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FIC: Phoenix Rising, Part 37 of 37
Title: Phoenix Rising, Part 37 of 37
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Word count: ~6,350
Warning: AU; my own version of Year 6 (was written pre-HBP).
Author's notes: {} Indicates character's unspoken thought
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 and Lupin take a hand in determining the fate of the orphaned Slytherins.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36
***
The final Quidditch match of the season was canceled; Dumbledore seemed to think it would be inappropriate, and no one, not even the Slytherins, who had hoped to win back the Cup from Gryffindor, really felt like playing, anyway. Draco especially did not feel like playing, knowing that his father would never come to one of his matches again.
One morning in the Great Hall, one of the Gryffindors sneered at Draco as he passed by their table, "Too bad about your father, Malfoy!"
Before Draco could react, Harry snapped, "Shut your stupid mouth! Draco fought on our side! We never would have won if we hadn't all come together like the Sorting Hat said!"
"Yeah," Ron added belligerently, as Hermione smiled at her two friends. "We're the only ones who get to insult Malfoy!"
As the Gryffindors--and the Slytherins, for that matter--stared at Harry and Ron in shock, Draco scowled and said, "I don't need you to defend me, Potter!"
"Ungrateful git," Ron said, but there seemed to be a hint of laughter in his eyes.
"Stupid lout," Draco retorted, but he seemed to be trying very hard not to smile.
"I'm disappointed in you, Malfoy!" Ron said. "Surely you can be more creative than that--I mean, you did make up the 'Weasley Is Our King' song, after all!"
"All of you settle down and take your seats before I give you all detention!" Snape snapped as he paused on his way to the head table with Lupin. The boys obeyed with alacrity, and he felt mollified; the students still feared him, so perhaps his reputation wasn't as damaged as he had thought it was. "Stirring up trouble as usual, I see," he said to Potter.
"Yes, sir," Harry said with a grin.
Snape's lips twitched and he almost smiled, but he managed to get himself under control and growl, "Don't get cheeky with me, Potter! I'm still your teacher, and I still expect you to treat me with respect, savior of the wizarding world or not!"
"Yes, sir," Harry said meekly.
"Jeez, you could cut him some slack, seeing as how he just saved us all from Voldemort," Ron muttered.
The other children at the Gryffindor table braced themselves, expecting to lose all their points and perhaps see Ron turned into a toad, but Snape just sighed and said in a magnanimous tone, "Oh, very well. Five points to Gryffindor for saving the world."
The jaws of the Gryffindor children dropped open, and Ron said indignantly, "Five measly points for saving the world--mmph!"
Hermione quickly clamped a hand over Ron's mouth and said, "Thank you, Professor."
Snape just snorted and stalked off, his black robes swirling around him. Lupin grinned and winked at them before following his lover to the head table.
***
On a more somber note, Snape, Lupin, Branwen, and Dumbledore accompanied Dylan to his family's estate in Wales to see Ariane and her brothers and mother laid to rest. Dylan would have liked to have seen his mother buried beside his father, but there had been no body left to bury after Evan had killed himself with the Death Strike spell. He thought perhaps he should bury his father's ring along with his mother, but he could not bear to part with the only memento he had of his father.
"No, you should keep it," Snape said. "Ariane would want you to have it, and besides, it serves as the key to the Rosier estate, which you might someday want to claim."
"But I'd like her to have something of my father's," Dylan said.
"Perhaps we could gather some flowers from your father's estate to lay on her grave," Lupin suggested. "Ah, normal ones," he hastened to add as Snape raised his eyebrows. "There are some normal roses on the estate, aren't there?"
"I believe so," Snape replied. "We need to go there anyway to return the vampiric roses to their resting place."
So they returned the roses to the attic room in the Rosier mansion, and the flowers seemed to sense that they were being locked away for good, because they rustled in what seemed like a regretful sigh and the full blossoms closed back into tight buds, and settled into a dormant slumber. They carefully locked the door and restored the protective wards on the room before they left.
