Aftermaths, Part 13

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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Lupin, Snape, Theodore, and Dylan forced themselves to stop reading and actually do some work. They repaired the shelves and sorted through the books on the floor, mending those which had not been damaged too badly, and regretfully setting aside those which were a total loss. They also set aside a few books each to take home, trying not to be too greedy. "Do you think she'll let us come back here again?" Dylan asked hopefully.

"I'm sure she will," Lupin assured him with a smile. "She does believe in encouraging a love of knowledge in her students, after all."

Many of the books in "that corner of the room" were covered with malevolent-looking red glowing runes that became visible with the help of an Aperio spell, which made enchantments visible to the human eye. The runes seemed to twist and writhe like snakes, making Theodore and Dylan dizzy if they stared at them too closely.

"They're a type of Dark Warding spell," Snape explained, "somewhat advanced beyond the spells I taught you. No doubt they're meant to protect the books from falling into the wrong hands. They'll inflict a nasty curse on anyone who tries to open them without giving the proper command word."

"Then how are we supposed to put them back on the shelves?" Theodore asked nervously. "Should we levitate them?"

"I think they're safe to touch so long as you don't try to open them, but perhaps it would be best if you and Dylan only handle the unenchanted books. Lupin and I will take care of these." Snape carefully separated out the warded books from the normal ones, and just as carefully began replacing them on the shelves, pausing every now and then to glance at one. "Hmm...'Book of the Dead: a Guide to Necromancy'--it was banned by the Ministry fifty years ago; I didn't think there were any left that hadn't been confiscated."

Lupin gave the book a distasteful look, plucked it out of his lover's hands, and placed it on the shelf. "Why would you want such a thing?"

"It's not like I want to become a Necromancer, but you can't just erase knowledge, Lupin," Snape replied. "No matter how much you try to suppress it, someone will find a way to dig it up again. Isn't it better that we know how such magic works, so that we're able to defend ourselves against less scrupulous mages?"

"Maybe," Lupin said skeptically. "But it doesn't seem wise to make Necromantic and Demon-Summoning spells available to the public at large, either."

"Well, perhaps they should be regulated, but not entirely forbidden. Oh, look, a book on Dark Runes! There are only three known copies of this particular title left in the world; there were not many to begin with, and most of the others were destroyed during the backlash against the Dark Arts after Voldemort rose to power. It figures that the Blackmores would have one. Do you think Branwen would let me borrow it?" Lupin sighed, and Snape smiled sheepishly. "I can't help it, Remus. I never could stand any piece of knowledge being denied to me, even if I would never actually use it."

Lupin smiled at him tenderly. "You have a love of knowledge worthy of a Ravenclaw, Severus--"

"But the ethics of a Slytherin," Snape finished with a grin.

"That's why I love you," Lupin said, leaning over to kiss him, and for once Snape didn't object even though the boys were present, because he was moved by the absolute sincerity in Lupin's voice. Lupin loved him as he was, Slytherin ethics (or more accurately, lack thereof) and all.

Theodore and Dylan, having grown used to Lupin's frequent displays of affection, just grinned at each other and continued shelving. They finished quickly; this section of the library had suffered the least harm, perhaps because it had been so heavily warded. Theodore reached for a book on the shelf, then hesitated, glancing over at Lupin and Snape, who were no longer kissing but still seemed to be preoccupied with each other. Lupin was gently teasing Snape as the Potions Master looked longingly at almost every book before placing it on the shelf.

"I wish you'd look at me that way, Severus!"

"Don't be silly, Lupin; you can't possibly be jealous of a book," Snape replied, but he sounded more pleased than scornful.

Lupin pretended to pout. "If I covered myself with protective wards, would that make me more appealing?"

"Don't be sil--" Snape started to reply, then gave Lupin a speculative look. "Hmm..." On second thought, that might be rather interesting...but could he handle the frustration? At times their desire was so overpowering--particularly near the full moon--that they nearly tore the robes off each other's bodies. Having to remove warding spells as well would definitely slow things down, but the challenge of it was rather titillating...and to be honest, the frustration was rather titillating as well...

"Ooh, you like that idea, don't you?" Lupin laughed. He had only been joking, but seeing Severus's reaction made him consider the idea seriously.

Since the pair was paying no attention to him at the moment, Theodore pulled a book off the shelf entitled "A History of Demonology". It was a history text, not a spellbook, so there were no wards on it.

