FIC: A Sort of Fairytale, Part 4

[geri_chan]

Title: A Sort of Fairytale, Part 4
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Word count: 7370
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part. Characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except for Death, who belongs to Neil Gaiman.
Author's notes: Canon compliant up to HBP, more or less, but I made up my own ending to the series, although I borrowed a few crucial elements from DH. I borrowed the character Death from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series; she also appears in my story The Revenant. You don't need to be familiar with the Sandman comics/graphic novels in order to follow this story, although I've thrown in a few little in-jokes for Gaiman fans.

Summary: Written for the Trading Places challenge on lupin_snape, and based on karasu_hime's lovely artwork.  Rehearsals for the play begin, not without a few snags...


Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

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"A play, Albus?" McGonagall asked, sounding intrigued as Dumbledore raised the subject at the next morning's staff meeting.

Remus, who had been sitting in silence up until now, looking tired and depressed, smiled and said, "I think it's a good idea. Maybe it will help cheer the students up, and take their minds off things."

Sirius felt a bit guilty, because he knew that he was at least partially responsible for those dark circles beneath his friend's eyes, but at least Remus seemed to be going along with his new plan. Of course, it remained to be seen how enthusiastic he would be once Dumbledore announced the cast list.

"How typical of you, Lupin," Snape sneered. "Whenever something unpleasant happens, you try to sweep it under the rug and forget about it. Yes, I'm sure that the students were traumatized by the war, but the sacrifices of those who died should not be forgotten just so you can sleep a little easier at night."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Remus said angrily.

"Do I?" Snape retorted.

Sirius rolled his eyes heavenward and asked, "Someone please tell me why I'm trying to get these two back together again?" No reply was forthcoming, but he hadn't really expected one. "You don't have to be such a bastard all the time, Snape--that's why no one likes you." Snape, of course, couldn't hear him, and Sirius found that it wasn't much fun insulting someone who was completely oblivious to the insults. He gazed at his star-tipped wand and muttered, "I wonder if I could turn his robes pink?" He smiled nastily for a moment, then sighed. No, that wouldn't be a good idea; Snape would probably blame Remus for it, and then he'd be even farther away from getting them back together.

"You should be proud of me, Death," Sirius said with a wry smile. "I'm learning how to think before I act."

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was playing peacemaker. "I'm sure that Remus wasn't trying to belittle the sacrifices of those who died, Severus," he said placatingly. "Something as trivial as a play won't cause people to forget the friends and loved ones that they lost. But neither is it good for people to mourn the dead indefinitely. They sacrificed themselves to bring peace back to the wizarding world. To live life to the fullest and feel joy once again is a fitting way to honor that sacrifice, I think."

There were nods and murmurs of agreement from the other teachers, except for Snape, who just threw his hands up in disgust and said, "Do as you please, then--the same as you always do."

"Thank you, I shall," Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"Well, I think it's a splendid idea!" Flitwick said excitedly. "How shall we go about holding auditions? Will they be open to all the students, or just the older ones?"

"Well, actually, I was thinking that the faculty would put on a production to entertain the students," Dumbledore replied.

"Oh, what fun!" Flitwick declared, clapping his hands together.

Remus began to look a little alarmed; maybe he had an inkling of what was about to befall him. "But if this is for the students' sake, shouldn't they get to participate?" he said hastily.

"Well, it's just there are only a limited number of roles, and a great many students," Dumbledore said innocently. "I had thought to prevent jealousy and competition by casting the faculty instead."

"If you want to prevent competition, then you ought to do away with the Quidditch matches, too," Snape pointed out in a sour voice.

"We can discuss that at another time, Severus," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "But as things stand right now, the Quidditch season was canceled due to the war, so I think it is all the more important to have some form of festivities to cheer the students up."

"Remus has a point," Madam Pomfrey said. "The children ought to have a chance to participate, too."

"No, no, that would ruin everything!" Sirius exclaimed in alarm--not that anyone could hear him. "Remus and Snape have to be the leads, or this will all be for nothing!"

"Well, perhaps they could help with the sets and costumes," Dumbledore suggested.

However, it was Flitwick who unknowingly came to Sirius's rescue when he said, "Well, why restrict ourselves to just one play? Why not have an entire Talent Day and let the students come up with their own acts? Participation will be voluntary, and those who wish to may put on a play, sing, recite poetry, or whatever tickles their fancy--within the bounds of safety and good taste, of course."

Snape muttered something under his breath about some people's sense of taste being rather questionable, but everyone else ignored him.

"That's a wonderful idea, Filius!" Dumbledore said. "The students can put on their acts first, and the staff play will be the finale."

"How will we divide up the roles?" Flitwick asked. "Will we have auditions or...?"

"I've taken the liberty of assigning the roles myself, to avoid any feelings of ill will in case two teachers wished to compete for the same role," Dumbledore replied. 

