WARNINGS: dub/non-con sexual content

EDITED: for timeline inconsistencies

Severus was woken up by the dull throbbing of his head, concentrated on the left side. His muscles ached, especially the ones in his thighs, and his eyelids seemed glued together but he wasn't feeling particularly inclined to open them, knowing that light would help neither his sight nor his headache for the moment. But eventually, the need to know where he was became pressing, since he obviously wasn't dead... unless one felt pain in heaven, or this pain was only the beginning if he was in hell (the more probable of the two, even if he wasn't stupid enough to be placated by the religious nonsense that the idiots in disgustingly nice robes liked to spout).

Slowly, he peeled his eyelids open. He had to blink several times because of his eyes' dryness and the predictably, irritatingly bright light coming from the cave entrance. Wait—cave entrance? He attempted to sit up, but it made black spots appear in the air and his head spin, so he tried to ease himself down but rather succeeded in collapsing down and hitting his head on some sort of cushion instead. The events of the previous day came to him.

(Black!) he was tempted to snarl, but somehow didn't have the energy. That blasted dunderhead of a man was the reason he was here, here in this cave, with his head being pounded at by a hammer, having tripped over a tree root!

If his head wasn't bothering him so much he would have turned over and buried his face in the cushion. The humiliation of it all!

But once the shame had let him think rationally once again, he slowly lifted his left leg at the knee and started flexing it, before doing the same with the other leg. Strange. He wasn't hurting there, except for the tightness of his muscles (he reluctantly admitted to himself that he needed to exercise more). In fact, the only place that was actually hurting was his head. Which meant that he hadn't been eaten—or even bitten—by the wolf that had been chasing him. But he could have sworn the thing had been hot on his heels.

Even now he couldn't help it: with the memory, the fear crept into him as naturally as the late September chill did, and when his hands started to wander in search of something to grip, he realized he was touching something warm and furry. He lurched away desperately, sitting up, making his body scream in protest and his head nearly split in two. He gracelessly lost his balance and fell over, thankfully bringing a hand down to cushion his head, not that it helped much. Someone had been taking care of him, the realization came, lurking in the back of his mind; his head had been bandaged.

When he finally got his breathing under control again, he chanced a slow look over, but saw no hulking mass with its teeth bared and crazed hunger in its eyes. Sluggishly he pulled himself back into a sitting position, and discovered that he was lying on a wolf skin.

He cautiously poked at it. Perhaps he had been rescued then? By a human? Hope spiked through his chest. Yes, yes, it'd make sense, because he would have been dead otherwise and animals certainly did not collect wolves' skins to keep warm. He licked his dry lips. He hoped that whoever had rescued him came back soon. He wanted to get the mocking over with—honestly, what kind of idiot would trip and knock themselves out while their lives were in mortal peril…he'd just have to explain that he was scared and couldn't quite see in the darkness, and well, it wasn't like he'd done it on purpose, now was it?—and he needed to use the bathroom.

It hadn't taken long for someone to appear. Severus, after having forced himself to crawl outside, wincing at the light and the cold stone against his bare feet, when the pressure on his bladder became unbearable, had taken to examining the wolf skin closely, once he had convinced himself that it wouldn't come to life and bite him (wasn't that a ridiculous thought, there wasn't even a head on the thing, let alone teeth), stroking the soft-rough hairs and noting that each one wasn't quite the same color as the surrounding ones. A low growl startled him, making him nearly topple over backwards in his haste to get away. He berated himself mentally when he realized it had just been someone roughly clearing their throat, not some wild beast coming to make him its dinner (or breakfast? Lunch? What time was it?). Once his vision became focused again, he was able to lay eyes on the man standing a little in the cave, half crouched, half bent over from the lowness of the ceiling, stock still, eyes fixed intensely on his own. Severus found himself pinned in place by the force of the man's glare, forcing a swallow down his suddenly dry throat, and blinking in fear. Suddenly the man's posture relaxed enough and started creeping over cautiously, as if the (guest? Meal? Was he a cannibal?!) person he had rescued was a skittish animal.

The man was somewhat haggard looking, but Severus could see obvious power and strength in his movements. His hair was a sandy brown, dotted with a few strands of grey, and his eyes were an almost glowing amber. His approaching presence made Severus want to either flee or curl up in a ball in a corner.

