Chapter Ten
In which Remus becomes a werewolf
By that evening, after a day of listening to intermittent demonic shrieking and trying to find a solution to their situation, Severus Snape was certain of two things: the books they had taken from the library were all but useless and Remus was beginning to seem too restless for comfort. It was not that he didn't trust Remus. On the contrary, he trusted the man just as much as he trusted anyone else, although that wasn't saying very much at all. It was the werewolf, the abominable monster in him, that Severus could not abide. Having come very nearly face to muzzle with the creature during his years as a student, he did not want a repeat performance of such a terrifying and ghastly experience, which he felt had very nearly cost him his life. He sneered as he closed the worthless tome in his lap and stood.
"Remus, are you ready to take your ... medication?" he inquired, struggling to be civil.
Ginny and Hermione glanced up from their books. Both had taken seats in front of the fire, almost at his feet, while Remus occupied the writing desk. They watched Remus carefully mark his place in his book and stand.
"I believe so." he said.
"I trust you want to change in private as well." said Severus.
"If you don't mind." sighed Remus with the barest hint of a growl.
"Come along then."
Hermione and Ginny waited until the pair had left the apartment, going to the potions' classroom to complete their business, before saying anything.
"Really! You'd think Professor Snape could be nicer to him than that, even if Remus does have lycanthropy."
"They go back a long way, Ginny. I don't think he means to sound so hurtful anymore. It just ... comes out that way. Practice, I suppose. Honestly, I think he is just as frightened as the rest of us." said Hermione.
"Frightened?"
"Don't tell me you're not!"
"Of course I am. I just thought ... I just thought I was the only one."
Hermione laughed quietly and said, "Not by a long shot."
Meanwhile in the classroom, Remus was sipping from a smoking goblet and trying not to make faces as the brewer of the potion was watching him. When he had finished the bitter draught, he placed the goblet on a nearby table and smiled.
"Thank you, Severus. I shudder to think what might have happened without the potion."
"As do I. I imagine that we would have had to lock you up somewhere." said Severus.
"And I was expecting a silver dagger!" laughed Professor Lupin.
"I never tried to murder you."
Growing suddenly more somber, Remus said, "I hope you understand that I didn't either."
"Still claiming that it was a foolish prank gone awry?"
"No, incredibly foolish and terribly awry. And the idea was Sirius's. Not mine. Not James's either."
"Would you tell, even now, if had been?"
"Yes."
"I will try to believe you."
"Are we any closer to getting those poor girls home?" asked Remus, lowering his voice slightly.
"I need more information on the original process of creating this world and sealing it away from our own, not to mention a half dozen other things."
"Ginny and Hermione are ..."
"Both doing their best. I know. But for once the fault doesn't lie with the students, but with the materials. They will ... we will never find the answers in those books. The answers simply aren't in them." said Severus impatiently.
Suddenly Lupin felt a slight tremor and a tingling in his limbs. He looked Severus in the eye and shook his head, indicating that he no longer had time to converse on the topic.
Severus stepped away in alarm as Remus began his transformation into a werewolf. It was a horrific thing to watch, and Severus had never witnessed the change before. Few people had done so even in the days of the Wolfsbane potion. Even as Remus assumed the form of a werewolf, the pain in his eyes remained all too human. Severus was startled to find that he could see something of his colleague in the monster.
Then another sensation struck him. There was a sudden pressure against the wards from all sides as though many ears were pressed against a door, listening and holding their breaths. The transformation had caught the attention of the demons. Severus could feel that attention, and it made him sick to the stomach and his skin crawl. Whether they had detected the presence of a Dark Creature or a subtle change in the wards Remus had placed himself, Severus could not tell, but something had made the demons aware of them again.
A soft whine from the floor caused Snape to return his attention to Remus, who was looking up at him rather expectantly. The werewolf looked rather pointedly toward the door to the classroom.
"You want to go back inside the apartment?" Severus questioned.
Remus made another whining sound and seemed to nod.
"Very well. Go on then." sighed Severus, opening the door for him.
Remus looked up at him doubtfully. Severus blinked and frowned for a moment before he realized what Remus was trying to say. Interpreting the facial expressions of a docile werewolf wasn't easy.
"I don't think you'll scare them at all. You look too ... depressing for that." Severus said, frowning even more as he tried to be reassuring.
Remus looked grateful as he trotted past the potions' master and back into the room where Ginny and Hermione had returned to reading. They had stolen the couch in Severus's absence.
Ginny grinned when she saw Remus, who looked more like a large and scruffy wolf-like dog than a dangerous creature of darkness, and tossed her book aside to kneel on the rug next to him. It was obvious to Hermione that Remus was trying to sneak back into the room and lie down quietly by the fire without making a fuss. With Ginny in the room that simply wasn't going to happen.