"I think we are all mature adults here, Albus," McGonagall said. "But I am willing to leave the casting in your hands, if that is what you wish." The other teachers murmured their consent, and Snape just shrugged indifferently.

"Very well, then," Dumbledore said, pulling a piece of parchment from his pocket and unrolling it. "Minerva shall play the Wicked Stepmother..."

"Is that supposed to be typecasting, Albus?" McGonagall asked sternly, but there was a faint glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Not at all, my dear Minerva," Dumbledore assured her. "It is only that I have utmost faith in your acting abilities."

"If we can just get on with this, so I can get back to performing the work I was hired to do, which if I am not mistaken, is educating the students?" Snape said sarcastically.

"Aurora shall play the Wicked Stepsister," Dumbledore continued.

Professor Sinistra grinned and said, "Fine with me." She was a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and a figure that curved in all the right places, but there was a sinister edge to her beauty, as befit her name: a certain sly glint in her eyes; a knowing, slightly malicious smile; and long fingernails painted blood-red that looked a bit too much like talons for comfort.

"And Hagrid will play the Wicked Stepbrother..."

"Me?" Hagrid asked, startled. "But in the story, isn't it two sisters?"

"I've taken a few liberties with the script," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Don't worry; you'll do fine. Now, moving along, Filius shall play the Fairy Godfather..."

"Oh, splendid!" Flitwick exclaimed happily. "It's a perfect role for a Charms specialist!"

"And Remus shall play Prince Charming..."

"What?!" Remus exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror. "Oh no, I really don't think that's a good idea at all, Albus! I mean, I'm flattered that you thought of me, but I'm not really much of an actor--"

"Oh, I don't know; I thought that you always seemed to play the role of the innocent victim quite well, Lupin," Snape said coolly.

Remus shot a brief glare at him, then said, "Really, Albus, I think you should get someone else for the role."

Dumbledore reached over to pat him reassuringly on the shoulder. "It's just a bit of stage fright, my boy. You'll do fine; I have complete confidence in you."

"But--"

"You did say that you thought this was a good idea, Remus," Sinistra reminded him with a sly grin. "Be a good sport; at least you get to play the hero, not the evil stepsister!"

"But I..." Remus protested weakly, but Dumbledore was already moving on.

"And Severus shall play Cinderella."

"WHAT?!" roared Snape, jumping to his feet so quickly that he knocked over his chair. "Is this some kind of practical joke?!"

"It's not a joke at all, Severus," Dumbledore said mildly.

"It's a great honor, to be given the title role," Sinistra said sweetly, and Snape gave her a murderous glare that would have sent his students running for cover, but Sinistra bore it unflinchingly, her smile not wavering in the slightest.

"Well, I refuse the honor!" Snape snapped.

"Participation in this play is mandatory for the faculty," Dumbledore said firmly. "No exceptions."

"What are you going to do, fire me if I refuse to act in your little play?" Snape demanded incredulously.

"When I said 'mandatory,' I meant it, Severus," Dumbledore said, quietly but sternly. "Though it would be a great inconvenience to have to find a new Potions Master."

For a moment, Sirius was worried that Snape would call the Headmaster's bluff as his head turned to glare furiously at Dumbledore and then Remus and back again. "This is some sort of Gryffindor scheme that the two of you have concocted, to humiliate me by trying to force me to dress up in drag!" he accused.

"I knew nothing about this!" Remus protested. "Albus, I know you mean well, but this is not a good idea!"

"Well, for once you and I agree on something, Lupin," Snape said sourly.

"Then this play has already done some good!" Dumbledore said with satisfaction. "I am well aware of the history of animosity between the two of you..."

"The animosity isn't on my part," Remus muttered under his breath as Snape glared at him.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "you need to learn how to cooperate and work together in spite of your differences if you are both going to continue teaching here."

"Is that what this is all about?" Remus asked. "Albus, we don't need a play in order to work together."

"Indeed," Snape agreed in a cold voice. "Let Lupin teach his classes, and I shall teach mine, and as long as he stays out of my way, I shall tolerate his presence."

"A state of cold war is not good enough," Dumbledore said, his tone of voice growing a little sterner and sharper, as if lecturing a pair of quarreling students. "This subject is not up for debate; you will both perform your assigned roles in the play. Period."

"But--" Snape started to protest.

"As for your objections to 'dressing up in drag,' then I can allay your concerns, Severus," Dumbledore interrupted. "I have altered the script to change the character of Cinderella into a man. We'll have to change the name, too, of course--Cinder Lad, or perhaps, just Cinders."

"That's nearly as humiliating as being forced to wear a dress," Snape said sulkily.

"Yeah, well, you get no sympathy from me, Snivellus, seeing as how I'm wearing a fairy godmother costume for your sake," Sirius grumbled.

