FIC: Phoenix Rising, Part 13 of 37

[geri_chan]

Title: Phoenix Rising, Part 13 of 37
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Word count: ~9,425
Warning: AU; my own version of Year 6 (was 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 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Summer Vacation (Part 1, Part 2), For Old Time's Sake (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5), Three's a Crowd (or, Summer Vacation II) (Part 1, Part 2), Return of the Raven (Part 1, Part 2), Phoenix Reborn (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8)
Summary: Snape worries about his Slytherins, and Lupin is disturbed by the form that Dylan's Patronus takes in DADA class.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12

***

Snape watched the boy flee the room, thinking to himself, {Control. I'm the one who lost control tonight. I need to get a better grip on my emotions; I'll be dead if I ever try to face the Dark Lord like this.} But he had been profoundly shaken by Potter's apology, by his remorse--awkwardly expressed, but apparently sincere, and by the hint of sympathy in his eyes. That last, Snape could not abide; he would be damned if he would accept pity from James Potter's son!

There was also Potter's impassioned protest that he was not his father. Snape did not want to be reminded of that. Nor did he want Potter's apology. The truth was, despite all his complaints about the boy's behavior, Snape did not want Potter to stop being insolent and arrogant, did not want him to suddenly become as studious and obedient as Dylan Rosier, because then he would have no rational excuse to keep hating Potter. And he needed very badly to be able to hate him...

{It's just not fair,} a childish voice inside him whined. {It's not fair that Potter--} And now it was James Potter that he was thinking of; his thoughts shifted so easily from one to the other. {--should have had so much, and I so little: looks, brains, friends, a family that loved him. And of course, Lupin...}

{Aren't you always telling your students that life isn't fair?} the sarcastic part of him retorted, and Snape sighed wearily. A former Death Eater, of all people, should know better than to expect the world to treat him fairly. {And what about forgiveness?} that annoying voice continued. {You told Potter that forgiveness must be earned, but how many times has Lupin forgiven YOU...?} He had done the unforgivable to Lupin so many times, but Lupin always forgave him, no matter what he did...

And why did Potter's confession that he had been spying in the Pensieve because he had thought Snape was still a Death Eater bother him so much? It wasn't as if he cared what the idiot boy thought of him. And it wasn't as if he hadn't deliberately cultivated the image of a Death Eater; at least he knew that he was successful at it. But... {Forgiveness must be earned,} his inner voice said, mockingly repeating the words he'd said to Potter. It was one more reminder that no matter what he did to make up for his mistakes, the world would always see him as a Death Eater, that most people would never believe he had really repented.

But there was one person who had forgiven him and did believe in him. He returned to his quarters, threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace, and called out, "Remus? I need to see you."

A moment later, Lupin stepped out of the fireplace, smiling as he dusted ashes off his robe. "Hello, Severus, I thought you'd still be giving Harry his les--mmph!" His eyes flew wide open as Severus grabbed him without warning, pulled him close, and kissed him hard on the mouth. His lover's fingers dug into his flesh with almost painful force, but Lupin didn't protest, and returned the embrace and the kiss. "What's wrong, Severus?" Lupin asked softly, when they finally came up for air.

"I need you, Remy," was the only reply Severus gave him, as he hungrily kissed Lupin again and began tugging urgently at the fastenings on his robe.

Now Lupin was more worried than ever, but all he said was, "I love you, Sev." Then he growled in a low voice, letting the wolf take over, and deliberately tilted his head back, exposing his throat in submission. Severus let out a frantic little moan, then Lupin felt teeth bite down hard on his throat, and that sweet haze of pain mingled with pleasure clouded rational thought. He moaned out loud himself and began tearing at Severus's robes, and put up absolutely no resistance as Severus practically dragged him into the bedroom and threw him down on the bed. Robes and clothing fell to the floor, and flesh slid against flesh with nothing between their bodies but a thin film of sweat, and Lupin could think of nothing but pleasure and need and desire...

Much later, they lay in each other's arms, Lupin feeling so drowsy with satiation and contentment that he had forgotten he was worried about Severus until his lover mumbled sleepily, in an almost childlike voice, "You love me, don't you, Remy? Better than anyone else?"

Lupin frowned a little and raised his head from where it had been pillowed against Severus's chest. The Potions Master's eyes were closed, dark lashes resting against white skin, and he seemed to be more asleep than awake, and not quite aware of what he was saying. "Yes, Severus, I love you," he said tenderly, and kissed him gently on the forehead.

"Better than Potter?" the half-asleep Severus whispered, and Lupin, overwhelmed by love and guilt, felt like his heart would break. He wished he could go back in time and grab his dearly-loved but narrow-minded friend and shake him vigorously as he shouted, "Look at what you've done to Severus!" He wished he could go back in time and smother a needy, insecure young Snape with so much affection that Severus would never again doubt that at least one person truly loved him. But that was impossible, so he did what he could, which was to put his arms around Severus, pull him close, and whisper, "Yes, Severus, I love you best. Better than anyone. You will always be first in my heart."

Then Severus finally smiled contentedly and slipped fully into slumber, but Lupin lay awake for quite awhile more, cradling his lover in arms, gently stroking Severus's thick, black hair, while tears spilled out of his blue eyes and left hot, salty trails along his cheeks.

***

Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room, knitting scarves and hats and mittens for the Hogwarts house-elves. Despite her friends' mockery, she was still determined to free the house-elves, and she had been encouraged by Dumbledore's private admission that he felt she had been right to treat Kreacher kindly. It was horrible what had happened, but of course it wasn't Kreacher's fault that he was...unstable...after the way he had been treated by the Black family. Mrs. Black, judging by her portrait, had been a thoroughly nasty woman, and even Sirius, although he was mostly a nice person and loved Harry very much, was sometimes reckless and thoughtless. He had not treated Kreacher very nicely, though she understood now that the Headmaster had explained it to her, that it had been because Kreacher reminded him of his unhappy childhood. Still, that didn't make it right, and Kreacher was just as much a victim of the elder Blacks as Sirius had been--more, because Sirius had been able to run away from his home, and Kreacher had not.

