Chapter 22

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks to June for her help with the beta work.

Chapter 22

Several days had passed since the incident with Bellatrix. The children were back to their routine, and Raven had been scrubbing cauldrons after classes for almost an entire week. Severus had told him he would be doing cauldron duty until the end of the school year, but he planned to mainly let him stew. Another few days and he would consider the lesson learned and allow his son his freedom back.

Hermione went to the Ministry over the weekend and found several parchments with more information on the Holy Grail. Together, she and Severus worked out a formula combining the current Wolfsbane Potion along with the melted down silver paw. As the Wolfsbane was being heated they added two star anise and two drops of adder venom, topped off with one small mistletoe berry. The modified potion simmered for five days on a low fire; then they added two leaves from the stalks of the mistletoe. If the leaves were collected just before the berries formed, they produced a medicinal effect, thus counteracting the poison of the berry and the adder they had placed in several days before. That along with the properties of the paw would certainly help keep the poison levels down. It took two weeks to finish, but in the end they were rewarded with a syrupy silver liquid.

"It looks almost like unicorn blood," commented Hermione, as Severus poured it into the bottle.

"Let us hope it does not have the same effect," Severus said as he put a stopper on the bottle. With a flick of the wand, the workspace was clean and tidy once more. "Shall we?" Severus asked as he held out his hand to his wife.

Hermione nodded and they both walked out the door. They walked hand-in-hand to the gates of Hogwarts, then Apparated into Hogsmeade.

Earlier in the week, Hermione had flooed Remus and asked him to meet her and Severus at the Three Broomsticks. As they approached the meeting place, she and Severus walked for a while in silence, each one wondering what Remus' reaction would be.

"Do you think he will take the risk?" asked Hermione as her eyes looked ahead.

"I would," Severus answered, as he squeezed her hand and looked down at her. "If I had Remus' future ahead of me, I would."

When they arrived outside the Three Broomsticks, they looked at each other and took a deep breath, then walked in. Remus was sitting at a table near the far side of the small restaurant. He waved them over as he saw them enter. Hermione smiled and immediately embraced him. She held him longer than she usually did, which made him wonder if there was something wrong. Once he saw the somber look on Severus' face, he knew something had to be wrong.

"All right, what is it?" Remus asked as he let Hermione go and they all sat down. "You two look like they have just cancelled your subscription to the Potion of the Month Club." He chuckled, hoping it would lighten the mood.

Hermione smiled and looked at Severus, who cleared his throat.

"Remus, we have been working on a new potion for you," Severus announced.

Remus smiled as Severus mentioned new potion. "A new variation of Wolfsbane? Something perhaps a bit easier on the pallet?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, not really," Severus said as he looked at Hermione. "We believe it will cure you from your lycanthropy."

Remus' eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth several times before leaning back and shook his head.

"A cure?" Remus said with wonder. "Are you sure?"

"Somewhat," said Hermione.

Remus looked at her and cocked his head to one side. "And that means what exactly?"

"Well, to put it in plain terms," Severus took the small bottle filled with the silvery liquid and placed it in front of Remus, "this will either cure you, or kill you."

Remus felt a wave of excitement come over him. 'A cure, finally a cure,' he thought. But, there was a risk. He stared at the bottle. It baffled him how such an unassuming liquid could hold his future inside. He reached a shaky hand towards it and gripped it firmly. He wondered what would happened if he drank it down and it produced the latter effect that Severus had just informed him of. Remus thought of Tonks. They had been together for all these many years, yet he never wanted to burden her with being married to a werewolf. It had only been recently that the wizarding world really began to widely accept people like him, with no questions or prejudices. Then there was the issue of children. He wanted them so badly and so did she, but he could not take the chance any child of his would be born with the beast's genes.

What would happen to Tonks if he were to die? She was a beautiful woman, and still young. She could easily find someone else. But she loved him. She loved Remus so very much, that his death would break her heart. If he died, it would end his torment and pain. He felt so weak, so fragile during those days leading to his change, not to mention how he felt afterwards. As he aged his bones would weaken, and his skin would become so tender that it would hurt to even be touched. The wolf would eventually cause so much havoc on his aging body, that he would most likely die during a change. He would be found half-man, half-beast, dead and alone. What he would give to be able to just live a normal life. He stared at the bottle in his hands. Should he? Would he risk his life for something that even Severus wasn't sure of? He looked up at him and then to Hermione, and set the bottle down and ran his hands through his hair. He sighed heavily and then finally spoke.

"I don't want to do this here. Let's go to Hogwarts." Remus picked up the bottle once more and placed it in his pocket.

Then all three walked silently back to Hogwarts.

When they reached the dungeons, Remus followed Severus and Hermione to their rooms. Once there, they ordered tea and sat around the living room coffee table. Remus took the bottle from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Remus, would you like to floo Tonks? Maybe she should be here," said Hermione.

Remus shook his head. "No, I don't want her here. If I...well, I don't want her to watch me die. I can't do that to her."

"We don't know that will happen, Remus," Severus said as Hermione looked up at him, taking hold of his hand. "In fact, the more I think about it, the more I believe you will not die. At least, not from this potion. The key ingredient in the potion is silver. I melted down Pettigrew's silver paw..."

Remus held up his hand to stop Severus. "You what? Severus, are you mad? I lost my two best friends in the world because of that bastard. I want no part of him, none!" Remus yelled as he stood and walked towards the door.

"Wait, you need to know more about this paw!" Severus said as he stood and grabbed Remus' arm to hold him back.

Remus stopped and turned his head. He was angry. Knowing the hate he felt for Pettigrew, how could they make the potion to cure him by using anything from that man?

"That silver paw had a very important history, and one which I believe is the key to keeping you alive as this potion runs through your veins," Severus explained. "Please, let us explain it to you. If you still feel the same and wish to leave when we are finished then, we won't try to stop you."

Remus sighed and turned around. He sat once again on the armchair next to the fireplace and listened to Severus and Hermione explain to him the properties of the potion. By the time they had explained it all to him, he was amazed that they could have converted a potion that may have killed him, into something that would save his life. It was that paw, made from those coins, which in turn had been made from the Holy Grail, that would give him the chance to be a normal man once more. Ultimately, the paw had not truly belonged to Pettigrew or Voldemort.

"All right," Remus nodded. "Let's do this, then. How long will it take to know if I'll be okay?" He looked at his two friends sitting on the couch.

"Immediately. We should know as soon as you drink it. I imagine you will be in more than a little pain. It will reverse the effect of the bite you suffered as a child, and reform your werewolf genes back to human ones. Do you wish to take it in private?" asked Severus.

"No," Remus said, shaking his head. "But I'm sorry, Hermione. I would rather you not be here. You understand, don't you?" Remus hoped she would understand that he did not wish to be seen in so much pain by her. Perhaps it was just his manly pride, but if he was going to be in as much pain as Severus made it sound, he would rather not have the embarrassment of a woman watching him cry like a little girl.

"I understand. I think go look for Osiris and Crooks. They've been gone for a while. Merlin knows what havoc they might be causing." She stood and walked to Remus, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck." She smiled, and then left the two men alone.

"Well, bottoms up, as they say," said Remus. He picked up the bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed it on one gulp. He dropped the bottle as he fell to the floor.

Severus ran and knelt down beside him. "Remus!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I thought I uploaded this yesterday, I'm not sure what happened. I'll post another chapter tomorrow.