LINER NOTES:

It's 11:20 at night and I have school tomorrow, so I'll do the fine editing - like turning all the quotes marks so they face the right direction - tomorrow when I get home. For now, here is the next chapter! It is somewhat short and does not develop the Remus/Severus relationship any, but it explains some very important things - like the ages of Remus' siblings and why he was so persistent in getting Harry away from the Dursleys. I'm very proud of myself for this chapter- know, all of you, that it's been 3 months and 4 drafts in the writing!

UPDATE: Editing has been done and I've got Chapter 13 open (typing it right now) in Word. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Well, the bathrobe isn't secondhand, nor are the slippers - but I still don't have the hair extensions. Nope, not mine. The Adoption Charm is a device used by Eleonora1, who is aware that I am using it and has given her permission for me to do so. Kudos, Sinelle -giggles-

RATING: This chapter is rated PG-13/T for potentially interpreted emotional child abuse and discussion of violence.

REVIEWS:

tiffany: Glad you liked it! This chapter is quite low on giggles, but does have a LOT of plot.

Yulara: Ditto to tiffany. This one, again, really doesn't have any bubbly one-liners, but I think you'll like it. I know Eleonora1 will LOVE it, because - well, see the disclaimers.

Eleonora1: Oh, boy, it's the marathon reviewer : ) Well, Severus should have put two and two together, but it's sort of a wishful-thinking thing: "There's no way in a million years it's him. No, it's just some coincidence. I can sleep tonight." I do that a lot to keep from going crazy (ha, like there's anything to prevent). Remus wouldn't have had as easy a time, especially with the "Natasha" throwoff - who in the name of Merlin would expect "Severus Natasha Snape" to pop up? (Unless you read my work quite frequently, then you know to expect ANYTHING!) The cemetary book is called "Pet Sematary," and yes it's spelt that way on purpose. Yes, Harry's reaction is one I honed for quite some time for maximum impact. Glad you enjoyed, now have a nice angst-fest here!

Nightshade-013: Nice new name! Glad you enjoyed, wait till you see the twist in THIS chapter!

Enjoy, everyone! (and no, this is NOT, repeat NOT the end of the story - this chapter just has a strong closing for once.)

"Harry, I'm leaving, and if I have to come back up for you you're not going to be happy!" It was a very irate Remus Lupin who was berating Harry Potter in such a manner, because Harry was sitting in the bedroom and sulking. The three days between the last time he'd seen Severus and now had passed slowly – at least, slowly to someone who was looking forward to something like this. Severus wanted to meet Harry on a non-scholastic basis, and he was supposed to meet the two of them – Remus and Harry – in half an hour. Where theywere going from thereonly Remus truly knew – Severus had some idea (having been quite grudgingly talked into it by Remus), but was completely unfamiliar with the institution in question.

"Harry!" The bedroom door opened with a bang, and Harry stalked out in blue jeans and a scruffy, slightly torn black button- down shirt instead of the T-shirt Remus had lent him. Remus sighed, exasperated. "Harry, go get dressed."

"I am dressed."

"You're not leaving the house like that. We're going out."

"Then I'll stay home."

"You will be coming with me and you will be dressed decently when you do it. Now go get changed, before I make you." Remus didn't often let his temper get the best of him, but he had been known to be a bit short on occasion and this was one of them. Harry heaved a hefty sigh and retreated, returning a few moments later in the blue T-shirt Remus had left on his bed.

They were halfway to wherever they were going to meet Snape – Harry didn't know and really didn't care – before he decided he ought to apologize. He couldn't quite bring himself to do it, though, and so instead he phrased his repentance subtly in a question.

"Why did you want me, Remus?"

"Hmm?" Remus looked over from where he was sitting staring at a red light.

"I said, why did you want me? I mean, before you became my guardian you didn't have to really work, you could bum around if you chose, you didn't have to follow the rules. You gave all that up for me. Why?"

Remus didn't answer, but Harry could sense somehow that he was not being ignored – rather, Remus was trying to shape a difficult answer to a difficult question. Finally he spoke.

"I suppose I should start by admitting that I lied to you, Harry."

Harry snorted. "What else isn't new?"

Remus smiled, slightly bitter. "No, I don't mean like that. You remember the picture I showed you, of my family?"

Harry nodded.

Remus swallowed hard before continuing. "The people in that picture, Harry, aren't actually related to me."

"WHAT?"

"Remus and Everjoice Lupin are not really my parents."

Harry just stared at him before sputtering "But – but – you look just like them!"

