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Title: The Wizard’s Tale: A Continuation
Part 8 contains chapters 33-36
Chapter 33: Healings
He entered the hospital wing with a crash, having kicked open the door. His long strides ate up the corridor and he turned into the room they had readied. The other three were right on his heels. Gently, he lay Tonks on the bed and Madam Pomfrey started to unwrap the cloak.
Snape turned to Dumbledore. “She got the names of the new men. Worthington, Simms, White and Bellows.”
“Did she!” Dumbledore looked startled. “Now I wonder if that’s Simms from London?”
Tonks showed her first sign of life by lifting her head a few inches. “Yorkshire.”
“What did you say, my dear?” He bent over her.
“The accent was Yorkshire on Simms. Cockney on Bellows, upper class London on Worthington and somewhere west on White.” She swallowed on a raw throat.
“Excellent! I must go pass this on.” Dumbledore was gone in an instant.
Tonks looked at Lillith standing at the foot of the bed. “We told you we’d be back.” She managed a weak grin.
Lillith nodded, tears trickling down her cheek. “Yes, you did.”
Tonks winced as Snape and Madam Pomfrey shifted her on the bed. “It’s not as bad as it looks, really.”
Lillith choked on a sob and managed a small smile of her own. “I’m sure it’s not.”
Madam Pomfrey made speculative noises about Snape leaving as they unwrapped Tonks’ nude body but the look he sent her ended all protests. Several times she looked at him in surprise as they tended to Tonks’ injuries and Snape’s ability to heal was revealed.
They were settling Tonks with a cup of special healing tea when Dumbledore stuck his head ‘round the door.
“May I speak with you?” His glance took in the three not in bed.
Lillith hesitated.
“Go ahead,” Snape nodded. “I’ll stay ‘til you come back.”
The three adjourned to Madam Pomfrey’s office.
“How is she?” Dumbledore asked even before they were seated.
Poppy shook her head and spread her hands in wonder.
“I don’t understand. She’s got some bruising, cuts and abrasions, a broken finger and a few cracked ribs but nothing internal. I’ve seen students in worse shape after a Quidditch match. My worst fears were, well, of injuries due to the rape but there doesn’t seem to be any damage at all. Severus must have found some way to protect her, though I can’t imagine how. And since when has he been a healer? I’m going to want a long talk with that boy!” She folded her arms in a huff.
Lillith couldn’t help a small smile.
“The biggest thing,” Poppy went on seriously, “will be the emotional trauma. I really think, Headmaster, that she should have her memory modified.”
Dumbledore shook his head. “That will be up to her. If she wants it, Severus will certainly do it.” He stood. “I need to talk with him now.”
Lillith nodded and they went back to Tonks’ room.
Tonks and Snape had been talking.
As soon as the others had gone she had turned to him. “I don’t feel so bad.”
“You’re in pretty good shape, all things considered.”
“Thanks to you.” She managed a smile.
“Tonks, your mind has only started to assimilate what’s happened. It will not be easy for you. Do you want me to modify your memory?”
She sighed. “Will I lose everything?”
“I can erase just the memories you want me to. It will leave gaps at first, but then you mind will smooth them over.”
“How do you do that? I mean, just erase certain thoughts?”
“Well, it’s a rather lengthy process. I have to go in and look at each and every memory that you have. Once I’ve found and isolated the ones of tonight, we can look at them and you can choose which ones to keep and which to lose.”
“You can do that?” She was astonished. “I thought you just zapped a whole block of stuff.”
He gave her a small smile. “That’s usually what’s done. It’s not as reliable however, as the mind doesn’t store memories in an orderly fashion. It’s more as if thoughts and memories are just dumped in a bucket and stirred. Sorting them out properly takes time and cooperation between both parties.”
“And you look at every memory?”
“I would have to, yes.” He nodded.
“Yeah, well, I don’t know about that.”
He laid his hand over hers. “You don’t have to decide now. If at any time you want to have some of the memories removed, I’ll do it.”
She turned her hand over and gripped his. “Thanks, Snape. And thanks for looking after me.”
His face twisted and he surged to his feet to stalk the room.
“For Merlin’s sake, woman! Don’t thank me. I took you into hell for my own selfish reasons. Do not thank me!” He ran a hand through his hair and stared out the window.
Tonks watched him for a moment. She could see his shoulders trembling.
“Snape don’t. Don’t do this to yourself. Please,” she stretched out a hand to him. “Come sit with me.”
For a few seconds he stood at the window, then with a sigh came and sat by her bedside.
She caught up his hand and held it looking him in the eyes. “Thank you for letting me help you.”
He closed his eyes and gripped her hand. She could feel he was still trembling. After several long seconds he opened his eyes and looked at her.
“You’re welcome.” His voice was low and strained.
She beamed at him as the other three entered the room.
Snape and Dumbledore left for the Headmaster’s office and Lillith and Poppy sat by Tonks’ bed.
Tonks got a report from Madam Pomfrey about her condition and listened quietly to the stern recommendation that she have her memories modified. She then left Tonks and Lillith alone.
“Whenever you want to talk....” Lillith let the sentence trail.
Tonks sighed. “I will sometime – you know I talk about everything sooner or later. But not just yet.”
Lillith nodded and they sat quietly for several minutes.
“I’m all right, honest.”
Lillith nodded again.
“He’s really beating himself up.” Tonks sounded forlorn.
“He will. We’ll have to be careful and not let him get away with too much of it.”
Tonks grinned. “No sympathy.”
Lillith smiled a secret smile. “Maybe just a little. At first.”
Tonks laughed. “You give him the sympathy; I’ll give him the hard time.”
“Deal!” Lillith laughed with her then took up Tonks’ hand in both of her own. “Dori, are you really all right?”
Tonks swallowed. “I don’t know Aunt Lilly. I guess time will tell. But physically, I’m fine and if I need help with the memories, Snape will do it.” She spoke with utter confidence.
Lillith bit her lip. She hoped it would be that straightforward.
They sat in the stillness and before long, Tonks dozed. Lillith got up to dim the lights then sat back by the side of the bed. Time seemed to stand still in the darkest hours of the night and she was relieved when Madam Pomfrey motioned her from the doorway and told her to get some rest – that she would sit with Tonks until morning.
