Aftermaths, Part 126

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.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

A mother and daughter were walking down the street in Diagon Alley. The daughter was about seven years old, with curly golden hair, and was playing with a glowing red marble.

"Put that away before you lose it, Sally," the mother scolded. "I don't know what your father was thinking, buying you such an expensive toy."

"But Mummy," Sally said, "it's not a toy; it's a Remembrall. It's turned red; I wonder what I've forgotten."

"Probably that you were supposed to clean your room this morning," her mother said dryly.

"Oops," Sally giggled. "I'll do it when we get home, promise."

"See that you do, young lady," the mother said in a stern tone of voice, but she smiled at her daughter fondly. "Or there will be no more trips to Fortescue's for you."

"Yes, Mummy," Sally said meekly.

"Mrs. Peasegood!" a woman called as they passed by Flourish and Blott's.

"Why, hello, Mrs. Quirke!" Mrs. Peasegood said. "How is your family?"

"Oh, very well, thank you. Orla is studying hard at Hogwarts. It won't be long before little Sally is there as well."

"A few more years yet," Mrs. Peasegood laughed. "I hear that your husband got a promotion recently..."

Sally grew bored while her mother chatted with Mrs. Quirke, and she played with the Remembrall, tossing it from one hand to the other. It slipped through her fingers and rolled out into the middle of the street, and Sally darted after it, unnoticed by her mother.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lukas and Ash were heading to the cafe when they heard screams and loud growls coming from behind them. They turned to see a Graphorn barreling down the street as screaming wizards and witches fled out of its path. It was bearing down on a little girl crouched in the middle of the road picking up a red marble.

"SALLY!" a woman on the sidewalk screamed, but she seemed frozen with shock and fear.

The two werewolves had only a few seconds to react before the Graphorn would trample the little girl; there was no time to cast a spell. "Grab the kid!" Lukas shouted, launching himself at the Graphorn.

Ash dropped the bag of video games and ran into the street, sweeping the girl up into his arms without breaking his stride. Meanwhile, the Graphorn charged at Lukas, raking its horns across his chest, ripping through his robes and his flesh, tossing his body up in the air as blood sprayed from his wounds. The crowd of bystanders shrieked in horror.

But it was a wolf that hit the ground, not a man--a wolf with blond fur and two bloody gashes across its chest and belly. The wolf landed on its feet, running, and jumped up onto the Graphorn's back.

The wolf bit and clawed at the Graphorn frantically, but didn't seem to be harming the creature in the slightest. Ash vaguely recalled reading somewhere that Graphorns had a hide tougher than a dragon's. Lukas had tried to educate the young werewolves in his pack as best he could, since they were not allowed to attend school. He had even bought them tattered, secondhand books when he could manage to scrape together a little extra money. Ash had wanted to learn to cast spells, of course, but he hadn't seen any point in learning obscure bits of knowledge about exotic creatures in foreign lands that he would never see. But now he wished that he had read that book more carefully, or at least the chapter about Graphorns.

The girl, belatedly realizing her danger, was clinging to Ash and crying hysterically while her mother tried to pry her out of his arms, which was making it difficult for him to reach his wand. "Don't just stand there, you stupid gits!" he shouted at the crowd. "Stun it, Stupefy it, use an Unforgivable Curse for all I care, but do something!"

But the crowd was running around in a panic, most of them fleeing into the relative safety of the nearby shops. Others shouted, "Somebody call the Ministry! Call the Aurors!"

"No, that would be the Control of Magical Creatures department!" someone else shouted.

The Graphorn kicked and bucked, and managed to dislodge the wolf from its back. It charged at the wolf, who just barely managed to evade it. Ash swore and cursed the crowd of bystanders as a pack of useless cowards. Even if they could manage to agree on who to call for help, his pack leader would probably be dead by the time help got here. Werewolves healed wounds quickly, but if the Graphorn managed to spear a horn through Lukas's heart, his magical healing powers wouldn't help him.

