Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Long Road	By : SinisterMe Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Remus Views: 63927 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- 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
- 32
- 33
- 34
Remus sat in his chair looking at Hermione through watery eyes. Severus and Harry had left; he hoped they weren’t dueling out on the front lawn. His hands were clenched tightly on his lap to keep them from shaking. His anger had come and then gone, leaving him feeling a little shaken.
“I’m sorry Hermione; I don’t know what’s come over me,” he admitted. “This potion makes me speak my mind; it’s very difficult to stop once I start.”
“I understand, Remus,” Hermione said, taking the parchment Snape had given her and moving over to sit beside Lupin. “Harry had no right to be so rude. I’m sorry he said that to you, he doesn’t think before he opens his mouth.”
Remus grinned weakly, “Most young men don’t.”
“I’ll give you that one,” she smiled. “Remus, was what you said true? Snape’s been respecting you and Teddy?”
Remus nodded. “I never would have believed it myself, if I hadn’t been living it.”
“I can believe it,” Hermione smiled.
“You can? He’s been so good to Teddy that it still doesn’t feel real, even after witnessing it over and over again. He helps him with anything he needs and is teaching him to read. I never thought in a hundred years that my son would be so excited about learning; Severus tricks him into having fun, though. You should have heard him when he had to talk to Teddy about his lycanthropy; I couldn’t have done it better myself and I’ve been living with this condition for most of my life… I’m so sorry. I’m doing it again. Maybe we should just sit here quietly,” Remus suggested, mortified.
Hermione was looking pleasantly at him. “It’s alright, Remus; I don’t mind in the least. I’m so glad to hear that Teddy is being taken care of. But what about you?”
“Me?” Remus said, sounding surprised.
“Yes, you,” Hermione said. “Teddy isn’t the only one who might need a little taking care of.”
Remus looked at his hands again. “Severus has been very kind to me,” he started. “He’s treated me very carefully and at what I can only assume is a great financial cost to himself. He is patient and almost encouraging at times. I thought he would use his mastery of me to humiliate me like we did to him in school and worse, to make me pay for everything I let James and Sirius get away with doing to him, but he hasn’t. In fact, he’s been almost apologetic about this whole thing.”
“Even during the ritual?” Hermione asked, wincing as she did.
Remus felt his face heat. He was having a bloody difficult time keeping his answers short, but so far he didn’t think he’d said anything his master would disapprove of.
“Yes and maybe even especially then. I’m still not sure that we even completed the same ritual as Macnair and I, their choices and handling of me were so different.”
“You used the word ‘intimate’ earlier. I have to say that was an odd choice of words for a piece of ritual magic,” Hermione said, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Yes, well… That is probably the best way I could think to describe it. I felt more like his lover than anything else,” Remus confessed, rather wishing he could just shut the hell up. He’d just said something out loud that he was almost afraid of to look at too closely even in the privacy of his own mind.
Hermione put her hand on his arm. “I’m glad to hear he’s treating you well, Remus. I rather suspected he would. I know you’re having a hard time not saying too much; maybe we should talk about something else?”
“Yes, thank you,” Remus said with relief. “You should take a look at the rules before they come back, who knows what’s going on out there.”
“Yes, well I almost hope Professor Snape is knocking some sense into him. I can’t believe he had the nerve to say all of those things,” she said, opening the paper and shaking her head.
“Harry is a lot like his father that way; he speaks his mind quickly and completely unfiltered. It got James into quite a bit of trouble as well.”
“I’m not sure that’s any excuse, Remus.”
“Probably not, but the similarity is worth noting.”
Hermione didn’t reply, reading the paper what must have been three or four times before looking up at Lupin.
“Remus, how did he do this? I’ve read over the bond Macnair used – I don’t even think this should be possible.”
“I don’t know myself. He told me he relied very heavily on symbolism, which was evident to me because of his actions. There was an elegant meal and a medicated bath afterwards. He was very determined that I would find some enjoyment out of it.”
“Please don’t answer this if you’re uncomfortable doing so, but did you?”
Remus was sure he was the colour of a hearty borscht. “Yes, very much so.”
“Well that might very well have something to do with it. I shouldn’t analyze it too closely. I’m just happy you’re settling in here and everything seems to be going as well as it could, circumstances permitting.”
“You seem very willing to believe that Severus is treating us well, Hermione.”
“Yes, I suppose I am. I’ve mostly thought well of Professor Snape, even if I did think he was a very unfair Professor. Even when- when the Headmaster died; I felt there had to be more than Harry let on happening,” she said. “He’d helped us too many times. Think of it: the Death Eater who saved Harry Potter every opportunity he got; it just didn’t add up to me.”
“He seems to think that none of the Order members want anything to do with him. That none of them can forgive him for killing Albus, or even move past it anyways.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” she said, affronted. “It’s more like he didn’t respond to the post that was sent to him; no one knew where his property was. Minerva tracked him down; she came here once apparently, to see him.”
“And?” Remus asked. Severus hadn’t mentioned that.
“And… I don’t think it was a very good visit. He was in bad condition; gaunt, irritable; it was obvious to her that he hadn’t been sleeping but that he’d been drinking, quite possibly in a very unhealthy way. He kicked her out, cursing at her. She hasn’t had contact with him since, outside of the occasional piece of mail.”
Remus nodded slowly. “I’ve heard that last part of the story before,” he said.
“Who can blame him, really?”
“What do you mean?” Remus asked, though he knew already.
“Well, even before the Headmaster died, the Professor was our main source of information, if I understand things properly. Look at how we all treated him, though. If I was him, I don’t think I’d want much to do with us either,” Hermione stated. “The Order, I mean.”
