A.N.:

Chapter 29 is finally here!
I hope you all enjoy it.
Please don´t forget to leave your comments. They always make me so happy.


Chapter 29

The Shrieking Shack

The whole house was shaking, the wood creaking under his feet, the musty smell of the walls corroded by mould and woodworm getting into his nose. He froze, his eyes fixed on the thick, matted brown fur, on the bright yellow eyes of a fully transformed werewolf, on the sharp fangs, on the saliva that dripped from his black snout.

He thought he was dreaming; he would wake up. As soon as he felt the sharp teeth on his skin, he would wake up.

Quick footsteps made the beast turn its attention towards the entrance of the room. James Potter had stepped between them; his wand casting spells that made the beast take a few steps back.

"Get out of here! Fast! He will kill you!"

But Severus was unable to move. James dragged him off toward the stairs, both stumbling, rolling down the dusty steps until they hit the cracked floor of the hallway below. That strong blow and the excruciating pain in his back made Severus react, made him realize that he wasn't dreaming.

James was already on his feet and grabbing his arm he was trying to get Severus to head back towards the tunnel entrance. Remus wouldn't be able to reach them once they slipped through the small opening.

"SNIVELLUS, GET UP! MOVE!"

James hadn't realized that the werewolf was stalking him from the top of the stairs, roaring wildly as he pounced at him. Severus, watching from the corner of his eye as the massive figure lunged at the young man, rose quickly, jumping over him, knocking James back to the ground, away from the wolf's claws.

"INCARCEROUS!"

"CONFUNDUS!"

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

The curses came out of both wands and hit the monster's body, giving them time to reach the room where their only escape route was. James closed the shattered door behind him, securing it with an enchantment that didn't seem to be strong enough to hold off the werewolf for long.

"Into the tunnel, Snivellus! — James yelled, pointing his wand at the door, trying to keep it from collapsing from the beast's ferocious claws.

"What about you?"

"I'll be right behind you".

Severus slipped through the small opening and onto the cold, trodden earth, James falling right on top of him. The sound of the door collapsing and the chilling wail of the wolf as it saw its prey slip away made both young men crawl quickly, fleeing from the blood-curdling image of jaws trying to squeeze into the small hole. They ran as fast as the narrow tunnel would allow them until they could only hear their racing hearts and gasping breaths.

"He tried to kill me…" — Severus panted as he dropped to the ground, staring up at James with wide eyes.

"He can't control himself when he's transformed… Remus didn't mean…"

"I'm not talking about Lupin. Black. Sirius Black wanted me to die tonight".

"Sirius was just playing a prank, you're not dead, Snivellus..."

"My name is not Snivellus, Potter!" — He interrupted him in an agitated voice.

James Potter took off his glasses and wiped the sweat from his face, avoiding looking at the pale Slytherin.

They both continued their journey back to Hogwarts in total silence.

. . .

Laurel kept her gaze on the gleaming needle, felt the sharp bite of steel pierce her skin, but was unable to find her vein. She moved the needle inside her arm, hoping for the red liquid to begin to fill the vial she held in her hand. It was just the first of a few more who stood in a straight line in front of her, tidy, like obedient little soldiers, waiting to receive the customary tribute of Akardos blood.

But Laurel was unable to concentrate. She couldn't help but cast furtive glances at the man who was pacing nervously from one side of the office to the other, whispering under his breath, re-checking his notes, grabbing different potions from the shelves, and rearranging them again and again inside his black leather bag.

Laurel gave up trying to draw her blood. Discarding the needle, she stood up, walking over to his lacquered desk, leaning on it, feigning nonchalance and looking into his enchanted bag.

"It seems to me that you carry much more than necessary".

"You can never be cautious enough". — He murmured back at her, looking into her eyes for the first time since that morning when he had told her the story of how he had first seen Lupin transformed. The story of how he could have been ripped to death by a werewolf's claws during his fifth year at Hogwarts.

Laurel was silent for a few seconds, her fingers tapping on the polished wood, weighting the words she was about to say next.

"Is it really necessary to carry out the experiments in the Shrieking Shack? Couldn't Dumbledore let us use a room in the dungeons?"

