Chapter 24

Near and Dear

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Severus and Moody sat at opposite ends of the table for breakfast the next morning. Severus glared fiercely down at his plate, chewing on his meat with far more vigor than was needed. Moody suspiciously watched his every movement, with no effort to make his scrutiny inconspicuous- his eyes even followed the motions of the other man's hand as he reached for another serving of eggs, as though the way in which he spooned them onto his plate might give away some secret motivation concealed within.

The silent battle between the two seemed to prolong breakfast more than usual, but finally, fifteen minutes after half the staff was gone from the table, Moody pushed his chair back, finished with his meal. The Potions Master allowed his dark, flashing gaze to follow him out the hall as he limped along, but Moody paid him no heed.

Severus waited a short while, drumming his fingers on the table beside his plate. He didn't want to make his way out into the entrance hall just yet, as he knew Moody was liable to still be there - his wooden leg didn't exactly make for speedy travel. Finally satisfied that he was clear of this danger several minutes later, Severus excused himself from the table. He made his way into the entrance hall, unprepared for the scene that was to greet him there.

Moody had not yet made it up to his classroom; he had clearly become distracted, Severus observed, as he currently had what appeared to be a pile of tattered robes pinned against the cold stone floor. But no, Severus realized as he walked toward the scene. The pile of robes was in fact Remus Lupin, and Moody was pointing his wand down at him, breathing heavily, and muttering about 'imposters' and 'criminals' under his breath, while Lupin struggled below him.

"Moody," Severus called almost lazily, strolling up to the scene. He'd said before that he would prefer this crazy old man to Lupin; he had been wrong. "May I ask for what reason you are harassing Mr. Lupin?"

Moody's back had been turned to him, and he seemed a bit caught off guard as he turned and looked at Snape in surprise. He quickly recovered himself, righting his expression to a dark frown. "I had no reports that we were to have visitors today… I have reason to believe that he is, in fact, an enemy of Dumbledore's, sent here with plans to infiltrate the school."

Severus looked at him blankly for a moment, then to Lupin, whose expression was that of pained annoyance. "Reassuring though it is to know that we've a highly paranoi—Oh, I beg your pardon, vigilant—Auror guarding the castle, since the wards so often fail," he added sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "I don't think the Headmaster would appreciate-"

"Well, Snape, why don't you just worry about your own opinions of what Dumbledore would appreciate, eh? I doubt he appreciated when you took the Dark Mark, but that didn't stop you from-"

Severus whipped out his wand, brandishing it with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "How dare you?"

The curse on Lupin was suddenly lifted as Moody whirled to point his wand at the darker man before him, matching his fierce expression. "You really think you could win in a duel against me, Snape?"

"I-"

"It is fortunate that we will never find out!" the sound of a deep, powerful voice filled the corridor, followed by resounding bang of the Great Hall's doors as they slammed shut. The three men present in the entrance hallway had turned at that moment to see Dumbledore, striding quickly towards them, blue eyes ablaze. "Perhaps, gentlemen, the next time you wish to settle such a dispute," he said in the same authorative voice, though lower in volume, "you should take care to do so in private."

Neither man responded for a moment. They hadn't really realized the entire Great Hall had been able to watch the display of events from their seats. Dumbledore looked back and forth between them. "Well, have you no explanation?"

Both opened their mouths, but Severus beat Moody to speaking first. "I do apologize, Headmaster," he said in a tone that convinced no one, especially considering the mocking smirk playing across his lips. "I personally was as shocked as you are now to stumble upon Moody assaulting Mr. Lupin in so harsh a manner. I was simply doing my part in ensuring that no one was harmed."

Dumbledore brought his gaze from Moody and Lupin to Severus, and looked unconvincingly over his spectacles at him. "I highly doubt those were your true motivations, Severus," he said calmly.

"That hurts," Severus said flatly, quirking an eyebrow.

Dumbledore turned to Lupin, ignoring Severus' comment. "Remus, so good to see you,' he said in a far more friendly tone, shaking the man's hand. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Lupin gave him an odd, questioning look, glancing back at Severus and Moody, who were both now glaring at Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave him a barely perceptible shake of the head and waved his hand subtly as though to say, 'I'll deal with them later.'

