((A/N: Okay, sorry about taking so long to get this out, but hey! Within the time that I posted the last chapter, I: Packed up all my belongings, Moved into my dorm at college, had a hellish first weekend, had five days of class in which my major was switched from Studio Art to English so, well, you guys gotta cut me some slack here. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good head start on the next chapter this weekend, but well, we'll see. . It should go faster than this chapter since I know where the next one is heading.
So on to the reviewers!
Miss Blizzard: While I know the books are pointing at a Ron/Hermione relationship, I really do believe that Harry and Hermione are more compatible. She is extremely studious, unlike Ron, but Harry is willing to put forth at least some effort. People say opposites attract, but well, you do need to have something in common and from what I've seen, those two generally don't. So, nope! It's going to stay a Harry/Hermione relationship in this story.
TomTom21 Hehe, read above! I'm one of those people who think Harry and Hermione just are better together. As for Ron being mean, these are my reasons. The first being is that I mentioned the brains in the Ministry effected him more than was previously thought, so his prejudices are more prevalent than before. So when Remus/Sirius/Harry revealed that he was a werewolf, that feeling came up within Ron and he immediately let his prejudices take over even though he'd been friends with Harry for five years. This has been seen in the books before, especially in the Goblet of Fire where I do believe that Ron really isn't a good friend considering his actions in the past. That being said, I don't enjoy writing his character because he tends to jump to conclusions and without the help of a friend or teacher, he isn't able to see through them.
Hermione Malfoy Potter D'oH!!!! HMP: 1, SS: 0. Okay, heh, yes, I do realize that I made a major mistake in that. I just happen to be one of those people who tends to use silver for every type of jewelry since I'm not fond of gold. Note to self: Werewolves and jewelry don't mix. But umm, if I'm thinking correctly, the silver wouldn't affect him if he's human, just if he's in his werewolf form. I've got to redo some of my research to remember that part of the lore. The Ron thing: See the two previous review responses. :D
ChristinaLupin01442 I couldn't resist putting in that last part with Silas calling Remus 'Dad.' It needed to be done sooner or later and considering the fact that it is Remus and not Snape, it really would be easier to accept that if it was the slime ball who'd made your life a living hell for five years, heh. As for doing a story on the Werewolf Challenge, I will say one thing: Copy any thing from my story that wasn't in Tia Evan's and I will get incredibly snarky. I believe the one by Lunawolf, "Werewolf Instincts" already got this message. The beginning of her story sounded incredibly similar to mine so yes, I was just a little pissed as I've put a lot of hard work into this story to make it sound plausible, especially the way I brought Sirius back. If nothing else, just don't steal that, please...But just remember, Remus doesn't have to be Harry's father. It could be Snape, so heh. Yea. Good luck and I'll be waiting.
Dragonbluepheonix: Ahh, thanks for the compliment on the transformation. That was a hellishly hard scene to write considering we don't know much about the werewolves from JK Rowlings books. Nor do we know much about the effects of the Wolfsbane potion and just how much of the mind the werewolf does retain. Most of my information on werewolves does come from lore that I researched earlier this year for a class and seemed to fit in quite nicely. And umm, yes, definitely Silas and Hermione and if you want more information about that one, go check the top to reviewer replies since that is more thoroughly explained there.
heala Heh, thank you! And thanks for the review so here's the update.
Katlyn Insane Padfoot/Sirius is so much fun to write. I swear he is like my favorite character in the books besides Lupin and when I read the 5th book, I was basically about ready to go find Rowlings and make her bring him back! And umm, nice words! Haha, I should feel proud that my story is inspiring new uses of the English language. Rock on!
