See first chapter for warnings and notes.

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Mentally cursing Snape, and Slytherins, and life in general, Remus headed down to the dungeons as soon as his last class had departed. This time the man had gone too far. Remus had been fully intent on ignoring and avoiding Snape for a good while longer, but that was not an option anymore.

When he reached Snape's office, and saw that he was alone, Remus stormed into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Foregoing any from of greeting, Remus grabbed Snape by the front of his robes and hauled him to his feet, so that they were practically nose to nose. "Werewolves?" he growled. "You assigned my class an essay on werewolves? What in Merlin's name were you thinking?"

Looking remarkably unruffled, Snape raised an eyebrow. "While grindylows and hinkypunks might be standard fare for third years, I thought it would be far more useful if students were to learn about the type of monster they are actually likely to encounter at Hogwarts."

"That was low, even for you, Snape," Remus said angrily. "We both know damned well that this has nothing to do with what the students need to learn! Was this some kind of twisted revenge over the past? Or just your way of getting back at me for inconveniencing you the other night?"

"Inconveniencing--" Snape snapped his jaws shut with an audible click and his glare rose to full force. He seemed to loom over Remus, and Remus suddenly doubted the sanity of confronting the man like this. "You have no idea, do you?" Snape hissed. "You stupid, idiotic--" The rest of his words were lost when his lips descended on Remus's with a bruising force.

It took Remus a moment to realise that this was a kiss, not an attack, and a moment longer to decide that he really didn't mind at all. His anger cooling at an alarming rate, Remus released his death grip on Snape's robes and moved one hand to tangle in the man's dark hair, drawing him closer and deepening the kiss. When they finally pulled back slightly, gasping for air, Remus attempted a glare and said, "I wasn't quite through yelling at you yet."

Smirking slightly, Snape said in a silky tone, "You may yell at me later, but for now, please do shut up." Leaning forward, he captured Remus's lips in a way that expertly silenced him for a good while longer.

----

When a soft knock came at his door, late that night, Remus was not surprised. He had expected that Severus would make an appearance. He would, in fact, have been disappointed had he not. Their impromptu, anger induced snogging session had been abruptly interrupted by the arrival of a timid second year student who had been seeking help with a potions essay.

Despite their hasty attempts to pull themselves together, the student had looked aghast at their dishevelled appearance, and -- perhaps fearing an imminent battle between his professors -- had looked torn between calling for reinforcements and simply running for his life. Abandoning the child to Severus's tender mercies -- hopefully he hadn't taken too many points -- Remus had taken the opportunity to escape and organise his thoughts.

If he was to be honest with himself, Remus had to admit that he had known it would come to this; their traded insults and snarkiness could only cloak their attraction for so long. But what could they truly hope to gain by pursuing this? They were both too bitter and angry at their own respective pasts to have any real chance at a relationship that extended beyond the bed chamber. They were simply too much the same, though the masks they hid behind were polar opposites.

Was this -- what ever it was -- even worth the inevitable complications that would arise from it? They would have to be unfailingly discreet. The scandal that would ensue, should the students become aware of any relationship between them could cost one, or both of them, their jobs. While it was not entirely taboo for a witch or wizard to become involved in a relationship with a member of their own sex, any long term union that would produce no heirs was often highly frowned upon, especially in the pureblood circles.

All that aside, there was also Severus's nasty habit of being entirely unpredictable. They still needed to have a little chat about the werewolf essay...one that didn't get sidetracked by a well timed, and distracting kiss.

The knock sounded at his door again, somewhat more impatiently this time, and Remus was forced to make his choice. Opening the door, he stepped back and silently gestured for Severus to come inside. He had his unreadable mask firmly back in place, so Remus simply raised an eyebrow and asked, "Something I can help you with?"

Severus's lips twitched slightly and Remus felt something twist deep inside his gut. He was really becoming a bit too fond of that smirk. "I thought we might converse," Severus said.

Feeling a smirk of his own growing on his face, Remus said teasingly, "Rather late for conversing, is it not?"

"I assumed that you would still be awake," Severus said, crossing his arms and looking far too self-assured. "I could leave, if this is a bad time."

"No, please do have a seat," Remus said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. "I agree that we need to have a little talk." Severus winced visibly at the word 'talk,' and Remus sighed. "You can't honestly have believed that little kiss would get you entirely off the hook. It wasn't quite that good."

