When the Stars Fall

Twenty-Two: Truth and Rumor

The whole of Gryffindor Tower was in an uproar the new morning. Everyone wanted to know what was going on, and several of the best (and worse) of the Gryffindor gossips were already starting in on their versions of what was happening. Harry and Ron were simply worried about their friend and were rolling their eyes about the speculations until one hit dangerously close to their suspicions. Lavender and Parvati were discussing the possibility of Hermione being with child.

"That had to be why he married her! I mean, it's odd that he would want to preserve her honor considering how he treated her, but he has good upbringing, and he's taken responsibility. It's almost romantic," Lavender said with a sigh.

Parvati shook her head, her long black braid swishing across her back. "Breeding and upbringing still doesn't make up for how he's treated her or any of us. I think either he's bewitched her for some grand scheme in the end or she's got him under some kind of spell. That's the only explanation!"

Finally the gossip had gotten to Ron as he overheard what they were saying. Harry was shaking his head and trying to keep Ron from making a scene, but those last comments were the final straw on the camel's back, and it was Harry, not Ron, that exploded.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with all of you? Haven't you got eyes? They love each other. Let go of the small-minded memories you have of the git as a boy and see the man he's become. He's not all that bad, and they are happy. Besides what is between them is just that, bloody between them. So leave off!" he snapped to everyone present in the room.

As the last word erupted from his mouth the whole tower fell to silence, everyone staring wide-eyed and gawking at Harry Potter, many unsure of what to say beyond that. Finally the silence was broken as the door next to the seventh year boy's dormitory was open. Everyone turned with bated breath toward the stairwell as they heard the door close, and none of them were disappointed as a few moments later Hermione and Draco descended the stairs, Draco's arm around her waist, an almost morose mood surrounding them.

Harry looked from one to the other, wondering what had happened to put a damper on things, but thought it best not to ask in front of a whole room of people. He shot a warning look to Ron who seemed to understand 'discretion' for once. They both walked over to the couple, and the four of them headed toward the portrait hole and then to Great Hall for breakfast. The unspoken question hanging between them, "Why had Snape so desperately needed to see the young couple?"

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Remus sighed and brought the tumbler with the amber liquid to his lips. He sucked in a deep breath and then knocked back the drink. He felt it burn all the way down and smiled at the muggle drink, Brandy. Narcissa had once mentioned it to him, saying it was a sophisticated drink even if distributed by muggles. He'd smiled at the comment. Now he simply closed his eyes hoping to drown the memories of one of his closest friends.

He'd always been close to James and Sirius, but Narcissa had been different, she'd known all of his secrets, because he'd told her. She'd known his deepest secret, deeper than him being a werewolf, and she'd understood why he was so quiet, withdrawn, and mellow.

He nearly jumped when he felt a snout snuffling into his left hand, the hand that dangled freely from the armrest. "Oh, Mr. Padfoot, Mr. Moony would like to inquire as to what happened to us all along the way. When did it all turn so badly?" he asked the large black dog that was present in his rooms.

The dog simply nuzzled the man's hand as guilt washed over the pair of them. They had been connected to her, an oath of friendship they'd all taken. They'd felt that bond break when Peter Pettigrew had betrayed them, they felt it again when James and Lily Potter had died, but oddly enough not when Sirius entered Azkaban, and last night the last of the Marauders, Misters Moony and Padfoot had felt it for Narcissa, and the guilt, the feeling of loss was almost too much to bear, as it had been with the loss of the Potters...

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The whole of the Gryffindor Tower looked up as the usually quiet Remus Lupin burst into the common room, his face flushed with anger as he stormed up the stairs and to the dormitory he shared with James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Frank Longbottom. A few moments later Sirius Black breezed through the room and jogged up the stairs after his friend, and then he entered their dormitory.

Once the door shut behind him, all hell broke loose.

"How could you Sirius? I could have killed him or worse! What if I'd bitten him and he'd become like me?! Isn't it bad enough with how you and James torment him? I never wanted any part of that! And now he thinks that I am monster!" Remus roared.

"And now you know the truth! To him you will always be a monster! He could never see you as the person that you are. I did it to protect you! I care about you Moony! And I never would have thought..." Sirius trailed, conviction and accusation in his voice.

The werewolf's usually kind light brown eyes blazed gold in his rage as he grabbed one of his best friends by the throat. "I don't care about your thoughts! Your little stunt nearly killed someone! It almost made me a killer! Protect me! PROTECT ME! You would protect me by condemning me to kill someone I love?!"

"What?" Sirius managed to wheeze.

"Yes, Sirius, I'm in love with the soddin' git, but it doesn't matter. You ruined that for me, and besides he's already taken," the werewolf spat.

