Give it all up, you'll have nothing left.
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Snape couldn't be found, he had too many enemies. He paced back and forth in his office in the Hogwarts dungeon. Where was he to go though? He had no friends. He had no family. He had no money saved up. He looked over at the copy of the daily prophet and the scowling picture of him. the scowling picture that showed the one thing he most regretted in his life; the dark mark. Rita Skeeter had written about his past as a Death eater, therefore he was no longer able to teach at the school. He was sitting in a large, dark, red, wing-back chair when Dumbledore finally came to talk to him.

"Severus, I have arranged a place of living for you, until you are able to find further residence." Dumbledore just jumped into the discussion. "That is, unless you have somewhere else to stay?"

"No, Albus, I have nowhere, you know that" Snape commented quietly from behind his hand.

"Then you will be staying with Remus. He kindly offered a room for you" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled "and no one will suspect it."

"What did you do to get him to agree to that? we both know he hates me."

Albus just smiled a little smile "He offered." albus repeated "I asked if he knew of a quiet secluded place, and he suggested his own home. Nothing more, severus"

"Very well, I'll oblige you, old man." Snape sighed, both of them knew he would never admit that Snape had no other place to go that was safe. If he went back to the other supporters . Well, he-who-must-not-be-named had a distasteful flavor in his mouth when he found you betrayed or exposed him.

"Severus, please know that I am sorry for this." Dumbledore smiled and pulled out a bag of black licorice "Black is your color Severus; licorice?"

Snape smirked and just to humor him, took one, thanking him before turning to pack his things.

"Sorry its not much, Severus, but it is home. Feel free to anything in the kitchen, as long as it's edible it's fair game. The water in the washroom takes a bit to warm before you can shower. The faucet in the kitchen leaks if you turn it on too long but I'll be fixing that soon." Remus smiled, reminding him very much like a dog waiting for its ball to be thrown, excited and eager for the attention.

"It's quite dingy and too bright but I don't have much choice in the matter do I?" Snape Grimaced and wondered; if Lupin had a tail would it be wagging? "Where will I sleep?"

"Here," Remus led him eagerly out of the kitchen and down the hallway, there were two doors, a narrow pale green one that Snape presumed was Remus' room and a dark red door that Remus opened for him. Inside was a small mattress on a black wood frame, a sturdy looking bookshelf and a large cabinet that served as a wardrobe. "I dusted earlier " Remus smiled. "It's the darkest room in the house, only one window. I'll get you some curtains if you like? Does purple work?" he trotted off and returned only seconds later.

"Yes, that will do, Lupin." Snape took the curtains, commenting "I'll put them up myself thank you."

Snape joined Lupin for a small dinner consisting of sandwiches. Lupin told him he would be making stew for tomorrow.

That evening Lupin was still up at 11:30, Snape quietly wished him a goodnight and slipped into his new room.

It had been a very taxing day, he woke up late and stepped off to shower without getting a chance to read the morning paper. What turned out to be his last classes were interrupted by much more muttering and snickering than usual. There were many students missing from his classes as well. The students he passed in the hall looked terrified of him, moreso than usual, and several turned and ran when they saw him coming. he had mused that there might have been a outbreak of lycanthoropy at Hogwarts, and that perhaps it was the full moon tonight. Albus found him just as he was entering the great hall. There was a collective gasp and several shrieks as he entered, and Severus was realizing that this change in atmosphere had more to do with him than he thought. Albus pulled him aside and asked him if he had read the morning paper. Severus' life spiraled quickly away after that. When he got to his room there were several howlers waiting for him, along with the morning's discarded paper.

Snape's next trip was to the washroom, 6:00am and Lupin was sitting on the couch reading a book, which quickly disappeared when Snape entered the room.

"Morning!" Lupin chorused cheerfully "I made porridge"

"Are you always up this early?" Snape was still groggy.

Lupin smiled and stood up, still in his pajamas, he trotted over to the steaming bowls on the counter. "Here you are." He handed Snape a bowl and trotted off with the other one, which Snape noticed was considerably less full

"Lupin, I can't possibly eat all this. Do I look like a troll?" he asked irritably.

"Uh no, I just thought you would be hungry, you didn't really get much to eat yesterday." Lupin answered quickly, in fear of reprimand. Does he fear me that much?

Lupin looked at him, his eyes have a sad little smile in them, they were distant, and isolated. Snape had no idea how long he stood there, staring into those eyes. What could make Lupin's eyes, Remus' eyes, to look so lost.

After five minutes of Snape uncomfortably trying to pry the door to Remus' soul off its hinges, Remus finally looked away. What did Snape want and why did he stare at him like that, his eyes so full of wonder and compassion. He looked like he was going to hug him for a minute there. Not like that wouldn't be welcomed, as almost any touch was welcomed when you were a werewolf, but it was frightening. Snape was not the sort of person to comfort him and as much as he would have enjoyed the touch and embrace, he felt guilty because he knew that he would be waiting for a hex to sink into his back.

He turned and trotted off to the linen closet (the narrow green door) leaving Snape in the kitchen, he pulled out a towel and called back through the house that he was going to take a shower.
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