And Hermione had been a little shocked by the cruelty of the Shrieking Shack "prank". She had thought it a little odd at the time, when Lupin had first told the story to them back during their third year, that someone would pull a such a dangerous prank just for fun, but had taken Lupin at his word, and assumed that it was more youthful idiocy than true malice on Sirius's part. But he had deliberately tried to break up Snape and Lupin, deliberately tried to separate his best friend from the person he loved in a particularly cruel way, by trying to get Snape to see Lupin as a monster. She wasn't sure that Sirius deserved to be forgiven--although Lupin clearly had forgiven him--not so much because he had behaved cruelly (although he had), but because she wasn't sure that he was really sorry for what he had done.

"Hermione?"

Hermione looked up startled, to see Ginny standing in front of her.

"It's getting late," said Ginny. "Aren't you going to bed?" She smiled. "You wouldn't want to fall asleep in class tomorrow, would you?"

"I would never fall asleep in class," Hermione declared, but yawned and said, "I guess you're right, though. I should call it quits for tonight." She had lost track of the time; she and Ginny were the only ones left in the common room. Apparently everyone else had gone to bed. But since they were alone, it would be safe to tell Ginny she had spoken to Dylan. "I ran into Dylan at the library."

"Oh?"

Hermione hesitated. She couldn't tell Ginny what Professor Snape had told her about Dylan, but... "He's sorry about what happened. I think...Draco Malfoy has such control over Slytherin House, and he's afraid of what Draco will do if he thinks Dylan is being too friendly with a Gryffindor."

"Is that why Dylan stopped being friends with you?" Ginny asked sympathetically, and Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "Look, my feelings were hurt, but I'm over it now. It's not that big a deal." She smiled knowingly and said, "I think you were bothered by it more than me." Hermione blushed. "But I'm glad he didn't really mean it. I always thought Dylan was pretty nice, so I was surprised when he acted that way in class." She giggled. "And I was even more surprised when Professor Lupin gave him detention! Lupin never gave anyone detention back in second year, not even when Draco made nasty remarks about his shabby robes." She shook her head. "I guess I can understand that Dylan's afraid of being expelled from Hogwarts, but aren't any of the Slytherins brave enough to stand up to Draco? Besides, Lucius Malfoy is in prison now..."

"I think they're afraid he's not going to stay there," Hermione said. "A lot of people think that Azkaban's not secure anymore now that the Dementors are gone." She sighed. "I don't know how the Houses are supposed to unite when the Slytherins are too afraid of the Malfoys to associate with Gryffindor, and when the Gryffindors hate the Slytherins just because they're Slytherins! I mean, I know Draco and some of the others aren't very nice, but not all of them are like that!"

Ginny nodded. "Some of the ones in my class seem okay, like Dylan and his friend Damien. I think they're even happy that Professor Lupin came back, but they don't want to say so because they're afraid of Draco."

"Even Ron and Harry, who should know better, are always fighting with the Slytherins!" Hermione said crossly. "Professor Lupin deducted points because they were taunting Draco about his father during class. And Ron is always saying nasty things about Dylan when Dylan has never done anything to him--"

"Oh, he's just jealous!" Ginny giggled.

Hermione looked a little puzzled. "Well, he's always been in his brothers' and Harry's shadows, and I suppose it's even harder for him to see a Slytherin who's so popular..."

Ginny looked like she was about to say something, so Hermione fell silent, but all Ginny said was, "Uh, right. Come on, let's go to bed."

Hermione shrugged, picked up her knitting, and they headed for the girls' dorm.

***

Snape found that Lupin was unusually affectionate and solicitous towards him, after that night he had summoned Lupin to his room after Potter's Occlumency lesson. Not that he minded, but he was a little puzzled by it. Well, Lupin was very good at picking up on his moods, and no doubt he had startled Lupin by pouncing on him as soon as he'd stepped out of the fireplace.

As Snape sat at his desk in his quarters grading papers, Lupin brought him a plate of cookies and a cup of tea, heavily laden with cream and sugar, just the way he liked it. He kissed Snape on the cheek and nuzzled his neck, murmuring, "I love you, Sev."

"I love you, too, Remus," Snape said. "But didn't you just tell me that fifteen minutes ago?"

"Just making up for lost time," Lupin said with a grin as he kissed Snape again. "But I won't do it if it bothers you."

"I didn't say it bothered me," Snape hastily demurred. "I never get tired of hearing you say that."

"Good, because I never get tired of saying it," Lupin said, slipping his arms around Snape from behind. "I love you, Severus."

"I love you, Remus," Snape repeated, still feeling bewildered. "You know, I was a little upset the other night, because Potter broke into my thoughts during his Occlumency lesson, but I'm fine now."

"I know," Lupin said, still holding him.

"As long as that's clear," Snape said, not sure that it was. "Um...it's a little hard for me to grade papers while you're doing that."

"Sorry," Lupin said, letting go of him. Snape picked up his quill again, then suddenly found that he had a werewolf sitting on his lap.

Snape laughed. "Did the full moon come early this month or something?"

"Or something," Lupin said, wrapping his arms around Snape's neck and kissing him.

Snape still had no idea what had gotten into Lupin, but he decided to just enjoy it. "I suppose the papers can wait," he said, then suddenly stood, scooping Lupin up in his arms as he did so. "Oof! You're a bit heavier than you look, Lupin!"

Lupin laughed. "Well, I'm not the one who eats nearly a pound of chocolate a day!"

"You exaggerate, Lupin," Snape said, trying to decide whether he could actually manage to carry Lupin to the bedroom without pulling a muscle.

"I appreciate the romantic gesture, Severus," Lupin said mischievously, "but we'll get to the bed faster if you put me down and let me walk."

