Chapter 51: The Return of Remus

Never in either of his lives had Severus been so happy as the instant when Lily Evans pressed her lips to his in a loving gesture and then proceeded to hold his hair in her hands to ensure he didn't pull away out of nerves.

As if I would, he thought to himself, thinking of how he had longed for this moment for too long to even consider letting his nerves run away with him.

The kiss did end, however. Both Lily and Severus looked as red as the Gryffindor banners and flags, but Lily giggled with joy and Severus looked ready to cry with delight.

"Oh, by the way," whispered Lily teasingly, "I love you too, Severus Prince!"

Severus kissed her again, full of joy.

"You've no idea how long I have waited for this moment," he murmured softly, almost in a pained voice.

"Oh? How long?"

"…Since I first laid eyes on you," he said half-truthfully, "I have loved you upon first sight."

"Oh, Sev…"

The two friends gazed into one another, taking in every detail. There were no further words to follow. They both knew deep inside that they were made for each other, and this was just the beginning.

But sadly, reality had to cut in, and they heard footsteps coming from below.

"Could be that new caretaker, and he looked none too friendly. You'd better head back to the Ravenclaw dorm," whispered Lily.

"Alright, but we're continuing this first thing!"

"You betcha!"

With that mutual promise, Lily whispered the password again and the Fat Lady let her enter. Once the door closed, she turned to Severus with a blushing smile.

"You heard your new girlfriend, you'd best be getting back!"

"Oh, er, erm, yes!"

Severus moved swiftly yet silently, as had been his customary walk in his older days. He was able to get back to the Ravenclaw Common Room without any obstacle. Even Peeves wasn't around to catch him out and report him to Pringle.

Severus felt as though he had taken a dose of Felix Felicis as he entered his common room with no trouble or disturbance. However, once inside, he found himself being confronted by Quincey.

"Where have you been?" he asked suspiciously. "You've been gone for well over an hour!"

To Severus, it had felt like hours, maybe even days, but he was too blissful to care.

"I detoured…I felt that my grandad was disappointed that I didn't take the next step with Lily over Christmas…so I went to her common room and…"

"And?" asked the now-excited Quincey.

"We kissed and…said we…"

"That you love each other? Everyone knew that, Severus! Even the both of you did but were too shy to say it! It's about time!"

He hugged his friend's shoulder, an affection between friends that Severus still needed getting used to.

"Thanks, I think," he murmured.

"Now let's get you some sleep for your first morning as the boyfriend of Lily Evans!"

Severus couldn't help but grin at that label. He was so happy to be known as the "Boyfriend of Lily Evans" at last.

And apparently, Lily was very happy to be labelled as the "Girlfriend of Severus Prince" at last: the instant she had retreated into the common room, she rushed to Mary, who had been waiting with anticipation.

"He did it! He finally said he loved me!" she squealed.

Mary squealed just as highly and rushed up to cuddle her best friend.

"It's sooo about time!" she cried. "We've all been waiting for you two to get together! I can't believe he chose tonight! What made him do it?! Did you kiss?! Did you say you loved him back?! Men don't appreciate it when you don't reciprocate, you know!"

"He didn't want to waste any more time. Yes, yes! And when does anyone appreciate a lack of reciprocation?" asked Lily, with her eyes rolling sarcastically.

Before Mary could reply with an equally sarcastic gesture, James and Sirius joined in with celebrating the newfound relationship. But nobody seemed happier about Lily's joy than Mary was.

"We can go double dating! Maybe even after Hogwarts, a double wed-!"

"Woaaah! Not so fast!" screamed Lily.

"Whaaat?! I'm a romantic!" grinned Mary.

"And a loony if you ever say that in front of Quincey and Severus!" laughed James.

Lily had to agree.

After Mary and the other Gryffindors settled down, they went up to bed. James and Sirius went in last, only to find Remus was wide awake, sat on his bed, his legs swinging off, looking with a saddened expression at an empty and perfectly made bed. A bed that would not be needed anymore…the bed that once held Peter Pettigrew.

"Hey, pal…thought you were sleeping," said Sirius quietly.

"It's hard to," explained Remus, "he's never gonna snore in here again, guys. He's never gonna…"

"I know, mate," said James sadly, rubbing his friend's shoulder.

"He died so that we could all live on," added Sirius, "he will not want us to lose sleep over him. He knows we'll always love him and keep his memory alive."

Remus nodded.

"Can I, erm, make a suggestion?"

"Fire away, mate," said James.

"Well, I was wondering if…we could name the Map after him, to honour his memory?" asked Remus. "We will be using it to protect our secrets and to keep an eye out for danger after all. Just as he would have wanted. It just seems…appropriate, don't you think?"

"That's a great idea, Remus!" said James at last after a pause of consideration.

"We can call it Pettigrew's Map!" put in Sirius.