When she entered their rooms she was not surprised to see Snape standing by the window. He was wrapped in a thick terrycloth robe, his hair still damp. It was his custom, she knew, to take a very long, very hot shower after returning from a meeting with Voldemort. He would scrub his skin relentlessly, as though trying to rid himself of the filth he felt in the Dark Lord’s presence. She could tell by the redness of the skin on his arms and neck that he had been especially brutal with himself that night.
Without a word she came up behind him, circled his waist with her arms and laid her cheek against his back. He tuned to her and encircled her loosely in his arms. She tugged the tie free on his robe and parting it, pressed her face to his bare chest.
“How can you bear to touch me?” His voice was desolate.
She hugged him hard. “I love you. I love who you are. I love what you stand for. I love how you’re willing to break yourself for others. I love you, I love you, I love you!” Her fierce whisper dissolved into tears.
His arms tightened around her as he released a long shuddering breath. She looked up and kissed him through her tears then, breaking the embrace, led him toward the bedroom. As they entered the room, she waved her robes away with her wand before tossing it on the bedside table. She smoothed her hands up Snape’s chest and over his shoulders, removing his robe and drawing him down into a kiss. He let the robe drop from his arms then reached for her as a drowning man reaches for a lifeline.
He eased back onto the bed with her in his arms. Without breaking the kiss he rolled over on top of her and with no preamble drove his cock deep inside of her. Her body was wet and welcoming and gripped him tightly as he thrust hard, driving the demons away. She wrapped her legs around him and fought to keep up with the relentless drive of his hips. She came a split second ahead of him, her cries spurring him on.
Snape did something he’d never done before; he fell asleep. Within seconds of his release, Lillith felt his body go limp. Still atop her, still inside her, he got heavier and heavier as his sleep became deeper. Struggling to breathe, Lillith summoned her wand, then levitated the sleeping man just enough so she could scoot out from under him. Lowering him gently to the bed, she sighed with relief and cuddled up to his back. She knew he would be awake in a few hours so she willed her troubles away and let herself drift off.
She awoke curled on her side, a large erection being gently pressed into her back. She stretched luxuriously, see-sawing her hips back into Snape. His hand slid over her ribs and came up to cup her breast, his thumb teasing her nipple. A shiver of arousal went through her and reaching back with one foot, she hooked Snape’s calf and pulled his leg between hers. Obligingly, he brought his thigh up snuggly between her legs. She gave a small murmur of satisfaction and moved against him.
“Is my lady requesting something?” He nuzzled her neck.
Another shiver went through Lillith and she found herself instantly wet.
“No, your lady is demanding something.” She turned her head as far as she could and he kissed her cheek.
“Demanding?” His chuckle enfolded her like rich warm chocolate. He pressed against her and feeling her dampness on his thigh, stroked his hand down her belly until his long fingers brushed against her dark curls. He dipped inside her then stroked and circled her sensitive nub.
She shivered and moaned, lost in a haze of sleep and desire.
“Please, Severus.” She was finding it hard to think.
“Please, what?” She could hear the smile in his voice at their familiar game.
“Severus, I want you to fuck me. I want your cock so deep inside of me I can feel it in the back of my throat.” She was not above begging her man for what she wanted. She tried to turn toward him but he held her still. She whimpered and he continued stroking her.
“And how would my lady like to be fucked this morning?” He shifted his hips and entered her from behind, sliding smoothly and slowly into her soft, wet warmth. Her body shuddered as his cock stretched and filled her and she reveled in the feelings it gave her -- a feeling of being totally possessed by this man whom she loved and, at the same time, a feeling of power over him. He stroked slowly, pressing each stroke deep within her. She moaned and threw her head back against his shoulder.
“Is this what pleases you, my lady?” His voice stroked her senses.
“It’s a good start.” She could barely articulate the words.
“Just a start? You are being demanding this morning.” He nibbled her ear as his fingers continued their relentless stroking of her now very swollen clit.
She felt herself slipping over the edge as his lips trailed down her neck. His teeth closed on her shoulder and she screamed his name.
She was barely over the tremors of her orgasm when he slid out of her, rolled her onto her back and knelt between her legs. Grasping her ankles he pulled her feet high over her head and drove into her. Using his weight and leverage, he drove into her hard several times before stopping and grinding his hips against her.
“Is this deep enough for my lady?” His breathing was ragged and he was trembling.
Lillith pushed back against him and struggled to speak.
“Almost.” She managed to get the word out.
”Almost!?” He was incredulous.
She grinned at him and laughing, he pounded into her as hard as he could. She dug her nails into him as she came a second time, silent in her ecstasy. Feeling her muscles spasm around him, he threw his head back and gave himself up to his own pleasure.
Sweating and gasping, he released her legs and lowered himself to rest atop her, claiming her mouth in a passionate kiss as he did so. She wrapped her arms around him and vowed to herself that she would never let this man go.
*************************
Chapter 34: The Ottoman Empire Affair
The next day saw Tonks begging for release from the hospital wing. She was fine physically, but Madam Pomfrey insisted she spend one more night. When that had past and there was no sign of the nightmares Poppy had dreaded, she reluctantly released Tonks after making her promise she wouldn’t stay at home alone. One of the other Aurors agreed to move in with her for a couple of weeks and although Poppy wasn’t happy about it, she let Tonks leave.
Snape had only morning classes that day and he and Tonks spent the afternoon walking and talking together. Neither one spoke of their conversation to anyone but Lillith noticed that Snape seemed far less brooding and much more relaxed afterward. The three of them had dinner together in Snape and Lillith’s rooms and then with promises to keep in touch daily, Tonks left.
Lillith and Snape settled by the fire.
“Will she be all right do you think?”
“I think so, yes.” Snape picked up a book. “She is a remarkably strong minded person with a very solid sense of self.”
“And what about you? Will you be all right?” Lillith was watching him closely.
He gave a faint smile. “I have been sternly lectured by your niece about not taking too much blame to myself. She insists I have enough legitimate things to feel guilty about without taking on those things that aren’t mine. She sounded rather like a shorter, feminine version of Albus though the orange spiked hair spoiled the illusion a bit.”
As promised, Tonks kept in touch. There were no nightmares and no other outward manifestations of her trauma and Poppy began to relax a bit.
