A/N – More info this chapter, but more questions too. Thanks again to everyone who has been reading and reviewing!

Chapter 63

Questions

14 April 2000

By the time the sun rose, Remus was applying the charm every five minutes. Hermione looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot, her face streaked with tears. He was sure that he looked no better. A mediwitch had been in periodically throughout the night, running diagnostics on Hermione to be sure nothing else was being affected by the potion. Besides her arm, she was in perfect health. The day shift was just arriving, and they expected Healer Spencer any minute.

"Are you sure?" Remus asked for the fifth or maybe sixth time, he didn't even know anymore. Hermione nodded.

"The charm is going to stop working soon," she said. "The last few times you've cast it, it hasn't worked as well." Remus pulled in a breath and held her tighter.

"It won't be for long," Hermione said again.

"Of course, it won't," Remus replied, although he was far from convinced. The image of her lying there for weeks or even months wouldn't leave his mind. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. They were supposed to finally be able to be together in public, take Teddy to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, not worry about who saw them holding hands or stealing a kiss. She was not supposed to be stuck in hospital with an unknown potion slowly poisoning her because of him.

"Don't," she said, obviously knowing where his mind had gone. "This is not your fault."

"I know," he said. He was not going to upset her, not now. Not when he likely wouldn't be able to speak with her for days or longer. "I know, love." She studied his face for a moment, then seemed satisfied, for she rested her head back against his shoulder again. There was a knock on the door and Remus steeled himself for the inevitable.

"Come in," Hermione said.

"Hey." Harry walked into the room and Remus sat up straighter. Perhaps Harry had news and they wouldn't have to do this at all.

"Have you found something?" Remus asked.

"Yes," Harry said.

"The potion?" Hermione questioned.

"No," Harry said, apologetic look on his face. "We're still working on that." He glanced at Remus. "Can I talk to you?" Remus immediately made to rise from the bed, but Hermione gripped his arm to stop him.

"Is this about what's happened to me?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Well, yes, but I really wanted to talk to Remus-" Remus looked down at Hermione who looked furious.

"You're not going to keep things about my case from me, Harry Potter!"

"Hermione," Harry said with a sigh.

"No, Harry. I won't be kept in the dark."

"All right," Harry said with another sigh. He looked at Remus. "You have a stalker." Remus' mouth dropped open in shock and Hermione looked much the same.

"I'm sorry, what?" Remus finally said.

"Well, sort of a stalker," Harry amended. "It's the same person that did this to Hermione."

"How do you know?" Hermione said.

"Remus got a letter last night," Harry said. "The handwriting on the letter was the same and it was quite…suggestive. We tracked the owl, but it returned to the post office in Diagon Alley. The man who was working yesterday didn't remember anything about the person that rented the owl. We think he was Confunded."

"We went through all the records from yesterday. The two people that used owls around the time this one was likely sent were both investigated and neither was the person we're looking for. So, we're assuming that the Confundus charm also kept the post worker from writing down the person's name. We went through all the records from the last three days, but there was only one person whose name appeared more than once and it's not him."

"How can you be sure?" Hermione said.

"He runs some kind of mail order Chocolate Frog card service. Sells cards to people to help them complete their collections. Plus, he's a bloke."

"Just because he's a man doesn't mean anything," Hermione said. "It doesn't have to be a woman."

"Trust me, it's a witch," Harry said.

"How do you know?" Hermione said.

"There were photographs, Hermione," Harry said in exasperation.

"Photographs?" Hermione repeated. "Well then you should be able to figure out who she is."

"Not that kind of photograph," Harry said with a grimace, his face reddening slightly.

"Not that kind of," Hermione began, then trailed off. "Oh." Harry looked back at Remus.

"I wish we still had that first one, so I could check the handwriting. Her face was in that one, right?" Hermione's head swung towards Remus.

"You've gotten other naked pictures of women?" she demanded, her voice low and hard. Then she grimaced in pain. Remus recast the charm and glared at Harry.

"Sorry," Harry muttered.

"After I scanned the first batch of letters, Andromeda and I each opened one," Remus explained to Hermione. "The letter I had was rather, well, suggestive as Harry said, and there was a photograph with it. But she wasn't naked. Not completely anyway."

"Well, that's all right then, isn't it?" Hermione snapped.

"I barely even looked at it, love," Remus said, trying to soothe her. That last thing she needed was to get upset. "We burned the lot and I haven't opened any others." He chanced leaning down and kissing the top of her head. She relaxed almost immediately.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "It's not as if you wanted them sent to you. I'm being ridiculous."

"You're not," he said, taking her hand again. She gave him a small smile and then looked back at Harry.

"Go on, Harry."

"Right, well, like I said, we haven't been able to track her, but we've put someone undercover at the post office. Hopefully, she'll come back." He looked at Remus again, his eyes flicking to Hermione briefly.

