Aftermaths, Part 54

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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Harry, Ron, Draco, Aric, and Daphne met together in the Incantations workroom a couple of days before their project was due. Harry and Ron had researched the protective circle and runes, and practiced drawing them on the floor; Draco and Aric had researched and copied down their incantations, and Daphne had gathered the material components for the spell.

Harry looked over the items curiously; obviously the feathers (probably gathered from the Owlery) were to represent the element of air, and the lumps of charcoal to represent fire, and he recognized the vervain leaves and flowers because they had used them before in their previous Summoning project, and because vervain was a potent herb used in many potions they made in Snape's class as well. But he didn't recognize the white star-shaped blossoms, faintly tinged with pink, or another type of flower that had wide petals that were a brilliant shade of crimson and a bright yellow stamen heavy with pollen. "What are these?" he asked curiously.

"These are wood anemones," Daphne said quietly, pointing to the white flowers, "also called windflowers."

"Aha!" Harry said with a smile. "Then it must be an element of air."

Daphne smiled back at him timidly. "Yes," she replied in her quiet voice. "In Greek legends, they were heralds of Anemos, the Wind, and their blossoms only opened when the wind blew."

"And these red flowers?" Harry asked. "I've never seen anything like them before."

"Don't you know anything, Potter?" Draco asked in a patronizing tone. While he was less obnoxious than he had been in the past, he did occasionally backslide into his old, arrogant ways. "They're Fireflowers."

"Never heard of them before," a puzzled Harry said.

"Oh, right!" Ron said, comprehension dawning in his eyes. "I've heard of them, but I've never seen one before; they're kind of rare and very expensive. They're magical flowers--they don't grow in the Muggle world, which is why you never heard of them, Harry." He tapped one of the red blossoms lightly with one finger, and a small cloud of pollen flew into the air, transforming into a shower of golden sparks. "Whoa, that's cool!" he exclaimed, and Harry nodded in agreement.

"It's even more beautiful at night," Daphne said, smiling shyly.

"Where did you get these?" Ron asked. "They must have cost a fortune!"

Draco, shook his head, still looking a little superior and patronizing. "Her family grows flowers for a living, you dolt! Haven't you ever heard of Greengrass Florists?"

"It's not like I go around buying a lot of flowers, Malfoy, in case you haven't noticed," Ron retorted irritably.

Daphne eyed Draco nervously. Harry had never paid much attention to her before since she was so quiet, even more so than Blaise Zabini, to the point where she was practically invisible. He had barely even noticed that she had spent most of sixth year absent from school. But now he had begun to notice that she was timid and skittish, almost jumpy, and didn't associate much with anyone, even her own housemates. She certainly didn't seem to have any close friends that he could see. "Yes, my family owns a flower shop," she said, in a voice just barely above a whisper. "They let me have a couple of Fireflowers for our project."

"Can we get on with this?" Aric asked impatiently; he plainly didn't care where the flowers had come from or what Daphne's parents did for a living.

They looked over the circle and runes, the spell components, and the incantations. "Everything seems to be in order," Draco said. "Looks like we're ready for our presentation on Friday."

"Wait," Harry said. "What about the gift to reward the elemental?"

Ron grinned and pulled a small bag stamped with the Honeydukes logo from his pocket. "Pepper Imps--I figure a smoke elemental ought to like a candy that makes you smoke at the mouth!"

Draco and Aric gazed at the bag of candy dubiously, then Draco shrugged. "Well, if it doesn't like the candy, I suppose your incantation should keep it under control, Dietrich."

"Shouldn't we give this a dry run first?" Aric asked, frowning a little. "I've never done this before, and smoke elementals are supposed to be hard to control."

"We're not allowed to actually summon anything without Professor Blackmore supervising us," Harry reminded him.

Remembering last year's detention, Ron muttered, "But if you want to scrub bedpans and toilets for the rest of the year, be my guest. Just leave us out of it."

"I only have enough ingredients for one spell, anyway," Daphne said apologetically.

"Is it really that hard to control a smoke elemental?" Harry asked. "The one Professor Lupin used in DADA class seemed really tame."

