Aftermaths, Part 52

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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The members of the R.A. had been discreetly sounding out prospective members, but Stewart Ackerley found, to his frustration, that none of the Ravenclaws besides Corbin seemed interested in pursuing a grudge against the Slytherins. The studious Ravenclaws tended to get less involved in school politics and feuds, and many of them were too busy studying for their O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s to care about what the Slytherins were up to.

"The war's over," a stressed-out Michael Corner said. "Some of the Slytherins are slimy gits, to be sure, but they're no danger to anyone." Then, remembering that Stewart's father had been killed in the war, he said more kindly, "I'm really sorry about your dad, Stewart. I can't blame you for being a little suspicious of the Slytherins, but they've been cleared by Dumbledore, and at least a dozen witnesses saw Draco's crowd fighting against the Death Eaters during the battle. And I really can't risk ticking off Snape when I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to pass my Potions N.E.W.T. or not."

The girls were even worse; they all fawned over Dylan Rosier, even though he was now dating Hermione Granger, and wouldn't hear any criticism of him, and by extension, of his House.

"Dylan is a hero," Padma Patil declared.

"He's been very kind to me," Gabrielle Delacour said.

"Of course, Draco Malfoy's still insufferable," Padma added, "though he's not as bad as he used to be. And that new student Aric Dietrich is a real jerk. But they're just annoying, not dangerous."

"The Houses should be learning to cooperate, like the Sorting Hat said," Lisa Turpin said quietly.

So Stewart sighed and gave up trying to recruit the other Ravenclaws, but at least Corbin sounded intrigued and agreed to come to the meeting.
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Things did not go much better in Hufflepuff. When Susan hinted to her friends and housemates Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan that the Slytherins might be less than trustworthy and that perhaps someone should be keeping an eye on them, Ernie nodded, but Hannah frowned.

"Well, I don't really like some of them, but they did fight on our side," Hannah said.

"Draco fought for the Death Eaters at first," Susan pointed out.

"True," Hannah admitted, "but he did switch sides, and I don't think that he'd feel much loyalty to the Death Eaters after his father tried to kill him."

Ernie shuddered. "Merlin's Beard, that's cold! Can you imagine, your own dad trying to kill you?"

"It's just, sometimes I wonder," Susan said. "I mean, after the first war, a lot of the Death Eaters pretended to switch sides, saying that You-Know-Who had forced them to join with the Imperius Curse."

"You think some of the Slytherins might still be Death Eater sympathizers?" Ernie asked, looking worried.

Hannah thought it over, then said, "I don't really think so. The Death Eaters hurt them, too--Theodore's and Draco's fathers tried to kill them, and the Death Eaters killed Dylan's mother, grandmother, and uncles. Besides, You-Know-Who is dead, and the Death Eaters are all dead or in prison, so the danger is over."

"Yeah, that's true," Ernie said, sounding relieved.

"Except for Rabastan Lestrange," Susan reminded them.

"Yes, but I'm sure the Aurors will catch him eventually," Hannah said reassuringly, thinking that fear of the at-large Death Eater might be what was behind Susan's renewed distrust of the Slytherins. "And he won't dare come near Hogwarts with both Dumbledore and Harry here."

"Yeah, and he's nothing without You-Know-Who and the other Death Eaters!" Ernie said. "That's why he ran like a coward!"

Susan could see that persisting would only make them suspicious, so she dropped the subject. Maybe later, if the R.A. really did find evidence that the Slytherins were up to no good, she would try again.

Tristan tried a slightly different approach. Even though he was a first-year, the members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team accorded him a certain amount of respect because of his relation to Cedric, and he started a conversation in the common room with two of his teammates, talking about how great it would be "to beat Slytherin this year, and show those stuck-up gits what we're made of!"

"Yeah!" Kevin Whitby said enthusiastically. "They're always looking down on us, calling us 'the other House'!"

"The other House?" Tristan asked.

