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Note: There are two conversations happening here, the one between Remus and the Shadows, and the one between Sirius and the Shadows. They are separate, and only Sirius and the Shadows can hear all sides. Remus can't hear Sirius' mental questioning of the Shadows.

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Weapon (Possession Chapter LXXIX)
Chapter XXVIII - Inviting Chaos
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"I am here," Sirius said softly as his contact entered the small clearing. He moved forward slightly to detach himself partially from the darkness. The meeting was deep in the Forbidden Forest. He was familiar with the outskirts of the Forest but the Shadows had lead him deeper into it that he had even been. On the outskirts of the forest, the trees were well spaced, dry and there was only sparse and well defined undergrowth. In this section the trees seemed smaller, denser, their limbs tangled with each other forming a confusing and almost impenetrable mass. Smaller brush formed the undergrowth and Sirius could barely see ten foot passed the tree line in any direction. The whole place was slick with water and he could smell the sharp odour of rotting plants from where footsteps had disturbed the mass underfoot. He could hear the drip of water patting softly to the ground.

He could see the stars here but it was dark, there was no moon but upon seeing who he was to meet, he now knew why the Shadows had chosen a moonless night.

The Shadows had asked for some of his time, saying that they needed to talk with someone and that they thought it would be best if this time they had a physical presence; and so now he was standing, cloaked in shadows, trying to control his surprise as Remus flicked back his hood to look directly at him.

-Just follow our prompts,- the shadows murmured.

"I wanted some clarification," Remus said without preamble. There was no need for introductions, not at this stage.

"I know."

"What is your offer, in your own words?"

-Offer?- Sirius asked silently. -I knew you were up to something but this... you're trying to subvert the werewolves?-

-We prefer the term recruit.-

-Does Harry know?-

-Of course.-

-What's the offer?-

-Just let us talk.-

Inwardly Sirius nodded. It would be quicker and easier if they did that, rather than him continuously relaying their words. There was an odd shift in perception and he heard himself speak. "My Master wants what has been relayed to you."

"Just so that I'm clear then, please, tell me, as I have never directly heard your offer."

"Ah..." the Shadows seemed amused but Sirius shared Remus' curiosity. He wanted to know what the shadows were offering. He though, could always ask them why later. "We want the werewolves' support. We would prefer if it was your passive support but we expect, unfortunately that your support will require fighting in at least one battle. We will specify that battle, and will accept that some will not wish to fight but want at least fifty percent participation. The old, the young and those females carrying young are excused. Apart from that battle, we want the public acknowledgement of werewolf support. We don't expect you to say who you support but we will expect it explicitly stated that the werewolves support neither the Dark Lord Voldemort nor the Ministry Order of the Phoenix Alliance."

"That is a lot to ask," Lupin objected.

"We know."

"We?"

"We speak for our Master."

The werewolf frowned. "I was lead to believe I would be speaking with your Master."

The Shadows hissed at the implied insult but quickly countered, prompting Sirius to speak himself. "I rank equally with you within our respective communities," Sirius said before he asked an internal question. -I do?-

-You do. We'll explain the werewolves later although you could probably convince Remus with some pillow talk,- the Shadows teased as they took control again.

Remus took the hint. "I apologise," he said easily but sincerely. "The werewolves are not used to being dealt with honourably."

"We apologise for any misconceptions."

"You are still asking for a lot."

"We know but we are offering what we believe to be an equal amount in return and are open to discussions on many things to compensate."

"I know. You are offering sacrifices to swell our numbers, which will appeal to those pack members who wish to follow the Dark Lord. You are also offering Law Reform for those who wish to stay within the system and from what I have seen your replacement laws do seem equitable..."

-That's a lot to offer,- Sirius murmured.

-It had to be impressive to get their attention.-

-So you're not going to deliver it?- he asked with a disapproving mental frown.

-Of course we are,- the Shadows seemed offended but the animagus knew that it took a lot more than that to truly offend them.

"...And finally," Remus said, "you are guaranteeing this with a blood oath."

-Blood oath!- Sirius shrieked mentally.

