Whose Universe Are We In?

8

“You two are looking well”, Remus smirked when he was admitted to their chambers on Monday morning. Merlin! They smelled different, too. Still of themselves but something else. Heady. Powerful. Who the hell were these two? And what had happened to them since the last time he’d seen them? He vowed to keep a careful eye on them all day today.

Before they set off, Dan and Alan had a hurried conference that ended with them firecalling Albus to admit to having found the vault keys. Dan thanked the old man and said, “We probably won’t need your offer of the bursary, sir”. Albus was all smiles but both Alan and Dan saw the crease deepen in the man’s brow. The question was oh, so, casual, “Might I ask where you found these keys, chaps?” Dan told the truth, “Dunno, sir. I summoned Harry’s and it came to me. Must be because I’m using his wand or something”.

Alan also admitted, “Indeed, sir. I did the same thing with an identical result. We know not where the keys came from, although we investigated”. Albus nodded distractedly then said, “As to the wills, gentlemen, it occurs to me that the wills will not be in a form with which you are familiar, that of a letter, say, or even a rolled and sealed parchment, though they may be such. However, they may also take the form of bottles alongside a bowl, usually made of stone. Magical folk have the ability to lift copies of their memories directly from their minds and put them in this dish for others to view”.

Deciding for now to play along, Dan said, “Pensieves. Yes, we know about them actually. The original author describes them in some detail. Yes. If we come across one we’ll let you know”. Remus decided that there was something about the young man’s manner that was altogether too glib and stored this nugget with the others that he was gathering about these two.

The firecall finished with Albus telling Remus to glamour them and take them to Gringotts first, before giving him the key to the School vault, ‘just in case’. “Then show them around a bit, let them see a little of our world. Keep an eye on them, Remus, keep them safe”. Remus tried not to growl. He could read the subtext. ‘Spy on them and tell me all about it’. He determined today was going to be fun.

Tonks was waiting beyond Hogwarts gates and she and Remus side-alonged their two charges, landing in a discreet spot behind what looked like a grotty pub yard. Tonks quickly cast the glamours then turned a portion of the brickwork into a mirror so they could see themselves. Alan and Dan gasped in surprise.

The Auror muttered, “This makes it easier on me, too, guys, you gave me quite a turn, young Dan, you look so like our Harry, innit? But you, Alan, you sound like Snape and you sort of look like him but you’re not really that like him at all”. Alan had to bite his lip to stop himself blurting out that he knew already that he and the ‘real’ Snape were dissimilar. He stayed quiet and just agreed with her.

They took in their new appearances. Dan was fair with a few freckles and hazel eyes. Alan had short dark brown hair, tanned skin and deep blue eyes. For now, they retained their robes.

They ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ discreetly as they were shown around Diagon Alley. It bore very little resemblance to the street in the films that had, of necessity, been wide enough to allow vehicles and special cameras to dolly up and down it. This thoroughfare was dimly lit and narrow, the top storeys blotting out what little light reached street level. Alan was reminded of a larger version of The Shambles in York.

Glancing in the windows as they passed, Dan recognised Flourish and Blott’s, Eylops Owl Emporium, Slug and Jiggers and Madam Malkins, but there was nought to do until they had plenished their purses. Gringotts was to be their first stop.

The goblin was all obsequy once they’d shown him their keys. It seemed to be all the little man needed as if many customers regularly dropped in glamoured to the hilt. They didn’t invite Remus and Tonks down with them so they had to remain behind, seething somewhat at being made to wait.

The ride in the cart was mercifully short and faster than any rollercoaster that Dan had ever been on. They lurched to a stop before Harry Potter’s vault. The goblin handed them off the cart and stood to one side. Dan saw the keyhole and fitted the key. It only needed a quarter turn and Dan couldn’t quite conceal the wonder as he heard gears turn and metal grind and watched his vault door slowly open.

His eyes widened and he held onto his jaw to stop it from dropping, clenching his teeth instead. He blurted, “I’ve brought the wrong damned key, haven’t I?, he murmured to the goblin who bowed, “I didn’t like to say anything, Mister Potter, but we obeyed your instructions to the letter. I thought that perhaps you were merely checking to see if we had done our jobs”.

Still sitting in the cart, Alan tried very hard not to look confused, keeping his features patient and stoic but he was dying to ask when Dan landed back in the cart plainly empty-handed and said somewhat peremptorily, “Then show us the new arrangements, would you, please?” The small man bowed deeply, “Certainly sirs. We have waited some weeks for you both to come in and finalise things, you understand but we did obey your instruction, Professor Snape, in not contacting you at the school and have retained all paperwork here at the bank. Now, if you’d like to come up to Mr Griphook’s office, sirs, I’m sure we can sort everything out”.

Mystified, Alan quizzed Dan to be hushed behind the goblin’s back, “There’s something going on, Alan, the vault was empty. Let’s see, eh?” and they fell silent with the wind whistling in their ears produced by the speed at which they travelled.

They drew up eventually at the base of what looked like a tower and were ushered into a lift that seemed to have a spiral stairway wrapped around it. They shot upwards several flights until the door opened into a luxuriously carpeted office that both had to bend their heads before they were able to enter it. This room had been built entirely with it’s shorter occupant in mind and wasn’t used to being visited by the taller folk that the goblins served, that much was obvious.

They were courteously seated and offered tea which they both accepted. They were invited to de-glamour but both refused citing future shopping in the ‘alley’ and the wish to not be recognised or hassled as the reason. Griphook didn’t seem bothered either way and rattled on about inanities to do with the wizarding economy by way of small talk as he unlocked a massive safe behind his desk and drew from it a selection of papers, laying them on his desk. “Just a few things to sort out, gentlemen. I must confess that when you came to me with your original requests, I thought it odd that you were not leaving yourselves with any fluid wizarding assets, only leaving your investments in wizarding hands”.

Dan tried to look contrite, “Perhaps we were a little precipitate with the arrangements. Now, as I think I may have been a touch inebriated on that day, please remind me what stupid thing I did with all my money”, he looked as guilty as any sixteen year old that had done something monumentally stupid.

The goblin cleared his throat and unrolled a sheaf of parchment from which two familiar rectangles of muggle plastic fell onto the table. He pushed them at his clients. “Here are the means of accessing your funds, sirs, put in the joint account as requested. I believe you have to sign the back of them. The Black monies, as I feared, are unable to be transferred in this way and I have the vault key for you, Mr Potter”, and the small key was pushed to Dan along with the debit card.

Dan took them both up. “I believe I requested a full balance, did I not?” The goblin nodded and a sheaf of parchment followed card and key across the desk. Dan pushed his glasses up his nose and concentrated on the columns of figures, trying not to shout out in shock.

He really was worth a King’s ransom, more than he was in Real Life. Wow, Harry Potter was really loaded. Looking at the bottom line, Dan surmised that there were several million Galleons of the Black fortune available to him along with what looked suspiciously like an even larger amount made over into muggle funds and deposited in a joint account shared by Harry and Severus. He looked at the card he held bearing the names, ‘H.J. Potter & S.T.Snape’ and risked a glance at his lover, whose face gave nothing away.

