Full Moon

One hour later, I woke up curled on the sofa in front of the hissing fireplace, still wearing nothing but my scarf. I looked around the room and found Severus stirring a cauldron at his work desk. I got up and walked to him.

'What are you doing there?' I hugged him from behind, kissing his back.

'Wolfsbane Potion. For your friend' he replied, trying to sound scornful but betrayed by the contentment still evident in his voice after a day of so many triumphs.

'That's very sweet of you' I smiled, pressing my cheek against him.

'I'm only following orders. Now, would you put your clothes back on before I forget we have a meeting soon and make you dishonor your house again?'

I rolled my eyes at him but picked up my clothes and put them back on. Someone knocked on the door. Severus checked if I was already dressed and answered 'Come in'.

Remus poked his head inside 'Thought I'd save you the trip upstairs, since we're having the meeting in a few minutes' he smiled.

'It will be ready in a moment' Severus replied.

'Wait here with me' I showed Remus the armchair by my side 'I'll make some tea'.

A minute later, Severus handed him a smoking globet, which he drank in a few gulps. He shook his head, as if trying to forget the taste.

'Thank you, Severus.'

Severus nodded and took away the globet.

'I thought you were supposed to drink that on the full moon, not before' I said, distracted, following Severus with my eyes.

Remus raised an eyebrow.

'Tonight's full moon, Jane. If it wasn't for Severus, I could never spend the night here at the castle and join you on our mission tomorrow.'

'Today?' I turned my head to Remus, frowning, my mind still partially focused on Severus 'that's odd... because when the full moon comes I'm always on my…' I fell silent.

I don't know how long I stayed there, frozen, my brain working feverishly.

If today is the full moon, then my period is three days late... Merlin, that never happens with me. How many days since Severus payed me that visit before the Easter holidays? Fifteen. Would it be possible? Well, possible, yes. But what are the odds? It is probably just a coincidence. I'll be more careful from now on. But what if it is true? What would he say? He's in love with me, alright, but a child? And what about the mission tomorrow? No, I'll wait until after it to tell him. Yeah. Until then I'll know what to say.

When I came back to myself, I found Severus crouched in front of me, holding my damp hands, looking startled. Remus was gazing at me with suspicion in his eyes.

'Jane, are you alright?' Severus' words carried concern.

'I'm fine, sorry about that. I just remembered something... But it's no big deal, I'll sort it out later'.

Severus nodded and kissed my forehead, heading back to his desk to have it cleaned. Remus, however, kept squinting at me.

'We should get going' I said, standing up.

'Hold on' Remus stood up too, glaring at me 'I know that reaction. That's exactly the same one Tonks had before giving me the news that… the news I told you about earlier today'.

'What are you talking about?' Severus asked.

'I will give you both a minute' Remus replied and turned to the door 'I reckon Jane has something to tell you'.

'No, Remus' I retorted resolutely 'thank you, but we're leaving for the meeting too'.

Remus turned to look at me with a blazing expression I'd never seen on his face.

'If you don't tell him, I will' he threatened in a menacing voice.

'Remus, this is between he and I' I answered through gritted teeth.

'What-' Severus started but Remus cut in.

'I won't be conniving with you risking your life without telling him about this. He deserves to know! I think you're forgetting last November when I brought you carried in my arms after one of these missions, without knowing if you were dead or alive! And if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here!'

'Since when do you care so much about Severus?!'

'We've known each other for twenty-seven years, Jane!'

'What the bloody hell are you two talking about?' Severus shouted.

We both turned our eyes to him. Remus gave me one last warning glance. 'I'll be waiting for you there' he left and closed the door behind him.

'Jane, what is going on?' Severus questioned again.

I took his hand and led him to the sofa, where we sat facing each other.

I drew a deep breath.

'If the full moon is today, it means… it means… that my period is late.'

He widened his eyes.

'So…' I carried on 'there's a… possibility… that I might be…'

'Pregnant' he said, but instead of shocked, his voice was soft. I raised my eyes to face him, and his lips were curled into a timid yet genuine smile. He pressed his forehead against mine. We stayed like that for a while, without saying anything else.

Then he looked at me, frowning.

'I can't believe you were going on this mission without telling me about that.'

'I knew you wouldn't agree with it.'

'Of course not!'

'They're centaurs, Severus, they'd never hurt a pregnant woman!'

'They might if they strike before they're aware of that fact. You're not going. I'll go with Remus tomorrow'

What was I going to say? How could I tell him, now, that it was my life to decide? When he had embraced that possibility so fast, and was even happy about it, before I could even accept it myself?

He held my hands between his and kissed my forehead once more.

'How did Remus know about this?'

'He's just got the same news from Tonks a week ago' I shrugged 'he's going to be a father too'.

'Tonks? Nymphadora Tonks?'

'Yes, they've been together for a while now' I stood up again 'we should get going'.

We arrived at the Headmaster's office to find Dumbledore and Remus already there, waiting for us. I took my seat, but Severus stood still.

'Albus, Jane can't go tomorrow. I'll go instead' he said, calmly.

Dumbledore turned his eyes to me, inquisitively. I opened my mouth to argue but Severus cut in. 'She might be pregnant' he added.

'We don't know that yet' I replied 'and, if that's true, then nobody would be safer among centaurs than I would.'

Severus ignored my words and turned to Dumbledore again. 'Albus, please'.

Dumbledore kept silent for several seconds before he spoke.

'You might be right, Jane. But Severus has been a loyal friend of mine since long, and I could never order the woman he loves, possibly pregnant with his child, into a not so danger-free mission like this one. I'm sorry, but you're dismissed from it'.

Severus sighed, relieved, and slumped into his seat.

We left the room the three of us together, and walked through the corridors side by side, Remus on my right and Severus on my left, each one deep in its own thoughts.

'Thank you, Remus' Severus broke the silence.

Remus smiled at the ground and sighed 'I feel ashamed that you sank it in in five minutes, and I've been brooding about it since last weekend'.

'There's nothing to be ashamed about' Severus replied, making the other two of us startled with such thoughtful words 'of course it is harder for you due to your condition'.

Remus and I exchanged puzzled looks, dumbstruck with that sudden demonstration of kindness.

'But you guys are going to figure this out' I said, turning to look at Remus 'I'm sure about that. Just like we are, too' I hold Severus' hand, and he smiled at me.

Remus raised his head and peered back at us.

'Do you reckon they'll be friends at Hogwarts?' he asked.

'Of course they will' I grinned 'they'll be in Gryffindor together'.

We both laughed nervously, glancing at Severus and waiting for his reaction.


This is the end of Jane and Severus story, thank you very much for reading it. This is my first fanfic, and I'm happy to share it - I wrote it a few months ago but I had given up finishing it and publishing it. Please let me know what you think. This storyline will continue with a different couple now, I hope you like it!