"Ah," Lupin responded to Dumbledore's expression, understanding. "Well, I'm... I'm here to see Harry, actually. I received a letter from him a few days ago and it sounded urgent..." Lupin broke off; he seemed to have caught the alarmed glances that Dumbledore and Snape had exchanged at this information.

"Really?" Dumbledore asked curiously. "Well, I'm sure he will be glad to see you..."

"Headmaster, I think we should not forget that Potter has classes to attend this morning," Snape said coldly, glancing at Lupin. "Surely his education is more important than a social call." Severus aimed a pointed glance in Dumbledore's direction, hoping that he too had thought of the possible reasons for Harry's letter and understood that this was a bid for time. Lupin, for his part, was looking frustrated with Severus' interference, but the Potions Master resolutely ignored his gaze.

"Awfully concerned with Potter's schedule, there, aren't you Snape?" Moody growled from behind Dumbledore.

"Yes," Severus replied through gritted teeth; the old man was not making this any easier, that was for certain. "As I am with all of our students; their education is my responsibility."

Moody grunted disbelievingly, but said nothing else with Dumbledore present.

"I shall check with Harry and his first teacher for the day and see if he can't spare a bit of time," Dumbledore offered after a moment. Severus opened his mouth to object, but Dumbledore looked sternly over his glasses at him and continued, "You may wait in my office, Remus. I shall meet you shortly."

"Thank you, Dumbledore," Lupin replied, nodding his acquiescence.

"Ah- Headmaster," Severus spoke up from behind as the Lupin walked away. "I was wondering if I might have a word with Potter, first."

Dumbledore turned around to face him, considering him silently for a moment. Severus could tell, simply by the signs of an inward debate on the old man's face, that both were thinking along the same lines- Harry was planning to tell Lupin, and Dumbledore was uncertain if he should allow Severus to interfere.

Dumbledore looked as though we wished to refuse; perhaps he did not trust him to act in Harry's best interest, but he said shortly, "You may speak to both of us, in just a moment. Alastor, I believe you have a lesson to prepare," he said, clearly indicating the need for Moody's departure as well as he gestured towards the staircase.

Though he looked very much as though he might argue, the Defense teacher was given no choice except to leave in silence as Severus followed the Headmaster to retrieve Harry from the Great Hall. It took only a moment to summon the boy, and he looked quite relieved to be rescued from his chattering friends.

Harry stepped out into the entrance hall, giving Dumbledore a questioning look, and avoiding the Potions Master's gaze until the doors had been shut again.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, his voice slightly apprehensive at the dark, suspicious look on Snape's face.

"Lupin is here to see you," Severus said softly. He betrayed nothing of wariness in his tone, but Harry could tell by the flicker in his eyes, as he purposefully averted them, that he knew Harry was behind his arrival.

Dumbledore gave the the Potions Master a glance of disapproval, but with Severus staring at Harry intensely, it went unnoticed. Dumbledore then turned back to Harry. "Harry, what is your schedule for this morning?"

"Magical Offense at nine o' clock, sir," Harry responded.

Severus was visibly disappointed; it was only eight now, which gave Harry an hour to speak to Lupin.

"Well, Harry, Professor Lupin- well, I suppose you can call him Remus, now, he's not your Professor anymore- is waiting for you in my office, if you'd like to come with me," said Dumbledore.

"Of course," said Harry, but he was distracted. He could see that Snape desired a word with him, and all his instincts told him that he should do it now rather than later. On an impulse, he added, "Actually- I was wondering if I could speak to Professor Snape, first."

Both men raised their eyebrows, and Harry attempted to keep the relief off his face at getting his prior sentence out. He looked up at Snape, trying to behave as though he had logically thought out his previous words, and wasn't the least bit surprised at their boldness.

"Headmaster," Severus said without removing his shrewd gaze from Harry. "Perhaps you could allow me to escort Potter to your office? Privately?"

