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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
- 45
- 46
- 47
Snape headed up the stairs, finding a docile looking Remus and an anxious Potter seated at his kitchen table with a pot of tea in front of them. He noted the extra cup and sat down beside it.
“Well?” Harry asked.
“What is it?” Lupin leaned in towards him with rapt attention.
Snape ignored Potter, looking intently at Remus. He decided that there was nothing to do but go for the jugular. It wouldn’t do to prevaricate, not about this piece of information, not where Remus was concerned – it was too important, it would mean too much to him. He took only a moment to organize his thoughts.
“Just spit it out, Severus!” Remus blurted, unable to wait any longer.
A grin split Snape’s features, whether at the news he was about to share or at Remus outburst, he wasn’t certain. Potter looked appropriately horrified at his expression.
“The blood I collected yesterday from Teddy was not the blood of a werewolf. Your son is lycanthrope free.” He mentally winced. Maybe that was too straightforward?
Remus’ mouth opened and closed several times. “Pardon, what did you say?” he asked quietly, voice cracking in the middle of the sentence.
“Teddy’s blood contains as many markers that signify the presence lycanthropy as mine or Potter’s here. He is no longer a werewolf, Remus.”
Remus sat still, dazed and more than confused for a moment before the reality of what Severus was saying truly set in. Surely this was the best day of his entire life – he was more amazed even than he would have been to hear Severus say those words to him about himself.
“He’s human?” he asked brokenly.
Snape’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, setting his hand on the tabletop loudly, seeming to hear what the words Remus didn’t say implied. “You are human,” he said in contradiction. “So is your son, he always has been. He is no longer a human under a Dark Curse, however.”
“He won’t transform again, ever? You can’t be serious?” Remus said, his voice wavering.
“I would not say such a thing unless I was once hundred per cent certain,” Severus said, meeting Remus’ eye. “I will run another sample of his blood if you don’t believe my initial results.”
“I’m not calling you a liar, Severus,” Remus told him. “I just… How?”
“It likely has something to do with the alterations I made to his potion. It may also have to do with the fact that he was born with the condition. More likely yet is that it was a combination of both those facts. As you can see, further research is needed.”
“What does it matter how?” Harry interrupted, apparently unable to keep silent any longer. “All that matters is that he isn’t a werewolf anymore – that he wasn’t one when he bit that healer. Send proof to the Ministry, free him and get yourself out of this arrangement with Lanning. It wouldn’t be legal for them to kill an uninfected child, so with that off of the table you can feel safe taking it to court.”
“Potter,” Severus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was all he could muster. Would this brat never get his head out of the clouds and see that the world wasn’t so simple for everyone else as it was for him? Things didn’t just work out or fall into place for most people, especially if those people happened to be Severus Snape.
“What? Isn’t it pretty damned logical?”
“It might be if you lived in a two dimensional world where people were honest and good and followed by all of the rules. You’ve supposedly been investigating WIBNA for some time now; what, in your profoundly informed opinion, do you think they would do if they were faced with a child that might be able to put an end to the enslavement of the entire lycanthrope population? Are you so simple as to think they will just sign over his freedom and let him flee free into the wide world, where someone like me can use him to figure out how to cure the whole lot of them? Because that is the next step, once I figure out exactly how it happened in the first place.”
“You can’t mean to be silent about this? People deserve to know!” Harry said like he was talking to a particularly stupid pet that refused to be housetrained.
“I can and I do. Tell me now if you can’t keep your mouth shut and I’ll remove your memory of this conversation right this second,” Severus snarled.
Harry groaned. “I could take you into custody for making that kind of threat against an Auror. I probably should, considering you won’t use this opportunity to save your own skin. Lanning isn’t going to show you any mercy Snape; everything I’ve found points to this guy being a total psychopath that has been able to cover his trail so perfectly I couldn’t even bring him in on suspicion.”
“I don’t think you’ve been listening to me, its Potions class all over again,” Severus groused. “WIBNA will take your godson and dissect him like a spotted toad if they think it will further their agenda. I am not willing to risk the permanence of that over something as temporary as two weeks of discomfort, Potter. Even if they don’t disassemble him to find out what makes him tick, they will undoubtedly remove him from this household, where and for what purposes we may never know. There will be no cure. There will be no childhood for him, as they will steal it in favor of their own goals. Does your near-sightedness affect your brain as well as your prescription?”
Instead of getting angry, as Remus assumed Harry would when being presented with this kind of argument from Severus, he settled his hands calmly in his lap as he looked at the Potions Master.
“You’re really going to go through with this, aren’t you?” he asked quietly.
“I agreed to it in the presence of two witnesses and as many solicitors, so yes, I’d bloody say so,” Severus replied heatedly.
“Then thank you,” Harry said honestly. A frustrated look crossed his face. “Of course you’re right about WIBNA, they’d never sit around and wait for us to find the solution. It just sounded so good for a moment, you know?”
“Whatever Potter,” Snape snapped, “if that is the way you strategize at work, by suggesting things that merely ‘sound good’, it’s amazing that you’re still alive and gainfully employed right now.”
“Yeah, yeah, knock me for having the fanciful thought that we just might have a way to get these buggers out of power and maybe, in some cases, even into a cell.”
“I did not say that those things were out of reach, merely that this is not the means to meet that end, or more precisely, not at this time. You were the one saying the other day that someone with nearly unlimited funds and nothing to lose was needed to go up against these people. I have both of those things, as well as a reason to get involved.”
“Merlin, and people say I have a hero complex,” Harry muttered under his breath. “What you have is Remus and Teddy!” he objected more loudly. “Who is supposed to take care of them while you get messed up in all of this? And how is two weeks as Lanning’s slave going to solve anything? Now who is being an idiot, huh?”
“They are going to stay with my solicitor. His wife is a delight and they will have the run of the mansion. The act of becoming a slave in itself will solve nothing. However, that is not all I plan to do. I am going to use what has happened to us to try and ignite the public against this monstrosity of an organization, one small spark at a time.”
“And just how are you going to do that, by washing all of Lanning’s underwear?”
“I’m going to give an interview; a series of them id necessary.”
Harry’s eyes bulged. “You haven’t spoken to anyone since the trials – I bet they were all over that.”
“They were indeed. Someone will be dropping by today and I will get it done. If the article turns out halfway to what I hope it to be, I will agree to several others, if they will have me.”
“How can you trust a reporter with this? The papers are practically in WIBNA’s pocket, the same as everyone else.”
“I’m not going to trust a reporter; I’m going to trust three of them.”
Remus was watching the conversation between the two men before him. Things got more and more interesting as this went along. He had questions of his own but wanted to see what these two got figured out on their own. Also, it was nearly more than he could do to just sit there, the knowledge that his son was free from the horror of his lycanthropy burning like a bright sun in his mind.
