Disclaimer: "I dreamed I was buying new shoes last night," said Ron. "What d'ya think that's gonna mean?" "Probably that you're going to be eaten by a giant marshmallow or something," said Harry." I dreamed I owned Harry Potter and lived in England. Probably means I'll get bitten by a horse today or something...

Chapter 3

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Waking up after a full moon was never a pleasant experience. It was even less so when you hadn't had a clear mind from wolfsbane potion. Remus just let himself lay still for a while longer as he came to himself and tried to take stock of what was injured.

A slight groan slipped out as he moved and exhausted muscles protested loudly. It felt like he'd been running most of the night, which was very likely. Moving slowly he got into a kneeling position and ran his hands over his face and through his hair to bring him a little closer to rational thought. Remus tried to ignore the uncomfortable way sticks and mud was sticking to his bare skin, and was just glad he seemed to have woken up somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, away from prying student eyes.

He licked his lips, confused for a moment at the coppery bitter taste in his mouth, before it all came back.

Blood. There was blood around his mouth and down his chin. Dried blood. Human blood. He froze, eyes wide, "No….the children!"

That brought him fully awake and, as well as he could at the moment, jumped to his feet and started looking around, terrified of what he might see.

A deep voice spoke behind him, at the same time managing to sound bored and furious, "I have no desire to see more of you than I have need to, Lupin. Please clothe yourself before you turn around."

Remus jumped at the tone, but only turned enough to see behind him as his fellow teacher, Severus Snape, levitated a pile of clothes over to him. The dark man was studiously looking up towards the canopy of the trees and directing the pile with deft flicks of his wand.

Remus took them out of the air with a shaking arm and nodded his thanks. He dressed quickly before walking purposefully over to Snape, a manic gleam in his eyes.

"Severus, I have no memory of last night, did I…did I hurt anyone?" He paled at the very idea of having killed one of those three children or his friend Sirius, and had to support himself against the tree Snape had chosen to stand under. Remus braced himself for bad news, he knew first hand how dangerous Lycanthropes were. He'd been a fool thinking that he was any different than the monster that had bitten him.

Dull black eyes considered his state before answering. "You did not kill any of the students." Remus let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and sagged against the tree.

"Severus…thank-thank god-" he began, face lighting up a little.

But his hopes were most effectively dashed the next moment when the surly potions master interrupted him with a bitter remark.

"However, you may well wish that you had managed to kill them last night."

Remus' eyes began to fill as he saw the awful truth reflected in the surprising sight of unbridle fury in those black eyes. Unashamed he let the tears run down his cheeks as he sank back down to the ground, and wished he could just curl up there and then, and disappear.

"No." The horror in that one word conveyed his feeling more accurately than anything longer ever could. He'd sworn, damn it, sworn! That this was one thing he would never do! Of course he knew it was a risk of him simply existing, but he'd sworn that he would never allow it to happen.

Slowly his hands came up with cover his mouth and the tears continued to pour over his cheeks and pool around his hands. Snape, in a surprising show of self restraint, didn't start taunting the other man about it yet. However neither was he patient enough to allow the man a moment to grieve properly.

With a long suffering sigh he leaned down and forcefully yanked Remus to his feet, taking advantage of the werewolf's diminished strength. Keeping his hand fisted in the shabby brown robes Snape leaned in close and allowed to show, for just a moment, all the anger in his face.

"I admit, I had entertained thoughts of exposing your…disability, before the students this morning. However, if I should chose to do so it would also implicate the boy." That caught Resmus' attention. That narrowed it down to either Ron or Harry. "So it is with some regret that I will keep my silence for the time being." He released his hold then and shoved Remus away from him in disgust. Which, Remus thought, was less than he deserved.

When the greying man said nothing Snape only sneered and began walking back the way he'd come.

"If you have a shred of humanity left, you will go and see about cleaning up your mess." Lupin winced at the barbed comment, but hurried after the dark man. When he drew almost parallel with Snape his wand was held out to him, and he took it without comment.

The trip was a somber one as neither party seemed likely to begin speaking, and it was with relief that Remus saw the edge of the forest. He thought to ask if the children were in the Hospital Wing, but an icy glare made him close his mouth right away.

A short trip upstairs later and they were almost to the double doors leading to Madam Pomfrey's domain. Getting his voice back Remus rasped out, "…what do we say to him Severus?" His head was bowed, and his shoulders hunched as he stepped closer to his worst nightmare. At this point they were only a few feet from the door.

Abruptly the potions master came to a stop and his famous sneer was leveled at the werewolf. "We? Just what gave you reason to believe I would be assisting you with this?"

Remus blinked in surprise, "But then, why walk all the way up here with me?"

This question seemed to catch Snape a little off guard as he blinked, but then the scowl darkened even more and his hand lashed out to catch Remus on the scruff of his neck, much in the same way Snape would do with the Weasley Twins.

Though it would have usually been laughably easy for him to duck the hand now holding him tightly by the neck, Remus was utterly drained from his night in the forest and in no fit state to struggle away, a fact that Snape took great pleasure in exploiting.

"Must I personally rub your nose in this mess for you to learn the lesson?" With the DADA professor stumbling along Snape hauled him to the door, and threw him through them.

"Severus!" Remus whirled around to grab for the doors and gaped as he heard them lock from the outside. Growling deep in his throat Remus was set to whip out his wand and curse the man three ways from next Tuesday when a polite cough brought his attention to the other occupants of the room.

He froze with one hand on the door nob, stomach sinking as he realized that if they hadn't been awake before, they most assuredly were now. With a deep breathe to steady his nerves Lupin slowly let go of the doorknob and turned around to face his students.

His eyes scanned them over quickly before locking on Harry's emerald green eyes. He didn't need to see the pad of gauze and bandages covering the boys' should to know who he'd bitten. He could see it in his eyes.

A/N's: Thanks for reading again! Reviews will be donated either towards the Buy Snape A Kitten Fund, or the Get That Werewolf A Sammich' Fund. Please specify in your review which you'd like to donate to, thank you.

Oh and also How The Weasley Twins Saved The World should be posted in the next few days.