The portrait of Armand Rosier looked grateful to see that his great-grandson was still alive, and to hear that Voldemort was dead. "Do you think you'll move into the mansion someday?" he asked a little wistfully.
"I don't know," Dylan replied. He wasn't sure if he wanted to live in this gloomy mansion, even if it had been his father's home. "Besides, technically the estate belongs to the Ministry, doesn't it?"
"Technically," Snape said, "but it should have gone to you, since you were Evan's heir and you had not committed any crimes. The Ministry pulled a fast one, knowing that you were too young to assert your rights, and your mother was in no position to do so for you at the time, as she was on trial herself. I'll talk to Math about hiring a lawyer to get the title restored to you. It is your birthright, after all."
"Thank you, Professor," Dylan said. After they left the house, he said, "I'm not really sure I want to live there, though, with a bunch of dead people in paintings yammering at me all the time."
"Just thank Merlin you don't live in Black's house," Snape muttered.
"Are...are those people ghosts?" Dylan asked curiously. "Did they somehow put their spirits into the portraits after they died?"
Snape shook his head. "No, Dylan. That portrait of Armand is not really your great-grandfather, just a sort of echo, if you will; a reflection of his personality and his memories put into the painting by magic. It became tradition among the pureblood nobility to have these types of portraits made so that a part of them would live on after they died, but they are not truly ghosts."
"Uncle Math doesn't have any portraits like that in his house," Dylan said, "and I don't think I'd want one made of me. It seems kind of sad and pathetic, somehow. I'd rather just die and be done with it than live on as an echo in a piece of canvas."
"I agree," Lupin said. "But some people have it done out of vanity, out of fear of death, and occasionally for less selfish reasons. Portraits of the previous Headmasters at Hogwarts are made so that they can pass on their wisdom and advice to the current Headmaster."
"Just what I'd want," Snape said sarcastically, "a bunch of old men and women telling me how things were done in their day and complaining about the way I'm doing things now. I'm just glad they didn't institute that tradition for the Potions Masters!"
Lupin laughed, and Dylan smiled a little, and they gathered some roses from the grounds for Ariane's grave--white roses, because those had been Ariane's favorite, and the black roses that bloomed only on the Rosier estate.
Dylan laid the roses on his mother's grave and wept a little. Math wept not just for Ariane, but for his sister and Gwydion and Gilbert.
"They were not always as you knew them, Dylan," Math told him. "The twins were once young boys who adored their little sister and watched over her protectively after their father died."
"Gilbert saved me in the end," Goewin said sadly. "I think he was trying to atone for the crimes he committed, both in the past and present. He was my friend once, a long time ago; I cannot bring myself to hate him. Let our hatred and our grudges be buried along with the dead."
"I cannot really be sorry that they're dead," Dylan admitted. "But I'm sorry for your sakes, Uncle Math, Aunt Goewin."
But it seemed that the roses from the Rosier estate were not quite normal after all, because the next day Math found that they had rooted themselves in the earth and grown into an arch of intertwined white and black roses over Ariane's headstone.
***
Snape and Lupin were summoned to Dumbledore's office the day before school was about to let out for the summer. They found Dylan, Math, and a very irate-looking Goewin waiting for them. Goewin glared at Snape, who had no idea what was going on. He had just seen them at the funeral a few days ago, and they had been civil enough, even grateful for the way he had looked after Dylan.
"Have a seat, Severus, Remus," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Something unexpected came up when the Donners read Ariane's will."
Snape sat down, wondering if Ariane had left them some sort of bequest. But that made no sense--she had no property of her own, save for a few personal possessions, since her mother had disowned her and she was entitled to none of the wealth of the Donner estates.