The blonde shook his head and persisted. "It was an Adoption Charm, Harry. My birth name is Jeremy Christopher Moore. By genetics, I really ought to look like a cross between your cousin Dudley and the Weasley twins. An Adoption Charm changes the appearance – and, subtly, the character – of the person it's cast on so they fit in their new family, although it cand do so to many different degrees. I consider the Lupins my real family. The Moores were nothing more than relatives. That's the first half of your answer."

"So what's the other half?"

Remus took a deep breath. "When you were in third year, Harry, I told you my parents did everything they could for me after I was bitten. That was partially true. The Lupins did everything they could, my siblings included. My birth parents abandoned me at St. Mungo's –"

"How could they do that?"

Remus smiled sadly. "There's something called the Dissolution of Care clause, Harry. When a child is infected by a Dark creature, the parents may choose to leave their child in a safe place for adoption if they are unable or unwilling to raise a child with special needs. It's been thirty-two years, Harry, but I've never forgotten the day I was bitten. And I've never forgotten waking up in the hospital alone, and scared, and hearing my parents in the hall and not understanding why I could hear them when they were so far away. And then they walked into the room – I remember Joan, my birth mother, was wearing this bright red lipstick and nail polish and I thought how much like blood it looked – and she said she was leaving because she wasn't going to raise some freak of nature."

Harry gaped. "How could she just – do that? Abandon her child? And call you something like that? You're not a freak!"

Remus shook his head. "I really don't know, Harry. But – and this is the important part – I didn't understand her words for months. It was the look on her face that told me everything. I wasn't wanted. And even at four and a half I was old enough to understand 'freak.' That look just killed me inside. I was eight years old, I'd been adopted for nearly two years, before I was even able to really function again. I was just convinced there wasn't really a point. And when I saw your relatives look at you the same way Joan Moore looked at me – like they'd rather be anywhere else than meeting you after ten months and they thought we were all a bunch of complete ingrates – that just infuriated me. I vowed right then that I'd kill them all if I had to, but you weren't spending another month there. Not another week, if I could help it. And I'd have taken Azkaban gladly to get you out of there. Of all the things that really get to me in this world, Harry – and there aren't too many – the one that really gets me the most is when people are like that. When they don't want one of the most precious things in the world – a child who really means the best and wants nothing more than to do right and know he did it. That just angers me like nothing else."

Harry stared down at his hands. "You'd have done that for me?"

"In a heartbeat. Something you ought to know right now, Harry – a wolf, werewolves too, create packs – werewolves even do it in their human form. It used to drive your father crazy because I never talked about being with a group or having a girlfriend – boyfriend – I always talked about packs and mates and that kind of thing. It's not a huge difference, but he couldn't stand it. Sirius just made a joke out of it. But my main point – you've been part of my pack almost since I met you. And you're asking for a very painful death if you ever mess with someone in a wolf's pack. It's one reason werewolves have to register – even though it's a very serious thing to bite someone, there's something called a 'justified attack' in addition to punishable attacks. Justified attacks include being threatened, under the influence of a mind-control spell or potion – and having a close member of the pack severely injured or threatened. We protect each other. Justifiable attacks are fairly rare, but registered werewolves have a sort of Ministry protection - the Ministry more fully protects those around werewolves, because the consequences of anything happening to a pack member can be quite severe. I could have turned the whole lot of your relatives, and as long as I could prove justifiable cause I'd walk."

"But you still could have gotten in a lot of trouble."

"Remus and Everjoice risked everything to adopt me. Even the others – all the kids who came after me are adopted – even the others all combined didn't cause as much trouble and red tape as I did, just because of a four-inch scar on my neck. You caused trouble and red tape because most of the world views you as just The Boy Who Lived. But I see you the same way my mum and dad saw me when they first saw me in the orphanage – they didn't care about the scar or the transformations or the fact that they were essentially adopting a liability. They saw me for just me. Just a kid looking for love and somebody to take him home and give him different clothes and a real name instead of a Ministry-issued one. I chose to look at you as just Harry instead of looking at all the fancy ribbon and packaging. I can never return the favor to my mum and dad – but I can pass it on. The things I lost are small sacrifices compared to the reward I gained by just having you around and knowing you're happy, Harry. Which reminds me, we have to go shopping for your clothes next week. You're not going back to school in those rags."

Harry blushed. "Thanks, Remus."

Remus ruffled his hair affectionately. "No problem, kid. We're here."

As they pulled into the parking lot of the massive apartment block Snape seemingly lived in, Harry decided to make an effort. He couldn't return the favor, but he could pass it on.