FIC: Scars, Part 12b

[geri_chan]

Title: Scars, Part 12b

Rating: NC-17 overall

Pairings: Snape/Lupin, Ash/Tsubasa; also a little Theodore/Blaise, Dylan/Hermione, and Aric/Takeshi

Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts; [] indicates song lyrics.

Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; song lyrics are from "Scars" by Papa Roach. No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.

Warning: AU. This story contains a character from Half-Blood Prince, but does not follow the HBP storyline.

Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, The Revenant, Ash's Story, and Summer Vacation III.

Summary: Tsubasa and the werewolves try to cheer up Ash; the Aurors investigate Rosalind's murder; the Quidditch tryouts are held at Hogwarts; and Lupin is invited to a baby shower.

Part 11, Part 12a

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The investigation wasn't just tedious; it was frustrating. They reviewed hours of Floo logs for suspicious activity, but found none, but it was difficult to know what they were looking for. Certainly no one had traveled by Floo anywhere near the Madleys' residence on the night of the murder. Potential witnesses in Knockturn Alley were all closemouthed and leery of talking to Aurors; "I didn't see nothing" seemed to be the most common response to any question they were asked.

They didn't even bother talking to the potential suspects. "It's a waste of time at this point, until we narrow the list down," Kingsley told Harry. "No one's going to just admit to fathering Ash or killing Rosalind Madley. We need more specific information, so we know what questions to ask."

Harry thought that Ash's friend Takeshi Kimura would be more helpful, but he seemed strangely reluctant. "Patient records are confidential; you know that," the mediwizard told Kingsley when he asked for the names and addresses of any werewolves who frequented the clinic who were not part of the pack belonging to Master Diggory.

"Damn it, Kimura, it's your friend that I'm trying to save from being falsely arrested for murder!" Kingsley snapped.

"I know that!" Takeshi retorted. "Ash is one of my best friends; don't you think that I want to help him? But if the werewolves find out that I sent Aurors after them, they'll never come back to the clinic, which means that they'll stop taking their Wolfsbane Potion, which in turn  puts them and everyone else in the wizarding world at risk! You have no idea how hard it's been to win their trust, to convince them that the Distribution Program isn't some kind of trick to capture them or put them on a secret Registry!"

"Look, I know that you've been doing good work here," Kingsley said, fighting to keep his temper under control. "But how much good do you think it will do if Dawlish manages to convict Ash of the murder? Setting aside the issue of your best friend rotting in prison for a crime he didn't commit, the bad publicity will drastically affect every other werewolf in the wizarding world. The Wizengamot might even force Arthur to repeal the equal rights bill and reinstate the Werewolf Registry!"

The mediwizard sighed wearily. "Even if I wanted to, I don't think that I could be of much help to you, Mr. Shacklebolt. There are only a few werewolves who come to this clinic that aren't part of Lukas's pack, and they won't give me their addresses. They're paranoid about their friends and neighbors and colleagues finding out about their lycanthropy, and they don't dare have the potion owled to their homes, or even a post office box. They come and pick it up personally every month, usually just after opening or just before closing, when there aren't many people around, and they're very secretive and furtive. I only know their first names, which might or might not be real."

Kingsley sighed irritably. "Well, did any of them behave strangely this month, seem frightened or act excited or say they'd come into a lot of money?"

"You're thinking that one of them might have been coerced or bribed?" Takeshi asked. He thought it over, then shook his head slowly. "No, there was nothing that seemed out of character. If I hear of anything, I'll let you know."

"Why don't these werewolves want to join Master Diggory's pack?" Harry asked curiously.

"The werewolves in Lukas's pack had nothing to lose," Takeshi explained, smiling sadly. "They had already lost their homes, families, and jobs, so they were grateful to find a place to belong. These other independent werewolves still have families and jobs, which they desperately want to keep, so they don't want anyone to find out about their lycanthropy. Despite the equal rights bill, most people are still biased against werewolves."

