NOTE

Content warning for the awful presence of Rita Skeeter.

55. The Banishment of Rita Skeeter

"Out! Out!"

The voice was Poppy's, and when I opened my eyes it seemed I was in a strange dream. The wolves were in the hospital wing, the mother curiously sniffing along the side of Andromeda's bed.

"Out!" Poppy cried, attempting to lead the wolf away by the scruff of its neck. The little one was yapping.

Bright sunlight came through the windows, and tiny dust moats floated visibly in the air. My body felt very heavy. I shifted my hand to cover my eyes, and there was the tiny sound of something glass tapping against my ear.

It was this sound that brought me back to life. It was the empty vial of dreamless sleep which Severus had brought to me at four in the morning. I could feel from the weight of my body and the resistance of my eyes to the light, that I couldn't have gotten more than three hours of sleep. But I wouldn't have slept at all had it not been for the potion, and Severus's demands that I take it.

"I can't sleep."

"Yes, you can."

"No."

"This will make you sleep."

"Seve–"

"Take it."

"I should stay–"

"Wilma, take the blasted potion."

I'd found something oddly comforting in this brief bout of bickering, for which we had both been entirely too exhausted. I had never been one to enjoy such exchanges, always perceiving some deeper argument threatening to split open. Yet, with Severus, it had felt strangely natural.

The little wolf had hopped up onto my cot, and its cold nose was damp against my face. Teddy had woken as well, and was watching the wolves with interest, mimicking their sounds, his hair turning the silvery grey of their fur.

At the sight of him, my new responsibilities made themselves felt once more. I now had to figure out how to care for Teddy all on my own.

"Any change?" I asked Poppy, studying Andromeda's supine frame.

She shook her head. "None."

She looked stressed by the presence of the wolves, and I knew that they would follow me away if I left the hospital wing. I stood from the bed, forcing the remnants of sleep from my eyes, and took Teddy down to breakfast. Indeed, the wolves descended the stairs behind me.

Severus was already in the great hall, between Neville and Flitwick and a few ghosts, explaining what had happened the night before. He had changed again into his threatening black robes. He didn't appear to have slept a wink.

Warm sunlight was coming down from the ceiling. The conversation going on at the staff table was quiet. Luna and Hagrid were also conversing softly as they ate. It felt so strange that last night's events hadn't resulted in complete upheaval.

On the nearest table sat a copy of The Daily Prophet. I could see from the front page that a warning about the creatures had already been published. Though I had plenty of reasons to hate the Ministry, I was glad in this instance for their quick response. I recalled the blatant refusal to acknowledge Voldemort's return. Shacklebolt was evidently more willing to publicly acknowledge danger than Fudge had been.

Leaving the paper and holding Teddy on my hip, I walked along the table looking for food that was suitable for him. I had taken note of what Andromeda had prepared for him, but now that I was the one in charge, I felt as though I'd forgotten everything. I had known the day would come when I would take full responsibility for Teddy. It had been a silent agreement between Andromeda and myself since that day at the Burrow. But I had not expected it to happen so soon.

A list of things I had to do piled up in my mind. I needed to bathe him, to find some other clothes for him to change into, to let him sleep more since he'd lost so much last night…

I paced up and down the table, and chose an apple, which I could turn into a mush, and some bread, and some soft potatoes. I made myself sit down to stop myself from crying from stress. My eyes landed gratefully on a bowl of strawberries and some eggs as well, and I put myself to the task of feeding Teddy.

Severus was watching me, but looked quickly away whenever I began to move my head in his direction. It was as though what had passed between us before the chaos of last night–the cottage and the lovemaking–were a distant dream I'd had in some past lifetime. I didn't know how to respond to him now. Having Teddy with me made me feel more vulnerable, almost endangered. I worried that Severus would hate the boy, and his hatred would spoil the progress we'd made. I did not try to return his glance, and focused on Teddy instead. After all, I really had no choice in the matter. Teddy was my responsibility now. If Severus couldn't make his peace with that, there was nothing I could do.

