A/N: I'm making progress! Thanks again to reviewers, you guys keep me going. Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Severus Snape rubs his eyes and rises from his desk to pour himself another cup of coffee. When this task has been completed, he moves to his window and looks out on the moonlit camp. He loathes the night of the full moon for he has to stay up all night in case something goes wrong with the potion. "Nothing will go wrong," he mutters under his breath, "I created the damn thing."

He sets his mug on the window sill, and raises his arm, looking thoughtfully at the mark he finds there. Being a double agent is never easy, but he thinks he pulls it off rather well. Dumbledore never tells him much incase the Dark Lord ever finds out about his work with the Order, and he never really finds out much about the Dark Lord's work, because he's stuck here. Hell, he doesn't even know where "here" is. He's in charge of the prisoner's medical needs, and he doesn't even know where the hell he is.

'At least I'm allowed to experiment in peace,' he thinks as he picks up the mug and returns to his desk. The prisoner's don't really need all that much medical attention. In fact, they really don't need any at all. There is an infirmary, but those that go in rarely come out. This may be due to the fact that Snape doesn't know all that much about medicine, but the general feeling of the camp is that if a prisoner is too weak to work, they're not worth keeping.

Snape's job is really to keep the half-breeds from attacking anyone and to work on creating new weapons with which to destroy Dumbledore's side and take over the world. While it's not his ideal job, it suits him, and allows him to do work for both sides in relative peace.

Snape sets his mug down on a clear patch of desk, and picks up a stack of papers. He's idly shuffling through this month's list of new prisoners when he does a double take. The name Remus Lupin pops out at him from the page as having arrived three weeks ago. Snape quickly checks his schedule of barrack visits and changes tomorrow's (well, today's really) to barrack number thirteen. 'What an interesting turn of events,' he thinks as he dips his quill in ink and continues his work.

Meanwhile, across the camp in barrack number thirteen, Padfoot awakes with a start as Moony starts to transform back into a human next to him. Padfoot quickly returns to human form, and watches as Moony transforms back to Remus. He can see Moony's face twitching in the gray pre-dawn light, but other than that there's very little reaction: he's still out cold. Sirius pets Moony's head, as the fur melts into the peach fuzz that now covers Remus's head.

Above him he hears a faint groan, and then a sigh as the boards creak with the motion of someone turning over. 'It's good to know Moony won't always be knocked out so thoroughly,' Sirius thinks as he settles back down under their two thin blankets. He pulls the skinny, unconscious werewolf close and goes back to sleep.

Barely an hour later, he's re-awakened by the sound of a shouting guard, and moving men. He sighs and leans over Remus to wake him. "Come on Moony," he says, "time to rise and shine."

Remus shifts and says, "Nhugg."

Sirius climbs over him, and puts on his shoes, before trying again. "Come on Remus, you've got to get up love." He shakes the sleeping man gently, and looks around quickly before kissing him. Remus cracks open one bleary eye, and tries to sit up.

"That's it Moony, come on," coaxes Sirius as he slips Remus's arm over his shoulder and helps him out of bed. They make their way slowly out of the room and into the freezing winter morning.

"Line up for inspection," shouts a guard and the prisoners quickly do so. Sirius stands between Will and Remus. Will is holding his own, but Remus looks ready to pass out any moment. Sirius surreptitiously holds Remus up, only letting him stand on his own when the guards pass by to check their numbers off.

"March," is called out and the prisoners make their way to the food line where they receive their breakfast. As they eat, a small group of cloaked men sweep into the area. Sirius almost chokes when he realizes who the man in the center of the group is.

"Moony," he whispers urgently, "look over there." Remus does so, and has a reaction similar to Sirius's. Before he can reply, however, the man in question speaks.

"All werewolves are to assemble here at the close of the meal. The rest of you filth will be sorting clothing." His dark eyes look around coldly, "Well, what are you waiting for?" The dining area is suddenly filled with the sounds of men moving quickly to return their dishes and report to their proper places.

"I'll see you in a bit Sirius," says Remus as he and Will start to make their way over to Snape.

Sirius kisses him quickly and says, "Love you; see you later." He can't help the feeling of dread that tickles at the base of his neck and makes the tiny hairs there stand on end, but he doesn't want to voice this fear any more than Remus does. Sirius rushes away before he makes a scene, trying all the while to convince himself that this won't be the last time he sees his Moony. Remus heads off slowly in the other direction.