DARKMARK33LV In a story that involves quite a bit of angst, you've got to have the humor scenes. I was randomly writing in my notebook at that point and that scene just ended up there out of the blue, but I liked it so much that it got incorporated into the story. Besides, they are 16- both of them are going to be curious sooner or later. As for the Title Question: NO! That is definitely not bad- I was writing my first fanfic, although it's under a separate penname, and after I posted it, I realized that there were at least five or six other stories with the same name, and even some with the same basic plot line. Needless to say when I saw that, I put the fic on hold, but if it's the same title but with a separate plot, then I see no reason as to why it would be a problem.
w0lf1e Thanks! It's nice to see that people responded positively to the werewolf scene since even though I thought it was well done, others may not have. If you'd like to read more about that, the response to DragonBluePheonix explains more of this and the werewolf lore.
Tia Evans Agh! It's the werewolf that created this challenge come back to haunt me! Hehe, sorry, had to get that out. Couldn't resist. Oh yes, definitely going to be Harry/Hermione. And as I've written to about half a dozen other people here, more information on why I chose the pairing is up in the first two responses along with why I chose not to include Ron as a prominent friend figure in this story. Now, as for your story- Can I, like, BASH Snape over the head for being such an arsehole all the time?! Oh wait, after you read this chapter, I'll be a total hypocrite. Umm, never mind!!
Analia: Aww! Thanks! I've spent a lot of time trying to incorporate emotions into the piece and it's always nice to see someone respond to that. Especially the part with Silas becoming more bookish- Both of his parents were exceptionally smart so it wouldn't be a big surprise for him to be as well. Just with the effects of the potion, those genes were always hidden so he took on more of a James attitude when it came to his education. His attitude basically stayed the same as he was raised away from James so was never really exposed to the behavior to pick it up other than from Dudley so his naturally quiet and reserve nature was able to express itself. Now! As for Ron- SEE REPLIES TO THE FIRST TWO PEOPLE! Heh, sorry, that's been driving me nuts. But quite frankly, I'm not certain that Ron would be able to get over this. Hermione/Silas- See replies to the first person. More of why the Wolfsbane potion didn't work is involved within this chapter, but most of it won't be revealed until the following chapter.
anon2: Why thank you! Hearing people say I have some talent makes my decision to go into the English department at my University feel better. While I don't have much experience with relationships myself, for some reason I tend to make friends and not boyfriends, but nevertheless, as I said about Harry/Hermione. They are definitely more compatible than Hermione/Ron. Why Rowlings has the books leaning that way, I'm not sure and it does irritate me. Ahh!!! Cool! You were first to ask me about what's going to happen with Ron after he found out, well, guess what?!? That is the entire focus of this chapter! So go you on picking up my subtle hints in the previous chapter. You get a cookie. :D Now as for Mister Malfoy...Muhaha. Just wait, although it still might be a few more chapters before I have them return to Hogwarts and you'll see why in this chapter. Hmm, an article, now that is intriguing as I didn't think of that but it could be useful. So, if it gets used, I need to know who to credit for the idea!
Avestia Heh, thanks! Although I fear that you're going to hate me after this chapter.
Steveperrysgirl: I swear I've been repeating myself all night during answering these replies. Yes, this story is definitely going to be Harry/Hermione and no one otherwise is going to get me to change my decision on that so you needn't be worried about that. Ron will continue being a prat as there is a logical explanation for this answered in the first reviewer. So, I'd recommend scanning through a few of these responses to see if they'll answer anything else for ya.
Iana Moon Well I feel special to be getting a review by you! I love your story so when's the next update! Nudge nudge! So anyhow, here's the much needed update!
Sparrow GreenleafHaha, writing sweet is rather hard considering who I'm working with here. So the 'doggy pile' was one of those things that took extra time to figure out. Ahh, enough with my ramblings.
Tempest in Blue I have one thing to say to you: THANK YOU! Finally, someone giving me a review that actually critiques work. Sorry, but I am an English major so I welcome everyone's opinions, well, short of unnecessary flames that have no base to them, but yes. Unfortunately when I started this story I was going by the original guidelines that Tia Evans posted in the 17th chapter of "The Secret" and that was that Harry's identity needed to be kept secret from the wizarding world. There is no way around that necessary challenge requirement without having to lie. The reason I had Sirius placed in there was the fact that if Harry Potter disappeared without a trace and Silas Lupin showed up, that would cause unwanted distress in the wizarding world and believe me, I really didn't want to deal with writing that and neither would Harry. Even though he is living a lie, it is basically a chance for him to start over and escape all the fame that went along with being The-Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Bloody-Die. Heh, sorry, I saw that somewhere and have called him that ever since. Aaanyhow, even with the new lies, he doesn't have the lie about his father and that would most likely be the main focus of students considering he looks quite a bit like the man and he will be there at the school along with him. I should go back and rework some of these chapters and show that he definitely is upset, but he really did know that he had little choice in the matter if he didn't want to be, well, basically put, publicly denounced.
