Beast or Coward?

Remus paused in the flurrying snowflakes, frowning and gazing at Rodolphus Lestrange and the other dark figure standing near the entrance of the Three Broomsticks.

The increasing snowfall caused more and more shadowy figures to scurry about to and fro. Not wanting to draw attention by using his wand, in a split-second decision, Remus turned and stepped nearer to Nagini. Deciding it would be the most prudent, he pulled out the Polyjuice and handed it to her.

Nagini gulped it down. She immediately gagged from the rancid liquid, dropping the phial in the snow, grabbing and leaning on Remus to catch her breath while the transformation took place. Remus wrapped a supportive arm around her, bracing her against him.

Nagini felt light-headed and queasy as she felt the potion coursing through her veins. Her body was tingling and sporadic bursts of intense heat pulsated throughout; then it suddenly stopped. She stepped back from Remus, raising her head to deeply breathe in the crisp, clean wintry air for relief. Leaning against the wooden building's wall, she panted, "What do I look like – who am I?"

Stunned speechless, Remus was unable to respond immediately. Something had gone wrong with the Polyjuice.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she whispered, frightened.

Remus swallowed hard and said reassuringly, "Nothing. Nothing is wrong. It's just that you didn't completely transform, but it's enough of a disguise. Nothing horrible. Just a bit uncanny. You look, um, fine." Remus was noting her hair, in particular, with an odd embarrassed expression.

Nagini pulled a tress of it around in front of her eyes. Her hair was red. "Evans'? Pettigrew used Evans' hair? Bet she doesn't even know, the creep."

Remus was flushed, uncomfortable, unable to contradict her. He silently agreed. It was peculiarly unsettling and inappropriate. I'll ask Wormtail about it when he gets back to Hogwarts.

Attempting to assuage her worries, he reassured, "You still have your own lovely eyes; your nose is only a bit different. The red hair is more than enough to completely fool anyone, which is quite helpful – no one will recognize you!" Remus smiled supportively at her, and then looked carefully around again to where Lestrange still stood; only now, yet another figure had joined him, making a foreboding trio. Thinking fast, Remus said, "Let's go this way. There's another place I know."

He led her in the opposite direction away from the main road. As they walked through the snowfall, Remus tucked the bundle of sweets as best he could under one arm. Draping his other arm around her, he covered Nagini with his cloak and held her by his side, guiding her as she loosely steadied herself against him.

Remus' thoughts jumped from deliberating Peter's motives for collecting Lily's hair to Rodolphus Lestrange and the unexpected predicament he and Nagini now found themselves in. Secretly, he wouldn't have minded confronting Rodolphus as well as his cronies. But another time and place, I need to take care of and protect Nagini. Immediately!

Deep and burning within Remus was the belief that these eponymous 'Death Eaters' were responsible for his family's demise.

The Dark Lord had chosen Fenrir Greyback to add to his collection of diverse followers, the werewolf being particularly useful as a threat against those wizarding families who wouldn't cooperate and support his new Wizarding Order. Having such a menacing myrmidon amused and pleased Voldemort to no end. Assuring Greyback of werewolves' worth and value in his new order, Voldemort knew how best to use Fenrir for his own purposes. The Dark Lord relished his decision: the threat of the werewolf's curse would be one of the perfect means, the perfect example of what would happen to those pureblood families who refused to show proper acquiescence to him.

Remus' father, John Lupin, had been one of those outspoken purebloods who openly defied as well as mendaciously threatened Greyback to 'know his place' in the Wizarding world, thus sealing the family's ironic fate. It had been all too easy for Voldemort to choose the first targets for Greyback to attack as prime examples of what other purebloods would suffer if they insisted on adhering to the 'old ways'.

Underestimating the Dark forces that backed Greyback, John Lupin then experienced the horror of what it meant to stand up and magniloquently pontificate and declaim against the new Wizarding order and the filthy 'beasts' giving allegiance to the self-proclaimed 'Lord' Voldemort.

John Lupin didn't stand a chance. His small son was singled out to pay the price: the 'sins' of the father.

