Aftermaths, Part 91

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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Allegra insisted on coming to the dinner with them. "Lady Selima invited the Zabini family, and I'm a Zabini," she said stubbornly.

"It's not likely to be very pleasant," Blaise warned her. "I'm sure there will be a lot of yelling and arguing, and besides, I don't think Mother and Father will want you to come."

"Grandpa says I can come," Allegra said, holding up a piece of parchment. "He owled this letter to me."

Blaise read the letter, which did indeed say that Allegra should come with them to Snape Manor. He didn't know what his grandfather was thinking--things were likely to get ugly, after all. Then again, maybe he hoped that their parents would be more circumspect if Allegra was there. "Well, Grandfather is the head of the Zabini family," Blaise said with a shrug, giving the letter back to his sister. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."

"I can't wait to meet Professor Snape's mother," Allegra said happily. "I saw her at the Quidditch match; she's very pretty. And she's helping to fix things with Mummy and Daddy, so she must be nice."

Blaise and Theodore stared at her incredulously. "Uh...right," Theodore said. He had come to care for his adopted grandmother, but "nice" was not exactly the word he would use to describe her. Then again, she had not only accepted his relationship with Blaise, but also volunteered to negotiate a truce with the Zabinis. Who knew, maybe Allegra was right after all.

Blaise and Allegra accompanied Snape and his family to Snape Manor, where Selima greeted them politely. She was dressed in an elegant black velvet robe, and was wearing Theodore's silver-and-amber combs in her hair, as well as Dylan's matching brooch--a good sign, Lupin thought, as nearly everything Lady Selima did was very deliberate and calculated. Then he wondered if she was deliberately wearing black to emphasize her status as a widow, and wondered if Prospero Zabini would show up with Blaise's parents tonight. He was very eager to meet the man who had managed to capture Selima's heart so many years ago.

Marius and Olivia Zabini arrived a few minutes later, accompanied by a handsome older man who did indeed look much like Blaise. However, while Blaise had a quiet and serious demeanor, this man had a much more dramatic flair, even in appearance: his hair was mostly black, with two wide streaks of white sweeping back from his temples, and his black robes, while a little faded and out of fashion, were elaborately embroidered with gilt thread. He swept a low bow, then took Selima's hand and kissed her fingertips. "You are as beautiful as ever, Selima," he said.

"I see you still have your silver tongue, Prospero," Selima replied tartly.

"And I see yours is still as sharp as ever," Prospero said, but he was smiling and there was no real sting to his words.

Marius stepped forward impatiently. "I trusted you, Snape," he said accusingly, "and you betrayed me!"

"Father, please--" Blaise said.

"You stay out of this," Marius snapped. "I'll deal with you later." Turning back to Snape, he said, "I believed all that tripe you fed me about being concerned about Blaise's welfare and not wanting to break up the boys' friendship!"

"He was not lying, Mr. Zabini," Lupin said quietly.

Marius snorted in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that he--and you, for that matter--knew nothing about this? You should be ashamed of yourselves, helping two teenage boys to carry on an affair!"

"Father, that's not what happened!" Blaise protested.

Meanwhile, Olivia noticed Allegra's wide-eyed stare and said, "Marius! Not in front of Allegra!"

Marius frowned, as if only now noticing his daughter. "Allegra, this is a matter for adults; you should return to the school."

"Grandpa said I could come!" Allegra said, and looked to Prospero for support.

"It is a matter for the Zabini family," Prospero corrected his son, "and Allegra is a member of this family. She too is affected by this; I'm sure that her housemates are already gossiping about last night's events and asking her questions."

"What we have to discuss tonight is not for a child's ears!"

"Nevertheless," Prospero said, quietly but firmly, "I am still head of the Zabini family, last time I checked, and I grant her approval to stay."

"Perhaps," Selima suggested as Marius fumed, "we could continue this conversation in more comfort--and hopefully, more civility--in the dining room."

"An excellent suggestion," Prospero said cheerfully. "But wait just one moment." He took out his wand and conjured up a bouquet of red roses. "It would be ill-mannered to show up for dinner without a gift for the hostess."

