Rebirth

Chapter 8: Enlightenment

As Sirius Apparated into the village of Hogsmeade, the first thing he saw in front of him was an enormous bronze statue of Harry, although it didn't look much like the Harry that Sirius remembered. The statue portrayed a young, flawlessly handsome young man, a wand in one hand and a broom in the other. He was staring dreamily into space with the definite air of a tragic hero. At the statue's feet were a large collection of tributes, presumably left by fans and supporters. There were flowers, notes, coins and even a real Firebolt propped up against the model in the fake Harry's hands. Sirius smiled to himself. Harry would have hated it.

He paused for a moment to look at it, paying silent respects to his godson, before pulling his hood over his face and walking away.

His first stop was the Shrieking Shack. He walked up to the gates of Hogwarts, and transformed himself into a large black dog. He slipped through the gates and made his way to the Whomping Willow, keeping as close to the edges of the grounds as he could. Since all the students were in classes and the weather was not particularly nice, he was confident that he hadn't been detected as he dragged a stick over to the tree and pushed it through a small gap in the roots. The tree immediately stilled and he made his way through the roots and into the passageway that lead to the shack.

Once inside, Sirius could see that the house had been occupied, and from experience he knew that Remus had used it during a transformation. There were traces of blood on the floor that looked reasonably fresh and fresh scratches on the walls and floor that revealed clean wood in contrast to the dirt encrusted scratches made years before.

On the grubby bed against the wall was the remains of a piece of bread that was starting mould and a shrivelled apple core. It didn't seem likely that Remus had been here recently. After spending half an hour or so looking round for anything that might give him an idea of Remus's whereabouts he left, unsatisfied and none the wiser. He made his way down the streets, pulling his hood up and keeping his head down. He was easily recognisable and didn't want to have to answer any awkward questions. He was all too aware of how quickly news could travel in the wizarding world.

He was starting to feel thirsty so he decided to go into the Hog's Head and ask a few discreet questions. It was a risk, but he was far less likely to cause a fuss in there than in the Three Broomsticks where the clientele had less to hide.

He didn't order a drink, not wanting to alert the barman to his presence, but instead lifted an almost full tankard of mulled mead from the table of a grimy looking wizard who was either passed out or asleep, sprawled across two chairs with his hat across his face.

Sirius looked around the dank room until he found what he was looking for. There were a group of wizards sitting at the far end of the bar huddled together and deep in conversation. Sirius knew most of them by sight if not by name, and if anyone would know of any strange occurrences in the village over the last few months, it would be them.

He sidled up to them slowly, trying his best to blend in with the strange collection of misfits that occupied the pub.

"Gentlemen," he said in a low voice as he approached them, sitting at an empty stool to the left of the group. He faced the bar and spoke quietly over his shoulder to them.

"Black," said wizard of Sirius's age who wore black robes and a pair of extremely large dark glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose. "I heard you'd returned."

"What's an upstanding citizen like you doing hiding in a place like this?" asked a younger wizard with a sly, thin face and shifty eyes.

"Looking for a friend," said Sirius. "Just wondering whether any of you might have seen anything out of the ordinary over the last few months. Anything the authorities wouldn't know about?"

"Who's asking?" said another wizard that Sirius didn't recognise. "You or the Ministry?" Sirius stared down at his glass, resisting the temptation to turn round and look at the men directly.

"I'm asking," he whispered firmly. "The Ministry doesn't know I'm here and I don't particularly want them to find out. This is strictly a personal mission. I have a score to settle. Nothing more."

"Why should we tell you if we know anything?" came another voice. A wry smile spread cross Sirius's lips. Although the wizard was covered from head to toe in shabby, greying robes, Sirius recognised his voice instantly.

"Because you want to help an old friend," he said slowly and deliberately. "We're all hiding from someone, whether it be the Ministry or a group of angry goblins."

"Alright, alright, let's not get personal." The wizard moved quickly around the group to Sirius's side and pulled him away to a darkened corner.

"Hello Dung," said Sirius, smiling heartily. "Thought you were dead."

"Thought you were too," said Mundungus, his eyes darting nervously over Sirius's shoulders.

"I'm trying to find Remus," said Sirius, keeping his voice low. "He went missing about six months ago and he's gone a bit off the rails. Have you heard anything?"

"I might 'ave. What's it worth?" said Mundungus shiftily. Sirius laughed.

