Harry was so upset that he didn't even realize what he had done or where he had run to after he had raced out of his bedroom.  He was just looking for a place to hide.  He couldn't believe how his father had . . .ignored him when he said Silver was not dangerous, that he was a friend who had saved his life.  Couldn't Severus see that Silver was just like the wolf prince Silverstrike? Why was he being so unfair to the big wolf and to Harry, who loved him?

The little boy sniffled, wiping away tears, but more just kept coming, and then he felt his nose start to run too.  He had been feeling better, but now he felt ruddy awful again, though it had nothing to do with his near death on the lake and everything to do with Severus's refusal to accept Harry's wolf friend.  He had even threatened to hex the poor animal, and to forbid Harry to see him as well . . .How could you, Dad? How could you?

He threw himself on the four poster bed covered in soft velvet blue hangings and a matching comforter and cried heartbrokenly, pounding the pillows, indulging in a temper tantrum worthy of the ones he'd thrown when he was two.  It's no fair! How come I always have to do what you say and listen to you when you never listen to me? Silver's my friend, I love him, you mean old warlock! I have to see him again. 

He felt as if his heart were being torn from him, for until today he had never spoken so to his father, whom he adored and respected.  He had always thought Severus fair, even when he punished him for something.  So it was a great shock to discover that his father was not perfect, did not always treat others how he would like to be treated, and didn't seem interested in hearing Harry's side of things when it came to Silver. 

He heard his father banging on the door and ordering him to open it, but for the first time in a long time, he ignored Severus and just lay on the bed, weeping into the pillow.  He knew his father was very angry, knew that he was now in possibly the worst trouble he'd ever been in, but right then he could have cared less. 

He waited for the door to unlock, for his dad to come storming into the room, but the door remained shut and Severus did not enter, much to Harry's relief.  He cried himself out after about ten minutes, and only then did he realize that he was in his dad's bedroom.  Oh, Merlin! I've really done it now, I locked my dad out of his own room.  He's gonna skin me for that.

Sitting up, he wiped a hand over his eyes and then he recalled the other awful thing he'd said to his father, besides calling him mean and nasty.  I . . .said I hated him.  I don't . . .not really . . .I was mad . .      . but, oh I am so dead.  He's gonna spank the daylights outta me for real and I'm not gonna get any presents from Father Christmas neither ‘cause I was really bad, saying that about him , and disobeying him an' all. . .

The little boy started to cry again, guilt now gnawing in his chest.  This was going to be the worst Christmas ever, he just knew it.   And the worst part was, he was to blame for most of it.  He recalled a Muggle song he had heard playing on someone's radio at school-I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas. The lyrics danced in his head especially the line-I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas, ‘cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad. That was probably true, after the way he had talked back to his dad.  Father Christmas was probably crossing his name off the "Nice" list and putting it on the "Naughty" one right this minute, and the only thing he could expect from his father was a sound spanking. Severus hadn't punished him like that in a long time, but if there was one thing Severus didn't tolerate, it was disrespect. 

Miserable, Harry considered running away, but the mere thought of going out in the icy winter night scared him silly.  Besides, it was dark outside, and he hated the dark.  He wondered where Severus was, and why he had not come to unlock the door and punish him.  He brought his knees up to his chest and put his head on them, the picture of miserable abject remorse, his hair flopping limply over his forehead and into his eyes.

* * * * * *

Severus drew his wand, preparing to open the bedroom door with a charm, his temper bubbling like an overactive volcano.  The sheer nerve of the impudent little wretch! Calling me stupid and mean and nasty and saying he hated me for trying to protect him from a vicious predator that was going to kill him! How dare he, the ungrateful brat? After all I've ever done for him . . .he says he hates me? I love him more than myself and he prefers a . . .a mangy animal over me!  He pointed his wand at the locked door, the syllables of an Unlocking charm on the tip of his tongue, hurt and anger intermingling in a volatile combination within him.

