A/N: Disclaimer: This book was based on foundations I put in place in book 3. It was teased at the end of book 15. I planted Ivano Disparte in the last book, and he made his first appearance end of 2017 or early 2018. And at the start of 2020, 1/3rd of this book was already finished.

It is possible that some may find a particular detail that plays out in 56 and 57 quite ironic given current events; I could never have predicted it. So... sorry about the elephant in the room, just put a blanket over him and forget he's there, because it was never my intention. This is the beginning of a conclusion I have been planning for a long time. (although there is a small nod to c.e. in 57, I'll let you figure out what.) ~ DQ 4/21.

Fifty-Six

The Carousel of Shadows

By Monday, the students were more than ready to get back to class. The moon was waning, and Remus was ready to get back to Defense. Much to Laura's dismay, she found herself substituting for Potions again, for Severus was getting released from the hospital wing and Jennifer had every intention of seeing him up the stairs and taking care of him his first day. Jennifer and Severus stopped only long enough to go to the daycare room to give Quintin some hugs before continuing on to the Headmaster's Study.

"Well! It's about time!" came the voice of Icarus Ravenclaw around them as the two of them walked in, Severus leaning on Jennifer for support as she walked him over to his desk chair so that he could sit down.

"I see you managed to keep my castle in one piece," Severus said. Icarus materialized.

"More or less," Icarus agreed.

"An update then, if you don't mind?" Severus said.

"There are two students out of the castle at the moment, Viorica Eddy and Maurice Craw," Icarus began. "Viorica had an appointment at the Ministry and should be back on Tuesday, and I thought I'd give you the honor of scheduling her two detentions so I have not done so."

"I want one of them," Jennifer said immediately.

"Fine," Severus said, writing some notes.

"Maurice will be gone for the rest of the week, but I have sent his homework along with him. Essie is here substituting for me, and Zed is substituting for your Runes II class today, Severus. Oh, and Professor Disparte has contacted the school several times attempting to get a status update on you and is asking a great deal of questions about Laura and your state of health. I hope you don't mind, but he'll be your first appointment today, followed by Hermione at lunch to discuss the budget and upcoming board meeting. I believe that's it, everything else is written down for you, Severus."

"Thank you, Icarus, for keeping things afloat," Severus said sincerely.

"That goes double for me, Icarus. I'm sure Hermione would have had a terrible time trying to do all that by herself with all the faculty we had out of the building," Jennifer added.

"I'm always glad to be of service," Icarus said with a smile. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

As he faded, Jennifer caught the sight of Severus sipping a potion.

"Are you certain you're up to working today?" Jennifer asked.

"Now, it's a scheduled dose, Jennifer, don't start worrying again," Severus scolded, tapping at the clock. "I'll be fine."

"Fine. But I'm still not leaving you at all today," Jennifer said firmly.

"Good, because I think I'd have a hard time chasing you down right now," Severus replied, being rewarded with a smile. "So how about getting us some coffee?"

"Good idea," she agreed.

"Professor Disparte is on his way up, Severus," Armando said.

"Very well, then pour three," Severus said, and Jennifer happily obliged.

Armando stepped out of the Doorlift and stepped into the study, more than a little surprised that the two of them were sitting there as if nothing at happened, only the tell-tale sign of bandages around the neck of the headmaster's robes and scratches along one side of his face to show for the experience.

"How can you possibly be doing that right now? How are you even alive?" Ivano exclaimed with such frustration and exasperation that both of them gazed at him with amused expressions.

"On second thought, Jennifer, maybe Ivano would prefer chamomile tea to coffee," Severus decided.

"He thinks our coffee is too weak anyway," Jennifer informed Severus.

"Have a seat, Ivano," Severus offered, waving the door closed. "How is your son?"

"Oh, better I suppose. He was badly injured in the fight, but you know how werewolves regenerate," Ivano said, accepting a cup from Jennifer. "The Minister of Magical Creatures was kind to him from the start, but since he missed a dose, he had to stay in the Tower until the danger of his turning had passed. Still, being stuck in a cell with no where to run, it gave us plenty of time to talk. He is at St. Mungo's now, and is terribly sorry for the harm he caused."

"Have the two of you finally made up?" Jennifer asked.

