Chapter Ten: Preparations
When she arrived back at the Room of Requirement, she found Severus digging through piles and piles of research.
"Master Grecia has floo-ed over his research on the iron contents of blood. I have been digging and digging. I was hoping to find something on werewolf blood, but I don't think he has it. We will have to figure out how to add the blood and aconite together after we have collected the blood." He sighed and flung himself into the chair. Hermione let herself fall down onto one of the couches.
"Remus agreed. We have a week and a half to figure out how we are to extract the blood."
"We will lock him in one of the dungeons here." Hermione half-snorted.
"You mean the dungeons Filch tried to scare us with?"
"Yes, they exist. It is a shame that they let the old punishments die." Hermione looked at him big-eyed. "Students used to be sent down there to clean them and now, without old punishments, they are an utter mess." Hermione heard a brief flutter of wings in her bedroom.
"I suppose." She left momentarily and returned a few seconds later with a sealed envelope.
"What is that?"
"The most recent letter from St. Mungo's. I am afraid to open it." He walked over to her and gently placed his hands over hers and slid the envelope away. He half-smiled and cracked open the wax seal. She was looking directly at his dark eyes as they darted from one side of the page to the next. He closed the letter and looked directly into her own eyes.
"He's no better." Hermione sniffed lightly. "And… he is no worse. Their suspicions are indeed the same as before." Severus placed his hands on her shoulders gently.
"We still have to collect the blood, test the iron levels, math out and create the new lycanthropy potion, and test it on Remus, first… before we give it to Charlie."She said expasperatedly. Snape shook his head.
"No. I have been thinking." She looked at him questioningly. "What if the other children contract the same ailment? It's not very often werewolves go off and have families so we have no idea if Charlie is the only one with disease." Hermione stared unblinkingly as she waited for his explanation. "We will have to collect and test the blood, create the potion, also ensuring that it stays preserved for a long period of time, and test the potion on another werewolf besides Remus."
"We will have to be able to get more blood even if it did work. I didn't think about that. So, we have to find another werewolf somewhere?"
"I know one, coincidentally. He used to be a neighbor of mine before the ministry removed him to a remote island. He is alive still and I try to send him a Christmas present every year to let him know that people still believe he exists." Hermione smiled inwardly at his strange friendliness. Her shoulders still felt warm from his hands rubbing circles against her back. How it felt so normal, she had no clue.
"Do you think he will let you test the lycanthropy cure on him?"
"I do."
"Where is he exactly and what is his name?"
"He's on a small island just off of Finland. Rupert Flemmon." He let the name float around in the air and Hermione felt his warm hands leave her shoulders quite suddenly.
Hermione and Severus spent the rest of the week continuing the research that would be necessary to create the potion. She derived the exact procedure the day before she and Severus were to go extract the blood.
They decided that the easiest way to get blood from Remus would be through sedating him in some form. They both knew a potion wouldn't work because it would change the composition of his blood, so they were forced to research different way to incapacitate a werewolf.
Hermione stumbled upon the perfect method while she was digging through the library and found the book 'Sleeping Enemies'. It was strangely enough located in the wizarding fiction section of the library, but upon further investigation of the book, she discovered it named many different ways to render your enemies incapable of moving.
She found one spell, Lycanthrocorporatus, which would freeze a werewolf in his spot for up to two hours, depending on the magical abilities of the witch or wizard. She brought the spell to Severus and both celebrated that night, a day and a half before the full moon, by going to sleep at midnight instead of the usual, three in the morning.
The next morning they went to the dungeons and cleaned a room for Remus to stay in during the full moon, and examined the surrounding walls, ensuring that there was no possible way to escape. They cast encasement charms around the walls, just in case.
They floo-ed Remus telling him the time and when he came over later that day, he was looking incredibly pale and sick. Hermione and Severus both knew that transforming into a werewolf was extremely painful and dangerous, but also knew that Remus would do anything for his son.
AN: Short chapter, I admit, but there will be more. Sorry it took so long to update. Next chapter, Hermione and Severus act as vampires and extract some of Remus' blood.