Chapter Seventy-Seven: Paying Court

PART EIGHT

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Paying Court

Saturday, 27 March 1999

Severus was not pleased to enter the infirmary and discover that Poppy was not alone. That she was, in fact, with three other people, if one could call the small thing wrapped in a yellow blanket a person. It seemed to him as though now that he had determined to court Poppy, circumstances were conspiring to prevent him from seeing her alone for more than a few minutes at a time.

After exchanging greetings with the four, one of whom gazed at him in open-mouthed wonder...the baby, not the father...Severus said, "Lupin, you had better be getting down to the stadium. The Headmistress and Moody are on their way there already."

"Yes, I should," Remus replied. He bent and kissed his baby's forehead, then kissed his wife's cheek. "See you later, Dora."

"Be careful...and don't hurt each other too much!" Tonks said.

"I am sure that Madam Pomfrey is quite capable of fixing up whatever injury they may do each other," Severus said. "But don't you wish to go with him?"

Lupin was already out the door, and Tonks shook her head. "No, it will just make him nervous, he said."

"I thought we could sit together," Poppy said, one finger in the baby's firm grasp and a smile on her face. She cooed at the littlest Lupin.

Severus sighed inwardly. Witches and babies. "Very well."

"I have something for you, actually, Severus," Tonks said. "I thought I'd find you after the duel and give it to you, but since you're here now...would you like to hold him for a minute?"

To Severus's horror, Tonks held the child out to him. "Oh, no, that's all right; I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey..."

"Already had a few minutes snuggling with him," Poppy said, "and I have to double-check my bag and make sure I have what I need with me." She waved her wand and Summoned her black potions bag from her office and set it on the bed next to them. "Go on," she encouraged when Severus blinked at the baby and made no move to take it.

"You won't die from his drool," Tonks said, putting her son into Severus's unwilling arms. "Really, Severus, you'd think you'd never held a baby before!" She rolled her eyes.

"I would not wish to . . . drop him," Severus said, holding the baby stiffly and wondering about baby drool on his black robes. He glanced over at Poppy and saw that she was smiling warmly at him. He relaxed slightly and held the baby a bit closer. It really wasn't too bad, for a baby and a Lupin, he supposed. The boy reached up with one tiny moist hand and grabbed at his chin, then managed to latch onto a long lock of hair. Fortunately, he was content to hold onto it and gaze, amazed, up at the strange new face above him. Severus was surprised the child wasn't crying already.

Tonks was rummaging through a handbag, and Severus wondered whether she ever cleaned it out or whether she simply kept adding to it and casting new expansion charms on it. One day, the charms would give out, or the bag would, and years' worth of handkerchiefs, sweets wrappers, baby rattles, chewed quills, scraps of parchment, and who-knew-what-else would burst out of it, burying everyone and everything in its vicinity. Severus smirked at the thought.

"Your mummy is quite the packrat, Teddy," he said, looking seriously down into the boy's face. "Don't take after her that way." Severus eased the baby's fist from its tightening grip on his hair.

The baby just squealed happily, little bubbles forming at the corners of his smiling, toothless mouth, and grabbed Severus's finger instead.

"He likes you," Poppy said, stepping closer and reaching out to touch the baby's soft cheek.

"He is too young to know any better," Severus said. He scowled slightly, looking down into the baby's face. There was something very peculiar about this baby. He knew that baby's eyes often changed from blue to some other colour as they got older, but he'd never before seen a baby whose eyes shifted from blue to grey to green to brown and then back again. As Tonks still searched her capacious bag for whatever it was she had to give him, Severus leaned closer to Poppy and said softly, "Is there something . . . wrong with the child? Perhaps you should take a look at it."

"Because he likes you?" Poppy asked with a laugh.

Severus darted a glance at Tonks. "There appears to be something wrong with the child's eyes."

"They don't focus very well at that age," Poppy began, then she looked at the baby's eyes as they faded from blue to grey. "Oh, you mean that. That's nothing to be concerned about."

Severus raised an eyebrow. He looked down at the child's face again. The eyes were still grey.

"He noticed his eyes?" Tonks asked, finally pulling a small grey box from the bottom of her purse.

"They are grey now. I believe they were not grey earlier," Severus said.

"My eyes used to do that," Tonks said. "He may be a Metamorphmagus. They'll settle down. Mum said mine did that until I was about six months old, so they should find one colour and stick to it in a few months."

"Ah." At least the child hadn't inherited some strange affliction from his werewolf father.

"I found it," Tonks said, setting the small box down on the bed and scooping up everything she'd taken from her bag and stuffing it back in randomly.

Severus shook his head and handed the baby to Poppy, who seemed pleased to hold him. She appeared to be sniffing the top of the child's nearly-bald head now. Witches and babies, he thought. A baby could turn even a sensible witch like Poppy into a most peculiar creature. The baby's head had smelled rather pleasant, however . . .

"Here you go, Severus," Tonks said, handing him the box.

Severus hoped it wasn't a memento of her child. He doubted he could feign delight at being presented with a photo of a baby.

"From my aunt," Tonks said softly.

"Your aunt." Severus looked at her blankly for a moment. "Your Aunt Narcissa."

