Aftermaths, Part 20

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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Mrs. Crabbe and Mrs. Goyle sent polite regrets that their sons would not be able to attend the birthday party because they would be out of town on vacation that week. Lupin paid the families a personal visit at the Goyles' house, and both women were cool but civil to him, not quite daring to be rude to a hero of the war, but he could read the distaste in their eyes behind their polite smiles. He suspected that it was not only Dylan's and Theodore's connection to the Death Eaters that Mrs. Crabbe and Mrs. Goyle objected to, but also his "tainted" werewolf blood. They might not have been Death Eaters like their husbands, but they were still snobbish and blood-conscious like most of the pureblood elite. Of course, it could also be his rather scandalous relationship with Severus that they objected to. Whatever the reason, they stubbornly refused to change their minds about the party, saying that they would be visiting family and that they could not change their plans at this late date. Vincent and Gregory were happy to see him, though, and were obviously disappointed that they would miss the party.

"I'm sure Dylan and Theo will be sorry that you can't make it," Lupin said, stretching the truth a bit for the sake of politeness. "But I do look forward to seeing you when school starts next month."

The boys' faces lit up, obviously cheered by that thought. Their mothers frowned, but the boys didn't seem to notice. "I can't wait for school to start!" Goyle said happily. "We've been studying our DADA books during the summer and working hard on our Patronuses! We can cast a full Patronus nearly every time now!" Crabbe elbowed him in the side, and Goyle exclaimed, "Oof! What was that for?"

"Students aren't supposed to be working magic outside of the school," Lupin reminded him gently.

"Oops," Goyle said sheepishly as Crabbe sighed and their mothers looked worried.

Lupin smiled and winked at them. "It will be our little secret. I think I can let it slide this once, since the two of you saved my life with your Patronus Charms. But I think you had better stick to simply reading your texts for the rest of the summer, understand?"

"Yes, sir, thank you, sir," the boys chorused, and their mothers gave Lupin a grateful if slightly suspicious look.

Mrs. Goyle saw Lupin to the door when he left. She hesitated, then said in a slightly grudging tone, "Gregory's grades have gone up this year, along with Vincent's. They say it's because of you."

Lupin smiled and shook his head. "No, it's because of their own efforts. They've worked very hard this year; all I did was give them a little encouragement." He thought about telling her how Hermione had helped them in Incantations class, but decided that he should probably hold off--she and Mrs. Crabbe were having enough problems adjusting to the fact that their sons had befriended a werewolf, let alone a Mudblood friend of Harry Potter's.

"They're a little...slow," Mrs. Goyle reluctantly confessed.

"Each student learns at a different pace," Lupin said. "And it's job of their Professors to find the pace and method of teaching that works best for each student." He knew that Severus didn't agree with him--his Potions students were expected to keep up with the pace he set in class or fail--but Lupin decided not to mention this, at least not directly. "I think all they needed was a little individualized attention, and perhaps some of their teachers failed to realize that. Now that they've had a little success and gained some confidence, I think they'll do even better next term. I assure you that an incompetent wizard could not have cast a full Patronus at age sixteen or seventeen."

Mrs. Goyle gave him a look that, while not exactly friendly, was less hostile and even held a hint of respect. "Thank you for stopping by, Professor Lupin."

"It was my pleasure," Lupin said. "I look forward to seeing Gregory and Vincent in class this fall. Good day."

Mrs. Goyle stared after him, something about his words puzzling her, and then she realized what it was: no one but their families ever called the boys by their first names. She stood in the doorway, lost in thought, until Gregory called out, "Mum? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, and shut the door.
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The day of the party arrived, and contrary to Snape's predictions, it was a beautiful and sunny day. Since the cottage was too small to comfortably hold everyone, Lupin and Snape conjured up a long table and benches out in the front yard. Lupin had prepared a few games for the children to play, though nothing as elaborate as Branwen's treasure hunt, and nothing requiring them to use magic, since he was mindful of the spellcasting prohibition for students even if Branwen wasn't. Then again, Branwen had always been a law unto herself, and like Severus, occasionally chose to flaunt the rules when it suited her. They did have a fireworks display courtesy of Fred and George, who had sent a Deflagration Deluxe set of fireworks along with Ron and Ginny.

