The Shattering of Souls

well well.... here we are again. i\'ll make this short and sweet, as i know you don\'t come here to read these anyway. what i put forth here is not my own creation. only the plot and certain characters are. the rest belongs to j.k. rowling and i humbly prostrate myself at her feet for giving me fodder to amuse my imagination with. i promise that i will return them to their proper places when done. and i promise i\'m not making any money from this. i am merely playing to my heart\'s content. because i have no life.

i will put up my now standard and standing raunch and darkness warning. i really have no idea if anything will pop up in this, but one never can tell. just thought i should let you know.

if you read this and like, or have comments on how you think it might be better, please feel free to drop me a review and let me know. i do strive to make things better, and your help helps me. please. no flames, though. i will be forced to use them to roast your ass. i really do hate making the dragon jealous.

Chapter Thirteen: Confession is Good for the Soul
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The moon was sinking low in the sky as Remus made his way back to the house. He\'d spent the better part of three days in the woods, away from everyone else. The huge glowing orb was just now loosing some of it\'s fullness, a small sliver of the edge whittled away by the turning of the world. It was no longer a full moon, and it was once more safe for Remus to return to the house and the others. In his arms, he carried the chains that Severus had charmed with heavy spells and wards to keep him from breaking free while chained to one of the trees. That had been spelled, as well. How he hated this part of his life.

Upon arriving in Otherworld, he and Severus had sat down in private to discuss what course of action would be taken with the coming of the full moon each month. It had been decided, mostly through Snape\'s snarky attitude, that Remus should spend his nights when in full fur out in the forest, away from the rest of the group. The two of them had gone out and searched for just the right spot, just the right trees. Then they had carefully gone over the plans. Then Severus had brought forth that damnable length of chain and told him that there was no arguing about being locked to the tree. The spells had been added. The final test had come on the first full moon.

Remus and Severus had left the house before dark after the Wolfsbane potion had been taken, making their way to the selected spot silently. It had been awkward and degrading to have Severus slap the chains on him as if he were a common criminal, the man\'s infernal smirk wide and gleeful in the face of Remus\' degradation. The Potions Master had left him there in the vast loneliness of the quiet forest, then grinned evilly at him upon his return. Remus hated this part of his life with a passion unmatched by anything he knew.

He understood why Snape wanted him so far from the house and it\'s inhabitants. That Severus had never gotten over his near death brush with Remus\' wolf form was obvious in the form of the sneering manner with which the dark man treated him. And Remus had apologized to him. On countless occasions. But it had done no good. Severus still treated him with arrogant disdain.

Remus found at times that he admired in Severus his ability to present the world with his most spectacular \'fuck off\' attitude. The man had the amazing talent at giving the cold shoulder to each and every person of his acquaintance in equal measure. He showed no more or less dislike for anyone he knew or met. He didn\'t play favorites, as it were. He simply despised everyone with the same amount of passion. Remus was stunned by the ease with which he thumbed his nose at the general populace without a care for what they thought of him in return.

Severus was an absolutely brilliant man, in possession of a vast quantity of knowledge that he refused to fully share. Yes, he was a teacher. A Potions Master. But he hoarded his scholarly information in a miserly fashion. He taught his students only that which they needed to know to survive in the world after graduation. If the man wasn\'t so embittered, the good he could do for the Wizarding Community would be astronomical. But the man was hopelessly set in his ways. An infuriating git to the end.

He wished at times that he could behave in so callous a manner.

Heaving a sigh, Remus dropped the chains to the ground. They hit with a dull thud that shook the area immediate to his feet. He settled down to sit on the nearest protrusion from the ground. A large rock welcomed his bottom onto it\'s hard surface by jabbing a bulbous portion of stone into one of his bum cheeks. It was an uncomfortable position, but he wasn\'t ready to go in quite yet. He had so much to occupy his thoughts that he didn\'t wish to leave the solace the outdoors offered just yet.

