FIC: A Year in the Life, Remus/Severus, PG-13
Title: A Year In The Life
Author: rose_whispers
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Remus Lupin is always late
Word Count: 2052
Spoilers: No HBP spoilers
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue
A/N: I'm preoccupied with the lads in an established relationship and how they are with each other on a daily basis, so this is an offering of what their lives together might be like
"You're late."
"My apologies."
"You look a wreck."
"I didn't sleep well."
"You never do."
"A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. The Wolfsbane interacts unfavourably with most sleeping draughts."
"And then there are the nightmares."
"You do whimper dreadfully when you sleep."
~*~
Professor Remus Lupin is late for his first class of the year. Just past breakfast, and the room is filled with chairs creaking and layers of children's voices talking about summertime and a scuffle as someone's contraband purple Pygmy Puff makes a grand escape and wheels across the room, six students hieing after it. Before any of them can catch the unfortunate fluffball, the door whispers open and a man of middle age and mild countenance enters. The Pygmy Puff rebounds off his instep and he looks down at it, amused, as it falls back dazedly. He smiles and scoops the tiny creature up in one hand, stroking its little belly with his thumb.
Remus looks up at the class as the Puff begins to purr, its eyes drifting closed blissfully. "Who does this little fellow belong to, then?"
No one speaks up at first and Remus leans against his desk. "Really? No one wants to claim him? I suppose I'll just keep him for myself, then. Cuddly little thing. He'll make an excellent mid-afternoon snack."
"No!" a girl near the back of the room shrieks, stumbling to her feet. "Please, Professor, you can't eat Pollux! He belongs to my sister and she doesn't know I took him out of her room!"
Remus grins toothily at the class, just a bit more feral than he normally appears. "And can anyone tell Miss-?"
"Carla Weston, sir."
"-Miss Weston why it is improbable that I would consume her pet this afternoon?"
The students shift uncomfortably in their seats, not quite meeting Remus' eyes. He strokes the half-asleep puff gently. "Why don't I start the ball rolling? I am a werewolf. We all knew that, right? It's why no one here thought it ridiculous that I would eat a live Pygmy Puff."
"It's not the full moon," Carla Weston says, eyeing her sister's pet fearfully.
"True. One point to Gryffindor. But even if it were, I wouldn't eat him. Anyone know why?"
A small blond boy in the back raises his hand and Remus nods at him. "Well, you take that potion, don't you? Wolfbane?"
"Wolfsbane," Remus corrects. "Made for me by our own deputy headmaster. Take two points for Hufflepuff. Does anyone know what it does?"
"Stops you from killing people," someone in the back says, and Remus chuckles.
"Well, yes, in fact. I do turn into a wolf each month, but I stay in my right mind, just as I am when I'm in human form. So that means that even though your teacher is a werewolf, I'm not ever going to be a danger to any of you. Or, for that matter, to Pollux here."
"Make sure you keep him in Gryffindor Tower next time, Miss Weston. Headmistress McGonagall has banned them from classrooms this year." He hands the sleeping Puff back to Carla and adds, "Just for the record, Pygmy Puffs are too much fluff and not enough meat- no self-respecting werewolf would eat one unless he was desperate."
Remus winks at the class as Carla scurries back to her seat and says, "And on that note, welcome to Hogwarts and your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. You won't be covering werewolves for another few years, but if you have any questions, I am something of an expert..."
~*~
Remus Lupin is late for breakfast on Saturday morning, as he often is. He bangs into the Great Hall, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls and causing the students to turn toward him, gazing at him sleepily. Remus himself looks more than sleepy. He is pale and raggedy, his shuffling gait slower and more painful than usual. He collapses into his seat at the head table and Severus Snape stares at him critically.
"You're late," he observes, as he always does.
"My apologies," Remus replies. The rest of the staff could recite these lines along with the two actors as they face each other impassively.
"You look a wreck."
"I didn't sleep well."
"You never do."
"A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. The Wolfsbane interacts unfavourably with most sleeping draughts."
They lapse into silence and the rest of the professors go back to their meals, nodding at each other because through all the unreliable occurrences at Hogwarts Castle, this comforting re-enactment provides a bit of stability.
"You really do look awful," Severus mutters under his breath, his fingers just barely skimming across the back of Remus' hand as he reaches for his goblet.
Remus hazards a tired smile. "I really didn't sleep well."
