Chapter Text
Harry waited anxiously for Dumbledore to collect him, eager to join his friends at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and have something to distract him from dwelling on Sirius’s death in the Department of Mysteries several weeks before. When they finally arrived in the crowded, dark house, Dumbledore led the adults into the kitchen for an Order meeting, and Harry followed Ron and Hermione up to Ron’s bedroom to get caught up on what had been happening since he had seen them last.
Sulking, Harry said, “Well, nice of you lot to keep in touch. Not like I’ve been stuck in that jail of a house with nothing to think about except Sirius or anything.”
Hermione pursed her lips in sympathy and laid a hand on his arm. “We’re sorry, Harry, honestly! We’ve not been allowed to write about anything the Order has been working on in case the post gets intercepted. But they’ve said that we’ll all be filled in after they have tonight’s meeting. That’s why they wanted to fetch you. So you could be told.”
Ron nodded vigorously. “Yeah, mate, something big has come up; they’re all a fair bit excited about it.”
Harry heaved a put-out sigh and rolled his eyes, unwilling to let go of his pique so quickly. “We’ll see.”
They sat in awkward silence for a long while, until they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Remus poked his head in the open door and smiled. “Come along. They’re ready for you now.”
Harry was surprised to see that the kitchen was empty save for Dumbledore and Snape—they apparently being those who were ready for them. Remus inclined his head and ducked back out, shutting the door behind him. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sank into seats along one side of the long table, facing Snape on the other side. Dumbledore, at the head of the table, spoke up.
“Thank you for your patience and for joining us now.”
Harry glanced between the older men, wary and angry. He wanted nothing more than to scream at Snape for not helping save Sirius, but kept his mouth firmly shut in deference to the headmaster.
“Professor Snape has some very important information for us that will be a great advantage in defeating You-Know-Who.”
Hermione frowned in thought and said, “Why aren’t you using his name, sir? I thought that fear of a name only promotes fear of the thing itself.”
Dumbledore inclined his head and smiled. “That’s true, Miss Granger. However, I am refraining in deference to Professor Snape, as that is more comfortable for him.”
All eyes turned to Snape, who merely stared stonily back at them.
Dumbledore looked expectantly at Snape and said, “Now then, why don’t you tell them what you’ve already told the Order?”
Snape straightened in his chair and said, “I have discovered a potion that will be beneficial to our cause, and you three are crucial to its success.”
The three teenagers exchanged surprised looks and turned back to Snape. Hermione spoke up for them. “Of course, we’ll do whatever is necessary to help defeat You-Know-Who. How can we help?”
Snape sat back, adopting his classroom lecture demeanour, and said, “The potion takes an entire year to brew—thirteen full moons, to be precise. It is extremely finicky and requires many rare ingredients. Of course, with the resources the headmaster has at his disposal, and with my skills, these are not the hurdles one might expect them to be. However, there is a hurdle. A rather large one. It is the purpose and effect of the potion. You are not of age yet, but you will likely be of age by the time the potion is used. The decision to use the potion is not one to be made lightly.”
Rather breathless, Hermione asked, “What does it do?”
Snape remained silent as he surveyed the three youths across from him. Watching them like a hawk, he said, “It combines the powers of all who participate into one person, giving him the strength and magical ability of all of them at once.”
Their eyes went round, and Ron immediately asked, “How long does it last?”
“It lasts until the participants end the effects.”
Harry’s eyes glowed green as he pictured victory, his anger at Snape dissipating in the face of this news. “Brilliant! I don’t care how powerful he is, there’s no way he can be equal to three people!”
Hermione jumped on the tail of his statement, the tone of her voice courting caution, and said, “But what are the effects on the people whose powers are being borrowed?”
Snape paused, letting the fleetingly excited moment sober before murmuring, “They would be left as Squibs until their powers were returned to them by the target.” The trio exchanged deflated looks, which turned to horror as Snape continued, “And if the target is killed while still in possession of their powers, they will remain as Squibs.”
Harry rocked back in his seat as if he had been hit in the chest, and Dumbledore said, “You see why this is such a serious decision—”
Hermione interrupted, her brow furrowed in concentration. “If this is such a valuable potion, and we can use it on our side, what’s to stop the other side from doing the same thing? Even if Professor Snape managed to not brew it for them, surely they could find someone who could manage it. And You-Know-Who could just pile up scores of followers to use to augment himself!”
