“We can collect what books we may need and narrow our search from there.” Sirius said as he led them toward his family’s collection. “I’m not sure how generous we’ll need to be with the term ‘gagging curse’, but we’ve got loads on the topic.”
Snape slipped further down the stacks and began trailing a finger over the spines, somehow knowing innately where to go. He quickly spied what he seemed to believe he’d likely need and began forming a pile to the right of his foot. Harry supposed it wasn’t too odd for Snape to know Sirius’s library so well, as he’d mentioned borrowing books from him before.
Harry dropped to the bottom shelves and found several ominous titles before picking one with a cover so dark, it appeared black. Upon closer reflection, though, he found it was actually a very dark green.
“We know the curse reacts to discussion about an event, so we can lose that bunch there,” Sirius said with a lazy wave toward a rotted China cabinet. It looked to have been repurposed at some point over the years, though no one had bothered to fix it up. “It’s all curses tied to individuals, and Harry said he could still speak around Umbridge.”
Harry nodded and cracked the spine on his own book before swallowing back a shudder as he paged through.
The illustrations writhed painfully next to their respective descriptions and he couldn’t help being reminded, however distantly, of the way Bellatrix Lestrange’s head had snapped backwards in one of his visions.
“You don’t think she’d have gone for something from the late 1800’s?” Sirius asked with a pinched look. “She’d have had easy access to confiscated texts, and gagging curses were all the rage at the time.”
“A curse that old would be too complicated.” Snape said. He sniffed and pulled another book free before adding it to the pile. “She’d have needed to perform it with her modern understanding of magical theory, which is vastly different from that of the late 1800’s.” His fingers skittered overtop of a second book before tugging it free and searching though it at a quick pace.
Sirius’s eyes flickered toward his eyebrows, almost as if he wanted to roll them, but thought better if it.
Hermione’s chiding voice reminded Harry quite suddenly of Snape’s previous obsession with the dark arts. He hadn’t thought to ask them separately if they’d look into the curse.
He wasn’t sure if he should ask them either, as he’d kept them in the dark for too long to deserve favours from them.
He tried to nonchalantly watch them, and see how they might react, but he caught sight of the study instead. The memory of Sirius sweeping him off to his uncomfortable safe house rose through his thoughts, and Harry couldn’t shake the feeling that Sirius would somehow manage to do it again, if Harry mentioned being worried about Snape’s obsession.
“She might’ve had help figuring out what that theory would’ve involved though, she could’ve asked anyone within the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad.” Sirius said as he spied a thick and ragged looking book and slid it free before sneaking it onto a shelf on his right.
The floor croaked beneath his feet as stepped over to another crooked bookcase and searched the dusty shelves.
Harry couldn’t imagine Kreacher did much cleaning in these rooms, despite how Sirius’s mum had apparently loved them. The dirt had grown so thick, Harry fancied he could tell which footprints came from Hermione’s quick searches and which from Sirius’s slower investigations.
Even the wall sconces, which were likely dim to give the room a bit of dramatic atmosphere, were so crusted with cobwebs and dust, that Harry wondered why they bothered lighting them.
“What’s her wand work like?” Lupin asked as he tossed another book into Snape’s pile and pulled a second one down. He flipped slowly through it’s index, though didn’t appear impressed.
“She’s charmed the blackboard and levitated some things, but I’ve never seen her cast anything otherwise.” Harry said.
Anything aside from the gagging curse, of course. Harry supposed that curse didn’t count, as he hadn’t seen her cast anything during his memory. He couldn’t remember when she’d have had a chance to cast anything beforehand either, as she’d only finished speaking about the new term before she’d rushed to her office and summoned Harry with her horribly perfumed note.
“It’s difficult to secure such a high ranking office while being bad at magic.” Lupin turned toward Harry. “It’s nearly impossible, really.”
“Fudge.” Snape said in a wry tone.
Sirius paused and Harry wondered if he’d inhaled a bit of dust, as he let out an odd cough before returning to his investigation.
