Remus groaned as he tossed about on his mattress. The window curtains were twitching and the sweet smell of freshly mown hay blew in on the breeze. His mother came in a moment later, a bowl of cool water in her hands and a rag tossed across one shoulder.
"Shh," she soothed, touching his forehead with her hand. She frowned at the heat that came from her son's skin.
An eight year old Remus turned into his mother's touch, the cool of his mother's hands soothing. She damped a rag and ran it across his face. He shivered and mewled in discomfort as his skin felt as though it flared hotter to make up for the chill.
The moonlight fell across the foot of his bed and Remus felt his body wrack with spasms as the light touched his toes. His mother screamed, dropping the bowl onto the floor where it shattered and spilled water across the floorboards.
In a matter of moments, his father stumbled in. "What is it?" He was disheveled, glasses askew and robe unbelted.
His mother threw herself across her son's body, trying to hold him down as he began to scratch at himself. "Help me!" She wept, pleading to her husband. The man drew his wand from within his pocket and pointed it at their son. Rage filled his mother's docile face. "What are you doing?"
"Move away," his father came forward, tugging his mother arm and pulling her up. Remus screamed.
She jerked out of his hold and pulled Remus to her chest, shushing him and pushing his father away with her free arm. "Stay away from my son," she shrieked, cradling the boy's head to her shoulder.
"Come away, Naurice," His father shouted. "Hurry!"
Remus forgot himself, his skin felt like it was being ribboned from his body in slow strips. He arched off of the bed, screaming and grasped hold of what he could. His mother screamed, horrified and in pain.
His father grabbed her, hauling her from the bed. She came away easily, too shocked to resist and cradled her arm to her stomach. Blood soaked her bedclothes and spattered to the floor. Remus came off of the bed reaching for her, sobbing and petrified.
His father jabbed his wand forward, a jet of yellow light hitting him in the chest and knocking him back to the bed. Remus howled as he fell.
The door slammed shut as his parents left and he heard the door lock shut. Remus sobbed into his pillows, staring in horror at his own fingers as they curled into claws. As he sniffled, he lapped the blood from the pads of his hands.
...oOo...
Remus woke to a hand on his shoulder. He rolled violently to the side of his bed and retched.
"Oh!" A soft, feminine voice cried out.
He emptied his stomach of last night's eggs and toast, weeping into his pillow and spitting the taste from his mouth.
"Merlin, Remus are you alright?" A small hand was rubbing tentative circles into his back. "Sirius!"
Remus turned watery eyes up, unable to focus on the wavering bubble-gum pink hair. He tried to answer but wound up bent over the bed frame dry heaving instead. The woman jumped back in alarm again. "Sirius!"
Sirius banged loudly into the room, thick hair pleated down his back with a bucket in one hand and cleaning rag in the other. "Jesus! What happened?"
As the two talked quickly, Remus tried to roll back onto the bed and wished for the images of his mother's face to fade from his mind. When he finally came around several minutes later, his vomit had been cleared away and Sirius was sitting beside him, clutching his upper arm and staring intently.
"Are you alright now, Moony?"
Remus looked from Sirius' face to Nymphadora Tonks who stood back looking worried and pale, her thin hands twisting together. "I--" Remus choked, eyes welling again to his great mortification. "Mum," he gasped before shaking his head violently and jerking out of Sirius' hold as the man tried to gather him up.
"I'm so sorry," Tonks was saying over and over. Her eyes kept changing color with each blink as she tried to fight her emotions.
"No," Remus shook his head. He waved his hand at her and tried to smile, "'S'okay."
"I'll get you some tea, eh?" Sirius said quietly from the foot of the bed. He looked hurt from his rejection and quickly left.
Tonks twitched, unsure of herself. "They said you weren't feeling well," she said lamely, actually slapping herself in the forehead and muttering afterward. "I came to help set up the new wards," she smiled, liking that sentence much better.
"Good," Remus cleared his throat, thankful for a change of topic. "I imagine that's going to take a few people."
