Practically Brothers

Minions

A great, round moon shone down on the lonely strip of beach, where black, glassy waves foamed up against pale sand. The sky was as black as the water, and white stars glittered like ice. A tall, menacing, black-robed figure stood at one end of the strand, casting a long, black shadow behind.

Further up the beach, dancing along the rim of the swirling waves, was an enormous, silver dog, or what looked like a dog. It raced up along the water line, sometimes jumping up in the air and snapping at a spray of sea foam, sometimes leaping into the water and bounding among the waves. It reached the end of the beach, then turned and streaked back, its long-legged shadow racing beside it on the sand. It pulled up just short of the dark figure, where it began to bark, and jump up and down.

The dark figure pulled something small and red from the recesses of its robes. The dog growled and shook its head. The dark figure froze, radiating annoyance.

"Lupin, you know I can't throw that frisbee thing."

Lupin barked, then jumped on his front legs. Snape was still, but even from a distance, he gave the distinct impression of rolling his eyes up to the black sky. The hand returned to the robes, and hesitantly brought out a green disk. Lupin barked and jumped up in the air. Snape sighed, and then hurled the frisbee. Which rose a miserable ten feet in the air, and would have come down almost at his feet if Lupin hadn't darted forward and caught it.

Lupin brought it over, wagging his tail, and looking up encouragingly. Snape glared at him, but took the frisbee. Lupin barked and danced back along the sand. Snape tried again. This time, the disk sailed a much more respectable distance, and Lupin chased after it, barking, leaping up in the air to catch it as it arced back to earth. He raced back to Snape, pulling up short at his feet. Over and over, Snape threw the frisbee, and, while sometimes it went only a few feet, or even drove into the ground, more and more often, it soared gracefully further and further along the beach. Lupin raced after it each time, darting along the sands, an ethereal ghost creature in the moonlight. Snape was caught more than once by the beauty of the sight, silver wolf dashing along the white sand, his velvet black shadow running alongside him.

Eventually, Snape said, "This is the last time, my arm's giving out," as he took the frisbee from Lupin. He threw it again, and Lupin shot after it, leaping up and catching it easily. Lupin stopped when he landed in the sand, and turned, frisbee in his mouth, and looked at Snape, as if considering. Then a grin spread on his wolf face, and he dashed back towards Snape. It wasn't until the last minute that Snape realized Lupin wasn't going to stop. He stepped back, but it was too late, and around twelve stone of slightly damp wolf struck him square in the chest, sending him over backwards in the sand.

He lay there, and looked up into Lupin's face. Lupin stood over him, still grinning, paws planted on either side of Snape's chest.

"I could just leave you here, you know," Snape growled. Lupin couldn't apparate in wolf form; he couldn't work any magic in wolf form. Lupin whined contritely, and his eyes went big and sad, but he was still smiling. Then he stepped to one side, and flopped down into the sand next to Snape.

Together, they looked up at the stars overhead and listened to the waves as they swept onto the beach. The moon arced higher and higher in the sky. Snape glanced over at Lupin. Does he still fear the sight of the moon? he wondered. He could see no sign of fear in Lupin's eyes, and the wolf's side rose and fell in easy, contented breathing. Lupin moved closer against him, so that he could feel the warmth of the great wolf body through his robes. Strange, Snape thought, when he's human, we won't get within five feet of each other, but as a wolf, Lupin craved that physical closeness, and with Lupin as a wolf, Snape found he did not feel those taboos.

They lay there a long time, until the cold of sand and wind crept through the many layers of Snape's clothing, and he shivered. He sat up, sand cascading off his robes. "Time to get back," he said. Lupin stood up, on all fours, and shook himself vigorously, managing to spray Snape liberally with more sand. Snape glared at him, and Lupin looked chagrined, but his eyes were laughing. Snape put an arm around the big, shaggy neck, and, with a whisper of air, they vanished from the beach, and reappeared in the back yard of Lupin's home. Snape ran his wand over each of them, getting the worst of the sand off, and then he touched Lupin's neck again, and they apparated into the living room.

