Remus Lupin stared into the fire, the parchment he had read so many times reduced to ash in the fireplace. He had committed it to memory now anyway. He's dreamt of this day for as long as he'd understood the nature of his affliction. Every time his mother had looked at him, wishing he were different, he had prayed for this day to come. And now it had.
'I have an offer for you, Lupin' it had said, in that familiar spiky scrawl. He'd known before he had even opened the letter that it was from Snape. It stank of him, the familiar stench of potions permeating the parchment.
He had read the letter once, twice, then a third time before throwing it into the fireplace. 'After much work at my Lords insistence, I have perfected a cure for lycanthropy.' His heart had begun to pound at that.
This was they day he'd been dreaming of, praying for. He'd imagined this moment at least once a day for as long as he could remember. Once he'd grown old enough to understand such things, he'd known that he would likely never be able to afford a cure, even if one did exist. He had been right, though he had never realised just how high the cost would be.
'The Dark Lord seldom gives something for nothing, Lupin' he could imagine Snape's sneer as he wrote that, he could hear him saying it. Snape would be delighted to have this chance to torture him. Though this torture was nothing compared to what would come later.
'In return for the once in a lifetime opportunity, you must do a favour for the Dark Lord. A small task, nothing more than an errand.' For once, Snape was being completely honest; it really wasn't a big task. It would be so easy to do.
'Give this portkey to the youngest Weasley, and return home. It will activate when touched by any female. Your cure will be waiting for you.' He thought again about how he would do it; how he could get her alone, get her to accept the portkey. He hated himself then, and pushed the thoughts from his head.
Instead, he though of Tonks. He thought of how much she loved him, despite his 'condition'. How much would she love him if he were normal? They could be together. He would be able to find work, settle down. They could even think about marriage, and children. Instead of the three obstacles in their way, there would just be the one, the least significant one at that. He was sorely tempted by Snape's offer, but again he pushed it from his head.
He rose from his chair by the fire, and began to make himself a cup of tea. He wondered if the cure could be replicated by another. His tea forgotten, he searched the few potions journals he received in an attempt to discover another potions master who could attempt such a thing. It was no use though; Severus Snape was the only one who ever dedicated his studies to finding a cure for lycanthropy. The Wolfsbane potion was the closest anyone had come, and that too had been Snape's discovery.
There had been a series of werewolf attacks around the country. Most were the children of influential witches and wizards. He wondered if they had been offered this cure in return for a small favour. 'At least', he thought 'they asked for Ginny, and not Harry.' Had they asked for Harry, he could never have done it. He thought of Tonks again, picturing her face in his mind as the tossed the Floo powder into the fireplace, and called for The Burrow.
When Remus returned from The Burrow, his mind occupied by Ginny Weasley's trusting face, her acceptance of his lie, he failed to notice the solitary figure occupying the chair by fire. The figure cleared its throat from behind a curtain of long black hair. Lupin turned, startled at being caught returning from the scene of the crime. The smell of the floo still strong in his nostrils, he caught a trace of a familiar scent.
"What are you doing here?" He asked the dark-robed figure in the chair.
"I needed to see you," replied Tonks, rising from her chair. "Snape set you up. He owled the Ministry to tell us what you were doing. I thought he was lying. Ginny's portkey took her straight to the Ministry. He was just playing with you. Why did you do it?"
She moved into the light, and could see the tears running down her face. She drew her wand, and pointed it at him.
"I have to take you in…please don't make this any harder for me."
He surrendered his wand, and allowed himself to be bound. Tears continued to roll down her face, and Remus wanted to do nothing but hold her. Snape had just been toying with him. Voldemort hadn't had anything to do with it, it had all been Snape, getting revenge.
"So, there's no cure?" He whispered, as Tonks led him towards the fireplace.
"I'm afraid not"