Chapter Eleven: Unpleasant Explanations
A/N: Thank you to Quill of Minerva, DumbledoresKitten (I'm an American, just visiting, thanks for the welcome!), and JoanneM (of course Severus is a human being!) for their reviews. SolaTira (yes, you're right about Diana), foci, and popsicle (I can't believe you actually reviewed!), thank you too, and since you all asked so nicely, here's the next chapter.
A very grateful thank you to my beta, Flying Auk, who did this while watching March Madness late at night because I left the next morning.
From the last chapter:
Turning to the others in the room, she finally introduced herself. After she interrogated, stripped and redressed me to her liking, Severus noted sourly. Blasted, meddling Gryffindors.
The young woman turned and offered her hand to Lupin. "Diana Rowe," she said shortly. "I'm a friend of Severus's."
"I see," the werewolf replied as he shook her hand, though it was clear that he did not. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Rowe. Where did you learn all that?" he asked admiringly, gesturing towards Severus.
"The healing spells? Oh, my aunt taught me those a long time ago. I got into a number of scrapes as a child and she got tired of cleaning me up every time my father brought me to her in a panic." She smiled sadly, momentarily lost in fond memories she now obviously found painful.
Undoubtedly familiar with the sensation himself, Lupin frowned. "I'm Remus Lupin, by the way," he said pleasantly, deliberately interrupting her train of thought.
Diana blinked and looked up at the werewolf in confusion. "Pardon?"
"Remus Lupin," he repeated. The brief flash of recognition and anger in her eyes was unmistakable, and Severus felt a surge of triumph as the werewolf dropped her gaze. Diana glanced at Severus, unsure, and he nodded slightly.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin," Diana said quietly. They stared at each other uneasily for a moment longer, and then Molly intervened.
"Molly Weasley," she said neutrally, disrupting the little tableau, "and this is my husband, Arthur."
"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley," Diana replied warmly. "I've heard all about you two. The Headmaster finds your sons' shop particularly innovative. He sent me a few of their products. They've managed to integrate Muggle and magical inventions ingeniously."
Both Weasley parents beamed and Severus resisted the urge to smirk. A small bark of laughter escaped him, and all three of them turned to look at him darkly.
Complimenting the children and mentioning Muggles. Very good, Diana.
Not all of us are intentionally unpleasant, Severus, she shot back, turning to face the Weasleys again.
"Again, a pleasure to meet you two." Severus rolled his eyes mentally. You haven't met their monsters yet, he thought to himself
"Now, will someone please tell me what's going on?" Diana demanded, having dispensed with the pleasantries.
"No!" Severus said sharply.
They all turned to stare at him incredulously.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Diana said dangerously. "Just who do—"
"Sit down, Diana," Severus snapped. His dark eyes met her blazing blue ones squarely. I think I'm the only one in this room who knows why you're here, he said brusquely. I'm also the only one who knows what happened.
Much to everyone's surprise she obeyed, glaring at him fiercely the whole time. Sometimes, Severus, you make it very easy for people to hate you.
You're not the first to think so. "Facio secretum," Severus said calmly. A clear, hazy dome rose around them. "They can neither hear us nor see us," he told her.
"Then tell me what the hell happened!" she practically screamed at him, throwing her hands down in desperation. "Dammit, Severus, I can't just—"
"—Voldemort kidnapped Minerva and tried to use her against Albus," Severus said flatly. "We just rescued her."
Diana froze instantly, her hand half-raised, her mouth slightly open as she gaped at him. "What?" she said softly, her voice barely a thread of air.
Severus sighed deeply before meeting her eyes, instantly apologetic. "We don't know how yet, but Voldemort found out about them. Minerva was kidnapped last week;—"
Diana's eyes closed momentarily. "Oh Merlin," she breathed painfully.
"—Voldemort wanted to trade her for the Potter boy. Tonight—"
Suddenly Diana was on her feet, thrusting an accusing finger into Severus's chest. "Wait one minute. A week?" she exclaimed angrily. "You didn't tell me that my mother had been kidnapped for a week?"
"No," Severus replied evenly, ignoring her antics. Diana was up and pacing furiously as if the action would somehow dispel the rage and worry he knew she would otherwise direct at him. He appreciated the gesture, especially as every time she muttered "one week" under her breath, her right hand tightened on her wand.
Suddenly she whipped around to face him. "In Merlin's name, why?" she questioned, her voice breaking at the last.
"Diana," Severus said gently. "As much as he likes me, your father would have killed me for telling you."
She frowned, startled. "Dad?"
"You would have come here immediately—" he began.
"—Well, of course—" she interrupted, nonplussed.
