Aftermaths, Part 78

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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"You'd better hurry up and find a date to the Ball, Ron," Harry told his friend. "Unless you want to go stag."

"I don't know who to ask," Ron said morosely. He'd finally accepted that he and Hermione were never going to be a couple, but he had no idea who to ask to the Ball. No other girl had really caught his fancy.

"Well, what about Luna?" Hermione suggested.

"Loony Lovegood?" Ron asked, making a face.

"Don't be mean!" Hermione scolded. "She's a little odd, but she's a nice girl, and she really likes you."

Ron thought that he really had better find himself a date before Hermione tried to set him up with Luna. He sat in Potions class and looked over his female classmates. Padma still held a grudge about the way he had neglected her at the Ball back in fourth year, so she was out. And of course the Slytherin girls, Pansy and Millicent were out, and besides, they already had dates. Hmm...Lisa Turpin was very pretty, and she was quiet and soft-spoken, not too intimidating to talk to.

"Mr. Weasley!" Snape said sharply, and Ron jumped and looked up to see the Potions Master glaring down at him. "Your potion is about to boil over while you are daydreaming."

"Oh...sorry," Ron said, and quickly turned down the fire and added the next set of ingredients.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your inattention," Snape said, looking very pleased with himself. Well, at least he'd made somebody's day, and it all turned out even in the end, because Snape grudgingly awarded five points to Hermione for her potion later.

A perfect opportunity presented itself, as Lisa dropped her bookbag as they exited the class, and she waved for Padma to go on ahead. "Go on," she said. "I'll catch up with you in a minute." And as Padma was busy flirting with Terry Boot, she nodded and went on ahead without arguing.

Ron stopped to help Lisa pick up her books and she smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Ron."

"No problem," he replied. "Er...say, Lisa, I was wondering...?"

"Yes?"

"Um...would you like to go the Yule Ball with me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ron," Lisa said. "I'm very flattered, but I'm afraid that someone else has already has asked me."

"Who?" Ron asked curiously.

"Neville," Lisa replied.

"Really?" Ron blurted out, then realized it sounded a bit insulting. But while Neville was a nice guy, he was certainly no ladies' man like Dylan Rosier, whom Lisa had dated before. Well, neither was Ron, for that matter...

"Really," Lisa replied pleasantly. "We've been spending a lot of time together discussing plans for building cauldrons. He has a lot of interesting ideas, and I'm planning to apprentice with Damien's father when I graduate. Well, thanks for helping me pick up my books, Ron. See you around."

Ron sighed. "Now what?" he asked himself. Well, Hannah Abbott was in his class, too, and she was kind of cute.

But when he managed to track down Hannah between classes, she said, "Oh, thanks for asking, Ron, but I'm already going with Ernie."

Ron silently groaned. There was a sixth-year Gryffindor girl who was a friend of his sister, Melissa Carroll, who seemed nice enough. And she was kind of shy, so hopefully she didn't have a date yet.

But it turned out she did. "Thank you, Ron," she said, "but Brad already asked me."

"Brad?" Ron asked.

"Brad Doherty," she replied.

"He's a Slytherin!" Ron exclaimed.

Melissa frowned at him. "I'm aware of that," she said in a much cooler voice. "But he's very nice. We partner together in Professor Lupin's class a lot."

Harry was right; he had waited too long. Finally he gave in to the inevitable, and went to ask Luna Lovegood to the Ball.

"Why, I'm very flattered that you asked, Ronald," Luna said, with that usual dreamy look in her eyes. "But I'm afraid that I already have a date."

"What?" Ron cried. "Who's your date?"

"Vincent," she replied serenely.

"Vincent?" Ron asked, puzzled.

Crabbe walked up to Luna and put an arm around her. "You snooze, you lose, Weasley," he said, grinning smugly.

Ron turned and headed back to the Gryffindor dorm, his face hot with embarrassment. Turned down even by Loony Lovegood--how humiliating! "I guess I will have to go stag, after all," he mumbled gloomily.

He happened to run into Goyle at that very moment. "If it makes you feel better, Weasley," Goyle told him glumly, "I don't have a date, either. It's even worse this year, since Crabbe does."

