Chapter 49: Saving Remus
Hermione spent the majority of the next few days reading potions texts and researching interactions between potion ingredients in the lab. She had all her meals in the lab and only left to attend the memorial services scheduled for that day, Terry Boot and Michael Corner. She had set it up so Severus could join her in the lab without harming anything. She had a few ingredients out on the counter on his side as well as a cauldron but none of them would react badly with each other. If he was on top of his game he could make 3 different potions with those ingredients including dreamless sleep which was desperately needed throughout the castle at the moment. It wasn't the potent dreamless sleep that was given out but a non addictive and less effective potion that would help those with troubled minds fall to sleep easier and not remember their dreams when they woke. It was much safer for the students to use to ease their sleep problems from the war.
She had just finished another book and was making her way into Severus' room to check on him and use the loo. It was a week after the battle and she hadn't even found where to start on the cure. She was getting frustrated and starting to despair. She wished Severus could help her but he was only doing marginally better. She was at the end of her rope and was trying to focus. She had just entered his chambers when she heard him talking to Albus. She normally would not have listened to their conversation but the first words she heard from Severus were, "I love her," so she stayed still to hear more.
"I know it's impossible and that she'll never see me as anything more than a friend, but she's perfect for me. She's smart and beautiful and we get along so well. I've never felt like this for anyone before, not even Lily. I am hopelessly in love with her." Severus told him sadly. He had needed to talk about his feelings with someone and he knew that Albus would at least listen before telling him that he was delusional.
"Then what is the problem son?" Albus asked him with twinkling eyes. He had thought it would take a lot more to get Severus to admit he had feelings for her. It had been obvious to him that his potions master had fallen in love with his apprentice months ago but hadn't realized it yet himself.
"She's royalty for one. Plus she has so much going for her. Why would she want to tie herself down to an ugly old man like me? I already know that I can never tell her. I would rather have her as just a friend than as nothing at all. I know if I were to tell her my feelings that she would run screaming. No, I must never tell her. All I need to do now is try and push my feelings aside." Severus told his mentor.
"Don't give up yet," Albus told him with a smile. "There is still hope. She is not with anyone else and I know she is comfortable with you. Besides, I saw that kiss and she didn't seem repulsed in the least." They had been talking in Severus' room and Albus decided to head out into the sitting room. He didn't expect to see a crying and devastated looking Hermione Granger standing completely still in the middle of the room. Her eyes were wide and tears were streaming down her face and she looked like her world had just collapsed.
Severus took in the appearance of the woman he loved and felt his heart break for her. "Hermione, what's wrong? Is it Remus?" He asked rushing to her side.
Hermione blinked not having expected the two to find her there. Hearing he was in love with someone else was the last straw. She couldn't hold herself together anymore. She knew she had rivers of tears running down her face yet she could barely breathe let alone take care of herself. It took Severus asking her what was wrong multiple times before she understood his question. "I can't find a cure," was all she told him. How could she explain that the main reason she was crying is because her heart had just been broken. It was a feeling she had never experienced before and hoped to never experience again.
Albus, having already guessed her feelings for Severus, realized that she must have heard their conversation and came to the wrong conclusion. The poor girl thought he was in love with someone else. "Severus, why don't you fetch a calming potion from your stores for Hermione." He told him before approaching the crying girl. "Oh dear it's nearly as hopeless as you think it is. Everything will work out how it is supposed to." He told her wishing he was able to tell her that she was who Severus had been speaking of.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way," she told the headmaster sadly. "I had my heart so carefully guarded against school boys that I left myself wide open for him to break it into a million pieces."
"It is said that it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. But my dear I do not believe that anything is lost here, just misplaced." He told her as Severus came back into the room with the calming potion. After she had taken the potion and started to calm down Albus continued, "I want you to go up to your common room this evening, spend some time with your friends. You need a break from the research. Tomorrow morning you can come back down here and have a fresh start." Hermione smiled at him, gave him a hug and went off to follow his advice.
"Will she be alright?" Severus asked him, he was never really good with emotions.
"She'll be just fine," Albus told him with a smile. "Now I want you to join me and the rest of the staff to discuss how we are going to handle the victory celebrations. We have a lot to plan."
