Chapter 10: Accomplishment

True to his predictions, Remus ran into Diana and her children several times in the next week. On Tuesday, they barely spoke as Edward was handed over to Lara. On Friday evening, Remus was too tired from his own transformation to be more than vaguely aware that Diana was there to retrieve Edward. The only reason Remus was there at all was because he was required to report within forty-eight hours of the transformation, which meant that if he didn't appear by the end of the day on Friday, he would be non-compliant, as the Ministry wasn't open on Saturday. Apparently, half the werewolf population of Britain had used the same reasoning, and the waiting room was so crowded that it was standing room only. It was nearly eight when Remus was finally called back and a frazzled-looking Lara deposited a stack of papers in front of him.

"Where did you spend the full moon?" she asked, not a hint of emotion in her voice.

"In the basement at a friend's home."

"Are there witnesses to verify your whereabouts during the full moon?"

He hesitated, then nodded. "Yes." Surely at least one person would be willing to vouch for him.

"Were there any mishaps you would like to report?"

Mishaps? He had the fleeting thought that if there had been a 'mishap', he wasn't sure he would want to report it. Luckily, his conscience was clear as he shook his head. "No."

She scribbled a few more things, then picked up the papers and began reading. "'Remus Lupin, case 33795009. Friday, eighteenth October, nineteen ninety-seven, seven fifty-two p.m. I, Lara Berkeley, of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, have received in good faith a statement from the werewolf identified above. The werewolf claims to have spent the night of the full moon, Thursday seventeenth October, in a basement at a friend's house. He further states that witnesses can verify his whereabouts if called upon to do so, and he reported no mishaps. Do you, Remus J. Lupin, testify under penalty of perjury that these statements are true to the best of your knowledge?"

"Yes," he replied.

"This is a magically binding contract," she told him, handing him the quill and the stack of parchments. "Sign here and here," she said, marking two lines on the paper, "and initial here, here and here."

He looked over the parchment, and apparently took too long because Lara sighed and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. "It just states that you are where you said you were and you didn't attack anyone," she said. "I know you don't like this, Remus, but be honest—have I ever misled you?"

"No."

"If you're being truthful, just sign the papers. There are no hidden caveats that you will regret."

He skimmed the headings on the parchment, thinking about what Severus had said about not signing a Ministry document until he'd read it thoroughly twice and had opinions from Minerva and Albus.

Lara sighed, and sat back, folding her arms.

"Do you want to bring someone else in while I read this?" he asked, looking at her.

Her answer was written all over her face—she just wanted him to sign the damn document so she could get on with her duties, and he did sympathize with her on some level. He truly did. It was already nearly three hours after she should have been able to go home, and there were easily another fifty people in the waiting room still.

"No," she replied. "Take your time."

He read as quickly as he could, and then felt marginally foolish—the document was straightforward, and it said precisely what Lara had said it did. He scrawled his name and initials in the indicated spaces, and she tapped her wand against it. The words illuminated for a moment, and his initials glowed brightly beside each of the statements he had given her. Two of the sets of initials faded into black again, but one continued to glow for nearly a full minute—the initials beside his reply that someone could vouch for his whereabouts did not seem to want to fade into the parchment. Lara tapped her quill on the desk impatiently and watched the parchment as well, and Remus felt his stomach begin to tumble as his mind raced to formulate excuses. At last, the initials faded, and Lara looked at him a bit warily.

"If you opt to use the Wolfsbane and self-restraint during the full moon, you are obligated to report to the Ministry within forty-eight hours and provide us with the location where you spent the moon and a detailed report of any incidents as defined in the Werewolf Code of Conduct on page 85. Further, the werewolf should have witnesses who can and will verify his location during the full moon. These witnesses may or may not be called upon in the event that an incident occurs during a full moon when a werewolf used a self-restraint option. Do you need a new copy of the Code?"

"No," he replied, slightly abashed.

