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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 - Five
Remus: Thinker, Tailor, Schemer, Spy



The two ogres who had sandwiched Severus between them during Remus’ interrogation now snatched their prisoner by the elbows and shoved him to the front of the room.

With surprising decorum, Snape regained his feet and strode to a spot directly before the dais. –Your Excellency,” he drawled with a low bow that was fawning and disparaging at the same time. –I am honored.”

The mocking edge to Snape’s voice was unmistakable to Remus, but seemed to fit in with the local customs.

–I had not expected you to walk in of your own accord, Severus Snape,” Hades growled deep in his throat.

Remus’ heart sank a little further as Snape cocked an insouciant eyebrow. –My lord?”

–If you came in search of your Dark Master, he managed to dismember himself before he reached our shores,” Hades remarked to much raucous laughter in the background. –Made punishment quite a challenge. But you’d rather not face his wrath, would you? After all, it was you more than anyone who played him for a fool.”

–If that were truly the case, I would still be alive,” Snape observed pragmatically.

–Why did you two come bold as sin into my realm?” Hades demanded as he rose to his full height. –Don’t tell me you lost your way.”

–Quite the contrary. We came in search of knowledge.”

There was a sharp intake of breath in the sudden hush. –The oldest crime of all,” Hades acknowledged. –We don’t condemn others for curiosity anymore. But your arrogance to think that you could trespass unscathed, now that’s a different thing altogether.”

–He just doesn’t fit in with the others upstairs, does he?” Mordred taunted as he crossed his legs disdainfully.

–Still don’t play well with others, do you?” Amycus mocked. –Had to bring a mangy cur as your assistant.”

–Betrayal is a serious offense,” Barty hissed into Snape’s ear from the other side.

–So is murdering one’s own father,” Snape returned calmly. –Not even original, as this rogue’s gallery will attest.”

–Too bad you missed the Murderer’s Ball. We always hold it on the night after the full moon.” Hades flashed a meaningful look in Remus’ direction.

–Would my father have been in attendance?” Snape issued. –Or would my mother’s corpse around his neck have held him back?”

Hades threw back his head and laughed deeply. –You give them both too much credit. A drunkard who beats upon the less fortunate and a shrinking violet who likes to play the victim. It was impossible to sort out who was at fault. Search for them in Purgatory where they are condemned to keep each other company for eternity.”

–Surely there’re others who might interest you,” Pettigrew sneered from the foot of Hades’ throne. –Why, Severus must have found himself friendless in the upper chamber.”

With loathing burning in his eyes, Snape shot back, –Always the unrepentant toady, Pettigrew. Rats the world over should band in protest. Have you abandoned Voldemort for another? Smacks of betrayal in my book.”

–Riddle is no longer known by that self-aggrandizing title,” Hades rumbled. –Any nicknames are bestowed by me alone. Flies-From-Death, my arse. Flies-To-Pieces serves him better!”

Remus ignored the disdainful cheers at his back to focus more closely on the drama unfolding before him.

–And what do you call that piece of vermin then?” Snape dared as he angled his head in Pettigrew’s direction.

–Why Wormtail, of course. Some things just can’t be improved upon.” Hades’ snide assessment was met with much tittering from all sides. –I suppose I have the werewolf to thank for that.”

–I was but one member of the committee,” Remus humbly acknowledged.

Inches from Snape’s nose, Hades demanded, –Why are you really here? Surely the masterminds and heroes are to be found in your realm, not mine. I have dominion over the perverts and losers. Although I have to admit they’re much less self-righteous.”

–I’ve met a number of self-righteous bastards who deserved to be condemned for eternity,” Snape provided.

Hades chortled in approval of Snape’s scathing wit. –You would fit in nicely, Severus. Hasn’t that sanctimonious old man reduced you to brewing perfumed soaps in your cauldron?”

Undaunted, Snape countered, –I’m certain I could set up a distribution conduit if your lot needed to wash the stench of brimstone from their pores.”

–Too rich,” Hades chuckled with rare abandon. –Severus, you are a true cornucopia of delights.”

With the tiniest lift of his eyebrows, Hades signaled the guards to secure his prize. A single outstretched finger sent albino snakes to twist about Severus’ arms. Gnarled roots wove his boots into the floor. The thugs pulled the ends of the bindings taut so that Snape stood at attention before the ebony throne of the Underworld.

Involuntarily, the image of Prometheus bound to a rock as carrion birds dug at his entrails rose to the forefront of Remus’ mind. He had to do something, but what?

The sour smell of burning flesh focused his eyes on the remnants of Snape’s sleeve. The threads of his trademark frock coat were unraveling at a startling pace; the white shirt beneath would soon follow.

Remus stumbled to his feet. –Is it your intent to torture a confession from him?” he decried. –He’s cooperated willingly so far.”

From the secondary throne, Mordred drawled, –Werewolves have the most contrary constitution.” He took a long swallow of blood-red wine to emphasize his point.

–If only the Half-ling’s wounds were not the result of senseless altruism,” Hades scowled. –Can’t have him wearing such a badge, can we?”

–What did you call him?” Dolohov gave an insolent grin as he added the honorific, –Master.”

–Severus styled himself as the Half-Blood Prince,” Hades clarified. –Wrote it in all his school texts.”

Mordred gave a vague salute in Snape’s direction. –Welcome then, Prince Half-Blood. Another petty liege lord to add to the barrel.” The sarcasm dripped like icicles from his tongue.

–We’ve been watching you for a long time,” Hades cooed. –A very long time indeed.” Addressing himself to the room at large, he emphasized, –Of course, such delusions of birth status are verboten here.”

–It was meant derisively,” Snape volunteered through clenched teeth. A goodly portion of his shirtsleeve had worn away as well.

–And you expected that drunken degenerate of a father to admire your wit?” Hades guffawed with gusto.

–Life is full of disappointments,” Mordred mocked.

–One of many,” Snape rejoined dryly.

To Dolohov, Hades expounded, –Since Prince-ling is already assigned to Machiavelli, this one here will be Half-ling.”

Dolohov nodded his approval through a yellow smile.

– ‘Fledgling’ might be more appropriate,” Wormtail ventured. –Seeing as how the great Albus took him under his wing.”

