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The Long Road	By : SinisterMe Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Remus Views: 63607 -:- 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
- 42
- 43
- 44
Severus wasted no time once in the lab; bringing out a swath of equipment he hadn’t used in some time and assembling it with all of the haste and efficiency he had. When he was done, the worktop of one of the large tables by the cauldrons was covered almost from end to end with what looked more like a mad scientist’s station than a potion brewer’s; spread clean across with different beakers, flasks and burners most of which were connected by winding cooling tubes.
He lit two small fires, adjusting their flames precisely and double checking with a spell, the difference of one or two mere degrees would be catastrophic to his results.
Leaving everything to warm up, he entered the transformation room.
It looked like a murder had been committed in there; blood and dried black tar covered the floor completely where Teddy had been lying or standing. Clumps of hair were everywhere, matted down by the other drying fluids. He went to the cupboard and selected the tray of small vials that contained the samples he’d be investigating. Later, he would compare the contents of the vials to a sample of Teddy’s blood now, though he didn’t expect that to produce the greatest results, as many of its properties would be different with the boy being back in his human form.
What he did hope would prove enlightening were the samples of black tar. He’d been pondering it in the back of his mind, but couldn’t piece together which of the ingredients could possibly have caused that reaction in Teddy. He would get started at once, as the process was quite lengthy and he would have to repeat it three times to analyze all of the samples, more if he wanted to compare them to present data he would collect from the child later. He didn’t expect to have all of the pertinent information in front of him until sometime the next day.
He decided to start with the hair samples. He pulled out a microscope and charmed his station to have better light than it normally had, scrutinizing the hair under the lens. Everything was unsurprising until he got down to the follicle, which seemed to have died at some point. He wondered if the shedding was induced by one or more of the ingredients, or if the black tar had somehow caused it.
Setting the microscope aside he began the process of running the hair through the instruments he had set out. There would be a magically dictated summary of the results, but because that was sometimes not one hundred percent reliable, he would double check the outcome at least once more the long handed way. It was the only way to be certain one’s results were accurate. There had been an embarrassing number of brewers who had failed to do so and had tried to publish papers with information that was misleading at best and completely erroneous at worst. He would never be counted among them if he had anything to say about it.
Everything would need to be left undisturbed for a couple of hours before he would be able to look at what the tests had found. Only then could he repeat the process with the other two samples. Until that time, he would either have to find something to do or just resign himself to sitting somewhere and resting with his eyes closed.
Deciding that there would be enough time to sit idle later, he collected a stiff brush and filled a basin with hot water and some magical cleaner. Heading into the transformation space, he proceeded to scrub the entire floor by hand, cleaning it so that it was in better shape than before the full moon had risen. He rinsed the brush and the bucket out under a sink in the lab, going back into the smaller room and giving it one more look over. Casting an air freshening Charm for good measure, he decided to call it clean.
Severus washed his hands and arms carefully as well; though he had protected them with a spell before he’d started scrubbing, but it always paid to go the extra measure. Glancing at the clock, he found that he’d been cleaning longer than he’d thought. The first sample should be complete by now.
He went over to the potion’s bench, checking the equipment as soon as he reached it. Everything was in proper place and order. He verified that the sample had been totally consumed by the process, which it had. As well, he took readings of the flames a second time, to make sure that the liquid had bubbled at the precise temperature it was supposed to. Again, everything appeared as expected.
He went to the parchment beside the equipment, where the quill was still over the page, the nib hovering close to the paper but not touching it. He spelled the quill inert and took the parchment in hand, reading the findings.
Something must have gone wrong, because what he was seeing made absolutely no sense to him. It was like the magic wasn’t able to make its mind up about what the hair was composed of or how it may have been affected by the black tar. Severus tried not to be discouraged, this should have been the most straightforward of the tests, indicating that it was lycanthrope hair coated in an unknown substance at the least clear end of things. The readings were all over the place, nothing useful would come from this sample, though he would double check everything himself right away.
He sat at the work bench and began to puzzle through the problem himself.
After forty five minutes, he gave up hope of making any sense out of any of it. It seemed that the test hadn’t even been able to confirm that the hair was from a lycanthrope. Sure, there were identifiers everywhere that pointed to a sample collected from a werewolf, but at the same time they were unclear and indistinct. As was everything he had learned so far, which was essentially nothing. Maybe the tar was affecting it in some way currently unknown to him.
Perhaps he was just exhausted. With everything that had gone on it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that he was making stupid mistakes because he was tired. He set down his quill.
Severus got the next test to start going, adding in one sample of the blood that Teddy had vomited instead of the hair this time. It was the one sample that had no tar in it at all. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was sure that was what was confusing the tests, clouding his answers. He hoped that when he ran it alone it would yield more conclusive results.
As it was, he set a timer to alert him when the process was complete and headed upstairs.

In the kitchen, Fred was just putting the finishing touches on supper. A hearty root vegetable soup with sandwiches was ready, the scent of garlic and cilantro filled his senses.
Fred put everything on a tray and Snape charmed it to balance and follow him up the stairs.
In his room he found Teddy and Remus curled up around each other, he took in the sight for a moment, watching them so peaceful and so together. He hated to have to be the one to end it, but both of them needed to eat in order to recover. Teddy especially would need to be strong for tomorrow.
He woke them easily, waiting for both of them to sit up and become a little more alert. He helped Teddy up and into a small dressing gown he retrieved from across the hall, before doing a similar thing with Remus. He got them set up in the chairs by the fire, serving their supper off of the small table between the two of them. He went and got a third chair for himself from the room across the hall and sat down to eat as well.
It was obvious that they were both worn down, though Teddy ate most of his soup and one half of a sandwich. Severus thought that was an improvement over what he’d eaten yesterday and was silently pleased. Lupin took a while longer to eat his and by the time he was done, Teddy was already nodding off again.
“I think we should get you back to bed,” Snape suggested to the boy.
Teddy nodded. “I can sleep in my own room,” he told Severus seriously.
“Can you?” Snape replied with mock surprise.
Teddy cracked a smile but nodded all the same. “Yeah, I’m big enough.”
“I have no doubt that you are,” Severus agreed. “I also know that last night was frightening and very difficult for you. No one would think any less of you if you wanted to sleep in here again. Do you remember how we talked about how just having company can sometimes help if you’re upset?”
Teddy nodded again. “I remember, sir, but if it’s ok I’d still like to sleep in my own room.”
“Is there any reason you’re uncomfortable in here?” Severus felt the need to ask.
