innerslytherin (innerslytherin) wrote in viciousmoon, @ 2006-10-24 18:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | albus dumbledore, remus lupin |
A meeting with Dumbledore
Remus still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but it was the best of several bad ones, at least. He frowned at the dirt path he was following up to Hogwarts. Dumbledore had told him he could always come to him, but he'd never felt the need before now; then again, he'd also never had his life threatened so directly before. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. The air was cold, despite the sun overhead, thanks to a stiff northerly breeze. The year was drawing on towards its close. Halloween was nearly here, and Christmas wouldn't be far behind.
Merlin, this war was never going to end, was it? Remus lifted his gaze to stare bleakly at the castle. Once upon a time the immense stone edifice had represented all that was secure and warm and happy for Remus. Now it was just another building to be defended, more defensible than most, but not the bastion of the light that he'd always imagined it. Two years and more they'd been fighting, and they were no closer to victory than they had been when they started. Further, in fact--the Death Eaters were picking off Order members at an alarming rate.
Remus reached the main entrance and pushed one of the doors open just enough to step inside. It seemed like longer than a year and a half since he'd last been here. His feet carried him automatically to the headmaster's office, where he knocked. Dumbledore's voice called for him to enter.
"Remus! My dear boy, how are you? Would you like tea? You look a bit chilled."
"Thank you, sir." He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I'm sorry for intruding unannounced--"
"Nonsense! I have told you you are always welcome here." Dumbledore gestured and a steaming cup of tea appeared on his desk, facing the chair he beckoned closer for Remus. "How may I help you?"
Remus settled into the chair and cupped the tea in his palms, relishing the heat. He stared down into the brown liquid, trying to find the right words. "Sir--You know that Regulus Black is a Death Eater?"
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "I am aware of it," he said softly.
"Yeah." Remus bit his lip. "We were friends, sort of, when we were here. I mean, I liked him, and Sirius--well, I always tried to get Sirius to lay off him. I know it didn't work..." He sighed. "I didn't try as hard as I should have."
Dumbledore said nothing, only looked back at him.
"Regulus is meant to kill me, sometime in the next two days." Remus swallowed. It sounded so bald. He tried to think of something else to say and came up with nothing.
"I see." The words came slowly, as if Dumbledore was, in fact, seeing more than Remus was telling.
Remus looked down at his tea and took a long sip, hoping he wasn't giving too much away.
"May I ask how you came by this information?" Dumbledore's voice was gentle, almost as if he expected Remus to refuse.
"I--Sir, I can't--"
"Very well," Dumbledore interrupted. He gestured to show it was of little consequence. Remus wondered if Dumbledore would go on trusting him. "We must certainly take action. Do you know any details of this attempt on your life?"
"No, sir. He--apparently he was very upset about it." Was there really any point in trying to hide this from Dumbledore? "Sir, you don't have to tell anyone else, do you?"
Dumbledore's eyebrows went up. "But surely Misters Potter and Black--"
"No, sir! I don't want them to know. Sirius would only go round the bend about his brother, and James--well, he has enough to worry about, doesn't he? With Lily, I mean."
"Do you think your friendship of so little importance to him?" Dumbledore's voice was gentle again.
Remus flushed. "No, sir. Just that I'm not worth the trouble."
"Can you really believe that?"
Remus shrugged. "I don't want anyone to know. I just thought, if we could do something quietly, perhaps I could leave the country, even."
"Do you think that would stop them from following you? The world isn't such a big place, Remus."
Remus looked up, frowning. Dumbledore sounded as if he were thinking something through very quickly.
"No," the headmaster said finally, "I should like to speak with Regulus. I believe there is a third option--one that would, I think, be agreeable to all parties, save perhaps Tom himself." He smiled. "You will go about your life as you usually do, with one exception--you will create a Portkey to a private room in the Hogshead. I shall send Fawkes home with you, and stay close by. When the time comes, you must touch Regulus and bring him to the Hogshead with you. Fawkes will come to me, and I shall meet you there."
"Sir," Remus said in acknowledgement, though he wasn't sure he understood everything.
Dumbledore nodded several times to himself. "Yes. That will do admirably, I think. Stop by the Hogshead before you leave the village, and speak with the barman there. He'll show you to a room I've used before. Just tell him I sent you on Order business."
"The barman--"
"Yes, the barman knows about the Order. He is, in fact, one of our most valuable assets." Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled as he gazed at Remus. "I am letting you in on a very tightly-held secret, Remus. I trust you understand."
"Yes, sir." Remus frowned thoughtfully and finished his tea. "Thank you," he said.
Dumbledore stood. "Of course. I will walk with you to the entrance. I have methods...rather unlike Mr Potter's...of not being visible. It will extend to you until you leave the castle. Some of the older Slytherins, as well as more than a few of the Ravenclaws, I'm afraid, are already passing information to the other side."
"Why do you allow it, sir?" Remus burst out suddenly.
"Why do I teach them, do you mean?" Dumbledore smiled. "To prove to them that I am not like Tom Riddle. I will deny no one an education, regardless of wealth, blood, gender, or any other factor."
"But they use that! They're taking advantage of you."
"Ah, but I am planting the seeds, Remus. They will always remember that Hogwarts was a home to them, and they will always remember that there was one person, at least, who judged them not for how they were born, but for the choices they made."
Remus was still puzzling over that as he made his way to the Hogshead.