With uncanny ease, Fenrir had stalked and followed the little boy's daily routine week after week, knowing when the child and mother frequented the neighbourhood playgrounds, noting when Remus was most likely to be left alone. Positioning himself near the child, exactly timing his lycanthropic transformation, and hungry for the taste of young flesh, Fenrir needed only a few minutes to do the abhorrent, defiling deed. So, he watched and waited, and the very first eve of the full moon, Greyback gloatingly masticated the boy, purposely spreading his curse rather than putting the young child out of his misery with death.

Brooding darkly over this defining moment in his past, Remus huffed in frustration, but reminded himself, Now is not the time for vendettas. I have to keep Nagini out of harm's way which I've put her in.

Nagini had started at Remus' decisive exhalation. He glanced at her and saw that she had noted his fierce countenance.

He softly assured her, "We're almost there."

It occurred to him that Nagini may be thinking that her transformed appearance had caused his intense expression.

True, her incomplete transformation was a bit off-putting, more than he wanted to admit, but it was the emergence of the unexpected Lestrange which had provoked his response. But if she knew the real reason of his vexation, his particular enmity and animus of Rodolphus and all of the self-proclaimed Death Eaters and exactly what the connection was, what he was – his curse... There's a time and place for everything, and this is definitely not it!

Remus knew the time was nearing when he and Nagini would have to disclose who and where they came from; they couldn't push the topic conveniently to one side for much longer. She knows as well as I, what Death Eaters truly are... We have to speak about it eventually, but first, to get her to safety! He guided her to the left, catching sight again of her uncanny half-Polyjuiced features. I don't know why it bothers me. Lily's red hair... At least, Nagini's beautiful golden eyes are the same...

As they made their way down the main street, they passed Zonko's Joke Shop, then the Post Office. Abruptly, they turned up a side street and Remus motioned towards a creaking sign swinging in the swirling snow. "The small dark inn over there." They headed for it directly. "Students don't usually come here, just harmless, eccentric riff-raff: this is the Hog's Head." He pointed at the sign, illegible in the dark and snow. "As you'll see, it's pretty dingy, dark, and the clientele – well, it's hard to recognize them clearly – which is good for us."

Relieved to arrive, Remus swung the door open and ushered Nagini inside. The Hog's Head bar area was dimly lit with sporadically placed stubs of candles on rough wooden tables unevenly lighting the seemingly small room. The air was stifling, heavy with smoky, gamey odours. A few hunched-over, hooded figures slouched over one or two tables, cramped, and muttering indistinct sounds of conversation. Nagini caught the silhouettes of two figures out of the corner of her eye. They disappeared into the dark shadows to the immediate right; the unlit space seemed to stretch further back, barricading another area which they had gone behind. Sounds of furniture being shoved and a few muffled voices were heard speaking exclamatorily.

"Go straight," instructed Remus, almost in a whisper. "You can't tell from here, but at the very end, the room slopes down sharply on the right of the bar shank, in between it and some stairs leading to the upper level rooms. There's a half-enclosed booth built into the stairway; it should be empty. We'll have some privacy there." As Nagini drew nearer to the other end, she saw indeed a lower level appearing. This side seemed to lead to the inn part of the old structure, with crooked beams supporting uneven levels, branching out and denoting different times and sections of construction.

She spotted the cosy, enclosed nook under the stairway and made a bee-line for it while Remus ordered two Butterbeers from the scruffy-looking, old barman who was giving them a hairy-eyeball stare. The old man grunted something and began rummaging under the counter.

Relieved to finally be able to catch her breath, Nagini slid into the dusty, snug booth and lowered her hood, breathing a sigh of relief.

Remus placed the packaged sweets down beside her and looked around. "I'll be right back." Nagini closed her eyes, breathing deeply, feeling exhausted, but then smiled up at Remus as he returned momentarily with two dust-covered bottles and placed them on the rustic surface. "Here we go!" Remus waved his hand over the bottle tops, and they popped open one by one. Using his shirt sleeve cuff, he wiped around the mouth of one bottle, and then the other, handing it over to Nagini. Clinking hers, he plopped himself down and ran his hand through his shaggy bangs, tucking them behind his ears. Remus let out a long sigh, his warm, concerned eyes not leaving Nagini's for one second. "How are you?"

