Severus walked toward the castle and he could hear Lupin shuffling behind him slowly - walking as if lost in an endless nightmare. His mind was racing with possibilities. Whatever person had been buried in Lupin's place must have been under the influence of some sort of charm or, perhaps, a Polyjuice Potion.
There was something weighing more on Snape's mind in regards to Lupin. When Severus had spoken to Lily using the Resurrection Stone, he had asked Lily to apologize to Lupin for him, and Lily had turned her head to the side and smiled, as if someone were speaking behind her that he could not see or hear. I thought Remus was speaking to her. Who had been speaking to her? Nymphadora? Why wouldn't she say Remus wasn't dead? Potter. I need Potter.
Just as he walked into the castle from the courtyard, he heard the snap of Apparition, and turned on his heel immediately and drew his wand. Lupin jumped backward and reached for a wand, but he did not have his.
He saw Kingsley, Dawlish, Maxwell, and Davis. Each was kneeling over a younger witch or wizard, most of them crying out in pain. His eyes franctically searched the faces - Ron, Ginny, Harry... Hermione.
Severus ran to her and kneeled. She was unconscious, and he felt her pulse. Weak, but present. She had a cut on her cheek that was bleeding heavily, as all head wounds do. Immediately, his wand was dragging across the wound to heal it.
"What happened?" Snape growled at Kingsley.
"They were caught. Greyback. Attacked by them. Dueling when we found them. They're exhausted. We had to apparating them here directly from Australia."
"You fool!" Snape hissed, "That's too far! You could have killed them! Did you at least catch or kill the Greyback?!"
"It was all we could do to get them out!" Kingsley roared at Snape. Arsehole.
Lupin, stunned, hadn't moved from the archway of the castle and Minerva, Pomona, Filius, and Horace approached the group quickly.
"Get them to the infirmary!" Severus yelled. Almost all of them appeared splinched in some way.
Harry made eye contact with Snape, and over the Snape's shoulder, the boy caught sight of Remus. Harry raised his wand and yelled, "Stupefy!"
The stunning hex whizzed past Severus' ear and hit Remus in the chest. Remus was sent soaring backward, where he promptly fell and then laid motionless in the corridor.
"Lupin's dead!" Harry studdered.
Snape nearly smiled, but his panic kept him in check. Potter defended me against a Marauder. Why I never thought I'd see the day, "Apparently not."
Harry's green eyes went wide, "What? That was... That was Remus?"
"Yes," Severus said plainly as he pulled Hermione into his arms and stood. So limp. He clenched his jaw at the pain, but willed himself to walk with her in his arms. Slughorn put his arm around Severus' waist to assist him. His left arm trembled and shook as he rushed into the infirmary and laid her on a bed. His pinky and ring finger were numb and his hands were in a full tremor. The other four former students were either carried, levitated, or helped into nearby beds.
Remus limped into the infirmary, helped by Minerva and Pomona, "Harry..."
Harry's tired eyes snapped open and looked to Remus as Poppy worked in his splinched hand. He was not in bad shape, truly, and the splinching on his hand had not gone down to the bone. Lupin approached Remus and Snape eyed the werewolf carefully as he passed, and then turned his full attention back to Hermione. He and Horace worked deligiently with diagnostic spells.
"Her magical core is depleted," Horace said with a look of slight relief on his face, "I see minor splinching here at her elbow, but it is minor indeed." He wrapped her elbow quickly and neatly, and cleaned the blood away.
Snape felt himself pale. She's drained. Again. Splinched. Minerva was helping Poppy. Weasley's arm had been splinched. Again. Badly. He would probably never master apparating. Ginny Weasley looked relatively unscathed, several scratches on her face and minor splinching on her hand, but she was unconscious, and Lavender Brown looked to have been splinched in a minor way on her foot. Ginny was probably drained as well.
"Hermione," Severus ground out through his teeth. He wanted so desperately to see her eyes, to hear her voice, for her loose hand in his to squeeze back. Please please please please please please please.
"She must rest, Severus," Horace said softly, "It is quite possible that she will be perfectly well in the morning. Her and Ginerva both!"
Severus nodded reluctantly and slumped down into a chair beside her and watched her chest rise and fall several times before he glanced at Potter. Potter was shifting uncomfortably in the bed as his hand healed itself slowly as Remus stared at him.
Slowly, the crowd thinned. Poppy tended to each person with great care. Remus sat at Harry's beside diligently, and he could hear the man crying softly as he told Harry that his wife was, indeed, dead Nymphadora... the former students were, except for Harry, asleep, or unconscious. Severus stared at Hermione intensely. Harry was eyeing Ginerva with a look of intense love. For one so young, he loves fiercely.
