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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
- 35
- 36
- 37
In the kitchen, Snape sat across the table from Remus and Summoned a bottle of Scotch. It wouldn’t help Remus get any stronger physically, but he thought it would fortify them both in a slightly different way. He stood, collected two glasses and sat back at the table, pouring a liberal measure into both cups and sliding one to Remus. He recorked the bottle.
Remus wrapped his fingers around the glass, lifting it in answer when Severus raised his cup to him. The liquid was warm going down his throat and left a rather pleasant aftertaste.
Severus felt like he should say something, but found no words suitable for the situation. Really, he just wanted to disappear into the lab and let his mind work through everything that had happened today while he kept himself busy with something else. He knew it was for another day though, as he’d not feel comfortable leaving Lupin to sit and stew by himself.
“Do you really feel that way about him?” Remus asked suddenly.
This was precisely the reason the solitude of his lab sounded so appealing. “I wouldn’t lie about such a thing,” was the most intelligent thing he could think to say back to that. “Regardless, I more than likely should not have said it.”
“Why not?” Remus said. “You made him very happy, I could tell. Please, just ignore my surprise, sir.”
“Yes, well, I can’t say I blame you for it, most people would be shocked to find me capable of the emotion,” Severus said, taking a sip from his glass.
Remus made a face. “I didn’t mean it like that, Severus, and I think you know it.”
Snape raised an eyebrow. He rather liked when Remus was sassy.
“What I meant was, well, you’ve always kept your emotions so close, sir; not the ones you push at everyone, but the things you really feel. The surprise factor comes from the fact that Teddy is my son, and that, with the history you and I have…” Remus sighed. “I’m really buggering this up.” He took a deep breath and a deeper drink. “What I think I mean to say, is that of course you can and do feel love, but I think a lot of the time you keep those emotions back, maybe even from yourself. I’m Justin disbelief that you would express them aloud in front of both of us so quickly.”
Severus looked at Remus in a very intense way. The other man had just touched in a myriad of subjects and he didn’t know which to address first. He decided to forego expanding on any of those topics and said instead, “You’re not… bothered by it?”
“Bothered? No I’m not bothered by it,” Remus exclaimed. “Why would I be?”
Severus sighed, realizing that he was nowhere near drunk enough to be having this conversation. He decided to go for a version of the truth instead of the full truth in all its unholy glory. “Because of the person I am and the power I already hold over the both of you, whether I want it or not. Because if what he says is true and he does… care… for me, that gives me exponentially greater power over him, don’t you see?”
“Then by your same logic he would also have that same power over you, if what you said was true about how you feel about him,” Remus said. It was a pretty ballsy thing to do, in his books at least; to tell your master that a young slave child had any kind of power over them.
Snape’s expression didn’t change. He took another sip of his Scotch. Had he just been bested by Remus Lupin? He really must be losing his edge. “Touché.”
Remus nodded like he hadn’t expected that, sipping at his glass again. “Well really, you make it sound like it would be the worst thing he could do. I don’t see it that way at all.”
“How do you see it, then?”
If Severus was any other person Remus would have thought he was fishing for compliments. ”The way I see it is that so far you’ve protected him and made him happy. I don’t really know what else I could ask for.” Remus knew he was putting it in its simplest terms, but for him, that’s what it all boiled down to. Severus was more than decent to his boy and even to him.
“I see,” Severus said. He thought there should be some other prerequisites besides protected and happy but he couldn’t be sure. “And what about you?”
“Me, sir? Well, I-”
Fred appeared beside Severus’ chair. “Fred is sorry to be bothering sir, but Mister Moyaux is being at the house right away,” Fred said, oblivious to what he was interrupting.
Severus sighed. Sometimes life had very odd timing. “I’ll go meet him halfway. Did he bring anyone else?”
“Yes sir, there is being two other men with him,” Fred said.
“Good, we’ll likely need all the help we can get,” Severus said, standing and rolling up his sleeves. His outer robe must still be up in Teddy’s room, but no matter, he wouldn’t need it anyway.
“What is going on, sir?” Remus asked hesitantly.
“The replacement door is arriving,” Severus said. “I’m going to help them get it into place, would you like to come?”
“What about Teddy?” Remus asked.
“An alarm will go off if he rouses and Fred or I will go get him. Who knows, he might even find this interesting, if he doesn’t sleep through it.”
“Of course I’ll come then,” Remus said. “These are men from the town?” He was very interested to hear more about that, though he doubted he would get the chance to ask.
Severus slipped on a pair of boots, handing Remus a pair of shoes more for warmth than for protection. “Yes, the man Fred was talking about has lived there most of his life. My family has been doing business with his family for generations.”
“…And they make doors?”
“Sebastian does woodworking and builds all kinds of things by hand. His family is in the construction business, building, modifying and repairing manors and estates, restoring heirloom items… they do a myriad of things, actually.”
Remus nodded, finding it interesting. Perhaps one day Severus would take him to see this town. It sounded very unique, like almost anyone was welcome there, though Snape hadn’t seemed so sure of that when they’d first discussed it.
Severus levitated Remus’ chair and exited the house, taking them around to the front of the house, where they saw two men on a horse and wagon coming down the narrow road followed closely by another man on horseback.
Remus saw that in the wagon was indeed the large solid hardwood door to replace the one Harry had destroyed. The man on the horse had sped up a little and was coming ahead of the cart to meet them, smiling broadly. He couldn’t help but note that this man was incredibly handsome, with a strength and agility that showed in every motion he made as he dismounted and walked the rest of the way up to them, still holding the horse by the reigns. This man was almost a little taller than he would have been himself it he was standing, with a defined jaw and mirthful grey eyes. If Sirius were here, this man would have given even him a run for his money.