Zacharias Smith grimaced. "Not brave enough for Gryffindor, not smart enough for Ravenclaw--"

"Not sneaky and snooty enough for Slytherin!" Kevin finished mockingly. "But now that we have you on the team, maybe we can wipe those smirks off their faces!"

"Maybe we can even win the Cup this year!" Zacharias said. "Although most people think Gryffindor will take it; they have Harry Potter on their team, after all--"

"The great Harry Potter, who can do no wrong!" Tristan sneered. "The great hero of the wizarding world!" If he was such a great hero, if he was strong enough to kill You-Know-Who, then how come he hadn't been able to save Cedric?

The other two boys gave him a startled look. "Well, he is a hero," Zacharias pointed out. "He did kill You-Know-Who." He let out a little sigh of relief, remembering the terror of previous years, when a mysterious monster had been stalking and petrifying the Muggle-born students, when the supposed-murderer Sirius Black had been at large, and when it had finally been revealed that You-Know-Who had returned. At times he resented all the glory that was showered upon Gryffindor and Harry Potter, but he was grateful that the threat of You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters was over. He smiled at Tristan, and said in a lighter tone, "Not that I'd mind beating him at Quidditch, mind you!"

Kevin laughed, and Tristan forced himself to laugh, too. Most of the other students looked up to Potter, and he couldn't afford to alienate them yet. Besides, they were getting a little off-track; he had the Slytherins to deal with first. But later...maybe he could find a way to knock Harry Potter off his pedestal.

"Listen," Tristan said, lowering his voice, "do you really think that the threat is completely over? I mean, sure, You-Know-Who is dead, but maybe some people might want to carry on his work..."

"But the Death Eaters are dead or in Azkaban," Kevin said, looking puzzled.

"Not all of them," Tristan pointed out. "One of the Lestranges escaped, and Narcissa Malfoy and Delia Avery were pardoned. And there are a lot of Death Eaters' kids still at Hogwarts..."

"You mean Draco and his gang?" Zacharias asked. "But they turned out to be okay, right?" His voice sounded just a little uncertain.

"Are they?" Tristan asked. "Or did everyone assume that they weren't involved because they were just kids?"

"But what can they do without You-Know-Who?" Kevin protested.

"There were Dark Wizards before he came along," Tristan said. "And there will be Dark Wizards after him, maybe not as powerful, but they could still be dangerous. And most of the Dark Wizards of the past came out of Slytherin House..."

"Haven't we had enough of that kind of talk?!" Justin Finch-Fletchley asked sharply, and Tristan jumped a little; he hadn't noticed the other boy frowning and gradually edging closer to their little group. "This is the kind of thing that nearly tore the school apart last year! The Headmaster says it's because of the different Houses cooperating together that the Death Eaters were defeated, and Harry said the same thing! All those so-called Death Eaters' kids fought in the final battle, and Pansy and Millicent joined the D.A. in working at the field hospital, remember, Zac? And they didn't just change bandages, either--they helped us fight off the Death Eaters and Dementors that attacked the hospital."

"Yeah, that's right," Zacharias agreed, nodding. "Pansy and Millicent are definitely okay."

"So stop trying to stir up trouble," Justin said sternly.

"But didn't you get Petrified when the Chamber of Secrets was opened?" Tristan objected. "Haven't the Slytherins called you nasty names like 'Mudblood'? How can you stick up for them?"

"The thing with the Chamber of Secrets was You-Know-Who's doing; the Slytherins didn't have anything to do with it," Justin replied firmly. "That's what the Headmaster told me. And yeah, the Slytherins can be pretty obnoxious sometimes, but they've changed a lot over the past year. Besides, being a snob doesn't automatically make someone a Dark Wizard." He said to Zacharias and Kevin, "You two should know better," and the boys looked sheepish. To Tristan he said, "You've only just started at Hogwarts, so all you know about the Slytherins is gossip and hearsay. You should get to know them before you judge them."

Tristan was on the verge of retorting that he knew that they'd killed Cedric, but Justin was already walking away, so he just fumed silently. Besides, Isabelle had said that they should be careful and not draw too much attention to themselves.

