IN THE NAME OF LOVE
by The Goblet

Chapter 9

"I don't understand," whispered Remus, after he had recovered from his shock. "This could have all been prevented. He need never have been cursed."

Albus smiled at the werewolf. "You said it yourself, his options were to be cursed, or to die."

"But he didn't need to!" Remus insisted. "He could have chosen not to!"

"There was a way out?" Kingsley asked, though he very much doubted it. Gringotts didn't build secret tunnels into their vaults. Nor could anyone apparate or portkey out of them.

"He could have mated with me. But he refused. Nothing I said changed his mind. All he did was sit down and write you a letter," Remus told Albus, pulling the blank sheet of parchment out of his pocket.

Albus reached out and plucked the letter out of Remus' hand. He tapped it twice with his wand and the words re-appeared.

The entire room was silent as he read what could have been Severus' last words to him. With a small smile on his face, he folded the parchment and hid it away in his robes.

"Did he explain himself?" Remus asked, looking at the still form of Severus on the bed.

"He didn't have to," Albus responded. "I know why he made the decision that he did. I agree with him wholeheartedly. If I had been in his position, I would have arrived at the same decision."

"He chose to turn me into a murderer!" shouted Remus.

"Shh," Kingsley whispered. "Don't wake him."

Remus threw himself into an armchair by the fireplace. "In the thirty years that I lived with the curse I never hurt anyone. I never killed anyone. I never turned anyone. Until now. Until he decided that he wanted to die!"

"Severus didn't want to die," Albus interrupted quietly. "Quite the contrary, he wished to live."

"I don't understand!" Remus erupted. "He chose death over mating with me. He chose the curse over mating with me. WHY?? Does he hate me so much that he couldn't stand the thought of me touching him?"

"I don't know," Kingsley answered. "I guess you would have to ask him that. But as to his decision, neither of you were the only people involved. The consequences would have been severe if he had mated with you."

Remus was completely and utterly confused. "What consequences? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"It means that Severus was protecting me," Albus said quietly.

"What? It had nothing to do with you!"

"On the contrary," Albus replied, a sad smile brushing his lips. "Severus is my husband."

tbc...

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