Chapter 3 – A Little Bit More Love In The World

A/N This chapter is dedicated to lunafish, who wrote the part between the asterisks (***) for me. It was part of a prize I won from her for a snapeartcontest. Thank you, lunafish!

I also thank excessivelyperky for a roasted plot bunny, which is served in the last section of this chapter.

Finally, I have to apologize for being so late with the updates. I was foolish enough to sign up for the SS/HG exchange and learned that I am unable to write two stories at once. Since the exchange fic had a deadline, I spent my spare time with the exchange fic, especially since it turned out to be longer than I expected. But now I'm free; several chapters of AMIEIW are ready and in beta-reading, and I will hurry up to get this story progressing. I promise not to enter any other fic challenges until I'm finished with this WIP. Thank you for waiting and staying around. Here is the chapter.

Chapter 3 – A Little Bit More Love In The World.

The next morning, everyone got up late and had a big breakfast in the kitchen. There wouldn't be lunch, and before the reception in the early afternoon, no other food would be served.

After breakfast, Hermione and Ginny helped each other to get ready because Ginny refused to be assisted by Fleur's relatives. Although she had finally agreed to be one of Fleur's bridesmaids, Ginny had confessed to Hermione that she would rather hex the whole lot than let them help her get dressed and made up.

Ginny's hair was easily twisted into an elegant bun, and Hermione sighed in frustration about her own bunch of unmanageable tangles. She decided to use liberal amounts of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion once again, and finally Ginny succeeded in wrestling and twisting Hermione's hair into an elegant hairdo as well.

They were both wearing new dress robes. Ginny's was a pale, creamy gold that set off her fair skin and red hair beautifully. While she disagreed with most of what her soon-to-be sister-in-law said, Ginny had to admit that Fleur had excellent taste in clothes.

Hermione, herself, felt very daring with her own low-cut, royal blue dress robes. She cast a reproachful look at Crookshanks, who was watching the scene from the top of the cupboard, safely out of reach. A flick of her wand over the blue fabric banished the pattern of red cat hairs that had slightly spoiled the beauty of her new robes.

"Ron's eyes will fall out," Ginny teased. "This is really beautiful."

Hermione blushed, looked Ginny over and retorted, "And you? Trying to make Harry rethink his decision, or on the hunt again?"

"No." Ginny had a hard look on her face. "You don't really think I'm giving up on Harry that easily, do you? He tries to be noble – has that idea of not wanting to put me in danger ... As if I were a damsel in distress and not a witch who can look after herself ..." She huffed and put her shoes on.

"That's typical of Harry." Hermione smiled. "He is always trying to protect people, and maybe he is right, in a way ..." When she saw Ginny scowl, she quickly added, "He will be distracted and worried about you when everyone knows that you are important to him. You know that he isn't over his guilt about Sirius' death yet..."

"I know," Ginny said, looking stubborn. "It's what he told me. Hogwash, if you ask me. So you're saying that I should just let him go, too?"

"No! But perhaps you shouldn't be together openly for a while. He'd never stop worrying that Voldemort would want to harm you again because of him ..."

"Voldemort harmed me because Lucius Malfoy thought it was a good idea to give the diary to me, Hermione. Malfoy didn't need Harry to make him hate my father, our whole family ... even though Harry seems to think so." Ginny snorted. "But maybe you're right ... I'll think it over, but I won't give him up ..."

"Good girl." Hermione smiled. "And of course I'm right; I always am."

Laughing, they went down the stairs to meet the rest of the large family.

When Ron saw Hermione, he gave her an appreciative look, whistled under his breath and squeezed her hand. "You look absolutely stunning," he whispered.

Hermione smiled. "You're not bad yourself," she said. She thought he looked very handsome in the dress robes the twins had given him two years ago. Of course, he had grown another two inches in the meantime, but his mother and Ginny had managed to Charm the robes to fit.

Harry glanced longingly at Ginny but looked away when she smiled at him. Hermione had noticed how he had avoided Ginny ever since they had arrived at the Burrow. She wondered if he would try to avoid her again, today, and wished for him – for both of them – that Ginny would succeed with her plan and be able to change his mind.