That decided the issue for Snape. He quickly set Lupin down, and they ran hand in hand to the bedroom, laughing like a couple of carefree teenage boys.

***

Not all of Snape's days were so carefree, of course. He spent a great deal of time worrying about his students. There was Dylan, of course--waiting for the Dark Lord to summon them and reveal his plans for Dylan was nearly unbearable to Snape; he almost wished the Dark Lord would summon them now and get it over with. Almost. And there was also Draco, who was more moody than usual, with his father in prison. He wavered between temper tantrums and rare--but increasing--moments of vulnerability. That vulnerability was useful; they had a rare opportunity that might soon vanish when the Dark Lord got around to freeing Lucius and the other imprisoned Death Eaters. Lupin continued to treat a confused Draco kindly in his class, while Snape also tried to befriend the boy--which didn't exactly come easily to him. He appointed Draco Captain of the Quidditch team, which eased some of the temper tantrums, and tried to pay more attention to him during class, making a point of complimenting his work. The other students, both Gryffindor and Slytherin, seemed to assume it was merely another sign of his being Lucius Malfoy's "lapdog," but Draco seemed pleased. He also loaned Draco an advanced potions text, similar to the one Lupin had forced him to buy Granger last Christmas, and suggested that he would find it interesting reading. The boy had beamed, looking happy to be singled out for special attention by his teacher; Snape only hoped that he wouldn't use the book to brew poisons to try out on the Gryffindors.

There was another reason for him to pay more attention to Draco. He had seen the way Draco had glared at Blaise Zabini on the first day of class when Snape had praised his potion, even though he had pretended not to notice. Snape had never considered the Zabini boy a problem before; he was quiet and well-behaved, and since his family was unimportant, unlikely to be recruited into the Death Eaters. But the boy was shaping up to be a promising Potions student, and while he certainly didn't want to discourage that talent, he would have to be careful that Draco's resentment didn't get out of hand. Normally, he wouldn't worry so much about it, but Draco was on edge, and there was the slight possibility that Malfoy's revenge might move past simple harassment and into violence, which would be disastrous for both boys, not to mention Snape, who didn't want to have to tell Lucius Malfoy (when he finally got out of prison) that Draco had been expelled from school.

And Zabini seemed to have become part of Dylan's inner circle of friends, along with Damien Pierce and Theodore Nott. It was an odd combination: two sons of Death Eaters and two boys from lower-ranked pureblood families. Pierce was a simple, good-natured lad, who paid only lip-service to the Slytherin ideals of blood purity, and seemed to be more interested in chasing girls and having a good time than in taunting Mudbloods or, unfortunately, studying. However, under Dylan's influence, he seemed to be buckling down a little. Actually, Pierce reminded Snape a bit of Lyall Wilkes, although he was unlikely to become a Death Eater the way Wilkes had; the younger Rosier had no desire to drag his best friend into the Dark Lord's service, and Pierce's family was not wealthy or important enough for Malfoy to recruit him.

Nott was more problematic. He had assumed that Nott was one of Draco's diehard cronies, like Crabbe and Goyle. But over the past year or so, he had been spending more time with Dylan's crowd, and he had actually seen the perpetually sullen, gloomy-looking boy smile and laugh a few times with his new friends. The elder Nott was an unpleasant, sadistic man who had taken a great deal of pleasure in torturing Muggles and Muggle-borns back in the old days. Snape had assumed that the son would turn out much like the father, but now he thought he might be mistaken. He resolved to keep a closer eye on Theodore; perhaps this one, too, he might be able to save from the Death Eaters.

Snape wasn't so sure about Crabbe and Goyle. The two boys were as stupid as their fathers, and were shaping up to be bullies like them as well. But Lupin claimed that they were still redeemable. "I know that academics is never going to be their strong point," Lupin had said with his typical tactful understatement, "but I don't think they're so bad, at least when Draco isn't egging them on. They seem eager and grateful to receive a little praise and attention. I don't know if they really want to be Draco's henchmen, or if they just do it because it's expected of them, and they can't conceive of doing anything else. Draco's always telling them how stupid they are; that can't be very pleasant." Snape had to admit that Lupin had a point; Crabbe and Goyle were even more sheep-like than Wilkes had been, and blindly followed Draco's lead in all things. Well, in a way, that made things simpler. If Snape could convince Draco to turn away from the path of a Death Eater--and that was a very big if--Crabbe and Goyle would probably follow his lead. {Three for the price of one,} Snape's inner voice said with sardonic amusement.

Which brought him to the last of the Death Eater offspring in his House: Serafina Avery. "Serafina" meant "heavenly angel," which was a rather ironic name for a Death Eater's child in general, and this girl in particular; there was nothing angelic about her. She always had an oddly blank expression on her face--not a mask to hide her emotions, like the one Dylan wore; it was more as if she had no emotions to hide at all. She always completed her assignments efficiently, and she spent a great deal of time in the library reading, but she took absolutely no interest in any of the people around her. She had no friends, which was not surprising. What was surprising was that no one in Slytherin harassed such a peculiar, antisocial girl. Well, perhaps they had heard the stories of how she had hexed her own father as a little girl--not that the elder Avery hadn't deserved it. The man was a sadist and a bully, much like his friend Nott. Everyone knew--though no one discussed it--that Avery beat his wife, but Snape was pleased that he no longer abused his daughter. Uneasily, Snape wondered if Nott abused Theodore; he had never seen any marks on the boy, but Nott was more subtle than Avery...and Snape's father had never left any physical marks on his son, either... No wonder Serafina had turned out so strange, and Theodore so sullen, with parents like those. They were not very pleasant children, but few of the Slytherins were, particularly those whose parents had been Death Eaters.

