Summary: Just a short chapter in which Remus experiences the worst transformation of his life and there is some confusion…Sherlock Snape begins his work!

Disclaimer: Do people really read these things? Hmmm…I don't know. Let's see if anyone adds a comment about this in their reviews. I am J.K Rowling. I am a rich writer and a woman. I earn more money then you can count a year, even without writing in the new books or publishing one. I am smart. Love me. Yay. (PS: To anyone actually wondering, (and if you are, May God have mercy on you, you poor pathetic loser) I am not Rowling, nor am I a rich writer. Heck, I don't even have anything published. So beat that. Plus, I am a male….I think….oh dear…)

A/N: Well, sorry about the shortness, but I kind of like this chapter. A lot. I hope you like it too…but there is only one way to find out! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

Thanks to all who reviewed, and if I get more, I'll do personal thanks next time. Now on with Sherlock Snape!

Chapter Six: Liquid Fire.

Remus closed his eyes wearily and rubbed his temples before glancing at the Grandfather clock positioned on the right hand side of his bedroom. He blinked a few times before his brain caught up with his eyes and processed the information he was seeing.

Eight o'clock.

Great.

The moon would rise in less then an hour, and he was already feeling shaky all over. The pain he felt ebbing through him was making him sweat and the contents in his stomach (which were sparse, as he didn't eat much today due to previous nausea) to swirl around dangerously.

He watched the slow movement of the second hand in vain, while he waited for the moon. He slowly drifted to a place not quite at conscious level, but not quite at subconscious as he listened to the 'tick tock' of the clack against the wall, and the soft twittering of birds and Ackley. A soft body curled itself around his legs and he quickly looked down in shock.

Oh. It was just Diego. The little kitten had adjusted well to life in the castle, hunting mice and the moths that fluttered diligently around the torches and candle chandeliers. Although, Remus wasn't sure how he would react to the sudden overflowing population of Hogwarts when school began, and the fact that he'd be gone most of the day. He would have to keep Ackley locked up in his room with fresh food and water; away from Diego's prowling claws.

A sharp knock on the door knocked him out of his regained stupor. Grumbling, he got up and slouched, pigeon toed, to the door. Opening it up, he found himself face to face with a tall, dark man holding a steaming goblet.

Remus groaned. He had completely forgotten about the Wolfsbane potion. He looked up into Snape's obsidian eyes a moment, before looking back down apprehensively at the potion.

"Don't worry." Said Snape, presumably reading his thoughts, "It's not the potion we made. I made this one myself. I'll let you have tomorrow off of experimenting, but the next day, we get back down to work, got it?"

Remus nodded. He hadn't gone to Snape's dungeons that day because of how he was. His eyes were completely wolf now, and his fangs longer, nose slightly more protruding, face and other areas hairier, and he kept getting absurd, wolfish thoughts.

Taking the goblet he swallowed the contents and grimaced as the liquid scorched it's way down his throat, leaving a trail of pain that was slowly cooling into a warm wetness and a metallic taste in his mouth. "Gods." He said hoarsely, almost like a growl, "It's worse than Muggle cough medicine, and that's saying something."

Snape looked on amusedly before nodding his head in goodbye and turning around to walk out of the room. Remus listened to his retreating footsteps forlornly before he set walked over and sat back down.

Eight-thirty.

He swiveled his head quickly and caught a swift glimpse of Diego walking into the kitchen before his attention was riveted to watching the half-set sun. The sense of foreboding and pain increased ten-fold each time he saw a colour changed in the clouds.

Gold…..pink…….purple….darker blue….

And there it was. As the clouds turned dark against the darkening sky and the stars began to appear twinkling overhead, the full moon appeared, rising above the distant hills outside the pane of glass. As it appeared completely, blindingly white, he felt the first twinge of pain.

But a 'twinge' was an understatement. For the first time since he was five, Remus screamed at the feeling coursing throughout his entire body, mind, and soul and was glad he had taken the extra safety precaution of putting up a silencing charm on his rooms.

He could feel the change racing throughout him, could feel his bones bending and reforming, his veins and sinew realigning itself to fit against the new shapes. His blood was boiling, and his screams reached an unearthly pitch as his skull expanded and his jaw grew, the fangs growing even more and cutting his lips. His screams transformed into howls and yelps of pain as his feet shrunk as well as his hands, nails growing longer and clawing mindlessly in the direction of the ceiling. Fur sprouted up along his abdomen which was doubling over, sending him crashing onto his still-human knees as his navel disappeared into smooth, pinkish skin covered in golden-brown and grey fur.

