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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
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 in any way, shape or form.

CHAPTER 7: PAST MEMORIES

1 September

Maximillian gasped as the spell hit him. He had never heard of the spell before, and he was completely unprepared for its effects.

He almost felt as if a pensieve floodgate had opened in his mind. He suddenly remembered many things with crystal clarity; things he had not remembered before.

He looked over at Severus, who had been his friend since they had started Hogwarts, and his lover for nearly that long. Severus had turned to look at him with concern, one hand still on his son�s chest.

�Severus,� Maximillian whispered, pain twisting in his chest. �I�m so sorry! I broke the Fidelus charm! He put Veritaserum in the tea, and by the time I knew, it was too late! I told him about Lily, about the baby, about everything!� He disintegrated into wracking sobs.

Severus hurried to be by his friend�s side. He sat down and put an arm around the distraught wizard. He looked up at Astrid, ready to accuse her of cruelty. The shocked and sorrowful look on her face stopped him before a word left his lips.

�You did not know,� he said.

Astrid shook her head violently, tears gathered in her emerald eyes.

�I had no idea,� she choked out. �I just assumed that he had wiped his memory of the marriage to keep him from telling you. I had no idea that there was a Fidelus charm involved.� She let her own tears fall, barely feeling it when Lilith put an arm around her from one side, and Harry from the other.

�I�m so sorry, Severus,� Maximillian said finally. �I betrayed you!�

�You did nothing of the kind,� Severus said. �Dumbledore knew you had no resistance to Veritaserum, and he probably gave you a full dose. You did not betray me, Max, he did.�

�Shall we restore your memories, Professor Snape?� Lilith asked. �I wonder what Dumbledore made you forget.�

�Yes,� Severus said. �I am as ready as I can be.�

�Reminiscare,� Lilith said.

Severus reeled as his memories, suppressed for fifteen years, came back with a vengeance.

* * *

He came into the Manor house, to find a house elf waiting for him. The elf bowed to him and handed him a note in Lily�s writing.

Gone to see D. Took Antarean with me. Meet us there.

Lily

Unsuspecting of anything out of the ordinary, Severus made his way outside and Apparated to just beyond the boundaries of the Hogwarts wards.

The walk to the castle and to Dumbledore�s office was unremarkable. He entered the room to find Dumbledore standing beside his desk.

�I understand that you sent for me, Headmaster,� Severus said. �Is there something that I can do for you?�

�Yes, my boy,� Dumbledore said, smiling genially at him. �It has come to my attention that you married Lily Evans, and that you have a son.�

�How did you find that out?� Severus asked. �The only people who knew were under a Fidelus charm.�

�A Fidelus charm is only as good as the Secret Keeper,� Dumbledore said smugly. �I managed to bypass your Secret Keeper.�

�What have you done to Maximillian?� Severus demanded. �If you have harmed him, I will personally bludgeon you to death!�

�Relax, Snivelus,� a familiar and hated voice interrupted him. �Your boyfriend is just sleeping off his overdose of Veritaserum. He�ll be fine, and you�ll be back underneath him in no time.�

Severus turned to see James Potter come out of Dumbledore�s observatory. His eyes widened in horror as he saw that Potter had his son, Antarean, in his arms. Lily docilely followed Potter into the room, gazing at the floor demurely.

�Lily?� Severus said, taking a step towards her. �What is wrong?�

�She�s mine now, Snivelus,� James said, handing Antarean to her. �Your son is mine, and your wife is mine. I just shagged her in the observatory, after we slipped her a matrimonial potion. I�m going to take her to Godric�s Hollow, and I�m going to shag her until I can�t anymore. I�m going to enjoy it more because she rejected me, and because she chose you. You don�t have a future anymore. You�re just a pathetic pouf, like you always were.�

�You�ve gone too far, Potter,� Severus said, drawing his wand. �This time, I�ll kill you.�

�I�m afraid not, Severus,� Dumbledore�s voice startled him. He had forgotten that the man was in the room.

�Obliviate.�

* * *

Severus� return to the present time was a painful snap in his mind. His body jerked spasmodically, and he felt firm and gentle hands restrain him so he would not harm himself. A glass was pressed into his hand, and he downed the contents in one gulp without a thought. The strong burn of the Firewhiskey grounded him further, and he turned wounded eyes on the person who had given him the glass.

Astrid crouched next to him, kneeling on the floor. The whiskey bottle was next to her. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were reddened from crying.

�Would you like another?� she asked, picking up the bottle.

He stared at her for a moment, committing her face to indelible memory, and then nodded.

Astrid filled the glass again, and waited while he took a few meditative sips.