{It's difficult to turn out pleasant, well-adjusted children when death and violence and hatred are a part of their everyday lives,} Snape thought sourly. Maybe...just maybe, if Serafina and Theodore really did hate their fathers, he could more easily steer them away from the Death Eaters. Although there was always the possibility that their hatred could have the opposite effect; Snape suddenly remembered Lorcan Foley, one of the three Death Eaters who had been slain during the attempt on Branwen's life. Foley had joined the Death Eaters to gain revenge on his abusive father; the Dark Lord had readily granted his wish. Snape still remembered seeing Foley torture his father to death during one of the Death Eater ceremonies, and shuddered a little at the memory. Not that Snape felt much pity for Foley's father, but his death had been extremely drawn-out and gruesome. And Foley, who had always been mentally unbalanced to begin with, descended deeper and deeper into madness during his tenure with the Death Eaters. Snape knew that even though Foley had tried to kill her, Branwen still regretted his death, and regretted that she hadn't been able to save him, because he had been one of her students.

For the first time, Snape truly understood the despair Branwen must have felt as she watched her students fall, one by one, into Voldemort's clutches. He suddenly realized that he did not want to save just Dylan; he wanted to save all his students, from that arrogant twit Draco to strange little Serafina, and even those two idiots Crabbe and Goyle, and he wasn't sure that he would be able to save any of them.

It was a little strange that Branwen, a former Ravenclaw, had been the one to fight so hard for the souls of the Slytherin students all those years ago. Professor De Lacy, the Head of Slytherin, had been too afraid of the Dark Lord to speak out against him. He had not tried to keep his students from turning to the Death Eaters, and had turned a blind eye to Lucius Malfoy's recruitment tactics. Still, Snape could not bring himself to hate the man. The old Potions Master, while not exactly a warm and encouraging mentor like Dumbledore, had still recognized young Snape's talents and taught him a great deal, saying, "One day, Mr. Snape, you will be even better than me. I am a good Potions Master, but you have the potential to be a great one." Rather than sounding resentful, he had sounded pleased, in his slightly remote and detached way. De Lacy had quietly sat out the war, neither helping nor hindering Dumbledore's efforts, hoping only to survive long enough to enjoy retirement. And for a short time, it seemed like that wish would come true: Voldemort was defeated, and the Death Eaters left in disarray. The Potions Master submitted his resignation to Dumbledore, planning to retire to his family's country estate and peacefully conduct Potions research and publish papers in academic journals.

Then one morning, his body was found lying in Diagon Alley, with the word "TRAITOR" written in his own blood on the wall above him. Later, Snape would learn that the Lestranges had killed him. After Voldemort's fall, they remained loyal and traveled the country searching for their master and killing those they deemed enemies or traitors. De Lacy, they declared, was a Slytherin who had not stood up for Salazar Slytherin's ideals, who had not given his support to his rightful Lord, but instead had cowardly sat out the war as Dumbledore's pet. If more of these cowards and fence-sitters had done their duty, they said, perhaps the Dark Lord would not have been defeated. Snape wondered with dark amusement if his parents, who had also been "fence-sitters" according to Lucius, had felt a pang of fear when they heard that. Fortunately for them, the Lestranges had been captured soon after that. And whatever mistakes De Lacy had made by not protecting his students better, he had paid for in blood. Although he had not cared for Professor De Lacy the way he had cared for Branwen, Snape had mourned the old man's death.

It was quite possible that Snape would die as De Lacy had, especially since he actually was a traitor. But he promised himself that he would not die in vain, and that he would do his best to save his students; he would not simply stand by and let Voldemort take them, as De Lacy had. They might be a thoroughly unpleasant and unlovable lot, but still, they were HIS children, and he would save them--from Voldemort, from their own parents, from themselves, if necessary.

{Listen to me,} Snape thought to himself with a touch of amusement despite his somber mood. {"My" children--I'm starting to sound as sentimental as Branwen and Lupin!}

***

Draco was still worried about his father, of course, but life was not all bad for him at Hogwarts. He was the new Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, a source of great pride to him, and Professor Snape had lately been singling him out for more attention than usual. He said that Draco was showing a great deal of promise in Potions, and gave him a textbook, saying, "You might find this interesting; it's a bit advanced, but I think you're up to the challenge." Draco was pleased; it seemed that Snape really did think he was a good student after all, and wasn't just catering to Draco's father, who was still in prison anyway, and not present to see how Snape was treating his son.

It seemed that Dylan Rosier had learned his place, because he had been keeping a low profile of late, although Draco knew that Zabini and Nott still hung out with him. Draco felt a little--okay, more than a little--uncomfortable that Dylan might have seen him crying, but the other boy hadn't used the information against him, and apparently had not told anyone about it, not even his closest friends. Maybe Rosier's words about understanding how Draco felt had been sincere, and not just the usual sucking-up. They had a couple of private talks about their fathers' schoolboy days, and Dylan had been delighted to hear the stories about Evan Rosier and Lyall Wilkes. To his surprise, Draco had enjoyed himself as well; it was kind of nice, almost like having a real friend, and not just someone who did what he said because his father was a big shot. (Although that had always been satisfying, but somehow it seemed less so of late.)

But Lupin continued to puzzle Draco. The werewolf treated Draco as kindly as he did Potter and Weasley, which utterly confused all three boys. Of course, the softhearted werewolf was nice to everyone, but he seemed to be going out of his way to be kind and understanding to Draco. Well, he didn't need a werewolf's pity! For the most part, Lupin ignored Draco's usual rudeness, but he was stricter than he had been three years ago. He mostly gave warnings, but if the insults between Draco and the Gryffindors started going too far, he took off points. He had even threatened detention, but so far had not followed through on it. And he was blatantly cultivating Crabbe and Goyle, lavishing praise and encouragement on their feeble attempts at spell-casting. The two idiots lapped it up like puppy dogs; it was quite sickening, really. Oh, they pretended to hate Lupin like they always had, after Draco's last warning, but Draco could see the way their eyes lit up whenever Lupin threw a kind word their way, as one might toss a bone to a stray dog. Draco couldn't understand why the werewolf would want to bother with trying to win over Crabbe and Goyle; could he really be that softhearted?