"Oh, just a few," she promised, shoving her hands into her pockets.
Sirius returned with a cup and offered it to his friend. Remus took it, sipping carefully from the rim as his stomach clenched. When he had half of the cup gone, Sirius sat down with a soft sigh. "Tonks says you were having a nightmare."
Lupin let free a depreciative laugh as he stared down into the dregs of his tea. "You could say that."
"I-I didn't know if I should wake you or not," Tonks bit her lip, "but I couldn't stand to see you struggling like that."
"I appreciate it, Tonks, honestly," Remus sighed heavily. "It wasn't something I wanted to relive again."
Tonks had a questioning look on her face but wisely kept quiet. Sirius looked crestfallen, only imagining what Hell Remus had dreamt of.
"How about we get you up and refreshed, eh? We'll have a houseful soon."
"Sure," Remus mumbled, setting his feet on the floor and standing up with several snaps and pops. Sirius stood to offer a hand and Remus frowned deeply. "I can manage, thank you."
Tonks and Sirius watched as their friend left with slow shuffling feet. Sirius sagged in defeat when Remus shut the bathroom door soundly. "I don't know what I've done," he confided to the metamorphogus.
"He's going through something rough, Sirius, don't take it personally." The pink-haired woman slung an arm across Sirius' shoulders.
Sirius sighed heavily and nodded, straightening himself up, "You're right."
"There now, that's more like the Sirius Black I know," She grinned widely. "Nice apron by the way."
The animagus looked down and laughed, he still had the stained rag wrapped around him. "It's a filthy job trying to clean up this wreck. You could get a little dirty yourself if you wanted." He waggled his eyebrows and gave her a wolfish smile.
Tonks snorted and cuffed one of his ears. "In your dreams, Black," she scoffed as she walked away from her cousin toward the kitchen.
"And what dreams they are," he called, grinning to himself.
...oOo...
It was nearing one o'clock when other members of the Order started popping in with frequency. Mad Eye Moody was sitting at the table playing solitaire since Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt refused to play any card games with him.
"You can't help cheating," Tonks pouted, levitating the teapot carefully from across the room.
"I do not," Mad Eye huffed, his mechanical eye whirling about in its socket.
"Liar," Tonks prodded, sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration as the teapot wobbled. Slowly it started toward the table when the hallway portrait of Mrs. Black screamed and startled her. The teapot fell to the floor with a crash, spilling hot water across the stones.
Sirius' form blurred by the kitchen doorway as he bound for the portrait. A screaming match between mother and son ensued for several minutes until someone had the clever idea to draw the curtains shut.
The animagus stomped into the kitchen and flopped angrily into a chair. Albus Dumbledore soon followed with a jovial smile to everyone. Behind him came a sour faced Severus Snape.
"I dare say that woman has more spirit now than she had alive," Albus quipped as he withdrew a singularly wrapped sweet from the folds of his robes.
"Then what I need is an exorcism," Sirius mumbled, too defunct to notice the grins his statement brought to the faces around the table.
"Molly and Arthur are on their way," the Headmaster informed them as he quickly cleared up the watery mess and refilled the kettle with a flick of his wand. Tonks sighed unhappily and returned her wand to her pocket.
"Good, then we can get this ward business out of the way," Moody grumped, slapping a card down onto the table.
The kettle soon whistled and Albus generously poured everyone a cup. He had an extra on the table and blinked about the room with a cross look. "Where is Remus this afternoon?"
Sirius sighed heavily from his seat and Tonks gave him an apologetic smile. "He's holed up in the den with a couple of books," she supplied. When Albus cocked his head to the side she quickly set her teacup back down and answered his unasked question. "He's had a bit of a rough morning."
"Any problems with the potion?" Severus interrupted, finally looking interested in the conversation.
"You'll have to ask Mr. I-can-do-it-myself-thank-you," Sirius grumbled.