"I don't know. I don't know," she repeated, whispering. "I don't understand why Rodolphus is here, in Hogsmeade."

Remus brooded slightly, watching her intently. He took a deep swig of his Butterbeer, thinking about how to comfort her, the right thing to say about their predicament, when he heard, "You!"

Remus snapped around and up, his wand ready in hand to defend or attack. Behind him, Nagini pulled hers out, ready to pounce, and nervy to see who had just shouted.

Standing taut and ready, Remus protectively placed himself in front of her and the oncoming figure. Figures. Recognisable ones. Regulus Black and, in the background advancing, Walden Macnair.

"I knew it was you!" gloated the young Black. A malicious, vicious sneer crossed the troubled features of Regulus. "I could smell you." Macnair didn't laugh at Black's comment, but a nasty, knowing smile crept over his face, accentuating the maniacal gleam in his eyes.

"Where's my..." Regulus stopped and glanced furtively around. Noting Macnair near him, Regulus raised his voice unnaturally and continued, "... that filthy blood-traitorous brother of mine?"

Fully composed, Remus seemed unperturbed by Regulus' insulting, disturbed energy. Nonchalantly, the Gryffindor challenged the haughty Slytherin yobbo. "Say his name, Regulus."

Regulus' mouth dropped open, and then the young bullyboy became truly enraged. "How dare you!"

Coolly, Remus pushed, "Why don't you say his name? Afraid?"

"You'll learn not to speak to your betters like that, you filthy beast!" Regulus raised his wand but was instantaneously disarmed from the figure stepping out from behind Remus.

Nagini swiftly caught Regulus' wand in her hand, having non-verbally cast the Expelliarmus spell.

Regulus blinked at the red-headed witch, shocked and huffing. "Evans?" Then a crazed look crossed his face. A disturbed grin spread over it. "Oh, I see – this is what you two honourable, Gryffindor Prefects get up to behind that sod Potter's back! No more than the filthy blood-traitor deserves, choosing filthy Mudbloods and half-breeds over his own kind!"

Macnair stepped to Regulus' side, and the youngest Black cocked a snook at Lupin and 'Evans' before giving Macnair an excited look and sniggering. "Even that cruddy brother of mine will be put off when he hears about this! His loyal, best mate shagging his other best mate's slag!"

Looking blasé, Macnair eyed Remus and drawled lazily, "My father told me that your kind have officially been put on the Ministry's Undesirable list, categorised as 'magical beasts', I believe. Can't wait until 'open season'." Macnair's dull eyes got a sudden gleam in them. "Guess who I'm going after first?"

"Looking forward to seeing you soon, Macnair." Remus got a strange look on his face. "Can't wait, in fact."

"Brave one are you?" jeered Macnair. "Not much good it's going to do you."

Remus' tight grin broadened wryly at this comment.

"That's right," joined in Regulus haughtily. "You filthy half-breeds!" He sniffed disgustedly in Nagini's direction. Believing he was having the juicy, rare chance to insult the Gryffindor, golden-girl Lily Evans, he excitedly pontificated, "Filthy Mudbloods! Filth like you will soon know your true place!"

Faster than a blink, Nagini saw Remus' wand extend upwards. "Seems you need to clean up your vocabulary a bit, Black." Non-verbally, he sent a hex with the flick of his wand.

Regulus' eyes grew wider as his mouth gaped like a dying fish. Soap suds began to slowly sputter out of his mouth. Regulus grasped onto Walden, spastically knocking Macnair's wand out of his hand in the process. The snooty Black was flailing about and desperately attempting to breathe in between heaving and regurgitating from the Scourgify spell.

"Remus, stop it!" pleaded Nagini. "Please!"

