Aftermaths, Part 66

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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Madam Pomfrey had healed Dylan and sent him back to the Slytherin dorm. Snape, Lupin, and Selima went to the dorm and found Dylan and Damien in the common room, being fussed over by the Slytherin girls while the boys watched in amusement.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Mr. Rosier, Mr. Pierce," Snape said sarcastically, but he couldn't quite hide his smile, and Dylan grinned at him.

"I'm feeling fine, Professor, really--Madam Pomfrey's healed me up as good as new!"

"So what about Master Bleddri, Professor?" Crabbe asked eagerly. "Is he really the Diggory heir? Is he going to take over the estate?"

"Won't that put that little twerp Tristan's knickers in a twist!" Patrick Parkinson snickered, but subsided when Lupin frowned at him disapprovingly.

"It seems that Master Bleddri is indeed the son of Cynric Diggory, the late and former heir to the Diggory estate," Lupin said. "But if you want to know anything more than that, you will have to ask Master Bleddri himself." The students fell silent, exchanging dubious glances; most of them liked Bleddri, but they were also a little scared of him at the same time.

"Do you know what caused the hex, sir?" Dylan asked.

"No, we're going to talk to Professor Blackmore and the others and see if they've finished testing your broom yet," Lupin replied. "We just wanted to check up on you first."

"I'm fine," Dylan said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it," Snape said. "But perhaps you should get some rest after your recent ordeal. You too, Mr. Pierce."

Damien looked disappointed, but both boys obediently said, "Yes, sir."

Snape turned to address the other members of the Quidditch team. "You all did very well today," he said quietly. "I'm proud of you. Twenty points to Slytherin for each of you." They all beamed at him, Theodore especially, and Snape laid his hand on his son's shoulder for a moment. It was very strange to see children actually smiling at him, and stranger still to find that he rather liked it, and worried a little that Lupin's Gryffindor sentimentality might be rubbing off on him.

"Any excuse to give out points to Slytherin, Severus?" Lupin joked.

"Can you deny that they deserve it?" Snape retorted.

Lupin shook his head, smiling warmly at them. "Not at all. I'm very grateful to all of you."

"Yeah, well, I'd hate to have to train a new Chaser after the season's already started," Draco said casually, and Dylan grinned at him.

"Well, I'd sure hate to inconvenience you, Malfoy!"

The students started heading back to their rooms, and Snape called out, "One moment, Mr. Dietrich."

"Yes, sir?" Aric said warily.

"You didn't have anything to do with today's little prank, did you, Mr. Dietrich?"

"Of course not!" Aric said indignantly. "Did someone accuse me? I bet it was Theo!"

"No one needed to accuse you, Dietrich," Snape told him. "You are the most likely suspect, considering your hostility towards your cousin and his friends."

"I didn't do it!" Aric insisted. "Besides, if I was going to hurt someone, it would be Theo, not Dylan!"

"I'll remember that," Snape murmured, giving Aric a cold, penetrating stare, causing the boy to go pale and break out into a sweat.

"Um...hypothetically speaking, of course," he added lamely.

"Of course," Snape said, his eyes still fixed on Aric's.

"That's enough, Severus," Lupin said firmly, tugging on Snape's arm. "I already told you, I don't believe Aric had anything to do with this." Aric gave Lupin a startled look.

Snape said softly, "Watch your step, Mr. Dietrich. I'll be watching you very closely from now on." Then he turned and left with Lupin. Selima said nothing, but gave Aric a cold stare very similar to Snape's, then left as well.

Aric's knees felt a little wobbly, and he sank down into a chair beside the fireplace. "Merlin's Beard," he muttered. "Now I know where Snape gets it from."
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"What was that all about, Severus?" Lupin asked. "You know Aric didn't have anything to do with this!"

"We don't know that, Lupin," Snape replied. "I'm not as trusting as you are. You're probably right, but I just wanted to see his reaction. And putting a little fear into him might stop him from carrying out any future 'pranks' of his own."

"I still think it would be better to win him over than to intimidate him," Lupin argued.

"You can work on winning him over, Lupin," Snape said. "I'll handle the intimidation part."

