Another Chance
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling (JKR), various publishers of the Harry Potter (HP) series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 4 – A Guinea Pig (uploaded 11/18/03)
Remus and Tonks walked down hallway to the dungeons, passing the potions classroom. They turned into the open door of a laboratory to see Hermione, still braided, hovering over a cauldron. Bill Weasley sat in the corner grading papers.
"Ooo, love your hair," Tonks said cheerfully, "who did it for you?"
"Alan," came Hermione's reply.
Lupin snorted, "You're kidding, right?"
"Not at all. His fingers are quite nimble." She swung the tail of her braid around. "He transfigured the ribbons for me too. Don't you love it? He's so sweet."
Lupin walked over to the red-headed professor, "I think we'll have to quench this fire before it gets out of control. What are you doing here?"
Professor Weasley looked up from his papers. "Safety precaution. Miss Granger is still a student, so as the current potions professor, I have to be here while she works on her project. And don't worry, nothing's going to happen."
The werewolf nodded, "I was hoping you could brew Wolfsbane potion for me tonight."
"Why, where's Alan gone to?" Weasley asked, his eyes shifting for a glance at Hermione.
"He was called away." Lupin pointed to his left arm, earning a nodded response from Weasley.
"Well, I know that seventh years have done the potion, but it wasn't in the curriculum when I was in school. Tonks, how about you?" Bill asked.
"Nope, but I'd love to try," was the response from the metamorphagus.
"Hermione? Have you done the Wolfsbane potion yet?" Lupin asked.
"Yes and no." Hermione answered, "Yes, I've attempted it. But no, it wasn't successful. Nobody in class got it right according to Professor Snape. He was ready to poison a werewolf just to make his point."
Lupin pleaded, "Would you? Please? The ingredients are all here." He dug into a box, pulling out the Wolfsbane plant, "This is it, this is definitely the box."
Hermione looked at her watch and sighed, "Okay. Just give me a minute to find the recipe." She pushed her cauldron to the center of the bench and cleaned up.
"I really appreciate this, Hermione. I'm a lamentable potions maker. The full moon is tomorrow, you know." Lupin paced as Hermione turned pages of her potions notebook.
"Well, maybe this won't take so long if everyone helps out." Pulling ingredients out of the box one at a time, "Here Tonks, I need these crushed. Bill, chop these up please. Remus, you can pick the leaves off of the Wolfsbane plant. The twigs and stalks make the potion bitter. I'm going to clean out another cauldron."
Two hours later, well past midnight. Lupin paced in front of the bench. Bill and Hermione sat back against the wall, leaning on each other, asleep. "Almost there, Remus." Tonks said, as she gave it one more stir.
Snape walked into the dungeon and surveyed the situation. "Hermione, it's well past curfew." Her eyes blinked open as she took a startled breath.
"I'm sorry sir, I was kept up by several professors," the seventh year Gryffindor yawned.
Bill woke up, "Hey, Marston, you missed the party."
"Check this out," Tonks bobbed her head, "we made Wolfsbane."
Snape looked into the cauldron, "Did we now?" He pulled a goblet from a cupboard under the bench and ladled the potion from the smoking black pot. Snape swirled it around in the goblet as if it were a fine wine he were sampling, then he put his nose into the goblet.
Lupin snorted, "I'm afraid we didn't get around to the cork."
"Shut up," Snape snarled. Hermione bit her lip, waiting for the verdict. Then he dipped his little finger into the goblet and tasted it. "30 points to Gryffindor. But twenty away for being up so late. I can't believe you had the patience to remove leaves from the stalks."
"Oh yeah," Tonks danced around with her arms in the air. Snape held out the goblet for Lupin.
Remus took the goblet with both hands, "Please settle down, Tonks. You're making me nervous." After a couple of gulps, "You're right, Hermione. This isn't as bitter as it was yesterday or the day before."
Snape was tired and irritable from his evening. He started cussing as Tonks danced around him and turned him about. Dumbledore stood at the door, "Ahem, what are we celebrating and why wasn't I invited?"
