8. More Defence Against the Dark Arts Classes
When he and Bobbie went back to their quarters after dinner that night Severus was trying to sort out the conflicting feelings he had right now. On one side he was elated about the way things had been going with his classes so far and on the other he was anxious about what tomorrow would bring. He wasn't too worried about the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class but he was almost certain that some sparks would be flying in the Slytherin and Gryffindor lessons. Some of Potters DA would face Draco, Pansy, Goyle and other former Death Eater children. Children of both houses had actually fought in the war and not on the same side. He was also anxious about how the Slytherins would react to their head of house being one of the people who helped bring Voldemort down. He had seen them inside the Common room before, when he addressed all of them but this was different.
Bobbie watched Severus sit in front of the fireplace staring into the flames for quite a while before she sat beside him on the sofa and told him to lay his head into her lap. He smiled at her because he knew what was coming and readily complied.
Oh, it felt so good when she was doing that. She softly caressed his scalp while running her fingers through his hair. It was the most relaxing feeling. He didn't know he had fallen asleep until he woke when she gently nudged him and said, "Baby, it's time to go to bed."
He got up and absentmindedly took a shower and went to bed. Bobbie was already there sitting with her back against the headboard and received him to caress him some more. He fell asleep with his head on her lap. She looked at him with a smile and gently got out from under him without waking him and went to sleep herself.
888
In the morning, right after Severus and Bobbie had gotten out of bed, Draco showed up in front of their door. Bobbie, still in her bathrobe opened the door. "Draco!" she said in surprise.
"Good morning Dr... Snape. May I talk to Uncle Severus?" he asked.
"Good morning. Sure come in." She pointed to a seat in the sitting area. "He will be right with you."
Bobbie went to the bathroom and told Severus that Draco was waiting for him. Severus finished up and went to the sitting area while Bobbie was taking her shower.
"Draco, what can I do for you?" Severus asked him and sat down in a chair opposite Draco's.
Draco looked at his hands he had folded up in front of him on the table and quietly said, "I just wanted to let you know that I don't blame you for what you did. I only became a Death Eater because I thought I had no other choice, you know, with my father being in Azkaban..., I felt I had to. I was afraid the Dark Lord would kill him, if I didn't comply."
Severus said, "I am glad to hear you say that, Draco. I hoped you would understand that I couldn't just idly sit by and watch the Wizarding World being enslaved."
"Yes, my father always thought it would give him power. I think it took him until the end to see that he had been mistaken and the Dark Lord was only thinking about himself and becoming immortal I think father is still not quite ready to admit it though," Draco said.
"Voldemort..." and Severus emphasised the word, "was a megalomaniac." He smiled and then continued, "That is what my wife calls him."
Draco flinched a little at the name but finally grinned at Severus's remark. Then he said, "I can't speak for the others but Gregory, Theodore, Daphne and I won't give you any trouble. I think Pansy won't either but she feels rejected by me because I don't want to marry her. She may will do it out of spite."
"I appreciate you are letting me know. What about when you have to face Miss Granger and some others of Potters followers?" Severus asked.
Draco shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know for sure. Potter saved my life. Twice. I guess I should be civil."
"The Gryffindors will be way ahead of you in their studies. Even though Potter, Weasley and Granger didn't come back to school in the beginning of the school year, their friend Longbottom, the Lovegood girl and Ginny Weasley kept a defence training group going during the time." Then he added, "It is the group you tried to help Umbridge shut down."
"How do you know that they kept it up?" Draco asked.
"Professor Dumbledore's portrait told me and now, that I am teaching DADA I see the evidence of it. The other houses are almost up to standard, and with some spells have even surpassed it. If everyone in Slytherin house wants to pass their NEWT's I suggest you study hard and put your animosity for them behind you and let them help you. I think I got the point across with the lower year students. Of course there is always somebody who thinks they can defy everyone. The staff will have to see how it is going but we may have to cut our losses and expel somebody."
Severus usually wasn't playing one student against the other but he thought of the case where the other kids could work on the boy in fifth year who was giving him trouble.
"What happened to Potter, Longbottom and Weasley anyway? Why didn't they come back to school after the war?" Draco asked.
"They were very advanced in their defence skills and were accepted into the Auror programme right away. So was Miss Granger but she decided to finish her education." Severus said, and it seemed to him that Draco had a semblance of shame on his face for a fleeting moment.
By that time Bobbie came out of the bedroom ready to leave for breakfast. Severus looked at his watch and said to Draco, "Well, we better get going. I will see you later in class. I appreciate you coming by and having this talk with me."
Bobbie said, "Well, you are welcome to walk with us to the Great Hall, Draco."
"Thank you Dr Snape but I have to go back to the Common Room first and get my things." He waved at them and left.
"I hope you had a nice talk. Draco looked like he needed to get some things off his chest," Bobbie said.
"Yes we did have a good talk. Come, I will tell you on the way." Severus said while holding the door open for her.
888
While Bobbie left for the infirmary after breakfast, Severus went to his classroom. The seventh year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were filing in. Severus didn't want to seem too stiff in his approach and stood in front of his desk and leaning against it with his legs stretched out in front of him and one foot crossed over the other. His hands rested on the edge of the desk on either side of him.