Ash finally managed to disentangle himself from the girl, and shoved her into her mother's arms. He pulled out his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!" but the spell bounced off the Graphorn without any visible effect. Damn it, the beast's hide must be spell-proof, too! What the hell was he going to do?

The Graphorn tried to gore Lukas; it missed, but its horns still raked across the wolf's back, opening up another set of gashes.

Desperately, Ash kept hurling spells at the Graphorn, but they all bounced off the animal's thick skin harmlessly, as the first spell had done. Then the Apothecary came running down the street, red-faced and gasping for breath. The old wizard pointed his wand at the Graphorn, and black ropes burst out of the wand, wrapping themselves around the animal's legs.

The beast roared and stumbled, momentarily immobilized, but Ash didn't think that the spell was going to hold it for very long. Lukas leapt up and raked his claws across the Graphorn's face, and it bellowed in pain, shaking its head as droplets of blood flew from its injured eye.

Of course; the beast did have at least one vulnerability! Ash grabbed a knife from his pocket and threw it with deadly accuracy; it buried itself up to the hilt in the Graphorn's wounded eye. It must have gone through the eye and up into the brain, because the beast let out a loud groan, then suddenly keeled over, twitched a few times, and then lay still.

The wolf crawled away, whining, and transformed back into a man as Ash ran forward, throwing his arms around his pack leader. "Lukas!" he shouted. "Lukas, are you all right?!"

His pack leader smiled at him weakly. "I'll live. You did good, Ash."

"You idiot," Ash growled, tears stinging his eyes. "You could've been killed, and then what would we do without you?"

A flashbulb went off in their faces, and the two werewolves looked up to see Rita and Bozo standing over them. "You got pictures of everything, didn't you?" Rita demanded of the photographer.

"Yep," Bozo said with a satisfied smile, patting his camera gently. "I got the whole thing on film. The rampaging Graphorn, the little girl in danger, the dramatic rescue--everything."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Ouch, that stings!" Lukas complained as Takeshi cleaned his wounds at the clinic.

"Hold still," Takeshi said crossly. "You know, a werewolf is not indestructible. Are you insane, taking on a Graphorn single-handedly?"

"It wasn't single-handedly; Ash was there," Lukas protested. "Besides, was I supposed to just let that kid get trampled?"

"You know," Takeshi said, "at first I thought you would have been a Slytherin if you'd gone to Hogwarts, but now I'm not so sure. You seem to have that Gryffindor noble hero only-I-can-save-the-world complex."

"Ouch! Is healing salve supposed to sting like that? Besides, you don't really need to do that. I'm a werewolf; I'll heal on my own eventually."

"I'm not using healing salve," the mediwizard replied. "I'm using a strong antiseptic to clean out the wounds first. Did you know that Graphorn horns contain a mild toxin? That's part of what makes them so valuable as a potion ingredient. Even a werewolf's wounds won't heal properly if they've been poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Lukas asked in dismay.

"Fortunately, werewolves have a high tolerance for poison, and the toxin in the horns isn't really that strong. Most people don't die from it, but then again, most victims of a Graphorn attack usually bleed to death before the poison has a chance to work. So sit still and let me clean out your wounds."

Lukas smiled at hearing the normally gentle and good-natured mediwizard speaking in such a stern and no-nonsense tone of voice. He meekly sat still while Takeshi cleaned his wounds, then heard shouting and pounding from the front of the clinic. "What's going on out there?" he asked.

"I told Ash to lock the door and keep everyone out until I was done treating your wounds," Takeshi replied.

Ash strolled into the examining room, looking bemused. "That reporter wants an interview with us, there are several Ministry officials who want to question us about the incident, and the mother of the child wants to thank us."

"Don't talk to the Ministry without your lawyer present," Takeshi said grimly. "I'll call Ms. De Lacy and ask her to come here."

