Aftermaths, Part 1

by Geri ([email protected])

Rating: Mostly PG-13, but NC-17 for overall story

Pairing: Snape/Lupin, Theodore/Blaise

Warning: AU; events that occurred at the end of Order of the Phoenix were significantly altered from the book.

Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, and Phoenix Rising.

Summary: The various characters deal with the aftermath of the war, and Snape and Lupin try to build a family together with Theodore and Dylan. However, some people are unable to let go of the past...

Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except Hob, who belongs to William Mayne; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
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"Well, this is it," Lupin said as they entered the cottage. It looked rather dilapidated from the outside, with peeling paint and weathered wood, but the inside looked sturdier and more welcoming. It was much smaller than either Dylan or Theodore--who had grown up living in mansions--were used to, and the furnishings were a little worn and shabby, but it seemed somehow cozy and homey, if a bit dusty.

"I haven't spent much time here in the past couple of years," Lupin said apologetically as he ran a finger down the wall and grimaced slightly at the grime his finger collected. "I'm afraid we'll have to do a bit of cleaning after we get you settled in."

"It's fine, Professor," Theodore assured him. A little dust was a small price to pay to live with people who cared about him, in a place where he didn't have to walk on eggshells and try to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible so as not to trigger one of his father's rages. Of course, that hadn't really helped; if his father was in a bad mood, he would vent his anger on Theodore no matter how quiet and well-behaved he was. Sometimes even when he was in a good mood, he would cast a hex or curse at Theodore when he wanted to try out a new spell, or just for the sheer pleasure of it. Theodore had never really felt safe or relaxed in his own home; Thaddeus Nott, like his friend Andreas Avery, was sadist. Had been a sadist. Theodore reminded himself that his father was dead, and that Lupin and Snape were his guardians now; he was still a bit dazed by it all.

"It's fine, Professor," Dylan said, echoing his friend's words; he seemed to be taking everything in stride, but then, apparently he had known about the Professors' secret relationship for quite some time now. "We'll help you clean up; a few cleaning spells should set the place right in no time."

Theodore nodded in agreement. In the past, he would have balked at performing "house-elf work" like any proper pureblood and future Death Eater would. But he was so grateful to be here--and to be spared the fate of becoming a Death Eater--that he would gladly have scrubbed the entire house with soap and water and no use of magic at all if Lupin asked it of him.

Lupin smiled at the boys. "Then let me show you to your room, and you can get settled in. It's down this way." He opened a door and led them down a short flight of stairs into a dark room. "Lumos," he said, and a light fixture set into the ceiling brightened the room. "This used to be the basement, so there are no windows in here," he said, sounding a little apologetic. "I converted it into a bedroom a couple of years ago when my friend Sirius came to stay with me. You turn the lights on with the command word 'Lumos' and off with 'Infusco'. Oops." The room went dark again, and Lupin hastily said, "Lumos," and the lights came back on. There were two beds in the room--one looked old and worn, like most of the furniture upstairs, while the other looked new--as well as a dresser, a wardrobe, a small desk and chair, and a nightstand between the two beds. "I hope you don't mind sharing the room," Lupin said anxiously. "There's only one bedroom upstairs."

"It's fine, Professor," Dylan said with a smile. "We're used to sharing rooms in the dorm at school."

Theodore was staring wide-eyed at the deep scratches carved into the walls. "What are those?" he asked.

Lupin flushed. "I made those, I'm afraid. This is where I used to lock myself up for safekeeping during the full moon, before the Wolfsbane Potion was invented." Now both boys were staring at the walls in shock; Lupin was always so kind and gentle that it was difficult to picture him as a werewolf, particularly one vicious and out-of-control during the full moon. Even when he had taken wolf form on the battlefield, he had acted only to protect the students and Snape. "I'm sorry," Lupin said, sounding apologetic again, and his words came out in a rush, the sentences running together, and the boys had trouble following what he was saying. "Everything happened so quickly that I didn't really have time to get the house in order; we were making the arrangements to become Theodore's guardians, of course, but we didn't know that Dylan would be living with us until yesterday; Albus was kind enough to have a second bed delivered right away. I'm sure we can repair the scratches, or maybe paint over them or cover them with wallpaper or--"

Snape, who had been silent up until now, interrupted in an amused and suprisingly gentle voice, "Lupin, you're babbling."

