Well, I managed to get several different answers to the whole Sirius' eyes question, pale blue, dark blue, black, gray… see my problem? I'll just go with whatever one seems to fit…

Also, about Harry being more relaxed around Remus, I thought that I should clarify a little. Remember, it was Sirius that observed it, and he's a little oversensitive in regards to Harry. He would tend to think that it's all his fault and expect Harry to hate him more than anyone else. Also, I do see Harry as a little more… what's the word… wary of Sirius, just because of the massive amount of shattered trust between them, and the fact that out of all of the people in the world, Sirius should have at least suspected that Harry was framed. Last, but not least, Harry has never thought about this because, quite frankly, it isn't something that you usually ponder. He likely isn't really aware of it, and certainly wouldn't be aware of his motives. But really, that whole scene being just with Remus? That happened because I was rereading and Remus and Sirius seemed to becoming, well… Remus and Sirius. Always together. I wanted to differentiate between them a bit more and that was a good time to do it.

Harry knows he took both books and he did it on purpose. He doesn't want anyone else to read them right now, and you'll find out the reason in this chapter. And yes, Hogwarts is now in session, and has been for a week to two weeks, depending on how you read the last chapter. I'm leaving the time vague.

DISCLAIMER IN CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 27

Hogwarts

Harry considered the facts as he walked up from the edge of Hogwarts apparation wards into the castle itself. And fascinating facts they were. Most Dangerous Magical Arts and Maladies seemed to have a cure for lycanthropy hidden in its pages. Unfortunately for a millennium of cursed werewolves, the cure had been tested and proven unusable. Not because it didn't work, for it did, but because it was impossible to administer. The problem was that the vile potion had to be consumed in the light of the full moon and from a silver bowl. In other words, while the patient was furry, insane, and bloodthirsty. Harry had grimaced when he had read the accounts of the few tests that the creator of the potion had tried. Forcing a werewolf to do anything would be hard enough, but drink a potion that likely smelled of strange, if not downright disgusting, potions supplies? From a bowl that burned them badly if their noses so much as touched it? Impossible. They had even tried to force feed one, and although that man had been cured of his curse in the end, he had killed several assistants and badly wounded others in the process. And so, the creator of the potion had left it and moved on to more profitable sciences, leaving the record of the useless potion only in a book, of which only a few copies were made, and all of which were assumed to be lost only a few years after.

But that had all been centuries before the recent creation of the Wolfsbane potion, which allowed a werewolf to keep his mind. And with that mind, the ability to know that something horrible smelling can be helpful, and that silver doesn't burn as long as one is careful not to touch it. Harry knew that it was quite possible that something in one of the potions could react badly with something in the other, resulting in death or a condition worse than lycanthropy, but he had to try. For Remus, who, along with Sirius, Harry was coming very close to forgiving, and for every other person who suffered under the curse.

Once in the castle, Harry walked straight to Snape's office. It was the middle of the hour, and although Harry hadn't planned it that way, it did make it so that Harry was relatively unnoticed as he walked through the halls to the dungeons. Relatively unnoticed because of the portraits and a rather nervous Peeves, who obviously still remembered their last encounter and stayed out of Harry's way. Opening the door to the gloomy office, Harry decided that the décor fit Snape's personality perfectly. It was dark and everything had sharp edges. But it wasn't ugly or sinister, merely formal. Harry particularly admired the statuette of a coiled snake made of the darkest marble that sat on the corner of Snape's otherwise bare desk. He sat down to wait. It couldn't be too long before whatever class Snape was currently terrorizing would let out.

Sure enough, only fifteen minutes or so passed before Snape entered. The potions master froze for a split second at the sight of his visitor and then shut the door behind him firmly. Setting his load of books down on a nearby shelf, Snape sat down behind his desk and looked questioningly at Harry. "I assume this isn't a social call, Potter, what is it?"

Harry grinned slightly. "No, not social, sorry. I have a few questions for you if you have a few moments. I can wait if you have another class?" Harry raised a questioning eyebrow.

Snape shook his head slightly. "Not for over an hour, so now is good." He narrowed his eyes. "Come for some poison for your two slaves?"