Tonks nodded. "She's come to stay with us for a while. I'm unsure what they're doing with Malfoy. He's fine now, but he's still in St. Mungo's until they reach some decision. They don't want anything else to happen to him." She looked over at Poppy, who had placed the baby on the bed and was cleaning and replacing its diaper with a few swishes of her wand. Tonks grinned. "You certainly know what you're doing there, Poppy! I thought you were only good with older kids."

"Oh, I used to take care of my niece and nephew when they were small, and now they're both having babies themselves, so I've become quite expert at changing nappies! And what a good boy you are!" she cooed. "Yes, such a very good boy!" She Summoned some powder from a cupboard across the room and carried on talking to the infant in what Severus thought was a very silly voice, indeed, but the boy laughed and kicked happily. Severus suppressed a smile.

"Maybe we should do this"...Tonks looked around..."in Poppy's office."

"Madam Pomfrey is apprised of the situation with your aunt and her husband," Severus said smoothly. "Indeed, she is the one whom Narcissa and Lucius may thank for finding the delivery man who rescued Lucius from the house."

"Really?" Tonks looked over Poppy. "Are you going to change careers, Poppy? Join the MLE, or just set up in business for yourself? Poppy Pomfrey, P.I. Extraordinaire?" Tonks and Poppy both laughed.

"She did an admirable job," Severus said seriously.

Tonks looked up at him, an amused expression on her face. "It must have been quite admirable for Professor Snape to think so. Positively outstanding, in fact."

"Hmph. She discovered not only the Muggle's name and occupation, but she tracked him down, met him using a clever ruse, and determined his current state of health. All in a matter of hours. I would say that was outstanding."

"Oh, it wasn't that difficult," Poppy said, using a super-nappy-pinning charm to fasten up the diaper again. She lifted the baby in her arms and cradled him to her. "Melina treated him, so she knew his name...Leroy Jameson, known as 'Jamie'...and she'd noticed he was wearing a brown UPS delivery uniform, so from there, it was quite simple, really. Found his address in the telephone directory, called ahead to make sure I had the correct Jameson, the one who worked for UPS, then I picked up a few supplies from Marks and Sparks and stopped around his place early that evening."

"Muggle supplies?" Tonks asked curiously.

"She posed as a Muggle products survey taker, complete with clipboard and survey. She offered him a month's worth of free breakfast cereal if he would do a blindfolded taste test for her."

Poppy grinned. "No one can resist something free, right?"

Tonks laughed. "I'd say not!"

"He invited me in, let me blindfold him, and whilst he was tasting the three different breakfast cereals I'd brought with me...in those little one-serving boxes they sell...I cast a few diagnostic spells on him. He had a little bit of residual chest congestion, but Melina had told me what to do to treat that using only spells, and it was easily taken care of. He'll be fine."

Tonks laughed again. "And did he get his breakfast cereal?"

"Of course! I used slightly . . . unconventional means of delivery, but when he went to his door the next morning, he found an entire case of his favourite cereal waiting on the step for him." Poppy grinned.

"And what was his favourite?" Tonks asked.

"This stuff with raisins, dates, and something called 'nutty clusters.' Half sugar, it was, but he liked it." Poppy shrugged. "He's healthy as an ox now that he's got that bit of congestion cleared up. It probably would have passed on its own. Even eating that sugary stuff, he's likely to live a long life for a Muggle. Good constitution."

"Well, Narcissa will be pleased to hear that he hasn't suffered any ill effects," Tonks said. "Could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard her worry about the man...a mere Muggle, after all. But she seemed sincerely grateful that the man had saved Lucius. He certainly must have undergone a change, himself. He was among the worst of the Muggle-baiters. To go from torturing Muggles to this . . ."

"He suffered a good deal under Riddle," Poppy reminded her. "And not a one of his former friends came to his succour. He also knows that his pure blood would not have saved his wife and son from the fate that he had visited upon so many Muggles. It was no road to Damascus that led him to change his attitudes, I am sure, but a slower, longer path, with a great deal of his own suffering along the way."

"Well, I can't imagine that he's become a Muggle-lover," Tonks said with a shake of her head, "but it seems he is genuinely appreciative of this particular man. And when you see this, you'll certainly believe that both he and Narcissa are very grateful to him." She gestured toward the box. "I recommend you get it appraised and sold. I'd worry that Jamie would be cheated, or that he wouldn't realize what he had, and it'd be shoved in the back of a drawer somewhere."

Severus opened the box and let out an appreciative breath. It was a lovely emerald, one of the largest he'd ever seen. He took it out and held it up to the light. He knew almost nothing about gemstones, but this was beautiful and, to his eye, at least, flawless. The gold setting was beautiful, too, decorative but without drawing any attention away from the emerald and its beauty.

"That's beautiful," Poppy said. "May I?"

Severus handed it to her.

"It is really gorgeous. It must be worth a fortune," Poppy said.

"You might do better to sell it to Krebbin's in Diagon Alley and then convert the Galleons to pounds, despite the loss in the exchange. Its provenance might increase its value, since it's a Black family heirloom," Tonks said, "or actually, a Rosier heirloom, since it was my great-grandmother's, given her on her wedding day by her new mother-in-law."