"The risk is too high. Too many children". — He answered, a glint in his eyes appearing suddenly. — "Totally inconvenient".

"Or any other place. The Forbidden Forest perhaps…"

"Why?" — Severus cut her off. — "What is it to you?"

"Nothing". — She said quickly, crossing her arms and blushing, trying to unscramble her words. — "I just don´t think is healthy… you know… for you… given your history with the Shack… the incident with the Marauders… well, it may be overwhelming…"

"My mental health is perfectly fine if that´s what´s worrying you". — He spat suddenly. — "I am not weak".

"Yeah…" — Laurel took a deep breath, trying not to feel hurt by his abrupt outburst. —"Of course you are not weak. It must be my eyes that are already dizzy from seeing you walk back and forth, talking to yourself, like a wandering ghost. My apologies, I tend to worry too much about people who don't need it. I'm going to give you some space, Sev. You know where you can find me".

Laurel pushed herself away from the desk, reaching her hand to pick up the phlebotomy kit and vials.

"Forgive me". — Severus' hand went to her shoulder, stopping her from leaving. — "I know… I didn't mean… I am fine; I just hate the darned place".

"I know you are fine but showing a bit of weakness from time to time is not the end of the world".

"Showing weakness is the difference between life and death. If I, even for a single second, showed a hint of emotion, of agitation in front of the Dark Lord, I wouldn´t be standing here".

Laurel bowed her head, slumping her shoulders in surrender. She wanted to help, she wanted to make him understand she cared. She thought she had succeeded in making him trust her, convincing him that letting go of the past was not a sin, that there was more in life than magical wars and dark wizards and endless scrolls of parchment to grade.

However, the dull illusion vanished during the nights when the dark mark burnt, those were the nights she spent awake, waiting for his return with a prayer in her mouth, red eyes open in the darkness of the dungeons, begging that actually, there was really a light at the end of the tunnel. And once Severus returned, she could see in the abysmal darkness of his eyes that he remained a lost soul, a deeply conflicted man, a man torn between two worlds, worlds of which she was not really a part of.

"I'm not the Dark Lord, nor am I Dumbledore, you don't have to pretend..." — But she stopped mid-sentence, realising she was pushing too much. He had already gone to great lengths to tell her about that horrible experience in his fifth year.

"He will open up slowly, for sure". — She thought, the small sliver of uncertainty that had settled in her chest aching, reminding her again that Severus still didn't consider her entirely trustworthy. She felt a burning sensation in her eyes as she realized that she might never be worthy enough for him. At least not compared to Lily...

"I will always be there for you. Being strong or weak, doesn´t matter… I mean… If you want me to". — She finished, avoiding his intense stare, ashamed of the trembling in her voice.

"What makes you think I wouldn't want it?"

Laurel shrugged.

"You can answer that question better than I can, Severus".

The wizard swallowed hard, approaching her, took her by the waist, pressing her body against his.

"I know I can be difficult sometimes… most of the time." — He whispered, his lips less than an inch from hers. — "But I want you, I want you to be with me".

The woman stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck, closing the distance until their noses touched and they melted into a slow, warm kiss. The anxiety Severus had begun to feel that day quickly dissipated. He took his time, enraptured by the ease with which Laurel's delicate lips parted to allow him to nibble at them, caress them with his tongue, allowing him to go inside, claiming that sweet mouth that belonged only to him.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of fragility when she pulled away, though it was quickly offset when she smiled at him. He brushed the tips of his fingers against the back of her left arm, the place marked by so many needle punctures.

"You are hurting yourself too badly".

"Not as much as you are doing to yourself". — She replied, brushing aside a strand of his hair and caressing his cheek. — "And if there is no choice but to return to the Shrieking Shack, I will not leave you alone, I will go with you".

"Only until sunset. Promise me you won't hang around after dark".

"Lupin will be immobilized, also if the potion works, he won't change into a werewolf, he won't be dangerous..."

"Pet, we've already discussed this". — Severus said in a warning tone. —"I don't want you anywhere near Lupin when he's transformed".

"If you insist... I'll be back at the castle before dark." — She replied, turning her attention to the needles. — "I just hope I'll be able to get all the samples ready today".

"I can try and help. That arm is already very injured".