�My father needs to know about this,� Astrid told him. �He told me that he went to Godric�s Hollow that night to retrieve your wife and son. He didn�t intend to kill anyone but Potter. Potter�s survival has me puzzled, though.�

�His shade came out of Voldemort�s wand,� Harry interjected. He handed Severus a damp cloth to wipe his face, and handed another to Maximillian.

�I know,� Astrid said. �Does anyone have any objections to me testing a theory while you two recover?�

No one voiced any objections, so she drew her wand, looked around, and then pointed it at a far corner of the room.

�Accio spider.�

A small dark shape sailed across the room to land in Astrid�s outstretched palm. She held it out to Lilith.

�Turn it into a rat,� she said.

Lilith shrugged and drew her own wand.

�Vero verta.�

The spider in Astrid�s hand turned into a small rat. Astrid dropped it on the ground and aimed her wand at it as it tried to figure out how to run on four legs instead of eight.

�Avada Kedavra.� The rat died in a flash of green light.

Astrid turned to Harry, who was watching her with wide eyes.

�Harry,� she said softly, pointing her wand at him. �I want you to perform the Priori Incantatum on my wand.�

�All it�s going to show is you killing that transfigured spider,� Harry said.

�Perhaps not,� Astrid said. �Transfiguration is permanent. Has the rat turned back into a spider?�

�No,� Harry said, looking down at the limp furry form on the floor.

�Just try it, Harry,� Astrid said.

Harry shrugged and drew his wand. He pointed it at the tip of Astrid�s wand.

�Priori Incantatum.�

The ghostly form of a rat drifted out of Astrid�s wand, followed by the form of the spider that Lilith had transfigured.

�It shows a rat,� Harry said in awe. �Is that how they did it?�

�I don�t know for sure,� Astrid said. �It certainly proves that it is possible to fool a Priori Incantatum. Potter could have done it this way. He could have transfigured anything. I should tell you that my father doesn�t remember killing them. He thought perhaps that it was due to the disembodiment and the years as a spirit. He doesn�t remember anything about that night, specifically.�

�You think maybe he didn�t do it,� Harry said. �You think maybe Dumbledore did it.�

�I don�t think that the great wizard would soil his own hands,� Astrid said. �He has enough followers that would do whatever he told them.�

�Yes,� Harry said. �Hermione and Ginny told me that he had Moody Polyjuice himself as Lucius Malfoy. He went and beat Remus nearly to death to try to flush me out.�

�He did that?� Severus asked, looking at his son.

Harry nodded.

�That�s what made them go to Voldemort,� Harry said. �Ginny asked him to take her family off of any hit list he might have, except for Ron, but Hermione didn�t ask for anything.�

�That will make him more generous with her when the time comes,� Max observed. His voice was rough from crying, but he looked like he was once more in command of his faculties.

�Yes,� Severus said. �It will. Very shrewd of Miss Granger.�

�I don�t think that was why,� Harry said. �I think she didn�t know what to ask him for. I think she still doesn�t.�

�So,� Maximillian said. �What do we do about Dumbledore?�

�Salazar Slytherin�s first precept of revenge,� Astrid said. ��Find what your enemy prizes, and then take it away.� Dumbledore prizes his Order, the war he has created, and the students at this school. He feels that all of them are his children, in a way. He prizes his position in Wizarding Society, and the respect people have for him. We have to find a way to take those things away from him.�

�Who are �we?�� Severus asked.

�A support group for my father,� Astrid told him. �A group of people who have reason to want Dumbledore destroyed. Let�s see, he turned a joke into a faceless terror. We need a name that will be appropriate.�

�I have it,� Lilith said. �The Serpent�s Tooth.�

Ah,� Astrid said, smiling. �Shakespeare!�

�How sharper than a serpent�s tooth,� Harry quoted. �To have a thankless child.�

�I�m in,� Maximillian said. �I will never forgive Dumbledore for what he did. He never should have done that to Lily. She hated Potter.�

�I am in, as well,� Severus said. �Lily was a very strong-willed witch. To destroy her will with a matrimonial potion is criminal. To do it simply so that he could have a spy is even more so.�

�You must have loved her a great deal,� Astrid said to Severus, her eyes sad. �I am certain she must have loved you as much.�

�She said she loved me,� Severus said, tears glittering in his dark eyes. �She never lied.�

�I need to go talk to Dumbledore,� Astrid said, abruptly standing up. �If he asks you, Severus, we talked about Harry�s Occlumency training. I guarantee that Harry is an accomplished Occlumency, now, but Dumbledore doesn�t need to know that. Severus, you and Harry need to �work out a schedule� for his Occlumency, which will allow the two of you to spend time alone together. Parent-child bonds are very important.�

�Is that what kept you sane?� Lilith asked.

