Particle Collision

Disclaimer: Except for OCs, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling.

Hermione couldn't concentrate on her lesson the next time she visited. Andromeda happened to walk in, offering a light meal, when she overheard Severus say, "If you cannot focus your magic better than that, Miss Granger, I don't understand the point of our continuing." Andromeda watched the girl's brown eyes fill with tears, and then she set the tray down.

"Severus, can't you tell that there's something the matter?"

"Before you interfere, Mrs. Tonks, consider how soon she must be able to perform this charm."

Andromeda opened her mouth to snap back at him, but noticed something, some small ache of longing in his eyes as he looked at the girl, that gave her pause. Shifting her attention, she shut her mouth and walked over to Hermione. Putting her arm around the younger witch, she set her down in a chair and spoke gently to her. "Why don't you tell us all about it?"

"I got a letter from my parents today," she whispered.

"You told me they had decided to stay in Australia, is that right?" Hermione nodded. "What did they say this time?"

The girl nervously crumpled her robe in her lap, only to discover that a napkin and plate were resting there. "They say I needn't come for Christmas. They say that they knew all along I never really belonged to them."

Andromeda looked at Severus again, wondering if he wanted to comment. His face was as impassive as ever, but his eyes were not as dead as they had so often been in the past. Somehow she knew he was sharing the young witch's pain. He wanted to help but wasn't sure what to say to help her.

The older witch decided to step in. Perhaps a little motherly attention or advice was called for. She started asking questions. "Exactly what did they say when you returned their memories, again?"

Hermione explained how her parents had been happy to see her but a little angry to have left their lives behind. They chose to stay in Australia at that point, and communication since that time had been strained. Now they were saying that they didn't understand her or her life, and this last letter said she had never belonged to them. After Hermione recounted the story, with the older witch asking questions on every point, she discovered that she had consumed half a glass of milk, a sandwich, and several biscuits.

Severus watched and listened in amazement as Andromeda drew on Ted Tonks's experiences with his own family and with her experience with Tim. "Give them time, and keep in touch with them. You'll find common ground again."

"Do you really think so?"

"I'm sure of it. I see Tim more now than in years. Meanwhile, with your teacher's permission," she said, looking at Severus, whose face was far from denial, "why don't we go clean all this up in the kitchen? It's not intricate charm work, but you may still find it helpful."

As the girl preceded her into the hallway, Andromeda heard, "Thank you," from the bed room behind her. She turned, and his eyes burned into hers.

The Hogwarts Express pulled out of King's Cross for its historic first run back to the school after the war. An extra carriage was added to accommodate an extra-large student body this year. In addition to a full first-year's class, most of the students who should have just finished their seventh year were returning for an eighth year.

Not every student with that option went back to the school. Harry Potter moved into his godfather's house, along with his best two friends. The two wizards would prepare to take the Auror entrance exams that winter while the witch followed the private course of study she had started with Professor Snape.

During the week after school began, Professor Snape went to St. Mungo's for a check up. Since he had gained some mobility, the Healers judged it appropriate for him to come to them. Andromeda saw him to the hospital and waited with him until he was called, but then she returned to her household duties. When he finished with the Healers, he was met by Narcissa, who had decided that he needed a trip to Madam Malkin's establishment.

After an hour of being fitted for every possible piece of clothing that a curmudgeonly wizard could want, and after more time on items he didn't want, Severus was exhausted. He begged his companion for mercy. She wanted to order some things for herself, but agreed to meet him at a coffee shop just down from the bookstore.

He placed his order and sat down with a Potions periodical that he had picked up along the way. Andromeda was good about getting him the paper, and there was an Herbology publication she took that was not without merit, but she had no idea what else he liked to read. He would have to tell her about some of the better journals and magazines. He smiled at the thought of sharing such things with someone. His coffee came and he looked up. He took off his reading glasses and looked again in surprise.

"Harper! Shouldn't you be in Transfiguration class right now?"

His waiter shrugged nervously. "They didn't really want me there."

"You have N.E.W.T.s to prepare for, boy. How are you going to start your career without your exam scores?"

"I'll have to do something else, but at least I'll be alive." He looked over at a table, where several other teenagers sat. Snape realized they all should have been at Hogwarts at that time. After a short conversation, he realized that they were unable to go back to the school, and yet without going back their futures would be crippled.

The Professor and short-term Headmaster was aghast.

"Andromeda, might I have a word with you?"

He watched her look out the window longingly before she sat down. Her lover was not out yet, and he judged that there was perhaps an hour before her desire to watch the stars would be insurmountable. "What can I do for you, Severus?"

"I ran into several of the seventh- and eighth-year Slytherins today."

She was instantly engaged. "Weren't they supposed to be at school? The younger ones, especially?"

