a/n: Some further plot movement... but maybe not the way some of you are hoping. :D I'm pleased to see continued enthusiasm for the story. The length usually means lack of interest as we go. Thanks to everyone for sticking with it.

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At eight o'clock, Nymphadora Tonks came to Grimmauld Place with a massive box of chocolates under her elbow and a large smile on her face.

She passed the den with a curious eye and a shrug. It seemed no one was up and about quite yet, so she set about in the kitchen to make herself a strong cup of coffee.

The kettle had been easy enough to find—hanging from a hook on the hearth—and water was a given. The problem was finding the coffee…

Cabinets clicked open and shut, a few bottles of spices rattled toward the edges of the shelving but Tonks managed to shove them in and slap the door shut before they could tumble out.

Several pans shifted in another with the tinny rattle of their lids echoing loudly in the quiet.

"The coffee's in the pantry."

With a strangled squeak, Tonks nearly dropped her kettle and swung around in a panic, clipping Sirius in the side with the heavy metal pot.

'Ow!' Sirius mouthed, rubbing his ribs with one hand and his eyes with the other. "What are you doing here so damned early anyway?"

"Making coffee obviously," Tonks grinned. "Why are you whispering?"

"Remus is sleeping across the hall," Sirius looked pensive and scratched at his three day beard growth, "I don't remember him coming downstairs…"

Tonks smiled as she watched him scratch at his chest and thumb through the pantry. She set the kettle aside and turned a chair around at the table, crossing her arms on the back and resting her chin on them.

Sirius turned around with a grinder in one hand and a mostly empty bag of coffee beans in the other. "Come to think of it, Snape was missing…"

"Snape, eh? I thought he'd gone back to Hogwart's days ago?"

The bean grinder and small sack were dumped on the tabletop, Sirius pushed it toward Nymphadora and filled a percolator with water. Tonks poured the remaining coffee beans into the grinder, turning the crank with a grunt.

"Yea, he came back last night," the animagus set the cold kettle down, waiting for Tonks to finish to set it on the fire. "Remus had a rough night."

The grinding stopped abruptly, "Is he alright?"

Sirius nodded and rubbed his face, "For now, I mean, I don't know what happened."

"Oh," Nymphadora set her lips and finished churning the grounds. "Severus came here last night then? That must have bee rough."

Sirius shook the grounds into the metal basket and set the kettle in the fire. "It wasn't as bad as it sounds." The animagus smirked to himself and shook his head, remembering the evening in snippets.

"He mustn't have been badly hurt then," Tonks appeared thoughtful and nodded her vibrantly pink head. "That's good, not what I expected, but good."

"He's hurt pretty bad, actually," Sirius frowned.

It was Tonks' turn to look irritated. "Make up your mind, was he hurt or not?"

"His arm's tore up bad, and he's probably got a headache fit to split his skull," the animagus crossed his arms over his chest and leaned backward in his chair. "He's still sleeping, you'll just have to ask him when he gets up."

"But I thought you said Snape wasn't here?" Nymphadora huffed, crossing his arms over her chest too.

Sirius opened his mouth, brow furrowed in irritation but paused before he could speak. "You're talking about Snape?"

"Yeeees," Tonks drug out the word with a slow nod.

"Well then… you're saying Snape was hurt?" Sirius pointed toward the doorway with a slight frown. "What exactly am I missing here?"

Tonks laughed and got up to retrieve them each a mug. "There was a Death Eater meeting last night, it got a little rough come the end of it."

"Was anyone killed?" Sirius frowned, rolling his empty mug between his hands.

"No, thankfully. Snape managed to get the word out before anything very bad happened. Luckily it didn't look like there was going to be a mass killing anyway," Tonks took the bubbling kettle from the fire and carefully poured them each a cup of coffee. "We did see an increase of shoppers in Nocturne Alley in the wee hours. Curse salves and whatnot. I even bumped into Malfoy on my way out of the Ministry this morning. He was limping a little harder than normal."

Sirius took a sip and ran his thumb across his lower lip. "And Snape is up half the night with Moony, then gone before breakfast. He'll be dead on his feet."

