Aftermaths, Part 6

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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"...Theo? Theo, wake up."

"Lemme sleep a little longer," Theodore mumbled, trying to ignore the voice and the hand trying to gently shake him awake. He rolled over, trying to go back to sleep, then frowned, wondering why the bed was so uncomfortable. Then he realized that he was not lying in his bed, but on the living room floor. He opened his eyes to see Dylan staring down at him.

"Guess we fell asleep on the floor last night," Dylan said softly.

Theodore sat up, rubbing his back. He felt a little stiff, but well-rested; he smiled, remembering how he and Dylan had been playing with the wolf--with Lupin--last night. Although it was difficult to think of the wolf as his teacher and foster father when he had been behaving more like a pet dog. "Why are we whispering?" he asked, keeping his voice as low as Dylan's.

In response, Dylan pointed at the couch. Snape was slumped back against the couch; Lupin was still lying across the couch with his head resting in Snape's lap, only he was human once again, not a wolf. Both men were sound asleep, with very peaceful and contented looks on their faces. The two boys were happy to see their guardians looking so content, but at the same time they felt a little uncomfortable at witnessing such an intimate moment. The sleeping Snape in particular looked drastically different from his waking self; without his usual scowl, the lines on his face had eased and become less visible, and that, along with the faint smile on his lips, made him look about ten years younger.

"Maybe we could get cleaned up and start breakfast," Dylan whispered, and Theo nodded in agreement. Last night had been fun, but their robes were covered with wolf fur--as Snape had sarcastically predicted they would be, and they both felt a desire to wash their faces after having been slobbered on liberally by an affectionate wolf, even though said slobber had dried up overnight.

A little while later, Lupin woke up to the smell and sound of sizzling bacon. He sniffed the air appreciatively and also caught the rich scent of freshly-brewed coffee. He opened his eyes and found his head pillowed on Severus's lap. He sighed and stretched, with the languid grace of a cat waking up from a nap, then impulsively pressed his lips against his lover's thigh in a gentle kiss. Snape stirred, murmured an unintelligible but affectionate endearment, and stroked Lupin's hair. Lupin sighed with pleasure, and felt a momentary twinge of regret that they weren't alone and able to follow through on that caress. Then he looked up and saw his two foster sons, busy cooking breakfast in the kitchen, and that twinge instantly vanished. Perhaps their lovemaking would have be a little less spontaneous from now on, but that was a small price to pay for having a family.

Lupin kissed Severus on the cheek and said, "Wake up, sleepyhead. The boys have fixed breakfast for us."

Snape's eyes suddenly flew open as he went from half-asleep to fully awake in an instant. He abruptly sat upright and his head jerked around to look towards the kitchen. Then he winced and rubbed his neck as his body protested that sudden movement. "We're too old to be sleeping on the couch, Lupin," he grumbled.

The boys pretended not to hear and very deliberately kept their eyes fixed on the stove, not looking up, although Dylan called out cheerfully, "Good morning, Professors; breakfast is almost ready."

"Thank you, Dylan," Lupin called out in a bright, chirpy tone that caused Snape to glare at him. "We'll be there in a minute, just let us wash up."

So they all sat down at the kitchen table together, Lupin with that smug little smile on his face that he wore so often these days, and Snape looking a little flustered. They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Dylan said to Lupin, "Um...sir?"

"Yes, Dylan?"

"About last night," he said hesitantly. "I know that the Wolfsbane Potion keeps you safe, but it seems like...um...well...that the wolf's...ah...instincts...still become dominant during the full moon..."

"What Mr. Rosier is so tactfully trying to say is that you were acting like an oversized pet dog last night, Lupin," Snape said sourly.

