Chapter 2: Plight of The Diseased

Someplace Else, Plain of Hircine...

Rivers of blood ran all around as the beast recalled the glorious visions of the hunt. The sound of fresh flesh ripped asunder between the sharp ivory teeth as the slick crimson of blood oozed into its savage mouth. Obsidian eyes gleamed with the thrill of the chase. Its heart beat thunderously in its massive ebony chest. A mane of lengthy lank raven hair fell around its animal face. It had been free. So very free among brothers in the fields of golden wheat and the scent of death like that of home as it ran a muck.

Low growls of play could be heard as the beast ran free from the confines of its flesh prison. Home. This place was home and here it was free. There had been no mortals to try and bring it harm nor witches or wizards in its midst. Another scent caught its attention. Something of a fragrance more potent than death. Jasmine. The overwhelming scent of jasmine. The beast recalled the female had its scent. It licked its lips in a bid to taste the air around it.

The large black tongue as long as its snout lapped at the open air. Sweet. It had tasted rather sweet. The warmth from a soft touch had gotten its attention. From the prison of flesh, the beast could see every morsel that paraded itself in view. Their fragile hearts and weak pulses were like tantalizing music to its ears.

The annoying ticking of the wall clock had also gotten the creature's attention. The urge to rip it from the wall and tear it apart with ready teeth filled him. More scents. More heartbeats. He could almost hear the blood gripping through their veins. it was all maddening. He wanted to get free. He needed to get free. So much flesh. The urge to hunt was strong the beast would do all that he could to get out still struggling against the confines of his prison.

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The Infirmary, Hogwarts...

The obsidian eyes of Severus Snape opened to find that he had once again been in the Hogwarts infirmary. He had been bandaged and draped in mountains of blankets. Sweat poured off him in waves and his raven hair had been soaked with it. The Potions Master gasped for a breath of air as he shifted kicking the heavy covers onto the cold floor below. He had not known why someone would be fool enough to nearly smother him with covers, but he was glad they were finally off him as more sweat came pouring off him.

Images of a young girl with long red hair and emerald green eyes seemed to haunt him as he continued to sweat. She had the most ghastly expression on her young face and pointed at something in the distance with snarling teeth. His heart rate increased further and the overwhelming sense of thirst returned.

Madam Pomfrey must have sensed that he had been awake because she ventured into the room with a glass of water and cast a few cooling charms on him. She spelled the blankets to fold themselves and sit on the end of a nearby empty bed. Snape greedily drank down the water and she repeatedly spelled more to fill the glass when he had emptied it. He had not known what was going on with his body but he was damn sure going to find out once he was well enough to investigate.

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Later...

The Infirmary, Hogwarts...

Remus Lupin had returned to the infirmary his mind had been racing filled with the events that lead up to Snape being attacked by him in his werewolf form. He knew firsthand that becoming a werewolf was a likely possibility for the dour wizard and he feared the man's reaction once he recovered. The obsidian eyes of Severus Snape opened after the overwhelming scent of a wet dog filled his nostrils. He shifted uncomfortably in bed in a bid to rid himself of the scent.

The worried brown eyes of Lupin studied him intently.

Snape let out an involuntary deep and feral growl. Lupin backed up shaken by the confirmation he had been searching for. It was only a matter of time before Snape awoke and when he did he would not be happy.

The Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor took his leave of the ailing wizard knowing the worst was yet to come for the dour man. He could only imagine what the poor wizard was to endure as the disease spread throughout his already battered body.

With Lupin gone Snape drifted off again as images seemed to flood the mind of his past and the strange plain were-beasts inhabit. The moon had been as red as a ruby in the distance and howling filled his ears.

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Much Later...

Snape awoke to find that he had been quite itchy. He had not known when it began or why but he was itchy all over and the blood in his veins continued to boil. Madam Pomfrey had tended to him believing the itch was caused by his rapidly healing wounds. She relieved him with a strange brush but he felt as if it had not been enough. To him, it was as if his flesh was crawling.

He had no concept of time but the believed it to have been more than a few days with night and day shifting each time he opened his eyes. It further surprised him that Hermione Granger had returned with the thick scent of jasmine accompanying her. Her amber eyes studied him like before and the sadness in her was nearly palpable.

"I'm so sorry Professor," she said sadly. "This is all my fault...if I had just tried harder to stop Harry then none of this would have happened."

Snape said nothing as he shivered from the chill that filled him. He found it quite annoying that he had been covered with several large blankets and a warming charm but the chill persisted. His raven hair had been dripping from the sweat that accumulated over the short period of time since Poppy had changed his bandages and bedding.

"If only I had stopped him then Professor Lupin wouldn't have infected you," she said.

Snape had been confused by her words. Infected? What was this silly chit going on about? Who is infected and what does it have to do with Lupin? The Potions Master had been so exhausted that his eyes closed once more.

