Aftermaths, Part 35
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.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lupin's first class of the day was his sixth-year Gryffindor-Slytherin Defense
class. "It's so nice to see all of you again," he said, and they greeted him
warmly, except for a Gryffindor boy named Martin Parry, who was staring down at
his desk. Lupin frowned a little, wondering if the boy was troubled about
something; he was normally cheerful and eager to learn. Well, he couldn't do
anything about it now, but he'd keep an eye on Martin during class, and perhaps
talk privately with him later if there seemed to be a problem.
"I thought we would continue with what I began teaching you last year on runes
of warding," Lupin said, "which will tie in nicely with what you are learning in
Ancient Runes and Incantations and Summonings. I'm sure you've noticed that
runes are an integral part of the protective circles that you use during a
Summoning. A circle can be used to confine someone or something--such as an
elemental--or alternately, it can be used to protect yourself and keep something
out. I'd like you to break up into groups and draw the sort of protective circle
you'd use for an air elemental Summoning; I believe you covered that in
Professor Blackmore's class last year. Then I'll show you how the circle can be
altered by changing the runes. Here now, all of you get up, and let's move these
desks out of the way to make some room."
Lupin was pleased to see that some of the children broke up into mixed groups
without any prompting on his part: Damien, Dylan, Serafina, and Ginny were
working together, and Brad Doherty had joined a trio of Gryffindors--Martin,
Colin Creevey, and Melissa Carroll. Colin greeted him enthusiastically--they
seemed to have become friendly after the final battle--and Melissa smiled
politely; Martin scowled a little at the Slytherin boy, but did not object.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly until Brad, leaning across the circle to
touch up a complicated rune, lost his balance and placed a palm down on the
floor to catch himself, smudging the chalk lines of the circle.
"Watch what you're doing, you dolt!" Martin snapped.
"Who are you calling a dolt?" Brad snapped back.
Colin and Melissa stared at Martin with looks of surprise on their faces. Lupin
was surprised, too; the good-natured Gryffindor boy rarely lost his temper or
raised his voice, but then again, he had been wary and suspicious of the
Slytherins last year, as many of his housemates had been. Lupin had hoped that
things would change after the war ended, but he supposed it would take people
awhile to overcome long-held prejudices.
"Take it easy, Martin," Lupin said, gently placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"He didn't do it on purpose, and it's easily mended."
Martin violently shrugged off Lupin's hand and snapped, "Don't touch me,
werewolf!"
The entire class stared at them in shock, and Lupin was too stunned to react for
a moment. Martin, like most of the Gryffindors, had never been bothered by
Lupin's lycanthropy before; in fact, he had been quite friendly, and had once
told Lupin that Defense Against the Dark Arts was his favorite class.
"Don't call the Professor a werewolf!" Brad said hotly, reaching for his wand.
Lupin placed a restraining hand on the boy's arm, but secretly he was a little
tickled by how his Slytherin student--who had once regarded him with scorn--now
leaped to his defense. "But I am a werewolf, Brad," Lupin said cheerfully.
That broke the tension, and the class laughed. Brad grinned sheepishly and said,
"It was the way he said it, Professor."
Lupin turned back to Martin, who was staring at him resentfully. He definitely
needed to have a talk with the boy, but he couldn't do it this afternoon, since
Morrigan was coming by with the adoption papers. "I will see you in my office
after classes tomorrow, Mr. Parry," he said quietly.
"Are you giving me detention?" Martin asked sullenly.
"Not yet," Lupin said, growing more worried by the minute. "But neither is it a
request." He said in his sternest voice, "I will see you in my office directly
after final bell tomorrow; that's an order."
"Yes, sir," Martin said, and returned to working on the circle. He behaved
himself, working in sullen silence for the rest of the period, but Lupin was not
reassured. Dylan, Damien, Brad, and Ginny lingered behind after class was
dismissed.
"What's wrong with Parry, sir?" Brad asked. "I thought he liked you."
"I thought so, too, Brad," Lupin said helplessly. "Has he said anything to you,
Ginny?"
She shook her head. "No, I don't know why he's acting like this all of a
sudden."
"By the way," Brad asked curiously, "why did you tell him to come see you
tomorrow? Are you busy with something today?"
