13 Wandwaving

Disclaimer: The idea of this story is mine, Mrs. Rowling owns the characters

A/N: All right, I've been unjust. They do show PoA in English. After having seen it twice I can say I am beginning to like it (if I don't compare it to the book too closely, though), but why on earth is the Remus/Severus werewolf problem not explained properly? It makes Severus appear in the film as if he is only acting out of a general evilness and stupidity, and we all know that that isn't true … And, of course, there are some of the Snape scenes missing, been changed or too short … Hang on, this is not supposed to be a film review…

----

When Severus woke, he knew exactly what had happened and could easily guess where he was. He recognized the room where he was lying in a bed as one of St Mungo's from his last stay in the wizarding hospital.

He didn't feel particularly ill, only very weak, like after having stayed in bed for quite some time because of a severe illness, but recovering from it. His muscles hurt, though, but it was not very painful, more as if you have had to much exercise the day before.

'So, you've come round at least. Would you like to drink some water?' A voice in his right ear made him start.

A middle aged witch with short brown hair who was wearing the official St Mungo's attire for nurses, accompanied by an intimidating stern expression on her face, was standing next to his bed.

He tried to speak but managed only a pathetic croaking noise because his throat was parched.

'Thought so,' the witch said indifferently and handed him a glass of water.

He took it, giving the witch what was supposed to be a thankful nod and emptied it with a few gulps.

'I'll go to get the healer talk to you. Won't be a minute,' she said and went over to the door.

There, she stopped short and turned to give him a somewhat worried look as if she was expecting him to do something stupid in the meantime. Well, he couldn't blame her, Severus thought, when she was gone. Given his past history in this institution, he must be known as a difficult patient.

His assumption was proven to be true when the witch returned, accompanied by not only a healer but three, and two other nurses. They were obviously prepared to wrestle him down if he should freak out.

'Good morning, Mr. Snape,' the healer who was leading the group and was obviously the one in charge, greeted him in a friendly way. 'How are you feeling?'

'Not that bad, actually.'

'Do you know what happened?'

'Yes. I was bitten by a werewolf.'

The healer sighed, obviously relieved that he didn't have to be the one to bring the terrible news to Severus. But he did still look weary, as if he was on his guard, waiting for an extreme reaction from his patient.

'So, well. As you seem to have already had time to get used to your situation, I think we should speak freely now,' he went on and waved his wand to conjure a chair and sat down, while the other wizards remained standing behind him.

'Physically, there is nothing wrong with you, … apart from the obvious. You may be a bit weak now, but that's quite normal after a week in bed. You had a high fever, which is also a normal reaction of the body if confronted with lycanthropy. We will be able to led you go home in a few days, but there are a few things which will have to be discussed before.'

The healer, who hadn't dropped his friendly way of speaking, was also wearing a very amiable expression on his face. Come to think of it, his composure was a bit like that of Remus, or at least how Severus imagined Remus would act in the presence of one of his clients.

Remus. Severus was wondering if he could risk asking the healer about him without raising any suspicion. He could only hope that Remus had remembered their 'story' and that Harry had managed something concerning the wolfsbane potion.

'Hm. Let's see,' the healer consulted the clipboard which one of the other healers had given to him. 'I believe you are living on your own. Have you got any family, relatives or friends where you could stay for some time?'

'No.'

'Well. You see, you shouldn't live alone, at least for some time, especially before your first transformation. Even if you are not realizing it at the moment, there will be a lot of changes to your life. Changes which will not only affect your body but also your social life.' The healer spoke softly, as if he was under the impression that Severus had indeed not yet fully realized what it meant to be a werewolf.

'I think I know what I have to expect. Thank you for your concern.'

'Now. Let's say I do let you go home this week, and even if you find no problem in living on your own at your place, which, I have to repeat myself, I would not advise you to do, you still have to get assigned to one of the social workers from the Ministry. That's the law.' He looked at Severus thoughtfully before he went on.

'As you seem to know so much already, do you happen to know somebody from the Werewolf Department in the Ministry?'

Severus hesitated. He believed that now was the point where it would be relatively safe to ask after Remus. And he simply had to know, although he dreaded the information he was going to get in a moment.