Lupin grinned at him. "If you're asking whether I remain myself during the full moon or if I am taken over by the wolf, the answer is 'both': it is impossible to completely separate the two of us. The wolf does, as you so astutely put it, become more dominant as the full moon approaches. My emotions run higher when the moon waxes; I am quicker to anger and lose my temper, and quicker to--" He paused and gave Severus a sly smile. "--give in to passion, shall we say?" The Potions Master blushed, and so did the boys, which Lupin found vastly amusing.

"The Wolfsbane Potion doesn't prevent that?" Theodore asked, his face still red.

"No," Lupin replied, his expression becoming serious now. "It keeps me sane during the full moon, but it does not completely suppress the wolf. Severus and I made a startling discovery that first year I taught at Hogwarts, Theo. I had been fighting the wolf for nearly all of my life, not wanting to give in to it in even the slightest way, believing that if I did, I would lose my humanity. I was afraid that if I lost my temper, I would lose control of myself, and give in to the violence of the beast."

Theodore flushed again, with a different kind of embarrassment, as he remembered how Draco had sneered at and insulted Lupin, particularly during their third year, and how he himself had feigned similar disdain, or at best disinterest, in his role as Draco's crony. "Is that why you never got mad when Draco...when the Slytherins insulted you?" he asked in a small voice. "And when our parents did?"

Lupin nodded. "Yes. I've known since I was a child that people would scorn me, revile me, insult me, if they learned that I was a werewolf. I long ago became inured to such things. I won't say that I liked it, but I learned to endure it without losing my temper." He smiled kindly at his foster son and added, "I don't blame you or Draco or the other Slytherins. Draco and a few of the others were only echoing what their parents had taught them, and the rest of you were just trying to survive." Theodore still looked ashamed of himself, and Lupin said quietly, with a sidelong glance towards Severus, "Believe me, there are many times that I regret having kept silent when I should have spoken out against something. So don't be too hard on yourself. Getting back to what I was saying, I had always been taught that I had to fight the beast within me. But when Severus and I...ah...renewed our relationship, I discovered that giving in to the wolf, at least to a certain extent, eased the pain and nausea that normally accompanied my transformations. Fighting the wolf, it turns out, was making me ill. For better or worse, the wolf and the man are inextricably entwined within me. Rather than trying to suppress the beast within, we found that it was better to try and strike a balance between the two. Not all of the wolf's instincts are bad ones: while it is a dangerous predator, it is also loyal and nurturing towards its mate, cubs, and pack. And fiercely protective as well--the wolf took over on the battlefield, causing me to transform spontaneously when it saw you were in danger, Theo. A good thing, too, since I had lost my wand when Macnair attacked me; come to think of it, perhaps that's why I changed at that particular moment--since the man could not defend you, the wolf would. In that we are united, the wolf and I; it shares my love for you and Dylan and Severus." He smiled as the trio blushed again. "Professor Kamiyama, the co-creator of the Wolfsbane Potion, believes that this nurturing part of the wolf helps to keep its more violent tendencies under control. So I no longer try to fight the wolf when it wants to do this--" He leaned over and nuzzled Snape's neck.

"Cut that out, Lupin!"

Lupin grinned, but obeyed. "--or when it wants to romp and play, or be scratched behind the ears," he continued.

"Or when it wants to drool all over everyone," Snape muttered.

"I used to be frightened and ashamed of that part of me," Lupin said solemnly, "but no longer. It was Severus who taught me to embrace the wolf within me, and now I am whole and at peace with myself." He smiled tenderly at his lover, who immediately turned red. Lupin had to bite his lip to keep from laughing; who would ever have thought that a cynical Slytherin and hardened Death Eater could blush so easily?

Dylan frowned thoughtfully. "That sounds a lot like what Harry Potter told the Daily Prophet--that he had to embrace both his Gryffindor and Slytherin qualities in order to defeat V-Voldemort." He stumbled a little over the name, but forced himself to say it out loud, and Lupin smiled at him approvingly.