When the time for the wedding came, Fred and George led the group of houseguests through the garden, past the pond, and up a small hill. They saw a podium there where Bill waited nervously with Charlie, who was his best man. Mrs. and Mr. Weasley stood at Bill's other side with Fleur's parents. A group of other guests had already gathered around the podium in a loose circle.

Ron shuddered suddenly.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"There's Aunt Muriel over there. The one who's waving at us."

Hermione saw an elderly lady with perfectly coiffured red curls in a green dress wave at them enthusiastically. Hermione smiled. "Your aunt really seems to like you."

Ron grimaced and pulled her to the side, as far from Aunt Muriel as possible.

"Oh, grow up, Ron," Hermione said, giggling. "She can't be that bad."

"You have no idea," he muttered, but then was quiet because the ceremony was about to begin.

Hermione waited excitedly. She had never seen a wizard wedding before. A quick glimpse over to Harry told her that he was watching with just as much interest.

All the guests were quiet now, and suddenly an enchanted harp and flute started to play a soft and romantic melody.

Fleur came walking up the path, followed by her bridesmaids. They walked past the group of guests, who made room for her and couldn't help smiling when she passed them.

Fleur Delacour was a beautiful woman, but today that word didn't give her credit. She was simply breathtaking; Bill Weasley stared at her as if he were under a spell.

Her long, silvery blonde hair was falling down her back like a veil of silk. She wore a very elegant cream-coloured silk dress that looked deceptively simple, but was so perfectly cut that it followed each of her movements and set her figure off to its best advantage. The silk was embroidered with thousands of tiny white pearls.

She held a simple bouquet of bluebells and daisies, and Rowena Ravenclaw's tiara shimmered on her head. All the men looked at her with a slightly dazed expression; Fleur's charm was irresistible, and only partly due to the fact that her grandmother was a Veela.

Fleur, however, had only eyes for Bill, and when she joined him on the podium, he took her hands in his, and an official from the Ministry started to perform the ceremony.

Hermione was surprised to see how similar a wizard wedding was to a Muggle wedding. The Ministry official used almost the same words the Muggle official had used when one of her cousins had married last summer. And just as with a Muggle wedding, a wizard wedding was completed with the declaration by the official that the couple was now married. Bill and Fleur turned to the guests, smiled and waved, and then led the way to the reception.

When the family and guests returned to the house, a long table filled with beverages and snacks for the reception were waiting for them in the garden.

"Hermy-own-ninny," a well-known voice cried out.

"Viktor!" Hermione hugged the young man who had approached her. "When did you get here? I should have known that you would come." She saw that Ron eyed Viktor jealously. "You do remember Ron, Viktor, don't you?"

"Of course." He nodded and smiled at Ron. "Your best friend and more, right?"

Hermione blushed and nodded. Ron grinned and put his arm around her waist.

"How about you, Viktor?" she asked. "Are the Quidditch groupies still following you around?"

Viktor Krum rolled his eyes. "Yes. And my parents vant me to marry and always introduce me to eligible witches. But I don't vant to get married yet." He winked at Hermione. "There just is no other girl like you – No, no, don't worry." He grinned at Ron. "We are just good friends, now."

Ron scowled. "I hope so." But when Hermione squeezed his arm, he relaxed and smiled again. "Have you met my sister Ginny, Viktor?" he asked and waved at Ginny, who had just looked their way.

"Yes, I remember her from Hogwarts," Viktor said. He bowed politely when Ginny joined them, and they were soon laughing and talking about Quidditch together.

***

Hermione and Ron grabbed a few snacks and went looking for Harry. They had just found him and were heading for one of the small tables that stood grouped loosely under the fruit trees when Ron cringed as he saw Aunt Muriel approaching. "She wouldn't be half-bad if she didn't try to kiss me all the time," he murmured, and then shuddered. "Oh, god, did she just lick her lips?"

He cleared his throat. "Erm ... I've gotta go. Meet you guys later?"

"What is the matter with you?" Hermione whispered. "Don't you want to hear the legend?"

"Yeah, fine. I just thought you could tell me what you found out later on. It's not like you can't tell me yourself."

Ron groaned as the plump, red-haired woman in her old-fashioned green frilly dress swooped down on them, grabbing him for a hug and kiss.