She turned to Regulus who had slid to the floor. For one second, Nagini and Regulus' eyes met. Eyes-bulging and tears flowing down his face from the effort to breathe, Regulus blinked hard as something caught his attention about the Gryffindor Mudblood's expression. And about her eyes. He was confused. For a second, she reminded him of another time, another place, someone else he knew. But, Regulus couldn't finalise his realisation: a wave of vomiting bubbles spewed out, preventing him.

"Remus!" Nagini had never seen Remus with such a determined, cruel look on his face before. She'd never witnessed him so severely determined to humiliate someone and resolutely enjoying it. She touched his arm and pleaded, "Remus!"

Remus lifted the spell as subtly as he had placed it. His demeanour had unswervingly hardened as he kept his eyes fixed on the young, floundering Black. Unmoved.

As Macnair helped up his mate, the gruffy bartender had appeared and crossed over, huffing. "Look here, you two," he pointed, jabbing in the air at Macnair and Regulus, "You need to get back to your little meeting, yonder." He jerked his head to the area behind the bar's far left side. "And you two seemed to have business together over there." He indicated the dim-lit booth. "If you can't stay in your places, minding your own business, then there's the door – for all of you!" growled the crusty old wizard loudly.

"Give me back my wand, Mudblood!" spat the humiliated Black.

Nagini forgot herself, who she was supposed to be under the Polyjuice effects, and lashed out, "Just shut it, Regulus!"

Regulus' mouth gaped open in shock, and then his eyes narrowed in dawning suspicion.

The bartender raised himself to his full height, and authoritatively commanded, "Enough! There'll be none of that!" He turned to Nagini. "Now then, lass. Return his wand to him." He pointed a warning finger to Regulus. "He daren't use it on you or he'll be answering to me!"

Nagini slowly gave it to the bristling old wizard, who warily handed the wand back to Regulus, while Macnair found and picked up his.

Even though she wasn't Evans, Nagini was trembling from Regulus' verbal assault. She felt the intentional cruelty and humiliation, the power of a word, the word: Mudblood. It hit her hard.

Guided back to the main bar space with a grunt and gesture from the bartender, Walden and Regulus lumbered away; Regulus paused for a brief second, giving a glance back at 'Evans' and then he turned and caught up with Macnair.

Remus turned swiftly back to Nagini. Exigently, he whispered, "Your face – your nose has changed back completely; your face is yours – only the hair, it's still red!" Remus grimaced, frustrated and his heart thumped wildly. The Polyjuice is fading fast! She'll be completely transformed back any second now! "We must leave! Immediately!"

Not waiting for her reply, he grabbed and tugged Nagini's hand, pulling her behind him towards the exit.

They were stopped in their tracks. From the shadowy, camouflaged corner behind the other side of the bar, a livid Severus Snape strode towards them with determined intent on his mind.

The sixth-year Slytherin's attention was drawn immediately to Nagini. Severus started to speak but became choked up as he noted the red hair. His eyes darted to Nagini's. Golden. Not green. "Regulus told me he thought..." Severus stopped, and couldn't continue momentarily. It was too painfully bizarre. Staring at the red hair, he winced. Polyjuiced Lily? It was a blasphemy to him.

"What did you do to her?" hissed Severus, outraged at Lupin.

"Nothing. Nothing that she didn't agree to have done."

Lupin's cool attitude only served to infuriate Snape further.

"It's not enough that you endanger Nagini by your mere presence, Lupin, but you have to coerce her, endanger her––" Snape stopped, and attempted to control himself, but lost. He lashed out, "Couldn't wait until a full moon to harm someone? Threatening my life wasn't enough? But even Dumbledore won't be able to keep you from being expelled once Rodolphus finds out! Vengeance, none too soon!"

Unnerved and overwhelmed, Nagini cut in, "Severus, Rodolphus is here, in Hogsmeade! Why?"

"That's irrelevant," warned Severus, his eyes darted quickly at Lupin, then back to her. "Just get out of here! Before that sorry excuse for Polyjuice Potion completely wears off!"

Eyes glittering with disgust and contempt at Lupin, Snape sneered, "If you have any true 'merit' in you, you'll use every ounce of your Gryffindor bravery to see that she gets safely back to Hogwarts."