Astrid nodded.

�Not only that, it stabilized Father,� she said. �We need to go see him over Christmas. Without me, he�s not as grounded as he should be. I�ll see you later, Lilith. My quarters are on the first floor, next to the entrance to the dungeons.�

�I�ll be there,� Lilith said, gazing with puzzled eyes at her twin.

Astrid removed the spells and left the room quickly, her jaw clenched against the unexpectedly sharp ache in her heart.

After the door closed behind Astrid, Lilith reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a shrunken book. She enlarged it with a simple �finite incantatum� and placed it in Severus� lap.

�If anyone asks,� she said. �You can say with complete honesty that I wanted you to look over my Potions Journal and find out what I had done, before you develop a curriculum for a WARTs-level student. Nothing else needs to be said.�

�Very well, Miss Evans,� Severus said in his best �professor� voice as she crossed the room and opened the door. �I will look over your journal and give you my opinion of your abilities in two days.�

�Thank you, Professor Snape,� she said, and she left, closing the door behind her.

Severus turned his gaze to Harry, who was watching him with a look suspiciously like fear on his face.

�What are you afraid of?� he asked his son.

�I don�t know,� Harry answered. �I guess I�m afraid that I�m not good enough. You�ve spent so much time telling me how unimpressive I am, and you�re the only one I wanted to think more of me, just because you didn�t treat me different because I was �the Boy-Who-Lived.� In fact, I think you were harder on me because of it.�

�Actually,� Severus said. �I was so hard on you because of Potter. You realize that I can�t change that right away. I can gradually alter my behavior on your behalf, but an immediate change would alert Dumbledore.�

Anything more he would have said was interrupted by a knock on the door. Severus quickly repaired Harry�s clothing and his own before nodding to Maximillian to open the door. When the door opened, it revealed the Headmaster, peering into the room as if expecting bloodshed. When he saw Harry standing next to Severus, he smiled and the twinkle in his eye, which Harry had always assumed was amusement, returned.

�I was hoping that you and Harry would be civil to one another, Severus,� he said, entering the room and smiling paternally at both of them.

�It�s very important that Harry�s Occlumency training be continued,� he told them both. �I don�t want Voldemort breaking into his mind again. As I recall, Maximillian is a good Occlumens, as well. Perhaps when Severus� temper gets short, Maximillian can continue the lessons.�

�That won�t be necessary, Headmaster,� Severus said. �Mr. Potter and I have come to an agreement which includes Occlumency training and him completing his homework down here, where I can make certain that Mr. Weasley does not sidetrack him.

�I have told him that he is welcome to bring Miss Granger and Miss Weasley,� Severus continued. �Miss Granger may be an insufferable little know-it-all, but she will promote a proper work ethic. Miss Weasley has the dedication to do very well in her schoolwork, and it would be a shame if her brother managed to stop her.�

�Very well,� Dumbledore said. �It is time for Harry to be in the Gryffindor Common Room. He has friends to socialize with, and he needs to get sufficient sleep.�

�I was about to make the same point to him,� Severus said, standing up. His loathing for this merry manipulator had never been as strong as it was right now. This man had deprived him of his wife and son, and was trying to manipulate him further.

Severus walked over to a bookshelf, pulled out a book, and walked over to Harry with it.

�This is the text for Sixth Year Potions,� he said. �Now you do not need to send for it. I will walk you to your dormitory, and I expect to see you at breakfast, tomorrow morning.�

�I�ll walk him up, Severus,� Dumbledore said. �I have to see Professor McGonagall about one of her other sixth years, so I will be in that area.�

There was no way for the two of them to decline without raising Dumbledore�s suspicions.

�I�ll see you in the morning, sir,� Harry said. �I won�t disappoint you.�

�See to it that you do not, Severus said. �You have been disappointing enough, up to this moment.�

After Dumbledore had left with Harry, Severus dropped back into his seat and sighed heavily.

�It wasn�t Lily,� he said. He reached into his robes and pulled a small portrait out of a pocket.

Maximillian didn�t have to ask what the portrait was. He carried a copy of it, himself. It was of a woman in a green gown with gilded silver hair, sitting under a tree. The woman in the portrait was Astrid Tyler.

