Albus Dumbledore's bearded face smiled benevolently at Severus and Harry from within the green flames. "Ah, my boys...I'm glad to see you're still here. May I step through?"

"As if I have the wherewithal to stop you," Severus grumbled with ill concealed irritation. But the disembodied head had already disappeared. Severus rolled his eyes and turned away from the fireplace. Mad old coot, he thought. And where else would we be, seem as it was you who opened up the direct floo connection to these rooms from the Burrow and who would have immediately closed them again when you knew we had arrived.

Harry's face had flamed crimson when he had seen his headmaster's head within the green flames. Memories of their last encounter rose up to engulf him in shame. It was the second time he had lost his temper around the powerful, but benevolent old wizard. He really needed to do something about controlling these explosive rages. And then he recalled Snape telling him that he got that temper from him. Harry's heart sank even further. What were the chances of his ending up a benevolent old man one day? Zero.

What were the chances of his ending up any sort of old man, was the more pertinent question, he thought dejectedly. When the green flames whooshed higher and Dumbledore stepped out looking resplendent in olde gold robes with silver stitching, Harry turned away, too ashamed to meet his headmaster's eyes. As he turned away, he could not help but note that there was not a speck of soot on those lurid robes. It always amazed Harry that the old man could floo and always step out of the fire at the end of his journey, spotless. Come to think of it, there was never a trace of soot on Snape's robes either. Harry wondered if clean floo travel was a talent that came with age.

Perhaps not necessarily. Harry recalled that Mrs Weasley carried a clothes brush around with her when she and the family flooed anywhere. If there was a spell to repel soot, then surely Mrs Weasley would know it. There had to be another reason why some wizards were obviously able to remain clean within the floo network. He would have to remember to ask Snape.

Harry winced internally. Snape! What in the hell did he call the man, now. How many people called their father by his surname? ‘Severus' was totally out of the question. In the Muggle world, Harry knew that there were some kids who called their fathers by their Christian names, but that was usually because they were little smart-arses who thought they were sticking it to their fathers by being disrespectful. Hmm, maybe that was something to think about if Sn...if his father got on his nerves too much. And of course Harry thought with an internal snigger, if he was talking to someone else about his father, he could always resort to ‘the old man', or ‘the old cheese'!

And then he groaned; he hardly made a noise but Severus and Dumbledore both looked at his still turned back and hunched shoulders questioningly. Harry could just imagine the repercussions if Snape ever heard Harry refer to him as either of those things, even if it was to someone else. And then he thought that it would be doubtful that anyone else would ever find out that Snape was his father...well certainly not until old snake-face was gone; that information was just too dangerous to become common knowledge. And if he and Snape did start to bond-Harry nearly gagged-would he ever be able to tell anyone that he had two fathers? Oh God, he could hardly even think it, let alone talk about it to others. He was rubbing the back of his neck when he turned back to face the other two wizards. When he saw them staring at him, his cheeks flamed again.

"Is there a problem, Harry?" asked Severus. Harry wanted to laugh. He felt like saying, ‘do you want a list', but he just shook his head, totally flustered. God, he had to calm down. He had made the decision to give this relationship a shot, so that was exactly what he was going to do. He wasn't a coward. And while Snape...er, his father had been a total arse yesterday, he had been pretty decent today. Harry knew he had been making a huge effort. This wasn't going to easy for him either.

Albus thought a rescue from the tension that filled the room was in order. Both Severus and Harry needed a break from their mutual confinement and their very emotional discussion. He had flooed in because he had just wanted to make sure that all was going well. Seeing them through a haze of green flame had not assuaged his worries. But it seemed that his qualms were overstated. It seemed that major advances had been made because Severus was calling Harry by his given name, and he was doing it without any hint of derision. And if Harry was ill-at-ease, at least he wasn't bristling with resentment.

Of course, knowing Harry as he did, Albus knew that part of the boy's disquiet had to do with their own very recent interaction. He knew Harry would be feeling remorse for yesterday's harsh words. That was just Harry. The dear boy exploded with spectacular results and then his remorse was always fathoms deep and he flagellated himself until he got up the nerve to apologise. Albus didn't need an apology, but he knew Harry would need to offer one sooner or later.

"Come, Severus, Harry. I have arranged for some luncheon to be served in my rooms. I think a bit of bright sunshine...yes, the sun has broken through for the first time in days and it will do you both the world of good to bask in it's golden warmth."

Uncharacteristically, and much to Albus's satisfaction, Harry looked to Severus to see what his thoughts were to this suggestion. Severus knew they definitely needed a break from each other's sole company. He gestured towards the floo and looked at Albus. "After you headmaster," he said stiffly, and Albus re-entered the fireplace and disappeared. Then Severus gestured for Harry to precede him. When he stepped into the fireplace, Severus joined him. Harry looked up at the tall, black robed figure beside him. Severus felt his scrutiny. Before he threw the powder down, he said, "we will talk some more later, Harry."