"They've been told by others that they're not welcome. It's even been in the Prophet." He handed her an editorial page they had read together a month earlier. She re-read it. Suddenly she realized that a paragraph about the students who had died during the Battle of Hogwarts was a thinly-veiled threat. Of-age Slytherins whose families had Death Eater sympathies were "encouraged" to stay away from the school.

Now Andromeda was aghast. "What are they supposed to do? Fester in Knockturn Alley until one of them becomes a new Dark Lord?"

In spite of the problem, he was filled with a sudden warmth. "You understand! I was hoping you could help me."

She nodded. "Of course."

"I would like to prepare them for the N.E.W.T.s, just as I am working with your nephew and my...Hermione. This is the only place I can do so, however. Would it be possible?"

She looked troubled. "I don't know. It's so much... How many students are there?"

"Of the twenty in those two classes, one is deceased." Hardened as he was during his time as a Death Eater, Vincent Crabbe's death was still difficult for him to comprehend. She nodded encouragingly. "Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, and several of the seventh-years have gone to Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Half a dozen were mixed-blood and their families never participated in Death Eater activities, so they were welcomed back at the school. That leaves six in addition to Draco."

"My still room is so small."

"Only one of the six intends to take more than three exams. There will only be two working in Potions besides Miss Granger."

"I just don't know..." She had an idea. "What if we ask Cissy? Her house is big enough that she wouldn't even notice..."

He shook his head vigorously. "And have them surrounded by the trappings of the Dark Lord's last home? Surely you see why it can't be there?"

"Must it be here?" she asked. "I've devoted my adult life to helping the people victimized by the parents of those children. How will it look if I let them into my home...into the place where Ted and I lived, and where our children were born? What will my son and all my friends say?"

"What I will say, and what I hope any thinking person will say, is that Andromeda Tonks has been a brave person. She's a witch who left her heritage behind when that heritage was destroying the world. Such people will say that she's still just as brave a witch who helps those who have the same heritage and who so desperately need her assistance."

Her eyes glistened. "You're as bad as Dumbledore, or Alastor Moody."

He shuddered at the name of the Auror but smirked. "I learn from the best." At her smile, he pressed his point. "Andromeda, these children need not just a place to improve scholastically, but a mentor who can show them how to be pure-blooded yet above the pettiness that so often comes with it. They need an example who has overcome the prejudices of her childhood to be a witch worthy of admiration. Your sister can't do that. Only you can."

She shook her head in confusion. "I'm not sure. You make me seem nobler than I am. I wasn't anyone special, just a girl who got caught up in a place and time where she didn't belong."

"That's what makes you perfect for this. I watched you with Hermione. While I ached to help her, to break through whatever was disturbing her, I didn't have the first clue. Your approach was much better. I think that, between us, we can make all the difference."

"Do you honestly think all Theo Nott needs is milk and biscuits?"

He nodded. "As a matter of fact, I think what they need most is a good meal and a kind voice. Their parents ignore them most of the time as they bewail the tragedies they've brought upon themselves. When they notice these kids, it's only to yell at them. To avoid their homes, they hang out at the coffee shop where they get evil looks from the proprietor and other customers. It's like a wand pointing aimlessly while an Unforgivable Curse lies at the tip of the tongue. When the curse comes out, everyone will be surprised, but no one should be."

"And you think I can prevent it?"

He took her hands between his. She was struck by how similar it was to another night. Was it really just over a year since she was convinced to let Harry Potter use her home for an hour? She looked up to see that Severus was still speaking.

"I don't know if anyone can prevent it, but I think we should try. You can do this, Andromeda. You and I can help at least these few students and perhaps through them we will help others as well."

She had never seen his eyes look so alive and intent. In the whole time she had known him, there had always been a sort of dullness in the way he looked at the world. In this moment, however, his eyes burned with a fire that made them glow. For some reason, she wanted to keep that glow on his face so she said, "I don't suppose it would hurt to at least try."

"Thank you, my dove." He pulled her hands to his face and kissed them. She was embarrassed by it and pulled away. "You're leaving?" He hoped she would stay a little longer.

"I need to think about this... and about how I shall ever explain it to Molly Weasley." She glanced out the window again, and he realized that there was one other person she would ask.

Molly wasn't difficult about the tutoring program Severus began in Andromeda's cottage. She wasn't exactly positive on the subject, but she and Arthur were both pure-bloods, and they knew how difficult things might be for their own children if the situation were only slightly different. She didn't want to be part of it, and she carefully stayed away on the days when the students would be present, but she was not above bringing over an extra batch of biscuits or providing a sweater for one of the kids whom Andromeda thought looked cold.

Andromeda had also worried about Harry, but it seemed as though as the autumn began, he was busier than ever preparing for his Auror entrance exams. When he came to visit Teddy, it wasn't for long, and he was too tired to waste energy fretting over who Andromeda's other guests might be. He usually came with his friend Ron, and both boys usually sat in the kitchen and ate. The food only added to the palette of faces they could make at Teddy, who was old enough to enjoy their antics but wasn't able to do much else, yet.