“Oh yes, because that’s so much better. You’ll get three different, completely conflicting stories and the public will be so confused that they won’t know what to think of it all,” Harry said, making a face.
“The reporter who writes the truth to my satisfaction will earn exclusive rights to the rest of the interviews, as well as a suitably large donation made to their paper to ensure further truth is told.”
“You’re going to buy them out?” Harry asked, agape.
“It’s been working for WIBNA so far,” Snape pointed out, taking a sip of his tea.
“That’s because they have endless Galleons at their disposal!”
“Perhaps you’ve not been properly informed of how full my vaults are,” Snape alluded. He’d empty the damned thing if it served their purpose. He’d never felt right spending Albus’ gold on himself – but this, this would be perfect – it was something the old coot would have done with the funds himself had he been alive.
“Well I must not have been, because I can’t imagine it’s nearly enough to win this thing if you’re counting on going up against them financially on your own!”
“For once you’re correct, Potter. My finances alone won’t be enough to win this. However, I don’t plan on using only my own gold for this, not in the end anyway. I’m going to sell the idea of the liberation of the enslaved to certain individuals and families that might see the merit in joining together to make some change for good in the world. Old money doesn’t last forever you know.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Harry asked wearily, seemingly tired of having to ask to have every other idea explained to him.
“It means that if we can begin to sway the public enough, the families of my old associates might see the advantages of being part of the movement that took WIBNA down. As it is, many of them were innocent other than by association, but even still with names like Dolohov, Rowle, Crabbe… people are reluctant to deal with them. Their families and businesses have been tainted by the actions of Death Eaters; whether or not they were willingly involved themselves is irrelevant. They hold the purse strings to vaults generations old and still full of Galleons. It might be worth it to them to part with some of those Galleons if they were to purchase them a clean name to live and do business under.”
“That’s…” Harry started, faltering for the right word.
“Brilliant?” Snape suggested smugly.
Remus laughed at the look on Harry’s face. This entire conversation was unbelievable to him. That Severus would go to such lengths to undermine WIBNA was a thought he wasn’t sure how to process.
“I was going to say devious,” Harry said, “but brilliant just might work, I’m not sure yet. You’re counting on an awful lot of pieces to fall just the right way, too many for my tastes.”
“Typical Gryffindor attitude. So we don’t have your support?” Snape said to clarify.
“No, of course you do! I’ll do whatever I can, I already have been.”
“Good, because I may have promised the reporters a go at you when they were done with me, just to see what the great Harry Potter makes of all this slavery nonsense.”
“You did what? I’ve taken great lengths to avoid making a statement about all of this – I’m just an Auror now, nothing more.”
“Sounds good when you say it, does it?” Snape sneered with a cocked head.
“Bugger off,” Harry muttered.
“Like it or not, people will always hang off of what you say. This has to start somewhere, Potter. If it needs to be with you and I, then so be it.”
“Why do you care so much all of a sudden? This has been happening for years and you haven’t come forward one bit!” Even as he said it his eyes fell on Remus and his expression morphed to one of disbelief.
“Does it matter?” Snape asked softly.
“No,” Harry responded shakily, “I suppose it doesn’t.” He looked uncomfortable, fidgeting with his hands and looking from the table to Remus to Snape with wide eyes. “Anything else you’d like to drop on me while I’m here?”
Snape gave a small shrug of his shoulders.
“Alright then. I’d better go finish up at work and start preparing my statement,” Harry said, shaking his head.
“Get Granger to help you,” Snape suggested firmly. “They’ll likely be dropping by to speak with you tomorrow.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “I will,” he said, “she’s a million times better at that sort of thing than I am.”
“I know, I read your written assignments for enough years.”
Harry just shrugged, unrepentant. “You actually read those? Here I just thought you saw my name in the corner and wrote ‘T’ beside it automatically. Either way, I have to be going as I now have my work cut out for me today. If anything happens, let me know; though I’ll likely learn more from the papers if what you say is true.”
Harry stood and went over to Remus.
“I’m so glad to hear about Teddy,” he said, reaching his hands out for an embrace.
Remus held out a hand to stop him. Harry looked momentarily self-conscious and backed up a couple steps.
Lupin then reached for his cane, wrapping his fingers completely about the handle before slowly rising to a standing position. He looked up at Harry with a triumphant expression and stepped closer to him.
“Remus, you’re walking!” Harry beamed.
Lupin opened his free arm and pulled Harry into a hug. “I definitely am – it’s been quite the day.”
“How are you strong enough for that just out of nowhere?”
“Severus made me this cane – it magically regulates how much I feel I weigh, taking the difference upon itself. Even with that I’m slow and a little shaky, but I’m told that I will get stronger.”
“How does it work? Does Snape have to Charm it for you every day?”
Remus’ smile somehow brightened. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his wand, holding it out for Harry’s inspection.
“Your wand?” Harry turned to look at Snape. “Where did you get that?”
“The Malfoys had it, I merely requested it be returned,” Severus answered.
“You’re not thinking about involving them in this are you?” Harry asked, eyes narrowing.
Snape raised his eyebrows and stayed silent.
Harry groaned. “I really have to go. Don’t do anything insane without at least telling me please,” he implored Snape. “I’ll see you soon, Remus. We’ll get this all sorted out.”
Remus really didn’t see how, but he nodded at Harry all the same.

With Potter gone, Snape relaxed in his chair.
“What are we to do now?” Remus asked.
“I don’t suppose you feel like running through a round of stretches?” Snape asked.
“Not particularly,” Remus said immediately, feeling exhausted from the events of the day already.
“Let’s move into the other room and try to gather our wits before Lanning’s people arrive.”
Remus nodded, starting the slow trek to the sofa in the other room. Once seated, he tucked the cane out of the way and waited for Severus to join him.
Snape came from the kitchen a moment later, holding Remus’ book. Sitting beside him, he placed the tome on the table in front of both of them.
“Do you really want us to stay with your solicitor?” Remus asked uncertainly.
“Yes, he’s trustworthy as long as he’s being paid. You’ll be safe there; I don’t think he’s ever looked at another man’s arse once in his life, unless he was trying to assess how full his wallet was. He is a greedy man, yes, but he is not a cruel one. I have known him for years; he will defend you and Teddy as if you were paying his bill yourselves.”
Remus didn’t look convinced.
“Fred will be coming with you as well. I’d trust him to take care of you here, but with all of the publicity this is likely to get, it is best if you stay somewhere you will be better protected and around other people.” What he didn’t want to say was that it would be best if they were with a free Wizard who had all of the benefits there entailed.
