Chapter Thirteen: Twenty Minutes
A/N: Sorry this took me so long to post! My beta got it back to me last night, but the stupid site wouldn't let me on...Anyways, here's chapter 13:
Diana managed to slip out into the hallway and close the door before she began to shake. She crossed her arms in an attempt to control her trembling and leaned back against the door weakly, biting her lower lip.
"What's wrong now?" Severus asked, the hint of irritation in his voice masking his genuine confusion and concern. When she continued to shiver uncontrollably and failed to reply, he sighed and raised his arms slightly to her in silent invitation. Diana once again buried her face in his chest, immensely comforted by his solidity.
"What is it?" he repeated, more gently.
"It's just…it's too much," Diana choked, clinging to him like a limpet as she trembled violently from head to toe.
"Hush," Severus said, patting her back awkwardly. "They're fine."
"I know," she replied tearfully, her words muffled slightly by the folds of his robes. "It's just that—it could have—what if—"
"Don't do that, Diana," he told her sharply. "You'll drive yourself madder than you already are."
She drew in a shuddering breath and looked up to glare at him. "You're unbelievable."
"I know," Severus replied modestly, his lips contorted oddly as he hid a smirk.
Diana's eyes widened and she shook her head. "I just—Severus…"
He sighed deeply. "I know," he said. "They're fine. Remember that."
She nodded mutely, her trembling decreasing slowly. At long last she took a deep breath and stepped away, straightening. "Thank you for understanding," she said softly. "I'm sorry—I don't know what's gotten into me."
He shook his head as if to dismiss her apology, and then smirked at her. "You're just like your mother."
"I'll take that as compliment," Diana replied airily, flashing him a small smile. "Shall we see to the others now?"
Severus grimaced, but followed her down the hallway back to the room.
Mrs. Weasley, Diana noted with warmth, rose the moment they entered the room. "How are they?" the red-headed woman asked anxiously.
Diana smiled. "They'll be fine. They're tired, of course, but they'll be all right. They were well enough to tease Severus," she added mischievously, glancing over at the man in question.
He glared at her, crossed his arms, and refused to comment.
Oh, Severus. You're impossible.
No response. The man was impossible.
"That's good news," Mrs. Weasley said happily. Behind her, Mr. Weasley smiled in relief; Mr. Lupin relaxed slightly. "Can we see them?"
Diana's eyes widened and she hesitated. "They've just gone to bed," Severus interrupted smoothly. "Perhaps tomorrow, Molly." Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned back to speak with her husband. Diana shot Severus a grateful look.
Nice save.
Save? It was the truth. Your parents were going to bed. The gleam in his dark eyes left no doubt as to what he was insinuating.
Severus! My mother's hurt, you git! Diana exclaimed, blue eyes wide in outrage.
Well, would you care to explain why we left so soon? he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
Diana closed her mouth abruptly and shot him an evil look. Oh, just shut up, Severus!
His shoulders shook slightly and Diana's glare intensified.
Suddenly, the door banged opened from behind them. Startled back into the present, Diana and Severus turned to watch as strange young woman in blue Auror robes strode in. "So what's going—what're you doing here?" she asked, breaking off to stare at Diana suspiciously.
Diana went cold. How did Severus do this every day? "I came to see if the professors were all right," she replied honestly. Diana did not miss the interested looks coming from the Weasleys and Lupin.
The Auror's eyes narrowed. "And you are?" the young woman demanded rudely.
"Diana Rowe," Diana replied congenially, offering the Auror her hand and pausing in obvious anticipation.
"Nymphadora Tonks," the young woman ground out, shaking Diana's hand as briefly as propriety allowed. Diana relaxed fractionally. Black's cousin, the Metamorphmagus. The one who breaks everything, she thought with a hint of a smile.
Tonks glanced over at Lupin, leaning against the back wall. "Who is she?"
Lupin shrugged. "I've no idea," he admitted truthfully, making Diana smile. Tonks bristled visibly, and with a start, Diana looked over at Severus questioningly.
I don't know and I don't care, he snapped in response to her inquiry, mouth twisted in distaste. Merlin knows that they're both stupid enough to suit each other wonderfully.
Diana chuckled softly under her breath, hiding a smile. Well, there's only one way to find out for sure…
As expected, Severus rose to the bait. Don't you dare, Diana! Lupin's a— Severus broke off with an audible growl and Diana was forced to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Even stupid Metamorphmagi make useful spies. It won't help the Order if you turn her into a squirrel.
You always ruin my fun, Severus, Diana said petulantly, inwardly grateful for the familiar distraction his pointed banter provided.
Well, if you'd stop acting like a little girl and more like the adult I don't think you ever grew into—
Oh, shut up, Severus. You—
"So," Lupin interrupted from behind them, "are you going to explain to us who you are and why you're here? I didn't know that Albus and Minerva had any living family, other than his brother."
Diana paused. She had not been given permission, and her parents had enough to worry about at the moment. She turned around. "They don't. I lied," she said shortly. Severus let out a short bark of laughter; the others frowned at them. "I'm the daughter of Minerva's oldest friend," Diana began. That's technically true, she thought. None of Mum's friends are older than Dad. "She died when I was quite young, so Minerva raised me. She's the closest thing that I have to a mother."
"What was her name?" Lupin asked quietly.
"Serena Rowe," Diana replied, allowing a hint of regret to creep into her voice. She barely remembered the woman who had agreed to play her "mother," but her mother and other aunts always spoke of the mysterious Serena fondly.
Diana was very, very lucky. None of the Order members present had known Serena personally, but Molly Weasley had often heard her mother speak fondly of her old friend. "Serena Rowe…that's right. She was a Slytherin, wasn't she?"
