Severus woke slowly, blinking away the sleep left clinging to his lashes. His roommates had already left. Severus dressed slowly, taking his time to savour the unnatural quiet of the room, the silence of his own mind.

He ran his fingers through his hair, snagging at the tangles, and, with mounting dread, stepped out of his sanctuary. The gas lamps – their flames tinged green – hummed as he passed by the Slytherin dorms. Was that a voice he heard? That laughter, was it coming from the common room or from inside his own brain? Severus ducked his head down and hurried to the Great Hall.

He slipped inside, his eyes flickering over at the Gryffindor table, taking mental note of each Marauder. Lupin had his head down and appeared to be asleep, despite being tucked in-between Black and Pettigrew who were in the midst of a raucous argument involving Quidditch. Lupin always looked worn and tired after a full moon (Wasn't it obvious? Why hadn't anyone else noticed?). Potter was leaning back on the bench, trying to get Lily's attention, who sat further down. If they noticed his arrival, they gave no indication.

Rain was pouring in sheets, battering against the roof, and looking up at the Great Hall's enchanted ceiling was like staring up from the base of a waterfall. Severus slid into a seat next to Rosier and grabbed a plate, hoping to eat quickly and leave.

"She did more than just bite him," Rosier whispered to Avery. "She tried to kill him. On their wedding night."

"Merlin, why would she do that?"

"Because she's a nutcase. Who knows what was going through that squirmy brain of hers?"

"Is Rodolphus alright?"

"As well as could be expected. He was left bed-bound for a week." And then, much more quietly lest Regulus overhear, Rosier whispered, "Bellatrix is at St. Mungo's now. Psychiatric ward."

The eggs turned to ash in his mouth. Severus forced himself to swallow them down, ignoring the churning of his stomach. He wasn't crazy. He wouldn't end up in St. Mungo's like Bellatrix. Those voices… Potter did that. It was Potter's fault. He had somehow cursed him.

Severus looked over at the Marauders and his heart skipped a beat when he realized that Potter was missing. Where had he gone? What was he planning? A cold sweat pricked at his forehead. He needed to get back to the dungeons, where it was safe.

Severus stood up from the table, leaving his breakfast mostly untouched as he skittered back to where he came. The halls were quiet and empty, his feet echoing against the flagstone, and every now and then came the distant sound of thunder.

Severus slowed his rapid pace, pausing to listen. Was that a second pair of footsteps he just heard? He looked behind him and saw nothing.

"You're hideous. You should just kill yourself."

Severus pulled his robes tight against his body, hugging himself as he started walking again. His every instinct was screaming at him to fight, to strike back and strike hard, but there was nothing for him to fight against. He felt helpless, weak.

"Kill yourself, like you killed Alison Hayes."

He hadn't. He hadn't even known who she was until she died.

"Did you hear? She was found naked."

Something brushed against him, phantom fingers dipping into the crease where his ass met thigh.

"I'm going to strip you and chop you into pieces, just like Hayes."

Severus was frozen, his entire body shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut against the images that floated through his head. It wasn't not real. Not the voice, not the touches, it was just a curse. A curse to make him think he's gone crazy.

The hand that touched him lingered this time, growing bolder with each stroke, until a warm hand – Warm? Why would a spell feel warm? – pressed fully against him, cupping the flesh of his backside, the fingertips dipping into his inner thigh.

"Snape? What are you doing standing in the middle of the corridor?"

"Shit," the voice whispered and the hand disappeared.

Severus opened his eyes to see Mulciber standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He couldn't get enough air in his lungs. Thank you, thank you, he thought wildly. Thank you for making it stop. Thank you for chasing it away.

"Breathe, Snape, don't pass out on me. I won't do a damned thing to help if you faint," Mulciber said, his hands hovering inches above his skin, not quite grabbing onto the swaying figure. "Damn you, you stupid mudblood, come on. I am not carrying you."

Mulciber grabbed Severus by his shoulders and half-dragged him to the infirmary. He was placed on a bed– the shaking had gotten worse, his teeth were chattering.