"You tossed and turned all night. And you hogged the blankets."
"However did you survive?"
Severus snorts. "I'm naturally cold-blooded because I have no heart. Hadn't you heard?"
"I've felt your pulse quicken more than once, Severus Snape," Remus rejoins, arching an eyebrow suggestively.
"You also tend to radiate heat like a fireplace fueled by a drunken house elf, so I suppose that's what keeps me alive through the frigid winter nights."
"It's October."
"Metaphorically."
"Ah."
~*~
Remus is late for the staff Christmas party, which takes place over a sumptuous Sunday brunch buffet. As he walks into the room, the aroma of eggs benedict and glazed ham winding around him, a box wrapped in shiny red foil floats through the air and lands in his hands. No card is attached. He searches the room until his eyes meet Severus' and he holds up the package, beaming. Severus shoots him a look that most would interpret as venomous but which Remus reads as quizzical. Remus is puzzled. If Severus hasn't given him the gift, who has?
Severus glides over to him and brushes his lips against Remus' cheek. Remus' eyes widen as this very public display but he has long stopped trying to figure his lover out. Severus is not a logic problem that a careful reading of the clues will ever solve. He is fussy and unpredictable and pompous and Remus loves him because of it.
"You're late, Lupin."
"Kiss me again."
"When have I ever responded well to direct commands?"
"When have I ever been less than willing to show you just how appreciative I can be?"
Severus' pallid cheeks manage a weak blush. "You're looking rather... jaunty this morning."
"What can I say? I'm young and in love."
"If you don't start behaving, I'll take your present away from you."
"Deprive a man of his Christmas gift? You wouldn't dare!"
"Who sent it?"
"No idea."
Severus looks at the package suspiciously, as though he is expecting a full-grown wizard to emerge from it screaming Unforgivable curses. Remus rolls his eyes and tears away the paper. He pulls off the lid and bursts out laughing.
Severus scowls into the box. "What the hell is that?"
"A Muggle alarm clock," Remus says, holding up the bizarre contraption. It is round, with a white face, large black numerals, and two silver disks mounted above the "12". Remus points his wand at it and makes it ring, its shrill alarm fracturing the air. Minerva and Pomona raise their glasses in his direction.
"Happy Christmas!" Minerva says.
"Now you'll be on time, Remus," Pomona adds.
"Thank you, ladies!"
Severus looks utterly horrified, silencing the clock with a wave of his wand. "Under no circumstances will you put that... that mechanism in our bedroom!"
"I'm sure it can be charmed so that I alone can hear it," Remus says, still laughing.
~*~
"You're late."
"My apologies."
"You look a wreck."
"I didn't sleep well."
"You never do."
"A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. The Wolfsbane interacts unfavourably with most sleeping draughts."
"The transformation last night was... difficult."
"You're limping this morning. I'll fetch you a salve for the pain."
Most students are on their way to classes by now, and before Remus attempts to eat the gruel the house elves provide him on his Mornings After, he leans forward and captures Severus' face between his hands.
"Let go."
"I love you."
"Valentine's Day always makes you so ludicrously maudlin."
Remus presses a brief, hard kiss against Severus' mouth, skimming his tongue across Severus' lower lip before he pulls away.
"Insufferable tease. Get your breakfast and get back to bed. You shouldn't be up today."
"My classes-"
"Will be covered. As they always are."
"Do try not to terrorize the first years."
"I shall do what I please to make my day more entertaining."
~*~
Remus Lupin is late for the morning staff meeting. Minerva fixes him with her best Irate Headmistress Stare as he ambles into the room and takes his customary seat. Severus' chair, next to Remus', is empty.
"You're late," Minerva says critically.
"My apologies."
"We've been discussing the upcoming end of term examinations," Pomona says to him, passing him an agenda. The meeting rolls on interminably with no sign of Severus, and when it finishes, the headmistress shoots Remus an annoyed glare.
"Honestly, Remus, why are you never on time?" Minerva says, her tone conveying just how exasperated she is. "You never used to be habitually tardy. It doesn't set a good example for the students, nor is it the proper image for the deputy headmaster's... consort."
Remus nearly spits his tea out. "Consort?"
"We even gave you that alarm clock for Christmas!"
"I know. And most days I make use of it."
"And the days that you're late-"
"-are the days that Severus has told me that he'll awaken me," Remus says mildly.
Minerva blinks. "But you're always late. Does he never wake you on time?"