"Do you know of somewhere that the suspect might have gone to find a rogue werewolf?" Tonks asked. "Knockturn Alley would normally be the obvious place, but none of the pack werewolves were approached by anyone, and they would probably have spotted an outsider hanging around in their territory."

"Well, most of the rogues are living quietly, trying to pass as human, which makes them hard to track down," Takeshi replied. "They hate and fear the part of them that is wolf, so I don't think that any of them would willingly take wolf form to kill someone, not even for a significant bribe, but I suppose it's possible that one of them might have been coerced. By the Imperius, perhaps, or a loved one taken hostage. But as I said, none of the werewolves that I deal with seemed frightened or upset, as if they were under duress. A few rogues live among the Muggles, because it's easier to hide your lycanthropy from people who don't believe in werewolves. And there are rumors of rogues who have gone feral and live in the wild far away from civilization, but I don't know whether they're true or not." He named a few places where the "feral" werewolves were rumored to live, mainly areas remote enough that a werewolf might go undetected by the nearest village, or places where people feared to venture because they had a Dark reputation, like the Forbidden Forest.

Kingsley dutifully wrote down the information, although he didn't look thrilled at the prospect of tromping through a remote Dark forest to look for a werewolf who might or might not be there. "There's one more possibility," Takeshi added, almost as an afterthought, as the Aurors were about to leave. "Some werewolves were committed to institutions by their families--a convenient way to get rid of an inconvenient relative who might otherwise disgrace the family."

"You mean...like a madhouse?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"They're called 'sanatoriums' or 'private hospitals,' but they're essentially prisons," Takeshi replied, grimacing. "That sort of thing is forbidden now under the equal rights bill, but I'm sure that there were many werewolves who were committed before it went into effect."

"But can't they be freed now that the law has changed?" Harry demanded, aghast at the thought of werewolves still being imprisoned after they were supposedly decreed "equal". He knew that the wizarding world had changed for the better after Voldemort had been defeated, but sometimes it felt like things had hardly changed at all.

"The ones that we could find were freed or at least transferred to a better facility, where they could get proper care," Takeshi said softly, a sad and bitter look in his eyes. "You see, after years of confinement in a small cell, most werewolves go mad or kill themselves--or both. But most of these sanatoriums pride themselves on being 'discreet,' which means that they're very secretive, and try to keep their locations--and in fact, their very existence--hidden from the authorities and the public at large. But the information is quietly passed on, in whispered rumors, among the families of purest blood and highest rank, and of course, wealth--because a place in one of these institutions costs a small fortune. Not so much for the room and board of your inconvenient relative, but for the staff's 'discretion'."

"So the assassin could have come from one of these institutions?" Tonks asked.

"Possibly," Takeshi said with a shrug. "His family wouldn't miss him, because they'd never expect to see him again. The main problem would be in actually finding the place. An institution that would lock someone up for money could just as easily be bribed to free them, although it would cost a huge amount of money, maybe twice the original fee. Or the murderer could have found a way to break the werewolf out of the institution. The staff would hardly be able to report an escape or kidnapping to the authorities, since they're operating illegally, not to mention the fact that all the publicity would scare off their clients."

"Hmm, that sounds like a good lead," Kingsley said, sounding pleased. "Do you know where I can find any of these institutions?"

"If I knew that, I would already have turned them in to the Ministry," Takeshi replied.

"Of course," Kingsley sighed. "It couldn't possibly be that easy."

The mediwizard smiled at him sympathetically. "But you could ask the families of 'purest blood and highest rank'."

"You don't mean Professor Snape, do you?" Harry groaned.

Takeshi chuckled. "There are other old pureblood families besides the Snapes, but I doubt that the others would be inclined to share that sort of information with the Ministry. Well, Sirius would, but he doesn't have the information. His mother's portrait might know, but she would never tell it to her black-sheep son. You could try Narcissa Malfoy--I mean, Diggory--but the best place to start would be with Professor Snape and his mother. The Death Eaters might have found recruits or victims in such places, and well...I've never asked him about the details, but at some point, he would have had to test the Wolfsbane Potion on actual werewolves when he was developing it. He would have had to have found test subjects somewhere." Harry swallowed hard, wondering if those "test subjects" had been willing volunteers. Meanwhile, the mediwizard continued, "And Lady Selima knows almost everything there is to know about the wizarding world, particularly pureblood secrets and scandals."