"Are you sure you don't remember what she looked like?" Harry asked Remus. "I've got this feeling that it's the same woman." Remus cast another charm on Hermione before he closed his eyes to try and remember what the woman in the photograph had looked like. Truthfully, he didn't want to think about it, the entire thing had been disturbing, but if it helped catch the person who had done this to Hermione, he would do it.

"I think she was blonde," he said after a few minutes, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry, I really only glanced at it for a second."

"Do you think you could pull the memory forward enough to put it in a Pensieve?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," Remus said, not really convinced it would work. Pensieves were a wonderful investigative tool, he knew, but were usually used with strong memories, simply to pick out small details that a person might have forgotten or not fully focused on at the time. Harry nodded.

"Ginny is coming soon to check in on Hermione," Harry said. "Could you drop by the Ministry once she gets here?"

"Honestly," Hermione said. "There's an Auror outside my door. I don't need someone sitting with me every minute."

"Yes, you do," Harry said seriously. "If someone managed to get past the Auror somehow, I don't want you in here unprotected." Hermione rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "Besides, you need someone here to cast the charm." Hermione and Remus glanced at each other. Hermione bit her lip.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"The charm really isn't working anymore, Harry," Hermione said.

"What do you mean, I've seen Remus cast it on you more than once since I've been here." His eyes widened as Remus cast it again. "Wait, that's like the third time you've done it."

"We're down to every five minutes and even that doesn't help as much as it did originally."

"Bloody hell," Harry swore.

"Healer Spencer wants to put me in a medically induced sleep," Hermione said.

"A coma?" Harry exclaimed. "She wants to put you in a coma?"

"Essentially," Hermione said. "Although, wizards don't call it that."

"For how long?" Harry demanded.

"Until we can find an antidote," Remus said. Harry swore again and raked a hand through his hair. He looked at Remus.

"You've got to give me that memory. Even a hazy one is better than nothing." Remus nodded. Healer Spencer walked into the room.

"Good morning," she said looking concerned. "I heard you had a bit of a rough night."

"I need the cooling charm every five minutes now and it isn't as effective as it was," Hermione said. The Healer nodded.

"And have you thought about what we discussed yesterday?" Hermione looked at Remus and then back at the Healer.

"Yes, I've decided that it's probably the best thing." Remus gripped her hand more tightly and Harry swore again.

"I agree," the Healer said as Remus cast the charm again. "All right, I need to get everything prepared, so I will return in a bit."

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly.

"Healer Spencer, have you heard anything from anyone you owled yesterday?" Harry asked.

"Some, yes. Neither of them had any more information, I'm afraid." Remus, while expecting this, given that the woman hadn't said anything as soon as she came in, was still disappointed. Harry looked just as dejected. The Healer gave them both sympathetic looks before she left the room.

"Hermione are you sure about this?" Harry asked. "I mean, we could find something any time now."

"You could," Hermione agreed. "And then Healer Spencer can just wake me up." Harry looked pained. "It's the best way, Harry."

"Right, I know," he said. He pulled in a breath and let it out. He looked at Hermione again, then walked to her side and leaned down and hugged her fiercely.

"I love you, Hermione. I'm going to figure out who did this."

"I love you too, Harry. Just don't forget to eat and sleep a bit, yeah?" Harry pulled back from her and Remus could see that his eyes were bright. He kissed Hermione's cheek and smiled at her before he stepped back. Hermione pulled in a shaky breath and Remus resumed his place next to her.

"I should go," Harry said, but before he could leave Ginny walked into the room.

"Morning," she said. There was a pensive look on her face. Remus was about to ask her if something was wrong, but she spoke before he could. "What's going on?" Harry took her hand as Remus explained what was going to happen. As he finished, Healer Spencer walked back into the room.

"Are we ready?" she asked.

"Can you, can we have just a minute?" Hermione asked.

"Of course," the woman said, setting down potion vials on the table next to Hermione's bed. "I'll be back in five minutes."

"Thank you," Hermione said.

"Gods, Hermione, I'm so sorry," Ginny said, leaning over to hug her friend.

"You'll take care of Crooks for me?"

"Of course. You know you don't have to ask." She wiped away a few tears as she pulled back from Hermione.

"This won't be for long at all, Hermione," Harry said. Hermione nodded. Ginny glanced at Remus.

"We'll give you two some privacy," she said and pulled Harry out the door. Remus sat down next to Hermione and cast the charm one last time, then took her hand.

"Hug Teddy every day for me," she said in a choked voice. Remus could only nod. "My parents usually call on Tuesday. If I'm not, if I don't," she trailed off and began to cry.

"I'll make sure to contact them," Remus said. "Don't worry, love."

"I love you," she said. "So much." Remus leaned down and kissed her, resting his forehead on hers after.

"I love you, too." They sat that way until Healer Spencer returned.

"Are we ready?" she asked quietly. Hermione nodded, and Remus pulled in a breath, determined to be strong for the both of them. He smiled and squeezed her hand as the Healer sorted through the vials on the table.

"All right, Miss Granger," she said. "You'll just drink these and then you'll drift off to sleep." She smiled reassuringly.

