The War for Souls

Chapter 6--The Birthday Party

The minute they hit the ground in the Entrance Hall, Ginny had wheeled on Remus. "You took us out there, knowing that they could do that, without a plan to get out?"

"We had a plan," said Remus. "But everything was moving too quickly, and we didn't expect Nott to assert his rights then and there. In fact, we didn't think he knew."

"Obviously," said Harry wryly, "you were wrong."

"Well," said Hermione. "How do we get home?"

"We'll Floo from McGonagall's office. She ought to be here." They trooped up the stairs, Ginny still staring daggers at the back of Remus' head, until they reached the Deputy Headmistress' office.

"Professor," said Remus, leading the way through the door.

"My goodness," blurted McGonagall. "What are you all doing here?"

"We had to get Harry out," said Hermione. "We need to floo back to Padfoot's."

The professor regarded them all--particularly Remus--sternly for a moment, then motioned wordlessly to her fireplace. One by one, they all tossed themselves into the fire, calling out "Padfoot's!"

Remus left almost as soon as they arrived, pleading that he needed to return to the Wizengamot. Harry plopped on the sofa and pulled his knees to his chest. It was too much to consider--his mind was flooded and strained beyond its capacity. He closed his eyes, and felt a small, soft hand on his arm almost immediately. "Harry?"

"Wow." He let out a huge sigh, and felt the tension melt from his body as Ginny rubbed his shoulder.

"That was something, wasn't it?" said Hermione.

"Percy was incredible," said Ginny. "I knew he'd come through for us in the long run."

"I always wondered why he was in Gryffindor," said Harry. "Now I know. Oh, Merlin, I hope he doesn't suffer too horribly for it."

"He won't," said Luna. "It will be difficult for all of us for a while, though. I wonder when Ronald and Neville will be back, though." Harry nodded, he had been wondering that himself.

Some time had passed before Harry decided that it might be worthwhile to change out of his dress robes. He disentangled himself from Ginny, realizing with some embarrassment as he did so that he had just been cuddling with her--in front of Luna and Hermione, no less--for probably the better part of an hour. Oh, the ribbing I'll get now. Just a good thing Ron wasn't here.

Harry came back downstairs in jeans and a Cannons t-shirt, and again the pensive waiting began. It was well into the afternoon before Ron and Neville tumbled out of the fireplace. "Sweet Merlin," said Neville.

"I know," said Ron. "Good thing Percy was there, though."

"What happened?" said Hermione, rushing towards them.

"Trust me when I say you're glad you got out when you did," said Neville. "We had to recess the thing to keep from losing half our support. Merlin, we need your vote," he said.

"I didn't know you were into this sort of thing," said Hermione.

"Yeah, well, always been a little hobby of mine. Plants and politics. If you haven't forgiven your brother yet, though," he added, looking at Ginny particularly, "you should. He saved all of us in there, more than once."

"Quite right," said a voice from behind them, and Harry saw Dumbledore straighten after having stooped to exit the fire. "Harry, I do apologize. It would seem that Mr. Bletchley had a far more cohesive strategy than we gave him credit for."

"Rotten luck," said Ron. "But we might still pull it off. We're trying to get Sirius cleared of murdering your parents, that way he might still be allowed as your guardian."

"Not without Pettigrew," said Harry, his voice sinking with his spirits.

"Actually," said Dumbledore, "that may not be as much of a consideration as it used to be. It seems that you have made a very powerful friend and ally in the Ministry."

Harry looked stunned. "What? Who? Mr. Weasley?"

"No, no," said Dumbledore, chuckling. "While we all dearly love Arthur, I think even he would be hard-pressed to call himself very powerful--at least under the current government. I was referring to Miss Bones, whose Aunt is probably the most powerful person in the Ministry--after Cornelius, of course."

"Of course!" said Harry. "When I saw Susan in the well, she said that her Aunt believed us about Sirius. And that she was sorry about him dying!"

"Yes, indeed. I have one more demand on your time today. We have managed--no doubt through the sizeable influence of young Miss Bones--to schedule an interview with Madam Bones this evening. Now, naturally, I cannot risk bringing you back to Ministry until this matter of Mr. Nott is cleared up, however, Madam Bones has agreed to hold the interview at Hogwarts, for the convenience of all involved."