They met with Snape at Hogwarts, and he gave them the names and locations of a couple of sanatoriums, although he said that Dumbledore had seen to it that the werewolves who had served as his test subjects were quietly set free in exchange for their help. "It's a good idea, though," Snape grudgingly conceded. "I hadn't stopped to consider that the murderer might have recruited his assassin from one of those places. Naturally the werewolf would agree to just about anything to win his or her freedom."

"Her?" Harry asked, startled. It hadn't occurred to him that the killer might be a woman.

Snape smirked at him condescendingly. "There's no reason why a woman can't be just as cruel and vicious as a man, Potter. You of all people should know that--remember Bellatrix Lestrange?"

He was right, but he didn't have to be such a jerk about it, Harry thought disgruntledly. They paid a visit to Snape Manor next, and Lady Selima was much politer than her son, but only moderately helpful.

"I have heard of such places, of course," she said coolly. "But I have never had cause to make use of them, so I do not know of their exact locations. However, I have heard that if someone leaves a message and a fee of one-hundred Galleons at a certain drop box, they will be contacted by a go-between who can put them in touch with one of these facilities."

Selima calmly paused to sip a cup of tea, and Kingsley asked impatiently, "Well, where can we find this drop box, then?"

"You must understand, Mr. Shacklebolt, that the power I have built up as the Lady of the Snape family lies mainly in my ability to gather information," Selima said. "If it becomes common knowledge that I am spilling pureblood secrets to Ministry agents, then no one will share information with me, and I will lose my precious commodity."

"We'll be very discreet, Lady Selima," Tonks promised. "We won't tell anyone where we got the information from."

"It's still a risk," Selima replied. "If I do this for you, what can you offer me in return?"

"You'd be helping one of your son's friends!" Kingsley snapped.

"If I am not mistaken, he is actually Professor Lupin's friend, not my son's," Selima replied, her voice still cool and composed. "He is a stranger to me; why should I go out of my way to help him?" As Tonks frowned and Kingsley fumed, Selima smiled slyly. "Well, I suppose that I could allow one of you..." Her eyes drifted from Kingsley to Tonks to Harry. "...to owe me a favor. Mr. Potter, perhaps?"

Harry wasn't too keen on owing a favor to Snape's mother, but he wanted to help Ash. "Well..." he said hesitantly.

"Yes, we could do you a favor!" Kingsley snapped. "For example, we won't tell your new best friend Mrs. Weasley how uncooperative you're being. This particular werewolf is a personal friend of Arthur Weasley, and I'm sure that the Minister and his wife would be most distressed to learn that you refused to help us."

"Is that a threat, Mr. Shacklebolt?" Selima asked, but she looked amused rather than angry. "Well played, but a good pureblood should phrase his threats more subtly."

"What can I say? I'm a disgrace to my race," Kingsley said sarcastically.

Harry was struck by a sudden burst of inspiration. "But Lady Selima," he said earnestly, "you won't be trading something for nothing. You'd be trading information for information."

"Oh?" Selima asked, sounding intrigued.

"The Professor thinks that Ash's father is a very high-ranking pureblood," Harry replied. "Your information could help us find out his identity. Isn't that a piece of information worth knowing?"

Selima laughed, looking surprised. "Very clever, Mr. Potter! But if this mysterious father is the true murderer, as Severus believes, his identity will soon be known to everyone when you arrest him."

"If we arrest him," Kingsley said, emphasizing the "if". "Which we won't be able to do without any leads. And of course there is the possibility that Ash's natural father has nothing to do with the murder."

"Even if the information is made public, wouldn't it still be worth it to see a rival family humbled?" Tonks cajoled.