"You'll stay with me?" Hermione asked Remus in a small voice.

"Of course, I will," he said, kissing her fingers again. Hermione took a deep breath and then looked up at Healer Spencer.

"I'm ready," she said resolutely. The Healer gave her the first vial. Hermione made a face after she'd drunk it but moved on to the next. She yawned as she took the third and Remus helped her lean back further into her pillows. She put a hand to his cheek and smiled before her eyes fluttered shut and her hand dropped from his face. He took it in his and her eyes opened again seconds later but closed almost immediately. Her breathing evened out and her hand went limp in Remus'. He kept hold of it as Healer Spencer ran her diagnostics over Hermione.

"Everything looks good," the Healer said. "We'll check her every thirty minutes or so these first few hours, just to make sure, but I don't foresee any problems. She's a strong, healthy young woman." She patted Remus' shoulder. "I'll be back soon."

"Thank you," Remus said.

"If you like, I can transfigure that chair to a cot. I know you've been up all night."

"No, thank you," Remus said. "I promise I'll rest in a little while. I just want to be sure she's all right first." The Healer smiled in understanding and then left the room. Remus sighed and looked down at Hermione. She looked so peaceful lying there, no hint of the pain she had been suffering through for the last twenty-four hours. Remus felt like punching something or screaming in rage, but instead, he kissed the back of Hermione's hand and brushed a curl out of her face.

"Remus?" Ginny asked quietly as she stuck her head in the door. "Is it all right if we come back in?" Remus nodded, glad for the distraction. Harry followed Ginny into the room.

"We saw Healer Spencer leave," Harry said. "It went all right then?"

"Perfectly," Remus said. Ginny looked at Hermione for a moment before she glanced at Harry. They carried on a silent conversation and Ginny finally sighed, turning to Remus.

"There's something you should see." She pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet from her bag and handed it to Remus.

Where are our Newest Lovebirds?

Rita Skeeter

News of a relationship between The Golden Trio's Hermione Granger and her former professor, Remus Lupin, broke two days ago, after they were spotted having a romantic dinner in Diagon Alley. However, the couple seems to have since disappeared from the public eye.

Both had faithfully attended the trial and sentencing of Leland Hughes, co-conspirator in the werewolf scandal that has rocked the Ministry in recent weeks. However, both have been conspicuously absent since. Neither were present for the reading of the verdict nor sentencing of Cyrus Warrington yesterday, although they attended his trial together the day before.

Mr. Lupin obviously has a vested interest in these cases, as he is a werewolf himself. Miss Granger once worked for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and sponsored recent legislation to protect House-elves. She is a well-known champion of those she feels are treated unfairly. Why then, would neither of them appear at Warrington's sentencing?

Have they taken off on a romantic holiday or are they in hiding, trying to avoid the public's reaction to the news of their relationship? This reporter could not reach either Miss Granger or Mr. Lupin for comment, so your guess is as good as mine. Rest assured, dear readers, that I will get to the bottom of this mystery and as soon as I know, you will know.

Remus crumpled the paper in his fist, jaw clenched in anger. Fucking Rita Skeeter. Obviously, Hermione's bluff hadn't worked the other day.

"What is this going to do in terms of the investigation?" Remus asked.

"Well, whoever did this is likely going to think that they were successful," Harry said. "But that could work to our advantage." Remus looked at him quizzically. "She may step up her attempts to get in contact with you, if she thinks that Hermione is out of the picture."

"But," Remus prompted, knowing there was more that Harry wasn't saying.

"It's always possible that you might have gotten hold of that letter before Hermione did. For this woman to be sure that her plan worked, she'd either have to know Hermione was a patient here, which isn't likely given the security we've put in place. The Welcome Witch doesn't even know Hermione is a patient. Or she would need to see you in public without Hermione." Remus sighed.

"Well, I'm not going to go parading myself around Diagon Alley or something."

"I don't think you have to go that far," Harry said with a slight smile. "Coming into the Ministry later to give me that memory would likely do it. There are always plenty of reporters around."

"All right," Remus agreed. The three of them looked back to Hermione, Remus sitting back down at her side.

"I wish Slughorn would have known what the potion was," Ginny said with a sad sigh.

"So do I," Harry agreed.

"But there have got to be other Potions Masters out there that might recognize this" Ginny said. Harry nodded.

"Slughorn has given us some names, but it will take a bit to contact them all."

Remus hadn't been surprised when Slughorn hadn't know what the potion was. If only Severus were still here; there was a much greater chance he would recognize it. Remus looked down at Hermione again, brow furrowed, his lips pursed in thought.

"Remus?" Harry said. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I, I've just thought of something," he said.

"What?" Harry asked. Remus ignored his question and turned to Ginny.

"Will you stay with her?"

"Of course, but where are you going?"

"I have to get to Hogwarts." He kissed Hermione tenderly on the forehead, then stood from her bed.

"Hogwarts? What do you have to do at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"I need to talk to Minerva,' Remus said. "I want to know what happened to Severus' private library." A look of understanding crossed Harry's face.

