Author's Note: This story will, in due course, contain slash. If you dislike, or object to, any form of slash; alas, we have reached a parting of the ways. However, if you do like slash, then I hope you'll enjoy this pairing as much as I do. The usual disclaimers apply, and I own none of this. JKR/Warner Brothers own everything.
Full Summary: Severus Snape and Remus Lupin are reunited for the first time since their turbulent school days. But amidst the bitter recriminations, and even more bitter memories, they inexplicably grow closer as they realise the full extent of the bonds that unite them. Rating may change, as Slash will be involved. Cannon will be incorporated, but this is largely AU.
Please read and review, thank you!
Chapter One: Friends Reunited (Introduction).
The summer holidays were over in the blink of an eye. That was how it seemed to Severus Snape as he made his way back to the Castle, ready for a new school year. The leaves on the trees were turning; curling and bronzing at the edges in the ebbing strength of the sunlight. The breeze blew heavy with the promise of an approaching autumn, and nights crept slowly inwards. Autumn was definitely coming.
But if there was only a hint of autumn above the ground; then far below the grounds of the Castle, in the Slytherin dungeons, it was positively glacial. It's two months of abandonment showed. With an almost imperceptible flick of his wrist, a fire sprang into existence in the hearth of his office, casting a warm glow to chase away the subterranean gloom. His prized collection of specimens glittered into existence on his shelves; up lit with a faint blue glow of a basin containing a potion gone bad from the year before. Within moments of Snape's arrival, it felt almost like home again.
With every home coming was a welcome. The note from Dumbledore was waiting on the desk pushed up against the far wall. Meeting – immediately – Dumbledore's office. Snape glanced it over with only a fleeting flicker of interest. Any moment now, and the Hogwarts Express would arrive, disgorging multitudes of excitable students onto the platform not twenty yards away. There was the sorting, the feast and the chaos of organising hordes of bewildered first years into the right places to look forward too. Now, Dumbledore wanted what was left of his peace of mind.
He closed his eyes, and took a deep, steadying breath; as though savouring the last morsel of solitude for another year. He rolled up his shirt sleeves, and swept from the office in a business like manner. He almost ran into Filch, the garrulous Caretaker who's temper was permanently at boiling point. They dodged each other with an exchange of insults as Severus homed in on the secret entrance to the Headmaster's office.
He muttered the old password under his breath, hoping it would still work, and watched -feet tapping impatiently – as the two gargoyles sprang aside to admit him. He cleared the small stairwell in a few strides, and found the old Headmaster waiting for him, as though he knew already that he had been on his way. No doubt, his friends in the portraits had been watching for him.
Dumbledore's true mood was, as ever, unreadable behind that veneer of avuncular benignity. "Ah, Severus, how good to see you," he greeted the younger Professor. "There's something I need to discuss with you."
The door to the office swung open, seemingly of its own accord, and Dumbledore led Severus inside, a paternal arm around his back.
"Terrible business with Sirius Black," murmured Dumbledore, more to himself than Severus. "Yes, terrible business, hence the extra security. You may have noticed..."
His words trailed off as he pulled out a seat and gestured for Severus to sit. He did so, and took up his cue to join the conversation.
"Yes; Dementors. So," he stated firmly, watching the old man shuffle around to the opposite side of the desk. "You'll understand my lack of enthusiasm for the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?"
Albus settled into his seat, giving Severus an understanding look. "Guilt by association doesn't look good on you, Severus, of all people."
Touché, he thought to himself. "You don't expect me to actually make an effort-"
"I expect you to be courteous and cordial," Dumbledore explained pointedly. He paused, elbows braced against the desk, his fingers in a steeple as he fixed Severus with that deep, penetrative stare. "I also expect you to brew the Wolfsbane potion, if you would be so kind?"
"That's not really a question, is it?" observed Severus with a wry smile.
Dumbledore did not answer. Severus leaned back in his seat and noticed Fawkes on his perch, his head tucked under his wing. It must be nearly burning time for him. He looked a little sorry for himself.
"Very well, then," Severus finally added, heaving a sigh. "I promise to behave myself."
The tension drained from the Headmaster's face as he continued to regard Severus from across the desk. Even Fawkes chirruped approvingly from his perch.
"I sincerely hope that you do," replied Dumbledore.
