Sorry for the delay! Things have been a bit topsy-turvy but are a little better now. Let's just say that I'm starting to look forward to my roommate moving out next month – LOL! Anyway I hope you guys like this chapter!

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Snape put the goblet down on the nightstand and motioned for Harry to leave his chair. Harry quickly got out of the way and went to stand by Mr. Weasley.

"One of you hold his head for me" Snape ordered quietly and Arthur quickly stepped forward to assist. Harry noticed that Snape's eyes were burned holes in his head and he looked the worse for wear. Harry realized then that last night couldn't have been easy on any of them, perhaps especially for the man who had to actually create a cure.

Snape sat at the edge of the bed and retrieving the goblet from the nightstand, gently lifted Remus head. He poured the liquid into the other man's parched lips and closed his mouth to force him to swallow. He did this a few more times until most of the liquid had been consumed, then laid Remus back down.

"That is all I can do for now. If I have managed to find the right potion he should recover fairly quickly" Snape said.

All of them continued to watch Remus closely. Snape stayed where he was at Remus' side, looking for any signs that the antidote was working. The room was silent except for the racking coughs and labored breathing coming from Remus.

Soon Harry thought that maybe Snape had made a fatal error. For as they waited and watched for the next few minutes nothing happened. Then suddenly Harry realized with a start that the room was silent, extremely silent. The coughing and wheezing had stopped and as all of them watched, Remus' color began to pick up. Always looking a bit peaked Harry didn't expect him to look rosy but soon enough he started looking more normal. His whole body started to relax as he was finally able to breathe properly for the first time in hours.

Snape reached forward and felt Remus' head. "I think he's responding favorably"

He said, looking back at Harry and Mr. Weasley.

Harry was startled to see what was almost a smile on his face. Harry had never seen a true sign of happiness from his potions Master. He had seen leering and snide grins, but never a true smile. Mr. Weasley and Harry grinned back, relieved that their terrible night had come to an end.

Just then Remus' eyes slowly opened.

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Remus felt himself slowly coming awake. He felt a hand on his forehead and heard a voice declare "I think he's responding favorably". That voice could be no other than Severus and Remus realized that the Hogwarts potions Master must have been called on his behalf.

He struggled for a moment or two to get his bearings, keeping his eyes tightly closed. He felt as though he was swimming to the top of a deep ocean. Finally everything started to come into focus and he opened his eyes.

He saw Snape sitting next to him on the bed with Harry and Arthur near his feet. He smiled weakly at all three of them. For he was determined to reassure them all that he was going to be fine. And indeed with each new breath it felt like he was gaining more strength. Slowly the pains in his chest subsided and he noted as he looked around the room that his eyesight appeared to be perfectly normal again.

"Well, did we all have a good night?" he asked all of them with a weak grin.

Harry and Arthur laughed outright and Remus was glad to see that he'd managed a slightly reserved smile out of Severus.

"How do you feel Lupin?" Severus asked.

"Not sure. I think I feel about the same as I did before all this started. Except a bit tired" Remus replied. Which was an understatement as Remus was beginning to feel as though a long sleep was something he desperately needed. Which was odd considering he'd been out cold for better than a day. But he figured that fighting an inner battle with a terrible poison would leave anyone tired and thought nothing more of it.

"Good. I think we have found the correct antidote then. I am going to report the news to Professor Dumbledore. But I think I will stay a while longer to be sure all is well before I return to the school" he said and made for the door.

"Wait Severus" Remus said. Snape stopped and returned his gaze quietly.

"Thank you" Remus said. They were such pitiful words to convey how he felt about finding himself alive again. For when he had lost consciousness in the living room he had felt sure he was probably not long for this world.

"You're welcome Remus" Snape replied, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Though you should also thank Harry and Arthur for both of them helped me with the potion and therefore had a hand in your recovery as well" With that he quit the room.

