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Practice to Deceive	By : SailorSol Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 12424 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Disclaimer: Any characters & situations you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. Any characters you don�t recognize belong to me. You can borrow them, but email me first and check on the characters.

Author�s Note: This story is AU after book 5. It contains NO REFERENCES to book 6 or 7 in any way, shape or form.

CHAPTER 17: WINTER SOLSTICE

Astrid woke up on the last day of classes before Christmas break, snuggled between Severus and Maximillian. Past Max, she could see Lilith lying in Alfred�s arms. She sat up slightly, wondering what time it was. Her stomach lurched, and she scrambled over Severus and rushed into the bathroom.

She barely made it in time.

She was vaguely aware of her other four bedmates following her into the bathroom. She was aware of Lilith rubbing her back while she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She took a cool cloth that Max offered her when she was finished, and she wiped her face down with it. Severus handed her a potion, and she drank it after she sniffed it.

�If you�re ill, Astrid,� Max said. �Perhaps I ought to take your classes for today.�

�I don�t think I�m ill,� Astrid said. �I think I know what�s going on.� She went back into the bedroom and picked up her journal.

The spelled clasp opened in her hands and she paged through it until she reached what she was looking for. She beckoned her sister over to her, and after a whispered conversation, Lilith cast a spell that made Astrid�s abdomen glow a light blue.

The two sisters embraced, and Lilith smiled at Severus while Astrid gathered her clothes for the day and went into the bathroom to shower.

�What is wrong with her?� Severus asked Lilith.

�I don�t think that I should tell you, Severus,� Lilith said. �Ask Astrid what�s going on. I�m sure she�ll tell you.�

Severus gathered his own clothing and followed his future wife into the bathroom. He put his black robes down next to her green ones and stepped into the shower with her.

�What is wrong, my love?� he asked her softly.

Astrid turned to him and started soaping his chest, smiling at him.

�Absolutely nothing is wrong, beloved,� she murmured to him. �I am not sick, and there�s nothing at all wrong.�

She handed him the soap and stepped under one of the sprays of the shower to rinse herself off. She stayed under the spray to wash her hair. Severus completely forgot to wash himself, becoming completely engrossed in the sight of the water cascading down her naked body.

He barely noticed when the others joined them, being captivated by the water flowing around her upstanding breasts and then her pert buttocks when she turned away from him. He never tired of looking at her, and he was pleased to note that she had filled out a bit in the last few months. The strain of teaching had made her lose a bit of weight at the beginning of term.

Astrid left the shower first, and she was fully dressed and tending to the children when the rest of them came out. None of them were surprised to see Harry and his future spouses waiting in the sitting room.

�Harry got sick this morning,� Hermione said. �Is anything wrong?�

�No,� Astrid said. �Nothing�s wrong. I�m sorry that Harry got the backlash.�

�Will you please tell us why you became ill this morning?� Severus said, walking over to where Astrid was holding Sarah.

Sarah looked up at her adopted father with her brilliant green eyes and gave him a wide toothless grin. He retuned her grin with a small smile of his own, which made her shriek with delight before she looked back at Astrid.

�Your daddy wants to know what�s going on, sweetness,� Astrid told her adopted daughter. �He thinks that mommy is sick. We know what�s going on, don�t we? We know that there�s nothing wrong with me that seven more months won�t cure.� She tickled the infant, drawing a storm of giggles from her

Severus looked from the woman he adored to the infant in her arms, and then he looked at Max. His bewilderment grew when he saw Max grinning like a fool, and Alfred with the widest smile he had ever seen on his face.

�What do you know that I don�t know?� he asked.

He turned to his son and the other three students, to find Hermione and Ginny smiling, and Harry and Draco looking lost.

�Is there something that you are party to, Miss Granger?� he asked.

�I am a bit surprised, sir,� she said. �I believe I�ve deduced what Professor Tyler is talking about. I am surprised that a wizard of your intelligence hasn�t come to the same conclusion.�

�It�s got to be a girl thing,� Harry said. �I don�t understand it, either.�

�Neither do I,� Draco said.

Severus looked down at Astrid again, and then at Sarah, and understanding dawned on his face.

�You�re pregnant?� he asked.

Astrid smiled up at him.

�I said I wanted to announce the next generation of Snapes at Christmas, didn�t I?� she asked, smiling.

�Potter�s going to have a heart attack,� Harry said, folding his arms. He had a smirk on his face that was a cross between Draco�s and Snape�s.

