12. The Prisoner

Next morning during breakfast Minerva said to Severus, "When I saw you leave last night I thought you two make such a good looking couple. I like what Bobbie did with that wedding dress." Then she asked, "In any case, what do you think about that restaurant? Is it worth going there?"

"It is very well worth it. A very nice ambiance and the food is excellent. Unfortunately we ran into the Malfoys," Severus rolled his eyes.

"I presume that didn't improve the atmosphere..." Minerva guessed with not only a little sarcasm.

"Indeed, Narcissa called me the 'hero of the Wizarding world' like I was something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe, just because I nicked the private room before they could reserve it. And later Lucius walked in on us with a bottle of wine, insinuating that I don't have enough money to pay for it myself, simply because we chose to drink tea. And then he all but drooled over Bobbie, right in front of Narcissa and Draco."

"Well, it also was a total lack of respect against you. I always thought you two where friends or at least acquaintances," Minerva said.

"We never really have been friends. I was only his friend as long as it suited him. It all changed after the war and now that I am married it seems like he can't handle the fact that I have someone who is immune to his looks and charm. The more Bobbie is rejecting his advances the more of a challenge it seems to be for him," Severus mused and then looked Minerva in the eyes and said quietly, "I don't even know why I am telling you all this."

Minerva patted his hand for a moment and said, "Don't worry about it. You can tell me anything, just like you did with Albus. We were sometimes discussing your role in the war and your unhappy life."

"You were discussing me? I thought Albus was my friend and didn't spout my private life to anyone," Severus said with indignation.

"He didn't! Sometimes I came to him and asked how we could help you. Just because we were talking about you doesn't mean we were gossiping. It just means that we were worried about you. Severus, you sometimes scared us. Albus looked at you like he would a son. I wish he could see you now." Minerva smiled at him and then she abruptly changed the subject. "So, how did Draco react to his father's advances?"

Severus looked at Minerva a little while longer and finally decided to let it go and pick up on her new subject. "He knows his father. He has picked up on it since he was a small child. He still liked the way Lucius used to throw his wealth and influence around. But he is slowly changing and it seems to be more of an embarrassment to him lately." Then it was Severus turn to change the subject. "Anyhow, we saw Emily Johnes who used to be in Ravenclaw. She married Thomas Greyborow, also of Ravenclaw. They are the ones who built the restaurant."

"You don't say...! That is wonderful. I had the feeling there was something going on between these two when they were still students." She chuckled and then said, "I caught them in the corridors snogging more than once."

Pretty soon is was time for Severus's first class. While walking to his classroom he realized that he had just discussed some of his problems with Minerva and had also had some small talk with her. He was surprised how easy it had been. It was something he never would have thought he was capable of. The thought that the freedom he had now was slowly changing him invaded his mind. He was wondering if this would have been how he would have turned out if he had never become a Death Eater and his home life with his parents would have been normal. There was no telling... The only thing he knew was that he never wanted to treat his children the way his father had treated him. And then his thoughts inevitably went back thinking about Draco and his home life. Would his godson be able to overcome the influence of his parents?

He finally arrived at the classroom and he had to put his mind onto other things.

888

Before Severus and Bobbie could leave for home that evening, Draco knocked on the door. Bobbie opened it for him and said, "Hi Draco, come in."

"Thank you. Is Uncle Severus here?" he asked while walking in.

"He is! He just went to the lab for a moment. You can go and see him there if you want to," Bobbie said.

"It's okay. I will see him in a minute. I just wanted to... father said... I wanted to congratulate you and Uncle Severus. Father... he said you... you are pregnant?" Draco asked stuttering and fidgeting.

She said with a smile, "Yes Draco, it is true. Severus and I are going to have a child but it won't be for a long while. We only just found out."

"Oh, err... good, I mean, I'm happy for you." He tried not to look at her and Bobbie had the impression that this wasn't the only reason he was here but he was too embarrassed to come out with it.