"What happened?" He heard Pomfrey ask from somewhere above his head.

"I don't know. I found him like this."

"Potter did it," Severus managed to hiss out. "It's Potter''s fault."

"What did Potter do, dear?"

"He cursed me."

He felt a wave of magic settle over him, like a cool breeze. Pomfrey peered down at him, her wand still in hand. "Severus, I'm not finding any lingering traces of magic. There's no evidence of a curse or a jinx on you."

"It's there, I promise you it's there."

"Can you describe your symptoms?"

Severus shut his mouth, forcing his teeth together. His symptoms? Hearing voices, ghostly touches. They'd chuck him in the loony bin for that. That was probably what Potter wanted.

Madame Pomfrey sighed. "I can't help you unless you talk to me." With nothing else forthcoming, she said, "Alright, why don't you rest here for a bit. I'll send an excuse to your professors. Go on to class, Mulciber, I've got it from here."

With one last, puzzled glance, Mulciber left. A part of Severus wanted to beg him to stay, to keep the voices at bay, but he swallowed back the words and sank into the hospital bed, trying to force his body to be still. Madame Pomfrey tutted, smoothed out his blankets, and fluffed up his pillows, before heading into her office. He closed his eyes and let himself drift.

The shivers eventually stopped; Severus wasn't sure how long he laid there, his mind between waking and sleeping, when he heard Lupin's voice call out for Madame Pomfrey. Severus wrenched open his eyes. Lupin was hovering by her office door, hunched over and shuffling like an old man. "Joint pain?" Madame Pomfrey asked as she rummaged through her cabinet.

Lupin nodded morosely.

"Don't wait for the pain to get this bad," she scolded. "Come to me the moment it starts hurting. We've got all these potions here, no point in suffering unduly." She handed him a vial of dark green liquid. Iaso's Panacea. Most often used for arthritis and human transfigurations gone wrong, Severus thought.

Lupin thanked her and drank it down, handing back the empty vial. A spark of anger lit up in his stomach as he watched him leave the infirmary. Severus threw off the blankets and followed him out.

"Lupin!"

Lupin slowed to a stop and, with an exaggerated eyeroll, turned to face him. "What do you want, Sniv– oof!"

Lupin's yellowish eyes grew wide with shock and fear as Severus grabbed him by the front of his robes and shoved him against the wall with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. "I know what you are, wolf," Severus hissed. Lupin's eyes somehow became larger. He struggled in his grip, trying to twist away, and although they were both tall and wiry, Severus had experience on Lupin. Lupin didn't need to fight, not when he had Potter and Black to fight for him. Severus grinned with malicious glee and shoved him back again. Lupin's head bounced against the wall.

"I know what you and your friends have been saying about me," Severus continued, his teeth bared. "And if anyone killed that girl it would be you, you fucking monster. Tell me, how'd she taste, wolf? You know, farmers shoot dogs after they've eaten human flesh. It changes them. Makes them go crazy. Feel any different after eating that poor girl?"

Severus heard the sounds of footsteps running toward him, but he ignored it, too focused on grinding Lupin's face against the rough stone. An arm came down to wrap around Severus's neck, jerking his head back and making him lose balance. He caught sight of messy, black hair and hazel eyes burning behind a pair of glasses. Something inside Severus snapped while looking up at James Potter. The anger exploded into something wild, something feral. He tore and punched and scratched, his wand slipping from his pocket and clattering to the floor, forgotten.

Severus managed to slip his head free of Potter's grip and latched onto the meat of his forearm with his teeth, sinking in deep until he felt blood pool in his mouth. Potter was screaming, and Severus felt two solid blows land against his temple as the other boy rained punches down on top of his head. His ears were ringing and his vision swimming, but Severus remained latched on, driving his teeth in deeper.

Severus managed to catch a glimpse of Black in his peripheral before a fist collided into his stomach. The blow forced Severus to let go of Potter's arm and he struggled to suck a breath into his suddenly empty lungs.

