(Untitled)

[onefullmoony]

Who: Remus Lupin and Severus Snape. (Closed.)
What: Finding out Snape's on board.
Where: Deck.
When: Now.
Warnings: Wizard dueling.

Comments

[emptyyourself]

Boe was an escape artist. Or Simpering Dustmop was. One of them had managed to paw open the door and now both were missing, leaving him the duty of finding them before Martha found out (or someone ate them). He'd left off his argument with Nygma and gone hunting for the animals, and was just at the point of giving up and falling back on his old habit of "let it come back when it's hungry" when he heard the enraged snarl.

To say he was surprised to see Remus Lupin aboard the Barge was an understatement. Usually, there was a journal entry to accompany new arrivals. Had Sirius known? Had anyone? But instead of giving voice to his shock, he noted that the other man was spoiling for a fight - and old habits died hard. His wand was drawn long before Lupin finished his demand.

Lupin was attacking him. Why was Lupin attacking him? Several things went through his mind at once, but first and foremost was "What did I do?" Then, of course, he remembered. The man had died before Snape's name was cleared. Snape was nothing more than a murdering

[onefullmoony]

Remus had never tried to best Snape. Never in twenty-seven years that he'd known Severus Snape had Remus Lupin pulled his wand on him with intention of doing what he was doing. He had been culpable to the abuse that Severus had received in other ways, but there had never been outright warfare between them. Focused warfare, anyway. Snape had been there where they'd tried to move Harry, but Remus hadn't been focused on anything but the safety of Harry Potter, Dora Lupin and George Weasley. Revenge on Snape had taken a backseat.

There were no such things holding him back now. Now there was nothing to worry about, and no one to defend and he could focus his attention on the bitter man who was before him.

Severus Snape had so much to take the blame for. He had done so much; how much better would the last year have been, how many people wouldn't have died if the man hadn't deprived them of Dumbledore? Lupin didn't worry about himself or his own death; the one that was far more pressing was the question in his mind: Would Dora still be

[emptyyourself]

Snape watched Lupin, his eyes following the other man's. It was obvious he had no intention of backing down. He had the option of incapacitating him. Gravely injuring him. Lupin was out for blood.

It was common practice for him to use Legilimency on his opponents; it gave him the advantage, the ability to know their intentions just that much faster. When the question passed through Lupin's mind, it struck Snape, as well, and outraged him. He would take the blame for Dumbledore's death, but he would not have the responsibility of Tonks' death, by proxy.

He deflected the curse almost as easily as one might swat at a fly. Almost. He was two years out of practice, after all. He had a brief moment of deja vu: hadn't he, three years ago, engaged in a similar battle? Unwilling to fight back against Potter, blocking curse after curse until the boy called him a coward? And this time, it was pointless. Death had no place here.

"Stand down," he warned again. "Don't be a fool."

[onefullmoony]

The brush against his thoughts alerting him that Snape was using Legilimency on him. Of course he would, the slimy bastard! Remus quickly countered with Occlumency, forcing Snape from his mind. The last thing that he wanted was to give him any sort of advantage over him.

Remus Lupin wasn't Harry Potter, he wasn't a death eater by any means, but he'd been a member of the Order for a long time, and he'd come from a place where he'd been dueling for his life. He'd come immediately from dueling with Dolohov, and had it been anyone but him (or Voldemort) Remus thought that he might have been alive still and they wouldn't be having this conversation.

"Call me, a fool, Severus." Remus announced, and he flicked his wand, casting another curse and then two more. "You're right, I am one. I trusted you despite Harry giving us every reason to the contrary." He paused, and his face hardened as he flicked his wand once more. "You gave us every reason to the contrary." Remus corrected himself quickly, angrily.

Laaaater ~

[emptyyourself]

Lupin now safely in the infirmary and out of harming reach, Snape made his way back down to level seven. He could feel the blood soaking through the back of his shirt, and the wound on his arm was beginning to sting now that his adrenaline was no longer surging.

He had remedies in his room for this, but the problem was the glass. He didn't know how to clean his own wounds when he couldn't reach them, but if Martha knew, she'd only be furious with him. They had enough trouble between them at the moment without her finding out he'd been dueling.

He entered the room cautiously, and when he didn't see her immediately, sagged against the cabinet beside the door with a hiss of pain, clutching his upper arm with the opposite hand. That stupid bastard. Stupid, foolhardy, hot-headed, sanctimonious imbecile.

[thegooddrjones]

The cats, true to their cat form had come wandering back and were meowing outside of the door when Martha showed up. Scooping them both up in one hand each, Martha entered the room with a frown, wondering how'd they'd gotten out. Putting them down and feeding them, she'd assumed that Severus had simply gone to deal with things with his inmate.

In the mean time, Martha had taken a very long and hot shower (due to the fact that each time she'd gone to take one she'd been distracted) and she'd put lotion on, and hadn't heard the door open.

However, she was coming out of the bathroom when she'd heard the hiss of pain and was at his side in a minute when she saw him sagged against the cabinet door. "Oh my god." Martha uttered the words quickly, and was glad she'd pulled a bathrobe on. "What happened?"

[emptyyourself]

He looked up in surprise and dismay when she came at him; his nerves were still on edge, and she was damned lucky he didn't draw his wand on her. He tried to wave her off, but taking his hand away from his arm cause a fresh jolt of pain. He winced and pushed away from the cabinet.

Without responding, he unclasped his cloak and pulled it off with his uninjured hand. The tears where the glass had struck him were obvious, and his blood had soaked through to it. It occurred to him that he probably looked little better than Lupin.

He dropped it to the floor and turned his attention to finding something to close the wounds.

"Lupin's come aboard."

[thegooddrjones]

When he winced, Martha was at his side instantly, ready to support him, to catch him if his balance suddenly failed. She was worried, and for a moment was torn between wife-mother-bear-what-the-hell-happened mode, and doctor mode.

This close to him, she could smell the blood, and it twisted in her stomach. It twisted in her stomach and she frowned and took a deep breath through her mouth in order to clear the copper from it. She bit back the curse when she saw the tears in it, and little pieces of glass hitting the floor.

What the hell had happened? At the mention of Lupin coming aboard, Martha's eyes went wide and her voice had some very dangerous protective undercurrents. "He did this to you?"