Hogwarts
The students would arrive this evening, so the teachers had the afternoon to make sure everything was in order. Classrooms were stocked with parchment, halls were cleaned, House Elves had their orders and the dormitories were prepared for another year of teaching.
Severus was in his classroom, making sure all ingredients were stocked and that he had enough vials to cover at least the first three months when a knock sounded. He was expecting Lucius so he yelled ‘Come in,’ while walking out of the cabinet. ‘I am sorry to bother you, Severus, do you have a moment?’ To his surprise, it was Remus. Momentarily of his game, he swallowed before answering the werewolf. ‘Of course.’
Remus walked in and looked around the classroom. Potions had always been in this classroom. When Professor Slughorn was the teacher, it was mostly messy, but under Severus, it was organized and clean. Severus looked at the other man. Remus seemed nervous about something.
‘The full moon is in two weeks. Would you…uhm…would you be willing to brew me the, uhm, Wolfsbane Potion? I will of course go to Malfoy Manor, but it would be nice if a could keep my head clear.’
Severus nodded and saw the relief flush over Remus’ face. ‘I was already planning on making a batch. I will have it ready for you in time.’ Remus smiled. ‘Thank you. I can pay you, for the ingredients…’ Severus cut him off with a gesture of his hand. ‘Nonsense, Filius already agreed that the cost for the potion can be covered by the school funds.’ The silence became awkward, so Remus nodded at Severus and left.
Walking out of the dungeons, Remus mused over the conversation. It was civil. Severus seemed different. Less angry, less bitter. While in thought he walked by Minerva, who seemed happy that she found him. ‘Ah Remus, good, I was looking for you. I need to talk to you, do you have a few moments for me?’
Together they walked back to Minerva’s rooms. ‘I would offer you a spot of tea, but time is of the essence since the students will arrive shortly. And I realize I should have said something sooner, but in all the preparations, it slipped my mind, for which I apologize.’
Remus, having no idea where Minerva was going with this, sat down and looked at her, waiting for her to start. Minerva cleared her throat and leaned against her desk. ‘Earlier today I received a Floo call from Amelia Bones. It seems that after Dumbledore and that whole mess, she and Shacklebolt came to the conclusion that Dumbledore had done more damage than originally expected… After the war, people have been sentenced to Azkaban, without proper trial.’ She paused, looking momentarily lost for words.
‘It seems that Sirius Black was one of those people.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘I am saying that Sirius has been sent to Azkaban, without the chance to defend himself. He was not given the opportunity to take Veritaserum. He had no lawyer. And Dumbledore knew and…well…’ Minerva pulled all her courage forward and said; ‘Albus knew he wasn’t the Secret Keeper and so could not have informed You-Know-Who but put him in Azkaban anyway.’
Silence followed. Remus looked at Minerva in shock. His best friend, the man he was in love with, the man whom he had come to hate in the aftermath of the war…was innocent. Guilt and anger fought to overtake him and the wolf roared in fury, causing his eyes to glow amber.
Minerva continued, deciding not to mention the unease she felt at seeing the wolf in Remus’ eyes. ‘Amelia has paid Sirius a visit in Azkaban. They talked and he provided her with memories. For now, they are being examined, but there is a good chance Sirius will have a new trial, and that he will be cleared of all charges.’
‘Who was the Secret Keeper?’ Remus knew in his heart, that it could only be one person.
‘Peter Pettigrew…Sirius thought it would be the ultimate ruse, according to Amelia. Everyone would think he was the one…’ Remus closed his eyes in order to contain himself. That little bastard!
‘So the explosion and the death of those Muggles?’ Minerva looked at him in sympathy. ‘I don’t know…not yet…that is what they are now investigating. I am really sorry to tell you all this at this moment. But I only learned myself just this afternoon.’ Remus looked lost but understood of course. ‘It’s okay…well, actually, it is not okay, but I am glad you told me.’
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‘Hogwarts?’ Dream repeated Reggie. She blushed. ‘It is where my mum and dad went to learn magic. I will not be able to go, but I would love to see it regardless sir.’ Feeling her sadness and understanding her longing to see the place, Dream nodded. ‘Very well. But if we do this, you are awake and a raven. And you must promise me, to be near me at all times. No flying off, I need to be able to see you. We will go tomorrow in the evening, for it is the start of the new school year.’
Since it was still in the middle of the night, he let Reggie get some more sleep, dreaming peacefully. He informed Lucienne where he would be the following evening and gave Matthew orders to keep an eye on one of his nightmares, he picked out a book on elemental earth magic, the second one Reggie would learn.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
In order for Dream and Reggie to go to Hogwarts, Dream needed to materialize in the Waking World, just like when he and Reggie went to the Tower. Reggie was once again sitting on his shoulder and promised that she would stay there. She was really excited and it was infectious, for Dream also found joy in visiting the Magical School. He had seen it before, but that had been some years ago…
‘Ready?’
