Chapter 42: Lycanthropy

Remus Lupin was sitting in his room studying.

He had been a prefect for a year now, and in his fifth year, it wasn't easy to control James and Sirius from getting him into too much trouble.

Being a prefect was very difficult with his friends being so troublesome, but luckily Lily helped a lot to control them.

And he could now even start his 6th year at Hogwarts with peace of mind for the first time knowing that his friends had promised Lily no pranks for 4 months, which gave him a good amount of peace of mind.

He knew Lily very well, the two of them had become very good friends and he knew better than anyone that even though she had mixed feelings for James, she was still very angry with him and Sirius for their constant pranking.

Remus could guess why Lily agreed to go to lunch with James even though she was still angry and it wasn't as Sirius thought because she liked him.

Well maybe there was a bit of truth to it, Lily was indeed attracted to James, but he always ruined everything with his immature behavior which only made her pull away from him.

Anyway, the real reason was that Lily wanted James and Sirius to leave Severus alone.

It was so obvious to him, no matter how much she hid it.

She had done a pretty good job of ignoring him and making it seem like she didn't care about him at all anymore.

But Remus could see through her stratagem, that her kindness and feelings for Severus were too strong for her to stop caring so suddenly.

And the best way to help him indirectly was with that meal she had promised James.

With that alone, she had already given her ex-friend four months of peace of mind.

And he could understand her, which was why he didn't tell James and Sirius the real reason she'd agreed to that dinner.

Besides, it wouldn't be any good to do such a thing, it would only frustrate his dear friend James who was already very excited after finally getting a meal with the girl he always liked.

'Pffff, poor James if he thinks Lily already thinks of him that way, knowing her she must still want to curse him for his stupidities, but no doubt in a few years she'll manage to forgive him at all, especially now that we're all in the Order of the Phoenix together, it's James' best chance to start getting closer to her and maybe start maturing along with Sirius' laughed Remus at what he was thinking.

'Right, as if it's possible for Sirius Black to mature, I love him dearly, but no doubt that's not going to happen, as for James, well, he's already starting to show that he's changing and maturing, that's all thanks to Lily, James is always trying to be right with her, it's fun to watch, he's too much in love, hopefully, they can end up together' Remus thought with a smile.

Then his smile turned sour as he looked out his window at the sky.

Remus sighed as he checked the calendar where every full moon he could get was listed along with every transformation he went through.

He couldn't stay depressed for long as his mother called out to him.

"Darling could you please come downstairs, I have a surprise that I'm sure you're going to love," said Mrs. Lupin who looked excited and extremely happy.

"A surprise, what could it be?" Remus mumbled thoughtfully, he couldn't understand what surprise his mother would give him that had her so happy.

"What is it mother?" asked Remus from his room.

"Oh no, no, nothing like that, Remus Lupin come down and see for yourself," Mrs. Lupin told him.

Sighing and shrugging his shoulders Remus went downstairs without much hope for whatever this supposed surprise his mother had.

Remus went to the living room where his mother was.

When he entered he saw her standing there looking at him with an extremely happy and smiling expression.

She seemed very excited about what she was about to give him.

"This..., mother then, what is it?" asked Remus a little nervous that he wasn't interested in the surprise she had in store for him, he didn't want to frustrate his mother, she seemed so happy with whatever it was she was about to give him.

But he was never good at disguising happiness, so he knew his mother would notice if he wasn't interested in this supposed surprise she had for him.

"Here," she handed him today's Daily Prophet newspaper.

Remus looked at her confused for a few moments but decided to say nothing and grab the paper.

"This... Thank you?" thanked Remus hesitantly not knowing what else to say to his mother, he never expected her to hand him the paper as a surprise, now that was something new.

"Oh in Merlin's name, Remus, read the paper," said his mother looking at him as if he was a fool.

Remus said nothing and read what was written in today's Daily Prophet.

First, he looked at the pictures on the cover and found one of the persons in the picture who was receiving two awards vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it.

He read that a person called Severus Prince had won a potions competition and also a Gold Medal of Merit in the USA, but all this wasn't something he really cared about.

'Well if it was the Severus I know, that might be a surprise' Remus thought amused at the idea of Snape winning all those things.

'Yeah, Sirius and James would go mad if that happened' laughed Remus softly at the thought.

Finding nothing at first glance that interested him from the paper, Remus skipped over the articles that explained the various events the paper named and then looked at his mother who was looking at him expectantly as if expecting a big reaction from him.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself and put on the best fake smile he could.