"Potter," He said lowly, "I thought you would have seen Lupin when you used the stone. I thought you did see him."
"I think I did," Harry ruffled his hair in frustration, "Or I thought I did."
"You're sure?"
"I remember talking about him. I don't... Remember if he was actually there or not. Mostly... I remember my mum," The boy looked down at his bedsheets.
"What?" Remus asked confused. He wiped his eyes.
"How are you uncertain, Potter?" Severus growled.
"Oh, I don't know, Snape. Maybe because I was walking to my death and things were a bit disorientating?"
"Potter..."
"Let him alone, Severus."
"Bugger off, Lupin," Snape snapped, "I need the stone. I have questions that need answering. What have you done with it?"
"Nothing yet," Harry shrugged. You've had it for weeks...
"I must use it," Severus said firmly.
"It's at Grimmauld Place in Sirius' bedroom beneath a floor board under his dresser," Harry said after hesitating. Severus' eyes narrowed, "It's hard to let go of it. I wanted to use it again before I hid it from everyone. It's... Things got so busy."
Snape nodded once and then looked to Hermione, "I can't leave her." I'm sorry, Harry.
Remus looked at him, "I'll get it, Severus. What is it?" The werewolf stood.
Harry grimaced and Severus stiffened, uncertain s to how such a powerful object could impact Remus' sanity at the present moment, and Severus said, "I very much doubt we are in need of your assistance, Lupin. We have time."
Lupin scowled at Snape. Severuslooked at Potter, who nodded reluctantly, and Harry said, "It's in an envelope that's sealed with Slytherin's wax seal. Just bring it to us. Don't open it, Remus. Touch only the envelope."
"Is it cursed?" Remus looked between the two wizards.
"Oh, yes," Severus said dangerously. A different sort of curse.
"What the devil is going on here?" Remus was growing irritated with the ambiguity.
"Lupin, just bring it here. We will explain things then," Severus said in frustration.
Lupin looked at Severus intensely. His blue eyes raked over Severus' face, "You much explaining to do, Snape."
Snape glared at him, "I owe you nothing."
"Damn it to hell, Severus! You owe me enough!" Lupin snapped, "I trusted you! When nobody else did! I defended you!"
"Only took you 20 years, Wolf!" Snape snapped and rose to his feet.
"Stop!" Harry yelled, and Severus was grateful for the enchanted sleep of the other people in the beds, "Please!"
Severus glanced at Harry, and then looked back to Lupin, "Go on then, Lupin. Fetch."
Lupin's face darkened, but Harry requested Remus make haste, and the werewolf left. Harry looked at Severus and his face softened, "Don't be so hard on him, Severus... He's..." The boy's voice caught in his throat, "He's lost everything. His best friends. His wife."
Snape, feeling sufficiently humbled, sat next to Hermione again.
"It doesn't justify it, though, what happened to you at school. It doesn't excuse it," Harry said in an attempt to assure Severus.
"Lupin, aside from nearly killing me once in werewolf form, was the least of my worries. His passive allowance is his cross the bear," Severus said lowly as he watched Hermione sleep.
"They'll be okay? Her and Ginny...?"
Severus sighed and ran a trembling hand through his hair, "It would seem so, yes. What happened, Potter? What of her parents?"
"We watched them for a couple days, let Hermione try to undo the memory charm... When she couldn't... She was devastated. It was awful," Harry said quietly.
Severus squeezed the tiny hand in his. Oh, Hermione.
"A couple days ago I guess now, we went to move them, to be safe. She sent them to New Zealand this time, and as soon as she returned to us from across the street, we were ambushed. It was horrible. Horrible..."
Severus squeezed his eyes shut tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Thank you. For going with her. For bringing her home. I am...glad you all escaped relatively intact."
"She cried for you. Nearly every night. In her sleep," Harry's voice shook and Severus dropped Hermione's hand to the bed as he clenched his hands into fists to stop the unbearable tremors and numbness. His heart thumped loudly in his chest.
Lupin reappeared the infirmary, red-eyed and tear stained cheeks, and he handed the envelope silently to Harry, "What is it?"
Severus stared at Lupin. Going to his dead best friend's house to pick up and envelope and then delivering that envelope to his other dead best friend's son all after hearing his wife is dead. Severus' heart ached for a moment for the other wizard. The dark eyes traveled to the worn envelope in Harry's battered hands and he suddenly found himself hearing Dumbledore's meddlesome voice replayed in his mind...
'You think the dead we loved every truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly in times of great trouble?'
Damn you, Albus. Damn your bloody wisdom.
