Standing Against the Tides

Last time I looked at my driver’s license, it did not say J. K. Rowling. Yep, it’s just me, an unpaid and unknown aspiring writer. The characters of the Potterverse do not belong to me and I am making no money from this endeavor.

A/N: Spoilers through OotP. As I am still in denial, I refuse to acknowledge the events of HBP or DH at this point.

Unbeta’d as BabyGurl is busy with her own life.


Chapter 23 Reunion

Minerva briefly wondered if she could somehow relocate down to the dungeons. Perhaps it would be more difficult for her students to find her there. That must be the reason why Severus preferred the cold, dank chambers he inhabited. Tiredly rubbing her throbbing temples, the Transfigurations Professor just wished her students would shut up.

Holding up a hand, Professor McGonagall was surprised that she had indeed succeeded in quieting the young witch. “Miss Granger, I believe I have already explained that I cannot allow you to see Mr. Potter at the moment. He is quite busy training with Professor Snape.”

“But, Professor,” Hermione whinged.

“We’re his best friends, Professor,” Ron interjected. “If anyone has a right to see him it’s us.”

The normally composed Transfigurations Professor was feeling decidedly flustered right about now. She had just opened her mouth to respond when a new voice spoke. “Perhaps it might be necessary for these two students to see their friend.”

The two Gryffindors and their Head of House turned to see the sandy-haired werewolf with his hands shoved down in the pockets of his threadbare jacket. “Please excuse my interference, Minerva, but I think that Harry might appreciate his friends by his side right now. I believe that at the very least, he should have the opportunity to decide for himself,” Remus reasonably stated.

Any objections the Head of Gryffindor House might have had were promptly drowned out by two excited students. Tiredly straightening her wire-rimmed glasses, the stern witch numbly nodded. Perhaps Severus would be willing to part with some of his patented and precious ‘Children Are a Pain in the _’ Potion ™ later.


Remus revealed Harry’s location to his friends and waited until the two young Gryffindors left before turning back to the stern witch. “My apologies, Minerva, but with everything that has happened, I believe that Harry needs all the support he can get right now,” the werewolf explained.

The Transfigurations Professor tiredly waved her hand and sat back down at her desk. A pointed stare indicated that she expected her new visitor to do likewise. “Now, what brings you up here, Remus? I know you had reason other than sticking your nose into school business.” A small smile served to show that she did not hold that against her former colleague.

The former DADA professor laughed lightly before warding the door against intrusion. Reaching into his inner pocket, he pulled out a miniature bottle that he then spelled back to its original size. “Would you care to join me in a round or three of Ogden’s Finest?” he asked casually.

Truly smiling for the first time that day, Minerva quickly transfigured two quills into glasses. When both had their libations in hand, Remus began speaking. Soulful amber eyes turned to his companion as he poured out his heart. “Why, Minerva? Why didn’t I know? Why didn’t the wolf know?” Stopping to take a long sip of the strong liquor, Remus continued, “Now it seems as if a cloud has been lifted from my mind and my eyes. And I have to wonder, why didn’t I try to see Harry all these years? How could I have let Albus turn me so easily from that young child? How could I have failed Harry and his parents so terribly?”

Minerva took a sip of her own drink before attempting to answer. The truth was that she had had similar thoughts in the past few weeks. Dumbledore’s journals seemed to indicate that the old wizard had carefully planned and plotted all of his machinations. The former Headmaster had worked diligently throughout the years to isolate and manipulate all those around him. So it came as no surprise to the witch that here was yet another of the man’s victims.

Holding the gaze of the troubled man across from her, Minerva quietly spoke, “Remus, he fooled us all. He fooled me, he fooled Severus.” Quirking her head at the werewolf, she dared him to hear the truth in her words. “Whether we could have or should have known is beside the point right now. What we must do is to figure out how to overcome Albus’ treachery and manipulations.”

A rueful grin was the best answer Remus had to give at the moment, so that is exactly what he gave the stern witch. Deep down he knew she was right, and that somehow they would find a way to undo the damage one deranged old man had created.


Harry stared thoughtfully at the door Remus had just closed behind him. Their brief conversation had given the young man much to think about. And while Harry knew that he should have been feeling shocked and dismayed by the news of Albus Dumbledore’s latest betrayal, for some inexplicable reason, Harry could only feel a deep sense of purpose and rightfulness. If anything, Harry’s life experiences had taught him that the past could not be changed. What Dumbledore had done to them all could not be altered or erased. But neither could it be forgotten. The old wizard would have to answer one day for his crimes.