“Well,” Lupin said awkwardly. “That’s quite a good point, though, I should think that even Fudge would prefer a skilled duelist for the defense position, especially considering what’s come about from the last few professors.”
“Dolores Umbridge is not a skilled duelist.” Snape said with a sniff. “Nor is she a skilled researcher or inventor. I have sat through too many staff meetings to believe otherwise.”
“That doesn’t mean the spell didn’t drop into her lap.” Sirius said. “For all we know, Fudge had it on hand for the next unlucky sod he brought in for questioning.”
He leant down and looked idly over Harry’s chosen book and grimaced.
“Maybe, er, maybe you ought to steer clear of that one.” He whispered in Harry’s ear before tugging the book free. “That one’s an heirloom.”
Harry watched as Sirius slipped it next to the other thick text he’d found. He wondered if it was Snape’s eyes lingering on him as he and Sirius spoke, but he couldn’t bring himself to look and check. He wasn’t sure he liked the book being taken from him either, given that it was his curse they were researching.
While Harry didn’t have a grand understanding of Latin, he knew the book had been called something like ‘Curses and the Body’, which seemed like as good a place to start as any.
He wondered if the Jelly Legs curse he’d cast on Malfoy was in that book somewhere.
There was still no explanation for how he’d known how to cast it, or when he’d learnt nonverbal spells. Harry hardly had time to do his actual homework, he certainly had no time to learn vicious extra curriculars.
“It’s very likely Fudge supplied her with several tools to succeed, but given that she appears to be a poorly skilled witch, those tools should’ve stayed exactly that,” Lupin said. “Tools.”
“Make your point Moony,” Sirius as he steered Harry toward what he apparently considered a safer shelf. “I can hear you thinking it.”
Lupin snapped his book shut. “A witch, who’s only apparent skill is in Ministry work, successfully incapacitated and attacked Harry, set a highly complicated and time consuming gagging curse on top of any number of potential conjoining spells, gets away with it and continues on teaching.”
Snape’s harried paging slowed and Sirius rocked back and forth on his heels.
“You’re not suggesting she’s polyjuiced,” Sirius asked. “Are you?”
“No,” Lupin said. “I am suggesting though that she’s more than she seems and I don’t want to underestimate her.” He looked toward Snape. “I know we’re considering her a threat, but do we know what she’s capable of?”
“She’s Ministry.” Sirius’s nose wrinkled distastefully. “They’re all a bit meaner than they look, no one in public office could succeed otherwise.”
“Are you under the impression I’ve let her actions go?” Snape asked as his eyes narrowed. “Or that I’ve somehow forgotten about her presence in that school and what damage it already has incurred?”
“No, Severus.” Lupin said firmly. “I’m speaking to her skill in curses, and the frequency she may or may not cast them at.”
“Is it very likely she’d know another though?” Sirius asked. “Considering what her job description was before, and is now? All she really needs to do is keep Harry quiet.”
“And stop him from making waves and raising an alarm.” Lupin finished. “This is one gagging curse, she may specialize in—”
“Like Lockhart!” Harry said, excited to finally know enough to contribute. “And how he specialized in memory charms.” The odd blue colour that’d exploded out the back of Ron’s broken wand flickered in Harry’s mind. He wondered sometimes if Lockhart’s spell had affected his surroundings, as sometimes, Ron struggled to remember how Lockhart had even gotten control of his wand.
“I knew that bloke was dodgy.” Sirius said. “You should’ve heard how Azkaban reacted whenever he’d make the front page.”
Snape inhaled slowly and turned back to his reading, though something tightened along his shoulders, making him look almost stone-like.
Lupin nodded. “It doesn’t surprise me to hear about his skill in that art.” He said. “But if you mean he was uncommonly skilled before his eventual downfall, then that’s what I’m thinking as well.”
“Umbridge doesn’t really strike me as someone with a working background in curses.” Sirius said. “I’m more of the opinion that we’ve seen how skilled she is, but that is the extent of her. She’s mean, and willing—”
“Willing.” Lupin snapped.