Vexed, Remus stared at Severus. "She'll get back to Hogwarts safely, if it's the last thing I do, Snape!"

"Promises, promises, Lupin..." Severus looked like he would spit.

Nagini had crossed around to Severus, gently touching him on the arm. "Don't!" she pleaded softly, not wanting Severus' and Remus' mutual animosity to blow up. Snape flinched slightly at her touch and request. They stared at each other, his onyx orbs boring fixedly on her.

"Severus, please, don't tell Dumbledore! We'll leave immediately. It was my idea! Remus only went along with me."

"'Remus', is it? Not 'Lupin'?" commented Snape, snidely.

Ignoring his derogatory tone, she urged, "He helped me, Severus." Snape seemed to relax before Remus' eyes at Nagini's coaxing and soft caressing of his arm. "I chose him; I chose to be with him. You understand; I know you do."

Snape gazed at her, lost in thought for a few seconds, but then his eyes narrowed. He frowned disapprovingly, inhaling slowly, struggling while deliberating his decision.

"Very well," agreed Severus finally, disgruntled. "But, we will discuss this," Snape's eyes flashed hatefully at Remus, "privately when I return to Hogwarts."

Remus' facial muscles flinched, a spate of jealousy rushing through him. His mind was reeling with presumptuous accusations, and he felt flushed with humiliation at the revelation of Snape implying a special privilege with Nagini. Of course they are Slytherin mates, but... Remus reflected on the obvious. When not by herself, or in the general group classes, I've only seen Nagini noticeably befriended by Severus or Regulus around Hogwarts. Otherwise, quite the solitaire... but Snape?

Seeing Nagini and Severus right in from of him, sharing some clandestine moment, sent a sharp pain in Remus' chest, an arrow in his heart.

"Give Voldemort my regards!" quipped Remus impulsively, unable to control himself.

Snape froze. Slowly, he looked at Remus, his black eyes glittering dangerously. "Why don't you tell him yourself, Lupin? Or, is your tail between your legs as usual?"

Nagini saw Remus' flexed arm and duelling fist, clenched in tension, a second away from hexing Severus.

Severus' wand had appeared in his hand as well, ready and waiting to react in a blink.

"Your Dark Lord seems to fancy eager, disillusioned, infatuated boys to fill his ranks of admirers. Thanks for the invite, but I'm not of that persuasion." Remus' Marauder thoughtlessness flared further, and he couldn't help to add, "Unlike you, it seems, Snape!"

Severus snarled and almost lurched himself on Lupin, barely controlling himself at the last second as Nagini stepped in between them. Regardless, Severus proceeded to goad Remus, throwing his taunts over her head.

"The Dark Lord wishes to fill his ranks with all kinds of wizards and," Severus gave Remus an odd leer, "'beasts' – the brave and the cowardly."

Remus' heated assurance wavered.

Snape's black eyes glistened with malice. "The moon is waxing wan, isn't it, Lupin? So which describes you the best today – beast or coward?"

Remus couldn't respond, momentarily stunned at his affront. Dumbledore had assured Remus that Severus had agreed never to blatantly tell anyone of his true affliction, regardless of the enmity felt. He caught Nagini's wide-eyed confused look at Severus. Clearly, Snape hasn't told her yet, or she hasn't believed him, but...

Snape sneered, "Both, is it?"

Remus jolted, half-knocking a table beside him out of the way.

But then, several things happened at once.

Severus hissed out, "Nagini, your hair!" Lily's red hair had disappeared. Remus halted his impetus at Snape's words and turned to see that Nagini had fully transformed back: the Polyjuice's effects had completely vanished.

Simultaneously, the door of Hogs Head had slammed open and Rodolphus Lestrange, impatient and seeking someone, had entered. Regulus Black and Walden Macnair came out of the shadowy back room to meet Lestrange, who, upon seeing Severus, called out, "We must Apparate now! Rabastan has already gone before us – is there a problem?"

