Scars, Part 6

by Geri ([email protected])

My homepage: http://www.geocities.com/geri_chans_fics/index.html

Rating: NC-17 overall

Pairings: Snape/Lupin, Ash/Tsubasa; also a little Theodore/Blaise, Dylan/Hermione, and Aric/Takeshi

Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts; [] indicates song lyrics.

Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; song lyrics are from "Scars" by Papa Roach. No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.

Warning: AU. This story contains a character from Half-Blood Prince, but does not follow the HBP storyline.

Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, The Revenant, Ash's Story, and Summer Vacation III.

Summary: Tsubasa has a bad day at work; Lupin and Snape discuss the past; Theodore comes home for a visit. This chapter contains an alternate history for Fenrir Greyback.
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Professor Tsubasa turned up the next morning wearing a high-necked black robe similar to the ones that Snape wore, although it was made of silk instead of linen or wool, and the other teachers stared at him in surprise.

"Why, how unusual to see you in Western clothes, Tsubasa!" Lupin exclaimed. "But you look quite fetching." Snape glared at him, and Lupin added placating, "Oh, you look very fetching this morning, too, Severus."

"I wasn't fishing for compliments, Lupin," Snape said huffily. "Please, don't let me keep you from your morning fashion report."

Lupin just chuckled at his lover's sarcasm, and Tsubasa smiled politely and replied, "Thank you, Remus. My cousin Ichiro made some British-style robes for me as a going-away present, and I thought that I ought to put them to use. He's one of the most talented Weavers in the valley, and it would be a shame to let his gifts collect dust in the closet."

"Indeed it would," Lupin agreed. Then, as Tsubasa lifted a forkful of eggs to his mouth, Lupin casually asked, "By the way, what happened to your lip?"

Tsubasa slipped the fork very carefully into his mouth, obviously trying to avoid touching the swollen portion of his lower lip. He slowly chewed and swallowed his food, took a sip of tea, and then replied just as casually, "Oh, Ash hit me in the face in practice yesterday. It's a hazard of the trade."

"Really?" Lupin asked, sounding surprised. "My, Ash must be quite a talented student to be able to land a blow on a master swordsman! I'm impressed."

A faint flush spread across Tsubasa's face, noticeable only because his skin was so fair. "Oh yes, he is quite talented," Tsubasa replied. "He shows a remarkable aptitude for the sword. And I must admit, I was a bit careless." He smiled, just a touch bitterly. "I let my guard down, but it was my own fault."

"Are you still talking about fencing?" Snape whispered to Lupin sardonically.

"Why, of course, Severus," Lupin replied, with an air of exaggerated innocence; he actually fluttered his eyelashes. "What else would we be talking about?" Lupin's fingers reached up to brush against the high collar of his own robe in a seemingly absent-minded manner. Snape, of course, knew that the collar concealed several bruises from an early-morning make-out session before breakfast. Sometimes the werewolf acted like he was still a horny teenager.

The Potions Master just snorted in response to Lupin's comment. But after he thought about it for a moment, he realized that in a manner of speaking, Lupin's words were true. Lupin was a master at fencing with words, which was rather odd for a Gryffindor, since subtlety wasn't exactly the strong point of that House. It wasn't Lupin's strong point, either, but somehow he usually managed to come out ahead in their own verbal sparring matches--which was no small feat, Snape silently acknowledged with mingled respect and consternation.

Professor Tsubasa seemed to be able to hold his own against Lupin, responding to the werewolf's gentle teasing and prying with calm, polite reserve. Lupin had managed to provoke a small reaction from him, though--that faint blush.

{Chalk up one for the werewolf,} Snape thought to himself with amusement, and just the slightest bit of pity for Tsubasa.
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Tsubasa was relieved when breakfast was over and he was able to make his escape. He knew that there was no malice in Lupin's playful teasing, but still, he had the uncomfortable feeling that the werewolf knew exactly why he was wearing a British-style robe today. Come to think of it, both Lupin and Snape usually wore high-necked shirts or robes, too. That was the traditional style, of course, but maybe all werewolves liked biting their lovers on the neck...

A little shudder of arousal ran through Tsubasa's body at that thought. He doggedly reminded himself that last night was strictly a one-time occurrence, at least for the foreseeable future, and he tried to focus on the memory of last night's cold shower and the sensation of the cold water flowing over his body and literally dampening his lust. When that was only mildly successful, he tried to further distract himself by counting to one-hundred in Japanese, English, and German.

His German was a little sketchy, having been picked up from a tengu friend who had in turn learned it from a Muggle businessman. He managed to reach twenty-five by the time he arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, and he was more-or-less in control of his body by then.

His first class of the day happened to be the second-year Gryffindors, and Allegra Zabini piped up innocently, "Professor Tsubasa, why aren't you wearing your Japanese clothes?"

Tsubasa patiently repeated the same story he had given Lupin, about how his cousin had made the robes for him. Inwardly, he sighed and thought to himself, {It's going to be a long day.}

And it was a long day, especially since his body was still slightly sore from the night before. But having lived and trained with the tengu warriors for ten years, he was accustomed to pain, and gave no outward sign of it, even in his Physical Defense classes. Allowing a few bruises and aches to slow him down would have caused his tengu instructors to smack him with the flats of their blades. And he definitely did not want any of his all too perceptive students to ask why he was moving slowly today. A few asked him about his swollen lip, but they seemed to buy the excuse that it was a sparring accident.

"I hear you stopped by the townhouse yesterday," Lukas said between lessons. Since he said it with a grin and a sly wink, Tsubasa assumed that Ash had not said anything about the letter or the fact that their potential romance was currently in a state of limbo. And although he would rather not have the entire pack discussing his lovelife, it still worried Tsubasa a little that Ash was keeping secrets from his packmates. It was out of character, from what he knew of the werewolves, and it made him uneasy to think that he might be coming between Ash and his pack.

Tsubasa sighed again; it was definitely going to be a long day.

The day didn't get any better when Laura Madley managed to corner him between classes. He had been deliberately avoiding her, which had not been difficult, since the fifth-year Hufflepuffs were not scheduled for Transfiguration or Physical Defense today.

"If I am not mistaken, you should be heading to Potions class right now, Miss Madley," Tsubasa said. "I have heard that Professor Snape does not tolerate tardiness."

"I know that, sir," Laura replied, staring at him anxiously. She kept shifting her weight from foot to foot, and was practically vibrating with nervous energy--and for once, the nervousness had nothing to do with the thought of an angry Potions Master. "But I just had to know--did you take Mr. Randolf the letter? What did he say? Will he meet me?"

Tsubasa repressed another sigh and said, "I delivered the letter, but Mr. Randolf needs some time to think things over before he can give you a response." Laura stared at him with a look of bewilderment and disappointment, and Tsubasa gently explained, "You must understand, it was quite a shock for him to receive your letter out of the blue like that."

"But if he didn't deny it, then that must mean that he is my...that he really is a Madley?" Laura asked hopefully.

Tsubasa hesitated, not knowing how much he should reveal. It was for Ash to explain why he didn't want to rejoin his family, but Tsubasa felt that he ought to prepare the girl a little for the disappointment that was to come. He had never met Laura's parents, but it was clear that she loved them and had no fear of them, and he wondered at the fact that a man as cruel and brutal as the stepfather in Ash's story could be so different with Laura. Was it merely that she was his biological child and Ash was not, or had he changed, perhaps felt regret after he believed that his stepson was killed? Even if he was remorseful, Tsubasa did not think that he could ever forgive Alden Madley for what he had done to...

{To his own son,} Tsubasa finished in his mind, quickly shying away from the words "my mate"--because Ash was not his mate. He could not even really call Ash his "lover"; he was not sure what Ash was to him at the moment.