"We can have it appraised by both Krebbin's and a Muggle jeweller, and then decide," Severus said, wondering how all these people kept their relations straight when they all intermarried as they did. Even Tonks, a half-blood, seemed to know her pureblood ancestry. He knew that his grandmother had been a Black, and Giles had been her brother's son, but beyond that, he hadn't a clue about his pureblood relatives, and didn't particularly care to. "There is no hurry, I presume."

Tonks shook her head. "I think they'd rather he have it sooner than later, but I don't think there's a rush."

"There is now, however," Poppy said, looking at the small watch pinned to her chest. "We will be late if we don't leave this very minute!"

Entering the Quidditch stadium, Severus looked around at the large crowd. The beautiful clear spring day had brought out even more visitors than the previous duels had attracted. Many in the crowd were recent students, but there were a good number from Hogsmeade and elsewhere, as well. It seemed that just about everyone from the Order was there, and he saw Arthur Weasley sitting between Hermione and his daughter. Tellingly, Harry was sitting on the other side of Hermione, and not beside Ginny. Bill and Fleur were sitting with them, as well, Fleur looking radiantly beautiful even at that distance, her baby in a sling held close to her breast. The twins weren't there, and neither was Ron, but Severus seemed to remember that the Cannons were on tour doing exhibition games on the Continent. The crowd was noisy and energized, as much as they might be for a big Quidditch match.

Moody and Lupin were very different wizards, and Severus hoped for a good show. He had heard that there was heavy betting on this particular duel, and some high feelings, as well. It would be interesting to see who won. In an out-and-out, no-hexes-barred magical fight, Severus had little doubt that Moody would come out on top, but he was less certain whether the old Auror could beat Lupin in a regulated duel. He doubted that Lupin would lose against Moody if they were duelling according to the indoor rules, which were much more restrictive, given the smaller available area and the proximity of the audience to the combatants, but in the stadium, Severus thought that Moody had a good chance. There were some who believed that Moody was past it and that the much younger Lupin was a sure thing. Given that Moody was only a few years younger than Minerva and that Minerva certainly wasn't "past it," Severus was not ready to write off Moody's chances. If it were the following week, just past the full moon, he'd even bet on Moody himself. Or perhaps not. But he would be unsurprised if Lupin's performance suffered after a full moon; as it was, just a couple days before the transformation, Lupin's magic would be unaffected. His reflexes might even be a bit quicker than usual.

Poppy waved enthusiastically at someone, and Severus looked across the pitch to see Quin MacAirt raising his hand and grinning. Worse, Gertrude Gamp was with him, though she was turned away, speaking with Flitwick and her son, and hadn't seen them enter the stadium.

"There's Quin and Gertrude," Poppy said. "Come on, let's go say hello."

"You go on," Severus replied. "I'll see if I can find the Headmistress."

"She's there, just behind Quin and Albus, don't you see? With Melina and Brennan," Poppy said. She touched his elbow lightly.

"I told Harry and Hermione I'd sit with them," Tonks said, "so I'll let you two go. I'm sure we'll see each other after the duel, though."

"Probably in the infirmary," Poppy said with a slight smile. "I don't entirely approve of these matches, but no one's been too badly injured so far."

"I . . ." Severus could not think of another excuse not to go with Poppy, and any further protest might make her believe that he was even more resentful of Quin than he was. He swallowed and tried to bring some saliva into his dry mouth as he crossed the Quidditch pitch with her.

"Good afternoon, love!" Quin said. "I'd hoped to see you here."

Poppy turned her cheek and accepted his kiss, giving him a quick, one-armed hug. "I hadn't known you were coming."

"Hadn't planned to. In fact, I was after looking at some horses this afternoon that me sister Siobhan's got in mind to purchase, but Gertrude and Melina persuaded me." He grinned. "Can't resist the charms of two witches, you know!"

"Ah, I've known you to resist quite well on occasion," Poppy replied with a chuckle.

"And how are you Professor?" Quin asked.

Severus nodded. "It is a fine day for the duel."

"Indeed it is," Quin agreed.

"Hey, Snape, shouldn't we find seats?" Gareth asked, turning to him. "Aunt Minerva said we could all sit up in the staff section of the stands."

"I believe I will remain here and assist Professor Flitwick," Severus replied, avoiding Gertrude's gaze as she stepped toward them. "He is still mastering his new recording Omnioculars."

"No need for that, Severus!" Flitwick said brightly. "Caroline is here today, and she said she'd help me work out the kinks."

"I believe I would find that most interesting," Severus said.

"The new charms are really quite amazing, aren't they!" Flitwick enthused. "Olivia was even impressed, and she generally doesn't appreciate anything that doesn't involve Transfiguration."

"That's not so, Professor," Olivia said, coming up behind him with an older witch, who Severus presumed was Caroline Mayfield. "It's simply that most charms aren't as artfully done as these are...no offense intended to you."

"None taken!" Filius replied. "We're getting a late start, but since there are still guests arriving, I suppose that's a good thing today!"

"Sure you won't join us, Snape?" Gareth asked.

"I think not," Severus said, not knowing himself which made him more uncomfortable: Gertrude's presence at her son's side or the way that MacAirt's hand had come to rest so easily at Poppy's waist.

