FIC: Aftermaths, Part 56

[geri_chan]

Title: Aftermaths, Part 56
Rating: NC-17 overall, but most chapters are closer to PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin, Theodore/Blaise, and a few other minor pairings
Word count: ~9,590
Warning: AU; written pre-HBP
Author's notes: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising
Summary: Harry and Ron attempt to straighten out their romantic entanglements; Lupin has a talk with Harry; and a seemingly harmless prank makes Snape and Lupin worry.

Part 55 (Previous chapters can be found under the aftermaths tag.)

***

Harry returned to Hogwarts, and Ginny greeted him a little too brightly and cheerfully, and Harry responded in an equally cheerful voice that sounded just as fake as hers did. She acted as if she were trying to pretend that things were the same as they had been before the Yule Ball, so Harry went along with it, but it only reminded him of how different things were now, and how awkward they felt around each other.

Ron was having a difficult time, too. "I don't know what to say to Daphne," he told Harry. "That potion made me feel as if I were as smooth as Rosier--I can't believe I had the nerve to say those things to her!"

"I know how you feel," Harry said fervently. "I feel so weird around Ginny now. So...what has Daphne said?"

"Nothing," Ron groaned. "She just blushes and looks away every time I catch her eye. I guess I should apologize to her, but she seems to be avoiding me..."

"No, you mustn't apologize to her!" Hermione said emphatically.

"Huh?" a startled Ron asked. "Why not?"

Hermione sighed impatiently. "Because it would be an insult, of course. You told her at the Ball that you liked her and thought she was pretty, right?"

"Right," Ron mumbled, his face turning red.

Hermione gave him a look that was similar to the one Snape gave his students when they had bungled (what was in Snape's opinion) a particularly simple Potions assignment. "If you apologize," she said, carefully enunciating each word, as if she were talking to a simpleton, "it would be like saying that you DON'T like her or think she's pretty."

"Oh!" Ron exclaimed. "That's not what I meant!"

"But that's what she'll think," Hermione told him.

"But if she's mad at me, shouldn't I apologize?" Ron asked uncertainly.

Hermione sighed again. Harry and Ron exchanged a look; Hermione was their best friend, but she could be infuriating at times. And what was most infuriating was that she was usually right. "I don't think she's mad at you," Hermione said when she was done sighing and shaking her head. "She's very shy, and she's probably just a little embarrassed that she was kissing you in front of half the school."

"Oh," Ron said, suddenly cheering up. "Then...do you think that means she still likes me?"

"She said so, didn't she?" Hermione said impatiently. "Snape said at the Ball that he thought the punch was spiked with a Potion of Liberation. That means that you and she and everyone else who drank it said whatever was on their minds without your normal inhibitions to stop you."

"But Snape said later--" Ron started to argue.

"Snape was just trying to help Theodore and Blaise save face," Hermione said dismissively. "Were you telling the truth when you said those things?"

Ron blushed again and looked down at the floor, avoiding her gaze. "Um...yeah, I think so. I mean, I never thought I could like a Slytherin girl, but she doesn't really act like a Slytherin, and...well, yeah, I guess I do like her."

"Then I'm pretty sure that Daphne was telling the truth, too," Hermione said. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then continued, "I think what you should say is that you didn't mean to embarrass her, and that you wish you could have said those things in a more private setting."

"I can't say that!" Ron protested.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"I...I just can't!" Ron insisted. "I can't even look at her without getting tongue-tied! If I was brave enough to tell a girl I liked her, would I still be single at seventeen?"

"You're going to be single for the rest of your life, at this rate!" Hermione said tartly, and Ron groaned. "Classes start again tomorrow, so that means your Herbology tutoring sessions will be starting again too, right? You can talk to her then. She won't be able to avoid you, and you'll be able to talk to her in private."

"You can do it, Ron," Harry said encouragingly, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"I'll try," Ron said, without much confidence. "So what about you and Ginny?"

"Um...well...er..." Harry stammered.

Ron grinned, perhaps enjoying seeing someone else squirm for a change. "As her older brother, maybe I should beat you up for getting fresh with my little sister," he teased.

"But she was the one who kissed me!" Harry protested.

"I didn't see you pushing her away," Ron said, still grinning.

"I didn't think you were paying attention to anything but Daphne!"

"So," Ron said, slipping an arm around Harry's shoulders, "are you going to do the right thing by my sister, or am I going to have to challenge you to a duel to protect her virtue?"

"That's not funny!" Harry said, but he couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"You're all being so silly about the whole thing," Hermione said in a slightly patronizing tone.

"Easy for you to say!" Ron retorted. "You had Rosier chasing after you ever since he got here; you didn't have worry about telling him that you liked him!"

"Yeah, it's not really fair that guys always have to ask the girls out," Harry chimed in. "I mean, we're the ones who always have to risk rejection."

"As I recall," Hermione said dryly, "Ginny was the one who asked YOU to the Ball." Harry's face turned scarlet. "So if we're trying to be fair, I would say that it's your turn to ask her out. You too, Ron; technically, Daphne asked you to the Ball by sending you that letter."

"Hey, that's right!" Ron said, looking relieved. "So that must mean she really does likes me!"

"Sirius told me that I should ask Ginny out on a date," Harry admitted.

"Hey, maybe we could double-date on Valentine's Day!" Ron suggested, then glanced at Hermione. "Er...I mean, triple-date, if Rosier's up for it."

"I think the point of Valentine's Day is to be alone with the person you like," Hermione said.

"Ah, I get it," Ron said, smiling slyly, "you want to be alone with lover boy!"

Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. "You're so childish!" she sniffed indignantly.

Harry grinned. "Well, maybe we could all meet at The Three Broomsticks, then go off on our own afterwards," he suggested.

"I suppose so," Hermione said, still sounding a little huffy. "But hadn't you better ask Ginny and Daphne first?"

"Oh, right," Harry said, and he and Ron smiled at each other sheepishly.

