Chapter 15

A cold draft blasted its way through the cell. He shivered, wanting to be far away from this place, but knew that until his plan took place – and what a plan! – he would forever remain in this place. How desperately he hoped Lily’s charms would work…it was keyed to a specific day in the year, and last year had been an utter failure. But how had she known? He had taken it as a joke, that day three years ago.

It had been his birthday. Prongs and Mooney had burst through the door early that morning, screaming “Happy Birthday!” at the top of their lungs. Well, Prongs did. Mooney was holding the cake…or so he said. In any case, he didn’t know, since he didn’t wake up until he felt a tiny hand smack his face – hard. “Paddy!” little Harry had gurgled. Of course, his friends hadn’t stopped the little tyke; no, in fact, they were doing the opposite: laughing hard at poor Padfoot whose face now sported a very red, small handprint.  He couldn’t be mad at little Pronglet – he was too cute.

Lily smiled sadly in the corner though. That bothered him. It was as if she was reading his mind…no, that couldn’t be. Later in the day, she approached him with the same sad smile – and told him something that he had dismissed, until now.

Sirius, she had spoken. That in itself had given him warning. No one called him ‘Sirius,’ except his mother. He drifted off at that, thinking of his mother.

“SIRIUS BLACK!” Lily’s voice softened. “Sirius, listen to me.”

“What’s the rush, Lily?” Then he noticed the expression on her face, and he stopped. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“I have a present for you…but I’d rather give it to you outside – alone.” The tone in her voice was ominous. Was there something he had done?

They walked outside together, and Sirius, ever the gentleman, held the door for her and escorted her to a bench by an oak tree. Along the way, he noticed her hands shaking. Why was she nervous? Sirius became more agitated, but he knew better than to show it.

“Sirius…promise me…that you’ll always keep this with you, no matter what,” she said softly, and held up a Charmed bracelet. She placed the bracelet around his wrist, and with a flash, the bracelet melded into his wrist, creating a pattern not unlike a tattoo.

“Wha-What in Merlin’s name…?” cried Sirius. “What did you do to me?!?”

“If you’re ever in trouble, this will give you an escape route. Just trust me. Would I ever hurt you?” her tone turned from serious to joking…but the ominous undertone still remained.

“Uh…yeah…but will I ever get in trouble?” asked Sirius. “After all, I am Sirius Black!”

“There will be a day where you’ll thank me, Sirius, for precisely the reason you have just spoken: you are Sirius Black.” Lily turned, and went back into the house, leaving a very confused Sirius Black behind.

Now he knew. He knew why she had done it, and he was grateful. But why hadn’t it worked last year? Maybe because he had doubted, like he had doubted her when he suggested to use Wormtail as their Secret Keeper. Merlin! He kept doing everything wrong! If it hadn’t been for him…no, he had to focus. He could bemoan his situation later. There was Harry to think about…

All of a sudden, he felt nauseous. What was going on? Why was the room spinning? Instinctively, he transformed into his Animagus form…and with a flash, he was out cold…and out of Azkaban.

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Remus woke up with a shock. Lily…again! It almost seemed as if she was as omniscient as Dumbledore seemed to be. How could have she known? And why had she waited three years? All these thoughts jumbled and swirled in his head, and he was feeling as nauseous as Sirius had just before he had escaped. After what seemed to be forever, a voice cut through the fog in his mind. Who was that? Why did it seem so familiar…yet, why couldn’t he place it? Why couldn’t he see anything? What was going on?

“Remus,” called the voice again. “This is urgent. Listen! Stop dreaming!”

Another shock coursed through his body. Of course he knew that voice! “Prongs!” he shouted.

“Finally,” added another voice. Lily.

“What am I doing here? Am I…dead?” He didn’t want to offend his friends. Could you offend people in the afterlife?

“No, Moony, you’re unconscious right now, that’s all,” James replied. “Now, Lily, you must tell Remus the instructions to open your vault.”

“Oh, yes! I can’t believe it took you this long to get here…what has happened to my poor Harry?” said Lily.

