Professor Lupin's Apprentice

XVII: Ghoul Interrupted

When Professor Snape and I returned to his office, he pulled a jar off the shelf.

"The Shrieking Shack," he said, tossing some light blue powder into the fire.

It wasn't Floo powder because the fire didn't glow green. Instead the flames flickered blue, and then a swirling image formed: the interior of the upstairs bedroom of the dilapidated house as seen from the fireplace. The image was incredibly clear. If not for the slight distortion caused by heat and the subject of the "programme," I would have thought I was watching the telly.

"If you don't want to watch this, I fully understand," Snape said gently, turning his desk chair to face the fire. "I can inform you of the results tomorrow."

"No, I simply have to know," I replied.

Snape nodded and set a chair in front of the hearth for me, and I sat. Remus had begun to strip before his transformation. Although I normally wouldn't have given watching this a second thought, my cheeks burnt brightly on this occasion as I felt Snape's eyes on me. I turned my face away from both his peering gaze and the image in the fireplace. When I chanced to look back, Remus had crawled under the rotting covers of the four-poster bed, and my embarrassment subsided. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell his eyes were still fixed on me.

"Professor Snape, may I ask you something?" I asked, staring into the hearth to avoid his gaze.

"I think you can call me Severus when we're alone."

I nodded.

"What is your question?"

"If you knew Remus and I were still ... together ... why did you kiss me today?"

Movement in my peripheral vision indicated that he had now looked away. I turned my head toward him to find that he stared at his hands where they lay in his lap. After a moment, he sighed and rubbed his legs as if dusting something off his robes.

"I thought it was worth a try ... That ... you ... were worth taking the chance."

"Thank you ... I'm flattered. I really am, you know."

Snape rolled his eyes.

"No, I mean that. If things were different..."

"Do you mean ... if you'd met me first...?"

"Quite possibly," I said, nodding. "I truly like you, Severus. I've defended you to Remus dozens of times. I know the two of you will never be friends—at this point, I would be thrilled with civil—but part of me keeps hoping you can eventually bury the hatchet."

He didn't smile, but his eyes grew softer. "Perhaps someday," he said, then looked at the clock. "The moon is about to rise," he added solemnly.

I turned my attention back to the fireplace. Remus could have been asleep there in the bed, but he sat up suddenly, intense pain written in his expression, and stumbled onto the floor. He stood with a frantic look in his eyes, as if he wanted to run away but couldn't. Then it started: First he went rigid. He doubled over, falling to his knees and howling in agony. Hair sprouted through his skin, growing thicker by the second. His face elongated; his fingernails blackened and drew up into claws; his hands and feet contorted into paws, with his legs twisting into haunches. As much as it pained me to see the man I loved metamorphose into a wolf, I couldn't look away. When the change was complete, his wolfen eyes were full of sadness. And I stared into the fireplace, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Oh, Remus!" I said with a heavy sob.

"You must really love him to put yourself through this," Snape said, offering me a handkerchief.

I'd almost forgot he was in the room. I should have remembered, since we were in his office, after all. His hand was on my shoulder, and I hadn't noticed that either.

"With all my heart," I said softly, wiping my eyes.

Without another word, Snape bent and put his arms around me. This was a sympathetic gesture on his part, with no other desire in it as far as I could tell. I stood and cried into his chest, letting him comfort me.

"That's a good sign," he said after a while.

"What is?" I asked, turning back to the fireplace.

Remus had jumped onto the bed and was scratching his ear with a hind paw. He then turned around a couple of times and curled up on the mouldy bedspread, lying there placidly and yawning. With a high-pitched whimper, he rubbed a paw over his face and closed his eyes.

"Your potion has worked ... more or less," Snape said.

"What do you mean by 'more or less'?" I asked.

"Well, apart from Dumbledore, the only person ever to be with him in this state was Gisela Schütt. Both of them were sufficiently powerful to keep him from biting them. Even as proficient a wizard as I consider myself, I wouldn't want to be in there with him at the moment. He may be passive enough not to maim himself, but there are no guarantees he wouldn't harm someone else."

I eyed him suspiciously. "Severus, is this your mistrust of Remus as a werewolf talking, or merely your mistrust of Remus as a man?"

He pondered the question for a long moment. "The two are difficult to distinguish, I'll admit, but in this instance I do honestly believe what I tell you. I would suggest a sturdy cellar door if you still intend to marry Lupin."

"How—How did you know we're engaged?" I asked.

He lifted my left hand by the third finger to examine my engagement ring. I usually removed the ring before meeting him, but I kept it on the mantel and always put it on upon returning home. In the furore of searching my robes for hairs earlier, I'd clearly forgotten to take the ring off before returning to the dungeon.

