Aftermaths, Part 88

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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Meanwhile, Stewart walked over to the refreshments table. He was glad that Snape had left, because it would be much harder to carry out their plan under the Potions Master's watchful eye. He had a little vial stowed away in the sleeve of his robe, and under the guise of ladling out two cups of punch for himself and Isabelle, managed to open the vial and spill the contents into the bowl. Then he casually walked away, handing Isabelle an untainted cup of punch.

Across the room, Susan Bones frowned at them. All the members of the R.A. had been warned about Isabelle's plot, since they couldn't take the chance that one of the members might drink the punch and unintentionally spill the truth about the purpose behind their "history" club.

"I don't know," Susan had said hesitantly. "It seems kind of sneaky, like something the Slytherins would do..."

But Isabelle had used all her powers of persuasion, pointing out that no one would be hurt by the potion, and that it would finally enable them to discover the truth. "If they're really Death Eaters, we'll hear it from their own mouths," she had said enthusiastically. "That's the beauty of it--we don't have to do anything but slip the potion into the punch; they'll incriminate themselves!"

"And you're sure this potion won't make anyone sick?" Susan had asked, still uncertain, but clearly leaning towards going along with the plan.

"Absolutely," Isabelle had promised. "You can look it up in your Potions text: no harmful side effects."

Susan had resisted a little longer, but the lure of learning the truth was too much for her, and she'd reluctantly given in, but she still felt a little guilty about it. She tried to pacify her conscience by telling herself that if there were Death Eater sympathizers among the Slytherins, they deserved to be exposed, and if they were innocent, maybe that would come to light as well, and they could stop worrying.

"Don't worry, Susan," Dean whispered, looking guilty but excited at the same time; the secret mission appealed to his Gryffindor sense of adventure. "We're finally going to learn the truth!"

"Are we?" Susan worried. "The potion will loosen their inhibitions, but we can't question them directly without drawing suspicion on ourselves."

"From the way Draco used to act, I don't think they'll be able to resist bragging about it if they really are Death Eaters," Dean said confidently.

As Susan fretted, several of the students drifted over to the refreshments table to get some punch--Harry, Ginny, Ron, Daphne, Draco, Serafina, Damien, and Parvati among them. The boys poured out cups for their dates, and then for themselves.

Theodore and Blaise came over to say hello to their friends. "You seem to be having a good time," Blaise said with a smile as he got himself a glass of punch.

"I usually don't like parties and dancing," Serafina said, toying with her glass but not drinking from it. Her cheeks were a little pink, but it didn't seem to be from exertion. "But...this isn't so bad."

"Aw, come on, Avery," Draco said with a grin as he drained half of his glass in one gulp. "You're having a good time, admit it!"

Serafina smiled a little. "Well, my mother was very happy that I decided to go to the Ball. She wants a picture of me in my new robe--which shouldn't be too difficult to obtain." A flash of light went off across the room; Colin Creevey was taking photos, although his date, who looked a little annoyed, seemed to be trying to persuade him to stop and dance with her.

"Do you want some punch, Theo?" Blaise asked.

"Nah, I'm not thirsty," Theodore replied. "Where's your mum tonight, Sera? I'd have thought that Dumbledore would invite her to the Ball." He left unspoken the fact that the Headmaster had invited Narcissa so that she wouldn't have to spend Christmas alone.

"She's working tonight," Serafina explained. "Lots of people like to go to The Three Broomsticks to celebrate on Christmas, apparently. But she doesn't mind. She says Madam Rosmerta is very nice to her, so she's happy to help out."

"Yeah, Rosmerta really stood up for her when Ackerley gave her a hard time," Theodore agreed.

"I guess she knew Mother back when she was going to Hogwarts," Serafina said. "My mother and the other Slytherins used to stop by The Three Broomsticks on Hogsmeade days, same as we do now. She says Madam Rosmerta was nice to her back then, too. I think she felt a little sorry for my mother, because my father used to pick on her even when they were still students. They were betrothed by their families when they were still children, so my dad felt he had the right to push her around."

"Madam Rosmerta doesn't look old enough to have been running the inn when our parents were kids," Ron said, looking surprised.

"Some people age well," Parvati said. "I mean, Dumbledore doesn't look like he's a hundred and fifty, does he? And Snape's mother looks awfully young to have a son his age. Besides, there are always Illusion or anti-aging spells, or even just good use of cosmetics."

"I'm sure you'll always be beautiful, Parvati," Damien said, nuzzling her neck; Parvati giggled.