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Even Later...

It felt like he had been lying in the center of an iceberg. His body shook and shivered involuntarily as he tried in vain to bury himself beneath the covers. Visions of something in the dark had gotten his attention. He did not know whether to attribute the images to his illness or shadows in the dead of night. One thing was clear, he had not been in any condition to investigate it further.

A beast of a man clad in ebony fur with a raven mane came stalking up to him. It bore its teeth and snarled viciously as it approached. Obsidian met obsidian as it stepped close enough to bite his head off. The voice of the father of man-beasts rang out in his ears.

"You have been chosen...mortal...Severus Snape," it said. "The hunted becomes the hunter...the prey becomes the predator."

With a rich and hardy bellow of laughter, the voice rang out once more.

"You have eluded me for far too long...Severus Snape." it continued. "But I applaud you...it is quite the honor being "The prey of The Prince...and as for your reward in such a sporting spectacle I grant you the power of Alpha...use it well."

The voice faded taking the warmth of its father-like appeal with it and Snape was back to being alone in the coldness of the infirmary. Whatever this was it was starting to wear on his last nerve. Before he could fall asleep the intense itching returned to wreak havoc once more but Madam Pomfrey had long since gone to bed and he was much too weak to do anything about it.

Unable to do much of anything in his condition Snape closed his eyes and prayed for sleep. When he finally did drift off he had lost all track of time.

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Common Room, Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts...

Hermione Granger had been tossing and turning in bed all night. The images of the gory incident had left a lasting impression on the young witch's mind and invaded her dreams. She woke up screaming in the dead of night only to be comforted by her sleepy roommate until she was fit enough to go back to sleep. She couldn't shake the images of the moon and the beast snarling in the darkness. Its sharp teeth were exposed and the murderous intent in its eyes. Tossing and turning Hermione found herself once again standing behind Professor Snape as he stretched his arms in a bid to keep the beast from reaching her. She could hear the thunderous beat of his heart and see the flickering emotion behind his obsidian eyes.

The witch awoke once more in a pool of sweat but this time she had not yelled out. She simply borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak and made her way out of Gryffindor tower to see the professor. As she stalked the long darkened corridors she came across a very frantic Remus Lupin and a calm Albus Dumbledore.

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The Corridors, Hogwarts...

Remus Lupin paced still frantic about what he had discovered when he visited the Potions Master. He believed that he had inadvertently passed along the lycanthropy disease to the dour wizard and that in a matter of days he would become a full-fledged werewolf much like himself. The Headmaster simply shrugged it off as if it had been no big deal. Much as he had done when he nearly attacked a 16-year-old Severus as a result of Sirius' underhanded maneuvering.

"I'm telling you, Headmaster," said Lupin. "He's going to transform at the instant of the next full moon."

"That's 28 days from now Remus," said Dumbledore in a pleasant tone. "A lot can happen between now and then...besides there is no definite proof that he has become as you are."

"I know the signs," said Remus. "Severus is going to become a monster during the next full moon much as I am."

"You're too hard on yourself Remus," said Dumbledore. "You had no control over your actions that night."

"I should have taken my Wolfsbane potion," said Lupin angry with himself. "If I had then maybe Severus wouldn't be in this mess."

"You really seem to care for him," said Dumbledore. "Don't tell me that you two have suddenly become the best of friends."

"Look all I want is for him not to have to endure the pain and constant torment that I have for all these years," said Lupin. "It is something that I would not even wish upon my worst enemy."

Dumbledore sighed and placed a hand on the distraught Professor's shoulder.

"I know this is hard on you Remus," he said sympathetically. "But we have no way of knowing for sure how best to proceed and there is no need to beat yourself up over things you cannot change."

"He doesn't deserve this," said Lupin sadly.

"We very seldom get what we deserve in this life Remus," said Dumbledore. "Severus of all people knows this...but the fact remains...had he not been the one you attacked that night...then the entire wizarding world would have been at the dark lord's mercy by now."

Lupin nodded still not pleased that Dumbledore would do nothing least of all punish him.

"I suppose I should prepare for when he awakens." He said. "No doubt he'll have questions soon and my experience should be of use."

"That's a good man," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "We all do what we must."

Hermione watched as the two older wizards took their leave and headed back toward the common room. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Professor Snape was going to turn into a werewolf. He would be prowling the halls of Hogwarts just like Professor Lupin. Given the Potions Professor's usual nature she wasn't sure that anyone would be safe once he got on his feet. The young witch recalled the shame and anguish that filled Professor Lupin about his werewolf status. He resented it more than everyone alive resented Voldemort. How was Professor Snape going to deal with all of this? She couldn't imagine that he would be too happy about it.

In fact, he might very well take his vengeance out on poor Professor Lupin.

This was shaping up to be one bad situation.