"You think he might have a book that has this potion in it?"

"I know that Severus had quite a few very old and obscure texts," Remus said. "It's worth a look if they're still at the school."

"I should have someone go through the library at Grimmauld," Harry said.

"Sirius and I sorted through the library once Grimmauld became Headquarters," Remus said. "Dumbledore took anything that was dangerous or too Dark. I'm not sure there would be anything there."

"It's worth a try," Harry said. Remus nodded.

"Minerva may know what happened to the books we got rid of. Otherwise, I can talk to Albus' portrait."

"Stop by the Ministry after?" Harry requested. "You can give me an update and the memory."

"All right," Remus agreed. He turned to Ginny. "Don't leave the room. And if anything happens, send me a Patronus."

"Don't worry," Ginny said. "She'll be fine." She sat down in the chair next to Hermione's bed. Harry kissed Ginny's cheek and left the room with Remus.

Remus arrived at the gates of the school just as Hagrid did. Remus had sent a Patronus to the school as soon as he walked out of the Three Broomsticks and was glad Hagrid was there already. With school in session and as early as it was, the groundskeeper had likely been at breakfast.

"Mornin' Remus," Hagrid said as he arrived at the gates. "Here to see the Headmistress are yeh?"

"Good morning, Hagrid," Remus said. "Thank you for coming down so quickly. I hope I didn't interrupt your breakfast.

"Nah, I was finished. Got an early class this mornin'." He unlocked the gates and Remus hurried through. "Everythin' all right, I hope?" Remus wondered if he had seen the Prophet this morning. If he had, Hagrid didn't mention it.

"Yes, there's just something I need to speak with Minerva about." As much Remus knew that Hagrid loved Hermione, he couldn't risk the wrong person discovering what had happened to her before they found the antidote. Hagrid had never been known for his discretion.

"She was just finishin' breakfast when I lef'," Hagrid said. "Said she'd be waitin' in her office. Password's ginger newts."

"Thank you, Hagrid."

Remus quickly made his way across the grounds to the castle. When he stepped into the Entrance Hall, he could tell that breakfast had just finished, as the corridors were full of students headed to their classes. Many of the students stared as he walked past, and he saw more than one copy of the Daily Prophet in their hands. Remus ignored the stares and the whispering and hurried towards Minerva's office.

Remus reached the gargoyle and gave it the password, then ran up the spiral stairs instead of waiting for them to take him to the top. He rapped on the door.

"Enter," Minerva's voice called, and Remus pushed open the door and hurried inside.

"Remus," Minerva said, setting down the newspaper as he walked in. "I'm glad to see you're alive and well and haven't flown the coop." She smirked. Remus tried to smile, but he didn't know how successful he was.

"Has something happened?" Minerva asked seconds later, obviously seeing his expression.

"Unfortunately, yes," Remus said with a sigh, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Hermione is in St. Mungo's."

"Good lord is she all right?"

"No," Remus said. He proceeded to explain what had happened. "It's why we weren't at the trial yesterday."

"Is this the potion Horace was asked to look at?" Minerva asked, looking horrified.

"Yes," Remus said. "I'm going to have to ask you to keep this information to yourself, Minerva. We're trying to keep it quiet."

"Of course," Minerva immediately agreed. "You know that I'll do whatever I can to help, but if Horace had no idea what it was, I'm not sure what I can do."

"I was hoping that you knew what happened to Severus' library."

"He left a letter instructing what should be done with his possessions here at the school. He left all his books to Hogwarts, with a few exceptions for personal bequests." Remus bit back a sigh. While he could still search through the Hogwarts library, it would take much longer than going through just Severus' books.

"After the individual bequests, I had the House-elves box up the books and put them into storage," Minerva continued. "I had meant to go through them, but first it was…too soon and then, well, I suppose with as busy as I have gotten, I had forgotten." She looked regretful, but Remus was relieved. If the books were still here, it meant Remus had a better chance of finding what he was looking for.

"Minerva, I would like to look through the books and see if perhaps Severus had something in his library which might explain how to cure what has happened to Hermione."

"Of course," Minerva said immediately. "Mipsy." A House-elf popped into the office.

"Yes, Headmistress?"

"Would you please fetch Professor Snape's books from storage?" Minerva asked.

"Yes, Headmistress," Mipsy said and disappeared. Moments later, she returned. She set six small boxes on the floor, then waved her hand and enlarged them. "Will Headmistress be needing anything else?"

"No, Mipsy, thank you." The elf nodded and snapped her fingers, disappearing. Remus opened one of the boxes and picked up the top book. He flipped through it and realized there were nearly a hundred different potions inside. He looked around at all the boxes and realized this was going to take some time, especially if he had to do it himself. There was a table of contents or an index in most books, of course, but Remus didn't want to miss anything. For all he knew, the name of the potion could have nothing to do with it being flesh-eating.

