The title comes from a poem written by Rupert Brooke, and you may find it in its entirety at the end of chapter one.

I dreamt I was in love again
With the One Before the Last,
And smiled to greet the pleasant pain
Of that innocent young past.

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Some things you forget, only to have the memory called up by a sudden smell or place, the resulting nostalgia being either happy or sad, sometimes both. Some things you will never remember, the details lost to the ravages of time or old age.

Other things, however, you will never forget no matter how hard you try nor how old you get.

A lifetime had passed; a war had been fought and arguably won. Through the past four years, Remus Lupin had made it through his day to day routine by merely existing, although the pain the Samodivi had promised was always there. The edge would come when he would see Snape; the pain then was tenfold with every sneer and sarcastic barb. Remus had long given up hope of ever having Snape as anything more than an enemy on the same side, and now that the war was over, he didn't even have to contend with that.

He had stayed long enough to make sure he was not needed, and then he sold what little he had - the cottage in Hogsmeade and a few miscellaneous items – and left. He knew those few that might miss him had other things and other people to keep them busy, and that the one he would miss wouldn't even notice he was gone.

Still, he bid a silent farewell before departing for the last time.

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Severus Snape knew that he was many things, none of which were very flattering. It was only a recent discovery to find himself a fool as well. He would never be able to answer fully as to why he had cost Remus his job when he did, he only knew that given the same circumstances at the same time, he would do so again. It was not that he hated the Professor, in a rare moment of utter truth, Snape might have admitted to a grudging amount of like for him, but Snape could not afford to like anyone.

For so long he had lived two lives, walking a delicate balance to maintain each role and all that was demanded of him for such. Not only did he have no time to allow a friendship with anyone, but doing so would have been foolish and a weakness. He could afford neither, but he almost had.

Remus had seemed sincere in his surprising apology four years prior, and Snape had wanted to believe him. Had, in fact, believed him most of that year, right up to Remus' final night at the castle. The night that Sirius Black had returned as a friend to Remus, when Remus had turned his back to Snape and sided with Black. A lesser man might have called his actions jealousy, but Snape refused to label it such.

The one thing that surprised Snape above all was how he felt when he saw Remus after his transformation. He thought he would be disgusted, shocked, afraid. He was none of those things, except perhaps afraid, but not for the reasons he had thought. Instead, he had felt compassion and pity, and it angered and frightened him. He could not care for someone, not given what he had to do, and certainly not someone that could turn his back on him faster than one could wink.

So he did what he knew would not only protect himself, but Remus as well. He made sure the man would be no where near him again.

For the most part, he hadn't been, except for Order meetings, and even then Remus would nod an acknowledgment and promptly ignore him. This did not bode well with Snape, and in turn, he would make sure to be even more nastier than usual when speaking to the werewolf, telling himself he was glad to see the glimmer of pain before it was hidden.

Still, Snape would make the potion every month for him and send someone else to carry it. How could Remus not know? Snape often wondered.

Wondered, and did nothing.

Now the war was over, and Remus was leaving. He knew Remus would not say goodbye to him, nor he to Remus. That was it, then. He did not know were Remus was going and he told himself more than once he did not care. If anyone noticed the Potions Master was more angry and bitter than normal, they did not dare mention it.

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Eeek. Short chapter. -meh-