"Ronny, dear! Why, look how you've grown! You're practically an adult! And, of course, your mother's so proud – she told me all about your OWL's last summer. But look at you! You're practically skin and bones!" Harry and Hermione smiled sympathetically as Aunt Muriel pinched Ron's cheeks to demonstrate. "Oh, but do introduce me to your friends. Well, really there's no need, is there?" Barely drawing breath, Muriel plunged on, enthusiastically embracing both Harry and Hermione in turn. "My dears, I've heard so much about you! Molly thinks of you as her own children, you know. I'm just so glad to finally meet you both. But where are you running off to, Ronny?"

"Er ... I'm not ru –"

"I thought we could all sit down for a nice chat. Oh, but I'm so excited to finally meet you two!"

Apparently overcome with delight at the sight of them, Aunt Muriel grabbed them all for another hug and kiss, and then waved at them to sit. "Well, well. I do chatter on. But I must introduce myself, at least. You can both call me Auntie Muriel. I'm Molly's aunt on her father's side."

"I'm –"

"Of course you're Hermione, and," she said, turning to Harry, "well, there's no mistaking you for anyone else, is there now, Harry?"

Harry offered a smile, and Hermione wondered for the life of her how they'd ever be able to steer the conversation in the direction they needed it to go when they couldn't even get a word in edgewise.

Even as she opened her mouth to try, Aunt Muriel launched into yet another series of exclamations, exalting them for their bravery in facing You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, ("Yes, yes, Molly's told me all about you and Ronny's adventures. And Ginny! I can't believe she joined in last year! I don't know how dear Molly sleeps at night – what with all the family's been through."), lamenting the tragic loss of Albus Dumbledore, and then just going on about the general state of the world. Even Hermione seemed to have lost her ability to follow along before Muriel finally approached the topic uppermost in their thoughts.

"But doesn't Fleur look lovely? Her dress, her hair ... well, of course the tiara comes from our side of the family. It's only the third time I've parted with it since my grandmother gave it to me."

Looking rather desperate now, Harry finally managed to blurt out, "How long have you had it, then?"

"Well, nigh on fifty years, and my grandmother had it years before that. Had I ever had a child of my own ... well, dear Bill and Fleur surely will. They do look so happy together, don't they?"

As Aunt Muriel looked at the newlyweds and sighed, Hermione jumped in. "Ronny, er ..." She glanced apologetically at the boy in question. "That is to say, Ron mentioned that it's really old; that he thought he heard you say once that one of the Hogwarts' founders might have owned it –"

"Oh, yes. Family tradition says it belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw herself!"

Needing little encouragement to talk in the face of the trio's obvious interest, Muriel continued. "The story goes that Rowena fell in love with Salazar Slytherin of all people, and she was mightily offended when he stormed off and failed to return after having words with the rest of the founders. Rowena, it seems, had about as much pride as Salazar himself, and it had been deeply wounded. They'd planned to get married, you see. The families had agreed and the contracts had been written up. Well, Godric – feeling somewhat responsible for his friend's disappointment – stepped up and offered himself in Salazar's place. I suppose you could say he had a saving-people sort of thing."

Ron and Hermione glanced at Harry, but Aunt Muriel gave them no time to tease him. "Rowena apparently considered Godric's offer – his station, after all, was fairly equal to that of Slytherin's – but her pride, and probably her heart as well, prevented her from accepting. Instead, asserting her independence from her family, she moved to the school she'd helped to found and devoted herself to study, eventually even taking on full responsibility for the school after Helga and Godric became too busy with their own families and properties to see to the day-to-day administration."

"But – "

"I'm sorry! I've forgotten the tiara, haven't I? Well, some say that before the rift occurred between the four, Salazar gave it to Rowena as a symbol of her sovereignty over his heart; others claim that Godric gave it to her as an engagement gift, and then refused to take it back when Salazar abandoned her. In any case, she kept it until just before her death when she passed it to her only daughter. Apparently, the one who gave it to her put a protective charm on it – a charm that Rowena wanted to share with her descendents."

"Did she finally get married to someone else, then?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, yes, but not until some twenty years after Slytherin jilted her. And, even then, she remained at Hogwarts, for she married the school's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Some have speculated that the man was Salazar himself returned to her, but you know how people talk. His name was actually Geoffrey Lancaster. Rowena, they say, loved him no less than she had Salazar before him, and they had many children together – all of them boys except the one I mentioned before. Just like Molly and Arthur, now that I think of it."