Harry didn't want to talk to Ginny in front of all the other Gryffindors in the common room, nor did he want to attract attention to himself by asking if they could speak in private. A number of Gryffindor boys had already given him knowing smiles and winks, and the girls giggled whenever he was around, causing Ginny to blush and look irritated. Eventually, she went to the library, probably to get away from all the giggling. Harry waited a few minutes, to make it less obvious that he was following her, then headed to the library himself. He found her alone in a quiet corner of the library, which was mostly empty anyway, since classes hadn't started yet.

"Hi, Ginny," he said, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, hi, Harry," Ginny said, blushing a little.

Harry took a deep breath and gathered up all his courage, then said, "I know it's a bit early, but Ron was thinking that we could all go out together on our next Hogsmeade Day--you and me, Ron and Daphne, and Hermione and Dylan." Harry's face colored a little. "On, er, you know, Valentine's Day."

Ginny smiled, suddenly looking like her old self, and the awkwardness between them seemed to vanish. She cocked her head to one side, a mischievous little glint in her eyes, and said, "Why Harry, are you asking me out on a date?"

Harry shuffled his feet nervously. "Um...er...well...yes. It's sort of my turn, isn't it? Since you asked me to the Ball."

"Then I guess it will be my turn the next time," Ginny said lightly.

Harry felt relieved and elated. Next time...that meant he was guaranteed another date after Valentine's Day, didn't it? "Right," he said, grinning at her.

"Okay then," Ginny said. "It sounds like fun. Going to Hogsmeade, I mean."

"Great!" Harry said, grinning from ear to ear.

Ginny turned a page in the book she had been reading. "You guys must have had the same assignment in Advanced Potions last year, right? We're going to be working on poison antidotes; maybe you could help me study?"

"Sure, we covered that last year," Harry said, taking a seat next to her. They looked through the Potions text and chatted with each other, and Harry felt as if everything had been restored to normal--almost. He felt very comfortable slipping back into his familiar role as Ginny's friend, but at the same time there was a hint of something else. A sort of eagerness or anticipation, like waiting for a birthday or Christmas; they were still friends, but there was the promise, or at least the potential, of something more in the future. That was enough for Harry right now. As they discussed antidotes, Harry felt an unexpected bit of warmth and gratitude towards Snape for inadvertently helping him patch things up with Ginny.

***

Classes resumed the next day, and Harry was in such a good mood that he didn't even mind that his first class was Potions, although normally he didn't care to start off the day with a grumpy Snape. And this time, instead of looking away when Daphne walked into the classroom with the other Slytherins, Ron smiled at her. She quickly blushed and looked away, but not before giving him a timid smile in return. Harry grinned to himself; things seemed to be looking up for Ron, too. Pansy and Millicent giggled, then leaned over and whispered something to Daphne, who turned even redder. She glanced over nervously at Draco, but he just ignored the girls, looking bored.

"Vacation is over!" Snape snapped, and the girls instantly stopped giggling. "I expect to have your full attention during this class; is that clear?" Everyone nodded and murmured assent. Snape nodded curtly and turned towards the blackboard, saying, "Good, because this potion is one that will likely show up on your N.E.W.T...."

Later, in DADA class, Lupin came over to give Harry a few pointers on the curse-breaking spell that the students were practicing. "By the way, Harry," Lupin said, lowering his voice so that only Harry could hear him, "would you mind stopping by my office afterschool today?"

"Uh, sure, Professor," Harry said, wondering what Lupin wanted, and the werewolf smiled cheerfully at him and moved on to help another student.

"Do you think he's giving you detention or something?" Ron asked during lunch.

"He didn't seem mad," Harry replied, "and besides, I haven't done anything wrong. Not that I know of, anyway."

"I'm sure it's nothing like that, Harry," Hermione said calmly. "Maybe he just wants to talk to you about your N.E.W.T.s or something. And you are his best friend's son, so it's not unusual that he might want to talk to you every now and then."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Harry said, relaxing a little.

So after classes were over for the day, he reported to Lupin's office, where his teacher poured him a cup of tea and offered him some candy from a box on his desk.

"Thanks," Harry said, helping himself to some Honeydukes fudge. "A Christmas present?" he asked.

"One of Dylan's, actually," Lupin said with a grin. "Apparently he always gets more than he can eat." Lupin's pet rat squeaked hopefully, poking its nose out between the bars of its cage. "Well...just a little," Lupin said to the rat, giving it a small crumb of chocolate. "We wouldn't want you to get fat."

"So...um...what did you want to talk to me about, sir?" Harry asked.

"Well, for one thing, I wanted to thank you for the Canary Creams you gave me for Christmas," Lupin said.

"You're welcome," Harry said. "And thank you for the book." This year Lupin had given him a novel instead of a textbook, a book called "The Once and Future King," a story about King Arthur and Merlin. It was a Muggle book, and Harry had been surprisingly happy to receive it. He wasn't really big on reading for pleasure, the way Hermione was; he'd much rather practice Quidditch or magic, or play games with his friends. But although he was happy to have left behind his old life and become a wizard, the wizarding world was still a little strange to him at times, and he could never quite forget that he was part Muggle. And Harry was pleased that Lupin seemed to understand that, and had given him a gift that belonged to both worlds. Maybe it was because of Lupin's own dual nature, being both a man and a werewolf.

"I'm enjoying the book," Harry said, and it was the truth. "Is that really what Merlin was like?"

Lupin laughed, but gently, in a way that didn't seem to be mocking Harry's ignorance. "No one really knows what Merlin was like, Harry. No one alive today, not even Dumbledore, is old enough to have known him. I am sure there is a grain of truth in the tales and legends about him, but tales grow in the telling. Merlin is regarded as a great hero, almost a god, by wizards today, but I'm sure that the stories of his adventures became more exaggerated and grandiose each time they were told, until they became what they are today."

Harry rubbed the scar on his forehead. "Like the stories about me in the Daily Prophet? Er...not that I'm saying I'm anything like Merlin, of course!"

