April 1975

The Shrieking Shack, Hogsmeade

Now what on earth are those three up to? Severus wondered as he caught sight of James, Sirius, and Peter slipping off through the trees somewhere. Up to no good, as usual, he thought with a sneer. He was waiting for Lily beside the beautiful oak tree that overhung the lake. She had said it was the prettiest tree on the grounds and Severus had to agree with her. It was certainly better than the monstrosity Professor Sprout had planted four years ago called the Whomping Willow by the students. Severus could never figure out why his Herbology professor had chosen to plant such a dangerous tree on the grounds, near hundreds of students who were prone to accidents and mischief. It was asking for trouble.

But the willow remained and no one would answer his questions about it, not even Dumbledore. He told Sev that it served a special purpose and that was all he needed to know. That answer wasn't enough to satisfy Snape's insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge, so he did research on the Willow, and discovered this particular species made an excellent guardian for something. Now the only question he had was what exactly was it guarding?

Whatever it was must be very important, to risk a student getting fatally injured by one of the tree's club like branches. When it grew large enough to be dangerous, which was at the beginning of Sev's second year, Dumbledore warned everyone to stay away from it. Everyone did, mostly, except a few of the braver and stupider Gryffindors, who dared each other to get close enough to the tree to make it swat at them and then see who could dodge the tree's swipes the longest.

Typical idiotic Gryffindor behavior, the Slytherin prefect thought scornfully.

Right then, the Willow didn't concern him though, seeing Lily did, or had until he'd glimpsed the Troublemaking Trio running off through the grounds, no doubt plotting some new mischief guaranteed to set the school by its collective ear once more.

Mischief that they never seemed to get in trouble for, most times. Oh, they were in and out of detention for late homework assignments or being out after curfew or mouthing off to professors, but most of their pranks on students went unpunished. It was well known that Dumbledore favored James Potter and Black, else why would he put up with their misbehavior?

That fact irritated Severus to no end. He was careful to behave most times, and he never lost House points over academics, and he'd only earned himself detention a handful of times, and all of those times were because he'd been fighting with the Marauders. He'd even made prefect this year, a thing which made his mother very proud, and was the best thing about going back to school besides being with Lily. He'd thought perhaps this year the Headmaster would acknowledge that he was as good as Golden Boy Potter or that scoundrel Black, but it hadn't happened yet.

Dumbledore had eyes only for his House of Lions, and he overlooked the bright serpent right in front of his feet. This saddened Sev, because he longed for the older wizard's approval, he respected the man like he would have his own father. Yet, no matter what he did, it seemed Potter and his friends always overshadowed him. Snape was a prefect, but Potter was Gryffindor Seeker, and the glamour boy of the hour with all the teenage girls in his year, save for Lily. Sev received the highest grades in his class in Potions, but it was James who was given special permission to have an extra weekend at Hogsmeade by the Headmaster for his performance in Defense against the Dark Arts, he'd bested their professor, Birchwood, in a duel.

Big fat deal, Sev thought scathingly. He lasted five minutes in a staged setting, not a real fight. And why was that better than getting consistent marks in a very tough subject? the boy wondered resentfully. Potions was most wizards' nightmare, the class they sweated and wept over. Only a handful ever had the precision, instinct, and perseverance to succeed in that subject, much less do so brilliantly. Severus was one of the few who actually enjoyed brewing and had an instinctive knack for it. Lily also had the spark, and when they worked together, no potion was beyond them.

Yet the Headmaster preferred to acknowledge James' flashy achievement and Severus was shoved aside and forgotten again. You know why that is, Snape. It's because you're a Slytherin, and the only thing anybody will acknowledge about the House of Serpents is the taint of dark magic. No matter what else you accomplish, that above all is what people will see. The shadow, not the silver lining.

But maybe someday, the Headmaster would notice him, and all his hard work would pay off. Perhaps tonight. Severus eyed the vanishing Gryffindors and made a swift decision. He had a funny feeling whatever the Marauders were doing was expressly forbidden and if he could gather evidence of their wrongdoing, the Headmaster would have to acknowledge the fact that his golden boys deserved to be punished, and for once they would suffer the consequences of their actions.

