AN: Apologies for the horrendously long wait for this chapter. I could bombard you with excuses but I won't, because if I'm honest I've just been being a bit lazy. I wish I could also give you a more substantial (in many ways) chapter, but as it is, I thought it was probably better just to get something out. I won't keep you waiting as long next time though, I promise. I'm going to write up an extra long 'previously' section because unless you have unbelievably good memories, I'd imagine you have no idea what's going on. Thanks again for reading and reviewing; it's wonderful to hear what you all think, and any criticism really does make a difference, particularly in the editing process. Hope you all enjoy it.

Previously on The Teacher: Remus, after getting a job as a teacher at Harry's primary school discovers Harry's misery and abuse at the hands of the Dursley's. With the help of a bottle of vodka, he removes Harry using magic. Perfectly reasonably, Harry is pretty terrified at this turn of events so Remus has to explain magic to him as well as his relationship with his parents. After a long conversation, Harry is convinced that he would rather live with Remus in the the Shrieking Shack and learn about this new world he's just been introduced to than with the Dursleys. Remus realises that the Shrieking Shack is not a secure location and needs a secret keeper. The only option available to him is Snape so he invokes the life debt Snape owes James, and by extension Harry, in order to force Snape to protect Harry and become secret keeper. Remus and Harry have their first night in the shack, in which Remus gives the place a bit of a makeover, including Harry's first bedroom. It becomes increasingly clear though that Remus is going to have to leave the shack and get the sort of supplies magic can't supply.

The next morning found a tense and sleep deprived Remus facing off with an equally tense Snape in the shack's living room, if it could really be called that.

"Absolutely not."

Remus had not entered the discussion with particularly high hopes but he couldn't deny the swoop of disappointment he felt as Severus Snape, in no uncertain terms, told him to bugger off.

"An hour. Not a minute more. Please, Severus-" He pleaded, unwilling to give up so easily.

"I said no, Lupin, and I meant it." Snape responded, black cloak swinging dramatically as he turned, already stalking out of the shack.

He was not prepared to give up there though. Pained though he was to admit it, he needed Snape and was not going to let him flounce out of the room with no argument.

"Severus, please! You have to-" He begged, placing a hand on Snape's shoulder to halt his exit.

The man spun so quickly Remus barely had time to register it before he was upon him, managing to loom alarmingly over the lycanthrope despite being a couple of inches shorter.

"No." He hissed "I don't have to do anything. This is your scheme. It was not me who got blind drunk and took a child from his family. It was not me who brought him to this forsaken hellhole. It was you, Lupin, and as such, this is your problem."

Snape's eyes were flashing with fury, so much so that Remus felt compelled to take a step back, completely unprepared for the visceral anger suddenly directed at him.

Rather deserved anger if Remus was honest with himself. He had after all asked Severus Snape to keep an eye on Harry while he went out to buy the sort of things a home with young child needed. If Remus were to compile a list of potential babysitters for Harry Potter, Severus Snape would rank somewhere in the high billions. Unfortunately there was no other choice, which was something of a testament to the mess Remus had got himself and Harry into. If Snape would not keep an eye on Harry for an hour, Remus was out of options.

"I know. Believe me I know. But it's one hour. I understand you're not obliged to do anything for me or Harry but you are the only person I can ask and this is something that I must do. One hour. Just one hour."

Snape looked incredulous.

"It's not just one hour, Lupin. If it were just one hour I would consider your request."

"What?" asked Remus, genuinely confused. "I'm going to the shops Severus, I really won't be long."

"You misunderstand me. What you've asked for is a precedent. A precedent that I will look after Potter's brat while your away, which at the very least will be once a month, a detail you've apparently forgotten. This I will not do."

Of course Remus had thought about the full moon. It prayed on his mind, never far from the forefront of his thoughts. That didn't mean he had any clue what he was going to do with Harry when that inevitable night rolled in. He couldn't leave Harry on his own, certainly not, but equally he couldn't transform in the shack with him, not if he wanted Harry to survive the night.