'Yes. In fact, I do know somebody. But I don't know, if he will be able at the moment to take care of me. You see, it's Remus Lupin. He came in with me, heavily injured. I would be grateful if you could tell me if he is alright.'

'Mr. Lupin? Oh yes, certainly. Are you related or friends?'

'No, he is a colleague from work.'

'I see. Well, he has recovered quite well, although he will be on sick leave for some time. But I am sure he can visit you. He has been asking for you for the last days. I will tell him that you have woken up.'

Severus was relieved. So it seemed that Remus wasn't in immediate danger of being accused of having bitten somebody, and what was more, had obviously recovered so far that he was able to come over for a visit.

'Right. So, that's settled for the moment. I'm sure, Mr. Lupin will tell you everything. Even if you should chose somebody else as you social worker, it's sometimes wiser if it's strangers, you see, and not people you are close to, but that's your choice, you needn't decide before you leave hospital. I'll only have to write a name down in your papers to show to the Ministry, that's all. A formality. But when you are leaving, it's obligatory that you've made your choice and name somebody definitely. If you haven't got any questions at the moment, I'll leave you to it. If you need a sleeping potion, feel free to ask the nurse.'

The healer seemed to be slightly in a hurry, now that he had said what had to be said. He was probably glad that Remus would take over soon and therefore left the details to be discussed by the social worker.

That was as well for Severus. He had no interest in talking about his condition with strangers, even if they were expert healers.

'See you some time later. I've got other patients to attend to.'

The healer and his escort left the room quickly, the others having said nothing. Some of them merely nodded before they stepped through the door out in the corridor. It was a somewhat strange situation. What had begun quite friendly, as an everyday talk between a healer and his patient had suddenly ended, and they had all left as if they were glad not be in the same room with him anymore. As if he was contagious. Well, now he had got a glimpse of what it meant to be a werewolf. Even healers and nurses, who should know better, were acting strangely.

Therefore he was looking forward to talking with Remus. On the one hand, because he as a werewolf himself wouldn't show such weird behaviour and on the other hand Severus wanted to make sure with his own eyes that the other werewolf was well. He expected it to be akward, though, he as the victim talking to the man who was mainly responsible for the whole situation.

'Do you want a sleeping potion?' the nurse made him start again. Unlike the healers and the other nurses, she had stayed, unnoticed by him.

'No. No, thank you. I am fine. I am quite tired already. I think I will sleep in a minute anyway,' he said to her. And he meant it, because the whole talking business, although it had only lasted a few minutes, had been quite straining. So he didn't wait for her to say anything else and didn't care if she left or not, but pulled the blankets over his face, closed his eyes and soon found himself drifting into sleep.

---

Next time he woke, he heard voices on the corridor behind the door outside his room. A moment later, the door opened and Remus hobbled in with the aid of two crutches. He was smiling but his expression betrayed that he was very unsure of himself.

'Hi, Severus. Glad to see you up again.' He stopped halfway between the door and the bed. 'As you can see, I have been mended quite well. How about you? How are you feeling?'

'Not really bad. Only tired and a bit stiff. The healer said I will be able to leave in a few days.'

'Good.'

Then there was an odd pause. None of the two seemed to know how to go on.

'It seems they have also done a good job regarding your nose.'

'Yes. Well, I didn't see it when it was in it's worst state.'

'Think yourself lucky, then. Remus, do you want to remain standing there all the time? You look as if you could do with a chair or something.'

Remus was indeed a bit shaky as he stood there in the middle of the room, leaning heavily onto his crutches.

'Look, I want to talk to  you, Remus. I know that this must be an akward situation for you, but … blieve me, I have no grudge against you. I will need your help. Really.'

'Yes, sure.'

Remus looked down on his feet for a moment and took a deep breath, as if to gather courage. He still hadn't moved from the spot where he had stopped.

'I… I wanted to thank you, Severus. Harry told me that you informed him and … well that way he was able to take care of the matter with the potion … and all.' He was now looking at Severus, seeming very helpless and at a loss for words. All the self-confidence he usually showed towards others, even if it wasn't always his true feeling, had gone.