"We saved that kid!" Ash said indignantly. "You think they'll try to blame the attack on us somehow?"

"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Takeshi replied. "Don't forget who works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"Dear old Uncle Amos," Lukas said bitterly.

"Well, your friends Tonks and Shacklebolt are two of the Ministry people out there," Ash said. "So hopefully they'll stand up for us. And I'm not sure--it was kind of confusing with everyone shouting at once--but another Ministry official seemed to be the kid's father."

"You saved the life of a Ministry official's daughter?!" Takeshi exclaimed.

"I'm not sure," Ash confessed. "Like I said, it was kind of confusing."

"Did you happen to get her name afterwards?"

"I think the mother introduced herself as Mrs. Peasegood, but I was concentrating more on getting Lukas to the clinic."

"Arnold Peasegood is an Obliviator for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad!" Takeshi said excitedly. "If you've really saved his daughter, this could be great publicity for you if we put the right spin on it! Your wounds are clean now, Lukas. Ash, could you put some healing salve on them? I've got to go contact Ms. De Lacy!"

The mediwizard ran out of the room, and Lukas raised his eyebrows and asked, "'Put the right spin on it'? Does that sound like the Takeshi we know?"

Ash grinned. "Well, he's been involved with the Wolfsbane Potion Distribution Program since it started. I'm sure he's aware of the politics behind getting it started and keeping it going."

Takeshi returned with Morrigan a few minutes later. "You can let them in now," she told the mediwizard.

Lukas's shirt and robes, which he had taken off so that Takeshi could treat his wounds, were torn and bloodstained, so Ash started to shrug off his own robe to lend to his pack leader. But Morrigan said, "No, let them see that he was wounded in defense of the child." She carefully draped the torn, bloodstained robes across his shoulders, making sure to leave his chest exposed. The gashes had closed and were beginning to scab over, but they still looked raw and red and quite horrific. Morrigan smiled in satisfaction.

"I've never had a woman ogle me in quite that way before," Lukas said sardonically.

"Those wounds could very well win the trial for you," Morrigan told him smugly. "It couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it."

Lukas was about to tell her that he wouldn't have deliberately taken on a Graphorn even to win the trial, but suddenly the room was full of witches and wizards who were all shouting at once. Flashes of light filled the room as Bozo started taking pictures. "Get those reporters out of here!" one of the Ministry officials shouted.

"Do you have something to hide?" Rita demanded.

"Ladies! Gentlemen!" Morrigan shouted, clapping her hands together to get their attention. "If you would all please calm down, I'm sure we can get everything settled. Master Diggory and Mister...er..." She hesitated, glancing at Ash.

"Randolf," Ash said reluctantly. He didn't care to give out his full name to people he didn't know, especially when they were associated with the Ministry, even though it wasn't actually his real name. Or at least, it wasn't the name he had been born with, but it was the name he had been using since becoming part of the pack. He would hate to have to come up with a new alias if his current persona ran afoul of the law. And then he suddenly remembered that he had left the bag of video games out in the street where he had dropped it. He had been too worried about Lukas to think about retrieving it at the time. Video games weren't actually illegal in the wizarding world, but they were frowned upon as being a bad influence on young witches and wizards, and he didn't have a license to sell them--or any of the other Muggle items he dealt in, for that matter.

Morrigan didn't seem notice his uneasiness, and continued smoothly, "...Randolf will give their statements to the Ministry representatives, after which they will be happy to give you an exclusive interview, Ms. Skeeter. Will that be satisfactory?"

Rita nodded, looking mollified, and took a seat in the corner of the room, scribbling in her notebook with an acid-green quill. Lukas and Ash explained their version of events to the Ministry officials; Amos wasn't among them, much to Lukas's relief. There was, however, a representative from the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures department, and he had obviously been influenced by Amos, because he regarded the two werewolves with an air of suspicion and hostility.

