Remember Me Tomorrow

Chapter One

The Day of Reckoning

War, contrary to belief, is not a game. It is a battle of wits and nerves, and being able to survive when the odds are against you. This particular battle wasn't about just that, however; no, this was a battle of good versus evil, and the outcome would determine the entire fate of the Wizarding World.

It had been a gruelling few hours; the night sky had been blazing with the reds and greens of flying hexes and curses. It wasn't until a throaty cry of victory filtered through the battered crowd that those in the back of the battlefield even knew the war was over. Voldemort was once and for all defeated -- but that victory came with heavy losses of loved ones.

Severus sighed as he made his way towards a large, charred patch of earth. He barely noticed the bruised, battered bodies being taking away; his mind was focused only on the people lying within the jagged circle of earth. Whispering a spell that would allow him to pass through the invisible barrier that surrounded the patch of earth, his heart nearly stopped beating when he saw that there was a third person lying on the ground, instead of only the two that were supposed to be in the barrier. His breathing became course and his heart raced as he knelt down to take hold of the third person's hand.

'For the love of God ... don't be dead ...'

'Over here! They're over here!' a voice suddenly rang out. Before Severus could do anything he heard the same words he'd uttered moments ago to allow passage into the circle, then he was nearly knocked over by a silver-haired boy who was now kneeling at the body next to the one Severus had been kneeling at.

'Potter? Potter you stupid Gryffindor git, you best be alive or --'

'Don't touch him, Malfoy, I'm warning you!' Ron said angrily when he saw Draco at Harry's side.

'Or you'll do what, Weasley? Hex me? Curse me? Just try it!' Draco countered as he levelled his wand at the red-head.

'You ... you should have been arrested with the other Death Eater scum --'

'Stop it, Ron; you're being a complete idiot! Honestly, why I put up with you is beyond me,' a third voice cut in as the two boys glared at each other.

'Hermione, I'm not an idiot, Malfoy is the one who --'

'Silence, the lot of you!' Severus cut in, finally breaking out of his daze. He pulled himself together and walked into the centre of the circle, staring coldly at the people arguing. 'Enough of this squabbling; we need to get back to the school, it is not safe yet to be out here for long. Malfoy, you take Potter --'

'No way, he's not --'

'Do not interrupt me, Weasley!' Severus barked. 'As I was saying, Malfoy you take Potter, Weasley you take Dumbledore, and Granger,' he said eyeing the wearied girl, 'you will supervise them both and make sure they do get back to the school ... without killing each other.'

'Yes, Professor Snape,' Hermione said, her expression businesslike as she looked from Draco to Ron. 'But, who will bring back Professor Lupin?' she asked as she gazed down at the grey-haired prone man.

'I will see to him,' Severus snapped. 'Now get going. If you see anything out of the ordinary ...'

'We'll run like hell, and no, we won't leave anyone behind ... even though we may want to,' Draco smirked and looked pointedly at Ron.

'Don't tempt me, Malfoy,' Ron grumbled.

'You two need to grow up,' Hermione muttered. She used her wand to summon three floating stretchers then uttered another spell to lift Harry, Dumbledore, and Remus' bodies onto them. She looked worriedly at both Harry and the headmaster; they both seemed near death at the moment. 'They will be all right, won't they, Professor Snape?' she asked hesitantly.

'Only if you get them back to the school, Ms Granger,' Severus said, his eyes scanning the forest for possible threats. 'Remember, once you leave the circle you will no longer have the protection it gives, so move to the school quickly. Madame Pomfrey should already be waiting for you just inside the main doors.'

'I wonder what Lupin was doing here anyway?' Ron said as the three of them headed out of the circle. 'He wasn't supposed to be here was he, Hermione?'

'No he wasn't,' she said shaking her head thoughtfully. 'I don't know what he was thinking, he could have been badly hurt, or worse, killed!' she said as they left the circle and quickly headed for the school.