Upon hearing Rodolphus' voice, Remus saw Nagini instinctively cover her head with her cloak's hood. She gave him a fleeting glance, and he shot her a knowing look, then she ran back to the far end of the bar counter, whispering fiercely to the grumpy, weathered bartender.

Remus was left stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Severus swirled in a flash in Rodolphus' direction and answered coolly, "It's nothing." Turning in a blink, he grabbed Remus' cloak, gathering and holding it fast in his fisted hand. He jerked Remus roughly to him, bringing their faces close, and fiercely whispered, "Gryffindor bravery, Lupin!"

Remus' features flickered for the briefest second in raw, panicked understanding, but then he recovered and aggressively shoved Severus away from him, instinctively pulling his wand higher to attack or defend as necessary. His eyes darted around at the foreboding four, glaring in particular at Rodolphus. Waiting to be attacked.

Unexpectedly, Regulus, who had been watching silently as if Petrified, joined in. "It's just a Gryffindor: Sirius' mate."

Rodolphus took a step forward. "A Gryffindor – one of Sirius' cohorts?" As recognition dawned on his cruel, chiselled face, Rodolphus' eyes narrowed with burning intensity and he softly enquired, "You're John Lupin's son, aren't you?" As a distant, distinct memory dawned, a smug smile spread on Rodolphus' face. "Yes, I agree with you, Snape. Nothing here."

Macnair crossed from standing in the shadows to Rodolphus' side. He smirked and casually commented, "Look at him, holding his wand. After his father's dismissal from the Ministry, one would think that his kind would know their place in the world. In our world. Surely, he doesn't think of himself as a wizard?"

"The Ministry of Magical Beasts Department has him registered quite differently, yes? Or has that old fool Dumbledore been telling him otherwise?" replied Lestrange nonchalantly.

Rodolphus turned sharply back to Remus and, as if commanding a cur, shouted, "Heel!"

As Rodolphus and Walden shared a hearty chuckle, abruptly, the gruff voice and presence of the Hogs Head bartender appeared and warned, "Now see here, Mr Lestrange, if you've business elsewhere, it's best that you be off to it. I'll not have any of that threatening and insulting talk or any other nonsense! You'd best be off and take them with you!" He motioned to Snape, Regulus and Walden. "If they're why you came here – no need for me to be callin' for any authorities, is there?"

Rodolphus scoffed and reached into his cloak's inner lining. Pulling out some coins, he threw a few Galleons at the bartender's feet. "For your feeble worries, you old goat!" he sneered condescendingly. Then, Lestrange turned, waving the door open wandlessly, only to turn back again and give a look of disgust at Aberforth and Remus. Satisfied, Rodolphus then motioned for the others to precede him before exiting.

Only after the door had flung shut did Lupin slowly lower his wand.

The bartender's piercing blue eyes combed over Remus before he finally said, "As for you, your friend is up those stairs. Third door on the left. She told me to tell you."

Nagini! Remus swiftly fled to the upstairs level and frantically followed the crooked doors when he abruptly came upon an open one. He found Nagini inside the tiny room, wand in hand, en guard.

She gasped out, "Quickly!"

No sooner had he entered than the door slammed closed. Nagini immediately began murmuring incantations to Charm the room against outside forces. Remus instinctively joined in, only stopping when he noticed that Nagini had seemingly finished.

Giving Remus a grave look, she gazed back at the doorway and raised her palm commandingly and ever-so-quietly chanted another spell.

Lupin froze and quirked his head watching and listening to her. She was whispering in soft, hissing patches of sounds emanating gently from her, culminating with an intelligible: "Diffindo!"

Immediately, a slash on her palm let forth fast flowing blood, but Nagini merely motioned her hand around in a counterclockwise movement against an invisible force, hissing indistinctly, placing a final barricading spell. Rather than falling to the floor, her blood was sucked into an invisible void, evaporating: an extra final shield to warding the room off.

Having finished, Nagini stood with a woeful look on her exhausted features, staring dazed, as if seeing through the solid walls. With a hollow voice, she said, "Just because we can't see them doesn't mean the threat is not there... that they are not out there... waiting for us. To harm us."