"Incarcerous!" Heavy, thick ropes wrapped around Severus's arms and chest and legs. He felt himself tipping backward, his watery vision blinking out for a moment as his head hit the ground. As his vision returned, he saw the bottom of Potter's dragonhide boot coming up to bash in his brains, only for Lupin to yank him bank. "Merlin, Prongs, are you nuts?"

"Look what he did to my arm, Moony!" Blood oozed from the perforated skin, soaking into Potter's robes. Severus laughed.

Lupin had to yank Potter back a second time. "Stop! Just stop! It's over! Let's just leave him here. Come on, I'll take you to Pomfrey."

Lupin pushed Potter out of sight, and he heard their footsteps grow further and further away. Severus spotted his wand lying a few feet away and he started wiggling towards it, his stomach rolling with the movement.

A pair of black boots entered his line of sight, the scuffed toes centimeters from Severus's nose. He looked up to see Sirius Black staring down at him with a funny expression. "I heard what you called Remus," he said softly, squatting down so that they were almost eye-to-eye. "And you know what? You're right. Remus is a werewolf."

Severus stilled and peered up at him. Why was Black telling him this? Why would he endanger his friend by admitting such a thing? Maybe it wasn't true. Maybe Severus was wrong, and Black was just messing with him.

"Every full moon, James and Peter and I lock Remus up inside the Shrieking Shack and take turns keeping watch until sunrise," Black continued.

Severus snorted and managed to mumble out, "Oh? And how exactly do you reach Hogsmeade from here?"

"There's a secret tunnel at the base of the Whomping Willow. Touch the knot on its trunk to open it."

"You're lying. There's no secret tunnel. You just want me to get caught outside after curfew." It sounded like there were marbles stuffed inside his mouth.

Black grinned. "There's only one way to find out." He patted Severus's head, the touches light but feeling like a heavy blow against his tender skull, before snatching his hand away as the other boy lunged at him with blood-stained teeth. Black laughed, stood up, and kicked his wand, sending it rolling behind a suit of armor, out of reach.

A string of curses followed Black as he left Severus lying there, tied up, to rejoin his friends. He was trapped there for well over an hour, his head pounding in time to his pulse, before he heard a familiar voice cry out, "Sev!"

Lily was kneeling in front of him, her wand out and dispelling the ropes, while a Ravenclaw fished out Severus's wand from behind the suit of armor. "Here, let me help you," the boy said, reaching out to grab his shoulder as he handed him back his wand.

"Don't touch me, you stupid mudblood!" Severus snapped, though the words were slurred as he sat up and made a grab for his wand. He clutched the familiar weight to his chest as his vision swam. Too fast, he sat up too fast. He leaned over to one side and threw up.

Lily's small hand rubbed circles into his back as Severus continued to heave. "I am so, so sorry," he heard her say to the Ravenclaw. "He didn't mean to call you that. Head injury, you know."

"It's fine," the Ravenclaw answered. "I'm actually a pureblood anyway."

"Thanks for helping. I can take it from here."

The boy hesitated for a moment, but he finally nodded and left Lily to it. "Can you stand up?" She asked.

Severus nodded, and with Lily's arm wrapped around his torso, he managed to get his feet underneath him. Her body was warm and soft against his back, and Severus wanted to close his eyes and sleep.

"Hey, don't close your eyes," Lily said. "I think you have a concussion. If you go to sleep now you'll slip into a coma."

"I don't think that's actually true."

"Humor me then. Keep your eyes open and tell me what happened. Potter said you went crazy and attacked Lupin for no reason, and then you bit him?"

"Oh, of course, you believe Potter," Severus snapped.

"Sev, he showed the whole class the bite marks you left!"

Severus pushed away from that warmth, his feet stumbling forward as he managed to regain his balance on his own. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't. He had a perfectly good explanation for attacking Lupin, but Lily didn't want to hear it. She had long grown bored of his theories.

"Sev!" Lily protested, reaching out to touch him again, but Severus jerked out from underneath her hand. He was going to prove to her and the entire school that he wasn't mad, or a killer, or a monster.