Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Long Road	By : SinisterMe Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Remus Views: 63598 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 18
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, which is trademarked by J. K. Rowling. This story is purely for entertainment purposes, no money is being made from it.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
It was nine in the morning when Severus reentered the kitchen, blinking rapidly against the daylight streaming through the window above the sink. He rinsed last night’s coffee mug and poured himself another cup, this one dark as night and a quite bitter from being left on all evening; just what he needed.
He listened, hearing nothing but silence cut through by the occasional bird from the tree by the window. Although it was quite enjoyable for him to be alone in his own house, sitting at his own table and doing nothing more than drinking his coffee in peace, he couldn’t help wonder where Teddy was. It was past the time the boy was usually up.
Snape stood with a sigh and a crack of his knee and walked his cup over to the sink. Glancing out the window before heading upstairs, he stood still, observing the scene unfolding in the back yard.
Fred was up in one of the apple trees, dropping fruit down one piece at a time for Teddy to catch in his hands and put in a large basket near the trunk of the tree. The boy seemed to find this delightful, racing to grab them before they could hit the ground. He was doing a pretty good job of it too, from what Snape could see. Severus stood at the sink watching the two of them for a moment before turning to head upstairs.
Severus snuck a look in at Lupin, who was either asleep or pretending to be; that worked perfectly for him. The third phase required a bubble head charm the entire way through; it was probably best if he changed and showered again before coming too closely into contact with Lupin or Teddy, in case something remained on his clothing or skin.
Snape stopped in his own room, grabbed a change of clothes and headed off to shower.
He completed his routine again; folding his used clothing, setting the same wards and getting into the steaming shower.
Severus washed and rinsed his hair and body thoroughly, hoping to finally be rid of the smell some of the ingredients had imbued him with. He wasted no time, killing the water and stepping out onto the cool bathroom floor. He toweled off, ran a comb haphazardly through his hair and dressed. As the steam cleared he caught a glimpse of himself in the lightly fogged mirror; grimacing at the haggard reflection that looked back at him. His eyes were sunken, cheeks more hollow than they had been two weeks ago; he really needed to get some sleep.
Snape put his soiled clothes away, closing the door to his room and going downstairs to make something to eat. Fred and Teddy were not in the kitchen and he could no longer see them through the window, though he did note the basket of apples sitting in the front doorway. Severus shook his head, hoping they weren’t getting into too much trouble.
He prepared four pieces of toast, cutting up some fruit and putting all of it evenly on two plates. He found some hardboiled eggs in the fridge while he was hunting for the jam; he took two out, peeling them and slicing them in half. When it was all said and done, there were two plates of food just waiting to be eaten; at least it would be manageable for Lupin to eat this type of meal without him helping.
He put all of this and a glass of water onto a tray and went upstairs, seeing by the dishes in the sink that Teddy had already eaten some kind of breakfast with Fred’s help.
“Hello, sir,” Remus said as Snape pushed the door all the way open and entered the room.
“Lupin,” Snape said in acknowledgment. He set the tray down beside the bed, casting the bowl evacuation charm on the horizontal man without a second thought. “I’m going to help you sit up a little.”
Severus got him upright with relative ease, placing a pillow behind his back so he wouldn’t have to strain to stay in that position. He then placed the plate of toast, egg and fruit on Remus’ lap, taking his own and sitting on the chair at the bedside.
“Go on,” Severus said, noticing that Remus wasn’t touching his plate.
“Thank you, sir.” Remus began munching on a piece of toast and jam, trying to pill as little as possible.
Snape tucked into his own breakfast; trying to remember the last time he ate anything substantial.
“What is Teddy getting up to sir?” Remus asked, biting into a slice of apple.
“At this present moment? I have no idea. Last I saw, him and Fred were out in the yard picking apples. The elf will keep him safely entertained.”
“Fred seems to be quite the character. Has he been with your family for a long time?”
“Since birth, I believe. I am the last of the line on my mother’s side, he came to me at the same time this place and the Manor did, a year after Hogwarts graduation.”
“This isn’t your family manor, sir?” Remus asked.
“No, it is another property, far enough from the estate for me to make it my home. I’ve been looking to sell that old place for years, but it seems I can’t even give the bloody thing away.”