Severus looked after the three, a pensive expression on his face now. 'I want to know the answer to that question as well, Ms Granger,' he said in an odd voice as he looked down at the stretcher. Waving his wand he cancelled the protection of the circle and with the stretcher floating next to him he too made his way back to Hogwarts with the intention of finding out just what the man next to him was doing in a place he shouldn't have been.

***

'Ah, Severus, there you are. Wonderful celebration don't you agree?'

'No, I do not agree, Minerva,' Severus scowled. 'This is not the time for this, not when there is still wounded to tend and dead to mourn. It has only been a day since Potter defeated the Dark Lord and --'

'Severus,' a voice cut in jovially as a hand patted Severus on the shoulder. 'I do believe now is the perfect time for a celebration.'

'And how do you figure that ... Headmaster ...' Severus said, keeping his expression neutral. Trust the old man and Potter to have recovered in a matter of a few hours when others were still at death's door.

'We will mourn our losses, but not now,' Albus said softly and led Severus off to a side of the Great Hall where the victory celebration was taking place. 'Right now they ...' he said his hand waving out towards the many people in the room, 'need this, even if you do not.'

'And what about those who are not here, Albus? What good is this for them when they cannot be here to enjoy it?' Severus scowled.

'Sorry to cut in, gentlemen, but I need a word with you, Albus,' Poppy said.

'Not a problem, Poppy, what is it?' Albus asked.

'It's about ... well ... it's about Remus,' she said.

'What about him?' Albus asked.

'I've been trying to convince him to come down and join the festivities for an hour now, but he won't talk to me,' she said.

'Lupin is awake?' Severus said abruptly. 'And you didn't bother to tell anyone this?'

'He's been awake for hours actually, Severus, I just haven't had a chance to say anything until now,' Poppy said, slightly taken aback at Severus' unexpected behaviour.

'How is he?' Albus asked.

'He had a few cuts on his arms and face, but other than that I didn't find a single thing wrong with him surprisingly. I don't know he won't talk to me though, and frankly, Albus, I'm a bit worried. He's normally not that outgoing a person, but to miss the victory celebration ... it just doesn't make sense,' she said shaking her head.

'I agree, that's not like Remus at all,' Albus said thoughtfully then turned his gaze on Severus. 'Perhaps you could go talk to him and see what the problem is, Severus?'

'Me?' Severus asked in surprise. 'Why on earth would you think Lupin would talk to me if he won't talk to Poppy? He detests me in case you have forgotten.'

Albus chuckled and put a hand on Severus' shoulder, patting it gently. 'Which is exactly why I think you should be the one to talk to him. After all, he would hardly want to miss something that you are enjoying, now would he,' Albus grinned.

'You're daft, Albus. He could care less what I do or do not enjoy, and as I am not enjoying this ... celebration,' Severus said casting a dark glare at the people in the room. 'I dare say I can do little to convince him of participating.'

'Be that as it may, you will go talk to him, Severus,' Albus said in a tone that meant he wasn't going to be talked out of his request.

'Very well, Headmaster,' Severus muttered and turning on his heel he left the Great Hall and made his way to the infirmary. It didn't take him long to find the silent wizard, but to his surprise, the man was not in his bed as Severus would have thought. Instead, Remus was sitting on the windowsill, staring out at the stars. 'Planning on throwing yourself out the window, Lupin?' Severus asked mildly.

Remus didn't turn round; he merely shook his head. 'Haven't there been enough deaths for your palette, Severus?' he said in a pained voice.

Severus instantly felt guilty at his words and with a heavy sigh sat down on the windowsill next to Remus. 'Yes, Lupin, more than enough,' he agreed. 'Poppy says you won't talk to her.'

'Poppy worries too much,' Remus said, finally turning round to look at his old school mate. 'You've been hurt,' he said in surprise and brushed his fingers over a bandage that was on Severus' cheek.

Severus stiffened at the touch then quickly pulled away. 'It's nothing, a wayward slicing hex is all, easily fixable,' he muttered crossly. 'I'm alive, that is all that I care about.'

