Aftermaths, Part 137

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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Stewart Ackerley had been watching Master Diggory and reporting on his actions to Williamson as the Auror had requested. He was a little confused, because he hadn't thought that the werewolf leader was associated with the Death Eaters, but if Williamson said he was, then it must be so. Williamson had pointed out that Diggory was friendly with Snape...except that Stewart got the impression that it was more that he was friendly with Lupin, and tolerated Snape because he was Lupin's lover. Or maybe he had befriended Lupin as an excuse to associate with Snape. Because although Stewart disliked Lupin--or more accurately, disliked his choice of lovers--he could not by any stretch of the imagination picture Lupin as a Death Eater. He did, however, think that Lupin was gullible and softhearted, and blind to what Snape and the Slytherins really were.

At least Snape was currently under house arrest, and Williamson promised that soon he would be locked up for good. That made Stewart gloat, but at the same time he felt a little uneasy. He had looked at the books he had stolen from the library before sending them to the Auror, and from the description of the incriminating evidence found in the Shrieking Shack that was reported in the Daily Prophet, Stewart was able to figure out that Williamson had used the books to frame Snape. That wasn't quite what Stewart had had in mind; he had wanted to expose Snape's real crimes, not invent new ones. Framing someone didn't seem like the sort of thing an Auror should be doing...

Except that Stewart himself had framed Theodore Snape for the Porvora attack on Aric Dietrich shortly before Christmas vacation. He had not felt any remorse at the time, but now he squirmed in his seat as a faint stirring of guilt pricked at his conscience. Although he still hated Theodore, there had been nothing noble behind that attack, which had been more about getting petty revenge on Dietrich than trying to expose Theodore as a Death Eater.

But the Snapes, both Theodore and the Professor, deserved it, didn't they? Did it really matter that Snape was being punished for a crime he didn't commit when he had probably committed plenty of other crimes that he had never been punished for? The Death Eaters and the Slytherins didn't play by the rules, after all, as Isabelle had once pointed out. So why shouldn't the Aurors and the R.A. resort to unorthodox methods in order to expose them?

But then...if Snape had not made the Werewolf Potion, then who was behind the recent werewolf attacks? Had Master Diggory or his pack committed them, or had Williamson taken advantage of the actions of a couple of rogue werewolves? But no, a normal werewolf could not be responsible for the attacks, since the the victims had not been turned. Could Williamson have staged those attacks in addition to planting the false evidence in the Shrieking Shack? But Williamson was an Auror; surely he would not hurt innocent people, not even to arrest Snape...would he?

While Stewart was wrestling with his conscience, an owl arrived with a letter from Williamson. The Auror wouldn't go into details but he promised that "something big" was going to happen tomorrow. He said that he suspected Master Diggory was going to "make a move" after the game, and he didn't want anyone else interfering and possibly ruining his chance to arrest the werewolf. He told Stewart to make sure that nobody--particularly Lupin, who had been sticking close to Diggory since he had been accused of being involved in the werewolf attacks--followed Diggory after the game, and that he should provide a distraction if necessary. He said he believed that this would be the first step in taking down Snape and the other Death Eaters, and that soon he would have them all in custody. He also praised Stewart's efforts on his behalf and said that he had the makings of a fine Auror, and promised to recommend him for a position when he graduated from Hogwarts.

His excitement at receiving the letter caused Stewart to forget about his doubts, at least for the moment. Williamson was an experienced Auror; of course he knew much better than Stewart what must be done. Things probably just seemed confusing because Stewart wasn't seeing the whole picture; there was a lot of information that Williamson had to keep secret so as not to give away his plans to the Death Eaters, or perhaps because he was afraid of endangering Stewart, who was only a student and not a full-fledged Auror, after all. Not that Stewart was afraid of risking himself to expose and capture the Death Eaters, but as an Auror, Williamson would never put an underage student in danger. Stewart felt a little better as he reminded himself that Williamson had been a close friend of his father; of course he could trust him! Everything would probably make perfect sense once the Death Eaters were all safely locked up and Williamson was able to explain the whole story.

