(A/N) Hi everyone. This is my first fic, so please be gentle with me. I'm open to any and all forms of criticism. So be willing to comment on any aspect of the story. If there are any mistakes, please feel free to point them out. NOTE: I began this story before OotP came out, and I intend to keep writing it as though I had never read the book. Now, on with the story.

The explanation about the vampire/werewolf infection process is just a chance in the wind. I really don't know how the infection is supposedly spread. Just ignore my ignorance on the subject. Remember, review and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you may recognize. The only thing I own is the plot. I am making no money off of this. Yah, yah, yah. You know the drill.

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Wolf's Bane

Chapter 3

Surprise, Surprise

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Sable woke up that morning later than usual. She pulled herself out of bed and threw on a bathrobe before going downstairs. It was a bright Saturday morning, butshe felt utterlyhorrible. School would be starting again in a little over three weeks, Salem School for Witches and Wizards. It'swas notthat she hated the school, she just wanted to go back to Hogwarts. She grabbed a piece of toast and some milk before going to her potions room. At least she could try to get some work done, despite the fact that she felt like utter crap.

She entered the room with an apprehensive sigh. Once school started, she would have to give up her research, so she figured she should get as much done as possible while she still could.

Sable was an amateur researcher for potions. Thanks to her parents lycanthropy, she was allowed to experiment with her potions during the summer, hoping to find a cure, or at least something that would help out. She sat at her desk and pulled out a Muggle notebook and pen. She began checking over some ingredients when there was a tapping at the window. It was her owl with Remus' letter. She hurried to the window and let the creature in. She took the letter and read it. She was almost in tears by the end. 'My God, what's he putting himself through over there?' She thought. Usually, his letters were cheerful and funny. Even that Howler he had sent her as a joke had humor in it. But this was so different than the other ones.

"Something's not right over there, Aphrodite." she told the owl. She put the letter on her desk, deciding to write back later, thengathered a few ingredients and went over to a cauldron that had been simmering all night. She measured out the silver root and saw grass, then dumped it into the cauldron. The liquid let off an orange smoke but continued on its way, boiling and bubbling happily. Next she walked over to the project that had helped keep her sane over the summer.

Since both of her parents were werewolves, she could only imagine what it felt like to change from one creature to another. This particular potion was a pain blocker that helped during the transformation. It was thevery same kind that she had sent to Remus the day before. So far, it had worked for her mom and dad. And from what Remus had told her, it had seemed to be helping for the past few months. But,despite the relative ease of making that potion, she knew that it had no effect what so ever on the worse part of the change.

The psychological change was possible the worse factor of the monthly changes.Just watching as people she loved reverted to theirmost basic animalistic instincts every month tore her heart apart. Her parents were good people,always helping when they could, but they literally became monsters on the full moon. Sable had never been hurt by her mom and dad during the transformations, but she hated seeing them go through it. To watch as two highly intelligent people reverted to two blood thirsty animals.

She knew that there had to be some way of counter-acting the psychological hold over a werewolf. Her other project over the summer was a derivation of an ancient Druid potion she had found at theDepartment of Magic'slibrary. The book was written in the old Druid language, which was a mixture of Celtic, Germanic, and Romanian languages that had long become dead. She had spent most of the summer just translating the text, but she thought that she may be on to something after all.

The potion had been used to keep ancient life-stealers, alsocollectively known as vampires, from becoming so overwhelmed during peak feeding times, which also happened to be during full moons. Sable only hoped that the same principles would apply to her werewolf potion once she finally figured out how it worked. She knew there was no cure for lycanthropy, but maybe there was a way to help sufferers contend with the effects. The only catch in the recipe was blood. It called for the blood of a creature that was immune from the dangers of the life-stealers, or in this case werewolves. As far as she knew, there was no one who was not affected by a wolf bite.

She continued to pour over her books until there was a knock at her door. She glanced at a clock and it read 4:50 pm. 'Have I been working that long?' she thought as she rose to open the door. When she finally got to it, it was thrown open by a very excited black haired woman in her late thirties, her mother.

"What's going on, mom?" she asked wearily, rocking back on her heals to get out of her mother's way.

"I've got some good news, baby!" her mother replied happily. "I think you're going tolike it this time. It's good, really good."

"Well, what is it?" Sable asked impatiently.

"What did you tell me about Salem two weeks ago?" her mother countered, a grin on her face.

"I told you that I hated it and didn't want to finish my last year with a bunch of moronic idiots. Why?" she replied, never missing a beat. Her mother smiled and handed her a piece of parchment.

"Read it." she ordered. Sable looked confused but did as she was told. She read through the letter and looked at her mother in disbelief. It was a letter from the Department of Magic...reassigning her parents to the Ministry of Magic in England.Sable shook her head, blinked her eyes, andread it again to make sure she was not imagining things.

"We're...we're going back to England?" she asked breathlessly. Her mother nodded and gathered her daughter into a big hug. Sable could not believe it. 'I get to go back. I get to go back to Hogwarts.' was all she kept thinking. "But why, mom? I thought you and daddy had permanent jobs for theDepartment of Magic?."