Severus was in an awkward situation himself. He could imagine how Remus felt, or, better, what he was feeling, and that was certainly guilt. Severus couldn't relieve him from that. He wasn't even sure if it was a good idea to ask the other werewolf to help him, or if it would mean an extra burden to Remus. Although Remus seemed to have a vocation for helping other people, Severus thought that it might be better in their case not to see each other again, as it could prove to much of a burden for both of them. But then, he felt that he would never be able to manage to cope with lycanthropy on his own or even with a strange social worker from the Ministry. So he decided to ask Remus at least. He could still say no, and Severus decided for himself that if that would be the case, he wouldn't beg.

'Are you going to sit down, Remus? I don't want it to be my fault if you collapse.' He waved his hand in direction of the chair which the healer had left behind after conjuring it.

Remus finally reacted to the offer and limped towards the chair. When he sat down carefully, he grimaced and shifted to find a more comfortable position for his leg.

'I shouldn't have asked the healer to tell you to visit me, should I? You are not quite fit for walking about, visiting others on their sick bed. I am sorry.'

'No, no. That's alright. Walking isn't the problem. To the contrary, I'm supposed to get that leg exercised. Sitting is a bit tricky.'

Having said that, he looked around as if he was searching for something, then he produced a wand from his sleeve (he wasn't wearing hospital clothes but jeans and a shirt) and conjured a stool with one wave of it. When he had put his injured leg on it, he sighed and looked more comfortable at once.

'You've got a new wand,' Severus commented curiously.

'Yes, as my wand got damaged while I was 'on duty',' Remus cleared his throat and grinned, 'I was entitled to a replacement by the Ministry. It's not the latest model and not as good as my old one, but it's not bad. I guess I'll just have to get used to it. And as I didn't have to pay for it ...'

'We were out there that night on the Ministry's business?' Severus asked astonished.

'Well, I was chasing this 'other' werewolf. Even if it happens in my free time that I come across some problem concerning a werewolf, I am obliged to act, of course.'

'Free time?' I wouldn't call the night of the full moon your free time. Sounds too much like holiday. And how would you explain my presence? Don't tell me I went along to help you catching a werewolf out of bounds, because that would be a bit far fetched indeed, don't you think?'

'Harry admitted that he had sent us after these Muggles. The werewolf was a coincidence.'

'I see. As this has suddenly become official, do we have to answer for it in a hearing?' Severus asked with a lot of concern in his voice.

'No. Not as far as I know. It seems that Harry was quite successful in convincing Percy and as Percy Weasley is on good terms with the Minister himself, Harry told me that it wasn't much of a problem. Although, I think, Harry didn't tell me all of it. I am really feeling quite bad about all this. I got him into this trouble and I am responsible that he did illegal things as a Ministry official, and that at the beginning of his career. He must have forged my signature, too, because it was later found on the list for the wolfsbane potion of that certain night.'

'Oh, I don't know. In desperate situations and if it's life saving … You should be glad that he is so imaginative. And don't forget, the spying assignment was his idea in the first place, we only, hm … let's say … interpreted his directions a bit differently. But there we are back to discussing who's guilty or not. That will lead to nothing. I wanted to ask you something.'

'Sure.' Remus changed his position on the chair again slightly. His leg seemed to trouble him more than he would admit in Severus' presence.

'Let me say this first, Remus. You don't have to do this because you feel guilty or obliged. Really. But I wanted to ask, If I may choose you as my werewolf social worker. That way I wouldn't be forced to discuss all those things with a complete stranger, and … well, feel free to say no and I won't ask you anymore.'

'I must admit, that it will not be easy for me, for both of us. Because, you see, it will get a lot harder. Harder than you can possibly imagine. You'll probably end up hating me, once you have experienced the full moon the first time or when you start to rearrange your life according to your lycanthropy.'

He paused, looking into Severus' eyes for a moment as if he expected to find his answer there, or if in doubt if Severus had meant what he had said.

'But I'll do it. You'll probably suspect me of doing it because I want to pay back part of my guilt. Well, that might be true. Didn't you feel the same way when you went over from the dark side to help the Order?'

'Yes.'

'That's settled then. If I can get my hands on a copy of the "Code of Conduct for Werewolves of Britain" I'll bring it along to explain to you the finer points of your condition and what comes along with it.'