"Thank you, mother."

His mother looked very confused at his reaction.

'I knew it, I couldn't fool her even if I tried my best' Remus sighed defeated.

"What a poor reaction son, you should be extremely happy, for Merlin, it's the best news we could have had in our entire lives," his mother said excitedly.

"I..." before Remus could express his thoughts and apologize to her, his mother continued speaking.

"At last, there is a cure for Lycanthropy and that's your reaction, this is something unique Remus, you won't have to suffer every full moon anymore, well it may not cure Lycanthropy but you certainly won't have to worry about transforming anymore, dear" his mother began to say quickly trying to get Remus to understand how important the potion was that the young Prince he had just read about had created.

But Remus only heard part of what his mother said as he was shocked as soon as he heard the part about the supposed cure for Lycanthropy.

Quickly Remus grabbed the paper again without paying attention to what his mother kept saying and read carefully everything it said this time.

As he read his complexion instantly turned pale and his eyes widened in shock.

Shaking her head repeatedly she began to mutter, "Impossible, it can't be true...I don't believe this... It's not possible... It can't be...?"

"Remus, honey, what's wrong with you," Mrs. Lupin looked worried. "What are you talking about? This is incredible news, we have to celebrate."

Speechless, Remus looked at his mother with teary eyes understanding that this really wasn't a dream and that it was really happening.

Finally, his lifelong dream was fulfilled.

What he wanted most in the world had happened, someone had managed to create a potion that would help him with his illness.

He was going to be able to live like a normal person.

"Mum, Th-This...This...I..." Remus gasped and cried.

"I know son, I know," his mother replied with a big smile as she hugged him comfortingly, making him cry with her in happiness.

Wiltshire, England, 11 July 1976.

Wiltshire is in the southwest of England, and one of the most powerful families in Britain: the Malfoy family manor is located there.

Malfoy Manor is a huge, gloomy mansion.

The current owner is Abraxas Malfoy, one of the most powerful people in Britain today.

And even though the British magical world is currently in a bloody storm due to Voldemort and his death eaters, the Malfoy's were just as calm as ever as if the war that was going on in the shadows of the country would not affect them in the slightest.

Well, that was how it had been until today.

Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black were quietly enjoying their breakfast in each other's company.

A few moments later the Malfoy's and Black's royal owls arrived to deliver today's courier to both of them.

They both grabbed their correspondence and began to read quietly and elegantly like typical nobles.

Narcissa read some letters she had first, while Lucius went on to read the news in today's paper first, as all Malfoy's were wont to do.

The most important thing for a Malfoy was to always be informed so they wouldn't be caught by surprise, they should always be aware of everything.

That was what Abraxas Malfoy taught his son Lucius.

After a while, Lucius began to read the parody and Narcissa noticed how his face frowned and his eyes widened in surprise.

Something quite unusual for a Malfoy who was always refined, no matter what the situation.

"Lucius, is everything alright, what happened?" asked Narcissa, knowing that it must be something very important for him to react like that.

Lucius seemed to react to what Narcissa said and quickly recovered, returning to his elegant and calm posture.

Then, without replying, he picked up the Daily Prophet and passed it to Narcissa calmly.

Narcissa took the paper in confusion and began to read.

After a while, her eyes widened in shock.

"That idiot!" she muttered, but Lucius apparently heard her.

"I agree with you, apparently our dear Severus is not only on the other side of the ocean but he's also doing quite a few things...very showy," Lucius said calmly as he grabbed his cup of tea and drink with elegance and calmness, almost making it seem like he didn't care in the slightest about the situation, but Narcissa knew him and knew that he was just as shocked as she was.

They both knew that Severus was a half-blood of the noble Prince family, so the moment they read "Severus Prince" they knew that the young man in the photos was none other than the Severus they knew.

They knew that the only possible heir to the Prince family was him.

And Lucius even tried to help Severus get his family inheritance, but he couldn't do anything since Severus didn't have the family ancestral ring and he didn't know where it could be either.

So he was simply a hopeless case.

'Looks like that smart arse somehow got his family's ancestral ring and inherited his legacy."

"By Merlin, I never would have thought this would happen" sighed Narcissa trying to calm the fury she had at the idiocy her young friend had done.

"Yes, I must say I was taken by surprise myself," replied Lucius.

"Lucius, what are you going to do when your father finds out?"

"Oh, I'm sure he's already aware of this, now I'm sure he's just waiting for me to be as well."

"Sounds like it's going to be a... complicated conversation," Narcissa said.