The little wolf was eagerly sniffing at Teddy's tiny foot, and yapped a few times. Teddy did not seem frightened by the animal, but kept reaching out to touch its nose. I realised quickly that they wanted to play.

Once Teddy had eaten I set him down gently on the floor and supervised while they interacted. The little wolf licked Teddy's face after a thorough inspection of his other parts, resulting in a waterfall of giggles. As I kept watch, I forced myself to drink some water and to eat. I went slowly; I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's lunch.

Sybill entered the great hall when I was halfway through an apple, and took a seat next to me. I tolerated her impassioned plea for me to discontinue my use of dreamless sleep potion immediately, explaining the disastrous effects it could have upon the inner eye. "I won't take it anymore," I said, solely for the sake of obtaining peace and quiet. Sybill looked dubious, but went away.

Of course I would not stop taking the potion. I had enough on my hands already, and doubted that any continued 'visions' would be very useful. I turned my gaze to the Prophet. Surely no-one else was at risk from the creatures. now that their danger had been acknowledged in the most prominent paper in the wizarding world.

Severus's footsteps approached, and the sound seemed to slightly frighten the little wolf. Teddy stared at the tall, black-clad wizard, his eyes wide. I looked up at Severus. His eyes were fixed on mine, deliberately avoiding the child and the wolf on the floor. He positively towered over Teddy.

"Your presence is desired," he said.

I glanced over at the gathering of ghosts, and saw one of them looking at me intently.

"Alright," I answered.

I felt a bit trapped. I wanted to aid Severus in explaining last night's events, but I also couldn't leave Teddy alone on the floor. My carrying Teddy with me while telling my side of the story would surely annoy Severus. Anxiety thickened my throat. This was only the first link in what was sure to be a very long chain of difficulties.

I was standing up, resigned to carrying Teddy regardless of Severus's feelings, when the dilemma was rendered irrelevant. Another set of footsteps, quite the opposite of Severus's, sounded outside of the great hall. Severus looked over my shoulder, and his eyes sharpened suddenly as the footsteps ceased. I watched as his face was overtaken by rage.

"YOU."

Everyone in the hall went completely silent, and turned to see who stood in the doorway.

The recognition made my stomach turn to ice. Garish green dress suit, bejewelled glasses, bright red mouth, and bleached hair done up in tight ringlets. That hateful quill already squeaking away on a notepad hovering in midair. I could practically smell her sickly sweet perfume from here.

"Good morning," said the silken voice. "Rita Skeeter, from the–"

"We all know who you are," Severus snarled, stepping past me. I noticed that he was physically blocking me and Teddy from the wicked journalist's view–and the significance of the gesture was not lost on me. This witch absolutely must not see Teddy.

I bent down to pick up Teddy in my arms, and quickly turned so that he was hidden from Rita Skeeter. I peered around Severus's arm, wanting to keep an eye on her, but knew the moment I did so that I had made a mistake. She had eyes like the nose of a bloodhound, trained to pick up on the slightest hint of trepidation. Trepidation, in her experience, must have consistently led to a flashy story.

As her gaze zeroed in on me, I became very aware of my dishevelled state. I hadn't showered since the night before last. My clothes were chaos, and so was my hair. The extreme judgement in her face made my usual confidence shrivel.

But inside the hall, a buzzing energy was quickly growing to match the threat she posed. Hagrid had stood up, and so had Neville.

Rita Skeeter smiled, her eyes moving to the mother wolf, which was standing at Hagrid's side. "Now, now, what's this?" she chirped. "Hogwarts, overrun by wolves? Surely, Hagrid, after–"

"Leave." It was Severus's voice, his interruption sharper than a blade. "At once."

Rita Skeeter smiled again, and her attention flitted back to me. "And who's this?" she asked. I stepped further behind Severus, just as his arm swept out to conceal me. "Oh," she said, a ravenous, almost sultry edge to her tone now. "Surely not your new wife, Severus?"