"More or less," Ivano nodded, growing somber. "I never meant to hurt my son, Jennifer, I was simply desperate to find a cure... more so when my wife died. I was so blinded by my desire to make things right, I never once questioned the morality of what I was doing to my son, or even any consideration to his feelings. The fact of the matter is that the events of that night in the fields and everything that has happened since has convinced me I did go too far, and Matteo had legitimate reasons to condemn those actions. I suppose there will never be any way I can ever make up for that. Even if I were to find a miracle cure, it does not change the past in any way."

"Yes, I understand that all too well. There are many things that I have done in the past that can never be atoned for completely, at least in my own conscience," Severus admitted.

"Yes, well, because of that, no one was more surprised than I when he awoke after his last turning and asked about the changes to the recovery potion," Ivano said. "And, of course, being two alchemists, that discussion began blending into our changes to the therapy potion we've been making. Once he learned how significant the improvements were, he decided that our personal grievances with each other were petty compared to the benefits our potion would bring to so many looking for relief from their illness. In fact, should you allow it, he has volunteered to help test the new formula as well."

Jennifer looked at Severus questioningly.

"It's up to you, Jennifer, although if he does agree to it, he'll probably still have to stay in the Tower on those nights to be safe. We only have one vault, and I don't think the school can manage more than one werewolf at a time, you know," Severus said.

"But what of you and Laura, Headmaster? How are you going to possibly manage with three if you don't think you can handle more than one?" Ivano entreated.

"Ivano, you needn't worry. Neither of them are infected," Jennifer explained with a smile. Ivano stared at her in amazement. "You see, my husband concocted a temporal potion to reverse the effects of a bite provided that it's taken right away, and Severus has been immune since... since..." Jennifer stood up and gasped, putting a hand on her mouth.

"Stars and comets! I've been such a fool!" Jennifer realized and dashed out of the room, bashing a Doorlift button and stepping through it.

"What in the world just happened?" Ivano asked, wondering if he was ever going to get any straight answers at all.

"I'll tell you what happened," Severus said. "Less than fifteen minutes ago, my wife told me she had every intention of not leaving my side for the entire day. And just like that, she is off again," he added with exasperation, taking a sip of coffee. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. If anything, I probably should be surprised that it took her that long."

Jennifer had completely forgotten that classes were in session when she stepped out of the Doorlift in the North Tower, surprising Essie while she was attempting to teach the class a new meditation method. Pretending they weren't there, Jennifer walked straight by them and over to Icarus Ravenclaw's office, letting herself in and shutting the door behind herself.

"Don't you ever knock?" asked a disembodied voice.

"You have absolutely no room to talk," Jennifer said curtly.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Icarus said, his wispy form slowly materializing behind the desk. Jennifer gazed at him steadily for a moment, only for him to meet it. "Take your time, it isn't as if I don't have plenty," he pointed out with a chuckle.

"I have something I need to tell you," Jennifer said.

"Yes, that would explain why you're in my office," Icarus replied.

"Don't you ever shut up?" Jennifer snapped at him. Icarus nodded and gestured for her to proceed. Jennifer let out a long exhale, gathering her thoughts.

"Earlier this term, I made a terrible mistake," Jennifer began. "I did it in the name of professional ethics, when in fact what it really was about was my personal anger, pride, and self-righteousness. I lashed out because of your transgressions despite knowing that your sentence for that has long been established and had nothing to do with me. I let my personal beliefs cloud my judgment, and I now believe that foolish act hampered the research we were doing. I know the reason Severus put me in charge of this project was in an attempt to give me a chance to earn more academic acclaim. But after this dreadful last weekend, I realized that none of that really matters. What matters most is doing whatever we can to put a stop to this disease. Therefore, I deeply apologize for turning down your offer of helping us with the research and humbly ask you to consider helping us."

Jennifer waited a moment, not really wanting to look at him but getting more then a little unnerved by how quiet he was being. Finally she looked up in impatience to see him smiling at her.

"Well, say something!" Jennifer exclaimed with frustration.

"Oh, I can talk now?" Icarus inquired.

"Ick!" Jennifer cried out, nearly pulling her hair out.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Severus with his convalescence on his first day up?" Icarus inquired. Jennifer blinked.

"Oops," Jennifer said flatly. "I'd better get downstairs."

"You know, Jennifer, Severus has that meeting with Hermione at lunch which is of the sort that will more than likely bore you to tears... perhaps you might invite me to lunch in his sitting room at the same time? That way we can chat, but we'll still be just a curtain away if he decides it's too much for him," Icarus suggested. Jennifer nodded with a smile, stepping out of the room much more quietly than she had come in.