"Transforming when it is not the full moon, when you are presumably not taking the Wolfsbane Potion, is rather dangerous, isn't it?" he asked pointedly.

"It wasn't like I did it on purpose!" Lukas snapped. "It's an involuntary defensive reaction when the wolf feels its life is threatened."

"Honestly, Bob!" Tonks said, glaring at her fellow Ministry worker. "He saved Sally's life!"

"That's right!" said another Ministry official vehemently. "Those men are heroes; they saved my daughter! They should be getting a medal, not being treated like criminals!"

Takeshi's guess had been correct; Arnold Peasegood introduced himself and shook the werewolves' hands, thanking them profusely. Both Ash and Lukas found it an almost surreal experience to be thanked by a Ministry official. Even after the werewolves had taken part in the battle against the Death Easters, the Ministry's gratitude had been rather grudging for the most part, except for Tonks, Kingsley, and Arthur. But then Peasegood surprised them even further.

"I supported Dolores Umbridge's anti-werewolf legislation," he said, looking shamefaced. "And I argued against the equal rights bill when Arthur proposed it. And yet you risked your lives to save my little girl."

"I didn't know she was your daughter," Lukas said. "But even if I had, I wouldn't have let a child die just because I didn't like her father."

"I swear to you," Peasegood said fervently, his voice trembling a little, "that from now on, I will support Arthur Weasley's reforms. And I will never again judge someone solely by their blood or their race, without knowing them as individuals. I am in your debt, and if there is ever anything I can do to help you, then you need only ask."

Lukas nodded gravely, mentally filing away that promise for future use. Perhaps Peasegood would actually stand by it, even after the emotional impact of his daughter's rescue wore off. Remus would be delighted when he heard of this; it would confirm his Gryffindor idealism and his belief that the bigoted purebloods could change their ways.

Mrs. Peasegood also tearfully thanked Lukas and Ash, then prompted her daughter to thank them as well. "Thank you for saving me, Mr. Werewolf," she obediently said to Lukas.

"Sally!" Mrs. Peasegood exclaimed, looking mortified, but the two werewolves burst into laughter.

"Never mind," Lukas chuckled. "No offense was intended, and none was taken."

"And we are werewolves, after all," Ash pointed out. "No sense in trying to pretend that we aren't."

Sally seemed a little puzzled as to why her comment should have caused such an uproar, but she smiled at Ash. "And thank you, too, Mr. Werewolf. I ran out into the street after this." She held out her hand, showing him the Remembrall. "I managed to hang onto to it, even after the monster came running down the street and you picked me up," she said proudly.

"That's nice," Ash said, ruffling her hair. "But don't run away from your mother like that again. You can always buy another Remembrall, but your mother and father can't buy another Sally from the store." Sally giggled and nodded.

"Well, I think that wraps everything up," Tonks said cheerfully, and the other Ministry officials nodded, although Bob looked a bit sullen.

"Where on earth did that Graphorn come from, anyway?" Lukas asked.

"Some fool of a wizard brought it to sell as potion ingredients to the Apothecary," Kingsley replied. "He thought it was dead, but it was only stunned, and when the stasis spell he cast on it wore off, it woke up and went charging down the street." Kingsley shook his head. "He's the same idiot who once tried to get past the Whomping Willow on a dare when he was at Hogwarts. Apparently, he hasn't gotten any smarter since then. If he's lucky, he'll get off with a hefty fine; if not, he may have some time to contemplate his mistakes in Azkaban."

Tonks and Kingsley lingered behind after the other Ministry officials left. She handed Ash the bag of video games with a wink, saying, "I believe you dropped this, Ash."

Ash grinned, bowed over her hand, and kissed it as Kingsley scowled at him. "Thank you, milady," he said.

Tonks laughed, "I'm no lady--at least, that's what my mother always used to say when she threw up her arms in frustration after I'd just ripped or dirtied a new dress playing outside. She used to call me a tomboy and a little hoyden. But you're welcome, Ash. It's the least I can do for the hero who saved little Sally's life." She winked at him again before she left with Kingsley.

