A/N: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. Working, planning a wedding and taken a class takes up a lot of time. Well on with the story.

Lillian and her friends have quite a challenge ahead of them. Finding a cure for Lycanthropy…for those of you who don't know, lycanthropy is the curse of being a werewolf. Read on:

Chapter 25 - A Cure For Lupin

Lillian and the others watched until the train disappeared from view before going back up to the school. Fred and George ran ahead to the school. They sort of did a jig as they went. Ron, however, didn't look too pleased.

"Oh come on, Ron," said Lillian. "It could be fun."

"Yeah," growled Ron "loads of fun. I'll probably wake up with green hair or spiders climbing all over me."

"If it would make you feel better," said Lillian. "I could make your room Fred and George proof." Ron smiled a grateful smile and they continued on in silence.

Later, as promised Lillian sealed the room that only those who stay in the room or are personally invited may enter. Lillian then bid her friends farewell and went up to the Room of Requirement. When she walked in, the walls were lined with shelves loaded down with beakers and tubes of potion ingredients. A large supply of parchment and an extra large bottle of ink lay on a desk in the middle of the room. On the top piece of parchment, the ingredients from her dream were already written down as well as the potion instructions for the Wolfsbane Potion that Lupin took in the days before the full moon. Everything she could think of that she would need was there. She sat down and looked over the Wolfsbane potion and began mixing.

Before long she had the potion mixed. She then took the list from her dream and began to add some other ingredients. After several ingredients the potion turned a bright red and changed to a lime green before fizzing and bubbling over on to the table. Lillian waved her hand and the mess vanished and she started over. After a few more attempts and miserable failings, her friends walked in.

"Need some help?" asked Harry. Lillian smiled.

"I'm glad you came," she said. "Here, let me show you what I've done."

She showed them the cauldron full of the Wolfsbane potion. She explained to them that this was definitely their starting point. She also gave them a copy of the list from her dream. Everyone then went to work. Before they knew it, nearly five hours had passed. Hermione had hair on her hands, but it was beginning to fall out. She was successful, though, in figuring out which order three of the ingredients on the list were to go. A chalk board appeared on a wall and Lillian wrote up the three ingredients in order of their use, the quantity of those ingredients and other instruction needed to add them correctly.

Several weeks went by and their progress was flourishing. They had nearly the whole potion complete. They still, however, had to figure out what the last ingredient was. All that was written was HAI. Neither of them could figure it out, but they wouldn't give up. They had even tempted detention by asked Snape. Luckily, though, he just called them imbeciles and walked off mumbling about imaginary ingredients.

Everyday for a whole week they all worked hard trying to figure it out. Ron finally discovered another spell with the word HAI, but when they found the ingredient and added it to what they had the potion sizzled and then nothing.

"Maybe we need to test it," said Harry.

"Yeah, maybe," said Ron.

"It isn't safe, though," said Hermione.

"We haven't any choice," said Lillian.

"Who are we going to test it on?" asked Ron.

"The only werewolf we know," said Harry. "Professor Lupin."

"How are we going to get it to him without him knowing?" asked Hermione.

"Leave that to me," said Lillian.

Lillian went back to the Room of Requirement and took the smallest test tube and filled it with a dose of the potion. She also found a Bezoar stone, a stone or hairball like item which counteracts most poisons. She put both items in her cloak pocket and went on to classes as usual.

Later that night, Lillian went to Lupin's office and hid. She knew that he would be taking a dose of the Wolfsbane potion that Snape had been making for him. She just needed to wait until Snape brought it and left. Lupin would come shortly after and drink the potion before going out to the Shrieking Shack. She had to switch the potions before Lupin came or she would be in serious trouble.

Fifteen minutes passed. Snape entered the room and placed a goblet of the potion on Lupin's desk. After muttering under his breath, Snape left. Lillian listened carefully. She heard nothing. She slipped out of her hiding place and grabbed the goblet off the desk. She dumped it out and replaced it with hers. The door began to open and she overheard Lupin talking to someone about homework. She returned to her hiding place and waited as Lupin drank the potion and once again left. When she was for sure all was clear, she too left. She went and met her friends just inside the common room.