Muriel paused and turned suddenly serious. "But I must ask you children never to share the part about the tiara coming from Rowena. I don't mind Ronny telling you, of course, but it wouldn't do for others to know." Perhaps realizing how odd that sounded, she explained, "When I was a young woman, you see, there were rumours of such things – things that belonged to, or that were thought to belong to, the founders – coming up missing. I daresay we got off lucky since I know for certain of at least one family who lost both a goblet and a necklace, and never heard of them again."

The three glanced at each other before Harry asked, "So, there haven't been any attempts on your tiara? No one's even inquired after it?"

"Not since I've had it back. I gave it to my oldest nephew, Fabian, to safeguard it – he was about to get married, but then ..." She dabbed at her eyes, and Harry, Ron and Hermione looked abashed. "Then I took it back, and no, no one has inquired after it."

"But, as I said, I had no daughter to pass it on to – and, sadly, no wedding of my own at which to display it. This is its first public appearance since Molly and Arthur's wedding. Only family have seen it since, and even they have done so only very rarely."

"Well, you can trust Harry and Hermione, Aunt Muriel," said Ron.

"I know I can, dear. Your mother says you and Ginny wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for Harry. And she looks on Hermione as practically another daughter. Looking at the two of you together, I suspect that someday soon, she might actually end up as such."

Hermione and Ron both blushed scarlet in response to Aunt Muriel's teasing wink, but neither one of them denied her insinuation. Instead, Ron mumbled, "Er ... we should be going now. Mum will be wanting our help with getting dinner organized."

"Oh, I'll come, too!"

"Um, yeah, well, actually she'd probably rather have just you; the rest of us would be in the way."

"Okay, dear, I'll go and check. You all have fun with the rest of the children." Aunt Muriel smiled warmly and gave each of them yet another smooch before she hurried off to help Molly.

Harry looked grave. Hermione knew that he was feeling overwhelmed by the task ahead.

"It still would have been a relief to be one step closer ..."

"I know, Harry. I know."

They all stood silently for a moment until Hermione quietly cleared her throat. "That's that, then. Let's go and have some fun." Taking them each by the hand, she led them back to the party.

***

The afternoon passed pleasantly. The three friends listened to the speeches, chatted with other friends and had a good time. When dinnertime approached, Hermione saw a queue forming where the long table stood that had previously held the food and drink for the reception. She nudged Ron and Harry, and together they walked over to stand in line.

When they approached the buffet area, Hermione was surprised to see Ginny walking away with Viktor Krum. Harry watched them too, with a scowl on his face. Was Ginny trying to make Harry jealous? Hermione doubted that this strategy would achieve anything with her stubborn friend. If anything, his evening would be ruined, and he would be angry. She shuddered at the thought of a bad-tempered Harry yelling at anyone who looked at him the wrong way. Better not dwell on that thought and call his attention to dinner instead.

Tables loaded with food for the evening buffet had already appeared, and Hermione wondered how all this could have happened so fast. The things from the reception had only just been cleared away. She was about to ask Ron when she saw a group of house-elves, Dobby among them, snapping their fingers and making tables appear. Another snap, and beverages appeared.

"Dobby," she called and walked over. "I had no idea you were here helping out."

"Miss Hermione!" Dobby beamed at her. "Professor McGonagall has asked Dobby to help with the wedding and welcome the French house-elves here."

"French house-elves? Oh, I thought they were Hogwarts' house-elves, too."

"No, Miss." Dobby signalled to one of the elves who Apparated at his side instantly. "This is Alouette, Miss. She is a Delacour elf, but she has been given to Mrs. Fleur and Mr. Bill as a wedding present."

"Alouette? What a lovely name!" Hermione smiled at the little elf, who looked at her critically with tennis-ball sized eyes. Alouette was an appropriate name, Hermione thought; the nose of the little creature was pointed and narrow, like the beak of a bird. Alouette was dressed in a striped toga that looked as if it were made out of a tablecloth.

"Welcome to England, Alouette," Hermione said. "I hope you will like it here and won't feel homesick. Have you been working long for the family?"