As they were swallowed up in the green flames, Harry wondered whether that statement was a threat or a promise.

When they stepped out into the headmaster's office, the beautiful round room was indeed bathed in midsummer sunshine. Dumbledore was ascending a short circular staircase that hugged the round wall of the office when they stepped out of the fireplace-Harry would have fallen out if Severus hadn't grasped his arm-and they followed in the wake of the sweeping gold robes. Harry had never ventured up here and he assumed that the staircase led to Dumbledore's private rooms. His interest was piqued but he was too aware of the severe figure one step behind and slightly to the side of him to be relaxed.

His father. The severe figure was no longer just his hated teacher, he was his father. How was he going to separate those two people...assuming, of course, that the father was going to be different to the teacher. God, how was he going to stand it if Snape wasn't able to make the transition, if he was the same snarky, nasty Slytherin bastard he had always been. What if he couldn't get past the Potter/Gryffindor factor.

And what if I can't get past the snarky Slytherin bastard who has made my life hell for five very long years?

Harry quickly thrust those thoughts aside. He would just have to make the supreme effort to get past it. That is if he wanted any kind of relationship with the man who apparently was just as much his father biologically as James was, even if it wasn't by choice.

When they gained the next level, Harry didn't immediately see the other person in the room. He was halfway across the honey coloured timber floor before he noticed the figure rising from one of two deep armchairs in an intimate reading nook, and it wasn't until the figure stepped out of the shadows that he realised that it was Remus.

Severus realised that the fourth person in the room was Lupin a second before Harry did and he had stiffened perceptibly, shooting a basilisk's glare at Dumbledore and cursing him to the heavens for once again manoeuvring his little chess men to exactly where he wanted them to be on the board, whether they wanted to be there or not.

Harry's face had broken into a wide grin at the sight of Lupin. Something of the tension that he had been feeling for the last couple of hours loosened its hold on his chest, and he rushed forward, thumping hard into Remus, whose arms automatically closed around him. Remus's eyes found Severus over the top of the untidy raven hair and ignoring the rigid, cold countenance of his fellow Order member and old enemy, he offered a half smile and a curt nod in greeting.

Harry clung onto Remus as if he was a life line and Remus was not eager to let him go either. After last night when he thought that they were both going to be subjected to the dementor's kiss, he was happy to have the physical proof of Harry's well being clamped to his chest. If anything had happened to Harry so soon after losing Sirius...well, Remus knew that he would have welcomed the oblivion that the dementors would have provided. He was feeling utterly appalled that he had been of absolutely no use in protecting the child.

Finally, realising that he had been wrapped in Remus's arms for longer than what would be considered dignified, considering that he was nearly a man, Harry loosened his hold, albeit a little reluctantly. His face was red when he glanced up through his fringe into the careworn face of his friend and he grinned sheepishly. "Uh...sorry about that," he said. "I'm just relieved to see that you're OK."

Remus smiled and squeezed Harry's shoulder. "As you can see, Harry, I'm fine. And you don't have to apologise to your friends for showing affection." Harry ducked his head down and rubbed the back of his neck. "How are you anyway? None the worse for wear after you adventure, yesterday?"

"Err...no. I'm OK. I think I might be getting a cold though," and to demonstrate the truth of this assertion, Harry felt a sneeze coming on. He turned away and sneezed violently, his hand cupped over his lower face in lieu of a handkerchief. Remus reached into his pocket and produced a folded square of soft, oft washed maroon cotton which he handed to Harry, who mumbled an embarrassed thanks before turning away again. He blew his nose and wiped his streaming eyes, but he was a little precipitate because two more sneezes followed in quick succession.

"Perhaps some pepper-up potion might be the go, Severus," suggested Remus, turning towards the other two men who were both sipping some honey coloured liquid from small, stemmed glasses. Albus picked up another full glass and handed it to Remus.

"Thank you Lupin. I will give your suggestion all the consideration that it deserves," said Severus in a deadly voice.

"Severus!" admonished Dumbledore, but Severus had turned away and was now glaring at Harry.

"Why didn't you tell me that you felt unwell, Potter?" he asked with barely concealed, cold impatience."

Harry looked startled at the renewed use of ‘Potter', but Severus raised his eyebrows significantly and after a couple of seconds, Harry realised that this was an act for Remus's benefit. He didn't like it much that they were deceiving Remus, but he reluctantly played along. It was no act that he sounded annoyed however.

"I didn't think about it. And besides, it just suddenly came on. I felt fine when you dragged me away from the Burrow." His eyes were stormy as he glared at Severus. So, this was what it was going to be like. Amongst other people, they still had a part to play. They hated each other. Well, Harry supposed that wouldn't be too hard because they would just be falling back on the old script, wouldn't they?