Tonks sang, "We made Wolfsbane. We made Wolfsbane."
Snape let go of his hold on Tonks, and she fell into the bench. As Hermione's first cauldron teetered, Lupin and Snape grabbed Tonks by each arm and threw her against the wall next to Hermione and Bill. When the cauldron hit the floor, Snape had his back turned and had started toward the wall, only to be shoved from behind. The werewolf spilled a half-full goblet on himself and landed in the puddle that was Hermione's experiment.
All together, Hermione, Weasley, and Snape yelled, "TONKS!" The young auror stopped still and covered her mouth. Before their eyes, Lupin's form shrunk and shrunk, but rather than turning into a child, he shrunk into a little whimpering ball of fur. It was perhaps six weeks old, shivering with its tail tucked between its hind legs. It whined and whimpered in the middle of the puddle that was Hermione's shrinking solution.
Snape drew his wand, "Evanesco." Hermione ran over with a rag and wrapped the wet, whiny little wolf cub, using the corner to dry its face.
Tonks shook her head and said through her hands, "I'm sorry, I am so sorry, Remus. I can't believe I did that."
Snape took control, "Tonks, take Miss Granger to her dorm. We'll go over your notes in the morning. Weasley, take the wolf cub to Hagrid. Make sure he knows to keep it caged tomorrow for the full moon. I'm going to get drunk and fall asleep on my bathroom floor."
As Dumbledore stood in the hallway as Snape turned to lock the room. "It looks like we have a volunteer to try antidotes on," the potions master chuckled quietly.
Dumbledore rubbed his forehead, "Anything to report?"
"Nothing of interest today, Headmaster," Snape said softly. "I stayed in the shadows and kept my mask and hood on. The Dark Lord wanted us to watch while he humiliated a couple of disappointing Death Eaters and made examples of them. Care to join me in a state of inebriation? I still feel the need to throw up."
"I have your back, Severus. Let's go."
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling (JKR), various publishers of the Harry Potter (HP) series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 4 – A Guinea Pig (uploaded 11/18/03)
Remus and Tonks walked down hallway to the dungeons, passing the potions classroom. They turned into the open door of a laboratory to see Hermione, still braided, hovering over a cauldron. Bill Weasley sat in the corner grading papers.
"Ooo, love your hair," Tonks said cheerfully, "who did it for you?"
"Alan," came Hermione's reply.
Lupin snorted, "You're kidding, right?"
"Not at all. His fingers are quite nimble." She swung the tail of her braid around. "He transfigured the ribbons for me too. Don't you love it? He's so sweet."
Lupin walked over to the red-headed professor, "I think we'll have to quench this fire before it gets out of control. What are you doing here?"
Professor Weasley looked up from his papers. "Safety precaution. Miss Granger is still a student, so as the current potions professor, I have to be here while she works on her project. And don't worry, nothing's going to happen."
The werewolf nodded, "I was hoping you could brew Wolfsbane potion for me tonight."
"Why, where's Alan gone to?" Weasley asked, his eyes shifting for a glance at Hermione.
"He was called away." Lupin pointed to his left arm, earning a nodded response from Weasley.
"Well, I know that seventh years have done the potion, but it wasn't in the curriculum when I was in school. Tonks, how about you?" Bill asked.
"Nope, but I'd love to try," was the response from the metamorphagus.
"Hermione? Have you done the Wolfsbane potion yet?" Lupin asked.
"Yes and no." Hermione answered, "Yes, I've attempted it. But no, it wasn't successful. Nobody in class got it right according to Professor Snape. He was ready to poison a werewolf just to make his point."
Lupin pleaded, "Would you? Please? The ingredients are all here." He dug into a box, pulling out the Wolfsbane plant, "This is it, this is definitely the box."
Hermione looked at her watch and sighed, "Okay. Just give me a minute to find the recipe." She pushed her cauldron to the center of the bench and cleaned up.