So much was confusing, even though he was a terribly level headed person. He still had not figured out what Severus was up to. Each day in the man\'s presence was infused with a font of new information. While he didn\'t think Snape felt anything other than hate for Bri Wallace, it was clear to him that Severus was attracted to the young woman on a level that surpassed mere revenge. He could smell the lust that was boiling beneath the anger. Severus\' personal scent changed almost daily. Remus couldn\'t be certain if that lust stemmed from honest desire for a woman who was obviously enamored of him, or if it welled up from a far darker spring.

It was common knowledge to most people who knew him that his days as a Death Eater had twisted something inside of him. That he was attracted to some of the darker things in life was no secret. So it was with a certain amount of trepidation that Remus watched this relationship develop between Severus and Bri. The girl had been through hell. Dumbledore had filled Remus in on the torture the woman had survived. And it was obvious that some of those tendencies were haunting Severus in his sleep. At the odd moment, Remus could look into those black eyes and see the darkness swimming beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to break out and take over. Remus was truly afraid that Snape would pick up where Malfoy had left off.

Perhaps, if Bri were not so confused, it wouldn\'t be so worrisome. But she had shown no signs of regaining her memory yet. Two more weeks had passed since their kiss, and there was no sign of improvement She mastered more of her magic every day. But who she was, what she was, was still locked deeply away in the recesses of her brain. Remus was afraid that Severus would not be able to hold the darkness at bay, and Bri would not be able to stop him in time. Because she cared about him, she would allow him to hurt her before she figured out that he was hurting her.

He was glad, though, to know that Bri seemed to be letting down her guard some. She was still wary with the others, but she would now talk to them without clinging to Snape\'s robes. She smiled at them, even managing to laugh at Bill\'s stories of his family. None of them missed the way she glanced at Severus when he wasn\'t paying attention and it was obvious that she felt more for him that could possibly be healthy for her. But she was now actively joining in with the entire group instead of confining herself to Snape\'s company.

A faint line of red painted the horizon, yet Remus still sat. He would sleep all day without a doubt, but he wasn\'t ready to return to his room just yet. His mind was a whirl of activity that would allow no rest. His concern for Harry grew daily. The boy was teetering on the brink of madness, and there seemed no way to help him back. It was disheartening to see his best friend\'s child sink so far into insanity. To be able to do nothing about it. It made him feel helpless. Useless. He hated that feeling.

He watched with growing alarm how the boy treated Izzy, and how the woman seemed to allow it. As if she deserved it. He\'d spoken with Bill about it once before, and the red head had mentioned that perhaps she was finding a way to pay for what she saw as her failure. A form of penance for not keeping Percy alive. Though why she would willingly suffer through such horrific treatment was beyond Remus. He could only shake his head at the manner in which she spent her days there. He and Bill both worried that she would let Harry move past using his fists to abuse her. And they didn\'t want to think of what they would have to do, should something like that happen.

He knew, for the moment, that there was nothing he could do about Harry. He\'d tried talking to him once before, and the boy had told him to piss off and let him be. Harry didn\'t want to talk about what was going on in his head. And for the moment, Remus had to respect that. But he\'d decided to keep an eye on Harry, to make sure the boy didn\'t go over board. It would kill Remus to have to see Harry to Azkaban or worse, dead, for something the boy did when Remus himself could have prevented it.

A faint scent wafted to his nose on the gentle morning breeze, dragging his attention away from his troubles for the moment. He knew the scent well enough. Tyler stood near by. He had, over the last few weeks, found her watching him almost constantly. She\'d worn this look on her face that told him she had something on her mind, but anytime he\'d tried to coax her into talking to him, she\'d turned around and left. He\'d found her behavior odd and completely without explanation. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he found Tyler standing behind him. A faint smile twisted her lips up, and that look he\'d noticed before was back. Silently, he patted the stone next to him and invited her to sit. He was surprised when she moved up and took a seat next to him. Her gaze went to the horizon. She remained silent for several moment, merely watching the sun lift slowly over the edge of the world once more. How many mornings had she spent doing the same thing?

\' It\'s a beautiful morning,\' she told him, scooting closer to him. He could feel the heat pouring off her in waves when her hip touched his. \' I love to come out here and watch the sun come up. It\'s a beautiful thing.\'

\' It is. What are you doing up so early?\' he asked her, turning his gaze back to the rising sun.

