Disclaimer: I don't take credit for anything associated with Harry Potter. No financial profit is being made.
Unlikely Partners
Chapter 15
Remus walked across the empty Great Hall, the crisp sound of his footsteps piercing the silence of the
large room. He continued through the deserted castle at a brisk pace, stopping once he reached the large stone gargoyle that stood guard over what used to be Dumbledore's office.
Remus withdrew his wand from his cloak pocket and drew a circle in the air in front of the gargoyle's eyes. Upon completion of the circle, the air around its circumference glowed with a creamy white light. Since Dumbledore's death, the wards around his office had been replaced with new spells. Now, the gargoyle statue could identify the presence of any Order of the Phoenix member by watching the person perform a simple display of magic that would reveal the purity of their soul. If the circle they drew for the gargoyle was anything but black, the stone creature judged them to be a member of the Order, moved aside, and gave them access to the staircase that led to what was now Minerva McGonagall's private office. The gargoyle was expertly charmed to pounce at any person who couldn't create a white or nearly white magical circle and alert McGonagall at once. Not that anyone expected any Death Eater or servant of Voldemort to get past Hogwarts' gates. But even so, everyone agreed that extra protection was a necessary precaution.
The gargoyle moved away, allowing Remus to jog up the staircase. He knocked smartly on the mahogany office door as soon as he got to it.
"Minerva, it's Remus," he called out.
The door opened immediately after the words left his lips and Remus crossed the threshold to stand in the office. Minerva sat behind Dumbledore's desk, her spectacles resting low on the bridge of her nose, as she read through a stack of parchment. She looked up as Remus came forward and produced the envelope containing his translation.
"I came to let you know I finished translating the information about how to indirectly destroy a Horcrux," he told her as he laid the envelope on the desk. "If you wish to discuss things further, I'd like your inquiry to be as brief as possible . Nymphadora didn't go into work today because was quite ill this morning. She feels extremely light-headed and I told her that after I dropped this off here, I'd fetch Poppy and see if she can give her some sort of anti-nausea potion,"
Minerva opened the envelope and started reading through the translation as he talked. When he was finished speaking she said, "I'm afraid Poppy isn't able to see Nymphadora at the moment. She went to Glasgow last night to help deliver her sister's baby. She'll probably be back sometime tomorrow."
"Oh. In that case, . . . do you know if there are some of her medicines stored in the castle?"
"Whatever is left over from the school year is located in her office." Minerva told him. "Why don't you go down to the infirmary and take what you want while I take some time to go through your report? I promise I won't keep you more than a few minutes when you return."
Remus nodded silently. Minerva returned to reading the papers he had delivered to her and Remus left the room.
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Nymphadora stood in the small bathroom adjacent to Remus's bedroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her skin had the peaked look of a person who was well on the road to severe dehydration.
What's wrong with me? she asked herself. She almost wished that she did have a fever. At least then, she'd be able to say that she'd somehow caught a stomach virus while she'd been out and about in Muggle London. Being a metamorph made her immune to almost all magical illnesses, so at least she wouldn't have to take a trip to St. Mungo's.
Nymphadora exhaled slowly and grabbed the clean hand towel hanging next to the sink. She turned on the cold water spigot and ran the towel under the water. She then raised the towel to her face and dabbed at her cheeks and forehead. It didn't make her feel any better.
The one thing that bothered Nymphadora the most was that not even when she had the flu a few years ago did she feel so utterly drained like she felt right now. It was strange, and more than a little disconcerting. And what added to her discomfort was the fact that she had no explanation for the symptoms she was having. Muggle illnesses could not weaken the strength of her magical power. Even if she had the most acute gastroenteritis imaginable, it should in no way affect her ability to perform magic. Yeah, she'd feel like shit while performing a spell, but at least she would still be fully capable of performing that spell successfully.
But right now, she felt that not only was she without any physical strength, she was also for the first time in her life without magical strength.
Nymphadora turned off the water and set the towel on the sink. If she didn't have any Muggle illness, she had to have somehow come down with a rare magical one, one able to weaken her magical power almost to the point of being non-existent.
Though as soon as that conclusion came to her mind she saw that it didn't make any sense.
I'd have a high fever if I had any kind of serious magical illness!
