Phoenix Rising, Part 1

by Geri ([email protected])

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: SS/RL

Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts

Disclaimer: Characters belong to J.K. Rowling, except Hob, who belongs to William Mayne; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.

Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, and Phoenix Reborn.

Summary: Lupin, Snape, and the other members of the Order deal with the aftermath of Voldemort's return.
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Snape had just come up from the dungeon when he spotted Potter pointing his wand at Malfoy in the entrance hall while Crabbe and Goyle stood by watching slack-jawed. "Potter!" he shouted. Damn that boy; hadn't nearly being killed by the Dark Lord taught him ANY common sense? Apparently not. {Although,} Snape's inner voice piped up in its usual annoying fashion; {Malfoy probably provoked him.}

{Probably,} Snape agreed sourly as he strode over to where the four boys were standing. {Malfoy has no common sense, either.} Aloud, he said in a cold voice, "What are you doing, Potter?"

"I'm trying to decide what curse to use on Malfoy, sir," Potter said fiercely.

Still insolent as ever; one would think the boy might show Snape just a little gratitude after saving his good-for-nothing godfather...but that was probably too much to expect from a Gryffindor. "Put that wand away at once," he said curtly. "Ten points from Gryff--" He broke off and smiled when he saw the giant hourglasses on the wall. "Ah. I see that there are no longer any points left in the Gryffindor hourglass to take away. In that case, Potter, we will simply have to--"

"Add some more?" a voice asked cheerfully.

"Professor McGonagall!" exclaimed Snape. "Out of St. Mungo's, I see!" He was momentarily relieved to see that she looked well aside from the fact that she was leaning on a walking stick, but any benevolent feelings he might have had towards her quickly evaporated as she sent Crabbe and Goyle upstairs with her cloak and bag, then spoiled his fun by awarding fifty points each to Potter, Ron and Ginny Weasley, Longbottom, and Granger for "alerting the world to the return of You-Know-Who". Snape's ten points were then deducted, but there was not much satisfaction in that now. McGonagall then headed up to her office as Potter wisely beat a hasty retreat, leaving him alone with Malfoy. Snape scowled at McGonagall as she walked up the staircase. "Damn Gryffindors," he muttered under his breath. He turned to leave--he was on his way to the Headmaster's office--when Malfoy said, "Sir? Can I talk to you for a minute?" The boy looked pale, angry, and frightened.

Snape hesitated; well, his business with the Headmaster wasn't really urgent...and he had been so busy this year trying to keep Dylan out of the Voldemort's clutches, that he had not spent as much time as he should have on Draco. He had wanted to save both boys from the Death Eaters, but right now his track record was looking pretty abysmal--the Mark had already been forced upon Dylan, and Draco was probably all too eager to take it. "Very well," Snape said. "Let's go down to my office."

They went back down to the dungeon, and Snape took a seat behind his desk and said, "What is it, Draco?"

The boy did not sit, but stood there clenching his fists. "How can you just let Potter walk around free while my dad is in prison?" he burst out.

"I'm not 'letting' Potter do anything, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said coldly, a note of warning in his voice.

Draco ignored it. "And why are you walking around free when my father and my friends' fathers are in Azkaban?" he shouted. "What are you going to do to help them?"

Snape jumped to his feet and loomed over the boy, who took a step backwards, belatedly realizing that he'd gone too far. "Watch your mouth, Mr. Malfoy!" Snape snarled. "I will make some allowance for your distress, but I will not tolerate that kind of insolence! As you just pointed out, I am one of the few allies your family has left that is not in prison, so if you want any help from me, you had better treat me with some respect!"

Draco went pale and said, "I--I'm sorry, sir. I just...I was so upset about my father, I didn't think...I'm sorry."

The boy looked chastened and the apology seemed sincere, so Snape sat back down and said in a less threatening voice, "Take a seat, Mr. Malfoy." Draco quickly dropped into a nearby chair, and Snape said in an almost kindly voice, "I suppose we can let it go this once, considering the stress you are under..."

"Thank you, sir," Draco said, looking relieved. "But...about my father...? I know I was wrong to blame you, sir, but isn't there something we can do?"

"Azkaban is no longer guarded by Dementors," Snape pointed out. "I doubt they will be there for long."

"I know, but..." Draco's face twisted in anger and humiliation. "The other students, especially the Gryffindors, are gloating about it..."

"Ah, is that what the quarrel with Potter was about?"

"Yes, sir," Draco said sullenly.

"I know it is difficult, Draco," Snape said, trying to sound sympathetic--and was not quite sure if he succeeded, since sympathy was foreign to his nature, "but you must keep your temper and your dignity." Snape remembered how Branwen Blackmore had once chastised Black for always acting without thinking; it occurred to him that both Potter and Malfoy suffered from the same fault. "Hold your head up high, and act as if their insults mean nothing to you. When you react as you do, you are only giving them the satisfaction--"

"So I'm just supposed to stand by and let them insult my dad?" Draco asked indignantly.

"You're supposed to act as if their petty insults mean nothing to you," Snape said sharply. "The Dark Lord's mission failed, and that means the Death Eaters must go back into hiding. Those of us still free must keep up a respectable face to the outside world, do you understand me, Malfoy?"

"Yes, but--" the boy protested in a whiny tone.

Snape decided to play on the boy's pride; he might be a spoiled little brat, but he did love his mother, and Snape could use that to his advantage. "While your father is away, Draco, you must be strong, for your mother's sake. You are the man of the family now. It's up to you to look after and protect her."

Snape didn't think that Dylan would have fallen for such blatant flattery, but Draco ate it up. He sat up a bit straighter in his chair, a look of pride and determination on his face. "Yes, sir! Don't worry; I'll look after her!"

"Good," said Snape. "And remember, that means staying out of trouble."

Draco scowled a little at that, but said obediently, "Yes, sir." He hesitated, then asked, "Professor?"

"Yes, Draco?"

"When will I get to take the Mark? I mean, with Dad and the others in prison, doesn't our Master need more followers at his side?"

Snape gave him a cold look. "That is not up to me, Mr. Malfoy; it is up to the Dark Lord. And it is not your place or mine to tell our Lord what he should do."

Draco looked crestfallen, and a little sulky. "Yeah, I know, but why did Dylan get to join when he's a year younger than me?"

Snape glared at him. "You are not ready to be a Death Eater if you do not know one of our most basic precepts: never to question the Dark Lord's judgment."

"I know, but--"

"Draco, have you not noticed that being a Death Eater is a dangerous profession? Your father is in prison; your friend Dylan's father is dead."

"But--"

"Has it not occurred to you that perhaps your parents are trying to protect you?" Actually, Snape wasn't sure if that was true or not; Narcissa was overprotective, but he wasn't sure if she was really aware of the danger her son would be in if he joined their ranks, or whether she was blinded by worship of Voldemort. As for Lucius, although he indulged his son with material gifts, he showed little fatherly affection or concern towards the boy. He was, come to think of it, not unlike Snape's father, cold and concerned more with power and upholding the family name than he was with his son's welfare.

"I'm not a baby!" Draco protested. "I don't need to be protected!"

"Yes, you do," Snape said coldly. "Your attitude proves it. If you talked back to the Dark Lord the way you are talking to me now, your punishment would be far more than detention or points taken off your House, I assure you." He rose from his seat and glided around the desk; Draco looked up at him nervously. Snape leaned over and said softly, "Do you know what a Cruciatus Curse feels like, Draco?" The boy shook his head. Snape leaned down further and whispered in his ear, "Well, I do."

The boy nearly jumped out of his seat; he stared at Snape, his gray eyes wide with horror. "Y--you...?" Draco stuttered. "Th--the Dark L--Lord...?"

Snape knew he was taking a risk, but this might be his last chance to save Draco; he was already nearly beyond redemption. And with Lucius gone, he had some leeway; maybe without his father around to constantly extoll the praises of being a Death Eater, Draco might actually use his brain and think about the consequences...well, it was rather unlikely, but one could always hope for a miracle...

Snape continued in a smooth, silky voice, "The Dark Lord does not tolerate insolence, and he does not tolerate failure. In fact, Draco, I think it is indeed wise for you to postpone joining our ranks for now. You see, our Master is likely to be a bad mood since the mission failed. And you do not want to see our Master in a bad mood, Draco." Snape sighed dramatically. "I would not want to be in the shoes of Bellatrix Lestrange right now, or any of the others who managed to escape. The Dark Lord will be looking for someone to blame..." Snape leaned down and whispered in Draco's ear again. "And a Cruciatus Curse is likely to the least of the punishments he will inflict on them." Draco shuddered and went pale. "Actually, Draco, I don't mean to make light of the situation, but your father and the others who are in Azkaban are probably better off than the ones who went free. Perhaps our Lord will have cooled off by the time he gets around to freeing them."

Now Draco really began to look alarmed. "He wouldn't punish my father, would he?" the boy cried. "It wasn't Dad's fault the mission failed--"

"The Dark Lord cares about results, not excuses," Snape said coldly, but the boy was beginning to get too agitated, and he didn't want him doing anything foolish out of hysteria. "But don't worry," he added, in a soothing tone. "Your father is one of our Lord's most valued servants; I'm sure he'll be all right. It's likely the Dark Lord will have spent his anger on Bellatrix and the others by that time, anyway."

The boy calmed down a little, but didn't look completely reassured. Good; he wanted Draco to have some doubts. "So you see, Draco," Snape said calmly, "I think it is best you continue your education before you think of joining the Death Eaters. You must learn all the magic you can, and more importantly, you must learn discipline and self-control. The rewards the Dark Lord offers are great, but so are the risks and responsibilities. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," a shaken Draco Malfoy said quietly.

"Very well, run along now." The boy stood up and Snape called out to him, "Oh, and by the way, Draco?"

"Yes, Professor?"

"I don't think you should mention any of this to your mother; she has enough to worry about right now."

"Yes, sir," Draco agreed, looking protective. It seemed he was taking Snape's suggestion that he look after his mother seriously. Good.

"Oh, and I'm not supposed to tell you until the results are officially posted, but since your father is such a good friend...I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm to tell you a little early. You passed your O.W.L.s with flying colors, Mr. Malfoy."

"I did?" Draco asked, cheering up a bit.

"Yes indeed, so I shall be pleased to accept you into my N.E.W.T. class next year."

"Thank you, Professor!" Draco said, looking pleased.

"You may go now, Draco...and remember, this is our little secret." Snape gave the boy a conspiratorial smile.

Draco grinned, looking flattered to be sharing a secret with his teacher. "Yes, sir!" he said, and then left the office. Perhaps this could be a useful thing, getting Draco used to keeping secrets from his family--dangerous, of course, but useful...
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School had let out for the summer, and Snape and Dumbledore went to Mathias Donner's estate in Wales to discuss how best they could protect Dylan Rosier. They sat down with Mathias, his wife Goewin, and Dylan's mother Ariane while the subject of their discussion was sent upstairs, protesting, to his room. The Order of the Phoenix was bound to come up during the conversation, and both Snape and the Headmaster wanted to limit the amount of sensitive information Dylan was privy to until they had all decided how much he should be told. The more he knew, the more of a danger he was to both them and to himself, should Voldemort be able to rip the information from his mind. He was progressing smoothly in his Occlumency lessons, but he was still only a boy, and not yet a match for the Dark Lord. The lessons were only to allow him to keep up the facade of a loyal Death Eater, and to be able to lie without detection; he would not yet be able to ward off a direct attack from Voldemort should the Dark Lord decide that Dylan was hiding something important.

Ariane was still in shock from learning that Lucius Malfoy had kidnapped her off the estate and used her to force Dylan to take the Dark Mark. She remembered nothing of that evening, only that she had been taking a walk on the estate grounds, then felt dizzy and fainted. Mathias had gone looking for her when she did not show up for dinner, and found his niece, unconscious and burning up with fever.

"But it was a very odd and sudden illness," Mathias said grimly. "I suspected it was magically induced, although I had no proof of it. But I have placed added protections upon the house and the estate grounds to keep out unwanted guests."

"I'll kill Lucius," Ariane said through gritted teeth, then glared at Snape. "You were supposed to be protecting Dylan!"

She expected Severus to get angry or look worried, because after all, their unspoken agreement had been that she would spread no rumors about the Potions Master and Remus Lupin as long as he kept Dylan safe, and he had broken his promise. She still didn't know exactly what his relationship with Lupin was, but simply hinting that she did had been enough to alarm him. But Severus looked neither angry nor worried; his black eyes were haunted and filled with guilt.

To her surprise, all Severus said was, "I'm sorry, Ariane. It's my fault; I should have been watching him more carefully."

Goewin was looking at him suspiciously. "You have always been close to Lucius Malfoy, Severus; how do we know you were not involved--"

"Do not blame Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "I trust him completely, Goewin. He did his best, but it is impossible to watch over a child twenty-four hours a day." When Goewin still looked skeptical, Dumbledore added, "He loves Dylan just as much as you do. He would never have done anything to deliberately put him in danger."

Mathias raised an eyebrow while the women's jaws dropped open in shock. Snape's face went red and he looked mortified, but he did not contradict the Headmaster. He quickly ducked his head, letting his black hair fall over his face like a curtain.

{He really does care about Dylan,} Ariane thought, hardly able to believe it. He had not been protecting her son solely out of a sense of duty or because she had blackmailed him--he had done it out of love. Ariane felt like her head was spinning; cold, practical Severus Snape, who had never cared for anyone or anything but his own ambition, acting out of sentiment? Could she have misjudged him all along? The genuine guilt and remorse she saw on his face softened her anger, and reminded her that she was not blameless herself...with horror, she remembered Lucius Malfoy's visit last summer.

"Severus is not the only one to blame," Ariane said softly. "I am at fault as well." The others gave her a puzzled look, and she continued, her face flushing with shame, "Lucius Malfoy visited me here on the estate last summer, Uncle, when you and Goewin had left to take Dylan shopping on his birthday."

"What?" Mathias said, anger filling his gray eyes. "I trusted you, Ariane! Have you been in contact with Malfoy this whole time?"

"No," Ariane protested tearfully. "He appeared out of nowhere, while I was walking on the grounds gathering flowers; he must have Apparated over. He came to tell me that the Dark Lord was gathering his followers to him once more, and hinted that Dylan and I would be expected to prove our loyalty soon."

"What?" Goewin cried in outrage. "And you said nothing of it to us?!"

"I put him off," Ariane said. "I told him Dylan was too young to be a Death Eater, and I thought he was willing to wait; I was wrong." She began to weep. "I'm sorry, Uncle Math, if I had told you right away, you would have been forewarned and able to protect Dylan, and this might not have happened. I'm sorry..."

"Niece, why did you keep your silence and endanger your son?" Math asked sadly.

"I was afraid," she sobbed. "I was afraid the Dark Lord might win in the end, and if I broke off ties to him completely, we would be punished when he came to power. I thought I could delay and play for time until I could tell which side was winning. I wanted to protect Dylan, I didn't want to choose the wrong side. I had no idea Lucius would move so soon, Dylan is only fourteen, and Evan and Severus didn't join till they were eighteen..."

Goewin stared at Ariane in shock and disgust, while Math slid over on the couch they were sitting on to put an arm around his niece. Ariane laid her head on his chest, and he stroked her hair as if she were once again the small girl he used to comfort when she had argued with her mother or been teased by her brothers. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she sobbed. "It's all my fault!"

"You have always been too clever for your own good, my dear," Math said gravely. "I fear you have outsmarted yourself this time."

Snape watched the old wizard comfort his niece; he was reminded of Ariane's trial, when her mother and brothers had watched her with contempt, but her uncle had regarded her with sorrow and compassion in his gray eyes...gray eyes...something about that nagged at Snape's memory...

"Of course!" he shouted out loud, slapping himself on the forehead. "Gray eyes!"

Everyone else turned to stare at him, even Ariane, though tears were still running down her face. "Severus?" Goewin asked warily, looking at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"There was a Death Eater I didn't recognize at one of the meetings," Snape said excitedly, turning to Dumbledore. "He was wearing a mask, of course, so all I could see were his eyes--gray eyes. Lucius is the only Death Eater I know who has gray eyes, but I'm sure it wasn't him. But they looked familiar, and I only just now realized where I had seen them before--they reminded me of Dylan's eyes!"

"Dylan was at the meeting?" Goewin asked. "I thought you said he was taken only to the one where they put the Mark on him--"

"No, it wasn't Dylan," Snape interrupted, his mind racing. "It was before he was inducted, and anyway, this was a full-grown man, not a boy. But the eyes were just like his, that odd silver-gray shade all the Donners have..."

