AN: So we have reached it: The final chapter. I'm honoured by the response I've gotten for this story, thank you everybody! After this there will only be a short epilogue, then the story will be completed. Now I will stop bugging you and leave you to read. Love /ThosePreciousWalls

.oOo.

He doubted that he would survive the night. But should Pomfrey get a hold of him he knew he wouldn't survive the night, and that was the only thing that kept Snape moving. It was too late for potions or antidotes. Too late even for bezoars and spells. Any kind of magical intervention now would kill him.

Severus felt cold. He knew his walk could only be described as stumbling. The world around him turned greyer and tunnel vision was setting in. He needed to reach his chambers.

.oOo.

Looking up from the essay he was correcting Remus found that Snape had almost made it back to his quarters. The small dot moved slowly, stopping for a few seconds and then starting again. It reached its destination and stepped inside, only to stop again. This time it remained still.

Jumping into action Remus grabbed his wand and set off at a run. The air in the hallway was chilly in his thin shirt but he didn't give any heed to it. Something was wrong, he knew it. This didn't fall within the routine, Snape should be moving away from his door. Worry was churning inside him, driving him to run even faster.

Urgently taking every shortcut he could think of Remus prayed he wouldn't meet anyone. Not until he reached the dungeons did he slow down to a fast walk, his heartbeat loud in his ears. No matter the situation, he couldn't allow the risk of someone seeing him rushing to Severus rooms after a meeting.

When Remus knocks went unanswered he stretched for the doorknob. Touching it he was met by the tingling sensations of active wards and he felt real desperation settling in. He would need all night to break through the potions master's wards, and there weren't time for that. The only faster way was to get Dumbledore, and that would be a huge betrayal towards Severus. For lack of better ideas Remus tried to open the door despite the wards, and almost fell over from chock as it worked. Had Severus keyed him into his wards?

Only a sliver of the room was visible before the door met a soft but unyielding resistance. Being a thin man Remus managed to slip inside just barely, where he found that the resistance was the unmoving form of Snape. He had suspected as much.

"Severus!" Remus reached down to shake the man's shoulder, and to his surprise dark eyes fluttered open. "What happened?"

"Poisoned." Remus' blood ran cold at the single word, there was no way he could fix this. He had just decided to floo for help, and was starting to stand when his colleague stopped him. "Don't. There's nothing they can do. Any magic now will kill me for sure." Severus voice was weak.

"I..." Remus stopped, unsure what to say. Instead Severus took over.

"Promise me: No healers, no Pomfrey, no people at all. And no magic." Snape raised his head to stare at him and Remus didn't know if it was in a pleading or demanding way. He suddenly felt faint himself.

"What can I do?" He could hear how unsteady his own voice was.

"Promise me!" Snape hissed.

"Okay." Remus took a deep breath, knowing he might come to regret this. "I promise. Now, what can I do?"

"Nothing." Severus lowered his head back to the floor and his words were hardly stronger than a whisper now. "Now we can only wait and see, either I will make it or I won't." The man closed his eyes.

Remus raised a shaking hand and pressed his fingertips hard against his forehead. His colleague seemed calm enough about his own possible demise, but there was no way Remus could feel the same. Severus might die. Here, tonight, with only a childhood enemy for company.

It seemed so unfair he wanted to scream, and maybe break something. He wanted to grab Severus and drag him to Saint Mungo's and force them to save him. But he had promised not to. No people, no magic, and Remus would be damned before he broke the promise he had made to a potentially dying man.

Inhaling slowly through his nose the werewolf focused back on the man before him. Severus was shivering with cold and the floor couldn't be comfortable. He wondered how many times the spy had lain like this before, too weak to move away from the cold hard stone, waiting to see if he would survive the night. Alone.

This time was different though, Remus realised. Severus wasn't alone. He might not be able to do anything about the poisoning, but he could still get his colleague off the floor. He could show there was someone around who cared.

