Dumbledore's Secret

Chapter 7

Remus looked, once again, at the entrance to the kitchen, then down at his watch. Where the hell were they? It had been 45 minutes, and there was still no sign of them, no word of what had happened. Suddenly angry, he jumped out of his seat and began pacing. Why hadn't Albus asked him to go as well? Remus immediately shook his head. Come on, Moony, this is no time for wounded pride. But it wasn't just that ... he could have been there, helping; instead he was stuck in the kitchen of this blasted house with the women and the old men. Well, perhaps it was a bit of wounded pride after all. He caught sight of Bill and Arthur talking intently at the table, and he managed a wry smile. He didn't suppose they would be too happy with his description of the crowd still gathered.

The meeting had broken up almost immediately after Albus and the others had left. Minerva had tried to keep the discussion going, explaining that Albus had instituted the coin - which had been charmed with a protean spell, thanks to a rather brilliant idea from Hermione Granger - as a means of emergency communication from Hogwarts. But as soon as she finished her explanation, no one else felt like talking, and after a few minutes of tense silence, the remaining members of the Order had decided to adjourn for dinner. Molly was now at the stove, stirring a large pot of what smelled to be a delicious stew. But Remus didn't think he could eat. God, what if something had happened to them? Then, he began to pace faster. What if something had happened to her?

"Remus, stop that and come over here." At the sound of Minerva's stern voice, he halted his frantic movement and looked over at the transfiguration professor. Beside her was Albus's granddaughter, her eyes closed. How could she sleep at a time like this? he wondered bitterly. As he walked toward her, however, he saw that her hands were balled into tight fists and one of her feet was tapping anxiously on the stone floor.

When he sat beside Minerva, she put a gentle hand on his shoulder and said, "I know."

He looked sharply at her, then felt immediately ashamed. Of course she knows, her husband is out there. He nodded and looked at the doorway again.

"Well, now will be as good a time as any to tell you," Minerva said.

He glanced at her with questioning eyes.

"Albus and I want you to be the DADA professor again next year."

"Me?" he asked in surprise.

She laughed. "You are the Remus Lupin who served as DADA professor three years ago, are you not?"

Remus frowned. "I am the professor who nearly got Albus Dumbledore thrown out of his job."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "You give yourself too much credit, my dear. It would take a great deal more than a werewolf to get Albus Dumbledore removed as headmaster. Didn't anyone tell you that last year, when Albus took a ... temporary leave, shall we say, the headmaster's office simply refused to let Dolores Umbridge enter? Thank goodness, too, because I had no desire to share my residence with that old bullfrog."

Remus couldn't help himself. He burst into laughter.

"That's better," she said, smiling. "Can I take that as a yes?"

He sighed. "I don't know that it's wise, Minerva." He had to force himself to say these words. God knows he wanted the job back. That year had been one of the best in his life. There had been that one moment, just as he had emerged from the Shrieking Shack, when he had felt that all was right with the world: he was a professor at the greatest school for magic on the globe; next to him stood his best friend, an innocent man; and beside them both was James's son, who was growing into a noble, brave young man. Then, of course, he had transformed, and the werewolf had ruined everything.

"Now Remus, don't bother giving me any of your excuses."

"Seriously, Minerva, there are real obstacles. The parents would never accept it ..."

"Many of the parents who objected before were Death Eaters, and we don't give a whit what they think. The others ... well, you may not be their first choice, but they'll accept you if Albus explains that it's for the best. Besides, the students are very fond of you. You were by far the best Defense professor we have had at Hogwarts in a decade."

He shook his head. "I think you're exaggerating. Anyway, what about my duties with the Order? This summer, I'll be traveling across Europe, trying to convince the major packs to join us ... these negotiations might easily continue into the fall and winter ..."

"I said, none of your excuses. Alastor has agreed to fill in when needed."

"Then why doesn't he simply take the job? He was meant to have it two years ago, and I have no doubt that he's far more qualified ..."

"Alastor doesn't want the job, Remus, and you do, no matter what excuses you might give. Besides, Alastor wouldn't be nearly as good with the students. He'd probably spend more time suspecting them than teaching them, anyway." She stared at him with her unyielding grey eyes. "Well?"

