As Potter is to Snape

Chapter 31

"Don't you think you're being a bit hard on him?" Remus asked as he picked up his cup of coffee and then took a sip.

"No," Snape replied drily from behind his paper. "He was caught out of bounds. Again."

Remus nodded. "Yes, alright, but it's not as if he were looking to get into trouble. He was trying to help Ron find his rat."

"All the way up on the third floor?" Snape turned the corner of his paper down in order to glare at Remus, who stared back, unfazed.

"It's a bit of a stretch, I'll admit," he said when Snape had turned his attention back to The Prophet, "but I don't think he meant any harm."

Snape sighed and put down his paper before leaning back in his chair. "What are you even doing here?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Remus glanced around as if the answer should be obvious. "I'm having breakfast with you, of course. What does it look like?"

Snape tapped the table and their remaining food disappeared. "All done," he said with a smirk.

Now Remus narrowed his eyes at the other man and tapped the table himself. His coffee reappeared in front of him, causing Snape to glare down at the offending cup.

"That's not supposed to work for you."

Remus just smiled and replied, "Jenka likes me just as much as she likes you. Now, stop changing the subject-"

"I'm not," Snape interrupted. "Why have you decided to grace my humble rooms with your presence this morning? And I really hope that it wasn't just to try and talk me out of grounding Harry. He knows the rules and it's none of your business anyway."

"It's not my business, but I'm going to try anyway," Remus said matter of factly. "I need you to let this one go, Sev."

"Don't call me that." Snape quickly spat, though Remus merely rolled his eyes at him.

"I'll just get right to it then," he continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "We want to have a family dinner. Mum and I, I mean. We haven't had one in a while-"

"Three years."

Lupin sighed. "Just let me get it out, will you?" He paused and they both stared at one another for a long moment but when Snape made no further comment, Remus went on. "Three years. Yes, I know. But we want to have one with all five of us now. Mum and dad, me and you and Harry."

"Why?" Snape asked, "And what does it have to do with how I deal with him after last night?"

"Because I want to get to know him!" Remus was quickly losing his patience and took a deep breath to calm himself before he said anything else. "Look, I just want the chance to talk to him and get to know him for who he is. Not just my student, but as someone who is part of this family. He was already a part of mine once, before, well before everything happened, but that was a long time ago. A lifetime ago. And I can't do that if he's sulking because you've grounded him for something as simple as being out of bounds."

"He knows the rules," Snape said simply, crossing his arms over his chest.

Remus pushed his chair back from the table and stood up, crossing the kitchen quickly to put some space between himself and his brother.

"Of course he does," he said finally. "Just like I knew them, and you, too. Have you forgotten what it's like to go to school where your parents teach?! It's exhausting, Severus. You have to constantly be aware of what you're doing and how you're behaving because if you get into trouble, it won't just be detention or a letter home to parents who will have all but forgotten about it by the holidays."