Bound in Leather

~low music begins, slowly lifting in volume. a voice over starts~ join me once again for \"As the Wizard Burns.\" when last we left the tale, our hero was..... ~needle scratches over vinyl~ alright, who wa the fool that put that tripe one? all i need is a simple.... this is not in any way affiliated with j.k. rowling. though she does own the majoriy of the characters contained within this story, any you don\'t recognize from the Hp world are purely my own. that means that i am borrowing some of the stuff for my own use. i swear to return everyone to their rightful places when i\'m done. honestly. no, really, i will. well, there\'s no need to be rude and laugh. i will put them away.

as a side warning.... there will be smut running wild within the confines of this fic. no need to look so shocked. i thought that\'s what you were here for. if you don\'t want any more smut, i can stop writing.

also, while reviews are nice, they aren\'t necessary. but, if you chose to review, please be kind and offer up tips to make it better if you find something blaringly wrong. do not flame me, as i will use it to roast yours in return. i\'m odd that way. and, in all honesty, the dragon really doesn\'t like to see me upset. such a sweetie he is.

Chapter Twelve: The Power of Words
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stared into the hotel\'s dining room with a scowl firmly lodged on his face. After having seen Alasdair home and then returning the rental car to the airport, he\'d chosen to fly back with the jet rather than Apparate. Flying would give him time to think over the situation he now found himself in. Not only that, but it would prolong the meeting with the four gits of Gryffindor for a few more hours. That reason alone was worth enduring the tedium of air travel. But, he had told the four of them they could speak this morning. He didn\'t plan to go back on his word. Even though he had given it to Harry Fucking Potter and his little tag along friends.

He could see the four of them sitting at a table toward the back of the room, away from the main gathering of guests who were there to eat brunch. It was after ten in the morning, so it was a touch late for breakfast. He was glad to see that, between the four of them, they could scrape together enough intelligence to choose a table at the back of the room. It would keep them away from the prying eyes and ever open ears of the general public. This was not a discussion he wanted the entire bloody hotel in on. And a silencing spell was a little tricky to use in front of so many Muggles.

He tugged at the waist of his coat, making sure he was his most intimidating before striding into the room and toward the four of them. He knew that he drew the eye of everyone in the place and he didn\'t care. It was a gift he employed to the utmost of his ability. He wore skin tight leather trousers that hugged the long line of his legs, making them appear even longer. Leather boots covered his feet. His jacket was styled after the frock coats he used to wear when he was teaching, while the shirt beneath it was of silk. It was black, of course, as was the rest of his garb. The shirt was the kind that had ruffles at the neck and sleeves. It was much like what he\'d worn the night before.

Four heads, previously dipped together in conversation, lifted to stare as he approached the table. None of them missed the way the diners stopped their meals and talks to look up as he passed. Ron was smirking, tempted to giggle at the clothing his former Potions Professor wore, but an elbow from Harry dampened that quickly enough. They noticed that the younger women present seemed to be on the verge of fainting when he passed. None of them had ever expected such a reaction to the snarky, former Potions Master.

Severus snorted, watching Weasley fight the urge to laugh. Watching the way the four of them looked at him as if he were some foreign substance stuck to the bottoms of their shoes. Idiots. Morons. Gits. Bastards. Bloody Gryffindors. The words filtered through his head unheeded as he stopped by the table and stared down at them. They were a royal pain in his arse, and he should have told them to bloody piss off the night before. But he owed more to the old man than they would ever be able to comprehend. Not only for believing in him when no one else would, but for letting him go when the time came. The other members of the teaching staff had snorted and sniggered and chortled when he\'d turned in his resignation and announced his plans. Only Dumbledore had smiled and wished him luck. Severus still swore that the Headmaster was the one with the gift of sight instead of Trelawney.

\'Well,\' he took his seat and glared in equal measure at them all. When none huddled back in fear, he heaved a sigh and folded his arms over his chest. \'Out with it. I haven\'t all damned day, you know. We happen to be leaving for Houston in an hour or so.\'

\'Sorry, Sir,\' Hermione replied and nudged Harry. He glanced up at Severus, then nodded and opened his mouth to speak. A waitress stepped up and put three steaming mugs of coffee on the table before the three younger men. Severus did not miss the way Hermione rolled her eyes. \'You bloody well deserve the hangovers after your behavior last night. It should serve you right for leaving home without any potions, Neville.\'

\'Hangovers?\' Severus couldn\'t help himself. One eyebrow went up with his growing curiosity. Of all the people he thought would end up hungover and miserable, Neville Longbottom was not one of them. Hermione turned to look at him, a faint smirk crossing her face before she grimaced.