"I would advise you to revisit the sections addressing the rights and responsibilities of a werewolf who opts for self-restraint. I would also advise you to advise whomever you counted as a witness that he or she may be called upon to testify. There were incidents reported during this full moon, and I fully expect that the Ministry will launch a full-scale investigation." She dropped the parchments into his folder and took a deep breath. "I am assuming that the reason the charm hesitated is that you are confident that someone will testify on your behalf, but you have not made specific arrangements. That has been the most common reason for these charms not working properly."

Remus nodded.

"Am I going to have a fight with you for an examination?" Lara asked as she took another paper from his folder.

Remus glanced behind him to find a folding screen dividing the office in half, and his eyes lingered on it for a moment.

"Haven't I convinced you yet that we take suggestions seriously?" Lara asked, gesturing towards the screen.

"I know," he muttered. He still couldn't seem to find the words to explain that it wasn't that the Ministry wasn't responsive enough to the needs of werewolves, but rather that they had to ask for what should have been standards of humane treatment. He stepped behind the screen and looked around; there was a small bed covered with a white sheet and another sheet folded on top of it, and sheets folded on a shelf against the wall. In the corner was a crumpled pile of white linen. He undressed quickly, hesitating on the point of reaching for one of the sheets as he cleared his throat.

Lara's head appeared around the screen, then she gestured towards the bed. "Go on and lie down," she told him. "Cover yourself with the sheet. We are trying to do a bit more to protect your modesty."

He raised an eyebrow, wondering how they would go about 'protecting modesty' if the examination was still necessary. He obeyed though, and was grateful for the covering, however thin. When Lara turned towards him again, she kept her eyes firmly on his face as she placed the open folder on the table beside him.

"Do you have any new injuries?" she asked as she turned his head to one side, her fingers moving his hair back.

"No."

"How are you feeling?"

How do you think I feel? he wondered. "Tired," he replied after a moment.

She patted his face and turned his head the other way, so that he was facing her now. "Me too," she confided as she flicked a fingertip against a cut on his jaw. "Razor?"

His face pinkened as he nodded. Given all the things he ended up enduring with her, it was hard to believe that he would be embarrassed to admit that his hand hadn't been as steady as it should have been.

She continued her exam, folding the sheet down as she looked over shoulders and chest. "You do have a place to stay tonight, don't you?" she asked as she covered him again. She lifted his right hand and turned it over, looking at the palm.

"Yes," he sighed, his eyes drifting shut. All he wanted was to get back to his place to stay and stay there for a few days. She grew quiet, and he put his mind to ignoring her, which proved to be a difficult task at first. After a few minutes, it became easier, and as she folded the sheet back from his feet to reveal his legs from the knee down, he had some success. He was aware when she folded the sheet again, and he held his breath as her fingers moved over his thighs. She didn't fold the sheet back again, though.

"Roll onto your stomach," she instructed, and he shifted, careful to keep the sheet in place. She folded it down, and he felt her hands on his back and shoulders, then a moment later, she covered him again and folded the sheet back from his feet, then warned him before she removed it entirely. The entire examination took barely five minutes, though, and she was in the main part of the office again while he dressed.

"Do you have any wounds on your lower torso?" she asked as he was pulling on his socks. He paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.

"No," he replied plaintively.

"I'll just take your word on that one." When he emerged from the screen, she had his folder sitting on the desk, three pages on top of it. "You'll need to give these to the guard before you leave," she told him, indicating two of the pages, "and this one goes to the receptionist."

He glanced at the clock. He'd been in there nearly ten minutes. "Is this how long it takes everyone you see?"

"You go a little faster than most, actually," Lara replied, opening her file cabinet. "Of course, most of the self-restraints go a bit faster. If they can afford the Wolfsbane, they are either adults with education and jobs, or they have someone in that position taking care of them. It's the ones who stayed with us and who have siblings or cousins or friends coming to claim them that take the most time." She paused, inclining her head slightly. "Just as it takes less time to see you by yourself than it does when Professor Snape is here heckling me as well."