Tim was displeased but knew better than to cross his mother on something like this. She was a Slytherin, after all, and he knew she was quietly loyal to her House. He recognized the value of helping the students, but he distrusted the fact that Professor Snape was involved. His main worry, that Snape would somehow dazzle his mother and leave her destitute, was not alleviated by this new scheme. Yet it seemed harmless, at least at the moment, and Mum was still clearly in control of herself and her home. He would continue to watch over her, and he would wait for signs of greater danger before he said anything again.

Draco, of course, was happy to renew the friendships with his housemates. He enjoyed having the opportunity to laugh and joke with others who shared a similar upbringing and the terrors of their teen years. Andromeda listened to him laugh one morning and decided it was worth the trouble if her nephew could be actually light-hearted for whole hours at a time.

The trouble came in the person of Hermione Granger. She was most displeased on the first morning to arrive and discover Tracy Davis flirting...flirting!...with her Professor Snape. She stepped back from the drawing room without being seen and stormed into the kitchen, where a placid Mrs. Tonks was laying out a tray of sandwiches.

"Who said those Slytherins could be here?"

Andromeda was taken aback by such a comment from someone who was, after all, a visitor in her home. She had wanted Severus's... guest... to feel comfortable, but this was beyond the pale. "I guess that would be me, the owner of this home, and as it happens, a Slytherin."

Hermione really looked at her hostess for the first time in weeks. Standing at her full height, which was an inch or two shorter than her own, Andromeda Tonks was not very imposing. Yet there was something in her eye and the set of her chin that told the girl she had overstepped. Suddenly she remembered that this witch was the sister of Bellatrix Lestrange.

She moderated her tone. "Oh, well, I guess I wondered why the children of Death Eaters would be in a house where the family fought against them."

"Precisely for that reason, Miss Granger," answered Andromeda. "They're learning how not to fall into the mistakes their parents made."

Severus put his head in the door. "Andromeda, they're ready for their lunch."

"I have it here," she answered. "Why don't you send them in?"

He went and summoned the students while Hermione stomped off into the still room. After seeing to the comfort of the visitors, Snape followed her there. "Is there a problem?"

"I thought I was special."

"What does that have to do with Gregory Goyle finishing his two N.E.W.T.s?"

"You don't understand."

"Then you will explain it." He stood with his arms folded, a look of displeasure on his face.

She struggled over the lump in her throat. "I thought you were working with me because I was, as you put it, a 'special case.' I thought I wasn't just 'any dunderhead.' Now you're working with all of those others." Why was it impossible not to whine when stating such a thing?

"So somehow preventing the waste of your contemporaries' minds takes away from the work you and I have done?"

"No..." Clearly he didn't get it.

"Is there something wrong with ensuring a future with less animosity between houses?"

"That's not it."

The line between his eyebrows got deeper. "Well, then, Miss Granger, suppose you explain the problem that caused you to walk into a house where you have only been treated with kindness and start spouting accusations."

"I thought I was special to you."

"You are."

"You don't treat me any differently than those other witches!"

"Don't I?" His eyebrows came together as he looked at her. "Have you been tripping over them every time you've visited? Were they allowed into my sick room? Have I been teaching them several times a week all summer?"

"No." She said it quietly, but her heart was slowly free of the lead weight that had fallen upon it. "No... Oh, Severus, I'm so sorry!" She threw herself at him and hugged him.

His arms came around her, but not as enthusiastically. He patted her back. "You're forgiven, but try not to jump to conclusions."

"I won't," she said.

"And you might apologize to Mrs. Tonks. She has a right to do as she sees fit in her own home."

"Of course! I'll do that right away." Her arms tightened and then he was released to go back to his class while she went to assist with the cleaning up in the kitchen.

Late that night, Andromeda passed his room and Severus invited her in. She leaned against the doorframe. "I'm sorry she acted that way," he said.

"I think it's the age," she smiled. "She's so close to being grown up, and she's mature for her age, but these little dramas will come and go. It's better to just ride them out. They'll fade as she gets a little older."

"Surely it's an event to anticipate with felicity."

Andromeda smiled. "She's a wonderful girl and she's growing into a wonderful woman."

"I'm quite grateful to the Grangers, to the Weasleys, and I think even to you."

There was an awkward silence. She needed to break it. "How did the lessons go?"

"I was able to establish what they each should do, and we set up a tentative schedule. There won't be more than three here at any time, and that only on two days per week."

"That's fine, Severus. I rather like the sound of them in the house."

"You're an incredible woman, Andromeda Tonks. Ted Tonks was a lucky man."

He was looking at her intently, with those glowing eyes she had admired just a week before. In lieu of an even more awkward silence, she chose to leave the room.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! Thank you especially to Trickie Woo for beta-reading!