"Too bad the good ones all seem to be taken," Ash whispered to Lukas with a mock-regretful sigh. The werewolf leader just smiled and shook his head, and then Rita was stepping forward, demanding her promised interview. Ash would have slipped off then, but the reporter was insistent on talking to "both heroes," and Bozo also took more pictures of them. As someone who operated on the shady side of the law, it made Ash a little nervous, even though Takeshi and Morrigan seemed to think that the publicity would be good for Lukas.

Rita and Bozo finally left, and to say that they looked pleased with themselves would be an understatement--they were practically salivating, like dogs who had found not just a bone, but a thick, juicy steak. "I just hope she doesn't write a story about a mad werewolf running loose on the streets," Ash said doubtfully.

"In this case, her interests happen to coincide with yours," Morrigan assured him. "She wants the most dramatic story possible, and nothing could be more dramatic than the truth--werewolves risking their lives to rescue a little girl from a rampaging Graphorn. It has everything: drama, danger, excitement, even a bit of sentiment to tug at the heartstrings of the readers. She would be a fool to change it."

"Don't worry, Ash," Lukas told his friend. "Miss Granger and Mr. Potter seem to have worked out some sort of agreement with our intrepid reporter, according to Lupin. Whatever it is, she's been holding up her end of the bargain; all her articles about werewolves since the war ended have been positive, including the coverage of my trial."

"Your students really like you," Ash observed, a hint of wonder in his voice.

"Well, they didn't know me back then, when they first starting blackmailing or bribing or whatever it was they did to Skeeter," Lukas said with a smile. "I think they did it mainly for Lupin's sake. But yes, I think that most of them do like me now. And strangely enough, I find that I like them, too. Some of them are a bit spoiled, but for the most part, they're good kids."

"They've just led a very sheltered life," Morrigan said. "The purebloods, anyway. But they're still young enough to be more flexible than their parents, and you've expanded their view of the world a little."

Morrigan went back to her office, eager to prepare for the next phase of the trial, and Takeshi told Lukas to go home and get some rest. "Well, I guess I'll head back to Hogwarts," Lukas said to Ash. "I ought to tell Dumbledore what happened. Will you tell the pack that I'm all right?"

"Yes, although I'm not looking forward to explaining to a bunch of anxious werewolves that I let you wrestle with a Graphorn," Ash replied in a wry voice.

Lukas grinned, deliberately exposing his teeth in a feral manner. "I'm the pack leader; I do as I please. You didn't 'let' me do anything."

Ash laughed. "I'll be sure to tell them that." As the other werewolf turned to leave, he said, "Hey, Lukas?"

"Yes?"

"I was just thinking that you really are suited to being a teacher, after all."

"What do you mean?" Lukas asked.

"When you were fighting the Graphorn, I remembered reading something about it in one of the books you bought for us cubs," Ash replied with a nostalgic smile. "You taught us mostly practical things--spells, and how to fight, and how to pick pockets or pick a lock. But you also made us read books, and taught us a bit about the history and politics of the wizarding world. Hell, some of the younger ones could barely read or write before you took them in. At first I thought it was strange, you going to work at Hogwarts, but now I see that you were already a teacher long before then."

"I never thought of it that way," Lukas said, looking a little embarrassed. "It was nothing like the kind of education you would have received at Hogwarts. But my parents tutored me since I wasn't allowed to go to school, so I tried to do the same for the young wolves in the pack. Of course, my own education was cut short when my father died, but I was advanced for my age, I guess. There wasn't much to do at home but read. Although my father did teach me swordfighting when I wasn't feeling too ill."