"What's with him?" Kevin asked, staring after Justin curiously.

"Well, he is right," Zacharias said.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Kevin agreed, a little skeptically, "but it's a little odd to see him so gung-ho about defending the Slytherins, don't you think?"

"Everyone's big on this inter-House cooperation stuff now, I guess," Zacharias said with a shrug. "Now, getting back to our chances of winning the Quidditch Cup..."

The two older boys were eager to show up Slytherin on the Quidditch Pitch, but Tristan wanted to do more than beat them at Quidditch. He thought that Zac and Kevin probably still had some reservations about the Slytherins' true loyalties, but Finch-Fletchley had just set back his efforts to recruit them for the R.A. It might be possible to play on those fears and convince them that the Slytherins were a threat, but it would take some time. He sighed and gave up for the moment, and joined in on their discussion about Quidditch.
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Susan did make one new recruit, her boyfriend Dean in Gryffindor. He was already a little suspicious of the Slytherins, and adding to his confusion and resentment was the fact that the lines between the Houses, which had been so clearly drawn before, were getting a little blurred: Gryffindor girls were flirting with Slytherin boys, and Lupin, who had been the Gryffindors' favorite teacher, was living in the dungeon with Snape, and while he didn't openly favor the Slytherins the way Snape did, he seemed to regard them with a special kind of protectiveness and affection. He had even gone to the Slytherin Quidditch tryouts to cheer Theodore Nott (who was now Theodore Snape) on, and what was worse, Hermione and several other Gryffindor girls had gone there, too; Hermione was even dating a Slytherin, the oh-so-smooth Dylan Rosier! Lupin hadn't bothered to come to the Gryffindor tryouts, but Hermione and Ginny had told Dean that he was being childish and petty when they overheard him complaining about it. Hermione said it was only natural that Lupin would want to watch his foster son try out for the Slytherin team, and Ginny pointed out that he had congratulated Dean and Seamus when he'd heard that they'd made the Gryffindor team.

Ron had rolled his eyes behind the girls' backs, and after they left, said sympathetically, "Lupin's definitely gone soft on the Slytherins, but I suppose it can't be helped, what with him and Snape being a couple and all." He sighed and shook his head. "Don't know what he sees in Snape; Lupin's a nice guy, but maybe he hasn't got such good taste in men."

"Love is blind, I guess," Seamus had said good-naturedly. Since he'd started pursuing Lavender, he'd made a point of being reasonable about the Slytherins, no doubt to impress her.

That was beginning to cause friction between the two best friends. When Dean cautiously broached the subject of keeping an eye on the Slytherins, not yet mentioning the R.A., Seamus said impatiently, "How long are you going to keep that up, mate? The war is over! Even Harry said it was important to get along with the Slytherins, and if he doesn't hold a grudge against them, why should you?"

"Has everyone forgotten that some of their fathers were Death Eaters?" Dean snapped.

"Just because their fathers were bad, doesn't mean that they are, too!" Seamus argued. "I've got an uncle on my father's side who's sort of the black sheep of the family, been in and out of trouble all his life, but that doesn't mean the rest of the family is like him! And anyway, they fought on our side, remember?"

"You used to think the way I do," Dean said accusingly. "You've just changed your tune to get on Lavender's good side because she's so chummy with the Slytherins!"

"Yeah, well, does the fact that you were jealous of Dylan Rosier have anything to do with why you hate the Slytherins so much?" Seamus retorted, looking angry and hurt. "You got into a big fight with Ginny and broke up with her because you thought Rosier was putting the moves on her, and it turns out that you were just being paranoid--it was Hermione he was interested in all along! Maybe you could learn a few things from Lavender about being more open-minded!"