Harry figured that this must be Snape's idea of a joke and allowed himself a faint and sardonic smile. "No, not really. I need to know, honestly, who is the best potions master around right now."

Snape sat back, looking faintly surprised at this question. "Well…" He gave it a little thought. "Honestly…" Harry was probably the last person in a decade or two that saw Severus Snape even slightly embarrassed. "… me, probably. Andisa Maine, in the States, might be as good. It would depend on what you need. There are specialists for nearly everything." He couldn't hold back the curiosity in his voice.

Harry looked somewhat amused. "I thought it might be you. As for what I need, well, I've discovered something that had previously been… lost… and I'd like your professional opinion on it. I think that you will figure out where I'm headed." He handed the book over open to the correct page. Snape took a second to blink in disbelief at the title and then carefully glanced at the open page. Harry knew the instant that the possibilities sunk in. Snape's jaw dropped and he turned the page to look at the recipe list. Then, reluctantly, he handed the book back to Harry. Harry met his eyes. "What I need to know is if this potion can be combined or taken with the Wolfsbane potion. I think you can see that if it could…" Harry let his voice trail off, not needing to name the possibilities.

Snape shook his head in wonder. "An easy cure for lycanthropy. Merlin." He let out a long breath and shook his head slightly in disbelief. "Maybe. I don't see any immediate problems, but I'll need to run a full theoretical model on both of the potions. The only potential problem would be the timing, and possibly the crushed aminis shell. But if we could cut…" Snape seemed to be quite in his element.

Harry held up a hand. "Please. I bow to your knowledge. Potions is one thing that I am absolutely dismal in."

Snape sneered. "Yes, I know."

Harry mused softly. "Hmm, must have been the teacher…" Then, before Snape could add anymore acerbic comments, Harry handed the book back over. "Interested in figuring this out?"

Snape's eyes were alight with anticipation. "Yes." Then his eyes met Harry's, searching for something. "Are you supplying the first user?"

Harry met his gaze coldly. "Only if you are sure." He emphasized the last word.

Snape nodded, correctly gathering that it would definitely not be in his best interest to allow Remus Lupin to be harmed in the very process of curing him. He got the distinct feeling that his professional pride would not be the only thing painfully damaged by such a mistake. He was Slytherin enough to recognize a veiled threat when he heard one. And after seeing what Harry was capable of when was angry, well, he would be very sure. "Regardless of rumor, Potter, my grudges do not extend to matters of my profession."

Harry looked skeptical and mocked loudly. "Riiiight. Potter! Thirty points from Gryffindor for breathing! And detention for having the nerve to exist!"

Snape glared. "You're the exception, not the norm." He did have the grace to look faintly embarrassed though. If one looked very closely, that is.

Harry suppressed a laugh and sighed theatrically. "No, never that." He wasn't sure that he'd ever been normal and it didn't look as if that would be changing anytime soon.

The potions master changed the subject with yet another glare. "Shall I copy off the pages?"

Harry stood and shook his head. "Just put it in the library when you are done. Just be careful, don't let Madam Pince faint or anything. I suppose that it is only fair, anyway, I'm afraid that that book on bonds that you sent me got a little…" Harry arched an eyebrow sardonically, and sarcasm dripped from his voice. "…battered." Harry left the room before Snape could fully adjust to the fact that not only had he just had a reasonably pleasant conversation with the Boy-Who-Lived, but that the aforementioned had also left a downright priceless book in his care. Snape didn't worry about it long, but spent the last few moments of his break with his rather long nose firmly stuck in the book, which carried far more than just a possible cure for lycanthropy. Potter hadn't said that he couldn't look at the rest of the book.

Leaving Snape's office, Harry hid his face again and headed back towards the Great Hall and the door to the outside. Walking through the walls of Hogwarts again brought back hundreds of memories, most of them good. He fingered the map inside his pocket. He hadn't even gotten lost. Obviously the skill of maneuvering around Hogwarts was something that never quite left you. It also helped when there really wasn't anything a professor or Filch could do to him if they found him somewhere he shouldn't be.

