In the end, there were no repercussions from Calvin's late night home. Or at least, none that were immediately noticeable. This saved Remus from feeling too guilty. Soon it was Saturday, and Remus and Tonks had another appointment with Hermione, this time in a swanky Muggle bar in South London in the early evening. Tonks had returned from her Quidditch practice rather energized and had morphed her hair into a set of dark brown spikes. She looked rather lean and sporty, very much like a Quidditch player. They went to the bar together, and Remus had the disconcerting idea that she had grown a couple of inches.

Hermione walked in a few minutes later, and they retired to a small booth along one of the walls. "Remus, Tonks. You're both looking well." She sipped her drink, and then said, "Have you been playing basketball again, Tonks?" Her voice had a cheeky lilt to it.

Tonks rolled her eyes and said, "Shush, you. So, good week?"

The by-play was completely lost on Remus, so he decided to ignore it. Hermione said, "Well, it's hardly been a week full of good news, has it? I suppose that the Dantans mentioned in the paper were the ones you visited?"

Remus nodded, and said heavily, "How did you guess?"

"According to one of the Aurors working on the case, they were probably killed on the Monday," said Tonks. "From what I've heard so far, the murderer was apparently known to them, although I don't know how they know. They're keeping pretty quiet. Usually, my friend's pretty talkative, but he kept schtum on this one."

"Hmmm." Remus could see the cogs turning inside Hermione's head. "So, have you found anything else out?"

Tonks straightened, for all the world like an eager puppy. "Actually, loads. I checked out the staff at Sorrel's, and of those who work the full moon shifts, a majority of them have an official record of a crime connected to an addiction on file. I'm willing to bet that the others have an unofficial addiction. I've also noticed that quite a lot of them live in Yorkshire, close to Ilkley Moor, the site of the attack." She paused to let them digest that information.

Hermione said, "So, they're under the thumb of someone. And it is looking more and more likely that there is a connection to the attack. And the Wolfsbane?"

"Well, the Wolfsbane is being produced under contract by a small company, called Fuchsia Remedies. I did a bit of background research, and that company is actually contolled, through a whole load of shells companies, by Roger Parkinson."

"Rufus Parkinson? Pansy's Dad?" Hermione wrinkled her brow.

Tonks nodded, and then Hermione said, "Ron proposed to her, you know, last week, after Harry and Ginny's announcement. Neville told me."

Tonks squeezed Hermione's hand. "Well, once an idiot, always an idiot."

Remus had been trying to remember something, and in a flash it came to him. "Ilkley Moor! The Parkinsons live near there. I remember a chap in that pub asking me if I was going to work there. It sounded like there were a lot of new people going there on business."

Hermione said, "I think we are getting somewhere. Tonks, do the Aurors have anything on the Parkinsons?"

"Nope. Model citizens."

Hermione snorted in rather unladylike fashion. "I hope Ron's okay. God only knows what Roger Parkinson is up to this time. We need to get some inside information."

Remus said, "Well, I'll get some of the Wolfsbane. The full moon is coming up soon."

Tonks was thinking. "Yes, that's right. Perfect opportunity. I'll pretend to be one of the attendants and see if anything happens during the night. In fact, I think I know which one of the attendants would be easiest to put to sleep for the evening. Then we'll know for sure if there's anything dodgy going on at the Institution, and we might even be able to link it up to the Parkinsons." She smiled grimly.

Remus had to ask, "And what if there is? Why would they be running such a complicated operation. And to influence the employees at Sorrel's, that's a lot of work."

"Well," said Tonks, "we'll get over that hurdle when we come to it. For now, we need facts."

Hermione chipped in. "Will you be okay? And, is it safe to go around stunning people and imitating them?"

Tonks shrugged. "No, but do you have any better ideas?"

She did not, and so the plan was decided. Remus did not particularly care for it, but he had no better solutions. All they had to do now was wait for the full moon. Unfortunately, the Daily Prophet was waiting for the full moon as well. A series of articles were run in the days prior, warning people about the forthcoming full moon, and telling them to stay inside and make sure that their children were safe. The editorial page called for concerned citizens to form 'home guard' units to patrol near wizarding homes, and called on the Ministry to take more action. To Remus' disgust, they also chastised the Ministry for not having more accurate knowledge on the current residence of most of the werewolves in the country; very few werewolves had resurfaced publicly after the Prophet had published their previous addresses.

