InsaneJournal

Fic: Lines Across My Face - (Snupin Santa Exchange Fic)
Title: Lines Across My Face
Author: iheartbowie
Recipient: unsymbolic
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Word Count: ~16000
Warnings: voyeurism, high levels of UST
Author's Notes: I go by more "logical" (IMO) timelines when it comes to the prank and I prefer to place it after "Snape's Worst Memory", which places the prank in 6th year. I feel that I've ignored a few major parts of canon (*cough*Voldemort*cough*), but I suppose it could be considered canon still.

I'll have to admit that this was a bit of a challenge, unsymbolic, but I really hope that you enjoy what I've written for you.

Most importantly, HUGE thanks to sor_bet for being the best beta I could ask for.



Technically it had been only two months, three days, and sixteen hours since the worst day of his life. However it hardly seemed that any time had passed at all. According to every other student in the school, there had been no "prank", and the only thing that was different was that Sirius Black was suddenly ostracized from his group of friends.

Remus was grateful that there were exams coming up. They were able to at least distract him from the problems around him. He spent a lot of his time in the library, away from Gryffindor Tower and his friends. He knew that James was upset with Sirius (and rightly so), but he wouldn’t stop talking about it. Remus knew that he would much rather pretend that the day never occurred, even if he didn’t think he would be able to speak to Sirius any time soon.

It would have been better if he could convince everyone to just move past it. It seemed, though, that the one who would take the most work would be Snape. Remus let out a groan as he thought of the different ways that he had attempted to apologize to the Slytherin. He had done nearly everything but get down on his knees in the middle of the Great Hall. Notes were burned in his presence. Attempted conversations were ignored and Remus was hexed for his expense. Remus had tried to offer him a gift, but it was returned immediately, the contents of the box shredded and smelling of something foul.

He couldn’t help but curse Sirius once again. How dare he do such a thing to him? How dare he put him in this position?

"Evans!"

Remus stopped and lifted his head. He recognized that voice. If Lily was over there, then there might have been a chance for him to try again.

He rushed up from the table that he had been seated at and quietly slipped around the bookshelves to listen better.

Lily was giggling behind her hand as Remus peeked around the corner. Snape was glaring down at her with his fists clenched.

"You’re not supposed to laugh at me when I suddenly tell you that I like boys!" Snape hissed.

"But-" Lily tried to stop her laughter long enough to properly reply. "But you make it sound like you’re dying for a terminal disease. It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this."

"What?"

Lily tugged Snape to sit in the seat beside her. "We’ve been friends since we were eight years old. I know you. If you were worried that it was going to bother me, then you were obviously mistaken. You’re my friend and it will take more than that for me to suddenly decide I no longer like you."

Snape still frowned and crossed his arms "I don’t know why I bother to tell you anything. You always make it into some sort of joke."

Lily rolled her eyes. "And this is why I knew you were queer. You’re the biggest girl that I have ever known!"

"You obviously haven’t known many queers then," Snape retorted.

"And you do?" Lily asked.

"I’ve met a few…"

Lily just laughed again. "So who do you think is cute?"

"Cute?"

"Well, if you’re going to tell me your biggest secret to me then I want to know who you think is attractive."

Snape was silent for a few moments before he leaned over to whisper into Lily’s ear. No matter how much Remus strained he couldn’t hear what was being said. Lily looked more than slightly shocked by whatever it was that he said.

"You…really?" Lily asked.

"I’m not the kind of person who makes jokes about that!" Snape said.

"No…you’re really not. It’s just a bit surprising," Lily said, turning back to the books on her table. She seemed oddly at a loss for words. "Can you help me with my homework? There was one question that I haven’t been able to figure out."

Snape nodded and bent over the parchment beside her, the conversation completely over. Remus slipped away back to his books, unsure what to make of the conversation. He had listened in hoping that he might be able to figure out some way to properly make amends with Snape. He hadn’t expected to find out such intimate information about him. Remus felt his cheeks turn red and he wished that he could take back what he had done. It hadn’t been his place to listen in.