"You were a good teacher," Ash said loyally. "And I always suspected you were highborn." Lukas looked startled, and Ash explained, "You were too well-educated to be a simple street rat like the rest of us. You knew a lot of stuff about history, and the Latin origin of spell incantations, and you knew a lot about the pureblood families. You'd tell us that so-and-so would be an easy mark, while someone from another family dabbled in Dark Magic and we shouldn't mess with them."

Lukas looked chagrined. "Snape saw through me right away, too. I should have been more careful."

Ash smiled. "It's okay. Back then, you told us that everyone had things in their past that they wanted to leave behind. You said that we were all starting over fresh, and all that mattered was that we were a pack now."

"But my past caught up with me," Lukas sighed.

"Never figured you for a high-and-mighty pureblood Lord, though," Ash said with a grin.

"Try not to hold it against me," Lukas laughed. Ash hugged his pack leader gingerly, being careful of his still-healing wounds, and the two werewolves departed to their respective homes.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

That night at dinner, Lupin was showing off a special evening edition of the Daily Prophet, much to Lukas's embarrassment. "Cut that out, Lupin," he growled.

"But you're a hero, Lukas!" Lupin protested. "You should be proud of yourself!"

"It's not a big deal," Lukas said. "What else was I supposed to do, let the kid get trampled or skewered?"

"It doesn't appear that anyone else lifted a finger to help," Snape observed cynically. "You might as well enjoy your moment of heroism, Diggory. If nothing else, the publicity might sway the trial in your favor."

"Yes, Morrigan and Takeshi said that, too," Lukas admitted. "But I feel a little bad. Jigger helped by binding the Graphorn so Ash could kill it, but the article barely makes any mention of him."

"An elderly Apothecary does not make nearly so interesting a hero as two werewolves," Snape said. "Two very photogenic werewolves, judging by the female students' reactions."

Throughout the Great Hall, students were reading copies of the Daily Prophet; those who didn't have a copy read over the shoulders of those who did. The girls were squealing in both horror (at the pictures of Lukas's bloody robes and wounded chest) and admiration. Lukas's and Lupin's keen ears picked up the whispers of the girls from the nearest table.

"They're so brave!"

"And so handsome! I wish that other werewolf would come teach at Hogwarts, too!"

"His face is scarred."

"I don't mind. In fact, I think it makes him look very bold!"

"Do you think he got it fighting the Graphorn?"

"It looks like an old scar, silly. It couldn't have healed that fast, even if he is a werewolf. Look, Master Diggory's wounds still look bloody."

"Well, I'm sure he got the scar doing something heroic..."

Lupin laughed and Snape smirked in amusement as Lukas groaned, "Idiotic girls!"

"Don't worry about Mr. Jigger," Dumbledore said. "The Ministry gave him the Graphorn corpse as a reward for his services. I assure you, he'd much rather have that than a picture in the Daily Prophet."

"Hmm," Snape said, an acquisitive gleam in his black eyes. "I'll have to put in an order for some Graphorn blood and powdered horn."

"What will happen to the person who let the Graphorn escape?" Lukas demanded.

"He has not been sentenced yet, but my sources tell me that he will likely have to pay a very large fine and serve a few weeks in prison," Dumbledore replied.

"Is that all?" Lukas asked, sounding disgusted. "He endangered the lives of everyone in Diagon Alley; it was sheer good luck that no one was killed!"

"Ah, but you see, Davy Gudgeon cannot pay his fine if he cannot go back to work," Dumbledore explained. "He's currently broke, it seems, and since the Ministry confiscated his Graphorn, he has no current source of income."

"Expediency triumphs over justice at the Ministry once again," Snape said sourly.

"It's not so bad," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "As well as working to pay his fine, he will also be gathering potion ingredients on the Ministry's behalf, for poison antidotes and other beneficial potions."

"Well, that's something, I suppose," Lukas muttered.

"Cheer up, lad," Hagrid told him in a hearty voice. "No one got hurt, thanks ter yeh--"

"Except for Diggory himself," Snape interjected sarcastically.