\'This lot, not content with going back to the hotel rooms, insisted on going out on the town. Only, seeing as it was past midnight here, they decided to go out on the town in Los Angeles. The concept of a Muggle strip club was a novelty that they all wanted to experience.\' He could hear the disdain in her voice with that. He couldn\'t help but chuckle at it. The sound earned him an odd look from them all.

Severus was intrigued by the idea of Potter, Weasley, and Longbottom entering such an establishment. He\'d been in one or two since joining the band. He could well imagine the shock and lust that had dribbled from their eyes. Much like he could imagine the drool that had dribbled from their gaping maws at the sight of so much naked feminine flesh. He glanced from one to the other, noting that Granger appeared to be reliving some rather unpleasant memory. \'You joined them?\' he asked her. Her nod prompted a full laugh.

\'One of the dancers liked \'Mione enough to give her a lap dance. Free of charge,\' Ron grinned. It brought a blush to Hermione\'s face. It instigated another laugh from Severus. He knew the mentality of some of the women who worked in those places. He\'d had a threesome a time or two with some of said women. Granger glared daggers at him. It took a moment to sober, then he glanced at them all. Surprisingly, it was Neville who began.

\'Professor Dumbledore wants you to go back to Hogwarts. He needs an experienced Potions Master who can teach the students properly. I tried, but I\'m no good at it when in front of a large group. Any of the others he\'s interviewed have been downright terrible. He\'s been through six of them,\' Neville told him with a sigh.

\'You tried?\' Severus asked, his tone full of disbelief. When Neville nodded, he couldn\'t help himself and burst once more into laughter. The four of them glared at him while he tried to gain control of himself yet again. \'Pardon my skepticism, but I find it difficult to place the title of Potions Master next to the name of Neville Longbottom. Even in fantasy would I not be able to do or imagine such a thing.\'

\'Well, it\'s true,\' Neville stated calmly. Severus quickly lost his sense of amusement. He narrowed his gaze on the boy who had been single handedly responsible for the majority of the cauldron melt downs in Severus\' career. No one had been as awful as Longbottom. And now the boy was telling him he was a Potions Master? It had to be a sick joke. \'You were so damned cruel to me and ridiculed everything I ever did so much that it drove me to become the best I could possibly be with potions. I worked hard outside of class and became a Potions Master. And I have you and your horrid treatment of me to thank for it.\'

Severus was stunned by this admission. He looked from one face to the next, seeing the confirmation of his unasked question in all their eyes. \'Let me get this straight. I inspired someone to succeed by scaring them to death?\' he asked them. Every one of them nodded the affirmative.
\'What the hell is the matter with me? Am I slipping? Next thing you know, they\'ll be handing me the bloody teacher of the year award! Damnation!\'

\'Please, Professor,\' Harry piped in, ignoring the astonishment that the man had yet to hide. That familiar black gaze snapped to the dark headed young man. \'Professor Dumbledore really needs you to go back. I know you feel you have no reason, but isn\'t his friendship enough to sway your decision?\'

\'Allow me to remind you that I am on tour with my band. I do not, at present, have the ability to go back to Hogwarts and teach. Nor do I have the desire. The students leave much to be desired and I do not want to return to the constant comments and mistreatment the student body was good at subjecting me to,\' he told them curtly. \'However, for the sake of the Headmaster\'s friendship and the completely undeserved faith he had in me when no one else had any, I will give the offer deep consideration. Now let me alone. I have to ready myself to fly to Houston.\'

\'Thank you for hearing us out, Professor,\' the youngest Weasley male said as he stood. Severus waved a hand at him, a gesture given to tell them their time was up. The others stood, readying themselves to move away.

