Harry soon learned that having Lupin around was just as much fun this time as it had been the last time he'd seen the werewolf. Remus was very easy going and had a wonderful sense of humor. He had grown up with both Severus and Lily as well as all the Marauders, and had amusing and interesting stories to share about all of them.

"James and Sirius were always bickering with your parents, Harry," Remus related. "Mostly because the two of them were still as prank happy as they ever were when they were in school. One time when they were supposed to be babysitting you, Lily came home and found her living room covered in wall to wall neon glow purple and green paint, and so were Sirius and James and you too. They'd been playing Paint Wars and Lily was furious. I think she yelled at them to just grow the hell up and threatened to hex them back to three-year-olds if they didn't shape up. And believe me, she'd have done it too. Your mum had as fiery a temper as Sev sometimes. James used to say it was the red hair that made her so quick to boil over."

"My dad says that Mum didn't really care all that much for James when they were in school."

"Yes, but that was all James fault. He was a charmer and arrogant, thought all he had to do was look at a girl and she'd fall at his feet. Nine times out of ten, that was true, women loved him for his looks and his charm and his money. But Lily was different. She saw he was immature and afraid of commitment and shallow. And his money made no difference to her. She came from a comfortable background, she didn't need a rich boyfriend to buy her expensive presents. She called that kind of thing flash, and said she didn't need that to look good. Her sister Petunia disagreed with her, as I'm sure you know. Lily once said James was "all flash and no fire", meaning he had gloss but no substance. She was dead on target. Back then, James was very much an immature jackass. Unlike Sev, who never really had a childhood, and grew up too fast and too hard. But his saving grace, or so he always told me, was your mother. He said once when they were dating that she was the light in the dark, and with her beside him he would never fear losing his way."

He was right, Harry thought sadly. Because when she died, he did lose his way, and became hard and bitter, not like the man she married. If she had meant that much to him, losing her must have been like . . .the worst kind of tragedy ever. And he didn't even have me, because Dumbledore hid me away with the Dursleys. Harry felt another flash of anger whenever he thought of how the old wizard had meddled in his life, altering it beyond comprehension. What would his life have been like if he'd grown up loved and safe with his dad, the two of them together? What would he be like if he'd always been Harrison Remus Snape?

Certainly the loss of his magic would have never occurred, since he would never have needed to run away from Severus, and thus become easy prey for the Death Eaters lurking about, waiting for just such a mistake. Severus had been right when he said Albus had a lot to answer for, up to and including this new disaster.

"If I had been left alone to be raised by my father, things would have been different, Uncle Moony," Harry exclaimed suddenly, addressing the other wizard the way he used to do as a baby. "I wouldn't be such a mess now, without magic and a lifetime of awful memories. If Dumbledore hadn't stolen me away to live with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, I'd have been much better off."

Remus nodded sadly, his dark eyes filled with compassion. "Yes, you would have been, Harry. Hiding you away from your dad was one of the worst mistakes Albus ever made. He freely admits that and regrets his decision to this day."

"Fat lot of good that does me now!" Harry retorted bitterly.

"Ah, that's your father coming out in you," remarked the werewolf quietly. "Sev could hold a grudge with the best of them, and still does. He has a hard time forgiving and forgetting, for all of his compassionate nature. You're like him in that respect, Harry."

"Only a little," the boy argued.

"Harry, a little goes a long way," Remus smiled. "Albus truly does regret keeping the two of you apart for so long, but the man tends to look at the big picture instead of individuals, and sometimes he forgets who he's dealing with, that they're people, not pawns on a chessboard. But he meant well."

"So what? He screwed up my life and I was the one who paid for it!" Harry snapped, his eyes flashing. "And then he expects me to say it was no big deal, and forget the hell I lived for eleven years, when all that time I could have been with my real dad, treated like a son instead of a freak. Well, I can't , Uncle Moony. I just . . .can't. Maybe someday. . .but not now. Not now."

Remus placed a hand comfortingly on the younger wizard's shoulder. "I can't blame you, Harry. I'd be raging mad too if I ever discovered that I'd been put with my scummy relatives when I could've been with someone who really cared for me."

"And now my magic's gone too," Harry told him, a sharp bitter note creeping into his tone. "Well, it was shattered and it's only just begun to mend. I can fly my broom but that's about it. And nobody knows when I'll get it back."

Suddenly, they caught Severus's voice coming from the kitchen, where he was having a very loud discussion with Neil's parents and presumably Mike as well. " . . .when I gave my son permission to spend the night, Mrs. MacIntyre, I did so assuming you would be there to supervise, not leave two thirteen-year-olds in the care of an irresponsible seventeen-year-old intending to have a wild party as soon as your back was out the door! . . . Was this the first time this sort of thing occurred? Not really? Just what the blazes is that supposed to mean?"