James chided, “We can ask later, Lily. Right now, Moony has to know – ”

“Right. This is going to seem a bit farfetched…” Lily said, then continued. “Vault 728, that’s the one you’ll want to go to. Remember to bring Padfoot and Sev along – you’ll be able to find Padfoot at our old house. This is important: Sirius, Harry, and Severus must link together somehow – I don’t remember quite what I did, but it should suffice –then chant the spell I have bestowed upon them. They will remember everything, hopefully…if the charm works.”

“So…Sirius, Harry, and Severus must link, and then chant the spell simultaneously? And they’ll know this spell right away?” Remus asked, a trifle befuddled.

“Something like that. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Now, about Harry. Where has he been since we’ve been gone?” asked Lily.

“Err…well, he’s been with your sister – ”

 “My sister?!? Why the bloody hell would you give my boy to Petunia? Don’t you know what a – ”

“But we’ve removed him from your sister’s care, and the Headmaster is taking care of him,” said Remus, trying to rectify the situation.

“Didn’t you read our will?” asked Lily, then she muttered, “Dunderheads, honestly!”

“What will?” asked Remus, surprised. They had searched high and low for a will, but they had never found one, so they had more or less guessed that Harry would be best off with his aunt, uncle, and cousin.

“The will in Harry’s bear, that will!” shouted Lily. Seeing Lily’s agitation, James moved over and wrapped his arm around her, but it did nothing to stop her sobs. “Oh, Harry!”

“Don’t worry, he’s safe now,” reassured Remus.

“Oh, right, safe. Probably damaged from the time he spent with Petunia!” exclaimed Lily, then asked, almost guardedly, “How many years have we been gone?”

“Three years, about…” said Remus.

“Three bloody years! My poor Harry!”

“There, there, Lils, he’s in good hands now, remember? He’s with Dumbledore,” said James. Amazingly, Lily ceased her wailing, though her sobs could still be heard. “Thanks, Moony, for telling us. And be sure to relay all that information to Dumbledore, would you?”

Remus felt as if he was being dismissed. “Yeah, I will, don’t worry, Prongs. I won’t let you down, for sure.”

“You do that, Moony. I think – ”

Remus couldn’t catch the rest of his words, as he drifted into black oblivion once more. Again, he heard a voice calling his name. This time, he knew who it was. Good old Severus Snape.

“Lupin, if you don’t wake up this instant, I will hex you into oblivion, believe me. You have wasted far too much time – ”

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” said Remus, slowly re-gaining his senses.

“Do you know how worried everyone has been?” exclaimed Madame Pomfrey. “And you had to be the one who was hurt! Did you see Albus getting hurt? Or Amelia? No, it’s you in here…again, just like the old days. Why can’t you be more careful?”

“Poppy, it’s not like I purposely fainted,” said Remus wryly. “It’s quite embarrassing to faint, you know.”

“You never know. Maybe you just missed me too much, or you wanted the attention,” said Poppy. Every time he saw her, they had a contest of words. More often than not, Poppy won – but only because she took advantage of the fact that he was sick.

“Poppy, quickly, you have to ask the Headmaster to come immediately,” said Remus urgently, as the information from the dream meeting came floating back. As Severus turned to leave, Remus added, “Severus, please, you have to stay too.”

“And why,” he sneered. “Would a wolf require my attention?”

“Please, Severus. You’re needed,” said Remus.

“Needed? You mean, discarded once I am no longer…needed, don’t you?” Severus’s face contorted as he spat out the words.

“No, Severus,” another voice sounded. It was Dumbledore, swooping in as grandly as Severus did when he left the Great Hall. “You are a valued member, Severus, never forget that.”

“How can I forget, when that is all you say, Headmaster?” said Severus sarcastically. “Now, wolf, out with it. I do not want to waste my time for more than is necessary.”

“I am sure you won’t find it a waste, Severus. Lily…she spoke to me,” said Remus haltingly. “She told me how to open vault 728…and incidentally, Severus, have you received mail from her lately?”