“I trust your judgment, Severus. Will we not be able to see you for the duration of the time you’re there?” Remus asked, picking at something on his trousers.
“Halfway through I’m allowed a visit with my solicitor – you’ll have to speak to him about that when the time comes.” Snape made a face. “I don’t need you fretting about me like some nervous mother, Remus. If I didn’t think I could handle this, I would have found another way.”
When Lupin didn’t respond, Snape continued, “Regardless, it is not to worry you right now, there is still time before I go. However, if you are content to sit for a while, I would like to do some mental reorganization. My Occlumency is one of the only tools that I can go to Lanning with, I would like to sharpen it a little.”
Lupin nodded as if he agreed. He didn’t - Severus would have his worry whether he wanted it or not; he would just have to do a better job of hiding it. He took his book in hand and cracked it open to his last page – if Severus needed to do this, he wasn’t about to interfere with it.
Snape set both of his feet flat on the floor, squared his shoulders, straightened his back and laced his fingers together on his lap. His eyes fluttered closed and a look of pure nothingness overtook his visage.
Remus continued to pretend to read. Really, he was watching his master out of the corner of his eye.
Severus took a moment, slowing his breathing. His face, in contrast to his body, was totally slack. His eyes were closed and his lips parted. It took a few minutes, but eventually his breath was coming out of him like slow ticks from a metronome, an even and steady percussion of in and out. He allowed the external world to melt away, drawing himself inward, treading the familiar, spiraling path on into his mind. It had been a long time since he had last done this so completely and it took him a moment to get his bearings.
First he needed a general tidy, cleaning up loose ends and trying to corral his worries and anxieties up in the back of his thoughts. There would be enough to deal with in the present without being bogged down by the past as well. Once his mind was organized again, he could work on his shields and on fortifying his weaknesses. He felt the world dissolve further and further as he worked.
Remus may not be aware, but he was showing a great deal of trust in him by dipping into magical meditation in his presence. In the past it was something he would do only in his most private of moments, surrounded by wards so thick a speck of dust wouldn’t have been able to settle inside that hadn’t already been within them. Until his shields were up it would take most of his control and awareness to get them that way. Someone could be holding a wand to his head right now and he’d have no idea. Once they were raised, however, there would be a certain sense of security that would be raised with them.
Eventually, Remus did actually start to read his book. Snape sat motionless beside him, breathing rhythmically and deeply. He’d no idea how long they’d been there, only that the sofa was starting to make his back ache; it didn’t have as much support as the chair. He set the book aside and took hold of his cane, standing stiffly.
Lupin heard the sound of the back door opening and closing, so he hobbled in that direction, thankful that he could do so on his own. Fred was in the kitchen, putting some things away in the pantry. He turned around when Remus appeared in the doorway.
“Hello Fred,” Remus said.
“HGelkdslfjs
Hello,” Fred said in greeting. “You is being up and about! Fred is glad to be seeing that. Where is sir?”
“Severus is in the other room here,” Remus said, motioning into the living room with his head.
Fred snuck a peek around Remus. Seeing Snape sitting there like that he let out a heavy sigh.
“How long is sir being like that?”
“Just over an hour now, I’d guess,” Remus answered.
Fred nodded, turning back to the pantry and putting the last of the groceries up on the shelf. “Fred hasn’t been seeing sir be doing that for a very long time.”
“He said it will help… strengthen him for things to come,” Remus said awkwardly, not knowing how to explain the situation to the elf or if he even should try.
“Yes, Fred was seeing the papers this morning.”
That meant he already knew. “I’m sorry,” Remus started.
Fred made a sound halfway between a surprised exhale and a bark of laughter. “It is not being your fault. Sir has always been doing what sir is thinking best - there is being no talking him out of any of it, being it good or bad. Besides, Fred is thinking he is doing it with sir’s version of a smile if it is keeping the cub from being hurt.”
“Too bad there is no one there to protect him,” Remus said. It was interesting to hear Fred’s thoughts on Snape.
Fred made a dismissive gesture. “Sir would never be having any of that. As far as Fred can be telling, sir has always been finding trouble and then poking it with the sharpest stick he can be getting his hands on.”
Remus looked over at the elf. Fred had his hands on his hips and was shaking his head slowly as he spoke. Tin spite of that, there was an affectionate look on his face, one Remus couldn’t quite place on a house elf.
“Was there anything you was needing?” Fred turned and asked him, clearly changing the subject.
“Severus said there were some people coming by after lunch that he wanted Teddy to avoid. He suggested you take him down to the pond?”
“Fred will be packing a lunch and then will take the little one away from the house,” Fred said. He turned and instantly went about making some sandwiches.
“Should I be worried about him? He’s been like that for a while.”
“Sir will be coming out when sir is done,” Fred replied without turning back. “Fred will be making some extra sandwiches. Sir should be eating when he is finished – if you can be making him.”
“I’ll certainly try,” Remus said ruefully. He went and sat back on the couch as he had nothing else to do until Snape came out of his trance.
Fred came and went, taking Teddy, who waved at him as they passed and was still talking ceaselessly about frogs, out into the back yard with a basket in hand. He watched them go, glad beyond all reason that his son should come and go so freely, be accorded such happiness so easily.
Remus managed to read another four pages in his book before Snape started to stir. His breathing accelerated a little, the long fingers of his hands began to twitch where they sat in his lap. Lashes flickered rapidly as dark eyes finally blinked open, unfocused at first. With a sigh Severus leaned back against the sofa as if he had just sat down after running a marathon. His eyes found Remus where he was sitting next to him.
“oHowjfd l
How long was I gone?” he asked, cracking his neck from side to side.
“I’m not entirely sure, there’s no clock in here. I’d guess about an hour and a half?” Remus answered. “You were really out of it, Fred came back and took Teddy out to the pond like you suggested.”
“Good. I probably should have mentioned that short of slapping me upside the head, there is little that will catch my notice when I’m strengthening my shields.”
“You had success though?” Remus asked, rather ignorant about how that branch of magic worked.
“Very much so; a couple more rounds of that and I’ll be as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Fred made some extra sandwiches; I think he’s taking Teddy for a picnic as well. He recommended you eat something when you woke up.”
Snape made a grumbling sigh. “He’s probably right, it does take quite a bit of energy to do.” He stood, stretched and went into the kitchen, returning with the sandwiches floating behind him and two glasses of water in his hands. “I’m assuming you haven’t eaten one yet?”
Remus shrugged. “I was waiting for you.”
“Well wait no longer,” Snape said wryly, setting the plate down on the table in front of them.
Severus managed to eat three quarters of his meal before there was a firm knock on the front door.
“Harry again?” Remus asked.
“I doubt it, since Fred was going to be with Teddy I adjusted the wards. I assume it’s the Ministry worker here to collect whatever Lanning wants.”