Ariane, Math, and Goewin stared at each other; all the Donners had gray eyes, save for blue-eyed Goewin, who was a Donner by marriage, not birth.

"You're sure it was a man?" Goewin asked, giving Ariane a suspicious look.

Ariane bristled for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose I deserve that," she said, and pulled up the sleeve of her robe, revealing that her left arm was still unmarked.

"It wasn't Ariane," Snape said firmly. "The person I saw was taller, and broad of shoulder. I'm sure that it was a man."

"Then it's not Ariane, and certainly not Deirdre," Goewin said uneasily. She looked at her husband, saying, "And of course it wasn't Math. But then that leaves only..."

Her voice trailed off and Math finished grimly, "Gilbert and Gwydion."

"But that's impossible!" exclaimed Ariane, her tears forgotten. "Gwydion hates the Death Eaters, he'd never join them! That's why he turned against me when I fell in love with Evan! And Gilbert's a half-wit, what would the Dark Lord want with him?"

"Of course!" Snape shouted again. "Damn it, why didn't I see it sooner? That's what he wanted the Mind Restoration Potion for!"

"Mind Restoration Potion?" Ariane asked, startled.

"Shortly before school began, the Dark Lord instructed me to make a batch of Mind Restoration Potion, and then again right after--" Snape broke off, flushing; he remembered that night well because it was the same night he had caught Potter spying on his thoughts in the Pensieve. Perhaps that was why he had been too distracted to make the connection until now. "Um, and he ordered me to make more again this past spring," Snape finished. "It was at that meeting that I saw the gray-eyed Death Eater, and I noticed him staring at the chest of potion ingredients the Dark Lord had given me." Snape slapped his forehead again. "Stupid!" he said in frustration. "How could I have not figured it out? But Gwydion Donner was one of the last people I would ever have thought of as a potential Death Eater; I didn't know him well, but I know he hated all Slytherins..."

"But Gwydion loves his brother--loves him too much, some would say," Goewin said in a bitter voice. "I think he would do anything for Gilbert, even sell his soul to Voldemort..."

"The Dark Lord recruited both Dylan and Gwydion at the same time?" Ariane said in outrage, then flushed as Goewin glared at her and her uncle gave her a stern look.

"No honor among thieves," Goewin said coldly. She and Ariane had never been friends, but Goewin loved Dylan, so for the sake of both her nephew and her husband, she had done her best to be kind to Ariane and accept her as family after her fall from grace when her Death Eater lover had been killed. And over the years, the two women had gradually warmed to each other. But now Goewin felt furious and betrayed to learn that Ariane had been contemplating going over to Voldemort. In some ways, Goewin found Ariane's cold pragmatism to be even worse than Evan Rosier's acts as a full-fledged Death Eater; at least his devotion to Voldemort had seemed to be sincere, if misguided.

"Ariane was trying to protect Dylan, in her own way," Snape said quietly, and Ariane gave him a startled but grateful look. A part of Snape was angry at her as well, but he thought it was more fear than ambition that had made Ariane keep her options open, so he forgave her, because he understood that fear all too well. "You have never seen the Dark Lord in person, Goewin. Those of us who have know the fear he can inspire; fear enough to believe that he might, indeed, triumph in the end. He very nearly won the first time around, you know. If not for the Potter boy..." Snape scowled, hating to be reminded that a Potter had saved the world from Voldemort.

"I understand why Voldemort wants Dylan," Math said, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Snape flinched a little at the sound of the Dark Lord's name, but the old wizard didn't seem to notice, and continued, "After all, Dylan is the son of one his followers. But I do not understand why it was so important to him to recruit Gwydion. That potion, as I recall, is very expensive and difficult to make...."

"Labor is not a problem, at least not to the Dark Lord," Snape said dryly, "since he has assigned that task to me. And money is not a problem either, as most of his followers come from wealthy and powerful families, not to mention the fact that he had a considerable fortune amassed before his fall, and I'm sure most of it was hidden in a safe place. He would see the potion merely as a means to an end, no different than using money or power as a bribe. But yes, I do wonder why he wanted Gwydion...he is a powerful wizard I suppose, and a more-or-less respected figure in society..." The Donner family knew the truth, and so did Snape, because Ariane had told Evan, and Evan had told Snape: that Gwydion had helped his brother Gilbert to assault Goewin when she was a teenage girl. But as far as the outside world was concerned, Gwydion Donner was a respectable member of an old pureblood family. "Perhaps he wants to use Gwydion as a spy...one who won't draw suspicion the way Malfoy or I might...no one would suspect Gwydion of being a Death Eater, after all."

But Ariane, recalling her earlier conversation with Lucius Malfoy, came up with another idea. "Malfoy knows that Goewin made Dylan her heir," she said slowly. "And no, Goewin, I did not tell him that; he learned it from his Ministry sources after you filed the official documents. Dylan and I were outcasts, existing, as my dear brother pointed out, on the charity of my family. If that were still the case, I admit I might have been more eager to join my lover's old comrades, not only to avenge his death, but to win power and wealth for my son. But once you named him heir, it no longer seemed so urgent: Dylan would have a title and lands to call his own, and the risks of being of a Death Eater seemed greater than the rewards. For years, I dreamed of revenge--revenge for Evan's death, revenge for the way my mother and brothers turned against me." For a moment, her silver-gray eyes went hard and cold. "If they had not forbade our marriage, Evan might not have joined the Death Eaters."

"You could have married anyway, once you turned eighteen," Math pointed out gently.

"I know," Ariane said softly, her anger fading. "I was willing to. But Evan was angry with the way they treated me; he said he'd make them sorry for it. He swore he would become so powerful they would have no choice but to give their consent; he swore he would not marry me till they bowed down and begged my forgiveness. And the only person who could give him that kind of power was the Dark Lord."

"Evan always was proud and stubborn," Snape muttered.

"But suddenly, my dreams of vengeance no longer seemed so important, compared to my son's life. I remembered how my lover and his friend died, I remembered how many other Death Eaters died or were sent to Azkaban, and I didn't want to risk Dylan suffering the same fate. I think Lucius suspected I was getting cold feet; he called me a fence-sitter and warned me not to take too long to choose sides."

"I see," Snape murmured. "If he couldn't have Dylan, then he would take your brother, and perhaps use him to destroy you and Dylan."

"But Dylan took the Mark, however reluctantly!" Ariane protested.

"One cannot expect fair play from Voldemort," Dumbledore said quietly. "That is the sort of thing he would find amusing, to double-cross both you and your brother."

"Evan was loyal to him," Ariane whispered, "even if I was not. He died rather than surrender and betray his Lord--"

"Voldemort is loyal to no one but himself," Dumbledore said. "And Evan, being dead, is of no more use to him."

Snape nodded in agreement, a bitter look in his eyes. "He called us his family, but he was quick to punish, even kill, those who failed him, however loyal they were."

"Professor Blackmore warned us that he could not be trusted, but we didn't listen," Ariane admitted miserably.

"None of us did," said Snape, looking a little shamefaced.

Ariane frowned thoughtfully. "I read some crazy rumor in the Daily Prophet that Professor Blackmore is still alive, that she turned up at the Ministry during the battle--"

Dumbledore grinned, his eyes twinkling despite the seriousness of their discussion. "I am pleased to say it is no rumor; she is indeed alive and well!"

"What?!" exclaimed Ariane. "After all these years? Where has she been hiding?"

"It's a very long story," Snape muttered.

"Let it suffice to say that she has been in hiding for her own safety, among other reasons," Dumbledore said. "But now that her cover has been blown, so to speak, there is no point in hiding anymore. Perhaps you will even have the chance to apologize to her." Ariane flushed.

"I'm delighted that the Professor is still alive," Goewin said impatiently. "But we're getting off-track; what are we going to do to protect Dylan? I think we should take him out of school and keep him on the estate--"

"If you do that," Dumbledore said patiently, "you will endanger both Dylan and Severus--"

"Severus is an adult," Goewin snapped. "He can take care of himself! And it seems to me that Dylan is in more danger at Hogwarts, where Lucius Malfoy was able to kidnap him right off the school grounds--"

"And he was also able to kidnap Ariane off your estate," Dumbledore pointed out.

"That was before I was aware of the increased risk," Math pointed out, but he looked worried. "And I did strengthen the protective spells guarding the estate and the manor--"

"But can you be absolutely certain, that your spells can keep out several determined Death Eaters, and perhaps even Voldemort himself?" Dumbledore asked gently. "If he believes that Dylan has betrayed him, he will seek to punish both Dylan and his mother. And you have never been a fool, Math. You may have forgiven Ariane after the trial, but I'm sure that you were on guard, watching to see if she would contact any of the surviving Death Eaters, and vice versa. You may not have expected Lucius to kidnap Ariane, but you were prepared for trouble, and still he slipped through your defenses."

The old wizard bowed his head. "I was vigilant for many years, but I have grown a little lax of late...nothing happened, and Dylan seemed to be doing so well at school. I thought his friendship with the Muggle-born girl, and their little project to help the house-elves, meant that he was turning away from the path of a Death Eater. I grew complacent, but that will not happen again! But you are right, Albus, that it is impossible to guard against every possible danger."

"And you are right, Goewin," Snape said in a level tone. "My safety doesn't matter. But the Dark Lord punishes traitors mercilessly. Dylan might well be safer if the Dark Lord thinks he is a loyal Death Eater."

"Severus's safety DOES matter," Dumbledore said firmly. "Even if you don't care what happens to him, he is our only spy in Voldemort's camp. The Order cannot operate without the information he supplies."

"Dylan is too young to be a spy," Goewin said, turning to her husband with pleading eyes. "Math, don't let them do this!"

"We don't intend to use him as a spy," Snape said. "He'll keep as low a profile as possible--"

"Have you instructed him to tell you when he is summoned?" Goewin demanded. "And to tell you what is said to him at meetings?"

"Yes, but--"

"Then I call that spying!"

"I would spare him if I could, but he is already Marked!" Snape said impatiently. "I need to know these things in order to protect him! But probably he will not have to tell me anything, because if he is summoned, most likely I will be too." Goewin started to protest, but Snape cut her off. "And I do not think you can get Dylan to stay here unless you lock him up, because the Dark Lord has threatened to kill Ariane if Dylan betrays him."

Goewin frowned unhappily. Her nephew was fiercely devoted to his mother, and would never let himself be hidden away for his own safety if it put Ariane in danger.

"Besides," Snape pointed out. "It could take years to defeat the Dark Lord--if that's even possible. How many years are you going to keep Dylan locked up here on the estate?"

"Well, if we cannot keep Dylan completely safe, is there something we can do to at least lessen the danger he is in?" Math asked sensibly.

"Severus is teaching him Occlumency," Dumbledore replied, "which will help him to guard his thoughts from Voldemort and ward off mental attacks."

"Ah," said Math, comprehension dawning in his gray eyes as he looked at Snape. "So that is how you have been able to deceive your Dark Lord. Yes, that will be very useful."

"Isn't there anything more we can do?" Goewin asked helplessly.

"The protections around the school have been increased," Dumbledore said, "and Severus and I will be watching closely over him."

"I promise," Snape said, quietly but fervently, "I won't let anything happen to him this time. If he's in danger, I'll pull him out and bring him to safety, even if it exposes my cover."

The Donners looked bemused by the fierce protectiveness in Snape's voice, while Dumbledore smiled, though he also looked a little concerned. "Severus will continue to tutor Dylan over the summer, as often as his other duties allow," the Headmaster said. "As for what you can do, you must guard Dylan carefully over the summer; your estate is more vulnerable than the school. And if Gwydion Donner has been corrupted, you may have to guard against your own family members as well."

Math nodded grimly. "I have barred Gwydion and Gilbert from returning to the estate after they insulted Goewin and Dylan last summer, but I see now that mere words will not suffice. I will add a spell to the protective wards around the estate, that will prevent them from entering or Apparating into the house and grounds without my express permission. And perhaps I had better include my sister in that ban, in case they attempt to use her against me. I do not think any reward would entice her to join the Death Eaters, not even a cure for Gilbert, but she has always overindulged the boys, and they may be able to manipulate her into performing their Master's work without her knowledge."

"And we could use your help in the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore added quietly. "You have given us your support, of course, but--"

"But I was not able to take a more active role, because I was watching over Dylan and Ariane," Math finished. "That was my agreement with my sister, that if she used her influence to save Ariane from Azkaban, that Ariane would be exiled to my estate, and I would act as her keeper. But now, I think we are all on the same side--"

"Are we?" Goewin asked, giving Ariane a suspicious look. "Can we really trust her?"

"The Dark Lord has threatened my son," Ariane said quietly. "Any loyalty I might have felt towards him is gone. I swear, by this ring--" She held up her hand, the silver-and-rose engagement ring glittering on her finger. "--that I will let go of my hate, and give up my dreams of avenging my love. He is dead now, and the living are more important. I will let Evan rest in peace, and focus all my energy on protecting our son. I swear on the life of my son that I will not betray you, not even to save my own life." Ariane, who for as long as Snape could remember, had been proud and arrogant even in defeat, said humbly, "You may bind me to my promise by magic, if you wish. Geas me not to reveal any of our secrets, now or in the future."

Geas was an ancient and powerful form of Celtic magic; one could use it, for example, to make a warrior incapable of betraying his lord, or use it to bind a person not to reveal a secret, as Ariane had suggested. It bordered on the Dark Arts, because it could be used to make a person act against their will--not unlike the Imperius Curse, in a way, but much more powerful, because it was permanent unless the caster of the spell revoked it. Snape had not known there was any living mage capable of casting it--not even the Dark Lord, since he would no doubt have already used it if he could--but apparently Mathias Donner was. The Donners had always had odd and rare magical gifts, and were tied more closely to the old, pagan ways of magic than most of the other wizarding families.

"Very well, Niece," Math said solemnly. "Not because I do not trust you, but to protect both you and ourselves, should the worst happen and you be captured by the Death Eaters." He turned to Dumbledore. "I still need to stay on the estate most of the time to guard Ariane. She will need more protection than ever now, and also, it is best, I think, if it appears to the outside world that nothing has changed, and that Ariane is still a virtual prisoner. But if you need me, send word and I will come, and in the meantime Goewin can attend the meetings and report back to me. Discreetly, of course."

"Of course," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Although the Ministry finally acknowledges the truth of Voldemort's return, I think it is best if the Order continues to meet in secret for now, to protect the members' safety and prevent leaks of information. I am sure he must still have some agents in the Ministry, even though his most valuable source, Lucius Malfoy, was captured."

"What about Dylan?" Goewin asked. "What, if anything, should he be told about the Order?"

"My first thought is to tell him nothing," Dumbledore said. "But then again, keeping Harry in the dark proved to be a very wrong decision..."

"Mr. Potter isn't likely to be attending any Death Eater meetings," Snape pointed out. "Dylan already knows that we're working against the Dark Lord, which is dangerous enough. He doesn't need to know the details right now. The less he knows, the less he'll have to hide, both from the Dark Lord and his Slytherin housemates."

"He's just a child," said Goewin. "Can he really act well enough to fool not only his classmates, but the Death Eaters?"

Snape laughed harshly. "Don't you get it, Goewin? He's been acting his entire life! He dreamed of being a Death Eater like his father, until he met me and began to realize that being a Death Eater isn't all power and glory!" She stared at him in horror, and he wondered how she had retained her idealism, after being attacked by the twins, after watching her niece stand trial as a Death Eater. "So, yes, I believe he can keep up the act, but I think it would be wise not add to the strain of it by giving him more secrets to conceal." Because Snape knew from experience, what it cost to keep up a constant facade, never letting anyone see your true feelings...

Dumbledore shot Snape a concerned look, but merely said, "Do we agree, then, not to involve Dylan with the Order for now?" Everyone agreed, and Dumbledore, as Secret-Keeper of the Phoenix headquarters, gave Math and Goewin--but not, Snape noted, Ariane--permission to enter the Grimmauld Place house, and told them when the next meeting would take place.

"Wait," called Ariane, as the two Professors prepared to leave. "May I speak to you in private for a moment, Severus?"

Math and Dumbledore exchanged looks; the Headmaster gave a slight nod, then said cheerfully, "I'll meet you back at the school, Severus," then Disapparated, vanishing from the room.

Ariane led Snape into a nearby room--her uncle's library, by the looks of it. They stared at each other in wary silence for a moment, then she smiled and said, "You surprise me, Severus--you are not what I thought you were. All these years, I thought you were a cold and pragmatic man, who cared only for your own safety and ambition--so it shocked me to learn that you are a hero in disguise! But perhaps I should not be so surprised; you always did have a sense of honor back in school, however much you tried to hide it. That was why I wrote to you and asked you to help Dylan in the first place."

