(Harry Potter) Worthy of you: Chapter 3 – Wolf's Teeth

Chapter 3 – Wolf's Teeth

Summary: After receiving Harry's letter, Remus makes a trip to Hogwarts to air his displeasure.

Classes for the day were finished, and Harry was on his way to his private spot on the grounds, still feeling the gloom that had weighed him down since the morning.

It had been a couple of days since Harry sent the letter to Remus Lupin. This morning, Hedwig had finally returned, but to Harry’s dismay, it was without any reply. So, Harry made the most logical assumptions: either he was wrong about Remus Lupin and the man wasn’t a real friend, or Dumbledore had found a way to intervene.

The result was the same—Harry was left alone with no idea how to begin his quest to be better, to be worthy of Hermione.

Just as he was about to head towards the garden through the castle's main entrance, a familiar voice called out, “Oi, Ickle-Harry, wait a second!”

Harry turned to see the Weasley twins running toward him. With a wary look, he asked, “Is this some prank you’re playing on me?”

Both of them gasped in mock offense before George—or was it Fred—said to his twin, “Did you hear that, Forge? Ickle-Harry has such a low opinion of us.”

Ah, so that was George. The next one to speak was Fred. “The insolence of the young these days, Gred. And here we are with an important message just for him.”

Harry’s interest was piqued. “Important message?”

They both nodded and said in unison, “From the headmaster.”

Now Harry was suspicious about what this might be, but before he could respond, Fred began talking. “He asked us to tell you…”

George finished the sentence, “To get to his office as soon as possible.”

They turned Harry towards the hall that led to the headmaster’s office and gave him a little push while calling out, “Run, Harry, run!”

Then Fred remembered something else and called after him, “Oh, and if you find a toffee candy, bring it to the headmaster!”

Harry walked as fast as he could toward the office, trying to keep it from looking like he was running. Inside, he was nervous. He had a good idea of what the headmaster wanted to talk to him about, but he had no idea how the conversation might go. Would the headmaster be angry? Disappointed? Or did he just want to explain why there was no answer?

He was so consumed by his worried thoughts that he almost missed the large gargoyle statue protecting the entrance to the headmaster’s office. Remembering his previous visits and Fred’s final words, he stood in front of the statue and said in a low voice, “Toffee candy.”

The statue leaped aside, revealing stairs leading up to the office. As he approached the door, he heard a strange voice he hadn’t heard before shouting, “You should be ashamed, Minerva! If Lily were alive today, she’d have cast a spell to drown you in a bath after forcing you into your cat form!”

A tired old voice that Harry recognized as the headmaster’s replied next. “Please, Remus, if you must use such methods, aim them at me, not Minerva.”

Wide-eyed, Harry opened the door without knocking. Once inside, he took in the scene before the others realized he was there.

Professor McGonagall was sitting in a wooden chair next to the headmaster, clutching a long piece of parchment. Her face looked old, tired, and pained.

The headmaster sat in his usual throne-like chair, wearing his ever-colorful robes and hat. He, too, looked as old as his years suggested, and his half-moon glasses rested on the desk.

Across from them, glaring harshly at both professors, stood a ragged man. His short brown hair was barely kept, and a scar ran across his cheek. He was wearing an old and worn brown robe.

A moment later, all eyes turned to Harry.

The professors looked at him with enormous guilt, their faces pale. Tears were even beginning to form in McGonagall’s eyes.

The other man—Remus Lupin—quickly dropped his glare and gave Harry a soft smile, calling out quietly, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes, “Harry?”

Harry could only nod slightly. Mr. Lupin quickly added in a gentle voice, “You look just like your father. But you have your mother’s eyes.”

Harry had heard that before from Hagrid once or twice, but hearing it from someone who had been close to his parents warmed him deeply.

Before Harry could respond, the headmaster spoke in his usual calm tone. “Harry, thank you for joining us. If you would, please take a seat.”

Normally, Harry would have thanked the headmaster, but he didn’t feel like doing that right now. As he walked deeper into the room to sit across from the headmaster and his deputy, he was stopped by a thrilling sound that filled him with warmth and happiness.

Harry turned to see the source of the sound—a phoenix, perched nearby, staring at him. Harry smiled at the majestic bird and said softly, “Hi, Fawkes. I still owe you thanks for getting us out of the Chamber.”

The red-and-gold bird spread its wings slightly and let out another soft trill, filling Harry with warmth again. But this time, something else happened. It was almost as if he heard a stranger’s voice in the back of his mind, whispering in a soft, deep tone, No, young Harry. Thank you.

