The world of Harry Potter does not belong to me. If you recognize it, it's not mine.
This story takes place after the war, and it goes AU from there.
The Once and Future Prince
Chapter 12
November 19, 1999
"Today in WWW," Professor Remus Lupin announced, "we are going to discuss the history of the monarchy, beginning with the story of Merlin." He paced the width of the Great Hall. "As you know, Merlin fathered many children, so after his death his wife Viviane, Lady of the Lake, declared that all future magical rulers must be married under the fidelius charm."
"I'm getting sick of hearing about the Sacred Twenty-eight," Seamus Finnigan complained. "Old Merlin couldn't keep his trousers on, so we have to put up with the lot of them bloody toffs." He made a rude gesture towards the Slytherins.
Pansy Parkinson cleared her throat. "Professor Flitwick explained about cheating spouses," she remarked quietly, cutting her eyes at Draco.
"Language," Professor Remus Lupin chided, shooting a warning look at Seamus, who muttered an apology. Lupin nodded at the mumbled apology before continuing. "Ah," Lupin replied, holding a finger in the air, "but the fidelius charm wasn't just to keep Merlin from straying. It was also a means to protect him."
"If he were my husband and he cheated on me, he'd need to be protected," Lavender snapped, "because I'd kill him!"
"Be that as it may," Lupin said loudly, hoping to halt any further comments before they started, "the fidelius charm also protects the monarch from power hungry individuals, seeking to seduce him for his magic."
"You mean Merlin's apprentice, Nimue," Hermione volunteered.
"Correct, Professor Granger," Lupin said with a smile. "I see you've been researching the topic." He nodded towards the book she held. "Before the founding of Hogwarts, if one wanted to learn about magic, he or she had to apprentice with an older witch or wizard. Merlin had several apprentices, but he never taught them all he knew. He always held back some bit of knowledge."
"Why would he do that? I don't understand," Dean said.
"Because he didn't want his student to surpass him," Blaise said. "If I tell you everything I know, then I no longer have an edge over you."
"Oh," Dean said, "I get it, but it sounds kind of selfish."
"You mean Slytherin," Ron muttered.
Professor Lupin cleared his throat and waited for Ron's muttered apology before continuing. "Nimue had a hunger for magical knowledge and power, and she didn't care what she had to do to get that knowledge."
"Although Merlin had several, shall we say 'encounters' with many other women in the past, Nimue was different. She was beautiful and smart. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she managed to wind the old man around her little finger," Lupin explained.
"She seduced him, and he fell for it," Pansy said with a slight smirk. "Merlin taught her all his knowledge, and then she imprisoned him in the Crystal Cave."
"Actually," Lupin continued, "Nimue killed Merlin." He paused to allow their shocked cries to cease. "This caused Merlin's wife, Viviane the Lady of the Lake, and his mistress, Morgana Le Fey, to join forces to execute the girl. The story of the Crystal Cave was what Viviane told the Wizarding world."
"But, why would they lie?" Gregory Goyle asked.
"All women lie," Draco asserted.
"Viviane told that story," Lupin spoke over Draco's comment, "because Merlin's only legitimate heir, their son Kevin, was just a boy, and she was afraid of what might happen if no adult was there to lead them."
"She did it to save her child," Lavender added. "A good mother would do anything for her child."
"That's correct, Miss Brown." Lupin nodded in her direction. "She knew that the magical world needed a strong leader. Without a reliable ruler, there would be chaos."
"What about Merlin's older son? The one who found the House of Black?" Harry asked.
"Merlin's older son, Gethen, was a grown man at the time," Lupin explained, "and he was an honorable man, a knight as well as a wizard. He ignored his mother's advice-"
"His mother was Morgana Le Fey, wasn't she?" asked Millicent.
"That's right," Lupin said. "Morgana Le Fey had ordered her squib son, Mordred, to betray his father, King Arthur, and seize the Muggle throne. Likewise, Morgana instructed her son Gethen to kill his younger half-brother, Kevin, the legitimate heir, and steal his throne."
"If she had been successful, she would have ruled all of Britian - both Magical and Muggle!" shouted Pansy Parkinson. "What ambition!"
