Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery

Chapter 95 ~ In the Lab on the Night of the Full Moon

Severus informed Hermione and his mother he would not be able to accompany Isadora to her flat tonight, because he had several versions of the cure for Remus ready for experimentation, and he could only test them on the night of the full moon, when his blood was reactive. Remus’ blood was altered by the influence of the moon. What he was hoping for was that he’d found a concentrated wolfsbane derivative that would separate, nullify and destroy the werewolf blood and leave the human hemoglobin intact and alive. He had previously developed a similar potion that retarded the change in the blood, which initially started about three days before the moon was in full phase also based on the wolfsbane potion. Only when the werewolf blood was dominant, could the transformation occur. This physical takeover of the body was why Remus’ organ changed…it was a visual indicator of the werewolf blood taking over.

If Severus was successful, not only would Remus be cured, but the Potions Master would become a very, very rich wizard. This thought was in his mind as well, especially since he now had a family to support. He planned to leave Hogwarts if this happened and strike out on his own, creating commercial potions. Hopefully, his sons would have his love for potions and would work alongside him, eventually taking over the business.

Since Severus couldn’t accompany his mother, he called in a favor from two trusted associates.

“You go out with Remus Lupin?” Nymphadora Tonks asked Isadora in amazement as Kingsley looked on, standing a little to the right of the three witches, all of whom were seated. Isadora and Hermione sat on the sofa and Tonks was in the armchair facing them.

They were all in Hermione’s living room, having a light snack and pumpkin juice.

The tall, bald black Auror folded his muscular arms across his huge chest and listened, smirking as Tonks barreled into Isadora’s private life, wand blazing.

Isadora looked at Tonks appraisingly. The Auror’s hair was short, spiked and colored yellow and purple. She had a sharp pixyish face with a pointed chin and wide, expressive hazel eyes. She was slender, but had strong feminine attributes. Obviously she was an eclectic type, a bit of a rebel and by the openness of her question, inquisitive and rather uninhibited. Isadora decided she liked her. She liked people who were comfortable with being themselves, even if it were outside the realm of what was normally considered acceptable.

Hermione’s mouth was drawn in a thin line. Tonks didn’t seem to know her way around polite conversation and just said whatever came to mind. Asking Severus Snape’s mother if she ‘went out’ with Remus Lupin was a question a fifth year would ask.

“I am ‘involved’ with Remus, if that’s what you want to know,” Isadora replied, smirking a bit as Tonks eyes widened.

She could tell the Auror was brimming with question, but the presence of Kingsley kept her from asking them. Isadora suspected they weren’t the kind of questions one would ask in mixed company.

“You know, I’ve always liked Remus. Had a crush on him once…he wasn’t interested though. Too busy being a werewolf I suppose. Hurt my feelings, but I got over it,” Tonks said, glancing up at Kingsley who pursed his lips at her and winked.

Isadora didn’t miss the exchange. Seems like Tonks now liked her men big, brawny and chocolate. Actually Tonks was one of the few witches who probably could have handled Remus sexually. As a metamorphmagus, she could alter her body in a number of ways, even change it completely. She could have adjusted herself to be able to meet the werewolf’s ardor. Now Kingsley Shacklebolt was the happy recipient of Tonks’ metamorphic talents between the sheets. No wonder he always seemed to be secretly smiling.

“So, if you’re involved with him, why are we protecting you from him?” Tonks asked curiously. Hermione winced.

“It seems Remus gets a bit more ‘affectionate’ when it gets close to the full moon. Affectionate to the point where it can become a problem,” Isadora replied, “We’re trying to avoid that.”

“Oh,” Tonks said shortly. Then Isadora’s meaning set in. “Ohhhhh,” Tonks said again in understanding. So Remus was overly randy and on the prowl for the witch. That seemed like a problem she wouldn’t mind having on occasion.

“But it’s a full moon. Remus probably locked himself up somewhere tonight,” Tonks said.

“I know,” Isadora said, looking at Hermione with narrowed eyes. “But my son and daughter-in-law insist I be baby-sat.”

Kingsley nodded.

“Better safe than werewolf meat,” he said, arching an eyebrow at Isadora. Kingsley had dealt with werewolves before, only narrowly escaping being bit himself. The Auror glanced out of the window. Night was falling.

“I think we should go now,” he said to Isadora and Tonks, who both rose.

“Sure you don’t want to come, Hermione?” Isadora asked her.

Hermione shook her head.

“No, I’m going to help Severus. He is testing the cure tonight. He’s been working like crazy and is exhausted. He needs another pair of hands and eyes,” Hermione said.

Isadora nodded.

“I hope he’s successful,” Isadora said, as she walked up to the floo, grabbed a handful of powder and threw it in. The flames turned green.

“Catch you later, Hermione. Cute kids,” Tonks piped before stepping through, her wand drawn.

“See you in a bit Hermione,” Isadora said following Tonks.

Kingsley gave her a wave before squeezing his bulk through the floo after the witches, his wand also drawn.

Hermione sat there a moment and watched until the flames returned to normal. Then she walked down to the nursery to check on the children and Eli. The babies had quite a play session with Tonks and Isadora and were worn out, sound asleep. Eli sat on his bed, folding his beloved cloth diapers in a neat pile.

“Eli, I’m going out to the lab with Severus,” she said watching him for a moment.

He looked up.

“Yes Mistress,” he replied, “I will be here.”

“Thank you, Eli,” Hermione said, exiting the room.