�We don�t need to give up, Sev,� he said. �She doesn�t like Potter, and she knows what Dumbledore is like. She�s not going to trust him. She�s much more powerful than Lily was, due to her heritage as Slytherin�s descendant.�

�It�s more complicated than that,� Severus said. �You�ve forgotten that Elizabeth Evans was from one of two modern lines that are descended from Godric Gryffindor. She is heir to both bloodlines.�

�That doesn�t make you unworthy,� Maximillian said. �I�ve seen her watching you. She at least likes you. If she gets to know you, she�ll love you as much as I do, and as much as Lily did. Give her a chance, Sev.�

�And give Dumbledore something to take from me?� Severus asked, looking up at Maximillian with tear-filled eyes. �He�ll take her away, just like he took Lily.�

�You�re not thinking like a Slytherin, Sev,� Maximillian chided him. �Tell Dumbledore that you have to stay in the Dark Lord�s graces, and keeping his daughter happy keeps him happy. He�ll fall for that.�

�Perhaps,� Severus said. �Perhaps, in a little while, we should find Professor Tyler�s quarters and invite her to share some brandy with us.�

***** *****

When Astrid entered her quarters sometime later, Lilith was waiting for her, sitting near the fireplace with Sarah in her lap. The doors to Heather and Kevin�s rooms were open, and Astrid could see that they were sound asleep in their beds.

�Do you want to talk about it?� Lilith asked. Astrid paused for a moment, and then nodded wearily.

�Do you remember when Dad, Simon Tyler, told us that he knew when he kissed mom, that she was the one for him?� Astrid asked. �I know what he meant, even though his feelings, and mom�s, were due to outside influences.�

�You did fall in love with him,� Lilith said. It was a pronouncement, not a condemnation.

Astrid nodded wearily, and sat down in another chair at the fireplace.

�I�ve lost before I started,� Astrid said miserably. �The perfect man for me is in love with a ghost. He�s consoling himself with another man who is also in love with that same ghost. I could see it in his eyes when I broke the memory charm. It wasn�t just for Severus that he was devastated. Dumbledore made him betray the woman he loved.�

�What are you going to do?� Lilith asked. �Giving up isn�t like you.�

�I�m not exactly giving up,� Astrid said. �I�m acknowledging that it�s hopeless. I�m still going to send him gifts. I have to do something, even if I never have anything else. Father could order him, of course, as his liege lord, but I don�t want a coerced husband.�

�Professor Malfoie seemed interested,� Lilith pointed out.

�I�m only slightly interested in him,� Astrid said. �I think that�s mostly because of Severus. Besides, we both have reason to be wary of handsome men.�

�He is that,� Lilith said. �What did you learn from Dumbledore?�

�Before our little meeting with Severus,� Astrid began. �I learned that Dumbledore knows who we are, in all ways, and that he�s given Potter permission to pursue you with a view towards matrimony.�

�I wouldn�t touch his body if it were boiled,� Lilith spat. �What makes him think that he could possibly interest me?�

�A matrimonial potion would,� Astrid said. �Just be on your guard. They�re determined to make certain that Harry and Severus don�t find out the truth. It's too late for that. Dumbledore thinks I�m going to become the next menace to wizarding society. Without you, he might be right, except that Father and I stabilize each other. He would have to separate you and me, and then eliminate Father, before I would do that.

�He also intends for Severus to be my consort,� Astrid continued. �So he�ll help in that regard. I just hope he doesn�t try to help with a potion. He made Mom and Dad fall in love with a potion. Mom used to be one of Father�s supporters, and Dumbledore deliberately threw her at Dad, knowing he was an American, to get her away from Father.�

�You said that the conspiracy went back two generations,� Lilith said. �What, exactly, did you find out?�

Astrid was about to answer when there was a knock on the door.

Astrid waved her hand, and the door swung open to reveal Severus and Maximillian. Severus had a bottle of Napoleon brandy in his hands, and Maximillian had glasses in his.

�May we come in?� Severus asked. His eyes were the only sign of the revelations he had endured during the last few hours.

�Of course, Severus,� Astrid said, falsely cheerful. �Make yourselves comfortable. Please close the door behind you.�

The two wizards entered the room while Astrid conjured two comfortable chairs for them. When Severus closed the door, he drew his wand and added complex locking and silencing charms.

�This must be serious,� Astrid said. �I was about to regale Lilith with Dumbledore�s sins. Would you two care to listen, as well?�

�Not only would we care to listen, dear lady,� Maximillian said. �We have something that we need to speak with you about.�

On Lilith�s lap, Sarah stirred and opened her eyes.

�Dada?� she inquired sleepily while she unerringly sought out Severus in the room.

Maximillian smiled and put down the glasses in his hands before relieving Severus of the bottle of brandy.