"Why not give the character a more dignified name like Ashton?" Pomfrey suggested diplomatically. "And the wicked stepsisters...er, stepsiblings, can shorten it to 'Ash' instead of 'Cinders'."

"That's a wonderful idea, Poppy," Dumbledore agreed. "Oh, and I'd like you to play the Prince's mother. I will direct and narrate the play, and the rest of the staff can play the minor roles like the courtiers and ball guests. Everyone, please pick up your scripts on the way out, and we'll have our first rehearsal after dinner tonight."

Snape grabbed his script and stalked out of the room; Remus trailed after him anxiously.

"Severus..."

"I'd keep my distance if I were you, Lupin," the Potions Master snarled. "I'm in a very bad mood right now, and I'm not sure that I can restrain myself from throwing an Unforgivable Curse your way, even if it would probably get me fired, not to mention arrested."

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about all this, Severus," Remus said.

"I thought you were done with apologies, Lupin," Snape sneered. "I was almost impressed that you showed a little spine back then. I should have known that you'd revert back to your cowardly self."

Instead of taking offense, Remus looked startled and then thoughtful. "Why Severus, that almost sounds like a backhanded compliment."

"You must not get many compliments then, if you can't tell them apart from an insult," Snape retorted, flushing slightly. "And does your apology mean that you did have some part in this plan to humiliate me, after all?"

"No, of course not," Remus replied. "I was only expressing sympathy for the situation that we've both found ourselves in."

"At least you're not Cinderella," Snape said sullenly.

"We can trade if you'd like," Remus said. "The role doesn't make any difference to me; it's just the idea of performing in front of an audience that makes me feel panicky. That's partly why I never tried out for the Quidditch team back in school. I was sure I'd freeze up in the middle of a big game."

"You seem to be under the misapprehension that I care how you feel, Lupin," Snape said coldly.

Remus sighed wearily. "If you hate the idea that much, Severus, you can simply refuse to participate. I'm sure that Albus wouldn't really fire you."

"I can't afford to take the chance, Lupin," Snape replied, glaring at Remus as if it were all his fault. "No one else would be willing to hire a Death Eater, and I'd rather not starve to death. Besides, I can tell when the old man is bluffing, and believe it or not, he's dead serious about this play."

"How on earth did Albus came up with this crazy scheme?" Remus wondered.

"Who knows?" Snape replied curtly. "Maybe he suffered brain damage when his heart stopped during our little charade on the Astronomy Tower." He muttered under his breath, "Maybe I should have killed him for real when I had the chance." Remus smiled, and Snape said acerbically, "Does the idea of my murdering the Headmaster amuse you, Lupin?"

"No, Severus," Remus replied. "I'm smiling because I know that you would never really do such a thing, no matter how angry you were at him."

"You believed it easily enough last summer," Snape said bitterly, and Remus flinched.

"I deserve that, I suppose," Remus said quietly. "But I know better now, and I'll never doubt you again, Severus. And I truly am sorry that I doubted you then, although I know that an apology can never make up for my loss of faith."

He nodded at Snape politely, then turned and headed down another corridor. Snape stared after him broodingly for a moment, then hurried off to the dungeon.

"Well, at least they're speaking to each other," Sirius said hopefully. "That has to be a good sign, right?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Nick suddenly materialized beside him and nodded. "I'm impressed. It wasn't exactly a declaration of love, but it's the longest conversation that they've had since Professor Lupin returned to the school."

"I told you it was a good plan," Sirius said with a confident grin. He hadn't been thrilled about this mission at first, but now that he was convinced it was the right thing to do, he had set his mind on getting Remus and Snape back together, and once Sirius Black set his mind on something, it got done. He was going to force Remus and the greasy git to kiss and make up and live happily ever after, whether they liked it or not.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sirius wasn't quite so confident after watching the first few rehearsals.

"Clean up that mess," Hagrid said, reading his lines from the script. When Snape glared at him murderously, Hagrid added meekly, "That is, if you don' mind, Professor?"

"Yes, dear brother, I live to serve," Snape said sarcastically.

"Please stick to the script, both of you," Dumbledore reminded them patiently, not for the first time.

Sinistra, on the other hand, played her role with great relish. "Fetch my tea, Ash Boy, and be quick about it," she ordered in an imperious voice.

"You seem to be enjoying this a little too much, Aurora," Snape observed sourly.

Sinistra smirked. "I'm merely performing my Professorial duties, Severus."

"Funny, I don't recall 'making a fool of myself onstage' as being one of the duties listed in my contract."

Flitwick also seemed to be enjoying himself, throwing himself into his role with such enthusiasm that Sirius suspected that he'd once dreamed of becoming an actor.

"Too bad I'm not trying to get Flitwick and Sinistra together instead," Sirius muttered to himself.

"I am here to make your dreams come true, dear Ashton!" Flitwick exclaimed dramatically.