"Draco, is there anything else? Are you okay?" Bobbie asked him.

"Err... yes, I am," he said looking at the floor and fidgeting around with his hands.

Bobbie finally laid her hand on his arm and said, "Just tell me. You don't have to be afraid that I will get mad, or that Severus will."

He finally said, "I'm really sorry, my mother... she said she likes your perfume and..."

"...she wants to know what it is," Bobbie finished for him.

He nodded and quietly said, "Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't want to ask you but she insisted."

"You don't have to feel guilty for what your parents are putting you up to," she said.

Draco said, throwing up his hands in frustration, "It's just... It's driving me crazy that she wants everything other people have."

Severus came around the corner and said rolling his eyes, "She always needed to keep up with the Joneses. Well, this time she won't get her wish."

"Oh?" Draco looked somewhat amused at Severus.

Bobbie said, "It is something Severus makes for me. It is a lotion, not a perfume."

"I know she won't like it, but just tell her she can't have it," Severus said smiling at Bobbie.

Draco had a one-sided grin on his face and said, "You're right, she will not like that."

Bobbie said, "Severus, if Draco is getting in trouble..."

"I won't," Draco said still grinning. "She'll just have to deal with it."

"Do I detect a little bit of malicious glee in that grin?" Severus asked.

"What if you do? I think it is about time that you don't let them push you around anymore. I now realize you had to do that because... you know, because of V...Voldemort," Draco said.

"Yes, things will be different now," Severus agreed.

"I am glad you are finally going on with your life, Uncle Severus. I hope you have a pleasant weekend and congratulations on that baby," Draco said sincerely and waved at them before leaving.

"Well, that was interesting...," Bobbie said.

Severus snorted and shook his head. "I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I have never met anyone who is living up to their name quite like Narcissa is. There is nobody as narcissistic as that bloody woman."

"Well, maybe her husband. He is definitely a close second. Good thing that Draco seems to find it appalling. There is still hope for him." Bobbie sniggered.

"Indeed!" Then he framed her face with his hands and said, "Let's get out of here and enjoy our weekend at home."

She kissed him gently and said, "I like the sound of that."

888

It turned out to be a really nasty weekend, dreary and rainy. Bobbie and Severus made the best of it though. They slept until late in the mornings. There was lots of affection and tender moments and he spoiled her by doing most of the chores because of her tiredness - of course magic helped a little. They did some reading and Severus went over his notes for the lycanthropy cure one more time and also worked for a while on the theory and his ideas he had about the cure for Cruciatus insanity.

One time Bobbie saw him sitting at the table in front of his notes and staring off into space. She finally asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Mmh yes, I am just thinking about how we are going to try that cure for lycanthropy. The full moon will be on a Saturday. I should probably go back to Hogwarts right after lunch and get all the ingredients set out and ready for preparation. I will have to stay all night and watch that everything works out with that prisoner."

"We could both go and I'll keep you company," Bobbie suggested.

"No my Love, I don't want you near that prisoner. What if he is changing into a full-blown werewolf?" Severus said.

"It will be in that cell. There is no way out for it," Bobbie argued.

"Yes, I am sure it will be secure, but I don't want you to have to see that monster. You were friends with Tonks and also friendly with her husband. I think you should keep him in your mind the way you knew him and not the way he would have looked as that... that thing. Trust me when I tell you that it is not a pretty sight," Severus said with a slow shake of his head.

"I know, Baby. I saw him in his werewolf form in your flashback, when I was still able to get them. One of the things I remember was when you went into that tunnel and he went after you," Bobbie said. What she didn't tell him was the fear she had felt in Severus during the flashback.

"Right, I forgot..." he said quietly with embarrassment. He still had mixed feelings about her having seen his worst moments and all of his dirty secrets.