"First of all I want to let you know that Harry Potter is lucky to have friends and allies like you. We lost a lot of good people but we won the war and we all can be proud of this. Another thing you should be proud of is that you kept the DA going."
When Severus saw that the students were glancing at each other with a sheepish look on their face he continued, "Yes, I know about the DA. I knew about it from the beginning. Professor Dumbledore and I were pleased when it was formed because we realized right away that Professor Umbridge was the wrong person to teach it and apparently so did most of you. I would be grateful if those of you who have been in the DA would let me know about your skills and I would appreciate if you could help me teach those of you who haven't been sufficiently trained. After all, we only have 2 months to get ready for the NEWT's."
The class went off without a hitch. He also told them to keep the DA going and maybe even signing up new members because it would be good practice and most likely would improve their grades. He also recommended a new book that showed advanced defences if they felt like they wanted to try things which were higher than NEWT level.
When they all had left Severus steeled himself for his biggest challenge; the Gryffindor and Slytherin seventh years. He didn't have to wait long. The first ones to march into the room were Granger, Finnigan and Thomas. Granger looked at him and gave him a curt nod saying, "Good morning, Professor."
Severus also nodded saying, "Good morning, Miss Granger." Then he acknowledged the other two and nodded at them in greeting also.
After everybody sat down he noticed that the Slytherins were sitting on one side and the few Gryffindors who had come back to school on the other. Just like with the last class he leant with his back against the desk and looked around. "Looks like I finally got the job I wanted all these years. In retrospect it probably was a good thing Professor Dumbledore didn't give it to me until the end. Not only was the position cursed but I also think Voldemort would have had some issues with one of his Death Eaters teaching defence against the very thing he was so proud of."
He noticed some grins on some of the faces, mostly Gryffindors and a few twitches on students of both houses when he said the name.
Severus addressed the Gryffindors first, "I have found that most of the students of the seventh year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class are either up to their standards of the teaching requirements or at least close to it, and in some parts have even surpassed it. I assume this will be the case with Gryffindor. Professor Dumbledore and I have known about some of you practicing inside the Room of Requirement for years. I am thankful to Mr Longbottom, Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley for keeping it up when Mr Potter, Miss Granger and Mr Weasley were otherwise engaged." He looked at Hermione while saying the last part. "I also know that Mr Potter was lucky to have you in his corner."
Severus then talked to the Slyterins and said, "Unfortunately the Slytherin students didn't have that luxury for various reasons. I don't doubt that many of you would have preferred more training but your house mates would not have approved, or your parents wouldn't have approved, not to mention Voldemort. I am sure that some of you would have been up for it if there would have been a way to do it unnoticed. Let's not forget that the year with Professor Umbridge was a wasted year. Unfortunately the Ministry was in shambles and there was nothing Professor Dumbledore could have done against her.
"I'm sure that I am not the only one who has enjoyed the little diversion the Weasley twins entertained us with." He first grinned and then his face became somber. "The Wizarding World will always miss Fred Weasley and all the other brave souls who have helped to win the war.
"In any case Professor Dumbledore always wanted the four houses reunited instead of the way it had been during the war, where the houses have been divided and especially Slytherin being isolated. In a lot of cases Slytherin has to be blamed for that, but in other cases some students of Slytherin house would have liked to be friends with students from the other houses but it had been frowned upon by the rest of either Slytherin house or students of the other houses.
"I myself had been one of those children when I was a student here, so I know what I am talking about. It saddens me to know that the part I was forced to play in all of this contributed to the division. Now that the war is over we may be able to work toward Professor Dumbledore's dream of reunification. It won't be something that will happen over night, but we must make the effort. I realize that Slytherin house has an aversion to accepting help. I assure you that this is not the time for misplaced pride though. If you want to pass your NEWT's you need to accept all the help you can get.
"I trust that your Gryffindor classmates will find it in their hearts to help you with your work and maybe even let you join the practicing group." He looked around and said, "One other thing; believe me when I tell you that I will not tolerate prejudice against Muggle-borns or Half-bloods.
"For today we will work on the Patronus Charm. I would like to know how many of you are capable of casting this charm. Staunch Death Eaters or people who do not have any happy memories will not be able to accomplish this." Severus waved his wand and cast his Patronus soundlessly.
When his 'doe' walked around in the classroom the Granger girl blurted out. "That's how you did it... erm, sorry... I didn't mean to..."
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"We were wondering how the Patronus made it to the place where we were hiding without us hearing anybody casting it," she answered.
"A Patronus can be sent long distances, for instance, to warn somebody, but in this case I didn't have the luxury because I had to be nearby to make sure one of you even noticed it. The happier the memories you are using the easier it is to cast the charm and you can even do it without saying the words," Severus explained.
Then he said, "Now Miss Granger, I would appreciate if you could show everyone how it is done. I also believe Mr Finnigan has the capability. Anybody else?"
Parvati Patil and Dean Thomas raised their hands. "Miss Patil, Mr Thomas would you please join the three of us and help the other students with this assignment?"