“No, probably not,” Remus agreed. He was thinking of the way Sirius would bait Severus, and how Snape would rarely miss a chance to rise to the challenge, no matter how awfully dead tired he looked when he showed up. Sirius had little restraint in his jests; going so far as to occasionally imply that Snape garnered information through more lurid methods than just overhearing it.
Remus stilled in his chair. There was no possible way that Sirius could have known something he hadn’t, was there? Because after hearing the backstory, or at least some of it, directly from Severus’ mouth, it sounded like Sirius might have had a kernel of truth amid the awful things he said to Severus. Or else Sirius had been making it all up and just happened to hit one nail on the head while wildly swinging his verbal hammer about. Surely whatever Severus had done to keep his cover would have been more dramatic than the way he gathered information.
“What are you thinking, Remus?” Hermione’s voice chimed in.
“Oh, nothing really. Just wondering what those two are really getting up to out there,” he lied. He didn’t want to let Hermione, a former student of Severus’, onto the line of thinking he was currently on.
“I know, they’ve been gone a while. Do you think I should go see?”
“Go see what, Weasley?” Severus asked smoothly, strolling back into the room, Harry not far behind him.”
“Oh, uh – nothing, sir.”
“I believe that now as much as I did when you were in my classroom,” Snape said, moving to take his seat.
Harry sat down as well, shifting in his chair before turning to look at Lupin.
“Remus; I’m sorry I said what I did earlier; I honestly didn’t mean to upset you,” he said seriously.
“And I’m sorry I got so angry,” Remus said in reply.
“I think I may have deserved it. Can I still see the laws of the bond?” Harry asked.
Hermione stood and handed them to Harry, who read them over.
“Well these don’t seem so bad,” he said. Then his face changed slightly. “Four times a lunar cycle… the bond is telling you how often you have to – fulfil the physical requirements?”
“I think it is setting a minimum,” Hermione cleared up with a glint in her eye. ‘They can have sex as often as they want.”
Harry’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Hermione!”
“Well what did you think it meant, Harry?”
“I know what it meant!”
Snape looked between his two former students, wondering if Granger hadn’t said that just to get under Potter’s skin.
“What about this outside thing? I don’t get that at all,” Harry said, clearly in a hurry to change the subject.
“That one is most unique,” Severus agreed, taking the list of rules back from Harry and putting it back into a pocket in his robes.
“Macnair kept me inside,” Remus said, almost out of nowhere. “I didn’t see the sun for a very long time; for the most part I wasn’t allowed to leave his room. Unless he had guests. Then-”
“Remus,” Snape interrupted. “Think about what you’re going to say for a moment. Is it something that you actually want to talk about right now?”
Remus took a minute to think back through what he was saying. His face took on a horrified expression. “No! No, it definitely isn’t. Thank you, sir.”
Snape gave him an irritated look. “Don’t apologize; no one here is judging you.” There was an edge to his voice implying that that had better be the case, at any rate.
“What I was trying to say was that you made a point of taking me outside right away; I don’t think you liked hearing that Macnair kept me locked up.”
“No,” Severus agreed, “I did not.”
“If you felt strongly enough about something, the bonding magic may have noticed it,” Hermione said. “I don’t find that one rule any more remarkable than the rest of them; the fact that the bond has changed so dramatically from the original one cast is outstanding all on its own.”
Severus wasn’t sure what to say in return to that. Thankfully small feet were heard pattering into the living room.
“Sir!” Teddy’s voice was heard. The boy caught up to it shortly afterwards, standing directly beside Snape’s chair. “You have to see!”
“See what?” Severus asked, turning his attention to Teddy.
Teddy suddenly appeared less sure of himself. “My dragon! That is, if you want to. It’s okay if you don’t.”
“Take me to him,” Snape said with a flourish of his hand, before pushing himself up from the armrests of his chair.
Teddy beamed and speeded off back to the kitchen. Snape went after him at a slower pace, disappearing into the doorway behind the boy. He followed him up to the kitchen table, seeing some figures set up there. The boy went and immediately climbed up onto his chair, waiting for Severus to catch up.
Snape went up to the side of the table and lowered himself so that both of his forearms were on the tabletop, crouched beside it so he could better see what Teddy wanted him to.
“These are amazing, Teddy. Is that a knight?” He asked, looking at one of the figures that appeared humanoid and was holding what could have been construed as a sword. This figure was considerably larger than the dragon, which seemed to have been much more carefully crafted.
The child nodded.
“And the dragon?”
Teddy nodded again. “The dragon is his friend,” Teddy explained, looking at the figures. Snape noted the stuffed dragon perched on the side of the table, serenely taking everything in.
“So they’re just like you and your dragon,” Severus said, thinking that this was a perfectly normal thing for a child to do.
“Kind of,” Teddy said, shrugging his shoulders.
“How so?”
“Well he couldn’t be a knight if he was a werewolf too.”
“Why not?”
“Because werewolves are the monsters and knights are the good guys; you can’t be both at once.”
Severus thought that he had been just that; the knight and the monster both, for many years of his life. That thought aside he heard the muted sadness behind Teddy’s statement.
“That just isn’t true,” Severus stated. Severus felt a presence behind him, though since the presence was remaining quiet, he figured it to be Granger. Weasley. Whatever.
“Yeah, like who?” Teddy challenged him.
“Well, your father, for one.”
Teddy gave him a strange look. “He isn’t a knight.”
“Not right now, perhaps; and maybe not what some would call a knight. At one time in his life he was part of a secret Order that fought and overcame one of the most evil wizards ever known.” Severus wondered if he should be telling this to Teddy; but he couldn’t allow the boy to believe that there wasn’t hope for him to ever be more than his condition, even in fantasy.
“You’re making it up,” Teddy protested.
“I wouldn’t do such a thing,” Severus said earnestly. “I was part of that same Order; as were Potter and Weasley in the other room there. I don’t think there has ever been a question in any of our minds whether or not your father was a ‘good guy’. There are people out there in the world that wouldn’t be alive if not for him.”