But his years as a spy stood him in good stead then, cautioning him on confronting the child when his temper was so out of control.  He knew the first rule of confrontation was to be in control of yourself at all times, and he was very close to losing it.  Stop and think, Snape.  You can't go in there like this, you'll do more harm than good.  Count to ten, Severus.  And remember you're an adult, and show some self-discipline, for Merlin's sake! He berated himself.  You don't want your son to hate you even more by punishing him too harshly, now do you?

Severus drew in a deep breath.  Let it out slowly.  Then he did it again and yet again.  He had learned the price of self-control over emotions very early as a child, after his father had thrown him down a flight of stairs over a spilled glass of milk when he was four.  Severus had broken an arm as a result, but he had also learned to fear his unpredictable father, and vowed to never be like him.  Unfortunately, he had inherited his father's temper, and it had always been the bane of his existence.  That was one reason why he had chosen to study Potions as his mastery, because you had to be utterly focused and controlled in order to brew correctly, and learning the necessary self-discipline had enabled him to also control his temper.  That legendary control had been tested in his duties as a spy, quite severely, but he discovered that Harry could drive him over the edge even quicker than a whole cabal of Death Eaters.

He lowered his head, concentrating on breathing, and putting the anger back into a box in his head.  Abruptly, he spun away from the door and walked away.  He needed distance, time to let his temper cool, and to consider a logical course of punishment beyond throttling the disrespectful boy or walloping the daylights out of him.  If there had been one thing he had learned over the course of his childhood, dealing with the volatile Tobias Snape, it was that force only bred resentment and fear, not respect.  Or rather, that respect born of fear does not last, and as soon as he was grown, Severus had left home and never looked back, repudiating his father utterly.

Severus walked out onto the back porch, reasoning that the chill winter evening might serve to cool his temper even further.  What hurt and irritated him the most was not his son's defiance, for he expected that in a child, he had been a teacher too long not to know the stages children went through, but  Harry's declaration that he hated his father.  Spoken in a fit of childish anger, nevertheless that single word had the power to wound worse than a thousand daggers.  Severus had spoken those words to his own father just once, on the eve he departed Spinner's End for good, they had been the last words his father had ever heard from him, and Severus had infused into them a lifetime of bitterness and hurt.  And they had struck home, he had noted grimly as he Apparated away to his small rented room in Diagon Alley, where stayed while studying for his Potions Mastery. He still recalled the faint look of surprise and pain in his father's eyes  and he had been glad that for once he had hurt Tobias the way the man had hurt him. 

But now he wondered what he had done wrong to make his son say those words to him.  Was he such a terrible parent? He had never mistreated Harry that he could recall, he had tried very hard to be fair when issuing rules and punishments, and he had thought he had done a pretty good job up until now. He blames me for not rescuing him from the lake, but how was I to know he would pull such a dumb stunt, and go skating alone? Maybe I should have . . .he is James's blood, and God knows Potter never had the sense of a pixie when it came to self-preservation.  He was always rushing headlong into danger at school, like a blithering idiot.  The Potions Master thought witheringly, pacing the length of the porch and back.  All brawn and no brains-a typical Gryffindor.  Did Harry inherit that trait from him, Merlin help me? Even so . . .he regards that wolf as a hero and me as . . .as . . .a mean nasty bugger.

And that hurt more than he could admit.

Severus harbored a deep mistrust of wolves, due to the incident in the Shrieking Shack some twelve years before, when he had almost been killed by the werewolf Remus.  Ever since, he could not look at an ordinary wolf the same way again, and once he had been fascinated with the big canines.  He had indulged Harry with his reading of A Wolf in Winter, believing the little boy would grow out of his fascination with them someday, and he had been perfectly willing to accept an imaginary wolf friend as well, but a real one . . .that was too much.

Especially when the damn wolf seemed to be replacing himself in Harry's affections.

