Aftermaths, Part 47

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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Several more werewolves stopped by during Aric's detention period to pick up Wolfsbane Potion and in some cases, food and clothing. Most of them seemed amused by the plush toy wolves; one just snorted when he saw them. When Aric wasn't filling their orders, he helped Kimura with the Wolfsbane Potion. Although he was a good Potions student, he had never worked on the Wolfsbane Potion before, and it wasn't the sort of thing that could be entrusted to someone unfamiliar with it, so the extent of his help was mainly that he stirred the cauldron and chopped roots. Bleddri watched him like a hawk the entire time, no doubt to make sure he didn't slip some poison into the cauldron or something. He needn't have worried, though; while Aric wasn't fond of werewolves, he didn't want to kill them, either. His grudge was solely with the Death Eaters and his cousin. Although Lupin was the lover of a former Death Eater who just happened to be Theodore's new father...but on the other hand, even if he did have bad taste in lovers, Aric could not by any stretch of the imagination picture Lupin being involved with the Death Eaters. Did he really want to hurt Lupin, if the opportunity somehow arose? Surprisingly, the answer was "no"--well, mostly. Aric occasionally got the urge to smack Lupin when he got overly chirpy (on purpose, Aric was sure), but he didn't really want to do him any permanent damage, not even to indirectly hurt Theo.

Aric groaned and rubbed his temples, and Kimura looked up in concern. "Are you all right, Aric?" he asked.

"Just a headache," Aric said sullenly.

"The fumes of the potion can be a bit overwhelming to someone who's not used to them," the mediwizard said sympathetically.

"Well, you're in luck, Aric," Lupin said with a smile. "The two hours are up; your detention's over."

"Wait a moment!" Kimura said, then scooped some dried herbs out of a large glass jar into a small paper bag. He handed the bag to Aric, saying, "Some herbal tea for your headache; an old family remedy."

Aric reluctantly accepted it; his headache had not been caused by the potion fumes, nor was it likely to go away anytime soon, but he could hardly tell the mediwizard that. After Bleddri gave him a pointed glare, he added, "Thank you, Mr. Kimura."

"Oh, thank YOU," Kimura said with a sunny smile; Aric was still having trouble believing that he hadn't been a Gryffindor. "You were a big help today. And please call me Takeshi; everyone else does."

"Uh, sure," Aric said, although since it was highly unlikely that he would ever come back here, he probably wouldn't have the chance to call the mediwizard by that name or any other.

"If you do stop by the Sakura," Takeshi called out as they left, "please give my regards to Mother and Father."

"We'll be sure to do that!" Lupin said cheerfully as he waved goodbye. Once they were seated inside the carriage, he told Aric, "Well, I did promise you lunch, and you did work hard today."

"Yes, and he even minded his manners," Bleddri grudgingly conceded. "Mostly."

"The Sakura," Lupin said, and the carriage started moving.

"Er...that's not really necessary, Professor," Aric said. Having lunch with his teachers was not exactly Aric's idea of a good time. "Besides, my detention is supposed to be over."

"It's not detention," Lupin pointed out with a smile. "It's a free lunch! And besides, even if we went straight back to Hogwarts right now, lunch would still be half-over by the time we got there, so we might as well get something to eat first."

Bleddri shrugged and leaned back against his seat, so Aric resigned himself to dining with the two werewolves. They were greeted at the restaurant by a beautiful Japanese woman; she looked like something out of a storybook. Her sleek, glossy black hair fell to her waist and was tied off near the end with a bit of gold cord fashioned into an elaborate knot, and she was dressed in an elegant silk kimono printed in a flower design.

"Professor Lupin, Master Bleddri, how nice to see you today!"

"Good afternoon, Haruko," Lupin replied. "We just came from the clinic; Takeshi says hello."

Aric stared at her in surprise; the woman didn't look old enough to have a nineteen or twenty year-old son, but apparently she did.

Haruko smiled proudly. "Takeshi's a good boy; a very hard worker."

"He is indeed," Bleddri said, "and we're very grateful to him for his work at the clinic."

Haruko smiled warmly at them. "And is this one of your students?"

"Yes, he was...ah...volunteering at the clinic today," Lupin said. "This is Aric Dietrich. Aric, this is Haruko Kimura, Takeshi's mother and the proprietor of this restaurant."