Harry gasped, his eyes wide as he looked around to see if anyone else had entered. But when he saw no one, and noticed the concerned looks on the faces of the three adults, Harry could only reach one conclusion.

He turned his gaze back to the bird and asked in disbelief, “Fawkes, did you just thank me? With words?”

The phoenix tilted its head, and if its eyes could widen, they certainly did now. After a moment, the beautiful creature bobbed its head once and trilled again.

Harry felt the warmth once more, and he thought he could hear some muffled words in the back of his mind, but nothing he could understand. Harry shook his head sadly and said, “Sorry, Fawkes. Nothing this time.”

The bird looked confused, before its head snapped straight up, and it gave an irritated trill—not at Harry, but at its bonded wizard.

The old man sighed heavily and shook his head at his familiar, causing Fawkes to huff in annoyance. The headmaster then spoke. “Please, take a seat, Harry.” While Harry walked towards the seat again, the headmaster continued, “Usually, only the bonded wizard can understand a phoenix’s language, but it is said that this trait can be passed down to descendants of that wizard. I can only speculate that one of your ancestors had a bonded phoenix and that trait passed on to you.”

Harry sat down, tilting his head in confusion. “So, why didn’t I understand him in the Chamber? And why did I understand him the first time just now, but not the second?”

Both the headmaster and the deputy looked surprised. They probably weren’t used to Harry questioning anything after the first explanation, but they’d better get used to it. This Harry wasn’t going to be pushed around anymore. He might not be able to improve in every area on his own, but he could certainly push himself to be more confident and better informed.

The headmaster cleared his throat before saying, “I believe introductions are in order first…”

Harry cut him off by turning to the man sitting next to him. “Remus Lupin. Prefect in Gryffindor alongside my mum, and one of the members of my dad’s prank group.”

Remus chuckled before replying, “We called ourselves the Marauders, Harry.”

“Yes, indeed,” the headmaster confirmed before asking Harry, “And how is it that you know so much about events from so far in the past?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at the man and simply replied, “Records in the library.”

The headmaster nodded. “Ah, yes. We must discuss your sneaking around the castle after curfew using your father’s cloak.”

Remus growled beside Harry and snapped at the headmaster, “Don’t go there, Albus! You have no right to make such accusations after everything Harry has suffered under your care without you intervening.”

Dumbledore shook his head. “While we will discuss those accusations soon, Harry’s rule-breaking cannot be ignored.”

“But yours and your staff’s can?” hissed Lupin.

Harry shook his head and said evenly, “Don’t bother, Mr. Lupin. Professor Dumbledore is just covering for Snape. I’m actually surprised the oily snake isn’t here.”

The headmaster gave Harry a rare frown, but before he could say anything, Remus snorted and hissed, “Oh, the headmaster intended to let Snivellus join us, but I believe you interrupted him before he could send for him.”

“It’s Professor Snape, Harry, Remus,” the headmaster admonished them firmly before adding, “and he has my full trust.”

Remus began to growl, but Harry cut him off first. “Headmaster, there are two problems with your last statement.”

Professor McGonagall, who had been unusually quiet throughout the exchange, finally spoke in a weak voice, “What do you mean, Mr. Potter?”

Harry looked at both professors before replying, “Just because you’re older doesn’t mean manners are beneath you. And manners dictate that someone can only join a conversation if everyone involved agrees. You can’t use your age to push Snape into situations that have nothing to do with him.”

The headmaster didn’t seem happy with that, but he had to admit Harry’s point. Harry continued, “And secondly, just because you trust him doesn’t mean anyone else does. To be honest, no one else trusts him because he’s never given anyone a reason to.”

There was a long silence before Professor McGonagall surprisingly spoke again. More surprising was what she said. “He’s right, Albus. For the life of me, I can’t see why you place so much trust in that despicable man.”

“I have an idea.” Everyone in the room turned to look at Harry. He sighed. “Headmaster, may I speak honestly and drop all the formalities?”

At this point, even Harry wasn’t sure what had come over him. It felt as if, after opening the door to let his true self out of the cage his relatives had locked him in, all the traits he had repressed to stay safe had returned at once.

He was starting to act like the heroes he’d read about in his fantasy books. He was using the analytical mind he had developed from reading textbooks to process everything that was being said. But it was just now that Harry realized he’d been doing this for the past few days without even noticing.

There was still doubt and insecurity bubbling within him, but he kept reminding himself how many bad things had happened because of those traits over the past few years. The only reason he wasn’t dead was pure luck, and he refused to rely on that anymore.

The headmaster gave him a curious look but answered with an indulgent smile. “Of course, my boy.”

Harry gave him a flat look and said dryly, “I think you’ve lost yourself in the image the public created for you.”