Aftermaths, Part 106
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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Frank and Alice Longbottom returned to work at the Ministry in early February.
After finally being restored to sanity after the deaths of Rodolphus and
Bellatrix Lestrange, they had spent several months recuperating and getting
up-to-date on everything that had happened while they were incapacitated, not to
mention taking some time to get to know their son, who was a virtual stranger to
them. But now that Neville was at school, they no longer wanted to sit around
the house doing nothing but getting caught up on past history and mourning the
years they had missed seeing their son grow up. The Healers at St. Mungo's
cautiously pronounced them fit to return to duty, but suggested that they be
kept on office duty until they got "back on their feet again". The Longbottoms
did not object, as even doing paperwork was preferable to brooding at home, and
gladly returned to work.
Their colleagues greeted them warmly, but the ones who had known them during the
first war were a little shocked by how frail they looked, and thought to
themselves that perhaps the Healers were not being overcautious, after all. They
were in their early forties, but their hair had gone almost completely gray, and
they looked worn and haggard. But color and animation gradually filled the
Longbottoms' faces as they talked with the other Aurors about their current
cases, and their old friends exchanged quick glances of relief; work was
probably the best medicine for whatever ailed them.
"Things are fairly quiet right now," Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "Rabastan
Lestrange is still at large, of course--" The Longbottoms' faces paled, and he
hastily added, "But he seems to be lying low, and is too busy hiding to cause
any trouble at the moment." Kingsley motioned to a large stack of paper on his
desk. "I could really use some help sorting through the rumors and tips we've
received as to where he might be, but if it brings back bad memories..."
"No one wants to see Lestrange caught more than we do," Frank said firmly.
"We'll be happy to do anything we can to help." Alice nodded in agreement.
Kingsley handed them the stack of paper. "I'm afraid that most, if not all of
these, are probably nonsense. We haven't had one firm lead yet so far."
"We'll sort through them," Alice said, "and see if we can find anything that
looks promising enough to follow up on."
"You can't really say it's quiet, now can you, Shacklebolt?" Williamson said
sharply. "Or is a Death Eater sighting at Hogwarts no big deal to you?"
"That's funny," Kingsley retorted. "As I recall, few years back, when a real
Dark Mark was conjured at the Quidditch World Cup, you and the rest of the
Fudge's cronies swore up and down that Voldemort could not possibly have
returned. Now some child pulls a nasty prank and suddenly you're seeing Death
Eaters behind every corner."
Williamson's face turned red with anger, but before he could respond, Dawlish
said in a quiet but cold voice, "Perhaps now it is you who refuses to see the
truth, Kingsley. Maybe it was merely a prank, maybe not, but would it not be
wise to at least consider the possibility that this might be a serious threat?"
He turned to glance at the Longbottoms. "Especially since the culprit tried to
implicate Frank's and Alice's son?"
"We are looking into it," Tonks assured the Longbottoms. "In fact, we're going
to meet with a friend of Lukas Bleddri--er, I mean, Diggory--who might be able
to help us track down the tape recorder that was used in the prank." She gave
Dawlish, Williamson, and Kingsley stern looks. "Let's not forget that we're all
on the same side and that we're all supposed to be working together. And let's
not forget to keep an open mind. The false Dark Mark could have been cast by a
Death Eater sympathizer, but it could also have been cast by someone who wants
to make the Slytherins look bad, perhaps someone who lost a loved one in the war
and wants to cause trouble for the Death Eaters' children in revenge."
"Let me take a wild guess," Williamson said sarcastically. "Was that Professor
Snape's theory?"
"It is, and I think it's valid," Tonks said in a level voice. "I also think it's
possible that the culprit might be trying to harm Severus personally, through
his students in general and his sons in particular."
"I still think it would do more good to search the students' rooms--the
Slytherin students in particular--than to try and track down the Muggle device,"
Dawlish said impatiently.
Tonks glared at him. "You already searched the homes of the Death Eaters quite
thoroughly during the summer and confiscated a few Dark Magic books and
artifacts, but found nothing to implicate their children. Actually, I wouldn't
mind searching ALL the dorms, but you know we can't do so without a warrant.
Besides, I think the culprit is smart enough not to keep any evidence lying
around in their room--that's why they used someone else's wand to conjure up the
false Mark." She smiled at Frank and Alice. "Don't worry, we'll get to the
bottom of this eventually--er, no pun intended."