-It's no big deal,- the Shadows shrugged before speaking again. "Did you want something else?" They asked with good humour.

Remus blinked. What else was there to offer? He shook his head, there was no need to be greedy and the possibility could be examined later.

"I realise that you shouldn't doubt an offer," he said honestly, "but the werewolves have been betrayed so often and now you want something very large from us so we need the reassurance that you can actually fulfil your promises because if you can't we will have made enemies of both the Dark Lord and Ministry and this is not something I will allow my people to risk lightly."

"The werewolves are lucky to have you as a leader," Sirius heard his voice say as his mental eyes widened. Remus was a leader? He knew Moony communicated with other werewolves but he'd never really given it much thought. What was a leader of the werewolves anyway? They had a structure that required leadership?

-We'll explain later.-

"We want the werewolves to hold neutral," the Shadows continued speaking to Remus. "Until the battle where your support is required, we will accept if the werewolves just wish to state their neutrality. When the dust settles on this war our Master will stand as the victor and we are giving the werewolves an opportunity to be associated with us from the beginning."

"Yes, that is your intention and if it comes true you will be able to deliver on your promises to my kind and we are thankful for the opportunity to join with you but that doesn't explain how you will accomplish your goals."

The Shadows, if they had of been able to would have smiled. "We are the power that stands behind the Dark Lord, that rescued him from Malfoy's Rebellion." The Shadows stepped Sirius' body forward and he could see the werewolf's eyes widen in recognition. Despite his best efforts there had been pictures taken of him in the Atrium.

"That explains why I can't smell you," Lupin muttered.

-We have completely hidden you,- the Shadow's reassured Sirius before the werewolf continued.

"So why don't you support him?"

"We will but we support our Master above all else and in time the Dark Lord will either accede to us or be destroyed."

-Harry wouldn't allow that,- Sirius objected.

-You know that, we know that but Remus doesn't.-

"If the Ministry and the Dark Lord toe the line so to speak, they can both survive but given the adaptability of them both we rather imagine only Voldemort will survive us."

"So why shouldn't the werewolves support him?"

"Because he will not truly acknowledge your rights when it does not suit him, we will guarantee your rights with the Oath. We have the power to give you what we have offered and..." Sirius wasn't the only one to sense their hesitation.

"And?" Lupin prompted.

"And there is one more thing we can offer you. We don't really want to though as it has implications you may not be ready to accept."

"What?"

"There is a charm. Pretty much anyone can perform it but the more powerful, the better since it is tied into the very roots of magic. It is a strengthening charm and we estimate that it will work on about five percent of werewolves."

"What does it do?"

"It increases mental resistance to magically imposed changes."

Lupin gasped, brown eyes wide, "You can't possibly mean..."

"It does," Sirius felt his body nod. "But not in the way you expect. It is like the Wolf's Bane Potion but translates further with its own risks. Those who have enough mental strength for whatever reason will maintain their human mind even with the change of shape and for those capable of that the change is relatively painless. The only problem is, it doesn't always work."

"What do you mean?"

"Wolf's Bane Potion is more reliable because it always works even if it tastes disgusting but this is completely dependant on your state of mind. If you are distracted, if you are worried or concerned, if you are fatigued, or in any way not focused you will revert to a normal transformation. You have to want, with every fibre of your being to maintain control and that's why it's so unreliable... Because there are so many variables, it can work for one transformation but not others... Hence our offer of Wolf's Bane Potion instead."

Remus nodded, understanding the reluctance now. Truth be told he had heard of a charm like the one they described... But all the literature he had ever seen dismissed it as a wishful fantasy, something that didn't work... With the restrictions they had just described though, it made sense why it was not used, and not known. Even so, he was still not convinced that they could deliver everything but they were viable to delay the Ministry and Dark Lord... which would serve their purpose anyway... They had certainly planned this well.

"You are offering Wolf's Bane but that is a very difficult potion to brew. Do you have a Potion Master capable of it?" He asked carefully.

"We do."