After a moment of hesitation, Selima said, "Thank you, Prospero," and took the flowers. She led them to the dining room, and everyone took their seats as Vorcher found a vase for the flowers and then served dinner.

Marius was not interested in his food. "As Head of House, how can you let such things go on in Slytherin, Snape? Either you have no clue what the student are doing right under your nose, or you are actively encouraging them to pursue a degenerate lifestyle!"

"Father!" Blaise cried angrily.

"Mummy, what does 'degenerate' mean?" Allegra whispered to her mother, who just sighed wearily.

Snape leaned forward, his black eyes gleaming dangerously, looking very much like the Death Eater he had once been. "Watch what you say about my son, Zabini," he said in a low, menacing voice.

Lupin looked a bit annoyed with both of them. "Our first concern should be the boys' welfare, and screaming insults at each other is hardly accomplishing anything useful."

"I'm not the one who's screaming," Snape said sulkily.

"You know what I mean, Severus."

Meanwhile, Prospero was telling Marius, "Indeed, my son, I am disappointed by your behavior. Let us discuss this rationally, like adults." Then he smiled mischievously. "Besides, you should be more courteous to Severus. Under different circumstances, you might have been brothers."

Selima's face went red and she shouted, "Prospero!" Lupin smiled, Snape looked incredulous, and Blaise's parents and sister looked confused."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Marius asked.

"Oh, use your brain, son!" Prospero said impatiently.

"Prospero!" Selima repeated in a tone of protest.

Prospero smiled nostalgically, with a hint of sorrow and bitterness. "Selima was my first love back at Hogwarts." Selima's face turned even redder and she looked mortified.

"Y-y-you?" Marius stammered. "And L-Lady Snape?"

"Selima Bashir back then," Prospero corrected him calmly. "She very nearly became Lady Zabini."

"I might have," Selima said bitterly, "if you had been able to hold down your job in the Ministry and avoid offending Lucien Malfoy."

"What are you talking about?" Allegra cried. "You almost married Professor Snape's mother?!"

Marius was too stunned to be angry any longer. "I think I would also like an explanation, Father," he said weakly.

"Selima and I fell in love at Hogwarts," Prospero explained. He glanced at Selima, waiting to see if she was going to protest, but she merely leaned back in her chair and said nothing, looking resigned. "However, while I came from a family of old and noble lineage, our fortune had declined in recent years; my father and grandfather were not very good businessmen, I'm afraid. Selima's family, on the other hand, was wealthy and ambitious, and wanted their daughter to make a marriage that would advance their standing in society. So we devised a plan, with a little help from our friend, Cynric Diggory. Cynric's family had some influence at the Ministry, so he pulled a few strings, called in a few favors, and managed to get me a position there after graduation. It was merely a low-level job as an intern, but the plan was that I would work my way up to a position high enough that Selima's father would see me as a worthy potential bridegroom." He sighed. "But I failed."

"You did not just fail," Selima said bitterly. "You threw away your chance at success because you were too proud to curry favor with Lucien."

"In my second year at the Ministry, I was working as an assistant to Lucien Malfoy," Prospero continued. "He was much like his son Lucius--cold and arrogant, taking pleasure in wielding his power over other people. He expected everyone beneath him in rank to kiss his--" He paused and glanced at Allegra. "--er, boots. I lost my temper one day, and told Malfoy what I really thought of him, and that ended my brief career at the Ministry." Prospero smiled ironically. "The truth has never been a highly valued commodity at the Ministry." Prospero turned to Selima and said in a quiet, serious voice, "I am sorry, Selima. You are right; I let my pride get the best of me, and betrayed your trust and destroyed our chance for a future together. But answer me this, Selima. If I had pretended to be like all those other arrogant, ruthless, scheming purebloods, in time the lie might have become reality. I might truly have become what I was pretending to be. If I had been a Lucien Malfoy, a Severin Snape, would you still have loved me? I think not. There were other boys at school with more wealth and ambition than I, on the fast track to a Ministry career, but none of them caught your eye or won your heart. If I had stayed at the Ministry, I would not be the same person that you loved."

