VI - Firewhiskey

The next few days at Grimmauld Place were surprisingly peaceful. Lupin did not transform unexpectedly, and made breakfast and tea for them both each morning. They spoke little, and each spent time on their own pursuits. Snape came and went. He read, spent a good while carefully combing the rooms for the Dark Lord's prized locket, and also continued the careful brewing of his fresh batch of Wolfsbane potion.

He had silently taken Lupin's advice on board about eating more, and did not turn down the dish of fried liver and onions placed on the table for breakfast both mornings, (It was an unusual thing to have for breakfast, perhaps, but his appetite had changed; now merely thinking of meat made his mouth water, and some days it drove him a little distracted…)

During those days, Snape did not fail to notice that Lupin was receiving a fair number of visits from one particular tawny owl, and the Gryffindor would always stand writing quick responses to the messages before sending the bird immediately on its way again out of the sash window on the top of the landing. On the afternoon of the second day, Snape decided that he would pay an impromptu visit to the Black's library upstairs, and pass him closely on the way.

As he climbed the stairs Lupin glanced down furtively. Snape glanced back up, eyebrow raised. As he passed behind him at the open landing window he caught a faint scent from the messenger owl, and from the scroll it had been carrying.

It was definitely a feminine scent; orange-blossom, mixed with star grass salve, and something like strawberry..., though he'd not yet consciously connected the dots with many smells. Her scent was vaguely familiar. He knew he could safely rule out McGonagall for a start (Milk thistle and lavender, always lavender...)

Besides, Minerva never used a tawny owl...

Snape took a few more steps along the landing before pausing. "The Order have been keeping you very busy with urgent owls today."

"Fortunately they haven't; these are just private messages," answered the wizard.

"You are very keen to answer her, and seem rather secretive about it."

Lupin turned on his heel and met his inquisitor's gaze. He seemed a little hot, and his cheeks were slightly flushed, which Snape thought extremely interesting.

"This is private, if you don't mind, Severus."

"Does she know you are a werewolf?"

Lupin turned round again, signed the scroll, snapped it closed and began to tie it to the waiting bird's leg.

"...Private…"

"I smell star grass salve; either this woman has a few small injuries she has been treating recently, or she bathes in the stuff as she loves it so much. On a fainter note I also smell orange blossom, which she uses as a perfume, the scent of which seems somewhat familiar, and makes me think that I have met this witch before. There is also a faint note of what I suspect to be...Strawberry chewing gum..."

Remus let go of the owl's leg. It took a short run up off the window ledge and glided away. He let out an irked sigh. "I'm not going to be able to keep this from you, am I?"

Snape smirked. "Highly unlikely."

The Gryffindor's shoulders seemed to slump a little in resignation. "As I feared. Then there will be a need for some Ogden's Old..."

A short while later found the pair sat opposite each other in the library's two wingback chairs, double firewhiskeys in hand, and the rest of the bottle placed on the low mahogany side table between them.

"I managed to flatten an entire bottle of this last week, such was my state of mind," mused Lupin. He raised the glass to his lips and downed the entire double shot of the spirit without even coughing.

Snape was mildly surprised; he had definitely had Lupin down as a firewhiskey cougher.

He raised his own glass to his lips. "So, who is it?"

The Gryffindor waited until the Slytherin had taken a gulp before confessing.

"It's Nymphadora. And she wants us to get married," he said quietly. "She deserves better than me, and I really don't want to see her get hurt."

"And another thing - she's pregnant."

Snape's firewhiskey went down the wrong way.

x-X-x

Lupin never thought in a million years that he would get relationship advice from Severus Snape, but he did.

The advice was pretty much that he was complete dunderheaded idiot to be dithering about and that life was just far too fucking short.

It'd stung, but he probably needed to hear it.

Actually he'd really needed to hear it.

Which was why he was on his way to meet Tonks right at this very moment, with some flowers.

Of course he wouldn't mention Snape being behind the reason for his visit, or for his change in heart when he proposed to her on the hearth rug that same evening.

It seemed he had another secret to keep now.

x-X-x

A couple more days and many hours of brewing later the Wolfsbane potion was ready, and Lupin returned to Grimmauld Place to collect his share.

"I have made a couple of slight alterations to this batch. For one, I have not added a sedative," remarked Snape as he pushed the flask across the table toward Lupin.

Lupin looked warily at the liquid, which he had to admit looked exactly the same as regular Wolfsbane to him...

"No sedative? Would that be safe, do you think?"

"I don't see why not...You retain control just the same, but without the drowsiness."