"Trouble in paradise, Black?" Snape sneered, turning away from them and stalking into the den with a bang before Sirius could respond.
As the door slammed open, Remus jumped and the book fell from his hands and onto the floor. "Good lord, Severus," he frowned.
"Avoiding people, Lupin?"
"No," the werewolf grumbled, retrieving his book with a grunt. "I just don't seem to be of much use."
"Don't sulk, it's hardly becoming of a man your age," Severus sneered. He stayed near the entry, eyeing the other wizard from afar. "Have you had any reactions to the potion?"
"None that I've noticed," Remus answered after a moment of thought. "It's quite nice actually." Snape raised an eyebrow as though it asked the question for him. Lupin elaborated, "Before, it hurt so bad I couldn't move it, I needed help getting dressed or undressed. I can do it on my own now."
"Good," Severus said stiffly, "don't overdo it. Just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean it's healed."
"I know," Remus nodded irritably. He thumbed through the book in his hands to return to his spot. He began to read, aware that Severus was still in the room. After a few minutes, the potions master scoffed. Remus glared up at him through his bangs. "What?" He snapped.
"You've gotten rather waspish," Snape replied. He smirked a little, "How very... Slytherin of you." He left to return to the others while Remus sat gaping.
The others in the kitchen were making small talk when Severus got back to them. Molly and Arthur had just arrived and were removing their traveling robes.
"It's started to rain," Arthur said happily, shaking the rain from his cloak. "Not bad yet, mind, but if we need to do any wards from outside, I'd suggest we do it quickly."
Albus munched on a biscuit and nodded, "I think we'd best get started then." He set the uneaten half of the cookie onto his saucer and motioned for Kingsley and Mad Eye to join him. The three men gathered their robes together and left through the back door and into the small garden. Severus and Arthur joined them a moment later.
Molly sat down across from Tonks and poured her own cup of tea. "How are things going here, then? I hope you had a good night's sleep, Sirius."
"Mine was fair enough," the animagus offered her the plate of biscuits. "Remus, however..."
"Poor thing," Molly smiled sadly. "Where is he?"
"Behind you," Remus said softly from the doorway. Sirius straightened, torn between being indignantly rude or offering his friend an arm. The werewolf smiled guiltily at him, "It's alright, Sirius. I, uh, wanted to apologize."
"It's alright, Remy," Sirius sighed softly in relief.
"No it's not," Remus came forward, pouring his own cup carefully and sitting down beside his friend. He laughed and shook his head. "And it took Severus to prove it."
"Snape?" Sirius' lip curled but he tried not to question forcefully, remembering how touchy the wolf had been the night before.
"He told me I was acting positively Slytherin."
Molly choked on her tea and Tonks let out a peal of giggles. "He didn't!"
Remus nodded, helping himself to a chocolate biscuit. "He did. And I'm sorry."
"I'm trying to understand it, Remus, but I won't hold it against you." Sirius told him in sincerity.
"That's why you've been such a good friend, Padfoot."
A wave of magic rocked the house foundations gently. "They're getting along well out there," Tonks' bright eyes widened.
"Perhaps we should start in here then," Molly smiled. The pixie faced woman beside her smiled and stood, tripping over her chair and knocking her teacup over. It was empty, thankfully. Mrs. Weasley shook her head and helped the younger woman balance as she clutched at her aching toes. "Honestly, dear..."
Sirius and Remus sat sipping tea while the house around them tingled with weaving magic. The men came back inside, dripping wet and joined Molly and Tonks with the wards inside. It took them under half an hour to finish and when they had, the air itself was pulsing.
"There now," Albus said happily as he made his way back into the kitchen, "it is complete. You are safer here now than a knut in Gringott's vaults."
"Thank you, Albus," Remus smiled, put at ease by the jovial company and fluxing magic.
"Oh, Sirius, I nearly forgot!" Albus buried both hands into the folds of his robes and rummaged about.
"I bet it's a sherbet lemon," Remus whispered toward the animagus.