I felt a twinge of shock–how did she know?–before remembering the mothers I'd heard whispering in the potions classroom. If they had known about our marriage, then certainly the most gossip-hungry reporter in the wizarding world had found out, too.

She took the silence as an invitation to cross the room. One had to acknowledge her toughness–I couldn't have moved more than a few steps in such dense air. Soon she was looking around Severus's side, and all hope of hiding Teddy was lost. I had been right about her perfume–it stunk of flowers. I turned to face her so that Teddy's nose might be protected from the poison.

"Oh, it isn't," she whispered. "It can't be… Remus Lupin's little boy?"

There was a slight pout upon her mouth, which did not infect her hungry eyes. The sound of Remus's name on her lips made me want to strike her. But I only held Teddy tighter to my chest.

She drew back to include Severus in her question. "Are you raising the boy together?" That insufferable quill was scratching madly. "And, I must know, has he inherited his father's… unfortunate condition? Will he be living here in the school? Such a threat to the students!"

"You should go," Neville said. "No-one's going to give you a word."

Flitwick was now standing as well. "She doesn't need to hear us speak to do her loathsome job. Truth doesn't come into it, not a speck."

"Yeah!" put in Hagrid. "Take that lyin' quill somewhere else."

Rita Skeeter, unswayed by and seemingly deaf to these warnings, reached out her long-nailed hand towards the softness of Teddy's hair–which remained wolf-grey. I felt my whole body burn with instinctive defensiveness, and stepped back.

"Don't touch him," I growled.

A flare of excitement showed in the awful woman's eyes, and I kicked myself for having given her even the slightest fuel. "Protective, are we?" she said. "I'm surprised, seeing as the father was so–"

"Shut your mouth and leave my sight, or you shall be forcibly removed." Severus's tone was truly dangerous.

I remembered vague conversations at the breakfast table in the Burrow after the final battle, how 'that Skeeter woman' had written a piece romanticising the painful experiences certain witches and wizards had had in the war. Severus's name must have been involved. This was the only explanation I could come up with for what he did next.

"You–" he hissed "–are despicable, and a disgrace to the world you represent. It would be my supreme pleasure to rid you of your ability to write another word for the rest of your sorry life. In fact…"

The quill was still squeaking away, and I gasped as Severus drew his wand and reduced both it and the pad of paper to nothing. Rita Skeeter's face was unable to maintain its prowling confidence after this. There was a look of honest shock in her eyes.

It was a strange experience, watching Severus be so scathingly cruel to someone I believed deserved it. I'd been on the receiving end of his anger before, and so had my friends. It had been no fun then. But watching him unleash his hatred now brought me a deep physical satisfaction which–I realised, with surprise–was something akin to arousal.

Rita Skeeter's shock morphed quickly into fury. She opened her red mouth to speak–but before she could, an infinitely preferable voice sounded from behind her.

"Miss Skeeter!" It was Minerva's voice, and I felt my body melt with relief as I saw her in the doorway. "I'm afraid, as headmaster of this school, I must ask you to leave immediately."

Rita Skeeter's mouth opened and closed. She narrowed her eyes sharply at Severus, but the expression on his face must have been the more powerful one, for she quickly turned and went. I found myself smiling at how diminished she looked without that evil quill.

"Good riddance!" Hagrid shouted after her, just before the doors of Hogwarts closed on her tail.

I looked up at Severus, wanting to thank him for his selflessness. He had attempted to defend Teddy from Skeeter's criticism, and had stopped her from making what would surely have been a cruel and painful assessment of Remus's character.

But he walked away before I could, that familiar old coldness in his posture as his robes fluttered around him. I felt my heart sink as he swept past Minerva and through the doorway. He hadn't looked at me once since asking me to join him and the ghosts.

It truly was as though the events of yesterday existed in a place far removed from reality.

Teddy cooed, touching my ear with his tiny fingers, and I allowed my attention to rest solely on him for the remainder of the morning. To linger on the state of things between myself and Severus would have been too painful.

NOTE

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