Harry and Remus winced at the edge in Severus's voice. They heard him muttering several colorful remarks, then he replied, "Yes, I'm aware of what teenagers get up to these days, I've been a teacher for over eleven years. And I'll tell you right now, that never would I have left three of them home alone for more than an hour, especially on a weekend! My son was escorted home by the police, madam, and he was totally drunk when he showed up on my doorstep, thanks to your son or one of his friends spiking a punch with God knows what proof alcohol!" Severus shouted. "If Harry had gotten alcohol poisoning, you'd be facing a bloody lawsuit now, woman, so don't tell me to calm down! If I was any other parent, I could bring charges against you for negligence of a minor! He was your responsibility and you failed him miserably, so you just quit with the excuses and think about that for a moment!"

Harry groaned. "Merlin, but he's really mad, Uncle Moony. What if he never lets me see Neil again?"

"You can't blame him for that, Harry. It was really irresponsible of them. But once his temper dies down, I think he'll realize that it was hardly Neil's fault and he won't blame him for his brother's actions."

Harry prayed the werewolf was right, because he didn't want to lose his only friend.

Remus was quiet for a moment, then he said, "Losing your magic's rough to deal with, kid. It's sort of like losing your hand or leg in a car accident. Or getting bitten by a werewolf. Your whole life changes and there's no going back. All you can do is accept it and go on. Which isn't easy, believe me. Nobody knows that better than I do. You said your Muggle relatives treated you like a freak. You could say the rest of the wizarding world, except for very few, did the same to me. To be a werewolf is to become an outcast, you live on the fringe of society, part yet not part."

"But it's not your fault you became one," Harry protested. "So why should you get blamed?"

"Because people have to blame someone. And I'm an easy target. Most werewolves don't live too long once they're bitten, they usually go mad from hunger and despair or become utter beasts that hunt and kill humans until they're hunted and killed in turn. For each person, the curse expresses in different ways. In me, it gives me super strength and speed, and anger, but I can control most of it, enough so I've never succumbed to killing a human. Even when I was a teenager, I hunted only animals for food. That makes all the difference, I believe. Your dad was the closest I've ever come to harming a human being, that night in Hogsmeade."

Harry was about to ask another question when they heard Severus's irate voice yet again. " . . .what did you think you were doing, young man? This was all a big joke to you right? . . .oh, so you're telling me you didn't know one of your friends had a bottle of Buzz?. . . .That's no excuse, boy!" The Potions Master roared and Harry flinched. " . . .you're lucky you aren't my son, Mr. MacIntyre . . .because this would be one lesson you'd never forget, I assure you . . ."

Both Remus and Harry shivered at the silky threatening tone, and Harry thanked his lucky stars that tone wasn't directed at him.

Severus's voice grew softer and they could no longer make out what he was saying.

"They told you then, what almost happened? James and Sirius, I mean?" Harry continued his original conversation.

"They didn't have to. Albus told me himself and I was horrified and at the same time furious as hell. At myself, for being a creature that couldn't be trusted not to harm his best friend. But also at James and Sirius, for thinking my condition was all some colossal joke. I took a long time to forgive them for nearly turning me into a murderer and killing Severus. Bad enough I had to transform into a man's worst nightmare, a beast without reason who craved human flesh, every full moon, without making me a target of every werewolf hunter and Auror in Britain."

"There's such a thing as a werewolf hunter?" Harry repeated.

"Oh, yes. You see, Harry, most werewolves truly are monsters, pure primal rage that lives to kill and feast upon humans. They might take human shape, but their humanity was lost long ago. I'm one of the few exceptions to that rule, perhaps because I was so young when I was bitten."

"How old were you?" His father had told him, but he couldn't recall it.

"Five. We were on vacation in the Alps when Grayback stumbled upon our campsite, I was alone for a few minutes, sitting by the fire playing Gobstones when he came out of nowhere and attacked me. My parents heard me screaming and Apparated back, but by then it was too late. I'd been bitten, but not badly enough to die. I almost did, but I recovered and by then the lycanthrope curse was part of me. Luckily, it was easy to contain me back then, my father locked me in the cellar and tied me to a post so I wouldn't injure myself trying to escape. He also left me ground hamburger to eat, like you would a dog, and eventually I ate it, though it never really satisfied me. But that was the best they could do then."

"Until you came to Hogwarts."

"Right. And James and Sirius and Peter discovered that I was better able to control my wolfish urges by running with them in their Animagus forms. I had to hunt first, however, because only after I'd fed was I "safe" to be around."

