Chapter 5 "Contracts Null and Void"
"Remus, Remus, come on, get up." Sirius hissed at Remus who still lay on the stage.
He didn't move.
"Remus?" Sirius could feel panic beginning to set in. "Remus? Wake up, the play's over. Remus?!"
Pomfry and Dumbledore ran over, conjuring a stretcher and began to lead Remus away towards the hospital wing. Sirius grabbed Arrow as she passed.
"Professor Arrow, where are they taking Remus?"
"The hospital wing."
"Did you find an antidote for whatever he drank?"
Arrow paused and then looking at Sirius with tears in her eyes shook her head. "Sirius, there's nothing we can do…"
"No… No…" Sirius's eyes were wide and he backed away from Arrow as if she were mad.
"It was a pure chemical accident… Just the wrong chemicals in the wrong place…." Arrow tried to explain.
Something changed in Sirius's eyes. "A chemical accident?"
Arrow nodded, "Sirius, I'm so sorry…"
But Sirius was already gone.
WHAM!
Snape hit the floor of the empty dressing room. Sirius stood over him, face livid, as Snape wiped blood from his nose.
"What the Hell did you give Remus!?!"
Snape glared and did not answer.
Sirius kicked him hard. Severus winced and coughed. "The stupid git got the chemical's confused, don't blame me for his own stupidity, Black."
"Oh, I blame you. You fixed it so Remus wouldn't be able to tell the difference! Those powders looked identical and you knew it!"
"Prove it," Snape sneered, a smirk creeping into his expression.
Black's face contorted as he pulled out his wand and for one moment Snape was certain that he was going to be cursed into oblivion, but Black grabbed Snape by the Slytherin tie he had just put on. As red and black sparks flew into Snape's face, Black breathed, "You're coming with me."
Sirius burst into the Hospital Wing, Snape still in tow. Remus was lying motionless on the bed, Lily, James, and Peter already there. Dumbledore and Madam Pomfry sat somewhat removed from the rest of the group.
They turned to look at Sirius when Remus's eyes snapped open, yellow and blazing.
"Remus!" Sirius yelled with relief seeing his friend wake.
Remus snarled and glared at Sirius, muscles tensing.
Snape took advantage of Sirius's shock and tried to flee from the room only to be blocked by Lily as Remus leapt towards Sirius, hands like claws, ripping the skin on Sirius's cheek.
Sirius yelled and threw Remus off.
"Remus! It's me! Sirius!"
"Remus, what are you doing?!" James yelled.
Remus turned on James, bloodlust burning in his eyes and approached James.
"Stupefy!" Dumbledore yelled.
Remus froze.
"Get him back on the bed," Dumbledore ordered and James and Peter complied.
Sirius sunk into a chair. Raising a hand to his face stared in shock at the blood on his hands. "My God… he attacked me."
Pomfry was trying to examine Remus, who appeared to be recovering from the Stupefy attack, and although unable to move his arms or legs began to growl threateningly. A hand twitched and Remus made a move to Pomfry's arm, barely missing. Unable to reach the blood around him Remus dug his nails into his own skin, howling.
"Get him tied down! If he doesn't hurt someone he'll hurt himself!" Pomfry ordered.
Looking in loss at one another Sirius suddenly reached over and violently tore off Severus's necktie, binding his friend's left wrist to the bed away from the rest of his body. Catching on James, Lily, and Peter took off their ties as well binding the other arm, both feet together and he shoulders to the bed. Sirius was still in costume and did not have a tie to offer.
Pomfry looked at Dumbledore. "What are we supposed to do?"
Dumbledore sighed, looking much older, and as he looked at his students he muttered, "All we can do is wait, and hope. I must write to Mr. and Mrs. Lupin however." Dumbledore walked out.
Pomfry looked at the other children. "You best leave. There's nothing you can do."
"No!" James nearly yelled. "We aren't going to leave him like this!"
The others (except Snape of course) nodded in agreement.
Madam Pomfry looked at the group, even as Remus whined and growled on the bed, beginning to thrash, trying to free himself but unable to do so.
Her gaze landed on Sirius. "Dear, I just don't want Remus to harm any of you…"
"That's not Remus." Sirius proclaimed. "That's just the wolf's mind in Remus's body. And I'm not leaving."
Madam Pomfry shook her head at a loss at what else to do. "All right then."
With one final glare at Remus Severus walked out, leaving behind the rest, without so much as blinking.
"What did you do to that old wolf?" Lucius asked, nonchalantly as Snape entered the dormitory.
"You don't know I did anything," Snape responded, lying down on his own bed. "The idiot got the ingredients confused, now the wolf's mind and bloodlust is in a human body."
"Face it, this has your name written all over it, Severus," Lucius scolded but then smiling added, "And it's brilliant."
Snape looked at his roommate, confused.
"That had to have taken brains, Severus. With a mind like that you can really make something of yourself. People will fear you."
Snape smiled sadistically to himself. "Really."
"Power, fame, a place in the New Order."
Lestrange across the room laughed. "The people who get places in the New Order are the one's who survive. Power, that's what I'd be concerned with."
"Couldn't agree more," Lucius added. "Its survival of the fittest. No weaklings like Evans or Lupin."
"Evans?" Snape asked glancing up.
"Lily, you idiot. Damned Mudblood."
Severus's eyes narrowed, but said nothing. Never ever tell others your weakness, first lesson of being with these Slytherins. The second one being…
Roisier was speaking now, "'Survival of the fittest.' I like that. Do what it takes to make sure you come out all right in the end. Really, who gives a damn about the rest?"
The next few days were pure torture to the Marauders. Remus made no sign of recovery or recognition. He would only howl and whine, thrashing about on the bed he was still tied to, tearing the sheets and the palms of his hands, not taking food or drink, only focused on blood. The school was told that Remus was fighting a poison from the "accident" with the props, and although they knew he was in peril they did not realize he had lost his mind to the beast within.
