DISCLAIMER: See
A/N: This chapter is kind of sad, so if you think you might cry or something, please keep the tissues handy, just in case. I wouldn't want my story to make you cry over your computer and make you ruin it. (Sorry, but did that sound too insincere?)
CHAPTER 12: SIRIUS BLACK'S WILL AND MEMORIAL
Mihi id aurum credidit. He entrusted this gold to me. –Plautus, Aulularia (15)
The Order meeting progressed the usual way; new information and
leads,
missions assigned, and reports read. According to Kingsley Shacklebolt,
any Aurors who currently weren't on
missions were
doing guard duty in Azkaban, guarding the Death Eaters whom Harry and
his
friends fought in the Ministry. Snape also
did his
part by sharing all the new information he had gained from Voldemort,
although, as he pointed out, he was lucky to come back with any
information at
all.
"After the Dark Lord used the Cruciatus
Curse on
me a few times for failing to join the fight in the Ministry, he
finally told me
what he wanted me to do. He wanted me to brew some potions for him."
"For what purpose?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," the slick spy replied. "But some of the
ingredients and instructions look like those of a more obscure potion
I've
heard about: a Dualanimus Potion. It could
be used to
give one creature the features or abilities of another. What I don't
know is
exactly what he intends to do with all the potion; he wanted me to brew
an
awful lot of it." (1)
"Snakes," Lupin muttered.
"Sorry?"
"He's a Parselmouth and Slytherin's
last remaining descendant. Of course he likes snakes. A bunch of
snake-hybrids
at his disposal must be very tempting for him. Snakes that can fly,
snakes with
horns, snakes that can shoot fire, and more. The possibilities are
practically
endless."
A terrifying sort of silence descended on them. A moment later,
Professor
McGonagall had an idea. "Why don't we use Harry?" she suggested.
"He got the Parseltongue thing from
You-Know-Who, right? We could collect all kinds of snakes, like vipers,
cobras,
and anacondas, and have Harry command them. And if You-Know-Who breeds
any, we
could steal some and train them for our side!"
"Or breed them ourselves," Hagrid added
eagerly. (2)
"Excuse me, Hagrid, but wouldn't that get
you in
trouble with the Ministry for cross-breeding species like that?" Snape icily pointed out. Hagrid
glared at him.
"Rubeus, Severus,"
Dumbledore warned. "It is an excellent idea to use Harry to command any
'snake-troops' we might have. We could use non- magical snakes until Voldemort makes his little 'snake-hybrids.'"
The Order couldn't believe their ears. Let Voldemort
make them!?
"Severus, after you create the hybrids, use
enchantments on the creatures in case they try to get away. And I'm
sure Hagrid will love to take care of
them. One other thing; we
don't inform Harry about ANY of this until the time is right."
Snape looked shocked, and Hagrid
looked as though he'd won the lottery.
"Well, now that we're done for today, I suggest we get to lunch, and
the
kids are undoubtedly hungry by now too," Dumbledore finished.
"Meeting adjourned."
Snape made a beeline for his superior. "But
sir," he whispered urgently to Dumbledore, "After that, my role as a
spy is finished, and then we won't have any information."
"That's not necessarily true, Severus,"
his
superior reassured him. "We'll find other ways to spy, don't worry. You
have already done enough for the cause to redeem yourself. Even though
you made
the mistake of temporarily being a Death Eater, you have corrected that
mistake
countless times in the past."
Severus decided to take this advice with a
grain of
salt. "Not until this war is over and the Dark Lord lies dead will I
forgive myself and breathe freely again. By the way," he added,
remembering
something, "Potter mentioned something about a prophecy. Can you tell
it
to me?"
Dumbledore recounted the contents of the prophecy to Snape.
The latter had a gone a chalk-white at the end of it. "So Harry must
kill
or be killed?" he croaked out finally.
"That's right. I have no problem keeping this secret safe with you, my
unbreakable Legilimens. By the way,"
Dumbledore
smiled after the flattery, "I believe you just called him Harry. That's
a
start, Severus."