\' I am something of a night owl,\' she smiled. He could hear the smile in her words. \'Actually, I came out here to talk to you. I knew I\'d find you here.\'

\'How did you know that?\' he asked her, turning to look at her. She let her gaze linger on the rapidly lifting sun a moment or two longer, then gave it over to him. Her foot nudged the chain at his feet, rattling it.

\'This,\' she replied. \'Would you like to tell me about it?\' she asked him. She had seen him go off into the forests around the house more than once now, escorted by the dark, brooding man and carrying the chains. Remus would stay out in the midst of the trees for several days before returning, always by himself and always carrying the chain. On those nights, she had wanted to follow him and confront him. But his secreting himself in the woods gave one the impression he wished to be left alone, so she had never acted on her wants.

But she had seen him return this morning, looking even sadder than normal, and some part of her had demanded she go speak to him. A criss cross of frown lines marred the expanse of his forehead visible behind the short fringe of bangs that hung there. She had the urge to lift one hand to push them aside. He made her think of something small and helpless with the lost look he wore on his face.

She watched as he struggled with himself. She could see it plainly enough. His mouth turned down in a soft frown while his gaze moved to the chain. She had the feeling that he would love to toss it as far away has he could. She didn\'t miss how his hands flexed. He was obviously fighting some inner demon, and she felt and overwhelming desire to help him however she could. She lifted her lips in a soft smile, meant to coax him into confession. He merely stared at her a few moments before heaving a sigh heavy enough that she thought he might bear the weight of the world\'s problems on his shoulders.

\' I can\'t. It wouldn\'t be fair to you,\' he replied in a soft tone, his gaze moving back to the sun.

\'Why not? I can hold a secret better than most,\' her tone was light, but there was a hint of her own secrets in it, as well. He turned and gazed at her almost longingly. \'Please, Remus. I know you bear a terrible burden. I only ask you to share it with me. I will even tell you the story of how I came to be here,\' she offered him.

\' I don\'t wish to burden you with my problems, Tyler,\' he insisted, though the look in his eyes told another tale altogether.

\' I know you follow the moon\'s phases with more than just passing interest. I can easily guess your affliction. I only wish to hear the story from your own lips,\' she replied. She could see that he was startled by the look he shot her, then he heaved a sigh and looked away. \'Tell me how it happened, Remus.\'

The silence stretched between them as he gave his attention to the rapidly lifting sun. Around them, the morning was broken by the calls of greetings from the animals. They were waking to a new day and were joyously greeting their neighbors and loved ones. It was probably the one thing she liked most about being in Otherworld. The way the wilderness suddenly came to life in the mornings, as if the animals there just appeared from nowhere. So intent was she on listening to the waking creatures that she was startled to hear Remus\' soft voice break the quiet between them.

\' I was bitten when I was very young. I have been shunned for an accident not of my doing since then. This,\' he kicked at the chain with the toe of his shoe. \' Is a precautionary measure Severus is taking to make sure I can\'t harm anyone here.\'

\'You were bitten by what?\' she asked him softly, already knowing the loneliness and dejection he felt. She put a hand on his shoulder, some of the only contact she\'d seen him involved in since his arrival. She was pleased when he didn\'t try to pull away.

\'A werewolf. I have been haunted by that one twist of fate all my life,\' he replied, his voice grim and deeply troubled. When she didn\'t lift her hand away and run screaming, he turned and looked at her. The shock and surprise was evident in every line of his face. She smiled at him, happy that he had told her. She\'s known for some time that he was a lycanthrope, but she\'d never been able to figure out what kind. The scents got muddled, making it too hard to determine what animal smell he carried on his body. \'You aren\'t going to belittle me or rant or go into hysterics at all?\'

\'That would be very hypocritical of me now, wouldn\'t it?\' she asked him, her smile growing wider as she did so. He gave her a puzzled look, letting her know that he was confused by her last statement. She heaved a sigh and decided that now was the perfect time to let him in on her own secrets. \'Do you know how I came to be the Guardian of the Gateway to Otherworld?\'

\'No, I wasn\'t even aware that such a place exists,\' he replied, wondering at the sudden topic change.