Remus smiled a bit.

"You can go," she told him. "Just stop by the receptionist first."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked suddenly, surprising himself.

She blinked at him. "Help?" she repeated. For a moment she looked as though she were considering it, then she smiled a bit and patted his shoulder. "That's sweet of you to offer, but I know you're tired."

"Yes," he replied, "I am tired. So are you, though, and so are all of those people in the waiting room. If there's something I can do to help speed things along, I will."

She hesitated, and he could almost see her turning it over in her mind. He could practically hear her objections. On the one hand, it was probably inappropriate for him to even offer. On the other, it was obvious that they were understaffed. "Well," she said finally, "if you really want to, I can probably justify letting you pull files and…" She looked at the folder in her hand, then offered it to him. "Here," she said, handing him a quill as well. "Take their statements. The same as I asked you. Here's the script, and you just record their responses, and explain the document to them so they can be ready to initial and sign."

He nodded and took the folder, glancing over it, then paused. "May I make a suggestion?"

"If you have a suggestion to speed things along, I'll hear anything at this point."

"How many people do you have here?"

"Three."

"Is it necessary for the same person to take all the steps?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can we do this assembly line-style?"

"And you're the one always griping about wanting humane treatment," she muttered.

"There's a time and a place, and I'd say that the time ended about three hours ago. Don't you want to go home?"

After a moment, she nodded, and disappeared. At first, it seemed that they were only going to slow down—it took nearly half an hour to get the next four werewolves through the process of making their statements and signing the documents, and that was roughly twice as long as it was taking before. Within the next half hour, though, more than a dozen were finished, and half an hour after that, the last was on his way out the door. As Remus was gathering his briefcase, he overheard one of the case workers congratulate Lara on her 'inspired' idea.

"It wasn't mine," she replied. "It was Remus'."

"Well done, Remus!" the woman told him, offering her hand. He smiled as he shook it.

"You know," began Brian, the only man in the group, "I think that if we expand on that a little more next month—"

"Oh, hush up," Lara said as she herded them all into the hall. "I don't want to hear about next month until next week at least." There was a general murmur of a chuckle as she locked the door. "You lot want to go out for dinner somewhere?" she asked. "My treat."

"What'd you have in mind?" asked Deborah, the witch who had taken his case a few weeks ago when Lara had been busy.

"How about Pandora's Box?" Lara suggested as they headed down the corridor.

"You're buying?" Brian asked with a grin. "Sounds good to me."

Remus considered this the end of his lingering with the group, and quickened his pace, but Lara reached out and caught his sleeve. "You too," she said. "If you hadn't suggested that, we'd probably still be in there for another two hours."

"I appreciate the offer, but—"

"No, no buts," she told him firmly.

"Lara, Remus is probably exhausted," Deborah pointed out.

"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry," she said, smiling at him again. Her entire demeanor changed suddenly, and the sympathetic, if somewhat detached case worker made a sudden return.

"Hey, you know what?" Brian said suddenly. "I'm pretty beat too. Why don't we go out another night? Next week maybe? And then Remus can come with us." He looked at Remus suddenly and grinned. "If you want to, that is."

Remus hesitated, and Patricia, the youngest of the four case workers, winked at him. "Oh, come on," she said. "It's the least we can do. Besides, didn't anyone ever tell you that you never pass up a free meal?"

"Have you ever been to Pandora's Box?" Brian asked. "I'm guessing no or you wouldn't even have to think about it."

"Say yes," Lara urged him. "Patricia really is right, you know. It's the least we can do."

"All right," he agreed finally.

"Excellent! Your appointment is on Wednesday, isn't it?"

He nodded.

"Then we'll all just plan to go on Wednesday evening."

"Are we going to have time for our meeting Monday morning?" Deborah asked suddenly. "I have some things I need to talk to you about before you talk to Davis."