A week later Lillith went shopping in Hogsmeade and on arriving, ran into her niece on the main street. They agreed to meet later for tea.
Lillith came into their rooms and glanced around more than half expecting to see Tonks. Instead, she saw Snape sitting on the sofa reading. He was dressed in his favorite black jeans and loose fitting white shirt. His bare feet were propped up on an ottoman.
Lillith set the things she had bought in Hogsmeade on the table.
“Have you seen Dori? I ran into her in Hogsmeade and invited her for tea. I thought she might be here by now.”
Snape looked up from his book and scanned the room carefully. “I don’t see her.” His tone was innocent.
Lillith eyed the ottoman. It was a hideous thing with purple and green stripes and it hadn’t been there when she left that morning.
“Severus?”
“Umm?” He continued to read.
“When I met Dori, she had green and purple striped hair.”
“That sounds disgusting.” His voice was absentminded.
“Rather like that ottoman.”
“Mmmm.”
“Severus?”
“Umm?”
“Where did that ottoman come from?”
“Ottoman?” He looked up from his book and glanced around the room. Spotting that particular piece of furniture under his feet he looked mildly surprised. “Well, I’m not sure.”
The ottoman rocked slightly.
“Oh, Severus.” Lillith suppressed a smile. “Why did you turn Dori into an ottoman?”
Snape closed the book using his finger to mark his place.
“Your niece,” he sounded very aggrieved, “tried to hex me.”
Lillith moved to the other end of the couch and sat biting her thumbnail and trying not to laugh.
“And why would she try to do such an obviously foolish thing as that?”
“It seems,” his voice was weary, “that the last time she was here, someone filled her backpack with slugs. She was under the impression I was responsible.”
Lillith looked confused. “You wouldn’t do that.” She glanced at him. “Would you?”
“Don’t be absurd.”
“Well, why did she think so? She must have had some reason.”
“In the course of her investigation,” he drenched the word with sarcasm, “she spoke with Messrs Potter and Weasley and they told her I was the culprit.” He slapped the book against his thighs. “Honestly, I don’t know how that woman got through Auror training with logic like that.”
The ottoman rocked rather violently and he lifted one foot to give it a gentle push.
Lillith bit her knuckle and swallowed a laugh.
“How long has she.....?”
“About half an hour.” Snape was reading again.
“And how long are you planning on keeping her.....?” She gestured toward the ugly piece of furniture, giggles stopping her from finishing the sentence.
“Oh, I don’t know.” He glanced up at it. “It is rather comfortable for all it’s so ugly.”
This time the ottoman fairly bounced off the floor.
Lillith fell over on the couch giggling helplessly. Snape continued reading as though everything were perfectly normal.
Lillith finally composed herself, straightening up and wiping the tears from her eyes.
“I had rather hoped to have a chat and a cup of tea with her.”
Snape gave an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose.” He set his feet on the floor and put the book aside. Lillith saw his long back wand lying in his lap along with a shorter, slimmer one of blond wood.
“But if she so much as thinks of retaliating......” He let the sentence hang menacingly.
“Oh, I’m sure she’s learned her lesson.” Lillith was trying not to break out in a fresh fit of giggles.
He looked at her and cocked and unbelieving eyebrow. She shrugged and grinned.
Snape leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and pointed his wand at the ottoman.
“I am doing this against my better judgment and only because your kind-hearted aunt has requested it. Do not even think of retaliation.” With the word ‘think,’ he touched his wand to the ottoman and it immediately fell over in the form of a young woman.
“Jeez, Snape!” She stretched her arms and legs. “You sure do get stiff being a footstool.” She eyed her wand still lying in Snape’s lap. He was reading again.
“Surely,” he didn’t look up, “you are not so foolish.”
She grinned good naturedly and shot Lillith a quick look.
“I will not protect you, Dori. Don’t even think of involving me.”
“Oh, all right.” Tonks stood and shoved her hands in her back pockets while still eyeing her wand.
Lillith took her by the arm and led her to the kitchen. She set the tea to brewing and dug around in the cupboard for some biscuits. When the tea was ready, she poured a couple of mugs.
“Can I bring you tea, Severus?” She called to the other room.
“Thank you.”
She poured a third mug.
“You wait on him?” Tonks sounded scandalized.
Lillith smiled. “No more than he waits on me.”
“Yeah?” Tonks sounded disbelieving.
She watched Lillith carry the tea in and set it on the table next to Snape. He caught her hand and gave the back of it a quick kiss. Tonks smiled to herself.
They had a relaxing hour of conversation and tea but finally Tonks had to go. She went to the living room and approached Snape where he was now working at the long study table.
“Uh,” she shifted uncomfortably.
“What is it?” He didn’t look up from the papers her was correcting.
“May I have my wand back, please?”
He studied her for a moment then wordlessly handed her the wand. She moved away and back a step out of his sight, pointing the wand at his back. Nothing happened except that Snape slowly laid down his quill and upon rising, approached her. Her eyes were wide with astonishment and fright.
“Nothing happened! What did you do to my wand?”
He stopped very close to her and scowled down at her, his black eyes glinting.
“I put a spell on it so that it will no longer work against me. Otherwise, it is still fully functional.”
“You can do that?” Tonks’ fear turned to wonder. “Will you teach me?”
The scowl on Snape’s face faded a bit. “Teach you? As in class -- as in school?”
“Yeah.” Her voice faltered slightly. “You’re amazing. You can do stuff I didn’t even know could be done.” She gulped and looked him in the eye. “Will you teach me stuff?”
“Since when does Nymphadora Tonks ask for extra work?”
She shuffled. “Since she grew up?”
One eyebrow rose to new heights.
She laughed. “Well, maybe not quite. But seeing as how we’re on the same team now, don’t you want me to know as much as possible?”
A series of conflicting emotions flashed across his face before it settled into its usual scowl.
“I will not waste my time if you aren’t going to pay attention and study.” His words carried a very clear threat.
“Really?” Her face lit up. “You’ll do it?”
He sighed. “The only time I have will be Sundays. Probably just after lunch. Are you going to show up?”
“Any time you say.” She was bouncing with excitement. “Send me an owl and I’ll be here any time you say.”
With that she was out the door and they could hear her laughing and skipping down the corridor.