"Oh goody, does that mean the play is canceled?"

"Severus, as much as I appreciate your creativity, I would prefer that you stick to the script."

As for Remus, he stammered and stuttered out his lines, sounding more nervous than besotted, but perhaps that wasn't entirely his fault. Snape glared at him during their "love scenes," and spat out his lines in such a bitter, venomous voice that an outside observer would probably have assumed that he was the villain of the play rather than one of the the heroes.

"Are you sure this is going to work, Sirius?" Nick asked doubtfully.

"I am going to make it work, even if I have to cast an Imperius on them," Sirius said determinedly.

It was starting to look like that might be necessary. With a great deal of gentle but persistent chiding, Snape eventually got to the point where he would recite his lines as written (more or less), but with such sarcasm that the play was beginning to sound more like a farce than a romance. It was even worse when they began rehearsing the dancing for the ballroom scene. At first, Snape refused to let Remus touch him, to Remus's obvious hurt and distress. He gave in, very grudgingly, only after Dumbledore reminded him that he had to participate in this play if he wanted to keep his job. Even then, he held Remus at arm's length, keeping as much space between them as possible.

McGonagall, who had choreographed the dance, told them dryly, "Move a little closer together; you're supposed to be in love, after all."

"I'm also supposed to be a heroine from some insipid fairy tale," Snape snarled. "I doubt that any amount of acting will convince anyone that I'm really Cinderella, let alone that I'm in love with Prince Werewolf over here."

"Dance closer anyway," Dumbledore ordered sternly.

Snape sighed heavily, rolled his eyes, and moved an inch or two closer to Remus, regarding his dance partner with obvious distaste. Remus smiled wistfully at Snape, who turned his head to avoid Remus's gaze, suddenly looking rather uncomfortable.

Sirius perked up a bit at that. Could it be that Snape was objecting so loudly in order to cover up the fact that he was actually enjoying being close to Remus? He suddenly recalled a line from some Shakespeare play: "The lady doth protest too much," and Snape sure seemed to be doing a lot of protesting.

Incidentally, the more Snape grumbled and refused to move closer to Remus, the more Dumbledore insisted that they practice the scene, "until you get it right," so they ended up doing quite a bit of dancing. Remus almost seemed to be enjoying himself, his expression wavering back and forth between pleasure--presumably at being so close to his lifemate--and resigned disappointment that Snape was treating this like a loathsome chore to be endured.

Remus, once he relaxed a little, proved to be a competent dancer although he didn't have much experience, at least, not that Sirius could recall from their schoolboy days. But the real shock was Snape: he moved stiffly at first, but once he accepted that Dumbledore wasn't going to let him off the hook until he performed the dance properly, he moved with surprising ease and grace, although he continued to glower at Remus the entire time. Remus stared at Snape with a look of wonder and delight on his face as they waltzed around the room together, and the rest of the cast broke into spontaneous applause when they finished. Remus smiled, and Snape's sallow face turned red, and he hastily pulled away from Remus.

"Well done!" Dumbledore said, beaming at the two of them. "I knew you had it in you!"

"You're suprisingly light on your feet, Severus," McGonagall said with a bemused smile. "If I ever need a dance partner, perhaps I should call on you in the future."

"Please don't," Snape said sourly. "It is not an experience that I intend to repeat after this wretched production is over. And if the Headmaster decides to make mandatory dancing a regular 'duty' for the staff, then I just may take my chances with unemployment, after all. Now, if we're quite done here, I have papers to grade and lessons to plan--unless you consider this play to be more important than giving the students a proper education."

"Yes, that will do for tonight," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "However, don't forget that the costume fittings are scheduled for tomorrow evening."

"I can hardly wait," Snape replied sarcastically.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

However, the meager progress that had been made during the dance rehearsals was nearly undone by the costume fittings. Flitwick had volunteered to design the costumes, and had recruited a team of his Ravenclaw students to help sew them.

The fittings began without much fuss. Snape's "Cinderella" robes were made of shabby, faded cloth covered with patches, and Snape sneeringly asked, "Did these come from your wardrobe, Lupin?" Remus, of course, just smiled politely and refused to rise to the bait.

The Wicked Stepmother's and Stepbrother's costumes were appropriate for their roles--fine velvet robes richly embroidered with gilt thread, but distastefully gaudy in color and design. Sinistra was delighted with her costume: a slinky black robe slit nearly to the waist, fishnet stockings, and high-heeled black boots.

Dumbledore must have advised Flitwick on the Fairy Godfather costume, because it had obviously been influenced by their dream meeting. It was made of purple velvet rather than blue, and was spangling with a blinding amount of shiny sequins, but it had a pair of gauzy purple butterfly wings attached to the back, and there was a silver star-tipped wand to go along with it.