"Very rarely." A private smile curves across Remus' face.
"Then why on earth don't you simply reset the bloody alarm clock if he's so unreliable?"
Remus shrugs. "Because he told me he'd wake me up."
"And that's good enough for you?"
"Of course it is. I trust him completely. On the days when he promises to awaken me but doesn't, I've usually had a very bad night and he knows that I'll only be able to function during the day if I get more sleep. But Minerva, as long as he promises to awaken me, I'll trust that he'll keep to his promise."
Minerva squeezes Remus' shoulder wordlessly and nods before moving away to talk to Hagrid, and Remus takes the opportunity to slip out the door. He almost knocks Severus over.
"Severus! What are you doing hovering in the hallway like a great black storm cloud?"
Severus doesn't speak. Instead, he grabs Remus' shoulders, thin fingers digging into his flesh, and swoops down, stealing the breath from Remus' lungs as he kisses him fiercely, possessively. Remus' arms wrap around Severus' waist, drawing them closer together. He opens his lips to Severus' demanding tongue, stealing a little bit of breath back as he loses himself in their mutual hunger and intensity and desire.
They break apart only when the door opens and someone coughs politely. Severus glances over Remus' shoulder and immediately disentangles himself. "Ah. Minerva. I've brought you the report you requested."
Headmistress and Deputy Headmaster move back into the staff room and Remus collapses against the wall, trying to regain his breath and his composure.
~*~
"You're late."
"My apologies."
"You look utterly sinful."
"I have plans. And they do not involve sleeping in that bed you're reposing so wantonly in."
"Wanton? Me? A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. Being a werewolf compels you to recline denuded in our bedchamber whilst playing with a feather."
"Yes, well. You can't kiss me like you did this morning and not expect me to form some wicked plans of my own."
"What you said earlier... that you trust me..."
"I do. With my life and my heart and my sleeping patterns."
"I..."
"I know you do."
"...Good. Necto."
"Severus! Untie me!"
"I think not."
"Well then, get over here and take advantage of me."
"A much better idea."
"Mmmmmm."
"We're going to be up quite late tonight, Lupin. Don't set that blasted alarm clock- I'll awaken you tomorrow."
"Thank you, love."
Fin
Author: rose_whispers
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Remus Lupin is always late
Word Count: 2052
Spoilers: No HBP spoilers
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue
A/N: I'm preoccupied with the lads in an established relationship and how they are with each other on a daily basis, so this is an offering of what their lives together might be like
"You're late."
"My apologies."
"You look a wreck."
"I didn't sleep well."
"You never do."
"A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. The Wolfsbane interacts unfavourably with most sleeping draughts."
"And then there are the nightmares."
"You do whimper dreadfully when you sleep."
~*~
Professor Remus Lupin is late for his first class of the year. Just past breakfast, and the room is filled with chairs creaking and layers of children's voices talking about summertime and a scuffle as someone's contraband purple Pygmy Puff makes a grand escape and wheels across the room, six students hieing after it. Before any of them can catch the unfortunate fluffball, the door whispers open and a man of middle age and mild countenance enters. The Pygmy Puff rebounds off his instep and he looks down at it, amused, as it falls back dazedly. He smiles and scoops the tiny creature up in one hand, stroking its little belly with his thumb.
Remus looks up at the class as the Puff begins to purr, its eyes drifting closed blissfully. "Who does this little fellow belong to, then?"
No one speaks up at first and Remus leans against his desk. "Really? No one wants to claim him? I suppose I'll just keep him for myself, then. Cuddly little thing. He'll make an excellent mid-afternoon snack."
"No!" a girl near the back of the room shrieks, stumbling to her feet. "Please, Professor, you can't eat Pollux! He belongs to my sister and she doesn't know I took him out of her room!"
Remus grins toothily at the class, just a bit more feral than he normally appears. "And can anyone tell Miss-?"
"Carla Weston, sir."
"-Miss Weston why it is improbable that I would consume her pet this afternoon?"
The students shift uncomfortably in their seats, not quite meeting Remus' eyes. He strokes the half-asleep puff gently. "Why don't I start the ball rolling? I am a werewolf. We all knew that, right? It's why no one here thought it ridiculous that I would eat a live Pygmy Puff."
"It's not the full moon," Carla Weston says, eyeing her sister's pet fearfully.
"True. One point to Gryffindor. But even if it were, I wouldn't eat him. Anyone know why?"
