Aftermaths, Part 36

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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Lukas had just finished calling roll for his seventh-year Gryffindor-Slytherin class when Snape appeared in the doorway. "Is something wrong, Severus?" Lukas asked in concern.

Snape shook his head and leaned against the wall. "No, I just happened to have a free period after lunch, and I thought I'd come by and observe these very important lessons you are teaching."

Draco snickered a little at the subtle tone of sarcasm in the Potions Master's voice, and Lukas glared at Snape. "Don't you have anything better to do?" he asked irritably.

"No, not really," Snape replied cheerfully.

Lukas was tempted to kick him out, but if Snape refused to go, his authority with his students would be undermined. He could try to physically throw the Potions Master out of the room, but the sight of him brawling with another teacher probably wouldn't do his authority much good, either. Besides, Snape was said to be a master of the Dark Arts, and attacking a Dark Wizard was not something one did lightly. So Lukas shrugged, feigning indifference, and tried to ignore his unwanted guest.

"Pair off, and we'll go over some of the things you covered with Master Karasu last term," Lukas ordered. "I need to get an idea of what your abilities are."

"Physical Defense is a waste of time," Aric Dietrich sneered. "Muggles may need to know that sort of thing, but I don't need anything to defend myself but a wand."

"Oh, really?" Lukas asked in an icy voice.

"Uh oh," Goyle said.

The other Slytherins began grinning and whispering to each other, except for Draco, who flushed a little. Lukas had already heard the story of how Karasu had easily disarmed the Slytherin boy on the very first day of class and proved to him that physical strength could sometimes be more effective than magic. Clearly, Dietrich had not, though, and Lukas looked forward to venting a little of his frustration on the boy. He grinned, exposing his fangs, and gave Aric his most feral, predatory smile--Lukas never hesitated to make use of any weapon at his disposal, including intimidation. The boy paled a little but did not back down.

"Really," Aric answered.

"Do you think you can take me, boy?" Lukas said. "Would you like to make a little wager? I'll pit my fighting skills against your magic; if you win, I'll excuse you from my class. But if I win, you shut up and do as you're told."

"Any restrictions on what kinds of spells I can use?" Aric asked.

"Use anything you like," Lukas said airily; it didn't matter, as he didn't intend to let the boy get any spells off.

"Very well, then," Aric said, nodding. "But don't blame me if you get hurt."

Lukas was going to enjoy taking this one down. "Likewise," he said.

"Five Galleons says that Master Bleddri takes him down in ten seconds flat!" Crabbe said, but no one seemed eager to put their money on Aric.

Aric whipped out his wand and began shouting out a curse, but Lukas leapt forward with inhuman speed, and before the boy knew what had happened, he found himself face-down on the floor with Lukas's foot on his neck. His wand lay a few feet away, out of his reach, but Aric stretched his hand out towards it anyway, then stopped, as Lukas put a little more pressure on his neck.

"Do you agree that I have won the wager, Mr. Dietrich?" Lukas asked coolly.

The Slytherins were laughing and applauding, and Aric's face turned red with rage, but he spat out the word, "Yes!"

Lukas let the boy up, but he picked up Aric's wand, saying, "I'll hold onto this for now; you won't need it during my class, anyway." Quite frankly, he didn't trust the boy not to throw a hex at him when his back was turned. Snape gave him a small, approving smile. The Slytherins were still jeering at Aric, and Lukas snapped, "Conduct your petty rivalries and quarrels on your own time! You are here for one thing, and that is to learn to defend yourselves! Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused, looking chastened.