They had reached the front desk, and Lara reached for Remus' paperwork. As she handed it to the guard, she told him sternly, "Just stamp it and don't ask questions. It's too late for nonsense."

The guard obeyed, and Remus scrawled his name across the necessary forms, deciding that for once, he could put a little trust in Lara at least. It was one thing to read every form before he signed it, it was another thing entirely to read the same form every month.

"Good night, Remus," Lara told him as he headed towards the Apparation area.

"Good night," he replied, stifling a yawn. As soon as he was back at Headquarters, he collapsed into his bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes. He was exhausted, but he felt more accomplished than he had in a very long time.

The following Wednesday, he arrived for his appointment less than five minutes before it was scheduled to begin. So far, they had never been on time the week after a full moon, and Remus wasn't in the mood to wait indefinitely. At least this time he'd brought a book along with him, and he settled into one of the chairs and lost himself between the pages. It was over an hour and a half before Patricia called him back, and she smiled apologetically as she shuffled him into her office.

"Where's Lara?" he asked as she pointed at a chair.

Patricia grimaced. "Eh," she said dismissively, "some stuff came up and she's having to deal with it. How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Getting enough sleep? Good meals?"

"If I'm not, it's my own fault."

She laughed. "Is that a yes, then?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I'm getting plenty of sleep and plenty to eat."

"Great! Oh, nice note here from Deborah," she said, grinning. She lowered her voice and mimicked a very serious tone. "'Remus is often difficult to convince to submit to the examination,'" she read, and he stiffened. She winked at him. "You're going to like this, then," she told him. "Lara got that requirement changed on Monday. Now you only have to do it once a month—twice if you stay here during the moon. And speaking of moons, have you still got your supply of Wolfsbane?"

Remus nodded numbly.

"Fantastic! And have you already made arrangements to have it delivered here? Yes? Good. Let's see, then. What else do we need to do…?" She consulted a list, tapping her quill against it, and he squinted, trying to see what it was. When she noticed his interest, she turned it around so he could see it more clearly. "Just a checklist," she said brightly, tucking a strawberry blonde curl behind her ear. "I know Lara and Deborah don't need them, but honestly, I'd forget something if I didn't make myself one."

"How old are you, Patricia?" he asked suddenly.

"Twenty-two," she replied without hesitation. "How old are you?"

Remus shook his head slightly. Nearly old enough to be your father, he thought. "You have my birthday right in front of you," he replied aloud.

"I sure do, don't I?" She flipped through the pages of his folder. "I don't have an—"

"An address on file for me," he finished for her. "Can you write something in that blank for me, please? Write 'Care of Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'"

"Are you still teaching?" she asked suddenly. "We don't have you down for being employed anywhere."

"No," he replied. "I'm not teaching, but Dumbledore knows how to get in touch with me."

"Can't we know how to get in touch with you?" she asked.

"No."

She sighed and grinned. "Ah well, it was worth a try, wasn't it?" She started to open a drawer, but he interrupted her.

"I don't need the brochures about the public housing units the Ministry maintains. I have three of those brochures already."

"Oh."

"I know the drill, Patricia."

"Right," she said, looking through his folder again. "That's all the normal business, but there is something I need to bring your attention to." She turned around and pulled a packet of papers off the shelf. "This is a new addendum to the Werewolf Code of Conduct," she told him, as though the first page of the packet did not say 'Werewolf Code of Conduct: Addendum A'. "I'm going to need you to sign this first page," she said, opening the booklet and pointing to the first page. "It just says that you've received the new addendum, and you're going to need to put the date here—"

"Where it says 'date'?" he asked.

Patricia smiled brightly again. "Right there," she replied. "And then I'm going to need you to take it home with you—"

"And read it," he finished for her. "And then sign something that says I read it and understand it, no doubt."

She scrunched up her nose and nodded. Remus stifled a sigh as he scribbled his name on the first page and gave it back to her. As she filed it in his folder, he had the fleeting thought that this patronizing treatment was demeaning from Lara and Deborah, it was simply ridiculous from someone as young as Patricia.