"But she wasn't successful," Lupin countered. "Gethen was a man of integrity and honor. He made an Unbreakable Vow to his younger brother to protect him for as long as he lived."
"So that's why it's titled 'The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black'," Harry said. "I'd often wondered why there was that distinction."
Silence reigned in the classroom while each student mulled over what he or she had learned.
"Professor?" Hermione asked suddenly.
Lupin smiled grandly. "Yes, Professor Granger?"
"I know that the Sacred Twenty-eight families are direct descendants of Merlin," she said, "but what about their mothers?" She shifted in her chair. "I mean, we know Merlin was married to Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, and we know that Morgana Le Fey was his long-time mistress, but who were Merlin's other partners?"
Lupin blinked and frowned. "I don't know," he replied slowly. "There's nothing written or known about them."
"So, the Sacred Twenty-eight pure-blood families might not really truly be pure-bloods," Hermione mused aloud. "After all, his lovers, the mothers of his illegitimate children could have been-"
"How dare you!" shouted Gregory Goyle. "Merlin wouldn't have dirtied himself with a Muggle!" The Slytherin shot out of his seat, wheeled around, and clenched his fist. He reared back his arm intent on physically stopping the words coming from the young professor's mouth, but his elbow smashed into Lavender's nose. With a splattering of blood, the young blonde witch was knocked to the floor.
"Oy! You bloody bastard!" Ron shouted. He jumped up from his seat, pulled Lavender up and shoved her at Harry. Then he raised his own fist and plowed it into Goyle's nose. A sickening crunch was heard, and blood flew. Goyle reeled backward a step, then lowered his head and charged the taller boy like a maddened bull.
"Stop it!" Professor Lupin yelled. He rushed forward in a vain attempt to stop the fight only to get caught between the two young men. Throwing punches like champion heavy weights, one of the combatants landed a blow to the point of the professor's chin. Lupin's head snapped back, and he fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes, knocked out cold.
Harry's fledgling auror training snapped into play, and he shoved Lavender into Pansy's custody and waded into the fray. "Seamus! Dean! Help me!" he shouted.
Thinking Potter's shouts were battle cries, Blaise Zabini decided to support his fellow Slytherin. He leapt forward, aiming a sucker punch at Ron, but his fist connected with Dean's head instead, sending the young man reeling.
Dean staggered backwards, grabbing Blaise by the shirt front. Together the two young men fell in a tangle of robes, knocking over the table where Pavarti and Hannah were sitting. The boys made no effort to get up. They simply traded punches while wrestling around on the floor.
"Glaciem Aqua! " Suddenly everyone was drenched in icy water, and the brawl was brought to an instant stop. Teeth chattering, they all turned to see Professors McGonagall and Snape standing in the doorway.
"Not another sound," McGonagall stated. Her tone was as icy as the water she'd dropped on them, and her words were brittle.
"Who. Started. This?" Snape interrupted.
"Granger!" Pansy Parkinson and Lavender Brown shouted in unison.
"Professor Granger," he snapped to automatically correct them. Then, as their words sank in, he slowly turned towards Hermione. "Professor Granger?"
"Are you responsible for this, this donnybrook?" McGonagall cried, addressing her favorite.
Looking like something that a Grindylow would choke on, Hermione stood and looked around her. To her left, she saw a bruised Ron and a bloody Gregory Goyle. An angry Dean and a sullen Blaise sat on the floor next to Seamus Finnegan. Seamus spit out a tooth and grinned at her. She sighed.
"Well?" Snape snapped. "Are you the author of this?"
"No, I-" she stopped. She squared her shoulders. "Yes, I started it," she announced. "I punched Mr. Goyle and broke his nose."
Snape snorted. "Despite the fact that you can barely reach his shoulder?"
Hermione blushed and clamped her lips shut.
Inhaling deeply, Minerva nodded. "All right, Professor Granger. We will discuss this in my office." Her eyes narrowed, and her frown deepened. "As for the rest of you, there better not be another peep from anyone before breakfast."
"At which time," Snape growled, his voice sending shivers of fear through the students, "there will be a reckoning the likes of which Hogwarts hasn't seen since the war."