"Better than being dead, period." Tonks grinned and took a hard pull on her coffee, sputtering a little; it was a bit hotter than she had expected. She grew grave as she set the mug down on the tabletop with a click. "Kingsley said Snape was bleeding from the temple when he saw him last night. You sure he was alright?"

"There was enough blood last night," Sirius muttered, "but none that I saw come out of Snape."

A solemn silence fell across them save for the sipping of coffee and tap of a settling mug.

The shaggy form of Remus Lupin shuffled across the doorway, he sat down with a thump into the nearest chair and lowered his forehead to his left hand; the right he extended across the tabletop, fingers twitching to the steady thud of his heartbeat.

"Morning sunshine," Tonks gave him a flickering smile.

Sirius poured the lycan a mug of coffee and slid it across the table. "How do you feel?"

"Awful," Remus croaked, "Where's Severus?"

"Dunno, he was gone when I got up," Sirius sat down in a chair adjacent. "New pain?"

Remus let out a bark of a laugh, grimaced and rubbed at his temples. "No, just the same old pain… on steroids."

Sirius gave him a sympathetic frown and sipped his coffee. "I don't think we have anything in the cupboard."

Tonks beat him to the cabinet and drew the door aside. A small note and two vials sat in the space where Remus' silver-free medication had taken residence previously. "It's a note from Snape." She cleared her throat as her hair lengthened, turning ebony and grew heavy with grease—moderately exaggerating the real thing—before reading. "Both potions are for pain and healing. The green-inked label should be taken first, the healing quotient is higher and necessary."

Remus looked vaguely amused at Tonks' imitation, the grimacing of his features waning somewhat. Sirius was grinning as he turned the potions around in his hands.

"Here, Moony," the animagus carefully pulled the cork from the end and poured out a quarter of the liquid from inside into a juice glass. Sirius shook the vial with a grunt. The liquid sloshed a bit in the glass but no more poured out.

Tonks stood giggling at the counter and waved the paper at an irritated Sirius. "There's more here. Ahem Don't shake the vials, Black, they are metered in four doses each to be taken over the next 12 hours. The first over the next four hours, the second bottle evenly over the remaining eight; and because you cannot count, there is a time constraint placed on both bottles to prevent accidental overdosing. It is imperative that the doses do not overlap."

Tonks snorted and pinned the note back to the inside of the cabinet door. "Imperative… who actually talks like that?"

Remus swallowed the contents of the glass and ran his tongue over his teeth. "Severus, for one."

Tonks rolled her eyes and sat at the table, sipping her coffee and wondering if she should bother making toast.

"Why does he talk to me like I'm a complete idiot?" Sirius huffed, replacing the vial in the cupboard and sitting down beside Remus.

"Well, you were shaking the thing… so he must know the inner machinations of your mind at least." Tonks stirred her coffee, grinning down the table.

Remus could note the striking family resemblance of the other occupants of the room at that moment. Tonks was a lovely young lady, perhaps at another time in another place he could have loved her.

For now though, he was too entangled in the older Black family member to think too hard on it.

"Where is Severus, anyway? He was there only an hour ago." Remus returned to nursing his coffee, leery at the slight rolling of the contents of his stomach.

"Popped off," Tonks answered. "Probably catching up on those firstie essays he missed last night."

"I hadn't intended to interrupt his work," Remus sighed heavily. He looked at Sirius with guilt etched on his face. "He said he would be busy."

"I don't think he was busy with first-year essays." Sirius shared a look with Nymphadora that set Remus' single good nerve-ending on edge.

A low rumble of knowing colored Remus' voice with a growl. "He seemed stiff and sore this morning…" Sirius shot a tight-lipped glance to Tonks and Remus huffed through his nose. "He was called last night."

It was no question, and the room fell silent with no need for an answer.

Sirius ran his knuckles down Remus' spine and sighed heavily. "It shouldn't be that much of a surprise, Moony. You've been seeing him spy for far longer than I have."

"When does the man sleep?" Tonks interrupted lightly, laughing in forced tones at her coffee mug.

"He slept last night," Sirius smiled at Remus, the soft edge of it slowly turning into a lazy leer.

"I know," Remus ran his finger around the edge of his cup, "he left me in the night to go back to you of all people."