Hades swept in Pettigrew’s direction. –Why, Wormtail, seems you have a talent for epithets. I will recommend your name to the committee.”

Pettigrew flinched at the attention but returned a weak smile, nonetheless.

Remus wrested his attention from the petty grandstanding to focus on the large oval welt on Snape’s forearm where his sleeve had frittered away. The wound pulsed malignantly causing sweat to bead on his companion’s brow. In the charged atmosphere, Snape barely kept himself from wincing.

A smallish man in saffron robes broke free of the crowd and issued a subservient bow. –Your Grace, Rome burns…”

–Thank you, Nero,” Hades replied with the first hint of respect Remus had seen from the tyrant. With an imperious wave of his hand, he summoned, –Call for the Tailor! Black is such a cliché in these parts.”

An ominous silence swallowed the last murmurs of conversation as the spectators’ feet shuffled obediently to allow an aisle to form.

A nondescript man bearing an antique medical valise strode purposely towards them. Remus couldn’t help noting the nervous twitches in the crowd as everyone avoided looking the newcomer in the eye. It intrigued him that much more when the man gave him a gentle nod before turning expertly towards Snape.

–Will have you to rights in a trice, my good man,” his clipped tones assured Severus. –Just a bit o’ dittany and honey will do.”

Was that the barest hint of a Whitechapel accent Remus detected?

With flying fingers, the Tailor unfastened a Victorian frock coat very similar to Snape’s. The garish colors of the wide cravat drew Remus’ curiosity; but fearing another trap, he lowered his eyes to watch the other man roll up his shirtsleeves with measured care. A few drops from a cut glass vial and Snape’s arm lost its discoloration.

–Forgive my curiosity,” Remus whispered. –Why are you called the Tailor when you are clearly a Healer?”

–Surgeon was the preferred term in my day,” the Tailor affirmed without removing his eyes from Snape’s arm. –Alas, that was the profession in my past life. Now, I am indeed a tailor. And in deference to our overlord, your associate here is to get a new coat. Something in spectacular colors as current fashion dictates.”

Demonstrating that his pain had been alleviated, Snape growled, –This is indeed the very essence of hell if I’m to drape myself like a preening peacock!”

–You’ll do well to remember that clothing is a privilege that can easily be revoked,” the Tailor hissed urgently. All the while, his scissors flashed in the air without actually coming into contact with Snape’s clothing. –Such a shame really,” he muttered to himself. –One rarely sees such fine workmanship in a ready-made world.”

The tattered remains of the once crisp shirt and inky coat floated to the floor, slipping easily through the taut bindings. Freed from its confines, a flash of gold drew the strange man to bend closer.

Straightening himself, the Tailor gently placed the Deluminator on the small table before Remus. –Lots of smokers would covert such an heirloom,” he stated in a low voice. –Please see that your friend gets it.”

–Thank you, I will,” Remus promised, noticing for the first time that curls of smoke rose from the other tables which dotted the chamber like poisonous mushrooms. –I’m Remus, by the way.”

He offered his hand and barely stopped himself from recoiling at the smooth, icy sensation of the former surgeon’s fingers.

–John,” the Tailor replied. –Although I received a notorious following under the name of Jack once.” He took a few quick measurements of Snape’s torso before tossing all his instruments into his physician’s satchel. –If you’ll excuse me, the new attire will be prepared forthwith.”

Like a whisper of arctic wind, the Tailor was swallowed up by the crowd as everyone jockeyed for an unimpeded view of the floorshow. Remus’ eyes strayed after the departing form of none other than Jack the Ripper; he was certain of it. How ironic that a maniac so handy with scalpel and forceps should be condemned to stitch raiments in hell.

But what disturbed Remus even more was that he was beginning to understand the gallows logic of the place.

He suddenly felt exposed among all these cutthroats and brigands. Or worse. Don’t think about what’s worse!

He focused his eyes upon the Deluminator and willed that no one would think it was anything but a fancy lighter. He was rewarded when a goblin balancing a tray of glowing drinks laid a pack of smokes next to it with a small grunt. The cellophane neatly unfurled itself and the topmost cigarettes poked out of the box to beguile him.

What was that alluring scent? Remus’ nostrils flared with pleasure at the subtle perfume of cloves mixed with something else. Something indefinable that reminded him of relaxing in a sunny spring meadow, all his cares wafting away to float among the clouds. Why he could almost feel the flowery breeze flirting with the hairs at the back of his neck.

This was entirely too much like an Amortentia Potion! his common sense warned. Could cigarettes in this dangerous realm incorporate a Compulsion Charm? With great effort of will, he wrenched his attention towards the center of the room.

In the eerie half-light Snape’s alabaster skin fairly glowed, drawing everyone’s attention. Remus winced at the gruesome pattern of intersecting lines that traversed the man’s back like a fading roadmap. The Dark Mark was a writhing snake on the inside of Snape’s forearm as he twisted against his unearthly shackles.

–In the name of everything that is gloriously perverted and ignoble, you promised all the traitorous swine would belong to me,” Mordred protested from his throne.

–I did not travel all this way to participate in your sadomasochistic rituals!” Snape hissed with great effort.

–Certainly not before you’ve been formally accepted by your true brethren,” Mordred sneered. In the low light, his scarlet doublet shone cruelly.

–I always said he leaned that way,” Wormtail confided at Mordred’s side.

–And just what would you know about the man’s personal life, Sir Rattus? Is there a connection here I’m missing?”

The spectators at Remus’ back hooted their approval as Pettigrew was caught in the crosshairs.

–I’ve had no more personal life in the past sixteen years than a rat-faced traitor hiding from his own reflection,” Snape bravely defended.

–No points for sympathy,” Hades reproved with a wagging finger.

A hint of movement from the corner of the chamber drew Mordred to investigate. He returned with a lumbering figure in tow.

–My liege,” Mordred put forth, –we have word from Rasputin.”

Hades waved the messenger forward. Barely of age, the stocky lad was dressed in the rustic burlap tunic of a serf. His lurid green leggings remind Remus of new shoots sprouting from a rotten log.

As the lad shuffled uncertainly from foot to foot, Hades urged, –Will the Mad Monk be joining us soon?”

Raising porcine eyes, the messenger answered lowly, –He’s been detained, sir.” He paused to take a deep breath. –Military tactics. He reports that his Not-So-White Army has surrounded Stalin’s Red Forces in the Kremlin.”