-You do?- Sirius asked, surprised. -Who?- He was almost certain he was the only one apart from Harry tied to the shadows.

-You are the only one tied in such a unique way,- they responded, -but we have others who have been seduced and are bound to our will.-

-Who's the Potion Master?- He pressed the question.

-Severus Snape,- they grumbled the answer. -We just have to finish seducing him but that will be complete by the time the werewolves agree.-

Sirius mentally narrowed black eyes. They were playing a very fine game but as he reached out he could sense the centuries behind them and knew they had been playing for a very long time. They knew what they were capable of and they knew how much time they would need to achieve their goals. Severus might not be theirs yet but, stubborn as he was, he would be by the time they needed him, if not by his own choice, then at least by circumstance and they were masters of controlling circumstance. He shrugged, he didn't like the man but he did recognise his skill as a potion maker, and it wasn't like he would have to deal with Snape that often. If he was necessary, he was necessary. Besides even if Severus had been seduced by the Shadows, that didn't mean anything had to change between them.

While he had been questioning the shadows, they had continued to speak to Remus and belatedly the canine animagus remembered to pay attention to what his body was saying. "And we will allow you to examine their credentials when an agreement is reached. If you are not satisfied with their level of skill, we will stand open to renegotiate our agreement, or we will accept and recruit which ever Potion Master the werewolves desire, or you may declare the entire agreement null and void and strike through the blood oath."

Lupin narrowed his eyes. "You are very accommodating," he stated blandly, fishing for a response.

"We are asking a lot from the werewolves, it is in our interest to be accommodating, and to allow for bargaining on many points," the Shadows rephrased their previous answer.

There was something else going on here and Remus didn't know what. They were powerful, he had no doubt of that. He'd seen images of this individual before and knew by reputation what they were capable of. The fact that he had been destroying vampires would bode well for them as well. On a more personal level he couldn't hear, smell or otherwise sense them. It was truly as if he was speaking with a shadow. Remus realised with a start suddenly wanting to run back to Sirius where it was warm and he felt safe. This whole conversation was not safe and there were too many things happening that he didn't understand. He didn't like that.

But he had a duty to fulfil and he would do it no matter how uncomfortable he was. The forest suddenly seemed colder.

"Are you reassured?" Sirius heard himself ask.

Lupin nodded. "I understand more now," the werewolves said calmly although Sirius recognised the pinched lines around his eyes as being signs of anything but relaxation. He was tense. "I will relay your offer to the pack as being a viable if difficult option but it is an option which may suit us."

"We thank you," Sirius said at the shadows direction. "Do you have any further questions?"

Remus smiled. "Do you and your Master have any plans for the vampires?"

"Plans?" The Shadows repeated the question through Sirius' body and he could feel their amusement. "Nothing quite that formal but there are certain rules to be observed between creatures of the dark and they have broken those rules and so must now suffer the consequences. If the Light wins, we suppose that would be different but one way or another we are going to see our Master victorious and so they will eventually learn, once and for all, that all actions have consequences."

The werewolf nodded, grinning. For the sake of his people there were things he wanted to see happen and watching the vampires brought low was one of them, no matter how it happened. It was one of those things that was universal to all werewolves. "I will relay that as well, and while I might personally prefer a different path, I feel that the Pack shall lean towards either the Dark Lord or your Master. Whichever it is I thank you for your time and for your honesty," Remus said formally.

Sirius felt the Shadows bow low. "We understand that the Pack will choose as it feels is best but we will like to remind you that the werewolves need only show their loyalty in one battle of our choosing. For the rest of the time the Pack may preach neutrality while allowing individuals to serve as they will."

Lupin smiled some what sadly. He already knew that last point. Chaos. While the concept of being able to serve as the individual desired was appealing, in the end, when they were compelled to show their loyalty it would only lead to chaos. He wasn't sure what he wanted. He felt compelled to follow the light, to continue campaigning for the lawful rights of werewolves because it was only through law and the altering of wizarding thought and perception could they truly be accepted as magical beings but he knew many of the Pack were tired, and Voldemort was the strongest Dark Lord in centuries. If they followed him, even if it, in the end turned out the same as all the times before, at least that was a path they knew and it was possible the Dark Lord would win this time. At least it was a path they could survive on for another round but it was a path that was unnecessarily painful. But chaos was not likely to be better, even if it was the best offer they had.