Dean and Seamus didn't speak to each other for a couple of days, alarming their other friends. Eventually, with a little prodding from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they both apologized, and on the surface, they were best friends again, but things were not quite the same. Despite their apologies, neither of them had changed their opinions about the Slytherins, and they carefully avoided that topic of conversation, which opened a small but unmistakable rift between the two friends, who had previously been able to talk about anything with each other.
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Professor Sprout granted the R.A. use of a vacant classroom for their meetings without any hesitation, since Susan and Isabelle were both well-behaved, responsible students. The club signed on Professor Binns as their official advisor, to keep up the appearance of being a history club, and knowing that the ghostly Professor would take no interest in their meetings, as he took no interest in anything but his history lectures, droning on without seeming to notice or care whether anyone was listening or not. The students often speculated that he still showed up every morning and lectured to an empty classroom even during the Christmas and summer holidays. He gave a distracted nod of consent when Isabelle asked him to be the club advisor, and recommended a few textbooks that they should read, and that was the extent of his involvement with the club. If any of their friends or housemates expressed curiosity about the club, the R.A. members explained that they had formed it in order to study for their History of Magic O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. And if anyone unsuitable expressed interest in joining, they quickly changed their minds when they found out Binns was involved with the club, assuming that he would be giving lectures, and no one from the R.A. bothered to correct that misapprehension. Seamus knew that Dean had no interest in history, but assumed that he wanted to keep Susan company, so he found nothing suspicious about Dean joining the club.

The new R.A. members, Dean and Corbin, had nothing concrete to add, but shared the same suspicions and fears as the others. Dean also expressed confusion over the fact that the Gryffindors were now expected to befriend the Slytherins who had so recently been their enemies.

"Last year they were out to get us," he complained, "and Draco was bragging about how the Death Eaters were going to take over and wipe out the Mudbloods. And now we're supposed to be all chummy with them? Do people really change that fast?" He shook his head. "It almost feels like they're infiltrating our House. We've got that Pettigrew girl, who's related to that Death Eater, and Allegra Zabini, who comes from a Slytherin family..."

Corbin looked thoughtful. "Actually, the Zabinis weren't Death Eater supporters, although they didn't go out of their way to support Dumbledore, either. But they lost most of their fortune when they wouldn't ally with the Malfoy family. On the other hand, Blaise Zabini is Theodore Nott's best friend, and Nott was the son of a Death Eater."

"He's a Snape now," Dean muttered.

"Still the son of a Death Eater, either way," Tristan said darkly.

"The Zabinis could be innocent," Corbin continued, "or they might have gotten tired of being paupers and decided to ally with the Death Eaters. If so, they'll never admit now." Corbin's voice took on a bitter note. "Anyone associated with the Death Eaters, even indirectly--say, through marriage, like my family--is looked down on. Evan Rosier got his mother, my grandaunt killed, and brought disgrace and suspicion upon the Talbotts. And now of all a sudden, his son calls me 'cousin' and wants to be friends with me!"

"Maybe you should be more friendly with him," Isabelle suggested.

"What?" Corbin asked indignantly.

"To get closer to him in order to gather more information about the Slytherins," Isabelle explained patiently.

"Oh, right," Corbin said sheepishly. "Okay, but he might be a little suspicious if all of a sudden I want to be friends with him after what happened in the library."

"Your friend Gabrielle likes him," Isabelle pointed out. "You could reluctantly give him a chance for her sake."

"Yeah, Rosier's a real ladies' man," Dean said. "He'll find it believable that you're doing it for the sake of a pretty girl. And he's vain enough to think he can win you over with his charm once you get to know him."

"So that's Corbin's mission," Tristan said. "What about the rest of us?"

"We watch, and wait," Isabelle said. Tristan and Stewart did not look satisfied with that, and she added, "And perhaps, to discreetly drop a word here and there into the right ear, to encourage doubt. Surely some people still have a few suspicions about the Slytherins' loyalty."

Tristan nodded, and explained what had happened between himself, Zacharias, Kevin, and Justin. "I think I might be able to bring them around, eventually."