Lupin blinked in surprise. "Am I?" Then he smiled sheepishly. "Yes, I suppose I am; I guess I'm a little nervous. I want you two to feel at home here; I know this isn't what you're used to, but I--"

"Lupin," Snape said patiently, "you're doing it again."

"Am I?" Lupin laughed, but still looked a little anxious. "I guess I am. Sorry."

"It's fine, Professor," Theodore said firmly. He was touched that Lupin was so eager to make them feel welcome, but the Professor's worries were unnecessary: Nott Manor was probably luxurious by Lupin's standards (though not the Malfoys'), but he much preferred Lupin's cozy little cottage to the old, gloomy mansion that held only memories of fear and pain and hatred for him.

"It's great, Professor," Dylan said reassuringly. "It's about the size of the dorm rooms back at Slytherin, so we'll be fine. And..." He opened his suitcase and pulled out a rolled-up sheet of paper, then unrolled it and held it up against the wall; it was a poster of a Welsh Quidditch team called the Caerphilly Catapults. "This should help cover up the scratches."

"We've got other posters, too," Theodore added helpfully, "of Quidditch teams and The Weird Sisters. We won't even notice the scratches, honest."

Lupin smiled at them warmly, looking relieved. "Well then, we'll leave you two to unpack. You can join us upstairs when you're done." Then he and Snape left, heading back up the stairs.

"Which bed do you want?" Dylan asked. "I don't really care; you can have the new one if you like."

Theodore looked down at the older bed; the wooden frame looked shabby but sturdy, much like the cottage itself, and was covered with an obviously homemade patchwork quilt that was faded and a little frayed in places. But despite that, it seemed to be something that had been made, and used, with care and affection. Theo sat on the bed; the mattress springs squeaked slightly. "No, this is fine," he said.

"Okay," Dylan said agreeably, and they unpacked their things, hanging up their clothes in the wardrobe or putting them away in the dresser drawers. They hung their posters on the wall, and Dylan set a silver-framed picture of his parents on the nightstand, and his chess set on the desk. There were no shelves in the room, so they stacked their books on the dresser or under the beds for the time being. The room was dusty and a bit musty-smelling, but a couple of quick cleaning spells soon set things right, as Dylan had said they would.

"It's starting to look like home," Dylan said with a smile. He could still feel a terrible ache in his heart whenever he thought about his mother, but Lupin's compassion and Snape's gruff but sincere concern and affection helped to ease the pain.

Theodore smiled, still feeling a little awestruck by his good look. Unlike Dylan, he did not really miss his parents; although he had wept for them, he had not so much been mourning his parents' deaths as he had been the fact that they never had been, and now never would be, the loving family he had always longed for. Although Theo had resented Draco for bullying and lording it over himself and the other Slytherins these past several years, he could now feel a little sympathy for the other boy: Draco, too, had been weeping more for the illusion than the reality of his father. In fact, he figured that in a way, he was better off than Malfoy, because Theodore had always known what his father was really like, while Draco was a pampered, spoiled child who'd had his illusions abruptly ripped away in the worst possible way when his beloved father had tried to save his own life by sacrificing his son's. Of course, he didn't feel too sorry for Draco, since Narcissa Malfoy had chosen to turn against the Death Eaters in order to save her son. His smile faded; that thought was a bitter reminder that, in contrast, Marta Nott had stood by and done nothing to save Theodore. But he pushed aside that thought, reminding himself that Lupin and Snape had risked their lives to save him, and miraculously, had invited him to come and live with them. No--not just invited, insisted on it. He smiled again at the memory of Snape telling him sternly that he had no choice in the matter; despite his protests that he could take care of himself, Theodore had secretly been relieved that he wouldn't have to. He wasn't sure if the Ministry would confiscate his family's estate as they had the Rosiers', which would leave him nothing to live on, and although he had blithely told the Headmaster that he could stay with a friend for the summer, he wasn't really sure that his friends' families would want to take in a Death Eater's son. It was a great relief to let Snape deal with all those problems, and an even greater relief to find that his two teachers actually seemed to want him to live with them; he still couldn't quite believe it.