"It was a shock," Tsubasa repeated, without really answering Laura's question. "And..." He hesitated again, then continued gently, "His memories of his childhood are not very pleasant. To relive the past is...difficult for him."

Laura looked confused and distressed. "Not pleasant? Are you just talking about the werewolf attack, or...?" Her voice trailed off for a moment, and then she continued, "I've heard that he used to quarrel with my parents sometimes, but surely it was nothing serious. Parents and children quarrel all the time...well, I don't really fight with my parents, but some of my classmates do..."

She stared at Tsubasa with tearful, pleading eyes that seemed to be asking him for reassurance, but unfortunately, he had none to give. "You must wait for Mr. Randolf's reply," Tsubasa said firmly. "It is not my place to speak for him; I have probably already said too much."

"But--" Laura started to protest.

"You have already waited fifteen years to meet him," Tsubasa pointed out, as kindly as he could. "Surely a few days will not hurt?"

"Days?" Laura cried in dismay. "How long do you think it will take him to reply?"

"I do not know," Tsubasa answered honestly. "But please be patient and give him some time."

"Please, isn't there something you can tell me?" Laura begged.

Tsubasa shook his head, calmly but implacably. "I know it is difficult, but you must be patient. Now you had better head to Potions class." And because he felt sorry for her, he wrote her an excuse slip, so that Snape--hopefully--would not punish her for being late. Although with Snape, one could never tell. Even with the note, he might still dock her a few points if he was in a bad mood; he seemed to take a special sort of glee in punishing his students. He and sweet-tempered Lupin made an odd couple, but Tsubasa supposed that their differences balanced out and complemented each other.

Laura still looked unhappy, but she took the excuse slip and thanked him politely, then hurried off to the dungeon. Tsubasa silently thanked the gods that tomorrow was Saturday, so if he laid low in his quarters, he could avoid Laura for the rest of the weekend. He wasn't sure whether to hope that Ash would reply quickly or not, partly because his response was bound to distress Laura even more, but Tsubasa was thinking mostly of his own discomfort. It was going to be difficult for them to go back to being just friends, as if nothing had happened. As if last night had never happened...

Tsubasa sighed gloomily; things were going just great. He had nearly driven a student to tears, and she probably would break down and cry when she actually met the brother she'd been longing for and heard the true story behind his disappearance. Not to mention that the most promising relationship he'd had in years was with an emotionally damaged, commitment-phobic werewolf.

Not only was this going to be a long day, but it was shaping up to look like a long weekend, too. In fact, it looked as though it was going to be a very long year...
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"Severus?" Lupin called as Snape rummaged through the closet. "You don't need to pack that many robes just to spend the weekend at your mother's house."

"I'm not packing robes," came the irritable and slightly muffled response from the back of the closet. "And technically, it's a mansion, not a house, and it's my mansion, not my mother's."

"I beg your pardon, Lord Snape," Lupin said with a grin as Snape emerged from the closet carrying a large cardboard box. "Although I would like to hear you tell Lady Selima that Snape Manor isn't her house."

"Mansion," Snape corrected. "And I'm not stupid enough to tell my mother such a thing to her face, Lupin."

"Of course not," Lupin laughed. "But if you weren't packing robes, what were you doing in there?"

"I thought I'd help you with your research, Lupin," Snape replied.

Lupin moved closer, nuzzling his lover's neck. "But I thought you said we didn't have time for that before we took the Floo to the Manor."

"I meant real research, you idiot werewolf!" Snape snapped, pushing Lupin away from him, but not very forcefully. Lupin took that as permission to nuzzle him a little longer before he stepped back and gazed at the box curiously.

"So what's in the box, Sev?"

"The notes from my Wolfsbane Potion research," Snape replied. "If you're really serious about writing that book, I thought you might like to see them, although I know you're not much of a potion brewer."

"Thank you, Severus," Lupin said, surprised but pleased by the offer. "I would like to see them. I may not understand all the technical details, but the development of the potion is a major event in the history of lycanthropy, and it ought to be included in the book."

"I know that you don't have time to sort through all this right now, but we could take the papers with us to the Manor, and you could work on your book over the weekend," Snape said.

"And you could help me with my research," Lupin said innocently.

"Which type of research?" Snape asked dryly, and Lupin just grinned and winked at him in response.

They gathered up the box and their bags and Lupin's pet dog Cabal, and took the Floo to Snape Manor, where they had a quiet dinner with Lady Selima. She was still cool and reserved, but the icy formality she used to display when Lupin had first met her had thawed somewhat, and she seemed to be looking forward to Theodore's arrival tomorrow.

"Don't feed the dog at the table, Professor," Selima scolded as Lupin slipped Cabal a scrap of meat. Cabal had already been fed before they left Hogwarts, but like any dog, he would always stare up at the dinner table hopefully, his eyes most eloquently giving the impression that he was starving to death.

"Sorry," Lupin said, grinning sheepishly.

"He cannot help feeling a certain fellowship towards another canine," Snape drawled in his low, sardonic voice.

"I admit that I can't help begging in my wolf form when there's a nice joint of beef on the table," Lupin chuckled, and both Snapes rolled their eyes.

After dinner, Lupin and Snape went upstairs to their room, and Selima retreated to the study to go over some of the Snape family accounts. Cabal followed after her happily; for some reason, he was very fond of Selima although she regarded him as a nuisance to be put up with--much the same way that she treated Lupin, as a matter of fact. Lupin grinned to himself, wondering if Selima secretly gave Cabal treats when they were alone together.

While Snape sat at his desk, grading homework assignments, Lupin sat on the bed, leafing through the Wolfsbane Potion notes and marveling at the sheer amount of data and all the work that must have gone into developing the potion.

"When did you actually begin working on the potion, Severus?" Lupin asked.

Glancing up from the stack of homework papers, Snape replied, "Well, I started wondering if a cure could be developed shortly after I discovered you were a werewolf. But I didn't actually begin working on it until after I joined the Death Eaters. I came across an article in a Potions journal written by Professor Kamiyama, about a potion he was trying to develop that would lessen the effects of a werewolf's transformation. Dumbledore put me in touch with him, and we began corresponding and comparing notes on our research. Later, as our research progressed, I visited him in Japan from time to time so that we could work together on the potion."

"That was when you learned Japanese," Lupin murmured.

"Yes," Snape replied, although it hadn't really been a question. "Kamiyama speaks fluent English, of course, but I worried that certain concepts might be lost in the translation, so I thought that we could communicate more efficiently if we could both speak each other's languages."

"You did it for me," Lupin said with a tender smile.

"Yes, but don't flatter yourself, Lupin," Snape said gruffly, blushing a little at that admission of sentimentality. "It was also an opportunity to test and challenge my potion-making skills."

"And you love a good challenge," Lupin said, still smiling. "But it took you and Naoto over ten years to perfect the potion. How many Potions Masters would have kept at a seemingly impossible task for so long?"

"It was not impossible," Snape pointed out haughtily. "Because in the end, we did create a viable potion. It is not uncommon for difficult potions to take years to develop. If one does not have the perseverance necessary to see one's research through to the end, then one is not deserving of the title of 'Master'."

"But of course there was a certain personal motivation as well," Lupin said gently. "You wanted to help me, and Naoto wanted to help his son-in-law Seiji."

"Well, of course," Snape said huffily, and Lupin smiled. "It's not as if I was working on the potion for my own health, Lupin."

"So many years," Lupin said softly, staring at the stack of papers in his hands. "And you never gave up." Snape blushed again and started to turn back to the homework assignments, but then Lupin asked, "How did you test the potions? How could you know if they were effective or safe before you gave them to actual werewolves?"