"Not everyone in Gryffindor loves the Slytherins, either," Dean said. "A lot of the kids don't like the fact that Portia and Allegra were Sorted into our House, but I don't know them well enough to ask them to join the R.A. I thought about asking Ron Weasley; I know he doesn't like the Slytherins. But he's close to Hermione, and she's always going on about how we should be friends with the Slytherins, and if she found out about it..."

"We do want to be cautious," Isabelle agreed. "It's probably better that we start off small, anyway. We can always recruit more members in the future, once they prove to be trustworthy."

"Plus Ron is best friends with Harry," Dean continued, frowning a little. "Not that I don't trust Harry; he did defeat You-Know-Who, after all." Tristan scowled, but Dean didn't seem to notice. "But it's a little weird what he was saying about needing to embrace his Slytherin side to do it. I still don't exactly understand what he meant by that."

"All right, then," Isabelle said. "Let's watch the Slytherins closely, and try to encourage our housemates not to be quite so trusting. Corbin will try to get closer to Dylan Rosier, and Dean, maybe you can try to get information about what's going on in Slytherin House from Allegra Zabini. You're working with her brother in Incantations class, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Seamus and I are stuck with Nott--I mean, Snape--and Zabini as partners," he grumbled.

"So take advantage of it," Isabelle told him sternly. "Make nice to them, and to Allegra." Dean reluctantly nodded. "And just in case anyone asks, we were studying chapter ten from Great Wizards of the Middle Ages; we should all probably at least skim it."

Dean groaned but nodded. "More homework!"

"Think of it as undercover work," Isabelle said with a smile.

"And it is good practice for our History of Magic N.E.W.T.," Susan laughed.

"Oh, and before we leave, we should all sign this contract saying that we will not divulge information about our meetings to outsiders." Isabelle laid a sheet of parchment on the table, along with a pen.

"Is this going to curse us if we break our promise?" Dean asked suspiciously, remembering what had happened to Marietta after she informed on the D.A. to Umbridge.

Isabelle smiled at him sweetly. "What difference does it make? You aren't planning to break your word, are you?"

"Of course not!" Dean said defensively.

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Isabelle said serenely.

Dean still looked a little worried, but picked up the pen and signed the paper, and the other R.A. members followed suit.
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Dean tried to follow Isabelle's advice, but the Slytherin boys were guarded around him and Seamus, and the truth was, he didn't really know what to ask. He couldn't exactly come out and say, "By the way, are you plotting to become Death Eaters and take over the world?" All he could think of was to casually ask how their Quidditch practice was going when they were studying in the library together one day.

"Getting a little worried that we might beat you, Thomas?" Theodore asked slyly. "Trying to find out our strategy?"

"Get over yourself, Nott!" Dean snapped. "Of course I'm not worried, as long as Harry's on our team!"

"We beat you last year," Theodore pointed out calmly. "And my name is Snape now."

"You only beat us because your team cheated!"

"Boy, you Gryffindors are sore losers," Theodore said, smirking.

"Oh, knock it off you two, before Madam Pince comes around and docks points from us again," Seamus said irritably.

"And our Quidditch strategy is hardly a secret," Blaise pointed out mildly. "Anyone can come out and watch. Several of the Gryffindor girls have been coming to our practices."

One of those girls was of course Zabini's sister, who was a little more forthcoming. She and her friends had been going to the Slytherin practices along with Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender, although they also attended most of the Gryffindor practices as well. Allegra talked to her brother regularly, and she happened to let slip one day in the common room that Lupin and Snape had taken to hanging out in the Slytherin common room in the evenings. "It sounds like fun," Allegra said wistfully. "They bring cookies, and the students make tea or cocoa, and they play chess or card games or just talk. Blaise says that Professor Lupin tells lots of interesting stories about stuff that happened at Hogwarts when he was a kid."

"Hanging out with Snape in my free time does not sound like my idea of fun," Ron said dubiously.

"Pansy and Millicent say that he's changed a lot," Parvati said. "I guess being with Lupin has mellowed him out a bit. They say that Snape doesn't say much during his visits, but once in awhile he'll tell them a story about the old days."

