Title: Dressing the Part
Author: Sharon
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: PG
Spoilers: yes
Disclaimer: NA
Summary: NA
Notes: This was written for the Sneezefic Halloween-themed challenge bunny #2: write a story using the words/phrases ‘werewolf', ‘freezing', ‘full moon', ‘I'm scared', and ‘is that you?'
Feedback: Please send some

Dressing the Part

It would be astronomically and statistically impossible for the full moon to always fall on Halloween. And yet Professor Remus Lupin was fairly certain that he had spent virtually all of the Halloweens since his birth foaming at the mouth and howling at said moon. Try as he might, he couldn't recall a single happy Halloween, or more than a few years when he'd been able to enjoy the Halloween feast. Even his first year teaching at Hogwarts had contained the horrible specter of what he had thought was Sirius's renewed betrayal. Some of them, like the Halloween of 1981, or last year's, right before the final defeat of Voldemort and the battle of Hogwarts, had been truly terrible. This year, however, was going to be different. This year the full moon fell two nights before Halloween, and Lupin was determined to have a good time, attend the feast, and then the faculty costume party afterwards. He couldn't even remember having a costume, although he had a faint recollection of Sirius turning him black and orange in the late autumn one year.

The faculty (and invited guest) costume party was always the highlight of Halloween, occurring once the students were properly off in bed. Faculty and their guests competed for best costume, many of which were truly spectacular. The food and alcohol were first rate, and there was always the pleasurable drama of flirtation, conquest or conflict. This year's bash promised to be truly spectacular, as most of the members of the Order were invited, and we were all celebrating the first year without the specter of Voldemort. Old students and friends would be returning to Hogwarts for the party. Everyone, costumed and illusioned, would be mysterious, and there would be the fun of dancing with strangers who might be your best friend or worst enemy. Remus was thoroughly looking forward to it.

But what to wear? Remus subscribed to the theory that Halloween was when you let others see you as you dreamed of being, or in ways you'd never act in real life. What was an appropriate costume? No hideous monsters for him - he had quite enough. But what? Magic made nearly any illusion possible. He could go as a dragon (too close to the "monster") or a unicorn (best to skip the virginal connotations), a dementor (ugh, no) or a water nymph (ummm... he didn't think he could manage the...well...voluptuous bits). No, something more creative.

There was always a famous character. With a few spells, he could be the spitting image of Merlin or Gandalf or Shakespeare or some other famed wizard. Or Albus Dumbledore, for that matter, since for some reason Albus always attended the party in the costume of a giant pink rabbit, demanding that people call him Harvey. It was a joke that no one seemed to get, but everyone was too polite to say anything. Looking like a rabbit didn't interest him, though. But then again, there was the one faculty member who never dressed up, whose only costuming was his own slight natural resemblance to a large black crow in his robes... Hmmm. A bit of polyjuice potion, and Remus Lupin, the world's gentlest werewolf, unfailingly kind and supportive to his students, could walk the hallways of Hogwarts dripping sarcasm and taking away house points, and becoming the world's nastiest potions master. Not to mention that he still owed Snape one for telling everyone that he was a werewolf all those years ago. Perhaps there were even ways he could enhance the image. Not to mention the prank possibilities. Remus Lupin smiled, feeling suddenly energized. He so rarely allowed himself to play the Marauder anymore.

For a week he watched Severus Snape as covertly as possible, observing his mannerisms and voice more carefully than he ever had before. Several times Snape caught him watching, but Remus just gave him what he hoped was a pleasant grin and looked away. He practiced the voice-changing charm at night until he had Snape's tones down exactly. He had never been good at potions, and made several mistakes before he managed to get the nauseating polyjuice mixture correct, but finally he needed, on the night before the full moon, only the final ingredient, some bit of Snape to make the potion work.

