Author's Notes
1) For the disclaimers read Chapter One, 'disclaimers'
2) I don't know if I pointed this out before: this story is about my three favorite characters from the Harry Potter Universe: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Severus Snape. Mainly, it's about Lupin, so there are hints at a 'missed' slash (he'll realize he's in love with Sirius, but it's too late). But there's some Lupin/Snape friendship too, which means the two wizards will somehow bond at a certain point… and there are many things one can do, with Snape as an ally… even find a way to –alright, I've said enough. :) Can't say more. :)
3) I'm a real fanfiction junkie, so there might be certain passages or sentences in my story that have already been seen somewhere else. It's not deliberate. I don't do it on purpose. If you in any way feel offended by it (maybe because you are one of the authors) please message me, and I'll do what I can to change the text.
4) Thanks to Lydia and ElvenWarrior for their extremely nice reviews!!! I really wouldn't know how to write a SS/RL without making them out of character –let's face it, Snape is a tough one!- Therefore I think I'll settle for a friendship. :)
********** CHAPTER THREE **********
***** CHANGE OF PLANS aka UNEXPECTED TWISTS*****
Lupin awoke with a start, his hand clenching his chest convulsively. He was breathing heavily. He forced himself to calm down, and when he finally managed to, he tried to remember what the dream had been about, but found out he couldn't. He was torn between wanting to know, and feeling relieved because he couldn't. What a fucked up situation to be in. He'd been falling asleep, then jerking awake, until three or four in the morning, but from then on he'd been able to sleep without waking anymore.
He disentangled himself from the bed sheets and stretched before straightening up. He had to sit back down on the bed. Merlin, what a headache!
Even if he was all sweaty, he slowly pulled on his sweater and went downstairs. He'd be alone the whole day today –although Sacklebolt, Moody and McGonagall were supposed to drop by at some point. Lupin ruffled his hair with a hand, then yawned loudly. It was ten in the morning; he hadn't slept six hours straight in month or so… it was a good sign, although the shadow of his nightmare still bothered him a bit.
He wasn't hungry, so he made himself some hot tea instead, to go with the Relieving Pills he found in a cupboard –'a powerful charm against headaches', read the label– then sat down by the kitchen table, sipping it quietly. He had the whole day free, as he'd already done the whole housework the day before.
'Well, that should give me time to re-write that letter to Harry.' He thought, relieved that he had found something to do.
Just then, a roll of parchment that lay distractedly on the table across from him caught his attention. Maybe it was a message Dumbledore had left for him… he reached out and opened the paper. It wasn't sealed, he noticed, so it wasn't something urgent, or secret. It read:
"Lupin, there has been a change of plans earlier this morning. I will not be able to come back to Grimmauld Place tonight. Mission. Dumbledore thought you ought to know." Underneath those few lines shimmered still, in black ink, the complex pattern of Severus Snape's signature. Lupin read the message again, searching for further hints that he soon realized weren't there. What had happened? There had been changes of plans before, especially as far as Snape's activities were concerned. He had to be more careful than the others, for obvious reasons.
So what, Voldemort had finally decided to strike? Damn, Lupin thought, stop being such a pessimist. After all, only a month had passed since the day at the Ministry, and the capture of his most prominent Death Eaters had been a bad blow for the Dark Lord. He too needed some more time to reorganize his forces.
Well, Lupin wouldn't miss Snape. And as for the Wolfsbane potion he wouldn't be able to take, he'd already decided to lock himself up in the cage anyway. He finished drinking his tea, then washed the mug and teapot and was pleasantly surprised to find his headache had subsided a bit, which was a very good thing. He took a quick shower and proceeded to write to Harry. He attached the small package he'd wrapped up in dark green to the owl's leg, and sent him away. Cleaning up one of the rooms, he'd found a couple of pictures of Lily and James, and thought Harry would like to have them.
Or was it the other way around, that maybe *Lupin* didn't want to be around them?
The day slowly went by. Lupin had picked a book from one of the living room's shelves; he'd taken a small break around one pm in order to eat a small sandwich, but apart from that, when the clock stroke three o'clock, he was still lost in the complicated genealogy of 'the most frightening creatures of all time'. What an interesting point of view the writer had on giants, werewolves and vampires! Lupin had the slight impression that even Snape, who didn't commonly strike people as someone who particularly loved these creatures, would maybe disagree with Mr. Honeysuckle here.