"That is a fairly good clue," he said with a smirk. He then released my hand, turning toward his desk and shuffling some pieces of parchment. "I hope you know I never would have kissed you had I known you were engaged. I may despise Lupin, but even I have more respect for him than that. Lovely ring, by the way. He has excellent taste ... in more ways than one." He glanced up at me, smiling.

"Thank you," I said, feeling blood rising into my cheeks.

"Would you prefer to wait here until the moon sets, so you can keep an eye on him?"

"I'd prefer to be with him," I whispered.

"I would highly advise against that," Snape answered firmly. "I'll get you a cot, though, if you'd like to stay."

"If it's not too much trouble, Severus."

"Not at all. As I said, you are always welcome in my dungeon." He set the cot up in front of the fireplace, then handed me the jar of blue powder. "If the image starts to fade, toss some more of this on the flames." As he pressed an alarm clock into my hands, he added, "And I believe you already know when the moon will be setting."

I nodded again.

"Good night, Miss—Melinda."

"Good night, Severus."

I wound and set the alarm clock for 5:23 A.M., lowering myself onto the cot. Then I set the jar of powder on the floor in front of me and lay down to wait with Remus, as close to him as I safely could. I didn't intend to drop off, but I awoke with a start to the squalling bells of the clock. After quickly throwing some more blue powder into the flames, I watched Remus' transformation back into a man with just as much horror. When it was over, he lay—sweating and exhausted—on the Shrieking Shack's hearthrug. I gathered the blanket from the cot and then threw Floo powder into the fire.

"The Shrieking Shack," I said, barely waiting for the transport to complete before stepping out and covering Remus with the blanket. "How do you feel, Moony?"

"All the better for seeing you, Wart." He raised a languid hand to my face, which I kissed. "If you can endure watching that, you must really love me."

"Had you any doubts?"

"Only eight hundred or so per day."

I pulled him to me in reply.

"I have one last confession to make," he said, as I held and rocked him.

"What?" I asked, steeling myself for yet another blow.

"Remember when you asked what the boggart would turn into when it came at me?"

"Yes?"

"My response was a lie. Then it would have been the full moon, but now it really would be you walking out of my life forever."

"Well, a boggart will be the only way you'll ever see that, if I have any say in the matter."

I kissed him and then helped him dress. Shortly after, Snape came in through the fireplace, carrying a small vial of blood red liquid.

"How's the patient feeling this morning?" he asked.

"Fine, Severus," Remus answered hoarsely. "Depleted ... but fine."

Snape handed him the vial. "Drink this. It's a little something I whipped up last night to help with your anaemia."

Remus looked dubious. "It's not blood, is it?"

"No, it's not blood," Snape answered, rolling his eyes. "But it should mimic haemoglobin adequately until your own bone marrow decides to contribute again. I'll teach you to make this potion as well, Miss Rhoades, along with seeing if you can reproduce the Wolfsbane Potion. I doubt this time was a fluke, but it never hurts to be sure. We'll know for certain in a month. And we can also work on improving the flavour. Now, I think you need to put him to bed, and I'll see you this afternoon."

"Thank you, Professor Snape," I said.

I could tell from his expression Snape knew his attempt at extending the olive branch did not go unnoticed—by either of us. After Snape left, I took Remus home and lay down with him. The anti-anaemia potion helped immensely. He felt like himself again in mere hours instead of days. His colour was good and, after a four-hour nap, he awoke feeling refreshed with only a hint of the ill effects I'd seen so often before.

"You must have given Snape one hell of a kiss, Wart," Remus said jokingly, stretching.

"Well, it was more like the other way around," I said.

He arched an eyebrow. "Oh, so he kisses well, then?"

"Not half bad, actually, but not nearly as good as you. Anyway, why do you ask?"

"The fact that he would go out of his way to make a potion only to make me feel better. I can understand his concern for the risks I present to others, but consideration for my comfort—never in my wildest dreams would I expect Snape to give that a second thought."

"He's not so evil as you think, Moony."

Remus looked away, frowning. "I never said he was evil. Dumbledore wouldn't trust him if he were evil."

"You certainly act as though you think he is sometimes."

"I'm sorry, Wart. I'll try to be ... nicer to him. For your sake."

"I appreciate that," I said and pecked his cheek. "By the way, what were you going to say last night? If this doesn't work...?"

"Oh, I didn't want you to blame yourself for whatever I might ... do to myself. The biting and scratching, you know."

"That must have been awful."

"I don't remember doing it, only feeling it afterward. Of course, the hospital wing staff always managed to fix me up fairly quickly. And, since I'd had a taste of my own blood at least, I didn't have to deal with anaemia on top of the wounds."

"Well, once I've learnt to make this new potion, you won't have to deal with anaemia either."

He smiled and hugged me. "You're a dear, you know that?"

"Yes, I do. Want some breakfast?"

"That would be welcome."

