Close To Truth

Lavender and Parvati appeared in the Portkey station in Hogsmeade. They both stumbled a bit, but the Portkey conductors knew what the effects of that sort of travel could be like and had padded the walls and floor with thick cushioning.

After turning over the old brick to the conductor, Parvati and Lavender stepped outside, blinking in the noontime sun. “It’s over there,” Lavender said after getting their bearings, and they set out towards Hogwarts.

Parvati glanced sideways at her friend as they walked; Lavender looked very tense, and no wonder. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked.

“I’ll have to be, won’t I?” Lavender retorted. “This is too important to mess up.” She was silent for a moment, and then whispered “What do you think the memory is that’s been hidden from Professor Trelawney?”

Parvati stared in disbelief. “You mean Harry didn’t tell you? I thought for certain he would!”

“No,” Lavender told her. She dropped her voice until she was barely breathing. “He said all I should do is find the memory where Professor Dumbledore was interviewing Professor Trelawney for the Divination post, and pull it out. He didn’t say why. He even warned me not to watch it…he said it would be dangerous for me to know what happened.”

Parvati considered that. “I guess this is one of those times we just have to trust that Harry knows what he’s talking about,” she said finally.

“Yeah,” Lavender agreed, although she wasn’t happy with it. She glanced around nervously. “I almost wish we could have worn the new Cloaks on the way there.”

Lavender and Parvati each carried one of the new Invisibility Cloaks Hermione had discovered. But Harry had insisted that they not don the Cloaks until after they’d been to see Professor Trelawney and gotten the memory. Of course, that didn’t apply if dangerous circumstances arose. “Come on,” Lavender said, wrapping her robes around her a little tighter against the October chill. “Let’s get this over with so I can get back to the house and shower all night until I hopefully feel clean again.”

Harry and Pansy, hidden beneath another pair of Invisibility Cloaks, watched Parvati and Lavender walk past Honeydukes Sweetshop. “Okay, they’ve made it this far,” Harry whispered. “They’re on their own now. Follow me.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to do that, Potter?” Pansy snapped back. “You seem to be a bit invisible right at the moment!”

Harry paused. “Er…right,” he said embarrassedly. “Look, just sneak into the basement of Honeydukes; the stairway is in the back behind the counter. I’ll go first and meet you there.”

“Fine,” Pansy said, and Harry set off. He managed to weave his way in between the sparse customers and into the back, where he crept down the stairs and stepped between some boxes so he was out of the way. He watched the wooden steps carefully, and after a few minutes he saw the top one bow slightly, and then the next, and the next, all the way to the bottom. As soon as the last step unbowed, he hissed “Psst!” and removed the cloak from his head. Pansy did the same, and as soon as he could see where she was Harry gestured with his head. They moved silently over to where the trapdoor was, and shifted a few small boxes away from it; then Harry lifted the hatch, and Pansy followed him down into the tunnel, shutting the trapdoor behind them.

Okay,” Harry said once they were several meters along the passage. He drew his wand and muttered a quick “Lumos” so they could see, and Pansy followed his lead. Then Harry removed his cloak and stuffed it in his robes. “We’ll put them back on before we come out of the passage,” he said. “It would be easy for them to snag on something down here.”

Pansy nodded vaguely, looking around with extreme distaste. “You know, Invisibility Cloaks aren’t foolproof,” she said. “Or did you forget our last encounter with my dear cousin Bellatrix?”

Harry snorted. “Not likely,” he said ironically. “But that does remind me…” He pulled out a blank piece of parchment.

“Going to do an essay?” Pansy asked. “How I Broke Into Hogwarts and Got Out Alive by Harry Potter?”

Does every word out of your mouth have to be sarcastic?” Harry asked, but he was smirking. He drew his wand and tapped it to the Parchment. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,” he said, and the ink spread across the parchment, revealing the Marauder’s map.

Pansy stared in amazement. “Bloody hell, that’s incredible, Potter!” she said finally, once she realized what the map was of. “Where did you get that?”

“My father and his friends made it,” Harry said. “Don’t mention it outside the D.A., okay?”

“Like I speak to anyone else now anyway,” Pansy muttered.

Harry paused in what he was doing. “Pansy, I’ve been too busy to say, but I really appreciate your not…er, making the situation with George and Luna worse by spreading around what you heard. I don’t want to think how bad things would be if everyone in the D.A. knew all the details. So, um…thanks.”

