Rocky - Thanks for the review, love. Glad you're enjoying yourself here in the land of HP and Nemorosi magic.

I attempted to send Valentines to all of my reviewers for AHN. If you didn't get one from me (and Remus!) it's because I don't have a current e- mail or you're anonymous. A few of you may have gotten two - I lost track at one point while copying about 60 e-mail addresses. :P

So... To anyone I wasn't able to send a personal greeting to...Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I apologize if this chapter isn't as clear when scenes change. FFnet is doing weird things with my formatting, and I can't seem to keep everything from running all together. I decided just to give up and post the darn thing!

The Potion Making Team ~*~

Remus and company were walking back into the castle, elated at the fact that they had escaped without harm from the pack of mangabeys. Remus found his mild euphoria was short lived when he saw Snape coming rapidly toward them. The look on the man's face said that something else was seriously wrong.

"Lupin!" Snape called to him suddenly. "Lorien needs you in the hospital wing immediately."

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, not liking the feeling he was getting.

"Come with me. I'll explain as we go." Snape seemed anxious to get back to the infirmary, and spoke as Remus fell in beside him and walked rapidly down the hall. Hermione and Keath looked at each other and then ran to catch up.

"There were several large packs of mangabeys that somehow got into the castle, and unfortunately, most of them got into the great hall."

It was all Snape really had to say for what must have happened to dawn on Remus.
Things looked even worse than Remus had feared when he entered the large hospital room, and he stood aghast at the sight of so many injured students in one place. There were dozens. Remus quickly came to his senses and went to Lorien who was closest.

She looked up as he approached with Severus and Marlina. "Thank goodness. We need your help."

Remus looked puzzled. "I'm not exactly sure what I can do."

"Do you know the antidote for mangabey toxicity?" Lorien asked him.

"Of course. It's a bezoar derivative potion." He replied.

"We tried that. Nothing works." Lorien said, starting to sound a little desperate.

"It has to." Remus said adamantly. "The specific antidote for this toxin is Culpeper's bezoar derivative."

Lorien whirled to face him. "Culpeper's?" She asked. "That old remedy? We don't even keep that in the ward anymore because the newer derivatives are generally so much more effective."

It was Remus's turn to look alarmed. "You mean you don't have any in the hospital?"

Lorien shook her head. "Most of the large hospitals might carry a handful of doses on their shelves, but it's difficult to even find anymore."

Remus tried to keep his voice down as he spoke to Lorien. "We're going to have to get some quick, because it's the only thing that will help." He looked around the room at the chaotic scene meaningfully. "I don't know if we'll have time to make enough."

"We have time." Snape spoke up suddenly from where he stood nearby, and then he turned to Marlina. "Come with me." He walked rapidly for the door.

Marlina nodded as Remus looked surprised. She shrugged. "I had a knack for potion brewing in school." She quickly went after Snape.

Snape halted for one more instant at the door and looked at Hermione. "Miss Granger, I believe that now would be an opportune time for you to demonstrate the talent that you have been cultivating in my class."

Hermione nodded silently and went with Snape and Marlina.

"Remus, there's something else you should know." Lorien said as she moved to the next bleeding student, and Remus walked with her.

"What?" He asked.

Lorien nodded to a spot a short distance away and Remus followed her gaze. His heart sank when he saw that Sirius was sitting in a chair with his head fallen forward on his chest.

"You've got to do something!" He said to Lorien.

"I know. He's next." She said.

"No! Now!" He said, grabbing her arm.

"Remus, please. These injuries are worse. Let me finish here so I can get to Sirius faster." Lorien said. Nobody wanted to go to him more than she did. "Why don't you see if Keath will go and find Kaneene."

Remus nodded and went to Keath, and Lorien turned to finish with her current patient. That would give Remus something to do for a moment.

Sirius?" Remus spoke to his friend tentatively after sending the young auror to find his sister, and was relieved when he saw the man lift his head and look at him with tired eyes.

"Remus." He replied quietly, and then gave a weak smile.

Remus dropped to one knee to speak to the seated man at his level. "Lorien's coming. It's going to be ok." He put a hand on Sirius's arm.

"You're full of it." Sirius said, but managed another weak smile. "It's that bloody monkey toxin that's the problem, and I know the two healers don't have an antidote."

Remus nodded. "They didn't, but they will. Snape's gone to make the potion we need, and he says that it won't take long."

"So, what you're telling me is that slimy git is going to save my pathetic poisoned ass?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

Remus nodded. "Yes, but if it makes you feel better at all," he whispered with a sly look, "I had to tell him what the potion we needed was."

Sirius burst out laughing and then immediately went into a fit of coughing. He became very sober. "Tell the damn Potions master to hurry up. There are a lot of students a lot worse off than I am."

Remus answered quietly. "He's hurrying. Marlina and Hermione are helping."

Harry, Ron, Fred, and George came face to face with Snape, Marlina, and Hermione as they returned from the tower. Snape did nothing but glare at each boy in passing, and they all thought how lucky they were that he appeared to be in an extreme hurry.