"Yes," Diana replied, smiling.
"What house were you in?" Lupin asked curiously.
Severus snorted. "Gryffindor, of course," he spat, answering the question for her. "She'd never make a Slytherin."
Oh, reallyDiana drawled in a manner fairly reminiscent of Severus, raising an eyebrow at him. What about that time when I made you think that you'd—
Diana! Severus exclaimed, dark eyes tinged with alarm.
Never say never, she replied, smirking. Diana turned back to the rest of the Order, blanching when she realized that they had all watched their little exchange with interest. Uh oh…
"How are you two related?" Mrs. Weasley asked strangely.
Diana frowned at her, puzzled. "We're not."
"So you lied about being related, too?" Mrs. Weasley said disapprovingly, still with an odd note in her voice that Diana did not understand.
"Well, yes and no. I mean, we're not related, but Severus is family, of course," Diana replied easily, missing Severus's frantic gestures of negation. She turned to him with a smile, recalling his reaction to her mother's words, and frowned at the stark horror on his face. Severus was staring at the others behind her, however, and did not meet her eyes. Puzzled, Diana turned back to the Order.
As if electrocuted by her gaze, Mrs. Weasley blinked and stared at the two of them incredulously. Behind her, Lupin, Tonks, and Mr. Weasley were gaping at them. "What is it?" Diana asked, genuinely confused.
"Why didn't you just tell us that you two were married?"
Now it was Diana's turn to choke. "What?"
"You're not married?"
"No!" they shouted simultaneously, startling each other.
Black eyes met blue. Would being married to me be that terrible?
No, of course not—I didn't mean it that way, I just…
"Why would you think that?" Diana asked Mrs. Weasley abruptly.
The red-haired woman looked between the two of them slowly, shook her head, and then turned back to Diana. "You said that Severus was family. We had some time to discuss this after you had left. You two seemed so close that it just seemed—"
"We're not married!" Diana stated heatedly. Mrs. Weasley simply observed her evenly, and Diana resisted the urge to growl. Throwing her hands up in frustration, she turned back to Severus. It's not that I don't love you, Severus, but honestly! Don't people believe that a man and a woman can be platonic friends anymore?
Obviously not, Severus replied dryly, smirking at her.
Damn Slytherin, Diana thought grouchily. She nearly growled at him when his smirk widened. Stop reading my mind!
It's not my fault that you're too emotional to shield properly, he retorted.
Severus Salazar Snape, stay out of my—
"I apologize for the mistake," Mrs. Weasley said.
Reigning in her anger as she turned to face her, Diana shook her head and smiled slightly. "At least you thought I was his wife—the last time we ran into Severus's friends, they thought I was his whore," she said lightly, ignoring the horrified look that came across Mrs. Weasley's face; whether from the woman's knowledge of Severus's "friends" or the thought, Diana did not know.
These are not my friends, Severus growled at her.
Those weren't your friends, either, she reminded him pointedly. Seeing him recoil sharply, she paused. Granted, she had enjoyed winning the point back, but from Severus a reaction like that always meant…
"Not now," Severus said firmly, whispering into her ear and startling Diana. Looking at Lupin, he announced in a louder voice, "If you want to get Potter, he's at Headquarters."
"Potter—Harry?" Lupin questioned quickly, amber eyes narrowing.
"He had to be kept out of the way," Severus replied disdainfully. "If you have any questions, you can address them to Miss Granger when you get there."
"Hermione?" Mr. Weasley said, puzzled.
"Ronald should be there as well." Now it was the Weasleys' turn to frown at him. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" he asked pointedly.
"We're going to talk about this later, Severus. In great detail," Lupin promised, his anger and frustration clear.
"Looking forward to it," Severus answered challengingly.
Unable to reprimand him mentally while he was glaring at Lupin and unwilling to do so aloud, Diana held her tongue.
"As will we," Mr. Weasley said disapprovingly. "They are secure?"
"Yes." For a brief moment, Diana wondered if Severus had been insulted by the question. She knew better than that.
"You're staying here?"
"Yes," Diana replied clearly. Severus shrugged.
"We'll see you tomorrow then," Mrs. Weasley said. "Diana, dear, it was nice to meet you. Until tomorrow, Severus."
They nodded at the others as they exited the room, Tonks last of all. The young woman shot a skeptical look at them as she left, but said nothing. Then, thankfully, they were alone.
A few flicks of her wand transfigured the wooden chairs into more comfortable chintz armchairs. Ignoring Severus's scornful snort, Diana fell into one of the chairs with a small sigh, instantly comforted by the familiar squishiness. Severus seated himself uneasily in the chair opposite hers, and Diana was suddenly struck by the thought that perhaps her father's favorite furniture evoked other memories for him.
It was too late for second thoughts. She cast a few more spells at the door, noting with mild alarm that Severus continued to stare at an invisible spot on the wall.
"Severus?" Diana inquired softly. "Are you going to tell me?"
For a long minute he remained completely silent, and she feared that he might shut her out entirely. She was about to apologize when he spoke suddenly, and from darkness.
"I killed Lucius to save Minerva."
She knew instantly that he did not consider it a fair trade. Oh Merlin, this is worse than I'd thought.
A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! (Short thanks 'cause I gotta go to school now.)
In resonse to foci's question: Well, I figured that Minerva and Diana would have to know Legilimency, just in case they were ever questioned. They know too much, and Albus could easily teach them. Diana's probably inherited some Legilimens gene anyway. And I'm just having too much fun with it.
My beta says I'm getting too much into Severus-fic and less into AD/MM. Sorry! Will get back to them next chapter. Lucius fallout will wait.
And reviews are always appreciated!