That, of course, would be the hardest part. It had been quite a few years since he and Snape had gotten close enough to touch. He'd been checking the backs of the chairs Snape sat on all week, but his hair seemed lacquered on, and not a single one was left behind. He supposed he could break into the infirmary and steal one of the samples of blood that all the faculty members left on file with Madame Pomfrey, but that would almost certainly be noticed, and for a Hogwarts faculty member and werewolf to be caught stealing the blood of another... it probably wouldn't look good on his end of term evaluations.

Finally, Remus came up with a plan. It wasn't a very subtle plan. He suspected that as he'd aged, his planning skills had faded a bit. Had James and Sirius been involved, there probably would have been a daring leap from a great height, bits of obscure magic, accidental self-transfiguration and considerable drama. But at 40, he was a bit old for leaping and not much inclined to accidentally turn his feet into muskrats (as James had done once), and well, the taste for drama was fading a bit too. Now, the most likely plan he could think of was to go visit the man in the dungeon, have a drink with him, and then nick a robe or a pillow or something. If absolute worst came to worst, Remus could pretend to be a bit drunk and trip and fall on the Potions Master, snagging a hair or two as Snape pushed him off. It was, he thought, the sort of plan his friends would have abused him mercilessly for. They, however, were not here, and he was damned if he was going to do all the screaming and leaping himself.

That was how he found himself heading down the corridor on the night before the full moon carrying a bottle of firewhisky, two glasses and a book that was his pretence for visiting Snape's chambers. Severus hadn't come to dinner that night, or for that matter breakfast that morning, so he suspected the other man was deeply immersed in a potion. Snape would probably be grouchy at being disturbed, but then again, he was always grouchy. Remus drew up to his fellow teacher's door, and knocked firmly. He waited, but there was no response. He knocked again, and a third time. He was just about to try and spell the door open, when the door swung open and he raised his eyes to a Severus Snape who looked even crankier than he'd expected.

Snape's eyes were bloodshot, and his nose was red. He seemed to be trying to look menacing, but was succeeding only in appearing exhausted. What was clearly an attempt at a bark, came out as a grating whisper, "Well, Lupin..." There was a hesitation, and then Snape turned aside and sneezed, "Hrrrrrsshhhh!"

"Severus, are you quite all right?"

Snape glared at him. "No, Lupin, I am not all right!" He exclaimed hoarsely. "One of your loathsome Gryffindors, that Creevy boy whose incompetence at potions rivals even the legendary Longbottom's, coughed all over me during class the day before yesterday, and I have now contracted some hideous disease from him. What on earth are you doing here? Come to add insult to injury?"

Mentally crossing his fingers, Remus shook his head and said pleasantly, "I wanted to return your copy of "Dissecting the Hinkypunk" and I thought I'd thank you for loaning it to me. I'm sorry to find you ill. Can I help at all? I could get some pepper-up from Madame Pomfrey."

"Who do you think makes the school store of pepper-up, Lupin?" Snape's usually intimidating sarcasm was somewhat undermined by a spasm of coughing. "The students have used it up, and the school stores are out of several relevant ingredients. When I find the house-elf who allowed this, I will use his useless ears for a scrub-brush. We've sent for a commercial version, but it will not be as effective as my own, which will take several weeks to mature. Now if you could give me my book, I have no interest in your libations.....Hrrrrrrshcchhhh! Nnnnnhh...Harrrrrchhhhhh!" He sneezed again into a handkerchief and glared at the werewolf."

"Well, is there something else you want, Lupin? You are far less interesting to me right now than my bed and my tea, so get on with it!"

Inwardly sighing at both the ramifications of his actions and the cold he was certainly going to contract, Remus Lupin smiled again, and did the only thing he could think of that would allow him to continue with his plan, a plan he was now internally regretting. Somewhere in his head, it did occur to him that a werewolf costume would be considerably easier. Still, he had committed himself. He leaned in, and to the other man's shock, kissed Severus Snape firmly on the lips. His hands rose up and stroked the gobsmacked man's hair, being sure to gently pull away a few loose strands. Snape was starting to sputter under his lips, so, with one more firm brush of pressure against him, Lupin stepped back. Snape stared at him.