He always makes excuses for them and they always get off, unlike the rest of us. The rules don't exist for them. It's unfair, and just once I want them to get what's coming to them, the bloody prats! Severus quickly scrawled a note on the tree for Lily with his wand, in illuminated ink, telling her he was sorry, but he couldn't meet her tonight, and he'd explain later, then he stealthily followed the three down the path that led to Hogsmeade.

At first, he was careful to stay well back from the three, and move extra quietly. That was nothing new, he'd tiptoed about his house when his father was drunk so much as a child that moving like a shadow was second nature to him. It was one of the ways he survived Tobias's temper.

The fools never even noticed they were being trailed. At first Sev thought they were going into the village to buy Zonko's products, for that would be like them, but they passed the joke shop and Honeydukes without anything other than a few wistful looks. Instead they headed up towards the dilapidated eyesore called the Shrieking Shack by the students.

The Shrieking Shack was rumored to be haunted, and if you were brave enough, you could come there at night and listen to the moans and screams of the dead wizards that had been murdered there.

Or so said the rumors.

Severus didn't believe they were anything else. He knew real monsters, he didn't need to invent ghostly ones to frighten himself with. I don't believe this. They've dragged me out here on a stupid lark. Probably it was Black's idea, see who can spend ten minutes inside the Shack at night and not go mad or something. God, what are they, ten?

He inched closer to where the three were standing, on the dirt track just before the entrance to the shack. Pettigrew was whining, as usual.

"Do you think we ought to be here tonight? You know it's always worse the first night of the full moon." The ferret-like boy was twisting his fingers from nervousness.

"It's better if we're here, you know that, Wormtail," said James. "It calms him down."

"Not from what I can see, Prongs," whimpered Peter.

"Quit your whinging, Peter," ordered Sirius. "You're getting on my nerves worse than Snivellus." He glanced up at a broken shutter, which was swinging back and forth slightly in the sudden breeze. "How long d'you reckon it'll take this time, James?"

James shrugged, his athletic build filling out his robes nicely. "Don't know, mate. Could be a few minutes, or it could take an hour like last time. You know it's different every time."

Severus's curiosity was killing him. He could not resist the lure of the unknown, and so he stepped from the shadows. He had enough on them just being off school grounds after dark to get them detention anyhow.

"What's different every time, Potter? The way you break rules?" Sev queried silkily. "You break a new one every day, don't you?"

James and Sirius spun around, shooting the lanky Slytherin deadly glares, and Pettigrew shrank back behind them like the cringing coward he was.

"Well, look who it is!" Sirius cried. "Snivellus! And here I was getting bored. What brings you out of the dungeon, greaseball? Couldn't take the fumes anymore? Pickled your brains yet?"

"You wish. Merlin knows what you've done to yours, Black," retorted Severus. "If you ever had them to begin with, which I highly doubt. That's why you hang around Potter, so you can borrow his."

"Why are you sneaking about here, Snivellus?" demanded James, coming to stand before the other boy, his wand in hand. "Why don't you go back to your cauldron, dungeon crawler, and brew up a love potion?"

"For who?" sneered Snape. "You, Potter?"

James laughed. "I don't have trouble getting girls, Snapey. Want to know why?"

"No, you arrogant ass."

"Because I wash my hair, greaseball!" James declared and Peter snickered and Sirius roared with laughter.

Severus stiffened, for he was sensitive about his hair, which had suddenly become oily this past year, it was an onset of puberty and also a side-effect of brewing so much. "Maybe so, but when's the last time you combed it, Potter? When you were two and you had Mummy do it? Too bad she's not here now."

James rolled his eyes. "Chicks dig my hair, Snivellus. They like to run their hands through it."

"Yeah, and if they tried to do that with yours, Snape, they'd end up with grease all over their hands," taunted Sirius.

"At least my hair covers my brain, Black. Unlike yours, which is just a curtain to hide your hollow head. You might have a pretty face, but there's no one home upstairs."