She and Kingsley left, and Dawlish said to the Longbottoms, "Tonks means well,
but I think her judgment might be a little clouded by her friendship with Snape
and Lupin. And of course her cousin Sirius Black is Lupin's best friend, not to
mention Narcissa Malfoy's cousin."
Frank and Alice frowned, looking uncertain and a little confused. "Sirius had
cut off all ties to his family back in the old days," Alice said.
"He's reconciled with them," Dawlish explained. "Believed he could help Narcissa
and her son reform, I think. A noble goal, but--" He shrugged. "Call me a cynic,
but I'm not so sure that people like that can really change. I think his
marriage to Branwen Blackmore might have influenced him; the Blackmores always
had strong ties to the old Slytherin families."
"I never doubted Branwen's loyalty, despite her strange ways and her family's
reputation," Frank said. "She risked her life many times during the war."
"But what a shock," Alice said, "to find her returned from what we thought was
certain death, looking as if she hadn't aged a day!" She smiled, a sad and
ironic smile. "While we awoke to find ourselves looking so old and our baby boy
nearly a man, like those fairy tales where someone falls into an enchanted sleep
and wakes up a hundred years later to find that everything around them has
changed."
"Well, at least it was only fifteen years and not a century," Frank said
comfortingly. "Most of our family and friends are still alive, and we still have
time to get to know our son."
"Yes," Alice agreed softly, "we can be grateful for that. I thank Merlin every
day that Neville grew up safe and healthy. My last conscious thought was that
the Lestranges might find and hurt our baby."
"Your son has grown up into a fine young man," Dawlish said politely, and Alice
smiled.
"We're very proud of Neville, of course," Frank said. "But this recent incident
at Hogwarts worries me; I always thought the school was a safe place."
"How can it be, with Death Eaters' children among the students, and the Head of
Slytherin a former Death Eater himself?" Williamson asked.
"It was a shock," Frank said, frowning, "to find out that Snape was actually a
double-agent. I had always assumed he was a true Death Eater, but Albus trusts
him, and I'd trust Albus with my life."
"I have nothing but respect for Albus Dumbledore," Dawlish said, "but no one is
infallible. Even Dumbledore can make mistakes: he thought that Black was a
traitor, same as the rest of us, and a Death Eater posing as Mad-Eye Moody
taught at Hogwarts undetected for nearly a year."
"Neville says that Snape is a harsh teacher, but that he respects him and has
learned a great deal from him," Alice said uncertainly. "Do you truly believe
that Snape's loyalty is suspect?"
"I think it is wise to be cautious," Dawlish said. "Someone who has changed
sides once can easily do so again. And he seems to be looking after the children
of his former comrades very closely; he has even adopted two of them. Don't you
find that a little strange, that he would be so concerned about the children of
his enemies, or that they would allow themselves to be adopted by the man who
betrayed their fathers?"
The Longbottoms looked concerned, but remained silent, and Dawlish decided not
to press the point. He had planted a seed of doubt in them, and that was enough
for now. He didn't want to alienate them by pushing too hard.
Later, the four Aurors had lunch in the cafeteria. They had just sat down to
eat, when a glum-looking Amos Diggory walked by, carrying a tray. "Amos!"
Dawlish called, waving at him. "Care to sit with us?"
Amos came over to their table and pulled up a chair. "Hello, Amos," Alice said,
smiling at him pleasantly. They had been friendly in the old days, though not
especially close.
Amos smiled wanly in return. "Hello, Alice, Frank," he said. "It's good to see
you back at work."
"Thanks, Amos, it's good to be back," Frank replied. "How are Helen and Ced--"
He cut himself off, looking horrified. He had nearly forgotten that the Diggorys'
son had been killed three years ago. He had been informed of it, but it still
didn't seem real to him. The years in St. Mungo's were like a blurry dream, and
in his mind, Cedric was still a toddler, happy and healthy. He often had to stop
and consciously remind himself that fifteen years had passed since the time he
last remembered. "Oh God, Amos, I'm so sorry!"
"It's all right, Frank," Amos said, looking sad but sympathetic. "I know it must
be difficult for you. Helen and I...we miss Cedric, of course, but we've come to
terms with his death. Our nephew, Tristan, has been a great comfort to us, but
now..." He sighed heavily.
