The children, when they arrived, were both wide-eyed and quiet. They appeared in the fireplace, clinging to a pale blonde woman Severus assumed was their mother. The boy looked to be around six; the girl was probably closer to eight or nine.

Hermione stepped forward to welcome them, assuming the mantle of hostess for their little band. Severus, Ron, and Harry all stayed standing a respectful distance away from the new arrivals, hoping not to scare them.

"This is Kesala Creeloy, everyone, and her children Raphael and Naome. Mrs. Creeloy, this are my friends Ron Weasley, Former Headmaster Severus Snape of Hogwarts, and of course you have heard of Harry Potter."

The blonde witch tensed up at Severus's name, but relaxed at Harry's. Her eyes flicked rapidly back and forth among the four of them, but she managed to nod politely and prodded her children to do the same.

Harry cleared his throat. "If you would, Miss Naome, Mr. Raphael, we would like you to try a potion that Headmaster Snape and Miss Granger have created. We don't know for sure it will help, but we think it will. Is that okay with you?"

The children nodded, still silent. Probably struck dumb at meeting The Boy Who Sodding Lived All Over Again. Severus found himself wondering where their father was - had he survived the war? He realized he didn't really want to know.

Hermione put an arm around the children's mother and guided her to an armchair which Severus had angled so it faced both cages without getting in the way of the mirrors. She then knelt down, face-to-face with the children, and explained in simple terms what would happen. "This shouldn't hurt," she promised. "You'll each stand in one of those boxes there" - she pointed to the cages - "and Headmaster Snape will open the curtains so the moonlight comes in. I'm going to cast a spell - not a scary one, just something that will let us see whether there's a werewolf inside you."

"There is," the girl whispered. "Raph and me both have werewolves in us and mom says we have to be very careful around the moon because the werewolves might come out and hurt someone like they hurt daddy."

Fucking Feynrir Greyback. Severus ran through a long and inventive list of mental curses in the awkward silence which fell in the room.

Hermione recovered first. "The boxes will keep you safe, okay? They'll keep everyone safe. We're going to give you each some potion to drink, and cast the spell again. That's all, really. If the potion does what we think it's going to, the werewolves inside you will go away and you'll be back like you were before."

The children nodded. "We can do that," said the boy. They both turned and, with poise which would have done any adult witch or wizard proud, they climbed into the cages and stood silently, their eyes fixed on Hermione.

"First the spell," said Hermione. "Cedus cici veris!"

A miniature copy of the girl rotated in the air. It was much fuzzier than the miniature Severus Hermione had spelled that morning. The tiny girl faded in and out a few times, then was replaced by -

"Merlin's balls!" exclaimed Ron. He was a distinct shade of green and looked like he was trying very hard not to lose the remains of his dinner. Severus didn't blame him - the girl in the spell was flashing between human and werewolf, and the Essence of Self spell seemed to be stuck on a single scene - that of the girl/werewolf flaying a figure Severus assumed was her father. It was no more gruesome than many of the things he had witnessed the Death Eaters doing over the years, but Severus could absolutely understand Mr. Weasley's revulsion. I wish I were still that unused to this kind of violence, he thought to himself, but it was far too late for regrets of that nature.

Hermione quietly turned to the boy and repeated the spell, with similar results.

"I . . ." She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry you had to see that again, Naome, Raphael, Mrs. Creeloy. Severus, would you please get ready to open the curtains?" She flashed each child an unsteady smile and pulled two flasks out of her robe. "Drink these first," she told them, and they obeyed silently.

Severus waited until both children had handed their empty flasks back to Hermione and his Mistress was well away from the cages before he pulled back the curtains. The parlor was immediately flooded by moonlight - with the addition of a few channeling spells and an obscene number of mirrors, he and Hermione had managed to focus most of the moonlight onto the two cages.

And it was working. Doing something, anyway. First the boy, then the girl cried out, and fell back to a feral crouch. They were breathing heavily, shuffling as if they were itching to burst out of their own skins -

And then it was done. Both children collapsed, boneless, on the floor, and within seconds they were sound asleep. Kesala Creeloy jumped up from her chair, ready to go to them, but Harry held her back.

"Not yet - please -"

Hermione cast two more Essence of Self spells, one right after the other. The two children's miniatures revolved in tandem, offset by only the second or two it took her to utter the spell.

Mrs. Creeloy licked her lips. "Are they . . ."

"Watch," said Harry. And they all watched, as the miniature children flashed through scene after scene - the boy riding a toy broomstick, the girl hugging a stuffed dragon nearly larger than herself. Both of them snuggled into their father's lap as he read them a story. The girl sitting in a garden, covered up to her ears in mud, grinning madly.

"They're . . . better."

"Looks that way." Harry stepped forward and gave the woman a sideways hug. Ron came and joined the two of them in the embrace. And Hermione -

Severus was caught by surprise by her lips on his. "We did it!" she exclaimed quietly.

He kissed her back, briefly but thoroughly. "You're amazing, Mistress," he whispered. He thought he had said it quietly enough to not be overheard, but something made him glance up - and he caught Ron Weasley's wide-eyed stare as it transformed into something akin to fury.

Damn - the kiss. It was practically second nature to him and Hermione by this point, but obviously she hadn't let her would-be boyfriend in on their secret . . .

But now was not the time. Severus stepped back, a safe distance from temptation, and willed Hermione to look behind her. She read it in his face and turned, just in time to see Ron's glare. Severus expected to see panic in her face, but when she turned back to him she just reached out and gave his hand a brief squeeze before going to close the curtains again.

"I can't tell you how much it means to me that you brought them here, Mrs. Creeloy," she said. Her words were some sort of unspoken signal to everyone that now was the time to return to normal - Harry and Ron stepped away and each went to retrieve one of the sleeping children.

"They'll be okay?" the mother asked.

"The werewolf inside them is gone," Hermione assured her. "They'll probably sleep well tonight, but it's just their magic mending itself - tomorrow you'll have your children back." She flashed a friendly smile. "Would you be willing to let Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley help you get them home?"

And so it was that Hermione and Severus were left alone in the parlor as Harry and Ron and the three Creeloys disappeared through the flue. Hermione was kissing Severus again almost before Harry was out of sight.

"You are bloody brilliant, Professor," she said in between kisses. "Now we'll have to spend the next week and a half smashing more of those ridiculous star-thistle pods, won't we?"

He licked behind her ear in that way which never failed to make her shiver. "Not tonight, we won't."