"Very well; get to work!" He put them through their drills; they all seemed to be fairly competent, except for Dietrich, who'd had no prior experience, and a Slytherin girl named Daphne Greengrass who, according to her record, had been out ill for the better part of the previous school year and had missed all of the Physical Defense lessons. He began working with them on some basic blocking maneuvers, and to his surprise, Aric picked up on them quickly, although he glared at Lukas hatefully the entire time. He was also in better physical shape than Lukas might have expected from a pampered pureblood. Daphne, a quiet girl with strawberry-blonde hair, however, was skittish of him and cringed away from his touch. She wouldn't defend properly, and he ended up knocking her over even though he was pulling his blows a good deal more than he had with Aric--he'd just barely tapped the girl, for Merlin's sake! But he didn't want to be accused of beating up a helpless girl by some overzealous parents, so he paired her off with Pansy Parkinson and told her to go over the basics with Daphne.

"Of course, Master Bleddri, I'd be glad to," Pansy said with a smile, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Lukas groaned inwardly at having another unexpected problem dropped in his lap; it had never occurred to him that any teenage girl would flirt with a disreputable werewolf! It was necessary for him to have some physical contact with his students, but he didn't want to open himself up to accusations of impropriety with the girls. He ground his teeth together, silently cursing Lupin for convincing him to take the job. At least Daphne was doing better with Pansy, although she was still a little timid and hesitant; she was probably just afraid of him because he was a werewolf. Which was not all that surprising, really--he was only surprised that more of the students didn't fear him. They'd probably been hanging around Lupin too long, which might have given them the impression that all werewolves were as harmless as he was. He supposed he should be glad that his students didn't think he was a monster, but Lukas found himself feeling more annoyed.

After running through some hand-to-hand moves, Lukas allowed the more experienced members of the class to demonstrate their weapons skills; Draco and Harry were actually quite good with the practice swords, and they seemed to relish fighting against each other--working off a little of their rivalry, no doubt. Lupin had told him that they had once been enemies, and were now uneasy allies. Well, if it inspired them to work harder, that was all well and good, so long as it didn't get out of hand.

"Can I try that?" Aric suddenly asked, with a hint of suppressed eagerness.

Lukas turned to look at him; he looked like a normal child without the ever-present hostility and sneer. He didn't want to discourage that, but... "I would prefer that you get a little more experience in hand-to-hand combat before moving up to working with weapons, Mr. Dietrich," Lukas said.

"But I do have experience with weapons," Aric protested, and Lukas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I've taken fencing lessons."

"Oh really?" Lukas drawled. "I thought you said that a wizard needed nothing but a wand to defend himself."

Aric flushed. "It wasn't for defense," he said. "It was for fun. My uncle liked to fence; it was one of his hobbies. He showed me a few things when I was a kid, and I took lessons when I got older. I don't have much time to practice when school is in session, but I practice a lot during the summers."

From the corner of his eye, Lukas saw Snape glance over at Theodore, whose face was filled with a mixture of guilt and sorrow and resentment. Lukas wasn't quite sure what was going on, then he suddenly remembered reading something in the Daily Prophet about Thaddeus Nott being implicated in the murder of his long-missing brother-in-law Rafe Dietrich. This Rafe must be the uncle that Aric was referring to. Well, that complicated things somewhat, but Lukas supposed that was more Snape's problem than his. At times he was bitter about being cheated of his rightful inheritance, but mostly he was glad not to be involved in that world of pureblood politics and rivalries and feuds.

"Very well," Lukas said. "Let's see how good you are, Mr. Dietrich." He took a wooden sword down from the rack of weapons on the wall, and motioned for Aric to choose his own weapon. The boy took his time testing the heft and grip of a few swords, then chose one of the thinnest and lightest of the wooden blades--probably the closest match he could find to the rapier he must be used to wielding. Aric bowed to him, somewhat mockingly, and raised his weapon in salute, and the bout began.

The boy wasn't bad, Lukas had to admit. Lukas hadn't wielded a sword in years and was a bit rusty, although he had learned knife-fighting during his years of living on the streets, which wasn't quite the same thing. However, he did have his werewolf strength and reflexes, and he had the benefit of having fought for his life on numerous occasions--though not necessarily with a sword--while the boy had only engaged in ritualized formal combat where his opponents followed set rules and no one was likely to get hurt. In Lukas's world, there were no rules: you did whatever you had to in order to survive, and you didn't worry about the niceties. Lukas finally disarmed Aric by grabbing the wrist of his free hand and pulling him off balance to distract him--a definite no-no in formal fencing, and something the boy clearly hadn't been expecting, by the look in his eyes.