"Very well," Selima agreed with a smile. "Since you are all so persuasive, I will help you on the condition that you do not tell anyone that I gave you the information, and that you share the name of Mr. Randolf's father with me, regardless of whether or not he turns out to be the culprit."

"Oh, all right," Kingsley said, giving in with ill grace.

After they left Snape Manor, Kingsley grumbled, "I sure hope this information was worth it."

"It's nothing she couldn't find out on her own anyway," Tonks said with a shrug. "If Ash's father is guilty, it will make front page news in the Daily Prophet, and even if it turns out that he's innocent, she could probably coax the information out of Lupin or Lukas."

"She gave in pretty easily," Harry mused.

"She probably intended to help us all along," Tonks said with a grin. "It just goes against her pureblood principles to do something altruistic; it might ruin her reputation."

"Like mother, like son," Kingsley sighed, rolling his eyes. "All right, let's send a message to this drop box, and see if we can track down these sanatoriums."

"Um...by the way, where are we getting the hundred Galleons from?" Harry asked.

"Oh right," Tonks said. "We'll have to fill out a Request for Special Expenses form, and write a justification for why we need the money, and..."

Kingsley and Harry groaned in chorus.
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Snape and Lupin were both worried about the murder of Rosalind Madley, for different reasons. Lupin was concerned about Ash, of course, while Snape was more worried about the effect that the murder would have on public opinion, which could in turn affect the equal rights bill that had given the werewolves their freedom. A repeal of the law would adversely affect Lupin, the one werewolf who mattered most in the world to Snape.

At the moment, there was little that they could do except to hope that the Aurors would find the killer quickly. So the annual Quidditch team tryouts provided a welcome distraction from their worries.

No one in Slytherin was surprised when Snape appointed Dylan as both Captain and Seeker of the Slytherin team. He was Snape's foster son and protege, after all, but there was no grumbling about nepotism, because everyone was aware that Dylan was the best flyer in Slytherin, and possibly the entire school.

Dylan promoted the reserve team Chasers, Malcolm Baddock and Brad Doherty, to regular status. Damien Pierce remained in his original Chaser position, and Dylan picked Brandon Harper to replace Millicent Bulstrode as Keeper, and a couple of younger Slytherin boys, Vaisey and Urquhart, to replace Crabbe and Goyle as Beaters. He also chose a few reserve players, Pansy's little brother Patrick among them.

"Harper is not as skilled a Keeper as Bulstrode was, but he shows potential," Snape observed as he watched from the stands with Lupin. "I believe he'll do well enough once he gains some experience. Urquhart and Vaisey aren't as strong as Crabbe and Goyle, but they're a lot brighter, so I suppose that evens things out. It will take some time to get the new team members properly trained, but the Chasers are all experienced and work well together, and of course Dylan will make a fine Seeker. I'd say we have a pretty strong team and a good chance of taking the Quidditch Cup again this year--especially since Potter has graduated." Snape smirked. "McGonagall and I are wagering our annual bet, of course."

"You shouldn't count your chickens before they're hatched, Severus," Lupin chuckled. "You never know, there might be a budding prodigy on one of the other teams. Perhaps we should scout out the competition?"

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea, Lupin," Snape conceded, so they discreetly observed the other Houses' tryouts from the Astronomy Tower with Professor Sinistra's telescopes. Ravenclaw had a decent team, but Snape was confident that their Seeker was no match for Dylan. Their Keeper was quite skilled, though, so he made a mental note to advise Dylan that he would need to put some extra work into the Chasers' strategies. Hufflepuff's new Seeker was relatively weak, but they might become a threat again next year when Tristan Ames's ban on playing Quidditch would be lifted.

But the team that Snape was most interested in, of course, was his arch-rival Gryffindor, and he was curious to see whom they would choose to replace Potter. It would certainly be a daunting task for whoever was going to replace the Savior of the Wizarding World. He thought that perhaps Ginny Weasley would take over as Seeker, since she had performed respectably in that position a couple of years ago when Umbridge had banned Potter from the team, even if she lacked the golden boy's brilliance in the air. It was the only thing that Potter was truly brilliant at, Snape thought to himself a bit sourly. He had defeated Voldemort, of course, but that had been due more to fate and the connection forged between them by the Dark Lord's rebounded Killing Curse than to any particular skill of Potter's. Then Snape gloated a little, because with Potter gone, he was certain that Slytherin would have no difficulty defeating Gryffindor this year.