"Oh, lovely," said Ginny. "McGonagall's going to love seeing us again today."

"Cor," said Neville. "We're bouncing all over the place today, aren't we?"

"One of the great benefits of being a wizard, Mr. Longbottom," said Dumbledore. "Harry, dress robes would be best again, if you don't mind." Harry nodded glumly and went back upstairs to change for the third time that day.

*****

Minerva McGonagall had always maintained a certain fixed routine to her life. It was her anchor. She had seen, in her seventy-one years, the best and the worst the wizarding world had to offer. She had studied at Hogwarts under Armando Dippet, a great warrior, and one of the kindest men she had ever met. But Dippet had been duped by his own student, and Minerva's classmate. Yes, she had been in the same year at Hogwarts as Tom Marvolo Riddle--Head Girl when he was Head Boy. Oh, the rumors that flew about a secret Slytherin-Gryffindor romance between them. As though he, even at eighteen, could have loved. Even at eighteen, Minerva had been one of the few to see through the golden boy of wizardkind to the hatred fomenting within. So it was absolutely no shock to her when her former counterpart emerged from both the tutelage of Grindelwald and the poison of his own anger. Emerged as Lord Voldemort, heir to the Dark Throne of his mentor.

She had been there for his first murder after his transformation--her old headmaster. In a twist of irony, she possibly owed her job to him. It was, after all, the death of Professor Dippet at the hands of Voldemort which led to Albus Dumbledore's tenure in that position--and her own succession of the great wizard as Transfiguration Professor.

She had formed her friendship with her predecessor and new superior during the turmoil of Voldemort's early rise, in her first decade at Hogwarts. She had been at his side when he responded to the horror of what the Dark Lord called a revel, the death by torture of a whole village--simply for being Muggles. And she had been despatched to Privet Drive that November day in 1981, the day Harry Potter became a household name. And through all this, her routine, her anchor, her structure had been unshaken. Forty years of students had passed through her Transfiguration classes. Twenty years of students had passed under her care as Head of Gryffindor House. And only in the last five had she been rattled.

It was as though the whole of her world had been trying to turn upside down since that moment, nearly six years past, when she had first addressed a welcome letter to the Boy-Who-Lived. And it was only getting worse. A year ago, Voldemort had returned to the body he had lost in 1981. For the past year, the Ministry had been denying that fact, and now it was in as much chaos as it had been sixteen years ago. And last year, even the sanctuary of Hogwarts itself, inviolate in Minerva's mind, had been invaded by a horrid, sadistic stooge of the Minister, who--if Granger was correct--had carved words into her students' hands with a blood quill during detentions.

Just today, as she had been trying to grade papers calmly, as she had done for the past thirty-nine summers, a very flustered Remus Lupin had dragged Potter, Granger, and two other students through her office and back out the Floo connection. She had barely had time to register their presence before they were gone in the roaring emerald flames. She had gotten back to work after the shock of their sudden appearance had passed, and had managed to finish almost all of the third-year finals before Dumbledore had come back from the Wizengamot.

"Albus." She rose to greet her old friend, silently dreading whatever unhappy news he bore. "How did the session go?"

"Not well, I fear. It appears that Mr. Nott was far more well-informed than we counted on. However, all was not lost. But I must interrupt your evening for one request."

There it was. She knew this wasn't a purely social or informational visit. For all their long friendship, Albus would never have come directly to her office after a Wizengamot session if he hadn't needed something. She arched her eyebrows slightly, waiting for the inevitable. "Madam Bones will be here shortly, to hear evidence from Mr. Potter and his friends in the matter of Sirius Black. If you could greet her and guide her to...perhaps the Defense office might suit our needs?"

"Of course Albus. Will you be needing my testimony at this meeting?"

"No, no. I believe Mr. Potter's should be sufficient, and I daresay you have more important things to worry about." He drew his watch from his pocket and stared at it for a moment. "Well, I must go collect our young friends. Thank you again, Minerva." She nodded and hurried off towards the Entrance Hall, hearing the whoosh of his departure in the background.

Well, at least I don't have to leave the school. And I can get my grading done later tonight. And I do enjoy seeing Amelia. Amelia Bones was one of the first students Minerva had ever taught, and she had carried a warm spot in her heart for her ever since. We think alike, Amelia and I. A fair woman, and a good woman.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall, miss!" A squeaky voice from the area of her knees identified a house-elf. "Miss, there is two misses in the hall, waiting to see the Headmaster."

