Aftermaths, Part 90

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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Theodore and Blaise showed up at the Potions Master's quarters in the morning, looking subdued and tired (due to the fact that they had not gotten much sleep, trying to make the most of their last night together). Dylan also chose to accompany them, to support his brother.

Snape thought it would be best if they talked in private before facing the gossip that was sure to buzzing all around the Great Hall during breakfast, so he had the house-elves deliver trays of food to his quarters. He motioned for the boys to help themselves to the food, and everyone filled their plates, grabbed cups of tea, and gathered in the parlor. The boys sat on the couch, Snape took the large, overstuffed chair beside the fireplace, and Lupin perched on the arm of the chair next to Snape.

"You're going to fall off, Lupin," Snape said in a slightly testy voice.

"My sense of balance is very good," Lupin informed him. Then he smiled mischievously and leaned down to whisper into Snape's ear, "Would you prefer that I sit in your lap? That would be much more secure."

"NO!" Snape bellowed, causing Lupin to laugh and the boys to jump. Flushing, Snape turned to the boys and said curtly, "Eat. Believe me, you're going to need your strength before the day is over."

They obeyed, although Blaise and Theodore were too anxious to have much of an appetite. Snape told his son, "You know that I'll have to separate the two of you. I'm moving Dylan into your room, and Blaise in with Damien."

"Yes, Father," Theodore said meekly. "Blaise already told me."

Snape hesitated, then added gruffly, "I'd just like to make it clear that I have to do this because of school regulations, and it has nothing to do with my opinion of your...er...relationship. You're nearly an adult, and you are free to choose your own friends and lovers without asking my permission." Snape scowled at Dylan. "Mr. Rosier certainly hasn't bothered asking for permission to date Miss Granger."

Dylan grinned, and Theodore smiled a little, although he still looked worried. "Yes, Father. Thank you. But what about Grandmother?"

Snape sighed. "We'll need to go home and explain what happened, before she hears the gossip from someone else." He grimaced. "A conversation that I'm not looking forward to. But I will make it clear that she has no say in the matter. I am the Lord of the Snape family--by her own doing--and only the Lord has the power to disown an heir. Which, needless to say, I will not do."

"What about the Zabinis?" Lupin asked.

Snape sighed again. "We'll have to call them in for a conference. It would be best to get that over with today, too." He cursed under his breath as he tried to figure out which irate family members to deal with first. The Zabinis, he finally decided. Marius and Olivia would be furious, of course, but they were nowhere near as intimidating as his mother. "Well, I suppose we should contact your father before he leaves for work, Zabini," he said, but a second later, his plans were altered.

"SEVERUS SNAPE!" a very angry and familiar voice screamed from outside the door.

"That was fast," Snape muttered, his face filled with both annoyance and dread at the same time. "I didn't think the students would be able get the owls out so soon. They were supposed to have been confined to their dorms all night; someone must have gone to the Owlery at the break of dawn."

"Severus!" Dumbledore's voice called from the fireplace. "Your mother is on her way to see you."

"Thanks for the warning, Albus," Snape said sarcastically, then got up to let his mother in.

"You tricked me!" Selima shouted, her black eyes blazing with fury.

"About what, Mother?" Snape asked coolly.

"Don't play dumb with me, Severus!" his mother spat. "Priscilla Parkinson called me this morning, just gloating with the news that your son was kissing another boy at the Ball last night!"

Snape shrugged. "At least my son is dating a pureblood Slytherin, not a Muggle-born, like her granddaughter is."

"Do you think this is funny?!" Selima screamed.

With long practice, Snape managed to keep up his pose of cool indifference instead of cringing before his mother's wrath. "In what way did I trick you, Mother?"

"You knew, didn't you?" Selima asked accusingly. "That Theodore was...was..."

"Choose your words with care, Mother," Snape said in a soft, deadly voice, his fear of his mother replaced by a fierce protectiveness of his son.