"Well, perhaps playing Cinderella isn't as bad as it could have been," Snape grudgingly conceded when he saw the Fairy Godfather costume, but he gave the butterfly wings a puzzled and suspicious look. Remus also did a double take when he saw them, and muttered under his breath, "No...it couldn't be..."

"I've charmed the wings to flap, although they won't actually hold my weight," Flitwick said, proudly showing off his creation. "But combined with a levitation spell, it will look like I'm actually flying. Isn't it simply delightful?"

"I can think of a few other adjectives to describe it," Snape muttered.

The costumes for the Queen and courtiers were pretty much what one would expect, fancy dress robes made of velvet and silk, but Flitwick and his Ravenclaws had gone all out on Remus's Prince costume. His robes were made of heavy, bright red velvet trimmed with white fur and covered with so much shining gold embroidery that you almost had to shield your eyes to look at it. There was also a large gold crown studded with rubies (well, actually red glass gems) the size of pigeon eggs.

"It's...er...well...it's certainly very...bright," Remus said weakly, obviously struggling to come up with something complimentary to say.

"I decided to go with red and gold since you're a Gryffindor, Remus," Flitwick said cheerfully.

"That was...very thoughtful of you, Filius," Remus managed, but even he, who was usually polite to a fault, couldn't actually bring himself to thank Flitwick.

Snape snickered at Remus's discomfort, but his amusement vanished as soon as he got a look at his own costume: a robe of smooth, shimmering satin that kept shifting color between a pale powder-blue and a rosy pink. It had long, flowing sleeves and ruffles running down the center of the robe.

"What...on...earth...is...that?" Snape said slowly through gritted teeth, as if it was taking every once of self-control that he had not to cast a Killing Curse on Flitwick.

"It's your costume, Severus," Flitwick replied, smiling nervously and taking a step backwards, prudently putting a little distance between himself and the Potions Master, although that wouldn't be enough to save him if Snape really did lose his temper. Sirius wondered if Hogwarts was about to gain another ghost.

"And pray tell, why is it changing color like that?" Snape asked, in a voice filled with quiet menace.

"Oh, one of my Muggle-born students gave me the idea," Flitwick replied. "She saw a Muggle movie version of Sleeping Beauty where two fairy godmothers are fighting over whether to make Sleeping Beauty's gown blue or pink, and they kept changing the color. Of course, developing the proper charm was a bit tricky, but..."

"It's bad enough that I'm being forced to participate in this exercise in humiliation!"  Snape shouted. "Bad enough that I'm being forced to dance with and feign affection for one of my childhood enemies, who once nearly killed me when we were students! But this--this is the last straw! I will not wear that ridiculous outfit, and you can bloody well go ahead and fire me if you want, Albus!"

As Snape turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, Sinistra commented, "Guess he doesn't like pink."

"What's wrong with pink?" Flitwick asked, a little indignantly.

"Well, it's not a, um, traditionally masculine color," Remus replied tactfully. "And also, when we were children, Sirius and James once charmed his robes to turn pink in front of everyone in the Great Hall, and well...let's just say that it didn't endear him to the color."

"I wish I could've seen that," Sinistra snickered.

"It's not funny," Remus said sternly. "Imagine how traumatic it would be for a child to be embarrassed like that in front of the entire school! Everyone was laughing at him!"

"Oh, not everyone, I'll wager," Sinistra said with a sly smile. "Not you, right, Remus? You seem to care a great deal about Severus's feelings, even if he's not as considerate about yours."

Remus's face turned bright red. "Well, of course I'd never laugh at Sev...at anyone who was humiliated like that," he mumbled. "And I don't blame him for resenting me. My friends made his life miserable, and even though I never joined in, I didn't try to stop them, either. Severus was right to call me a coward."

Sirius had completely forgotten about that prank until Remus brought it up, and he groaned as he realized that he'd inadvertently sabotaged Moony's love life yet again. "But honestly, it's Snape's fault, too, for holding a grudge so long," he grumbled. "That happened back in second year, and he's still harping on it? Get over yourself, Snape! So people laughed at your pink robes; big deal. At least you don't have butterfly wings growing out of your back!"

Meanwhile, Sinistra was telling Remus, "Well, that may have been true back then, but why don't you prove to him that you've changed? I saw you fighting during the final battle; I know that you're not lacking in courage."

Remus laughed ruefully. "It was a lot easier to face the Death Eaters than it is to face Severus!"

"Well, if you have that attitude, you'll never win him back," Sinistra scolded.

"Yeah, that's right!" Sirius agreed emphatically, even though he knew Remus couldn't hear him.

"Wh-what?" Remus stammered, blushing even more deeply.

"Oh, come now, Remus, we all saw the way you were staring at Severus after Albus proved his innocence," Sinistra replied with a little smirk. "It's obvious that you've been carrying a torch for him for quite some time. That's why Albus is putting on this play, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dumbledore replied innocently. "I just thought it would boost morale, that's all."