Alouette looked at Hermione as if she were dim-witted. "Alouette is working all 'er life for 'er family. Alouette was born there. These are my mother and father," she pointed towards the other elves. "And two sisters."

"Oh." Hermione frowned. "Won't it be hard to leave your family?"

Alouette looked indignant, but also sad. "It is Alouette's duty to go where Mistress and Master send me." She looked around in disdain. "Especially to a place that is in such desperate need of elf work ... And now Alouette 'as to go. There is work to do." She bowed to Hermione and Disapparated.

"Poor thing," Hermione murmured. "Torn from her family, sent to a foreign country all alone ..."

"Miss Hermione need not worry. Dobby shall look after Alouette," Dobby said. "Mr. Weasley has offered Dobby a job at the Burrow. Dobby has accepted." He came closer to Hermione and whispered, "Dobby knows what Mr. and Mrs. Weasley do. Dobby working for them will leave them more time for ... other things." He looked over his shoulders before continuing. "Dobby has joined the Order, too." He proudly puffed out his chest. "Dobby now will go back to his work." And with a snap of his fingers, he was gone.

Hermione stared at the empty spot where Dobby had been. An elf in the Order! She wondered who had come up with such a progressive idea. With a shrug, she went back to the buffet and looked for Harry and Ron.

She saw Harry standing at the buffet table, his plate loaded with food.

"This looks absolutely fabulous," he told Ron, who stood in line next to him. Talking about food seemed a safe topic. Hermione suspected that it allowed Harry to focus on something innocuous and to utter polite noises, instead of wondering what Ginny was up to with Viktor Krum.

Ginny was flirting. Brazenly and openly flirting with Krum. Hermione knew that Harry had watched them all afternoon, saw how they were talking, laughing and sitting together. This had made his mood plummet to an all-time low.

It didn't help much that Mrs. Weasley was staring daggers at her only daughter, who had dragged Viktor over to the table where the newlyweds and most of the Weasley family members sat, and was continuing to flirt without restraint. Apparently, Mrs. Weasley was just as angry about Ginny's behaviour as Harry was.

Harry noticed that Hermione was watching him worriedly and gave her a forced smile.

"Let's find a place to sit down."

They looked around. The Weasley family table was full already, which was rather a relief, because Hermione suspected that Harry didn't want to have to watch Ginny and Viktor all evening.

In a corner, they saw Hagrid and Olympe Maxime, together with Professors Flitwick and Sprout, Madams Pomfrey and Hooch, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody. At another table, a bit removed from the crowd, sat Remus Lupin with Nymphadora Tonks.

"Hello, you three, there's room over here!" The young Auror waved them over.

Hermione saw with relief that Remus and Tonks seemed to be happy and in good spirits; they both smiled. Tonks' hair was shining a blinding pink.

"How are things?" Harry asked Remus; they all knew how dangerous their friend's mission was, especially after the involvement of Fenrir Greyback in the attack on Hogwarts a few weeks ago.

"There's little progress," Remus reported. "But I keep doing it. This is our chance – perhaps our only chance – to prove that there are werewolves who are worth something ..."

"You shouldn't have to prove that," Hermione huffed. "Everyone should know that by now ..."

Remus shrugged. Tonks took his hand and squeezed it, smiling at Hermione.

"Harry, Hermione, Ron!" The voice of Professor McGonagall interrupted them. "Here you are ..." She nodded a greeting to Tonks and Remus. "I wanted to introduce you to your new DADA teacher." She pulled the man who was standing behind her towards the table. " This is Peregrin Price, historian, globetrotter and master duellist. Perry, these are the three young people I told you about. And you've met Nymphadora and Remus already ..."

The man nodded and smiled at Harry and his friends. "Minerva told me a lot about you. She said that all three of you are quite advanced in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and I'm looking forward to working with you this school year."

"Why don't you sit down and have your dinner with us?" Remus invited them. "You can get acquainted, and we can chat."

"I can't," Professor McGonagall said. "I have to sit with the Minister for a bit."

"Scrimgeour? What is he doing here?" Harry asked and frowned.

"He was invited," the Headmistress replied. "I think Bill worked with him for a while, back when Rufus was still head of the Auror department. It was part of Bill's training as a curse breaker, I think."