She looked up at Snape in terror, and he surprised them all by actually quirking a grim half-smile. “Miss Granger, you are quite right in your extrapolation but for one small, vital thing.”
Dumbledore beamed at them and leant forward, his hands clasped on the table. “As I’ve said all along, we have one thing that You-Know-Who doesn’t and never will have. And that makes all the difference.”
Harry blinked at the old man. “What? What do we have?”
Snape’s voice was very low as he said, “Love.”
The trio stared at Snape, taken aback by the gentleness of that word from his lips. In a whisper, Hermione said, “How does that work, Professor?”
“The potion can only work with those who love each other. The stronger the love, the more effective the link. The Dark Lord doesn’t know love. Even if his followers loved him, his inability to love would poison the link and render it useless.”
Hermione turned wide eyes to Harry, whose expression was fierce with determination even as his eyes were unfocused, showing him to be lost in thought. She glanced to Ron, and they locked gazes. Ron swallowed audibly but settled his shoulders and lifted his chin in a bid for courage. Hermione smiled faintly in approval and nodded. At her inquiring head tilt, Ron nodded back, and her smile widened before she turned back to the older men and spoke.
“We’ll do it.”
Harry snapped back to attention and scowled in alarm. “Hey, wait a minute! As tempting as it all sounds, I can’t let you do that—what if something happens to me and you lose your magic?”
Ron piped up, “You can’t stop us, mate. It’s not your decision anyway, now is it? And if the worst happens, well then, Hermione and I can manage in the Muggle world, I reckon.”
Hermione beamed at Ron for his staunch defence and added, “Ron’s right, Harry. If we can do anything to end this war, it’s worth it. And I lived as a Muggle for eleven years before coming to Hogwarts, so I can do it again if need be. As long as the people I care about can be safe and we can be rid of You-Know-Who for good, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
Harry gaped at them, struggling with the danger they were signing up for. “But… I can’t ask you to make that sacrifice…”
Ron smirked and punched Harry in the shoulder as he said, “Then, don’t. We’ve made our decisions.”
Hermione squeezed Harry’s hand and murmured, “We can do this, Harry. All of us—together. The way it should be. We can end it. For good.” At Harry’s sigh of capitulation, she looked back to their professors and said, “Thank you for finding such an amazing opportunity, Professor Snape. If there’s anything I can do to help you, I would be in your debt for the privilege.”
As Snape opened his mouth to offer a scathing retort, Dumbledore cut him off, saying, “I think that would be a brilliant solution. Severus, Miss Granger will join you to learn about the potion at every stage of its brewing, and she will keep Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter in the loop as well. Considering how tricky this potion is, I daresay you could use a capable assistant.”
Snape glared at Dumbledore, lips curling in impotent anger. “As you wish, Headmaster. The next full moon is Tuesday, July 30th, and the initial ingredients must be collected then. Miss Granger, I shall collect you from Grimmauld Place after dinner. Be ready.”
Hermione nodded vigorously, eyes round with the import of her tasks. “Of course, Professor. Thank you.”
Snape huffed and pushed back from the table. “I assume we’re done here?”
Dumbledore nodded. “Thank you, Severus. I will make sure that everything you need for this venture is available to you.” He turned a stern gaze on the silent teenagers. “And you three just need to make sure you stay out of trouble so you are all around when the potion is ready and we can use it to maximum effect.”
Harry’s nose wrinkled and he ran his hand through his hair as he said, “Yes, sir.”
Ron and Hermione nodded agreement and Snape stood. Uttering a clipped, “Good night,” he Flooed back to Hogwarts, leaving Dumbledore to twinkle at the trio.
“I must say, I am humbled by your devotion to your friend and to our world. It is a monumental task that you have been set, especially for such young people, but you have faced it with the sort of bravery that Godric Gryffindor himself would be proud to see. Thank you.”
Ron and Hermione exchanged sheepish looks and mumbled thanks. Harry said, “We’ve got a lot to talk about. Good night, Headmaster.”
Gripping their arms, Harry hauled them from the dining room and back up to the room he now shared with Ron. They shut the door and he whirled to face them, but no words came. Instead, he flung himself forward to embrace them, the tears that leaked out to wet their shoulders saying more than mere words could.