He took a deep breath. "All right. I accept."

"Good." Then she turned to the woman beside her. "Then let me introduce you to a future colleague. Remus, this is Charlotte Richardson, soon to be History of Magic Professor."

The woman opened her eyes at the sound of her name. She looked at him and smiled wanly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," he responded. Then, grinning suddenly, he turned to Minerva and said, "So, you've finally convinced someone to take the job from Binns?"

Minerva smirked. "The best part of it is that I've convinced Charlotte that I'm doing her the favor!"

Charlotte's smile grew. "I still cannot believe you hired me. You may very well regret your decision when you walk in on me lecturing about the history of Quidditch and the sport's relationship to wizarding society."

Remus and Minerva exchanged glances. "Sounds a hell of a lot more interesting than anything I ever learned in History of Magic!" Remus said. "Where do I sign up?"

"Well, you'll have to join the first years for that class. I was thinking that it might be a good way to ease the kids into history. But come time for their comprehensive exams, I'll have to stick to the more traditional stuff, I suppose."

Minerva looked impressed. "You've done a lot of work for one afternoon!"

Charlotte shook her head. "I hardly know what I'm doing at all. Until this afternoon, I didn't know that O.W.L.s were anything besides birds, and I only vaguely knew the difference between a quaffle and a snitch. I've got so much reading to do."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "You're American, right? Things are a bit different there, I suppose? I've visited Salem a couple of times, and I was once in New York ..."

Charlotte shrugged. "It depends on where you are. Salem, New York, Boston ... the places with a fairly large concentration of wizards are probably quite similar to British wizarding society. But if you get into small-town America ... most witches and wizards, myself included, are almost completely muggle raised."

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound at the door, and Remus looked up quickly.

"Sorry, only me," Hestia Jones said, grimacing. "Had to take a ciggy break ... I'm addicted."

Sighing, Remus pulled himself out of his chair. "I'm going to see if Molly needs help," he said, suddenly restless.

Both Minerva and Charlotte stood as well, but when they got to the cooking area, Molly tried to shoo them all away.

"Molly, if you don't give me something to do," Remus said, "I'm going to go mad."

She gave him a look of pity, then said, "All right, you stir this for a moment. Minerva, you can set the table." Then she turned to Charlotte. "Dear, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Molly Weasley."

"Charlotte Richardson. It's good to meet you."

"And you, dear, though I wish we could have met under better circumstances. I am sorry about your mother."

Charlotte nodded, then looked away. "Is there anything I can do?"

Molly held out a cup of tea. "You can take this over to that chair and drink up. You look exhausted."

Charlotte sighed. "Thanks, but I've had so much tea today ... in fact, if you could point me to a bathroom..."

"Of course. Just head up the stairs to the second level ... but mind you, be careful in the hallway. Mrs. Black's portrait is none too friendly if you wake her. Goodness knows how many times Tonks has set the portrait screaming ..."

Remus jumped at the sound of her name and dropped the spoon into the stew. As he watched it sink, he muttered, "Fuck."

Molly and Charlotte looked at him in surprise, and he grimaced. "Sorry."

Molly patted his shoulder and said, "There, there, I'm sure she's fine."

Remus was too tired and worried to be embarrassed by his transparency anymore. If Tonks was so fine, he wondered, where the hell was she?

*

Charlotte stopped dead in the middle of the hallway at the sound of whispering voices. She had just come out of the bathroom and was trying to feel her way through the dark corridor when she heard, "Ouch! You're stepping on my foot!"

"Well, if you wouldn't crowd the doorway ..." a boy's voice whined.

"I told you, my ear won't extend as far as yours ..." interrupted a girl.

Charlotte called out tentatively. "Hello?"

There was a moment of dead silence before the girl whispered back, "Who's there?"

"Uh ... " Charlotte stared into the darkness, but she couldn't see much of anything. "Uh, my name is Charlotte ..."

"Oh!" There was a quick rustling noise, and then two teenagers stepped out into the hallway, their wands lit so that she could see their faces.

"Hi!" said the girl, sticking out a hand. "I'm Ginny Weasley."

"And I'm Ron," said the boy, smiling almost shyly at her.