Ahh, as for the letter that Lily sent Remus- I must have mistyped that originally as it was given to him by Sirius who'd brought them back with him. So, no, he didn't know before Harry did. The letters though, were only to be given to the Ministry once they found out who the father was since well, Lily didn't know. Okay, sorry, that was my turn for rambling. So anyhow, thank you for that insightful review since I especially appreciate receiving those since I do enjoy being able to up the standard of my work and that is often hard considering that I do not have a beta. Someday I'll have to point that out for people.
OKAY! That was a lot of reviews and you know, it was really fun to answer all the questions! I love doing that and not to mention, debating and issue someone has and some of you did have some excellent arguments. And I will give a special thanks to Tempest In Blue for the suburb review...Oh yes, as for some basic mistakes in my story: No, I do not have a beta, I never have as I haven't met anyone willing to take on the task. If you'd like to do it, you can find my user info and give me a heads up. So! On to the story finally!!!!))
The next few weeks passed with relative ease; homework was finished, books read, and long conversations with both his father and Sirius. Ron still treated him as badly as if he were the spawn of Voldemort and it really hurt. On the other hand, after the bathroom incident, he and Hermione had started to become closer.
"Hey, you mind if I come in?" Hermione asked from the doorway of the library. It seemed as if she'd finally been able to calm the frizzy hair down as it looked as nice as when she'd gone to the Yuletide Ball.
"Sure, I don't mind," he smiled, motioning for her to take a seat next to him.
"Hey, umm, listen, I'm sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have come into the bathroom like that." It was highly amusing to see her acting so flustered.
"Hey, don't worry about it," he chuckled, feeling nervous since he was talking to the girl he was attracted to. Hermione's own face was flushed with red as Silas attempted to speak his mind.
"I was just umm, well, wondering, if when we get back to Hogwarts, and err, one comes up," Silas faltered, frustrated with trying to get across his message. The girl snickered and helped him along.
"Would you like to go to Hogsmead together when they announce a trip?"
He nodded and tentatively grabbed her hand. "Yeah, that's it," he muttered sheepishly. "You know, I think Viktor was a fool for giving you up."
Hermione blushed furiously.
Since that day, the pair could be seen together as often as Remus, Sirius and Silas were found. After Ron had seen the two walking in to dinner holding hands, he'd taken to hiding in his room and throwing random items at the walls. Molly continually had to apologize for her son's behavior around both Silas and Remus. It was no mystery that he despised non-humans, but seeing one with the girl he wanted was too much for him.
And that was when things began to crash and burned.
"What do you think you are doing with Hermione, werewolf?" Ron spat, shoving a hand into Silas's shoulder.
"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to keep his voice neutral, even if he wanted nothing more than to punch him hard in the nose.
"You probably want to infect her or something, you werewolf trash," the red haired boy sneered scathingly.
"I would do nothing of the sort; I'm very fond of Hermione and would never hurt her," losing a bit of the control over his emotions.
Ron had enough- a split second later a fist collided with Silas's jaw and sent him to the ground. The young werewolf looked half stunned, half angered as the eyes of his ex-friend connected with his own. A sharp pain erupted in his stomach and with that, all his surprised dissipated and left him completely enraged.
Slowly he staggered to his feet, eyes dancing back and forth dangerously, as he looked at his opponent. Unbeknownst to him, parts of his body were shifting, the wolf taking over. He grinned feral-ish at the person nearby, tail wagging slowly. It surprised him for a split second as he let out a wolf like howl and advanced on the shaking boy. He raised a paw-like hand with all intentions to strike his enemy down, but he was caught.