Nymphadora ran a hand through her hair. I guess I should give up on trying to diagnose myself and return to the comfort of Remus's bed. My mind's not working clearly enough right now to try to analyse– Suddenly Nymphadora tensed and her gray eyes widened. Soon after she had focused her thoughts on Remus's bed, another very shocking and very sobering thought formed in her mind.
"I could be pregnant," she said softly.
Her stomach jolted, not as a physical symptom of her illness, but from the gravity of that single statement.
But we took measures to prevent that . . .
Perhaps I'm jumping to the wrong conclusion. Morning sickness wouldn't last this long, would it? And certainly even witches who experience morning sickness don't have their magic totally depleted because of it!
But might it be different if the woman is carrying the child of a werewolf.
Nymphadora returned to the bedroom and laid down on the bed again, her mind in overdrive as she considered her thoughts.
Remus has been without the normal form of wolfsbane for more than two months, could the differences in Severus's alteration account for Remus's ability to sire a child when we always made sure we guarded against conceiving?
Nymphadora took a deep breath.
I won't say anything to Remus until I know for sure. All I can do now is wait to talk to Poppy Pomfrey.
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In less than fifteen minutes, Remus returned to Minerva, carrying in his right hand a rectangular blue bottle that contained an anti-nausea potion.
Minerva was reading through the potion instructions as Remus walked into the room.
"Find what you needed?" she inquired.
"I took one of Poppy's instant cures for nausea. Hopefully it will help Nymphadora get back to normal. Could I ask a favor of you?"
"Of course,"
"Even if Nymphadora feels instantly fine after getting some of this into her system, I think I'd like Poppy to check her out when she returns to make sure that whatever was bothering Nymphadora doesn't return. Do you think you can tell her what's going on and have her come by my flat as soon as she is able?"
"I'll be happy to do that for you, though I can't promise that Poppy will be able to see Nymphadora tomorrow. It may be the day after."
"That's understandable."
"Good. Now before we discuss what was written in the text you translated, I want to ask you to do something for me,"
"What is this about?"
Minerva's face became somber.
"Harry," she told him softly. "Now I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I've been thinking, and I believe it would be best if you were the one he talks to after receiving Severus's letter–
Remus visibly stiffened.
"Why must it be me, Minerva?"
"He'll . . . He'll listen to you, Remus. He looks up to you and respects you, more than anyone else in the Order. You can prevent him from acting irrationally. Perhaps you can talk to him at the wedding on Friday. Tell him that if he needs an adult to talk to, you'll be there for him and that he can come to you with anything. You must remember that he thinks you believe that Severus is a traitor and a murderer. Once he finds out what's happened to Hermione, he'll want to alert everyone in the Order. Someone's going to have to convince him that a rescue mission isn't a feasible option. We cannot afford to have Harry ignore what The Order tells him. If you talk to him you'll be able to get him to refrain from going out to hunt Severus down. We cannot allow Harry to go out and find Severus while he works at the underground potion lab in London."
"Alright, Minerva. You've made your point."
"You'll accept the responsibility of keeping Harry under control?" Minerva asked.
"I have to, don't I?"
"Remus . . ."
"I'll do what you want. We don't have to discuss this topic any further."
"You know, if Harry truly understands the reasons for why we kept the truth from him, he'll forgive all of us for lying to him."
"Will he?" Remus asked acerbically.
Minerva fell silent, but kept her steady gaze on Remus's face.
"It may take him some time, but when he realises that we had no other choice, he will forgive us,"
"Did you have any questions about the translation I gave you?" Remus asked, changing the subject.
"It seems that only a few drops of this potion will completely destroy an intact Horcrux, so my understanding is that Severus will only have to brew the potion once."
"Actually, the text stated that a single batch of potion will be enough to destroy four Horcruxes," Remus told her. "I'm sorry, I guess I must have accidentally skipped a line while I was writing the English version."Minerva took a quill from an onyx stand on the desk, dipped it in ink and wrote down what Remus
had said on the parchment.
"Since these potion instructions and Slytherin's ring must be given to Severus in person, and you see him often, will you deliver them to him?"
"Yes, I'll deliver them. Where is the ring?"
"Albus moved it to a box hidden beneath Fawkes' perch. If you reach underneath it, you'll be able to feel it. You should be able to slide it out."