–Determined to rewrite history,” Hades acknowledged. –That’s more success than the Monk has enjoyed before.”

–Horseflesh over armed vehicles,” Mordred mused. –Sir Rasputin is to be commended.”

–Yes, sir,” the messenger replied with a bowed head. –It’s the major reason he’s delayed. Victory is not yet assured.”

–A siege situation,” Mordred confirmed. –Those can seem interminable.”

–Please convey my commendations to the Mad Monk, Firecrab,” Hades instructed. –But suggest that he turn over his Cossack forces to his second-in-command. Angry Adolf always dreamed of subjugating Moscow.”

Firecrab gulped noticeably. –He mentions that not just anyone is adept with the cavalry.”

Mordred drew close enough to drape an arm around the lad’s shoulders. –Might I suggest you help him then? Show that you’re ready to be made a squire by offering him some of that fiendish fire of yours.”

–Fiendfyre, my lord. It’s very difficult to control. Has an unruly mind of its own.” Fearful that he had spoken out of turn, the lad seemed to shrink within himself.

–Let that be Stalin’s problem then,” Mordred counseled. –Just catapult some over the Kremlin walls.”

The messenger nodded grimly. –I will say the advice came from a military commander.” As he turned on his heel, Firecrab caught sight of Remus. –Professor Lupin, I never expected to find you here.”

–I could say the same for you, Vincent,” Remus replied.

Amusement curled Hades’ lips into a feral grin. –You two know one other?”

–I had occasion to teach Vincent Defense against the Dark Arts,” Remus admitted in a hollow voice. –Something at which I clearly failed or he wouldn’t have run so headlong into Dark Magic.”

–Is that guilt I hear?” Mordred pounced.

–Regret,” Remus corrected. –Any young life wasted calls for mourning, not recriminations.”

Crabbe blanched visibly as he caught sight of Snape’s straining form. –I didn’t apply myself very well,” he apologized into the man’s obsidian eyes before trotting off on his errand.

When he had disappeared from view, Snape commented, –In all fairness, Mr. Crabbe was blessed with the intellect of a flobberworm.”

–Perhaps we should change his name to Fireflobber?” Pettigrew suggested with a malicious twinkle.

–I will take it under advisement,” Hades returned as he patted Wormtail affectionately on the head.

Just like a pet dog, Remus couldn’t help thinking.

–Seeing that Rasputin is delayed, may I?” Barmy Barty proposed from where he lounged against Mordred’s secondary throne. He waited for both Mordred and Hades to acquiesce before proceeding to stand directly in Snape’s line of sight. –I knew him well enough. Or rather, thought I did.”

–Your brains are nothing but mush, Barty,” Snape growled. –I’m frankly surprised you can form any thoughts at all.”

Remus held his breath, but Snape’s bold opening was rewarded by murmurs of approval from the spectators.

Face contorted with rage, Barty sputtered, –I know a snake in the grass when I see one. The stench of your betrayal follows you like that of a skunk!”

Nonplussed, Snape volleyed, –Your obvious obsession with small animals aside, what exactly did I do to you? Did I reveal that you were impersonating a competent, well-known Auror for months on end?”

Barty whirled on him but then licked his lips uncertainly. –You didn’t know. Who knows what would’ve happened if you’d made the discovery on your own?”

–Hardly damning,” Snape returned. –The most you can do is make the case that I was too dense to conclude why potion ingredients were being stolen from the storeroom.”

–You suspected Polyjuice!” Barmy Barty danced eagerly from foot to foot. –But you were convinced it was a prank by Potter.”

–So you outsmarted me; I admit it before witnesses.”

–There are other grievances against the Dark Lord…”

–Let him confront me himself then.”

–An impossibility,” Hades interjected. –The various portions of him no longer reside in one place.”

–He’s been given his ultimate wish then,” Snape observed wryly.

–I sincerely doubt it was what he intended,” Mordred supplied. –But that’s clearly the specialty here.”

–There are others….” Barty hissed in his oily voice. –Bellatrix Lestrange. She would not take kindly to your misdeeds, Snape.”

–Please ask her to enumerate them so I can give her a full accounting.”

–She is….elsewhere,” Hades avowed. –Some punishments are more creative than others.”

–Anyone else?” Snape goaded. –Amycus Carrow, perhaps?”

–Naw,” Carrow dismissed as his sister slithered to his side.

–What about Wormtail who tied himself to my shirttails like an effing shadow?”

A sharp scuffling of boots against the floor and Pettigrew was thrust forward. The look of surprise on his shifty face was soon replaced with cunning. –Why, Severus, we were friends once, you and I.”

Snape snorted dismissively. –In your fetid dreams, I’ll grant you that. You were too busy sniffing for crumbs behind Black and Potter. Even Lupin, although I doubt that he saw you as anything other than a timid follower. How did you manage to convince them that you admired the very ground on which they tread while you secretly plotted their demise?”

–You give me too much credit,” Pettigrew protested. –I chose to follow the Dark Lord when I saw he would be victorious. That was years after I had befriended the Marauders.”

–Really? You should’ve made a better study of Divination then,” Snape considered. –Your fake humility doesn’t work with me.” Remus was caught short when Snape proceeded to voice the very thought that had occurred to him so many times since learning that Pettigrew had faked his own death, –A coward like you should’ve never been sorted into Gryffindor. How did you manage it, Peter? The entire assemblage is waiting to hear how you circumvented the ancient magic of the Founders!”

Wormtail cringed noticeably as the spotlight was trained on him. –It takes a certain amount of courage to admit one was wrong,” he stammered. –To turn my back on my misguided friends. Surely, Severus, you can understand. You followed the same path yourself.”

With icy detachment, Snape confessed, –And I recanted in person, on my knees before Dumbledore. Dared him to strike me down as the worthless swine that I was. The humiliation was preferable to the alternative: the certain damnation that awaits you!”

–My, my, what a contentious lot you former Death Eaters are,” Hades silkily interceded before Pettigrew could spit in Severus’ face. –Seems we’ve underestimated you, Wormtail. I wish to know more about this ancient magic that you hoodwinked.”

Assuming a mantle of meekness, Pettigrew protested, –Severus is blustering, Excellency.”