"Well, yes, I suppose that would be..." Dumbledore started faintly; he was clearly divided on whether he wished to leave the two alone. "That would be fine. But Professor Snape, a moment please."

Snape moved with Dumbledore several feet away from Harry, where Dumbledore said in a low voice, "Remember, Severus, that it will not do to cut Harry off from those he is closest to. If he wishes to confide in Remus-"

"I understand, Headmaster," said Severus resentfully; did he think he was going to threaten the boy into silence? "But there are some things that the boy needs to know first. I'm afraid he might be expecting a very different reaction from Lupin than the one he receives."

Dumbledore nodded to the side, considering what Severus had said. "Very well, then. Harry," he said more loudly as he turned back towards him, "I will take my leave of you here, unless there is anything else you need."

"No, thanks Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, offering him a small, almost reassuring smile. He then hurried after Snape, who was already walking quite quickly from the entrance hall.

Not until they had reached a quiet, empty corridor, did Snape slow down and eventually speak.

"You wrote to Lupin," he stated quietly, sounding resentful of the fact.

"Well, yes. I didn't think you'd mind," Harry responded, honestly surprised.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say I minded," he said, his volume raised. "Though some prior notice would have been considerate. I suppose you thought nothing of the fact that you'd have days to prepare yourself for this, and then it would be sprung on me so I could handle it with only a moment's notice."

"I didn't know Remus was going to come marching down to the school," Harry objected at once. "It's not as though I've been plotting against you with him," Harry objected, sounding more annoyed than he'd intended. He took a breath, and then said in a more restrained voice, "Listen, when I wrote him, I was confused and needed someone to talk to. I- I still am, really. I don't understand why you're so concerned when he's here to talk to me."

Severus stopped mid-stride. "Did it not occur to you," he countered, turning and looking seriously at Harry, "that Lupin will surely come back to me to clarify whatever you say to him?" He seemed angry, and Harry could only hope that his anger wasn't directed towards him. "There are… many things I have failed to mention up to this point about what went on between your mother and I, in relation to the 'marauders'." He rolled his eyes at the mention of their title. "Kind and gentle hearted as you may believe Lupin to be, I assure you that he will not take this news as well as you are expecting."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked apprehensively, not certain he wanted the answer.

"I mean," Severus responded in frustration, "that when your Mother went running back to Potter, he told Black and Lupin the whole story... and it did not cast me in a positive light. Lily was like a sister to those two- Potter had always loved her, and his best friends were fiercely protective of her on his behalf."

"So when you…"

"I don't doubt they would have broken down my door if Lily hadn't told them to keep away from me for their own good," Severus said, answering Harry's unasked question.

Harry was silent for a short while before saying, "But Remus has always acted normally towards you... he doesn't seem to hate you, like... like Sirius did." And with a pang, Harry realized that this was the first time he had considered what Lupin or Sirius would think about Harry letting Snape into his life... perhaps he had not considered it before because he had known, on some level, that he would not like the answer he got if he questioned it too deeply.

"I will admit," Severus said after a moment, because he could see that these revelations were troubling Harry deeply, "that Lupin has done well at hiding his feelings towards me. Dumbledore's trust in me and my work for the Order have helped him to move past whatever he felt towards me on Potter's behalf."

And Lupin had said, Harry remembered, that he had done nothing to stop James and Sirius from bullying Snape, and he had seemed guilty about it. Harry refrained from saying this, however, for he did not think it would bode well to reveal to Snape that he had talked about that witnessed memory with his enemies.

"I didn't realize… I'm sorry," Harry said quietly.

Severus looked sharply at him, and then turned his head forward again, resuming walking. "You didn't know. I just wanted to prepare you- Lupin may not be as understanding as you might expect."

"Well, maybe you should come with me," Harry suggested, watching Snape's face for a response.

Snape gave him another glance out of the corners of his eyes and kept walking. "Why would I do that?"

"Maybe it would be better to get everything out into the open at once," Harry replied thoughtfully. "And I don't like the thought of you two going head to head on your own... it might be better if I were there as a witness..."

