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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Summer was coming; the days were warmer and longer now. Warmer days being a good thing for Remus, his body handled it better than the cold. It was warmer here than it would be at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts, Dumbledore, Harry, Severus.

They were all hours behind him now, and Remus was where he wanted to be, or so he told himself. The Sleat Peninsula on the Southern part of Isle of Skye. Tarskavaig. Home. He had astonishing views of the bay, the coast, the Cuillins. A small Muggle village where he would be safe from the prejudice that followed him in the Wizarding World, where he could write in peace; a small, peaceful village that contained the history he needed to write his book.

He stood on the shore near what was left of the ruined castle of Dunsgiath, sketching and relaxing in the afternoon sun. For almost four months, his daily routine had consisted of nothing more than waking and dressing, eating and then either speaking to local townsfolk or coming to the ruins to sketch or write. It was an idyllic life, and Remus was enjoying every slow moment of it.

Noting the time by way of the sun, Remus folded up his notepads and picked up his sack. It was one week to the day before the next full moon, meaning his first bottle of Wolfbanes would be coming via delivery. The last month the poor chap that had brought it had been terrified out of his wits by Remus' visiting neighbour, who had stopped by while Remus was out. It would be best if he were there this time, Remus thought with a chuckle.

It was not very far of a walk, and Remus enjoyed the afternoon wind on his face. It was still brisk; the hint of summer had not found its way into the breeze yet. By the time he reached his small yard, his face had been reddened by the same wind that had tousled his hair. Feeling better now than he had in years, Remus opened his door and stepped into the welcome way with a smile on his face.

"Lupin," Snape announced his presence with a sneer and a raised brow, his manner given no betrayal to the thoughts that had surfaced upon sight of Remus. Snape would have willingly cut his tongue out before he gave voice to any of those thoughts, but he played them out in his mind. How good… how healthy Remus looks. How happy he seemed when he first came in.

And it was true. Although still far from as healthy as most would have liked to see him, Remus did look better now than he had in a long time. His face seemed a bit fuller under the redness, his tan shirt complimenting his eyes and hair perfectly.

"Severus." Remus nodded his head in greeting, his mind too full of betraying thoughts. Why was Snape here? Just being close to the man made Remus' heart ache, and he shivered, suddenly longing to escape somewhere, anywhere. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Your potion," clipped Snape. "Although you have apparently forgone your responsibilities, I do have not such pleasure."

Remus' head snapped up at the underlying bite to Snape's words. Did he dare judge Remus for leaving? "I have not forgotten about the potion, I only assumed you would send Thomas again, as you have in the past."

Snape snorted at this. "Thomas refuses to come anymore. It was enough he had to deliver to the likes of you, but apparently your neighbour cursed him last month."

Remus could not help himself, and ignoring Snape's crueller words, he started to laugh. "She did indeed curse him, although it's not quite what you or I would consider a 'curse.' This is a Muggle village, in case you failed to notice. Thomas incurred the wrath of Brìghde when he trampled through her garden and kicked her fence." Still chuckling at the memory, Remus continued. "Although she had a few choice words for him when she found him here, there was none that would have done more than hurt his pride, and it was no less than he deserved."

"How very typical of you Lupin. People go out of their way to help you, someone who barely deserves it in the first place, and you mock them and make their task harder."

Trying not to wince, Remus shrugged and dropped his sack on the couch. "As flattered as I am you still care enough to be cruel, you can save your trap. I've spent the past four months in peace without having to listen to the likes of you and I'd just as soon go back to doing so."

Outwardly, Snape showed no signs of Remus' words affecting him. However on a hidden level, it was shocking and somewhat painful to have his own words thrown back at him, and by Remus Lupin of all people. "The likes of me? How very clever of you Lupin. And what, pray tell, would the likes of me be? The one, the only one, who has the ability to keep everyone around you safe, giving up my time and energy to do so, for someone less than deserving?"

"What are the likes of you? Bitter, cruel, rude, sarcastic, and painful. I can go on if you would prefer? I'm sure none of the words would come as a shock to you." Remus was no less surprised by his words than Severus probably was, no doubt even more so, but the painful shock of seeing the man and without warning had set him on edge, and let the wolf's temper out a little easier than Remus would have liked.

Stung, Snape tried not to show it. Where had this side of Lupin been hiding? What, exactly, had brought it out? "If anyone sounds bitter, Lupin, I believe you would take that crown."

"Imagine that, Severus. Bitter over you? Bitterness over your betrayal and cruelty? I suppose it's really not that much of a stretch of the imagination when one thinks about it, is it?"

Snape stood his ground as Remus took a step toward him; although when he would think about it later he realised that was in part due to being entirely too shocked to move. "Your betrayal? Don't you think that a year of false friendship and an about face after lying would could as more a betrayal?"

"False friendship? If you think I would have put up with you for any reason other than I had actually liked you, you are sorely mistaken," Remus replied with a quiet edge.

Snape had little idea how to reply to that, even if he had wanted to. Lupin's use of past term hurt him more than he cared to think about. Never, even when he was at his angriest with the werewolf, did he ever consider this. Foolish for he should have realised what his actions would cause. Therefore, he said nothing, regretting the impulse that had brought him here in the first place. He knew he had done what was best for both of them, but he could not expect Remus to understand that. He shoved the potion at Lupin, and walked out the door.