An Experiment Gone Wrong

~~~~~~~~An Experiment Gone Wrong~~~~~~~

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Severus eyed his class of 7th years wearily. He didn't know why but instinct was telling him something wasn't exactly 'right' today, and it bothered him that he couldn't figure it out. Glancing round the room now he kept careful watch over what was going on. As usual however, he saw nothing was going as it should have been, so getting up from his desk he started to walk round the room, a scowl on his face.

"Longbottom, Goyle watch what your doing! Do you fools have a wish this afternoon to end up in hospital wing?" he said glaring at the two boys. "Mr. Longbottom, remind me again how many nettles are you supposed to be adding to this potion?"

Neville looked at his potions master with a determined look on his face. "Five sir."

Severus looked back at him with a slight glare then nodded. "Very good. 1 point to Gryffindor. However..." he said with a scowl now, "2 points will be deducted from both houses for failing to add the fifth nettle. See that you do not make that mistake again or next time you might find yourselves spending 3 days with boils."

Neville and Gregory swallowed and nodded at their professor, relief on their faces. Both of them were sure that they were going to get detention for that little mistake and with justification as that. Lately Severus's nerves had been on edge, and his students were paying the price for that.

Pacing round the room now he observed a few other students not quite paying attention to their cauldrons. "Brown, Patil! 3 points from Gryffindor for chatting while stirring. This potion needs precision and accuracy, not idle chit chat."

"Vincent Crabbe, this is not the 'let's-hold-hands-with-Ms. Parkinson-underneath-the-table' class. 2 points deducted for not keeping your hands to yourself. Do that in McGonagall's classroom, not mine or you will next find yourselves in detention," he barked out angrily.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley....well done. 2 points to Gryffindor for being able to actually make a decent potion that didn't explode for a change," he said grudgingly.

Stopping at the last desk right in front of his own now he leaned over the shoulders of the two students there and checked their potion. Everything looked good but he knew he had to make some comment so he said, "Potter, Malfoy...you're stirring the potion too harshly. This is a delicate potion and does not require the hands of a troll in order to stir it." He then proceeded to take the ladle and show them exactly how to stir the correct way. Before he left the table however, in a voice that only the two boys could hear he said, "See me after class."

The two boys didn't acknowledge his words with anything more than a slight nod of their heads. Thankfully the rest of the class were too afraid to do more than keep their attentions now on their potions in fear of losing more house points. It was all too clear with them that today Severus Snape was not a man to be crossed.

Finally the double potions class was up and everyone was more than relieved to leave the classroom. Everyone that was except two of the students who told their friends to go on without them and that they'd catch up. Since their friends were aware that something was up they left and the two boys waited for the potions master to finish what he was doing.

Five minutes later after making sure that there wasn't anyone else lurking bout Severus looked up from the papers he was grading to the two boys. Getting up he motioned for them to follow him, and together they went out into the corridor to another room a few doors away from the classroom. Severus opened the door gently almost as if he expected something to run out right past him, and seemed relieved when nothing was there.

Walking in to the room the two boys in tow, he quickly but quietly shut the door behind him. The two boys knew this place well and sat down on one of their favourite sofas near the fireplace, questions on their faces. Severus waved them off a minute and went to open another door off to the side, nodding at someone who was obviously in the room behind before shutting the door quietly and coming back to sit in a chair near the sofa wearily.

With a sigh he shook his head and groaned softly. "How does he do it?"

Harry and Draco chuckled knowing exactly what Severus was talking bout now. "Well they both give him good reason to be active that's for sure," Harry said with a grin.

"No matter how hard I try I just cannot keep up with the three of them," Severus said with a sigh and glanced back to the door, a very odd expression on his face. "But...I suppose I couldn't imagine life without them now," he said softly.