She took the girl's hand, then the boy's, and said, "Molly is your mom, then?"

They nodded and then Ron asked, "Do you think it's okay for us to come downstairs? I'm starving."

Charlotte hesitated, then said, "Yeah, I suppose so." Since the meeting had long since broken up, she hardly saw the harm in having them get some dinner. "So, are you both Hogwarts students?" she asked in a whisper as they headed down to the first floor.

"Yes, I'm going to be in my sixth year, and Ginny will be in her ... oi, watch out for that umbrella stand, Miss Richardson!" Ron whispered urgently when she had reached the bottom step.

Charlotte made sure to dodge the hideous troll-arm, then she turned around slowly. "Miss Richardson?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ron, you idiot!" Ginny whispered.

"How did you know my last name when I only told you my first name?"

It was too dark, even with the wand light, to tell for sure, but Charlotte could almost feel him blushing. "Uh ... uh .... Oh! Fred told me."

"Fred?"

"Yeah, our brother," Ginny interjected. "He's in the Order. He came up to use the loo and told us ... told us your name."

"Really? What an odd thing for him to tell you."

"Uh ... well, we had a cousin named Richardson once," Ron said quickly. "It was an interesting coincidence."

"I see." Charlotte paused. "This wouldn't have anything to do with those ears you were talking about, would it?"

"Uh ..." Ginny and Ron exchanged anxious glances. Then, before they could come up with any more excuses, the front door opened suddenly.

Charlotte gasped when she saw her granddad, leaning heavily on Severus, hobble into the hall.

"Professor Dumbledore? Snape?!" Ron whispered.

"Oh my god," Charlotte said, rushing toward the two men. "Is he okay?"

"I'm fine, child, I'm fine, just tired."

"Weasley!" Severus bit out, looking over at the red headed boy. "You and Miss Weasley, run down to the kitchen and put on some strong tea for the headmaster."

The two kids stared at Severus for a moment before he growled, "What part of that order do your simple minds not understand? Get!"

As the two teens raced to the basement stairwell, Charlotte went to her grandfather and put an arm about his waist.

"What ..." Charlotte began.

"Let's get him to the kitchen," Severus said quietly, "and then we can talk about what happened."

"You don't have to talk about me as if I'm not here," Albus said, and Charlotte sighed with relief at the sound of amusement in his voice.

On the way down the stairs, they nearly ran into Remus and Arthur, both of whom were rushing up to help them.

"Just give us space!" Severus grumbled.

"What is going on! Albus are you ..." Minerva cried as soon as they had entered the kitchen.

Molly rushed over with several mugs of tea, and Hestia and Diggle had pushed several chairs out of the way so that Albus, Severus, and Charlotte could make their way through the room. "Here, Dumbledore! Just rest here," Diggle said excitedly.

Albus held up a hand. "I'm fine, Hogwarts is fine ..."

"Tonks ... the others?" Remus asked.

Albus managed a smile. "Everyone's fine. Minerva, Charlotte, Severus, come sit with me over here," he said, indicating the darkened corner where Severus had sat earlier. "Please, the rest of you, carry on with dinner. I'll be fine. I just need to discuss a few things."

Charlotte noticed that Remus, who had seemed so mild mannered with his salt and pepper hair and slightly tattered robes, now glared fiercely at them as they gathered in the privacy of the corner.

"Now," her granddad said as he sat down. He cradled a mug of tea in his hands, but he didn't drink from it. "Now," he repeated without elaborating.

Charlotte looked anxiously at Severus. His dark brown eyes bored into hers, and she felt some measure of him wash over her. He was scared, no, terrified. Charlotte's hands began to shake.

"Albus," Minerva whispered, grabbing one of his hands and rubbing it between her two smaller ones.

Her grandfather looked up suddenly, as if Minerva's fingers contained electric charges. Meeting Charlotte's eyes, he said with an even voice, "They left your mother's body in front of the gates of Hogwarts."