"Get a room, will you?" Theodore scolded good-naturedly. The pair ignored him, and Potter, Weasley, and Draco were also staring at their dates with calf-eyed looks. Theodore was bored, and he wanted to be alone with Blaise, so he said, "Why don't we leave early?"

"But the Ball's just got started," Blaise protested.

"So?" Theodore said, mindful of the other students around them. "It's not like we have dates, so what's the point of hanging around the punch bowl all night?"

"I want to dance," Blaise said.

"Like I said, we don't have dates," Theodore said, frowning.

"I want to dance with you," Blaise clarified.

"Ha ha, very funny, Blaise," Theodore said, nervously glancing at the Gryffindor boys, but they seemed to be preoccupied with their dates, and didn't appear to have noticed Blaise's comment. "Quit joking around."

"I'm not joking!" Blaise insisted. "I want to dance with you!"

"I said, cut it out!" Theodore snapped. "It's not funny."

"What's the big deal?" Blaise demanded. "Snape and Lupin were dancing together earlier."

Blaise sounded serious, and Theodore stared at him suspiciously. "Did someone spike the punch or something?" He snatched Blaise's half-filled cup away from him and sniffed at it, but didn't smell any alcohol. He looked at the other couples and decided that the punch must have been spiked with SOMETHING, because they were all acting very strangely. Well, not Damien and Parvati; they were simply kissing and giggling and flirting, which wasn't really that out of character for them, but Weasley had his arm around Daphne--shy, timid, mousy Greengrass, who was not looking at all shy or embarrassed, but was instead giggling and leaning into his embrace.

"You smell really nice, Daphne," Ron said, his face pressed against her hair. "Like flowers."

"My parents do run a flower shop, after all," Daphne giggled. "My mother makes perfume from flower petals."

"I think you're really pretty," Ron said, a besotted grin on his face. "And you're really nice, for a Slytherin. You're not at all stuck-up."

Daphne giggled again. "Well, you're pretty nice for a Gryffindor, yourself!"

Meanwhile, Harry was blurting out, "You look really pretty tonight, Ginny!"

"So do you, Harry," Ginny said, then laughed and corrected herself, "I mean, you look handsome, not pretty."

"Handsome?" Harry asked in disbelief. "Me? But my hair is always sticking up!"

"I like the way it sticks up," Ginny said. "It makes me want to do this." And she reached up to smooth down his hair.

Harry grinned, suddenly feeling confident and euphoric; he couldn't imagine why he had been so scared to tell Ginny how he felt. "I really like you, Ginny!" he declared loudly.

She beamed at him. "I really like you, too, Harry! I had a crush on you as a little girl, and then I gave up because I knew you only saw me as a kid, but now I really like you, not because you're famous or a hero, but because...because...well, because you stopped fighting with the Slytherins, and you've accepted Lupin's relationship with Snape, and you were nice to Allegra on the train, and you stood up for Portia when those boys were teasing her, and you defended Mrs. Avery in The Three Broomsticks and..." The words had rolled out in one continuous sentence, and she finally had to stop and catch her breath. Then she reached up, grabbed his face, pulled it down, and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

Damien broke off flirting with Parvati long enough to laugh and applaud. "Way to go, Potter!"

"Something's not right!" Theodore said, grabbing Damien's arm. "Don't you see, everyone's acting strangely? We've got to get one of the teachers to check the punch--it's been spiked or drugged or something!"

"You're overreacting, Theo," Damien said. "I drank the punch and I feel fine." He and Parvati grinned at each other. "Better than fine. Just because Ginny planted one on Potter doesn't mean that the punch is spiked. Everyone knows those two have the hots for each other."

"I didn't know that," Theodore said, raising his eyebrows, then quickly shook his head. "Never mind that now! I'm telling you, there's something in the punch, or maybe it was the food--no, then we'd all be affected."

"Come on, Theo," Blaise laughed, tugging on his arm. "Let's go dance!"

Damien and Parvati stared at him in shock. "Uh, okay, maybe you're right about the punch, after all," Damien said. "Draco, what do you--oh!" His jaw dropped as he turned to ask Draco what he thought, and saw that the other boy has his arms wrapped around a bewildered Serafina.

"I never noticed before, Avery--I mean, Sera--is it okay if I call you Sera, like Theodore does?" Draco babbled. "Anyway, I never noticed before how beautiful your eyes are."

"Draco, are you feeling all right?" Serafina asked, squirming nervously in his embrace. "You're not drunk, are you?"