"That he was like you and Lupin," Selima finished, glaring at him.

Getting between two angry Snapes was the last thing that Theodore wanted to do, but he felt obligated, as this was partly his fault. "Please, Grandmother," he said, rising from his seat to step between them, "don't blame Father. He didn't know." This was technically not a lie, since Blaise said that Snape and Lupin had only "suspected" the truth about them.

Selima glared at Theodore, and Snape gently pushed him aside. "I did not lie to you, Mother. You never asked me about Theodore's sexual preferences."

"Don't play semantics with me, Severus!" Selima shouted. "You knew that we wanted an heir for the purpose of carrying on the Snape bloodline!"

"And I gave you an heir," Snape replied. "I made no promises about him marrying and siring an heir of his own." He smiled maliciously as Selima spluttered with anger. "You neglected to follow your own rules, Mother. Didn't you once tell me that a merchant always sets down the precise terms of a contract in writing? I have abided by the letter of our agreement: that I would be reinstated as the Snape heir if I adopted Theodore."

"Grandmother," Theodore tried again, "he really didn't know. I never told him--"

"You need not take the blame, Theodore," Snape said, waving him off. "You never told me, but Lupin suspected, and he shared that information with me."

Selima was speechless with rage, and Lupin stepped forward and said softly, "I told you once before that Severus was only adopting Theodore to give him a family, not because of the inheritance. Did you not believe me?"

Selima turned on Theodore. "You promised to uphold the honor of the Snape family!"

"Leave him alone!" Snape snarled. "Thanks to your own efforts, I am Lord now, and I decide what is or isn't honorable in this family! And don't even think about suggesting that he be disowned!"

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Lady Selima," Theodore said quietly. "Father is the one who controls who will be heir, but if you feel I have dishonored you, I will return your gift to you." He slipped the heir's ring off his finger and held it out to Selima. His dark green eyes looked sad and anxious, and his hand trembled slightly as he offered her the ring.

Selima's anger receded slightly, to be replaced by a look of uncertainty as she stared at him, hesitating over whether to take the ring or not. She just stood there, neither accepting nor refusing it, and Snape was startled. His mother was always firm and decisive; he had never seen her dither or vacillate before.

Blaise got up to stand beside his lover. "Please, Lady Selima," he said softly. "Don't be angry at Theodore. It was all my fault."

"No, it wasn't," Theodore objected.

Selima turned her gaze upon Blaise. "And you are the boy who caused all this commotion?" she asked.

"Yes, Lady Selima," he replied.

"It's not his fault!" Theodore insisted.

Selima ignored him, staring intently at Blaise. "What is your name, boy?"

"Blaise Zabini, ma'am," he said politely.

Selima stared at him in silence for a very long time; long enough that Blaise started to squirm nervously under her gaze. The expression on her face, oddly enough, was pensive rather than angry.

"You look much like your grandfather, child," she finally said.

"You know my grandfather?" Blaise asked in surprise.

Something suddenly clicked in Lupin's mind. "Why, Lady Selima, is Blaise's grandfather your old flame?" he blurted out.

"WHAT?!" cried Snape, Blaise, Theodore, and Dylan in unison. As for Lady Selima, she blushed like a schoolgirl.

"Prospero Zabini is your old flame?" Snape asked incredulously. "The mysterious suitor you rejected in favor of my father?"

Selima did not answer, but her face turned even redder, which seemed confirmation enough. She stared at Blaise and Theodore a little longer, then sighed, "Very well."

"Excuse me?" Snape asked in confusion.

"Very well," Selima repeated. "I give up. I have fulfilled my duty; I secured an heir for the next generation. What happens after that is your responsibility, Severus, not mine."

"Y-you...you mean...that I...that Blaise and I..." Theodore stammered.

"You mean that you'll let Theo and Blaise continue their relationship?" Dylan asked eagerly.

Selima gave him a faint smile that was a little bitter, yet somehow not entirely unhappy. "I don't see that I have much choice. It isn't up to me; it's up to Severus."

