His Greatest Wish, by AndromedaMarine
Werewolf
As far as Sev knew since January, Narcissa Black had been right on one count. Rabastan Lestrange disappeared from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry soon after the death of Ward Arcturo, but Lucius Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle remained untouched. Sev watched Narcissa covertly between classes, at meals, often enough for Lily to notice his inattention at some points. The youngest Black sister seemed tenser than usual, and once or twice Sev thought about using Legilimency to learn exactly how much she knew, but the risk of being caught finally dissuaded him.
Albus Dumbledore had remained quiet regarding Sev's superior abilities since Christmas, which surprised Sev more than the incident involving Lucius Malfoy. But what shocked Sev the most was the increasing frequency with which Sirius Black spent his time with Sev, Lily, Remus, Frank, Alice, and Peter. The six had become seven, and James had not become attached at the hip to Sirius as Sev expected. Apart from a few events of James asking for Sev's help with potions, the stuck-up Potter more ignored the rest of his year than anything. Sev found it hardly surprising that James Potter gravitated towards the prankster Prewett twins.
The entirety of Gryffindor House knew that Severus Snape was the most talented wizard in first year and probably in the whole school, but excepting his teaching Lily the Patronus, he hadn't taken any students under his wing, not even his own friends. He didn't wish to make anyone more suspicious than they already were, for it would take a few more years before he would willingly teach anybody anything, except perhaps occasional help with Potions.
March arrived with torrential rains, bringing Remus Lupin's twelfth birthday with it on the tenth. Lily organized a small party within the confines of the Room of Requirement and managed to make it a complete surprise for Remus.
Also by March, Potions class had become a demonstration of correct versus incorrect technique: Sev versus James and Peter.
"Potter," Sev warned one afternoon, "if you add that much belladonna with all that essence of wormwood already in your potion, the resulting explosion could very well take off your entire head. These potions aren't initially volatile, but if you don't follow the directions you could hurt someone." Sev glanced at Lily and rolled his eyes as James flushed, quickly pulling his hand away from the cauldron. Slughorn promptly took five points from Gryffindor for James's utter distraction, but gave Sev ten for thwarting a disaster.
The quietness of activity began to make Sev restless. Death Eaters hadn't been seen or heard from for several months, which mislead people into thinking they had given up. Sev and Lily knew better, especially since they all knew Lucius Malfoy to have taken the Dark Mark.
March twenty eighth crept up more quickly than expected, and Remus disappeared from classes again, no doubt preparing for the full moon the next night. He wasn't in their dormitory that night either, which led Sev to believe this one must be especially harsh. Maybe it had something to do with his birth month.
"He's been gone at least once every single month," Frank said as the five boys prepared for bed the night of the full moon. "This time it's twice. His mum can't be sick this often, can she?"
"Last time it was because his pet cat died or something," Peter offered.
Sirius commented, "Has anyone else noticed he's always gone during full moon?"
Sev stopped in the middle of climbing under his covers to stare at Sirius. Smarter than you've let on, he mused, somewhat proud. At least it isn't me this time, making assumptions. And Lily hasn't and won't hear anything from me. "What are you getting at?" he asked to appear intrigued, and retreated from his bed.
Sirius shrugged. "Just that he's always gone at full moon, and when he comes back he always looks more tired than usual. Ragged. Worn down. Injured, even."
James had tuned them all out and his hangings were already pulled shut. Sev, Frank, Peter, and Sirius could hear him snoring.
Sev stared at Sirius with a hard expression. "Say what you think, Sirius. We both know that Peter here doesn't know what you mean."
Peter looked from Sev to Sirius.
"All right," Sirius said, standing up straight. "I think he's a werewolf."
Frank and Peter burst into laughs but Sev merely smiled.
Sirius, affronted, turned his back on the boys. "It's not completely absurd," he defended weakly. He didn't expect it as Sev came up next to him.
"If it's any consolation, I think you might be right." The former Slytherin studied Sirius. "Out of curiosity, what led you to that conclusion? Do you know about werewolves because of your family?" Fenrir Greyback, Sev was thinking.
Immediately, Sirius became defensive. "What do you know about my family, Severus? Hmm? That they're all completely bonkers because of the ridiculous pure-blood mania they have going on?"
Sev's face hardened. "I know enough," he replied. "That you've been labeled a 'defector' because you're a Gryffindor. I saw your cousin looking furious when you were Sorted. Narcissa Black, right? Trust me, I know what it's like to have a family that doesn't accept you. Prince bloodline, remember? I'm a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin." The idea that Mum is proud of me is still taking a while to sink in.
Frank and Peter had stopped their preparations for bed to watch the exchange between Sirius and Severus.
Sirius's eyes dropped to the floor. "Yeah, I suppose we're sort of in the same boat. But to answer your question, yeah. My family has had dealings with werewolves."
Fenrir Greyback. "It's not your fault if you know more about Dark Magic than you'd care to because of family. Merlin knows that's the case with me."
"So have we decided something, or what?" Frank asked, interrupting. "Is Remus suddenly a werewolf because he's gone every full moon?"