"Drunk on your beauty," he said.

Serafina looked angry and tried to push him away. "Don't make fun of me!"

"But I mean it!" Draco protested earnestly. "I think you're beautiful! And I really, really like you! Not the way I liked Pansy--I never really liked her, I mean, I thought she was okay, but I only went out with her because our parents wanted us to get together, but I wasn't in love with her or anything. Not like I am with you!"

"Wh-what?" Serafina gasped.

"I love you," Draco said, sounding a little surprised, as if he had just realized it himself. "I do. Not just because you look so pretty tonight, but because of the way you comforted me after my father died, and the way you listen to me talk about him all the time. Because you're my friend, and you like ME--just me, Draco, not the heir to the Malfoy estate." Serafina just stood there, staring at him wide-eyed, stunned into speechlessness.

Theodore was still trying to talk to Damien about the spiked punch, but was distracted by the way Blaise kept tugging on his arm. "Come on, Theo, just one dance!" he begged.

Theodore noticed Aric staring at them curiously from across the room, and jerked his arm free. "No!" he said. "My grandmother would have a fit, and so would your parents! It was your idea to keep us a secret until after graduation, remember?"

"Are Theodore and Blaise a couple?" Parvati whispered to Damien.

"Didn't you wonder why neither of them had dates to the Ball?" he whispered back.

She shook her head in consternation, then hit him on the arm. "I'm your girlfriend!" she said indignantly. "How come you never told me?"

"I was sworn to secrecy, my dear," Damien replied dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. "A blood oath between brothers."

"They're not your brothers," Parvati pointed.

"No, but they're my best friends, along with Dylan," Damien explained. "We're like brothers to each other."

"That's very sweet," Parvati sighed. "You're loyal to each other, like Gryffindors."

Damien frowned, wondering if he should be offended. Then he grinned and said, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Pierce is no bloody help at all," Theodore grumbled under his breath as he watched Damien flirt with his girlfriend. He turned back to Blaise and said soothingly, "I think there's some kind of drug in the punch. We've got to get you to the hospital wing and have Madam Pomfrey check you out."

"I want to dance with you," Blaise insisted, looking uncharacteristically stubborn and mulish. He grabbed Theodore's hands and started to drag him onto the dance floor. When Theodore tried to pull away, Blaise snapped, "What's the matter, Theo? Are you ashamed of me?"
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Meanwhile, Snape and Lupin had no clue about what was going on in the Great Hall. Snape was having a grand time blasting apart rose bushes and deducting points. "Twenty points from Ravenclaw, Patil, Boot!" Padma and Terry ran back to the Great Hall, brushing leaves from their robes. He blasted another bush. "Twenty more points from Ravenclaw, Corner and...Chang?" Snape stared in surprise at Cho Chang, who had gradated last June. She smiled sheepishly at him. "Aren't you a little old to be frolicking in the rose bushes now that you're an adult, Miss Chang?" Snape asked, raising his eyebrows.

Cho's face turned crimson. Lupin chuckled softly and said pleasantly, "It's nice to see that you and Michael are still together, Cho."

"Uh, thank you, sir," Cho mumbled, still blushing.

"I don't think you can deduct points from Cho, since she's no longer a student," Lupin said to Snape.

Snape scowled and said grumpily, "Oh, very well! Ten points from Ravenclaw, Corner. Now be off with you!"

The couple didn't wait for a second invitation, and ran back to the Great Hall as fast as they could.

Snape blasted another bush and said, "Ten points from Gryffindor, Carroll, and ten from--" His voice broke off as he realized that the other half of the couple was one of his own Slytherins, Brad Doherty.

"Er, sorry, Professor," Brad said sheepishly, brushing leaves out of his hair.

Lupin poked Snape in the side and said teasingly, "You can't deduct points from Gryffindor and not from Slytherin. That wouldn't be fair."

"Since when was I ever fair, Lupin?" Snape growled. Then he glared at Brad and said, "Though I should deduct points for your stupidity, Doherty. You should know that I always patrol the garden during the Ball."

"We were just going to be out here for a few minutes, but then one thing led to another, and well..." He and Melissa both blushed.

"Oh, just get back inside!" Snape snapped and the couple fled.

Lupin looked around the garden. "That's about it, Severus. I think you've scared away all the amorous students."