The day before the full moon, there was a break in the werewolf news, only to report on the murder of the Dantans. Apparently the Cunning Changeling, a well known thief, had moved up the criminal hierarchy to murder. The Aurors on the case had somehow decided that the Changeling had broken into the house in search of valuables, and then when the Dantans returned unexpectedly had imitated a friend or relative of theirs. However, his disguise had obviously not been perfect and he had killed the Dantans to avoid being caught. Tonks said that she thought the entire story was fiction, but Remus thought that it explained why her colleague had not told her very much. It certainly sounded very colourful, that was for sure, but the newspaper report said that more details would be forthcoming. Meanwhile, people were told to be on the alert at all times.

Finally, the day of the full moon arrived. Remus felt stretched, and hoped that he would be able to fulfil his part of the mission. He concentrated on that aspect, as he did not want to think about Tonks seeing him and the other werewolves transformed. He had Transfigured a small vial into a false tooth, just in case any of the attendants noticed.

When the hour came to leave, Cal wished him good luck. Tonks had already left several hours previously. He Apparated to St. Mungo's, and was directed straight through to Sorrel's, where he joined a queue of werewolves being checked in. He was just behind Timothy Hardin, and so tapped him on the shoulder.

Timothy whirled round in shock. "Remus! How are you?"

"Good. And you?"

"Can't complain, can't complain. It's been a bit tense in here though. I hope nothing happens this evening."

"Me too, me too."

"Have you been reading the papers? I don't like the sound of it at all."

Another man chipped in, "We're all for the chop, mate. If there is another attack this evening, Merlin help us. You're Lupin, aren't you? Thanks for checking up on me after the Prophet." Several other werewolves heard this and murmured their agreement.

Remus said quickly, "Well, we all have an alibi."

Timothy snorted. "Like that'll count for anything in the crunch."

"Fair enough," nodded Remus. "But then we need to keep an eye out for each other. We should make sure that we check up on each other after the full moon; make sure that no one disappears."

"Aye," said a woman with a thick Scottish burr. "I knew Tom Stannard. Thank you for telling me what happened before, Remus."

Remus nodded his sympathy. "Yes, Tom Stannard, Marcus Channings, Dorothy Dantan. All dead. Maybe more are."

A younger lad, further back in the queue, joined in, whispering quietly, "Mr. Lupin, we'll let you know if anyone is missing today in our corridor."

This suggestion was mirrored by people in the other corridors. Remus said, quietly, "Thank you. We'll get through this."

They were soon checked in and given a bottle of Wolfsbane. Remus fingered his wand and subtly activated the vial. When he drank the potion, a small amount a trickled into his false tooth.

The werewolves then had some time to relax and prepare for the night ahead while the attendants put out their bowls of water and some hunks of raw meat. Remus ended up playing cards with Quadrille, although the game was repeatedly interrupted by werewolves coming up to thank him for checking up on them.

Eventually, a bell rang, and all of the werewolves stood up and moved to their usual cubicles. Remus reluctantly began to peel his clothes off. He reached into his mouth and pulled out the false tooth, leaving it in that form, and stuffed it in his trouser pocket. He placed his wand in his shirt and carefully wrapped up the bundle. He placed it near the door and sat down to wait.

An attendant passed by and picked up the bundle. He checked for the wand and then glanced around Remus' cubicle. Without saying a word he then carried the bundle away to be locked up. No one knew where the things were lodged, but Remus had never heard of anything being stolen. Remus looked around, and nodded at Quadrille, just opposite. The man was shivering. He looked further down his corridor, and saw that all of the cubicles here were full. That was something to take comfort in, at least.

Another attendant came round and silently locked all of the open grille doors. Remus stared at her, but could not see Tonks in her face. She locked the rest of the cubicles in the corridor and then hurried out. He sniffed, and caught the scent of other wolves. The moon was rising, and so was the tension in his body. He crouched down, trying to minimize the pain. The wolf ripped free, tearing bloodily out of his flesh.