Feeling himself growing agitated again, Severus stepped off the porch, intending to walk a bit around the yard, and while he was doing so, come up with a suitable punishment for his wayward son.  On Christmas Eve, of all nights.  He hated the position he now found himself in, that of a bloody despot, and he knew that whatever punishment he came up with, he would end up being the tyrant . . .again. Why me? Does this sort of thing happen to other parents, or am I the lucky recipient of such phenomenal occurrences? How am I to deal with this without coming off as being the worst father in the world? I HAVE to punish him, I cannot allow him to talk back to me with such disrespect, but whoever heard of punishing a child on Christmas, by Merlin's starry robe? Even my own father, bloody bounder that he was, never beat me on Christmas.  The day after, maybe . . .but Christmas was sacred.

He sighed and continued to wear a path through the snow.  Students sometimes shouted that they hated him at school, after he had given them a failing grade on a test or a detention, but he had always shrugged them off, for his reputation as a strict taskmaster served him well when he taught potions, since it was a very dangerous subject and he needed to maintain iron discipline in order to avoid fatal mishaps in the classroom.  That was one time he didn't mind being an ogre, because it saved lives.  But it was an entirely different matter when the child shouting "I hate you" was your own son. 

As the Potions Master continued to ponder and pace, back and forth, hands clasped behind his back, his long hooded cloak billowing out behind him like a pair of dark wings, something approached at the edge of his vision, on the side of the yard nearest the woods.  At first, Severus hardly registered the movement, but the moonlight reflected off a bright silver coat and caused him to glance sidelong towards the woods.

Only to see the same silver wolf that had threatened Harry  standing on the lawn, gazing at him. 

Severus halted, mouth agape.  Then he reached for his wand, snarling, "How dare you come here, you mangy beast? Come to see if you can finish what you've started, have you? Well, not while I have breath in my body.  You'll not hurt Harry while I can still cast a spell, d'you hear me?"

He shouted that last into the cold winter night, even though he felt a tad ridiculous speaking to a wolf as though it could understand him. 

"I'm not deaf.  I think half of Yorkshire and Scotland could hear you, Snape."

Severus was flabbergasted.  "What . . .who said that? Show yourself!" He spun around, ready to blast whatever or whoever was lurking in the shadows, wondering how any wizard had managed to get past his protective wards so easily.  He had set them so no one short of Voldemort could dismantle them, and even then, that would be no easy task and alert him immediately. 

"You're looking at me."

The wizard whipped back around so quickly he nearly lost his balance and fell.  But he managed to recover his footing with a minimal loss of dignity.  He narrowed his eyes and glared daggers at the silver wolf, who was now standing barely ten feet from Snape's boots, wearing what Severus could swear was an amused expression.  The damn beast was laughing at him!  "What are you? An Animagus?" Severus demanded. "But I've never known one who could talk in another form." He kept his wand trained upon the unpredictable animal.

"I'm special.  Though normally I can't speak like this either."  Silver answered, sitting in the snow.  "Only on this night, out of all the nights of the year."

Severus frowned, puzzled.  "Why this night?"

The wolf grinned at him.  "You mean you don't know the Christmas legend of the talking animals? A bookworm like you, Severus Snape?"

"Of course I know of it!" Severus sputtered.  "I read it to Harry a few nights ago.  But . . .it's just a story."

"Is it? Or is that how you wizards interpret it? You know, every story has a grain of truth to it.  And this particular one has more than that, as you can tell.  St. Nicholas has always granted the request of the animals to speak with a human tongue, to foster understanding between animal and man."

"Oh, indeed?" Severus sneered.  "I have just one question for you, wolf.  What hold have you over my son?  What enchantment have you cast to make him prefer you to me, his father?"

"Spell? No spell whatsoever.  I am a wolf, not a wizard any longer."

"Ah ha! I knew it! You are an Animagus. An unregistered one, I'll bet.  Who are you?"