"Wait," Snape said, pointing at the far end of the garden, where a rose bush was twitching slightly. He laid his finger across his lips in warning, then stealthily approached the bush, intending to take the students by surprise. Lupin followed along quietly, looking amused. Snape pointed his wand at the bush and blasted it apart, and two voices shrieked, one feminine and one masculine. The masculine voice was much deeper than that of most of the teenage boys at Hogwarts. Snape looked down and his mouth fell open in shock: lying among the remains of the rose bush were Narcissa Malfoy and Lukas Bleddri. Narcissa's hair was no longer in its elegant knot, and Bleddri's was no longer pulled back in a tail; their hair was lying loose across their shoulders in a disheveled manner. Bleddri's torc was askew on his neck, his robe was unfastened, and his shirt was unbuttoned to his waist. The front of Narcissa's gown was unlaced, and one sleeve had been pulled down below her shoulder, exposing much more of her breasts than was seemly for a proper pureblood woman.

"Merlin's Beard!" Snape exclaimed when he was finally able to speak.

"Severus!" Narcissa squealed, throwing her arms across her chest. "Do you mind?!"

"Oh, please," Snape said in a sarcastic voice, rolling his eyes. "We both know what I am. It's not like the sight of you undressed is going to fill me with the urge to ravish you."

Narcissa's face turned as red as the students' had earlier. "Severus!" she screeched.

"Be nice, Sev," Lupin said with a grin, and he and Snape turned their backs while Narcissa and Lukas fastened up their clothes.

"Well, this was rather unexpected," Snape said, beginning to feel a little amused.

"Look who's talking!" Lukas snarled. "It's not like you and Lupin are a likely couple."

"We are NOT a couple!" Narcissa shouted.

"I hope you're decent," Snape said, turning around to face them. They were fully clad again, although their hair was still loose.

"If you're not a couple," Lupin asked reasonably, "then what were you doing in the rose bushes?"

Both Narcissa and Bleddri turned red. "It was a moment of madness," Narcissa said.

"Pure animal lust," Lukas said.

"On your part, definitely," Narcissa sneered.

"You were the one who was embracing an animal, Lady Malfoy," Lukas sneered back. She slapped him in the face, and he just laughed. "You call that a slap?" he taunted. "It doesn't even sting."

"Why, you..." Narcissa fumed.

"But don't worry, Narcissa," Lukas said mockingly. "I won't tell anyone that you were rolling around in the bushes with a wolf. After all, I wouldn't want anyone to know that I was rolling around in the bushes with a snooty, shallow pureblood bitch!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Lupin cried, looking upset. Their sniping reminded him uncomfortably of the way that Severus has always fought with and insulted him when they were students. "Perhaps you're saying such hurtful things to each other to cover up the fact that you're scared."

"Scared?" Lukas scoffed. "Of what?"

"Of your attraction to each other, of course," Lupin replied. He crossed his arms and gave them a stern look. "And don't try to tell me that you're not attracted to each other, not after what I just saw."

Narcissa and Lukas both flushed again. "It was a purely physical attraction, that's all," Lukas insisted.

"A moment of madness," Narcissa repeated. "It won't happen again."

"Most definitely not!" Lukas agreed.

"Right," Snape said skeptically. He'd lived in denial long enough to recognize it in others.

Lukas glared at Snape and turned to leave, but Lupin stopped him. "Er...your hair, Lukas," Lupin said, motioning to the other werewolf's long, loose blond hair. Lukas cursed under his breath and began rooting through the remains of the rose bush for his hair ribbon. Lupin took out his wand and summoned the ribbon to his hand with a cry of, "Accio!" He smiled sweetly and held out the ribbon to Lukas, who snatched it out of his hand without a "thank you" and stomped off in the direction of the Great Hall.

Narcissa knotted her hair up again, looking around for her hairpins, and Lupin helpfully summoned those as well. "Thank you, Remus," she said, blushing, and secured the knot in place with the hairpins. "I...I don't know what came over me. One moment we were fighting, and the next..." Her blush grew deeper. "Maybe it's because I haven't, well, been with anyone since Lucius died. Before that, even...we only saw each other at Death Eater meetings after he broke out of Azkaban and..."

"I don't need to know the details of your sex life, Narcissa," Snape said hastily, not really wanting to hear any more. "You're an adult, and it's none of my business who you sleep with. Though I'd suggest being a little more discreet next time."

"Please don't tell Draco," Narcissa begged. "He says he hates Lucius, but I know that a part of him still loves his father. I know he'd react badly to this, and it's not like it's ever going to happen again..."

"We won't say anything," Snape promised. "As I said, it's none of our business. But you'd better hope that none of the students noticed you heading off into the bushes together."

