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I'm busy writing an extract to accompany this chapter about how Draezyc and Severus met. Just for fun. It'll fit in directly after this chapter, but can be ignored, it's just a bit of background detail really. It'll be called Chapter 16 B
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Remus awoke to a cold feeling of clinical warmth. He was in the hospital wing. Again. He noticed a goblet of potion on the stand beside him, and downed it in one, frowning slightly at the bitter aftertaste. Grim. Healing potions always taste like that. God my hands hurt, must have really been clawing to escape last night. Last night… Sirius… Anna… oh no. He let her come with him, stupid idiot. Almost ruined 30 years. So close.
"Lupin?"
Remus turned to face the voice.
"Draezyc? You're alright?"
"Not really." Draezyc shrugged. "Feel better than you look, though."
"That's kind of the package." Remus pulled himself up into a sitting position, noting with disgust the light blue pyjamas with little wolves running round the hemming. Sirius again. I'm going to kill him.
"You think yours is bad? You didn't have to wear a nightie with little green cauldrons and potion bottles patterned on it." Draezyc buried her head in her hands. "Yes, I agree that it was your dear friend Sirius Black the new blondie's fault."
"Doesn't really suit him." Remus reached over for a glass of water to take away the aftertaste of the potion. "Can I ask what happened to you, we found you half dead on the edge of the Hogwarts grounds."
"Yeah." Draezyc nodded. "Where I had been for the last god knows how many hours. Got cornered by guess who? Moody. Apparently he thought it'd be fair if he got his own back for me rendering him legless, not in the intoxicated form of speech."
Remus laughed slightly, wincing as his ribs twinged with pain. "And you did what?"
"Erm… something very un-death eater-like of me. I pegged it. Like, literally ran like hell, just to see how far I could get before he realised I'd gone..."
"Unwise to try to make fun of Mad-Eye."
"You're telling me this now… thank you so much." Draezyc sighed, fingering the bandages on her hand. "But Moody got caught up by someone else, I don't remember who, I didn't see much, some twit hit me round the back of the head and here I am." Draezyc shrugged. "At least I still have my hair."
"Very high on the importance scale."
"Heard you howling like the end of the world last night, escaped huh?"
Remus blinked a few times. "You really don't miss a thing, do you?"
"Why do you think I'm still alive after thirty six years Remus? To steal one of Moody's phrases, its constant vigilance that keeps me in one piece, day after day. I've not done many nice things in the past, in fact, I really did butcher quite a few people for treason to the Dark Lord, and now look at me. Hypocritical or what!? I'm not in the position of honour I once was, it's now Malfoy's wondrous job to sniff out those who are loyal to another. And I'm sorry to say that he's probably better at the job than I ever was. He's onto what Severus is doing, as I'm sure you know. And once one is down, it won't take long before he twigs onto what I'm up to." Draezyc shook the hair out of her eyes. "Did you get to see much through my vision thingie?"
"Yes, a bit." Remus nodded. "How on earth did you come up with that idea?"
"One word for you- Lily." Draezyc smirked slightly. "Ever wonder why in the last few years her eyes seemed to glow even more than normal? Ever wonder why? She was a charms apostle. Well wrong choice of words, but you know what I mean…"
"Lily? She worked out that charm?" Remus had to keep himself from letting his jaw drop. Lily? But if she did? Surely someone would have seen Voldemort coming, someone could have helped, she would still be alive now… This can't be right.
"You look very sceptical." Draezyc raised an eyebrow. "It's true, just ask Dumbledore."
"So what colour are your eyes normally?"
"Still blue, but more grey blue than sky blue. You know… when I first got it done, it freaked out Sev so much when I woke up during the night, I mean, you'd find it kind of odd if you woke up in the pitch black and saw these two glowing blue eyes peering down at you. He had good reason to be though. Voldemort's eyes glow. But they glow red, and it's nothing to do with a spell."
"I didn't think Snape was scared of anything… He doesn't seem like the type." Remus shifted slightly, taking the pressure off his right leg, which was scratched down the entire length.
"No, he doesn't, does he?" Draezyc smiled weakly. "He just doesn't tell anybody about it unless you literally beat it out of him, in the figurative sense, nothing kinky going on here." Draezyc frowned at the thought. "But he really trusts very, very few people, there are still things he's never told me about himself."