The men laughed, missing the aghast look on Tonks' face. "What exactly do you two mean?"

Remus pressed a hand to his chest where the gouges had healed and itched with prickles of heat. "What's that?"

"You're sharing Severus?"

"In a matter of speaking," Sirius waggled his brows.

Remus shushed Sirius with a suppressed laugh and a stern look. "Nothing like you mean." Tonks looked skeptical and Remus winked at her. "Though I'm holding out some hope."

"I don't want to hear this," Tonks laughed, hands over her ears. And part of her really didn't want to know and pinched in pain. But a larger part of her, the part that wanted her friend happy, was elated that things seemed to be working out.

Remus yawned and bowed his head over his mug.

"Don't fall asleep at the table Moony," Sirius warned, nodding at Tonks and slipping into the den.

There was muffled cursing and the sound of moving furniture in the den. Remus grinned to himself and rested his forehead onto the table.

"Things aren't going well?" Nymphadora moved to a closer seat, tentatively running her fingers over Remus' hair.

The lycan sighed heavily into the wood-grain and flexed his fingers. "Not particularly."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tonks smiled sadly at the back of his head. "Has Severus made any progress?"

Remus rolled his head to the side, pain etched deeply onto his face. "We certainly thought he had," he whispered.

Sirius returned, tugging the chair backward gently to give Remus time to sit up. "Come on, Moony."

The lycan groaned and frowned when Sirius stretched his good arm across his shoulders to help him to the den.

"I am not an invalid," Remus huffed, feeling Sirius wrap an arm around his waist in the hallway.

"I would never dream of saying as much," Sirius muttered. He pulled them chest to chest to scoot sideways through the den door. He grinned and pressed his nose to the shorter man's temple.

"I'm on to you," Remus chastised, not bothering to hide his grin of amusement. "Taking advantage of a wounded man."

Sirius stopped in the middle of the den with a mock hurt look on his face. "Remus I would never take advantage of you."

Remus was pleased to see the lumpy day-bed had been properly transformed into a lush queen with a heavy comforter and several plush pillows. He groaned in appreciation as he lay down and rolled carefully into the heap of pillows.

Sirius shook a thin throw-blanket across his friend and sat down at his side, bending low at his waist to set his lips to Remus' ear. "Besides, Moony, it's not taking advantage when you're willing."

Laughing, Remus wriggled until his arm was freed from beneath him and gripped at Sirius' hair, tugging him gently to the side and planting a firm, warm kiss to the corner of his lips. "Stop teasing me and keep Tonks company."

"I'll be back in an hour with your next dose of Snape's 'cure-all'." Sirius pressed a dry kiss to Remus' stubbled cheek and carefully checked his bandaged arm before leaving the man to his rest.

…oOo…

The sun was just touching the tops of the trees, but the heavy canopy cast a cool shade.

Severus ached in various places, and the uneven terrain he was walking through certainly didn't help. The forest was nearly black the canopy above was so thick. Foliage grew thick and heavy, the vines and thorny bushes grabbing at his robes.

Snarling at a low hanging branch that snagged hold of his hair, Severus drew his robe in tight and readjusted the bundle beneath his elbow.

He was worried about Lupin, the man was a powder-keg just waiting for a catalyst. It seemed no matter what he believed he could do to help Remus, it was never quite enough… and in fact seemed to hurt more than he was helping. The pattern for his life.

So here he was, on a long trek to the middle of Hell for help.

Severus had walked a half a mile in deep thought when he realized he was no longer alone. Without slowing, or showing any outward sign that he was aware of the company, Snape continued to pick his way through the forest, following the slightest path that was worn on the heavy forest floor.

The bark on nearby trees was badly damaged. Great chunks of wood were splintered, teeth, claw and weapon marks marred deep in the wood. A heavy musk permeated the air, Severus felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

A twig snapped sharply behind him, Severus drew up short, finger twitching toward his hip where his wand flickered lightly, waiting his command. A small grunt and curse followed the noise. Severus slowly wound his fingers around the handle, breathing deep, steady lungfuls.

"You would be better served to escort me the rest of the way than to stalk me," he called out in a clear ringing voice. The gentle sounds of the forest filled the new silence, leaving it ringing loudly in the still.