"You could do worse than Lukas," Lupin said. "He may be a bit rough around the edges, but he's a good man."

"And it's possible that he could soon become Lord of the Diggory estate," Snape pointed out with pureblood practicality. "Of course the Diggorys aren't as wealthy as the Malfoys, but they're old blood, and the estate is still worth a respectable amount."

"And Draco likes him," Lupin added.

"That doesn't mean that he would accept Bleddri as a potential stepfather," Snape said, frowning. "I think Narcissa's right about how he feels about Lucius--"

"I am not going to marry that werewolf!" Narcissa cried, looking horrified. "So quit talking like that! It was nothing more than...than lust, a brief moment of passion! I haven't been with a man in months, and I doubt that the werewolf has women beating down his door--"

"I told you, I don't want to hear about it!" Snape complained.

"All I'm saying is that it was merely a physical reaction, nothing more!" Narcissa continued almost frantically. "It won't happen again!"

"That would be a pity," Lupin murmured.

Snape just said, "Fine, fine," in a placating tone. He couldn't really care less whether Narcissa and Bleddri got together or not, and it probably wouldn't work out anyway, Lupin's romantic notions notwithstanding. Narcissa was too high-maintenance for someone like Bleddri, and she was too much of a pureblood to openly take a werewolf as a lover. Sleeping with a werewolf was a far greater sin than being a Death Eater in the eyes of the pureblood elite. They could understand and perhaps forgive a former Death Eater's desire for power--which was a Slytherin trait, after all--but they would never forgive a pureblood for tainting the blood line, for betraying their blood.

Narcissa started to head back to the Great Hall, but Snape stopped her. "People might start wondering if you walk back in right after Bleddri does, especially when you both look so upset. Wait a few minutes, and use the time to compose yourself, so that it does not seem so obvious. If anyone asks, just say that you quarreled with the werewolf and took a walk in the garden to cool down."

"Yes, that seems wise," Narcissa agreed. "Thank you, Severus."

"Well then, we'll see you back in the castle."
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Snape and Lupin walked back into the Great Hall to find that pandemonium had erupted. There were students kissing, and teachers hurrying over to separate them; it seemed that Snape had not needed to go looking in the rose bushes to find amorous couples! One of the couples was--Potter and Miss Weasley?! And even more astounding, Mr. Weasley and Miss Greengrass! Other students were exclaiming in surprise and pointing, but their attention seemed to be focused not on the kissing couples, but on Theodore and Blaise.

"Are you ashamed of me?" Blaise was shouting at Theodore.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Theodore hissed, his face turning red. "And stop shouting, people are staring! If Lady Selima hears about--"

"Oh right, we mustn't offend Lady Selima," Blaise said, his face set in an expression of bitterness that neither his friends nor Snape had ever seen before. "Tell me Theo, what are you more ashamed of--the fact that I'm a boy, or the fact that I'm a Zabini? The Zabinis, once a powerful family, now fallen on hard times and little better than paupers, reduced to running a junk shop. Isn't that what everyone says about us? Am I not good enough for you now that you're a Snape?"

"You idiot!" Theodore shouted, then grabbed Blaise, and kissed him hard on the mouth, right in front of everyone in the Hall. "Does that answer your question?" he asked, his face expressionless, then turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

A dead silence fell over the crowd, and Blaise stood there, looking stunned. No one moved for what seemed like a very long time, then Aric broke the spell by laughing out loud. He was shocked but delighted by this unexpected revelation; he was sure he could find some way to use it against his cousin. If nothing else, Theo would become an object of ridicule and scorn among the pureblood elite.

"Who would've thought Theo was queer?" Aric laughed. "No wonder he didn't have a date to the Ball!"

His own date gave him a look of contempt. "Oh, shut up, Aric," Yvonne said in a disgusted voice.

Blaise looked up nervously at Snape, expecting to see anger on his face, but his teacher looked as stunned as everyone else. "Pr...Professor," he stammered, "I...I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He remembered trying to drag Theodore onto the dance floor, remembered not caring what anyone thought, but the memory was blurry and removed, like something from a dream, and Theodore's kiss had acted like a splash of cold water in the face, bringing him back to reality. He felt sick to his stomach when he realized the trouble this would cause when word got back to his family and to Lady Selima--and word was bound to get out--and when he thought of the horrible things he had just said to Theo.