Pansy smirked. “I’ll be expecting my first blackmail payment by tomorrow,” she said pointedly.

“Nice try,” Harry replied instantly.

“It was worth a try,” Pansy said with a shrug. “Potter, I’m not stupid enough to jeopardize my place in the only safe hideout from the Dark Lord. Besides, everyone knows all the best details of Weasley and Lovegood’s spat anyway,” she added.

Harry frowned. “So it’s only your own self-interest that’s kept you from blabbing what you heard to the rest of the D.A.?”

Pansy crossed her arms in front of her chest. “What else would it be?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Harry said sarcastically. “Respect? Caring?”

“Bloody Gryffindors,” Pansy muttered. “Potter, you and your absurd little war have ruined my life—are you going to tell me it’s only your selfless nature that’s making you keep helping me, and not guilt?” Harry didn’t answer, which was answer enough. “When we admit it to ourselves we’re all motivated by what’s best for us,” Pansy said cynically. “If you and your blushing bride decide to shag your way through all the girls and a few of the boys in your kiddie club, I could care less so long as I get to live and the list doesn’t include me. Now, are we going to stand here in this dank tunnel enjoying this witty repartee for a few more hours, or are we going to actually do something useful?”

Harry gritted his teeth, but wisely chose not to respond to Pansy’s barbs. “Right,” he said shortly instead. “The Slytherin common room is right here, right?” he asked, pointing to a corridor in the dungeons on the Map.

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve been in the Slytherin common room before,” Harry said. “Don’t ask how or why, it’d take too long to explain. But you see, the Slytherin common room and dormitories aren’t on the map. That’s why I asked you to do the map of the student dormitories. But I got the map out to check…and he’s not here, good,” he said, stowing the map back in his pocket. “Mad-Eye Moody’s magical eye can see through Invisibility Cloaks.”

“Hmm, good to know,” Pansy mused. “The map shows people too?”

“Yeah. Dead useful when you want to find someone…or avoid them,” Harry added.

Pansy smirked appreciatively. “So why did I have to come with you on this little excursion?”

“Two reasons,” Harry said as he set off again, Pansy trailing behind him. “One, I wanted someone to watch my back—Ginny’s busy and you know a lot of great hexes.”

“The Weasleyette is too busy to go with you? Did she request some alone time with Lovegood?”

Harry scowled. “Ginny is doing work for the D.A. that’s none of your bloody business. And one more snide remark like that about Ginny or Luna—”

Pansy held up her hands in submission. “Fine, fine. I was wondering if you had a limit to how much abuse you’d put up with.” Harry rolled his eyes. “What’s the second reason I’m here?”

“You’re a Slytherin,” Harry said as though it were obvious. “It’s a long shot, but I’m hoping that since Slughorn fled after Dumbledore’s funeral, and there hasn’t been a new Head of House since, that the last password to the Slytherin common room is still valid.”

“That’s a pretty big hope,” Pansy muttered.

Harry shrugged. “I’ve got to try, at least. And that’s not all we’re here for, anyway.”

“Somehow I don’t think it’s likely that Patil and Brown are in a lot of danger inside Hogwarts,” Pansy said.

“Maybe not, but why take the chance of sending them in alone when we don’t have to? Besides, there’s someone else I’d like to talk to, if I can.”

Pansy peered at Harry in the gloomy light. “Dumbledore’s portrait in the Headmaster’s office?” she guessed.

“Not quite,” Harry said, “but close.”

*****

Lavender and Parvati were subject to a strong set of Identity Spells when they reached the gates of Hogwarts. They were rather uncomfortable, and did nothing to alleviate the girls’ tension. Seeing the great doors of Hogwarts locked and bolted didn’t help, either; they heaved back the giant knocker and let it fall, and jumped when it magically resounded with a loud BOOM that shook the ground.

After a long minute a tiny hatch opened in the door; two eyes appeared and squinted at the girls; “And what do you want?” a muffled voice demanded.

“M-Mr. Filch?” Lavender stammered. “Please, sir…we’re here to visit Professor Trelawney.”

“And she knows that, does she?” Mr. Filch said nastily.

“Yes she does, Argus, so let the poor girls in before they catch their death,” another, airier voice said from behind Filch, and Parvati and Lavender sighed with relief.

Grumbling, Filch went through the long process of getting the doors open, and only opened them enough to let Parvatl and Lavender slip through. “Can’t be too careful, with the sort what’s roaming free now,” he mumbled, although the girls suspected he really just wanted to embarrass them.