"Thank you, Sev. It just takes a little practice." — She said, relieved as she handed him one of the syringes. — "It´ll be a piece of cake."

. . .

Sometimes forcefully, sometimes a mere drizzle. The snow had disappeared to make way for the rain that poured continuously throughout the day, relentless, as if the heavens were determined to sluice the world clean.

That Saturday, the students had taken refuge from the dreary, cold weather in their common rooms, some dozing by the fire, others taking advantage of boredom to complete the week's assignments.

"It didn't cost her a Knut to let me see her essay, you know? I wasn't going to copy everything word by word; I just needed a guide. I don't know what has gotten into her. Was I saying something when she was smitten by that Krum?"

"Hermione wasn´t snogging Krum in front of the whole school, Ron".

"But we can't avoid it, it's chemical. Lavender is crazy about me, and I don't blame her… It's not like I blame Hermione for being upset or jealous either… But I really need her help, I don't think I'll be able to finish this stupid essay, McGonagall will kill me. God, women scare the hell out of me".

"Uh-huh".

Little by little Harry had stopped paying attention to his friend, limiting himself to answering in monosyllables. He was sitting comfortably in a nook by the window, the pattering of the rain and the sound of various quills tearing at parchment drowning out Ron's incessant tirade at times.

Before succumbing to the drowsiness of that rainy afternoon, Harry took the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and glanced quickly through it, searching for Draco Malfoy's name as he had started doing daily. He was willing to find out what he was up to and was disappointed to find no trace of him. How could it be possible that he disappeared from the school?

He then sought out the second person he was most interested in finding: Professor Horace Slughorn. The little dot labelled with his name was static in his office, probably taking an afternoon nap. Since Dumbledore had sent him on a mission to retrieve a valuable memory related to Voldemort, Harry had tried to interrogate the potion master about Horcruxes, his attempt ending up to a resounding failure. Slughorn shied away from his presence and Harry still hadn't been able to come up with a plan to convince him to give him the unaltered memory of a young Tom Riddle in his years at Hogwarts.

Frustrated, he was about to put the map away and throw a cushion at Ron's head to stop him blabbering about Hermione, when two dots coming out of the front doors caught his eye.

Severus Snape and Laurel Noel.

Where would they go in the middle of that storm? Harry followed them attentively, surprised to see that they weren't heading for the huge gates. Both ink dots headed towards Hagrid's hut, then turned and took the path that led to...

Harry set the map aside and hastily wiped the fogged window with the sleeve of his robes. He saw them, he had no doubt that it must be them: Two cloaked figures followed the muddy path to the Whomping Willow. One of them raised a wand, causing a rock to hit the knot in the trunk, immobilizing the aggressive tree. They disappeared down the tunnel hid among the roots of the willow.

Harry stood up so rapidly, he accidentally dropped Ron's ink container over his unfinished essay.

"Watch it, mate!" — Ron exclaimed, looking dumbstruck. — "Where are you going?"

"I am sorry. I must check on something. I will ask Hermione for the essay, I promise". — Harry apologised as he went up the stairs to the dormitories, looking for his invisibility cloak.

. . .

It was the first time Laurel had entered the narrow, low-ceilinged tunnel. It was so tight she had to crawl at times to get through it and it so long that her back was already beginning to protest in pain as she was so hunched over. The feeling of claustrophobia that had accompanied her since her confinement in the Malfoy Manor returned with strength and Laurel let out a shaky breath.

"Almost there". — Severus whispered, turning to look at her, offering her a comforting gesture that was illuminated by the light that came from the tip of his wand.

Finally, the tunnel began to slope upward, and they could see the small exit opening above their heads. Climbing through the gap, they found themselves in a room of an abandoned house, all the windows were boarded up, and the furniture was completely destroyed. The entire room was covered in a thick layer of dust and different footprints, human and animal, could be seen on the floor.

The sound of footsteps and creaks told them they weren't alone. They carefully climbed the cracked stairs until they were on the upper floor.

"Watch out for that hole, Snape. I almost twisted my ankle when I fell into it". — A woman was pointing the beam of light that came out of her wand to a specific point on the floor.