"Didn't you do your research, Potter?" Aric started to say, but Draco interrupted him.

"You're a genius, Potter!" Draco exclaimed, his face suddenly lighting up.

His four companions stared at him in shock. "Er...I am?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Are you feeling all right, Malfoy?" Ron asked, looking perplexed and concerned. "You're not feverish are you? I hear that can cause people to hallucinate sometimes."

"No, no, no!" Draco said impatiently. "Don't you guys get it? We won't summon just any elemental--we'll summon a specific one; one that's friendly!"

"I get it!" Harry exclaimed, getting caught up in Draco's enthusiasm. "You want to summon Soot!"

"Summon what?" Aric asked, still looking confused.

"Not what--who," Harry corrected. "Never mind; I'll explain later. But is it possible, Draco? I've never heard of calling on an elemental by name before."

"Of course it is," Draco said. "But I'll have to alter the summoning incantation slightly. Calling on a specific elemental is advanced stuff; that's why we haven't covered it in class yet. It's similar to the concept of demon-summoning, in that you have to know the name of the creature you're summoning."

"What?!" shrieked Ron, his face turning pale.

"Oh, relax, Weasley!" Draco said casually. "The mechanics are the same, but obviously summoning an elemental is a lot less dangerous than summoning a demon."

"That makes me feel so much better," Ron said sarcastically.

"Are you sure we can handle this?" Harry asked. "You did say it was advanced magic."

Draco waved his hand carelessly. "Come on, the savior of the wizarding world isn't scared of a little elemental, are you? Besides, I've studied this type of incantation before; I've just never performed it."

"Very reassuring," Ron muttered.

"I've done this type of summoning before at Durmstrang," Aric said suddenly. "Not a demon," he added with a sly grin, as Ron's eyes went wide with horror. "A...I guess you could call it sort of a minor imp." To Draco he said, "What we want is a Name Summoning incantation."

Draco began flipping through one of his Incantations textbooks, and his partners gathered around him, peering over his shoulder, beginning to look to look interested and a little excited, even Ron and Daphne.
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On Friday, Blackmore's seventh-year class performed their Summonings presentations. Crabbe, Goyle, Hermione, and Neville had decided to summon a mud elemental, and everything went smoothly. It remained under their control the entire time, and vanished when they dismissed it, leaving behind only a few small droplets of mud on the floor.

"Very good!" Blackmore said. "The four of you worked well together, and showed excellent mastery of the spell!" She smiled mischievously at Crabbe and Goyle and added, "I'm glad to see that you're better at Summonings spells than your fathers."

The two Slytherin boys laughed, grinning proudly at each other. Their fathers had once attempted to summon a mud elemental as a prank, with disastrous results: they had lost control of it, and it had splattered mud all over the dungeons before Blackmore was able to dismiss it. The elder Crabbe and Goyle had been forced to scrub the dungeon walls and floors with toothbrushes for weeks, until every last speck of mud was gone. Hermione smiled, patting Crabbe and Goyle on their shoulders in a congratulatory manner, and Neville grinned and shook hands with his former enemies.

Parvati, Lavender, Pansy, and Millicent chose to summon an ice elemental, remembering how Blackmore had summoned one last winter to help with the Christmas decorations; they had been very impressed with the beautiful, lacy designs of frost that elemental had created by breathing on the windows. The elemental they summoned resembled a tiny dragon that appeared to be made of ice, and it flew over the classroom, raining down snowflakes on the students, who laughed and applauded. The four girls petted the elemental and told it how handsome and talented it was, and the little dragon preened, looking very proud and pleased. It accepted a small piece of clear quartz as a reward, then vanished. Blackmore complimented the girls, and awarded them full marks for their project.

Theodore's group did not fare as well with their project. It started off well enough, with Theodore drawing the protective circle and runes, and Blaise burning in a brazier the herbs and incense needed to summon a dust elemental. But Seamus and Dean, who were supposed to be performing the incantation together, had obviously not rehearsed it, and stumbled over the words, talking over each other when they were supposed to be taking turns reciting, or being slightly out of sync in the parts they were supposed to chant in unison. They lost control of the elemental, and a miniature whirlwind tore through the room, causing the students to shout and shriek in surprise and dismay as the wind whipped their hair and their robes around, and dust blew into their eyes.