Silas whipped around and buried his slightly elongated muzzle into the flesh of another attacker. A moment later he snapped out of the trance he'd been in and was horrified to see bloody marks on Snape's arm.
It was too much- he curled up in a ball, traces of the wolf had vanished, and whimpered softly. He attacked someone and it wasn't even the full moon. Two separate footsteps fled the area and he was left alone.
A gentle hand was placed on his back and tried to calm down the distraught boy. Tears trickled down his face as Remus brought his face around. Silas felt disgusted as the foul tasting blood still sat around his mouth.
"I didn't mean it, really! Ron just got me so mad and the next thing I knew, I was staring at Snape after I bit him." Silas cried into his father's robes, feeling wretched from having attacked the man who'd only been attempting to stop him from destroying Ron.
"Shh...you're going to be alright, we'll figure this out. Come here, don't worry about Severus, I'll talk to him," Remus muttered soothingly, just trying to get the boy to breath normally again.
"But you said I could only change during the full moon," Silas sniffled, drawing his legs to his chest.
"We do not know much about naturally born werewolves since there haven't been any in ages."
"I'm not safe, Dumbledore's going to expel me, Snape's going to kill me, and Hermione is going to hate me," his breathing going erratic once more.
"Come on Silas, walk with me," he got the shaking boy to his feet and slowly made it into the other room with people scattered about, looking terrified.
"Someone get me a calming potion, now," he called hoarsely and Sirius being the first to snap into action, coming back a moment later with the potion that he helped the rasping boy to consume. Almost instantly a glazed over look appeared on his face that had become paler that Snape.
"What happened to Silas?" Molly asked, utterly bewildered.
"Ron was harassing me, punched me, I turned wolfish, bit Snape, am going to be expelled and taken to Azkaban," Silas told them in an apathetic voice, eyes never leaving the wall.
"What do you mean, 'turned wolfish'?" asked Sirius cautiously.
"Started becoming a wolf despite the fact that it's not the full moon...I'm not safe, I can't go to school, I'll attack someone, oh shit..." he trailed off, thinking of Snape.
"'Oh shit' indeed," Snape spat as he strode into the room, arm covered in bandages. "I do hope you teach your sprog some control, Lupin. Although, I don't think a werewolf's bite will affect Dementors very much. Perhaps it'll be a short stay, especially with all those 'pleasant' memories, or if it was up to me, you'd be spending the rest of your time wasting away with your memory full intact as going insane would be too good for you," he snarled, grabbing Silas by the shirt and pinning him up against the wall. "Meeting the end of McNair's axe is too good for you as- too quick and not painful enough, werewolf-.."
"SEVERUS! THAT IS ENOUGH!" roared Dumbledore, who'd just come strolling in the door. If there was anyone who could make Severus back down, it was an irate Headmaster. Sneering, the Potions Master lowered the young man to his feet, who promptly collapsed to the ground here Remus and Sirius ran over to see how he was doing. Needless to say, being pinned to the wall hadn't done Silas's mental state any good.
"I know what has happened, Severus, but that is no reason to physically harm a student," Dumbledore said in a low, but deadly tone of voice.
"He deserves to be locked up in Azkaban for attacking me, and ultimately, destroying my life," Snape bellowed.
"No, no, please, no, anything else, please no," he mumbled, covering his ears as if he were listening to the Dementors right then and there.
"Azkaban would destroy him in a matter of days; Dementors affect him worse than everyone in this room. Why do you think I had to teach him the Patronus Charm? Although I doubt you'd care unless it was one of your precious Slytherins," Remus snarled, tightening his hold on Silas.
"Why would I care about someone who infected me?" Snape said in that cold voice of his.
"I didn't mean it! I couldn't help it; not like I know what happened either!" Silas pleaded, clutching his knees to his chest. He didn't care at that moment that he was crying in front of his most hated professor.