As if depleted of all energy, she staggered backwards slightly and slumped down onto the dowdy covered mattress of the small bed.

'Heel!' The degrading insult was still ringing in Lupin's ears; it now mingled with the soft hissing of Nagini's incantations echoing in his mind. Shakily, with wired energy caused from the culmination of provoking and humiliating taunts and events related to Rodolphus and company, Remus took a moment to collect himself.

Inhaling deeply, he looked around at the slanted ceiling and shabby, dim room sparsely furnished with only a corner bed, table and waxed-over candleholder. A perpetually burning taper flitted softly. He regarded Nagini and tersely reflected, Of course she knows Dark Arts very well... bred and raised on them...

Watchfully, he said speculatively, "I don't think I know that Charm."

Nagini had scrunched her eyes closed and wistfully prayed to the powers that be for any sign: any clairvoyant image to affirm or warn her of what was waiting outside these walls for them, what lurked in the immediate unfolding future. She silently began begging her Inner Eye to reveal the merest glimpse that they would be safe, return to Hogwarts unharmed. Nothing responded to her beckoning will. Only a dark void. Weakening, she felt empty. Abandoned.

She numbly replied, "My blood sacrifice bonds our spells together, fortifying, strengthening them."

"I'm quite familiar with blood spells," commented her curt companion. "Dark spells, if you'd like."

Remus bit his inner cheeks in tension, remembering the myriad of desperate attempts his own parents had made, the depths of defilement they underwent: searching, exploring every known and forgotten Dark spell, charm, potion, begging, grovelling to any Dark wizard to have mercy and assist them in their desolate need to find a cure for their son's affliction.

Uncontrolled bitterness crept through Remus, his thoughts turning dark. To no avail. Left bereft and isolated. Ostracised from the Wizarding community... from the pureblood community...

Dryly, Remus confessed, "But I must admit, Parseltongue skills are one thing I lack."

Incognizant to his wryness, she simply replied, "My father taught me that spell."

'We have our own secret language, Nagini. Only you and I can understand one another. Isn't that wonderful, my little one? See how it makes your Mummy angry? She doesn't like it that we have our own language, that we can have our own secrets, does she?'

"Your father was a Parselmouth?"

Nagini didn't answer him directly, suddenly self-conscious and ashamed.

"It's not what people think," she processed out loud, fiddling distractedly with her heirloom ring. "My father was the only one I ever spoke it with; the only one I could speak it with... That was a very long time ago."

A memory of her father's death flashed through her mind. "He... he was killed." She gave a quick glance at Remus to see his reaction.

"Yes..." Remus shrugged, remembering Sirius' vivacious and vivid account of the story. He crossed slowly over to the wall, the open space between the head of the bed and little table. He leaned against the wall's cool, rough surface, peering down at the wooden tabletop and then into the candle's weak, flickering flame. He sighed heavily and shifted his focus upwards. An octangular window was letting in faint moonbeams.

Remus sniffed and finally replied, "Yes, by your mother."

Glossing over this, Nagini responded, "Since then, only garden snakes or forest serpents have found me. Quite boring really. Snakes just like to complain a lot: how noisy and clumsy humans are. Not very interesting."

Remus gave Nagini a hard look. His percolating anger struggled with his overwhelming compassion for her. In one irate and irrational moment, he had wanted to blame her for their predicament, feeling so frustrated and vexed. But as he took in her benumbed state, pity and empathy gushed through him. He inhaled deeply and arched his head slightly back pressing against the wall, contemplating their dilemma.

Straightening up, he decisively and swiftly crossed over and sat beside her. Remus took her wounded hand in his, turning it over. "Here, let me," he offered, pointing his wand. Not waiting for her approval, he cast a Healing spell on it. The flesh slowly throbbed, and then the torn skin healed magically back together, sealing against any further blood flow.

Awkwardly, Remus scooted away from Nagini, resting his back against the high headboards of the rustic bed. Scrunching his eyes closed, he rubbed his face briskly; he then ran his fingers roughly through his hair. Frustrated and at his wits' end about the events of the past half-hour, his resentment was slowly rearing up again. But, this time, only at himself. It's all been a mistake... I'm to blame...