"What are you doing, Theo?" Dylan whispered nervously. Technically, the book might not be off-limits to them, but he wasn't sure that their guardians would approve of them reading it, either.

"I just wanted to look something up," Theodore said, flipping through the book. "That name Sirius Black mentioned sounded kind of familiar..."

"What? Oh, you mean the name of Regan Blackmore's husband?" Dylan glanced up at the portrait hanging on the wall.

"Yes. Let's see...Abaddon...Abraxas...Alastor?" Theodore snickered. "It says that Alastor is the name of a Greek demon. I didn't know that, but it's appropriate for someone like Mad-Eye Moody, don't you think? Alocer...Amduscias...ah, here it is!" He pointed at a name on the page and Dylan leaned over his shoulder to look at it. "Araqiel, also known as Arakiel, Arqael, and Arkiel, is a demon who taught human beings the signs of the earth."

"What does that mean, 'signs of the earth'?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps some sort of sorcery? But that's not the point...the name of a Blackmore ancestor--the founding Blackmore ancestor, in fact--is in this book!" Theodore tapped the entry on the page emphatically with his finger.

Dylan glanced up nervously at portrait of Regan and Lord Raven/Araqiel, as if to make sure it wasn't going to suddenly come to life. "Just because he was named after a demon doesn't make him one! I mean, you just said that Moody has the name of a demon, too, and he's human...at least I'm pretty sure he is..."

"Well, but don't you think it's significant that everyone's been saying for years that the Blackmores have demon blood, and the co-founder of the clan just happens to have the same name as a demon...?"

"Well, maybe that's how the rumors got started," Dylan said, trying to convince himself as much as he was Theodore. He suddenly remembered the time that Snape and Sirius had healed him with a Blood Healing spell, the night he had taken the vampiric roses from the Rosier mansion; he thought he remembered Snape refusing to let Blackmore donate her blood to the spell and saying something about her not being completely human. But the memory was vague and hazy; it was probably just a fever dream...at least, he profoundly hoped that it was.

"You know, there were rumors about your family, too..." Theodore flipped through the book again. "See here, it says that Rosier is the name of the Demon of Seduction."

"What?! Let me see that!" Dylan took the book from Theodore. "So you think this demon was my ancestor?"

Theodore grinned. "Well, that would explain why women seem to find you so irresistible...but seriously, the rumors never said that the Rosiers were demons, just that they had dealings with them. Those roses of yours had to come from somewhere, after all..."

"A human wizard could've enchanted them."

"I suppose so, but no one's ever managed to duplicate such a spell--"

"What are you two looking at?" Lupin asked cheerfully, and both boys jumped and looked up with identical guilty expressions on their faces.

Snape took one look at their faces and held out his hand expectantly. He didn't even need to say anything, just put his sternest Potions Master look on his face, and Dylan meekly handed over the book. Snape raised his eyebrows and said, "It's not exactly on Hogwarts' recommended reading list, is it?"

"No, sir," Theodore said defensively, "but it's not a spellbook. It's not like we were planning to summon a demon or something."

"Then what were you doing?" Snape asked.

Somehow Theodore didn't think that "trying to figure out whether Professor Blackmore really does have demon blood" would go over very well. "Uh...we were just curious," he said lamely.

"Didn't you just say that knowledge shouldn't be suppressed?" Dylan chimed in, a look of wide-eyed earnestness on his face.

"I think you've had enough knowledge for one day," Snape said dryly, and placed the book back on the shelf.

Just then, Branwen, Sirius, and Harry returned with a new table to replace the broken one. "The place looks wonderful!" Branwen exclaimed, smiling at them warmly. "Thank you so much!"

"We should be thanking YOU for the chance to peruse your library," Lupin laughed, "and for your kind offer to let us borrow some of the books."

"Yes, I've been looking for this particular text for years," Snape said, holding up the Potions book that he and Dylan had mended. "It's very rare; are you sure you don't mind if I borrow it?"

"Not at all," Branwen replied. "You can make better use of it than I can, anyway." She took a quick look at the books that they had set aside to take home. Dylan and Snape had chosen Potions texts, of course, while Theodore had selected a couple of books on runes. "Good choice, Mr. Nott," Branwen said approvingly. "I've noticed that you have a real talent for drawing runes; you're probably the best in your year group."