"Hermione!" Ron said surprised as his best friend walked into the room. The EDA was all hanging out in the heads common room, minus Harry and Colin who were still in the hospital wing.
Hermione smiled at all her friends and realized that she really did need a break. "Albus insisted that I take the rest of the night off as I am overworking myself." She told them knowing they hadn't expected her. "What's the party for?" She asked noticing the stash of Butterbeer.
"Colin woke up!" Dennis said gleefully. "Poppy says he'll be fine in a few days. Maybe even out of the hospital in a week!" They had all been worried about Colin as he hadn't regained consciousness since the battle. Poppy was starting to worry that he would never wake up. Padma had come around two days ago so now everyone was on the road to recovery, everyone except Remus.
"That's great news," Hermione said with a smile as she sat down on the couch next to Ginny and grabbed a Butterbeer.
"Hey, you don't look so good," Ginny said noticing her friend's puffy eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Lots of things Gin," she told her with a sad smile. "I am not having any success with the cure so far. Albus had to give me a calming potion is all."
"It's more than that," Ginny said knowingly. "You can't lie to a seer." She said grabbing her friend's hand to get a reading. She had been studying palmistry in class and had been very accurate in everything so far. "Oh dear!" Ginny said with wide eyes and pulled Hermione into her bedroom so they could talk in private. "Tell me what happened." She told her. "I see heartbreak."
Hermione sighed deeply. She wanted to tell someone but she was afraid of their reactions. "I fell in love, well more like I just realized that I was in love and now it's hopeless. He's in love with someone."
"He told you this?" She asked curious how it all happened.
"No, I overheard him talking to Albus about her." Hermione told her friend the calming potion keeping her from getting hysterical again.
"But when would he have had time to fall for anyone?" Ginny asked out loud trying to figure it out. "He spends all his time either with you or the Order."
Hermione looked at Ginny quizzically for a moment as she realized that her friend knew who it was she loved. "When did you realize it was him?"
"On New Years Eve. Is that when you realized it as well?" She asked her with a smile.
Hermione laughed, "No, I didn't realize it until the Valentine's dance." The two girls laughed for a while at that. "Not that it matters. We'll only ever be friends."
"Did he say who she was?" Ginny asked her wondering. She would have bet a million galleons that Severus loved her as well.
"No, he just said that she was smart and beautiful. They are friends and she is some kind of royalty." Hermione told her missing the raised eyebrow from her redheaded friend.
Ginny was trying not to laugh. Severus was telling Albus that he was in love with Hermione. She wondered when he found out she was the princess. "Well there is nothing we can do about it now. I'm sure he'll tell you about her when he is ready. Until then you two will stay as best friends. Someday soon I'm sure he'll realize what a wonderful woman you are and come running into your arms."
"Do you really think so?" Hermione asked surprised. "I figured that I need to move on. Forget him and meet some nice boy at university."
"I'm not saying that you can't date a few university boys in the mean time!" Ginny said with a giggle. "But I have a feeling that everything will work out between you and Severus."
"Thanks Gin," Hermione said hugging her best girl friend. "I'm so glad you're ok with this. I thought you would think I was nuts."
"Hey, you can't help who you fall in love with. If it's meant to be it will be, if not then you'll meet the man of your dreams and forget all about Severus." Ginny told her.
"Severus is the man of my dreams," Hermione told her. "I finally saw his face, it's Severus and always has been." They had talked about the guy she kept dreaming of many times before. "It seems all I had to do was realize I was in love with him and his face came into focus in the dreams. I guess that's why he took on Snake's looks in the dream as well since Snake really was Severus."
"Oh what a tangled web we weave," Ginny said as they headed back out to hang with their friends.
"Everything ok?" Gabrielle asked them.
"It will be," Hermione told her with a smile before joining in on the exploding snap game they were playing.
Hermione had spent the morning comparing blood samples from Remus to older ones Severus had on file as well as normal human blood. She could see that the silver had attached itself to all the wolf blood in his current sample. "This is impossible!" She yelled out to the lab. "Nothing will let me separate the silver from the blood!"
