'The Aurors have been stripping this place down,' Sirius remarked, following Lupin's gaze. 'Took away most of Lucius' papers, his Dark Arts toys, all sorts of nasty torture devices. But Dumbledore convinced them to leave the books here. '
Lupin looked at him. 'Why?'
'I think he was hoping you'd find something here to help explain what's been going on lately,' said Sirius quietly. 'You know how he is — he won't say anything directly. But I know he thinks that all these recent events are related — the dementors' disappearance, the disturbances in the Forbidden Forest, and now all this about Salazar Slytherin being back — '
'Do you have that book with you?' interrupted Sirius, looking suddenly curious.
Lupin took the book out of his case and handed it to Sirius, who took it and walked with it across the room to one of the long stained-glass windows (green and blue, they showed an intricate design of letter 'M' s). He opened it, and frowned at the pages.
'You're right,' he said. 'I've never seen anything like this before.'
He glanced up. 'Firenze said this would help explain things?'
'Yes,' said Lupin, hesitantly, remembering the centaur's actually words with a chill of foreboding. Nothing will help you now.
'Although he didn't seem terribly optimistic…'
'No, they rarely are,' said Sirius, closing the book and laying it down on the desk. 'They're a depressing lot, although very sincere about paying back favors. Which reminds me,' he added, sitting down at the desk and putting his chin on his hand. He looked thoughtfully at Lupin. 'I was thinking of having a birthday party for Harry.'
'What?' said Lupin, startled by this sudden change of subject.
'As far as I can tell, he's never had a birthday party, never even had his birthday acknowledged before. And he's going to be seventeen, that's quite an important age…'
'Well, by all means have one,' said Lupin. 'What's it got to do with me?'
'Well, you did teach at Hogwarts, I thought, if you could remember who any of his friends were-'
Lupin snorted. 'Don't try to get me involved in party planning, Sirius,' he said. 'The last party I was at was James' bachelor party, and that was twenty years ago.'
'And yet I remember it like it was yesterday,' said Sirius, with a grin.
Lupin raised an eyebrow. 'I'd be shocked if you remembered any of it. In my recollection, you got thoroughly pissed, stood on your head in the front garden, and sang eighteen verses of a song entitled
'I May Be A Tiny Chimney Sweep But I've Got An Enormous Broom'.
Then we had to carry you home.'
'That song,' said Sirius with dignity, 'only has fifteen verses.'
'Then you made up the last three.'
'Did they rhyme?'
'Sirius…'
'You brought it up,' said Sirius, and made a face. 'See, that's what I'm talking about. How am I supposed to be any sort of moral example to Harry? I never had a moral example when I was his age, except maybe James, and what can I say about that? 'Be like your father'?'
'He could do a lot worse,' said Lupin.
'I know,' said Sirius. 'But he's never known his father, so will it really mean anything to him?' He sighed. 'I want him to be happy here, Remus, but I just don't know. I even thought of putting in a Quidditch field in the back garden. There's plenty of room.'
'I never thought you were much of a Quidditch enthusiast,' said Lupin.
'No, but I thought it was something Draco and Harry might like to have,' said Sirius.
'Good Lord, they'll be living here together, won't they?' said Lupin, looking as if this novel concept had only just occurred to him. 'It'll take a lot more than a Quidditch field to keep the peace between those two. I suppose the length of about eight Quidditch fields might do it, mind, if Harry stood on one side and Draco on the other.'
Sirius smiled at him. 'You just don't believe me that they're friends, do you?'
Lupin shrugged. 'It's not me you have to convince,' he said. 'It's them.'
*** Draco sleeping ***
He walked through the gardens of the tower in the forest, only now it was whole and unruined and the gardens were alive with flowers.
None of it seemed strange to him, only wholly familiar, as if he were revisiting a place he had been many times.
He was eager to get inside, why he wasn't sure. He walked swiftly through the gardens, mounted the steps that he had last seen cracked and broken, and went through the open double doors of the tower into an anteroom hung with tapestries and glowing the candelight.
Hermione was waiting for him there. He knew it was Hermione, although she looked very different. Her hair was plaited on top of her head with thick robes of sparkling emeralds, and she wore a long green silk dress tasselled with gold. She looked almost completely, although not quite entirely, unlike herself. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as though she kissed him every day.
'Hello, love,' he heard himself say. It wasn't what he had planned to say. He had wanted to ask her why she was all dressed up, were they going somewhere? But that wasn't what came out when he opened his mouth. 'Did you miss me?'
