Disclaimer: All characters belong solely to JK Rowling. If you recognize a scene or a name, it is hers.
Chapter Fourteen: The Quiet before the Storm
It had been seventeen years. Seventeen long years. Remus Lupin was returning to Hogwarts at last.
Was it really only fifteen years since he'd been happy? Sometimes, when he looked in the mirror, he saw an old man. And he was only in his early thirties.
He had been through many things in his life. He lived through the death of three of his closest friends. Two of these deaths were caused by a betrayal of the worst sort; the betrayal by a friend. And the third was brutally murdered by that same friend. A friend who had just escaped prison. He lived through the pain and isolation caused by the fact he was a werewolf. He lived through watching the man he loved, even after all these years, enter into the service of the most evil wizard of all time.
But now he was returning to the place that he had first been able to call home. At Hogwarts, he had been the happiest he had ever been. And the thought of returning…
But it wasn't just returning to the place that he looked forward to. He had heard that he would be working alongside of his one time lover, Severus Snape. A man who Remus still loved to this day.
He pulled a photo out of the battered desk at which he sat. The photo was of two boys, both age sixteen. The one boy had longish brown hair, tanned skin, light amber eyes, and had one arm wrapped around the other boy, and in the other, he held two books loosely. The other boy had shoulder-length black hair, pale skin, deep onyx eyes, and was looking at the camera with a mildly annoyed look on his face. Every once in a while, the boys would look at one another, and the first would grin, evoking a small smile on the other's face.
Remus sighed with the memory. September first couldn't get there soon enough.
Severus Snape stared at Albus Dumbledore in shock.
"And he's going to be here in three days?"
The headmaster nodded, his blue eyes twinkling.
"What makes you think I want to put so much time into making the potion for him, Albus? You remember what happened between us, do you not? Why would I want to waste so much time on someone who is not even worth my trouble?"
"Severus, you are not doing this for Remus, you are doing this for the sake of the students. You of all people know that he will have no control over himself if you do not do this."
"Fine, headmaster. I will make the potion for the wolf every month. Have you given any thought to what I mentioned to you before?"
"Yes, Severus." Dumbledore's head bowed.
"And still you insist on allowing Lupin to teach?"
"Remus lost everything because of Sirius Black. He will not assist Black in getting into the school."
"Maybe. Or maybe Lupin was assisting Black all along. I remember quite well what those two were capable of."
"Severus," Dumbledore sighed.
"If that is all, headmaster, I must collect ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion. Several are hard to acquire, and I must begin brewing in four days, if we are to expect the potion done in time."
"Thank you, Severus. Again, I ask much out of you. It is appreciated."
Snape didn't answer. He merely nodded to Dumbledore and swept out of the office.
He hadn't given his real reasons for not wanting to work beside Remus Lupin. Even after seventeen years, he still had feelings for Remus Lupin. Feelings that Lupin could no way still harbor.
He entered his private chambers and went straight to his kitchen. He pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey and a glass. Entering his bedroom, he sat on his bed and poured himself a glass, setting the bottle beside a photograph of two boys.
One had long black hair, pale skin, and black eyes. He was glaring at the camera. The other had longish brown hair, tanned skin, and bright amber eyes. In one arm, he held a few books. The other arm was draped lazily around the dark-haired boy. Every minute or so, the boys would share a glance, one with a mischievous grin, the other with a small smile.
The photo was of himself and Remus Lupin.
I know, it's taken me a long time, only to put up something ridiculously short. I'll make it up to you. Next chapter: The meeting between Remus and Severus. Please Review!