Requiem for the Living
By Jinxd n Cursed
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. I merely play in the world of J.K. Rowling; she still owns the characters.
Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos savas gratis,
salve me, fons pietatis.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hermione began the testing process on Wednesday night. Amelia drank the potion gratefully before stripping down to her underwear and slipping into the caged area of the room at St. Mungo's. The cage was merely a precaution, just in case the potion didn't work as calculated—a rare occurrence but still possible.
"How do you feel?" Hermione asked.
"Calmer," Amelia said, settling on the floor. "I get antsy this close to moon rise, even with the regular potion, but I feel... steadier? More grounded, perhaps?"
Hermione nodded, and wrote down those observations. "How is work?" Hermione asked, both curious and trying to make small talk.
"Fine. I'm grateful that I have a boss that is understanding enough, though truthfully I think it has more to do with you vouching for me than anything," Amelia said. She shivered.
"You got the job on your own merits. I merely assured him that you wouldn't be a danger to anyone," Hermione replied with a shake of her head. "Are you sure you don't want your robe?"
Amelia shook her head. "No, I'll only tear it to bits in a few minutes. Potion or no, transformation is still very painful and even my skivvies will be shredded on the floor."
"Then a warming charm, perhaps?" Hermione offered.
Amelia shook her head. "I'm fine, I promise."
Hermione looked at her watch. "Five minutes to moon rise, at any rate."
"Four," Amelia corrected. "I can feel it in my blood."
Hermione made a note of that. "Anything else I ought to know in the next four minutes?"
"We need to agree upon a signal," Amelia said. "You can't let me out of the cage unless you are sure I am in my right mind. Wouldn't want your children to be orphans or you to be even more motivated to find a cure due to a vested personal interest."
Hermione smiled wryly. "I suppose not."
"How about two short howls, followed by one long, two more short, and I scratch at the water dish?" Amelia suggested.
Hermione nodded. "And if you do all of those things, I will open the cage door. For both of our sakes, keep your movements slow. I don't want to hex you thinking you're going to attack."
"Agreed," Amelia said. She tipped her head back and sniffed the air. "I don't suppose you have an onion bagel on you?"
"I had one for breakfast," Hermione told her. "You can smell it?"
"Yes. My sense of smell is already heightened but this close to transformation it is down right dog like," she said. "I assume it is one of the children and not you that has a preference for Oatie Owls?"
Hermione smiled. "Yes, Rosie has demanded those every morning this week."
Amelia stood up, bracing her hands against the bars of the cage. "It's starting," she said.
Hermione watched as a shiver ran up Amelia's spine, then heard a horrifying popping sound as her back lengthened. Gray fur began to sprout all over her body and her hands became paws. A tail sprouted at the base of her spine, but the biggest transformation was in her face as Amelia's face transformed from that of a pretty young woman into a wolf. Hermione wanted to look away but couldn't. The creature—no, woman—in front of her let out a guttural groan as the transformation continued, her underthings shredding as her pelvis shifted and her rib cage expanded.
And then the transformation was over.
Amelia stood on her hind legs, panting heavily as Hermione wrote down her observations. With bated breath, she prayed that Amelia would signal that she was able to be let out. At long last, the signal came.
Hermione walked over to the cage cautiously. "Amelia?"
She spotted the first difference then, as her friend looked at her. While normally a werewolf's eyes turned brown upon transformation, Amelia's eyes were still a bright blue. Hermione unlocked the cage, allowing Amelia to exit the confining space into the room.
Hermione observed her gait. There was a subtle shift in the way her pelvis had transformed, allowing her to walk on her hind legs more easily. The rear paws were also larger and more feet-like. The fur across her body was a bit thinner, especially across her chest and back.
"Nod if you can understand me," Hermione asked.
She bobbed her head.
"Let's begin with the physical exam. Can you open your mouth for me?" Hermione requested.
Amelia obliged, and Hermione noted that the upper canine teeth were much shorter than in a typical transformation, and that she appeared to have a total of thirty teeth instead of forty-two.
"I wish I could ask you how you feel right now," Hermione said with a wry smile. "But I don't think we made quite enough ground that you can talk."
Amelia shook her head.