At that point, Remus had enough- he scooped up his sobbing son and walked out of the room and back to where his son was staying. He placed Silas on the soft bed and rubbed his shoulders.
"Shh, Dumbledore isn't going to let them throw you in Azkaban and he definitely isn't going to expel you. I'm not sure how he's going to work this out, but you'll be okay," he murmured soothingly.
"I deserve to be there, I almost attacked Ron, and I bit Snape!" he sniffled, tears streaming down his face from puffy, bloodshot eyes.
"No, no you don't. We didn't think anything like this could happen..." Remus trailed off, not really knowing what else to say and pulled the boy into a tight hug. He blinked, "Silas, umm, you're not getting angry again, are you?"
Silas wiped his eyes with a sleeve and looked confused. "Huh?" He asked dumbly.
"You said you started to transform when you were angry, and umm, you have a tail poking out from your robes," Remus mentioned, concern in his voice.
Silas blushed and felt the lump on the bed, "I, umm, forgot to mention that it wouldn't go away from before like everything else. Just didn't think to tell anyone with the mess downstairs."
"Okay, so there aren't anymore changes, especially around your mouth?"
"No, just the tail...Dumbledore wouldn't force me into a wolf permanently and then cage me, would he?" Silas asked, eyes wide with fear.
Remus just shook his head and handed the boy a dreamless sleep potion as it was doubtless that he'd need it. With what had happened today combined with the dreams from Voldemort every so often, it wasn't a rarity for the household to have vials of the potion handy for him.
"Albus, what are we going to do about Silas? I mean, he doesn't seem dangerous, but you never can be sure. Parts of him are still wolfish even when he's not angry. Somehow we're going to have to test him to see when he's infectious or not," Remus looked over at Albus in despair. He'd just found his son, and already things couldn't get worse. Even if he had told Silas that he wouldn't be caged, there was the fear that something similar would be done.
"Calm yourself Remus; I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out, and as for Severus, well, unfortunately you know how difficult he can be," Albus sighed, the blue twinkle in his eye was long lost.
"So is he infected?"
"As far as we can tell, yes. We weren't able to take him to a specialist at St. Mungo's since we can't put Harry in anymore danger than he already is, but Poppy believes him to be. As for Harry, yes, he will need to see just how much it takes for him to become infectious."
"Just how much do we know about wolf-borns?"
"Not enough, I'm afraid. But from what you are telling me, their may be some serious complications with a wolf-born biting someone. If Harry has retained the tail, unfortunately if he attacks again, he may retain even more of the wolf, which could make testing him extremely risky. However, I do wish to remove him from Grimmauld, especially seeing as young Mister Weasley remains here, and Severus showing up randomly. While Harry would wish for Sirius to come with you, it would cause suspicion so it'll be the two of you going back to your cottage."
"Alright Albus, we shall leave in the morning once he wakes up. What about Severus though? And the Wolfsbane potion? We're going to need it," Remus mentioned as he turned for the door.
Albus sighed and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If Severus wasn't being so unreasonable I'd recommend that he too would go since he should be secluded for the first transformation. Right now I'm going to lock him in the dungeons so that he won't be around anyone. Now as for the Wolfsbane potion..."
"I get the point, Albus, so fine; I shall go with the two mutts so they can have their blasted potion. This way you won't have to teal with me either for the next week," Severus growled as he billowed into the room.
Eyes narrowed as Remus spotted the man coming into the room, "The only reason I'll agree is because we need the potion, but, if you are aggressive against Silas you will be leaving before the moon can wane."
"It's not like he can do anything else to ruin my life," the potion master sneered.
"It's a good thing there are two rooms and a couch or else you wouldn't be welcome. Stay away from Silas and I believe we'll have no problems. And if you didn't know, he's distraught about what happened and feels that he should be caged," Remus stated, feeling defeated.
"Remus, just how is Harry's mental state?" the Headmaster wanted to know.
"He's not going to be able to be left alone; I fear he might try to kill himself, especially after the next full moon."
"I still say it would serve him right," Severus snapped.
