Remus Lupin

Unaware of the terrible development that had taken place in the DADA classroom, Remus was currently sitting in front of a small table, staring silently at the drink in his hand, as if hoping to find something at the bottom of it.

Remus didn't really consider himself an alcohol enthusiast, always forced to keep his "condition" in mind whenever he was out, but after the disastrous class that had taken place earlier that day, he decided it was time to give it a try. Unfortunately, he didn't have any liquor himself, a responsible werewolf he was, so he soon found himself in the Hogwarts teachers' lounge with only a bottle of whiskey for company.

While the company itself was far from ideal, it certainly had some perks.

For example, it was very good at helping him deal with his guilt over recklessly traumatizing an innocent child.

While it was certainly true that he could not have predicted Mr. Brown's fear to be so... visceral, it still did not excuse him. He should have at least thought about the possible consequences before making his students face Boggart. He foolishly thought that Harry's situation would prove to be just an unfortunate exception, and Michael Brown paid the price for Remus' mistake.

The worst part was that some small part of him actually felt... relief upon seeing Brown's reaction to the boggart.

He didn't really know why, but his inner wolf would always stir in the presence of Michael Brown, putting Remus on edge whenever the boy was around. That's why he always hesitated to interact with Mr. Brown, finding him somewhat unsettling.

As much as he wanted the wolf to be wrong, the beast's instincts had always been accurate, saving Remus from many dangers in the past. So why did he let Michael Brown interact with the boggart?

His wolf howled, warning him about the boy, and yet, despite everything, Remus allowed him to face the personification of fear itself, to see the terrifying sight of himself screaming in agony, silently begging for mercy...

Remus knew he should not have accepted Dumbledore's offer. Someone like him should not be around children. His greatest fear was unknowingly attacking one of his students in a werewolf state, but it turned out he didn't even need lycanthropy to hurt them...

"How ... unexpected." A sudden sneer came from his left side, snapping Remus out of his musings. As his tired eyes followed the sound, Remus saw someone he didn't expect nor was that eager to see. In the very center of the door to the lounge stood Severus Snape. The man, barely visible thanks to the dim lighting in the room and his signature black clothing, was looking at Remus with barely contained distaste, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "I didn't think you were capable of making me respect you even less, and yet somehow you managed to do it, Lupin. Congratulations."

"Severus? I didn't expect to see you here." Remus replied slowly, somewhat ashamed. It was no secret that Severus Snape was not the most sociable of Hogwarts staff members, so it was quite surprising to see him intentionally appear in the lounge, a place designed for willing interaction with other people. Normally Remus wouldn't have minded, not really disliking the man despite their less than stellar past, but he didn't want to be seen in such a disorderly state, especially by Snape of all people. "What are you doing here?"

He of course had some suspicions about the possible reason for the potions master's presence, especially given the sight of a very familiar potion in the man's hands, but he was still compelled to ask.

"Well, I went to your quarters to give you another batch of the wolfsbane potion, as per Dumbledore's orders, but you weren't there. I decided to look for you, if only to make sure you didn't maim someone." Snape stated venomously, his tone of voice making it clear what he thought of his assignment. He then glared at Remus, his eyes expressing pure disgust. " I didn't however expect to see you drink yourself under the table, looking like a beaten dog. You looked so pathetic that I almost mistook you for Black."

Remus flinched upon hearing Snape's words, his temper rising, but he managed to restrain himself from responding in kind. They were no longer bratty students, so engaging in an argument and escalating the situation would be quite childish. He was better than that. Besides, as much as it bothered him, he couldn't really bring himself to resent Snape for his attitude toward him. Not after everything the marauders had done to him during their school years.

It took him quite a long time to forgive James and Sirius after the Whomping Willow incident...

"Ah, I apologize for my state, Severus." Remus replied conciliatorily instead, ignoring the man's scathing remark. "I just had quite a bad day and needed to ... unwind."

He cringed as he heard his own words, realizing how weak an excuse it was. Snape seemed to think the same, judging by his growing sneer.

"I don't care about your pathetic excuses." Snape said, narrowing his eyes. "If you want to feel sorry for yourself, do it in your own quarters. Don't bring other people into it."

"Well, I suppose you're right." Remus admitted. Still, he wanted to at least explain his reasons, if only to ease his conscience. "Once again, I apologize. It's just that something troubling happened to one of my students, Michael Brown, and I overreacted. I will..."

Remus then stopped talking as he noticed that Snape showed a very unexpected reaction upon hearing the student's name. For some reason, a conflicted expression appeared on the man's face. He looked like he was struggling with some difficult decision, debating between two equally bad options. It actually took Snape a few seconds to come to some sort of conclusion, but when he did, he sighed deeply.

What happened next was even more surprising. Ignoring Remus' questioning look, Snape walked over to the liquor cabinet at the end of the room and took out a single glass. He then silently walked over to the table and sat down across from Remus, pouring himself a whiskey.

Remus looked at the man in disbelief, but Snape simply took a sip and looked at Remus with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Listen carefully. You will tell me your story. I'll listen to it quietly. When you're done, we'll go our separate ways and never talk about it again." Snape declared, his tone unrelenting. It was clear that he planned to do exactly that, and any deviation from the plan would only result in Snape's immediately leaving without a word. Before Remus had time to comment on the man's words, Snape went on. "We won't talk about anything else. No personal matters, no new hobbies, nothing. I will not give you advice nor will I reassure you. I will only listen, nothing more, nothing less. Is that clear?"

As shocked as he was, Remus spent the next few moments pondering over Snape's words.

It... actually suited Remus just fine.

The fic is…alive?

Sorry for the long wait. To be honest, after the last chapter I found myself burnt out by the story, so I was unable to force myself to write for the next few months. Still, I plan to continue the story. At the very least, I hope to finish Michael's second year before another burnout.