Laurel couldn't help but like her as soon as she saw her. Her short and spiky bubblegum pink hair, her heart-shaped face, her outlandish clothes and her kind smile denoted that this witch had an extremely friendly personality.

"You must be Laurel. Remus has told me a lot about you."

"I guess she's all he talks about, right?" — Severus hissed derisively as he walked past her without greeting her, heading towards the main room.

"A... Almost". — She replied blushing.

"Ignore him. He's in a bad mood". — Laurel said, reaching out her hand to shake the woman's. — "Remus has also told me a lot about you, Nymphadora."

"Tonks. Just Tonks". — She smiled. — "And as for Snape, is there ever a day when he isn't in a bad mood?"

"You'd be surprised". — Laurel thought, but deciding it was better not put herself so out there, she just laughed along with Tonks as they both followed in Snape's footsteps.

"Lupin tells me you're a metamorphmagus. That you can change any aspect of your physique at will".

"Ahh yes". —Tonks laughed as she transformed into an exact copy of Laurel.

"It's amazing, how cool!" — She yelled, gaping at her and leaning closer to see herself. — "I didn't know I was that short..."

Tonks was back to normal in a second.

"Is not that impressive, you can achieve the same results with Polyjuice Potion".

"Yes, but only for a limited time, and it also takes forever to brew it. Being a metamorphmagus is awesome, I can't imagine what it would be like to be able to transform into a different person every day. One day I would be Cindy Crawford and the next…"

"But deep down it will still be being you…it's just a costume, Laurel. I feel much more comfortable being just Tonks and, who is this Cindy Crawford you are talking about?"

Several oil lamps lighted up the main room, which showed the same signs of deterioration as the rest of the shack. A magnificent, canopied bed sat in the middle, its wooden posts seeming to move slightly producing a faint creak and Laurel had the impression that if they didn't collapse it was because some spell still holding them upright. It took Laurel a little while to notice the shadow of a man sitting on it, chained to the posts.

"Remus". — She smiled as she took a few steps toward him. However, a hand stopped her.

"Don't get too close." — Severus warned her. — "He's not the same Lupin".

"Snape is right, Laurel. He becomes very irritable the days before the lunation. The day of the transformation is the worst of all".

"You know I can hear you, right?" — Remus growled from the bed, his voice sounding much more guttural than usual.

"How are you feeling, Remus?" — Laurel said, keeping her distance. — "Your voice has changed".

"Oh, the better to greet you with, darling. I feel like shit, but it's a relief you here. Let her come closer, I would like to see her better".

"Do you mean to smell her better, maybe eat her better?" — Severus sneered. —"It's not a fucking fairy tale, Lupin."

Remus guffawed, his voice rising in the room:

"Hey Akardos! Don't be afraid of the big bad wolf! I won't do anything to you, I swear".

Tonks took advantage of that moment of shouting to whisper to Snape with a hint of anger:

"Don't fight him, he doesn't do it on purpose. He can't control his urges. He behaves even worse because he hasn't taken the wolfsbane potion in months, as you have requested".

"We'll start getting everything ready to start giving him the potion, Tonks". — Laurel whispered trying to appease the spirits. —"Come on, Severus, I'll help you organize the phials."

They both left the room, leaving Tonks alone with Remus, who seemed to calm down as he felt the smell of the Akardos slightly recede.

"Dora... Dora, I'm sorry." — Suddenly he burst into tears realizing what had happened, all the stupid things he had said.

Tonks approached him, sitting next to him without feeling an iota of fear of that man who in a few hours would turn into an uncontrollable beast. She took his face in her hands and kissed his cold, sweat-drenched forehead.

"Maybe this is your last night as a werewolf or maybe not. But no matter what happens, Remus, I'm not going to leave you alone, do you understand?"

Lupin buried his head in the woman's lap and let out little sobs that sounded more like wolf wails. Tonks swallowed hard and surreptitiously wiped away a few tears.

Harry Potter was standing in a corner of the room; hidden under the invisibility cloak he had inherited from his father. He realized he had been clenching his teeth this whole time. Shocked by what he had just witnessed, he could not understand half of it, but he had never seen Lupin crying in such a way.

He walked quietly out of the room, thinking he should give them some privacy.

He soon heard Professor Snape and his assistant whispering in the other room.