Ron had nearly had a heart attack when his brothers told him they wanted to send a gift to the Slytherin boys. "Have you lost your minds?" he asked, looking at them suspiciously. "Are you really my brothers, or a couple of impostors using a Polyjuice Potion?"

"Don't be daft, you stupid git!" Fred said cheerfully, punching Ron lightly on the upper arm. "Rosier saved my life during the battle, remember?"

"He's not so bad for a Slytherin," George added.

So now Ron sat watching the fireworks display with everyone else as Allegra Zabini oohed and ahed over it delightedly. Hermione and Ginny smiled at the younger girl with an indulgent, big-sisterly air. Ron crossed his arms and sulked a little; what was the world coming to, with the Gryffindors suddenly becoming chummy with the Slytherins? Even his own family had turned traitor, he thought to himself darkly.

"Oh, stop sulking, Ron," Ginny whispered. "We're all on the same side now, remember? Dylan's a nice boy, and I don't really know Theodore very well, but he must be okay or Professor Lupin wouldn't have adopted him."

"Professor Lupin isn't exactly the best judge of character," Ron whispered back. "He likes everyone, even Crabbe and Goyle. Not to mention Snape."

"Yeah, well, he likes you, too," Ginny retorted, "so I guess it's true there's no accounting for taste! Now shush and watch the fireworks."

Harry smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder sympathetically. "Cheer up, Ron," he said softly. "It's a different world now, but it's not so bad. At least we don't have to worry about Voldemort and the Death Eaters anymore."

"That's true," Ron grudgingly acknowledged. Then he noticed that Zabini's sister was staring at them instead of the fireworks now, with a wide-eyed look of awe. "What?" he asked. "Do I have dirt on my face or something?"

Allegra giggled and walked over to where the Gryffindors were sitting (on the opposite end of the table from the Slytherins, except for Hermione, who was sitting in the middle next to Dylan). "No, it's just that I've seen your pictures in the Daily Prophet," she said. "You're Ron Weasley, aren't you? Your dad is the new Minister of Magic. And you're Harry Potter, right? You fought in the Final Battle." They could almost hear the capital letters in her voice, using the dramatic designation the Daily Prophet had given the battle. "Like my brother and his friends." She sighed enviously. "It must have been exciting."

"Well, we did battle some giants," Ron said, preening a little despite himself.

"Yes," Allegra said, sounding impressed, "I read about that. You guys defeated the giant king, didn't you?"

"Actually," Ginny interjected before Ron could say anything, "it was Hagrid's brother Grawp who did that."

"Well," Ron said defensively, "we helped."

"What was it like fighting You-Know-Who?" Allegra asked Harry, who suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"Uh...well...I..." Harry stammered, but was spared from having to reply when Blaise came over and firmly took his sister by the arm.

"I apologize for my sister," he said. "She doesn't mean any harm."

"It's okay," a relieved Harry said.

Blaise dragged Allegra back to the other end of the table, saying, "Don't you remember what Professor Snape said about Slytherins having to be circumspect?"

"I was just asking him a question!" she protested.

Harry and Ron gave the girl a bemused look as Hermione and Ginny laughed.

"She's cute," Ginny said.

"She doesn't behave like a Slytherin," Harry said, feeling a little puzzled. "She doesn't even behave anything like her brother." Blaise Zabini seemed like a decent sort for a Slytherin, but he was quiet and reserved while his sister had laughed and chattered gaily throughout the party.

"Family members aren't always alike, Harry," Ginny said with a smile. "Could Percy be any more different than Fred and George?"

"I guess you're right," Harry said, then looked a little wistful. "I've never had any brothers or sisters, so I wouldn't know." Ginny smiled at him and reached across her brother to pat Harry's hand in a consoling manner. He found himself flushing a little, and was both relieved and disappointed when her hand moved away from his. Ron saw this and said nothing, but nudged Harry in the side with his elbow and smiled slyly.