"I really appreciate this, Hermione. I'm a lamentable potions maker. The full moon is tomorrow, you know." Lupin paced as Hermione turned pages of her potions notebook.
"Well, maybe this won't take so long if everyone helps out." Pulling ingredients out of the box one at a time, "Here Tonks, I need these crushed. Bill, chop these up please. Remus, you can pick the leaves off of the Wolfsbane plant. The twigs and stalks make the potion bitter. I'm going to clean out another cauldron."
Two hours later, well past midnight. Lupin paced in front of the bench. Bill and Hermione sat back against the wall, leaning on each other, asleep. "Almost there, Remus." Tonks said, as she gave it one more stir.
Snape walked into the dungeon and surveyed the situation. "Hermione, it's well past curfew." Her eyes blinked open as she took a startled breath.
"I'm sorry sir, I was kept up by several professors," the seventh year Gryffindor yawned.
Bill woke up, "Hey, Marston, you missed the party."
"Check this out," Tonks bobbed her head, "we made Wolfsbane."
Snape looked into the cauldron, "Did we now?" He pulled a goblet from a cupboard under the bench and ladled the potion from the smoking black pot. Snape swirled it around in the goblet as if it were a fine wine he were sampling, then he put his nose into the goblet.
Lupin snorted, "I'm afraid we didn't get around to the cork."
"Shut up," Snape snarled. Hermione bit her lip, waiting for the verdict. Then he dipped his little finger into the goblet and tasted it. "30 points to Gryffindor. But twenty away for being up so late. I can't believe you had the patience to remove leaves from the stalks."
"Oh yeah," Tonks danced around with her arms in the air. Snape held out the goblet for Lupin.
Remus took the goblet with both hands, "Please settle down, Tonks. You're making me nervous." After a couple of gulps, "You're right, Hermione. This isn't as bitter as it was yesterday or the day before."
Snape was tired and irritable from his evening. He started cussing as Tonks danced around him and turned him about. Dumbledore stood at the door, "Ahem, what are we celebrating and why wasn't I invited?"
Tonks sang, "We made Wolfsbane. We made Wolfsbane."
Snape let go of his hold on Tonks, and she fell into the bench. As Hermione's first cauldron teetered, Lupin and Snape grabbed Tonks by each arm and threw her against the wall next to Hermione and Bill. When the cauldron hit the floor, Snape had his back turned and had started toward the wall, only to be shoved from behind. The werewolf spilled a half-full goblet on himself and landed in the puddle that was Hermione's experiment.
All together, Hermione, Weasley, and Snape yelled, "TONKS!" The young auror stopped still and covered her mouth. Before their eyes, Lupin's form shrunk and shrunk, but rather than turning into a child, he shrunk into a little whimpering ball of fur. It was perhaps six weeks old, shivering with its tail tucked between its hind legs. It whined and whimpered in the middle of the puddle that was Hermione's shrinking solution.
Snape drew his wand, "Evanesco." Hermione ran over with a rag and wrapped the wet, whiny little wolf cub, using the corner to dry its face.
Tonks shook her head and said through her hands, "I'm sorry, I am so sorry, Remus. I can't believe I did that."
Snape took control, "Tonks, take Miss Granger to her dorm. We'll go over your notes in the morning. Weasley, take the wolf cub to Hagrid. Make sure he knows to keep it caged tomorrow for the full moon. I'm going to get drunk and fall asleep on my bathroom floor."
As Dumbledore stood in the hallway as Snape turned to lock the room. "It looks like we have a volunteer to try antidotes on," the potions master chuckled quietly.
Dumbledore rubbed his forehead, "Anything to report?"
"Nothing of interest today, Headmaster," Snape said softly. "I stayed in the shadows and kept my mask and hood on. The Dark Lord wanted us to watch while he humiliated a couple of disappointing Death Eaters and made examples of them. Care to join me in a state of inebriation? I still feel the need to throw up."
"I have your back, Severus. Let's go."