The man went straight up to Severus, holding his hand out in greeting.
“Hello, Mister Snape,” he said.
Severus actually smiled in return while accepting the hand shake, “Hello Mister Moyaux,” he returned, “And how many times do I have to remind you to call me Severus?”
“At least once more,” the carpenter laughed. “Besides, I’m here on business, not pleasure, so I thought you might appreciate the formality.”
“Doing business with you is always a pleasure, Sebastian,” Severus said.
Sebastian coloured. “You’re too kind.”
“We’ll see if you’re still saying that once we have that behemoth of a door up in place,” Severus said.
Sebastian looked back for a moment, seeing that the cart was beginning to gain on them.
“Let’s go up to the house and see what we’re dealing with here,” Sebastian said.
“Certainly,” Severus agreed, turning to levitate Remus’ chair.
“I didn’t realize you had company, Severus,” Sebastian said to Snape before turning in Lupin’s direction. “I’m Sebastian Moyaux,” he smiled, “and you are?”
Remus opened his mouth before he realized that he had no idea what to say back to that. This man was obviously very well acquainted with his master and he didn’t want to put his foot in his mouth. Did he say his name? Introduce himself as Severus’ slave? Thankfully Severus saved him from the decision.
“This is Remus Lupin,” Severus said as way of introduction.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Mister Lupin,” Sebastian said, stepping forward and holding out his hand.
Remus took it and shook it firmly, “You as well, sir; forgive me for not standing to greet you.”
“Oh please, there’s no need for that, I’m nowhere near that important, and Sebastian will do just fine.” He turned to Snape, “Did you need us to come back tomorrow, Severus? If you’re busy today it would be no trouble at all,” Sebastian offered.
“No, today will be perfect. Having a back door is fairly essential, wouldn’t you say?”
“Very much so! Especially for you, I’m sure you have been even more paranoid than usual?” Sebastian chided.
Snape levitated Remus’ chair. “I haven’t had the time for that, with everything else that’s been going on.” He started towards the house, Sebastian falling easily into step with him and Remus brought along beside them.
“No time for suspicion and mistrust? My, you really must have been busy.”
“Indeed,” Severus said dryly. Sebastian laughed.
Remus wondered how long these two had known each other. They seemed too familiar to just be business associates, especially with the way this man was teasing his master and Severus was letting him get away with it. It sounded like Mister Moyaux had been here before on a number of times and for a number of reasons. He had a thrill of unease go through him, shifting uncomfortably in his floating chair.
They came up to the back door, the wagon still plodding on down the path towards them.
Sebastian’s eyes widened. “Fred wasn’t kidding when he told me it had been ‘destroyed’. What the hell happened here?”
“An old student of mine came to visit,” Severus said, crossing his arms.
“Being chased down by ex-students, hey?” he looked Severus over, nodding as if making up his mind. “Well I would expect so!”
“Your sense of humor seems to be on full force today,” Severus said, though he looked away in mild embarrassment.
“Ah, when isn’t it?” Sebastian replied. “Have you taken down all of your fancy wards yet?”
“I’ll do it now,” Severus said. He took out his wand and worked for a moment to unravel the series of protection spells that he had put in place over the door opening. They illuminated and went dark one by one as he worked. It was important to do a very thorough job when taking wards down, especially for something like this. Even a couple threads left behind could cause damage to the men working on his house.
“So, Remus – is it alright if I call you that?”
“Of course,” Remus said quickly. He would watch Severus closely to see how he reacted to the way him and Sebastian spoke to one another. This was the first person he had met since coming here that he had not known from their previous lives. In a way it was kind of refreshing, but it was simultaneously unnerving as well. This man would know nothing of him except a short first impression and then his status. He hoped the previous would be enough to overcome the latter.
“Alright. So Remus, how is it that you know Severus here? From what I gather he’s rather a bit of a homebody.” He said that last part a little more loudly so that Snape would be sure to hear it. Snape’s response was just to shake his head and continue his work.
“We went to school together at Hogwarts, for starters,” Remus said. He noted that the other man’s smile faded a little when he said that. “We even taught there together for a time.”
“Wonderful,” Sebastian said without all of his previous enthusiasm. “What is it you do now?”
“Not much, really,” Remus started. “Well – whatever Severus tells me to, actually. I’m a werewolf you see, and with the changes in the Minsitry…”
“You bought a slave?” Sebastian asked Severus in what sounded like a yelp.
“I inherited a slave; two of them actually,” Severus answered without looking away from what he was doing.
“You don’t say. I didn’t even know you had any relatives left in the country.”
“I don’t. It was an old associate of mine that left them to me.”
“I see,” Sebastian said in a voice that implied he may actually understand. “Well it’s probably for the best then.” He looked at Remus. “Well despite the circumstances, I’m pleased to meet you, Remus.”
“Thank you, sir.” Remus hadn’t expected that.
“It’s still Sebastian,” the man smiled.
The cart lurched up to the doorway, the man at the reigns turning and backing the cart as close as he could get to the back entrance. Both of the men got off the wagon, coming up to stand near Sebastian.
“Wards down?” one of them asked.
“Certainly are,” Sebastian assured him. “Let’s make this house whole again, shall we?”
They carefully maneuvered the door from the back of the cart to the house. Sebastian and one of his helpers prepared the entrance way. Remus found their way of doing things amazing. No one pulled out a wand – they pulled instead a large tool pouch from the wagon and set about the repairs by hand. He was surprised to see Severus getting his hands dirty as well, helping to haul things to and from the cart by hand while staying out of the way of what the three other men were doing. He felt rather useless without the use of his magic or his feet, but he sat patiently, enjoying the day and the flurry of activity.