"--and yeh saved that little girl's life!" Hagrid continued, ignoring him. "Yeh're a hero, Lukas!"

"There's no help for it, my boy," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling mischievously behind his half-moon glasses. He patted Lukas on the shoulder in a comforting manner. "You're a bona fide hero; you'll just have to get used to it."

"How long do you think it will take for all this to wear off?" Lukas asked gloomily.

"People still call Harry 'The Boy Who Lived,'" Lupin pointed out, not very helpfully.

"Yes, but I hardly think that killing a Graphorn is the equivalent of vanquishing the Dark Lord," Snape retorted acerbically.

"I'm sure things will die down after a few weeks, Lukas," Dumbledore said soothingly. "Or possibly a few months."

"Oh, look!" Lupin said. "This article says that you're being nominated for the Order of Merlin!"

Lukas groaned again.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lamont Whitby met with Amos Diggory that night for a private conference. "I'm going to tell you something that you're not going to want to hear, Amos," the lawyer said. "I think you should try to reach an out-of-court settlement with your nephew."

"I will not let that werewolf take over the estate!" Amos shouted.

They were meeting in Amos's study, and Whitby cautioned him, "Lower your voice, Amos; you'll upset your wife." The other wizard subsided, still fuming. "I told you that you weren't going to like it. But it is my duty as your lawyer to advise you that there is a good chance that you will lose this lawsuit, Amos. The odds were in our favor before, but with this..." He threw down a copy of the Daily Prophet on Amos's desk. "The werewolf is now a hero twice over. And worse, he saved the daughter of a high-ranking Ministry official. Peasegood was a staunch opponent of werewolves, but now he's changed his tune. He might persuade others to change theirs, too. After all, how can you call someone a monster when they've just saved a little girl? Even if they had to transform into a beast to do it."

"I promised my parents that I would never let Cynric's brat inherit the title," Amos said adamantly.

"You could lose everything!" Whitby said urgently. "Not just the family estate and fortune, but your own house and savings! The money you earn from your Ministry job has gone into the Diggory family account at Gringotts, not a personal account. If the werewolf wins the trial, he could take it all! I strongly advise you to settle with him, Amos. Grant him the mansion, and offer to divide the money and other properties with him. I think he will agree to it for Gwendolyn's sake, if not for yours."

"No," Amos said stubbornly.

"Damn it, Amos!" Whitby exclaimed in frustration. "You and Helen could wind up on the street with nothing but the clothes on your backs! I know it's galling, but split the estate with the werewolf. What difference does it really make, anyway? It will all come back to Tristan in the end."

"I will not break my vow to my parents!" Amos insisted. "I will never let that beast call himself 'Lord Diggory'! The old Lord Gravenor was right about one thing--we should have drowned that brat when he was still a puppy, before he became a threat to our families!"

Whitby frowned. "Well, that's a bit extreme, but if he had been legally registered as a werewolf when he was a child, that would have given your father grounds to appoint you as heir over Cynric--"

"It doesn't matter what we did or didn't do in the past!" Amos snapped. "What matters now is that I cannot let that werewolf inherit the title! We have to win this lawsuit; there is no other choice!"

"I can't promise you a win, Amos," Whitby said reluctantly. "De Lacy and your nephew have already shot down my strongest argument--that the werewolf was involved in illegal activities when he was still Lukas Bleddri. I can't prove it without witnesses, and now none of the witnesses will testify for fear of incriminating themselves as well. Besides, I doubt that the public really cares now whether he was a thief or a smuggler in the past. Those are minor sins in comparison to someone like, say, Snape, who used to be a Death Eater. His shady past and the fact that he's turned over a new leaf probably make him an even more romantic figure in their eyes." He stared at the newspaper article, grimacing. "At least, that's the picture that Rita Skeeter has painted of him. I was counting on the Wizengamot's prejudice to win the case for you, but if we lose that, we have nothing. I'm not sure how much longer I can string out this trial. If I can't produce new evidence soon, Madam Bones will call for a vote, and at this point, I fear that the vote will go in the werewolf's favor."