"Shall we go on with the cognitive assessment then?" Hermione asked.
Amelia nodded her head.
"We'll start with the matching game," Hermione said. "You'll point to the cards you want me to flip. We'll be comparing the time it takes for you to do this to when we did it earlier."
Amelia bobbed her head and sat carefully on the floor as Hermione laid the cards out. Hermione set the timer and they began playing the game "Memory" with thirty-six pictures of magical objects. When Amelia had successfully completed the game, Hermione made note of how long it had taken her to complete before moving onto the next task.
The next task was task association. She placed pictures of a variety of different people representing different professions. She mentioned an action and Amelia pointed at the person that would do that particular task.
By the time she was done with the tests, it was eleven o'clock at night. Fortunately, Molly had the children for the next three nights. Hermione didn't relish the time away from the kids, but it was a necessary step in the testing process. There was a knock on the door and Hermione flicked her wand to let them in.
"Good evening Healer Weasley. Good evening Amelia," a grey-haired wizard in lime green robes greeted them.
"Good evening Healer Snow," Hermione greeted him. "I really appreciate you taking the night shift for me this evening."
"It's no problem. I expect it will be less active than the emergency ward at any rate," he said.
"Everything has been fine so far, though I suspect Amelia will want something to eat soon," Hermione told him. "Do you have any questions for me?"
He shook his head. "Get some sleep. I know you'll be back here first thing in the morning even though I've agreed to cover the next twelve hours."
Hermione shook her head. "I'll be back at some time in the morning."
"Off with you then," he said.
"Good night, then," Hermione said to him, before turning to Amelia and saying, "I'll see you in the morning, Amelia."
She walked to her office, tossing her lime green robe over the back of the chair. There was a floo right in the office, fortunately, because she didn't trust herself to apparate with how tired she was. When she arrived at home, she barely managed to brush her teeth before collapsing into bed.
As Healer Snow had predicted, Hermione arrived at her usual nine o'clock with a large cappuccino instead of her usual milky tea. She settled into a chair in the corner with her notebook and performed the cognitive assessments once more with similar results to the night before. She needed to compare the results to Amelia's performance both in human form and under the regular Wolfsbane. She didn't remember those numbers of the top of her head as the baseline study had been conducted a few months prior when they decided to pursue the research. Jane had done most of the observing as Hermione had still be out on maternity leave.
The day passed uneventfully. In the afternoon, Amelia had a two pound porterhouse steak, blue rare, and Hermione had a cream tea with extra clotted cream on her scones. She performed the cognitive assessments for the third time with an eye roll from Amelia. At eight o'clock, Hestia came in and kicked Hermione out. With more time that evening than she had counted on, Hermione decided to visit Molly, Arthur, and the children.
They weren't expecting her so when she knocked on the door, it took a moment for Molly to open the door.
"Hermione, dear! You know you never need to knock," Molly admonished with a hug.
"I value my life," Hermione replied. "I think we all still tend to hex first, ask questions later."
"You might have a point there," Molly agreed. "I assume you are here to see Rosie and Hugo?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, I'm out a bit earlier than I expected so I wanted to pop in and see them."
"Just wait until they go to Hogwarts," Molly told her. "If you think you're missing them terribly now."
"I have the better part of nine years to worry about that," Hermione reminded her.
"It goes quicker than you can possibly imagine," Molly told her. "Arthur has the children upstairs. Everybody is bathed and fed. Arthur is reading a story."
Hermione smiled. "I don't want to stay long. It's a vacation for Rosie to Grandma's house after all, but I just want to see them."
"I doubt she will mind," Molly said, escorting her up the steps.
The door to Ginny's old room was ajar, so Hermione popped her head in. Arthur sat in the rocking chair, magically enlarged to accommodate him with Hugo in his lap and Rosie beside him. He was reading from the Tales of Beetle the Bard, but surprisingly, he was not reading Babbity Rabbity.
"Mummy!" Rosie exclaimed when she heard the creak of Hermione's footsteps into the room. She launched herself at Hermione.
"Mummy missed you, Rosie Posie," Hermione said, scooping her up into her arms.
"I misted you too," she said. "Is you staying with Grammy and Grampy too?"
"I'm afraid not," Hermione said.