"—And then you'd have demanded to be involved in the rescue, which he never would have allowed." Diana shrugged, finding no fault with his reasoning so far, and Severus nodded in satisfaction. "You would have tried to help anyway. Albus would have made me watch you every minute of every hour of every day. Then if you'd gotten away and anything had happened to you, he would have killed me." If Minerva didn't get to me first—after we survived trying to save you from your own Gryffindor stupidity.
Diana paused in her pacing, testing Severus's sequence of events. Her shoulders slumped a little. "What do you mean, 'if' I got away?" she asked him finally, the strained smile she offered him indicating that she had forgiven his trespass—almost. There was a tense note to her tone and stiffness to her shoulders that should not have been there, but Severus was willing to accept that small loss in face of the larger victory.
Severus slumped back in his chair in relief. He simply wasn't made to handle the McGonagall women. He didn't know how Albus had survived the last thirty years with his daughter, let alone the last fifty with his wife. "Think you can outsmart me?" Severus asked a moment later, raising an eyebrow.
"I know it," she replied, smirking. "Severus, my mother can—" Diana broke off suddenly, blue eyes wide and pained. "Tell me the rest of it, now."
Severus nodded wordlessly, his throat suddenly tight. He stared at a point on the wall as he spoke, unable to meet Diana's eyes. "Albus was supposed to trade Potter for Minerva at midnight. We—the Order, that is—had it all planned out. Aberforth was supposed to go as Albus; I would play Potter. Somehow Albus managed to switch places with Aberforth—I should have noticed," Severus said, his tone sharpening in annoyance. He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder but refused to allow himself to relax. "Aberforth never could have put on such a performance. We played straight into Voldemort's hands. Albus was damned lucky that Lucius…" Here Severus swallowed hard, and Diana's gaze sharpened. "…that Lucius had thrown a dinner party the night before. I was able to put a delayed poison in the soup, and drop a different mixture into Voldemort's glass at the Revel that night."
Diana looked up at him fearfully. "They won't find you out?"
"I doubt it. Voldemort's become arrogant. It's made him stupid," Severus said scathingly. "There are too many people at these parties, and not all of them are associated with the Cause." The last word was audibly capitalized and cuttingly sarcastic.
Diana nodded, but the fear had not quite left her eyes. She opened her mouth to object, but Severus beat her to it. "Don't say anything, Diana. I have to do this." She shook her head at him in obvious disapproval, and he smiled slightly. "Minerva says the same thing. You two should compare notes sometime."
"We do," Diana replied with a tearful smile, "every week. You're always on the agenda." She swallowed and looked up at him. "How is she, Severus—truthfully?"
Severus took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "She'll be all right, Diana. Your mum's a tough lady."
Blue eyes narrowed. "You're avoiding the question."
"If you don't believe me, then why don't we check to see if you'll be allowed to see her yet?"
Still eyeing him suspiciously, Diana nodded. Severus noted with a slight pang that she had begun to toy with her hands again. There were severe disadvantages to having people know you well.
Without a word, Severus gathered her in his arms and hugged her tightly. Diana stiffened within his embrace but he refused to let her go. Finally she relaxed, shedding a few bitter tears into the fabric of his new robes. Her suppressed sobs shook her entire body and she gasped for breath, now crying freely into his shoulder.
Severus sighed softly. "It will be all right," he promised again, wondering if he had gained the capacity for the repetition of inane sentiments from his time with the Death Eaters. He held her, stroking her back gently, until her tears were temporarily spent. For a moment she simply relaxed against his chest, breathing deeply. When she was ready to face the world again she straightened, releasing the fistful of his robes she had clutched in her frenzy. With a teary smile she smoothed out the folds of his robes, wiped her eyes, and then nodded to him.
"Finite incantatum."
"Oh good, you're done," Molly said when they reappeared. "The nurse says we can't see them," she informed them frostily, shooting a glare at the brown-haired mediwitch standing by the door.
They both turned to look at the white-robed woman. "I'm sorry, but only family is allowed to see them."
"Good," Diana replied, pulling herself together. "Come on, Severus." Without waiting for a reply she headed for the door, catching his hand and dragging him along. "Which room?" she asked the mediwitch abruptly.
"But you're not—and he's not—"
"Yes, I am," Diana snapped angrily. "And so is he. Now, which room are they in?" Severus thought it was the underlying threat of violence in her voice, rather than her claim, that won them the information.
"255."
Either way, they were out of the room and down the hall before the woman had a chance to get another word out.
A/N: As my beta noted, let the rumors in the Order fly!
Reviews are always appreciated, even if my mom gets madder because I spend more time "hooked on the computer" and typing like mad.