“This all looks to be in order, my good man”, Dan said airily and the goblin bowed formally, “Very good, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you both, sirs?” Alan nodded, “We would like to make a withdrawal and I would like to check my own old vault if I may. We will be needing funds of both denominations”. The old goblin cracked the nearest he ever came to a smile, “Very good, sir, of course, sir. If you would like to accompany young Fundrich to your vault first, sir, and I will endeavour to have your funds awaiting you in the banking hall when you are ready”. “Excellent”, they declared together then conferred in low voices deciding how much they needed in ‘walking cash’ as they seemed to be fully equipped with plastic and made out a banking order and signed it.

Snape’s vault was as empty as Harry’s had been save a few paintings and pieces of furniture, plainly heirlooms, but of cash, there was no sign. Dan pushed the door partially closed and pulled Alan close, whispering, “They were buggering off, weren’t they? They meant to escape to our world and never come back. That’s why they’ve cleaned out their vaults, isn’t it?”

Alan was inclined to agree, “They meant to live together, too, hence the joint account. I wonder where they thought they’d hide?”, he mused. Dan rolled his eyes, “On the film set of course! How best to disguise yourselves in plain sight, eh? A quick swap over and the job’s a good ‘un. Proving it’s going to be a nightmare but my money’s on that as a theory. We’ve been set up only no-one counted on that chunk of rock”.

It was Griphook himself that met them in an ante-chamber off the main banking hall. They signed for their withdrawals and shook his clawed hand bowing and observing all the niceties but now anxious to be out of there. Dan had the feeling that any moment now, a large hand would descend on his shoulder with a ‘”Wot’s all this ‘ere, sonny?” and they were so close to getting out of here with a considerable sum. He felt like an embezzler.

They walked out with as much decorum as they could muster, meeting up with their rearguard at the main entrance. They said not a word until they were ensconced in a booth at the Leaky Cauldron and had thrown back a couple of firewhiskies apiece. Remus tentatively asked if everything was all right. Dan smiled shakily, “Oh, fine, except I feel like a bank robber”, said low, but drawing nervous titters from their chaperones.

Dan opted to pay for lunch, “To thank you for escorting us, but we do have to go into the wide world for a bit, there’s things we need. Do you have to follow us there? How familiar are you with the muggle world?” Remus grinned, “I know you’ve read that woman’s stories. No. We’re all pretty familiar with aspects of your world” Tonks laughed but kept her voice down, “Yeah. C’mon, Dan, an Auror lives on the edge between the two worlds for the large part, it’s not all Voldemort, you know and there’s loads of us with thoroughly muggle upbringings. We don’t all look weird in muggle clothes, for example”.

Remus asked, “You two have read the books. I have to admit to being a bit fascinated, but how well does she portray our world? I’m sure Hermione told of her travails in attempting to read them and all sorts of stories have leaked out from muggle relatives and so on” Dan shrugged, “If our magic’ll let us, we’ll try and get a set in Borders today and if we can we’ll read them to you but they’re kids books, though they gripped the nation, young and old but they’re just stories. If it’s worth anything I think it’s time magic ‘came out’, so to speak. She described the school and stuff pretty well but it was still confusing when we first explored, particularly as it was mainly at night”, he grinned and continued, “Yeah, I think she made you a bit closed off as a society which you do seem to be, a bit, and the spells were, for the large part, spot on. She had a hand in directing that while we filmed. Even if the directors telescoped the stories a bit and played fast and loose with locations and the like, the magic was always bang on”.

The Auror and the Werewolf nodded sagely, “Did she say anything about me?”, the young witch asked. Dan grinned, “Yeah. Change your hair colour”. Tonks grinned and cycled through pink, green and purple before once more settling on red. She blinked, “Harry always liked me changing me nose; always made ‘im laugh, it did”, which she proceeded to do, from hamster to pig via mole and even anteater before it re-assumed it’s normal shape. She knuckled an errant tear from under one eye.

Remus looked off into space and murmured, “Magic come out, Dan? That’s a.....bold idea. Would we not be quickly relegated to the ranks of ‘freaks’, or worse, suspected of causing many and various of society’s ills, or, worse still, be thought able to fix the monstrous mess that muggles are making of things with arbitrary flicks of our wands?”

Dan sighed, “I know. There are many branches of society that are frequently cast into at least two of those moulds, Remus, and they are slowly gaining in our world. Gays, gypsies and travellers, marginalised religious groups. The world may be smaller and fuller these days but there’s still room for all sorts of folks and, lest we forget, there have been occult groups existing quite openly now since the rise of mesmerism in Victorian times”.

Tonks made a disgusted sound, “Aye, all very well, but I don’t think real magical folk’d wanna be rated alongside...........crystal fondlers”, she all but spat. Remus chuckled, “Now, now, Tonks, dear, they do no harm and they mean well. They are the muggle equivalent of squibs, they have magical souls but not a scrap of the practical stuff”. Alan snorted at this, “I dunno. They make bloody fortunes off the gullible. The magazines my .... partner... reads.....yes, reads still, I’ve no doubt”, he finessed, “Are full of advertisements for these folk. Would any of them be really magical, do you suppose?”

Dan spoke up, “There was this woman, kept a small shop near my parents house in Fulham, she was a fortune-teller of some sort, never found out what she did, like, but there were always long queues to see her on Saturdays. She was really popular. Our kid went once, erm, sorry, my little sister, and she said she was brilliant. I bet she’s a magical, erm, the woman, not our kid”.

Remus and Tonks exchanged a swift glance. This was the first time either man had really even let drop small facts about their pasts and realised that they and their compatriots weren’t the only ones feeling loss: the fond way both spoke of previous partner and sister. Remus decided that action was called for before the session started to become sad.

He drained his drink and stood, “Okay, chaps. Where to first? This side or that of the pub?”, he pointed to the doors to both muggle and wizarding sides. Dan took a deep breath and managed a smile, “That side. Time to go muggle for a bit”. Alan joined in the smile, “Indeed. A cab to Tottenham Court Road first, I think”. Tonks muttered, “Wotcha gettin’, Dan?” Dan grinned, “You’ll see. Let’s hope it shrinks so I can get it back to school. Shall we go?”

Once more they were hustled into an alley and the glamours were re-applied. Remus configured them a mirror and Tonks grabbed it, elongated it and stood it against a wall, “Come on, I only do clothes that you like. Step up, take a squint”.

As they looked, she attended to their clothing, giving them both jeans and jackets, Alan’s a black leather flying jacket with black sheepskin lining while Dan had a roomy fleece-lined needlecord hoodie. She stood back and declared them fit for anything. On Dan she transfigured smart trainers, on Alan, calf length boots with the jeans outside them. Dan leaned over and whispered, “Keep the boots if you can”.