“No,” Teddy shook his head. “Well, dad snores,” he giggled.
“I do not!” Remus protested halfheartedly, laughing as well.
Snape smirked, taking the laughter as a sign that everything was alright and Teddy was just expressing his wishes.
“Okay, let’s go get you tucked in then,” Severus said.
“You’ll come check on me later though?” Teddy asked intently.
“Of course I will,” Snape said, “at least once before morning. Sound good?”
“Yeah, that sounds great, sir,” Teddy smiled.
Severus stood, urging Teddy to follow him.
The boy stopped at his father’s chair, reaching his arms out even as Remus leaned forward, wrapping them around his neck and giving a squeeze. He kissed him quickly on the cheek and backed away.
“Love you, dad,” he said.
“Love you too, Teddy,” Remus said back with a smile that could have been mistaken for no other emotion. “Now run along and get into bed. Severus will come tuck you in in a moment.”
Lupin’s eyes darted up to him as he said the words. Snape nodded once to let him know he had not misinformed the boy.
“Okay dad,” Teddy agreed, yawning once more and stretching his young body, an action accompanied by far too many popping and grinding sounds for his age. He left the room, dragon squished in one armpit.
“Should I move you back into bed as well?”
“I think I’ll just sit up and wait for you to come back, if you don’t mind.”
“Alright,” Severus replied. He went to leave but hesitated briefly. “Would you like to come as well? Or I could levitate you in there and let you do this yourself.” He felt the need to offer. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable with the amount of trust or affection Teddy gave him, but he was concerned that Remus might be. He had no intentions of trying to come between father and son.
“No, you go ahead,” Remus just smiled placidly, “I’ll wait here and digest.”
Snape gave one curt nod of ascent and left the room.
Teddy was already under the covers when he entered the child’s room. He went and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the nightlight into easier reach for the boy.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Teddy?” Snape answered, straightening the blankets around the child’s shoulders.
“Is this really my room?” he asked skeptically.
“It is, along with everything that is inside of it.”
“…Does that mean you won’t take it away from me? For any reason?”
“That is exactly what that means. The space within these four walls belongs completely to you.”
“But this is your house. And I thought I couldn’t own anything.”
Clever boy. “This house is mine, yes. You are correct, in the eyes of the Ministry you have no possessions, but that does not presently affect us; I view this space as yours and I encourage you to do the same.”
“That’s great, sir; thank you.”
“Is that why you wanted to come and sleep in here tonight?” Severus asked, still trying to puzzle that one out.
“I like it a lot,” Teddy said in answer. “I’ve never had anything that was mine before.” He paused for a few seconds before continuing, “I know you said that being with other people can be good when you’re upset about something, but… is it okay to just want to be by yourself sometimes too?”
“Yes, that is perfectly normal as well. There is a time and a season for everything, Teddy. But just know that when you’re done being alone and thinking things through, there are people who will be there for you.”
“I know that sir, thank you.”
“Good night Teddy,” Severus said fondly.
“Good night sir, love you.”
“And I you,” Snape replied. He was still floored by the ease with which Teddy declared that, how trusting the child was of him. He was equally afraid of not being worthy of those emotions, not being able to live up to them. Or worse, dashing and disappointing them.
He stood and went from the room, leaving the door ajar as always.
Back in his own room he sat heavily in the chair beside Lupin. He turned to ask if there was anything he needed and was met by a subdued expression.
“What?” he asked instead.
Remus dropped his gaze. “It’s nothing,” he said.
Snape gave an exhale through his nose. “I’m sure,” he said, rolling his eyes.
Lupin sighed but didn’t say anything further. Severus never got a chance to give him time to say what he had on his mind because the alarm he’d set went off in his pocket.
“What’s that?” Remus asked.
“It is an alarm signifying the completion of a test I have done on one of the samples I collected from Teddy during the transformation. I am going to go and read the results as well as set the final test to start running, that way it will be done by morning.” He didn’t say anything but he suspected that the test on the black tar would take much longer than the other two and he had absolutely no idea what it would conclude.
“Oh,” was all Remus said.
“Did you want to go to bed or would you prefer to come along?” Severus offered.
“I wouldn’t want to be in the way.”
There was that irritating turn of phrase again. “You won’t be. Do you think you would fall asleep if you were in bed?”
“Probably not,” Remus answered. There was too much on his mind, it was difficult to sort it out and he wouldn’t mind the time to try.
“Then come down to the lab with me.” There was no point in the werewolf just sitting up here in the dark licking his metaphorical wounds.
“Alright,” Remus agreed placidly.
Severus stifled a snarl at the lukewarm response and levitated the chair, taking both of them down the flights of stairs to the lab.
He set Remus at the edge of the workbench so he wouldn’t be ‘in the way’ and set about repeating the process of checking the equipment and reading the results.
This sample had yielded results that were just as strange as the first.
It seemed that this blood was, as expected, lycanthropic blood. But the markers were so intense and so bountiful compared to normal samples he’d seen over his life that it was unnatural. It seemed that this blood was pure, unadulterated lycanthropy. He wondered if it had something to do with the fact that Teddy had been born with the condition. He failed to see what else could cause such a thing to occur.
Remus had watched Snape go over his equipment meticulously. Watched him pick up the parchment and scan it quickly. He saw the crease appear in his brow, the slight downturn of his lips. He really became concerned as he took in the sight of Severus’ fingers gripping the paper hard enough to crumple its edges, He finally had to say something.
“Well?” Remus’ voice interrupted Snape’s thoughts. He realized that he had been standing there for untold minutes gripping the paper more and more tightly the longer he stood.
“I wish I could tell you.” Snape sighed and leaned on the work bench.
“Try explaining it to me; I know that I’m not the best at potions jargon, but I think I’ll at least be able to follow what you have to say.”
“It isn’t that – I’m just not positive what it all means myself. The test results for the hair were… well I’d have to call them inconclusive. They seemed unsure whether or not the hair was lycanthrope or something else. Whereas this sample, the one of the blood, seems to indicate that it came from some sort of an ultra-lycanthrope. The signifiers of the werewolf condition are infinitely more prevalent in the blood than they should be.”
“So the results are conflicting.”
“At best, yes,” Snape sighed. “There is still one more to run, something I hope will make all the rest of this clear. If not…”
“If not?” Remus asked.
“I may have to discreetly ask around at the Academy. I believe the Headmaster there and I are still on good enough terms that she would help me with this as well as keep it to herself. Brewers are a curious yet secretive bunch usually, and she owes me one.”