"Yes, it does," Theodore said softly, in response to Dylan's comment. {Home,} he thought to himself, savoring the word in his mind. Aloud, he said, "Shall we go upstairs, then?"

"Sure," Dylan said, and they headed upstairs to help Lupin and Snape clean up the cottage. It was not really that big a job, with the four of them working together. Aside from the basement and the upstairs bedroom and bathroom, the cottage basically consisted of one large room: the kitchen was not really a separate room, being divided from the living room only by a counter.

"We should have invited your friend Black over to help us," Snape said to Lupin with sardonic humor, although neither Dylan nor Theodore understood the joke. "He is the expert in housecleaning, after all."

"That's not very nice, Severus," Lupin scolded, attempting to look stern although there was a hint of laughter in his eyes.

"What do you expect, Lupin?" Snape retorted. "I am a Slytherin, after all; we're not supposed to be nice."

This time Lupin did laugh out loud. "So says the hero of the final battle against Voldemort, who risked his life to spy on the Death Eaters!"

Snape flushed and growled, "Oh, shut up, Lupin!"

Lupin grinned and changed the subject. "I thought about asking Sirius if we could borrow Hob for the day, but the cottage is small enough that we should be able to handle it on our own. Besides, I think he and Branwen intend to restore Blackmore Manor, and I'm sure they'll need Hob's help far more than we do."

"Oh?" Snape asked with interest, forgetting his irritation. "I thought she was going to live at Grimmauld Place with Black."

"Yes, for now. The Black house is a bit more convenient, being located in London, while Blackmore Manor is out in the countryside. Still, it is her ancestral home, and she wants to repair the damage the Death Eaters did to it during the first war. Besides, unlike Sirius and his home, it holds fond memories for Branwen of her family."

"Hmm," Snape said with a speculative gleam in his black eyes. "The Blackmores have always been rumored to be experts in the Dark Arts, and Branwen's late father Meredith was said to be quite the scholar, and added extensively to his family's already impressive library--including a number of forbidden texts, or so rumor has it. I wonder if his collection survived the attack...?"

Although Dylan and Theodore were diligently cleaning the living room, Lupin noticed the look of keen interest in their eyes. He sighed a little, not sure that they should be encouraging the boys' interest in the Dark Arts. That was, after all, partly what had drawn Severus into Lucius Malfoy's circle in the first place, over twenty years ago. But to be fair, it had been Severus's anger and jealousy that had actually driven him to join the Death Eaters, rather than his desire to learn Dark Magic. And Branwen's father had claimed that one had to learn Dark Magic in order to properly defend against it; Lupin wasn't sure that he agreed, but Branwen had been tutored in the Dark Arts by both her father and her demonic ancestor Prince Araqiel, and she had not been corrupted by their teachings. Lupin hid his misgivings and said in a joking tone, "Are you volunteering to help Branwen clean house, then?"

"It would be worth it to have a look at the Blackmore library," Snape said, then belatedly noticed how intently his two young charges were following the conversation. "You missed a spot, Rosier!" he snapped. "And you, Nott, if you're finished here, you needn't laze about; the kitchen still needs cleaning!"

"Yes, sir!" the boys said, and hastily obeyed.

Lupin smiled and went to the kitchen to help Theodore. "A thirst for knowledge is a good thing," he said, softly enough so that only Theodore could hear him. "But knowledge must be tempered with wisdom. Severus and Professor Blackmore are both experts in the Dark Arts, and they both faced the temptation to misuse their powers. Not everyone is strong enough to overcome such temptation."

Theodore, looking chastened, mumbled, "Don't worry, Professor, I don't want to be like the Death Eaters."