For that he was pulled into a short, deep kiss that steamed his glasses up. They were separated by a peremptory little cough and a “Today, guys”, from Tonks. Dan liked her. He separated slowly from his lover, blinked, took a deep breath and in seconds was in the middle of London.

It had felt strange going into the community that is Diagon Alley after so long sequestered but this felt downright weird.

It all moved so fast and their ‘living-in-the-city’ smarts had faded, (you know the ones, that get you across the road whilst re-programming your I-pod, that get you to the coffee shop before you’re awake and you haven’t died under anyone’s wheels yet, that let you negotiate complex transport systems while still semi-comatose or half-pissed). It was surprising how quickly they’d adapted to the rarefied atmosphere of Hogwarts.

They all bundled into a black cab and were whisked away. Dan noticed the name of the street as they turned out of it. Their first port of call was Tottenham Court Road. Remus was at a total loss as to what they were about but Tonks cottoned on fairly sharpish, “Gawd, youse after a computer, then? Where you gonna use that then, in ‘ogwarts? There’s no electric”. Dan smiled, “We buy a bunch of batteries, either that or a twelve volt kit and some truck batteries and an old heap and diesel to run it to keep the batteries charged”, he neglected to mention the electricity in the base of the Astronomy tower.

“Oh, right”, was her vague comment, clearly a bit out of her depth. This suited Dan and Alan’s purposes brilliantly. Despite their new-found wealth, they still shopped prudently, coming away with a state of the art laptop and all the trimmings, wires, mouse, etc. Into the package went a phone kit that neither the Auror nor the werewolf clocked, nor yet did they witness the under-the-counter deal that Dan and Alan did for a fully charged, fully-contracted, ready to go mobile phone.

They were too dazzled by the array of gadgets on display in each of the shops they went into. Remus grinned and whispered to Tonks, “Arthur would love it here”. She laughed and picked up a credit-card sized radio, “Shame ‘ogwarts doesn’t get radio signals, innit? I’d love a bit ‘o’ music now and agin up there. I know I did as a kid”. Remus chuckled, “Aye, I know what you mean. As a kid I lived for the Alan Freeman top forty on Radio One. Ah, all that went when I got to school. Shame, really. I liked music”.

They were interrupted by Dan and Alan. Dan beamed, “We’re done now”, and dropped his voice to a whisper, “I hope this lot shrinks okay”, and pointed to the array of small boxes. They carried them outside and Tonks did the honours. Inwardly she shuddered. Here was the supposed saviour of the wizarding world and he couldn’t even do a Shrinking Charm. The thought made the young Auror very sad indeed. As if divining her thoughts, Dan leaned in and whispered, “Ron and Hermione taught us curses and jinxes first. We’ll get around to the simpler things later”. Her estimation of this version of ‘Harry’ rose a hundredfold and she smiled then.

Having shrunk and divided their parcels, they caught another cab for Oxford Street. Here the crowds were even more disorientating and either Dan or Alan had to lead through the crush. Dan didn’t care who saw him holding Alan’s hand. He didn’t want to get lost or separated from his lover. He’d have quite happily lost the other two and enjoyed a day alone with Alan but a sense of duty prevailed and he kept an eye out for the others.

They dipped into Gap and Dan was able to buy a wardrobe for when not in school garb and one that actually fit him. Alan bought jeans and a couple of warm sweatshirts. They shopped to the right and left, gathering bags, only to dip into side-alleys and shrink them at every opportunity. They still carried the weight but in much smaller and more bearable parcels tucked close to the body.

They all piled into a smoky dim bar to take the weight off their feet and have a snack. Dan ordered beer and wine while Alan ordered a selection of food. It was fairly soon obvious what sort of bar they had stumbled into, when two all-male couples stepped out onto the dancefloor and shuffled around to the music from the piano in the corner. As they ate, Dan and Alan watched the dancers.

After they’d finished, they got up to join them, melding seamlessly together, Alan taking Dan into his arms and they shared chaste kisses as they spun around the floor. As the music ended, they stood and applauded, then, when the pianist launched into the next piece, kissed passionately in the shadows before coming back to the table flushed and grinning. Alan said, “I suggest we move from here if we wish to get anything more done today, otherwise I will be tempted to stay a while, dance again with this lover of mine, and imbibe more alcohol”.

Tonks shook her head with a smile, “Not this time. Sorry. We’ve still a lot of shopping to do, although I will admit...”, she looked wistful, “the idea of spending the afternoon getting pissed rotten and dancing holds a certain appeal”, and the others laughed, rising.

There were times when Dan really wished he could have just apparated into Borders out of the maelstrom from hell that was Oxford Street in the afternoon, but then, he reminded himself, the books would reject him. Taking no chances, he left his jacket with Alan, it’s pockets bulging with shrunken items and his wand, but he hadn’t been a magical long. How he wished in that moment, he could ring up his sister and have his set sent to him by post. He set the pang aside and went in with just his wallet in his pocket, bugger, he was glamoured! Still, had to be worth a try.

Casual. He had to act casual. He took up a basket and browsed the manga sale first, tossing in a couple of volumes then a couple more of two series he was collecting......except they were all somewhere else unreachable again. He’d thought that this muggle shopping would have been fun but his heart was becoming heavier and heavier. He missed his family, he missed his mates. He’d’ve been in here with the lads or maybe a couple of the girls then on to Virgin to look for bargains, then maybe on to a pub if it was match day or a movie if not, in other words a normal day with friends who had never treated him like a star beyond him buying slightly more than his share of rounds in the pub.

He wasn’t aware he was standing stock-still and breathing heavily until he felt his elbow touched and he flinched away with a growl. A frightened girl looked back at him. In her shaking hand was a glass of water. He had to get out of there. People were looking at him strangely. Had he shouted? Sworn? He glanced down at himself. Good, no vomit or piss. Okay then, fuzzy brown-out, had them before. ‘Need to get to Alan. And there he is in the doorway, looking in; looking for me.’

Alan took one look at the state Dan was in and held him then and there until Dan’s quiet sobs had calmed down and Dan’s shoulders had stopped shaking. Remus took them back the way they had come for a few yards then down a side-street and into a tiny lane that felt a million miles from the busy street, the traffic sounds a muted hum. There was a single house either side, shuttered and dark but not magical. Remus muttered, “It’s just a spot to apparate from. I’ll take you, Dan. Tonks, could you bring Alan?” There were two cracks that left just echoes behind.

Over a firewhisky or two, Dan described to Alan the memories that had come alive for him and how he missed his friends but that back here in the magical world, it didn’t seem so bad somehow. He mused, “It’s as if I really have turned into someone else here”, then shrugged and wiped tears away with fingers pushed up behind his glasses lenses, “I’m actually starting to wonder where I end and Harry Potter begins, fuck, I’ve got a chunk of his magic after all, oh, I dunno, am I being dramatic?”

