Aftermaths, Part 42

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's first Interspecies Relations class was with the seventh-year Gryffindors and Slytherins. It was being held in a normal classroom with desks and chairs, not the Physical Defense room, and the students were regarding him with respect and curiosity, not hostility (except for Aric, who looked sullen as always), but Lukas felt very uncomfortable. The Physical Defense classes weren't so bad; at least he had plenty of experience with fighting, but he had none in teaching. He didn't even have the benefit of having attended classes as a student, since he had been tutored at home by his parents; he was going to have to wing it.

He felt rather silly seated behind the teacher's desk at the head of the room, like a child playing at being a grown-up, or an impostor who was expecting his charade to be discovered at any moment, and besides, it created a barrier between himself and the students. So he came around front and sat on the edge of his desk, facing the class; rather unprofessional, he supposed, but it made him feel more comfortable.

"Well," he finally said, "this is the first time this class is being taught, so it will be a new experience for all of us. I believe you all know that I am a werewolf..." He paused and the students nodded. "Which is, no doubt, one of the reasons why the Headmaster hired me. So why don't we start by clearing up any misconceptions you might have about werewolves? I know you have studied werewolves in your Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, but some of the texts you have read are, shall we say, somewhat biased at best." Crabbe immediately raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Crabbe?"

"Is it true, sir, that lycanthropy can be inherited instead of being passed through a bite?"

"Who told you that?" Lukas asked sharply.

"Professor Lupin did, sir," Crabbe replied. "Well, actually he told his fifth-year class that last year, and they told us."

"Why am I not surprised?" Lukas muttered under his breath. In a normal voice he said, "Yes, it is true that lycanthropy can be inherited, but it is very rare." Hermione raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"If someone contracts lycanthropy through a bite, can the disease be passed down to their children?"

"There has not been a great deal of research done on the subject," Lukas said with a twisted, mirthless smile, "because inherited lycanthropy is the wizarding world's dirty little secret. No one wants to admit that it exists, for fear of being disgraced if it becomes known that there might be a few werewolf ancestors in the family tree. But there is only one recorded case that I know of where bite-induced lycanthropy was passed on to a descendant. A young woman was bitten while pregnant, and it seems that the change also affected the baby in her womb." The class visibly shuddered, and Lukas couldn't really blame them. Most female werewolves took great pains not to become pregnant, because who knew what would happen to the fetus when they shifted form every month?

"What...what happened to the woman and her baby?" Hermione hesitantly asked.

Lukas bluntly replied, "After the baby was born, it began exhibiting signs of lycanthropy at the full moon. The woman's family called them both monsters and threw them out of the house, and the woman killed herself and her child in despair." A stunned silence fell over the room, and Lukas said bitterly, "Most stories involving werewolves do not have happy endings."

Goyle raised his hand, and Lukas nodded at him. "Did you inherit your lycanthropy or did you get bitten by a werewolf?" Goyle asked.

Lukas's yellow-green eyes went wide with shock and anger, and he had stepped forward and bared his teeth in a snarl before he could stop himself. The students all went pale and cringed in their seats, especially Goyle. Lukas managed to get himself under control, and he said in a voice taut with suppressed rage, "You need to understand that not all werewolves are as forthcoming and easy-going as Professor Lupin." They still looked very frightened, and Lukas took several deep breaths and reminded himself that they were just children and didn't know any better--gentle, kindhearted Remus being the only werewolf they had met up until now. In a calmer voice, he continued, "You should never ask a werewolf such a thing; most of us dislike talking about our lycanthropy with outsiders. For one thing, it stirs up painful memories, and for another, it can be dangerous to accuse someone of having inherited lycanthropy. It is an insult to their family, because it implies that the bloodline is tainted. The werewolf might take offense, which is dangerous enough, but their family might also take offense, and you know how protective the purebloods are of their reputations..." His eyes flickered over to the Slytherin side of the room, where the children squirmed in their seats, looking guilty and a little ashamed. "Duels have been fought and people have been killed over lesser insults."

"I...I'm sorry, Master Bleddri," Goyle said, still looking pale. "I didn't mean any offense, honest. I was just curious, that's all, and Professor Lupin never minded talking about that kind of thing..."

"Professor Lupin is a most unusual person," Lukas said with a wry smile. "He is possessed of more patience than I have ever known anyone to have, human or werewolf."

Hermione raised her hand. "Um...is it still okay for us to ask you questions about werewolves, Master Bleddri?" she asked. "We don't mean any offense, as Gregory said, but we don't know which questions might be offensive."