Essie had just gotten the class settled after being interrupted twice; once by Jennifer coming through, and then from the loud voices coming from Ravenclaw's office. She looked up with an exasperated sigh as Jennifer attempted to sneak out, noticing more than one student peek an eye open as Jennifer tip-toed out the Doorlift. Irritated at being interrupted again, Essie closed her eyes. The moment she did, a powerful vision flooded her mind.

It was a large carousel of shadows, and each of the mounts was the shape of a fierce wolf.

There were many riders; but just as there were riders, there were also plenty of mounts that had none. The empty mounts snarled with hunger, as if looking for a rider of their own to snatch out of the shadowed figures mulling about at the edge of the ride. Suddenly a girl ran out, and she seemed to be chasing the Carousel around in a circle... almost as if she were seeking a certain rider. Her father was already on it, Essie was sure; although which rider was her father was impossible to tell. Suddenly, the girl jumped onto the platform and the empty mounts gnashed at her, attempting to pull her on. A fight broke out between two riders, making the situation even more confusing. Suddenly, another shadowed figure in long robes dashed to the carousel and grabbed her, breaking a potion on the ground. The carousel slowed... then reversed ever so slightly, allowing the tall robed figured to pull her back off and over to a line of children forming a ring around the carousel. It was then that Essie realized that the rest of the shadowed children were backing much further away from the carousel than they had been. The ones closest to the carousel began to join hands and form a ring around it, and a fence sprouted from the ground in front of the ring of children, creating an even stronger barrier to keep any of them from getting closer. Then, one by one, the shadowed children were led away by their parents, leaving only the fence and the handful of riders behind on the carousel.

"Candles and Craters! What the f-" Essie quickly covered her mouth as she realized where she was, half the class gasping and the other half sniggering at her language.

"Madame Brim, really!" the voice of Icarus said in a surprised tone.

Essie sat down, trying to make some sense of what she had just seen.

The next day Severus was back on his own feet, and it was just as well; Jennifer was eager to get back to the dungeon. Icarus' ideas had gotten her so excited that she had a lot of trouble giving out OWLS cram reviews that morning, she just had so much on her mind! She was so distracted that the second years nearly caused a disaster in the lab again; Jennifer narrowly caught the mistake, saving her a big mess when what she really wanted to do most of all was to go to lunch. Of course, that was despite the fact that eating was the furthest thing from her mind. She pulled in the breakfast cart and had it stacked up with coffee, juice, pastries and sandwiches, and even a small tray with more of the same for Ick, but from two weeks ago. Pretty soon, there was a timid knock on the door and Viorica peeked in.

"Did you want to see me?" she asked.

"Yes, of course, Viorica! Please come in, I'm sure the rest of the research team will be here soon. Why don't you go ahead and grab a plate and find a chair," Jennifer said amiably.

"This is about the research?" Viorica said, suddenly relaxing with relief. "I thought this was about you being mad at me."

"Oh, I'll get even with you during your first detention, but that's not until Saturday," Jennifer explained. Viorica wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. "This is a research team meeting." There was a swift knock and Ivano entered.

"Good day, Viorica, Jennifer," Ivano said. "Am I late?"

"Not at all," Jennifer said. "Ick, is that you over there?" she asked, seeing a spoon stirring the moldy cup of tea.

"Who else?" Icarus said, materializing. "Is this everyone?"

"No, we still need Remus, of course," Jennifer said, then paused to listen. "Actually, I think I hear a cane now."

"Yes, hello, Jennifer," Remus said, stepping in. "Sorry if I'm late. One of my more creative students decided it'd be funny to make a lewd reference with the Ridikulus spell during the Boggart lesson... the class was amused, of course. I was not." Jennifer bit back a chuckle.

"Help yourselves to some sandwiches and drinks and do get settled. I believe you all know our newest edition to our team, Icarus Ravenclaw," Jennifer said.

"I'll be the first to admit that I'm glad you're here, Ick, but I'm also amazed as well," Remus said, sitting on the couch. "A Craw can out-stubborn even a Snape... how did you convince her to let you in?"

"It was Ivano, actually," Jennifer said, smiling at his surprised expression. "When I heard that Ivano and Matteo were willing to put aside their differences for the good of the research project, I decided I could do the same. It didn't take me long after speaking to Ick that I'm very glad I did."