Theodore smiled, feeling startled but pleased and proud. Being praised was a new experience for him because he had spent most of his time at Hogwarts trying to keep a low profile. It was a habit that had been ingrained in him long before he had started school, because attracting attention at home usually resulted in his father inflicting a painful curse or hex on him, and it hadn't been wise to do so at school either, because Draco hated being upstaged by anyone. "Better than Granger?" he asked. He didn't hate Hermione Granger the way Draco did, but it was a little annoying, the way the Muggle-born girl seemed to excel at everything she tried her hand at--not unlike Dylan, come to think of it.

Harry scowled a little at Theodore, but Branwen just smiled in a surprisingly gentle manner. "Miss Granger is good at drawing runes because she practices very hard at it, but I think you have a natural talent for it, Theodore. It's that elusive quality that separates a Master from one who is merely skilled and competent, as Severus should well know. Not that I'm saying you're a Master at Rune-making, mind you, but you have the potential to become one--if you work hard at it. Coasting on natural talent will take one only so far."

"Mr. Nott doesn't 'coast' in his classes, Branwen," Snape said reprovingly, and Theodore felt even more pleased.

"No, I've noticed that he and Mr. Zabini work very hard in my class," Branwen agreed, and Snape seemed appeased. She took a look at the books Lupin had selected, which were mostly novels. "A little light reading, I see, Remus...oh, except for this one." She held up a book on warding spells. "Something for next year's lesson plans?"

Lupin grinned at Snape, who turned bright red. "No, just a little personal project I have in mind," he said casually. Sirius gave the two of them a suspicious look, then decided he would really rather not know anything about it.

"Well, you seem to be finished here, so shall we take a break and have lunch?" Branwen suggested.

There were sandwiches and butterbeer waiting for them in the dining room, no doubt laid out by Hob, and everyone tucked into their food heartily. The three boys found themselves seated together at one end of the table, eating in awkward silence as the adults laughed and conversed with each other at the opposite end.

"So when are you going to make an honest woman of my cousin, Kingsley?" Sirius teased.

"Sirius!" Tonks scolded. "You don't need to talk about me like I'm some hapless maiden from a bad romance novel! Kingsley and I are taking things at our own pace, and besides, aren't there enough weddings going on at the moment? There's you and Branwen, and Percy and Penelope..."

"Percy seems to have matured a lot," Lupin said.

"Nearly getting killed will do that to you sometimes," Sirius said sardonically.

"It's too bad you and Severus can't get married," Tonks said to Lupin with a grin, "otherwise I suppose there'd be another wedding."

Snape looked horrified. "People are gossiping about us enough as it is! We'd never hear the end of it if..." His voice trailed off as he realized Lupin might take his words the wrong way, and nervously turned towards his lover, hoping that he hadn't hurt Lupin's feelings, and just as fervently hoping that Tonks's words hadn't put any ideas into the werewolf's head. He did seem to have a fondness for making a public spectacle of them, after all...

To Snape's relief, Lupin just laughed and smiled at him fondly. "I already have everything I want, Tonks." He touched the quartz pendant that hung from a gold chain around his neck--a good-luck charm that was his first gift from Severus, back when they had been students, which he could now wear openly and no longer had to hide. Then he reached out and placed his hand over Snape's. "I have Severus. We're finally able to be together without having to hide our relationship from the Death Eaters. And--" His smile turned into a grin that managed to be mischievous and yet loving at the same time. "--the fact that he allowed me to kiss him in front of the entire school is as dramatic a declaration of love as I could possibly wish for. I am content." He leaned over and kissed Snape lightly on the mouth; Snape turned red but did not object.

"Good," he said sourly, but he briefly squeezed Lupin's hand, and the affection in his eyes belied the tone of his voice. "Because I hope you don't expect a repeat performance; you've ruined my reputation enough as it is. Besides, marriage is a political contrivance, at least among the purebloods. It's an alliance for the purpose of gaining money and power, and a means by which to carry on the bloodline and the family name. Since Lupin and I don't care to play politics and obviously cannot have children, there's no reason for us to get married."

"You're so unromantic, Severus," Tonks complained.

"Oh, he can be quite romantic when he puts his mind to it, I assure you, Tonks!"

"Oh, shut up, Lupin!"

"Too bad," Sirius said with mock-regret. "I'm sure Snape would have looked quite fetching in a wedding gown..."

"How would you like to spend the rest of your life as a toad, Black? No wait, that might actually be an improvement--at least a toad doesn't have fleas..."

"If you turn him into a toad, I'll have to cancel the wedding, Severus," Branwen said mildly.

"Yes, but then Molly Weasley would stop pestering you," Snape pointed out helpfully.

"Hmm, now that is a tempting thought..."