Snape sighed and said reluctantly, "There are certain chemical reaction tests that can be done, and we could get a crude gauge of the level of toxicity by testing the potion on animals, but really, Lupin, the only way to accurately test the potion was to have a werewolf drink it." Lupin's eyes widened in dismay, and Snape said, "If it makes you feel any better, the test subjects were all volunteers and none of them died, although some of them did get sick from earlier versions of the potion. I never met the volunteers face-to-face, of course, since my identity could not be revealed to them, but Dumbledore found the volunteers and arranged the sessions; I secretly observed them through an enchanted mirror so that I could see how effectively the potion worked and what changes needed to be made."

"Albus recruited werewolves to serve as test subjects?" Lupin asked, looking a little shaken.

"They were not that difficult to persuade, apparently," Snape said. "Most werewolves would have done anything to find a cure, or at least some relief from their curse. Kamiyama tested the potion on his own volunteers in Japan as well. He never revealed their identities to me, but I assume that Seiji must have been the chief guinea pig, since he was the one who first sought a cure from Kamiyama."

"Albus never asked me to volunteer," Lupin said, still looking troubled. "You were making the potion for me; I should have assumed some of the risk."

"Of course he never asked you to volunteer, you moron!" Snape snapped. "Do you think that I would have allowed you to take it before I knew it was safe? Aconite is a deadly poison, and finding the correct dosage--strong enough to prevent the madness of the change without actually killing the werewolf--was the main reason why it took so many years to perfect the potion!" Snape calmed down and dropped his gaze to the floor, avoiding Lupin's eyes. "It was an unspoken agreement between Dumbledore and myself that you would not be allowed to take the potion until I knew it was safe. I'm sure that he knew why I was working on it, even though I never stated the reason explicitly. And yes, I risked the lives of those test subjects, but I didn't care about them. I cared about you." He paused, then added defensively, "And I know that makes me an evil bastard, but after all, I am a Slyth--"

To Snape's surprise, Lupin jumped up and flung his arms around him, holding him tightly. "I love you, Severus," Lupin whispered. "I love you so much."

"You Gryffindors can be quite unpredictable at times," Snape said in a bemused voice. "I thought you would be upset that I experimented on innocent people."

"I am, a little," Lupin admitted. "But at least they were all willing volunteers. I know that I would have volunteered if Albus had asked me, even if I hadn't known that you were the one working on the potion. And I know that at some point, the potion had to be tested on actual werewolves. But most of all, Severus, I love you for working so hard on the potion for my sake, for so many years, without ever expecting anything in return, without even taking any credit for the creation of the potion."

"Until Kamiyama outed me," Snape grumbled. "First to you, and then to the Daily Prophet."

Lupin laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "I know that you like the glory of being a world-famous potion inventor," he teased. "And you certainly deserve it, my love." He smiled coyly and asked, "Will you help me with some research, Sev? Not this." He gestured at the papers on the bed. "The other kind."

"Well..." Snape said, pretending to think it over. Lupin didn't wait for him to finish his sentence, and covered Snape's mouth impatiently with his own, kissing him hungrily. "Well, since you are so insistent," Snape said breathlessly when Lupin finally broke off the kiss, "I suppose that I can help you out, Lupin."

"Good," Lupin growled, grabbing him by the front of his robes and pulling him towards the bed.

"Ah, Lupin, wait!" Snape cried as they tumbled down onto the bed together, landing on top of the Wolfsbane Potion notes, crushing half of the papers and sending the rest flying into the air. "Damn it, Lupin, the notes!"

"Sorry," Lupin said sheepishly. "I sort of forgot about them."

"They represent years of research, you know," Snape grumbled as they gathered up the papers.

"I know," Lupin said apologetically, carefully smoothing out the crumpled pages. "I really am sorry." He kissed Snape and said, "I promise that I'll make it up to you."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Snape asked archly.

Lupin unfastened his robes and unbuttoned his shirt, then struck a provocative pose. "How about some amazing, mind-blowing sex?" he asked in a sultry voice.

"Oh, stop that Lupin," Snape said, trying not to smile. "You look like you're posing for the cover of one of Prospero's ridiculous romance novels. Perhaps I should be trying to invent a potion that will control a werewolf's libido."

Lupin remained in the pose and licked his lips in a deliberately lascivious manner. "Well then," he said huskily, "won't you need to do some research on that?"

Snape swallowed hard, and the urge to laugh vanished. He decided that he would never let Lupin pose for the covers of Prospero's books, because he looked...well, he looked too damned sexy, to put it bluntly. He didn't want anyone else to even think of Lupin in a lustful manner, because Lupin belonged solely to him and he didn't intend to share Lupin with anyone else, not even in their imaginations.

"Yes," Snape replied hoarsely, and the potion notes were quickly packed away in their box, and the two Professors attended most ardently to their "research".
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Theodore arrived the next day, and received an enthusiastic hug from Lupin, a brief kiss on the cheek from Selima, and an awkward but fond pat on the shoulder from Snape. He seemed very happy, and was full of stories about his work in Ireland.

Prospero and Blaise came over for dinner later that night, and they all talked about Theodore's research, as well as Blaise's new job. "We had to turn that moon medallion over to the museum," Theodore said. "But I made a copy of the runes, and Master Tremayne and I are still trying to decipher them. I really want to solve the mystery behind this artifact more than any of the others, because I'm convinced that it's something to do with lycanthropy."

Lupin smiled at him warmly. "We're all very proud of you, Theo. Severus says that Master Tremayne is very pleased with your work."

"I haven't gotten very far on the medallion, though," Theodore sighed regretfully. "The code is so complex. Henry Bletchley hasn't had any luck with it so far, either; he's still running some tests on it. But he has several other artifacts from the dig to work on as well, so he can't spend all his time on the medallion."

"I'm sure that you'll figure it out eventually," Lupin said encouragingly. "I hope to be able to include some of your research in my book."

"How is the book coming along, Remus?"

"Oh, quite well," Lupin replied cheerfully. "Severus has been giving me a lot of help with my research."

Snape's face turned red and he glared at Lupin. Theodore smiled, but pretended not to notice, and tactfully changed the subject. "So how are things going at Hogwarts, Blaise?"

"I was a little nervous at first," Blaise replied. "But things have been going pretty well so far."

"He's being modest," Lupin said with a grin. "He's rapidly becoming one of the most popular teachers in the school."

"I think they're just relieved to have a teacher other than Professor Binns," Blaise laughed. "And I've bribed my classes with the possibility of a field trip. The Headmaster likes the idea, but he says the students will have to get signed permission slips from their parents."

"What about that new teacher, the one from Japan?" Theodore asked. "What is he like?"

"He's ungodly beautiful," Blaise replied bluntly. "Sort of like a male version of Professor Chizuru. Nearly all the female students, and probably a few of the boys, are head-over-heels in love with him." Theodore scowled and Blaise smiled. "But he's not my type."

Theodore relaxed and smiled back at him. "So does he do anything besides look pretty?"

"Yes, actually, I think he's the one who's becoming the most popular teacher in the school, not me," Blaise said. "The Transfiguration students say that his classes are a lot of fun. And they like that he explains the reasons behind how the spells work, instead of just teaching them the incantations. I'm not sure that the Physical Defense students love him quite as much, though. Dylan says that he's a good teacher, but he won't hesitate to whack you with his sword if you make a mistake." Blaise grinned. "I'm rather glad that I've graduated and don't have to take Physical Defense class anymore."

"Me too," Theodore agreed fervently. "I wasn't really very good at it."

"Dylan is, though," Blaise laughed, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Which means that he gets special tutoring from Professor Tsubasa, since he's giving advanced lessons in swordfighting to a select group of talented students, of which Dylan is one."

Theodore grinned wickedly. "Draco always used to complain that Dylan was perfect, but I guess that it doesn't always pay to be perfect!"

