Aftermaths, Part 105

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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On Sunday morning, Aric sat at the Slytherin table, pushing his food around his plate with his fork, feeling grumpy and a little depressed. It was his birthday, but nobody here knew or cared about it. Well, actually, Theo probably knew, but Aric certainly wasn't expecting to get a birthday present from his cousin. If he'd been at Durmstrang, his friends would've given him presents and thrown a party for him. Last year, they'd snuck out after hours and one of his friends had somehow managed to smuggle a bottle of Firewhiskey into the school. They grew a bit too boisterous under the influence of the Firewhiskey, though, and they had just barely managed to escape discovery--and detention--by fleeing back to the dorms before the teachers caught them.

The Dietrich family owl arrived and dropped off a few packages--the usual presents from his parents and grandparents, which didn't really cheer him up very much. Another owl arrived with a card and a pouch of Galleons from his sister. She offered to put in a good word for him if he wanted to work at Gringotts after graduation; Aric hadn't yet told his family that he wanted to become a mediwizard, because he wasn't sure they'd approve. It was a respectable job, to be sure, but they probably would prefer that he take a high-paying job at Gringotts like Erika, or even apply to the Ministry of Magic. It was every Slytherin's dream to get a job at the Ministry and perhaps work their way up to Minister of Magic someday. Of course, Rafe had been a mediwizard, but Rafe had also been a Gryffindor, the opposite of everything that his family stood for, yet he had managed to get away with it, thanks to his incredible charm. Tears stung his eyes, and Aric quickly blinked them away; he was absolutely not going to cry in front of all his housemates!

"Is it your birthday or something, Dietrich?" Patrick Parkinson asked curiously, which provided a welcome distraction by startling Aric and cutting off his train of thought.

"Yeah," Aric replied gruffly.

"Another year older, another year more obnoxious," Draco sneered.

"Well, you should know, Malfoy," Aric sneered back. "You seem to be an expert on being obnoxious."

Several students laughed, and Draco turned red with anger. "Oh, don't mind him," Dylan said dismissively. "Who cares what he thinks?" He changed the subject to Quidditch, and soon he and Draco and several other boys got into a spirited debate on the merits of their favorite professional teams, and who was likely to win the League Cup this year.

No one wished Aric a happy birthday. No one even bothered to argue with him. The other Slytherins were wrapped up in conversations of their own; they all had their own little groups and cliques, of which Aric was not a part. It made him feel suddenly small and insignificant, like a nobody, and he hated that feeling. Being insulted was far preferable to being ignored, and Aric was tempted to pick a fight with Malfoy or Theo when another owl flew into the Great Hall and dropped a package in front of him.

Puzzled, Aric picked it up to see who it was from, and his spirits suddenly lifted when he recognized the return address in London. Inside the package were two small gift-wrapped items and a card. The first gift was a tiny bag made of brocaded cloth, embroidered with Japanese characters that Aric couldn't read, and the other was a small onyx carving of a howling wolf. The card read: "Happy birthday, Aric. Since your N.E.W.T.s are coming up, I got you an omamori, a Japanese good-luck charm; this one is specifically for luck in passing exams, which hopefully will come in handy. Anyway, I figured it couldn't hurt! The wolf is a charm for strength and courage; they've become very popular lately, and seem to have been inspired by the heroism of our werewolf friends. Keep it as a reminder of the work you've done here at the clinic for us. I hope you'll be able to volunteer again for us sometime--although I hope it won't be because you have detention! Hope you have a happy birthday at Hogwarts. Takeshi."

There was no mention of their argument over Theo, no hint of censure, just the same tone of good-natured humor that Takeshi's letters usually contained. Apparently the mediwizard had decided to forgive him. Aric slipped the good-luck charms into his pocket, feeling so relieved that he completely forgot that he had (in his mind) done nothing that required forgiveness.

Takeshi's gifts had attracted the attention of some of the other students. "What are those?" Malcolm Baddock asked.

"Good-luck charms," Aric replied casually. "Just a gift from a friend."