Lupin smiled kindly and patted him on the shoulder. "I know you don't, Theo." Theodore flushed, concentrating very hard on the cleaning spell he was casting--much harder than was really necessary for such a simple spell--and they worked in silence for awhile. When they were done, Lupin examined the empty cupboards with a frown, saying, "I'll have to Apparate over to the village and pick up some groceries. I should have stocked the kitchen earlier, but we were just so busy with school and talking to the Ministry officials and--"

Before Snape could tell Lupin that he was babbling again, there was a knock at the door. "Hello, Remus?" a cheerful voice called out.

Lupin hurried over to open the door. "Why hello, Molly!" he said. "What can we do for you?"

Theodore's jaw fell open as Molly Weasley entered the cottage, carrying a large picnic basket. "Is that Weasley's mother?" he whispered to Dylan, who nodded. "What's she doing here?" Dylan shrugged.

Molly smiled at Lupin and said, "I knew you would be busy getting the cottage in order, and I thought you probably didn't have time to do any grocery shopping yet, so I brought you some lunch." She walked over to the kitchen table as Snape and the boys stared at her, dumbfounded. She opened the basket and began unloading sandwiches, fruit, bottles of butterbeer, and an apple pie onto the table.

"Thank you so much, Molly," Lupin said. "We're very grateful--aren't we, Severus?"

He gave Snape a pointed look, and the Potions Master muttered somewhat ungraciously, "Yes, well, that wasn't really necessary, but I suppose we ought to..." He scowled, almost choking on the words. "...thank you."

Lupin sighed, looking amused and annoyed at the same time, but Molly just smiled at Snape pleasantly and said, "You're welcome, Severus. I know from experience how hungry growing boys get!" She frowned a little, looking concerned as she eyed the two boys--thin, lanky Theodore in particular. "They certainly look like they could use some feeding."

"Oh, where are my manners?" Lupin exclaimed. "Molly, this is Theodore Nott and Dylan Rosier. Theodore, Dylan, this is Molly Weasley--Ron and Ginny's mother."

Theodore mumbled an inarticulate greeting, looking at her warily. Dylan hid his surprise in the way he normally did--with smooth, practiced charm. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said with a smile, holding out his hand. "Ginny and I worked together in Professor Blackmore's class." Theodore scowled at him.

Molly smiled and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, too, Dylan. I remember seeing you play at the Quidditch match."

Dylan kept smiling, although a hint of nervousness crept into his eyes. "Yes, well, I hope there's no hard feelings. Ginny and Ron played very well; it was a close game..."

"Of course there's no hard feelings!" Molly said, looking a little puzzled. "It's just a game, after all."

{I don't think the Gryffindors see it that way,} Dylan thought wryly, but refrained from saying so out loud.

Lupin attempted to change the subject by saying hastily, "Please give Arthur our thanks, Molly, for rushing through the authorization on the custody request."

"Of course, Remus."

Theodore blinked; did that mean what it sounded like...?

Lupin confirmed his suspicions. "It's thanks to the new Minister of Magic that we were able to get custody of you, Theodore. Ariane Donner appointed Severus and I as Dylan's guardians in her will, which is legal and binding--unless his relatives had chosen to challenge it in court, which fortunately they didn't. But things were a bit more complicated in your case; your parents didn't leave a will, and we aren't related to you by blood, so we had to petition the Ministry for permission to foster you. And most people would not consider a former Death Eater and a werewolf to be ideal foster parents..."

"It's that sort of thinking that enabled You-Know-Who to take power in the first place!" Molly said indignantly. "Of course the two of you would make wonderful parents! Arthur knows that; that's why he pushed your request through even though there was some grumbling from the old stuffed shirts at the Ministry--"

Snape's jaw dropped at Molly's declaration that he would make a "wonderful parent"--he might expect to hear such things said about Lupin, but never about himself! Dylan and Theodore looked equally nonplused, while Lupin looked highly amused.