*

"Look at that bloody queer!"

Sirius and James let out a loud laugh as they pointed out a young man in skin-tight satin pants and a pink floral top. Remus covered his face hoping that no one realized that he was with them. They had done nothing but point and laugh at nearly every Muggle they had passed.

"It’s got a bloody bow on it," James said between snickers.

"I just don’t know how in the world he can walk with those high heels!" Sirius said. "He's wearing bloody girl shoes!"

"Stop talking so loudly! You’re making a scene," Remus said, trying to pull them away from the boy who just realized they were talking about him and shot them all a filthy look.

"Oh, you’re no fun, Moony," Sirius said, draping an arm across Remus’s shoulder.

"You’re both acting like prats. You can't just go around laughing at every Muggle you see," Remus said.

"Then why else did you bring us to town with you?" James asked.

"You volunteered to take me into town when I said I wanted to go to the bookstore," Remus reminded him as they (finally) started down the road again.

"A bookstore? Moony that’s too boring. Can we go see one of those moving picture shows?" Sirius asked.

Remus rolled his eyes and counted to five. After reaching five he turned to his friend and shook his head. "I’m going to the bookstore. If you didn’t want to go then you never should have volunteered to come."

"Well…what about afterwards?" Sirius asked, turning on all of the charm he could muster. His bottom lip popped out and he switched on the giant puppy dog eyes. It was usually foolproof; however, Remus had lost all of his patience with both of them almost as soon as they arrived in town.

"Mum is expecting us for dinner," Remus said.

"Moony isn’t fun, Padfoot," James said. He looked around them and spotted a roller skater going by on the other side of the road. "Look at that one! His shorts are so short. He mustn’t have any balls in there. Maybe he keeps them in a jar on his bedside table."

"Of course," Sirius said. "He’ll only need them when it’s time for him to pretend to be the boy with his little boyfriend."

The conversation continued on like this no matter how many times Remus tried to force it onto another subject. It was days like this that reminded Remus that it would be a very bad idea for him to explain his own preferences to his friends. They thought that being a werewolf was a great game, but being queer would be the end of everything.

*

"They mocked everyone! For hours! They seemed to have some sort of radar where they could find anyone that could possibly be queer," Remus said when summer had finally ended and he was back in the safety of the castle.

"Why are you surprised by this? They’re both obnoxious prats," Lily said. She tossed another stone into the lake and then took a seat beside Remus.

"It’s not that I’m surprised…I…just don’t know what to do," Remus said, dropping his head into his hands. "They’re my best friends and I can’t even be myself around them. Sirius tried to pawn me off on this fifth year so that he could make out with her friend. I spent more time staring at the Quidditch captain's arse than listening to her chatter on about…whatever it was that she was talking about."

"At least you have good taste in men," Lily said.

"You’re not helping. You’re supposed to be good at this sort of thing. You know…giving advice," Remus said.

Lily laughed. "Well, if that were the case then I would have convinced James Potter not to be a prat on our first train ride," she said. "You shouldn’t worry about it so much. School's going to be over in a few months and you’re going to be spending a lot of time away from them. They’re going to get forced into the real world and that can change a person."

"Waiting isn’t exactly something that is going to get rid of my worries. It just makes it worse," Remus said. He laid back on the grass and covered his eyes with his hands. "I just keep pretending that I’m someone that I’m not."

"You’re already doing that, Remus."

Remus looked up at Lily who was giving him a significant look. The point was obvious. He had been pretending to be a "normal" kid for years. What difference would it make if he pretended to be something else while he was at it?

"I’d rather just be myself for once."

*

It seemed like a good idea at the time to take a long bath in the prefect bathroom, and now Remus couldn’t be so sure.

"You could be a bit more grateful, you know. You wouldn’t be allowed in here if it weren’t for me."