\'Remus?\' Potter\'s surprised, single word question had Severus looking over his shoulder. Remus was strolling up to him, clad in his own pair of leather trousers and a tank top that fit him like a second skin. He gave a faint grin at the timely arrival of this enemy who had become a sort of comrade in arms. Lupin was just the person he wished to speak to at the moment.

\'Hullo, Harry. Hermione. Ron. Neville. I see you\'ve been bending Severus\' ear for a moment or two. DId you accomplish anything?\' Remus acknowledged each of them with a nod of his head. He finished his question with a mischievous grin.

\' I managed not to get violently ill,\' Ron told him, to which he laughed heartily. Remus had a sneaking suspicion he knew what was working at making Ron violently ill, but he said nothing. He was sure that Severus knew as well.

\' I didn\'t know you were spending time with Professor Snape,\' Hermione stated, her gaze one of calculation. Remus noticed the tightening of Severus\' jaw and knew his patience was worn dangeroulsy thin. Remus smiled at them and nodded.

\' I stay around just to be a pain in his arse!\' he told them, taking one of the man\'s arms in his hand to lead him away.

\'And you are quite good at it, too,\' Snape snapped heatedly. A snicker sounded from one of the four former students behind them.

\'Hate to be a prat, but we really have to go get ready to leave. It was bloody wonderful to see you,\' Remus told them, leading Severus from the dining room. He went silently, but Lupin could tell that he was terribly put out about something. And irony of ironies, he didn\'t think it was because of the visit by four of his least favorite people. It looked as if something else was bothering him this time.

The two of them remained silent as they made their way to the elevator. The ride up was just as quiet and it wasn\'t until they entered Severus\' room that Remus saw the dark man begin to let loose some of the tension that gripped him. The smell of sex hung heavily in the air, as well as the softer, more feminine scent of Alasdair\'s perfume. He\'d missed her by only a few short hours, it seemed. Remus threw himself into one of the empty chairs and looked up at Severus with a grin. \'What\'s eating you, old man?\'

\'Alasdair,\' he replied, his scowl now becoming a frown. He sat on the edge of the bed and raked a hand through his long hair in distraction. That was certainly not a good sign.

\'She hasn\'t suddenly tossed you over for someone else who is even far nastier than you are, has she?\' Remus asked, a teasing note to his voice. He chuckled when the other man looked up at him, pure frustration shining from his eyes. Then the smile waned, as he saw that whatever was bothering the Potions Master was of a far more serious nature than he had first suspected. \'Has something happened to her?\'

\' I can\'t be sure, Remus. I think....\' Severus stopped and heaved a sigh. He looked up at Remus, not certain how to begin. Severus did something he never did. He fidgeted, his hands actually twisting about one another as he tried to get out whatever it was that was bothering him. He decided that perhaps it was best to just jump right into the fray. \' I am concerned for Alasdair. I have no real proof, but I believe that her stepfather is abusing her. I have found several odd bruises, in varying shades of color, on her body over the passing weeks that cannot possibly be blamed on the manner of accidents she blames them on. I am... at a loss as to how to handle it.\'

\'Abuse? As in hitting her?\' Remus demanded, then stood up from his chair. Severus looked up at him, his scowl returning.

\'Yes, I believe so. There have been small clues. Nothing that most would notice, unless...\' he shrugged, trailing off as his mind slipped away for a moment or two. Remus took the opportunity to move over and sit on the end of the bed next to him.

\'Unless you knew them intimately. From first hand experience,\' the lycan said gently, knowing that Severus had never been open about his past. He also knew it was something that still haunted the man to this very day. Should anyone of his acquaintance know about abuse, it would be Severus Snape. He\'d received more than his fair share at the hands of friends and family, though those were loose terms, to be sure.

\'Today, when I took her home, I offered to escort her into her house. She refused. At the time, I was dismayed. Now, I think it was likely for the best. His punishment would have been worse, had I gone in with her. Still,\' he spat, clenching his hands as his mind played out any number of things the man could do to her. The images flashing through his mind were not comforting in the least. In only a few moments, he was up off the bed and pacing to the door.

\'Where are you going?\' Remus was up and standing in front of the angered Potions Master in the blink of an eye.

\'To wrap my hands about that bloody bastard\'s throat and choke the fucking life out of him,\' Severus hissed, his long fingers curled about the doorknob. Remus looked him in the eye.