"When he was a Death Eater?" Dean asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"Of course not, silly!" Parvati replied. "Just things like the pranks Dylan's father used to play when he was a kid. There was this one time when the Potions students were supposed to dissect rats, and Evan Rosier and his friend Lyall Wilkes set them all free and there were rats running around the dungeon for weeks..."

"How come Professor McGonagall never comes to hang out with us like that?" Allegra asked.

"I don't really want to hang out with McGonagall in my free time, either," Ron muttered.

Dean thought the fact that Snape was regularly meeting with his Slytherins in the evenings was interesting, although he wasn't sure how significant it was, and dutifully reported it to the R.A.
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One morning the Gryffindors sat down to breakfast, laughing and chattering as usual. There was a napkin lying over Portia Pettigrew's plate, and when she picked it up, found a large rat beneath it. She jumped back, shrieking, and two of her yearmates, Kenneth Sloper and Jarrett Jordan, immediately burst out laughing. Some of the older students, including Dean Thomas and Kenneth's brother Jack, laughed as well, although they appeared startled by the prank, and Portia began to cry.

"What a horrible thing to do!" Hermione shouted, looking furious, glaring at all the laughing students, the two first-year boys in particular. "I don't find it one bit funny!"

"Nor do I," said Harry angrily.

"Ease up," Kenneth said, a bit puzzled that Harry Potter would be standing up for a Pettigrew. "The rat's only made of rubber, see?"

"Yeah, it was just a joke," agreed Jarrett. "Besides, haven't you played your fair share of pranks? You and Ron stealing the Weasleys' car in your second year, not to mention sneaking out of the castle at night..."

"And I hear your dad was a legendary prankster," Kenneth added.

Harry flushed and said sharply, "Yeah, I've done a lot of dumb things in the past, but I've never played a prank to deliberately hurt someone's feelings!"

Emma and Chloe tried to comfort Portia, as did Ginny and Parvati. Lavender gave Dean an evil look that was almost worthy of Snape, and snapped, "I can't believe that you could be so mean! What's so funny about making an innocent little girl cry?" Then she got up and joined the crowd of girls fussing over Portia, crooning, "There, there, don't mind those stupid boys."

"She's not exactly an innocent," Dean muttered disgruntledly.

"Maybe, maybe not," Seamus said, a disapproving look in his eyes. "But Gryffindors are supposed to be honorable, and there's no honor in bullying a little girl and making her cry."

Dean instantly forgot about going undercover in order to gather information on the Slytherins. "Then why don't you go hang around with all the other Slytherin suck-ups if you like them so much?" he retorted.

"Maybe I will," Seamus said, looking angry and hurt, and got up to join Lavender and Parvati.

Meanwhile, Allegra's ever-present cheerful smile had vanished, and there was a dangerous glint in her dark eyes as she glared at Kenneth and Jarrett. "Apologize to Portia right now!" she ordered.

"For what?" Kenneth sneered. "I would have thought she'd be happy to see her uncle again!" This time only a few people laughed, but nervously, and the laughter quickly dissipated in the wake of the tension building up around the Gryffindor table. McGonagall rose from her seat at the head table; Lupin got up to follow her, and after a moment's hesitation, so did Snape.

"Make me," Jordan said defiantly to Allegra.

She whipped out her wand and shouted, "Rattus Visio!" just as McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape reached the Gryffindor table. Blaise also ran towards the table when he saw his sister take her wand out, but they were all too late to stop her. Kenneth and Jarrett opened their mouths, but all that came out were frightened squeaks, as their faces sprouted gray fur and lengthened into pointed snouts. Their noses twitched, causing their long whiskers to quiver.

"Rat-Face Hex!" Ron exclaimed in awe. "That's the hex I tried to cast on Malfoy last year, the one that backfired on Bane! Wow, Allegra, you can cast that spell and you're only a first year?"

Allegra smiled proudly, but Snape said dryly, "Perhaps that speaks more of your incompetence than Miss Zabini's talent, Weasley."

