Werewolf in Disguise

In the present, Remus and Sirius had been taking turns sitting with Hermione. Granted, she didn’t need anyone to sit with her, but they felt better doing something. They had both agreed to let her wake up, before doing anything about what had happened while she was in the past. When Remus sat with her, he would contemplate his feelings as he traced lines on her face and arms and remembered his life with her. Back and forth he went between wanting the love they had back, and pushing her away in the hopes that she could find someone better. Sirius would talk to her about what he remembered and how different she was then compared to now. He told her over and over that as soon as the war was finished, she could go back to being the carefree woman they once knew.

“Well, Padfoot, I hope you’re right,” Remus said from the doorway.

“Bout what, Moony?”

“Her being carefree when all this is over. Hopefully, we all will be.”

“I’d like to think so. I’d like to think that when everything is over, the people that mattered to this war most, that sacrificed so much for good, could get something good themselves,” Sirius replied, giving Remus a telling look.

“Not again, mate, please don’t start.”

“I’m not starting anything, I’m just hoping for some happiness and love for those I care about. Otherwise, what are we fighting for?”

“Others, Sirius. We - us, Dumbledore, Snape, Hermione, Ron, and Harry especially - are doing what we’re doing for the sake of others, not ourselves.”

“Oh right, because without the damn prophecy you really think Harry would be doing this? Without Harry’s friendship, do you really think Hermione and Ron would have stood by him, doing all those life risking things, because they wanted to? Come on, Moony, no one is in this because it’s something they want to do.”

A third voice from the door entered the conversation, “You’re wrong there, Sirius, but I’m glad to know you agree with me on other things.”

“Harry, when did you get here? Why aren’t you in class?” Remus asked surprised to see him standing there.

“McGonagall got tired of us asking about Hermione so much that she said we could come back here and study. No one’s really concentrating much in class anyway. But you’re still wrong about me, Sirius.”

“What do you mean? Pull up a seat,” he offered, as they were all sitting around the bed.

“Prophecy or not, I would still want Voldemort dead, and I’d still want to be the one to do it,” he said solemnly, while sitting in the chair and watching the three others.

“But, why?”

“Simple, he killed my parents. He hurt Ginny. He killed Cedric, well Peter did, but he’s the reason why. He’s hurt or killed so many others, ruined their lives. He’s tried to take everyone I care about away or hurt me through them. Even if I’d never heard the prophecy I’d want him dead. Dumbledore made me see that. He said that, with him having heard part of it, and hunting me, and with my vendetta against him, that it’d make it likely one of us would kill the other in the end, no matter what.”

“Well, I never thought of it like that. Harry, I guess I’m just scared for you. I still want to keep you locked up and safe, instead of letting you go off and kill the most evil wizard of all time,” Sirius said sadly.

“Well, you’re right about the rest though. Everyone else that is in danger is that way because of me. Everyone that has given up their lives, has done so for me. Ron and Hermione especially. I know I couldn’t have prevented her from getting bitten, but…” he was cut off by Remus.

“But nothing, Harry,” he said, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You three are a team, a powerful team. I don’t think there’s anywhere they’d rather be then by your side. They’ve proven themselves to you more times than you can count. They deserve to be appreciated, not condemned for it.”

“I know that, Remus. I also know I’d be dead now if not for them and so many others. I would have died my first year without both of them. We went after him the first time to prevent him from stealing the Sorcerers Stone, because it’s the right thing to do, not because of a prophecy we didn’t even know existed.”

“And that, Potter,” came yet another voice, this one slightly shaky, “is why you’ll win. What the Dark Lord so desperately underestimates, will indeed be your ultimate power.”

“Severus, you should be lying down. Come over here and have a seat,” Sirius offered, surprising everyone as he stood.

“Um, thank you Black,” he said, giving Sirius a confused look as he took the chair. Sirius sat on the bed at Hermione’s head and lay his hand on her shoulder. “How’s she doing now?” Severus asked, a sense of unspoken connection between the three older men; each of who, in their own way, cared deeply for the witch, and knew more about her than anyone else.

“Fine, as far as we can…”

“She’s bleeding!” Harry yelled, jumping to his feet as the rest looked down.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other knowingly. “It will heal quickly,” Remus said as Sirius moved the covers down to her waist.

They performed a cleaning charm on her clothes and the sheets, but as Remus started lifting the blanket back up, Sirius started laughing. They all looked at him bewildered, when he tried talking through his laughter.

“N…nnn…ice shirt, don’t you think?”

Remus looked at it closely and his eyes grew wider, “Merlin, I forgot about that one.”