\'As much as I would like to join you in that, I fail to see how that course of action will solve anything,\' he told the man before him, though he was hard pressed not to assist Snape on his quest. Remus had, over the course of his friendship with Al, grown quite fond of the young girl. She was like a breath of fresh air after being in a stale room for far too long. She was bright and funny, and she had an infectious laugh. And she had done something that he had thought no one would be able to do. She had made Severus Snape, the sourest man he\'d ever had the misfortune to know, smile. Really smile. That was worth more than anything he could think of.

The news that such a sweet and unassuming woman was suffering a physical beating from a man who was supposed to protect her was not happy at all. It took every last ounce of Remus\' self control not to open the door for Severus and let him go first. But he wasn\'t about to go off and just pound the man. He\'d bloody well kill him with his lycanthropic strength. If Severus even allowed him near the bastard. He heard the Potions Master sigh and move to sit once more. Remus joined him again on the end of the bed. \'You\'re right, Lupin. Loathe as I am to admit it.\'

\'Of course I\'m right, Severus,\' he managed a weak grin.

\'This is the first time in my life that I can recall not knowing what to do,\' his voice held barely contained contempt, and it took Remus a moment or two to realize that contempt was directed at Severus\' own person.

\'As appealing as killing him would be, the disgusting piece of humanity needs to be made to suffer as he\'s made Alasdair suffer. A job for the police, don\'t you think?\' Remus glanced at him.

\'Yes, I imagine it is. But they cannot get involved until there is solid proof. Nor can I. If I step into Alasdair\'s problems now, she will know that I figured it out. It would be better if she asked my help first. But I don\'t think she\'ll do that. She is far too.... secretive.\'

Remus couldn\'t hold back the laugh that comment drew forth. Severus leveled a glare at him, which only made the man laugh all the harder. When he had subsided into faint chuckles, he finally caught his breath and shook his head. \'Sorry, but that sounds too much like someone else I know.\'

\'Yes,\' was the only reply he got.

\'What you need to do is find some way to make her want to tell you, Severus,\' Remus told him, switching back to the subject at hand. \'Think about it from her point of view.\'

Severus did just that. He thought he could understand what she was going through, as he\'d been through many types of abuse in his gloriously jaded life. He also knew that he didn\'t want anyone to know about it, as it had been painfully embarrassing for him to deal with. He\'d heard people talk about others who were being or had been abused. The attitude had always been one of \'That\'ll never happen to me. I\'ll never let it happen.\' Most people didn\'t set out to let someone they knew abuse them. It always started small and escalated gradually. Then one day, one woke up to find themselves in a full blown abusive relationship and there was no going back.

Severus heaved a sigh. He didn\'t want to see that cycle of abuse heaped upon Alasdair\'s shoulders. Not like it had been with him. He\'d been fortunate enough that Albus Dumbledore had befriended him. The older Wizard had done much to help break it. Of course, Severus had been a completely stupid bastard and fallen back into it with the Dark Lord and the Death Eater shite. He\'d pulled himself out of that hole of his making, thank you very much. But not without facing some serious repercussions for his stupidity. And now, he had a life he actually quite enjoyed, even if he did find that the fans were as annoyingly predictable as his former students had gotten to be.

He needed to find a way to make Alasdair realize that he wanted to help her. That she could trust him with her secrets. She was likely of the mind that it was an embarrassing situation and the fewer people who knew, the better off for her. But keeping that kind of secret could lead to serious injury. Perhaps even death. The idea that she should die by her step father\'s hand was not one he wished to give too much time to. It left an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach that he found he didn\'t care for. That thought brought him to the conclusion that he only had one option open to him.

He looked up at Remus, who was studying him intently, and shook his head. \'There is only one way I can think of to bring about enough trust so that she will feel comfortable enough to tell me,\' he told Remus, dragging his hand through already disheveled hair. The shape shifter was fairly certain he knew what was coming next. \' I\'ll have to tell her about my past.\'

\'Are you sure, Severus? I know how difficult that is for you,\' Remus looked at him, his eyes locked to the snarky man\'s fathomless black ones. Severus nodded curtly, telling Remus that he was more than certain. He was dead set to do it, whether he really wanted to or not. \'Alright then. If that\'s what you want. I can go with, if you like.\'

\'No, I think I\'ll do this on my own. It would be wise to speak to her mother, as well. But I don\'t know if I\'ll be able to do that. From what Alasdair\'s told me, she is always sick. The doctors seem to think she will get better, but Alasdair is obviously skeptical about their diagnosis,\' Severus snorted at this, clearly supplying his belief in those doctor\'s beliefs. Remus wondered if perhaps there were a reason for that illness. Perhaps, just perhaps, he should take a peek and find out.