“What are you planning to do with it?”
“Nothing; it can rot for all it matters to me. I haven’t set foot in that house since I inherited it.”
“Well this seems wonderful, sir. I could see how you’d prefer this over a sprawling estate home.” Remus had been in enough of those in his time, though his family had never owned one. All of that extra space had always made him nervous; you never knew what to expect from a house like that.
“Indeed. My mother’s side didn’t use this place all that much, preferring to leave it unnoticed. It is not Unplottable, though it may as well be for all the people who know of its existence; though the post still manages to make it through most of the time. It was in terrible condition when I first moved in, but with a lot of work Fred and I made it livable.”
“Has he always been… so ‘bossy’, as Teddy would say, sir?”
Snape just about choked on his toast, coughing twice. “Not always; I suppose he still sees me as being five years old. I spent a great deal of time with him while I was growing up. He would never have spoken to either of my grandparents the way he does to me.” They would never have stood for it.
“That would explain why he’s so good with Teddy.”
“Fred has many talents that most house elves I’ve encountered do not possess. I was fortunate that he angered my grandmother only days before her death, in her displeasure she left him to me instead of having him preserved in the family crypt with her as she did the others.”
Remus looked confused. “I thought that died out decades ago, sir.”
“It did; my mother’s side always was very devoted to tradition. If you asked him now, I think he’d say it was a good thing he spilled that tea on the old lady’s bedspread.”
Remus wasn’t sure what to say. This was the most personal information Severus had divulged to him in a single sitting, or possibly ever.
“I’m certainly glad he did it,” Snape said. He stopped. Why Circe’s name was he telling all of this to Lupin in the first place? He cleared his throat.
Remus smiled, waiting for Severus to continue.
“Anyway; I doubt we will be hearing from them until around lunchtime. I am going to change your wrappings again, since we’ve both finished eating.”
“Of course, sir.”
Severus decided to begin with the feet; he was eager to see what progress they had made over night. He moved to the foot of the bed, and pulled back the covers. Snape removed layer after layer until the foot that had looked to be in better condition yesterday was in plain sight; it was even more healed today.
Snape went to grab the salve, realizing too late that he had left it in Teddy’s room last night after applying some to the child’s back. He set Remus’ limb back on the mattress with care, standing.
“I’ll be right back, Lupin,” he said, heading into Teddy’s room and picking the jar off the nightstand.
As Severus entered Remus’ room a second time, he noted that the man was leveling him with quite the stare. He looked somewhere between crying and really pissed off, but was holding it together well.
“What bee flew in your bonnet while I was gone?” Snape asked tiredly.
“You went into Teddy’s room to get that,” Remus stated.
“Very observant of you,” Severus retorted. He was not up to this kind of half-arsed scrutiny; Lupin just needed to come out and say whatever was on his mind, he was in no mood to guess.
“What did you do to him? Where is he, really? I should have known something was off, asking a question and actually getting an answer.” Lupin was almost spluttering with rage.
“You must be joking,” Severus stated, crossing the room swiftly. His anger was definitely getting the best of him. “I have been doing nothing but brewing and taking care of the two of you for the last three days. I have not slept; I do not have the bloody energy required to hurt that boy. He had a nightmare last night; turns out his scars are still causing him pain; I applied some of this.” He shook the jar for emphasis.
Remus dropped his gaze.
Snape pulled the chair to the foot of the bed with a loud squeak of its feet against the floor. He sat down and unscrewed the cap from the jar; trying valiantly to clear his mind. He rolled up his sleeves, sterilizing his hands and arms like always, reaching out for Lupin’s foot. The man jerked away just before Severus could touch him, more than likely afraid Snape would be ungentle in his anger.
Snape glanced up, seeing anxiety written all over Lupin’s face. He lowered his hands a little, looking at Remus, who after some consideration extended his foot again with great hesitance.
Severus took the appendage delicately in his hands, smearing a bit of the cream across it and rubbing it in. One of these days Lupin would realize how his life here would actually be; Severus suspected that that day wouldn’t arrive until after the ceremony.