The letter had arrived the night before the Quidditch match, and Stewart did not have a chance to talk to Isabelle about it that evening, but he pulled her aside after breakfast the next morning. They went to the R.A. meeting room to talk in private, and Stewart showed her the letter; he had not told any of the other R.A. members about it since his role in helping Williamson was supposed to be a secret.

"Isn't this great?" Stewart said excitedly. "Soon all the Death Eaters will be locked up and the wizarding world will be safe again!"

To his surprise, Isabelle frowned, looking worried and unhappy. "But surely it can't be that easy," she said. "Surely there are some Death Eaters deep undercover who appear respectable on the surface. It could take a lifetime to root them all out."

It wasn't like Isabelle to be so pessimistic, and Stewart gave her a puzzled look. "Williamson sounded very confident," he said. "Snape is probably the ringleader; he's the highest-ranking Death Eater left now that Lucius Malfoy is dead. Once they arrest him, they can question him with Truth Potion and get him to give up the names of his fellow Death Eaters."

"I'm just saying that we should not become complacent," Isabelle said. "We must always keep our guard up. Isn't it true that some of the Death Eaters kept their identities secret even from each other?"

"That's true," Stewart reluctantly agreed. "According to my father, it seemed like even the other Death Eaters hadn't known that Peter Pettigrew was one of them, not until he was forced to drop his disguise as Weasley's pet rat."

"I just wish that we could do something dramatic at this match," Isabelle said wistfully. "Something like the hexed ribbons, or another Morsmordre spell."

"We'd better not," Stewart cautioned. "It might mess up Williamson's plans."

"I know, but I just--"

Suddenly the door swung open and an outraged Susan Bones burst into the room. "So the two of you are behind those hexes--and those threatening notes to Harry, too, right?" she said accusingly. "I had a bad feeling about it, but I didn't want to believe that my friends could do such a thing!"

"Now, calm down, Susan," Stewart said, trying to sound soothing. "We can explain--"

"Explain what?" Susan shouted. "That two of my best friends betrayed me? Especially you, Isabelle--Hufflepuffs are supposed to be loyal to each other!"

"I am being loyal," Isabelle said quietly. "I was working to expose the Death Eaters who murdered your relatives as well as mine, and I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to get in trouble if we got caught. I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" Susan asked incredulously. "I think you were trying to protect yourself, because you knew I'd turn you in if I had known what you were doing! Dylan and Theodore were nearly killed by your stupid hexes!"

"So what?" Stewart retorted. "They're Death Eaters! How many people did their fathers kill?"

"We don't know that they're Death Eaters!" Susan shouted. "We were only supposed to be trying to find out the truth about the Slytherins, not kill them or frame them!"

"Sometimes when your enemy does not play by the rules, you have to bend the rules a little as well, in order to win," Isabelle said calmly.

Susan stared at her two friends with a look of disgust on her face. "Sneaking around, lying, manipulating people--isn't that how the Slytherins are supposed to act? If you have to become like your enemy in order to win, then maybe winning isn't worth it! And now I'm not so convinced that the Slytherins are our enemies, after all. I think maybe we were wrong about them--I was certainly wrong about you!" Then she turned and ran out of the room.

"Shouldn't we follow her?" Stewart asked anxiously. "What if she tells someone? It'll ruin everything!"

"Oh, don't worry," Isabelle said with a cool smile. "She won't be able to say anything. Don't you remember the contract that all of us signed, that said we would not talk about the R.A. with outsiders?"

"You put a curse on the contract?" Stewart asked, still feeling worried. "Like the one the D.A. used?"

"No, not like the one the D.A. used," Isabelle replied smugly. "I used something much more powerful and much more effective than a jinx spelling out 'sneak' on someone's forehead. Come on, we'd better get going or we'll be late to the match."

Stewart obediently followed her, but he nervously wondered exactly what kind of curse Isabelle had used in the contract. He had come very close to telling Williamson about the R.A., but he had not, because it wouldn't be right, at least not without getting the other members' permission first. And as an Auror, Williamson would have technically been obligated to turn them in, no matter how sympathetic he was to their plans. Stewart didn't really believe that the Auror would have turned them in, but he hadn't wanted to put Williamson in the position of having to break the rules. Not that the Auror seemed overly concerned about such things. But now Stewart was very glad that he had not broken the contract.