"I didn't know you had any," Draco muttered under his breath.

"Those wolf charms are the in thing right now," Yvonne declared, temporarily forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at Aric. "I want to get one, but something prettier and more delicate--maybe clear crystal or rose quartz."

Theodore, for some reason, looked amused. "They're charms to give one the strength and courage of a wolf. It would sort of be defeating the point to make one that was delicate."

"Well, I still want a pretty one," Yvonne said stubbornly, then frowned. "Mummy and Daddy won't buy me one, though." She glanced at the head table where Lupin was sitting; he was gazing at the Slytherin table, a smile on his face. Yvonne lowered her voice, whispering, "Because they don't approve of werewolves. They won't listen when I tell them how nice Professor Lupin is."

Aric wondered how Theo knew about the wolf charms, then decided that he must have heard about them from Lupin, if the charms had been inspired by werewolves. He shrugged it off and began eating his breakfast with more appetite. Another owl arrived, bearing several birthday cards from his friends at Durmstrang, which cheered him up further.

He did some studying in the library and then, despite the chill air, threw on a warm cloak and went up to the Astronomy Tower to write some letters to his friends and family. He wanted to avoid his housemates, most of whom he disliked as much as they disliked him, and besides, this was practically a balmy spring day compared to the weather at Durmstrang. He was nearly done when a house-elf appeared before him, carrying a small plate that contained a cupcake with a single lit candle stuck in it. The house-elf held out the plate to him and Aric stared at it in surprise, not just because of the cupcake, but because the elf was wearing clothing--mismatched sweater, hat, and socks. He realized that it must be the Malfoys' former house-elf, Dobby, who had been freed by Harry Potter.

Dobby held out the plate, and Aric just stared at it in confusion, wondering if this was some sort of Hogwarts tradition. Maybe they gave every student a special treat on his or her birthday, but Aric had certainly never noticed it happening before. For that matter, the house-elves almost never showed themselves to the students, except for the ones who snuck into the kitchen to cadge treats.

"What is this?" he asked.

"For Mr. Dietrich from Professor Lupin," Dobby said. "Professor Lupin says 'happy birthday'."

Feeling a little dazed, Aric took the plate and the house-elf scampered off. He stared at the cupcake, thinking to himself that it was just the sort of silly Gryffindorish thing one might expect Lupin to do. Honestly, a birthday cupcake--wasn't he a little old for that? Did the werewolf think he was still a first-year or something?

Still, he could use a snack, and there was no point in wasting an edible and very tasty-looking cupcake (chocolate, his favorite). He shrugged and said, "Happy birthday to me," blew out the candle, and took a bite. He had to admit that the food at Hogwarts was far superior to the food at Durmstrang. He munched on the cupcake and finished his letters, thinking to himself that maybe this birthday hadn't really been so bad after all.
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Lupin went for a stroll after classes were over one afternoon. Severus was busy testing potions, and the boys were doing some research in the library, so Lupin's time was his own. There was still snow on the ground, but the day was sunny and clear, much too nice to spend cooped up indoors. Besides, it was close to the full moon, and the wolf was feeling restless.

A few of the younger students were having a snowball fight in the courtyard, and Lupin smiled and waved at them as he passed by, but didn't stop to join in. After all the unpleasant excitement following the Quidditch match, things had finally begun to die down, and Lupin felt the need for a little peaceful solitude.

His meanderings took him by the lake, although he normally avoided it, since it tended to bring back unpleasant memories of the time that James and Sirius had attacked Severus there, and of how Lupin had failed to stop them. It did look very beautiful, though, with a sheet of glistening ice covering the water. He paused to admire the view, then noticed someone sitting on a large rock beside the lake. It was Isabelle Laroque, bundled up in thick, warm robes, staring out pensively across the frozen water, chin resting in her hands, elbows propped up on her knees. She didn't seem to notice him, and Lupin was suddenly struck by the thought that this was probably the first time that he had caught her in such an unguarded moment. Normally the Hufflepuffs were quite straightforward and open, but now that he thought about it, Isabelle reminded him more of the Slytherins and the way they tended to present a mask to the world. Isabelle was always smiling, always polite and respectful, yet Lupin never really knew what she was thinking, and he didn't know her any better than he had at the start of term. He hesitated for a moment over whether to intrude on her privacy or not, then decided that this might be an opportunity to get to know her a little better. He knew that Severus considered her a suspect in the string of pranks, although this was more guilt by association due to her uncles' murders and her friendship with Stewart than anything reflecting on her behavior, which was so far impeccable.