"Perhaps another attempt would be more successful?" Severus suggested.

"I think not."

"Pity," he said, casting a glance towards the door as though considering escape. Instead he sank down into the indicated chair with a sigh.

After pouring himself a glass of firewhisky, and offering the same to Severus, Remus took the other chair. "Besides," he said amiably, "you did promise me the chance to yell at you a bit more later."

"Is it later already?"

"Enough with the games, Severus," Remus said with a sigh. "Why the essay? You ran the risk of exposing my secret to the entire school. And for what? A petty attempt at revenge?"

"I assigned the essay because I was furious with you, and wanted to be sure that you knew it," Severus snapped. "That night...I thought you were dead."

"I apologised for that, I don't--" Remus broke off, remembering the morning after he-- after the incident with the potion. He had said those same words, and Remus had still been too upset, and too angry to notice the almost haunted look in Severus's eyes as he had spoken; the haunted look that still lurked in his eyes. "Oh, shit," he said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise..."

"I thought you were dead, I thought that--" Severus shook his head sharply, as though to banish an unpleasant thought, and then drank his firewhisky in a single gulp, clenching his fist around the empty glass. "It was not a pleasant thought."

The silence stretched uncomfortably between them. Remus rose and refilled their glasses, trying to think of anything that he could say to try and convey just how sorry he was for having put Severus through that. Finally he realised that nothing he could say would even begin to be adequate. "The kiss, then?" he asked quietly.

Severus looked up to meet Remus's eyes, his hair obscuring his face. "That was my attempt to show you how grateful I am that you are still alive."

Remus smiled weakly. "That point came across fairly well." He sighed and shook his head slowly. "Severus, I don't know what you want -- what you expect -- from...this." He gestured vaguely to the space between them. "But you can't threaten to expose me each time you become angry with me, no matter how justified that anger might be."

"There is a good chance that I acted in anger," Severus said, "and without giving sufficient thought to my actions."

Remus knew that was a close to an apology as he was likely to get in this matter, though it hardly felt sufficient. For a Slytherin to admit a lack of planning...well, it was a start. "I would like to be able to trust you," he said cautiously. "Promise me that you will never do anything like that again."

"I would ask the same of you," Severus said.

He knew what Severus wanted to hear, but somehow he could not bring himself to say the words. The silence grew thick between them again.

Eventually Severus spoke, his words strained. "The potion. It was effective?"

"What?" Remus asked, both startled by, and grateful for, the change in topic. "Ah, yes. It seemed to work in the way I had been told it would. My mind remained clear throughout the transformation, though that in itself was somewhat...uncomfortable." Uncomfortable was an understatement. He had barely been able to keep himself from panicking when the pain of the transformation had faded and he had found himself, fully aware, in the body of the wolf.

"Uncomfortable in what way?" Severus asked, frowning.

"Even though I knew that the change was approaching, knew what to expect, I wasn't quite prepared for how it would feel." There was no way to explain just how it had felt, not without sounding like a monster. Perhaps it had simply been the fact that he had eaten little on the day of the change, but when the transformation had been complete, he had been starving. He had pressed his nose to the crack beneath his door, inhaling the scents that wafted through the air outside.

He had smelled humans, and the scent had made his mouth salivate, even as his mind screamed in horror at the reaction. The body of the wolf still craved the taste of blood, and though the madness was absent, and he could resist it, the very fact that he had an urge to hunt, to kill, had been enough to terrify him. Somehow he had hoped that the potion would make it so that he still felt human, only in another shape.

Shuddering at the memory, Remus said, "Perhaps in time it will become easier."

Severus stared at him shrewdly for a long moment, as though reading his thoughts. "I spoke with Minerva once, about what it was like to become an Animagus. She told me that she became physically ill the first time she gave in to the urge to catch and eat a mouse. Even with a human mind, there may be certain things that change along with your form; the important thing is that your mind is strong enough to resist them."

Relaxing slightly at the words, Remus forced a smile onto his face. "Does that mean that if you drop by during the full moon," he said, "and I get the wolfish urge to hump your leg, then I shouldn't be worried by it?"

"If you ever attempt that," Severus said with a glare, "then full moon or not, I shall hex you without a second thought."