At some point the doorway came to look like a rectangle instead of the jagged mess of splinters and plaster it had been before. Soon after that the door was raised into place, again completely by hand. Everything was going fairly well before Sebastian started pounding something with a large mallet. Not three resonating smacks were made by the hammer before the alarm in Severus pocket was going off frantically.
“Teddy is awake,” Severus said to Remus. “Fred must be busy or he would have been up there already.”
“I’m sure he’ll come down, sir,” Remus said meekly.
“With all of this racket? I highly doubt it,” Severus said, wiping his hands on his slacks. “I’ll go and get him.”
“Of course, sir,” Remus replied, feeling utterly useless. He couldn’t even go and retrieve his own son.
“You’ll be fine here for a moment?” Severus asked.
Remus looked over at the other three who were still hard at work. “I’ll be fine, sir.”
Snape nodded and Disapparated with a ‘crack’. He reappeared in the hall outside Teddy’s room, knocking lightly before pulling the door open.
Teddy was in the corner of his bed, huddled under a mess of his blankets.
“Teddy?” he called softly, stepping into the bedroom.
A sandy haired head popped out of the covers. “Sir?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“I woke up to that sound and I didn’t know what was happening!”
“I apologize; I should have come to get you immediately. Some men from the town nearby are here to replace the back door.”
“They’re fixing it?” Teddy perked up a little, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“They are. How are you feeling?”
Teddy thought about it. “I feel okay. Maybe a little sleepy and my head feels kind of funny.”
“That sounds perfectly normal for the potion I gave you earlier,” Severus said walking the rest of the way into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. He leant over and placed his wrist on Teddy’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”
Teddy shook his head. “No, I’m not hot.”
“That’s a good thing,” Severus informed him. “You seem to respond normally to the pain potion then. That’s a very good thing because it means you can take them more regularly if you ever need to.”
Teddy nodded, setting his head on a pillow he had scrunched up in his arms.
“Would you like to go see what it is they’re doing out there? Or are you feeling too tired?”
“I’d like to go and see, sir. If that’s okay.”
“Let’s head down there then; it won’t do to let your father have all of the fun.”
Teddy giggled and climbed to the edge of the bed, sitting there and putting his hand to his forehead as if to steady himself.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Severus asked again.
“Just kind of dizzy,” Teddy answered, the smile falling from his face.
“Would you be against me carrying you downstairs?” Severus asked. Teddy was almost getting to the age where such things might be embarrassing and he didn’t want to step on any toes.
“You’d do that?” Teddy asked.
“I certainly would,” Severus replied.
“Well… okay.”
Severus stood and extended his arms. Teddy did the same and he lifted him by the armpits, moving him so he was being supported in his arms. Teddy rested his more than likely spinning head on his shoulder and they were off. He left the room and walked down the stairs, going out the front door so as not to disturb the work being done on the back door.
They walked along the side of the house, rounding the corner to see the two men holding the door in place while Sebastian fastened the heavy iron hinges to the wall. Severus went immediately to Remus, whose eyes had locked onto them immediately upon coming into sight. He went over and carefully set the boy on Lupin’s lap.
“He’s a little groggy from that potion still; it was to be expected, really.”
Remus nodded.
“Sorry if the noise woke you,” Sebastian said, beating another fastener into place with the mallet, “these two are awfully loud.”
Teddy looked over to the other men, who hadn’t made a noise the entire time he’d been out there, and giggled.
Sebastian smiled goofily to himself and went back to work. When he was putting the finishing touches on the door the sun was just beginning to set. They cleaned up in a hurry, packing everything away into their pouches. Once the wagon was loaded, Sebastian removed a small leather tool case from the wagon.
“You two go on ahead, get the horses ready for the night. I’ll see you both in the morning. I’ll stay for the last little bit. Thomas, I know you and your wife are having company tonight. If you were late it would be my head!” Sebastian said to his workers.
Thomas laughed. “Thanks Sebastian.”
“No problem. Have a good night you two.”
“You too, Sebastian,” they called, climbing onto the wagon and rolling out of the yard a little more quickly than they had come in. He pulled out a small broom and dustpan, sweeping the step off before carefully oiling the hinges. He played with the door handle a while, tightening something with a screw driver and then oiling its mechanisms as well.
“There, everything can be back to normal for you,” Sebastian said.
Severus peered at the door, wondering if anything would ever be normal again in his life.
The carvings along its edges and down the middle were almost the same as they had been before, though more crisp and less worn by weather and time. The door was made of oak, a hardwood symbolic of protection and endurance, among other things. The carvings on the door appeared to be that of a border of leaves like was on the old door, but if you looked more closely at the pattern, it became obvious that it was a list of runes inscribed on the wood.
“I believe this is much improved on normal,” Severus mused, running his thumb over the carvings. “Did Fred ask you to do these?”
“He said that I’d best go with the design of your original door, but to go with the template from the actual manor when I was finishing it. It’s acceptable?”
“More than,” Severus assured him, peering at the tiny details. “Did you do all of these yourself?”
“You bet,” Sebastian said proudly. “Took me most of the day yesterday, but I was careful to get all of the symbols right.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Severus said. He’d been analyzing them the entire time they’d been talking and hadn’t found an inconsistency yet.
“Is he always this trusting?” Sebastian asked Remus in a joking voice.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Lupin replied with a smile.
“You’re probably right on that one. Well, we’re all finished here.” Sebastian placed his remaining tools into his bag and set it on the side of the steps.
“It appears so,” Severus agreed. “Come on inside and I’ll get your payment.”
