Aftermaths, Part 30
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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Dylan and Hermione caused an uproar when they walked into the Great Hall holding
hands; Dylan had decided that since they were "going public," there was no time
like the present. Although he was studious like his mother, he still had a touch
of his father's dramatic flair, and was quite aware that every eye in the room
was focused on them, and he enjoyed the attention even if Hermione did not. He
walked her over to the Gryffindor table, gallantly pulled out a chair for her,
then bowed over her hand and kissed it in a courtly fashion as Hermione turned
bright red and her housemates--both male and female--watched slack-jawed. Then
he calmly sauntered over to the Slytherin table to join his own housemates.
"Y-y-you?" Parvati stammered.
"And Dylan?" Lavender wailed.
From the head table, the teachers watched with varying degrees of shock and
amusement. McGonagall just raised her eyebrows and said, "Oh my," while Hagrid
sat there with his mouth hanging open, stunned into speechlessness.
"He takes after his father, doesn't he?" Branwen said fondly.
"Indeed," Snape replied sourly.
"They make such a cute couple, don't they?" Lupin asked sweetly, and Snape
glared at him.
"They certainly do," Dumbledore agreed, his eyes twinkling merrily behind his
half-moon glasses.
"Oh my!" Flitwick laughed, looking surprised but pleased. "He certainly does
know how to make an entrance! A pairing I never imagined, but they are
well-suited to each other, come to think of it."
"A Gryffindor and a Slytherin?" Hagrid asked incredulously, having regained his
voice. "Our little Hermione and the son of a Death Eater?" Then he turned a
little pale as Branwen, Bane, and Snape all skewered him with equally baleful
and dangerous looks.
Even Flitwick frowned at him, although he was nowhere near as intimidating as
the other three. "Here now," he said reprovingly, "Dylan is a good lad, and a
good student. Both he and Miss Granger share a love of knowledge, so as I said,
they're well-suited to each other."
"Dylan risked his life and his mother sacrificed her own fighting the Death
Eaters," Snape growled, "and this is the thanks they get?"
"Dylan should not be held responsible for his father's crimes," Branwen said
sternly, as if lecturing a student. "It is something of a miracle that he chose
to fight on our side despite the hostility and prejudiced remarks he has endured
his entire life." Her expression softened a little as she looked at Snape. "We
can thank Severus for that, I think." Then her face and voice turned stern
again. "I am surprised at your attitude, Hagrid. I would have thought that you
would be the last person to judge someone on appearances, considering your own
background. You should not be surprised that Hermione chose to befriend
Dylan--did she not stand by you when that Skeeter woman made your parentage
public?"
Hagrid hung his head, looking like a chastened student, and mumbled an apology.
Snape was still annoyed, but he took some pleasure in hearing Branwen sharpen
her tongue on the Gamekeeper; she had honed it on himself often enough, both as
a student and an adult.
Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Pansy was demanding of Dylan, "Since when are
you and Granger an item?!"
"Since this summer," Dylan replied calmly. "But we've been friends ever since my
first year at Hogwarts."
"But you never said anything about it!" Pansy protested.
"Of course not," Dylan said. "If the Death Eaters had found out that I was
friends with one of Harry Potter's friends, they might have hurt her--or me and
my family."
"What's so special about her, anyway?" pouted Yvonne, who was one of Dylan's
yearmates. She was very pretty, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and delicate
features, but Dylan found her flighty, shallow, and completely uninteresting
compared to Hermione.
"She's smart, she's brave, and she doesn't care what anyone else thinks of her,"
Dylan explained patiently. "She does what she thinks is right even if people
make fun of her or get mad at her, or even threaten her."
"Are the Slytherin girls not good enough for you?" Pansy complained.
"I like her for herself, not because of what House she's in," Dylan said softly,
then smiled at her. "It's okay to be friends with people in other Houses now,
isn't it? You and Millicent are friends with Lavender and Parvati, after all."
"Um, well, that's true," Pansy admitted, looking confused. She frowned as she
tried to come up with a reasonable objection to Dylan's new romance.
"And she stood up to the Gryffindor boys when they called me a Death Eater,"
Dylan continued. "She believed in me, and in Professor Snape."
Pansy calmed down, and several of the other Slytherin girls looked thoughtful,
although Yvonne was still pouting. "Well...I suppose it's okay, then," Pansy
said reluctantly.