"Er...the curse...it won't hurt Susan, will it?" he asked.

"No permanent damage," Isabelle said reassuringly, except that Stewart did not find it all that reassuring. "Although she may be missing a few memories afterwards."

Then a group of students walked by, and Stewart was unable to question her further. They headed to the Pitch with the other students, while Stewart nervously hoped that Isabelle was right about Susan not being able to reveal their secrets.

"Hey, have you seen Susan?" Dean Thomas asked. He looked puzzled rather than suspicious, so apparently Susan had not confided in him about her concerns. But then, Susan was a typical loyal Hufflepuff, and she wouldn't want to speak out against a housemate without proof, not even to her boyfriend. She had probably intended to confront Isabelle first before speaking to anyone else, and that had been her mistake--fortunately for Isabelle and Stewart.

"We saw her a little while ago, but then she hurried off," Isabelle said innocently.

"Maybe she's already on her way to the Pitch?" Stewart suggested.

"But we were going to walk down together," Dean said, looking a little hurt.

"It's been a bit hectic with all the excitement surrounding the match," Isabelle said. "Perhaps she missed you in the crowd and decided to go on ahead."

"Maybe," Dean said. "I'll go take a look outside; maybe she's waiting for me in the courtyard. If you see Susan, tell her I was looking for her, okay?"

"Okay," Isabelle said with a sweet smile.
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Susan ran to Sprout's office, but the Professor wasn't there. As she ran through the halls in search of her Head of House, she nearly ran over Professor Flitwick.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir!" she exclaimed. "By any chance have you seen Professor Sprout?"

"I believe she has already headed out to the Pitch," Flitwick replied, then gave Susan a concerned look. "Is something wrong, Miss Bones?"

"I really have to to talk to her!" Susan said, frantic with guilt and worry. "I...I'm afraid I've made a terrible mistake."

"Is there something I can do to help?" Flitwick asked gently.

Susan hesitated for just a second. She had wanted to speak to her Head of House, but this was important enough that she should report it to the first teacher she saw. What if Stewart and Isabelle hurt someone at this match the way they had done at the others? And it sounded like their Auror friend was up to no good, too. She had to report this right away; she couldn't take the chance that someone might get hurt in the time it took to find Sprout and convince her that one of her own Hufflepuffs had been behind the pranks and threats that had been plaguing the school all year.

Susan thought, with a bit of ironic humor, that she should probably just be glad that she had run into kindly Flitwick instead of Snape! She doubted that he would react well to the knowledge that she had been involved with a secret society that had hexed his sons, albeit unwittingly. She realized now that she should have gone straight to Dumbledore, but she hadn't been thinking clearly. But Flitwick was here now, so she would tell him about the R.A., and then he could help her find the Headmaster.

"I--" was all Susan could get out before her throat constricted painfully. She clutched at her throat, making choking noises. Suddenly her eyes widened, looking blank and puzzled, then rolled up back in her head, and she fell to the floor in a faint.

"Miss Bones!" Flitwick cried. "Oh dear, oh dear!" The Charms teacher ran back and forth in a panic for a few moments, then firmly said, "Get a grip on yourself, Filius! You have a student who needs your help!" Then he felt a bit silly for talking to himself, but at least it had served to calm himself down. He conjured up a stretcher, put Susan on it, and pulled it along behind him with a levitation spell as he headed for the hospital wing, pausing only long enough to send a charmed message to Madam Pomfrey.
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Madam Pomfrey was on her way to the Pitch when a little paper bird fluttered towards her. Frowning, she plucked it out of the air, unfolded and read it, then looked alarmed.

"What's wrong, Poppy?" Lupin asked.

"I need to go back to the castle," Pomfrey replied. "It seems that a student--Miss Bones--has collapsed."

"Oh no!" Lupin said. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Pomfrey said. "Apparently she was talking to Filius, and just fainted. I'll have to go take a look at her before I can determine what was wrong. Hopefully it's just stress; the N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s have had many of the students exhausted and on edge."

"Should I come with you?" Lupin asked.