Sebastian waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Have Fred stop in at the shop one of these days with it, or better yet come on down yourself.”
“I’ll not feel right if you leave here empty handed after all of your work. Come in and have a drink at least.”
“So that way you have me in the house and I can’t refuse your payment,” Sebastian said.
“Something like that,” Severus smirked.
“Well I’ll not refuse, this man has an in on some of the best whisky I’ve ever tasted,” he said as an aside to Remus.
Snape rolled his eyes, levitating Remus’ chair, Teddy and all, and heading up the stairs to the house.
Remus caught a closer glimpse of the carving on the door as they went by. Runes of protection and strength were along its borders, carefully and skillfully carved. When Severus sat him at the table in front of his empty glass he found the courage to ask, “Did you do all of those carvings by hand? They’re really quite remarkable.”
“I do most everything by hand,” Sebastian said, his voice getting chilly. “I may have been born to a pureblooded Wizarding family, but I also happened to be born a squib.”
Remus winced. He remembered that Severus had said his family had done business with the Moyauxs for years, he’d just assumed that this man had magical capabilities. He picked up on the defensiveness in the other man’s voice and posture; he could have cursed, the last thing he wanted to do was to insult Severus’ guest.
“I didn’t mean any offence, sir,” he said, looking down at his knees. He should have just kept his mouth shut.
“I- none taken, Remus,” Sebastian replied right away. “I’m just rather used to wizards looking down their noses at me for my lack of magic.”
“I’m not in much of a position to look down my nose at anyone, sir.”
“I understand, I meant no disrespect either. And please, it’s still Sebastian.”
Remus looked up at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re both complete idiots,” Severus chimed in. “There, now that was insulting.”
Sebastian and Remus’ heads swiveled over to look at Snape, who was sipping his glass, which he must have refilled while they were talking. Snape set his glass down and stood. He returned with a third glass, filling both of the empty ones and sliding one to each of the other men.
“May I have a glass of water, sir?” Teddy asked. He was still reclining on Remus, his head laid back against his father’s chest.
“Certainly,” Snape said, turning to retrieve a glass of cool water for the boy. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Severus asked.
“Maybe a little,” Teddy admitted.
“Well I would like you to try and eat something, even if you’re only sort of hungry. The potion I gave you earlier won’t be so hard on you if you have a snack now.” Severus set the glass of water on the table in front of the boy, going back over to the counter and pulling a couple of items out of the cupboard.
“You sick there, little guy?” Sebastian asked Teddy.
“No, sir,” Teddy answered.
“A Ministry Official was here today,” Severus answered, allowing his displeasure to colour his words. “It was just an introductory investigation, but let me tell you that it was more than an ordeal.”
“When isn’t it with those bastards? Oops! Sorry little guy, that’s a bad word!”
Teddy giggled. “It’s okay, I won’t say it.”
“Good! I could tell you wouldn’t, you’ve got much better manners than I do, I can see that already,” Sebastian said, wiggling his eyebrows at a grinning Teddy. To Severus he continued, “They didn’t give you too much trouble, did they?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Severus said. It was more like they survived by the skin of their teeth, but he didn’t feel the need to say that aloud.
“Good. They did a sweep of the town the other week, looking for illegals and anyone who wasn’t properly registered. They basically come in, turn the place upside down and then go.”
“Who would they be looking for?” Remus asked.
“Werewolves, vampires, centaurs… you name it really. They just like to check that we’re not harboring anyone without the proper papers or anything.”
“And what do they find?” Severus asked, bringing a small plate back over to the table and setting it near Teddy.
“Nothing, these days. Back in the beginning they’d found a couple unregistered Veela, but it’s been a long time since anyone was arrested. They just think that with the bunch of odds and ends that live in Lasthaven, someone’s bound to be doing something illegal.”
“Which they probably are,” Severus noted.
“Well sure, but they’re not going to let themselves be caught that easily,” Sebastian smiled.
Snape laughed. “I would expect not.”
Remus took a sip of his drink, trying to analyze the feeling still flowing through him. He felt uneasy, frustrated and just a little sick. His hand clasped his glass more tightly as Snape laughed freely at another joke Sebastian had made.
Teddy had already eaten half of his sandwich and was starting into the next portion.
“What is in here besides honey?” Teddy asked before taking another bite.
“Those are sliced bananas,” Severus said.
“Well they’re awesome, sir, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Severus said, suppressing an amused look.
There was a moment of silence, each man quietly consuming his drink and one small boy devouring his sandwich.
Sebastian looked around the kitchen. “I remember when you first came back to this place. It’s come a long way since then, I’ll give you that.”
“It is no small part due to you and your men,” Severus reminded him. “To be honest, I never expected that this house would look the way it does, even now.”
“It takes longer without magic, but you can’t argue with the results.”
“Your entire team works without magic?” Remus asked, hoping Sebastian didn’t take his question the wrong way.
“We do, yes. Or at least the ‘branch’ of the family business my uncle and I run does. We work mostly in and around the town. Severus here is one of the handful of wizards to deal with us; most of them prefer to do business with my father and his crew who do things almost completely with magic.”
“I’m sure Sebastian personally rebuilt and renovated over half of this house,” Severus added.
“And it’s still standing even,” Sebastian joked.
“So are you, does that mean you need a refill?” Severus asked, raising the bottle.
“You know me too well. Besides, if I said no, you’d pay me and send me on my way and I couldn’t enjoy your company any longer.”
“The house is already renovated, no need to try sweet talking me into another contract,” Severus smirked.
“Who said anything about another contract?” Sebastian said, tilting his head.