"Oh, and it seems that he's been giving private lessons to one of the werewolves," Blaise said. "Ash Randolf, the one who works at the Ministry." He smiled slyly at Lupin. "Remus seems to think that they've become very...close...friends."

"Really?" Selima asked, sounding both scandalized and intrigued, and Snape glared at Lupin again.

"Honestly, Lupin, you're a worse gossip than Rita Skeeter!"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, Severus," Lupin protested, but he did look a little sheepish. "I would appreciate it if you didn't spread that rumor around," he said to Selima politely. "I would hate for Ash and Tsubasa to be embarrassed because of my indiscretion."

"Of course you may rely on my discretion, Professor," Selima assured him.

"Until it becomes politically advantageous to do otherwise," Snape muttered under his breath. In the circle of the Slytherin elite, information was a commodity that was more valuable than gold, and Selima was a master at gathering pieces of information and gossip. She hoarded them carefully, and dispensed them in a manner that would best benefit the Snape family. Fortunately for Tsubasa and Ash, neither of them were in a position to do Selima any political favors, so they were probably safe from blackmail for now, although things might change if Ash managed to move up to a higher position at the Ministry.

Prospero looked amused, but changed the subject by saying, "I understand that you've become fast friends with the Minister's wife, Selima."

Selima's lips curved in a very self-satisfied smile. "Yes, I have been helping her to plan her son's wedding; she was a little overwhelmed at the prospect of planning a high society wedding. She is actually quite a charming woman, although a bit naive."

"Then it's a good thing that she has you to advise her and help her maneuver through society," Prospero said smoothly. "For no one does that better than you, Selima."

"You are such a flatterer, Prospero," Selima said lightly, but her smile grew wider, until she looked as smug as a cat licking cream from its whiskers.

"And what do your cohorts Priscilla Parkinson and Elaine Baddock think of your new friendship?" Snape asked sardonically.

"They do not like it, but who cares what they think?" Selima retorted coolly. "They are not married to the Minister of Magic, and their families have fallen out of favor due to their connections with Lucius Malfoy and his cronies. If they were wise, they would have cultivated Molly's friendship as well, but they foolishly let their pride get in the way. They will regret it later."

"Then perhaps later they'll try to cozy up to the Weasleys," Theodore said.

"But Molly will remember that they snubbed her," Selima said with great satisfaction. "And she will also remember that out of all the prominent pureblood families, I was the first to befriend her and make her feel welcome. And for some reason, she seems to be fond of you, Severus, so she was already inclined to feel friendly towards the Snapes."

"For some reason?" Snape muttered, wondering whether to feel more offended by the implied insult in his mother's words, or by the fact that Molly was "fond" of him.

Lupin chuckled. "Molly is first and foremost a mother, and I think that she was won over by how protective Severus was of his students in general, and Theo and Dylan in particular."

Theodore smiled at his father affectionately, and Snape bowed his head over his plate to hide the flush staining his sallow cheeks. "You never would have associated with Molly before her husband became the Minister," he grumbled to his mother.

"Well, of course not," Selima said, frowning as if she did not see the point of his statement. "But that was then and this is now."

Prospero laughed and bowed slightly in Selima's direction. "You are as practical and ambitious as always, Selima," he said, but his tone of voice was admiring rather than accusing.

"Of course," she agreed, smiling at him serenely. Lupin, Theodore, and Blaise laughed, while Snape just sighed and shook his head.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

After dinner, Lupin encouraged Blaise--with a grin and a wink--to show off his new quarters at Hogwarts to Theodore. Prospero grinned as well, and Snape smiled slightly and nodded. Theodore and Blaise glanced at Selima apprehensively, but she calmly bid them goodnight and reminded them to come back to the Manor for lunch the next day.

They stopped by the Slytherin dorm first, so that Theodore could say hello to Dylan, and they spent some time there chatting with Dylan and their other former housemates, who made a point of jokingly referring to Blaise as "Master Zabini". Snape probably would have considered it insolent, but Blaise let it slide, since the teasing was good-natured.

Afterwards, they went up to Blaise's quarters, and Theodore looked around, grinning. "Not bad; I guess the teachers have it pretty good at Hogwarts. It looks almost the same as Father's quarters, but a little smaller. Maybe the Heads of House get bigger rooms, or maybe it's because Remus is living with him. Although I'm sure that he had the same quarters before Remus moved in with him." Theodore frowned thoughtfully. "Do you think the rooms in the castle can change sizes?"

"If the staircases and rooms can move around, I don't see why the rooms can't expand or shrink as well," Blaise said with a smile. "Or perhaps my quarters are smaller because I'm the newest staff member, and therefore the lowliest in status. But it's more than twice the size of my room at home, so I won't complain. Not to mention that I get free meals and the house-elves do all the cleaning." He laughed. "It's almost like being a pureblood Lord!"

"Lord Zabini," Theodore said, bowing playfully.

Blaise returned his bow in a courtly manner. "Would you care for some wine, Lord Snape?" he asked, gesturing to a bottle of wine and two glasses laid out on a nearby table. "A nice vintage that I picked up in Hogsmeade this morning."

"Are you trying to ply with me alcohol to lower my defenses so that you can have your way with me, Lord Zabini?" Theodore asked, a look of mock indignation on his face.

"Perhaps," Blaise replied with a grin.

Theodore grinned back at him and grabbed the bottle and glasses. "Well, in that case, why don't you show me the bedroom, Lord Zabini?"

They lounged together on the bed, still fully-clothed, at least for the moment, sipping their wine and enjoying each other's company. Blaise was both amused and just a little annoyed that Theodore was still obsessing about the mysterious medallion he had been talking about at dinner.

"If only we could break the code!" Theodore said in a frustrated voice, sipping absent-mindedly at his wineglass. "The runes are similar to the system we normally use, but they've been altered just enough to turn them into gibberish. It's maddening, knowing that the information is right there in front of us, but we can't read what it says!"

"Do you know what's maddening?" Blaise asked, resting his head on Theodore's shoulder. "The fact that I'm sitting right next to you in bed, and you aren't trying to get my clothes off." He pretended to pout. "Especially since we haven't seen each other in weeks."

"Sorry, love," Theodore laughed, giving him a kiss. "I know I'm sort of obsessed about this. But it's just that the medallion might be able to give us some information that can help the werewolves."

"I know," Blaise replied, feeling a little guilty. He knew how much Theodore loved his adoptive family, including Lupin. "I'm sure that you'll be able to translate the runes eventually," he added, kissing Theo on the cheek contritely.

"But I don't need to work on it right now," Theodore said. He set his glass down on the nightstand, then took Blaise's glass and set it aside as well. "It's waited this long; another day or two won't hurt. And I have missed you, Blaise."

"I missed you, too, Theo," Blaise whispered, and kissed him tenderly.

They undressed, and Blaise shivered slightly as he hastily pulled the covers over them. "Maybe I should build up the fire. It's a bit chilly tonight, and the castle's pretty drafty."

Theodore grinned and picked up his wand. "Let me show you some of the things I've learned during my apprenticeship."

"You want to give me an Ancient Runes lesson now?" Blaise laughed incredulously.

"You'll find it quite educational, I promise," Theodore said. "Now roll over."

"Why, are you going to do something kinky?" Blaise asked, but he obediently rolled over onto his stomach. Actually, a little kinkiness would be welcome after several weeks of celibacy. He felt Theodore's finger gently tracing a rune on his back, and Blaise gasped in surprise as he felt heat radiating from the rune, slowly spreading throughout his entire body until he felt as warm and cozy as if they had been lying beside the fireplace. "Aahh," he sighed blissfully.

"See, I told you that you'd find it educational," Theodore teased, then planted a kiss on the nape of Blaise's neck; Blaise sighed again.

"Writing runes on living flesh is advanced magic, isn't it?" Blaise murmured, feeling utterly content.