Despite himself, Lupin smiled. "You're impossible, Severus Snape."

"Well, we agree on one thing at least," Selima said with a wry smile.

They found Branwen, Sirius, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Dumbledore in the Incantations workshop frowning down at Dylan's broken broomstick and a number of green-and-silver ribbon rosettes.

"Did you find the source of the hex?" Snape asked.

"Yes," Branwen said, frowning. "It wasn't on the broom; it was on the ribbons. Two of the rosettes were hexed; it was very cleverly done. The silver ribbons had a pain-giving curse set on them, and the green ones were enchanted with a Hurling Hex, probably because whoever gave Dylan the rosettes couldn't be sure of whether he'd wear them on his person or tie them to his broomstick. This way both possibilities were covered. The spell was most likely triggered from a distance--by a spectator in the stands, no doubt. We'll have to question the students, but the trigger requires only a very brief incantation or command word, so it's likely that no one noticed it happening, since everyone's attention was on the Pitch at the time."

"A nasty piece of work," Snape said uneasily. "It sounds like something a Slytherin would do, but Dylan is well-liked in Slytherin, except for Aric Dietrich, and I don't think Aric did it. This is a little too subtle for him, and besides, the rosette would have had to have come from a girl."

"I was under the impression that all the female students adored Mr. Rosier," Flitwick said. "I can't imagine any of them wanting to hurt him."

"Perhaps Dylan can tell us who gave him the hexed rosettes," Sirius suggested.

Snape stared down sourly at the rosettes. "Fat chance," he grumbled. "They all look alike, and he got at least a hundred of the blasted things."

Nevertheless, they sent Bane to the Slytherin dorm with a message for Dylan. The raven balked at being treated like a messenger owl, but Snape bribed him with a piece of chocolate. Dylan returned with Bane sitting on his shoulder, and examined the rosettes.

"Um...I'm not really sure," he said sheepishly. "I had so many...they kind of got mixed up. Where exactly on the broom were they?"

"Here and here," Branwen said, pointing to the handle of the broomstick. "The two that were closest to the tip of the handle."

"Oh, then I know who they were from!" Dylan said, then looked confused. "They were from Allegra and Gabby...Gabrielle Delacour. I made sure to keep those separate from the others, because I promised them I'd put their ribbons on my broom. But Gabby and Allegra would never do anything to hurt me!"

The adults exchanged troubled looks. "No, but some of their housemates might," Snape said. "I think we need to talk to Miss Zabini and Miss Delacour."

They questioned the girls, who were very distressed to learn that their rosettes had been used to hex Dylan. Allegra and Gabrielle earnestly answered the teachers' questions, but unfortunately, were not able to give much helpful information. There was nothing special about the ribbons, an inexpensive brand normally used for wrapping gifts; when Parvati came up with her idea, the Headmaster had allowed the students to draw them from the school stores. A number of other girls of all ages and Houses had worked with together with Allegra and Gabrielle on the day they made the rosettes, but they said they hadn't seen anyone tampering with the ribbons.

"Portia Pettigrew was there," Snape muttered suspiciously. "Do you suppose she could be following in her uncle's footsteps?" But Allegra vehemently defended her friend, and Lupin agreed that he didn't think it was in character for her. McGonagall quietly questioned Portia in private, and she tearfully denied it, becoming hysterical and offering to swear under Truth Potion that she had nothing to do with the hex.

Snape also took note of the fact that Isabelle Laroque had been there as well, although the girl had never caused any trouble before, and Dylan said that she had always been polite to him and never made any remarks about Death Eaters. He mentioned that Isabelle had given him a rosette as well, but admitted that he didn't know which one it was. They examined all the remaining ribbons that Dylan hadn't worn, but couldn't find hexes on any of them.

"I didn't give him a hexed rosette," Isabelle said quietly when they questioned her.

"Your uncles were killed by Death Eaters," Snape said. "Perhaps you hold a grudge against Dylan, who is the son of a Death Eater."

Isabelle shook her head. "I was wary of him at first, but he has been so kind to Gabrielle, whom I think of as a little sister. She adores him. That's why I made a rosette for him." She cast her eyes downward shyly, her long hair falling forward over her face. "And he's very handsome, of course," she said, sounding embarrassed. "All the girls think so."