"You looked cold, Severus. I thought a little warmth might help you feel better - we wouldn't want you freezing down here in the dungeons. Have a good night." And humming slightly, and with a smile that surprised even himself, Lupin headed down the corridor, barely able to hear the hoarse growl that followed him for quite a while down the dungeon corridors.

The next night was the full moon, and Lupin spent it as he always spent the full moon. The day after was devoted to recovering, so he did not leave his rooms. When he awoke on Halloween morning, Remus was entirely unsurprised to note that he had a slight sore throat, an unremitting tickle in his nose, and the faintest traces of a cough. He remained in bed for the rest of the day, sneezing and sniffling, telling himself it was because he was hoping to mitigate the effects of his developing cold and because he was still very tired from his transformation. He was certain that it had nothing at all to do with not wanting to look Snape in the eye until he had to.

As he dressed for the Halloween feast that evening, he considered himself in the mirror. He wore his best (but still rather threadbare) robe, and brushed his greying hair back away from his eyes. The slight redness of his nose didn't do much to enhance his appearance, he reflected, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Well, none of these details would show with the polyjuice potion anyhow. And at least the cold would make it easier to match Snape's hoarseness.

As he descended to the feast, he considered (as he had several times in the past two days, from a purely academic perspective, of course), The Kiss (as he'd begun to think of it.) It hadn't been unpleasant, despite Snape's ailment. He had tasted of peppermint and smelled of rosemary and lemon. It had indeed been warm, a kind of warmth that Remus hadn't felt in quite a while. Of course, he'd only done it because he'd been given no choice. If the annoying man had let him in, he would have gotten away with merely a lost pillowcase. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and, Remus reflected, he had never been one to back away from danger, or even potentially miserable colds.

The Great Hall was decorated spectacularly with glittering bats and flaming pumpkins, and was filled with present and former students, all of whom had been united in the battle with Voldemort. Remus was filled with an aching pride to see Harry, tall and matured, talking quietly with Ginny and George Weasley. Ron and Hermione were here too, arms around each other, the ring on her finger glittering. As he entered the great Hall, he was pulled aside by Neville Longbottom, who was delighted to tell him everything about his new post with the ministry in the "Dangerous Plants and Restricted Substances" department.

It was a bittersweet occasion, of course, but the scars of what Voldemort had done to them were at least partially healed over. It was still difficult to see Padma Patil here without her twin, to again feel the permanent absence of Molly Weasley and Seamus Finnegan, but while never unaware of their losses, people were finally able to smile again. Remus had almost finally stopped starting when he saw Hermione Granger in Professor Vector's seat at the staff table, and his own physical and emotional scars had mostly stopped throbbing. It was the first time they'd all been together not for a funeral or memorial, a tribute or an award ceremony, but for pleasure, and while parts of his heart still ached, mostly, there was joy.

"So, Ron, when's the wedding?" he heard Dean Thomas ask.

Ron blushed at bit and muttered something to the effect of "....busy with auror training and her teaching, haven't chosen a date yet, soon, I hope."

Remus grinned broadly. He suspected, from the increasingly frustrated expression on Hermione's face, that a few more repetitions of that question and Ron would finally be pinned down, whether he liked it or not. He spotted Harry watching the same exchange, and headed over to greet him.

"How are you, Harry. How is auror training?"

Harry smiled at him, "Great, Remus. I'm learning a lot. I miss Hogwarts, though."

"I know exactly what you mean. That must be why I keep returning."

"I think I'll leave that to Hermione for a while, at least until Ginny graduates." Ah yes. Harry had been offered an apprentice position with Madame Hooch, but with his girlfriend on the team, hadn't thought it appropriate.