"Severus, if you continue acting as such, I may have to remove you from the staff for unjust prejudices which could result in a student's death," Albus said grimly, meaning every word.
The man put his nose in the air and stomped out of the room.
"So you really do feel that Harry may try to take his life?" Albus asked, really feeling his age.
"Unfortunately, yes, he's not taking this well at all. We had to give him calming potions and a dreamless sleep potion since he was panicking so much. He's in the mindset that he's dangerous and would be better off in Azkaban."
The elder man frowned, "I don't want to send yet another person along, but if Harry is as bad as you say he is, we may have to do something. I know even though both of you would prefer to have Sirius; I don't wish to raise suspicion. The only two who would be available to go are Nymphadora and Minerva, so, who would you prefer?"
"While I'm sure Silas would prefer Tonks, I don't think she is serious enough for the situation, not to mention I think Severus and her would kill each other. Minerva would be more sensible and she is already aware of who Silas actually is."
"Very well Remus, I shall go Floo her now so she can meet you there, and take little Padfoot along as well. He may be able to help Harry as well."
The werewolf nodded curtly and left the room to go back to his son who was sleeping fitfully. He wished the boy truly was James's- he wouldn't be going through all this pain then. He pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down to run his fingers through the boy's chestnut hair lovingly. Within minutes he also had fallen asleep.
The next morning Silas woke up to see his father asleep on the chair next to the bed and was touched that the man cared about him so much already. A yawn escaped his lips and saw Moony start to stir.
"Mmm, good, you're awake. Go find breakfast and then we'll be off," Remus mumbled, still half asleep.
"Go? Go where?" Silas frowned, pulling a shirt over his head.
"Dumbledore believes we'll be safer back at the cottage, so we're leaving first thing this morning."
"Oh," was all he would say. Sighing he pulled on a pair of boxers and realized he needed some help. "Umm, dad, could you put a hole in this for me?" He blushed, feeling his face go hot. Remus chuckled and waved his wand so that a small hole appeared in both the boxers and trousers. Silas quickly pulled his fuzzy grey tail through the hole and then put his robes on to hide it.
"Good morning Silas," Mrs. Weasley muttered, not meeting his eyes and voice sounding cooler. She didn't pester him to eat more than he had and felt hurt by being ignored like that. Even Hermione seemed to be wary of talking to him. He couldn't blame them- he attacked Snape; he deserved to be in Azkaban already. Even Mrs. Weasley's cooking couldn't bring back his appetite and he excused himself from the table and walked away, tail unconsciously tucked between his legs.
"Can we go? Now? I'm not welcome here anymore," Silas said softly as he entered his father's quarters. The older man looked up from packing to see his son's face with a few tears running down his cheeks.
"What happened?" His concern was evident as he gently wiped the tears from the boy's face.
"It was pretty much made clear that I'm not wanted here and Hermione is afraid of me," he sniffled, turning around to see Sirius walking in the room and was pulled into a hug by both the older men.
"Hey, pup, just remember that not everyone hates you and there will always be someone around who loves you. And no matter what you do, we'll always stick up for you," Sirius smiled, ruffling up his godson's long hair. Silas's tail started to betray him by wagging under the robes and Sirius caught sight of it. "Is that a tail sticking out under there?" He grinned, "I remember the one time when James and I were working on our Animagus forms and he was stuck with the tail, hooves and fur for a week before he'd let poppy fix him up. Luckily she bought the excuse that we were pranked by the Slytherins."
"Oh? And what about yourself? I mean, it was hysterical hearing you bark whenever you tried to talk. Minerva was so frustrated by the end of class; I swear she looked about ready to hex to next person who talked to her."
"Yeah, well, be quiet Mister I'm-too-much-of-a-bloody-bookworm to get into trouble."
Silas couldn't help laughing at the men's antics; the two of them were acting as if their mental states had reverted by about 25 years. If he wasn't in such a dire situation, he would've felt as if he could've taken on Voldemort right then and there.
"Alright pup, let's get you home then," Remus smiled as he closed the top to his trunk.