Remus went over to the phoenix's perch and sure enough, he found a shoe box sized wooden box resting on brackets mounted to the bottom of the perch's circular mid-section.
"You'll have to unlock it with a spell," Minerva told him.
Remus set the box on a nearby table and pointed his wand at the front of the box and muttered a spell. He raised an eyebrow and stared at the box, puzzled.
"What?" Minerva asked him.
"It's not locked," he told her.
"Open it."
Remus did as Minerva said. He was silent for a few seconds before he returned his gaze to Minerva.
"Slytherin's ring isn't here," he stated flatly.
"Nonsense! Let me see," Minerva snapped.
Remus handed her the rectangular rosewood box.
"But I saw him put it here!" Minerva exclaimed.
"Well, it clearly isn't there now," Remus told her.
"I don't understand how it could be gone," Minerva said in a shocked tone.
"Given the fact that the box was unlocked when you expected it to be locked, I'd say that someone removed it from the box."
"But with all the wards that we put up in this castle after Albus's death, it would be impossible for anyone serving Voldemort to even gain access to this part of the castle. And after what we did to the gargoyle, there's no way they would be able to get into this office."
"Minerva, the ring hasn't spontaneously vanished into another dimension of its own accord. And though what you say makes sense, all I can tell you is that perhaps the ring was taken from the box before The Order redid the castle's protective spells."
"Who could have taken it?"
"On the night of Albus's death would it have been possible for one of the Death Eaters to get into this office, if they knew the password?"
"I . . . If one of them knew the password, I suppose that could have happened. Severus said that Voldemort has created two new Horcruxes to replace the ones he's lost. Do you think he wanted Slytherin's ring back so that he could make it a Horcrux again?"
"Right now, that's the only explanation that sounds plausible. The only thing is, don't you think Severus would have told us if Voldemort reclaimed Slytherin's ring?"
"We must question Severus about this right away," Minerva told him.
"I'm going to see him the day after tomorrow, he'll be giving me Hermione's letter to the Weasley family telling them she's too sick to attend the wedding. I can ask him about the ring then. I'll then come straight to you and let you know what he says."
Minerva didn't immediately respond. Remus could tell by the look on the old witch's face that she didn't think that was quite good enough, but knew that it was next to impossible to quickly get in contact with Severus while he was in Voldemort's domain.
"I'd like to talk to him myself, but I know Severus has precious little time to spend away from Voldemort's watchful eyes. I'll expect you to report to me as soon as you're finished speaking with him."
"Fine," Remus told her. "You can trust that I won't keep you waiting."
"Thank you, I'm sure you understand how serious this problem is," Minerva told him gravely. "I'll let you go now, it's not fair to Nymphadora to keep her waiting when she's ill and needs someone to take care of her,"
"I shall see you the day after tomorrow then," Remus told her. Minerva gave him a slight nod, before returning to her stack of parchment.
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Nymphadora sighed softly and turned her pillow over to the cooler side. She wasn't tired anymore, but she still felt incredibly weak. She fixed her gaze on the pale blue wall across from the other side of the bed and wondered when Remus would be home.
She was nervous. She tried to think about other things besides the possibility of being pregnant, but it was impossible to keep her mind entirely off that subject.
What if Remus noticed her apprehensiveness? What would she tell him?
Relax, she told herself. Worrying won't do any good.
She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She closed her eyes and then counted slowly to one hundred. It was the only thing she could do to help ease her anxiety. When she heard the sound of Remus's footsteps coming towards the door she expected to hear the sound of Poppy Pomfrey's voice follow not far behind. A few seconds passed in silence and Nymphadora knew that Remus had returned without bringing Hogwart's medi-witch extraordinaire.
"Are you sleeping, Fahdee?" Remus asked softly. "Poppy wasn't able to come."
Nymphadora opened her eyes and met his gaze.
"Why?" she asked.
"Apparently she's in Glasgow until tomorrow."
"How did your meeting with Minerva go?" Nymphadora asked, wanting to participate in conversation so she could keep her mind off certain thoughts.
"Not terribly well. Salazar's ring is missing."
"It's missing? Missing as in someone stole it?"
"That would be my guess. Minerva's considerably upset."
"Well, of course. She doesn't want to have to rely on Severus's as-of-yet-undeveloped power weakening potion as the only means of making Voldemort mortal."