Tomorrow he would have to start brewing Remus’ wolfsbane. That would probably mean another three sleepless nights. Thankfully, he would have a week to recover before the full moon, in which the Lupins would actually be taking their potions. He would need to be at his best for that.
Remus lay his head back against the pillow, apparently having accepted that Snape wasn’t about to mangle his foot further because they were arguing. “I actually feel that, sir.”
Unseen to Remus, Snape looked rather concerned. “How much does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t; feels good,” Remus mumbled, blushing as he did so.
Severus didn’t respond to that, keeping his ministrations slow and even. The magical analgesic was intercepting the pain, but not all of the sensation. They did look quite a bit better, nearly all of the scabs were being replaced by shiny scar tissue on the one foot, though the other looked only marginally improved. He gave both feet the same care before bandaging them and tucking them away.
Snape followed the same routine for Remus’ chest. When he bandaged him back up, he didn’t cover the burns on the other man’s arm; they were the least of all the injuries and were completely healed over.
He applied an oil based potion across the scars there, having to move to the other side of the bed to do so properly.
“What is that, sir?”
“It is a potion that will help clear up as much of the scarring as is possible. I will apply it to all of them as they heal.”
Remus chuckled nervously. “I guess they’re not the nicest thing to look at.” He recalled briefly the disgust Severus had felt seeing Walden do all of those things to him. He didn’t want to feel the full weight of that revulsion while the other man was using the bond to its fullest, be it because of what he was, what he had done or how his body happened to look.
“Would you rather I left them?” Severus asked, pulling his hand away from Remus’ shoulder.
At first Lupin thought he was being cruel, but as he looked over he saw Snape looking at him levelly. Of course he was serious! When wasn’t he being serious?
“You would do that? You’d leave them there just like they are?” Remus just had to ask.
One of Severus’ eyebrows rose elegantly. “It’s your body, Lupin.”
“No, it isn’t,” Remus exclaimed with a pained expression. “It belongs to you, sir.”
“Well, then it pleases me to allow you the choice: should I work towards getting rid them, or should I leave them just as they are?” Severus asked.
“Please, remove them, sir,” Remus asked, feeling rather stupid for putting up all that fuss only to ask Snape to do what he had been trying to in the first place.
“Alright,” Severus agreed, putting his hands back where they had been, rubbing the ointment into Remus’ skin with even strokes.
Remus found himself looking at the place on his arm that Snape was applying the potion. The other man’s hand was pressing into his flesh, his thumb working small circles intently across his skin. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be bound to Severus, a man who seemed to take everything he did to a new level of intensity.
Snape withdrew his hand, capping the potion. Remus shook his head in an attempt to clear it of such thoughts.
“You will be mostly healed within a couple of days. This potion works faster than I thought it would; though you are more tired and shaken than I had expected. You didn’t feel any residual confusion when you woke up this morning, did you?” Severus asked.
“No, sir. I don’t know what time I woke, but it was shortly before you came up with breakfast. I didn’t feel foggy, at least.”
“Good; as long as that is the case, we will continue to use that healing potion. Would it make you uncomfortable if I used my observations on the effects of that potion on you to make my notes on it a little more complete than they are?” Snape recalled Remus’ reaction when he thought Snape was going to use experimental potions on him.
“I suppose not, sir.” Remus eyebrows rose slightly.
“It will be nothing more than we are doing already; it will be mostly based off of my observations and what you tell me; things will go no further than that.” Severus wanted to make that very clear; he wouldn’t be preforming living dissections on the man or any such rubbish.
“Of course, sir. Thank you for asking me.”
Snape gave a curt nod. “Okay; I’ll do it then. It may take me some time, but when I’ve finished I will show you the end result.”
Remus had a look of mild surprise. “Alright sir; that sounds good.”
Severus placed his hands on his knees. “On a more serious note, it is important that we begin to prepare for the ceremony. The sooner we get started, the more slowly we can go about the whole process.” Severus tried to say it casually, though in reality his words were rather stilted.
Remus looked down. “Of course, sir.”