"Let's get you somewhere more comfortable." A small grunt was the only reaction to Remus' soft words. Reaching down he placed one arm just below Severus shoulders and the other at the fold of his knees. Judged by the shivering he had thought that the man was running a fever, but instead Severus felt cold to the touch.

Remus had never been a big man and it was hard to get to his feet with the additional weight of his colleague dragging him down. Once upright Remus realised he wasn't strong enough to carry Severus all the way to his bedroom in one go. The sofa would have to suffice.

The way he deposited Severus on the piece of furniture wasn't as gentle as Remus would have wished, but at least he'd made it. Once he'd gained more space by removing the back cushions he figured it worked well enough as a sickbed.

It felt weird to enter the small bedroom. It seemed inappropriate to snoop around in there with its inhabitant unconscious on the couch, but Remus needed to find some blankets to keep Severus warm. Not wanting to rummage through the closets unnecessarily he removed the black bedspread to grab the duvet and pillow from the bed. Just as he was leaving he changed his mind and took the bedspread with him as well.

Placing his loot in one of the armchairs Lupin untangled the duvet and brought it over to Severus. The man seemed to be asleep, not unconscious, if the way he relaxed a little at the warmth was any indication. After bringing the pillow and bedspread as well Remus untied Snape's shoes and tucked his feet up on the sofa. He hoped the other man wouldn't mind.

The kitchenette felt familiar and calming after so many nights making hot chocolate on its stove, even if Remus only made one cup this time. Not sure if his promise meant he wasn't to use magic on Severus or if he wasn't to use it at all Remus decided on the latter and moved his armchair manually. It felt better to be safe than sorry considering the possible repercussions.

The room was warm and Remus didn't realise he had almost fallen asleep until he felt his now empty cup land in his knee. Jerking awake he immediately felt guilty, a feeling that only eased when he saw that Severus was still breathing. The man seemed cold again, but no more blankets were to be found and he didn't dare to leave to fetch some from his own rooms.

Remus seldom drank coffee, but he needed a strong dose of caffeine to keep him awake. Friday evening had long since passed into Saturday night but he didn't dare to sleep when a fatally sick man might need him. What if he missed a turn for the worse and woke up with a dead Snape in the room?

.oOo.

The sound of Remus turning yet another page cut through the silent room, the book he had borrowed wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. Wait; it cut through the silent room. Silent. Remus hurried to his feet.

For the last six hours Snape had never been silent. First there had been nightmares, not violently loud but clearly discernible. Waking Severus had proved impossible in his weakened state so they both had to suffer through them. As the night grew older the dreams had given away to the clattering teeth and shaking of someone who's incredibly cold. Severus had never been completely silent until now, and to his horror Remus realised he had no idea how long had passed since the noises stopped.

What little colour had been left on Severus' cheeks was completely gone and his lips had taken on a blue tint. As far as Remus could see the man wasn't breathing. When he reached out to feel for a pulse Remus' fingers only registered how cold the skin on Severus' neck was.

Remus felt bile rise in his throat. This wasn't the first time he had been around the dead body of someone he knew, yet this was somehow different. Those around him who had died young had done so in battle, when the adrenaline was running so high it took the edge of it. Their dying had been quick and dramatic and usually part of a complete mayhem. It had somehow seemed further away than this man who slipped away over several hours in his own home.

A minute throb had Remus whipping his head up fast enough to make his neck hurt. He hoped to detect another one but no pulse could be found. Maybe it had just been his imagination playing tricks with him.

'Hypothermia can cause a person to appear clinically dead. The low temperature combined with the weak, slow pulse and undetectable breathing make people believe the individual is already lost and as such they don't get the treatment they need. Never declare anyone dead until they're warm and dead.' Remus had a feeling he'd pulled that up from one of the survival shows he sometimes watched on the television and at the moment he couldn't be more grateful. There was still a fragment of hope.

Still the question remained of how to get Severus warm. Remus had already covered Severus in all the blankets he could find (as well as a heavy robe), but apparently that wasn't enough. An outside heat source would be needed. The fire was magical, and as such Remus would need to use magic to get any more warmth out of it. The couch was standing on a rug and would not be moved closer to the hearth by hand. What could he do?