"Very advanced," Theodore informed him. "That type of magic isn't done very often these days, but Master Tremayne felt that I was capable of learning it."

"So this is a rune of warmth?" Blaise asked. "I can see that it would come in very handy in winter, particularly if you were stranded someplace where you couldn't build a fire."

"Yes," Theodore replied. "And there's another rune with the opposite effect that can keep you cool in the summer. And there are also runes of protection, which can be made permanent if they're tattooed onto one's skin. But the tattoo has to be done by a trained Runes Master using magical ink."

"Fascinating," Blaise said. "Although I think my mother would have a fit if I got a tattoo, even if it was a protective one."

"Would you like to see what else I've learned?" Theodore asked. Without waiting for a reply, he traced another rune on Blaise's back.

Blaise gasped as his skin began to tingle where Theodore had touched him. Then he moaned as his skin became hypersensitive all over his body, so that even the faint contact of the sheets brushing against his skin, or the feather-light touch of Theodore's hands and lips kissing and caressing his back produced heightened sensations of pleasure so exquisite that they were almost painful.

"Surely Master Tremayne didn't teach you this!" Blaise groaned. If Theodore's Master had been a young and handsome wizard instead of an elderly and crotchety one, Blaise might have been suspicious and jealous.

Theodore laughed wickedly and ran a finger down Blaise's spine, and Blaise shuddered, his back arching involuntarily. "No, he didn't teach me this particular spell," Theodore replied. "I learned it on my own, studying some books in his library. Makes me wonder what Master Tremayne got up to in his youth."

He continued to tease Blaise, tracing patterns on his skin that didn't seem to be magical but still set his skin on fire, with the heightened state of sensitivity that it was in. Blaise moaned and writhed on the bed, clawing at the sheets, and his hips began rocking against the bed. He was a little embarrassed to...well, to put it bluntly, to be humping the mattress like this, but he just couldn't help himself.

"Theodore, please!" he moaned.

"As you wish, my love," Theodore whispered into his ear, then began rummaging through the nightstand drawer. It didn't take him long to find the vial of lavender oil that Blaise had put there, and he grinned as he held it up. "Anticipating my visit, were you?"

"Of course I was, you stupid git!" Blaise said impatiently. "I've been thinking about it every day since the last time I saw you, after your birthday."

"I've been thinking about you, too, Blaise," Theodore whispered. "Why else do you think that I've been practicing these spells?" His fingers lightly and playfully sketched yet another rune across Blaise's buttocks, and Blaise sighed as he felt his lower body, tense with anticipation, begin to relax without decreasing his desire in the slightest. He thought Theodore would enter him then, but instead Theodore massaged his back and shoulders with hands that were slick with lavender oil. Blaise sighed again, the oil feeling soothingly cool against his heated skin.

Finally, one of Theodore's hands slid down lower, and Blaise moaned softly as he felt Theodore's fingers slip easily inside him; his body was completely relaxed and open to his lover's touch. He raised his hips off the bed to drive Theo's fingers in deeper, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees. "Please, Theo," he whispered. "I'm ready."

He bit his lip to stifle a little whimper as Theo's fingers slipped out of him, then he moaned loudly as he felt Theo push into him from behind, stretching and filling him more completely--and much more satisfyingly--than his fingers did. They usually made love face-to-face, but this was wonderful, too, with Theo able to thrust into him deeply from this angle, and Theo's hands caressing his back and chest, gliding smoothly across his still sensitized skin. Blaise gasped as Theo's fingers lightly rubbed his nipples, which felt even more sensitive and tender than the rest of him, and he nearly fainted when Theo's hand wrapped firmly around his erection. Literally every inch of his skin had been affected by Theodore's rune, it seemed.

Each touch, each kiss, each thrust served to further excite and inflame him, the various sensations mingling and blurring until they all combined into one massive wave of pleasure, and Blaise cried out as he came. Theo thrust into him a few more times before he came too, with a loud groan.

As they lay in each other's arms afterwards, Blaise exclaimed, "Merlin's Beard! What kind of spell books does Master Tremayne keep in his library, anyway?"

"Well, it was covered with dust and tucked away on a bottom shelf next to some outdated textbooks, so he obviously hadn't used it in years, if ever," Theodore said with a grin. "But I've found it very useful."

"You seem to be very good at ferreting out sex manuals," Blaise laughed, remembering the book Theodore had found in the Nott library, which he had since passed on to his cousin. "You know, I'm still a bit cross with you for giving that book to Aric."

"But he needed it more than we did," Theodore pointed out practically. "We've already tried everything in that book that doesn't involve an extra partner or a probable torn ligament."

"I know," Blaise sighed. "I just feel rather sentimental about it, that's all. We learned how to make love from that book."

Theodore smiled dreamily and said, "I fantasized about doing those things with you a million times in my head before I ever showed you that book. I never dared hope that you might actually return my feelings back then."

Any irritation that he felt about Theo giving the book to Aric--which was mostly feigned, anyway--melted away when Blaise saw the expression on Theodore's face, a look of awe at the realization that Blaise really did love him. "I guess I can forgive you, then, love," Blaise said, planting a gentle kiss on his mouth. "But in return, I want you to teach those rune spells to me."

"As I said, they're very advanced spells," Theodore warned. "It will take a lot of practice."

"I don't have a problem with that," Blaise purred as he reached out to trace runes across Theodore's chest, and was pleased when he felt his lover shiver with pleasure, even though there was no magic in the runes. "In fact, I'd be willing to practice all night."

"Well then," Theodore said with a smile, "shall we get started?"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Lupin was going through the Wolfsbane Potion papers and taking notes of his own, a look of concentration on his face. Snape was a little surprised that Lupin wanted to work on actual research rather than make love, but he didn't mind. There was plenty of time for that later, and it gave him time to conserve his energy, since he lacked Lupin's werewolf stamina. So he was content to watch Lupin work, under the guise of perusing a Potions journal. Lupin-watching had always been one of his favorite pastimes, anyway, ever since they had been students at Hogwarts. He had never gotten bored while watching Lupin, even when he had been doing something as mundane as reading a book or doing his homework.

Reading the potion notes also made Lupin think about the past, since he knew that Severus's research had begun during the first war and continued through the years leading up to Voldemort's return. He also remembered that Severus had mentioned that a few werewolves had joined the Death Eaters during the first war. He wanted to ask Severus about them, but he knew that his lover did not like to talk about his past, particularly his time with the Death Eaters.

"What is it, Lupin?" Snape asked, frowning at the look on Lupin's face, one of concern bordering on sympathy. He appreciated the concern, because it was a sign of Lupin's love for him, but sympathy always made him uneasy, because it was just a step away from pity, and Snape hated being pitied.

"I was just wondering...if it doesn't bother you too much, will you tell me about the werewolves who joined the Death Eaters?" Lupin asked diffidently. "I never met any of them personally, although the other Order members told me about some of the atrocities that Greyback committed. I'm not sure if I will put any of it into my book, but somehow I feel as if their stories should not be forgotten, even if you and I are the only ones who remember. Perhaps I want to understand what drove them to join the Death Eaters. I know that I was lucky, for a werewolf; I had family and friends who loved me."

"All right, although I don't really know that much about them myself," Snape said calmly. He didn't enjoy recalling his Death Eater days, but he was willing to do so for Lupin's sake, and the sting of the memories had faded slightly with Voldemort's death. "Fenrir Greyback was the most prominent of the werewolf recruits, of course, and the de facto leader of the pack. Unlike Lukas, he ruled his pack through fear; they were all terrified of him, and even the other Death Eaters feared him a little. The Dark Lord did not trust him, of course, but he admired Greyback's ruthlessness and bloodlust. He turned Greyback loose on several of his enemies, like an attack dog." Snape grimaced. "I remember that once the Dark Lord ordered Greyback to kill a half-blood wizard who had offended him, and told him that he could do as he liked with the man's wife and child. Perhaps it's a mercy that he killed them. Greyback liked attacking children; he thought that if he could turn them while they were still young and pliant, he could teach them to embrace their wolfish side more completely than most adults are willing or able to, and raise them to be loyal and obedient members of his pack. However, since the Wolfsbane Potion did not exist back then, he had no control of himself while in his wolf form, and he usually ended up killing his victims outright rather than turning them, particularly those who were physically weak--such as young children."