“Maybe I should cut you off,” Severus muttered, pouring him another glass anyway.
Remus had a revelation during their friendly banter. Sweet Merlin! He was jealous. He hoped his look of shock wasn’t apparent on his face. He wondered why he hadn’t realized it sooner. He told himself that it was ridiculous. Severus and Sebastian were clearly friends, but that didn’t mean there was anything more to their relationship.
Not that it would matter if there was. Remus had no say over what Snape could or couldn’t do.
Of course Severus could take another lover if he chose, Remus would have no say in that at all. The idea that he might hadn’t occurred to Remus before. Now that it had, he wasn’t sure what to think, or why this bothered him so much. Possibly because he himself was unable to do so, even if a partner would present themselves, which they likely wouldn’t.
Teddy rested his head back on his father’s chest, snuggling into his arm a little. This brought Remus back to the present and out of his head. He had no idea how long he’d been tuned out.
“Are you tired Teddy?” Remus asked, remembering that Severus had said he’d probably sleep most of the day. He felt his son nod against him.
“I’ll take him up to bed. I figured that once he had something to eat, that that would be the end of it,” Severus said, setting his glass aside.
“Thank you,” Remus said.
Severus just nodded, reaching for Teddy, who allowed himself to be scooped up.
“Sorry I’m so much trouble, sir,” Teddy mumbled.
“You’re not any trouble at all,” Severus said softly, rearranging him in his arms. He looked at Remus and Sebastian, “I’ll be back shortly.”
As he walked through the living room, Snape saw that Teddy’s eyes were already closed. He carefully walked up the stairs and on into the boy’s room, laying him on the bed and covering him with his blankets. Teddy barely stirred through all of this. Snape hoped that despite the stresses of the day, his dreams were peaceful and he would wake refreshed. They would see what the morning would bring, the boy would likely sleep through the night. He would be sure to come rouse him to use the loo at least once.
He lingered a moment, straightening the covers and looking for the stuffed dragon, which had fallen to the floor when he was putting the boy into bed. He retrieved it and tucked it under the blankets at the child’s side, noting the way his small arm embraced it immediately even in sleep. He straightened the blankets, watching to make sure the boy was actually asleep. Then he moved the night light into easier reach, realizing at that second that he was fussing more than necessary.
Shaking his head at himself, he turned and walked lightly from the room, leaving the door half open in case the child woke up. He stopped in his room and counted some coins from the top drawer of his desk, placing them in a small purse. He tucked this into his pocket and went back down into the kitchen, finding that Sebastian was, as usual, telling some story or other; judging by their laughter, he had just reached the end of it. The carpenter was usually very animated; he thought that, if given the chance, he and Remus would get along rather smashingly. He sat down at the table and waited.
“I have a hard time believing that,” Remus said.
“A very common reaction to Sebastian’s stories,” Severus threw in.
“Severus, you wound me!” Sebastian said, still chuckling.
“Which one was it?” Severus drawled. “The one where you ended up in that drinking contest with that half-giant passing through town? Or the time you and Gabriel ‘borrowed’ some of those fireworks from the town storage shed and set them off behind the stage where your Headmaster was presently addressing the people of the Spring Festival?”
“Gods he was an ass,” Sebastian said under his breath. “Neither! I was actually telling him about the time I came over here for some last minute measurements that one time about a year ago…”
Severus put his hand to his forehead. “Of course you were.”
“I’m sure you remember,” Sebastian continued, shit eating grin on his face, “the afternoon I showed up to find you-“
“Yes, I know,” Severus sighed. “You came to find the back door hanging wide open and me in the kitchen, completely and embarrassingly intoxicated-“
“Cooking breakfast at four in the afternoon in nothing but your underwear,” Sebastian finished, laughing all over again.
“As if you would let me forget,” Severus said, shaking his head as if this conversation was inevitable. “In polite circles, people send notice before showing up at someone’s home.”
“Oh yes, you’re so accepting of incoming calls and mail,” Sebastian retorted. “I just about can’t even get the mail delivered here, the delivery boy is so afraid to come all the way up to the property line.”
“I enjoy my privacy,” Snape said in way of explanation, shrugging his shoulders.
Remus was smiling crookedly; the image Sebastian’s story placed in his mind was quite comical. Severus seemed to be taking both of their amusement well. In most of his experiences, the Potion’s Master usually responded to even the friendliest of laughter directed at him with disproportionate anger. It must be a mark of the familiarity these two had with each other. He felt another pang in his stomach at the thought.
“All he did was offer me bacon,” Sebastian finished off, chuckling all over again.
“It was a rough night,” Severus admitted.
“Worse morning, I’ll bet.”
“I’ll give you that.”
“Remus,” Sebastian said, pointing his thumb at Snape, “you went to school with this bloke, you must have a wealth of interesting stories.”
Remus just about choked on the sip he was taking, the Scotch burning more than usual as he spluttered. Most of the stories he knew of Snape from those times held little humor for either of them, involving either Severus’ utter humiliation at the hands of his friends, the brutal retaliations he wreaked on them in vengeance or his own utter lack of action regarding either of those things.
“I don’t know that I’m the best at telling stories,” he said awkwardly, not daring to glance at Snape.
“Oh,” Sebastian said, probably sensing that there was more to that sentence than Remus was letting on. “Well don’t worry about it then, I’ll just have to keep prying them out of him; like pulling hen’s teeth, though.”
“What Remus is really saying is that we didn’t get along while we were in school,” Severus explained, “to put it mildly. But that was a long time ago and we’re both very different people now.” He looked over and gave Remus what he hoped was an encouraging look.