"Come on, now that Mum and Melina have declared a truce, I think we should take advantage of the family harmony before something else comes up to disturb it!" Gareth said with a laugh.

Quin looked at Severus shrewdly. "I believe Professor Snape has his own reasons for wishing to assist Filius, Gareth. Don't harangue the man."

Gareth shook his head, smiling. "All right, when the mighty MacAirt speaks, I listen! See you after the duel, Snape."

Severus nodded, still avoiding meeting Professor Gamp's eyes, when she spoke up, "If you change your mind about observing Flitwick's new toy, Professor, I am sure Gareth will save you a seat."

Severus could not read Gertrude's expression, but her grey eyes held no hostility, nor any apprehension. He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"You know, perhaps I should stay down here with them, as well," Poppy said. "I'll be closer if one of the duellers needs my attention."

"A wise idea," Severus said with a nod, hoping that she really meant that she wished to stay with him. "Neither of these men are skilled in the art of classic duelling, and there might be a mishap."

Poppy smiled up at him, and Severus was glad to see MacAirt's hand drop from her waist, though he had felt no little twinge of pain that she hadn't stepped away from the other man and had allowed him to keep his hand on her like that.

The others went off, chattering amiably, only Albus staying behind, still talking with Caroline and Olivia about the new recording Omnioculars for which Mayfield Charmed Glassworks had provided the Charmed optics.

"Severus, have you met your fellow Slytherin, Caroline Mayfield?" Filius asked.

"I have not had occasion," Severus replied, wishing that he and Poppy could just find a place to sit quietly and watch the match without these other people around.

"Caroline! Come meet Professor Snape," Filius called.

Caroline stepped over. "Professor Snape, very pleased to meet you," she said, offering her hand.

Severus hated shaking hands, but he took hers briefly, and she gave him a firm, though not crushing, handshake. "Madam Mayfield."

"My cousin has constantly promised me that we would meet," Caroline continued, "but she has never followed through on that promise."

"But now you have met," Albus said brightly, "as I'm sure Minerva knew you would one day."

"You're a McGonagall?" Severus asked. They seemed to be everywhere, now that he was paying attention to them.

"No, no," she replied with a laugh. "I'm an Egidius. The less interesting side of the family."

"More respectable, you mean," Albus teased with a wink.

"Downright boring!" Caroline agreed.

"Your family started the apothecary," Severus said, remembering what Gareth had told him.

"And the clinic," Poppy chimed in. "The Egidius family is not boring at all, if you ask me. But I'm just a mediwitch, so what do I know!" She said it with a laugh, but Severus scowled.

"You are quite likely the best mediwitch in Britain," Severus said. "Do not dismiss yourself so lightly."

"I was just joking, Severus," Poppy said, blushing and making a gesture of caress toward his arm, but then dropping her hand quickly.

"You're staying down here with us?" Caroline asked Poppy. At the other witch's nod, she said, "Good! We can catch up." Caroline hooked her arm through Poppy's and led her to a bench at the sidelines.

Severus sighed, resigned to not having a moment alone with Poppy...likely not even being able to sit beside her, the way that glass-charmer was now monopolising her. But that was better than having Quin monopolise her, he decided, turning to Filius, who had just finished setting up the tripod for the recording Omnioculars.

"May I assist you, Professor?" Severus asked.

"Yes, thanks so much, Severus. If you could look through the Omnioculars and see whether you can take in the entire duelling area? Caroline set the charms so that the focus should automatically shift when necessary during the duel...that was my problem last time I tried to use the device...but I want to make sure it's aimed correctly."

Severus bent and peered through the Charmed binocular recorder. "It appears fine to me," he said. "Dumbledore, you want to take a look?"

Albus bent and looked at the pitch through the recorder's lenses. "I'd say it was fine. I might raise the tripod just a bit, though, Filius." While the Omnioculars were a good six inches above the top of little Charms teacher's head, they were still scarcely at chest height for the other wizards.

"I think another six inches would do, Professor," Severus added. "We should still be able to see their legs and feet."

Filius waved his wand, and the top of the tripod smoothly extended another six inches. Albus bent and looked through the Omnioculars once more. "Perfect," he pronounced.

"Good. I had thought to set it up in the box this time," Filius said, gesturing to the announcer's box high above the pitch, "but I wasn't certain we would be able to record the same level of detail. I think that once these are in production, I will purchase two of them...not on the school's budget," he added quickly, seeing Severus's slightly furrowed brow. "That way, I could have two views of the duel to review." He rubbed his hands together in happy anticipation of that day.

So far, there had been no dispute about any of the points or who had won any particular duel, even the betting parties being satisfied to rely on Flitwick's judgment when the result wasn't clear, but Filius thought that there might come a time when being able to review a duel would be convenient, and as he didn't have a Pensieve of his own, he thought the new Omnioculars were a fabulous innovation. They also had the advantage of being able to project the recording onto a screen, like a Muggle film, so that more than one person could view the recording at a time, although that feature had not yet been incorporated into the test model Filius was using. He would have to review the recording by looking through the Omnioculars, just like using the older version's replay feature.