"You just need a break professor, that's all. Tomorrow's Saturday and a Hogsmeade weekend. Why don't you let Harry and I have a go with them and you two can go off and have a quiet evening together," Draco said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea professor. I'm sure he'll love to go out, besides you two haven't gone anywhere since..." Harry began but the door to the other room opened right just then and suddenly a blur of motion streaked out of the room heading straight for Severus's chair.

"Ooff! What the...." Severus said surprised at suddenly finding two strange looking grey things attacking him. "What is going on here? I thought you two were sleeping?" he said glaring down at the two streaks of grey in his lap.

A slight pouting growl came from the throats of the two grey fluffy fur balls as they looked up at Severus with the cutest expression they could muster. And of course, Severus fell for it, as usual his heart melted and he smiled down at the two. "Oh alright...but after this you two go straight back to bed understand?"

"Sev? That you? Where are they?" a voice called out from the other room worriedly.

"Out here with me. Harry and Draco are here too so do come out," Severus yelled back in-between getting nipped and licked at by the two fur balls.

Remus Lupin-Snape came from the bedroom with a scowl on his face directed at the two balls of fluff on Severus's lap. "Boys! Honestly! I'm sorry Sev, I thought they were sleeping when you came in," he said with a sigh and sat down on the edge of the chair Severus was in.

Severus chuckled and waved his hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it Remus. I could use the break anyway, it seems like I never get enough time with them lately," he said with a sigh while one of the pups chewed on his fingers lovingly.

"Now don't you start that again Severus Snape. We agreed that you wouldn't stop teaching just because of the boys. You wouldn't know what to do if you had spare time and we both know that," Remus said giving his husband a 'don't-even-argue-with-me-again-on-this' look.

Severus gave his husband a glare that to anyone else would have sent chills down their spines, but Remus wasn't even phased. "When did it turn from me being right to you suddenly being right hmm? I don't recall saying I wouldn't have stopped teaching, you just automatically assumed I wouldn't," he said with a mutter.

Remus gave a snort, shook his head and got off the chair arm to walk over to where a small table was set up with drinks. "Fine than. In two months you can take off as much time as you'd like," he said pouring out some drinks for everyone.

Severus jumped up from the chair with a shocked look on his face dislodging the two cubs who fell to the floor with a yelp. "T-two months? What the bloody hell does that mean?" he stammered now.

Remus didn't respond right off instead he came back over and served the drinks out. "For christsakes Sev, don't do that to the boys. Orion, Silvius go back to bed now please," he said giving the two cubs a firm look despite the growls of protest from the cubs. "No, don't even try that on me. You can see your father later, now go back to bed!" Remus said again and pointed at the door. The two werewolf cubs gave off a whimper of protest again but did go back to their room and with his wand out Remus spell closed the door behind them.

Severus eyed his mate wearily before asking again. "Alright Remy what's this bout two months? What do you mean?" he said walking over to where Remus was standing by the fireplace.

Remus chose to ignore him however for the moment and instead turned to Harry and Draco. "So have you two set a date yet for your wedding?"

"Err...well....that is..." Harry stammered blushing a bit.

"July 31st. Though Harry's not sure we should do this on our birthday but I thought it's the perfect date," Draco said in a rush.

Remus chuckled. "That date always seems to come back as a day of importance doesn't it," he said softly. "It was the day you were both born, the day you both defeated Voldemort....and now the day of your wedding. James would have thought how ironic it would be in this all..." he said thoughtfully.

"What would my dad think that Remus?" Harry said puzzled.

Remus looked at Harry and Draco for a moment debating if he should tell them something he'd kept hidden for a very long time now. Finally he said, "Maybe because you're dad had a strange sense of morals Harry. Let's just say I think he'd have been proud at the way you two turned out....very proud indeed."

"You think so? I wish I'd gotten to know him and mum...just to hear him say that once..." Harry said with a soft sigh.

"Harry, you're mum and dad were the two most exceptional people I knew. They accepted what no one else would have, even me and Severus together," Remus said giving Severus a quick glance. "And though we weren't exactly all 'close' at the end for varied reasons....I do know that they both wanted what was best for you. And they'd be proud that you've achieved what you have."

