For iheartbowie who requested (1) fic based on the lyrics to 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman.

I've never really written song!fic before so I kinda just made it work for me. It's not i quite/i canon, but it's close. Think of it more as vignettes of Sev and Remus' relationship.

I am not now nor have I ever been JKR. I don't suppose it'll happen in the future either. Therefore I get nothing from them.

Remus was numb.

It felt like his heart had been ripped out, leaving only a gapping hole behind and all his feelings had drained out onto the scorched ground around him.

James…

Lily…

Poor Peter…

…and iSirius?!/i How could he have not known? Yeah, recently his friendship with Sirius (and James) had had some iproblems/i but… this? How could they have missed ithis/i?

So Remus was numb.

He hadn't moved in hours, not since he'd gotten the owl and dashed off to the Hollow (which, the simple fact that he knew where he was going…) He didn't know what else to do, what else he icould/i do, so he just stayed on his knees where he'd collapsed when his legs had decided they didn't feel like holding him up anymore. Stayed where he'd dropped in the charred remains of what had been, until late last night, James&Lily's front garden.

James…

Lily…

iYou got a fast car

I want a ticket to anywhere

Maybe we can make a deal

Maybe together we can get somewhere/i

Remus had no idea how long he'd been sitting there before he was interrupted. He was vaguely aware of some type of ministry people at first, he was pretty sure he'd carried on a very long conversation with Dumbledore, but they were all gone now. In fact the last noise he'd heard had been a low rumbling kind of sound but it had stopped a few minutes ago and --anyway-- wasn't interesting enough to capture his attention.

"Get up Lupin." That voice, coinciding with the heavy hand that dropped on Remus' shoulder took him by complete surprise. (He would later swear he jumped iat least/i three feet.)

Remus found himself abruptly on his feet i Did I land on my feet after that jump?/i and pulled into a solid (if a bit stiff) chest, strong arms wrapping around him.

"Severus," he sighed.

"Come along, we need to get you out of here." Severus said, releasing Remus and striding away without waiting to see if Remus would follow. He did.

iAnyplace is better

Starting from zero got nothing to lose

Maybe we'll make something

But me myself I got nothing to prove/i

"You have a car?" To say Remus was shocked was an understatement; he was dumbfounded. i And a /inicei car at that./i

"Certainly. How else should I get around?" /iSometimes/i Remus reflected, i it is impossible to tell whether this man is being sarcastic ('cuz Severus Snape doesn't /ijokei –ever.)/i

"Where are we going then?" Remus asked once he and Snape had gotten in the sleek, black, (iof course/i) convertible and were speeding off to who-knows-where.

"You obviously need something to do now," Severus started, tactful as ever. Remus swallowed hard against the memories. "And I have a flat in the city where you can stay. So long as you can restrain yourself from pawing through my things, of course."

iYou got a fast car

And I got a plan to get us out of here

I been working at the convenience store

Managed to save just a little bit of money

We wont have to drive to far

Just over the border and into the city

You and I can both get jobs

And finally see what it means to be living/i

c * * */c

iYou see my old man's got a problem

He lives with the bottle that's the way it is

He says his body's too old for working

I say his body's too young to look like his

My mama went off and left him

She wanted more form life than he could give

I said somebody's got to take car of him

So I quit school and that's what I did/i

"Severus?" Remus asked. "Are you awake?"

A distinct "No." emerged from the lump of sheets and duvet beside Remus.

"Oh. Well then I'm sure you're not interested in the owl on the footboard."

Owls were a rare occasion in Remus and Severus' flat; mostly because neither of them really had anyone who would be inclined (or able) or owl. Most of Snape's old friends were in Azkaban, dead, or --like Lucius—not likely to talk unless they needed something. Granted, that meant they saw Lucius at least once or twice a month….

And any of Remus' correspondents were also either dead or in Azkaban. Plus, what with their not being anyone whose business it was, no one had been informed where Remus was living these days. The owl was probably for Severus, then.

Severus had dug his way out of his warm cocoon to take the letter from the drab brown owl perched on the footboard of the rather tatty old bedstead. He tore the envelope open and quickly scanned its contents.

"He's dead." There was almost no inflection in Severus' voice just the slightest hint of…. Happiness?

"What?! Who's dead?" Ok, so Remus imay/i have overreacted a bit, but death didn't usually bring good news in his experience.

"My father."

"And that's good?"

Yes! He was a useless, jobless, nothing. After my mother left he spent the last few years living in a bottle, I ended up having to drop out of university for my Potions Mastery to take care of him. But it seems he's finally drunk himself to death."

"So what does this mean?" Remus asked, unable to keep the hope out of his voice. He had wondered why Severus had dropped out of university, but now…

"It means that I get to call up that twit Bidderseed and tell him exactly where he can shove his 'procedures' and 'company regulations' and we can go iwherever/i we want."

iYou got a fast car

But is it fast enough so we can fly away

We gotta make a decision

We leave tonight or live and die this way/i

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Let's go."

iI remember we were driving driving in your car

The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay our before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder

And I had a feeling that I belonged

And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

But is it fast enough so you can fly away

You gotta make a decision

You leave tonight or live and die this way/i

*AN:* yeah, I know I skipped a verse but I wanted it to have a happy ending! ~~Happy Christmas~~