–I think not,” Hades opined. –Our visitor has the look of one who’s spent many a sleepless night contemplating the torturous ways of the universe.”

–Hardly a profound conclusion,” Snape provided on cue. –Changing one’s ideology in the face of dissent requires courage; changing sides out of fear that one may back the loser is nothing but the basest cowardice. A trait that should have secured Pettigrew a favored spot among the self-serving tossers in Slytherin House; trust me on that.”

–Severus, please,” Wormtail implored. –I’m not here to denounce you. Why without your gift of prophecy to the Dark Lord, my betrayal of the Potters’ hideout would've been meaningless. I owe you my gratitude, not my disdain.”

Snape’s neck muscles bulged as he strained against his bonds. Remus could only imagine how much he longed to throttle the slimy little rat in front of an appreciative audience. Merlin, the urge was almost more than he himself could bear -- and he did not possess Severus’ volatile temperament!

–Surely someone has a grievance against a man so universally detested,” Mordred beseeched of the crowd in general.

–Is better ve ask him to denounce self,” came a sonorous voice from the side of the room. –Even from next chamber, his self-loathing hang in air like dark cloud.”

With a crafty smirk, Hades proclaimed, –So pleased you could join us, Rasputin. Did you establish tsarist supremacy over Mother Russia once again?”

–Time vill tell,” the austere monk noted as he took in his surroundings. The man’s antique ecclesiastical robe was strangely reminiscent of Snape’s favored attire. –Left Genghis in charge. He recognize capabilities ov horses in deep snow. Others, bah! No finesse!”

–Last time you complained of Khan’s leadership qualities,” Hades observed with amusement.

–Man is butcher, true. But he not make Adolf’s error ov putting horses as barrier before armored rocket launchers.”

–Horsemeat,” Mordred winced.

–Da. If only Khan not persist in likening modern machinery vith metallic dragons ov air or land. Metaphor is not practical in varfare.”

–Too fanciful, I warrant,” Snape volunteered.

Rasputin’s eyes opened wide. –You are military tactician?”

–Let’s just say I’m familiar with short-sighted autocrats.”

Rasputin gave a deep belly laugh as his penetrating eyes crinkled with mirth. –This von like spring breeze in Siberia: have bite.”

–He is not here as your playmate, Sir Rasputin,” Mordred warned. –Yet.”

With a glare that was shocking in its boldness, Snape demanded, –Why do you wish to hold me against my will? Have I angered the gods irredeemably? It’s not as if I wish to return to the land of the living.”

Hades looked at him as if he were nothing but a specimen under a microscope. –We are still uncertain how you managed to avoid being sent to us. A bureaucratic snafu, perhaps? A grim twist of Fate?”

–Is that why you feel a need to judge me again?”

–We judge you because we can. We torture you because you presented yourself to us on a platter. You have only yourself to blame, Severus Snape.”

–A refrain that readily applies to most of my life.”

–Always your own worse enemy,” Mordred mocked.

Snape’s habitual self-recriminations had afforded Hades’ henchmen an inroad of sorts. The alarming conclusion did not sit well with Remus.

Uncertain how long this would go on, Remus slowly rose to his feet. –Forgive me for interrupting, Excellencies. But as you yourselves admit, Severus’ worth has already been measured. Is it your intent to confront higher powers with their mistake?”

A susurrus of doubt rippled through the onlookers at his back, but Remus retained a level look at the tormentors before him. Nothing more than bullies, really. But powerful enough to warrant careful handling, he reminded himself.

–Forgive us, werewolf,” Hades condescended. –You came all this way to partake of the game yourself.”

Refusing to be intimidated, Remus just shrugged. –Not entirely. But as long as I’m here….”

–You vish to edify us on Severus’ vorth?” Rasputin dared. –You dare contradict us?”

–Not at all,” Remus mollified. It was a struggle to keep the generally disdainful tone of the place from leaching into his voice. –No one can deny that Severus Snape is a scoundrel of the first order. Dedicated to upholding the selfish, narrow-minded ideals of Salazar Slytherin himself.”

As the onlookers murmured their assent, Snape flashed him a murderous look that would’ve frozen a lesser man.

Remus ignored it. –He will be the first to admit his utter worthlessness before this very council. In all fairness, he spent the first half of his miserable life making all the wrong choices, alienating even those who persisted in seeing the one hint of precious gold within a chunk of blackest coal.”

–You’re doing a fine job of making our case for us,” Hades sneered. –Dumbledore would not be too pleased about his pet’s actions off the leash.”

With a courteous bow, Remus conceded, –Merely stating the obvious so that we don’t lose sight of the truth. For the power of true repentance is great, your Honor, and Severus demonstrated that with the actions in the latter half of his life. He devoted all of his energies to right the wrongs of the past. Even when there had been unforeseen consequences, he still shouldered the blame.”

The sharp report of boot heels alerted them to a new presence.

–Ask him how he felt when that Muggle-loving teacher was executed before his eyes. Not a single muscle twitched.” Yaxley’s icy glower dared Severus to just try to dissemble.

–The same goes for you,” Snape shot back.

‘I admit I was saving my own skin,” Yaxley returned. –But she didn’t appeal to me personally as a colleague and friend. Didn’t show her much charity did you, Severus?” He issued a smug laugh at his own lame pun.

From all around, Remus could hear the whispers starting.

–Scandalous that she’d be allowed…”

–Didn’t you know, she was a Muggle herself…”

–…an abomination…”

–…the foolish Headmaster fashioned an amulet so the towers of Hogwarts wouldn’t appear as a crumbled ruin in her unworthy eyes…”

–Dastardly,” Alecto Carrow allowed with a self-satisfied smirk. –We snatched the amulet from her neck and ground it underfoot.”

–Makes you wonder how many Ministry officials that crafty old man bribed to twist the Statute of Secrecy so,” her brother added.

Severus stared down the rabble and answered, –Charity Burbage was a tactical sacrifice. Not that it weighs any less heavily on my conscience.”

–Rubbish!” Yaxley denounced. –We have no evidence to show this man possesses a conscience.”

–Objection sustained!” Hades barked. –Care to address that, Severus?”

Snape hung his head as Remus concluded that explaining the concept of remorse to this group would be a battle onto itself.

