In Search of Sirius: The Land of the Living Dead

Chapter Thirteen: Epilogue

They collapsed in a tangled heap by the lake at Hogwarts, at just the spot from which they had departed in the first place. The moon was still high in the sky. It appeared as though only a little time could have passed in this world since they had been gone. Snape extricated himself from the others as swiftly as possible.

Dumbledore was sitting underneath a tree. He rose, smiling broadly.

"Welcome! I am pleased to have you all back here, and all in one piece, it would seem. Very well done for that, Miss Granger. You gave me some very bad moments, all of you, some very bad moments indeed."

He bore them back to the Castle, attending as well as he could to the several stories being poured into his ears. Snape paced behind, his robes billowing out so he resembled a bat in flight.

" - Bane birds - "

" - the bit about blood magic nearly -"

" - don't understand, Professor, why -

"We shall speak more fully of these things tomorrow," Dumbledore finally said kindly, as they entered the school. "Now, though, I feel that you three should, yet again, go and trouble Madam Pomfrey's slumbers. I wish you to go immediately to the hospital wing: especially you, Harry. You are still in shock. Severus, could I speak to you after that if I may?"

"Honestly, Professor," Harry said earnestly, "we don't need the hospital."

"Humour me in this," Dumbledore said to him, "the Land of Mag Mell has strange properties, and I would feel much more comfortable if Madam Pomfrey took a look at you all as soon as possible. As I said, you may come to see me tomorrow. I daresay there are a number of matters you still wish to discuss."

"Professor," Hermione asked, "how did you know -?"

"I have been watching you in my scry-glass, Miss Granger. My inner eye is not quite so prophetic as Professor Trelawney's, but perhaps it is a little more - reliable!"

"And their punishment, Headmaster?" Snape inquired. "When will you decide their punishment for this exceedingly idiotic expedition?"

"Ah, Professor Snape," Dumbledore murmured, his beard twitching rather. "It really is my impression that they have - er - been punished enough during the course of events. I am reasonably certain that even Argus Filch would stop short of meting out death-curses and amputations in his quest for retribution. You may, of course, devise your own penalty for Mr Weasley and Miss Granger here. Although that was, if I may so, a very well delivered double expelliarmus!"

"Rest assured," Snape snapped at them, "that I will do so. My office. Five o'clock tomorrow."

Snape hovered impatiently while Dumbledore saw Harry, Hermione and Ron safely settled in Madam Pomfrey's hands. The three of them did have to admit, privately, that baths, food, chocolate, and healing charms really were most welcome. Harry found that he was completely exhausted. Madam Pomfrey dosed him with several very strong tonic potions, all of which tasted utterly vile. She clucked around them, shaking her head.

"Severus," Dumbledore said to him as they walked away together. "I really cannot tell you how grateful I am to you. I fear I did not foresee that Lord Voldemort would make himself known, even there in Mag Mell..."

Snape made a noise in his throat. "I must confess, Headmaster, it came as rather an unwelcome surprise to me as well."

"How will you deal with the consequences when Voldemort discovers, as he surely will, that all three of them are still alive and back at Hogwarts?"

"I will tell him that as he himself had been unable to kill the Potter boy with the Avada curse, it was foolish of me to think that I could despatch him that way. I will tell him one of the creatures in that land must have helped them to escape, and that I have since performed an Obliviate Charm on them so they have no recollection of meeting either me or him while they were there."

"And what will he think you have told me, Severus?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Why, naturally, how sorry I am that, despite strenuous effort, I was simply unable to locate them, and never saw them at all ....He will be most displeased that Potter has escaped him yet again." Snape paused bleakly. "I will be punished, of course."

They sat together in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore examined Snape's pale features and changed the subject.

"It was a risk, Severus, but I do believe you did the right thing in allowing Harry to go to the Palace of Bones. It was," (and Dumbledore's beard once more twitched slightly) "a most compassionate impulse on your part."

Snape looked surly. "I am not prey to compassionate impulses, Headmaster."

"Of course not, Severus, of course not. However, I suspect that having such a conversation with Sirius was the only thing which really could have helped Harry to overcome his grief. I have been most worried about him, most worried indeed. Now... he may finally cease to dwell on his own part in the tragedies of that night in the Ministry."

"Albus," Snape asked abruptly. "What did you think when - I was obliged to use the Avada curse - ?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why, that you were engaged in some ploy to trick Lord Voldemort of course. I was worried about Harry, Ron and Hermione, naturally. It was a perilous moment and much could have gone wrong. However, as I have told you before, Severus: I trust you."

It was the next evening. Harry, Ron and Hermione were alone in the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron were desperately trying to finish some homework which they should have done the night before. Hermione was reading a book (she had already done her homework on the day it was set.) It was warm, and cosy, and peaceful. The fire flickered in the grate.

"Hermione," Ron moaned. "Can't you just help with -"

"No, Ron," Hermione said firmly. "You need to do it yourself."

"If only we hadn't had to spend three hours in detention with Snape." Ron grumbled. "Cutting up slimy dead things."

"I told you, didn't I, that Sirius wants me to speak to Lupin about Snape," said Harry. "He thinks there's something going on..."

"Harry!" Hermione said in exasperation. "How many times..! Professor Snape saved all of us in the Land of Mag Mell, you know. And that wasn't for the first time, either."

"Sirius still thinks he has his own agenda," Harry insisted stubbornly.

"Sirius.. well, Sirius and Snape, they do kind of have issues with each other, don't they? Sirius may not be the most...objective...person when it comes to Snape..."

Hermione and Ron waited rather nervously, but to their relief this implied criticism of Sirius did not rouse Harry to wrath, as it had so often done before. Harry just lay down his quill and watched the fire wistfully, as though Sirius' head might pop up in it just one last time.

"Harry..." Hermione said after a pause, resting her book on her knees. "I really am sorry about Sirius. You know - that after all, in the end, we weren't able to bring him back."

Harry continued to stare into the fire for a long moment. Then he turned his head, and smiled. It had been some time since Ron and Hermione had seen Harry smile in quite that way, as if he really meant it.

"Don't be. I've seen him, I've spoken to him. That helped, Hermione. It really did. And...it's not over yet, is it? Sirius said so. Sirius is on a quest.... The greatest quest any of the Marauders ever went on..."

Hermione glanced quickly behind her. It was silly, she knew. But almost she thought she had heard the padding footfalls of a large animal. And if she looked sidewise, out of the corner of her eyes, she could almost believe a bear-like black dog was sitting beside them, its tongue lolling.

"Hello, Padfoot," Hermione murmured under her breath and, smiling, she returned to her book.