~*~*~*~*~

Severus stared at the little diner and sighed. It was a quarter of an hour before Alasdair was scheduled to get off her shift, and he was bloody well tired. He\'d been forced to a long flight of suffering, as the rest of the band had produced an album by a gentleman named Frank Zappa and had put it in the cd player on the jet. They had played it repetitively until he\'d felt the urge to scream boil up. Not that he would have minded under normal circumstances. But his mind had been fully occupied with the thoughts of his coming talk with Alasdair. His past was something he didn\'t share. With anyone. And now he was going to open himself up to her and pour out all those old, festering wounds like so much salt from a shaker. He\'d never been so scared shitless in his life. He would rather face down the Dark Lord a thousand times than tell Alasdair all about himself.

The door to the kitchen swung open and Alasdair stepped out. He could see she was moving slowly. The bastard had struck her again. There were no brusies on her face, but the normal glow in her eyes was dulled with pain. He could see that plainly enough. He had brought more of the same potion with to ease that. It was a bloody good thing he kept a portkey to his estate in England on hand for just such an need.

Squaring his shoulders, he pushed the door open and stepped in. By this time, Alasdair had gone into the back. He moved up to the counter and smiled at Brenda as the older woman filled a straw dispenser. She seemed terribly happy to see him, and it was then that he knew that she was aware of what was going on. He offered her his best smile, almost more painful grimace than happy lift off his lips. \'She\'ll be glad to see you,\' the woman sounded weary.

\'How long has this been going on?\' he asked her, wondering if she would tell him anything. She looked at him with surprise a moment or two, then shook her head.

\' I shouldn\'t be surprised that you know. From what I\'ve seen of you, you\'re a highly intelligent man. It\'s been happening for some time. She won\'t admit to it, of course. But it\'s steadily getting worse. But I haven\'t told you that. She\'d really be mad at me if she knew I did,\' Brenda told him. He nodded, understanding what she was saying far better than she knew. The older woman smiled at him. \'Let me go get her.\'

He nodded and watched as the older woman stuck her head through the swinging door. She was loud enough to hear when she spoke. \'Allie, there\'s someone here to see you.\'

Severus heard grumbling from the back room. Then Alasdair was coming through the door and he felt himself lurch in the most peculiar way. It was an odd feeling, and he couldn\'t be certain what it meant. So he ignored it, instead watching her as she stopped in her tracks. Surprise was easily read on her face, then she smiled her genuine smile of happiness and moved to where he sat. \'What are you doing here, Severus? I didn\'t expect to see you so soon?\'

He couldn\'t help but chuckle at the shock in her voice. She seemed so honestly disbelieving that he was there. He motioned to the door with one hand, indicating he wished to speak to her in private. She nodded, then headed back into the back to clock herself out. \'Brenda, would you be so kind as to pour a glass of something that Alasdair drinks to take with us?\' he asked. The elder woman nodded, then went to the machine that dispensed what Alasdair referred to as coke. She brought the styrofoam glass, complete with straw and lid, over to him and waved away his attempt to pay for it.

Alasdair stepped out from the back then, and he stood, wrapping one hand about the cup. She bid her goodnights to the staff and regular diners, then allowed him to guide her out of the building. Turning her in the direction of the park, he lifted the lid on the cup, then slipped the potion from his pocket. A bit of thumb work saw the stopper popped, then he poured the contents into the syrupy liquid in the cup. Replacing the lid, he handed it wordlessly to her. They remained silent until they got to the park.