"Perhaps we would sooner eat you," a growling rumble echoed out of the dense foliage to his left. A deep rolling laugh echoed the sentiment from the right.

Snape's fingers clenched tight and he slowly drew his wand from its sheath. "You can do as you please," the words rolled out warm and genial, a foreign feeling to his vocal chords. "Though I'm certain Kasabian would be displeased."

The shifting steps from behind came to a sudden halt.

"Who are you?" The voice asked, gruff and impatient, no longer feeling the desire for play.

"That isn't your concern, pup." Severus snarled.

"I think it is." The voice to the right shifted and Snape could hear the beast snuffle. "You smell of blood."

Severus felt his stomach roil, he could practically see the hungry smile on the strange man's face. "Where is your alpha?"

Apparently he no longer held sway over the two as they began to close in slowly. Both were chuffing through their noses, scenting him and coming ever closer.

Suddenly a strong hand closed on the back of Snape's neck and he was drove face-first into a thick poplar. Air whooshed from his lungs and he felt one of the wolves press a knee into his back. Thick, heavy breath rolled across his face with the reek of rotten meat. "You smell of lycan blood…"

"Get the fuck off of me you filthy mutt!" Severus wheezed into the peeling bark, feeling the bones of his chest creek under the extra pressure. The bruises on his ribs pulled and screamed. His lungs screamed for air, but he didn't dare draw breath for fear his ribs would break.

"Brother blood on your clothes," Dark, matted hair swung into his blurring vision. The lycan snarled in his face, digging his fingers into Snape's neck. His broken nails bit deep into his flesh, slowly pinching off his airway.

"Enough!" A deep voice boomed across the forest, scaring birds out the canopy and nearly stilling the breeze. Both wolves froze and Severus barely registered the panic on one of their faces before he was suddenly freed and falling to the forest floor.

He breathed raggedly in the dirt, face first in a growth of skullcap. His fingers curled tightly around his wand and he stood up with a jerk, using the tree to lean against while he took in what was happening.

Both lycans were cowering slightly on the narrow path, heads turned away from the man in front of them though they strained their eyes to watch him trying their best not to catch his gaze. The man they cowed away from wasn't a whole lot to look at. Neither tall, nor short; neither fat, nor thin. His hair was matted and cleaved away from his head in chunks, a halo of unkempt grey that was shorn to match the length of his beard. The mass of grey fuzz plumed out like a dirty mane.

One gnarled finger pointed at Severus and the man growled, "You attack the keeper of our history?"

"K, we didn—urk!"

Severus blinked and felt his bowels tighten, he hadn't seen Kasabian move, but in a flicker as fast as light the old wolf had moved and clamped one exceedingly strong hand around the younger's throat.

"You'll both return to the hovel and wait for me in my rooms. Don't speak to anyone, don't touch anything. If you so much as stop to piss I'll have you flogged for it, do I make myself clear?" Kasabian's voice was low and rough. Both lycans nodded and soon disappeared into the forest with a whisper of leaves.

Severus stood glued to the tree as Kasabian took slow steps toward him. "Master Snape, I see you've come to return the book."

Snape nodded, carefully returning his wand to its sheath. "I have. It hasn't been entirely useful."

Kasabian turned his head to the side and smiled briefly, showing his broken teeth and narrowing his eyes. "No help you say? Come, I'll lead you into the den and you can explain it to me. Perhaps I can help you shed light onto the problem."

Severus winced and felt his back pop as he straightened on the path. Kasabian squinted up at him as they walked, his nose curling delicately at the sides. "You do smell of blood. Your friend's?"

"Yes," Severus admitted, carrying the book gently under his elbow, thankful that the two that had stalked him hadn't gotten hold of it. "The reversion went badly. When I made it to him, he was peeling the flesh from himself in ribbons."

The old wolf grunted and scratched at his beard, pausing now and then to peer deep into the foliage at either side. It set Snape's nerves on edge but they managed to make it into the depth of the forest where the sounds of a small gathering met them.

Lycanthropes of every age and race watched them walk through toward a slightly slanted hut. The walls were covered with the best skins of every kill ever eaten by the pack.

