An Opus Alchymicum Vol 2: The Witch-Consul's Riddle

Portents and Promises

"They found the mirror. It wont be long before they work out what they saw."

Dumbledore sipped at his glass of port and surveyed Sirius coyly.

"The '49? You broke out the vintage."

Sirius nodded with a grin. "I thought I'd better. It might, er, grease the gears tonight."

Sirius glanced guiltily at their guests, and offered more glasses around.

"Don't change the subject, Albus," Lily sniped. "Tell me what they saw!"

"They saw a baby," Dumbledore replied gently. "Their baby. Harry and Hermione are destined to have children. I didn't know their connection was so deep."

"We could have guessed at it," Malcolm proffered, accepting a glass from Sirius. "The alethiometer told Lyra so, said Harry was dripping in Dust, didn't it Lyra?"

But Lyra couldn't answer. She was red in the face, angrier than Hell itself, but held fast by Dumbledore's Body-Bind spell. He had thought it necessary ... and the still raw scratches on Sirius' face were testament to the old wizard's wisdom.

"Well, it did," Mal smirked as Lyra eyeballed him furiously. "You know, is there any way you can teach me how to do this spell? I could quite get used to Lyra in this state!"

"Alas, no," Dumbledore remarked, still considering Lyra curiously. "Though perhaps I may suggest some sort of harness? She's a ferocious animal, is that one."

"You don't know the half of it," Sirius chuckled, causing Lyra to turn her murderous eyes on him instead. "How is it that Petrificus Totalus doesn't cover the eyes, Albus? Lyra's like a psychotic, possessed doll over there."

"The spell targets the limbs, rather than the whole body," Dumbledore explained. "Ordinarily, the mouth can still move, too. But following the torrent of abrasive curses and threats that left Miss Lyra after I cast the spell, I rather felt I ought to include her jaw in the enchantment!"

"I quite agree," Malcolm nodded, grinning at Lyra's prostrate form. He was enjoying this too much, and he would pay for it later.

"This is all very well," James cut in. "But we are getting way off track here. "My son and this girl are destined to have a baby. What are we going to do about that?"

"I don't think you should do anything," Sirius replied. "Hermione seems to be a quite lovely sort of girl. I think you should just leave them to it, let nature take its course."

"Harry is eleven, Sirius!" James cried. "Nature can just do one!"

"I do not believe the image in the Mirror was imminent," Dumbledore placated. "This was a vision of the future, and only a possible, far off future at that."

"What does that mean?" asked Mal. "I thought this Mirror showed the truth."

"Far from it," Dumbledore corrected. "The Mirror shows neither truth nor wisdom, only the heart's desire of the viewer. What was strange about Harry and Hermione's experience is that they saw a vision together ... and they saw the same thing. I have never heard of that, and Harry and Hermione are far from the first couple to look into the Mirror together."

"A couple!" Lily blurted out, spraying James with Pinot Grigio. "Are you saying this Hermione is Harry's steady girlfriend now?"

"There is nothing on the Hogwarts grapevine to suggest it is official," Minerva McGonagall piped up from her seat near the window. "But you only need to watch them together for five minutes to see that they are already more than friends, even if they don't know it themselves yet. Indeed, I would say Harry is besotted with Miss Granger."