Lupin winked at Dylan. "Yes, I have some personal business to attend to this
afternoon."
"Something to do with Professor Snape?" Brad persisted. "Is he okay?"
"I told you he was, Doherty," Dylan said.
"He is okay as he can be under the circumstances," Lupin said. "And yes, it does
have something to do with...ah...the situation in the Snape family."
Dylan and Damien grinned at each other, and Ginny and Brad looked confused.
Lupin supposed that Dylan had probably confided in his best friend, but not the
other students.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked suspiciously. "What's the big secret?"
Lupin smiled. "I promise you'll all find out soon enough. Now you had better run
along, or you'll be late for your next class--which if I'm not mistaken, is
Advanced Potions, and you know how Professor Snape feels about tardiness."
The children picked up their books and ran for the door, but Brad paused midway
and called back to Lupin, "Please tell the Professor I'm sorry about his father,
sir!"
"I will, Brad," Lupin assured him.
"Why don't you just tell him yourself?" Ginny asked as they left. "You'll be
seeing him in about five minutes!" But Brad just shook his head vigorously, and
Lupin chuckled. He was not at all surprised that Brad had chosen to express his
sympathies to Lupin rather than directly to his Head of House. Severus would
probably be happy to know that his Slytherins were still intimidated by him.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I'm so sorry about your father, sir," Ginny said as she walked into the Potions
classroom. Snape scowled, but before he could say anything, Parvati and Lavender
entered the room and approached him.
"We're so sorry, sir," Lavender said earnestly. "About your dad, I mean."
"We'd like to offer you our sympathies, sir," Parvati said solemnly.
Snape sighed; he had really liked it much better when the Gryffindors had hated
him. Their sympathy was annoying, really it was, and not the least bit
touching--no, not one bit! Then he wondered why he was mentally arguing with
himself as if Lupin were in his head. He cleared his throat and said irritably,
"He's not dead yet, so your sympathies are somewhat premature. Take your seats,
all of you!" They quickly obeyed, and set to work on the Healing Potion he
assigned them, but they all kept giving him concerned glances throughout the
entire period, even after Snape took five points from Gryffindor when Miss Patil
spilled her vial of lavender oil, although it was really Mr. Pierce's fault,
because he had distracted her by winking at her flirtatiously while she was
measuring it out. Miss Patil only said, "I'm sorry, sir," without any pouting or
sulking, and Mr. Pierce quickly helped her clean up the spill with an apologetic
smile. Snape sighed to himself again; it was going to be a long day...
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Snape had one more class before lunch, a combined first-year class: Gryffindor
and Ravenclaw. The old man must be tinkering with the combinations; he usually
liked to pair Gryffindor and Slytherin together, but perhaps he felt it was no
longer necessary to force them to spend time together now that the long-standing
rivalry and hostility between them had abated somewhat.
"I'm so sorry about your father, sir," little Allegra Zabini said; Snape was
getting heartily sick of hearing it. But she stared at him with such a look of
wide-eyed earnestness and sincere concern that he couldn't bring himself to yell
at her; it would be like kicking a helpless kitten or puppy across the room.
"Thank you, Miss Zabini," Snape sighed wearily, "but your concern is not
necessary. Take your seats, all of you." He set them to work on his usual
first-year assignment, a simple potion for curing boils. Allegra did prattle
endlessly as she worked, but she prepared her potion ingredients quickly and
efficiently. Portia Pettigrew regarded Snape the way a spooked rabbit might
regard a hungry fox, but she seemed competent enough--certainly more so than her
uncle had been. She was clearly the squeamish type, though; she regarded the
horned slugs that were one of the potion ingredients with distaste, prodding
them with the end of her spoon as if she were loathe to touch them.
Allegra apparently was not as squeamish; she had already grabbed up a handful of
slugs and tossed them into her cauldron. "Do you want some help with that?" she
asked Portia cheerfully.
"No!" snapped Portia, and Allegra looked a little hurt, but just shrugged and
turned back to her own potion.
"I could use some help," Emma Creevey said shyly, and Allegra smiled and turned
to help her.
Snape slowly circled the room, observing the students' progress, but he kept a
sharp eye on Allegra. She chattered happily with her Gryffindor classmates (not
seeming to care that some of them never responded to her), and made overtures
towards the Ravenclaws as well. Jun Chang knocked over a basket of dried
nettles, but before Snape could reprimand him, Allegra hurried over to help him
pick it up.