"Severus, could you go over and ask Caroline if she could come check the Charms settings once more?" Filius said as he Levitated up to adjust the Omniocular's tilt. "I'm a bit anxious about them. If you would be so kind!"

Severus nodded. "Of course."

"I can take a look at them," Albus said helpfully.

"Why don't we wait and we can both see what Caroline thinks, eh?" Filius said, peering through the lenses and adjusting the zoom. "If you would conjure a platform for me, however, so that I can let go of my Levitation?"

Severus left the two and walked over to where Caroline and Poppy were sitting. "Professor Flitwick is desirous of your advice, Madam Mayfield."

Caroline sighed. "He really is quite capable of doing all the adjustments himself now. He just had a bit of a problem with the Autofocus Charm, but I showed him how it works on these new models. I thought he had it."

"He's probably just nervous because of the event," Poppy said. "You know how excited he gets about everything."

Caroline smiled. "Yes, I certainly do." She glanced over at Filius, and her smile grew. "Well, as long as I'm here . . ." She stood and smoothed the skirts of her robe. "Be sure to come to lunch during your Easter holiday, Poppy! I will be expecting your owl as soon as you return from that resort of yours."

"I think you should come, too, Caroline," Poppy said. "It's off-season, so I'm sure you could still get a room. We'd have a lot of fun."

"You know . . . perhaps I will. I need some time off, after all! Even the boss should get a break occasionally. I don't remember the last time I went anywhere on holiday." She waved over at Filius, who was beckoning her urgently. "We'll talk about it later."

As soon as she'd left, Severus sat down beside Poppy, resisting the urge to slide closer to her. He sighed. "I didn't think I'd ever have another moment alone with you," he said softly.

"It has been that kind of day, hasn't it?" Poppy agreed. "It was wonderful to see little T.J., though. He's growing fast."

"T.J.? I thought his name was 'Theodore.' Or 'Teddy,' I think I heard the Headmistress call him once."

"They have settled on T.J. Short for 'Theodore James.' They thought that with Ted Tonks such a frequent visitor to the house, it might be easier on the little guy if he had a name all to himself."

"I always think it's silly when people are called by their initials," Severus said stuffily.

Poppy chuckled. "Well, it certainly would be if you were to go by yours! S.S.S. Sssss," she said teasingly. "A proper Slytherin sound to it, though! Sssss!"

Severus couldn't help but smile at Poppy's teasing. "Well, with you, Poppy Pomfrey," he replied, emphasising the Ps in her name, "it would be even funnier, so you shouldn't speak!"

Poppy laughed at that, and Severus felt a grin emerging. This is what he missed so, and how he wished to court her. To make her smile, to hear her laugh . . . to take her in his arms . . . but not right there in the Quidditch stadium, of course.

"I don't know what my parents were thinking, giving me P.P.P. as initials," Poppy said, with a shake of her head. "You can imagine what it was like as a child. My sister is 'Violet Mary Pomfrey Bowen,' quite a nice, normal name."

"What's your middle name?" Severus asked curiously, not caring that the crowd was growing a bit unruly as they waited for the duel to begin. They were more alone at that moment in a stadium filled with people than they'd managed to be in days, it felt to him.

Poppy leaned toward him and whispered, "I'll share mine if you'll share yours!"

"I don't know, Poppy," Severus said, a glint of humour in his eye. "Are we ready to share such intimate secrets with each other?"

"Yours certainly is a secret! It isn't even in my records. I don't even have a middle initial for you, but you use one, so I'm very curious."

"All right, it's a deal, then. But . . . I think I would prefer to guess," Severus said. "And whoever guesses correctly first, gets to claim a prize from the other." He smirked. With a sister named "Violet Mary," and her own first name being "Poppy," her middle name couldn't be terribly outré, and so he had a very good chance of being the winner in this game, Severus thought...and he was certain that Poppy wouldn't guess his own name.

"Ah, you truly are a Slytherin, aren't you?" Poppy said, looking up at him appraisingly. "All right, Professor Snape, you're on...and no asking others! And no looking in that Hogwarts book for mine. That would be cheating. Other research would be acceptable, however. And we take it in turns to guess." She held out her hand for him to shake, and he took it with a grin.

"I'll be selective in my prize, Poppy," he said. "And as almost no one living knows my middle name, you would have a difficult time finding it out by asking people."

"Betting on the duel, are we?" Albus asked, coming up to them, wand in hand.

"No, on something else. Just a bit of fun," Poppy said.

Albus grinned. "May I know what it is?"

"First, you may not help either of us, presuming that you are able," Severus said seriously. "Or the entire thing will be ruined."

"Far be it from me to spoil your fun!" Albus exclaimed.

"He wished to know my middle name, since it is also alliterative with my first and last," Poppy said, "but as I don't know his, I thought it only fair he tell me his, too."

"Naturally," Albus agreed with a sage nod.

"I thought it more challenging if we were to guess, however," Severus said, suddenly feeling foolish now that he was telling Albus. This was a childish game . . .

"Sounds like fun! And you know . . . I don't believe I know Severus's middle name, after all," Albus said, his brow furrowing. "Of all the things I've learned about you over the years, my boy, that is one thing you've held out on me!"