"Thank you, Gorby," she said, and doubled her pace.

As the elf had indicated, there were two witches in the Entrance Hall. With Amelia was her niece Susan, who, she remembered, was in Potter's year. "Minerva," said Madam Bones in a friendly tone, clasping her former teacher's hand.

"Madam Bones...Miss Bones..." Minerva nodded to each of them in turn. "Albus should be here shortly with Mr. Potter and his friends." She noted with mild amusement the bewildered look on the younger Bones' face at her use of the Headmaster's given name. "If I may, why is your niece accompanying you?"

"Practical experience," said Amelia. "After all, she is a voting member of the Wizengamot, plus--"she lowered her voice and took a step closer to Minerva-- "I think she may have a certain personal interest in Mr. Potter."

Minerva knitted her brows and tried to look disapproving, but couldn't contain a small thrill in the pit of her stomach. That boy needs someone to take a personal interest in him. "Well," she said out loud. "I suppose we had best be off. Albus would like to use the Defense office, probably because it is once again vacant."

A look of slight terror passed over Susan's face before she covered it. "Miss Bones," said Minerva in her kindest voice. "Believe me when I say that every vestige of that evil woman has been removed. I believe that Filius went as far as to cast an Exorcism Charm over the whole suite." Amelia gave a slight laugh at this, and Susan seemed to be immensely relieved. "Amelia, let me take a moment with Susan, please," she said, suddenly realizing something.

The Head of Magical Law Enforcement walked on, finding her familiar path towards the office, and Minerva drew her student aside. "Miss Bones, did you by any chance serve detention with Professor Umbridge last year?" She nodded. "What for?"

"Defending Harry," said Susan. Her face was getting slightly pale, and she seemed to be sweating somewhat.

Merlin, how could even Fudge be that blind--or that evil? "Did she make you do lines?" Susan nodded again, and held out her right hand. It wasn't as clear as the mark on Potter's hand, that was for sure, but it was there all the same. I must not support liars. "Miss Bones, have you told your Aunt?"

Susan shook her head. "No, I couldn't bring myself to. She had enough to be worrying about at work and all that."

"Were you aware that no fewer than four other students that I am aware of had this happen to them? Or that the lines in the back of Mr. Potter's hand are so clear I can read them like a book?" Susan shook her head again. "Miss Bones, this is so egregious a violation of law, it can hardly be imagined. Rest assured, this will not be allowed to slide." Susan gave her a faint smile, and they hurried to catch up with Amelia.

*****

Harry dropped out of the fireplace into a bare office at Hogwarts. It took a moment to recognize the room. The last time he had been in it, the walls had been covered in garish pink and purple wallpaper, and festooned with plaques and plates of saccharin-sweet kittens and flowers. Umbridge's office. He shook for moment, goose-bumps rising as he thought of the toad-like woman who had made his fifth year at Hogwarts a living hell. Well, like this it seems more like Lupin's office. Yes, Lupin's office.

Amelia Bones was sitting behind the desk. Dumbledore was taking a seat on one side of her, and Susan was already seated on the other. She flashed Harry a huge grin as he came out, and he smiled back. When everyone from the safe house had come through the Floo, and taken seats, Madam Bones rapped a small hammer on the desk. "Hearing on the petition of Susan Laura Bones, Heiress of the House of Bones, for the pardon of Sirius Black. Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, presiding and interrogating. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore presenting for the petition. Is everyone you need here, Albus?"

"Yes, Madam Bones. Thank you."

"Wait a minute," said Harry. "Where's Remus. He could be--"

"Harry, tonight is the full moon. He is at Padfoot's, and most certainly not in a state to give testimony." Harry nodded, chagrined.

"The first witness for the petition is Harry James Potter," said Dumbledore. "Mr. Potter, would you come forward please?"

Harry walked from his chair to the front of the room. "Mr. Potter," said Madam Bones. "Please state your relationship to Mr. Black."

"He was my godfather," said Harry, feeling strangely emotionless.

"And when did you become acquainted with him?"

"My third year. He had been in Azkaban for twelve years, but he was innocent. He escaped and came here to find me."