When Harry looked at her shirt he saw that it said “Magical Mayhem,” which he didn’t understand, but didn’t see anything funny.

“What are you two laughing at?” he asked, slightly annoyed. “And why was she bleeding?!”

“That shirt was mine. She and Lily used to camp out in our dorm on the weekends, because their dorm mates would throw parties and such. James and Lily were together by this time, along with, well, never mind. But they would borrow our clothes if they were locked out of their own room,” Sirius explained, still grinning.

“Oh, I see,” Harry said slowly, once again realizing that his best friend was spending time with his parents whereas he could not. Her shirt had changed many times in the span of the few minutes they had been talking, and Remus covered her up again.

“So, about the blood?” Harry asked again.

“There was a Hogsmeade weekend in April. We were all going separate directions,” Remus began, taking Sirius’ cue and leaving out the part about his relationship with Hermione, “when James and Lily were attacked by Death Eaters. By the time Hermione and I got there, Sirius was fighting another one. Basically, it became a small battle until Voldemort himself showed up.”

“Voldemort? Why?” Harry asked, no one paid attention to Snape’s dislike of the name and continued talking.

“It would appear he had heard about us, the Marauders and Lily and Hermione, and thought we should join him. He seemed to want James and Lily the most though. They refused and he tortured your father until Hermione stepped in,” Remus broke off.

“It’s still her story to tell, Harry, but know this, she saved us all that day. That was the first time your parents defied him and I daresay he wasn’t happy,” Sirius added.

“You’d be right in that assumption, Black,” Severus said quietly. “I believe he now wants Hermione dead almost as much as Potter. If it weren’t for her, he would have killed them that day and never lost his powers all those years ago.”

“So, Hermione has her own ‘saving people’ thing, and you almost let her get killed?” Harry asked angrily, not noticing that Snape had just called her Hermione.

“Yes. We tried to stop her, but she wouldn‘t listen. Just like now, her best friends lives were in danger and she saved them,” Sirius explained with a bite of his own that made Harry deflate slightly.

“Is that what happened to you, Severus?” Remus asked gently. “His memories returned and he remembered something he shouldn’t have?”

At this point, Harry really thought he should leave. He was battling with his sense of respecting people’s privacy and his own curiosity.

“No. His memories returned quicker then mine, and while I was still disorientated, he used legilimacy against me before I could stop him. He saw very little, but it was enough for him to know I had fooled him for many years. I believe his pride was hurt more than anything.”

“How did you escape?” Harry asked.

“Unlike some, I am not weak, Potter. I already had plans in motion due to Nagini.”

He handed Harry a piece of parchment from his pocket and said, “When the final battle approaches, say this in Parseltongue and she will be dead, no matter where she is.”

“Yes, sir,” he answered taking the parchment. As he walked away, he said quietly, but with grim determination, “I’m not weak either, sir. I may not be as good as you in some areas, but I’m not weak just because I can feel.”