Selima stared at him with a startled look on her face, as if such a thought had never occurred to her before. Then she looked away, unable to meet his eyes, saying nothing. Snape thought that was a pretty good indication that Prospero was probably right and Selima didn't want to admit it. All Snapes had an aversion to admitting they were wrong about something.

"If you were in love with Lady Selima," Allegra asked, looking distressed, "does that mean you didn't love Grandma?"

"There are different kinds of love, child," Prospero said gently. "The kind of love your grandmother and I shared was one of friendship and comfort."

"I don't understand," Allegra said.

"My parents had been wanting for some time to arrange a marriage with a daughter of some friends of theirs, a family much like ours, with old blood but only modest wealth. When Selima's parents decided to betroth her to Severin Snape, I told them to go ahead and arrange the marriage. If I couldn't marry Selima, it didn't really matter to me whom I married, and it was my duty--" He gave Selima a pointed look. "--to sire an heir to carry on the Zabini name. However, first I spoke privately with Sophia, your grandmother. I did not think it fair to marry her without being honest about the fact that my heart belonged to another."

"I'd always heard he was eccentric," Snape muttered under his breath. And a Slytherin who tried to be honest and fair was eccentric indeed.

"She was surprisingly understanding," Prospero continued. "You see, Sophia also suffered from unrequited love. Ever since she was a little girl, she had admired Lucien Malfoy from afar, but it was an impossible love, as Lucien was several years older than her, far above her station, and already married to someone else. Merlin only knows what she saw in him besides his pretty face, but love isn't always logical or practical. So since neither of us could marry the ones we truly loved, we comforted each other in our heartbreak. It was a marriage of convenience, but gradually over time, we became friends and learned to care for each other. How could I not love your grandmother, Allegra? Without her, you and Blaise and your father would not exist."

Silence fell over the table, then Marius cleared his throat and said impatiently, "This is all very touching, Father, but we are supposed to be discussing Blaise."

"There is nothing to discuss, Father," Blaise said firmly. "I love Theo. Don't blame the Professor for that. He didn't do anything wrong; he didn't know about us. He certainly never encouraged us to get together. We fell in love, that's all. I'm sorry if I've disappointed you, Father, but I won't give Theo up. You can disown me if you want."

"Blaise," Marius said in a placating tone, "it's natural for some boys to want to...ah...experiment...in school, but you can't throw away your future over this--"

"This isn't an experimentation, Father!" Blaise said in frustration. "I love Theo! This isn't a little schoolboy fling!"

"What about your duty as the Zabini heir?" Marius cried.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Father!" Blaise retorted. "What is there for me to inherit, anyway? The junk shop?"

"It's not a junk shop!" Allegra said indignantly.

"I'm sorry, Father," Blaise said gently when he saw the anger on his sister's face, and the look of shame on his father's. "I'm not ashamed of the shop. It's fed and clothed us, and I'm grateful for that. But you're ashamed of it; you don't even want me to run it when I graduate. You want me to go on to better things, but I'm never going to be Ministry of Magic material. And I don't need a title to be a researcher or curator. Allegra can have the title, and her children can carry on the Zabini name."

"But she's a girl," Olivia protested. "She may not be able to find a husband willing to take on our name, especially since we can't afford to offer a large dowry..."

"I'm not marrying some guy who only wants me for my money!" Allegra said scornfully. Then she smiled at her brother. "Don't worry, I'll carry on the Zabini name so that you and Theo can be together."

"It's not fair for you to pawn off your duty on your sister," Marius argued.

"So what do you want him to do, Marius?" Prospero asked. "Make a loveless arranged marriage?"

"Your marriage to my mother worked out well enough, according to your own words!" Marius snapped. "Of course it will be difficult to find a potential bride, what with that little display at the Yule Ball." He sighed and said to his son, "If only you could have been a little more discreet."

Lupin tried to explain, "It wasn't his fault. It was because of the potion--"

"Listen to yourself!" Prospero said angrily to his son. "Would it be all right if he kept a male lover on the side as long as he was 'discreet'? Is it all right if Blaise is miserable, and likely for his hypothetical wife to be miserable, too, so long as you get your heir in the 'proper' manner? You should be ashamed of yourself! That is the kind of thing the Malfoys of the world do, and you are no Malfoy, thank Merlin. Although right now you are acting like one--and you are but a pale shadow of the real thing."