"Did he take it?" asked Ron, upon sight of her.

"He did," said Lillian. "He is going to the shrieking shack now."

"We better get going then," said Harry.

Hermione and Ron hid under Harry's invisibility cloak and Lillian made Harry and her own self invisible. They slowly made their way down the stairs, through the corridors, out the door and across the grounds toward the shrieking shack. The Whomping willow sensed that something was near it, but did not react due to the lack of the visual presence. They each climbed down into the tunnel and climbed the stairs to the room which Harry and his friends had found themselves in during third year. They had to take their time, for if he had changed and the potion had not worked then they would have no chance of escaping. When Ron stepped on a rotten board which let out a horrible squeak they froze and held their breath. When no one or anything came, they continued on.

When they reached the room, they found Lupin sitting on the bed still in his human form. The moon was still behind the clouds and he sat there as if he were waiting his own death. They stood as still as possible. They couldn't afford to let him know that they were there. They each held to their wands in case they had to defend themselves. They would never harm him. They would simply use the Immobulus charm or something similar that would give them a chance to get away. They kept their hopes alive that the potion would actually work, but all they could do for now was to wait.

They didn't have to wait long. Within a half hour, the light of the full moon began shining through the cracked, dust covered window. The friends stared without blinking as the light traveled across the floor and up to Lupin's face. Their hearts dropped down into their chest when Lupin began changing.

"Oh, know," gasped Hermione.

They slowly began backing out of the door when the transformation became complete. They paused and stared as the werewolf heaved with exhaustion. The werewolf looked around as if taking in its surroundings.

"What's going on, here?" Lupin said to out loud to himself.

At first, Lillian and her friends didn't know what to do or what to say. They watched him for a few moments and slowly came out of hiding.

"Professor?" said Harry with a shake in his voice.

"Harry?" said Lupin, "What's going on here?"

"You will forgive us, professor," said Hermione. "We slipped you a potion that we have been working on for quite awhile. We hoped it would cure you, but we failed."

"Please don't be angry with us, sir," said Ron.

"How could I be angry," said Lupin. "You have given me something that I haven't had the chance to experience since I was a young lad, the ability to control my own actions during the light of a full moon. The full moon has been my curse and now..."

Lillian heard the words come out of his mouth, but she couldn't accept them. She felt as if she failed him. Lillian remained quite and as soon as she could she left them. Her friends could make it back under Harry's cloak. Lillian went to the Room of Requirement. She looked over the potions that didn't work. The others that had came close, but still hadn't worked. Parchment listing ingredients lay scattered all over. Ingredients still lay about.

"All this was for nothing," she said to herself. "Nothing."

Frustration filled her whole being. Tears filled her eyes. With all the other things going on, why did she put more pressure on her friends and herself? Lillian knocked the contents on one of the tables to the floor. She leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. She sat there for what seemed like ages just thinking. Finally, she got up and went to her room. Hermione wasn't there yet. Lillian ran herself a bath in hopes that it would relax her. It didn't and she found herself going to bed in the same mood as she was in before the bath.

The next morning she awoke, she dressed and left before Hermione awoke. Downstairs, however, she found Harry and Ron.

"Hey, Lillian," said Harry.

Lillian glanced at them, but left the common room without saying anything. When she got to the foot of the stairs, she heard Harry call to her. Lillian rushed off. She thought maybe she was just being foolish, but she couldn't shake the feeling she could have done more. That she could have done better. She wouldn't be able to avoid them forever, but she had to for now. She had to give herself some time to think.