"Isn't it true that one of the crimes Mr. Black was sent to prison for was the murder of your parents?"

"Yes," he said. Now the emotion was coming. Harry felt the sadness and loss growing, like a gnawing in the pit of his stomach, and he fought it down.

"Did Mr. Black kill your parents?"

"No, Voldemort did," said Harry. "Everyone knows that."

"Of course," said Madam Bones. "Did Mr. Black do anything to contribute to the death of your parents?"

"Not intentionally," said Harry.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He convinced them to use Peter Pettigrew as the Secret-Keeper under the Fidelius Charm. He didn't realize that Pettigrew was already working for Voldemort, and would betray them instantly."

"How do you know this?"

"When I met Sirius, he told me all this. And then he caught Pettigrew--well, he was there all the time, but in rat form--and Pettigrew said the same thing. We were going to bring him back here and have Sirius cleared, but he got away by transforming."

"Is Peter Pettigrew alive?"

"Unless he's been killed in the last year, yes. He was alive at the end of my fourth year. He killed Cedric Diggory." Harry's voice cracked a little as he mentioned Cedric.

"When you said Peter Pettigrew was in rat form, did you mean that he is an Animagus, or that he had been transfigured by another?"

"He's an Animagus. An unregistered one."

"Indeed." She wrote a few notes on a piece of parchment. "That's all," she said.

Dumbledore called up Ron, who testified about Scabbers, his missing toe, and his unusually long life with the Weasleys. Then Hermione stood up, and told the exact same story of the encounter in the Shrieking Shack, and gave some testimony about the care Sirius had for Harry. Then, he called up Ginny.

It was her testimony that shattered the thin mask Harry had been keeping up. As she told of how Sirius had spent days and weeks at Grimmauld Place begging for Dumbledore to let Harry come to stay with him, of how his face had brightened instantly when Harry had arrived, he felt the tears come. His control slipped, and he found himself sobbing openly by the time Ginny had finished. As if drawn by some magic, she moved over to sit next to him when she returned, and put an arm around him, rubbing his shoulders in the same soothing manner she had used that afternoon.

The final witness on Dumbledore's agenda was Neville. Neville had never known Sirius as anything other than a murderer, a Death Eater, and the second-most-feared wizard in Britain. Until, that is, he had found himself battling Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries alongside Sirius. Tears were streaming down Harry's face now, as Neville told his perspective of the battle, and of Sirius' death. He had no doubt, he proclaimed, that Sirius had never been a Death Eater.

Madam Bones rapped her gavel again as Neville returned to his seat, and Harry looked up at her, blinking away the tears from his eyes. "All the evidence given today, not to mention the continued insistence from certain quarters to this point for over two years, indicates that Mr. Black was the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice. I would very much like to attribute this to a well-intentioned mistake, but, given the nature of the case, I fear there were many motivations involved which were not altogether noble or pure. However, I can only make one determination from the facts presented to me today. Tomorrow, I will be presenting to the court a case for the full pardon of Sirius Black, on the testimony given in this hearing."

Harry felt like jumping up and cheering. Ron did. Ginny wrapped him in a tight hug, and he felt Hermione embrace him on the other side. They released him, and Susan folded him in her arms. "I'm so happy for you," she said.

"I'm so...well, so relieved," he said as he stepped away from her. "And thanks for the Portkey earlier. I don't think any of us thought that quickly or that rationally."

"Well..." She blushed furiously. "I'm glad it worked."

Madam Bones made her excuses, and she and Susan walked back down the stairs, presumably to go home via Hogsmeade. Dumbledore offered to escort the students back to Padfoot's, and Harry gladly accepted.

"Well," said Dumbledore when they arrived. "I can see you are all tired, so I think I will return without further conversation. If things go as planned, there is still the slight matter of Sirius' will needing to be read. I think we can arrange for that to be later, though. Oh, and enjoy yourself tomorrow."

Tomorrow? What's tomorrow? Come to think of it, what's today?

"Oi, Potter! You awake, mate?" Ron shook his shoulder.

"I think I need some sleep." They trooped up the stairs to their room. "You know, I still think this room needs paint. Bloody hell, the whole house looks like St. Mungo's."

"Tomorrow, mate. Tomorrow. Actually, probably the day after. Busy day, tomorrow, you know."