-Say something!- The Shadows hissed at Sirius when he saw Remus' reaction. The animagus blinked and almost stumbled as the Shadows relinquished control of his body. Remus was pensive and that alone was not good.

Sirius could tell that Moony's heart wanted one thing while his mind argued for something else. They had to align his heart with his head then they would have Lupin's support, and while the Shadows hadn't explained yet Sirius knew Remus' support was necessary. "We are neither Light nor Dark, Mr Lupin," Sirius said and he knew his voice was pitched differently. Remus would know someone different was speaking. "We are not good or bad but rather we are what we need to be to fulfil our goals. We have entered the battle this time because we are tired of the continuous struggle for dominance and so one way or another we want to see it end, just like you do. And that is why we have made this offer."

Remus' eyes softened slightly but he was not yet convinced and Sirius smirked as he realised what he needed to tell the werewolf.

"I remember," he started again, his voice still soft in the dark of the forest but he saw Lupin come to attention at the singular word use. "I remember when I wasn't sure, when I thought that allying this way, with my Master, was the betrayal of everything I had fought for, was the betrayal of everyone who has died in this conflict but then I realised that living my entire life for war, living just to continue the fight, or living just stuck in the same continuous circuit of destruction and betrayal, that was the true betrayal of everything and everyone. We fight to see the conflict end, not to see it continue, and those who have died, died with the wish to protect, with the hope that their sacrifice would see their loved ones survive, but further with the hope that their loved ones would know peace. That is why, Mr Lupin, I can stand before you, knowing that I came to the Dark Lord's aid when once I would have died willingly to take him with me and why I know that if so instructed I will come to his aid again because I can now see an end to it all. I can see that my Master can do what the others cannot, that he can bring an end to the cycle of conflict.

"That is how I know that there is no betrayal, that the greater wrong would be to continue as I once did, and how I know that at the end of it all, I will be able to face those who sacrificed everything and be able to thank them, for the gift they were trying to give as well as show them the peace that was wrought through their sacrifice and they will know too that it was not all for naught. It is this change, this ending that we wish to offer the werewolves, although we understand that not all of them will accept it initially and so the allowance to fight as individuals desires has been granted by our Master. In time though, he believes all will see the truth."

Lupin was silent for many long minutes and the sounds of the forest intruded upon them. The soft drip of water, the rustle of leaves in the breeze, a call of a bird and a dull hoof fall sounded from the distance. The rich loamy smell pervaded everything and Remus breathed deeply before he looked up again. The man's words had been those of the converted but they also were from the heart, from one who knew the pain of battle. Whoever this Master was, they had chosen well in sending this man to speak with him. "Are you happy?" he asked finally.

"Yes," Sirius answered simply, allowing his sincerity to echo through the word. "But there is happiness I still seek because while my Master is an end, he does not wish to be the end of all things. He has his mate, his beloved, and I am seeking my own."

Remus nodded. At least this Master did not wish to be regarded as a God.

"One more thing," Sirius said as the Shadows prompted him to leave. "My Master does not offer the same thing to everyone however I can guarantee you there are rewards for those who follow but there is also freedom. I can promise that you and the rest of the Pack would still be yourselves and that nothing more than what you are prepared to give both as individuals and as a Pack shall be asked for." With that Sirius bowed his head and allowed the Shadows to wrap around him completely muffling his presence as he backed away, leaving Remus to his thoughts.

He couldn't help but notice however that a good deal of the tension had faded from Lupin and in the back of his mind he could feel that the shadows were pleased.

They were sure now that the werewolves would choose to follow Harry. And once that happened... Well that was just the beginning.

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Snippet: '"Xeloc finally explained things to me," he said softly and wasn't surprised to see the Dark Lord shift at the name. "He was wondering how Xatarass was."'