Aftermaths, Part 29

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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The day before school was to start, Dylan found Theo sitting at the desk in their bedroom, frowning as he stared down at five runestones laid out in a cross pattern on a white handkerchief. "What are you doing, Theo?" he asked.

"Oh, hi Dylan," Theodore said, looking up with a slightly distracted look on his face. "I was just playing around with the runestones Blaise gave me for my birthday."

"So what do they say?" Dylan asked with a grin. "Are you going to inherit a fortune or meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger? I don't think Blaise would like that last one very much!"

Theodore smiled, still looking a little distracted. "No, the runes don't give answers that precise." He touched the stone that formed the left arm of the cross, which was engraved with a symbol that looked like an "H" with a slanted crossbar. "This stone represents my past; the rune is Hagall, or hail, which signifies limitations and obstacles, forces beyond one's control."

Dylan nodded. "The war was certainly something beyond our control."

Theodore touched the center stone. "This one represents the present. The rune is Jara, or harvest." It resembled two arrows, interlocked and facing in opposite directions. It stands for change and cycles, and can represent inner turmoil."

"Our lives have changed a lot recently," Dylan agreed.

Theodore pointed at the stone directly below it. "This one represents obstacles in my way."

"I recognize that one," Dylan said. "It's a protective rune." It resembled a very simple, stylized tree.

Theodore nodded. "Eolh, protection, but it's reversed, which means danger."

Dylan frowned; Theodore had always regarded Divination class as a waste of time, but he seemed to be taking this all very seriously. He pointed at the top stone of the cross, which was engraved with a diamond-shaped symbol, with ends of the lines forming the bottom of the diamond extending down into an upside-down "V" shape. "What about that one?"

"That represents the help available to me. The rune is Othel, which stands for home, inheritances, ancestry."

"Your inheritance as the Nott heir?" Dylan guessed. "Or maybe it just means us, your family. You know we'd do anything to help you, Theo."

Theodore smiled, although he still looked grave. "I know," he said softly. "Thank you, Dylan."

"And the last stone?" Dylan asked. The rune resembled a check mark.

Theodore frowned again. "That one symbolizes the future: Lagu, water, which represents emotion and intuition, but it's reversed, which signifies weakness and betrayal. It's not a good omen, obviously."

"Wow, you really studied up on this," Dylan said, trying to make light of the matter.

"Yes, after Blaise gave me the runestones, I read up on them," Theodore replied, still looking grave. "We use some of the same runes in spellcasting, like the protective circles we drew in Blackmore's class, but their Divination meanings are slightly different." He frowned down at the stones again. "Danger, betrayal...it's not a very auspicious reading."

"C'mon, aren't you taking this too seriously?" Dylan asked. "You're starting to sound like Professor Trelawney! I thought you didn't believe in Divination!"

"Oh, I believe in Divination," Theodore said with a wry smile. "I just don't believe in Professor Trelawney! And I never thought that I had any talent for that type of magic, but...I cast the stones three times, Dylan, and I drew the same stones in exactly the same order all three times."

Dylan felt a shiver run down his spine. "Five stones out of...how many are there in a set?"

"Twenty-five."

"Hermione would probably be better than me at calculating the odds of that happening three times in a row, but I would guess that they're not very high." Dylan looked down at the runestones. "This is starting to freak me out a little, Theo."

"This is seriously freaking ME out!" Theodore exclaimed.

Before Dylan could reply, the door opened and Lupin called down from the top of the staircase, "Could you two help me get dinner on?"

"Yes, sir!" Theodore called back, and hastily swept the runestones off the desk and put them away.

"Thanks!" Lupin said, and headed back to the kitchen.

"Don't you want to ask Remus or the Professor about what the runes said?" Dylan asked.

Theodore shook his head. "No, they've both got enough to worry about right now, and neither of them specialize in Divination, anyway. And I'm certainly not going to ask Trelawney for advice!"

"My aunt used to have the Sight," Dylan said. "I could write and ask her for advice."

"Well, I guess that would be okay," Theodore said, looking a little relieved. "But don't make a big deal about it."