Remus didn’t reply. He tucked his cane closer to his legs and looked at his knees. He both wanted to know what they required and to remain totally ignorant of it in equal measures. Either way, he decided to try and be on his best behavior so as to not cause any greater problems for Severus.
Snape set his glass down and went to the door. He was met by an older wizard with short grey hair and a well-ordered beard. Square glasses sat perched on his nose and he held a worn briefcase in one hand.
“Good day, Mister Snape,” the man said, extending his hand.
“For someone else, perhaps,” Snape derided. All the same he shook the man’s hand.
The man’s face became briefly pinched. “My name is Avin Dalton.”
“Come in, Mister Dalton. I assume you have some things to discuss with me.”
“That I do,” the man said in a neutral voice.
Snape moved out of the way, allowing him entrance and closing the doors behind both of them. He took a moment and adjusted the wards back to the way they had been. You either needed permission to enter or had to be brought in by Fred or himself – it had been working for years as Fred was even more discerning than he was.
On their way to the living room Avin started speaking. “This is one of the most peculiar cases I’ve been assigned to, Mister Snape, highly unorthodox. And that was before I received the list of information they wanted…” he trailed off when he saw Remus seated at on the sofa. “I imagine you are going to want to discuss this privately, Mister Snape.”
“Then you imagine incorrectly,” Severus replied. “This is Remus Lupin,” Snape introduced.
Dalton stroked his short beard. “Where have I heard that name before? …No wait, don’t tell me.” He paused for a moment before his eyes lit up. “You taught my daughter Defence Against the Dark Arts! You were… oh my.”
Remus wished the sofa would open a hidden maw and swallow him whole. He braced himself for whatever was to come next, knowing that Severus wouldn’t let this man batter him too badly, even if it was only verbally.
“Small world, I suppose,” Dalton said, momentarily awkward. He recovered quickly though. “Well, if it’s all the same, I believe you were her favourite Professor.”
“Thank you, sir,” Remus said. It made him both glow and ache to hear that.
Dalton cleared his throat. “If you’re comfortable doing this here, Mister Snape, who am I to try and change your mind? You taught my daughter for six years – she didn’t quite have the grades or the interest for the advanced curriculum – and from what I’ve heard it would be pointless to argue with you.”
“That is likely correct,” Snape mused. He had fleeting images of a brown haired girl who liked to bite her nails despite handling toxic ingredients as well as to hide in the back corner of his classroom, but brushed them from his mind.
“I think it would be wise if we started with the measurements,” Dalton said, setting his briefcase on a chair and popping its clasps open. He pulled out a quill and a roll of parchment.
“Measurements?” Snape drawled, sounding entirely uninterested.
“Yes, if I didn’t know better I’d think they were fitting you for a new set of robes, at first glance of the dimensions they wanted.”
“Do you know what they are planning to do with them?” Severus asked. He had a pretty good idea, but wanted to see if this man knew something that he only suspected.
“Not a clue, Mister Snape. Maybe we can figure it out together once we have all of the information in front of us, hmm? We’d best get started – I’m going to have to ask you to take off your outer robe.”
Snape’s face remained impassive and he didn’t hesitate, just unbuttoned and removed the article of clothing, draping it over the back of a chair and turning back to Dalton.
“First, I’ll need you to stand with your arms spread wide please,” the Ministry worker told Snape.
Snape spread his stance slightly and put his arms out in a horizontal line.
Avin magically took the measurement from wrist to wrist and then from the wrist to shoulder on each arm.
“Straight up over your head now, please.”
Severus did that as well. He was measured from wrist to shoulder again, wrist to hip and then again from wrist to the place where he bent at the legs. He didn’t like the look of this at all, steeling himself as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
“Out forward now, if you would.”
Severus complied. He wordlessly agreed to every instruction Dalton gave him, not letting anything he was thinking play across his face, impassive as if he was observing nothing more than his living room, as if nothing were out of place. It was a learned skill, one that he was exceptionally good at under almost any circumstances. It had always amused Riddle to no end, who’d often joked that Snape was able to endure things that would bring other men to plead for their deaths with a look of tedium on his face. This was nothing in comparison to any of that, including enduring that same jest what must have been a thousand times over and pretending to be amused at its every occurrence.
He was measured from the bend of his hip to floor and ankle. The proportions of his head and face were taken as well as the width of his top and bottom teeth from each other when his mouth was completely open. By the time Dalton was done, every measurement possible with his shirt and trousers on had been meticulously taken and documented. Lanning now knew almost every possible dimension of his body, from bit to bit to how much space he took up in his entirety.
“Does this give you any idea, Mister Snape?” Dalton asked, packing his equipment away.
“I have many ideas, Mister Dalton. None of them are very optimistic if you happen to be me.”
“Oh? How is that? I understand the basics of the case – I do keep up on the news, you know. I don’t see what these measurements could all add up to.”
“Lanning is figuring out the exact lengths and diameters of my body so that they can more effectively bind me in any way that he chooses. I imagine that, since he has more than likely read my file, he is going to recreate several unfortunate instances from my past.”
Remus watched the entire process from behind his lashes. He didn’t miss the way Severus complied mechanically with Avin’s instructions; the way his face appeared relaxed but his body was held more stiffly, as if it was under extreme exertion or control. He wondered if Severus was Occluding, or just trying to comply swiftly to get all of this over with for the moment. He catalogued the information gathered and couldn’t come up with anything positive. When the dimensions of Snape’s face and mouth were taken he really did drop his gaze to his knees, taking a few solid minutes before he dared to look back up again.
“Are you trying to tell me that Lanning is going to use the data I gather to… torture you or some such poppycock?” Dalton laughed nervously, fiddling with the closures on his briefcase.
“I’m not trying to tell you anything,” Severus said shaking his head. “However, yes; that is more than likely what is going to happen.”
Dalton looked at Snape’s face for the first time since taking its diameters. His own face held a stricken expression, his hands clenched into white knuckled fists around the handle of his case.
“You disapprove?” Severus asked, his surprise genuine.
“I more than disapprove, Mister Snape. Whatever the charges are laid against you, I detest being brought into this without my knowledge or consent. I wonder when it became my job to play a part in such things?” There was a deep crease in his forehead.
“Probably when the Ministry stopped signing your pay cheque and WIBNA started,” Snape said dryly.
Dalton didn’t appear to find that in the least bit funny. His face crumpled further.
“Well I, for one, am truly sorry for my part in this, Mister Snape, however small.”
“Then I believe you may be in the wrong line of work, Mister Dalton. What is happening to me is a small drop in a much larger cauldron. What do you think many people do with their slaves? They are used and broken and then thrown away to be replaced. It is exactly what Voldemort would have done with the people he thought were unequal to him, just with a group of people we believe unequal to us.”