–What about you, Travers?” Yaxley demanded, much as he had once presided over the tribunal which stripped Muggleborns of their rights.

From the sidelines, Travers took a long moment to decide before offering up, –Can’t blame Severus for squeezing one against the other to his advantage. Might’ve held out for something more substantial than a teacher’s salary, though.”

–Or being poster boy for Slytherin House!” Wormtail tossed with a wicked grin.

He was rewarded by cackles and wolf-whistles from all sides.

Courage or recklessness, Remus wasn’t certain which, prompted him to address Travers directly, –Is it true you killed the McKinnons?”

Travers whipped around, his bushy grey hair taking on a demonic glow from the reflected wall brackets. –What’s it to you?” he spat. –A former girlfriend you never told your wife about?”

The man’s vicious snarl made Remus wish he’d kept his mouth shut. –Forgive me if I’m out of line,” he backpedaled. –Not familiar with the rules at these types of proceedings.”

–Ah, the true heart of a statesman,” Hades mocked. –Throw the dog a bone, Willy-boy.”

Travers advanced until his pasty complexion was inches away. By contrast, his puffy lips were those of a vampire who had just drunk his fill. Remus had no doubt the effect was deliberate.

–Morbid curiosity, heh? A little rat told us the eldest daughter still lived at home to placate her parents in those dangerous times.”

Despite the jackhammer in his chest, Remus managed to hold the monster’s gaze. –She was in my class at Hogwarts,” he provided like a whisper of wind. Best to omit the part about Marlene being a fellow member of the Order.

–Want to know how we did it?” Travers snarled. –How a bunch of misfits like us managed to outsmart a powerful wizarding family in its heyday?”

Remus stiffened. –If I’d thought the Death Eaters were as inept as you imply, I would’ve stayed snug in my bed instead of joining the battle.”

–Werewolf’s got you there!” Yaxley guffawed.

–Perhaps you should save the posturing for a different day,” Mordred suggested in his smarmy voice. –Only knaves boast of their conquests before the victim’s kith and kin.”

Travers reacted as if his leash had been yanked. Taking a few steps back, his recitation of the facts was no less chilling for its dispassionate tone.

–We waited for the perfect opportunity when the younger daughter was away visiting friends. Anabelle, I think her name was. Those left at home would be anxious for her safety so we obtained an owl identical to hers. We dispatched it the minute the first feeble lamp was lit in the kitchen. It was dark and foggy outside, sunrise still a good half hour away. Clearly, worried enough that they couldn’t sleep. When the matriarch cracked the window to admit the owl, a quick Stunner spell hit her right in her chest.

–Our group slipped inside and dispatched the elder McKinnon as he was working his way down the back stairs. Still in stocking feet, he was! Their older daughter was still tucked in bed when she died; likely never woke up.

–Saved the mother for last. You could see in her eyes that she knew by the time the three of us tromped back down the stairs.

– ‘Don’t worry about your other daughter,’ I said. ‘She’ll be receiving an owl from you straight away. Then we’ll pay her a similar little visit.’”

Travers boldly waited for a reaction, but Remus wisely held his tongue. Only the balled fist at his side betrayed his true state of mind. No wonder Marlene had been so confused when Lily had brought by some of their old circle to meet Tonks. She had no real memory of those final hours.

–But it didn’t end there, no sir,” Travers continued in his cold, emotionless manner. –The Longbottoms were to suffer a similar fate. Only two adults to overcome so the Dark Lord allotted the privilege to the Lestrange couple. But there was a last minute change of plans, wasn’t there, Severus?”

Snape’s expression said that he’d gladly hex Travers into oblivion, but no words escaped his lips.

–Just another eager Death Eater intent on proving his worth before his master; Severus was just like the rest of us then. Presented the Dark Lord with a special gift, a prophecy that pinpointed his most dangerous adversary to be an infant. I don’t have to tell you that news was met with a fair show of derision. Many thought Snape had concocted the entire thing just to win favor. Likely the Dark Lord thought so, too, for he didn’t assign that murder to Severus or Evan or Rabastan or any of the other young turks chomping at the bit. No, he decided to take care of this one personally. After all, the Potters had been warned and it took a fair amount of time to find a chink in their defenses.

–The Longbottom project was tabled for the time being. Once it was clear that the Dark Lord wasn’t returning, though, many concluded that the prophecy had been fulfilled: the mightiest dark wizard had been bested by a mere child. Nevertheless, Bellatrix took the initiative to finish the task in her own way. Botched it up completely by leaving the Longbottom child unscathed!”

–And where was Severus during all this?” Hades insisted. –What was his reward?”

Snape flinched as if he’d been slapped but pressed his lips firmly together.

–Buried up to his arse in cauldrons at Hogwarts,” Travers confirmed grimly. –Teaching the next generation how to respect their betters. Or so we thought.”

–Care to dispute any of the facts in evidence?” Hades demanded. At a flick of his scepter, Severus’ head was jerked back so he had no choice but to respond.

–Would it matter? I have no justification for those actions.”

–So the scoundrel owns his misdeeds,” Mordred dismissed. –He reveled in being the Dark Bat of the Dungeon. That was one of your nicknames, wasn’t it, Severus?”

–One of many,” Snape hollowly admitted. –I would’ve kept track if I’d known I’d be asked to recite them all.”

–A man who glorified in being hated would’ve kept a better record,” Remus emphasized. –Held each jewel to be examined in the waning light of day.”

–You’ll have to do better than that,” Hades goaded. –The man fairly gloated at being reviled. Didn’t he care what the world thought of him?”

–Not one wit,” Remus expounded. –Severus painted such an uncharismatic portrait of himself that it allowed him to hide in his own shadow. The world saw what it expected to see and thus he was free to serve another master.”

–Bah!” Rasputin snarled. –Man is self-serving. He hate feeling in pit ov stomach that he bayonet only thing he love.”

–Yet Lily Potter has forgiven him, accepting that he did his best for her son. You ask too much of him if you expect him to deny his basic nature,” Remus maintained softly.

–It is his soul that remains black as night,” Hades argued. –By his own judgment, he condemns himself.”

–Thundercloud for aura,” Rasputin echoed.

Turning to address the penitent --for that is how Severus most seemed in that moment --Remus posed, –Is this true, Severus? Have the scales not been balanced?”