"Thanks," the boy said, giving her a surprised smile.
"No problem," Allegra said cheerfully. "Say, you're Cho Chang's brother, right?
Do you play Quidditch, too?"
"Yeah, but my sister's a lot better than me," Jun replied ruefully.
"Well, of course, she is--she's seven years older than you!" Allegra said
matter-of-factly. "I'm sure you'll be just as good eventually."
"Say, how come you're a Gryffindor?" Jun asked. "Isn't your brother a
Slytherin?"
Allegra shrugged. "Yes, he is. I thought I would be in Slytherin, too, but the
Hat said I belonged in Gryffindor, that I would reach my full potential there.
I'm not really sure what that means, though. My brother almost went into
Ravenclaw, but he talked the Hat into putting him in Slytherin."
"Really?" Jun asked, sounding interested.
"Hey, Chang!" Corbin Talbott interrupted impatiently. "Get over here, we have to
finish our potions!"
"Yes, Mr. Chang, Miss Zabini," Snape said sternly, "get back to work and save
the chitchat for when you're outside of class."
"Yes, sir," they said--Allegra calmly and Jun with trepidation--and returned to
working on their potions.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Lukas Bleddri started his day off feeling rather nervous, although he
was careful not to let the students see that; as a predator, he knew better than
to show any outward sign of fear. He had prepared as well as he could, going
over Karasu's lesson plans from the previous year, and getting some advice from
Lupin and Dumbledore. At least the Physical Defense lessons had been reduced
from three times a week to two, as a sop to the parents who had wanted them
eliminated completely. Or maybe it was not such a good thing, after all: the
third session was being replaced with his Interspecies Relations class, which
Lukas was positively dreading. He still thought Lupin ought to be teaching that
class, not him; before he had met Lupin, Lukas would have sworn it was
impossible for a werewolf to be so damn naive and idealistic. And it wasn't as
if Lupin had led a sheltered life, either: even though he'd never been tossed
out on the street by his family as some of Lukas's wolves had, he had still
endured his fair share of poverty and prejudice. His own students had mocked and
taunted him, yet he had borne it all patiently, swearing that they were all
really "good kids" at heart, and that they would come around someday. And,
impossibly, it seemed that they had--as far as Lukas could tell, Lupin was the
most popular teacher in the school, even among the snooty, blood-conscious
Slytherins. Why did that damned chirpy little idealist always have to be right
about everything? Lukas didn't really like Snape, but he felt a grudging respect
for the Potions Master--even though Lupin was his friend, he was certain that
living with Mr. Sweetness-and-Light would drive him up the wall in no time.
Actually, Lukas's first couple of classes went well enough. They consisted of
first-years, who were still young enough to enjoy physical exertion rather than
find it beneath them. He tried to make the lessons into a kind of game to keep
their attention, and soon they were tumbling about the room like a pack of
playful puppies; in fact, he had to calm them down when they got a little too
boisterous, but Lukas found that he was almost enjoying himself. His next class
consisted of the sixth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins; Lupin's foster son Dylan
was among them. He wasn't sure what, if anything, the boy had told them, but
they all seemed to regard him with a mixture of awe and wariness. He ran through
roll call, carefully matching names with faces and memorizing them; he didn't
intend to have to call roll more than once.
"Parry, Martin." Silence. Lukas looked up and frowned. "Is Mr. Parry here?"
The students were looking around with puzzled expressions on their faces. "I saw
him in DADA class," Ginny said, "two periods ago. But I had Potions after that,
and he isn't in that class."
"I think he had Muggle Studies last period," Colin said. "Aren't you in that
class, Melissa? Is he sick or something?"
"He seemed okay to me," Melissa said uncertainly. "I mean, other than the way he
acted in Professor Lupin's class..."
"What do you mean?" Lukas asked sharply.
The class exchanged meaningful glances. "Nothing," Melissa said nervously. "He
was just a little...um...out of sorts."
"He was very rude to Professor Lupin!" Yvonne Deveraux announced indignantly.
"Really?" Lukas drawled in a tone of lazy, feigned indifference. So not all the
students at Hogwarts were as enlightened as Lupin claimed...