They chatted a bit further, until Hagrid interrupted and dragged Harry off to tell him about his latest triumph for the care of magical creature. Remus had heard the roaring of the manticores from the castle, and was just as grateful to head toward the staff table, lest he be enticed into arguing with Hagrid, who seemed to think that keeping manticores on the ground with children, a manticore's favorite meal, was just a brilliant idea.

As he sat down next to Snape, he tried to catch the other man's eye, but Snape's eyes were fixed on the Slytherin table. Remus wondered if he, too, was counting empty spots, and there were more at the Slytherin table than at any other. He was one of the few who knew how deeply Snape had mourned for all his students, on whichever side they fell. He had laid in the infirmary bed next to Snape after it was all over, listening to Severus's dry sobs as Dumbledore read through the list of the fallen. Remus almost reached over and put his hand on Snape's, but at the last moment, thought the better of it. Instead, he rubbed his nose, hoping to forestall the sneeze that was playing around the edge of his nostrils.

As Albus rose to give his mercifully brief and inevitably odd welcoming speech, Remus fumbled in his pocket, withdrew a handkerchief, and waiting, mouth slightly open, for the inevitable. "Haaaah....Krrrrrchhhh! Hnh...Unschoooo! Tschhhhhhhhh!"

Had he not had werewolf hearing, Remus would not have been able, over the wave of applause that signalled the end of Dumbledore's remarks, to hear the nearly silent whisper of "gesundeit" from his left hand side.

The students were finally dismissed from the feast and sent to their chambers, and the faculty and guests returned to their rooms to make their preparations. Remus gulped the revolting potion, with a silent hope that he hadn't screwed it up and turned his hair into snakes, as he had once at school. But almost immediately he felt the polyjuice transformation, and he grew taller, thinner, darker. His nose was still running, and it took several tries to get the voice changing spell correct, given how sore his throat was, but during dinner he'd heard enough coughs and sniffles from Severus to suspect that this wouldn't appreciably reduce the likeness.

He dressed carefully and for effect. It had taken some time in Diagon Alley to get the clothes exactly right, but when he looked in the mirror, he was deeply satisfied by what he saw. The undergarments had taken some time to arrange - they never told you how to achieve certain effects in the literature, did they? The long green gown. The fox-fur scarf with the head still attached, and of course, the tall hat with the stuffed vulture. He would, he suspected, enjoy his evening as Severus Snape in drag.

Imitating Snape's walk in the high heeled shoes was a bit of a challenge, but by the time he reached the Great Hall again, now emptied of students and set up for dancing, he was moving smoothly. As he entered, heads turned, and he could hear waves of laughter. He overheard the familiar voice of Fred Weasley shout, "Look Neville, your boggart!"

Remus stalked in, imitating Snape's icy glare, and hissed, "10 points from Gryffyndor Mr. Weasley." Fred grinned in delight at him.

Filius Flitwick, dressed as a giant and floating with his tiny head atop a huge body, snorted as Remus passed him, and muttered to Sophronia Sinistra, "I would never have suspected that Severus had enough of a sense of humor for that."

Remus stopped to admire some of the other costumes. Harry and Ron had transformed themselves into a pair of houselves, the huge ears disconcertingly perched alongside their familiar faces. Each wore a pair of mismatched socks on each foot and another pair perched on the tip of each ears. The muggle tshirts they wore were inscribed with the legend, "Liberated House-Elves Unite." Harry carried a sign that said, "Hell No, We Won't Sew (For Less Than 5 Knuts a Week)", and Ron menaced Lavender Brown with a pair of large forks, hands encased in oven mitts with rows of "SPEW" buttons on them. Remus suspected that the silver otter rolling its eyes eloquently nearby was Hermione Granger, and laughed.