'Thank you, Remus. That really means a lot, you know.'

'Have you got any pressing questions you want to have answered now, or will it be ok for you if I come back tomorrow and we'll talk then?'

Severus really didn't want to cause Remus discomfort with his injured leg any longer, but he had indeed a pressing matter on his mind, although it wasn't directly connected to lycanthropy.

'Forgive me, but I need to ask you a favour. I simply have to know.'

'Yes?' Remus looked curious.

'Can I borrow your wand for a minute?'

'My wand? Well, why not. Oh, right, I remember. When you managed to open that door … Do you really think it came back, your magic? That would indeed be wonderful, Severus … but …' he hesitated a bit as if to think over what he was going to say, and shifted again on the chair. When it seemed that he wouldn't be able to find a more comfortable sitting position he took his crutches and heaved himself up, grimacing slightly, before he went on.

'This is not easy to explain, Severus. Let's put it like this: I will, of course, give you my wand to let you try out some magic, but let me warn you first. As it is well known to you, lycanthropy is a very complex disease. Your body will need the full four weeks from the bite to your first transformation, because only after this span of time the infectious process will be completed. During that time, a lot of things can change. What I was going to say is this: even if you should find yourself again in possession of magical abilities now, when this process I've been speaking about will be finished, it could be that it will be gone again by then. … Or it could even be stronger,' he added after making a short pause.

'Right. I appreciate it that you've informed me about all that, but even if I should lose my magic after the first transformation once more, I would rather like to feel that sensation again, and if it's only for a short time. Can you understand that?' Severus looked at the other werewolf almost pleadingly.

'Of course. But only a few minutes. And let me cast a uninteresting spell on the door first. As for you officially being a squib and, … well, not being too much trusted by the Ministry and on top of all a werewolf, I would like to make sure that we are not going to have any witnesses. I needn't tell you that as a werewolf, you should always take care to keep a low profile, do I ?'

With the help of his crutches, Remus made a few steps in direction of the door, cast the spell and turned, only to find Severus already standing behind him. His face was showing the anticipation caused by the excitement of trying out magic properly for the first time, because the time when he had accidentally opened the door or when he had accioed Remus' wand didn't really count.

'Here you go. Good luck.' Remus smiled encouragingly as he handed him his wand.

Severus took it, turned around from the other wizard and walked to the end of the room to gain some space.

There he stopped, raised his wand and tried to concentrate and breathe evenly. It felt definitely weird, him standing in a nightshirt in a hospital room, trying to do some simple magic with a borrowed wand. He felt a bit like a schoolboy who was about to do something forbidden and exciting. By his breathing technique he finally managed to become relaxed enough to try something out. He decided to do the spell which he was sure of had worked before and pointed the wand.

'Accio!'

The cushion flew from the bed into his arms in a straight arc. Relieved, he looked over to Remus who was now smiling broadly and nodded approvingly but didn't say anything as if not to break Severus' concentration.

He threw the cushion back and tried again. It came flying promptly. His heart began to beat faster. He had to force himself to breath more slowly or his magic would go out of control. Something else now, but what? Let's think … it had to be something more complex but not too advanced. Some easy transfiguration, perhaps. Yes that would be it …

He accioed the chair on which Remus had been sitting. It too, came flying and landed precisely where Severus had intended it to stop in front of him. After a short pause, during which he closed his eyes to be able to concentrate better and to picture the object he wanted it to transform into, he waved the wand in the required manner, speaking the incantation. With a creaking noise the chair transformed into an armchair. Another flourish of the wand, a different spell and it transformed into a footstool, then a stepladder, a nightstand, and finally back into the chair. With a last flick of his wrist, Severus sent it back on its former place beside the bed.

He was very pleased with himself, to say the least. Remus was now beaming and made as if to clap his hands for applause, but silently. Maybe he should end the experiment here, but what if this was his last chance to do magic, what, if after the next full moon it would be gone again, for ever …

No, he decided he would enjoy this as long as possible and as the other werewolf didn't give any sign that Severus should end his performance, he thought it couldn't hurt to do something else, something even more advanced, … something alive? Why not. But he had to be careful and concentrate hard, because by now he was so excited that his magic could easily get out of hand. But a small animal shouldn't be a problem. A bird? Harmless enough, but very fast moving, not easy to picture in your mind when you were doing magic at a beginner's level. Something slower, hm … small lizards were when it was cold.