"I'll keep it casual," Dylan assured him, and they headed upstairs to help Lupin with dinner.
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The next day, Snape and Lupin saw their foster sons off at the train station. Lupin gave them both a hug and said, "We'll see you at school."

"How are you getting to school?" Dylan asked curiously. He had never seen any of the teachers ride the train, although Damien had told him that Lupin had taken the train to Hogwarts along with the students the first year he had started teaching there.

"Severus and I will Apparate back home and then take the Floo to school," Lupin replied.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we all just went through the Floo together?" Dylan wondered.

Lupin smiled. "Yes, but the Floo Network can't accommodate hundreds of students arriving at once, and it wouldn't be fair to give the teachers' children special privileges," he said gently.

"Oh, of course," Dylan said, feeling a little stupid. "I didn't think."

"Besides," Lupin continued, still smiling, "I always thought it was fun riding the train to school with my friends, getting caught up on what everyone was doing over the summer."

Snape didn't have the same fond memories of riding the Hogwarts Express, mainly because he'd never had any real friends in school. "The school could probably arrange for the students to take the Floo in shifts," he said sourly, "but the journey by train and then boat or carriage has become a school tradition, and God forbid we break with tradition."

"Don't be such a grump, Sev," Lupin laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

"Not in public, Lupin!" Snape complained.

Lupin ignored him and hugged the boys again. "Take care, now."

"For Merlin's sake, Lupin, we'll be seeing them again in a few hours," Snape said in a huffy tone. "There's no need to get all maudlin about it." He handed the boys small, heavy pouches filled with coins, judging by the metallic clinking sound they made. "To buy something to eat on the train," he said gruffly, then gave each of them an awkward pat on the shoulder as Lupin grinned.

"Thank you, Professor," the boys chorused.

Snape just grunted in response, looking a little embarrassed. "Better go board the train before it leaves without you," was all he said, but Lupin winked at them behind Snape's back.

As the boys turned to leave, they heard someone call out, "Dylan! Theo!" Allegra Zabini came running up to them, with Blaise following at a more leisurely pace.

"Hi," Dylan said with a smile. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Too bad," Blaise joked, "I was planning on stowing her in the luggage compartment."

She stuck out her tongue at her brother, and the boys laughed. They headed for the train, and saw Narcissa Malfoy kissing and hugging her son goodbye.

"I'll be fine, Mum," Draco protested, turning a little red. "Please don't make a scene."

Narcissa gave him one last hug and released him, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. "Don't forget to write, dear!"

"Yes, Mum," Draco said obediently. He started walking towards the train, then stopped as he came face-to-face with Dylan and the others. He just stood there for a moment, looking uncertain of his welcome.

Dylan thought that he looked young and vulnerable, a far cry from the arrogant Draco Malfoy who had lorded it over everyone in Slytherin. "Hi, Draco," he said cheerfully. "Come on, let's go find a compartment before they're all full." Draco smiled, his eyes full of gratitude and relief, and boarded the train with them.

As they passed through the crowded compartments, many of the girls called out greetings to Dylan.

"Hi, Dylan!"

"How was your summer?"

"Come sit with us!"

He smiled and waved as he passed by, but didn't stop. "Hi, nice to see you, my summer was fine. I'd love to sit with you, but there doesn't seem to be enough room for my friends."

"Boy, you sure are popular, Dylan!" Allegra exclaimed.

"It's like traveling with a Quidditch star or a member of the Weird Sisters," Blaise laughed. "I half expect people to start asking for his autograph!"

"Hey, over here!" Damien shouted, waving at them from the next compartment. "I think there's an empty compartment in the back."

The very last compartment was empty, and they had just taken their seats when Crabbe and Goyle walked in. "There you guys are!" Crabbe said. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Draco looked startled. Of course he and his henchmen had always shared a compartment, but now that his father was dead and disgraced, he had not expected Crabbe and Goyle to continue hanging around with him, especially since their mothers had ordered them not to. "I thought you didn't want to be associated with me anymore," he said stiffly.

"Aw, that's our mums' doing," Goyle said sheepishly. "Sorry about that. They're worried we won't be able to get jobs and stuff when we graduate if people think we're Death Eaters."

