Chapter 10: The Ambush

Bree was walking arm in arm with Remus, ‘window shopping.’ They were in Diagon Alley and the attack was to take place in about ten minutes. She glanced across the street and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione pointing and pretending to be intrigued by something they saw in a shop window. Bree gritted her teeth. She hated playing the waiting game. She would rather be the one making the surprise attack, not the one waiting to be descended upon. She frowned. It would only be a matter of time before chaos would reign.

She looked up toward Gringotts. Mad Eye Moody was leaning against one of the bank’s walls. A couple of other Order members milled about aimlessly. Dumbledore had not yet arrived. He was waiting for the battle to begin. Having him hanging around Diagon Alley would be too much of a distraction.

Suddenly, there were numerous popping sounds. The Death Eaters appeared en masse. Bree raised her wand and sent a hex at the nearest one. Oh, they were good, these Death Eaters. Within seconds of apparating they had all sent hexes towards the people surrounding them. Luckily for the Order members, the Death Eaters were not expecting to find them there, so no one was directly targeting them yet. Those who had a curse coming towards them easily shielded themselves and prepared to attack.

The battle began in earnest. Remus and Bree fought side by side, shielding blows and sending their own spells, trying to disarm and defeat the hoard of evil that had descended upon Diagon Alley. Bystanders everywhere were rushing for cover, ducking into buildings and shielding themselves from possible injury or death.

Bree spotted Molly Weasley being attacked by three Death Eaters at once and raced to give her aid. Between the two of them, the three Death Eaters were soon sprawled on the ground, bloodied and unconscious. Molly nodded her thanks to Bree and they set off in opposite directions to fight again.

Bree searched the crowded street. There were so many of them, she didn’t know which Death Eater to choose to fight first. She sent a spell at the nearest one and raced along, hoping to get a glimpse of Severus. There he was. His mask had been ‘knocked off’ somehow. He was battling with Ron Weasley. Every once in a while one of Severus shots would go ‘wild’ and hit a fellow Death Eater, who would crumple to the ground. Bree couldn’t help but smile at Severus’ duplicity.

Suddenly Bree was face to face with a screaming Death Eater. She shielded herself from his onslaught and shot at him. He evaded her shot and sent a Cruciatus curse at her, which she was barely able to dodge. Now she was angry.

She raised her wand and cried “Incarcerous!” The Death Eater was encased in ropes. He fell to the ground, struggling to break free. She smiled as she went on her way, shooting spells as she tried to draw near Severus and Ron.

She disabled four more Death Eaters before she came close to them. She turned her back to Severus and began to fight with another Death Eater. She was just felling him when she noticed another Death Eater approaching Severus. The villain neared, with wand extended.

“Traitor!” came the voice behind the mask.

It was a woman’s voice. The woman ripped the mask off to reveal a wild expression on her face, her black hair flowing behind her in the breeze. Bree’s eyes grew wide as she realized that Severus’ position had been compromised. She must have observed him cut down one of her compatriots. Severus hadn’t even noticed the woman approach; he was too busy deflecting Ron’s attacks.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion. She saw the woman mouth the words Sectumsempra and saw a flash of light coming from the tip of the woman’s wand. Without thinking she lunged in front of Severus, pointed her wand at the woman, and shouted Avada Kedavra, killing the wild looking witch even before the Sectumsempra had reached her own body. When it did, she screamed in agony as her torso was slashed multiple times over. She dropped to the ground, already unconscious.

By this time, Severus had turned to defend himself, only to see Brianna fly in front of him and take the curse meant for him. He saw Bellatrix Lestrange crumple to the ground in death and, ignoring her, dropped to Brianna’s side. He turned her over and saw the slashes in her robes. He pushed them aside to reveal deep gashes along her abdomen. He grimaced at the ugly wounds.

He traced his wand over them, muttering the incantation that would mend them in a sing-song voice. After three repetitions, he seemed satisfied with his work. Bree was still unconscious. He scooped her up and turned to Ron, who had been nervously looking on, making sure that no stray hexes hit either Severus or Bree. Luckily, by this time, most of the fighting was over.

“I am taking her to St. Mungo’s. Inform Dumbledore,” he said before twisting and apparating away.