Damien, his normally mischievous face looking pale and grave, came up to Snape and handed him a cup of punch. "Theodore said that Blaise--that all of us were acting weird. He said he thought that there was something in the punch."

Snape flicked his wrist, swirling the punch in the glass, and sniffed at it. "Well, I'll have to perform some tests to be sure, but judging from the reaction of those who imbibed it, I have a pretty good idea of what was in the punch." He looked at Potter, Greengrass, and the Weasley siblings, who were all looking confused and embarrassed now. Draco still had his arms around Serafina, and he suddenly turned red and hastily let go of her. "Did all of you drink the punch?" Snape asked, and they all nodded or muttered in the affirmative except for Serafina.

Dumbledore and McGonagall hurried over to his side. "Severus, has someone drugged the students?" McGonagall asked anxiously. "Are they in any danger?"

"If it's what I think it is, no," Snape replied.

"And what do you think it is?" McGonagall asked, a bit impatiently.

"A form of Truth Potion," Snape replied.

"Veritaserum?" Lupin asked in surprise.

Snape shook his head. "No, I don't think any of the students would be able to obtain or make it--well, except possibly Dylan and Miss Granger. But someone under the influence of Veritaserum appears emotionless, and this clearly had the opposite effect. I think this is something much weaker, not so much a Truth Potion per se, but something to loosen one's normal inhibitions. It's sometimes referred to as the Potion of Liberation."

"And this potion has no dangerous side effects?" McGonagall persisted.

"That particular potion does not, but I'll have to test it to make sure it really is a Potion of Liberation," Snape replied.

Madam Pomfrey had joined them. "Is there an antidote that needs to be administered?" she asked.

"No, the effects seem to be wearing off already," Snape said, then asked the children, "Do any of you feel sick? Any dizziness, pain, or nausea?" Looking very subdued, they all shook their heads. "Then I think it's safe to send them back to their dorms--except for you, Mr. Zabini." He glared at Aric, who was still chortling to himself. "And you, Mr. Dietrich!"

"Me?" Aric asked, startled, then realized that Snape was staring at him suspiciously. "Why do I always get the blame for everything?"

Theodore's friends were regarding him with equal suspicion. "You did this, didn't you?" Blaise accused. "To get back at Theo because you thought he was behind the Porvora prank!"

"Hey, don't blame me, lover boy!" Aric protested. "I had no idea that you and Theo were such a hot item!"

"I do not want to hear another word out of your mouth until I give you leave to speak, Mr. Dietrich," Snape said, and his voice was so cold and dangerous that Aric immediately fell silent. "In my office," he said, and turned to leave.

"What if it's not a Potion of Liberation?" Madam Pomfrey asked, looking worried.

"Then I will discover what it is, and prepare any necessary antidotes," Snape replied calmly.

"Since they don't seem to be feeling ill," Dumbledore said, "I don't think that the students need to go to the hospital wing just yet. But perhaps they should return to their dorms, where we can easily find and treat them, if necessary."

"And question them," Snape growled.

"The Ball is over," Dumbledore said, raising his voice, and the students groaned in disappointment. "All students, please line up in an orderly fashion so that your Heads of House may escort you back to your dorms." They obeyed, although some of them were grumbling under their breath.

"If you want to blame someone for your curtailed evening," Snape snarled, "you can blame the person who thought it would be amusing to put Truth Potion in the punch." The students began looking around at each other, trying to determine who had done it. "And you may be sure that the prankster will punished most severely," Snape added, looking mightily wroth, and the students shuddered.

"I wouldn't want to be in that person's shoes when Snape catches him," Seamus muttered, and Dean tried not to look guilty.

"I will see the Slytherins back to the dungeon," Branwen volunteered, and Snape's anger eased just a little.

"Thank you, Branwen," he said, then ordered in a curt voice, "Mr. Zabini, Mr. Dietrich, come with me--oh, and Dietrich, make yourself useful and carry that bowl of punch." Aric was still cowed enough to obey without objection.

"Professor?" Dylan asked hesitantly. "Can I come with you? This affects Theo, and Theo is my brother now..."

"Very well, Mr. Rosier," Snape agreed, and stalked out of the Hall, the three boys following meekly in his wake.

Before going after them, Lupin stopped to ask Lukas, "By any chance, did you and Narcissa drink the punch tonight?"

"I only wish I could use that as an excuse," Lukas said gloomily.

Lupin smiled and patted him on the shoulder, but was too worried to take as much amusement in his friend's predicament as he normally would have. He quickly left the Hall and hurried after Snape and the boys.

 

Part 89