The group of werewolves follow Snape silently across the camp, moving slowly for many of them have taken the potion for the first time the previous night. They stop in front of a small building which Snape unlocks with a whispered spell.

The room is warm, and filled with small examination tables covered in white sheets. "Undress and sit down," Snape says. "You're here for research purposes, not to be coddled. You will address me as 'Sir' and only speak when spoken to. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir," the group quietly murmurs.

"Good."

He sweeps to the back of the room where he begins his examinations. Remus is seated near the front, and so he settles down to wait. Snape asks each werewolf a series of questions, checks their vitals, and occasionally gives them a cup of something. He then writes down his findings. Nearly an hour passes before Snape comes to Remus, the last of six.

"Listen I don't have much time so listen closely Lupin," whispers Snape harshly as he bends over to take Remus's pulse. "I can take one message to Dumbledore for you, and keep you updated on the war in exchange for your silence about my alliances. These must be brief exchanges, and no one must suspect a thing. I can kill you as easily this." He snaps his fingers.

Remus gulps and thinks for a moment before replying, "Deal. Please tell Dumbledore to tell James that I have a dog and that the rat is not to be trusted. James will understand." After a moment's hesitation he adds, "Thank you…Sir." Snape smirks as he hands Remus a steaming cup.

"Drink this; it'll make you feel better." Remus eyes it suspiciously, but drinks it anyway. He's trusting Snape to deliver a message to Dumbledore, so he may as well trust him to not poison him.

As Remus exits the room, feeling much steadier on his legs than he did upon arrival, he thinks to himself, 'I'm trusting Severus Snape… this world really has gone to hell in a hand basket.'

Hundreds of miles away in Godric's Hollow, James and Lily Potter are awakened by an attack launched by a very awake and hyper ball of Harry. "Food mum," he squeals as he plops himself in her lap.

"James your son is hungry," she says groggily as she straightens herself out and rubs the back of her neck.

"He asked you," replies James as he buries his face deeper into the floor.

"You'll pay for this later," says Lily as she picks up Harry and makes her way to the kitchen, swatting her husband's head on the way out.

An hour later, after a few cups of coffee and a quick shower, Lily is starting to feel more like a human being. Harry is in his highchair, and his parents are seated at the table when Albus Dumbledore's face suddenly appears in their fireplace. Lily drops her toast and James spills his coffee. Harry continues smooshing his bananas.

"Morning James, Lily, Harry," says Dumbledore pleasantly, "sorry to have dropped in so suddenly but I've just received some very interesting news."

By this time Lily has recovered herself enough to offer her former headmaster some toast, and to move closer to the fire to hear the news. James joins her as soon as he's cleaned up his little spill.

"What is it?" asks Lily with a hint of apprehension. In times like this, news is seldom good.

"I've just gotten a report from one of our spies in Voldemort's forces. It seems as if Mr. Lupin has been located."

"Oh thank Merlin," breathes Lily.

"Where is he Sir?" asks James.

"That's the problem. My source claims he's in some sort of concentration camp type prison, but he doesn't know the location of it. While my source works in the camp, he's not allowed to know it's location for security reasons. He did, however, communicate with Remus and has a message for you."

"Well?" asks James impatiently.

"I have a dog and the rat is not to be trusted," says Dumbledore. "I will assume that means something to you."

"Yes…yes," James replies, eyes shining, "it means he's with Sirius and Peter is not to be trusted."

"If I live to be three hundred years old I'll never understand you boys," says Dumbledore with a chuckle. "There is, however, one other matter I'd like to discuss with you before I leave you two to digest this development"

"Yes?" asks Lily as she moves to take away Harry's banana mush before it meets the wall.

"Last night there was an attack near your mother's house James, and I think it would be in her best interest if she moved in with you for the time being."

"Actually we've been discussing that as well," says James with a hint of relief. "She wouldn't have to be alone, and we could spend more time doing work for the Order with someone around to mind Harry."

"Splendid," says Dumbledore happily, "how about I bring her around two tomorrow!"

"That'll be perfect," says Lily dazedly. Dumbledore says his goodbyes, and departs, leaving a small pile of sherbet lemons on the hearth.

"What a morning," Lily says as she plops into a chair.

"What a morning," James agrees as he picks up his banana smeared mug and takes a long sip.