After she gained her breath back she thought about what she had just announced. Nothing could separate the silver from the wolf blood. That was why no one could ever cure it, the two had melded together. "That's it!" She yelled triumphantly. She had a lead now; she had an idea that just may work. 'If you can't separate the silver just remove it all together," she thought to herself.
For the next three days no one could get Hermione out of the lab for any reason. She would have stayed there if the castle was on fire or under attack. She was a woman possessed and was making extraordinary progress on her potion. She only had two more days before the full moon and she would be damned if she didn't have a solution in time.
Harry and Tonks were constantly by Remus' side. They wanted to spend as much time together as they could in case the worst should happen. Harry had started to give up hope as there were only two days remaining before the full moon and no one had heard any news on Hermione's progress other than that she had shut herself in the lab and hadn't left for almost 4 days.
Remus' pain was increasing every day. The silver was attacking all his wolf blood and it caused him spasms of pain. There was nothing that Poppy could give him for the pain that wouldn't knock him out so he endured it to spend his last few days with his family.
"So when are you going to propose?" Remus asked Harry with a smile. "There are no dark lords holding you back any longer."
"I hadn't even really thought about it," Harry told him with a grin. "I haven't really thought about a lot of what will be different now that the war is over."
"Have you thought about what kind of ring you want to give her?" Tonks asked him, glad the conversation was on something positive.
"I already have it picked out," he told her with a lopsided smile. "I found it in the vault, its perfect. It's got a large center emerald surrounded by rubies and diamonds."
"So emerald to match your eyes, rubies to match your hair or for Gryffindor and diamonds because every girl loved diamonds?" Tonks asked with a laugh. "It sounds beautiful."
"It is, not as beautiful as she is but still nice." Harry told her sincerely. "I think I may propose sometime this summer. I'm not sure. I don't want to rush anything, especially since her brother just died. I think I'll give everything time to calm down and then ask her. But definitely before she goes back to school. I'm not going to have any boys thinking that they can approach her just because I'm not here." He said with a wink.
"I don't think you'll have to worry too much about that. There will not be many men who would be willing to go up against you. Especially now that you've defeated that mad man." Remus told him laughing. "Besides, Ginny loves you too much. She's just hex them if they tried anything."
"So where do you think we should get married?" Harry asked them. "Now that we can get married anywhere I have no ideas."
"I always thought a night wedding on a beach under the moonlight would be a romantic setting to get married in," Tonks told him with a smile. "You know it doesn't really mater what you want anyway," she said teasingly. "You'll go with whatever Ginny wants."
"True," Harry said and they spent the rest of the night talking about what they expected in his and Ginny's future until Remus fell asleep.
Hermione rushed into Severus' room at 6:30 the next morning to wake him up. She had waited as long as she could. "Severus, Severus, come quick. I think I found it!" She told him bouncing on his bed with a big smile on her face. It took him a few seconds to process what she said before he rushed after her into the lab.
"I'm ready to test it," she told him holding up a small vial of a yellow colored potion. She pointed out three rats she had in cages on the desk. "I thought it appropriate to test it on rats as we have a rat to thank for hurting Remus in the first place." She told him with a glare at the rats. "I turned all three into were-rats when I started my research. The first one has had silver poisoning for close to the same time as Remus, the second only started this week and the third I just poisoned yesterday."
She showed him the different blood samples from the three rats. "I'm going to try it on rat 1." She slowly brought an eyedropper of potion to the mouth of the rat and forced the poor creature to swallow it. The results started almost instantly. The rat started squealing and writhing in its cage, it was easy to tell it was in pain. After about a minute or two it calmed down and went to sleep. "Well, my data indicated it would either cure it or kill it so this is a good sign," She told him as she took a blood sample from the now sleeping rodent.
She placed it in the microscope and hurried to see her results. She turned very slowly with wide bright eyes to Severus who was waiting with baited breath. "It worked," she whispered pointing to the scope and waiting to see what he would make of her results.
He didn't know what to expect when he looked into the scope, but it was definitely not what he saw. "These cannot be the correct results," he said looking from the before sample to the after. "How is it possible?" She just smiled at him, not knowing what to say. He wrapped her up in a huge hug, lifting her from the ground. "You are the most brilliant witch in the entire world."