"Your son calls me Silver.  That is who I am now," the great wolf said maddeningly.

Severus snorted.  "Don't play games with me.  I am in no mood." He chanted a few sharp words in Latin and a silver mist drifted over the wolf, coalescing into a tall man with blond hair shot through with silver. It was a figure that Severus knew very well, and had hoped to never encounter again.  "Lupin!" he growled, suppressing an instinctive flinch.  "I should have known it was you.  You were always poking your nose where it didn't belong, like the rest of the bloody Marauders."

"Be fair, Snape! I wasn't half as bad as Sirius.  Or James.  And Wormtail was the worst for sneaking around and listening to private conversations," the former wizard protested. 

"Really? And I suppose you were just along for the fun of it?" sneered the other.

"Actually, I went along with their schemes to try and do some damage control.  I didn't enjoy getting in trouble all the time."

"Right.  How did you come to be trapped in this shape?" asked Severus knowingly, for if Remus could have changed forms he would have done so long before now. 

"I am not trapped in this shape.  It was a . . .sort of gift.  The answer to a prayer, if you will.  Like Harry is to you, Snape."

"What the bloody hell would you know about that?" Severus bristled. 

"Oh, I know plenty about you and Harry, the kid talks nonstop, and he told me all about his dad, the great Potions Master, and how he wishes he could be just like you when he grows up."

Severus was stunned.  "Harry . . .said that? About me?"

Lupin cocked an ear, puzzled at the astonishment in Severus's tone.  "Yes.  Nearly knocked me over, when I realized who he was talking about.  James is probably rolling over in his grave to hear his son say that about Snivellus the . . .never mind, I'm sure you can guess what he'd say." The wolf said apologetically.

"I can.  And it's too damn bad, because Lily chose me to raise her son if anything happened to her, not the mutt Black or you-werewolf!" Severus shot back, all the old resentment surfacing.

But Silver merely flicked an ear at Severus' angry tone and said only, "And she was right, much as I didn't want to admit it.  Sirius . . .betrayed her and I . . .I could never be a fit parent to a child with my curse.  You were the only logical choice.  She always liked you, Snape."

Severus merely nodded, but inwardly he rejoiced to hear that his beloved Lily returned his affection for her, if only as a friend.  "Albus wished to place him with his Muggle relatives, Lily's sister Petunia and her husband."

Silver wrinkled his nose in disgust.  "Is he barmy? Must be, for Petunia always detested magic and anyone who practiced it. They would be the last people to raise Harry with any kind of warmth or decency."

"We agree on something then, wolf."

"It's a miracle," Remus barked. 

"Pardon me if I don't abase myself," said Snape sarcastically.  "How did you come here, Lupin? Did you follow me from London?"

"Hardly.  I was brought here after . . .I became the silver wolf you see before you.  This forest . . .is where wolves dwelled.  It is the Wolf Wood of all the tales."

Severus laughed derisively.  "Oh, please! Spare me the melodrama, Lupin! Next you'll tell me the wolf prince Silverstrike appeared and made you into a full wolf."

"He did.  Or rather . . .his spirit did."

"And I'm the Easter bunny.  Do you think I'm stupid, Lupin? What reason would Silverstrike's spirit have for granting you, a werewolf, such a thing?"

"I don't know.  Do you think I enjoy being a monster, Snape? That people point at me in the street and whisper behind my back and mothers hide their children from me?" Lupin demanded bitterly.  "I have always loathed what I became each full moon."

"Could have fooled me.  You would have cheerfully ripped me apart that night, or have you forgotten?"

The wolf bared his teeth angrily.  "That was none of my doing, Severus! I was as much a victim as you.  I couldn't control myself when I transformed, that's why Dumbledore put me in the Shack, to make sure no one encountered me while I was . . .out of my head.   What James and Sirius did . . .I had no knowledge of it until it happened, it was not planned!"