As she headed out of the house and across the yard to the lab, Hermione did something she rarely did. She prayed. She didn’t know exactly to whom or what she was praying, but she sent up a fervent plea that her husband be successful. She too realized how important it would be, not just for Isadora and Remus, but for the entire wizarding world. There were quite a few werewolves who would benefit from such a cure, and be able to live normal lives. What a gift her husband would give them…though he would hardly give it to them.

Severus was all business when it came to potions. But more than likely foundations would form to get the cure to those who needed it. Werewolves crossed all social boundaries. There were affected rich families who might purchase large amounts to distribute or at least contribute out of gratefulness a cure had been found. If it were found.

Hermione opened the door to the lab to find Severus hovering over several petri dishes of blood. He looked very tired, but his black eyes were glittering with excitement as he checked and rechecked the contents of each dish. Several small bottles sat behind the blood…variations of the cure. They were numbered.

“Hello Severus,” Hermione said to her husband.

Severus glanced at her.

“Hello wife,” he responded shortly. He walked to the window and peered up at the sky. The moon was rising. He turned back excitedly walking back over to the counter and the dishes, then began to explain to Hermione what would happen and what he was hoping for. She listened carefully.

“Each of this dishes of Remus’ blood is under a stasis spell. When I remove the spell, it will react to the moon and transform from human blood to werewolf blood. We will be able to identify the change visibly because werewolf blood is almost black, and you can see the blood here is a vibrant red. When the blood completes its transformation I will add the potion behind it and observe the results. What I am looking for is the blood to separate back into human and werewolf components, and the werewolf blood to die while the human blood remains viable.

I have had excellent results with retarding the slow change of the human blood, and have used that potion to distill several others. Wolfsbane figures heavily into the mix. If one of these dishes contains viable human blood at the end of the experiment, then that will be a cure. Once the entire werewolf element is removed from the blood, it will not be able to regenerate, and transformation will not be able to occur.

The cure will have to be immediately followed by a blood cleansing potion, to destroy the dead blood cells before they clog the circulatory system, then followed by a blood replenishing potion to build up the volume of blood the loss of the werewolf blood will cause. Half the blood in the body will be suddenly gone…which can cause serious problems because the oxygen intake will be severely curtailed. The blood cleanser and replenisher have to be administered immediately after the cure takes effect. Without them, the werewolf will die. So in actuality, three potions will be needed to complete the cure.

Hermione nodded, feeling excitement welling up in her belly. Severus looked out of the window again.

“Yes, the moon has risen,” he said, walking up to the first petri dish, drawing his wand and removing the protective stasis spell.

Immediately, the blood seemed to boil violently, the healthy red color darkening and becoming almost black. An unpleasant odor of raw meat rose from it.

Severus uncorked the first bottle and added several drops to the blackened blood. Both he and Hermione watched for the reaction. The blood bubbled a little, reddened, then hardened completely.

Severus shook his head.

“Both elements died. This would kill Remus,” he said, “not that it isn’t an appealing option. At least where I’m concerned.”

“Severus!” Hermione exclaimed, scowling at him.

The Potions Master moved to the next petri dish. He removed the spell and waited for the bubbling transformation.

“Transformation must be painful judging by the way the blood reacts to the moon. Feeling that in your veins and organs must be horrible,” Hermione said.

“It is. That’s why every freshly transformed werewolf is angry and ready to attack. It’s in pain,” Severus replied, adding the next potion to the blood.

This time the blood boiled and separated into a mix of vibrant red and black. The black blood hardened, and the red blood remained viable for a moment, before it too hardened.

“Damn. So close,” Severus breathed, “but it makes me hopeful for the next two dishes.

The Potions Master moved to the next dish, Hermione watching, holding her breath as Severus removed the stasis spell and the violent transformation began again. The he added the next potion to the black blood. It began to blood, and it too separated into bright red and black blood. The black blood hardened. The red remained viable. Both Hermione and Severus waited for the human blood to congeal or break down. It didn’t.

Hermione pulled out her wand and whispered a spell. A blue light appeared on the tip.

“What are you doing?” Severus asked her, scowling.

Normally he would not allow anyone near his experiments when they were happening. But his wife was brilliant. She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the outcome. Still he was rather protective.

“This is a general healer spell used to check overall health. It won’t affect the blood, just let us know if it is healthy,” Hermione replied, passing the wand over the dish. It glowed a brighter blue.

“It’s healthy,” Hermione breathed, looking up at her husband, who was staring at the dish.

“It isn’t congealing,” he said.

Quickly he grabbed another petri dish and shook part of the semi-congealed blood into it. He added some blood cleanser, and the dried blood instantly disappeared, leaving only a small amount of viable human blood. Severus then added a blood replenisher, and the volume quickly doubled. Hermione passed her wand over it.

“Healthy!” she exclaimed, dropping her wand and flinging her arms around Severus, who was staring at the dish of healthy human blood, his heart pounding.

He’d found it. Severus had found the cure.

His mother’s safety and the future of his family was secured.

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A/N: Yay Severus! You did it! But still, the cure sounds dangerous and painful. It will clot up the blood in Remus’ veins. And when does it have to be administered? And what is happening with Remus right now. We have to find that out, though we know he will transform. Next chapter we’ll look in on his day. Please review.

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The Burning Pen

Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery
by Ruth Solomon

The story content is adult in nature and can contain graphic sex and violence. Those under the age of 18 are asked to leave this site immediately. You are not welcome here. The author is not responsible for those under-aged who view these works.

CHAPTER 96

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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