–I wasn’t able to bring Lily back to life,” Snape conceded. –An impossible task yet my grief-fevered brain thought it within my grasp. I deserve the misery that has dogged my entire life.”

–See,” Hades adjudicated. –You in turn do not think you deserved to be remade into a werewolf. By your own admission, you continued to rail at the injustice while Snape embraced it whole-heartedly.”

With sudden understanding, Remus tendered, –We had very different upbringings. Lessons learned young in life are next to impossible to shed. In Severus’ case, it was his father who became a snarling monster and abused him for being who he was, a wizard. It was drilled into him that he deserved such ill treatment by virtue of that which he could not escape. The lesson of unworthiness was well learned, I’d say.”

There was an abrupt silence as the despots before them huddled in hushed conference. As the minutes dragged on, Remus felt the last of his bravado evaporate. He sagged in the nearest chair to await the verdict.

A spectator from a neighboring table motioned to borrow a cigarette. Not daring to come in contact with the cursed pack, Remus concentrated on Levitating them right into the hag’s outstretched claws. With a small grunt of thanks, she distributed them among her friends.

Without warning, Hades turned eyes burning with cold hatred to Remus. –You are free to go. Return from whence you came. We have nothing to offer you here.”

–Take the scraps of knowledge which you’ve catalogued and be thankful!” Mordred growled.

Remus turned his head to look in the direction to which they pointed. Just beyond the cluster of tables, the cavern wall dissolved to show a jagged opening. Nothing but the same desolate landscape that had brought them here. Then in the distance, the haze cleared and he witnessed a wondrous sight: a giant lake of sparkling silver. Thick and viscous like a pool of liquid mercury, it seemed to be winking at him.

Remus balked at the inner voice that urged him to save himself. He was more certain than ever that this was nothing but a duplicitous trap: even as he debased himself by abandoning Snape, he would wash his memory in the Pool of Lethe. For he had no doubt that the shimmering lake was the source of the river they had judiciously avoided earlier.

He would have to do the unexpected while seeming to succumb to their dastardly machinations. It was their only chance, and it was a thin one indeed.

If only it weren’t so dark in this infernal nightclub. Einstein’s postulate called for the conversion of light into energy.

Remus’ eyes caught the muted gleam of the Deluminator and knew it held his final opportunity. Within its depths, a glowing ball of light from their boat’s lantern awaited to be set free. It was a meager supply, but it was all he had.

He met Hades’ menacing eyes with a calm he did not feel. With a resigned nod to indicate he accepted the bargain, Remus slowly took to his feet. He pasted a look of genuine regret on his face as he offered a parting hand to Severus.

–This is as far as we go, old friend,” he intoned. The ogre at Severus’ right loosened the bindings to allow Snape to respond in kind.

The instant Remus felt Severus’ hand close over his, he tightened his hold and clicked the Deluminator in his other hand. His mind barely embraced the scene of their departure in the living area he shared with Tonks before he willed himself to twist through the vortex.

For several interminable seconds, nothing happened. Remus focused his mind even harder as Severus’ eyes scalded his in desperation. Then like a chalk drawing in the rain, the sneering, gluttonous faces around them dissolved into streaks of color.

Abruptly he was hurled into infinity, engulfed in darkness so absolute that it was impossible to say if he had ceased to exist. His fingers grew so numb with cold that he could no longer feel Severus’ arm. Only the drag on his body convinced him that he was not alone, but it was impossible to tell whether anyone besides Snape had been accidentally sucked along.

He was the eye of the storm, the center of the universe, the last mote of consciousness. The familiar constricting sensation of Apparition was not easing up as expected and he was finding it more and more difficult to draw breath. He tumbled through an ever-narrowing series of funnels. Tighter and tighter the air pressed against his lungs until he could no longer breathe.

A galaxy of lights exploded behind his eyes as he collided with an unyielding surface. Through a windpipe full of angry thorns, he took ragged breaths that bent his body in two.

Most peculiar of all, just beyond his range of hearing hovered the words, –Oh, Remus, do be careful. Severus, see that he keeps a level head.” It had been accompanied by a look from Tonks that said, Make sure you boys play nice together.

Had that been minutes ago or hours? Days even?
Remus wondered, but time had lost all meaning. Just as he felt that he could reach out and touch eternity, a gentle hand brushed the fringe from his forehead.

–Remus! Are you all right?” Tonks’ voice was unmistakably there in his ear.

He slit his eyes to find her concerned face pouring over his. –Maybe,” he groaned. –Where’s Severus?”

–Right here in another mangled pile,” Tonks confirmed. –How can you be back so soon? I just watched you crest the hill.”

–We’ve been gone so long I doubted we’d ever make it back,” he muttered.

–Is anything amiss?” James called from the front door. –We heard a tremendous commotion just as we let ourselves out.”

–You didn’t trip again, did you, dear?” Lily added.

Tonks raised her voice to be heard. –In the kitchen.”

Remus could feel the entire house shaking in his eardrums as the others entered the room.

–Here, let me help you.” Sirius’ voice this time.

Remus felt himself being hauled bodily into a chair. The impact sent a piercing thunderbolt of pain through his shoulder.

–My scar,” he hissed. –It’s been torn open! The werewolf saliva will contaminate anyone it touches!”

With trembling fingers, Tonks undid the buttons of his shirt and gently pulled the fabric aside. The cold air of the room dulled the pain momentarily. Nevertheless, he cried out involuntarily as the merest brush of her fingers sent tongues of flame against his skin.

–Remus, sweetheart,” she entreated, –there’s nothing there. Look for yourself.”

He twisted his head to view as much of the scar as he could. Nothing but a dull, puckered pink. Yet the sticky wet pain of a recent injury persisted. –I can’t see all of it,” he gasped from the effort of corkscrewing his body.

–Here, I’ll show you,” Sirius volunteered, pressing a cloth to the lower part of Remus’ shoulder blade.

Remus’ body twitched as if he’d been poked in a gaping wound. Sirius held up the cloth to show that there was no blood or discoloration of any sort.

James bent over to retrieve the Deluminator that had tumbled out of Remus’ hand. –You used this, didn’t you, Moony?”

Remus gave an agonized nod in return, too caught up in his suffering to fully focus.

–It’s a by-product of their time tumble,” Lily theorized. –Sev is cradling the wrist he fractured one summer.”