"Exactly, Harry," Lupin said with a smile. "Very perceptive of you. Which is not to say that Merlin was not a great wizard, or that you were not a hero, just that people made your stories even grander than they were to begin with. But in troubled times, it isn't uncommon for people to create a hero to look up to."

Harry flushed, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, anyway, thanks for the book, Professor."

"I got an interesting gift this Christmas from the Slytherins," Lupin said casually. "A green and silver robe, with a Slytherin crest."

"Uh, yeah," Harry mumbled, flushing again. "I saw you wearing it at the Ball."

"It seemed to me," Lupin continued, "that some of the Gryffindors seemed a little upset, and I was afraid they might have taken it the wrong way."

"Dylan explained it to us," Harry said quickly. "He said that the Slytherins wanted to thank you for looking after them, and make up for how they gave you a bad time when you first started teaching here."

"I'm glad you understand, Harry," Lupin said warmly. "It really does mean a lot to me that the Slytherins have accepted me, but I certainly wouldn't want anyone to think that I was ashamed of being a Gryffindor."

"You...you're not?" Harry asked hesitantly. "Even though my dad and Sirius behaved like idiots sometimes?"

Lupin shook his head. "All of us are idiots sometimes when we're young, Harry," he said gently. "Including me. But hopefully we learn from our mistakes as we get older. And I assure you that prejudice is not a flaw restricted solely to Gryffindor--I have seen it in all the Houses, to a greater or lesser extent, over the years. Gryffindors can be stubborn and narrow-minded at times, it is true. But they can also be brave, compassionate, and loyal. I'm very proud to be a Gryffindor, Harry. And I'm equally proud that Severus is a Slytherin. Each of us has strengths--and weaknesses--that the other does not. We complement each other so well precisely because we are so different."

"I...see," Harry said slowly, beginning to grasp what Lupin meant. "Sort of like me needing to accept my Slytherin side?"

"Yes," Lupin said, smiling approvingly. "And Harry...not every Gryffindor is alike, nor every Slytherin. Each student is unique and special. James was bold and fearless, while Neville is shy and timid. Yet he is a true Gryffindor because he was brave enough to overcome his fears and join the D.A. and fight the Death Eaters."

"There are different types of Gryffindors," Harry said, feeling as if he'd just had a major revelation. "And different ways of being brave."

"Exactly," Lupin said, looking very proud of him. Then he smiled tenderly and said, "You're unique, too, Harry."

"I am?" Harry asked, startled.

Lupin nodded. "I know that everyone says you remind them of James, and I do see a little of your father in you, as well as a little of Lily. But mostly I see you, Harry. Your father would never have had the patience to learn and master Occlumency, and I don't think that even Lily could have embraced her Slytherin side, if she'd had one. She was a sweet girl, and more open-minded than James, but she grew up in a warm, loving family, and I don't think she entirely understood the darker side of humanity. In theory, perhaps, but deep in her heart, she didn't know what it was like to feel bitter and lonely and jealous, which is, perhaps, why she never entirely understood the depths of her sister's jealousy. She always chalked up Petunia's antipathy to fear of magic and simple sibling rivalry." Harry nodded, thinking of Aunt Petunia and her bitter hatred for her own sister. "And no one, not even Severus, ever thought of using Occlumency techniques to imprison someone in their own mind, as you did to Voldemort. So you see, Harry, you are very unique and special."

Harry beamed at Lupin, feeling a sudden warmth that banished any last traces of resentment that might have been lingering behind over the Slytherin robe. People often compared him to James, which at first had made him both happy and curious, because he had known so little about his father. But now it made him uncomfortable, because he wanted people to like him for himself, not just because he was a Potter, and also because he had seen in the Pensieve that his father wasn't as perfect as he had thought. He still loved his dad, but he didn't want to be like James--or at least, not like the young James in Snape's memories. Once again he wondered what his dad would have thought about Harry being descended from both Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, or about Lupin's relationship with Snape. But all he said was, "Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, Harry," Lupin replied. "Oh, and I wanted to ask you...did Morrigan talk to you about testifying at Master Bleddri's trial?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry said unhappily. "Ms. De Lacy came over during Christmas vacation to talk to me and Sirius and Professor Blackmore. She wants me to testify about what I overheard at the Quidditch match, when Mr. Diggory said that he helped fake Master Bleddri's death. I like Master Bleddri, but I feel bad about testifying against Cedric's father..."

"I know it's difficult," Lupin said sympathetically. "But none of this is your fault, and it's not up to you to determine Mr. Diggory's guilt or innocence. Just tell the truth about what you heard."

"That's what Professor Blackmore said," Harry said, not feeling much better about it. "Do you really think that Mr. Diggory or his parents killed Master Bleddri's father?"

"I don't know," Lupin said quietly. "But I do believe that they not only denied Lukas his inheritance, but the support and love of his family when he needed it most."

"How could they be so mean to him, their own grandson and nephew?" Harry asked. "Mr. and Mrs. Diggory seemed like nice enough people; they really loved Cedric."

"Because they didn't see Lukas as a member of their family," Lupin said sadly. "They thought of him as less than human, a monster." Lupin patted Harry comfortingly on the shoulder. "Your testimony will be brief; you should only have to appear in court once, for a few minutes. And I'm sure that this is difficult for Master Bleddri, too, and that he would appreciate the support of his students. By that, I don't mean openly taking sides, just..." Lupin hesitated, as if searching for the right words. "Just be there for him."

Harry wasn't exactly how sure he was supposed to comfort the fierce and slightly standoffish Physical Defense teacher, but he said, "Yes, sir."

Lupin smiled and said, "Thank you, Harry." He reached over and laid his hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "Don't forget, you can always stop by anytime you need someone to talk to."