He walked forward and said, "Hello, Isabelle."

She looked up, startled, and said, "Oh, good afternoon, Professor. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"I didn't mean to sneak up on you," Lupin said with a smile. "I tend to walk quietly; it seems to be a werewolf trait." She gave him a polite, noncommittal smile, and Lupin added, "You really shouldn't be out here alone this far from the castle. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but with things the way they are now..."

Isabelle nodded and said, "I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted to be by myself for a little while and...think."

Lupin smiled. "I guess we had the same impulse, then. And I know it can be hard to find privacy in the dorms." He crouched down next to her, the wolf resting easily in what might have been an uncomfortable position for a human. "I'm sorry to intrude, but would you mind a little company?"

"Of course not," Isabelle said politely.

"Actually, in a way, I'm glad to have run into you out here," Lupin said. "We haven't really had a chance to talk. Your uncles were friends of mine..."

"Yes, you were all in the Order of the Phoenix. Maman--I mean, Mother told me."

"We can speak French if you like," Lupin said in that language, and Isabelle gave him another startled look. "My parents emigrated here from France before I was born," he explained, "and I grew up speaking French at home."

"Thank you," Isabelle replied, "but I should get used to speaking English now that I live in England."

"It's a big change, moving to a new country and a new school," Lupin said sympathetically. "It must be difficult, but you seem to have adapted very well."

"It wasn't really that hard," Isabelle said with a shrug. "Mother always wanted to come back to England someday, so we mostly spoke English at home, although of course I spoke French at Beauxbatons. She was overjoyed when the war finally ended, because it was always her dream that I be able to attend her old school."

"You must miss your friends at Beauxbatons, though," Lupin said.

"Yes, but I've made many new friends here," Isabelle replied. "Everyone in Hufflepuff has been very nice to me and tried hard to make me feel welcome."

"Loyalty to one's housemates is a Hufflepuff trait," Lupin said.

"Yes, that's what Mother said, too," Isabelle agreed. "I'm happy to be in Mother's House. Gabrielle is much more homesick than I am, and comforting her makes me miss home less, somehow."

"I'm glad to hear that," Lupin said. "But if you ever need someone to talk to, please feel free to stop by my office."

"Thank you," Isabelle said in a voice that was perfectly polite and respectful, yet managed to convey the impression that she was never going to take Lupin up on his offer. Lupin was disappointed, but he had encountered similar--and sometimes less polite--resistance when he had first tried to befriend the Slytherins. What puzzled Lupin a little was how cautious and guarded Isabelle was for a child who had not experienced the war firsthand. It was true that her uncles had been murdered by Death Eaters, but they had died before she was born. Also, Voldemort's reach had not extended as far as France, so she would have grown up in relative peace and safety. Of course, some of the French wizards and witches, such as Madame Maxime, had realized that Voldemort would eventually become a threat to them, too, if he was not stopped, but most of them had not even really believed that the Dark Lord had returned. Of course, Emilie had lived through the war, and had probably conveyed her fears to her daughter, but most people had a hard time truly believing in something they had never experienced themselves.

Isabelle stood up, and Lupin thought she was going to walk away, but she hesitated at the last moment and asked, "You said that you were friends with my uncles--can you tell me a little about what they were like?"