He didn’t hear Snape say softly, “I agree.”

~~~~~~~~~

In the past, Hermione and her friends had worn themselves out and were now lounging in the common room. Sunday evening, Lily pulled her aside to show her something.

“What’s going on, Lils?” Hermione asked.

“Look,” she responded excitedly, “they’re matching pendants. You wear one and I’ll wear the other. I got them in Hogsmeade right before, well, you know, and now I think it was perhaps my own glimpse into the future.”

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked, taking one if the pendants and holding it up. It had a rather plain look to it, solid pale red, but with a beautiful teardrop shape, encased in gold around the back. When she turned it over, the back was solid with no defining marks at all.

“Well, I got them for us to share. They’re Oath Pendants, you and I make an oath to each other, and they’re stored in the pendants that we wear. They’re usually used for protection oaths.”

Hermione flung her arms around Lily, “This is amazing!” she said loudly. “Lily, this is perfect! You know I’ll take care of you no matter what and now we can make it an Oath.”

Lily laughed as they broke apart and said, “well, now the idea is that I owe you one. We have to make a potion, which we soak them in for exactly 10 seconds, then we cover them in our blood, kind of like muggle blood sisters, then say the oath, and it’s sealed!”

“Can we make the potion?”

“Well,” she started hesitantly, “I think we should ask for Severus’ help, since we need a third. Do you think he’ll help us?” Lily asked.

“I believe so. I’m so excited. Let’s go get him and then go to The Room and do it now!”

The got up hurriedly, kissing the boys as they walked by, and ran to search for Snape. Curfew was in an hour and they had no idea where to look.

“Well, I guess there’s always tomorrow,” Lily sighed 45 minutes later as they walked up to the common room having not found him anywhere.

The next morning in the Great Hall, Hermione and Lily were bouncing in their seats waiting for Severus to show up. They couldn’t wait until class to ask him, so they were going to ask as soon as he came down for breakfast.

“Severus!” Hermione squealed as he jerked his head toward her and groaned, watching the two Gryffindor princesses run up to him.

They each grabbed an arm and drug him back out the doors and to a secluded corner as he gave them a murderous stare. Almost everyone in the Great Hall and stopped to gape at the scene in front of them. Why would those two want ANYTHING to do with him? Granted, he was being left alone for the most part, both by the Marauders and the Slytherins, but no one thought they were friendly or anything. The most confused of the crowd, was the Marauders themselves.

“What the hell was that about?” James asked angrily.

“If he’s tricked them into liking him, I’ll..” Sirius started.

“Come on, you know they actually get along with him. We’ll just ask them about it when they get back,” Remus said intelligently, while he was silently wondering what his girlfriend was keeping from him.

“They better,” said Peter forcefully, “Marauders don’t keep secrets from each other, remember?”

They all nodded their heads in grateful agreement and finished their breakfast.

“What do you two want?!” Severus asked very angrily.

“Oh calm down, Sev,” Hermione began. “We need a favor.”

“What kind of favor? And don‘t call me that!” he asked, jerking his arms away from them both. “And what makes you think I would help you, Princess?”

“Cut the crap, Severus,” Lily said. “We already know you like us, so stop being so evil sounding for a minute and say you’ll help us.”

“Let’s hear it first. Then you can tell me what I get out of the deal.”

“Fine, we need help with a potion. It’s an oath potion, but since it takes blood, we need a third to help us, and you’re….well, you’re the only one we trust,” said Hermione, hopefully.

“Trust? Me? Are you both mental? Do you know what I could do to you?” he asked as his lip curled.

“Yes,” said Hermione and she knowingly glanced at his left arm, a glance that he did not miss. “But I know you won’t.”

“And if you help us, we’ll give you some of our potion tips. You can add them to your book from last year that I know you keep writing in,” Lily added.

“Ok, deal,” he said quickly, even he wasn’t too prideful to miss the chance to know what the girls used as little secrets in potions. “What do you need and when?”

“Here’s the list of ingredients we’ll need you to um, borrow for us.”

“And we’ll meet in the Room of Requirement at 9:00 tonight, if that works for you,” Hermione finished.

“Tonight? Not giving me much time, are you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the girls.

“Not up for the challenge?” Hermione asked cheekily.

“I’ll be there,” he growled and then walked off to the Great Hall. Grinning, Hermione and Lily followed.

“Where did you two go with Sni…Snape?” James asked, barely catching himself in time.

“We needed a Potions favor and he agreed to help us, that’s all,” Lily said sweetly as she kissed his cheek.

Later that night, in the Common Room, the girls couldn’t contain their excitement. They couldn’t concentrate on their studies and they kept looking at the clock.

“What gives you two?” Remus asked.

“What? What are you talking about, love?” Hermione asked as sweetly and with as much innocence as she could muster.

“Ok, now I know you’re up to something,” he said grinning. “What’s going on? What are you two so bouncy for?”

“You have to tell us, Gyps, it’s part of the code,” James said as the others nodded their heads in serious agreement.

“Ok, we’ll tell you when we get back. Remember, Sev is just doing us a favor tonight,” Hermione said.

“And as soon as we get done,” Lily added, “we’ll tell you about it.”

“Sev?! I think I’m going to be sick!” Sirius groaned.

“You’re supposed to be nice, Padfoot,” Hermione admonished.

“I am being nice, but only because of you two. I still don’t like him and I definitely don’t trust him. And do you have to call him, Sev?” he asked as he gagged and visibly shuddered.

“Hermione, it’s time to go!” Lily squealed in excitement.

“Be back soon, my boys!” she said as they ran out of the portrait hole.

“Why did you say you’d tell them?” Lily asked concerned as they walked to the Room.