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Dietrich," Haruko said, bowing to him. Startled, Aric awkwardly bowed back. She led them to a small private room where they seated themselves on the floor at a low table. Lupin ordered for them; Aric was afraid it would be something weird like raw fish, but the food was actually pretty good: a slightly sweetish soup that Lupin called "miso," strips of grilled beef and chicken served with rice, shrimp deep-fried in some sort of light batter, and small dishes of pickled vegetables that tasted a little odd but weren't really bad. He had some problems at first with the chopsticks, but after Bleddri snickered the first time, Aric paid more attention to Lupin's patient instructions, and managed to get through the meal without spilling food on his robes. For dessert, there was mochi--sweet, soft, sticky rice cakes that tasted good, although the texture seemed a little gluey to Aric; if they were any stickier they could glue your mouth shut. He washed the stickiness out of his mouth with a cup of tea.

Lupin paid the bill, and Haruko gave him a white cardboard box. "Some mochi for you to take home to Professor Snape," she said with a smile.

Lupin thanked her and they left. "So Snape is famous for his sweet tooth even outside of Hogwarts?" Bleddri laughed when they were back in the carriage.

"Well, he has been a regular customer there for many years," Lupin said, grinning, "back when he was using the Portkey there to travel to Japan to consult with Kamiyama on the Wolfsbane Potion." Noticing the startled look on Aric's face, he added, "Severus worked together with a Japanese wizard named Naoto Kamiyama to develop the Wolfsbane Potion, but he kept his role in it secret until after the war was over."

"Oh, right," Aric said. "I think I read something about it in the Daily Prophet. I suppose he invented it because of you?"

"I certainly hope so," Lupin said jokingly. "I'd hate to think that he was fooling around with another werewolf!"

When they arrived back at Hogwarts, Lupin said, "Well, thanks for your help today, Aric."

"You don't have to thank me," Aric said. "I only did it because you forced me to."

Lupin smiled. "Still, whatever the reasons, you did a good job, and I appreciate it. Perhaps we can do it again sometime."

"I'm going to try to avoid getting detention from now on," Aric said dryly.

Lupin laughed gently. "I thought perhaps you might want to volunteer next time."

"Not likely!" Aric snorted, and his teachers let him depart without further comment. But secretly, he had to admit, that it hadn't really been all that bad. Watching Bleddri's reaction to the toy wolves had been very amusing, and working on the Wolfsbane Potion had been interesting. Aric still hadn't decided what sort of job to look for after he graduated; perhaps he should consider becoming a potion-brewer, or even a mediwizard like Rafe had been. Maybe he would go back sometime, to ask Takeshi what the job was like...
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Neither Blaise nor Theodore really felt like going to the library after talking to Lupin--it had only been an excuse to follow Aric, after all--so Blaise suggested that they go for a walk. It was a beautiful day for it; the sky was clear and sunny, and the air was crisp and cool. They wandered aimlessly across the school grounds towards the lake.

"I can't believe my slimy git cousin is volunteering at the clinic," Theodore grumbled.

"Being coerced, actually, remember?" Blaise reminded him. "If it makes you feel any better, I doubt that he's enjoying himself."

Theodore smirked. "True. He's a typical pureblood snob, considers werewolves to be beneath him and all that. Maybe if we're lucky, he'll mouth off to the werewolves at the clinic, and one of them will eat him."

"Theodore!" Blaise scolded, but he was laughing.

"No, you're right," Theodore said with a grin. "He might give the werewolf indigestion."

Blaise just laughed and shook his head. "Well, at least we know he was just serving detention, and wasn't doing anything sneaky."

"Aric's middle name is 'sneaky,'" Theodore said. "I still think he's up to something. Surely he didn't transfer from Durmstrang just to make my life miserable." He paused to think. "Well, actually, maybe he would..."

"Please, let's forget about Aric for just a little while," Blaise urged. "We know he's serving detention at the clinic, so at least he'll be out of our hair for a couple of hours. Let's just enjoy it."