"Then...should I..." Theodore stared down at the ring he was still holding.

Selima sighed again, then said in a resigned voice, "Keep it. It is the heir's ring, after all, and you are still the heir. Your father has outsmarted me." When Theodore still looked at her anxiously, she relented and gave him something that might have been a smile if it hadn't looked more sad and wistful than happy. "There's a certain irony in this, I suppose--my grandson and Prospero's finding happiness together when we could not." She gave him a serious and intent, though not angry, look. "But be sure that this is what you really want. This is not some romantic tale in a book; this is real life. You will be reviled and scorned by many people. You will likely never be able to get a position in the Ministry, nor any other position of influence and power. And when the first flush of young love wears off and you tire of each other, you may find that it is too late to change your mind and find a bride willing to marry you, once you have made such a scandal of yourself."

"I won't change my mind," Theodore said resolutely. "This isn't just some whim. I loved Blaise for years as a friend, even before I fell in love with him. I am aware of the consequences, and I am prepared to face them."

"And you?" Selima asked Blaise. "Are you prepared? Theodore at least has the Snape title and wealth to shield him; you do not. If he abandons you, you will have nothing."

"I would never do that!" Theodore said indignantly.

"And even if he doesn't," Selima continued, "because of his wealth and your lack thereof, people will call you his concubine, his catamite, his kept boy--"

"Mother!" snapped Snape.

"Can you live with this?" Selima finished calmly, ignoring the interruption.

"Yes," Blaise said firmly. "I know people will gossip; they've been gossiping about my family for all my life. I don't care what others think of me, so long as the people I love know the truth."

Selima stared at the two boys for a minute, and seemed satisfied with what she saw, because she gave them a curt, approving nod. Just then, there was a knock--more of a soft tap, really--at the door.

"What now?" Snape called out irritably.

"A letter for Professor Snape," Dobby called out timidly. "Marked 'urgent'."

Snape groaned and opened the door, then took the letter from the house-elf. He ripped open the envelope and read the letter inside. "Well, the Zabinis have heard the news, too, and their reaction is just about what you'd expect."

"Very well," Selima said, looking cool and brisk and efficient once more. "We must smooth things over with the Zabini family. I will invite them to dinner at Snape Manor."

"Excuse me?" Snape said.

Selima gave him an impatient look. "Our families will, in a sense, become joined or at least allied through the boys. We must come to some sort of understanding. We certainly can't have the Zabinis running around screaming that you have corrupted their son. This will cause even more gossip, you know, Severus, considering your relationship with the werewolf. They'll say that you condoned, even encouraged this sort of behavior in your son and the other boys in Slytherin."

"That's a lie!" Theodore protested hotly.

"That won't stop people from saying it," Selima said sharply. "You should know by now that the Slytherin elite have only a passing acquaintance with the truth."

"I suppose it doesn't matter," Snape said. "People already think I'm a Dark Wizard and a pervert, although I'd prefer that they didn't think I was child molester trying to corrupt my students."

"This wouldn't have happened if the punch hadn't been spiked," Theodore muttered, although in a way he was glad of it, because it had ended up bringing him and Blaise closer together.

"What's done is done," Selima impatiently. "There's no use in crying over spilt milk. What we have to do now is control the damage. We need to discuss things with the Zabini family, and it would be better to do it in a formal, private setting."

"All right," Snape said, still looking a little stunned. "I'll call Marius--"

"No," Selima said. "You're not much good at diplomacy, Severus; I will handle everything. I'm going back home now to send out the invitations and oversee the preparations for dinner. Do you mind if use the Floo?"

Snape shook his head, too dazed to reply verbally, and Selima threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace, stepped through it, and vanished. "What just happened here?" he asked Lupin.

Lupin smiled at him. "Lady Selima just gave her approval to Theodore and Blaise, and is going to arrange a truce with the Zabini family," he said happily.

