Aftermaths, Part 37

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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Morrigan arrived in the Potions Master's office not long after Snape, Lupin, Dylan, and Theodore had gathered together there. She handed Snape the adoption papers, and he looked them over carefully, nodded approvingly, then signed them. Lupin and Theodore added their signatures, and Morrigan took the papers back and smiled.

"Congratulations, Theodore," Morrigan said. "You're now a Snape."

Theodore beamed with happiness and Lupin asked, "Is that all there is to it? No court hearings, no need for the Ministry's stamp of approval?"

Morrigan shook her head. "One does not need the Ministry's approval to designate an heir--or disown one, for that matter. The Nott family could take Severus to court if they wished to challenge the adoption, but I don't think that's very likely, since Theodore is willing to cede the Nott inheritance to them." She frowned a little and turned to Theodore. "Are you sure you want to do that? It might be possible to consolidate the two family holdings, if you used a hyphenated name--Nott-Snape--and perhaps cemented an alliance by marrying a female Nott cousin..."

"NO!" Theodore, Snape, and Lupin all shouted at once.

Morrigan looked a little taken aback. "I didn't mean right this instant," she clarified. "Theodore is still in school, after all, but perhaps a betrothal could--"

"No arranged marriages," Lupin said firmly.

"Theodore may marry...or not, as he pleases, when he pleases," Snape said.

Theodore shuddered. "I'd sooner become a pauper than marry one of my cousins! No, they can have the Nott estate; I never wanted it, anyway."

Morrigan shrugged, and handed Theodore another sheet of paper. "Very well, then. Please sign this document stating that you surrender any claim you might have on the Nott estate. We can turn it over to your relatives if they should decide to contest the adoption."

As Theodore picked up a quill, Dylan asked curiously, "Is he supposed to sign as Theodore Nott or Theodore Snape?"

Theodore froze, the quill hovering above the paper, as it finally sank in that he was really the Professor's son now, a Snape and no longer a Nott.

Morrigan smiled, seeming to understand how he felt. "You should sign it as Theodore Nott, since this is your last act as the Nott heir. But henceforth you should sign your name as Theodore Snape."

Theodore signed the paper with a flourish, severing his last link with his biological family, and handed the paper back to Morrigan, feeling as if he had suddenly been freed after a long imprisonment. Then a thought suddenly occurred to him. "What am I supposed to call you now, sir?" Theodore asked Snape shyly. "Do I still call you 'Professor,' or should I..." His voice trailed off.

Snape hesitated, staring at the boy's anxious face, and tried to figure out whether Theodore was asking for permission to call him "Father" or for permission NOT to have to call him "Father". This had all happened so suddenly that Snape had not yet stopped to consider the issue. It would be strange to be called "Father," but he didn't really mind if it made the boy happy. On the other hand, he didn't want to pressure the boy into doing something that he wasn't comfortable with. Lupin suddenly kicked him in the shin and gave him a stern look, and Snape relaxed. Ah, that probably meant the former, then. The werewolf's sentimentality could be embarrassing at times, but it did have its useful moments; he was very good at discerning what the boys were thinking and feeling, without any need for Legilimency.

"You may call me whatever you feel comfortable with, Theodore," Snape finally told his son, then realized that Theodore might not feel comfortable calling him "Father" even if he wanted to. He paused to think, then smiled a little as he came up with a solution. "Although you should still address me as 'Professor' in class, of course. And I think you should address me as 'Father' when we are at Snape Manor. Lady Selima is a stickler for propriety, and she probably wouldn't consider it proper for you to address me as 'Professor'." If it were a requirement rather than a choice, Theodore would probably feel a little less nervous about it, and it would give him time to become accustomed to addressing Snape as "Father"--give them both time to become accustomed to it.

Snape had guessed correctly, it seemed. Theodore relaxed and said meekly, "Yes, sir."

Lupin grinned, his eyes twinkling merrily. "Of course we wouldn't want to do anything to offend Lady Selima," he said innocently.