Severus smirked.

"Well, don't tell him mine, Albus," Poppy warned.

Albus held up both hands. "Never! He will never hear your mellifluous middle name cross my lips!" Albus laughed.

Just at that moment, there was a loud explosion as Filius stepped out to the middle of the pitch, his wand raised. Severus jumped slightly, then realised it was merely Filius's attempt to quiet the crowd and gain their attention. Poppy patted the bench on her other side, and Albus took a seat beside her.

As Filius went over the rules of outdoor duelling for the crowd, enlivening his recitation with brief demonstrations, using Olivia Ouellette as his good-natured target, Severus allowed his eyes to wander over the crowd. Tonks had found Harry and the others, and now Hermione was holding Teddy...T.J....as Arthur wiped at the boy's face with a handkerchief, likely blotting up some of the unending drool the child seemed to produce. Luna had joined Ginny and her family, and the two girls were paying rapt attention to Filius's descriptions and demonstrations, though they had seen him do a similar spiel a half dozen times before. Ginny laughed when Filius sent a conjured lasso through the air to trap Olivia, who feigned helplessness as Filius flicked his wand and twirled her about, wrapping the end of the riata around her. Severus smiled slightly. It was good to see the girl laughing.

Tiberius Ogden was there, dressed in what could have been one of Dumbledore's gaudier cast-offs. The ancient wizard was seated with a number of Ministry officials, including Gawain Robards, who was not paying attention to the demonstration, but was scanning the crowd, a look of sharp-eyed intensity on his face. Severus noticed that the chief Auror seemed to nod at someone in the adjacent section of stands. Severus cast his eye over that section, and he recognised two Aurors sitting together, not dressed in Auror red, but still looking very professional and not as though they were there to be entertained. Looking around the stadium, Severus saw several other Aurors, also casually dressed, scattered throughout the crowd. It was possible that they were all there simply to watch the duel...after all, Moody was something of a legend amongst them, and had trained many of them...but Severus doubted that, particularly when he saw how well distributed they were.

He glanced over at Albus, who was chuckling at one of Filius's stunts. Poppy was listening, too, though she seemed distracted and not focussed on what she was seeing. Given that she was already concerned about his welfare and there was little point to pretending there wasn't a deranged would-be assassin tracking down perceived Death Eaters, Severus decided not to wait to speak to Dumbledore.

He leaned closer to Poppy, taking a moment's pleasure in feeling her arm and shoulder against his chest, and he caught Albus's attention. "Are there plainclothes Aurors here by chance or by design?" he said softly.

"Ah, you noticed that, as well," Albus said. He shook his head. "Minerva did bring on a few off-duty Aurors and hit wizards to help patrol the grounds, but any who are here in the stadium are either here off their own bat or on the Ministry's orders. It would not surprise me if they wish to discourage any . . . lawlessness, given the size of the crowd here today."

Severus nodded and leaned back, missing the warmth of Poppy's body against his, but he could not very well take her in his arms right there . . . At that moment, he wished he were more like Quin, that he could casually and easily place his hand on Poppy's thigh or put his arm around her waist, and no one would notice or make comment. He remembered Quin's warm greeting and the almost-possessive hand he had placed on Poppy's waist, resting just above the curve of her hip, and Severus felt a knot grow in his stomach. He simply had to find more time to spend with Poppy before she left for her holiday. He wanted her to miss him whilst she was away, and to be eager to see him on her return. He certainly didn't want her thinking of Quin.

Filius had finished his demonstration, and now the two contestants were walking out onto the pitch, first shaking hands inside a small square area marked in red, and then taking their places at opposite sides of a larger yellow square marked on the turf.

The first six full volleys...six spells cast by each party, whether defensive or offensive...were required to be cast from within the yellow lines. Only a small set of hexes was permitted during this round, and the duellists' movements were restricted. Either combatant could step closer to the other, though not step inside the red square, but neither of them could step outside the yellow boundary, nor could they cross the white line that intersected the two boxes through the centre, dividing the entire field in half. The next round of volleys could then be cast anywhere within the large red ellipse that spanned almost the full length of the field, but with neither duellist crossing the intersecting white line, and any regulation-compliant spells could be cast.

The final round, if the duel reached that point, allowed the two to move freely anywhere within the large red oval, with additional points being scored if one combatant could force the other to step within the small red square and then hit the other with an offensive spell whilst he or she was there. There was some debate in the duelling manuals about whether a spell hit would count for extra points if the target was within the area defined by the red square but not actually touching the ground...leaping over it in order to dodge a spell, or jumping in place, for example. Filius was of the opinion that the markings were merely a two-dimensional indicator of the three-dimensional space to be occupied by the duellists, and therefore, it was irrelevant whether the target was actually touching the ground at the time that he or she was struck by the spell.

Severus glanced around the crowd at the various Aurors and other Ministry personnel present. He was glad that this was apparently some plan of theirs...provided they maintained a low profile unless some violence broke out...and not a plan of Minerva's to which he had not been privy. As Deputy Headmaster, the security of the school was one of his priorities, and he would not like being kept in the dark about provisions that the Headmistress made without consulting him. But she did keep him apprised of what she was doing, as well as asking his opinion about the various options she was considering. He had had to chuckle when Minerva told him that Poppy thought they should have huge reflecting lamps down at the front gates. It was very sweet that Poppy had been so worried about him.