Lukas felt a little guilty now; he was supposed to be promoting better interspecies relations, not giving the students more reason to fear werewolves, and he had invited the question, after all, by offering to clear up their misconceptions about werewolves. He sighed; Dumbledore really should have given this job to Lupin. Then he almost smiled at the irony of it all: most people had an almost pathological fear of werewolves, but Remus had charmed these children so much that they had swung in the opposite direction and didn't regard werewolves with as much caution as they should. "I should not have lost my temper," he admitted, "but Mr. Goyle took me by surprise. I didn't know that Remus had discussed that subject with you; it's regarded as taboo among both the werewolf and wizarding communities."

"Then that's the kind of thing we need to know," Hermione said earnestly. "So that we don't offend any werewolves that we might meet in the future."

"It's not like we know that many werewolves, Hermione," Ron pointed out.

"But now that the equal rights bill has been passed, there probably will be more werewolves moving openly in the wizarding world," Hermione argued. "Isn't that partly why the Headmaster created this class?"

The girl had a point, Lukas had to admit; she seemed to be as clever as Lupin had claimed she was. "Miss Granger is correct. A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a werewolf to be permitted to work here as a teacher. You may ask me whatever questions you wish, and I will advise you if they are of an inflammatory nature." He paused, then hastily added, "General questions about werewolves, that is; I will not answer any questions about my personal life or how I contracted my lycanthropy, because that is none of your business." The students nodded meekly, then after a moment, Harry raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"During that battle with the Death Eaters," the boy said, giving him a nervous look, as if afraid of offending him again, "you and Professor Lupin and the other werewolves fought in wolf form when the moon wasn't full."

"Yeah, that's right!" Ron exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"You're only wondering about that now, Weasley?" Draco asked in a patronizing voice.

Ron glared at him. "We had a few other things on our mind at the time, Malfoy."

"Settle down, you two!" Lukas snapped, and they subsided.

Theodore hesitated, then raised his hand, and Lukas called on him. "Re--I mean, Professor Lupin said that a werewolf can change if it perceives a great enough danger to itself or to someone it cares about."

Lukas nodded. "That is correct, Mr. Nott...excuse me, I mean Mr. Snape. With all the Death Eaters, Dementors, and giants on the battlefield, not to mention the Dark Lord himself, it didn't take much for us to transform. And being in wolf form did give us an advantage, because a transformed werewolf can heal wounds almost instantaneously."

"But I don't understand," Harry said. "How did you stay sane without the Wolfsbane Potion? What kept you from attacking your allies as well as your enemies?"

Lukas hesitated, not sure how much to tell them. Unlike Remus, he wasn't used to openly talking about his lycanthropy, and his first instinct was to keep all such knowledge secret. But on the other hand, that would defeat the purpose of this class, and it was the aura of secrecy surrounding lycanthropy that had led to all the fear and prejudice in the first place. "It's not common knowledge," he finally said, "since werewolves rarely transform outside of the full moon, but when the moon isn't full, the urge to bite and kill isn't as strong. It's also possible that regular use of the Wolfsbane Potion helped to keep us in control although we weren't actually taking it at the time. And a wolf's strongest instinct is loyalty to its pack, and our pack was being threatened by the Death Eaters. All our hostility, our desire to attack, was being focused solely on the Death Eaters. And...my pack and I have embraced our wolfish natures far more than most werewolves do. I cannot be sure, as no formal experiments have been conducted on it, but I think that the more one tries to fight the wolf, the more debilitating the change is every month. And the more one resists the wolf, the more violent it becomes when it finally emerges at the rise of the full moon. Conversely, the less one fights it, the easier the change is. Also, being in the presence of other wolves seems to have a calming effect on us; even when we didn't have access to the Wolfsbane Potion, spending the full moon together seemed to ease the madness of the change slightly. I think that may be why we were able to retain control of ourselves on the battlefield."

"Professor Lupin said that back in school when his Animagus friends stayed with him in their animal forms during his transformation, he was calmer and his mind was more human," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Professor Lupin said the same thing you did," Theodore told Lukas. "That when he stopped fighting the wolf, it made the transformation easier. That it was better to strike a balance between man and wolf than try to repress the wolf completely."

Crabbe raised his hand again and said in a deferential manner, "Um, I have a question, sir, but I'm not sure if you'd consider it personal..."

Lukas sighed. "You may ask, Mr. Crabbe, although I might not answer."

