Home is Where the Heart Is

~ Disclaimer: I own nothing but what springs from my imagination. Remus Lupin, Hogwarts, and the rest of the Potterverse are the property and the children of JK Rowling. ~

Home is Where the Heart Is
Chapter 4: Bad Moon Rising

The days went by and Remus busied himself with preparing for September. He was a little nervous, truth be told. He was concerned about his condition causing a problem for the school. He was looking over some new texts when he was summoned to Albus’ office. He made the short trip to the headmaster’s office and knocked lightly on the door.

“Come in, come in Remus, and have a seat,” said Albus, offering Remus a lemon drop.

“Yes, Professor Dumbledore, is something wrong?”

“Well, yes and no, and I’ve asked you many times to please call me Albus,” replied Albus “I need you to delay your teaching start date.”

“I knew it. Damn it. I’ll have my bags packed and be gone this afternoon.”

“What are you talking about Remus? I didn’t ask you to leave.”

“I thought…”

“You thought incorrectly. I just need you to delay your teaching date until you do a favor for me. I have a little errand for you to run, Order business. It could take the better part of two weeks and I see no need to start teaching, then be gone for that long in the middle of the first month of school. I trust your syllabi are complete and there it cut curriculum to follow?”

“Well, yeah, I guess so…”

“Good. So that will be the plan. Severus, Minerva, and I will cover your classes, following your set curriculum, until you return. Immediately upon your return, you will take over the teaching of your classes.”

“Professor…Albus…”

“I know, you’re through with the Order of the Phoenix, you’ve had enough of the war, you just want a quiet normal life. Well, you shall. But there are loose ends to tie up, and you’re one of the few people I trust to tie them up. This is simple. We’ve found another underground prison complex to the South. It is still guarded by what appears to be Death Eaters and a few stray dementors. We just need that prison liberated and the Dementors vanquished. Certainly you won’t mind doing that?”

“Um…”

“Thought not. We have it worked out so that you will leave right before the students arrive. We’re laying the groundwork as we speak. It will be a small two person mission with a backup squad ready to apparate in if necessary.”

Remus sighed; this was something he would not be getting out of, “Who’s the second person?”

“I believe you know her fairly well…Nymphadora Tonks.”

“Well, at least it won’t be boring,” Remus said, with a slightckleckle.

“That’s the spirit. Well, run along and brief Severus and Minerva on your curriculum. I will get the information from Minerva later,” Albus dismissed him.

Remus walked out of Albus’ office shaking his head. Well, he thought, at least I haven’t been preemptively sacked. One more job for the Order and he could have as close to a normal life as a werewolf could have. He thought it odd that the mission was delayed for a week until he felt a familiar prickling sensation. It had been a little over three weeks since he left America. Three weeks spent planning his classes and attempting to make amends with the prickliest professor ever in Hogwarts history. Well, two weeks working on befriending Severus, since the potions master had reluctantly left for a conference in London a week ago and had just returned to Hogwarts. Three weeks avoiding Madame Hooch, who had been looking at him in a hungrier manner each time they ran into each other. His internal calendar, the one he’d been ignoring, pointed to three more days until the full moon. Three more days.

“Oh, Remus,” called Albus from his office doorway, ’t f’t forget your potion and there is a room in the lower dungeon set up for you. I think you’ll find it comfortable and pte ete enough. Three days comes fast.”

“Thanks Albus,” said Remus. It was always so annoying when Albus was one step ahead of everyone. Still, he had the potion, and it was simply a matter of riding out the pain of the transformation. At least with the potion, he was in control of his mind. The wolf would be tame. It was the closest thing to a cure that Remus imagined there would ever be. It was a very complex potion and Remus was thankful every day that Severus was willing to brew it for him, in spite of the fact that Remus came quite close to attacking the potions master when they were in school. In fact, if not for James Potter, Remus imagined he would have had one nasty case of indigestion back then.

Remus descended the staircase to the dungeons to fill Severus in on the plan for his absence. When he reached the potions room, he peered inside. Sure enough, there was Severus, sitting at the desk, dressed in a simple shirt and trousers, reading over a paper.

“Excuse me, Severus?”

Severus looked up, “Yes, Lupin?”

“Um, Professor Dumbledore asked me to fill you in on my classes…did he mention anything to you about taking over a couple of my classes for a short period of time?”

“Yes, he did. Better you going on this little excursion than me. I’ve about had an assful oath ath Eaters and Dementors,” said Severus.

“Did you just say ‘assful’?”

“Yes, I suppose I did,” remarked Severus, sipping from his cup of tea, “sit down if you must. Tea?”

“Yeah, sure,” said Remus, “tea would be lovely.” He grinned.

“Do shut up, Lupin, I was being sociable.”

“Sorry,” apologized R, ac, accepting the tea.

“So, you and Tonks, gallivanting about the countryside. Sounds about as appealing as a night in Hagrid’s hut…with Hagrid there, of course,” snorted Severus.

“Well, it’ll hopefully be over quickly and I can get back to teaching.”

“I suppose the war is finally winding down. We took some losses, but Voldemort’s gone,” remarked Severus.

“Yes, that’s true. Too many people lost for my comfort. Too many relationships mangled…” he looked at Severus.

“Nice try, Lupin, but you will get nothing out of me fyouryour little fishing expedition.” Severus pushed up the sleeves of his white linen shirt. Much to Remus’ surprise, there was no evidence of the Dark Mark on his forearm.

”Pardon me for asking, but didn’t you wear the Dark Mark?”

“Yes,” answered Severus carefully, running his hand through his hair, “it’s been removed. It’s a long story, one that I might tell you someday. But, of course, I seriously doubt that.”

Remus grinned, “You never know.”

“In any event,” said Severus, “I’m brewing you some more Wolfsbane Potion. No point in using the older potion. The prolonging catalyst I used does have a slight effect on the efficacy, as you may have noticed.”

“Yeah, a little less calmness, I noticed. I was still in control, but there was a feeling of tightness…I doubt I’m explaining my feelings correctly,” agreed Remus.

“No, you’re doing fine. Still in control only it should have been a little harder to gain that initial control after the transformation.”

“Exactly.”

“I’ve been working on a cure for your condition, Lupin, but so far, no luck. Wolfsbane seems the best bet at this time.”

“You’ve been working on a cure? For me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s a challenge and I like challenges. So, I’m taking your 4th years?” said Severus, changing the subject.

“Yeah, 4th years. I’ve kept the curriculum the same as you suggested.”

“Fi Now Now, if we’re finished, I have to get back to this summer independent study paper I’ve been plowing through.”

“No problem,” said Remus, standing up.

“Potion will be complete tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Severus. See you at dinner?”

“You just don’t want to be stuck sitting next to Hooch all by yourself.”

“Would you?”

“I was before you got here,” Severus looked up from his paper and gave Remus the slightest grin, “now it’s your turn.”

Remus left the dungeons chuckling and shaking his head. He never thought that under that less than savory attitude, there was a sense of humor. He almost hated to admit it, but he liked Severus Snape. He couldn’t help but wonder what Severus would have been like had things been different, especially in school. What things would be like had Severus been on the side of the light from the beginning. He had no doubt that the Light was lucky to have him when they got him. He could see why Albus Dumbledore liked and trusted him. There was an undercurrent of calm within Severus, one that could be taken for iciness. Yes, there were carefully built walls, but there was also a sign that those walls had been breached. Remus shrugged. No point in pushing Severus. He would only retreat back to his reed sed self if Remus even attempted to push. All Remus could do for the next few days anyway, was prepare for his classes, make the lessons self explanatory, and prepare for the rise of the full moon.