“For what?” Remus asked, he couldn’t help himself.
“Did I mention the part about us being secretive?” Severus asked with a twist of his lips.
Remus smiled, “I think you might have.”
Snape set the paper down with enough force that Remus jumped a little. He then went about setting up the next test, briskly double checking all of his flames and the liquid levels in his equipment, setting the next task to begin itself and setting another alarm on his wand.
“That should do it,” he said.
“What now?”
“Back upstairs, I suppose. This won’t be done until sometime early this morning. It won’t hurt it to sit until we’re up and about, but I set an alarm just in case I’m unable to sleep.” He doubted that he would have any trouble in that department, but that had never halted his insomnia before when it felt like stretching its legs.
Up in his room Severus changed briskly, putting everything he’d been wearing into the bin and sliding into a clean set of sleepwear. He helped Remus to change as well, knowing that new clothes would help with the feeling of freshness. He had no strength to bathe or shower, it would have to wait until tomorrow; he hoped Remus didn’t mind.
“Would you like to lie down?” Snape asked, standing before Remus while his chair floated evenly in the air.
Remus pondered the question. Normally it wouldn’t have been a question, but he felt oddly aware; maybe it was the potion that Snape had given him when he’d awoken. He looked over at his master, seeing clear as day that the man was exhausted. And why wouldn’t he be? He hadn’t slept for more than a few minutes the night before, and here he was still standing. That solidified it.
“I think we should go to bed, tomorrow will come early.”
Severus nodded and helped him into bed without much ado. He wasted no time in climbing in beside Remus either, sighing tiredly as his head hit the pillow.
Remus turned on his side but refrained from touching him.
“Thank you for everything; this has been the easiest transformation I’ve had in some time.”
“And Teddy?” Severus said in reply.
“Teddy… is resilient. I know that you didn’t purposefully engineer these circumstances, Severus, and I don’t think you would have given him that potion if you had even imagined it would do anything like it did to him. We still don’t know what caused it; wait for all of your tests to be done and come up with that answer before you’re too hard on yourself.”
“You’re more forgiving than I would be, were I his father,” Severus said darkly.
Remus first reaction was to be hurt by that statement; but then he actually thought about it.
“I’m more forgiving than you and I am his father. I know that you care about him, Severus. You’ll figure it out and have a perfect potion; if not this coming month, then the next. I know you, you’ll find the answer.”
“Would that I had your faith,” Snape said sarcastically, but it held no venom. If he had felt humbled by the trust and faith Teddy showed in him, he felt doubly so with Remus words of forgiveness and encouragement. He reached out and draped his arm over Lupin’s waist.
Remus moved nearer to Snape, almost unable to stop himself from doing so. When Severus leaned in and pressed their lips together briefly, capturing his bottom lip between his own and swiping over it once, twice with his tongue, Remus thought he would die from happiness. Severus pulled back and gave him an odd look, which led him to discover that he was grinning like an idiot.
“What?” Snape asked him for the second time that night. Werewolves were confusing at best around this time of the month.
“I’m just glad that you still want to do that, after the transformation, I mean,” Remus confessed. When Severus had kissed him after Harry had left, had told him that he could stay – Remus almost hadn’t believed it. There was still a warmth in his chest as he thought about it now; the way Snape had looked at him – Remus didn’t know if anyone had ever looked at him like that in his entire life.
“What do you mean? I was down there with you for the entire transformation and I didn’t see you lick your arse once,” Severus answered seriously.
Remus’ eyes bulged out of his head a little. Then he burst out laughing, hardly able to believe it.
That was the kind of joke James or Sirius would have made back when they were in school. Not that he was trying in any way to group Severus with those two, knowing how much all three of them would have hated it, but he couldn’t help note the similarity to himself. Very few people in his life had been comfortable enough with his lycanthropy to joke so frankly about it.
Remus felt Snape chuckle against him briefly and turn so that he was on his side facing away from him. Before he could think about what he was doing, he’d shifted forward and pressed his body against his master’s, snaking his arm around his thin form and smoothing a sequence of soft kisses upon his shoulder. Though his own body was beginning to sag into the mattress with exhaustion, he fought against it for a while, his nose pushed into the hollow of Snape’s spine, his fingers curling and uncurling over his abdomen, breathing in his scent, absorbing his heat. Eventually and almost against his will, he fell into slumber.
Severus stayed awake longer than perhaps he should have. Remus wanted to stay. His mind could barely escape those words, seemingly emblazoned there, despite his best efforts to erase them as just another temporary thing. He felt almost giddy.
As Remus crept around him, embracing him slowly, he stilled; almost afraid that movement would make this moment disappear. Instead, he felt the other man worm his way closer into him, an arm that was stronger than ever before made its way around his middle. Steady fingers stroked the smooth expanse of his stomach and moist kisses tracked their way across his shoulder.
He signed in contentment, for once ignoring the niggling sensation of doubt trying to suffuse its way through his thoughts; doubt that this could work, of why and if Remus would freely choose to stay with him of all people. He chose instead to focus on the feeling of the man surrounding him, the almost addictive sensation of his touch.
Severus allowed his mind to think over those thoughts he’d so far been suppressing. Remus’ casual touch, the gentle curve of his smile; his earnest forgiveness of acts he’d committed that he knew he’d die hating himself for. The way the other man had trusted himself and his son over to his own dubious care. The way he was holding him now; as if he were someone who mattered, who was acceptable… desired.
He forced down a physical shudder at the thought. Such presumptions were the downfall of mightier men than he. Realistically, he had a symbiotic relationship with Remus at best. The tawny haired man took shelter and protection from him for himself and his son; he took their company and –affection? It appeared to be working, so far. Who was he to question it? And if his half-dead heart was tangled up in the whole bloody mess, what was he to do about it, even if he could do anything at all?
Finding himself caught somewhere between barred teeth and a lunatic smile, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind with practiced efficiency. He slowed his breathing and relaxed his body one muscle group at a time. Still, it took him the better part of an hour to drift off, doing everything in his power to ignore the erratic beating of his heart as Remus shifted more completely around him.
It was a couple of hours later when the alarm on his wand went off, waking him immediately. He cursed it at first, and then remembered that he’d promised Teddy he would go and check on him. Reluctantly, he pulled away from Remus and snuck across the hall. Teddy was sleeping peacefully. He straightened his blankets and stroked the fine hair off of the child’s forehead, taking in the way his dark lashes fluttered above his pale cheeks. Satisfied that everything was in place he crept from the room and back into bed, falling back to sleep in record time.