Dumbledore unrolled a piece of parchment and read, "'All my worldly possessions I leave to my son, Dylan'--that's mainly just a few pieces of jewelry, and her books and photos and other personal items--"
"Get on with it, Albus," Goewin snapped, and Snape gave her another puzzled look. Math looked both worried and amused, and Dylan looked anxious and a little excited.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "'Should I die before my son comes of age, I hereby appoint Severus Snape and Remus Lupin as his legal guardians--'"
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Snape. "I thought--I assumed that Mathias and Goewin would become his guardians--"
"So did we," Goewin snapped, and he finally understood why she was glowering at them so fiercely.
"We didn't know about this, Goewin," Lupin told her in a gentle voice. "It's a complete surprise to us as well. She must have had it drawn up recently; she didn't know we were a couple until...well, it was the day we found out you were pregnant, come to think of it..."
Snape was not surprised that Ariane had made a will after joining the Order, although he was surprised by its contents; all the members had known that their lives would be at risk. He had done the same thing, leaving all his money to Lupin and his books to Dylan. He hadn't told Lupin about it, though, not wanting to upset him, and fortunately it had not been necessary.
"We're his relatives!" Goewin shouted, looking angry and hurt. "We've looked after him ever since he was born, loved him like he was our own son--how could she do this to us? Is this some sort of punishment for the bargain Math made with Deirdre, to keep Ariane imprisoned on the estate--?"
"I'm sure that's not it, Aunt Goewin," Dylan assured her. "She was grateful for the way you helped us, really. And you have the baby to look after now, you don't need me--"
"Oh, Dylan," Goewin sobbed, throwing her arms around him. "We don't love you any less now that we have Ariana--"
"I know that," he said, patting her on the back awkwardly.
"And you are still our heir," Math pointed out. "Now that Deirdre and the boys are dead, Ariana will inherit the Donner title, so my estate will still go to you."
"What do YOU want, Dylan?" Dumbledore asked quietly.
Dylan looked torn. "I love you and Uncle Math," he told Goewin. "I always will, and I don't want to hurt you, but...but..."
"But you'd like to live with Severus and Remus," Math finished with a sad smile.
"If that's okay with you," Dylan said to Snape shyly. "I mean, I know Mother didn't consult you, so maybe you don't--"
"I would love for you to live with me," Snape said hoarsely, as he felt tears sting his eyes; he blinked hard to keep them from falling. "With us, I mean."
"You don't even have a house, Severus!" Goewin shouted. "Aren't your quarters already a bit cramped with Remus living in them?"
"Well, Dylan will be living in the dorm during the school year, anyway," Lupin said mildly, "and I have a cottage that my parents left to me where we can spend the summers." He smiled at Dylan. "It's no mansion, and it's a bit run-down, but it's cozy and it's home."
"I'm sure it will be fine, Professor," Dylan said, smiling at Lupin. His smile faded as he turned to his weeping aunt. "Aunt Goewin, I'm sorry," he said helplessly.
"I think I know why Ariane appointed us as his guardians," Lupin said gently. "And I think I know why Dylan wants to live with us, and neither reason is a slight against you or Math." Goewin stopped weeping and looked up at him. "You and Math have never been tempted by the Dark Arts, never been tempted by the desire for power and revenge. But Ariane was, and Dylan was." Dylan flushed, looking shamefaced. "And Ariane knew that Severus would understand these things; she knew that he was the only one among us who knew what it was like to wear the Dark Mark on his arm. She knew that he would understand what Dylan is going through right now, and be able to help him work through it."
"Is that true, Dylan?" Goewin asked. "Is this what you really want?"
"Yes, Aunt Goewin," Dylan replied. "The Professor tried to keep me from joining the Death Eaters, and he helped me after I was Marked." His voice dropped to a whisper. "You...you don't know what it was like, having to face Voldemort, having to pretend to be one of them. I watched him use my roses to kill Professor Karkaroff..." He shuddered and rubbed his left arm, although his Mark, like Snape's, had vanished with Voldemort's death.
"I see," Goewin murmured, stroking his hair. She looked over and saw the same guilt in Snape's eyes that she saw in Dylan's. "Very well," she sighed, and smiled through her tears and kissed her great-nephew's cheek. "But don't be a stranger; come and visit us when you can."