“Because I have to, it really is part of this code of theirs, well ours now I guess,” Hermione explained as she looped her arm through Lily‘s. “But after we do it, there’s nothing they can say.”

They entered the Room to find Severus already over a bubbling cauldron and looking determinedly at the parchment they had given him earlier.

“So, you got everything then?” Hermione asked.

“Of course. Did you really think I wouldn’t?”

“Nope! We knew you would. We’re just curious as to how.”

“Let’s just say, there is a reason that I am in Slytherin.”

The girls just laughed and pulled out their pendants.

“Are you sure about this?” Severus asked, eyeing the pendants warily.

“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?” Lily asked.

“Because, the incantation you two plan on using, also extends to your offspring. You’ll be bound not only to each other, but to your children as well,” Severus explained, as though being bound to a child was a disgrace.

“I didn’t know that,” Lily said. “Hermione, I’ll totally understand if you don’t want to do this now.”

“What?! Of course I do! I have no problem taking care of you or your children.”

“Great, you can be their Godmother too!” she laughed as Hermione nodded vigorously. “Then we’re still on, Sev. How much longer?”

“You two should get ready. You both need solid gold knives.” he stated, when suddenly two knives appeared on the table by the cauldron.

“Now,” he continued, “give me the pendants and as soon as I put them in, you two will need to, um, slice your palms with a gash at least four centimeters long. When the blood is freely flowing, grasp the others pendant in your hand, then join hands and say the incantation. Think you can handle that?”

“Of course,” they both said eagerly as they handed him their pendants.

He held the chains and dipped them into the potion as both girls sliced their palms. Their breathe hissed through their clenched teeth, but to their credit, neither cried out in pain. After ten seconds he gave them the others’ pendants and they placed it in their palms with the back facing out. The pendants became covered immediately with blood and they clasped hands.

Hands joined they began their incantation simultaneously.

“I, Hermione Granger (Lily Evans), hereby pledge my self, my loyalty, my love, and my protection to you, Lily Evans (Hermione Granger). I will protect you with my life and those that live from you I will also protect. My life, I will willingly give to you, for your own life.”

Suddenly the pendants began to glow, a blindingly bright red light emitted from each. “Don’t let go!” they heard Severus shout as the light brightened even further and their palms began to burn. When both thought they could hold on no longer, the light faded and their hands fell apart.

“Now, exchange pendants, and place them around your necks,” Severus said, with a glimmer of pride in his voice. “Done as well as any Slytherin.”

“Thanks, I think,” Hermione said weakly as she stared at her now bright red pendant. The back that was once solid, now had an infinity symbol carved into it. “Why do I feel so funny?”

“I thought you researched everything, Princess. Did the great Gryffindor bookworms not even read about what they were doing, before doing it?” he asked sneering, then said softly, “I can see now why you agreed to it in the first place.”

“What are you on about, Severus?” Hermione asked tensely. She didn’t like not knowing things, especially something as serious as this sounded.

He sneered again and said, “What you two just did, is a form of Dark Magic. Giving your blood as an Oath with someone else’s blood. There’s good in it for the other, sure, but you made a binding Oath that, if you break it, will kill the other. Not only did you do this to yourselves, but to the next generation as well. Like I said, it’s a form of Dark Magic.”

“Oh, I see,” Lily said astonished.

“Oh well,” said Hermione, “what’s done is done and I still have no problem with it. I would like to know why I feel so weak, though.”

“You feel weak, Granger, because you are both too good for your own good. Good doing Dark is not to be taken lightly. You exchanged blood in a life bond, doing so drains magical energy. You’ll be fine by the morning, I assure you. Now, you both owe me something in return.”

“Right! Here you go, Sev,” Lily said, pulling a lengthy piece of parchment out of the pocket in her robe. “As many little tricks as we know, you now know. I even included adding Peppermint to a certain potion to counteract the side effects,” she said winking.

“Good night then,” he said as he turned and billowed out of the room.

The girls slowly walked back to their Common Room and slumped on the couch with the boys. They were very exhausted, but very happy. The boys were looking at them expectantly and finally, they relented.

“When we were in Hogsmeade last weekend,” Lily began, “I bought two Oath Pendants, one for Hermione and one for myself. Severus helped us make the potion, as our third, and we performed the Oath tonight.”

“YOU WHAT?!” came shouts from Remus and James. Sirius looked angry and very concerned, and Peter looked a bit lost.

“Don’t make such a big deal out of this. We knew what we were doing before we did it,” Hermione said testily. “And we don’t need lectures from you.”

Remus looked at her, still angry but also hurt, “you could have told us what you were doing. He could have done something to really hurt you two.”

“I trust Severus with my life, so jump off that ship already. What’s done is done and you can either be angry and upset about it, or not, it’s your decision to make. We did nothing wrong. Come on, Lils, let’s go to bed.”

And with that, both girls stomped upstairs to their dorm, leaving the fuming boys behind them.

“Um, guys, what am I missing?” Peter asked hesitantly.

“Severus made a potion and they took it. What’s not to get about that, Wormtail?” Sirius bit out.

“But what’s an Oath Pendant?” he asked more timidly, he really hated when the others were angry and took it out on them.

“I don’t know, but I doubt that’s as important as taking something that slimy Slytherin cooked up. Come on, let’s go to bed. Maybe they’ll see reason tomorrow,” James said.


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