"He's right Harry, look how much you have accomplished this past year. Without you we couldn't have defeated Voldemort. You really were sorted correctly when they put you in Gryffindor," Draco said gazing lovingly at his fiancee.

"More than you know Draco...more than you know..." Remus said with a slight grin on his face. "Now, was there any reason in particular you wanted to spend an afternoon with two old men and a couple of wolfcubs?" he said with a chuckle.

"I resent that Remus, I am not old thank you. Just because I'm getting a few grey hairs you think I'm 100 already," Severus said sitting back down again in his chair with a scowl. "You're not going to avoid the subject forever. And I asked the boys to come here because I also wanted to know their plans. Term ends in 2 months, so if you're planning on using the manor I need to know," he said.

"Really? You'd let us use the manor professor?" Draco said in surprise."Sirius was offering his house but...well..."

Severus snorted. "Black's 'house' as you put it is a flat in Diagon Alley. That is unless you're not planning on inviting more than 2 people to your wedding, by all means feel free to use his 'house'."

"That flat Severus, is also still half mine in case you've forgotten," Remus said with a scowl and glared at Severus. "However I do admit it's not the right place for a wedding," he said easing up a bit.

"What do you mean by that Remus?" Harry asked puzzled.

Remus blanched a bit and coughed while Severus seemed to be scowling even deeper than before. "Err...nothing Harry. It means nothing," he said with a strange expression in his voice. "Anyway, you're free to use the manor if you want to, just give us notice so we can get it ready. It's been...er...a while since we were there..."

"Oh that's right, the boys were born there weren't they? So it's been a bit over a year since you were there last....you sure the manor is still going to be usable though?" Draco said thoughtfully.

"We do have servants and house-elves there still Draco. I'm quite sure they are taking care of the manor as they should be. Besides my mother would probably kill them if they didn't," he said muttering.

Remus chuckled knowing full well what Severus's mother could be like. He'd finally met her just before their wedding over a year ago and she was every bit the woman Severus had described. Tough but the sweetest woman he could meet, considering the fact that he found out the truth bout Severus's mum...that she was a muggle.

"Sev's right, I know the manor is in good shape. She may prefer Greece these days over England, but I know she's got the manor in shipshape," Remus said.

"Well that's alright then, I'm sure Sirius won't mind we don't use his flat after all...at least I hope not," Harry said with a grimace. "Lately he's been ..well....strange..."

Remus shook his head and snorted. "That what you get when you're dating a man young enough to be your son. How old is Ian? 19? 20?"

"25 I think, he just looks younger, and if you ask me the two belong together. All they talk bout is their stupid motorbikes and muggle parts. Perfect match," he said shrugging.

"Yes well, I still say he should have picked someone older but c'est la vie hmm?" Remus said.

Severus glared at Remus for a moment at the use of the French words until he saw a tiny smile play at his mate's lips. Shaking his head he gazed up and said, "You are impossible," he said with a slight grin.

"Of course...and you wouldn't want me any other way and you know it," he said with a grin. "Boys I think you should head out. By now Hermione and Ron are probably wondering where you've gone off to, though most likely they already. have guessed."

Harry and Draco nodded and stood up. "Yeah, Ron's still a bit err...having problems with all this but I know he'll come round one day. Oh by the by, him and 'Mione have set their wedding date for June 21st. You both will come right?" Harry said giving Severus a glance.

"We will be there, don't worry. Now scoot. We'll see you at dinner," Remus said.

"Oh, actually...that reminds me! Remus, we were thinking that maybe...that is..." Harry began to say but as usual Draco cut him off.

"That you and Professor Snape would like the night off. You know to go out and have a night by yourselves, and we could watch the boys. It's really no bother for us, you know the cubs love coming to the Gryffindor tower. And tomorrow being a Hogsmeade weekend, we thought we could take them into town and let them run round with Sirius or something. You have to admit he does love the pups," Draco said grinning.