"You've got some nerve. How about me keeping it quiet that you're hanging around the Hogs Head when you're supposed to be dead?" he said, uncertain whether to be amused or angry with Mundungus' ruthless audacity. Mundungus grinned ruefully.

"Yeah, alright. Maybe I did 'ear somethin'," he said thoughtfully. "Didn't mean much at the time, but it could have had somethin' to do with Remus, I s'pose. I overheard Hagrid saying that someone had got into his chickens at the school and torn 'em apart. 'E reckoned it was the Centaurs, but it didn't sound right to me. I mean, they can be a vicious lot but it don't seem like 'em to just rip up a load of chickens for no reason. Hagrid reckoned they was all acting jumpy lately. They don't talk to 'im no more but 'e reckons they're angry about somethin'."

"Perhaps because someone's hanging around the forest that they don't approve of," said Sirius, thinking aloud. "So Remus is in the forest."

Sirius thanked Mundungus and set down the tankard of mulled mead in front of its owner, untouched.

As he walked back towards Hogwarts, he felt distinctly uneasy. If Remus was in the forest things were worse than he had thought. Remus had always been so careful around the students and had left his job rather than put them at risk from him during his transformations. If he was not only hiding in the forest, but also venturing out to Hagrid's chickens in the grounds of the school, he was well beyond rational thinking.

It was already well passed noon and he knew he wouldn't have much time before Dumbledore was alerted to his absence from Grimmauld Place and sent someone after him. He had to find Remus quickly before Hermione returned home from work and realised where he'd gone.

Once at the school gates, he transformed himself once more and slipped into the grounds. He had to be more careful this time, as there were plenty of students walking around, presumably on their lunch break. He crept along the edge of the grounds, hiding amongst the trees and bushes as much as he could until he reached the edge of the forest. If he could just get inside the forest without detection he would be safe, since it was out of bounds to students and no one but Hagrid went in there. But it seemed he was too late.

"The headmaster would like to see you in his office, Sirius." came a stern voice behind him. He froze. He could make a run for it into the forest, but he already knew it was pointless. He turned round to see Minerva McGonagall standing behind him, her hands on her hips.

Sirius transformed into his human state and followed Minerva wordlessly into the castle and up to Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Sirius," said Professor Dumbledore, smiling warmly. "So good to see you again. And looking so much better."

"How did you know I'd be here?" asked Sirius, curious to learn how he had managed to blow his cover so quickly. He sat down in a chair opposite Dumbledore's desk.

"You're getting careless in your old age, Sirius," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as he regarded his companion. "Did you think I wouldn't notice a large black dog wandering around my school? And I do still have quite a lot of pull at the Hog's Head, you know."

Sirius mentally kicked himself for his stupidity. He should have known better than to try and get past Dumbledore right under his nose. Dumbledore was not quite correct. He was not getting careless, just arrogant. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his great-great-grandfather smirking at him from his portrait on the wall.

"I need to get into the forest," said Sirius, coming right to the point. "Remus is in there and I need to find him."

"I agree," said Dumbledore. Sirius looked up at him with surprise. He hadn't expected this. "If anyone can find him, you can. I have known he was in the forest for some time but I was hoping that I could resolve the situation myself. He has been taking more and more risks lately, and something has to be done. He is a danger to himself and to the students in my care and he has to be taken to task. If you don't find him, the Ministry will. And they will not attempt to make him see reason. They will kill him on sight." Sirius knew he was right and felt panic starting to rise inside him. He had to find him. He couldn't let the Ministry get to him before he had had chance to talk to him.

"How much do you know about the circumstances surrounding Harry's death?" asked Dumbledore. "I assume you have already found out more than I originally told you."

"Some, but I still get the impression that I don't know everything. There are a few things that still don't add up," said Sirius, leaning back into the chair thoughtfully. "I know that Harry didn't die immediately and I know that he suffered, which affected Remus badly, but that's about it."

Dumbledore paced the room in front of Sirius for several moments before he spoke.

"I doubt we'll ever know exactly what happened the night Harry took it upon himself to take on Voldemort. He somehow managed to appeal to Voldemort's vanity and staged a one-to-one battle with him. At some point, both he and Voldemort performed the Aveda Kedavra curse at the exact same time. As had happened before, their wands became locked, but this time, we think because he used that particular spell instead of the simple Expelliarmus spell he had used the last time, when he eventually forced the spell across the bridge that linked their wands, he managed to kill Voldemort. We believe that at the moment of Voldemort's death, part of his spirit... his energy was passed into Harry. Harry was in essence possessed by a small part of Voldemort's soul, but it was a powerful part.

