Severus squeezed Alex's hand reassuringly. "Relax. You'll be fine. Anyway, I think I've gotten the worst of the bargain," he sneered. He turned in an angry swirl of black robes and strode down the hall. "Well, come along, let's get this over with," he snapped. Tonks shrugged and gave Alex an apologetic smile, then followed Snape out the front door.
Alex stepped into the parlor where Remus Lupin waited with the pensieve. She perched on the edge of a sofa and tried not to look nervous. "Okay, what are we going to do ?"
"Severus and Tonks are going to be visiting a number of different sites. We'll be trying to determine the full extent of the link you have with him. For starters, I'd like you to take a Sleeping Draught, and we'll just let you nap for a while." He smiled disarmingly. "Then we'll use the pensieve to view any visions that occur."
"Oh, trust me, they'll occur." She eyed the goblet of Sleeping Draught with distaste. Okay, lets get this over with. "Here's mud in your eye." She drained the goblet. Alex had just enough time to kick off her shoes and curl up on the sofa before she was fast asleep.
Severus and Tonks walked across Tower Bridge; Alex recognized it from their first date. The pink-haired witch was nearly jogging to keep up with Snape. "We're supposed to carry on a conversation," she complained.
"Very well. Your hairstyle is hideous," he snapped.
Tonks grinned, unperturbed. She concentrated for a moment and replaced the pink, spiky 'do with a brilliant blue pageboy. "How's that ?"
"Lovely," he said sarcastically. The metamorphmagus was still frowning in concentration. She changed her jacket to blue to match her hair, and as a finishing touch, turned her nose into a pig's snout. "If you've just tried to change your face, there's been no discernible difference," Snape told her waspishly.
"Sod off, Snape," she said cheerfully. Tapping the portkey located on the tower with her wand, Tonks disappeared.
"Portus." Snape tapped the portkey with his own wand. Alex felt the familiar tugging sensation and a moment later she was following Tonks down Diagon Alley. The mismatched couple stopped in at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch.
Alex felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, blinking away the image of Tonks, with her nose back to normal, gleefully slurping her drink through a straw. Lupin, looking expectant, had retreated to his seat. "They've entered magical London, Tonks is a metamorphmagus, and Severus is being his usual charming self," she reported.
The greying young wizard smiled. "Let me show you how to use the pensieve -"
"I've had plenty of experience," Alex cut him off, drawing her wand, "with Albus Dumbledore." She extracted pearly white strands from her temple, the fresh memories of the vision she'd just had, and dropped them into the carved stone bowl. "What's next ?"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to cast a Sleep spell on you."
"All right." He's almost as nervous about this as I am, Alex noted. A moment later, he'd cast the spell and she was asleep again. She watched Tonks and Snape make their way down a snowy lane lined with fir trees, then woke as Lupin tapped her shoulder again. She repeated the process of putting her thoughts into the pensieve. "Here's the problem," she pointed out, "if I'm asleep, I can't tell anyone what's going on. But while I'm awake, I'm missing what's happening with Severus. They left the pub and went out in the country somewhere, it looks like. But I missed most of it, so I can't tell you where."
"I'd thought of that. You give barely any indication of what's happening while you're asleep, so one doesn't know when would be a good time to wake you. It would be most unfortunate to waken you during, say, an important revelation by Voldemort."
Alex snorted. "Yeah. Sorry, but it's just creepy, having someone watching me sleep." He called You-Know-Who by name. Weird, the only people I've heard do that are in the Order.
"I'm sorry about that," said Lupin sincerely. "I know it must be uncomfortable. I have an alternative. I could put you into a light trance. You'd be aware of what's going on around you, but still able to have the visions. I think," he added.
"A trance ? You mean hypnosis ?" Alex was skeptical.
Lupin smiled his gentle smile. "I spent one summer studying in Austria with Roy Sigmund. He was a medi-wizard with some... unconventional theories about healing. This was before the Wolfsbane Potion was invented, you see."
"Oh wow, you're a werewolf, aren't you ?" Alex breathed.
"Yes," he said guardedly. "I thought Severus would have told you."
"Nope, he never said anything about it." Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Um, is it true, about werewolves being allergic to silver ?"
"Allergic ? Yes, that's one way of putting it," he said, watching her warily.
Sheesh. No wonder he's acting so freaked out. I've got about a pound of silver here. She'd worn her Navajo jewelry, chunky earrings and squash-blossom necklace, sterling silver set with turquoise. Alex banished them with a spell.
"Thank you," Lupin said quietly.
"No problem. Severus did mention werewolves to me once," Alex giggled. "According to him, you and I have a lot in common." Lupin looked bemused. "I turn into a monster when I'm off my meds too," she grinned. "So anyway, about this hypnosis business," she prompted.
"Dr. Sigmund taught me to put myself into a trance," the werewolf explained. "His theory being that it would help me to remain in my right mind during the transformation to my wolf form." He grimaced. "Ultimately, it didn't help, but I did learn a good deal about hypnosis."
"I'm willing to give it a try. Go ahead, knock yourself out."
Lupin murmured something, waving his wand. "Why don't you close your eyes," he suggested. Alex did so, and found herself indoors once again. Snape glanced impatiently out the window and Alex recognized the main street of the wizarding village of Hogsmeade. "Where are they now ?" Lupin asked.
"Hogsmeade, some kind of candy shop," she replied distantly. "Heh. Tonks is trying to feed Severus those jelly beans that are so popular with the kids." She giggled. "He took one...must've been a bad one, he's spit it onto the floor. Now he's calling her an insufferable little twit...Hey !" Alex's eyes flew open. "She kicked me in the shin !" She rubbed her leg.
"Did you actually feel it ? Did it hurt ?"
She blinked. "No...not really. Kind of."
"This time, try putting your thoughts into the pensieve as they occur." Lupin cast again and she resumed her trance. She was standing on the hill near the Shrieking Shack, arguing with Tonks, who was holding out an old tennis shoe. There was a tugging sensation again as she/Severus finally took hold of it. Alex transferred more wispy memories into the pensieve, superficially aware of what she was doing, but on another, deeper level, completely absorbed in the vision. Now, though, it wasn't as clear. The witch felt as though she were viewing everything through a clouded mirror. The two mages stood knee-deep in surf on a rocky beach. Wherever they were, they were still arguing bitterly.
"They're going to wind up killing each other," Alex murmured. A moment later, the scene went dark. "He's disapparated, I think," she reported, dutifully transferring the thought into the pensieve. No sooner had she spoken than the cracked sidewalk and gloomy houses of Grimmauld Place appeared.
Lupin waved his wand, ending the trance, just as Tonks and Severus burst in the front door. "Slimy, rude, arrogant git," Tonks shrilled.
"Inane, insipid, immature chatterbox," Snape fired back.
Alex slipped on her shoes. "Let's go separate those two before one or the other of them commit murder," she suggested.
"I think the tests ended just in time," agreed Lupin, hastily following her into the hall.