Seated at the back of a small booth, Alan reached up to stroke Dan’s face smoothing his thumb over his charmed freckles over his nose, “Yes, you are a bit, but I completely understand. I would also be interested in knowing how near you were to the books you were looking for”.

Dan sat up, surprised, “Really? Is the charm on them that strong? She wasn’t the most powerful witch by all accounts”. Alan nodded, “I know but the charm must be one of those that reads moods and intent and, well, puts you off, in your case by evoking memories so strong you almost had a fugue state”.

Looking sceptical, Dan half-smirked, “Dunno about that, the very act of being there was enough to do that. I’ve been there loads of times with my mates. I had very normal Saturday afternoons, you know, nothing like the Bel-Air Hollywood lifestyle at all. I bought CD’s and DVD’s and games, we ate burgers, we watched footie, went to the pictures, drank beer, sometimes cocktails with the girlies, and now? This”, he smiled lazily but fresh tears spilled down his face. He tried to smile but failed miserably and Alan threw a dodgy silencing bubble around them and pulled Dan across his lap. As he held him, he realised the lad was right, he was still grieving.

Sniffling, Dan apologised and tried to sit up but Alan clamped him gently in place and kissed his hair. Dan smiled then against Alan’s chest. Yes, there really were compensations to be had in this world and this man was the main one, and he totally intended hanging on to him which meant that whatever story they were in, it was up to him to find it and hope to fuck it was a Snarry with a happily-ever-after ending!

They left the Leaky Cauldron wearing robes once more still with glamours firmly in place and were finally shown around the shops properly. On seeing the Owlery, Dan started guiltily, “Didn’t Harry have an owl? Hedwig?” Remus smiled, “Albus takes care of all the owls without regular carers, no owl goes hungry at Hogwarts, and, yes, Harry’s owl Hedwig is very much alive and well, as indeed is Severus’ owl, Bryn. I imagine that if other magical artefacts work then their owls are probably at your disposal”.

Dan grinned and headed for the shop, “Then I’ll get her some treats or something. Come on, show me what owls like”. Glad to see his lover cheering up, Alan followed, “Aye, I’ll get a little something for Bryn, too” and there followed quite as cheerful a shopping trip as you could hope to have.

They bought books, parchment, quills and ink. Dan treated himself to a sleeve wand-holster that quickened his drawing speed and they both treated themselves to robes deciding not to arouse gossip by having them shipped to Hogwarts but instead went to a cafe for tea and picked them up later.

****

Some of the townsfolk gossiped amongst themselves wondering who the strangers were. Many suspected Snape and Harry Potter but whether by accident or design neither of them went near the quidditch shop nor the apothecaries, nor even seemed to show the slightest interest, despite the fact that this month’s potions journal had a lead article by the man himself and the quidditch emporium fair screamed the release of the Nimbus 2010. Odd.

Odder still to those that saw it, the Saviour and his Right-Hand-Man (possibly) being side-along apparated. Was it them? And if it was, what had happened to their magic? And some troubled thoughts continued, “Aye, and how soon before you-know-who hears about it, eh? This isn’t good”.

****

Back on Hogwarts grounds again the glamours could be finally lifted and Dan was glad to be back to himself once more and to see his Alan in his long haired glory striding towards the castle with bags and boxes bobbing along like floats around him at waist height. Dan held his but they were very light. They had bid Tonks good night at the gate and now Remus and Dan walked together up the main path to the front door.

They were silent for several yards before Remus said, “I presume everything went all right at the bank? I never got a chance to ask”. Dan shrugged, “Yeah. Those cart things were cool, though, wow, really fast. I think Alan looked a bit green. But, yeah, there was plenty there and the goblins were cool about muggle exchange rates, so, fine thanks”.

Remus could almost smell the evasion. Dan’s scent had increased ever so slightly. Maybe it was the brisk walk or the cool night, Remus wasn’t sure but one thing he knew; these two were keeping secrets of their own.

And for the sake of the Order, if for no other reason, he couldn’t let them go blundering around on their own in things they didn’t really understand despite their readiness to learn and their obvious acumen. He needed to keep a sharper eye on them and keep his own counsel with the headmaster whom neither of them trusted. He needed to know what they knew.

Severus and Harry had been equally secretive but no-one minded it of them, the Order let them get on with it, they had a job to do and they showed every sign of being almost ready.....Remus cast his mind back..

The night I saw them practice together in the old charms classroom with the door ajar. I know the performance was sort of for the benefit of anyone who should wander by at that hour of the night, namely me as it was on my nightly patrol route and they knew it would get back to Dumbledore soon enough. (Hmm, that’s when I think I realised just how much I had become his bloody lap-dog and backed off a bit after this).

But I did tell him. I had no idea what I’d been watching but it looked like a dance with swords, completely beautiful. (That’s also when I knew I never stood a chance in hell with either of them ever again. Damn!) And bloody deadly to boot. They moved in perfect synchrony and when they started fighting it was ruddy poetry in motion. They were focussed, sharp and fast, wands were nowhere in evidence either. My gods, what the hell have they been up to?

Remus started when he heard Dan chuckle, “Earth to Remus, come in please”, and he apologised, “I was miles away, sorry, memories, you know. Can I ask you something?” Dan shrugged, “Sure, if it’s not too personal”. Remus looked sidelong at him, “How do you keep fit? I mean you mentioned several things you do to keep in shape for a physical job but how are you managing now?”

Dan knew fishing when he heard it and smiled, he’d been well trained in the art of the seeming non-question, “Oh, we magic the furniture back in our rooms and I can stretch and do a kata and the poker makes a fine barbell too and there’s walking or jogging outside when it’s nice and in the corridors when it’s raining, so I do all right. A regular gym’d be nice sometime. Maybe I should talk to that Room of Requirement, d’you think it’d do a gym?”, he asked ingenuously.

Remus laughed, “I really have no idea, you should try it”, and by then they had reached their parting of the ways, Alan was nowhere to be seen. They said cordial goodnights and separated, Remus to go up, Dan heading downwards.

He found his lover amidst a pile of enlarged boxes sitting on the sofa with a large whisky in his hand, another sat on the table awaiting Dan who had other ideas. He advanced on his lover, straddled his lap and sat down, nicking his glass and swigging from it, earning himself an “Oi!” and a slap on the arse.

The slap quickly turned to a squeeze as Dan kissed him, murmuring, “That was so we’d taste the same”, then shut up, putting his tongue to better use. The kiss ended amidst much nuzzling and pecking then Dan sat back on Alan’s lap, “Dunno about you, but I think I’m a bit knackered to play with our new toys tonight but we’ll sort it all tomorrow, yeah?” Alan nodded, “Indeed, it has been an eventful day. Has our pet werewolf been trying to pump you for information?”

Dan winked, “Yep, but he got nowhere. I remember my Press training. He asked me how I keep fit still and if all was well at the bank, seems like our Remus had suspicions of his own, or maybe he learned stuff about the others, I can’t quite figure him out”.