A small blond boy in the back raises his hand and Remus nods at him. "Well, you take that potion, don't you? Wolfbane?"
"Wolfsbane," Remus corrects. "Made for me by our own deputy headmaster. Take two points for Hufflepuff. Does anyone know what it does?"
"Stops you from killing people," someone in the back says, and Remus chuckles.
"Well, yes, in fact. I do turn into a wolf each month, but I stay in my right mind, just as I am when I'm in human form. So that means that even though your teacher is a werewolf, I'm not ever going to be a danger to any of you. Or, for that matter, to Pollux here."
"Make sure you keep him in Gryffindor Tower next time, Miss Weston. Headmistress McGonagall has banned them from classrooms this year." He hands the sleeping Puff back to Carla and adds, "Just for the record, Pygmy Puffs are too much fluff and not enough meat- no self-respecting werewolf would eat one unless he was desperate."
Remus winks at the class as Carla scurries back to her seat and says, "And on that note, welcome to Hogwarts and your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. You won't be covering werewolves for another few years, but if you have any questions, I am something of an expert..."
~*~
Remus Lupin is late for breakfast on Saturday morning, as he often is. He bangs into the Great Hall, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls and causing the students to turn toward him, gazing at him sleepily. Remus himself looks more than sleepy. He is pale and raggedy, his shuffling gait slower and more painful than usual. He collapses into his seat at the head table and Severus Snape stares at him critically.
"You're late," he observes, as he always does.
"My apologies," Remus replies. The rest of the staff could recite these lines along with the two actors as they face each other impassively.
"You look a wreck."
"I didn't sleep well."
"You never do."
"A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. The Wolfsbane interacts unfavourably with most sleeping draughts."
They lapse into silence and the rest of the professors go back to their meals, nodding at each other because through all the unreliable occurrences at Hogwarts Castle, this comforting re-enactment provides a bit of stability.
"You really do look awful," Severus mutters under his breath, his fingers just barely skimming across the back of Remus' hand as he reaches for his goblet.
Remus hazards a tired smile. "I really didn't sleep well."
"You tossed and turned all night. And you hogged the blankets."
"However did you survive?"
Severus snorts. "I'm naturally cold-blooded because I have no heart. Hadn't you heard?"
"I've felt your pulse quicken more than once, Severus Snape," Remus rejoins, arching an eyebrow suggestively.
"You also tend to radiate heat like a fireplace fueled by a drunken house elf, so I suppose that's what keeps me alive through the frigid winter nights."
"It's October."
"Metaphorically."
"Ah."
~*~
Remus is late for the staff Christmas party, which takes place over a sumptuous Sunday brunch buffet. As he walks into the room, the aroma of eggs benedict and glazed ham winding around him, a box wrapped in shiny red foil floats through the air and lands in his hands. No card is attached. He searches the room until his eyes meet Severus' and he holds up the package, beaming. Severus shoots him a look that most would interpret as venomous but which Remus reads as quizzical. Remus is puzzled. If Severus hasn't given him the gift, who has?
Severus glides over to him and brushes his lips against Remus' cheek. Remus' eyes widen as this very public display but he has long stopped trying to figure his lover out. Severus is not a logic problem that a careful reading of the clues will ever solve. He is fussy and unpredictable and pompous and Remus loves him because of it.
"You're late, Lupin."
"Kiss me again."
"When have I ever responded well to direct commands?"
"When have I ever been less than willing to show you just how appreciative I can be?"
Severus' pallid cheeks manage a weak blush. "You're looking rather... jaunty this morning."
"What can I say? I'm young and in love."
"If you don't start behaving, I'll take your present away from you."
"Deprive a man of his Christmas gift? You wouldn't dare!"
"Who sent it?"
"No idea."
Severus looks at the package suspiciously, as though he is expecting a full-grown wizard to emerge from it screaming Unforgivable curses. Remus rolls his eyes and tears away the paper. He pulls off the lid and bursts out laughing.
Severus scowls into the box. "What the hell is that?"
"A Muggle alarm clock," Remus says, holding up the bizarre contraption. It is round, with a white face, large black numerals, and two silver disks mounted above the "12". Remus points his wand at it and makes it ring, its shrill alarm fracturing the air. Minerva and Pomona raise their glasses in his direction.
"Happy Christmas!" Minerva says.
"Now you'll be on time, Remus," Pomona adds.