Frank and Alice looked uncomfortable. They had read in the Daily Prophet that
Amos was being sued by his late brother's son, but were not sure how to react or
whose side to take. It was yet another shock, to discover that Cyril Diggory was
not only still alive, but that he was a werewolf.
Dawlish and Williamson had no such doubts, though; their sympathies lay firmly
with Amos. He was a colleague at the Ministry and the head of a respected
pureblood family. Also, the fact that Lukas Bleddri/Cyril Diggory was not only a
werewolf but a friend of Severus Snape did nothing to endear him to them. "It's
shameful, that the werewolf's lawsuit even went to trial in the first place!"
Dawlish declared. "The court should have dismissed it out of hand!"
"Absolutely!" Williamson agreed. "But I'm sure that you'll win the trial, Amos.
There's no way they'll ever hand the title over to that werewolf!"
Frank and Alice exchanged another uneasy look. In the past, they had regarded
werewolves as creatures to be feared or pitied (or perhaps both), depending on
the circumstances, but they had not given much thought to the matter, since they
had not known any werewolves personally--or so they had thought. Yet it seemed
that Remus Lupin had been a werewolf all along, and he was one of their former
comrades, someone they liked and respected. And even stranger was the fact that
Remus and Snape were lovers, and had apparently scandalized the wizarding world
by making their relationship public!
"Is there no other way to resolve this, Amos, no compromise that can be
reached?" Alice asked gently. "In the past, a werewolf was a danger to himself
and the people around him, but Albus says that is no longer the case, due to the
new Wolfsbane Potion..."
"I appreciate your kind thoughts, Alice," Amos said, a stubborn, implacable look
on his face, "but there can be no compromise between myself and my...nephew." He
grimaced as he said the word, as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "He is
determined to revenge himself upon me; he has gotten it into his head that I am
somehow responsible for his father's death. Cynric and my parents had a
very...adversarial relationship, shall we say, and Cyril grew up with a rather
distorted image of our family. His father taught him to regard me and my parents
as the enemy, I'm afraid."
"And the Wolfsbane Potion does not make werewolves safe, precisely," Dawlish
added. "It allows the werewolf to remain sane during the full moon, but it does
not halt the transformation or render the werewolf's bite harmless. The werewolf
is not compelled to bite, that is true, but could still bite and infect a victim
if he or she chose to do so."
"But surely no sane person would want to deliberately infect someone!" Frank
exclaimed.
"One could just as easily say that no sane person would want to practice the
Dark Arts and murder people," Dawlish pointed out. "And yet You-Know-Who had no
trouble recruiting Death Eaters."
"Werewolves are Dark Creatures," Williamson declared. "It's in their nature to
kill. I don't trust them, equal rights bill or not."
"But they helped fight the Death Eaters, didn't they?" Alice asked.
"That is true," Dawlish reluctantly agreed. "But I think that they are still
dangerous. People capture and train lions and tigers to perform in zoos and
circuses, for example, but they are still wild animals and can never truly be
tamed. Even if they're born in captivity, there is always the danger that they
will turn on their trainer without warning. I think we need to be cautious of
the werewolves in the same way. Bleddri's pack did something astonishing that I
had never seen before--they were able to provoke a transformation when the moon
was not full. And--I was glad that they were fighting on our side, because it
made me shudder to watch them. I saw one of them tear out a man's throat with a
single bite; I saw several of them band together to fell a giant, as a normal
pack of wolves might bring down a deer. Imagine what would have happened if they
had lost control of themselves and turned on their allies! Imagine the threat
they could pose if they could change at will and consciously direct their
attacks! Just a single rogue werewolf could do incredible harm, and a whole pack
of them--I don't even want to think about it!"
"But surely it's not fair to condemn them just because they have the potential
to become a danger," Alice objected. "Any human wizard is potentially a danger,
after all, if they choose to turn to the Dark Arts and use their magic for ill."
"That is true," Dawlish said placatingly. "I'm not saying that they should all
be imprisoned or anything like that." Amos said nothing, but the expression on
his face made it plain that it would be perfectly fine with him if all
werewolves were locked up. "However," Dawlish continued, "I think it unwise to
dismantle the Werewolf Registry. At the very least, we ought to keep track of
them to make sure they're taking their potion and not posing a threat to
anyone."