“Hmm, nor me but I think it pays us to be cautious for now, keep an ace up our sleeves for as long as possible. Now, I’m afraid you’re getting heavy and I’m tired. Let’s have Dobby bring cocoa, shall we? Then bed, I think”

****

Dan loved waking up like this; with Alan’s face mashed into his upper arm, a heavy arm across his chest and a leg across one and between his legs. Dan could hear the odd snuffly snores and smell his actually quite pleasant morning breath. His arm was pinned to his side. He could reach round by craning his neck sideways and kiss the slightly bunched forehead of the man heavily asleep still beside him.

He was still trying to decide between getting up to play with the new toys or teasing his beloved awake by sucking his dick when the decision was made for him. Alan turned onto his stomach, retracting both arm and leg – then he farted and mumbled into his pillow before his muffled snores started again.

“Oh, nice”, Dan muttered and slid from their bed and into his dressing gown. As quietly as he could, he slipped into the living room, closing the bedroom door. Spelling up lights and the fire, he rubbed his hands together in glee, he had quite the kit here if he could get it all to go. Firstly, he went into the kitchenette and made tea and found a few oldish crumpets to toast then sat before the now roaring fire and attacked the small sea of boxes.

He had the operating system loaded and was installing applications when Alan finally made his appearance, wrapped in his gown with his hair all over the place, and slumped in front of the fire, “Missed you when I woke up”, he groused, and Dan smiled, scooted up onto the sofa from his position sprawled on the rug and kissed his lover soundly. “I was thinking of waking you with a blowjob actually, but you farted in my general direction, so I desisted”.

Alan chortled, “Oh. Sorry. Any chance of tea or should I order?” Dan ordered tea, presented his lover with a cup then slithered back to the floor at a sound from the new computer. Alan idly enquired, “So, what exactly do we have here?”

Dan ran quickly through the spec although to Alan it was mainly Greek but through it all, he discerned that as well as the laptop, they had a scanner/fax machine as well as a mobile phone, a router for the Internet as well as plenty of exchangeable batteries, “That I can charge in the Post Office in Hogsmeade at the very least if the ‘leccy doesn’t work properly here in the castle”, Dan explained. Alan was also shown a telephone handset and reels of various types of wire as well as an amplifier and speakers, “For when I download sounds off the ‘Net”, Dan offered cryptically.

Alan was a bit overwhelmed, “Dan, you have to remember that I was in my sixties back in that old life, and as such, had not at all embraced this thing called the Internet, much less most of the technology associated with it. Now that I am still me but with some twenty or so years less, I feel my interest quickening to some extent, particularly as this may be our road out or at least to closure of some sort, but as to the technology itself, love, I admit to being woefully inadequate. Please give the idiot’s guide, if you will”.

Grinning, Dan twisted around, parted Alan’s knees and kissed and licked the inside of one, “I really love you in the mornings. You’re so ....”, he groped for words. Alan whipped his dressing gown over his legs but Dan stopped him, still licking, “Well, I’ve a mind to scan Harry’s diary, that’s why I got the scanner, and to do any other documents that one or the other of us can’t read. I suspect there may even be clues in their potions journals. I think, or rather I hope that we can beat the ‘not being able to read’ thing ‘cos I doubt they took technology on board when protection spells were made”.

Alan had to grunt his acquiescence and moaned as Dan’s tongue started to work it’s way higher up his inner thigh. Dan continued, “Next, I’m going to use this mobile to call BT and try to get the land-line re-connected in the ‘props room’. Failing that, I need to see if there’s even a glimmering of a telephone pole around here to do the job myself”.

At this, Alan clamped a hand atop Dan’s head, stilling him, “You can do this? Obtain illegal Internet access?” Under the restraining hand, Dan nodded, “Our kid showed me, like, years ago. She’s a bloody genius, way cleverer than me, but ‘cos we both have ‘learning disabilities’, we’re sort of thrown on the ‘special needs’ scrapheap. It led me to acting and our kid to, er, breaking the law but in cyberspace. She’s basically a hacker and has big respect all over the geeky section of the online community. Yeah, she taught me but it’ll mean trailing acres of wires, hence these”, and he pointed at the two long reels of wire with a toe.

Relaxing his hand, Alan carded it through the thick mop of short hair pushing Dan’s head back so they were eye to eye. “Come up here”, he gently commanded. Dan didn’t need telling twice and was back beside his beloved on the sofa in a trice. Half-turning, Alan threw his arms around his young lover, “What happens, love, when we do discover the story? What then? We can never go back, not back to our old lives at any rate. I’m not even sure I want to any more”, all this said with his arms crushing his Dan to him.

Dan squirmed until Alan relaxed his hold enough for Dan to look up and face him, “You don’t want to go back?!” Dan’s eyes went round and his mouth gaped. Shrugging slightly, Alan shook his head, “No. I love you. I love being here in this magical universe despite what the immediate future holds. I know what I have lost, but it is only contact, Dan, the people are alive and well. They aren’t dead and neither are we. It’s like sci-fi, we’re in a parallel universe”.

Pecking a quick kiss to Alan’s mouth, Dan released himself and sat on the floor once more at the peremptory beeping of the machine. Using his mouse, he performed several tasks that caused the blue dots at the bottom edge of the screen to move slowly, giving him time to think.

“I know”, he said after a while, “That’s what hurts the most. Yeah, mum and dad, I’m very sorry for but it’s doing me in that I’ll never see my kid sister again. Is there anyone that’s really hurting you to be without?”

He leaned his head back on Alan’s knees, looking up. He smiled to see his lover’s frown upside-down but Alan stroked his face, making him close his eyes, “Yes”, he whispered, “Yes, there is. One of my great nephews. Lad of twelve. Not supposed to live beyond his fifteenth birthday. Terribly disabled but with a razor-sharp mind – bit like that Stephen Hawking chappie but without that level of support. Damn shame. I love him. He knows that”.

Wincing, Dan screwed up his face, “That’s really sad, love. I’m so sorry. You won’t be able to be there for him, shit, that’s so sad”. Alan let his eyes close and stroked Dan’s face again, barely missing a stroke, “This is the happiest I have been in a long while, Dan, despite everything”. The younger man tilted his head and kissed the caressing palm, “Me too, lover, me too.....despite everything”.

They were silent a long while, Dan watching Alan’s relaxed face by the firelight and turning his face in the large hand encompassing it, kissing and nipping at the fingers slowly so as not to disturb until Alan clenched his hand slightly around Dan’s jaw, stopping him, “Not that, love, not right now. Come up here. I need you right here”, and Dan scuttled back up onto the sofa wrapping Alan in his arms and throwing his legs over his lover’s. He needed this sometimes and quite understood Alan needing it; he held on tight as Alan wept in his arms.