"That's true, but if Voldemort somehow got the ring back and made it into an intact Horcrux once again, there's not much any of us can do about it," he told her seriously. "If that proves to be the case, perhaps we can track down an artifact that was at one time a Horcrux of another dark wizard and use that in making the destructive potion. Under normal circumstances I'd start researching locations of other Horcruxes right now, but I'm more concerned about your health. How are you?"
"I feel extremely weak. I'm not so tired anymore, but it's as if all my physical and magical strength has been drained away,"
"I brought you an anti-nausea potion from Hogwarts' medicine stores. Do you think you want some now?"
Nymphadora did not quickly answer.
If there's even a small chance I'm pregnant, I shouldn't take any potions without knowing for sure that they are safe for the unborn child.
"The queasiness in my stomach has quieted down, and I'd rather not take a potion right now if my symptoms have abated,"
"Should you get sick again, it'll be here." he told her.
Nymphadora gave him a small smile.
"Can I do anything for you?" Remus asked her sincerely.
Nymphadora patted Remus's side of the mattress.
"Will you come lie next to me for awhile?"
"Of course,"
Remus got into the bed and Nymphadora nestled against him. She pillowed her head on his chest so that she could listen to his heartbeat. Remus put his arm around her and placed a lingering kiss on the top of her head.
"I wish I could stay in your arms forever," she said softly.
"Forever's a long time, my dear. I'm afraid you'll have to content yourself instead with resting against me for the next several hours."
Nymphadora smiled. "I think I can content myself with that," she told him with humor in her voice.
Nymphadora focused her mind on the rhythm of Remus's heart. She allowed herself to relax fully and gradually drifted off to sleep again in her lover's arms.
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After four hours of work, with only a green apple and glass of water for lunch, Hermione was unable to concentrate anymore. She stared at the notebook in front of her and reread the sixteen formula equations she had
written. She was just beginning to get a headache behind her eyes from reading pages upon pages of Severus's handwritten notes.
Hermione dropped her pen on the table and worked the muscles in her hand and wrist to ease the muscles that had started to cramp from holding the same position for so long.
Severus paid no attention to her.
Is he purposefully ignoring me, or is he not even thinking about me at all?
Hermione stared in his direction for a few seconds, watching as he wrote down a complex sequence of numbers combining more than one formula for an additive potion. She thought he might glance up from his work when he completed the line of numbers, but instead he turned the page and began writing a new equation.
He must know I'm watching him! And that means he is ignoring me intentionally!
Hermione continued to stare, knowing that Severus had to feel her gaze on him. Still, he behaved as if he were the only one in the room. Hermione considered saying something to get his attention. But of course, that's what he would be expecting and waiting for. Either that, or for her to look away and ignore him.
But what if she did something unexpected? What would he do then?
She told herself that she couldn't let him control her. Whether it was her Gryffindor determination coming to the surface, her bold spirit getting the better of her, or something else, Hermione didn't know for certain. But as the seconds stretched on and Severus showed no signs of acknowledging her presence, Hermione decided that something had to be done.
If you think you can make me do what you want by pretending that I've ceased to exist, than I'm afraid you're in for quite a surprise, Severus Snape.
Smirking inwardly, Hermione rose from her seat and moved away from the table. She started walking towards Severus's bedroom door -she did need to use the lavatory in the chamber adjacent to his bedroom-, but she measured her steps so that instead of making a bee line straight to the door she moved close to the back of Severus's chair. He was still bent over his notebook, writing out yet another formula, when Hermione oh-so-casually reached out and trailed her hand lightly-but not too lightly-across his shoulder blades as she walked past.
She felt him tense beneath her fingers before she moved her hand away and continued on her walk across the room as if nothing at all was out of the ordinary. As she moved away, Hermione smiled with satisfaction. She knew Severus had suddenly stopped writing his formula.
Too bad I'm not a Legillimens. I'd love to know exactly what he's thinking right now!
And with that thought, Hermione left the room, leaving Severus to deal with his discomfort and surprise alone.
A/N: Yes, this is a wee bit of a cliffy isn't it? But all things considered, this is a good stopping place. Don't worry, I'll update again within the next five days. So, what's Severus going to say when Hermione comes back into the room? Who has Slytherin's ring? And what will Poppy tell Nymphadora when she gets to see her? Leave a review, your comments are most welcome and appreciated!