The man crouched down in front of him fluidly, and his lips split. "How are you feeling?" His voice was low. He reached up to turn Severus's head to look at the left side better, and leaned in enough for Severus to feel uncomfortable. He prodded the bump with his other hand not quite gently, and Severus flinched, eyes not leaving the stranger's face. "Do you remember what happened?" Severus could stop neither the scowl nor the flush. The man took this to be an answer in the affirmative. "I haven't got all of the appropriate potions, I'm afraid. You should see a Healer as soon as you get back to your village."

"You…saved me. Thank you," Severus said after a pause, forcing the unusual words out of his dry throat with some difficulty.

"It's nothing." The hands left his head and the man simply stayed crouching, only leaning back a few inches. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," Severus said, wondering too late about the possibilities of poison, but calming once he told himself that the stranger could have simply left him in the middle of the woods to die. The man took out an awkwardly shaped stick from his clothes and waved it, a large chunk of raw meat appearing in his other hand. He offered it to Severus, who hesitantly took it, becoming uncomfortable when the man continued to stare at him after he hadn't taken a bite. He nervously licked his lips, and lifted the steak to his mouth before sinking his teeth into it, ignoring the thoughts screaming 'unsanitary!' and 'contamination!'. After a moment's difficulty ripping the piece off, he then set to the arduous task of chewing on it. Rubber would have been easier to chew, he thought to himself, feeling progressively more irritated as his jaw started aching and as the stranger's smile progressively grew wider until it was a full, twisted grin. And what was worse, the taste had faded and his stomach was making its hunger known. He finally had had enough and swallowed it, nearly choking on it because he hadn't managed to reduce its size by much. He looked at the large amount of meat still in his hands apprehensively, and looked back at the stranger, who still had that strange, annoying grin on his face. "Could I make a fire please?"

The stranger said nothing, but flicked his primitive wand at a small circle of stones near the entrance, and flames immediately crackled up in the center. Severus made his way over slowly, realizing he had no way of roasting the meat. The stranger reappeared next to him, with a sort of metal contraption, resembling blackened prison bars, and set it carefully over the flames. He took the meat from Severus's unresisting hands and set it on the metal. He settled back, sitting close and flashing Severus a brief smile. "Why don't you tell me about yourself while we wait?"

If it had been anyone from Hogsmeade asking him this question, Severus would have spat an insult in their face and told them to mind their own damn business. But as such, he reminded himself, this man was not from Hogsmeade. He lived in a cave in the forest, had his own wand (perhaps not as straight or refined as the ones he had seen in the village, but a wand nonetheless), and collected wolf skins, meaning he was powerful. And Severus was attracted to power. It was why he had stayed in Hosmeade, instead of going back to Hangleton. Albus Dumbledore was simply more powerful than Voldemort, even if he did seem to surround himself with starry-eyed idiots.

"My name is Severus Snape. I run an apothecary in Hogsmeade."

"Oh? That's great, you probably know what potions you'll need to treat your concussion, then." At Severus's nod, he continued, "How about your family? Have you got a wife?"

Severus resisted the urge to laugh in the man's face. A wife? Him? His mother had always tried to push him towards some of the neighbors' daughters, but he had resisted. They were the same girls that would tease him in school. Briefly he had thought about deflowering them all, and possibly leaving them pregnant and unmarried, but he had quickly decided he wouldn't want that for any child of his. So he had just sat in a corner and glared at them when they came too close. If that didn't deter them, his stinging words would. "No."

"Oh, that's too bad," the stranger replied, looking mildly saddened, though the look disappeared quickly and was replaced by another strange grin. "And your family? Any brothers or sisters?"

Severus shook his head. "Never had any. My stepfather was murdered by guards when I was ten, and my mother died when I was fifteen."

The stranger's eyebrows scrunched slightly. "So you've got nothing tying you to Hogsmeade, then?"

He shook his head. "Just my apothecary."

"Ah." The stranger smiled, and there was an odd little pleased look on his face. "Then…you wouldn't mind staying here with me, then."

"Staying here? With you?" Severus repeated, praying that he had misunderstood. The stranger only nodded. "Here? In this cave?" Again, a nod. "Er…no, I couldn't, I'm sorry."