And then there was also the spell. It worked similarly to a Muggle card catalogue, pulling books that had something to do with the key words spoken when casting the spell, but again, Remus didn't want to miss anything. There could be an obscure reference somewhere that might lead them to the answer. And it wasn't always a guarantee it would be found by the spell. Still, he couldn't sit and read through this many books.

Minerva opened another box and held her wand aloft. She looked over at him.

"Flesh-eating is the key word?" she questioned, looking pained as she asked. Remus sighed.

"For now," he said. Doing a quick initial search would be the best thing, he supposed. They might get lucky.

They each took three boxes and began casting the spell, a few books from each box rising into the air and hovering there. Remus had a pile of ten when he was finished, Minerva seven. He began to quickly flip through the first.

After an hour, Remus had read more about flesh-eating slugs than he ever cared to know, found a surprising number of potions that used some part of different carnivorous plants, and had found a potion that would quickly remove the flesh from a corpse in the event that the bones were to be preserved. Remus didn't think it was what they were looking for, as the book he found it in appeared to be a textbook for Healer training, but he marked the page anyway and set the book aside to take with him. Minerva had not had any more luck than Remus and both were a bit dejected when they finished.

"I am sorry, Remus," Minerva said. Remus gave her a small smile.

"It was worth a try," he said.

"If I may," a new voice said. Remus looked at Dumbledore's portrait. "It is much more likely that Severus would have kept an obscure text like that in his personal library, rather than his professional one."

"Do you know what became of that?" Remus asked hopefully.

"I would assume it is still in his home," Albus said.

"The letter didn't specify what was to become of his home and its contents?" Remus asked Minerva.

"No, only his office and personal quarters here," she replied.

"Do you know where he lived?"

"Of course, I do, I," then she trailed off, frowning.

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"I don't know where he lived," Minerva said. "But I'm sure that I've been there before."

"You have," Albus said.

"Then why can't I," Minerva trailed off in realization.

"Fidelius," Remus said in disappointment.

"Severus cast the charm on his house just after he was made Headmaster at the request of someone else." Remus looked up at Albus in confusion.

"Who?"

"That, I cannot say, as he did not tell me," Albus said.

"You don't think, Voldemort?" Minerva asked.

"I did not get that impression, no. In fact, I am quite sure that Voldemort was not aware that Severus had done it."

"Why would this person ask that of him?"

"In order to protect someone, would be my guess," Albus said. "But I do not know for certain."

"Severus was his own secret-keeper?" Remus asked. Albus nodded. "So, we would have to find out who this person was, if they're even still alive, in order to get to Severus' library, as they are now the secret-keeper given his death," Remus said, frustrated.

"I am afraid so," Albus replied.

"You're sure you don't know who it was?" Remus asked. He didn't like to accuse Dumbledore of hiding something, but it had been his specialty after all.

"If I did, I would tell you," Albus said. "The war is long over and certainly whoever might have needed sanctuary does no longer."

"What about employee files?" Remus asked.

"You know how the Fidelius works, Remus," Albus said. "The address would have disappeared from any paperwork as soon as the charm was cast." Remus sighed. Of course, he knew that. But he felt as if he were no further ahead than he'd been when he got here. This entire idea had been a waste of time.

"Thank you for letting me look through these," Remus said to Minerva. "I'll be sure this one is returned once I've shown it to Healer Spencer."

"Do not worry about that," Minerva said. "I'll keep them here and go through them more thoroughly. Perhaps we missed something."

"Remus, I will have a conversation with a few of the older portraits and let Minerva know if they have any ideas about the potion," Albus said.

"Thank you, Albus," Remus replied. Minerva walked with him to the door. Unexpectedly, she pulled him into a hug. Remus clung to her for a moment before she released him.

"Might I stop by to visit Hermione?" she asked.

"We're trying to keep visitors to a minimum," Remus said apologetically. "To keep word from getting out." Minerva looked disappointed but nodded all the same.

"I understand," she said. "You will let me know when it is safe?"

"Yes," Remus assured her. He turned to leave when she said his name again. He looked over his shoulder.

"I was surprised, at Teddy's party," she said. "But the two of you, I wish you every happiness." Remus smiled.

"Thank you, Minerva." He turned and left the office. He would stop by the Ministry to give Harry the memory and drop off the book, then go to the Burrow and spend a bit of time with Teddy and maybe take a short rest before returning to the hospital. When he reached the grounds, he drew his wand and cast a Patronus, sending it to Ginny informing her of his plans.

Later that afternoon, Remus sat at Hermione's bedside, watching her even breathing. Harry was looking at the memory Remus had given him, although Remus didn't think it would be much help. After reviewing it, he remembered that the woman had been looking down at her lap and her face was in shadow. It was no wonder he hadn't remembered what she looked like.

Remus had given the book he found to one of the researchers, but they were already aware of the potion. It was one they were working from to try and find a cure. Remus had also told Harry about what Albus had said about Severus' home. Harry had gotten a thoughtful look on his face for a moment before he thanked Remus and told him he'd let him know if he got anything from the memory.