Charlotte found that she could not look away from his eyes. She sensed his suffering, even his horror, at seeing his daughter's corpse. And then something happened that had occurred only once before in Charlotte's life. When she had been 6, she'd asked Guinevere what her grandparents had been like, and her mother had stared at her, saying only, "They are dead." Yet the moment her mother had looked at her, Charlotte had seen the flash of an image, a woman with dark brown hair and wide, blue-grey eyes, falling backwards as a burst of green light struck her chest. Now, nearly 25 years later, Charlotte could see the image of her own mother, her body dangling from the front gates of Hogwarts. Gasping, Charlotte broke eye contact.

"Charlotte," her grandfather said, putting a hand on her cheek. He tried to turn her face back to his, but she was too afraid to see what was in his eyes. Gently, though, he compelled her to look at him. But this time, instead of seeing her mother, she saw only the blueness of his irises.

"Amazing," he whispered.

"What do you mean..."

He shook his head. "Later. I'll explain later." Then he took his hand from her face and said, "I'm sorry Charlotte, but we had to bury her without you. We could not wait. But we can have a service when you ..."

Charlotte nodded quickly, not wanting him to go on. He seemed to understand because, instead of continuing, he pulled a piece of parchment out of his robe. He let Minerva look over it quickly.

"The two of you," he then said to Charlotte and Severus, "should read this."

He handed the parchment to Charlotte, and Severus moved his chair closer to hers so that he could read it, as well. When they had both finished, they glanced at each other, then at Albus. "Well, this is what we should have expected, I suppose," she said.

Severus nodded and added, "Malfoy made a similar threat to me earlier today, just before the students left Hogwarts."

Her grandfather's face flushed a dark red. "You take it so casually, both of you!" His voice carried across the kitchen, and all the others became silent.

Charlotte drew back, stunned. Severus said quietly, "Albus ..."

"I refuse to let anything happen to either of you!" he roared, rising out of his chair. Minerva reached for his hand, but he brushed her aside and said, "Do not try to calm me, do not try to placate me." The entire kitchen was now dead silent. "You all treat me like a bumbling old fool, but my daughter is dead!"

"As is Charlotte's mother," Minerva said softly.

His face crumpling, he fell back into his seat. "Yes ... yes."

Charlotte looked down at her hands and whispered, "If you want me to go into hiding, I will." Then she met her grandfather's eyes and said, "But I think we both know I'll never be safe, nor will Severus, not while he still lives. Nor will you or anyone in this room, for that matter. I don't want to hide. It feels ... wrong. But if you need me to disappear... for your well being, I will."

"Oh, child, I'm sorry," Albus said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. Then he sighed. "No, you cannot go into hiding permanently. It would not do." Then, the smallest of smiles appeared on his lined face. "And I know Severus will make no such noble offer, anyhow."

"I would go mad," Severus responded quietly, and Charlotte glanced at him, surprised at his candor.

"As would Charlotte, I think." Albus sighed again. "But for the summer, at least, I think I shall have to ask you to do this. Minerva and I will be away most all of the summer. Today, Madam Marchbanks approached me about serving as an envoy of sorts to the other magical communities throughout Europe, and perhaps even farther. If we can get more support from abroad ... but I cannot leave worrying about the two of you, not when I'm so far away. And as most of the staff at Hogwarts will also be gone... I do not think it's safe there at the moment."

Severus let out a long breath. "Then where..."

"I think we are sitting in the safest spot of all, actually."

Severus's face fell.

"It's unplottable, and I'm the secret keeper. Remus," Albus called to the other side of the kitchens. After Albus's outburst, the others had made no pretense of minding their own business. They all watched raptly as Remus came to join the four of them.

"Remus, Sirius willed you this house, did he not?" Albus asked.

Remus nodded. "Well, it's entrusted to me until Harry is of age."

"No," Severus whispered, his face becoming even paler than normal.

Charlotte was surprised by his reaction. She looked around ... the place certainly wasn't very cheery, but it didn't seem that bad. Of course, she thought bitterly, he was probably more upset about the company he'd be forced to keep than his surroundings. He had made it quite clear in the morning that whatever rapport they had developed after their encounter with Voldemort was a thing of the past.

"Then you wouldn't mind hosting Severus and Charlotte this summer?"

Severus had closed his eyes. "Albus, surely there's some other ..."

"I will brook no argument," Albus said, his face fierce.

"Of course they may stay," Remus said, almost grinning.