\'Well, there are other Realms of Magic. The Mortal Realm isn\'t the only one. And, seeing as all magic stems from the same well, it is only logical that it all meets in one place. Here, in Otherworld. And someone needs to keep that balance. It is generally a person from the Mortal world that has magic, too. The last Guardian died suddenly, and Otherworld was left empty. Traffic backed up, as it were. That is why there was a sudden rise in the Darkness in your world some years ago.\'

\'There is another world for the Darkness?\' Remus asked, his words laced heavily with skepticism. Tyler chuckled and shook her head.

\'No, not another world. More like a place for the overflow. There is only so much Darkness that any world can hold. It flows and ebbs like the ocean\'s tides. It is the Guardian\'s duty to control the amount of Darkness moving from one place to another. If there isn\'t enough room for it, some of the Darkness is filtered to another place. Unfortunately, when there was no Guardian,\' she sighed and paused for a moment as she recalled the mess that had been made of Otherworld when she\'d been brought here. \'The gates were left to swing wide, and Darkness moved as it would. It was pure hell to clean up.\'

\'How did you come to be the Guardian, then?\' he asked, sounding genuinely curious now that Tyler had started telling her tale. She looked up at the sky, watching the dark of night give way under the force of the bright light. The near black was softening to deep blue, lighter blue, then a faint purple. The sun itself was ringed with reds, yellows, and oranges. It was a stunning sunrise, as it always was.

\'Professor Dumbledore brought me here,\' she told him, finally returning her gaze to his. He stared at her, entranced by the odd color of her eyes. \'He rescued me from a very bad situation. Knowing that there was no place in the Mortal realm for me that did not pose danger, he asked me if I would like to come here and be Guardian.\'

\'What kind of danger could there have been in the Mortal Realm to you?\' Remus asked, staring at her in dismay. The idea that anyone would want to harm such a sweet woman was reprehensible to him.

\' I was hunted for what I am,\' she told him, bowing her head. He could tell that whatever had happened was a terrible memory for her. She lifted her head, and he was shocked to see her eyes had changed from the odd green to a deep brown that looked completely animalistic.

\'And what are you?\' he heard himself asking, though he wasn\'t sure he really wanted to know. She smiled and blinked, and her eyes were once again that odd green.

\' I am a lycan, like you. To a degree,\' she replied. When the confusion on his face was to the point of being amusing, she continued on. \'I am a were but, unlike you, I can control my shifting. I can change at will. Being such a rare species of lycanthrope, I was hunted by any who wished to use me to their advantage. Professor Dumbledore found me in a pen, being held like a dog. He freed me and offered me refuge here. I happily took it.\'

\'You can shift whenever you like? You\'re not ruled by the moon\'s cycles?\' he asked, his eyes gone as round as saucers. She nodded at him, waiting for his reply. Remus studied her, shocked at what he had just heard. He knew there was such a thing as a shifter who could change at will, but he had never met one. They were a rare species, and the last known case recorded had been several hundred years ago in the wilds of Russia. To actually meet one was a shock, to say the least.

\' I am capable of shifting anytime of the month. I do not have to shift with the full moon,\' she told him. \'So you see, I can understand what you feel. How you feel. I know precisely what you are going through.\'

\' I knew that I smelled something..... different on you. I just couldn\'t name it,\' Remus told her with a smile of chagrin. She laughed, a truly joyous sound that he found soothing to him. He gave her a genuine smile, settling back into silence to watch the rising sun. He felt Tyler shift closer, pressing her body up against his. It was a comfortable feeling, and he allowed himself to slip back into the deep pool of his thoughts with her body soothing his.

