A/N: This is written for Neon Domino, also for placing joint 3rd in my OTP competition.

That morning's Daily Prophet gave Remus quite a shock. He took the newspaper from the owl, paid it its Knuts and unrolled it. That's when he saw it. The picture covered the entire front page. He stared at it in disbelief. In front of him was the man he had cared about as a boy, had run and wrestled with as a Werewolf and made love to as a man. It had been twelve years and despite the betrayal it still ached to see him. Azkaban hadn't been good to him. His face was hollowed, his hair a messy tangle that ran to his elbows and his prison outfit fell too loosely on his bone-thin frame. But what startled Remus the most were his eyes. A maniakal glint, the Daily Prophet called it. But what Remus saw when he looked into those eyes was a burning passion. A passion that he was all too familiar with.

So he had escaped. Remus wondered how he had done it. And then he wondered what would be his next move. Where would he go to, now that he was on the run? Briefly, it flashed through Remus' mind that maybe Sirius would try to find him, to continue where they left it and his stomach jolted at the thought. He resolutely shook his head. No, he shouldn't even be thinking about these kind of things. Sirius was a traitor, and the man he had thought he knew had turned out entirely different. It wouldn't surprise him if even their relationship had been faked. As always when he thought this, he felt a sharp twinge of pain.

If Sirius wouldn't come for him, where would he go? Suddenly Remus felt an icy hand close around his heart. He'd try to get to Harry, to finish what he started all those years ago. He couldn't let that happen. If Sirius wanted to get to Harry, he'd have to get past Remus first. Remus got up and rummaged through his papers until he found the letter from Dumbledore. He had intended to decline the offered position. But now he realised that if there was ever anything he could do for James and Lily, it would be protecting their son. I'll take the job, he scribbled and then handed the note to his owl.

"Take this to Albus Dumbledore, at Hogwarts."

Remus sank back his in his chair. His eyes fell on the wretched newspaper again and he made to tear the picture up. But then he hesitated. Even after all that had happened, he found that he couldn't. He cut out the front page, folded it and put it in the pocket of his cardigan. Just to remind me of what needs to happen, he told himself.

(But that he took it out every night and stared at those passion-filled eyes with longing was a thing he'd never admit to anyone.)