Theodore smiled. "Of course not."

Morrigan looked amused for a moment, then quickly schooled her face into an expression of professional detachment as Snape looked her way. "Speaking of Lady Selima, Severus...we have to go to Snape Manor to have your father sign the papers reinstating you as his heir."

"I don't suppose you could just owl it to them?" Snape asked without much hope.

"Lord Snape wishes to see your new heir in person before he signs the papers," Morrigan said apologetically.

"Very well," Snape sighed; it was no more than he had expected. "It seems we will be making another trip to Snape Manor, then."

They took the Floo to Snape Manor; Selima and Vorcher were waiting for them in the drawing room. "Do you have the adoption papers?" Selima immediately asked.

After a quick glance at Snape for his approval, Morrigan handed Selima the papers. "Please have a seat," Selima said in a cool but polite voice. Vorcher served them tea and cookies while they waited for Selima to finish reading the papers. The house-elf was very nervous when he waited on Snape, but the Potions Master just scowled and accepted a cup of tea without comment. Vorcher looked relieved, but quickly finished serving the others and retreated back to Selima's side as soon as he was done.

Snape watched his mother's face fill with outrage as she reached a certain clause in the document. He had been hoping that she would give the papers only a cursory scan and overlook it, but he had known it would be highly unlikely for her to be so careless. She did come from a family of merchants, after all, and no merchant worth his salt would ever bind himself--or herself--to an agreement without going over the contract with a fine-tooth comb first. In fact, Lady Snape possessed a fine sense of business acumen, and had advised her husband on financial matters--discreetly and behind the scenes, of course, so that his authority would not be diminished in the eyes of his peers. Publicly, all decisions regarding the Snape holdings were made by Lord Snape, but privately, his wife had handled most of their finances and business dealings, at least while Snape had still been living at home, and it was likely that Selima was single-handedly running the Snape estate now that her husband was incapacitated.

"This states that the werewolf is still the boy's foster parent!" Selima shouted, jabbing a finger at the offending clause with such ferocity that she nearly tore a hole in the paper.

"That is correct," Snape said calmly.

"He doesn't need a foster parent now that you're his father!"

"Yes, he does," Snape said; his eyes were cold and hard, and his lips formed a small, humorless smile. "You can't possibly think that I would entrust a child to your care or Father's if anything should happen to me."

"It's outrageous that a werewolf should be parent to a Snape heir!" Selima shouted furiously.

"If you don't like it, you can always let the Snape line die out," Snape said, leaning back against the couch casually as if it didn't matter to him one way or the other. Selima's face turned red with rage, and she opened her mouth to protest further, but Snape cut her off. "I am not bluffing, Mother," he said in a steely voice. "This point is nonnegotiable. Lupin remains Theodore's co-guardian or the deal is off."

Vorcher regarded his Mistress with concern and alarm; she looked as though she were about to have a stroke--or cast an Unforgivable Curse at her son. But Selima took a deep breath and got herself under control, then snapped, "Fine! Just don't tell your father about it, or he'll never reinstate you." She turned to Morrigan, who had fixed a carefully bland and polite expression on her face. "Do you have the other papers ready?"

"Yes, Lady Selima," Morrigan replied, and handed Selima the papers that would reinstate Severus as the Snape heir. Selima read them over carefully, then nodded. "Everything seems to be in order. Very well, let us go and present your heir to your father, Severus." She looked annoyed when Lupin and Dylan rose to their feet along with the others, but said nothing, and they all headed upstairs.

Selima, Vorcher, Snape, Theodore, and Morrigan entered the bedroom, while Lupin and Dylan waited outside.

Vorcher and Selima helped Severin to sit up in bed, and he croaked, "Come here and let me take a look at you, boy," in a raspy voice, feebly gesturing for Theodore to come closer. Theodore glanced at Snape, who nodded, and nervously stepped forward.