Sirius stifled a laugh and grinned. "I say it's a Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Bean covered in fluff."
The two fought smiles and ignored the odd looks they got from their guests.
"A-hah!" Albus beamed as he withdrew a sleek package from his pocket. He handed it to Sirius with a bright twinkle in his eye, "I am afraid it is neither."
"And I was actually beginning to hope it was," Sirius grinned as he pulled the strings free. He slipped the top off of the box and let out a slow breath. He turned wide blue eyes up to the Headmaster and then carefully took up a sleek Rock Elm wand in his fingers.
"It was not easy trying to find one to suit," The Headmaster smiled genially. "I took what I knew of your original wand and tried to fashion a decent recreation. It isn't the same wood of course, but will still ply to your strengths, I believe."
"Anything would have been more than enough," Sirius breathed in awe. He flicked the wand experimentally and bright blue sparks shot from the end. "Brilliant," he gaped.
"You need your own protection, Sirius," Albus said in all seriousness, "it is the least I can afford you."
"I may be a bit rusty, Headmaster, but I promise, give me a weekend and I'll be as good as I was years ago." Sirius turned the smooth wood in his fingers.
"Merlin help us all," Severus muttered. He swept from the room in a billow of black robes and was gone.
"I believe Severus has the right idea," Dumbledore shook his robes out and tugged them up tight. "If you need anything, gentlemen, all you need do is ask." He nodded his farewells and was soon gone as well.
Molly and Arthur were next; Arthur and Kingsley rushing off afraid of being missed at the Ministry. Mad Eye left soon thereafter without a parting word, leaving Tonks and the two Gryffindors the intentions for an early supper.
It was highly entertaining watching Sirius learning how to use his wand again. Several plates were shattered, a chair animated and the ceiling painted in a rainbow of odd colors. It took the three of them ten minutes to quiet Mrs. Black's portrait--once the animagus got better--as Sirius tried to set the painting on fire.
They shared a small boiled dinner and drank far too much tea. Tonks stretched and yawned widely at ten o'clock. "This has been far too long coming," she told them both. "We must have a little party soon and do it again."
"That sounds like a smashing idea," Sirius beamed, belching and patting his stomach. "On a long weekend," he amended with bright eyes, "then Harry can come about."
"What a wonderful idea," Remus nodded his agreement, shuffling toward the sink with his empty dishware.
"It's settled then," Tonks smiled brightly. She stumbled over her chair and had to reach exaggeratedly to keep her cup from falling off of the pile of plates in her hands. With a skip, she danced back to Sirius and hugged him tightly, turned and hugged Remus carefully--her cheeks tinting as the wolf let out an 'oh!' of surprise. "I'm off then," she tittered and bounced off into the hallway and into the night.
Sirius tried to get the dishes washing themselves and grunted as he only got various sparks and whistles from his new wand. "I think she half-fancies you," he grinned at Remus.
The werewolf blinked wide eyes over at him. "Who?"
"Tonks of course!" Sirius rolled his eyes. The wand spat a line of green flame and Sirius shook it with a squeak.
"No she doesn't," Remus shook his head, muttering and waving his wand at the dishes. They immediately began to shuffle themselves about and started scrubbing.
"You are blind to the truth," Sirius told him with a little pout. They returned to the table and sipped what remained of the cold tea in their cups.
"It doesn't matter," Lupin shook his head a moment later, turning his cup over into his saucer. "She'll find someone else to moon over."
"Moony," Sirius frowned at him.
"It's alright, Padfoot," Remus laughed at the sour look on his friend's face. "She will, and she should. I'm too damaged for her." He took up his cup and looked down into the tea leaves that remained.
Sirius rolled his eyes, having heard similar excuses from the werewolf most of their adolescent life. "See anything interesting in your future?"
"Let me see," Remus grinned, "it looks like one of my close friends will soon get a shock."
"Oh really," Sirius smirked, leaning over to look down into the cup, "and what is that?"