"He likes Professor Lupin a lot!" Colin said defensively. "He's not prejudiced
or anything, honest! He's probably just having a bad day or something."
"His day will be getting worse when I catch up with him," Lukas said grimly.
Great; how was he supposed to go about rounding up stray students? He'd have to
ask Lupin for advice--but then again, asking Lupin for advice was what had
landed him in this mess in the first place. "I'll deal with Mr. Parry later; if
any of you see him, you may inform him that he's just earned himself a
detention." He imitated Snape's stern, no-nonsense tone of voice; he felt like
an impostor, but it seemed to work on the students, who nodded, looking meek and
chastened. Feeling a bit more like a proper teacher, he told them to demonstrate
some of the exercises Karasu had taught them so that he could evaluate their
progress. They went through some hand-to-hand combat and some staff and sword
work; the Rosier boy and the Weasley girl were the best at it, moving with
agile, almost wolf-like grace. Colin Creevey was probably the worst, but he made
up for his lack of ability with great enthusiasm, working with determination and
gusto no matter how many times he was hit or knocked on his backside. Brad
Doherty was no good at hand-to-hand combat, and not strong enough to use the
staves effectively, but he was light on his feet when using a sword (wooden
practice swords only, since Lukas was not about to put live steel into the hands
of children), darting about the room so quickly that his opponent could not lay
a single hit on him.
"Hold still, you little git!" Damien panted as he chased Brad around the room.
"Man, it's like trying to swat a mosquito!"
Lukas reached out and grabbed Damien's sword, causing him to come to an abrupt
halt, and the boy let out a startled yelp as he stumbled and fell to the floor.
Lukas offered him a hand up and said with a wry smile, "You will find, Mr.
Pierce, that an opponent will rarely hold still so that you can hit him."
"Yes, sir," Damien said with a sheepish grin.
Lukas set them to work sparring against each other, trying to match them up
against opponents of more-or-less equal ability, and circled around them,
offering advice and correcting mistakes:
"Stop chasing him around the room, Pierce; you're just wearing yourself out.
Hold your ground and try to lure him in to you. Deveraux, stop worrying about
breaking your nails, and concentrate on your opponent; pretty nails won't do a
corpse any good! Weasley, you're at a disadvantage because Rosier's reach is
longer than yours; you can't take him head-on."
Ginny and Dylan were sparring with wooden swords; they were pretty evenly
matched in ability, but Ginny was having trouble scoring a hit. She suddenly
ducked low, Dylan's sword sweeping over her head, then darted forward and
thwacked Dylan solidly in the midsection.
"Oof!" he exclaimed, losing his balance and falling backwards.
Lukas laughed, "Very good, Miss Weasley! Five points to Gryffindor. A very gutsy
and somewhat reckless move, but in this case it worked."
"I'll be ready for you next time," Dylan said as Ginny helped him to his feet,
then winced and groaned good-naturedly. "Ow, that really hurt! Did you have to
hit me that hard?"
"Master Karasu said not to pull our blows," Ginny reminded him, then grinned and
said to Lukas, "He said that pain is a great motivator for improvement!"
"Indeed it is, Miss Weasley," Lukas said, with a toothy, wolfish grin. His
students quailed a little at the sight, but quickly shook it off and got back to
work. Lukas was a little surprised; his feral grin and fang-like canines tended
to unnerve most people, but he supposed that they had grown used to Lupin's
smile, although the DADA Professor was more like a tame puppy dog than a wolf
compared to Lukas. The rest of the session went well; his students worked hard
and treated him with respect, and a few of them even gave him shy, friendly
smiles when they departed, Doherty and Creevey among them. Dylan gave him a
polite little bow and thanked him for the lesson--he had been almost
extravagantly polite ever since arousing Lukas's anger at Lupin's cottage, when
he had come uncomfortably close to exposing the truth of Lukas's origins--and
Ginny said cheerfully that she looked forward to their next lesson with him.