Millicent seemed to be taking the news with surprising equanimity. "I was
wondering why you never really dated anyone during the three years you've been
going to school here, when almost any girl in the school would love to go out
with you. You were pining after Granger all this time." Dylan blushed a little,
and Millicent grinned. "That's kind of romantic, actually."
Pansy gave her friend a suspicious look, then let out a high-pitched squeal as
she caught sight of something glittering on Millicent's hand. "Ow!" Damien said,
wincing as he clapped his hands over his ears. "I think you just shattered my
eardrum!"
Pansy ignored him and grabbed Millicent's hand. "A ring! Did Miles give that to
you?"
Dylan was temporarily forgotten as a crowd of Slytherin girls clustered around
Millicent, who smiled smugly and held out her hand so that they could admire her
ring--a silver Claddagh ring set with a small, heart-shaped emerald.
"It's so pretty!" Pansy gushed. "And in Slytherin colors, too!"
"Is it an engagement ring?" Yvonne asked excitedly.
"We're not engaged yet," Millicent said, "but it's a promise ring. He's off
training with the Falmouth Falcons--"
"He's going to be a professional Quidditch player?" Yvonne exclaimed.
"Well, he's apprenticing as a reserve player right now," Millicent said
modestly, but she looked very proud. "He has to go through training before
they'll put him in a real match. Anyway, he gave me this ring 'to keep me in
your mind so you won't forget about me' were his exact words."
The girls squealed and sighed, and Damien said, "Huh! I didn't know Bletchley
could be so smooth! Hmm...I'll have to remember that line." Dylan was just
pleased that the girls' attention had been diverted away from him.
Back at the Gryffindor table, Hermione had just finished explaining to Lavender
and Parvati why she and Dylan had kept their friendship secret up until now. "So
he was protecting you from the Death Eaters," Lavender sighed. "He's so brave!"
Suddenly Parvati's eyes focused on Hermione's silver charm bracelet, and she
noticed the tiny silver rose charm on it. "That rose wasn't on there before!"
she said almost accusingly. "You said your mum gave you that bracelet for
Christmas, but it was from Dylan, wasn't it?"
Hermione blushed. "Yes, but I couldn't tell anyone it was from him. That was why
I left the rose charm off until now, in case someone noticed and put two and two
together." She added in a flattering tone, "You have very sharp eyes, Parvati."
Parvati preened for a moment, then looked over at the Slytherin table and sighed
mournfully. "Oh well," she sighed. "He was bound to choose a girlfriend someday,
and I didn't think I had much of a chance with him anyway, since I thought
Malfoy wouldn't let him date a Gryffindor." Just then, Damien caught her eye,
and grinned and winked at her flirtatiously. Parvati giggled, cheering up
slightly. She quickly looked away, then cast a discreet sidelong glance back at
him; Lavender followed suit. Damien waved at them, still grinning, and the girls
burst into giggles.
"You know, he is kind of cute..." Lavender said speculatively.
"He chases after anything in a skirt," Parvati said, but she giggled again and
waved back at him.
Hermione sighed with relief, as did Seamus Finnigan, for different reasons.
Dylan had virtually monopolized the attention of the female students for the
past few years; now that he was no longer available, they might start looking at
other suitors more favorably. Seamus smiled at Lavender and asked casually, "So
how was your summer?" That simple question caused her to launch into a detailed
description of how she had decided to become a Healer, which had led to her and
Parvati volunteering at St. Mungo's and petitioning Snape to enter his Advanced
Potions class.
"Wow!" Seamus said, sounding impressed. "You're a lot braver than I am, to
voluntarily go into Snape's class! And you must have worked really hard studying
to take that special O.W.L.!"
Lavender smiled, looking flattered. "Well, I have to take Potions to become a
Healer, and I don't really think Snape's that bad anymore. I mean, he's still a
little scary, but Professor Lupin loves him, so he must be okay."
Seamus wasn't so sure about that, but he wasn't about to argue with Lavender
when she was smiling at him so prettily. He sighed dramatically and said, "Well,
I would have braved Snape and taken Potions too, if I had known you were going
to be there!"