'Yes, I suppose we were the lucky ones,' he nodded. 'Have you seen Harry or Albus? Are they ...?'

'They are both well,' Severus said. 'In point of fact, Albus and I were talking in the Great Hall when Poppy gave word of your ... reluctance ... to speak. He's the one who sent me here. It seems you are being summoned to attend the celebrations,' he said with a distasteful sniff.

'Ah, well, sorry to have made you waste your time then, Severus. I was looking forwards to it this morning, but I'm not feeling very much like attending a party anymore I'm afraid,' Remus said.

'That makes two of us then,' Severus said gruffly, causing Remus to stare at him a moment then chuckle. 'What is so funny, Lupin?'

'I'm surprised you showed up at all to be honest,' Remus said, grinning slightly.

'Not by choice I assure you,' Severus huffed. 'I would have preferred ...' he trailed off and looked away from the searching gaze of the Gryffindor.

'Preferred what?'

'I would have preferred to be in my quarters having a decent drink ... or five ... so I can forget this blasted day ever happened if you must know,' Severus said and stood back up. 'Look, I did not come here for idle chit-chat, Lupin. Since you're speaking again you have no need for me to be here, so I'll be on my way.'

'Severus, wait,' Remus said putting his hand out to stop Severus from leaving.

Severus shivered slightly at the touch of Remus' hand, though he did stop and turn back to look at the other man. 'Why?' he asked.

'I don't want to be alone,' Remus replied.

'I am hardly the one you should be asking to stay and nursemaid you, Lupin. Go find Potter, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to keep you company,' Severus sneered.

'No, he needs to be with his friends and Draco right now, not an old, battle-weary man such as me,' he said with a shake of his head.

'Malfoy? What does he have to do with Potter?'

'You don't know?' Remus asked in surprise. 'My word, you really don't know, do you,' he said at seeing the expression on Severus' face.

'If I knew would I be asking?' Severus asked.

Remus chuckled and shook his head. 'I reckon you wouldn't be, no. They've been lovers for six months now, Severus. Why else would Draco have turned to our side otherwise?'

Severus blinked in surprise. 'I ... I honestly did not know why he had,' he said after a moment. 'I assumed Lucius had done something horrid to the boy to bring him over to our side. I never thought ... so that's it,' he said more to himself than Remus.

'War changes people, Severus, you of all people know that,' Remus said quietly.

'How on earth did two people like Potter and Malfoy get together though? They hated each other,' Severus mused. 'And how did I miss such a thing?'

'No one knew except me, so don't feel bad that you missed it. They're both incredibly good at keeping people in the dark about things, and they had good reason to keep their relationship secret. As to how they got together, on that I really don't know myself. The only reason I found out about the two of them is because I caught them in bed at Si-err ... at Headquarters when they thought no one would be back so soon,' Remus said, an obvious hitch in his voice.

'You still miss him,' Severus said without thinking.

Remus looked at Severus in surprise then sighed deeply. 'I will always miss him, Severus. He was a big part of my life, I owed him so much,' he said.

'One does tend to owe their lover a bit now and again,' Severus said dryly.

'Lover?' Remus said looking at Severus sharply. 'What gives you the idea that we were lovers?'

'Oh come now, Lupin, of course you had to be. The way you two acted as if you were a couple of hormonal teenagers. Take that day that day in the shack; you were hugging each other as if you were an old married couple.'

'That was four years ago, Severus, and it was a brotherly hug, not the hug of two lovers,' Remus said heatedly.

'He was sent to live with you ... then when you lost your flat you moved into his house ... you were always together ... you can't deny that,' Severus said testily, suddenly not liking the way the conversation was going.

'Oh for Merlin's sake, that's what led you to the conclusion he was my lover?' Remus said astounded.

'Well, he was always touching you, what else would I-err-anyone think?' Severus said.