"I don't know what to think," Frank sighed. "So much has changed; it's a lot to
take in all at once."
Dawlish changed the subject, much to the Longbottoms' relief, and they talked of
pleasant, trivial matters for the rest of their lunch hour. But the doubts that
Dawlish, Williamson, and Amos had raised still remained. When Frank and Alice
returned home, they went through some of Neville's letters, scrutinizing them
more carefully for mentions of his teachers. He had nothing but praise for
Lupin, who was "the best teacher in the school" as far as Neville was concerned;
he said that Lupin's classes were always interesting and fun. He was less
enthusiastic about Snape, but they detected no hint of fear or hostility in
Neville's letters: "Snape is pretty hard on the Gryffindors, but I think he
likes Hermione--he actually gave her ten points in class today, and Snape never
gives points to the Gryffindors! Of course, she is dating his foster son, and
Hermione and Dylan are his top Potions students...We got word that Professor
Snape's father died today. I never liked Snape much, to be honest, but I felt
sorry for him; he turned white and looked like he was going to faint. Hermione
says that Snape was estranged from his family for a long time. I wonder if he
regrets that now? I hope he got to make up with his dad before he died...Today
Snape said, 'You seem to have brewed your potion adequately today,
Longbottom'--that's high praise, coming from Snape, at least for me! I'm a
little worried about my Potions N.E.W.T., but I think I'll do okay. I haven't
made any mistakes in Potions class since the start of term, when I almost messed
up the Fire Shield Potion." As for the Physical Defense instructor, Neville's
letters said, "Master Bleddri is a tough teacher, but at least he's fair. He
didn't go to Hogwarts, so he doesn't play favorites with the Houses like some of
the other teachers do. I'm not really that good at the physical combat--not like
Harry is, anyway--but as long as you work hard and try your best, he doesn't
scold you. But I like his Interspecies Relations class much better. We're
learning lots of interesting things about werewolves, and about other types of
non-humans, too."
"Well, at least Neville doesn't seem to be afraid of either Snape or Cyril
Diggory," Alice said. "Although he might be holding back, not wanting to worry
us. He didn't tell us about the threatening note that was sent to Harry Potter,
after all. We only learned about it from the other parents at the Quidditch
match."
"Albus swears that they're both trustworthy," Frank said. "I don't want to
question his judgment, but..."
"Perhaps we could go to the school and have a friendly chat with Remus," Alice
suggested. "Just to catch up on old times and discuss Neville's progress. And
perhaps get some insight into Snape and Diggory."
"He's likely to be biased, from what Dawlish said," Frank replied.
"Yes, well, Richard seems to be a bit biased himself," Alice said dryly.
"Perhaps by hearing from both sides, we might be able to get a more realistic
picture and draw our own conclusions."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
So they made an appointment to see Professor Lupin in his office the following
afternoon. "Frank, Alice, how good to see you!" Lupin said warmly.
"It's good to see you too, Remus," the Longbottoms replied. Lupin shook Frank's
hand and gave Alice a kiss on the cheek, then motioned for them to take a seat.
Lupin poured tea for everyone and set out a plate of cookies. "So what can I do
for you today?" he asked cheerfully.
"We just wanted to check up on Neville," Alice said casually. "I suppose we're
being a little overprotective, but...well..."
"No one could blame you for that, after being parted from your son for so many
years," Lupin said kindly. "If I were separated from Theo and Dylan..." His
voice trailed off, and he turned a little pale. Then he quickly shook his head
and smiled again. "But we were talking about Neville," Lupin said briskly. "I
assure you that he's doing extremely well in my class. I don't have any doubt
that he'll pass his Defense Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T. with flying colors. I
believe he's doing fine in his other classes as well, although you'd have to ask
Professor McGonagall for more details."
"And there have been no other...ah...incidents since the Quidditch match?" Frank
asked.
"No," Lupin replied in a more serious voice. "I don't blame you for being
worried--many of the other parents have already expressed their concerns in much
more vocal terms. But I promise we're doing everything that we can to protect
the students. We've set a curfew so that the students won't be wandering around
after hours, and the teachers are taking turns patrolling the halls in the
evening."
"But you still haven't caught the person who cast the Dark Mark at the match,"
Frank said.