"I'm not sure I believe that!" Lavender said coyly, but she giggled and
fluttered her eyelashes at him. Dean Thomas gave her a disgusted look; hero of
the war or not, he still didn't like Snape, and he didn't understand why some of
the girls now saw him as a romantic figure just because he had apparently been
carrying on a secret affair with Professor Lupin. He glanced over at the head
table where Snape sat, looking just as sallow and sour as ever. Then Lupin
suddenly leaned over and kissed Snape on the cheek, and the Potions Master's
pale face turned bright red--that part was a little different, Dean had to admit
to himself!
"Cut that out, Lupin!" Snape snapped.
"Oh, cheer up and stop looking so grumpy, Severus!" Lupin laughed. "You know
you're glad to be back at school."
Lukas Bleddri slumped back in his chair, looking at Lupin as if he didn't know
whether to be annoyed or amused; he still wasn't entirely happy that Lupin had
talked him into taking this job. "Is he always so disgustingly cheerful?" Lukas
asked Snape.
"Yes," Snape immediately replied, the expression on his face eloquently speaking
of long-suffering stoically borne. "You see what I have to put up with?"
Lupin just chuckled as Lukas nodded sympathetically. "It's so nice to see you
two getting along so well," he said in a bright, chirpy tone, and they both
turned to glare at him.
Meanwhile, the students were so engrossed with Dylan's and Hermione's
newly-revealed romance that most of them didn't even notice that there was a new
teacher sitting at the head table. Most of the girls were mourning and
commiserating while most of the boys, like Seamus, were overjoyed.
"I don't see what's so great about Hermione," Padma sniffed at the Ravenclaw
table.
"She seems like a nice person," Lisa Turpin said. "And she's very smart.
Besides, I thought she was your sister's friend."
"Aren't you upset?" Padma asked. "Weren't the two of you going out for awhile
during fourth year?"
Lisa shook her head. "No, we went to the Yule Ball together, and we went to
Madam Puddifoot's together a couple of times, but nothing ever really happened.
I mean, we danced, we flirted, we even kissed a few times, but..." Padma sighed
enviously, and Lisa frowned a little. "There was no real spark. I don't know how
to explain it, exactly, but I never felt like I really knew him. Sometimes we
talked about personal things, like our families, but it always felt somehow like
he was holding something back."
"What do you mean?" Padma asked.
"Well, like I never really saw him get angry or sad before the final battle,"
Lisa replied. "He was always so calm, and he never lost his temper even when the
Gryffindors said nasty things about him. At the time I just assumed it was
because he was being careful not to give anyone an excuse to have him expelled
from school, although I guess it was also because he knew the Death Eaters were
watching him. But anyway, you can't really have a relationship with someone who
can't--or won't--open up to you. So we just stayed friends, and I'm fine with
that. I'm glad he feels like he doesn't have to keep his guard up anymore. So if
he's happy with Hermione, than I'm happy for him."
The Ravenclaw girls stared at her in awe, then Padma jokingly complained, "Do
you have to be so mature about it, Lisa? Let us hate Hermione just for a little
while!" and everyone laughed.
At the Hufflepuff table, Justin Finch-Fletchley was staring thoughtfully at the
Slytherin table when Zacharias Smith grinned and elbowed him in the side, and he
looked up with a start. "It's great news, isn't it?" Zacharias asked. "Rosier's
finally freed up the field for the rest of us!"
"Yes," Justin said, his eyes flickering back to the Slytherin table for a
moment. "It is."
"You don't need to gloat about it," Hannah Abbott complained.
Then the chatter died down as Professor McGonagall led the first-years into the
Great Hall to be Sorted. They lined up in front of the Sorting Hat, and it began
to sing:
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindor apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuff are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk will use any means
To achieve their ends.
But do not forget how Hogwarts
Was nearly torn apart last year:
Houses turned on one another
In jealousy and fear.
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff,
Gryffindor and Slytherin--
Let four Houses stand united,
And let the Sorting now begin!
Professor McGonagall began calling the first-years forward. "Ames-Diggory,
Tristan!"
A thin, serious-looking boy with brown hair stepped forward and put on the Hat.
After a long pause, the Hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The boy smiled and headed to
the Hufflepuff table as his new housemates cheered and applauded loudly.
"Ames-Diggory?" Ron said. "Do you suppose he's related to Cedric?"
"He kind of looks like Cedric," Harry said uneasily as a wave of grief and guilt
suddenly swept over him. He had defeated Voldemort, but it had been too late to
save Cedric.