�I do hope so,� Astrid said. �Now, when should we announce the happy news?�

�How about this evening?� Max asked. �We can tell Dumbledore that he has to marry us immediately, due to your pregnancy. The Ministry would have you and Severus married on paper, anyway, as soon as the baby is born.�

�Well, we can�t have that, can we?� Astrid asked. �I wonder if I am the only woman that came away from that party with a fertile belly.� She turned to look at her sister, and cast a whispered spell.

Light coalesced around Lilith�s abdomen, and it glowed the same light blue as Astrid�s had.

�It seems that congratulations are due all around,� Max said. �Now, what we have to find out is who is to be congratulated.�

�It doesn�t matter,� Astrid said. �These children belong to all of us. It doesn�t matter right now who the father is, and it very well could be all of you, if they were conceived after Hallows.�

�That�s true,� Max conceded. �Once you lay with the Lord of the Forest, they could be all of ours.�

�We�ll sort out paternity later,� Astrid said. �For now, we have classes to teach, and then we have Dumbledore to shock this evening.� She looked over at the foursome that was sitting, watching the entire conversation.

�You four had best get to breakfast,� she said. �We�ll be along shortly.�

Harry nodded and stood up. He smiled at his father, and then he led the others out of the room, and up to the Great Hall.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Max ended up teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts after all. As soon as Madam Pomfrey heard that she was pregnant, she immediately forbade Astrid from being around any kind of combative spellcasting.

�And none of that brewing that you do for fun, either, young woman,� she told the pregnant witch. �Those experimental formulas that you and Severus mess around with aren�t good for babies. Now, I want you up in Hospital Wing directly after breakfast, so that I can make sure that everything is as it should be.�

�I believe that is settled,� Dumbledore said, smiling. �I will perform the ceremony tonight at dinner. Astrid, Maximillian will teach your classes for the rest of the term. By next term, Alfred should be well enough to take over. Maximillian can go back to teaching dueling.�

�I appreciate the fuss you�re going to for us, Headmaster,� Astrid said. �It truly wasn�t my plan to start the next generation of Snapes so soon, but the ritual on Hallows had other ideas, apparently. I suppose I�ll assist Severus with his classes for the rest of the year, and then spend my time taking care of babies for a while.�

�How have the mighty fallen,� James Potter�s voice was full of venom as he gazed at the happy quintet.

�Not at all, Potter,� Astrid said, smiling at him. �I have now achieved the goals I set for myself when I was ten years old. I have achieved more OWLs, NEWTs, and WARTs than anyone except my twin sister. I have three masteries, and tonight I will have married the man of my dreams.�

�She�s mental,� the voice of Ron Weasley echoed in the silence of the Great Hall. Every girl in the room, who up until now had been watching a great romance unfold before their eyes, turned to look at him with a murderous look on her face.

Ron turned pasty white and swallowed hard.

�That will do, Mister Weasley,� Dumbledore said. �You will come to my office after classes this afternoon.�

�Yes, Professor,� Ron said quietly, whimpering under so many withering stares.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Astrid went down to the dungeons after Madam Pomfrey examined her and pronounced her and her unborn child in good health. She was used to having classes to teach, and papers to grade, and she knew she would quickly be bored with inactivity.

Her steps took her to the Potions classroom, where the sixth year students were engaged in preparation for their NEWTs. She wandered in silently, and sat down in the back of the classroom. She watched quietly while Severus gave strict instructions for the brewing of Skele-Grow potion. It wasn�t particularly dangerous, but it was very complicated, and needed strict attention to both measurement and timing.

She knew that Severus saw her enter, but she kept her silence, so that the students would not be distracted.

She watched while Harry added the powdered unicorn horn to his potion, stirred it five times clockwise, and then ten times counter clockwise, and then looked back and smiled at her. She smiled back, knowing that his classmates must wonder where Harry�s sudden expertise in potions came from.

Harry glanced over at Draco, brewing at the bench next to his, and jerked his chin in Astrid�s direction. Draco glanced over at her, smiled, and then turned back to his potion.

Hermione was at the waiting stage, so she walked up to Severus for a moment, and when he nodded, she cast a shielding spell around her cauldron and went back to where Astrid was sitting.

�Won�t Madam Pomfrey have a fit about you being here?� she asked.

Astrid smiled at her.