"Yes, Dylan, that's quite perceptive of you," Lupin said. "It is very similar. Professor Blackmore always said that the Gryffindors tended to see things as extremes--good or bad, black or white. But the world is filled with shades of gray, and leaning too far towards either extreme can be dangerous."

"The Aurors as a case in point," Snape said, his face having returned to its usual sallow paleness. "They were supposedly fighting on the side of 'good,' but some of them become self-righteous and overzealous. You saw what they did to Theodore's house, and they did far worse than that in the first war--killed and imprisoned suspected Death Eaters without a trial." He and Lupin exchanged a look, both of them thinking of how Sirius Black had spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit. "They killed without remorse; indeed, some of them took great pleasure in their work, until there was little difference between themselves and the Death Eaters they hunted."

"Fortunately," Lupin said, "we have a more compassionate and sensible Minister of Magic in charge of things this time around. Arthur has taken great pains to make sure that no one was condemned without a trial, and he assures me that he is overseeing the current investigation even more closely since learning of the damage to Nott Manor."

The boys fell silent as they ate; they had a great deal to digest, mentally. Lupin sensed this, and concentrated on his own food, eating with great relish; the wolf was always hungry after a transformation. But after breakfast, when Lupin was helping them wash the dishes, he said softly, "I am very glad that the two of you were able to accept the wolf. It means a great deal to me."

The boys smiled at him. "Of course, Professor...I mean, Remus," Dylan said. "Like Theo said, we all saw you fight to protect us during the battle, as both man and wolf. You've looked after all of us Slytherins this past year. Any fool can see that you're no monster."

Theodore thought of his father and the other Death Eaters. "Not all monsters are beasts," he said slowly. "Some are human."

Lupin and Dylan nodded gravely, then suddenly Lupin gave both of his foster sons a quick hug. Dylan, who was used to be doted on by a loving family, accepted it with equanimity; Theodore, who was not used to receiving gestures of affection from anyone but Blaise, looked startled but pleased, and they finished the dishes together in a companionable silence.
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Draco felt a little uncomfortable sitting in the Pierces' living room as Aileen Pierce poured tea for everyone and set out a platter of sandwiches cut into dainty little triangles, and another filled with sugar cookies still warm from the oven. It was not that either Aileen or Damien were being rude to Draco and his mother; far from it. Aileen had red hair and a cheerful disposition like her son, and was surprisingly kind and good-natured for a Slytherin: she listened sympathetically to Narcissa's troubles, and fussed over Draco in a motherly fashion, telling him that he looked a little pale and thin and wouldn't he like another sandwich? Aileen Pierce was the only one of Narcissa's friends who was still willing to associate with her; all the others (except for Delia Avery, who didn't really count since she was also a disgraced former Death Eater) wanted nothing to do with her, as if afraid that the taint of her disgrace might rub off on them. Or perhaps it was simply that since the Malfoys had lost their power and influence, Narcissa was now of no use to them. Either way, Damien's mother had proved to be Narcissa's one true friend. As for Damien, although he no longer treated Draco with the deference that he used to, he didn't seem to hold a grudge against Draco for forcing him to come along to the secret Death Eater meeting that had turned into in a pitched battle (or "The Final Battle," as the Daily Prophet had dramatically dubbed it), which was pretty generous considering that Draco's father had threatened to kill him in order to keep Dylan in line. In fact, for the most part, Damien was treating him in a casually friendly manner, almost as if he were part of Pierce's regular crowd--Rosier, Zabini, and Nott. Draco was surprised to feel a slight pang of envy for the friendship the four boys shared; he had seen the way they had risked their lives to protect each other during the battle, and he couldn't imagine any of his "friends" doing the same for him. In fact, his friends were probably as nonexistent as Narcissa's. Most of his hangers-on abandoned him after the battle; Crabbe and Goyle had still followed him around the way they always had, but that was probably more out of habit than anything else. And when Draco had tried to contact them after school let out, their mothers had made it perfectly clear that they didn't want their sons hanging around Draco; Goyle had given him an apologetic smile as his mother slammed the door in Draco's face.