Flitwick chuckled, but Snape still stared at her suspiciously. "Your friend Mr. Ackerley made a scene in Hogsmeade recently."

Isabelle looked up and met his gaze. "I know. He was wrong to do that, and I told him so."

Snape frowned; she seemed to be sincere, but she was very self-composed and had good control over her emotions and expression--perhaps a little too much so for his comfort. He was used to seeing his students squirm with fear when he confronted them. He would have liked to have questioned her using Legilimency, but Sprout made it clear that wasn't going to happen. She had been very upset when she heard that one of her students was being treated as a suspect, and had insisted on being present during the questioning, although Dumbledore assured her that they were talking to everyone who participated in the rosette-making project.

"That's quite enough, Snape," Sprout said. "Miss Laroque is a model student, and she has assured you that she had nothing to do with the prank. Unless you have some evidence to the contrary, I suggest you stop badgering my student."

"It's nothing personal," Lupin said kindly to Isabelle. "We're talking to everyone who was making rosettes with Allegra and Gabrielle."

"I understand, Professor."

Snape looked at a fuming Sprout and sighed. He really had no reason to think that the girl was involved, save that her family had suffered losses at the Death Eaters' hands, but then, so had half the people in the wizarding world. "You may go now, Miss Laroque," he said, and Isabelle left the room.

"Maybe someone tampered with the rosettes after you made them," Lupin said to Allegra and Gabrielle. "Did anyone else handle them afterwards? Did you give them to Dylan right away, or did you take them back to the dorm with you?"

The girls thought it over. "We went back to our dorms," Gabrielle said, "and gave them to Dylan after dinner. I left mine in my room until then. I don't think that anyone could have tampered with it." But she looked uncertain.

"Was it in your sight the entire time?" Snape asked.

"No, I went out into the common room to play cards with some of my friends," she replied.

"What about you, Allegra?" Lupin asked.

Allegra frowned. "I went back to the dorm, and a bunch of us were showing each other our rosettes in the common room. Parvati said mine was very nice. We handled each other's rosettes, but no one cast spells on them. But..." Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip.

"What is it?" Snape asked.

"Emma called me over to help her with her Potions homework. I left the rosette alone on a table in the common room for...um...maybe twenty minutes? Half an hour, tops." Tears began to fill her eyes. "I didn't know anyone would use my rosette to hurt Dylan, honest!"

"It's okay, Allegra," Dylan assured her gently, patting her on the shoulder. "It's not your fault, and I'm fine, really."

After the distraught girls had been comforted and sent back to their dorms, Snape leaned back in his chair and sighed irritably. "Great," he said. "It could be anyone in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor."

"Surely no one in Gryffindor would do such a thing!" McGonagall protested.

"Your Gryffindors aren't little angels, Minerva," Snape said waspishly. "Do you not recall the rubber rat left on Miss Pettigrew's plate?"

"Yes, but there's a difference between playing a childish prank and actually trying to hurt someone," McGonagall argued.

Sirius flushed, recalling the "prank" he had once played on Snape when they were students. "It might have been a prank that got out of hand," he said. "They might not have thought about the consequences of it, that Dylan could have been seriously injured or even killed. I admit, behaving rashly is a Gryffindor trait."

"Hmm," Snape said, giving Sirius a thoughtful look. It was strange, to no longer feel that familiar rush of anger and hatred at the memory of the Shrieking Shack incident. Lupin smiled at both his best friend and his lover, then moved his chair closer to Snape and laid his head on Snape's shoulder. "Oh, cut that out, Lupin," Snape said, his voice tinged with mingled affection and annoyance. Lupin happily ignored him, and Sirius chuckled.

"It's still possible that someone might have tampered with the ribbons beforehand," Branwen said, smiling at her former students. "Maybe Allegra and Gabrielle didn't notice; they had no reason to be suspicious at the time. Or perhaps someone managed to slip some enchanted ribbons into the supply room before the girls even picked them up. There's a small possibility that the person behind this wasn't targeting Dylan personally, but just Slytherin in general."