–Get Dumbledore….” Snape rasped. –He’ll understand better than anyone. It was his device that Lupin used.”

Lily gave a grim nod as she trotted towards the open window. Only a moment’s hesitation and her Patronus sailed off in search of the venerable wizard.

James knelt before Severus to draw his attention. –What about your kneecap, the one you dislocated in a riding accident? I don’t dare touch it.”

Snape took a ragged breath as he wiggled his left foot. –I doubt it would hold my weight right now.”

–Phantom pain,” Dumbledore announced from the doorway. Nicholas Flamel stood at his side, a black Healer’s satchel clutched to his side.

–You’ve jostled memories from ze past eento ze present,” Flamel attested. –Zey will need to be placated.”

–Just how do you propose to do that?” Tonks ventured as she turned from applying a healing salve to the cut above her husband’s left eye.

Flamel removed two Pensieves from the satchel and placed one beside each of the men. –Ze threads of memory muz be pulled forth,” he instructed.

–You must briefly revisit each of those events,” Dumbledore sympathized. –Unfortunately, it’s the only way. Do you both have wands?”

–In my boot,” Snape replied. He tried to bend over but was soon gasping for air.

With a deft flick of her wand, Lily summoned it for him. –Take it slowly,” she soothed. –We won’t let anything else happen to you.”

Remus concentrated on sending his mind back into his early childhood. The recollections were murky there; but he’d never cared to examine whether that was because he’d been so young or because he’d been so determined to forget.

As he got closer to the event, the mist cleared before his eyes and he was gazing out upon a clear, moonlit night with the unabashed curiosity of a five-year-old. The wild grasses undulated in the breeze, calling to him by name. He barely touched the silken stalks as a tangle of climbing roses mesmerized him with pearly blossoms that glowed from within.

With a sharp mental command, Remus tugged resolutely at the strand of memory. Disjointed images of rancid fur, teeth and the color red. So much red had eclipsed his sight that night. The moon had bled into the meadow, tarnishing its nocturnal beauty forever. Without warning, a pain more excruciating than any transformation took hold of his body.

As quickly as it had come, the pain dulled into memory as the silvery tendril hung from the tip of his wand. Tonks quickly caught it into the bowl lest her husband’s trembling hand drop it on the floor.

Remus heaved a sigh as he sagged back in his chair. He swallowed great gulps of air, then quaffed the glass of water that was handed to him.

He hazarded a look out of the corner of his eye and was taken aback. The outline of Snape’s pale torso contrasted sharply with his deeply black trousers. His sculpted chest muscles could have been carved from marble were it not for the strain of his arm rising to his hairline once again to remove another painful memory. In the Pensieve at his side, the interlocking tendrils writhed in anger, each colored in varying hues that identified just how many violent incidents lay in his past.

It would not have seemed so unusual for a Quidditch player to have amassed such a legacy of injuries. But for a lad who had mainly buried his nose in books or tinkered with his cauldrons, it told a much more harrowing tale.

Remus tried not to stare as James draped a plain dressing gown across Snape’s shoulders for warmth. The arm which clasped it shut betrayed a series of long gouges above the elbow and round purple bruises about the wrist where Remus had latched on with all his might.

–Did I --” he began only to have Lily shush him with a shake of her head.

Gingerly, she touched the tip of her wand to each bruise to make it fade before their eyes. The deep scratches -- claw marks, Remus couldn’t help thinking -- seemed to knit from within until only vivid pink lines remained. Lily used bare fingers to dot salve onto these that made Severus jerk away at her touch.

Meanwhile, Flamel was quickly mixing a remedy of sorts in a tall glass beaker. When it bubbled to the surface, he added three drops to the memory which lashed like an angry lion’s tail in Remus’ Pensieve. It resisted at first but then slowly sank into a gentle wisp as relief spread to the tips of Remus’ nerve endings.

The Gordian knot in the other bowl presented a greater challenge, however. A few drops only infuriated the strands to twist tighter. Severus’ clenched jaw strained in response.

With a slight frown, Flamel consulted with Dumbledore in rapid-fire French; Remus didn’t have the energy to try to follow. Extracting a tiny vial which contained an iridescent solution, Flamel added a single drop to the breaker, causing a geyser of sharp purple to flash from the surface. Once it had died away, he drizzled the mixture around the edges of the bowl to distribute it as evenly as possible. The memories churned into a faster frenzy -- and then little by little they faded away into nothing but fine threads.

James dipped a flannel into cool water and pressed it to Snape’s brow. The man’s face looked more bloodless than ever, his lips pressed so tightly closed that they were almost blue. They waited motionlessly as Snape’s breathing seemed to hitch in his throat for far too long. Then with a sound like a wave crashing against barren rock, he drew more and more air into his lungs. Snape opened his fathomless eyes and looked around in confusion and distrust.

–Only a few more moments and it will all be over,” Dumbledore reassured as he dipped Snape’s wand arm into the bowl to snag the exorcized memories. With utmost patience, he assisted Snape to return the silvery strands to his forehead.

Remus followed suit without being told. He was surprised by the feeling of calm that came over his entire body as the most haunting memory of his entire life was restored to its rightful place.

Snape’s eyes turned darkly suspicious as he gazed at the inky substance that Flamel pressed into his hand. –What pray tell is this? A stiff brandy would be more to my liking.”

–In a moment,” Dumbledore promised.

–You boz muz re-eestablish ze balance een ze body first,” Flamel explained. –Fall eento a stupor now and recovery will take days, maybe weeks.”

Without hesitation, Remus downed the two inches of liquid. The sensation of steam pouring out his ears was singularly unpleasant. –Too much like those vile Pepper-Up Potions that Poppy used to brew,” he grimaced.

–I’ll bring you a brandy as well,” Sirius agreed as he went in search of the liquor cart, all the while mumbling that he could use a belt himself.

–You took a fair detour through time, I take it,” Dumbledore issued as he pulled up a chair to be at eye level.

–I don’t recall a Time-Turner causing this sort of trauma,” Lily questioned.

–It wouldn’t,” the august wizard attested. –But all those were smashed a number of years ago.”

–Don’t look at me,” Tonks protested. –I may be a klutz, but that particular honor belongs to Neville Longbottom.”