Lupin pulled away from Snape's arm. His ears flicked for a moment, then he gave a bound and dashed down the hall. Snape started after him, "Wait, you can't take the shower first, you get hair all over it!" Which I will have to clean up, anyway, since Lupin can't work any magic until morning, he thought. The bathroom door slammed, and he heard water begin to run - Lupin wasn't as good with his paws as with his hands, but he could still work the taps.

Snape glared at the shut door, sighed, and turned back down the hall. He decided to wait outside, in the backyard; he'd removed most of the sand, but not all of it, and didn't want to track any more in the house. And he wouldn't feel right until he took a shower. He sat on the stoop, looking over the plain yard, full of patchy, dry grass and not much else. But the sky was as clear here as it had been at the beach, the stars glittered just as brightly, and the moon was as huge and full.

Eventually, he heard Lupin's bark from inside, and he apparated directly into the hall by the bathroom door, which was open. Steamy, warm air blew from inside. Lupin was standing further down the hall, with an old towel in his mouth. "Don't you even think about shaking yourself off next to me," Snape said to him. Then he entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Later, the two were on the living room sofa. Snape wore a nightshirt and dressing gown; his clothes were going through the antiquated cleaning devices in Lupin's basement. Luckily, Snape had learned to wear only his oldest robes when visiting Lupin during a full moon. He was lucky if hair were the only thing to get on them.

Lupin was curled up, eyes already drooping. Snape would glance over, every so often, from the book he was reading. When Lupin's eyes were closed, and his breathing slow and regular, Snape put a marker in the book, softly commanded the one light to extinguish itself, then walked quietly back to the bedroom.

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Snape was awakened by a distant, popping noise, followed by a great, deep bark. Lupin! he thought, eyes flying open. No, it wasn't Lupin, the barking came from outside. Some stray dog? No, this was no dog.

The room was dark, it was still night, but it wasn't the pitch black it had been earlier, it would be dawn soon. Snape got out of the bed carefully, felt for his wand, then walked quietly out to the hallway, to the living room.

Lupin was standing on all fours in the middle of the room; there was just enough light coming through the window to make him out. Lupin's stance was tense, and his ears were pricked forward. He was looking out the window, into the front yard. Snape carefully stayed to one side of the room, he didn't want whatever was out there to see him. It was lighter outside than in the house - good, then we can see out, but they can't see in. He squatted on the floor, and looked out the window.

Walking toward the house across the small patch of grass in front, was an enormous grey wolf, flanked by a dozen wolves on either side. The lead wolf looked nearly twice as big as Lupin, more in bulk than in height; and he was the one barking, a great, deep, bell tone, that grew louder as he approached the house. The other wolves were also all larger than Lupin, thought none were as large as their leader. Snape had thought Lupin was enormous when he'd first seen him, but compared to these, he seemed almost small and delicate. But then, Lupin was slender man, of medium height. There was only one wolf, on the far end, who was smaller than Lupin - no, not smaller, Snape realized, looking closer, he was at least as large as Lupin, but the way he stood, hunched over, made him look smaller than he really was, and there was something frightened, even hunted, in his expression.

The huge grey wolf belled again. Snape looked over at Lupin and cocked his head, as if to say, "Well?" Lupin gave a small shake to his head, and sat on the floor. He was going to wait. Until dawn, thought Snape, when he would be human again, and able to use his magic.

Snape looked at the other wolves outside. The grey leader sat down in the grass, as Lupin had, and the others followed suit. They would all wait until dawn.

And dawn came. The moment the disk of the sun first edged over the horizon, all the wolves in front of the house, and Lupin, there in the room, began to shimmer. Lupin changed to man first, easily - Snape had noticed before how much easier the change was for him, from wolf to man, than the reverse. The other wolves seemed to have more trouble; the grey leader in particular seemed to fight as wolf form shrank back into human.

Lupin stood up, keeping his eyes on the now human forms outside the house.

