Chapter Seven: Hidden Motives

Lupin had begun the restless pacing that always preceded his transformation, the tortuous walking up and down, stopping at whatever window he found himself nearest to look towards a lightening sky, as the tug of the moon became more and more insistent.

Snape watched him carefully, as Sirius and Lucius watched Snape. Severus was glad he'd sent the two boys to Hogwarts; it wouldn't do to increase the werewolf's anxieties any more than necessary. 'Lupin?' he asked, and nodded to the Polyjuice Potion Black had set on the table beside him, as the werewolf turned, golden-eyed and aggressive in his distress. 'How long?'

Lupin ran his hands through his short grey hair in a gesture of hopeless apology for a crime not committed. 'I don't know ... I lose the track ... not long.' He turned away, as though the question had confused him.

'Take it now,' Lucius said quietly into the uneasy atmosphere.

Snape nodded, not so much taking an order as in agreement of what he had already decided himself. He watched Lupin for a moment longer, then drank the Polyjuice that Black held out to him, the one containing one of Lupin's hairs. He didn't have to wait for long until he felt the familiar roiling under his skin, matching the roiling in his rebelling guts, as the physical changes began to manifest themselves, the changing of the planes of his face and the length of his limbs, as he became the taller but slightly slimmer man. He nodded to Sirius, and watched as he handed Lupin the other beaker of Polyjuice.

Snape was just beginning to think he was completely wrong in his thoughts as he watched Lupin begin the change to a second Sirius Black, just begun to think that the moon would still find the real Remus Lupin, when he felt something try to encroach on his mind, much the way the Dark Lord used to try to creep in the back door. There was something infinitely more subtle about this though; the moon didn't need to be furtive, the moon wasn't an unexpected visitor slipping in to steal a few secrets and then be off like a thief in the night. The moon believed in her own superiority and her rite of passage through the sky and the souls she dragged in her wake.

He found himself having to wrench his thoughts back to the duplicate Sirius Black, who now sat at the table; the pressures Severus was now feeling seemed to have lifted from the other man.

He saw Malfoy take Lupin's hand and talk quietly to him; he couldn't hear the words, just murmurs, sounds of comfort. He felt Black at his side, and he shook his head in futile denial of what was happening to him. They all had their instructions; they all knew what to do when the first hour was up, in case he did indeed turn into a wolf ... he didn't realise he already had.

*****

'What does it feel like?' Sirius asked Lupin as he sat down at the table; there was no point in asking the grey wolf that stood looking out of the window at the cold white disc that called to him. Sirius didn't like this; this wasn't the kind of thing they should be doing away from the safety of somewhere like Hogwarts, where they could summon help in a heartbeat if it all went wrong.

'I can't explain it,' Lupin replied. He was calm now, secure in the other body. 'I can feel something. It's as though it's sitting in the background. I don't like this, Sirius.' He nodded to the grey wolf. 'If he changes back to himself in an hour and I stay like this, where does the wolf go?'

'That's what he wants to try to find out,' Sirius replied and looked to the corner to where the wolf had dropped to his haunches as a cloud slipped over the moon.

Sirius checked his watch again, forty-five minutes; he hadn't known just how slowly the minutes could drag and yet how quickly the hour could snatch itself away. He watched Lucius measure out the next dose of Polyjuice, just one this time. He could see Malfoy was as anxious as he was. He wished they weren't doing this.

With five minutes to go Lupin took the next few sips of the potion, and Sirius could see his relief. He wondered if the moon had sensed the Polyjuice working its way through him, and had been hoping to catch him unawares at the end of the hour. Sirius jotted that thought down on the parchment at his side; until Severus was back he'd do things his way.

They all watched the corner now to where the wolf had stood up. He shook his shaggy head and turned again to the window, almost as though he were bidding his ultimate mistress goodbye, and slipped into the form of Severus Snape. From outside, a howl of confused misery sounded, and they all turned to the window in time to see the scrubby bushes part as something, which had no form,

ran through them.

'What the holy fuck was that?' Lucius broke the short shocked silence.

'I confess I am at a loss,' Snape said quietly as he sat down. He looked pale and drawn and doubtful, as though he had misplaced something. 'I think we have to accept that sleep is off the agenda tonight.'

'It's got nowhere to go, has it?' Lupin asked, and Sirius thought he sounded almost guilty about that.

'Let us hope it doesn't find somewhere,' Lucius replied. 'Are you all right, Severus?'

Snape nodded, and then shook his head. 'No, not really. I ... I'm not sure, but I think I understand just what happens now.' He shook his head again, as though trying to clear whatever invader had been accessing his mind. He gave Lupin a long look. 'The next thing I do, after we get out of this mess we're in, is find a way to stop what happens to you.'

'Let's not get off the subject in hand,' Malfoy replied. 'We need to get moving, Severus. No more experiments; we have to go with what we've got.'

'Isn't that what we're here for anyway?' Snape nodded as he stood back up. 'Nobody should ever be that helpless, werewolves included.' He moved away and began to climb the stairs.

'Severus, don't leave us down here on our own,' Sirius said as he felt the jolt of him leaving.

'There are three of you; surely one of you can stay awake.'

*****

'I think they were going to do something with the Polyjuice,' Draco said. 'They've been very secretive about it. It wasn't just Lupin taking it before the moon rose, Severus was taking it too, and there wasn't much left. Whatever it was, my father didn't seem too happy about it.'

Hermione had just about got over the fact that she had two Ron Weasleys opposite her, and that one of them was none other than Draco Malfoy. 'I bet I know,' she said, 'I bet he's trying to analyse the werewolf if he turns into it ... or something.'

Ron scoffed at the idea as they heard someone on the stairs. Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over Draco, just as Professor McGonagall reached the top of the stairs.