–Harry’s assault on the Department of Mysteries,” Sirius explained to Lily and James. –He came to rescue me only to need a bit of rescuing himself.”

–No matter,” Dumbledore reassured. –Nicholas and I devised a newer model that masquerades as a Deluminator. An object which in turn passes unnoticed as a Muggle cigarette lighter.”

–Of course, we would not have been so successful weezout Einstein’s revolutionary ideas,” Flamel explained.

–Atomic Albert was involved?” Tonks cried. –It’s a wonder they didn’t blow themselves to smithereens.”

–Not weezout plutonium,” Flamel cautioned. –Alzough, een Pluto’s realm...”

–Only brimstone and iron deposits,” Snape attested.

–A lake of mercury, too,” Remus supplied.

–High atomic number,” Dumbledore mused. –But I suppose it would have to be in a solid state, don’t you think?”

Flamel shrugged. –Need to ask ze man heemself.”

–And just how close did these two come to recreating the Big Bang?” Tonks demanded.

–The lake was far in the distance,” Remus clarified. –I knew better than to venture closer.”

–Atomic Albert may scold you for not having been more daring,” Tonks teased.

–What’s with the nickname?” Remus pressed. –I thought you couldn’t stand the man. Dreadful yawn and all that.”

Tonks shrugged. –What can I say? He grows on you.”

–Like a ruddy fungus, you mean,” Sirius laughed, handing tumblers of deep amber liquid all around.

–Einstein has discovered an unrepentant passion for Exploding Snap,” Dumbledore pronounced with a wry chuckle.

–The children’s annoying card game?” Snape decried.

–The very same,” Dumbledore affirmed. –But don’t be so dismissive. Lots of adults are fans as well.”

–Absolutely,” Tonks insisted. –Tournament play can be cut-throat.”

–Let me guess,” Remus smirked. –Albert begged to team up with you.”

–Actually, I begged him,” Tonks clarified. –The man has a rare intuition about those cards.”

–Rubbish!” Flamel argued. – ‘Ee’s figured out ze key to ze randomness, I tell you. Eet’s only a matter of time before ‘ee’s dizqualified.”

To Remus skeptical expression, Dumbledore expounded, –Sure Einstein’s always mumbling about electrons and orbitals, but that doesn’t dim his enjoyment of the game one iota.”

–Don’t forget the inverse of the prime numbers,” Tonks supplied.

–That’s just gibberish,” Remus admonished.

–Only if you don’t understand what he’s talking about,” she shot back.

–Zat man haz a formula for ev’ryzing,” Flamel pronounced.

–It’s true,” Dumbledore insisted. –If I were to introduce him to Nostradamus, the two of them would revolutionize Divination in a week’s time.”

–Didn’t think you believed in Divination, Albus,” Sirius noted dryly.

Dumbledore returned one of his inscrutable smiles. –If anyone could change my mind, it would be Atomic Albert. Now why don’t you gentlemen get some rest? I’ll look forward to hearing a full recount at tomorrow evening’s feast.”

Snape’s scowl threatened to overtake his entire face. –I don’t need a bunch of drunken guests fawning over me to know how extraordinary lucky I am!”

–Same goes for me, Albus,” Remus concurred.

–But I deemand a full retelling,” Flamel protested. –Alber’ desserves nozing less.”

–Fine. Einstein can come,” Snape grudgingly allowed. –Just see to it that he doesn’t bring that unbearable student of his, Wolfgang somebody-or-other. The one who thinks himself the resident Know-It-All.” Snape’s frown deepened at the last.

Remus barely suppressed a smile. Wolfgang Pauli’s scathing denouncements of his colleagues were legendary. The resemblance to Severus was inescapable.

–Us too?” James prodded.

Snape gave a snarl of acquiescence as he caught Lily’s eye.

–I think Milton might appreciate being included,” Dumbledore mused. –He’s such a recluse these days.”

–By all means.” Snape’s sarcasm was at a fever pitch. –Invite the Aligheri fellow, too. Wasn’t he one of Flamel’s contemporaries?”

–Excellent!” Flamel agreed as Snape flashed him a look of darkest malevolence.

–Anyone else you’d care to include, Lupin?” Snape dared. –It’s your funeral, too.”

Remus conceded, –I can’t possibly upstage you.”

Snape gave an impotent huff. Then pointing a stark finger at Dumbledore’s chest, he warned, –That’s it! No one else. I’ll not have Homer singing some epic drivel about either of us!”

–I daresay not!” Dumbledore assured him with an impish twinkle. –That poor sod learned his lesson after Ulysses berated him for making sure he’d never drink anonymously at any of the thousand pubs in Dublin.”

Remus gave a sharp laugh at the irreverent satire, but the others just returned blank looks.

Dumbledore responded with a sad smile as he admitted that not everyone was a fan of James Joyce. –Alas, a number of worthy subjects are never taught at Hogwarts.”

Tonks summoned two unbleached shirts from the clothes cupboard. –I’m afraid this is all we have. The styles here tend to be functional at best.”

Remus drew the soft linen over his head, only too glad to replace the singed broadcloth he’d been wearing previously. To his right, Snape turned the garment over in his hands uncertainly.

–You can transfigure it to black when you get your strength back,” James urged as Snape grudgingly donned the shirt, then turned his back in order to tuck it into his waistband securely.

–Have to admit, Sev,” Lily offered with a genuine smile. –The new look suits you.”

–Sweep your hair back at the nape and you’ll look just like Heathcliff,” Tonks suggested.

The scathing retorts swam vividly in Snape’s eyes; but before he gave voice, James interjected, –I don’t think Severus relishes being the object of teenage girls’ fantasies.”

–Would’ve posed a right challenge to maintaining your teaching post,” Sirius added with a scandalous wink.

–Sadly, we’re missing the barren moors to complete the tableau,” Snape ceded with pointed derision.

–There’s nothing to stop you,” Dumbledore advised, his eyes crinkling at the corners. –We fashion our own paradise as we see fit. I thought you’d all at least learned that by now.”

Desolate like my life, Severus’ dark eyes seemed to say as Remus glanced his way.

Discreetly, Remus turned away. After all, every man was entitled to his privacy. If Severus could only move beyond Dumbledore’s shadow and embrace the bonds of friendship, he would not feel like such an outcast for eternity.