"We realised what had happened almost immediately, and covered up the battle until we could find out how to rid Harry of this possession. For three months, Harry battled with the darkness brewing inside him. He took more than anyone else could have coped with, pushed it down and controlled it as best he could, but nothing we could do could help him. Remus worked tirelessly to try and save him, performing spells, potions, even trying to transfer the possession to himself but he didn't succeed.

"Voldemort had not been able to reside in Harry's body for long before, we think because of Harry's loving nature, but Harry had been through so much that there was hardly any love left in him. We tried to help him fight it, believing that if we could fill his world with happiness he would be able to overcome the evil, but we failed.

"One night, Harry managed to slip through the fingers of the people trying to protect him. He returned to the site of his battle with Voldemort and took his own life. Whether it was because he could no longer control his dark side, or whether he believed it would rid the world of Voldemort forever we don't know. Remus found him as he lay dying. Moody and Tonks were close behind, and arrived moments after Harry's death. They tried to pacify Remus, but to no avail. He attacked them both and Disapparated. That was the last time anyone saw him.

"By this time, we had to tell the wizarding world something about Voldemort's apparent disappearance, so we released the story that Harry had been killed the night of the first battle, shortly before his seventeenth birthday. No one needed to know about Voldemort's possession of him or his final end. But we still had to find Remus."

Sirius listened with growing horror. He had not imagined that Harry could have suffered anything as terrible as this.

"Is Voldemort really gone? Or has he possessed Remus now?" asked Sirius, hardly daring to listen to the answer.

"We don't know," replied Dumbledore sadly. "We are hoping that the possession was directly related to Harry's link with Voldemort, that it would have been impossible for him to pass through to Remus when Harry was killed, but we don't know for sure. We have to assume the worst to allow us to take the necessary precautions."

"Do Ron and Hermione know about this?" asked Sirius. He couldn't believe that Ron would have let him go after Remus without warning him.

"As far as I know, they only know that Voldemort was banished when Harry was killed, though I wouldn't put it past Miss Granger to have worked it out for herself," Dumbledore said, a flicker of pride passing across his sad eyes.

"That would explain why she was so desperate to keep me away from here," said Sirius. "But she must have known I would try."

"Intelligent as she is, her one failing has always been her ability to trust," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "But there is one more thing I must tell you that I can barely bring myself admit." Dumbledore turned away from Sirius, staring into the portraits on the walls as if silently imploring them for support. Sirius said nothing, but waited with bated breath, wondering what could possibly be worse than what he had already heard.

"We believe we have found a... cure, if you will," said Dumbledore, his voice steeped with pain. "Amongst Severus Snape's personal collection of potions, we found a recipe that we think is designed to rid the mind of any foreign energy that might be inhabiting it. As you know, Severus was skilled in Occlumency and pre-occupied with the dark arts. One of his worst fears when he became a spy for us was possession by Voldemort, hence his determination to keep his mind impenetrable to him. He was aware of the steps Voldemort had taken to prolong his own life and his ability to possess the body of another. We believe this was a potion he had invented himself to guard against the very situation we now find ourselves in."

"So... you could have saved Harry?" Sirius asked, his eyes wide with horror.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, turning to face Sirius. "Had we known about this potion earlier, we could have saved him."

Sirius dropped his head into his hands, hardly able to bear the pain.

"We found the potion quite by accident after Severus' death," said Dumbledore, continuing to pace the room. "His family donated his research to the school a few months ago and I asked Alastor Moody to go through it before I entrusted it to our new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Alastor brought it to me immediately. It has apparently never been tested, but we believe it will work."

"I never thought I'd be sorry that Snape was dead," said Sirius, running his hands through his hair. "Even in death he managed to get one over on Harry."

Dumbledore ignored the comment, but knelt down in front of Sirius.

"It's too late to save Harry," he said gently, "but we can still save Remus. Go and find him Sirius. Bring him home."

Sirius nodded and stood up.

"I would suggest that you take Hagrid and his dog with you," said Dumbledore as Sirius turned to leave. "He knows the forest better than anyone and is an excellent tracker. I have already spoken to him and he is willing to accompany you."

Sirius nodded. He had been fully prepared to go alone, but after what Dumbledore had told him, he suddenly felt that having a half giant and a large dog with him might not be such a bad idea.