Lillian went on to class. She sat away from her friends and when class ended she made sure she quickly left. She also made sure she avoided Professor Lupin. She also remained out of the common room as much as possible. This didn't last long. Her friends began to ask questions. She began to run out of excuses and out of places to avoid them. One day while walking through the corridor toward the Great Hall, Lupin saw her and asked her to come with him to his office. She tried to get out of it, but he stopped her.

"Your friends told me you might try to use some excuse," said Lupin.

Lillian followed in silence to Lupin's office. When they reached the room, Lupin offered her some tea, but she declined.

"Your friends have told me that you have been avoiding them since the night I drank the potion," said Lupin. "May I ask why?"

Lillian sat silent. She didn't want to answer, but he wouldn't let her leave until she did.

"I failed them," she said. "And I failed you, Professor."

He walked over and knelt down in front of her. He lifted her chin so that her eyes would gaze into his.

"You have in no way failed me," he said. "You and your friends have given me the ability to control myself during the full moon. That is something that I haven't been able to do since I was a child. You have also taken our world another step closer to curing Lycanthropy. You may have possibly stopped it from being spread. You don't know what that means to me."

Tears streamed down Lillian's face. "Oh, professor," Lillian sobbed.

Lillian put her arms around Professor Lupin and just cried. Her tears came to a brief stop, though. Flashes of being in the Room of Requirement came to her. She was looking at the list of ingredients for their potion. As she read the bottom ingredients, HAI was replaced with HAIR FROM BITTEN AREA. She then found herself and her friends in the light of the full moon removing hair from a werewolf's leg. When she came back to herself she was laying on the floor with Lupin looking at her.

"Lillian, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm great, professor," said Lillian. Lillian sat up. "I know what the missing ingredient is."

"You do?" asked Lupin. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," said Lillian.

Lillian left Lupin's office and ran to the Great Hall. She sat down at the table with her friends and once she caught her breath, she told them of what she'd seen.

"Are you saying that we just need each individual werewolf to take hair from over their bite mark during the phase of being a werewolf," asked Hermione.

"Yeah," said Lillian. "They need to add it to their second dose of the potion to cure them completely."

"Why the second dose," asked Ron. "If a werewolf isn't first given the dose to control him or herself, then it will be very difficult to get the hair from their bitten area," answered Lillian.

"Did you tell Professor Lupin this?" asked Harry.

"No," said Lillian. "Not exactly"

"Let's go and tell him then," said Ron.

Lillian and her friends made their way back up to Lupin's office. Lupin sat reading one of his many books which he promptly stopped when they entered. Lillian told him what the missing ingredient was. Lupin's face filled with a touch of disappointment.

"What's wrong, professor?" asked Lillian.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Lupin. "It's just...it's just that another full moon isn't for several weeks."

"It will be okay," said Lillian. "It will give us time to create more of it and think of how we're going to get it to others that need it."

Lillian was right. It took them quite a long time for them to make more of the potion and store them. They had to be careful, Snape had caught them to many times in this corridor and soon they knew he would get to curious and discover what they were doing. As the night of the full moon approached, the friends worked faster than ever to get it all done. Rumors began to fly and it got back to them that others knew. They had several of their friends question them about it. So far they had managed to keep the truth to themselves, but they knew it wouldn't last.

One day Hermione over heard some of the Slytherin students discussing the matter. They said that Snape was going to stop them at all cost. Hermione rushed to the Room of Requirement as fast as she could. Lillian, Ron, and Harry were still working.

"We've got to get out of here. Snape is going to try and catch us in the act and we will be expelled," said Hermione.

"Grab as much as you can," said Lillian. Harry, Ron, and Hermione did just that.

Lillian went and gathered their notes and the ingredients they used to make the cure. She and Hermione also placed a charm on the glass containers to keep them from breaking.

"Is that everything?" asked Harry.

They looked over the room and they felt comfortable that they indeed had everything they needed. They left the room into an empty corridor. They didn't want to take any chances so Lillian made them invisible. It was a good thing that she did, for half way down the corridor they seen a shadow approach. That shadow turned out to be Snape.