The answer came to Remus with surprising ease, making him thank those muggle TV shows for a second time. He was an outside heat source, with the perfect temperature to warm Severus without risking to injure him. It was a plan that could go sour in more ways than Remus wanted to think about, so he tried not to.

Remus kicked of his shoes and crawled under the blankets behind Severus on the couch. He laid down with his chest flush against his colleague's back and even brought his arms around the man to hold him closer. The thought that he might very well be snuggled up next to a dead body made him slightly nauseous, but Remus had no choice. He knew that he would never forgive himself if he didn't at least try to save Snape in every way he could. Unfortunately this was the only way at his disposal.

The horizontal position made Remus realise how tired he was. By now the students would usually be trickling down for their Saturday breakfast and he hadn't slept since yesterday morning. He fought to stay awake, it felt irresponsible and wrong to fall asleep in such a situation, but eventually fatigue overtook him none the less. The last thought that Remus managed was that he hoped he wouldn't wake up next to a confirmed corpse.

.oOo.

A feeling woke him, something was wrong. At first Remus couldn't properly identify it, the sheets didn't smell like they used to and the pillow felt weird but that wasn't it. As he fought his way into consciousness he recognised the itchy sensation of being watched. Prying open his eyelids Remus found the reason for his concern. Dark, emotionless eyes were indeed staring at him.

"Out of concern for our students I have to ask if this is a habit of yours? Taking advantage of the unconscious, sneaking into bed with them?"

Remus didn't know if he should cry or laugh at what he was beginning to see as a display of humour. Admittedly a sarcastic, snarky and often downright mean sense of humour, but funny none the less once you recognised it for what it was. He settled on doing a bit of both.

Severus was alive. Well enough to be condescending apparently. He was sitting in the chair Remus had occupied during the night, obviously still cold but very much not dead. The potions master had grabbed the bedspread from the couch and had it wrapped around himself, only the sour head and a pair of unshod feet sticking out. It made a rather unusual picture.

Tears were leaking from Remus' eyes, pooling in his ears before soaking into the pillow on the sides of his head. He couldn't even bring himself to care that Severus saw him crying, it might even be about time he returned the favour. Not until then did Remus realise how tense he had been, how sure he had been that his colleague wouldn't make it through the night. Merlin, he had even begun planning how to break the news to Dumbledore.

"Sad I made it?" Severus raised a single eyebrow and looked pointedly at Remus. It was impossible to tell if the question was genuine or ironic, and as such Remus answered truthfully.

"No, not at all. I just... How much do you remember?" The werewolf sat up and grabbed one of the back cushions and returned it to its place for support. Severus looked surprised at the question.

"Not much." He sounded reluctant and for a moment Remus was sure nothing more would be said, then Severus continued. "I remember you showing up, and the promise you gave me. I got dumped quite unceremoniously on the couch and I felt incredibly cold. That's what I remember most strongly, how cold everything was, and how I tried to wake up but couldn't."

The reason he had tried to wake up hadn't been said, but Remus could guess it was the nightmares.

"This morning I was certain you'd died." Severus' eyes had trailed off during his recounting, but they snapped back to Lupin at the confession. "It wasn't just that you felt cold, you really were cold. I mean, at first it wasn't so bad. I thought you had a fever when I found you. Obviously I couldn't check your temperature properly without magic but you felt a little cold rather than hot so I figured it was fine."

"Once I got you a blanket it got better. You dreamed for a while, and I tried to wake you but, well..." Remus could tell Severus knew that he knew about the nightmares, but he let it go for the moment. "Anyway you got cold again pretty soon, but you had all the blankets I could find and I'd promise not to use magic. It seemed to get worse, you were shaking bad, teeth clattering, the whole works. Then sometime this morning I suddenly realised you had gone quiet."

It was Remus turn to look away now. He held his arms crossed protectively over his chest, not all that keen on continuing. However Severus deserved to know what had happened.