"By whom?" Sirius asked and managed to choke out a laugh as Remus, finally realizing what he was doing, let go of Sirius' throat. "Someone would actually date Snivellus?"

"Yes," came the answer from the direction of the door and the pair looked to the door and noticed that they had an audience.

Sirius looked at Remus. "I thought you locked and warded the room!"

"I was a bit sidetracked with my anger at you!" Remus bit out as Narcissa Black, Lily Evans, and James Potter entered the room.

They all looked between Sirius and Remus. Finally James spoke, his hazel eyes flashing, "What in the bloody hell is going on? I know this is about the other night with Snape, so someone care to explain it to me?"

"Well, Prongs, it goes something like this. Our Mr. Moony here is in love with said git," Sirius replied.

"And so am I," Narcissa spoke up, her voice icy cold. "Sirius, what you did was unforgivable."

"How could anyone love that smarmy git? And how long have you fancied boys, Remus? Fancy any of us much while adoring your fragile little Slytherin?" Sirius snapped, as he tried to ignore what his cousin had just said.

Narcissa's eyes faded from bright blue to stone grey as she stepped between Sirius and Remus. "Enough," she bit out, her voice held a chilling edge. "Who Remus fancies is entirely his own business, now stop this foolishness. As for you Sirius, this will be the last kind thing I ever say to you. I loved you once as a brother. What happened to you?"

She then turned, her long platinum hair swishing across her back as she left the room. Then it was Lily that cut in next.

"I don't know what it is between you boys and Severus. He really isn't so bad. Whatever it is should end here and now! He was very nearly killed the other night! And as far as this bickering goes, GROW UP! You're best mates. Accept your differences and move on," the redhead said, and then she too left the seventh year Gryffindor Boys' dormitory with a thorough slam of the door.

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"It was that night, Padfoot," Remus whispered as he tried to reign in on his emotions. "It was the night I nearly killed him. If James hadn't pulled him back. Oh, Gods, I think in a way she blamed me for the change in him. He turned to the darkness after that..."

The dog leapt to the plush red chair across from the grieving man, and his form shifted until a healthy looking man with blazing blue eyes and long black hair with a five o'clock shadow sat in the chair. Four years from Azkaban had done him well. The man looked at his friend and felt an old wave of guilt resurface and engulf him.

"That was never your fault Moony. I was the one that told him about the Whomping Willow. I was the one that told him to go looking for you. You remember the day we had that fight, and she said, 'I loved you once as a brother.' That haunts me to this day. She never spoke to me again after that."

"Well, I certainly can't say that you aren't to blame to a point," the former werewolf conceded.

The animagus chuckled. "Still, there were two things I never could quite understand."

At this Remus' eyebrow rose in curiosity. "Yes?" he asked.

"Why men? And why Snivellus?" the last was spoken with a shudder.

At this Remus let a small smile pass over his lips. "Well, I'd always had a predilection towards men, but I didn't know how to express that to my parents, and eventually I suppose I just suppressed it so well that no one really suspected. As for my fancying Severus. I've always been drawn to dark haired men that were somewhat bookish. I remember when we were paired up together in Potions. That was interesting, but I found myself growing fond of him. He never suspected I fancied him. Oddly enough it was Narcissa that confronted me about it. She noticed it immediately. We talked and I understood. I saw them together twice. Once by the lake and once in the Forbidden Section of the library. They were so happy together. So in love. By then I'd resigned myself to the fate of a solitary werewolf. At the time I thought it best to just live a bachelor's life, it would be safer that way, no worrying about whether I'd passed on my curse to a lover or not."

"So what makes you hesitate now?" Sirius asked.

"Well..." Remus began and then looked at his friend. "What makes you hesitate? You used to have girls falling all about you. Well, I suppose Azkaban could put a damper on that... I'm sorry, Sirius..."

"Now, now, no guilt trips," Sirius said, a slight wince at the mention of Azkaban. "Now, if you are still so bent on Snivellus what keeps you from pursuing it? You're cured now. You're human."

"And I'm a man," Remus answered with a sigh. "He was in love with Narcissa... How could I even hope that he is capable of love after her, or love for a man for that matter?"

"I knew there was a second reason you were dubbed Moony, you hopeless soddin' romantic," Sirius grumbled with a shake of his head.

Remus suddenly turned to the clock over the fireplace and sucked in a deep gulp of air. "Would you look at the time? I should be at breakfast. Transform Sirius, I wouldn't want you being found here."

"Hey, I was pardoned," his friend replied.

Remus rolled his eyes, "Yes, but would you really want anyone speculating on a potential relationship between the two of us. I can see it in the paper. They would dub it 'Puppy Love', and I'm not in the mood to read such trash about myself. And from what I recall you are fully heterosexual, are you not?"