"So basically, it could be anyone in the school!" Snape said, throwing his arms up in frustration and inadvertently dislodging Lupin's head from his shoulder.

"Well, I think it would have to be an older student," Branwen said. "From the complexity of the spell, at least a fifth-year, or perhaps a very talented fourth-year." She paused. "Then again, I do recall that even as a first-year, you were able to cast hexes that most seventh-years hadn't even heard of, Severus."

"That's very reassuring, Branwen," Snape said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, Severus," Branwen said sympathetically, "but I'm afraid that there's nothing more we can do, except to keep a close eye on all the students."

"Lovely," Snape muttered.

"What are you going to do to protect my grandson?" Selima demanded. "How do you know that Theodore won't be the target of the next so-called prank? Maybe we should send him to Durmstrang, Severus."

"He's safer here where I can keep an eye on him, Mother," Snape said in a testy voice. "And I'm certainly not sending him to a school that was once run by a former Death Eater! We'll watch the students carefully, as Branwen said, and I'll warn my Slytherins to be careful, and for Dylan and Theodore in particular not to go anywhere alone. And from now on, all the equipment and uniforms should be carefully examined for hexes before the players take the field when playing Quidditch."

He looked over at Dumbledore for approval, and the Headmaster nodded. "Agreed. That sounds like a wise precaution, Severus."

"I hate this," McGonagall sighed. "It feels as if we're back in the old days, when You-Know-Who was still alive, and we were all looking over our shoulders, not knowing from which direction danger would come."

"Voldemort is dead now," Dumbledore said, clasping her hand in a comforting manner. "Hopefully this is nothing more than a childish prank that got out of hand, and after all the commotion it caused, I think the perpetrator might hesitate before trying something like this again."

"I hope so," McGonagall said, but she didn't look convinced and neither did anyone else.
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That night at dinner, Snape walked up to McGonagall and held out a pouch of coins, saying in a loud and sour voice, "Your fifteen Galleons, Professor McGonagall. It seems you won the bet, after all." Although his attention seemed to be fixed on McGonagall, he cast a sidelong glance at the Gryffindor table, and saw the Sloper brothers, Andrew Kirke, Dean Thomas, and Jarrett Jordan smirk smugly. Most of the other Gryffindors looked uncomfortable, and Potter looked angry and guilty, and glared at Thomas.

McGonagall frowned at Snape. "Keep your money, Severus," she said curtly. "The game wasn't won fairly, and we both know it. Let us wager instead on who will win the Quidditch Cup."

"Very well," Snape said, and took his usual seat next to Lupin.

"That wasn't necessary, Severus," Lupin scolded. "You offended Minerva; you should have known that she wouldn't claim the wager under these circumstances."

"I know that, Lupin," Snape said. "I just wanted to see the Gryffindors' reactions. I thought it might help me narrow the list of suspects a little if I could see who was gloating at Slytherin's humiliation."

"Oh," Lupin said sheepishly.

"Will the two of you pipe down?" Lukas asked irritably.

"What's wrong with you, Bleddri?" Snape asked. "You're looking a little green around the gills."

"I'm sick," Lukas replied.

"I thought that werewolves didn't get sick," a puzzled Sirius said. "Or at least, only near the full moon."

"They do when they've consumed the better part of a bottle of Firewhiskey," Lukas muttered. He would have skipped dinner, except that Selima's remark about being a coward had stung, and he didn't want anyone to think he was hiding because of the confrontation with Diggorys.

Snape laughed, then said, "I'll give you a hangover potion after dinner."

Lukas slumped back in his seat. "I guess I won't kill you for laughing at me, then."

Dumbledore took his place at the head table, tapped his glass with his fork to get everyone's attention, and gave thanks that "Mr. Rosier came through this ordeal with only minor injuries. I hope that whoever played this 'prank' on him realizes now what a serious matter this is. Mr. Rosier could easily have been killed, although thank Merlin, he was not." An uneasy silence fell over the room, as the students glanced at one another, wondering who had done it. "Let us not forget the lessons we learned during the war: that we must all stand together. However, I am very proud of the Slytherin and Gryffindor players who worked together to help Mr. Rosier, particularly Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy." He smiled at Harry, whose unhappy expression eased somewhat, and at Draco, who beamed proudly. Then the Headmaster took his seat and allowed dinner to be served.