Professor Blackmore was a mystery to Draco. He knew about the rumors of her demon blood, which were ridiculous, of course. She did have a very intimidating air about her, but Draco had listened to and compared all the stories he had heard about her days teaching his parents and his classmates' parents at Hogwarts, and concluded that while everyone was terrified of her, she had never done anything worse to her students than make them serve particularly odious forms of detention, such as bedpan-scrubbing. Which was certainly unpleasant, but hardly life-threatening. Yet Professor Snape was still clearly cowed by his old teacher; she was the only one who could make him leave off baiting and insulting Lupin at the dinner table. And of course, there was the little matter of the three Death Eaters who had been killed right before her mysterious disappearance. She might not be a demon, but Draco had no doubt that she was well-versed in the Dark Arts. However, he was fairly confident that Dumbledore would not let her do any real harm to a student. Then again, turning a student into a ferret was against the rules, too, but that hadn't stopped the fake-Moody from inflicting that punishment on Draco...perhaps it would be wise to tread carefully around Professor Blackmore after all...

***

But Draco was not as careful as he should have been; it was all that stupid raven's fault. It kept a close eye on the students, cawing loudly to alert his mistress when they got up to mischief behind her backs. It even occasionally patrolled the dungeon halls; it caught a couple of idiotic young Hufflepuffs trying to sneak into Snape's office on a dare, to steal the ingredients for a "love potion." The raven had made enough to noise to wake the dead (and indeed, several of the school ghosts had turned up to see what all the fuss was), and a furious Snape had taken fifty points off Hufflepuff, sentenced them to a week's detention of gutting and dissecting slimy creatures for his Potions stores, and, after taking a look at the recipe for their "love potion," told them to go the library and do some research, then write him an essay on why their potion was totally ineffective. Actually, they'd gotten off easy; if they had been Gryffindors, Snape probably would have had them expelled.

Blackmore had not allowed them to summon anything yet. A Summoning spell, she said, was composed of several different steps. First, they must study the type of creature they wished to summon; some were eager to serve, while others had to be carefully bribed or compelled, and some could cause serious harm if the summoner lost control of them. Next, they had to master drawing the protective runes and circles. Certain Summoning spells called for special incense, herbs, or potions, and they had to learn how to prepare these mixtures--it seemed that Snape's teachings would come in useful here. And last but not least, an incantation had to be recited to trigger the spell. Only when they had mastered all these individual steps, would they be allowed to actually cast the spell.

One day they had split into four groups to practice drawing protective circles on the classroom floor. To Draco's irritation, Potter's group was doing much better than his, mainly because that Mudblood girl Granger was doing most of the work, while Draco's group consisted of Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle. Nott was actually quite good at drawing runes, but Crabbe and Goyle were hopeless.

"You're doing it all wrong, you stupid louts!" Draco berated them. "A five-year old can write more neatly than you two!"

"Sorry, Draco," they mumbled.

"Oh, move over," Nott grumbled, erasing their mis-drawn runes with a flick of his wand. "I'll do it."

As Crabbe and Goyle shuffled out of the way, Draco heard a couple of snickers behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know that they came from Potter and Weasley. Draco saw that Blackmore was busy assisting Parvati Patil's group on the other side of the room, so he took a couple of steps backwards, as if to get a better look at his own team's circle, and "accidentally" trod upon Potter's circle, dragging his foot to smear the chalk lines and runes.

"Hey, watch what you're doing, you clumsy git!" Weasley snapped.

"You did that on purpose," Potter accused, glaring at him.

"Accidents happen, Potter," Draco said in a falsely sweet voice.

"Let it go, Harry," Granger said. "It's no big deal; I can fix it."

That irritated Draco, who hated being ignored, so he leaned down and whispered menacingly, "So many accidents can happen, to Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers..."

Potter's and Weasley's faces turned red with fury, and they reached for their wands; Draco automatically reached for his in response. Just then, Bane flew over them and started cawing at the top of his lungs.

Blackmore was at their side as quickly as if she had Apparated across the room. Bane fluttered down and landed on her shoulder. She turned her cold green eyes on each of the three boys in turn, and Draco found himself cringing and breaking out into a cold sweat, despite his earlier certainty that she would never really harm a student.

"M-Malfoy started it," Weasley stammered. "He deliberately messed up our circle!"

"I did not!" Draco protested. "It was an accident!"

"It was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

Blackmore let them go at it for a minute or two, as she leaned against a nearby desk, drumming her fingers impatiently on the desktop. Finally she dragged her nails across the desk, which made a loud screeching noise that made the boys jump with a start, and caused the hair on the back of Draco's neck to stand on end.

"I don't care who started it!" Blackmore snapped. "I will not tolerate any of this inter-House sniping in my class, is that clear?!"

"Yes, Professor," the three boys mumbled.

"And if I ever catch you drawing a wand in my class again without my permission, you will be very, very sorry." An evil smile spread slowly across her face, and suddenly those rumors about her demon blood no longer seemed so silly...

"Y-yes, Professor," Draco stuttered, and the two Gryffindors echoed his words in equally shaky voices.

"Twenty points off your Houses for each of you," Blackmore said. "That is, forty from Gryffindor, and twenty from Slytherin." Weasley and Potter looked glum, and Draco's only consolation was that at least Gryffindor had lost twice as many points as Slytherin had. "And for your detention, let's see..." Blackmore paused to consider as the boys waited anxiously. Then she smiled, looking almost cheerful, which Draco thought boded ill for them. "I think...we shall try a little exercise in cooperation. You three can clean the Owlery together; report to Hagrid after school."

"Yes, Professor."

"With no use of magic," she continued. "I expect it to be sparkling clean when you're finished, and if you three start fighting during your detention, I will find you a punishment that is even worse."

"Yes, Professor," the boys chorused, looking gloomier by the minute.