"There are no rules here, Mr. Dietrich," Lukas laughed. "It is my job to teach you to defend yourselves, by any means necessary--including dirty tricks. But you did very well; you actually made me work up a sweat!" He made a show of wiping his brow, and Aric almost smiled for a moment, before fixing that holier-than-thou pureblood look back on his face. "Five points to Slytherin." That caused the look to disappear from his face again as he stared at Lukas in shock. "And since you have proven your competence, you may join the other students who have taken up sword-fighting; I'm sure Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy will appreciate having a worthy opponent." Potter and Malfoy looked as though they disagreed with that, but too bad for them. "But you will still have to take lessons in hand-to-hand combat as well."

Aric nodded. "Very well..." After a moment's hesitation, he added, "...sir." It was rather grudging, but he said it without his usual sneer or sarcasm.

"You all did well today," Lukas told his class. "So I'll dismiss you a little early so that you can get cleaned up before your next class."
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Snape had some free time between classes, which he should have spent preparing lesson plans or grading assignments. But he went to observe Bleddri's class instead, because he wanted to see how the werewolf would handle the students, and because he was still curious about Bleddri's background. Snape supposed that he should just let the matter drop, since he would have preferred not to be associated with his own family himself, but he was almost certain that Lukas Bleddri had been born into a pureblood family of high standing, and he couldn't help wondering which family that might be.

Snape smirked as Bleddri took down Aric Dietrich, who had made the mistake of mouthing off to him. The boy had it coming to him, and besides, it was probably good for the rest of the class to realize that this werewolf was a little more dangerous than Lupin; he doubted that Bleddri was going to tolerate the kind of insolence and insults that Lupin had patiently put up with.

But Snape was shocked when Aric asked if he could join in on the swordplay and revealed that he had taken fencing lessons. Snape watched with great interest as Bleddri took down a sword from the wall and personally engaged the boy in combat. The werewolf clearly knew what he was doing, and that clinched it in Snape's mind--Bleddri was definitely from a pureblood family. A street rat like Bleddri claimed to be was unlikely to know how to use a sword; fencing was a wealthy man's sport. Only the idle rich could afford to waste their time on it, much less the money for equipment and lessons. Even so, it was a sport that few of the wizarding families--wealthy or not--practiced these days, since most wizards shared Aric's belief that magic was superior to any sort of physical attack. Still, some wizards had wielded swords as well as wands in ancient times--Godric Gryffindor had been one of them, fortunately for Potter, since Gryffindor's sword had enabled him to defeat the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. A very few of the old wizarding families kept up the tradition of learning sword-fighting, the De Lacys and the Gravenors among them; both families were said to have descended from mercenary clans, and their ancestors had plied their skill with the sword as well as sorcery. The Dietrich family did not share the same tradition, as far as Snape knew, but Rafe Dietrich had always been eccentric, so it didn't surprise Snape that he had taken up fencing for fun; perhaps he had even been inspired by tales of Godric Gryffindor's adventures, such as the one that claimed Godric had single-handedly slain a dragon with his sword. Such tales were no doubt exaggerated at best, but were the sort of thing a Gryffindor would eat up.

Aric seemed marginally less hostile by the time the lesson was over, and Snape lifted a hand to his mouth to hide a smile. It seemed that werewolves had a way with hostile Slytherin children, but he had expected gentle Remus to be the one to win over Aric, if such a thing were even possible, not the irritable Bleddri, who looked like a feral wolf even in his human form.

After the students left, Lukas came over to Snape looking worried and a little annoyed, and said, "I have a problem."

"With Dietrich?" Snape asked. "I thought you handled him very well."

"No, not him," Lukas said impatiently, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I know how to handle young cubs who are testing their strength and challenging the pack leader's authority."