“I didn’t know that, sir,” Teddy said, suddenly remembering to use the title. “That’s really… awesome!”
“Yes; it is,” Snape agreed. “We are only as good or as bad as our choices and actions make us, Teddy. Do you see what I’m trying to say?”
“I think so, sir,” Teddy said thoughtfully.
“Good,” Severus said, clearing his throat.
“Do you want to make some more animals with me?” Teddy asked hopefully.
“I do,” Severus replied, “but there are some things that I must do first.” He turned his head to look at the person in the doorway; eyebrows rising imperceptibly at the sight of Harry Potter leaned up against the frame.
“Oh, okay,” Teddy said, trying not to sound disappointed.
“Perhaps you would allow Potter here to give it a go.” He remembered Potter’s words from the other day about wanting to be closer to Teddy and to Remus; this seemed like a good opportunity, if Teddy would have it.
Teddy looked at him for a long moment before allowing his gaze to flicker over to Harry briefly. He moved his stuffed dragon onto his lap and looked down at his hands.
“How about if we get your father in here as well? I’ll only be upstairs and not for very long,” Snape offered, seeing that his original proposal wasn’t going over so well. Potter only had himself to blame though.
Teddy shrugged. “I guess so, sir,” he said sullenly.
Snape figured that was about as close to a ‘yes’ as they were going to get.
“I’ll go get them,” he told Teddy. “Have a seat, Potter,” he instructed, standing slowly, his knee creaking as he did.
Harry pulled out a chair on the far side of the table from Teddy and sat down.
“Hey,” Harry said softly.
“Hi,” Teddy replied.
“Do you mind if I try?” Harry asked.
Teddy shrugged again, reaching for his lump of extra dough and breaking off a piece, handing it to Harry.
“Thanks,” Potter said brightly.
Teddy nodded.
Hoping they would be alright for a moment, Snape crossed the threshold into the other room.
“I believe you’re wanted in the other room, Remus,” he informed Lupin as his and Granger’s conversation grew quiet when he walked into the room.
“Sir?” Lupin asked.
“Potter is attempting to befriend your son; Teddy isn’t so sure about the whole thing and I don’t think he’s going to make it easy,” Snape said. “I was thinking you might be more sensitive about the damage control than I would be.”
“Probably true, sir,” Remus said, trying not to smile.
“Besides, I told Weasley here that I would make copies of some of those instructions; I need a moment to gather them.”
“Of course. Better not leave them alone for too long,” Remus cautioned.
Snape levitated the chair. “Weasley, you’re welcomed to join these three in the kitchen, of course.”
“If you don’t mind, sir, I’d like to see these instructions first hand, maybe pick your brain a bit. If it wouldn’t be intruding too much,” Hermione said, adding that last bit hastily.
“I suppose I could be amenable to that,” Snape said at length. He’d rather not have this Gryffindor brat roaming his house, whether he was present or not, but he was too intrigued to deny her. She’d certainly showed more interest in lycanthrope safe brewing than anyone at the Academy had been in his youth; also more than any of the Journals and Publishers in more recent days.
Doing this would give him someone to discuss it with, as well as hopefully provide insight as to why she cared at all. Though Granger always had been a bleeding heart; his thoughts went immediately to SPEW and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. Though this was no joking matter; he wondered how long it would be before Hermione, or someone like her, decided to do something about the shameful way their Government was conducting themselves where lycanthropes and non-humans were concerned. He himself had fought enough battles for one lifetime; no one would listen to a washed up old turncoat anyway. A fresh, young war hero on the other hand…
“Alright, come on then,” Snape said, moving Remus into the kitchen and returning to the living room.
“How’s it going in there?” Hermione asked.
“Slow, but I think they’ll be just fine.”
“Harry really is quite good with children,” Hermione offered.
Severus gave a snort of laughter. “Probably because he is still one himself in some ways.” Perhaps he should have kept that last thought to himself; it came out sounding less sarcastic than he would have liked.
”Possibly,” Hermione allowed with a smile.
Snape turned and took a few steps towards the stairs. “Come along then,” he said, foot on the first step. He waited for her when he reached the second floor, noting that she was taking everything in while trying to keep up with his long strides. She peered into the open doors Teddy’s and what had been Remus’ rooms, looking back at him questioningly.
“What? You though I would keep them in a box in the attic?” he asked bitterly.
“Not at all, sir,” Hermione protested. “These are Remus’ and Teddy’s rooms, right?”
“Correct,” Snape resisted the urge to roll his eyes and cross his arms, clearing his mind in an attempt to find peace.
“I just thought that you and Remus were to share quarters,” she said, referring to the rules.
“We are, the bond has requested it,” Severus said. In all reality the bond had probably had little to do with it; it had been something he himself had wanted if he were honest about it, which he tried not to be.
“You’re going to leave his room the way it was?”
“Yes, well. Everyone needs somewhere to retreat once in a while; that space will remain his. I’ll interfere with it as little as possible.”
“That is an interesting sentiment, sir. And Teddy?”
“Look for yourself, if you must. That space will be his as well; along with a portion of my lab, which will be tailored and set up for his needs.”
“You’re going to let him have a chunk of your lab?” Hermione asked, eyes opening wide.
“He’ll need it eventually, if he really is to grow into my apprentice,” he pushed the door to his own room open and entered, Hermione close behind him.
“Your apprentice?” Hermione asked.
“That was the bond I chose for him, yes.”
“How did you manage to get the Ministry to agree to that?” she inquired.
“I didn’t. The bond I selected is so bloody old that I’m sure they still don’t know what I’m doing with him,” he smirked. “It’s too late for them to interfere now. If they ever question me on it, I submitted all of the proper paperwork and have copies to prove it.”