"Wait here a moment," Kasabian laid a gentle arm on Snape's and made his way into the hut. Severus caught a glimpse of the two wolves that stalked him and waited beneath a large elm.

Many lycans watched him with careful eyes. None looked pleased to see him, but neither did they appear hostile either. The door banged open and both young pups staggered out, looking abashed and muttering barely audible apologies as they walked past.

Kasabian cast a baleful eye after them and glanced out amongst the others before nodding Severus in.

The hut was sparse but clean and well structured despite its tilt. The old wolf settled down on a large mound of furs and motioned for Severus to sit on a low stool in the corner.

"While we walked I remember you saying your friend had harmed himself before you arrived."

"That's correct."

"And there was no one with him while he attempted to revert?" Kasabian frowned as he scratched through his beard.

"Black was in the house, but I do not believe he was part of the process," Severus jerked his robe around him, keeping his hands busy to keep from twitching nervously.

"That is part of your problem," Kasabian smiled benignly as Severus blinked at him. "Where is the boy's pack?"

"Lupin?! He has no pack," Severus stilled, realizing he needed to be careful what was said about Remus.

The true look of confusion on the old wolf's face did little to put Snape at ease.

"No pack?"

"He was bitten as a child and left for dead."

Kasabian straightened, a cold menace leeching from him as he glared into the distance. "This beast I know…" The old man cleared his throat and held his hands out for the book. Severus gave it over, glancing about for any sign of his defense book and finding none. "I do not doubt you have made notes on the important parts of this text; and I know that you have done what is right for you friend. However, a handful of potion and tough love are not enough for one afflicted with Lupis Disvestare Apostasis."

"How do you know?" Severus' gaze narrowed and he watched the wolf stand with a grunt and pull open the hut door.

A low whistle and chuffing bark came from deep within the man's throat. He returned to his seat, leaving the door open. Shortly thereafter a stocky woman entered, hair neatly groomed and clothing all but pressed. She smiled shyly at them and sat down next to Kasabian's knee.

"This is Adolpha," the woman nodded briefly and looked expectantly up at Kasabian. "Tell Master Snape of your sickness."

A faint blush crept into the woman's face. When she opened her mouth to speak, Severus expected a weak croak, he was startled when her voice was clear and vibrant. "I have been afflicted with Lupis Disvestare Apostasis."

Severus nearly fell off of his stool. "You… have…"

"Adolpha suffers no longer," Kasabian rested a hand on her head and the woman smiled happily at her lap, leaning against his legs and smoothing a pleat in her pants. "She was once a successful business woman… a muggle, in fact, and Catholic." A hard bark of laughter ripped through the old lycan and he apologized weakly to the woman at his feet before speaking again. "She was barely turned, through two moon cycles and believed as her faith had taught her. She was devil spawn and deserved no less than the last rights and swift death."

"With Kas's help, I worked my way out of the depression. He gave me belief in myself. And taught me that I could have my faith and still be accepted by my God for living as I am."

Kasabian stroked her hair and smiled at Snape with his broken teeth. "It was all a matter of learning what her weakness was, what was driving the wedge between her life as a fulfilled woman, and that of a healthy wolf."

"What am I doing wrong? Lupin nearly bled to death last night. I have fed him potions, told him what he must do. Transformations of piece and parcel; aligning his separated mind to accept who he is; I have him telling his darkest secrets and it's all been for nothing."

Adolpha shifted on the floor, her eyes widened in sympathetic pain and Severus was jolted again to see how startlingly close the color was to Remus' eyes. "His pack has not helped him?"

Severus frowned harshly but was saved a reply by Kasabian. The grey wolf touched the woman's hair again and shook his head at her, "The pup has no true pack." He then laughed, a sound without mirth and smiled sickly at Severus. "Perhaps pup is the wrong word. How old is he?"

"As a man or a wolf?"

Kasabian gave him a genuine smile at the question. "As a wolf."

Snape took a moment to think back. "Nearly thirty years."

"And his age as a man?" Adolpha interrupted, looking abashed at Kasabian's stern look.

"He is nearing forty," Severus said calmly. He noticed the widening of the woman's gaze and saw a shudder run down her spine.

