...the wind that shakes the barley well it rattles in my bones. I wake up with a hunger but for what I do not know. I know somewhere it matters and there's got to be a reason why I feel this way with you... you've given me so much to believe in.

Chapter Two

Snape gazed at Lupin with eyes that were confused and questioning, until finally the realization struck him in all its hideousness. "You do realize that was entirely your fault." As Snape was convinced that it was. Had Lupin not started an onslaught of questions his need leave the room wouldn't have reached such levels of urgency as would cause him to make such a blunder. Yes, Lupin was to blame.

Remus could not have expected less from Severus Snape. "Of course it is, Severus." Remus smiled gently, the way one would at a small child. "Mind telling me why?"

"You and your idiotic questions, Lupin, as you are well aware!" Snape spat back, his beetle black eyes flashing malevolently.

"And what, exactly, was so idiotic about my questions?"

Snape's face twisted into an expression of astonishment and loathing. "Your need to have everyone like you Lupin truly is repulsive. Honestly, what makes you think that I could ever possibly like someone like you. The notion is beyond preposterous!"

"Perhaps you ought to be the one to have your hearing checked after we get out of here?" Remus asked, shrugging. "I never suggested such a thing, Severus. I said, if you may recall, I rather liked you. After all, in the very least it would be indecent of me not to. Of course, you try to ruin that image every time you open your mouth, but I rather think it is expected of you. At any rate," he continued, voice only a little colder now, "you have expressed your feelings well enough that even an ignorant beast such as myself could manage to comprehend. Do not fear, I've no lingering doubts about your disgust."

"Well, I'm glad we finally understand each other." Snape replied coolly, his face expressionless as he retook his seat and picked up the magazine he had declined to read earlier.

An hour had passed as the two men sat in silence. Snape had managed to prolong his scanning of the magazine by staring blindly at the pictures as they danced before his eyes without really seeing them at all. Refocusing, he slowly lifted his gaze apprehensively in Lupin's direction. He was busying himself marking some papers that he had brought along with him earlier. Watching as Lupin's brow furrowed in concentration, Snape found himself strangely fascinated as the other Professor's expressions changed as his eyes read over the pieces of parchment laid on the table before him. Willing himself to look away, he tried to avert his gaze from the eyes that twinkled with pride, and occasionally surprise, as Lupin's hands deftly scribbled his comments in reply to the assignments.

Shaking his head, Snape cleared his throat as he stood and walked back towards the refreshment table. Being in such close quarters for an extended period with Lupin had begun to take its toll on him. For a brief moment he found himself wondering what it would be like to have those same eyes upon him, looking at him with the same joy and pride as he had seen. For one split second, Snape found himself wanting to be liked by Lupin, and it annoyed him greatly. Scowling, he poured himself some more juice as he walked back towards the door. "I wonder how the students managed to get past the Gargoyles at the door. Usually they are rather adept at preventing them from getting so close."

"They do it in groups. The girls usually distracted the Gargoyles while the boys do whatever it is they are going to do."

Nodding, Snape turned and faced Lupin, staring him squarely in the eye. "That would make sense. What doesn't make sense is why no-one has come to check on us."

"We can't get out, they can't get in. The students didn't mean to do so; they only meant to cast a few spells to spook anyone with superstitions. From what I heard, either one or all of the three boys failed to remind the girl that it was Friday the Thirteenth. She became scared, tried to reverse the spell, and here we are. No doubt Dumbledore knows what, who and why, and I have little doubt he is amused by it. "

"I see." Bringing the goblet to his lips again, Snape's eyes never left Lupin's. "So then it is certain that we will be spending a great deal of time here together. As unfavorable as I am sure it is for both of us, we may as well pass the time as best we can. You can do so by telling me more about what happened after you received your bite." It was not a question, Snape rarely asked anyone to do anything. Retaking his seat, he turned slightly so that his body was facing Lupin.

'Can I indeed?' Remus thought with some amusement. He put the papers aside and folded his hands, trying not to show that he indeed was amused and a bit unnerved by Snape's unwavering gaze. "What, precisely, would you like to know?"

"Everything," came Snape's simple reply.

This time Remus was unable to control his surprise but to his credit, he recovered quickly. "Very well then. There is not very much else to say; most of it is rather dull. After the nurse told me about Matt, I became angry. I told her she was wrong or lying. Alienating the one person that would speak to me was a mistake on my part, but I refused to believe her. I stayed at St. Mungo's for several weeks, undergoing tests of all sorts. No one would listen to me when I said Matt was alive, and I was told in the interest of my health, I should drop it."

He paused, running a hand down his face at the memory. Snape merely nodded, an indicator he wasn't finished listening. Remus straightened and continued. "We looked for him for the next several years. We found nothing; no one would talk once they found out what we wanted. We stopped actively searching when I came to Hogwarts. My parents, although never giving up hope or will, had exhausted all means of search they had." He shrugged again. "That's pretty much all there is to tell."

"Tell me more of the searching."