�Sixth year potions are still safe,� she said. �I shouldn�t go to the seventh year class, because that is where dangerous potions are brewed. This class is where you learn the most complicated, but ultimately safer formulas.�

��Like Skele-Grow?� Hermione asked. �I�ve never seen a more complicated potion, not even Polyjuice Potion.�

�There are others more complicated than Skele-Grow,� Astrid told her. �Veritaserum, Casidor, the antidote to Casidor: Therac, Wolfsbane Potion, and others. I doubt that you�ll be brewing Wolfsbane, but Veritaserum is a distinct possibility. It is stable, complicated, and needs attention if it is to work properly. Casidor and Therac are both stable and made from non-toxic components. This year is normally used to sharpen your Potions skills. The students that pass this year are fit to take the final year, and perhaps fit to pursue a Mastery.�

�Perhaps you would like to give a lecture to the entire class, Professor?� Severus said from the front of the classroom. �Speaking to Miss Granger alone seems something like favoritism, which is most unbecoming of a Slytherin towards a Gryffindor.�

�Only Miss Granger approached me,� Astrid said. �If you have not enlightened your students as to the purpose of the first post-OWLs Potions class, someone should. Have you told them what they will be brewing, or do you surprise them every day?�

�I prefer not to warn them more than one class ahead,� Severus said. �They have time to do some research if they wish. So far, none of these students have disappointed me.�

�I would say not,� Astrid said, rising from her seat and striding up the aisle to the front of the class. �You only take those with an �O� or better. They can�t really disappoint you.�

�They could,� he said. �If they did not prepare themselves the night before. This tests their dedication to their studies, as well.�

�Can I ask a question, Professor Snape?� Pansy Parkinson spoke up. She was glancing back and forth between her cauldron and the two professors.

�Very well, Miss Parkinson,� Severus said. �Just make it relevant to this class.�

�Since Potter�s your ward, are you helping him?� she asked. �I�m not meaning to be impertinent, Professor, I just want to know.�

�The answer is no, Miss Parkinson,� Severus said. �I am not assisting Mister Potter in any fashion. I am not assisting any student in this or the seventh year class. Only students who have not yet taken their OWLs get assistance from me. Once you have passed your OWLs, you should not have any further need of assistance.�

�Thank you, Professor,� Pansy said. �Like I said, I just wanted to know. He�s gotten a lot better, suddenly.�

�Perhaps that is because he spent his summer studying, instead of loafing,� Severus said. �I know that Miss Granger spends her summers studying.�

�Yes, Sir,� Pansy said, and then she turned her attention back to her cauldron.

�If you all finish before the end of the class time,� Severus said. �I will permit you to ask Professor Tyler questions about Potions.�

All of the students turned their full attention to their cauldrons. One at a time, they brought up sample phials of their potions, and bottled the rest. Astrid saw two that would not pass. They were cloudy, not perfectly clear and colorless. She could even see the names on the two phials: Parkinson and Zabini.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When everyone entered the Great Hall for dinner, they gasped in surprise and stood in awe of the wondrous change that had been wrought on their familiar surroundings.

The entire hall had been hung with evergreen boughs and garlanded with holly. Now, spring green ribbons and chains of red roses wrapped around those boughs and garlands. An arch of roses in green, red, blue, and yellow twined with gold and silver ribbons stood in front of the steps leading up to the main table. Arrangements of roses adorned all four house tables, in the house colors.

The boys viewed the changes with trepidation, realizing that someday they were going to be attending a similar event as one of the guests of honor.

The girls viewed the decorations and what they represented with misty eyes, most of them daydreaming of their own weddings, sometime in the future.

When all of the students and staff were seated except for the individuals getting married, Dumbledore rose from his seat, resplendent in purple velvet robes with golden runes around the collar, cuffs, and hem. He picked up a chalice and a ribbon and made his way to the rose arch.

As if on cue, the entry doors to the Great Hall opened, and Severus, Max, and Alfred entered. They were all wearing identical robes of black velvet, unrelieved by any decoration whatsoever.

Behind them, Astrid and Lilith entered, accompanied by Minerva McGonagall and carrying bouquets of roses in the Hogwarts house colors. Both of them were wearing the white doeskin robes that they had worn after leaving faerie, nearly two months before. McGonagall was carrying Sarah, who had a wreath of baby�s breath flowers on her head. Keith and Heather were walking in front of Astrid and Lilith. Heather was strewing rose petals from a basket in her hands, and Keith was carrying a black velvet pillow that had five rings on it.