Suddenly he stopped walking as a sound from a nearby hallway caught his attention. And then he grinned. It seemed as if a new generation of pranksters had come to Hogwarts. Whispering quietly, two boys, probably third or fourth years, emerged from the nearest corridor. The taller of the two chuckled merrily while tucking a small bag back into his robes. "Nick, that'll go off perfectly. If you managed to set the timer right that is…" Then he trailed off suddenly as his slightly more observant friend elbowed him sharply, eyes locked on the cloaked Harry. "Uh oh…"

"Up to no good, boys?" Harry seriously felt like laughing at the twin looks of horror that they were shooting at him. It made him wonder if he had ever really looked this guilty when caught somewhere he shouldn't be. He probably had, he mused to himself, children, and he was no exception, were quite good at displaying their every thought right out on their face for all to see.

"Erm…" Nick looked trapped.

Harry smiled, even though he knew that they couldn't see it under his hood. "No fear. I can't punish you and wouldn't anyway. You might not want to advertise your plans quite so loudly, though."

They exchanged shocked glances. Then the first spoke up again. "Um, yes, sir."

Harry then got an idea. A very, very good idea. One that he felt quite sure his father, with his prankster heart, would have greatly approved of. "Actually, boys, I think I'll help you out." He motioned them closer. They approached, tentative, but curious. "You seem to be worthy pranksters, but you'll never reach truly legendary proportions with out a little… aid." Harry pulled the map from his pocket. As he did so, he wandlessly duplicated the parchment, making an identical copy, which he showed the boys as he kept the original. He was mentally grateful for the extra magical powers he possessed, since copying the map in a normal fashion would have taken weeks of carefully redoing spells and infusing magical properties to the new map. His way was so much simpler, if somewhat tiring, and left him able to keep an important part of his father's childhood while returning a Marauder's Map to the only real place that it had any use.

Nick's friend looked highly skeptical. "It's just a blank piece of old parchment."

Harry shook his head slowly. "Yes, you would think so, wouldn't you? But it's not. Here…" And he pulled his wand and muttered just loud enough so they could hear him. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

The spidery lines of the map twisted their way outwards to the edge of the parchment. Harry let them get a bare glimpse and then continued. "To close it, just say 'Mischief managed." Obediently, the map became a mere slip of old and yellowed parchment again. He glanced up at the now covetous boys and grinned at the looks of glee that they were shooting each other. Clearly they had a couple of good ideas that would be greatly facilitated by the use of this map. "So, I suppose you two could put this to good use?"

Nick nodded hurriedly. "Yes, of course we do, but we haven't got much money, sir, I don't think…"

Harry interrupted. "No money, but a few rules." They nodded and listened attentively. "Nothing harmful. I know that pranks and rivalries are fun, but do not intentionally hurt anyone else. Second, this can be a valuable resource if Hogwarts is ever in danger. If it is, it is up to you to take this to the headmaster. Lastly, it stays at Hogwarts. You can use it while you are here, but when you graduate, pass it on, along with the rules, to some likely candidate." Both of the boys nodded solemnly. Harry handed the map over. "I'd wait until tonight to use it or you might be late…"

Nick glanced at his watch and went pale. "We already are. C'mon, Granger is going to kill us." The boys bolted down the hallway.

Harry followed, intrigued by the thought of Hermione teaching. As he walked down the hall and around the corner, Harry saw them dart into an open door and heard a familiar voice. "Mr. Andrews, Mr. Reece, you are nearly fifteen minutes late. Det…"

Harry decided that it wasn't really fair that the two pranksters got a detention for his detainment of them, since it was likely that they got plenty of detention time that they did deserve. So he poked his head into the classroom and looked at Hermione somewhat sheepishly. "Actually, they were helping me, Hermione. Sorry." He turned to leave.

Hermione dropped both her stern demeanor and her textbook and gasped. "Harry?" And then she bolted out the door, leaving her class behind. All the students knew who Professor Granger had once been a best friend of, as it was no secret. Murmurs and excited whispers filled the room and two stunned boys exchanged wide-eyed glances with each other.

Meanwhile, Hermione dashed down the hall after Harry. "Harry? Harry, wait, please!" She didn't really expect him to stop, but she had to try. "Harry?"

Up ahead, Harry sighed, stopped, and turned slightly. He should have known that she would do this. Actually, out of both of his former friends, he'd much rather talk to Hermione. Ron just made him instantly angry, for reasons that he couldn't quite fathom.