Meanwhile, Dylan was enjoying himself immensely. For a change, both Draco and the Gryffindor boys were on their best behavior, and everyone seemed to be having a good time--even Serafina was smiling as Allegra chattered away at her. Serafina was as silent as she always was, but Allegra talked enough for the both of them and didn't seem to expect any response except for a nod every now and then. In spite of his complaints about having to invite the Gryffindors, Theo was happy because Blaise was here. And Dylan was happy because Hermione was here; like Theo and Blaise, they sat close to each other, almost-but-not-quite touching. He noted with pleasure that she was wearing the silver charm bracelet he had given her for Christmas; it was too bad that it was summer, or he would have worn the scarf that had been her Christmas gift to him. He glanced over at the adults (Sirius Black and Professor Blackmore had come along with Potter) and saw that Lupin was leaning against Snape, his head resting on Snape's shoulder. Snape shot the werewolf an annoyed look that was obviously just for show, because he didn't push Lupin away. Dylan hastily averted his gaze, but continued watching them out of the corner of his eye and saw Snape snake his arm around Lupin in a stealthy manner when he thought no one was looking. Dylan had noticed that Lupin had started wearing a quartz good-luck charm as a pendant right about the same time that Snape had started wearing a serpent-shaped bracelet and ring, when both men had never worn jewelry before, and he wondered if those were love-tokens. Probably. Dylan grinned; who would ever have thought that Snape might have a romantic streak in him? Sirius had put an arm around Professor Blackmore and was whispering something into her ear as she laughed, and Dylan felt a bit envious of his teachers. Hermione had obviously been pleased to see him, but he sensed that she was holding back a little, keeping up a slight air of reserve that stopped him from putting his arm around her the way he would have liked to; probably she was afraid of upsetting her friends. Well, tough luck; they would just have to get used to it, and so would Draco, for that matter. On the other hand, he didn't want to get on Hermione's bad side by antagonizing her friends, so he supposed he'd have to move slowly.

He tapped her on the shoulder and let his eyes slide over towards Snape and Lupin without moving his head. Hermione, as always, immediately picked up on the hint and glanced over without being obvious about it. When she saw Lupin snuggled up against the Potions Master, she quickly lifted her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. "They're such a cute couple, aren't they?" she whispered into his ear.

Dylan wasn't sure that "cute" was the word he would use, but he nodded agreeably. He didn't know exactly why, but Hermione and Ginny, along with a great many of the other female students, seemed to find the two Professors' unlikely love affair very romantic, once they had gotten over their initial shock. "Forbidden love," Pansy had said dramatically. "It's quite romantic, don't you think? Maybe that's why Professor Snape's family disowned him--not because he was a Death Eater; he was never convicted, after all--but because he refused to marry and sire an heir because he was in love with Professor Lupin." The other Slytherin girls had sighed and nodded; Dylan knew that wasn't the case, but had refrained from enlightening the girls and bursting their bubble. He idly wondered if Selima Snape had learned of her son's romance yet--surely she must have, with the way gossip traveled in the wizarding world, and the hints Rita Skeeter had dropped in the Daily Prophet. Lady Snape was as formidable as her son, and Dylan was very glad that he had not been there to witness her reaction.

Dylan grinned and whispered to Hermione, "Snape's favorite phrase seems to be, 'Cut that out, Lupin'. But he never really stops Lupin from doing whatever he wants."

Hermione giggled again. "I knew all along that Professor Snape was a good person, once we found out that he had saved Harry during that first-year Quidditch match," she said smugly. "But Harry and Ron refused to believe me."

Dylan laid his hand over hers and squeezed it. "Well, I'm glad that you had faith in us Slytherins." She smiled and flushed. Dylan let his hand remain where it was, and Hermione didn't try to pull hers away. That would do to start with, he decided. Weasley glared at them, but Hermione didn't notice, and Dylan pretended not to.

Snape saw Dylan and Hermione giggling and whispering together, but fortunately for them, he thought they were just behaving like two normal infatuated teenagers and didn't realize that they were talking about him. He had felt a little embarrassed when Lupin had laid his head on his shoulder during the fireworks display, but he secretly enjoyed it at the same time, and unobtrusively slipped his arm around Lupin, hoping that no one would notice. When he had been a teenager, he had been envious of his classmates who could openly walk around holding hands with their girlfriends or dance with them at the Yule Ball, even sneak off behind the rose bushes, and most of the teachers would wink and ignore it as long as things didn't get too far out of hand, while he and Lupin had been forced to keep their brief romance under wraps. Part of him had been glad to keep it a secret, something too precious to be shared with anyone else, while another part of him had wanted to declare to the world that Lupin belonged to him. If it hadn't been too dangerous, he would have, and be damned with his reputation and the fact that his father would have disowned him (which he did anyway); it would have been worth it to wipe that sneer off James Potter's face, to see the shock on his and Black's faces when they realized that their best friend was in love with "that slimy Slytherin". Unconsciously, his arm tightened around Lupin. Ah well, at least he'd had the belated pleasure of seeing Black's outrage (even if they had eventually reached a truce), and it was a small consolation to know that Potter senior would be spinning in his grave right now if he could see his best friend snuggled up against Snape and his son here at Snape's sons' birthday party.

