He's My Mate!

Disclaimer: Don’t own Harry Potter…

Thanks you for the reviews Jemie, swirly, Fangyuzhe, Miejpe, Kroz, Union Libre, Newtype, Zoe, yoblossom, Sureves, kris and:

Madwriter - I thought I recognized your name somewhere… You wrote those lovely James/Severus fics I love so much… *giggles* Thank you for the review… ^_^

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Chapter 10

Petunia Dursley smiled nicely at her Daisies as she delicately sprayed them with water. She sighed and picked up the small bag of weeds and headed towards the next pot.

How lovely it was to have a quiet day to herself. With Vernon and Dudley out watching a boxing match and her nephew upstairs reading some ridiculous book, it was nice to have the peaceful near-silence around her.

She had just gathered her dress to her knees as she moved to kneel by the pot. But she’d blinked and there were a pair of pants in her line of vision. She shrieked and fell backwards, eyes wide, her mouth shuddering violently as she took in the man.

He was one of them, she realized. He was one of those… Freaks.

She gaped and stared openly as the man started to talk, holding out a hand which she hesitantly took.

“Excuse me Ma’am, my name is Remus Lupin and I’m looking for Harry. Do you know where is?” Mrs. Dursley stood, her mouth opening and closing for a while. The man peered around him, noticing the tipped over watering can. “So sorry,” He apologized and she felt faint as he flicked his wrist and it filled to the brim again, “But back to my question, do you know where he is? We are in a bit of a predicament and need something he has.”

Mrs. Dursley pointed to the second floor, shaking and staring and looking as though she was about to collapse. Mr. Lupin helped her to the couch, carefully directing her and magicked a cup of tea out of thin air.

Mrs. Dursley collapsed into a dead faint.

- - -

Remus shook his head as he watched the woman fall back against the couch. No wonder Harry wanted to get to Hogwarts so fast. This woman was… Weird, for lack of a better word.

But he didn’t ponder on it for a moment longer and headed upstairs, careful to not make too much noise and scare Harry.

He knocked and poked his head into the first room in the hallway, finding it stacked full of gadgets Remus didn’t know the uses of, and he concluded that this room belonged to Harry’s cousin, Dudley.

The next room Remus guessed, belonged to Harry’s Aunt and Uncle and he didn’t stick around to take a closer look at the room; the perfume made his noise itch sorely.

Finally he reached the last door, and knocking again opened the door wide. He jumped back in fright when he was met with a wand to his nose.

Harry was frowning and his bright green eyes were narrowed and deadly, promising a deadly curse were Remus to upset him. But they were wide with shock when he realized it was Lupin.

Remus laughed and fingered the wand, gently guiding Harry’s hand down. “Is this how you greet all your visitors?” He asked as he chuckled and moved into the room, the feeing of worry was still bubbling hotly in his stomach.

“I just heard someone in the hallway. Aunt Petunia doesn’t usually go knocking on doors.”

Remus nodded and took in the tidiness of the room. He was amazed actually, he was never this clean, still wasn’t. He got straight to the point, and called for Harry’s attention as he sat on the bed. “I need the map.”

Harry looked slightly insulted, “The map, why?”

“Someone’s gone missing in the castle and we need to find them.”

“But… Can’t the house elves find them?”

Remus shook his head, watching as Harry moved to his trunk, rummaging through it noisily, “No, they haven’t seen them. Nor have any of the professors.”

Where was Severus? Remus could feel a growl threaten to crawl heatedly up his throat, but he held it down. No need to worry Harry after all. He snorted silently, like he’d care about Severus anyway. Greasy git indeed, must have learnt it from his godfather.

Remus hadn’t particularly been paying attention and jumped when he felt the aged parchment hit his lap. “Return it will you? You never know when I’ll need it.”

Remus nodded and stood, hugged Harry briefly (he was getting too touchy-feely with everyone, he decided idly, though he wished Severus would let him touch him) and apparated away after calling out, “We’ll visit shortly!”