“You rather make me want to quit my job, Mister Snape,” Avin said, face quite serious.
“You have really never thought about it?” Severus pressed. “Never once considered the implications of what WIBNA is doing, or what you might be doing by working in their employ?”
Avin shifted uncomfortably. “To be honest, I try not to think about it. I haven’t hurt any of these people myself, I’m just doing a job! Surely you can’t understand-” he broke off his sentence, no doubt thinking about everything he’d read about Snape in the papers.
“I understand exactly. The scenery is the same, Mister Dalton, whether your eyes are open or they are closed.”
Avin lifted his briefcase and straightened his back. “I have to be getting back to the Ministry,” he said, shuffling slightly. “Thank you for your time, cooperation and insight, Mister Snape. It was good to see you again, Mr. Lupin.”
Remus nodded and watched the man practically flee from the house.
Snape shook his head with a snort. “Poor sod,” he said.
Lupin actually laughed at that. “I agree he likely got a more than he bargained for, coming here and speaking to you.”
Snape shrugged and moved to sit by Remus on the sofa. “Let him be uncomfortable, it’s not likely to do anything, but why should he be able to do their bidding and not have to know what he’s taking part in? No matter, he’ll likely have talked himself out of all my arguments by the time he’s sitting behind his desk.”
“Those measurements were pretty all encompassing,” Remus stated, feeling the familiar sick feeling settle in his stomach at the thought of what would be done to Severus.
“Yes, and likely totally useless other than as an attempt to unnerve me,” Snape said.
“What? How so?”
“Any restraints he wanted could be created and adjusted on the spot with a few simple spells. That would be even more effective than having me measured because he could push my body to the absolute limits of what it could bear versus being limited to its actual proportions. Having equipment made ahead of time just to fit me isn’t effective and definitely not practical. No, it’s likely an attempt to get into my head, to get me thinking and worrying about what he is going to do to me. Fear and anticipation – two of the most efficient ways to break a person down – he’s just trying to get a head start. I’d be surprised if this is the only display like that we’re going to get before this actually begins.”
Remus didn’t want to tell Snape that it was working, on him at least. How Severus could sit there and calmly discuss all of this, he hadn’t a clue. He felt his own throat closing over and his mouth drying up just thinking about formulating a response to what Snape was saying.
“You look ill, Remus,” Severus’ voice softened as he noted.
Remus just shrugged and leaned over against Snape, one arm sliding around the small of his back in an embrace, his head leaning against the other man’s chest, the other arm resting over his stomach.
Severus let out a put-upon sigh and wiggled an arm free, settling it around Lupin’s shoulder, holding him snugly. He felt out of his depth here, dealing with Remus’ reactions to what was coming. He himself felt almost tranquil. He wouldn’t allow Lanning to win this one, he’d deal with his two days as he would – there would be time for everything else later; fear could wait.
Smoothing Remus’ hair down, he leant in and placed a kiss on his forehead. It was interesting to see someone reacting so dramatically to the prospect of his pain. He wasn’t quite sure how it made him feel. All he did know was that it doubled the rightness of what he was doing in some unfathomable way.
“Sorry,” Remus mumbled, though he wasn’t exactly certain what for.
“I’m not,” Severus said bluntly. “It isn’t every day I have gorgeous men throwing themselves at me.” Though it was becoming much more of a regular occurrence than ever before.
Lupin let out another peal of laughter. “You’re crazy,” he marveled.
“So it would seem,” Snape drawled, one side of his lips upturning.
“When are Teddy and Fred going to be back from the pond?”
“Probably when Teddy tires out or catches whatever number of frogs he deems sufficient,” Snape answered.
“Poor Fred,” Remus smiled.
“Perhaps you’d fancy a walk through the garden?” Snape suggested. He wanted to get Lupin’s mind off of everything.
“I don’t go very fast,” Remus cautioned.
Snape rolled his eyes. “Fine. Fancy a slow stroll through the gardens, then?”
Lupin grinned. “I’d love to.”
Snape did his best to keep the rest of the afternoon light. With the help of the cane, Remus managed to walk all the way down through the garden, past the greenhouse and through the very small orchard that was closer to the back of the property. They would have made it all the way down to the pond, but had met Teddy and Fred on their way there.
Teddy was hauling a bulky bucket, his smile wide enough to nearly split his face in two. He hurried his gait when he saw the two of them rounding the path.
Remus watched his son run as fast as he could towards them while carrying the large bucket in both hands. He felt like throwing his arms into the air and whooping in excited delight. His boy would grow up from this point on free of the Curse he’d been given. He would be healthy and happy and normal… He sighed, unsure what to do with the roiling emotions he found himself feeling. Severus had made this possible, he reminded himself, peering over at the other man.
“I caught three of them!” Teddy exclaimed, coming to a halt just short of barreling into Snape.
“Impressive,” Snape said, both his eyebrows rising, “there often aren’t many of them around these parts, especially this time of year.”
“The little one is being determined to be getting some,” Fred said, catching up. “He was finding many frogs, but only three was being the right ones.”
“Let’s take them back to the house,” Snape said. “We can preserve them for later.”
All of them walked back together. Even with the cane, Snape was watching Remus carefully. He was getting shaky and starting to move more slowly. Without saying anything, he came up beside him and lightly put his hand under the elbow of the arm that wasn’t operating the cane. Remus looked startled at first, but smiled gratefully at him.
Back in the house, Fred ushered them out of the kitchen as he began bustling about for supper. Teddy would be allowed to help, but only once he was washed up and changed. Remus looked positively knackered, so Snape set him up with a cup of tea in one of the plush armchairs and took Teddy upstairs for a quick bath and change of clothes.
When Teddy was out of the bath and he’d heard about the whole frog catching adventure twice over in what felt like real time, he sent the boy to change and went back downstairs. He found Remus predictably asleep, half full teacup threatening to spill from his slack hands. He walked up quietly and pulled it gently from his fingers, setting it down on the side table.
Remus stirred and then woke suddenly. He looked sheepishly at Snape. “Can’t take me anywhere,” he said, letting his eyes fall closed again.
“It was quite the excursion,” Severus allowed. “Rest, I’ll wake you for supper.”
“Can do,” Remus mumbled, his breathing already evening out again.
Snape went upstairs, passing Teddy, who was bounding down to go help Fred in the kitchen. He went up to his and Remus’ room, going to the closet, he parted the long robes and hanging shirts and robes, moving a few sets of shoes and a couple boxes out of the bottom. It left the back wall exposed, smooth and without imperfection. He pulled out his wand and said an incantation, tapping it against the back of the closet. Seams appeared as if cracks made by pressure. A small handle burst out of the wall as well. Pulling on the handle, Severus opened the secret compartment. It released to reveal a plain wooden box. This he removed from the wall. Leaving everything out for the moment he took the box over to one of the tables and opened the lid with both reverence and dread.