"Yeah, we really wanted to come to your birthday party," Crabbe told Dylan and Theodore with a rueful sigh. "It would've been a lot more fun than visiting my aunt and uncle and my snot-nosed cousins, and it would've been nice to see Professor Lupin again."

"The party was lots of fun!" Allegra informed them cheerfully. "You two must be Crabbe and Goyle; my brother says you're as big as mountain trolls, but I think he's exaggera--ow!" She glared at Blaise, who had just pinched her and was casting a nervous glance at his two brawny classmates. "What was that for?!"

"Remember what Professor Snape said about being discreet and thinking before you speak?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Is this your sister, Zabini?" Goyle asked, sounding curious but not offended.

"Unfortunately, yes," Blaise sighed.

"You play for the Quidditch team, don't you?" Allegra asked eagerly. "I remember seeing you in that match you won against Gryffindor."

Crabbe and Goyle preened a little at the admiring tone in her voice, forgetting all about the mountain troll comment. "Yes, we are," Crabbe said proudly.

"I want to be a Quidditch player too!" Allegra said. "How come there aren't any girls on the Slytherin team? Is it against the rules or something?"

"Uh..." Crabbe said, looking at Goyle. Goyle shrugged, looking equally confused.

"There's nothing against it in the rule book," Dylan said. "And all the other teams have girls on them. I don't know why there aren't any on the Slytherin team."

"That's because most of the Slytherin families are very conservative and old-fashioned," Serafina said in her cool, emotionless voice as she walked into the compartment. "They don't think it's ladylike for girls to play Quidditch, and the girls don't want to ruin their chances of making a good marriage by having potential husbands--or their potential husbands' families--think that they're rowdy and unladylike."

"That's dumb!" Allegra declared.

"I didn't say it wasn't," Serafina said calmly. "But that's how most of the Slytherin families think. Is it okay if I sit here? All the other compartments are full."

"Sure, come sit by me, Sera!" Allegra said. Serafina looked surprised to hear the younger girl call her by her nickname, which was hardly ever used by anyone but her mother and Theo, but she sat next to Allegra and smiled just a little. "Well, I'm going to try out for the team when I'm old enough," Allegra informed everyone. "It doesn't matter if people think I'm unladylike, because my family's too poor to arrange a 'good marriage' for me, anyway."

Draco raised his eyebrows and said, "She's very, um...blunt...isn't she?"

"You have no idea," Blaise sighed.

The train started to pull away from the station, and Allegra looked out through the window and waved at her parents who were waving good-bye from the platform. She also saw Narcissa Malfoy waving at the train. "Your mum's waving good-bye, Draco," she said.

"It's so embarrassing," he groaned. "She treats me like a little kid!" But he waved to her nevertheless--"Just to humor her," he claimed.

"Your dads are waving, too, Dylan, Theo," Allegra informed them cheerfully, if not entirely accurately. The two boys looked out the window and saw Lupin waving to them as Snape stood there scowling at him, his arms crossed over his chest. Dylan and Theo grinned at each other, then waved back at Lupin, who kept waving until the platform faded from sight.

Just then, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny ran into the compartment, panting and out of breath.

"It's all your fault we were late!" Ginny scolded her brother. "We nearly missed the train!"

"It's not my fault!" Ron protested. "Fred and George hid my prefect's badge, and it took me all morning to find it! And Harry was late, too!"

"Sirius took forever getting ready this morning," Harry said apologetically. "He's a little nervous about starting his new job; Professor Blackmore threatened to send him out in his birthday suit if he couldn't make up his mind what to wear--"

Hermione cleared her throat and her three friends looked up and finally noticed that the compartment was occupied by the Slytherins.

"Oh, sorry," Harry said. "I didn't know this compartment was taken. Um..." He looked around and saw that this was obviously the last compartment on the train; he glanced back nervously, as if wondering whether they should go back the way they came.

"All the other compartments are full," Hermione said calmly. "Is it okay if we share this one with you?"

"Of course!" Dylan said happily, and moved over to make room for her. She blushed a little and sat next to him while Ron, Ginny, and Harry took the remaining empty seats. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but they all fit. Hermione and Dylan didn't seem to mind being pressed up close against each other, and neither did Theodore and Blaise. Some of the others did, though.