- - -

Black’s gruff snores reverberated around the small, stone room. Severus had to restrain himself from either banging his head against the wall repeatedly, in the vain hope of knocking himself out, or hexing Black into oblivion.

He sighed, some how neither seemed that appealing, not that hexing the god damn Gryffindor mutt wasn’t inviting, but Remus wouldn’t like that.

He resisted the urge to pout at the thought of the werewolf.

Was he really that fond of him? Him? The greasy git, the worthless worm, the dark, evil Potions master? Him, Severus Snape?

He sighed, he’d believed Black on one thing, Remus didn’t lie about things so serious, not unless they were a threat to his well being. Severus couldn’t help the smirk that found its way onto his lips; Remus would have been a great Slytherin.

But what to do? He needed to make sure Lupin cared; he wasn’t going to jump into bed with him, just because he said he did. Lupin would have to prove his worth.

He snorted, it was too bad he already had…

His dark eyes flickered over to Black for a moment as the man rolled over, his snoring muffled by his arm, his cape still wrapped neatly around the man’s shoulders.

He sighed again, returning to his problem. He’d just have to do as the young people: Suffer through awkward dates. He scowled darkly, he’d call them outings. He’d never live it down were he to call them a ‘date’ without being sarcastic.

He laid back against the wall, laying down and curling up, trying to keep warm. If Remus wanted him, he’d have to work for him, and he was not going to make it easy on the werewolf.

- - -

“We turn left here.” Nicole cringed into herself as they walked lower and lower, under the castle, the floor’s slope near invisible to those who weren’t looking for it.

The Headmaster had decided to stay in his office, claiming he wasn’t as strong or energetic as he was when he was younger. She could tell that and didn’t make a fuss.

Her thoughts turned to her cousin. Severus would have had a fit if he knew she was wandering around half attached to Remus, almost hugging him from behind as they walked. He would have been glaring a hole through her.

But she was thankful. Her cousin needed love and his suitor’s protective nature would slowly draw him in completely, no matter how annoyed he’d become.

“Lumos.” She blinked as a light made it’s way onto the tip of Remus’ wand. Oh how she was jealous at times!

They’d come to a stop in front of a wall. A very solid looking, stone wall.

“Did we make a wrong turn Remus?”

The werewolf shook his head, “No, the map says they’re on the other side.” His brow creased in thought, as he pressed his wand to the wall, whispering a spell Nicole couldn’t hear. A moment later he was muttering curses. Nicole sat down on a raised piece of stone, watching Remus pace.

“There’s no way you can blow up the wall and keep the ceiling suspended?” She asked.

Remus shook his head, “That would take up a large amount of magical energy, and unfortunately we’re all still suffering from the war time blues. You have noticed how the professors have been keeping to themselves?”

She nodded, “Black’s in there too?”

Remus sighed, but nodded. One of them had to be dead; they would rather it be that way than put up with each other’s presence. It was rather childish actually…

“Give me time to think.” She did.

- - -

“Black.” Black grumbled, nuzzling his nose further into his arms, “Black.” Severus said in a strong voice. He shook Black again. “For Merlin’s sake, you mutt! Wake up! I can hear voices.” Black just rolled over, content with snoring.

Severus had never met anyone who’d sleep this deeply, hell… If he slept that deeply he would have been dead by now. He shook his head, standing shakily before moving to the wall opposite them.

He really could hear voices. His cousin’s (no one could mistake her shriek for anybody else’s) and Remus Lupin’s. He was sure of it.

“Lupin?” He called. When he received no answer, he sighed and sat down, ears piqued to the sounds outside their cell. “Nicole! Are you out there?” Again he got no reply.

Maybe they couldn’t hear him? A silencing charm for the outside, instead of the inside. He frowned, this torture chamber was probably made like that so the prisoner would go mad. Who wouldn’t in this dark confined space? And hearing the voices outside… He shook his head, straining his ears to hear.

“Can’t you magic up some wood or something, set it up so it holds the ceiling and then remove a couple of blocks?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Come on Remus, what would Severus say if he saw you looking so pathetically pissed off?”