Remus peeked out of the changing room door to see Regulus Black sauntering into the bathroom. He had his brother’s same smirking stare and it was directed at Snape. Snape was more interested in locking the door behind him than in Regulus’s taunts for the moment. Regulus took the time to toss off his over-robe leaving it carelessly on the floor. He undid his tie and it fell onto the floor in the same manner.

"Are you done yet? Pretty soon I’ll just finish myself off," Regulus said.

Snape turned to Regulus and arched a brow. "Your patience is legendary."

"Who needs patience? Get naked and get in the tub. You’ve got an hour and a half to try and have me as many times as possible," Regulus said, working on his shoes.

"In that case…" Snape began a brief series of wand movements and their clothing was tossed aside. "We wouldn’t want to waste a moment."

Remus paled as he stared at the two teens as they slipped into the tub and then all over one another. An hour and a half…I can’t stay here for that long!

"I’ve been waiting for this for weeks. I had to call in more than a few favors, you know," Regulus said, as Snape nipped and sucked his way down the younger teen’s throat.

"You’re a Black. You just wagged your hips and they asked nicely if they could suck your cock," Snape said with a snort.

Regulus tossed his head back and laughed. "Don’t they always?"

"Arrogant prat," Snape said, before spinning Regulus around and bending him over the edge of the pool-like tub. He gave him a swift swat on the arse, which only made Regulus let out a strange squeak. Regulus didn’t stop laughing however. He seemed to enjoy raising Snape’s ire, and raise it he did.

Remus tried to close his eyes, but he couldn’t block out the sound of Regulus’s increasing cries of pleasure bouncing off the walls. Remus felt flushed from head to toe, but he couldn’t move away from the scene. He opened his eyes and watched as Snape pounded roughly into Regulus’s arse. He chewed on his bottom lip until he tasted the metallic tang of blood. He was harder than he could ever remember being.

Regulus came first, screeching in a manner that was most likely unnecessary, but seemed to please Snape. Snape arched one final time with a cry of his own and then slumped over Regulus’s back for a moment.

"You want me to hurt you, don’t you?" Snape asked, as he extracted himself from Regulus and moved to lean against the edge of the pool.

"Perhaps I’ve been associating far too much with my older cousin. Bella has a rather kinky side to her. Whips are surprisingly arousing," Regulus said.

"If you think that I’m going to do that to you then you are mistaken," Snape said shooting Regulus a look.

Regulus just laughed once more. "You’re absolutely no fun, Severus. No sense of adventure."

"I didn’t hear you complain when you started to paint the bathroom white."

"No. You are very good, Severus, dear. I should know," Regulus said.

"Of course. You’ve slept with nearly everyone in the entire school," Snape said. "Rumor has it that you’ve even taught your brother a thing or two."

A Cheshire cat grin curled onto Regulus’s face. "I don’t kiss and tell, Severus. But I'm sure that you would be able to learn much more from me than my brother ever could."

Regulus pushed Snape roughly onto his back and onto the stone floor at the edge of the tub. While Snape attempted to rub at his bruised head, Regulus moved between his legs and sucked in his length easily. Snape let out a surprised groan and his head fell back down against the floor. His hands came up and gripped at Regulus’s hair.

Remus stared at Regulus’s mouth drawing Snape in and dragging out all of those wonderful sounds. He licked his lips, wondering how it would feel to do that to Snape. There must be a kind of power, a rush that you could feel only by doing that. He had thought about being on the receiving end of such treatment many times, but he couldn’t help but wish that he was the one who was enjoying Snape like the finest dessert.

He brought a hand up to his mouth, biting down on his knuckles as he began to stroke himself with his free hand. Snape’s leg moved to drape across Regulus’s back as if to draw him in closer. It wasn’t hard to replace the image of Regulus with himself. It could be him there, doing all of those things to Snape. It could have been him that Snape had been fucking over the tub ledge.

There was enough imagination flowing at that moment that the cry of "Regulus" turned into "Remus" in his mind. He spilled himself on the floor just as Regulus was enjoying the fruits of his labors. Remus let out a silent sigh and backed further into the changing room. He never should have been there.