"They overloaded themselves Sabriel, so they had to transfer some of us to the British branch. Your father and I knew how much you wanted to go back, so we volunteered to be transferred."

"But what about school? I'll have to get in touch with the headmaster before I can go back." she said. Her mother shook her head and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, baby. I've already taken care of everything. In fact I think this belongs to you." her mother pulled out an envelope that had green writing on it.

"My Hogwarts letter!" she cried. She took the letter and tore it open, seeing theflowing handwriting of Professor McGonagall, her oldHead of House. She glanced down the letter, then flipped it over to find a letter from Dumbledore, welcoming her back afterher twoyear absence.

It was likea dream come true. She had been wanting to go back to Hogwarts for so long, but was not sure if she would ever have another chance. The past two years at Salem had been tolerable, to say the most.But she was just happy to be going back to school were her good friends would be.

Needless to say, Sableand her mother spent the rest of the evening talking about moving back, as well as the progress she'd made on her summer projects.

"Mom, I think I may have got something worth working on." she said. Her mother raised an eyebrow in curiosity, so Sable continued. "There's an old Druid potion that was used to help vampires control their mental stability during peak feeding times. I think if I alter a few things, I might be able to make a potion for you and dad. But there's a catch. I need the blood of a creature that's immune to a werewolf's bite. Is that even possible?" Her mother looked confused, and shook her head.

"Unfortunately dear, not that I know of. Once someone's been bitten, a protein enters their body system from the wolf. This protein acts as a virus that takes over cell production. It alters the genetic makeup of the person. In a matter of just days, the proteins are present in every part of the body. No one we know of has ever been able to counter-act the proteins. And I doubt that any kind of animal could produce an antibiotic within itself in order to counter act to protein." her mom explained.

"But that's how the vampiric traits are passed also, through a virus-like protein. In order for this potion to have worked ages ago, there had to have been something that was immune to a vampire's bite. But how can you become immune to a vampire's bite, unless you're one yourself? Even then,you're not really immune, you just have some energy sucked out of you if they decide to try and feed off of you. So what can causes someone to be immune from the bite?" Sable started pacing the floor. Her mother looked on in admiration.

'She tries so hard to help me and her father, I just wish I knew how to help her.' she thought. "...maybe whatever causes the immunity to a vampire's bite might also cause something to be immune from a wolf bite. So, if I find out how something becomes immune to the vampiric protein, I can use that same set of actions to work for the wolf bite. All I'd have to do is institute that same chain of events, but instead of being bitten by a vampire, it'd be a werewolf."

Her mother rose from her seat and stepped in front of her daughter, trying to stop the incessant talking and pacing.

"Look, you can worry about that later." she said. "Why don't you write Remus and the others, telling that you're coming back. In fact, we're moving into a house right down the lane from the Blacks in Godric's Hollow. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you again." Her mother gave her a hug. Sable promised to not worry about the potion for the rest of the day, and immediately set to writing Remus another letter.

She pulled out a piece of parchment, completely intent on telling them that she would be back, but something held her back. She looked up into a mirror that hung above her desk. She looked a bit different than she had at the end of her fourth year. Her wavy, short black hair was now long and straight. She had grown about four inches, and her face was more rounded than before. Her body had filled out a little more, despite the fact that the lycanthropy in her blood kept her on the petite side all the time. The only thing that was the same were her eyes. Their deep purple coloring reminded her of a set of amethysts. They were still there, hooded by thick black lashes.

"Will they even recognize me, Aphrodite?" she asked the owl. She only received a chirp in response. She smiled and pulled Remus' letter back out. After reading it again, she decided to write back, but not mention her return. Afterall, it would be a good surprise for the whole lot of them. She grabbed a quill and some clean parchment then began to write back.

Dear Remus,

I'm sorry that you are not feeling well. I know that the changes are getting harder, even mom and dad say so. Even my symptoms are worse than normal! The closer the full moon gets, the more my parents and I go at each other's throats! It's horrible.

Anyways, I've got some good news and some bad news. Good news is that I think I may have stumbled across a more powerful werewolf potion. The bad news is that I have no idea how to get a key ingredient. I need blood from a creature immune to a were wolf bite. I didn't even think something like that existed! If you have any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to hear them. I'm in a rut here.

That last vial of potion I sent you was actually a double concentration. I figured the changes were getting harder. If it doesn't knock you out, you won't feel the change, I promise. Dad took some, and he told me he didn't feel anything, because he slept through the change and up until the next morning.

Well Remus, I've got to go now, but don't worry, I'll keep in touch. -And no more Howlers- Keep your chin up and I have a feeling something good's gonna happen in the next month or so.

Love,

Sable

She tied the letter to the leg of Aphrodite, and sent her through the window. 'I hope this makes him feel better.' she thought. 'Sounds like he's going through one of life's rough spots.'

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A/N - Hey everyone. I know there are some things that need to be explained, and it will be in the upcoming chapters. Just give me time. Until then, remember to review, and I'll get back to you guys later.

Bye,

A.A.