"No," Pomfrey said, shaking her head. "You should be there to cheer on the Slytherins since Severus isn't able to attend the match. But here, take my first aid kit. You and the other teachers should be able to handle minor injuries, and if any of the players are more seriously injured, send them to the castle. Oh, and please tell Professor Sprout what happened. I'm sure she'll want to know, since Miss Bones is her student."

"All right," Lupin said, taking the first aid kit. "And if you need any help, please ask Severus. I'm sure he's grumpy and restless, being cooped up in the castle while the match is going on. He might as well make himself useful instead of pacing back and forth in the dungeon."

Pomfrey nodded politely, although she didn't have any intention of calling on Snape. A grumpy Potions Master was not likely to make a sick or injured student feel any better.

However, after she had done a thorough physical and magical examination of Susan, she changed her mind. She could tell that there was some kind of complicated curse cast on the girl, one that she was not sure she could remove herself without hurting Susan further. And Snape, however unpleasant or irritable he might be, was an expert on Dark Magic.

So she sent a message to Snape, who was not pacing back and forth in the dungeon, but rather, pacing back and forth on the Astronomy Tower. This could well be Slytherin's year to win back the Quidditch Cup, and he was damned if he would miss it because of those conniving Aurors! He intended to watch the match, even if he had to watch it from a distance. So when the message came, he was a bit annoyed, but his expression changed to one of concern once he had finished reading it, and he immediately headed for the hospital wing.
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Meanwhile, Lupin passed on Pomfrey's message to Sprout, who hurried back to the castle to check on her student. Then he quietly informed Dumbledore and Hooch of the reason for Pomfrey's absence. Dumbledore decided to let the match carry on, since the students had been looking forward to it all year. Any serious injuries probably would have had to be treated in the hospital wing, anyway, even if Pomfrey had been here.

Most of the students and spectators were too excited to notice Pomfrey's and Sprout's absences, although some of the Hufflepuffs wondered where Susan had gone. "Maybe she decided to sit with Dean in the Gryffindor section," Ernie Macmillan suggested.

But Dean was also wondering where she was. He had not been able to find her outside the castle, and finally went to sit in the Gryffindor section with his housemates. He hoped that she wasn't avoiding him. She had seemed distant and distracted lately, and he wondered if she was planning to break up with him. But they hadn't fought with each other the way he and Ginny had when they had been going out together, and she had never complained about him being unromantic or too possessive or anything like that. Maybe it had nothing to do with him at all; maybe she was just worried about her N.E.W.T.s. They had finished taking the exams, but were still waiting for the results, and he knew that she was worried about getting a good score. That must be it, he decided, feeling relieved. She must be worried about how she had done on the N.E.W.T.s, so he wouldn't give her a hard time about forgetting to meet him before the match. And maybe after the match he could invite her to a celebratory party at Gryffindor to cheer her up, because surely Gryffindor was going to win the finals! They had Harry Potter on their team, after all, and surely beating the Slytherins was nothing compared to defeating You-Know-Who. Dean suddenly regretted that he had been so stubborn and insisted on remaining off the team rather than apologize to the Slytherins. He should have swallowed his pride if that was what it took to get back on the team, so that he could be on the Pitch today to help kick the Slytherins' arses and win the Cup. But although he was disappointed, and although he didn't agree with Harry about a lot of things, he was still a Gryffindor, so he cheered loudly when his team took the Pitch.

The Slytherin spectators cheered equally loudly, and from the teachers' section of the stands, Lupin cheered and waved a Slytherin pennant. He was still worried, about Susan, and also about Severus, but he tried not to let it show, for the Slytherin team's sake. He was also recording the match with one of Cassidy's magical spheres, so that Severus could watch it later--if Slytherin won. He doubted that Severus would want to see it if Gryffindor won.

"Let's win this match for the Professor's sake," Draco told his teammates in a determined voice. "Let's make him proud of us and help him win his bet with McGonagall!"

"For the Professor's sake!" The Slytherin team shouted.

"And keep a close eye on the Gryffindors, and don't let them play any sneaky tricks on you," Draco added, remembering how Dean Thomas had won their first match against Gryffindor with that stealthy throw when no one had been watching the goals.

"I want a nice fair game from all of you," Madam Hooch said, and as if echoing Draco's thoughts, glared sternly at both the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams.