"Oof!" Ron said. "Your elbow is in my ribs, Ginny!"

"I think you're taking up more than your fair share of the seat," his sister grumbled, but she moved away from him a little, which put her closer to Harry. "I'm not squashing you, am I, Harry?"

"Not at all," he replied, with a rather silly grin on his face. Meanwhile, Allegra gave up her seat and perched on her brother's lap to make a little more room.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at Draco to see if he would object to this Gryffindor intrusion, but he just shrugged, so they smiled shyly at Hermione, who smiled back at them pleasantly.

"How was your summer?" she asked politely.

"Pretty good," Goyle replied. "Me and Crabbe were working on our Patronus Charms...oops!" He hastily clapped a hand over his mouth, remembering that Hermione was a prefect and the students weren't supposed to be practicing magic outside of the school.

But to his surprise, Hermione just smiled at him. "I heard how you used your Patronus Charms to save Professor Lupin from the Dementor on the battlefield. It's lucky you were there to protect him."

Goyle looked relieved. "Yeah, well, it's a good thing that Professor Lupin taught us that spell, huh? I guess he knew we'd need it someday."

"We've been practicing drawing runes, too," Crabbe said, steering the conversation towards a safer topic. "We've gotten a lot better."

"That's great," Hermione said.

"Did I hear you say that Sirius has a new job?" Draco asked Harry.

"Yeah, I guess he didn't get a chance to tell you and your mum yet," Harry replied. "He's taken a position as Head of Werewolf Support Services at the Ministry of Magic."

"That's great!" exclaimed Goyle.

"That's so cool!" agreed Crabbe. "Do you think he can get us a job when we graduate?"

"At the Ministry?" Harry asked.

"No," Crabbe said, then clarified, "I mean, yeah, but in Werewolf Support."

"That's a dead-end position," Draco protested. "No one wants that job; couldn't Weasley find a better position for a hero of the war?"

"It was a dead-end position," Harry said, echoing Blackmore's words, "but not anymore. Mr. Weasley cares about the werewolves; he's a friend of Lupin's, after all."

"Hmm," said Draco thoughtfully. "You're right; he did start the Wolfsbane Potion Distribution Program, and made sure the werewolves were given equal rights after he became Minister."

"Say, Draco," Goyle asked curiously, "how come we purebloods are supposed to hate the werewolves, anyway?"

"Because they turn into vicious, mindless beasts and try to either kill people or infect them during the full moon?" Draco said sarcastically.

"But Lupin's a great guy," Goyle protested, "and werewolves aren't dangerous if they take the Wolfsbane Potion."

"Professor Lupin's not a beast!" Crabbe said vehemently, clenching his fists.

"Calm down, Crabbe," Draco said, looking a little alarmed. "I didn't say that I thought Lupin was a beast; I was just explaining to Goyle how most purebloods think." Crabbe relaxed.

"The potion was a recent invention," Dylan explained, "and it will take awhile for people to get over their old fears and prejudices. I think the purebloods wouldn't hate and fear the werewolves so much if all they did was kill people; what really scares them is that lycanthropy is contagious." His voice turned scornful. "They don't want to taint their precious pure blood with the blood of a beast." He tried not to think about the fact that his father had murdered people in his crusade to keep the wizard race "pure".

"That's dumb!" said Crabbe, and Goyle nodded emphatically. Ron, Harry, and Ginny were a little startled by how vigorously the pair were defending Lupin, and the werewolves in general, but Hermione just grinned. Draco felt uncomfortable as he remembered how he had taunted and insulted Lupin all through third year and most of sixth year.

"Things are starting to change," Harry said. "The werewolves are heroes of the war, so Professor Blackmore said that now is the best time to get them accepted into society."

"And Dumbledore's hired another werewolf to teach at Hogwarts," Dylan added.

"What?!" Draco exclaimed, and the others looked equally shocked. "Who?"

"Lukas Bleddri, the leader of the werewolf pack that fought during the final battle," Dylan replied.

"That's so cool!" Goyle said enthusiastically. "Two werewolves at Hogwarts! What's he teaching?"