"Okay, I guess you're right," Theodore agreed. They walked together in amiable silence; there were a few other couples strolling by the lake holding hands. One girl had stripped off her shoes and socks and was cautiously dipping one foot in the water. She leaped back, shrieking, "It's cold!" Her male companion laughed, and she bent down to playfully splash water at him. Soon they were both kneeling at the water's edge, laughing and squealing and shouting as they splashed cold water at each other. "Idiots," Theodore said, but Blaise stared at them wistfully.

"I wish we could hold hands in public like those other couples," Blaise whispered into Theo's ear.

"After we graduate," Theodore whispered back to him in a comforting tone. "Then it won't matter who knows. As long as you're sure your family won't disown you."

"I can handle my parents. Are you sure Lady Selima won't disown you?"

"I don't care what she thinks. Besides, the Professor will probably be the head of the Snape family by then." Theodore gazed out at the Forbidden Forest. "It was nice, though, wasn't it, the time we went walking through the woods together at Remus's cottage?"

"Very nice," Blaise agreed with a smile, recalling what had happened...
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It was Blaise's first visit to Theodore's new home, and after some informal Quidditch practice, they slipped away from their friends to take a walk in the woods and spend some time alone together--the first chance they'd had to be alone since school had let out.

"There's nothing dangerous in these woods, is there?" Blaise asked a little nervously.

"It's not the Forbidden Forest," Theodore said in a reassuring tone. "We go walking through the woods all the time with Lupin. He wouldn't let us come out here if it wasn't safe." He grinned and added, "Dylan and I go for long walks by ourselves when Snape and Lupin...uh...want to be alone."

Blaise laughed, then did something he'd been wanting to do for a long time: he reached out and clasped Theodore's hand in his own. He envied the couples who were able to walk freely around Hogwarts holding hands, even kissing in the hallways between classes at times. Blaise smiled at Theodore, feeling strangely shy and hesitant; it was a little odd to realize that although they'd had sex, they had never held hands like this before.

Theodore glanced at Blaise, looking startled but pleased, and blushed. He interlaced his fingers through Blaise's, gave his hand a little squeeze, and said in a soft voice, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Theo," Blaise said. "I'm sorry about what my dad did."

"You don't have to apologize," Theodore replied. "In fact, I'm the one who should apologize."

"Why?" Blaise asked him, feeling puzzled.

Theodore came to a halt and turned to face Blaise, still holding onto his hand. "It's just...I...I know that I haven't been very nice to you this past year," he stammered. "I yelled at you for asking questions about my family and the Death Eaters, I pushed you away when you were only trying to help me--"

"It's okay, Theo," Blaise said gently, reaching up to stroke his cheek with his free hand. "I understand why you did it."

"You do?"

"Of course. You were trying to protect me, weren't you? You didn't want me getting involved with the Death Eaters."

"Yes," Theodore said, sounding relieved. "You're not mad at me, then?"

"Of course not, you silly git!" Blaise said, feeling both protective and a little angry that Theo would doubt his love. He threw his arms around Theodore and pulled him close, saying, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Theodore whispered, holding Blaise tightly. "I'm so sorry about what happened in Hogsmeade, I was so scared..."

"It's my own fault for following you," Blaise admitted. He had known at the time that it was probably a bad idea, but he'd been worried about what Draco might be dragging Theo into. "But I was afraid Malfoy was going to get you into trouble."

"If anything had happened to you, I'd never have forgiven myself!" Theodore exclaimed.

Blaise pulled back a little so that he could look into Theodore's eyes, which were filled with guilt and fear. "It's thanks to you that I'm alive, Theo," he said solemnly; Theodore looked startled. "Snape told my father what really happened, that you stopped the Death Eaters from killing me."

"It was my fault that you were there in the first place--"

"No, I told you it was my fault."

"But--"

"If we're going to blame someone, let's blame the Death Eaters," Blaise suggested. "Everything turned out all right in the end. I'm alive, thanks to you. Let's leave it at that."

"My father had already killed one person I cared about," Theodore said in a shaky voice, his eyes filling with tears. "I couldn't let him do it again. I...I'd die if I lost you, Blaise."

"I'm all right, Theo," Blaise said tenderly, pulling his lover close as he began to tremble and the tears spilled out of his eyes. "I'm fine; everything's all right." He kissed away Theodore's tears, trailing light kisses down his cheek until his mouth brushed across Theodore's.