"Hmm," Severin said, looking Theodore over carefully. "He does look a bit like you, Severus. Are you sure he's not some by-blow of yours?"

Snape was about to say that he wouldn't have touched Marta with a ten-foot pole, then realized that he probably shouldn't phrase it quite that way in front of Marta's son, even if he did claim that he hated her. So he just said in a dry voice, "Marta wasn't my type, Father."

"And I suppose he is?" Severin sneered, pointing at Lupin, who was peering through the bedroom door. The werewolf smiled sheepishly at being caught eavesdropping.

"Yes, he is," Snape said calmly.

"You are a disgrace to this family!" Severin spat.

"We must ensure that the Snape line does not die out," Selima said in a soft, urgent voice. "I have checked the boy's ancestry; he is descended from the Snape line, and his blood is old and pure."

Severin scowled and looked Theodore over again. "Will you be a worthy heir and uphold the honor of the Snape family, boy?"

Theodore gave Severin a cold look and said, "I will strive to be a worthy son to my father, sir," strongly stressing the words "my father".

Severin laughed harshly. "He shows more loyalty to you than you did to me, Severus."

"With good reason," Snape snarled.

"Loyalty can be misplaced, child," Severin said to Theodore. "Remember that. Only fools trust blindly."

"I trust the Prof...I trust my father," Theodore said adamantly.

"Well, he has the Snape stubbornness, at least," Severin said to Selima with an ironic smile.

"Indeed," Selima said dryly.

"Give the damn papers here, then," Severin growled. Morrigan handed him the papers, and Selima dipped a quill in ink and handed it to her husband. Severin scrawled his name on the line Selima pointed at, his hand trembling with the effort. That small task seemed to exhaust him, and his hand fell to his side as he broke out in a coughing fit. Selima gently dabbed at his mouth with a handkerchief, and Snape noticed that it came away flecked with blood.

"Vorcher," Selima said, but the house-elf was already at her side, handing her a bottle and a spoon. She poured out a spoonful of a dark, viscous liquid and fed it to her husband, who stopped coughing and lay back on the bed, closing his eyes.

Morrigan retrieved the papers and said quietly, "I will file a copy with the Ministry and return the originals to you, Lady Selima. The same goes for the adoption papers, Severus."

Selima nodded, and Snape said, "Thank you, Morrigan."

"Good day, then," Morrigan said. "I'll see myself out." She left the room, and a few moments later they heard the cracking sound of someone Disapparating.

Severin seemed to be asleep, although his breathing still sounded labored, and Selima motioned for Snape and Vorcher to follow her out of the room.

"He seems to be in a great deal of pain," Lupin said in a concerned voice. "Isn't there anything the Healers can do to make him more comfortable, even if they cannot cure him?"

Apparently Selima was too weary to take offense and tell the werewolf to mind his own business; she did look very tired and drained. "They have prescribed something for the pain, but Severin doesn't like to take it," Selima replied. "It makes him drowsy and he says it muddles his thoughts. He prefers to endure the pain and keep his mind clear." She sighed. "Stubborn, as all the Snape men are."

Snape frowned. "What exactly are the Healers giving him?" Selima listed the potions they had prescribed, and Snape said, "I think I can brew something that will relieve the pain without making him feel drugged."

"Why haven't the Healers already prescribed this?" Selima asked, looking annoyed. "We've certainly paid them enough!"

"It takes a Master-class potion brewer to make it," Snape said with neither pride nor false humility. "It contains a small amount of poppy juice, which makes it highly addictive, but, well..."

"Your father will not live long enough for that to become a problem," Selima said flatly.

Snape nodded. "Two of the other ingredients are hemlock and hellebore, which are poisonous in the wrong dosage, so not many Healers will take the risk of making or prescribing it, for fear of killing the patient by accident--or of being sued by the patient's family."

Selima gave him a suspicious look. "If you're taking advantage of this opportunity to--"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Mother!" Snape snapped. "Why would I bother to poison Father? For the inheritance? He'll be dead in a few months, anyway. For revenge? If that were the case, I'd have done it long ago, when I first joined the Death Eaters."