"Of course he can visit you whenever he wants," Lupin said, "during the summer and the holidays. I'm sure he'll want to visit with his new cousin often." He exchanged a glance with Snape and said, "But there is one thing we should tell you before you decide you want to come live with us..."
When Lupin finished speaking, Math and Goewin blinked in surprise, and Dylan grinned from ear to ear. Snape was gratified to see him smile, since he had done so only rarely after his mother's death. "Of course I still want to live with you! This is great!"
"Very well, Dylan," Lupin said with a smile. "You may go back to your dorm, but don't say anything." He lifted his finger to his lips. "We'd like to tell him ourselves."
***
Theodore Nott hesitantly walked into the Headmaster's office, looking suspicious and a little worried. "Am I in trouble?" he asked. "I'm not being arrested as a Death Eater or anything like that, am I?"
"No, Theodore," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "Please have a seat." The boy sank into a chair, still looking worried as his eyes slid over to Lupin and Snape. "You're not in any trouble, Theodore. The Professors and I are just concerned about you. Both your parents died during the battle, and we were trying to determine whom your new guardians would be. Your parents left behind no will, and we spoke to some of your relatives, but..."
"But they don't want me," Theodore finished, a bitter smile twisting his lips. "That's not surprising. My dad's relatives are probably trying to distance themselves as much as possible so that no one will think they were Death Eaters, too, and my mother's family has always hated us ever since..." His voice trailed off.
"Ever since what, Theo?" Lupin asked gently.
"Well, he's dead now," Theodore muttered to himself. "So I suppose it's safe to tell you. My father killed my Uncle Rafe, my mother's younger brother, when I was eight years old."
"What?!" exclaimed Lupin; Dumbledore merely raised his eyebrows.
Snape looked startled, but then his eyes narrowed in thought. "I remember now; Rafe Dietrich disappeared mysteriously about eight or nine years ago. He supposedly sent his family a letter saying that he'd run off to Europe with some girl, but they doubted the authenticity of the letter..."
"They knew my dad had killed him," Theodore whispered, "but they couldn't prove it. It was all my fault."
"Theodore," Lupin said, sounding alarmed.
"Uncle Rafe was always nice to me," Theodore continued, still whispering; Lupin and Snape had to lean forward to make out his words. "I used to wish that I could live with him instead of my mother and father. He suspected my dad was a Death Eater, and he didn't like the way he treated my mother and me. He used to argue with my mother, told her that she should leave my dad, but she was too scared. Plus, she was ashamed of what people might think. One day my uncle found me crying after my dad had hexed me, and asked me what was wrong. I wouldn't tell him at first, but he told me I could trust him, and that he'd help me. So I told him, and I showed him the welts on my arm that the spell had left behind." Tears began to run down his face. "I just thought he'd take me away; I didn't think he'd go off and confront my father all by himself! He went and told my father that he was going to take me and my mother away from him, and that he was going to expose him as a Death Eater. My mother was screaming at him to stop, and my father killed him, right there in front of us, with a Killing Curse."
"That's why you can see the Thestrals," Snape murmured.
Theodore nodded, still weeping. "My dad told me and my mother that he'd kill us too if we told anyone. Avery came over later and helped him get rid of the body; I don't know what they did with it. They never told us and I was too scared to ask. It was all my fault, I shouldn't have said anything!" He buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he wept with years of pent-up grief and guilt.
Snape stared at the boy helplessly, and Lupin nudged him in the side and gave him a pointed look. Snape gave him a plaintive, "Who me?" look, and Lupin nodded, glaring at him sternly. Snape sighed, got up, and awkwardly put an arm around Theodore. "It's not your fault, child," he said gruffly. "Rafe should have known better than to confront a Death Eater alone, but he was always an impulsive, hotheaded, idealistic young man--come to think of it, he was a Gryffindor. I remember it scandalized his family because they had always been Slytherins--much like Sirius Black and his family. They didn't disown Rafe the way the Blacks did Sirius, though; he was the baby of the family and his parents doted on him."