He knew that the apparition could reopen her wounds, so after rushing into the hospital with her, he placed her on the floor and performed the incantation once more. Picking her up again he raced to the Emergency Area and brought her to one of the mediwizards. The man quickly took charge of the situation, motioning for Severus to place her on a bed. He called over others to help them and Severus lost sight of her as she was surrounded by Healers trying to asses her condition and help her.

Severus found a chair and threw himself into it. He pulled his fingers through his hair and then rested his head in his hand. Why had she done that? She had almost died. She still could die. What would cause her to throw herself in front of that hex just to save him? If she died… he couldn’t think of it. He couldn’t relive what he had lived when Lily had been killed. He couldn’t live with another death because of him. He realized he was close to tears and fought to hold them in.

He looked over at the Healers working. One of them broke herself away from the group and came over to Severus.

“She’ll be okay. Whatever you did seemed to heal her up well even before she got here. We finished the healing and applied some Dittany. There probably won’t be any scarring. We gave her a sleeping draught to help her rest. They’re moving her to the third floor. You can wait with her there. She’ll be asleep for a while.”

Severus nodded his thanks and accompanied the Healers as they moved Bree to a private room on the third floor. He was just pulling a chair up to the bed and sitting down when the door burst open and Remus came crashing in.

“Dear Merlin, what happened? Is she alright?”

Severus glared at him. “She will be. They gave her a sleeping draught to help with the healing. She will make a full recovery.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with her, what happened?”

“Bellatrix Lestrange sent a Sectumsempra spell at me. She jumped in front of it.”

Rage filled Remus’ face. He grabbed hold of Severus’ robes and pulled him out of his seat.

“How could you be so irresponsible!” he shouted at Severus. “She could have been killed!”

“If you had kept an eye on her, she wouldn’t have been anywhere near that spell!” Severus roared at him.

“I was fighting Death Eaters, not play fighting with Ron!”

Severus got a murderous look in his face. He stepped so close to Remus that their noses were almost touching. Grabbing Remus’ robes, he started to yell louder.

“How dare you accuse me of hiding behind Weasley when there was actual fighting to be done! I downed ten men while ‘play’ fighting with him, you mangy cur!”

“Well, why couldn’t you have killed Lestrange before she almost killed Bree?” Remus shouted back.

“Not that I owe you an explanation,” Severus sneered furiously, “but my back was turned, and I was unaware of Lestrange’s attack until it was too late. Do you really think I would let Brianna take a hex meant for me? What kind of a man do you think I am?”

Remus relaxed. He looked Severus in the eyes and tried to back off. Severus, however, would not let go of the robes that he had grasped in frustration.

“I’m sorry, Severus. I shouldn’t have said those things. Of course you wouldn’t let Bree be hurt. I’m just upset. That’s no reason to take it out on you, though.”

Severus released Remus’ robes with a quick push of his hands. He turned away from him and dropped into the seat he had set by Brianna’s bed. Remus looked at the floor for a while. Finally he looked back up and over to Bree.

“You’re sure she’ll be alright, then?” he asked Severus in a soft voice.

Severus stared at Brianna and told him again that she would recover fully. Remus nodded and turned away, walking out of the room. Severus stared after him curiously. He knew they had just had a major blowout, but he didn’t expect Remus to just walk out with his girlfriend unconscious and barely alive. He didn’t have much time to mull it over, because once again the door opened. This time Dumbledore walked through. He rushed to the foot of the bed and looked at Bree with concern.

“How was she hurt?” he asked Severus.

Severus explained again what had happened. Perhaps he should write it out and post it on the door so as not to have to repeat it over and over again for every pop-in-jay that came in to see how Brianna was faring.

A look of anger crossed Dumbledore’s face, but was quickly replaced by the concern that had been on it previously.

“You say she’ll fully recover?” he asked Severus.

Severus gave him a quick nod.

“Are you going to stay with her?” Dumbledore asked quickly.

“Yes. She stayed with me when I was suffering from the Cruciatus. I owe her.”

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled, but he only nodded at Severus. He quietly left the room. Severus ignored his meddlesome friend’s twinkling and reached out to hold Brianna’s hand. He whispered to her that she would be alright and sat back to wait for her to awaken.

oooOOOooo

After several hours, he thought he saw her stir slightly. Yes, there it was again. She was finally waking up. He removed his hand from hers and waited.