Ron was doing a search of the library at Grimmauld Place to see if he could find anything pertaining to the potion. Minerva was checking Dumbledore's private collection, as well as the books they had brought from Grimmauld that the adults had considered too Dark to keep around the children. Madame Pince was contacting a few private collectors, enquiring as to whether they had come across anything like the potion that had hurt Hermione. And of course, the DMLE was following up with other Potions Masters.

Remus had then gone to the Burrow to spend a bit of time with Teddy and update Andromeda and Molly on Hermione's condition and the investigation.

"And you are sure you did not recognize the woman in photograph?" Andromeda had asked him.

"No," Remus had said, although something about it was niggling in the back of his mind. He couldn't figure out what, however. The more he concentrated on it, the further away it slipped, and he finally just put it out of his mind all together. Hopefully, it would come back to him.

Sighing, Remus took Hermione's hand in his. He felt like they were no closer than they had been before he left for Hogwarts.

"I'm still looking, love," he said softly. "I'm not going to stop until we figure this out."

The was a sharp rap at the door and Remus drew his wand as it opened. The staff always just walked in and he wasn't expecting Ginny for another hour. He was surprised to see Neville standing in the doorway.

"Hello Prof-, er, Remus," Neville said. Remus lowered his wand, still confused as to why Neville was here. "Harry wants you to go to the Ministry right away."

"Has he found something?" Remus asked.

"He was questioning someone and asked me to come and get you. Ron was still at Grimmauld Place when I left. That's all I know," Neville said apologetically. Remus' heart began to pound in his chest. Had Harry caught the culprit? Might this all be over already?

"I'll stay with Hermione," Neville continued. "Harry told me that she wasn't to be left alone, even with the guard outside."

"Thank you, Neville." Remus said. He returned to the bed and kissed Hermione's forehead.

"I'll be back soon, love," he said quietly. He squeezed her hand and hurriedly left the room.

Remus walked into the Auror offices and stopped at the receptionist's desk.

"Remus Lupin here to see Harry Potter."

"Oh, yes, Mr. Lupin," she said, looking a bit flustered. Remus could see the edge of the Daily Prophet poking out from under a pile of parchment. He supposed coming to the Ministry twice in one day would likely accomplish what Harry had wanted as far as reporters were concerned.

"Follow me, please," the woman said. She led him not to Harry's cubicle as Remus had expected, but down a short corridor and into what was obviously an interrogation room.

"Auror Potter will be right with you. Can I get you anything? Tea, water, pumpkin juice?"

"No, thank you," Remus said. She nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Remus was a bit uncomfortable in the small room, wondering why Harry wanted to meet here instead of at his desk.

"Remus," the man in question said as he came into the room a few minutes later.

"Harry, what is going on?" Remus asked as soon as Harry had shut the door. "Have you caught her?"

"No," Harry said. "But there's someone I'd like you to speak to."

"Who?" Remus asked completely confused.

"Someone came to your house today and the Auror on duty brought her in for questioning," Harry said.

"I thought you said you didn't catch her," Remus said.

"We didn't," Harry replied. "She isn't the person we're looking for."

"Then what the hell was she doing at my house?" Remus asked.

"It was Narcissa Malfoy." Remus immediately bristled. He hadn't had a chance to confront Narcissa about the slur on Hermione's arm since Hermione told him about it. "She tried to Floo Andromeda a few times yesterday and then again this morning. She sent an owl, but it was, of course, rerouted here. When she didn't get an answer, she got worried and decided to Apparate over to check on all of you."

"I don't know what that has to do with me or Hermione," Remus said tightly.

"Look, Remus, I know that Hermione told you about the scar on her arm. And I also know you were likely livid with Mrs. Malfoy for not doing anything to stop it. Trust me, I know. But she still saved my life in the forest."

"Only to get to her son," Remus snapped.

"I realize that, but she still did it. I wouldn't have made it out of that forest otherwise. She wants to talk to you. Insists on it, actually. Said she wouldn't take my word that Andromeda and Teddy were all right, wanted to hear it from either Andromeda or you. She refused to leave until she talked to you."

"Does she know what's happened?" Harry shook his head.

"Only that there has been a threat and that you've been removed from the house for you own safety. She doesn't know about Hermione."

"I can't believe you dragged me away from Hermione for this, Harry," Remus snapped. "Just threaten to arrest her. That should get her to leave."

"Remus," Harry said patiently. "She might have information."

"About what?"

"The potion. Or Snape." And suddenly, Remus had a flash of understanding. Draco. Of course, Narcissa would have done anything to protect her son, even convince Severus to set the Fidelius on his house in case she needed a place to hide Draco. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. He knew about the Unbreakable Vow Severus had taken.

Remus scrubbed a hand down his face. He wasn't ready for this conversation; he was not in the right frame of mind for it. But he would do it if it might help Hermione.

"All right, I'll talk to her. But you had better stay in the room with us."