Lukas stood in the empty classroom for a minute, feeling rather nonplussed; he
wasn't used to being treated with anything but fear and contempt by
"respectable" wizards, and he certainly wasn't used to having children smile at
him in a friendly manner--save for the few children who had been born to his
pack members, although most of his wolves had avoided having children, not
wanting to subject them to the same misery their parents endured. He knew he
should be happy--wasn't this what he had always wanted, what he and his pack had
fought for, to be treated like equals? But he felt strangely uneasy and out of
his depth; he had a sudden urge to tuck his tail between his
legs--metaphorically speaking--and run back to his seedy but familiar haunts in
Knockturn Alley. Only his wolfish pride prevented him from doing so; his pack
was proud of him for getting a "real" job, a prominent position in a famous
school, and he couldn't bear to disappoint them and show them what a coward he
really was--he would hardly be worthy of the title of "Pack Leader" if he did.
So he sighed and headed to the Great Hall for lunch, whispering to himself,
"There's no reason to feel inferior; my blood is as good as any of theirs, if
they only knew it." He smiled bitterly, for under different circumstances, he
would have been the head of one, maybe even two, families of old and pure blood.
But he did not really regret it, because he preferred the sincere loyalty of his
wolves to the false friendship and backstabbing manipulations of the pureblood
nobility.
Lukas joined his fellow teachers at the head table, taking a seat next to Lupin
and Snape.
"How are the lessons going, Lukas?" Lupin asked cheerfully.
Lukas shrugged. "Well enough, I suppose. The older ones seem to have learned a
lot from the crow. But you may want to teach them to make some sort of liniment
or poultice to treat bruises, Snape."
Snape's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at the werewolf. "I'll take it under
advisement. I did notice that Dylan was limping a little when he came in for
lunch. Try not to do any permanent harm to my foster sons, Bleddri." His voice
was deceptively mild, but his eyes held a menacing look.
Lukas wasn't offended, because he recognized the look of a wolf protecting its
cubs. So he just smiled and said, "Take it easy, Snape; I didn't touch the boy.
Miss Weasley did the damage, but he'll be fine--just a little sore for a day or
two."
The Potions Master shifted his glare to the Gryffindor table and Ginny Weasley.
"I don't see why the students still have to learn this Physical Defense
nonsense," he complained. "The war is over."
"Voldemort was not the first Dark Wizard the world has seen," Lukas pointed out,
"and likely he will not be the last--though hopefully we will never seen one
that powerful again." Snape shuddered and nodded. "Besides, anyone can be taken
by surprise in a dark alley by a robber or a cutthroat."
"People who go strolling through dark alleys deserve whatever they get," Snape
muttered.
"It was a figure of speech, Snape," Lukas said. "They might never need these
lessons, but then again, they might; you never know. Better for them to be
prepared and not need the lessons, than need them and not be prepared."
"You sound like a dedicated teacher already," Lupin laughed, and Lukas scowled
at him.
"By the way, Lupin," the werewolf leader said, "one of my students cut class
today."
"Who?" Lupin asked, looking surprised.
"Martin Parry. One of the other students said that he had some kind of run-in
with you earlier today. What happened?"
Lupin looked troubled. "He lost his temper and snapped at Brad about some minor
mistake on the project they were working on. I touched his shoulder to calm him
down, and he said, 'Don't touch me, werewolf!'"
"What?!" Snape exclaimed, looking more shocked than angry. "I thought Parry was
one of your little Gryffindor devotees!"
"So it seems that Mr. Parry is hostile towards werewolves," Lukas said calmly.
"It's not that uncommon."
Lupin was shaking his head. "Martin has never shown any hostility towards me. He
even welcomed me back when I returned to school last year." He turned towards
McGonagall and asked, "Minerva, are you aware of any personal problems that
Martin might be going through?"
"No," she replied, "but I'll try to look into it. Mr. Parry is normally a very
polite and conscientious student. There must be something wrong if he's behaving
this way. I've never heard of him being rude to a teacher before, and he's
certainly never skipped a class!"
"So what am I supposed to do?" Lukas demanded. "How do I make him show up for
class?"
"You could start by docking twenty points from Gryffindor and giving him a
detention," Snape suggested helpfully as McGonagall glared at him.
"Well, I'd already decided to give him a detention," Lukas said, "but it doesn't
really seem fair that the other Gryffindors should be punished for his misdeed."
"That's the whole point, Bleddri," Snape said impatiently. "If a student does
something wrong, it reflects badly on his House. And if you take points from his
House, his housemates will pressure him to fall into line because they don't
want to jeopardize their chances of winning the House Cup."