'Werewolves are the most frightening and dangerous creatures of all, because when there's no full moon –and away from expert eyes, I daresay– they look like normal wizards and witches. Of course, an experienced scientist like me could tell twenty feet away one of these this bloody, violent beasts. They are cunning, but not very intelligent. They're usually very dark people, with beast-like features like unusually pointed canines, wolfish grins, tough build and such. They are abrupt with other people, brutish and can become very violent for no apparent reason. They usually don't like cats and…' Lupin had to take a break. Merlin, was this some kind of Lockheart clone or something? He ran his tongue over his canines, just to make sure they weren't 'unusually pointed'. Then he laughed bitterly. He didn't know about the wolfish grins, but not even Trelawney without her glasses would dare to define him as being of 'tough build'…And that thing about werewolves hating cats was actually the funniest thing he'd ever read about his own kind…
A sudden, cracking noise jolted him away from the book. The noise repeated itself a few times. It was as if someone was trying break the door open or something. He jumped up, extracting his wand from his pocket, his keen senses fully alert.
If it were someone of the Order, they would know how to open the door… and if they were not, then how the hell had they managed to find the door in the first place? Unless… his throat went dry. No, Dumbledore couldn't have…not even under torture…
He slowly approached the front door. The noises were more insistent now. Suddenly, a female voice came from the outside, a voice he instantly recognized as being Tonks'.
"Remus! Remus, are you there? If you hear me open the door, for Merlin's sake!"
Lupin made some quick-thinking, then unlocked the door and opened it, the wand still clenched in his hand.
He froze at the sight before him. Tonks had McGonagall's keys in her hands, but she was so nervous she hadn't been able to use them. Behind her Sacklebolt and Hagrid were holding a dark, hooded, unmoving shape. Tonks pushed Lupin aside impatiently, making room for the other three to go in
Hagrid and Sacklebolt quickly climbed up the stairs, disappearing in the first floor. Lupin followed them, and to his horror saw them burst into Snape's room. Oh, fuck. He stood at the door, looking inside, thunderstruck, as the two wizards un-hooded the lifeless form of Severus Snape, placing his limp body on the bed.
He saw Sacklebolt extract a piece of parchment from his pockets, then flip through the potions on the desk and shelves. He seemed to find what he was looking for, because he quickly unscrewed the top of the small jar, went back to Snape and as Hagrid lifted the potions master head with his large clumsy hands he forced some of the liquid down Snape's throat. Then they laid him back down, and finally turned towards Lupin.
This seemed to wake him from his trance, because his eyes were suddenly very focused.
"There was a change of plans this morning," Sacklebolt began, the tension evident in his voice. "He had to go back to Him. Dumbledore contacted me and Hagrid two hours ago, and told us something went wrong. We don't know what happened, although you can imagine what the consequences were…" he gestured towards Snape. "He's been, well… he doesn't look so good, as you can see."
"He's okay though", Hagrid pointed out, seeing how Lupin had paled. "We took him here, an' Tonks helped us out. Dumbledore said he'll be here 'soon as he can… but we have to go now."
Sacklebolt shook his head. "Damn. I hope it's not as bad as the Ministry trick He pulled a month ago…" He swore under his breath, then he seemed to regain his composure.
"We have to go now. Snape won't wake for some time –you can leave him here until Dumbledore arrives. Take care of Tonks though. She's pretty shaken up. We'll see you later."
And with that, they were gone. Lupin hadn't uttered a single word.
He slowly approached Snape. He was lying there, unmoving… yet, his chest rose and fell –a bit irregularly, but he was alive. Lupin found himself sighing of relief. He tentatively reached out a hand, and brushed the potions master's forhead. It was burning. He wished he could do something to help him, but what?
He'd been standing there a while, when Tonks came into the room, closing the door behind her and leaning on it for support. Lupin approached her.
"What happened?" He demanded. Tonks' eyes tore away from the bed.
"I-don't know. It all happened so fast… Dumbledore called me using the floo network, and told me to come here as soon as I could. When I arrived, I found Kingsley and Hagrid with…" She fell silent.
"What else do you know about him?"
Lupin realized he was pushing her, and his tone became gentler.
"Never mind. You okay?"
"Hell, I don't know what's upsetting me so much…after all, I've never even liked him…" She said, choking in her words. "It's just that… the thought of what He must've done to…"
Lupin walked up to her, taking her hand.
"It's okay…" He said, but he wasn't convincing at all.
"No it's not, Remus! Hell, and I'm supposed to be an Auror…"
"Hey, stop that. It's not your fault, you couldn't possibly do anything for him. And…well, you knew this was going to happen soon." 'Liar', he thought. 'You had hoped this moment would never come, uh, Lupin?'
After a long moment, Tonks seemed to collect herself, and he pulled away.
"Did Dumbledore tell you some useful information?" He asked, but he already knew the answer. In fact, Tonks shook her head.
"Nope. But I'm not sure I want to know anyway."
