Disclaimer:
The Harry Potter Universe was created by J. K. Rowling.
No monetary profit is being made from this
writing
Summary: Lupin needs comfort and Snape is the
only one there.
Big spoilers for "Order of the
Phoenix"
Drama - PG
~~~~~~~~~~
FADE
TO BLACK
Remus reeled from the
fireplace, hearing the news. He
swallowed as he stared into the flames and gritted his teeth. It was all he could do to keep himself from
crying out.
"I am truly sorry, Remus," Dumbledore said through the
fireplace. "I know the two of you
were close."
Lupin forced himself to
nod. "I ... need to be alone..."
Dumbledore nodded. "Remus, don't hesitate to call me if
you need..."
But Lupin had already left
the room.
Snape watched him go,
Lupin's light robes slapping the door as he went. The next sound he heard was laughter. Cackling laugher.
"The mudblood loving toad is dead!" More laughter.
"Shut up..." Lupin glowered.
"That worthless son of mine is finally gone!" The portrait cackled again.
"SHUT UP!!" Lupin screamed, ripping out his wand.
"You cannot take Mrs black down," Kreacher said with a
satisfied smile.
"No..." Lupin said, "but there are other curses
which will work just as well if she does not shut the Netherhells up! And that goes for you too, you worthless
sneak!"
Kreacher bit his lip.
The portrait squealed with
laughter.
"I'm warning you," Lupin said, his eyes menacing.
"Ooh, the wolf's warning me... Ohhh ..."
Lupin raised his
wand. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"It's not worth it."
Glowering, the other put
down his wand. "One more
word," he warned 'her' and I'll do something that should have been done a
long time ago."
He shook Snape's hand off
his shoulder. "Leave me
be..."
Lupin stomped past Snape
and made his way to an empty room.
Kreacher watched him go
and was about to open his dirty mouth, but the glare the ex Hogwarts Professor
gave him had him scurrying the other way.
Lupin slammed the door so hard it made the portrait jump.
The Potions Master began
to walk down the stairs.
"The betrayer of the Dark Lord!" the portrait bellowed.
Snape whirled around, wand
out, menacing. "One more word from you, wench and you'll join that son of
yours."
For the time being the
portrait of Mrs Black was silent.
Snape heard muffled cries
coming form the upstairs room. Lupin
was doing his best to hide them. The
Potions Master sat on the rather dilapidated lounge suite. Though he did not share it, he understood
Lupin's pain, but he doubted there was much he could do.
Lupin did not come down
for diner that evening or the next. In
fact he hardly ate at all.
* * *
The next day, you could
barely tell that Lupin had lost his closest friend. He seemed oddly cheery.
At first Snape was puzzled, but then he realised - Lupin was in
denial. He thought he best leave the
man be for now,
"Severus!" Lupin cried, "care for some
breakfast?"
"No … thank you."
"I've baked some scones with blackcurrants in."
Snape sighed and gave in.
He didn't give a toss about the scones, but Lupin was fragile right now and
Snape thought it best to humour him. He had to hand it to Lupin the scones were
delicious, though Snape wasn't hungry, a smiling Lupin urged him to have
another. Lupin ate heartily, laughing
when he spilt some pomegranate jam on his robes. Snape noticed Lupin's dusky pink and cream robes were looking
tattier and dirtier than usual.
"Now I'm going to change," Lupin announced, racing
upstairs.
Even Mrs Black was
surprised by his behaviour.
Snape raised his wand to
the portrait. "Not a word. Not a *single* word."
She drew her finger across
her lips, but Snape saw her smirking.
Lupin came down in one of
black's old robes.
'Now let's get this place tidied up."
He pulled his wand out,
said an incantation and the sofa was good as new. He began firing it at the walls, making the paint white as
snow. Snape barely had time to move out
of the way when Lupin shot the floor where he was standing, making the
floorboards shine.
Days went by with Lupin
cleaning up the house, getting rid of junk, even cleaning up Kreacher's mess.
"What's it doing?" Kreacher asked in horror. "Doesn't know that Black is-"
Snape raised his wand at
the house elf. "Out!"
Kreacher began to
laugh.
"OUT!" Snape yelled.
Kreacher ran away. "Kreacher is running away! Kreacher
will go to the Malfoys and tell them the good news that Black is-"
"Good riddance!" Snape hissed, slamming the front door.
"Why Severus, you certainly sent him packing," Lupin
said. "Good for us. Now everything will be prefect when Sirius
comes back."
Snape almost cringed.
Finally the house was
looking beautiful inside and out, no one could believed it was the same place.
"Yes," Lupin said.
"This place was in serious need of some TLC and not to mention Feng
Shui."
Snape gave a small
smile. The place did indeed look
fabulous, no more pests, Kreacher gone, the only problem was Mrs Black, though
she seemed to like the look of the new place.
Lupin had even dusted her portrait.
"He should be back soon."
Remus waited on the sofa
for hours in his old robes, now mended and clean. Finally he went back upstairs to Sirius' bedroom and sat on the
bed.
It was a while before
Snape entered.
Lupin looked around
sadly. "He's not coming back, is
he?"
Snape shook his head.
"I knew that … I guess I hoped…" A tear meandered down
Lupin's cheek.
"I know you did," Snape said. He did not miss Black, but he did feel for Lupin. "I know what it's like to lose someone
you love."
"You do?" Lupin looked at Severus in surprise.
Snape gave a wistful
smile.
"Nancy Weathertop.
Ravenclaw. We made love in the
Dark Forest on Solstice Eve, got caught by a young Argus Filch."
Lupin gasped, wide eyes.
"We got detention for six months … She was killed when she
went back into the Dark Forest one night, foolish really, but…"
"You loved her…"
Snape nodded. "I
never loved again and if you breathe a word of this-"
Lupin held up a hand. "Your secret is safe with me,
Severus." Lupin sighed and spoke again after a long while. " James and Lily are dead … Now Sirius
is too … I … I feel so very alone…and so afraid … " He wiped tears
away. "I have no one now … I feel
as though everyone is watching me, waiting to pounce, no pun intended."
Snape sighed and sat on
the bed next to him. "I've always
been alone. Sometimes I welcome
it."
"I don't know how yo stand it, Severus, I really don't. To have no one … Except perhaps Dumbledore …
I guess I have Harry, but still it's not the same … I feel unprotected in this
wide world."
"I am sorry for what I did to you."
"A already forgave you for letting slip that I was a
werewolf, despite it being a rotten thing to do. I was unemployed and
practically starving for months."
"I know, which is why I want to make it up to you. What happened between us was not your
doing."
"You blame Sirius.
You know he only wanted to scare you, not to kill you."
"That's beside the point, let us not talk of it now."
He took Lupin's hand. "You're not
alone, Remus."
"Thank you, Severus.
I never thought in my wildest dreams that I could confide in you."
"Stranger things have happened."
"Name one."
Snape smiled. "If you are feeling afraid, I could
give you a particularly strong protection potion," Snape said, "but
it won't take the pain. What you really
need is time to grieve and self confidence and there's no potion for
that."
"I know, Severus, but thank you. I will take your potion and I hope it knocks me out for a
year."
"This particular one is the non drowsy kind."
"Oh. What a
shame."
"You're in luck. I
have some of that particular potion downstairs. I never leave home without it," he said with a small smile,
which Lupin returned.
Snape returned with the
potion, to find Lupin fast asleep on the bed, breathing silently.
"Pleasant dreams," he said, softly placing the potion
on the bedside table and leaving the room, his black robes billowing behind
him.