Snape flushed and said a little peevishly, "Well, you are not what I thought you were, either, Ariane! I thought you were raising Dylan up to be a good little Death Eater!"

"I was," she said, shamefaced. "I tutored him extensively in the Dark Arts while he was growing up. It was not until Lucius showed up last August that I realized how much danger I was putting him in and came to my senses--too late, unfortunately."

Snape felt a little guilty then, and said apologetically, "Well, I'm glad I was wrong. And he's turned out pretty well, so you must have done something right."

Ariane gave him a serious look and said quietly, "You have protected and looked after Dylan these past two years, and not just out of duty to Evan's memory or because I threatened you. You care about him, and it is obvious to me that he cares about you as well. I'm sorry, Severus, that I tried to blackmail you. I promise I won't say anything about you and Lupin."

"How DID you find out about us, anyway?" Snape burst out, and Ariane repressed a giggle at the indignant look on his face.

"I just guessed," she admitted. "I was thinking about Evan and myself, how we were enemies before we were lovers, and how you were the only one of his Slytherin friends--other than Lyall, of course--who accepted our relationship before Malfoy granted us his approval in exchange for Evan becoming a Death Eater. Then I remembered how you always used to follow Potter's little gang around, and I wondered if you might have had a crush as a boy, on Potter or one of his friends." Snape looked outraged at the thought of having a "crush" on James Potter, and this time Ariane did laugh out loud. "Your rivalry with Potter was the most intense, but I also remembered how you were obsessed with Lupin's frequent absences, and how you worked together with him on that project for Blackmore's class. And then I remembered some gossip one of my old Ravenclaw friends had written to me about, how you had gotten Lupin fired from his job at Hogwarts. I made an educated guess, and hinted to you at the Quidditch match that I knew more than I really did, and your reaction told me that I'd guessed correctly."

"You mean you were BLUFFING?" Snape groaned. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for that!"

"I'm sorry, Severus," she said with an amused but contrite smile. "I still don't know exactly what, if anything, there is between you and Lupin, and I won't ask. And I will keep my guesses to myself from now on." But her best guess was that he was in love with Lupin, whether or not his feelings were returned, because she knew from experience that only love could make someone as practical and wary as Snape behave so foolishly. To her surprise, she found that she hoped Lupin did indeed return his feelings, because he deserved some measure of happiness in exchange for all that he had done and risked for her son, and for the Order of the Phoenix.

"You had better, if you know what's good for you," Snape growled.

He turned to leave, but Ariane placed a hand on his arm, and he looked back at her suspiciously. "Thank you, Severus," she said quietly. Her gray eyes met his startled black ones, and a look of understanding passed between them. She no longer needed to ask him to look after Dylan, because she knew he would do it on his own without being asked; could not, in fact, be stopped from doing it, even if his own Headmaster had ordered it.

"You're welcome," Snape said, just as quietly. Then he cleared his throat and said gruffly, "I'll return to give Dylan his lessons in a few days." Looking grumpy and embarrassed, he said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way..." Ariane smiled and took a step back, and Snape Disapparated, leaving her alone.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Lupin, Sirius, and Branwen were sharing a celebratory drink in the kitchen of the Grimmauld Place house. "Well, Sirius," Branwen said, "your name has been cleared, so you are now a free man. And since I was seen at the Ministry of Magic, there is no longer any point in hiding my return, either. To freedom!"

"To freedom," Lupin and Sirius echoed. The three friends clinked their wine glasses together, and took a sip of a particularly fine vintage that Sirius had fetched up from the wine cellar.

"So what will you do now, Branwen?" Sirius asked. "Move back into Blackmore Manor, I suppose?" He was surprised to find that, despite their many quarrels, the thought of her moving out made him a little sad.

"Oh, I intend to fix up my family home," Branwen said. "But it's in a rather remote location, and a bit too big just for Bane and myself. I thought for the time being, I might continue to stay here...if you don't mind, that is." She smiled at Sirius, a little hesitantly, as if not quite sure of her welcome.

"Of course!" Sirius said heartily. "The more the merrier! This house is way too big just for me and Remus." He grinned mischievously. "Besides, we'll need some help with the cooking and cleaning, now that Kreacher's gone--not that he was ever much help to begin with." Dumbledore had whisked off the house-elf to some unknown location, where he could do no harm, to himself or anyone else.

"I can summon some minor elementals or household spirits to help with such things," Branwen said casually. "Though now that you are a free man, you don't actually have to stay here anymore..."

"That's right!" Sirius exclaimed. He didn't have to live in this gloomy old house anymore; he could rent an apartment or small house, perhaps in Hogsmeade, to be near his godson...but he would miss Lupin and Branwen. "Well, I've kind of gotten used to it, I suppose--and besides, someone has to keep the headquarters in order."

"But how long will you be staying, Branwen?" Lupin asked. "Now that you've officially returned from the dead, will you apply to teach at Hogwarts again?"

"I don't know," she replied. "My specialty, Summonings, is still banned from the curriculum, though Albus is trying to persuade the school governors to change their minds."

"You could teach Defense Against the Dark Arts," Lupin suggested with a grin. "I hear there's an opening." Umbridge had apparently had a nervous breakdown after her encounter with the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.

"I could," she said, smiling back at him, "but I think Albus is campaigning for you to take over your old post."

"Me?" Lupin asked in surprise. "But after the parents' protests two years ago, and the anti-werewolf legislation Umbridge passed--"

"Yes, Umbridge who is now disgraced," Branwen said with a smile of dark satisfaction. "And you are a hero now, you know, Remus. You helped to save Harry Potter and fight off the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters." Lupin looked even more startled. "Certainly that is the picture Dumbledore is painting, and he now has all his old influence back, and more." She grinned and made an expansive gesture with her arms. "We are all heroes--we have fought off the Death Eaters and alerted the world to the return of You-Know-Who! We might as well ride out the wave of sentiment, and take advantage of it while it lasts."

"Wait a minute!" Sirius said indignantly. "You can't both run off to Hogwarts and leave me alone here!"

Lupin and Branwen laughed. "Well, Sirius," Branwen said, "it's by no means guaranteed that either of us will have a job there. But as I said, you are a free man, now. You can come visit us anytime you like; you can even take up residence in Hogsmeade if you wish."

Sirius cheered up considerably at that thought. "That's right, I could! Say, are there any other openings at Hogwarts? Then we could all be together--"

Branwen burst out laughing, nearly falling off her chair, at the thought of Sirius becoming a teacher. Bane squawked, flapping his wings to keep his balance on her shoulder, as his mistress tipped back in her chair. Then he began to laugh too, a raucous cawing noise. Even Lupin chuckled a little.

Sirius scowled at the trio. "It's not THAT funny," he complained in an offended tone.

"Sorry, Sirus," Lupin said with a smile. "I just can't picture you being patient enough to handle a classroom full of unruly children."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call Snape 'patient,' either," Sirius pointed out sulkily.

Branwen wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, saying, "Yes, Professor Snape is known for his notoriously short temper. But he does have more patience than you give him credit for, Sirius. He has been playing the role of the loyal Death Eater since he was eighteen years old, and if he truly had no patience, he would have been unmasked and killed long ago."

Sirius grudgingly admitted to himself that he probably could not have pulled it off himself, but nothing short of an Imperius Curse would ever make him admit it out loud. "Okay, okay," he muttered. "It was just a thought."

Branwen said soothingly, "You could apply to become an Auror again. Or, now that you can move freely once more, Albus will probably have many tasks for the Order that you can perform."

"Maybe I can help Moony on his missions," Sirius said brightly. "You and me together, Moony, it'll be just like old times..."

A look of alarm filled Lupin's blue eyes; his missions were mainly diplomatic ones, and he could not imagine anyone more ill-suited to diplomacy than his reckless, impulsive friend. "Er...um..." he stammered, stalling for time while he tried to come up with a tactful way to tell Padfoot that was not a good idea.

As it turned out, he didn't have to. Bane flew up into the air with an indignant squawk as Branwen tipped back her chair again, overcome with laughter. "Sirius? A DIPLOMAT? HA HA HA HA!"

Lupin smiled apologetically as Sirius protested, "It's not THAT funny!"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

They polished off that bottle of wine, and most of a second, before Lupin, looking a little tipsy, bid his friends goodnight, giving Sirius a hug and Branwen a rather sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Better not let Snape catch you kissing anyone else," Sirius warned.

"S'okay," Lupin giggled. "He's afraid of Branwen. And anyway, Branwen kissed him too, after he healed you!" Sirius scowled a little, hating to be reminded that he owed his life to Snape, but Lupin didn't seem to notice. "So now we're even!"

"I'm not sure I follow that logic, but whatever you say, dear," Branwen said indulgently. "Now go upstairs and get some sleep." She was looking at him with an almost motherly kind of affection, and Sirius grinned. Well, sort of motherly, anyway--he couldn't picture Molly Weasley smiling indulgently if any of her brood got drunk, even the ones who were of age!

"Yes, Professor," Lupin said meekly, and stumbled out of the room.

"I hope he makes it upstairs without tripping and breaking his neck," said Sirius, shaking his head slightly. "Werewolves can't hold their drink, I guess." Sirius himself felt pleasantly mellow, but not drunk.

Branwen smiled at him; as far as Sirius could tell, she wasn't drunk either--which was just as well, he supposed. It probably wasn't a good idea for a sorceress of her power to get rip-roaring drunk, particularly not one who had the ability to summon demons...

"I think Remus is not used to indulging," Branwen was saying, breaking into Sirius's thoughts. "As a werewolf, he has fought all his life to keep control of himself, and this--" She held up her wineglass. "--represents a loss of control. It's a good sign, I think, that he feels safe enough with us to let down his guard enough to enjoy a few glasses of wine."

She started to say something else, then changed her mind and fell silent, but Sirius suspected he knew what she was going to say: that it was also thanks to Snape and the Wolfsbane Potion he'd helped to create that Remus no longer feared his inner wolf. Sirius frowned a little as he stared into his wineglass, twirling the stem between his fingers and watching the dark red liquid swirl around in the glass. Tonight was the first time since Remus had returned from Hogwarts that they had been able to laugh and joke easily with each other; up till now, things had been a little strained between them. They still had not spoken of the fact that Remus had tried to stop Snape from saving Sirius, but it hung over them like a spectre, casting a pall over what should otherwise have been a happy time: Harry had been rescued, and Sirius's name was cleared. But Sirius brooded quietly to himself, hurt that his best friend would have let him die rather than let Snape risk his life to save him. Not that he was pleased about being indebted to Snape, either! And Snape was Remy's lover, but still...he saw Branwen watching him, a thoughtful look in her green eyes, and then he realized that something else had been nagging at his subconscious.

"Say...Bran...?" Sirius asked hesitantly.

"'Bran'?" his former teacher asked, raising her eyebrows, and Bane gave him a malevolent look.

Sirius laughed. "Sorry, Professor. It just slipped out. You don't like nicknames?"

"'Bran'--it makes me sound like a muffin or a bowl of cereal," she complained.

"BranWEN, then," Sirius said with a smile.

"Yes, Sirius?"

His playful expression suddenly turned solemn. "Harry told me that you held Remus back so Snape could cast the Blood Healing spell on me."

"Yes, that's correct," she said calmly.

"Why?!" Sirius burst out. "My own best friend tried to stop Snape, so why would you let him risk his life for me? Snape's always been your favorite; together you and Remy could've stopped him--so why'd you let him do it?"

Branwen stared at him for a moment, then to his complete and utter surprise, said, "I love all three of you, Sirius." She smiled a little as his mouth dropped open in shock. "I should let Albus give you the same lecture he gave Severus, about love not being like a pie. Love is not something you can divide up into pieces, Sirius. I wouldn't say that I love him more, but yes, I have always been especially protective of Severus, probably for the same reasons that Remus is."

When she did not elaborate, Sirius said impatiently, "Which are...?"

"Pain and loneliness and bitterness. Emotions with which I am very familiar." Sirius looked startled. "My parents were murdered when I was fifteen years old, Sirius. I had no close friends and few people I could trust. Like Severus, I learned to wear a mask, learned to keep up a cold and unyielding appearance so that no one would see how much I hurt inside. I never became as embittered as Severus, but I had Bane to comfort me, and my teachers to help me; my family was eccentric but loving, so I never learned that complete distrust of humanity that Severus did. But would it surprise you, Sirius, to know that I also faced temptation? Do you recall the conversation we had after Rosier and Wilkes were killed? How we argued about Severus, and I told you how hard it is to resist temptation when you stand alone?"

"Yes," Sirius murmured. "You said by taking Remus from him, I took away his support, that he might have been able to resist Voldemort with Remus's help."

"I was speaking from experience, Sirius. I too, was tempted to turn to the Dark Arts." Seeing Sirius's shocked and horrified expression, Branwen added, "Oh, not to join Voldemort, for I suspected he was behind my parents' deaths, but to use my powers to take revenge for those deaths. I was tempted to summon Araqiel; thanks to his pledge, and the spell he and Regan laid upon the house, all that I would need to do would be to spill a drop of my blood on the floor. I could have loosed a Demon Prince and all his minions upon the world, could have used them to kill anyone even remotely connected with my parents' deaths..."

Sirius shuddered a little, at the thought of so much power lying in the hands of a grief-stricken child, and Branwen nodded grimly.

"But...I did not. Because, once summoned, demons are not so easily dismissed, and they probably would have killed innocents along with the guilty. Because that was not what my parents would have wanted. And because, although I was mostly alone, I still had the support of teachers like Dumbledore and McGonagall. And so my moment of temptation passed. Severus was utterly alone, and he succumbed to temptation, but at least he did finally realize he was wrong, and he has spent the rest of his life trying to atone for his mistakes. I suspect, no matter what he does, no matter how many lives he saves, no matter how many people offer him forgiveness, he will never feel like it has been enough."

Sirius was quiet for a long moment. Branwen and Lupin were making it harder and harder for him to keep hating Snape, damn them! Finally he said, "That still doesn't answer my question. If you loved him and wanted to protect him, why did you let him risk his life for me?"

"Because he's an adult, Sirius, and it was his choice to make, right or wrong, foolish or wise. It was not my place to stop him. And...he did it out of love, Sirius."

Sirius scowled. "Are you sure? He rubbed it in my face, taunted me with it, that Remus would rather have let me die than let him risk his life..."

Branwen sighed. "Even Severus would not risk his life just to spite you, Sirius. It was love that motivated him, in a rather twisted, bitter sort of way. He is, as I told Harry, a complicated man. I think he has always believed that Remus loved you more than him, which is why he hates you so much. And that is why he was willing to sacrifice his life--not for you, but for Remus, whom he believed loved and needed you. Which he does, but not more than he loves and needs Severus." She smiled helplessly and shook her head. "A rather complex and tangled situation..."

Sirius sat there, feeling rather stunned. He gulped down the rest of his wine in an attempt to calm himself, and muttered, "Just like Snape, to turn a noble act into something twisted and self-pitying..."

He expected Branwen to start chewing him out as she usually did when he made snide comments about Snape, but she just sighed and said, "Both Severus and Remus seem to have a bit of a martyr complex, I'm afraid."

Sirius thought of Remus, stubbornly living in poverty for years, rather than relying on the "charity" of friends, and of Snape, doggedly risking his life playing spy all these years, without seeking any credit for his heroics. He thought of them both, suffering in silence and pining after their first loves for nearly twenty years, and he sighed in disgust. "Two masochists--they make a perfect couple," he muttered.

Branwen laughed a little, and Sirius managed a small smile. Still, he could not let go of the thought that Remus would have let him die; he kept prodding at it, as one can't help but probe at a sore tooth with one's tongue, no matter how much it hurts...

"Don't be angry at Remus," Branwen said softly. "It's an impossible choice, to choose between the lives of two people you love. If Remus had been able to cast the spell himself, would you have wanted him to risk his life for yours?"

"Of course not!"

"But it's all right for Severus to risk his life? Because you don't care if he lives or dies?"

"That's not what I meant!" Sirius protested, his face turning red with shame.

"All right," Branwen said calmly. "What if it were Harry's life at stake; would you let Remus risk his life then?"

"No, because I'd do it! Harry's my godson--"

Suppose you weren't there," Branwen said patiently. "Then would you let Remus take the risk?" Sirius hesitated. "Or would you just let Harry die?"

"I--I don't know," Sirius stammered. "How could I make a choice like that?"

