Harry Potter is not mine, and neither are his friends. I'm just goofing around with them.

Chapter Four: Suspicions and Conversations

When Severus returned to his dungeons, he unwarded the classroom door, and left it unwarded for Professor Grey. He had been trying to think what he could have the man make that would show if he knew what he was doing, or if he was the fake Severus thought he was.

'Ah. I need to begin on Remus' Wolfsbane potion. I'll see if he knows anything about that.' With that thought, Severus began to set out a cauldron and some of the other utensils he would need.

Dorian strode down the hallways to the dungeons. He couldn't billow his robes properly because the extra weight he had charmed on himself had changed the way his robes hung. It was just as well; the less alike he and his younger self were, the better off he would be.

As he reached the door to the potions classroom, he started to give the password, then stopped himself. He couldn't, not without giving away more than he should. He then noticed the door was open. He opened the door, and walked into the room.

Severus was working at a worktable toward the front of the classroom. As Dorian approached, Severus looked at him, eyes narrowed. "I don't know who you are. I don't know how you gained Albus' trust, but I don't trust you. All of my internal alarms are going off because of you."

"Professor Snape, I understand completely. I am trustworthy, but you cannot accept that just yet. As a start, what would you like me to help you with?"

"I trust you have heard of the Wolfsbane potion?"

"Yes. I have even brewed it a time or two."

Snape lifted an eyebrow.

"What? You believe only England and Scotland have werewolves?" Dorian raised his eyebrow in turn.

"Of course not." Snape snapped. "So if I just leave the ingredients out for you, you can make it without instruction?"

"The recipe would help. It has been a while. I would not want to mess this up. I assume it is for Remus?" He had heard Severus' comment about "the werewolf" at the staff meeting.

"Correct. He is much easier to deal with when he has his potion."

"I'm sure his transformation is easier on him as well."

"I don't much worry about that. It eases the burden on the rest of the staff."

"So you have no concern for the well-being of another member of the faculty? One you have known, presumably for most of your life, if you went to school with him here. Your interest is purely selfish?" Dorian was getting annoyed with Severus' attitude. It was hard, looking back from the vantage point of 25 years, to remember what he had been thinking at this time. His prejudice and lack of forgiveness were irritating. Now he knew how the others must have felt in dealing with this younger version of himself.

"Why I do this is no concern of yours! Just do what you said you would do and leave me in peace and quiet. Why must everyone talk so much, and question my motives?" Severus' irritation with this unknown interloper was increasing. He hadn't let anyone get under his skin in quite this way in some time. To avoid continuing the conversation, Snape moved to the other side of the lab, and began his own personal project.

Dorian took the hint, and prepared the beginnings of the Wolfsbane in quiet. He spent the time relaxing, letting the familiar motions of potion making soothe him as it always had. He hadn't realized how tense he was, trying to keep people from guessing his true identity. His days as a spy were long over, and pretending to be someone else was no longer second nature.

Remus sat in his quarters, trying to figure out what it was about Dorian Grey that bothered him so much. On the surface, he seemed a fairly pleasant man, who was obviously on good terms with the Headmaster, and apparently shared some secret with him, if Remus had read some of the glances exchanged between the two correctly. However, something was ringing an unpleasant bell in the back of his head.

Remus had taken over Hagrid's hut for the year. He had rearranged and transfigured the furniture to fit his smaller frame, and make it more comfortable for him to live in. Luckily, Hagrid had taken Fang with him on his journey. Hagrid wanted to try and bring the giants in on the side of the Light, and had gone as an emissary to the various giant enclaves located in Scotland and England. For people who weren't in the Order, Hagrid was gone on personal business with his family.

As Remus continued to turn things over idly in his mind, it started coming together. Remus rose abruptly to his feet and walked over to the fireplace. Throwing a pinch of floo powder into the flames, he waited for them to turn green. He said firmly, "Albus Dumbledore's office". When he stuck his head in, he was not surprised to see Albus looking unfazed at his sudden call. Nothing seemed to take Albus sideways.

"Yes, Remus, what may I do for you?"

"Could I talk to you for a short while?"

"Certainly. Would you like to come through now?"

"One moment."

Getting up from his knees, Remus threw a bigger pinch into the fire, then stepped in to flames, saying again, "Albus Dumbledore's office."

Remus stepped out of the fireplace onto the hearthrug, and brushed himself off. He walked over to the chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk, and sat down without waiting for an invitation. He looked at Albus, and decided he didn't like the twinkle in his eyes.

"Why does Dorian Grey smell like Severus Snape?" Remus didn't waste time on preliminaries. He hoped to catch Dumbledore by surprise.

He almost did. Dumbledore's eyes widened very slightly, then went back to their normal appearance.

"What makes you say that?"

"Albus, you know that because of the werewolf, my senses are keener than normal people's are. When we were in the staff meeting, Dorian walked past me, and I received a good whiff. Something about him bothered me, and I couldn't figure it out. I finally did. He and Severus smell almost alike, and the differences can be attributed to the fact that Dorian is older, happier, and healthier, as well as the fact that he's married, judging by the bonding ring he wears."

Albus sat back in his chair with a sigh. "We were not going to tell anyone, but you have 'sniffed' it out, as it were. Dorian is Severus. He is from the future, and he is here to fix some things that are not right in our time. He says he knows what he has to do, because he remembers Dorian Grey."

"Are you certain of this? He's not here to help Voldemort?"

"Remus, Severus is a member of the Order. Dorian has indicated he has a close relationship in his time with Harry and yourself at the least. I don't believe the two of you would change sides, so if he is friends with the two of you, that presupposes he is still on our side. Besides, he showed me his arm, and the Mark is gone."

Remus was startled. "Gone! Does that mean Voldemort will be gone, too?"

"Yes. You don't know how heartening it was to hear that."

"I can imagine. I know how relieved I feel to know that eventually we will win."

"Exactly. Now, maybe you can help me, since you know the truth. I am debating on whether to tell the Order about Dorian, or keep it to myself. What are your thought on the matter?"

"I don't think you should tell the whole Order, especially if you don't want Severus to know, but you had better tell Mad Eye. If he looks at Dorian and sees something odd, such as the glamour I assume he is hiding behind, Moody won't rest until he finds out what he's hiding."

"You have a good point. I think I will have a little chat with Moody about setting up some extra practices for our DA group. Maybe invite him for tea."

"Yes, I believe that would be an excellent idea. Harry has discussed the DA with me, but he should talk to Dorian about it, since he is the DADA professor."

"I'm sure Dorian is aware of the group, but I will bring it up in our next meeting. Now, I am sure you still have lesson plans to write up, and organization is not one of Hagrid's strong points. I will let you get to it."

Remus knew a dismissal when he heard one. He rose from the chair, bowed slightly to the Headmaster in respect, and turned toward the door.

"Remus, please try to be pleasant to Dorian. I'm sure he will be frustrated dealing with Severus. Knowing what he was like, and dealing with it from the outside are two very different things. I will let him know you know, so he can talk freely with you."

"I would be pleased to help in any way I can."

Remus left the Headmaster's office, and rode the staircase down. His mind was going in five different directions, and he decided to take a walk to try and sort things out in his mind. He stepped out of the main doors, and headed off in the direction of the lake.