"Friends of yours?" asked Snape.

"From my old pack, the one I told you about. The one I ran with, for a while." Lupin quickly pulled on his clothes, which had been folded neatly in a corner of the room. "And no, we were not friends." He held out his hand, and said, very softly, "Accio wand" and his wand was suddenly there in his fingers. Being clothed would give him a psychological advantage over his visitors, Snape thought, who were human again, and naked. Although it did not seem to bother many of them, from what he could see.

They were all male. Very male, in the case of the one who'd been the grey leader. He was as large as a man, as he'd been as a wolf, most of it bulk, but not out of proportion. His hair was as black as Snape's, and he squatted on the lawn with as much confidence as he'd had as a wolf. The others, while not so big as he was, were still big men, and had the look of thugs. Except for the smaller man at the end, who seemed ashamed.

"Remus!" the big man shouted.

"That's Baron," Lupin said. "He was - is a high ranking wolf in the pack. He tried to make me one of his subordinates. As a human, I could always defeat him with magic, but I am no match for him in wolf form, and it's wolf rank that counts in the pack."

"I can see why you left," Snape said.

Lupin nodded. "I saw men and women who were professors, business leaders, high ranking government officials, people of talent and ability, who were taking orders from people who were little better than criminals. Matthew, the pack leader, managed to keep things from getting too far out of hand, and was able to prevent abuses that I heard were going on in other packs, but it was still more than I could take." He frowned. "They pride themselves on the fact that they don't murder, or recruit the unwilling, but I saw things that were just as bad." He nodded toward the window. "That poor fellow on the end, that's Alex. He's a wizard. Baron's managed to beat him down, turn him into his tame creature."

And he wants to do the same to you, Snape thought. Turn you into another cringing beast of his, a wizard, at his command. And I know, better than you, what that means.

"Remus!" Baron shouted again, "Come out here, Remus, you have to talk to me sometime!"

"So what are you going to do?" Snape asked.

Lupin shrugged. "Go out and talk to him, I guess." He went to the door.

"I will be watching," Snape said. Lupin smiled at him, but the smile faded quickly as he turned to the door. Snape positioned himself back in the room, so that he could see both through the door and the window, but couldn't be seen by the intruders. Lupin opened the door, and stepped through.

"I'm here, Baron," he said, "What do you want?" He stood quietly, neither aggressive, nor submissive. Typically Lupin, Snape thought. You can't get away with that here.

Baron stood up from the ground, easily, completely unashamed of his nakedness. He stood at least a head taller than Lupin, and seemed twice as broad. Not an ounce of fat, just muscle. He looked Lupin up and down, and smiled, the smile of a predator.

"I've come to take you back to the pack, Remus," Baron said. His voice was deep and musical.

"I left the pack years ago," Lupin said.

"No one leaves the pack," Baron said.

"Matthew granted me permission."

"Matthew is dead." Baron smiled again, "I am pack leader now." His face gleamed with satisfaction. Baron killed Matthew, Snape thought.

"I am not going back," Lupin said, quietly. "I will fight you now, if I must."

Lupin, Snape thought, you must show more authority, more aggression.

"Fight you now, magician, face your magic?" Baron said, "No, I don't think so. We will fight tonight, during the full moon. If you defeat me, you are free to go. If you lose, you either rejoin the pack, or I will kill you. If you rejoin the pack, and then try to leave when you're in human form, I will come back during the next full moon, and I will kill you then."

Tell him you'll kill him now, Snape thought, that's the only thing you can do to drive him off. But Lupin just stood quietly. He can't do it, Snape thought, even if he made the threat, they'd know he wouldn't mean it. Lupin is not a killer.

Snape stood up. This is going nowhere, he thought. He apparated instantly down to the basement, grabbed his now clean outer robes, and apparated back to the living room. He pulled the robes on and ran his fingers through his hair; not his best, but it was better than going out in a nightshirt. He moved to the door.