“Well no harm meant,” Sebastian said, raising both hands and then smiling. “Severus here just knows enough embarrassing stories about me to shame a lesser man to death. I was just on the lookout for someone who would be able to level the field.”
“I wouldn’t know them all if you would stop making a point of telling me,” Severus pointed out.
“I think it’s done you some good. Would you believe that before I met him, this man had no idea how to laugh at himself whatsoever?”
“I might believe that,” Remus allowed, feeling like this man was reading his mind.
“Well I only teach by example you see, and this one was a tough student. I had to go all the way back to wetting myself in the middle of my fifth birthday party before I got a single story out of him in return.” Sebastian was beaming at Severus as he said all of this, and Snape seemed to be taking it in stride.
“I made it up,” Severus admitted.
“You did not!” Sebastian cried in disbelief.
“No, I didn’t. Or maybe I did. My point is that you’d never know if I was telling the truth or not.”
“I can tell, at least when you find something funny; so you can’t play that card all of the time. When you actually smile, your entire face changes,” Sebastian informed him.
Remus positively agreed. Even the smaller, more frequent of lip quirks had quite an effect on Severus’ appearance. It was like some weight was being temporarily lifted off of him, or some light that he kept under a dark shade glimmered freely for just a moment.
It was obvious that Sebastian was interested in his master, and Severus wasn’t doing anything to dissuade him from that idea, which went against pretty much everything Remus thought he knew about him. The carpenter seemed to make Severus loosen up a bit and Snape almost appeared to enjoy it.
Maybe he would encourage Severus to pursue the relationship to its fullest. After everything Snape had been through, he deserved to find some happiness. The last thing Remus would want to do would be to stand between him and that. His heart sunk even as he decided to do it. Besides, it would probably happen anyway, and at least this way he could pretend it was what he wanted, even if only externally.
“When everyone smiles, their face changes, it is a result of moving muscles and holding them that way temporarily; most people call it an ‘expression’,” Severus said with sarcasm.
“And he’s charming,” Sebastian added acerbically, rolling his eyes. He finished his drink and stretched. “Well I’d better get going, make sure they’ve closed up shop for the night and all that.”
“I can’t say how much I appreciate your promptness in getting that door installed, it took much less time than it did before,” Severus said.
“Yeah, truth be told I was so mortified at how long it took us to get that exact piece in last time that I ordered a second one to have on hand just in case.”
Severus’ eyebrows rose. “That’s why I do business with you: you have foresight.”
“Oh? Here I thought it was because of my good looks and winning personality,” Sebastian grinned cheekily as he stood.
Snape snorted. “Whatever gets you through the day.” He stood as well.
“It was very nice to meet you, Remus. I look forward to seeing you again,” Sebastian said, leaning in and offering his hand again.
“The same to you, Sebastian,” Remus answered, shaking his hand for the second time that day.
“It was a pleasure as always, Severus,” Sebastian offered his hand to Snape.
Severus extended his hand, the coin purse held in his fingers. “You shouldn’t shake on the completion of a contract until you have received your dues,” Severus said.
Sebastian deflated slightly. “Why is it that the only clients that pay on time are those I like?” he asked rhetorically.
“Yes, I see no parallel there whatsoever,” Severus said in what was obviously a jest. He jingled the bag for effect. “You deserve compensation for your hard work,” he added more seriously.
Sebastian hesitated before taking the purse. “I’m only doing this so you’ll shake my hand, you know.”
“I realize,” Severus acknowledged.
Sebastian pocketed the purse and immediately took Severus’ hand, shaking it firmly. “Until next time. If you two are in town, stop by sometime and say hello.”
“We will, Sebastian,” Severus assured.
“Have a great night, you two,” Sebastian said as he walked to the back door.
“You as well,” Remus said.
Sebastian exited the house, closing the door quietly behind himself.
“He’s quite the character,” Severus stated, his lips quirked slightly.
“Seems to be,” Remus agreed.
“Its past time for supper, you’re hungry?”
“I could eat, but don’t go out of your way.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Severus said, his expression remaining unchanged from his previous one of amusement.
He went over to the cold box, opened the door and stuck his head in, coming back out with a few things tucked under his arm. He set these things out on the counter and took out a large bowl. He removed a loaf of bread from the cupboard as well. This, he sliced thickly and replaced.
Remus was a little lost in thought for a time while Severus made something to eat. He wondered if there was anything he could do to make himself more satisfactory for his master, maybe enough so that Snape wouldn’t feel the need to look elsewhere for stimulation, be it physical or conversational. He almost scoffed out loud at himself. He was basically a second-hand sex toy that also doubled as an infirm, chronically and incurably diseased slave with few practical uses. Severus had gone out of his way to make him feel safe and as comfortable as possible, but he saw little possibility of adequacy even with that. Especially not when compared to someone like Sebastian.
“I thought you were hungry,” Severus voice drifted into his mess of thoughts. Remus looked up and became aware of his surroundings again. He found that there was a generous chef’s salad and two thick slices of garlic bread in front of him and the same sat in front of Severus, a small pitcher of dressing on the table between them.
“I’m sorry sir,” Remus said quickly, taking up his fork.
“Don’t fret, just eat,” Severus said, stabbing a slice of lettuce and cucumber with his fork and biting into it with a remorseless crunch.
Remus took up his fork and ate, not feeling much like conversation. This seemed to suit Severus, who ate his supper wordlessly, collecting all of the dishes and taking them to the sink. He ran a small amount of water into the basin and began to wash the few dishes from supper.
“What would you like to do this evening?” Severus asked, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his hands wrist deep in hot soapy water.
What did he want to do? Remus’ mind was blank in answer, but he needed to say something. This was not the sort of thing he was used to, the making of even the smallest of decisions dumbfounded him.