Snape snorted with amusement. "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear you describe him as a cub."

Lukas grinned, baring his teeth. "I'm not worried about him; I've already shown him who's top dog--or wolf, if you will. No, I'm worried about the girls."

"What about them? They seemed to be doing well enough, except for Greengrass, but this is her first lesson, after all..."

"That's not what I meant," Lukas said, flushing a little. "It's inevitable that I'll need to have some physical contact with the students while sparring with them, or to correct a stance or movement. But that Parkinson girl seemed to be flirting with me, and it occurred to me that I could be opening myself up to charges of improper behavior if one of the girls or their parents decided to lay a false accusation against me." He thought for a moment. "Hmm...do you think Dumbledore would let me hire a female assistant?"

"Probably," Snape said with a grin. "But the boys could just as easily make the same accusations, you know."

Snape laughed and Lukas uttered several blistering curse words--Snape noted that the werewolf could swear in French as well as what was probably Welsh. "Damn it, Snape, it's not funny!"

The fact that Bleddri had not considered the possibility of the boys laying accusations against him was probably a pretty strong indication that he was solely interested in women, which meant that he had no designs on Lupin. Not that he had any doubts about Remus's love or fidelity, but it still cheered Snape up. Besides, the last thing he needed was a lovesick, jealous werewolf regarding him as a rival. "Calm down, Bleddri," Snape said. "Karasu never had any problems."

"Karasu wasn't a werewolf and a social outcast!" Lukas snarled. "Even if some of the purebloods might have looked down on him for being a non-human, he was answerable only to his own government. I don't have the luxury of running off to Japan if things get rough."

"That's true," Snape admitted, "but I still don't think you need to worry. The Slytherins are the only ones who might be tempted to pull a stunt like that, and they're doubled up with the Gryffindors in your classes. The Gryffindors are too insufferably noble and honorable to give false testimony, so you'll have a number of witnesses who will swear to your innocence. Besides, just about every Slytherin except for Aric adores Lupin, so I doubt that they would do anything to harm you, if only for his sake; if one werewolf is accused of a crime, it reflects badly on all werewolves."

Lukas relaxed a little. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Still, maybe I'll bring in Kyra to assist me for a few sessions. It might be do them some good to see a strong female, particularly the Slytherin girls."

Snape nodded; for the most part, the high-ranking Slytherin families' first priority for their daughters was for them to make advantageous marriages with boys of good families--education and careers were secondary to that. But only someone who had grown up in pureblood society was likely to know that.

"Well, thanks for the advice, Snape," Lukas said grudgingly. "But hadn't you better get off to class yourself?"

Snape did have another Potions class coming up soon. "Yes, I suppose so," he said. "It's been...interesting, Bleddri."

"I'm sure it has," Lukas said dryly, then grinned in that sharp-toothed smile again. "I'd be happy to give you a lesson if you like, Snape."

"No doubt you would," Snape said, just as dryly. "But I know my limits, Bleddri. I'll stick to my wand if it's all the same to you."
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Snape's last class of the day was his first-year Hufflepuff-Slytherin class. The class started off well enough; they were quiet and obedient and clearly intimidated by him--no doubt their older siblings or housemates had regaled them with stories about the sinister Potions Master. Good. He gave them a menacing smile and watched them quiver with fear, just for the sheer pleasure of it. No, the werewolf had not completely ruined his reputation, Snape thought smugly.

Snape watched Slaine Kendrick carefully, but as Draco had reported, the other Slytherins were being very friendly to her. She was sitting next to Miriam Baddock, who was chattering about how her brother was going to try out for the Quidditch team this year.

Slaine said politely, "I hope he makes it. Wish him good luck for me."

"Why don't you come watch the tryouts with me on Friday, and we'll cheer him on together?" Miriam suggested.

Slaine smiled shyly and said, "Thank you, I'd like that."