"Alright, then." Lupin said. "Come with me. Let's get some hot tea and calm down, okay?"
Tonks nodded slowly, and they both walked down to the kitchen, where Lupin used magic to make some tea, which he offered her in a big mug, along with some cookies.
"Can I stay here for a while?" She asked timidly at some point. Lupin, who was again lost in thought, looked blankly at her.
"Uh? Oh, sure. Yeah. No problem." Then he hesitantly added: "I-uhm. Would it be a problem if I…"
She smiled then, her first smile that afternoon.
"You go up. I'll be right here." He smiled back gratefully, then turned on his heels and ran back up to Snape's room. He knew Sacklebolt had suggested to let him be, but Lupin…well, you never know how someone could react in a situation like that. And if Snape regained consciousness, or… well, someone had better be there, just in case. He brought with him a pitcher filled with warm water and a small clean cloth, then dragged a chair next to the bed, and sat down. He carefully wet the cloth in the water, then placed it on the other wizard's forhead. He flinched unconsciously, and Lupin almost jumped back, afraid of hurting him. Two long minutes later Snape still hadn't given further signs of discomfort, so Lupin resumed his ministrations, his eyes focused not on the man before him, but on something beyond, far away. He removed the cloth, soaking it with water and placing it back on Snape's forhead every now and then, but apart from that he just sat there on the chair, his arms crossed and his head focused on the wall in front of him.
He didn't know how much time he'd spent in that position, or if he'd fallen asleep or something, but at some point he felt Snape moving. He focused his eyes on him, and realized the potions master's face was screwed up in pain. Was it real pain, or just an unpleasant dream he was having? He bent closer, and called out his name, trying to see if he was awake or not. Snape didn't answer, but his hands clenched and unclenched repetitively as his breathing became more irregular, and a small, barely audible moan escaped his lips. Suddenly he went perfectly still.
Lupin had already started to panic, when Snape chest began to rise and fall, slowly, extremely regularly, almost…deliberately!
He was awake! Lupin's heart leapt in his chest.
"Severus?" he tried again, this time quieter, though he didn't really succeed in keeping the relief away from his voice.
If Snape heard him, he didn't show it.
Suddenly, Tonks' voice reached him from the ground floor.
"Remus, he's here!"
Dumbledore, finally! He checked the gothic clock that hung on the wall in Snape's room, and realized it was much later than he'd thought. Seven pm. Merlin.
"Lupin." A low, coarse voice behind him made him jump. He turned back to Snape. His eyes were still closed, but he was definitely talking. "What… the hell…are you doing here?" He demanded.
Lupin almost burst out laughing. The potions master would never show his soft side to anyone, under *any* circumstance, not if his life depended on it… Sometimes Lupin wondered whether he *had* a soft side at all.
The door opened, and Dumbledore entered the room. He looked extremely worried, but controlled.
"Headmaster" Snape had felt his presence before the old wizard even spoke.
"It's okay, Severus. Do not try and speak yet. There will be plenty of time later." He said as his hand quickly checked the potions master's pulse. Seemingly satisfied, he finally turned to Lupin. His blue eyes were pained, but twinkled up at him nevertheless.
"Nimphadora just told me you spent the last three hours up here." He smiled at the werewolf, who looked around him uncomfortably. He wasn't sure it was okay, and Snape didn't necessarily have to know.
He just shrugged instead, hoping it would do.
"I-must have dozed off at some point, and…" Dumbledore's smile widened.
"Of course." He offered. "How nice of you though. I must apologize for the delay… I would have come sooner, but I had to make sure of some things."
Lupin saw Snape tense in his lying position, and he bit his lip. What the hell had done wrong? Had he been discovered? Would he be okay?
"But as I said," Dumbledore resumed talking. "Later. Your health comes first, I'm afraid. Here, Remus. Give me a hand." He produced a jar from under his robes, and handed it to Lupin, who opened it, careful not to spill any of the content to the floor. The Headmaster fed a third of the liquid to Snape, then closed the lid and put it on the desk.
Snape still refused to open his eyes, and Lupin thought it was time for him to go.
"Err. I should probably check how Tonks is doing…"
"Please, Remus. Do." Dumbledore said, glancing down at Snape. Lupin walked out, and when he turned to close the door quietly behind him, he caught Snape's unflinching gaze fixed on him.
He swallowed hard, then went down to the living room, his head spinning. He found Tonks sprawled on the sofa, a mug of tea on the table in front of her. Her head was thrown back, her eyes closed. She looked a lot better; so powerful was Dumbledore's mere presence with everybody. He silently approached her, until he was standing up behind her.
"Hi." He said casually. She opened her eyes and found him towering over her.
"Gee, Remus! Don't do that!" She panted, catching her breath. "You scared the hell out of me."