They chatted for a little while more over tea about more trivial matters, like future DADA assignments Lupin had planned, or what presents they had received for Christmas. Then Harry left and returned to the dorm, feeling a little bit better, but still solemn. Here he'd been so worried about his not-quite romance with Ginny, while other people like the Diggorys and Master Bleddri had much more serious problems. Not that Ginny wasn't important to him, but it put things into perspective. Worrying about whether a girl liked you or not was nothing compared to having your family fighting with each other over an inheritance, or knowing that your uncle and grandparents had tried to cheat you of your inheritance, and possibly even killed your father to get it.

***

Daphne had been flustered ever since the Yule Ball; she had never been so forward with a boy before, and more importantly, had never drawn attention to herself like that before--well, except for the time that she had hit Draco in the nose. So she was embarrassed and nervous; she liked Ron, but she didn't know him very well, and wasn't quite sure how she felt about him, because she had never considered dating a Gryffindor before he asked her to the Ball. (Though actually, she had never dated anyone before, Gryffindor or otherwise.) But Ron seemed nice--he had comforted her on the day she had hit Draco, the anniversary of her brother's death--and he seemed safe, in a way that the Slytherin boys did not. No Weasley had ever been accused of being a Death Eater, and even if Ron had sometimes said mean things about the Slytherins in the past, she couldn't picture him actually trying to hurt someone, like the way Crabbe had thrown a Bludger at Harry Potter back in fifth year, or the way Draco had cast a Serpensortia spell during his dueling match with Potter in second year.

But Ron had been avoiding her since the night of the Ball, so maybe he regretted kissing a Slytherin girl. He had never liked the Slytherins very much before, after all. She was surprised to find how much that thought hurt and disappointed her. But having no friends to confide in, she kept those feelings to herself. She had expected her housemates to tease her about it, but they were much too busy gossiping about Theodore and Blaise, which was a relief, although she felt a little bit sorry for the two boys.

So she was surprised but happy when Ron gave her a friendly smile when she entered the Potions classroom and took her seat. She smiled back at him before becoming self-conscious and looking away again. Millicent and Pansy giggled, then Pansy leaned over and whispered coyly, "You know, the Minister's son would be a good catch."

Never in a million years would Daphne have thought that one of Draco's in-crowd would describe Ron Weasley as "a good catch"! She cast a nervous glance at Draco to see if he was offended, but he was ignoring them, seeming indifferent to Pansy's and Millicent's giggling. Daphne relaxed; well, things were different now. Draco no longer seemed so hostile towards the Gryffindors, and he no longer wielded the power that he used to when his father was alive, so maybe it was safe for her to date a Gryffindor boy. Dylan was dating Hermione, after all, and Brad Doherty seemed to be dating Melissa Carroll. That was presuming that Ron wanted to date her, of course.

"So what's up with you and Weasley?" Millicent asked as they left the dungeon after class ended. She and Pansy were still giggling, but their laughter seemed friendly rather than malicious. Never before had any of the Slytherin girls tried to befriend her--mostly they ignored her, and every now and then one of them would drop a catty remark about her family, alluding to the possible impurity of their blood.

"Um...nothing right now," Daphne replied hesitantly.

"Weasley's a bit dense," Pansy informed her. "I'm sure that he likes you, but you'll have to give him a little encouragement for him to make a move."

Daphne cautiously evaluated the other girl's expression and tone of voice for signs of mockery, but she seemed to be sincere. "How do you know that he likes me?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's only so obvious! Didn't he go rushing to your rescue like a knight in shining armor after you clobbered Malfoy in Physical Defense class?" Daphne flushed at that memory. "And he asked you to the Ball, didn't he? He's always been suspicious of Slytherins before, so he must really like you, to ask out a girl from an enemy House."

"That's so cute," Millicent giggled. "Like Romeo and Juliet!"

"Well, that might be exaggerating a bit," Pansy admitted. "And that story was a tragedy. I wouldn't want to kill myself over someone like Weasley."

"Ron's a nice guy," Daphne said defensively, then fell silent and blushed, stunned at her audacity.

Pansy and Millicent just grinned, not looking at all offended. "Ah, it must be love," Pansy said.

"And Weasley's father is Minister of Magic now," Millicent added practically. "It's not like he's a pauper anymore."

"I don't like Ron because he's the Minister's son," Daphne said quietly. "I just like him because...because he's nice, that's all."

"A true romantic," Pansy said.

"Look who's talking," Millicent teased good-naturedly. "Wasn't your family furious about you and Justin?"

Feeling a little bemused, Daphne walked along with the other girls to their next class. She was enough of a Slytherin to be a little suspicious of their sudden friendliness, but she also knew it would be regarded as an insult if she rejected it, so she meekly walked with them, letting them do most of the talking, just smiling and nodding every now and then. And it felt surprisingly nice to feel like a normal girl for once, to have friends to walk to class and gossip with. She'd remain on her guard, of course, but Daphne found herself hoping that their offer of friendship was real. If the other Slytherins had changed, maybe Pansy and Millicent had, too. Pansy was dating a Muggle-born boy, after all.

Ron's Herbology grades had improved, so Professor Sprout suggested that Daphne keep tutoring him. "He's making good progress, and I wouldn't want him to backslide," she said.

So they met in the greenhouse as usual, and Ron smiled at her, still blushing a little, but looking much more confident and sure of himself than he usually did. "Listen...about the Ball, I, um, didn't mean to embarrass you or anything."

"It's okay," Daphne said quickly. "It was the punch."

"No, it wasn't just the punch," Ron said, his face turning as red as his hair. "I...I meant what I said. Only, I wish I didn't say it just then. No, wait--that came out wrong. What I mean to say is...uh...well...I should have said those things in private. So I'm sorry--no, wait, I wasn't supposed to apologize! Blast it--"

Daphne smiled; Ron actually looked kind of cute as he blushed and stammered. She preferred his blunt and awkward sincerity to the practiced calculation of most of the Slytherin boys. Dylan Rosier, for example, was incredibly handsome and charming, but his words were so smooth that it was as if he had rehearsed them in advance. Probably all the other girls in the school would think she was crazy if they knew what she thought, but she much preferred Ron to Dylan. Impulsively, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I like you, too, Ron," she said.