Snape looked aghast. He had just admitted
his
miniscule but growing concern for the boy! 'Damn,' he thought to
himself. 'You
just had to let your guard down, didn't you, Severus?'
Trying to salvage some of his fearsome demeanor, he interjected,
"That's
not true! I hate him! He didn't even thank me for saving his life in
his first
year!"
"Probably because Madam Pomfrey wouldn't
let him
out of the hospital wing," Dumbledore calmly countered, still smiling.
"You two have a lot in common, remember? I'm sure you two will get
along
just fine. Oh, and I'll do Occlumency with
Harry,
unless I'm too busy, in which case you'll do it in my place. Have fun!"
And with that, Dumbledore went off to greet Harry and his friends, who
were
just sitting down.
Snape briefly made eye contact with the
boy. Those
emerald green eyes he got from Lily seemed to be there like a reminder
to Snape that of course Harry wasn't just
James Potter's son.
He could almost hear Lily's voice in his head, saying, "Remember, Severus, he's my son too. If eyes are the
mirrors of our
souls and you're a master Legilimens, you
should see
that he didn't inherit James' mischief as well as his looks. I trust
you, Severus."
'Lily Evans, what a sweet and noble girl you were,' Snape
thought before he broke eye contact and settled himself in a corner
with some
food. 'You didn't deserve that demise. That Mudblood
comment I made the day James humiliated me, I did apologize and prove
my regret
for saying that. People tend to say things they don't mean when they're
angry,
and I know that's no excuse. I was even the spy for you who told you
and James
to go into hiding when the Dark Lord was after you. I will help your
son
vanquish your murderer; I promise you that.'
Lily and James Potter, the tragic loving couple, parents of the Boy Who
Lived,
were also Snape's childhood crush and
childhood
nemesis respectively. 'More like the Angel and the Devil,' Snape
thought savagely to himself before proceeding to tear apart his steak
perhaps a
bit more violently than he had intended to.
~*~*~*~
After lunch, Dumbledore motioned Harry to come
with him.
"Harry, the will be read tomorrow. Mr. Diggle
was Sirius' solicitor. He'll be coming here to read it at 2:00." (3)
"OK. Also, in the Department of Mysteries, I tried using this knife to
open one of the doors." He took it out of his pocket. "Sirius gave it
to me Christmas before last. It's supposed to unlock any door and undo
any
knot. It melted on that door I couldn't open. Do you have any idea how
to fix
it?"
"Don't worry," Dumbledore reassured his grieving pupil, "I own
devices much more complicated than this; I'll certainly be able
to fix
it in a few days." With a wink, Dumbledore departed from the house.
~*~*~*~
The next day dawned cold and rainy, as though the
sky was
weeping for the death of Sirius Black as well. Harry went through the
motions
of putting on his clothes as though he were a robot. Breakfast was an
almost
silent affair. He hardly ate at all. The twins were trying to do their
best to
cheer him up, and wound up trying to through breadcrumbs to get his
attention.
They only stopped when Mrs. Weasley
threatened them,
waving her frying pan around the air, unwittingly causing everyone to
duck and
put their hands over their heads for protection. The redheaded woman
looked
confused for a moment, and then she burst out laughing when she
remembered that
she brained Umbridge two days before. This
cheered
Harry up a little.
As he got up to leave, he noticed Snape
handing some
small boxes to Lupin. He walked over to
them.
"Professor Lupin?"
He smiled. "Hi, Harry. Also, feel free to call me Remus,
since I haven't been your professor two years."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "True, but you're definitely the best Defense
teacher I've ever had. So, can I ask what's happening?"
Remus sighed. "It will be the full moon in
a week.
I was just getting some supplies for the Wolfsbane
Potion."
Harry suddenly thought about something. "Remus,
if you were an Animagus, do you think you
could
prevent yourself from transforming?"
Both Remus and Snape
looked
thoughtful for a moment. "You know, I never thought of that," Remus said at last.