Selima relaxed and said, "I suppose you're right, Severus. I would appreciate it if you would brew the potion for your father."

It was not quite an apology, but Snape knew that it was as close to one as he was likely to get. "Very well, Mother. I'll begin brewing the first batch tonight, and I'll owl it to you when it's done."

"Thank you," Selima said, in an only slightly grudging tone of voice.

Lupin smiled at Snape tenderly, and Snape scowled. "I would do the same for any of Hagrid's beasts if they were in pain, so you needn't chalk it up to any feelings of filial affection."

"You could have just said, 'you're welcome,' Severus," Lupin gently chided.

"What for?" Snape snapped. "It's not like anyone expects me to be polite, least of all my parents."

Selima just the slightest bit; a very dry and ironic smile, but a smile nevertheless. "Quite right," she said.

"Well, we'd better get back to school," Snape said, turning away. "I need to get started on the potion, and I don't want the boys to be late for dinner."

"Would...would you like to stay for dinner tonight?" Selima asked, in an uncharacteristically hesitant voice.

Snape was too surprised to reply immediately, which gave Lupin the chance to say warmly, "Why, thank you, we'd love to!"

The boys gave Lupin dubious looks, and Snape outright glared at him. "We'd love to," he said sarcastically, "but the potion--"

"Can wait till after dinner, can't it?" Lupin finished.

"Your father has survived this long without it," Selima said. "It won't hurt to put it off for a few more hours."

"But...but..." Snape stammered, frantically trying to come up with an excuse not to stay. "It's a school night. The boys--"

"Need to eat, regardless, and I don't see that it makes that much difference whether they eat here or at Hogwarts," Selima said.

"The students aren't allowed to leave the school grounds without permission," Snape protested lamely.

"They're already here," Selima pointed out dryly. "I assume they had your permission as Head of House to leave the school. If anyone complains, you can write them an excuse note."

"We should let the Headmaster know that we'll be late, though," Lupin said cheerfully.

"I'll have Socrates take a note to the school," Selima said.

"Socrates?" Lupin asked.

"Our owl," Selima replied. They all followed her to the library, where the large owl was sleeping on top one of the bookcases. It awoke when its mistress called its name, and soared down to land on one of the tables, where it waited patiently while Selima wrote a brief note in her precise, elegant handwriting.

Meanwhile, Lupin gently stroked the bird, crooning, "Aren't you a fine, handsome fellow?" Selima shot him an annoyed look, but the bird made contented hooting noises.

Selima handed the letter to the owl, saying, "Deliver this to the Headmaster at Hogwarts School," and Socrates grasped the envelope in his claws and flew off. "Four more for dinner, Vorcher," Selima ordered.

"Yes, Mistress, Vorcher will see to it at once!" the house-elf replied, and ran off, presumably to the kitchen.

"Dinner should be ready in about an hour," Selima said. "Perhaps you could show Theodore and your...friends...around the house in the meantime." She said the word "friends" with just a hint of distaste in her voice. "I have some business I need to attend to. Ring for Vorcher if you need anything." Then she swept out of the room without waiting for a reply.

"Ring?" Lupin asked.

Snape pointed at a small, silver bell sitting on a table near the door. "One of these bells can be found in nearly every room in the house. They're enchanted so that the Snape house-elf--in this case, Vorcher--can hear them no matter where he is."

"Clever," Lupin said, picking up the bell to examine it, although he was careful not to let it ring. "Although Hermione would have a fit."

"That's because she's a sentimental Gryffindor with more good intentions than common sense," Snape said tartly. "Vorcher would have a fit if Miss Granger tried to free him."

"That is true," Lupin acknowledged, "although I do agree with Hermione that no house-elf should be forced to serve against its will--Dobby did wish to be freed, after all. And I do not think that even the masters of the house-elves who serve willingly should be allowed to mistreat them."