Harry chuckled at the thoughts of the last time Sirius got together with the cubs. "Draco's right. Sirius may not exactly get along with you professor, but he does adore your sons. So...you think it would be alright?"

Remus eyed Severus thoughtfully and saw just how much expression was suddenly in his coal black eyes, and how much he really needed this. "Well....I suppose we haven't taken a day off since they were born, and frankly....we could use it. So what do you say Sev? Care for some oh....perhaps....sightseeing?" Remus said trying to keep a straight face.

Severus looked at Remus and groaned. "Oh no! NO...N.O.! I am not going near that blasted tower again! You can forget it Remus...." Severus said glaring at his lifemate. "No Remus....absolutely not!" he said firmly.

Remus laughed and shook his head and went over putting his arms round his husband. "Actually....I was thinking perhaps of....Kensington..." he said with a grin.

Severus looked at Remus for a moment then burst out laughing. "Alright you win. Kensington it is," he said softly and brushed a strand of greying hair from Remus's forehead. Turning back to the boys he said, "Be here just before dinner. We'll be ready to go by then."

"Great! We'll see you later then!" Harry said throwing them both an odd look and taking Draco's hand in his the two boys quickly left the private rooms they had spent a lot of the past year in. Even though Harry and Draco were semi used to hanging round them when Sirius wasn't teaching his DADA class, seeing Severus laugh was still a bit strange for the boys. They were probably the only two students that would ever see Severus Snape actually 'relaxed' in his private time, and still live to tell about it afterward.

Remus and Severus watched them leave both men with smiles on their faces. Severus gently took Remus by the hand and led him over to the sofa the two boys had just occupied, pulling him down onto his lap. He looked at his lifemate tenderly for a moment, thinking just how much this year had affected everyone, not just Harry and Draco.

Remus's hair was greying more then had a year ago, but it made him look distinguished far as Severus was concerned. He could see that there were more lines of stress on Remus's face though and it concerned him. And now that he thought about it, Remus was paler then he had been even a few months ago. "Remus? Is something wrong?" he asked concerned.

"Hmm? No, why would you think anything's wrong luv?" Remus said putting his hand on Severus's chest gently.

"You look tired lately, more then usual even. The boys haven't been too much on you have they?" he said worriedly now.

Remus chuckled and shook his head. "No Sev, the boys haven't been giving me any trouble really at all. Stubborn like their father maybe...but little trouble," he said.

Suddenly something began to click in Severus's mind and although he wasn't sure, things began to make sense. "Remus?" he asked softly.

"Mmm?" Remus said a bit sleepily.

"You're....you took the potion again didn't you," Severus said quietly, a bit of an accusation in his voice.

"What potion Sev?" Remus said with a yawn.

"You know which one I mean Remy. You're going to have cubs again aren't you," Severus said accusingly now.

Remus sighed and looked up at Severus, a guilty look in his eyes. "Yeah...I am. Are you angry with me?" he said in a small voice.

Severus gazed down into his lifemate's eyes and sighed, shaking his head. "No Remus, I'm not angry. It's just that....you had so much trouble with the boys the last time...I'm worried you won't be able to handle it again. Why Remus? Wasn't the boys enough?" Severus asked quietly.

Remus sighed and got off Severus's lap and sat down next to him gazing into the fireplace. He was silent a moment before carefully choosing the words he was going to say next. "Sev....there's something...I have to tell you...that I found out recently..." he said slowly.

"What?"

"After the boys were born...I got a letter from Haggatha. Apparently...it seems that there was something we err...missed...in the lifebonding we did," Remus said.

"Missed? What do you mean we missed? If I recall we did everything perfectly," Severus said with a frown.