"Stall them just a little longer," Amos begged. "Just buy me some time; I'll think of something, try to find some connection between Cyril and something unsavory. He's a Dark Creature and friends with a former Death Eater, for Merlin's sake! There's got to be something!"

"I'll do my best," Whitby sighed. "But think over what I've said, Amos. I know you don't want to break your promise to your parents, but would they really want you thrown out on the street while your nephew becomes Lord of the Manor? At least with a settlement, you'd retain some control over the estate." The lawyer left, and Amos remained alone in the study, brooding, until his worried wife finally called him to bed late in the evening.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Amos reported to work the next morning, he found everyone gossiping about his werewolf nephew, mostly in admiring tones, although they would quickly lower their voices when they noticed him watching them. The newly-converted Peasegood was going around telling everyone that the werewolves were heroes, and he even had the nerve to tell Amos that he should reconsider his position and not let his prejudices blind him. Nymphadora Tonks said nothing to Amos, but she looked quite smug; in fact, she was practically gloating.

By lunchtime, Amos had not only lost his appetite, but was afraid he was beginning to develop an ulcer. He sat alone at a table in the corner of the Ministry cafeteria, far away from everyone else, picking halfheartedly at his food. After a few minutes, Dawlish and Williamson joined him.

"Not feeling peckish, eh, Amos?" Williamson asked sympathetically. "Can't say that I blame you."

"It will blow over soon enough," Dawlish said, trying to sound comforting. "Some new scandal or bit of gossip about some Quidditch player or the Weird Sisters will come along, and everyone will forget about this nonsense. The public is fickle."

"It might not come along in time," Amos said grimly. "My lawyer thinks that we're in danger of losing the trial."

"If there's anything we can do, just let us know," Dawlish said. "Testify as character witnesses, perhaps..."

"Thank you," Amos said, with sincere gratitude, but his smile was a bit strained.

After lunch, Williamson suggested casually, "Why don't we go for a walk, Amos? Some fresh air will do you good. And I could use a smoke."

"That's bad for your health, Ian," Dawlish scolded.

"And who're you, my father?" Williamson retorted, but with a good-natured laugh.

"I just hate to see young people picking up bad habits," Dawlish said, patting him on the shoulder in what did indeed seem like a fatherly manner. He rose from his seat and said, "Go on, Amos, a walk will do you good, and you can keep our young friend out of mischief. I've got to get back to the office and look over some complaints we've received about contraband items being sold at Borgin and Burkes."

Amos and Williamson walked down the street together, and the young Auror led Amos down a deserted alley. He looked around to make sure no one was within earshot, then said in a hushed voice, "You hate the werewolf, and I want to bring down his friend the Death Eater. Maybe we can help each other out."

"What do you mean?" Amos asked, and the Auror explained his plan. Amos felt shocked, frightened, and excited all at once. "You know that we would be in serious trouble if we ever got caught."

"So we won't get caught," Williamson said with a confident grin. "Besides, who will take the word of a werewolf over two respected Ministry officials?"

"Does Richard know about this?" Amos asked.

"Nah, Dawlish is a strictly by-the-book guy," Williamson said. "He wouldn't condone our plan, even if he would like the end results."

"'Our' plan?" Amos asked pointedly.

"Are you in or out?" Williamson retorted impatiently. "If you don't want to go through with it, fine, but do you really want to see that werewolf become Lord of the Manor in your place? Do you really want a pack of wolves having free run of your ancestral home?"

That mental image decided Amos. He had told Whitby that he would find some way to win the trial, and this opportunity had just been dropped in his lap. It wasn't quite what he'd had in mind, and there was a certain amount of risk inherent in it, but he would be a fool to pass it up.

"I'm in," he said.

Chapter 127

Back to Aftermaths Index