"Perhaps a small glass of mead in the interim will act as a pick-me-up, Severus?" suggested Albus, who had already poured the tipple and had moved to Harry's side to hand it to him.

"Err, thanks, sir," said Harry, looking down at the glass of thickish golden liquid a little warily. He had never had mead before. He looked up at Severus, who just shook his head irritably.

"Just drink it, Potter. It wont hurt you."

"Well," said Albus, I think it is time to appease our appetites, don't you?" He clapped his hands and a round table situated near a black, wrought iron balustrade which allowed a full view of the office below, suddenly filled with dishes, and the delicious aroma of roast chicken wafted through the air. "Gentlemen," said Albus, gesturing for Remus and Severus to sit down. The two men seated themselves as far away from each other as they could but the upshot of that was that they were facing each other.

When Harry made no move to join them, Severus twisted around in his chair. Harry was just standing looking miserable-his eyes were bright with the beginnings of a fever and he was beginning to look a little florid. The handkerchief was balled up in one hand and his nearly full glass was in the other. He was looking at the platters of chicken and vegetables as if they were poison. Severus wondered how on earth he could have missed the signs of impending illness. For Merlin's sake, he was supposed to be a healer.

Colds didn't come on in a matter of minutes. Severus could only assume that he had been too caught up in the moment and perhaps Harry had assumed that any feelings of illness he may have been experiencing were just manifestations of the stress he was feeling as the pair of them had tried to come to an understanding. However while he had missed the signs when they had been alone together, it was quite obvious now that Harry was certainly under the weather.

Still, with Lupin looking on, he had to play a part. He and Harry had not progressed as far as discussing how they would have to act around others. Harry had certainly not looked happy a minute ago when he, Severus had reverted to his usual acerbic self, but he had gone along. So now... it was on with the show.

"When you're ready, Potter," he sneered, and even to his own ears, he sounded hateful. He tried to convey through eye contact that he was sorry that it had to be this way.

But if Harry read his expression, he chose to ignore the silent apology. His lips thinned and after a narrow eyed glare that showed only too clearly that he was far from happy with the situation, his eyes skittered away. After slugging down the rest of the mead, he focused on Dumbledore who had pulled out a chair for his youngest guest and was smiling encouragingly at him.

"Come along my boy," he said placatingly. "It's only roast chicken, and if you can eat only a small portion, I am sure that will satisfy Professor Snape." He squeezed Harry's shoulder as he slumped into the chair.

"I really couldn't care less if Potter starves himself to death, but the rest of wizarding Britain might have something different to say on the subject, though why I cannot fathom. And as it would quickly become known that I was his healer, I have no intention of being labelled incompetent. So you will eat something, Potter. Having a cold does not have to preclude eating."

Harry glared mutinously at his empty plate, but he made no effort to reach for any of the utensils to serve himself up even a small portion. Instead, he held out the little glass to Dumbledore. "Can I have some more mead, sir?" he asked in a tight voice.

Dumbledore looked a little taken aback but Severus answered for him. "No, Potter, you may not have some more mead." He reached for a metal ewer of iced pumpkin juice and poured a measure into a tall glass in front of Harry's place setting. "You may have some pumpkin juice."

Then Severus deposited a piece of golden skinned chicken breast, a roast potato and some carrots and peas on Harry's plate. Then he moved the gravy boat to within easy reach. Harry sat silently throughout this operation, and as soon as Severus had returned his attention to his own meal, he pushed back his chair and stood. Harry ignored Severus as he lowered the laden fork he had just been transferring to his mouth, back to his plate and kept his green eyes focused on Remus.

"It's good to see you again, Remus, and I want to thank you for coming to my rescue yesterday. I'm sorry that I put you in danger." Remus didn't have a chance to respond before Harry turned to Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I really have no appetite. Something is really turning my stomach. If you'll excuse me..."

"Sit down, Potter!" snapped Severus, and this time, it wasn't too difficult to feign anger. Harry ignored him and hurried to the staircase. Severus would have pushed himself away from the table, but Albus put a firm hand on his shoulder. Severus would have shaken it off but he caught Lupin's eye and it was obvious the bloody werewolf was expecting him to make life difficult for Harry. He forced himself to relax.

Harry had only descended four steps before he stopped and turned back. "Err...Professor Dumbledore...I'd like to apologise for my rudeness last night. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"Don't think on it any longer, Harry. I have forgotten already."

Harry offered a tight little smile and a curt bob of his head before he continued his descent. After a few seconds, the three adults heard the roar of the flames and Harry's voice as he called out his destination.

Even though Severus knew that Harry would not have been able to designate a destination outside of the castle, he had been worried that he would try. It was only after he heard the boy call out for Professor Snape's quarters, that the tension left his body.