"I will not fight you as a wolf," Lupin said, "But I will not rejoin the pack."

"Then you will die," Baron said. "Perhaps not tonight, or next month. But we know where your home is, Remus, and your little wooden door, and plaster walls will not stop me. And your magic wards will not work during the full moon."

"You will not touch him," Snape said, stepping out through the door, to stand beside Lupin. He put on his best menacing face, guaranteed to strike fear in the hearts of students everywhere who hadn't prepared for class. "Harm him in any way, and I will track you down and kill you."

Baron paused. He was still smiling, but he looked thoughtful, now.

"You claim this dog as yours, wizard?" he asked.

There's some special meaning to those words, Snape thought, but I don't care. "I claim this man as mine." Lupin turned to face him, a look of surprise on his face. "Or do you care to fight me for him?" He raised his wand. "I will meet you now, or during the full moon, whichever you prefer."

"No, wizard, I will not fight you," Baron nodded his head, "I cannot defeat magic. If you claim this dog as yours, then I withdraw my own claim. Unless you would consider selling him to me?" He grinned.

Snape raised his wand, and snarled, "Get out of here, now, or I'll strike you anyway!"

Baron nodded his head, smiled, and gestured to the other wolves. They drew together in a circle around him, and then vanished, with a loud bang. Their tame wizard, Alex, must have apparated them away.

Snape lowered his wand, still angry. Lupin was staring at him. "Do you know what you just did?" Lupin asked.

"I've just made sure you're free of them," Snape said.

"You've just claimed me as your subordinate, you've named yourself my alpha."

"To them. Do you care what they think?"

Lupin was quiet. "I'm not sure."

Snape sighed. "Lupin, you know I do not consider myself your alpha, or think of you in any way as my subordinate." He paused. "Believe me, I wouldn't be throwing that fool disk for you if I did."

Lupin hissed a quick laugh. "I suppose I'm being silly, when I should be thanking you." He looked back out on the lawn. "I told you before, I make a very bad werewolf. I have no instinct for dominance in me, and they know it."

"I think that's one of your best qualities," Snape said. "Will they leave you alone after this?"

Lupin nodded. "Oh yes, they won't want to get involved with a real wizard. Werewolves don't like wizards." He looked at Snape. "Thank you, Severus."

Snape nodded. "You're welcome."

Lupin started back through the door, into the house. "I just wish," he said, as they stepped into the living room, "I wish I could protect myself."

Snape stopped, very still, and said, "I do understand exactly what you mean."

Lupin carefully kept his eyes from glancing at Snape's left arm, where he knew the Dark Mark was, under the sleeves of Snape's robes. "I guess you do," he said.

"I am a minion of the Dark Lord," Snape said, very softly, "You cannot get more subordinate than that." He looked away. "And I wish, very much, that I could protect myself."

Lupin looked directly at Snape, but Snape was not facing him. "I wish you could, too," Lupin said, "Or that someone could step forward for you, the way you just did for me." But you've never been able to protect yourself, all your life, thought Lupin.

Snape paused. "There are other kinds of protection," he said, "And other ways of stepping forward for someone." He looked around the bare living room, at the old sofa, the plain fireplace. "Being able to come here has been . . . very helpful, for me." He frowned. Lupin thought, It's hard for him to say that.

"You've been very helpful for me, too, Severus," Lupin said, "And not just because of the potion." He smiled. "Last night was wonderful, I'd like to do that again. And not have Baron show up to spoil it."

"Last night was very nice," Snape said quietly.

"There's another full moon tonight," Lupin said. "You could practice some more with the frisbee." Snape grimaced. Lupin looked at him, making his eyes big and sad. Snape glared at him. "Very well." He scowled, "I am definitely not your alpha."

Lupin grinned, "Thank you, Severus." And then, with a nod, "And I think we've both done far too much this morning on an empty stomach." He headed toward the kitchen. "I'll get some coffee brewing, and then we can get out last night's leftovers and see about some breakfast."

And Snape followed him into the kitchen.