"Could you understand them when they were changed?"

"In a manner of speaking. Animals communicate differently than we do, and all animals can comprehend one another after a fashion. That's how I could understand Padfoot when he barked, or Prongs when he snorted, or Wormtail when he squeaked. But I was still dangerous, and they didn't know just how much they risked by being near me when I was in my wolfin form. A werewolf sated is not tame." Remus stated with a sardonic smile. "I could have turned on them any minute."

"Do you think they knew?"

"I think Sirius guessed, but he never told any of the others. He always loved an element of danger, the big idiot. With him action and thought were simultaneous. One of things which bugged Severus to no end."

"They hated each other, right?"

"Not quite hate, Harry. Say rather they strongly disliked each other, but agreed to tolerate each other for Lily's sake. Sev and Sirius were like a cat and dog. Sirius would annoy Severus by barking or whatever, and Sev would hiss and spit at him until Sirius quit being an annoying pain."

Harry bit back a giggle at the picture Remus's comparison conjured, of a black mutt barking at a hissing black cat.

"Sev thought Sirius was nothing more than a spoiled rich kid with an attitude problem, and Sirius thought Sev was nothing but street trash posing as somebody. They were both partially right and partially wrong. There was more to either of them than they would ever admit." Lupin shook his head regretfully. "I have to admit, out of all the Marauders, I'd of picked Peter to go dark before Sirius, even though Sirius came from a rabid pureblood family, who were strong supporters of Voldemort's regime."

"Why Peter?" Harry noticed that Pettigrew seemed to be the least mentioned of the three.

"Peter was a sneak, he loved to spy on everyone. He was also afraid of everyone and everything, it was kind of pathetic actually. He hid behind James and Sirius and was a classic follower, did whatever he was told and never spoke up if his mates were doing something wrong. The wolf in me hated him on sight, he reminded me of prey, I guess. I'd of picked him over Sirius because he was easily persuaded, if one was powerful enough, they could have broken him easily. But Sirius killed him, though I'd of sworn he was loyal to the Light. My instincts are rarely wrong."

"Everyone makes mistakes, Moony," came Severus's silky voice. "Black fooled almost all of us." Both of them jumped about a foot. Severus's approach had been soundless. Apparently his conversation with the MacIntyres was over.

"Save you, Severus."

"I never trusted him, so it didn't really surprise me when he betrayed us." Snape said grimly. "I would have liked to be at his trial, he deserved the Kiss for what he did, leading bloody Riddle straight to James and Lily and Harry." There was a dark thread of anguish in his tone now.

"Why weren't you?"

"Dumbledore forbade me," Severus answered tightly. "I believe he thought I wouldn't be able to restrain myself, seeing my worst enemy helpless. He was wrong, of course. I'd have been happy to see justice done, whether it was by my hand or a court's. Dumbledore has always underestimated my control over my temper. I don't let it consume me, anymore than you allow your wolf nature to."

They were sitting in the den, the remains of a light lunch scattered before them on the table, when Mia burst into the house, chasing Rosie, who had a stuffed dragon in her mouth. "Help! Rosie, give it back!"

The beagle ignored the child, running full speed around the couch with her forbidden prize, playing keep away.

"Rosie! Sit!" Harry ordered sternly.

The puppy froze, then sat and immediately offered a paw in submission. Harry took the toy from her and said, "Bad girl!" The dog hung her head. "No chewing toys!" Then he walked over and picked up one of the basted rawhide chews and gave the beagle it instead.

Rosie mouthed it and wagged her tail and Harry told her she was a good dog. She flopped over on the floor and began gnawing it.

"Here, Mia," Harry handed the little girl her toy. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, Harry. She's just a crazy puppy," said the young witch. "But Sparks is my favorite stuffed animal." She eyed her cousin. "Are you still sick?"

"No. I feel a lot better now."

"Oh good. You looked terrible before," she said honestly. "Want to play Donkey Kong?"

"Uh . . ." he wanted to tell her no, because he was interested in continuing the conversation he'd been having with Remus and Severus, but she gave him one of her patented puppy-dog stares and his resolve melted into a puddle of goo. "Okay. Two games and that's all."

She flashed him a megawatt smile. "You're the best, Harry!"

Remus stifled a laugh at the way the child manipulated the teenager so effortlessly. "She's got him wrapped up quite neatly, hasn't she?"

Severus nodded, his dark eyes twinkling. "Oh yes. And has since she first met him. I can't blame him though. She's irresistible when she smiles."

"Kind of reminds me of another little girl with red hair and green eyes, who could persuade a certain boy to do whatever she wanted."