"Oh, there now! You don't look so bad." said Ginny, oblivious to the fact that she was almost talking baby-talk to her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She ruffled his ears affectionately, reminding Hermione of the first time she had met Snuffles, Harry's godfather in disguise. It was sweet really.
The werewolf on the other hand gave a whine of embarrassment and tried to cover his head with his formidable paws.
"You know, I would have had your arm off already if you did that to me." commented Snape.
"I dare say you would." she shot back defensively. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had said and, more to the point, to whom.
"Ten points from ... Oh, forget about it." sighed Severus, rethinking his decision and retrieving his book from the couch. It was a moot point.
"I don't bite either. You can sit down." said Hermione.
"Very well." said Severus moodily, taking a heavy seat at the other end of the couch.
About half an hour later Remus had fallen into a deep sleep and Ginny had taken the hint that he was still a professor and not a stray, albeit overly large and wolfish, puppy dog, which meant that she had returned to the book she had been reading earlier on potions that could do very strange things. Severus closed his tome with a sigh and glanced at the door that led into the corridors of the school. The demons had been very quiet since Remus had fallen asleep.
"How far away are those books you dropped, Ginny?" asked Severus, making a face as he said her name.
"About halfway to the library." she answered.
"I want those books." sighed Snape.
"You can't be thinking of going out there." said Hermione reproachfully.
"Let me rephrase my statement: we need those books. We have exhausted our resources and must acquire new ones." said Severus.
"Fine. Then we can all go." said Hermione.
"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione. Why take the risk?"
"Safety in numbers." she countered.
"We can't take him." said Severus, nodding toward the sleeping werewolf. "They were showing far too much interest in him earlier, if you take my meaning."
"The wards?"
"You have the idea then."
"Then the three of us," said Hermione, adding, "if you're willing, Ginny."
"Of course." said the red-hared girl, her eyes widening.
"Gryffindor recklessness." snorted Snape.
"That's right." answered Hermione.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: My description of Remus as a werewolf comes from the chapter "Grim Defeat" in PoA when Snape asks the class "Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Now, of course, no one ever gave an answer, so I made the assumption that a werewolf would look a lot like a regular wolf. The part where Remus changed in PoA, seemed a big vague too. I just thought I should explain my reasoning.
Rhianna: Thank you very much!
Silverstar: Thank you for reviewing!
JoeBob1379: Why is the castle weird? Okay, I must have done a very poor job in explaining this. My fault entirely. And I hope I don't give any plot points away with this explanation. Grindelwald was tossed into the demon's prison in 1945. Whatever process that was used to do that also changed the prison world castle into a copy of the real 1945 Hogwarts. It was an unexpected side effect. So why didn't the castle change again when SRHG were tossed in by the potions' accident? Well, if you've noticed the classroom did change, or rather it remained (to them) the same. But the rest of the castle didn't because of the very imperfect way in which they traveled to the prison realm (potions' accident). Whew! That's one long-winded explanation. Thank you for the review and excellent questions!
Rosmerta: I am glad that you find everyone in character. Dumbledore is always a struggle (at least for me personally). I have to tell myself quite often that he isn't Gandalf. Thanks for the review!
Witchy-grrl: I don't think that I'm going out on a limb when I say that Hermione retains a lot of information. I wonder if she would remember the tenpin bowling or the chamber music though. I must admit that I like that Albus/Minerva pairing a lot (I think I first enjoyed it in the fic "Trust Me" by Freelancer), although I don't have anything against the Tom/Minerva pairing (well, except that he's pure evil - oh, like that's necessarily a bad thing). And, yes, the age difference is pretty significant, but I don't think he would have looked all that old. I think in CoS it is mentioned that his hair is still auburn, or auburn and gray, or something. Of course, the age difference never goes away, if you think about it. She just gets older too. Thanks for the very insightful reviews!
Spark: I haven't read "Hinge of Fate", but I will try to check it out sometime. I think the whole memory charm idea has been used an awful lot, almost to the point of cliche, but, well, here I am. Thank you for reviewing!
Mercurial: I am working on four projects right now, one of which is a companion piece (I am so arrogant) to this story that tells the complete Albus/Minerva story because it refused to fit nicely or neatly inside this one. But it will remain a subplot in this story too. Thanks for reviewing!
hasapi: Thank you for all over the wonderful reviews! I especially enjoyed your guesses about what had happened. The 'Maybe they're dead' one was especially interesting. I must admit that I never saw "The Others", but I think I remember the previews. Very creepy, I imagine. Thanks!