She couldn't help but giggle at how absolutely flabbergasted he looked. Ron opened and closed his mouth a few times; at first, all that would come out was a faint squeak. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Uh, well, I guess everything's all right, then." Daphne smiled and nodded. Ron grinned, looking relieved. "So, I know it's not for another month and all, but would you like to go out to Hogsmeade with me on Valentine's Day? I thought maybe we could get a drink at The Three Broomsticks with Harry and Ginny, and Hermione and Dylan, and then maybe we could go off on our own to...uh...Puddifoot's, maybe?"

He stared at her hopefully, and Daphne answered, "Yes, I would like that very much."

"Great!" Ron said, and they just sat there grinning at each other with wide, silly smiles on both their faces, until finally Daphne said, "Well, I guess we should get started..."

"Oh, right," Ron said, and opened his Herbology textbook, still grinning.

***

Things seemed to go smoothly for the first week of school, at least on the surface. Snape was still brooding about the confrontation with his mother, but he dealt with it in the same way that he usually dealt with emotions that made him uncomfortable: he ignored it and pretended that it didn't exist. Back at school, where he didn't have to see Selima every day, it was almost easy to pretend that nothing had happened. It also helped that it was the week of the full moon, and he was preoccupied with brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for Lupin and Bleddri. Although he was busy with his classes, he offered to brew some potion for the clinic as well, just to give himself some extra work to keep his mind off things. Dylan and Theodore offered to help, and Snape welcomed the chance to spend some time with his sons, although Theodore's presence sparked a twinge of guilt in Snape every now and then, when he recalled how he had been jealous of the boy, and quarreled with his mother because of it. Theodore seemed happy to be working with Snape, although he had been a little subdued ever since school had started.

Snape wondered if he should be concerned, then decided that it was probably due to being separated from Blaise. He would give them a few weeks to get adjusted to their new living arrangements, and ask Remus to talk to Theodore if he still seemed troubled after that. Actually, knowing the werewolf, he would probably pick up on the boy's mood and have a talk with him before Snape even had to ask. Which made Snape a little uneasy, because Lupin was also very good at picking up on Snape's moods. He had caught Lupin giving him thoughtful and concerned looks more than once, but so far Lupin had not spoken to him about it, only given him patient, loving smiles that seemed to say, "I'm here when you're ready to talk about it." Snape found it both touching and irritating at the same time, but he was grateful that Lupin was not pressing the issue--yet.

"It's very nice of you to brew a batch for the clinic," Lupin said one evening, as he sipped a smoking goblet of Wolfsbane Potion. "But Takeshi said he was able to brew enough to cover this month's supply." Lupin grinned. "He was able to brew more than usual, thanks to Aric's somewhat unwilling help over the holidays."

"That may be true, Lupin, but it's always better to have more than you need on hand than not enough," Snape said, in a slightly superior tone of voice that most people would have found offensive, but Lupin just smiled at him fondly. "The potion will keep for several months once it's bottled and sealed, and you never know when you might have a shortage in the future. And while the supply is sufficient for the current population of werewolves in London, you never know when a new werewolf might turn up."

"I suppose you're right, Severus," Lupin conceded. "Although I haven't heard of any werewolf attacks since the Distribution Program started."

"Besides," Snape added, "it's not that much extra work with Theodore and Dylan helping me." The boys smiled at him proudly, and he gave them each a brief pat on the shoulder, and Lupin smiled at all of them lovingly. And for the moment, his worries and resentment vanished, and it felt like they were a family again, as they had been during the summer, when it had been just the four of them living together in Lupin's little cottage in the woods.

***

Blaise was also concerned about Theodore, who had seemed a little distant ever since he had returned from Christmas vacation. They did their homework together with Dylan and Damien as usual, laughing and joking with each other, and stole a few kisses when they could contrive to be alone for a few minutes, but Blaise felt like there was something Theodore was not telling him, and it reminded him uncomfortably of how things had been before the war ended, when there had been shadows and secrets behind Theodore's gray-green eyes. It was even more difficult than usual to talk to him, since they had little privacy now that they no longer shared a room together.

One night when the four friends were studying in Theodore's room, Damien said casually, "Hey, Dylan, did you see the latest issue of Quidditch Monthly? They did a cover story on the Caerphilly Catapults."

"Really?" Dylan asked. "That's my favorite team."

"I know," Damien replied. "I have a copy in my room, if you wanna take a look at it."

"Sure," Dylan said, rising to his feet.

"We'll be back later," Damien said, grinning and winking at Blaise and Theo on his way out.

Blaise laughed, "Not very subtle, but it's nice of them to give us some time alone." Theodore smiled, but still looked a little distant and distracted. Blaise was grateful to Damien and Dylan, but not for the reasons they might have expected; the first thing on his mind was not sex, but relief that he finally had a chance to talk to Theo alone.

"Theo?" Blaise asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Theodore said, a little too quickly. "Except for trying to memorize those dates for our History of Magic quiz. Can't Dumbledore at least hire a teacher who's still alive? Although I heard that Binns was just as boring when he was alive, so maybe it wouldn't make that much of a difference."

"It's just that it seems like something's been bothering you ever since you got back from vacation," Blaise persisted.

"I said it was nothing!" Theodore snapped.

Blaise looked his lover directly in the eyes and said quietly, "If you don't want to talk about it, Theo, just say so, but please don't lie to me. I thought we were going to be honest with each other from now on."

Theodore flushed, looking guilty. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "It's just...habit."

"I know," Blaise said, wrapping his arms around Theo. "It's okay. It's just that when I see you looking unhappy, I want to help if I can, even if I all can do is lend a sympathetic ear." So Theo told him, in a halting voice, about the fight that Snape had had with Selima.