James and Sirius were only persuaded back to the dormitories after two days had passed and at the Headmaster's insistence.
"It was Snape, I know it!" Sirius yelled. "But the little bastard covered his tracks too well for the school to do anything! The Ministry doesn't give a…"
"Sirius…" James tried to soothe Sirius, knowing that even in the safety of the dormitory it was likely others could hear at the volume Sirius was yelling at and considering it was midnight, they were likely to receive detention if they disturbed the other students.
"The Ministry's not going to do anything either! They've all got that damn prejudice! It doesn't make any sense! Remus wouldn't hurt anyone! And they still don't care! And we… I can't do anything to help." Sirius finally after three days broke down.
James too had tears in his eyes, sitting beside Sirius he tried to reassure him as much as himself. "Sirius, if anyone can get out of this its Remus."
"And if he doesn't?"
James paused, steely. "We give Snape a taste of his own medicine."
In the hospital wing though, Remus stirred. Laying there, knowing he was awake, even though he longed to fall back into the escape of sleep. His mind was foggy and he felt as though he had just been through a transformation, but his bones didn't ache the way they should have.
Trying to clear his head, he attempted to raise his hand to his eyes.
He couldn't.
His eyes snapped open, and took in the scene of his legs and arms and even shoulders bound down with what appeared to be an assortment of neckties. Everything about the play rushed back at once, right up until he passed out, then only images ran through his mind just like any transformation, choppy, the line between reality and hallucinations blurred, including one he knew must have happened in the past hour. Someone pouring a burning liquid down his throat.
At a loss to explain it he glanced again at his bounds wondering if he could untie them. Then he noticed it, the tie binding his left arm was not red and gold like the rest. It was green and silver.
"About time you woke up, Lupin."
Remus jumped, and looking to his far left saw just at the edge of his vision the unmistakable figure of Severus Snape.
He stepped in front of the bed in full view of Lupin, glaring at him.
"Say something intelligible if you think you can handle that," Snape commanded.
"I believe I can," Lupin responded in a horse voice.
Snape nodded somewhat approvingly.
"Am I dreaming?" Remus asked, still unable to clear all the fog from his mind.
"It doesn't matter if you are or not," Snape said, and then more to himself as he surveyed Lupin, "There shouldn't be any residual effects," he commented and then giving a curt nod began to leave.
"Wait!" Remus called.
Snape paused but did not turn around.
"You're the one who gave me the antidote weren't you?" Remus asked.
Severus did not respond.
"And the one who gave me the poison… what was that?"
"You are in no state to proclaim what I may or may not have done."
"If you hadn't given me a the cure would I…?"
"You would have been like that for the rest of your life."
Remus looked at Severus with new eyes. "Then why did you save me, if you're so willing to say that being a werewolf is the same as being damned anyway? A…" Remus tried to remember from his fits Severus's exact words. "'A damned creature of the night, who's better off dead," that I've sold my soul?"
Severus turned around and leaning right into Lupin's face he breathed, "Let me ask you this. Do you think that you have a soul?"
Remus nodded, not sure what Snape was playing at, or why that mad glint was in his eye.
Then Snape whispered. "Do you think I have one?"
"Everyone does."
"What if you've sold it?"
Remus grinned suddenly overcome with the urge to be a smart-ass, "Rip up the contract."
Some kind of explosion seemed to happen to that glint in Snape's eyes. Ripping up his left sleeve he showed the Dark Mark, plain as day on his arm.
"You tell me that hasn't destroyed my soul, and that contract can be ripped up," he hissed.
Remus stared in shock as Severus continued.
"You see, Lupin, you aren't the only one with the dark side, with a secret. I'm as damned as you are."
Lupin looked at Snape suddenly, his voice somewhat steely. "You're wrong there. No sin is beyond redemption, if you want it. If you work for it."
Snape stood, letting his sleeve drop again, looking at Remus, who had allowed his head to drop back onto the pillow in exhaustion.
Severus continued to stare and looked around the room and rubbed his arm unconsciously.
"I can't do that, not the way you have," Severus whispered, not looking at Lupin.
Lupin shook his head. "I think you've started already, Severus."
Snape looked at Remus questioningly.
Remus met his eyes and said in his usual logical voice. "You didn't have to give me that antidote."
Snape paused, apparently thinking hard. He gave Remus one last look, his black eyes glittering in a way that Remus had never seen before. Then, before Remus had time to read too much into the look, Snape walked out, not saying a word to Lupin.
Remus fell into his first peaceful sleep for quite a while.
The next morning things returned to relative normality. Apparently the entire school was relieved to hear of Lupin's recovery; the Marauders were overjoyed. Madam Pomfry and Professor Arrow were at a loss to explain it, and decided in the end that Remus's own immune system had fought off the poison.
Remus himself tried to believe that story, especially considering that Severus's attitude towards him and the rest had not changed one jolt, but about two weeks later after one particularly bad prank pulled by Sirius on Professor McGonagall, Remus was called in to tell his side of the story. As he walked the stairs to Dumbledore's office, Severus passed, apparently on his way out, clutching his left forearm a look of fierce determination that Remus had never seen there before etched on his face. Both stopped dead, looking at the other.
"Keep moving, Lupin," Snape spat.
Remus shrugged and continued his climb, and Severus his descent.
"Lupin," Snape barked after only a few steps.
Remus sighed and didn't bother to turn around, knowing that some snide comment was about to come his way.
But that wasn't the case at all. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to determine a contract as null and void," Snape deadpanned, cryptically.
Remus's eyes widened, but as he turned around the last thing he saw was Severus's black cape flipping around the corner.
The End