Chapter 21

Snape returned to his office later that evening annoyed. Despite his protestations, Albus had hired Lupin, one of his childhood nemeses, for the position that he coveted. He hated that...that werewolf! Lupin had almost killed him once when he'd been transformed. His friend's idea of a joke.

Snape sat down at his desk, fuming. He needed to get his mind off of it. He needed to work. It was almost time to work on the Wolfsbane. He started to gather ingredients and supplies when there was a crack. A house elf carrying Wendy's teddy bear appeared.

"Kitty is sorry, Master Snape. Kitty thought Miss Wendy might be here," the elf said. "Kitty found this in the Great Hall."

"You can give it to me, Kitty. Gwendolyn will be here soon."

"Very good, sir," the elf said. It placed the bear on his desk, bowed, and disappeared.

Snape stared at the thing for a moment, then picked it up. Stuffed animals was a foreign concept to him. This one in particular was dirty, torn and covered in what he suspected was dried wolf spit. And it smelled terrible.

He pulled out his wand and set to work. He cleaned it first so it didn't stink. Then he repaired the small tears and holes. The color was faded as well so he did a colour-Changing charm. He made the whites whiter, the dark parts darker and the red redder.

There was a knock on the door and he started.

"Come in," he said.

Wendy walked in, grinning happily. Somehow this annoyed him. That she was so happy after spending time with Lupin.

"Hi Snape," she said brightly. He grunted.

"An elf brought you this," he said, holding the toy out to her.

"Is that...Toby?" she said. "What did...you do?"

"I fixed it. It smelled bad," he said, feeling anxious, although he didn't show it. She didn't seem pleased.

"Well...thanks," she muttered.

"Let's get to work on the potion," he said, feeling annoyed now. He'd tried to do something nice and she didn't like it. Stupid Lupin could make her happy but he couldn't.

Wendy put the bear on his desk facing them, then they got started on the potion.

"Did you go to school with Lupin?" she asked after a while. "You're the same age."

"Yes," he said through clenched teeth.

"What's with the hostility? You don't like him?"

"Not at all. We were...not friends," he said.

"Did you know he was a werewolf?"

"Of course. I'm not an idiot, like your classmates. Anyway I do not wish to talk about it. Or him. Or anything, really."

She frowned and went back to the potion in silence.

"What did you and Lupin talk about?" he asked after a while. He wanted to know.

"I thought we weren't talking?" she said smartly. He glared at her. Sarcastic little witch, he thought to himself, amused.

"We talked about werewolf stuff," she said with a shrug. "And we want to be friends."

"Great," he said darkly.

When they finished working on the potion for the evening, Wendy picked the bear up off his desk and hugged it.

"Thank you for fixing my Toby. I think I do like him better this way," she said.

"Oh? You're...You are welcome," he said, feeling pleased with himself.

"He smells better," she said, hugging the bear tightly. "Night Snape."

"Goodnight Gwendolyn."

When the girl left he went to his room and got ready for bed. He felt tired...but when he lay down, all he could think about was Wendy. And Lupin. Together. Talking...becoming friends...fucking. He could picture it clearly. He knew the contours of her body from years of working with her, spending time with her, watching her... Lying in bed was the only time he allowed himself to think about such things. Even though he knew it was wrong.

He could picture her breasts, a respectable D-cup, and perky. He imagined touching them, kissing them, running his hands down her body... His hands traveled down to his rock hard cock and began stroking it.

God help me, he thought to himself, then returned to thoughts of parting her thighs, thrusting inside of her...but then it wasn't him, but Lupin on top of her, fucking her.

"Damn it!" he growled, pounding the bed in frustration.

Stupid Lupin, goody two-shoes Lupin, smelly wolf man, flirting with the girl, his girl, right in front of him...

He sat up in bed, glaring into the darkness. He couldn't believe this was happening again. After Lily. Not that he had a chance with Wendy. She was a student, his student, his charge...but he cared about her. And that meant he didn't want Lupin anywhere near her. He was dangerous.

He knew that thinking about Lupin as a dangerous werewolf was ridiculous. He was no more dangerous than Wendy, with the Wolfsbane Potion. He growled in frustration again and threw the nearest object – a candlestick – at the wall.

This was ridiculous, he thought. He got out of bed and pulled on his pants. He needed to blast something.

Snape made his way out onto the grounds. The moon was bright. Only half full but still bright enough to see by. He went down by the lake, knowing he was less likely to be bothered there. With a wave of his wand, he set a flock of yellow canaries flying over the lake. Then he blasted one right out of the air. It exploded in an array of feathers, sending the rest of the flock scattering.

He Stupefied three of them in quick succession, exploded another two...the last one he missed. It fluttered away over the lake.

"Fuck," he said loudly.

"Hello to you, too, Severus," said a voice. He whirled around to see Lupin standing there.

"You," he growled, sparks shooting from the tip of his wand. "What do you want?"

"You can lower your wand. I'm not here for a fight."

"Then you shouldn't be here. You should not be at Hogwarts."

"Dumbledore asked me," Lupin replied. "I'd like to make amends, Severus. We were kids."

"Then leave. It would not be an issue at all if you left."

"I can't do that, Severus. I don't exactly have the luxury of turning down jobs."

"Obviously," he said with a sneer, eying his shabby robes.

"Okay," Lupin said with a sigh. "You aren't ready to talk. That's okay. I'm not going to – will you put your wand down?"

Snape glanced down to see red sparks shooting from the tip. He lowered it with a growl.

"I am not going to be anything but amiable to you, Severus. I hope we can put the past behind us. ...I'll leave you alone," Lupin said, turning to go.

"...Stay away from the girl," Snape said darkly.

"Wendy? Uh...I can't do that. Amiability doesn't extend that far. I like her and she needs a friend. Someone who understands what she's going through."

"I am her friend," he snarled, unable to help it.

"Maybe," Lupin said with a small smile. "Maybe you are a bit abrasive. Maybe she needs someone a bit warmer."

Snape said nothing but glared.

"Goodnight Severus."

One of the canaries flew above his head as Lupin walked away. With a flick, Snape blasted it out of the air. Lupin didn't so much as flinch.