Staring through his bulging eyes, he watched his legs shrink and the bones crack out of and into place, his thighs flattening and becoming broader and closer to his body. His shoulders moved backwards so the were behind his head which was now hanging low on a different neck covered in fur. Pointed ears took in the high pitched howling and became disoriented, so horrified that he could not tell if they were his own screams or not.

His blood seemed to broil, fire erupted along his limbs and through his skull, seeming to seep it's way throw his lungs and into his stomach. He howled even louder at the liquid heat traveling inside and outside of his body, it filled into his brain and he couldn't think, couldn't breath. His last conscious though was why he was experiencing this new feeling now before his wolf body slumped to the floor and lost his sense of being.

Remus woke up feeling completely disoriented, with his brain feeling as if it was run over with a steamroller, as was the rest of his body. It took him a good ten minutes before he could gather up a sense of place and knowledge. He remembered the burning sensation and groaned. He tried to move but found it impossible. His body was aching to much and it felt like his nervous system had been severed somewhere so that he had no control over his movements. Giving up, he lay there, hoping someone would remember him.

The next thing Remus knew, he was lying in a scratchy cotton hospital bed, his still slightly sore head resting on a scratchy linen pillow and his cuts healed and most of the pain gone. He turned his head with difficulty in time to see Madam Pompfrey, Dumbledore, and Snape stride into the Hospital Wing all wearing concerned looks. As Snape saw Remus watching, his façade immediately turned into only slightly interested. Which, in itself, was interesting.

Albus walked up to his bedside and asked the first and foremost question on everyone's minds. "What was so bad about last night's transformation that caused you to be in this state, Remus?"

He told them painfully about the liquid fire and how the pain was a hundred-fold worse then ever before. He did not, however, out of a sudden urge of dignity and pride, tell them that he screamed, even if he did feel like he was being burned at the stake. When he finished, he asked the question he had been thinking since he woke up in the Wing.

"How'd I get here?"

"I can answer that." Madam Pompfrey said urgently, "It wasn't until after lunch I did, and by then you and your floor were a right mess, but I figured that since you never came to see me yourself, something must have been wrong because you always do. Plus, there was the fact that we were at neither breakfast nor lunch, whereas you normally gorge yourself to choking point after transformations."

Remus nodded. Snape eventually spoke up. "Judging by your…condition…I will give you leave from our testing for an extra day, as it is already nine in the evening and you have not even halfway recuperated."

Again, Remus nodded.

Dumbledore looked to the ceiling for some odd reason, then cast a brief glance between Pompfrey and Snape before averting his gaze to Remus. "I can assure you that we will look into the reasons behind your strange state of transformation. I doubt we will find anything in books on Lycanthropy, but it is worth a shot. However, none of us can check them, as we will be studying elsewhere," He shot a sharp look at the other two who looked away uncomfortably, "So I will send Madam Pince here with some respectable looking volumes from her collection for you to search through until Poppy lets you out. Until then, rest well, Remus, you'll need it."

For the third time that evening, Remus spared his sore throat and horse vocal cords by simply nodding in reply and watching the retreating backs of his guests; two out of the hospital wing, and one down the other side into an office. He again watched the swish and swirl of Snape's robes until the crashed and realigned with the shadows until his eyes were playing tricks on him, before he slouched back down and snuggled up under the blankets, ready for a good night's sleep.

He would definitely need it.

Severus Snape settled down under his black satin covers after the long meeting Dumbledore had held over Remus's problem. He yawned and snuggled down deeper, his black silk boxer shorts rubbing against his thighs and his grey sleeping shirt against his chest.

For the last while, his thoughts had been completely occupied with a (handsome) gay werewolf, and it was starting to become a strange problem.

A very nice, strange problem.

A/N: Again, sorry 'bout the shortness! Hope you enjoyed it! I liked my descriptions of Remus's transformation…hmmm…..Let me know what you think and REVIEW! But NO FLAMES! My house will burn down and I shall die! You don't want that now do you? (gives puppy dog eyes).