"You calling me stupid, Snape?" growled Sirius, stepping forward, wand out.

"Why no," drawled Sev, his wand appearing in his own hand in an eyeblink. "You're doing a fine job of insulting yourself, you don't need my help. Unless you need a synonym for stupid. How about imbecilic? Or moronic?"

"Shut your face, Snivellus!" roared Black, losing his temper. "Before I-"

"Sirius!" James shouted, grabbing his friend by the arm. "Quit going off half-cocked, you dope! He's trying to bait you, and you're letting him."

Sirius struggled in the larger boy's grip like a maddened animal. "Let me go, Prongs! I'm gonna teach that slimy git a good lesson this time."

"Really? Hexing a prefect is grounds for detention, Black," Severus reminded them silkily. "But do try, I'd love to take away more points from Gryffindor and see you end in last place for the House Cup."

"The only reason you're a prefect is because you kissed Slughorn's arse, Snivellus!" yelled Sirius. "That's what Slytherins do best, after all. Lick the arses of anyone in power, especially You-Know-Who. Well, that and poking their abnormally large noses where they don't belong." He was still trying to free himself from James' grip.

Severus felt his temper go from a simmer to a boil, but he controlled the impulse to hex the supercilious Black. Now was not the time to let his temper get the better of his head. "I wouldn't need to poke my nose anywhere, Blackie, if you obeyed rules like normal people. But oh, I forgot, you're better than everyone else, Sirius Orion Black, of the most Ancient and Noble House of Black," mocked Severus. "Rules aren't for the likes of you, are they, milord?" He bowed sneeringly to the other boy, who looked ready to start foaming at the mouth. Sirius hated to be reminded of his ancient lineage, most of his ancestors had been Sorted into Slytherin. "Now what are you hiding in there?"

"None of your business, Snape!" spoke up Peter, quivering a little when Sev fixed him with a nasty look, learned from Tobias. "Why don't you run back to your cauldron, you old bat?"

Before Severus could respond to that latest taunt, there came an unearthly scream from the shack.

All of the teens jumped about a foot. Pettigrew wrapped his arms about himself and shook like a jello mold. Sweat trickled down his forehead and dripped off his pointy nose. "It's started!" he yelped, then was promptly cuffed by James.

"Shut it, Wormtail!"

Severus narrowed his eyes. "What's started? The latest prank you've concocted?" he clucked his tongue at them. "Tsk. Tsk. You really are a bunch of jackasses, aren't you? This will make your second detention in three days. Your lady mother won't be happy with you, Lord Blackie. She might even send you another Howler, so the entire school can learn just how angry she is with her disgraceful son. Let's see, what did she threaten to do to you last time if you got another detention?" Severus pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I think she said she was going to wallop you with a birch rod, naughty boy!"

Sirius went red and tried to wrench his wand from James's grasp.

"Stop it, Padfoot! You can't afford to hex him now, you'll need your magic for other things soon!" panted James, pinning his friend's arms behind his back.

"Like protecting his backside from Mum's switch," Severus taunted, his dark eyes glittering.

Just then there came another agonized howl, followed by snarling and growling.

All the hairs on the back of Sev's neck bristled. The howling rose, sobbing and whimpering into a register almost too high to be heard by human ears. Pettigrew was sniveling and shaking, curled into a ball behind James and Sirius.

"What in the name of all that's holy is that?" cried Severus, cold chills racing down his backbone.

The shack shook and several loud bangs and thumps were heard, as if something was jumping or throwing itself about inside. More growling and screaming followed. It was terribly eerie, for the screams sounded almost. . . human, Severus realized in horror. The screams of a human in mortal agony, too great to be endured.

Abruptly the human shriek cut off and changed abruptly to a wolf's long low howl.

"That's the reason we're here, Snivellus," gasped Black. He pointed towards the shack. "To see the monster that haunts the place."

"Monster?" Severus snorted. "Oh please! Like I'm going to fall for that. It's probably just a scary noise charm or something. No real monster could stay holed up in the shack. What would it eat?"