He lead her over to a table, helping her to sit on the top, then joined her. He looked to the sky, remaining silent while he heard her sip at the drink. He would kill her step father now, if he thought it would solve anything. But Remus was right. The man needed to be made responsible for his actions. Finally, after a few moments of no speaking, her small hand curled into his own. \'You\'re awfully silent, Severus. Is something the matter?\'

\' I had thought that you might deserve to know a little more about me. If things are to progress further,\' he replied steadily, his hand tightening about hers for a moment. \'There are some things I feel you must know about me.\'

\'You sound so serious. You\'re not married, are you?\' she asked suddenly, and he could hear the real fear in her voice. He couldn\'t hold back the laugh that question drew from his mouth. She hit him with one of her fists; a light, playful slug that told him she wasn\'t amused by his jocularity.

\' I am not married. No woman would want me,\' he replied. \'No, this is more to do with my life. A few things I think are important enough to share with you.\' He stopped, hesitating for a moment before he started. What if this didn\'t work? If she didn\'t find the message in the words he\'d so carefully planned out. He would feel the fool if she offered him her pity. Her hand found his again, squeezing it in silent support.

\'Go on. I can tell it\'s rather important to you,\' she urged. He drew a breath and steeled himself for the coming emotional upheaval.

\'When I was a small child, I was witness to the cruely of others. At the hands of my own father. He was a tyranical bastard and he took great joy in inflicting pain upon my mother. It was something I had no power to stop, and the memory of it haunts me to this very day. I still wish for the opportunity to have been able to help her in some way,\' his voice was low as he spoke, to cover over the emotions that threatened to spill over.

\' I\'m so sorry,\' she whispered, and he could hear that she honestly was. He knew she felt his pain, so he said nothing degrading to her about it. He would not snap at her for offering him sympathy on something with which she had first hand knowledge.

\'Those events followed me for my entire adolescent life. It was part of the reason I was a very withdrawn young man. I had no firends at school. Even Remus was barely tolerable to me. His friends took great joy in belittling and humiliating me at every opportunity. This happened through no fault of my own. They simply did not like me and did their best to see me miserable. They did a fine job of it, too. It was this deplorable treatment they heaped upon me that lead me to make some of the worst mistakes of my life.\'

He paused, and Al moved closer to him. He could hear her sipping at her drink, which made him feel the smallest measure better. He did not want to see her hurt. The potion would go a long way toward allieviating the pain. The bruises would fade, but slower. A rather neat trick he\'d managed. And now he was glad of it.

\'The shunning I received, the lack of friends, the abuse I was witness to and could do nothing about... All this drove me to join up with a group of angry young men and women whom I thought were freinds. They accepted me as I was. There was a man who lead us, encouraged us to do some very terrible things,\' his voice was cold and distant, as if he was recalling those terrible things. She slipped her arm about him and pulled him closer to her. \'For a while, I thought that I belonged with this group of miscreants and nasty folk. I fit in well enough, and I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. It didn\'t take long for that feeling to wither up and die like spring\'s first blossoms.

\' It was then that a very wise man.. I suppose you could call him my mentor, made me see the error of my ways. He helped me find the strength to leave this group of supposed friends and find my own way in the world. He showed me I had the strength to walk away from these people and that I never had to look back. This man had faith in me to do the right thing, when none other did. He is now a good friend. He meddles, but he means well. He also has my trust,\' Severus paused to turn and look at her.

\'Few people do. You are now one of them,\' he told her. \' I trust you implicitly, and I know you will do what is right with the information I have just shared with you.\' He fell silent then. She did the same, her mind turning over what he had just told her.

If what he had said was true, and she had no reason to think it wasn\'t, he had been as much a loner as she was. Oh, she had her friends, but they weren\'t the kind one indulged in fantasies and secrets with. He had seen abuse, and he understood it. He knew what it did to a person. What it made them feel. He had known loneliness, as she did. While she hadn\'t ever joined up with the wrong sort of people, she knew what it was like to be left out of so much because others felt you didn\'t fit in.

But he had had something she didn\'t. He\'d had someone show him how to over come it. She knew Brenda would help her, wanted to help her. But Brenda was no match for Kevin when the man was in one of his foul moods. She wouldn\'t see anyone she could call friend hurt by that man\'s hand. And yet, here was Severus, spilling his deepest secrets. She wondered if she could trust him. Alasdair was not one to place her trust casually. She needed to be sure that he would never break that trust and that he would keep what she decided to entrust him with secret. She was almost certain on both those counts, but she couldn\'t be one hundred percent positive. That small amount of niggling doubt was what kept her from spilling everything right then.