"That reminds me, Potter," Snape said,
"The Headmaster has asked me to tutor you in Potions for the remainder
of
the summer. Lupin will train you in
Defense and
fencing, and Professors McGonagall and Flitwick
will
assist with Transfiguration and Charms respectively. Hopefully, Potions
will go
smoother without here than at school."
Harry nodded. "Thank you, Professor Snape,"
he said politely.
"Also," Snape continued, "I believe
that Professor McGonagall mentioned that it would be a wise move to
consider
becoming an Animagus. She estimates that
within three
months of hard work, you could easily transform into the animal of your
choice."
"When I think of which animal I'd like to become, I'll let her know."
"You know, Harry," Remus said
thoughtfully,
"If I were to become an Animagus, I
suppose I
could just be a normal wolf instead of a werewolf. I'll have to ask
Professor
McGonagall if that would work. Until then, I have to do with this." She
shook the boxes of ingredients in his hands.
Harry said good-bye, and went see what his friends were doing.
The day ticked away until Mr. Diggle
arrived while
Harry was watching his friends play chess. Hermione had just won
against Ginny
went Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen.
Mr. Diggle was at the table, shuffling
through papers when he
spotted Harry.
"Ah, Mr. Potter!" he squeaked sympathetically, shaking hands with the
famous teenager, "Terribly sorry for your loss. Sirius was always so
energetic, and always looking for the best ways to use that energy, by
fighting
off evil."
"Thank you, Mr. Diggle," Harry responded.
The entire Order was settled there. Snape
was about
to leave when Diggle said, "Hang on, Severus, he left something for you too." Snape looked suspicious, and Harry couldn't
blame him.
"Probably wants to get the last joke on Snape,"
Ron muttered to him, Hermione, and Ginny, clearly hoping to get a
reaction. It
was impossible to say whether or not Snape
heard them
(mainly due to his ability to hide his feelings), but Harry just shot
Ron an
extremely nasty look that said, "Shut up." Ron looked offended, but
before anymore could be said, Diggle
cleared his
throat. He then tapped the will with his wand, and Sirius' voice was
heard
throughout the room.
"I, Sirius Black, revoke my former Wills and Codicils and declare this
to
be my last will and testament. I direct that my just debts and funeral
expenses
be first paid from my estate."
"Before I go any further, I just want to say that I hope my death,
however
it happened, didn't cause too much grief or trouble, and I hope you
don't go
doing anything rash or hasty. I know the risks I take, and I am proud
to do
them, even to die doing them."
"I ask that the following requests be fulfilled."
"To Harry Potter, my godson, I leave twenty-five percent of my gold,
the
Dark Arts books from the house's library, the anti-Dark equipment found
during
the cleaning last year, my flying motorbike, and my home at 12,
Harry looked shocked, but before he could ask about the motorbike, the
voice
continued.
"To Remus Lupin,
ten
percent of my gold and a house that apparently had been in my parent's
name
when it had been passed on to me."
Remus merely closed his eyes.
"To Nymphadora Tonks
(and yes, I know you hate that name), I leave ten percent of my gold."
Tonks looked so sad she didn't even wince
at the
sound of her first name.
"To Albus Dumbledore, five percent of my
gold to
be used for Order purposes, as well as Kreacher,
although I must warn you about his insane muttering."
Dumbledore nodded.
"To Rubeus Hagrid,
I
leave you, or should I say, return to you, Buckbeak
the hippogriff, in perfectly good health, as well as the promise that
his name
will be cleared. I also found this enormous magical creature
and monster
encyclopedia in the family library."
Hagrid smiled for a moment, remembering his
pet
hippogriff.
"To Mundungus Fletcher, I leave all the
Black
family rings, goblets, china, and other detestable junk which I know
you might
find valuable. I'm sure some collector or someone will buy them."
Mundungus' mouth was agape, and croaked
out,
"Thanks, Sirius, mate."
"To Minerva McGonagall, I leave two journals I kept over my years at
Hogwarts. One is of my illegal Animagus
training,
along with James and Wormtail, curse the
traitor, complete
with pictures. The other is a written record I kept of all the
detentions I
ever served at Hogwarts, complete with infractions and points taken
away, just
for grins. Look carefully, and you'll notice I served over half of them
with
you."