"Oh, I see," Harry said. "Well, as long as I don't have to talk to him ..."

Minerva McGonagall smiled, patted him on the shoulder and bent down to whisper to the three of them, "Perry here is an Order member, so you can talk freely with your friends while he's around." Then she nodded to the others and went to meet the Minister.

While they were talking, Peregrin Price sat down. Hermione used the opportunity to study their new teacher. Professor McGonagall had described him as very competent the previous evening, and she was curious to learn more about the 'master duellist'.

Price was of medium height and build. His movements were elegant and lithe; he looked fast on his feet. Brown eyes and hair, an open smile and an otherwise unremarkable face completed a rather pleasant first impression.

"You know, I always thought that Remus would perhaps come back to teach DADA – with Snape gone now and everything," Ron said and blushed when Hermione nudged him with her elbow. "No offence, Professor Price, just curious."

Price smiled. "None taken. And call me 'Perry', please. There'll be time enough to get formal when we're at Hogwarts. I'm curious, too." He looked questioningly at Remus Lupin.

Remus looked embarrassed. He blushed and looked at his hands. Then he shook himself slightly and looked at Harry.

"Dumbledore would never have accepted me as a teacher again, after the disaster in your third year, Harry, and neither would Minerva. Dumbledore was so ... disappointed." He sighed. "I never saw him so angry. And he was right, you know."

Hermione, Ron and Harry protested, all trying to speak at the same time.

Remus glanced at them sadly and shook his head. "He was right. He did trust me when he let me teach. And I sorely disappointed him ... I endangered children under his care, under my care ... It took a lot of convincing until he let me go to the werewolves – to work undercover ... I am too weak; I can't be trusted ..." He buried his face in his hands.

Tonks put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It took so much convincing because he cared about you, Remus, not because he didn't trust you. He knew how dangerous your mission would be."

While Hermione and Ron nodded, Harry shook his head mutinously.

"I always trusted you. You would never willingly harm us."

"I almost killed you, Harry," Remus Lupin continued. "I wasn't under control. I neglected my duties. I was careless. I let myself be carried away with worry and wonder when I saw Peter's name on that map ... That was my worst crime." He took another deep breath. "And I never told Dumbledore, or anyone, that your father and his friends became Animagi. I kept it a secret out of misunderstood friendship. Had Dumbledore known, had the Ministry known ... things would have happened differently."

"I don't know," Hermione said. "Perhaps it was wrong not to tell Dumbledore, but in hindsight ... If you had made it public, Sirius may not have managed to escape. Wormtail would still be living peacefully as Ron's pet." She smiled at Ron's groan. "He might have left by faking Scabber's death, and then he could have returned to Voldemort without anyone knowing the truth about him."

"I can't really say that that makes me feel better, Hermione. The fact remains that I withheld such crucial information from Dumbledore. Had Dumbledore known, he might have thought about the events of the night after James' and Lily's deaths differently. He might have investigated further ... "

"First of all, your friends didn't tell Dumbledore their secret, either. Besides, you knew that Wormtail was an Animagus, and you believed in his innocence, didn't you?" Ron said. "Why should anyone else be suspicious, if you, who knew him so well, didn't doubt him?"

"Maybe you're right, " Remus sighed. "But there is still that little fact that I simply forgot to take the Wolfsbane Potion and ran to the Shrieking Shack without even considering that it was a full moon. You see, Severus was right about me all along. I can't be trusted."

"Oh, now there's the right person to judge others," Harry snarled. "Who's the one who can't be trusted? Certainly not you, Remus. What a hypocrite Snape was, pretending all the time to be loyal to our side! For all we know, he could have been in league with Wormtail all along."

"Oh, come now, Harry," Hermione threw in. "At that time, no one knew that Voldemort was about to return." Tonks and Price flinched. "Wasn't it in Snape's best interest to appear trustworthy, not to harm children? He did save your life ... and I'll never understand why he did that, now that we know that he was always faithful to Voldemort."

"Snape was your former Potions master, wasn't he? The one who killed Albus Dumbledore?" Peregrin Price asked.

"Yes, him," Harry muttered.