The morning came too soon.
Severus found himself waking, immediately irritable upon the first glaring rays of the sun streaming through his curtains directly into his newly opened eyes. Turning his head sharply to the side and out of the glare, he sighed desperately against a bone-permeating weariness. He felt the weight of it lighten slightly as lips connected with his shoulder blade. Grudgingly, he looked over at his bedmate, squinting against the appalling brightness in an attempt to see him.
Remus smile only broadened. “I see that you’re a morning person.”
Severus scowled in response. “Oh, it shows does it?” he asked sarcastically.
Remus hid his smile behind his hand and nodded silently.
Snape rolled onto his back, thinking forward to what the day contained.
“Bollocks.”
“What?” Remus asked, brow wrinkling as he looked around for a stressor.
“In a few hours I will need to take Teddy to the Ministry,” he said, unable to keep the displeasure from colouring his tone.
Remus sighed; Severus felt the expansion and contraction of his bony ribcage against his own side.
“Can I please come with you?” he asked beseechingly.
Unseen to the lycanthrope, Snape made a face. He hated the thought of exposing one of them, never mind both of them to that hateful place. However, he would have to admit that were he Teddy’s biological parent, he would want to be there no matter the circumstances. The child would need as many people on his side as he could muster, he’d said so himself.
“You may not be able to come into the Pediatric Lycanthropy Ward, but I believe Teddy would be heartened to have you near, no matter if a few walls separated you,” Severus answered honestly.
Remus brought his arm around him again, squeezing tightly but briefly. The lycanthrope’s lips grazed his neck, exposed as all of his hair had fallen to the side.
“Thank you, Severus.”
Snape turned in place and met Lupin’s eyes.
“You must know that I would deny you nothing within my means, for the sake of your son,” he said openly, aware that this admission was very UnSlytherin of him. Were he totally honest though, he would have left out those last six words, so he did his House some credit at least.
Remus broke eye contact, looking somewhere in the range of Snape’s navel if he were estimating correctly.
To end the moment, he slid out of bed, standing. He really could use a shower and both of the Lupins would need another dose of potion, a shower at the very least and a healthy breakfast.
He called Fred, detailing what he needed done.
“Fred will be taking these two for breakfast while sir does what sir needs to be doing. They will be drinking their potion as well. Fred will also be making something for sir to eat, so he should be coming down once ready.”
Snape nodded once and left everything in Fred’s more than capable hands.
He went off to the shower, cleaning himself as quickly as possible. He finished his routine and dressed, donning a set of very severe robes – the most intimidating set he owned in his opinion, and he considered himself to be somewhat of an expert on the matter. Sneering once into the mirror to assure himself that he hadn’t completely lost that frightening edge most free-but-unquestionably-guilty-multiple-murderers wore. He pivoted and left his rooms without another thought to his appearance.
In the kitchen, Remus and Teddy were just finishing a rather large breakfast. He made himself a plate, ignoring the pecan waffles that were far too sweet for him at any hour of the day and making himself instead some buttered toast and a plate of fruit. He looked over to the side of his plate and saw a steaming cup of coffee, taking it in hand immediately and draining as much of it as his mouth could stand, considering how hot it was.
He set the mug down and looked over at Remus and Teddy, who were nearly done the portions on their plates.
“How are you feeling today, Teddy?”
“Much better, sir,” said the boy. “I don’t feel as sleepy and I was hungry when I woke up.”
“That’s good; it looks like both you and your father have eaten decently this morning,” Severus pointed out.
“Yeah; the waffles are great!” Teddy paused, rearranging the stuffed dragon on his lap so that it could see over the edge of the table.
“Well when we’re all done eating, I’m going to want you to have a bath. Later this morning we are going to the Ministry,” Severus paused, considering his words carefully. “We have an appointment there; someone is going to want to ask you questions and maybe do some tests. Your father will-” Severus stopped talking at the stricken look on Teddy’s face. “What?”
“You’re taking us to the Ministry? Are you – are you going to leave us there?”
“Not for a minute; as long as you are there, I will remain there also. We arrive together and we leave together. That place I took you from? You will never have to go back there again, not as long as I have anything to say about it.”
Teddy nodded, colour returning to his cheeks. “Okay sir, that’s what I hoped you’d say.”
Remus couldn’t help but envy the way that Snape was able to quell Teddy’s doubts and fears. His voice became decisive and a fierce glint appeared in his dark eyes as he’d spoken. Remus couldn’t help but believe his master’s words himself, despite the fact that he knew that if the Ministry wanted them to stay, Severus wouldn’t get to have a say in the matter. Still, he would hate to be the person standing in Snape’s way for half a second, even if he had the entire Ministry backing him.
Snape nodded and continued, “Your father will be coming with us as well, though I don’t know if he’ll be allowed into the place we are going. If not, he will wait for us to be finished and we will join him then.”
“What do they want?” Teddy asked uncertainly.
“I am not entirely sure, but we are going to find out. There is nothing I can do to stop us from having to go, but I will do my best to be there for you, to keep you safe.” Severus suddenly found himself without appetite, glad that he’d eaten most of what was in front of him already. He took up his coffee and drained the cup.
“I know, sir,” Teddy said, smiling at him as he did.
“Okay, let’s get you in the bath. Remus, I assume you’d like one as well?”
“Oh yes,” Remus sighed, “I would love a bath.”
“We could have one together, daddy!” Teddy suggested.
“I-” Remus started. He looked over at Snape; would that be something he would allow?
“It would conserve time,” Severus said, one side of his lip quirking. “I suppose we could arrange it.”
Teddy bounced up and down in glee.
“Come along then,” Severus said to Teddy.
He levitated Remus’ chair and led them both upstairs and into his and Remus’ room; the bath was larger in there and they’d fit more comfortably. Part of the reason he was doing this was both of them could use some of the muscle potion to take away any residual soreness from the transformation. Also, now it might be a way to lighten the mood of the day, until they were forced to leave for WIBNA headquarters, deep within the Ministry. He’d heard that they had dug another layer into the structure just for them, but he couldn’t be sure as he had yet to have the misfortune of actually going there himself.
He set Remus down inside of the door and set the tub to fill with water, adding the potion as well as a measure of bubbles to the rising water. Lupin would have to deal with the bubbles as he knew how much Teddy liked them.
“This is huge!” Teddy proclaimed, peering over the edge of the basin.
