tonks offered with a small giggle.

–Frankly, I'm surprised Lily doesn't the way those two carry on like rank adolescents,” he replied without looking up from his blackberries.

–What about colleagues of your own?” Remus suggested genially.

–Now you sound just like Black,” Snape snapped in return. –Always asking if I don’t have any playmates of my own.”

–He’s still coming to terms with your childhood association with Lily,” Tonks theorized.

Snape gave her the sharp glower that had once made his students cringe. –It was hardly a secret at school -- nor was our very public falling out. Potter, at least, has come to accept that.”

–James was always rather tolerant by nature,” Remus concurred.

–And I can make allowances…” Snape’s glassy expression conveyed that he’d do just about anything to bask in Lily’s company. –…if only Black would curb his caustic tongue.”

That was rich, coming from a man whose scathing remarks were legendary! Aloud, Remus was more diplomatic, –Think of it as good-natured ribbing.”

–Face it, Severus, you’re the fourth Marauder now!” Tonks’ pink curls danced with mirth.

–Filling Wormtail’s shoes,” Snape drawled with unrestrained derision. –If that isn’t being damned for eternity, I don’t know what is.”

Unable to resist, Remus threw back his head and laughed deeply. When he was able to get his breath back, he observed, –Truly, Severus, your wit was wasted on the students!”

–So true,” Tonks affirmed as she recalled her own school days under Snape’s hawk-like vigilance. –They’d never laugh for fear of detention.”

–Can’t very well set the two of you lines for cheeky behavior,” Snape groused, but the corners of his colorless lips betrayed him.

–So tell me,” Remus offered in a friendly tone. –How goes your search for your parents?”

–Nothing so far. Although it’s possible they simply do not wish to be found.”

Recognizing Dumbledore’s politic response, Remus added, –It took Dora a while to track down her dad.”

–He was still trying to find his bearings,” Tonks supplied.

–So Dumbledore said,” Snape acknowledged with a deepening frown. –The same wouldn’t have held true for Eileen and Tobias Snape. Shackled with the chains of incompatibility in death as much as in life.”

–You don’t know that,” Remus countered.

–Don’t I?” was Snape’s sharp retort. –Were you a fly on those walls during my formative years, Lupin? I never suspected you possessed such skill as an Animagus.”

Remus held his tongue in the face of Snape’s bitterness. Who was he to question the stark pragmatism that had served Severus in his dreary life? That loneliness could just as easily been his own had Dora not come knocking on his door -- and refused to go away empty-handed. In a genial tone, he suggested, –What about other acquaintances?”

–Likely they’re in a more tropical realm,” Snape noted.

–Sub-tropical, even,” Remus rejoined with a chuckle. –What says Albus about the boundaries?”

–Impenetrable.”

–What about when he counseled Harry in that cosmic train station?” Remus pointed out.

–The Potter whelp came to us, not the other way around,” Snape dismissed.

–And when Harry called the rest of you to the forest clearing?” Tonks posed with a keen look in her eye.

Snape relayed Dumbledore’s very words on the subject, –The Resurrection Stone creates its own singularity. Potter consigned it to the leaf litter in the Forbidden Forest, anyway.”

–The proverbial needle in a haystack,” Remus sympathized. –Any other ideas?”

–Oh, they had a multitude of theories,” Snape growled. –Flamel is a veritable smoke-stack of theories. I’m left as the flunky to test them out.”

Was Severus actually jealous that Dumbledore had re-established his professional partnership with Nicholas Flamel? Remus wondered. Or was it just years of pent up frustration? –Theories of space and time are Einstein’s specialty,” he proposed aloud. –Would you like me to introduce you?”

Snape arched a sardonic eyebrow. –Unless his equations postulate the existence of hell, I doubt it would do me much good. Albus suggested I seek out those who have breached the veil and returned. Not necessarily wizards.”

–That must have been before the Statute of Secrecy,” Tonks pondered.

–There’s Dante,” Remus suggested only to be cut across impatiently.

–An elaborate fiction according to the theological doctrines of his day,” Snape denounced.

–Good point,” Remus agreed. –Milton’s not much good, either.”

–Albus directed me to the ancient Greeks. Their mythos abound with instances of heroes whose quests took them literally to hell and back.”

–I always took those tales to be allegorical,” Tonks ventured.

–As did I,” Snape acknowledged. –Yet there’s always a germ of truth somewhere.”

Taking a moment to find a different angle, Remus put forth, –Why would the veil be more easily punctured by the living when we can alter our surroundings with a mere thought?” He demonstrated by changing the remaining strawberries in his bowl into baby turtles and back again.

–I can only surmise it’s because the living can move in either direction at death,” Snape proposed.