Molly saw look of shock on Snape's face, and laughed and said, "Come now, Severus, I know that my sons have complained constantly about how strict you are, and no doubt they've tested your patience on numerous occasions--Merlin knows they've tested mine!--but it's clear to me that you care very much about your students." Snape's face turned bright red. "I've seen how hard you've worked to protect them, these past couple of years that we've worked in the Order together, how hard you fought to make sure your Slytherins would not be overlooked or sacrificed to expediency." Snape's face grew even redder and he glared at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "Besides," she added cheerfully, "every family needs a disciplinarian, and Remus tends to be a little soft on the children--"

"Why does everyone think that I'm such a soft touch?" Lupin asked, feigning an air of wounded pride.

"Because you are," Snape growled.

"Just like Arthur," Molly sighed, then corrected herself, "well, not quite that bad, I must admit. Honestly, Arthur would let the kids get away with murder if I didn't put my foot down..."

A low growl rumbled deep in Snape's throat as he ground his teeth together and entertained murderous thoughts in his head. Dylan and Theodore prudently began backing away from him, marveling that Molly Weasley didn't seem to recognize the danger that she was in. Lupin had to clamp a hand over his mouth and bite down hard on his lower lip to stifle his laughter at the comparison Molly had just drawn between herself and Snape. He wasn't quite successful, and Snape turned his venomous gaze on Lupin.

"Please stop before you give Severus a stroke, Molly," Lupin gasped. "He's too modest; he can't handle his new role as a hero..." Snape's glare grew even blacker. "And besides, he doesn't want to ruin his image as the big bad Potions Master..." The werewolf finally lost control and doubled over with laughter as his foster sons stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"Keep it up, Lupin," Snape growled, "and I just might add a wolfskin rug to my office decor next term." Lupin just continued to laugh.

"I'm sorry, Severus," Molly said with a straight face, although there was a hint of laughter in her eyes. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Good," Snape snarled, "because Lupin seems to manage that well enough on his own!"

To the boys' relief, Snape didn't kill either Lupin or Mrs. Weasley, although he did regard them both with baleful looks, suddenly reminding them of Professor Blackmore's raven, Bane. "Um, I don't understand," Theodore said nervously to Lupin. "I know what you said about the Ministry officials is true, but nobody else wanted me, so how could they object?"

A sudden look of sorrow and pity filled Molly's face at Thedore's matter-of-fact statement, and Lupin instantly sobered and placed a restraining hand on her arm to prevent her from going over and giving the boy a hug. He knew that it was Molly's natural instinct to want to mother a bereft and unwanted child, and it had served her well with Harry, who had badly needed a surrogate family, but he also knew that Theodore was too cynical and suspicious to accept affection or sympathy from a stranger, especially a Gryffindor who would all too recently have been considered the enemy. Lupin thought to himself grimly that as badly as the Dursleys had treated Harry, it had been nothing compared to what some of the Death Eaters had done to their own children. He was suddenly struck by the thought that Harry had much more in common with his Slytherin classmates--and with Severus, for that matter--than either side realized. Well, from the account of his battle with Voldemort, it seemed that Harry had begun to understand that; perhaps one day the Slytherins would, too...

Snape's look of irritation vanished. "You are the heir to an old pureblood family, Theodore," Snape said gravely, with just a hint of sympathy in his black eyes. "Even though that family is disgraced at the moment, the powers that be might not want you to be raised by someone with impure blood." His lips twisted in a bitter smile as he looked at Lupin, who smiled back at him sadly. "Or by a former Death Eater who has been repudiated by his own family."

"Th-then what would have happened to me if the Ministry had denied your petition?" Theodore asked, looking alarmed.

"It doesn't matter," Lupin said, gently but firmly, as he put an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Fortunately, I'm a good friend of the new Minister of Magic--" Lupin grinned. "--and our request was granted." Theodore still looked worried, and Lupin said in a more serious tone, "We're your family now, Theodore; we won't let anyone take you away from us." When Theodore didn't look convinced, Lupin bared his teeth a little and said, "Part of me is wolf, and a wolf always protects its pack and its cubs." His voice was light, almost joking, but everyone could see from the look in his eyes that he was dead serious. Molly looked a little taken aback, but Theodore seemed reassured, at least for the moment; Lupin knew it would take a great deal of time for Theo to feel safe and secure in his new family.