"I should have just kept my mouth shut," Theodore sobbed.
"It was the job of the adults in your family to protect you," Snape said firmly, "not the other way around. Your father should not have hurt you, your mother should have stopped him when he did, and your uncle shouldn't have been so foolish." Snape sighed guiltily. "And I should have realized what was going on. But I didn't stop him, and I didn't stop Serafina's father from hurting her, either, because I was too busy protecting my Death Eater cover. If you wish to blame someone, blame me, not yourself."
Theodore just shook his head and clung to Snape, and Snape let the boy weep against his chest, while Lupin and Dumbledore smiled at him with irritatingly smug and satisfied looks on their faces. The boy's crying tapered off, and he pulled away from Snape, wiping at his face with his sleeve, looking a little mortified--not to mention shocked that the Potions Master had actually held him while he wept. Snape handed Theodore a handkerchief, and gratefully retreated back to his own chair, looking just as embarrassed; Lupin smiled at him tenderly, and he flushed.
Once the boy had composed himself, Dumbledore said, "We'll inform Rafe's family of his fate; they deserve to know. You must not blame yourself, Theodore; it wasn't your fault." Theodore still didn't look convinced of that, but said nothing. "But that still leaves you in need of a guardian."
"I'm almost seventeen," Theodore said with his customary sullenness. "I don't need anyone to look after me!"
"The law says that you do, Theodore," Dumbledore said gently, "and I think you do as well, whether the law says so or not. Fortunately, Professors Lupin and Snape have volunteered to become your foster parents."
"WHAT?!" Theodore shrieked in surprise.
"If that's all right with you, Theo," Lupin added.
"B-b-but," Theodore stammered, "you live at school. Will I stay here during the summer?"
"No," Lupin said patiently. "I have a cottage where we will live during the summer, and perhaps the holidays."
"But I don't really need a guardian," Theodore argued, still looking rather stunned. He turned to the Headmaster. "If you let me stay here this summer, I've only got one more year of school left, and then I'll be graduating anyway. Or maybe I could spend the summer with Dylan or Blaise--"
"Actually, Dylan will be living with us, too," Lupin said cheerfully. "His mother appointed me and Severus as his guardians in her will."
"WHAT?!"
"Theodore," Lupin said, looking concerned and a little hurt, "if you really don't want to live with us, perhaps--"
"You seem to think that you have a choice in the matter, Mr. Nott," Snape said in his coldest and most intimidating voice. Lupin gave him a startled look, then glared at him; Snape ignored him. "I assure you that you do not," Snape continued. "Lupin and I are your guardians now, and you will live with us when school is not in session. Is that clear, Mr. Nott?"
"Yes, sir," Theodore said, looking relieved and grateful rather than frightened or offended.
"Very well, Mr. Nott," Snape said sternly. "You may go now, and I suggest that you start packing since tomorrow is the last day of school."
"Yes, sir," Theodore said meekly, and left the room.
"Weren't you kind of hard on him, Severus?" Lupin asked accusingly.
"You have to know how to handle these children," Snape retorted. "They're not like Gryffindors; you'll only confuse them by pampering and coddling them. Their whole world has been turned upside-down: they don't want people offering them choices; they want someone to step in and tell them what to do. They want an adult to look after them. When everything is changing around them, familiarity is comforting, even if that means their Head of House acting as threatening as always. And what the hell is so funny, Lupin?" He stared indignantly at his lover, who had just burst out laughing.
"You are," Lupin said, choking with laughter. "You're always, 'I'm no good with children, Lupin' and 'you know how to comfort children, Lupin, I don't.' Well, apparently you do, you old softie!" Then Lupin collapsed in his chair, laughing his head off.
Snape glared at him, and muttered in a disgusted tone, "Werewolves!"
Dumbledore just smiled indulgently and set two huge stacks of paper on the desk before Lupin and Snape. "Before you go, boys, I'll need you to fill these out. The official forms needed to be filed with the court in order to appoint you as Dylan's and Theodore's legal guardians."