"Maybe it eats nosy prefects, eh, Snivellus?" spat Sirius. "Why don't you go inside and find out?"

"Sirius, you bloody fool!" snapped James. "What the hell's wrong with you? He can't do that!"

"Why not?" Sirius gave his rival a challenging glare. "How about it, Snapey? You brave enough to go inside the Shack and face the monster? Or are you like the rest of your snakes, gutless cringing cowards?"

"Don't call me coward, Black!" snarled Severus.

"I will unless you open the door and take a look at what's in there," dared Sirius.

"Nothing's in there," Severus said. "This is another of your dumb jokes, and I'm not falling for it. I go in there and find nothing and then you lock the door on me and run away. That's the plan, isn't it, Black? Pretty pitiful."

There came a huge thump from inside the shack and then an odd scrabbling sound, as of claws across wood. Severus shivered, for the scratching was accompanied by a frenzied whining and soft snarling, as of a beast trapped and searching for a way to get free.

"Figured you'd say that, Snivellus. That's why the Hat put you in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. Because only the brave go into our House, and the sneaky sly cowards get put in Slytherin, like my brother and you, Slimeball."

"Slytherins aren't cowards!" Severus shouted, clenching his fists.

"Prove it then! Open the door and take a look at the monster!"

"Do you think I'm dumb, Black?"

"Nope. But you surely are a coward," sneered Sirius. Then he made a noise like chicken and flapped his arms, for James had released him when he'd pocketed his wand.

That was too much for Severus's pride. He spun about and started towards the shack, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that was screaming at him to stop, that he was being played for a sucker.

"Sirius, you stupid ass!" James cried, aghast. "He'll get killed! Or bitten!"

"So? Who cares? It's Snivellus, Prongs. The world will be better off without his greasy-haired presence, eh?"

But James was not amused, for once. He yelled after Snape's retreating back. "Stop, Snape! You were right! Now turn around and come back."

Severus ignored him. "Nice try, Potter. But I'm going to see what all the fuss is about."

He continued walking towards the door, his wand out.

James blanched and ran after him. "Don't!"

Severus hesitated for an instant. He could almost swear that was real concern in Potter's voice. Then he shook his head. Right. Potter concerned over you? When hell freezes over.

The shack was trembling as something flung itself at the door, which shuddered under the impact of whatever thing was inside. This time another howl rang out, long and impatient, dark with fury.

Severus felt his blood turn to ice in his veins. He wanted desperately to run away, for all of his instincts were screaming at him that whatever was behind the door was bound for a reason, and he shouldn't release it. Whatever it was. But then he recalled Black's sneering face and his remarks that only cowards got Sorted into Slytherin. He couldn't let that go.

If there was one thing Severus Snape wasn't, it was a bloody coward.

And he be damned if he'd let Sirius bloody Black think he was.

He set his hand on the old fashioned lock and hissed an unlocking charm.

"Snape! No!"

James scrambled up behind the other boy and tried to grab Snape's sleeve, but Severus shook him off angrily.

"Get off, Potter! Nobody calls me coward!"

"Severus, please! Don't open the door! You don't understand."

"You're right. I don't. But I will," insisted Severus stubbornly. He put his hand about the doorknob and started to turn it.

Only to have it wrenched from his hand and the door blown half off of its hinges by a terrible blow.

The heavy wooden door smashed into Severus's face, and he felt his nose crack from the force of the blow.

He cried out, but his yelp of pain was drowned in the awful bloodcurdling howl that emerged from the throat of the beast silhouetted in the doorway.

Severus was knocked back into James, who fell onto the ground too. "Run!" cried the Gryffindor Seeker, scrambling to his feet.

But Severus found himself unable to move, held immobile by the aura of dread and hunger the werewolf was emitting. He gazed at the gray beast's eyes, which were strangely human in the wolfish face. And strangely familiar.

The werewolf stared directly into his eyes. Then it threw back its head and howled, jerking on the manacle that kept it bolted to the wall of the shack. Drool dripped from its maw to splatter on the ground inches from Severus's sneakers.