Kasabian allowed her to rest her chin on his knee and pet her absently. "Your Lupin needs pack family. Even if you are no wolf, you are still important to him, and he to you."

Severus bristled.

"Feel free to correct me," the wolf interrupted, "but if you did not care for this man, you would have known better than to come to a wolf pack smelling of wolf blood."

Snape looked away and grunted. He was too exhausted and achy to think straight when he had left Grimmauld place. "So what does the pack do?"

Adolpha looked at him as though he had grown another head, Kasabian just smiled a bit and stroked her head. "When one reverts the pain is immense; far worse than a normal transformation. To force the wolf and try to contain it, it takes more than physical and mental strength. It takes the strength of the heart, a strength of soul, a strength of love."

He paused and ran the knuckles of his fingers across the woman's cheekbone and she blushed, turning her face into his hand.

Severus looked away, uncomfortable.

"Do not mistake me, I don't mean to make it sound so idealistic. During the transformation there was a lot of snarling, biting, swearing, crying… and then their was Adolpha." The woman laughed and curled an arm around his calves. Kasabian bent and pressed a dry kiss to her head and motioned the door. The woman stood and left without so much as a parting word.

"Master Snape," Kasabian sighed deeply. "There are three of you, yes?" At Severus' nod, he continued in a gruff tone. "Three can make a pack, small as it may be, but if there is enough trust, and hope, and loyalty between you, you can help your Lupin through this. You've done the easy part. The potions, the sharing… I imagine you are all sick of listening to each other speak."

Severus did not share the man's smile and frowned deeply. "Lupin has shared much of his past."

The wolf paused and processed the sentence. "So you have not shared your horrors with your Lupin? And the other man? The dog, he has not shared? You cannot have a true connection, nor be a pack without such honesty. To know where you all stand, you need to see the past and face it."

Snape ran a hand down his face and sighed heavily. "Where our pasts connect is a Hell that left us hating each other for decades."

"Then you begin there," Kasabian frowned. "Though you must not hate each other now, not unless my nose is lying to me. And my nose never lies." A brazen grin split the man's face.

Severus did not blush—thank Merlin—but he did choke a bit. "It is not…hate any longer."

"Then you are already ahead." Kasabian stood and threw back a pile of skins, revealing a weathered chest. He snapped the latch and levered it open. "Find out what the wedge is that separates the man from the wolf. You need to be there with him when he changes. You have done well to remind him that he is wolf, but don't forget that he is still a man. Share his emotional pain, share his physical pain… When the man is not wolf, his saliva is not contagious. When he is reverting for you, he will not be contagious. Bite, spit, scratch, scream, cry... it will all be painful, and cathartic."

"Ahh…" Kasabian withdrew a carefully wrapped bundle from the chest and handed it to Severus. Snape unwrapped it and saw with overwhelming relief that it was his textbook, cared for as gently in foreign hands as his own.

The lycan smiled gently and returned the ancient pack book to the chest before clamping it shut and recovering it in furs.

"I will also admit that the sex is phenomenal."

Severus let out a bark of surprised laughter. "Dully noted."

The man sat down and drew a skin across his lap. "Go home, talk to your Lupin, and pet your dog." Kasabian grinned, large and toothy.

"I appreciate the help you've given Lupin," Severus stood, smoothing his robes. He tucked his book beneath his arm and opened the hut door. "To be brutally honest, I hope I never have to see you again."

The wolf smirked and waved airily at him. "I take no offense. Especially considering both times you have come you have been roughed up without provocation." Severus shared his smirk and turned, stepping down off of the short porch. "Snape."

Severus turned to see Kasabian leaning against the doorjamb. "Bring your Lupin around when he is well again. I will not try to recruit him, but he should have a source for information if he needs it, and I extend the invitation to him."

Severus nodded, "I will tell him."

Kasabian grunted and watched Snape walk calmly through the small gathering and disappear into the forest.

"Brats!" The two younger wolves that had hunted Severus some long minutes before jerked to their feet. "Be sure Master Snape safely leaves the woods, he has a sick wolf to care for."

The men nodded and trotted off.

Kasabian shook his head at them, still so eager at their age, and welcomed Adolpha into his hut with a smile.