"I was just wondering...Professor Lupin's hair is gray, and he used to get really sick near the full moon before the Wolfsbane Potion was improved. Are you younger than he is, or is the transformation harder on him for some reason? Maybe because of that stuff you said about fighting the wolf?"

"You are perceptive, Mr. Crabbe," Lukas said, and the boy beamed at him proudly as the other children stared at him incredulously, except for Goyle, who grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, and Hermione, who smiled approvingly at him in an almost motherly--or perhaps big-sisterly?--fashion. "I came to accept my wolfish nature more readily than Professor Lupin did, and I think that is why the transformations did not affect me as badly." That was because Lupin was at heart a gentle person, while Lukas was by nature a predator--or at least he had learned to become one in order to survive after his parents died and he was turned out of his home and forced to fend for himself. But that fell under the category of "personal," and he had no intention of sharing that information with his class.

They spent the rest of the period discussing werewolves, and for the most part, the students asked intelligent and insightful questions. None of them were rude to him; in fact, they were downright respectful, and it wasn't a respect borne of fear--well, at least, not completely. Crabbe and Goyle were downright friendly, and seemed eager to win his approval, although he suspected that was due more to Lupin than anything he himself had done. He had the feeling that they really looked up to Remus, and because of that, were now inclined to like all werewolves. {And I thought the Gryffindors were supposed to be the naive ones,} Lukas thought to himself in bemusement. Aric said nothing, but he diligently took notes throughout the class, perhaps for his essay on werewolves for DADA class. Lukas had heard about the extra assignment Lupin had given the boy after his sarcastic remark about lycanthropy; Aric was learning the hard way that Lupin wasn't quite as soft as he appeared to be. Lupin could be surprisingly devious for such an idealist; Snape must be rubbing off on him.

The bell rang, and the children looked surprised and even a little disappointed to discover that class was over. Lukas assigned them some reading on Japanese shapeshifters for next week's class, saying, "While you're reading, I'd like you to keep in mind the different ways in which non-humans are regarded in the Japanese and British wizarding communities--we'll discuss this further next week. Class dismissed."

"Well, that wasn't really so bad," Lukas said to himself after the class had left. But he still thought that Remus had done far more for "interspecies relations" than any amount of formal lessons could accomplish, simply by being himself.
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Snape set his seventh-year Advanced Potions class to work on the Burn-Healing Paste as he had promised on the first day of class. Perhaps because of the near-disaster with Neville and the Ashwinder eggs, Snape went over the instructions with them in more detail this time, although as far as Harry could tell, none of the ingredients seemed to be particularly dangerous.

"The main ingredients of the paste are lavender oil, hyssop and aloe leaves, nettles, and valerian roots. And what do all these ingredients have in common?" A number of hands went into the air. "Miss Granger."

"They're all ingredients in a number of healing potions and salves, sir."

"That should be obvious to anyone but a dunce by now," Snape said curtly, and his eyes flickered over to Harry, Ron, and Neville. Ron glared at him and Neville accepted the implied insult without any sign of resentment, but flushed a little with embarrassment; no doubt he too still remembered the accident he had almost caused--since Snape was hardly likely to let him forget it. As for Harry, he was too busy thinking to feel resentful, because he was still trying to figure how much of Snape's hatred was real and how much was feigned. While he was pondering this, Snape grudgingly added, "Still, I'll award a point to Gryffindor since the answer was correct."

Hermione smiled, looking pleased, and kicked Ron in the shin when he opened his mouth to protest the miserliness of awarding a single point.

"And what are the properties of hyssop leaves, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked, turning towards the Slytherin section of the room.

"Ingested, they can be used as an expectorant or a remedy for rheumatism," Draco promptly replied. "Externally, they can be applied as a poultice to treat bruises and wounds, and are an ingredient in many healing salves."

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said approvingly, and Draco preened; Aric Dietrich gave him a disgusted look. "Five points to Slytherin." Now Ron was scowling at Snape. Oddly enough, Snape ignored him, and grinned wickedly as he addressed the class. "You might want to remember that, as Master Bleddri has informed me that he believes his students will be needing bruise remedies for his Physical Defense classes."

"I could have used some yesterday," Terry Boot muttered under his breath, wincing as he rubbed his arm.

"Those of you who have need of them may see Professor Sprout for more hyssop leaves," Snape said, without turning around, and Terry gave Snape a startled and nervous look. "Now who can tell me why nettles are used in healing potions?" Again, several hands went up in the air, and Snape nodded at Theodore. "Yes, Mr. Nott...I mean Mr. Sna..." Snape's voice trailed off mid-word; Harry had never seen the Potions Master look so flustered in class before, not even when Umbridge had been "observing" him back in fifth year. Apparently Snape was finding it a little odd to address his new son by his own last name, but he quickly pulled himself together, cleared his throat, and said, "Yes, Theodore?"