“Yes, this one letter a week ago… The Muggle mail must really be improved, it’s not efficient at all,” said Severus. “Why?”

“Well, do you have a key?” asked Remus.

“What key?” asked Severus.

Remus groaned. Another of Lily’s tricks! At that moment, an owl blistered into the window, nearly taking a chunk of Severus’s hair with it. It settled down, soon enough, and hovered near Severus, almost willing him to take the letter. Gingerly, Severus took the letter. His breath caught – it was another letter from Lily!

“Well, what are you waiting for? Open it already!” said Remus, impatiently, then faltered, when Severus glared at him.

Severus painstakingly opened the envelope, partially to spite Lupin, but also because his heart was giving way. Why had Lily sent him another letter? And how had Lupin known? His fingers shook. In the envelope was a key. As Severus grasped the key, it melded into his skin, on his wrist.

“What in Merlin’s –” Severus shouted. Everyone else seemed just as shocked, except for Lupin, who sat there, smiling smugly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not laughing at you,” said Remus, as Severus’s glare intensified. “You see…I saw Sirius going through the same thing. And I understand now, I think.”

“My boy, don’t hold things back from us. What is it that Lily has told you?” asked Dumbledore.

Remus chuckled. “We need to find Padfoot first –” he kept talking over the protests. “He’s at James’s old house right now. I’ll tell you everything after we get him back. He’s our top priority right now…after all, we owe that much to him.”

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Minerva was having the time of her life. Turns out Severus had little Harry…and he was the cutest thing! Naturally, she was shocked when they had first arrived.

“Why Severus, come in! I haven’t seen you in a while…how have you been?” asked Minerva.

“You mean, where have I been,” said Severus dryly. “I recently moved into my uncle’s place.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” said Minerva. “And have you news of Harry?”

“What makes you think I’d know where the bloody Boy-Who-Lived is?” sneered Severus. Of course, that had been ruined by a little voice down the hall yelling, “Dada!”

“Dada?” Minerva had asked incredulously, then she laughed, loud and hard. To think! Severus had his worst enemy’s son! And he had called Severus ‘Dada’!

Severus winced. He was never going to live this down. “Now, Minerva, I trust you’ll be able to keep this to yourself?”

“Of course, my dear Severus, of course!” her eyes twinkled quite like those of the Headmaster’s…which, in her case, indicated she felt no obligation to listen to him.

“Professor, really…and I was about to ask you for a favour too!” said Severus, trying to manipulate the situation, and Minerva fell right into the trap.

“Oh, and what can I do for you, young man?” she asked. “My, I must be popular today!”

Severus internally sighed. He had to feed her ego, or she’d needle him incessantly. “But you must promise to keep mine and Harry’s little secret.”

“Yes, yes, Severus,” she said impatiently. “What do you want?”

“I’d like you to babysit Harry today. The Headmaster has notified me of Lupin’s…errr…incident, and I must attend to it immediately.”

“I’d be glad to,” said Minerva. How she adored the little child! And he was all hers for the day. She kneeled down, wincing as she heard the creaking, but smiled at the little boy hiding in Severus’s robes. “Hello, Harry, I’m your Aunt Minnie.”

Severus led the boy to the front, and gently guided him, “Say hello, Harry. There’s no need to be scared. Remember? This is the cat professor I was talking about earlier.”

Harry shyly took his thumb out of his mouth, and said in a quiet voice, “Hewwo, Aun’ Minnie.”

Minerva almost melted right then and there. He was adorable!

At a noise, Minerva snapped back into the present. It was little Harry, who was giggling in delight over the new stuffed dinosaur he had gotten from Minerva – transfigured from a sock last minute. He was so precious, and Albus had no right in giving him to Lily’s sister. Thank God the Muggles hadn’t ruined him.

“Aun’ Minnie?” asked Harry shyly.

“Yes, my wee laddie, what would you like?” asked Minerva.

“Fanxyou!” And little Harry broke into the most brilliant smile she had ever seen…and she almost burst into tears – almost.