"Would you let Harry risk his life for Remus?"

"No!" Sirius burst out, then looked startled, and a little guilty.

"Why not?" Branwen asked, her green eyes narrowing as she stared at Sirius intently.

"Be--because Harry's a child! We're supposed to protect him, not the other way around!" Sirius scowled as Branwen smiled, recalling she had thrown almost those very same words in his face last year, when she had accused him of treating Harry like James--treating him too much like a friend, and not enough like a godson. "I don't see what any of this has to do with Snape! He's hardly a child!"

"No, but Remus sees him as being in need of protection," Branwen replied. "In a roundabout way, you could consider it a compliment." Sirius stared at her uncomprehendingly, and she patiently explained, "You're strong enough to stand on your own, Sirius. You've always been brave, confident, popular, and able to take care of yourself." She paused, perhaps thinking of all the times she had accused him of behaving childishly, and added dryly, "Well, most of the time, anyway. Severus, despite all his bluster and his outward pretense of not caring about anyone, is far more insecure, lonely, and vulnerable. He always has been, and the time he spends with the Death Eaters probably doesn't do wonders for his mental health and stability. He needs Remus, Sirius, more than you do. Note that I said 'needs,' not 'loves'."

Sirius recalled how Lupin had tried to explain that Snape's hostility towards him had been born out of jealousy and insecurity. But it was so hard to reconcile the arrogant, acerbic Potions Master with the image of the lonely, needy boy that Remus and Branwen painted. "But--"

"You can choose to make an issue of it," Branwen said coldly. "But you will only hurt Remus needlessly." She added in a more gentle voice, "Remus doesn't love you any less, but there are times when the needs of one's mate or spouse must come before those of one's friends--even a best friend or a blood brother. Perhaps one day you will understand, when you fall in love and marry--providing you can find someone willing to marry you."

"BRANWEN!"

She giggled, looking surprisingly girlish, and said, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," but didn't look very contrite. "Well, perhaps a better analogy would be, one day you may find that you must put the needs of your godson ahead of the needs of your friend, but that won't mean that you love Remus any less."

"All right," Sirius conceded, not liking it but unable to argue with her logic. "I won't give Moony a hard time about it. But," he added stubbornly, "I still don't like Snape."

"Well, Snape doesn't like you," Branwen pointed out. "So you're even. But in some ways, Severus understands the concept of love better than you do, Sirius."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded indignantly.

"When you truly love someone, you care more about their happiness than your own." Branwen drained her glass of wine, said, "Well, goodnight, Sirius," then rose from her seat and left the room.

"She's got teaching in her blood, all right," Sirius muttered. "Always lecturing!" But he felt guilt stirring inside him as he thought about his behavior over the past year. Had he ever once thought about what Lupin, or for that matter, Harry, needed? He recalled how he'd accused Harry of being cowardly, when he didn't want Sirius to risk coming to visit him in Hogsmeade, recalled how he'd fought with Remus over Snape. {Me, me, me,} he thought miserably, {it was all about me! "I'm lonely, I'm tired of being cooped up in this house all the time, I don't want that slimy git in my house"--all I ever thought about was myself! I didn't realize how hard a time Harry was having at school, or how lonely Moony was without Snape; I was too busy feeling sorry for myself...} But was Snape really any better? After all, he was the one who had exposed Remus as a werewolf and forced him to leave Hogwarts; not exactly a noble act. Sirius almost felt smug for a moment, before his conscience began nagging at him. Against his will, memories from last summer popped into his head: Lupin sitting by the fire reading a book, looking up and smiling as Snape bent down to kiss him on the cheek; Lupin in wolf-form, lying in Snape's lap, as Snape smiled down at the wolf almost tenderly, scratching behind its ears; and Snape just returned from his meeting with the Death Eaters, his black eyes haunted and despairing, his voice raw and hoarse from screaming, taking Lupin into his arms and clinging to him desperately... Sirius squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, and polished off what remained of the second bottle of wine. Snape had, apparently, helped to create the Wolfsbane Potion for Lupin, this fact having been discovered only because the co-creator, Naoto Kamiyama, had spilled the beans to Lupin. And Snape, however twisted and self-pitying his reasons, had risked his life to save Sirius because he thought it would make Lupin happy. Sirius shook his head in disgust; who knew what really went on in the Potions Master's pointy little head? Trying to understand how Snape thought was giving him a headache... {Or maybe it's the wine,} he thought fuzzily. He briefly contemplated going down to the cellar for another bottle, then decided against it; he was probably going to have a hangover tomorrow morning as it was. He yawned and pushed back his chair, then headed to bed; trying to figure out how he and Snape and Lupin were going to deal with each other could wait until tomorrow...
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The break-in at the Ministry of Magic had been a complete disaster; Gwydion had been lucky to escape unharmed--he had been lucky to escape, periodl! With a little less luck, he would be languishing in Azkaban with Malfoy and the others right now, although going to Azkaban might be easier than facing his mother's wrath if she ever found out he had made a pact with Voldemort.

So when the Mark began burning on his arm, he was tempted to ignore the Dark Lord's summons. But the longer he ignored it, the worse the pain got, until sweat was beading on his forehead, and he tasted blood in his mouth as he bit down on his lower lip to repress a cry of pain. Meanwhile, Gilbert was clutching his arm and moaning out loud. Gwydion frowned; their supply of the Mind Restoration Potion was running low...the Dark Lord doled it out to them a few bottles at a time, no doubt to ensure their loyalty. Gwydion cursed under his breath and reached into the back of his closet for a pair of hooded black robes...


The Dark Lord had gathered his Death Eaters around him; their ranks were much reduced after the failed mission to steal the prophecy. Gwydion couldn't be sure, since everyone was masked, but he didn't think that Severus Snape was among them this time. He recalled how the Hogwarts teacher had fawned over his Master, kneeling at the Dark Lord's feet; he had always suspected that slimy bastard was still a Death Eater, though he had supposedly reformed. And since Snape had testified on Ariane's behalf, that probably meant his sister had been a Death Eater after all, fifteen years ago. Beneath his mask, Gwydion frowned; as much as he hated Snape, he was disappointed by the Potions Master's absence, since Snape was the one who brewed the potion that kept Gilbert sane.

Then Voldemort's words broke into his thoughts. "...use your Ministry contacts, Gwydion."

"My Lord?" Gwydion asked, startled.

The Dark Lord's red eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you not paying attention, Gwydion? With Lucius and the others in prison, you are the highest-ranking and most respected wizard in our little group. You do not have a job in the Ministry, but I think we can soon remedy that; there are several job openings now, and I'm sure your friends can put in a good word for you."

"And what is it you want me to do at the Ministry, my Lord?" Their family was wealthy enough so that Gwydion did not have to work--he was not lazy, and in fact worked on researching and developing spells, but he liked to work independently, and on projects of his own choosing. The thought of holding down a normal job was distinctly unappealing to him.

"You will do what Lucius and the others have done," Voldemort said impatiently. "Gather information, and attempt to sway Ministry policy in our favor when possible. If you can get a position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, all the better. I want you to find out all you can about the current security arrangements at Azkaban."

"Azkaban, my Lord?" Gwydion asked, with a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized what was coming next.

The Death Eaters standing closest to Gwydion and his brother covertly began inching away, not wanting to be near them when their Master lost his temper. "Yes, Gwydion!" Voldemort snapped. "So that we may free our imprisoned comrades, of course!"

"Wait a minute!" shouted Gwydion. "I'll feed you information, but I'm not getting involved in any break-in! Especially not after the way our last mission fell apart! Do you have any idea what would happen if I became publicly exposed as--"

"CRUCIO!" Voldemort shouted, raising his wand, and Gwydion fell screaming to the floor. Gilbert looked terrified, his eyes darting back and forth between his brother and the Dark Lord. His hand started to move towards his wand, then stopped as he saw the look in Voldemort's crimson eyes.

Finally, the Dark Lord ceased the spell. Gwydion lay there, panting helplessly for a moment, then with Gilbert's help, managed to get back to his feet.

"Do you, Gwydion, have any idea what I will do to you if you defy me?" Voldemort asked in a deadly whisper. He pointed his wand, this time at Gilbert, and once again shouted, "Crucio!" Gwydion immediately reached for his wand, but before he could grasp it, found the wands of all his fellow Death Eaters pointed at him. He slowly lowered his hand. "Attempting to attack your Lord, Gwydion," said Voldemort, shaking his head. "A very serious crime. Unfortunately, it is your brother who will pay." He flicked his wand, and Gilbert's pain seemed to increase: his screams grew louder, and he went into convulsions on the floor.

"Stop, my Lord, please stop!" Gwydion shouted. "It was I who defied you; punish me, not my brother!"

"I will punish whomever I please," Voldemort said coldly, but after another minute, ended the spell. Gwydion turned to tend to his brother, but Voldemort raised his wand and shouted, "Imperio!" Gwydion found himself freezing in place. "Come to me, Gwydion," Voldemort said. "Crawl to me on your hands and knees, and show me what a good little Death Eater you are." To his horror, Gwydion found himself sinking to his knees and crawling jerkily across the room, as if he were a puppet, with someone else manipulating the strings. When he reached the Dark Lord, he felt an invisible hand pushing his head down until his lips brushed the hem of Voldemort's robe. "Beg my forgiveness, Gwydion," Voldemort said coldly.

"I beg your forgiveness, Master," Gwydion heard his voice say, then suddenly his body was his own again, and he fell into a trembling heap at Voldemort's feet.

"You seem to have gotten the misguided notion that we exist to serve you, and not the other way around, Donner," the Dark Lord continued in that cold voice. "I trust we have set you straight?"

"Y-yes, Master," Gwydion gasped.

Voldemort reached down and tapped Gwydion's left arm lightly with his wand. "Once that Mark is set on your skin, you belong to me. Permanently. No one is allowed to withdraw from the ranks of the Death Eaters. If you ever try to escape me, Gwydion, I will hunt you down and kill you, no matter where you go, no matter how far you flee. But I will torture your brother--and your mother, too--in front of you before you die. Is that clear, Gwydion?"

"Yes, Master," Gwydion whispered.

"Now, what is it that you are going to do for me?"

"Obtain a position in the Ministry of Magic, preferably in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and help break my comrades out of Azkaban," Gwydion said in a trembling voice. He glanced up, saw Voldemort frowning slightly, and hastily added, "Master."

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Voldemort asked pleasantly.

"No, Master."

"Very well, you are dismissed." As Gwydion rose to his feet, Voldemort reached out and touched Gwydion's chin with his long, white fingers and tipped his face up. "Oh, and Gwydion?"

"Y-yes, my Lord?" Gwydion asked, unable to repress a shudder.

"Do not disappoint me again."

"Never, my Lord!"

"Good."

As soon as Voldemort released him, Gwydion grabbed his brother and fled. They were still low on the Mind Restoration Potion, but now was probably not a good time to ask for more...
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hello, Severus," Lupin said, his eyes lighting up and a smile spreading across his face as Snape entered the Grimmauld Place house. Several other Order members had just arrived or were arriving, and they gave the pair a curious look.

"I'd like a word with you, Lupin," Snape snarled through gritted teeth, grabbing the werewolf by the arm and dragging him off to a more secluded part of the house.

"The meeting starts in ten minutes," Mrs. Weasley called after them, looking worried.

Kingsley Shacklebolt shook his head. "I don't know how Remus can put up with him; if I had to work that closely with Snape, I could probably stand about ten minutes worth of his snide remarks and insults before I'd punch him in the nose."

"You could hardly miss such a big target! But then he'd probably poison you," Tonks giggled, then subsided as Mrs. Weasley frowned disapprovingly at her.

"Remus is very good-natured," Mrs. Weasley said. "And besides, Severus has his good points."

"Such as?" Tonks asked curiously.

"Well, he is risking his life spying on the Death Eaters," Mrs. Weasley pointed out. "And...er..." She thought for a minute, having difficulty coming up with anything else. "And the children are very well-behaved when he stays for dinner!" she said triumphantly. Tonks gave a little snort of amusement, and Mrs. Weasley frowned again. "And he did give the children Christmas presents, so he can't be as ill-tempered as he seems."

"Yeah, that was a shock," Tonks said, running a hand through her spiky hair. "Just textbooks, but still...who would've thought Severus Snape would have even the tiniest bit of Christmas spirit?"

"And Albus says he saved Sirius's life, after the attack at the Ministry," Mrs. Weasley added, "though he's a bit vague about how that happened."

"Snape saved Black?" Shacklebolt exclaimed.

Sirius just happened to be coming down the stairs at that moment and scowled. "Yeah, fine, let's give him a medal or something and get it over with!" he said in a disgruntled tone.

They filed into the meeting room, with Mrs. Weasley scolding Sirius, Tonks asking how Snape had saved him, Sirius complaining that he didn't want to talk about it, and Shacklebolt shaking his head and muttering something about hell freezing over.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Snape crossed his arms and glared at Lupin. "What do you think you're doing?"

Lupin stared back at him innocently. "All I did was say hello. And by the way, I'm glad to see you, too, Severus."

"That's the problem--you look too glad to see me!"

"Aren't you glad to see me, Severus?" Lupin asked, his blue eyes wide and sad.

Snape thought Lupin was making fun of him, but he wasn't entirely sure, so he replied, "Of course I am, but I'm not going to say so in front of the other members."

"I thought we had agreed, that we needn't hide from the Order--"

"No, you and Blackmore agreed! I didn't have any say in it!"

Now Lupin looked genuinely sad. "Why are you so ashamed of us, Severus?"

"I'm not ashamed!" he snapped. "I'm trying to protect you!"

"Do you really think our fellow Order members will tell the Death Eaters that we're lovers?"

"No, but our ranks have grown...it's not wise to trust that many people with a secret, Lupin. A secret shared has a way of spreading...and quite frankly, I don't really trust all of our members. Especially Mundungus Fletcher; I wouldn't trust him not to steal anything that's not nailed down, and I certainly wouldn't trust him with secrets about our love life!"

"Fine, not everyone, but the core members...the ones who spend a lot of time in this house. Kingsley, Tonks, Moody, Molly and Arthur..."

"What would you like to do, Lupin," Snape asked sarcastically, "make an announcement at dinner?"

"That would be nice," Lupin laughed, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

Snape gave him an exasperated look. "Why is this so important to you?"

"Because," he said, looking serious now, "I'm tired of hiding and sneaking around. It's not like I'm saying we should stroll through Hogsmeade holding hands, Severus, but in the comfort of my own home, I'd like to be able to smile at you. I'd like to be able to kiss you on the cheek without looking around to see if anyone's watching. I'd like you to spend nights over more often. I'd like to be able to go upstairs and make love to you without concocting some excuse about working on a secret project for Dumbledore. Hell, I'd just like to be able to have a pleasant conversation at dinner with you, without you insulting me so that no one will suspect we're lovers!"

Snape looked a little stunned at his lover's outburst. Lupin smiled at him, then said softly, "And most of all, I'd like to know that you're not ashamed of me."

"I'm not--"

"I know you're very concerned about my safety, Severus, but I also know that's not the only reason you've been hiding our relationship," Lupin said implacably.

"I...I...I'm not..." Snape faltered, not exactly sure how to explain it to Lupin, because he wasn't sure he understood it himself.

Lupin's expression softened, and he reached out to caress Snape's cheek. "I know I'm giving you a hard time, Severus. I'm not sure why it bothers me so much." He sighed. "Maybe because I spent so many years hiding my lycanthropy and being ashamed of who I was..."

"I'm not ashamed of you, Lupin!" Snape insisted, putting his arms around Lupin's waist and drawing him close, feeling guilty that he'd caused his lover such pain. Then he remembered that Lupin preferred to be called by his first name, and felt guilty about that, too. "I never meant to make you feel that way, Remus. I'm not ashamed that you're male, or that you're a werewolf, if that's what you're worried about."

"Or that I'm a Gryffindor?" Lupin laughed.

"Well, that would be quite a scandal," Snape agreed, pleased that Lupin was able to joke about it. "But that's not it, either. You're everything a Gryffindor is supposed to be--brave and noble and handsome--"

"I don't recall hearing 'handsome' in the Sorting Hat's song," Lupin said, but he flushed with pleasure.

"--but without the usual Gryffindor arrogance," Snape added, unable to resist that little dig at his rival House. "Anyone would be pleased to have you for a lover."

"Well, perhaps not everyone--"

"Well, they should be!" Snape said indignantly, and Lupin laughed again. "If anything, people would wonder what you see in me--ill-tempered, arrogant, sneaky, greasy-haired, big-nosed Slytherin that I am."