'Sirius was deprived of the most basic of human contact for thirteen years, Severus. He touched me ... and everyone else if you had bothered to notice ... because he needed to know he wasn't still in Azkaban, you can't blame him for that. Yes, I loved Sirius, but never as more than a friend. How could I when all I ever wanted was you, you stupid dolt,' Remus retorted.

Severus was about to respond with a rather unkind remark when Remus' words sunk in. He stared at the man in complete and utter shock, not knowing what to make of what he'd just heard. 'You ... you ...' he stammered, but the words he wanted to say just wouldn't come out of his mouth.

'Yes, Severus,' Remus nodded, a sad smile now on his face. 'I have loved you for a long, long time, since we were teenagers in fact.'

'You couldn't possible have. You tried to kill me!' Severus argued.

'I never tried to kill you, Severus, when will you realise that?' Remus snapped. 'Sirius wanted to hurt you, never me.'

'Then why did you --'

'I had nothing to do with it, Severus,' Remus said, cutting him off. 'I swear to Merlin I had no idea what Sirius planned that night. I admit though ... it was my fault he did it,' he said sadly.

'I thought so,' Severus smirked. 'I knew you had something to do with it.'

'Not because of what you think though, Severus, it was because he found out the truth,' Remus said quietly. 'You see, I had a journal, silly I know, but true. It was hard enough having to keep my secrets, so my mother thought the journal would be a good way for me to express myself and have something to look back on in the future when things might look bleak. And the future was bleak, Severus, so very much, not that it matters now,' Remus sighed. 'What matters is what happened back then. Sirius found my journal and managed to figure out the spell I'd used to keep it locked. I was always horrid at locking spells, should have used runes I wager, Sirius was horrible at runes,' he said with a sad chuckle. 'Anyway, he read it cover to cover ... that was the day before the ... the incident ...' he trailed off and cleared his throat before continuing.

'It wasn't because you followed us round that he sent you out there, Severus, it was because he found out that I loved you. He wanted to hurt you for it ... to make sure you would stay away from me by revealing my secret to you, and it worked ... you hated me,' he sighed. 'Sirius wasn't even thinking about the fact that if I bit you ... or worse ... killed you ... that I would have probably been sent to Azkaban ... or even executed for it,' Remus said in a pained voice. 'I am sorry for what happened back then, Severus; believe me you have no idea how sorry I am.'

Severus wanted to respond with something cruel, he wanted to keep hating Remus for all that the Gryffindor had put him through, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words he'd waited over twenty years to say. Mainly because he knew that he didn't hate Remus, he never really had. Too much time had passed though, he wasn't the love struck, curious teenager any longer.

'It's too late for apologies, Lupin,' Severus said sadly. 'Far too late.'

'Is it, Severus?' Remus asked, putting his hand on Severus' arm. 'It doesn't have to be ... the war is over, we won. James and Sirius are dead; they can't hurt you anymore --'

'God, Lupin, it was never about them!' Severus said shaking off Remus' hand and stepping away from him, his normal reactive anger kicking in at the mentions of the past. 'Even if Black wasn't your physical lover, he was in every other way. You took him back as a friend ... lived with him ... let him provide for you after you left school ... yet you still can sit there and say you loved me? How, by taking Black back into your life only a day after he tried to kill me? You say such things, but you obviously didn't care enough to even apologise to me, no you ran straight back to your friends, no doubt having a good laugh at my expense as usual!'

'Apologise? Severus I tried to apologise to you ... several times even ... you wouldn't even let me get close enough to get the word "sorry" out of my mouth! James, Peter, and Sirius were my only friends ... you didn't want me, at least they did!' Remus retorted.

'I did want you, you spineless, idiotic Gryffindor!' Severus shouted then recoiled at his words.

Now it was Remus' turn to blink in surprise. 'You ... you what?' he said in a strangled voice.