"As if I was planning on leaving you two alone," Harry said with a snort. He led the way out of the small room Remus was in to another a bit further down the corridor. Narcissa was pacing when Harry opened the door. She looked up at Remus and relief flashed briefly across her face.

"Andy?" she asked. "Teddy?"

"They're both fine," Remus said.

"Where are they?"

"Somewhere safe," Remus replied.

"I want to know what is going on," Narcissa demanded.

"It's none of your business," Remus snapped.

"She is my sister!" Remus opened his mouth to retort, but Harry put a hand on his arm.

"Mrs. Malfoy, as I explained to you, I can't give you details about an ongoing investigation."

"Who has threatened them?" Remus looked at her and saw the formidable witch she was. He had no doubt that if Harry had a name to give her, Narcissa would seek retribution in seconds.

"They weren't threatened directly," Remus said. "It's more of a precaution."

"Then who was threatened?" she asked.

"We can't tell you that," Harry said, giving Remus a look for revealing as much as he had.

"Did Severus cast the Fidelius on his house at your request?" Remus asked, quickly changing the subject. Narcissa was unable to mask her look of shock.

"I do not know what you are talking about," she said coolly a moment later.

"I think you do," Remus said.

"I do not understand why you are asking me."

"I need to look through Severus' library."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you," Remus said. "But it's a matter of some urgency."

"I cannot help you," Narcissa said.

"Can't or won't?" Remus retorted.

"Let's just calm down, all right?" Harry said as there was a knock on the door. Harry muttered at the interruption and wrenched the door open. "We're in the middle of something here."

"I know, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's something you should see," the man in the corridor said. Remus made to follow, but the other Auror held up his hand. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lupin, official business." Harry turned back to Remus and Narcissa, looking at them warily. Then he turned to Remus.

"Give me your wand," Harry said.

"Why?" Remus asked.

"Because I'm not leaving the two of you alone if there are wands involved," Harry said. "Mrs. Malfoy doesn't have hers either." Remus glared at him as Harry held out his hand. He finally pulled his wand from his pocket and smacked it into Harry's palm.

"And just so you know, this room is warded against wandless magic. I'll be right back." Remus glowered at Harry's back as he left. There was silence in the room for a few minutes. Remus could feel Narcissa's eyes on him, but he studiously ignored her.

"This is about Miss Granger, isn't it? About your relationship with her?" Narcissa finally asked. Remus turned towards her, eyes narrowed, but he didn't respond. "I saw the article in the Prophet. Both of them."

"Like I said before, it's none of your business."

"You have received letters, I assume? Howlers as well?" She studied Remus and appeared deep in thought.

"You have moved Andromeda and Teddy from the house, so I assume that you must have received some kind of threat from someone. And, obviously, Andromeda did not get my owl or she would have written back to assure me all was well." Remus was a bit surprised that she had figured it out so quickly, but he supposed it did make the most sense, given what she knew.

"The Aurors have redirected your mail?" she asked.

"I can't give you any information," Remus replied.

"But you have not denied it." She stared at him for another minute. "Why do you want to see Severus' library?"

"I need to look for a book."

"What book?"

"A potions book." She looked at him like he was simple. Of course, he would be looking for a potions book in Severus' library.

"I am afraid that I will need more information if I am to help you."

"So, you are the secret-keeper, then," Remus said. They both stared at one another, knowing that they had reached an impasse. They would each have to give up a bit of information.

"I'm looking for an antidote to a flesh-eating potion."

"You said they were fine," she accused.

"They are," he replied. Her eyes widened slightly, and Remus knew she had guessed. She didn't say anything about it, however.

"I became the secret-keeper after Severus' death. I asked him to ward the house in case I needed to get Draco somewhere safe. He was under constant threat from the Dark Lord as punishment for Lucius' failure at the Department of Mysteries and then mine after the trio's escape from the Manor." Remus' ire immediately rose.

"How could you?" he hissed. "How could you stand by and watch what Bellatrix did? Hermione was innocent!"

"I was protecting my son!"

"Draco wasn't the one who was tortured and had his arm carved into!"

"Wasn't he?" Narcissa returned, her eyes blazing with fury. And Remus realized that she had never wanted it, never wanted her son to follow in his father's service, never wanted Voldemort in her house, maybe never even wanted Lucius to become a Death Eater in the first place. As much as he was sure she had believed in the message, he suspected she had not agreed with the methods. She finally sighed and turned away from him, staring at the far wall.

"There was nothing I could have done when Bellatrix set her mind to what she was going to do. Not without getting Draco or, more likely, myself, killed. Then there would have been no one left to protect him. Lucius was certainly in no fit state to do it." She turned back to face him.

"So, yes, I stood by and watched while my sister did unspeakable things to an innocent girl, guilty of nothing except being the best friend of Harry Potter. I watched as Miss Granger withstood torture that had driven lesser witches and wizards mad. And I watched as Bella carved that word into her arm with a cursed blade and knew she would wear it for the rest of her life. I am not proud of what I did, but I cannot say I would not do it again to save my child." Remus stood in silence.