"Branwen!" Sirius said indignantly. "Snape!"

The other adults all laughed at him. None of them were paying any attention to the three boys at the other end of the table, who were beginning to feel a little left out. Finally, in an attempt to break the ice, Dylan asked Harry, "So what's it like living with Blackmore?"

Harry gave the Slytherin boy a wary look, but couldn't detect any hostility in his eyes or his voice. "Um...she's okay. She's strict, but she's pretty nice. She's not as scary as she is in class. What's it like living with Snape?"

"He's okay," Dylan said echoing Harry's words, then he and Theodore exchanged a glance; that was a vast understatement that didn't come close to describing their relationship with Snape. He wasn't sure if a Gryffindor could understand that, or if he'd even want to try discussing something that personal with a Gryffindor, but somehow it didn't seem fair to describe Snape as merely "okay" after all he'd done for them. "No, that's not true," Dylan corrected himself. "He's better than 'okay'--he's looked after us Slytherins and protected us from Voldemort and the Death Eaters. And he and Professor Lupin gave me and Theo a home."

"Yeah, I know," Harry mumbled, looking down at his plate. He felt a little guilty as he remembered how he had been convinced for years that Snape was in league with Voldemort, despite Dumbledore's and Hermione's assurances to the contrary. Of course Snape hadn't treated him very nicely, but being mean didn't automatically make someone a Death Eater. Harry sighed. "I suppose I'll have to listen to Hermione say 'I told you so' for the rest of my life."

"What?" Theodore asked in confusion.

"Oh, she's insisted all along that Snape was okay when everybody else thought he might still be a Death Eater," Harry said.

"Really?" Theodore said, sounding shocked, while Dylan smiled, looking very pleased and almost smug. "Huh," said Theodore, "never thought I'd see a Gryffindor standing up for Professor Snape. Then again I never thought I'd see Pansy and Millicent getting all chummy with a couple of Gryffindor girls, either."

"We hear you and Draco have been hanging out, too," Dylan said.

"We're not exactly 'hanging out,'" Harry said in a defensive tone. "His mother is Sirius's cousin, so sometimes they come over for dinner, that's all."

Theodore and Dylan grinned at each other; Draco had been equally quick to disavow any friendship with Harry Potter.

"So you guys are still hanging out with Malfoy, then?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Dylan replied, "and just to give you fair warning, we've been practicing Quidditch moves together." He grinned and flung an arm around his foster brother's shoulders. "We've already picked out a new Chaser, so you Gryffindors have your work cut out for you."

"But tryouts don't start till September!" Harry protested.

"Well, of course Theo still has to go through the official tryouts, but he's a shoo-in," Dylan said dismissively.

Trust a Slytherin to break, or at least bend the rules by trying out new players during the summer. Harry wondered if he ought to try and get his team together for some unofficial practice as well, but several of them were off on trips with their families or working summer jobs. And he needed to replace a few members who had graduated; he supposed he ought to start thinking about potential replacements. Well, maybe he could at least get together with Ron and Ginny for a little practice; they needed to stay sharp if they intended to beat Slytherin this year.

The three boys made small talk about Quidditch for the rest of the meal, good-naturedly debating the merits of their favorite teams. Occasionally the debate got a little heated, but things never got out of hand.

Branwen smiled as she watched them, and Sirius leaned over and whispered, "You're looking rather smug, my dear."

"That's because I'm feeling rather smug...my dear," she said, giving him a kiss. She had invited the boys over and seated them together at lunch with this very goal in mind. They were not yet friends, but at least they were learning that they didn't have to be enemies. Her smile grew even more smug as she regarded her first experiment in inter-House cooperation--Remus and Severus--which had turned out to be a success after all, even if it had taken twenty years to come to fruition.
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After lunch, the cleanup continued, then Snape, Lupin, and the boys went home for dinner. After dinner, Snape played a game of chess with Dylan while Theodore read a book on runes that he had borrowed from Branwen's library. Lupin retreated to the bedroom halfway through the chess game, which was a little strange, since he usually enjoyed the quiet time in the evenings that they all spent together, which had become something of a family ritual. The boys were tired and went to bed early, so Snape headed to his own bedroom to check on Lupin.

He found Lupin lying on the bed, a pensive look on his face. "Lupin? Are you all right?"

Lupin sat up and smiled at him. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Thinking? About what?"

"Love. Family. Marriage."