'I. Wanted. You. There, I finally said it. Twenty some years and I finally said it, happy now, Lupin? I wasn't trailing after the four of you because I wanted to steal Potter, Pettigrew, and Black's lamentable skills, I would have thought you would have given me more credit then that,' he muttered. 'What more did I have to do back then to get your attention ... wear a bloody sign on my forehead? Wasn't it obvious that it was you I was trying to get close to all those times, not those sorry excuses for a Gryffindor?'

'I ... we ... we thought it was because ... well, you know, to get us in trouble,' Remus said weakly.

'No you dunderhead, your so-called friends were capable of doing that just fine on their own,' Severus snorted. 'It was always you, Lupin, always. I tried to catch you alone many times, but Black ... always the valiant protector; he rarely let you out of his sight for long.'

'He had good reason to protect me, Severus, I am a "monster" as you have so often reminded me,' Remus said in rebuke, though his voice was now weary more than angry.

Severus stared at Remus a moment, a million thoughts running through his mind, but it was a single thought that finally emerged. 'Yes, you are Lupin,' he said silkily, edging himself closer to the man. 'An infuriatingly annoying, pain in the arse monster that ends up in places they shouldn't belong,' he said and now grabbed Remus by the shoulders, lifting him off the ledge to his feet. 'What the hell were you thinking being in the circle tonight? You could have been killed!'

'Would you have cared if I were?' Remus asked.

'I ... that is ...' Severus began, but the look on Remus' face melted the careful reserves he had held onto since his days as a student.

Instead of saying anything more he pulled Remus to him and kissed him. When he realised that Remus wasn't pushing him away, he deepened the kiss, moaning slightly as his tongue came in contact with Remus', the only person he had dreamt about since childhood ... the man he thought he was going to lose on the battlefield last night. How long they stood there kissing Severus didn't know, his normally perfect internal clock seemed to stop working as their kisses became more intense. It wasn't until Remus pulled back that time started again and looking down at the shorter man, for once in his life Severus felt as if he belonged somewhere.

'Lupin ... Remus ... I --'

'Severus? Severus where -- oh, err ... sorry to ahh ...'

Severus growled at the intrusion, and though he was reluctant to let Remus go he did, then turned round to face the person who'd interrupted them. 'What do you want, Albus?' he growled.

'Ah, well, yes,' Albus said, fidgeting slight, though there was a rather noticeable twinkle in his blue eyes at what he'd seen. 'I do apologise for the interruption, but there are intruders at the edge of the forest.'

'How do you know?' Remus asked in concern.

'How do you know?' Severus asked at the exact same time.

Albus chuckled. 'It is good to have you two talking ... and obviously catching up on lost time for that matter.'

'This is not the time to play matchmaker, Albus,' Severus grumbled. 'Answer the blasted question.'

'Of course, of course,' Albus nodded, his expression now turning to concern. 'Hagrid was doing a sweep of the forest when he noticed a section of the wards had been breeched. He saw a blood trail and followed it round the lake which is where he found a small group of Death Eaters camped out at the far end.'

'How many is a "small group", Albus?' Remus asked.

'Three to be exact,' Albus replied.

'And who is it that makes up this group?' Severus asked, though a part of him had a bad feeling he already knew the answer to that.

Albus' gaze flickered towards Remus a moment then he shook his head and sighed deeply. 'I am sorry, Remus.'

'It's Peter isn't it,' Remus said heavily.

Albus nodded. 'Yes, Peter is one of them. The other two are Lucius and Bellatrix. We knew they had escaped, they were cleverer than we thought.'

'The wards weren't breeched by them, Albus, it was a ploy,' Severus said. 'They must have never even left the grounds.'

'That is what I reasoned as well, Severus,' Albus said.

'Have you informed Arthur and the others of Hagrid's findings?' Remus asked.

'Unfortunately, Harry overheard and --'

'Good God, Harry's gone to find them?' Remus said in alarm, cutting Albus off. 'He has to be stopped! You know his hatred for Bellatrix, his anger will cloud his judgements ... he'll be too angry to protect himself!'

