As much as Severus would have rather done the holding, to exert whatever power there was to be had in situations like these, all he wanted to do was lay his head on Remus's chest and wait for the world to right itself.

The moment he put his arm around Remus's chest he felt the slight hiss and snarl and not only drew back, but invasively pulled up his jumper and gazed at the mess his pale skin was covered in.

He caught his breath.

"Lupin, what bloody happened to you?! This place was... I was sure you were dead when I came in."