Severus was surprised that Draco was willing to have the Granger girl work with him. It seemed that he was trying to put the time he was enslaved by Voldemort and pushed around by his father, passed him by any means possible. As soon as the others saw that, they also agreed. After all their NEWT's were at stake. Seamus Finnigan paired with Theodore Nott, Parvati Patil with Daphne Greengrass, Dean Thomas with Pansy Parkinson and Severus took on the rest of the Slytherins, starting with Gregory Goyle, even though he didn't have a lot of faith that the oaf would be able to even get a wisp of smoke out of his wand.
After class was over it was clear to Severus that a few of the Slytherins including Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle would not be able to cast a Patronus unless their life would drastically change and they would accumulate some happy memories. There was hope for Draco, Daphne and Theodore. The three of them were at least able to produce a very unsteady, smoky looking something. He still thought he could call it a success because after the initial tension between the two houses the students were all about learning and largely forgot about house rivalries. Severus hoped it would stay that way.
888
Severus made it back to their rooms and found Bobbie already packing a few things she wanted to take back to the cottage. He exhaled a long breath and said, "I am relieved it is Friday and we are going home. Even though I think I can be halfway satisfied with how things went with the classes, I am ready to get out of here."
"I can tell you look a little beat, Baby." Bobbie gave him a long hug and she felt the tension in him noticeably letting up.
Both of them finished getting their things together and then Severus Apparated them to the cottage after they had walked outside the Apparation barrier. Bobbie went through the refrigerator and the pantry and said, "I think I need to get some groceries tomorrow. For tonight I'm maybe able to throw something edible together."
Severus wrapped her into his arms from behind while she was standing in front of the pantry and said, "I think it is time I go to the Ministry and sign this place up as a Muggle building with magical occupants. This way we could bring Winky or Millie with us or we can cook with magic or conjure things. Pizza and beer comes to mind for tonight." He grinned and nibbled on her ear.
"You can have all of the beer. I had better not drink while I am carrying this baby. I want her to be healthy." Bobbie said.
"Her?" Severus asked with surprise written on his face.
She turned around to face him and smiled as she took his face into her hands and said, "Yes Sev, it is going to be a girl."
"How... how do you know?" he asked.
"I know since this afternoon. Nevari women know about a week into it." She kissed him gently.
"A little girl...," he whispered reverently. Then he said, "I sure hope she gets her looks from you and not me."
"Oh Severus, I wish you wouldn't diminish yourself like that. You will see she is going to be beautiful and smart," she said stroking him along the jaw line.
"What are we going to name her?" he asked.
"We have lots of time to figure that one out. For now I would say lets order that pizza if you really want to." She looked up at him and nuzzled his chin with her nose."
He looked down at her, his gaze turning intense and his voice sounding husky. "I think we need to wait with that pizza." He pulled her against him and pressed his body to hers. She gasped when she felt his hardness against her. Right away her desire for him was spreading through her like wildfire. Her shaking fingers went to the buttons of his robes and she frantically tried opening them while he hungrily claimed her mouth in a deep kiss with his hand buried in the mass of her hair. When she slowly moved her knee in between his legs and then up and down on the inside of his thighs she heard and felt him groan against her lips.
Severus finally let go of her hair and unbuttoned her blouse and jeans she had been wearing underneath her robes. He lowered the blouse over her shoulders and trapped her arms behind her back with it. He kissed and nibbled along her jaw, her ear and the sensitive parts on her neck. She bent her head back to give him more access and moaned in sensual enjoyment. When he moved to her cleavage her breath became ragged. He finally pulled the blouse off her and unclasped her bra.
As soon as she was able to move her arms again she moved to the object of her desire and stroked him through his trousers. He gasped and groaned and she went to the button and zipper and opened both. When his trousers crumbled to the floor he pressed her to him and rubbed himself on her through is boxers and moaned when he felt his desire mounting. He finally let up and went to opening her jeans while Bobbie unbuttoned his shirt. When she took it off she went to kiss him all over his chest and finally gave his nipples all the attention. Gently nipping at them and sucking. He threw his head back and moaned his eyes closed enjoying all the sensation.
Severus finally freed her of her jeans and stroked her through her panties. He was satisfied when he felt through the lacy fabric how moist she was. The feel of it heightened his want for her, his heart beating wildly and his breath growing ragged.
Bobbie who enjoyed the feeling of his hands through the thin fabric breathed, "Oh Severus," against the skin of his chest. "Take me now...," he heard her whisper. He picked her up and carried her to bed where he took her panties off and then his boxers and laid down on top of her. He kissed her and when she pleaded, "Please Baby...," against his lips he couldn't resist any longer and entered her slowly. They both moaned against each other's lips and then kissed with abandon, the passion washing over them like a heat wave, his strokes long and slow. They had become one and there was nobody else in this world but them. Eventually the frantic kisses slowed and they gazed into each other's eyes, one seeing the desire of the other in them. Their climax was magical. They trembled against each other entwined in body and soul.
When after a long while Severus rolled onto his back he took her with him. Their feelings, love and contentedness for each other was almost overwhelming them when they enjoyed the afterglow of their lovemaking. They finally fell asleep and dinner was forgotten.