Sirius twisted and his eyes widened at Lupin.
“Anyone willing to figure out how to gag a fifteen year old and cause them as much pain as Harry’s gone through is willing to do a lot more than let it go if it’s stopped.”
“You want to keep it active, until the right moment.” Snape guessed as something cold flickered behind his eyes.
Harry was silently pleased to have noticed how Snape felt, though he wondered if he might’ve misread him, as Snape didn’t say anything else about how he felt.
“I don’t, I don’t want Harry to have to go through more trouble.” Lupin said sharply.
“Hermione and I are already looking into ways to counteract the effects.” Harry said as he inched back towards the book Sirius had taken from him. He wasn’t actually sure if that were the case, as he and Hermione argued quite a bit, she may have written him off for the evening out of frustration. “We could do that, instead of removing it?”
Sirius shook his head. “Those curses can leave lasting effects, the longer you’re under it, the more it might sink into you.”
Nausea churned through Harry’s stomach and he had him nearly running for a bin. His mum’s necklace flared, though Harry could hardly pay attention to it.
“You’ve only had it a few weeks,” Sirius said quickly. His hands fluttered near Harry and his pale face drained of colour. “It’s only mid October, hardly-hardly what I’d call long term damage—”
Harry shook his head wildly.
An awful itching sensation wormed beneath his skin and Harry couldn’t figure out how to make it stop.
He hadn’t considered Umbridge’s actions having lasting effects, nor had he considered that they may not solve this in time to undo the effects. He wouldn’t be able to fight Voldemort if he couldn’t bloody well breathe while around him!
Ribbons slipped over Harry’s lips and he couldn’t tell if they were choking him or if he truly couldn’t breath. His heart pounded as if they were tightening by the second. Harry wouldn’t be able to handle Death Eaters or Ministry employees if he could hardly get a word out around them! He couldn’t run away if his legs went dead when he spoke of Voldemort’s rebirth!
He wouldn’t be able to escape!
If he couldn’t escape he might as well be dead now, because Voldemort would certainly target him again!
He’d be dead. Umbridge had left Harry to die in the most painful—
“Slowly Harry,” Snape’s soft voice washed over Harry’s thoughts. “Slowly.”
Something swept firmly down Harry’s nose and he blinked his eyes open, having missed whenever he closed them. Bright specks of light popped around the blurry library and Harry was unpleasantly reminded of Rita Skeeter’s grungy photographer.
“In again.” Snape said as a long finger brushed over his nose once more.
Harry’s chest tightened briefly, though he found it a fair bit easier to breath after more time went on. He felt his glasses settle onto the bridge of his nose and the library came into focus once more.
“What Black was speaking about, for curses such as the one you are under, are the more psychosomatic effects.” Snape said as he leant away from Harry. “Your subconscious reaction to painful stimuli, could lead to a trend of continued fear.”
Harry mentally whispered about Voldemort’s rebirth in his mind, and paid more attention to the way he unconsciously began stiffening just before the ribbons slipped through his thoughts.
“I’m not afraid of his name.” Harry said as anger burned in his chest. “She can be, but I’m not.”
He blinked down the short length of the library and wondered idly where Sirius and Lupin had gone, before hearing their whispered voices a few stacks over.
“We may want to go back to Hogwarts sooner, rather than later.” Snape said, glancing toward a cracked wall clock. “We have enough to be starting with, and seeing as tomorrow is Saturday, we may be able to find what she used with some speed.”
Hermione’s voice chimed in Harry’s thoughts once more, and the urge to ask Snape about his feelings about exploring more of the Dark Arts bubbled through him.
“Erm—” Harry started before slamming his mouth shut as a fierce worry overtook his thoughts.
Would Snape consider Harry’s questioning as rude, or prying? Is it something Harry was even allowed to have an opinion on? Snape had brought it up openly around Harry before, but that had been Snape’s choice!
Aunt Petunia hissed in his ears. ‘Don’t ask questions!’