'Returned to the fold, yet again, Potter?' She nodded to the three. 'And Mr Weasley, too, I see.'

Hermione thought she gave Ron a long look, before satisfying herself he was indeed Arthur and Molly's son.

'Well, Professor Dumbledore's funeral is tomorrow; we didn't want to be late,' Harry offered as Ron nodded agreement.

'Of course.' McGonagall smiled thinly and turned to Hermione. 'A moment, Miss Granger, if you would.'

Hermione followed her down the stairs to the corridor, and watched as she checked to see they were alone.

'I hope there will be nobody attending the Headmaster's funeral in disguise of anyone else, Miss Granger.'

'No, not that I know of.' Hermione hoped so too.

'It is just that several of the people who will be there have at least some Legilimency skills, and it would not do for Severus Snape to think he can slip in unnoticed, however good an Occlumens he is. One never knows when one could drop one's guard if caught unaware ... and he is a wanted man.'

'He managed with Voldemort for long enough, Professor,' Hermione reasoned. 'But he's not going, I know that,' she added in a hurry.

'Very well, Miss Granger, but if you hear to the contrary please let me know, and at least I can keep my eye on things. People know how clever he is; they will be watching out for him.'

Hermione nodded. 'He's not coming, Professor. Lupin is coming himself; he'll be with us. In fact the only reason he's not here now is the full moon. Severus has no one else he can change to ... so far.'

'Very well,' McGonagall repeated, raising her eyebrow at Hermione's use of Snape's given name. For a moment she seemed to have accepted what Hermione said. 'And make quite sure that Draco Malfoy continues to stay out of sight; two Ronald Weasleys is one too many,' she said, and paused for a second. 'In fact it's two too many sometimes.'

*****

'Where's Severus,' Lucius asked as Sirius sat down heavily.

'Upstairs,' Sirius replied shortly; he didn't fancy a dose of Malfoy's company. 'He's not feeling well.'

'Keep your eye on him today, Black. We don't want him slipping away to Hogwarts.'

Sirius was about to snarl at him, but something changed his mind; today wasn't the day for petty vendettas, not even with Lucius Malfoy. 'Yeah, I know. It's not easy for him.' He poured himself coffee from the jug that sat on the hob on the fire; he hoped Lucius hadn't made it. 'Has Lupin left?'

Malfoy nodded. 'A few minutes ago. You may drink the coffee; he made it before he left.'

'Don't worry; I was getting around to asking.'

'What's he doing, Black?' Lucius nodded to the stairs. 'What's his plan? All this nonsense with the ruddy Polyjuice, we won't know who the fuck's who if he messes about any more.'

Sirius shrugged. He wasn't quite sure what Snape was up to either, but he didn't really feel like admitting that to Malfoy.

'Don't let him get too complicated,' Lucius muttered. 'Remember what happened last time.'

'Yes, I remember, thank you. Some of us paid a price, and the rest of us got off smelling of fucking roses if I recall, you in particular.'

Malfoy looked away. 'It wasn't like that.'

Sirius pushed the coffee mug away and stood up. 'I promised myself I wouldn't do this, not today.' He left Lucius sitting alone at the table.

'Black,' Malfoy said quietly when he was half way up the stairs. 'For what it's worth, I tried to get you out. Oh, not for yourself, don't think that, but I tried for Lupin and Severus.'

'Not hard enough,' Sirius snarled over his shoulder.

'Sometimes the best we can do isn't good enough,' Lucius replied. 'But it's still the best we can do.'

Sirius began to walk back down the stairs. 'Just what did you do? What wonders did you perform on my behalf while I was rotting my life away?'

'I ratified all the permits, the ones for Lupin and Severus. No one ever knew they were able to visit you; there was a specific injunction on you getting visits without Ministry approval,' Malfoy replied. 'And I abstained in any vote against reviewing your case. I never voted against you.'

'Thanks a lot. That's not exactly voting for me.'

'How could I have voted for you?' Lucius flared for the first time. 'I was in the ruddy Ministry. How could I vote for a man they believed was Voldemort's staunchest follower?'

'You said you tried to get me out,' Sirius challenged, but much of the bullishness had leaked out of him. There was something about Lucius's demeanour that he didn't think was feigned, something asking for the same kind of understanding he had asked Snape to allow him.

'I did.' Lucius raised his silver eyebrow. 'I forged Cornelius Fudge and Kingsley Shacklebolt's signatures on a review document, which I made up myself, saying that the case against you could not be proven because of the lack of Pettigrew's body, but someone caught it on the way through, and it was blocked. There was a hell of an uproar about it. No one traced it to me, of course; they were hardly likely to. I wasn't so lucky with the next one; I had to pay a serious amount of money to Arthur Weasley to keep quiet about the fact that I was the one who objected to the fact that you had no trial, and I was considering going to the International Court for Wizarding Injustice to bring suit against the Ministry. I suspect he paid for all of his multitude of children's Hogwarts uniforms with the cash.'

'I still hate you, Malfoy,' Sirius said, as he tried to stop a half a grin slip onto his face.

'Oh, that's fine, I hate you too.' Lucius nodded to the stairs. 'Go and see if he wants anything; he'll be brooding up there. Either that or he left with Lupin.'

'Severus never came to see me,' Sirius said quietly from where he still stood on the stairs.

'Of course he did, it was Lupin who only went a couple of times.' Lucius smiled at last. 'He wouldn't go as himself; he thought you wouldn't want to see him. Pity really, he's allergic to Polyjuice. You have no idea how tedious it was to sit watching him heave his guts up all night afterwards.'

Sirius felt something warm spread through him; on some level he'd known Severus would never have forsaken him. 'Well,' he said, letting himself hold Malfoy's pale grey eyes, 'for what it's worth, thanks.'

'I didn't do it for you.'

*****