A sudden, horrifying thought stunned Harry. What if? What if Dumbledore had been tainted by Grindelwald’s soul when he had destroyed the dark wizard in 1945? Would that be his fate too, if he ever managed to defeat Voldemort? And in that terrible moment, Harry knew beyond any certainty that that was the truth. Absently rubbing his scar, he sighed and quickly decided this was something that Pro – Severus would have to help him research. Until then, nothing could be done about the situation.

Thoughts of his Potions professor brought his mind back to this morning. Something had happened between him and Severus then, and Harry knew that everything was now different. Was that the reason for this unnatural calm that had invaded his being? This too was something that would need to be questioned and analyzed. Snorting to the empty room, Harry was able to recognize that he had obviously been spending too much time with the snarky man. Even his thoughts were beginning to sound like the older wizard’s.


The troubled young man was brought out of his reverie when the wards signaled the arrival of someone outside the door to the Potions master’s chambers. A moment later, impatient knocking sounded in the room. Closing his eyes, Harry was satisfied to learn the identity of his two guests and silently opened the heavy door with a wave of his hand.

“Ron, Hermione,” he began. “Please do come in. Or would you prefer to just stand there in the hallway?” There, that definitely sounded like Severus, he wryly thought.

Not surprisingly, Hermione was the first to recover her senses. Flinging herself into her friend’s arms, she cried, “Oh, Harry. We have been trying to see you for so long, but no one would tell us anything. And Professor Dumbledore is nowhere to be found. What is going on, Harry?”

As all that was said in a rush, it took the new Headmaster a moment to decipher the message and then another to decide how to respond. Gently prying the emotional girl off his body, Harry looked over to Ron who was standing just barely inside the door. The poor boy looked as though he truly expected the evil Potions master to flay him for daring to step inside his private domain.

“Sit down and I will try to explain,” Harry said while watching the wary glances Ron kept throwing around the room. Smirking, Harry silently warded the door with a simple wave of his hand. He missed the assessing look thrown his way by the intelligent young witch.

Once the pair had sat down, Ron rather more gingerly than Hermione, Harry began explaining what he could. When he got to the part about Dumbledore interfering with his and Severus’ soul bond, Ron began gasping and clutching his hands in agitation. “He, he…,” the young Weasley boy sputtered. “Soul mates are sacred in our world, mate.” A moment later, the red-headed boy blanched. “You and Snape?” he managed to spit out just before he fainted.

Hermione glanced over to her comatose boyfriend before she launched herself at Harry. “Oh, Harry. I always thought you two were perfect for each other,” she gushed.

The youngest Headmaster in the history of Hogwarts pulled back and looked skeptically at his best friend. “What do you mean, Hermione?”

Cocking her head at her rather dense friend, she responded, “Really, the way you two have always acted around each other. Honestly! It’s just like the daytime dramas my mother watches! You and Professor Snape have always been at each other’s throats, but secretly you have always been meant for each other!”

As the brown-haired girl fairly melted into a pile of goo, Harry worked to revive his first friend, Ron. Seeing his normally logical and ordered friend succumb to the melodrama of his situation, Harry quickly decided he needed the reassurance that only another male could provide.

A softly spoken ‘Re-enervate’ did the job and Ron sat up and sputtered for a moment before turning to Harry. “You and Snape?” he asked incredulously.

Harry grasped his friend’s shoulder firmly before reluctantly nodding. “Um, yeah,” he acknowledged. “Are you okay with that?”

Ron numbly nodded. “I guess I have to be, huh? After all, you’re soul mates. But we’re still best mates, right?”

Smiling broadly at his friend, Harry tilted his head towards their apparently temporarily insane friend. Who knew Hermione was a closet romantic? “So, wanna help me with her?”

Ron grinned as he turned to the still bubbling Hermione. Grasping her shoulders, the young man quickly kissed the witch, effectively shutting her up for the moment. Harry watched the pair with a decided twinkle in his eyes. He smiled as Fawkes flew onto his shoulder and nudged his cheek. Things were going to be all right. Harry was certain of that.