Rosie pulled her head out of Hermione's neck and frowned. "We's not going home is we?"
Hermione laughed. "No, my sweet, you are staying here. Mummy just wanted to see you and Hugo."
"Why can't you stay with Grammy and Grampy too?" Rosie asked, her lower lip sticking out.
"Because Mummy has to stay at work very late and go to work very early for all the next few days but this weekend, we will go to the circus and the park," Hermione told her.
"Can we go to Wheezy's Wheezes?" Rosie asked eagerly, referring to Fred's shop in Diagon Alley.
"Yes, I suppose we can fit a trip in there as well," Hermione conceded.
"Yay! I can get a Pygmy Puff like Aunt Ginny?" she asked.
"I draw the line at a pet," Hermione told her. "When you are older, perhaps."
Surprisingly, Rosie didn't press her luck and instead waxed poetical on the flavors of ice cream available at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor.
"We shall have a lovely weekend," Hermione told her daughter. "But before we can get to the weekend, we have to get through tomorrow. I'm going to put you down, you'll let Grandpa finish the story, and then you'll go to sleep and you'll spend the whole day with Grandma and Grandpa. Then first thing Saturday morning, I will come and get you and we'll go to Diagon Alley straight away."
Rosie appeared to consider. "Okay. I love you Mummy."
"I love you too Rosie Posie," Hermione said, setting her daughter on her feet.
Arthur smiled in acknowledgment when Hermione picked Hugo up off his lap and cuddled him close.
"He hasn't had his bottle yet if you want to nurse him. I'm sure you are sore," Molly said quietly.
Hermione nodded. She leaned over and gave Rosie one last kiss on the forehead and carried Hugo down to the sitting room. Unbuttoning her blouse and pushing the cloth down from her nursing bra, she positioned Hugo where he quickly latched on. She had pumped over the last few days to avoid the pain that came with over-full breasts.
"You're welcome to stay," Molly said, coming in with a steaming cup of tea.
"Thank you Molly," Hermione said, taking a sip. It tasted of fennel, anise, and apple with a slightly bitter aftertaste. "Fenugreek?"
Molly nodded.
"I know I'm welcome to stay," Hermione began, "but I would need to stop home anyway for my clothes and a toothbrush and such. And I must confess that another night of uninterrupted sleep does not sound like a bad idea. Tomorrow night will be very late."
"How so?" Molly asked.
"I'm taking night shift," Hermione explained. "I need to see Amelia transform back into human form."
"And you're planning all that for Saturday?" Molly questioned.
Hermione nodded. "It will be a long day but I can take an invigoration draught if necessary. Or just a lot of coffee."
Molly frowned. "You are spreading yourself too thin."
Hermione shook her head. "I'm planning to take the day off on Monday. We'll have a lie-in and then go to do something fun." Something fun was likely to include some time in Wales but she didn't feel it necessary to include that in her discussion with Molly.
"I can take the children if you would like to just have the day to yourself," Molly offered.
Hermione shook her head. "You spend more time with the children than I do. I will take the time I can get."
"Very well," Molly said.
Hermione gazed down at her baby with a small smile and kissed his head. "He won't be a baby for long," she said.
"No he won't," Molly agreed. "Think of how fast it went with Rosie."
Hermione nodded.
"Have you... have you thought about having another one?" Molly asked.
Hermione hesitated. "In the figurative sense? Yes. I've always had three children pictured in my head. But that would require a man in my life. That... I'm not sure I will ever be ready for that."
"Ron wouldn't want you to be alone forever, and neither do Arthur or I," Molly told her gently. "It will be difficult for all of us, but someday I hope you will find someone else to love, and someone else who will love Rosie and Hugo as well."
"Maybe," Hermione said. "I'm going to finish nursing him and then go home. I don't want to disturb your time with them too terribly much."
"Stay the night," Molly urged.
Hermione shook her head. "Another time."
Thirty-one hours later, Hermione was settled back in the room at St Mungo's with Amelia. She had done the cognitive assessments twice in the course of the night and it was almost time for Amelia to transform back into human form. She yawned, but kept her eyes fixed on the other woman as she paced.