Snape passed them and went straight for the Room of Requirement. They watched him enter and soon after come back out slamming the door behind him.

"I'll catch them," muttered Snape. "They'll learn to take things from me."

"We didn't take anything from…" whispered Ron.

"Ron…shush..." said Harry. Snape stopped and turned toward them.

"I heard you," he said. "Now come out and show yourselves."

They didn't move or make a sound. They just waited for him to go on. He didn't, however. He began feeling around like someone who had just went blind. Lillian fought with her thoughts. What could she do? Suddenly the perfect idea came to her. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the Room of Requirement door. Within a matter a moments the door opened on its own and slammed shut. Snape shot his gaze toward the door and with a swift turn he made his way back to the Room of Requirement.

"Go," Lillian said, opening her eyes. "Quietly, though."

They could hear Snape throwing things around, but still they didn't take any chances. They quickly hurried out of the corridor. Once in the clear, the friends made their way to an abandoned classroom near Lupin's office.

"We made it," sighed Ron.

Lillian gave a wave of her wand and cleared the dust that had accumulated for half a century or so. She also repaired a few desk and chairs for them to sit. Plenty of shelf space was available for them to place their things. They laid the bags on the floor and began unpacking. Before to long, they were done. It looked almost the same as the Room of Requirement except only the ingredients they needed lined the shelves. The room had a fireplace with a large cauldron sitting inside it. They wouldn't need the cauldron yet, but they would need heat. The room was extremely cold. Their breath blew in front of their faces like smoke from a flame. Their teeth began to chatter.

Ron and Harry went and moved the cauldron. They then used some old parchment they had found to start a fire.

"There," said Harry. "It should get warm soon."

"We're going to go find more kindling," said Ron.

"Be careful," said Hermione. "Watch out for Snape."

"Don't let anyone follow you back here," warned Lillian.

"We won't," said Harry.

Harry and Ron left. Hermione and Lillian continued setting everything back up.

"We'll need to set a locking charm on the door or do something so that no one can find our things," said Hermione.

"Perhaps I can put a charm on it so that when we enter, we will see what we see now, but when others enter they will see what was before," said Lillian.

"An illusion charm of that quantity is very difficult," said Hermione.

"It will be okay," said Lillian.

As soon as the boys got back, Hermione and Lillian explained their idea.

"How do we do that?" asked Ron.

"We need to stand together," said Lillian like this she said showing them how to cross their wands. "Now, on the count of three, we need to say Illusio Maximus. Ready?"

They shook their head and Lillian began count down. "3…2...1..." said Lillian and all together they said "Illusio Maximus."

"Hey where did it go?" asked Ron. "We are supposed to see it."

"Oh, Ron," said Hermione. "The way the charm works is that we have to go outside tap the door with our wands. The room is controlled by our spell. It will recognize our wands and our wands only."

"It is very important that you do not lead anyone here," said Lillian. "If someone follows one of us and discovers our room it is a good chance that all our work with be for nothing."

They left the room and reentered to make sure the spell worked. It did and they worked a while longer readying the potion for the last ingredient that came soon enough. The moon, within a matter of weeks was again full and bright. Lillian and her friends were getting anxious. Lupin was more anxious than they were. The idea that he would only change once more into the beast that had plagued him since he was a child seemed almost a dream.

Lillian and her friends waited for night fall. The gathered what they needed and when the time came they went out with Lupin to the Shrieking shack. They sat talking until the moonlight began shining through the window.

"Here goes," said Lupin he said as the moon crept up his body and he began to change.

"Be ready just in case," said Lillian.

They took out their wands and waited anxiously. After the transformation was complete, a werewolf weakly panted.

"Professor?" said Hermione.

Lupin looked up at them. The friends tightened their grip on their wands. The werewolf opened its mouth.

"I was bitten on the back of my right leg," said Lupin at the great relief of the friends, "just above the knee."

Lillian went over to him. She placed her finger to a place just above his right knee.