"Harry!" Hermione called to him as she rushed past as well. "Go to the hospital wing!" She offered no further explanation and disappeared down the stairs to the dungeon.

The four boys knew that something was wrong and they hurried to the infirmary. They weren't prepared for just how wrong things were.

Poppy saw them come in. "You three," she said, indicating the Weasleys, "get down to the dungeon and see if you can be of any assistance at all." She turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, if you would come here please."

The boys exchanged looks and then jumped to comply with Madame Pomfrey's orders when she barked at them again. "Go!"

Harry stepped forward.

"Harry, I'm afraid that your godfather is among the injured, love." Pomfrey spoke kindly to the boy as he got a stricken expression on his face.

"Where?" Harry started to look around the room.

"There." Pomfrey answered as she pointed. "Mistress Lorien is just going to him now."

Harry ran to where Remus and Lorien were standing by a very pale Sirius. "Sirius!" He called.

His godfather looked up and gave him a weak smile. "Hi, Harry."

"What happened?" Harry asked with great alarm. Sirius explained about the assault on the great hall.

"Ok, you two can catch up after I get a look at you, Sirius." Lorien said. She turned to Remus. "Help me get him to that exam table."

Remus and Harry helped a shaky Sirius to stand and walk the short way to the table. Lorien could see a large amount of blood soaking through the back of his torn shirt. She began to examine him as he sat there. "Have you had any dizziness or double vision yet?"

Sirius nodded as she looked in his eyes and saw that his pupils were more dilated than they should have been. It was a pharmacological effect that was consistent with mangabey poison. She checked his pulse and then walked around to look at the wound. She grabbed the shirt and ripped it slowly apart down his back, gently peeling away the areas that were plastered to his skin with drying blood.

Sirius laughed weakly. "Lorien, you animal! I knew you couldn't keep your hands off me."

"I'll have to try to restrain myself with all these people here." Lorien quipped from behind him, but she wasn't smiling when she looked at his shredded flesh.

"Ok, Nemorosi chick, how bad is it?" Sirius asked, and then he was wracked by another fit of coughing.

"Not so bad." Lorien said as she cleaned the wound. "Sirius, you know it's not the wound itself that's the problem?"

"Yeah." He said where he sat with his eyes closed, bracing himself against the sting of the antiseptic she was using.

"It'll be ok." She said.

"Maybe." He said quietly.

She placed her hands on him and started to close the wound. "No, it'll be fine. If anyone can get the potion made in time, it's Severus."

Remus spoke up from where he stood next to Harry. "You seem to have a lot of faith in him, Lorien."

She looked at him and saw that there was no malice in his observation, and that it was just that, an observation. She nodded. "A great deal." She replied steadily.

Remus nodded as well and then smiled at her. "I think you're right. If for no other reason, he'll get it done in time to aggravate our friend here."

Lorien found that she couldn't disagree.
Severus, Marlina and Hermione were rapidly approaching the potions lab and he was giving them initial instructions as they neared the door. He spoke to Marlina first. "I need you to start preparing as much red coral as you possibly can. It'll take the longest so get started right away."

She nodded in acknowledgment, and he spoke to Hermione. "Get a jar of crab's eyes, half a dozen deer antlers, and six oriental bezoars." He opened the door to the room and the torches sputtered to life. "Oh, and we'll also need boomslang skin." He looked at her pointedly for a moment. "I believe you're familiar with where it's kept, Miss Granger?"

Hermione said nothing, but swallowed hard and nodded, and then ran to gather her list of components.

Snape himself set up three large cauldrons and pointed his wand at each in rapid succession. Flames leaped up with a hiss as the fire below each one sprang to life.

Marlina had gathered what she needed at a table and smashed the first chunk of coral in the mortar with a vengeance, eager to get it prepared as quickly as possible. She knew that the toxin acted slowly, but she didn't want to take any chances that they night lose any of the first ones to be poisoned. She also didn't want anything to happen to Remus's best friend, and she worked fervently to grind the brittle substance to a powder. Quickly she reached for the next chunk, and then the next.
Hermione brought all of the rest of the ingredients to the large table near where Snape had the water in the cauldrons already heating. She looked at him as she set everything down. "What next?" She asked.

Snape was setting a large bundle of leaves on the table and he turned away for a moment. When he turned back he held a large knife out to her handle first, and slapped it into her palm as she reached for it. "We need all the velvet peeled off the antlers and then chopped as fine as you can." His eyes met hers for a moment. "Hurry." He added sternly, but quietly.

Hermione grabbed the first antler and attacked it with the knife, and soon had a pile of velvet started on the table before her.

Snape grabbed a wicked looking blade himself and with quick, deft movements, separated the stems from a large number of the plants on the table.

Hermione continued to work feverishly, but curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to risk asking a question. "What is that?" She asked.

He never looked up. "Crab's claws."

"The water plant?" She asked as she ripped another long strip of velvet off.

He nodded, and continued to quickly remove the stems from the remainder of the pile. "We need the leaves."

"Only the black parts, right?" Hermione asked.