"I'm sure that he's not mad at you, Theo," Blaise said gently. "The Professor was estranged from his parents for...what? Fifteen, sixteen years? Things aren't always going to go smoothly between him and his mother."

"I guess," Theodore said unhappily. "But it seemed like they were fighting over me..."

"Well, maybe you should talk to the Professor about it," Blaise suggested.

"No!" Theodore said vehemently, pulling away from Blaise. "What if he gets mad at me for eavesdropping? He's already angry with Lady Selima because of me. What if...?" His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, and he finally voiced his worst fear. "What if he doesn't want me to be his son anymore?"

"The Professor loves you," Blaise tried to reassure him. "That would never happen!"

"How do you know?" Theodore retorted. "Snape's parents disowned him, and he was of their blood; I'm not even his real son!"

"Theo," Blaise said, trying to calm his lover down, "you know that the Professor thinks of you as his real son. He would never disown you. Look, everyone knows Snape has a bad temper; I'm sure that this fight, whatever it was about, will blow over after he's had a little time to cool off."

"That's easy for you to say!" Theodore snapped. "You've still got your original parents--parents who love you and would never disown you, let alone use you as a guinea pig to try out new curses on! How can a Slytherin be so damn naive?!" Blaise was stunned into silence, and Theo immediately looked guilty.

"I'm sorry," Theodore said softly. "But you don't know what it's like to be alone--truly alone, with no family to depend on. You don't know what it's like to have parents who don't love you. I finally have a family that loves me, Blaise, and I can't do anything to risk losing them, I just can't!"

"I'm sorry, Theo," Blaise said, and tentatively slipped an arm around his lover. He felt relieved when Theo leaned into embrace, resting his head on Blaise's shoulder. "You're right, I can't really know how you feel."

"Well, it's not your fault that you have a nice family," Theodore said apologetically. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Blaise kissed him lightly and said, "That's okay. But I still think you're underestimating Snape. I honestly don't believe that he'd disown you, no matter how mad he is. And I think that whatever he's angry about probably has more to do with his mother than with you."

"I can't take the risk," Theodore repeated stubbornly.

He was still looking a little frantic, and Blaise sensed that he would only start another argument if he kept pushing. So he kissed Theo again and said, "Okay," and felt him relax a little. "If you don't want to talk to Snape, maybe you could talk to Lupin about it," Blaise suggested. "He might know what's bothering the Professor, and he's really good at calming Snape down."

Theodore was silent for a long time, then he finally said, "I'll think about it." He didn't sound very confident, but there didn't seem to be anything more that Blaise could do. If he went behind Theo's back to talk to Lupin or Snape himself, Theo would probably regard that as a betrayal of his trust, and he would never forgive Blaise. So he simply held Theo and kissed him, and hoped that Snape's argument with his mother really would blow over. Nothing could really cure Theo's fears but time, Blaise decided. It was only natural that Theo was insecure; he had only been Snape's son for a few months, while he had been the son and victim of the sadistic Thaddeus Nott for almost seventeen years. Eventually he'd see that Snape and Lupin really loved him, and wouldn't abandon him. Until then, Blaise would do his best to comfort and reassure him.

"I love you, Theo," Blaise whispered. "No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

"I love you, too," Theodore whispered back. They simply held each other for a few more minutes, until Dylan and Damien returned, talking loudly and making a great deal of noise to announce their presence. Theodore and Blaise hastily disentangled themselves, grinning at each other, and everything seemed to be all right again, at least for the moment.

***

Most of the school was still gossiping about what had happened at the Yule Ball--about Theodore and Blaise in particular. They tried to follow Lady Selima's advice and ignore it for the most part, but finally Theodore got fed up one day when Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke were being particularly obnoxious.

"I'm not surprised that they turned out to be queer," Jack said, loud enough for his voice to carry over to the Slytherin table. "Especially Snape."

"Yeah, like father, like son, right?" Andrew snickered.

"I wonder what he had to do to convince Professor Snape to make him his heir?" Jack said in an insinuating tone.

"Knock it off!" Harry said sharply, and Hermione threatened them with detention, reminding them, "I'm a prefect!"

"Oh, go ahead and give me detention, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes," Jack sneered. "You're only sticking up for them because your boyfriend's a Slytherin."

"Maybe you'd better a keep an eye on your boyfriend," Andrew suggested knowingly. "After all, isn't he...close...to Snape and Zabini?"

Hermione's face turned red with anger, and she opened her mouth to shout at them at the exact moment Theodore turned around to face the Gryffindors, his gray-green eyes glittering with anger. Blaise laid a hand on his arm, pleading, "Don't do anything stupid, Theo."

"Don't worry," Theodore whispered, then turned back to the Gryffindors with an amused smile on his face. "You Gryffindors are so provincial," he said in a condescending voice. "One would think you'd never heard of homosexuality before." Jack and Andrew looked confused but angry, knowing they were being insulted even if they didn't exactly understand how.

"Gryffindor isn't full of queers like Slytherin!" Andrew snapped.

Theodore laughed, still with that look of amused condescension on his face. "Oh, come now! Surely you don't think that Slytherins are the only ones who have...ah...shall we say, played for the other team?" He smirked. "Quite an apt analogy, considering how...close...Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell were."

"You're a liar, Snape!" Jack snarled.

"Angelina used to date my brother Fred," Ron protested. He didn't approve of the way that Sloper and Kirke were taunting Theodore, but neither did he like the way that Theodore was slandering his former teammates.

Theodore rolled his eyes. "How naive can you be? Sure, she went to the Ball with Fred, but it was probably just a cover so that no one would suspect the truth. If you ask your brother, I'll bet he'll tell you that they never went at it hot and heavy."

As Ron spluttered, Lavender said to Parvati hesitantly, "Didn't Angelina and Katie move into a flat together after they graduated? I thought they were just roommates, but maybe..."

"Don't listen to that liar!" Andrew shouted.