But to his surprise, Ginny decided to remain a Chaser, and held tryouts to fill the vacated Seeker position. "It's the most prestigious spot on the team, and I would have thought as the new Captain, she'd elect to take it herself," Snape told Lupin as they watched from the Tower.

Lupin smiled and said, "You're thinking like a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor, my love. Ginny is a practical and sensible girl, and she'll do what is best for the team, not just what is best for her personally. Besides, she mentioned once that she actually preferred being a Chaser."

"'Sensible' isn't really a Gryffindor trait," Snape muttered sarcastically. "It isn't really a Weasley trait, either, come to think of it, although I'll admit that Miss Weasley has more common sense than all her brothers combined. Besides, none of the potential Seekers so far appear to be more capable than Miss Weasley."

A great many Seeker hopefuls had turned out for the tryouts, but most of them were rather lacking in talent. A few were competent, and one girl, Demelza Robins, was quite nimble in the air and showed a particular talent for dodging Bludgers, but her skills were more suited to the position of Chaser than Seeker.

Snape was feeling rather smug until the last hopeful applicant took to the air, and Snape saw a very familiar little dark-haired girl flitting through the air like a hummingbird, determinedly keeping pace with the Snitch despite its sudden and erratic movements. What was even more impressive was that she was riding a rather old Comet broomstick--a decent brand, but nowhere near the quality of a Nimbus or Firebolt.

"Is that...Allegra Zabini?" Snape asked incredulously.

"It certainly looks like her," Lupin replied cheerfully. "She appears to be doing quite well, don't you think?"

"I had no idea she could fly like that!"

"Oh, I heard that she'd done quite well in her first-year flying lessons," Lupin said casually. "Although she doesn't quite have the natural genius of someone like Harry or Tristan. But she is a talented flyer, and it looks like she did a lot of practicing over the summer."

"Practicing?" Snape echoed. He had a vague recollection of Dylan saying something about giving Allegra a few flying lessons during summer vacation, but he had thought nothing of it at the time.

Snape confronted Dylan and Blaise later in the dungeon, and Dylan sheepishly confirmed, "Yes, I did help her out a bit over the summer."

"You're not supposed to be helping the competition, Mr. Rosier!" Snape said testily.

"I'm sorry, sir," Dylan said, still grinning sheepishly. "I knew she wanted to try out for the team, but I never thought she'd make Seeker. She's only a second-year, after all. I thought maybe she'd make the reserve team at best."

"Dylan only gave her a few lessons, sir," Blaise said apologetically. "She really worked hard practicing on her own."

"Well, at least she'll be hard-pressed to keep up with Dylan on that old Comet," Snape muttered to himself.

"Um...well..." Blaise said, smiling nervously. "My dad let her have a used broomstick from the junk shop, but my grandfather promised that he'd buy her a new one if she actually made the team."

"Please, not a Firebolt!" Snape groaned.

"Oh no," Blaise hastily assured him. "Grandfather's new book has made him 'a nice bit of pocket change,' as he says, but nowhere near enough to buy a Firebolt. He was thinking more like a Cleansweep."

"It's too bad that Miss Zabini wasn't Sorted into Slytherin, after all," Snape sighed. "I never thought she'd show such a talent for Quidditch."

"I'm sorry, sir," Blaise apologized.

"You're not responsible for what House your sister was Sorted into, Zabini, unless you urged her to go into Gryffindor," Snape said crossly.

"Sor...I mean, yes, sir," Blaise mumbled.

Lupin chuckled and whispered, "Remember that you're his colleague now, Blaise, not his student."

"I'll always feel like a student around the Professor," Blaise whispered back, smiling ruefully.