Snape stood staring after her with a stunned expression on his face.
“What in Merlin’s name have I agreed to?”
Lillith came up and slid her arms around his neck twining her fingers into his hair.
“Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?”
“What?” He still looked shell-shocked.
“Nothing, love.” Lillith stood on tiptoe and within seconds Snape was lost in her kiss.
*****************************
Chapter 35: The New Student
True to her word, Tonks had shown up faithfully every Sunday right after dinner. It was also clear that she practiced the lessons Snape set for her as there was a marked improvement in her skills. There were many things she would have liked to learn that he refused to even try to teach her. At first she argued fiercely with him, but when she learned his objection to teaching her was based on the fact that she simply was not magical enough and not because he deemed it inappropriate, she calmed down and accepted his judgment.
One of the things they worked on the most was "street fighting." It was only with dire threats of retribution for misuse that Snape had uncharmed Tonks’ wand so that she could spar with him. Having a sparring partner who did not pull his punches and did not expect her to pull hers, but whom she could trust not to do her permanent damage pushed Tonks to her limits and caused dramatic improvement in her abilities. Snape had asked Lillith to join the lessons, partly so he could observe more easily but mostly because he very much wanted to improve Lillith's ability to defend herself. He knew her reactions were very fast and her accuracy good, but wanted her to improve. Neither of them discussed his reasons for this.
Lillith was not a satisfactory sparring partner for Tonks as she was loath to chance hurting her niece. Much to Snape's amusement, she was much more aggressive against him. Delighting in catching him off guard or getting around his defenses, she never used strong hexes or charms but he had nursed a sharp sting or two from her, even though every hit he received was felt as a jab to the scar on her hand. They used the Room of Requirement, as Snape refused to risk demolishing their personal space.
Tonks had suggested bringing in another person but Snape claimed he was not running a private school and besides, there was DA for that. Tonks had been surprised to learn that Snape had known about them and their meetings in the Room of Requirement almost from their first meeting. He reminded her that he was, after all, a teacher with many years of experience dealing with headstrong (and sneaky) students and hinted that it was not the first time he had turned a blind eye to some of the things that went on at the school. Tonks was positively scandalized and, wide-eyed, demanded stories. He gave her a look of utter disdain and declined.
They used great care in arriving at the meeting place as it would not go well for Snape if Voldemort were to learn he was giving self-defense lessons to an Auror.
It was in October that Tonks approached Snape once more with the idea of him tutoring another person. She said there was a young man who had recently arrived from Canada and was looking at a job as a curse breaker with Gringotts. He had talked with Bill Weasley, which was how Tonks had met him, and Bill had gotten permission from Dumbledore for the young wizard to attend the next meeting of the Order. He was also going to be coming to the school to take advanced classes with Professor Flitwick. Tonks was positively starry-eyed over him and pleaded with Snape to at least meet him. Grudgingly, he said she could bring him to their lesson that day.
Half an hour later, Snape and Lillith entered the Room of Requirement to find Tonks and the young man at the other end of the long narrow space. The man had his back to them but turned slowly as they approached. He was tall and slender with thick wavy raven-black hair that brushed his shoulders. He wore charcoal-gray trousers and a white shirt with the collar open and the sleeves rolled up halfway to his elbows. His eyes swept over Lillith and he nodded briefly before his vision locked onto Snape. He had the most amazing blue eyes Lillith had ever seen. Lillith felt Snape stiffen at her side and he slowed his stride until he stopped about six feet in front of the other man. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments and the air between them fairly crackled with magic. Lillith and Tonks exchanged puzzled looks and Lillith backed away to stand beside her niece.
Tonks put her lips close to Lillith’s ear. “Kat went to school here for six weeks his first year. Then his mother died and he went to live in Canada, so they have met before....” Her voice trailed off in puzzlement.
As soon as the young man had turned Snape had recognized him. It had been ten years and he would still have known him anywhere. The eyes were the key -- his mother's eyes, looking out of the masculine face. But there was more this time; the shadow of someone else as well. This time he had no doubt. As soon as their eyes met, Snape had reached out with his mind, searching for memories, images, emotions. He glimpsed a smoky view of his own Potions classroom before the images hazed into a foggy emptiness. At the same time, he felt the unmistakable creeping of another's mind trying to probe his. He closed his mind firmly and they continued to stare silently, each taking the measure of the other.
"Mr. Carron." Snape inclined his head slightly.
"Professor Snape." Kat Carron bowed fractionally from the waist. He did not break eye contact.
Tonks opened her mouth to say something but closed it again without speaking.
"Who taught you that?" Snape's question was sharp.
"I was born with the ability. A professor at my school taught me to control and refine it."
Kat’s voice was low and soft, beautifully modulated and with excellent diction. His accent was an odd combination of Canadian and British.
"And do you greet all your old professors this way?"
"Do you greet all your old students this way?"
Snape gave a brief nod in acknowledgement of a fair question, but he didn't answer.
“Why are you here?” It was a challenge.
“To learn.” Kat’s answer was quick.
“I understand you are taking advanced lessons from Professor Flitwick. Why not have him teach you what you want to know?”
“Professor Flitwick is one of the greatest authorities on charms in the world and he once was a dueling champion but he has arthritis now...”
“Dueling is for fops and dandies.” Snape sneered. “If you thought that was what went on here you’ve been misinformed.”
“... and dueling is not what I wanted to learn.” Kat’s voice as he finished was deadly quiet.
There was a long pause.
“What is it you wish to learn?”
“How to fight.”
Snape raised unbelieving eyebrows. “Why ever would a curse breaker for Gringotts need to know street fighting?”
“I wish to join the Order of the Phoenix.”
“Why?” Snape barked the question at him.
Kat shifted slightly, the first sign of weakness he had shown. “I would think that would be obvious. To defeat the Dark Lord.”
“And you’re going to do this single handedly?” Snape’s sneer was eloquent.
Kat flushed slightly. “Of course not! Though you could say I have a score to settle.”
Snape went for the remark like a wolf for blood. “Revenge is for fools! You go against the Dark Lord with a grudge clouding your thinking and he will utterly destroy you.”
Kat’s eyes narrowed and he didn’t respond right away. Snape had hoped to rattle him enough that his concentration would slip, allowing the older wizard a glimpse into his mind but the boy had caught him.
