A change in the winds
The day before the trial
‘So you are essentially a God, and you barge in here telling me that my Goddaughter is dead, but not fully dead and that you know I am innocent, and that Dumbledore is the reason I am in here…that right?’ Sirius was more than confused, his brain not fully functioning.
Dream looked at him impassively. ‘That about sums it up, yes. However, I am not a God, I am one of the Endless.’ Sirius made a shooing gesture with his hand. ‘Patato, potato.’
‘How can she be dead and not dead?’
‘At the moment, she is one of my ravens. Which I will explain later, for now, I simply need an answer.’ Sirius remained silent, and Dream started to get annoyed. Not good for Sirius.
He walked closer to the man who was sitting against the cold wall of stone. He spoke in anger and little whips of black smoke left his body. ‘I am offering you a chance. You should take it.’ Sirius shrunk back into the wall…suddenly very afraid of this stranger. Dream looked at him intently.
‘What if…she might not go for it, you know…she might think that…I don’t know.’ Dream was confused for a moment, was the man speaking about Reggie or about the plan to involve Amelia Bones. ‘To whom are you referring?’
‘Bones. She is a hard ass.’
‘That might be just what you need.’
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The evening after the trial
To say it went smoothly, yes and no…Dumbledore was gone, but was still incredibly powerful and Severus was not about to sit idly and make himself or Minerva a target. He urged Lucius to gather the other Governors of the school, to install a new Headmaster, so the wards could be changed. Lucius had agreed and after a quick voting round, Filius Flitwick was asked to be the new Headmaster. Flitwick agreed and Minerva stayed on as Deputy Headmistress but would stop being the Head of House of Gryffindor. She had enough on her plate already and needed a breather. Professor Sinistra would take over as Head of House.
All the professors had gathered and in a few hours, everyone was up to speed on the events of the day. Since the Governors were already there, plans were made to hire a DADA teacher (they still had no one for this year) and to hire a new Professor for History.
The wards were changed overnight with the help of the Goblins and at 5 A.M. everything was settled. The students would arrive within 5 days, so they had very little time to handle the search for new Professors. Another meeting was scheduled for 2 P.M.so every one could get some rest.
This found Severus facing Lucius, who had remained professional throughout the proceedings. Severus looked at his old friend. ‘Care for a drink?’
Lucius nodded and together they walked to Severus’ chambers. He poured them both a drink and sat down in his old leather chair, close to the fire. Lucius remained standing, taking sips of the drink he was offered. It was an uncomfortable silence…both men waiting for the other one to start talking.
A knock on the door startled Severus, who cursed when his drink went over his sleeve. He opened the door to a smiling Minerva and an equally smiling Narcissa. ‘May we come in?’ Minerva asked. ‘Is something wrong with Draco?’ Lucius was not expecting his wife.
‘Not at all dear, but Minerva and I thought we might need to interfere and break up a fight,’ came the cheeky reply of his wife. Narrowing his eyes at her, she laughed. ‘Have you talked to each other yet?’
Both men looked sullen. Narcissa gave Minerva a look. ‘Told you.’
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In her comfy home, Amelia had put up extra wards, just to be sure. Not that she expected Dumbledore to make a move, but Susan was here too and chance favored the prepared mind. After checking in on her niece, Amelia went to bed early. She fell asleep and was standing in a large, oval room. The walls were white, and chairs with soft cushions stood around a large round table. No windows, and no doors. She looked around and suddenly there was someone else in the room.
‘Hi.’
Her mouth opened up to scream, for the man in front of her was none other than convicted mass murderer, Sirius Black. Before sound could escape her, another man appeared in the room. This man was dressed in a black outfit, had a very pale face, very messy hair and mesmerizing eyes.
‘Do not fear, miss Bones, for I, nor Sirius Black, intend to harm you. We simply ask you to hear us out, and then you will wake up. What you do with your knowledge at that time, is up to you.’ ‘I, uhm…I am asleep? She asked bewildered.
‘Yes, you are in a dream. I created this room in your dream, so I could bring you and him here at the same time. Please, don’t be afraid. Sit down.’ The man offered her a chair. ‘Who are you?’
And with that question answered, more followed. She, Dream and Sirius talked for a long time. And then she woke up, just like the man promised. Sitting upright in her bed, she thought about what she had encountered. Shit…the Minister was about to have a very shitty day.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The four people in the room talked. A lot. There was some screaming, a couple of tears, and two glasses didn’t survive the talk, but when all was said and done, the air was cleared. ‘You could do it, you know,’ said Minerva to Lucius.
‘I beg your pardon, do what?’
‘Be the DADA professor.’ Lucius choked on his tea and Narcissa cleared his airway with a flick of her wand. ‘Are you insane?’ he sputtered. Minerva looked serenely and waited a few moments before she spoke. No, I am not. Your grades in the subject were, as I recall, one of the highest of your year.’
‘You do realize, that I just admitted to being a Death Eater and that I was basically that monster’s right-hand man?’
‘We all make mistakes, Lucius. Severus made mistakes and I could see past that. It would be hypocritical to judge you harsher than him.’
There was a silence, that Severus broke. He had been silent the last 15 minutes, contemplating how to move on. For the most part of his life, he had acted how Dumbledore wanted him to act. The result was a bitter, young man that hated his job because he was forced to take it. He had almost no friends, save for the people in the room at that moment. He had no wife, no children. He was tired of holding grudges and after a deep sigh, he stated softly ‘Remus Lupin.’
Three faces looked at him in bewilderment. ‘For the History job.’ ‘The man is a werewolf.’ Narcissa looked pensive. ‘Would there be no risk?’
‘I can provide him with Wolfsbane Potion. During a full moon, he can take it and…I don’t know. Maybe there is a speck of land where he can transform that is nowhere near the students. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.’
‘And your history with the man?’ It was a just question from Minerva. ‘I don’t want to be this bitter man anymore. It was not him that pulled that…prank. It was Black.’ He looked at her. ‘I am as much to blame…well, not entirely, but I could have chosen to let it go…and Potter did save my life.’
Minerva smiled. ‘I will write him a letter, see if he is interested.’ She looked at Lucius. ‘Will the other Governors accept him?’
‘Leave it to me.'