"Is it my turn to speak?" Icarus asked.

"You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?" Jennifer asked with a scowl.

"You two aren't going to spend this whole session fighting, are you? In front of a student, no less?" Remus reminded them.

"Good point. Icarus, go right ahead, please," Jennifer said.

"I would first like to say that I have been doing my best to follow your work very carefully... well...except for that unfortunate period of time that there were ghost traps in here, in any case..."

"Thank you, Icarus, get on with it," Jennifer warned dangerously.

"The changes that Severus did on the recovery potion, though minor, still helped with making the mixture more pleasant, and with Jennifer's suggestion of infusing a little caffeine in the mix greatly reduced the headaches."

"Definitely a welcome change," Remus agreed.

"And now, starting this month as you know, Jennifer and Ivano's improvements to the therapy potion that makes it so it only need be used once per moon cycle has been approved for testing, which we now have three volunteers for, including Remus, Matteo, and Leonardo. It will need several months of testing to make sure there are no bad turnings from it, but I know Jennifer and Ivano are hopeful that they will be successful enough to send to the council," Icarus said. "I also know that you were troubled by the inconsistencies in the blood variations. I believe, however, that what you are actually seeing are different reactions to the regenerative property of lycanthropy. In fact, it is my belief that everyone who has been studying this disease has got its properties a bit backwards. In every instruction book that I have ever seen, it reads that the disease causes the victim to shapeshift with the moon, and as a side effect, gains accelerated regeneration. However, I believe the disease causes accelerated regeneration, and it's the involuntary shape-shifting that's the side effect. In fact, most of the blood tests you have done so far support my hypothesis."

"That's why your blood sample was different than everyone else's, Remus," Jennifer explained. "The Elixir of Life has regenerative properties too. The two intermingled and that's why your blood is closer to a natural born werewolf than it is to a typical wizard victim."

"So even if there is a true cure someday, it would likely not work for me," Remus murmured.

"I'm afraid that is probably correct," Icarus agreed solemnly. "I have been studying Nicholas Flammel's notes on the regenerative properties of potions and its effects, and I believe in your case, your condition is a permanent change. But that doesn't mean we can't prevent it in others."

"Prevent it?" Remus repeated.

"Yes, I believe that, instead of looking at the inconsistencies in the side effects once the blood is tainted, we should instead on stopping the infection before it has a chance to start; in other words to create enough of an immunity that the disease won't manifest at all if one is bitten," Icarus explained.

"You mean something like a rabies shot," Viorica suggested.

"Somewhat more complicated than that, but you have the general idea," Icarus said. "Even if we put our best efforts plus the efforts of the headmaster to try and cure who already has it, I don't think it can be done with our current knowledge. But preventing it in others just might be obtainable if we put all our efforts together."

"I'm in," Viorica said enthusiastically.

"Absolutely! I'm sure Matteo will feel the same," Ivano agreed.

"Any way I can help this time instead of just being a guinea pig?" Remus offered.

"Certainly. This is going to take a tremendous amount of testing and research, more than we've ever done before, I'm afraid. But what research you've done so far gives us a huge head start, and fortunately, I don't have to sleep. I can work on this project any time I don't have a class or need to prepare for one," Icarus offered.

"I don't suppose there are any other ghosts you want to pull in on this?" Jennifer asked.

"Maybe one," Icarus decided, and Jennifer smiled.

"You know, I think it's time I took a sabbatical away from the Institute," Ivano decided. "They'll be put out, but since I only have classes here once a week, it'd free me up to work on this the rest of the time."

"The only free time I have is on weekends," Viorica protested.

"Well, that's okay, your studies come first," Jennifer told her firmly. "And I'm sure everyone here will take that into account."

"Maybe we can ask Ginger if she wants to help?" Viorica suggested.

"That is a great idea," Jennifer agreed.

"You know, with all of the tests we have to run on both the therapy potion and the prevention potion, we're going to need someone to organize a lab schedule," Remus hinted. "Not to mention someone to pick up the tab..."

"Good luck getting Hermione on board. She's busy enough as it is," Jennifer said with a laugh.

"I'll just tell her you were thinking of doing it yourself, and I'm sure she'll oblige," Remus teased.

"Now, why do I suddenly get the feeling that half the staff is going to get pulled in on this thing?" Jennifer grinned knowingly.