Rating:: PG-13
House:: Astronomy Tower
Characters:: Harry Potter Sirius Black
Era:: Multiple Eras
Spoilers:: Prizoner of Azkaban
Stats:: Published: 05/08/2003

Updated: 05/08/2003

Words: 3,193

Chapters: 1

Hits: 513

Better Late Than Never

Sirius_girl

Story Summary:: There's a new DADA teacher at Hogwarts. But what's the connection between them, Snape, and Sirius? Does Snape have a heart?

Chapter Summary:: There's a new DADA teacher at Hogwarts. But what's the connection between them, Snape, and Sirius? Does Snape have a heart

Posted:: 05/08/2003

Hits:: 513

Author's Note:: The character Ariadne Drue is a personal character of mine. Even though not copyrighted (yet!). Please don't use her without asking me first.

Harry sat with Ron looking at their sixth year class schedules.

"Bloody hell," Ron said. "Another new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? I hope this one sticks around a while. This is getting ridiculous."

Harry smiled at Ron. "I know. Professor Drue? I wonder where they got this one from?"

Just then Hermione walked up, with her usual stack of books. "I've heard that she's American."

"American!" Ron screeched. "Things just went from bad to worse. They practically talk a different language don't they?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and started laughing.

"It's not quite as bad as all that Ron," Hermione said. "My mum and dad have a few friends that are yanks and we understand them just fine."

Ron looked at both of them skeptically. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it then." He looked at his watch. "Come on, then. If we don't hurry we'll be late for Professor McGonagall's class. We can't afford to lose points on the first day."

The others nodded and they got up to go to class.

"Have you two also heard that Professor Drue's a woman?" she said.

Ron stopped in his tracks. "A woman? To teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Hermione put her hands on her hips and gave Ron a stony look. "Is there something wrong with taking the class from a woman?"

Ron turned red and started stuttering an explanation while Harry fought to hide his smile. "N-No. I-I mean. It's just unusual is all."

"Humph," she replied and walked past them into Professor McGonagall's class.

After class, the trio started towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. As would be their luck, they ran into Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Well, St. Potter. Are you going to run off this teacher, too? Maybe if they stick around for a while you could learn something. You're going to need it now that Voldemort's back, aren't you?"

Laughing, he walked into the classroom with his cronies following close behind him.

Harry just shook his head. "One of these days, it's going to come down to me and Malfoy. Trust me, I can't wait." He gave a small smile.

Ron grinned in response. "I want a ticket to that one."

Hermione nodded as they walked into the classroom.

They took their usual seats near the front of the room and waited. Shortly afterwards, their teacher came in.

She was of medium height with long dark brown hair. She had a smooth clear coffee colored complexion with hazel eyes.

"Good morning, class," she said in a deep smooth voice.

"Good morning Professor Drue." They replied.

"Before I start this morning's lessons, I'd like to get a few things clear."

She walked around to front of the desk and leaned back on it.

"For those of you who have a problem learning from a woman," she looked at Ron, "someone who's muggle born," she looked at Malfoy "or someone who's not of the 'Caucasian persuasion' as we Americans say, you can leave now and save yourself a lot of embarrassment." She walked back around her desk. "I don't tolerate ignorance lightly, and I don't tolerate it in my classes at all."

Harry snuck a quick look at Malfoy. He looked as though he was about to burst.

She looked around for a moment. "No one opting out? Good. Let's begin."

Later, Harry sat in the common room still smiling as he thought of how the rest class progressed. Harry could tell that Malfoy was dying to leave but had no choice but to stay. He could just see Lucius' face when he heard about the new teacher. It made him smile all the more.

Hermione walked in to see Harry smiling over his homework. "May I ask why you're sitting there grinning like a loon?"

Ron walked in at that moment. "I can tell you! She's bloody fabulous!"

Hermione sat back and crossed her arms. "Excuse me, but weren't you the very one and the same, who made a comment about having a woman Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Yeah, but that was before she ripped into Malfoy. You know it's almost like she could read our minds." He smiled. "Did you see his face?" All three laughed and decided to head down for dinner.