Remus frowned. "We searched. We asked. We went places, asked questions, and... searched. More often then not someone would come by and offer 'friendly' advice, telling us it was better to forget it. 'Your boy was attacked by a werewolf and disappeared? You're better off leaving him to die than raising a savage monster! Be grateful you have one normal boy left to raise!'" Remus mimicked the voices perfectly. "After my mother hexed a group of men who had said something similar, we learned it would be wiser to not ask questions. We researched the area, the legends, checked towns, and orphanages in both the muggles' world and ours. We watched the news, read papers, went on discreet trips. Never did we learn anything to tell us that Matt hadn't died."

"Except of course for the lack of body which is customary in confirming the death of someone is it not?" Snape's tone wasn't unkind, merely analytical. Lupin's story had presented him with a mystery, and Snape found himself inexplicably drawn to it accompanied by a strong desire to have it solved.

"They said the werewolf ate Matt. A possible theory, given that most people believe that sort of thing," Remus said evenly, brow raised.

"Yes, but even if that were true, it wouldn't consume the entire body Lupin as you should be well aware. There would still be remnants to indicate that this was indeed the case."

"Indeed. No one else cared if it was a less than satisfactory answer however, so we were left to our own devises. However, in that area, it rains a lot and the wind blows a lot. We searched often and found nothing."

Rubbing his chin between his thumb and forefinger, Snape nodded once more. "I see. What became of your parents after your admittance to Hogwarts?"

"They searched still, for years afterward."

"And I take it that their endeavors were fruitless."

"They found nothing to confirm our beliefs, no."

Waving his wand, Snape floated the pitcher of pumpkin juice over to the table, evidently tired of standing to refill his glass. "Are you sure you wouldn't care for a refreshment?"

"A glass of juice would be nice, thank you." Remus waited for Snape to pour, grateful for the chance to stand and retrieve the glass, getting him out from under Snape's stare. He returned to his seat, unsurprised his hands were shaking.

This fact hadn't escaped Snape's notice, as few things generally do. "Is something the matter Lupin?"

This time Remus didn't bother to hide his surprised at Snape's questioning. "No, I'm fine. It's just been a while since I've spoken of it is all," he said with a shrug.

"I see. When exactly was the last time you spoke of it?"

"Not since my parents died... so almost twenty-six years ago," Remus said quietly.

Snape swallowed slightly louder than normal as he took another sip from his goblet; the only sign that he may have been the slightest bit surprised. "What, may I ask, happened to them?"

"They were searching for any leads on Matthew near where we had been camping that night, when a gale-force storm hit. They didn't survive."

Snape was puzzled. His brow furrowed, he leant slightly closer to Lupin. "Exactly what happened to them?"

"The storm hit without warning while they were sleeping. They would not have even had a chance to grab their wands. They were in a muggle camping area as to avoid the people from our world that would know why they were there and what they were looking for, so they did not even have the luxury of wards or magical protection. They, along with a few other families near by, were killed by the resulting storm and debris."

Snape lowered his eyes, reluctant to allow Lupin to see the compassion that would surely be betrayed by his gaze. It wasn't in his nature to be so, especially not with someone he had no regard for. Death, however tragic, was a natural part of life and one that he himself had accepted long ago, however something about Lupin's tale touched him and he couldn't fully explain why. "You were still in school at this time I take it."

"Yes. It happened at the beginning of our sixth year."

Clearing his throat, Snape raised his eyes to Lupin's once more. "You mentioned that when you searched people wouldn't talk to you, I take it you carried out your own search following graduation."

"Indeed I did. Which got me almost no where, as you know already."

"Almost no where? You did make some progress then?"

Remus paused, tilting his head to the side slightly. "I am not sure if one could call it progress. It could be nothing more than pure coincidence, but I found a letter at an old house, a house I'd been directed to by someone. The letter read 'John, I'm sorry. R.M.' It wasn't much, but to me it was a possibility."

Snape blinked several times, trying to make sense of what Lupin had said and see the connection. Infuriated that he couldn't, he eventually shrugged and conceded defeat. "I fail to see the connection Lupin."

"Forgive me, I'm not that great of a story teller," Remus said with an apologetic smile. "The house was one of the few places I'd been able to trace someone similar to Matt's physique and age to, that fit the oddness and remoteness. R.M. were Matt's initials, and he was the only one that ever called me John."

"I see, it makes perfect sense now. Working on the assumption that it was indeed your brother, what do you suppose he was apologizing for?"

Although Snape's words may have normally been sarcastic, Remus could detect none of the usually sarcasm in Snape's tone. That in itself would have been impressive, had the subject and the question not been so raw. "That I can't answer. It could be any number of things, if it were truly Matt. The paper was left in a way that one would notice it immediately, signifying that whoever left it had wanted it to be found. If that were the case, as I believe it was indeed, then if it were Matt, it would have left it for me to find. Perhaps that is what he would have meant, 'Sorry for worrying you all. Home soon with a carton of eggs and some milk and we can do twenty years of catch-up over brunch.'"

