Chaos Rising |BOOK 2| Harry Potter x PJO |Alexandra Marine|

PERCY JACKSON

"Has it occurred to you, Harry," said Arthur, "that Snape was simply pretending--?"

"Pretending to offer help, so that he could find out what Malfoy's up to?" said Harry quickly. "Yeah, I thought you'd say that. But how do we know?"

"It isn't our business to know," said Lupin unexpectedly. He had turned his back on the fire now and faced Harry across Arthur. "It's Dumbledore's business. Dumbledore trusts Severus, and that ought to be good enough for all of us."

"But," said Harry, "just say--just say Dumbledore's wrong about Snape --"

"People have said it, many times. It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore's judgment. I do; therefore, I trust Severus."

"But Dumbledore can make mistakes," argued Harry. "He says it himself. And you--"

He looked Lupin straight in the eye.

"--do you honestly like Snape?"

"I neither like nor dislike Severus," said Lupin. "No, Harry, I am speaking the truth," he added, as Harry pulled a skeptical expression. "We shall never be bosom friends, perhaps; after all that happened between James and Sirius and Severus, there is too much bitterness there. But I do not forget that during the year I taught at Hogwarts, Severus made the Wolfsbane Potion for me every month, made it perfectly, so that I did not have to suffer as I usually do at the full moon."

"But he 'accidentally' let it slip that you're a werewolf, so you had to leave!" said Harry angrily.

Lupin shrugged.

"The news would have leaked out anyway. We both know he wanted my job, but he could have wreaked much worse damage on me by tampering with the potion. He kept me healthy. I must be grateful."

"Maybe he didn't dare mess with the potion with Dumbledore watching him!" said Harry.

"You are determined to hate him, Harry," said Lupin with a faint smile. "And I understand; with James as your father, with Sirius as your godfather, you have inherited an old prejudice. By all means tell Dumbledore what you have told Arthur and me, but do not expect him to share your view of the matter; do not even expect him to be surprised by what you tell him. It might have been on Dumbledore's orders that Severus questioned Draco."

Celestina ended her song on a very long, high-pitched note and loud applause issued out of the wireless, which Mrs. Weasley joined in with enthusiastically.

"Eez eet over?" said Fleur loudly. "Thank goodness, what an 'orrible --"

"Shall we have a nightcap, then?" asked Arthur loudly, leaping to his feet. "Who wants eggnog?"

"What about you, Sirius?" Harry asked.

Sirius considered this for a whole minute. "I trust Dumbledore's judgment," he said finally. "That's the only thing we can do right now. Any other time you tell me this, I would've told you to stay away from Severus- but..."

"But?" I asked.

"He'd already been through Harry's classes by himself," Sirius said. "He could've killed Harry as easily as an ant stepping on a boot."

I nodded. "Fair point."

Harry paused for a moment, taking deep breaths in. "What have you been up to lately?" he asked Lupin, as Arthur bustled off to fetch the eggnog, and everybody else stretched and broke into conversation.

"Oh, I've been underground," said Lupin. "Almost literally. That's why I haven't been able to write, Harry; sending letters to you would have been something of a give-away."