Severus looked at Poppy out of the corner of his eye. Now that the duel was underway...and proceeding rather dully, in his opinion, with merely an exchange of very standard hexes and blocks...she was paying more attention, though he could see that she was still distracted. He hoped that perhaps she was distracted by thoughts of him and wishing to be alone with him, but it was just as likely that she was distracted by worries about the vigilante. She flinched when one of Moody's spells hit Lupin before the other wizard could block, but Remus simply stumbled back a bit and cast a simple Jelly Legs jinx as he tried to catch his balance again.

"He'll probably just have a little bruise," Severus whispered to her. "Don't worry."

"I don't see the sport in...ooo!" She flinched again, this time because one of Lupin's curses had raised boils on Moody's face. "I don't see the sport in deliberately hitting someone with something that causes pain or injury."

"Filius has only selected participants who he knew were capable of controlling their spells well enough not to cause any severe damage, even if the spell itself could be cast that hard. You saw how Auror Marjorie Clifton cast the Massuelius at Professor Ouellette and barely raised a welt on her arm, but I'm sure she could cast that to break bones or burst organs if she needed to."

Poppy shuddered and grimaced. "And if one of them slips, we could have a terrible tragedy on our hands."

"That's why Filius and Ouellette are monitoring them. There have been no fatal duelling accidents in Britain in over seventy years," Severus said, "not in a well-regulated duel such as this. And Filius would stop the duel if he thought either of the duellists was becoming too fatigued to control their magic properly."

"Hmph."

Moody had managed to rid himself of the boils, and now the two were dancing about in their respective halves of the oval, Lupin making use of his greater physical mobility, but Moody, well-used to his unmatched legs, didn't seem disadvantaged at all. In fact, with his magical eye rolling in its socket, he even cast off to the side without turning his head.

At Filius's signal, the two men lowered their wands and bowed shortly to each other. Time for the break. Only five minutes, but time enough for the two wizards to catch their breath and recover their magic, and sufficient time for the crowd to begin arguing about who was winning.

"What do you think, Dumbledore?" Severus asked. "I thought Lupin was doing passably."

Albus nodded. "I think he got a bit more through than Alastor did, but some of the casting on Alastor's part was quite good...he's very quick off the mark still, and very flexible."

"Yes, I've noticed that he can switch amongst the different kinds of spells with greater ease than I think Lupin can. Is that training, experience, or just innate ability?"

"A little of each," Albus replied. "But I think that even with more training and experience, Remus would never have quite the same kind of breadth and . . . elasticity to his casting that Alastor has. It's one of the traits Alastor had even as a very young man. He was one of my students, you know."

"He was just a year ahead of me," Poppy interjected. "He used to help me with my Transfiguration lessons after Minerva left, and I'd help him in Potions, but Defence was always his favourite subject. He always talked about how he had to get the highest marks possible so that he could enter the Auror training programme. He was a hard worker. It used to be a struggle to get him to go into the village on Hogsmeade weekends during his seventh year. We'd be sitting in Puddifoot's and he'd have a book out, on his lap under the table. Always revising for his NEWTs." Poppy chuckled at the memory.

"There certainly was a good turn-out for this match," Albus observed, looking around at the boisterous crowd.

"There was!" Poppy agreed. "And if either of them is too badly injured, I see an entire St. Mungo's contingent here who can help me out." She pointed. "I should try to introduce you to Gladys, Severus...Healer Glyndwr. She's the one with the bright yellow cloak and the blue shawl."

Severus looked up into the stands. He recognised several of the people near the woman in the bright yellow cape, including Healer Smethwyck, who he thought was a complete dunce. He couldn't understand how the wizard had become Healer-in-Charge of the Dai Llewellyn ward, unless it was by political favour. The Smethwycks were an old pureblood family, and that likely had helped. It did indeed seem like a St. Mungo's staff outing, he thought, observing the others in that section of the stands. He recognised Cynthia Clark...Rourke now, he reminded himself...the mediwitch who had confirmed his identity for Madam Framingham, and a few other former students who had gone on to work at St. Mungo's in one capacity or another, as well as a number of older mediwitches and mediwizards whom he had seen on various visits to the hospital. There had to be at least a dozen Healers and medical staff in attendance that afternoon.

Flitwick gave the signal that the duel was about to recommence...not as loudly this time...and the crowd turned its attention back to the pitch.

So far, the spells had been relatively standard ones, with the exception of the boil hex. And one normally didn't see a Jelly Legs Jinx used in a formal duel, either, but it was an easy spell to cast that took little energy or concentration, so a good one when a dueller was recovering from a hit. Severus hoped that the two would show a little more imagination in the final round. Though the action had been fast, and Lupin's physicality had been entertaining to watch, neither of the parties had been particularly aggressive or creative.