"It's... You were dead." Risking a glance over at Severus Remus was met with a calm gaze and a lifted eyebrow. He swallowed and continued. "At least that's how it seemed. You weren't breathing, I couldn't find a pulse and your skin felt like ice."

"Hypothermia." Severus stated with a calm that Remus certainly hadn't felt at the time, that he still didn't feel as a matter of fact. "Interesting." For a short second Remus felt like punching his colleague in the face.

"Yes very." It came out as bitterly as it felt. A small crease appeared between Severus eyebrows that Remus didn't have time to read before it disappeared. "The thought of hypothermia came to me too eventually, and I decided it was worth a shot. It was interesting to realise that possibly you weren't already dead, just as it was interesting trying to figure out a suitable heat source around here that's not activated by magic. Most interesting of all though, do you know what that was? The realisation that I was the perfect source of heat, and the feeling when I laid down next to what I could only pray was you and not your corpse." For the first time in his life Remus saw Snape looking genuinely surprised.

A voice in the back of Remus head told him he was overemotional, probably due to exhaustion. But the fact was he still shuddered to think about how cold Severus had been and what he would have done if the man was still dead by now.

"I'm sorry." The apology sounded strange, coming from Severus of all people, but that only made Remus appreciate it even more. "Interesting was a poor choice of word, I saw it from a purely scientific point of view." Severus took a small break. "And thank you... for saving my life."

Remus gave the spy a small smile. "You're forgiven, and welcome."

.oOo.

He was back in the kitchen, stirring the heating milk to keep it from burning. Habit had driven Remus to prepare hot chocolate for them, and Severus sure looked like he could use a warm drink. It was past lunchtime but he couldn't bring himself to eat anything, the hot chocolate would have to do for sustenance.

"You're not an occlumens." Severus voice carried easily in the silent room, he sounded thoughtful.

"No I'm not, why?" Remus kept his back to the potions master, hoping to keep the man speaking.

"Maybe you should consider learning. It was just a matter of luck that the Dark Lord didn't look into your mind when he caught you." Remus understood what he was getting at. Should anyone look through his thoughts at this point Severus would die a horrendous death.

"I probably should." Remus agreed. The silence stretched for a few seconds before Severus decided to continue.

"Yesterday before going to the meeting I drank a potion. A completely untraceable agent that I sometimes take before gatherings to stabilise my mind." Remus almost held his breath, Severus appeared to be willingly explaining what had happened last night.

"It has a bit of a disadvantage though, which is why I only use it when absolutely necessary: It reacts unfavourably with almost every healing potion in existence. With exception of a few close calls it has always gone fine, up until yesterday. I received an injury and the Dark Lord ordered me to take a potion to heal it. Saying no would have been a certain death sentence. I was lucky to be able to leave before the poisoning had spread far enough to show."

The milk was already warm and Remus had turned the stove off but he kept stirring it. He didn't want to risk breaking the spell and stop Severus from telling him what happened. This was a huge sign of trust, Remus had just been given information that would easily get Severus killed if it got out. Maybe next week he could find the time to get some books on occlumency.

"The potions that I took have a rather uncommon effect together, apart from making the ingester severely weakened and apparently potentially hypothermic. The poisoning will suck magical energy from any spells or potions used on the subject. Instead of diminishing it will grow stronger and is as such guaranteed to kill the victim. If a healer gets a case of undeterminable poisoning they will try to counter it, in this case that would only make it worse."

Remus wondered if Severus expected him to respond in any way. It seemed impossible to come up with a decent thing to say in return that wouldn't become either estranged or prying. When it became obvious Severus was done talking Remus poured the chocolate into two cups.

.oOo.

Reaching out into the chilly dungeon air was in no way pleasant, but Snape did it gladly as he accepted the hot beverage. He was still freezing, probably a degree or two below what was healthy, and a warm drink should do him good. While Lupin was preparing the chocolate Severus had switched chairs to the one by the fire and the werewolf was now moving the other seat up to his side.