Inside was a Pensieve. Not just any Pensieve, but Albus’. It was another of the things left to him in the will. He wondered at receiving both it and the money – had the old man meant to taunt him from beyond the grave?
There was a mist swirling in it – his memories and the ones Albus had left in there for him. None of them were to be viewed today, thank Merlin. He simply emptied the contents into one of the specifically charmed vials and set the vials back in the box – no one needed to see any of those memories, on purpose or not. The box he placed back in the secret compartment, which he sealed. He then reset the wards and put the closet back in order.
Severus wanted the reporters to understand what had happened; and in order to do that, he would have to show them. Display for them the treatment of the children there, of Teddy running out of the clinic room like the devil was after him, the meeting with the lawyers. He would show them everything. If they did a good enough job reporting on this, he would give them another interview, after he was released, giving over to them all of the juicy atrocities he had endured for a mere lycanthrope.
He knew it would be uncomfortable, to say the least, but he had no intention of hiding the grizzly details from the world, however they might expose or humiliate him, not when they may help put all of this slavery shite to an end. Let them see what this Lanning character did to him, would have done to a small child. Hopefully, along with everything else he had planned, it would be enough to at least get the public thinking about it, getting angry about it.
He took the stone bowl downstairs, setting it aside on one of the shelves where it would stay until it was time.

After supper, Snape prepared the living room for the reporters. He put out a bottle of scotch and a few crystal glasses on a tray on the center table. Teddy and Fred were occupied upstairs doing Merlin knew what. The sound of giggling floated down the stairs occasionally, and it set him at ease. He thought about putting up a ward of silence to stop the sounds from being heard on the main floor, but decided against it; let them listen.
Remus was seated in his chair, trying not to appear fidgety. He was sure that he was more nervous than Snape, who was the very picture of calm. From what he understood, a huge portion of Severus’ plan depended on these reporters. From his experiences over the years, these people were cutthroat and not to be trusted, but he tried to have faith that Snape would be able to get what he wanted out of them, one way or another.
One of the main problems he had with this plan was the level of exposure Severus would need.. How could he possibly make people want change on the level he was trying to achieve without having to put himself, everything he underwent on display? The entire concept went against everything he knew about his master, either presently or previously. Snape was a private man; that much, in Remus’ mind at least, was fact. He was also a Slytherin, which meant he would use any tool at his disposal to achieve his goals, even it that tool might be abhorrent to him. He sighed.
“Would you like a glass?” Snape interrupted his thoughts, indicating the tray on the table.
Remus shrugged slightly. “If you think I should have one,” he said without decision.
“Would you like to be somewhere else while I do this?” Severus tried another question.
He really would, though the thought of saying so felt like a small betrayal. He didn’t want to say something stupid and mess up whatever chance Severus had of making this turn out how he’d planned. Also, the idea of those three reporters speculating and inquiring about him and his role in all of this left his feeling distinctly wide-open and uncomfortable. He didn’t say any of that however, because dealing with a small level of anxiety was nothing compared to what Severus was willing to undergo for his son. Surely he could be here with him now; he was capable of that much at least.
Something must have showed in his face, because Snape came closer and looked at him gravely. “It makes no difference to me if you are here to meet with the reporters or if you choose to go upstairs and be with your son,” he said.
Remus was dismayed that he was so transparent. “I understand how important this is and it isn’t as if I don’t want to be here with you…”
“…It’s just that you don’t want to be here at all,” Snape said, sounding mildly amused. “I understand and am more than capable of managing these jackals by myself when they get here. It may be for the best thing for you to do in any occurrence. Your limited presence here will at least curb their speculation about you and restrict what they print about you in the paper.”
That thought hadn’t even occurred to him. If he were honest, he would just rather not put himself in the position to have to speak to the reporters. Most of the people he’d met since Walden died had been malicious, wanting something or other from him that he was either not willing or able to do. These people would be from large name papers; he found that unless he had to, he was reluctant to subject himself to their ideas or whims about lycanthropes and the state of their enslavement. Especially not when that option was held up beside going to be with his son, looking upon him and knowing that he was finally and impossibly free. He sighed again more heavily.
Snape let out an exhale of laughter. “I’ll take you up to be with him,” he said just as if Remus had told him that was his preference. “If they aren’t here too late, perhaps we will read a couple more chapters to Teddy. We’re almost finished The Hobbit, though I did have a couple others in mind to start when it’s done. If this takes too long, feel free to select one from the shelf in his room and begin without me.”
“You’re sure?” Remus asked. Books. All that was going on and Severus was planning on which book to read to Teddy next. When would this man begin to make sense to him?
“Usually,” Snape replied. “Go and spend the evening with Teddy - although I do not know if it wise to tell him about the change in his condition as of yet. Children, in my experiences, are often even less likely to keep a secret than a piece of candy unwrapped and in their hands, even with the best of intentions. As I told Potter earlier, it is our best interests to keep this between us for the time being.”
“I won’t say anything to him until you tell me the time is right,” Remus agreed.
Snape gave a curt nod. “Thank you.”
“No, Severus; thank you,” Remus said earnestly.
Snape merely grumbled something incoherently while levitating Remus’ chair. He took him up the stairs and to Teddy’s room, staying only a moment before returning to the living area. With Remus up there to be with the child, Fred took off to take care of a few odds and ends that needed tending to.
Severus poured himself a glass of scotch and waited. He was barely onto his third sip before the alarms tingled; the reporters were here.

He answered the door and ushered all three of them into the living room. While they were seating themselves and readying their equipment he took a moment to observe them.
There was a young man with hair so red he wondered if he wasn’t some distant relation of Arthur - this speculation was compounded by the spotty mustache that he’d seen on all six of the man’s sons at one point or another during their education at Hogwarts. He was fidgeting away, trying to take in his surroundings without being obvious about it and failing miserably.
The one sitting next to him was a middle aged man with a medium length chestnut beard. He sat with a straight back and appeared to be dressed very finely. Severus had spent enough time among wealthy Purebloods to know that all of this superiority was just an act. While finely made, his robes were of inferior material and clearly not tailored specifically for his body. He would bet his fortune that all of the finery this man wore was made of cheap metals charmed or painted to look like gold. In spite of all this he wore an easy expression and appeared to be completely at home where he sat.