What made Draco so uncomfortable was the fact that he was all too aware that he had ignored Damien for most of the past five years, dismissing him as being unimportant and beneath his notice. Yet here Damien was, chatting with him over tea while all the others who had curried his favor before no longer gave him the time of day. He suspected his mother felt the same guilt over having largely ignored Aileen after graduating from Hogwarts. She had not actively snubbed her childhood friend, but they moved in different social circles and Narcissa had not made the effort to keep in touch beyond exchanging Christmas gifts and chatting at school functions. After Aileen had issued her first invitation to tea, Narcissa had said remorsefully, "I had almost forgotten the way Aileen used to look after me as a first-year. I had never really been away from my parents before, and I was so homesick. She let me sleep in her bed that first week at school, holding me while I cried myself to sleep. She kept the older girls from teasing me, and tried to cheer me up by taking me to watch the Quidditch team practice in the afternoons and by showing me how to sneak into the kitchen and cadge treats from the house-elves. She was a good friend to me, but I was not such a good friend to her."

And now Aileen was comforting Narcissa once again. "The Ministry is threatening to levy fines against the Death Eater estates," Draco's mother said in a distraught voice. "Very heavy fines. They could even take the whole estate--"

"I don't think that will happen, dear," Aileen said in a soothing voice, patting Narcissa's hand. "They didn't take the Black estate even when everyone believed that Sirius was a mass murderer. They were only able to confiscate the Rosier estate because all the Rosiers were dead except for Evan's baby. There may be fines, but you can afford to pay those; the Malfoy bank accounts are deep." Aileen smiled slyly; it seemed she was indeed a Slytherin after all, despite her good nature. "And I'm sure Lucius must have stashed some gold away somewhere, off the records, in case of emergencies." Narcissa opened her mouth, and Aileen hastily said, "Never mind; don't tell me. That way if I'm questioned, I can honestly say I know nothing about it. But in any case, you should hire a lawyer if you haven't already."

"I have a lawyer," Narcissa said, calming down a little. "Sirius hired one for me." She was still amazed by that, and it showed in her face.

"Fancy that," Aileen said in bemusement, taking a sip of tea. "I thought he would be a good-for-nothing, arrogant little git all his life. I remember the way he acted so superior and looked down on us Slytherins, as if the Blacks hadn't all been Slytherins until he came along."

"He seems to have grown up quite a bit," Narcissa admitted.

Aileen giggled, her pretty face looking young and girlish. "So I've heard! Is it true he's engaged to Professor Blackmore?"

Narcissa giggled as well, and the two of them looked like the schoolgirls they had been over twenty years ago. "Yes, it's true! She's moved into his house, and they're to be wed in August; I'm even invited to the wedding! I must admit, Sirius has been very good to us, but I can't imagine what she sees in him--"

Aileen pursed her lips thoughtfully. "He's still handsome, despite the time he spent in Azkaban, even if he's not a fresh-faced boy anymore." In a way, the lines on his face and the shadows in his eyes gave him a gravity and maturity he had lacked as a youth, even if he was no longer quite so beautiful as he had once been. "And if he's finally lost the arrogance...perhaps I can see it happening, just barely. They both fought for Dumbledore, and they were both Aurors for a short period of time during the first war. And she has remained young while he has grown up; they are--physically, at least--about the same age. But still, it's difficult to imagine her marrying a former student that she once gave detention to, and even harder to imagine a student having enough courage to ask her to marry him." She grinned. "Well, perhaps I could have believed it of Evan Rosier..."

Narcissa laughed. "I still remember that Yule Ball where he asked her to dance!"