Hermione stopped in front of him, indecision lining her face. "Harry, please, can we talk?" She held her breath and waited for his answer.

Her face fell as he turned and walked away. But, to her surprise, he stopped at the doorway of an empty classroom and opened the door. She followed him in, hope blossoming. He sighed and sat on the edge of the desk. "I can't promise anything."

She nodded. "I know, I mean, I wouldn't expect you… Oh, Harry!" Biting her lip, she looked at the floor. "I've planned this conversation out at least twenty times, but it's all gone now."

Harry's eyes were unreadable. "I can remember a few things that I wanted to say to you as well, but they are probably better left unsaid."

Hermione swallowed hard, correctly imagining several of those things. "Harry, I want you to know that I am very sorry. I… you'd never given us any reason, and I just… it just made sense, but it shouldn't have, it didn't, but I thought it did, and I… I…" She bit her lip, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill. "I'm really sorry." Then she waited, shoulders bowed, for Harry to comment.

Harry thought of a great lot of scathing, hurtful things that he could say, any of which could have reduced Hermione to tears in an instant. But somehow, this didn't seem to appeal to him as much as it would have a month or two ago. He sighed. "I don't like what happened, but I understand. You were fourteen, and every adult that you looked up to and respected was telling you something that they honestly thought was right."

Hermione shook her head violently. "No! I should have known, I should have realized that something was wrong."

Harry stood and walked to the closest window. He looked out over the grounds, cloaked in autumn beauty. He mused softly, putting words to something that he'd been struggling with ever since he'd first began to deal with his emotions rather than hide from them. "Maybe it was for the best, anyway. Voldemort's gone, the world isn't in shambles, and…"

Hermione gasped and moved forward, her hand reaching out to grab at his arm before she realized what she was about to do and pulled it back. "Don't say that! Yes, it worked out, but that, that doesn't make it right!" Harry turned back towards her, a skeptical look on his face. Hermione rushed, desperate to make him understand. "What happened to you was wrong, and wrong never makes right. It never should have happened. It isn't your responsibility or your lot in life to suffer. You have just as much right to be happy as anyone else. We… we took your freedom for something you didn't do, and that's an inexcusable crime on our parts. Even if it did turn out all right in the end, don't you ever think that it was OK!"

Harry just watched as Hermione spoke, sensing the passion for her words in her voice and the pleading look in her eyes. She reminded him so much of the Hermione he remembered, but she was different too, and Harry was forcibly reminded that it had been six years since they had spoken like this, and ten years since they had first met. But even though she had changed, he couldn't doubt what she said. She truly believed what she was saying, and the words made sense to Harry. He shrugged. "Well, it's done now, and can't be changed. I don't know if I believe in destiny or anything, but it did end up the way that everyone thought it would."

Hermione looked down to the ground. "No, it didn't. Because I always thought that you would be facing Voldemort, but that Ron and I would be by your side. And then Sirius came along, and I figured he'd be the one at your back." Her voice shook. "But we messed it all up and it was just you. Alone." A tear trickled down her cheek and she scrubbed at it furiously.

Harry took a step forward and just barely touched her arm with his fingertips. "I won't lie and say that I didn't hate… well, everyone… for a long time." She winced. Harry continued. "I'm getting over it." Hermione looked up, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes. "Slowly."

She nodded, understanding both what he was and wasn't saying. He was getting there, but he wasn't there yet. "Ron and I, we'll wait forever if it takes that long. We are both truly sorry, Harry."

"Yes, I know." Harry turned to leave. As he walked out the door, leaving Hermione behind, one final comment floated back. "Tell Ron he's a prat…"

A shaky smile broke out over Hermione's face and she closed her eyes in happiness. She was willing, but maybe they wouldn't have to wait forever after all. And then her eyes flew open again as she remembered. "Oh no, my class…"

COMING SOON: Another full moon, and Snape visits the castle.

Well, I doubt that I surprised anyone, but I really wasn't trying to leave a cliffhanger last time. Maybe it seemed more obvious to me than it was to you… that happens sometimes… Thanks SOO much for the reviews, I don't even mind if you have nothing to say, it's just nice to know that people are reading and liking my brainchild! -krtshadow