"Now," she said, "the most important thing in there is on page fifteen, and that's something that will apply directly to you, Remus. Whereas in the past you've sworn that there is someone who can vouch for your whereabouts after the full moon, now that person will need to come with you and sign an affidavit."

Remus stared at her. "So now, not only do I have to give up half my day, I have to ask someone else to do so as well?"

"I know it's inconvenient," she said. "Thing is, the number of bites have actually gone up since we started our new measures, and they're supposed to be going down. So, Minister Davis suggested that if we make double sure that all our werewolves are properly restrained, and make a second person responsible, that the friends and families of the werewolves will take a more active role in seeing that—"

"You're going to hold innocent people responsible for the conduct of werewolves?" he asked bluntly. "This is ridiculous. What does Davis really hope to gain?"

Patricia's bright blue eyes widened. "All any of us want is to reduce the number of bites," she told him. "That's all. Forty-seven bites last month, forty-nine this month. In August, there were thirty-five, and in July, there were only twenty-eight. That number isn't supposed to be going up like that."

It was another one of those entirely-too-reasonable dead ends. "Fine," he snapped. "I'll read it tonight. When do I need to have it back?"

"When you come back again will be fine," she replied. "I think we'll schedule your next appointment for—" she flipped through a book, then tapped a finger at a page. "How about the seventh? We'll start doing your Wolfsbane doses at the same time."

"I don't have to come in next week?" he asked incredulously.

"Nope," she replied, grinning. "Lara got that changed too. She said there just aren't enough of us to meet with every single werewolf four times a month. So now we only have two of these meetings every month, and whatever other things go on—the potion, the custody, those follow-up visits and stuff like that. Do you want to come in the morning or in the afternoon?"

"Morning."

"Eight o'clock okay?"

"That's fine," he replied. This was the first time he'd been given a choice.

"All right then! Eight o'clock on the seventh. I'm putting you on Lara's schedule, by the way. Oh, and are you still coming out to dinner with us tonight?"

"Dinner?"

"Pandora's Box? Seven o'clock? Do you know where it is? Remember, we talked about it last Friday. It's really good, and a really nice restaurant."

Nice. That was a dreaded word. He glanced surreptitiously at his robes, which were the best he owned and still a bit threadbare and frayed. Certainly suitable enough for trips to the Ministry, but far from 'nice.' "Oh, I had forgotten," he lied. "I'm afraid I've already made other plans."

"Oh, no," Patricia said, her face falling. "You sure?"

"Quite," Remus replied firmly.

"Well, that stinks." She closed his folder and stood, and he took that as his cue to stand as well. "We'll see you in a couple of weeks then, right?"

"Right."

"Have a good rest of the day!" she said as she escorted him from the office and back to the waiting room. She dropped his folder off at the reception desk, and he shifted the new addendum to his other hand, tucking it under his arm.

"Remus!" The exclamation was followed in short order by a particularly energetic Edward crashing against him and enveloping him in a ferocious hug.

Remus chuckled and hugged the boy back. "I guess that means you're feeling all right," he said as he allowed himself to be pulled to the chairs where Diana was struggling with Robbie.

"Edward! What did I tell you about running off like that?" she demanded, but Edward hardly seemed to notice her harsh tone.

"I found Remus!"

"I see that," Diana said, smiling over the top of Edward's head. "He's missed you," she told him. "It's been nothing but 'Remus says' and 'Remus does' all weekend."

"Guess what!" Edward said as he climbed back into the chair again, his feet kicking frantically.

"What?" Remus asked.

"We went to Diagon Alley today and I used the Floo all by myself and we had ice cream at Florean Fon- Fontses- Florean Fotseskees and Mum gave me a whole Galleon to spend on whatever I wanted!"

"Edward! Remus doesn't care."