"You know, it's only a game, Severus," Lupin said mildly. "I think you're taking this a bit too seriously."

Snape scowled at him. "It's 'only' a game in the sense that a werewolf is 'only' slightly inconvenienced by the full moon. It's a matter of House pride. Besides, I have ten Galleons riding on our first match against Gryffindor."

"Don't worry, Professor," Dylan said with a confident grin. "I won't let you down! Allegra's good, but she's no match for me. She has a lot of potential, but I've got the edge on her in experience." He winked at his foster father. "And I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I didn't teach her. The money is as good as yours, Professor!"

"That's the spirit!" Snape said, clapping him on the shoulder, and Lupin just shook his head and laughed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Aileen Pierce was planning a distraction of her own, unbeknownst to Lupin and Snape. "I was thinking that I'd like to have a shower for you, dear, since the baby is due in a couple of months," she said to Narcissa over tea one afternoon. "If you don't mind, I thought perhaps it could be a double shower since Professor Blackmore is pregnant as well."

"Why, that's very sweet of you, dear," Narcissa said. "Of course I wouldn't mind sharing a shower with the Professor. I think it's a lovely idea."

"Of course, it's a bit hard to picture Professor Blackmore as a mother," Aileen giggled.

"Well, I would have thought so, too," Narcissa laughed. "Except that she's been quite motherly towards me since the war ended, and to Draco and Harry, too, of course. She isn't as scary as we always thought she was when we were children...no, that's not quite true. She is still terrifying when she's angry, but I've found that there is a gentler side to her as well."

"Still, as much as I admire the Professor, I don't envy Sirius," Aileen said mischievously. "That must be quite a tempestuous relationship. That's all very well when one is a teenager,  but it grows a bit wearisome after awhile."

"Oh, I don't know," Narcissa purred. "Tempestuousness has its place, in small doses."

"Well, I'd say that's obvious," Aileen replied, staring pointedly at Narcissa's rounded stomach. Narcissa blushed slightly, then both women burst into laughter.

"So who do you want to invite to your shower, dear?" Aileen asked in a more serious voice, picking up a quill and dipping it in a bottle of ink. "Your bridal attendants, I assume...let's see, aside from myself and Professor Blackmore, that would be Lady Selima, Delia Avery, and Gwendolyn Ames." She scribbled the names on a piece of parchment, then nibbled thoughtfully on the end of the quill. "Hmm...what about your niece, Nymphadora? I recall that she came to the wedding."

"Yes, that would be fine," Narcissa said. "I can't say that we're close, but we have dinner together from time to time with Sirius and the Professor, and she's been decent to me since the war ended." Narcissa flushed guiltily. "Even though my family had disowned Andromeda for marrying a Mudblood. She's very kind and good-natured, and not at all the type to hold a grudge."

"What about Andromeda, then?" Aileen asked hesitantly. Unlike her daughter, Andromeda was proud and stubborn, like all the Blacks, and not inclined to forgive easily. "Should I invite your sister to the shower?"

"I thought she was in America with her husband," Narcissa replied, surprised by the question. Andromeda's husband, Ted Tonks, had taken a guest teaching position at Salem a couple of years ago, tutoring select students in Metamorphmagery. According to Nymphadora, the move had been prompted by the return of the Dark Lord and Andromeda's fear of being targeted by the Death Eaters as a blood traitor. She had urged her daughter to accompany them, but Nymphadora had been stubbornly determined to remain in England and carry out her duties as an Auror and a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Oh, didn't you hear?" Aileen said. "They've just returned to England. I suppose they feel safe now that the Dark Lord has been defeated and all the Death Eaters have been rounded up, even the last remaining fugitive, Rabastan Lestrange. Although it's ironic that it turned out he was hiding in America after the war ended! Anyway, your sister is back, and I just thought...since you've made peace with Nymphadora, perhaps you would like to make peace with Andromeda, too?"