*

"I can’t believe my final mark depends on you."

The snide comment made Remus shrink down. Some how this only managed to make Snape’s frown deepen and he shot Remus another look of disgust. "Pathetic," he spat.

"I didn’t ask for this any more than you did," Remus said, turning away from Snape and looking down at the book in front of him.

They were reaching the end of school and Professor McGonagall had assigned the NEWTs Transfiguration class one final project to be completed before the exams. Everyone had been paired off at her choosing and Remus somehow felt that this forced partnership with Snape was some kind of divine punishment. He certainly couldn’t have seen this as a reward.

"Can we just get this over with? It’s just a paper and a demonstration. We can manage to do the work quickly if we don’t argue about it," Remus said.

Snape scoffed but he did not argue this time. "Just get us the books we'll need to complete the work. I'd like to have this finished before dinner."

Remus sighed and got up to find the necessary textbooks for the assignment. He knew it would simply be easier if he did as he was instructed to because then at least Snape would have less reason to yell at him.

Over the next hour they managed to work in some semblance of peace. Snape continued to give Remus dirty looks whenever he knew that Remus was looking, and Remus continued to pretend that he was not remembering the most recent events in the prefects' bathroom. It wasn't easy with the way that Snape continued to unconsciously brush his hair out of his face. His long fingers would tuck the strands behind the ear and they brought images of those same fingers curling into black hair.

Remus gulped and forced himself to focus on the words in front of him for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"What are you staring at?" Snape glared at Remus. "You've done nothing but stare at me this whole time. How do you expect us to get anything completed?"

"I…I…I…" Remus sputtered briefly. "It's nothing."

"Nothing?" Snape asked. When Remus did not immediately respond he shook his head. "Of course, you haven't managed to do anything in the last hour." Snape shook his head and began to collect his belongings to leave the table. He stood up and slung his bag onto his shoulder. "You're obviously incapable of handling a simple assignment."

"No! I mean…I can do it, just sit down. If we don't get this finished now we'll never finish," Remus said. There were too many assignments and projects to be completed before the end of the term, not mention the studying that he needed to do for exams.

Snape eyed Remus for a moment before he sat back down. "If there's something that you need to do or say, get it over with. It will be much easier if I can simply hex you and leave you here to fend for yourself."

Remus gaped at Snape like a fish, his mouth opening and closing. He knew that he had to give some kind of response. He couldn't just say that he had been having visions of Snape and Regulus nearly every waking moment (and a few sleeping as well) since the incident in the prefects' bathroom. He was bloody unable to concentrate, when he was constantly picturing Snape and Regulus mid-orgasm.

"Well…I-"

"Spit it out! You would think that you bloody Gryffindors wouldn't simper and hide in such an undignified manner," Snape said.

If Snape intended to be goading, then he had succeeded. Pride being a trait that no teenager went without, Remus narrowed his eyes at Snape. "You want to know, you stupid prat? I can't concentrate since I've seen Regulus Black with your damn cock in his mouth!"

That wasn't exactly how he would have wanted to put it. He belatedly covered his mouth with both hands and stared down at the table.

"You were there?" Snape demanded. His voice was low and it sent a shiver up Remus's spine. It certainly wasn't the good kind that he had been enjoying for days now, however.

"No one told me that I couldn't use the bloody bathroom," Remus said, still refusing to look up.

"You sat in the bathroom the entire time…listening to us," Snape said, growing quiet.

The seconds ticked by like a countdown to an explosion. Remus's face burned with embarrassment and he knew…he just knew that he was going to be hexed so badly that he wouldn't be able to move for weeks. He would have earned it though. He shouldn't have stayed. He should have left the second that he had the chance to. He shouldn't have listened to them. He shouldn't be have been getting off on the thought of Snape doing all of those things to him.

The hexing that he had been expecting never came. Instead, Snape actually laughed. It was hardly a pleasant laugh, considering that it was mocking and generally evil-sounding. Remus lifted his eyes and knew immediately from the look on Snape's face, that he would take advantage of this new development in every way that he could.