Remus nodded with a much more cheerful attitude.

"That would be wonderful," he whispered.

The three friends agreed, and due to the success of their Map, they performed a final charm on the index of the parchment, dubbing it, 'Pettigrew's Map.'

"Mission accomplished!" said James triumphantly.

"Let's show Severus!" said Sirius brusquely.

"Uh, mate, Severus is likely boasting of his Lily conquest to the Ravenclaws, plus it's the middle of the night," said James, "maybe tomorrow."

"Lily conquest?" asked Remus curiously.

"Oh yeah!" grinned James.

"You don't know yet," said Sirius.

And they gave Remus all the more reason to smile when they explained about Severus and Lily's newfound relationship…

The following morning was a breakfast of celebration for nearly all of the Gryffindors and some of the other Houses. As for the Union, they were the happiest of all. Severus and Lily kept silent about their relationship for now so as to let Remus' return hold the spotlight. And how they all went on. Remus was never given a moment's peace as he tried to digest his bacon, eggs and hash browns. Everybody from the Union wished to see him and tell him of how they were all so worried, how much he had missed and of how they were happy to have him back. The only one to show a lack of interest, or so it seemed, was Regulus.

Severus could see that Regulus still showed some distrust in Remus, and was acting just as determined as he had been once, trying to unearth Remus' secret. But he was now more determined that Regulus wouldn't make the same mistake he did, potentially more fatal. Fortunately, the creation of Pettigrew's Map rendered his fears to a lesser extreme.

At the end of breakfast, Sirius had a suggestion.

"We should have a party after dinner! We could celebrate Remus' recovery in style up in our common room!"

"That sounds great!" grinned Marlene.

"But what will we use for party food?" asked Melody.

"HA!" laughed James. "The elves love us in the kitchens and we also have our own little ways…"

He winked at Sirius as he said this, and Severus was sure that he was referring to his knowledge of the secret passage to Honeydukes.

"Sounds like a plan, can everyone make it?" asked Lily.

There were several nods and chants of agreement and confirmation.

"That's settled then, Remus! You're having a party, and it's not even your birthday! Lucky git!" guffawed Sirius.

Severus and Remus rolled their eyes in unison.

"We could also make it a celebration of Peter's life," suggested Remus modestly.

They all agreed cheerfully.

Regulus looked more eager to turn up, but Severus had a feeling that it wasn't down to the excitement of a party.

He decided that he would have a little less Butterbeer than the others and keep a close eye on the younger Black, that is if Melody never let go of his arm.

Severus was keen to attend the last class of the day, Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was still angered at Robin taking over the job due to Eileen's time of need in the mourning of Septimus.

In his defence, Robin proved to be a very capable teacher and certainly more friendly than both Murdoch and the fake Norton.

"In our next lesson, we will start the chapter on the Unforgivables, and we will have a practical demonstration on Boggarts in the second half. For homework, you are all to write ten inches of parchment on the weaknesses of Boggarts and Grindylows. Five inches on each. Class dismissed. Have a good dinner and sleep!"

As the class left, noting to each other their newfound fondness for Professor Kennedy, Severus marched defiantly towards his stepfather.

"Severus, keep your voice down," said Robin calmly.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" snapped Severus, ignoring his father figure.

"Teaching in Nott's place, Dumbledore asked me to not long after the battle."

"Tactful," replied Severus, his voice dripping with heavy sarcasm.

"I know you're not pleased-"

"Not pleased?!" fumed Severus. "No, I'm furious! You're supposed to be looking after Mum! Her mental health isn't the best after Tobias! She just lost her father! The father she had only just reunited with! And you're here, running away from her grief, leaving her alone to look after her mourning mother and run a business! You're a coward!"

This was strong coming from Severus, considering how much he had despised being branded as a coward himself in the past.

"Severus Prince, hold your tongue at once!"

Robin rarely showed such sternness and authority but when he did, it proved quite effective. He almost rivalled Dumbledore in the power of this rare show of negative emotion. It reminded Severus too strongly of the Headmaster, and he fell silent and listened to his stepfather, still angered but compliant.

"I did not do this with a light heart," assured Robin, "I told Dumbledore considering the impact the battle had on my wife's family in particular, I needed time to think his offer over and to see how dependant they'll be of me, as I'm naturally the least affected in the family by the tragedy of it all."

Severus listened, his anger slightly abating at Robin's promise that he had considered Eileen at the least.

"After Christmas, Eileen and I had a talk. She agreed that I go to Hogwarts, to keep an eye on you predominantly. She is scared that the Death Eaters will strike again. Cancelled trips or not, she isn't willing to take chances. She doesn't seem to trust Dumbledore for one reason or another."

Severus knew why as Eileen knew of how the original headmaster had treated him in his old life but didn't press the matter and allowed Robin to resume his story.

