When Worlds Collide

The bartender of the Hog's Head Inn looked up from the glass he was polishing when the door to the street opened. A man in a threadbare cloak entered, his much-patched robes visible through several gaping holes. His hair was streaked with gray, but his face was carved with lines of worry, not age. Several customers glanced at this interruption to their drinks and conversation; but they quickly turned away again, as this newcomer did not seem important enough of further consideration.

The bartender, however, watched this man as he walked straight to the bar and pulled out a stool. Perhaps he was concerned that the stranger would be unable to pay for his drinks, but he made no sign one way or the other.

"One Firewhiskey, if you please," the man said as he tossed a golden coin onto the counter, dispelling any worries about his monetary abilities. And yet, the coin was not a normal Galleon--one side was engraved with the image of a phoenix with wings outstretched.

The bartender examined the coin for a moment before tucking it into his pocket, rather than throwing it into the till with everyone else's payments.

The newcomer nodded his thanks as the bartender passed him a full glass of red liquid; he tossed it back in a single gulp, shaking his head rapidly as smoke poured from his ears. "By the way, I've been looking for a friend of mind around town," he casually said to the bartender. "You haven't seen him recently, by any chance?"

The bartender paused in thought. "Well, I might've," he replied. "Was he about this high--" The bartender held three fingers out at the desired height. "With a patch over this eye--" He formed a circle with his fingers and held it over his right eye. "And a small scar just so?" He traced a jagged line from cheek to jowl with his index finger.

The newcomer shook his head. The bartender shrugged. "Well, then, probably not. I can't remember every man that comes into this place, after all."

The stranger rose from his seat, thanked the bartender again for his drink, and exited the pub. But he didn't leave from the same door that he entered; rather, he used the door that led to the many guest rooms of the Hog's Head Inn. No one even cared to look up as he went.

Remus Lupin managed to hide his smile until the door had firmly closed behind him. Aberforth Dumbledore was a good man, and clever, too. He understood and reciprocated the signals perfectly, as the late Albus had said he would; no Death Eater would even suspect at the double entendres rippling beneath the surface of their short conversation. Remus immediately set about looking for the stairs, as Aberforth had said that his "friend" was currently in Room Three-Oh-One.

Having reached said room, Remus gently knocked on the weathered door before pushing it open, entering, and closing it behind him softly. Beyond the doorway lay a small guest room, furnished with only a battered wooden table (equipped with three full glasses of butterbeer) and several rickety chairs. In one of the chairs sat a dark figure, his hood pulled over his face. The flickering light from the lone candle on the table cast flying shadows over his mysterious features.

"You're late, Lupin," sneered the man without looking up. "Do you always keep your appointments waiting?"

"My apologies, Severus," Remus replied calmly, pulling out a chair and sitting down with a loud creak. "It's awfully difficult to convince your pregnant wife to let you go out and meet a known Death Eater in private, you know, even if he is the Headmaster of Hogwarts and all that."

Severus Snape snorted and tossed his head, shaking the hood off and revealing his face for the first time. "I wouldn't know," he drawled, "having never been in the situation before, and I am glad never to have that opportunity."

Remus ignored him. "Severus, why did you ask that Harry come as well? You do realize that he is as likely to kill you as lay eyes on you at this point?"

"Oh, as you tried to do when we first met?" Severus asked bitterly. "That was the point of this meeting--there are some things that he needs to know firsthand, not just have it passed on by hearsay. Your presence is necessary as an objective witness; I have a feeling Potter will believe your words more than mine." Severus sneered. "Believe me, if I could forego this meeting, I would, as I have no desire to meet Potter's eyes again."

"Yes, about that..." Remus tapped a finger on the table. "Why do you hate Harry so much?"

"Because he looks exactly like his arrogant git of a father," Severus immediately responded. "And he has all the attitude of his father's best friend."

"Now, now, Severus," Remus countered. "I don't think that's quite true. Harry's a good boy, and he certainly doesn't have either James' or Sirius' attitude. You mentioned his eyes a moment ago, and I think that's quite appropriate--Harry does respond to things in the same way his mother used to. Now, Lily--"

"Don't say her name!"

Remus paused, while Severus gazed at him with as pained an expression as if he had been struck in the stomach. "Right, then," Remus said slowly. "I think that answered my question."

As the two wizards held a staring match with each other, the door swung open; a brown-haired, blue-eyed young man entered the guest room and slammed the door shut. "Sorry I'm late, Remus," said the man, running both hands through his hair and over his face. As he spoke, the glamours that were covering him faded away, revealing a very mussed Harry Potter. "Hermione and Ron were taking forever to get to bed. What was it you needed to see me about?"

"Actually," Severus drawled before Remus could speak, "I was the one who needed to see you."

Half a moment later, Severus found himself pinned against the wall with a furious Harry's wand pressed into his jugular. "Very good, Potter," he choked out. "I see you've been working on your reaction times. Mediocre, but better."