“I’m bloody frightened, Dan, frightened of what we might have to do”, he ventured eventually amidst sniffles in a small voice. Dan nodded, “I have to kill him. I have to kill Voldemort and if you are my consort, which you definitely seem to be, then you are my second. If this is a tale with a happy ending then we’ll prevail and if it’s one of the ‘character death – Harry/Snape’ types then at least one of us is stuffed. We need to find the tale we’re in, love, and as to that, I need to attend to the beast again then sort out BT for a landline to the old props office, a broadband account, all the shit and then....”, he was silenced by Alan kissing him, full of tongue and deliciously wet. It made Dan melt, then relax and slip a hand inside Alan’s gown, toying with a dark flushed nipple, making it hard.

Alan pushed shamelessly into those fingers and made a noise deep in his throat that made Dan attack him, kissing him hard enough to make him moan and twist in his young lover’s arms. By the end of the next kiss, both of them were breathing heavily and smiling lopsidedly at each other as if each meant to eat the other alive.

Alan was the first to descend, mouth first. He was the first to take his beloved’s cock into his mouth and make him howl out loud as Dan came, gushing into Alan’s practiced throat, his hands bunched either side of his lover’s face, his cock fucking that mouth before he was turned and spread, then entered with a howl of joy by Alan then fucked until he saw stars and came again, writhing on his lover’s cock, spurting fast come onto his lover’s belly then was come into: deep and hard, Alan groaning into his ear, murmuring how much he was needed, wanted, loved.

Sated, Dan relaxed the hold of his arms and legs, letting Alan’s dripping shrinking cock out of him while still holding the man close.....his man close. They peppered each other’s faces with kisses until they settled again with tongues in each other’s mouths, murmuring their love between breathless kisses with Alan finally laying his head on Dan’s heaving chest, curling up and preparing for sleep.

When the soft snores began, Dan squirmed slowly out from under the protective arms of his lover and carried on loading software onto the new laptop. He turned the warning to picture-based only and turned the sound off. By the time he half-awoke the man he loved and encouraged him to bed, it was somewhere in the wee small hours. He was clumsily held with a leg and arm over him. He kissed the shoulder and feathered a light touch over the hip of the leg that pinned him down then was pulled closer clumsily and kissed sleepily. Dan loved going to sleep like this; with Alan’s face mashed into his upper arm, a heavy arm across his chest and a heavy leg prising his apart, the short snores smelling of his early morning lover, a smell he actually quite liked. He curled up and was grabbed tight even in sleep.

****

On the way to lunch later, Dan diverted off to the Astronomy tower to plug in the battery chargers and recharge his batteries that loading the software had drained. He quickly set it all up and slid into his seat beside Alan in the Great Hall just as Dumbledore appeared, Remus at his side.

The werewolf noted the furtive smiles that passed between the lovers and narrowed his eyes. They were definitely up to something. He kept an eye on them all through the meal but they seemed to be quite happy to talk of their recent excursion beyond the castle walls and how odd it had been to catch sight of one’s glamoured self in shop windows much to Albus’ amusement. They made no mention of their trip to Tottenham Court Road at all so Remus said casually, “Were you able to make your new toys work, lads?”

Albus’ brows shot up, “Toys, chaps?” Dan kept his tone light, “Yes thanks, the computer works a treat”, he turned to Dumbledore, “I find typing on a computer easier than writing, my handwriting is shocking owing to the learning difficulty I have, and I cannot read my own writing and poor Hermione was having all sorts of problems reading the things she’s assigned for me, so I bought a laptop and a printer for my notes etcetera. I use batteries that I can apparently charge once a week at the local post office. I believe that many of your muggle-raised pupils can do this for a nominal fee”.

The old man twinkled at them and Dan was quite pleased to see the flash of annoyance on Remus’ face. Albus clapped his hands, “A computer, eh? I recall one of last year’s Ravenclaws having such a thing. Yes, the young lady in question has a physical disability that the machine helped her with – I’m all in favour of any devices that can assist, though I hope you don’t find the lack of electrical power too much of a bind”. Dan smirked, “I bought enough batteries to use the thing for a few hours each day and maybe I can see about re-charging the batteries at weekends if I am allowed into the village”. Albus nodded, “If you are unable then one of us may, Dan”. Using his charm, Dan thanked the man heartily then turned to his plate.

Dan and Alan went for a walk after lunch down to the lake, waiting until they were well out of earshot of anyone before Alan said, “Did you see Remus’ face when you talked of the computer?” Dan chuckled, “I know. I told him not to tell then blurt it out myself. I thought it best to keep our arses covered, love, in case he sees either of us carrying it about. I don’t think it likes being shrunk too often. I’ll keep it in the backpack once the school is back in session again and we can send batteries to be charged quite innocently and get out sometimes, so, a good deal all round, wouldn’t you say?” His ingenuity earned him a slow kiss.

From afar, Remus kept his vigilant eye on the pair. He could have sworn he saw a flash of silver at Dan’s ear, a small box that he seemed to hold close to his head but it was hard to tell at this distance whether he was talking to the box or his lover alongside him, then he saw Dan flash a smile and shove the box in his pocket.

Later, drinking a pre-prandial tea with the headmaster, Remus let it slip that he thought young Dan had purchased a transistor radio. Albus laughed, “Oh, well, poor boy won’t get much reception, the wards don’t let radio waves in. It was oft-times believed that the waves interfered with magic but we know now that isn’t the case but we can’t have the little blighters staying up all night listening to the pop music shows under the bedclothes, now, can we? Can you imagine the chaos that would cause with the children?”

They shared a chuckle but Remus was still unsure. Those two were being very secretive and he wanted to know what they were up to.

****

At this current moment, what they were up to was an extended session of spell practice in the ‘bunker’, as they’d named the cave of requirement, along with a sweaty workout on the mats followed by a long cooling swim. Back in their rooms, Dan was transcribing some papers he’d found while Alan read up on the rudimentary principles of potions-making having decided to give it a go or at least look into the possibility, although some of the ingredients were too gruesome to contemplate.

When Albus’ head popped up in Severus’ old sitting room fireplace it was to see the two men with their heads bent over books and papers looking very studious, Dan tapping away on his small keyboard while Alan made notes in a book by his side as he read. Dan looked up, caught sight of the headmaster and opened the Floo properly, “Forgive us, sir. Have you been waiting long to speak with us?”

Albus liked this boy’s manners, “No, not at all, young man. In fact I’ve only just popped in. Please don’t let me disturb you. I just wanted to extend an invitation to tea this evening and perhaps a game of cards? Minerva is back with us this evening and it doesn’t do for the two of you to have to hide away during holidays as well as term-time”.

Hearing the tone in the man’s voice, Dan knew he would be silly to refuse him so didn’t, accepting with alacrity, explaining that they were continuing to study their new world and would Professor Slughorn mind awfully if they explored the art of potions a little if they promised not to muck up anything in either his store room or his laboratory?