"I don't mean missed at the err..time...we bonded Sev. I mean missed as far as informationwise. Something the book didn't say that she found out only recently," he said and got up and walked over to his worn case that was near the door.

"What exactly did we miss then Remus?" Severus said slowly.

Remus opened his case and pulled out a small black leather book crested with jewels and bound in gold and silver. It was an appointment book given to Remus by Severus for Yule this past year and Remus had cherished it deeply, writing in it almost daily. Silently he flipped through the book until he found what he was looking for, a piece of yellowed parchment and handed it to Severus, who took it with a bit of foreboding.

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Until recently it was not even in issue on the male/male or female/female bonding rites of the werewolf. Since werewolves have no preferences in their lifemate bonding it is not uncommon to have same sex binds. However new information has brought several things to light as far as the birthing of cubs to same sex partners. Based on reports of the past 10 years worth of tests on same sex bonds and the ability with the "Fertility Potion" that enables same sex partners to have children, a startling discovery has been made.

It seems that after the 'Fertility Potion' is rendered active, and a litter is born from the use of the potion, the lifemate bind no longer becomes effective in certain areas. One of those being that the potion negates the ties of death in both partners, essentially meaning that the werewolf or it's partner can die without both of them being affected.

The other major area of discovery is that the werewolf is made like a normal wolf with only a 2 month birthing period, and the fact that for those two months transformations are in essence 'put on hold', the potion starts to degrade the bloodstream. What the potion essentially is doing by not allowing the transformations to take place is speeding up the werewolf's metabolism to compensate the loss of transformation.

This will cause quicker breakdown of the bloodstream and will age the werewolf at a higher rate then normal, cutting the lifespan of the werewolf shorter. In tests done in the last 10 years of same sex couples where the werewolf took the potion only once the lifespan was cut by 1/4. In cases where there were 2 or more birthtimes, that is reduced to 1/3 or 1/2 depending on how many times the potion is used.

In studies where the werewolf's mate was human and not wolf, the human lifemate would experience certain other changes as well, some subtly, some more obvious. A slight greying of the hair, irritable behaviour, sudden fits of depression or worry without cause or reason, and a strong need to be closer to their lifemates is a few of the issues we discovered. Of course there are other side effects, but those are the major ones we have found in the studies.

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Severus finished reading the article with a sickening feeling growing inside him. His instincts had been a bit off lately, just as they had been in today's class, and now he was understanding why. It hadn't been the students he was detecting doing anything wrong....it had just been simply himself. His instincts had been trying to tell him that it was himself who was the problem. And he hadn't listened. "Remus?" he said now looking back up at his lifemate.

"I'm sorry Sev. I should have told you sooner....but I couldn't. I didn't want to worry you anymore then you already. were at the time. The boys are a wonderful wonderful gift for us...but not enough," Remus said quietly.

"Am I not enough then anymore? Is that what this is about Remus? Am I not meeting your expectations any longer?" Severus said in a pained voice.

Remus looked at Severus startled and said, "Oh Sev no! That's not it at all. It's just that....I guess that I want you to have a real family since you didn't have one all your life. And....and this way....when I'm gone....you'll still have more parts of me....to remember...." he said softly.

Severus looked over at his lifemate with a strange expression in his eyes, and he sighed deeply. Getting up he walked over to Remus and put his arms round him pulling him into a tight embrace. "As if...I could ever forget you Remus Lupin-Snape. I'm not a potions master for nothing you know...if there's a way round this my love, I will find it. I refuse to give you up....not now...not ever..." he said softly and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

Thankfully Severus had no more classes for the rest of the afternoon. Peeking into the boys room and seeing they were finally asleep as they were supposed to be, Severus and Remus headed towards their own room. For the next few hours until they would meet up with Harry and Draco, Severus and Remus enjoyed each other's company with a tenderness and passion they hadn't felt in a long time. And in that time Severus realized something very important, and he began to make his plans knowing that it was the right thing to do. That it was the only left now to do.

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