"What did you spend it on?" Remus asked.

Diana just shook her head. "Can't you tell by looking at him?" she asked.

Edward ducked away as Diana reached for him, and Remus chuckled as he recognized the smear across Edward's face. "Chocolate Frogs?" he guessed.

"Yep!"

"And we've had entirely too many of them," Diana muttered.

"What cards did you get?" Remus asked him.

"I got a Dumbledore… and I got a Merlin… and… uh… Oh! I got a Kirley Duke!"

"And then I took the rest of the frogs away from him," Diana said. "Three is quite enough for one day."

"And Robbie nearly drowned this morning," Edward announced.

Remus looked at Diana, who was shaking her head. "He did not nearly drown," she protested. "He fell in a—"

"In a lake!"

"—in a puddle."

Remus covered his mouth, trying desperately not to laugh and failing miserably.

"When you gonna come have dinner with us again?" Edward asked suddenly, standing in the chair.

"Sit down," Diana told him firmly, and Edward crouched in the chair. "Your bum in the chair, young man," she told him, then shook her head at Remus. "Three Chocolate Frogs was apparently too many."

"Tonight?" Edward asked, obviously not the slightest put-off by the fact that he hadn't had an answer yet.

"Er…"

"You're welcome to come any time," Diana said, shifting Robbie in her arms. He was sleeping peacefully, and quite oblivious to everything going on around him, it seemed.

Remus actually considered it for a minute, but only for a minute before he shook his head. "I already have plans tonight," he replied, recycling the same excuse he'd offered Patricia, though his reasons were quite different. He was still thinking about the dry, stringy roast she'd served up last time and the awkwardness of the evening.

"Next week, perhaps?" Diana suggested.

He couldn't very well wriggle out of that one gracefully, and faced with saying no or agreeing, he decided enduring an evening of strained conversation and overcooked food was preferable. "That would be great," he lied.

"Next Friday?" she suggested, and he nodded.

"Friday it is, then," he replied, making a mental note to eat well just before he left for her house. "Right now, I have to go, though." He stood, and she did as well, shifting Robbie again.

"We'll see you next week, then," she said with a smile

He smiled back, then offered his hand to Edward. "See you around," he said.

Edward ignored the extended hand and flung himself against Remus again, hugging him fiercely enough that it nearly knocked Remus off balance. He smiled and hugged the boy back once again, but Edward was already wriggling away. "Bye!" he said as he climbed into the chair again.

"Bye."

As Remus walked away, he heard Diana hiss, "What did I tell you about that?"

"But, Mu-um. You said you hoped he'd come back again!"

Tread carefully, Remus, he told himself firmly as he stepped into the corridor. The last thing you want to do is encourage her.

A/N:Wow. You people really loved me last chapter ;) I told you I wouldn't be abandoning this one. It took a back burner status for a bit, but the muse found it unexpectedly interesting this weekend, so an update a bit sooner than expected. At the price of finishing Tomorrow We May Die, of course, but ah well. Such is love and fanfic.

Obviously, I have decided to continue this one on the same track it was started.

zhaneraal-- thank you. That is the sort of compliment that really makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ;) I do try to make my characters 'real' in that they are seldom 'good' or 'evil', but fall somewhere in between. I think most people are inherently very likable and every easy to detest. Thanks for your comments, and notice my self restraint in not pimping my other works ;)

cecelle: don't they, though? You know, given the choice between fluff and angst, I'll choose angst any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

silverthreads: Thank you. I tend towards liking her myself. I really didn't intend her to be a big part of the fic, but it just kind of happened, you know? And I agree. She does deserve to get the guy. Now if they guy will just cooperate a little.