Lupin smiled as he saw his lover grin. He didn't know what Severus was thinking, but it was no doubt something wicked. "A fireworks display," he whispered to Severus. "Very romantic, don't you think?"

"Granger and Rosier seem to think so," Snape said in a sour tone that was almost perfunctory.

"They make a cute couple," Lupin said, and Snape snorted in a most unromantic way, but Lupin just laughed.

Theodore sat next to Blaise wishing that they could hold hands the way Dylan and Granger were doing. He didn't think that most of the people at the table would particularly care; Draco and Damien already knew about the two of them, and he suspected that Lupin did as well. He doubted that Sera would care one way or the other; if anything, she would probably be relieved that they wouldn't have to get married as their parents had planned. He was certain that the Gryffindor boys had no clue, being a bit dense and priggish, and it would probably be amusing to see their reaction if he kissed Blaise right here and now in front of everyone. But it was clear that Allegra couldn't keep her mouth shut, and he couldn't risk word getting back to Blaise's parents right now. He wasn't sure how Snape would react, either; as a parent, he probably wouldn't object, but as the Head of Slytherin, he was supposed to prevent his students from having "inappropriate relations"--at least in theory. In practice, he ignored any fooling around (between any combination of genders) that went on in the dorms so long as the participants were discreet and didn't do anything that would cause an uproar that would force him to take action. And if he and Blaise made a spectacle of themselves here today, that would probably be something that Professor Snape could not ignore. At the very least, the Zabinis would once again insist that their son be moved to a different dorm room, and that was the last thing Theo wanted.

So he sat quietly next to his lover, for the moment content just to be in his presence. And every now and then Blaise would lean over to make a casual remark about the fireworks, touching Theo's arm or shoulder briefly, allowing his leg to brush against Theo's for a second. No one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary, least of all Allegra, who had fastened her attention on Serafina for the moment, and the two boys exchanged a conspiratorial grin.

After the fireworks were over, Snape hastily removed his arm from Lupin's waist, and Lupin got up to fetch the birthday cake, ice cream, and cold pumpkin juice. After dessert, Dylan and Theodore began opening their presents.

Draco gave both of them a broom compass, and Serafina, as expected, gave them books: for Dylan, a biography of "Dangerous" Dai Llewellyn, a former and deceased (eaten by a Chimaera) member of Dylan's favorite Quidditch team, the Caerphilly Catapults, and for Theodore, a book of Japanese legends and folktales.

"Which reminds me, Professor," Serafina said, "I should return the book you let me borrow." Before school had let out, Lupin had loaned her a book on Japanese shapeshifters.

Lupin smiled. "I know it by heart already, Sera. Please keep it." He grinned. "Consider it an early birthday present--or a late one, depending on your point of view."

"Really?" she asked, her face lighting up. "Thank you so much!"

Professor Blackmore also gave the boys books: a Potions text for Dylan, and a book on runes for Theodore. They were both books that they had previously borrowed from the library at her mansion.

"These are valuable books, Professor," a startled Dylan said. "Are you sure that you want us to keep them?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. "They are not books that I am likely to use myself, and I'm sure that you'll take good care of them."

"We will!" Dylan promised. "Thank you very much."

"Thank you," Theodore echoed, looking surprised and a little awed.

Blackmore smiled at them warmly. "You may thank me by getting good grades in Potions and Ancient Runes," she said, with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Dylan and Theodore exchanged a look. Was the demonic Professor Blackmore actually joking with them? Dylan grinned at her--looking much like his father, although he didn't realize it--and Theodore smiled shyly.

Branwen continued to smile, but it was suddenly tinged with sorrow and nostalgia, and Sirius knew why. Dylan was normally a serious boy, but when he grinned mischievously like that, he looked just like Evan. Sirius had never liked Evan, but he knew that Branwen, for whatever reason, had loved him like a son, so he put a comforting arm around her.