Without warning, Theodore suddenly deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue between Blaise's lips. Blaise let out a muffled groan and returned the kiss hungrily, entwining his tongue with Theo's, the faint, salty taste of tears still lingering in his mouth. He suddenly felt flushed and overheated; every inch of his skin felt as if it were aflame, although most of the heat, obviously, was collecting in his groin.

After a long moment, they pulled apart, gasping for breath. "God, I've missed you!" Blaise exclaimed.

"I've missed you, too," Theodore said in a husky voice, and kissed him again, fumbling with the fastenings of his robes.

"Theodore!" Blaise protested, laughing nervously. "Just how secluded are these woods, anyway? Are you sure no one will come by?"

"Very secluded," Theodore assured him, kissing his neck and undoing another fastening. "The nearest village is miles away. No one ever comes here but us, and Dylan and the others know we want to be alone."

"Are you sure the Professors won't get a sudden urge to walk in the woods?" Blaise asked, still feeling nervous, his common sense warring against his desires. "I'm having visions of Snape blasting apart rose bushes at the Yule Ball..." That image did put a slight damper on things, but lust still seemed to gaining the upper hand over common sense.

Theodore grinned. "Since they have the house all to themselves, they're probably doing the same thing we're doing, only in the comfort of their own bed...although I try not to think about it too much."

"Well, if you're sure we won't be disturbed..." Blaise said hesitantly, but he'd already pretty much decided to give in.

Theodore took off his own robe, shook it out with a snap of his wrists, and carefully laid it out on the ground like a blanket. "I'm absolutely..." He pulled Blaise down to the ground with him. "...positively..." He kissed Blaise. "...sure."

Blaise sealed Theo's mouth with an urgent kiss, and they began fumbling with each other's clothes, struggling to undo buttons and pull off shirts and pants. And then the last piece of clothing had been flung aside and their hands were sliding against bare skin as they continued to kiss, their tongues darting around each other frantically. Suddenly, Theodore sat up, breaking off the kiss.

"Theo!" Blaise groaned in protest.

"Just a minute, love," Theodore said, pulling up a corner of the robe-turned-blanket.

"What are you doing?" Blaise asked impatiently.

"Looking for something," Theodore replied distractedly as he groped at the robe until his hand slid into a pocket. "Ah, here it is!" He let the robe fall back to the ground and held up a small vial.

"You came prepared!" Blaise laughed, then pretended to be offended. "You were planning this; do you really think I'm that easy?"

"A good Slytherin is always prepared for any eventuality," Theodore said with a sly grin. He opened the vial and the sweet scent of lavender wafted out. "Such a handy thing, lavender oil," Theodore said in an almost conversational tone. "It's such a common potion and salve ingredient that a Potions student always has some on hand, and a Potions Master definitely always keeps a good supply in his house..."

Blaise groaned out loud as he felt first one, and then two oil-slicked fingers sliding inside him, gently probing. He moaned again, raising his hips to drive Theo's fingers in deeper. Theodore stared down at him, his face flushed and his eyes dark and intense with need. "I love you, Blaise," he whispered. "I love the way you want me." His fingers probed a little further, and Blaise let out an involuntary cry of pleasure; Theodore smiled, his tongue unconsciously darting out to lick his lips.

Blaise found himself licking his own lips in response; God, Theo was so unbelievably sexy, and he didn't even realize it! He reached up to grab Theo's face and pull it down for a kiss. "I love you, Theo," he whispered fiercely. "And I want you, I want you so much." He moaned, rocking his hips back and forth as Theo's fingers continued to slide in and out of him. "More, more," he whispered urgently, then gasped as he felt Theo's fingers gently stretching him open wider to accommodate a third finger. He groaned, his body bucking and thrashing in response to the adept movement of Theodore's fingers; Theo always seemed to know exactly how and where to touch Blaise and drive him wild with pleasure. He could hear Theo's breath coming in quick pants, could feel Theo's warm breath against his face. Blaise felt Theo kiss him, gently nipping at his lower lip, then suddenly, Theo sat up, pulling away from him.

