Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: Ok, you guys talked me into finishing this. I swear, it will be finished. Obviously, it ignores Deathly Hallows. I'm just going to finish it how I had outlined it in my notes.

The Beast Within

Chapter 5

She looked even younger when she was asleep.

Remus was surprised that Ginny didn't toss and turn, her slumber undisturbed by the dormant nightmares that, surely, could not be as terrible as the real horrors laying in wait. She was just another innocent angel who'd gone to sleep with a smudged face and tangled hair and no mother to tuck her in.

But it didn't matter how he saw her, asleep or awake, as a beautiful woman or a child he had taught. She was just meat for the devil inside him, the wolf within who would make him into a murderer tonight. As soon as the moon was high. Too soon.

The heavy shadow over the room made his throat constrict. He could feel his muscles tingling, ready to stretch when skin tasted the moon's full milk pouring overhead. The sky above was already a dark blue, the setting sun's coral rays barely visible. And clouds were sparse. There were not enough of them to block the moon for long, not that they ever helped delay the process much. What would a few more minutes of humanity do—how much time would he need, to save his soul, to save her from the monster.

Remus's ear twitched toward the sudden sound of a footstep. Snape was standing in front of the bars, away from the door, simply watching with his Death Eater's mask in one hand, his hood raised to cover his black hair. For a moment, neither of the men moved.

"You can hear its call?" Snape asked, glancing up at the netted ceiling, staring at one spot as if he could see the moon hanging high.

The werewolf resisted the urge to leap forward and snap at the man. The beast was gaining control, but one glance at Ginny and Remus knew not to wake her, not to make her suffer through some Death Eater's mocking words.

"Come to gloat?" Remus asked, his strained voice barely above a whisper. He stepped closer to the diagonal bars. "Or are you just here for the show, Severus?"

Snape stared at the man, as if considering a proper answer. "While admit, I enjoy the thought of you being lowered to such a state, I do not take pleasure from your current situation," he answered, a pointed look at the young woman on the cot, "at least not the promised outcome."

"From what I've heard, you don't mind allowing girls you know to die so that your Lord is pleased. I have no idea how Dumbledore ever believed otherwise," Remus growled grasping on to the bars to keep himself steady. He felt his bones popping slightly and the wolf barking against his ribs, wishing it could do the talking. And it did. "She looks a bit like her, doesn't she," he added, glaring at the other wizard.

"Yes," Snape answered softly, more quickly that Remus had expected. "Very much so."

"I guess you remember her face well, don't you. Do you see her often, when you sleep? That's assuming you can sleep."

"Assuming seems to be what you do best," the Death Eater snapped.

"You deserve better?" When the other man didn't reply, the wizard turned his head to follow Snape's gaze to the cot. "You let him kill Lily, too. This is becoming a habit for you. . ." Remus's legs cramped, his knees preparing to hinge back and lower the human body onto all fours. "Guess it's easier. . . This one's just a student of yours, not an old classmate. And I'm only a creature, less than you, correct? Isn't that your perspective on such matters?"

"She wasn't supposed to. . ." Snape grew quiet. His brow furrowed as he stopped himself from continuing, his eyes dark. "Did you enjoy your wine, Lupin?"

"Why?" the werewolf asked, grasping onto the bars to hold himself up, a slight smile holding back the grimace on his face. "Is it poisoned?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes."
Remus's eyes widened. "You backstabbing arse," he hissed. "Is that what you consider mercy, poisoning both of us? That's rather uncreative of you, Severus. Surely, you could have come up with something better than that," he added, suddenly happy that neither he nor Ginny had taken a sip of the drink.

"And I did. It's poisonous only to you," Snape sneered, "and only when it's mixed with this." He drew out a corked vial, half the length of his little finger, and held it through the bars for the other man. "In fact, the two are fatal when combined."

"What is this supposed to be?" Remus asked, his wolf suddenly silent and the man suddenly aware.

"Mercy, of course."

Remus touched the vial, tenderly taking it from the wizard as if were a fragile flower. Temptation followed his abrupt sense of understanding. This was an answer to the riddle, one that he, as he believed, shamefully, had not yet considered.

"The Dark Lord," Snape continued, "needs one prisoner to lure in Potter. I'd prefer it was the girl."

"It's as simple as that then?" Lupin asked.

"Simple? As simple as you make it." Snape withdrew his hand, raising the other to fix the mask onto his face. He turned to walk away, back down the corridor. "I will be back to collect the body."

Remus pulled the cork from the vial, staring down it with a strange sense of curiosity. It felt strange, the gratitude. Death wasn't supposed to be a good thing, ever. Why then did he feel such relief at being handed his own life? It felt enough like a gift to send a chill down his back. "Thank you," he replied.

The footsteps paused. Remus wondered if the other wizard had expected him to realize what he was risking, going against his Lord's wishes.

"This is not for your benefit, Lupin."

And the voice faded, the owner either apparating or disappearing into one of the many rooms Lupin had passed when he'd arrived at his prison.

Remus stared down at the vial. In the light, he couldn't see any color, only black oil, thick and sticking to the sides of the container, its reek drifting upward and smelling of dead flowers and pepper plants. He didn't recognize the mixture. It could very well have been creation of Severus's.

The wine was waiting, sitting on the floor in the glass, the glass he's stared through to watch the young woman, painted in red. He picked it up quickly, pouring the black liquid into its contents. The mixture thickened immediately, becoming almost paste-like. Remus wondered faintly what death would taste like.