Snape's finger jabbed him in the chest.

"This is exactly why you weren't allowed the boy in the first point. You are an unfit guardian at the best of times and I don't think the wizarding world will particularly appreciate you eating their saviour."

Remus slapped his hand away, not in the mood to beg anymore.

"Will you shut up?" Remus seethed, listening intently for any signs of Harry being awake and having overheard Snape's brutal words.

Realisation dawned on Snape's face, his jaw tightening in anger.

"The boy doesn't know?" Snape was livid.

"Of course he doesn't bloody know." Remus exploded, "He's six! He'd be terrified; he's only just learnt magic is real. How do you think he'd react if he found I was..." Remus lowered his voice to a whispered hiss, "a werewolf?"

The thought of Harry learning of his condition terrified Remus more than he cared to admit. For some reason, despite all that had happened to Harry because of Remus, the boy looked at him with something approaching trust and affection. He'd become so used to the cold glares and the swiftly dropped eye contact that Harry's wide, though not as innocent as it should be, gaze felt like something truly special. The thought of those big green eyes filling with fear, no longer able to look at him, made him feel physically ill.

Snape's perceptive gaze saw Remus' fears flit across his face and some of the anger fell from his voice though none of the vitriol.

"Lupin... What do you think is going to happen here? You are living alone with the boy. Of course he's going to find out. All of this- everything you've done here, it's not for Potter's well being, it's for your own. You are an impoverished werewolf, with neither the ability nor the means to look after a child. He will not be happy with you. Do him a favour and take him home."

Remus had been studying his feet for most of Snape's speech, in full agreement, but at his final statement his head shot up.

"No. He will not go back there."

"Why? How bad can things be that he's better off here in this crumbling relic of a misspent youth with you?"Snape responded, gesturing to their miserable surroundings.

"He was bullied-" Remus began.

"Lots of people are bullied. It doesn't mean anything's done about it."

Snape's black eyes stared straight through him.

Remus remembered a hot summer day by the lake with his friends, James and Sirius hoisting Snape up by his ankles while Peter looked on, the air full of cruel laughter. He sat by a tree staring furiously at a book, desperately pretending not to notice what his friends were up to. Doing nothing about it.

Coward.

He couldn't just leave it there.

"Let me finished Severus. He was bullied by his entire family. More than bullied in fact. His cousin torments him relentlessly and his uncle... When I got to the house he had Harry by the collar, he was threatening him with a belt. I couldn't leave him. I couldn't walk away from that."

Snape went still.

Remus remembered another day, his first at Hogwarts. He stood nervously on the platform, small and skinny, his father's hand resting proudly on his shoulder. The comforting weight didn't help much though as he pulled his sleeves over his hands, hiding the deep scars that patterned his skin and the bruises that extended up his arms. He was to be the first werewolf at Hogwarts. His parents had been so happy but he couldn't stop the desperate fear that had taken root deep inside him that someone would find out what he was. He knew he couldn't make friends because if he got too close to people they'd know, they'd have to know. In a way he wished there was someone like him, so he wouldn't always have to hide himself. The whistle had blown loudly then, forcing him from his gnawing worries, and after the bestowment of kisses and hugs from his parents he made his way onto the train, lugging his baggage with him. He glanced into a cabin on his way down the train. An unfriendly looking boy with greasy black hair, as small and skinny as him, was hoisting a bag onto the luggage rack. His sleeves fell to his elbows in the process, revealing arms almost as bruised as Remus' own. The boy saw him looking and balked; Remus hurried on down the train. He wondered whether he'd found another werewolf at Hogwarts.

Snape, no longer a small boy, stared at him, searching for something in his face. After what seemed an eternity he seemed to have found what he was looking for.

"One hour." he said.

AN: Thanks again for reading!