The last one was an older witch. Her dark hair was strung through with grey and when she smiled at him in greeting her face creased like a garment that had been crumpled and tossed carelessly to the floor. She sat primly and had her quill and parchment out before the other two did, waiting and observing him right back shamelessly while they got prepared. She was slender and rather short, but her presence was somehow greater than her size and she seemed not even to notice her other companions as she jotted something unknown on her fresh parchment.
They all introduced themselves, though Severus barely paid attention to their names - Oscar, Joseph and Marie something or other. Their affiliations and family status made little difference to him. He didn’t bother to introduce himself, as they ought to know who he was already or they were all in trouble. Each of them was now prepared to hear him speak, quills and small sound recording devices at the ready.
“Needless to say we feel quite privileged to be invited here tonight,” the witch said. The other two bobbed and nodded their heads in agreement.
“Good,” Severus said. “I trust you’ve already been made familiar with the particulars of what is going on? One of your papers has written an article on it, I believe.”
Beard raised his quill into the air. “That would be me. Slavery articles are getting good ratings right now and with someone as, shall we say… notorious, as yourself thrown into the mix, well the thing just about wrote itself. I trust that since I’m sitting here right now, you were not completely opposed to what we printed?”
“Obviously,” Snape rolled his eyes. “Now here is how this is going to work: we are going to speak only about this garbage with Lanning and myself. We are not going to talk about the war, we are not going to discuss anything but things pertinent right here and now. Later, once this is all over, whichever of you writes the most accurate article about this will be allowed to report on it personally until it has run its course. And after that, an interview in which we will discuss whatever you like.”
“Anything?” Red finally spoke up.
Snape sighed. “I believe I just said that; anything from my life inside Riddle’s camp to the contents of my flower garden. It will be the first and likely, only interview I will ever give willingly about what happened in the war.”
Red nodded, shifting around even more in his seat. Beard appeared indifferent, scribbling madly on his parchment. The witch just sat calmly, looking at him levelly with a small glint in here eye.
“Now, I am not interested in preamble,” Snape informed them, standing and going over to the shelf holding his Pensieve. “I also do not have the patience to state the facts verbally over and over in the hopes you will understand, interpret and write what I am saying correctly. I have already placed the memories of what happened at the Ministry in here.”
“You want us to look into your Pensieve?” Red asked with barely constrained enthusiasm.
“Yes I do,” Severus nodded. “And before you ask, there is nothing in there but what you need to see. The entire experience of me taking Teddy to WIBNA, the meeting with the healer and our solicitors and the Ministry official coming to gather data earlier today is all that you will find inside that bowl.”
Red deflated slightly; Beard just kept scribbling on his paper; the witch seemed much unchanged.
“You appear to me to be a man with no tolerance for anything but the truth on this matter,” she observed. “What is the reason for your investment in it, I wonder?”
“Questions will be answered after the viewing. The three of you will view the memories once by yourselves and once with me present to answer any of your questions if needed. After that you may look at it as many times as you feel necessary to gather an accurate account of things. Is any of that objectionable or unclear for any reason?”
The three of them were silent.
“Well then, get on with it,” he snapped.
They jumped to action, gathering around the bowl and diving in.
While they were viewing the memory, Snape poured himself another drink, turning the other glasses on the tray so they would be ready to accept liquid. For people who weren’t used to the experience, it could be quite disorienting. Viewing other people’s memories tended to knock one’s equilibrium off balance, regardless of skill; most people weren’t used to seeing the world from any perspective but their own.
He drank and waited for them to finish. Doing things this way would be time consuming, but it would give a clearer picture than any words he could weave. They would make what they would of all of it; he would answer their questions to the best of his abilities while trying to push them in the direction he wanted.
Finally, one by one they returned from the swirling mists of the Pensieve to themselves. Snape leaned forward and poured a measure of liquid into each cup. He figured that even if they weren’t partial to it, that they would accept without protest rather than single themselves out.
True to his assumption, they all leaned in and took a glass. Red cradled his, untouched, while the other two put theirs to their lips. The witch drained hers completely, setting the glass down and taking up her quill and parchment.
“Well,” she said with finality, “that was more than interesting, Mister Snape.”
A chorus of agreements came from the two men.
“Would you like to view it again?” he asked.
“That would be best,” Beard said.
“Agreed,” said Red. “There were a couple of parts I wouldn’t mind going over at least once more.”
“I do believe it’s best if you let us see it again without you, Mister Snape. It will give us a chance to speak among ourselves before we discuss things with you,” Beard told him.
“If that is how you feel, then we will proceed as such,” Severus agreed. He had no real desire to witness the events of the other day again in such vivid detail. Living through it once had been more than enough for him. When no one protested, he gestured to the bowl.
If possible, they were submerged in the mist for even longer than the first time. When they eventually emerged, they appeared to be less shaken than after their first viewing. Snape gestured to the tray, not feeling obligated to play House Elf to these people all night. Only the witch took him up on his offer this time, pouring a finger of Scotch and then knocking it back as if it were common whisky before flashing him an apologetic grin.
“Where do we start?” Beard asked, as if to himself.
“With whatever Mister Snape wished to discuss first,” the witch said, leaning forward a little, the nib of her quill hovering at the ready.
“I would just like to make it clear before we discuss anything else, that I do not, under any circumstances, condone the actions or the continued presence of WIBNA in our society in any way shape or form. I am playing by their rules on this because I have no other options at my disposal other than to be party to the murder of a child.” There, if the memories hadn’t stirred the pot enough, that statement was pure gold for discussion.
“I find it interesting, Mister Snape, that you aren’t in the least neutral to WIBNA. They take the… least desirable blood from our society and control it. I know you said earlier that the past is off limits, but I refuse to see how that can be completely possible here - your history as a Death Eater is common knowledge and quite relevant in this discussion. With roots like that I fail to see how, other than that it is now affecting you personally, you could have contest with what WIBNA is doing in regard to these… undesirables,” Beard said, clearly trying to choose his words carefully.
Snape raised an eyebrow. Perhaps baiting these people would be easier than he thought. “A tree tends to grow away from its roots, though it is true that no matter how tall it manages to grow, it will always be tethered to them,” he began. “I do not deny this as truth, but if my time as a Death Eater is common knowledge, then it must also be widely known that later, I chose to rebel against that kind of mentality and way of life in any way possible, at any cost. However if even I, with such an admittedly questionable moral base, can look at what this institution is doing and see that a heinous wrong is being committed within this country, then I wonder how the rest of society can be so blind to it.”
“So you stand by your statements the Ministry worker that was here earlier?” asked Red, referring to the memories.