"Miss Abbot," Professor McGonagall ordered, "you will please escort Miss Brown to the infirmary and have her checked. Tell Madam Pomfrey what has occurred and that the rest of the belligerents will be there shortly."
"Is there anyone of you who is unable to walk?" Snape asked quietly.
"Just Professor Lupin," Millicent replied. She pointed to a rumpled pile of robes.
"Oh, dear!" McGonagall cried. "Remus?" She hurried over and knelt beside him. "Mr. Malfoy, would you please assist Professor Lupin to the infirmary. Professor Granger, my office now. The rest of you will return to your common rooms."
Professor McGonagall and Snape marched Hermione all the way to the Headmistress' office without a word. Once there, Minerva gestured her to a seat as Severus closed the door behind them.
"Explain," Minerva ordered calmly as she took her seat.
"I asked Professor Lupin if there were any information on the mothers of Merlin's illegitimate children," Hermione told them.
"And?" Professor Snape prompted as he settled into a chair.
"Well, he had none," she answered, "so I speculated on the possibility that the Sacred Twenty-eight pure-blood families might not really truly be pure-bloods. I mean, maybe some of his lovers were Muggle women."
"Oh, my," Minerva whispered. All blood drained from her face.
Snape turned his head as a sudden coughing fit overtook him.
Hermione looked from one to the other. "It's a reasonable assumption, isn't it?"
"Reasonable," echoed Minerva, "perhaps, but, Hermione, it was not the wisest thing to say."
"But if it's true?" Hermione insisted. "Isn't the truth important?"
"Of course, the truth is important," Severus replied smoothly, coming to McGonagall's aid. "But so is diplomacy. There is a time and place for everything, Hermione, and your wonderings, however reasonable or possibly true-" He paused. "-were imprudent and inflammatory in front of a group of Slytherins, particularly right after the war."
"Oh."
"Hermione," Minerva added, "some things are simply better left unsaid." She sighed deeply and stood up. "I think a trip to the library is in order. You need to research the art of diplomacy. Madam Pince will know where those particular social science books are kept. In lieu of an essay, I think you and Albus should have a long conversation over afternoon tea, oh, say, a month from now."
She rose. "I'll just go and explain things to Albus. Excuse me."
"Severus." Hermione reached for his arm. "I know now really isn't the best time, but I've been wanting to ask for your help."
"No, now is not the most ideal time," he replied with a snort. He relented and gave her a tiny smile. "But, as always, I am willing to help. What is it you need?"
"My parents," she explained. "I've searched every inch of Australia, but they aren't there."
He nodded and frowned. "It was your first casting of so powerful a memory charm, and the obliviate charm is notoriously difficult. Perhaps it wore off before they were able to leave the country."
"Then you think they might still be here in England?"
"It's possible. It is also possible that they went somewhere else – Europe, the United States, Canada," Snape answered. "Trace their movements from the time you cast the charm. Search Muggle records for the sale of their home and business as well as information on flights."
"That must be the answer," she said with a relieved smile. "I was beginning to worry that I'd never find them." Her hand slid down his arm to his hand, and she squeezed it. "You are so-" Hermione paused to wet her lips. "-so very important to me, Severus."
"As are you to me," he admitted, his voice pitched low. "I know what it's like to face the fear of losing a mother-" He stopped, unable to speak another word.
"Oh, Severus," she interrupted, "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. You don't need to say another word." Impulsively, she got out of her chair and hugged him.
Severus leaned into her, returning her hug with equal ferocity. "Those memories," he whispered into her hair, "have long since been dealt with." He pulled away and looked into her eyes. "But I thank you, Hermione. You are one of the very few who have dared concern themselves about my feelings."
"I've been hoping," she whispered back, "that when I found them, that is, that you'd go with me to speak with them."
He released her and raised an eyebrow. "How very forward of you, Professor Granger," he teased, "to ask me to meet your parents."
Hermione blushed and laughed aloud. "Does that mean yes or no?" she demanded.
"Yes," he replied succinctly. Spinning her around until she faced the door, he gave her a tiny push, and he followed her along the hallway. "Now, go to bed. Minerva will no doubt want her office back. I'll see you at breakfast."
"Good night, Severus," she called after him as he strode back down the corridor.