In which Remus becomes a werewolf
By that evening, after a day of listening to intermittent demonic shrieking and trying to find a solution to their situation, Severus Snape was certain of two things: the books they had taken from the library were all but useless and Remus was beginning to seem too restless for comfort. It was not that he didn't trust Remus. On the contrary, he trusted the man just as much as he trusted anyone else, although that wasn't saying very much at all. It was the werewolf, the abominable monster in him, that Severus could not abide. Having come very nearly face to muzzle with the creature during his years as a student, he did not want a repeat performance of such a terrifying and ghastly experience, which he felt had very nearly cost him his life. He sneered as he closed the worthless tome in his lap and stood.
"Remus, are you ready to take your ... medication?" he inquired, struggling to be civil.
Ginny and Hermione glanced up from their books. Both had taken seats in front of the fire, almost at his feet, while Remus occupied the writing desk. They watched Remus carefully mark his place in his book and stand.
"I believe so." he said.
"I trust you want to change in private as well." said Severus.
"If you don't mind." sighed Remus with the barest hint of a growl.
"Come along then."
Hermione and Ginny waited until the pair had left the apartment, going to the potions' classroom to complete their business, before saying anything.
"Really! You'd think Professor Snape could be nicer to him than that, even if Remus does have lycanthropy."
"They go back a long way, Ginny. I don't think he means to sound so hurtful anymore. It just ... comes out that way. Practice, I suppose. Honestly, I think he is just as frightened as the rest of us." said Hermione.
"Frightened?"
"Don't tell me you're not!"
"Of course I am. I just thought ... I just thought I was the only one."
Hermione laughed quietly and said, "Not by a long shot."
Meanwhile in the classroom, Remus was sipping from a smoking goblet and trying not to make faces as the brewer of the potion was watching him. When he had finished the bitter draught, he placed the goblet on a nearby table and smiled.
"Thank you, Severus. I shudder to think what might have happened without the potion."
"As do I. I imagine that we would have had to lock you up somewhere." said Severus.
"And I was expecting a silver dagger!" laughed Professor Lupin.
"I never tried to murder you."
Growing suddenly more somber, Remus said, "I hope you understand that I didn't either."
"Still claiming that it was a foolish prank gone awry?"
"No, incredibly foolish and terribly awry. And the idea was Sirius's. Not mine. Not James's either."
"Would you tell, even now, if had been?"
"Yes."
"I will try to believe you."
"Are we any closer to getting those poor girls home?" asked Remus, lowering his voice slightly.
"I need more information on the original process of creating this world and sealing it away from our own, not to mention a half dozen other things."
"Ginny and Hermione are ..."
"Both doing their best. I know. But for once the fault doesn't lie with the students, but with the materials. They will ... we will never find the answers in those books. The answers simply aren't in them." said Severus impatiently.
Suddenly Lupin felt a slight tremor and a tingling in his limbs. He looked Severus in the eye and shook his head, indicating that he no longer had time to converse on the topic.
Severus stepped away in alarm as Remus began his transformation into a werewolf. It was a horrific thing to watch, and Severus had never witnessed the change before. Few people had done so even in the days of the Wolfsbane potion. Even as Remus assumed the form of a werewolf, the pain in his eyes remained all too human. Severus was startled to find that he could see something of his colleague in the monster.
Then another sensation struck him. There was a sudden pressure against the wards from all sides as though many ears were pressed against a door, listening and holding their breaths. The transformation had caught the attention of the demons. Severus could feel that attention, and it made him sick to the stomach and his skin crawl. Whether they had detected the presence of a Dark Creature or a subtle change in the wards Remus had placed himself, Severus could not tell, but something had made the demons aware of them again.
A soft whine from the floor caused Snape to return his attention to Remus, who was looking up at him rather expectantly. The werewolf looked rather pointedly toward the door to the classroom.
"You want to go back inside the apartment?" Severus questioned.
Remus made another whining sound and seemed to nod.
"Very well. Go on then." sighed Severus, opening the door for him.
Remus looked up at him doubtfully. Severus blinked and frowned for a moment before he realized what Remus was trying to say. Interpreting the facial expressions of a docile werewolf wasn't easy.
"I don't think you'll scare them at all. You look too ... depressing for that." Severus said, frowning even more as he tried to be reassuring.
Remus looked grateful as he trotted past the potions' master and back into the room where Ginny and Hermione had returned to reading. They had stolen the couch in Severus's absence.
Ginny grinned when she saw Remus, who looked more like a large and scruffy wolf-like dog than a dangerous creature of darkness, and tossed her book aside to kneel on the rug next to him. It was obvious to Hermione that Remus was trying to sneak back into the room and lie down quietly by the fire without making a fuss. With Ginny in the room that simply wasn't going to happen.