The man looked like his mother had just been insulted. "Why not?"

"I…don't even know you," Severus said slowly, sensing the danger he was in and wondering about his chances of escape. With his injury and general soreness, chances were slim to none, perhaps even nonexistent if he was feeling particularly pessimistic about it.

"My name is Lupin, Remus Lupin." When Severus couldn't find anything to say to that, he continued, his words speeding up, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. "I know it doesn't look like much, but the forest really is a wonderful place to live. It gets really beautiful in winter, even if it's really cold…and even if there's less food, but don't worry, I've got plenty stocked up, I've been working all summer, and I'll continue for as long as I can…" He continued on nonsensical ramblings with his head hanging down.

Severus suddenly understood what Lupin was trying to say through his endless blathering: he was lonely. And he was desperate enough to want him, Severus Snape, as permanent company. Severus wasn't sure if he should laugh in the man's face or not. He decided not to. The man wouldn't know that Severus wasn't good company. He resisted the urge to sigh. He was going to regret this later. "How long have you lived here?"

"A year. I was forced from my other cave by a pack," he said, trying not to sound disgusted.

Severus frowned. What did he mean by pack? Why didn't he say 'group'? "And why don't you go to Hogsmeade?"

"They don't want me there."

"What about Hangleton, then?"

"I don't want to be there."

"Why?"

"I'd just be proving everyone right. They think I'm Dark."

"Why? Who's 'they'?"

"I'm a werewolf."

Severus froze in shock. A werewolf? Cold panic seized him, and he was suddenly acutely aware of his heart thudding loudly against his ribcage. The memory of Igor being torn apart flashed suddenly in his mind, and he lurched away. Lupin's head had shot back up and confusion passed over his features momentarily before saddened determination replaced it.

"Please, Severus, let me explain—"

"A werewolf?! You're a werewolf?!" Severus managed to exclaim through his shock. He scuttled away backwards as the man, the beast, advanced on him slowly. "You were the one chasing me last night! You've brought me here to put in your meat box!"

"No, no," he crooned, crawling slowly and fluidly. "I don't want to eat you, Severus. Calm down."

"You're not going to eat me? I don't believe you. Stay away from me!" he added unnecessarily when the werewolf had backed him against a wall, with only his trembling knees separating them.

"Severus, I don't eat humans unless there is nothing else around, and I've already told you I've been stocking up. And all I want is your company."

"I don't believe you!" He reminded himself once more that, even if the man was being honest, he was not a Hogsmeadian, and therefore did not know of his reputation of being a bitter and nasty recluse who only came out to sell potions by necessity.

"Why? I'm sure in time we'd become great friends."

Severus resisted the urge to scoff at him. If there was one thing he hated more than idiocy, it was optimism and friendliness. "I'm not the best of company," he said instead.

"It doesn't matter," Lupin said with an easy nonchalance, despite still being on his hands and knees.

"And I have a business to run. And with the war, people would think I'd deserted them."

"You don't really seem the type to care about what people think of you," Lupin replied matter-of-factly.

"It's not caring about what those dunderheads think of me, it's self preservation. If I've simply upped and disappeared, I'll be thought of as a traitor. I'll be hunted down and put to death!"

"I'd protect you."

"Not against Hogsmeade guards, you wouldn't! Not even with that wand of yours!"

Lupin's eyes narrowed and he suddenly came closer, snorts of air rippling across Severus's face. He suddenly realized that, with his werewolf strength, Lupin could probably crush his skull without a second thought. The thought and the werewolf's close presence made a shudder go through his body.

"What are you implying exactly?" Lupin growled, eyes and teeth flashing in a terribly intimidating way.

"I'm saying that you're probably not strong enough to fight off at least five fully-trained and armored guards," Severus replied, trying to be placating, eyes lowered and fixed on the long-nailed hand resting inches away from his thigh. "Not to mention I'd be next to useless without my potions." He didn't mention that he'd be useless anyway because he had rather terrible aim.

"Don't you have a wand?"

"Of course not." He couldn't help his irritable snap. A low rumble erupting from Lupin's chest made him involuntarily shrink down into himself.

"Why?" Lupin demanded.

"It's the damned law." When Lupin continued to look confused, he explained. "Only nobles and guards can have wands. The rest of us…just don't."