"Listen, Remus...about this afternoon," Snape said awkwardly. "I don't want you to think...I mean, you know I love you...if it were possible for us to get married--which it isn't, but if it were and you wanted--"

Lupin silenced him with a kiss. "Don't worry about it, Severus. I won't deny that I would be delighted to marry you if that were possible, but that's merely a human formality. When a wolf chooses a mate, it doesn't care about rules and regulations and official certificates and licenses." He laid his head on Snape's shoulder, sighing contentedly. "It knows that you are mine and I am yours, and that is all that matters."

Snape stroked Lupin's hair and asked, "Then why were you thinking about love, family, and marriage?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about how sad it was, what you said about marriage being merely a political alliance for most of the pureblood families. Maybe Lucius wouldn't have turned out so bad if he had come from a loving family, and then Draco would still have a father. And I was thinking about how Ariane was disowned because her mother didn't approve of her lover. And I was thinking about how happy I am now with my family, but feeling a little guilty at the same time, because we only have the boys because their parents are dead."

"That's true, but we didn't kill them, Lupin. And in Theodore's case, he's better off without them."

"Harsh but true," Lupin sighed, then smiled a little. "At least we can spare Dylan and Theodore the fate of an arranged political marriage. They can marry for love--at least Dylan can. And maybe someday the law will change, and Theo and Blaise can marry if they choose to."

"You really don't regret that we can't marry?"

Lupin grinned at Snape. "I told you, the wolf doesn't care about marriage licenses. All it wants is for the world to know that I have claimed you as my mate, and I think we've already accomplished that."

"Beast," Snape teased.

"Exactly," Lupin agreed, then growled softly in Snape's ear; Snape shivered with pleasure. Lupin undid the first few fastenings of Snape's robe, pushing back the high collar of the robe to expose the white skin of Snape's neck. "The wolf wants to put its mark on you," Lupin whispered, and nipped at Snape's neck, gently at first, then hard enough to leave a bruise, but stopping just short of breaking the skin.

Snape groaned and reached for Lupin, but his hands skittered off Lupin's robe, repelled by some unseen force. "What the--?!" he exclaimed, then reached for his wand. "Aperio!" he said, and suddenly he could see the glowing runes of warding that covered Lupin's robe. Snape laughed, "You sly dog--"

"Wolf," Lupin corrected with a mischievous grin.

"So that's what you were doing all this time! Well, I'll get rid of those in no time!"

"Don't be so sure, Sev," Lupin retorted. "My specialty is defensive magic, after all. I intended for this to be a challenge for you."

"I'm a master of the Dark Arts," Snape said haughtily. "Removing wards is child's play for me."

"Put your money where your mouth is, Professor Snape."

"Oh, I know exactly where I want to put my mouth, Lupin, but we need to get those robes out of the way first," Snape said, leering at the werewolf, who blushed furiously.

Snape set about removing the wards, a delicate process not unlike unweaving the spell-threads from the hexed Bane-bunny last year, although not quite as difficult. But it was hard for him to concentrate on his spell-casting when Lupin kept writhing suggestively on the bed while smiling at him enticingly.

"Damn it, Lupin! That's cheating!"

"A Slytherin complaining about cheating?" Lupin laughed. "That's rich!"

"Sometimes I think you were Sorted into the wrong House," Snape grumbled. "Or maybe living in the dungeon is causing you to think like a Slytherin."

After fifteen minutes (Snape would later claim that it would only have taken him five if Lupin hadn't been distracting him), he finally managed to dispel the wards, by which time they were both flushed with desire and impatience. "It's about time!" Lupin growled.

Snape pulled off Lupin's robe and decided he wasn't going to waste anymore time fiddling with the buttons on Lupin's shirt or trousers. He raised his wand and chanted a brief incantation, and all of Lupin's remaining clothes fell apart at the seams and fell to the floor in pieces as Lupin yelped in surprise. "That was the first time I've tried that spell, but it seems to be a success," Snape said, regarding the results with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"You owe me a new outfit, Severus!" Lupin said, blushing and laughing at the same time.

"Yes, yes," Snape said impatiently, "we can go to Diagon Alley and buy you some new clothes tomorrow, but right now..." He pulled Lupin into his arms and kissed him.

Lupin kissed him back, then began undressing him. "Let's get you out of these robes...do you really have to wear shirts with so many buttons, Severus? I think I'll have to get you to teach me that spell..." But finally he cast aside the last piece of clothing, and as they tumbled into the bed together, Lupin thought to himself that the warding spell might have been the best idea he had ever come up with.

 

Part 14