"How did he and Luna ever get together?" Ron demanded.

Goyle shrugged. "The three of us have been working together a lot with Hagrid's Thestrals," he replied, "and I guess the two of them just hit it off."

Ron walked down the halls, muttering and groaning to himself. He passed by Pansy and Millicent along the way, who gave him puzzled looks. "What's wrong with Weasley?" Millicent asked. "People usually don't break down until the N.E.W.T.s get closer."

"It's not the N.E.W.T.s," Goyle informed them. "He's depressed 'cause he doesn't have a date to the Ball."

"Hmm," said Pansy, and she and Millicent looked at each other thoughtfully.

Back at the Slytherin dorm, the students were eagerly chattering about their holiday plans. Most of them were staying over during the vacation for the Ball. Even Aric was going to the Ball, with Yvonne, although he looked a bit pained when she prattled on endlessly to him about what her dress was going to look like.

"Please, Yvonne," he said desperately. "Just surprise me, okay? Like--like getting a Christmas present, right? You don't want to peek at it ahead of time because it would ruin the surprise."

"Oh, that's so romantic!" Yvonne declared, and Aric sighed in relief when she ran off to giggle with some of her girlfriends.

Theodore snickered, and Aric scowled at him. "Oh, shut up, Theo! You don't even have a date!"

Theodore just grinned, for once not taking offense at his cousin's insults. "Yeah, and I think I'm better off than you!"

Aric just grunted, because he wasn't sure that Theo was wrong.

Only one person did not seem caught up in the excitement over the Ball. Pansy and Millicent looked over to see Daphne sitting in the corner quietly, reading a book, ignored by her housemates, and ignoring them in turn.

"I have an idea," Pansy said, and whispered it into Millicent's ear. They went to their room, and Pansy pulled some stationary out of her desk.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Millicent asked dubiously. "Weasley hates Slytherins."

"Not really," Pansy said. "He hung out with Dylan and Theodore during the summer. And I hear that he went to comfort Daphne after she ran out of Physical Defense class the day she smacked Draco. You know guys--they're a sucker for a helpless girl."

"And why are we playing cupid for Weasley and Greengrass?" Millicent wanted to know.

"What Granger said made me feel a little bad," Pansy admitted. "We were a little mean to Greengrass. Well, not really mean, but we've always ignored her."

"As you said, she's not in our social circle."

"Yeah, but technically, neither is Lupin," Pansy pointed out. "And neither is Justin. All that blood purity stuff doesn't seem so important now." She grinned. "And since I'm soon to be disowned for dating a Muggle-born, I feel like helping a fellow outcast. Or maybe I'm just caught up in the Christmas spirit!"

"If we want to help Greengrass, why don't we set her up with a Slytherin guy?" Millicent asked.

"Because she's scared of most of them," Pansy replied. "And most of them wouldn't want to date a girl whose blood might not be pure. Weasley doesn't care about stuff like that, so she's better off dating a Gryffindor. Besides, she looked a lot more cheerful when she came back to the dorm after he comforted her that day, so I think she kind of likes him. And when you think about it, he's a good catch: he's a pureblood, and he's the son of the Minister of Magic."

"I don't know if this will work, but it should be interesting to watch," Millicent said.
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A little origami bird made its way into Gryffindor Tower and fluttered into Ron's room where he was studying. He unfolded it and saw a brief message written in a neat, feminine script:

Dear Ron,

Would you like to go to the Ball with me? If your answer is yes, please don't answer this letter directly. Slytherin girls aren't supposed to ask boys out, and I'm a little embarrassed about being so bold. Will you please pretend to ask me out, so that I won't lose face in front of my housemates? I'll be waiting for your answer, or hopefully, your question.

Love,
Daphne
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"I still say signing it 'Love' was laying it on a bit thick," Millicent told Pansy the next morning. "She's too timid to sign a letter 'Love'. She's too timid to send a letter in the first place."

"Weasley's too thick to realize that," Pansy said, unconcerned. "He'll be too flattered to think straight, trust me. It's not like he has a lot of girls chasing after him, and Daphne is pretty, for a mouse. Prettier than Lovegood, certainly."