By now, Theodore was looking a little flustered as well, but he answered, "Nettles are a common ingredient in healing potions and potions in general because they increase the efficacy of the other herbs they're being mixed with."

"Very good, Theodore; five more points to Slytherin," Snape said, and Theodore smiled at him proudly. Harry noticed that Aric was glaring at his cousin, but for a change, the new Slytherin student said nothing. Come to think of it, he had not said a word in Interspecies Relations, either. Well, Aric had been cowed by Master Bleddri after the werewolf had defeated him during Physical Defense class, and perhaps he had finally learned that offending Snape could be dangerous, too. Harry mentally shrugged, deciding not to worry about Aric. The boy was obnoxious, but he was used to dealing with obnoxious Slytherins, thanks to Draco, and it seemed like a minor problem compared to worrying about being killed by Voldemort. He smiled to himself, thinking about how glad he was that the war was over and everyone was safe, and he was feeling so relieved and happy that he didn't see Snape notice his smile and give him a puzzled and suspicious look.
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Dylan went to the library after dinner to meet Hermione. While he was waiting for her, he noticed a couple of young Ravenclaws studying together, and remembered that he'd wanted to find out if Corbin Talbott was his cousin. He approached the table and saw that the pair was Jun Chang and Gabrielle Delacour, but it wouldn't hurt to be friendly to the new first-years, and perhaps they could introduce him to Corbin.

"Hello," he said, giving them the charming smile that was second nature to him by now. "I'm Dylan Rosier."

"I know who you are," Jun said, looking impressed. "I've seen you play Quidditch--that match you won against Gryffindor last year was really spectacular!"

"Ah, you came to that match, then, even though Ravenclaw wasn't playing?"

Jun nodded. "Yeah, I figured either Gryffindor or Slytherin would be Ravenclaw's main opponent, and I wanted to see what my sister would be up against."

"Cho is a very good player," Dylan said, and Jun smiled proudly. "Do you play Quidditch, too?"

"Oh yes!" Jun replied eagerly. "I want to try out for the team next year!" He sighed enviously, "Tristan is so lucky, getting to play as a first-year!"

Dylan turned to Gabrielle, who smiled at him shyly. "Hi, I'm Gabrielle," she said.

"I know," Dylan replied, then said in French, "How could I have failed to recognize such a lovely young woman? I remember your sister from the Triwizard Tournament, and you are just as beautiful as she is."

Gabrielle giggled. "You can speak French!" she said delightedly.

"What did he say?" Jun asked curiously, and Gabrielle blushed.

"Nothing but the truth," Dylan declared. "That she is a very beautiful girl."

Jun grinned as Gabrielle's blush deepened. "My sister said you were a big flirt!" he said.

"I'm sure your sister must be mixing me up with my friend Damien," Dylan protested with mock-indignation, and Gabrielle giggled again.

"You ARE a flirt!" she told him. "And I know you have a girlfriend, but thank you for the compliment." Then she added in French, "And it's nice to be able to speak French with someone besides my sister."

Dylan gave her a less flirtatious and more sincere smile. "Your English is excellent, but I'll be happy to speak French with you anytime you get homesick."

Just then, Corbin Talbott showed up. "Gabby, Jun!" he said sharply. "What are you doing talking to him?"

Dylan turned his charming smile on Corbin, but the younger boy just frowned. "Hello," he said politely. "Actually, I've been looking for you. My name is Dylan Rosier--"

"I know who you are," Corbin said curtly, and his two housemates frowned at him.

"My grandmother's maiden name was Elin Talbott," Dylan continued, "and I've been wanting to meet you, because I was wondering if we might be cousins."

"Elin Rosier was my grandaunt," Corbin said coldly, "and my father says it's your father's fault that she's dead."

"Corbin!" Gabrielle cried.

"My family doesn't want to be associated with a family of Death Eaters, so please leave me and my friends alone," Corbin said.

Dylan felt as if he'd been slapped in the face, although in hindsight he realized that he should have been prepared for this, considering how his mother's family had regarded him. But the Talbotts had mostly been Slytherins, so he had thought Corbin would be less hostile.

"But the Daily Prophet said he fought against the Death Eaters," Jun protested.

