Chapter Text
Harry Potter, handsome, relatively clever, rich and with a comfortable home seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence and had lived his life, so far, with very little to distress or vex him. His parents had been killed when he was just a baby and Harry had been taken in by an old school master of his parents, Albus Dumbledore. The man had also taken in another boy, Neville Longbottom, who's parents, while still alive, were permanently incapacitated, having been tortured to insanity when Neville was little older than Harry. This may seem like a sad existence to some but Harry and Neville were so long when they lost their parents that neither of them could remember much and Dumbledore was such a doting father figure that neither boy had ever wanted for anything in life and had essentially been given free reign of their lives from a very early stage.
Being and old school master himself, Dumbledore felt as if he could oversee the boys education plenty well enough himself and, not wanting to be without them as he loved having them about, began teaching them himself with all of the best intentions but overseeing two rambunctious boys soon proved to be to much for his age and somewhat failing health and Dumbledore was forced to bring in another to help teach the boys.
Remus Lupin had been with the little family for over a decade, more of a friend than a teacher. He had been very fond of both boys but had alway had a special place in his heart for Harry, having been a friend of Harry's parents when he was younger, and, due to that, he saw Harry more as a family member than a student, even from the start. As a teacher, Remus's mild manner had meant that he rarely proposed any sort of punishment to the boys, not that Dumbledore would have allowed it anyway, but as the boys finished their education and Remus remained with them, that relationship changed to one of very close friends.
Harry, in particular, was wont to do as he liked, often turning to Remus for his opinion on matters but chiefly following his own convictions. One of the evil's of Harry's position was that of having too much of his own way with things, with very few people ever thinking to call him out when he was wrong, not that Harry was aware of this yet and certainly didn't foresee any issues with his position in life. That's not to say that he didn't feel any misfortune in his life although the first time he really experienced grief was the marriage of Remus Lupin.
There had been another friend of Harry's parents who had been wrongly imprisoned for playing a part in their death. When he was released, however, Sirius Black, who turned out to be Harry's Godfather, moved to the neighbourhood to be closer to him. Sirius, having always been fond of Dumbledore at school, hadn't wanted to take Harry away from the old man, especially as Harry and Neville were close friends, so he had contented himself to being a regular guest at the house. Harry had thought there was more than mere friendship between Remus and Sirius almost from the start and it had thrilled him quite a bit to work out schemes for putting them in each other's company and fair patted himself on the back when the couple announced their engagement, feeling that he had been paramount to them getting together.
He hadn't realised the pain of the two becoming a couple would cause though, not until their wedding day when he returned to his house alone and realised that he had no one to talk to about the wonderful day. Dumbledore's health meant that he would usually retire early at nights and Neville had recently married Theodore Nott, the ward of a near neighbour of the family, and, consequently, Harry felt the loss of Remus very accurately. The man had been a part of Harry's life for almost as long as Harry could remember, always being on hand to listen to Harry; an intelligent, gentle and compassionate friend who knew the family well and was interested in all that concerned it, chiefly when it came to Harry, and who was always on hand to listen to every thought, every feeling, every scheme of Harry's almost as soon as it arose, and who held such an affection for Harry that he never found fault.
Harry wasn't sure how he would bear the loss. Of course Remus had moved just half a mile away and was in easy reach for a visit, but it was in the evenings that Harry felt his loss the most. He loved Dumbledore dearly and the old man had a devilish sense of humour that ran so close to Harry's own, but the odd hours he kept due to his health, not having gotten much exercise as a teacher, aging him beyond his years, not to mention the great disparity in their ages, meant that Harry was frequently left wanting for someone to talk to. That's not to say that Dumbledore didn't try, but there are some things that a person of previous generations simply can't understand when it comes to the problems of current generations.
Neville had moved with Theo to Mould-on-the-Wold , only a floo or apparition jump away, but the couple were quite busy with their own personal pursuits, Neville with his plants and Theo with his inventing, that they weren't due to visit until Christmas and Harry was left wondering how he would possibly get through October and November without any company to help entertain him.
Godric's Hollow was a large and prosperous village, almost a town really, and Dumbledore's home, Hogwarts, was actually a part of it, although it was set so far back that it was easy to forget sometimes. Dumbledore was the highest ranking individual in the neighbourhood and everyone looked up to him and, consequently, Harry. The family had many friends in the village, mostly because Dumbledore was friendly to everyone, but none of them could replace Remus for company, not helped by the fact that Harry didn't have anywhere near as much time for them as Dumbledore did and couldn't stand any of them for more than half a day in other company, let alone a whole evening with just the two of them.