“My dears,” Professor Trelawney said, taking their hands and giving them a watery smile. “It has been too long since we last spoke.”

“Hello, Professor,” Lavender said shyly. She noticed a pungent smell (which wasn’t coming from Filch), which confirmed what Harry had told them about Professor Trelawney and cooking sherry.

“Please, no formalities,” Trelawney said. “With the school closed indefinitely I am no longer your teacher. You may call me Sybil.”

*****

Harry and Pansy watched on the Marauder’s Map as Trelawney lead Parvati and Lavender into the castle and towards her quarters, leaving Filch to shut and seal the doors. “Good,” Harry said, folding up the map again. “Come on, another ten minutes or so and we’ll be there.”

“You seem very sure that that was actually Trelawney,” Pansy said skeptically as she followed Harry through the passage. “For that matter, how can you know that was really Filch?”

“Nothing fools the Marauder’s Map,” Harry told her. “Even a Polyjuiced person shows up as themselves—I know, I’ve seen it. The map only shows what’s really there; I’m not positive, but I suspect that if someone was possessed the map would show the name of the person and the person possessing them.”

Pansy was silent for a while as they continued towards the castle. “That map’s a damned impressive piece of magic,” she said eventually. “There aren’t many Spells or objects that allow you to see what’s really there no matter what. Too bad the map doesn’t show anything besides Hogwarts—I can think of a dozen alternative sites that would be very helpful. Like, say, Diagon Alley?”

“Yeah, that occurred to me,” Harry agreed. “But I have no idea how the map was made, so we can’t duplicate it. And honestly, I’d be too scared to risk it. When the fake Mad-Eye Moody got his hands on this map he used it to help him kill someone…can you imagine a map like this of Diagon Alley, or the Ministry of Magic, in Voldemort’s hands?”

Pansy thought about that, and shuddered. “A weapon like that under his control? I’d rather not think about it.”

Harry nodded, his expression stony. Then he smiled unexpectedly. “You didn’t flinch that time, you know. When I said Voldemort.”

Pansy flinched, but she realized it was only because Harry had just drawn attention to the name. “Huh. Your suicidal tendencies must be rubbing off on me,” she concluded wryly. Harry snorted.

When they reached the end of the passage Harry pulled the map out again. “Hmm…Filch is back in his office, and Mrs. Norris is with him,” he muttered. “There are several members of the Order of the Phoenix in the Great Hall…Firenze is in his quarters…the ghosts are all over, but none are near us—”

“It even shows ghosts?” Pansy exclaimed incredulously.

“Yeah,” Harry said vaguely, turning over another fold of the map. “Look, there’s Moaning Myrtle in her bathroom. And…Hah, Peeves is in the Owlery—looks like he’s trying to spook all the owls.”

“Are Patil and Brown in the tower with Trelawney?” Pansy asked.

Harry turned the map over again. “Yeah, right there,” he said, pointing to three little names. “And there’s not anyone else near them, so they should be free to…er, deal with Trelawney.” Harry tapped the map with his wand and said “Mischief Managed.”

Pansy watched with interest as the map disappeared and became blank parchment again. “What’s so important about Trelawney anyway?” she asked.

“Sorry,” Harry said, and he really was. “Only a handful of us know that and I’d like to keep it that way. Even Parvati and Lavender don’t know all of it.”

Pansy shrugged as if she didn’t care. “Whatever. So are we going?”

Harry nodded, so they both pulled out their Invisibility Cloaks and put them on. Then Harry pointed his wand to where the statue of the humpbacked witch stood and said “Dissendium!” and the entrance opened to admit them to Hogwarts.

*****

Lavender was starting to feel lightheaded from all the fumes in Professor Trelawney’s quarters. Not that it was unusual for Sybil to be burning incense, but the smell of cooking sherry was almost overpowering. Lavender concentrated on keeping a clear head; she couldn’t afford to try Legilimency if she wasn’t fully prepared.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to say goodbye at the end of the school year, Pr- Sybil,” Parvati was saying. “My parents decided to try and take us far away right after the funeral.”

“That is truly a shame,” Sybil said, her words a bit slurred. “Your parents were prepared to extract you from your circle of friends, your very life?’

“I don’t blame them, they were afraid,” Parvati answered. “With You-Know-Who on the loose…and after Dumbledore died…”

“I do wish Albus had listened when I warned him of his fate,” Professor Trelawney exclaimed with a dramatic sigh. She slumped down slightly in her chair. “Alas, some people fail to acknowledge the Inner Eye until it is too late. Poor Albus should have known to heed my words, though…It was he, after all, who saw my Great-Grandmother’s gift in me and offered me the position of Divination Teacher at Hogwarts.”