�Give up, Sev,� he said cheekily. �That little one had you pegged the moment she laid eyes on you.�

�She does not demand to be with me during class, fortunately,� Severus said, picking Sarah up out of Lilith�s lap before sitting in one of the conjured chairs. �It would be most difficult to maintain my image with an infant clinging to my robes.�

�Children want stability,� Lilith observed. �Sarah has a new mother, two of them in fact. She seems to have chosen her new father.�

�Yes, we were discussing that,� Severus admitted as he watched Sarah settle herself. She eased into the crease of his legs and her eyelids started drooping again. While Maximillian opened the brandy and poured four, she dropped off to sleep again, content that all was well in the world.

�Perhaps we should discuss your business first,� Astrid said, picking up one of the glasses. �It will probably take less time than mine.�

�Our business is perhaps simpler than the machinations of an elderly wizard with delusions of deity,� Severus said.

�I�ll say what Sev is trying not to,� Maximillian interjected, after a sip of his own brandy. �When we were in school, there were four of us who were closer than the Marauders. We made a pact to collectively to marry one another and to marry the two women we fell in love with. At the time, we thought those women were Elizabeth and Lily Evans.�

�You thought?� Astrid asked, hope rising inside her.

�Yes,� Severus said. �You see, during my fourth year here, I had a rather vivid dream about a woman. The dream gave me no rest until I painted a portrait of the woman as she appeared in my dream. At the time, I had no idea of who it could possibly be.�

�My brother, Lucius, had a similar experience,� Maximillian said. �Unlike Severus, he thought he knew who it was. He believed the woman in his dream was Elizabeth Evans. He just thought he didn�t get the colors quite right. You see, Elizabeth wore nothing but blue, but the woman in the portrait is in purple. The portrait also has more red in the hair, and the eyes are far greener than Elizabeth�s eyes.�

He waited for his words to sink in. Lilith was the exact image of her mother, except that the green of her eyes was far more vivid, and her hair had redder highlights. Lilith almost always wore purple.

�Lucius Malfoy had a prophetic dream?� Astrid scoffed. �That man doesn�t have a prophetic bone in his body.�

�I assure you, the dream is genuine,� Maximillian said. �He showed me the dream in a pensieve. I can assure you now that the woman in the dream was not Elizabeth, although I also believed it was at the time. The woman in that dream hadn�t been born yet.�

�In our seventh year,� Severus said. �A Ravenclaw became upset with Lily and cursed her hairbrush. Her hair turned silver for over a month, until she could break the curse. When I saw Lily with silver hair, I believed I had found the Silver Goddess that haunted my dreams. I believed that, even thinking that she rejected me for Potter, until a week ago, when you walked into Dumbledore�s office.�

�You�re so eloquent, Sev,� Maximillian teased. �What we are trying to say is that we now are convinced that the women involved were the two of you.�

�I wouldn�t let Lucius Malfoy look at my sister,� Astrid said. �He�s not fit to come anywhere near her or even talk to her.�

�Yes,� Maximillian said, his head bowed. �Lucius has changed, and not for the better. It started a bit when he married Narcissa on the rebound from Elizabeth. Then, it got worse two years ago.�

�Right around the time that Father came back?� Astrid asked. Maximillian looked thoughtful for a bit, and then he nodded.

�The summer before that, yes,� he said. �I never put it in that perspective before. That summer was when I was suddenly no longer welcome at Malfoy Manor, and Draco couldn�t come see me in Brittany. Draco changed that summer, too. He got quieter for a while, and then he was wilder, like he had something to prove.�

�Or had nothing to lose,� Severus interjected. �That was the summer before the Tri-Wizard tournament, and if Lucius had anything to do with Barty Crouch, it would explain a great deal.�

�Father mentioned Crouch,� Astrid said. �He admitted that if he�d known how much Crouch had deteriorated, he never would have started the plan. Once it was in progress, he didn�t dare stop.�

�I wasn�t going to suggest Lucius,� Maximillian said. �There was our fourth member. He�s at St. Mungos right now, in a poison-induced coma.�

�Alfred Rumstead?� Astrid asked. �Your fourth was a Gryffindor?�

�Yes,� Severus said. �Many people were surprised, who did not know him. Alfred was madly in love with Lucius. He would have followed him anywhere, and nearly did.�

�What do you mean?� Astrid asked.