"You have a son," she continued. "What would you do? How far would you go to protect him?" She let the question hand in the air and Remus couldn't answer. He would do anything, anything for Teddy. Would he have gone as far as Narcissa? He would like to think that he wouldn't, but he couldn't say for sure, and he hoped to Merlin that he never had to find out.

"Will you take me to the house?" he finally asked, his voice as neutral as possible. He couldn't forgive Narcissa, not now, maybe not ever. But Hermione needed him to do this and for her, he would be civil.

"Yes," she said. "And I will also give you access to the Malfoy library, should Severus' not have what you need." Remus nodded curtly.

"Thank you." The stood in awkward silence for a few moments until Harry returned. He looked from one to the other, sensing the tension in the room.

"All right?" he finally asked.

"Yes, Mr. Potter," Narcissa said. Harry glanced at Remus, then returned his wand.

"Narcissa is going to give us access to Severus' library," Remus said. Harry looked relieved.

"If you have parchment and a quill," Narcissa said. Harry produced the requested items. Narcissa wrote out an address on the parchment. "I would request that Severus' home be given the respect it deserves."

"You have my word," Harry said. She turned back to Remus.

"Please remember my offer if you cannot find what you are looking for." Remus nodded. "And please have Andromeda drop me a note when she can."

"I'll have someone walk you out, Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said. He stepped into the corridor.

"I am sorry about Miss Granger," Narcissa said and Remus wasn't sure if she was apologizing for what had happened at the Manor or for Hermione's current state. Perhaps both. "I wish you luck in your search."

"Thank you," Remus said. The same woman that had led Remus to the first room arrived to take Narcissa back to the reception area. Narcissa nodded once to Remus and Harry, then left.

"You told her about Hermione?" Harry demanded.

"She guessed," Remus said. "I didn't confirm or deny it."

"What did she mean about her offer?" Harry asked.

"She offered the Malfoy library if Severus didn't have the book we needed." Harry's mouth dropped open at that. Remus picked up the piece of parchment she had left on the table.

The home of Severus Snape can be found at Number Thirty-four Spinner's End, Cokeworth.

"How soon can we leave?" Remus asked.

"I need to talk to Robards," Harry said. "You should go back to St. Mungo's."

"Ginny should be there shortly to relieve Neville," Remus said. "I'm coming with you to Severus'."

"Remus," Harry began, but Remus interrupted him.

"Don't argue with me, Harry," he said. "I know where to go, I'll just show up regardless of what you say." Harry sighed.

"Fine, I'll speak to Robards about it."

"What did you get called away for earlier?" Remus asked. Harry looked at him and Remus could tell that he wasn't sure if he should tell him or not.

"You got another letter."

"From her?" Remus asked. Harry nodded. "Was there another photograph?"

"No," Harry said. "But she knows that Hermione is in St. Mungo's."

"How?" Remus demanded.

"It could just be that she assumes because of Skeeter's article," Harry said.

"You don't sound sure about that."

"There hasn't been another article yet about you being seen in public," Harry continued. "And this letter arrived late this morning. It is possible that someone that saw you at Hogwarts or here earlier today could have told her and she sent the letter then, but it's cutting it rather close, time-wise."

"Hogwarts is likely out," Remus said. "The amount of time it would have taken for someone to send an owl to this woman and then her to get an owl to me which was then rerouted here, wouldn't seem to be possible."

"I agree," Harry said.

"Did you track the owl?" Harry nodded.

"Hogsmeade post office this time. No one remembers anything." Remus sighed.

"So, either she's just assuming or someone that works in the Ministry told her," Remus said.

"Or, she works at the Ministry and saw you herself," Harry said. "Did you talk to anyone this morning besides me? Even in passing?"

"Just the receptionist in the front," Remus said. He looked up at Harry. "She's blonde."

"Charlotte?" Harry said. "I don't think it's her."

"How do you know?" Remus asked.

"She doesn't seem the type," Harry said.

"She gave me a strange look this morning when I got here to give you the memory," Remus said. "At the time I couldn't really place it, but now, it might have been relief. And this afternoon when I got here, she was rather flustered for a few moments." Harry looked skeptical.

"Remus, just because she's blonde doesn't mean it's her."

"I know that, Harry, but shouldn't you look into every possibility?"

"With as brazen as she's been in her letters, do you really think she would be flustered around you?"

"Sometimes it's easier to put things in a letter than speak to someone directly," Remus said. Harry stared at him for a moment before he nodded.

"All right, we'll look at some of her memos and compare the handwriting. Come on, you can wait at my desk while I talk to Robards about going to Snape's." Remus followed Harry back to his desk and glanced up at the waiting area on the way. Charlotte was at her desk, but she looked up at his stare. She blushed, gave him a small smile, and looked back down at the parchment in front of her. Remus stared at her for a few more seconds.

"Remus," Harry said, breaking Remus from his thoughts. He followed the younger man to his desk, thoughts still on Charlotte, wondering.