Marius flushed, looking defensive. "I'm not saying I want him to be miserable. Of course we'd try to find a girl who would be compatible with him. I'm just saying that he's young, and what he thinks may be the great love of his life might be mere infatuation."

"Father!" Blaise shouted, jumping to his feet, looking angry and frustrated. But Prospero waved his hand, motioning for Blaise to take his seat, which he did reluctantly.

"Marius," Prospero said quietly, "Blaise is a very sensible and serious young man. When have you ever known him to act foolishly or impulsively? When have you ever known him to defy you?"

Marius frowned. "Almost never," he admitted. "Except when he ended up fighting the Death Eaters at Hogwarts, and I would call that a very dramatic and nearly fatal exception. And it was Theodore's fault that he got entangled with that mess as well."

"It seems to me that Blaise did not go seeking out trouble," Prospero argued. "He found himself in the middle of a dangerous situation and did his best to defend himself and his friends. And was it not you who was adamant that he be Sorted into Slytherin, despite the fact that you knew that House would be filled with the children of suspected Death Eaters and Death Eater sympathizers?"

"All Zabinis are Slytherins," Marius blustered.

"Allegra has proved that all Zabinis are not," Prospero pointed out. "And Blaise strikes me as having more of a Ravenclaw personality. Am I right, Blaise?"

"Yes, Grandfather," Blaise replied, looking a little surprised. "The Hat suggested that I go into Ravenclaw, but I insisted upon Slytherin."

"Because you knew it was important to your father," Prospero said. "Because your father is a little touchy about our lack of wealth, and he felt that being Sorted into Slytherin at least proves that we still have old and pure blood even if we have no money."

"Yes," Blaise said softly, bowing his head. Marius and Olivia suddenly looked guilt-stricken at the thought that their pride might have endangered their son.

"In any case," Prospero said, "I am still the head of the Zabini family, and I do hereby declare that Blaise will not be forced to marry against his will and that he may take whatever lovers he pleases. If Blaise has no children, then the title shall pass to Allegra and her children. There, now that's settled."

"Thank you, Grandfather!" Blaise said, his face filling with joy.

"Th-thank you, L-Lord Zabini," Theodore stammered, looking shocked.

Prospero chuckled. "No need to call me 'Lord,' child. That's an awfully fancy title for someone who is Lord over nothing more than a junk shop--not even that, since I retired and turned it over to Marius. I am Lord of a humble London flat and nothing more."

"It's not a junk shop!" Allegra protested.

"Father, you may be head of the family, but he is my son!" Marius argued. "You have no right to interfere!"

"Open your eyes, Marius!" Prospero snapped. "Can't you see that his mind is made up? Blaise would not defy you like this over a simple infatuation. You say he is young, but he is nearly a man grown. In a few months, he will be a legal adult, and not long after that, he will graduate from Hogwarts as a full-fledged wizard. He is stubborn, as am I, as are you, as are all the Zabinis. Are you really willing to risk losing your son over this?"

"I only want what is best for him," Marius said.

"Do you not recall how you and Olivia came to me when you were not much older than Blaise, and insisted that you wanted to marry?" Prospero asked. "Her family was not on par with the likes of the Malfoys, the Snapes, or the Blacks, but they still felt she could have done better than a Zabini. But she defied her family and married you, and though I knew it would cause trouble for us, I gave you my blessing."

"Well, but Olivia was a woman," Marius argued weakly, "and her parents came around after Blaise was born."

"They won't like it when they hear about this," Olivia sighed.

"I am sorry if you feel I have brought shame upon you, Mother, Father," Blaise said stiffly, looking a little hurt.

"Oh no, dear, it isn't that!" Olivia said. She and Marius exchanged a helpless look. "We love you, Blaise, we want you to be happy. Yes, we are concerned about the family's reputation, but...do you know how hard things will be for you if you follow this path?"

"It will not be easy," Marius said quietly. "People will gossip, spread nasty rumors about you. You may find it hard to get a job."

