The Runaway

In the span of the next two weeks that Severus had been living with the Lupins, he learned a lot about the family as a whole. What they like to do on quiet days, how they move about the house, even their routines.

Hope woke first (he tended to wake up with her and they would cook together), then Remus would shuffle downstairs followed by Lyall shortly afterwards. More often than not, Lyall would run off to the Ministry for work after breakfast and be gone until just before dinner. The time in between breakfast and lunch was reserved for garden work and chores since the sun wasn’t too high and the heat had not settle yet. Then Hope and Severus would trade cooking lunch every other day. Then they would all either read or go to their rooms until it was time for Lyall to return signaling that it was time to prepare dinner.

It was an easy system to memorize so far as Severus was concerned.

He even found out how they handled the full moon shortly after their shopping trip. The night before consisted of Lyall taking things down to the basement for comfort. Blankets, pillows, even water and food went to the mysterious basement room. As soon as it was deemed ready by both parents, the rest of the day of the full moon consisted of Hope making a stockpile of broths and pain relievers for the days to come after the change.

Severus watched all of it quietly. Helping with the broths and making sure the water Lyall needed was ready for him. He could see that the man wanted to ask why he wasn’t questioning anything, but he saw Hope sharply shake her head with a stern glare when they thought he wasn’t looking.

Remus, for his part, looked dreadful. Now that Severus was constantly near the boy, he could see the dark circles get darker and darker with every hour. Remus hardly moved if he could avoid it. If he had to move, it was achingly slow and usually consisted of his joints popping. He disappeared to the basement after dinner and that was the last Severus saw or heard of him until the afternoon of the next day.

That entire day was just like treating a bedridden patient. Remus buried himself in his bed after being bandaged up with muscle patches and drinking the broth Hope made. He remained there for three days.

Throughout all of this time in between learning routines and helping around the house in a near nervous manner, Severus wrote a massive amount of notes in his books and journals. From muggle holistic medicine to potion experiments to simple recipes to cook. He wrote them all. He managed to slip in a few requests for some herbs that Hope didn’t have in her garden to purchase in the next grocery run. If he could start making potions and tinctures, then maybe he could start helping Hope get the help she really needed.

From what Remus explained to him and from what he could observe, she had some kind of energy depleting illness. She couldn’t maintain energy at the levels every one else could, that usually resulted in her losing appetite, which led to her losing weight and then stability. A change in diet could help alongside an addition of some more nutrients. Severus had no doubt that they were already doing that, but maybe Hope needed more than what they already had. Or maybe she needed a boost.

He was in the middle of drafting a recipe for such a boost, something do with cinnamon. Though if he were being honest, cinnamon isn’t going to do too much with energy, it’s just to ensure that her heart remained healthy. Perhaps I should lean towards oils like mint-

“Severus, could you be a dear and hand me that dish?” Severus looked away from his notes instantly to see Hope motioning to one of the many pots hanging from the rack above the eating table. “I’m going to be making sourdough with the rosemary from the garden.”

He closed his journal and grabbed a deep dish to hand to her, “Do you like rosemary?”

She thanked him and took a moment to think, “Suppose I do. It has a lovely smell, and I have a couple of bushes of it growing.” She smiled to herself, “You can’t have too much of it though. Having too much ends up hurting your body.”

“Really? But people use it in so many recipes.” He tried to go back and remember what was in rosemary’s make up that caused damage to people.

“Oh yes, it’s wonderful for nerves, relaxation, and even hair health. But there’s something about that can actually start hurting your body.” She oiled the bottom before placing the dough in and covering the top with a towel. “There, that will set for a bit and then we’ll bake it.”

Severus watched her put the dough into the oven and began the timer. “Hair health? How does rosemary do that exactly?” He saw mention of it in one of the muggle books, but hadn’t reached the chapter for it.

“Well, I’m not sure about it exactly, but I do know that something in rosemary oils helps strengthen the roots and strands.” She leaned up against the counter with a pondering look, “I think I heard somewhere that it also makes hair grow faster?” It was all good information to research later, so Severus made to write it down. Hope watched him scribble his notes down before speaking up again.

“Do you want to start brewing soon?”

The question made him pause. He would love to get inside a cauldron and begin experimenting, but he also didn’t want to impose anymore than he had. Placing the pen down on the table, Severus straightened and really thought about his answer. Knowing Hope, she wouldn’t let him say no immediately. But if he worded it right, he could tell her no and make it seem like he was doing so willingly and not out of obligation.

“I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet.” He pushed on to explain before Hope could respond. “I would like to! But I would like to have more notes memorized before I do. It would make me more comfortable.” He pleaded silently for her to accept the excuse he provided for her. Her eyes seemed to narrow just a bit before she nodded slowly and smiled, making Severus believe he had done it.

“Of course, honey. I understand completely.” And that was it. They had moved on form the question and begun figuring out what to make for dinner as the bread baked.

It was only after a few days that Severus realized that it was, in fact, not the end of the brewing conversation. The next thing he knew, when he and Hope returned from a grocery run, was that Lyall had cleaned up a part of the sun room and turned it into a homemade potion station. Complete with an old cauldron, some vials and jars, as well as towels and pot warmers. He stood there stunned as Hope innocently put away the groceries while Lyall was telling him how he set it up and where everything was with an enthusiasm that Severus had never seen in the man.

“Now down under here is extra storage for anything you make or need. And right here, I can put up some hooks for aprons if you’d like.” He continued on, pulling open drawers and gesturing with his hands. Severus however, sent a confused glare to Remus who was seated on the sofa in the sunroom, right across from his new station. Remus sent him a shrug and confused look back.

Unhelpful idiot.

“This is great, and I really appreciate it.” He made sure to actually sound appreciative, “but why did you…?” He didn’t know how to ask why they bothered without sounded like an ass.