Severus smirked. "And would that be better for him or for me?"

Harry smiled. "Hard to say."

It seemed strange- Snape was Harry's father, and yet he acted unlike any father-figure he'd ever had in his life. Any other adult offered him comfort and sympathy, and took every chance possible to prove that they cared for Harry. Snape didn't… but for some reason, it only made Harry try a little harder to get along with him… and he never would have pictured himself doing that during the past few years.

Severus never did confirm whether or not he would stay with Harry. They reached the stone gargoyle and Severus said the password, waiting for the stairway to appear while staring straight ahead. Harry kept looking up at him, wondering what he was thinking, and why he was keeping so silent.

Harry also couldn't help but notice the fact that Snape was sticking by his side, all the way into Dumbledore's office. The older man hardly even looked at him, but when Harry finally did catch his eye, he gave him a barely perceptible nod… and a strange feeling spread through Harry then. Assurance.

"Harry," Lupin greeted him warmly as he stepped into the room, gripping Harry by the shoulders. "It has been far too long."

"Hello, Professor Lupin," Harry said, a bit awkwardly as Lupin pulled him into a one-armed embrace.

"Remus," Lupin responded. "Call me Remus. And... Severus!" he said conversationally, as though he had only just noticed him there. The room went quiet, and Severus and Lupin considered each other for a moment. Finally, Lupin reopened the door of Dumbledore's office, and smiled at Severus. "Well," he said, "thank you so much for escorting Harry up here-"

"Actually, Lupin, I'll be staying," Severus said, crossing his arms. He suddenly knew that he had been waiting to deliver that blow when he felt a surge of satisfaction at the look of shock on Lupin's face.

Lupin glanced at Harry, who reaffirmed this with a nod. "You- you're staying?" Lupin repeated, eyes narrowing. "Harry-"

"You'll undoubtedly understand soon enough, Lupin," Severus said, stepping around him to the center of the office, and seating himself in one of the chairs there. "Well, there's no use in holding off," he said, seeing Harry's apprehensive expression. "Might as well get on with it."

"Right," Harry said nervously. "Perhaps you'd best have a seat, Remus, " he said to Lupin, who did just that; he seemed ready to do so anyways.

"Is this about the letter you sent to me, Harry?" Lupin asked, trying to avoid glancing sideways at Severus.

Harry nodded. "Yes, it is." He hesitated before continuing.

"What is it?" Lupin prompted gently, giving Harry a warm, inviting look that said you can tell me anything. Harry wondered if that was true.

Harry looked up at him. "It's about my father. He's… not who we thought."

Lupin continued to smile at Harry, but something about the way the light shifted in his eyes signaled his confusion at Harry's statement. "James?" He questioned. "What do you mean he was not who we thought?"

"No," Harry replied with difficulty, unsure how exactly to phrase what he needed to express. "That's not what I meant."

The smile on Lupin's face began to fade, and his brow furrowed in further befuddlement. "Harry?"

When no one replied for a moment, Lupin's eyes flickered to Severus. The Professor's expression was indiscernible, however, and Lupin looked from him back to Harry.

"James was not actually my father... at least, not in the blood related sense," Harry said, watching Lupin carefully. He was surprised with himself for feeling so calm as he said the words out loud; Lupin, however, was not handling it nearly as well.

The color in Lupin's face faded into an ashy white. He didn't say anything for a moment; he seemed to be swallowing the idea, absorbing the information. His look of bewilderment slowly gave way to understanding, and purposely avoiding looking at Severus, he asked, "Am I right to guess that…?"

Harry glanced at his father, who gave him a reassuring nod, and then affirmed with a small gesture.

Lupin slowly turned to Severus, shaking his head. "This isn't possible…"

"Why not?" Severus challenged in an almost taunting manner, raising his eyebrows. Harry squeezed his eyes closed. He wished the man wouldn't make the situation worse than it already was. "Why is it so difficult to believe? After all, Lupin, you remember better than anyone does how long we were together. If you honestly think we were celibate the whole time-"

"Well of course not!" Lupin scoffed, bringing his hands angrily down to the arms of the chair as though bracing himself.