The bell signaling the end of class rang. "Class dismissed," Blackmore said. "I still need to finish examining your circles, so be careful not to step on them on your way out."

His group would probably not get full marks for their circle, Draco thought sullenly, since they had not finished it, and it was all Potter and Weasley's fault! He reached over to grab his bag and books, but froze when he saw his desk. It had been his desk Blackmore had leaned against, and there were five shallow grooves carved into the desktop where she had dragged her fingernails across it. The desks were made of very strong, sturdy, and possibly enchanted wood, because they were meant to survive potion spills and misfired spells, not to mention mischievous students trying to carve their initials into their desks with penknives. Draco scraped the top of the desk with his thumbnail as hard as he could; it didn't make the slightest scratch or dent in the wood.

"Draco?" Nott asked cautiously. He and Crabbe and Goyle were staring at him curiously as they waited for him. The other students had already left. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Come on, let's go." But he glanced back at his teacher as they headed for the door. She stared back at him impassively, her arms crossed over her chest; her long fingernails appeared to be undamaged. Bane cawed out a mocking laugh in his hoarse, croaking voice, and Draco flushed as he hurried out of the room.

{Bane,} he thought to himself. {Mother said that was her familiar's name back then, too.} Could it possibly be the same bird? How long did ravens live, anyway? But if Blackmore had remained youthful all these years, then why shouldn't her bird have done so as well? Where had she been all these years, and what had killed the three Death Eaters who attacked her...?

Those questions kept him preoccupied all day, even through his detention. Potter and Weasley watched him suspiciously, but he remained sullenly silent all afternoon as they swept up owl feathers and scrubbed owl dung off the floor, and said not one word, not a single insult to the two Gryffindor boys.

***

Professor Lupin's classes were having difficulty with their Patronus Charms, and he had told them he thought they might make more progress if they had something to practice on, and had promised to bring a "surprise" to class today.

"What do you think it will be?" Ginny Weasley asked eagerly.

"Another boggart?" Colin Creevey suggested.

"A boggart wouldn't be much of a surprise," Damien snorted.

"So who asked you?" Creevey retorted.

Before Damien could reply, Lupin entered the classroom, and everyone stared at the odd creature perched on his shoulder. It was a winged, lizard-like creature about the size of a cat; it looked like a miniature dragon, but it seemed oddly insubstantial, as if it were made of black smoke.

"This is an elemental creature," Lupin explained cheerfully, "that has been summoned for us by Professor Blackmore. His name is Soot, and he has agreed to help us with our lesson today." The smoke-dragon dipped its head politely in greeting.

"What kind of elemental is he, Professor?" Ginny asked.

"He is a creature of air and fire," Lupin replied, gently chucking it under the chin. "Soot will attack you, and you will try to repel him with the Patronus Charm." The students looked nervous, and Lupin grinned. "He won't actually hurt you, but there will be...ah...consequences if your spell fails."

"The Patronus Charm won't hurt him, will it?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"No, Ginny," Lupin said with a smile. "Professor Blackmore would be quite upset if I hurt one of her friends, and it would take a braver man than me to cross Professor Blackmore!"

The class laughed nervously, and lesson began. Ginny went first. Soot launched himself into the air and lunged towards her, smoky claws extended, and his mouth opened wide, exposing sharp fangs as he spat forth a little tongue of flame. Ginny went a little pale, but raised her wand and said, "Expecto Patronum!" in a firm voice. A silver cat interposed itself between the girl and the elemental, and Soot broke off his attack.

Brad Doherty went next, and the class saw what the "consequences" Lupin mentioned were, and why "Soot" was an appropriate name for the elemental. Brad was only able to summon forth a small silver wisp, which Soot flew right through. Brad threw his arm up to ward off the attack, but all the elemental did was blow a cloud of black smoke into his face. Brad doubled over coughing, and when the smoke cleared, he was left with a black, soot-covered face. The class--both Slytherin and Gryffindor--burst into laughter, and Brad glared at them.

"That's not very nice," Lupin chided them, handing Brad a towel so he could wipe off his face. "Besides, you don't know how many of you will end up with a faceful of soot as well." The class subsided, and Lupin said kindly to Brad, "I'm sure you'll do better on your next try." Brad just scowled and flung the towel back at Lupin.

Creevey went next. His silver cloud repelled most of Soot's attack, but he did end up with a few smudges on his face. The students began treating it like a game, laughing and giggling, and apparently Soot felt they were not taking him seriously enough, because when it was Damien's turn, he suddenly grew larger--his claws and fangs growing in proportion--and he didn't look quite so insubstantial.

Apparently, fear was a good teacher. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Damien shouted frantically, and for the first time, he cast a full-fledged Patronus, a shining silvery hound that leapt protectively in front of the boy and bared its teeth, sending a suddenly diminished Soot winging back to the safety of Lupin's shoulder.

"Very good!" Lupin said, applauding, and Damien beamed proudly. "Dylan, you're next."

Dylan stepped forward, raising his wand as the smoke-dragon attacked. "Expecto Patronum!" A cloud of shining mist emerged from his wand and shaped itself into a huge silver rose with wicked-looking thorns growing along its stem. Soot came to a complete halt in mid-air and just stared at it.

"Ooh, it's so pretty!" one of the Gryffindor girls squealed.

"That's...very unusual," said Lupin, turning a little pale. "A Patronus usually takes animal form."

"Did I do it wrong, Professor?" Dylan asked, feeling a little hurt and disappointed at Lupin's reaction to his first successful casting of a Patronus.

"No, no," Lupin said hastily. "You did very well, Dylan!" But his smile was a little forced, and his cheerful tone falsely hearty, and there was a very worried look in his blue eyes.

Soot still seemed bewildered by the rose, not sure if it was a threat or not. He made a tentative feint at it, and the rose stem suddenly lengthened and lashed out like a whip. The elemental let out a frightened little yelp and fled back to Lupin's shoulder, hiding beneath his long hair.