What's tomorrow? Oh, bugger. I'm going to sleep. "Night, Ron."

"Night, Harry."

The next morning dawned as brightly as the previous day, and highlighted the blank white walls of the room. Those were really starting to get to Harry. "Morning, mate," said Neville. Ron wasn't in his bed.

"Morning, Nev. What's today?"

"I dunno. Friday, maybe. Why?"

"Ron and Dumbledore both made some sort of cryptic hint as to something going on today."

"Oh, that. Oh, yeah. Right. See you later."

"Nev? What the-- " What bloody day is it? It's July. Damn, what happens in July?

"Harry?" asked a voice from the stairway. Harry turned to see Hermione.

"Yeah."

"Hey, I was wondering if you could give me a hand in the library for a few minutes. I've been a little sore off and on still, and I need to move a few books around to reorganize down there."

"Sure, no problem, but...where's Ron?"

"Oh, Ron and Neville are messing with some plants. I think he's trying to get dirt on Neville and Luna."

"Ah. Well, lead the way." Harry followed her to the basement, and his jaw dropped. He hadn't been in the library yet, and the sheer volume was astonishing. The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and many more books were stacked on a long table running the length of the room. Harry saw that some shelves had parchment scraps stuck to them, with labels in Hermione's handwriting. "Merlin," he swore. "You've been trying to organize all this?"

"What did you expect?" she said. "I couldn't possibly work down here with this the way it is. Here, just help me get these on the shelves to start." She gestured at the volumes strewn from one end of the table to the other.

"Sure." They joked back and forth, shoving books onto the shelves, until just before lunchtime. About then, Harry saw a flash of red hair in the doorway, and Hermione dropped her stack of books.

"Right. Time for lunch. I'm hungry, you?"

"Hermione, are you okay?"

"Fine, let's get some lunch."

I will never get women. Harry followed her up the stairs to the kitchen, and suddenly turned around and began beating his head into the doorjamb in his best impression of Dobby the House-Elf. My birthday. I forgot my own bloody sixteenth birthday.

"Happy birthday, mate," said Ron, clapping him on the back. "Sorry about all that. Just trying to keep it a surprise."

"It worked." The room was full of so many of his friends. Fred and George were there, with their girlfriends, Angelina and Alicia. Every Gryffindor in Harry's year was there. All the Weasleys were there, so was Fleur, so was half the Order of the Phoenix.

"Presents mate," said Ron. "So we can eat. Mum won't let us start--"

"I get it. Where?"

"On the table. That's why we can't eat." Harry laughed. Ron really did put his stomach first.

Mrs. Weasley insisted on hugging him so tightly he couldn't breathe when he got to the table, and then pressed what looked like a wand-box into his hands. "From Arthur and I, dear."

He unfolded the tissue inside to reveal the best birthday gift he'd ever received. It was a long, spoon-shaped clock hand, with his picture on the spoon, and the words Our Brother engraved on the handle. It was his own hand for the Weasley clock.

"You know this makes you fair game for them, don't you?" said Ron, pointing at Fred and George.

"Like I wasn't already." He turned to his surrogate mother. "This is...I don't know what to say."

"You're family, Harry. This just makes it official."

"Yeah," said Bill, standing behind his mother. "Fleur got her hand when we announced the engagement."

Harry blinked back tears and dove back into his presents. Ron had given him a signed Chudly Cannons poster, Hermione a book called Defense in the Real World, and Neville a book on N.E.W.T. level Herbology. Luna handed him a card giving him a free year's subscription to The Quibbler, and Ginny gave him one of Colin's pictures, showing the four of them in the Gryffindor common room.

"Hey, mate," Dean Thomas's came voice from the back of the crowd. "It's kinda big; you might wanna come over here." Dean held up what was obviously a picture in a frame. "I've been studying portraiture on the side since third year. This was what I did for my apprentice test." Harry pulled off the brown paper covering it to reveal a huge wizard portrait of himself, Ron, and Hermione.

"Wow, Dean."

"Thanks, mate," said the portrait-Ron. "It was dark under there." The room burst out laughing, except Ron, whose ears turned red.

Various other presents were opened, including a book entitled Auror Training for the Rest of Us from Tonks, a Foe-glass from Moody, and a penknife from Remus "to replace the one that melted."