Peter nodded and then started shaking his head. He couldn't make up his mind.
"I think we should just go to bed," Sev suggested wisely. "Maybe he'll be back in the morning." Except he won't.
Silence descended over the dormitory as the night wore on, and Sev found himself unable to sleep. The Wolfsbane potion would not be invented for another eight years or so, and he didn't want to take credit away from Marcus Belby's Uncle Damocles, even though Damocles hadn't the faintest idea what Wolfsbane was at this point. But if the potion could be tweaked a bit, it wouldn't really be taking credit, would it? Make it different, call it something else... Perfect it so that besides taking away the dementia of transformation, it took away the pain as well? Sev's mind whirled and twisted, sure that he could find some way to help Lupin without jeopardizing himself in the process.
Morning came on swift wings, but Sev hadn't slept a wink. He rose early and dressed, taking care not to awake the other boys. Quietly he crept into the empty common room and out the portrait hole, ignoring the irritated calls of the Fat Lady for waking her up at half five in the morning. Sev made his way to the third floor, where the hospital wing was, and crept inside without making much noise. He saw Lupin lying on a bed halfway down the room, pale and thin, dark circles under his eyes and his hair mussed. A bandage was wrapped around his right forearm and wrist, and three long scratches ran down his cheek. This transformation had been worse.
Sev sat silently beside Remus, feeling a little guilty when he shook the boy's arm so he'd wake up. Remus groaned and blinked.
"Remus?" Sev asked, "Remus, you should know that the boys are getting suspicious," he finished when he saw Remus's grey eyes looking up at him. They contorted into an expression of panic.
"What do you mean?" he whispered urgently. "I'm only sick, that's all—"
"Sick, with lycanthropy," Sev said quietly. Remus blanched and began to claw at his blankets, trying to get up. But he was still weak, and Sev pressed a hand to his shoulder to keep him from rolling off the hospital bed. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, but it wouldn't be fair to keep this from our friends."
"I don't want to scare them," he whispered back.
Sev frowned. "I'm not scared. Why should they be?" I stopped being scared of you when the Wolfsbane Potion was invented.
Lupin was silent for a moment. "Because I'm a monster," he finished in a low, almost soundless, bitter tone.
Sev clenched his fingers over Remus's shoulder as he had a sudden vision of Lupin transforming just outside the Whomping Willow, and he gathering Harry, Ron, and Hermione behind him in fright—he had to keep Remus from harming Lily's child and his friends...the vision cleared and Sev became aware of Remus's grey eyes staring at him. Sev loosed his grip. "You're not a monster," he said. "You just have a—'furry little problem.'"
Remus cracked an actual grin. A moment later he sobered. "It doesn't change the fact that I become something uncontrollable once a month."
"What if...what if there was a way to make it controllable? A potion, or a spell?"
A spark of hope seeped into the grey eyes. "Is there?"
Sev looked away. "Not that I know of, but I could start trying to invent one," he said almost nonchalantly.
Remus looked at him in disbelief, obviously thinking that Sev was far too young to attempt such a feat. Instead, he said, "You would do that for me?"
"Well, not just for you, I mean there are hundreds of werewolves in the Wizarding world who need the same help you do." He shrugged and stowed his hands in his pockets to keep them still. "I know enough about potions that it probably wouldn't even be that hard." His mind flashed to the rare potions ingredients kit Lily had given him for Christmas. It contained a few necessary ingredients for the Wolfsbane, and even some that would improve it in regard to pain control. "You know, you look worse than usual. Was this time worse because you had your birthday this month?"
Remus tipped his head sadly. "It hurts a lot more during March, and the worst is if full moon is on the tenth." He dropped his gaze to the blankets and started to twist them. He winced, remembering his bandaged hand. "You really think I should tell them?"
"They're worried. We all are, even Lily and Alice, and they don't even know the half of it. James, not so much. He's too busy planning pranks with the Prewetts to really notice anything." His lip quirked up. "You know, Sirius actually suggested to the boys last night that you're a werewolf. He was the first to say something, but I've suspected for a few months."
"Then why didn't you say something to me sooner?" His voice sounded a little hurt.
Sev coughed. "We weren't really friends until the latter end of September and I wasn't sure if you'd appreciate having someone flat out accuse you of it."
"No," Remus agreed softly, "I wouldn't have. I probably would've denied it, too."
"But the regular disappearances haven't gone unnoticed, and it would be better to know your friends don't think less of you because you had the ill fortune to be bitten." Sev glanced up when he heard the sounds of Poppy Pomfrey bustling around in her office. "Look, you really should tell them—but ask yourself this: do you trust them all?" Even Sirius and Peter? "I better go before Madam Pomfrey sees me," Sev said hurriedly. "And don't forget what I said!"
Remus looked at him wildly and watched as Sev left. The door clicked shut just as Poppy exited her office and started towards Remus with a goblet full of pain reliever, and he accepted it wordlessly as Poppy looked on with sympathy for the poor young boy afflicted with a lifelong curse.