“You don’t give up.” Kat had his control back.
Snape cocked an eyebrow. “Nor do you.” He could feel the boy’s mind solidly against his own.
“Ummm, ‘scuse me?” Tonks approached the two men cautiously. They were practically giving off sparks. “We seem to maybe have gotten off on the wrong foot here.” The men relaxed a bit but didn’t take their eyes off one another. It was all the opening Tonks needed. “Look, if you guys want to talk over old times maybe you should do it over a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks later instead of trying to shred each others’ brains right now. I came here to learn and times a’wasting.”
The two broke eye contact and Carron bowed. “I apologize, Professor Snape.”
“Mr. Carron.” Snape nodded slightly. “I think you had better leave.”
Kat drew himself up and stood eye to eye with Snape. “I’d like to stay. I would consider it a privilege if you would instruct me. Sir.” He dropped the guard on his mind and opened the doors wide.
As soon as Snape felt the resistance fall he dove in but then stopped abruptly. The boy stood without flinching practically inviting Snape in.
Snape pulled his mind back and gave Kat the thinnest of smiles. “Very brave, Mr. Carron. Foolhardy, but brave.”
“You withdrew?”
“Yes. That was the point, was it not?” Snape appraised the young man from head to foot. “Perhaps another time.”
“Well good, let’s get on with it then.” Tonks pulled out her wand. “What’ll it be first? Sparring? Target practice? Oh, by the way Kat, this is my aunt Lilly.” Tonks gestured for Lillith to join the group.
“Ma’am,” Kat bowed.
“Please, it’s Lillith.”
“Lillith, then.” The young man flashed her a smile that almost made her light-headed with its appeal and familiarity.
“Target practice,” Snape decided, stepping in firmly. “I want to make sure this boy has a modicum of control before I turn him loose in a sparring match with either of you two.”
“Awww, couldn’t stand to see me get hurt, eh Snape?” Tonks teased.
“Not exactly. I simply want to reserve that pleasure for myself.”
They worked with stationary targets, targets that moved and targets that sprang out of nowhere without warning. The boy was good. Quick on his feet and graceful, his aim was excellent and his control steady. His gestures tended to be a bit grandiose which, Snape explained none too gently, would leave him open in a fight.
After almost an hour of work, Snape called a break. Lillith conjured large glasses of cool water and she and Tonks flopped on soft cushions by the wall. Snape and Kat remained standing. Setting aside his empty glass, Snape wiped his sweaty forehead on his sleeve.
“Have you fought before, boy?”
“No. Well, just fooling around.” He rolled his wand in his hand and watched the heavy black wand in Snape’s loose grip. Snape snapped the fingers of his left hand and when Kat looked, he flicked his wand. Kat let out a yelp and grabbed his upper arm.
“Never watch your opponent’s wand. Always watch his eyes.” Snape stalked into the center of the room and waited. Kat follow cautiously, circling so the women would not be in the line of fire from either of them.
“Good,” Snape gave him a thin smile. “It’s always wise to be aware of your surroundings.” As he said the last word he snapped his wrist and Kat’s legs went out from under him, causing him to fall heavily to the floor. Snape turned his back while the boy got up. Just as Kat was raising his wand Snape turned, quick as a striking snake. Kat cried out and gripped his leg. There was a slice in the fabric over his thigh and a thin stream of blood leaked from between his fingers.
Snape crouched forward, fists at his sides, his face twisted. “What are you waiting for, boy?” He spit the words out. “Think your mother will come help you?”
Tonks gasped at the venom in the words even as Kat went white. He lunged at Snape and started firing curses so fast both women ducked. Snape parried the shots but didn’t fire back, something which only seemed to incense the boy further. He poured a string of hexes at the older man that gouged deep furrows in the boards of the floor and walls where Snape deflected them. Tonks grasped Lillith’s hand, her eyes wide with fear. But it seemed there was no need to fear for Snape. After a minute of furious fighting, Kat suddenly seemed to settle down. His arms came close to his body and he swung his wand with less abandon and more control.
“That’s better,” Snape hissed at him. “Now maybe you can hit something.”
Kat flung his arm in a sweeping gesture and Snape pointed his wand at him at last. His hex picked the boy up and flung him against the wall where he crumpled to the floor, panting.
“Never!” Snape strode over to the boy and looked down at him. “Never let your opponent anger you. You do and you play his game.” He held his hand out to Kat.
Kat looked at him for a moment then accepted the proffered hand and let Snape haul him to his feet.
Snape looked him over. “Not too bad. For a first attempt.”
He turned and walked away. Kat’s wand came up but once again Snape seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He had the boy pinned against the wall with his wand at his throat in an instant.
“Do not underestimate your opponent either.” The words were soft.
He turned and walked to the center of the room again and waited, loose-limbed and relaxed, for the boy to follow. Kat came and stood behind him, waiting.
“Now,” Snape turned. “Are you ready to work?”
The boy nodded and drew himself up into a dueling pose. Free hand forward, wand hand back and curved up like a scorpion’s tale, it was the classic Slytherin fighting stance. Considered by many to be awkward and slow, it had been taught to the Slytherins by their Heads of House for hundreds of years. Used properly, by a skilled wizard, it was devastating.
“Where did you learn that?” Snape barked at him and Kat dropped his hands and straightened up.
“I saw it when I was here. When I started dueling in school it seemed more comfortable for me.”
Snape stared at him for a long time. “Be careful with it. It could mark you falsely.”
Snape looked at the floor for a few moments gathering his thoughts.
“Regardless of what I said earlier, dueling does have its place. It teaches control and finesse, two things that can keep you alive. Street fighting can make you sloppy. You need a firm grounding in the basics to keep control in an all-out battle. At the ready!” He turned and raised his wand in dueling posture. Kat matched his stance and they began to circle each other.
Forgotten, the two women pushed themselves against the wall and sat back to enjoy the show. Snape kept up a running stream of instruction, taunts and commentary. He hit Kat with hornet-like hexes only slightly more stinging than his criticisms. The young man, flustered at first, pulled himself together, never taking his eyes off those of his opponent. They worked for almost an hour without a breather. Both men were of like height and build but Snape’s body had angularity and wiry toughness to the younger man’s softer lines. They both moved with cat-like grace and although it was a little like watching a panther and a house cat, the similarity between the two men was undeniable. Their shirts were soaked with sweat and their long hair hanging damp and still Snape didn’t call a halt.