To prepare the atmosphere a bit, Severus opened the window by magic to let some of the cold winter air in. Then he took another deep breath, spoke the incantation, concentrated hard on a spot in front of him, picturing the salamander in his mind very hard and made the wand movement required for the conjuring of the desired animal.

For a second, nothing happened. But the next moment, a rumbling sound could be heard developing from nowhere and with a cracking noise, an animal erupted in front of Severus, which wasn't a salamander at all.

Standing on its hind legs, spitting sparks out of its round snout and snorting angrily, accompanied by clouds of smoke which were coming out of its nostrils, was a small dark green dragon.

It was only a foot and a half tall, therefore it must have been a very young one, probably even a baby, but still … it was real.

How very real it was, it showed a second later when the hem of Severus' nightshirt got singed when the animal shot a jet of fire at him.

Severus was rooted to the spot. Fascinated that he had accomplished such a difficult magical task, he was only vaguely aware that he should be a bit worried about having a highly dangerous animal so near him.

But this moment only lasted for a split second or two because Remus had the presence of mind to act. He dropped his crutches and was upon Severus in no time. He wrenched the wand out of his hand and brandished it against the dragon in one swift action muttering 'minimalus'.

It was one thing to conjure a dragon, but to get rid of it was quite another matter. You couldn't simply make them disappear again, you either had to kill them (using a killing curse wasn't really an option in a hospital, and then you still had the problem of disposing of the corpse, even if it was small) or you could make it shrink, as Remus had just done.

The other werewolf also conjured a small cage around the little dragon who was now toy size and looked quite harmless. But it wasn't. Being confined like that (Severus wondered if the animal had any sense of recognizing that it had been reduced in size) it was quite upset, growled and was spitting fire at them through the bars of it's prison.

When Remus was done with this, he faced Severus who was sure he had never seen him so angry.

'Are you completely out of your mind?' he hissed, his eyes sparkling menacingly. He would rather have shouted, but kept his voice in check as he did not want to alarm any of the hospital personnel. 'What part of 'keeping a low profile' didn't you understand? When I handed you my wand I thought that you would try out harmless things. Couldn't you stick with furniture? I don't believe this! Of all animals! A smaller more harmless one wasn't good enough, huh?'

'Remus, I didn't mean to …'

'How do you think we will get rid of it? Oh, I should have known that it would be difficult with you. Really, a dragon!' Remus growled.

Severus somehow didn't see the point of Remus' rage. He found himself on a wave of happiness about having finally found out about his regained magic, and the dragon was safely confined in it's cage after all.

'Look, it was supposed to …'

Remus didn't let him finish. While the latter was beside himself, Severus was beginning to find the whole situation highly comical. The way the other wizard acted Severus wouldn't have been much surprised if Remus started spitting sparks and snorting smoke just like the little dragon which was raving in it's cage in a similar way. When Severus was struck by this funny thought, he had to suppress a smile.

'Look. Now go back into bed and take that … that beast with you and hide it somewhere, before somebody comes. Go on! Go!'

Remus grabbed Severus' shoulder and pushed him towards his bed while he himself staggered and limped back to where he had dropped the crutches.

Although not being used to obey orders of the kind Remus was giving him, Severus did as being told. Well, he did have a point. It would be difficult to explain what a dragon was doing in a hospital ward, not to forget that being werewolves, the two of them belonged to the less respected kind of wizarding society, and on top of that, Severus was officially still a squib.

He took the little cage with the enraged miniature dragon and hid it in his bed, making sure it was as far away from his feet as possible when he crept under the blankets himself. He pulled his knees under his chin, just in case the dragon decided to set fire to the bed. But that wasn't the only problem. When Remus came limping up to him, he was still very upset, ready to give another lecture regarding the proper behaviour of werewolves, but Severus only felt a mad desire to laugh about the whole ridiculous situation. Maybe part of his feelings were also due to the mood changes of werewolves he knew about. But he was sure that the main reason was because he was so happy he had been able to do magic after all those years. He just couldn't help it, he finally burst into laughter in front of a furious Remus Lupin who was staring at him indignantly.