Blackmore shouted out an incantation, and suddenly the wind and the elemental both vanished. "Ooh!" Lavender wailed. "Look at my hair, it's all tangled!" Meanwhile, Parvati rubbed her eyes, which were red and teary from having dust blown in them.

"Help, get me outa here!" Crabbe's muffled voice yelled from beneath his robes, which had blown up and backwards over his head. Goyle and Draco helped him get untangled.

Bane cawed indignantly; his feathers were all standing up on end, and he looked like a black feather duster, but none of the students dared laugh at him, especially with his mistress looking so irate. As the raven grumpily tried to smooth his feathers back down, Blackmore frowned disapprovingly at Dean and Seamus. "That was very sloppy work, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Finnigan. You are supposed to be working as a team, but it's clear that you did not cooperate or practice together. I cannot give you full marks for this project. I'm very disappointed in you, especially when you all worked so well together last year." The expression on her face changed from disapproving to a little puzzled, since the conflict seemed to be between the two Gryffindors, and not with their Slytherin partners. "Take your seats," she said curtly. "I don't ever want you to come to my class so ill-prepared again, is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," the boys mumbled sullenly, and headed back to their desks. Blaise and Theodore followed, the latter scowling furiously at the Gryffindor boys.

"Potter, Malfoy," Blackmore said, "your group is up."

Ron and Harry inscribed the circle on the floor, and Daphne set up a small brazier in the middle of circle and burned the material components. The other students gasped in awe as the Fireflowers sent up sprays of golden sparks as they burned. Meanwhile, Draco chanted in Latin, "By the Element of Air, and the Element of Fire, by the Power of Wind and the Power of Flame, I Summon thee, creature of Smoke. I Summon thee--Soot!"

The students gasped again as the little smoke-dragon materialized in the center of the circle. Aric recited the incantation that would control the elemental and bind it to their will, but it scarcely seemed to be needed as the creature looked more friendly and curious than threatening. As soon as Aric finished the incantation, it flew out of the circle and landed on Daphne's shoulder, nuzzling her red hair curiously. The Slytherin girl laughed, the usual anxiety gone from her face, and petted the dragon, not seeming to mind that she was getting soot all over hands. Harry grinned and extended his arm, and Soot flew over and landed on it, as tamely as Hedwig would have. Ron offered it a Pepper Imp, and it gobbled the candy down greedily, then burped and blew a smoke ring out of his mouth. The students laughed, and the dragon blew out a whole string of smoke rings.

"You little showoff," Blackmore laughed, coming over to pat the elemental affectionately on the head; Bane gave it a jealous look. "Well done, all of you!" she said. "That was very clever, to think of summoning Soot specifically."

"It was Draco's idea," Harry admitted. Draco would probably be insufferably smug for the next week or so, but it was only fair to give credit where credit was due.

"Well done, Mr. Malfoy," Blackmore said warmly, and Draco smiled proudly. "I'll award extra points to your group for your cleverness, and for performing an advanced incantation."

The five of them grinned at each other for a moment, until Aric remembered that he was supposed to hate them, and fixed a scowl on his face. Daphne's shyness also suddenly reasserted itself, and she averted her eyes, looking down at her feet. Blackmore just smiled, and awarded points to Slytherin and Gryffindor for the day's work, and let the students pet Soot and feed him Pepper Imps for the remainder of the period. When the bell rang, Draco dismissed the elemental, and it vanished in a puff of smoke.

"You all did well today--most of you, anyway," Blackmore said, with a significant glance towards Dean and Seamus. "So no homework this weekend. Class dismissed."