It was still early, a little past six in the morning, and classes didn't start until nine. As he approached the staircase he made a split-second decision to venture down to the kitchens.
Ten minutes later after quietly and carefully avoiding ghosts and some patrolling teachers (they still weren't entirely convinced that Rabastan was the only one behind Arcturo's death) he made it to the portrait of the fruit basket. He reached up and tickled the pear, and pulled the handle when it appeared.
Six House Elves appeared out of nowhere. The closest one, who Sev remembered being called Misty, squeaked at him. "Mister Severus! Mister Severus! What is you doing down here? Can Misty gets you anything? Where is Miss Lily?"
Sev couldn't help but smile as the House Elf. "Just some tea, Misty. Lily's probably still asleep." Misty's large ears flapped and the five other elves scampered off to retrieve food and drink.
"Why is you in the kitchens this early, Mister Severus? We house elves is almost done with breakfast!"
"Oh, I couldn't sleep," he answered honestly as he took the cup of tea from the tray hoisted above the five elves. Their large eyes stared up at him until he took the biscuits too. He stayed in the kitchens until just before breakfast, when he managed to merge seamlessly into a pack of Hufflepuffs heading upstairs. He slipped onto the bench beside Lily and started piling food on his plate.
Lily looked at him and then back at her food. "Where were you this morning? I waited for you in the common room but Frank said you were already gone when the rest of them got up." She took a sip of her pumpkin juice.
"Oh, I couldn't sleep and went down to the kitchens. Misty got me some tea."
"Have you seen Remus? Sirius told us he's gone again." This came from Alice, across the table. Sirius glanced down at them from beside Peter.
Sev paused. "No," he lied with some difficulty. He chanced a glance at Lily and her green eyes threw him off balance. "Uh, I expect we'll see him in Defense later."
Lily's eyes did not leave Sev's face. She sensed his dishonesty and wondered about it. Already she had begun fighting with herself about the increasing inconsistencies regarding Sev. She knew something was wrong—he'd never told her the truth about what happened the night before the thirty first of August, when his behavior had suddenly changed because of a so-called dream. She didn't want to lose trust in him, but she didn't want him lying to her either. But for now she settled for silence. Lily resumed eating her breakfast.
The end of the school day came very slowly. Remus had not been in Defense, but showed up halfway through Charms, still pale, but his bandages gone and his face healed. He sat down next to Peter, exchanging glances with every member of his group of friends. When he met Sev's eyes, they stayed locked longer than usual, as if Sev was saying something. They need to know.
"Come on," Sev said as they left Potions, "Let's go you-know-where." The Room of Requirement. Remus needs to tell them.
The seven first years: Sev, Lily, Frank, Remus, Peter, Alice, and Sirius all entered the Room and spread out, as if they were going to start homework. Remus gave Sev an expectant look.
"Er, guys, Remus—Remus has something to tell us," he said awkwardly. He moved to stand beside Lupin so he could view the reactions of the rest of them.
Remus's eyes flitted. He settled on Lily's kind face and the knot in his stomach loosened a little. "Um, look, uh, I've..." he stopped and looked into the eyes of each of his friends, and lastly at Sev, who nodded imperceptibly. "I'm a werewolf."
Lily: "Oh my god!"
Alice gasped.
Sirius: "I knew it!"
Peter squeaked.
Frank: "You're serious?"
"Guys, I was bitten when I was five years old, long before I met any of you. My father offended a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback and the punishment was that Greyback bit me." Silence descended over the seven.
"I know who Greyback is," Sirius piped up. "He's a follower of You-Know-Who, my parents are acquainted with him."
"That's awful," Alice said about both Sirius's parents and Remus's illness.
"Tell me about it," Sirius and Remus muttered simultaneously.
Lily crossed the gap to Remus. "You could've told us," she said. "We wouldn't've betrayed you."
The word made the hair on the back of Sev's neck stand up.
"Nobody's perfect," Frank offered.
Remus grinned at the six. "Sev called it my 'furry little problem,'" he said.
"That makes it sound like a vicious rabbit or something," Sirius said, chuckling.
The tension melted away and Remus willfully answered all the questions about his lycanthropy. Lily ended up next to Sev. "Did you know beforehand?" she asked him.
"Yeah," he answered with the good grace to appear guilty. "I went to the hospital wing this morning and found him there."
"And he right out told you?" she asked incredulously.
"Well, no—"
"So you suspected and scared the living Hippogriffs out of him by asking without any warning?" Her green eyes flashed.
Sev grasped her shoulders. "Lil, I didn't say anything to you because it wasn't my place. It wasn't my secret to tell you, or anybody. It had to come from Remus."
She knew his words were truthful but she still didn't like that he'd lied to her. "I hate it when you're dishonest with me," she murmured. "Every now and again when you say something it just feels like it's not the truth. I wish you'd just out and tell me whatever's been bothering you all year."
The painful expression on his face again made her stop her words.
"I'm sorry," she said, dropping her gaze to the floor. "This is about Remus, not you." With that she went back to ask Remus if there was anything the six could do to assist with his transformations.
This will only get harder.