“I daresay the people at the Academy will be quite stirred up to hear about that, sir,” Hermione said.
Snape frowned. “And why is that?”
“I was there for just under a year; you’re quite the figure of interest. You’ve never taken an apprentice and I think lots of the students there would kill their own mothers for a chance to be your first pupil outside of Hogwarts. You can’t tell me you don’t receive the applications?”
Snape harrumphed. “I used to look at them; Fred sorts through most of them now.” What he meant by that was that Fred threw them directly into the bin. He shuffled through some collections of papers that he had bound together himself, extracting one thin book, some rolls of parchment and a few pieces of what appeared to be scrap paper.
“I assume you’re only interested in the completed ones?”
“I assume you’re only willing to part with the completed ones?” she shot back at him.
“If I didn’t already know that no one wanted these and you were just about anyone else on the continent, I’d suspect you of attempting to plagiarize me,” Severus stated.
Hermione spluttered. “I would never-“
“Relax, Weasley. It was just an observation.” He set his notes on the desk. He retrieved another stack of fresh paper from inside a drawer. “This may take some time,” he said, enchanting the paper and a quill to magically copy the information from his notes to the blank paper.
“Even so, I’m surprised you’re giving me these so easily,” Hermione said.
“I don’t know what exactly you want them for, but I can only imagine.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, Weasley, that if these potions can be of use to someone, I wouldn’t have wasted so many years creating, modifying and in some cases perfecting.”
Hermione shifted on her feet, the sound of the quill magically scribbling away and the occasional rustle of paper was the only sound in the room.
“What is it Weasley?” Severus sighed. “I can tell you’re just bursting at the seams with something.”
“Did you ever try and find a cure, sir?” she asked in a rush.
“How do you think I stumbled across the Wolfsbane?” he smirked.
“That was an accident?” Hermione yelped.
“A fortunate one; but yes, an accident all the same. My desired result was never accomplished, but I had still done something that people had always said could and would never be done.” Merlin, if he hadn’t heard that pathetic line before; not here he was, spouting it himself.
“Do you still have your original notes?”
Snape gave her a look that said he thought that was an incredibly stupid question. “Of course I do.”
“When I’m done digesting these, do you think you would mind going over them with me?”
She must have felt encouraged to ask him because of his previous acquiescence.
“For what purposes would you need me to do that?” he drawled.
“A cure needs to be found,” she said, looking to Severus for a moment as if she was older than her actual years. “I don’t have time to complete a Mastery course; besides, the Academy wouldn’t allow me to even apply for one with that as my line of study; so I left.”
“Here I thought you would be out rallying likeminded supporters, distributing information pamphlets and the like; starting a campaign to end this insanity…”
She shifted again. “I have too much to lose to get into that kind of a battle with the Ministry; they don’t exactly fight fair since the end of the war,” she frowned.
Intriguing. Severus was surprised to find one answer only to discover it was attached to another question.
“Let me know what you think of these first,” he said. “We’ll discuss the Wolfsbane notes once you’ve read through all of these. They may appear to you to be in a bit of disarray at first; but I have a very precise system in place. I have little doubt that you will be able to make sense of it all.”
“I’ll owl if I have any questions,” she said, looking eagerly at the growing pile of notes the quill was writing out. “If that’s okay.”
Severus let out a longsuffering sigh. “I suppose that would be acceptable.”
“Thank you,” she said with a watery smile.
The last thing Snape wanted was for her to get emotional, for whatever reason potion notes would have that effect on her; young women had always been strange and unpredictable creatures to him. Thankfully the quill was done making its copies. He picked up the stack of parchment and handed it to her.
“Just make good use of them,” he told her. “Let’s go see how they’re faring downstairs, shall we?”
“Of course.” Hermione held the papers close, following him back downstairs and into the kitchen. They stopped just in the doorway. Almost all of the play dough had been utilized; animals and shapes littered the table.
“How about this one?” Harry asked, handing something to Teddy across the table.
The boy took it, inspecting the item closely before giggling to himself. “What is it?”
“It’s a squidogater,” Harry said.
“That’s not a real animal!” Teddy exclaimed.
“No? Hmm, my mistake then, I could have been sure…” Harry mused.
Teddy laughed even more. “You’re crazy, Harry,” they boy said, grinning.
Remus was sitting back, smiling to himself contentedly while taking it all in.
“I’ve been telling him that for years,” Hermione chimed in.
They all stopped and looked back to where Hermione and Snape were standing.
Harry shrugged. “It’s true.”
A small grumbling sound was barely heard. Teddy looked down at his tummy.
“I think perhaps we should have some lunch,” Severus said. He looked at the clock; they had definitely missed the meal’s normal time.
“We should probably be going anyway; I want to start on these as soon as possible,” Hermione gestured to the papers still clutched in her arms.
Harry stood up. “I know when to argue with her, and when she’s itching to delve into some new reading material is not one of those times.”
“You might not be as quite daft as I thought,” Severus smirked.
“No; I very well might be,” Harry laughed. “It’s a lesson that took me many painful years to learn.”
“Ha ha; very funny,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “Thank you for everything, Professor. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you soon.”
At this point, Snape didn’t doubt that.
“We’ll be back soon, Teddy,” Harry said. “Thanks for giving me that second chance.”
Teddy smiled and waved shyly at the two.
Harry stepped forward and offered his hand awkwardly to Snape.
Severus stared at it for a moment as if it might blow up if he got any nearer to it. Finally he extended his hand and shook Potter’s.
Harry didn’t say anything except, “We can show ourselves out. See you soon.”
“See you kids,” Remus said as they shuffled from the room, waving back at him as they went.