She noticed the change in his mood. She knew that he had gotten much better and the reassurances she sometimes had to give him were getting fewer and farther in between but once in a while he still needed them and this seemed to be one of those moments. She wove her fingers into his hair and sat down on his lap and whispered, "Hey, don't do that. Those things I saw made you the strong man you are now. I wouldn't want you any other way."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close for a while. Then he kissed her gently, "I sometimes can't help it. I have been a very private person all of my life and now here is someone who knows everything about my past." Then he picked her up from sitting sideways on his lap and sat her down on his knees straddling him and looked at her in earnest and said, "I now know you would never use your knowledge against me and most of the times I am fine but sometimes it just bothers me that... that especially the person who ... means the most to me knows all of my sins."

She knew that his words of endearment didn't come easy to him. She stroked his beautiful hair and kissed him gently and whispered against his lips, "I love you too, Baby..."

Her words and the kiss made his desire flare up inside his veins. He groaned and scooted her from where she was sitting on his knees all the way up his legs and against his body. He pressed her against him with his hands on her buttocks and closed his eyes feeling himself getting hard. He inhaled the sweet scent of her skin and hair and then found her lips with his own and kissed her deeply. His heart was beating like mad and his breathing growing deeper.

Bobbie felt the bulge in his pants press against her. It was like an aphrodisiac for her. She felt the tingling in her core and the yearning for him mounting. She moaned against his lips. She wanted him but she still found that the way things were right now where incredibly sensual. They were so close and yet so far apart with the fabric of their clothing keeping them from the consummation they both wanted.

Severus seemed to be likeminded. He raked hot kisses over her neck listening to her moans and again claimed her mouth kissing her fiercely. He was aching to enter her and even though the throbbing in his pants was painfully straining against the tight fabric it also was oh, so exciting. When she pulled the Muggle t-shirt he was wearing over his head and planted hot kisses on the sensitive parts of his neck and nibbled on his ear he groaned and arched his back to press himself more into her. Merlin, he was going mad with want and need, and when she went with her hand inside the waistband of his trousers and made him more comfortable he thought he was going to lose it. He groaned and again arched his back.

Bobbie felt him press his bulge into her. His enthusiasm was feeding her desire for him even more. She was so aroused she could feel her panties getting moist and when she had slid her hand down into his pants and felt his silken shaft she felt how ready he was.

"Merlin, I can't do this any longer. I need you, now...," he breathed and fumbled for is wand and spelled the clothes off them and entered her right then and there. They were so far gone by then that it took only three trusts and it was over. They were clinging to each other like they were drowning while their combined climax was washing over them like a tidal wave.

Bobbie whispered into his ear while clinging to him panting, "God, I never knew how intense this can be. This is so beautiful..., you are beautiful...!"

"My Love!" Severus whispered back. "I don't ever want to be without you..."

After quite a while and after fully enjoying the afterglow, Severus walked the both of them, still clinging to each other, to their bed where they fell into a peaceful sleep.

888

The next two weeks went by in a blur and soon it was time for the OWL's and NEWT's. The fifth and seventh year students were nervous wrecks from the fear of all the tests that were coming up, and all the last minute studying and trying to cram as much knowledge into their brains as they could. Severus was still a little worried about some of his Slytherin students but with the help of Hermione Granger and the students who were in the DA he knew this was the best he could have done.

Just before Miss Granger left the room he called her back and said, "Miss Granger, I want to thank you for all your help teaching the Slytherin students. I hope you could pass on my gratitude to the rest of the DA."

She smiled and said, "I will Professor. We were happy to help. It also helped us to become better."

"Good luck with your tests next week," Severus said.

"Thank you Professor." She flashed him a radiant smile and left the room.

888

As soon as the OWL's and the NEWT's were over everybody breathed a sigh of relief. After the students had left the school on the last day of July the staff had one last meeting in the teachers' lounge. Minerva spoke up and said, "Well, it looks like we haven't done any worse with the amount of students who have graduated, despite of the war. I am glad we decided to add another month. Unfortunately we will have less time to get ready for the next school year."