The students cheered and left the classroom, looking very happy--except for Dean, Seamus, and Theodore.
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Theodore was still fuming about it later that night in the Slytherin common room. He was furious because he wanted to do well in all his classes and make his father proud of him, and the Gryffindor boys had ruined the project. "Those stupid Gryffindor gits!" he raged, as Blaise and Dylan tried to calm him down. "Blaise and I did everything right; it's not fair that our grades should have to suffer because of them!"

"Surely Blackmore won't penalize you because of their mistake," Dylan said soothingly.

"It's teamwork, remember?" Theodore said caustically. "We're supposed to be working together, so all the team members get the same grade."

"I'm sure it won't make that much of a difference in our overall grade," Blaise said in a placating tone.

Just then, Lupin walked in, carrying a large platter of chocolate-chip cookies, followed by Snape. "Hi, Professor!" Brad Doherty said eagerly, and he and Crabbe and Goyle jumped up to heat a cauldron of water in the fireplace for tea.

"Hello, Brad," Lupin said pleasantly as he and Snape took a seat on the couch next to Theodore. "Want a cookie?" he asked, holding the platter out to Theodore.

"No thanks," Theodore muttered sullenly.

"Oh, come on," Lupin coaxed, waving the platter under his nose. "It'll cheer you up. They're still warm, just out of the oven..."

Theodore smiled a little in spite of himself. "All right," he said, giving in. "Thank you, Remus."

Lupin passed the platter around to the other students who were gathering in the common room now that they realized Lupin and Snape were here. "So what's bothering you, Theo?" he asked sympathetically.

"He's upset that those idiots Thomas and Finnigan ruined his Incantations presentation," Draco informed Lupin before Theodore could respond.

"Since when is your name 'Theo'?" Theodore asked Draco sarcastically.

"Oh yes," Lupin said, frowning a little. "Branwen told us about that at dinner."

"Yeah, Thomas and Finnigan botched the incantation," Theodore said, starting to get angry again. "Which means that Blaise and I also didn't get full marks since the assignment wasn't completed."

"It's not fair that they should be penalized because Dean and Seamus are morons," Pansy interjected indignantly.

"Let me get this straight," Snape said, looking a little confused. "The incantation failed because the Gryffindors were fighting with each other, not with you?"

"Yes, sir," Blaise said quietly. "They weren't actually fighting in class, but..." He and Theodore exchanged a glance. "They've barely spoken to each other the last few times we met to work on our project. They didn't practice reciting the incantation together like they were supposed to."

"That's odd," Lupin said, still frowning. "They've been best friends ever since I've known them."

"Allegra said that they got into a fight the day those first-years put a rat on Portia Pettigrew's plate," Blaise volunteered, although he didn't really like being reminded of the incident; his parents had not been pleased when they heard about it. They had sent a letter to Allegra scolding her, but they had also sent one to him, telling him to keep a closer watch on his sister--but how was he supposed to keep watch over her when she was in a different House? He sighed and continued, "Dean laughed, and Seamus got mad at him, saying it was wrong to bully a little girl. Apparently they haven't been speaking to each other since then."

"There's more to it than that," Pansy said with a sly smile. "Seamus has been pursuing Lavender, and Dean doesn't like that, because Lavender is friends with us. He's one of those people who think that Gryffindors shouldn't associate with Slytherins, I guess. He thinks that Seamus only stood up for Portia to impress Lavender."

"And it worked!" Millicent laughed. "She was very impressed."

"Dean called Seamus a 'Slytherin suck-up,'" Pansy added.

"Is that what this is all about?" Theodore asked, looking disgusted. "They're ruining my grades over some stupid fight about a girl?"

"No, Theo," Lupin said, looking very concerned. "This has nothing to do with romance, and everything to do with prejudice. I thought that the Gryffindors had overcome their bias towards Slytherin; apparently I was wrong."

"Well, most of them are okay," Pansy conceded. "Even Potter and Weasley haven't been as much trouble as usual, right, Draco?" Draco looked a little embarrassed and annoyed; he remained silent, unable to bring himself to defend his old rivals, although he couldn't truthfully contradict Pansy, either. Pansy continued, "And Zabini's sister and some of her friends have been coming to the Slytherin practice sessions."