"So prove to him that you're not a coward anymore, that you won't give up so easily!" Sinistra told Remus. "Show a little backbone, and don't take 'no' for an answer! You have the perfect opportunity to play out a love scene with him in this production!"

By now, Remus's face was crimson. "Only if he doesn't carry out his threat to quit the play," he pointed out.

"I suppose I can change the robes to just plain blue," Flitwick sighed regretfully. "Although I really did love the shifting colors. And I never got to show Severus his glass slippers--well, more like glass boots, really."

"That might be a good thing," Sinistra said dryly.

"I don't wish to be rude, Filius," McGonagall said. "But somehow glass shoes just don't look quite as dainty in a man's size."

"I always thought the whole things sounded impractical," Sinistra said. "Who walks around in glass shoes, anyway? If they broke, you'd slice your feet open."

"Well, of course I charmed them to be unbreakable," Flitwick said, sounding a little hurt.

"It's obvious that we won't get any rehearsing done tonight," Dumbledore said. "Why don't we take a break and give Severus some time to calm down? And Filius, you can use the time to rethink Severus's costume. I'm sorry to ask this of you; I know that you worked hard on it, but..."

"But without Cinderella...er, I mean, Severus...there's no play," Flitwick said. "And I didn't realize that the color pink would bring back bad memories for him. I don't mind doing the costume over again, but it's only a couple of days until the actual performance."

"Well, just do your best," Dumbledore said, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure that everything will work out just fine." He smiled mischievously and winked at no one in particular. "Wouldn't it be nice if we had a fairy godfather of our own to take care of things for us?"

"It certainly would," Flitwick sighed. "All right, let me think it over, and I'll rework the costume tomorrow."

Of course! Sirius thought, prodded by Dumbledore's not-so-subtle hint. This is exactly the sort of thing that fairy magic is made for! Once everyone had left the room, Sirius examined the costume with a critical eye. Even without the pink, it was a bit too fancy and frilly for someone like Snape. However, Sirius wasn't a fashion designer, and he wasn't sure what would be right for Snape, other than maybe the color black. He wondered if he actually had to envision the costume in his mind, or if the fairy magic would do the work for him.

Well, there was only one way to find out. Sirius pointed his wand at the pink and blue costume, and a spray of glittering sparks shot out and enveloped it, then pulled away to reveal robes of sleek black velvet, and a black cloak cut to resemble a bird's wings. There was also a black half-mask shaped like a hawk's face with a large hooked beak.

"Hmm, a bit sinister-looking, but I must admit, it suits Snape," Sirius said. "And the beak will cover up his nose."

However, the fairy sparks weren't done yet. They swirled around the glass boots and changed them into soft black suede, and swirled once more around empty air, then vanished. As the sparks disappeared, a small object fell to the floor with a musical tinkle.

Sirius picked it up, and saw that it was a glass bracelet in the shape of a coiled serpent. "Perfect for a Slytherin like Snape," he said with a smile. He glanced over at the Prince's red and gold costume, and said, "Let's see if I can help out Moony, too, while I'm at it." He flicked his wand and the glittering sparks reappeared once more to work their magic on the second outfit. When they were done, the gaudy red robes had been transformed into a more quiet and subtle forest-green, and the equally gaudy crown had been replaced by a golden circlet studded with tastefully small emeralds and rubies--a foreshadowing of the union between Slytherin and Gryffindor, or maybe just wishful thinking on the wand's part.

Sirius supposed that he had better wish for that union, too, unless he wanted to remain stuck as a fairy godfather for the rest of his un-life. So he settled down to wait for the others to discover the new costumes the next day, muttering, "This had better meet with your approval, Snape, or I'll turn your entire wardrobe pink!"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was a good thing he stuck around, because he'd forgotten what Death had told him, that fairy magic wears off at the stroke of midnight, so he had to renew his spells, and would have to keep renewing them until the play was over. But it was a small price to pay to make Remus happy and get himself out of Limbo, not to mention this stupid fairy outfit.

When Flitwick came in the next morning to work on the costume, he exclaimed in surprise at what he found and then excitedly summoned the rest of the staff.

"Marvelous job, Filius!" Dumbledore praised. "I knew you could do it!"

"But I didn't do it!" Flitwick said. "I came in this morning, and the two costumes had already been changed! Did you do this, Severus?"

"Of course not," Snape snorted. "I have better things to do with my time than play seamstress." He examined his costume and grudgingly conceded, "I must admit that this is an improvement on the original." He tapped the beak of the mask with one finger and added, "Although I do wonder if our mysterious costume-maker is mocking me."

"No, I'm not, you ungrateful git!" Sirius said indignantly.