"Home?" Silas blinked, thinking he heard wrong.
"Yes, home, you didn't think I spent all my time here or at Hogwarts, now did you? And I did say something about a cottage earlier."
"Oh, well..." he blushed.
With a wave of the wand, all of the trunks were shrunk into pocket size and the two went down to the main floor where Severus was standing in the aisle with a firmly placed sneer on his face. His clothing suggested that he was coming with the two as well.
"Really, Lupin, you'd think you'd be ready when you said you would," the man spat, arms cross and tapping his toe impatiently.
Silas's eyes went wide in terror and moved behind hid father as he saw Snape.
"Unfortunately he is coming with us, even if I fought against it. But you each will be given a separate living space so that you won't have to see each other often. I daresay he'll spend most of his time in the basement," he bent down, "And if he starts harassing you, I have permission to make him leave the house," a wink told Silas that he more than believed that would happen.
Even so, Silas had no desire to be within a hundred miles of the man. More than likely Snape would corner him and put some sort of silencing charm around so no one could hear and that scared him. Snape in potions was bad enough, but to see him outside of class when angry was a force to be reckoned with. A shiver ran through his spin from the foreboding week.
"Silas, come on, time to go," Remus smiled and led him out the door and over to a dark alley way. From there, the trio apperated to an unfamiliar area that was surrounded by lush forests that was still damp with the morning dew. The amount of smells were overwhelming to his extra-sensitive nose and sent him into a sneezing frenzy. Of course Severus just glared, thinking the boy was doing nothing more than trying to get more attention.
"Well, it's definitely not as grand as Grimmauld is, but it's well secluded from outsiders and it is comfortable. Come on then, let's not dawdle all day and let the bugs get their fill."
Silas trudged behind, not wanted to hear the discussion going on between his father and potions master as it was likely to be about him. Snape's presence was likely due to their need of the Wolfsbane potion and Severus first transformation that week. He knew it was his fault no matter what anyone said, and the fact that Snape was going to remain in the same house did little to improve his wellbeing.
The inside of the rickety cottage gave off a musty smell as if it hadn't been lived in for awhile, and in all reality, it probably hadn't. The chairs and woodworking had begun to splinter off, leaving them with a rustic look as the varnish seeped into the cracks. A few walls had old paint, probably at some point in time it had been calm beige instead of the darkening brown with patches of stains molting the sides. The other furniture had seen too many years and much of the fabric was in need of being reupholstered.
Silas's lips formed a small smile as he knew that he'd never be going back to the Durlsey's, especially in his werewolf state so he could now consider this home. He was shown to a small room with a modest sized bed in it where his stuff had already been transported. He noted that Remus's belongings had been placed in there as well and assumed that Snape had taken over the other room.
"Sorry, unfortunately Minerva is staying here as well so she'll be in the room that will be yours. As for Severus, I plan on transfiguring a rock into a bed down in the basement so he won't come up often," Moony chuckled, hoping that it'd be true.
"Why is Professor McGonagall coming?" He whispered, not wanting the two extra people in the house.
"Dumbledore believes it to be a good idea incase the house is attacked. Tonks would've been free as well, but Minerva is more experienced in these matters so she was the one to come. If I'm not mistaken, she should be here soon."
"Yes, yes, I just hope you can make a decent pot of coffee, Remus. Really, the Headmaster didn't need to wake me up so early to get me here, you seem to be fine on your own for the time being," a ruffled McGonagall muttered as she stepped into the house.
"Silas, why don't you take Padfoot and set up his items while I make the coffee? I daresay that he'll need to go outside soon," smiled Remus, shoving the boy off.
Once he had left, Remus turned to Minerva. "You know why you're here, right?"
"Of course, the Headmaster wouldn't send me off without informing me of the situation. I just wish it wasn't so dire."
"I have him currently situated in my room so that I can keep an eye on him during the nights, but there might be a time when I can't be around and Severus may try to take advantage of that. Not to mention I don't Silas to be alone when there are sharp objects around."
She nodded curtly, "Now, about that coffee..."