"Why should I believe you?"

Silver's eyes glowed with a sharp light.  "Because I speak the truth.  I cannot lie, Snape.  One of the conditions Silverstrike set when he gave me this body.  Wolves don't lie, that's something only humans do.  I was furious that James and Sirius thought it was all right to take advantage of my . . .affliction and use me to  . . .hurt another student.  I would have told you as much, but you never gave me a chance to speak to you afterwards.  Not that I could blame you.  I never forgave either of my friends for making me become even more of a monster than I already was.  That night marked the end of the Marauders for me.  If you'll recall, I barely hung around them at all during sixth and seventh year."

Severus pursed his lips, but he could not deny the truth of Lupin's words, much as he longed to.  The werewolf had stopped following the other two bullies about, Severus had not seen him except in class, and he had never tormented Severus the way Potter and Black had.  "You're telling me that you broke from your best mates over me?"

Remus nodded.  "Yes.  That was the last straw.  They had always treated my curse . . .cavalierly, I guess.  They didn't take it seriously.  I did.  I knew I was dangerous, but I wanted so much to be like they were . . . stupid teenagers whose only worry was detention and docked House points.  Not becoming a ravening beast every full moon who hungered for human flesh. " The amber eyes darkened to an almost brown hue, and if wolves could look regretful, Silver did.

"And are you so much better now, Lupin? You almost bit Harry yesterday!" Severus accused.

The silver wolf stiffened and growled in denial, "No, Snape! I would never hurt Harry.  I dragged him out of the damn lake, he was drowning and freezing, I was the one who howled for you to come and help me, because all I could do was keep him warm with my body and it wasn't enough! How could you ever think I would hurt him?"

"Perhaps because I saw you nibbling on him, you damned vicious-" Severus exploded.

"I was not nibbling on him, Snape! I was removing the damn ice from his hair!"

"Your teeth were next to his face!" shouted the Potions Master.  "You were drooling all over him!"

"Yes, because I was nervous!" snapped Remus.  "Wolves pant when they're nervous, damn it all.  I couldn't help it.  I was terrified he was going to die and all I could do was watch it! I couldn't stand . . . just sitting there and doing nothing . . .I . . .love him, Severus . . ."

"Like a nice juicy steak?"

The amber eyes narrowed and the wolf growled softly.  "Damn you! Can you not see me for what I am, Snape?"

"What are you, Lupin? A werewolf! One that nearly killed me."

"I was.  I am that no longer.  Silverstrike . . .transformed me into a true wolf.  I was . . .sick of enduring the curse, years and years of becoming a thing hated and feared, hunted by everyone . . .I drank aconite mixed with silver nitrate . . ."

Severus remained silent, his sarcastic tongue stilled by the former werewolf's revelation. 

"I begged for death to come and take me away . . .instead the wolf prince came, and told me he could grant me release from my curse.  I asked him why, and all he said was a debt was owed.  I didn't understand what he meant, I still don't.  But it didn't matter.  He . . .breathed on me . . .and I became a true wolf.  The werewolf curse was broken, and before you ask me how, I don't know how he did it.  All he said to me before he transformed me was to ask me if I surrendered myself to him.  I said yes, because I didn't care anymore . . .and he made me into the silver wolf.  But I wasn't all wolf, I could still understand human speech and I remembered who I was once. "

"How long have you been like this?"

"Two years this Christmas Eve."

"You cannot change back?"

"No.  Not that I am aware of."

"Does Albus know?"

"No.  Nor will he.  I wouldn't have revealed myself to you either, Snape, except for Harry . . .I didn't want you to  think I would hurt him . . .I've been with him this whole week . . .playing in the snow . . ."

"And letting him think you were Silverstrike."

"Hey, it's not my fault I look kind of like him," Remus retorted.  "You were the one who read him the tale, Severus.  It's only natural that Harry would mistake me for that one afterwards."