Severus smirked at the child’s exuberance and slid a stack of towels closer to the bath, transfiguring them into a small stepstool.
“Go on and get in, the water will be a good temperature,” Severus said.
“Okay!” Teddy said, struggling with his jumper.
Snape turned around and began to help Remus prepare to get in also. He heard splashing and giggles behind him letting him know that Teddy was in the water. He helped Remus to undress and levitated him so that he was in the bath as well.
“I’m going to cast a Charm on both of you that will not allow your heads to sink below the water.”
“Sir, it’s getting very full in here,” Teddy said uneasily despite the promised Charm.
Though the basin was nowhere near full, Severus allowed it to go for only a moment more before turning off the taps.
“I believe this is deep enough for you to submerge your shoulders and neck?” Severus asked Lupin.
“Oh yes, it should be,” Remus agreed, looking at Teddy from the corner of his eye.
“Good; Remus, you know which bottles are which and there is a basin for wetting and rinsing your hair. I am going to run down to the lab and see how that sample analysis is coming along. I’ll be back up again shortly.”
“Of course,” Remus agreed easily. A little time alone with Teddy would be wonderful.
Snape turned and left the room.
Once in the lab, be went immediately and checked his equipment.
Everything, yet again, appeared as normal, with the exception of the fact that the test was still processing. He felt like pulling out his hair. What in Merlin’s name was it doing still processing? There was no bloody way it should still be analyzing that damn sample. Checking everything once again and finding everything in order, he decided to leave it a little longer. What else was he going to do, really?
He decided to set up another station just like this one and run an analysis on Teddy’s blood. At least that way, when the tar was finished, he could compare all four samples immediately and hopefully make some sense out of all this madness.
Severus began at once. He had more than enough equipment to set up another station. It didn’t take long to do, even with setting the fires to the precise temperature they should be. He checked the first setup again, finding it no further ahead than it was when he first looked at it. He cast a spell that told him it was well over half done, though the process had been very slow.
He would go upstairs and see how Teddy and Remus were doing; once they were out of the bath and dressed, he’d collect a sample from Teddy and start it running, analyzing what his blood was made up of the same way he had the other samples. He only wished he’d thought to collect a sample of the boy’s blood before he’d started taking the potion, though it was too late for that now.
Upstairs, he went and selected a new set of clothing for Teddy, as well as an outer robe. They could tell him over and over again that this boy was an animal, but they could not make him treat him like one; the child would dress like a civilized Wizard. He did the same for Remus back in their room and approached the door leading to the two Lupins.
He heard their muffled voices and pushed the door open to reveal his presence.
“How’s it coming, you two?” he asked, his heart softening at the sight of Teddy, who had collected all of the bubbles into his corner of the tub and seemed to have burrowed into them. It seemed he still knew how to be a child, or rather, was discovering how to be one on his own terms.
“I think we’re about finished in here,” Remus said, laughing.
“Alright then.” Severus get the tub to drain with a spell and Levitated Remus out of it, casting a drying Charm as he floated to his chair.
Seeing that Teddy was trying to climb out of the slippery high walled tub on his own, Severus cast a levitating spell on him as well, transporting him safely to the floor where he handed him a large towel. While Teddy dried off, he helped Remus into his fresh clothes, complete with outer robes as well.
“I don’t know the last time I wore robes,” Lupin mused out loud.
“Do I get to wear some too?” Teddy asked, already dressed in his shirt and trousers.
“Yes you do,” Severus said, handing him the garment.
“Oh, these feel nice,” Teddy said, running the fabric through his hands.
“I wouldn’t send you out in tatters,” Severus snorted with an almost-laugh. “Where we’re going, these people will judge you enough as it is; at least they’ll be able to find nothing wrong with your appearance.”
Remus had been thinking the same thing about the robes. They were of better quality and make than any of the one’s he’d owned even while he worked at Hogwarts. He appreciated where Severus was coming from; it was the perspective of someone who had had little at one point in his life. If he recalled, Severus had dressed almost as shabbily as he himself had when they were in school together. He doubted the wealthy Purebloods in Slytherin were as forgiving about that as his own Housemates had been.
He felt his chair lifting off the ground and before he knew it, he was floating down the stairs behind Severus. Snape didn’t stop at the main floor either, he continued on into the lab. He could hear his son’s footsteps following behind him as they went.
Teddy rushed around both of them as soon as they were on the lab floor. He hurried up to Snape’s equipment and clasped his hands behind his back, looking intently at the different boiling liquids and the bubbles flowing through lengths of coiled tubing that without a stool were right at eye height for him.
“Neat,” he whispered, eyes wide in awe. “What is this stuff doing, sir?”
Snape felt pleased by the boy’s excitement and his inquisitiveness.
“Each of these stations is set up to break down a sample of something to be put in here,” he indicated the first beaker. “As the sample goes through these various potions that are contained in all of these connected beakers and flasks, the sample is destroyed, but by doing that this equipment will tell me exactly what the sample is composed of. With a specifically Charmed quill using special ink that must be brewed ahead of time, the quill and the equipment communicate magically during all four of the transition phases, writing what they find as the sample is broken down more and more.”
There, an elementary explanation of a very complicated process for the child. He hoped it would be somewhat understood at least. Teddy wouldn’t even be considered ready to assist with the brewing of even one of the potions in the beakers for years to come.
Teddy’s forehead creased for a minute.
“So the trans…”
“Transition,” Severus prompted.
“So the transition phases are each of these beakers?” Teddy confirmed, though it sounded like more of a question. “And as it boils it goes through the tube and mixes in with the next potion all the way until it is at the end? And each time we find out more about it and the quill writes it down?”
Snape’s eyebrows rose. “Yes, that is a very good basic explanation of how this process works.”
“And we can test anything in there and find out what it’s made of? That’s so …awesome!”
Remus was surprised that Teddy had followed all of what Severus had been saying there, even to the point of inferring where the different phases started. He could see why they got on so well down here and wondered what would become of the two of them in the future. It had never occurred to him before that his son may grow up to become a Brewer, but now he wondered if he would even want to become something else. If he were allowed to grow up and become anything at all.
“I’m glad you find it interesting,” Severus smiled.
“Can we try something right now?” Teddy asked.
“I had intended to run another test, which is why I brought both of you down here. It takes quite a long time, so we won’t stay to watch it all. I was hoping that I would be able to run a sample of your blood through there, Teddy. There will be no cuts or needles – I will spell the blood directly out of your veins and into a vial – you will feel absolutely nothing.” He was concerned that the idea might worry or scare Teddy so he was explaining this as gently as he knew how.