"He's taking over Master Karasu's Physical Defense class, and he said that Dumbledore wants him to teach something called Interspecies Relations," Dylan replied.

"That's the first I've heard of this," Draco said.

"Theo and I only heard about it because Master Bleddri stopped by the cottage to talk about it with Professor Lupin," Dylan explained. "He wasn't sure if he wanted the job, but Lupin persuaded him to take it."

"Maybe Dumbledore's been keeping it quiet because he knew the parents might object," Theodore said.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Draco agreed. "Present everyone with a fait accompli--if he'd announced it ahead of time, it would have given the parents time to get organized and petition the school governors to block his hiring of Bleddri."

"Fate what?" Goyle asked, scratching his head.

Draco sighed. "It means that it would have been easy for the parents to keep Dumbledore from hiring the werewolf, but it'll be harder for them to get him fired once he's already teaching at Hogwarts. Hmm, the old man is smarter than he looks--that's the sort of move a Slytherin would pull."

Ron and Harry were a little annoyed by Draco's less than respectful attitude towards the Headmaster, but were distracted when the food cart arrived. They all bought treats--Ron was especially happy to be able to pay for his own snacks instead of letting Harry treat him--except for Blaise, who looked embarrassed, and Allegra who eyed the cart wistfully. Harry saw that look and said, "Would you like a Chocolate Frog? I've got too many, anyway."

"Yes, too much candy is bad for your teeth, Harry," Hermione said sternly, but she winked at him when Allegra wasn't looking.

"Thank you!" Allegra said, happily accepting the piece of candy and opening the wrapper. "It's a Dumbledore," she said, giggling. "He winked at me!" Blaise still looked embarrassed, but he smiled at Harry as he rumpled his sister's hair fondly.

"Don't mess up my hair, Blaise," she complained.

Theodore and Dylan had of course intended to share their snacks with Blaise and Allegra, but they were surprised by Harry's gesture, Theodore in particular. He gave Harry a puzzled, thoughtful look. "Here, I got some of these for us to share," he said, passing out Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes; Dylan had bought cups of iced pumpkin juice for the four of them.

"Thank you!" Allegra said, looking delighted. "That's really nice of you."

"Thanks," Blaise said, flushing a little. "You didn't have to, my mum packed a lunch..."

"Oh, don't be a git, Blaise," Theodore said. "We always share; it's no big deal." He grinned and added, "If you want to pay me back, you can help me with my History of Magic homework when classes start; I always fall asleep in that class."

"Besides," Dylan said cheerfully, "Professor Snape gave us money for snacks, and he was very generous. No sense letting it go to waste."

Blaise didn't argue any further, and they ate their snacks and made small talk--or tried to make small talk as Allegra peppered the Slytherins with questions about Quidditch and classes and dorm life.

"I wonder who my roommate will be?" she said. "I hope it's someone nice. Do you know which Slytherin girls are entering Hogwarts this year?"

"You won't know who will be a Slytherin until the Sorting Hat places everyone in a House," Hermione told her gently.

"Oh, Daddy says all Zabinis are Slytherins," Allegra said dismissively.

"It's sort of a tradition among the old Slytherin families," Dylan explained. "The children almost always enter the same House as their parents; the Rosiers have all been Slytherins from the founder of our clan down to me."

"Same with the Malfoys," Draco agreed.

"Although there are a few exceptions--like Harry's godfather," Dylan continued.

"Literally the black sheep of the family," Draco laughed.

"So who will my new housemates be?" Allegra asked eagerly.

"Let's see," Draco said, thinking it over. "I know Pansy's brother is starting school this year, and I think Malcolm Baddock's sister is, too..."