Remus deepened his voice slightly, talking aristocratically, “‘Of course you wouldn’t be able to come up with a solution, werewolf. Now move out of the way.’”

“Not nice Remus.”

Severus snorted indignantly. He did not talk like that. And why not remove a few stones. He was sure that if you removed them from the side the ceiling would remain in tact, as long as the middle bricks remained untouched.

It was too bad his legimacy wasn’t working. His headache kept pushing it away, and he’d nearly talked to the Headmaster too!

His attention was automatically brought back to the people outside the room. “What are you doing? Remus!” Severus was quickly clinging to the wall, hoping to be able to hear more, “Stop it, don’t do that. Why did you do that, you idiot? Look at your hands. Your poor, poor hands…”

Remus’ hands? What had he done, was he alright? He heard Nicole’s motherly voice reprimanding the werewolf, and couldn’t help but feel his stomach sink. Had he hurt himself?

He tapped his wand on the wall, patiently moving across the wall’s surface inch by inch. There had to be some point on the wall that wasn’t magically guarded, or if it was not as strongly as the others.

He continued, slowly moving up the wall, before he started moving down it. He could feel his stomach starting to do tumble turns.

Wait! His eyes shot open, and his frown deepened, as he tapped the stone again. All he needed was a strong burst of magic. Just one…

“Bombarda!” He called out.

He needed to concentrate.

“Bombarda!” He called again.

He couldn’t resist the tiny victory smirk that was now on his lips as the smoke cleared away, showing a hole where the block of stone once was. He moved to the wall. “Remus?” He called softly.

“Severus!” Nicole jumped into his line of vision, one of her hands snaking it’s way through the wall as she reached for him, petting his cheek gently. “You’re alight.” She was teary now and Severus smiled kindly, before becoming serious again.

“Nicole where’s Remus?”

“I’m here.” The muggle stepped left, letting Remus kneel down with her, “Are you alright?”

“Fine, but you need to remove several bricks from where the wall joins the other one, either that or call a couple of the professors to help levitate the ceiling up.”

Remus shook his head, “Everyone’s tired Severus. And Minerva’s, Vector and Trelawny are the only ones here. They’re not that young anymore.” Severus resisted the urge to snort, but Remus continued, “I’ll try your other idea, how many stones do you think? Five? Six?”

Severus hears Remus chuckle and scowls, but the werewolf has already moved to start prodding at the wall.

“Is Black in there with you?”

Severus nodded, straining his ears to hear Lupin. He heard a spell, hardly audible, and shifted to watch the wall. He felt his heart leap when a blade of light cut through the darkness, and he was quick to help remove the stone.

Fifteen minutes later they’d removed four, and Severus was quite sure that he’d at least be able to fit through it. He turned to Black, who was on the verge of waking, and was tempted to leave him there. He sighed, earning a surprised look from Remus.

“Remove two more, Black has broader shoulders than what I do.”

“Sirius is in there with you?”

“Yes Lupin, not remove those stones.”

But Remus kept talking, “He didn’t hurt you or insult you did he?”

“Lupin, I would like to get out of here. Remove the blocks!” Remus moved (admittedly hastily) back to his job, and was soon done.

Severus cast a strengthening charm, before he turned to stare at Black. After a minute or two he sighed and moved to stand beside the still sleeping form of his arch nemesis.

He poked the wizard’s side with his foot, “Black, we are able to escape. Get up this instant.” He kicked slightly harder, earning a groan from Black and a disapproving look from Remus.

“Just drag him out by his ears, deary. Maybe it’ll teach him to go to bed early instead of staying up to all hours of the morning.”

In the end, (fifteen torturous minutes later) Black was up and stumbling up the passage way having been threatened by Remus for insulting his mate, and having his ear drums blown out by the mentioned mate’s cousin.

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DF: It’s taken a while but the site’s up and running and I’m able to update again! Though I’ve still got to edit chapters… Hmmmm... I\'m sorry I\'m so busy and then so lazy... T_T

Review please, and all of you that have are lovely… ^_^