At the Slytherin table, Pansy was saying, "He's supposed to be Cedric Diggory's
cousin. I hear that the Diggorys named him their heir after Cedric died." But
Theodore was paying no attention to her, or to Tristan, because his eyes were
focused on the line of first-years.
"What is HE doing here?" Theodore hissed, looking angry and upset.
"Who?" Blaise asked, puzzled.
"Baddock, Miriam!" McGonagall called.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Malcolm Baddock smiled and waved at his sister as she headed towards their
table, but Blaise, Dylan, and Damien ignored their new housemate as they turned
to see who Theodore was pointing at: a tall boy with black hair and brown eyes
who was much too old to be a first year.
"Biggest first-year I've ever seen," Damien joked.
"He must be a transfer student," Dylan said.
"Chang, Jun!" McGonagall said, calling the next student, a dark-haired boy who
bore a strong resemblance to Cho Chang.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Creevey, Emma!" A girl with brown hair tied back in pigtails smiled as Colin
and Dennis Creevey waved at her from the Gryffindor table.
"Geez, how many of them are there?" Draco grumbled. "They're breeding as fast as
the Weasleys!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"So who is he?" Damien asked, ignoring Draco.
"Who is who?" Draco wanted to know, a little miffed at being ignored.
"Delacour, Gabrielle!"
"Hey, that's Fleur's sister!" Harry exclaimed.
"Yeah, Fleur is living in London now, so her sister wanted to come to Hogwarts
to be closer to her," Ron said. "Bill just told me about it the other day."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"So who is that guy, Theo?" Damien repeated.
But there was no need for Theodore to answer, because the tall black-haired boy
was stepping forward as McGonagall called his name: "Dietrich, Aric!"
The Hat was only on his head for a second before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
Aric walked over to the Slytherin table, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Do you
know him, Theodore?" Pansy asked eagerly. "He's so handsome!"
"I thought your heart was broken," Damien teased. "You pined over Dylan
for--what? All of five minutes?"
"A girl has to be practical," Pansy said airily, tossing her hair back. "No
point in crying over spilled milk."
Dylan and Blaise were staring at Theodore with concerned looks on their faces.
"Dietrich," Blaise said slowly. "Isn't that your mother's maiden name?"
"What the hell are you doing here?" Theodore demanded as Aric took a seat across
from him, still smirking. "I thought you were at Durmstrang!"
"It's nice to see you, too, cousin dear," Aric sneered. "My parents decided that
it was safe to send me to Hogwarts now that dear old Uncle Thaddeus is dead. How
nice of you to finally tell the truth, Theo--too bad it's too late to do Uncle
Rafe any good."
Theodore went pale, then flushed with guilt and anger. "He was my uncle, too,
Aric," he said in a low voice.
"Then why did you let your Death Eater daddy get away with murder?" Aric
demanded.
"Leave him alone!" Dylan snapped. "How was an eight-year old child supposed to
stop a Death Eater?"
Aric turned his sneer on Dylan. "Ah yes, you must be Rosier...another little
junior Death Eater."
"I don't like your attitude, Dietrich," Draco said, with his old air of haughty
authority.
"Yeah?" Aric asked, looking unimpressed. "And what are you going to do about it,
Malfoy? Your daddy's not around anymore, either."
Draco clenched his fists in anger and frustration, and suddenly Crabbe and Goyle
stood, looming over Aric as they flexed their muscles. "We don't like your
attitude, either, Dietrich," Goyle growled.
Pansy decided that Aric wasn't that handsome after all. She didn't like his
sneer and his tone of voice, which were far more arrogant and insufferable than
Draco at his worst. The other Slytherins also began giving him hostile looks;
even if they didn't particularly like Draco or Theodore, they didn't like an
outsider attacking one of their own.
"You might want to think twice before you go around picking fights with Nott and
Rosier," Pansy said in a cool voice. "They are Professor Snape's foster sons,
after all, and Professor Snape is your Head of House. He can make life very
difficult for you if you antagonize him--not just in school, but when you
graduate. You'll have a hard time getting a job without a recommendation from
your Head of House."
"And he has connections to the Minister of Magic," Millicent added, bluffing a
little. She didn't really know how much influence Snape had with Arthur Weasley,
but since they had both been members of the Order of the Phoenix, it was safe to
assume that he had some. Besides, Lupin seemed friendly with the Weasleys.
Aric scowled and subsided, but the look he gave Theodore clearly said that this
wasn't over.