Remus shoved the cup under Sirius' nose to distract him while he took up the loose leaves from his saucer. "Why... death by tea leaves I think."
"Wha--" Sirius started to speak only to have a wet mess of steeped tea goop spatter across his face. He sat in stunned silence while Remus laughed. Finally, he began to wipe the mess away. "I don't believe you had it in you," he gaped.
"I did," Lupin grinned.
With a rough laugh, Sirius slung what remained of his tea at the lycan but missed by a huge margin and coated the nearby cabinets. After a time they set the remaining cups to wash and cleaned away their mess.
When they both went to sleep that night, it was far easier and for the first time in a long time, Remus slept without dreams.
...oOo...
Two weeks passed without incident. Remus' health seemed to get better as the time passed. His color returned and he moved about with less pain. He was soon helping Sirius move around furniture and reteaching his friend some spells he had forgotten.
The nightmare's had returned but with less frequency and far less intensity. The medication and potions Severus had brought had not been used since the first night Snape brought them, and both Sirius and Remus believed he was making marked progress.
Good food, less stress about hiding and making ends meet had them both in high spirits. Remus was using the stairs without trouble and took a proper bedroom, much to his glee. The den was cleaned properly and the bed returned to a moth-bitten sofa.
Sirius was happy because with Remus' newfound health, they had not seen Snape for several days. The potions master had dropped in three days after the wards were set to make sure there had still been no reactions. Sirius made a rude comment about how Snape had forgotten his instructions and told the greasy potions master that he could certainly still use a pen.
Snape had growled back a rude remark and Remus had to break them apart a few minutes later when Sirius was poking Severus in the chest with his wand and Snape was already starting a complicated hex.
"Don't get comfortable in your routine," the potions master told them cryptically. "Things are not better."
Sirius had scoffed and trailed Snape to the door, spouting off loudly of Snape's alleged genealogy. Remus stood in the hallway frowning in thought.
Now, three days before the first scheduled full moon since his illness, Remus looked back on Snape's threat and couldn't help a small laugh. He hadn't felt this well since he was still in school.
"Where've you gone off to then?"
Remus leaned backward in his chair and stuck his head out the doorway. "Up here, Sirius, in your brother's old bedroom!"
Sirius was soon stomping up the stairs and busted in with a wide grin. "Find anything interesting?"
With a sly grin, Remus pulled open the bottom drawer of the desk he was sitting at. Sirius' eyes widened and he flopped onto the floor with an evil laugh.
"I knew that bastard had these!" Sirius reached into the drawer and pulled out a small stack of magazines. Scantily clad witches on the covers winked and pouted up at them. "I got into weeks of trouble when Mother found one of these in the bathroom hidden beneath the towels."
"Really?" Remus grinned.
"Yea," Sirius whistled as he flipped through one of them. "Of course, it was mine according to Regulus, and who was that damned woman going to believe..."
Remus left Sirius to his drooling and continued tossing useless items into the middle of the floor. He'd spent much of the morning in the room already and the pile there was substantial.
They were both engrossed in their separate tasks--Remus the only productive of the two, with Sirius grunting or making lewd noises now and then. Below them, the door thumped shut and Mrs. Black's portrait let out a howl of rage.
Both men dropped what they were doing and rushed downstairs to see who had dropped by and to stop the woman from irreparably damaging their eardrums. Severus Snape was standing before the woman's portrait with his wand drawn, an ominous grey light spilling from the tip.
"Don't bother," Sirius growled, "the old bitch is too clever for that."
The woman screamed bloody murder until Remus finally got the curtains pulled closed. He sighed heavily and leaned against the wall beside the painting. "There has to be some way to mute that damned woman."
"A fifth of Ogden's and a sulfur match," Snape muttered, brushing past them and moving into the kitchen.
"Where are you going, Snape?" Sirius barked after him, quickly following as though the darker wizard was actually going to set his house afire.
Remus followed them with a roll of the eyes.