"How do you protect yourself?" Lupin demanded, sounding scandalized.

"You're supposed to run away. Or die." The furious growl that erupted from Lupin's body startled him rather badly into falling over, though as he righted himself in a cautious and embarrassed way, he saw the man looked rather embarrassed himself.

"Sorry," he offered.

There was an awkward pause during which Severus tried not to look at Lupin while Lupin did nothing but stare at Severus. "So…" the werewolf dragged out, his aggressiveness seeming to have melted away. "Will you stay with me?"

"No!" came the irritated response.

"Please?" Lupin offered.

"No!"

Lupin opened his mouth again, but paused, shutting it. He re-opened it and said, "Well, you're in no state to make decisions right now, with your head and all. I feel terrible, giving you all this information while you're still ill."

Severus was about to give him a piece of his mind, but the werewolf interrupted him. "Now, you should eat. You must keep your strength up." He went back over to the fire, Severus cautiously following. One side of the meat had turned brown, and while Lupin turned it over he chattered about life in the forest and asked Severus questions about life in Hogsmeade, to which he did his best to respond objectively to. Before long, the meat was ready, and the grill was taken off the fire and placed to the side to cool. As Severus poked at the still hot meat, Lupin continued chattering away, seeming nervous.

Finally deeming it cool enough to eat, Severus picked up the meat and bit into it. It burned his fingers, but it tasted succulent. "What kind of meat is it?"

"Human."

An ominous weight settled on his shoulders. Severus dropped the meat in shock, and spat out his mouthful. He was busy staring at the inoffensive looking steak in horror when he realized that Lupin was laughing.

"I'm just kidding," he said after he had caught his breath, but Severus was still reluctant to bite into the meat again. "I'm kidding!" Lupin said earnestly. "It's deer."

Severus stared at him, trying to determine whether the man was being truthful or not. "Are you sure?" he finally drawled, feeling irritated. Lupin nodded, a teasing smile pulling at his mouth. With some hesitance, Severus started eating again.

Severus wondered if he'd be able to kill—or at least knock out—Lupin. Yes, he knew he had saved him from certain death, yes, he knew he had fed him and kept him warm, but by Merlin, could he not stop talking for a moment? He wondered how Lupin even had time to breath with all the talking he was doing, but quickly decided if he suffocated, at least they'd both be in peace.

(I suppose it's my fault. I shouldn't have forced myself to be friendly. Especially not to a werewolf.)

"…and then there was the time where I rescued an Auror that had gotten separated from her team…"

How could he silence a creature that could kill him – or worse turn him – without a second thought? Severus resisted the need to sigh. Perhaps a yawn would be effective? Or a pan to the head? There was one not too far from the wolfskin. How had the werewolf gotten hold of that? He wondered if when he transformed he stayed in the forest. Surely he'd be shot down if he came too close to one of the cities' gates. And even if he did manage to attack one of the villages, wouldn't his priority be eating and infecting humans, not plundering their homes for cooking utensils?

He wondered what story Lupin would have about the pan, but decided against it. He was tired of this beast's voice.

"Lupin," he said instead, sweetly, and the man in question snapped to look at him so fast Severus wondered if his neck hurt. "I'm…tired. Could you…be quiet?" The way the words came out made Severus cringe internally, but he'd hardly had any experience telling people (nicely) to be quiet. He never surrounded himself with talkative people, and on those accidents where one thought about making him their new friend, a few chosen words was all it took to have them running in the opposite direction. But he couldn't do that with Lupin. What if he were to take offense and bite his head off…literally? He'd already seen the aggression that lurked under his farce of humanity.

But he needn't have worried. Despite the awkwardness of his words, Lupin flashed him a heartening smile. "Of course, Severus. I'm sorry. I usually don't have company, and when I do, I chase them away by talking too much!" He gave a self-depreciating laugh. "I…yes, I'll be quiet."

Severus forced himself to flash him a tiny smile back, a miniscule tugging of a lip corner upward. Lupin beamed, and Severus laid his head awkwardly down on the cushion.

In silence, Severus looked at the sloping ceiling and Lupin looked at him, something like a pet dog looks at a chew toy right before pouncing on it. (He'd seen that look plenty of times; dog whiskers were an uncommon potion ingredient, but it never hurt to have some on hand)

His eyes closed. Silence reigned between them and Severus eventually dozed off.