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Harry stood astounded, mouth agape for a few moments. The tall Potions Master had never once in the years they'd known each other, called Harry by his first name. He had always been "Mr. Potter" or just "Potter". Harry was starting to see Severus in a whole new light and wasn't sure what this meant for the future. Harry knew that Severus had hated him mostly because of how he'd been treated in the past by both Harry's father and Sirius. Perhaps now that both were gone things would be different? Harry knew that Severus had never really had a problem with Remus. Remus had never treated him unfairly, had never abused him in front of the other students. It is true that Severus had shown a particular dislike to Remus when he'd been brought on to teach in Harry's third year at Hogwarts. But at that point Severus had thought that Remus was helping an escaped murderer get into Hogwarts. Much had changed since then and Severus was now a member of the Order side by side with Remus.

It seemed the past night's drama had brought them all a little closer together. Perhaps now they could start working as a team rather than working against each other. Perhaps losing a member of the Order so recently and then having the threat of losing another almost immediately after had sown the rift. Harry didn't know if this new truce would last but he was intrigued by it none the less.

He smiled down at his new godfather then, finally coming back to the present.

"Do you need anything Professor Lupin?" he asked.

"Yes Harry there is something I would like" Remus replied. "Since I am now your new godfather I would like it very much if you would start calling me by my first name" he said with a smile.

Harry grinned back "Sure Remus. Anything else I can do for you?"

"Well I'd love a glass of water and maybe something to eat. I'm starved all of a sudden" Remus replied.

"No problem" Harry said and quickly dashed off.

Arthur decided to follow Harry back to the kitchen and both of them prepared breakfast for everyone. They brought something up to Remus right away. Once he had finished they returned to the kitchen to allow him to rest a little more. He was growing a little stronger every moment. But there was no doubt the poison had taken a lot out of him and he appeared to fall asleep almost before Harry and Arthur had left the room.

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Remus awoke towards noon and though still exhausted, was pleased to find that all of his symptoms were gone. He tentatively raised himself out of bed and crept to the bathroom. After a long, hot shower he returned to his bedroom and found himself weakened again. Deciding that he must need to recover more, he laid down for more sleep. He smiled to himself as he did so, thinking that he hadn't slept this much probably since infancy.

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Harry awoke in his room from a nap of his own in the afternoon. For after they had all eaten Arthur had suggested that everyone get some, much needed, sleep. Snape had retired in the room next to Remus while Arthur used one of the other spare bedrooms. Tiptoeing down the hall so as not to wake anyone (for Arthur's snores assured him that at least one person might still be asleep) he quietly checked on Remus. Peeking in the door he saw Remus soundly asleep and on his way to bathroom saw Snape sprawled in deep slumber as well in the next room.

Harry returned a few minutes later to his own room. After a few hours he heard stirrings and knew that the others must be getting up. He quickly went down the hall and passing the still sleeping Remus, went down to the kitchen. There he found Arthur starting what was beginning to smell like a delicious dinner. Snape was sitting at the table, apparently re-arranging the potions ingredients to put back into his bag.

"Hope I didn't get them too out of order sir. I'm afraid my mind may have not been on the task at hand when I was doing it" he said.

Snape looked up and with the barest of smiles (so slight in fact that Harry wondered if smiling somehow hurt his face) said "No, they are sufficiently in order. However I must check my stock of emergency supplies to see what will need to be replaced soon".

Arthur turned from the stove and asked "Would you mind getting Remus, Harry? I'm afraid I'm no where near the cook that Molly is but nonetheless dinner is ready. Thought he'd like to have it while it's at least hot"

Harry quickly agreed and went back up the stairs. He found Remus still sleeping and after debating with himself whether or not to wake him, finally spoke quietly.

"Remus? Would you like some dinner? Mr. Weasley has made it so no one knows if it's edible but at the very least it's hot" he said.