That was certainly Hagrid, dressed as a Heffalump and escorting Madame Rosmerta, elegantly attired as Hecuba. He was not so certain who the stunning muggle movie actors were, but the woman's skirt kept hiking up above her waist as though an invisible breeze was driving it up. He eased himself closer, only to be greeted by the woman,

"Severus, I think this is the first time I've seen you in a costume?"

He bowed slightly. "Interesting outfit, Minerva. And the adventurer?"

"Can't you guess?" The cool, reassuring tones of Kingsley Shacklebolt came from under the brown felt hat and stubble.

Other images flashed past him. Dragons, Unicorns, Will O the Wisps. Professor Sinistra as a sphinx. Fred and George Weasley in drag. Neville Longbottom as a Quidditch star. He was grateful for his costume as Sybill Trelawney passed him, dressed as her famous seer ancestor. The last two times they'd attended parties together, she'd gotten drunk and made a very public pass at him. He stalked around the ballroom, alternately threatening, sneezing and glaring, and thoroughly enjoying the freedom to be nasty, even in jest. Even his eternally itching nose couldn't ruin his pleasure.

He nearly bumped into Albus, in fine pink rabbit form, who had just finished dancing with a blushing Emmaline Vance. Albus looked at him over the top of his glasses, clearly seeing right through the costume. Remus blushed a little himself. Dumbledore was more than a little protective of Snape, and Remus waited for a reproach.

"My dear boy, you look lovely. Green is entirely your color. You really must dance, though." All this was said with a fatherly smile and a twinkling look over his glasses.

"Dance?" Remus answered just before Dumbledore sailed past him, "My feet are killing me. I'll never know how Mrs. Longbottom manages it." He sneezed twice, "Hasssssshhhhhchh! Eh...Ehh....Tshhhhhhhhhaahhh!," and wiped his nose in a flowered handkerchief that had fortunately arrived with the undergarments. He grabbed a glass of punch, eyes widening at the enormous alcoholic content, and found himself a seat in a quiet corner. He was starting to feel his cold more, and suspected he would not last into the wee hours, even if the party did. His nose tickled again, and he felt on the verge of another sneeze which wouldn't quite come out.

Already, some of the party's famous dramatics had occurred. Dean Thomas was kissing Lavender Brown, although last everyone had heard, he was seeing Luna Lovegood. Luna, dressed as a giant moth, seemed unconcerned as she flirted with a lovely woman dressed as an owl, the two flying delicately in circles around one another. There was burst of laughter as Dumbledore, who had selected a delicious looking cheese puff, was momentarily transformed into a small shrub by one of Fred and George's finest. Mad Eye Moody, who had left out his magical eye and wore a pirate's patch over his socket, was twirling a smiling Minerva McGonagall around the room, as her skirt flew up even higher. And Hagrid and Madame Rosmerta were locked in a passionate embrace, both red cheeked and grinning madly. Remus watched the interplay with fascination, the urge to sneeze finally fading away frustratingly.

"Dance?" A male voice he didn't recognize startled Remus into looking up. There had been several werewolves, but this was by far the best, with bared fangs and a threatening expression that hardly matched the outstretched hand. He was surprised anyone dressed in that particular costume would have approached him, and he swallowed slightly, but acquiesced. The tune was a fast one that he'd enjoyed before, something Sirius had told him was a muggle thing called disco, which Remus assumed was a philosophical movement.

The two of them moved in rapid synchronicity, and despite his aching feet and throat, Remus was having a good time. The other man was a good dancer. He wondered if it was one of his former students, perhaps Draco Malfoy. The more he thought about it, he more likely it seemed. Draco had a dark enough sense of humor to enjoy dressing as a werewolf and then dancing with his former professor, and moved with the same innate grace that the boy had always had. As the song ended, and the two headed towards the drinks once more, Remus asked,

"Is that you, Draco? Impressive costume." He wanted to reassure the boy that he wasn't offended if in fact Draco had guessed he was not Snape.

The werewolf opened his mouth to reply, hesitated, and then sneezed forcefully, "Hrrrrrrrcccsshhhh! Damn."