"And as a prefect, you certainly shouldn't be praising a student for casting a hex on a classmate, Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall said indignantly.

"Yes, ma'am," Ron mumbled.

"Now what is going on here?" McGonagall demanded. Everyone began talking at once, including the rat-faced boys, who squeaked loudly.

"SILENCE!" shouted Snape, and the students obeyed with alacrity; the entire room, not just the Gryffindor table, fell silent.

"Thank you, Severus," McGonagall said. "Miss Granger, why don't you tell us what happened?" Hermione quickly explained what had happened, beginning with the prank and ending with Allegra's hex.

"And what are you doing here, Mr. Zabini?" McGonagall asked Blaise.

"She's my sister, I'm responsible for her," he said anxiously. "When I saw her take out her wand--"

"Each student at Hogwarts is responsible for his or her own behavior," McGonagall said, kindly but firmly. "Though it is good of you to be concerned about your sister. Miss Zabini, ten points will be taken from Gryffindor for your actions, and you will serve an hour's detention after school lets out today."

"Please, Professor," Portia begged, "don't punish Allegra, she was only trying to defend me! If you have to give someone detention, give it to me instead!"

McGonagall smiled a little, although she still looked stern. "Your loyalty to each other is admirable, child, but I cannot condone students hexing one another, no matter what the provocation. Miss Zabini's detention stands."

"It's all right, Portia," Allegra assured her friend. "I broke the rules, so I'll accept the punishment."

"You will polish the the silver in the trophy room this afternoon, with no use of magic," McGonagall continued.

"Yes, Professor," Allegra said respectfully, but she did not look particularly contrite.

McGonagall frowned. "And the next time there is trouble, report it to a prefect or a teacher, understand?"

"Yes, Professor," Allegra repeated meekly.

McGonagall gave her one last suspicious look, then turned to Kenneth and Jordan. "And as for you two," she said in a cold voice, "ten points will be taken from Gryffindor for your cruel and thoughtless prank, and you will also serve detention." She paused to think. "Hagrid is raising another batch of Blast-Ended Skrewts, so I hear, and needs some help taking care of them." The two boys let out dismayed squeaks. "You will report to him afterschool. But first, get yourselves to the hospital wing and have that hex removed." They started to leave, but McGonagall stopped them. "And one more thing: your housemates are supposed to be like your family--I trust you don't treat your real family in such a manner! I'm very disappointed in both of you." The boys hung their heads, looking chastened, although the expressions on their rat faces were difficult to read. "Off with you!" The two boys ran off, and McGonagall marched back to the head table.

Snape and Lupin lingered behind; the Potions Master regarded Allegra with a menacing glare. "Um, sir, I apologize for--" Blaise started to say.

"Be silent until I give you leave to speak, Mr. Zabini," Snape said coldly, and Blaise immediately closed his mouth although he looked unhappy and worried. Snape turned back to Allegra and said, "That's very advanced magic for a first-year, Miss Zabini."

"Yes, sir," Allegra said, smiling at him a little nervously.

"Where did you learn that spell?" Snape asked.

"Um..." Allegra said, her eyes flickering towards Blaise.

"From your brother?" Snape asked.

"Um...well...I..."

Snape's lips twitched slightly, and he almost smiled. "You were Sorted into the right House after all, Miss Zabini; you have no talent for lying." He turned back to Blaise. "And clearly you were Sorted into the right House also." Blaise smiled sheepishly. "Five points to Slytherin."

"Sir?" a confused Blaise asked.

"For being such a good teacher," Snape said mildly. "You might consider taking it up as a career when you graduate." Then, without another word, he turned and walked back to the head table, leaving the students staring after him with their mouths hanging open.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Blaise," an amused Lupin said.

"Don't you ever try anything like that again!" Blaise scolded his sister, then hissed into her ear so that only she--and although he did not realize it, Lupin with his keen werewolf senses--could hear, "At least, not when there are witnesses present." In a normal voice, he continued, "It's me who will have to answer to Mother and Father if you get into trouble!"