Lupin rose to his feet and walked alongside her as they slowly headed back to the castle. "Well, your Uncle Gideon was a Gryffindor, so I knew him a little better than Fabian, who was a Hufflepuff. Fabian was a typical Hufflepuff, serious and hardworking, steadfast and loyal. He would have given the last coin in his pocket and the clothes off his back to a friend in need. He was the oldest child, so perhaps that's why he was always so responsible. As for Gideon, he was impulsive and adventurous--perhaps a little too much so for his own good, like most Gryffindors. He tended to act on his impulses without stopping to think about them, like the time he was dating a girl in Ravenclaw and tried to sneak up to her room--by scaling the outside of the Tower, since he didn't have the password to enter the dormitory from inside the castle. He slipped and fell, but fortunately it was winter at the time, and the snow broke his fall, so he only suffered a broken leg. Professor McGonagall told him that she was sure he would have broken his skull as well, if it had not been so thick."

Isabelle actually giggled a little. "Mother said Uncle Gideon used to get into lots of mischief, but she never told me that story."

"Well, it happened before Emilie entered Hogwarts," Lupin said. "How is your mother doing, Isabelle? I didn't have much of a chance to speak to her at the Yule Ball."

"She's very happy to be back home, sir," Isabelle replied. "She's spending a lot of time getting caught up with some of her old friends."

"I'm glad to hear that," Lupin said. "And your father? How is he adjusting to life in England?"

"Papa worked at the French branch of Gringotts, and he was able to get a transfer here," Isabelle replied. "He says that as long as Mother is happy, he's happy, too."

"He must love her very much," Lupin said.

Isabelle smiled, with a little more warmth than she normally showed. "Yes, he adores Mother. Papa says he fell in love with her at first sight." By this time, they had reached the castle, and Isabelle said, "Well, thank you for walking me back, Professor. I promise I'll be more careful next time."

She headed off in the direction of the library, and Lupin headed to his quarters, lost in thought. Isabelle's guardedness bothered him, because it indicated that she might have something to hide. It could be merely the natural reserve of a student adjusting to a new school, but Lupin thought it was more than that. And if she was hiding something, was it a personal problem, or was she really involved with the pranks that had hurt Dylan and Theo? It was difficult to picture the quiet, well-behaved Hufflepuff girl casting hexes that could hurt, possibly even kill someone. She had never even expressed any suspicion or hostility towards the Slytherins--but was that suspicious in itself, considering her family history? Lupin sighed; distrust and paranoia were more Severus's forte. Lupin cared about all his students, and he hated regarding them as suspects. Even during the last months of war, knowing that some of the Slytherins had grown up being indoctrinated by their Death Eater parents, he had still steadfastly believed in them even when some of his fellow Order members expressed doubt, as if by believing in them, he could make them believe in themselves. And it seemed to have worked; none of the Slytherin children had gone over to the Death Eaters in the end. So why was keeping the peace proving to be harder than winning the war? And these mysterious pranksters--Lupin was torn as to what he should be doing about them. The teacher in him felt that he should try to win them over and make them see the error of their ways, but the wolf simply wanted the threat to its cubs gone. Severus would certainly have no qualms about expelling the pranksters at the very least if he could catch them, while Lupin was loathe to simply write off them off, as so many people would have written off Draco and the other Death Eaters' children as lost causes. On the other hand, it certainly wasn't fair to put the other students at risk. Of course, this was all a moot point right now, since they didn't know who the pranksters were--at least, not for sure, although Severus had a few suspects in mind.