He was taking a walk in the woods. The forest was calm, and in turn he felt calm. A noise to the side of him had him running. Giving a glance back, he attempted to run faster. He was being chased by a pack of wolves. It was warm, too warm, and as Severus ran on, he looked down on himself and realized that he was wearing an enormous fur coat that slowed him down.

(Fur, dog fur, wolf fur)

Sweat was pouring off of him and the animals got louder as they approached from behind and from the sides. He was suddenly tackled to the ground from the side, but the fur and the mossy ground cushioned his fall and he didn't feel a thing.

Snarling beasts surrounded him on all sides. One darted forward and licked him on the cheek. Severus squealed like a pig and flailed his arms about in an attempt to keep the animals away. Instead, one of them leapt on top of him and licked his face all over. Severus tried to push it off but in vain.

"Stop!" he protested, and suddenly he was awake, greeted by the sight of Lupin, a human Lupin, bent over him and lapping at his face. "Stop! What are you—stop!"

Lupin back off a little, but still remained hunched over him, making Severus more than uncomfortable. "You were having a nightmare," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Were you licking me?" Severus demanded instead, a little more than disturbed.

"Yes," Lupin replied simply. They stared at each other for a long moment. Lupin leaned down and started lapping at his face again. Severus pushed him away immediately.

"Stop! Don't do that!" he said forcefully, using his voice that made children burst into tears and run away. But Lupin simply looked bemused.

"I'm trying to calm you," he said, leaning down and thankfully only nuzzling his face this time. "You reek of pain and fear."

(Can't you smell that I'm disturbed by your actions?) Severus wanted to say, but since the man was in such a position that he could easily tear out his throat, he stayed quiet.

"Sleep, Severus," Lupin crooned almost sweetly. "I will keep the wolves at bay."

Severus gave a quiet snort but uneasily complied.

When he woke up, he was lying awkwardly against Lupin. He wasn't used to sharing a bed with someone, but he supposed he must have banged his head pretty hard if he was practically cuddling the man, no matter how cold it might have gotten during the night. He raised himself slowly and started inching away. Lupin appeared to be still slumbering peacefully, but suddenly cracked an eye open and stared straight at Severus, who froze. Lupin regarded him some more before closing his eyes again, but Severus could tell he hadn't gone back to sleep.

"Do you know the way back to the city?" he asked.

"Of course," Lupin replied.

"Could you tell me how to get there?" Severus pressed after a moment of silence.

Lupin cracked an eye open again. "I could," he replied simply, and didn't elaborate.

"Could you please tell me how to get back to Hogsmeade?" Severus asked.

Lupin shifted. Both eyes opened to look at him. "You'll have to do something for me."

(If it's serving myself up for dinner, I won't do it) he wanted to say, despite the apprehension shooting through him. "What?"

Lupin didn't reply. He grasped Severus by his shoulders and rolled him onto his back. Lupin's weight settled on top of him, and his worry skyrocketed.

"Hold still," Lupin said, leaning forward to lick at Severus's face.

(This again?!) he did his best not to panic and clenched his fists. It was as if the beast was tasting him. He shuddered at the thought.

Lupin moved down. Severus's breathing increased tenfold and he resisted the urge to scream.

"Lupin…Remus…" Severus said, petrified and hating that his voice turned his words into weak begs. "Don't…I can't."

Lupin didn't respond, just keeping his face to Severus's crotch, inhaling deeply. He lifted Severus's legs into the air and sniffed at the seat of his pants, his nails digging into the flesh of his trousered legs. He suddenly straightened and started undoing Severus's pants. Severus recoiled and hit the man's wandering hands away. Lupin looked somewhat less than impressed. Severus felt anger lick at his insides, shoving the fear to the back of his mind.

"Get off of me!" he shouted, giving the werewolf his harshest glare. "I don't want to do this."

"I don't really care," Lupin replied coolly. "I want to do this. And that's what counts."

"You'll hang for this. I'll tell the guards where you are," he said, putting on a brave face even if he was almost certain of his inability to cow this man.