James was tugging on his arm. "C'mon, Snape! Move your bloody arse, before he gets loose! He doesn't know you now, all he sees is food."

And suddenly Severus knew why those eyes, those bright golden-brown eyes, looked so dreadfully familiar.

"Moony? Is that you?"

I was right! I knew there was something odd about the way Remus used to disappear all the time around the full moon. He wasn't having an attack of fatigue, he was transforming into a werewolf! shouted the logical part of Snape's mind in triumph.

"He doesn't recognize you, Snape! He's all wolf now, not a human!" James screamed. "Get up, damn you!"

Severus managed to stumble upright, and the werewolf lunged at him, slavering and growling, his human eyes blazing with hatred and the lust to kill.

"Remus!" Severus called. "It's Sev! Remember me? Your best friend?"

The werewolf blinked, and paused for one instant, trembling as if in the grip of some terrible fever. Its claws grasped the air and it panted, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. For one instant Severus saw recognition flicker in the glowing eyes, and Remus Lupin gazed out at them.

The next instant it vanished and only the wolfin monster remained.

And the werewolf desired but one thing.

Food.

Its claw lashed out, tearing Severus's wrist, drawing blood. The beast's jaws were inches from Severus's throat, and the manacle slowly began to give way under the werewolf's frenzied pulling.

"Sirius!" James yelled, dragging Severus backwards by the back of his collar. "Change! Quickly!"

Severus glanced away from the beast that had once been his friend and saw Black's form blurring into a large dog, shaggy and muscular. "Black's an Animagus?" he gasped.

"We all are," James said, as Padfoot bounded towards the werewolf, barking and wagging his tail.

Severus remained with his mouth open. "What's he doing, trying to get it to play with him? Bloody imbecile! It's hungry."

"I know, but Sirius can calm him down somewhat in his dog shape." James released the back of Snape's collar abruptly and Severus nearly fell.

But he twisted like a cat and managed to keep his feet. "We need to shut that door."

"I know. But we can't till Moony's out of the doorway," James reminded.

"And just how do you plan on getting him back inside, Potter? Ask him nicely to step into the parlor for a cup of tea and crumpets?" Severus's voice shook, much to his chagrin.

James shook his head and grinned slightly. "Ah. Not really."

Then he transformed into a large white stag, with a sixteen point rack, majestic and commanding.

Clutching his bleeding wrist, which began to sting almost as badly as his nose, Severus watched as Prongs charged back towards the werewolf, head lowered.

The werewolf bristled and snapped at the stag, but it couldn't free itself and it was not stupid enough to risk impaling itself on the antlers.

The stag tossed his head, driving the werewolf back a step.

Sirius barked encouragingly and the stag nudged the werewolf back inside the shack, foot by foot. Once the werewolf was out of the doorway, Prongs withdrew and hit the door with enough force to close it.

Then the stag became James once more and he pointed his wand at the door and muttered a locking charm. The door shimmered and sealed itself.

The ravenous beast was caged once more.

It howled in despair and Severus trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat as he realized just how close he'd come to dying that night. If Potter had not grabbed him and dragged him away . . .he would have been bitten or eaten by his best friend.

Sev sat down abruptly, trying to still the shaking in his knees.

"Is it over?" whined Pettigrew, still curled on the ground in a ball.

None of them answered him, they were too busy trying to regain their composure.

Sirius transformed back and clapped James on the shoulder. "That was bloody brilliant, mate, the way you charged Moony and-oww!"

James shook his hand, his knuckles throbbed from his punch.

Sirius put a hand to his jaw, glaring at his friend in shock. "The hell was that for, James?" he mumbled, feeling his teeth.

"What was it for?" James yelled. "Padfoot, you blasted moron, you nearly got Severus killed! D'you even know what almost happened tonight, dung for brains?"

Sirius looked faintly ashamed. "Aw, hell, Prongs, I didn't mean for him to really get hurt, just scared witless is all."