�When we went to pledge ourselves,� Maximillian said. �Alfred wanted to go with us. His cousin, Terrence talked him out of it. Alfred wanted to be an Auror, and �Death Eaters,� as the press dubbed us, already had a bad enough reputation that being Marked would have permanently destroyed Alfred�s chances. He settled for being a supporter.�

�What Maximillian is now not saying very well,� Severus said. �Is that we were wondering if the two of you would consider being courted by the three of us.�

�Severus will find the antidote for Alfred�s poison cocktail someday,� Maximillian said. �It�s just a matter of identifying the venoms used and putting together an appropriate potion. I know Alfred will agree. He�s stayed unmarried all these years, hoping that the right woman will come along.�

�We might consider that,� Astrid said. �We need to play it cool, though. Dumbledore has other plans for Lilith.� Both men looked at her quizzically, and Astrid relayed the conversation that she had heard in Dumbledore�s office.

�I had an even more disturbing conversation with him,� she said. �I went up, supposedly to talk to Dumbledore about Harry�s extra training. The old codger was understandably upset about Harry�s attitude, and I promised to try to talk some sense into him. I patted his hand sympathetically, and that�s when I got information. He set Harry up, last year. He wanted him to get worse, so that he would have visions, so that he would go to the Ministry. It turns out that one of the Order was there and cast a vertigo spell on Sirius Black at the same time that Bella cast the stunning spell. Sirius lost his footing, and fell through the Veil. The old man is very much aware that Bella is still alive, which means that Sirius is not dead.�

�He did attempt to do his duty as a godfather,� Severus said. �I remember Black as a child, and he was as elitist as Lucius. I always wondered why he changed.�

�Potter,� Maximillian said disgustedly. �He idolized that bastard.�

�Maybe not on his own,� Astrid said. �The other information I received has to do with Ronald Weasley. Apparently, Dumbledore placed a geas on him, to become Harry�s friend. It keeps wearing off because Weasley is prone to jealousy. Now, Dumbledore has recruited Weasley to keep Harry on the path to fulfilling the prophecy. The prophecy, by the way, is partly true and partly bogus. Now that the only copy that exists is in Dumbledore�s memory, we�ll never prove it.�

�What does Weasley get out of this?� Severus asked. �He is not the type to do something for nothing.�

�He gets to be one of the heroes of the war,� Astrid said. �Dumbledore�s also promised him Hermione Granger.�

�Absolutely not,� Maximillian said. �Draco has his eye on her, and on the youngest Weasley.�

�That�s another thing,� Astrid said. �Dumbledore knows that Harry is attracted to both boys and girls, and doesn�t really care, but he does object to the object of Harry�s affections.�

�It better be Draco,� Maximillian growled. Astrid smiled and nodded.

�It is, indeed,� she said. �Dumbledore knows Harry is madly in love with him, Ginerva Weasley, and Hermione Granger. He�s also aware that Harry had some kind of tryst with a visiting Quidditch player in his fourth year, and doesn�t approve of that, either. He didn�t find out until the next morning. He�s going to try to push Harry towards a Hufflepuff in his year, and then get the boy killed off over next summer.�

�That�s just evil,� Lilith said. �He�s trying to create reasons for Harry to hate Father.�

�Precisely,� Astrid said.

�Let me get something straight,� Lilith said. �You think it�s possible that Sirius Black was under a geas to follow Potter?�

�Possibly,� Astrid replied. �Dumbledore has already demonstrated that he will manipulate others for his own purposes.�

�Let�s have the rest of the story,� Maximillian said. �And if we�re going to get better acquainted, then perhaps you should call me Max.�

�Okay, Max,� Astrid said. She drained her glass of brandy and set it down.

�Dumbledore is most famous for defeating Grindlewald,� Astrid said. �Everyone knows that. What everyone doesn�t know is that there was one last victim of Grindlewald after the last battle started. Dumbledore went there with a sixteen-year-old girl who had no idea that her mother had been one of Grindlewald�s concubines. Dumbledore had convinced her that it was her destiny to remove the threat to the wizarding world. She was badly trained and Grindlewald killed her, of course.�

�If she was his daughter,� Max said. �Then the Kinship Curse would become active.�

�Exactly,� Astrid said. �Grindlewald fell down dead before he even knew what happened, and there was no one to tell the tale, except Dumbledore.�

�What else?� Severus asked. �I sense that is not all there is to the tale.�

�It�s not,� Astrid said. �When Father was in school here, Dumbledore got him permission to stay over the summer. Dumbledore got him extra access to the library: first the restricted section, and then the Professor�s library. The Professor�s library has most of the advanced books on dark magic, and blood magic.

