Coals of Fire [ October or November 1997]
Title: "Coals of Fire" Author: bronze_ribbons Count: 100 words Written for lupin100's "Hope" challenge. Originally posted 14 September 2005.
"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens," said Lupin, his voice uncharacteristically harsh.
If he and Snape both survive the War, Lupin plans to vanish to a room stocked with enough food, wine, and clean sheets for a week. He yearns for wordlessness as a refuge – a space where he need not mask his bitterness nor disguise his dark, secret hope.
In the meantime, he must continue to pretend that he, too, no longer trusts Severus. He, too, has his orders from Dumbledore, and if he's learned anything -- from Lily, Albus, and Severus -- it is that love is stronger than death.