"You can't believe everything you read in the papers, Jun," Corbin said, still gazing at Dylan coldly. "Come on, let's go."

Jun hesitated for a moment, then got up to follow Corbin. Gabrielle frowned and said, "I can choose my own friends." To Dylan she said, "You can call me Gabby." She pointedly added, "All my friends do."

"Do as you please, then," Corbin said with a shrug. "But you're making a mistake." The two boys walked off.

"I'm sorry about that," Gabrielle apologized.

"It's okay," Dylan said, trying not to show how hurt he felt. "I'm used to it."

"Well, I think you're nice," Gabrielle declared. "Maybe they'll change their minds when they get to know you better." She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek, then blushed and ran off.

"Flirting with other women, are you?" Hermione teased as she came up behind Dylan. Then she saw the expression on his face and asked in a concerned voice, "What's wrong, Dylan?"

"Nothing," he sighed. "I've just realized that some people will never see me as anything but a Death Eater, even my own family." He explained what had happened with Corbin. "Now I know how Professor Snape must have felt all these years."

"But now that the truth has come out--" Hermione said.

"People will believe what they want to believe," Dylan interrupted. "Some people probably think that the Professor and I really were Death Eaters, and we only switched sides to save our lives."

"I'm sure Corbin will realize that isn't true once he gets to know you," Hermione said hopefully, although she didn't look fully convinced herself.

"It doesn't matter," Dylan lied. "I'm used to it. Everyone in my mother's family hated me, except for Math and Goewin, and Theo's family is even worse. The Notts didn't want anything to do with him after his parents died, because they were afraid people might think they were Death Eaters too, and the Dietriches blame him for his uncle's death. You've seen the way Aric treats him."

"Aric Dietrich is pretty awful," Hermione said, making a face that caused Dylan to laugh a little. "Even worse than Draco used to be! But he's been a lot more subdued since Professor Lupin gave him detention the other day."

"Hmm," Dylan said thoughtfully. Aric didn't seem like the type to be cowed by the threat of detention, and he wondered what the other boy was up to--he had no doubt that it was nothing good.

"But I think it does matter to you," Hermione continued, referring to his earlier statement. "I know it must hurt that your family rejected you; you don't have to pretend that it doesn't." She reached up to caress his cheek. "You don't have to worry about the Death Eaters finding out the truth anymore, Dylan. It's safe to just be yourself now."

Dylan suddenly found himself blinking back tears. "I...I'm sorry," he whispered. "I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. It's just...I've been playing a role for so long, it's become automatic. I'm not really sure how to stop."

"It's all right, Dylan," Hermione said tenderly, and slipped her arms around his neck. He put his arms around her and pulled her close, burying his face in her hair. They held each other tightly for what seemed like a long time but was probably just a few minutes, until they heard Madam Pince's sharp voice say:

"A library is for studying, Mr. Rosier! Carry on your little romantic trysts elsewhere, if you please!" The two of them jumped apart, Hermione blushing furiously, and Pince blinked in surprise. "Miss Granger! I didn't expect this sort of behavior from you!"

"It's not what you think," Hermione protested.

"Oh?" Pince said skeptically, raising her eyebrows.

Dylan figured that an explanation would probably be more trouble than it was worth. "I'm sorry, Madam Pince," he said respectfully, trying to look contrite. He noted, with bitter amusement, how easy it was to slip into the role of the obedient student. "It was my fault. It won't happen again, I promise."

Madam Pince gave him a suspicious look, then much to his surprise, she smiled a little. "Well, you have been a model student for the most part," she conceded. "Though I can't tell you how many times I caught your father carrying on with some girl in the stacks. Very well, I'll let it go this once, but next time it will be points off your Houses, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione said.

"Yes, ma'am," Dylan echoed. "There won't be a next time, I promise."

"I certainly hope not. Run along, then."

As they hurried off, Hermione giggled and whispered to Dylan, "You've even charmed Madam Pince!"

"No, I think it was my father," Dylan said with a grin, his bad mood suddenly lifted. "She almost looked nostalgic for a moment when she mentioned him."

"Professor Lupin said he was very charming," Hermione said. "I wish I could have met him."

"Me too," Dylan said softly, although his Death Eater father would almost certainly have objected to his son having a Muggle-born girlfriend. Then again, if Evan Rosier had gotten to know Hermione, maybe he would have changed his attitude towards the Muggle-born; at least, Dylan liked to think so.