The hex and the unwanted win still bothered Harry, but his godfather's and the Headmaster's praise mitigated that slightly. He still felt a warm glow inside him when he recalled how Sirius had said that his father would have been proud of him. And Professor Blackmore had come with Sirius to visit Harry before dinner. She had smiled at him tenderly, not looking at all like the demonic teacher that all the students feared, and caressed his cheek gently with one hand. "I am so proud of you, Harry," she had said softly. "When I was teaching at Hogwarts when Sirius and your father were children, I could never have imagined a Gryffindor breaking off a game and possibly losing his chance to win in order to help a Slytherin."

"Maybe my dad would have surprised you," Harry had said loyally. "He did save Snape from Lupin in the Shrieking Shack, after all."

Blackmore had smiled at him. "Perhaps you're right, my dear. In any case, I am proud of you, Harry. You have your father's bravery and your mother's compassion." Then she had kissed him on the forehead, and Harry had suddenly thought to himself that this was what it was like to be kissed by a mother, and his eyes had filled with tears. Sirius had looked alarmed, but Harry had assured him, "It's okay, Sirius. I'm just glad that you and Professor Blackmore are my family now." Both of his godparents had hugged him then, and even Bane had rubbed his head affectionately against Harry's face.

That memory made him smile, and at the same time he felt almost guilty when he realized that he was starting to think of Sirius and Blackmore as his parents now. Was he being disloyal to his real parents? Harry glanced over at the head table, and Sirius caught his eye and grinned and winked at him. Surely his parents would understand, Harry thought, feeling reassured. They had loved Sirius too, and they were the ones who had appointed him as Harry's godfather, after all. It wasn't as if he would forget about his real parents; both Sirius and Blackmore often mentioned James and Lily, saying that they would be proud if they could see him now.

A voice from the Slytherin table startled Harry out of his reverie. "I wonder who hexed Dylan?" Brad Doherty asked loudly.

"I bet it was a Gryffindor!" Patrick Parkinson said.

"It was probably a Slytherin!" Jack Sloper retorted. "Everyone knows that you're a backstabbing lot! And who else knows how to cast Dark Magic?"

"It was probably you lot!" Malcolm Baddock accused. "You used the hex as a distraction so that you could score that goal when no one was looking and win the game! You cheated because you knew you couldn't win if you played fair!"

"Play fair?" Andrew Kirke laughed mockingly. "Oh, that's rich coming from a Slytherin! Who was it that disguised themselves as Dementors to try and scare Harry during a match a few years back?"

"Maybe you or Doherty did it, Baddock," Jack sneered. "Reserve players don't get to play unless a regular player is injured. Maybe you thought you'd take out Rosier to take his place!"

"Shut your trap, Sloper!"

"Why don't you make me, Baddock?"

"Stop it!" a furious Harry said to Jack and Andrew. "Didn't the Headmaster just say that we all have to stand together?"

"If you love the Slytherins so much, Potter, why don't you go over and join them?" Andrew snapped. "It seems like you've suddenly turned into one yourself! You kicked Dean off the team, tried to forfeit the game and give to the snakes..."

"I want to win, but I want to win fair!" Harry shouted.

"Don't you dare talk to Harry that way!" Ron shouted, leaping to his friend's defense. "We'd all be dead or enslaved right now if he hadn't killed Voldemort!"

"Yeah, and you said you had to embrace your Slytherin side to do it," Jack said suspiciously to Harry. "I think maybe you've embraced it a little too much, Potter!"

From the head table, the teachers watched the arguments going on at the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables with worried eyes. Snape sighed wearily, and as the voices grew louder, McGonagall finally threw down her napkin and got up to scold the students and deduct points. At the Ravenclaw table, Stewart and Corbin smirked smugly, and at Hufflepuff, Isabelle feigned a concerned look, but inside she was gloating. Tristan knew he should be glad that Slytherin and Gryffindor were at each other's throats, but his head was still spinning from the revelation that Master Bleddri was the long-lost Diggory heir, and he was too distracted to properly enjoy it.

 

Part 67