Lupin's thoughts drifted back to the Prewett brothers, Gideon in particular. What he had told Isabelle was true: Gideon had been impulsive, nearly as reckless as the Marauders. He had been a kind boy, so he had never pulled any mean-spirited pranks as James and Sirius sometimes had, but he had been just as heedless of the consequences of his actions as they had been. Gideon had been more than willing to risk his life by joining the Order of the Phoenix, but Lupin didn't think that he had ever stopped to consider that he might be risking his family's safety as well, although he thought perhaps Fabian had, judging by the worried, brooding look that had often been on his face. Of course, someone had to accept the risks, or there would have been no one to fight the Death Eaters. Most of the Order members had been aware of those risks, and had taken what steps they could to protect their families, although those efforts had not always been successful--the Death Eaters had managed to slaughter Edward Bones's family and nearly the entire Potter clan. Lupin had talked things over with his parents before he joined the Order, and they had given him their blessing and told him to do what he must. But Gideon had never quite lost his youthful idealism, and had seemed convinced that the nobility of their cause would somehow protect him, despite the ample evidence to the contrary. That had worried Lupin, because he was afraid that it made Gideon take chances that a more cautious person would not, because he was convinced that good would always triumph in the end. Lupin had tried several times to disabuse Gideon of the notion that life was like a heroic ballad or tale--and in any case, many of those heroes died at the end of the story--but he had never been successful, and he often wondered if that had contributed to Gideon's death. Maybe Lupin was being unfair; Gideon and Fabian had been outnumbered five to two, tough odds for even the best of mages, and had fought bravely up until the very end.

But still, Lupin couldn't help but wonder if Gideon's recklessness had put the brothers in a dangerous situation. And for the first time, he wondered if the Prewett family--or the other Order members' families, for that matter--had ever resented their loved ones for putting them in danger. It wasn't really fair to make your relatives a target when they hadn't signed up for this fight, but on the other hand, it wasn't really fair to preserve their safety at the cost of innocent lives. How many more people would have died if the Order had not stepped up to combat the Death Eaters? Lost in thought, Lupin walked through the dungeon without paying attention to his surroundings...
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"Oh, I'm sorry, Draco!" Lupin exclaimed as he nearly collided with the Slytherin boy in the hallway. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's okay, Professor," Draco said. "Neither was I."

Lupin gave him a vague, distracted smile, and continued on his way, and Draco felt a little hurt, somehow. In the past, Lupin would have noticed that he was brooding, stopped to ask him what he was thinking so hard about, and perhaps invited him in for a cup of tea. When Draco was still a Death-Eater-in-waiting, Lupin had worked hard to win his trust and friendship. Maybe now that there was no danger of Draco becoming a Death Eater, there was no need for Lupin to befriend him. But as soon as that thought entered his head, Draco knew that it wasn't really fair. Lupin had continued to look after him after the war ended, and had invited him to visit during the summer; Draco knew that it was partly Lupin's doing that Dylan and Theodore had decided to remain friends with him. It was only natural that Lupin was a little distracted these days, along with Snape; their son had nearly been killed less than two weeks ago. It was stupid to feel hurt just because Lupin and Snape were concerned about someone besides him.

Except that Draco didn't have a father to worry about him. Not that he had ever been his father's main concern. He had thought differently once, but after his father had tried to use him as a shield during the final battle with the Order, it had become painfully clear that Lucius Malfoy's number one concern was himself. Draco rated a poor second at best, and probably not even that. Draco knew that his mother loved him, of course, but she was going through a hard enough time as it was, and he didn't want to burden her further by whining about his hurt feelings. It would make her feel guilty that she had killed Lucius--even though he deserved it, the bastard--and the fact that Draco was no longer Snape's favored student would probably only remind her about their loss in status. Draco was the Lord of the Malfoy estate now; it was his job to be the man of the family and protect his mother.

But it still bothered him that he wasn't really first in anyone's thoughts but his mother's. He was no longer Snape's favorite, but just another Slytherin. He still sort of retained the same circle of friends, but he was no longer their leader. In fact, it was more like they let him hang out with them, and he doubted that they would really miss him if he was gone. Crabbe and Goyle were best friends, as were Damien and Dylan, and Theo and Blaise. For the first time, it dawned on Draco that he didn't really have anyone he could call a best friend. He had never minded the lack before, but now it made him feel lonely. Well, there was Serafina...but he wasn't sure if she counted as a "best friend," since he still wasn't sure how she felt about him. He had confided in her, even confessed his love for her (although under the influence of the spiked punch), but she mostly listened and rarely said much in return. Hell, she probably liked the damn cat better than she liked him!