Bree almost immediately brought the same hand up and rubbed her eyes. She finally opened them and looked around. The sterile environment of the hospital room came into view. She was accosted with white from every angle. Looking over at Severus, she was puzzled to see him sitting in a chair, looking at her expectantly.

“What happened?” she asked him.

He knit his eyebrows together. “Do you remember anything?”

“I don’t think I would be asking you if I remembered, Severus,” she explained.

“You took a spell meant for me,” he told her.

Suddenly it all came crashing back to her. Her eyes grew wide.

“That woman, did I kill her?”

He nodded at her, and she closed her eyes in relief.

“You were foolishly brave to jump in front of her spell. I owe you a life debt,” Severus said matter-of-factly, even though there was nothing matter-of-fact about it. He was deeply grateful for her actions.

“I was just helping a friend,” she told him.

Severus could hold his anxiety in no longer.

“You could have been killed, Brianna. I am the only one who knows how to fully heal that spell. You could have bled to death in a matter of minutes had I not been right beside you.”

Bree rubbed her forehead again. “I assure you, Severus, if you hadn’t been right beside me, I probably wouldn’t be lying in this hospital bed right now, you probably would. Or you would be dead if you’re the only one who knows how to counteract that spell.”

Severus choked up. He fought to not let his emotional state show through his well developed mask of indifference. “I am not used to people rescuing me, Brianna. I would have preferred to take the spell myself.”

“Oh, sod off, Severus.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Bree sat up in the bed and looked directly into Severus’ eyes.

“I said sod off. I did what I had to do, okay? If you can’t accept it then fine, there’s the door.” She pointed the door out for him, in case he had missed it.

Severus looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

“Look,” she continued. “I don’t need all of this macho stuff from you, alright? I knew I could have been killed by throwing myself in front of you. It was a risk I was willing to take to save your life. I know if you had been aware of her, you would have had no problem defending yourself. She attacked you when your back was turned. Who was that hyena anyway?”

“That was Bellatrix Lestrange,” he told her quietly.

“Ah, the one who was in Azkaban forever? That explains a bit.”

“We are all better off to be rid of her.”

Bree nodded. Severus sat back in his chair and regarded her for a moment.

“Thank you, Brianna.”

Bree looked over and smiled at him.

“You’re welcome, Severus.”

Severus bowed his head down and let his hair fall in front of his face. He did not want Brianna to see the blush that he knew had crept over him. He was greatly touched and overwhelmed by her act.

“Hey, are you in there?” Brianna called to him. “Stop hiding, and look at me.”

Severus snapped his head back up and glared at her.

Bree stifled a grin. “That’s better. Now why did you go into hiding? Did I say something that upset you?”

Severus eyed her for a moment before answering. “I am just a bit embarrassed that I seem to be in your debt on almost a weekly basis. Why did you do this?”

Bree blew a stray hair away that had fallen into her face and looked straight into Severus’ eyes. “Because I care about you, Severus.”

Severus averted his eyes. “Nobody cares for me,” he mumbled under his breath.

“I beg your pardon?”

Severus looked away, letting his hair fall in front of his face again. “Nothing, Brianna.”

“How can you say that no one cares for you?” Bree asked in shock.

Severus looked back up at Bree with a hard look. “Because it’s true.”

“No, it’s not!” she cried.

“Brianna, I think I would know whether people considered me worth caring about or not.”

“Severus, where is this coming from?”

“It’s reality, Brianna. No one likes me. I am just their means to an end. I’m expendable. I’m the evil one who can’t be trusted, even though I’m on their side.”

“Surely people don’t think…”

Severus slammed his hand on the arm of the chair where he sat. “That’s exactly what they think. And they are right! I am not worth being trusted because I have done too many horrid things in my past to be trusted.”

Bree looked down into her lap. “I don’t feel that way about you at all.”

“Did you receive brain damage as a child? Were you dropped on your head repeatedly as a baby?” Severus said sarcastically.

Bree’s head shot up, and she glared at Severus. “Now look here, I do not need you insulting me when I’m trying to tell you how wonderful you are, do you understand me, Severus Snape?”

Severus’ mouth dropped open, and his eyebrows became one.

“I don’t care what anybody else thinks about you,” Bree continued. “If they can’t see you for who you really are, then they are not worth the time of day.”