“It’s been a long day, perhaps we could just… I don’t know, do something relaxing. Have a cup of tea or a drink by the fire, maybe listen to some music. If something so simple meets your approval,” Remus said, unsure of his proposition even as he said it.
“The simple things in life are often the most gratifying, or so I have found,” Severus said in way of agreement. “I’ll finish cleaning up in here and then we will move upstairs.”
Remus felt like he had gotten something right for the first time that day. He sat back and tried to calm his nerves. He would wait until after they had gotten comfortable, maybe had a couple of glasses of wine or whatever Severus found acceptable to serve; then he would broach the subject he’d rather not actually discuss, but couldn’t see avoiding. Severus had done so much for him and his son that he couldn’t help but try and make him take advantage of a situation that would benefit him, and solely him. He had to at least try or he would only be lying to himself and cheating a man that had done nothing but help him and Teddy since coming to own them.
Severus drained and rinsed the sink, wiped the table and the counter and wrung out the dishrag. He locked at and erected what Remus recognized as a provisional ward over the back door. It would hold with surprising strength, but only for a short while. He must be planning on embedding the wards into the oak tomorrow in the light of day. He then gave Remus what he could only call a friendly look before levitating his chair and heading upstairs.
They had eaten a late supper, the sun was already well into setting, the dying light shone dimly through the curtains as they entered the bedroom. Severus set Lupin near his own armchair by the fire, laying a couple of cut logs into the small pit, igniting it with a quick spell.
“Tea, wine or more Scotch?” Severus asked.
“If you wouldn’t mind parting with it, more of that Scotch would be wonderful, it really goes down too easily.”
“I won’t argue with that. We will just have to watch that you don’t ingest any alcohol for an hour or so before I go and retrieve your Wolfsbane. I will be getting Teddy’s at that time as well; I’ll wake him up to drink it and use the loo. As he is in what loosely translates into a potion’s induced slumber, he will have a difficult time waking up, even if he is in the middle of a nightmare. I will ask him about the wellness of his dreams while I do these things. Please rest easy, he will be taken care of.”
Remus stared into the growing flames. “I know he will be. If I didn’t know it before, I know it now. You didn’t give that Inspector one inch. You – say you love him. ”
Severus went over and placed a record seemingly at random from his collection onto the player, setting the needle onto the vinyl. It scratched to life as he returned to take his seat beside Remus with a bottle and two glasses in hand. He poured two measures and handed one to Remus.
“I can’t help it. You happened to have produced rather endearing offspring,” Severus smirked.
“It was mostly her, you know,” Remus said, “Nymphadora.” He tried out her full name for the first time since her death, just to hear it roll off of his tongue.
Severus was quiet for a few seconds. “I don’t know if I had a chance to say it before, Remus, but I’m sorry for your loss. I hope the sentiment isn’t completely unappealing, coming from someone like me.” By that he meant a Death Eater, a man who had worn the same Mark as those that had slaughtered his wife.
“Thank you, Severus,” Remus said, taking a long pull from his glass. He tried to ignore the insane voice saying how morbidly hilarious it was that Severus Snape was the first person to offer consolation on the passing of his wife, and she’d already been dead for so long. ”I really cared for her, you know.”
Snape looked at him, openly agog. “I should think so.”
“Severus, can I tell you something that I’ve never told another person?” Remus asked.
“With the fashion we are bonded in, a piece of information, no matter how astounding, is nothing compared to the things we are to share.”
“Is that a yes?”
Severus nodded.
Remus took a deep breath. “You know that Molly… pushed Dora and me to get together. That’s no secret.”
“That is a mild understatement,” Severus acknowledged.
“Perhaps,” Remus agreed. “What you don’t know is that Dora and I were already good friends at this point; we didn’t take Molly very seriously.”
“Okay,” Severus said slowly, not finding any of this information paradigm shifting.
“Right. She came to Grimmauld Place one night to let me know she was being sent on an assignment. She couldn’t say what, but it sounded ominously dangerous and she seemed frightened enough. She was… I’d have to say panicked; frantic. I attempted to... be there for her, and one thing led to another and we ended up being – intimate.” Remus didn’t know how to say this, he’d never spoken it aloud before.
“Continue,” Severus prompted.
“She left that morning. I didn’t see her for almost five weeks; no one had heard word and everything was very hush-hush. I almost went mad wondering what had happened to her; even Albus wouldn’t give me a hint. Then she was suddenly there when I came downstairs one night for an Order meeting; I can’t remember if you were there or not. She never did say what had happened to her, not to me at least.”
Severus nodded again, looking at him like he was waiting for the dramatic punch line of the story.
“She stayed late that night, after everyone else had left,” Remus swallowed loudly, taking another gulp of his drink. “She told me that she was pregnant and that there was no chance of it being someone else’s baby. I knew she wouldn’t lie to me about it, but she wanted to get the test done, just so there would be no question. She didn’t demand I stay with her, but…”
“But you did,” Severus finished.
“But I did,” Remus repeated. “We arranged a wedding right away under the pretenses that with the war on, no one knew how much time they had left and we wanted to celebrate our love before things got too out of control. We had a small ceremony and it was done; we were husband and wife. It wasn’t a customary marriage, but I had wanted to do the best I could by her, by them. I did love her – just not in the way a traditional husband loves a wife, I suppose.”
Severus took a sip of his drink, eyes on the crackling fire instead of on Remus. Lupin obviously wasn’t familiar with the customs still followed by some Pureblood families; love was meaningless if one could have power and influence instead. Remus, however had done what he had out of honor, not greed.