Both teams were equally determined to win, and for the seventh years, it was their final chance to win the Cup, so they all played with even more vigor and intensity than usual. Damien just barely managed to avoid being hit in the head with a Bludger, and Crabbe had a foul called on him for accidentally-on-purpose jostling Seamus Finnigan, one of the Gryffindor Chasers. Both Ron and Millicent were relentless in defending their respective goals, and by the time the Snitch flew into view, each Keeper had only allowed one shot to get past them. However, thanks to the penalty shot allotted to them for Crabbe's foul, Gryffindor was leading by ten points, twenty to ten.

Draco and Harry chased after the Snitch as it darted across the Pitch, then swooped dangerously low over the Gryffindor stands, causing the spectators to gasp as the two Seekers whizzed by overhead, so close that Harry accidentally knocked a hat off the head of an elderly witch. In Harry's defense, it was a very tall hat, topped off with a stuffed vulture.

"Sorry!" Harry shouted as Neville Longbottom's grandmother shook her fist at him, and Neville covered his mouth with one hand to hide his smile.
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Potter had a slight edge with his Firebolt, but Draco pushed his Nimbus to the limit, pulling up nearly even with his rival. {Please, please, please!} Draco silently prayed, to Merlin, to Morgana, to whatever gods might be listening. {Please, just this once, let me win the game! Let ME be the hero just this once, not Potter and not Dylan! Potter's the bloody Savior of the Wizarding World, the Boy Who Lived--surely that's more than enough glory for him! Even if he loses this match, every Quidditch team in the country will still be recruiting him, or he could get a job at the Ministry of Magic if he doesn't want to become a professional Quidditch player. Hell, they'd probably make him Minister of Magic if he asked--looks like they'll be getting rid of Weasley soon, anyway! I'm just the son of a dead, disgraced Death Eater, and I don't exactly have a lot of job prospects, so let me have just this one moment of glory, please!} Draco didn't exactly hate Potter anymore, but just this once, he wanted to triumph over his old rival. Just this once, he didn't want to be second to Potter or anyone else, even if his father was no longer around to see it.

The Snitch was just ahead, and Potter was reaching out to grab it. He was only a few inches ahead of Draco, but those few inches were going to make all the difference. Draco couldn't make his broomstick go any faster, so he desperately lunged at the Snitch, flinging his body forward, and he grabbed the Snitch just before a startled Potter could grasp it.

Draco tried to keep his legs hooked over his broomstick, but his momentum carried him too far, and he lost his balance and fell off the broom, plummeting towards the ground. But even as he fell, he continued to clutch the Snitch tightly in his fist. It was strange; he knew he was in danger, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph at finally having beaten Potter.

He heard Potter scream, "DRACO!" and Dylan curse and say, "Does someone have to fall off their broomstick at every bloody match?!" All of the players, along with Madam Hooch, raced after him, but it was Potter and Dylan who reached him first. Potter grabbed hold of an arm, and Dylan managed to grab his ankle, and then Hooch and a couple of the other players were able to get a more secure grip on him and lower him safely to the ground.

"Are you insane, Malfoy?!" Potter shouted. "What did you think was going to happen after you jumped off your broomstick?!"

"You know you've gone too far when even a Gryffindor thinks you've done something reckless," Damien joked, but his face looked a little pale.

"It's not funny!" Dylan snapped, then grabbed Draco by the front of his robes and shook him. "A stupid game isn't worth being killed over, you moron!"

"Even if it's the Cup finals?" Goyle asked, and Dylan glared at him.

Draco knew that Dylan was right, and he had just done something incredibly stupid, but he couldn't stop grinning. Maybe later the full impact of what he had done would hit him, but right now he was too caught up in a wave of euphoria to feel any fear.

"But I caught the Snitch!" Draco laughed, holding it up triumphantly, knowing that the others probably thought he was crazy, but not caring. "I won the game! We won the Cup!"

The Slytherin spectators, who up until now had been watching in stunned silence along with the rest of the crowd, suddenly began cheering and applauding. The team members, now that they knew Draco was safe, began to smile and laugh excitedly as well.

"We did it!" Millicent laughed. "We won the Cup!"