Professor McGonagall's mouth twitched for a moment as though she was
about to
grin, but she just listened like everyone else.
"To Severus Snape,
-" everyone turned towards him, his eyes wide, "-who I know I haven't
always gotten along with, especially after Harry and that Pensieve
incident last spring, I leave a marked crate in the library with your
name
written on it. I found these Potions ingredients and Dark Arts articles
over
the course of the past year, and I figured you might find some use out
of them
and put them to good purposes, like poisoning Death Eaters or
something."
Snape just stared, at a complete loss of
words, but
he smirked slightly at the last comment.
"To the Weasley family, I leave five
percent
each to Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and
Ginny. As
of this point, Percy is still schmoozing with his friends at the
Ministry, so I
ask his parents to hang on to his five percent until if and when he
comes to
his senses. I also leave to the twins an entire encyclopedia of the
Marauders'
pranks, an encyclopedia of ancient Dark magic and curses to Bill, an
old and
rare copy of a dragon encyclopedia for Charlie, and a complete history
of the Chudley Cannons for Ron."
Mr. Weasley's eyes popped and Mrs. Weasley looked about ready to faint. The twins'
eyes
gleamed hungrily, as did Ron's.
"To Hermione Granger, I leave five percent and the rest of my library
that
hasn't already been given to anyone else."
Hermione looked up, rather surprised.
"To Neville Longbottom-" he jerked his
head,
completely caught off guard, "-I leave you this box I found of some of
your parent's personal effects. Most of it comes from their days of Auror training. I'm sure they would love for you
to enjoy
them."
Neville didn't know what to say.
"To Julius and Luna Lovegood, I leave the
printing press I found in my father's study. What he used it for, I
don't know
and probably don't want to know. It also comes with a whole variety of
inks I
don't think they made in a while. I also kept that article you printed
about me
possibly being some musician. It was worth a laugh, and I signed it for
you. I
hope you can print a good article about what really happened in my
life. I'm
sure Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lupin can
supply you
with all the details. Also, you did a nice job with the March issue
where you
interviewed Harry about Voldemort's return
the
previous summer."
Father and daughter simply nodded, and gave appreciative smiles at the
compliment.
"To Arabella Figg,
as
thanks for watching out for Harry all these years, I leave all these
old cat
toys I found in my mother's room. They're only old in the sense that
they were
made a long time ago, so they work just fine. My mother had a thing for
cats. I
think the reason I chose to be a dog Animagus
had
something to do with that."
Mrs. Figg nodded solemnly.
"To Dolores Jane Umbridge, for torturing
my poor
godson, please give her my old cell in Azkaban, and maybe a few hexes
on her to
properly demonstrate Defense Against the Dark Arts. The sick old witch."
There were snickers and laughs all around.
"There is a saying that people are only truly dead when they are
forgotten, so please don't forget me. Farewell."
With that, the will went silent, and Diggle
passed
around papers that need to be signed. With a heavy heart, Harry signed
his.
"He really is gone now."
Hagrid came over to him. "It's alright,
Harry.
There are still people here for you."
Harry then remembered something. "He said something about a flying
motorbike."
"Yeah, he lent it to me the night I took you to the Muggles'
house."
"All those years before I first met you, I constantly had this favorite
dream about being on a flying motorbike. Of course, my relatives went
berserk
whenever I mentioned it. They were really touchy about anything acting
the way
it shouldn't, for obvious reasons." Hagrid
chuckled while the others got a laugh out of that. "Whatever happened
to
it anyway?"
"It was locked up with his gold and other possessions after he was
arrested," Diggle explained. "We'll try to
get it after we move all the gold to everyone else's vault." Mr. Diggle then whispered in Harry's ear, "Oh, and
we'll
try and get it to you before Mrs. Weasley
can start
about your well-being and safety. Believe me, after all the Order
meetings,
we've seen how protective she can be of you sometimes." Harry grinned.
"Thanks," he muttered.