It was while they at dinner that Harry noticed that Snape kept watching Professor Drue.

"Ron, Hermione," Harry said, "Have you noticed? Snape keeps watching Professor Drue."

Both of them turned around to look.

"You're right," Hermione said with a frown. "Do you think he likes her?"

Ron looked disgusted. "Get serious. Snape doesn't like anybody. The man's the biggest grouch I've ever seen."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "I don't know. You do realize, don't you, that she hasn't looked at him once."

Both boys turned and looked Professor Drue. She seems to be in deep conversation with Professor McGonagall.

"That is strange," Harry said as he turned back around to look at Hermione. "I think this calls for some research."

Later that evening, they used Harry's invisibility cloak to sneak into the Library. "I wonder," Hermione said. She went to the shelves and pulled down a copy of an old yearbook.

"What do you have that for?' Ron asked.

"Just a hunch I have," she answered.

"What year is that?" Harry asked looking over her shoulder.

Hermione kept flipping pages. "Snape's and your parents last year at Hogwarts."

"Wow!" was all Harry could say as he looked at the faces of all the different students.

"Yes!" Hermione said stabbing her finger into the page. "It's just as I thought. They did know each other. They had to."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Here, look," she slid the book over so that both could see. "Ariadne Drue, Seventh Year exchange student from America. Gryffindor House." She looked up suddenly. "Harry, Professor Drue had to have known your parents."

Harry thought about it.

"As a matter of fact, look!" Ron pointed to the book.

They looked closely at the picture he was pointing at. It showed a group of Gryffindors at Hogsmeade.

"And there's Professor Drue sitting with-"

"Sirius?" Harry said leaning forward in amazement.

"Whaddaya know, Harry. The Professor's your godfather's old girlfriend!" Ron shook his head. "Wicked! I wonder if she's an Animagus, too."

"If she ran with that crowd, she probably was," Hermione said. She looked at her watch. "We'd better get going before someone notices that we're gone."

"Right,' Harry said. Ron nodded.

They had just started down the corridor under the cloak when they heard voices coming from around one of the corners.

"What made you come back here after all this time, Ariadne?"

"Dumbledore offered me the opportunity to teach. Why shouldn't I have taken it?"

"Even knowing that I was here, you still took it?"

They inched forward to get a better look. Snape was leaning against the wall talking to Professor Drue. She turned walked towards the window before she replied.

"I know that we parted on a terrible note, Severus, but there's much, much more at stake now. Every witch in the world is aware of what is going on here."

Snape looked down at his hands and asked quietly. "All I want to know, is why of all people, it had to be him," he gritted out.

She shrugged. "I don't know why. But if it will make you feel any better, I couldn't stay with him after what he did to you. That's why I left."

"And now you're back," he said moving towards her. He raised her face to his and kissed her.

"Don't do this Severus, not now, " she broke free and walked briskly down the hall away from him.

They saw Snape ball up his hands as though trying to contain his temper. Then he turned and walked away.

All three looked at each other in disbelief.

"So he does have a heart after all!" Ron whispered. He looked at Harry. "That's got to be part of the reason he hates Sirius so much, other than almost getting killed by Lupin, that is."

Harry nodded.

The next morning, Harry went to the owlery and sent Hedwig with a message to his godfather. Hermione walked in just as Hedwig flew away. "I knew you were going to do that."

"Do what?' Harry asked trying to look innocent.

She lowered her voice. "You sent a message to Sirius didn't you."

He smiled. "I couldn't help it. She's evidently still in love with him. And even before he got sent to Azkaban he wasn't with anyone. I think he may still be in love with her. You saw how they were looking at each other in the picture."

"You may be right, Harry. Come on then, we'll be late for class."

They hurried into the classroom just in the nick of time. Professor Drue raised an eyebrow at them. "I understand that you received a taste of Dueling during your second year?"

"If you can call it that," Ron said.