Branwen smiled up at him, the sorrow receding from her eyes. If she had any lingering doubts about marrying a former student--and one of her most reckless, impulsive students at that--this laid them to rest. Sirius had matured a great deal; in the past he would have demanded to know how she could mourn a murdering bastard like Evan Rosier, but now he quietly offered her comfort without passing judgment. And he had made peace with Severus, reached out to his estranged cousins, and had admitted, somewhat to his surprise, that he actually liked Evan's son. "I'm very proud of you, dear," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek, and he blushed like a schoolboy. Bane croaked in his hoarse voice, sounding petulant and jealous, and Branwen burst out laughing, then scratched her sulky familiar on his head.

Theodore and Dylan continued to open their presents. Sirius gave them boxes of assorted Honeydukes sweets, Harry gave them boxes of Honeydukes fudge, and Ron had reluctantly given them Skiving Snackboxes, since his brothers had given him a family discount. He thought that he wouldn't mind seeing them make themselves sick, even though each of the candies came with an antidote. The Puking Pastilles in particular had a very nasty effect; Ron cheered up as he pictured Dylan Rosier puking all over his immaculate robes.

Snape frowned and said, "If either of you try to use those to get out of class..."

"Don't worry, sir," Dylan assured him with a smile--not looking nearly as intimidated as he should, Snape thought peevishly. Theodore shook his head vigorously, looking more properly cowed. "At least," Dylan added with that roguish grin that was so like Evan's, "not to get out of Potions class!"

Snape scowled fiercely to hide his smile. "You had better not," he said sternly. "Not unless you want to be serving detention for the entire school year."

"Yes, sir," Dylan said in a meek voice, although his eyes were still laughing, and continued opening his presents.

Ginny gave them posters of their favorite Quidditch teams, and Damien gave them a set of magic tricks and gag items from Zonko's. Blaise gave Dylan a book of coupons for sundaes at Fortescue's and Theo a set of runestones. They came in a threadbare velvet pouch and the surface of the stones had been rubbed smooth from years of use, except where the runes were carved into them. "I got these from our shop," Blaise said. "You're good with runes, and I thought maybe you could use them in Divination class."

"They're great," Theodore said, smiling at him. "Thank you."

Allegra gave Theodore a battered copy of "Quidditch Through the Ages," obviously another item from her father's shop, and Dylan a broken wand mended with Spellotape.

"Thank you," Dylan said politely, giving her his usual charming smile, while Draco asked incredulously, "You're giving him a broken wand?" Theodore glared at him, but Draco didn't notice because at the exact same moment, Serafina pinched his arm, hard. "Ow!"

"Be nice," she hissed into his ear, "or I'll hex you."

Draco rubbed his arm sullenly but obeyed, because he had seen her handiwork and knew it was a potent threat. He pasted a smile on his face and said in a falsely hearty voice, "I mean, a broken wand--that's great!" Serafina heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes.

Allegra, however, was not offended. "I know it's broken," she explained, "and I know that you already have a wand, but this wand is special. People think mended wands are dangerous or useless--"

"I'll say," Ron muttered, remembering the disastrous effects his broken wand had had in second year.

"--but the thing is," Allegra continued, "you have to test them to understand how they work. They'll never be as good as new, but there's usually a pattern you can figure out. Like spells might have half their normal effect, or it might be good for casting only certain types of spells. This wand is good for casting only one spell, but I think you'll find it very useful." She hesitated, then said, "Percy told me that students aren't allowed to cast spells outside of school, so would you demonstrate, Professor Lupin?"

"I'd be happy to," Lupin replied. "What is the spell?" She came over and whispered something into his ear, and Lupin grinned. He took the wand from Dylan and said, "Orchideous!" and a bouquet of purple and white orchids emerged from the tip of the wand.

Lupin gave the wand and flowers back to Dylan, and he handed the bouquet to Hermione with a flourish. She smiled, blushing slightly, and said, "They're lovely," and Ginny giggled as Ron scowled.

Allegra grinned at Dylan mischievously. "I thought this wand might come in handy because Blaise says you're very popular with the girls--"

"Allegra!" Blaise snapped, but Dylan and Hermione just laughed.