Severus didn’t waste much time, setting about a simple lunch of spaghetti with a tomato sauce Fred and he had canned from last year’s yield. It was simple, but it would do. While he was doing that, Teddy took great pleasure in mashing up all of the play clay creations into a large ball and closing them back away in the bowl.
Snape set some buns and butter out on the table and before giving them all a plate of pasta. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he took his first bite. Teddy on the other hand, dug in with full gusto, taking much joy from slurping up his noodles; sauce was splattered over a good portion of his face.
After the dishes were done, Snape took them out into the garden, shedding his outer robe, rolling up his sleeves and tying his hair back in a leather strap. Remus was sitting on the grass in a patch of sunshine, an open book in his lap. Teddy and his dragon ran between the two of them, though they never strayed far.
Severus did a large amount of weeding and watering. Harvesting some of the ready plants, he kept a basket off to the side for edible produce as well as one for plants and parts to be used in potions. Before long he found himself sticky with sweat, his shirt sticking to his lean torso as he worked. It felt good to be outside again, to be mobile and productive.
As he had not been keeping up with the garden as he should, there was quite a bit to do; he found himself done around supper time, heading back over to where Remus was seated, wiping his hands on his pants. Remus was looking at him quite intently, his lips parted slightly. Snape thought that perhaps he should have brought out more water for the man and that he was likely parched from sitting in the sun all day.
He moved Lupin back to the house, Teddy babbling happily at his side about some adventure his dragon and he were having in the tall grass by the trees near where Lupin had been reading. He set Remus at the table and gave both him and Teddy a tall glass of water after washing the dirt from his hands and arms.
Fred had prepared supper for them; Severus sat down and ate with gratitude, having mustered quite an appetite from being in the garden all day.
Later, after the nightly dose of Wolfsbane, they settled down on the couch. Severus and Remus sat on one end; Teddy reclined at the other with a blanket over him. Severus brought out The Hobbit and read a full two chapters out loud before Teddy ended up drifting off, tired from the day’s excitement.
Snape stood and carefully scooped him off of the cushion, rearranging him in his arms so that the boy’s head was resting on his shoulder, making sure he remembered the child’s dragon. Wordlessly, he ascended the stairs with him, laying him down in his own bed with his toy tucked in with him. He turned the nightlight on so that it was dimly shining and returned downstairs to Remus, who was still sitting on the couch.
Remus watched Severus come down the stairs. He had spent many hours of the day pretending to flip through his book but actually watching his master instead. Snape had moved with certainty and grace out in the garden, much the same as he did in his lab; in a way that said he was sure of himself. His shirt had hung about his lithe body in such a way that it had made Remus’ mouth go dry. Though he’d told himself to stop it several times, he’d found his gaze drawn to the other man more often than not.
“Are you ready to retire as well?” Severus asked. “I need to have a quick shower; would you like one also?”
“No,” Remus chuckled. “I’m fine, I didn’t do anything today.”
“If you’re certain,” Severus said, transferring him over to his chair and levitating it with him in it.
“I’ll be fine, sir; thank you,” Remus replied, wondering after he had said it if he hadn’t missed some kind of an opportunity.
“Alright,” Severus said, moving him upstairs and getting him settled in front of a small fire. “Tea or another glass of wine?” he asked.
“I’ll have a glass of wine, if you’re offering.”
Snape nodded and retrieved a bottle, opening it and pouring a generous glass for Remus and then one for himself. “I’ll be back shortly,” he told Lupin and headed off to the bathroom, jumping into the shower and scrubbing away what felt like two layers of sweat and half a garden worth of dirt. He toweled off and slipped into a pair of loose fitting bottoms before returning back to the room, the ends of his hair still dripping a little.
Remus looked over at him as he entered the room, the fire gleaming off of his amber eyes; a soft smile lit his face as he neared. The look made Snape feel a bit odd; he’d never thought that someone’s face could take on an expression that wonderful merely at the sight of him. He plunked himself down on the chair, taking his glass in hand; noting that Lupin had drank a little over half of his glass already.
“Better?” Remus asked.
“Very much so,” Snape agreed. He took a long sip of his wine.
“Good,” Remus said with finality. He held out his glass, “Cheers.”
“To what?” Severus asked, clinking glasses lightly with him all the same.
“To whatever it was you said to Harry to make him smarten up,” Remus said. “We had a great visit after he stopped being so difficult.”
“You’d already tuned him in by the time I got to him,” Severus said with a snort.
“I just couldn’t stand to hear him talk about you like that!” Remus protested.
Severus felt humbled by that statement, though he didn’t say so. “You don’t have to defend me; and you shouldn’t,” Severus said, ignoring how Lupin’s comment had affected him.
“No, I don’t have to,” Remus conceded, “but I want to. I should have done it years ago; I won’t miss my opportunity this time around.”
“Do not feel the need to alienate Potter on my account.” Severus wondered how much Remus actually knew about the youthful antics of his friends. A couple of minor words of disparagement were nothing when compared with the actions of those bastards. Not that he could talk, he'd done more terrible things to people less deserving in the years since they were all young.
“I don’t know what you all heard; but he was managing to do that all by himself,” Remus stated a little coldly.
“Well,” Severus said awkwardly, “thank you.” He took another slug of his wine, wishing perhaps, that it was scotch instead, but not feeling the desire to switch it up. He had consumed more than enough scotch in his lifetime anyway.
“Harry and Teddy were fast friends once Harry stopped focusing on tearing you down. I’m glad they got the opportunity to know each other,” Remus said.
“Me too,” Severus agreed unexpectedly. “I have hopes that Potter will be good for him.”
“That’s something I never thought I would hear you say, in any context,” Remus smiled.
“I find myself being out of context in general, these days,” Snape admitted.
Remus flashed him that little grin again. “Me too.” He drained his wine.
Severus finished his glass as well, standing and then stooping to peek at Remus’ feet.