"I'm sorry, Blaise," Allegra said, but the stubborn look on her face said that she would probably do the same thing again, given the chance. Blaise sighed and returned to the Slytherin table.

Lupin's eyes sparkled with mischief, but he said in a stern voice, "I hope you've learned your lesson, Miss Zabini." Then he leaned over and whispered, "Five points to Gryffindor for defending a friend. But try to think before you act next time; there are better ways to go about it." He winked at Allegra and went back to his place with the other teachers.

Ron shook his head and muttered, "I can't believe that Snape would turn a student's hex into an excuse to give Slytherin points! Well...actually, on second thought, I can."

"But Lupin gave her points for defending Portia!" Harry said with a grin.

"He shouldn't have done that," Hermione said with a frown. "It was wrong to cast the hex, even if it was for a good reason."

"But we Gryffindors are supposed to look out for each other!" Harry said, still grinning, and put his arm around her shoulders for a moment. "Good job, Allegra!"

She beamed up at him, Portia smiled shyly, and Hermione said in an exasperated voice, "Don't encourage her, Harry!"

Everyone at the table laughed...well, nearly everyone. A few people, Dean and Jack among them, were frowning. But for the most part, the Gryffindors began to regard Allegra and Portia more favorably from then on. Most of them were impressed by Allegra's hex, and several students congratulated her and asked her if she would teach it to them, as Hermione scolded them and threatened them with detention. And while they had been suspicious of Portia up until now, her tears had caused many of them, mainly the girls, to sympathize with her, and they were also impressed by the way she had shown her loyalty to Allegra by pleading with McGonagall to give her the detention instead.

Harry was one of those students. Even though he had been worried that Portia would turn out to be like her uncle, the sight of her bursting into tears when she found the rubber rat sickened him, as it reminded him uncomfortably of an arrogant young James Potter playing cruel pranks on a young Snape, which made him speak more sharply than he otherwise would have when Jarrett and Kenneth seemed to think that he should find it funny. {Did they really think I would laugh at a nasty prank like that?} he thought disgustedly, with just a touch of guilt. James might have, at least the immature version of James he had seen in the Pensieve, although he hoped that the older James would not have. Maybe in the past, Harry would have, at least if the prank had been played on someone like Malfoy instead of a fellow Gryffindor. He hoped that he would never have laughed at the sight of a little girl crying, no matter how much he hated her relatives, but he wasn't one hundred percent sure.

He felt better when Portia stood up for her friend, asking McGonagall to let her serve Allegra's detention. She was a timid little thing, and it probably wasn't easy to confront a teacher like that, especially McGonagall, who was rather intimidating when she was angry, although not as bad as Snape. And cowardly Peter Pettigrew had certainly never stuck his neck out to help anyone but himself, so maybe Portia wasn't like her uncle, after all.

After everyone settled down and started eating breakfast, Harry told Portia, "Listen, don't let them get to you, all right? They're just dumb kids, but hopefully they'll grow out of it--especially after serving that detention." He grinned, recalling how unpleasant--and painful--tending the Blast-Ended Skrewts had been. "And if anyone gives you any more trouble, let us know, and we'll take care of them!"

"Thank you, Harry," Portia said, giving him a grateful smile that made her seem prettier and less mousy.

Ron said to Allegra, "Hey, you've got to show me how to cast that spell properly!"

"Ron!" Hermione cried. "You're a prefect! You've got to set an example! Besides, didn't you learn your lesson after Professor Blackmore gave you detention last year?"

"I'm not going to hex Bane, or even Malfoy," Ron protested. Then he grinned, "Fred and George, now that's another story..."

"RON!"

The Gryffindors broke out into laughter again, and Portia's face glowed with delight as she laughed with them, truly feeling like she belonged in Gryffindor for the very first time. No one seemed to notice the few students who didn't laugh, or that Seamus, although he was laughing, was pointedly ignoring his best friend, and that Dean was ignoring him in turn.

 

Part 53