Snape said nothing, but he had a fairly good idea of what might have happened if his and Lupin's custody petition had been denied, and none of the options were very appealing. The least harmful one would have been for the Ministry to prevail upon the Headmaster to let Theodore remain at Hogwarts until he came of age. No doubt a summer spent alone at school would seem bleak and lonely, but it was preferable to the other choices: to either put the boy in an orphanage or--this was the most likely possibility--to force one of his relatives to take him in. At best, he would have faced a situation similar to Harry Potter's, with his reluctant guardians making his life miserable, and at worst...if Rafe Dietrich's family blamed Theodore for his death and decided to take their anger out on the boy...well, it was better not to think about it. He also knew that if Mathias and Goewin had chosen to challenge Ariane's will in court, they probably could have had it overturned, but fortunately they cared enough about Dylan not to drag him into a custody battle. Snape sourly thought to himself that they did indeed owe Arthur Weasley a great deal for helping them get custody of the boys, even though the thought of being indebted to that idealistic Gryffindor idiot stuck in his craw. {First James Potter, now Arthur Weasley,} Snape thought to himself grumpily. {When am I ever going to be free of my obligations to these cursed Gryffindors?} But then Lupin smiled at him, reminding Snape that there was one Gryffindor that he definitely did not want to be free of...

"I should be going," Molly said.

"Won't you stay and have lunch with us?" Lupin asked politely as Snape shot a glare at him.

"Thank you, Remus, but I have to get back home," Molly replied, much to Snape's relief. "Percy is bringing Penelope over for dinner tonight, and I need to get the house in order." She beamed happily, although she looked a little worried. "It's the first time in two years that the whole family will be together again--Charlie's come home for a visit, too. Oh my, there's so much to do--I want everything to be just right!"

"I'm sure that everything will be fine, Molly," Lupin said in a soothing voice. "I'm sure Percy and Charlie will be delighted to taste your good home cooking again." Molly smiled at him gratefully. "It's so kind of you to think of us even when you're so busy."

"Oh, it didn't take but a few minutes to put the sandwiches together," Molly said dismissively, "and I've been baking pies all morning for tonight's dinner, anyway. And with you two being new parents and all, I wanted to make sure that the boys got a decent meal on their first day in their new home." Snape and Theodore turned red, while Dylan just stared at her in disbelief. "Well, anyway, I've got to run! Stop by for a visit sometime, after you get settled in."

"We will, Molly," Lupin called after her cheerfully, waving goodbye as she walked out the door and Disapparated.

"I wish she'd make up her mind," Snape grumbled. "One minute we're 'wonderful parents' and the next we're too incompetent to remember to feed the boys!"

"Now, now," Lupin chided gently, "I'm sure she didn't mean it that way; it's just her motherly nature. She's always fussing over Harry, too."

"But we're Slytherins," Theodore protested, sounding confused and slightly offended.

"I wonder if Weasley knows that his mum is 'mothering' us?" Dylan muttered.

"Well, shall we stop for lunch?" Lupin asked brightly. "I think we're just about done with the cleaning, anyway."

So they settled down to eat their meal, which was of course delicious. Although they ate heartily, there was still enough food left for dinner. Even so, Lupin decided he ought to go grocery shopping at the village.

"Can we go with you?" Dylan asked, eager to explore his new home.

"I can only take one of you with me because I'd have to Apparate us over," Lupin said apologetically. "The nearest village is several miles away, so it's not really practical to walk there. My parents deliberately built this cottage out in the middle of nowhere so that no one would be able to hear me howl when the moon was full."

"Oh," Dylan said sympathetically, thinking that he and Lupin had more in common than he'd realized. "So you lived in exile, too, sort of..."

"I hadn't really thought of it that way," Lupin said thoughtfully, "but you're right. I was very lonely as a child, but eventually I went to Hogwarts and made friends." He smiled at Dylan, who smiled back at him. "That was a truly wonderful and amazing experience for a boy who had grown up alone, rarely seeing anyone but his parents." Severus said nothing, but his expression darkened a little as he toyed with the remains of his pie, and Lupin was suddenly reminded that not all of his experiences at Hogwarts had been good ones. He reached out and laid a hand on Severus's arm and said gently, "At least it was mostly wonderful. I was so grateful to have friends that sometimes I let them get away with things that I shouldn't have."