"Well, perhaps at that time, he was undecided in his loyalties. Perhaps he liked life as a teacher under Dumbledore's protection. Dumbledore vouched for him at the Ministry, didn't he? I doubt that Snape wanted to risk his position."

"I think that's the most likely explanation," Hermione agreed. "Yes, that would explain most of his actions."

"Speaking of Snape ..." Harry's face was red; he looked very angry. "I've learned a few things recently that I really don't want to believe. Maybe you know more about that, Remus ..."

"What is it, Harry?"

"Was Snape my mum's best friend at school?"

"What?" Lupin looked stricken.

"I found letters from him to my mum when they both were kids," Harry explained. "And my Aunt Petunia told Hermione a strange story ..." He told Lupin about Snape's visit to the Evans' home.

"My goodness ... I had no idea ..." Lupin looked thoughtful. "It would explain a few things, though."

Everyone looked at him questioningly. Harry frowned. "Please, Remus, if you know something, I want to know."

"Err ..." Lupin began. "Lily always defended Severus when Sirius and James ... no, let's be honest, when we all attacked him. We always thought that it was just her lovely, compassionate character. She always defended the weak; she never tolerated bullies –" He sighed and shook his head when Harry tried to say something. "We were bullies, and you know it, Harry, as painful as it is. Anyway, she never tolerated bullying. And James loved her the more for it. He admired her ... her strength, her compassion, her courage and boldness ... Her beauty was an added benefit, but not necessary for James to love her. She was how we all wanted to be. She was bright, good, righteous, and she stood up for the weak, the downtrodden. Never afraid to speak up, even if that made her unpopular. In fact, someone sitting at this table reminds me of her." He winked at Hermione, who blushed a deep scarlet.

Ron kissed Hermione's cheek; Price and Tonks smiled indulgently, but Harry still scowled. Lupin smiled at him and continued.

"In hindsight it is not surprising. Lily was a bookworm, so was Severus. Lily was a genius in Potions, and so was Severus. They were even partners in Potions class. We always thought they had a serious competition going, about being the best, but apparently this went much further. Come to think of it ... yes, it could be true." Lupin blushed again and rubbed his eyes.

"One day, James and Lily had already been married a year, we were all visiting them. Lily told us that she was pregnant with you, Harry, and we were celebrating. We all drank a bit too much and were reminiscing about our past deeds. And at one point, Sirius was retelling the whole fiasco at the Shrieking Shack. He was actually boasting, laughing about Severus and berating James for stepping in and saving Snape."

"If he hadn't interfered, Dumbledore wouldn't be dead," Harry snarled. "Snape deserved it."

"Harry!" Hermione cried, outraged. Lupin merely shook his head and looked sad.

"No one deserves that, Harry. Severus was a child, a strange child, I admit, but a child nonetheless. You don't know what that prank did to him. We might just have pushed him over the edge with it. He didn't get much support from anyone after that. Even Dumbledore seemed more concerned with keeping my ... condition ... a secret than with what that prank did to Severus. He forbade all of us, especially Severus, to talk about it. I can't even begin to imagine how betrayed Severus must have felt. So don't say that he should have been killed. That would have made me a murderer. How do you think I would have felt about that?"

Harry looked abashed.

"Anyway, Sirius was boasting and laughing. James was quiet. Peter, as so often, was sucking up to Sirius and shrieking and squawking gleefully. I was embarrassed. And Lily's face went ashen. She got up in the middle of our reminiscing and excused herself for not feeling well. James followed her soon after, but we went on drinking. James came back and told us that she merely felt weak, likely caused by her pregnancy. We thought nothing of it then, but if it is true, if Severus was her friend ... she must have loathed us. Oh, heavens ..." Once again Remus buried his face in his hands.

"But they made Sirius Harry's godfather, Remus." Tonks comforted him. "She must have forgiven him, must have forgiven all of you."

"Perhaps, I don't know ... You know, we never were her friends; we were just James' friends, and I think we just took her for granted. I don't think any of us made an effort to really get to know her ..."

"What a horrible story," Hermione said. "If they were best friends, and Snape couldn't tell her, couldn't tell anyone ... and if he was already interested in the Dark Arts ... and she had to hear it like that, so much later, and couldn't help him ... Oh, how awful ..." Tears were shimmering in her eyes.