"Do your little friends know that you've been daydreaming about taking it up the arse?" Snape asked.

Remus gasped. "Don't you dare!"

This only made Snape laugh harder. "This is just rich. Just what would those thickheaded companions of yours think if they knew that you would love for one of them to bend you over the table?" he asked in between laughs.

"Stop it! I don't want that!" Remus said indignantly.

"Oh, forgive me," Snape said. "Then I suppose they would like it better if they knew that you wanted me to take you over the table."

He would've given anything at that moment for all of this to be a dream. Remus shook his head vehemently and tried to find a proper response though his tongue did not seem to be working properly. "They would never believe you," Remus said finally.

"And yet you do not disagree. Is that what it is? You've been hoping that I might do something? Do you think that just because I'll sleep with Regulus Black that perhaps I would be willing to touch you?" Snape said, slowly coming to his feet. He shifted forward to hover over Remus.

"I…I…no!" Remus said, rushing to his feet. He grabbed his bag off his chair and left everything else behind. Retreat was supposed to be the cowardly way out, but in this case he forgave himself.

Project or no, Remus didn't think that he could ever face Snape again. Instead he completed the assignment on his own and had Peter pass it on to Snape. Remus thought that even Snape would not turn down a free "O" out of pride.

*

"Are you all right, Remus?"

Lily found Remus hiding away in a corner of the library while everyone else was celebrating the end of the school term. There were no more exams, and the students were left to pack and enjoy the beginning of summer. Remus, however, wanted no part in any of that. His mind was still reeling from his last encounter with Snape.

"Yeah…I suppose…" Remus said, looking up at his friend's girlfriend. "Shouldn't you be pressuring James not to cause any more trouble before he leaves school?"

"I told him to find me a purple lily in the Forbidden Forest," Lily said with a smirk.

"There aren't any lilies in the…oh…well. That was rather clever of you," Remus said with a laugh.

"I thought you'd feel more comfortable talking to me, since you've been avoiding your usual companions lately," Lily said, sitting down on the chair beside Remus.

"It's…complicated," Remus said.

"Everything is complicated," Lily said.

"Okay…then it's just embarrassing," Remus said with a sigh.

It didn't take long before he poured out the whole story. It sounded so much more sordid when he said it out loud. He rubbed at his face, in hopes that it would take away some of the redness in his cheeks.

"I can't let them find out," Remus said. "They would hate me! Being a werewolf is 'cool' to them. It's another way to have an adventure. Being gay is a joke. They would think that I would do something to them. They would never understand why I fantasize about Snape and Regulus having sex, either."

"Snape," Lily corrected. "If you're going to lie to everyone else, that's one thing, but don't lie to yourself. You didn't care that Regulus was there; you wanted Snape."

Remus felt as if his jaw was going to become unhinged. It continued to bounce open and shut for several moments. He dropped his head into his hands. "They would think that there was something wrong with me. I…I can't do that…I can't…I just can't."

Lily's hands came down on his shoulders lightly. "Remus…it's okay. You are who you are. They won't hate you for it. They might not understand, but they're your friends. They care about you."

"You don't understand, Lily," Remus said, pushing her hands aside. "You can't possibly understand. You don't have anything wrong with you. James might never understand why you're friends with Snape, but he doesn't care because you're going to marry him and he's convinced he'll cure you one day. Sirius, James, and Peter think homosexuals are a joke. If they ever found out that I've been-" Remus paled for a moment and shook his head. "That I've been thinking about Snape, they'll never speak to me again. Then what happens to me? They can just turn to one another if something goes wrong, but I can't do that. I don't have anyone else!"

"We're your friends, Remus," Lily said. She was getting that determined look on her face. The one that Remus knew would do nothing but cause him trouble. Her brow arched and she gave him the pointed look of someone that wouldn't take no for an answer.

"NO!" Remus said, raising his voice. "No! They can't ever know. If you even think about telling them, I swear I will never speak to you again. Don't do this to me, Lily."