"And it will be, I don't doubt it, but there's not much I can do about it now. Now we just have to wait and see how the Dark Lord reacts..."

"I know, you need say no more," Narcissa said worriedly.

'In Merlin's name, Severus, if your intention was to hide from the Dark Lord or even Dumbledore, this was not the way' Narcissa complained internally.

"You needn't be so worried Narcissa, my father never quite included Severus to be part of the Death Eaters, so the Dark Lord is likely to be the first time he's heard of him," Lucius reassured her.

"Yes, but even so, this news will not please the Dark Lord at all and if he finds out about it, not only is Severus at risk, your father is too for not mentioning him sooner," Narcissa commented, knowing that Severus had just dropped a bombshell on the entire magical world that would make a huge explosion.

'If you want to get over or impress Lily this wasn't the way Severus!' Narcissa grumbled in her head again, she naturally didn't approve of Severus' love for that mudblood.

But she could never get Severus to see reason on the matter, Severus' devotion to the mudblood Evans was unwavering, even though from Narcissa's perspective the Evans girl treated him like a house-elf who did whatever she asked and was constantly after her for her services.

When Narcissa found out that Severus and Evans were no longer friends, she was extremely happy for her friend.

But when she found out the reason behind it all, she nearly threw up from how much her stomach churned with anger, disgust, disappointment, sadness, and worry.

News had reached her that Snape had practically begged the bloody mudblood, he'd gone so far as to wait for her outside Gryffindor tower for many hours, enduring teasing and insults from everyone.

He had lost all decorum as a Slytherin, he was a disgrace to his house.

And although Narcissa was disappointed and angry with Severus for this, she didn't blame him, she knew that in his eyes that mudbloood was everything.

If there was a culprit it was the little mudblood Evans, she was convinced that it was all her fault.

The only thing that mudblood Evans did right was to keep Severus away from her constant manipulations.

Narcissa still laughed at the fact that he had begged her for forgiveness, but she had nodded when Severus had always forgiven her instantly no matter the situation and usually he even ended up apologizing even though she was the one who had said or done the wrong thing.

All because he didn't want to lose mudblood Evans, he was a despicable idiot for stooping so low.

But Narcissa couldn't help but admire Severus' mind despite all that, the cunning he had, his ability to learn and see things from a perspective so different from everyone else's, he was unique.

And above all, he was a great friend who, unlike all other men, was never interested in her or wanted to approach her with ulterior motives.

While Narcissa thought all this over, Lucius processed it all for a few moments.

The news had shaken him badly and he hadn't been able to finish processing all the consequences of the whole thing.

It was then that Lucius quickly found the silver lining in all of this.

'If my Father loses favour with the Dark Lord, it will be my time to act quickly to re-establish the primacy of the Malfoy name in the Dark Lord's eyes, I could be the next head sooner than I had planned' Lucius thought with a faint smile that confused Narcissa.

"Don't worry, this situation may benefit us, for now, it's best to stay out of it and just be bystanders. My father will have to deal with this problem, but it doesn't affect us, so you can rest assured," Lucius told her.

Lucius planned to make the most of the golden opportunity before him.

'My father had already lived a long and full life as the head of Malfoy house, it's time for a new generation to replace him' Lucius thought with stars in his eyes and a faint smile.

While Narcissa was still worried about Severus.

She quickly grabbed a letter and began to write to him in anger and worry.

Lucius on the other hand was not worried about Severus.

He had come to appreciate Severus and share like-minded thoughts, the little Slytherin was great company and over time they had come to get along and trust each other.

But still, they were both Slytherins and he knew Severus understood that he wouldn't risk his skin for him, just as he didn't expect him to either.

It was a golden rule between them and it kept their friendship going.

They both benefited from each other and when the opportunity arose they supported each other, and if it was a problematic situation, each had to handle the situation in their own way.

As with Potter and his group, Lucius never intervened because it was up to Severus to overcome those problems, but he did help him to integrate into Slytherin and gain contacts that would allow him to move forward.

Just as the young Severus had helped him in more than one situation with his incredible ideas and accurate recommendations.

It was the perfect relationship, and although Lucius despised the fact that Severus was in love with a mudblood, he hadn't decided to intervene in it.

It was her problem and he knew he didn't react well if he said anything against her, so Lucius never mentioned her so as not to anger his friend.

But he was certainly happily glad to hear that the friendship between Severus and the mudblood was over.

He was annoyed by the situation and how Severus reacted, but it was certainly made up for by the fact that Evans was no longer in Severus' life.