When everyone but Minerva, Hagrid, Filius, Poppy, Severus and Bobbie had left they went to the matter of next Saturday. Minerva said, "Now about the testing of the potion Severus will be brewing on Saturday. Kingsley has owled me this morning that they will bring the prisoner around 5:00 in the afternoon."

Severus took it from there and said, "The moon will rise just around 8:30. That should give us ample time to get him settled in and get him under the full body-bind and perhaps tie him up into chains for Poppy's safety."

Minerva said, "You just work on your potion, Severus and let us do the rest. You don't need any distractions."

"I appreciate it, Minerva. I can put that potion into stasis only for a few minutes before I mix it with a little bit of distilled water to make it more drinkable and less strong. The full strength would kill the person. I will need to have it done as close to the rise of the moon as I can."

"Well, it is settled then," Minerva said with a no-nonsense voice. "We will all meet in the dungeons right after lunch time on Saturday. I prefer to be here early just on case there is something coming up that we haven't thought of yet."

888

Severus and Bobbie had their lunch a little early at the cottage on the Saturday of the full moon. Severus thought about the week they had spent at home. If it wouldn't have been for the niggling thoughts about the cure against lycanthropy going through his mind it would have been a great week. He was finally free, even though it sometimes was still hard to grasp and he had to remind himself.

Bobbie seemed to feel his uneasiness and tried to make him as comfortable as she could. She still had to fight her tiredness but luckily she never had morning sicknesses like a lot of other women. She was now more than two months into her pregnancy and she looked more beautiful to him than ever. He still couldn't believe his luck in finding someone like her and sometimes was wondering when he was going to wake up from this wonderful dream he was having.

Still he felt a little tense about the cure. What if he had miscalculated and it didn't work, or even worse, the patient would die. Then he reminded himself that this was the reason why they were testing it on prisoners who had murdered and done atrocious things. These were people who would have gotten the Dementors Kiss a few years ago when Azkaban still had the Dementors.

All these thoughts were going round and round in his mind and Bobbie had to calm him down with her wonderful 'magic' by running her fingers over his scalp and through his hair and telling him that he was brilliant and that it all would work out. He sometimes wished he had her confidence in himself.

He finally laid down his fork and resigned himself that he just wasn't able to eat more. He had seen Bobbie glancing over at him a few times, and just like he had done, she had played more with her food than eat it. She finally got up and put everything into the kitchen and they got ready to leave.

Minerva and Filius were already in the dungeon room with the cells and greeted them when they arrived.

Severus said, "You didn't have to be here this early. I still have more than 4 hours of brewing to do."

"That is fine, Severus. We are here for moral support," Minerva said. "Just let us know if we can do anything."

"Yes, we even decided to let you boss us around today if you want to...," Filius winked and grinned.

Severus snorted. "I appreciate it. I may take you up on that," he said with a smile that looked more relaxed than he felt.

While Severus and Bobbie went to the lab they heard voices and saw Hagrid and Poppy arrive. Severus said to Bobbie, "Why don't you go back to the others. Don't get me wrong, my Love but I always was able to concentrate more easily when I was doing the brewing alone, when it came to difficult things."

"Are you sure? I could go through your ingredient list and get everything out while you set up the cauldron," she offered.

He framed her face with his hands and kissed her, "Thank you. I will be fine."

"Okay, I'll leave. Good luck, Baby. If anybody can do it, it's you. Why don't you put your mobile phone on the counter and I give you a short ring when they are here with the prisoner." She gave him a peck on his lips and left to join the others.

The next noise anyone heard was an alarm that someone was outside the wards of Hogwarts' gates. Hagrid said, "Wonder if it's them a'ready...!" and turned around to leave. About 10 minutes later they heard voices and the rattling of chains drawing closer. When the door to the room opened Hagrid was holding it open for Kingsley and Harry to walk inside. They had a heavily shackled prisoner in between them, who on top of it also looked a little dazed. Neville walked right behind them with his wand out and the last one to walk in was Hermione Granger.