“And who, precisely, am I?” Severus asked caustically. “I am nothing but an evil Death Eater who is up to no good.”

“Hogwash!” Bree said in irritation. “You’re no more a Death Eater than I am a ballerina!”

Severus furiously pushed the sleeve covering his Dark Mark up and displayed it for Bree. “And I suppose this is just a simple Muggle tattoo?” he sneered.

“Come here, and let me see that,” Bree demanded.

That had been unexpected. Severus, taken aback, obediently rose and sat on the edge of the bed so Brianna could get a closer look at his Mark.

She picked up his wrist with one hand, and with the other, she smoothed her fingers over the Mark. Severus flinched as she did it. Her touch was almost a caress. No one had ever thought to treat the symbol of such evil with such reverence. She continued her caressing for a moment more before looking back up at Severus.

“Do you know what I see in this Mark?” she asked him softly.

Severus was afraid to ask. He could only arch an eyebrow at her.

“I see the courage of a man who is willing to risk everything to make his life right again. I see the determination of a man who is unwilling to let evil prevail in this world. I see a symbol of evil turned into a symbol of hope. ” Bree ran her fingers over the Mark once more as tears formed in her eyes. “I see… a good man blinded by past mistakes, unable to see the good within himself.” Bree bent over and placed a light kiss on his arm where the Mark was.

Severus yanked his arm away from her and held it up so she could no longer see his Dark Mark. He quickly covered his arm with his sleeve and lowered it, placing his hand on his leg.

“You see more than that which is there,” he finally murmured.

Bree put her hand on his arm supportively. “And you don’t see enough of what is there.”

“Brianna…”

“Severus, I don’t know why you feel the way you do. I have only known you for a short while. But I want to tell you, you are not as horrible as you think you are, and you do have friends.” She grasped his hand. “I’m one of them. I threw myself in front of that hex because a world without you in it would be empty and lifeless.”

Severus scoffed.

“Do not make fun of me. I am trying to be serious,” Bree berated him. “I care about you a great deal. You should not feel so alone, Severus. You are surrounded by people who care for you.”

“I am just tolerated.” He had lowered his head again; trying to get away from Brianna’s piercing eyes.

She wouldn’t let him. She bent over so she could look into them. “Minerva McGonagall seems to like you very much.”

Another scoff.

“Do you know what she told me last week?” Bree asked him.

Severus shook his head.

“She said that she admired you for the way you could go repeatedly to Voldemort and never let him know your true motives. She said she had known you since you were a young boy and had always thought you would be a powerful wizard. She’s quite fond of you, Severus.”

“She should not waste her time on me.”

“Why is that?” Bree asked, puzzled by his comment.

Severus’ head snapped up once again. “Because I am a spy. I cannot be trusted!”

Bree squeezed his hand. “I trust you, Severus.”

“Why?”

“Because you are the most loyal man I have ever met,” she answered.

Severus couldn’t say anything more. He was amazed at the conversation that they had just had. He had not thought that anyone could think of him as more than a smudge on society. But Brianna saw him differently. He was about to thank her for her trust when the door swung open, and in came Remus. He looked grateful that she was finally awake.

“Bree, I’m glad you’re alright! When everything settled down, I couldn’t find you. Ron finally told me that you were hurt, and I rushed over as soon as I could. Severus filled me in. I wish you wouldn’t jump into dangerous situations like that.”

He had sat on the empty side of the bed and was hugging her while he spoke. He finally pulled away and stroked her face.

“I’m glad I didn’t lose you,” he whispered to her.

She smiled back at him. “Oh, you can’t get rid of me, Remus. I’m tough as nails.”

Severus took that moment to leave the room, letting the door slam behind him.

“What’s with him?” Remus asked.

“I don’t have the slightest idea.” Bree replied. Then, looking quizzically at Remus she continued. “If you rushed right over here, why haven’t you been here all this time?”

Remus looked nervous. He pulled his hand away from Bree’s face and looked down at his knees.

“You weren’t the only one injured, Bree.”

Bree’s eyes grew wide. “Was anyone killed?” she asked anxiously.

Remus shook his head no. “There were a few injuries though. Minerva got pretty banged up. She’ll be fine. Tonks, however, almost died too. She got hit by multiple Cruciatus curses. For a while there, they thought it had driven her insane, but she seems to be coming back to herself now, although it will take a few days for her to be fully recovered and normal.”