They gleefully noticed that Weasley seemed nervous and flustered in DADA class, and kept glancing over at Daphne. She caught him looking her way and gave him a quick, timid smile, and he blushed and looked away.

"Like taking candy from a baby," Pansy whispered to Millicent. After class was over they ducked down a side corridor and lingered behind to see what happened.

Weasley and Greengrass were the last two students to leave the classroom. "Uh, Daphne," he said as they walked down the hall.

"Yes, Ron?"

He took a deep breath.

"What's he so nervous about?" Millicent asked. "He already knows the answer, or thinks he does, anyway!"

"Shh!" hissed Pansy. "They'll hear you!"

"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Daphne blinked and stared at him in surprise. "With you?"

"Who else?" Weasley asked with a knowing grin. "If you won't 'lose face' by going with a Gryffindor."

Daphne smiled, looking puzzled but flattered. "You really want to go with me?"

"Yes," he said firmly, "I do."

The two girls hiding in the corridor held their breath while they waited for Daphne's reply.

"Thank you, Ron, I would love to."

"Great!" Weasley said. "I've got Potions class now, but I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," Daphne said, still looking a bit puzzled, but Weasley was apparently too euphoric to notice. He ran towards the dungeon, whistling cheerfully. Daphne shrugged, and continued on to her next class.

Pansy and Millicent emerged from the side corridor, laughing. "We did it!" Pansy said triumphantly.

"Did what?" Lupin asked pleasantly.

The two girls jumped. "Ah...nothing, Professor," Pansy said hastily.

"It's a...surprise," Millicent added quickly. "A Christmas surprise."

"Then I won't ask," Lupin said, giving them a wink. "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. But you'd better hurry, or you'll be late for Potions. You know how grumpy Professor Snape gets when his students are late. And life is much more pleasant for me when Professor Snape is in a good mood." He winked at them again.

"Yes, Professor!" they said, and ran off to Potions class. Lupin chuckled and returned to his own classroom.
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Goyle was in the library, doing some research for Incantations class, when he happened to see Allegra Zabini sitting at a table with three of her Gryffindor friends.

"It's so unfair that only fourth-years on up can go to the Yule Ball!" she was complaining. "Why can't younger students attend? I can't believe it's my first year at Hogwarts and they're having a Ball and I can't even go! They don't hold a Yule Ball every year; what if they never have another one before I graduate? I might never get to go to the Ball!"

Her friends made sympathetic noises, and they seemed disappointed too, but not nearly as distraught as Allegra sounded. She looked so sad that Goyle walked over and said, "A younger student can go to the Ball if an older student asks them. Would you like to go with me, Allegra?"

Allegra's face lit up with joy. "Really? Do you mean that, Goyle?"

"Sure," he said.

"But wouldn't you like to go with a girl your own age?" Allegra asked. "Don't you have a girlfriend or something?"

Goyle shook his head ruefully. "No, I don't have a girlfriend, and I couldn't get a date to a Ball. So it's okay. I figured that even if I can't get a real date, at least I could make you happy."

Allegra beamed at him. "Well then, thank you, Goyle! Thank you so much! I can't understand why no one would want to go with you; you're such a nice guy! Say--why does everyone always call you by your last name?"

"Uh, I don't know," Goyle replied. "Malfoy's always called me that, and I guess it just stuck. No one calls me and Crabbe by our first names except for our families and Lupin and now Luna."

"Well, it seems kind of rude to always be calling you by your last name," Allegra said, "especially since you're my date to the Ball. Is it okay if I call you 'Greg'?"

Goyle shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Thanks, Greg!" Allegra pulled up a chair and stood on it, in order to get high enough to kiss Goyle on the cheek. "Boy, I can't wait to tell Blaise that I'm going to the Ball!" She ran out of the library, and her three friends ran after her, all of them laughing and giggling and squealing excitedly.

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Madam Pince called after them.

Allegra ran down to the dungeon and stood outside the entrance to the Slytherin dorm, shouting, "Blaise! Hey Blaise, are you in there? Come out, I want to talk to you!"

