Never Surrender [ Snape x Lupin ]

Chapter Twenty Four

Lupin had a vast collection of memories that were carved on his mind. Sometimes people are not sure if they made up the images and sounds to fill in the gaps when a scene occurred many years ago, however, ever since that werewolf bite, Remus' memory kept this type of sequence almost intact. And that night, the night of the attack at the Quidditch World Cup, was no exception.

He was keeping himself informed about the matches in the newspaper Severus had delivered to his house. Ever since his school years, he had always liked to watch sports, it was so exciting to see all that happening right in front of your eyes. Severus never cared too much, out of disinterest or grudge, cheering for a team was never his thing. Except when the match was the classic Slytherin against Gryffindor. Only then, he would make quiet gestures under his robes when his house scored. Lupin did catch a glimpse of that a few times, never confronting him about it, was his little secret.

They were awake after their usual time that night, a combination of taking a long nap after lunch and late afternoon black tea. Remus was in his own bedroom reading a bit, catching up with a novel he had left in the middle by the time Severus went to London. He thought about finishing it during Snape's trip, but he was so brain-fogged back then due to intentional hunger and physical pain, that absorbing more information seemed madness. Lupin hated how inconstant his mental clarity was, he couldn't be sure if he'd be fine next week to perform something that today would be absolutely no trouble at all. He missed being a teenager for that aspect, his brain fog was almost non-existent back then, it only got worse after his twenties.

He was about to flip the pages, almost the end of the chapter when he heard a glass breaking from the kitchen. It would have been weird enough on its own, Severus never dropped anything. But what made Remus rush to him was when he heard many other glasses breaking a few seconds later. He stood up from the bed, ran through the corridor and living room, only stopping instinctively when he heard solitary glass break out of tune. Remus saw Snape's shadow in the wall, he was leaning on the counter in a very low position.

Severus' reaction to Remus's footsteps was practically a wave of shock. Of course, Remus would come for his aid, and yet, feeling his proximity was both comforting and crushing. Snape had no idea what to do with himself at first, all he knew was that he was getting himself a glass of water when he felt a sting on his forearm. It was an acute, sharp, shallow, and annoying tactile feeling, like a grain of sand in his veins. It came from the fangs of the snake marked on his flesh. That was it, even after all his occlumency, this rapid piercing feeling on his skin was all the proof he needed to confirm his worst nightmare had come true. Someone had conjured the Dark Mark. Not the Dark Lord himself, it had a different tune to it, but another Death Eater for sure.

As a consequence for all the anguish Severus was experiencing, his magic - that had been so cemented to create a shield - started to crumble. Soon enough and only for a few seconds, he wasn't able to contain it, breaking all the glasses in the kitchen that were close to him and a jar of cold water. Snape needed to hold onto something, so he grabbed the counter and a final glass, that had been on the top of the counter since the afternoon, rolled down and broke too.

"Severus... are you ok? What happened?" Remus asked carefully, but very concerned as he approached the other. "Are you hurt?" he asked while placing his warm hand over Snape's cold ones

Snape was stiff in place, pale and looking as mortified as Lupin had ever seen him. And to their personal history, this meant quite a lot.

"Talk to me... Did anything enter the house or you were trying a new spell?" Remus asked, this time leaning as well to try making some eye contact. "Say something, please..." he tried, starting to deepen his nervousness

Severus felt his heart sink on his chest.

"Rem..." Snape finally said in a low tone. "You have to get out of here... they might come for me and I don't want them to find you too. You are in danger... and it's my fault. Forgive me, but you have to run away right now" he said, this time looking at Remus directly. It was a heavy sight to be seen, Severus probably didn't notice his eyes were watery as he held Remus' shoulders.