"I think it's a splendid costume!" Remus declared. "And the mask is a brilliant idea--I think we should change the script to make the dance a masked ball, Albus. I always thought that was a flaw in the original story, that the Prince couldn't recognize the face of his true love, even if she was clad in rags instead of her ball finery. This way, he has a good excuse to use the glass slipper--or in this case, bracelet--to find his beloved."

"Your costume was changed, too, Remus," Sinistra observed.

"I rather like it," Remus replied with a grin, then said apologetically to Flitwick, "Meaning no offense, Filius."

"None taken," Flitwick replied. "I must admit, this suits you much better. But I still don't know who did all this."

All of the teachers stated that they knew nothing about it, and Flitwick shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I suppose it will have to remain a mystery. Maybe the house-elves heard all the commotion and decided to help us out."

"Or maybe we do have a fairy godfather, after all," Dumbledore said with a wink.

"It was just the curry...wasn't it?" Remus muttered doubtfully to himself.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The final rehearsal went reasonably well: everyone remembered their lines, and Snape even seemed just a tiny bit less hostile to Remus during their scenes together, and he even blushed slightly when Remus as the Prince got down on one knee to propose marriage, although he quickly scowled to cover it up.

"This may just work, after all," said Nick, who had joined Sirius to watch the rehearsal.

"Of course it will work!" Sirius said, almost desperately. "It has to work, because if it doesn't, I'm all out of ideas."

Because he was worried, Sirius slipped into Remus's dreams that night to offer him a little encouragement. Remus was wearing his Prince costume, and was standing alone in the middle of an empty ballroom, looking pensive.

"Hey, Moony!"

"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed. "Have you come to cheer me up again?"

"Of course," Sirius replied. "But why are you so glum?"

"I've been enjoying the rehearsals," Remus said. "Being near Severus, even being able to hold him in my arms and dance with him--it's been wonderful. But I'm sad that it will be over soon, and he'll go back to ignoring me."

"Then don't let that happen!" Sirius said, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and shaking him for emphasis. "You've got to be a man, Moony! Stand up and tell him how you feel about him!"

"But what if he rejects me?" Remus protested.

"So what!" Sirius replied. "You won't be any worse off than you are now, and who knows, maybe Snape will surprise you. You'll never know unless you try. And if he rejects you, well then, you just keep on trying till you get it through his thick skull that you love him!"

Remus smiled at him wonderingly. "You really are trying to help me, aren't you, Padfoot? I'm sorry about what I said the last time."

"No, you were right," Sirius admitted. "I was a selfish jerk. But now I understand what I did wrong, and I really want to set things right. I'm sorry, Moony--for the prank, and for everything else I did that hurt you."

"I forgive you, Padfoot," Remus said, embracing him. "It was my fault, too, for being such a coward in the past. I'll try to be braver from now on." He pulled back and smiled at Sirius. "And I'm glad that I got this chance to talk to you, even if it's only in a dream."

"Dreams can come true, Moony--remember that," Sirius said, and hugged his friend one more time before leaving to visit Snape's dreams.

He found the Potions Master in the rehearsal room, staring broodingly at his costume for the ball. "Black," Snape said, looking a little startled. "You're here again, and still in that ridiculous get-up. I know it's not indigestion this time, because the roast chicken at dinner was perfectly edible and not at all spicy."

"Maybe I'm your subconscious," Sirius suggested sarcastically, knowing that Snape was never going to believe the truth.

"Oh?" Snape asked coolly. "And what does my subconscious wish to tell me this time?"

"You're being given a second chance with Remus, Snape," Sirius replied. "Don't screw it up this time."

"I don't care about the wolf," Snape said gruffly, turning away to fiddle with the costume distractedly.

"That's a lie and you know it!" Sirius retorted. "You couldn't even look me in the eye when you said that!" From the way Snape flinched, Sirius knew that his remark had struck home.

"If you weren't dead, Black, I'd suspect that you were the one behind this plan to humiliate me," Snape snarled.

"I'm not trying to humiliate you, I'm trying to get you back together with Remus, you stubborn git!" Sirius exclaimed in exasperation. "A part of you must want that, too, or you would have refused to take part in the play!"

"I had no choice!" Snape shouted. "The old man threatened to fire me!"

"Surely you don't really think that he'd go through with it?" Sirius asked. He wasn't entirely sure himself. Dumbledore had seemed serious at the time, but he was also very fond of the slimy git for some reason. Sirius suspected that he would have temporarily dismissed Snape so that he wouldn't have broken his word, but he would probably have hired him back eventually.

"I couldn't take that chance," Snape replied bitterly. "I could probably manage to make a living brewing potions under an assumed name, but...Hogwarts is my home. It's the only place where I really belong, the only place where I'm accepted." There was such bitterness and loneliness in his voice that Sirius began to feel sorry for him, until Snape added sourly, "Even if Dumbledore always favors the Gryffindors over me."