“You want to run a sample of my – blood – through that equipment?” Teddy reiterated.
“I’d like to, yes.”
“Cool!” Teddy said, almost vibrating with anticipation.
Severus had not expected that. He brought a vial near.
“Are you ready? I’ll have to use my wand so that I have better accuracy,” he warned the boy.
“Okay,” Teddy agreed.
Snape slowly brought his wand out of his holster and moved Teddy’s arm so that he could pull up his sleeves and see the inside of his elbow. He touched the end of his wand to the pale patch of Teddy’s skin, saying the spell as he went. The vial filled slowly with the ruby red of the boy’s blood.
Remus felt sick watching as Teddy’s blood filled the vial. That was until he saw his son lean in and grin at it as it filled. He supposed he was forgetting what it was like to be a young boy; he smirked to himself, watching his son’s eyes gleam with interest.
Snape removed his wand From Teddy’s elbow without leaving as much as a mark behind. He took the sample over to the second set of equipment and poured it into the first beaker, closing the cap and letting it rise to temperature. Teddy was at his side, watching every move he made. The boy continued to watch the sample, which started to bubble and change colour as it merged with the first potion.
Severus allowed his curiosity for a few moments before saying, “We need to get going now, Teddy. It won’t do for us to be late.” In other words, let’s not give them any more reason to be complete berks to us than they already have.
“Okay sir,” Teddy said, his reluctance showing only a little as he turned away from the table.
They went upstairs, Severus looking them both over once and nodding.
“What?” Teddy asked, glancing down at himself.
“You both look like the respectable Wizards that you are,” Snape told the boy. “Don’t let anything you see or hear, anything that happens to you, convince you that you are anything else.” He would have said more, but how could words convince a child that he was human, when near everyone else in the world found it acceptable to treat him as if he were not?
Teddy nodded. Remus’ face looked grim, but he said nothing so far.
“I’m going to cast a Disillusionment Spell on all of us so that we can enter the Ministry without being noticed by the rest of the world.”
He did as he’d said, getting them to hold onto his arm as he Apparated them to the phone booth that would lead them to their uncertain doom. Upon their entrance, Remus and Teddy had been given tags to wear around their necks informing every one of their status as lycanthrope slaves.
The Atrium was much the same as Severus remembered it to be. He instantly began to Occlude. Having not been here in person since the trials, it was a little unnerving. He shook off the sense of anxiety that this place had always held for him, nothing good had ever occurred here; not for him. Sure, he’d been granted his freedom, but at the cost of having the entire contents of his mind somewhere on Ministry Record.
Teddy had both hands clasped tightly to his robe and seemed to be distressed by the largeness of the place and the number of people passing by. He had to be mindful of the boy, as well as where he levitated Remus’ chair, trying to avoid collisions and to keep his ride smooth and level. Severus found himself winding his hand around Teddy’s shoulders and drawing him closer than the boy felt welcomed to come on his own.
The elevator ride down to the bottom floor of the Ministry was uneventful, if you excluded a sobbing child terrified of the events around him and the machinery that carried them. It hadn’t helped that some passing witch had mentioned the depth they would be travelling to – Teddy was almost more afraid of the idea of being trapped so far under the ground than he was of the idea of the space of the sky looming over his head.
Before they’d gotten into the lift, Snape had crouched beside a panicking Teddy, holding his hands while he explained that the Ministry had stood, much the same as it was standing now, for a very long time. It would not collapse on them and under no circumstances would they be trapped down there. They had garnered strange looks from many passersby but Severus shrugged them off, barely even noticing. Teddy didn’t seem totally convinced, but he trusted Severus enough to get into the lift and allow the doors to close.
The ride down was fairly long, and Teddy seemed to calm as they went. Snape kept his hand on the child’s shoulder for the duration of the trip. Remus yet to react to much of anything and he sat quietly at their side, his hand tucked into his son’s.
The doors parted and a short white hallway presented itself. At the end was one man sitting at a desk. For lack of anything else to do, Severus led the tree of them up to the man and cleared his throat.
The man looked them over with a single glance, his eyes focusing immediately on Snape.
“Do you have an appointment, Sir?”
Severus pulled the form the Inspector had given him out of his pocket and handed it to the man.
The man scanned the document and set it on the desk, stamping it once and giving it back to Snape.
“You can go in with the pup but the big one will have to wait in that room. We can’t have the full grown ones just running freely about if they aren’t required to be here.”
Snape’s eyebrow rose elegantly as he looked to the open doorway the man had just indicated.
“Remus hasn’t taken ten steps on his own since he came to stay with me. I highly doubt he would be problematic in any way, and he will definitely not be ‘running about’ as you say.”
“The rules are in place for good reason, sir; it will wait in the room as they dictate.”
“There are no other options?” Snape asked, wanting to be sure he had explored everything before he just left Remus like a dog tied up to a pole outside a shop window to wait for its master.
“If it’s really as sickly as you say it is there’s a Disposal Unit at the end of the hall. I could let you take it there once you filled out the right paperwork,” the man said jokingly, leaning back on his chair. “Otherwise it will wait in the room until you are done. It isn’t going through those doors, mate.”
“Listen, ‘mate’,” Severus sneered, leaning forward and setting his palm heavily on the varnished desktop. “I’m sure, with a job as important as ‘hall monitor’, you’re very used to having your opinions heard and respected by all who pass through your vast domain. I, however, have very little use for your poor impersonation of wit and absolutely no use for your outrageously inappropriate suggestions.”
The man behind the desk faltered, leaning back farther away from Snape as he spoke. Severus just continued leaning in, keeping the distance between them the same. When he was done speaking, he held his position for a moment, before pushing away from the desk, wiping the hand that had touched it blatantly on his robe.
“I- uh, he’ll still-“
“Yes, yes,” Snape dismissed, waving his hand. “He’ll wait in your damned room. But if I return and so much as a stich on his robes is out of place, I will be sorely displeased and will hold you completely responsible.”
The man nodded, seeming to have lost the use of his mouth.
“Wonderful,” Severus said dryly.
He levitated Remus and opened the door, ushering Teddy along with a hand on his shoulder as he had done before.
The room was empty and made of stone. There were no Charmed windows to let in natural light, only a couple of candles on pillars way out of reach, even those were burning low. Their depth was apparent here, the air dank and stale, moisture was visible on the walls and the cold dampness of the air made Snape’s knee creak ominously as he walked with Remus into the far corner. He didn’t need to look back to see that the guard was still looking at them through the open door.