Professor Drue smiled while the class laughed. "Yes, I did hear it was rather interesting."

"Anyway," she continued, "This evening, for those who are interested, we intend to have dueling practice." Several of the students looked hesitant. "It will be worth extra points to all who participate." Suddenly all of the students started to look interested.

Draco, who usually was silent during the class, spoke out. "Will Professor Snape be assisting the same as last time?"

Professor Drue's eyes narrowed. "Yes, he will. But that doesn't mean that this will be a house war." She walked down the aisle. "Everyone open your books. Time for the lesson to begin."

That evening, Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched carefully. Whenever Professor Drue had her back turned, Snape was watching her out of the corner of his eye. They soon discovered they weren't the only ones who noticed. They overheard Malfoy talking to Crabbe and Goyle.

"I don't see what he could possibly have seen in her. She was a Gryffindor! And then hanging around with Potter's bunch didn't make it any better," Malfoy snarled.

"I've heard that she can read minds," Crabbe said.

"Impossible!" Malfoy said. "No one can do that. Even Voldemort."

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron and smiled.

"That would explain the first day of class," she said. They all started laughing.

Several miles away, Sirius unfolded the note Harry sent him.

Sirius,

I hope this note finds you well. Now that your name's been cleared, I was wondering if you could come to Hogwarts for a surprise I have for you. Please owl me back and let me know when you can make it.

Your Godson,

Harry

Sirius quirked an eyebrow. That was a rather cryptic message, even coming from Harry. He picked up a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write back.

Harry,

I should be able to come by tomorrow, around 6 o'clock. I have some things I need to discuss with Dumbledore while I'm there.

Seen you then,

Sirius

When Harry received the response, he ran to tell Hermione and Ron.

"This is perfect! I can't wait until they see each other!"

Hermione nodded. "Let's just hope this doesn't all blow up in our faces."

The next day all three had trouble concentrating on their classes. They couldn't wait to see the expression on Sirius' face. Shortly after their last class for the day, they saw Sirius coming across the courtyard towards them, smiling.

"Harry!" he called.

Harry ran forward and hugged him.

"Hi Ron, Hermione," Sirius said

"Hi, Sirius," they answered, smiling.

"Did Dumbledore tell you that we got a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Harry asked cautiously.

Sirius frowned. "No, why? Should he have?" His face changed.

Just then, Snape came walking across the courtyard towards them.

He stopped when he reached the group. Harry swore the Snape looked angrier than he did the time he and Ron took the Weasley's flying car.

They stood for a moment as if sizing each other up.

Sirius spoke first. "Severus," he nodded.

Snape nodded. "Sirius. What are you doing here?"

"I'm a free man now, Severus. I thought I'd pay a visit to Harry."

Snape snarled at Harry. "Humph," he answered and stalked off.

Harry sighed in relief and shook his head. "I thought you two agreed to get along?"

Sirius sighed. "Yes, we did. But it's just so much fun to rile him."

They all smiled.

"Come on.' Harry said pulling his arm. "You just have to meet the new teacher."

Hermione joined in taking his other arm. "Yes, they're an excellent teacher."

"Yeah," Ron added, "set Malfoy to rights the very first day of class. It was bloody brilliant."

Sirius just laughed as they pulled him towards the classroom. As they were about to enter the class, Professor Drue stepped out.

Sirius stopped in his tracks, all signs of laughter gone. "Ariadne?" he whispered.

Professor Drue looked up and dropped her books. "Sirius? Oh, my god? What are you doing here?"

"I'm visiting my godson, Harry."

"Your godson?' she looked at Harry. "I should have known."

She smiled at Harry and shook her head. "You're well on your way to taking after your father young man." She stooped to pick up her books and Sirius walked over to help her.

"Ariadne, we need to talk," he said.

"Sirius, I really don't think that's a good idea -," she started.

He placed a hand on her face. "We need to talk. Don't run away from me like you did before."

The trio watched in absolute silence as she closed her eyes and sighed. "Alright. In my office."