Lupin shuddered. "How did he become a werewolf? Was he turned, or did he have inherited lycanthropy? His name makes me wonder if he was descended from a clan of werewolves like I was."

Snape shrugged. "I assumed that it was an alias. What sort of parents would name their child 'Fenrir'? If lycanthropy ran in the family, it would be like shouting out their secret to the world. Then again, your parents did name you 'Remus'..." Snape shook his head. "I can't imagine what they were thinking."

"It was an old family name," Lupin said with a smile. "The curse had been dormant for generations, so my parents had no reason to assume that I would turn out to be a werewolf."

"Still, saddling a child with such a name is like asking for trouble," Snape said. "But I know nothing about Greyback's past. There are no wizarding families that I know of named 'Greyback,' so it's likely that he assumed his name after he was turned, flaunting his lycanthropy rather than hiding it. Although it is possible that he had inherited lycanthropy; he seemed much more wolf-like, even in human form, than most werewolves. He had the typical sharp canine teeth, but even longer and sharper than most werewolves; thick, coarse gray hair that looked almost like fur; and long yellowish nails almost like claws. But perhaps he deliberately cultivated a wolfish appearance since he embraced his lycanthropy so completely."

"He sounds almost like a dark mirror refection of Lukas," Lupin murmured thoughtfully.

"In many ways, he was," Snape agreed.

"What about the other werewolves?" Lupin asked.

"None of them were from prominent families, with one exception, and I know little about their pasts," Snape replied. "I got the impression that they were far down on the social ladder even before they were turned, so they were doubly cursed, by both poverty and lycanthropy, which is perhaps what led them to join the Death Eaters. Greyback brought two men with him into the Death Eaters; I knew them only by their last names, Cooper and Kent. He bragged that he had turned them himself, and they were utterly subservient to him. Two other werewolves came in on their own later--Drew Summers and Jacob Burgess. They had both been cast out by their families and couldn't find work in the wizarding world. They were half-starved and dressed in rags when they first showed up, and would probably have sold their souls for three meals a day, let alone the promise of power when the Death Eaters won the war. Voldemort assigned them to work under Greyback and gave them a regular allowance--a mere pittance, at least by the standards of Malfoy and his cronies, but enough to keep them fed and buy their loyalty. They would willingly have died--or killed--for him after that. They ended up doing both. Summers's parents were Muggles, and they had already thought of him as a freak when he turned out to be a wizard."

"Not unlike the Dursleys," Lupin said.

"Yes, I suppose so," Snape said grudgingly. He and Potter had called a truce of sorts, but he still didn't like feeling sympathy for the boy, and he didn't like being reminded that Harry's childhood had been much more difficult than James's. "In any case, when Summers was turned, it was the last straw for them, and they disowned him entirely. As a test of his loyalty and his willingness to kill, Voldemort ordered him to murder his own family, which he did. He simply broke into the house on the day of the full moon and hid there until moonrise. Then he turned into a wolf and tore them all to pieces."

Lupin shuddered again. "I can understand why he would resent his family, but still..."

"The Dark Lord was a master at manipulating people," Snape said gravely. "It was common for him to order new recruits to kill a family member they had a grudge against, like Lorcan Foley."

"I remember," Lupin said. "He was a Slytherin a few years ahead of us. He was one of the Death Eaters who tried to kill Branwen. She said that he had joined them to get revenge upon his abusive father."

Snape nodded. "The Dark Lord had Foley torture his father to death in a Blood Magic ritual. For Foley, and for Summers, the murders were both test and reward at the same time. He knew they could not help but feel both guilt and triumph at murdering relatives they had once loved but now hated."

"Thereby twisting their souls and binding them even closer to him," Lupin said, feeling both sorrow and anger for all the victims that Voldemort had killed and corrupted. "Yes, I can understand that. But I am surprised that he allowed a Muggle-born to join the Death Eaters."

"As a werewolf, Summers was a Dark Creature; I suppose that canceled out his Muggle blood," Snape replied. "Besides, all werewolves are considered to have tainted blood, no matter if their blood was pure at birth. The Death Eaters never considered them equals. Whatever promises that Voldemort made to them and to the giants, they were nothing more than tools to be used. If he had won the war, he might have treated them as favored pets, but they would still have been nothing more than slaves. I don't really know much about Burgess; I believe that he came from a wizarding family of low rank, but the Dark Lord never ordered him to kill any of his relatives. However, he did kill several victims on Voldemort's orders, including an Auror."

"So there were five werewolves, including Greyback?" Lupin asked. "No, wait, you mentioned something about an 'exception'..."

"There were two other werewolves," Snape told him. "The next to join was a woman named Eliza Marsh. Greyback turned her during one of his rampages, and he kept her as...you couldn't really call her a mate, or even a lover. As a pet or concubine, I suppose you might say."

"A slave," Lupin said, feeling his stomach turning in revulsion.

"Not precisely," Snape said, to Lupin's surprise. "She feared him, of course, but she did not remain with him solely out of fear. She joined his pack and took the Dark Mark because she had nowhere else to go. Like Summers and Burgess, her family would have nothing to do with her once she was turned. Most of the Death Eaters looked down on the werewolves and regarded them as inferior, but Eliza was a pretty young woman, and I think Regulus Black felt a little sorry for her. He asked her once why she stayed with a brute like Greyback, and she replied, 'Because no one else would have me'."

"Oh, Severus," Lupin said in a shaky voice. "I knew that I was lucky to have a family that accepted me, but now I think that maybe I didn't fully appreciate just how lucky I was. That poor girl...I wonder, was she part of the reason that Regulus began to have doubts about the Death Eaters?"

"I don't know," Snape replied. "He didn't try to leave the Death Eaters until a few months later, so I don't think that it was Eliza's plight, specifically. I think it was more that he was horrified at the prospect of actually having to kill people. Regulus was a snob, but he wasn't really cruel. He never took pleasure in hurting people. He was a bit naive for a Slytherin, actually. He was the ideal pureblood son; he did exactly what his parents wanted and parroted all their beliefs without question. And finally, he did begin to question, but by then it was too late."

"Poor Regulus," Lupin said sadly. "Sirius still blames himself for not trying harder to save his brother."

"We all have regrets about the war, Lupin," Snape said. "But for what it's worth, I don't think that Sirius could have stopped Regulus from joining the Death Eaters. He was stubborn, as all the Blacks are, and a bit of an idiot. He wouldn't have believed what Sirius told him until he saw it for himself. If I had known that he was planning to leave the Death Eaters, I would have warned him that it was a bad idea. But he thought that I was part of the Dark Lord's inner circle, so he wouldn't have confided in me. He didn't confide in anyone, actually. He left abruptly, without warning, and he was hunted down and killed a few days later."

"So who was the final werewolf?" Lupin sighed.

"Bailey Flint," Snape replied.

"Flint?" Lupin asked startled. "Aren't the Flints a wealthy pureblood family? I remember having a Slytherin student named Marcus Flint when I first started teaching at Hogwarts."

"Yes, Bailey was Marcus's uncle," Snape said, nodding.

"But I never heard of any of the Flint family being turned and joining the Death Eaters," Lupin said. "Surely that would have made headlines in the Daily Prophet!"