"--and girls like flowers," she continued blithely.

"Indeed they do," Hermione laughed.

"It's a wonderful present," Dylan told Allegra. "Thank you very much."

Allegra beamed, looking very pleased with herself. "You're welcome. I haven't figured out a way to control what type of flowers come out, though. It seems to be different every time."

Lupin tested out the wand a few more times, producing bouquets of roses, lilies, violets, and daisies, which Dylan gave to Professor Blackmore, Ginny, Serafina, and Allegra respectively.

"A very handy gift indeed," Sirius laughed. "Every man should have one!"

"You certainly could have used one back when you were in Hogwarts," Branwen teased, "considering how many girlfriends you had."

"That's all in the past now, my dear!"

"It had better be," Branwen warned, and there was a certain glint to her eyes that made Damien shudder.

"Take a braver man than me to marry her," he whispered to Draco, who nodded in agreement.

Ron looked a little stunned. "How did you figure that out about the broken wands?" he asked Allegra. "I've never heard that before, that there's a pattern to the way they work."

Allegra shrugged. "Trial and error. We have a LOT of broken wands at the shop."

Ron stared at her with a look of newfound respect. "Boy, I wish you had been around during second year!"

Allegra giggled. "Percy told me about your broken wand. Sorry I wasn't there to help you."

"Fred and George told me that you're friends with Percy," Ron said. "Just out of curiosity, what is it that you like about him?"

Allegra looked puzzled. "He's nice. Don't you think so? He is your brother, after all."

Ron first looked disbelieving, then a little ashamed of himself. "Yeah, well, I guess so. He can be a bit of a prat at times, though..."

Ginny smiled at Allegra. "We love Percy, even though we don't always get along with him. Don't you ever fight with your brother sometimes?"

"Once in awhile," Allegra admitted, "but not often. Blaise is a good brother." Blaise smiled tenderly at her and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Besides," she told Ron, "Percy likes our store and he never calls it a junk shop the way other people do. He says it contains many bargains for a customer with a discerning eye." Ron just shook his head.

Hermione gave both Theodore and Dylan Japanese language textbooks that had obviously been bought in the Muggle world. "Since you've been taking lessons from Professor Lupin, I thought you could use these," she explained.

"Yes, they'll really come in handy, thank you, Hermione," Dylan said, showing no sign of the fact that he was secretly a little disappointed with such a practical and unromantic gift. He sighed inwardly; well, he had said that he liked Hermione the way she was, and she loved books almost as much as Serafina did...then he noticed the sunlight reflect off something shiny in the box the book had come in. He reached in and pulled out a silver charm in the shape of a Japanese kanji character strung on a length of black cord. "My Japanese isn't that good yet. What does it say?"

Lupin grinned and said, "This character is 'yuu'--it means 'friend'."

Dylan slipped the necklace over his head. "Thank you, Hermione. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome," she mumbled, blushing as she stared down at the table. Her face turned even more red when he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Lupin grinned from ear to ear while Theodore and Snape looked annoyed but resigned; Draco looked just plain annoyed, and Damien looked a little bemused. He shrugged, then grinned.

"I never thought that Granger was his type, but what the hell...it leaves more girls for the rest of us, right, Malfoy?" Draco scowled at him, but Damien ignored him and rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Now I have a shot at Parvati and Lavender!"

Draco groaned, "Why do you have to chase after Gryffindor girls?!"

Damien was feeling bold enough to wink at Professor Blackmore and say, "Inter-House cooperation!" Much to his relief, she laughed out loud instead of turning him into a toad. "Besides, I don't discriminate--I'll chase after a pretty girl no matter what House she's in! Parvati and Lavender just happen to be Gryffindors and the best-looking girls in the school. Although Padma in Ravenclaw is pretty hot, too; she is Parvati's twin, after all..."

Draco groaned again while Snape shook his head and muttered, "The school will never be the same again."

"That's a good thing, don't you think, Severus?" Lupin asked, slipping his arms around Snape.

"Cut that out, Lupin!" Snape snapped, but did not push the werewolf away from him.

Hermione giggled, and Dylan grinned and whispered, "See what I mean?" The next present he opened was from Theodore; it was a small wooden carving of an owl. "Cool," Dylan said. "It looks like Blodwen. Did you make it yourself?"