“Oh, Remus, no! I’m so sorry.”

She pulled Remus into a hug.

“At least she will recover. How awful it would have been if she had been killed or turned into a mindless drone.”

Remus began to shake. Bree pulled away and studied him carefully.

“Remus, are you alright?”

Remus looked up into her eyes. He placed a hand on her neck as he regained some level of composure. “There’s something I need to tell you, Bree. It’s about that thing I was struggling with a while back. Do you remember that?”

“Of course I do, Remus. I’m glad you’ve finally come to some decision.”

“Oh, you probably won’t be when you hear what it’s about.” He flashed her one of his handsomely shy grins.

“Go on; get it out, my dear.”

“Bree, I know I told you I love you, and I do. I just...” he looked down, and she put a comforting hand on his arm. “It’s just that, I don’t love you the way you need me to love you.”

Bree tilted her head and looked at him. “And how is that, Remus?”

“Bree, I’ve come to understand that I only love you as a friend. I…” he said as he grimaced, “have fallen in love with Nymphadora.”

Bree’s face lit up in a smile, and she gave him a great bear hug.

“Oh, Remus! I’m so happy for you! You and Tonks are perfect for each other!”

Remus pulled himself away from her and looked at her oddly. “This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting from you.”

“Remus, I came to the same conclusion about loving you. I’m sorry, you are completely wonderful, but, there’s just something not there for me. I was actually feeling very guilty for appearing to string you along. When I noticed you holed up with Tonks every meeting night, I hoped that you would realize that you both belonged together instead of you and me.”

Remus grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

“Oh, Bree, I’m glad that we both came to the same conclusion. I have been agonizing much the same thing about stringing you along.”

They hugged each other again.

“Was it seeing her so close to death that convinced you that you loved her?” she asked.

“Yes. Having you both at death’s door was quite revealing to me. Not that I wasn’t concerned for you, Bree. I do love you. It’s just that I love her more.”

Bree smiled happily at him.

“You’ll be sure to tell Tonks that I have no hard feelings, won’t you?”

“Yes, I will. But now you have to tell me about Severus.”

Bree looked at Remus in disgust.

“Am I that obvious?” she asked, startled that he had noticed.

“Just to me. I wondered what was going on when you stayed with him that night after his Death Eater meeting. You seem to spend a lot of your free time with him after meetings too.”

Bree looked embarrassed. “It’s just foolishness, Remus. He only sees me as a friend. I do care about him a lot, though.”

“I think he cares for you just as much, Bree.”

She looked at him oddly. “Why do you say that?”

“He almost killed me earlier when I accused him of not looking out for your welfare.”

Bree’s mouth dropped open.

“That really doesn’t mean anything, Remus. Besides, I’m not sure I’m ready for another relationship. I mean, you just broke my heart and all.” Bree held her hand up to her forehead and looked up, trying to look dejected.

Remus closed the gap between them, pulled her hand away from her forehead, and put his face right up to hers.

“The only reason you’re not heartbroken is that your heart already belongs to him.”

“Umm...” She looked nervously at Remus. “...you may be right?” she acquiesced. Her eyebrows arched at her revelation.

“Of course I am. Bree, you deserve to be happy. Don’t hide your feelings for Severus. He cares for you, I can tell. He just needs a push now and then.”

Remus withdrew from his close proximity to Bree’s face. He held her hand in his. Just then the door opened, and Severus walked back in. He had given them enough time alone, he wanted to make sure Brianna was alright.

“I should go,” Remus told Bree.

She smiled at him and told him to go ahead.

“Now, don’t forget what I told you about someone needing a push,” Remus told Bree as he patted her on the shoulder.

Bree looked nervously between Remus and Severus. “I won’t, I guess. I’m usually not the pushy type, though.”

Remus grinned at her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will,” Bree told him as she watched him turn toward Severus.

“She’s all yours!” he told Severus as he left with a wave to Bree.

Bree turned three shades of pink. Severus didn’t notice because he was too busy scowling at Remus. Turning back to Bree, he walked over and sat back on the bed and looked at her quizzically.

“Why did Remus leave so soon?” he asked curiously.

“He went to go check up on Tonks. She was hurt badly.”