They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon testing the potion for any unforeseen side effects. The rats they tested still seemed perfectly healthy and were all silver poisoning free.
"We need to tell Albus," Severus told her once they established that she had found the solution.
"Tell me what?" Albus asked startling both of them. He had been standing in the doorway for a few seconds after having come check on them when Severus missed the staff meeting.
"Hermione found a cure," Severus told him proudly.
"Well," Hermione started. "I either found the cure or it will kill him." She told him sadly. "But as the full moon tomorrow night will do that anyway…"
"How confidant are you that it will work?" Albus asked, he was surprised that she had found a solution to something in less than 2 weeks that other scholars had spent a lifetime trying to cure.
"It will work," Severus said confidently. "All three test rats survived and were cured."
"I believe it will work," Hermione told him. "But I can't guarantee the results as it has not been tested on a human subject. There is still a chance that it will kill him."
"If you were in Remus' place, would you take the potion?" Albus asked her.
"Without a doubt," She told him. "He will die tomorrow if he doesn't take it, we know this for sure."
"Well, let us inform him of your success and see what he wants to do," Albus said with a smile as he led the two of them to the hospital wing. "I am sure they will want to spend tonight together and take the potion in the morning."
"What do you think Hermione?" Harry asked her. "Do you think he should take it?"
"Yes Harry, it is the only way to save him. Without it you will loose him for sure." She told him.
"But what if it kills him?" Tonks asked petrified.
"My love," Remus said taking her hand. "I will die at moonrise tomorrow, that is a fact that cannot be escaped. This potion gives me a chance to live. True it may kill me but I think I would rather die as myself than when I turn into that beast."
"It is going to work," Severus told them. "When has Hermione ever not had a perfect potion? The lab tests were a success, this will be as well."
"I'll take it in the morning," Remus told them. "I want to spend my last night with my family if the worst should happen." Hermione, Severus and Albus nodded and left the family alone for the night.
"I'm so scared Remus," Tonks told him curling up with him on his bed. "I don't want to loose you."
"You were going to loose me for sure before she found the cure," he told her laughing at how they were acting. He was going to die without Hermione's potion, why couldn't they understand that.
"But what if the silver doesn't kill you tomorrow and then her potion does?" Harry asked him desperately.
Remus shook his head, "You two need to listen to me. I know you have been trying to pretend that I am fine and that I will just miraculously get better, but that is not going to happen by itself. The only way that I will be alive to see your wonderful faces again after the full moon is if I take Hermione's potion. It's either take the potion or die, those are my only options."
"It just doesn't seem real," Tonks cried softly into his shoulder. "You seem fine."
They spent the rest of the night talking about all the good time they had together as well as what Remus wanted for them in the future. Tonks and Harry finally came to realize that those moments could really be their last together with Remus and they made the most of them.
Hermione didn't sleep at all that night. She paced the lab and Severus' quarters, watching the clock. She believed in her potion but she was terrified at the same time. She could never live with herself if she killed Remus and she was afraid Harry would blame her as well.
"I'm scared," she said after Severus had pulled her down onto the couch with him. He had her wrapped up in his arms again trying to calm her. He was anxious as well but had never seen her quite so worked up, not even before her NEWTs!
"All will be well," He told her kissing her forehead. "Tomorrow night we will be celebrating with Remus and Harry and everyone will be praising your brilliance."
"I think if it works I'm going to call it the Silver Solution," she told him glad he was there to calm her down.
"That sounds like an acceptable name," he told her with a smile. "Have you documented all your findings so you can publish them?"
"Yes, I've been keeping detailed notes so that I could see if I had an error in my theory." She told him and went into the lab to retrieve the muggle notebook she had kept all her data in to show to him.
"We can publish our findings on the Cloud Clearing and Winter's Tale potions now as well," He told her. And for the rest of the night, to keep her mind off Remus, they revised their notes into perfect publication form. "You'll be a potions master in your own right after this," he told her early that morning.
"I still have to finish university and then have a year long apprenticeship before they will give me my certificate," she told him laughing.
"Your time spent researching with me will count towards your apprenticeship," he told her. "And you will be able to pass out of many of your university courses as you would most likely teach them better than the professors themselves."