Lupin sighed wearily. "No, we haven't, and I am just as concerned about it as
you are. I have two sons attending Hogwarts myself now, and both of them were
injured by these vicious pranks. There has been a great deal of hostility
directed towards Slytherin by certain members of the other Houses, and I'm
almost sure that's the motivation behind these pranks. I remember how nasty the
House rivalry could get at times when I was a student, and things have been
exacerbated by the war. I thought things would get better after the war ended,
and they have, a little, but I suppose that there are still many unhealed
wounds."
"Your sons?" Alice said, sounding a little surprised.
"Well, technically they're my foster sons, but I think of them as my own," Lupin
said, smiling proudly. He pulled a slim folder out of one of the drawers in his
desk; it contained photos clipped from the school paper, of two boys playing
Quidditch, and a picture of one of the boys posing with a girl at the Yule Ball.
"This is Dylan," Lupin said, pointing at the latter picture; the boy was
stunningly handsome and bore a strong resemblance to Evan Rosier. He pointed at
another picture, this one of a lanky, dark-haired boy on a broomstick holding a
Quaffle. "And this is Theo." Lupin looked thoughtful and said, more to himself
than to his companions, "Hmm, we ought to take an official family photo, maybe I
should talk to Colin about that..."
"Dylan Rosier and Theodore Nott," Frank said in a carefully expressionless
voice. He had fought with their fathers on occasion, and had seen the victims
they had murdered.
"Theodore Snape now," Lupin said pleasantly. "Severus legally adopted Theo as
his heir."
"Yes, Neville mentioned that in his letters," Alice murmured.
"The boys have done nothing wrong," Lupin said firmly, his eyes meeting the
Longbottoms' without flinching. "In fact, they helped us fight the Death
Eaters."
"I am surprised that they would reject their parents' teachings," Frank said.
"I am not," Lupin replied in an even voice. "They both endured horrors you
cannot imagine. They saw the cruelty of Voldemort and the Death Eaters
firsthand."
"My imagination is very good," Frank said, a little bitterly. "We saw a great
many horrors during the war, as you know, Remus."
"But not at age eight, or fifteen, or sixteen," Lupin said quietly. "Theodore
saw his uncle murdered before his eyes by his father. Dylan had the Dark Mark
forcibly branded onto his arm. Dylan saw his mother murdered before his eyes,
watched her sacrifice herself to save his life. Theodore saw his father try to
hand him over to the Dark Lord as a sacrifice. Can any of the horrors you have
seen truly match these?" The Longbottoms looked away, unable to meet his gaze.
"Do you honestly think that I would have taken them into my home and my heart if
they were Death Eaters?" Lupin asked in a passionate voice.
"No, Remus, of course not," Alice finally replied after a long silence.
In a gentler voice, Lupin said, "Much has happened since you...er...fell ill."
"Call it what it is, Remus," Frank said bluntly. "Since we went mad, you mean."
"A lot has changed since then," Lupin said. "The children grew up different from
their fathers, I think because of what they witnessed living among the Death
Eaters--not just the cruelty, but the fear. The Death Eaters were all terrified
of their own Master. Voldemort's madness increased and his patience lessened
after his resurrection. He would torture his servants when displeased him or
failed to carry out a task he had assigned them."
Frank could not help but feel a twinge of satisfaction, having been on the
receiving end of the Death Eaters' tortures. "Am I supposed to feel sorry for
them?"
"No," Lupin replied, "but are you really surprised to learn now that the Death
Eaters' children were not so eager to share their parents' fate?"
"I suppose not," Frank conceded.
Lupin gave his old comrades a shrewd look. "If you really wanted to check on
Neville's progress, you would have spoken to Albus or Minerva. I think that
certain of your colleagues have told you unsavory rumors about my lover and my
sons, and you want to reassure yourself that they are not true."
Frank and Alice both blushed. "Well, things have indeed changed over the years,
Remus," Alice said with a smile. "You are certainly much more direct than you
used to be!"
Lupin laughed good-naturedly. "I wasted too many years being afraid to speak up,
hiding from myself and from the world. I don't intend to waste any more time; it
is much too precious to me."
Just then, the door opened and Snape walked in unannounced. "Lupin, I--" Snape
started to say, then looked startled when he saw the Longbottoms. "Oh, I didn't
know that you had company."