Snape had pulled a tightly sealed bottle from his pocket and carefully set it onto the tabletop along with a shrunken package.
"What is that?" Sirius asked, oddly calm considering whom he was talking to.
"That," Severus pointed at the bottle, "is Lupin's monthly Wolfsbane. Perhaps it would be prudent to take it now instead of waiting to the last minutes like last month." He turned his cold gaze on them both and sneered.
As the two Gryffindors struggled to unseal the bottle, Severus moved down the table and unwrapped his package. He took out a set of books and a familiar work journal, sat down and began to write. It was nearly two minutes later that Remus got the cork fee and Sirius remembered they still had a guest.
"What are you doing?"
"Writing, Black," Snape scowled down at his work but continued to write as he spoke. "It is one of the perks of an education. Pity you wasted yours on women and alcohol."
"Don't get sore at me just because I had fun and you couldn't get invited to a party if you threw the damned thing!" Sirius fumed, clutching the edge of the table.
Remus held his nose and drank the contents of the bottle and grimaced as the last bit went down. "I swear that taste gets more fowl each time."
"Excuse me for wasting hours of my time brewing a potion to help your sorry state, Lupin," Severus hissed.
"I didn't mean I wasn't appreciative, Severus, I am... more than you are willing to accept." Remus gave the potions master a small smile but the darker wizard didn't notice.
There was a pause in Snape's scratching and he glanced up, catching Lupin's gaze and quickly looked down again. "I can do nothing about the taste," he muttered toward his paperwork. "It alters the effectiveness no matter what flavoring is used."
Remus blinked at him, looking over at Sirius who had a similar look of surprise on his face. The fact that Snape appeared to be trying to adjust the potion for Lupin's taste was almost too much to comprehend. "Thank you for trying," Remus said softly.
"Yea," Sirius breathed, still in minor shock. He cleared his throat and continued in a false gruff tone, "Almost makes you seem human."
"Stuff it, Black," Snape spat. He began to write again at a vigorous pace. "It wasn't for you... It was purely a procedural matter. A way to refine it."
Lupin smiled knowingly, "Of course."
The pile of books on the table drew both Lupin's and Sirius' attentions. They moved down the table and eyed them from a safe distance. Remus read the titles, turning his head sideways to do so.
"Good lord, Severus, that's quite a collection," the wolf's eyes widened. The lot was all on werewolves; books he had never even heard of.
Sirius took one of them up and began to thumb roughly through it. Before Severus could stop him, Remus had his friend by the wrists and carefully took it from his hands. "Don't do that," he shook his head, amber eyes panicked.
"What?" Sirius let the book go without a fight.
"That book is very old and very fragile," Remus cradled it carefully and set it back down on the table. Severus automatically took it up and set it on his lap to hunch over. "It's the only one in existence."
Sirius looked mildly impressed. "Where did you manage to get a hold of that, Snape? Had to use your Death Eater charm, no doubt."
Severus bared his teeth, "It's none of your concern where or how I retrieved any of these. Don't touch them, they're worth more than you sorry hide--a piece."
The animagus was highly affronted but chose not to speak and look closer at the books without touching them when he glanced up at Remus. The werewolf was nodding subtly at him with a serious face. He was not foolish enough to doubt Remus when it came to the price of books.
"Did you buy these yourself?" Remus squatted to look at them at eye level.
Severus avoided the question with a bit of irritation. "Will you both shut up and go about your business? I don't need you in here blathering on when I'm trying to get some research done." Severus snapped.
"Why are you researching here? Why don't you take your fancy books and bugger off?" Sirius fumed.
"Because for the next three days, you have a new room mate," Snape smirked as he shoved a folded note at Sirius' furious face.
The animagus snatched the note from the potions master's fingers and tore it open. He read it twice and let out wail of childish, "Oh, man!" before handing it over to Remus. It was a short note from Albus, cleverly asking their permission to allow Severus to stay, while telling them that the man already was.