“Aunt Lilly?” Tonks whispered in her aunt’s ear.
Lillith nodded.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
Lillith closed her eyes for a second and nodded again.
“Is he...? Are they....? Do they know?”
“I don’t know, Dori. But if they didn’t before, they soon will.”
Snape finally called enough. The two men bowed to each other before coming over to where the women had a pitcher of cold water. They drank thirstily and Kat tossed his sweat soaked hair out of his eyes in a gesture so like Snape’s that the two women looked at each other.
They headed for the door and the coat rack that held the men’s coats and cloaks.
“Thank you, sir.” Kat swung around to face Snape. “May I come again?”
Snape eyed him for a long moment. “If you wish.” He reached for the door, his things over his arm.
“Professor Snape?”
Snape turned slowly.
Kat took a deep breath.
“I think we need to talk.”
Snape seemed to age before Lillith’s eyes.
“Come to our rooms in an hour. Tonks can show you the way.”
He turned and waiting briefly for Lillith to precede him, left the room.
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*A break for backstory.
They Say Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You is a short stand-alone story that explains the relationship between Kat and Snape.
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Chapter 36: The Letter
They split up and headed back to their rooms by different routes. The door Lillith used was by Gryffindor Tower and Snape’s entrance was by the Slytherin’s dungeon. Both their doors opened into their quarters by the same portal and the actual location of the rooms was nowhere near either of the doors. If anyone were to get past the wards of Lillith’s door they would find themselves in a pleasant empty sitting room while an alarm would sound in her rooms. If someone knocked on her door, she could see and hear them through the sitting room door where she really was and allow them entrance if she chose. The door Snape used couldn’t be found except by those who already knew where it was and if anyone did get past the wards they would find themselves in an empty dungeon room with no exit. Tonks almost always used Lillith’s door as she was almost always going to see her aunt, but she did know the way to Snape’s entrance.
Lillith and Snape arrived in their rooms at almost the same moment. Without a word, Snape hung up his things and headed for the bathroom. Lillith heard the water running and went into the bedroom. After ten minutes, the shower was still running so she stripped off and stepped into the tub. Snape was standing under the stream of water, his eyes closed. She put her arms around him and held him gently and he sighed and brought up his hands to stroke her back.
“You didn’t know.” It was a statement on her part.
“No.”
“But you weren’t surprised.”
He opened his eyes and tossed back his streaming hair.
“No. I knew Katherine had a son. I knew he could be mine but I really didn’t think he was. She died before I had a chance to ask her and I was too afraid of all the implications to try very hard to find out. I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She frowned up at him. “For having an extraordinary young man for a son?”
He moved a strand of wet hair from her face. “You don’t mind?”
“My love, he is part of you. How could I mind?”
He kissed her desperately, hungrily. She slid her hands down to his buttocks and curving her fingers into claws, dug her nails into his flesh, pulling him against her. He responded by turning them and pressing her against the wall grinding his quickly growing erection against her belly. Lillith wrapped one leg around him and tried to maneuver him inside her. He slipped his hand under her thigh and stroked her slit. She was wet and hungry for him and he grabbed her and lifted her. She wrapped both legs around his hips and he drove into her repeatedly, pinning her against the cool tiles of the shower. She cried out her need then sank her teeth into his shoulder as her orgasm quickly broke over her. He responded with a cry of his own and spilled himself into her.
Trembling, she clung to him, gasping into his neck. He laughed and released her legs, steadying her as she found her footing.
“That had to be the fastest fuck in history.” He tossed his wet hair back.
She gulped. “I think that may be so.”
He laughed and nuzzled her neck. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
She tugged his earlobe with her lips. “See that you do.”
A few more minutes and they were out of the shower, dry and dressed. Lillith was just pouring tea when the expected knock came at the door. Snape bid them enter and Tonks came in, followed by Kat. Tonks stepped aside and gestured nervously with her hands.
“You want me to go?”
Snape looked at Kat and he shrugged. “Stay if you like.” Snape nodded her to the couch. With a look of surprise, she sat. Lillith curled up at the other end and Kat remained standing. Snape nodded him to a chair and he sat. Snape leaned against the wall by the fireplace.
Kat pulled an envelope from an inside pocket of his jacket and turned it in his hands. Its well-worn appearance told of having been handled many times.
“My mother came to Hogwarts in her seventh year.” Kat addressed the women. “She made friends with my father and they... they were intimate. She told me my father was taken by the Dark Lord soon after graduation, before she knew she carried me. That was all she would ever say, though she promised to tell me everything when I turned eighteen. I believed my father murdered, and she never corrected me.” He hesitated and silence filled the room. “When I was ten, I entered Hogwarts. A few months later, my mother was struck by a vehicle in the street and killed and I was sent to live with my grandparents in Canada. They knew nothing of my father. I had decided to come here after graduation to see if I could learn something of him, but on my eighteenth birthday, this letter arrived from a solicitor in London.” Kat looked at Snape for the first time and handed him the letter.
Snape started reading silently, but after a few seconds closed his eyes. For several seconds he stood without moving than passed the parchment to Lillith and waved for her to read aloud.
My Beloved Son,
As a child, you asked me about your father and I promised that when you were eighteen I would tell you. If you are reading this letter, it is because you are now eighteen and I am no longer alive to tell you in person.
When I told you he did not know of you, it was the truth. We parted before I knew I was pregnant and for reasons I will explain, I never sought him out to tell him. When I told you he had been taken by the Dark Lord, you assumed him murdered and I did not correct you. He was not murdered. Dearest child, he joined the Dark Lord’s Death Eaters. Oh! Do not hate him! He was a boy, we were young and he was not weak or greedy, but desperately unhappy. The Dark Lord promised him things that neither I nor anyone else could give him. I knew the Dark Lord could not give him those things in the end either, but he could not hear my pleas. When he told me of his plans it was already too late; he had taken the Mark and when he showed me I pulled away in revulsion and horror. He thought my feelings were for him and he left me, sure I had betrayed our friendship. But it was I who had abandoned him, not the other way around.