‘Yes!’ Dream chuckled and used his own magic to appear in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. No one could see him, and he stood just left of the doors, so Reggie would be able to have a good view. An excited squeak alerted him that she was in awe. Reggie looked around in the enormous space that was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where she saw children sitting and talking to each other.
There were four tables for the children and one table across from those four, where the teachers sat. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. Reggie looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars... It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all. It was a beautiful place and for some reason, she felt the magic humming all around her.
She looked at the Head Table and saw a tiny professor at the center. An empty chair to his right, and next to that empty chair sat a man, dressed all in black, with long black hair to his shoulders and a large nose. He was talking to a man with blond long hair, sitting next to him. She observed some other teachers and saw a man with three large scars across his face and a woman with cat-like eyes. There was also an enormous man, he looked like a giant!
‘Sir, is that man a giant?’ she asked Dream. ‘Half giant, his name is Rubeus Hagrid.’ Dream walked over to the Head Table. He named every professor and what they taught and stood next to the table when the doors to the Hall were being opened and a stern-looking woman with a pointy hat walked in, followed by a line of children.
‘What is happening sir?’
‘Do you see that old hat over there?’ Dream pointed at a wooded stool with a hat on top of it. ‘In a few moments, they will call each child individually and the hat will tell them what their House will be.’
‘What if the hat doesn’t know?’
‘I don’t think that has ever happened before, but there are some cases that take a bit longer because the child has qualities that apply to more than one House.’
‘How many Houses do they have?’
‘Four Houses. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. You could say that brave and courageous people go to Gryffindor, cunning and ambitious people to Slytherin, very smart people who love to learn go to Ravenclaw and loyal, hardworking people end up in Hufflepuff. But like I said, no one is only brave, or only smart. Your mother was very smart, and cunning to, but was sorted into Gryffindor.’
Together they watched as the children were placed in their Houses. The tiny Professor gave a welcome speech and the food appeared. ‘Wow sir, did you see that?’ Reggie was beyond excited and flapped her wings.
‘Would you like to look around some more?’ After all, seeing a bunch of people eat, not so special. ‘Please, yes sir.’
Dream showed her some classrooms, the common rooms of each House, (Reggie was a big fan of Slytherin’s common room) and the Owlery. He made himself visible once they got there, so Reggie could communicate with the Owls, who were more than happy to talk to the little raven. After a while, they left with a promise to come back and Dream walked over to the Forbidden Forest.
Reggie was grateful that she was able to see where her mum and dad went to school, but she was also sad. Dream picked up on her emotions. ‘I know it’s hard. And not fair that you were robbed of this. I wish I could change anything, but sadly, that is not an option.’
‘I know sir…’
‘What I can do…when the time comes and you get lessons from a witch or a wizard, that we can let your dream take place here? It’s is not the same, but close?’ Reggie looked at Dream and squeaked softly. Yes, that would be nice, she mused.
In the Great Hall, the welcoming feast was over and the prefects had begun to lead the students to their dormitories. Severus would always let his prefects give the first introductions, so he decided to take a little walk outside before he would visit his snakes. He left the castle and decided to walk to the lake. As he was walking he glanced over to the Forbidden Forest. He stopped dead in his tracks, for he saw someone. He couldn’t see if that someone was male or female. He was almost certain he alone was wondering the grounds since everyone else was inside the castle. And the person standing there was not tall enough to be Hagrid…who was also still inside. He walked a bit closer and disillusioned himself.
The person turned out to be a man, dressed in black and he had a bird on his shoulder. A raven by the looks of it. Severus could hear the man talk. ‘…when the time comes and you get lessons from a witch or a wizard, that we can let your dream take place here? It’s is not the same, but close?’
What in Merlin’s beard? Suddenly, the man turned around and looked Severus dead in the eyes. ‘Hello, Severus Tobias Snape.’
This was not possible. How would the man know he was there? Severus gripped his wand tightly and let himself become visible. The man in front of him was long, slender, with a pale face and messy, dark hair. His eyes, however, looked not human and for a second, Severus was afraid. Those eyes…what the hell?
The bird on the man’s shoulder gave a squeak and the man smiled. ‘Yes, this is him, little one.’ The bird tilted its head and it seemed like the man and the bird were talking to each other. ‘Who are you? How did you come here?’ Severus demanded to know. He did not get an answer, for the man simply disappeared, leaving a confused and frustrated Severus behind.