E Pluribus Unum

A/N - Look, another chapter of EPU! YAY! You see I haven\'t forgetten it, or Dawn Breaking either, though I am having problems with DB, sigh. Darn disobedient plot bunnies! anyway, here is a litle lighthearted fun mixed with some serious darkness - Heh heh. thanks to Kate for getting this to me this morning. Love love love!

Kim and Ghaeth - Thank you both.

Kedd - Wow, thank you so much, its reviews like that that make me keep going!

Kateri - LOL, you crack me up, I love those lines and I may use them somewhere. :)

Deeble - ooooh! Exploding quill? hmmmm.

Helen - Doh! I went back and fixed that, thank you.


Chapter 46 – Legerdemain

Severus watched the drama unfolding with a jaundiced eye. He was making mental bets as to how long it would take before Lucius and Franco started hexing each other. Narcissa clumclumsily attempting to play one off the other and Severus thought that it was franklicidicidal. Lucius had never been one to play the cuckold and was now even more unstable than he used to be. Franco, and possibly Narcissa as well, could end up on the pointy end of the stick.

It gave Severus an idea. Kathryn was being elegant and gracious beside him and he noted Lucius’ eyes on her from across the room. The mere thought of Kathryn being touched by the other man let alone being forced to sleep with him and bear him a child made Severus’ blood pressure peak. He had never felt so violently possessive of a woman before. It was rather disconcerting, to be honest; to know that he would kill Lucius with his bare hands before he would let him anywhere near Kathryn.

Franco was leering at Narcissa and Severus noticed Miss Mangle eyeing the couple with interest. She turned and met his eyes and the look that passed between them was all that was needed for him to formulate a plan of attack. He stepped away form Kathryn’s side and wandered over to Lucius.

He plastered a concerned look onto his face and sidled up to the other man.

“Lucius.” The distant look in Lucius’ eyes had been replaced with a heated stare directed at the back of Narcissa’s head.

“Severus.” Tilting his head in the direction of Franco and Narcissa, Severus began his assault.

“I was under the impression that Franco wasn’t able to impregnate Narcissa and that was why you were being asked to produce another child with her.” He kept his voice puzzled, but underneath he felt a savage satisfaction at the way Lucius’ knuckles whitened around his champagne flute.

“I was unaware that they had already tried.” Lucius ground out. Severus shifted his features into a look of concern.

“Well, it was under orders, as was my fathering of Orion. She didn’t do it willingly.” Severus shot a sideways look at the pair as though he were not entirely certain of that fact. “She has always been obedient to the Dark Lord’s will.” He added, putting uncertainty into his voice, playing Lucius ever so gently.

Lucius stalked over to where Franco and Narcissa were standing and gave the other man a feral smile.

“So how did you enjoy my wife?” Lucius asked in pleasant and erudite tones. Narcissa blanched, Franco flushed and what happened after that was predictable.

Severus rose the next morning with a throbbing skull. Kathryn pressed a bottle of Headache Remedy into his fist and he drank it down gratefully.

“Are the Malfoy’s soirees always so entertaining?” Kathryn asked after he finally pried his eyes open and looked around. “I haven’t dodged that many curses since I left the MSA.”

“No, this one was pretty dull, no one died.” Severus responded dryly. Kathryn snorted as she got dressed for the day.

“True. Still, all I can say is that I am glad we got out of there before the Auror’s busted up the place.” She adjusted her skirt and tucked her wand into her sleeve. “They are always hard on the furniture. Pity Lucius managed to apparate out of there, though watching him do so with his skin flaying off his back had a certain amusement factor.” Her voice was anything but amused as she spoke.

“I am glad you used the portkey dummy to send Orion home.” He added, grateful the child hadn’t been injured by the fighting.

“I am occasionally reminded that we do not come from the same culture.” Kathryn muttered. “To me a dummy is still a store manikin, not a pacifier.”

He chuckled briefly then stooped over the baby’s cot and peered down at his son with a concerned expression.
“Do you think he’ll be all right?”

“Sure, as long as we send him in for therapy at regular intervals Orion should grow up almost sane.” Kathryn muttered as she pulled her teacher’s robes on over the long black skirt and gray blouse. She touched a wand to her hair and it coiled itself into a bun. A few pins shoved through the dark brown mass and she was ready to go.

“I suppose that there is no chance that he will ever have a normal life.” Severus stroked the baby’s cheek with a feeling of regret in his heart.

“Oh really, Severus, with us as parents? Besides love, what is normnywanyway? Every family is different from every other family, what one person thinks is normal is considered odd by the next one.” She stepped up beside him and curved against his body, slipping an arm about his waist and leaning against him. “Orion is happy with us and he will grow to be a good man; that’s all that matters.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her with a fine understanding of how damn lucky he was.

Lucius would be running for some time to come and Kathryn would be kept away from him. He felt a savage satisfaction in the knowledge that he had put a spanner in the works as far as Narcissa’s plan went.

He left breakfast with a grumble; the article on the “Malfoy Mayhem” in the Daily Prophet had been both lurid and inaccurate. Franco had fled long before the fire broke out, so it was unlikely that it was his body that had been found. In fact, Severus doubted that a body had been found at all. Most of the guests had scattered as soon as Lucius and Franco had started to duel.

Narcissa had screamed and run after a stray hex had hit her gown and turned it completely transparent, revealing a body more middle aged than siren-like. The charms that made her flesh seem firm and young had vanished with the dress.

Fenchurch had watched the brawl with a predatory eagerness, but Miss Mangle had looked quickly bored and sauntered off before the fight had really even gotten going.

He swept down to the dungeons and caught sight of a smirking Draco Malfoy exchanging snorting laughter with Crabbe and Goyle. As bad as his father’s behavior had been last night, the elder Crabbe and Goyle had loyally defended Lucius from the oncoming Aurors, taking down several of them with hexes and sitting on several others. Their laughter was understandable but he suspected it would likely be the last fun they would get from the Daily Prophet for some time to come.

He stepped up to the Library after classes to check on Allegra. He had been startled when she was hired as Librarian. Her husband’s death had been the making of her it seemed. She had remembered her Ravenclaw origins and stepped back into the studious and serious young woman he had once known. No longer the fluttering socialite and queen of fashion, she was dressed in simple gowns and plain b rob robes with her hair bundled up in a bun suspiciously similar to Kathryn’s.

The student body was divided on the new Librarian. Ravenclaw claimed her as a former alumnus and forgave all past associations. Slytherin, of course, loved her and went out of their way to make her feel welcome. The Hufflepuffs, though pleasant, were wary and suspicious and except for a few notable exceptions, the Gryffindors were openly hostile.

Potter couldn’t be openly supportive for fear of blowing his relationship with Minuet wide open but he was noticeably warmer to her than the rest of his House, as were Granger, Longbottom and the other members of the DA.

For herself, Allegra was careful not to do anything to make the Gryffindors more suspicious of her, but she also couldn’t alienate her daughter’s House. Allegra had joined the tightrope walk.

“Good evening, Professor.” She greeted him as he entered and he approached the desk with his list in hand.

“Madam Ravagienne, I have the revised reading list for the fifth years.” He handed it over to her and her bright eyes scanned it with interest. She nodded and with a wand wave and a muttered spell, the list fluttered off.

“I’ll have it all assembled by tomorrow, Professor.” She assured him, looking both more tired and far happier than he had seen her in years.

He nodded brusquely and swept off, noting the group of chattering seventh year girls who were whispering and staring as he left. What on earth could have captivated their remarkably short attention spans this time? He dismissed them from his mind immediately and was thus completely unprepared for the rumors when they began.