Remus stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Then, groaning he sat up and quickly put his hands to his head.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Yes I'm fine. I've got a bit of a headache but that's not really all that unusual considering the closeness of the full moon" he replied.

It suddenly occurred to Harry that the full moon would be rising tomorrow. He felt for his new godfather. For though Remus had just gone through a very trying time, another was coming that none of them could stop. Remus still took the wolfsbane potion which made his transformations easier, but nothing could made them completely painless.

"Do you always get headaches?" he asked, coming to sit beside Remus.

"Not always. I do have at least some discomfort in the last 24 hours or so before a transformation. Mostly I'm just weak as you've probably noticed" he replied. Indeed Harry had noticed on many occasions Remus looking pale and shaky, while at other times looking quite normal. Of course it had to do with the moon's cycle, why hadn't he thought of that before?

"I think this time it's just worse because of the residual effects of the poison. No need to worry though" he said, catching Harry's worried look. "I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and I'll be right down. I'm willing to try Arthur's cooking. At least if we get food poisoning we have Severus around to tend to us"

Harry laughed along with Remus and trotted back downstairs to tell the others to hold dinner for a few minutes.

Dinner was a rather happy affair. Though still looking very weak and pale (even more than normal, Harry had to admit to himself) Remus was in great spirits. He even got Severus out of his shell a little by talking about happier times in school. This was quite a feat in Harry's mind for he knew first-hand that Severus had a lot of bad memories there.

"No no no, that's not how it happened and you know it!" Remus was saying, laughing despite himself.

"Very well you can remember it any which way you like but I distinctly remember the boils showing up on your hands" Severus disagreed but Harry thought he saw a twinkle in the Potions Master's eyes.

The two of them were in a laughingly heated debate as to who had gotten tuber puss spilled on them. It seemed that they had been sitting at one desk in Potions and one of them had accidentally spilled it over both of them.

"Well perhaps they did show up on my hands but that's only because you spilled the cauldron on my side of the table" Remus said

"Did I? I could have sworn it was you. I seem to recall someone couldn't keep their eyes off a certain blond young lady in the last row" Snape replied

"What? Are you talking about Jennela? Hah! You were the one who wrote 'I love Jennela' on your notebook!" Remus said putting down his tea and winking at Harry slyly.

"I did not! You know that was you…." Severus started to say and then caught Remus' eye. For Remus had begun laughing so hard it was obvious who had the crush on this girl. Remus had obviously just been pushing Severus' buttons and seemed very proud of himself for getting a rise out of him.

Harry laughed along with everyone else, thinking that he hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Soon though Arthur stopped the reminiscing and ordered a very pale Remus to bed to get some more rest. Still laughing a bit at each other, everyone retired.

The next morning Harry awoke in a great mood and immediately went looking for Remus. He was hoping that the two of them could go out for a walk and have a good, long talk. He was disappointed to find Remus still sleeping but, as he reminded himself, he could hardly blame the man. Heading down to the kitchen he paused as he reached the doorway.

"Have you noticed, Severus?" Mr. Weasley was saying.

"Yes but I've been hoping that I was wrong. Do you know what it means?" Severus replied.

"You know as well as I do what it means but how are we going to tell him? Or Harry for that matter?" Mr Weasley queried.

"Tell me what?" Harry asked, walking in the door. He had decided he wasn't going to let anyone keep any secrets from him. Especially about Remus (for instinctively he knew that's who they must have been talking about).

Severus and Mr. Weasley looked at each other nervously. Obviously they hadn't meant to be heard and he'd caught them quite off guard.

"Harry, sit down" Mr. Weasley said.

Harry did as he was told and silently waited. Finally Mr. Weasley spoke again.

"Is Remus still sleeping?" he asked

"Yes" he replied. Why did that question not seem as casual as it should have been? He wondered.

"Have you noticed that he's been sleeping quite a bit since he awoke from the poison?" Harry nodded. Still not sure where this was going, he waited for Mr. Wesley to continue. But it was Severus who spoke next.