"Severus, you remember Frank and Alice Longbottom, don't you?" Lupin said
pleasantly. "Neville's parents. Frank, Alice, this is of course Severus Snape,
the Potions Master at Hogwarts and--" A mischievous gleam twinkled in his eyes.
"--my lover."
Snape flushed a little and scowled at Lupin. "Why don't you just take an ad out
in the Daily Prophet while you're at it?" he asked sourly, and Lupin smiled
sweetly at him in response. Snape turned his gaze to the Longbottoms, a
combination of concern and suspicion on his face. "Is there some sort of problem
regarding Mr. Longbottom that I don't know about?"
"They just wanted to check on how Neville was doing," Lupin said innocently,
which only made Snape look more suspicious.
"Well, they may rest assured that--somewhat to my surprise--Mr. Longbottom has
managed not to melt any cauldrons, cause any explosions, or otherwise cause harm
to himself or his classmates of late," Snape said caustically.
"Yes, I was just telling them that Neville was doing very well in his classes,"
Lupin said cheerfully.
"It's possible that he might actually pass his Potions N.E.W.T.," Snape said
grudgingly, "although he will never be a Potions Master." He nodded curtly at
the Longbottoms, said, "I'll talk to you later, Lupin," and left the room,
closing the door behind him.
Lupin smiled apologetically. "Well, I'm afraid some things don't change--like
Severus's temper. But believe it or not, that was a compliment, if a rather
backhanded one. Severus is the only person I know who can make a compliment
sound like an insult; he's rather fond of his sinister image, you see, and he
doesn't want the students to think he's going soft. But I assure you, he would
never have accepted Neville into his Advanced class if he didn't think that
Neville was competent. It's true that Neville...er...had some difficulties when
he first started taking Potions, but he's made a great deal of progress since
then. I think Severus is a little impressed by how hard Neville has worked to
improve, even though he would never admit it."
"I see," Alice said dubiously. Snape seemed as unpleasant as she had remembered,
and even if what Lupin had just said was true, she still did not understand what
on earth he could possibly see in Snape as a lover.
As if reading her mind, Lupin said quietly, "You must remember, Severus has
spent the better part of two decades being a spy, at great risk to his own life.
He does not readily reveal his true emotions to people he isn't close to. But he
cares about his students very much, and he worked hard to protect them--all of
them, even the Gryffindors." Lupin smiled. "And yes, Severus does still hold a
grudge against his rival House, but that did not stop him from doing his duty. I
hope you can believe me when I tell you that Severus is a man of honor."
"You and Albus certainly seem to think very highly of him," Frank said, a little
evasively. It wasn't that he doubted Lupin, but it was a bit difficult to think
of Snape as one of the "good guys" when they had believed him to be a Death
Eater for so long. Everything about Snape had practically screamed "Death
Eater": his interest in the Dark Arts, his sullen expression and furtive ways,
his family's reputation, his friendship with Lucius Malfoy, even the fact that
he wore nothing but black, as if he were deliberately cultivating a sinister
image.
If Lupin noticed that Frank had not actually agreed with him, he gave no sign of
it. "I'm glad I was able to set your mind at ease, then," Lupin said pleasantly.
"Would you like to see Neville before you go back home?"
"Of course we'd love to see him," Alice said, "but he might be a little
embarrassed if he thought we were checking up on him."
"Oh, I don't really think he'd mind, but why don't we just say that you came to
consult with me on Auror business?" Lupin suggested casually. "And you thought
you would say hello to him, since you were already here. Then he doesnÕt have to
feel that youÕre being overprotective."
The Longbottoms nodded, feeling a little surprised at how easily Lupin came up
with that little white lie. He had never been very glib or good at prevaricating
when they had known him in the old days. Alice wondered if it was something he
had picked up from his Slytherin lover, then reminded herself that to be fair,
the Gryffindors were not always entirely truthful either. James and Sirius had
certainly stretched the truth on more than one occasion when they were boys, and
it had sometimes been necessary for the Aurors and Order members to lie in order
to prevent the enemy from discovering what they were up to.
"I believe Neville went to the library to study after class," Lupin said. "Or I
could send for him, if you like."
"No, that's all right, Remus," Frank said. "It might be nice to take a look
around the school, for old time's sake."