Meanwhile, Ron stared at the Zabinis thoughtfully as he munched on a pasty. He remembered what it had been like to wear secondhand robes and have no spending money. Harry had always generously shared treats with him, of course, beginning with their very first trip on the Hogwarts Express, but he remembered feeling a little ashamed of accepting that generosity--as Blaise apparently was, too. He didn't know much about the Zabinis, but he vaguely recalled hearing that they had once been a wealthy and powerful family, but had fallen on hard times in recent years. He noticed that Blaise's robes looked a little faded, although Allegra's looked new, and wondered if Draco had ever taunted him about that. It probably wasn't easy being poor in snobbish Slytherin House, and Ron was suddenly very glad that he had been Sorted into Gryffindor. Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle no longer seemed as snooty and arrogant as they had before, though--in fact, they were almost downright human! Ron sighed; he was glad the war was over, but things had been a lot easier when he was able to simply hate the Slytherins, before they had started showing up at birthday parties and sleepovers, before one of his best friends had started dating one...

Ginny had also noticed the similarities between her family and the Zabinis, but she didn't suffer any inner conflicts about it. "That was a nice thing you did, Harry," she said softly, and smiled at him.

"It was nothing," Harry muttered, blushing a little, but he was suddenly glad of the offhand impulse that had caused him to offer the candy to the Slytherin girl.

It was a long train ride, and after lunch, several of the older students were yawning; Crabbe and Goyle leaned back against their seats and started to doze off. Dylan used the cramped quarters as an excuse to unobtrusively stretch his arm out along the back of the seat behind Hermione, and she yawned, blinked sleepily, and almost unthinkingly slouched against him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Allegra, however, was much too excited to feel sleepy, and immediately noticed this. "Dylan!" she exclaimed in a loud voice. "Is Hermione your girlfriend?"

Crabbe and Goyle immediately woke up, their eyes going wide and round. Hermione sat upright with a jerk, her face turning red.

"Y-you?" Crabbe stammered.

"And Granger?!" Goyle finished.

Dylan just grinned. "Well, we're good friends, and I like her a lot, but I haven't officially asked her to be my girlfriend yet."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Allegra asked, and Dylan laughed.

He gave Hermione his most charming smile and asked, "Will you be my girlfriend, Hermione?"

"Silly," she said, still blushing, and kissed him on the cheek. "I thought I already was."

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Dylan said with a grin.

"You?" Crabbe repeated, still sounding stunned.

"And Granger?" Goyle finished.

"Is there an echo in here or something?" Theo asked grumpily. He still wasn't thrilled about his foster brother's romance, although he had accepted the inevitable.

"Are you guys gonna go public?" Crabbe wanted to know. "A Slytherin and a Gryffindor together--won't that cause trouble at school?"

"The war's over," Dylan pointed out. "There's no reason why a Slytherin and a Gryffindor can't be friends--or more than friends. I don't have to worry about the Death Eaters hurting my friends and family anymore, and I don't care what anyone else thinks. Besides, Professor Lupin's a Gryffindor, and he and Professor Snape are together."

"That's true," Crabbe acknowledged.

"Besides," Ginny added, "Professor Blackmore and the Sorting Hat kept saying that the Houses have to cooperate more."

"That means we can be friends now?" Goyle asked Hermione shyly.

"Of course!" Hermione said, smiling at Goyle and Crabbe warmly, although Ron looked horrified, and Harry only slightly less so. "I'd like that a lot."

"Let's all be friends!" Allegra said, clapping her hands together excitedly. "All of us--you and me and Blaise and Theo and Dylan and Draco and Harry and Ron and--" Now Draco looked just as horrified as Ron and Harry.

"Are you sure she's a Slytherin?" Theodore muttered to Blaise as Allegra prattled on.

Blaise sighed, a pained look on his face. "She's definitely a Zabini, but I have no idea who she takes after. I swear no one else in my family is like this!"

Damien just laughed. "You two have to go public!" he urged Dylan. "It's your civic duty to free up the rest of the female student population for us single guys! Do you know how hard it is to get a date when all the girls are holding out in hope of you asking them out?"

Dylan grinned and said to Hermione, "Well, I guess we'll have to do it for Damien's sake, so that he won't have to spend another year dateless."

"I hope all those girls don't get mad at me for taking you away from them," Hermione joked nervously. She was used to being teased for being "brainy" or for things like S.P.E.W., and usually brushed off those insults without being bothered by them, but the thought of facing the wrath of nearly every girl in the school was a little unsettling.

"Don't worry, Hermione!" Damien said with a good-natured smile. "I promise I'll do my best to console all those heartbroken girls!"