"Bludgeon them into submission is more like it," Snape muttered.

Lupin grinned. "I don't think that poor Marius has a chance," he agreed.

"I still can't believe it," Blaise said to Theodore, looking almost as stunned as Snape. "My grandfather and your grandmother? I didn't even know that he knew Lady Selima. Well, they're around the same age, so they must have gone to Hogwarts together, but he's never talked about her. And I wouldn't think that someone like Lady Selima would give my grandfather a second look. Even back then, our fortune was declining, although it wasn't really ruined until Grandfather refused to ally with the Malfoys."

"My mother wasn't always one of the pureblood elite," Snape told him. "Before she married my father, she was just a girl from a wealthy, foreign-born merchant family."

"I still can't believe it," Blaise repeated.

"It must be a shock," Lupin said sympathetically. "I'm sure you never pictured your grandfather being in love with anyone but your grandmother."

Blaise shrugged. "I never really knew her; she died before I was born. I knew it was an arranged marriage, but my grandfather always spoke fondly of her."

"Hmm," Lupin said thoughtfully.

Snape glared at him. "No meddling, Lupin," he said sternly. "We have enough problems to deal with already."

"Yes, Severus," Lupin said meekly, but his eyes had a faraway look to them, and he was smiling a little.
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After breakfast, the boys busied themselves moving into their new rooms. Aric smirked when they entered the common room, but Snape came with them, gave the boy a venomous look, and snarled, "I'm in a bad mood today, Dietrich. Not one word out of you, or it's back to Durmstrang--if you're lucky." And for once, Aric listened to his common sense and decided that it would be better not to annoy an irate Death Eater. Besides, the damage was already done; all he had to do was sit back and watch everything unfold.

No one in Slytherin really thought that the fact that Theodore and Blaise were a couple was a big deal; it was more the way the news had been revealed that shocked them, rather than the news itself. "I always suspected he didn't like girls," Millicent muttered, remembering her date to the Ball with Theodore last year.

Allegra, though, was surprised, and ran down to the dungeon to see her brother. "Is Theo really your boyfriend?" she asked as Blaise opened the door to the Slytherin common room. "Do you love him? Do you guys kiss and stuff?"

Blaise sighed and said in a resigned voice, "Yes, yes, and yes. Come in, Allegra." She seemed more curious than shocked or offended, and peppered them with questions until Dylan finally took pity on Blaise and Theo, and distracted her by offering to take her down to the kitchen to cadge some treats from the house-elves.

"Really?" she asked eagerly. "How do you get to the kitchen? I've never seen it. I've never seen any of the house-elves, either."

"It's a secret," Dylan whispered conspiratorially. "Come on, I'll show you."

"'Bye, Blaise, 'bye, Theo," Allegra said cheerfully. "We'll bring you back something nice."

Meanwhile, Snape got several more letters from the parents of his students, expressing concern or outrage about "the atmosphere you are fostering in Slytherin House," as one letter put it. Another demanded to know just what he was teaching the students. Most of them pointed out that his scandalous relationship with the werewolf was setting a bad precedent for the children. And a few of the parents threatened that they would petition the school governors to have him removed.

"Don't worry about it, Severus," the Headmaster told him. "You have my full support. I'll handle this; you handle making things right with Blaise's family."

Snape decided to leave the letters unanswered for now. If he could work things out with the Zabinis, they could try to brush off the incident as a simple prank caused by a drugged cup of punch. Perhaps he could say that it had been spiked with a hallucinogen rather than Truth Potion. He should have thought of that last night, but he had been caught off-guard. He sighed; he wasn't really worried about his reputation, which was already ruined by his relationship with Lupin, but he wished he could do more to protect the boys. Still, they seemed determined, and aware of the problems they would face. They probably would have gone public after graduation, anyway--a surprising streak of romanticism for a couple of Slytherins from families of old blood. It was probably Lupin's fault; maybe he and the werewolf were a bad example, after all.

 

Part 91