'I know which is why I need your help. No, not you, Remus,' Albus said when Remus made a move to grab some clothes. 'Severus, I want only your help on this.'

'What? You can't make me stay here when Harry's in trouble, Albus, I won't have it!' Remus said angrily.

'I can and I will, Remus,' Albus said firmly. 'You are staying put, end of discussion. Severus and I will handle going after Harry.'

'But --'

'No "buts", you will do as he says,' Severus snapped at Remus then moved towards the door.

'Severus, wait!' Remus called out.

'What is it?' Severus said turning back impatiently. 'I have to once again rescue Potter and -- oofff!' he mumbled as a surprisingly strong pair of arms wrapped round him and a set of warm lips was now kissing him nearly senseless.

'You better come back alive, Severus,' Remus said breathlessly when he finally let Severus go.

'I will, promise,' he nodded. 'Now, go get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow,' Severus said and squeezed Remus' hand gently. Turning back towards the door he nodded at Albus, and together they went in search of Harry and the escaped Death Eaters.

***

'Lupin ...?' Severus said, lightly shaking the sleeping man.

Remus sleepily opened his eyes, stretched for a moment, yawned, and then looked up at Severus curiously. 'Severus? What's wrong?'

'Everything's fine. Potter is alive, a bit worse for the wear, but he'll be fine. The others are awaiting trial, though I dare say it will only be a formality,' he said.

'Severus, what are you talking about? Of course Harry is still alive; he defeated Voldemort last night. He's looking forwards to the celebration tonight,' he said. 'What's this about a trial though? Who's on trial, and for what?'

Severus looked at Remus in confusion. 'Lupin ... the celebration was last night ... don't you remember?'

Remus chuckled. 'I'm not that old yet that I've lost my memory, Severus. Last night was the final battle. Oh, I know I shouldn't have entered the circle ... but when I saw Harry falter I couldn't help it, Severus. I knew Albus was close by, but I had to jump in and shield Harry from ... from,' he began to say then furrowed his brow in concentration. 'Hmm, that's odd; I don't remember now what spell it was that I was shielding him from. Eh, perhaps I am getting old after all,' he chuckled.

Severus was stunned into silence. 'Lupin,' he said carefully, his gaze never leaving the man's face, 'tell me exactly what you remember about last night ...'

'Severus, I just told you, why do you want me to repeat myself? Why are you here anyway? Weren't you on search patrol this morning?'

'Search patrol ...?' Severus said, stepping away from Remus. He had been on search patrol ... yesterday morning, but not this morning. There was no need for anymore patrols now that they'd captured the last of the Death Eaters. Something didn't fit here, why would Remus be asking him about the patrol when he knew about last nights capture? Severus had to talk to Poppy, and quickly at that. 'Err ... yes, well; I should be going on ahh ... patrol ... then.'

'All right, good luck, hopefully we catch Peter, Bellatrix, and Malfoy today. Worry's me that they're still running round out there,' Remus said with a slight shiver then got out of bed, once more yawning. 'Never was a morning person,' he said with a hesitant smile. 'Oh, and if you see Harry, will you tell him I want to talk to him? I really do hope he's not upset with me,' Remus frowned then shrugged it off, grabbed a towel, and with a nod at Severus disappeared behind a door that Severus knew led to the infirmary bathrooms.

Severus leant back against the wall, completely out of sorts with what had just taken place. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he was going to find out. Not more than a few minutes later he nearly knocked Poppy down as he barged into her office.

'Severus Snape, what on earth is the matter with you?' she said irritably.

'It's Lupin,' he said, trying to collect his thoughts. How could it be possible that Remus remembered nothing about last night ... especially when he and Severus had finally realised how much time had been wasted in hating each other when all they ever wanted was each other, not to mention the incredible, if far too short, kisses they had exchanged? It just didn't make sense!

'What about him?'

'Something is wrong with him, Poppy, something is very, very wrong ...'