Over the next few minutes the silence around the table was only broken by the sound of cutlery scraping against china and the muted noises of chewing and sipping. Severus's jaw was so stiff, it hurt to chew, and after the second mouthful of chicken following Harry's departure, he gave up eating as a bad joke and concentrated solely on his wine. The beverages accompanying luncheon had included a deep, ruby red burgundy-Severus's favourite.

Finally, Dumbledore broke the silence. "I wouldn't worry Severus. I'm sure that Harry is just tired after yesterday's adventure, and if he has got a cold coming on-well, that wouldn't be surprising considering the inclement conditions he was exposed to yesterday with little in the way of protective clothing.

Severus didn't answer. He had deduced all of this himself of course, but he also knew that Harry was expressing his displeasure at the way the status of their new relationship had so quickly reverted to normal so soon after their talk. Severus was far from thrilled himself that their new situation had been put to the test so quickly. But despite this, his annoyance at Harry was real. The boy had to realise that he could not go off in a snit and refuse to eat when things did not entirely suit him.

Severus's temper was not improved by the fact that Lupin kept on staring at him. There was more to those stares than just disapproval of the way he, Severus had told Harry off. The look was contemplative-knowing.

When his ire had reached its peak, he met Lupin's eyes with his own fathomless black pools. "So, Lupin, why exactly were you at Godric's Hollow yesterday?" he asked in a bored drawl. "Come to that, what are you doing here today? Cadging food perhaps? You are looking a little more starved than normal lately, not to mention ragged." Severus lips curled into a thin sneer as he saw Lupin flush. His barb had hit a nerve.

"Severus, I don't know why I tolerate your company when you are one of the most unforgivably rude individuals I have ever met." Dumbledore had not raised his voice but it vibrated with his disgust. Severus just turned his head away apparently coldly indifferent to the censure, pretending to be interested in the titles of some of the books in the old man's little library. He appeared to take a casual sip of his wine, but it was in actual fact, a huge swallow.

Truth to tell, even though Lupin staring at him in that knowing way had got on his nerves, Severus's foul comment and sneer had been an automatic response to his feeling less than in total command of a situation. But this time, it had been for show. His heart had not been in that verbal attack. As foul a human being as he was, he had not forgotten that Lupin was in that graveyard with Harry and he had been making every effort to protect him in the face of overwhelming odds. He owed the wolf something, but he could not be seen as being out of character. And besides which, he still loathed the man.

"Thank you Albus, but I do not need a champion," Remus was saying when Severus tuned back in. "I have known Severus's rudeness since we were eleven years old. But back in those days, Severus Snape could not comment on anyone elses raggedness, because he, dressed in his second hand robes, was the ragged one."

Severus could no longer feign disinterest in the conversation. His head snapped back so that he was glaring at Remus. His eyes were narrowed with the old hatred. He pushed his half full plate to the side and leaned across the table as far as he could reach.

"You go too far, Lupin! Eleven year olds have to rely on the largesse of their families and I have no trouble admitting that my father was a total bastard who kept my mother and myself in virtual poverty while he squandered what little money he might come by on booze and gambling." If Severus was hoping to make Remus feel abashed for his nasty comments, he was bound for disappointment. Of course, he knew his own comments had been equally in poor taste, but that was the sort of thing that Severus Snape did. And besides, he had only insulted the man himself, not his dead family. And though Severus could not care less who made disparaging remarks about his father, he would not have any one think ill of his mother.

But Remus did not look in the least abashed. Those tawny coloured eyes continued to gaze at him solemnly. He was totally unfazed by Severus's fury. "Yes, Severus, I am totally cognisant of your unfortunate childhood and just for the record, I meant no disrespect to your mother. I am sure she did her best with the little she had to work with. I am sorry that you had to grow up in such dire circumstances. But then again, your situation is far from unique. There are a lot of bastard fathers out there."

Severus froze, and as it always did when he was unsure, his face became set and his eyes seemed to become blank. Beside him, he was aware that Albus too had become very still. What in the hell had Lupin meant by that comment. Had it just been a throw away line? It had to be. The wolf could not know anything.

Unless...Severus's eyelids drooped in an effort to hide his mental gymnastics as his thoughts whirled. How long had Lupin been at the graveyard yesterday before the dementors had attacked? Had he and Harry had a chance to talk beforehand? Had Harry been so upset that he might have blurted out the whole of his latest dealings with Severus Snape to Lupin? After all-the werewolf had made himself Harry's confidant back in the boy's third year, and that relationship had no doubt been expanded upon last year at Grimmauld place.

Lupin and Black would have spent as much time together as possible, no doubt reminiscing about the good old days before the Dark Lord had brought it all crashing down-back to the days when their twosome had been a foursome, although Pettigrew had always been the odd man out amongst his more talented and braver friends.