Sirius sighed. "He's not doing this to favor Remus over you, Snape. He wants to make both of you happy. You know deep down, even if you don't want to admit it, that Remus doesn't get any pleasure out of seeing you humiliated. He never did. So if Dumbledore is helping Remus, there can be only one reason behind it: to help Remus get back together with his true love, who for some reason I cannot fathom, happens to be you."

"Get out of here, Black!" Snape shouted, and Sirius felt the force of Snape's will, no doubt enhanced by his Occlumency, beginning to push him out of the dream.

"Wait, Snape!" Sirius shouted. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry about the prank--I was a stupid git and I could have gotten you killed, and I hurt Remus in the process! I nearly ruined my friendship with him because I was jealous of you!"

The pressure suddenly ceased, and Snape leaned in close and hissed, "I knew it! I knew that you were in love with him, too!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Look, I love Remus like a brother, but I'm not in love with him, okay? I'm totally straight! It's just that Remus and James and Peter were the only family I had after mine disowned me, and I didn't want to lose one of my brothers to you."

"You and Lupin really never...?" Snape asked uncertainly.

"Never!" Sirius said, shuddering. "The very idea is...eww! I mean, I don't think that being gay is disgusting or anything, but I don't like guys that way, and even if I did, the thought of being with Remus...it's just too incestuous. And I'm sure that Remus feels the same way about me."

"Oh," Snape said, sounding rather deflated, as if a long-held belief of his had just been shattered.

"Is that what you were thinking all this time?" Sirius laughed. "I promise, there was never anything romantic between me and Remus."

"Well, he's still a coward," Snape said defensively.

"And if he can prove to you that he's changed, will you take him back?" Sirius asked. "Or would you rather be lonely and miserable for the rest of your life?" Snape hesitated, and Sirius added slyly, "I know you've been enjoying the dance rehearsals with Remus."

"I have not!" Snape snapped, but his sallow face turned bright red.

"Look, is there anyone else better suited to you?" Sirius persisted. "He's handsome, intelligent, and loyal."

"So loyal that he never once stood up for me in school," Snape muttered.

"All right, maybe he didn't show it in the best way back then," Sirius said impatiently. "But he's loved you since we were all kids, and he's never stopped. And he has stood up for you since then, to the other Order members, and to the teachers and students here whenever anyone says anything the least bit disparaging about you. Merlin knows when I was alive, I got sick of hearing him tell me about how brave you were, and how much you'd sacrificed for the Order."

"I'd like to believe that," Snape whispered, more to himself than to Sirius. "But I won't be made a fool of again."

"Being made a fool of isn't pleasant, but it's hardly fatal, Snape. We've all been made fools of at one time or another--hell, look at me now!"

"I do agree that you look like a fool, Black," Snape said, sounding more like his usual self. "But the fact that you're dead is hardly an assurance that it's not a fatal experience."

"Very amusing, Snape," Sirius said sarcastically. "But we both know that it's not this fairy godfather costume that killed me. And Remus doesn't want to make a fool of you, anyway. If he lays his heart on the line for you, will you do the same?"

Snape hesitated then sighed wearily. "If I say that I'll think about it, will you get out of my dream and let me get some sleep?" Without waiting for an answer, Snape pushed Sirius out of the dream, and he found himself back in the Potions Master's bedroom.

"Well, I suppose that's the most I can get out of him for now," Sirius sighed, then smiled. It was something of a miracle that Snape had conceded even that much, so maybe things would turn out happily ever after, after all.

Part 5

Comments

[red-day-dawning.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've stopped smiling once since I started reading - it's gorgeous and adorable and hilarious - and I love it.

Sirius has just the right mixture of snarkiness, sulkiness, grumpiness, love for his friend Remus, remorse and enthusiasm! He's quite adorable: "He was going to force Remus and the greasy git to kiss and make up and live happily ever after, whether they liked it or not."

[myene-01.livejournal.com]

""Oh, one of my Muggle-born students gave me the idea," Flitwick replied. "She saw a Muggle movie version of Sleeping Beauty where two fairy godmothers are fighting over whether to make Sleeping Beauty's gown blue or pink, and they kept changing the color. Of course, developing the proper charm was a bit tricky, but...""

think you got the wrong fairy tale there, heh.

this is one of thoese stories that confirms my idea thats Albus' lemon drops are spiked with LSD, just so you know.

[geri-chan.livejournal.com]

Heh heh, wrong fairy tale, but I loved that movie as a kid, so I couldn't resist! I thought about doing Sleeping Beauty instead of Cinderella, but it would've been kind of boring to have Snape unconscious for half the play. ;)

You know, I hadn't considered that the lemon drops might be spiked, but that explains a lot...

[bonfoi.livejournal.com]

Oh, Sirius debating with Remus and Severus is too, too precious! Being hoist by his own petard, even if it's after his death, is doing wonders for Sirius' character.