“Harry,” Snape leaned closer once more. “I far prefer you ask me about what worries you.” He said softly. “I am more capable of helping, when I know what you need.”
“It’s,” Harry started again, running his nails over his wrists. “I’m just, it’s-Hermione said, she said it might be better for you not to research.” He said in a strained whisper. “Because, I don’t want you to—” He strongly wanted to run head first off the Astronomy Tower, he wasn’t sure why he’d started this conversation just after a melt down. “I don’t want you to be addicted-or become, like, how you’d said before, when my mum sent her necklace.” He finished dumbly. The pendant in mum’s necklace came to life and warmed.
Snape blinked once at Harry before turning to look at the pile to his right.
“While Miss Granger’s worry may not have been,” Snape paused. “Entirely unfounded, I think it’s important to note that we are researching a counter-curse,” Snape spoke as if he struggled to find the right words. “Rather than searching for curses that will harm enemies.” He plucked one of the books from the pile and flipped it open to a random page before showing Harry.
Harry saw what looked like hundreds of outcomes to certain curses, but each one had far more detail on countering the effects than it did on the effects themselves.
“My attention will be very difficult to sway, in this endeavor. I won’t deny that her worry is valid, the Dark Arts are an addictive subset of magic, but it is more important to be aware of intent, in this instance, rather than context. I care more about helping you, than I do learning multiple ways to harm others.”
Harry’s worries eased slightly, though he wasn’t sure if he felt worlds better. He was glad Snape hadn’t reacted angrily.
Snape ran a careful hand through Harry’s fringe and something flickered across his face. His lips pinched in a way Harry’d seen often enough in Germany. Harry hadn’t figured out what it meant, or what brought about that look. He didn’t think of it as a disappointed expression though.
Snape inhaled slowly one last time and motioned for Harry to follow him before spinning on his heel and collecting a stack of books. He pointed at what remained in a silent ask for Harry to grab.
Harry tugged them from the ground and trailed after Snape, but caught sight of Sirius’s heirloom out of the corner of his eye. He darted closer and snagged the book before jamming it between a few other books from the pile.
“—just have to move past them.” Lupin whispered as Harry caught up with them.
Sirius twisted and a miserable expression greeted Harry. “Harry—” He tried to say.
“It’s ok!” Harry said with what he hoped was a confident smile, but felt more like a wan grimace. “It’s just me, I’m, erm, I’m just a bit stressed, but I’ll work on it. Occlumency I reckon.” He nodded wildly.
Sirius frowned and looked as if he wanted to tug Harry into a tight hug, but kept his hands still instead.
Lupin clasped Sirius’s shoulder and turned to lead them down several flights of stairs. “We will endeavor not to cause you further stress, but it’s not something that’s always avoidable. We’ll likely be confronting stressful topics for years to come. We’re all doing our best, but it’s a war. Speaking on that,” He turned over his shoulder to look Snape in the eye. “We can’t have those kids defenseless. You might be their only source of Defensive lessons for a while, Severus, you might want to bulk up on the topic before the term is out.”
Snape sniffed but didn’t respond otherwise.
Harry somehow doubted Snape would begin offering supplemental lessons behind Umbridge’s back. He might show Harry how best to defend himself, but would probably balk at the thought of instructing students after already having to deal with them during the day.
“I’ll also be available, but it’s possible Umbridge will be on the lookout for me, given that you and your classmates felt favourably about my lessons.”
Sirius rounded the bannister and led them into a warm and brightly lit sitting room. Harry vaguely remembered having woken up in the room after escaping Avery. The couch looked far too small from what Harry remembered. He’d hardly taken up two cushions and it looked more like a loveseat than a couch.
Snape set his stack books on a side table and shrunk them, along with the stack in Harry’s arms.
“Likewise, about being kept in the dark.” Lupin said as he dropped his hands into the pockets of his jumper and nudged Sirius’s shoe with his own.
Harry’s heart fluttered for a brief second, and he worried Lupin or Sirius might actually begin to yell at him, as they hadn’t had the chance when he’d hidden in the bathroom earlier.