Snape groaned as he picked up a quill. "Can't the new Minister of Magic cut through the red tape for us?" he grumbled.
"He already has," Dumbledore informed him. "How else do you think your request was approved so quickly? Do you think it would be easy under normal circumstances for a werewolf and a former Death Eater to win custody of a child, even one as unwanted as Theodore? Not to mention that it's extremely rare for a same-sex couple to be granted joint custody of a child; in fact, I'm not sure it's ever been done before. One of you might have been able to get custody of the children alone, but the two of you together--it would never have happened without Arthur's help. But you still need to fill out the paperwork."
"All right, all right," Snape grumbled as he filled out the forms, and Lupin managed to stop laughing and deal with his own stack of paperwork.
***
They were about halfway through the stacks of paper when Harry, Sirius, and McGonagall walked in. Lupin and Snape retreated to a far corner of the room and continued filling out the forms while the Headmaster spoke to Harry.
"I informed your aunt and uncle that the threat to you is over," Dumbledore said solemnly. "They sent this in reply."
He handed Harry a letter which had only a few sentences scrawled on it in Aunt Petunia's handwriting: "Then my duty is over! The boy is your responsibility now, and good riddance! Tell him never to come near my home again!"
Harry knew he should be relieved that he didn't have to live with the Dursleys anymore, but he felt very hurt, although his aunt's reply was nothing more than what he would have expected. "I don't understand why they hate me so much," he said sadly. "I mean, I know they don't like magic and all, but my mother was Aunt Petunia's sister. How could she hate her own sister like that?"
"Hate is borne of fear, Harry," Lupin said gently. "And people fear what they do not understand."
Snape snorted derisively. Without looking up from his papers, he said, "Fear's got nothing to do with it. She was jealous." A brief silence fell over the room, and it took Snape a minute to notice that everyone was staring at him. "What, hadn't that ever occurred to any of you? Honestly, you Gryffindors are so naive!"
"Who's jealous?" Harry asked. "Aunt Petunia? Why?"
"Because Lily had magic and she didn't," Snape said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But Aunt Petunia hates magic!" Harry protested.
Snape snorted again. "You're a bit dense, boy, considering that you're the savior of the wizarding world." He added in a more serious tone, thinking of himself and Black and James Potter, "It's easy to hate someone who has everything--or at least seems to have everything." Then he noticed that everyone was staring at him again--Potter and Black in particular were looking very thoughtful--and he flushed as he belatedly realized that he had exposed more of himself than he had intended. He cleared his throat and added gruffly, "What I meant, boy, was that no doubt your aunt was jealous that your mother could do magic and she could not. After all, don't Muggles always wish they had magic? It certainly seems so from their literature." Everyone was staring at him again. "What?!" he snapped.
"You read Muggle novels, Snape?" Sirius asked, looking amused.
Snape flushed again and snapped, "I took Muggle Studies in school, the same as you and everyone else, Black!" Snape continued in a huffy voice, "Anyway, as I was saying, since your aunt knew she would never possess magic, she probably decided to hate it, and hate your mother by extension."
"Like the fox and the grapes in Aesop's Fables," Lupin mused. "The fox wanted to eat the grapes, but he couldn't reach them so he said, 'They were probably sour; I didn't want them anyway!'" And Snape flushed yet again as he remembered how he had come to hate Lupin after he had lost him, because it was easier to hate him than to admit to himself how much he missed Lupin. Lupin, as always, seemed to sense what he was thinking, and reached out and laid his hand over Snape's.
"You're very perceptive, Severus," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.
"I can't concentrate with all this chatter," Snape snarled. "I'll finish the paperwork in my office and return it to you later, Headmaster. Come along, Lupin."
"What's all the paperwork for?" Sirius asked curiously.
"We're adopting Dylan and Theodore," Lupin said happily.