"I'll get a room ready for you," Remus nodded with a tight smile. He passed the note back to Sirius who crumpled it in his fist and threw it as hard as he could toward the sink. It fluttered slowly and landed two feet in front of the counter.
"Make Black do it, I need you to answer some questions."
Sirius gaped and pointed viciously at Snape. Remus made a cutting motion across his neck and tipped his head toward the door. Reluctantly, Sirius grumbled and made his sulking way upstairs to clear out the rest of Regulus' old room for Snape to use.
"What do you need to know," Remus asked, pulling out a chair and easing down into it.
"Where will you be staying during transformation?" Severus didn't bother to look up, quill poised over a piece of blank parchment as he awaited an answer.
Remus sputtered, "I, uh, here I imagine."
Snape grunted, "Would you be adverse to anyone being present during your transformation?"
"Well, no, Sirius has been there many times." Remus tried to read the questions on Snape's paper to see if he could understand what it was he was getting at, but there were no questions written on the parchment.
"Have you considered the complications of this month's transformation?"
"What complications?" Remus asked, exasperated.
Snape finally looked up at him. "I told you before, Lupin, that things are not getting better. Your illness is likely to cause problems during this coming full moon. I take it you haven't thought of this before?"
"No," Remus shook his head, suddenly wishing he had thought more seriously about it.
The potions master withdrew his journal and flipped through a few pages before resting his finger midway down a page. "According to what little I've found, you may have problems as little as migraines; it is also possible that you could have serious complications or any matter in between."
Remus dropped his head to the table and muttered a muffled, "You're sure?" He peeked up through his hair at Snape and grimaced, "Of course you are."
"For the next two days I will be doing extensive research in my room. I hope you can manage to find a desk," Severus sighed heavily.
"The room being cleared out has a rather large one, actually," Remus nodded, straightening in his seat.
"Good." Severus thumbed through the pages of his journal, coming to a gradual stop. "Lupin..." He paused, glancing up through his curtains of hair. Remus could have sworn the man shivered.
"Yes, Severus?"
Snape cleared his throat and sat stiffly in his chair. "Lupin, I will need to watch over the transformation."
"Really?" Remus whispered, heart lodged in his throat. "Are you, um, are you sure of that?"
"Yes," Severus said vehemently. "I'm certainly not doing it for entertainment."
"Right," Lupin nodded, "Whatever you need to do."
Snape snapped out of his funk and clacked the journal shut. "Good. I also require a space to brew several potions while here."
"There's a rather large counter there," Remus pointed across the kitchen to an empty chunk of counter space. "If you need, we might be able to clear out another room for you, but it would take some time."
"The counter will do," Severus dismissed. "So long as you and Black can keep from poking about them."
"I wouldn't dream of--"
"Where will I be staying?"
The lycanthrope stood, his mind whirling and slightly dazed. "This way."
Severus followed him upstairs and grimaced at the mess of the room. Sirius had actually done a fair share considering how little had been done before.
"Working on it," he puffed, heaving a chest of drawers out of the corner.
With a snort, Snape crossed out of the room and pushed open a door across the hall. The room had yet to be cleaned--not that it would have mattered to Severus. The potions master stalked back into the room and brandished his wand. In a matter of moments, the pile of mess in the middle of the room was floating toward the other in a steady stream of junk.
Sirius stopped pulling on the heavy chest and watched with a groan. "Why didn't we do that?" He grumbled at Remus. The werewolf shrugged, hiding a grin.
Snape cleared out the room and moved the place about quickly until it suited his use. Sirius and Remus stood out of the way and watched. When the potions master had finished he returned downstairs to retrieve his books. The two Gryffindors peered into the room, grudgingly impressed.
Severus returned, setting his belongings in the room and quickly shutting the door in their faces. Sirius immediately began kicking at it, screaming at Snape about it being his house. Remus felt a silencing spell go up and hid a laugh behind a cough as he dragged Sirius downstairs to start lunch.