“We’ve been thinking about the prophecy.” Sirius said in a strained voice.
Snape paled, though neither Sirius or Lupin commented on it or seemed to think it was weird. Harry almost wondered if they didn’t notice it, or if Harry just paid more attention to Snape’s emotions. The two were still unaware of Snape’s part in Voldemort’s knowledge of the prophecy, and despite the summer and how the two had mentioned wanting to hear the truth from Dumbledore, neither of them had actually acted.
Harry wasn’t sure if that was because of his being six, or if Dumbledore had distracted them.
“We need it.” Sirius said. “And I know neither of you are going to be happy with my plan—”
“Is your plan half baked?” Snape asked coldly.
“At least I’m coming up with plans, I haven’t heard anything from you.” Sirius snapped.
Lupin’s hands swung out in a peaceful wave. “We’ve all kept each other in the dark. It may have been cruel, but it was safer in the long run. Owls can be intercepted.”
“He still wants it.” Harry said, feeling distinctly uncomfortable to be discussing the prophecy. “I dream about that hallway at least once a week.”
Lupin nodded. “We know Voldemort wants it. I want us all on the same page though, I want us aware of what each other knows about it.”
Sirius shouted as Snape darted forward and his wand appeared beneath Lupin’s nose.
Harry jerked and tried to shove himself between them, but found Sirius in the way, with his own wand at Snape’s throat.
“What were the first words you said to me after securing the defense position two years ago?” Snape asked silkily.
Lupin tilted his head away from Snape’s wand and his amber eyes hardened.
Harry swallowed back icy worry and wondered if they’d need to start testing each other every time they met. There were too many ways to impersonate people, and Harry knew all too well how successful polyjuice was at passing off others.
“I’m surprised you haven’t found him yet.” Lupin answered.
Snape’s dark eyes narrowed and Harry quickly looked around for floo powder in the event he’d need some, but Snape backed slowly away, as did Sirius.
“While I appreciate the added security, I think it’s a bit belated.” Lupin said as he rubbed his mouth.
“I would’ve known if it weren’t Moony.” Sirius said darkly. “The same can’t be said for others.” He added with a cautious look at Snape.
“You instructed me on how to get down the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack when we were in our fifth year.” Snape as he spun on his heel and stepped closer to Harry. “Will that satisfy your concern for the moment?”
Sirius sniffed and nodded.
“What’s, what do you two know?” Harry asked awkwardly in an attempt to refocus the conversation as the three settled into an odd truce once more.
“Nothing.” Lupin said. “Nothing beyond our guesses.”
“We know Voldemort wants it, we know Dumbledore knows about it and we know roughly where it’s kept.” Sirius clarified. “We think you’ve heard about it as well, Harry, though you may not have known at the time.”
Harry tried to think of every instance he may have heard of the prophecy, or instances where Dumbledore’d spoken around it, just as he had when they’d talked earlier today in his office.
His train of thought slammed to a halt and he turned toward Snape. “He didn’t see,” Harry said confusedly. “I didn’t see him see, I mean, he doesn’t know, he didn’t look at when we were in my mum’s flat—”
He couldn’t guess why Dumbledore hadn’t looked in Lily’s flat when he’d hunted through Harry’s thoughts. It hadn’t been suspicious at the time, as Harry could hardly string a single thought together, but now, it was more than confusing.
“When you had your vision, you mean?” Sirius asked. Harry twisted back towards Sirius. “Dumbledore set a guard on your mind, you couldn't have been possessed. Is that what you mean?”
Harry’s chest eased and he felt rather like laughing.
A hazy memory slipped to the front of his mind, and he could hear Sirius’s warning about Dumbledore’s fallibility. He’d been searching for Voldemort. but hadn’t searched his memories of Lily’s flat because he’d believed Harry was protected from him at the time.
He wasn’t aware they’d gone back a second time either.
Harry giggled despite himself before sobering when the three of them gave him concerned looks.