Narcissa bit her lower lip for a moment, her green eyes filled with anxiety and uncertainty and a touch of vulernability that made her look more like the frightened, homesick young girl Aileen had first met at Hogwarts, rather than the wife and mother she was now. "The question isn't so much whether I wish to make peace with Andromeda...it's whether Andromeda wishes to make peace with me. She was very angry when the family disowned her."

"But that was your parents' doing," Aileen argued. "You were still at Hogwarts when Andromeda ran off with Ted Tonks, after all. It isn't as if you disowned her personally."

"No, but..." Narcissa flushed. "She came to see me shortly after she eloped with Ted, and I said some pretty nasty things to her. She told me that if I wanted to be a good little pureblood daughter without a thought in my head of my own, then fine, she wouldn't ever bother me again. And we've never spoken a word to each other since that day."

"The Blacks can certainly hold a grudge, can't they?" Aileen asked, smiling wryly. "But then again, I never thought that you and Sirius would ever be on speaking terms, either, so let us hope for the best. We'll go ahead and send your sister an invitation, and let her decide whether she will come or not."

"Well...all right," Narcissa agreed, a bit doubtfully. She wasn't sure if that was really a good idea, but as usual, she deferred to Aileen's judgment. It had served her well enough in the past--it was thanks to Aileen that she was married to Lukas now, after all. It had been Aileen who had schemed to bring them together after Narcissa had been too afraid to even tell Lukas that she was pregnant with his child. Maybe she could manage to work a miracle with Andromeda, too.

"Very well, then," Aileen said briskly, adding Andromeda's name to the list. "Is there anyone else that you'd like to invite?"

"My list of friends has shrunk considerably since Lucius died," Narcissa said with an ironic smile. "Everyone that I care to invite is already on the list."

"What about the Professor, then?" Aileen asked. "Does she have any other friends that I should invite?"

"Hmm," Narcissa murmured, thinking it over. "She doesn't have many close friends, either. Perhaps you could invite Goewin Donner. They worked together in the Order of the Phoenix, and Goewin has a young daughter, so she can give the Professor a few pointers on child care." Narcissa grinned. "And perhaps give me a few reminders--it's been a long time since Draco was a baby. But I can't really think of anyone else to invite. I'd say that the Professor's closest friends are Severus and Remus."

"Well, should we invite Professor Lupin, then?" Aileen suggested.

"I don't really mind, but isn't a baby shower usually only for women?" Narcissa replied, looking puzzled.

"Yes, but isn't Lupin sort of like the wife in that couple?" Aileen asked brightly, just as Narcissa was lifting her teacup to her mouth.

Narcissa choked on her tea, coughing and gasping as droplets of tea sprayed from her mouth. "Don't say things like that when I'm drinking!" she complained, dabbing at her mouth and dress with a napkin.

"I'm serious!" Aileen protested innocently. "Lupin is kind and sensitive and good with children, and Severus...is, well...Severus. Surely you don't think that Severus is the wife?"

"Not all women are kind and sensitive and good with children," Narcissa said dryly. "Think of my sister Bellatrix. Besides, I'm not sure that it works that way. I don't think that either of them necessarily has to be 'the wife' or 'the husband'."

"Well, I don't know the proper terminology for same-sex couples, but I'm sure it amounts to the same thing, whatever they call it," Aileen said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "So shall we invite Lupin?"

"Oh, why not?" Narcissa laughed, since Aileen clearly had her mind set on the idea. It would make Professor Blackmore happy, and fortunately, Remus had a much better sense of humor than Severus, so he probably wouldn't take offense.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, Snape returned to his quarters after class to find Lupin chuckling to himself as he went through the mail. "Something amusing?" Snape asked.

Lupin held up a gold-embossed card and said with a grin, "I've been invited to a baby shower for Narcissa and Branwen. Aileen Pierce is throwing it."

"Aren't those things usually only for women?" Snape asked. "Aileen is no Death Eater, but she's a pretty traditional Slytherin, so I'm surprised to see her breaking with etiquette. Then again, she did encourage Narcissa to marry a werewolf, so I suppose she isn't all that beholden to tradition." Then he frowned and asked apprehensively, "I don't have to go to this party, do I?"