Severus got his wish when Alastor cast a spell that caused a miniature dust storm, following it immediately with a swarm of locusts that blanketed Lupin's entire body, hampering his movement and blinding him. As Lupin attempted to rid himself of the locusts, to no avail, Alastor cast a quick punching hex to Lupin's gut, causing the other wizard to double over. Just as Moody was preparing to cast another hex...probably some kind of cudgel curse, given his posture...Lupin managed to raise his wand and cast a spell. A downpour of rain drenched both combatants, and the locusts began to dissipate. That was enough for Lupin to cast another spell to banish the rest of them. He leapt out of the way just as Moody, still soaking wet, cast a Dolo. Lupin returned the old Auror's cudgel hex with one of his own, then conjured a large blob above Moody's head, which immediately fell and coated the wizard with a bluish-green goo. There were sounds of disgust from the audience, but Moody hardly seemed perturbed, and sent a lightly cast Frangere aimed at Lupin's right leg. Remus jumped aside, but not quite quickly enough, and he grimaced and fell to the ground.

Lupin pushed up so that he was on his knees...most of his weight on his left leg...before Flitwick could declare him down and give the match to Moody. He shook himself like a wet puppy...and he was still quite wet from the rainstorm he'd conjured...raised his wand, and cast vigorously. Moody had taken advantage of Lupin's fall to cast a scouring spell and rid himself of the goo, and he saw too late that Remus was casting again. Alastor raised a shield, but not in time, and Lupin's hex caught him square in the centre of his body.

The blow sent the Auror flying backwards with a clearly audible "oof" of exhalation, bent over as though pulled violently by an unseen string around his middle. He landed first on his rear, hard, then ended on his right side, still doubled over and gasping for breath, hugging his stomach. He tried to roll over and sit up, struggling to get up enough to cast another spell, but as soon as he managed to raise up enough to cast a feather-light Percido in Lupin's general direction, Remus cast a quick Stupefy and stood, stepping out of the way of the punch headed toward him. The Stunner hit Moody directly, and the old Auror was out stone cold. Lupin swayed, lowering his wand, and looked over at Flitwick, who nodded at him and started out onto the pitch to declare the winner. Poppy was faster, though, and she was at Moody's side, potions bag beside her, casting Renervate, followed by a number of diagnostics, and then a few more spells, none of which Severus recognised, though one seemed similar to an Anapnea. With a quick, well-practised gesture from her wand, Poppy popped the cork from a small vial and poured the contents into Moody's mouth, and an expression of disgust crossed the Moody's face.

Minerva and Melina were coming down from the stands, Severus saw, but the rest of the McGonagall clan, including MacAirt, did not.

"Need any help, Poppy?" Melina asked. "You seem to have it all in hand."

"You could take a quick look at Remus for me. He had a couple nasty hits. I think Alastor just needs some rest now." Poppy looked around. "Professor Snape, could you assist me? I would appreciate it if you could help me get him back up to the castle."

"No, no, no!" Moody protested, trying to sit up but being pushed back down by Poppy. "I'm fine. Just need to get up and walk around a bit."

"Not yet. You were unconscious, and whatever he hit you with last completely knocked the breath out of you." She cast another diagnostic spell. "Besides, you still have blue-green goo dripping out of your ears." She made a face. "And from your clothes. You'll need to change and get cleaned up."

Moody grumbled, but gave in, and Severus smirked as he cast a Mobilicorpus. He might be attempting to forgive the old Auror, but he still found it amusing to anticipate Levitating him across the grounds. Mobilicorpus was not a pleasant experience when one was conscious, Severus had found. He would, however, attempt to keep the man level.

"What about Lupin?" Severus asked.

"I've repaired his leg and Healed his ribs, but he should probably have Poppy give him a once over and have a small dose of Boneset Draught. I think he can walk up on his own, though." Melina looked up into the stands and waved at Brennan. "I'd like to get back to Bren and the others. Could you walk with Remus, Aunt Min?"

"I'll do that," Albus said. "You stay here and do your Headmistress announcements for the crowd before they leave. And remind them to pick up their copies of Halloween at Hogwarts and support the Worthy Scholars' Fund!"

Severus groaned inwardly. He had only paged through the book briefly, but his picture had appeared several times, and in a few of them, he had been caught dancing. He couldn't bear to look at them. Minerva had ordered an extra printing of the books, since they had proven popular, and she took every opportunity to flog them, including at each duel.

Together, the group proceeded out of the stadium and up to the castle, and Severus glanced over at Poppy. Again, he would have to share her company with others. He let out a slight sigh. Courtship was turning out to be almost as difficult as spying had been, he thought. Severus flicked his wand and raised Alastor's head slightly. He would just have to be more conniving and create the correct opportunity and occasion for them to be alone. He glanced at Poppy out of the corner of his eye. She had her hand on Moody's shoulder, and he suppressed his jealousy. Yes, he would create his opportunity and make it perfect.

NEXT

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Sifting the Past

Sunday, 28 March 1999

Spinner's End yields up old moments from Snape's past, almost lost and forgotten. Severus sets to work to create his opportunity.

Rated T.

Characters: Severus Snape, Gareth McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, others.

Author's Note: If Caroline Mayfair seems familiar, but you can't quite place her, she appeared in the battle chapter of Death's Dominion (Chapter 29: "They shall rise again"), and first appeared in the one-shot, "Now is Perfect," as a romantic interest of Flitwick's.