Lavender’s heart jumped. This was it, they’d finally managed to work the conversation around to Professor Trelawney’s hiring—in fact, Professor Trelawney had done it for them. She caught Parvati’s eye and nodded slightly. “Professor- er, Sybil, may I use your bathroom?” she asked, standing.

“Of course my dear, it’s right through there,” Trelawney said, waving vaguely behind her and knocking over a bottle without realizing.

“Thank you,” Lavender said, and walked around Trelawney, but stopped directly behind her. She and Parvati had planned their positioning carefully, knowing the layout of Trelawney’s quarters from previous visits. Trelawney’s favorite chair faced away from the bathroom, so Parvati was sitting facing the chair to keep the back of Trelawney’s head exposed to Lavender. Lavender nodded at Parvati again, carefully drawing her wand.

“You mean that even back then, Dumbledore recognized your gift?” Parvati asked, sounding amazed, maybe even awed. “And he offered you the job just like that?”

“Indeed he did,” Trelawney said, sounding proud and haughty. “He visited me personally, in the room I’d taken at the Hog’s Head. He was very gracious and respectful—of course Albus always was with those he considered his equals,” she added a bit tearfully. “Other than the rude interruption by Severus Snape, it was a wonderful night, and one I’ll always remember fondly.”

Lavender ignored Parvati’s genuinely surprised question about Snape’s appearance that night—Harry had told Lavender that much—and reached out the tip of her wand until it was almost touching the back of Trelawney’s head. She closed her eyes to concentrate, and the moment Parvati’s voice raised enough to mask hers, she whispered “Legilimens!”

Trelawney’s unprotected, alcohol-clouded mind opened to Lavender easily. Scenes fluttered at the edge of her consciousness like the flapping of birds’ wings, but she forced herself to focus and managed to latch on to the memory most prominent in Trelawney’s mind. A slight mental tug, and she was there that night.

The room at the Hog’s Head was dirty, and Professor Trelawney looked little better. She was clearly near the end of her tether, but she still carried herself with an air of dignity as she went to answer the knock at her door. Lavender’s eyes widened when Trelawney opened the door and Dumbledore smiled mildly. “Lady Sybil,” he said, taking her hand and bowing over it.

“Headmaster Dumbledore,” Trelawney answered properly. “Do please come in.”

Lavender shook herself as Dumbledore stepped over the threshold and removed his outer robes. Harry told me not to watch! she reminded herself. The temptation was incredible, but was overwhelmed by another, even greater concern: Can I really do this?

It’s wrong, Lavender told herself while she watched Dumbledore take the chair that was offered to him. It’s worse than stealing a belonging…it’s stealing a piece of her life! How can this be so important? What could possibly matter this much to Voldemort?

She wrestled with herself for a long moment, as the scene progressed before her. It has to be now, she thought, before I see whatever I’m not supposed to see. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes and nodded to herself. Now.

Lavender pushed herself out of Trelawney’s thoughts, but clung to the memory like she’d practiced. When she could feel herself back in her own body, she licked her lips and murmured “Memorius Extreccen.” She opened her eyes and saw a thin wisp of silver light emerging from Trelawney’s head, attached to the tip of her wand. She fumbled in her pocket and brought out the small vial she’d brought with her, and pulled the stopper out with her teeth, wincing at the noise it made. Trelawney didn’t seem to notice, continuing her conversation with Parvati, who was steadfastly forcing herself to ignore what was going on behind her former teacher. Lavender guided the memory into the vial and stoppered it tightly, and gave a quick thumbs-up to Parvati before backing away and slipping into the bathroom.

When she’d shut the door, Lavender pulled out a lump of wax. She balanced the vial carefully, and then muttered “Hete Somus.” The tip of her wand began to heat up, and Lavender used it to melt the wax so it dripped over the vial, covering the stopper completely. Then she canceled the Heat Charm and cast a quick Freezing Charm, making the wax solidify. Satisfied she’d sealed the memory as well as she could, she stuffed it into a different, empty pocket, that Hermione had Charmed to hold what was placed inside and never lose it until the one who’d put it in there removed it on purpose. Then Lavender flushed the toilet, washed her hands and went back out to see if she could help Parvati bring the conversation to an end as soon as possible.