"You encouraged him."

"What was I supposed to do? Write my real name in the snow? Sometimes . . .the wolf instinct makes me forget . . .for a time who I really am . . .especially when I haven't seen another person in months.  You and Harry are the first people I've seen in over eight months.  Visitors rarely come here.  This is Wolf Wood, after all.  Even if I'm the only living wolf in it."

"You expect me to believe that you are content to live . . .this way?"

"Yes.  At least this way I'm not a monster.  This was the price required to break the curse.  And it is one that I pay willingly. To live out my days as a wolf or to remain a werewolf.  The choice was not hard."

Severus gazed into the big wolf's eyes and found himself slowly believing the former wizard.  There was no deception in the amber orbs, and Severus was trained to spot falsehoods from his days as a spy.  Suddenly, Harry's plaintive childish treble echoed in his head.  "He's a good wolf, Dad.  He saved me . . . he's my friend."

Looking at the wolf before him, which was reminiscent of a magnificent specimen he had seen as a boy on a science and nature TV show, Severus could almost believe his son was right.  Animals did not lie, that much was true.  Remus met his gaze steadily, despite the instinct that urged him to challenge or submit to the Potions Master, since direct eye contact was a form of challenge to wolves.  "There are potions now to control the werewolf nature," Snape said, offering a backhanded olive branch.

"Yes, but they are expensive and require the skills of a Potions Master to brew, and I do not want to leave my life to chance.  I am tired, Severus, of being the damn outcast, the one who is persecuted every hour of every day for breathing. I would think that you, of all people, would understand that, and thus my choice to remain a wolf forevermore."

Severus looked away then, for there was something in the silver wolf's gaze that stripped his soul bare, and he didn't want to feel that odd kinship with the werewolf, the kinship of those who have been the victim of prejudice and bullies, of scorn and revulsion, who have suffered pain and humiliation nearly beyond endurance.  You know what he means, Sev, whispered his conscience.  It has been years, but there are some things you never forget . . .no matter how much you want to . . .you remember the way it was . . .when you were hounded and attacked day after day for being too smart, for being a Slytherin, for simply existing, as Potter put it . . .oh, yes . . you know. . . and Lily was your Silverstrike . . .she saved you from yourself and brought meaning back into your miserable school days.  If not for her, you would have become lost to the Dark Path . . .The Potions Master scowled, because he didn't want to understand Lupin, he wanted him to remain the werewolf, the killer whom he could fear and hate , not this . . .this kindred spirit . . .whom his son adored . . .

"He likes you better than me," he mumbled, not even realizing he had spoken aloud.

"Don't be ridiculous, Snape. Of course he doesn't.   I'm a playmate, you're his father."

Severus remained with his back to the silver wolf, feeling his face burn with embarrassment.  "What would you know of it, wolf?"

"More than you.  That kid practically worships you, don't you know that? Are you blind? All day long, he talks about you.  My dad said . . .my dad did this . . .my dad knows that . . .listening to Harry talk about you, Snape, one would think you were Merlin,  God, and the Muggle Einstein all rolled into one.  And you think he likes me better?" Remus gave a soft howl of disbelief and amusement.

"He does.  He said he hated me." Severus gritted out, unable to help himself.

"Hated you? Why?"

"Because I forbid him to see you again.   I said you were dangerous and he screamed at me that I was wrong and that he hated me.  Then he went and locked himself in my bedroom."

"Merlin, Severus!"

"What's so damn funny?" grumbled the other wizard, stubbornly looking into the trees.

"You.  You actually think he meant that, don't you? Snape, you might be a brilliant wizard, but you're a dunderhead when it comes to understanding  little kids."

"Oh, and you're a bloody expert?"