“I’ll scan them again in the morning,” he informed Lupin. “Are you ready to turn in for the night?”
Remus yawned in answer.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Snape smirked, levitating the chair closer to the bed and collecting Remus’ glass, setting it aside.
Remus unbuttoned and removed his shirt. Severus took it from him and placed it in the hamper before floating him into the bed and helping him get the covers straight. He climbed in on the other side of the bed, dimming the lights and sliding down so that his head was on the pillow. He rolled on his side so that he was facing Remus, who, to his surprise, leant in to kiss him; first on his cheek, then once tentatively on his thin lips and then yet again with more certainty.
Not being a fool, he immediately responded, pressing his body against Lupin’s. Remus brought his hand up to tangle his fingers into his damp hair, running his tongue along his bottom lip. With only one glass of wine in his system, Snape felt absolutely intoxicated with the other man’s body in his arms. There wasn’t a clue as to why Remus would want to actively pursue a physical relationship with him, but he certainly wasn’t going to deny his attentions.
His hands ran over Remus, smoothing across his shoulder blades and then down to the small of his back, enjoying the way even this light touch made the other man shiver. He kissed his mouth, across his jaw and over to latch onto his earlobe, sucking at it and teasing it with his tongue.
Remus gasped, moving his hand to cup the back of Severus’ neck, pulling him over to his mouth for another searing kiss. As Snape moved closer against his body, he could feel his hard length pressing against his thigh; he was relieved to find that his master was as attracted to him as he had been the other night. His own arousal was stirring in response, though he still had to fight down the initial wave of apprehension as it did.
Severus made a sound of appreciation and reached down to fondle Remus’ burgeoning hard on almost instantly though his thin attire. He loved the way Lupin was responding tonight, it seemed he was hardly holding anything back. It was a stark contrast from their previous encounter, when Remus had followed his lead completely. He wondered what had brought about this change in the man’s behavior.
He allowed Remus to continue directing, following what felt like the lycanthrope’s hands guiding him forward and on top of him. Severus allowed himself to be led, supporting his weight on his elbows as his body came to rest over Remus’. Lupin was still kissing him, both of his hands moved roaming his back.
Their cocks were pressed together, scant layers of material separating them. Remus moaned as Snape latched his lips onto his neck, thrusting lightly up with his hips, trying to create more friction. Severus applied a light amount of pressure back, his breath deep and uneven in Remus’ ear.
Suddenly and very instantly, Remus felt like he couldn’t breathe. The weight of another body on him like this had felt wonderful, until out of nowhere it had become overwhelming. He knew Macnair was dead but he panicked for a moment regardless as a hand stroked its way down his side. He still couldn’t breathe; he felt like he was being crushed; anxiety washed over him in a way it hadn’t in some time.
“Severus,” he gasped, unable to say anything more though his crushing panic.
Snape looked down at him, and seeing the expression on his face rolled deftly off of his body. He remained close but was careful not to touch the other man, looking at him intently.
Remus took a few desperate and greedy breaths of air, feeling his lightheadedness recede. As soon as there was enough oxygen in his system to be able to speak without being interrupted by gulps of air he said, “I’m so sorry, sir.”
“Just take a few more deep breaths,” Severus said calmly. “Relax; you’re safe here, remember?”
Remus did just that, feeling his body tremble as he tried to calm down. “I don’t know what came over me; thank you for… giving me space.”
“You can always have space when you need it, Remus,” Snape said. “May I ask what was causing you to be so… enthusiastic?”
“Well, I suppose there are a couple of reasons,” Remus started.
“Continue.”
“One of them is the fact that we have to be – physical – another three times before the full moon,” Remus said.
“I don’t believe that the bond would require us to do that on the first time around, specifically since we completed the ritual so close to the end of the cycle,” Severus informed him.
“Oh; alright then,” Remus said.
“And the other reason?” Severus asked.
“It’s nothing, sir.”
“So it is either earth-shattering, merely embarrassing or it actually is nothing. Should I be concerned?” Severus asked sarcastically.
Remus chuckled. “No; you don’t need to be concerned. It’s just that this close to the full moon my body starts to… want different things.” That was the most politically correct way to phrase it, at any rate.
“Ah,” Severus said, appearing to catch on. “I can see how that could be difficult.”
“I should have thought more about what I was doing,” Remus admonished himself.
Severus was silent for a moment. “You are calm, now?”
“Yes, sir,” Remus sounded very thankful.
“Would you be averse to me touching you?”
“Not at all,” Remus said, shifting closer. When Severus snuck his arms around him Remus thought that just maybe everything would be okay. He had obviously spoiled the mood for the evening with his appalling display, which was kind of a shame, since his libido was refusing to settle down even after his previous anxiety.
“There are other ways, you know,” Severus said.
“Hmm?”
“Other than you having to be underneath me. Next time, perhaps we should try letting you be on top; that way you will have more control.”
Remus pondered what that statement meant. He didn’t think Severus wanted him to actually top; more like he wanted him to ride him. The idea did hold a certain appeal. It wasn’t something Macnair had ever wanted, which had been fine with Remus as it would have left his stomach and genitals exposed for the man’s merciless ministrations. With Severus, however, it sounded like it held potential.
“Do you think we could try it now?” Remus asked, feeling his face heat for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Now?” Severus asked. “Are you certain?”
Remus nodded.
“Randy werewolf,” Snape sneered in almost an affectionate way. “How could I deny you?”
“I don’t know,” Remus replied, “I was rather hoping you wouldn’t.”
Severus moved nearer still, so that their bodies were pressed together again. Other than that, he allowed Remus to lead, directing their kisses and ever more intimate touches. Somewhere in the midst of this Remus wanted more contact, seeming frustrated at the buttons on his trousers. Severus helped him, making note to purchase some sleeping attire with draw strings rather than button closures. He helped Lupin and himself out of the clothing so that there were no barriers between them.
