A/N: Pardon my groveling, but please forgive me for taking so long to update. My plot bunny was ill, so I had to let it recover. I was suffering for a rather annoying spell of writer's block, and couldn't seem to write this chapter, or much of anything. Here it is, sorry about the wait, please forgive me.

Mysterious Hearts

Breaking Point

Severus knew it was going to be a bad day from the moment he woke up, ten minutes before breakfast was to begin. He forced himself to get out of bed. He hurried to breakfast nearly tripping over the stone steps leading out of the dungeons.

After breakfast he headed to his potions lab so that he could finish the wolf's bane potion. He poured the vile substance into another cauldron so that it could simmer for a while before he finished it. Severus headed off to his advanced potions class. He would deliver the potion to Lupin later.

Between classes Severus researched a potion that he was working on. He found some time to visit Hagrid before the execution of the hippogriff. After leaving the depressed setting, Severus had a potion to delver. Mumbling about not being a delivery boy he headed up to Lupin's rooms. Not finding Remus there he checked the defense of dark arts classroom. With a long suffering sigh, Severus headed to the headmaster's office. Severus nearly dropped the potion when he noticed Lupin at the Whomping willow. Severus watched startled as he saw the werewolf enter the secret passage.

Severus dropped the potion, knowing within his heart that nothing good could come from this. He ran towards the tree. He froze it and entered the passageway. Severus stopped in his tracks as the memories of the last time he was in that tunnel assaulted him. He knew that he had to follow Lupin and find out where he was going and what was so important that Lupin would forget his potion. Severus prepared himself for every possible outcome of the night and headed towards the shrieking shack.

Albus knocked on Severus' door after he had given the younger wizard some time to calm down after the events of the day. Nymphadora opened the door and frowned when she saw the older wizard standing there.

"Is Severus in," he asked.

"He's sleeping," she said as she shut the door behind her and entered the hall. "I think that you should give him some time to calm down."

"Merlin," Albus sighed, "I hope that I can get to explain this to him before he does something."

"Explain what," Tonks said tersely, "The way I heard it, you let a convicted murderer escape."

"Sirius Black is innocent, Nymphadora," he told her, "please let me explain this to you."

"I find that hard to believe," she said.

"Did you really believe that he was guilty?"

"At the time, Albus, no," she told him honestly, "and I'll admit that it took some getting used to, but after thirteen years, and knowing the Black's as intimately as I do, it hardly surprised me."

"Do you believe that Sirius was capable of murder?"

"Shall we ask my husband that? Because you know as well as I do that he tried to kill Severus as a student."

"Nymphadora…"

"Save it, Albus," she said, "explain it to me later, I'm so tired of this."

With that she bid Dumbledore a pleasant nights sleep and headed back in to her husband's rooms. Severus was sleeping so Tonks got ready for bed and crawled in next to him.

The next morning when she woke he was already gone. She sighed in the vain hope that he was with Albus.

Severus had indeed gotten up early. He was wandering the halls when he came across a few young Slytherins; misters Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle included.

"Good morning, Professor Snape," Crabbe said, the others responded the greeting.

"Morning," Severus said smiling slightly, "what are fine young Slytherins doing wandering the halls at this hour?"

"Just out for a morning stroll," Draco said coming to stand in the front of the pack.

"Professor," Pansy asked blushing, "Why was professor Lupin, um, running around, ah, without his clothes?"

"Certainly Miss Parkinson, you remember my lecture on werewolves."

"Yes, sir," she swallowed, "their clothes, unlike animagi, don't ever transform with them."

"Precisely."

"Are you saying that Lupin is a werewolf?"

"Did I say that," Severus asked with a smug smile, "Oh darn."

"That's a conformation, the old muggle loving fool gone batty," Draco sneered, "Just wait until my father finds out."

Humming to himself Severus headed off in the direction of his dungeons. His Slytherins would do what was necessary, and technically he never told Lupin's secret.

Upon entering his rooms he pressed a kiss to Nymphadora's cheek and sat down besides her as she finished off her tea.

"What did you do," she asked.

"Me?"

"Don't give me that," she smiled, "you got that 'cat ate the canary' look."

"I merely did something that should have been done quite some time ago."

"Severus," she smiled in spite of herself. She kissed him quick before leaving, "I'm so glad that you love me, and am not your enemy."

Albus was disappointed in Severus, but he was also disappointed in himself. He knew that Severus was the one behind slipping Lupin's secret to the students. Severus hadn't even tried to deny it when Albus confronted him about it that evening.

"Severus, why did you tell them?" Albus asked, "The students did not need to know."

"Why, headmaster," the words dripped with scorn, "were you planning on waiting until one of them became a midnight snack."

"Severus…"

"That would be some explanation." Severus grinned cruelly, "I can just imagine it."

"Severus, with your potion, Lupin was hardly a threat."

"Correct, with my potion," Severus nearly growled, "but if you recall, Lupin failed to take the potion, which put the entirety of Hogwarts at risk. You would risk the students for a pet professor?"

"Why did you do it?" Albus asked hoping to understand.

"Because it had to be done, and it should have been done along time ago." Severus stared coldly in to Dumbledore's eyes, "Because he was a danger to the students."

"No more so than a death eater." Albus closed his eyes after watching Severus flinch as if he'd been slapped. Albus opened his eyes and wanted to take it back, but it was too late Severus was gone.

Severus stormed through the halls aghast at what the headmaster had said to him, it was the second time this year that Albus made reference to Severus' colossal error of youth. Severus felt so ashamed of what he had been. The fact that the headmaster had given him a chance when most were willing to see him dead, meant a lot to him. It was a chance that he would never be able to make up. But that didn't take the sting of the words and the implications away.

Severus slammed his door and headed for something to drink. Tonks startled him from the couch, where she was preparing for her exam, which was at the end of the week.

"What happened?" she asked, and when she got no answer, "What did Dumbledore say?"

""What makes you think he has anything to do with anything?"

"Because very few people can get you this upset," she said, before repeating her question, "what happened?"

"If you care so much, go as the coot yourself."

"Maybe I will," she sighed, "and by the way, you're mad at him, not me."

With that, Nymphadora let him to his own devices. She paused outside when she heard a bottle break against the wall. Then she heard the telltale sounds of the floo. Severus had gone to get tanked with Mundungus.

She shook her bright red and purple curls and headed up to the headmaster's office. She screamed and hollered at the old wizard when he told her what had happened.

"The only thing worse than that would be if you were his father," she said, "You're not are you?"

"No," he smiled for the first time that evening, "Sebastian is Severus' father."

"Don't you mean was," she asked. Things involving Severus' father were always murky. Tonks never knew what to believe.

"To be honest, my dear, even I am not sure."

"You had better come up with a way to make this up to Severus," she said before leaving.

To be continued…