"I love your nose, Severus," Lupin said, kissing the tip of it.

"I know you do, Lu--Remus," Snape smiled. "It's not you, it's me." Snape sighed, his smile fading. "It's hard to explain...I'm...scared, I suppose," he admitted in a low voice.

"Of what, Severus?" Lupin asked gently.

"I don't know," he said helplessly. "You have to understand, Remus, my father always taught me that sentiment is for fools--and in Slytherin, people would use your feelings as a weapon against you if they could. Look at how Lucius used Evan's love for Ariane to manipulate him. And the Dark Lord probably used Gwydion's love for his brother to lure him into the Death Eaters. Not that Gwydion Donner isn't an evil, self-centered bastard, but he does love his brother. People who wear their hearts on their sleeves betray their weaknesses, Lupin," Snape said, unconsciously repeating what he had said to Potter during their first Occlumency lesson. "The Dark Lord used Potter's love for Black to lure him into that trap..."

"I see," Lupin murmured. "You're afraid of exposing your weaknesses. But love isn't always a weakness, Severus. It's a strength as well. Love saved Dylan Rosier."

Snape stared at Lupin disbelievingly. "Are you out of your mind, Lupin? The Dark Lord used Dylan's love for his mother to force him to join the Death Eaters!"

"He took the Mark, yes, but it was that same love that prevented him from handing over his soul to Voldemort as well. And it was your love, Severus, that made him question his idealized view of the Death Eaters, that made him trust you enough to come to you and tell you what had happened."

Snape turned red, feeling extremely uncomfortable; he had grudgingly admitted to himself that he cared about Dylan, but had never used the word "love" to describe his feelings for the boy. That didn't seem to stop Dumbledore and Lupin from doing so, though.

Lupin grinned, as if reading his mind. Snape sourly thought to himself that Occlumency was no defense against a particularly perceptive and sometimes annoying werewolf lover. "And there is of course Lily's love for Harry," Lupin said softly. "Her love saved Harry's life and gave him the means to defeat Voldemort when he was only a baby. You can't get any stronger than that."

"I suppose not," Snape muttered. "All right," he sighed, giving in. "No more sneaking around, no more insulting you at the dinner table--but only among the people we trust."

"Thank you, Severus," Lupin said, smiling at him tenderly. "I know it's difficult for you, but it means a lot to me."

"But we don't have to advertise it, either, do we?" Snape asked plaintively.

"No announcements at the dinner table," Lupin agreed, then added slyly, "and no making out in front of the children!"

"Pity you didn't think of that before you kissed me right in front of Potter!" grumbled Snape.

Lupin laughed and nuzzled Snape's cheek affectionately. "I love you, Severus."

"I love you, Remus," Snape said, still sounding a bit grumpy, but he pulled Lupin closer and kissed him, lightly at first, then more deeply. He was aware that they would be late for the meeting, but it was all Lupin's fault, really it was, for pressing his body against Snape's, for entwining his hands firmly in Snape's hair, for having such delectably soft lips that parted so eagerly for Snape's tongue...

Just then the door swung open, and they heard Tonks's cheerful voice saying, "Remus, Severus? Are you in here, the meeting's about to--OH!"

Snape jumped away from Lupin, yelling, "OUCH!" when Lupin didn't untangle his hands from Snape's hair fast enough. He rubbed his head, expecting to find a bare and bloody patch of scalp, but his hair was still fastened to his head--mostly, anyway; a blushing Lupin was still holding onto a few black strands.

The young witch's eyes were as wide as saucers and her mouth was hanging open. "I...uh...didn't mean to interrupt," she said weakly, staring at the two wizards who were both turning a deep shade of crimson, although Snape looked mortified, while Lupin looked almost amused. "It's just that, um, the meeting is starting and Molly sent me to look for you two..." She quickly turned and fled back in the direction of the meeting room.

"Well, looks like there's no need to announce it at dinner," Lupin said cheerfully.

Snape glared at him. "Come on, we have to catch up with her before she tells everyone at the meeting!"

"I doubt she'll say a word while you've got that 'if looks could kill' expression in your eyes," Lupin said, as he ran after his lover.

"That's the general idea, Lupin," Snape said in a huffy tone as he rushed to catch up with Tonks.

Lupin just laughed, allowing himself to fall a step or two behind to admire the way Snape's robe billowed out dramatically behind him as he ran. {Sneaky Slytherin or not, you can't deny that the man's got style!} he thought delightedly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tonks, Snape, and Lupin hurried into the meeting room and took seats at the long table, where everyone else was already assembled. Tonks dropped into a chair next to Sirius, while Lupin and Snape found seats on the other side of the table.

"What took so long?" Sirius asked, frowning.

Tonks opened her mouth, then caught Snape giving her a murderous look from across the table. "N--nothing," she muttered, her cheeks turning pink. Her cousin gave her a suspicious look, but she didn't notice, as she was too busy wondering if she had really seen Severus Snape kissing one of his worst enemies. Could she have hallucinated the whole thing? That didn't really make sense either, but it seemed less far-fetched than the idea that Snape might be having a fling with Lupin. {Maybe it's food poisoning,} she thought. {I knew I shouldn't have had the fish for lunch...it didn't look that fresh. But if the fish had gone bad, shouldn't I have a stomachache...?}

"Will you stop that, Tonks!" Molly Weasley was saying. "It's very distracting!"

"Huh?" the young witch asked, then realized that she had been unconsciously shifting the appearance of her hair and face at random. "Oh, sorry," she said, concentrating and returning her features to normal. "I...uh...think I had some bad fish for lunch."

Molly's expression changed from annoyance to concern. "Are you feeling all right, dear? Perhaps Severus could brew you a tonic--"

"NO!" shouted Tonks, certain that anything Snape gave her would be a deadly poison. As Molly stared at her in shock, she added, "Um...I mean, that's not necessary. I'm fine, really!"

"Well, if you say so, dear..." Molly said dubiously.

Snape was still glowering at Tonks, but Lupin gave her a wink, which made her think that perhaps she really HAD seen what she thought she saw, and it wasn't the fish after all...

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was calling the meeting to order. He discussed recent events, including the attempted theft of the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries. "...Now that the Ministry has finally acknowledged the return of Voldemort--" Several of the assembled witches and wizards squirmed or muttered uneasily. "--our job will be easier. But we must still remain vigilant, and I think it best if the Order continues as a secret society. Not all the Death Eaters were captured, and we do not want to alert our enemy to our plans." Everyone murmured in agreement. "Now allow me to introduce the newest member of our group, Goewin Donner."

Goewin stood, nodding in greeting to her fellow Order members. "My husband was a member of the Order during the first war," she said, "and we will both do whatever we can to aid you. But I fear I have some disturbing and shameful news to share with you today. We have discovered that my nephew, Gwydion Donner, and perhaps his brother Gilbert as well, have become Death Eaters."

Exclamations of surprise rose from the group of wizards. "I always thought he was a smarmy bastard," Moody muttered. "Er--no offense, Goewin."

"None taken. I quite agree, Alastor."

"But I never thought he'd go over to the other side!" Moody continued. "Not after that whole fuss, where he sided with his mother against his sister, when Deirdre disowned Ariane for taking up with a Death Eater."

Others voiced their skepticism more vocally. Gwydion could be quite charming, when he chose to exert himself, and he was popular amongst most of the wizarding community.

"Severus saw him at one of the Death Eaters' meetings, " Goewin said, raising her voice to be heard over the uproar.

All eyes turned to Snape. "Are you sure it was him?" one of Gwydion's supporters demanded. "What could possibly motivate him to go over to You-Know-Who?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Snape said coldly. "As for motivation, do you not recall that the Dark Lord has ordered me to brew a large quantity of Mind Restoration Potion?" The room fell silent. "Everyone knows that Gilbert Donner's mind was damaged in an...ah...unfortunate accident. And everyone knows how devoted Gwydion is to his twin. No doubt that was the bribe the Dark Lord used to lure him--a very effective one, since the effects of the potion are only temporary. He will have to keep coming to the Dark Lord for more. None of the Donners are capable of brewing such a potion, and not even they have enough wealth to purchase a steady supply of it, even if they could find someone willing and able to make it."

"But what does he want Gwydion for?" Shacklebolt wondered out loud.

Snape shrugged. "I don't know yet. Perhaps to be a spy; he would certainly be effective since most people seem to be unwilling to believe he could be a Death Eater," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm and venom.

"He could do a lot of damage," agreed Tonks. "Isn't there some way we could arrest him?"

"I cannot testify against him without exposing my cover," Snape pointed out. "And even if I could, I only saw his eyes, since all the Death Eaters are masked. I doubt that would hold up in court, against a member of such a prominent family."

"We will just have to keep a close eye on him for now," Dumbledore said. "Goewin and Mathias will try to keep tabs on him, and Severus will watch from his end as well."

"I never liked Donner," Moody muttered. "But I would have expected his sister's son to be the one to go over..."

Snape glared at Moody, then exchanged glances with Goewin and the Headmaster. They had argued, over whether to reveal Dylan's new status to the entire Order. Snape and Goewin had been against it, for fear of the secret leaking out, but Dumbledore insisted the Order needed to be on the alert, in case Voldemort tried to recruit other children.

"Dylan Rosier was recruited into the Death Eaters recently, but against his will," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Against his will?" Moody asked dubiously.

"Yes, against his will!" Snape snapped. "The Dark Lord threatened to kill his mother if he did not join!"

"Ariane Donner was all but a Death Eater herself," Moody said with a scowl. He had never liked Snape, and he still held a grudge against Evan Rosier, who was responsible for several of his scars and the missing chunk of his nose.

"Ariane remembered how Evan died," Snape said coldly. "And she feared her son might suffer the same fate; she was trying to keep him away from Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eaters. The Dark Lord was not pleased, and decided to recruit Dylan and punish Ariane at the same time."

"I believe Severus, Alastor," Branwen said quietly, and Dumbledore said, "I do as well."

Moody was still scowling, but did not argue further. "It seems odd," he said, "that both Gwydion and the Rosier boy would be recruited around the same time, considering the animosity between Gwydion and his sister."

"Neither Gwydion nor Dylan is yet aware of the other's presence in the Death Eaters," Snape said. "They have never both been present at the same meeting. I think perhaps taking Gwydion was a form of insurance; if Dylan betrays him, then the Dark Lord will use Gwydion to destroy Ariane and her son."

Moody grunted, agreeing with Snape for once. "Twisted bastard, but that would be just like him. Gwydion's an odd choice for a Death Eater, but then nobody expected him to turn Barty Crouch, Junior all those years ago, either." His face filled with rage for a moment, as he remembered how Crouch Junior had kept him imprisoned in a trunk for the better part of a year. Then suddenly, he laughed harshly. "I'd love to see Donner's face, when he realizes that his nephew is one of his fellow Death Eaters!"

Snape glared at Moody; he didn't find the situation nearly so amusing, since he had a personal interest in it. He opened his mouth, but Dumbledore interrupted him before he could speak.

"This is not a laughing matter, Alastor," the Headmaster said sternly. "A child's life is at stake." Moody looked a little embarrassed, but could not bring himself to summon up much sympathy for Evan Rosier's son. Dumbledore continued, "Severus will of course do his best to protect Dylan, but what disturbs me is that Voldemort has recruited so young a child. In the past, of course, he has singled out and recruited likely candidates among the students." This time it was Snape's turn to look embarrassed. "But never before has an underage wizard been made a full-fledged Death Eater. All the others were at least eighteen when they took the Dark Mark."

"It's partly a matter of practicality," Snape said, still looking discomposed. "Few students below their seventh year are able to Apparate. If they can't Apparate, they can't answer the Dark Lord's summons, at least, not without help."

"So the question is," Lupin said quietly, "why has the Dark Lord recruited a child? Is there something special about Dylan, or is this the beginning of a new trend?"

"The children!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, looking horrified. "Are they in danger? We've got to do something to protect them!"

"I doubt the Dark Lord will be recruiting among the Gryffindors," Snape said acerbically, then winced as Lupin kicked him hard under the table. He glared at Lupin, who glared right back at him, then continued, "It is the students of my own House who are most at risk."

He was about to add, "Not that anyone cares about them," but Mrs. Weasley said quietly, "I meant that we should protect all the students at Hogwarts, Severus."

"Oh," Snape said, feeling slightly ashamed of himself. "Well, of course we will be watching the students carefully, particularly the Slytherins, and the protections on the school have been increased--"

"I'm not sure that's enough," Mrs. Weasley said with a worried frown. "Perhaps their trips to Hogsmeade should be curtailed?"

Snape was sure her brats would complain loudly about that, but it wasn't really his problem. "Perhaps," he agreed. "Or at least supervised."

"I'll take it under advisement," Dumbledore said. "Have you seen any signs of recruitment, however subtle, amongst your students, Severus?"

"Other than Dylan, no," Snape replied. "Some of their parents have filled their heads with glorious promises of a future where the Dark Lord and his followers reign supreme, and those children are probably quite eager to join, but so far I have seen no sign that the Dark Lord wishes to recruit them yet."

"Then it must be something special about Dylan," Branwen said, her forehead furrowed in thought.

"Dylan is a very talented student," Snape said, "but I don't see anything about him exceptional enough for the Dark Lord to want him so young. Maybe he only took Dylan because he feared Ariane would join our side if he waited too long."

"Maybe," Branwen murmured, but didn't look convinced.

"The boy is the last living Rosier, isn't he?" Shacklebolt asked thoughtfully. "Could he lay claim to the Rosier estate?"

Snape frowned. "I thought the courts confiscated the Rosier fortune and lands." Evan Rosier's parents had not been actual Death Eaters, but they had supported the Dark Lord's ideals, and secretly funneled money to him through their son. And when their only child had been killed by Aurors, the Rosiers, mad with grief, had attacked a group of Aurors in revenge, and been killed as well. Since they had been deemed criminals, and the last living heir was still in Ariane's womb and unable to assert his rights, the Rosier estate had been declared forfeit and confiscated by the Ministry of Magic.

"The money they had in Gringotts was confiscated, as was most of their property," said Dumbledore. "But the family house, and the land on which it stands, was so heavily warded with protective spells that no one was able to enter it. It stands to this day, empty and fallen into disrepair."

"Perhaps You-Know-Who wants more wealth to fund his projects?" Tonks suggested.

Snape frowned. "He's not short of funds that I know of, and the bulk of the Rosier fortune would have been stored in the Gringotts vaults, anyway."

"The Rosiers were practitioners of the Dark Arts," Shacklebolt said. "Could they have some sort of Dark Magic items or spellbooks that the Dark Lord might want?"

"Not that I know of," Snape replied. "While I'm sure they did possess such things, I doubt they had anything powerful enough to turn the tide of the war, or surely Evan would have handed it over to the Dark Lord while he was still alive."

"His parents didn't want to get openly involved until their son died," Moody reminded him in a low, growling voice. "Perhaps they did have some kind of weapon that they wouldn't share or that your friend Rosier didn't know about."

Snape glared at Moody. "Then they would have used it on you, if they had such a thing, after you killed their son! Besides, the Malfoys are much more wealthy and powerful than the Rosiers ever were. If Lucius doesn't possess such a weapon, it's highly unlikely that the Rosiers would have, either."

"It was rumored that the ancestors of the Rosiers were demon-worshippers," Dedalus Diggle said in an excited voice. "Maybe--"

Branwen rolled her eyes and said, "People said the same thing about my ancestors as well!"

"Yes, but in your case, the rumors were true!" Sirius laughed.

The other Order members stared at Branwen uneasily; except for the Headmaster and her three former students, the knowledge that she had demon blood made them extremely nervous. "I would have heard, I'm sure, if there were any demons bound in service to the Rosiers," Branwen said impatiently. "And even if they were demon-worshippers, Dylan Rosier has no idea how to summon a demon! Besides, I'm sure Voldemort knows how to perform the rituals to summon a demon already; he just isn't foolish enough to play a game that he knows I can best him at." Her green eyes looked more strange and otherworldly than usual, and were filled with the unconscious arrogance of someone secure enough in her power to fear almost nothing. "Especially now that he knows I'm still alive. If he didn't already know, he must have suspected that I had the ability to summon demons after the bodies of three of his best mages were found ripped to pieces after they tried to kill me."