"Did you notice that he's looking weaker than normal?" he asked

Harry nodded again, still wondering what they were going on about when a thought came to him. Maybe they were trying to warn him that tonight was a full moon?

"I know he's going to transform tonight" he said "We spoke about it yesterday morning and besides I have been paying attention to the lunar calendar. I already knew before he mentioned it. It doesn't frighten me, if that's what you're worried about" he told them.

He could tell from the looks on their faces that this was not, in fact, what they were concerned about.

"No that's not it, Harry" Mr. Weasley said. Not quite looking at Harry now, he seemed unsure how to continue.

"I think Remus may still be suffering some residual effects of the poison he ingested" Severus finally said. "As a matter of fact, Arthur and I are almost sure of it"

"Well can't you do anything for him?" Harry asked Severus "You helped him before Professor, why can't you do it again?"

"It's not that simple Harry. I'm sure that I found the right antidote and therefore I'm sure that there is no more poison in his system" Severus replied.

"But then what are you two talking about? What did you mean "residual effects?" Harry demanded.

"We meant that the poison damaged his body in ways that the antidote can do nothing about. The damage was already done by the time I gave it to him. We were hoping that he would be able to fight it. I'm afraid however that the current moon cycle is working against him. He might have been able to regain his strength if not for the fact that his impending transformation is sapping reserves he can't afford to lose. I think he's going to get weaker and weaker now" Snape said and Harry noticed that the Potions Master suddenly didn't want to meet his eyes.

Harry said nothing for a few moments. He knew what Severus was trying to say by "weaker and weaker" and he didn't like it.

"What can we do for him?" he asked quietly and again Severus and Mr. Weasley nervously eyed each other.

"Well, as a matter of fact Severus and I were just discussing that and….. um….Severus has come up with an idea" Mr. Weasley said.

Harry looked at Professor Snape and saw not the loathing he had been accustomed to in the past. Now he saw apprehension in his eyes. He saw a man who was being forced to do something he did not want to do.

"You know that Remus usually takes a wolfsbane potion in preparation for the full moon?" Severus asked.

"Yes I knew that. It's to help him keep his mind when he transforms. So that he will simply be like a dog and not a danger to anyone. You are making it for him, right? Harry replied.

"Yes I have been making the potion for him every month and I have it ready now. However……." Severus paused.

"What is it?" Harry prompted.

"I believe that we should allow him to transform without it" Severus said.

Harry couldn't believe his ears. Let Remus transform without the potion? There wasn't a room in the house that would hold him as a werewolf. Remus had been locked in the Shrieking Shack as a boy at Hogwarts. Harry had been in there and seen the results of his awful transformations. The house had been protected by many enchantments to prevent the werewolf's escape. But he had nevertheless torn it apart in his attempts. Why would they want to do this to Remus and what possible good did they think it would do?

Steeling himself for what he would hear Harry said simply. "Why?"

"Remus the man is weak right now but the werewolf will be strong, poison or no poison. Surely you remember when you met him the night he transformed without his potion?" Severus asked.

Harry nodded. Indeed how could he forget? The only thing that had stopped the werewolf (for Harry couldn't think of that beast as Remus) from attacking Hermione, Ron and himself had been…..Sirius. He'd always transformed into a dog large enough to handle a full- grown werewolf. Harry pushed aside the sadness that came with thoughts of Sirius and put his attention back on Snape.

"I think if we allow the werewolf to come out in it's full glory it will save Remus' life" Severus was saying.

"Harry I know this is shocking but I really believe that Severus has come up with a good idea. Honestly I don't know what else to do for Remus so I think we should give this a try." Mr. Weasley said.

Finding no other argument, Harry finally agreed with them.

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Next chapter: Will Severus' plan work? Will Remus survive one night's full-moon transformation into a full blown werewolf? Stay tuned...