"Good going, Draco!" Crabbe said, slapping him on the back. "You did it! You won the Cup for us!"

Theodore grinned and said, "Well, I still think you're nuts, Malfoy, but you did win the game--and Father's bet." He held out his hand and Draco shook it. "But Remus will probably scold you for making him worry."

Dylan sighed, shook his head, then smiled and shook Draco's hand. "Congratulations, Draco. I guess this makes us even now."

"Too bad," Draco laughed. "I liked the idea of you and Professor Snape owing me a favor!"

Weasley shook his head, regarding Draco with a look of disbelief mingled with a hint of admiration. "You are positively insane, Malfoy," he said. "Not even Fred and George would have done something that crazy." He held out his hand, saying, "Good game."

Draco shook his hand, and Potter's as well. "I think you're crazy, too," Potter said with a rueful smile. "But I guess if you want it that badly, you deserve to win. I don't think I could have done that."

"Says the guy who broke his arm catching the Snitch in second year," Weasley pointed out.

"I crashed," Potter protested. "I didn't jump off my broom!"

"Slytherin wins the match!" Hooch announced, then added, "Although you're very lucky that you didn't break your neck, not to mention every other bone in your body, Mr. Malfoy."

The Slytherins cheered, and Crabbe and Goyle lifted Draco up on their shoulders. He grinned and waved at the cheering spectators, basking in his moment of glory.
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Meanwhile, back at the castle, Pomfrey, Sprout, and Snape had no time to think about the match. Snape used an Aperio spell, along with a few other identifying spells, to study the curse laid on Susan while Sprout fidgeted impatiently, obviously fighting the urge to tell the Potions Master to hurry up and get on with it.

"It is not one curse, but a blending of two curses," Snape finally announced. "And actually, it involves a third spell which is not precisely a curse--a conditional spell, which triggers the curses when a particular requirement is met." He frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Very subtle and skillful work--much better than I'd expect from your average student."

"Maybe it wasn't a student who cast it," Pomfrey suggested.

"We can worry about who cast it later!" Sprout snapped. "Right now, the most important thing is Susan's safety. Is she going to be all right? Can you remove the curses?"

"Yes, but it will take time," Snape replied. "We'll have to be very careful, or the spells might snap back and rebound on Miss Bones if we do not remove them properly. I'll need your help, Madam Pomfrey."

"Of course, Severus," Pomfrey said. "What type of curses are we dealing with?"

"A Silencing Hex," Snape said. "Not the usual sort of silencing spell that simply keeps noise from escaping a room, but a hex that prevents the victim from speaking."

"Which fits in with what Filius said, that Miss Bones suddenly choked and fainted," Pomfrey mused. "And the other curse?"

"Well, technically it's not classified as a curse, although it certainly acts like one," Snape said. "An Obliviate spell."

Pomfrey's eyes widened. "Someone wanted very badly to keep Susan from talking about something."

Snape nodded grimly. "All the more reason to lift the curse and find out what that something is."

It took them a long time to successfully untangle the three spells, one by one, and then remove them. Fortunately, Snape had gotten some experience with this sort of thing before during the previous school year, when trying to restore the hexed bunny-Bane to his proper raven form. Even so, the Quidditch match was almost over by the time they were done, although they were not yet aware of that.

Susan's eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened. She saw Snape staring down at her, and said in a hoarse whisper, "Pr...Professor?"

"Are you all right, Susan?" Sprout asked anxiously.

"I...think so," Susan replied hesitantly, sitting up in bed. "But I feel strange. Like there are holes in my memory." She looked around the room. "I'm in the hospital wing, but I don't remember how I got here. What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Snape asked.

Susan frowned, her forehead wrinkling in thought. "I...I was talking to someone, but I can't remember who. The last thing I can remember clearly is having breakfast in the Great Hall."

"You ran into Professor Flitwick after breakfast," Pomfrey told her. "He said that you seemed very upset. You said that you needed to talk to Professor Sprout, that it was very important, something about how you had made a terrible mistake. Then you started to choke, and fell unconscious."

Susan frowned again, looking worried. "I don't remember any of that."