Albus nodded and said, "Good. Now, Molly, Arthur ..." he rose and walked over to the long kitchen table. "We should discuss in more detail what to do about Harry this summer ..."

Minerva also rose and found a seat at the table. Severus turned to Remus and scowled. "Go on, then, I know what you're thinking."

Remus grinned. "I don't know what you mean."

"Tell me, Lupin, are you going to keep us up with your howling on the full moon, or is the Wolfsbane potion that I brew strong enough to keep you tamed?"

Remus smiled tightly. "Don't worry, Severus. I'll be gone most of the summer. You know, doing important work for the Order while you're lounging about here. Does that sound familiar?"

Charlotte was put off by the tension between the two men. As Remus walked back to the table, she asked Severus, "What was that all about?"

He leaned close to her. "Are you nervous," he asked, his voice scornful, "about sharing a house with a werewolf?"

"No, but I am nervous about sharing a house with you."

They stared at each other for a moment, then Severus frowned and looked away.

Suddenly flustered, Charlotte got up and went to the table.

"Well," Molly was saying as Ron handed Charlotte a steaming bowl of stew. "It will be a full house then."

She felt Severus directly behind her, and his arm brushed hers as he reached for a bowl himself. "Full with only 3 people?" he asked, sitting down beside Charlotte.

"Well, well!" Molly said with an overly bright smile. "Severus, I think this is the first time you've joined us for dinner. I'm so glad."

Charlotte noticed that Molly was just about the only person who seemed to think this. Well, Albus and Minerva were exchanging amused looks, but the Weasley children, in particular, looked disgusted.

Severus did not respond to Molly's cheery greeting. He instead tucked in, glaring at anyone who dared look at him while he ate.

"Uh, well," Molly continued, apparently feeling the tension. "Yes, it will be a full house when we bring Harry to stay around his birthday. And of course, the occasional Order member stays over and ..."

Severus' spoon clattered against his bowl. "Potter is staying here, too?"

"Yes, Severus," Albus said gently from the other end of the long table. "He'll be here at the end of July. I think it will be safer than the Burrow ..."

"Bloody hell," he muttered, leaving his bowl of stew half eaten as he pushed angrily away from the table.

"Thank god he's gone!" Ron said as soon as Severus had left.

"Really Ron!" Molly reprimanded. "That's no way to talk about your professor."

Ron rolled his eyes, and one of his brothers said, "What a poor birthday present for Harry!" The twin made a face. "Can you imagine, Snape jumping out of a box?"

"Doesn't anyone like Severus?" Charlotted asked suddenly.

Everyone at the table stared at her.

"Well, I'll admit he can be quite ill-tempered, but he can also be..." She stopped, suddenly unsure why she was defending him. She dropped the subject, and most everyone else began to discus other things.

As she got up to put her dishes in the sink, her grandfather and Minerva came up to her. "We wanted to say goodbye," Albus said with a sad smile.

"You're leaving now?" Charlotte frowned, feeling very lonely all of a sudden.

Minerva nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. We have a good bit to do before we can leave the country tomorrow. I wish we had more time to spend with you ..."

Charlotte nodded understandingly.

"I've already arranged for your things to be brought here, as well as a decent library of history books, so you can prepare for class," Albus said. "By the way, I don't think I've had a chance to welcome you to the Hogwarts staff, and to tell you how proud I am to have you join us."

She smiled uneasily. "Well, I hope I do the school justice ..."

"Oh, nonsense!" Minerva huffed. Then, the older woman kissed her cheek and went over to say farewell to the rest of the Order.

"I want you to have something," her grandfather said quietly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful mahogany wand. "It was your mother's. She ... she left it behind when she decided to leave Hogwarts. I knew, after I buried her today, I knew you should have it. I don't know if it will work as well as a wand made especially for you, but ..."

She took the wand from him and then threw her arms about him. "Thank you. I think it will be perfect."

He held her tightly for a moment, then pulled back and said, "When I get back in August, we will have plenty of time to catch up."

She nodded. "Just stay safe."

"And you ..."

"I will." She smiled wryly. "So long as Severus doesn't kill me, that is."

Her grandfather's eyes twinkled for the first time that night. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that."