"Yes, there must have been quite a lot of action going on in the Gryffindor locker room," Theodore said, thoroughly enjoying himself. "I hear that Oliver Wood did half of the Gryffindor team--and I don't mean just the female half."

Theodore calmly turned back to his breakfast as an uproar arose at the Gryffindor table, with the students shouting so loudly that Professor McGonagall came down from the head table to take twenty points off her own House.

"But it's Snape's fault!" Jack protested. "He was telling lies about the Gryffindor team!"

"Oh?" McGonagall asked, raising her eyebrows. "What sort of lies?"

Jack flushed, unwilling to answer, and Theodore smiled innocently. "I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to upset them. I just passed on a little harmless gossip, since they seem to enjoy that kind of thing so much."

McGonagall gave both boys a hard look. "No more gossip from now on," she said sternly. "Perhaps I'll assign some extra homework in my classes, since you seem to have so much free time." She went back to the head table, and the Gryffindors subsided, Jack and Andrew grumbling sullenly but quietly.

"You went too far, Snape," Harry said accusingly. "I don't blame you for being mad at those two gits, but Katie and Angelina and Oliver never did anything to you."

Theodore shrugged. "I don't care if they call me names, but I won't let them insult my family that way."

"Then deal with Sloper and Kirke directly!" Harry said.

"I'm a Slytherin, Potter," Theodore said with a smile. "We don't do anything directly. If I get into a fist fight with those two idiots, I'll be the one who gets in trouble, and what's the point of that? This way they lose points, but I don't." Harry just stared at him, still looking angry, but a little confused, and a little respectful as well. "But if it makes you feel better, I apologize for saying those things about Bell, Johnson, and Wood," Theodore said placatingly. He supposed that he shouldn't offend the Boy Who Lived too much, since Lupin was fond of him.

As breakfast resumed, Goyle leaned over and whispered, "I didn't know Wood was gay!"

Theodore rolled his eyes. "He isn't, as far as I know. I only said that to piss off the Gryffindors. But I really did see Bell and Johnson in The Hog's Head once, in a table in the corner, holding hands."

"Two girls together," Crabbe mused. "Wow, that's kind of hot!"

"Don't let Luna hear you say that!" Goyle laughed.

Pansy sniffed disdainfully. "Don't be a Neanderthal, Crabbe."

Everyone laughed, and Slytherins enjoyed their little victory over Gryffindor, although as Draco put it, "In a battle of wits, Gryffindor is obviously handicapped," and everyone laughed even harder.

***

Things began to get worse in the next week, though. First, during the usually flurry of morning mail delivery, an owl dropped a bag of sugar skulls in front of Harry as he was eating breakfast.

"Hey, cool!" Ron said. "I thought Honeydukes stopped carrying those after Halloween. Mind if I have some?"

Harry, looking bemused, held the bag out to him. "I don't know who they're from," he said. "There's no note attached."

As Ron popped a skull into his mouth, Jack Sloper said, "Weasley, you idiot! What if those are poisoned?"

But Ron had already chewed and swallowed the piece of candy. "It tastes fine," Ron said. "And where do you get off calling me an idiot? Who'd want to poison Harry?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Skulls...Death Eaters; get it?" he said in an exaggeratedly slow and patient voice.

"That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?" Ron asked uneasily. "There are no more Death Eaters, right?"

"Are there?" Jack asked, his gaze shifting towards the Slytherin table.

"You're so stupid, Jack Sloper!" Allegra said angrily.

Jack sneered at her. "How do we know you didn't send them? Your brother's a Slytherin."

"For one thing," Allegra said, giving him a disdainful look, "my brother is not a Death Eater. My family lost our fortune because my Grandpa wouldn't support them, but I guess you're too ignorant to know that." As Jack spluttered in anger, she continued calmly, "For another thing, I'm a first-year, so I can't go to Hogsmeade. Therefore, I couldn't have bought the candy. And finally, I don't have an owl, so I couldn't have sent the candy to Harry even if I did have some."

"Did anyone recognize that owl?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"I...I'm not sure," Neville stuttered hesitantly, "but I think it might be one of the school owls. I use them to send letters home sometimes, since I don't have an owl of my own, only Trevor." He patted his pet toad, who was resting in the pocket of Neville's robes.

"So she could have sent the skulls to Potter, after all!" Jack said triumphantly.

"She didn't go to the Owlery this morning," Portia said, glaring at Jack. "Allegra was with me and Chloe and Emma all morning before we came to breakfast." The other two girls nodded emphatically.

"Then it could have been one of the Slytherins," Jack argued.

"It does seem strange, Harry, that someone would be sending you Halloween candy in January," Dean pointed out, looking over at the Slytherin table suspiciously.

"Well, Ron seems okay," Ginny said, after looking her brother over carefully, "so I think it's all right. Maybe it's just somebody's idea of a dumb joke."

"Ha ha," said Harry grimly. "I don't find it very funny."

"Me neither," said Ginny. "Maybe you'd better have Professor Snape test the candy, just in case. Or you could just wait and see if Ron gets sick."

"Hey!" Ron said indignantly.

Although Ron said he felt fine, Ginny and Hermione both insisted that Harry see Professor Snape, just to be on the safe side. So although he didn't relish the idea of asking the Potions Master for a favor, he hurried over to the head table to catch Snape before he left after breakfast ended. He made Ron come along with him for moral support. "Besides," Harry pointed out, as Ron protested, "if the candy really is poisoned, Snape will have to give you an antidote." Ron groaned, but followed Harry to the head table.

Snape frowned and Lupin looked worried as Harry explained his request. He expected Snape to scold him for wasting his time, maybe even accuse Harry of being swell-headed and arrogant, to imagine that he was so important that someone would want to poison him. But Snape just said, "Very well, Potter; come with me," and led Harry and Ron down to his office in the dungeon. Lupin tagged along, still looking worried.

Snape cast some spells on the candy, and dissolved a few of the skulls in test tubes of unidentifiable liquids, then finally declared, "The candy is not poisoned, nor do I detect any sort of enchantment or curse on it."