“Perhaps you should have waited at home,” he said to Lupin.
“Perhaps,” Remus agreed, “but I’m glad I didn’t.” He looked at his son and tried to smile encouragingly at him, reaching out to touch his cheek lightly.
Snape nodded. “I have no idea how long this will take. I’ll set a ward around you that will alert me instantly if someone tries to cross it or if magic is preformed within or crosses it. I am not sure what to expect in there, but I will do everything I can to expedite the process. I don’t know how much control I will have, but I will do all in my power to keep Teddy safe.”
“I know you will; thank you,” Remus said. He looked down at his lap, uncomfortable with this whole situation. Still, if it had to be endured and he couldn’t be there, there was no one other than Severus he would trust to put his son’s interests first. “I’ll be fine here – do you think the wards are necessary?”
“Yes, they are. You have no rights here; I won’t let someone try to take advantage of that while I am otherwise engaged. I don’t trust that fool behind the desk out there be solely responsible for you or your safety, Remus.”
Remus looked up at Snape. He hadn’t thought about it that way and was suddenly grateful that Severus had the prudence to think of that. He possibly would be alone for some time with the guard only a few steps away. He would not be able to defend himself or say ‘no’ to anything the other man wanted, not here and in isolation. It had never been a problem before, not when he’d belonged to Macnair – Walden had never allowed him out of the house, let alone taken him out in public. Not that Walden would have cared if someone had harmed him, probably would have invited the bloke for whisky and another round.
“I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t have your foresight, I guess.”
“I knew there was a reason you kept me around,” Snape said sarcastically.
The statement was so absurd that Remus laughed. “You better get going before you start giving me something to actually worry about,” he said to his master.
Snape moved his hand from Teddy’s shoulder and took Remus’ off of the arm of the chair, holding it loosely in his own. He brought it up while at the same time bending at the waist, keeping his back straight while he touched his lips to the dry skin of Lupin’s knuckles.
“You have nothing to worry about,” he said seriously as he placed Remus hand back where he had moved it from. His hand went around Teddy’s shoulder again, only to push him gently forward.
Teddy seemed to understand wordlessly what Snape wanted him to do. He went over to Remus and held his arms out. Remus leaned forward into his son’s embrace, wrapping his arms around the boy and hugging him tightly back.
“Love you daddy.”
“I love you too, Teddy. Be good for Severus and do your best when someone asks something of you. I’ll see you soon.”
He ran his hand down the soft hair at the back of Teddy’s head, kissed him once on the cheek and let go. He was still reeling from Snape’s overt display of affection and hoped that his cheeks weren’t flushed. At Snape’s home, alone and in private was one thing – but in front of Teddy and the guard, who was unabashedly watching them? It was like Severus didn’t care if someone saw him or not.
Teddy stepped back to Severus’ side, hands immediately grasping the loose material of his robes again.
Snape took a few seconds to place the wards around Remus, checking their efficacy before he allowed himself to be satisfied. He also spelled his bladder and bowels empty and cast a warming charm over him quietly.
“We’d best go, I doubt arriving late will earn us any favors. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
Remus offered one more smile to his son before he and Severus turned and walked from the room. He was suddenly very aware of how alone and how far underground he was. With nothing else to do he wrapped his arms around his middle and settled down to wait.
Severus made sure to scowl fiercely at the guard as he and Teddy waked past him and through the double doors that he was seated in front of.
He held the heavy door open for the boy, looking up once he was through.
The room was very white and smelled of St. Mungo’s. There was a station where men and women in white and light blue robes were milling – one lady sat up front and was looking pointedly at them with pursed lips. Other than the Healer’s station she was seated at, the room was quite bare, a row of chairs lining each free wall, and that was basically it, aside from a hallway he couldn’t quite see down. Severus felt like he was in some sort of Muggle Clinic more than anything else.
His hand still on Teddy’s shoulder, he walked them up to the front desk and handed the lady seated there the papers he’d been given the day before.
“Hello, sir,” she greeted him in a nasally voice. She took the papers he held out to her and read them over, making a couple of marks on a parchment attached to a clip board. “I’ll need you to fill this out and take a seat over there.” She gestured to the rows of chairs with her head.
“Certainly,” he drawled, taking the clipboard and quill from her.
The form seemed straightforward. He flipped it over and looked at the other side to make sure there was no print hidden on the back before signing it. He gave it back. It just reconfirmed everything he already knew. That this visit was mandatory and that he would be responsible for any damages caused by his property be it in here or out in the other waiting room.
“Someone will call when they’re ready for you.”
Severus nodded. “Come on, Teddy.”
He took them over to the chairs, selecting ones that were far away from anyone else waiting. Severus hadn’t taken them in before, but there were six other people in the room. Three of them were adults, two males and one female; all of them sat on chairs and appeared disinterested in their surroundings. One man was reading a paper, the lady was picking uncouthly at her nails and the other man was drinking tea, presumably conjured.
The other three were children. Two kneeled and one sat cross-legged, all on the polished floor by their master’s feet. They were grubby and a little too thin. The cross-legged one sat unmoving, in front of the reading man, looking at his master’s shoes silently. The woman had a small girl kneeling at her feet looking exhausted but a little less bedraggled than the other two. The last one knelt in front of the man with the teacup, eyes trained on the floor, hands held up while he tried to remain still. Snape wondered what he was doing until he saw the man set the teacup down with a small clink. It appeared the boy was there to do nothing but act as a table, holding his master’s saucer in his hands and waiting for it to be continuously removed and replaced.
He sat in one of the chairs and looked at Teddy, who had taken all of this in also and appeared unsure what to do with himself. Not giving a fiddle what anyone else was thinking, he patted the seat of the chair next to him.
Doing what he was told, Teddy climbed up onto the chair and sat looking at his knees. It didn’t take a genius to guess that he was becoming more anxious with each passing moment. Severus reached out and grasped his hand in his own, holding onto it silently.
Teddy looked up at him with a thankful smile, relaxing minimally.
A young lady in blue robes came out and called a number. The reading man tapped the boy on the floor with his foot, not looking up from the paper. The boy rose and went over to the lady without raising his head. She led him away without another word.
They waited another ten minutes or so in silence before the same lady returned alone, and called another number. The child with the saucer set it down carefully on the seat next to his master, bowing low to the man before rising and going over to the lady as well. She led him from the room as well.