Snape raised a brow at this. "How long ago did you make this discovery exactly?"

"March of 1980."

"And you haven't discovered or heard anything else since then?"

"Another letter of the same several years ago. Since then, nothing. Searching has become harder now, now that some people recognize me."

"Was the second letter in the same place as the first or a different location? And was its contents identical to the first or did they differ?"

"Different place, same contents and placed in the same way: pinned to the door by a small penknife."

Snape's expression became thoughtful. The manner in which the letter was found disturbed him somewhat, it hardly had the appearance of being a friendly greeting full of assurance that all was well. "How many other people know of this?"

"Only you, now. Before that, just James."

Snape found himself unable to contain his surprise. Yes, he believed it prudent the that fewer people knew of this the better, however he had never imagined that he would be the sole living confidant of a man he couldn't even bring himself to be civil with most of the time. Not only that, but it appeared that even one of his closest friends, Sirius Black, was unaware of Lupin's history. "I cannot pretend that I am not somewhat shocked to hear that. Why did you never confide in your friends, and yet entrust me with this? It hardly makes much sense Lupin."

Remus sighed. "You asked so I answered; Sirius and Peter never did. It is easier to talk to you about it, as I am able to keep a sort of detachment about saying it when speaking to someone who does not care. Akin to talking about the weather or new werewolf laws in the Prophet." He laughed then. "Besides that, I suppose I trust you."

Snape nodded. "Of course, I see. I hardly need say it I suppose but I believe it would be wise for it to remain between us." His eyes were serious, and his tone equally so. He tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest when Lupin confirmed that the only reason he never shared his story with his friends was that they failed to ask him about it. Snorting, he knew that this was hardly surprising; they were generally too caught up in their own affairs to care much about anyone else. Nevertheless, he was disappointed and annoyed with himself at not understanding why. The disappointment was matched only by the elation he felt as he learned of Lupin's trust in him. Snape had hardly done anything to earn or deserve it and yet he had been granted it regardless. It had been a long time since anyone had placed their trust in him so willingly, and he was oddly moved by it. So much so, that the tiniest of smiles began to creep across his lips.

Remus was nodding his head, unprivileged to Snape's inner thoughts. "I agree, although I certainly didn't mean to distract or bother you with it, so please don't think that. Anyway, I... Severus?" Remus paused, blinking at Snape. "Did I say something funny?"

Shaking his head, Snape attempted to school his features back into his customary unaffected expression. "It is no bother, Lupin. As you so kindly pointed out you were merely answering what I asked of you."

Pursing his lips, Remus wondered if he should reply to what he thought he was hearing. "I'm sorry I gave you the impression that I spoke to you merely because you asked. I should have worded that better, my apologies Severus."

Snape's stomach fluttered slightly. "You mean there is another reason?"

In for a Knut... "Not another reason, no. I am not entirely foolish, regardless what you think, and would not just answer anyone's question. However, since it was you that asked, that is why I merely answered."

There it was again, that flicker of a smile that Snape was fighting, unsuccessfully, to keep off his lips. "Would you like another refill?" he asked, waving his hand at Lupin's now empty goblet.

"No thank you." Remus watched Snape refill his goblet as he thought about their exchange. While surprising, it was... nice to speak to Snape. The man was highly intelligent behind his anger and bitterness. It would certainly be enjoyable to be able to converse with him... "What about you, Severus? Any siblings?"

Snape shook his head, lowering his eyes to the goblet in his hand. "No, I believe my parents thought that having one child was one too many." He smiled sardonically as he raised the glass to his lips.

Feeling as though he were on dangerous ground, more so now even than an hour ago, Remus picked his words with caution. "They weren't children people, I take it?"

Snape sneered. "No, not exactly."

"I'm sorry," he said abruptly. Not a great childhood and not good schoolmates. Remus sighed, feeling properly guilty. He always did around Snape.

Snape raised his eyes and looked at Lupin. "What for? My parents lack of paternal instincts is hardly your doing."

"No, but..." Remus ran a hand through his hair. "School should have been a reprieve, then."

Shrugging, Snape relaxed back into the chair. "It was." He looked closer at Lupin, the realization finally dawning on him. "Oh, I see. Now that you realize how thoroughly miserable my home life was, you feel guilty about the way you and your friends treated me. Am I correct? I do not need nor want your pity Lupin."

Remus reigned in, surprised at himself for the rise he felt in his temper. "No, Severus. I felt guilty about it long before today."

"Why? You have had no reason to give it even so much as a second thought. I certainly wouldn't have." And it was been true. Since Lupin's arrival at Hogwarts Snape had been less than accommodating, and never once had he felt even the tiniest hint of remorse. Not until today. Cursing the students under his breath, he picked a spot on the wall and gazed at it as though it had suddenly become most fascinating.

"Because it was wrong, because I do, and because I want to." Remus shrugged. "I realize it was long ago and picking at scabs just now is probably unwise of me since I've no where to hide," here he flashed a grin before continuing, "but it's something I should have said long ago."