Hermione laughed in spite of her worries. The red-haired Slytherin boy was actually quite handsome and charming, but he had been overshadowed by his more popular friend for the past few years. Maybe the girls would begin to notice him now, and not spend too much time bemoaning the fact that Dylan was no longer available...at least, Hermione hoped so.

Serafina looked up from the book she was reading and regarded her companions with a mildly interested yet slightly detached look, like a scientist observing a laboratory experiment. A small smile crossed her lips for a moment, then she looked down at her book again.

It was dark by the time the train pulled up at Hogsmeade Station. "Firs' years here! Firs' years over here!" Hagrid called, waving a lantern in the air.

"Go ahead, Allegra," Blaise told his sister, who was looking excited but a little nervous as well. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "You'll be fine, and I'll see you at the Great Hall in a little while."

"Okay," she said, and ran off to join the other first-years. As the older children headed towards the stagecoaches, Goyle and Crabbe stopped in their tracks so suddenly that Damien, who had been walking behind them, ran right into them.

"Oof!" he exclaimed. "What's the matter with you two--" Then he looked up and saw what had caught their attention--the Thestrals--and stopped and gawked as well. "Merlin's beard!" he shouted, turning a little pale as he saw the skeletal, bat-winged horses for the first time; Damien, along with everyone else in their little group, could finally see the Thestrals since they had all witnessed death during the final battle. "Those...those...things...have been pulling the coaches all this time?!"

"I told you they were nasty creatures," Theodore said.

"Whoa!" shouted Goyle.

"They're so cool!" Crabbe said enthusiastically.

"What?!" Damien exclaimed, and all the other children turned to stare at Crabbe and Goyle incredulously, except for Serafina, whose face showed only its usual cool indifference. "They're the ugliest things I've ever seen!"

"I think they're really neat," Goyle said, sounding a little offended. He reached out as if to pet the nearest Thestral, and Draco shouted, "Stop that, you idiot! What if it bites your hand off?!"

"Don't call me an idiot, Malfoy," Goyle said, scowling at his former leader, who was reminded that he no longer held any power over his Slytherin classmates.

"It might not be a good idea to touch them, though," Hermione said in a placating voice. "They do have sharp teeth, and they're not used to being handled by anyone but Hagrid."

Goyle looked disappointed, but withdrew his hand. "Do you think Hagrid will cover Thestrals in class again this year?" he asked. "It would be a lot more fun now that we can see them."

"Speak for yourself," Draco muttered, but under his breath.

"Even if he wasn't planning to, maybe he would if you asked him," Hermione suggested.

"They're fascinating creatures," said a dreamy voice behind them, and they turned to see Luna Lovegood approaching. "And they're not dangerous; we rode them once at the end of fourth year--well, it would have been your fifth year."

"You got to ride them?" Crabbe asked enviously. "When?"

"When Harry, Ronald, Ginny, Neville, Hermione, and I went to the Ministry to rescue Harry's godfather," Luna replied, still in that dreamy-sounding voice. "Only he didn't really need rescuing after all; it was a trap set by the Death Eaters."

"Oh, when Dad got arrested the first time," Goyle said, not sounding very upset about it. "So what was it like?"

"It was fun," Luna said.

"That's not what I'd call it," Ron muttered.

"Let's go before the coaches leave without us," Draco said impatiently.

They couldn't all fit into one carriage, so they had to split up, and Ron, Harry, and Ginny somehow found themselves sharing a coach with Crabbe, Goyle, and Luna while Hermione rode with Dylan and his friends.

"Abandoning us for those Slytherins," Ron said darkly.

"Oh, don't be an idiot, Ron," Ginny said. "We'll see her at the castle in a little while."

Harry said nothing, but privately he agreed with Ron. It wasn't so much that he minded her dating Dylan (although he wasn't that happy about it, either), but the three of them had been best friends since first year, and always shared the train and carriage ride to Hogwarts. Maybe he was being silly, but it hurt a little to have their triad broken up for the first time.

Meanwhile, Goyle and Crabbe seemed oblivious to the awkward silence between the Gryffindors as they chattered happily with Luna about Thestrals.


Part 30