Hermione slipped her hand into his and gently squeezed it; maybe his acting skills had deteriorated after all, since she seemed to understand what he was thinking, or maybe it was because she knew him so well--although, to his shame, he realized that she had not known the real him until this summer. "He was your father, so I can't think of him as a completely bad person," Hermione said softly. "He was a Death Eater, but Voldemort misled a lot of people. That doesn't excuse what he did, of course, but your mother loved him, and Professor Blackmore and Professor Lupin liked him, so there must have been some good in him. If he had lived, maybe he would have changed...Professor Snape did, and so did Narcissa Malfoy and Delia Avery."

Dylan found his eyes filling with tears again, and he smiled at her gratefully. After carefully looking around to make sure Madam Pince was nowhere in sight, he stole a quick kiss from Hermione, who blushed again. Then they found a table and began studying, with no more "carrying on," as Madam Pince would have put it.

Because they were so wrapped up in each other, and because they had fled so quickly after Madam Pince's scolding, they had not noticed two Hufflepuff girls, Susan Bones and Isabelle Laroque, observing the whole incident between Dylan and the Ravenclaws. "Dylan Rosier," Isabelle said, staring at his departing form with a cool, appraising look. "What is he like?"

"Well," Susan said hesitantly, "he seems okay. He's very popular; all the girls like him because he's so handsome and charming, but..."

"But?"

"But his father was a Death Eater," Susan finished. "I mean, I guess he's okay, because Dumbledore said he fought on our side during the final battle. He said Professor Snape is a hero, too. It's kind of weird because everyone thought Snape was a Death Eater, but he was spying on them all along, according to the Headmaster. It's still kind of hard to believe, but I guess it's true; I don't think Professor Lupin would have fallen in love with him if he really was a Death Eater." She blushed a little at the thought.

"You must think a lot of Professor Lupin," Isabelle said.

"Of course!" Susan said enthusiastically. "He's the best Defense teacher we've ever had! He's very nice, and he makes his lessons interesting--don't you think so?"

Isabelle just smiled and nodded in a noncommittal manner. "Your family was killed by Death Eaters during the first war," she said suddenly.

"Ah...yes," Susan replied, startled by the abrupt change in subject. "My uncle and his family."

"So were my uncles," Isabelle said.

"I know," Susan said sympathetically. "I mean, I've heard about them because they were members of the Order of the Phoenix like my Uncle Edgar. Is that why you've been living in France all these years?"

"Yes," Isabelle replied. "My mother was afraid the Death Eaters would come after her next. But she missed her home, so that's why we came back now that the war is over."

"I hope you like it here at Hogwarts," Susan said with a friendly smile.

"I'm sure I will," Isabelle replied. "I hope you and I can be friends."

"Of course!" Susan said warmly. She admired Isabelle, who seemed so pretty and poised, and had an enchanting French accent. The boys seemed to admire Isabelle, too, but since her boyfriend Dean wasn't one of the boys drooling over the new exchange student, that didn't bother Susan. And it would be nice to have a friend who had shared a similar experience, who could understand what it was like to have lost family members to the Death Eaters. She still remembered what it had been like, when the Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban during fifth year, including the one who had killed her uncle and his family, and the other students had whispered behind her back, staring at her pityingly, or worse, with a kind of gruesome curiosity.

She followed Isabelle, who headed after the trio of first-year Ravenclaws, and found them arguing quietly with each other between the stacks.

"Excuse me," Isabelle said. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear what you said earlier."

"Are you a fan of Dylan Rosier's, too?" Corbin snapped.

"No, I don't even know him," Isabelle replied calmly. She introduced herself and Susan, then placed a hand on Gabrielle's shoulder and said in French, "I just wanted to let you know that if you ever want someone to converse with in French, you may come see me, too. My mother is British, but France has been my home for the past fifteen years, and sometimes I get a little homesick, too."

"Thank you, Isabelle!" Gabrielle said, looking flattered and grateful.

"That's very nice of you," Susan told Isabelle on the way back to the Hufflepuff dorm, once Isabelle explained what she had told the Ravenclaw girl.

"It will be nice to have a friend from my homeland," Isabelle said. "She is helping me as much as I am helping her. But please, tell me more about yourself. I heard that you were something of a heroine yourself, that you were involved in the final battle."

"Oh, not really, we just helped out in the field hospital," Susan protested modestly, blushing a little, but she felt very pleased.

"We?" Isabelle asked.

"The members of Dumbledore's Army. Oh, I guess you don't know about that. It's sort of a club we started, to practice Defense Against the Dark Arts back in fifth year."

"It sounds fascinating. Please tell me all about it..."

 

Part 43