Diggle was looking a little green around the gills, while Mrs. Weasley was staring at Branwen--who had helped her cook in the kitchen and look after her children--with something like horror. Tonks was staring at the dark-haired sorceress as well, but with fascination; she had heard only the bare bones version of Branwen's disappearance and return, and would have liked to have heard the full story. To her disappointment, Snape cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"It seems unlikely, then, that the Dark Lord wants Dylan Rosier for the purpose of demon summoning," he said in a sarcastic voice. "And as no one has any better guesses, we shall just have to wait for the Dark Lord to reveal his motives."

Nobody was really happy about that, but there was nothing they could do about it. It was agreed that a close eye would be kept on Gwydion Donner and Dylan Rosier. There was no other new business, other than a warning from Snape that the Dark Lord would probably try to break his captive Death Eaters out of Azkaban, but he had no idea when or how. Again, there was nothing they could do but be on their guard.

"I'm sure the Ministry is already aware of the danger," Shacklebolt sighed. "But I'll try to pass along the warning. Perhaps this time they'll be less complacent, now that they're finally aware of the truth."

"Miracles can always happen, I suppose," Snape muttered sardonically.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

The meeting was adjourned, and most of the wizards left. Molly Weasley stayed behind "to cook a proper meal" for Sirius, Lupin, and Branwen.

"I know how to cook," Sirius protested, but didn't complain overmuch.

Dumbledore stayed behind; he wanted to talk to Mrs. Weasley about the possibility of Harry spending the second half of the summer living at Grimmauld Place with his friends again. And since they liked Mrs. Weasley's cooking, Tonks and Shacklebolt stayed behind as well. Snape was relieved to see that Moody left; he didn't like the former Auror under the best of circumstances, and he liked him even less today, after the remarks he had made about Dylan.

Tonks could not tear her eyes away from Snape and Lupin, and finally Sirius leaned over and whispered, "Why are you staring at Snape? Please don't tell me you're attracted to that slimy git!"

"Er...no, it's not that," Tonks replied, turning to face her cousin. She wondered if he knew what was going on between Lupin and Snape; the werewolf was his best friend, after all. "Um, could I talk to you in private?" she asked quietly. Sirius looked puzzled, but nodded. They rose from their seats and started to leave, but found Snape blocking their way.

"Excuse me, Nymphadora," Snape said in an icy voice.

"Call me Tonks, please, Severus," Tonks replied coolly, a little annoyed that Snape had used her first name when he knew perfectly well that she hated it.

"Tonks, then," Snape said, in a falsely pleasant voice that had a sharp edge to it. Sirius started to frown at him, but Snape ignored him. "I'm sure I don't have to remind you to respect the privacy of your fellow Order members, Tonks." He slightly stressed her name as he stared daggers into her eyes.

"Have you got a problem, Snape?" Sirius said loudly, stepping in front of his cousin. Tonks was one of his favorite relatives, and she was young enough that he felt protective of her, although as an Auror she was probably more than capable of defending herself.

"Not with you, Black," Snape replied coolly. "At least, not yet."

"If you've got a problem with my cousin, then you've got a problem with me," Sirius said belligerently.

"Um, Sirius, it's okay, really," Tonks said. But Sirius ignored her, as he continued to glare at Snape. Meanwhile, Shacklebolt was watching the proceedings with a look of keen interest. Dumbledore and Branwen exchanged looks of amusement, looking for all the world like indulgent parents watching their children squabble.

Lupin saw the way Shacklebolt was staring at them and tapped Snape on the shoulder. "Ah, Severus, perhaps you should--"

"Not now, Lupin!" Snape snapped, not taking his eyes off of Sirius's face.

Lupin sighed and turned away, muttering under his breath, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"So what's got a bee up your robe, Snape?" Sirius asked.

"Are all the members of your family incapable of minding their own business, Black?" Snape retorted.

"Hey, that's not fair!" protested Tonks. "It's not like I walked in on you on purpose!"

Snape blinked, a little startled. He had gotten so absorbed in his argument with Black that he had almost forgotten she was there.

"What, did she walk in on one of your 'secret conferences' with Remus?" Sirius sneered. He had only been joking, to try and annoy Snape, but to his surprise both Tonks and Snape blushed. He turned to look at Remus, who was watching them with a look of combined irritation and amusement.

"What's so top-secret about your meetings with Remus, anyway, Snape?" Shacklebolt asked, and three things happened simultaneously:

Branwen began to laugh, and attempted to turn it into a coughing fit; Snape snarled, "None of your business"; and Dumbledore said, "What secret meetings?"

"What?" Shacklebolt asked, not sure he had heard the Headmaster correctly. "You haven't assigned Lupin and Snape to work on a special project together?" Dumbledore shook his head, the little twinkle in his eyes belying the look of innocent bewilderment on his face. "Then what the hell have you two been doing together all this time?!"

Snape's face turned bright red, Sirius began to chortle, Tonks giggled as she continued to blush, and Branwen's "cough" turned into outright laughter. Shacklebolt stared at his fellow Order members, wondering if they had all gone insane.

There was a mischievous gleam in Lupin's blue eyes as he turned to Snape and said, "Shall we tell him what we've been working on, Severus?"

Snape frantically shook his head and began backing away from Lupin, who moved forward like a wolf stalking its prey. "You agreed, no announcements--"

"I think the cat's out of the bag, Severus," Lupin said with a grin. "And we are among people we trust."

"But...but..." Snape stammered. Lupin grinned at him mercilessly. Snape raised his hands, as if to ward off an attack, but it was too late--the wolf pounced. Lupin grabbed the front of Snape's robes, pulled him forward, and firmly clamped his lips down over Snape's, cutting off his protests.

Tonks scratched her head, saying, "Well, I guess I wasn't hallucinating after all." Branwen continued to laugh, Dumbledore beamed happily at his two former students, and Shacklebolt's jaw dropped open.

Just then, Mrs. Weasley, who had gone to the kitchen to start dinner, walked back into the room, stirring something in a large bowl. "Could someone help me with--" she started to say, then spotted Lupin kissing a struggling Snape. She let out a little shriek and dropped her bowl, spilling batter all over the floor.

Startled, Lupin broke off the kiss and looked up, although he still kept a firm grip on Snape's robes. Snape's face was still red, and he probably would have started yelling at Lupin if not for the fact that he was too busy gasping for breath.

"Y-you..." Mrs. Weasley stammered, staring at Lupin. "A-and Se-Severus?!"

"What's going on?!" Shacklebolt shouted. "Has everyone completely lost their minds?! Has Voldemort drugged the water here or something?!" He was so disconcerted that he didn't even notice that he had said Voldemort's name out loud.

Lupin grinned happily. "No, we're not insane, and I'm not under the influence of anything other than love!"

"LOVE?!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley and Shacklebolt.

Snape had managed to take in enough air to say, "Lupin--!" but his lover immediately cut him off with another fierce kiss. Snape continued to struggle, but his efforts were weaker this time--but only because of the lack of oxygen, he told himself. And the damned werewolf was much stronger than he looked. {"I'm not an alpha wolf"--hah!} Snape thought. {That little Gryffindor is as sly as a Slytherin!} Then he felt Lupin's tongue insistently sliding between his lips and completely lost his train of thought. His arms wrapped themselves around Lupin's waist--just for support, he told himself, because he suddenly felt faint. It must be the lack of oxygen, and had absolutely nothing to do with Lupin's kiss...

Lupin sealed his lover's mouth with his own before he could draw breath to protest, kissing him fiercely and relentlessly. This time Severus's struggles were decidedly halfhearted, and stopped altogether when Lupin forced his tongue between his lover's lips. He felt Severus's arms close around him, and Lupin felt his lips trying to curve into a smile as Severus began kissing him back, making eager little noises halfway between a moan and a whimper. Severus, who had spent his entire childhood and most of his young adult years being controlled and manipulated by others, had an obsessive need to be in control, even in bed, and Lupin readily ceded control to his lover most of the time. He didn't mind; as he had once told Severus, he was not really the alpha wolf type. But he was finding it strangely exciting, to have Severus yield control to him, to give himself up to Lupin's touch. Perhaps it was the pent-up frustration that had built up over the past year, all the sneaking and hiding, all the lonely nights without his mate, that had suddenly made the wolf so aggressive. {No, it's not really fair to blame it on the wolf,} Lupin thought. {It's me; I want Severus to acknowledge me, to acknowledge that he loves me, in public.} Well, a handful of Order members in their secret headquarters didn't really count as "public," so Lupin didn't think he was asking for too much.

Lupin finally, and very reluctantly, broke off the kiss, and only because he was starting to feel lightheaded and suddenly realized that he needed to breathe very badly. He released Severus and they both started gasping for air.

"Jeez, Moony, get a room!" Sirius complained, and Lupin laughed, albeit a little breathlessly.

"How long has this been going on?" Tonks asked, her eyes wide again.

"Since...I was...teaching...at...Hogwarts," Lupin replied, taking in gulps of air between words.

"But I thought Snape got you fired!" exclaimed Shacklebolt. "Or was that a cover story as well?"

"It's a very long story," said Lupin.

"And absolutely none of your business," Snape said, his voice still a little weak, but he was glowering menacingly at everyone in the room. His glare only intensified as he turned to his lover and said, "I'm going to kill you, Lupin."

Lupin just leaned forward and gently nuzzled and kissed Snape's neck. "Oh," Snape gasped, his eyelids fluttering shut for a moment as any murderous thoughts he had flew out of his head. His knees almost buckled beneath him, and he had to lean back against the wall for support.

Lupin stared at him, awed and delighted by the effect he had on his lover. For the first time, he understood what the phrase "drunk with power" meant, because he was experiencing it right now. He knew that Severus loved him and desired him, of course, but had never seen him react this way before; it was really quite intoxicating...

"I'm sure we're all fascinated by your love life, Moony--" Sirius was saying sarcastically.

"Well, actually, we are," Tonks said cheerfully. Mrs. Weasley tried to give her a disapproving look, but found herself unable to look away from Lupin and Snape.

"--but could you two PLEASE take it upstairs?"

"So that's what they've been doing upstairs all this time," Tonks giggled. Mrs. Weasley did glare at her this time.

Shacklebolt was very, very glad that his skin was too dark to show a blush, because otherwise he was sure that his face would have been as red as Snape's. "Um, it's really none of our business," he said hastily.

"Exactly what I've been saying," Snape said sourly, but the fact that he was still clinging to the wall for support made his words less intimidating than usual.

"Well, I'm sure we're all very happy for the two of you," Mrs. Weasley said in a tone of forced cheer, as Shacklebolt looked at her in askance.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Snape muttered, feeling completely mortified. He was going to kill Lupin as soon he got him alone...if only Lupin would stop giving him that come-hither look with those deceptively innocent blue eyes.

"Can you tell me why you felt the need for this sudden public display of affection?" Sirius asked Lupin, still sounding rather peeved.

"You knew about this, Sirius?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah," he replied, scowling. "I just think it's too bad that Remus has such abominable taste in men."

Snape changed his mind; maybe he'd kill Black first, and THEN kill Lupin. In fact, he should just poison everyone in the room and get of rid of all the witnesses at once...

Lupin chose to ignore that last remark and answered Sirius's question, "I was just telling Severus that I was tired of all this hiding and sneaking around and making up elaborate excuses to see each other. I figured there's no need to hide it from our trusted friends and colleagues, right?"

There was no answer, as Shacklebolt, Tonks, and Mrs. Weasley were still in shock. Dumbledore and Branwen just grinned at each other as if they'd been responsible for the whole thing. Which, come to think of it, they probably were, Snape realized, recalling how Professor Blackmore had teamed him and Lupin up on that class project, and how the Headmaster had brought Lupin back to Hogwarts as a teacher. He knew he should be grateful, but right now he wanted to kill them both for looking so damned smug.

"And anyway," Lupin was saying, "Tonks walked in on us while we were kissing, so I figured the whole point was moot."

Shacklebolt saw Dumbledore and Branwen giving each other conspiratorial smiles and asked, "You two knew about this all along?"

They both grinned widely. "Yes, and I couldn't be happier," Dumbledore cheerfully.

"They make such a lovely couple, don't they?" Branwen said sweetly. Mrs. Weasley and Shacklebolt stared at her as if she'd gone insane, while Snape glared at his former teacher with a homicidal look in his black eyes. Tonks looked at him nervously, afraid that he might go over the edge and actually attack Branwen, but the object of his glare was unconcerned. It took more than a grumpy Death Eater to intimidate someone who had spent fourteen years living among demons.

In any case, there was no need for Tonks to have worried; all Snape did was turn to Lupin and say caustically, "Are you happy now, Lupin? Or perhaps you'd like to take out an ad in the Daily Prophet?"

Although Snape was speaking to Lupin in his usual sarcastic and unpleasant tone of voice, Shacklebolt was suddenly struck by the realization that their constant bickering was more like that of a long-married couple than a pair of mortal enemies. Well, perhaps bickering was the wrong word, since it was mostly one-sided, on Snape's part, come to think of it...

"No, Severus," Lupin said with a contented smile. "I'm very happy." He leaned against Snape, slipped an arm around his waist, and began nuzzling his neck again.

"LUPIN!" Snape shrieked, trying to disentangle himself from his amorous werewolf lover. "Will you quit pawing at me?!"

"Fine, Severus," Lupin sighed, letting go of him. Then he whispered into Snape's ear, "But that means you'll have to ask me nicely, the next time you want me to paw you."

Snape turned red and glared at him, then attempted to salvage the tattered remains of his pride. "While I'm sure you have all found this vastly entertaining," he said in a cold voice, "I would just like to remind everyone that the reason we kept it quiet to begin with was so that the Death Eaters wouldn't find out. If word should leak out and reach the Dark Lord's ears, it is quite likely that the Order will soon be missing both a werewolf and a spy."

"I'm sure that everyone here understands that, and will keep the information confidential," Branwen said calmly.

Shacklebolt and Mrs. Weasley nodded, and Tonks grinned, making a zipping gesture across her mouth with her thumb and forefinger.

Mrs. Weasley attempted to break the awkward silence that followed by saying brightly, "I hope this means you'll be staying for dinner more often, Severus."

Snape gave her a withering look, and fled the room before any more humiliation could be heaped upon him.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few minutes later, Lupin entered their rooms. "I stayed behind to help Molly clean up the mess on the floor," he began, but Snape cut him off.

"I'm going to kill you, Lupin!"

Lupin just smiled at him. "Oh, come on, Severus, there was no point in hiding it once Tonks saw us."

"That didn't mean you had to jump me in front of everyone!" Snape shouted.

"Can you honestly say you didn't like it, Severus?" Lupin said with a sly grin. "That you didn't find it just a little bit exciting? Because I think you did."

Snape flushed and said, "What I'm thinking is that perhaps I ought to take another look at the Wolfsbane Potion, because I'm wondering if it's having some unexpected side-effects. I'm pleased it's been working so well, but if you're going to start molesting me in public, we may have to rethink--"

"It has nothing to do with the potion, Severus," Lupin said calmly. "It's nowhere near the full moon."

"You could have fooled me," Snape said dryly. Lupin grinned at him, his lips pulling back from his teeth to reveal his sharp canines, and despite himself, Snape felt a little shiver of desire run down his spine. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Didn't you tell me that you weren't an alpha wolf?"

"I'm not," Lupin protested, but his blue eyes were sparkling with laughter.

"Could have fooled me," Snape repeated.

"No wolf is truly tame, Severus," Lupin said softly, the look in his eyes changing to something more feral, and Snape shivered again. "Wolves fight and jostle for position in their packs all the time." He and Snape began to circle around each other slowly, like two wolves sizing up their opponents.

"Are you saying you want to fight with me, Lupin?" Snape asked huskily.

"No, Severus," Lupin said in a velvety voice. "That is the last thing I want." That voice made Snape's mouth go dry. Still circling around Snape, Lupin leaned over and whispered, "Your cries of outrage were loud, Severus, but you didn't put up much of a struggle when I kissed you. In fact, it seemed to me that you were enjoying yourself very much."

"I was not," Snape said, but his words came out in a hoarse whisper, which made his denial rather unconvincing.

"Oh? Then you didn't like it when I did this, either?" Lupin leaned over again and lightly brushed his lips against Snape's neck. Snape gasped and reached out for Lupin, but the werewolf playfully darted out of reach. "I thought you didn't want me pawing at you, Severus."

"Only in public," Snape whined. A very small part of him still wanted to kill Lupin, but rest of him thought that there were a number of other things he could do to and with Lupin that would be much more pleasurable... "You're such a little tease, Lupin!"

"Do you remember what I said about asking nicely, Severus?" Lupin said mischievously. There was a mixture of irritation and desire in Snape's black eyes as he made a noise deep in his throat that sounded remarkably like a growl. {So which one of us is the wolf, hmm?} Lupin thought in amusement.