Lyall just smiled and placed a very gentle hand on his shoulder. It made him twitch, but Lyall always moved slowly and deliberately with him. Making sure that Severus could see where his hands were at all times. “Because it was no trouble at all and I liked doing it.”

He left to help Hope, who was sitting down at the table and drinking tea to hide her own smile. Remus didn’t move nor did he say anything. He only watched Severus watch him in utter confusion. Moving slowly to the work table, that clearly used to be a butcher’s table that had been deep cleaned, Severus hovered his fingers over the cauldron.

They did this for him. One more thing that they went above and beyond with. Why?

“Why?” The broken whisper was barely audible, but Remus seemed to have caught it.

“Because they wanted to. And because you deserve to have nice things too.” He didn’t move from his spot on the sofa, only made himself more comfortable by leaning back into the cushions.

Severus shot him a glare, but couldn’t put any energy into it.

“Why? Why do they do so much? Why do they want to do so much? What about me makes them want to- I don’t des-”

“Severus.” His tone was soft but carried more authority than Severus had ever heard in the house, even from Hope. It made the words die on his tongue, leaving an acidic burn in his mouth. They watched each other, amber eyes carving into obsidian. It was only a moment then Remus stood slowly and approached him.

Severus backed away, unblinking and scared. Remus didn’t stop until he was mere inches away from Severus. The table was pressed against his lower back and Remus heat was at his front, but all he could do was stare at those eyes, more human than they had been during his stay so far. He felt the scalding touch of Remus fingers brush against his own cold ones, and his hands twitched.

The glide of those fingers whispered past his knuckles and up the inside of his wrist.

“You are a very intelligent person.” Remus pinched the edge of Severus’s shirt cuff. “One that finds enjoyment in writing and experimenting.” He began to roll the cuff up his arms, folding them crisply to make them stay in place. “When you do the things that you enjoy, you glow with the softest of smiles.” He moved his hands over to Severus’s other arm to repeat the process, and all Severus could do was be hypnotized. “How could we not provide you with something that makes you that happy?” Once he was finished with the cuff, Remus glided his fingers back down both of Severus’s arms to take his hands into his own.

Turning him around in the cage of his arms, Remus placed Severus’s hands, still held by his own, onto the table. His voice still a deep whisper, “Now please, have fun and just be happy with your gift.”

And just like that, the scalding heat was gone and Severus was left with a shaky breath in his lungs and a burning face. He wanted to say it was from the anxiety of having the werewolf so close. But something deep inside of him told him it was because Remus was so close.

Swallowing, he made himself push the thought out of his mind by exploring the new work table. He got so wrapped up in the routine of getting everything where he wanted it, that he forgot about Remus’s presence back on the sofa. He didn’t even see the gleefully, conspiring look in Hope’s eyes. He was just pouring himself into the feeling of having a potion table in front if him again.

Another few days went by, and another routine was added to the house. While Hope would garden, Severus would take what she harvested and begin preparing it for either storage or experiments. She managed to find some empty pots and let him plant whatever he wanted for quick grab herbs.

Remus had taken to reading in the sunroom while Severus brewed. He never bothered Severus other than a question here or there, so he let him linger. He also refused to think as to why Remus suddenly wanted to be around him all the time. It was weird and Severus didn’t have time to think about weird, not when he was so close to figuring out a new tincture for Hope to try.

He had buried his nose into his notebook, scratching through rejected notes and rewriting ratios, when Remus spoke up from his book. “Your hair is getting longer.” It was said without judgement, as though he was stating the weather outside, but Severus bristled all the same.

“Haven’t had the time to cut it. And it doesn’t bother me, I can just pull it back at it’ll stay there just fine.” It was true. His hair had grown a bit faster once Hope introduced a new Rosemary infused hair shampoo and conditioner. Not only had the grease practically left, but his hair was growing like a weed. Perhaps the myth about rosemary and hair was true after all. That or his hair was finally thriving after being taken care of properly for the first time in existence. He could pull it up into a small tail at the base of his neck with his bangs having to be pinned in place. It was odd, but Severus was growing fond of it.

Remus just nodded, “It looks nice.” That was all he said, turning the page and continuing to read.

Remus was like that. He would just say something, and not expect the conversation to keep going. It took a bit to get used to, but Severus had begun to really enjoy the fact the Remus didn’t expect quite literally anything. He would listen if someone spoke to him, only commenting when he had something to say. But most times, he would only speak when he had something to say, never to fill silence.

They fell back into the silence after his comment, only the turning of pages and scratching of the pen being heard. Severus had just finished the latest ratio to try when the phone rang. It made Remus jump a bit, and Severus took the opportunity to laugh at him to hide the fact that he did the same.

The phone never really rang. All of Lyall’s coworkers contacted him via owl, and Hope only really talked with people in town. Hope glided swiftly into the kitchen where it hung on the wall and answered.

“Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Lupin. Hm? Yes, Remus is our son.” She glanced at said person who looked at Severus who shrugged. “Oh, a classmate! Oh, I see. Mhm. Mhm. Ah, James must have told you. Yes, he’s a delight in his own way, isn’t he?” Hope smiled into the receiver, but made no motion from Remus to get up. “Would you like to talk to him? Of course! He’s right here.” Covering the receiver Hope called out, “Severus, darling. You have a phone call.”

He what? A wave a nausea washed over him. Who was it? They knew Potter, who else would be the James she was referring to? Why did they want to talk to him?

“It’s a girl named Lily.”

Lily! He felt excitement for half a second before wanting to throw up again. Oh god, Lily. He didn’t contact her at all to tell her what was happening.

“Severus, what’s wrong?” Remus looked worried as he saw the blood leave Severus’s face.

“I’m so dead.”