"Thank you for your confidence in me," she said with a grin. "It will be nice to have some of the classes out of the way. I've already read every text book for the entire potions curriculum as well as the recommended readings and only have one transfiguration book left before I finish all of that as well."
"I will say it again, you little one are the most brilliant witch in the world." He winked and pulled her off the sofa as he noticed it was time to head to the hospital wing.
Poppy and Albus met them at the front doors of the infirmary. Albus was there for moral support as well as to witness the potion's results and Poppy would monitor vital signs. Hermione was trying not to shake but her hands were not obeying her. Severus was carrying the potion as she feared she would drop it.
They only waited a few minutes when the curtains were pulled back and a crying Tonks nodded to them. Harry was surprisingly calm; it seemed the talk with Remus had helped him. Remus was understandably nervous. No one liked to be a human guinea pig but the results of not taking the potion scared him more.
"I'm ready," he told Hermione with a smile. "I want you to know that I appreciate everything that you have done for me Hermione. I don't want you to blame yourself if this doesn't work. Without you I wouldn't have a chance at life at all. Thank you." He turned to Severus. "Severus thank you for being a good friend. After we put our 20 years of hate behind us I really began to appreciate your sense of humor."
"You are the only Gryffindor werewolf Marauder that I would say this to, but I love you my friend and I we will have plenty of time to celebrate your recovery soon," Severus said now that there was nothing holding him back. He could be honest and open about his emotions and there was no dark lord to find out. It was liberating.
"Albus," Remus said with a smile. "Thank you for believing in me when no one else would. Take care of Harry for me. Alright Hermione, hit me with your cure."
Hermione came forward and with a shaking hand placed the vial to his lips. He swallowed it down and she stepped back from the bed. "I love you Harry, I love you Tonks," Remus said before the potion took hold.
It was only a few seconds before the potions started gripping him. Pain like he had never felt before shot through his body and he screamed out in agony. Harry had to hold Tonks up as Remus started to scream in pain. Albus put up a silencing charm around their group so as not to disturb the other patients. Hermione sunk to her knees beside Remus' bed in tears, convinced that she was killing him.
The pain and tremors lasted what felt like hours but was actually closer to 10 minutes. Harry and Tonks were consoling each other over the loss of their loved one once Remus' cries stopped. Hermione was bawling into the bed sheets and the other three all had their heads bowed in respect for the departed friend.
Remus opened his eyes to see a head of bushy curls crying at his side. He could hear Tonks and Harry crying as well. He looked up to see the others with their heads bowed and looking sad. He tentatively picked up his hand, glad there was not more pain, and placed it upon Hermione's head. "And I thought wolfsbane was bad. Your potion really packs a punch there." He said quietly but in good spirits, he was alive and hopefully cured so of course he was happy.
Hermione's head shot up and she looked into the very alive eyes of Remus Lupin and shouted with glee. "You're alive!" This caught the attention of everyone else who held their breath waiting to see if their friend was indeed alright.
"I am alive," he told her with a smile. "But I think I'll wait a while before I try any more of your potions. That hurt."
Hermione smiled nervously and pulled her wand out to take a blood sample. She quickly healed his arm. She placed the sample in the microscope she had set up next to his bed and looked at the results. She had to wipe her tears away before double checking the results. She turned around and smiled at everyone. She rushed forward into Severus' arms, "It worked," she said as he spun her around happily. She was so elated that she didn't even notice when she pressed her mouth to his in an intense, but short kiss.
Harry watched his best friend share her success with Snape and realized that they really were a good match. Severus was next to examine the results and proudly announced that Remus was cured. Albus was the last one to check the microscope and he was stunned into silence for a moment. "You weren't kidding when you said he's cured," He said in amazement. "You truly are brilliant."
Remus, Harry, Tonks and Poppy wondered what he saw that would amaze him so. Remus yawned and caught Poppy's attention. "Remus will need his rest today so he is strong enough for tonight's transformation." She told them and tried to shoo them out.
This caused Hermione to grin like a jack-o-lantern, Albus to twinkle madly and Severus Snape to start laughing. Hermione and Albus soon joined in the laugher and the others were severely confused. "Would someone like to clue us in on what is so funny?" Remus asked with a smile, he had never seen Albus or Severus look so young and carefree before.