That night consisted of a simple dinner which Silas assumed had been cooked by none other than his father since it didn't seem likely that either McGonagall or Snape would've done such a menial task. The entire time Snape glared at Silas, his eyes filled with utter hatred that he doubted would ever dissolve now. The boy wanted nothing more than to curl up under his bed and not come out.
"Severus, please direct your hatred away from my son, it does nothing to become you. If you persist, I have no qualms about serving you dinner in the basement," Remus scowled, thoroughly sick of the man's childish behavior.
Severus scowled loudly and stalked out of the room and down to the basement where Silas hoped he'd stay for the next week, only coming out with the Wolfsbane potion. The smell of firewhiskey could be smelled as it reeked from the door and one could easily guess what was going on down there. It was rather amusing when a drunken Potions Master appeared a few hours later, looking even more surely than he had before.
"Come on, Silas, it's time to put that book down and go to bed," Remus smirked, knowing that the boy wanted nothing more than to exhaust himself enough to sleep. All he received in returned was a glare and a shift to turn himself away. "Unfortunately I need you to get some rest as tomorrow will entail quite a bit of activity."
"I'm quite fine, thank you."
"Silas, don't make me lock your books for the next week."
"Fine, I'll go to bed..." the boy grumbled, clearly unhappy about being told to put the book down.
The room now had two separate beds so that Silas could have at least that privacy, but the usual curtains had been taken down due to the fact that Remus still believed Silas to be suicidal. Remus smirked and threw over a pair of night shorts for the boy and quickly used the bathroom to change himself. When he came back in, once again Silas was scowling at him.
"Now what?"
"Did you forget that I can't use magic during the holidays so I can't put a hole in these?" Silas scowled, showing that he'd spent too much time around the insufferable potions master.
"I am definitely going to enjoy not having to do this anymore next week."
"Well, that is if I'm allowed back in Hogwarts," he said softly, hiding his head in the pillow and pulling the blankets over his body to cover the abnormality. His relatives were right- he was a freak.
The enhancements from the transformation let Remus sense that something was wrong with Silas at that point. He could smell the rejection and isolation that his son was feeling and it hurt him. Parenting was still relatively new to him and he wasn't sure if comforting or leaving him alone would be better- he went with his gut instinct.
"Silas, what's wrong? I know something isn't right..."
The young werewolf rolled over in the bed and Moony was startled to see the face covered in tears that quickly. He sat up slowly and pulled his knees to his chest as he always did when in a defensive position. Fear was in those greenish eyes along with depression that Remus would not expect from someone so young.
"They were right, I am a freak..." his ragged breathing hindered him from talking properly and was choked up.
"Who's they...?" Remus was lost, not knowing who his son was talking about.
"They've always been right; just a freak who isn't wanted..."
That the werewolf was able to comprehend, "No, Silas, that isn't true and you know it. You are definitely wanted, believe me, I love you. And being a freak, you know you aren't one."
"Yes I am...I'm not human and I'm not even a real werewolf. What am I? A freak and who would want a freak for family?"
"You aren't a freak and I want you," Remus told him, running a hand through the soft hair and then pulled the sheet away from the body to glance at the tail, "And this doesn't mean you are any different from a human or werewolf. It just happens to make you, you."
"More like it'll be another scar that will draw unwanted attention from strangers. I want it gone," he muttered, yanking the blanket back over himself.
"Oh Silas," Remus frowned, hating that the young man had so much to deal with at such a young age. "I know you do, but I'm not sure how we can do that since we don't even know why you have it. But tomorrow we're going to try and see just what is going on which is why I need you to get some sleep."
A couple of moments later Silas had calmed down enough to fall asleep and Remus sat by his side, grasping the boy's hand and dreading the following day. Needless to say, it was going to be a living hell for everyone involved.
((A/N: WOW!!! Okay, that was a lot of typing. I think I started transferring this from my notebooks on Wednesday afternoon and it took me until now to finish the chapter plus answering all the reviews! But hey! I'm not complaining- I love hearing from you all!))