"I don't see what the big deal about this House Cup is," Lukas said. "It all
seems sort of silly to me. The students don't win any sort of monetary or
material prize, do they?"
Snape glared at Branwen, who had just burst into laughter. "Ah, it takes an
outsider to put things into perspective, doesn't it?" she said. "It is sort of
silly when you think about it."
"It's a matter of pride and status," Snape said coldly. "You wouldn't
understand."
"Did it ever occur to you that Voldemort rose to power because of the pureblood
obsession with pride and status?" Lukas retorted.
"You are right, Lukas," Lupin said quietly. "Although I'm afraid that the
students with Muggle blood are just as gung-ho about the House Cup as the
purebloods are. I believe it was originally supposed to encourage some friendly
competition between the Houses, but over the years, it's gotten a little out of
hand."
Lukas realized that they were getting off the subject. "Well, getting back to
Mr. Parry--what sort of detention should I give him? And how am I supposed to
give it to him if I can't find him?"
"He's right over there," Snape said, pointing to a brown-haired boy seated at
the Gryffindor table.
Lukas stared at the boy and frowned. "He looks familiar; I feel like I know him
from somewhere, but I can't quite put my finger on it."
"You must be mistaken, Bleddri," Snape said skeptically. "I doubt many of the
students would come to Knockturn Alley to engage in whatever sort of unsavory
business you and your werewolves were involved in."
"You'd be surprised, Snape," Lukas said bitterly, "at how many wealthy young
purebloods with too much money and time on their hands come to the seedy section
of town looking for a thrill or a little contraband--some proscribed Muggle
devices, perhaps, or a Potion of Sweet Dreams that St. Mungo's won't give them a
prescription for..."
"Master Bleddri!" McGonagall exclaimed, looking shocked.
"We had to survive somehow," Lukas pointed out, his eyes still bitter. "And
legitimate work was hard to come by."
"You're right," Snape said, dipping his head in acknowledgment with a small,
sardonic smile. "Several of my classmates often went seeking such entertainment
when we were younger. I should have said that I might expect it from the
students of my own House, but not from the naive little Gryffindors."
"Surely you're not saying that Mr. Parry bought narcotics or black market goods
from you!" McGonagall said indignantly to Lukas.
"No," Lukas admitted. "I'm sure I'd remember him if that were the case. Perhaps
he just reminds me of someone."
"A father or older brother who might actually have...ah...done business with
you, perhaps?" Snape suggested.
"Severus!" McGonagall snapped. "Don't throw around those kinds of accusations so
lightly! The Parrys are a very well-respected family!"
Snape shrugged indifferently. "Lucius Malfoy also came from a very
well-respected family, but whatever you say, Minerva." As McGonagall fumed, he
continued, "Getting back to the detention, make sure it's something odious. The
Gryffindors tend to be a bit squeamish--disemboweling horned toads works nicely
for me."
"Perhaps the punishment should be something more constructive," Lupin said,
giving Snape a disapproving look, "and in keeping with the crime--volunteering
at one of the clinics that distribute the Wolfsbane Potion, perhaps."
Lukas snorted. "Oh, that's a great idea, Lupin!" he said sarcastically. "Do you
really think it's wise to put some prejudiced, smart-mouthed brat in a place
where he's bound to encounter some bad-tempered werewolves who might not be as
forgiving as you or I?"
"Scrubbing bedpans is also very effective," Snape added cheerfully.
Lukas liked the sound of that. "Bedpans it is," he declared.
"Very well," McGonagall said. "I'm Mr. Parry's Head of House, so I'll tell him
to report to the hospital wing this afternoon. And I'll make sure that he shows
up at his classes from now on--he'll answer to me if he doesn't!"
"Fair enough," Lupin said. "But I am worried; the Martin I know isn't a bigot or
a smart-mouthed brat. I've made an appointment to talk to him tomorrow afternoon
to see if I can find out what's troubling him. I wanted to do it today, but
Severus and I--"
"Have some business to attend to," Snape finished.
McGonagall gave him a more sympathetic look and said, "I understand. I hope
Martin will open up to you, Remus; he's always been fond of you. But I'll have a
talk with him in the meantime, and see what I can find out."
"Thank you, Minerva," Lupin said with a relieved smile.