Harry would have seen quite a lot of Lupin last year and he had also been at the Department of Mysteries with Harry when Black had met his demise. So, it would have seemed perfectly normal for Harry to ease his burden by sharing it with the last of his father's...James's friend. After all, Severus and Harry had not spoken of keeping this a deep, dark secret.

But surely, even lacking so deplorably in Slytherin secretiveness and cunning as he was, Harry must have realised that this was not a subject that could be broadcast to anyone. But Harry had still been in shock, hadn't he?

Severus raised his eyelids and stared at Lupin. The damned werewolf was still watching him with that knowing look, leaning back indolently and spinning the stem of his glass in his long fingers. and for once, Albus was leaving it up to the pair of them. He was carefully pouring himself another glass of wine. It was obvious he was waiting to see what would transpire between these two old enemies, who at least, now were working with him towards a common goal.

"Well, Lupin, it would seem that you wouldn't know much about bastard fathers," drawled Severus, in his best, disinterested voice. "Yours must have been a paragon."

Remus shrugged. "He was a good man, yes. I am sure you know that the reason I was attacked as a child was because he refused to help the Death Eaters. He Who Must Not Be Named sent Fenrir Greyback to do his worst. And his worst was to attack a two year old child who was playing in his garden after sneaking out of the house after dark.

Severus had not, in fact, known this and he was irritated to feel a twinge of pity for Lupin. He had been transforming since he was two. The wonder was that he did not look older and more scarred than he did. After all, he had only had the benefit of the wolfsbane potion for the last three years. It was very expensive to buy commercially and as most werewolves were unable to get jobs, unless they came from independent wealth, they were unable to afford the potion that would make their lives more tolerable.

But as a great proportion of the people who were werewolves had no desire to make their transformations a peaceful time because they revelled in their wild states, and enjoyed creating mayhem at the full moon, great quantities of the brew was not produced anyway. They were willing to put up with the pain of the actual transformation if it meant that they may be able to find some prey.

Lupin was one of the exceptions. He hated what he became once a month. He insisted on being locked away from everyone and before he had access to the potion, he would attack himself in lieu of other prey. At least the wolfsbane allowed him to keep his own mind and he would just sleep the night of the full moon away.

"You are mistaken, Lupin, I was not aware of your sad, sad history. So, I imagine your wonderful father regretted his decision not to help assist the Dark Lord in his cause."

"No, he did not. He regretted that it was his son who paid for his hard line, and he did everything in his power to make my life a happy one up until the time he died." He turned to look at Albus. "Could we have some coffee, Albus?"

"Certainly, my boy." Remus turned back to Severus as Albus summoned a house elf and ordered coffee.

"But my father did no more than most father's would do for their offspring. Arthur Weasley would do no less for any of his children. Your cousin James, of course, died to protect his wife and son. Severus stiffened imperceptibly. Were they getting to it?

The table cleared of the detritus of the largely uneaten meal and a handsome silver coffee service popped into existence in its place. Remus poured himself a cup of the aromatic brew and added milk and a spoonful of sugar. He took an appreciative sip. Severus watched him surreptitiously as he too poured himself a coffee. Albus had collected a bottle of cognac and three balloon glasses from his liquor cabinet. Without asking, he placed a glass in front of each of the younger wizards.

Severus did not usually imbibe to this extent at luncheon, but today he decided that he needed the liquid courage. He sipped the potent beverage and watched Lupin do the same. As was to be expected, the cognac was superb.

"This is excellent, Albus," complimented Remus, toasting him with his glass.

"I do try, my boy," said Albus, raising his own glass. "I thought a little reward was in order after all your hard work over the last little while with the werewolves. It is also a thank you for being there for Harry yesterday."

Remus reddened a little. "Your gratitude is misplaced Albus. I was unable to produce a Patronus. There were too many of them."

"Do not sell yourself short, Remus. The dementors would have gotten to Harry a lot faster without you protecting him with your body." Albus took a sip of his own drink. "You did James proud by protecting his son."

"I am extremely fond of Harry for himself, Albus. I would have made every effort to protect him, no matter who his father is." At these words, Remus looked straight at Severus.

"Well, you had double the reason, to play the hero then didn't you, Lupin?" said Severus with his best sneer gracing his lips. As his heart was threatening to break free of its moorings, that sneer was difficult to conjure. Lupin definitely knew something. He was looking far too superior for all of this to just be random conversation.

"Triple the reason actually, Severus. You see, I was inordinately fond of Lily too. She and I were also the best of friends. We talked a lot, Lily and I, all the way through school, and even after she married James." The look was even more pointed now and Severus had had enough of pussy footing around. He thrust his chair back and shot to his feet, leaning upon his knuckles on the tabletop to get even closer to Remus. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"If you have something to say, Lupin, why don't you just spit it out?" Severus hissed.