"Here," she asked.

"Yes," said Lupin.

Lillian took a razor blade and cut the hair from the area revealing the scar underneath. Lillian placed the hair in a tube and closed it up. Lillian looked at Lupin and smiled.

"I've got it, professor," said Lillian.

Lillian got up and showed them their final ingredient. She placed the tube in her pocket. As much as they hated it, they had to leave. They went back up to the school and went to the classroom. They had everything ready. They now could only wait for the sun to come up. They started to go back to the common room, but the Marauder's map alerted them to the possibilities of them being caught. They each transfigured a chair into a sleeping bag and settled down for the night.

"Good night," each of them said as they settled in.

The room was rather quite and quite warm and despite their excitement, they all drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, they awoke and knowing they were in the clear and would somewhat have a legitimate excuse of their being out so early, they left the room. They went up to their dorm rooms to get ready. Lillian was putting her clothes on when she had this overwhelming feeling that something was wrong. She realized that someone was entering their classroom. Lillian told Hermione. She told Hermione that she would go stop whoever it was while Hermione went to tell Harry and Ron. She told them to find Lupin and meet in Lupin's classroom.

Lillian couldn't help, but think that someone must have seen them going in there. If they had discovered a spell was upon the room it could be broken. Lillian rushed off toward the classroom just hoping that her feeling was wrong. She turned the corner and watched Snape walk in. Lillian rushed to the door and tapped her wand against it quietly. The room's contents appeared before her, but not to Snape. That, however, didn't remain. Snape used the Finite Incantatem charm and suddenly he gazed around at all their things.

"They're in trouble now," said Snape. "The Headmaster will not stand for their thievery."

Lillian made no sound as his gaze landed upon her. She looked over to the table in which Lupin's hair and the potion lay ready for consumption. Snape's gaze followed. Lillian grabbed the tubes and ran. Snape gave chase. Lillian had to do whatever she could to get the potion to Lupin. Snape was right behind her and closing. She turned the corner and almost ran into Dumbledore.

"Excuse me," she said without stopping.

Snape turned the corner too. Dumbledore stopped him at Lillian's relief.

"What is this all about?" she heard Dumbledore ask. Lillian didn't hear anymore.

"We have to hurry," she said when she entered Lupin's office only moments later interrupting a conversation that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were having with Professor Lupin.

Lillian placed the potion on Lupin's desk. She took the lid off it as well as the tube containing the hairs. She shook the hair into the potion. She stirred it and reached it to Lupin. Lupin raised it to his mouth, but lowered it when Dumbledore and Snape walked in.

"Professor Lupin?" said Dumbledore. "May I ask what is going on here?"

"They are using stolen material to endanger their lives as well as the life of one of our professors."

"Truly, Professor Snape," said Lupin. "When have you ever cared for my life?"

"That will be enough, professors," said Dumbledore.

"These students have stolen material, Headmaster," said Snape again. "They deserve to be punished."

"Professor," said Lillian. "If you please, we didn't steal the material. We got it from the Room of Requirement. We have been working on a potion that will cure Lycanthropy. We believe we have finished it and our finished potion is right there."

Dumbledore looked at the tube that Lupin was holding. He appeared to be researching the entire potion's ingredients even though it was mixed together.

"Headmaster," said Lupin. "I have already taken the first dose of their potion. It works. With the first dose, I was able and am still able to control myself when I transform into the werewolf."

"Is this true?" said Dumbledore. "It is possible that you children have done what many full grown wizards have failed to do?"

"We won't know for sure, Professor," said Hermione. "Not until he takes the final dose of the potion and the moon comes up tonight."

"What if it doesn't work and it kills him?" asked Snape.

"His taking the potion will be on his own freewill," said Dumbledore.

"But, Headmaster?" gasped Snape in disbelief. Knowing that he had lost the battle, Snape angrily turned and left the room.

"Upon my better judgment," said Dumbledore. "I am going to let this go on at your choice professor."