"Like why he came back to Dumbledore?" Remus offered
"Aw, no." Draezyc gestured with her arm. "I found that out on our honeymoon.
Remus spluttered, "Honeymoon?!?"
"Well yeah you know, you get married you go on holiday for a week or so, right?" Draezyc gave Remus a patronising look. "He's actually a very nice guy, once you sift through the evil depressive layer. Sirius Black just doesn't compare in the slightest…" Draezyc smiled dreamily, leaning back against the headboard. "Took me to Sorrento. You know, his parents have like these little villas scattered over Italy."
"Don't let Edea hear you compare Sirius' nocturnal talents…" Remus laughed. "Sorrento… nice place." I didn't know The Snapes had taste… learn something new every day or so… Glad to see Draezyc's back to her normal self again. Never thought I'd be saying that. So Snape did tell her why he went over to the Phoenixes, I wonder what the story behind it is…
"Remus?" Draezyc took a sip from her goblet of water. "You look like you want to ask something."
Remus grinned. "Omniscient are you?"
"Believe me, when you've got a young son, you'll understand the necessity to be all-knowing and all-present." Draezyc nodded solemnly.
"Well yes. But I'm sure you'd rather not answer me, so I won't intrude."
"Ask away, the only I won't tell you is anything about what lingerie I happen to wear or what my husband talks about in the shower."
"He actually takes showers?" Remus laughed, remembering some of his old Marauder jokes on that particular subject.
"Yes. He looks nice after he washes his hair." Draezyc nodded. "Now ask."
"Why did Snape change sides?" Remus frowned, "I mean, I thought he was happy with what he was doing before… what happened?"
"Happy? Nobody is truly happy with what they're doing in that faction, it's more an ideal dream of what will one day be achieved by doing so, but nobody, not even Malfoy really enjoys what he does deep down, he just has this ideal of a no-muggle wizarding community, only pure bloods. And he thinks that Voldemort is the only way that this is going to happen." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "The thing with Severus is that he truly had no other option. Nobody. His father was one, and thus, he was pressurised into becoming one, just to gain that fatherly pride that he had strived for, for so long. And I think some of it rests on your Marauder group too. I never understood why you had to be so hard on him, granted he wasn't very nice, but even when he was leaving you alone, you kept on at him, he truly had nobody. And once he realised what the Death Eaters truly was, just some terror organisation autocracy led by Voldemort. It had no real purpose, and the purpose definitely wasn't the one he was looking for, I don't hesitate in saying he never killed as many as I did. And you know what got to him most? The blind support Voldemort had hanging onto him, nobody was free in thinking their own thoughts. Something Sev really does believe in. I think it's had a bad effect on the way he sees things, and he's taking it out on James' son now. Gaining some sort of closure or something…"
Remus looked sad, and then stared at the picture of Florence Nightingale on the wall. "Why on Earth did you fall for him?"
"Why?" Draezyc laughed. "I don't know if you know this, but at that time, I was beating the hell out of various traitors to the cause… Pyrrus Bones' murky end was my fault. I stumbled across Snape passing information to Dumbledore through the fire network a few nights later. And a few weeks after that, I challenged him to a duel, he wasn't a wimp like Pyrrus Bones, this was really going to test my skills. It never went past the first shielding charm. He just didn't want to try. He was willing to take death in his stride, anything to end the whole Death Eater fiasco that he thought he couldn't get out of, a vicious circle of pain and deceit is what it is, and was at that time too." Draezyc was tracing circles on the quilt. "I was just going through the motions, nothing actually seemed to mean anything to what I was doing or what I was feeling, it was like I wasn't there anymore."
"And Snape changed all that?"
"Not exactly." Draezyc shook her head. "No, that's a definite no. I dunno, when you've fallen in love you try to reason with yourself. It doesn't work."
"I know."
"You do?" Draezyc raised an expectant eyebrow. "Do tell."
"I couldn't."
"Tell me, I spilt my beans, you spill yours." Draezyc folded her arms and shifted round so she could see Remus better.
"In a word. Anna."