Severus thought that Albus looked more careworn than usual. But then, the escaped convict – Sirius Black – was once one of his precious Gryffindors. Blacks actions must have come as a terrible shock to all those who thought that only Slytherins came with 'evil' as their default personality settings. Finally, Dumbledore spoke again; his face arranged into an expression of utmost passivity as he glanced at Severus over the rim of his half-moon spectacles. "The past is in the past, Severus. You might want to leave it there."
The incident on the train had left him shaken. Remus didn't dare let it show in front of his new students, naturally. But, he was shaken nonetheless. Nor was there time to dwell on it. He had recognised James Potter's son the moment he laid eyes on him. He would have been twenty years in the past; if it hadn't been for that Dementor, though. As soon as he got off the train, he had to get to the Castle to inform Minerva McGonagle of what had befallen her student, and ensure that the proper procedure was set in motion; if there even were proper procedures in such extraordinary circumstances.
But, by the time he arrived, everyone seemed to know already. He'd forgotten just how swift the spread of bad news could be at Hogwarts. If someone sneezed in the Astronomy Tower, by the time the news reached the Slytherin dungeon (usually about a split second later) then the sneezer had the plague already. With the heads of houses already swinging into motion to usher the students inside, Lupin decided to take himself well out of the way.
The Great Hall was as good a place as any. It was where he would be expected to be, and thus far, the only quiet spot. The Heads of Houses were all outside, and only a few other lesser teachers were present. One of them, Professor Vector from the Arithmancy department, pointed him to the right seat. In the short time of relative quiet that he had left, he let his eye rove over the hall, top to bottom. The enchanted ceiling was every bit as spectacular as he remembered it to be. It perfectly reflected the darkening skies outside. The candles were already lit, hovering in mid-air to light the way. The stool at the front, on which the sorted hat sat; silent now, but ready with its silly song at a moment's notice.
Somewhere to the side of him, a door slammed shut, jolting him out of his reminiscences of his own first day all those years ago. Turning sharply towards the source of the noise, he noticed several other teachers making their way inside. Any moment now, and the students would be there, too. He ignored the questioning glances of those who didn't know him, and kept his gaze fixed on the main doors at the back of the Hall. Until, that was, the seat next to his own was pulled out from under the table; it's wooden legs scraping against the floorboards. He turned sharply, and found himself face to face with Snape. The third blast from the past he'd had in the space of a few short hours.
This moment was always going to be an awkward one. When he found out that Severus was also a teacher at Hogwarts, he almost had second thoughts about taking the job. In fact, he'd had the other man down as a Death Eater, never mind head of house at a school as prestigious as Hogwarts. Remus' gaze now darted from the man beside him in a cloud of mutinous silence, to the front door. Silently, he was praying for some intervention. In between silent prayers, he wrestled with the decision of whether or not he should say something; anything to acknowledge the man, or reach out some sort of hand of friendship.
"Terrible news about Sirius Black, isn't it?" he said.
Immediately, Remus wanted to kick himself. Of all the people for him to mention, Black was the first person who sprang to mind; it was he who everyone was talking about. He felt himself burning up as Severus slowly turned his dark, unfathomable eyes on to him.
"Really?" he said, low and ominous. "I thought you'd be pleased to have your old friend out and about again."
Remus' thoughts spun into a whirl as he tried to formulate some kind of a reply. Instead, he took to playing with an empty wine glass that was sat in front of him. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Severus. "Let's just hope they catch him, soon," he feebly muttered.
The silence crackled with tension. The moment drew itself out interminably. Until finally, Dumbledore entered, with a stream of students following close behind him. The Hall was suddenly filled with the noise of thousands of feet tramping up the aisle to the tables, and the sound of countless voices raised in excitable chatter. Finally, Remus felt the imaginary spotlight lifting from him alone, and breathed a sigh of relief.
All attention turned to Dumbledore as his famous start-of-term-speech got under way. But like a coy maid, he found himself blushing as he was introduced as a new teacher to lukewarm applause from the students. Almost as if latching on to any familiar face for reassurance, he glanced to one side at Severus Snape. He didn't know if he imagined it, but he could have sworn he saw just the briefest flicker of fear in those dark eyes. He suppressed a shudder, swallowed down a wave of guilt and shame, and turned back to Dumbledore as the speech continued.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, the sound drowned out by a another round of applause at some other revelation. Silently, he vowed to use his time at Hogwarts to mend the old wounds and build some bridges; whether Severus wanted it or not.
~TBC~