Chapter 9.  Regrets, Recriminations, and the Quest for Answers

Remus Lupin and Severus Snape sat in matching wingback chairs in front of a roaring fire.  They were in Snape's quarters in the dungeons of Hogwarts.  Both wizards held glasses of brandy in their hands and stared moodily into the flames.  Silence stretched tautly between them and had for some time.  Finally Lupin sighed heavily and glanced sideways at Snape.  "What're you thinking about, Severus?"

Snape turned a contemplative face to Lupin.  " I was thinking of all the things that went wrong today, if you must know."

Lupin nodded sadly.  "Yeah, me, too.  If we'd only found that secret library sooner…even a few minutes sooner, I might have that book in my hands right now.  Instead, it's ashes.  Why did you start that fire, Severus?  We could've found another way to escape."

Snape frowned at him.  "I'm not so sure of that, Lupin.  Vampires can be destroyed by fire.  Jenni might have been dead, but we were still severely outnumbered.  The chaos and danger of the fire gave us the cover to escape.  Frankly, I couldn't think of anything else to try.  Can you tell me how else we might've made it out of that vampire stronghold alive?"  Snape raised an eyebrow and awaited a response.

Lupin opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again, and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.  He took a sip of his brandy and shook his head wearily.  "No, I guess not.  It's so very frustrating, though." 

He looked over at Snape again.  "How did you manage to kill Jenni anyway?  Where did you get that silver dagger?  You didn't have that when we were in the pub."

Snape let a small smile play over his face as he stared into the fire.  "No, I didn't unfortunately.  You weren't the only one who paid attention in Transfiguration class, Lupin.  The Portkey we obtained from Lorca Zgreb was solid silver.  I thought it might be more useful in another form once we were through with it.  It turned out I was right.  Though, it was one time I rather wish I hadn't been."

Lupin nodded thoughtfully.  "Well, it was good thinking on your part.  I also wish we hadn't encountered Jenni again.  We should've been more cautious and left earlier.  Things would have turned out okay then.  We could've gone back." 

Heaving a sad sigh, Lupin added.  "Thanks for coming with me on this fool quest, Severus.  I'm sorry it almost got us killed."  The melancholy werewolf stared into the fire looking utterly dejected.

Snape frowned and stared hard at him for a moment, then he snorted and sat back in his chair with a familiar sneer on his face.  "Yes, and you should be!  I went along with you for my health, as anything that would rid the world of werewolves couldn't help but make things safer for everyone else.  It ended up being more dangerous than being lured into the Shrieking Shack during the full moon!  The next time you decide to go on some fool quest, Lupin, do me a favor and take Black with you instead.  I'm sure Jenni would've been every bit as enchanted with him as she was with me.  Probably more so…we can't forget his overabundance of Gryffindor charm, after all, now can we?  You might've had a tad more difficulty getting away from her, of course, but she might've traded him for the book."

Surprised at Snape's sudden reversion to type, Lupin stared at him for a moment, then shook his head in disgust.  "Now why didn't I think of that?  She certainly wanted to get her hands on you, "Sweetmeat".  Perhaps I should've just traded you for the book!  That would've made my life easier all around.  I get the book and never have to listen to your insults again."

Snape glowered at Lupin.  "And who would you get to put the information found in that book to use, Lupin?  Black?  Somehow I doubt it.  Besides I don't think Jenni was in a trading mood by the time we found the book, and I never want to hear the word "Sweetmeat" coming from your lips again, if you value your pitiful existence!"

Lupin abruptly stood up, walked over to Snape's desk, and slammed down his brandy glass, sloshing the liquid over the side to make small puddles on the mahogany surface.

"You know, I didn't twist your arm and force you to come with me, Severus!  You were the one who said you had nothing better to do with your time."  Lupin exclaimed, angrily pointing an accusing finger at Snape.

Snape sneered back at him.  "Yes, that'll teach me won't it!  Note to self…no matter how bored you are, never follow Gryffindors on foolhardy quests!"