He shot her a glance. "Correct." Snape grabbed a handful of the leaves before him and rapidly cut the black parts from the green ones.

Hermione finally finished stripping the velvet from the antlers, and set about chopping it finely. Her hand was confident with the knife in it and she quickly set about producing a pile of tiny bits of velvet. She pushed a small pile forward. "Ok?" She asked him.

Snape stopped long enough to pick up a small amount of very tiny pieces. He spread some out on his palm and then nodded and dumped it back in the pile. "Adequate," was all he said.

Hermione knew that meant her work was acceptable and probably much more than that. She went about preparing the rest of the pile in the same fashion. Occasionally she shot a quick look at the man standing beside her to find him completely absorbed with the task at hand. It was definitely odd to be working next to him on the same potion.

Snape turned back to the pile of black leaves before him, and attacked them with the knife, his hand setting up a staccato rhythm that rapidly produced an enlarging pile of minced leaf fragments.

Hermione watched the blade he used flying in his hand, and cringed a little repeatedly as the blade nearly grazed the fingers of the hand that held the leaves. It became rapidly apparent that he wielded the knife with the utmost skill, and not with the reckless abandon that the speed of his movements had led her to originally think. Hermione had to admit she was at least a little impressed.

All three looked up as Ron, Fred and George ran into the room, panting.

"We came.....to help." Ron huffed.

Snape scowled at the three brothers and decided to hold his tongue for the present. He pointed to a spot nearby. "Set up three more cauldrons and fill them two-thirds full of water."

George and Fred rushed to comply, and Ron hesitated as the Potion master's gaze fell on him. "Take this to Kaneene Moody." The man had reached into his robes and tossed a small vial to Ron. "Tell her I said 'just in case we don't finish in time.' She'll know what to do."

Ron looked at him questioningly, hesitating for a moment.

"She'll know what it is." Snape said. "Now go!"

Ron clutched the vial in his hand and once more ran back to the hospital ward.
Snape watched Ron run out of the room and went back to his work. He considered what he had just done. It was the last dose he had on hand of the class IV dark potion and he had just sent it to Moody to use on Black if need be. If they didn't get the Culpeper's done in time to treat everyone, it would prolong Black's life for at least a short time more.

Snape was aware that anyone that knew the two of them would be surprised that he would even lift a finger to save Black after what had happened in the past, but he was doing it because he needed to. He needed to because Black had helped to save him, and he wanted to even the score. The potion would pay back the blood debt. As for the fact that Black had tried to kill him all those years ago, that had never figured into that equation. That was another matter entirely, and Snape had never considered that Black's contribution to his recovery in October had in any way redeemed the attempted murder.

He also did it for Kaneene. He knew how the auror had felt about him in the past, and he admired the fact that she had the nerve to admit that she was wrong, and apologize to him in person. Snape also found the thought of the auror struggling with the decision as to whether or not to use the dark potion to save her companion, well, amusing.

And as for Black, himself, Snape knew that nothing would agitate the arrogant Gryffindor more than having his life given back to him by the Potions master, and it was at the top of the list of reasons that motivated him to work so feverishly. Well, that and trying to save the life of several dozen students.
Poppy and Lorien were getting concerned about a number of their patients, including Sinistra and a handful of younger students. Most of the ones that had been severely affected were now lapsing in and out of consciousness, and the two healers tried giving them all another round of class III restoratives to try to slow the effects of the toxin. It only seemed to help to a small degree.

"We're going to be out of that soon, as well." Poppy whispered to Lorien where they were standing together.

Lorien nodded silently, knowing the situation was worsening.

Both women looked up as the door to the ward flew open again, and Kaneene Moody strode through the door and toward Lorien.

"Where..?" Moody started, but then followed where Lorien beckoned her to. She went quickly to where Sirius lay, with Remus and Harry standing next to him.

Sirius opened his eyes at her arrival. "Hi, K." He said weakly.

She put her hands on her hips. "What kind of trouble have you gone and gotten yourself into this time, Sirius Black?" She joked to try to hide how frightened she was at how pale he looked.

He smiled. "Pretty big trouble."

She smiled back, but it rapidly evolved into a look of great worry. "Is it that bad?"

He nodded, and Lorien explained the situation.

"So, we just wait?" Kaneene asked.

Lorien nodded. "We've done absolutely everything else that we can."

"I see." Said the auror quietly. "Well, you're just going to have to hang in there."

She leaned closer and tried to keep her voice from breaking as she whispered so only Sirius could hear her. "Don't you even think of letting go. Hanging around you was just starting to get interesting."

Sirius whispered back. "Starting? You mean it could get more interesting?"

"Definitely." She leaned forward and kissed him tenderly.

"I'll most certainly keep that in mind." He said with a wink. He laughed a little, but immediately started coughing again.

A/N: The antidote that Remus provides for mangabey toxicity is based on a true bezoar potion that I found. The creator was a man named Nicholas Culpeper, and the ingredients are really as I have listed them. I merely made sure that the viper skin needed was from a boomslang just to harass Hermione. ;)