DISCLAIMER: I'm not Just Kidding when I say I'm not J.K.(R.)

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Chapter Eight

"Hell no," replied Severus, feeling winded and vulnerable. He felt the spots of red rise on his cheeks, and he tried to scowl even as his facial muscles willed him to smile with embarrassment. "No. Not at all."

"Methinks he doth protest too much," Lupin whispered, a sloppy grin appearing on his face. Snape wanted to slap him.

"Ladies, ladies," Sirius said from across the room, "what on earth are you gossiping about?"

"None of your bloody business, Black," Snape replied coldly. "Nor any of yours either, Lupin."

"Remus...do call me Remus. I'm your ally, you know."

"I won't believe it until I see it."

"Well," Lupin said, "what choice do you have but to believe it? Otherwise, you're rather alone, aren't you?"

Snape snarled. "Your arrogance is disgusting, Lupin. First, why do I even have to believe that what you say about Dumbledore turning against me is even true? You might be trying to turn me against my only benefactor as some sort of a prank."

The werewolf appeared truly hurt at this suggestion. "Severus, this isn't a prank. And whenever have I been part of anything that James and Sirius did to you?"

Disregarding this insertion, Severus merely sneered, "Second, how are you to know that Dumbledore's turning against me wouldn't be the motivation I need to turn back to the Death Eaters? They wouldn't have betrayed me so quickly as Dumbledore seems to have done. I'm not disposable, not to the Dark Lord."

"That's not what we're trying to make you do!" Lupin cut in, appalled at the very suggestion. "Severus, do be reasonable! I...I personally am thrilled that you've come to your senses. For so long you've been a lost soul--the last thing we want is for you to bolt away as soon as you've rejoined the flock!"

At that, Sirius snorted from his corner. "Don't pay him no mind, Snape. He's got this religious bee in his bonnet lately, what with all this death going on 'round here."

"Sirius! Cut that out!" So saying, Lupin sighed. "All right, Severus. I can understand why you might have doubts. How can I convince you of our veracity?"

"Your veracity, Moony. I take no part in this," interjected Sirius coldly, throwing himself over the backboard of the couch and landing in a sprawl on the seat.

Lupin sighed again, clearly aggrieved. "All right, my veracity?"

In response, Severus shook his head. "I...I'd like to talk to Dumbledore," he said, determined to hear his side. Maybe it's not as bad as they're making it out to be. Maybe they misunderstood Dumbledore, somehow. Maybe Dumbledore has another spy in the Death Eaters...

He knew this to be impossible, though.

"Why are you so impatient that I accept you as an ally, though?" he challenged, looking at Lupin closely. The werewolf shrugged, calmer since Snape apparently wasn't striking out all possibilities yet. "Is it just because I'm a 'lost soul?'"

This was a question that Lupin was ready to answer.

"Partially," he said, "though not the main reason. First...I really don't think you're a bad chap, Snape, and I regret the fact that we've never gotten on well."

"In other words," Snape sneered, his voice approaching a whisper, "you're guilty for not helping me when Black, Potter, and Pettigrew ganged up on me while we were in school."

"Well..." Lupin tried to evade the honest answer, but his eyes belied his discomfort. "...Somewhat."

Snape sat back, satisfied. "Continue," he replied, returning to his shield of objectivity.

"Second," Lupin continued, "you've got so many skills that we could use, in this war, that it'd really not be good to have on the other side, you understand? Cunning. Talent. Strength. You also think like...well, you think like a Slytherin, and since the majority of our enemy is Slytherin, it makes sense that we take more Slytherins on our side. That way we better know how to defeat them, you understand."

"Oh, isn't that a load of tosh!" crowed Black with a roar of laughter. "Don't be deceived, Snape! The real reason he's bein' a kiss-arse is because he's got assigned a suicide mission, and he wants someone to come along and be his nanny!"

"Sirius, stop being immature!" exclaimed Lupin, taking a turn for the furious.