"Now I am.  As a wolf I can detect truth and lies by scent, and I also remember when I was a kid I lost my temper and told my dad I hated him too, for not letting me sleep over Sirius's or something.  Did I mean it? Hell, no! Well, at the time, I did, but afterwards . . .I felt guilty and ashamed and all I wanted was to tell my dad I was sorry and to have him forgive me.  Haven't you ever done that, said something you didn't really mean in a temper?"

An unwelcome image flashed into Severus's head then, of a crowd of jeering children surrounding him, and Lily, threatening to hex James for hurting him . . .and allowing his anger at his tormentor to get the better of him and call Lily a Mudblood . . ."Once."

"There, you see? That's all Harry did.  Said something he didn't really mean in a temper.  Happens to all of us. " the silver wolf said, then sniffed.  "He already feels guilty and awful for saying it, I can smell the remorse from here."

Severus turned around then, hope glinting in his ebony eyes.    "You're certain?"

"Yes.  He's kicking himself right about now, and wondering how much trouble he's in, most likely."

Severus scowled, relief intermingling with a delayed anger now.  "If I were a man like my father . . .he'd not be able to sit down for a week . . ."

"But you aren't." Remus said knowingly. 

"What did yours do to you for saying that?"

"Uh . . .threatened to ship me off to my great aunt Esmerelda, who I detested, grounded my arse for a week, and washed out my mouth with soap for being a disrespectful brat, I think." The silver wolf grimaced.  "I learned my lesson.  I never talked like that to him again."

Severus nodded.  That seemed fair.  Not too lenient and not too harsh.  But the timing nagged him.  "I don't want to punish him on Christmas, even if he does deserve to spend all of the holiday standing with his nose to a wall."

"So do it after," said Remus simply.  "Tell him his punishment starts right after Christmas and let it go at that."

Snape's scowl deepened.  "So simple.  Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because I'm bloody brilliant and you're not?"

"In your dreams."

"Okay, you overanalyzed the situation, Snape, and overlooked the obvious-that as a parent you can decide when to give out punishments as well as how.  It doesn't always have to be the same day, or hour, or whatever.  Once, my dad made me wait a whole week before he punished me, and I almost went bonkers . . .the waiting's bloody awful when you're a kid . . trust me on that."

"Humph! Bloody know-it-all."

"Takes one to know one," taunted the other.  "Come on, Severus.  Admit I give good advice and go and talk to the kid, put him out of his misery."

"No."

"No? What do you mean, no?"

"Just what I said.  I think it'd be better if his best friend Silver had a talk with him first."

"But . . .that's . . .what will you be doing in the meantime?"

"Listening at the keyhole," drawled the Potions Master with a wicked smirk.

"You're . . .that's . . .just plain . . .evil, Severus Snape."

"Well, I do have a reputation to maintain, Lupin. The evil dungeon bat, you know."

"What do you want me to say?"

Severus shrugged.  "I wouldn't presume to know the mind of such a genius, your brilliance astounds me.  Once you've finished enlightening my son,  I'll come in and take it from there."

The silver wolf clicked his jaws together meaningfully.  "You're lucky I'm a good wolf, Snape . Otherwise . . ."

"You're lucky Harry likes you, Lupin. Or else you'd be howling down at the earth," Severus returned. He waved his wand half-threateningly.  "Well? What are you waiting for? Christmas?"

"You're a riot, Snape." Remus grumbled.  Then he rose and padded up the stairs.  He paused at the door and glared over his shoulder.  "You going to open the door, or what?"

"You mean you can't huff and puff and blow it down?  What kind of wolf are you?"

"Just open the door, Snape!"

Severus gestured and the door swung open. 

Silver loped inside, and followed his nose to the bedroom, where a small boy was curled on a bed, anxiously awaiting the return of his father. Undoing the lock with a softly spoken word, Severus opened the door, then stepped back, allowing the silver wolf to nudge the door open and enter the bedroom, then partially close the door behind him. I cannot believe I am doing this-allowing a wolf-a wolf!-to  counsel my son.  I must be losing my mind.  Losing my bloody mind.