Damien shook his head as he picked up a sandwich, and one of the many cats in the Pierce household started rubbing against his leg and purring hopefully. Damien broke off a small piece and fed it to the cat, then stuffed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and ate it one bite. "She is very beautiful," Damien said, turning to Draco, "but after seeing her in a rage over that stunt you guys pulled with Bane--" Draco flushed, remembered the combined hex that had accidentally turned Blackmore's pet raven into a bunny. "--I'd never have the courage to ask her to dance, let alone marry me." Then he grinned cheerfully and said, "But a teacher-student romance doesn't sound all that bad! It's too bad Professor Chizuru went back to Japan; do you think she would have married me if I had asked her?"

Draco laughed, and Aileen glared at her son and snapped, "Damien Pierce!"

"What?" Damien asked innocently. "Is there something wrong with admiring a beautiful older woman? She would have made a great daughter-in-law, Mum. Not only is she an expert in healing magic, she can weave feathers into silk!"

Aileen opened her mouth to scold her son, but Narcissa was gratified to see Draco laugh, and said indulgently, "Oh, let him be, Aileen. Boys will be boys, after all." Then she smiled mischievously. "I'm sorry to have to break your heart, Damien; Sirius tells me that the crow-man has already proposed marriage to your ladylove."

"What?!" Damien exclaimed. "Master Karasu and Professor Chizuru?!"

"Apparently so," Narcissa said, her eyes dancing with merriment, and Draco was relieved to see it, since she had been so worried and unhappy of late. "Though it seems that their families might raise some objections, and they'll have to win them over."

"Huh," Damien said, shaking his head in shock. "I'm surprised that our teachers have any time to plan lessons or grade our homework--look at how many of them have been carrying on secret romances! Lupin and Snape, Professor Blackmore, and now Chizuru and Karasu...man, the gossip in the teacher's lounge must be red-hot! Next thing you know, McGonagall will be marrying the Headmaster! Or maybe Flitwick? How about Hagrid...?"

Draco shuddered. "Please, Pierce, I do not want that image in my head!"

"Damien!" Aileen said, trying to sound stern, but even she couldn't help but laugh at her son's antics. She turned back to Narcissa, and they began talking about more serious things: what Narcissa's lawyer was doing, how much the proposed fines might be, and how long all this might drag out in court. Damien quickly grew bored and started talking about Quidditch, and Draco willingly went along with that. He knew that he should be concerned about their finances, but right now he didn't want to contemplate the thought of the Ministry taking all their money and leaving them as poor as the Weasleys. He remembered all the times he had taunted Ron Weasley and his brothers about their secondhand robes, and felt a little ill at the thought of their positions being reversed.

"...need a new Chaser and Keeper next term," Damien was saying.

Draco quickly shoved thoughts of himself dressed in patched secondhand robes out of his head; no sense worrying about something that hadn't happened yet. That lawyer seemed sharp; he would probably make sure that the Ministry left them a decent amount to live on. Probably. "Uh, yeah," Draco said. "Got anyone in mind?"

"Theo's pretty good on a broom," Damien replied. "He could play either position. I think he'd like to try out for the team...so long as you don't boss him around the way you used to."

"Boss him around?" Draco echoed indignantly.

"You did, you know," Damien said, matter-of-factly. "You bossed everyone in Slytherin around." Draco flushed again. Damien glanced over at his mother and Narcissa, who were still wrapped up in their conversation, and lowered his voice a little. "That's the way things have always worked in Slytherin--people cater to whoever's in power--so I don't hold it against you, really. But the problem with that is, when you lose your power, you lose all your 'friends'." Draco nodded, still flushing; certainly his friends, along with his mother's, had disappeared quickly enough. Cheerful Damien, the class clown who was always ready with a joke or snappy comeback, who never seemed to think about anything but Quidditch and girls (not necessarily in that order), was staring at Draco with a surprisingly serious look on his face. "You fought on our side, in the end, so I figure you're okay. But if you want friends--real friends--you're going to have to learn how to treat people nicely."

"I'm not sure that I know how," Draco confessed.