“I believe that we will need to complete the spell shortly after the full moon,” Severus said. He believed they now had the time to discuss this without being interrupted. “The Ministry has already been sending me letters urging my haste in the matter; I don’t know how much longer I can hold them off. We will put all our efforts into making sure you are healed by the time of your transformation. I believe it is possible after seeing that potion’s level of effectiveness. I will start your batch of the wolfsbane tomorrow; by the time it is ready you will need to begin taking it.”
“Teddy will also be taking a dose, sir; or have you changed your mind?” Remus asked.
“No; I will not be moved on this. Teddy will take his own batch, you will take yours and we will all spend the night in a room I’ve prepared in the basement.”
“You’re letting us transform in your lab?” Remus sounded dumbfounded.
Severus snorted. “Not bloody likely. There is a tunnel leading to what may once have been an old storage room. It is underground and by the time I am done warding it, not so much as a speck of dust will be coming in or out until after the moon has set, for any reason.” Severus was adamant.
“You’re not even going to give yourself a way out? Sir, if I can’t control Teddy-”
“I firmly believe you will not be required to intervene.”
“How can you say that, sir?” Remus was clearly desperate.
Snape sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand.
“I can say that because I spent six months’ worth of transformations with a group of no less than nine werewolf cubs. They were not under the influence of the Wolfsbane potion and I had my wand as well as a complete set of dragonhide gear for protection. I was clearly capable of protecting myself then, I imagine it will not be as hard as all that now.”
Remus looked at him with an expression of confused horror. “What are you talking about, sir?”
“I was to make the potion that would turn Greyback’s army into a force to be reckoned with. This potion I’d been ordered to create would keep them in their transformed states for days; they would have been absolutely relentless. I failed, or at least appeared to fail; to be honest I never really tried all that hard to come up with something that would actually work. The hard part was to get the attempts look like I was making some kind of progress so that the Dark Lord didn’t accidentally kill me while he was reminding me how important that potion was to him.” Severus recognized the fact that there was no way he should have said that. Not that it wasn’t all public knowledge, one could just look in past Prophet articles top find out exactly what he’d done and how. But to freely disclose it to someone who didn’t already know?
Remus looked at him steadily for a time, many different expressions crossing his face before he said, “I still don’t think it’s a good idea, sir.” Lupin had no idea what to make of what Severus had just said; it sounded so absurd he wasn’t sure the man was even being truthfull. He tried to take it in stride, but mentally he was reeling.
Severus really couldn’t stop it; he chuckled lowly for a moment. “I’ll make a note of it, Lupin, but I will not change my mind.”
Remus let his head fall back against the pillows, exasperated. “You know best, sir,” Remus said in a voice that clearly said he thought Severus was soft in the head.
Snape lips curled up a little. This was almost the most fight he’d seen from the man on almost any subject. It was interesting, the short glimpses at the person he used to know that surfaced every once in a while when he pushed in just the right places. Antagonism sometimes did have its uses.
“I believe we should begin tonight,” Severus said.
“Tonight, sir?”
“Yes; as I said, the longer we wait to begin, the more quickly things will need to be done. We will begin tonight.”
Remus had a look on his face comparative to one he would wear if Severus had issued him a death sentence. “As you wish, sir.”
“I will give you some choice in the matter,” Severus said. “We can do this in here, or in my room across the hall.”
“Why would it matter, sir?” Remus seemed puzzled.
“This is your room; if we make our preparations in here, you will have nowhere to retreat to should you need time away from it all. However, if these events take place in my room, I worry you may feel I have extra power over you and the situation, since that is the place I am most comfortable in.”
“Well, I suppose when you put it that way…” Remus smiled weakly. “Perhaps we could do all of this in your room? I can’t imagine you having any more control in there than you would in here. That remains the same wherever we are.”
“We will do that then.” Severus looked at him intently. “Try not to give yourself an ulcer over it, Lupin. It’s more than likely not going to be what you’re expecting.”
“What is it going to be, sir?” Remus had to ask; that statement could mean absolutely anything.
Snape was silent a moment. “You are going to have to trust me. I know you may not be able to do so at this present moment, but I hope that by the time the actual bonding is taking place that you will be able to have even the slightest faith in me; I have reason to believe that will impact the effect the bond.”
“I will do my best, sir.”