"Slytherins don't ask nicely for anything, Lupin," Snape said in a haughty tone.

"Then you must not want me very badly."

"Let me show you how badly I want you, Lupin!" Snape said, lunging at the werewolf, but Lupin, light and agile on his feet, evaded his lover's grasp with ease. Snape ran after Lupin, silently consoling himself with the fact that at least they were alone, and he was spared the humiliation of having the rest of the Order watch him chase a laughing Lupin around the bedroom. But after a few minutes, he was laughing too, and finally managed to catch hold of Lupin, although he suspected that was only because Lupin let himself be caught. But it didn't really matter to Snape who had caught whom, once his arms were filled with a struggling, laughing werewolf. "You've been very bad, Lupin," he whispered into his lover's ear.

"And what are you going to do about it, Professor Snape?" Lupin asked in a saucy tone. "Punish me? Give me detention?"

"I would, except that I'm afraid you might enjoy it too much," Snape said wryly. "You've become quite incorrigible."

"It must be your Slytherin influence--" Lupin broke off mid-sentence, gasping with pleasure as Snape's hands began caressing his body and fumbling with robe fastenings. Snape smiled with satisfaction at the effect he had on his lover. "Now who's pawing who?" Lupin asked huskily.

"Tit for tat, Lupin," Snape purred into Lupin's ear. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No!"

Snape continued his "pawing," and Lupin sighed and moaned in a most satisfactory manner. Less satisfying was the fact that Lupin did not return any of his caresses, and Snape growled in frustration.

"Something bothering you, Severus?" Lupin asked innocently. Snape growled again, and Lupin decided to take pity on him; besides, the wolf was getting impatient. "Would you like me to paw you, too, Severus?"

"Yes," said Snape impatiently, but Lupin seemed to be waiting for something more. Snape sighed irritably and added, "Please."

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Lupin laughed. {It's about time!} the wolfish part of him said. Lupin kissed Snape hungrily, and returned his caresses with enthusiasm. They stumbled towards the bed, and practically fell into it, Snape pinning Lupin down with the weight of his body. Lupin bared his teeth in that feral grin that Snape always found so enticing, then tilted his head back and exposed his throat. For all that it was a gesture of submission, Snape thought to himself with ironic amusement that they both knew very well who had really won today's little battle. He gently kissed and nipped at the hollow of Lupin's throat, then rolled off Lupin and tilted his own head back.

"Se...Severus...?" Lupin asked, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"You won the battle today," Snape admitted. "But I'm not conceding the war, so don't get used to it!"

"You never cease to amaze me, Severus Snape," Lupin murmured. Then he grinned and said, "I guess I should enjoy it while I can, then." He leaned over and pressed his lips against his lover's throat, and heard Severus let out a little sigh. He gently nipped at the white skin beneath his lips. Another sigh. Emboldened, Lupin bit down harder, and Severus groaned loudly. Lupin found it quite exhilarating, and despite what he had told Severus about it not being near the full moon, he felt the wolf taking over. {Mine,} the wolf growled, aroused by the sight of the bruise forming on Severus's neck. {My mate!} Lupin bit Severus again, provoking another groan. {Mine, and no one else's!}

Snape groaned, thinking to himself, {Who would've thought that having a werewolf chew on your neck could be so erotic?} Lupin looked up and growled at him, and Snape began to wonder if he really should double-check the Wolfsbane Potion; Lupin was acting very wolfish for this time of month. Then again, he had been taking this particular form of the potion for nearly two years without any ill effect. Maybe it was merely the very public display of affection (as Black referred to it) that had aroused the wolf. {He used to be so shy in school,} Snape thought sourly. {Since when did he turn into such an exhibitionist?} But as Lupin kissed him possessively, Snape felt himself responding to the wolf's wanton hunger. He greedily returned the kiss and tore at Lupin's robes, which for a change did not give way, since they were a set Snape had given him for Christmas instead of the thin, much-darned garments he usually wore. As he fumbled with the stubborn fastenings, he thought to himself that next time he would make sure to buy Lupin something that could be easily removed. But finally, robes and clothing came loose and were tossed out of the way, and soon Snape was incapable of thinking at all, surrendering--as Lupin already had--to the wolf's instincts...
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Much later, Snape found himself lying in bed next to a very sated and contented-looking werewolf. Snape was feeling pretty contented himself, as he idly ran his fingers through Lupin's gold-and-silver hair. He had to admit to himself that Lupin's uncharacteristically aggressive behavior had been quite...stimulating. Their lovemaking had been incredibly intense, even compared to the nights he spent with Lupin as the moon waxed to fullness. It had almost been worth the public humiliation Lupin had inflicted on him earlier--not that he would ever tell Lupin that, of course. The werewolf was incorrigible enough as it was, without giving him further encouragement.

Suddenly Lupin began sniffing the air in a very wolf-like manner, then sat up and announced, "I'm hungry!"

"I'm flattered that you have such a high opinion of me, Lupin," Snape said in a tone of voice that somehow managed to be sarcastic and affectionate at the same time. "But as I've told you before, I'm not as resilient as a werewolf. You have quite exhausted me, and I don't think I'm capable of--"

"I meant for food, Severus!" Lupin interrupted with a giggle. "Werewolves have their limits, too, you know."

"That's good to know," Snape said dryly. But then he too began to notice the savory aroma of stew and fresh-baked biscuits wafting up from the kitchen; Molly Weasley could be annoying at times, but she was a very good cook.

"I'm starving!" Lupin said, jumping out of bed and reaching for his clothes. He grinned and winked at Snape. "Strenuous activity always makes the wolf hungry."

"It's no wonder you're starving, then," Snape said.

Lupin laughed and nuzzled his cheek affectionately. "Hurry up and get dressed, Severus, before they start dinner without us."

"Er...you go on ahead, Lupin. I'm not really hungry." Which was a blatant lie; now that Lupin had mentioned it, Snape realized he was starving as well, and the stew really did smell good...but Snape didn't think he could stand to face the other Order members right now.

Lupin gave him an amused, yet slightly exasperated look. "Don't tell me you're too embarrassed to go downstairs!" Snape glared at him. Lupin sighed as he continued to get dressed. "Honestly, Severus! Albus, Branwen, and Sirius already knew about us. Do you really find Kingsley, Tonks, and Molly that intimidating?"

"You humiliated me in public, Lupin!" Snape said, sounding for all the world like a sulky child.

Lupin rolled his eyes. "I'd hardly call six members of the Order in our secret headquarters 'public,' Severus."

"How can I ever look any of them in the eye again?" Snape complained, ignoring Lupin.

Lupin snorted. "Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts, who strikes fear into the heart of every student in the school, afraid to deal with a little embarrassment? You're not afraid to face the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters, but you're afraid to face your own friends and colleagues just because they saw you kissing your slightly overeager werewolf lover?"

"I'm not afraid!" Snape snapped, sitting up and glaring at Lupin.

{Ah, good,} Lupin thought with satisfaction. {I've offended his pride; he won't be able to let that pass.}

"And just for your information, it was you who kissed me, not the other way around!" Snape insisted.

"I'd say the kissing was mutual on both sides, Severus," Lupin said. "But if you're really too embarrassed to come down to dinner, I'll--"

"Oh, shut up, Lupin! I'm coming!" Snape got out of bed and began pulling his clothes on, glaring at Lupin the entire time.

As Snape fastened the high collar of his robe, covering the bruises on his neck, Lupin thought to himself, {I may not have won the war, but I think Round 2 goes to the werewolf as well...}

"And what are you smirking about, Lupin?!"

"Nothing, Severus," Lupin replied innocently. "I was just thinking to myself how handsome you look."

"Right," Snape said disbelievingly. Like that wide-eyed look of innocence wasn't a dead giveaway that he was up to more mischief!

"But I really DO think you're handsome, Severus," Lupin insisted as they left the room and walked down the hall. He slipped his arm through Snape's and pressed close against him.

"Dammit, Lupin, I told you not to paw me in public!"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

A slightly flustered and very grumpy-looking Snape showed up at the dinner table with Lupin right on his heels, not quite touching Snape, but following much more closely than he usually did. Snape sulkily dropped into a chair, and Lupin took a seat beside him, beaming at him happily. Snape glared at Lupin, then glared at everyone else at the table for good measure, hoping to forestall any laughter or snide remarks. Branwen and Dumbledore, who were sitting on either side of the happy couple, were still giving each other smug looks, and Tonks grinned at Lupin, but no one said anything. Shacklebolt seemed to be trying very hard not to look at either Lupin or Snape. Meanwhile, Sirius helped Molly carry a large cauldron of stew to the table, and dinner commenced.

After a brief silence, conversation started up around the table, a little awkward and stilted at first, but thanks in part to Molly's delicious meal, everyone, even Snape, began to relax, and the discussion flowed more freely. Dumbledore felt he was making headway with both the Ministry and the school governors, and said that he thought chances were good that both Branwen and Lupin would be teaching at Hogwarts again this fall. That both pleased and alarmed Snape; of course he would be delighted to have Lupin back at school once more, but as much as he had come to like Branwen, the thought of her teaching beside him made him very, very nervous. It was one thing when she scolded him as if he were an errant schoolboy here in Black's house, but it would be quite another if she did it in front of the teaching staff--or even worse, the students! And Snape, although he was not normally a vain man, found himself rather put out at the idea of losing his status as the most feared and hated teacher at Hogwarts. He scowled; "second most-feared teacher" just didn't have the same ring to it. Could he really compete with the dreaded Professor Blackmore? But then again, he wasn't a boy any longer, and the years she had spent in exile seemed to have made Branwen a little softer and more sentimental; perhaps he could hold his own, after all. He certainly wasn't going to give up without a fight! He smiled nastily into his bowl of stew, imagining all the tortures and detentions he would inflict on his students when school started again. It wouldn't do just to be strict; he would have to be creative as well; he was competing against a master of the art, after all...

Lupin sighed quietly under his breath. Whenever Severus smiled that way, it almost always meant trouble for some hapless student. Then Severus glanced up and saw Branwen watching him, a look of cool amusement in her eyes. His black eyes met her green ones, and a look of challenge passed between them. Severus gave a slight nod, as if to acknowledge her power, but there was a determined look on his face that said he wasn't going to yield to her. She just grinned wickedly and raised her tankard of butterbeer in salute, as if to say, "Let the best man--or woman--win!" Severus grinned back, and Lupin sighed again. He began to feel very, very sorry for the poor, unsuspecting students at Hogwarts...

Oddly enough, no one else at the table seemed to notice that brief exchange--except, of course, for Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling merrily behind his half-moon glasses. While Severus and Branwen got into a spirited discussion about the students at Hogwarts, and how things had changed over the past fifteen years, Lupin leaned over to whisper to Dumbledore, "Is it really safe to have both of them teaching at the same time? Aren't you afraid the students might have nervous breakdowns?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, I think our students are made of sterner stuff than that! Besides, deep down, both Branwen and Severus have their students' best interests at heart."

"So deep down that the students might not even notice," Lupin said dryly, and Dumbledore laughed again.

"Well, still, it is there. And a little adversity is good for the children; why do you think I haven't interfered with Severus's teaching methods before? Besides, you will be there as, shall we say, a calming influence, to balance them out."

Lupin looked over dubiously at Severus and Branwen, who seemed to have set aside their rivalry for the moment, and were cackling gleefully together about something. "I think it will take more than a softhearted werewolf to counteract those two," Lupin muttered.

"I have every confidence in you, my boy," Dumbledore said, patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.

Branwen was asking Snape about the students at Hogwarts, and he obligingly began describing their individual personality quirks and weaknesses. As they talked, he began to think that perhaps having Branwen at Hogwarts might not be so bad after all, if they could operate as co-conspirators instead of rivals. And besides, she would be able to punish the Slytherin children when they got out of line; Snape had to tread carefully at times to avoid offending the parents who were Death Eaters, particularly Lucius Malfoy. Lucius was currently languishing in Azkaban, which gave Snape a great deal of pleasure, but he probably wouldn't be there for long. Branwen, on the other hand, wouldn't care about offending anyone, nor would she be expected to.

"You know, Branwen," Snape purred--a tone of voice he rarely used outside of the bedroom, and Lupin broke off his conversation with Dumbledore to see what his lover was up to. "We could make a good team."

"A team," she said thoughtfully, pausing to consider his words. "We're both more the lone wolf type, but that is a very interesting suggestion, Severus. I was worried you might think that I was...ah...treading on your turf, so to speak."

"I admit that the thought of losing my status as most-feared teacher in the school did not sit well with me," Snape said, and Branwen grinned. "However, upon further thought, there is no reason for us to work at cross-purposes; I think, rather, that our teaching styles could complement each other."

"You intrigue me, Severus," Branwen murmured. "Please, continue..."

"I hate to admit it, but some of my Slytherin students are in sore need of discipline, particularly Mr. Malfoy. I cannot afford to offend Lucius, you see, without risking my standing in the Death Eaters..."

"But I can," Branwen said, grinning again. "I see where you're going with this."

"Yes, and then no doubt little Draco will come running to me for reassurance..."

"Thereby binding him closer to you, and giving you more influence over him. Very devious, Severus; you are a true Slytherin." From some people, those words would have been an insult, but Branwen said them in an approving tone as she reached over and patted Snape's hand, beaming at him the way a teacher beams at her star pupil when he has just made a particularly insightful remark in class.

And Snape preened, smiling proudly, as a student does when his favorite teacher has just paid him a compliment. "Why thank you, Branwen. And I would be happy to return the favor for you, of course, if there are any Ravenclaws or Gryffindors you want me to terrorize for you."

She laughed. "I doubt any of them will come to me for reassurance; more likely they'd go to Flitwick or Remus..."

"Perhaps, but you can be quite charming when you wish to be. If you want to win over the students--or just a few students in particular--I am sure you would have no trouble doing so."

Branwen laughed, and to Snape's astonishment, batted her eyelashes at him playfully. "Why Severus, talk about charming! When did you turn into such a sweet-talker? It must be Remus's influence!"

Lupin laughed as Snape flushed and said sourly, "You've been spying on me long enough to know that I simply don't find most people worth making the effort for!"

"And you find me worth the effort, Severus?" Branwen laughed. "I'm flattered!"

"I assure you, Branwen," Lupin chimed in, "that even in school he could be quite charming, when he wanted to be."

"Oh, shut up, Lupin!" Snape snapped. On second thought, maybe having both Branwen and Lupin teaching at Hogwarts was not such a good idea after all; they tended to be a bad influence on each other... "In any case," Snape said, trying to steer the conversation back on track, "I'm merely suggesting that we can play the students off each other if we need to."

"Good cop, bad cop," Tonks suddenly said.

"What?" Snape asked irritably, and Branwen looked puzzled.

"It's a Muggle thing," Tonks said. Ignoring Snape's dismissive mutter of, "Muggles," she explained, "In television dramas, two cops--er, policemen--often work in tandem to interrogate a suspect. One is the 'bad cop' who threatens the suspect, and the other is the 'good cop' who pretends to be sympathetic. The idea is that the suspect will be so afraid of the bad cop, that he'll go to the good cop for help and tell him everything they want to know."

"I see," Branwen murmured, then suddenly smiled. "It must be a change for you to be playing the 'good cop,' Severus!"

"Look who's talking," Snape retorted. "You had the entire Slytherin House terrorized, and it takes a lot to frighten a Slytherin!"

Branwen laughed. Meanwhile, Lupin began asking Tonks about the Muggle television dramas she had mentioned, and Snape frowned. He thought his lover had become a little too enamored of Muggle devices after spending that summer in Japan with Professor Kamiyama and his family. Personally, Snape thought that "television" and "video games" were the biggest waste of time ever invented. But he was soon distracted by something even more disturbing, when he overheard Dumbledore talking to Molly Weasley, who was agreeing to stay at the house again this summer to help watch over Potter and his friends.

"Harry's had a difficult year," Dumbledore said. "I think it's important for him to have the support of the people who care about him."

"I quite agree with you, Albus," Molly said. "And the children enjoyed staying here last summer." She frowned and said, "Perhaps a little too much," no doubt recalling the antics of her sons Fred and George. Then her expression lightened as her eyes slid over to Snape. "But with Severus here more often..."

"I'm not a baby-sitter!" Snape said indignantly, scowling ferociously at her. "I spend nine months out of every year looking after brats, so during what little free time I have left when I'm not dancing attendance on the Dark Lord--"

"No one's expecting you to baby-sit, Severus," Molly said soothingly, interrupting his tirade. "I just meant that your mere presence has a steadying influence on the children."

