Severus... Reformed / SNILY (COMPLETE)

Chapter Forty-Six

Remus, to his credit, didn't try and act any different. His only indication of acknowledging the event was by wincing when Slughorn requested they hand in the essays he and Severus had been writing when Dumbledore's Patronus came. He approached Severus after the lesson, as they walked across the grounds to Herbology.

"Are you alright, Severus?" He asked earnestly, searching the other's emotionless eyes. "Like, really alright?"

"Yes," Severus replied firmly. "Completely fine. We move on."

Remus hesitated.

"But how? Sorry, how are you alright? I mean, if it were my mum..."

Severus resisted the urge to shout, 'it's not your mum!', and he felt that Remus sensed this. Instead he said,

"You, Remus, are a lot closer to your mother than I ever was to mine. My mother was compromised by illness for the last remaining years of her life. She couldn't always recognise me. I was no longer her son, and she was no longer my... mother."

He had found himself staring up at the harshness of the bright sun as he spoke, and suddenly he felt a hand on his arm which made him look back down.

"I'm sorry," stated Remus simply, squeezing his arm. "I had a rabbit once. I know it's not the same_"

"_But it's similar," Severus finished. "You feel guilty about it," he observed. "Why do you feel guilty?"

Remus breathed deeply through his nose.

"It was that night. The night Greyback came."

There was a silence. Then Remus continued.

"When I returned from St. Mungo's, I found his body in the garden."

"What was his name?" Asked Severus extremely gently.

Remus sighed.

"He didn't have a name at the time. I named him after. Moony."

Severus didn't know how he managed to keep a straight face at that. He knew that one of Black's nicknames had been from Lily's first teddy, Snuffles, but he hadn't known that Remus', too, was derived from a childhood memory.

"You know," said Remus after a while, "that's the only way I've ever bonded with Anna Brown without blushing."

"How?" Severus was confused.

Remus gave him a knowing look.

"Anna has a rabbit. Binky. Binky's birthday is the 16th of October, apparently."

Severus gave Remus an exasperating glance.

"I'll be sure to congratulate her on the day," he said drily.

They shared a look, and then, suddenly, they both started laughing, and could not stop. The two entered Herbology five minutes late, and only didn't lose points because Professor Sprout thought they'd both been crying over a feud.

*

Lily's method was a whole lot worse. She had encountered no losses in her life, no hardships, and knew little about how to deal with them. She managed two whole hours before her maternal side exploded, and she went to find him in the Great Hall, where he had been eating with Natalie in contented silence. Luckily Natalie had just left.

"Oh, Severus, are you_ are you happy? No, wait, are you okay? Are you fine? Are you_ are you_?"

Severus prevented her from finishing her sentence.

"I'm perfectly fine, Lily, thank you for asking. I would rather nobody talked about it, to be honest."

"Oh. Um, well, my mother sent a letter. I think you should read it."

Severus took the paper with curiosity and, once he'd taken it, Lily moved back.

"I'll, um, leave you to your reading."

Severus nodded vacantly, and unfolded it gently as she hurried away.

Dear Severus it read.

I've heard the news. I'm so dreadfully sorry. If there is anything I can we can do to help, just ask. If you'd like, I'm more than happy to go with you to the funeral, as I'm aware there won't be anybody else. Just say/write the word.

Anyway, I hope you're not feeling too down. Make sure Lily doesn't pester you too much.

Rose

X

Severus paused after reading it. He recalled opening a very similar letter all those years ago, but then it had been kindly worded – he hadn't been quite as mature back then. He'd been traumatised, young, and afraid. He'd declined her offer then; he'd been in a dark place, and nothing, nobody, could pull him out of it. However, this time, he grabbed the nearest quill, and turned the letter over. He scrawled a brief reply:

Please.

*****

A.N. So, two things explained:

Lavender Brown has a rabbit... named Binky, after her grandmother's. It shares a deathday with this Binky's birthday, funnily enough.

And Remus' nickname derives from his own late rabbit, Moony.

This chapter is a bit hopping mad, I think. XD

Thank you for reading and PLEASE COMMENT - much appreciated in advance.