Severus had managed to conceal his shaking and he stood up and advanced on Sirius. "You are possibly the stupidest, most screwed up, retarded wizard I've ever met, Black! Is everything a bloody joke to you? Do you know what would have happened if Remus had bitten me?"

"Sure. You'd have grown fur, Snape."

Severus snarled and suddenly Sirius found himself sitting on the ground, nursing both a bloody nose and a sore jaw. Before he could get to his feet, both James and Snape were standing over him, calling him every dirty word in their vocabularies.

Severus, in particular, had a most impressive lexicon of swear words, learned from his father, who shouted all of them at his son at one time or another when he was hung over.

James was quite impressed, especially because Severus was saying all of them in such a silky snarky tone, edged with utter fury. At last he ran out of invectives and spun on James and snapped, "Get the prick out of my sight, Potter, before I forget myself and do something unforgivable."

"You all right?"

"Fine! Now leave! And I'm deducting a hundred points for this."

"What? You bloody git!" Sirius bellowed, climbing to his feet. "You can't do that! James saved your miserable life and you're gonna take points, you scummy Slytherin bastard?"

"SIRIUS!" James bellowed. "He almost died, and you're worried about points? Merlin's bloody arse! We're probably facing expulsion right now thanks to your little joke!" he grabbed a handful of Black's robes and hauled him down the path.

Wormtail scrambled up and followed.

Severus waited until they were gone before he buried his face in his hands and allowed himself to cry, shivering wretchedly, for never had he been as close to death as he had been at that moment. And the worst part was that it had been Remus who would have killed him, all unknowing.

Remus, his best friend.

He would have torn out my throat in two seconds. I was frozen. If Potter hadn't been there to grab me . . .

And Potter, his archenemy, had saved him.

Regaining control over himself, Severus wiped his face and started to walk back the way he'd come. He had quite a tale to tell the Headmaster tomorrow. But right now all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week. His nose throbbed unmercifully and so did the cut on his wrist. He knew he should let Poppy examine him before going back to his dormitory.

Barely aware of what he was doing, Severus stumbled back down the path and past the lake.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and clutched his shoulder.

He nearly screamed, until he recognized Lily.

"Lily! Good God!"

"Did I scare you, Sev?" she asked impishly, smiling up at him.

He looked away, and it was then she saw that his nose was crooked and his face was covered in blood. "Merlin, Sev! What happened to you? Did you get into a fight? Was it Potter and Black again?"

"No. It was Remus."

"Remus? He broke your nose?"

"By accident. The door slammed into my face when he broke it down," Severus explained.

"What? Sev, are you okay?"

"No."

She put her arm about him and led him over to their favorite spot and made him sit down. Then she sat next to him, dipped a handkerchief in the lake and began cleaning his face.

Gentle as she was, it still hurt, but he never moved, enduring the pain stoically. "That's going to need a Bone Knit charm."

He nodded.

"Hold still," she ordered, pointing her wand at his face. She spoke the charm and a cool white light touched Severus's nose.

He gritted his teeth, for the charm did not dull pain, but it was over in moments.

"Sorry," she murmured, cupping his face in her hands.

"S'okay," he murmured.

"You hurt anywhere else?"

"My wrist. Remus scratched it when he went for me."

Lily stared at him in shock. "This is the same Remus Lupin you're talking about, Sev? Our best friend, shy, quiet, even-tempered?"

She examined his wrist. Then she spoke a quick disinfecting charm and healed the scratch with another minor healing spell.

That done, she leaned back into Severus's arms and said, "Tell me what happened, please. Did you two get into an argument?"

Sev snorted. "Sort of. I followed Potter, Black, and Pettigrew tonight. They were going into Hogsmeade, to the Shrieking Shack."

"To see the murdered ghosts?"

"No. To watch over Remus. He's a werewolf, Lily. And he almost killed me tonight. . . " his voice caught on a sob.

"My God, Sev!" Lily whispered, then she turned around and hugged him hard.

He hugged her back and for a moment they remained so, drawing comfort from each other's embrace.

Then Lily said, "Sev, we've got to help him."

"I know, but how? There's no cure for lycanthropy."