Al wanted to tell him. She felt if anyone could help her with her problems, Severus would be the one. While Kevin was a cruel and heartless bastard, Severus was that and so much more. She knew that without a doubt. The man would make her step father look like a pansy, should the two ever meet. But that small part of her brain that doubted people stopped her. She needed to think on it, to give her mind some time to come ot terms with what she thought she had heard there. Severus was offering her his help. If that were true.... that meant he knew what was happening.

That thought made her uncomfortable. If he knew, why didn\'t he ask? Perhaps he was waiting for her to tell him, to trust him enough to tell him. It was confusing, to say the least. She\'d never had a confidant to share all her secrets and desires with. Perhaps that was why he had told her all those things from his youth. He was offering her his help and his trust. It was so tempting. But no. She would think it over before doing anything stupid. She had to. There was her mother to consider, too.

She sighed, then nuzzled closer to him, smiling when his arm dropped over her shoulders. It felt good to be there. Almost as if she were safe. It wasn\'t a feeling she was used to, but she thought she could grow accustomed to it in no time.

~*~*~*~*~

Remus looked up at the little house and smiled. There was a light on upstairs, so he knew her mother was still awake. Alasdair had told him that Aletha, her mother, would often leave her light on and read when she could. It was also a sign that Kevin was not at home. Perfect. He strode up to the door and knocked loudly. He knew, from what Severus and Alasdair both had told him, that it would take her some time to make it to the door. They were right. It was nearly ten minutes before she arrived at the door.

She looked up at him expectantly, a faint look of inquiry on her face. Remus plastered on a smile, unable to believe that the woman was so sick. He could smell the sickness on her, as if she sweat it out of her pores. It was not a natural sickness, either. Interesting. \'Yes?\' she asked in a soft voice.

\'Hullo there. My name is Remus and I\'m a friend of your daughter\'s,\' he told her, giving her a big smile.

\'You\'re a friend of Dare\'s? I\'m so pleased to meet you. Unfortunately, Dare\'s working at the moment,\' she told him, a smile lighting up her wan face. He shook his head, then let her see the sly smile he put on his face.

\'No need. I\'m not here to see Alasdair. I\'ve come to meet her lovely mother,\' he replied. The pale woman managed a faint blush. She gestured to the house behind her.

\'You can come in for a short time, if you like. Unfortunately, my husband isn\'t home and I\'m not sure what time he\'ll be in. I would hate for you to be caught when he gets here,\' she told him softly.

\'Jealous type, is he?\' Remus asked casually, his eyes watching her face carefully for any tell tale signs. He wanted to know what Aletha knew about the man she was married to. He watched her offer a tiny smile, more a vague lifting of lips, before she bothered to reply.

\'Something like that,\' she told him. Interesting, indeed. It seemed that Aletha was well aware of what kind of prat her husband was. His chat with her should prove very enlightening.

end chapter twelve.
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thanks always go to madam shark for her eternal support and beta work. and for the lusty images that inflame the muse and make me desire to work. she helps out more than she knows. and to my usuals.... red, kenly, and simone.... they help keep me going.

to those of you who read, i thank you... and if you review, i get down and kiss your toes. you make me positively giddy. please, feel free to offer suggestions. they do end up here. i swear it.

to deblovesdragon: yes, Kevin is dead meat. here you go... Remus in leather and a tank top. oh yumm.... get me a bucket. the Master dismissed them well, i think. and thank you for reading.

to star: don\'t worry, kevin will get his. and i\'m glad you didn\'t hurt yourself. no much action here... but i hope this will do.

to Anubis: thanks for the comments, and i\'m glad you\'re giving this a whirl.

to BlackIsis: look.... it showed up here. he talked to her. i hope this is what you had in mind, and i honestly don\'t know why it took you so long. what wrong with you? ;p

to Talene: thanks. i\'m not sure if i am or not. not at this point. we\'ll see....

to michele: does this work for you? the Gryffindors at a strip club and Severus still despising them.

again... thanks to you all! i hope you enjoyed Severus being a little serious