Remus looked contemplative for a moment and then he nodded his head decisively. "Very well. You remember that I was there the night Lily asked you to help James. We were all extremely grateful, Severus. I don't think I have ever thanked you for that amazing act of kindness."

"Lily's thanks were all I wanted. Potter lived to play another day. He got married and had a son with Lily and they were, as rumour has it, exceedingly happy." Severus had thrust himself upright again and had begun pacing backwards and forwards.

"For a short time, yes. They were very much in love and Harry completed their happiness."

"So, a fairytale ending," Severus said in clipped tones.

"I would hardly call their ending a fairytale,' observed Remus coldly. "A hellish nightmare would be more the mark, actually. Thanks to your boss."

Severus shot him a fulminating glare, but Remus ignored it as he continued. "Yes, Lily and James were very happy, for the short time they had with their son. Sirius and I visited often.

"During one visit, when Harry was about three months old, I followed Lily to the nursery. She had gone up to put Harry to bed and she had been away for a while. While James and Sirius played a game of wizard's chess, I went up to see what was taking her so long. I found her gazing at the baby while he slept-not an unusual occupation for new mothers, I'm sure-but tears were streaming down her face."

Severus had stopped pacing and was staring out the window, his elbow resting in the palm of his other hand. He was running his finger over his thin lips but the rest of his body was as taut as a drawn bow string.

Remus continued. "She cried on my shoulder, and then we talked." His tawny eyes moved between Albus and Severus. "Can you guess what she was worried about Severus?"

"I have no idea what you're on about, Lupin." said Severus, but even to himself, the lie sounded forced.

"I don't think you would have known even a month ago, but I think you know now." When Remus got no response from Severus, he transferred his gaze to Albus.

Albus raised a white eyebrow. He sighed and glanced over at Severus, who had still not moved. "I think as the Muggles would say, Severus, ‘the gig is up'." He turned his bright blue eyes back to Remus.

"Why have you not spoken of this before, Remus? After Lily and James died, if you had a suspicion that Harry may not be an orphan after all..."

"Because all I had was Lily's suspicion. She never proved anything. She never got around to mentioning the possibility to James." His gaze skittered to Severus and back to Albus again. "And as Severus seemed totally ignorant of the possibility, I wasn't going to put the cat amongst the pigeons. The last thing Harry needed was to know that there was a possibility that he was related to a man who clearly hated him."

"That wasn't your call to make, my boy," said Dumbledore sternly.

"Lily begged me never to mention her suspicions to anyone. I promised her, and I kept my promise."

"And Harry grew up thinking he was an orphan."

Remus threw out an arm and gestured to Severus. "Albus, can you honestly say that you would have been happy if you had known that Severus may have had a hand in Harry's conception? And I knew that Harry had to go back to the Dursleys because of Lily's blood protection."

"Still Remus, this was a big thing to keep to yourself," said Albus, shaking his head and looking disappointed.

Remus's cheeks were heating up. "If the truth be known," he said earnestly, "as Harry got older, his resemblance to James became more pronounced. I honestly didn't think that Lily's concerns were valid. And she herself said to me when Harry was a year old that she was sure that he was solely James. I never thought about it again until recently."

Severus had now turned back. "And what changed, Lupin? If you were still not worried when you were here in Harry's third year, what made you begin to dwell on Lily's words again now?"

Remus looked relieved that Severus didn't appear to be furious. In fact, he appeared to have calmed down considerably after his earlier rant. "During this last year, Harry's looks were beginning to change a little...oh, not really very much and I am sure everyone still thought he was James all over again. I know Sirius did.

"But no-one else had reason to think otherwise. But I saw some differences...actually, they weren't all differences, it was just that I had never taken note of the fact that Harry's eyebrows were so much finer than James were. That feature became much more pronounced when his face became more defined with puberty. The high cheekbones became more pronounced."

Remus paused, obviously trying to pull his thoughts together. "But still, I pushed any doubts to the back of my mind. He had inherited Lily's eyes, so there was no reason he could not have been like her in other ways. He was still James overall. He even had James's bad eyesight, for Merlin's sake.

"But it was really yesterday that opened my eyes fully. Harry going to Godric's Hollow...at the time of course, I didn't have time to think to deeply about why he had gone there...why he was so very upset." A muscle was working in Severus's jaw and he turned back to stare out the window. He didn't like to be reminded of the mistakes he had made yesterday.

"It wasn't till we were back at the Burrow that I was struck by the change in Severus's attitude to Harry. The perpetual sneer was gone." Remus shot another quick glance at Severus and then focused his attention on the reddish, brown liquid left in the bottom of his balloon glass. "You were worried about him. And most telling of all, you called him by his Christian name. And then you were summoned, Severus, and Harry became quite frantic..." He spread his hands as if to say, ‘there you have it'.