“No,” Harry said more calmly. He worried if he should be telling Snape’s story and tried to come up with something less damning. “V-Voldemort has let a bit slip, though.”
The temperature in the room cooled and Harry shivered.
He felt suddenly of having caused everyone more trouble than he was worth. He regretted his brief madness and wished he’d just kept silent on the whole topic, rather than laughing. Maybe they thought he was cracked?
The prophecy wasn’t something Harry often laughed about, as every time he thought about it, he panicked.
“If more people are aware of its contents, it is more likely to reach the Dark Lord’s ears.” Snape said softly. “Neither of you are shy about which side of the war you're on, and no one will think twice about keeping you alive for him to question you personally.”
A phantom pain arced through Harry’s spine and his wrists seemed to chafe beneath invisible rope.
Lupin’s eyes sharpened and an oddly ugly expression flickered over his face. If he’d come to a conclusion of his own, Harry wished he’d say it. “You seem confident we’ll squeal.”
Snape’s upper lip nearly curled. “I am aware of the Dark Lord’s methods.”
“We’ll die before he gets anything out of us.” Sirius said. “You know that.”
“You might die regardless.” Snape said with a raised eyebrow.
“Only the person it pertains to can pick it up.” Harry said, hoping to get Lupin’s attention away from Snape. “Bellatrix tried to get it last time and failed.”
“Right.” Sirius said as he turned and paced the short length of the sitting room. “See, I’ve given quite a bit of thought to that.” He waved Lupin’s battered wand at the fireplace, making it a bit warmer. “It’s either we get it first, or he manipulates Harry into getting it. There’s a chance someone else could be in the prophecy as well, but if that’s the case, either Voldemort can’t get ahold of them or doesn’t know of them.”
The soft glow flickered across Sirius’s face and left deep shadows in its wake. Despite Sirius’s penchant for humour and goofing around, Harry could see the determination that’d broken him out of Azkaban and into Hogwarts forming somewhere from within.
He wondered if the Ministry had worked out how Sirius escaped from Azkaban yet?
“Dumbledore knows it too.” Sirius said as he turned back around.
“We can ask him, but he had the chance to tell me earlier and he didn’t.” Harry said. “That was after he realized I wasn’t being possessed too.” Harry fussed with the hem of his jumper.
“Asking first would be the safer route.” Lupin conceded.
“It has to be removed either way.” Sirius said. “Voldemort won’t stop until he has it or it’s destroyed.” He dangled Lupin’s wand in his fingertips. “What did he let slip?” He asked as he turned back toward Harry.
Harry felt an uncomfortable sensation almost as if he were being peered at beneath a microscope. He wasn’t as used to Sirius and Lupin hounding him for answers.
“Just that it mentions a boy born near the end of July.” Harry whispered.
Sirius and Lupin shared a quiet glance.
Harry wondered quite suddenly if his dad had panicked about when Harry would be born? Maybe he’d told Sirius and Lupin about his worries, but never said what the source of his fear had been? The thought of someone worrying and fussing unconditionally over Harry seemed illogical though.
“That would explain his first attack on you.” Lupin said carefully. “What do you think?”
“I think I was born at the end of July.” Harry said in an obvious tone. He couldn’t help feeling a bit defensive about his history, and what followed after. He hadn’t chosen for any of this to happen, and if he had any luck, he’d have been skipped over and someone else could’ve taken up The-Boy-Who-Lived name.
“We need to get back.” Snape said. “It’s late and Harry will be missed if he isn’t back soon.”
Harry glanced at his wrist watch and blanched.
They made short work of saying their goodbyes and Harry was silently thankful that both Lupin and Sirius willingly hugged him despite how Harry’d behaved around them and throughout the last month and a half.
“Keep the Christmas holiday free.” Sirius said as they huddled into the fireplace. “I think we’re going to need to make a break for it around then, but we’ll write to you or find time to meet back up.”
A burst of green fire surrounded them and left Harry choking on ash.
Chapter 12