"Of, course Moony," Sirius spoke tiredly, and it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Can't even poke fun at my friend's choice of lifestyle."

"There will be no poking of me of any kind from your direction, thank you very much," Remus replied curtly with a slight grin.

Sirius made a face, said, "Happy to oblige with that request," and promptly transformed back into a large black dog.

With that, Remus turned his wand on himself and muttered a detoxification charm. He immediately felt a clarity of mind. He braced himself for breakfast, wondering if he was to catch a glimpse of Severus at the staff table for the morning's meal.

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"Isn't anyone going to tell us what is going on?" Ron finally burst out once they were all in the corridor and headed toward the Great Hall for breakfast.

Harry shot Ron a look and Draco just tightened his grip on Hermione's waist and clenched his jaw. Hermione closed her eyes, retrieved her wand from her sleeve and muttered a sound proofing charm around the four of them, so that only they could hear what was said between them.

They slowed down their walking and then Draco turned to look at Harry and Ron. Both boys' eyes widened as they got a good look at his eyes, and noticed that the color had changed. There was a night sky reflecting in the blond's eyes.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron asked, and this time, he received no looks of warning or reprimand.

Draco swallowed thickly and then said, "First the bad news. My mother died last night. I have good authority on that, obviously. I've also discovered who my real father is. It's Severus Snape's blood running through my veins."

"Blimey!" Ron said.

Harry just stared at Draco for a moment and then patted him on the back. "So the newest honorary Weasley comes to us a Snape in the guise of a Malfoy."

Draco gave Harry a strange look before a small grin tugged at his lips. "You could say that I suppose. At least I know I won't become Lucius. That much is a relief. But it feels so strange to acknowledge my mother's death without official documentation of the event. Not only that, but I want Lucius to pay. I want him to suffer as he made her suffer all of those years."

"And he will," Hermione whispered.

"Hate to cut into the happy moment in the gloom, but is there any good news?" Ron asked.

All three glared at him and rolled their eyes at his customary showing of impatience. It was Hermione that smiled, she seemed to glow, and spoke up, "Yes, there is. Draco and I... We're going to be parents."

"So I was right!" Ron said and nudged his elbow into Harry's side.

Harry let out a grunt and rubbed his side as he asked, "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

Here Draco grinned. "Both," he answered proudly, and Harry and Ron gaped at him, before Ron sputtered out, "HOW?!"

"Twins, you dolt," Hermione snapped.

"Oh, well, that makes sense," Ron said with a nod, then his eyes widened and he shuddered. "Mione, you're helping to carry on the Snape name. Oy, that's just not right."

"If you feel that way then I suppose I couldn't ask you to be godfather," she said.

At this both Harry and Ron turned to the couple, their mouths falling open.

"Well, Potty, Weasel, Hermione and I were discussing things this morning, and after much debate and some arguing we've decided to ask if both of you would be willing to share the title of godfather to our children?" Draco asked.

Both of them nodded wordlessly, as the four of them walked into the Great Hall. Hermione lifted her wand and with a swish and flick muttered, "Finite Incantatum."

The sound barrier that had surrounded them moments before disintegrated and their ears popped. They then took their place at the Gryffindor table, but not before looking toward the staff table. Severus Snape was sitting at the table, a steaming cup of coffee set before him, and what was stranger was that Remus Lupin was sitting next to him and glancing up at him every so often, concern etched over his kind and bookishly handsome face.

The four Gryffindors were just beginning to pile their plates high with breakfast when several shadows loomed over them. There were Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and Millicent Bulstrode being led by the new Slytherin Prince, Blaise Zabini.

"So," Blaise began. "Are the rumors true? The great Malfoy got his precious pet mudblood knocked up and then went and saved her honor by this marriage?"

"My affairs are not, nor have they ever been any of your concern Zabini, now I suggest that you return to your table and leave me and mine alone," Draco snapped and began to stand, Hermione tugging on the sleeve of his robes.

"Defensive are we?" Blaise said with smirk.

"Draco, please, just sit, you're only causing an ever bigger scene. That is just what he wants, attention," Hermione pleaded.

Draco looked down at his wife and sighed. "I will not have this joke of a boy talk about our marriage or our pending family in such a way. Our children will not grow up to hear such lies! You deserve better, and so do they!"

"Oh!" Lavender squealed. "Then it is true! Hermione! You're expecting?"

Blaise simply smirked as he began to walk off, the other four Slytherins following suit.

There was still the question of Draco's eyes. Theories, like wildfire, spread throughout the castle, everyone was speculating on why they had changed color, what could have possibly been the cause. It was odd how Harry Potter's inner sanctum, whether directly or indirectly involved, was always the subject of rumor and speculation with but a grain of truth within them...