"But the clincher came when Harry yelled at you and Albus, there on the stairs. Something had been worrying me about his voice for a while." Severus turned around and stared.

"His voice? What are you on about, man?"

"I did not put it together until he yelled...did not realise that I had been semi-consciously pondering the changes in his voice for a while." Remus's eyes bore into Severus. "He has your voice, Severus. When he was frightened for you-when he yelled-I was able to pick up the particular cadence that makes your voice unique, and which Harry also has."

Severus continued to stare at Remus as if he was mad. He then turned his gaze to Albus, as if asking to be spared any more of Remus's idiocy. But Albus, just raised one eyebrow and cocked his head slightly to the side, nodding as illumination struck. "You do have a very distinctive voice, Severus. And though I would not have picked it up myself, now that Remus has brought my attention to it, I do believe he is right. Of course, if anyone was going to pick it up, Remus would have, with his superior hearing."

Remus's eyes were glued to Albus. "I take it then that it is all true...that Lily's theory was correct?" Albus inclined his head. Remus's lips thinned and he sat back in his chair. The silence between the two younger men was heavy with unease. Albus though, was looking quite pleased with the turn of events. His earlier disapproval of Remus's failure to share Lily's theory seemed to have gone.

And I take it that Harry knows?" Albus nodded again.

Remus lips tightened into a straight line. "But things are not going to well," he observed and Severus's eyes narrowed.

"What makes you say that?" demanded Severus.

Remus cocked his head to the side. "Well, Harry did not seem to happy before he stormed off in a huff. And it was you he was angry with, Severus."

"He was angry because I had to revert to type for your benefit, Lupin. Thick as you are, even you must realise that this is not a situation that can be advertised. I had thought that just Albus, Harry and myself knew. The bigger the circle gets, the thinner the chances of keeping this a secret. Harry's safety depends on it remaining so, and though I realise that you could not care less, my safety also.

"I would never do anything to endanger Harry, and though I know you would prefer not to believe it, nor would I endanger you." Severus just sneered before stalking to the table and grabbing up his cognac and downing the fiery liquid in one gulp. With little regard for the quality of the liqueur, he slopped more into the balloon glass. When an inch of liquid became two, Albus, waved his hand and the liquid stopped pouring. Severus had only just realised that the flow of cognac had stopped when, after a second surreptitious wave of Albus's hand, half the liquid in Severus's glass also disappeared.

Severus slammed the bottle down with a growl before turning on Albus. "Have I not told you previously, old man, that I do not need you to regulate my drinking?"

As usual, Albus was totally unfazed by the foul mood. He sat back and crossed one leg over the other, a picture of casual unconcern. "Clearly I do, my boy."

Losing it entirely, and little caring that Lupin was there to witness his total loss of control, Severus threw the cognac down his throat, before spinning about and hurling the glass across the room so that it smashed into the stone wall that was hugged by the staircase.

Then he spun back to Albus and bending, he thrust his face into that annoyingly composed, old face. "How can you be so bloody relaxed? Isn't it bad enough that Harry knows. For God sake, he is so lacking in guile, he could go down to Hagrid's hut, and Hagrid could legilimise him." He threw out his arm and gestured wildly at Remus who was now on his feet and standing behind his chair with his arms crossed, quite entertained by his old school adversaries performance.

"And now he knows. He doesn't know Occlumency either. What if he's captured? The Dark Lord will have the truth out of him in mere seconds and then I will be dead mere seconds after that. Or worse; he will Imperious me and make me kill Harry, or he will make me bring Harry to him. I cannot resist the Imperious curse. How the hell the boy can do that but be so hopeless at Occlumency, defies logic."

Severus was aware that he was ranting...that he had lost it entirely. He was aware of it, but he couldn't seem to stop. He strode around, pointing out that this whole bloody mess was Dumbledore's fault, that he would have ignored the discovery of the birth mark if Dumbledore had not forced the issue.

Of course, he didn't take into consideration before he started apportioning blame that it was he who had told the old wizard the story of his having succumbed to Lily's desperate pleas to save James all those years ago. And he also chose to forget that he himself would have been unable to ignore the presence of that distinctive birthmark once he had seen it. He chose to ignore the fact that that knowledge would have eaten away at him until he had proven whether the marks presence was significant.

Albus and Remus let Severus get it all off his chest-Albus suspected that this release was necessary, that it had been building up for some considerable time-until he suddenly ran out of ammunition and he finally slumped down into his chair.

Severus put his head back and sat, deflated, and with his eyes closed for several minutes. When he heard the gentle clinking of china as Albus placed a full cup of coffee in front of him, Severus opened his eyes and looked at the offering dazedly for several seconds, before taking up the cup and clasping both hands around its heat before taking a sip.