"A little," agreed his friend. "Only their friendship will remain just that and never grow into anything more. But that's all right. He's got time to find the other half of himself. Once he's restored his magic, that is."

"Then you think there's a chance that it can be restored, Sev?"

"Remus, where there's a will, there's a way. I don't believe in the incurable. I created the Wolfsbane Potion, didn't I? It took Lily and I years, but we succeeded. Harry's magic was shattered by a spell, but I don't think it was irreversible, and oddly enough, neither does Dumbledore. The spell they used on him was experimental, and it worked, but not as well as they thought. His magic broke, but not permanently. There were still traces of it when I brought him back to Hogwarts."

"And now?"

"Now there are sparks, Remus. But they're growing daily and someday I think the sparks will become a flame and burn brightly as before. His magical core is repairing itself, Moony. Slowly, but it's coming back. He stands in magic's shadow now, but one day he'll be restored."

"That's why you hid him here, isn't it?"

Severus nodded. "Partly. He needed time to recover from what they did to him, Moony. They nearly broke him and I needed time to fix him. I also needed time to re-establish our old relationship, so we weren't treating each other like strangers, or worse, adversaries." Severus dropped his eyes abruptly. "And lastly I wanted to take him out of reach of the Old Meddler, whose machinations cost him a father and a normal childhood. I won't let him be forced into becoming some hero, Remus, I don't give a damn what kind of prophecy is floating around! He deserves to have a normal life, like every other child, and by Merlin's blessed staff, I'm going to see that he gets it. He's my son first and the bloody Boy Who Lived second," Severus declared fiercely, and Remus felt a shiver go through him at the other's impassioned words.

Albus, you're not going to get Harry back without a fight, and Severus won't go down quietly. He'll fight tooth and nail for what's his, and heaven help you, old man, if you oppose him. You might have an edge over him in experience and a shade more magic, but he's got determination and stubbornness on his side and he knows his combat spells. And he won't hesitate to unleash his power, Albus, not when you threaten his own. His family is everything to him and he'll protect them with his last breath, even against you, the werewolf thought, knowing the old wizard would hear him through the mindlink they shared, which Albus had cast just before sending Remus to find Severus and act as his messenger. Remus had agreed, reluctantly, and found out more than he'd bargained for. Leave them be, Albus. Find another hero, these two have suffered enough.

I know, my boy, but they are all I have, sent Albus sadly.

A broken wizard child and a reluctant Potions Master? Give me a break, Albus! Surely you can do better than that. Is this the stuff legends are made of?

No, Remus. This is the stuff heroes are made of. The most unlikely of all shall triumph over the dark.

I don't believe in prophecy, old man, Remus thought angrily. Prophecy killed my best friends and I'm done with it. I'll not be a party to your schemes anymore, Albus. Harry and Severus deserve a choice and I mean to see they get it. I'm finished as your messenger, Professor. I've delivered it and you've heard their reply. Sorry it's not what you expected. But I won't play spy on them anymore, sir. Break the link. Now.

Remus, don't be hasty. Perhaps you can persuade them further.

No! I'm not going to play devil's advocate with my best friend! snarled the werewolf. Now break the connection, or I'll have Severus do it.

As you wish, my boy, sighed the elder wizard.

Remus relaxed as the connection between them was severed. Now he didn't feel like a bloody snoop, reporting back to Albus that way. But he knew he would pay for that little bit of rebelliousness. He was certain he'd receive an owl any day now summoning him back to Hogwarts. But better that than getting tangled in the Headmaster's endless web.

"Remus? Are you all right? You look like you're fighting a migraine," observed Snape with concern.

Remus rubbed his temples. "Yeah, guess you could say that." His head was throbbing, probably a result of Albus terminating the link so suddenly.

"Here," Severus snapped his fingers and a vial of Headache Remedy appeared on the table. "Drink that and you'll be fine in ten minutes."

"Thanks," Remus said gratefully and drank the potion. He felt much better afterwards, though not all of it was due to Snape's concoction. He was quite relieved to not have to play informant anymore. He wasn't good at those kinds of games and Severus would have known if it had gone on much longer.

The werewolf took a long drink of his tea and smiled reminiscently. "Do you remember when Harry was first talking, Sev, and he called everyone a name ending in "y" or "ie"?"

"How could I forget?" Severus rolled his eyes. "You were Moony, James was Jamie, and the mutt was Blackie. Lily was Mummy and I was Daddy, of course. And Alice was Auntie Allie, poor thing!"

"And you teased James by calling him Jamie every chance you got," Remus recalled. "And he retaliated by calling you Sevvy."