For the first time, I didn't feel guilty about leaving Remus alone the day after the full moon. He was still a little tired, but felt good enough to move to the sofa and read whilst I got ready for my afternoon session. I made it as far as the fireplace when he called to me.

"Wart? Aren't you going to take off your ring?"

"No need, Moony," I answered, turning to face him. "Snape knows we're engaged now. You could've reminded me last night, though."

"Oh, so sorry love. How did he take the news?"

"Very well, actually. Incidentally, he said he never would have kissed me if he'd known then, so I don't think you'll need to kill him after all."

"Whatever you say, dear," Remus replied, chuckling, as I stepped into the flames.

When I entered the dungeon, Snape was already setting up the cauldron and supplies for my first attempt at the anti-anaemia potion. I approached him, smiling gratefully.

"I take it my new potion helped," he said, his black eyes flicking in my direction.

"It did wonders, Severus! How can I ever thank you?"

"By taking Lupin off my hands for good and all?"

I frowned at that, and his gaze fell to the floor. "Well, you can't expect me to be pleasant all the time, can you?" he asked with a slight shrug.

"No, I suppose not," I answered, smiling and patting his arm.

The anti-anaemia potion was something Professor Snape happened upon in a Potions journal quite by accident, but it was easy enough to prepare. He was fairly certain I had it right by the next week, although we couldn't properly test it for over another fortnight. In the meantime, I practised the Wolfsbane potion again every day. I had a few scattered failures, but the cauldron smoked consistently by the middle of July. And, the week preceding the full moon, Remus took my potion and mine alone. Thankfully, his transformation during the full moon in July was just as peaceful as the one in June. In addition, my anti-anaemia potion worked just as well as Snape's had.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived during the first week of August, we had tons of good news to deliver. We'd invited them to stay at the boarding house until the start of term. We only had two rooms available, but Ron and Harry didn't mind sharing. And the Dursleys were extremely pleased when I—a quite normal looking woman—arrived to pick Harry up in my car.

Mr Dursley asked if I knew the witch with whom Harry would be staying. When I replied I was the witch with whom Harry would be staying, his jaw dropped. I then mentioned in passing that my fiancé, who was also a wizard, just happened to be best friends with Harry's godfather—the convicted murderer. After I added Remus was also a werewolf, for some reason, Vernon Dursley lost all powers of speech. Harry laughed for a full thirty minutes as we drove away. If he didn't care for me before that, he certainly would have afterward—despite my being a little too cosy with Professor Snape to suit him.

Hermione—being Hermione and having read everything she could on the subject—was fairly impressed I could bring off preparing the Wolfsbane Potion. She was also impressed I had read Hogwarts: A History, since this seemed to be something Ron and Harry never managed to get around to doing. After that, something in her seemed to click, and she determined I was worthy of Remus. She still didn't like me very much, but I had a plan to combat that. The first step was to ask her to help me prepare the Polyjuice Potion Sirius would be using for his disguise at the wedding. We took a girl's day out to Diagon Alley to get the components when I asked her over banana splits.

"Why do you want my help?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Because you've done it before, and I haven't. And I can't ask Professor Snape for help, since the potion's a little suspect."

"I'm sure he wouldn't tell for you," she retorted with more than a little contempt. "He seems to be quite fond."

"He is fond of me, and I of him."

Her eyes widened. "You're kidding? Please tell me you're kidding!"

I had the distinct impression my worthiness had just slipped a couple of notches. "No, I'm not," I answered calmly. "We've grown quite close over the summer. He's not so bad when you get him talking about his research, actually—almost like a child on Christmas morning. Most of his potion research deals with antidotes to nefarious potions used by Vold— You-Know-Who's supporters."

Remus and Harry—and Sirius in his letters—always called Voldemort by name, but sometimes I had trouble remembering most other witches and wizards referred to the Dark Lord as You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Silly, I thought. After all, it was just a name.

"Snape has, unfortunately, had some experience in that arena," I continued. "He's trying to make amends."

She bit her lip, nodded, and swirled her spoon through her melting ice cream with concentration more intense than I thought a banana split demanded. I could see she wasn't moved so far, but my next reason couldn't fail to snag her.

"Also, I want to keep it a secret from Harry because I can't wait to see the look on his face the day of the wedding."

"Why?" she asked. "Who is Sirius going to be?"

"Professor Snape," I said.

She laughed out loud. "Oh my! That should be great!"

"Moony's promised to snap some photos, since I won't be there to see it."

"You won't be at your own wedding?"

I wondered if that was a hopeful note I heard in her voice. "I'll be in the back still. The groom and best man come out first."

She frowned. "Oh. I forgot."

Time to move on to step two. "And ... actually ... I was hoping ... you'd be back there with me."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at me, her brows knitted in confusion.

"Hermione, would you be my maid of honour?" I asked, taking a casual bite of my banana split as I awaited her answer.

"What?!?"