{I can't believe I'm jealous of a stupid cat!} Draco thought to himself in disgust.
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The other Slytherins noticed that Draco seemed rather moody and out of sorts that evening. Pansy still felt a little sorry for him, because of the way that the other pureblood families, including hers, had turned their backs on the Malfoys after the war, so she tried to distract him with a little gossip. "Do you know what I've heard?" she asked in a conspiratorial tone.

"No, what?" Draco asked without much enthusiasm.

"That Master Bleddri--I mean, Master Diggory--has a girlfriend!"

The other Slytherin girls immediately clustered around Pansy, squealing, "Really? Who is it? Someone from the school?"

Draco snorted. "Oh please! Most of the female teachers are at least twice his age! Can you really picture him dating, say, McGonagall?"

"Well, Professor Blackmore's young and pretty, but she's married," Yvonne said.

"Not to mention scary," Damien added.

"And she only looks young," Draco interjected. "She taught our parents, remember?"

"Could it be Professor Sinistra?" Millicent mused out loud. "Come on, Pansy, tell us who it is!"

Pansy smiled, pleased to be the center of attention. She also noticed that her tactic seemed to have worked and distracted Draco from whatever had been bothering him. "Well, I don't really know who it is," she said, "but I don't think it's a teacher. My mother was having lunch at the Leaky Cauldron the other day, and she heard that Master Diggory always comes there after his court sessions and rents a private room. And that a mysterious lady always meets him there."

"Maybe it's just his lawyer," Dylan suggested practically. "It would be natural for them to discuss the case over lunch, and they probably wouldn't want everyone listening in on their conversation. By any chance, is this mystery lady a pretty woman with red hair?"

"No one knows!" Pansy said, taking great satisfaction in refuting Dylan's suggestion. How boring and unromantic it would be if Master Diggory were merely having a business lunch! "The lady always hides her face and wears a hooded black cloak. His lawyer wouldn't need to disguise herself, now would she? Nor would she have to sneak up to his room; she would just come in openly with him. From what my mother heard, Master Diggory always comes alone, and the lady meets him later."

"Your mother hears a lot of gossip," Aric said sarcastically.

"Yes, she does," Pansy said proudly.

"That wasn't really a compliment," Aric muttered under his breath.

"Do you think Master Diggory is seeing a married woman?" Yvonne asked eagerly. "Why else would she have to disguise herself?"

"Hmm, that's true," Damien mused. "He's single, so there's no reason why he couldn't openly date a single woman."

"Maybe it's someone who doesn't want to be seen in public with a werewolf," Millicent said. "Say, a pureblood woman whose family might object."

"I don't think Bleddri's had much chance to meet many pureblood women," Draco said skeptically.

"Diggory," Brad corrected. "He's changed his name, remember?"

"Maybe Master Diggory and his hypothetical girlfriend just don't want people gossiping about them," Theodore said pointedly.

"Too late!" Pansy said cheerfully, and the other Slytherins laughed.

"Well, if he's trying to hide his affair, he's doing a piss-poor job of it," Damien said with a grin. "I would've expected him to be a bit better at sneaking around, from the rumors I've heard about his shady past."

"I still think it must be a pureblood," Millicent insisted.

"What pureblood woman would date a werewolf?" Yvonne asked, and the Slytherins all looked at each other. "Well...okay, Professor Snape is a pureblood, and he's living with Professor Lupin," Yvonne admitted. "But he's not a woman."

"Same principle, though," Dylan said. "Of course, the Professor doesn't really care what anyone else thinks of him, which is sort of rare for a pureblood..."

"Hey, I heard that your mum danced with Master Diggory at the Yule Ball!" Patrick said. "Maybe she's his mysterious girlfriend!" Everyone in the common room laughed uproariously at the idea of snooty Narcissa Malfoy dating a werewolf.

"Watch your mouth, brat!" Draco snapped. "That's my mother you're talking about!" But even he couldn't help but laugh a little at that outrageous suggestion. Neither he nor any of the other Slytherins stopped to think that just a year ago, they would have found the idea of Snape dating Lupin just as preposterous.

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