Dumbledore’s brows rose, “Ah, I was under the distinct impression that you must have found Severus’ private laboratory by now. It is built into magic space somewhere within his very apartments. If you could find it then there would be no need to interfere with Professor Slughorn’s domain but if you cannot, then I fear I will not be able to either. Each member of staff makes their own modifications to their quarters that are quite their own affair and even in the time you two were still holed up in the hospital wing, I was unable to find it when I searched his quarters despite the castle telling me that there are two wizarding spaces within this set of apartments. Perhaps the man’s wards are too strong........Professor Snape was ever a secretive man, I fear, and his secrets are in the grave with him”. He finished the call after giving them the time at which to assemble.

The two men had to share a laugh at this; Remus had spotted the listening spell fairly early into their tenancy of Snape’s quarters and had skewed the keying so only the most innocuous conversations had been recorded, no doubt hoping to insinuate himself into their favours but both men, after thanking him, had continued to keep secrets to the point that Remus had almost decided to re-key the spell to himself, but hadn’t been able to gain admittance since to their quarters.

The rest of the afternoon they whiled away ‘napping’, interspersing long languorous sessions of lovemaking in-between intense bouts of conversation. They shared some of the minutiae of their lives: their likes and dislikes, even their ‘porn names’ for a laugh but we’ll leave them some secrets shall we?

They cleaned each other in the shower, donned their best daytime robes and ascended arm in arm to the Great Hall and dinner. They endured various ribald comments on their new attire with all suggesting that they suited wizarding attire handsomely. Minerva peered at them over her spectacles and declared them both ‘edible’.

Alan found himself thoroughly enjoying the company of the old witch as dinner progressed. He sensed Dan holding his own with the nosey werewolf then watched from the corner of his eye as his lover tuned the grizzled man out and concentrated on the medi-witch instead, asking all sorts of pertinent questions about her healing arts.

As Albus had suggested, they all repaired to his rooms after dinner, where his two newest guests acquitted themselves admirably as card players, Alan shrugging his talents off with, “There’s an awful lot of waiting during both rehearsals and filming sessions. One becomes quite adept at the arcane art of card-sharping”. Dan laughed and agreed. They made a formidable partnership for Euchre and beat Minerva and Remus hands-down.

Equally, they slaughtered Albus and Minerva at the tensest rubber of bridge that Minerva declared to be the best she had fought at Hogwarts, “And as Filius is somewhat of a demon himself as a bridge opponent, believe me when I say that you are very devils. Well done, gentlemen, I salute you”, and with that she took her leave and wobbled slightly as she exited the headmaster’s tower for her own rooms. The party broke up shortly afterwards.

Poppy and Remus split off and the two were left alone to make their way to the dungeons. As they rounded a corridor bend to find themselves completely alone, Dan slipped his arms around Alan’s waist, “I think we stuffed them at cards, love. In fact I quite think that......we did their heads in tonight”. Alan’s laugh rang off the stone walls, “Too right we did, Mr Radcliffe. On the card table if not on the battlefield, my love, we are a force to be reckoned with”. They chuckled all the way back to their quarters.

****

The next morning, Remus didn’t know what to make of the information that Dan and Alan hadn’t found the secret potions lab. ‘They must have’, he thought as he tramped to the dungeons, but he had to believe what Albus told him in the absence of anything else, although he, too, knew that the Two were keeping secrets from him.

But then, he thought as he raised his hand to knock, he was also keeping secrets, was he not?. He lowered his hand, stared at the door for a long moment, turned on his heel and walked away, thoughtfully chewing on his thumbnail.

****

Albus Dumbledore sat in his eyrie with a glass of fine old muggle brandy and thought about his guests. They really weren’t much cop as wizards, were they? Although somebody had messed with the charm he’d laid and he hadn’t been invited back to check. Perhaps he’d have to politely suggest that the staff took it in turns to host these little soirees....... he wanted to know what they knew and was damned sure that whatever they did know, was a damned sight more than they were letting on...

Perhaps.

Then again, perhaps not.

There was the issue of the potions studying. Now if they had been brewing secretly, they’d reek of it and he knew Remus had detected nothing, so maybe they hadn’t found the private lab after all and young Dan seemed ingenuous enough when he’d asked his permission. Perhaps he, Albus, should actually give them a few lessons in Snape’s old classroom, may be a way of leavening a rather dull holiday and perhaps be a way of bringing the two out of hiding a bit....

And then there was the issue burning in the consciousnesses of those in the know in the Order. How the living hell to pass these two off as the Boy Wonder and his Second in the Final Battle and make it look like his most prized wizards actually did the killing. This question had haunted and caused divisions in the Order ever since the ‘incident’.

There were those in favour of putting them right in the front line with a tight phalanx behind them, making sure that not only Voldemort was despatched but the two guests as well, “I mean, afterwards, chaps, what the hell do we do with them? Hide them away forever? They’ll have to attend functions and there will be honours bestowed, that Snape-alike wouldn’t pass at ten yards. Nah, they have to go too, have a huge heroes funeral and sweet little commemorations every year, maybe even a Potter Day, hell, a Potter-Snape day if they want but we can’t keep the interlopers around after we’re finally finished with them”.

Remus was horrified by this suggestion and it was shouted down by several; but there were assenters, perhaps not as baldly cruel but there were definitely those that thought that the heroes should die with the enemy so as not to expose the sham.

A timid voice suggested, “We’ll be the laughing stock of the wizarding world if it gets out that Voldemort was destroyed by interlopers and muggles at that. What do we do then?”

Remus finally stood, incensed, “We send them back to their own place or we send them into exile. Look, if we kill the bastard then it won’t matter and if we don’t, it still won’t actually matter as we’ll probably be dead anyway but I won’t.....repeat, won’t be a party to the deliberate slaying of two on the side of the light”.

“Side of the light?”, another expostulated, “Come on, Remus, what have a pair of muggles ever done for the bloody light?” Remus looked almost defeated and sighed, “They’ve been learning and the speed of their learning is prodigious. Look, they will have no idea how to actually kill magically but they are determined to not at least embarrass us and for that we should be grateful. Here they are, plunged into this totally strange world and they are trying to make the best of it and help us at the same time. Fuck it, they could just have run away or something but here they are...”, he knew it sounded weak.

A harsh voice said, “Yeah, so hard for them, eh? Three square meals a day instead of being fucking dead. Who wouldn’t at least have a go at the magic thing? Bloody hell, Remus, they have no place here in our world. We’re fucked, mate, might as well admit it to the world and roll over and present our arses, Voldemort for the fucking of”.

Remus and Albus had shaken their heads at this until Albus had politely coughed, bringing the meeting back to order. “I believe what Remus says, folks. I believe that on the day, our Dan and Alan will not disappoint. They have shown every inclination that they will join us at the main pass even if their role is minor, which it will be”, he glared at the rest of the assembled company making many of those that would sacrifice the two squirm as they sat.

“It is for us, the remainder of the warriors, to finish this in Harry’s stead. The prophecy was quite specific, it made no mention as to what was to happen if either of the combatants pre-deceased the fulfilment of it, so I think we can pretty much declare the prophecy null and void. From here, ladies and gentlemen, we are on our own, quite without precedent. I actually find this prospect quite exciting, as now it means that we may fight with whatever we have, instead of in some pre-ordained manner. Think on this awhile if you will, but for myself, I need a stroll and refreshment”.