�He found out about his heritage from one of the books on magical bloodlines, which are kept in the Professor�s library,� Astrid continued. �They magically update, just like Family Tapestries. Once he knew who he was, he started looking at other books. I don�t know how he figured out where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is, but he told me where to find it. He also told me that the basilisk in it was female, and there may be eggs.�

�Basilisk eggs?� Max asked. �Another basilisk?�

�I�m a Parselmouth,� Astrid said. �I taught Lilith, and Harry is also a Parselmouth. I think we could control them, at least long enough to kill them if it were necessary.�

�Anything else?� Severus asked. Sarah stirred in his lap and he patted her to quiet her.

�Father�s dislike of Muggles is Dumbledore�s fault,� Astrid said. �Dumbledore knew about his parents. He went to Tom Riddle Senior, told him his wife was a witch, and then cast a fear spell on him, so that he would fear his own wife and child. He threw them out, and she was left with no one. Dumbledore made certain that she found her way to a Muggle orphanage when she was ready to deliver, and then made sure that she only lived long enough to name her son. He knew how Father would be treated, that any �strangeness� would be punished in the harshest manner possible.�

�So that he would hate Muggles,� Max said. �When he became an adult, he would want to do something to change things, and the most effective method of change is revolution.�

�Since the Headmaster has friends at the Daily Prophet,� Severus said, lifting the still-fretting baby out of his lap and bouncing her lightly to quiet her. �He could convince them to put any slant he wanted on a story about the young revolutionary and his followers.�

�He told me that he used the name Voldemort as a dark joke,� Astrid said. �When he was in school, he and the other Slytherins joked that the other houses avoided him like he was Death. So he used the name Voldemort to indicate that the other students were flying from Death.�

�Dumbledore must have known about the name,� Lilith said. �He could have had his friends at the Daily Prophet say that it was what he was calling himself. The name just stuck.�

�I was a bit leery of asking where the term �Death Eaters� came from,� Astrid said. �I mean, there are just some things that a child doesn�t want to know about their parents.�

�Absolutely,� Lilith said. �If his first followers were his lovers, I don�t need to know that.�

�His first followers worked on longevity potions and spells,� Max said. �They called themselves �Death Eaters� partly because of the name �Voldemort,� and partly because they were trying to extend magical life even more.�

�That I can live with,� Astrid said. �That is all of the concrete information I have, gentlemen. If you would like, we can find a way to continue this conversation later. For now, Lilith has WART level classes in the morning, and I know that Minerva has some very trying lessons ready for her. I have sixth year DADA right after breakfast, and I want to be well rested for everything the little darlings can throw at me. I happen to know, Severus, that you have seventh year potions first thing in the morning, and sixth years right after lunch. We all need our rest.�

�As you wish,� Severus said, rising from his chair with Sarah in his arms.

Astrid looked at him strangely for a moment, and then she smiled at him.

�Why did you say that?� she asked him. �It can�t possibly mean the same thing to you as it does to me.�

�Why do you say that?� Severus asked. �I was inspired by a piece of Muggle fiction that I read several years ago.�

�You don�t look much like a farm boy,� Astrid said cryptically. �You do have the air of a pirate about you, though, and you are definitely a man in black.�

Lilith looked at Max, smiling, to see that he had the same pleased smile on his face.

�He read The Princess Bride?� Lilith asked. Max smiled more and nodded.

�Read the book several times,� he told her. �When it became a movie, he dragged me to London several times to see it.�

�It�s Astrid�s favorite,� Lilith said. �She said she wanted her own farm boy.�

�Severus always wanted a Buttercup,� Max said, turning his eyes back to the other couple, who had eyes for no one but each other at the moment.

�You don�t look much like a Buttercup,� Severus told Astrid. �I have heard you referred to as the Silver Princess, by some of your father�s more disgruntled followers. They were upset that you did not find any of them worthy of your attentions. Max and I more thought of you as a goddess.�

�How could any of them measure up to you?� Astrid asked. �The moment I saw you, I told my sister that you were a Gothic god.�

�No,� Severus said. �I am no god-figure. In truth, I am wholly unworthy of a goddess such as yourself.�

�How can you be unworthy,� Astrid argued. �You are the one man I have wanted, of all the men I�ve ever met. Lilith can tell you about all the Quidditch players, and sons of rich families, and sometimes their fathers, that would have given me anything I asked for, if I had married them. I wanted what I saw between the people that raised me. Dumbledore made them fall in love; he didn�t make them stay in love. Dad loved Mom beyond all reason. I wanted that. I found it when I got here. If, as you say, I have been your goddess, then who better for me than a god.�

�Me?� Severus asked. His hands tightened on Sarah and she woke with a start. She looked trustingly up at Severus and yawned, and then started making distressed sounds. The house elf that had been taking care of the children appeared abruptly at Severus� side and held out her hands for the baby.

