A/N: I'm evil, so what? I hope you won't hate me that much after this chapter….. it's all Svetlana's fault!!! The problem with regular updating remains, but I will do my best to not keep you waiting for long!!
Disclaimer: Rowling wouldn't like how I'm (mis)treating her characters, I'm afraid, but I promise to give them back unharmed, after I'm done wit them.
FAMILY MATTERS
PART XVIII
After lunch had come and gone, Svetlana took to wondering the halls of Hogwarts, practicing her majestic stride and eavesdropping on the students going to class; maybe it wasn't worth much knowing that Eloise Midgen had a crush on Terry Boot, but Svetlana's policy was to never refuse a piece of information, for useless it could seem. This way of thinking had brought her good results in the past, and when she passed Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan discussing whether go and look for Ron in the North Tower or not, she once again confirmed the usefulness of having sharp ears.
Instead of going to the North Tower after the Gryffindor boys, she took a downwards corridor that brought her straight into the Entrance Hall, empty save for Peeves and a tired figure in travelling robes.
"Loony, loopy, Lupin!" shrieked the poltergeist, making as if to throw a water bomb towards Remus. The werewolf turned his amber eyes towards Peeves and vanished him with a wave of is wand. He then turned back to the Hall and to the figure who was observing him from a doorway.
"Good afternoon" said Remus politely "My name is Remus Lupin, and I was wondering if you had seen Professor Snape: I need to talk to him quite urgently."
"Good afternoon" replied Svetlana, advancing a bit towards the ex-teacher "I'm Mrs Snape; I'm sure my husband must be in his classroom or in his office….. do you happen to know the way?"
"Erm….." stuttered Remus; surely Sirius had told him in great detail about Snape having a wife, but the part of his brain that still refused to believe it was now forced into shock "I believe I do, but….."
"Mother!" interrupted Serguei Snape, coming up from the corridor leading to the dungeons.
"Serguei, shouldn't you be in class?" asked the Russian witch sternly.
"That's why I came" explained the child in annoyance "Father isn't there to teach it, and we have Pomfrey instead" His arrogant sneer explained clearly what he thought of the change.
"Yes, that is what I meant to say" said Remus, forcing the Snapes' attention back to him "I couldn't find Severus neither in his office nor in his classroom, and Professor Dumbledore isn't available either….."
"Oh, look, the werewolf" said Serguei, looking at Remus with new-found interest.
"Serguei!" chastised Svetlana, adrenaline pumping through her veins at the thought of her husband's disappearance "Go back to your lesson, and remember not to cut class again, even if your father isn't there too see it. Maybe Severus is in his quarters….." she trailed off, preparing to follow her son into the dungeons; a soft cough stopped her.
"I was wondering if I could come with you" said Remus "The matter I must treat with Severus is urgent, and the sooner I talk to him, the better" He could already feel the wolf raising at the proximity of the full moon, and it made his skin crawl.
"Very well, come with me then" said Svetlana, already gliding down the corridor, holding Siena very close to her. //Don't let it be, Merlin, don't let it be, not another meeting, please….. Wait a minute! If this is the werewolf, tonight's the full moon, and he's searching desperately for Severus, who spent all morning in his workshop….. what do I know about the Wolfsbane potion?// They reached the Potions Master's quarters in silence, and Svetlana opened the wards for the other wizard "Come in, please, and have a seat. I'll go and check if he's in the bedroom"
Remus sat in one of the armchairs and smiled tiredly to the little girl who had been put down by her mother rather carelessly; Siena gurgled and started pulling at the strands of the carpet, all the while holding an animated conversation with herself. Meanwhile, Svetlana had stormed into the main bedroom (which was empty, just as she feared) and was going through the wardrobe. Severus might respect his wife's privacy, and she was ever-so-thankful, but she wasn't about to reciprocate, and it had been months since she knew where Severus kept his Death Eater cloak; the same cloak she couldn't find now, no matter how many times she went through the clothes. Putting it all back into place, she gave a defeated sigh //Damn, I hate this! How am I supposed to wait for him now?!//
"I'm afraid Severus isn't in the school at the moment" said Svetlana, returning to the living room "but I'm sure he'll be back soon, specially if he was awaiting you"
"Yes, I'm sure he was. I'll wait for him here, if you don't mind" said Remus, both softly and firmly.