"Well, it's certainly effective," Lupin said, although he still looked a little worried. "Well done, Dylan."

Still feeling puzzled and hurt, Dylan dispelled the charm and let the next student take their turn. Lupin had to pet and coax Soot for a few minutes before he would come out of hiding and resume his work. The rest of the students were able to at least partially repel the elemental's attack, and Serafina Avery was also able to cast a full Patronus. Like Dylan's, hers took a somewhat unusual form: this time it was the vague silvery outline of a woman clad in long robes, with a magnificent set of silver-feathered wings sprouting from her back. The class gasped in awe.

"My, my," Lupin said, his eyes wide. "Another unusual Patronus; quite remarkable." He didn't seem troubled by Serafina's Patronus, as he had by Dylan's, though. He smiled at her and said, "Very beautiful, and very appropriate." Some of the class looked a little puzzled. "Serafina's name means 'angel,'" he explained, "and it seems that is the form her Patronus has taken."

"A devil would be more appropriate," one of the Gryffindor boys muttered.

The expression on Serafina's face did not change, but Lupin looked angry. "Ten points from Gryffindor!" he snapped. "I will not have that kind of talk in my classroom, do you understand?"

The Gryffindor boy looked surprised, and a little resentful. "But everyone knows that her father's a Death Eater--"

"Have you learned nothing during the past four years?" Lupin interrupted. "Hasn't the Headmaster taught you to judge people as individuals, not by what 'everyone' says? After all," he continued in a sarcastic voice, "'everyone' knows that giants are evil and that werewolves are monsters." Some of the Gryffindors looked shamefaced, but the boy still looked resentful.

"I don't care what they think, Professor," Serafina said indifferently. "And you're wasting your breath; they won't change their minds."

"Well, I care, Serafina," Lupin said gently. "And I think you're wrong; I think people can change their minds. I always hid the fact that I was a werewolf because I thought people would hate and fear me. But here I am, teaching at Hogwarts."

"No thanks to Snape," one of the Gryffindors muttered under their breath.

Lupin smiled. "Actually, Professor Snape did me a favor." The entire class stared at him in shock; even Serafina allowed a little surprise to creep into her usually expressionless face. "After he exposed the fact that I was a werewolf, I found out who my real friends were. Some people rejected me, it is true, but others stood by me, more than I thought would. I'm sure some of you were frightened when you first heard, but still, you have welcomed me back as your teacher. That is because you have learned to see me as a person, and not just a werewolf. You should also learn to see your classmates as people, as individuals, and not just as Slytherins or Gryffindors, or the children of Death Eaters."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence, then Lupin resumed the lesson. The much-subdued class went through a second round of attacks, and this time, most of them, even Brad, did much better. Lupin congratulated them on their progress and doled out points; Slytherin came out slightly ahead, due to Gryffindor's lost points, and because Damien, Dylan, and Serafina had each earned extra points for conjuring a full Patronus. But Dylan left class feeling a little uneasy as he wondered why his Patronus should have disturbed Lupin so deeply.

***

Lupin used the short break between classes to go to his office and compose himself. He felt warm breath on his cheek, and realized that Soot was nuzzling him in concern. He absent-mindedly petted the elemental, getting soot all over his hand, which didn't really bother him, because his hair and robes were already covered with black streaks and smudges anyway, from Soot perching on his shoulder and hiding under his hair. It would have been easier to find a boggart rather than have Branwen go through the trouble of summoning up an elemental, but Lupin was afraid of what form the boggart might take. Dylan's worst fear was probably Voldemort, and more damningly, Lupin's worst fear was no longer the moon...he suspected that the boggart would probably take the form of a slain Severus Snape when he faced it, and that would be a dead giveaway as to his true feelings for Severus. Not to mention that Lupin had no desire to see even an illusion of his lover lying dead on the floor.

Lupin was badly shaken by the sight of Dylan's rose Patronus, which brought to mind Miyako's vision of bloody roses, and Kingsley Shacklebolt's story about flowers on the Rosier estate that attacked all intruders. He should be pleased that Dylan was able to cast a full Patronus, because no doubt he would need all the protection he could get, but he could not shake the feeling that the silver rose had been a very ominous portent...

***

It was a Friday night in early October, and Snape was relaxing in his quarters with Lupin. They were sitting on the couch sharing a bottle of wine, and Snape had just set down his glass so he could lean over to kiss Lupin, when suddenly a burning pain erupted in his left arm.

"Severus! Are you all right?"

Snape looked up to see Lupin's blue eyes gazing at him anxiously. He forced himself to sit up straight and unclench his fingers from around his forearm; he did not remember doubling over in pain and grabbing his arm, but apparently he had. "Yes," he hissed, but Lupin didn't appear to be comforted.

"Is it...Voldemort?"

In reply, Snape pulled up the sleeve of his robe; the Dark Mark on his arm had turned a deep black and was clearly visible.

"Oh, Severus," Lupin whispered, reaching out to touch it. Snape knew from experience that it was burning hot to the touch; Lupin flinched slightly but did not pull away. He caressed the Mark, then kissed it, and the gentle touch of Lupin's lips seemed to ease the pain slightly. "You weren't expecting this, were you?"

"Not at this moment, no," Snape said, "but I have been expecting a summons for some time now. He hinted during the summer that he wanted to see Dylan again..."

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door, and Dylan's frightened voice called out, "Professor Snape?"

"I'll be right there, Rosier," Snape called back. "Go hide in the bedroom," he whispered to Lupin, who nodded and obeyed, closing the door behind him.

***

Dylan was in his room, playing Exploding Snap with his friends, when suddenly it felt like his left forearm had caught fire. He cried out, and at the very last second, realizing what it must be, managed to stop himself from clutching at his arm. His friends were Slytherins, and Theodore was the son of a Death Eater, and grabbing his arm would be a dead giveaway that he himself was a Death Eater. Instead, he wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"Dylan!" Damien exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"No," Dylan said, not having to feign a groan of pain. "I think I'm sick."