Ron looked at her doubtfully. "You're not sorry about old Snape, are you?"

"His life could have taken a different course," she whispered. "He might never have joined the Death Eaters in the first place ..."

"But he did, and that's that," Harry growled. "If it were for being bullied, Neville would have to be a Death Eater, too. Just think how much he was tormented by Malfoy and his cronies ... Snape just was bad from the start, bad blood ..." He stopped with a start when he saw the surprised faces around him. "What did I say?"

Hermione stared at him, not wanting to believe what she had just heard. Her confusion slowly turned to anger. "Bad blood, is it? So, what's next? Will you be calling me a Mudblood?"

"Hermione!" Harry was angry. "I never would ... I never did ... why would you say such a thing?"

Hermione tried to calm herself by slowly counting to ten. "Because even you, Harry, who should know better, have that stupid belief ingrained in you – about blood determining one's actions, determining a person. It's the same as calling me a Mudblood."

"But ..."

"Oh, I know what you want to say, and you're right. Blood can be powerful; for protection, as a potions ingredient, for life itself ... the deepest, most ancient magic is based on blood. Rare magical talents run in families, in bloodlines. But it isn't our blood that makes our choices, Harry. We have to make those choices, and we are responsible for our choices. It's not something we have no control over ... something like our blood, our family ... or a prophecy, for that matter." She looked mutinous.

Ron and Harry gaped at her. Tonks and Remus smiled and nodded, and Peregrin Price looked at her thoughtfully, with narrowed eyes. "That was well said. Uncle Albus always said that it is our choices that determine who we are, not our inheritance ..."

"So he did ..." Harry said absentmindedly, while Hermione stared at Price wide-eyed.

"Uncle Albus?"

"Oh, you don't know? No, how could you?" Price smiled at her and bowed slightly. "Albus Dumbledore was my great-granduncle. His wife's younger sister was my great-grandmother. Mine and Emmeline's, too. We were first cousins, twice removed."

"Emmeline?" Ron asked.

"Emmeline Vance. She was murdered a year ago. I came here from Crete, where I normally live, to look after the estate. I'm the only one left from that family, you know." He looked at them and frowned. "Minerva thinks that I'll be a target for the Death Eaters, and I'm afraid she may be right. He-who-must-not-be-named tends to eliminate whole families. He's a strong believer in bloodlines, or so they say." He winked at Harry who blushed, embarrassed. "That's why Minerva offered me the position as Defence teacher. She thinks it will give me some protection. I will still have the freedom to come and go as I please outside class. That way I can look after my affairs, and still avoid a set pattern that would invite attacks."

"You're living in Crete?" Hermione asked, intrigued. "Professor McGonagall said that you're an historian ... Do you normally work at the magical archives of Phaistos?"

"Yes, exactly." He flashed her a pleased smile. "I'm working at the archives, but also in the field, at Knossos. You know about the labyrinth?"

Hermione nodded, Ron and Harry looked nonplussed, and Tonks and Remus listened with almost as much fascination as Hermione.

"There's a healthy herd of Minotaurs in there, which makes the research in the labyrinth ... err ... interesting." He grinned. "They keep a wizard on his toes and prevent those defensive spells from getting rusty and forgotten. That's probably why Minerva thinks that I'm qualified for the position ..."

"And what ..." But Hermione couldn't complete her question, because Ginny had come to their table and asked Harry to dance. Hermione thought that she had some nerve. Harry seemed to think so, too, because he merely scowled at Ginny and shook his head. But Ginny laughed, took him by the hand and said, "Oh come on, we're old friends. Surely you can dance with me once?" Reluctantly, Harry followed her to the dance floor.

Remus took that as an incentive, took Tonks' hand and led her off to dance, too.

"Good idea," Price said. "I'll see if I can find Minerva and waltz a few rounds with her. You young people go and dance, too." He saw Hermione's disappointed face. "We'll have enough time to talk about labyrinths and Minotaurs once school has started. You'll be bored by my stories soon enough; I like to talk endlessly about my work." He gave them a friendly wave and went off to find Minerva McGonagall.

"Interesting man, isn't he? I'm really looking forward to his lessons," Hermione said and dragged a very reluctant Ron off to the dance floor.