"But Remus, I already said it," Hermione giggled. "You're cured."
"Yes, you cured me of silver poisoning," Remus stated wondering if lack of sleep was making her delirious. "But it's the full moon tonight and I am a werewolf."
Hermione was bouncing up and down with joy. She flashed Harry and Tonks a wide grin before saying three words that would change their world, "No, you're not!"
Jaws dropped open and looked at her like she had finally lost it. Albus decided to take pity on everyone, "It seems that it was not possible to cure silver poisoning in werewolves. So instead, Hermione cured you of being a werewolf." He paused for a second to let it sink in. "Remus welcome back to being 100 human."
Poppy pushed past Severus to the microscope to see for herself. There was the slide of freshly drawn blood, completely free of werewolf blood. Harry let Tonks go and rushed over to tackle his best friend with a bone crushing hug. "I new you could do it," he told her happily.
"Not a werewolf," Remus said, trying to get used to the idea. He had dreamed of a cure for so long but never actually thought it would happen. "Never transform again." He said to make the words more real. Tonks had latched onto her husband and was pressing kisses to him wherever she could reach to convince herself that he was alive and well.
The castle was informed that there would be a feast that night in the great hall and that everyone was expected to attend. No one was told what it was for but they were all eager to see. It was time to start celebrating and they were glad. When everyone arrived they noticed two extra places at the head table and four seats plus the headmaster's were still empty. Ginny was saddened to see that Tonks and Remus' spots were empty and that Harry had not come down to join her for the feast. When she heard the news about the feast she has assumed they had found a cure for Remus. She noticed that Snape's spot was empty as well and that Hermione was not in attendance and prayed they would find a cure in time, there were only a few hours left.
Albus entered the hall and stood to address the packed hall. "I am glad to see everyone here tonight. We have spent the last two weeks beginning the healing process and recovering from the final battle. We were victorious in battle yet there were still some whose lives hung in the balance. It is my pleasure to tell you all that everyone who was injured in the battle is finally out of danger, they will all be fine." This announcement was met with loud applause as everyone was glad to hear their friends would be fine. "Tonight we are feasting to celebrate the hard work and dedication of one amazing witch. Since the battle she has barely slept while trying to find a cure for one of our injured soldiers. Let's welcome back our injured DADA teacher and his family." Albus said and the applause was loud as Harry and Tonks entered on either side of a weak but healthy Remus.
The DA and Order member were all standing up and cheering for their comrade. Ginny was beaming and hugging her family. Molly of course was crying with joy at his recovery. Albus called for quiet again, "As I said this feast is to honor the woman responsible for Remus' recovery. She and her potions partner have worked tirelessly throughout the war and it was their work that cured two of the unforgivable curses. Let's honor Professor Severus Snape and the woman of the hour, Hermione Granger!" Everyone cheered as the two walked into the hall, Hermione beaming and Severus looking as happy as he ever had.
The feast was wonderful and although Hermione didn't want all the extra attention she was still on cloud 9 that she had found the cure. "I'd like to say a few words," Remus stood and said after dinner. "During the final battle I was injured by a silver hand of a death eater. Silver does not agree with werewolves and I would have died tonight, the night of the full moon, without Hermione's Silver Solution. I stand here before you a free man for the first time since I was a boy. I ask you all to look up to the enchanted ceiling and look with me on my first full moon as a man not a beast."
The great hall was silent for a few moments as they all took in what he had said and ran it though their minds. Soon the hall was full of a deafening wave of applause and cheers for one of their favorite teachers and friends. "I would like to propose a toast to Hermione Granger. She is the brightest witch I have ever known and I thank her for giving me a fresh start on life. To Hermione!" Everyone joined in and Hermione blushed scarlet but smiled in thanks to everyone.
Remus kissed her cheek and winked before escorting Tonks outside for a walk in the moonlight. It felt weird to be able to see the celestial orb and not feel the call of the wolf, weird but wonderful. He kissed Tonks deeply. "So did you want to start making that family now?" He growled in her ear and the two of them spent the night underneath the full moon light.