"What's wrong?" Blaise asked anxiously. "Do you have a stomachache?"

Damien frowned. "Snape made us test our potions on ourselves today, but Dylan never makes mistakes in Potions class..."

"I must have done something wrong," Dylan said. "Or maybe one of the Gryffindors poisoned my dinner."

"Maybe you'd better go to the hospital wing," Blaise suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Dylan said.

"Want me to go with you?" Damien asked.

"No, no, I'll be fine," Dylan said hastily.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, really, I'm sure it's nothing," Dylan replied. "I probably just ate too much candy before dinner. I'll just get Madam Pomfrey to give me a tonic."

"Well, if you're sure..."

As Dylan left, he noticed Theodore staring at him with a worried and suspicious look on his face. Theo was no idiot; he probably suspected the truth, but Dylan didn't have time to think about that now. He ran, not to the hospital wing, but to Snape's quarters and knocked on the door urgently. "Professor Snape?"

"I'll be right there, Rosier," Snape answered, and a moment later, his teacher answered the door and ushered him in.

"Professor," Dylan said, pulling up the sleeve of his robe.

"I know," Snape said. "I felt it, too. Wait here a moment while I get our robes." Snape went into the next room, presumably the bedroom, and closed the door behind him. Dylan paced back and forth in the sitting room, wondering what was taking Snape so long, then suddenly he noticed something odd. There were TWO wineglasses sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch, along with a half-empty bottle of wine. Had Snape had company tonight? Had that person left, or was he or she hiding in the bedroom? But who on earth could Snape's mysterious companion be? Dylan couldn't really picture Snape sitting around sharing a friendly drink with anyone on the staff...

***

Snape fetched his Death Eater robe from the back of his closet, along with the smaller one that he'd had made for Dylan over the summer. Lupin opened his mouth, but Snape laid a finger across it to silence him. "I only have a minute," he whispered, "so listen carefully. I want you to go to Black's house and wait for me. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the boy there; Dumbledore has given me special dispensation to bring Dylan there in the event of an emergency." He didn't know if Dumbledore had informed Black of that little matter, but that wasn't Snape's problem. "It's the safest place I can think of, other than this school, and I can't Apparate directly into the castle. I'm not going to waste time hiking across the grounds if Dylan is injured or if I have a pack of Death Eaters chasing after me."

Lupin nodded. "Should I gather reinforcements?" he asked softly.

Snape paused to consider. "I don't really think that will be necessary, but perhaps you can take Branwen with you, just in case. And inform the Headmaster where I've gone, and that I've taken Dylan." Lupin nodded again. "Hopefully, nothing will go wrong, and we'll simply return to the school, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Either way, I'll send you a message as soon as I can."

"Be careful, Severus," Lupin whispered. "Come back to me."

"As soon as I can, Remus," Snape replied.

"I love you, Severus," Lupin whispered fiercely, throwing his arms around Snape.

"I love you, too, Remus," Snape said, returning the embrace. He held his lover tightly for a moment, then reluctantly let him go, giving him a quick kiss before returning to Dylan.

***

Snape emerged after a couple of minutes, carrying two black robes. "A gift for you, Rosier," he said with a mirthless smile, holding one out to Dylan. It had a black hood, with two eye-slits, that could be pulled down over the face. "Put it on after we get off the school grounds."

They left Snape's quarters and went down a dungeon corridor that led to a dead end. Snape touched three bricks in the wall in quick succession, and a secret door slid open. "You are not to use this passageway unless I am with you, or in a life-or-death emergency, because I will kill you myself if I catch you sneaking out on some boyish prank, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Dylan replied. Sneaking out of the castle held little appeal for him; he would much rather stay in school, safe and sound, protected by his teachers, especially tonight.

"I'll show you how to get back in, too," Snape said grimly. "Just in case...something happens...and you have to return alone."

Dylan turned sheet-white. He had the feeling that if "something happened" to Snape, his chances of returning to Hogwarts would be next to nil, anyway.

"Of course," Snape continued, "I expect to be returning with you, but it's always best to be prepared."

"Yes, sir," Dylan whispered.

"Remember your Occlumency lessons, and remember to keep control of your emotions."

"Yes, sir."

"And stay alert. If..." Snape hesitated. "If anything goes wrong, I may have to Apparate us out of there. If I say, 'to me,' I want you to run to my side instantly, understand?"

"Yes, sir," Dylan repeated miserably. {Why did I ever want to be a Death Eater?} he asked himself despairingly.

"Control, Rosier," Snape said sternly, but he laid his hand on Dylan's shoulder for a moment, in a comforting manner.

That brief touch did give him comfort, and strength. He took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and reinforced his mental walls. Snape nodded approvingly, and they continued down the passageway.

Part 14

***

Afterword: Once again, my version clashes with canon since this was written pre-HBP. I had my Blaise come from a poor family--sort of a Slytherin version of the Weasleys, only without as many children--because I wanted to show a Slytherin who was outside of Draco's inner circle, who wasn't eager to become a Death Eater. I also wanted to show that some of the Death Eaters' children might have a less glamorous and more realistic view of the Death Eaters and Voldemort than Draco does, which led to my version of Theodore and my OC, Serafina. I later learned from JKR's website that she had intended for Theodore to be "a clever loner who does not feel the need to join gangs, including Malfoy's," but since I wasn't aware of that at the time, I made him a sort-of lackey of Draco's. But since he isn't shown hanging around with Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle all the time in the books, I made him a reluctant follower, who only caters to Draco because their families expect it of him.

My former Head of Slytherin, Professor De Lacy, bears little resemblance to the more boisterous and ambitious Slughorn, but they do share a bit of moral ambiguity.

The smoke elemental in Lupin's class is based on a class of monsters from the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game--para-elementals, which are creatures that are combinations from two of the basic elements, in Soot's case, air and fire. They show up in more detail in the sequel to this fic, "Aftermaths."