Lupin frowned. "I'm not sure what else I need to do but sleep though? What else can be done when you are locked up in a cellar?"

"Secondly," Snape continued, ignoring Lupin's comment. "Thanks to my acute sense of smell now, I was able to select only the aconite bulbs which had the right level of potency I needed, and also be particularly choosy about the freshness of salamander blood, and thus achieve a good emulsion of the two. I was therefore able to successfully combine Wolfsbane with a strengthening solution. I believe that having increased strength for the duration of transformation will come in useful for defence in case of ambush, or of course, attack..."

"But why? I hardly think that I should aspire to be the Incredible Hulk of werewolves….Do you…?" Commented Lupin uneasily.

Snape waved his hand irritably. "That is such a poor simile; the Hulk is always wildly out of control when he is transformed, this brew will increase your strength, and preserve your Bruce Bannon brain. This is no longer the time to be drugged and snoozing in a locked cellar, Lupin - the magical world is out for each other's scalps and you really cannot afford to dull your senses for a moment, whether it's a full moon or not."

Lupin paled. He placed his teacup down on the table and raked a hand nervously through his hair, "Ah... I understand where you are going with this now," he replied quietly.

"Of course there is one snag - I haven't tested the potion yet. I am confident that it has turned out precisely as I intended, however, so all I need now is a volunteer…Or two..."

Lupin looked rather unhappy, but after a little while gave a small nod. "Well… If you are going to be taking it as well, I guess there is no good reason for me to refuse..."

"Excellent news," drawled Snape.

x-X-x

The following week saw Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks marry in a barebones ceremony in a small Scottish kirk, with just a couple of witnesses from a local tavern. Tonks could not have been happier. Remus was...reluctantly happy. For the moment.

The Order meetings continued in secret. A plan was hatched to move Potter at the end of the month, but on the 27th, a few days before his birthday. As Potter came of age, the protective power of his mother's magic would come completely to an end.

Lupin told the Slytherin of the plan the following evening, over a meal of steak, potatoes, and a bottle of red wine. They had both agreed that this plan to move Potter would have to be something that would need to be partly shared with the Dark Lord... And that the Order should use decoys, with multiple "Potters" being moved on the same evening. Lupin agreed to share the decoy idea at the next Order meeting.

As Severus had still not found any trace of the Dark Lord's locket, he hoped that this new snippet of information would prove a suitable distraction for his Master…

Thankfully, it did...

28th July, 1997

It was the small hours of the morning of the 28th July, and Snape was drunkenly slumped in one of the library's wingback chairs, mentally and physically drained after the evening's battle over the skies of Surrey.

He heard someone enter the house downstairs, the draught blowing in from the front door brought the scent of tweed and murray mints to him.

The Gryffindor appeared in the doorway, bedraggled, and a grey, haunted look on his face. "Harry, Ron and Hermione got away safely, but Moody is dead. Harry's owl, too. George Weasley lost an ear."

Snape's mouth thinned. "Most regrettably, that was me… I was aiming for Dolohov, and missed…"

Lupin slumped against the doorframe. "I have a feeling things are about to really fall apart…"

Snape took the bottle of Old Ogden's and poured the Gryffindor a glass. He held it out to him. The man took it and collapsed into the other chair.

"Things fell apart long ago, Lupin. My Master has….great plans for me…." He offered dejectedly. "I am to have a poisoned chalice of a promotion forced upon me. If only firewhiskey could take away the level of nausea and revulsion I now feel...Severus? Nay, I am Claudius now..."

Lupin frowned confusedly. "What do you mean…?"

"I assume you are familiar with Hamlet…?"

"Of course…"

"Well then…

Claudius, the brother of the King of Denmark, who usurped his brother after…

Lupin paled, gripping the arm of the wingback chair, his fingers curling like claws.

"No Severus…!"

Snape gave a mirthless laugh. "Yes Lupin, it is already arranged by the powers that be, the tendrils deep within the Ministry... The ineffable Carrows stand to be my Deputy Heads..."

"Merlin save us… Minerva-"

Snape shot his drinking companion a warning glare. "No Lupin. Minerva must NOT know. About anything. NO ONE in the school must know."

Lupin looked sickened. He knocked back the remainder of his spirits and poured himself another, downing that too.

"Where and when will it all end…?" Whispered the Gryffindor miserably.

"I likely will not live long enough to find that out," was the soft reply.

A/N: So I have actually been sitting on this fic for over five years, putting it up now during lockdown, and working to finish it off. Hope everyone is doing okay. Take care and lose yourselves in fanfic, but don't forget to review now and then, too. :)