“Am I going to have to go by myself, sir?” Teddy leaned over and whispered to him.
The lady looked up from her mangled cuticles and glared at them. Snape ignored her.
“I will find out when they call your number. If they will allow me, I will come with you.” It hadn’t occurred to him that he might not be permitted to accompany Teddy. The thought that he might not be able to made him distinctly uneasy.
“Okay sir, thanks.”
The last child was called, and mere moments after she was escorted from the room, the first boy came back out. Approximating the time it had taken, he figured that this entire thing, supposing that this was it, would last just over half an hour.
Reading man went over to the front desk, filled something out on a paper and left the room with his young slave trailing behind him. Apparently that would be it after all; he wished his relief was more profound.
The young lady appeared again. She looked at her chart.
“4629!” she called to the room even though Teddy was the only child in it.
Severus stood before Teddy did, indicating that he should do the same. He walked up to the young Healer, trusting the boy to follow behind him out of fear if nothing else.
The lady gave him a perplexed look. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“I would like to be present for this… well whatever this is.” Excellent people skills, Severus.
“That is not common practice, Mister-?”
“Snape. And I didn’t ask you if it was common practice Miss, I believe I informed you that I wish to accompany this child. Nowhere is it stated that there is a law preventing me from doing so.”
“Well I… I guess I’ve just never had anyone want to do that before. I’ve only been here a week, you see. Let me go ask Healer Crewe.”
She seemed sincere enough. “I will wait here.”
She turned and went to the front desk, speaking to a tall man in a white robe. He saw the man making a face and shaking his head, telling her something at length.
The lady’s face was a little sour as she turned away from the man and back to him. He already knew the answer before she started speaking.
“I’m very sorry, sir, but I’m afraid it simply isn’t allowed. WIBNA is very secretive about their equipment and facilities, being that they’re beyond the cutting edge. I’m afraid that no one but WIBNA staff, who have signed confidentiality agreements already, and the slaves, who are not permitted to reveal such secrets are allowed back there.”
That sounded like a load of horse shit; and even if it was true, it didn’t bode well for what they might try and do to Teddy back there.
“I am prepared to sign such an agreement as well. I have no interest in the workings of this infernal place or its equipment.”
“I’m sorry sir. I’ve been told that nothing you say will make it allowable for you to go back there.”
“No one has told me what will happen to him once he rounds that corner, Miss. I am not able to refuse him to go. Pardon my reluctance to allow you people to have free and unrestricted access to this child, even for a short time.”
The Healer looked from Severus’ face down to Teddy. She must have taken in the way that Teddy’s hands held desperately to his robes, the way that his hand rested protectively on the child’s back.
“Nothing damaging will happen to him, Mister Snape. All they want to do is test a few things, try to chart their growth and development physically and mentally. He will be fine.” She looked around the room, seeing no one else in line. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll wait with him myself until the Healer comes.”
It didn’t, but it was likely the best he was going to get. At least she talked about Teddy as if he was a person, not a thing.
“I’ll do my best to take you at your word, Miss. I would appreciate if you would do that for me.”
“It’s not a problem, Mister Snape.”
She looked around, and seeing that no one was looking she held out her hand to Teddy.
Teddy looked up at Severus with wide eyes.
“Go with this nice lady, Teddy. I promise I will be waiting right out here for you the entire time.” He tried to swallow his guilt at having to say those words.
Teddy took a deep breath. “Yes, sir.” He reached out his hand ant slid it into the young lady’s. They walked together down the hall, Teddy shooting furtive looks back at Snape as he was led away.
Severus let out a long exhale. He felt like a total ass for letting Teddy go off by himself. He paced for the first ten minutes instead of taking his seat. Finally the young lady appeared from the hall, going over to the front counter and shuffling through some paperwork. She shot Snape a smile when she saw he was looking at her.
At about twenty minutes, he took a seat.
Not too long after that a younger man came in, leading a small boy by a collar and leash into the room. He walked up to a chair and waited. The boy pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the chair down, getting to his knees immediately after. Only then did the young man take his seat as well.
Severus wrinkled his nose in disgust and rose, pacing the room again.
“I’m sorry if it stinks, I didn’t have a chance to make it hose itself off this morning,” the young man said apologetically.
“You are the one I find distasteful,” Severus snapped, turning his back on the man, who thankfully didn’t say another word to him.
Teddy had been gone forty five minutes, ten minutes longer than any of the other children had been back there. He sat down at the farthest point he could from the man and his slave. Five more minutes and he would demand to know what was happening. He was considering marching back there right then, he doubted any of them would be able to stop him unless they had the hall warded.
The five minutes went by very quickly while he sat there tapping his foot. Finally he stood and strode purposefully in the direction of the front counter, ready to insist they bring Teddy out to him, done or not.
A large crash and a string of profanity came from the hall. From where he was standing, Severus could see directly down it. One of the doors that lined the walls was thrown open and Teddy bolted out of it at such a speed that he slid right into the opposite wall. Without stopping, he kept running down the hall towards Severus, seeing him immediately and barreling into him at almost full speed, wrapping his arms around his stomach and burying his face into his robes.
“I’m so sorry sir, I tried to be good!” the boy wailed.
Severus reached down and lifted his chin. His shock was probably apparent on his face at what he saw.
Teddy’s lips and chin were streaked with blood. As the boy took a shuddering sob he saw that there was a rosy tint across his teeth as well. What in the hell had they been doing to him back there? Anger began to bubble within him and this time he didn’t bother to try and temper it with Occlumency.
A Healer in a white robe wobbled out into the hallway, the blood staining his robes at a direct contrast with their pristine sterility. He was holding a bloody towel up to his arm.
“That damned thing bit me!” he bellowed, eyes bulging out in anger, pointing down the hall directly at Teddy. “Don’t let it leave, its rabid!”
The bottom fell out of Severus’ stomach as he curled his arm around Teddy’s shoulder as if he could shield him from what was happening. How in the name of Merlin was he supposed to get them out of this one?

A/N: SORRY! (Both for the stupidly long delay and the cliffie). Things have been nuts. I’ve barely been able to sit at my computer for two minutes at a time in the last couple of months, let alone get enough time to write this story! Hopefully things will be more normal now. Zero abandonment happening here! I promise! Thank you for your patience and hopefully I don’t put you off of this story because my life is too crazy for me to be consistent with it! Thank you for reading! Your words of encouragement mean everything to me, you guys are awesome!
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The Long Road