Remus reached between them immediately, grasping their pricks and beginning to stroke them together.
If this was what the full moon did to Remus, Severus found himself perfectly alright with that. He Summoned the bottle of lubricant from the dresser and set it so it would be near at hand when it was needed. This time he pulled Remus so that he was lying on top of him.
Remus inhaled in surprise but began to push their hips together and latched his lips onto Snape’s neck, nipping at the tender skin there.
“Please,” he asked breathily, “prepare me?”
“Oh, yes,” Severus replied, brushing the stray hairs from Lupin’s forehead. “Move up a little.”
Remus did as he was told, moving up his master’s body to give him better access, straddling the place just above his hips to make himself more comfortable.
Severus applied some lube to his hands and reached behind Remus, pushing his finger against that tight ring of muscle, penetrating it with more ease than he had the night before. He thought that the sight of Remus might make him go wild; he would try to continue going slow, but the other man wasn’t making it easy.
With that finger pressing so tentatively into him, Remus had to fight the urge to push back onto it. If Severus was willing to stretch him, he should allow it, no matter how much his unrulier side was urging him to just impale himself on the proffered digit. Thankfully, Severus recognized the lack of friction, withdrawing and adding another finger with more sureness. He couldn’t help but groan; as he pushed back onto Snape’s hand their cocks ground together delightfully.
Severus wondered how long until he was totally undone. Remus’ whole body was on display for him; he could hardly stop himself from stroking those pale thighs and up his scarred stomach. His hand ostensibly returned to pump Lupin’s member; he had no recollection of telling it to do so but was pleased with its initiative.
He pulled his other hand back, speedily adding another dollop of the lubricant before pushing his two fingers back inside, and then three. The fit was a little snug, but if the wanton sound Remus made was any indication, it wasn’t unwelcomed.
The lycanthrope sat back, inserting the digits even further inside his now slick channel.
“Severus,” he panted, “I’m ready for more.” Around this time of the month he couldn’t stop himself from being just a little more involved than normal. With Macnair, this would be the about the only time his body ever responded, and Walden had never missed an opportunity to tell him just what a filthy, cock-hungry whore he was. Severus just curled his lips into what may have been a smile. It was gone before he could be sure.
Snape’s fingers retreated instantly; the sound of his name from Lupin’s lips causing a small moan to be pulled from him. He helped to guide Remus back, grabbing and lubricating his prick before positioning it so that it was nudging against the other man’s opening.
Remus saw what came next, pressing down with his hips, knees bent on either side of Snape’s thin body. Severus had been right; he did have more control from this position. He looked about for somewhere to rest his hands, Snape’s own taking them and placing them on his torso. He found it easier to move with that extra support, easing himself backwards until there was no further to go and he was filled completely. He was still momentarily, before moving his body at a quick pace, gasping each time he fell back onto Snape’s cock while the other man stroked and pumped his.
The sight of Remus moving up and down on his member was almost too much for Severus. He changed the angle his hips were resting at but still allowed Lupin to control the speed and depth of penetration. He knew Remus noted the difference immediately; his eyes flew open and his head fell back. He was settling into a slower, deeper rhythm that suited Snape just fine. His self-restraint was waning, thrusting up to meet Remus’ body on each downward momentum.
“Circe,” Snape breathed, ghosting his fingers along Remus’ chest, “you’re magnificent.”
Remus ground his hips in a circle, Severus sheathed fully inside of him. “I hope you keep thinking that when I collapse on top of you,” Remus huffed. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this, sir.” His legs were burning, but he didn’t want to stop.
“You should have said something sooner,” Severus chided gently.
Snape helped ease Lupin off of himself, assisting him so he was lying on his side with his back towards him and directing one of the lycanthrope’s legs to bend upwards. He turned towards the other man, slipping one arm under him and around his chest. With his other hand he applied more of the lubricant to himself and pushed back into Remus’ supple body, wrapping his still slippery hand around his dick as he did.
He thrust in, knowing that his angle was good and he was likely stimulating the prostate. Even with that assurance, he still wasn’t going as fast or as hard as Remus had been. When he felt the other man propel himself back and onto his cock with more determined strokes in mind, he picked up the pace.
This position was new to Remus; or more like it was so long since he’d experienced it that it felt like it was new. Snape’s one arm embraced him, around his neck and curling over so that his hand was splayed wide over his chest. His other hand was beating him off in time to his prick bumping against that place inside of him that sent off fireworks behind his eyes. There was a hot mouth on his neck, working its way down to his shoulder and back up again to latch onto his ear.
Severus wasn’t treating him so cautiously now, which was, in Remus mind, a blessing. He was plunging in further and swifter than before and he could hear the pale man’s breathing coming out deep and ragged. On one forward motion he tipped the scales of Remus’ pleasure.
Without even fully expecting it, he was coming, hard. Remus felt it down to his curling toes and through every last part of his body. There was no way he was able to stop the growly howl that he heard his own voice making while he shuddered against his master, Severus’ angular hand, himself and the blankets with his seed.
Severus felt Lupin’s body tensing in orgasm, the sensation of that tight passage becoming even more constrictive was too much for him. As if that wasn’t enough, the sound that came from Remus was enough to make him almost come a second time though he was barely through his first.
He didn’t withdraw from Remus immediately, though there was no doubt that they were both completely spent. His arm tightened around the other man, lips finding his smooth shoulder again as they lay there trying to collect themselves. He pulled out from the other man’s body and waved both of them as well as the sheets clean with a spot of wandless magic. His other arm drew itself around Remus as well, fingers stroking down the coarse hair on his chest. Lupin sighed and shifted his body back so that he could rest against him.
“Was the spell enough for you; would you like me to get you a cloth?” Severus asked.