Lily stepped back in surprise and bit down on her bottom lip. "I wasn't going to do anything…" she said. "You don't have to live like this."

"Yes, I do," Remus said, looking away. "I do."

"All right, Remus. If this is the way you want it to be, then I'll just let you know now that I never want to hear about this again. If you want to pretend that this doesn't exist, don't come to me for help," Lily said.

"That's fine," Remus said. "I'll be fine anyway."

There was a brief sound of shifting hair, and Remus assumed that she was shaking her head at him. It was difficult for anyone that wasn't in his shoes to really understand, and he didn't expect her to. No one was afraid of Muggle-borns. Werewolves were things of nightmares. Remus couldn't risk the chance that he would lose the only people who hadn't turned on him.

*

The only good thing about his mother finally deciding to leave England was the house. Remus's mother left the house in his name. It had been in his mother's family for three generations and now was completely in his name. Being a Muggle property, there was nothing that the Ministry of Magic could do to take it from him.

Most students who finish with school were quickly snatched up for positions within the different organizations of Wizarding England. Remus had seemed to have opportunities at first, but he could not hide the truth of his condition. He could be arrested for "claiming" to be a Wizard. All of his opportunities were vanishing in a haze of fear. Remus was left with the scraps and he was moved from job to job for months without any real security.

One day, he left his house just as the sun was rising over the horizon. It had been a long night and he was exhausted. His current employer had refused to allow him the day after the Full off, insisting that he be there first thing in the morning.

The moon had set only an hour before and he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other. He couldn't afford to lose another job. He needed to get paid so he could get something to eat. His cupboards had been bare for the last four days, and he refused to sink low enough to beg his friends for a meal.

Remus didn't want to have to rely on his friends. He could be independent and take care of himself. It just meant that he would need to work harder. It just meant that he had to accept the few knuts that people were willing to pay him and work all the harder the next day.

He was working at a pub in Yorkshire. Remus's usual work day started with the rise of the sun when took care of the lone cow that the owner had, and collected any eggs that the small pen of chickens had laid. He had cleaning inside and outside to do and if for any reason he thought he was finished the owner was always finding more for Remus to do throughout the day.

Remus apparated behind the building and forced himself go through the back door.

"LUPIN! You're late!" The pub owner stomped his way over to Remus, jabbing him in the chest with a big finger. "You think that just because you're some sort of animal that I would let you get away with bein' late?"

"No, sir. I'm sorry, sir. I told you that I would get here as early as I could. The moon set only an hour ago," Remus tried to explain. "I couldn't walk-"

"I don't want to hear about it! I won't have you be running late and mucking up my pub. Get out! GET OUT!" The pub owner shoved Remus towards the door, where it swung open under his weight.

Remus stumbled backwards and the burly pub owner gave him one last shove. Why? Why did it have to happen again? He couldn't keep his balance and fell back onto the ground.
Remus heard the sound of a faint crack and then only black.

*

Remus came to as he was floating in mid-air and heading into a stark white room. Voices sounded muffled around him as he tried to pull himself through the fog of exhaustion and confusion.

"…metabolism…only thing helping him on…"

"…makes my skin crawl…"

"…we just need to get him conscious…"

He let out a faint groan and brought a hand up to his cheek. As he blinked his eyes a few times, the fuzzy figure of the healer came into view.

"I see that you're awake. That's good," the Healer said. "Mr. Lupin, once you can manage to stand on your own, we're going to have to direct you to return home, unless of course you would like for us to contact someone to come here and collect you now."

"No," Remus said, sitting up quickly. It took him a moment, as his head spun from the fast movement. "No. I'll…I'll go home on my own. I don't have anyone to come for me…"

"All right then. A bill for your treatment will be sent to your home," the Healer said before turning and leaving.

Remus sighed and let his head drop into his hands. They would inevitably take every chance they could to steal his last penny for just letting him lay down. He couldn't recall ever feeling more alone than at that moment.