"Oh, don't worry, you aren't invited, Severus," Lupin replied casually.

Snape's frown deepened slightly as he tried to decide whether he should feel offended or relieved. "Not that I really mind, but why were you invited, then?" he asked.

Lupin chuckled again. "Apparently Aileen thinks that I'm 'the wife' in this couple, so I guess that qualifies me for the baby shower."

"WHAT?!" Snape bellowed.

"Well, it doesn't actually say so in the invitation, of course, but that's what she told Narcissa, and Narcissa told Lukas, and Lukas sort of let it slip to me," Lupin replied, still chuckling.

"She thinks you're 'the wife'?!" Snape asked incredulously.

"As you said, Aileen is rather traditional, so I suppose she can't help but try to categorize us in traditional roles," Lupin said blithely.

"Honestly, Lupin, aren't you the least bit offended by that?" Snape fumed. "The nerve of that woman! I've a good mind to fail that son of hers!"

"But Damien didn't do anything," Lupin protested.

"I know that, Lupin," Snape said peevishly. "But he's here at Hogwarts and Aileen isn't, and you know that Slytherins don't play fair."

"You will not fail Damien just because you're annoyed with his mother," Lupin said sternly.

"If you're the wife, does that make me henpecked?" Snape grumbled.

"So what do you think I should get for Narcissa and Branwen?" Lupin asked cheerfully. "Stuffed animals or baby clothes? Or maybe one of those Quidditch mobiles that Draco was working on?"

"You're not actually going to the shower, are you?!" Snape exclaimed indignantly.

"Why not?" Lupin said with a grin. "I was planning to get them baby gifts anyway, so why shouldn't I join in on the celebration?"

"Because...because...you're not a 'wife'!" Snape spluttered. "If you go along with Aileen's invitation, it's like you're saying that she's right about you being 'the wife'! For Merlin's sake, does she think you prance around wearing a dress and apron when we're at home alone together?!"

Lupin snickered. "Well, that's not really my cup of tea, but if the idea of it turns you on..."

"It's not funny, Lupin!" Snape snapped. "Is your Gryffindor brain too feeble to understand when you're being insulted?"

"Sev, you're taking this whole thing much too seriously," Lupin said dismissively. "It's just a party to celebrate our friends' happiness, and I intend to go and have a good time." As Snape continued to fume, Lupin smiled mischievously and added, "Besides, you do realize that if I'm not the wife, that would make you the wife, my dear? Or at least, if I decline the invitation, Aileen will assume that you must be the wife, since I'm not. She means well, but as you pointed out, she does think in rather narrow terms..." Snape just stared at him, a look of horror slowly spreading across his face. "Of course," Lupin continued sweetly, "if you really want to go to the shower, I don't mind being 'the husband'..."

"Oh, go to the bloody shower, already!" Snape growled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Just leave me out of it! And keep Aileen Pierce away from me, or I might be tempted to turn her into a toad!"

Lupin laughed and flung his arms around Snape. "I love you, Severus," he said affectionately.

"Henpecked, that's what I am," Snape muttered to himself, then heaved a sigh of resignation and returned the embrace.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, the Macnair twins had not been idle, and were busy planning their own distraction for Snape, this one much less pleasant than a baby shower. Warren Macnair knocked on a door in a shabby apartment building in France, and it opened a crack as a handsome blond man peered out through it cautiously and said, "Yes?"

"Are you Sebastien Delauney, grandson of the former courtesan Philomela Delauney?" Warren asked.

"That depends on who's asking," the blond man replied warily.

Warren smiled and pulled a small velvet pouch out of his pocket. "Someone who has a business proposition to make," he said. "One that could be very profitable for you." He shook the pouch invitingly, and it made a soft jingling sound as the coins in it clinked against each other. "I'll pay you twenty-five Galleons just to hear me out, and the money will be yours to keep whether you agree to my proposition or not."

The blond man hesitated for a second, then smiled and swung the door open wider. "Very well, come in and I'll hear you out."

Part 13