the marriage stone (Discontinued)

Chapter 54 Waking Moony

By Easter break Severus announced that he'd completed the Lycanthropy potion for Lupin. Harry greeted the news enthusiastically, sending off a letter to Sirius immediately and actually thanking Severus with a startling hug that had done little to placate the hormones that seemed to be running riot through his veins of late.

Things had been awkward between him and Harry since his jealous fit and the ensuing kiss, and he was grateful to have something positive to offer him, something to remind him of why being married to a Potion Master might not be such a bad thing. While the boy had not been distant or angry with him, he had been jumpy since than night, restless and nervous as if suddenly aware of a new dimension to their relationship that he didn't quite know how to accept just yet. He shied away from even a hint of flirtation, avoiding any conversation that might turn more intimate. The whole thing had set Severus on edge, and he was grateful for a temporary reprieve.

Most of the students vacated the school at the start of the Spring Break, leaving it fairly safe for Sirius to return. The two Weasley children remained behind, as well as Hermione. Draco refused to leave despite several letters from his mother asking him to come home. After their brief honeymoon, Charlie had returned to work in Romania, visiting only on the weekends when he flooed in to the private room Draco had been given in the castle. As McGonagall had pointed out, married students were not allowed in the dormitories, and as it would have been unsafe for Draco to live alone in Hogsmeade, Dumbledore had found him a private room that he could share with Charlie on the weekends, a fact that Draco accepted gleefully as a privilege denied the lesser beings in the school. Severus found the whole thing rather amusing.

Sirius arrived with Dumbledore the first morning of the break, entering Severus' quarters as Padfoot. The moment the door closed behind him, however, he shifted form and Harry raced across the room toward him, hugging him tightly in greeting. Severus merely watched the proceedings in annoyance. Who would think that there would come a time in his life when having Sirius Black in his private quarters would become common?

Black looked tired but excited, his blue eyes filled with an eager fire that in his childhood had warned of some new prank he was planning. Severus had to temper down the old mistrust that flared within him at the sight - it was unlikely that Black was capable of thinking of anything other than his werewolf at the moment. Judging by the twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes, Severus suspected that Black's and Harry's excitement was contagious.

Seeing Severus, Black nodded to him, for once remembering his manners. "Snape," he greeted. "The potion is ready?" The eagerness in his voice was almost painful to hear. Why did Gryffindors have to wear their hearts on their sleeves?

Severus nodded, glancing briefly at Harry who stood pressed against Black's side, one arm still around him, a bright grin on his face. Would that the boy would be so eager to greet him when he came through the door in the evening!

"We have a number of things to talk about first, however," he warned Black, motioning him to sit down. Black, Harry and the Headmaster joined Severus on the seats before the fire.

"One of the requirements of this process is that Lupin know the Animagus transformation," Severus began. "I know you did not have much time to practice it before he went feral."

But Sirius waved away his concerned with a swift shake of his head. "Remus already knew the required spells even if he'd never done them before. James and I managed the transformation on our own in fifth year, but Peter required more study than us. Remus is the one who helped him complete the transformation. He probably knows the theory and the spells behind it as well as I do - if not better. All he lacks is the practical application. We actually speculated at the time that if Remus became an Animagus, then transforming into an animal might disrupt his werewolf transformation and in essence cure him. But we soon learned that the Animagus spell does not work for a werewolf."