"Yes, Black," repeated Severus, a sly grin coming on his face, "stop being immature." Nonetheless, he was glad to have this new information under his belt. "But, I must ask, is any of that true, Lupin?"

Appearing disgruntled, though not overly so, Lupin sighed. "Well...I was...well...I was hoping." He buried his head in his hands. "I was going to do it with Sirius--"

"--and I would do it!--" interrupted Sirius gallantly.

"--but Dumbledore's said that he's got to stay at Grimmauld Place for now, at least until this matter with the memory is cleared up. No sooner than that. And, at the same time, Dumbledore wants him to stay and protect Lily and little Harry."

"So," Snape asked, trying to piece their spotty reasoning together, "where does that involve me?"

Sirius snorted, and Lupin sighed again. (A habit he seemed to be making a new hobby of.)

"I know this sounds really...presumptuous on my part..." Lupin began, "but...if, as I suppose, you wouldn't hurt the Potters, for such a reason as I've already brought up, then I can take for granted that you didn't contribute to the attack on the Potters, and then it stands to reason that someone else did, and you're a convenient victim who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, simply framed. By whom, I have no idea, but I don't like the suspects on the table."

"And whom are they?" Snape asked.

Lupin looked a little sick. "I...well, there aren't that many, are there?" he said, "At least, not many that could have been responsible for putting the memory in James' head. First there's James, then Lily, then Healer Pomfrey, then...well...the attackers...but, it seems to me, there's only one real possibility: Dumbledore."

"Hm!" replied Snape incoherently. I didn't think of that. But why would he want to do me in?

"In any case," Lupin said, "based on whom you're up against...well, it just looks too unfair. So, I was supposing, since I'm assigned to go on a mission on the Continent, to search for the wandmaker called Gregorovitch. However, as I'm told by Dumbledore, the man's retired and in hiding in one of the most dangerous regions of Romania. And, there's apparently a party of You-Know-Who that's out there with the same mission. The chances of me surviving are higher than Sirius projects, but there is a risk involved."

"Admittedly," Sirius said, turning strangely pensive, "I myself would feel safer if you went with him, Snape. Now that...now that James isn't much more than...well...Remus is my best mate now, and possibly my only mate, now with Peter being missing and all. I still don't trust you, and I still think you're a git...but if Remus trusts you, then hell, it's better than him going alone."

"What do I get out of it?" Snape asked, though he was beginning to understand what they were getting at.

Remus appeared pained, but determined. "Severus, you get a free and anonymous Portkey out of England--no one has to know you've gone, not even Dumbledore--and a chance to avoid a long life at Azkaban. Better free to be free in a place like hell, they say, than living under lock and key in a place like heaven."

Snape saw several major flaws in the plan, but he only addressed the biggest one. "So, what if we arrive in Romania and I ditch you in the forest for dead?"

Remus shrugged. "Well, then I'll be a little bit worse off, but I'll also have done my good deed for the day."

There's got to be another catch, Snape thought, but he didn't feel like there was one. Of course, he realized unhappily, I'll probably never see Lily again if I decide to stay in Romania.

"Let me talk to Dumbledore, and see where I stand with him," he replied slowly, "and, if his case against me is really as dire as you say...well...I'll consider your generous offer very carefully...Remus."

The werewolf's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"Thanks, Severus," he said gratefully. "I don't have the portkey yet, but I'm scheduled to leave on the third. Is that all right?"

"Yes," Snape replied, feeling ashamed that the man's incessant politeness made him feel even more beholden.

After this, Remus stood up, and Sirius followed.

"I'll contact you once I've talked to Dumbledore," Snape replied. "By the way, Remus...exactly how much do you trust Dumbledore?"

"With everything," answered Black, but Lupin's less hasty answer was more thoughtful:

"Less than I trust you, Severus."

What on earth does he mean by that? Severus wondered.

They exchanged Floo numbers, and soon the two Marauders were gone.

How strange all this is, Severus thought, and he sat down to contemplate the strange course of events.