"I can still help him find an apprenticeship," Snape said. "These sorts of things matter somewhat less in the academic world."

"I'm not doing this lightly, Father," Blaise said. "I am prepared to face the consequences of my actions. So long as my family and friends know the truth, I don't care what anyone else thinks."

"And is this all right with you, Lady Selima?" Marius demanded.

"Severus is the head of the Snape family, not I," Selima replied calmly. "It is his place to say what is permissible and what is not."

Snape snorted, and Prospero smiled in amusement, neither of them fooled by Selima's outward show of deference.

"You can't tell me that you don't care about the Snape family's reputation," Marius said skeptically.

"Severus has already brought so many scandals down upon us that I suppose one more hardly matters," Selima sighed in a resigned manner, and Lupin chuckled softly. "But it need not be a total disaster, if we present a united front," Selima added smoothly. "The boys have been discreet up until now, since none of us knew anything about it."

"I'm not so sure of that," Marius muttered, casting a suspicious glance at Snape, but he seemed willing to hear her out.

"It was the spiked punch that caused all the trouble," Selima continued, "and that is where we shall place the blame. Severus shall put forth that the punch was laced with a potion that caused the students to act irrationally, which is true enough. Perhaps he could imply that it was a hallucinogen..."

"I already told everyone at the Ball that I thought it was a form of Truth Potion," Snape interjected.

Selima shrugged. "But you couldn't be sure of what it was without testing it. Besides, it must have been a student who brewed the potion, correct? They could have prepared it improperly, thereby resulting in unexpected side-effects."

Snape nodded, and Blaise said hesitantly, "But I don't want to hide or act as though I'm ashamed of Theodore--"

Selima waved her hand impatiently. "Yes, yes, but surely you need not go out of your way to advertise it. I'm not saying that you should lie, child--I doubt anyone would believe you, anyway. Besides, since when was a Slytherin so concerned about the truth?" Blaise flushed a little, and Selima added, "You need not lie, just be a little discreet so that we can put a good face on things and the school governors need not accuse your Professor of fostering debauchery in his House."

"Of course I wouldn't want to get Professor Snape into trouble," Blaise said hastily.

"The parents will gossip, of course," Selima told Marius, "but the only ones who have a right to file a complaint against Severus are you and I, as only your son and my grandson were directly involved. What we will do is treat it as a childish prank, nothing to be concerned about. If anyone brings the subject up, we will laugh at them for taking it so seriously, and act as if it doesn't bother us."

"Hold your heads up high and laugh in the faces of those small-minded pureblood gossips," Prospero told his son and daughter-in-law. "If you act angry or defensive, you are only playing right into their hands."

"It's true," Lupin agreed, casting a mischievous smile Snape's way. "I've observed that it annoys people to no end when you let their insults slide off your back and smile at them cheerily."

The Zabinis nodded slowly, looking thoughtful. Selima said persuasively, "The order of things has changed, as my son and Professor Lupin so often tell me. Those who were held high have been cast down low--including the Malfoys, who were the primary cause of your loss of status. And those who were once despised as less than human--the werewolves--are now heroes of the war. Fortunes change, Mr. Zabini; Arthur Weasley's has--and perhaps yours can, too."

"If you're trying to bribe me, Lady Selima--" Marius started to say with a look of offended pride.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, don't be so touchy!" Selima snapped irritably. "I'm merely proposing an alliance for our mutual benefit. If the Snape heir is to be seen associating with a young man, at least let it be a young man of high rank and good breeding." The boys looked as though they didn't know whether to be grateful or offended, Snape looked annoyed, and Lupin looked as if he wanted to laugh. "It would also be to your benefit," Selima told Marius, "to have Blaise and Theodore on a somewhat more equal social footing."

Marius nodded grudgingly, and Blaise decided not to remind them that he really wasn't cut out for a fast-track Ministry career and that he wasn't interested in money or power. Since Selima was trying to help them, and Marius seemed to have given in for the moment, Blaise decided to leave well enough alone and let his parents get accustomed to the idea of he and Theodore being together.

 

Part 92