"Someone hexed you, Miss Bones," Snape said bluntly. "Someone who didn't want you to talk about this 'terrible mistake'. You truly have no recollection of what that was?"

"I...I'm sorry, Professor," Susan said tearfully. "I don't know what I was trying to tell Professor Flitwick, but I have this feeling somehow that I've done something wrong. Something that I have to fix." She clenched her fists in frustration. "But I don't know what it is!"

"Will she recover from the Obliviate spell?" Sprout asked.

"It could be permanent, or it could wear off in a few days, a few weeks, or a few years," Pomfrey replied. "It all depends on the strength of the spell, the skill of the caster, and what the caster was trying to Obliviate. It's fairly easy to erase the memory of a brief, specific incident from a person's mind. It's much harder to erase a series of events, or a person that the victim knows well. For example, it would probably be easy to erase the memory of Susan's last Potions class from her mind. But it would be much harder to erase her memories of Potions classes for the entire year, because there are so many of them. And it would be virtually impossible to erase the memory of someone Susan has known all her life, like her father or mother."

"An Obliviate spell doesn't actually erase the memories," Snape said. "It simply barricades them, blocking them from the victim's conscious mind. Miss Bones might recover her memories with time, or she might not. Either way, I suspect we do not have time to waste. There is a way that I could recover them more quickly."

Sprout looked confused, but Pomfrey exclaimed, "Severus, surely you're not thinking of--!"

"Do you know what Legilimency is, Miss Bones?" Snape asked, ignoring Pomfrey.

"Er...mind reading?" Susan replied.

Snape sighed irritably. "Not exactly, but close enough. I am a Legilimens, Miss Bones. I can attempt to enter your mind and recover your lost memories, but I'll require your consent in order to do it." Well, actually he didn't, but he doubted that Pomfrey and especially Sprout would let him get away with entering a student's mind by force, no matter how important it was to recover those memories. Sometimes he was able to scan the students without their knowledge, but he was only able to pick up strong emotions and surface thoughts with such a cursory scan. He would have delve much deeper into the girl's mind in order to access the hidden memories.

Susan went pale. "Will it hurt?"

"It will be extremely uncomfortable and disconcerting," Snape replied honestly, not trying to sugarcoat it. "Less so if you cooperate and try not to fight me. But although it will be unpleasant, I will not hurt you."

Susan stared at him with trepidation; no doubt letting him into her mind was the very last thing she wanted to do. "You don't have to do this, Susan," Sprout said.

Susan swallowed hard, apparently trying to gather up her courage. "I think I do, Professor Sprout. I keep feeling that there's something important, something urgent in those memories. Like someone might be in danger if we can't figure out what it is. Do whatever you have to do, Professor Snape. I...I give my consent."

"Very well," Snape said, taking out his wand. "We shall proceed on the count of three, then. One...two...three...Legilimens!"

He felt the girl recoil in surprise and fear, reflexively trying to resist his entry into her mind. Snape tried hard to control his impatience, and silently said, {Calm down, Miss Bones. I won't hurt you.} He doubted that she could understand his exact words, but she seemed to understand his intent, and relaxed just a little. She was still afraid, but she was trying not to fight him.

Snape quickly bypassed childhood memories--birthday parties, images of her parents--and more recent memories, of kissing and holding hands with Dean Thomas. He noted, with some amusement, her fear and dislike of himself. He felt her nervousness when he touched that thought, felt her brace herself for his anger, then become confused at his amusement. Silly girl, Snape thought; it hardly came as a shock to him to know that most of the students in Hogwarts despised him. It was actually more shocking when they didn't.

He came up against a wall, and quickly pushed through it, feeling Susan mentally flinch. But it caused her only brief discomfort rather than actual pain because the wall had been artificially created by the Obliviate spell, rather than by Susan herself. Breaking down mental walls that a person had built in order to repress disturbing memories could be very difficult for the Legilimens, and quite painful for the Legilimen's subject. But Susan wanted to remember what was behind the wall, which made the process easier.

The memory he found was one of Susan listening in on Stewart Ackerley and Isabelle Laroque as they blithely talked about how they had been responsible for the hexed ribbons that had nearly gotten Dylan killed, along with the fake Morsmordre spell--which meant that they were probably responsible for all the other pranks, hexes, and threats as well. And they mentioned something about a plan Williamson had to capture the Death Eaters, something that was supposed to happen today.