He got up from the bed and tried to straighten his robes, but he felt too weak to manage. Remus took a deep breath and resigned himself to a wrinkled state before heading down the corridor. There was so much that he needed to do now. He needed money desperately and he needed a job. There were still other places that he could try. He couldn't just give up.

Remus gave himself a small smile. It was difficult at first for a lot of people. He just needed to find a place for himself. Years from now he would look back at all of this and laugh.

The Apparation point was on the first floor and he moved slowly through the hospital, trying not to get into anyone's way. It took a bit longer than it should have, but he finally arrived in his home and he settled down into a ragged chair.

"Good to see you home, my boy. I hope you don't mind that I let myself in."

Remus jumped out of the seat and stumbled to the floor. Professor Dumbledore was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and offered him a pleasant smile.

"P-Professor? What are you doing here?" Remus asked.

"I like to keep an eye on my former students," Dumbledore said. "I have a proposition for you that I think you will be interested in."

"A…proposition?" Remus asked.

"Well, you see, I know that you were rather rudely removed from your prior employer's building. Hit your head, I believe. You haven't any food in your cupboards and you're running yourself into the ground in a desperate attempt to fill them," Dumbledore said. He stepped into the living room and made himself comfortable on another chair.

Remus's eyes widened as Dumbledore spoke. There was shock that he knew so much about what had been going on in his life. If he knew, did James, Sirius, and Peter know as well? What would they say about him? He had been so good about hiding everything from them.

"How many months has it been since you left school, my boy?" Dumbledore asked.

"Almost…ten," Remus said with a sigh. He had never expected it to be this hard for this long.

"I believe I may have found an employer who would be willing to work around your condition. She's in a bind, it would seem, and has not been able to find anyone willing to take on the work that she needs completed. Not many Wizards would be willing to work on a farm for long hours and with limited amounts of magic," Dumbledore said.

"Well…that's not all that surprising," Remus said.

"I realize that for someone of your intelligence and education, this job will seem to be beneath you, but I believe that this will allow you to create avenues for yourself to improve your current conditions," Dumbledore explained.

"I'll do it," Remus said immediately. "I would be foolish to turn anything down."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore said with a renewed smile. "I'll let her know today and you should be able to start as soon as you're ready. For now, I was hoping that you would join me at the castle as my guest. I realize that you have no interest in charity from anyone, Mr. Lupin, but I believe that if you intend to begin to work again, you should have yourself looked at. I am certain that Madam Pomfrey would be willing to give you an exam."

Remus nodded slowly. "I…I suppose I should…" he said reluctantly.

"Excellent. I'll expect you to stay for tea as well. Perhaps you could tell me about some of the recent reading that you've been enjoying. I hardly ever have time for it myself," Dumbledore said.

*

"I hear you’re a bit down on your luck."

His new employer was nothing at all like he envisioned. To be honest, he had been expecting someone more like his mother. Shouldn’t working in the sun give a person a bit more of a…tan, perhaps? Somehow seeing someone who looked like Morticia Addams made him question just how good of an idea this really was.

"Well so am I, so be grateful that I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re going to be useless one day a month," she said curtly. "My name is Eileen Prince, but if I hear you call me anything other than Mrs Prince, you’ll be flat on your back before you can finish."

Remus nodded slowly. "Yes, ma’am," he said.

Mrs Prince eyed him for a moment. "I suppose that will be acceptable as well," she said. "Now, come on, you’re going to get started immediately. I’m already behind and you’ll have a lot of work to make sure that we’re ready in time for the harvest."

It seemed that "behind" was an understatement, as large portions of the farm had not been planted. Remus pulled out a small pocket pad to jot down a few notes for himself as Mrs Prince ticked off what each part of the field was waiting for. He realized that he would most likely want to get some gardening books, since he was going to need to look into spells to speed the growth of some of the plants.

Mrs Prince explained that the fields that Remus would be tending were intended to supply her with a majority of her ingredients for the baked goods that she made. She was also attempting to expand into fabrics and yarns, using plant materials. It seemed like an ambitious project for one woman to take on alone.