~*~*~*~*~

Severus stared out the window at Lupin as the man sat on the stone in the light of the rising sun. It was obvious the man was lost in thought, even though the Guardian, Tyler, had joined him. The idea that Remus Lupin was caught up in the thoughts tumbling about his brain was not one that was foreign. The man had always seemed more inclined to introspection than action. Still, Severus was fairly certain just what things Lupin was presently occupied with. He was not so stupid as to miss the calculating looks sent both his and Potter\'s way by the soft spoken werewolf.

It was plain the Lupin watched Potter because the annoying prat was the child of his former best friend. And while Severus had never actually liked the git, it was disturbing how rapidly the boy was plunging headlong into the abyss of madness. He was slowly becoming that which he had destroyed. Oh, Potter didn\'t have the power hungry desires that Voldemort had been consumed with. But the darkness was there, just the same. He had developed the same need to control someone, to lord over someone or something weaker than himself. The violence he showed Izzy during their late night fuck fests was proof enough of that. Even Severus was concerned for the welfare of both, despite the fact that he didn\'t like either of them.

He had been shocked when Potter had come to him and asked for \"pointers\" about physical abuse and intimidation. The question had brought forth conflicting feelings. His dark half, his Death Eater half, had reveled in the knowledge that Potter was slipping so far away from the Gryffindor mentality. The idea that the savior of the Wizarding World had suddenly put his feet on the same path that the Dark Lord had walked all those years ago had made him nearly giddy with maniacal joy. The more practical part of him, the half that believed strongly in self preservation, was concerned with this new side of Potter. Something needed to be done about the boy\'s problems now. Before things turned into the nightmare that has just ended.

A sigh drew his attention away from the window, to the bed where Bri lay sleeping. A smirk settled over his face. There lay Lupin\'s other major concern. He knew that Remus was still trying to work out just what he was doing with Bri. Not that he would ever ask Severus to his face what he was doing. Still, the time he spent with the girl was most assuredly driving Remus to distraction. Severus let the curtain fall back into place and moved on silent feet to stand next to the bed.

Bri was still sleeping, laying half on her back so that one shoulder was in the air. The position thrust her breast up. She had yet to give in to his requests that she remove her nightgown before retiring, but the nature of the garment had changed. Though still conservative in style, she no longer wore bed clothes that reminded him of his ancient grandmother.

The neckline on the one she currently wore was a low vee that left quite a bit of flesh exposed to view. The upthrust breast was positioned in such a way that half the mound hung out of the gown. Her nipple, partially hardened, was caught on the edge of the material. The sight was almost more provocative than seeing her fully unclothed. He still had a perfect image of her bared flesh from that day in the Hospital Wing emblazoned upon his brain matter.

The urge to touch her was strong. She had slept in his bed nearly every night since that first one. Each morning, he awoke to find her sprawled in a different position. One morning had seen her curled up tightly against him, her head laying upon his shoulder and her leg tossed over his groin. The moment she\'d shifted, he\'d gotten instantly hard. Another time, he\'d awoken to find her flat on her back with her nightgown twisted up over her hips. The dark half of him had urged him to take her then and there. The temptation had been so strong, he\'d been surprised that he\'d not given in.

His practical half had driven him to take a cold shower, making him far ruder with the others than usual. It had also jolted him into thought. The fact that he wanted to bed the woman hadn\'t escaped his notice. He often found himself gazing at her in a calculating manner, imaging the feel of her body wrapped tightly around his. More disturbing to him was the way he found himself wanting to hear his name on her lips in the final throes of passion. He was unable to comprehend how he could possibly be attracted to the woman. He was not happy to find out such a thing about himself.

His plan, though, seemed to be working well enough. He seldom spent time alone. Bri was almost always in his presence. Bri looked upon him with the kind of look that he had seen on some of the love sick teens in the halls of Hogwarts. Very soon, he was certain that she would be head over heels in love with him. The return of her memory would see his plans come to a wickedly delicious fruition.

He awaited that day with supreme eagerness. He would see her high and mighty attitude brought to ruins with one single emotion. Love would be her downfall and his ultimate revenge. He did so enjoy being a bastard of the highest calibre. He rubbed his hands together in greedy anticipation, much like a small child before the family Christmas tree. So many gifts to open, but eagerly hoping that the one you asked for would be there. He just could not wait to open this gift and find out what he would be given.

