Their Understanding
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; I leave that to author, J. K. Rowling. Though sometimes I wish I owned the Weasley twins.
Professor Remus Lupin, the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, stormed in the teachers' lounge from the first day of his classes. "Snape!" he yelled harshly.
Professor Severus Snape, the professor of Potions, turned to sneer at Remus. They more or less have come terms with Remus's newest teaching positions. "What is it now, Lupin?"
"I've just had a Boggart lesson with my third years," Remus answered. "What is it with you and scaring them?"
Severus scoffed at Remus. "You'd scare them too, Lupin," Severus replied, "if they ever found out what you were."
"Maybe that is true," Remus answered. "But I won't scare them in my human form and also the Slytherin third years can't produce a simple Boggart Banishing Spell."
Severus crossed his arms. "I can't help that I scare Longbottom," Severus said, "since it's not my fault that he is a lost in Potions. Always has since his first year, but you'd know something about that."
Remus arched an eye. "Yes, I would, but my grades improved," he said.
"Thanks to Lily no less," Severus scoffed. "You don't think I didn't know that she would've helped the four of you even though Pettigrew was a dead loss."
"Peter might've been a loss, but neither James nor I were loss," Remus argued.
"Ah, I see that you didn't mention the fourth in your little group," Severus said bitterly thinking of the days he had been bullied by the fourth one.
Remus closed his eyes. "I should've known that James and Lily should've picked me to be their secret keeper," Remus replied quietly, "but I let them pick Sirius instead. You don't think I hate myself for that? Or for the fact that Harry's parentless and now living with, god forbid, Lily's sister?"
Severus masked his grin well. "Well, that's something to be said about Petunia Evans," Severus replied.
"Dursley," Remus corrected without thinking. "That's one of the reasons I took this post because if the Prophets anything to go by, and if Sirius is here, I don't intend to let him get to Harry. It's the least both of us could do for Lily, Snape."
Severus stared at Remus. "You'd be doing it for Potter," Severus said.
Remus shook his head knowing when Severus said Potter he meant James and not Harry. "By the time we left Hogwarts and joined the Order, Snape, Lily was my sister in everything but by blood. I thought it was true for Peter and Sirius, but obviously I was wrong."
"Obviously," Severus said. "But remember this: you're not the only one on that this school on the lookout for Black, Lupin." Their eyes met and understood. "If you would have bothered to talk to Minerva, you know that Potter's permission sheet hasn't been signed, and she wouldn't approve the same way she did for Black." Severus was half way out the door, when he said, "Only because he's Lily's." Then turned and sailed out the door.