“Thank you, but the spell was fine,” Remus replied. More than anything, he didn’t want Snape to move. Feeling his master’s breath on his shoulder and his arms encircling him was something he wondered if he’d ever get completely used to, though he wouldn’t have gotten out of bed for much at this exact point in time.
“Are you in any discomfort? I have an ointment that would help,” Snape offered; feeling like a bath would be too way much effort at the moment.
“Discomfort is about the furthest thing from my mind right now,” Remus said with a small laugh. He stretched, feeling the pleasant ache of muscles that hadn’t been used for some time. Even using his legs in such a limited fashion and for such a short amount of time was an awesome concept.
“Good,” was all Severus could think to say, placing another kiss on Remus’ shoulder.
Lupin gathered his courage and, without being told, turned his body to face his master. Severus loosened his grip so that he could move. When he was comfortable, the arm under his neck tightened around his shoulder blades; the other moved to his lover back, fingers traveling a short trail back and forth over the expanse just above his bottom.
“Potter was right, for once in his life,” Severus said, not sounding happy about it.
“How so?” Remus asked, afraid of hearing some answer involving the term ‘dirty sock”.
“I don’t deserve to touch you; I don’t deserve you at all.”
Though Snape’s words could have been construed in a couple of different ways, he knew that the other man meant he wasn’t worthy of him. His tender tone and the open expression that ghosted across his features said that plainly enough. Severus’ hand didn’t stop caressing his back.
“I don’t know if I agree with that statement,” Remus began. He would be taking a risk with his next admission, “I can’t really think of anyone I would rather have touching me like this right now; any way.”
Though the words were, in a sense, music to his ears, Severus couldn’t help but wonder if Remus had much choice in his affection for him.
Macnair had been grooming Lupin for the most submissive of roles; grinding his resolve down slowly and without mercy. Now abruptly here he himself was, wanting only the basics of comfort and happiness for the lycanthrope. Did Remus really have any choice but to feel anything but a sort of veneration for him? He was probably the first person to show Lupin respect or kindness in the years since his and Teddy’s abduction. Of course Lupin would feel positively towards him; as long as he didn’t treat him like a total sub-human scab, how could he not?
“Is that so?” Severus asked him. He continued stroking Lupin’s back, reluctant to move away, even with his line of thought.
“It is,” Remus smiled. “Severus, can I ask you something?”
“Oh I see; buttering me up in hopes of hearing the truth are you?” Snape asked playfully.
“Absolutely not!” Remus replied, affronted.
“It was a joke, Remus,” Severus cleared up.
“Oh; sorry, sir,” Lupin felt himself close off again. He was always misinterpreting things, these days.
“How many times in one day do I have to tell you that you don’t need to apologize? I’m not angry with you. Ask your question; I haven’t reprimanded you for asking one yet.”
“Do you think that you would ever use Polyjuice on me?” Remus blurted.
Snape’s hand stilled on his back. “Would you wish me to?” he inquired, curiosity plain in his voice.
“No!” Remus shivered, wishing he hadn’t tipped his hand so early in the conversation. The idea of Severus using his body to enact some revenge fantasy or to make love to someone else was a concept that made his skin crawl. Not that Snape would really need to change his appearance if he were in the revenge exacting mood; Remus’ own face and body would probably suffice just fine for that.
Walden had done it many times; invited his company over with a hair in their pocket. Then he was allowed out of the room. If someone wanted to beat their wife of screw their neighbor, he had been their outlet. He had done as he was told then, to preserve the tentative safety of his son. Now; he would have little power to stop it and the idea felt more like rape than ever. Probably because he was coming to trust and more, to really like Severus.Never mind that the feeling of having his body change like that was too close to the feeling of his transformation for his comfort, even if he was still in human form at the end.
“Well; it is settled then,” Severus said, “no Polyjuice for us.”
“You won’t mind?” Remus hated the need for reassurance he was feeling surging within himself.
Snape pressed his lips lightly to Lupin’s. “I don’t believe the idea would have occurred to me if you hadn’t mentioned it.” Her couldn’t help but ponder Remus’ reasoning for bringing the concept up now, especially when it was one he was obviously so repelled by.
“Oh,” Remus said again, sounding sorry he had mentioned it at all. Somewhere in the back of his mind the word magnificent reverberated, but he was reluctant to apply it to himself, though Severus had seemed to think it was appropriate.
“Do you want to know what I think?” Severus asked.
“More than anything,” Remus said truthfully. He could be prepared for everything if he could only understand what Snape was thinking, even half of the time.
“I think that you’re overthinking something that was, in its simplest terms, brilliant,” Severus said, his hand sliding over to Lupin’s hip.
“You think so?” Remus asked.
“I do; and last time I checked I was supposed to be in charge around here.” Severus smoothed his thumb over Remus’ skin. “So you’ll just have to agree with me.”
“Of course, sir,” Remus said, not trusting the way his heart beat a little faster. “You’re pretty brilliant yourself,” he added quietly.
Snape cleared his throat. “Goodnight, Remus,” he said as if he was being very indulgent by not replying to that last comment.
“Goodnight, Severus.”
Snape closed his eyes, lips upturned in a relaxed smile. He felt that things just might be alright for the first time in a very long time.
A/N: Okay, first off can I just say: holy crap, I’m so sorry it’s been so long! A lot has happened in my life these last couple of weeks and I have all kinds of excuses that I’m sure none of you really want to hear lol. This story definitely isn’t being abandoned, as it happens to be about all I can think about these days.
Hope the chapter was up to the usual standards and that you all liked reading it. I made it a bit longer than usual to make up for my lack of posts lately. Please let me know if you’re still reading and if so, what you’re thinking about it all!
Thank you for your patience and your continued support! You guys are awesome!
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The Long Road