Hagrid opened the door of one of the cells and Kingsley and Harry led the prisoner inside and shackling him to the wall for good measure before locking him up.

"What do you know, the Minister for Magic as prison guard...? How do you do, Kingsley?" Minerva extended her hand in greeting.

"Not too bad. If you remember I used to be an Auror before becoming the Minister and you couldn't keep me away from watching tonight's spectacle." He smiled at Minerva.

After all the greetings were over Bobbie said, "Let me call Severus real quick so he knows you are here."

When they saw her punching a few keys on her phone Poppy said pointing at the small Muggle devise. "Who would have known Severus Snape would be adapting to that thing."

"Times change, I believe Miss Granger also has one of those," Kingsley said pointing at Hermione. "I keep seeing more and more of them, even in the Wizarding World."

Hermione said, "I bought it so I could reach my parents. Their Muggle neighbors had grown somewhat suspicious of all the owls flying to and from their house. Ron also has one now."

A moment later Severus walked in and looked at the group. "I have everything ready to light the cauldron." He then said to Kingsley, "You are early."

"Yes, we figured it was better to get the prisoner out of there before the Wizengamot has Antonin Dolohov picked up at 4 in the afternoon for his trial. We didn't want to run into the reporters who will surely be swarming the place when that happens," Kingsley said.

"I can only imagine. I see you brought Messrs Potter and Longbottom. Let's hope we won't have a full-blown Werewolf on our hands." Severus looked a little doubtful at the two young Aurors in training.

"Believe it or not Severus, those two have that new spell against Werewolves down to a science. There are none better," Kingsley assured him.

"Ah, somebody has done some studying in that new Defense volume." He nodded at Potter and Longbottom. "I'm impressed! What happened to Mr Weasley? I thought he would be right there with you?"

"He is helping George in the joke shop. They had a large load of orders to fill," Hermione Granger spoke up.

When the young woman brought up George, Bobbie could see a short bout of sadness going over Severus's face and knew that he still hadn't forgiven himself for accidentally using Sectumsempra on the young man. Then he said quietly, "I see..."

"Miss Granger is here to record the proceedings. I hired her to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Kingsley filled Severus in.

While everyone was still discussing the upcoming activities Bobbie went to Hermione Granger and asked, "Miss Granger would you mind exchanging phone numbers with me? Professor Snape and I are planning a trip to Canada for next week. I think it would be a good idea to have someone to contact just in case something comes up. I think a call would beat an owl any day - especially internationally."

She young woman laughed at that and said, "I understand, Dr Snape."

Bobbie somewhat interrupted her and said, "You know, you aren't a student anymore. I think it is about time you called me Bobbie."

"Very well! Only if you call me Hermione though."

"That can be arranged..." Bobby smiled at her.

Then Hermione said, "Yes, I think some Muggle devises are definitely worth it." The two women exchanged their phone numbers and then got into a discussion about Muggle things that were less time consuming to things in the Wizarding World.

After a while Severus walked up to them and said to Bobbie, "I have to start brewing the potion. Please stay away from that cell with the prisoner. I know I can't talk you out of being here. Just stay with Miss Granger over there where the table is."

Hermione had walked over to the table by then to give Bobbie and Severus privacy. Bobbie took Severus's hands and said quietly, "I promise, I will stay away. Now, go work your magic," she said, her voice heavy with encouragement.

Severus nodded and squeezed her hands one more time and left for his lab while Bobbie went to sit on a chair beside Hermione. Hermione smiled at her and said, "Professor Snape changed after the war. We always thought him to be cold, heartless and cruel. It turned out that he needed to be like that because Voldemort would have gotten suspicious. Some people even thought he was a Vampire because of his unhealthy look and always being holed up in the dungeons," she said with a laugh.

"He still is a very private man," Bobbie mused.

"But I can tell that he is trying to protect you and the baby," Hermione said.

"The baby? You know about the baby?" Bobbie asked.