Well, it seemed like Miss Kendrick's position in Slytherin House was secure. Snape could report to Branwen that her young cousin was being treated well and had even made a new friend, which would hopefully get his former Professor off his back. Snape was about to move on to observe some other students when suddenly Slaine's eyes widened and she cried out in alarm, "Oh no, don't do that!"

She ran over to the desk next to her and knocked the porcupine quills out of Tristan Ames-Diggory's hand. "Hey!" the boy shouted indignantly. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm sorry," Slaine said apologetically. "But if you add the quills before you take the cauldron off the fire--"

"Your cauldron will melt," Snape finished. "Didn't you read the instructions, Mr. Ames-Diggory?"

"I don't need help from a Slytherin!" Tristan snapped, glaring at Slaine, who looked startled and a little hurt. Her Slytherin classmates began gathering around her, giving the Hufflepuff boy hostile looks.

Meanwhile, Tristan's housemates gave him puzzled looks, and one boy glanced nervously at Snape and said, "Take it easy, Tristan!"

"Perhaps you do not need help from a Slytherin," Snape said coldly, "but the class needs help in being protected from your incompetence, Ames-Diggory. If the cauldron had melted, you would have been burned by the hot potion--which doesn't really concern me much, but it could also have hurt the people unfortunate enough to be standing next to you. And by the way, in case you have forgotten, I am a Slytherin, and it isn't wise to insult your teachers, even indirectly. Five points off Hufflepuff for your rudeness to Miss Kendrick, and another five points for your rudeness to myself. In addition, you will serve an hour's detention; report to my office after classes tomorrow." The boy remained silent, and Snape snapped, "Do I make myself clear, Mr. Ames-Diggory?"

"Perfectly," Tristan said sullenly.

"You will address me as 'Professor' or 'sir' at all times, young man!"

"Yes, sir," Tristan said, just as sullenly, and actually had the boldness to look up and glare at Snape.

"And another point for your cheek," Snape said. As Tristan opened his mouth to protest, Snape added, "Would you care to round it up to fifteen?"

"Enough!" the other Hufflepuff boy hissed, and dragged Tristan away, whispering urgently into his ear. Tristan scowled, but subsided and returned to working on his potion. The Slytherins smirked, except for Slaine, who cast an apprehensive glance at the Hufflepuffs and then at Snape.

Snape shook his head slightly as he returned to his desk. A bold Hufflepuff; who could ever have imagined it? For the most part, they were quiet, hardworking, and meek. Tristan's cousin Cedric had certainly never given Snape any trouble in class. He sighed, hoping that the boy wasn't going to be troublesome all year; one Potter was more than enough.
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"Snape sure put that Hufflepuff in his place!" Miriam gloated as they left the Potions classroom.

"I think it may have done more harm than good," Slaine said dubiously. "It will only make him angrier. Now he'll blame me for getting him in trouble."

"Oh, who cares what some stupid Hufflepuff thinks?" Patrick Parkinson scoffed.

"Besides," Miriam pointed out, "you were only trying to help him, and look at the thanks you got!"

"If he gives you a hard time, let me know, and my sister and her friends will put him in his place," Patrick bragged.

Miriam smiled slyly. "She doesn't need your help! All she has to do is tell Professor Blackmore--she's your cousin, right? She almost killed Malfoy, Potter, and Weasley for hexing her familiar last year! I'm sure she'll turn Tristan into a toad or something if he's mean to you!"

Slaine shook her head. "I don't want to do that, go running to Professor Blackmore for help, or Professor Snape, for that matter. People will think I'm a crybaby, that I can't handle things on my own."

"You have to learn to think like a Slytherin," Patrick said with a grin. "Slytherins make use of whatever resources they have--that includes powerful allies. That's what my mum always says!"

"I like to study, so I thought I'd be in Ravenclaw," Slaine admitted. "I was a little scared when the Hat said I should go into Slytherin. People say things..."

"Yeah, that we're Dark Wizards and Death Eaters, I know," Patrick said, he and Miriam both looking a little hurt.