Harry sighed in relief. "Thanks, Professor. Sorry for wasting your time."

"I knew we shouldn't have listened to that paranoid git Sloper," Ron muttered under his breath.

But Snape was still frowning. "Honeydukes only sells this type of candy in October, for Halloween. Is it a particular favorite of yours, Potter?"

"No, not really, Professor," Harry replied. "My favorites are Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Beans."

"So the question is," Lupin said softly, "why would someone be sending you stale Halloween candy in January? It seems like a rather odd gift."

"It's not stale," Ron pointed out. "It still tastes pretty good."

"Seeing as how it's made of pure sugar, I'm sure that it keeps well," Snape said sarcastically. "But that doesn't answer Lupin's question."

"Ginny thought it might be a joke--a not very funny one," Harry said.

"No doubt," Snape said sourly as he scowled at the bag of skulls. "Hogwarts seems to be full of pranksters of late." He handed the bag of candy back to Harry and said, "Well, the two of you had better get to class now; I'm not going to write you an excuse slip if you're late."

"And let us know if anyone plays any more 'jokes' on you," Lupin said gravely.

"Yes, Professor," Harry said, and hurried off to class. "Do you want these?" he asked, offering the bag of candy to Ron. "I've lost my appetite, somehow."

Ron looked at the bag of sugar skulls and sighed. "Me too, I guess." They went to class and tossed the bag in the wastebasket.

***

Back in his office, Snape made no move to leave, although he had a class to get to as well. Then again, nobody would give him detention if he was late. He stood there staring at the doorway through which the boys had just exited, a brooding look on his face, until Lupin finally said, "Severus? Do you really think it's a prank?"

"Yes," Snape replied. "A nasty-minded but fairly harmless one this time. The question is, who was the real target of the prank--Potter or my Slytherins?" It was a rhetorical question, and Snape answered it himself before Lupin could reply. "I would say the latter, judging from the previous pranks, in which the victims were Slytherins. Well, I suppose we can't be sure that Theodore and Blaise were the actual target of the Yule Ball prankster, but it seems that whoever was behind it wanted someone to spill their secrets, and the Slytherins tend to have more secrets to keep than the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, or Ravenclaws."

"You think that someone sent the candy skulls to Harry to draw suspicion onto the Slytherins?" Lupin asked. "I suppose it's possible, although it's a roundabout sort of way to do it." Lupin began to look even more concerned. "Then maybe Aric wasn't the real target of the Porvora attack, after all. Maybe Aric was only attacked in order to implicate Theo. Because he's a Death Eater's son?"

"Twice over," Snape said, smiling humorlessly. "Both his natural and adoptive fathers were Death Eaters."

"And Dylan was the victim of the first so-called 'prank,'" Lupin said, turning a little pale. "Severus, maybe whoever is behind this is actually targeting YOU!"

"It's possible," Snape admitted, not looking very happy about it.

Snape was calm, despite his distress, while Lupin grew increasingly agitated. "But who could do such a thing?" he cried.

"Presumably someone with a grudge against the Death Eaters," Snape said. "While many of the students despise me, I don't think that someone would try to hurt or kill my sons just to get back at me for a bad grade or failed exam. Unfortunately, there are any number of students who have lost relatives to the Death Eaters: Mr. Ackerley, Miss Laroque, Miss Bones, even Mr. Potter himself--"

"Surely you don't think Harry is behind this!" Lupin exclaimed.

"Of course not, Lupin," Snape said impatiently. "I was just pointing out that there are many students whose relatives were killed during the war--that even includes two of my Slytherins, Mr. Dietrich and Miss Greengrass, although I don't think that they're behind this, either. And those are just the students who lost immediate family members. If we include distant relations and family friends, the list goes even higher. And there are of course students who were affected adversely by the war even if their relatives weren't killed, exactly--like Longbottom, whose parents spent the last sixteen years in St. Mungo's, or Zabini, whose family was ruined financially. And no, Lupin, I don't think that they have anything to do with it, either, but I am sure there are many other students with similar stories who might be less forgiving."

"Who can it be?" Lupin asked in frustration. "And how can you be so calm about it?"

"Panicking won't help anything," Snape replied coolly. "For the sake of self-preservation, I learned how to contain my fear and impatience while serving Voldemort many years ago."

"Of course," Lupin said contritely, slipping his arms around Snape and leaning against him. "I know how hard it must have been for you, and I didn't mean to imply that you weren't worried. It's just that I'm scared, Severus. I'm scared that someone wants to hurt my family. Today's prank was harmless, but what about the next one? And Theodore and Dylan have another Quidditch match coming up next week..."

"We'll check the players and their equipment thoroughly for hexes before the game starts," Snape said reassuringly, but he looked troubled, too. "You know, if this is an attack on me personally, it's an indirect one, which implies a certain amount of deviousness and cunning. Which points back towards Slytherin, except that this is too subtle for Aric, the only likely suspect. And I think a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would make a more straightforward attack. A Ravenclaw might be capable of it, but the only suspect who immediately comes to mind is Ackerley. And while he's an obnoxious little brat, I don't picture him being this subtle, either. We'll have to watch all of the students very carefully, Lupin."

"I thought we were done with searching for spies, with expecting betrayal in our midst," Lupin said unhappily. "The war is supposed to be over!"

"Sometimes I think it will never be over," Snape sighed wearily. Then, seeing Lupin looking so miserable, he kissed the werewolf and said in an almost gentle voice, "Go on to class, Lupin; we're both late. Don't worry, we're just dealing with some spiteful brats, not actual Death Eaters. And when I finally get my hands on those brats, I'm going to make them wish they'd never been born." He gave Lupin his most wicked and sadistic smile, which had the desired effect and made Lupin laugh.

But when Lupin was out of Snape's sight, his face slipped back into an expression of fear and worry as he left the dungeon and headed upstairs to the DADA classroom.

Part 57