"That's only if you manage to get back to the city. Which you can't do without my help," Lupin said coolly, but his voice was starting to get rough. "Now… you can either do this for me or you can wander the forest, lost and just waiting to be eaten." Severus stared at him stonily. "Hurry up and decide. I've got a prick that needs sucking."

"I won't let you do this," he said resolutely, his face stone.

"I'll make sure you have a good time, Sev," Lupin said, in a tone that could possibly be described as sensual. He leaned closer, and their rough lips met.

Madame Bones kept him in her house, as promised, overnight. Severus found himself awake well into the wee hours of the morning, despite his exhaustion. The candle he had kept lit next to his bed threw the shadows into activity. The creaks of life outside the house resembled the sounds of the forest. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Igor's flailing and bloody body.

Logically, he refused to allow his eyes to shut any longer than it took him to blink.

And that is how he found himself moving gingerly around the house – or was it a manor? – peering in whatever rooms he dared. He wondered briefly if he'd be bold enough to steal a golden vase that looked valuable, but hobbled away empty handed.

He soon found himself in the kitchen, not that he had recognized it as a kitchen at first. Everything was too nice, too white, too clean. Not to mention the room was enormous. He went over to the cold box and found several kinds of cheese. Peeking around, he decided that cheese was nothing like golden vases and therefore, a small piece wouldn't be missed.

He wandered some more, and against his better judgment, he found himself in the cellar. The illuminated torches had him discovering a potions lab – an actual lab, instead of potions materials in the corner of the kitchen – that left him breathless. The room was easily twice the size of his own house, with cauldrons stacked neatly in a corner, and shelves with labeled jars covering the walls.

Looking around at the ingredients, he noticed lavender, valerian, and other herbs and ingredients that were necessary to brew a Sleeping Draught. He shrugged to himself; he wasn't falling asleep on his own.

He set to work brewing. It was a recipe he knew well, his mother taking it regularly, despite it being addictive.

At one moment, the potion needed to simmer during 70 minutes. Severus entertained himself by trying to remember the properties of each ingredient against the wall. He plucked up a jar that contained what might look like dead cockroaches and accidentally knocked over another jar full of dead things.

The explosion of glass against the stone floor might as well have been the sound of a firearm going off. Severus had leapt back in fright, his spine smashing against the edge of the wooden table. The ensuing silence was deafening. Not two moments later, someone was thundering down the steps. The door burst open and hit the wall noisily. Wand-light momentarily blinded Severus, who threw an arm over his eyes.

"Don't you move!" a rough voice barked. The light came closer, and an enormous hand seized him by the collar. "What the blazes are you doing down here, boy?"

"Nothing!" he lied, unable to help himself, and cursed himself not a moment later. Whoever this was, manhandling him, had undoubtedly seen the fumes spiraling up from the cauldron.

"What are you brewing?" The hand gave him a shake that lifted him off of his feet.

"It's none of your business!" he cried, and did his best to fight back.

"You dirty little liar!" the man roared. "What is this? Some sort of poison? An explosive solution? After all the Lady Bones has done for you, this is how you repay her?" Severus shook like a ragdoll.

"I'm not trying to hurt her! Put me down!" he shouted, and flailed, managing to slap the man in the face several times.

"Alastor!" Severus had never been more relieved to hear a noblewoman speak. "Put the boy down immediately!"

"But, Madam—"

"Immediately."

Severus was roughly set on his feet. The wand light came away from his face, allowing him to see Madam Bones's bodyguard. His face was a crisscrossing of scars, a piece of his nose missing. One of his eyes was brown while the other was electric blue, made all the more frightening by the harsh wand light. His mouth was set in an ugly sneer and it was easy to tell that he didn't consider Severus worthy of the bottom of his shoe.

Madam Bones had moved over to the cauldron, her own lit wand held aloft and gave it a few, delicate sniffs. She turned towards Severus, a neutral expression on her face. "What's this you're brewing?"

"Sleeping Draught!"he said, somewhat reluctantly. If she asked him to reimburse the ingredients, it'd take money he didn't have.

"Where's the recipe?" she asked, light moving over the table, not finding any written instructions.

"I know the recipe," Severus replied grumpily. Just because he was poor, didn't mean he was stupid.

Madam Bones looked at him, an interested look coming to her face.

A/N: not happy with the ending, but oh well...