"Please!" Severus shuddered. "Don't remind me, Lupin. I hate that nickname. It sounds like it belongs on a cute dog."

"Oh? But I heard Lily call you Sevvy a time or two."

"That's different. She was my wife, I allowed her to call me ridiculous names," said Severus, blushing. "But that doesn't hold true for anyone else, got me?" he glowered warningly at the grinning Lupin.

"Aww, come on, Snape. You're spoiling my fun."

"Lupin, I'm warning you. Call me that and I'll call you something equally embarrassing."

"Okay, Sevvy."

Severus threw a pillow at him and growled, "Shut up, Remmy!"

Lupin pretended to gag into the pillow.

Severus just smirked. Lupin's grandmother had called him that and he'd hated it. He had told his best friend it made him sound like a refugee from a Mardi Gras party. Then again, his grandmother had been from Louisiana.

"That was a low blow, Snape."

"Don't be a baby, Lupin. If you can't finish something, don't start it."

Lupin glared at him, but his glare had nothing on Severus, who simply smiled and thought, Jamie would be proud, the damn insolent bastard! He always did love seeing Remus get riled.

• * * * * * *

The next day, a rather apologetic Neil showed up for his potions lesson. Severus glanced up from the potion he'd been stirring when his student cleared his throat. "Good, you're on time, Mr. MacIntyre. You can continue where you left off," he indicated the boy's work station, which had been spelled so Neil could resume work on his Decongestion Draft the next lesson.

Neil made his way quietly over to his cauldron, but paused just before removing the stasis spell. "Sir?"

"Yes, Mr. MacIntyre?"

"I-I just wanted to apologize for what happened at my house two days ago," Neil began awkwardly, staring down at the stone floor. "My brother's a jackass and I'm beginning to think he was adopted or something."

Severus was silent for a few minutes and Neil was sure he was trying not to scream at his student. But when he dared to peer up at the taller wizard, he saw that Snape didn't look angry. Instead he looked faintly . . . amused?

"Mr. MacIntyre," Severus began quietly. "You are not your brother's keeper. He was the one who threw the party, am I right? And allowed alcohol to be served to minors, correct?"

"Yeah."

"I spoke to your parents after the incident and they informed me it would never happen again and that your brother was punished quite severely with an overnight stay in the local jail as well as several hours of community service plus alcoholic abuse counseling."

"Yeah, that's right. And my dad took away his broom and basically grounded him from now until Christmas and forbade him to see any of his friends or talk to them. But I'm still sorry about what happened to Harry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, child. You did nothing wrong," said his teacher. "In fact you were also a victim, from what your mother told me."

Neil flushed. "Uh, yeah, I was. I drank two cups of that spiked punch and passed out cold on the living room couch. That's the first and last time I'll ever drink, sir. I was sick as a dog the next morning."

"So was Harry," remarked Severus. "You can compare hangover stories later, however. For now, I need you to finish preparing your Decongestion Draft and then we'll start work on Veritaserum."

"Yes, Professor Snape." Neil set to work immediately, vastly relieved that Harry's father had not unleashed the dreaded Snape temper upon him. He'd felt the lash of Severus's tongue once for not paying attention to a recipe and totally mucking up a cauldron full of Felix Felicis, and had no desire to ever experience it again. Mike had also and had said he'd rather face a Hungarian Horntail than Snape in a temper, even if it was only over a telephone.

But at least the man was fair and he was an absolute genius at Potions. Neil had learned more from him in the past two months than he had in three years with his wizard master Thurgood. He was surprised that Harry was not as skilled at potions, then supposed that such things were not always inherited, and Harry was superb in other areas, like flying. Strange though, in all the months he'd known Harry, he had yet to see the other wizard cast a spell, with or without a wand.

Harry had mentioned an accident before he'd come here, Neil recalled, so perhaps that had something to do with it. He considered asking his friend about it after his potions lesson, but once the lesson was over, they'd gone flying with Rosie and Neil forgot all about his question until later on that night.

Flying with the little beagle was hilarious and Neil loved it as much as he had with his own dog. "Hey, Harry!" he'd yell, and swoop down from on high with the beagle in the sling-arroo-ing all the way. "Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's a flying beagle! Wahoo!"

And Rosie would chime in with her typical beagle "Arroo-o!"

Harry's Uncle Remus had nearly died laughing the first time he'd seen that maneuver and snapped a picture of Rosie, Neil, and Harry on their brooms. "Here's another for your new album, Sev!"

Neil had to admit, Harry seemed to have the coolest relatives. Sometimes it almost made him wish he was an orphan, so then maybe they'd adopt him.