"Severus, don't push him," Remus warned. "Harry, put Severus down."

"But--but he's a traitor!" Harry yelled, his wand still at Severus' throat. "He killed Dumbledore--don't tell me you actually trust the bastard?!"

"Harry, without Severus helping us, the Order of the Phoenix would have been ambushed by Death Eaters three times already," Remus said wearily. "And that's counting after Dumbledore passed on."

"Dumbledore didn't pass on," Harry growled. "He was murdered, in cold blood, by Snape! I was there, I heard Dumbledore begging for his life on the Astronomy Tower!"

"That's where your incomplete mind falls flat, Potter," Severus gasped. "He was asking me to kill him, not spare him! He knew he didn't have much time--he showed me his memories via Legilimency--that poison he drank in the cave was slowly killing him as it was! Not to mention that the curse on his hand was enough to have him dead by the end of the month, poison or no poison. I ended his life as painlessly as I could--he had made me promise him as much."

Remus nodded. "Severus is right, Harry--I saw the memories in a Pensieve. Now, would you please let him down? There are things he has to tell us, and I would like to finish this in a calm manner, if you would."

Harry grumbled, but did release Severus after several more seconds. The Headmaster massaged his throat before righting his chair and settling down again, opposite a glaring Harry. "Thank you kindly for not killing me yet, Potter," he said snidely. "I have information to give that you would prefer to have me alive to tell."

"Just spill it already," Harry muttered as he took a swallow from his glass of butterbeer. "I'm not in the mood for your little mind games tonight."

"As you wish." Severus drank from his own glass. "First of all, Draco Malfoy finally reappeared after months of fleeing the Dark Lord's wrath."

"And why should I give a damn about Ferret Boy?" Harry snarled.

"Harry, let him finish," Remus said, rubbing his face with both hands. "I just want to get back to Tonks soon."

Severus watched them dispassionately for a moment before continuing. "When he was, shall we say, questioned, he told a very interesting story. It seems that he had managed to travel to a parallel universe--a theory that Dumbledore had worked on many years ago--and discovered a Muggle society aware of magic. Or, more specifically, they knew our society's history only as a work of fiction. He managed to bring one of these books back with him."

Severus reached into his robes and pulled a miniature book from his pocket. A wave of his wand later, and a full-size Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets lay on the table in front of the three wizards. Remus picked it up and began flipping through the pages with interest.

"Frankly, Potter, I found it an interesting read," Severus commented to a now pale Harry. "I was especially curious about why you disrupted my class five years ago with Filibuster Fireworks--it would explain why an inordinate amount of boomslang skin disappeared around the same time."

"Severus, would you just tell us what this has to do with the price of an egg?" Remus asked tiredly, setting the book back on the table.

"I am getting there. During Draco's stay, he was taken in by a girl his age--a seeming Muggle who was recently orphaned. He discovered that she was most certainly not a Muggle. According to him, she had the most magical power he had ever seen and was a natural hand-caster. He taught her about magic over the course of several months, and she learned everything as if she had grown up in a pureblood household. And over those months, he seemingly fell in love with her." Here Severus sneered on the word 'love.'

Harry made a great pretense of yawning. "So you called us here, in the middle of the night, to tell us about Malfoy's love life? How touching. Did they get married and live happily ever after, too?"

"Actually," Severus retorted with great asperity, "the Dark Lord was so displeased with Draco's conduct that he sent him off forthwith to join his ancestors." Harry's jaw dropped; and with some pleasure at that sight, Severus continued. "But that was not the point of my tale. Rather, Draco was especially fond of recalling that the girl--Estella, I believe--was a spitting image of one of the persons in this room."

Remus, who had just taken a drink, choked as he tried to swallow. Severus eyed him suspiciously for a moment before rummaging in his pockets again and retrieving a small photograph. He tossed it on the table, and both Harry and Remus leaned over to get a better look.

It was a Muggle picture, small and uncropped. A girl was standing in the midst of a forest, the leafy trees bright green during what must have been spring. The girl herself was smiling at the camera--or was it at the person operating it?--with one hand frozen in an eternal wave. Her black hair spilled down her shoulders, and her green eyes were alit with delight.

The glass in Remus' hand fell to the floor with a loud crash. But Remus ignored it. "No," he whispered. "No, it can't be--she's dead, that's what Dumbledore said--"

"Hang on--she looks just like me!" Harry exclaimed, obviously shocked. "Wait--how could this possibly--is this some type of joke?!" He stared at Severus accusingly; but the Headmaster just returned a smug gaze.

"Harry," Remus said shakily. "There's something I should probably tell you. I never did before, because Dumbledore--we didn't think it would make a difference. When Lily discovered that she was pregnant, she and James opted on not undergoing magical tests because they wanted it to be a surprise. Well, once Lily went into labor, all of us had the biggest surprise of our lives..."