"Well, technically fostering them," Snape corrected. "They're still keeping their own names and family inheritances--or at least I hope so." He frowned. "I'd better talk to that lawyer; I don't want the Ministry trying to confiscate the Nott estate like they did with the Rosiers'."
"You're adopting Rosier and Nott?" Harry asked incredulously, and McGonagall looked like she was going to faint.
"Fostering is the legal term," Snape snapped. "Not that it's any of your business."
"But essentially, yes," Lupin said, still grinning happily.
"But why?" Harry asked.
"Their parents are dead, and they need someone to look after them," Lupin explained patiently. "And Severus and I have grown very fond of them."
Everyone was staring at Snape again; this was getting to be a habit. He just grunted, looking embarrassed and annoyed, and muttered, "Yes, well, let's just be glad that Delia and Narcissa were released on probation, and that Crabbe and Goyle still have their mothers as well. I don't mind taking on Dylan and Theodore, but I don't really want to foster half of Slytherin."
"They certainly wouldn't all fit in my little cottage," Lupin laughed. "We'd have to tear it down and build a bigger house...or maybe just build an addition onto it. Hmm..." His face took on a thoughtful expression.
"Don't even think about it, Lupin," Snape warned. "Two children are more than enough for us to handle."
"I suppose you're right," Lupin laughed, and smiled tenderly at Snape. "After all, I never dreamed that I would ever have any children at all. Nor that I would be living happily-ever-after with you."
"Cut that out, Lupin," Snape hissed, his face turning red. Lupin just laughed.
Sirius laughed good-naturedly, and laid his hand on Harry's shoulder. "You see, Harry, family isn't always determined by blood. Lupin and your dad were my family, and so are you."
Harry smiled at him gratefully. "I can come live with you, then?" he asked. "Do you still want me to?"
"Of course!" Sirius said heartily. "I only let you go to the Dursleys because I was a fugitive, and Albus said it was necessary to keep you safe. Hob will be so happy to have a child around the house! Oh, and, uh..." He blushed. "I hope you don't mind, but Branwen will be living there permanently from now on. We, um, haven't announced it officially yet, but we're getting married in August. You're all invited, of course," he told everyone in the room.
The idea of Professor Blackmore as a step-godmother was a bit intimidating, but he smiled and said, "Congratulations, Sirius! I'm really happy for you." And he felt more than adequately rewarded by his godfather's warm smile. Well, Blackmore had lived in the house with them for the last two summers, so it wouldn't be that much different, Harry supposed. But he resolved to keep a large supply of chocolate on hand to pacify Bane.
Lupin was hugging Sirius, Dumbledore was beaming, and McGonagall offered Sirius her congratulations, still looking a little bemused by all these startling revelations. Snape looked outraged for a moment, then he smiled sardonically and said, "I would tell you that if you break her heart, I'll kill you, but I don't really think that's necessary, since she's more than capable of taking care of herself. She is quite strong enough to break every bone in your body without any need for magic; it must be her demon blood. So I wouldn't let her catch you making eyes at other women if I were you, Black."
"Severus!" Lupin scolded.
"I'm not interested in looking at any other women," Sirius said firmly. "Though your concern for me is quite touching, Snape."
"And," Snape added with a wicked grin, "don't forget that she has a vengeful Demon Prince for a grandfather who will take it most amiss if you make his favorite little granddaughter cry."
This time Sirius turned a little pale, and Lupin shouted, "SEVERUS!" Suddenly both Sirius and Severus burst out laughing, and Lupin shook his head, looking quite cross. "Honestly, I swear you two drive me crazy sometimes!"
"But Lupin," Snape said innocently, "I thought you wanted me and Black to get along!"
"Don't play innocent with me, Severus!" Lupin snapped.
"But Remy," Sirius piped up, "aren't you glad that Snape and I are getting along so well?" Then the two old enemies exchanged conspiratorial grins.
Lupin glared at them both, but he couldn't keep it up for very long; he quickly gave in and laughed. "Next time I'll be careful what I ask for, as the saying goes!"