Alarmed, Snape went searching for other walls and broke them down; he wasn't sure that he had found them all, but he had seen enough. He withdrew from Susan's mind, and she stared at him in horror, her eyes filled with guilt.

"The R.A.!" she cried. "Isabelle formed it and convinced us to join." She briefly described the R.A. and their activities, and Sprout and Pomfrey stared at her in shock. "We had all lost family to the Death Eaters," Susan continued in a guilty and slightly defensive voice, "and...well..."

"You believed that I was still a Death Eater," Snape said coldly. "And that my Slytherins were Death Eaters, or at least sympathizers, as well."

"I wasn't sure," Susan said, looking shamefaced. "But I thought you might be. We weren't supposed to hurt anyone! Isabelle said that we would only observe the Slytherins, and try to gather proof that they were involved with the Death Eaters! She never said anything about hexing people!"

"That would be small comfort to Dylan and Theodore if they had been killed," Snape said in a tight, clipped voice; keeping his rage in check took every ounce of self-control that he had.

Susan hung her head in shame. "I know, Professor," she whispered.

"And bad enough that you were spying on my Slytherins and dosing them with potions, but you even threatened Potter, whom I thought was your friend!"

"I didn't know!" Susan sobbed. "I didn't know what they had done!"

"But you suspected," Snape said coldly. He had seen the doubt and guilt in her mind. "That was why you were spying on Laroque and Ackerley this morning."

"I am very disappointed in you, Miss Bones," Sprout said, shaking her head and still looking stunned by what they had just learned.

"I'm sorry," Susan whispered.

Snape lost a bit of his control and turned on Sprout, snapping, "What on earth is going on in your House, Sprout? At least three members of this little secret society are Hufflepuffs!" He added in a sneering, scathing voice, "I never expected Hufflepuff to be a hotbed of insurgency!"

As Sprout flushed with both embarrassment and anger, Pomfrey quickly stepped between the two of them. "We don't have time for this now!" she said impatiently. "You can figure out who to blame later--right now we have to stop the R.A. and this Auror from hurting anyone else!"

"You're right," Snape agreed reluctantly. "Miss Bones, do you know what they intended to do at the match?"

"No, sir, I'm sorry," Susan replied. "Stewart was showing Isabelle a letter he got from Mr. Williamson, but they didn't read it out loud. All they said was that they couldn't cast any hexes at this match because it might ruin Mr. Williamson's plans."

"I knew that slimy bastard was up to something, attending all the Quidditch matches," Snape said disgustedly. "We've got to get out to the Pitch before anything happens!"

"You can't leave the castle, Severus!" Pomfrey protested. "That would give Williamson the perfect excuse to arrest you!"

Snape described in graphic detail what Williamson could do to himself, causing Susan to blush and her eyes to widen in shock.

"I believe that's physically impossible, Severus," Pomfrey said, a small smile crossing her lips, although her eyes still looked worried.

"Send messages to Dumbledore and to Lupin," Snape ordered. "And to Branwen, too--I'm sure she would be a great help with rounding up our little group of subversives. Tell them to bring all the members of the R.A. to the castle for questioning--especially Ackerley and Laroque; they seem to be the ringleaders. As for Williamson, we don't have any authority to hold him, but someone needs to at least keep an eye on him. Maybe we can actually get proof that the bastard has been breaking the laws rather than enforcing them. I'll call Tonks and Shacklebolt, just in case. Maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to arrest him, and if not, they can at least get him off the school grounds. Oh, and someone should be watching Dawlish, too--he and Williamson usually work as a pair. As for you, Miss Bones--" He glared at Susan, who went pale and shrank back in fear. "I'll deal with you later. You are not to set foot out of this room, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," she said in a small voice. "I know what I did was wrong. I'll do whatever I can to help make it right, and I'll accept any punishment you give me. Even...even expulsion."

Sprout patted her hand, a hint of sympathy creeping into her expression, and said, "We'll discuss that later, Miss Bones." Snape just nodded curtly, and the adults set out to deliver their messages.
 

Chapter 138

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