"That's because the Flints covered it up by paying hush money to the Ministry and the Daily Prophet," Snape told him. "And Bailey never took the Mark. Greyback turned him and brought him to Death Eaters, and the Dark Lord was pleased that he had been able to turn a member of such a prominent family. He thought that he would be able to force Bailey to join the Death Eaters, because as Eliza pointed out, no one else would have a werewolf. He then planned to either have Bailey persuade the Flints to join his cause, or if they refused, to blackmail them into supporting the Death Eaters by threatening to make Bailey's lycanthropy public. However, Bailey was either more loyal to his family than Voldemort realized, or he simply couldn't live with the shame of having been turned. He killed himself the day after his audience with the Dark Lord. It's actually not that easy for a werewolf to commit suicide, since their wounds heal so quickly and they're resistant to most poisons. Some half-healed scratches on wrists indicated that he probably tried to cut them first, and when that didn't work, he slit his throat, and that attempt turned out to be successful. By severing the jugular vein, he bled out too fast for his body to heal, and he probably died within a few minutes."

Lupin looked a little ill, and Snape said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Remus. These stories about the werewolves aren't very pretty. Do you still want to hear the rest of it?"

"Yes," Lupin replied firmly. "If their stories aren't pretty, that's all the more reason to remember them, to make sure that other werewolves don't have to face the same choices they did, of choosing between living in poverty as outcasts or finding acceptance among Dark Wizards."

"Well, there isn't really that much more to tell," Snape said. "After Bailey killed himself, things started going downhill for the werewolves. The Dark Lord was furious that he had lost a valuable pawn, and punished the entire pack with Cruciatus Curses for not watching Bailey more closely. That was when Greyback began to chafe at being on Voldemort's leash. Then Kent turned on his fellow Death Eaters during a night raid on the full moon, and they were forced to kill him, which didn't do anything to improve Greyback's mood."

"Wasn't it dangerous, taking werewolves along on a raid during the full moon, with no Wolfsbane Potion?" Lupin asked.

"Yes, and personally I thought it was a stupid idea, but one doesn't tell the Dark Lord that his ideas are stupid and expect to survive. Then again, perhaps he was testing the abilities and loyalties of the human Death Eaters; the people who accompanied the werewolves on their raids were usually considered 'expendable'--new, untried recruits or Death Eaters who weren't quite as devoted as the Dark Lord would like. In any case, the idea was to attack just before moonrise, setting the werewolves loose on their targets--usually Muggles or Muggle-born wizards. And actually, most times it worked; the werewolves concentrated on the prey directly in front of them while the Death Eaters attacked from behind or chased after victims who tried to flee. But something went wrong one night--it seems that Kent's intended victim tried to flee and one of the Death Eaters accidentally got between Kent and his prey, and Kent turned on the Death Eater, who immediately cast a Killing Curse at him.

"Voldemort decided that he wanted more biddable servants, and began experimenting with potions and spells that would allow him to control the werewolves. One of them was a variant of that Werewolf Potion that Williamson tried to frame me with, which as you know, is quite toxic. Voldemort was using Cooper as a guinea pig, and he died, probably from drinking the Werewolf Potion, although it could have been a combined effect of all the potions he had ingested previously. But whatever the cause, the pack was now reduced to four members.

"Although he had little affection for his packmates, Greyback regarded them as his property, and he was angry that two of 'his' people had been taken from him, and he became harder and harder to control. I believe I told you before that he didn't take orders very well, even as a human, and one day he killed a victim that Voldemort had wanted taken alive. He probably hadn't intended to kill the man, but got carried away at the sight and scent of blood; he embraced his inner wolf more completely than any werewolf I've known, even Lukas. He was a beast even in human form."

"Worse than a beast," Lupin said quietly. "Real wolves kill for food, not pleasure."

"True," Snape agreed. "Anyway, Greyback disobeyed orders, intentionally or not, and the Dark Lord decided that he'd had enough. He hit Greyback with a Cruciatus Curse, an Imperius Curse, and an Incarcerous spell, all in quick succession. Then he grabbed Greyback and Disapparated. This happened in the middle of a full Death Eater conclave, and we waited for what seemed like a long time--perhaps a couple of hours--until he returned. He had not given us permission to disperse, you see, and no one wanted to be accused of disobeying orders, after the example he had just set with Greyback. So we waited, and when the Dark Lord returned, he was alone, his robes covered with blood--Greyback's presumably, since he showed no signs of injury."

"Did he say what he had done to Greyback?" Lupin asked.

"He said only that the problem had been dealt with, and Greyback would trouble him no more," Snape replied. "He did not elaborate, and no one dared question him further."

"An informant--I presume that was you--told the Order that Greyback had been killed by Voldemort, but if you never saw the body, you can't really be sure that he's dead," Lupin said, sounding startled.

"Oh, I'm sure, Lupin," Snape said grimly. "The Dark Lord was not the sort to leave loose ends lying about. He tracked down and killed Karkaroff even though it took him more than a year and Karkaroff was no real threat to him. He would never have let someone who had challenged his authority the way Greyback did live. Besides, if Greyback had lived, I'm sure that he would have made his presence known, especially after the Dark Lord was vanquished. There have been a few isolated werewolf attacks over the years since then, but nothing like the kind of brutal attacks Greyback carried out. Perhaps in a way it's lucky that the Wolfsbane Potion had not yet been developed when Greyback was still alive. It would have enabled him to remain--well, I'm not sure that 'sane' is the right word for someone like him, but it would have enabled him to remain conscious and intelligent during his transformations, allowing him to carry out his attacks and turn people with more precision."

"And then Voldemort could have created an army of werewolves," Lupin said, looking shaken. "Well, I am glad that did not happen, and we're lucky that he wasn't able to persuade Lukas's pack to join him during the second war. But I still don't understand why Voldemort never showed Greyback's body to the Death Eaters, if he meant to make an example out of him. He made you all watch him kill Karkaroff, after all."

"Well, he did bring back a rather gruesome souvenir," Snape said. "Greyback had long gray hair that he wore pulled back in a tail, and Voldemort brought back that tail of hair, soaked in blood, and threw it on the ground at the feet of the remaining werewolves. It was his way of showing that he'd defeated their pack leader and that they must obey him now, I believe. I did wonder about the lack of a body myself, but I suspect that Voldemort rendered him into potion ingredients--there are some Dark potions that call for werewolf blood, bone, fur, teeth, or flesh. That is the sort of thing that would have amused the Dark Lord--to have his servant continue to serve him after death, in a manner of speaking."

Lupin shuddered in horror. "I can't say I'm sorry that he's dead, but what a way to go--chopped up into potion ingredients!"

"I wouldn't feel too sorry for him if I were you, Lupin," Snape said mercilessly. "He killed numerous people, including children, and he turned at least four people that I know of, and there were probably others who managed to escape the dubious honor of joining his 'pack'. It's possible that some of the werewolves in Lukas's pack were turned by him, either directly or indirectly, by being bitten by him or a werewolf he created."

"You're probably right, Severus," Lupin sighed. "But still, if I had to kill an enemy, even one as cruel and twisted as Greyback, I would prefer to do so quickly and cleanly. Maybe not so much for their sake as for mine."

Snape often thought Lupin was too softhearted, but he was glad that Lupin had never had to kill anyone. He was glad that Lupin's hands and soul could remain free of blood and guilt. Snape sighed to himself a little, as he realized that he should probably be grateful that Potter had stopped Lupin and Black from killing Pettigrew in the Shrieking Shack. He really hated feeling indebted to the golden boy.

But all he said out loud was, "Well, fortunately, you didn't have to take on Greyback."

"Yes, I am glad of that," Lupin admitted. "So what happened to the other werewolves after Greyback was killed?"