Lupin found himself bristling as he tried to control his temper.  "Fine!  Have it your way.  You fully expected to profit from that "foolhardy quest" yourself.  You didn't come with me out of the goodness of your heart, after all!"

Snape snorted disdainfully.  "You've got that right."

Lupin marched over and wrenched open the door.  "So sorry to have caused you so much trouble, Snape!  Thanks for the brandy and the "outstanding" companionship!"  He growled as he stalked out of the room and slammed the door firmly behind him.

Snape gazed at the closed door and chuckled low in his throat.  "I'm sorry Lupin, I know I shouldn't have done that, but you're so much fun to aggravate.  And if you're busy being angry at me, maybe you won't spend quite so much time brooding over the loss of that book."

Snape downed the last of his brandy, got up, and walked over to his desk.  He cleaned away the mess that Lupin had left with a wave of his wand.  Then he sat down and took out some clean parchment.  He reached into the pocket of his cloak that hung discarded over the back of his chair.  From it, he extracted the manuscript page, and the two small books he'd removed from Slytherin's library.

He glanced briefly at the books.  One was an ancient magical pharmacopoeia; the other was a hand written notebook on the subject of Lycanthropy.  It appeared to have been written by Salazar Slytherin himself, a surprising find, as Snape was not aware that Slytherin held a particular interest in this area.  On the other hand, he did have the other book in his private library, so the interest must have been there, if not widely known.  That other book…  He set the small books aside and picked up his quill.  He began making notes in a quick elegant hand.  It was imperative that he get this down before he forgot what he'd read in that lost book.  He'll need to take a completely new approach to his research in this area. 

Wolfsbane is perhaps not the way to go after all.  Moonflowers (Ipomoea alba) and nightshade might be more profitable avenues of investigation.  There was also the whole idea that a potion that suppressed the negative aspects while allowing total control over the positive aspects of the wolf, no matter the time of the month, would be a more useful potion to have.  Yes.  Yes, so many more intriguing possibilities.  This could conceivably keep him occupied for quite some time.  He'd felt his Lycanthropy research had reached something of a dead end, but perhaps that was no longer true.

Snape began writing furiously, trying to get down on parchment everything he could remember from what he'd been able to read in that ill-fated book.  He nodded excitedly to himself.  Yes, there was much to do.  Severus Snape was no longer bored.

                                                                                             *****************************

Author's Note:  Well, that's the end for this story.  I hope everyone enjoyed reading it.  Thank you all for the warm response you gave me.  I've now begun a sequel to this story, which should take things to what I, at least, consider to be a logical conclusion.  It's called *Shadow of the Moon* so if you want to know what happens once Severus has done his research, check it out!   You can find it on my profile page.  And once more, thanks for reading and reviewing!

Veresna Ussep:  Thank you.  Perhaps you could turn your vampire fantasy into an interesting tale.  I'd certainly like to read it.

Snapefan51:  Thank you.  Sorry about the internet gremlins…that happens to me too at times.  Snape does have a few ideas to continue his research with.  Whether or not they'll ultimately benefit Remus Lupin, only time will tell.

The Jedi Wizard Hobbit:  Thank you.  Although Lupin doesn't realize it, Snape is not giving up on his research, so Lupin might ultimately benefit from this "foolhardy quest" after all, who knows. :)

Werepup:  Thank you.  Sorry, this is the end of this story.  I'm glad you enjoyed it; I hope you liked the ending.

DescendingAngel:  Thank you.  Considering the wonderful stories you write about these two characters, I always hoped you'd find this story.  I thought it might be something you'd enjoy.  I'm glad to see I was right.  I hope you liked the ending. :)

Tantz:  Thank you.  Yes, I suppose it was cruel to yank the rug out from under Remus like I did last chapter.  As much as I like the character, I can't seem to stop being mean to him.  Ultimately things might work out for him, though.  Optimism is good.  A happy ending is always worth reaching for.

Kazza:  Thank you.  Both wizards have their strengths and weaknesses.  They only got as far as they did by working as a team…even if it was a bit reluctantly at times.