Damien gave a little snort of laughter and rolled his eyes. "Well, that's obvious!" he said in a voice, that was slightly sarcastic, but also amused. Aileen glanced up and gave her son a suspicious look; Damien smiled back at her, a look of angelic innocence on his face, which only served to make her more suspicious. Draco tried to imitate Damien's expression, without much success, but it made Narcissa laugh, which made Aileen smile, and the two women resumed their conversation. "It's not that hard," Damien told Draco. "Just treat people how you would like to be treated." Draco stared back at him blankly; the way he liked to be treated--or at least, the way he was accustomed to being treated--was to have everyone defer to him the way they had to his father. Damien seemed to understand that; he sighed and said, "Okay, scratch that. Just...don't talk to people in such a high-handed way, Malfoy. If you want someone to do something for you, don't order them about; try asking them nicely for a change."

"What if they say 'no'?" Draco asked.

Damien shrugged. "Then you just have to live with it. That's how things work when you're dealing with people who are equals, not servants or lackeys. But most times, friends don't mind doing things for each other. Which means that you don't just expect people to do favors for you; you have to do nice things for them sometimes, too."

The whole concept was completely alien to Draco. "You mean like, 'you scratch my back; I'll scratch yours'?"

Damien shook his head in frustration. "No! I'm not talking about a couple of Ministry officials exchanging political favors. With a friend, you want to help them out, just because you like them, not because you expect something in return. Like the way Dylan helps me and Blaise and Theo with our homework. Like the way Parvati and Lavender made over Pansy and Millicent for the Yule Ball." Damien went a little pale, then added, "Like the way I was scared shitless of the Death Eaters the night of the final battle, but I couldn't let the Dementors hurt Dylan, because he's my best friend. So I went and acted like a stupid, noble Gryffindor and jumped into the battle instead of running for cover." He laughed, albeit a bit nervously. "The way Blaise and Serafina and Theo tried to protect each other. And Crabbe and Goyle--"

"Okay, okay, I get the picture," Draco interrupted. The memory of that night was still painful. He would never forget the way his father had grabbed him and used him as a shield as Moody hurled the Killing Curse his way; he would never forget the sight of his father's dead body, with that serpent-shaped dagger hilt sticking out of his back. But there were a few other memories, that mitigated the pain slightly: his mother, who had loved him enough to defy both the Death Eaters and her husband for his sake; Snape, who had helped to save his life, even though Draco had attacked him and called him a traitor; Lupin in his wolf form, whining anxiously and trying to comfort Draco by licking his face, like a tame pet dog instead of a werewolf; Serafina Avery, who had always treated Draco with indifference or contempt, telling Draco about her own father, and holding him as he wept; his mother's long-estranged cousin, the notorious Sirius Black, standing up to the Aurors on their behalf. Maybe...maybe Draco did have a few friends, after all, even though he had never realized it.

Damien either couldn't stay serious for very long, or had decided that he'd given Draco enough to think about for one day. He smiled cheerfully and asked, "Wanna play a game of Exploding Snap?"

"Uh, sure," Draco replied.

"If you're going to play a noisy game like that, Damien, do it in your bedroom," Aileen said without looking up.

So Damien grabbed a handful of cookies, and they retreated to his room. Draco actually had a good time playing card games with the younger boy. At first, he sulked a little when he lost the first game, but then he noticed that Damien just laughed when he lost the next game and the cards exploded in his face. Nothing ever seemed to faze the red-haired boy or shake his good nature for long. So Draco relaxed and stopped trying to keep score or worry about being shown up; it was just a stupid card game, after all. He found he enjoyed it much more after that.

After about an hour of playing games and gossiping about Quidditch and girls, they headed back downstairs. Just then, the front door opened, and Damien's father walked in.

"You're home early today, dear," Aileen said, rising to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, Liam," Narcissa said, a little nervously.