“I don’t believe that necessarily lessens what you had together in any way,” Severus said. “Romantic love aside, she was your partner the moment you decided to stand beside her.”
“The Slytherin in you recognizes the alliance?” Remus asked, amazed that Severus would see it like that. He had never told anyone, not wanting to cheapen Dora in anyone’s eyes by letting them think she was the type of girl to have frivolous one night stands with infected werewolves old enough to be her father. She had been a fantastic woman and an even better mother; there would never be a time in his life where he wouldn’t regret the loss of her.
“Something like that,” Severus replied.
They drank the rest of their glasses quietly. Severus refilled them again ad stirred the fire, throwing another log on before sitting down.
“Thank you for not… judging her or myself,” Remus said.
“Who am I to judge anyone?” Severus asked honestly. “If you would, I do have one question.”
“What is it? Ask anything,” Remus assured.
“You Gryffindors, always signing the contract before you’ve read it,” Severus pretended to shame. “You told me before that you had willingly partnered with a man before. Does that make you someone who prefers both genders?”
Remus wasn’t expecting that. He decided to answer honestly. “I usually prefer men,” he said, “but I do find beauty in the female form as well. After our first physical encounter, Dora and I lived more as close friends than a married couple. Sometimes we were intimate, but it was a rarity. We agreed that having a more… open relationship would suit us better. She had other lovers. “
“But you didn’t?” Severus asked.
“Everything was worth it when Teddy was born,” Remus clarified.
“You’re a good man, Remus,” Severus informed him.
“That means a lot coming from you,” Remus said, finally meeting Severus’ eye.
“Does it?” Severus asked, seemingly startled.
“Yes, it does.” Remus took a long pull from his drink, mulling over how to start a conversation with Severus about him being able to have relationships outside of their bond. As if he would need to give permission or encourage Snape to do that, he was holding the reigns after all.
Another glass of Scotch was consumed and then another yet. Before he knew it, Remus’ head was spinning slightly. Not wanting to waste something so valuable, he dutifully finished his glass all the same. He glanced over to see that Snape had been finished his drink some time ago and was almost through a new one.
“I think I may be ready to retire, if you don’t mind,” Remus said, hoping he wasn’t slurring his words at all.
Severus drained his glass. “That’s more than fine,” he replied. “Would you mind sitting by the fire for a few minutes? I’d like to go wake Teddy up to use the loo now.”
“I’ll wait. Thank you.”
Severus stood and walked from the room. He went down to the lab and retrieved a dose of the Wolfsbane potion for each of the Lupins, putting a stasis spell on both of the before going back upstairs. Then, he peeked in on Teddy, setting the potions aside and sitting on the edge of his bed, watching him breathe evenly for a moment before setting his hand on the boy’s shoulder and shaking him lightly.
Teddy roused slowly, blinking blearily at Severus even after raising his head off of the pillow.
“Sir? Is something wrong?” his voice croaked.
“Nothing,” Severus assured, his hand still on the child’s arm. “I’m just waking you so you can try and use the loo.”
“Oh, I guess I could try,” Teddy said, sitting up completely.
“Take a minute to orient yourself, there’s no rush.”
Teddy rubbed his eyes, yawning at the same time. Severus stood, the boy stuck his feet out of the covers and scurried across the room and through the hall. He took a little while in the loo before hurrying back to bed, where Snape was waiting to tuck him in again.
“Turns out I did have to go,” Teddy said, climbing into bed and getting his feet off of the cold floor in a hurry.
“Good,” Severus said, helping him to straighten the covers. “I brought another dose of your Wolfsbane potion; you need to drink it before you go back to sleep.”
Teddy sat up, taking the warm goblet from Severus’ hands and drinking the potion in a few mighty gulps, spluttering for breath as he handed the empty vessel back to Snape.
“Other than me waking you up, have you been having a good sleep?”
“I think so,” Teddy said. He lay back down in the bed. “Have I been asleep for long, sir?”
“Not too long. Your father and I are going to sleep as well. You’re sure you aren’t having any bad dreams?”
“I don’t remember if I was dreaming or not,” Teddy said, puzzled. “If I was, they must have been alright, then.”
“I’m glad to hear it. You’re still feeling tired?”
“Not as bad as before sir, but I’ll sleep some more, for sure.”
“I thought as much,” Severus said. “Would you like me to stay until you nod off again?”
Teddy shrugged and smiled, pulling the covers up to hide the bottom half of his face. “You could if you want,” he said.
“That’s what I’ll do then,” Snape said, making himself more comfortable by turning and leaning his back against the headboard, leaving one foot on the ground. It was strange that the child seemed to find his presence comforting, but he decided to indulge him all the same.
“Today was kind of scary,” Teddy admitted to Snape and the dark room.
“Yes, it was,” Severus agreed, “but we survived it tpgether."
“I guess so,” Teddy allowed. His hand sought out Snape’s in the low light of the room, his fingers trailing over the knuckles and resting on the back of his hand.
Severus smiled to himself. This child was so open, so free to trust. He hoped he wasn’t misguided putting that trust in him, of all people.
He waited quietly, listening to Teddy breathing. After what must have only been a few minutes, Snape looked down to see the boy’s eyes closed, his lips parted in sleep. He stood carefully, readjusting the blankets and picking up Remus’ dose of potion before leaving Teddy to his hopefully peaceful dreams.
A/N: There is no excuse for the lateness of this chapter, absolutely none at all! You have my sincerest apologies!
This chapter gave me so much trouble (when I could find time to work on it)! I hope that you all enjoyed it, definitley still more to come!
Please let me know what you thought, your reviews and ratings keep me going!
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The Long Road