He and Snape left, and McGonagall shook her head and said she needed to go lie down. "I'm too old to deal with all these changes," she sighed.
"Why Minerva, my dear," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling merrily behind his glasses, "you're a spring chicken compared to me!"
McGonagall burst out laughing. Then she smiled at Harry and said to Sirius, "Take good care of Mr. Potter, now."
"I will, Professor," Sirius promised, and he hugged Harry, who hugged him back, and suddenly the Dursleys' rejection no longer stung so much.
***
On the last day of school, Dumbledore gave thanks that all the students had survived the battle, and asked them to remember those who had given their lives in the war.
"Now, as for the House Cup," he said, "something quite unusual has happened this year. Gryffindor and Slytherin are tied for the top score with 456 points each."
"What?!" Snape and McGonagall cried.
"By the way, Severus," Lupin couldn't resist pointing out, "if you hadn't given Harry those five points for 'saving the world' just to be sarcastic, Slytherin would have won."
Snape let out a howl of outrage that echoed through the Great Hall as Lupin burst out laughing. Dumbledore cleared his throat and gave them both a stern look, but there was a hint of laughter sparkling in his eyes as well. Lupin managed to tone down his laughter to a soft chuckle, and Snape subsided with a very sullen and sulky look on his face as he crossed his arms and glared at his lover.
"I think this is actually a very fortuitous event," Dumbledore continued. "A symbol, if you will, of the spirit of unity and cooperation between the Houses that you all showed during these difficult times. The House Cup was intended only to provide a little friendly competition; it was never meant to cause the division and enmity that seems to have developed over the years." Branwen nodded in agreement, the look in her eyes saying, "I told you that years ago!" Dumbledore smiled at her, then turned back to face the students and said, "So I hereby decree that Gryffindor and Slytherin are the joint winners of the House Cup this year, and will share the award!" He raised his wand and the red-and-gold banners of Gryffindor and the green-and-silver banners of Slytherin dropped down from the ceiling. "Congratulations to you both!"
The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs clapped and cheered, looking rather amused by this turn of events. The Gryffindors and Slytherins clapped with something less than great enthusiasm--or at least most of them did. Hermione and Neville at Gryffindor, and Crabbe and Goyle at Slytherin were grinning at each other and clapping vigorously.
At the Slytherin table, Damien said, "Hey, does this mean that I can date Gryffindor girls now?" Draco gave him a sour look, but no one was overly intimidated by Malfoy anymore now that his father was dead and the Death Eaters disbanded.
"Do you ever think about anything but girls, Pierce?" Theodore asked in an aggrieved tone.
"Not really," Damien replied cheerfully, and winked at Parvati and Lavender over at the Gryffindor table. The girls giggled and blushed.
Theodore rolled his eyes, and Dylan and Blaise started laughing, and that seemed to start a chain reaction--pretty soon the whole table was laughing, and even Draco gave in and cracked a smile.
After the students were dismissed, Theodore and Dylan got their bags and met Lupin and Snape in the dungeon.
"Ready to go home, boys?" Lupin asked.
The four of them stared at each other for a moment; Theodore and Snape had never really had a home before--a place to call "home," with people who cared about you, and not just a building that you lived in--and were both filled with a sudden sense of awe. Dylan thought it was strange that he had never even seen Lupin's house, yet that word "home" felt very reassuring and welcoming. He supposed that "home" was really more the people you loved than a particular place, and he was already feeling very much at home with his two favorite teachers-turned-foster-parents and his friend-turned-foster-brother. Lupin smiled at his strange little family, thinking that he could not feel more wealthy than if he owned all the gold in Gringotts.
He blinked away the tears that had suddenly formed in his eyes, and repeated, "Shall we go home?"
"Yes, Remus," Snape said.
"Yes, Professor," Dylan and Theodore said.
Lupin smiled at them, and they headed to the school entrance to catch a carriage home.
THE END.
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Anyway, thanks for reading and reccing the series! ^_^