"Narcissa," Liam said, giving her a curt nod. He was a tall, handsome man with brown hair, a little more reserved than his wife and son. Draco had seen him at their Quidditch matches, his eyes filled with warmth and pride for his son, which had made Draco a little jealous, because his own father had never looked at him that way. But right now those hazel eyes were staring at Narcissa coldly; clearly he did not approve of his wife renewing her friendship with her old schoolmate. For a moment, Draco was filled with rage; how dare he look down his nose at them?! Liam Pierce worked as a foreman at a cauldron-making factory; a distinctly middle-class job. The Pierces were not poor like the Zabinis, but neither were they wealthy; they had always been beneath the notice of the old, powerful families like the Malfoys.

"Would you and Draco like to stay for dinner?" Aileen asked Narcissa, shooting a glare at her husband.

"I think not," Narcissa said, glancing at Liam. "Draco and I should be going. But thank you for the tea and...thank you for everything."

"Don't let Liam drive you away," Aileen told her. Draco stared at Damien's mother in surprise; in his experience, the pureblood wives always deferred to their husbands, at least in public. None of them would ever contradict or argue with their husbands in front of other people, where they might lose face.

"You ignored us for nearly twenty years, Narcissa," Liam said coldly, "because we were not good enough to associate with the likes of the Malfoys." Narcissa blushed with shame. "Though I confess I preferred it that way; I knew one day the final war would come, and I did not want my family dragged down with the rest of you if the Dark Lord lost, which I suspected he would."

"You never said--" Damien blurted out, looking shocked.

"Of course not," Liam said calmly. "That would not be prudent--because I could not be certain that the Dark Lord would be defeated. Because I did not want to arouse the Death Eaters' enmity. We laid low and played it safe. Fence-sitters, I believe your husband used to call us, Narcissa." Liam gave her a mocking and slightly bitter smile. "But it turns out that in the end, we were wiser than you. And now, Narcissa, you find it convenient to renew your friendship with my wife, because no one else will have you. We risk having our reputation tainted by associating with you, at a time when my son is nearly an adult, and will be looking to build a career in a few years. He may find certain doors closed to him, if people think we are Death Eater sympathizers--"

"Dad, I don't--" Damien started to say.

Liam cut him off. "My wife is willing to risk this for the sake of friendship, it seems. But tell me, Narcissa, if the Malfoys should rise to power again, will you cast her aside when you no longer need her? As you did the first time, when you graduated from Hogwarts and made your advantageous marriage into the Malfoy family?"

"Liam, that's enough!" Aileen snapped.

"No, he's right," Narcissa said quietly. "You were a good friend to me, but I left our friendship behind when I married Lucius--"

Aileen shrugged. "That's Slytherin politics; I don't hold it against you. That's just the way the world works."

"Many people curried our favor," Narcissa continued, "but they abandoned us when we fell from grace. You are the only true friend I have." She looked up and met Liam's eyes. "This time I will not forget that."

"I hope not," Liam said, not looking entirely convinced.

"I have found that there are things that matter to me more than money and power and pride," Narcissa said, turning to look at her son.

Liam looked thoughtful and nodded slightly, his expression softening as he regarded his own son. "Yes, there are," he said gravely. "I hope you remember that."

"I will," Narcissa said, rising from her seat; Draco did likewise.

"Are you sure you won't stay for dinner?" Aileen asked.

"Another time, perhaps," Narcissa said with a smile. "Or..." She hesitated, then said almost shyly, "Perhaps we could have you and your family over for dinner sometime." Her eyes flickered over to Liam. "If you aren't ashamed to be seen with us, that is."

"Of course not, dear!" Aileen said. She clasped Narcissa's hands for a moment and gave her a sisterly kiss on the cheek. Liam said nothing, but didn't look as hostile as he had a few minutes ago. "Take care of yourself."

"I will," Narcissa said, and she and Draco left, both feeling very humbled and shaken.

Part 7