"Yes, but Remus helped me with some of the finer details, since I'm not that good at it yet."

"Thanks, I really like it," Dylan said, then pushed a package towards him. "Here, open mine next."

Theodore tore off the wrappings, revealing a broomstick servicing kit. "Thanks, Dylan, I can really use this."

"You sure can," Dylan said with a huge grin, and Theodore gave him a puzzled look until Lupin handed him a very large, oddly shaped package that could only be one thing. Lupin grinned as widely as Dylan, and Snape actually cracked a smile (a small smile, but a smile nevertheless) as Theodore eagerly tore open the package.

"Sweet!" Damien said enviously. "A Nimbus 2001!" It was a top-of-the-line racing broom, not quite as good as Harry's Firebolt, but probably the best you could get without shelling out the exorbitant price of a Firebolt, which cost more than Damien's father earned in a year.

"Thank you, Professor, thank you, Remus!" Theodore exclaimed. "I...I don't know what to say."

"Well, we thought you needed a new broomstick," Snape said indulgently, "since it seems you will be joining the Slytherin Quidditch team this year. At least, that is what your team Captain has led me to believe."

"Um...Professor?" Draco asked hesitantly. "That means I'll still be the Captain of the team this year, right?"

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy," Snape replied, looking a little puzzled. "Why wouldn't you be?"

"Er...no reason," Draco said, feeling relieved. "Just wanted to be sure, that's all." He had been afraid that Snape might promote one of his foster sons over him, but apparently the thought had never even crossed Snape's mind.

"And besides," Snape said to Theodore, "you need a good broomstick if Slytherin is to beat Gryffindor again this year." He would have bought a Firebolt if he'd been able to afford it, but it would have wiped out even the considerable savings he had amassed over his years of working at Hogwarts. If he'd still been the Snape heir, of course, he could have bought it without batting an eye, but then again, the Snape heir would not have been allowed to cohabit with a werewolf and foster two orphaned Death Eater offspring. Besides, a Chaser didn't really need the extra speed of the Firebolt, although it was ideal for a Seeker; the Nimbus was good enough. Although it did irritate Snape a bit that Potter had one; trust Black to show off by buying his godson a broom that cost more than it took to feed a small country for a year! Oh well, at least Theodore looked thrilled with his present.

"We'll do our best, Professor," Theodore said with a grin.

"I have something else for you," Lupin said, handing Theodore a small package. "And this is for both you and Dylan." He gave them a larger, square-shaped package.

The small package contained a penknife similar to the one Lupin used for carving, and the other contained a chess set. But not just any chess set...

"B-but this is your chess set," Theodore stammered. "The one you made with your father."

"Yes," Lupin said, smiling a little sadly. "I was never very good at chess, but I've always treasured it because it was something my father and I made together."

"But...then why are you giving it to us?" a bewildered Theodore asked. Dylan understood, though, and smiled at Lupin, looking very touched and pleased.

"Because you and Dylan are my sons now," Lupin explained gently, "and I would like you to have it."

"Oh!" Theodore exclaimed, looking stunned for a moment, then his eyes filled with tears and he hugged Lupin. "Thank you, Remus," he whispered, and Lupin hugged him back, looking a little teary-eyed himself.

"You're welcome, Theo."

Theodore let go of Lupin, turning aside for a moment to wipe his eyes on his sleeve, and Dylan stepped forward to give Lupin a hug, too. He was more composed than his foster brother, but no less moved. "Thank you, Remus," he said quietly. "I promise we'll treasure it just as much as you did."

"I know you will," Lupin said with a smile.

There was one last set of presents for Dylan: Lupin gave him a silver cloak pin shaped like a rose, and Snape gave him a set of expensive Potions equipment and an envelope. Curious, Dylan opened the envelope, which contained four photographs. Two of them looked familiar, and he thought he had seen them before in his mother's photo albums. The first showed Evan and Ariane at about age eighteen or nineteen, their arms around each other, looking young and in love. The second was of Evan, Ariane, and Lyall Wilkes all laughing and waving at the camera. But Dylan had never seen the other two photos before: one showed Evan grinning mischievously at the camera, with one arm flung around Ariane's shoulders and the other around Snape's; the other was of Ariane, Evan, Lyall, and Snape. In both pictures, Snape looked grumpy and a little uncomfortable. It was very odd, to see how young they all looked, only a couple of years older than Dylan was now. At least, it was odd for him to see his mother and Snape looking so young. Evan looked young in all the pictures Dylan had of him because he had died before Dylan was born. The image he had of his father would never change, would always be the handsome, charming young rogue. Dylan gently ran his fingers across the last picture, in a gesture that was almost a caress, suddenly filled with both love and sorrow.