'Have you lost your marbles, or what? Are you not listening, Severus?' Remus shook his head and sat down on the chair, sighing.

'I should have known, that you wouldn't be easy to deal with. This really is a serious matter. Always remember …' he stopped when he realized that Severus was not able to listen as he was laughing too hard.

'Magic! Remus, I did magic!' he managed to say before his laughing became more of a hysterical sobbing.

'That was hard to miss,' Remus answered drily. 'Congratulations. But what are we going to do with this animal, now?'

Remus didn't get an answer because suddenly, someone could be heard approaching the door of the ward. Severus, who knew that there was no way he would be able to control himself in time, turned and hid his face in the cushion. To be absolutely sure he also pulled the blanket over his head. Trying to stifle his laughter, he coughed into the cushion and was hardly able to hear what the nurse who had entered the ward was saying.

'Are you having any problems?'

'Oh no. Everything is ok,' he heard Remus answering matter of factly. 'He is just a bit overwhelmed, you know. Quite a normal reaction when they suddenly realize what is going to happen to them.' Remus patted Severus' shoulder.

'Yes, I know. But you should be careful. You haven't recovered fully yet. I do not have to remind you that you are still on sick leave and therefore officially not even allowed to look after one of your cases, Mr. Lupin?'

'I am aware of that.'

'And you know that he … has a red file?'

'I do. Thank you.'

At that moment the miniature reptile decided that it had enough, being confined in the cage and on top of it forced to sit in the dark, probably with not much air to breathe. It started spitting fire which caused Severus to groan loudly and, although he had his knees nearly pulled up to his chin, to wriggle under his blanket to get even a bit farther away from the animal. Remus, mistaking this action for another one of Severus' voilent fits of laughing, pushed him down into the cushions to make him stop.

That could have led to an akward situation. Severus didn't want to give away their secret of the illegal 'pet', but if the nurse wasn't going to leave he would have to flee from the bed, as his feet were beginning to feel the uncomfortable heat from the dragon's pyrotechnical activities. Due to the lack of oxygen under the blankets, the animal wouldn't be able to start a real fire, but it was bad enough. Remus didn't show any sign that he would let go and breathing became difficult.

'Well, if you don't need anything … I'll leave you to it then.'

Severus was relieved when he heard her leave and close the door. Gulping for air he burst from under his cover.

'Let go, Remus! Do you want to suffocate me?'

'As long as your behave as it is proper for a werewolf in hospital…'

'I had no choice. The bloody dragon singed my feet!' Severus cut in indignantly.

'Oh, that one. I nearly forgot. Well, as long as it didn't affect your brains …'

'Very funny! Look, it has ruined the cover and my nightshirt!'

'Indeed. I remember times when you did look more decent,' Remus remarked, sneering.

'Oh, stop that Remus. You're not even good at this!' Severus retorted exasperatedly. 'Would you care to help me, please. This really hurts a bit,' he pleaded, rubbing the sole of his right foot. 'But you can give me your wand, and I'll try to do it myself, I you preferred ..'

'Oh no. No way. I'll rather do myself something about this mess. But before I do so, Severus … promise me that you won't do any more magic while you are here or in public. With or without wand.'

'Promised.'

'Right then.'

Remus flicked his wand in a careless manner to repair the damaged nightshirt and the blankets in a second. He was more subtle with a healing spell for Severus' feet, though. After that he was about to place the dragon under the bed where it couldn't do so much damage, when there was a knock at the door. This caused Remus to make a mad dash to shove the little cage under the bed. That wasn't good for his leg, of course, therefore his muttered 'come in!' sounded a bit strangled.

It was Harry.

'Oh. Just you,' Remus sighed and struggled a bit to get back on his chair.

'Something wrong?' the younger wizard asked bewildered. 'I wanted to visit you, Remus, and they told me you were with Severus, so I thought I could just as well see both of you. I wanted to anyway. If am disturbing anything …'

'No no. You are not. It's alright. We had just a little problem.' Remus pointed under the bed.

Harry bend down and was obviously impressed.