"So, we agreed that I would take charge with you here, while Eileen looks after her grandmother. Meanwhile, young Petunia has offered to do shifts at the Gobstones Inn. She just goes to our house then Floos there under Eileen's guidance. She only has to work at the counter, and we have the elves serving the meals. All is well on the business end. Eileen is dedicating herself to helping your nanny."

Severus nodded.

"We also made arrangements with Dumbledore," added Robin.

"Which are?"

"We're considering swapping places at the start of your fifth year," explained Robin, "Eileen wants to keep an eye on you too, so she offered to do the job in my place. Dumbledore was happy to oblige due to the curse on this Dark Arts position."

Severus was worried. His mother was hoping to come to Hogwarts for his fifth year…fifth…he wondered if part of her reasoning for this idea was to keep an eye on him and how he words things…after all, it was at the end of his fifth year when everything in his life went wrong. He also didn't like the idea of Eileen being far from her husband or her mother. She needed to hang on to as much time with Desdemona as possible, as she had already lost Septimus. Robin's schedule would leave little time to spend with his wife, and vice versa for if and when she took over the Defence Against the Dark Arts post in his place.

"I promise that nothing will change between your mother and I, Severus, and your grandmother is in good hands either way," assured Robin.

The classroom door knocked, and Robin was forced to dismiss his stepson.

Severus went on his way. He still felt some uncertainty about Eileen and Robin's current arrangements, but at the same time, he felt some relief to know that his family would be near, and safe at Hogwarts. On top of that, as two Defence Against the Darks teachers, Severus felt no concern about what these teachers would bring to the table, as he trusted both his mother and stepmother implicitly.

That evening, as planned, the Gryffindor common room became a party hall for Remus. He was paraded by his friends in the Union, given respectable welcomes by the other Gryffindors and was allowed a moment of silence so they could all remember the memory of his friend, Peter.

Severus sat with Lily the whole time, but they were not openly showing affection as they wished, hoping to keep their new love for one another under wraps. It wasn't long however before students, including Remus, began asking them if the rumours were true.

They confirmed to Remus, but avoided the subject with others, their blushes likely giving it away, nonetheless.

Severus found himself at an advantage of not being open with Lily at present, as he was keeping a fierce eye on Regulus throughout the celebration.

It was during the moment of silence for Peter's memory that Severus caught sight of Regulus attempting to sneak away from Melody, whose eyes among many others, were closed as though in prayer. He was headed for the fourth-year dormitories, clearly hoping to rifle through Remus' possessions for clues as to his secret.

Severus followed silently, so as not to ruin the moment for everyone else, and he was not going to let Regulus ruin everything for his friend either.

He let Regulus enter, then followed him inside, and locked the door behind them before speaking up as the party resumed, led by the cheering and Butterbeer-drunk James and Sirius down below.

"What are you doing, Reg?" he asked quite innocently.

Regulus was about to reach out for Remus' discarded schoolbag sat on his bed when he flinched in surprise at Severus' interruption.

"Just looking round," he replied with an equally innocent air, "not often can be said that a Slytherin knows what the Gryffindor dorms look like, and I read in the library that one cannot enter the girls' dorms."

"Tosh!"

"Huh?"

"You're full of tosh," said Severus more coolly this time, "you were trying to go through Remus' possessions."

"I-!"

"You think he's hiding something still," cut in Severus.

"Well, he is!" pouted Regulus childishly.

"Whether he is or isn't does not give you the right to invade his privacy, when the Union trusted you with access to this common room!" snapped Severus, some of his old years as a teacher kicking in, giving him powerful authority in his voice.

Regulus, for his credit, did look abashed under Severus' cold manner, but he still stood his ground stubbornly, like a true Slytherin.

"You may think that way, Prince, but something is going on with that guy, and ill or not, I am going to find out what he's hiding!"

He stomped crossly out of the room and blended back in with the crowd. Only two people knew something was up apart from Severus: Lily and Melody. Both of their boyfriends disappeared mysteriously and returned at relatively the same time, both looking disgruntled.

And disgruntled was what Severus was. Regulus knew what a hard time Remus had gone through, and yet he was still determined to out him and his secrets. Making him a true Union member was becoming more and more difficult.

He could only thank Merlin that people like Melody existed. She was too kind by half to be considered Dark by any means.

If only he could divulge Remus' secrets to her, she'd keep Regulus in order, but as he could not, he'd have to settle with telling James and Sirius what had just occurred when they were not on such a sugar high the following day.

A/N: So sorry for these late updates. It's hard to focus on the story when I'm working. Plus I recently attended my graduation ceremony! So happy to be a graduate! Anyway, here's the next chapter. Sorry if it's too small or boring. I hope to update sooner next time, but I cannot promise anything. Chapter 52 coming soon! Please review! Thank you for reading!