Victoria: Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed. I tend to see Remus as a nice guy in general, so yes, apt description.

duj: I've known a number of women who have been in that position, and it's never an easy one, I don't think. I do base the wizarding world's attitude towards lycanthropy as a combination of things, and disability is certainly one of them. A lot of Lara's attitude towards werewolves is based off observations of well-meaning people towards those who are disabled. I remember when my grandmother had a stroke, all the nurses and home health therapists would shout at her and really dumb down their words, and it made me so mad because she could hear just fine and her comprehension was excellent. Her speech was slurred, though, so others assumed she couldn't hear them properly I was sixteen, so it really wasn't my decision, but as a family, we did have to make a decision about whether to put her in a home or care for her ourselves, and it was a really tough call. On the one hand, my mother was especially concerned that she wouldn't be able to care for her properly (she had to learn to take blood pressure and give injections, and we all had to learn to deal with partial paralysis) but on the other, no one wanted to see her in a home. So that was some of where I was headed with Diana and Edward. What's more, what one person can do is not necessarily something another person could do.

HumanTales: Remus is such a man, isn't he? Honestly, I get tired of fics that portray him as very passive and a glorified housewife, and there is so much angst in this storyline (and so much yet to come!) that I was afraid of not balancing that with some general y-chromosone jerkiness. And, I'm not sure how Remus would feel about watching the kids full time, nor how the kids would feel about him stepping into that role. That will be interesting when I get to that point.

Katie: Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you're enjoying. I think it's much more fun to write a socially inept character than one who is very suave.

hopgoblen: Thank you. I think you're right about Diana-- she would do anything for those kids, and that's an interesting place to build a relationship. Lupin would have to come in with the knowledge that he does not and never will come first in her life.

rowlinghermione: Thank you for the encouragement! I promise, I am working on it as I go, and as soon as I polish off Tomorrow We May Die, this one will come along more quickly.

Alethia: 1. Very perceptive. I think Remus does have more sympathy towards Edward than anything, but at the same time, I saw him as craving interaction with someone who is on an equal plane with him. I really think that for Remus to accept any one member of the family, he will have to accept them all as a whole.

2. Snape and Lupin are both straight in this series of fics. That's as plainly as I can say it. It is actually very hard work to keep their friendship entirely platonic because there have been plenty of times when I could have very easily taken a slashy route, and in all honesty, I was very tempted in several places. I like writing Snape and Lupin together, regardless of which dynamic I choose for them. Writing animosity between them is as appealing as friendship, which is as appealing as sexual tension. I have a snupin slash story on SycophantHex, so I can say without batting an eyelash that it's not an aversion to slash that makes me so adamant that this particular Snape/Lupin dynamic is nothing more than a friendship, challenging though it is to keep them above the sheets at times. I agree with you entirely about American culture wanting to read sex everywhere, and though I'm sure it can be read into this fic and the accompanying ones, it is not something I have written into it.

Incidentally, I squeed over your remarks about Lucius. That was exactly how I wanted him to come off.

DiscombobulatedDrummer: Thanks for your comments. I swear I don't intend to abandon this one any time soon, and I will get to more frequent updates. Honest.

Elfstorm: I think that's pretty much the conclusion I've come to. This story is too far along for me to rewrite.

Ruse123: I think I've pretty much decided this one will go along as it has been. I spent some time thinking about how I could redo it to make it HBP compliant, but in the end, I think I'd lose a lot of the arcs I've been working with. You'll be pleased to know, however, that most of the Snape/Lupin interaction is going to be very squarely in TWMD, so you'll find it easy to ignore. I've been wanting to separate this one a bit, and I think I'm going to manage it more fully now. It will be a story about Lupin, and though his friendship with Snape will continue to be a part of the background of it, it's taking a backseat to other story arcs. Thanks for your comments, though. I really do enjoy writing this story, and I think it's my favorite of my WiPs (for all it gets shafted in favor of others so often) and I am not going to give it up.

Wow, that was a lot of A/N, wasn't it?

Thanks to everyone for your comments, and thanks as well to those who read without commenting. Special thanks to LariLee, who betas all of my WiPs. Poor thing. I don't know that she knew what she was getting into when she volunteered for that gig ;)