Sirius stood up, walked to Harry and hugged him.

"Thank you for the surprise," he whispered. "You guys go ahead. We have a lot of catching up to do."

The trio turned and walked out of the room. Ron and Harry turned and looked to find tears in Hermione's eyes.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked.

"I just hope someday I find someone who loves me like that," Hermione said. Harry looked at Ron with a raised eyebrow. Ron flushed.

"You will Hermione," he said. "You definitely will."

As soon as the door to her office closed behind them, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him and kissed her.

She pulled away and walked behind the desk to put some distance between them. "Sirius, we have to talk. About why I left-,"

He cut her off. "I know why you left. It was because of me. James tore a hole into me that night,' he sighed. "I figured that if Severus was occupied somewhere else, he would be less likely to find us together that night."

He started walking towards her. "It seems like just yesterday that we spent the night together. The way you felt in my arms. The vows we made to one another," he grasped her hand. "It's one of the only things that kept me going in prison. The chance to make it up to you."

She looked down. "I wanted to come see you in Azkaban, but I didn't know if you hated me for leaving. I was so upset with you that next morning when I found out what happened. I cared a lot about Severus, but I never loved him," she said as tears filled her eyes.

"I knew that you couldn't have done what they said. Then after what happened to Lily and James, I just-"

He pulled her close. "Shhh. It's okay," he wiped her tears away. "God, I was so jealous of Severus. I know that you had feelings for him."

"But not like what I had for you. Severus was smart, and mysterious," she smiled. "You on the other hand, always made me happy."

Sirius smoothed her hair back from her face. "I love you, Ariadne, I've never stopped loving you." He took her hand and placed it over his heart.

"I do solemnly swear, to do no more mischief, if you will become my wife. There has been no one else for me since you. I have not been whole since you left me."

He kissed her deeply. When he stopped, she had to grab hold of him.

"Yes," she said smiling.

He kissed her again. "But," she pulled away slightly, "on one condition." Sirius stiffened. He knew what was coming.

All the students were surprised when the doors to the Great Hall thrown open and they saw Sirius pulling a smiling Professor Drue down to the Head Table. Harry, Hermione and Ron looked quickly at each other, then Snape whose face was set in a snarl.

They stopped for a moment and talked with Dumbledore, and then Sirius walked over to Snape.

"I know this is a rather inconvenient time,' Sirius started, "But I would appreciate it if you would allow me a few moments to discuss something very important."

All of the students started to mumble among themselves.

Snape arose slowly then turned to walk out a nearby side door with Sirius following.

Once through the door, Sirius began. "I know that you have had cause to hate me for many years," he started to pace. "Through my childishness, I could have cost you your life."

He took a deep breath. "For many years, I have hated you, because I knew that Ariadne had feelings for you. When she left, after the incident with Lupin, I hated you more. It took me a long time to grow up and realize how wrong I was. It was my fault that she left. I had no one else to blame for that."

He turned to face Snape. "I know I have no right to ask you to forgive me. But I am. We will probably never truly be friends, but I cannot hold hatred against someone who Ariadne cares so much for."

Snape stood silent a moment before he spoke. "Ariadne refused to marry you unless you made peace with me, I take it?"

Sirius nodded and leaned against the wall. "That and the fact that I know you still love her. No good can come of us staying at each other's throats. It would tear her apart."

Snape was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"I suppose it would churlish of me to refuse such an eloquently phrased apology."

He uncrossed his arms and held a hand towards Sirius, who smiled.

Clasping hands Sirius' hands, Snape muttered, "Just so you know, should you ever make her unhappy, the curses that Voldemort knows are nothing compared to what I'll do to you."

"Should I ever hurt her, I promise you're more than welcome to use them."

Outside in the Great Hall, Harry and the others watched tensely as Professor Drue stood talking with Dumbledore. Everyone in the dining area was absolutely quiet as both men walked up to her.

Snape stood in front of her and crossed his arms. "I understand that I have the honor of congratulating the new bride to be."

The Great Hall went crazy.