"Yeah," Miriam Baddock chimed in. "Portia and Chloe and Emma. They're okay; we've kind of made friends with them."

"I like them," Slaine Kendrick said softly. "They're nice."

"Yes, most of the Gryffindor girls are all right," Pansy agreed. "It's mostly the boys who are causing the problems." She added in a superior tone, "Everyone knows that girls are more mature than boys."

The Slytherin girls nodded, and the boys looked offended. "Now wait a minute!" Draco protested.

Lupin chuckled. "I'm afraid she's right, Draco, at least judging by my own experience. Lily--Harry's mother--was a lot more mature than James and my other friends, even though we were all the same age."

"Your friends were a bunch of hotheaded idiots, Lupin," Snape said sourly. "Almost everyone in the school was more mature than they were."

"Some tea, sir?" Brad said, offering Snape a cup. "It's already got cream and sugar in it."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Doherty," Snape replied, sounding a little surprised; he still wasn't used to his students regarding him with anything but fear and loathing. Meanwhile, Lupin was accepting a cup from Goyle.

"Thank you, Gregory."

Blaise looked thoughtful. "My sister says most of the Gryffindors have been nice to her--it helped that Harry and Hermione personally welcomed her after she was Sorted into Gryffindor. But some of them have given her a hard time for being from a Slytherin family, and come to think of it, they're all boys: those two first-years who pulled the rat prank, Kenneth Sloper and Jarrett Jordan, and Kenneth's brother Jack and his friend Andrew Kirke. There are a few other students--like Dean--who haven't actually insulted her, but haven't been friendly either. They avoid talking to her and to Portia, sort of ignoring them like they don't exist."

Lupin sighed and sipped his tea. "I was really hoping that they'd progressed further than that."

Snape shrugged and said philosophically, "You can't change hundreds of years worth of traditions and prejudices in a few months, Lupin." He added dryly, "You might consider it progress that none of the Gryffindors have tried to feed any of the Slytherins to a werewolf."

"Grrr," Lupin said playfully, and the students laughed, even Theodore. The corners of Snape's mouth twitched slightly, threatening to turn into a smile before he forced them back down into a scowl.

"Speaking of maturity, Lupin, you might try to show a little yourself--you know, to set a good example for the students."

Lupin smiled, then his expression turned serious again. "Perhaps I should speak to Minerva about this--or talk to some of the Gryffindors myself."

"You won't make them change their minds just by talking to them, Professor," Millicent said reasonably. "There'll always be some people who will hate us."

"People can change," Lupin said earnestly.

"But I think they have to do it on their own, Remus," Dylan said solemnly. "They won't change just because you tell them to. I know I didn't." He flushed with shame. "I didn't care when people told me that the Death Eaters were evil; I still wanted to be one because I wanted to be like my father. It wasn't until I came to Hogwarts that I started to change my mind. I made friends with Hermione, and then Mudbloods weren't just faceless victims to be killed, because one them was someone that I cared about. Even then, I was stubborn and stupid, and I didn't really turn away from the Death Eaters until they kidnapped me and forced the Mark on me." Dylan grimaced at the memory.

Lupin smiled, a little sadly, and put an arm around him. "I suppose you're right, Dylan. Let's just hope that the Gryffindors don't require such drastic measures to change."

"They are changing, though," Dylan said hopefully. "I mean, a year ago it would have been unthinkable for me to date Hermione, or for Pansy and Millicent to be friends with Lavender and Parvati."

"You're right," Lupin said, smiling more sincerely. "We have to be patient."

"I've met my cousin, Corbin Talbott," Dylan added.

"Ah yes," Snape said, "I remember seeing him at the Sorting ceremony. I thought he'd become one of my Slytherins, but the Hat put him in Ravenclaw."

"At first he didn't want anything to do with me," Dylan said. "He told me that his family blamed my father for Elin Rosier's death."

Snape frowned. "You didn't say anything of this to me."

"I figured I had to work it out on my own, sir," Dylan replied. "Your giving him detention wouldn't make him like me any better, after all."

Snape's lips curved into a smile, almost against his will. "True, Mr. Rosier," he admitted.