It was an unhappy change and Harry could do little more than lament on it until Dumbledore woke and Harry felt obliged to be cheerful again. Dumbledore was a man very set in his ways and disliked change of any kind, especially the kind that was brought about by marriage. He had yet to fully accept the loss brought on by Neville's marriage and now to add to that the loss if Remus; with his gentle selfishness and never being able to suppose that others could feel differently to himself, Dumbledore was very supposed to think that Remus had done a sad thing in marrying Sirius and would have been better staying at Hogwarts for the rest of his days. That evening, at teatime, he repeated exactly what he had said over lunch.
"Poor Remus, what a pity he isn't still here. It is a shame Sirius ever thought of marrying him."
"I cannot agree with you sir, as you well know," Harry sighed. "The pair of them have liked each other since their school days and you know Sirius needs the company more than we do, especially after his time in Azkaban. It was not good for him to be on his own through the nights and Remus has just the personality to help sooth him. I imagine that you will see his spirits quite improved next time we see them. Well, one of the many times we see them in the future, and you know there will be many, but we really ought to pay our wedding visit very soon."
"But how should we go?" Dumbledore queried. "The floo has never agreed with you and there are no good apparition points nearby, it would be closer to simply walk there and I don't believe I am up to such a distance these days."
"No sir, I agree, walking is out of the question but we can take the carriage."
"The carriage! But Hagrid will not want to put the Thestrals on for such a little way and where will they stay while we are at Sirius's?"
"They will be put in Sirius's stable sir, we have been through this already, and you can be sure that Hagrid will always be going to Grimmauld Place because of Buckbeak being there. I only fear that he will never take us anywhere else. And that was your doing. When Buckbeak got too big for us to keep here with all of Hagrid's other creatures it was you who suggested Sirius should take him."
"Indeed," Dumbledore sighed. "I had seen how sad Sirius got whenever he had to leave us of an evening and I assumed it was because he had no reason to go home. I had hoped that having Buckbeak with them might put off any thoughts of marriage for a bit but it was no good."
Harry despaired slightly at his inability to shake the man's low mood and even suggested a game of wizards chess to distract him. Harry had never been much of a player but Dumbledore often got distracted in giving Harry advice on what moves to play so Harry usually ended up doing quite well in the end and it was an excellent way of diverting Dumbledore's attention. Harry had only just set the board up, however, when a guest arrived making the game entirely unnecessary.
Severus Snape was a sensible man, not quite middle-aged, and had long been a close friend of Dumbledore's but had recently become closer to the family as Neville's husband, Theodore Nott, had been Mr Snape's ward. He lived in a large house called Spinner's End, about a mile outside of Godric's Hollow, and was a frequent visitor to the house, always welcome, and now more than ever as he just arrived back from a visit with Neville and Theo. He had arrived back at his house for a late dinner and had then walked straight over to Hogwarts afterwards to give updates on how both men were doing for which Harry was glad as it gave him some pleasant things to think about and Mr Snape's no nonsense attitude would never let Dumbledore lament about 'poor Neville' for too long.
By the by, Dumbledore said: "It is very kind of you, Severus, to come and see us at this late hour, you must have had a terrible walk."
"Not at all, it is a beautiful night. The moon may be a crescent but it is very bright and the weather is remarkably mild for this time of year."
"Then you must have found it very damp and dirty. I hope you don't catch a cold."
"I have a plentiful supply of Pepper-Up if I should but I hardly think I will. It is so dry that there isn't a speck of dirt on my boots."
"That is surprising," Dumbledore said in wonderment. "It must have rained for a good half an hour at breakfast and I had half a mind to tell them to put off the wedding."
Mr Snape rolled his eyes. "I have not offered my joy to you as I was well aware of how you will actually be feeling about the whole thing but I do hope that the day went at least tolerably well and that you both behaved yourselves although I am curious who cried the most."
"Ah! Poor Remus Lupin! It is a sad business."
Mr Snape rolled his eyes again and sighed. "It is 'poor Mr Black' now although I cannot hold that to be true. I hold you and Harry in great regard but when it comes to a matter of dependence and independence!" He paused and sighed again, shaking his head. "At any rate I'm sure Remus Blacks life is a lot easier now that he only has one person to please and not two."
"Especially when one of those two is a fanciful, troublesome creature!" Harry joked. "I know that is what you were thinking and you probably would have said it as well if Dumbledore wasn't here."
"I am afraid it is very true indeed," said the old man, with a slight twinkle in his eye. "I'm afraid I can be quite the fanciful and troublesome creature."
"Not you sir!" Harry exclaimed. "I could never think that about you sir and I'm sure that Mr Snape didn't either. I was talking about myself! You know how Mr Snape loves to find fault in me, as a joke of course, and we always say what we like to each other."