�Baby needs changing,� she said. �Daisy will bring baby right back.�

�That�s all right, Daisy,� Astrid said. �When Sarah�s changed, see if you can get her to go to sleep in her bed.�

�Yes Mistress,� Daisy said. She walked into the other room, carrying Sarah.

�Yes, Severus, you,� Astrid said, turning back to him. �I knew I admired you. I knew that I wanted to work with you, and to get to know you. When I met you, I realized that I wanted more than to work with you. I realized that I wanted to live with you, to grow old with you, and to have children with you. I started having visions of black-haired, green-eyed children sitting at the tables at Hogwarts, and telling the Headmaster that those were our children.

�I almost gave up tonight,� she continued. �I could see in your eyes that you loved Lily. I didn�t think that there could ever be a place for me.�

�There has always been a place for you,� Severus said, stepping closer to her. He reached out and drew her up against him.

�That�s good,� she said. �I�m still going to court you, though. I have everything mapped out.�

�Do you, now?� he asked, his face inching closer and closer to hers. �How do you know I will approve of this courtship?�

�You could hardly fail to,� Astrid said, rising up a bit on her feet so that her nose touched Severus.�

�What are you sending?� he asked, his breath catching as he realized how close he was to her. She smelled of cinnamon and sandalwood, a combination that aroused him dreadfully.

�You�ll find out tomorrow morning,� Astrid said, her green eyes boring into his dark ones. �If you would like some assistance in the laboratory, I would be delighted to assist you in any way you wish. I am not as experienced as you are, but I have some skills you might find useful.�

�I am sure that you do possess some remarkable abilities,� Severus said. �There are, I am sure, areas where you need more instruction.�

�Absolutely,� Astrid said, bending her neck so that their lips drew even closer together. �There are even some areas where I have absolutely no experience, whatsoever.�

�None?� Severus asked, astounded. �Surely there were opportunities for any kind of instruction you desired.�

�There were opportunities,� Astrid admitted. �I just never received an offer from an instructor that I felt would give the subject the proper attention.�

�Since you seem to have chosen me,� Severus said. �No matter how unworthy I feel, I will endeavor to give any subject you decide to learn from me the proper attention.�

�Good,� Astrid said, and leaned forward to press her lips to his.

A brilliant flash of green light surprised everyone in the room.

Astrid and Severus jumped back from one another, startled. Both of them put their fingers to their lips, where Max and Lilith could see a residual green glow.

�Well, well,� Max said. �Is this a new kind of Slytherin magic?�

�Maybe,� Astrid said. �My lips tingle, and so does my left hip.� She put her hand on her hip, and realized that there was a pocket in the precise position of the tingle. The pocket held something very precious to her.

Shaking, Astrid reached into her pocket and pulled out a small green velvet box. She had purchased the betrothal ring in America, from an elderly wizard that swore that the ring was a true betrothal ring, and would only perfectly fit the man she was destined for. She gripped the box a bit more tightly, and opened it.

Where there had once been only one ring, now there were five.

�Five rings?� Astrid said incredulously. �Lilith, do you remember anything weird about betrothal rings?�

�Enchantments class,� Lilith said, looking thoughtful. �Third week of class. True betrothal rings may become more than one if the owner is destined for more than one mate.�

�Destiny?� Astrid asked, looking at her twin with wide eyes.� Mom and Dad Apparated to Los Angeles, and my destiny was in England?�

�Our destiny,� Lilith corrected. �Wither thou goest, and all that.�

�That�s true,� Astrid said. �Well, Severus, are you ready for this kind of situation?�

�I believe that Maximillian and I indicated that we were both ready,� Severus replied, sliding his arms around her.

�Good,� she said, returning the embrace. �I�d hate to think you wanted to break up a set, again.�

�Never,� he responded.

�Before you two get involved,� Max said, rising from his seat. �You were the one to point out that we should get to bed, Professor Tyler. I am going to remind you of that, even though I would like nothing better than to see you and Severus continue this t�te-�-t�te to its logical conclusion.�

�Spoilsport,� Astrid said, frowning. She mock-growled at him and then did the only other logical thing she could. She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.

�Reluctantly,� Severus said, removing his arms from around her. �I must agree with your earlier statement and with Max. You and I have classes to teach, and Miss Evans has classes to attend.�

�All right,� Astrid agreed reluctantly. �I�ll put this off for a while. Perhaps we can continue this weekend.�

�Perhaps,� Severus agreed. �Depending on what happens during the week.�

TBC
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Practice to Deceive