Chapter 6; Secrets Held By the Moon
Disclaimer: Don't own it, not making any money, purely fictional, just for fun.
Author's Notes; Yeah... nothing too explicit in this chapter. Not much to worry about except the fact that this IS a freaking Hermione/Remus story! Don't like it? Don't READ IT! Merci beaucoup pour ecoutons! Bon apetit! Please don't eat the story! Lol.
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Hermione stuttered ineloquently. Why was he so mad? All she had done was a little research... and that never hurt anybody- right? She looked down at the book she had been reading when she had fallen asleep the night before. Remus closed it! She couldn't believe it! How could she have fallen asleep at such a crucial point in the book?
"What did you find?" Remus repeated, putting more emphasis on each word.
"I- I- I'm sorry... I hadn't meant to pry! Really... I just sort of came across your family genealogy, and then I saw your name... there was no death date! So I picked out some books on lycanthropy- I'm really, really sorry!" she rambled.
"What exactly do you know?" he asked, sitting down.
"Well, I know that those infected with lycanthropy are nearly immortal and that there is only one way to kill a werewolf- though I don't know what that one way is, because you SHUT THE BOOK. Um... yeah, that's about the only important stuff that I can remember. I was so tired while I was reading that I hardly remember anything..." she said, then looked up at him, "I do know that when you hit twenty-six you stopped aging."
"Yes, and?" he said.
"So then why do you still look as though you're... well... however- um- old you claim to be..." she asked.
"I take an aging potion. Were I to let the effects fade, I would look very much as I did in my genealogy portrait," he replied.
"Why do you pretend to be unaffected by your immortality?" she asked.
"Because, if I remained, now, as I was when I was twenty-six, people would likely either think me a freak," he said, "Hermione, you have no idea what it is like to be immortal. I had to watch as my family died- not only my parents, but my aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and nephews and nieces. Each generation I watch as my friends pass on to the next life as I am stuck here in this deteriorating land. Do you know how I often I wish that somebody would either find a cure or kill me."
"So... why hasn't anyone- you know... killed you?" she asked.
"Because, nobody is willing to do what it takes... here, read this," he opened the book to the exact page she had been on and pushed it toward her, "This will explain more than I can."
'The only known way to kill a werewolf is in the midst of its transformation on the night of the full moon. A pint of the wolfsbane potion must be applied directly to the underside of the tail, throat, and the roof of the beast's mouth. This is a highly dangerous quest that likely would result in the death of whoever dares to try it...'
"I think I've read enough..." she said, pushing the book away before she was tempted to look at the pictures at the bottom of the page.
"Now do you understand?" he asked.
"What if... what if somebody does determine a cure for lycanthropy?" she asked.
"Then I would not be able to afford it... I am not the richest of wizards," he replied.
"What if they offered it for free?" she said.
"Then I would gladly take it," he said.
"And if you were cured, would you gain all of your- years back and simply cease to exist?" she said.
"No, I would simply begin to age from whenever I ceased the process- twenty-six," he narrowed his eyes at her, "Why? What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking..." she looked up at him, "I may have a theory for a cure for lycanthropy... but it's still just a theory."
"What is it?" Remus asked, genuinely curious.
"No- it probably wouldn't work..." she said, "It was stupid of me to bring it up."
"Hermione, I have known you since your third year at Hogwarts and never have you thought of anything stupid. Now tell me," he said gently.
"Well... it's a version of the wolfsbane potion- kind of- mixed with a healing potion and- another potion..."
"What is the other potion?" he asked.
"Well, it's my own creation. I don't know exactly what to call it, but I tested it on dying trees. It- it alters the genetic makeup of that which it is applied to, and reverts it back to its healthiest state just before it was afflicted with... whatever it happens to be afflicted with," she said, "But I've never tested it on a human before."
"I'm sure that Arthur would allow you to test it on some of the werewolves in Azkaban..." Remus said.
"That... actually might work," she said, "I'll have to get started on research immediately of course. Oh! And I'll be needing a full restock of ingredients."
"Right, I'll get on that right away," he said, leaving her to her books.
"Hey Remus!" she called after him, "I'm going to have to stay an extra week! Nobody else has the books I need!"
He grinned. "Of course!"
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In the next few days Hermione had finished the research stage of her potion and was moving on to assembling it. She had altered it so that it only took two days to brew and twelve hours to settle. She spent all of her free time dedicated to her project, and she hardly ever saw Remus. The last thing she did was add four drops of a rat's blood. While it was settling, Remus suddenly appeared with a pop. With him were Albus Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley, and a man she had never seen.
"Er... hello Arthur, Dumble- Albus," she said, "What brings you here?"
"Remus has told us the most exciting news I do believe I've ever heard. He seems to be under the impression that you have discovered a cure for lycanthropy," Dumbledore said.
"Well, I may have, but we won't know until it's tested," Hermione replied.
"That's why we've brought him," Arthur said, motioning to the stranger, "he is a prisoner from Azkaban who is inflicted with lycanthropy."
"Right... so I'll test it on him then," she said, "It still about another hour to settle, so what do we do until then?"
"Perhaps you could explain to us how it is that you came across this rather intelligent theory," Dumbledore said, and they moved to the living room.
Hermione sat down in the large, plush arm chair and drew in a deep breath...
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So? I was going to have something completely different happen, originally, but I like this pathway better... I am a horrible person giving you guys all these terrible endings! Do you think the potion is a success or a failure? I'll give you all a hint- it starts with an's' and rhymes with "uccess". Can you guess it yet? Lol. Review Please! Merci! A'bientot!