The voice was unfamiliar, but the sneeze was manifestly that of Severus Snape. Remus gaped.

"Severus?"

The werewolf bared his teeth in what might have been a smile or a threat. The threat was somewhat mitigated by the sniffling noise that followed, however. There was a brief flare of magic, and Snape's normal voice, still somewhat raspy with illness, emerged from the werewolf's mouth.

"Punch, Lupin?"

Lupin nodded, and downed the punch without tasting it.

Snape sipped his. Neither man was entirely certain what to say. Lupin glanced around him. Several people were looking their way, most of them probably assuming that Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were deep in conversation, and in fact, they were right, except that neither one could think of anything to say. He noticed Dumbledore's eyes twinkling even more than usual in their direction.

Finally, Lupin broke the awkward silence. "I assume we're even now?"

"We'll be even when I've laced your wolfsbane with an emetic. I'm the one slandered here. I've implied nothing other than that you are a werewolf, which everyone knows perfectly well."

"Yes. Not that that particular 'implication' had any lasting effect when you revealed it five years ago."

"Mmmm. Well..."

They fell silent again. Snape poured them both more punch. Remus again ventured conversation. "Albus mentioned that green was my...well, your, color."

The werewolf sneered. Interesting, Lupin hadn't known a werewolf could do that.

Lupin dug again in the dress pocket for the floral handkerchief, his nose tickling frantically. His eyes watered and he drew breath, "hhhhhhhhaahhhh, Achhhhhhahhhh! Hacchhhhhhh! Ehhh, ehh, Hnnncchhhssh!"

"Sick, Lupin?" The voice dripped with sarcasm.

Remus smiled softly, "I seem to have caught a cold somewhere. From someone."

"Almost certainly your own damned fault."

Remus hesitated for a moment, and then grinned, "Worth it, though."

He could feel the latest dose of polyjuice wearing off. And he was tiring, the cold bothering him more. He was more than a little drunk as well.

"Severus, I suspect my potion is about to wear off. Would you consider taking a walk with me?"

The werewolf looked at him suspiciously, and then nodded. Remus could feel the eyes burning into their backs as they left.

As they walked, Remus quickly regained his old appearance, and he used his wand to transfigure the clothing into a warm sweater and trousers. Snape also allowed his illusion to lapse.

"Why did you dress as a werewolf? You didn't know what I was going to wear, did you?"

There was a hesitation, during which Snape blew his nose on a black silk handkerchief. He looked at Remus. "It is a traditional Halloween costume."

"That was not the traditional werewolf costume. That was the sort of illusion only created by someone who has seen a werewolf up close."

"I have."

"I know. So why a werewolf?"

There was another long pause. "You've never seen my boggart, have you?"

"Its me, then?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm...scared of that. Comparatively little else, and yet I'm afraid of werewolves. It seemed a useful way of desensitizing myself to your...situation. Not to mention a suitable revenge for sexually assaulting me."

"I did not sexually assault you." Remus pulled up as much of his professorly dignity as he could muster, given that his voice was steadily disappearing and he was having trouble walking straight. "You were cold."

"I was, at that." Remus was stunned by the softness in the other man's voice. There was no sarcasm there at all. Instead, there was something else, that Remus was a bit afraid to identify.

They walked alongside the lake, and a cold wind kicked up. Remus was suddenly compelled by a sneeze he would have sworn wasn't there before, "Hahnnnncchhhaa! Tschhhoooo!"

Snape turned sharply aside and sneezed as well, "Arrrchhhh!"

Remus smiled ruefully at Snape. "Bless you, Severus. Perhaps we had best go back inside. I suspect I may be coming down with something."

"I'm delighted to hear it." Snape replied with his usual acidity. They walked in silence for another moment. And then, more quietly, he spoke again. "Bless you too, Remus."

Remus smiled in the darkness, feeling warmer every moment.