Wild Amenity » Remus Lupin

5. Between a ghost and a hard place

Thursday, 29th January 1976. 13 days after the full moon.

Apparently, Sergei had been truthful about his words, and was making sure the whole snogging situation remained on the underground. He had been taking care of Snape's homework quite well (aside from the illegal part of the deal, that is), barely giving Judson any papers to complete on his own. And to be honest, Judson was grateful for it.

Despite all, it had been a hard month, in general. There wasn't a day in which Severus Snape crossed paths with Judson and didn't crash their shoulders as he passed. No one else said a thing, but Judson considered it as mere luck. If the looks Snape gave him from across the classroom weren't enough to raise suspicion, him doing his homework in the middle of the Great Hall would.

"You'll need to work harder for your little secret to be safe, do you hear me?" Snape had muttered to him as they crossed paths a few weeks ago.

Should've asked Sergei to punch you in the mouth back in December instead of an essay to complete, he had thought, not acknowledging he was also worrying about him at least once a day.

In a different situation, he'd be proud of himself for having had some undercover action. He didn't have it as easy as Sirius Black did. Judson simply couldn't just pick a random guy and push him into a broom closet for a heated, passionate snogging session—not that he'd ever do it in there, where brooms and cleaning supplies were left carelessly, waiting for their next use. Judson had standards, and the greenhouses covered most of them.

He couldn't deny it had been a nice kiss. It was probably the best one he'd had at the moment, but Judson would have definitely enjoyed it a lot more if the circumstances had been different. They should've increased the precautions, maybe hide inside, behind some exotic plant, or check if they were actually alone. Next time, he wouldn't make the same mistakes.

No. There's no next time.

The tip of his quill almost broke as he scratched violently over the parchment of Snape's Charms essay draft. The amount of unnecessary errors he'd corrected made his blood boil, mostly because he knew Snape wasn't stupid and those silly slips would never even cross his mind. Judson was so focused on releasing all his anger on the last dot of the paragraph, he didn't realise Maverick had sat in front of him.

"Why are you doing Snape's homework?" he asked as he grabbed a toast from the plate that materialised on the table. Judson stashed his quill fiercely on his bag, not lifting his gaze.

"He wanted a correction."

"From you?"

"Yes, from me," he said, sternly. Judson rolled the parchment over the table and pushed his seat away.

"Since when do you talk?" Maverick asked, but Judson had already hung his bag on his shoulder and was leaving the Great Hall.

It wasn't hard to look for the person he wanted to see, because Sergei was waiting for him outside, tapping his feet on the floor. Judson walked to him tiredly and extended the essay to him, wishing to rid his mind from Severus Snape for the day.

"Here, I've already corrected this and—"

"I'm not giving him anything anymore."

Judson froze, leaving the parchment hanging from his fingers. "What do you mean?"

"Snape. I'm done giving him my stuff."

"Sergei, are you out of your mind?" He sensed his tone stink of petulance. "Are you alright? Do you have a fever?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Sergei grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side. He was fuming. "I spent a ton of money on those drugs for him to come and demand them for free. And I can't stand him just sitting there while I finish the essays he knows how to do perfectly by himself."