None of them spoke and Severus closed his eyes for a second, revelling in the radiating heat from the cup. He couldn't help but wonder why he had volunteered all that information. Maybe it could be blamed on a temporary insanity caused by the night's events, because it was utterly insane to trust anyone with that kind of information. Especially when that person wasn't even an occlumens.

Memories of waking up still assaulted Severus senses. It had been one of the few times when he wished he could have slept longer, but it would not be done. He'd woken from his body shaking without even noticing how cold he was until after a few seconds. The only sensations he had been able to take in was how safe he felt, how warm his back was and how feeling Remus breathe was so tranquilising it almost hurt.

Severus had wanted so bad to be able to go back to sleep. To allow himself to slip away into that feeling and get some decent rest for once, but the shakes and the cold kept him awake. It didn't take long until the comfort was switched into worry that Lupin would stir as well. Severus didn't want to be found awake, staying at his own accord. That might make the other man think he was appreciating laying like that. So Severus had forced himself away from the warmth and over to a chair, carefully bringing his bedspread without waking his colleague.

If it was one thing Severus wanted right now - apart from the Dark Lords demise, him not having joined the Death Eaters and other such silly, impossible things – it would be to be able to go back. The fire, the blanket and the chocolate did some good in warming him but it didn't go all the way. It lacked the internal warmth of someone holding him close.

Severus wrenched his thoughts in another direction. There were things that he should have done that had been postponed now, and he wondered when he would have time for them. Until he stopped shaking he couldn't correct homework, and brewing was probably out of question before Sunday afternoon when the last remnants of the poisoning were gone for sure. Nightmares wouldn't be a problem next week since there would be no time for sleep. Just yesterday evening he was supposed to at least have corrected the fifth years' papers, brewed Pepper Up and Skele-Gro for Pomfrey, and made Wolfsbane for Remus.

Out of all the possible topics that Severus could have brought up reminding Lupin of the overlooked Wolfsbane wasn't one of his favourites, yet it had to be done. Since one dose had been missed there was no point in taking any of the remaining doses this month.

"You missed your Wolfsbane." Severus could see the small wince that his comment caused.

"Oh, right." Lupin sounded resigned. "Well it's not your fault, shit happens." The forgiveness meant more to Severus than he wished to admit, even if he had a harder time forgiving himself. He should have brewed the potion before the meeting.

"You can't remain in the school for the full moon without it." What Severus really wanted to say was where will you go but it didn't come out as a question. Remus seemed to understand him anyway.

"I still own my parents old house. It has a..." Remus was obviously searching for a word. "...cage..." He looked slightly embarrassed. "...in the basement, I can go there. It's soundproof and the door can only be opened with human hands so it's safe."

Severus took a slow breath, doing his best not to think about how many times Remus must have locked himself in that cage. The word soundproof rang through his mind and before he knew it a question slipped out.

"Does it hurt?" Remus looked like he needed some clarification. "The transformations."

"Yes." The way Remus suddenly wouldn't meet his eyes told Severus more than the word itself.

"Is it any better with the Wolfsbane?" Severus told himself that the question was purely scientific.

"Yes, no, it depends." Remus was still focusing on the fire. "I mean, the transformations hurt just as much, physically, but at least I don't feel like I'm losing my mind. With the potion I also know I won't injure myself so in that sense it hurts less."

Then and there Severus decided that even if Dumbledore no longer forced him he would still provide the man with Wolfsbane. He knew that the price for the doses out on the market was far higher than Remus would ever be able to afford, but the ingredients were cheap enough. It didn't even take that long to brew, for those who were able to do so.

The silence started to spread between them again and Severus took the chance to have a sip of his chocolate. It was just over lukewarm.

"The nightmares, they weren't caused by the poisoning, were they?" Lupin's question made Severus feel incredibly uncomfortable. He didn't wish to talk about his dreams with anyone but it had been a strange day. Lupin had cried, and answered Severus' intrusive questions, and Severus had already told the man way too much.