"Oh!" Draezyc laughed. "I noticed, I thought you had other skeletons in your closet, like maybe Bertha J, or someone."
"You're scary." Remus rubbed his aching wrist. "A true Slytherin."
"Why thank you, Remus dear." Draezyc pushed the quilt off her bed, and stood up shakily, pulling on a bathrobe and walking over to the window seat. "She's a nice girl, Lupin, don't let her slip away. You've got to keep her safe, you know that?"
"In what way?"
"Voldemort's not given up, you know what he's like. He'll be after her soon enough, just because he has other plans right now."
"Like what?"
"Vampires. He's rallying vampire support." Draezyc looked downcast. "I hate the creatures. And then term will start soon, and Hogwarts will be teeming with pubescent brats."
"Biased slightly against other people's children? Don't you think one day Pytheus will be as you so wonderfully put it- a pubescent brat." Remus grinned slightly.
"No. I am not going to let my child grow up into someone like Lucius' Malfoy's spawn… what's it's name… Draco…and what a stupid name for a child… Draco so poncey and aloof."
"Not that calling your son Pytheus is poncey or aloof in any way." Remus raised an eyebrow.
"Nice classical Greek name, fits in with the whole Slytherin thing… Plus, it's the only name I suggested that Sev agreed on." Draezyc admitted finally. "Fancy wanting to call your son Severus… that's just tempting fate… and Severus Septimus wasn't a very good Roman Emperor anyway."
"He wanted to name his son after himself?" Remus laughed. "Sevvie junior."
"I suggested Sirius and Zeus as a joke and he went astronomically angry… So funny…" Draezyc hiccoughed, "You have visitors." She pointed at Sirius who had just poked his head round the door, grinning guiltily.
"Sirius." Remus smiled weakly, wondering why Sirius looked so guilty.
"Maybe I should start by asking if I have to wear protective armour to endure my telling off." Sirius grinned hopefully.
"No more coats of armour." Remus groaned, "I'm begging you. And yes you'll survive seeing as I can't really move much more than what I'm doing now."
"No cunning plans then?"
"No plans." Remus nodded. "So?"
"Sorry." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, taking a seat next to Remus' bed. "Should have stopped to check on Anna first, made sure she wasn't looking for me."
"And?"
"And… er… I'll buy you a drink when my name's cleared?" Sirius asked optimistically.
"Just… please… you have no idea how much that scared me."
"You didn't look that scared lobbing me into the willow." Sirius gave Remus a playful punch. "Fierce wolf you've got in there."
"Sirius, seriously…" Remus grumbled, "Next month… if we get that far, do as I say for once in your life."
"Bloody hell you sound like my mother did before James' stag-do."
"Which turned into a stag party in the literal sense." Remus grinned. "I felt so left out."
"Except you were too sozzled to complain about it." Sirius leaned back in his chair, "Singing like some uber-diva."
Remus grinned, thinking about exactly what went on… We left James chained to a lamppost in his animagus form… after painting his nose red. Of course, he couldn't transform back into his human form, as Sirius managed to strip him down to his boxers, and sent his clothes home with a banishment charm. I'm sure passers by were very confused by the items of clothing zipping past them on their way up to Godric's Hollow… At the time we all found it highly amusing… but then again that was probably due to the large amounts of alcohol we had consumed.
Madame Pomfrey came bustling up to Remus and Sirius. "Out, I don't want you loitering round the hospital wing for no good reason, Black I want you out."
"He's my reason, I'm checking up on my friend." Sirius pointed at Remus. "It's not forbidden, is it?"
Madame Pomfrey narrowed her eyes, Sirius Black had always been in the Hospital wing for no good reason in his years at Hogwarts and she had promised herself it was never going to happen again. "The boy needs sleep,"
"I'm not a boy." Remus retorted indignantly. "I'm thirty six!"
"Then start acting like you're thirty six. Black I want you out, now."
Sirisu threw his hands in the air. "Alright alright, I'm going see… me… walking towards the door…" He winked at Remus, "See you at dinner."
"Bye, and there should be a hair colour charm in the library, personal charmwork section." Remus called out after Sirius who gave him a thumbs up through the window.
TBC