A little groan of dismay escaped Blaise's lips, but it quickly changed to one of eagerness when he saw Theodore fumbling with the vial of oil again. He felt Theo pull his legs apart and then draw them over his shoulders. Blaise stared up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees above them, and was struck by the thought that making love outdoors felt very strange and yet erotic at the same time. He felt nervous and exposed; with no walls surrounding them, theoretically anyone could walk in on them although he knew that it wasn't very likely. But oddly enough, that excited him just as much as it made him nervous. The threat of being caught added to the thrill somehow, he supposed; he'd never understood some of his housemates' penchants for making out or even having sex in semi-public places, such as by the lake after dark or under the Quidditch stands, but now he did. And then he completely forgot what he had been thinking about as Theo entered him, slowly but steadily pushing inside him.

Blaise groaned, bending his knees and pressing his legs against Theo's back, trying to draw him in deeper. Theo began thrusting into him harder, and Blaise really hoped that they were far away enough from the cottage that no one could hear them, because he couldn't seem to stop himself from moaning and crying out loudly. "Theo, Theo, oh God, Theo!" he cried, calling his lover's name over and over.

Theodore moaned in a softer but no less eager voice, then whispered, "I love you, Blaise." With one last, hard thrust he came, and apparently realizing that Blaise had not, groped half-blindly with one hand to bring him to climax; as soon as Theo touched him, Blaise came, arching his back and crying out Theo's name again.

Theodore leaned forward and kissed Blaise soundly, then disentangled himself and collapsed on the ground next to him, breathing heavily. Blaise rolled over on his side to maintain physical contact, throwing one arm across Theo's chest, and one leg across Theo's legs. Theodore reached up to stroke Blaise's hair and gently kissed the top of his head. "Love you, Blaise," he murmured.

"Love you, too, Theo."

They lay there in silence for awhile, content just to be together. It was a beautiful summer day, the sun just warm enough to be pleasant without being uncomfortably hot, and there was a gentle breeze blowing that dried the sweat on their skin. But finally, Theodore said reluctantly, "I suppose we should get back before someone comes looking for us."

Blaise sighed with equal reluctance, but the thought of Draco or worse, Snape, coming to look for them was enough motivation for him to get up and grab his clothes. Theodore was searching in the pocket of his robe again, saying, "Damn it, I should've taken my wand out first. I hope we didn't break it; I don't fancy explaining THAT to Professor Snape!"

Blaise laughed, and it turned out that the wand was fine. Theodore shook out his robe, dislodging most of the dirt and grass clinging to it, than cast a cleaning spell on it and themselves. Then they dressed and slowly walked back to join their friends.

Blaise winced as he rubbed the small of his back, only just now realizing that it was sore. "I think I was lying on a rock or something." Or maybe it had been Theo's wand; Blaise smiled in amusement at the thought.

"Sorry," Theodore said, kissing him on the cheek apologetically.

"Well, I guess I was too preoccupied to notice at the time," Blaise laughed.

They made their way back to the clearing near the cottage where their friends were waiting.

"Have a nice walk?" Dylan asked innocently.

Blaise couldn't help blushing, and he noticed that Theo's face was a little red as well.

"Very nice," Theodore said archly, trying to maintain his composure.

"You have grass in your hair," Damien told Blaise, who hastily began running his fingers through his hair. "Just kidding!" Damien laughed. "But now we know what you two were up to out there!"

"I'd think that was obvious, Pierce," Draco said, looking amused.

Theodore and Blaise turned even redder. "Watch it, Pierce, or you'll be coughing up slugs," Theodore threatened, but he didn't really look angry. He leaned over and whispered affectionately into Blaise's ear, "Silly git; there wouldn't be any grass in your hair because you were lying on my robe." Blaise looked up, still blushing furiously, but fortunately none of their friends seemed to have overheard that comment.
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Blaise and Theodore grinned widely at each other, both of them recalling that day in clear and vivid detail. "Too bad we would be risking detention, not to mention our lives, if we went strolling through the Forbidden Forest," Theodore said regretfully.

"Well, we do have some time left before we have to meet Dean and Seamus," Blaise said casually. "We could go back to our room for a little while. Not quite as romantic a setting, perhaps, but much more private..."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Theodore exclaimed, and they ran back to the castle, laughing.
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Part 48