How I grieved for the loss of him! Once in the clutches of the Dark Power, there is no turning back. The Dark Lord allows no deserters. Your father was not an evil person; not when I knew him. What became of him, I dreaded to think. I did not tell him I was pregnant out of fear. Not fear of harm from him, never that. Fear of the Dark Lord, of him trying to draw you in. I could not have stood the loss of you both. I had never told him I loved him; I was afraid it would drive him away. Perhaps it would have saved him.
You are only ten as I write this. I will update this letter every year. This is the first year I have written and do so now only because of the letter I received from you telling me all about your classes and your teachers. I don’t know what to do. I had thought you safe at home and at Hogwarts, safe from any danger of the Dark Lord but now I think that may not be so.
Kat, your Potions Master, Severus Snape, is your father. How he escaped the Dark Lord and came to teach at Hogwarts I can only begin to guess. My heart soared at the thought of him being alive and safe at the same time it shriveled in fear for you both. As I said, the Dark Lord does not let go of his servants. There are few reasons I can think of for your father’s being at the school but they all could mean danger for you. If he has escaped the clutches of the Dark Lord, then the Dark Lord will be looking for a way to get him back and to punish him. If he knew about you, he would not hesitate to use you to get to your father. I pray that it was the goodness that I saw in your father and his Slytherin cleverness that have removed him from the Dark Lord’s service and taken him to Hogwarts. From what I know of Headmaster Dumbledore, he would not be fooled by a spy. I feel such a traitor even thinking these thoughts but it has been a long time and we are not the children we once were.
I will be removing you from the school, taking you to my parents in Canada but not before I contact your father. He has a right to know about you as you do about him.
Dearest boy, you are the light of my life. Before you judge either of us too harshly, please remember that when you were conceived, we were younger than you are now.
Your Loving Mother
Lillith folded the letter and set it on the coffee table. The room was silent but for the ticking of the tall case clock and the occasional snap and pop of the fire. Snape’s hand was in his pocket, fingering the teeth marks scored into the shaft of his wand.
“Did you love her?” Kat’s voice was strained.
“No.” Snape’s voice was harsh and Tonks flinched.
“I loved no one then. I did not know how.” Snape straightened up and went to stare out the window, his arms folded, his eyes seeing only the past. “But I cared for her. I never would have hurt her intentionally.” He turned and half sat on the sill. “You’ve had that letter for two years. Why have you come now?”
“I wanted to learn more about you and how I felt about you first.”
Snape looked at the young man. “What have you learned?”
Kat watched him carefully. “I’ve learned that there is little people seem to agree on when it comes to you. Some are convinced you are an active Death Eater and a spy for the Dark Lord. Some are convinced you are hiding here under Dumbledore’s protection. Your students fear and hate you, except the members of your own House who fear but trust you. Half the staff distrusts you. You are bad-tempered, sharp-tongued and have few friends. The ones you have, however, trust you absolutely and defend you vigorously.” This last was said with a small sideways look at Tonks.
“And what do you think?” Snape’s voice was quiet.
Kat continued to study him, trying to read something in the closed face. “That I need to know more before I make any decisions.” Tonks flashed him an indignant look that he didn’t see. ”Did you recognize me as a child?”
“No. I knew you were Kat’s -- Katherine’s -- child, but it didn’t occur to me at first that you were my son.”
“At first?”
“During the detention I gave you,” he paused and Kat nodded. “When I asked about your father, I realized that there was a possibility you were my son though I did not believe it to be so.”
“Why not?” Kat was suspicious.
“Because we were careful, you fool! Do you think either of us wanted a child?” He was angry.
Kat paled.
“We were children ourselves,” Snape relented a little.
“Did you ever try to find out?” There was a slight note of resentment in his voice.
Snape ran a hand through his hair. “The night of the detention, I made up my mind to contact your mother. That was the night she was killed.”
Kat nodded.
“The next day I had your birth records checked. There was no name down for the father.” He raised his head and looked at Kat. “I felt it was safer, for the same reasons as your mother expressed, not to show an interest in you.”
Kat looked at him for a long time. “When did you know?”
Snape allowed one corner of his mouth to curl a little. “As soon as you first turned around upstairs.”
Kat ran a hand through his hair in a mirror image of the gesture Snape had used.
“Uh,” Tonks cleared her throat and everyone looked at her. “We could have a problem here.”
Snape snorted and turned to the window.
“No, really. Look, I don’t know why I didn’t see it right off, but Kat’s going to be at the school for classes with Flitwick and anyone who sees you two within a hundred yards of each other -- hell, even in the same environment -- is going to notice the similarity sooner rather than later. You may think the students are too self-centered to see anything but their own problems, but believe me, they don’t miss much and neither do many of the teachers. There’s going to be a lot of speculation and I don’t think that’s a good thing.”
“We don’t really look alike,” Kat was frowning. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.” The women chorused.
“Kat,” Lillith spoke softly. “You may not look that much like your father, but you do resemble him strongly. Most obvious is your way of being: the way you stand, the way you move, even your speech patterns and gestures. Anyone who knows Severus and sees you in the same setting will realize how similar you are. Seeing the two of you together,” she spread her hands, “there’s no doubt you’re related.”
A soft knock sounded on the door and Severus groaned. There was only one person it could be.
“Enter!”
Professor Dumbledore came in and closed the door quietly behind him. Severus waved him to a seat by the fire and he nodded a greeting to the room before making himself comfortable.
“How long have you known?” The question was from Snape.
“I suspected when I first saw the boy. Remember, I knew you at that age, Severus.”
“He didn’t look like me.”
“No, but he was like you and you and Katherine had been close. You didn’t know, did you?”
“No.” Snape sat in the other armchair by the fire.
“How could you let him come to the school for classes with Professor Flitwick when you knew he’d be recognized?” Tonks was puzzled.
“Kat would have sought out Severus eventually. They were bound to meet anyway with Kat being drawn to the Order.”
“You could have denied him permission to come.” It was still Tonks thinking out loud.
“I could have. But someone somewhere would have seen Kat and made the connection, especially when he was inquiring after his mother’s friends at Hogwarts. I felt it was better to have a little control over the situation. And they needed to meet.” He looked at Severus over his glasses. “I’m sorry Severus. I knew of Kat, but had to let him be the one to inform you.”