Later, the gathering wound down to only the six residents, the Weasley clan, and Remus.

"Harry," said Remus as they sat around the fire, "this present is from Sirius. He found it last spring, and wanted to give it to you at your birthday. He told me to make sure you got it." He held out a long roll that looked like a poster tube to Harry.

"Thanks." He took it and opened one end. There was a huge roll of cloth inside, and a rolled piece of parchment. He pulled out the note and read it first.

Harry,

If this note is in here, than I'm not there for your birthday for some reason. Either I'm off fighting the war, or something worse. Let's hope it's the first. This is your tapestry, for the House of Potter. I don't know how much Dumbledore told you about your ancestry, or what you might have heard from me and Moony, but here it all is for you, all the way back to...well, see for yourself. If you turn over this parchment, that's your crest. Or, at least, that's the Potter family crest. There's a circle in the middle of the shield that should be blank on this one--that's where you add your personal symbol. Ask Hermione about it if you need to, I'm sure she's read all about it. I was never a big fan of using my family crest, but your family is something to be proud of for sure. So enjoy figuring out the little puzzle, and then do something about it. You'll understand when you've finished with the tapestry. Remember I love you, and James and Lily love you too, wherever they are.

Love,
Snuffles

Harry smiled broadly at the note from Sirius, and passed it to Remus. The werewolf's eyes flickered down the page, and he smiled. "Yes," he said, "that's Padfoot for you. Well, open it up."

He took the tapestry and unrolled it on the floor. "Is this the tapestry from Grimmauld Place?" asked Ron.

"No," said Hermione, bending over it gingerly. "It's Harry's family tree."

Sure enough, the words at the top of the tapestry read

Potter

Llwyth ap Godric

"Here you are," said Ron, pointing at the very bottom of the tapestry. A line running up from his name joined James Potter, from whom another, horizontal line connected to Lily Evans.

"My grandfather was named Harry," he muttered. "Thank you, Sirius."

"I wonder where he got this from," said Ron.

"No idea," said Remus. "But he said you'd need to decipher it when you got it, and that Hermione could help."

"Wait a minute," said Hermione. "Ginny, run up and grab your History book. Quick."

"What?" Hermione didn't hear him. She was muttering to herself, tracing lines up the tapestry.

"Yes, yes...wait, no...Oh, there, okay...yes...I think...yes."

Ginny reappeared. "Here it is."

"Great. Let me see...Potter is...okay...Poethr...yes, Godric...Harry, where did your parents live?"

"Godric's Hollow, in Glamorgan," said Remus before Harry could answer.

"Right then. Harry, you're an Ambrosius." Something smashed. Remus had dropped his butterbeer, and looked as though someone had told him he was really the son of Voldemort. Neville just shook his head. Luna's far off gaze settled on Harry, and he felt uncomfortable. The Weasleys exchanged looks, and then stared at Harry.

"Okay, what's an Ambrosius?"

"The Ambrosii were the ancient rulers of magical Britain and Ireland. There were four Ambrosii at all times--England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. You're the Ambrosius of Wales."

"Merlin," swore Ron. "That explains that, then."

"Explains what. Why am I the only one who doesn't get this?"

"Okay, Harry," said Hermione. "A long time ago, I don't know when, the magical community in Britain decided to choose four rulers to govern them. They were known as the Ambrosii--Merlin's surname, which means immortal. The reason they're known as immortal is because of the spells placed on them. Their lines can never die out. Each of the four founders was an Ambrosius. Godric Gryffindor was the Ambrosius of Wales, and you're his direct heir. That explains why you pulled his sword out of the hat in the Chamber. That explains why Voldemort was out to get your parents before he heard the prophecy. And that might explain why it was you, and not Neville in the prophecy."

"Wait, so if the heirs of the founders are the Ambrosii, then..."

"Voldemort is one too. He's the Ambrosius of England."

Remus walked over to the fireplace, and tossed in some Floo powder. "Albus Dumbledore!" A second later, the headmaster's head appeared in the fireplace. "Albus, we need you to come to the safe house as soon as you can. Something very important just came to light." Dumbledore's head disappeared, and a moment later, his whole body fell out of the grate.

"Yes, Remus."

"Albus, Harry is the Ambrosius of Wales."