"Then why isn't it possible?" Severus said, raising his eyebrows and maintaining the same look of mocking, placid calm.

Lupin sputtered for a moment as if searching for an answer. "If Harry was not James' son, why would he have gone to such lengths to protect him? Did he even know about this?"

"Think of all my fa-James Potter-did to help you keep your secret, Professor Lupin," Harry offered up, trying to take the focus off of Severus and provide some insight into the situation. "He would have done anything for his friends. My mother was one of them."

Lupin seemed to take this into consideration, but his expression of indignation didn't fade.

"Lupin," Severus said after a long moment, "What happened between Lily and I-"

"There is nothing you could say to change my mind about the two of you," Lupin responded quickly, cutting Severus off mid-sentence. "You never deserved her, and you certainly don't deserve him." He pointed, then, at Harry. "There is nothing you could say that could convince me otherwise. Harry," he said, turning to the boy, "I despise placing you in the middle of this, but are you truly prepared to let this man into your life?"

Severus opened his mouth to retort, but catching glance of Harry's defeated expression, quickly decided to refrain for the moment. He hoped that Harry would set the werewolf to rights.

Harry was at a loss for words for a moment. Severus had implied that Lupin's reaction would be less than exuberant, but he hadn't honestly thought that the man would go so quickly from amiability and warmth to… this. "I'm prepared to try," Harry said, seeming to find his voice.

Lupin shook his head. "You can't mean that. Do you know the way he treated your mother? Do you know how he threw her out on her-"

"That will be quite enough!" Severus finally barked, rising from his seat. "We can kindly leave my past with her out of this!"

"How can we, Severus?" Lupin returned, also getting to his feet. "If the way you treated your wife was any indication of how you'll treat your child, then-"

"I treated her very well when she was my wife!" Severus responded. "But a wife does not cheat on her husband- regardless of whether or not she actually did, I was only reacting to the circumstances as they were presented to me."

"James went through all of those years of jealousy and he never harmed her," Lupin said. "He was a good man."

"Oh, no, he never harmed her; he just tried to push me out of the picture time and time again by making me look a fool. Didn't care how miserable it was making her."

"No more miserable than being with you most likely made her," Lupin retorted, and Severus moved towards him.

"Stop!" Harry finally shouted, demanding the attention of both adults.

"You can't honestly think, Harry, that after all he's done-"

"After all he's done out of respect for me in these past few weeks," Harry said, his voice drowning out that of Lupin's. "I'm willing to believe that some men do, in fact… change."

Severus was gazing at Harry with a feeling swelling in his chest that he'd never felt with the boy before. He was actually… defending him. Harry Potter, the boy whom he'd tortured as much as possible during the past five years was standing there, defending him… against Lupin, of all people.

Lupin was gazing at Harry, almost stupefied by the very same fact that Severus was contemplating with wonder. What could possibly have taken place within the last few weeks that would have changed the boy's opinion of Severus so drastically? Who had said what to him, and how much truth had there been to it?

"Professor Snape," Harry said, turning to face him. "would you leave me with Professor Lupin?"

Severus didn't speak for a moment. He had no desire to leave this office; he had no way of knowing what poison Lupin would speak about him once he left. However, to refuse Harry's wishes would cast him in an equally negative light. "If you wish," he said at last, hiding the reluctance from his voice. He wanted to ask him to come by his office later… but he didn't. He just gazed oddly at him for another moment, before turning to leave the office.

As Harry turned to face Lupin, he could see that the man looked distraught. He was staring desolately at the floor, his hands clasped in his lap, seemingly ashamed both at his own behavior, and the sickening fact that Severus now had a claim to Lily… they had a child. All Harry could see in his expression, however, was disappointment. He lowered himself into the chair facing Lupin, and waited for him to speak first. When he finally did, he asked one very simple question.

"Why would you ever let yourself consider that man father?"

"He's the last chance I have at family." 

xxx End Chapter xxx