A moment later Blaise emerged, saying, "What are you shouting about? Do you want to get detention from Professor Snape?"

"Guess what, Blaise? I'm going to the Ball!"

Blaise gave her a puzzled frown. "You're too young, Allegra; you have to be at least a fourth-year--"

"Unless an older student asks you! And Goyle--I mean Greg--asked me to go to the Ball with him. Isn't that great?"

"He WHAT?!" shouted Blaise.

"He asked me to go to the Ball with him," Allegra obligingly repeated.

"Where is he?" Blaise demanded.

"Well, he was in the library last I saw," Allegra replied, giving her brother a quizzical look. Blaise took off running down the hall. "What's wrong with him?" Allegra asked. "I thought he'd be happy for me."

"Er...he is, Allegra," Theodore said. "He just...ah..."

"Wants to thank Goyle for inviting you," Dylan finished smoothly. "Now, why don't we go over to Gryffindor, and talk to Parvati about finding you an outfit for the Ball?"

"Okay," Allegra said happily, then looked worried. "I don't know if my parents can afford to buy me a new robe. I asked for one of those toy wolf cubs for Christmas, and I don't think they can afford both." She sighed. "Maybe if I gave up the wolf cub..."

"We'll work something out," Dylan promised.

"I have lots of party dresses at home," Portia said. "You can borrow one; I'll have Mummy owl it over."

"Thank you, Portia!" Allegra said, giving her friend a hug. "You're the best!"

Portia flushed with pleasure, and her flush grew even deeper when Dylan smiled at her and said, "Allegra is lucky to have such good friends." They headed off to Gryffindor Tower, and Theodore ran after Blaise.
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Blaise ran into Goyle on his way back from the library. Without warning, he grabbed the bigger boy by the front of his robes and slammed him up against the wall. "What do you think you're doing, asking my sister to the Ball?!" he demanded. "She's eleven years old!"

"Z-Zabini?" Goyle stammered.

By this time, Theodore had caught up with them, and grabbed Blaise and tried to haul him off of Goyle. "Have you gone insane?" he cried. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

But Goyle seemed more stunned than angry, regarding the normally meek and quiet Slytherin boy with the bewildered air of a St. Bernard being attacked by a chihuahua.

"I'm sure that Goyle isn't trying to put the moves on your sister," Theodore said placatingly.

"Of course not!" Goyle said indignantly. "I'm not a child molester, Zabini!"

"Then why did you ask her to the Ball?" Blaise asked suspiciously.

"Because I felt sorry for her, you moron!" Goyle told him. "She's a cute little kid, and she's always nice to me; makes me wish I had a little sister myself. She was talking about how she wished she could go to the Ball, and she sounded so wistful. I haven't got a date, so I figured why not make her happy?" He gave Blaise a reproving look. "You know, Zabini, you could have taken her yourself, since it's not like you have a date to the Ball, either." He glanced over at Theodore. "At least, not an official one."

Blaise released his hold on Goyle's robes. "I didn't think of that," he said sheepishly.

"Look, if you'd rather take her yourself, that's fine," Goyle said. "I was just trying to be nice."

"No," Blaise said, "Allegra will probably be hurt if you un-invite her. Will you please take her to the Ball? I'm really sorry I jumped to conclusions and lost my temper."

"It's okay, Zabini," Goyle said magnanimously, brushing off his robes. "I forgive you."

"Well, thank you for being nice to Allegra," Blaise said. "You're right; I should've realized she'd want to go."

"No problem," Goyle said. "She's a good kid."

Goyle continued on his way, and Theodore gave Blaise a sardonic smile. "Boy, I've never seen you go into overprotective big-brother mode like that before. I hate to see what you're going to be like when Allegra is old enough to really start dating."

Blaise groaned. "I don't even want to think about it!"

Theodore grinned. "Even now, she's a pretty little girl. In a few years, she'll be beating the boys off with sticks."

"I think I'll lock her in a tower until she's thirty," Blaise grumbled. Theodore laughed, and they headed back to the dorm.

 

Part 79