He still remembered the vehemence of Remus' reaction to his casual attitude towards the hypothermia. Severus hadn't realised that the man might care that much if he lived or died. Somehow that realisation had changed things enough to make him answer Remus now.

"No." Severus admitted, and it was his turn to lock his gaze to the orange flames.

"You have them often?" Remus voice was soft, making it clear he didn't expect an answer.

"Yes." The confession felt surprisingly good as it fell from Severus' lips. His colleague must have taken the answer as a sign that he could probe a bit further.

"You must be tired." Remus stated. "When was the last time you got a full night's sleep?"

Severus closed his eyes for a second, pretending that he had to think about it. He didn't, he knew exactly when he had last slept a full night. The question was if he wanted Lupin to know.

"Christmas." Severus finally said, and he felt ashamed to hear it come out hardly stronger than a whisper. He didn't specify it more than that, but he knew that Remus understood.

It was unfortunate that Dreamless Sleep was so addictive. Not even Severus had managed to find a less hazardous formula and he had spent a lot of time trying. As it was the potion could only be taken under extraordinary circumstances, more than twice a year was heavily frowned upon by the healers. The false peacefulness was a sure, fast way to short circuit the brain and cause irreparable damage. Dreaming was after all the mind's most important coping mechanism.

Remus yawned and Severus took that as a promise there would be no more questions. The other man looked beat, a night with too much worry and too little sleep had obviously affected him. For a short second Severus thought about telling Remus to go home and get some sleep, but he refrained. After all his colleague had done for him it would probably be the correct thing to do, but Severus couldn't bring himself to drive the man away just yet.

It didn't take a healer to understand how close to dying Severus had come tonight, or yesterday night as it was now way past lunchtime. Though he loathed admitting it Severus still felt unhinged, almost frightened. His own demise was something he had come to terms with, at times to even long for, but he feared what would happen to the Order if his work was discontinued. He feared that the war would be lost and that all he had lived through would have been in vain.

Another worry hid in the shadow of his greater fear of the light side losing this war. It was one he did his best to pretend didn't exist, but at times that was near impossible. Severus worried that all he would be remembered as was a traitor and a Death Eater. He told himself that it didn't matter, that he knew the truth, but at times he couldn't hold that mindset together. So he didn't ask Remus to leave, because as long as the man was around Severus was reminded that there was at least one soul who saw him as more than that.

.oOo.

No more than twenty minutes had passed in silence before Remus fell asleep. The dark blue cup he had been drinking from was balanced precariously between Lupin's right hand and the armrest of his chair. Severus rose gingerly, waiting for a moment as the world righted itself. He was still cold and weak but at least it was going in the right direction. Carefully liberating the endangered cup Severus brought it over to the sink.

A small tremble worked its way through Remus and Severus realised he wasn't the only one who felt cold. The other man was only wearing a thin shirt, no robes or sweaters were in sight so they must have been left behind in Remus' quarters. From experience Severus also knew that exhaustion could make one cold no matter the room temperature.

Crossing over to the couch Severus picked up the discarded comforter that laid there. He hesitated for a second, but then spread it over the sleeping man. No one had seen the gesture, and though Remus might understand it when he woke up Severus knew the man wouldn't mention it. Besides, it could always be blamed on the fact that he'd wanted silence from the clattering teeth.

Severus estimated thirty minutes to an hour before he would be able to suppress his shivers enough to write scathing remarks on his students' homework with his usual flowing script. Hopefully Remus would remain asleep until after Severus had relocated to his office, and then he could simply work on correcting essays and planning lessons until he was sure the other man had left. He couldn't do any practical work until tomorrow anyway.

Common sense told him that sleeping would be the most effective way for his body to recuperate, but Severus stubbornly disagreed. He was in no mood for more nightmares at the moment, and he could be useful soon enough. For the moment though, he was content where he was. Sitting wrapped in his bedspread, gazing at the fire and listening to Remus' soft snores.

.oOo.

AN: Reviews make me a very happy girl :)