Once again I thank you for your feedback and apologize for the long wait. It's only a short chapter today, but there's more to come. Promise.
8 Full Moon
That night the dream was back. The nightmare he had thought overcome and had almost forgotten. It had haunted him when Lupin had been teaching at Hogwarts. Snape's own traumatic experience in the tunnel below the Whomping Willow and his apprehensions about setting a werewolf loose in a castle full of children had triggered it and made him wake trembling and covered in sweat night after night. The lack of sleep and the infringement on his precious free time caused by the obligation to brew the Wolfsbane potion had only deepened his aversion to accepting his former schoolmate as a colleague.
Switching on the reading light over his bed to try and get the gruesome visions of a giant werewolf on the rampage, creating a host of young werewolves within seconds out of his mind, Snape was sitting up in bed, attempting to control his breathing and at the same time cursing the impertinent Healer and the traitorous minister from the bottom of his heart. Damn and blast, he did not want to be reminded of this miserable period of his life, when he had felt both angry and betrayed by Dumbledore for having employed one of Snape's childhood bullies, and incompetent, immensely frustrated and helpless, when his work on Wolfsbane modifications had turned out fruitless. And now he was back right there, thanks to a know-it-all busy-body of a healer. Would she leave him alone? He couldn't be sure, she had not seemed to be the type to give up easily. What, by Merlin's tangled beard, was he supposed to do?
With a deep sigh, Snape threw back the duvet and padded over to the window, pulling the curtain aside. A full moon was bathing the garden outside in a silvery light. A full moon - of course. Damn and blast. Severus opened the window, letting in the cold night air. He leant out to feel the chilly damp on his face. His eyes growing accustomed to the moonlight, he could make out details in the garden: The hedge that needed cutting, the wooden bench next to the rose bushes, the apple tree still full of blossoms. It was peaceful, the village was perfectly quiet, tranquil. So unlike his dream. Snape closed his eyes, forcing his mind to retain the picture of the moonlit scenery. No more werewolves. Taking several deep breaths he was about to close the window when he heard it.
The howling. Not close, but not very far away either. Not the full, low-pitched, menacing howl of an adult wolf, full of both agony and aggression, but a higher, trembling sound conveying pain and - fear? Severus shivered, he wanted to slam the window shut, draw the curtain, block out the moonlight and the howling, hide in the safety and warmth of his bed. However, he stayed, frozen, staring into the night, waiting for the howling to return, hardly daring to breathe. But there was no repeat. The night remained quiet. The moon had almost vanished behind the trees when Snape decided to stop his vigil. He closed the window and the curtains slowly, suddenly realising how cold he was. Cold and bone-tired.
Wearily he climbed back into his bed, hoping to find some residual warmth. Drawing the duvet up to his ears he lay on his side, forcing his body to relax and his breath to become slow and even. If he could get a few hours of undisturbed sleep, maybe he would be able to come to a decision tomorrow.
Disclaimer: As usual, this story relies on ideas and characters created by J. K. Rowling