Snape shrugged. "My parents have never mistreated Vorcher the way Lucius mistreated Dobby." Lupin raised an eyebrow, and Snape smiled, somewhat bitterly. "Not out of sentiment, of course, but the Snapes take good care of their possessions, and to them, Vorcher is a valuable piece of property. Like these books, for instance." He motioned at the shelves in the library. "The temperature in the room is magically set to remain constant: cool and dry at all times to prevent the books from slowly rotting and degrading over the years. The older and more fragile books are treated with preservation spells to keep the pages from crumbling or tearing. And to be quite frank, a house-elf is more valuable than almost any spell book, no matter how rare. Only the most powerful of the wizarding families have house-elf servants, and once the contract between an elf and the family it serves is broken, it is impossible to get a replacement--as the Malfoys have discovered."

"I see," Lupin murmured. "I guess I should be glad that Vorcher is not being mistreated, but it seems rather cold to regard as him as no more or less important than a valuable book."

"My parents are not exactly the warm and cuddly type, in case you haven't noticed," Snape said sarcastically. "Which is why I was not eager to stay for dinner."

"But she did ask us to stay," Lupin said quietly, "and I get the impression that your mother does not ask for anything very often."

"No, she prefers to command," Snape said sourly.

"Then let's meet her gesture halfway," Lupin said. "It must be lonely, living in this huge mansion with no company but Vorcher and your father."

"Your sentiment is wasted on my mother, Lupin," Snape grumbled, but he stopped arguing.

They spent some time looking over the library, which was not as extensive as the one at Blackmore Manor, but still impressive. Dylan, observant as ever, noticed something odd. "There are no books on the Dark Arts," he said.

Snape grinned. "And with my family's reputation, you find that surprising, do doubt." He walked over to a rather ugly sconce set into one wall that was wrought in the shape of a gargoyle holding a candlestick in each hand. Snape reached up and tugged on the gargoyle's horns, and a section of the wall soundlessly swung open, revealing a hidden room. Inside were shelves filled with a number of books on the Dark Arts, most of them proscribed by the Ministry of Magic.

The boys eyed the shelves with looks of avid interest, and Lupin said sternly, "Perhaps you could show us the rest of the house, Severus."

"As you wish, Lupin," Snape said, and the boys looked disappointed but followed their guardians out of the hidden room. While Snape was closing the secret door, Lupin looked down at the floor of the library and noticed a large Turkish rug that was woven in beautiful colors and intricate patterns.

"What a beautiful rug," Lupin said, then gasped as the corners of the rug fluttered up off the floor and waved at him almost invitingly.

"Down!" snapped Snape, and the rug sank back to the floor in a manner that seemed somehow petulant.

"What on earth is that?" Lupin asked.

"My mother's cousin, Ali, deals in flying carpets," Snape said, "and he gave one to my parents as a wedding gift. Unfortunately, they're prohibited in England, so all it does is sit on the library floor; it gets a bit restless at times."

The boys knelt down on the floor, staring at the carpet in awe. "Wow," Dylan breathed, running his hand across the rug. "You own a real flying carpet--that's so cool!" The rug quivered appreciatively.

"Technically my parents own it, and please don't encourage it; I don't want to have to chase it all over the house," Snape said, but he looked amused.

Dylan gave the rug a regretful pat, rose to feet, and asked, "Why are flying carpets illegal, anyway?"

Snape shrugged. "You'll have to ask Arthur Weasley that. They're defined by the Ministry as Muggle Artifacts, which makes it illegal to enchant them, but I don't really understand why it's all right to enchant a broom but not a carpet. Brooms are used by Muggles as well, and it would upset a Muggle just as much to see a wizard flying through the air on a broom as it would to see one flying on a carpet. Uncle Ali claims it's a conspiracy on the part of the broomstick manufacturers, and I admit it's a possibility that they could have paid the Ministry off with a fat bribe."

 

Part 38