"Of course. Would you like something to drink, then?" she offered, trying in vain to remember what little she knew of the wolf-taming potion.
"A cup of tea would be lovely, thank you. With no sugar!" //Sugar makes it useless// decided Svetlana at the eagerness of Lupin to stop the lump of sugar from going into his cup.
"Milk then?" Lupin nodded and Svetlana poured him the beverage, a mad idea forming in her brain. Remus Lupin was one of Harry Potter's friends and father-figure, as she had read in Witches' Weekly a very long time before, and had been sacked of Hogwarts when Severus had made it know that he was a werewolf; however, it was the same Severus that provided the potion that allowed Lupin to lead a normal life….. Svetlana walked to her desk and started drawing small nothings in a blank parchment, trying to keep focused in her new plan, instead of wondering where on earth Severus was. "Siena, are you eating chocolate before dinner? Give it here, you know you're not allowed….. Oh, Mr Lupin, I'm sorry, I hadn't taken your cloak. Here, let me hang it" Taking the sweet with a fold of her sleeve (and ridding it of fingerprints), she surreptitiously introduced the half-eaten chocolate and its wrapping into a pocket of the worn cloak and hung it next to the doorway, which chose to open at that exact moment, startling Svetlana into sincerity. "Thank Merlin, Severus, you're back!"
"So it seems" growled Snape, turning to the intruder with a snarl "Lupin, what are you doing here?!"
"Mr Lupin was looking for you quite urgently, and I thought it would be easier if he waited for you here" explained Svetlana quickly, taking the wrapped package Severus was carrying; he put up an initial resistance, but remembering his wife had grown with a Death Eater for a father, he figured he had nothing to hide.
"I'll go for you potion now, wait here" commanded the Potions Master to Remus, walking tiredly back out of his living space and towards his office. He had forgotten about the werewolf during the very *painful* meeting with the Dark Lord, and he thanked all the Gods he didn't believe in that he hadn't taken a minute longer to go back to Hogwarts: he shuddered to think about a raging werewolf with his wife and daughter….. by this time, he was already making his way back to his quarters, a goblet of the smoking potion in one hand. He made his re-entrance in his living-room to find his wife sitting in the other armchair, pouring a cup of mint tea for him. "Drink up, Lupin, it's almost sunset" said Snape, as if it was the werewolf's fault. "And next time, remember to tell me in advance when you are running low on the potion, and spare me your visit"
"I have been busy, Severus" reminded Lupin, making it a veiled mention of his work for the Order. He then took the goblet, sniffed it and swallowed its contents swiftly. "Merlin, this is as disgusting as ever!"
"Drink some tea, then" advised Snape, signalling towards the werewolf's empty cup; Svetlana hastily refilled it, and neither wizard noticed the dissolving lump of sugar in it, Snape because he was monitoring the werewolf's reaction and Lupin because he was used to anything tasting much sweeter after the bitter taste of the potion. "I'm sure you can go now, Lupin, Black must have the dog-house already set"
"I will be staying at Hogwarts tonight, Severus, it's too late to Apparate home, we have no security wards set there; I'm sure the Shrieking Shack is still fully serviceable, and Sirius can come here with his Portkey"
"What a jolly idea" snarled Snape again "Maybe I'll go and join you, and it'll be just like old times" Remus gave him a hard look, and Snape shrugged it off "Off you go, then, you have only twenty minutes before you become in dire need of a shave"
"Good evening, Severus. Thank you for your help, and good evening, Mrs Snape" replied Remus civilly, although his amber eyes shone gold for a moment. He left, and Svetlana had a single moment to get nervous.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Harry stayed huddled on the window-seat long after Sirius was gone; the ex-Marauder had appeared in the Gryffindor common room shortly before sunset to visit his godson, and Harry had taken this chance to practically pour out his heart to Sirius, who might have not understood much, but at least listened attentively and nodded at all the right times. He had left just as the moon was rising, but Harry didn't want to move just yet: he felt an aching void in his chest, what could usually be called a premonition by someone who hadn't had such a bad experience with Divination, so he just sat and waited.