Remus was now leaning back against the metal balustrade, one leg crossed over the other and his own coffee cup in hand. Severus kept his eyes on his hands for a minute or two before he finally looked up at his old enemy. As the two wizard's eyes locked, Severus recalled that Lupin had always been the least obnoxious of the bloody Marauders. He had rarely joined in with James and Black's more outrageous attacks upon him-indeed, Severus had, on more than one occasion heard him admonish his friends for their unfair tactics.

Lupin had been just as talented as his two friends; he had just not broadcast his accomplishments far and wide as they had done. Of course, Pettigrew had not shared Lupin's disdain of unnecessary violence. He had revelled in watching the two bullies do their worst. The little rat had practically salivated every time one or both of the popular Gryffindors had hexed or jinxed a weaker, or an unprepared victim. Of course, Severus had not considered himself a victim because he had given as good as he got. Unlike the man before him who had an aversion to attacking anyone weaker than himself, or indeed, attacking for no good reason. This altruism was something the werewolf had not grown out of.

Severus's eyebrows drew together. Come to think of it, Harry was exactly like Lupin. More like Lupin in fact, than he was like either James or himself. Both Harry and Lupin genuinely cared for other people more than they cared for themselves.

Severus took a deep breath. The last half hour had not been one of his finer moments and neither was he looking forward to the next half minute. But it had to be done. "I apologise for that unforgivably childish display, Lupin. But you may rest assured that my losing control like that is rare, and that I have advanced a long way when it comes to controlling myself around Harry." Of course, this was not strictly true-Harry could still drive the white ants out of the wood-but he was working on control. Of course, he might end up as a ward buddy of Gilderoy Lockharts in St Mungos...

"I am not worried about you attacking Harry, Severus. You have been his teacher for five years and have managed to restrain yourself from resorting to physical violence. It's the nasty tongue that has me worried."

Severus carefully placed his cup back in its saucer. He would really like to give the werewolf a good dose of his ‘nasty tongue' right now. He ran a long finger over his lips again. Finally, he said, "I'm working on that too."

"Well, gentlemen," said Dumbledore, putting his hands on the table and pushing himself upwards. "We seem to have reached an understanding. Severus, I think you will come to realise that extending the circle of people in the know is not the disaster that you envisage. Remus managed to keep Lily's secret for nearly sixteen years after all. And he has managed to evade capture by the Death Eaters for a long time as well.

"Remus will be around for you to confide in if you should feel the need. You do not have experience in being a father and you may wish to bounce ideas off a man who is closer to you in age. You both have Harry's best interests at heart, after all. And also, Harry trusts Remus implicitly."

Severus scowled at this pronouncement. Surely Dumbledore couldn't be suggesting that Severus have Lupin ‘dropping in' on a regular basis. How would Harry and he be able to develop a rapport if Lupin was there all the time, for the boy to turn to. And he was certainly not going to admit to himself that he was worried that Harry would favour Lupin's company to his own. No, he was certainly not going to express that kind of concern.

"Well, as Lupin will not be around other than to report his activities to you, Albus, I really don't see how that will be possible, certainly not on any kind of ongoing basis."

"Well, Severus, proximity-or lack thereof-will not be a problem come the start of term. Remus will be on staff again."

Severus's eyes narrowed and he looked from Dumbledore to Lupin. The old man looked as pleased with himself as if he had just given Severus an early birthday present. Lupin, to his credit was not gloating.

"Pius Philpott, as you know, has joined the Order. He is an eminently sensible man as well as a friend. As the head of the Board of Governors, he was able to hold sway over the rest of the board and convince them that Remus was an exceedingly capable wizard who is more than capable of protecting the students in these troubled times. What is more, there was no arguing with the exam results that showed that Remus had the best pass rate of any Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in the last twenty years."

"And what of the monthly danger that Lupin presents?" asked Severus in a low voice.

"The governors saw the precautions we have instituted to isolate Remus during the full moon. That, combined with your improved wolfsbane and a strict schedule of weekly doses leading up to the moon, convinced them. Notices have been sent to all parents and so far, the responses have been positive. The newspaper reports explaining that Remus is a close friend of Harry's and that he was there, fighting at the Department of Mysteries against the Death Eaters have helped enormously."

"You have been planning this for a while obviously," Severus said stiffly.

"We need Remus here, Severus. I need capable wizards within my school, not just to be on the lookout for Death Eaters, but to help keep an eye on certain elements within the school."

"Well then, there is nothing left to say but welcome back, Lupin." And though Severus's welcome sounded anything but sincere, Severus acknowledged the other man's appointment with a decisive nod of his head. And now, if you will both excuse me, I wish to return to my rooms and check on Harry. then I have some fresh pepper-up potion to brew and as the full moon is less than a fortnight away, I have to make a start on a new batch of wolfsbane.

And with another nod of his head that encompassed the two men, Severus crossed the small area and swept down the stairs, the flaring of his robes expressing the displeasure that he had not verbalized.