Snape just nodded.
“We need to explain Kat to the staff in some way.” It was Lillith speaking.
Tonks was looking from one to the other. “Maybe you could be brothers? Half-brothers, anyway. Having a brother wouldn’t give Voldemort the same leverage over you as having a son. Maybe he wouldn’t even think of that angle; he never struck me as being much of a family man.”
Dumbledore smiled at her. “You may just have something there. Voldemort understands intellectually about the ties between father and son, but as you so eloquently put it, he’s not a family man. He may not see a half-brother as of much interest at all.”
Snape rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t get my mind around having a grown son and you want me to add a brother to the family? Besides, the senior staff will certainly recognize him as Katherine’s child by the name alone. Flitwick knew him ten years ago.”
“True, but they can be trusted. By presenting a logical explanation to those who don’t know, you forestall conjecture. I think it might be safest, if you both agree.”
Snape’s nod was curt; Kat’s was a little slower and more thoughtful. “Am I to be the same relation at all times? At work, in the Order?”
“Severus?” Dumbledore looked to Snape who was glowering at the fire.
“Why not?”
Dumbledore rose and headed for the door. “I’ll call a staff meeting after dinner and introduce you to the group. The senior staff I will alert beforehand so they can help things along.” With a bow to the ladies, he was gone.
The men had risen when Dumbledore had.
“I have promised Professor Flitwick I would dine with him in his quarters. I tried to decline but he was most insistent.” Kat looked at Snape who returned the look under lowered brow. “Professor Snape, I appreciate how this has upset your life.”
“I doubt it,” Snape snarled at him.
Kat stiffened. “I apologize, sir.” With a stiff bow to the women he left.
“Uhhh, I think I need to be somewhere.” Tonks bounced to her feet. A quick kiss on her aunt’s cheek with a whispered, “Good luck,” in her ear and she headed for the door. Pausing in the opening, she turned to Snape.
“I know this is gonna take awhile and won’t be easy, but I think you are both very lucky men.”
With that she left.
Snape sank to the couch and rested his head against the back of it with his eyes closed. Lillith sat close; the only contact between them that of her hand on his.
“I have a son. Not a squalling little rug rat that I could at least train and mold and raise the way I choose,” the softness of his voice belied the harshness of the words, “but a full grown, intelligent, articulate, fairly powerful wizard who can’t make up his mind whether or not he hates my guts.” His voice took on a note of ironic whimsy. “But it’s all right, because all I have to do is pretend he’s my brother!”
Lillith thought for a moment. “Could have been worse.”
“How?” Snape buried his face in his hands.
“Well... he could have been awful.” Snape looked at her in confusion and she continued. “He could have been some idiot lump of a person -- stupid, clumsy, and uninteresting.” She looked at him with a sober face.
He stared at her for a moment. “No, he couldn’t.” The smallest smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Lillith laughed, but Snape got up and paced the room, with a look near anguish on his face.
“What is it, my love?” Lillith voice was soft.
“That’s two more lives I’ve ruined.” He stopped, shoved his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes.
Lillith looked angry. “Where?”
“What?” Snape looked at her, though his thoughts were obviously elsewhere.
“Where are the lives you’ve ruined? That young man who was just here is not the product of a ruined life. Nor is he the product of a woman with a ruined life.” She came and stood in front of him and scowled up into his face. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.” Snape’s face went slack with disbelief.
“Katherine loved her son. He was clearly raised in a loving home and does not seem to have suffered any major psychological trauma in spite of losing his mother at an early age and never knowing his father. You and Katherine made a mistake and that mistake led to a fine young man. All mistakes should turn out so well.”
“If the Dark Lord finds out...”
“Then we’ll have to see to it that he doesn’t.” She reached up and laid her hand on his cheek. “You cannot change the past; you can only go forward from the here and now.”
“What am I supposed to do? He’s my son but I’m supposed to treat him like a brother? I know no more about brothers than I do sons.” Snape was looking slightly panicked.
“So treat him as a man. Get to know him and see what happens. He seems like an entirely reasonable person and he certainly has to be bright. Trust him a bit. This is new to him as well.”
Snape wrapped her in his arms. “I have no concept of family.”
“You’ll learn. I have faith in you; you’re relatively bright yourself.”
He turned her face up to his. “Witch. What would I do without you?” He kissed her lingeringly.
“Probably just wallow in guilt and be completely useless.” She smiled and kissed him again. The kiss went on for some time.
“Lucky for you that you kiss the way you do.” He was working his way along her jaw toward her ear.
“Why is that?” She managed to get out.
“Because I’ve forgotten why I was going to be mad at you.”
They dragged themselves away to dinner with mutual promises of love, passion, and indecent acts – later.
The staff meeting was fairly brief. The members who had known Katherine and remembered Kat as a child had been thrilled to have him back, but by the time they all met in the teachers’ lounge, the excitement had been carefully replaced with polite interest. Kat was presented as Severus’ illegitimate half-brother, conceived just after Snape had joined the Death Eaters and just before his father had died. The story was that his mother was a Canadian who had been visiting friends but had returned home to bear and raise her child.
If the staff wondered why Dumbledore went to the bother of introducing, in a special meeting, a student who was there for advanced classes they didn’t ask. The Headmaster came up with enough other inconsequential material to make the meeting seem to be about something else and by the time it ended, Severus felt he was about to go mad and strangle the Headmaster. As soon as it was over, he made a dive for the door. Kat was right on his heels.
“Professor......” Kat flinched a tiny bit at his mistake. “Severus!”
Snape turned.
“I’m going to be here Tuesday, all afternoon, to work with Professor Flitwick. Is there some time that day or evening I could meet with you for a talk, sir?”
Severus sighed. “Listen, Kat. You have to drop the formalities if you’re going to be my brother.” He managed a slight smirk. “We’ll just consider them as understood.”
Kat raised an eloquent eyebrow but said nothing.
Snape’s smirk threatened the rest of his face but he fought it back. “I may be a bad-tempered bastard but I will not hex you into next week. Without reason.” He took a deep breath. “Tuesday evening will be fine.”
A smile slowly lit the young man’s face. “Thank you.”
With a long look and a curt nod Snape turned to stride back to his rooms. He had a promise to keep.
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To be continued in Part 9