Suddenly, Amelia let out a pained howl and came down on all fours. Her face shortened, and the grey fur retracted back into her skin. She moaned as her bones and joints cracked and popped, shortening to their original length. As the vertebrae and pelvis returned back to their original sizes and positions, she collapsed the floor, her animalistic moans sounding more like human cries each second. At last, a naked and trembling young woman lay whimpering on the floor where once a wolf had stood.
"Amelia?" Hermione asked tentatively.
She moaned in response.
"Do you want your robe? Or your pain potion?" Hermione asked.
"Robe," Amelia croaked.
As Hermione went for the simple black robe, Amelia started sitting up. "Help me up first," she said, as Hermione offered her the robe. The older woman obliged and then Amelia accepted the garment, before stretching.
"How do you feel?" Hermione asked.
"Like hell," Amelia replied. "But that's to be expected. My feet and legs don't hurt quite as much as usual."
"That's good. That would be in line with the differences in your transformation that we noted," Hermione informed her.
"It was... different," Amelia said. "There was less wolf and more me. I mean, with the Wolfsbane, I've always kept my head but I felt like I was even more me, if that makes any sense."
Hermione nodded. "I need to do a diagnostic, if you want to hop up on the bed."
She obliged and Hermione cast the charm. She examined the pulsing, multicoloured lines for several moments before grinning at her friend. "You are in perfect health. Your blood pressure is normally elevated this soon after transformation but it is in normal range now. Pulse Ox is fine. Magical stores are fine."
"Do you need anything else or can I go to sleep now?" Amelia asked.
Hermione nodded. "I'll owl you the patient survey that I need you to fill out."
"Fine," she said. "I'll tell you now that it was more effective. And I don't feel quite as hung over right now."
"Good," Hermione said with a bob of her head. She was too tired to be excited. As Amelia climbed up on the bed, curling into a ball, Hermione left the room for her office, flooing home and collapsing onto the sofa, too tired to walk up the steps.
Hermione spent the following day with a large cup of coffee perpetually in her hand as she escorted Rosie about Diagon Alley with Hugo strapped to her chest. A true likeness of her mother, Rosie insisted on a selection of books from Flourish and Blott's and a child's potions kit from Dervish and Bangs. At almost-three, Rosie probably wasn't quite ready for it but then again, like her mother, she'd always been farther along than other children her age. Knowing about her own parents' struggles with her, Hermione was admittedly slightly afraid of what would happen when Rosie hit primary school age. She would probably be both the bane and the joy of her teachers' existence. She had a few years yet to decide, but she wasn't sure whether to send Rosie to the village primary school, or to one in one of the local muggle towns.
Rosie was down for an afternoon nap and as much as Hermione wanted to join her in that, she needed to write to Severus. She wondered if he was just as anxious as she was, or if was perfectly calm, glad to be free of her for a few days' time. She was oddly fond of him, both of her memories of him as the harsh professor, and of the softer, older man who had carried Rosie up and down the steps on his hip and seemed embarrassed at the idea of her bare breasts to nurse Hugo. Hopefully, he would someday be a friend rather than a colleague. In the mean-time, she put quill to parchment and began to write.
Dear Mr. Hier,
I have attached my notes from our trial of the modified Wolfsbane. As you will see, it was successful. I am still waiting on some data from Amelia, our test subject, however. She was too exhausted to begin the survey straight away but should send it off to me soon. You will find in my notes that the potion performed as expected and was slightly more effective than the original formulation. I will add the data to our article and submit it for publication, unless you wish to take on the task yourself. I look forward to your speedy response.
Regards,
Hermione Weasley
Dear Healer Weasley,
I would offer congratulations but as we have discussed at length that the job you have dragged me into is less than half done. We can quit while we are ahead if you wish; it's of no consequence to me. Your notes are overly verbose, as usual, but I was able to decipher enough information from them to learn that the experiment was successful. I have taken the liberty of incorporating the data into the planned article. You will find it attached.
Cordially,
Jack Hier
Dear Mr. Hier,
I will accept your implied congratulations. Yes, there is more work to be done. There is always more work to be done. If you no longer wish to be part of this project, well that is really just too bad as I am just as stubborn as you are. Do you agree that we should pursue further research on Hestia's theory that lycanthropy is caused by a pathogen as our starting point?