"But now we're getting to know each other a little bit," Dylan continued. "I've been meeting with Gabrielle Delacour, to converse in French with her when she's homesick. Corbin still makes it clear that he doesn't much like me, but he tolerates my presence because Gabby is his friend." Dylan grinned. "I think he has a little crush on her."

Snape sighed in exasperation. "Yes, I've noticed the boys mooning over Miss Delacour in class, and I'm sure it will only get worse as they get older and their teenage hormones kick in."

"It's not her fault, Severus," Lupin said. "It's her veela blood; she's not doing it on purpose."

"I didn't say that she was, Lupin," Snape said irritably. "But it's damned inconvenient, especially when I'm trying to get her male classmates to concentrate on the lesson long enough to prevent them from melting their cauldrons or blowing up the classroom."

Everyone laughed, and Lupin said, "Well, I'm happy for you, Dylan. I hope you and your cousin get to be friends." In the far corner of the room, Aric Dietrich rolled his eyes as he munched on a cookie, but no one noticed.

"And don't worry about your grade, Theodore," Snape told his son. "You still got partial credit for the assignment, and I'm sure that one project won't affect your grade for the entire term. If it does, I'll have a talk with Branwen."

"Yes, sir," Theodore said, relaxing. Snape's opinion mattered more to him than the grade, anyway.

Lupin pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and changed the subject. "Anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

"Me!" several of the students shouted in unison, Crabbe, Goyle, and Brad among them. They gathered around the couch and Lupin began dealing cards out.

"Shall I deal you in, Severus?" Lupin asked.

Snape gave him a disdainful look, and pulled a book out of the pocket of his robe. "I think not, Lupin. You go ahead with your childish games; I have some reading to catch up on."

"What's the matter?" Lupin teased. "Are you afraid you'll lose face in front of your Slytherins if you're beaten by a Gryffindor werewolf?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Lupin!" Snape snapped. "It's so laughably easy to beat you that it's no challenge at all."

"Put your money where your mouth is, Professor Snape," Lupin dared him.

Snape threw down his book. "Oh, very well!" he huffed. "What are the stakes?"

Lupin paused to think. "Five Galleons."

Snape looked disappointed, but replied, "Fine."

The Slytherins watched eagerly as their two Professors began the game, and quietly made wagers of their own.

"Ha!" Snape said triumphantly, as the last card exploded in Lupin's face. "I win!"

"I concede defeat," Lupin said serenely.

"You take all the fun out of gloating," Snape complained, and Lupin smiled.

Later, in their quarters, Snape said, "All right, Lupin, cough up my five Galleons."

"Actually," Lupin said coyly, giving him a come-hither look, "I'm afraid I don't have five Galleons on me. Perhaps you would accept something else instead?" He unfastened his robe and let it fall to the floor, then slowly began unbuttoning his shirt.

"I think you had this in mind all along," Snape said with a grin as he moved closer to Lupin.

"Of course," Lupin replied. "I could hardly wager a night of amazing sex in front of all those impressionable young students."

Snape snorted at the thought of trying to protect the innocence of a Slytherin, but he was grateful nonetheless that Lupin hadn't proposed that wager in front of the students. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "You didn't lose on purpose, did you?" he asked suspiciously.

Lupin pretended to be shocked. "A Gryffindor? Cheat? Why Severus, the very idea is outrageous!" He began buttoning up his shirt. "However, if you feel the wager was not made in good faith, we can always cancel it..."

"No you don't, Lupin!" Snape said, putting his arms around Lupin and pulling him close. "I won the bet, and I intend to collect on it!" He whispered into Lupin's ear, "I think I got the better end of the bargain, though--a night with you is worth far more than five Galleons."

"Don't worry," Lupin chuckled. "If I won, I was going to demand a night in bed with YOU!"

"Well, I'm certainly worth more than five Galleons!" Snape said indignantly.

"You are absolutely priceless, my love," Lupin laughed, and ended the debate by covering Snape's mouth with his own, and for once, Snape let Lupin have the last word.

 

Part 55