Albus started back to himself. He was safe at Hogwarts as were his charges but the situation daily worsened as more reports reached him of Death Eater atrocities. The meeting he’d been recalling had ended inconclusively and Albus was aware that he’d bought them all some time even if some elements of the Order were restless and impetuous.

But he still had to wonder.....What was he going to do with Those Two?

****

Those Two.

One of whom was buried, currently, balls-deep in the other, egged on with cries of, “More, you bastard”. “Give it me hard” and other such and was obeying, the sweat from Alan’s hair dripped over his equally sweaty lover and he plunged, he ploughed, he was pretty certain he hurt too but Dan was ecstatic, rocking on the end of his cock, blissing out until, untouched, his jism shower soaked them both. Kissing his lover deeply and increasing his strokes, Alan soon howled his own joy, coming deep inside his Danny.....the man he adored.

They held and kissed and came down slowly from their shared sensual high. Between besotted kisses, Alan murmured, “May I call the elf and get us some brunch?” Dan nodded, “Yeah, and let’s have some wine, no, beer, with it”. Alan laughed, “So. What food to have with beer?” he cocked a brow. Dan swatted him, “A nice sausage stew with dumplings, perfect, I’d say”. Alan rolled his eyes, “Perhaps, but I fancy something a little lighter”. Dan loved how they bantered over food. He loved ‘foodie’ food as much as the next man but most often he just wanted some dinner.

“Go on, lighter, how?” Alan ordered them seafood then a steak apiece, done to perfection, then lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate followed by tart cheeses and crisp biscuits, all accompanied by single small glasses of the perfect wine. Dan sipped as if learning everything but at the end he still wasn’t a ‘wine fan’. Alan kissed him anyway for his efforts, after all, he’d put up no fuss over the food.

It was as they finished their meal that the Floo chimed. Alan unlocked it upon recognising the call signal as Dumbledore’s, “Yes, Albus, what may we do for you?” Albus noted their hastily thrown on gowns, the slightly dazed looks and shook his head, “Your Marks, gentlemen. Did they smart or twinge in any way?”

Dan paled, “There was another attack, wasn’t there? On innocent people?” The green head of the old man nodded, “Aye, Dan, there was. Did you two feel anything? Dream anything?” Dan’s brow creased, he heartily wished he knew something but his scar was just a mark, not a Mark. He shook his head, “Sorry. No”, he muttered.

Albus smiled, “Do not apologise for not having a direct contact to the Dark One, it is not a trait that many desire, believe me. I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I bid you good evening”, and the fire went orange again. Dan dropped to his knees before the fireplace and buried his face in his hands, “This has to stop, doesn’t it? It’s sort of up to us now, isn’t it?”, all asked in a flat monotone.

Alan sank beside Dan on the rug and took him into his arms, “From now on, Dan, we are going to take that bunker apart for clues as to how to deal with this, but yes, you are right, it has to stop and I fear that the buck rather stops with us. I only hope to all that is sacred that this battle doesn’t prove to be our final hour and I’m really not sure I can trust the other combatants to help keep us alive where us dying may keep them from having to acknowledge, along with the concomitant embarrassment, that it was two muggle actors that helped them win the war”.

Dan shuddered in his lover’s arms, feeling the weight of the world on his skinny shoulders. “I know”, he muttered, “They’d be daft to play it any other way. What are we to them, after all? An expendable second chance. Voldie’s stepped up his activities lately, hasn’t he? As I recall in the books, he made one or less major raids per term and this is two close together. He’s goading us, he knows that Severus and Harry are incapacitated and he’s taking advantage of the fracture at the top of the Order where Snape and Harry plainly were – no-one would have accepted their clandestine researches and put up with the diva behaviour otherwise”.

Scratching his chin, Alan had to admit that Dan had a point. Dan shifted in Alan’s arms and the older man looked down, to see his lover grinning back at him, “So, we continue to be the divas”, Dan said brightly, “We commandeer as much tuition as we can from Hermione when school starts again and we learn enough to take this bastard out when the chance presents itself. I’m not without other skills either and this guy is over seventy, and not that fit if the tales are to be believed”.

“Alright”, Alan nodded, “Speaking of which, are we any closer to our broadband account and phone line, so we can actually research the tale?” Dan grinned, “Three to five working days and we should have a landline and a broadband account. We just have to be patient”.

****

The latter end of the conversation sounded innocent enough but it left Albus Dumbledore completely confused as he consulted the results of the re-keyed listening device. Broadband? Landline? What was the boy talking about? And what was this about researching the tale? What tale? Did these boys still think that they were in the middle of fictions? Albus sighed, the conversation posed more questions than it answered. Many more.

He supposed that if his guests had to be patient, then he could be too, though for what, he knew not.

****

So they did as they said and took all three layers of the man’s apartments apart with as fine a tooth-comb as they were capable of given their limited knowledge of magic. During their searches they turned up many interesting things such as the Wolfsbane recipe hidden amongst other papers quite innocuously except the parchment both above and below it threatened to bite until Alan somehow calmed them with his bare hands.

Dan’s scanner was busy. He uploaded everything and when he wasn’t busy with papers and documents, he was slowly working his way through Harry’s journal. As he thought, it was mainly a record of the mammoth crush he’d had on the potions master, but not all of it.

Not all of it.

Some of it spoke of ‘the secret’ and in latter pages, it referred to ‘the experiment’, as in “the experiment went well today. We are learning how to focus directly on specific times and places. We will have it perfected soon, we are getting better at it, then we will be free, my beloved and I......”

Dan didn’t really read it, just flicked over each page, placed it on the glass plate and closed the cover as much as he could from the glare of the blue-white light. He’d read it all later....sometime.

They spent time in the second layer bunker, the deep layer and emerged with grins and wet hair, smelling of shampoo, shower soap with just a thin underlay of chlorine, looking fit and pink, eating in the Great Hall, putting in the calories and gaining not an ounce in weight except perhaps in musculature. Albus and Remus smiled as they watched The Two exit one night and Remus murmured, “They are working, aren’t they?”

Albus shot him a sidelong glance, “They are, aren’t they? They are fit and getting prepared for whatever is to come. I hope that we don’t end up sacrificing those two, I have become rather fond of them”. Remus sighed, “Me too, Albus, me too. You know of the rumbles of discontent within the Order, do you not?” The older man nodded sagely, “Indeed I do and am thoroughly against them. I rather believe in our boys and I think they will surprise us on the day”.

Remus winced, “We don’t really need surprises, Albus, it would be better to know our forces and what they can do in order for them to be deployed more efficiently”. Albus smiled at his eager young lieutenant and leaned forwards, patting his bony knee, “Fear not, Remus. I cannot Legilimise them but I can still read them. They will come through for us, of this I am certain”. For now, Remus had to be satisfied.