Snape saw the expression on Dylan's face and wondered if he had made a mistake by giving him the pictures. "I was going through some of my things," he said gruffly, "and I came across these. I thought you might like to have them, since they're of your parents..."

Dylan smiled at him, and Snape felt relieved. "Thank you, Professor. I don't have many pictures of my father, so it really means a lot to me." And without really thinking about it--because he probably wouldn't have had the nerve to do so if he did--he flung his arms around Snape.

"You're...ah...welcome, Rosier," Snape said, his pale, sallow face flushing as he awkwardly patted Dylan on the back. Harry and Ron gaped at them in shock; Ginny and Hermione smiled; and the Slytherin students regarded their Head of House with varying degrees of bemusement, ranging from disbelief on Draco's part to a look of mild interest on Serafina's face, only slightly more expressive than her normal emotionless mask. Branwen and Lupin grinned hugely, while Sirius blinked in surprise, then smiled, looking amused.

Allegra, who had met Snape only once before, said cheerfully to her brother, "I don't know why you think Professor Snape is so scary. He seems nice to me."

"Shh!" hissed Blaise, casting a nervous glance at Snape, who didn't seem to have overheard her remark.

Serafina leaned over to whisper to Allegra, "Yes, but you shouldn't say so out loud. Professor Snape will be upset if you ruin his reputation." She said this with a perfectly straight face, but Draco thought he detected a glimmer of humor in her violet eyes, although it was so brief that he wondered if he had imagined it.

"Why does he want everyone to think he's mean?" Allegra whispered back.

The Slytherins stared at each other, not quite sure how to reply to that. Damien shrugged and said, "It's a Slytherin thing."

"He was pretending to be a Death Eater, and Death Eaters aren't supposed to be nice," Serafina said. "And besides, it's easier for him to keep the students in line that way."

"Oh," Allegra said, seeming satisfied with that explanation, at least for the moment.

Everyone said their goodbyes and thank-yous, and as they left, Harry muttered, "I can't believe I saw someone hug Snape."

"Yeah, me too," Ron chimed in. "Even if Rosier is his pet."

"Remus seems to find Severus eminently huggable," Branwen said lightly.

"I'm not sure that I'd call him huggable," Sirius said with a wry smile, "but I admit that Moony seems to have mellowed Snape out a bit."

"Think Snape will be feeling 'mellow' in Potions class?" Ron asked Harry hopefully.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," Harry replied. "I don't think his mellowness extends towards Gryffindors. Well, except for Professor Lupin."

Later that night, after the boys had gone to bed, Lupin said to Snape, "It was a nice party, wasn't it? The boys were very happy."

"Yes," Snape replied. "It was good of you to give them your chess set. I remember you showing it to me back in fifth year, and I know how much it meant to you."

Lupin smiled tenderly. "It does mean a lot to me; that's why I wanted them to have it. And by the way, Severus, it was good of you to give those photos to Dylan. I know you didn't just happen to come across them the way you implied. That's what you were doing when you went back to Hogwarts, wasn't it? You went to look for the photos because you knew how much they would mean to Dylan."

Snape looked embarrassed and said gruffly, "Actually, I went to Hogwarts to escape your birthday plans. I was thinking about what I should get Dylan for his birthday, and then I remembered I had those pictures stored in my closet. It's not as if they were doing any good gathering dust there, and they don't mean anything to me, but I thought Dylan would like them..."

"You're so sexy when you're being sentimental, Severus," Lupin said with a grin as he reached up, twined his hands in Snape's thick, black hair and pulled his face down for a kiss.

Snape wasn't sure whether to be amused or offended, but as Lupin's mouth closed over his, he decided that he could be offended later. If the werewolf was going to insist on ruining his reputation and making him over into a "softie," he had might as well reap the benefits of it along with the disadvantages. So he didn't bother to make a retort, but wrapped his arms around Lupin and returned the kiss.

 

Part 21