He smiled, mildly satisfied with himself. Serves you right, he thought. She stood and turned to look at him.
"How is he?"
"He's alive. And he'll be okay soon. Dumbledore brought one of those miraculous concoction of his. He'll be alright in no time."
"Brilliant." She said brightly.
"Are you spending the night here tonight?" He asked her. "If you want, you can take one of the dozens spare rooms we have."
"Thank you," she shook her head. "I'd love to, but I'm already late. I wouldn't want to arouse anybody's suspicions with my sudden disappearance."
"That's okay. You staying for dinner then?"
She declined politely, then collected her coat, kissed his cheek and was off.
Dumbledore joined him in the living room soon afterwards.
"How is he?" Lupin found himself mirroring Tonks' earlier question.
"You know Severus. He's tough." Dumbledore simply said, but now that he wasn't with him anymore, he wore his worry more openly. "Nevertheless, this should not have happened."
"What shouldn't have happened? What's going on?"
"That, I believe, is a thing between Severus and Voldemort. The fewer know about it, the better it is, for his safety." Lupin nodded, but he didn't feel a lot better.
"Well, I suppose I could tell you some of it, just because you happened to spend the last three hours by his side –which by the way I really appreciated, and I'm sure he did too. It is partly as you fear. Severus had to 'fail' one of the missions Voldemort appointed him, and as we both know he is not the forgiving type. But this was irrelevant mostly, as it was a mission doomed to fail in any case. No, the problem is another. This time, he crossed someone he shouldn't have."
Lupin saw listening intently.
"He did? But… Shouldn't he know better than… I mean, he shouldn't risk too much, no matter what Voldemort demands that he do…" He fell silent. What had Voldemort asked Snape to do?
"Remus. I think he knew exactly what he was doing. But Voldemort doesn't like quarrels among his followers, for obvious reasons."
"Quarrels?" He furrowed his brow. Dumbledore had said he'd crossed the wrong person, and Lupin had assumed he meant Voldemort…right?
"He said some things Bellatrix Lastrange did not appreciate. And here he is."
Lupin looked at Dumbledore, thunderstruck. Long moments passed before he found his voice again.
"What did he-" He began, but Dumbledore held up a hand and he fell silent again.
"That, as I said, is up to Severus to tell, if he wishes to."
The old wizard's eyes were fixed on the werewolf's, behind the silver circles of his glasses. Lupin swallowed.
"Alright." He said finally, his voice a bit croaky. He didn't trust himself to speak anymore.
"Well. I am afraid I have to leave again, Remus. I have some things I need to settle at Hogwarts, otherwise it will not be easy to convince parents to give up their children next year." He explained, and stood to leave.
Lupin showed him to the door, still silent.
"It is okay for you to go and see him, if you wish to –it should do him some good. And remember, he has to take another third of the potion around midnight, and the rest –but I reckon he will be okay by then –around five in the morning. I'll see you soon, Remus."
After Dumbledore had left, Lupin stood there, still, his eyes fixed on the closed front door. With Snape in those conditions, his mind had been busy and focused in the matter at hand, but now… two simple words, and he'd been painfully brought back to reality. Bellatrix Lastrange. He had managed to keep her out of his mind most of the time, but now… he couldn't stop thinking about her.
He'd always been considered a mild person, all his life. But he wasn't sure there were *words* in whichever language that would describe exactly what he'd do to that witch, if he only had a chance to. Screw the law… he'd kill her slowly, making sure she suffered every *second* of it.
Her, and *Peter*.
They had to pay. Had to pay for what they did to–
'Okay,' he forced himself to breathe deeply, and calm down. He couldn't let go. He'd sworn he would wait till after the full moon. And Snape…
Right! Snape. Think of Snape, keep your mind busy. Dumbledore asked you to look after him until he was back. It's a mission, like any other, and has to be accomplished. There is no one else here, so you're gonna have to do it. He's hurt and he needs your help, no matter how much he denies it. He wasn't sure he was in the position to help anyone. But it was an excuse to *do* something, as opposed to being left alone with himself, brooding.
He made some tea, then paced the kitchen back and forth before finally finding the courage to go up. When he did, he knocked on the door nervously and waited, suddenly half-hoping Snape wouldn't answer.
******************
Ta daaaa! This was chapter three… (by the way, I edited chapter 2, as there were many mistakes… hope I eliminated them all…)
Just out of spite…
1) Oblivion Potion (is my far the strongest and most dangerous potions, and is forbidden)
2) Dreamless Sleep Potion (that's less effective, and far more simple to brew.)
Hope you liked it! Review please!!
(or e-mail me at sagitta@enaip.fvg.it )