"Pretty much everyone does, inside of the Ministry that is. Lucius Malfoy made sure of it. He came into the Ministry one day and made some derogatory remarks about the 'hero of the Wizarding World breeding with a Squib or a Muggle'. I can't stand that man. He looks down on anyone who isn't a pureblood - and even some of the purebloods, like Ron's family. He is treating me and the other Muggle-born interns like we are something nasty."

"Yeah, Severus let him have it when he took me out for my birthday and the Malfoys happened to be in the same restaurant and started bothering us. Luckily Draco seems to be different," Bobbie said.

"We could never stand him either through our whole time in Hogwarts, but the last two months of school he seemed different. I think the war has changed him. I think he never wanted to be a Death Eater like his father. He even let me teach him the Patronus Charm, not that he ever made it to a corporeal Patronus. He doesn't have enough happy memories," Hermione said with a little sadness in her voice while setting her parchment and quill onto the table.

They saw Kingsley releasing the prisoner from the spell he was under and the glassy look in his eyes disappeared and was replaced with a look of hatred against everyone outside his cell. He started pulling and rattling on his shackles and chains and shouting expletives at everybody.

Kingsley finally said, "Hey Thomson, if you don't behave I will put you under again. I just though I'll make it a little easier on you because I know that spell can make you feel nauseous."

As soon as Kingsley pointed his wand at him the prisoner thought better of it and quieted down.

Time trickled along and dusk slowly came around. Minerva lit the torches on the wall with a wave of her wand. The prisoner sat quietly in the corner of the cell. There was a strained silence in the room and there were only a few murmurs or whispers here and there.

Bobbie checked her watch and noticed it was about 10 minutes until moon rise. A moment later Severus arrived with two half filled vials. One held the dark blue potion and the other the exact amount of distilled water. Severus had cast a stasis charm on the potion and set the vials down on the table. He then went to the prisoner and hit him with Petrificus Totalus. He said, "This curse won't hold him down very long once he goes into transformation and I don't know if the chains will hold. We have to be fast. As soon as we see him sprout the first sign of fur, which is usually on top of the hands and feet, we need to get that potion into him. Poppy that is where you come in. You will have approximately 30-45 seconds, so don't linger in that cell for too long. Only if something should happen, if the potion should not work and he transforms and the shackles and the cell will not hold, that is when you two come in to curse him with Petrificus Maximus." He looked at Potter and Longbottom.

Everybody nodded in agreement. Then Severus asked, "Everyone ready?"

This time everyone answered with a "Yes!" and Severus looked at Hagrid and said, "Open the cell."

Severus with the two vials and Poppy both walked into the open gate and watched the prisoner closely. As soon as Severus saw a few hairs come up on the top of the prisoners' hands he poured the distilled water into the vial with the potion, put a stopper on it and shook it vigorously. Then he gave the vial to Poppy who poured the contents into the prisoners' mouth and stroked his throat to get him to swallow. He did swallow but he also started moving. The fingernails extended to claws and so did the toe nails. The ears grew longer and the body started to grow fur all over.

Poppy stared in awe at the transformation. Severus finally grabbed her around her waist and pulled her out of the cell. Hagrid threw the door closed behind them not a moment too soon. The Werewolf jumped up on all fours and pounced to where he had just seen the humans run. The chains broke with a snap and a full-blown Werewolf crashed into the closed door. It sat on its hunches for just a moment and shook its head from having smashed into the steel rods. Then it howled and threw its full body weight against the cell. The cell didn't give a bit but Harry and Neville still pointed their wands at the Werewolf. Severus told them to hold off but they still were ready to hit it with the curse at any second in case the cell wouldn't hold.