"I'm so glad I can be of service," Snape said sarcastically, and turned his attention back to his meal, but he had lost his appetite. Great. Having to spend another summer with the brats around was bad enough, but he was particularly dreading it now, with Lupin acting like a wolf in heat. Who knew what that crazy werewolf was going to do next? Snape shuddered at the thought of Lupin jumping him in front of the children, and was sorely tempted to slip a tranquilizer into the next batch of Wolfsbane potion. Then again, Lupin had already kissed him in front of Potter, and despite the boy's promise to keep it a secret, Snape wouldn't be surprised if he had already blabbed about it to Weasley and Granger. He toyed with his food, thinking to himself that he was going to have to threaten them with a very slow, painful death to keep them from spreading the gossip around the school. Maybe creeping conspicuously around the vicinity of the kitchen while holding a clearly-labeled bottle of poison would do the trick...

Just then, Lupin laughed at something Tonks was saying, and Snape's irritation eased slightly. He looked so beautiful when he smiled, and his long, golden-brown hair was falling into his eyes in a way that made Snape's fingers itch to reach over and brush it back from his face. But of course he couldn't do that, not in front of everyone at the dinner table... {What's stopping you?} the little voice in his head asked. {They already know about the two of you, and after Lupin's little display of affection this afternoon, I doubt anything else you could do would shock them, short of having sex right here on the table!}

Snape winced. {Please don't give Lupin any ideas!} he told the voice. Fortunately, Lupin was not versed in Legilimency, and could not hear what Snape was thinking. Lupin was still safely occupied talking with Tonks, so Snape allowed his eyes to drift back to his lover. He really did look beautiful tonight, dressed not in his usual shabby rags, but in a blue-gray robe Snape had given him that nicely complemented the color of his eyes. And he looked so much better than he had when he had first arrived to teach at Hogwarts nearly three years ago: he was still slender, but no longer gaunt, and his fair skin had a healthy flush to it instead of a sickly pallor. Although he still had the faint markings of crow's feet around his eyes and smile-lines around his mouth, they were no longer so pronounced, and seemed more like an indication of his good nature rather than signs of illness. Even the Wolfsbane Potion could not reverse the graying of his hair, but it seemed to have halted--or at least slowed--the process; as far as Snape could tell, Lupin's gray hairs had not increased by more than a few strands. Snape wouldn't have minded the gray, anyway, except that it was a sign of the stress the werewolf's transformation inflicted on his body. The streaks in Lupin's hair were more silver than gray, Snape privately thought, and gave him an air of dignity. He still remembered that fateful day he had seen the late afternoon sunlight fall across Lupin's hair, giving it the illusion of being spun from pure gold and silver. That was the image of Lupin he carried with him in his heart; Lupin was his treasure, far more precious to him than any amount of real gold or silver could ever be. Unconsciously, his lips curved in a faint smile. Well, perhaps the summer wouldn't be so bad after all; since Lupin had so dramatically revealed their relationship to everyone, there was really no need for Snape to stay away in order to keep up the pretense of being enemies. He could stay and spend the nights with Lupin, his embarrassment to some extent compensated for by Lupin's increased enthusiasm in bed...
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tonks watched Snape surreptitiously throughout dinner, in light of recent revelations. For the most part, he seemed to be trying to ignore Lupin, except to glare or snap at him when the werewolf directed a laugh or comment his way. But Tonks noticed that even when Snape was talking to someone else, his eyes kept darting back towards Lupin. Now that she thought about it, Snape almost never took his eyes completely off Lupin, but since he was usually glaring at the werewolf, everyone had assumed that it was just another sign of Snape's hatred and distrust. Had he been fooling them all along? The man must be an incredible actor! But then again, he would have to be, in order to have deceived Voldemort all these years. Still, Tonks had a hard time believing that Snape was really in love with Lupin, and had an ever harder time figuring out what Lupin saw in him. Of course she understood and appreciated the risks Snape was taking for the Order, but he was so rude and disagreeable to everyone that it was difficult to like the man. She would never let a boyfriend treat her the way Snape treated Lupin, but the werewolf clearly adored him.

But then she began to notice the way Snape stared at Lupin when he thought no one was looking. His eyes were no longer hostile, but filled with an odd sort of intensity, as if he were trying to memorize every detail of Lupin's face. The expression on his face gradually softened as he continued to watch Lupin, and he unbent enough to smile at his lover. It was not much of a smile by normal standards, just a slight upward curving of the lips, but it was the first time Tonks had ever seen him smile sincerely, without any sarcasm or sadistic pleasure in someone else's misfortune. And his black eyes held a look of tenderness mingled with awe, as if he could not quite believe that Lupin was really his. He was, Tonks realized with a start, staring at Lupin as if the werewolf were some priceless treasure, something incredibly rare and beautiful. From the corner of her eye, she saw Snape's smile grow a little wider, and the expression in his eyes changed slightly; the tenderness was still there, but it was now tinged with hunger. Not a starving kind of hunger, but he was looking at Lupin the way a gourmet might regard a particularly fine meal, and Tonks suddenly blushed.

Lupin blinked, startled, then seemed to trace Tonks's gaze back to the source: Snape. He turned and caught Snape in the act of smiling at him. Snape immediately glowered at him, but it was too late. Lupin grinned at him, and Snape blushed. Tonks marveled at the sight; it was really quite strange to see the former Death Eater acting like an awkward schoolboy.

"What are you smirking at, Lupin?" Snape snarled, his face still red.

"Why shouldn't I be happy?" Lupin asked, affectionately reaching out to lay a hand on Snape's arm. "I am in the presence of friends, enjoying good food, good conversation, and good company."

Snape looked down and glared pointedly at Lupin's hand, where it rested on his arm, but Lupin did not remove it. "I told you not to paw me in public, Lupin," he hissed softly.

"Oh, don't be so grumpy, Severus," Lupin laughed. Snape scowled at him. Lupin scowled back, twisting his features into an exaggerated imitation of Snape's scowl. Snape continued to glare at him, and Lupin contorted his face into increasingly ridiculous expressions. Tonks couldn't hold back a giggle, and she heard Dumbledore chuckle. The look on Snape's face was truly fearsome to behold, and for a moment, Tonks worried for Lupin's safety, but then she noticed that the corners of Snape's mouth kept twitching upwards although he kept forcing them back down into a frown.

Snape's mouth twitched again, and Lupin cried out triumphantly. "Aha! I think I saw a smile, Severus!"

"You did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

Lupin did his best imitation of the Potions Master's glare, and finally Snape gave up and laughed. Tonks jumped slightly at the sound; she had heard him laugh before, but always bitterly or mockingly, or at best, sadistically, as when he had been cackling earlier with Branwen when they had been discussing possible punishments and detentions for their students. But this was completely different: it was a low, rich, resonant sound that was surprisingly good-natured. The smile transformed his face, too, softening its harsh lines and turning it into something almost...well...handsome, she thought with surprise. For the first time she began to get an inkling of what Remus saw in him. It was amazing, the difference a smile could make; his features had not changed--sharp cheekbones and big nose--but instead of looking severe and ugly, they seemed aristocratic, as if the smile somehow made them fit his face better. {Remus is truly a wizard of power,} Tonks thought to herself, {if he can work such a miraculous transformation in Severus Snape!}

"You're impossible, Lupin," Snape said, shaking his head.

"It's all your fault, Severus," Lupin said pertly, tilting his head to grin up at Snape. A stray lock of hair fell across his face, and Snape reached out--as if without thinking--and gently brushed it back, his fingertips lightly grazing Lupin's face as he pushed the lock of hair out of the way, tucking it behind Lupin's ear. Lupin flushed a little, and he smiled adoringly at Snape.

"Jeez, will you two get a room!" Sirius said, looking uncomfortable and a little resentful.

"Sirius!" Branwen said in a tone of voice that was more weary than angry.

Snape started to scowl again, but Lupin leaned over and said softly, "Do you remember how you used to enjoy annoying Sirius last summer?"

Snape hesitated, the scowl hovering on his face uncertainly for a moment, then it vanished and was replaced by a wicked grin. "I remember it quite well, Lupin." He hesitated a moment longer as he glanced around the table (by now, they had everyone's full attention), then shrugged and said, "Oh, what the the hell," and brushed his lips against Lupin's cheek. Sirius made an odd little choking noise. Snape's lips slid down a little lower to kiss Lupin's neck; the werewolf sighed loudly.

"ARGH!" shouted Sirius, jumping up and fleeing from the room.

Snape laughed again, looking very pleased with himself. Tonks thought to herself that although Snape was not conventionally handsome, he would have no shortage of suitors if he would only laugh and smile a little more often. Then again, he probably didn't need anymore suitors--Lupin alone seemed to be more than he could handle!

"Black seems to be finished with dinner," Snape said casually. "How about you, Lupin?"

"I'm just about done," Lupin replied, mopping up the last traces of gravy from his bowl with a piece of biscuit. He popped the biscuit into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then said, "Shall we retire for the evening, then?"

"Yes," Snape said, then added dryly, "it's been a very long day."

They rose from their seats and started to leave, when Molly said weakly, "I made an apple pie, if anyone wants dessert..."

Snape stopped halfway to the door, but Lupin said, "I think we can manage dessert on our own, Molly," and gave Snape a look that was downright lascivious. Snape turned bright red and ran out of the room even faster than Sirius had. Lupin just laughed and followed at a more leisurely pace.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Snape glared at Lupin in the privacy of their rooms. The words, "I'm going to kill you, Lupin," came to mind, but he knew that Lupin would pay him no heed, as it was obviously an empty threat. He silently fumed, trying to come up with a threat that might actually prove effective on the werewolf.

"I'm hungry," Lupin announced.

"Then why couldn't we have stayed for dessert?" Snape asked in a slightly whiny tone, still a little miffed that he'd missed out on a fresh-baked apple pie. He had a sweet tooth, and as much he disliked Molly Weasley, she really was an excellent cook.

"Not for food, Severus," Lupin purred, his eyes gleaming with that feral look again.

"Oh," said Snape, forgetting about apple pie as Lupin began to undress.

"How's this for dessert, Severus?" Lupin asked, casting aside his robe.

"Perfect," Snape said in a husky voice, taking Lupin into his arms and kissing him hungrily.

Lupin turned his attention to Snape's robes, unfastening them and letting his hands slide beneath them. Snape moaned, and Lupin said impishly, "It seems you are quite resilient after all, Severus, even though you're not a werewolf."

"I'm going to need a Strengthening Solution to keep up with you at this rate, Lupin!" Snape panted.

"You seem to be doing just fine on your own, Severus," Lupin laughed, and led him to bed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Tonks knocked on her cousin's bedroom door. "Sirius?" she called.

"Come in," Sirius called, sounding a little grumpy. Tonks walked in, to find him lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. "What's up?" he asked.

"I'm still a little fazed by this whole Remus-Snape thing," she confessed, pulling up a chair beside the bed.

"Tell me about it," Sirius said in a disgruntled tone as he sat up and turned to face her. "No, on second thought, don't tell me about it! It's bad enough to have to see them together without having to think about it when they're not around! I can't stand the thought of Remus being with him!"

"I never figured you for the bigoted type, Sirius," Tonks said, sounding disappointed in him.

Sirius blinked at her in bemusement, then realized what she meant. "I don't disapprove of them being together because Snape is a guy," he protested. "If Remus wanted to date, well...say...Kingsley...that would be kind of weird, but as long as he was happy, I wouldn't mind. I hate Snape because he's...well...Snape."

"Why?" Tonks asked.

"Huh?"

"Why do you hate him so much? I mean, he's not very nice most of the time, and I can't say that I like him, but I don't hate him, either. And Remus sees something in him, so he can't be all bad."

"Remus is too softhearted for his own good," Sirius said, scowling. "I don't trust Snape."

"Don't trust him meaning, you're afraid he might betray the Order?" Tonks asked curiously. "Or don't trust him meaning, you're afraid he might break Remus's heart?"

"Both," said Sirius, although secretly he no longer really believed that Snape was a traitor. "But mostly the second."

"Well..." said Tonks, leaning back in the chair as she thought things over. "As to the first part, I don't think he'll betray the Order. After all, if he was really serving You-Know-Who, he would have just let Harry walk into the Death Eaters' trap, wouldn't he? He'd have had no reason to warn us, and certainly no reason to save your life."

"Please don't remind me about that!" Sirius groaned. "Fine," he said sulkily. "If you must be so damn logical about it, I concede that Snape's not a traitor."

Tonks grinned. She loved Sirius, but he could be very stubborn at times. "As for the second, it's nice that you're so protective of Remus, but that's a risk we all take, isn't it? No one can guarantee that you won't get hurt when you fall in love."

"You're too young to be sounding so mature," Sirius grumbled. "Besides, you didn't go to school with Snape. He hexed us every chance he got--"

"And it was all one-sided, right?" Tonks asked, raising her eyebrows. "You and your friends were perfect little angels; you never hexed him or played any pranks on him...?" She laughed as Sirius flushed guiltily. "I was a Gryffindor, too, Sirius; I remember what it was like."

"But he was especially mean to Remy," Sirius insisted. "He made fun of his patched robes, shoved him in the halls, pushed him down into the mud once--"

"Sirius," Tonks said, giving her cousin a slightly patronizing smile, "when you were a little boy, didn't you ever tease a girl you liked? You know...call her names, pull her pigtails, hide a frog in her desk...that sort of thing?"

"What?" snapped Sirius. "Are you trying to tell me that it was all some kind of bizarre Slytherin courtship ritual? Give me a break! Yeah, I did stuff like that--when I was six, not when I was sixteen!"

"Snape was a Slytherin and Remus was a Gryffindor," Tonks said patiently. "I'm sure both Houses would have given him a hard time if they realized he had a crush on Remus. He probably went out of his way to act like he hated Remus so that no one would suspect that he really liked him." She paused, then said, "In a way, it's kind of romantic--you know, like Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers and all that..."

Sirius made a gagging noise. "Please, I'm going to be sick! Besides, Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, in case you've forgotten!"

Tonks laughed. "Well then, isn't it nice that this story has a happy ending?"

"I still don't trust him!" Sirius said stubbornly. "He's a petty, mean-spirited bastard. He got Remus kicked out of Hogwarts two years ago, you know, by telling everyone that Remy was a werewolf!"

"Why did he do that, anyway?" Tonks asked. "I always assumed it was because he hated Remus, but if their...thing...started that year at Hogwarts, then why...?"

Sirius flushed again, and he mumbled, "Because he thought Remus helped me break into Hogwarts."

"Ah, right, you were still a fugitive then."

"He wouldn't believe I was innocent! He wouldn't even listen to what we had to say! If he hadn't let Wormtail run off, my name might have been cleared two years ago!"

"That must have been hard," Tonks said sympathetically. "But a lot of people thought you were guilty, Sirius, and you don't hate all of them. Is this really about protecting Remus, or is it more about holding a grudge--"

"Yes, I hate Snape!" Sirius snapped. "I've always hated him! But that's between me and Snape! This thing with Remus is something else entirely! Why should I be happy about it, after seeing how badly he's treated Remus over the years?!"

"Remus is the one who has to live with him," Tonks pointed out. "And if Remus forgives him, and is happy with him, why should it bother you?"

"Dammit, have you been talking to Branwen?" Sirius shouted. "Sometimes it seems like this house is just one big Snape love-fest!"

Tonks giggled. "No, I haven't talked to Branwen about it, but it's clear that she approves of them being together."

"She always did like that greasy git," Sirius muttered. "Never could figure out why. It's all her fault they're together, you know. This whole thing got started when she paired them up on a Summonings project back in fifth year."

Tonks giggled again. "That's kind of cute, actually. Though it's tough to picture Snape as a kid."

"Yeah, laugh it up," Sirius said disgustedly. "But Branwen's track record isn't so hot--the other couple that resulted from that project was Ariane Donner and Evan Rosier, and we all know what happened to them."

"Snape's proved his loyalty, and Remus is in no danger of becoming a Death Eater," Tonks said in a more serious voice.

Sirius scowled. When had his clumsy, fun-loving little cousin become the voice of reason? Well, she was a full-fledged Auror now, so he supposed he couldn't call her "little" cousin anymore. "I just don't want him to hurt Remus again," Sirius said quietly.

Tonks thought of how Remus had completely cowed Snape earlier that afternoon, then sent him fleeing from the dinner table just a little while ago, and she grinned. "Oh, I wouldn't worry if I were you, Sirius," she laughed. "I think Remus can take care of himself just fine."
 

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