"None of them outlived him for very long," Snape replied. "Burgess was killed in battle by the Aurors. As for Eliza, she wasn't really much of a combatant. Technically, she was a Death Eater because she was branded with the Mark, but she wasn't very good at offensive magic, and she never killed anyone, at least in her human form, although she was forced to take part in a few raids as a werewolf. Mostly she just followed Greyback around. She got caught in the crossfire during a battle one day; ironically, she wasn't attacking, but just trying to take cover. It wasn't clear who killed her--there were so many spells flying around that she might have been accidentally struck by one of the Death Eaters."

"Friendly fire," Lupin said.

"What?"

"Nothing, just a Muggle term."

"As for Summers," Snape continued, "he was captured near the end of the war and executed. The other captured Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban, but as a Dark Creature who had attacked and killed people during the full moon, he was deemed too dangerous to live. As if it really matters whether a victim was killed by a werewolf's teeth and claws or a Killing Curse. Dead is dead."

"Yes, but wizardly prejudice still applies, even to criminals," Lupin said with a wry, humorless smile. "A pureblooded Death Eater is still worth more than a werewolf." He sighed and shook his head. "I can't condone what those werewolves did as Death Eaters, but I can feel some sympathy for the hardships they suffered that led them to believe they had no other choice."

"I am sure that they suffered great hardships," Snape said. "But so did Lukas and his pack, and they did not join the Death Eaters, no matter what bribes or threats the Dark Lord offered. They are still responsible for the crimes they committed and the choices they made."

It was, perhaps, a harsh judgment, but Lupin knew that Severus judged himself just as harshly as he did everyone else, so he did not take offense. He knew that Severus would never quite forgive himself for being foolish enough to join the Death Eaters, or for the things that he had done as a Death Eater--even though he had done them to keep his cover as a spy. He also knew that Severus felt guilt over the things he had not done, and the people he had failed to save--especially his friends and fellow Death Eaters Rosier and Wilkes. He would probably carry that guilt with him for the rest of his life, and consider it his penance for the mistakes he had made. There would always be a little darkness in Severus Snape, but that was part of what made him who he was, and Lupin loved him for it.

"That is true, Severus," Lupin said quietly. "But if the wizarding world had not been so prejudiced against werewolves, then they would not have been driven to such desperate measures, and they would probably not have become Death Eaters."

"There is no point in wondering 'what if,' Remus," Snape said, in a voice that was meant to sound irritable but came out mostly weary. "It doesn't change the past."

"You're right," Lupin said. "We can't change the past, so all we can do is to try and make things better in the present." And despite the somber mood, Lupin smiled. "We've made a pretty good start. The anti-werewolf legislation was repealed, and the pack children now have the opportunity to go to Hogwarts like normal children, without needing to conceal their lycanthropy--or in Celine's case, her father's lycanthropy. And I myself am employed at Hogwarts, something that would have been impossible a few years ago."

"You are ever the optimist, Lupin," Snape said dryly, but he smiled slightly.

"Of course," Lupin said with a grin. "I am a Gryffindor, after all." In a more solemn voice, he said, "I will record the stories of the Death Eater werewolves so that they will not be forgotten, but I think that can wait until tomorrow." He carefully put away the papers he'd been working on, then got up and held out his hand to Snape.

Snape set aside his Potions journal and took Lupin's hand. "So did you want me to help you with your 'research'?" he asked as Lupin led him towards the bed.

"No," Lupin replied softly, to Snape's surprise. He wrapped his arms around Snape and said, "Tonight I just want to make love."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No playing around tonight," Lupin said, kissing him tenderly. "Tonight I want the comfort of your body. I want to feel reassured that we survived the war and that you love me."

"I love you, Remus," Snape whispered, returning the kiss. "And I assure you that we are both very much alive."

"But I need proof of it, Severus," Lupin said huskily. "I want to touch your skin and feel its warmth. I want to taste your mouth and feel your breath on my lips." His voice dropped to a low, hungry growl. "I want to feel you inside me."

"Oh," Snape gasped, and fulfilled part of Lupin's request by kissing him deeply. Lupin's undisguised need for him was intoxicating, but it aroused a sense of tenderness and protectiveness in him at the same time. He remembered the sense of desperation he had felt after he had rejoined the Death Eaters during the summer following the Triwizard Tournament, and how Lupin had comforted him with his body. Now it was his turn to do the same thing for Lupin.

Snape's need at that time had been desperate and violent, but Lupin seemed to want something more gentle. So he took his time, leisurely running his hands along his lover's body, and he heard Lupin sigh contentedly, and felt Lupin relax beneath his hands, all the tension draining from his body. As Snape pressed his lips to Lupin's throat, he felt Lupin's hands reaching out to return his caresses, slowly running his fingers through Snape's hair and then stroking his cheeks and lightly tracing Snape's lips with his thumb, and then his hands slid down Snape's neck to stroke his chest and back, and his arms and legs--sensually but not quite pruriently, as if his goal was not so much to stir arousal, but to map Snape's body with his fingers, as if he wanted to be able to memorize every inch of it by touch. However, whether or not it was Lupin's intention, Snape found himself growing aroused by his lover's caresses.

Sometimes Lupin was afraid that he would wake up and find that his happy life with Severus was all a dream, but his lover's body felt reassuringly solid beneath his hands. His hands seemed to absorb the heat of Severus's body; he felt that heat flowing into his own body, warming and comforting him. He pressed his face against Severus's chest for a moment, breathing in his scent, then raised his head and kissed Severus deeply, and he savored the touch, smell, and taste of his mate, feeling almost dizzy with happiness.

The sweet perfume of lavender tickled Lupin's nose as Severus opened a jar of the scented oil. Lupin growled, softly and eagerly, then moaned as he felt his lover's fingers ease inside him, very slowly and gently stretching and preparing him. And Lupin's languorous contentment began to give way to a growing sense of urgency.

"Now," Lupin growled, and he heard his lover whisper into his ear with a wicked little laugh, "Very demanding, aren't you, Remus?" Lupin opened his mouth to make a retort, but all that came out was a little gasp as Severus entered him.

Snape actually liked that the normally gentle and mild-mannered Lupin was demanding in bed. It pleased him that he could bring out Lupin's inner wolf, and Snape delighted in the little growls and whimpers of pleasure that escaped from Lupin's lips as he thrust into him. He didn't know exactly why Lupin's wolfish behavior excited him so much in bed, but it did--one Dark Creature being drawn to another, perhaps, or maybe because it was a form of complete surrender and trust, for Lupin to give himself over to the wolf for Snape's sake after fighting it for so many years. And he loved the way that Lupin would offer up his throat when he neared climax, like a wolf in submission...

They made love slowly and tenderly at first, Snape still wanting to comfort Lupin, but things rapidly grew heated as the wolf grew more and more aroused, until Lupin tilted his head back and Snape bit down on his throat and they both came instantly.

Lupin howled joyfully, then collapsed onto the bed and lay contentedly in his lover's arms. "Thank you, Severus," he murmured.

"Silly werewolf," Snape said, gruffly but affectionately. "Thanking me implies that I'm doing you a favor, as if it were a hardship to make love to you--and I assure you that it was anything but." He kissed Lupin. "We Slytherins are anything but altruistic, you know, so I wouldn't do it unless there was pleasure in it for me as well."

Lupin wasn't just thanking him for the sex, but for the comfort and reassurance he had offered, and the fact that he had discussed a painful part of his past just because Lupin had asked him to. But Lupin felt sleepy and sated and content, and it seemed too complicated to get into right now. And besides, despite his words, Severus probably understood what he had meant. So all Lupin said was, "Then I am pleased that we are able to have such a mutually beneficial relationship, Severus." And as he drifted off to sleep, he heard Severus chuckle and say, "I love you, too, Remus."

Chapter 7

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