Lupin looked at him and at the kids. He lifted the tube and before drinking it down said, "Here goes."

Professor Lupin dropped the tube. It shattered on the floor. He grabbed his stomach and fell to his knees.

"Professor?" gasped Harry.

"He's okay," said Lillian. "Remember, this will likely work in a way like the Polyjuice potion."

Within a matter of a few moments Lupin was okay. They helped him up and sitting down they explained everything to Professor Dumbledore. When they finished it was nearly lunchtime. Dumbledore warned them to keep silent until tonight. They went to lunch and didn't even mention what had happened to each other. They more or less played with their food for they were in no mood to eat. Lupin appeared to be feeling as stressed as they for he, too, barely touched his food.

They left the Great Hall and went to their classroom. They did their best to feel their time. They worked on homework most of the time, but it was hard to concentrate. They realized it was getting late as the room began to cool down.

"Are you ready?" Lillian asked.

Her friends agreed it was time. They left the room and returned to Lupin's office. When the entered Lupin's office no words were said. Lupin just walked out with them toward the Whomping willow. Lupin performed the Immobilous charm and the Whomping willow slowed in motion to almost the freezing point. They went down the tunnel under the tree and climbed the stairs to the room in the shrieking shack. Another hour passed before the moon was high enough to reach into the room.

"No matter what happens," he said, "I appreciate each one of you very much for your hard work."

The moon reached him and covered him in whole. Nothing happened. Lupin remained human. Lupin gasped and fell to his knees. He laughed himself to tears. Lillian and her friends cried too. When they composed themselves, they left the shack and went back up to the school. Dumbledore was waiting for them in his office. His face was bright and smiling. As they chatted, the door behind them opened and in came the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"Remus," he said. "Is that you? How, though?"

"That was what I called you here for, Minister," said Dumbledore. "Four of our students have come up with a cure for Lycanthropy."

"L...L...Lycanthropy?" stuttered Fudge.

"We have proof that it works too," said Lupin.

"I see that," said Fudge.

"This is how," began Harry.

Harry and the others told the story of how one day; Lillian had come up with the idea to find the cure from a dream she had. After that, they explained the process of how they had prepared everything in secret, slipped it to Professor Lupin, and their disappointment when he still transformed even though he did have control over his actions. They had given up until Lillian figured out want the missing ingredient was. They explained how they had to wait until the full moon to get the final ingredient, the hair off the bitten area after transformation. They ended at the point of Lupin not transforming. They also explained that the first dose would give them control and the second dose was the cure.

A/N:

Can you imagine being plagued with lycanthropy? Although lycanthropy is not a real ailment, there are real things that plague people. Some learn from it and thrive. Some people have problems coping with them and may need a friend to talk to or help out. Do not pity a person, but reach out and find the person within. Take the first step. Even though you may fail, you have already won because you took a chance.

I once watched a MASH episode entitled "Out of Sight, Out of Mind." This episode was from Season 5. Hawkeye goes to the nurse's tent to fix a stove. The stove explodes and he received very bad burns to his face and eyes. His eyes are wrapped up in hopes that he would soon regain his sight.

While he was bandaged, he began to listen more. He picked up on noises that we overlook everyday. One thing that he did during his temporary blindness was to listen to the rain. At one point he explains his observation there of. The words he used were with such emotion. It was pure poetry that it made you, for just a short time; wish you could be blind so that you could experience such grace.

Sometime, when it is raining, storming, or even snowing, turn off the television, the radio, turn off all man made noise. Have everyone to just be still and silent and listen. The thunder can seem to go on forever if one could only listen long enough. The snow, you can't hear it, but to watch it fall, it is so amazing. I mean the possibility of little flurries combining with others to form a beautiful blanket of white that covers the earth and everything on it.

I guess what I am asking you to do is just slow down, be observant and listen. You have no idea what you are missing until you have the ability to do these things. PEACE!