�This is an event that rarely occurs even once in a lifetime, and even more rarely inside these halls,� Dumbledore said. �You are all going to be witness to a marriage, not of one witch to one wizard, but of two witches to three wizards.�

He beckoned to Astrid and Lilith, and they came forward. The five of them arranged themselves so that Astrid was between Max and Severus, and Lilith was between Severus and Alfred.

�You are about to create a partnership that lasts lifelong,� Dumbledore said. �What is joined here cannot be undone, save in the gravest of circumstances. You are binding your magic and your souls to one another. Do you all understand the commitment you are making? Will you fully share your joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, good fortune and bad, for as long as you live in this world?� As he spoke, a soft glow enveloped the five people before him, each of them in a different color.

�We will,� the five of them answered in one voice. The glow brightened around them, haloing them all in light so bright that it was difficult to look at them. The light seemed to move from one participant to another, shifting color as it went, until they were all glowing white.

Dumbledore held out the chalice in his hand, and McGonagall picked up a nearby pitcher and filled the chalice with a deep purple wine.

�In token of your pledge,� he said. �Each of you drink from this cup of union.� He waited while each of them took a drink, and then gave the chalice to McGonagall.

He took Max�s left hand in his and wound part of the ribbon around it. He then took each other person�s left hand in his and bound their hands together with an intricate knot. He stepped back after he completed the knot and nodded to the five newly-married individuals.

�You will now always be one,� he said, watching them.

After he stepped back, food appeared on the tables. Severus started examining the knot, looking for the way to unfasten it. All of the others in the room watched him avidly while they served themselves and started to eat. The purebloods were nearly bouncing in anticipation, and the muggleborns were confused.

�What�s happening?� Hermione asked Ginny between bites. �What is going on?�

�It�s an ancient custom,� Ginny said. She looked over at Draco, who was eating absentmindedly and watching a glowing ball next to his plate.

�What�s the custom?� Hermione asked.

�For every minute it takes for him to undo the knot,� Ginny said. �That�s how many years of happiness they will have. It took my father almost two hours.�

�Are they going to do that when we get married?� Hermione asked. She realized now that she needed more information on Wizarding marriage customs.

�Of course,� Ginny said. �If Draco doesn�t insist on it, Viktor will.�

~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone was nearly done eating when a shout went up from the staff table, and all of the students looked up in time to see the ribbon fall away from the joined hands. Snape wiped sweat from his forehead as he raised his eyes to where McGonagall stood, smiling maternally at all of them.

�How long?� he asked her.

�One hour and fifty seven minutes,� she told him, smiling. �That means that the five of you will have one hundred and seventeen years to live with one another.�

***** *****

The morning after their wedding, the new Malfoie-Tyler-Snape-Evans-Rumstead household made their way to the main entrance of Hogwarts. They would be spending Christmas break at Castlemoor Manor, along with Harry and his betrothed.

At the main entrance, they encountered an angry-looking Lucius Malfoy. Immediately, Ginny�s �familiar�, Snuffles, moved to the front and began growling aggressively at him.

�Draco is coming home with me,� he said. �He is not spending the winter holidays here.�

�Don�t push it, Malfoy,� Astrid said. �Don�t make me do something you�ll regret.�

�You don�t frighten me,� he sneered.

�I should,� Astrid said. �Shall I discuss this with someone who is not likely to take your side?�

�You can�t take my son from me,� he said, glowering at her.

�I�m not,� Astrid said, smiling at him. �I�m allowing him to spend the holidays with his uncle, who became my husband yesterday. Now, stand aside, Malfoy, or I�ll call my father.�

�So, the bastard won�t be making any bastards,� Lucius said, smirking at her. �You�ll be sorry, my dear. Someone like him always shows his true colors.�

�Yes,� Astrid said. �Slytherin green, just like me. Now step aside, and then get lost. I�m not going to have my children take a chill because of a pompous pureblood with too much money and too little brains.�

�This isn�t the end of it,� Lucius snarled.

�By all means,� Astrid said. �Bring me before the Wizengamont. A convicted Death Eater against a respected Hogwarts professor. They�ll laugh you out of the building.� She shouldered him aside and led the way to the pair of coaches that was waiting to take them to Castlemoor Manor.

TBC
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Practice to Deceive