“So I heard. She’s lucky to have not gone insane,” Severus mused. “But that doesn’t explain why he’s not by your side. You were hurt badly too.”

Bree regarded Severus for a moment. “He just came by to see how I was and to break up with me,” she told him finally.

“I beg your pardon?” Severus asked incredulously.

Bree grinned at him. “It seems that our relationship was a bit less than we had hoped for, Severus. We both agreed that we only care for one another deeply as friends.”

“Brianna, what happened? I thought you two were in love.”

She furrowed her brow. “No, we weren’t. It took us a little while to figure that out, though. Actually, Tonks and my getting hurt finally convinced Remus that he was in love with her and not me.”

“Brianna, I’m sorry,” Severus said comfortingly.

Bree chuckled. “Don’t be. I realized it far earlier than he did. At least, I was able to admit it to myself earlier than he was.”

“But aren’t you upset with him? He just dumped you for another woman.”

“No, Severus, I saw this coming weeks ago. I’m excited for them.” She gave Severus an intent stare. “That probably doesn’t make any sense, does it?” she asked him.

Severus looked at Bree as if she had lost her mind. He put his head into his hands, unable to look at her. She was being so indifferent. How could she not be upset? It was as if she had been hoping Lupin would fall for Tonks. Why would she want him to do that?

A spark of excitement filled him. Could it be that she did have feelings for him and was hoping to be rid of the wolf so she could be with him? Severus dismissed that quickly. That scenario was too good to be true. But why, then, was she not a heap of tears and depression?

She’s all yours. What had Lupin meant by that? All his? How could that ever be? He put his hands down and hazarded a glance back at Brianna. She was eyeing him curiously.

“Why have you gone and hidden yourself again, Severus? Are you upset about this? I thought you would be happy about it. You don’t like Remus very much.”

He looked down. “Actually, I’m ecstatic.”

“You have an odd way of showing it, then,” Bree said.

He looked into her eyes. He needed to know if her breakup had anything to do with him. But how could he be so presumptuous? She cared nothing for him in that way.

“Why didn’t you love him? Isn’t he like, everyone’s dream date?” he asked finally.

She smiled broadly at him. “I suppose he is; he’s practically perfect in every way.”

She saw the confusion on Severus’ face and continued.

“I guess I just don’t like perfect,” she sighed.

Severus’ stomach was doing flip flops.

“So, what do you like?” he asked tentatively.

Should she tell him the truth? She really had nothing to lose. Remus had advised her to be bold.

“I like you,” she replied cautiously.

Severus knew he had heard her incorrectly.

“I mean, what would you like in your own dream date?” he reiterated.

“I would like you,” she said, looking down, “for a dream date.”

Severus reached out and softly pulled her to look at him.

“You would?” he asked in shock.

“Of course I would. I have since the first time I laid eyes on you, don’t you remember?”

“I remember some lusting over my good looks. There was nothing about a dream date.”

She smiled at him. “They are one in the same, silly.”

He was inching closer to her as he spoke.

“I thought it was just an observation. You surely made it sound like that was all it was.”

“You may not know this about me, Severus, but I’m an excellent liar,” she said breathily as Severus continued to come nearer.

“For shame, keeping such a dirty little secret to yourself,” he teased as his lips descended on hers.

Bree knew it was coming, but she gasped anyway. His soft kiss sent wave after wave of butterflies through her body. She turned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck, running her hand through his hair. She couldn’t get enough of his soft hair that smelled like Aspen. He couldn’t get enough of her soft lips that felt like heaven. Finally he reluctantly pulled away from her. He rested his forehead on hers as they caught their breath.

“I’ll have to come up with a nice place for our dream date,” he said to her.

“You mean this wasn’t it?” she joked.

He pulled back and smiled at her, his eyes expressing his affection for her. She took her finger and traced his lips.

“You know, you’re even more handsome when you smile. You should do it more often,” she told him.

“I just may, now that I have a reason to.”

She pulled him back to her and kissed him soundly. She would have to tell him what a great kisser he was when they came up for air.

---

A/N: Next up: Bree makes a change.

Thanks to my beta, Lilith Kayden, for being awesome. You are all hopefully quite happy now with your two-fer. I got rid of Remus and got Bree and Severus together all in one shot. Please show your pleasure by leaving a review.