"But everyone's been really nice to me," Slaine continued. "Especially you two." The other two children cheered up and smiled at her. "It's kind of confusing," Slaine said, frowning. "My great-grandparents say that Professor Blackmore's father was a Slytherin and a Dark Wizard, and it's his fault that he and his wife, my grandaunt, got killed. But my grandmother says that Meredith Blackmore was a kind man who loved music and loved his family. Professor Blackmore seems a little scary, but she was nice to me when I met her at the wedding."

Patrick nodded. "Yes, my sister says Professor Blackmore is no one to cross, but she really liked taking her class. She says the Professor always treated us Slytherins fairly, and she never favored any of the Houses, including her own--she was a Ravenclaw, you know."

"So why did the Hat say you should go into Slytherin if you wanted to be a Ravenclaw?" Miriam asked curiously.

Slaine shrugged. "It said that my mind was suited to the subtleties and intricacies of Slytherin House. And that I was more ambitious than I cared to admit." She smiled sheepishly. "I would like to be a powerful wizard someday. Not Minister of Magic or anything like that, but...someone like Professor Blackmore, who knows so much about magic...all kinds of magic." Everyone knew--or at least, everyone claimed to know--that the Slytherins learned more about the Dark Arts than was officially taught at Hogwarts, which was why Slaine had found the Hat's declaration that she should go into Slytherin both frightening and a little alluring. The Hat had insisted that it knew best which House would allow her to reach her full potential, and it had gently reminded her that not all the wizards who came out of Slytherin were evil, that in fact, a number of them had fought heroically in the war. So she had reluctantly acceded to the Hat's recommendation, and entered Slytherin House.

"I wish we could learn Summoning," Miriam sighed. "That would be so much fun, don't you think? To be able to summon an air elemental to carry secret messages, or maybe a fire elemental to burn the seat of that snotty Hufflepuff boy's pants! It's so unfair that we have to wait till third-year before we can take Incantations and Summonings; do you think you could convince your cousin to make an exception for us?"

Slaine shook her head vigorously, turning a little pale. "No, I don't think she'd give me special treatment just because I'm a relative. And she'd probably be really upset if she thought we wanted to use those spells for pranks."

"Remember what almost happened to Malfoy, Potter, and Weasley," Patrick warned Miriam.

"I suppose you're right," she sighed. "Oh well."
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Tristan was fuming as he left the dungeon, although his friend Alan Taylor was saying, "You don't want to mess with Snape; I hear he can be very nasty. But it's probably nothing personal; he's mean to everyone but the Slytherins, or at least that's what I've heard..."

Tristan wasn't paying any attention to what the other boy was saying, but if he had, he would have disagreed about it not being personal. Snape was a Slytherin and a Death Eater, and as far as Tristan was concerned, at least partly responsible for Cedric's death. Oh sure, Snape had claimed that he had been a spy all along, but he had probably just been trying to save his skin when he saw that his side was losing. The Death Eaters had done it before and gotten away with it at the end of the first war, after all.

That was why Tristan had been furious when the Sorting Hat had tried to tell him that he should be a Slytherin. He would never go into that House, the House that had killed his beloved cousin. He didn't care what the Hat said about heroes as well as villains emerging from Slytherin House, he didn't care what the Hat said about him having a cunning mind--which was just another way of saying "sneaky". He had refused to go into any House but Hufflepuff, and swore that he would rather leave Hogwarts than be Sorted into another House. The Hat had finally given in, with a rather grumpy sigh, and put him into Hufflepuff.

One of his housemates, a girl named Rosemary, said, "You know, it's partly your own fault. You didn't have to yell at Slaine like that; she was only trying to help."

"You can't trust a Slytherin!" Tristan snapped. Even if that girl Slaine was too young to actually be a Death Eater, everyone knew that Slytherins all turned out bad. That was what his parents said; that was what Uncle Amos said. Someday he would find a way to make all of them pay for what they had done to Cedric...

 

Part 37