The green-eyed boy looked at the full-moon appearing over the horizon and smiled faintly; soon, his smile was replaced with a horrified gasp as he vaguely heard a werewolf howling and, a minute later, a painful cry coming from somewhere in the general direction of Hogsmeade. It wasn't until he heard another howl, full of longing, that Harry started crying with no apparent reason.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Remus reached the Shrieking Shack five minutes before the moonrise. He threw his clothes aside carelessly and checked to see if Sirius was on his way; he had owled him notifying him of his change of plans, and he hoped the other wizard had got the message. He was feeling restless, and he wondered if the potion was working as usual, because he could *feel* the wolfish impulses pulling at his self-control even with the moon still not visible.
He went back into the house and thought about locking himself into a room until Sirius arrived, but a strange reluctance grew into him towards the key-lock: he could feel the wolf putting up a fight inside of him, but his trust in the Wolfsbane potion (along with a certain sluggishness in his brain), convinced him that everything was going to be just fine.
The moon was rising, and the process of transformation began. It was painful, more painful than Remus remembered it to have been in the last few years, and it robbed the man of his consciousness for a few moments. He awoke a few minutes after the complete moonrise, converted in an angry beast, shaking with pain, fear and hunger. And then another beast came into his lair.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sirius walked briskly towards the Whomping Willow, checking his watch; he had tried to be on time for Moony, but he didn't want to leave Harry alone when he was having such an outburst. Moony was sure to understand, thought Sirius happily, and he had to admit the Snape's potion had proved flawless during the last four years, providing the werewolf with a bearable and guilt-free transformation; while he thought this, Sirius prodded the knot in the wood with a stick that Hagrid always left around for him and descended into the tunnel. Maybe he could even convince Moony to give a stride around the grounds, just like in the old times, and to this purpose Sirius transformed into a big black dog who trotted happily towards the light.
He reached the end of the tunnel and stepped carefully into the room, noticing by his improved sense of smell (and the howl he heard) that Remus was already a wolf, and an angry one at that. That was all he registered before a huge beast, with his fangs bared, jumped on him, searching for his neck and catching him completely unaware. The sharp teeth tore the skin, the flesh and then the jugular, draining the life and the magical energy out of Sirius, who had only time for a painful cry before he transformed back into a human, a dead human.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The threat had been removed, the stranger had been stopped, and now there was only the burning taste of blood in its tongue, the taste of flesh out of an open chest. The part of Remus that had learnt self-control with the Marauders, and that had been caught unaware by the difficult transformation, suddenly reacted by thrusting its muzzle out of the body and focusing its golden eyes on it; wasn't it a dog a few minutes before?
Oh Merlin, no! Sirius, his blue eyes closed. Sirius, his good-natured face scratched. Sirius, his throat and chest mangled beyond recognition. Sirius, blood that still tingled in its mouth making it want *more*. Sirius, his non-beating heart almost exposed by the furious wound on his chest. Sirius, flesh torn from the neck downwards. And still the beast wanted more and more, and more…..
The werewolf gave several hesitant steps backwards, the rational part winning over the wolf, but the battle still raging on. It couldn't tear its eyes away from Sirius, but that only made the bloodlust stronger and harder to control. With a sudden bout of courage, Remus turned away and trotted out of the house, panic starting to build inside. First came blood, then the persecution and the punishment and the guilt, he remembered well. The Forbidden Forest loomed ever so near, and the werewolf raced towards the relative safety it could find in there; as it reached the fringe, though, it stopped to say goodbye to his last friend, the anguished howl not only writing an epitaph, but also alerting the Hogwarts and Hogsmeade residents of the loose beast. Remus departed with a full trot into the thick vegetation, and the forest creatures skittered out of its path.
************************
A/N: ::Holds a gun with silver bullets and smiles:: Oh, it's you!!! I insist, it's all Svetlana's fault, IvyCrane, don't hate me!!! And now, review, even if it's only to wish me death by a werewolf's jaw!