Severus looked at the Werewolf in anticipation. Then, just when he ran his fingers through his hair in a sign of resignation that his potion had not worked, they noticed the animal slowing down. The yellow eyes disappeared and slowly so did the fur and claws. Paws changed back into hands and feet. The thin robes the prisoner had been wearing lay in shreds in the cell and a naked man lay unmoving on the stone floor. The shackles he had been wearing before were a mangled mess lying in the corner. Severus took off his outer robes and reached through the steel rods and covered the man with them. He didn't think it was necessary to cancel the Petrificus Totalus he had first put on the prisoner because the transformation had most likely cancelled it, but just in case he cast a Finite Incantatem on the man. He still didn't move.

"Severus, we have to check on him," he heard Poppy say.

"I can't let you go in there Poppy. We don't know what is happening. We need to leave him be until the moon goes down," Severus told her.

"The floor is too cold. Let me get a cot. We can get it through the rods and levitate him on it," Poppy said.

"I'll get one," Hagrid offered and was on his way.

They ended up making the prisoner as comfortable as they could from outside the cell and waited for the morning. Bobbie who was still tiring easily from her pregnancy was made comfortable on a daybed Severus had transformed out of the chair she had been sitting on.

While Bobbie was asleep Minerva, Filius, Hagrid, Hermione and Poppy were quietly talking sitting on some chairs in one corner while Kingsley, Harry, Neville and Severus were sitting on two cots in the other cell discussing the Defence book from which they had learned the Petrificus Maximus Curse. That was when Severus found out that Harry and Neville had been in Azkaban during the last full moon and practiced the curse on the incarcerated Werewolves.

"You two are very dedicated, I have to say," Severus acknowledged. "It is a pleasure working with people who know what they are doing." Then he looked at Kingsley and winked and said, "I hope you are paying them well."

"I think so, but I don't know if they do," Kingsley joked and then changed the subject. "Since you want to play it safe, we will have to put Thomson into solitary confinement after he is well enough to go back to Azkaban. If your potion worked and he is cured he would get eaten alive by his former pack mates if we put him in with them again."

"Indeed," Severus agreed. "I would suggest using an empty cell that can stand up against the force of a Werewolf just in case the cure doesn't last. We will be back from Canada by the next full moon. I would like to be there and observe."

"You and me both Severus and I would guess so are those two." He pointed at Harry and Neville. "It isn't something you see every day that somebody gets cured of Lycanthropy."

"Well, I hope it worked. I'd rather wait and see before accepting any laurels. I wish I had my wife's confidence." He looked over to Bobbie and smiled at her sleeping form. "She is all but certain."

"Since we are speaking of laurels, all three of you are up for the Order of Merlin. The invitations will go out soon. I will make sure that you are back from Canada by then," Kingsley said.

"You should know me better by now, Kingsley and know that I don't like being in the limelight, so don't wait up for me," Severus said.

Kingsley looked at Harry and said, "You and Mr Potter are so much alike, it is scary. He would really rather not show up for the ceremony either but I am going to tell you the same thing I told him. The world needs to have some reassurance that it really is over and Voldemort is gone. The public needs some hope for the future, they need their heroes."

Severus and Harry both sighed, looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Severus finally said, "Very well, don't expect me to make a speech."

"I second that!" Harry held up his finger.

"Fine!" Kingsley threw up his hands in resignation and shook his head. "No speeches...!"

Severus and Harry both grinned and Severus said, "Splendid, now that this is settled, I will be there." Then he looked out of the tiny window in the corner and said, "It is almost dawn and we can say with certainty that the prisoner won't be able to turn back into a Werewolf."

Poppy examined the man as soon as Kingsley had put him into another body-bind. The prognosis was good. Poppy was not able to detect any lycanthropy in him. Unfortunately he was very weak from his body having to transform twice within such a short time - first into the Werewolf and then back into his human form only a few minutes later. She did think he would make a full recovery though.

They levitated him to the infirmary and Flooed him to a secure ward for prisoners with aliments in St Mungos. September 6th would be the next full moon. Only then would Severus know for sure if his potion was a success. If the prisoner would again transform into a Werewolf his work would have been for naught and he would have to start over.

The small group said their goodbyes and slowly dispersed for a few hours of well deserved sleep.