She was silent for a long moment. "What if we tried to invent one?"

He frowned. "It's possible, I suppose. If the two of us worked together, maybe we could come up with a potion."

* * * * * *

"So that's exactly what we did," Severus concluded. "After I resolved things with the Headmaster the next morning. He called me into his office first thing in the morning, to ask me why I'd deducted such a huge amount of points from Gryffindor. When I told him what had occurred, he acted concerned and assured me that he'd see to Black, Pettigrew, and Potter's punishment himself. When I asked him about Remus, he told me to forget what I'd seen." Severus snorted. "As if I ever could! Sometimes I still dream of it, those fangs and claws, and that howl . . ." A shudder went through him.

Harry saw and put his arm about the older man, trying to offer him the same comfort as Severus had given him. "What happened to James and Sirius?"

"Nothing like what should have happened to them," Snape growled. "Black should've been expelled and Potter put on probation for they knew Remus was a werewolf and what the penalty was for him biting someone before Black challenged me to go into the Shack. They'd known for years, they'd become Animagi so they could accompany Remus in his were form while he hunted."

"Accompany him? You mean they let him out of the Shack?"

"Yes. After a few hours, the wolf was subdued enough to be released and they transformed into their animal forms and followed him when he hunted in the Forbidden Forest. Once he'd fed, Remus was safer to be around, and they spent the night with him, making sure he got back to the Shack before dawn. That's why the Willow was planted, incidentally. To prevent Remus from escaping from the Shack and onto the grounds, for there was a secret tunnel to and from the shack which Remus used to come and go unobserved."

"What did Dumbledore say when he found out?"

"I don't know, I wasn't there, but all I did know was that they got detention with Minerva for a week and that was all, plus my hundred point deduction."

"Why didn't you take more points?"

"A prefect is only allowed a maximum of a hundred points for any misdeed. Albus could have taken more, but he didn't, of course. Nor did he make them apologize to me, the way he should have. I wasn't surprised, though Lily was livid. I found out later that she'd had her own talk with both of them, and ended up punching both of them in the face."

Harry grinned at his father. "Wow. She had some temper, huh?"

"Only for certain things. I was one of them. When we finally saw Remus again, we told him about what happened and he felt awful. Said he wasn't fit to be around normal people. But I forgave him and so did Lily. Then we went to work on the Wolfsbane Potion and by the time we were sixth years, we had a prototype ready for him. By the time we graduated, we had the real thing, and he takes it still."

"Do you make it for him?"

"Yes. It's a master level potion and I make batches of it every month for him to drink. It' s the closest anybody has ever come to a cure for lycanthropy." Severus looked closely at Harry. "Now then, son, you've heard most of my own experiences at school and home, and I'm sure you realize that there were plenty of times that I was scared and hurt. That being so, would you care to share your nightmare with me?"

Reluctantly, Harry nodded. "Okay, Dad," he agreed, using the appellation voluntarily for the first time. Then he told his father everything he could remember about his captivity and the spell they used to shatter his magic.

It was hard at first, recalling the dreadful memories, but Sev was patient, allowing Harry to proceed at his own pace, and at last the awful tale of torture and dark curses was told in full, and Severus held his son while he wept.

"I hate remembering, Dad!" Harry sobbed, unable to help himself.

"I know, Harry," his father whispered, hugging him. "But only by confronting your fears will you ever be free of them. I know it's hard and it hurts like hell, but you'll thank me later on, when you can sleep without nightmares or flashbacks."

"I always have nightmares," sniffled his son.

"One day you won't. I promise you that, Harry," said the Potions Master. "This is the first step, confronting what scares you. Then the next step is acknowledging that what you fear can't hurt you. Once you've done that the nightmares will stop. But until then, you have me."

Harry sighed and relaxed into his dad's arms, listening to Snape's heartbeat, letting it soothe him into sleep, the way he used to do long ago, when he was two.

Severus continued to rock and hold his son, humming softly, until he was sure Harry would remain asleep, then he tucked the sleeping child into bed and slipped away to his own well-deserved rest.