“Very much so,” Severus said. “I find it unbelievable that after all the anguish we went through to rid ourselves of Voldemort, we as a people would just take up where he left off. It was wrong to do it to us, but it is righteous when we do it to others; this is a fatal and unending paradox. However you spin it, however you justify it – enslaving anyone deemed somehow less than us, dehumanizing them to the point that we can kill them with as little remorse as a bug under our boot heel – that is exactly what Tom Riddle was doing. There is no other way for me to see it, not rationally at any rate. I’ve pandered to a self-righteous, bigoted superpower once already, and it was the greatest series of mistakes in my entire life. I will not do it again, nor will I sit quietly by while others do.”
Three quills scribbled madly as he spoke, the scratching of them over the parchment was the only other sound to be heard in the room besides his voice.
“Those are strong statements, Mister Snape,” Beard said as if in caution. “I wonder how the Ministry would take to having them printed for everyone to see.”
“If you are concerned of what the Ministry thinks about any of this, you may as well pack up and get out of my house right now,” Snape said. “That goes for any of you.”
No one but Beard moved, and that was only to click his mouth shut.
“Very well,” Snape allowed peevishly. “I will not have my words and opinions mangled to serve the purposes of either WIBNA or the Ministry.”
“We’re wasting time,” said the witch. “I don’t think we’re really talking about the matter at hand here.”
“And just what do you think that is?” Snape asked.
“Just why you volunteered to take the place of this slave child, especially when Quinton Lanning is the man you will be facing. His record is… spotty at least, as I’m sure you’ve been informed. Oh not officially, of course. Officially he is a renowned Healer, responsible for a record number breakthrough treatments and procedures.”
“You were able to find something on him?” Red asked, clearly surprised.
“Nothing that would send up any red flags of course, not with the current laws anyway,” the witch scoffed with a flippant wave of her hand. “How do you think he’s perfecting all of these procedures? Certainly not at any Ministry lab, not with the methods he’s using. He does his research at a lab in his home. The registers say he has personally incinerated over thirty lycanthropes, and that is just on his personal records. You do the math.”
“He’s using them as human lab rats?” Red asked.
“Do you need a picture drawn?” the witch jeered. “He’s circumventing the law, but technically it’s all by the book. Its horrifyingly gruesome, really, when you look into the particulars of the whole mess, the details of what he’s done to these people.” She gave Severus a discerning look. “I’d just like to know what is actually motivating you to do this, even knowing better than most due to your past affiliations what will likely happen to you.”
“You watched my memories of that day at the Ministry - you can’t honestly be suggesting that I would have been better off just letting them put him down like some common animal; or almost as inconceivably, that I should have let that despicable Healer take him for his own revolting pleasures?”
“It is what most people would have done,” she pointed out, “I’m just trying to figure out why you would choose to do something different.”
“There are many reasons, ranging from the fact that it would be completely unconscionable to my having been a Professor and a Head of House for so long that the idea of permitting an institution to murder a child or a man to abuse and rape one didn’t really occur to me.”
“So you’re telling me that the morality of it alone is reason enough for you,” the witch restated.
“He is a small boy,” Severus said emphatically.
“You continue to refer to him as a person,” Beard pointed out. “Does that mean you don’t buy into the Ministry propaganda about their status as human beings?”
“Do you think I would submit myself to this for the sake of a table or a tea kettle? He is not a thing, he is a child,” Severus said heatedly. “Would you allow your children to undergo the terrors a man like Lanning would submit them to?”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Beard replied. “But this child is hardly yours.”
“He may as well be for all of the responsibility and authority WIBNA has given me over his life,” Snape retorted.
He then took out his wand and drew a square in the air with its end, flicking it with a muttered spell and a small flourish of his hand. Within the border of the shape he had drawn, an image made itself clear, if only a little watery and transparent.
The scene it showed was Teddy, tucked safely into his bed, dragon wrapped in one arm as his sandy haired head rested on his pillow. In a chair by his bedside was Remus, book open on his lap as he leaned over reading to his son. There was no sound, but a smile beamed from Teddy’s face as he laughed at something Lupin was saying to him, taking his dragon in one hand and flying it through the air as high as his arm could reach without rising. Remus looked up from the book, saying something to Teddy that had the child giggling again. Both of them looked totally at peace and Severus couldn’t stop a smile from tugging at one corner of his mouth before he waved his hand and the image disappeared.
“The Ministry and WIBNA would take that from them, and they would take it from you and your children as well if it suited their purposes one iota. Be thankful that for now, it does not,” he said quietly.
“You care for them,” the witch observed out of nowhere, “tell me that doesn’t play a part in it.”
“Of course it does!” Snape exclaimed before he thought to stop himself. It was out there now, he may as well go for broke. “He is an innocent, intelligent being full of so much potential, and a thousand times over I would make the same decision I made that day at the Ministry. Lanning can flay me to death and still it would be worth him not laying so much as a finger on that boy again.”
“And his father?” she pressed.
“What about his father?” Severus asked.
“Do you feel that way about him as well? I noted that you never so much as suggested he go in the boy’s place.”
“I have a long history with Remus Lupin,” Severus said, “and much of that is public record as well since the Ministry squeezed my brain out like a sponge during my trials. The bond I inherited him under is very personal, yes, though I hardly see how any of that impacts any of what we are discussing.”
“I see,” she said, writing all the while.
The men had been silent during this discussion, scribbling madly and looking between him and the witch.
“Would you make the same decision if it were him on the metaphorical chopping block instead of his son?”
“I would,” Severus replied levelly. “They are in my charge, I’m not certain you understand how seriously I take that responsibility.”
“I think I might. Harry Potter definitely should; I can hardly wait to hear what he says about all of this.”
“Well, wait you shall have to, I didn’t ask you here to talk about Harry Potter. Isn’t there enough trash about him in the rags you write for already?”
“People never tire of a hero, not one like him,” Red cut in.
“No, indeed they do not,” the witch agreed, her eyes on Snape while she spoke.
“I’ve been tired of him since he was eleven,” Snape pointed out with an exhale of bitter laughter, “but that isn’t what we’re here to discuss.”
He redirected their conversation and they ended up talking until long into the night. All three of them viewed the Pensieve memory twice more. He did his best to keep them on topic and get all of the important information out there.
Severus saw them out and waited to feel the wards tell him they had crossed the property line. He knocked back the last of his drink and headed up the stairs to spend the rest of his night with Remus. He couldn’t help but think that everything had gone quite well, which in itself left him with a general feeling of unease. He would see if he still felt that way in the morning when the papers arrived.

A/N: There! SORRY for the ridiculous delay in between chapters. The last few months have been insane, though there really is no excuse for how long this took me. I hope people out there are still reading this and that this chapter is up to par. Please let me know what you thought! More to come and I certainly hope it arrives much sooner than this last chapter did. Thank you for your patience and all of your wonderful support, this wouldn't be happening without you!
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The Long Road