~*~*~*~*~

Bill sighed and put his quill down. He\'d been up all night, staring at parchments and books and pictures of things that even the Wizarding World had never seen or heard of. His eyes hurt with the strain of working by candle light. Though this form of illumination might be popular with the magical realm, he\'d learned long ago that the Muggle\'s electric lights were for better suited to long hours of research. More light, less strain. He missed it here. Though Otherworld did have it\'s advantages.

Never had he seen so beautiful a place in his life. Lush, green grass and trees that surrounded the house. Flowers of all varieties grew wild where ever they chose, decorating the landscape with a rainbow of colors. Birds called to one another all day while animals peered from the edge of the forest at the humans. It was a virtual paradise, even though it had rapidly become a prison for them all. Being cut off from his family was difficult for him. Never had he been in a place where he couldn\'t maintain contact with his parents and siblings, and he found himself missing them more and more as the days went by.

He had tried to treat Harry as family, but the boy was slipping beyond his control. He didn\'t know how to help Ron\'s best friend, and could only imagine how his youngest brother would react if he could see the state Harry was in. The fact that Harry was presently acting like Lucius Malfoy did not escape Bill\'s attention. Nor did it escape any of the others. Everyone in the house was concerned about Harry. Even Snape was, and that said quite a bit.

Rubbing his eyes, Bill turned to look out his window. The sun was just rising. He grinned sheepishly at the idea that he had been up for nearly a full twenty four hours while doing his research. He did seem to lose track of time easily when he was working like this. Glancing at the parchment before him, he chuckled. It seemed he had not done much by way of research. In the last few hours, he\'d only written down a handful of things. His mind was far too preoccupied with other matters to give his work his full concentration.

He sighed again, Percy\'s face swimming in his mind\'s eye for a moment. He ran his hands through his hair. He\'d been seeing Percy\'s face more often of late. As if his brother were trying to tell him something. He had to admit that he had long ago stopped blaming her for Percy\'s death. Still, he had a hard time acknowledging that fact to himself. And he certainly wasn\'t ready to tell Izzy that he no longer held her entirely responsible for his brother\'s untimely demise.

Oh, he supposed he would always blame her in some fashion. She had been assigned to protect him and all. But it didn\'t always work that way on the battlefield. What looked good on paper often came out garbled and misconstrued when done in real life. War was like that, and they had been fighting a war. He supposed that she did as best she could, given the circumstances. But it did nothing to erase the fact that her small error had cost his family a great price.

Slipping out from behind his desk, Bill walked over to the window and looked out. His room overlooked the front of the house, and he could see Remus and Tyler sitting together on the rock. She leaned against his lycanthropic friend while he stared up at the sky. He knew that Remus was mentally turning over the situation with Harry and Izzy, as well as the one with Snape and Bri. But a small smile hovered at the corners of his mouth. It was a happy sight, to be sure.

Remus had been alone far too long, and the man deserved some happiness. Bill knew that Remus had taken a liking to Tyler almost from the very beginning. Hopefully, he could establish some sort of relationship with her. He only hoped that Tyler would be able to accept him for who, and what, he was. That was that hard part in any relationship. For Remus, it was nearly a death sentence to any type of relationship he even dared start up. Very few people could see past the disease to the gentle soul beneath.

The sunlight was bright, casting his room in brilliant illumination. He yawned loudly and thought that a nap might be in order. Maybe if he slept, he could get some actual work done. He\'d found the assignment fascinating, but a handful of other things constantly bombarded his brain with thoughts that made work nearly impossible. He would try again. It might help him to get his mind off the face of a young man he would never again hug or speak to. Drawing the curtains and turning from the window, Bill stalked to his bed and threw himself on it. Lately, it seemed as if sleep avoided him as much as he avoided it.

end chapter thirteen.
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many thanks to madam shark and those of you who take the time to read this whenever i post. i appreciate it very much. loyal readers mean the world to me.

if you care to, please leave a little review and let me know what you think, perhaps some suggestions, if you have any. i won\'t mind. honest.