–Yet if we go by Hellenic beliefs,” Remus countered, –the Underworld contained three chambers: Tartarus where the damned are tormented; the Elysian Fields for the worthy; and Erebus, the darkness in between.”

–Perhaps the darkness is a waiting room,” Tonks postulated. –Or a place where judgment is rendered.”

–Albus actually had a better hypothesis,” Snape offered. –The darkness is where those who are uncertain wander aimlessly. It segues with what we know about those spirits who remain tied to the earth as ghosts.”

Remus couldn’t help calling to mind how patiently Dumbledore had counseled a distraught Fred that returning as a ghostly counterpart would not be an asset to his twin brother; George would never heal if he couldn’t move past this tragedy.

Perhaps the darkness was meant metaphorically after all, Remus mused. Much as the phrase ‘seeing the light’ was associated with self-determination and resolution.

Sharing his thoughts with Snape elicited an eyebrow lifted in surprise. –Did anyone ever tell you that you have an extremely analytical mind?”

Remus gave a sheepish shrug at the rare compliment from this taciturn man. –A werewolf’s insatiable search for answers that are not to be found.”

Snape stared off into space for a few moments before turning his penetrating gaze on Remus. –Are you always so intrigued by other persons' neuroses?”

–Not necessarily. But the allure of an unsolved puzzle can be irresistible,” he added playfully.

–It might turn out to be fruitless.”

–So they told Damocles Belby when he drafted the basic formula for Wolfsbane Potion,” Remus volleyed.

–I could use someone to watch my back. Reinforce my knowledge of mythology.”

–I could do that,” Remus confirmed solemnly.

–No grandiose posturing like in legend. No flying steeds, no mystical swords, no golden sandals with wings attached.”

Tonks covered her mouth to keep from giggling at Snape’s wry deconstruction of the archetypes.

–Just a clipboard to record the data for scientific purposes,” Remus agreed.

–I could use an able scribe,” Snape concurred.

–Is this why you trekked all this way?” Tonks inquired. –To offer my husband a golden apple of sorts?”

–No golden apples, either,” Remus quickly specified at Snape’s disdainful look.

–Actually, Albus sent me on quite a different errand,” Snape clarified.

–You? Sirius or James would've been my first choice,” Tonks teased.

–Yes,” he scowled. –Except that Black insisted on riding that infernal iron dragon of his.”

–It's an existential motorbike, Severus,” Remus cajoled. –What difference does it make?”

–Really, Lupin? Are you so certain that Black's incessant revving of his imaginary motor wouldn't give rise to an existential avalanche?” His dark eyes swept over the snow which hung poised at the top of the curved wall at their backs. What sheltered them in one moment could easily bury them in the next.

Paling noticeably, Remus surrendered, –I see your point.”

–And since Dumbledore didn't relish arguing the point for the better part of the evening, he sent me instead,” Snape allowed as if chewing each word deliberately.

Catching the change of tone, Remus chuckled, –But suddenly you’re not so sure.”

–I’ll be certain to tell him you suggested he’s nothing but a manipulative old goat,” Snape dared.

Nonplussed, Remus replied, –He’ll only laugh.”

–Haven’t you got anything more original up that eternally black sleeve of yours?” Tonks suggested.

–Oh, the string of adjectives will be very original, I'll see to that!” Snape growled.

–And your errand?” Tonks reminded him.

–Only to make sure you two didn’t go snow-blind and forget the special events planned for tonight’s ‘banquet.’” It was clear from Snape’s snort that he thought that referring to eating rituals was a useless convention -- even though everyone did it.

–What’s so special about tonight?” Tonks urged.

–Fred and Bilius are presenting their new comedy revue.” Snape took a moment to school his features before announcing, –They're billing themselves as Umbilicus.”

Despite Snape’s pained expression, both Remus and Tonks dissolved into laughter.

Snape gave them a sour look as he pulled a watch from his breast pocket. Its face had at least seven golden hands, some of which moved in opposite directions, yet he had no trouble interpreting it. –Seems we may miss the opening fanfare, though.”

–Not on your life -- or whatever!” Tonks cried as she Vanished the remnants of their furniture and empty dishes. If the men hadn’t quickly jumped to their feet, they would’ve landed in a snowy heap.

–Ah, I just so happen to have a few untried corollaries of my own,” Remus whispered. –Seems having Einstein as a frequent guest had its perks after all.”

Placing a hand on Snape’s shoulder, he turned to find that Tonks had already Transfigured her climbing togs into a tea dress of rippling golden fabric. Her hair deepened to what Remus supposed was its natural color.

–My wife thanks you for the inspiration, Severus,” Remus noted wryly.

Then taking Tonks’ hand to the other side, Remus directed his newfound knowledge to suck them through a hole in the fabric of time.

The sprightly snow danced in their wake as it frosted the pristine mountain peaks.

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