"Oh, there now! You don't look so bad." said Ginny, oblivious to the fact that she was almost talking baby-talk to her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She ruffled his ears affectionately, reminding Hermione of the first time she had met Snuffles, Harry's godfather in disguise. It was sweet really.
The werewolf on the other hand gave a whine of embarrassment and tried to cover his head with his formidable paws.
"You know, I would have had your arm off already if you did that to me." commented Snape.
"I dare say you would." she shot back defensively. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had said and, more to the point, to whom.
"Ten points from ... Oh, forget about it." sighed Severus, rethinking his decision and retrieving his book from the couch. It was a moot point.
"I don't bite either. You can sit down." said Hermione.
"Very well." said Severus moodily, taking a heavy seat at the other end of the couch.
About half an hour later Remus had fallen into a deep sleep and Ginny had taken the hint that he was still a professor and not a stray, albeit overly large and wolfish, puppy dog, which meant that she had returned to the book she had been reading earlier on potions that could do very strange things. Severus closed his tome with a sigh and glanced at the door that led into the corridors of the school. The demons had been very quiet since Remus had fallen asleep.
"How far away are those books you dropped, Ginny?" asked Severus, making a face as he said her name.
"About halfway to the library." she answered.
"I want those books." sighed Snape.
"You can't be thinking of going out there." said Hermione reproachfully.
"Let me rephrase my statement: we need those books. We have exhausted our resources and must acquire new ones." said Severus.
"Fine. Then we can all go." said Hermione.
"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione. Why take the risk?"
"Safety in numbers." she countered.
"We can't take him." said Severus, nodding toward the sleeping werewolf. "They were showing far too much interest in him earlier, if you take my meaning."
"The wards?"
"You have the idea then."
"Then the three of us," said Hermione, adding, "if you're willing, Ginny."
"Of course." said the red-hared girl, her eyes widening.
"Gryffindor recklessness." snorted Snape.
"That's right." answered Hermione.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: My description of Remus as a werewolf comes from the chapter "Grim Defeat" in PoA when Snape asks the class "Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Now, of course, no one ever gave an answer, so I made the assumption that a werewolf would look a lot like a regular wolf. The part where Remus changed in PoA, seemed a big vague too. I just thought I should explain my reasoning.
Rhianna: Thank you very much!
Silverstar: Thank you for reviewing!
JoeBob1379: Why is the castle weird? Okay, I must have done a very poor job in explaining this. My fault entirely. And I hope I don't give any plot points away with this explanation. Grindelwald was tossed into the demon's prison in 1945. Whatever process that was used to do that also changed the prison world castle into a copy of the real 1945 Hogwarts. It was an unexpected side effect. So why didn't the castle change again when SRHG were tossed in by the potions' accident? Well, if you've noticed the classroom did change, or rather it remained (to them) the same. But the rest of the castle didn't because of the very imperfect way in which they traveled to the prison realm (potions' accident). Whew! That's one long-winded explanation. Thank you for the review and excellent questions!
Rosmerta: I am glad that you find everyone in character. Dumbledore is always a struggle (at least for me personally). I have to tell myself quite often that he isn't Gandalf. Thanks for the review!
Witchy-grrl: I don't think that I'm going out on a limb when I say that Hermione retains a lot of information. I wonder if she would remember the tenpin bowling or the chamber music though. I must admit that I like that Albus/Minerva pairing a lot (I think I first enjoyed it in the fic "Trust Me" by Freelancer), although I don't have anything against the Tom/Minerva pairing (well, except that he's pure evil - oh, like that's necessarily a bad thing). And, yes, the age difference is pretty significant, but I don't think he would have looked all that old. I think in CoS it is mentioned that his hair is still auburn, or auburn and gray, or something. Of course, the age difference never goes away, if you think about it. She just gets older too. Thanks for the very insightful reviews!
Spark: I haven't read "Hinge of Fate", but I will try to check it out sometime. I think the whole memory charm idea has been used an awful lot, almost to the point of cliche, but, well, here I am. Thank you for reviewing!
Mercurial: I am working on four projects right now, one of which is a companion piece (I am so arrogant) to this story that tells the complete Albus/Minerva story because it refused to fit nicely or neatly inside this one. But it will remain a subplot in this story too. Thanks for reviewing!
hasapi: Thank you for all over the wonderful reviews! I especially enjoyed your guesses about what had happened. The 'Maybe they're dead' one was especially interesting. I must admit that I never saw "The Others", but I think I remember the previews. Very creepy, I imagine. Thanks!