Harry, Hermione, Snape, and Hagrid
went to the family library to look at all their different books. Harry
automatically got out the Defense books from their section, Hagrid
found the mentioned encyclopedia, and Hermione was eyeing the rest of
it, not
sure where to start. Harry turned to Snape.
"Sir, if you want any of the Potions or Defense books, just let me
know."
"That's alright, Potter, my own library, both at school and at home, is
very extensive in both subjects," Snape
lazily
responded before striding over to the mentioned crate. He magically
opened it,
and his eyes bulged. "Merlin's beard!" he exclaimed. "How on
earth could he have possibly gotten these?" Harry rushed over to see
what Snape was goggling at. Inside were a
whole variety of books
on Potions and Dark Arts, as well as several unfamiliar ingredients and
sinister-looking objects. "I'd never thought I'd say this, but thank
you,
Sirius Black," he breathed.
"Did I just hear correctly?" A voice jeered from outside. Ron
sauntered in, followed by most of his family and other Order members,
curious
as to Snape's previous exclamation.
Snape wore the sneer on his face again. "I
don't
know why it would matter to you, Weasley.
Why do you
ask?"
Taking this as an invitation to a verbal fight, Ron went on, "Oh, I
just
wanted to see whether or not Sirius got the last laugh."
Alarms went off in Harry's head; he could tell where this would lead.
Before he
could tell Ron to stop it, Snape switched
from his
trademark sneer to his patented death glare. "Oh believe me, your
friend
wasn't as innocent, even in his school days as you think, Weasley,
and this is irrelevant to the werewolf incident Lupin
told you about. Potter knows now too, or did you not hear what he said
in his
will just now about a certain Pensieve
incident?"
Ron looked furious now. Steadily growing redder in the face and
ignoring
Harry's warning looks, "That's the other thing, why would Harry stick
up
for YOU of all people, after his dad saves your life and you torture
him in
Potions? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM, YOU HOOK-NOSED, GREASY- HAIRED,
SALLOW-SKINNED, INFURIATING, GRUDGE-HOLDING, DUNGEON-DWELLING MORON WHO
WOULDN'T TAKE POINTS OFF FROM HIS OWN HOUSE EVEN IF THEY BURNED THE
SCHOOL
DOWN!?" (4)
"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley admonished while
everyone gave him looks as though he were about to die. Snape
went chalk white at being talked to this way by a student, even during
the
summer holidays; it took every ounce of will not to snarl at him.
Normally, he
would have poisoned any student who talked to him this way. Before Snape could do anything, Harry (who was incensed
at Ron's
disrespect to someone who truthfully didn't deserve it) decided to
spare his
Potions professor the trouble, took the book he was currently holding ("Wizarding Anger Management: The Consequences of
Unchecked
Magical Tempers"), and flung it straight at Ron, narrowly missing Ron's
forehead.
"WHOA! Harry, you nearly gave me a scar across my forehead, you prat!" Snape nearly
laughed
at this while Harry made to storm out of the library.
"What was that for? After all he's done to you, you lash out at me?
I swear, it's like you're turning out just like him!"
Harry looked as if he'd been hit in the face will Snape's
face went blank. "It's a little too late for that, Ron. I've already
been
through some of what he's had to suffer and I've seen some of what he's
seen.
Don't ever say anything like that again, or next time..."
Unable to
come up with something good and not wanting to fight with Ron, he left
a
stunned crowd, and a very confused-looking Ron.
~*~*~*~
Harry decided to skip dinner that evening, and
instead
engrossed himself in a book he found in the library about Animagi.
It said that people often become a certain kind of animal based on
their
personality. He was halfway through the L's when someone said,
"Harry?"
It was Snape. He looked concerned. 'This
is a
switch,' thought Harry. Likewise, all of Harry's judgments about Snape had been shattered.
"I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me back there," Snape said, with a sort of emotionless voice
with a hint of
adult seriousness. "If there was any more proof needed that you aren't
just James' son, that was it. Ironically, though, I think the book
proved you
inherited your father's Quidditch talents;
he was,
admittedly, one of the best Chasers I've ever seen."