Mr Snape didn't look entirely convinced. He was one of the few people who actually saw faults in Harry and the only one who ever said anything about them to Harry's face. It wasn't something that Harry particularly liked but Harry knew it would be even less agreeable to Dumbledore who wanted everyone to see him as perfect.
"Harry knows I never flatter him," Snape said, somewhat diplomatically, "but I meant no offence to anybody. Mr Lupin used to have two people to please and now he only has one so, by simple mathematics, he must have benefited from things."
"Well," said Harry, wanting to change the subject, "you wanted to hear about the wedding? I am happy to report that we all behaved charmingly. Everyone was punctual and looking their best; there wasn't a tear in the house and barely a long face either. We all remembered that we would only be half a mile apart and would see each other nearly all of the time."
"You see how good Harry is to say such things, Severus, " Dumbledore sighed, "but I'm sure he will miss Remus more than he thinks."
Harry looked down, his face caught between tears and smiles.
"It is impossible for Harry not to miss his friend," Snape admitted, "his genuine attachment to his friends is one of his best traits but he also knows how much joy this marriage will have brought both Sirius and Remus. The pair of them have been through a number of ordeals over the years and all of their friends must be glad to see them finally able to find happiness with each other."
"There is one other point in this for me to find not inconsiderable joy," Harry announced. "I was the one who made the match. As soon as Sirius arrived in town I saw that they were perfect for each other and I worked to put them together, even when people said that Sirius would never marry. It feels excellent to be proved right like this."
Snape huffed out a smile of exasperation but Dumbledore just smiled serenely at Harry. "If that is the case then I do hope that you don't make any more matches or I fear they will come true as well."
Harry smiled at the old man indulgently. "I promise not to make any for myself so you have no fear of me leaving any time soon but I fear I must make matches for other people. It is such fun and I clearly have an eye for it. Everyone said that Sirius was too much of a free spirit to settle down and he never seemed to show interest in anybody about the village but I knew better. Ever since the first day Remus and I came across him in the high street. It had started to drizzle but with all of the muggles about we could cast an impervious so Sirius gallantly went out to borrow two umbrellas for us as we had forgotten to bring ours. I knew that it would be a good match from that moment and resolved to do everything I could to see it happen and now they are married so you see sir, I cannot possibly leave off making any more matches, especially if it will help my friends."
"I don't know how you can call it a success," Snape scoffed. "Success requires endeavour. If this match truly only came about because of all of your careful planning then I do commend you but if, as I suspect, your matchmaking consisted of you simply saying to yourself 'they would make a good pair', and repeating again to yourself from time to time, then you can hardly take credit for something that occurred naturally. At most you made a lucky guess, especially as I have a feeling there was a spark between them before you were even born."
"So what if it was luck? Have you never felt the presence of a lucky guess yourself? I am disappointed in you as well. You of all people should know that a so-called lucky guess is never just luck, there is always some sort of talent or insight behind it. And you may have pointed out the two most disparate scenarios but I think there is a third, something between doing everything and doing nothing. It was I who encouraged Sirius to visit as often as he did, and I who engineered to make myself scarce whenever I could to make sure that they could have time alone together without it seeming inappropriate. If not for me then they might not have had the chance to see and feel the spark between them, especially if they only saw each other in large company or briefly as they passed in town."
"They were two old friends with many mutual acquaintances," Snape argued. "They were likely to see more than enough of each other to realise that their feelings for each other were still strong and you may have even caused trouble for yourself, especially if things hadn't worked out and you had lost or minimised one of your acquaintances because they weren't ready to admit their feelings."
"Oh Harry never thinks of himself if he feels that he can help others," Dumbledore mused. "Although I do ask that you not make any more matches Harry, they do have the habit of breaking up one's family circle so."
"Only one more sir," Harry pleaded. "There is a new keeper on the local quidditch team, Mr McLaggen. The poor man has been here a year and has done wonders for the team and has bought that lovely little house but no one in Godric's Hollow seems to have caught his eye. It would be so disappointing to the town if he were to find a partner somewhere else and end up leaving. It would be much better to have him find a match here then we would be more likely to secure him for the team."
"Cormac McLaggen is a fine man to be sure, I hold him in great regard. If you wish to encourage him to stay with the team, how about inviting him to dinner? I'm sure Severus here would be happy to meet him."
"Indeed, sir, whenever is most convenient for you, and I must agree that this is a much better idea. Invite him to dinner, Harry and let him have an excellent meal but let him choose his own partner. He is a grown man after all and I'm sure he is more than capable of looking after himself."