'Is that real? Ouch! Looks like it.' He came up from under the bed holding the little cage and adoring it's inhabitant.

'A miniature dragon. Very rare nowadays. Where did you get it? It was not meant to be a getting well present, was it?'

'Ask him,' Remus nodded in Severus direction.

'I tried out some magic, and at first it worked well, but then … well, it was supposed to be a salamander, and … they are related, aren't they?' Severus said casually.

'You did magic, really?' Harry asked astounded. 'But that's good news, isn't it Remus? That means he can leave that dreadful registry and lead a normal life as a wizard again. … Well, as normal as it can get as  … in your condition, I mean.' Harry looked really pleased now.

'A dragon, Harry. He conjured a dragon without meaning to. He cannot control his magic yet, it's dangerous! And, what is more, it's not sure that he will keep this ability, after the transformation …'

'Oh come on, Remus, this is just great. Congratulations, Severus. You only need a bit of practice.'

'Thank you, Harry.'

Suddenly, an idea crossed Severus' mind.

'If I remember correctly, you might just be the man to help us get rid of this lovely animal. I am not sure, was it in your first year at Hogwarts?'

Both wizards looked at him questioningly.

'But how …. You knew? And you didn't say anything?' Harry said disbelievingly.

'Well. It was my night on duty. What could I have done? I wasn't supposed to get you or your friends expelled. And what was more, Albus knew, as always. He didn't want to compromise Hagrid, and he had the same idea. Only, you were quicker. Being responsible for the safety of the castle, I just made sure that the people coming were no threat, and that nothing happened to you in the process. You did get your detention in the end as Mr. Malfoy was so kind to play spy on you. I didn't even have to do anything. He did try to convince me, of course, that he had seen the dragon, but I made as if I didn't believe him, told him that I had been on duty and hadn't seen a thing.'

'Uhm, excuse me, is there anything I have missed?' the other werewolf interrupted them looking from one to the other.

'He didn't tell you, Remus? Indeed!'

Severus was really astonished about that. He would have thought that Remus filling in as second godfather, the two of them would have exchanged all their school pranks.

'Told me what?'

'Well. I am not going to be the one telling you all of Harry Potter's fascinating secrets of his school time.' He couldn't help sneering a bit, but then turned towards Harry. 'Do you think you can use the same contacts as the first time?'

'Yes, probably. I'll take it. Anything else you want me to do for you? Any more interesting animals? You know, I don't mind dragons, if they are small.' Harry laughed, holding the cage up against the light to get a better look at the reptile which was still spitting and fuming.

'No.'

'Right then. I'll go to see Arthur about this. … Uhm. You are not going to do anything else … you know, … dangerous? I mean, you two know that as werewolves, you should make sure to … '

'Keep a low profile!' the two werewolves chorused at the same time.

Harry tapped the cage and cast a freezing spell on the dragon who became immobile at once. It wouldn't last long, as these kind of spells didn't work well on dragons, but it would give him some time to get it out of the hospital unnoticed and take it back to the Ministry. He then said good bye and left.

'Now, tell me Severus, they smuggled a dragon out of Hogwarts in their first year? But how did it get there in the first place?'

'Hagrid.'

'I should have guessed. And then?'

'Nothing. They contacted Charly Weasley and some friends of him came and collected it one night from one of the towers.'

'The way you're telling it, it didn't seem very exciting.'

'It wasn't. Not if you are hiding on a tower in a night which is one of a long row of sleepless ones because you are constantly on duty, watching silly schoolchildren to make sure that they don't harm themselves while they are doing absurd pranks.' He yawned.

'If you are tired, I'll leave now. This leg needs some rest as well. I'll bring you the book tomorrow so that you can study it.'

'Yes. Do so. Sounds interesting,' Severus said without much enthusiasm while he made himself comfortable in the bed.

'It's about thousand pages…'

'What?' Severus opened his eyes again staring disbelievingly at Remus.

'And you are supposed to learn it by heart,' Remus threatened.

Severus eyebrows went up and he sat upright again, but didn't say anything.

'Just joking,' Remus laughed while he got up, grabbing his crutches.

Severus only groaned and let himself fall back into the cushions.

'See you tomorrow then.'