Thankfully for Remus's part, there were only two acres of land, and therefore he would not have a great deal to plant and care for. Remus tucked the pad into his pocket as Mrs Prince showed him the tools that he would use to complete the work. It was a strange combination of Wizard and Muggle tools, some that Remus had never seen before.

"I’d prefer to rely on as little magic as possible. Magic can leave an imprint on food," Mrs Prince said. "Most of this first crop will be for resources. What doesn’t grow fast enough will help next year's crop grow stronger and faster. It’s going to be a bit of trial and error, but it will be done."

Remus blinked in surprise at the statement. Mrs Prince was surprisingly determined. It was true that you could not judge a book by its cover. Mrs Prince seemed to have a rigid business sense, but she knew what she wanted and how it would get done.

"Would you like me to look into any type of Muggle growth product?" Remus asked. "I suppose, though, if you want to avoid using magic you wouldn't want anything artificial mixed with them."

Mrs Prince nodded. "Yes, exactly. Perhaps you’re not as stupid as I expected."

The backhanded comment brought a frown to Remus’s face, but he wasn’t about to ruin this chance before he had even begun. "I’ll do my best, ma’am," he said.

"Then you should get started. The land will need tilling first. Tomorrow we’ll try to get some planting done," Mrs Prince said before leaving Remus to his work.

Remus looked out at all of the land that he had to work on. It wouldn’t be easy, but at least it was something that he could do.

*

"We're so glad that you came over, Remus," Lily said, as she set the table. "We don't really get to see you very often. You've been working so hard. I know that things aren't easy for you."

"I haven't gotten fired yet," Remus said simply. "But you both said you wanted to tell me something."

"Yes, we've wanted to talk to you about in person. It's too important to say in a letter," Lily said, easily taking the bait to change the subject.

"Considering the fancy dinner, I would have to say it's important or you don't think that I'll say yes," Remus said with a teasing grin.

"Oh, it's important, all right," James said, coming back into the kitchen. "And I doubt you'll say no."

Lily looked across the room briefly at James and they exchanged a warm look. Remus couldn't help but smile at the fact that the room suddenly lit up with their obvious affection for one another.

"Hurry up and get eating," James said, taking a seat. "This all smells amazing. Lily's an amazing cook."

"You just say that because you have no taste," Lily said, lightly hitting his shoulder. "Take a seat, Remus. You can decide for yourself if my cooking won't kill you."

James did not get as close to the truth as his enthusiasm had claimed. Lily's roast was a bit burnt and the vegetables were undercooked. The food was certainly not the worst that Remus had been forced to eat, and it was kind of her to have gone to such efforts for him. It was obvious that James was far too smitten to care what it tasted liked. No matter how long he had known about James's infatuation, he would always secretly use the word 'cute' to describe the way James acted.

"Thank you so much for inviting me over," Remus said, as he took an extra slice of bread.

"It's our pleasure. I may not be the world's greatest cook, but I like having the company. You boys may have been nothing but prats once, but I'm starting to enjoy having you around," Lily said.

"Thanks, Lils," James said shaking his head.

"You're just lucky I said, yes, Mister," Lily said, shooting him a pointed look.

"The world might end before you say your vows, however," Remus said. He couldn't help but laugh at the banter.

"If it ends, then it has a date at least," Lily said. She turned back to Remus. "We've decided that we're going to have the wedding in August. That's only four months from now so we're trying to take care of everything properly for the ceremony."

"Which brings us to the point of your visit," James said. He leaned against the table. "I know that it’s not much of a surprise that I’m going to have Sirius as my best man, but I would really like for you to stand with me."

Remus’s face lit up and he smiled broadly. "Of course! I’m honored that you would have me there with you."

"You’re one of us, Remus," James said.

Lily reached out to place a hand over Remus’s. "We want to have all of our family there to support us. Knowing you’re going to be there is so important to us."

"I wouldn’t miss it for anything," Remus said.


Part Two