Reflecting, he had to accept that since Honeydukes, the evening had rapidly gone downhill. By now, any hopes for romantic endeavours had evaporated, and his only thoughts were to get them back safe and sound within the castle walls of Hogwarts. He knew enough not to push what was on, if not already over, the edge.

Remus gazed up at the sliver of a new moon seen through the small window and gave a deep sigh. He looked back at Nagini who had, by now, lain down on her side, turned away from him at the foot of the bed. He inhaled slowly. Her cloak had fallen back, exposing her rounded hips covered by a clingy black skirt. Her mercurial hair had fallen down and was spread loosely around her face and shoulders, accentuating her features. His eyes drifted slowly, taking in inch by inch her pleasing, feminine landscape of a body.

She's so lovely... her body is so... Remus swallowed hard, and looked away. He had a mad impulse to wrap himself around her, comfort her, kiss her, touch her...

Remus jerked his head up at the moonlight and exhaled impatiently. Resolved, he informed, "We'll wait a bit to make sure they've gone to wherever they're going. And then... we will leave. I know another secret way to get us safely back to the castle."

Nagini didn't respond. After a few seconds of silence, he heard her frail voice apologetically eke out, "I'm sorry... so sorry for everything. You must truly hate me."

Remus blinked hard. "Hate you?"

"For leaving you like that... running away... being so cowardly."

Having now met Rodolphus up close in person, several unsavoury scenarios of what her uncle would've done to her, if Lestrange had actually caught Nagini with him, flashed through Remus' mind.

"You had to... it was far too dangerous otherwise. It's what you had to do."

She slowly rolled over and languidly propped herself up, sitting up against the footboard, gazing in guilty turmoil at the sandy-haired Gryffindor. "I heard what they called you; how they insulted you." Her golden eyes were glistening, on the verge of tears.

"'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me'," quoted Remus wryly. Seeing Nagini's credulous, round-eyed reaction, he smirked slightly, "An old Muggle saying." He took a moment to contemplate the pureblood witch's perplexed expression and felt an uncontrollable impetus to reveal, "My mother was a Muggle-born witch."

Remus forced a smile, and astutely continued, "A Mudblood."

Nagini felt her cheeks burn, ashamed, having freshly experienced the vicious, belittling intent of the word herself. She stared wide-eyed at him, embarrassed and disconcerted. "How... how can you be so calm about that word? How can you bear to use it so flippantly? Knowing what it represents?"

He snapped, "It represents nothing!" Remus saw that she felt painfully abashed, and he clarified, "Only if I give it meaning, power to the word... which I choose not to. It's that simple, Nagini."

Nothing's that simple, Remus...

They stared at one another. Their emotions were surging and raging, ready to erupt, precarious and volatile.

Nagini lowered her eyes and stared at a dingy spot on the tatty bedspread. Her thoughts raced on what she had overheard: the insults Remus had had to endure downstairs. Quietly, she asked, "Why do they taunt you so? Why do they repeatedly call you that? Regulus, Walden..."

"What?"

"A beast."

A shrewd smile appeared on Remus' face, only belied by his brow furrowing in grim contemplation and his eyes darkening. He said nothing.

"Even Severus called you a beast... and a coward."

At the reminder of Snape, the jealous pang winced sharply through Remus' again. Something snapped. "If you wish to know the inner workings of Mr Snape's mind," quipped Remus sarcastically, "then it is best you ask him directly. You certainly seem intimate enough to do so."

Ignoring his innuendo, exasperated, she pleaded, "I don't want to hear it from Severus; I want to hear it from you, Remus!"

Nagini saw an odd look come across Remus' face. He peered at her, a smouldering flame in his eyes. But she kept his gaze, willing, demanding that he give her an answer.

Abruptly, Remus politely smiled and then civilly answered, "Because that's what I am, Miss Lestrange.

"I am a beast and a coward."

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A/N: Greatest thanks and appreciation to my wonderful betas: blue artemis & agnus castus!