The boys looked a little confused, and Snape looked a little abashed. "It's in the past, Remus," he said gruffly. "Let it be."

Lupin looked relieved, but said, "Well, it is important to remember the mistakes we made in the past so that we do not repeat them." Then he smiled warmly at Snape. "But whatever mistakes I made at Hogwarts, I will always be grateful for my time there because that is where I met you, Severus."

Snape flushed and growled, "Didn't you say that you had some shopping to do, Lupin?"

Lupin grinned and rose from his seat. "Well, would one of you like to come with me? Or if you both want to come, Severus could Apparate with one of you."

Snape was still looking rather grumpy, and Theodore didn't find the idea of visiting some little country village all that interesting, so he said, "No, Dylan can go. It's no big deal; I'd rather stay home, anyway." Then he fell silent, feeling a little stunned by how easily the word "home" had fallen from his lips.

Lupin smiled at him, seeming to sense his thoughts, and said cheerfully, "Well, let's go then, Dylan."

Snape went to his and Lupin's room to unpack, and Theodore went back to his basement room. He opened a book, but couldn't concentrate, so he simply laid back on his bed and tried to let all these changes sink in: a new home; a new family; Snape in love with Lupin; Snape and Dylan not really Death Eaters at all, but spies who had secretly worked against the Dark Lord. These were not bad changes--quite the contrary, in fact--but they still didn't seem quite real to him...

Meanwhile, Lupin and Dylan went to the local village. It had only a small general store, but they were able to pick up some staples to fill the pantry. Somewhat to Dylan's suprise, most of the villagers were very friendly, greeting Lupin warmly; several of them shook his hand and thanked him or told him how brave he was to fight against the Death Eaters, which seemed to embarrass the werewolf. Lupin did, however, seem to take great pleasure and pride in introducing Dylan as "my foster son," which Dylan found touching. Most of the villagers looked surprised but greeted Dylan just as warmly as they had Lupin, but a few frowned disapprovingly.

"They don't approve of you taking in a Death Eater's son?" Dylan asked as they prepared to leave.

"I think it's more that they think my relationship with Severus is slightly scandalous," Lupin replied, a little sadly, "and that they don't think I should be openly flaunting my lover, much less adopting children with him."

"Oh," Dylan said. He was not really surprised, but he was angry with them for hurting Lupin's feelings. He felt a sudden urge to hex those sour-faced bigots, but he knew that Lupin wouldn't approve. "Most of the villagers seem to like you, though. Have they always known you were a werewolf?"

Lupin smiled, but still looked a little sad. "They like me now that I've been labeled a hero in the Daily Prophet, and I suppose that's a good thing, if it helps them realize that werewolves are people and not monsters. But there were always whispers and suspicious glances when I was a child, and outright hostility after my lycanthropy was made public three years ago. A few people, like the owner of the general store, have always been kind to me, but they were the exception, not the rule."

Dylan grew even more angry and clenched his fists as he said, "Why, I should--"

"No, Dylan," Lupin said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They are ignorant, not evil."

"But you risked your life to save these people; people who treat you like you're not even human!"

"I risked my life to save them, yes," Lupin said calmly. "And also to save the people I loved, like you and Severus and Theodore." He placed his hand on Dylan's cheek for a moment, and Dylan's anger subsided a little.

"But--"

"Yelling at them or hexing them would change nothing," Lupin continued in that unflappable voice. "Nor would hating them. It's better to lead by example, to prove through my actions that I can be trusted. People fear what they do not understand, but perhaps they are beginning to understand my kind a little better."

"Are they?" Dylan asked cynically. "Or will they change their minds when the newspaper headlines change?"

"I don't know," Lupin replied quietly. "I guess we'll find out, won't we? Come now, Dylan, let's go home."

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