“I have to ask- Remus, before you were forced to bond with Macnair, had you ever willingly been intimate with another man?” This was something Severus wanted to know for himself, though unfortunately it would not be able to play a part in his decision making.
Remus’ eyes bulged slightly; he’d clearly not been expecting that. “Yes sir, I had.”
Severus looked rather relieved, nodding again.
Lupin looked down again. “You really think I’m healed enough?”
“For what I am intending, you are definitely recovered enough,” Severus said calmly.
Remus nodded slowly. “I’m trying to trust you, sir.”
“That’s all I can ask.”
In all honesty, Remus didn’t know what to think. He was caught between the memories of the things Macnair did to him and the things Severus had done for him. He couldn’t help but feel that the blade must be somewhere near his neck; any moment now he’d be done for. The fact that Snape seemed so serene about it all wasn’t helping matters either.
“Here, Lupin, three swallows of this.” Severus held out the potion, Remus took it as directed.
“Sir, am I going to be under the influence of the healing potion I’ve been taking for the last couple of nights?” The thought had just occurred to him as he was handing the vial back to Severus.
“I’m afraid we have little choice in the matter. Not using it, even for a night may be something that is regretted when we go to complete the spell.”
Remus paled. “Sir, I have very little control over the things I say when I take that potion. I may say or do things that make you irritated without being able to stop myself.”
“I understand that; I will act accordingly. Once Teddy is in bed, I will come move you my room across the hall. You will take the potion once you are there; I believe it may help you orient yourself later if we do things in that order.” Severus wasn’t enjoying the look on Remus’ face; but this was for the best. It would give him another chance to prove that he could be trusted not to behave like Macnair.
“Yes sir.”
Severus was feeling his exhaustion quite acutely; his eyes rested closed longer than they should have every time he blinked. He really must be getting soft if one stint of Wolfsbane potion took it out of him like this. He sat back in the armchair, resting his head on its plush material.
“It’s settled then.” Snape sighed, letting his eyes remain closed. He would rest here for a minute, then he would go find Fred and Teddy to make sure all was well with them.
The next thing he knew, he was standing in Remus’ bedroom, breathing heavily and pointing his drawn wand at the doorway. He had been startled out of sleep by the sound of the door hitting the wall; standing in the now open doorway was a cowering Teddy and Fred, who continued coming closer to the bed, seemingly unconcerned.
“If you is going to be pointing that at Fred, a bunch of flowers better be popping out,” the elf said casually, his hands on his hips. He was standing directly in front of Severus wand, looking up at him with his large eyes.
Severus shook his head, seeming to realize what was going on for the first time. He hastily dropped his arm, bringing the tip of the wand to point at the floor. He sat down abruptly, rubbing his forehead absently with his free hand.
Severus yawned. “Sorry Fred. Come on in, Teddy; you’ve done nothing wrong.”
The boy peeked out from between his fingers, seeing Snape’s nonthreatening posture. He came closer, stopping at the foot of the bed.
“You look very tired, sir,” Teddy actually sounded concerned.
Snape tucked his wand away. “You’re right, I am.”
Remus’ eyes darted between the two of them, watching the exchange with interest.
“Maybe you should have a nap, sir,” the boy suggested helpfully.
Snape let out a huff of laughter. “I think that’s what I was doing when you and Fred came in.”
“If you is smart, you will be listening to the little one,” Fred said. “Go; Fred will be looking after these two.”
Snape looked between the boy and the elf, thinking that it was rather ridiculous that he was being shooed off to bed by a child and a house elf. He rolled his eyes, standing again.
“Alright, I know when I’m outnumbered. Try and wake me around supper, then,” Snape managed to sound resigned and amused at the same time.
“Fred is doing that, no problem,” Fred motioned with his hands for Snape to hurry up.
“Well, good night, everyone,” Severus said sarcastically, shaking his head and exiting.
Once in his own room, he didn’t bother undressing, laying down on the made bed fully clothed and falling asleep almost instantly.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! More to come; I’m updating as fast as I can but life gets in the way, as always. Please drop a short review with any thoughts, comments or suggestions.
As always, thanks for reading!
- 13
- 14
- 15
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Long Road