"Thank you, ladies!"
Severus looks utterly horrified, silencing the clock with a wave of his wand. "Under no circumstances will you put that... that mechanism in our bedroom!"
"I'm sure it can be charmed so that I alone can hear it," Remus says, still laughing.
~*~
"You're late."
"My apologies."
"You look a wreck."
"I didn't sleep well."
"You never do."
"A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. The Wolfsbane interacts unfavourably with most sleeping draughts."
"The transformation last night was... difficult."
"You're limping this morning. I'll fetch you a salve for the pain."
Most students are on their way to classes by now, and before Remus attempts to eat the gruel the house elves provide him on his Mornings After, he leans forward and captures Severus' face between his hands.
"Let go."
"I love you."
"Valentine's Day always makes you so ludicrously maudlin."
Remus presses a brief, hard kiss against Severus' mouth, skimming his tongue across Severus' lower lip before he pulls away.
"Insufferable tease. Get your breakfast and get back to bed. You shouldn't be up today."
"My classes-"
"Will be covered. As they always are."
"Do try not to terrorize the first years."
"I shall do what I please to make my day more entertaining."
~*~
Remus Lupin is late for the morning staff meeting. Minerva fixes him with her best Irate Headmistress Stare as he ambles into the room and takes his customary seat. Severus' chair, next to Remus', is empty.
"You're late," Minerva says critically.
"My apologies."
"We've been discussing the upcoming end of term examinations," Pomona says to him, passing him an agenda. The meeting rolls on interminably with no sign of Severus, and when it finishes, the headmistress shoots Remus an annoyed glare.
"Honestly, Remus, why are you never on time?" Minerva says, her tone conveying just how exasperated she is. "You never used to be habitually tardy. It doesn't set a good example for the students, nor is it the proper image for the deputy headmaster's... consort."
Remus nearly spits his tea out. "Consort?"
"We even gave you that alarm clock for Christmas!"
"I know. And most days I make use of it."
"And the days that you're late-"
"-are the days that Severus has told me that he'll awaken me," Remus says mildly.
Minerva blinks. "But you're always late. Does he never wake you on time?"
"Very rarely." A private smile curves across Remus' face.
"Then why on earth don't you simply reset the bloody alarm clock if he's so unreliable?"
Remus shrugs. "Because he told me he'd wake me up."
"And that's good enough for you?"
"Of course it is. I trust him completely. On the days when he promises to awaken me but doesn't, I've usually had a very bad night and he knows that I'll only be able to function during the day if I get more sleep. But Minerva, as long as he promises to awaken me, I'll trust that he'll keep to his promise."
Minerva squeezes Remus' shoulder wordlessly and nods before moving away to talk to Hagrid, and Remus takes the opportunity to slip out the door. He almost knocks Severus over.
"Severus! What are you doing hovering in the hallway like a great black storm cloud?"
Severus doesn't speak. Instead, he grabs Remus' shoulders, thin fingers digging into his flesh, and swoops down, stealing the breath from Remus' lungs as he kisses him fiercely, possessively. Remus' arms wrap around Severus' waist, drawing them closer together. He opens his lips to Severus' demanding tongue, stealing a little bit of breath back as he loses himself in their mutual hunger and intensity and desire.
They break apart only when the door opens and someone coughs politely. Severus glances over Remus' shoulder and immediately disentangles himself. "Ah. Minerva. I've brought you the report you requested."
Headmistress and Deputy Headmaster move back into the staff room and Remus collapses against the wall, trying to regain his breath and his composure.
~*~
"You're late."
"My apologies."
"You look utterly sinful."
"I have plans. And they do not involve sleeping in that bed you're reposing so wantonly in."
"Wanton? Me? A minor side effect of being a werewolf."
"Ah, yes. Being a werewolf compels you to recline denuded in our bedchamber whilst playing with a feather."
"Yes, well. You can't kiss me like you did this morning and not expect me to form some wicked plans of my own."
"What you said earlier... that you trust me..."
"I do. With my life and my heart and my sleeping patterns."
"I..."
"I know you do."
"...Good. Necto."
"Severus! Untie me!"
"I think not."
"Well then, get over here and take advantage of me."
"A much better idea."
"Mmmmmm."
"We're going to be up quite late tonight, Lupin. Don't set that blasted alarm clock- I'll awaken you tomorrow."
"Thank you, love."
Fin