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"I'm getting the notion that's not why you're really here."
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"Professor Lupin?" Your voice called out as you pushed open the door to his office.
Unlike the door to Severus' office, Lupin's didn't make a hideous creaking noise when you opened it. You had ventured down to his office on the off chance that he was up and going this early in the morning.
Lupin's head popped out from a storage closet in the back corner of his office, his expression of confusion shifting into delight. He gave a friendly smile.
"Ah. Good morning, [Y/N]." He greeted, exiting the closet with his hands full and closing the door with his foot.
Lupin's office was polar opposite of Severus'. Lupin's actually had bits of color splashed around and it actually had light coming in from the windows. It wasn't like a dark hole with the occasional inhabitant here and there. Although, you had grown to love Severus' little bat cave.
You had been in Lupin's office a time or two before, but it still was shocking at how different it was. That's when you noticed how unusually warm it was inside of his office. It was the end of January, approaching early February, so there was no way his office should be this warm.
"Hi, Professor." You greeted, still standing in the open doorway.
"Please, do come in. Forgive me for how warm it is. I left a fire going for much too long this morning," He said referring to the now empty fireplace; "I must say, I've never had a student show up at my door this early in the morning."
That was also when you noticed his flushed complexion and slightly sweaty skin. He was cooking alive in here. You entered the office, gently closing the door behind you. You gripped the straps of your school backpack nervously, watching as Lupin unloaded the things in his arms onto the bookshelf.
"I know. I'm sorry for coming by at such an early hour, I wasn't even sure if you'd be here." You apologized.
Lupin paused what he was doing and turned to look at you from the shelf. He raised a brow.
"Don't ever apologize for that. My door is always open," He smiled warmly; "What can I help you with?"
"I was hoping we could talk about something." You stated.
He stepped away from the bookshelf and walked around behind his desk to sit down. He ushered towards the empty chair in front of his desk.
"Absolutely. Have a seat." He offered.
You slipped your bag off of your shoulders and set it against the wooden material of the desk. The heat in the room didn't help with your nervousness, you fanned your face with your hand. You sank into the plush cushion of the chair, smiling politely. Lupin's hands were folded over the top of his desk, eager to hear what you wanted to talk about.
"What would you like to discuss? Surely not about your grades. You've been performing very well this term, despite your leave." Lupin complimented.
You would admit that you were proud of yourself for maintaining perfect grades while stuck with Madam Pomfrey. It felt nice to have a professor acknowledge your hard work.
You shifted in the chair. He noticed you were uneasy.
"I'd like to talk about Professor Snape." You confessed.
Lupin's smile faded into more of a smirk. Remus was one of the very few people who knew about your relationship with Snape, and how your assistant's position had quickly changed into something new. The two of you stared at each other silently and rather blankly for a few seconds before erupting into laughter. You knew that you were both remembering the night of the Halloween dance and how you had used Lupin to make Severus jealous.
Remus saw the way that Severus had barely taken his eyes off of your the entire night, and suddenly everything made sense. Remus had been highly amused (and even a little flattered) that you had felt comfortable enough to use him as part of your ploy. Severus was VERY jealous of Lupin and always grew angry whenever you interacted with him. The only time that Severus had ever interacted with Lupin on your behalf was around Christmas to help find you a gift. Even then, Severus was reluctant.
He didn't care for Remus in the slightest, and now you had just learned why. But you wanted to know more.
Your laughter died down as well as Lupin's, and you returned to a normal conversation.
"What about him would you like to talk about?" Remus asked, knowing you were on a first name basis with him.
"You were students together here, right?" You asked.
Remus' reddened face slowly went white. He didn't like where this conversation was headed. His mind jumped around to about a million different things. He knew this was about himself and The Marauders and what they did to Severus.
"We were." He confirmed.
You toyed with the hem of your school robes, ignoring how they were keeping all body heat trapped inside. You were trying to be careful with how you worded your questions and sentences.
"I understand that you were friends with James and Lily Potter." You said, a slight shake to your voice.
You weren't sure if this was a touchy subject or not. It definitely was for Severus, so you had no clue how Remus would react to this. You weren't even sure if Lupin knew how Snape felt about Lily, so you were treading lightly. You were pretty sure that Severus probably didn't want more people to know about this.
A brief look of sadness flashed over Lupin's face. It was like a whole swarm of memories had just flown by his head. He nodded.
"Oh, sure. James and Lily were dear friends of mine. I was friends with Lily through James, but still friends nonetheless," He explained; "Where are you going with this?"
Your nerves had amped up about double what they were when you walked in. This wasn't something you ever thought you would talk to Lupin about.
"Sev mentioned that...he wasn't well liked during his time here." You said, not wanting to flat out ask Lupin if he had ever been abusive towards Severus.
Remus nodded shamefully, a heavy sigh escaping his chest.
"I had a close friend group. I won't lie to you, we were hard on him," Remus said; "You name it and we likely did it."
You grimaced at the thought. The thought of little Severus Snape having his head shoved into a toilet wasn't a pretty picture.
"So you did bully him..." You said in a way that indicated that you were wishing that it wasn't true.
Remus nodded again, leaning forward in his own chair.
"We did. But believe me when I tell you that it's one of my biggest regrets that I didn't stand up for him. I always felt guilty for it." He admitted.
Your questions didn't stop there. You felt like you were getting somewhere.
"Why did you pick on Severus? Why not another kid?" You asked.
Remus was getting more and more ashamed by the minute. You had a feeling that they had bullied Severus because they knew that he liked Lily, even though she liked James.
"Honestly? We were bored. Severus was an easy target, because he never fought back." He stated.
You felt horrible, and also surprised that was the reason. It truthfully hurt more that they bullied him just because they felt like it. You were beginning to wish you had never even found any of this out. You wished you had never even asked about Lily that led to all of this.
Ignorance is bliss after all.
You grew quiet as you took some time to process everything, and Lupin grew curious.
"I'm getting the notion that's not why you're really here." He guessed.
You blushed, a shy smile appearing on your face.
"Professor, I don't want to overstep any more boundaries here. I've already asked enough personal questions." You replied.
Remus gave a reassuring smile.
"I don't mind. If something's worrying you, I'd like to help if I can." He offered.
You felt as if you had asked enough to where Lupin would simply think that you were coming to confirm some stories that Severus had told you, not to seek out answers to the intentions of Severus' heart.
You thought for another moment. You had a decision to make here, and you definitely needed to think about Severus in all of this. You had already gotten more people involved than need be. Your best friend who you trusted with your life was one thing, a colleague of Severus' who you now knew to have once been his enemy was another. You didn't want to accidentally tell Lupin about Severus' feelings for Lily in case he already didn't know. That was too much of a low blow.
You still loved Severus, and his feelings were important to you. He had been through enough as it was, and you felt like he'd never get any peace from this if Lupin walked around his life knowing about it.
You needed to take Alicia's advice and talk with Severus alone. This was between you and him.
You went to rise from your chair, giving Professor Lupin a genuine smile. You also wiped at the sweat that had began to appear on your forehead.
"I think I'm alright, Professor. Thank you for your time," You thanked him, slinging your bag around your shoulders once again; "And maybe open a window in here."
He stood from his desk as well to see you out, a laugh escaping from his chest.
"Of course. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask," He grinned warmly, escorting you to the door of his office; "And take care of Severus, yes?"
You nodded with a bright smile, walking through the doorway once Lupin opened the door for you. You were suddenly dying for some cool air. You made a brisk exit, but found yourself running into someone for the second time that morning. What was with you today? Before you could even utter an apology, you immediately recognized the frame you had crashed into.
It was Severus once again.