I did not expect you to write the findings of the trial into the article but I appreciate it nonetheless. I have attached a copy of the patient survey and the article with that data also incorporated. If you are in agreement, I will send it off for publication. Terry and Hestia have already signed off on it, though Terry is still lamenting the loss of his many pages of calculations. I await your response.
Yours,
Hermione Weasley
Dear Healer Weasley,
The article is satisfactory. Will it be published in the April edition of Potions Quarterly or shall I have to wait until July? I am well aware of your stubbornness as I encountered it daily for six years during your tenure at Hogwarts and now via owl or in person at regular intervals. I suspect I would need to move to another continent to escape you.
We shall pursue Hestia's theory. It is the only innovation I have seen in the last fifteen years. I shall begin brushing up on my biology and chemistry and suggest you do the same.
Regards,
Jack Hier
Dear Mr. Hier,
I read biology and chemistry whilst at Oxford but I will certainly review. I can send on a few recommended texts if you wish. The article will be published in the July edition. It is undergoing to peer review process, as you well know. All looks well at this point but it is academia so we much endure the process.
Yours,
Hermione Weasley
Dear Healer Weasley,
You may send two and only two books. While I did not have a chance to peruse most of your library, I saw enough to know your collection is quite extensive. I already possess "Life: The Science of Biology" and "General, Organic and Biological Chemistry."
Regards,
Jack Hier
Dear Mr. Hier,
I have enclosed a text that relates more specifically to microbiology, which is the focus of our research. I hope you find it most illuminating.
Cheers,
Hermione Weasley
Dear Healer Weasley,
Illuminating? The author's writing is dry as week-old bread in the Sahara Desert. The topic is interesting but is treated poorly. Your first-year essays were of better quality.
Send something better!
Jack Hier
Dear Mr. Hier,
Do I sense a compliment in there somewhere? I have sent another text on biochemistry but I'm afraid you will have to waive the two-text limit in order to give you more information. Shall we meet next weekend to discuss how to proceed?
Cheers,
Hermione Weasley
Dear Healer Weasley,
That will have to do. Bring the children if you must. I'll prepare lunch if you'll bring something to drink.
Regards,
Jack Hier
Author's Notes:
So... Hi. It's been a long time hasn't it? I have every intention of finishing this story, so everyone is clear. I'm working on the next chapters but it is slow going because I have to reconnect myself with this story. It's been... a while. And a lot has happened, liking getting my Master's, changing jobs, and buying a house. I can't guarantee how frequently updates will come but they WILL come. My goal-whether attainable or not-is to finish it this summer.
The tea Molly prepares for Hermione is a form of "Mother's Milk Tea." Fenugreek is a folk remedy to support milk production in breastfeeding women. I feel like this is something Molly would know and do.
I know this chapter seems like filler in a lot of ways, but there is some important info for later chapters. I'm thinking that I will post the timeline at the end of each chapter so that you all have it for context since I don't update as frequently as anyone (including myself) would like.
As always, my only payment for writing is your reviews so please consider dropping me a line to let me know what you think.
Time Line:
1998- May 2nd – The Battle of Hogwarts. Minerva spirits Severus away from
1998- May 4th – Hermione locates Parvati and later burns down the Shrieking Shack
2002- Summer – Hermione and Ron get married. Harry and Ginny also get married in this general time period
2005- September 18th – Ron is hit by Mulciber's curse that slowly turns his lungs to stone.
2005- October 19th – Rose is born.
2007- May 10th – Hermione tells Ron she is pregnant and he passes in his sleep.
2007- December 23rd – Hugo is born.
2008- March 3rd – Hermione's interview is published in the Daily Prophet
2008- March 4th– Hermione sends the first letter to Severus
2008- March 8th – Hermione drops in on Severus
2008- March 15th – Severus comes to Hermione's house to work
2008- March 22nd – Hermione and the children come to Severus's cottage to work.
2008- March 23rd – March 25th – Severus and Hermione brew the modified potion
2008- March 27th – The full moon comes (about a week late from the actual 2008 calendar but whatever)
2008- March 29th – April 4th – Hermione and Severus exchange letters regarding how to proceed in their research for the cure.