"Thank you, sir," said Harry, going a little pink. Snape
actually praised him and his father! This he
needed to remember.
Recently, Snape figured out how Harry
was ashamed
of his father for what was witnessed in the Pensieve.
The Potions Master reasoned that in this depressing time for Harry with
his
godfather's death (and in spite of how much he loathed the
man), Harry
could do with a tiny morale booster.
"You must be hungry by now," Snape
continued, "You should hurry before Mrs. Weasley
cleans up."
"Again, thank you, sir," said Harry, getting his invisibility cloak.
"I don't really want anybody to see me," he explained. He put it on
and slipped out.
Snape spotted the book and thumbed through
it. He
stopped at the beginning of the R's. Something echoed throughout the
recesses
of his mind. I know one day you'll succeed if you put your mind to
it, my
little raven. Yes, that was it.
Snape dropped the book. His left arm was
hurting; Voldemort was calling. He was
halfway down the hall to
leave when Harry passed him in the hall, his cloak in one arm and some
chicken
in the other. "Night job," Snape muttered.
Harry understood immediately and nodded. "Oh, and tell Remus
your idea would work."
"Thanks, sir."
~*~*~*~
The next day dawned cloudy and moist, the
aftermath of
yesterday's storm. Harry was about as depressed as the morning before.
Breakfast was a silent affair; Ron would ignore him one minute, then
glare daggers
at him the next, while Harry just ignored Ron altogether.
Portkeys were used to get the kids to
Hogwarts; the
memorial would take place there. There were mainly Order members,
Ministry
members, and alumni who knew Sirius well. There was an area near the
lake with
a podium, and several rows and columns of chairs. As Harry and his
friends
approached, someone shouted "Look! It's Harry Potter!" 'Oh great,'
Harry thought, 'Here we go again.' The next thing he knew, a swarm of
journalists and photographers were running at him, cameras flashing and
quills
scurrying.
"Are you all right, Harry? How do you feel about your godfather's
death?"
"Is it true that he died like a hero fighting in the Ministry?"
"Do you have anything to say regarding the Death Eaters you and your
friends battled in the Department of Mysteries?"
In the end, Harry had to systematically push through the onslaught of
reports
until him and his friends made their way to the front row of empty
seats.
Throughout the entire ceremony, Harry remained silent. Half of time, he
was
immersed in his own thoughts, the other half, he was listening to
praise from
Dumbledore, Lupin, and others who knew him
well at
school. One thing he never knew while Sirius was alive was that he was
an Auror in training under Moody's
tutelage when he was
arrested. 'Imagine how well he could have trained me,' Harry thought.
His
attention snapped back to reality when he heard Fudge say how he should
have
been given a trial in the first place, and when he was posthumously
awarded the
Order of Merlin, Third Class for his efforts in the war against Voldemort.
As soon as Fudge stepped away from the podium, Fred and George were
levitating
a giant statue along with them that had a cloth over it. They had paid
for it
out of their own profits; it was a statue of what Sirius looked like
when he
transformed into a dog, carved expertly out of black marble, with the
dog on
top of a base of white marble. It would be in the trophy room at
Hogwarts.
As everyone was done for the day, he went up to look at the statue. It
was
almost as though it would become alive at any moment. Its face looked
brave,
loyal and fearless. He had seen those expressions on Sirius as both
human and
dog. The artist had certainly done a good job.
"Good-bye, Sirius," he said quietly, ignoring the tear rolling down
his cheek. With quickened pace, he went over to his friends and took
the Portkey back to 12,
(End of Chapter 12.)
A/N: Next chapter: Umbitch's trial!!!
(1) In case you didn't figure it out already, it means "two animals," like being fused together or something.
(2) Just to let you all know now, I'm not bothering with all the different accents, because I don't know how to type those in anyway.
(3) I seem to be among the authors who make Diggle. Those include AlastrionaSnape and Full-Pensieve.
(4) By the way, Snape-bashing is take it or leave it with me. Whether it's reconciliation or revenge between him and Harry, I can work either way.
(5) Did I write this scene well?