Chapter 41 - Feral
Harry entered the infirmary and moved silently passed Madam Pomfrey's office door, heading into the main ward toward the private room at the far end of the dorm where the Map had shown Remus to be. The door was locked, he noticed, but oddly enough, from the outside. Why on earth would Madam Pomfrey lock Remus in?
Flicking the latch he snuck inside. But as he approached the lone bed in the room, he realized that something was wrong - it was Remus certainly, but the man's arms and legs were bound down tightly to the frame of the bed with very thick iron manacles, holding him completely immobile. And the bed itself had been modified - the frame far heavier and thicker than the typical infirmary beds. Even the extraordinary strength of the werewolf would not free him from the bed or those manacles.
Alarmed, Harry moved swiftly toward the bed, intent of freeing the man. The full moon was still a week and a half away - why would they tie him up? What was going on?
But before he could reach Remus' side, the man himself spoke, his voice low and rough, more like a growl. "Do not touch me, Harry," he warned, stopping Harry in his tracks. He stared in shock as Remus slowly opened his eyes. They were not the warm, gentle amber eyes Harry was used to seeing - these were the cold, deadly eyes of the wolf.
He'd seen Remus' eyes flash this color once or twice - understood that they were brief moments when the wolf inside him grew strong and angry. But it had never been more than a quick flash of awareness before the man returned and the eyes regained their natural color. That was not happening now.
"Remus?" he whispered. "Your eyes are yellow." The very same color that Severus' had been. What was wrong? Had they been attacked last night?
"I know, Harry," Remus whispered. "I've gone feral. I've lost control of the wolf. I'm trying to contain it, but I don't know if I can."
"I don't understand?" Harry wanted to reach out and touch the man, soothe some of the pain and rage he saw in his face.
"I told you once Harry that werewolves don't handle jealousy well," he growled softly. "We have calm and we have enraged. There is no in between. And I can't seem to get back to the calm."
"You know about. . ." Harry began, only to break off when Remus suddenly tensed and began fighting against the bonds around him. But the fit only lasted a moment and Harry suspected he was exhausted.
"Yes," Remus said softly. "I know about the marriage proposal."
"Remus, Sirius will never marry Draco," Harry insisted. "You know that!"
"He will die if he does not," Remus told him looking momentarily heart broken. And then his face twisted into a vicious snarl. "And I will kill the Malfoy family if I get loose!"
"Remus!" Harry cried. "You're not a killer! Control yourself!"
Again Remus fought against the bonds before collapsing once more. "You shouldn't be here, Harry," he told him weakly. "It's not safe."
"You won't hurt me," he said with conviction.
"It's dangerous to be around a feral werewolf," Remus whispered. "Our mood can infect those around us. I cannot stay here. I'm no longer safe. I can't remain around people. I can't be trusted."
"Slytherin's potion will cure you," Harry reminded him hopefully.
For a moment Remus looked confused as if he had forgotten about the potion - Remus who prided himself on his intellect and knowledge. "The potion, yes, the potion might cure me, might push the madness back."
"It will be alright, Remus," Harry agreed.
"Sirius will be married by then," Remus said then, a hopelessness filling his eyes. "Will you tell him I'm sorry, Harry?" he begged. "Will you tell him I'm sorry I waited so long?"
"You'll speak to him yourself, Remus!" Harry said in a panic. "And he won't be married! We'll find some way around this! You'll see Remus! It will work out. It has to."
"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey's voice caught Harry by surprise and he whirled around. The Medi-witch stood just outside the opened door to Remus' private room. She had her wand out. "Come out of there at once! How did you sneak passed me?" Oddly enough she made no attempt to approach them, remaining just outside the doorway.
"I just wanted to see Remus," Harry explained.
She motioned him toward her, looking both frantic and angry. "Come away from there at once! You shouldn't be here! Step away from him!"
Harry frowned, and looked back at Remus. The man was glaring across the room at Madam Pomfrey, his yellow eyes gleaming dangerously in the morning sunlight that seeped in through the tall narrow window along the outer stone wall. There was a low growl emanating from his throat.
"Remus?" Harry asked uncertainly.
Remus flicked his gaze toward Harry, seeming to be struggling with emotion. "She's right, Harry," he growled. "You shouldn't be here. It isn't safe."
But Harry shook his head. Severus was acting oddly, Sirius was gone, the Ministry had gone mad, nothing made sense any more. He wasn't going to just walk away and abandon Remus. He grabbed a chair that was leaning against the wall, and slammed it down loudly against the stone floor next to Remus' bed. Then he planted himself stubbornly in the seat, folding his arms. "I'm not going anywhere," he stated. "I'm not leaving you here all chained up like this. It isn't right!"
Madam Pomfrey huffed in irritation and stormed angrily back toward her office.
It was blind panic that drove Severus through the castle and up toward the Headmaster's tower. He had attacked Harry - nearly hurt him, or worse. Amid the rage that had overcome him had been a very strong dose of lust as well. Whatever madness had gripped him last night, had not dissipated apparently. Not if he was still feeling this out of control.
And what about Harry's words - that his eyes had turned yellow? A trick of the light surely - but what if it had not been? What if it had been something magical - something dangerous and he really was a true threat to those around him? Right now he felt so out of control he wasn't certain what he was capable of doing.
He reached the gargoyle and snarled out the password, leaping onto the spinning staircase and riding it to the top of the tower. The door at the top opened immediately and he strode inside without bothering to wait for an invitation. The Headmaster, seated behind his desk, stood to greet him, frowning when he saw the expression on Severus' face.
"Albus! Something is wrong with me!" Severus shouted and then strode toward the tall window that looked out over the icy Loch far below. But he couldn't stand still, even for such a breath-taking view. He turned immediately and began pacing back and forth across the carpet covering the stone floor.
"Severus," Albus Dumbledore said mildly. "I want you to come sit down and drink this."
"I don't want any damned tea!" Severus shouted. "Something is wrong! I attacked Harry!"
"Is he hurt?" Dumbledore asked immediately.
"What?" Severus turned and glared at him. "No, of course not! I wouldn't hurt Harry. How dare you suggest that I would -"
"You just said-" Dumbledore began.
"He's sixteen, Albus!" Severus cried, whirling about to begin pacing again. "How can I be thinking such things about a sixteen-year-old? He's my student for Salazar's sake!" And then a thought occurred to him and he turned and snarled at Dumbledore, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You made me marry him! This is your fault! I never would have dreamed of touching him if it hadn't been for your STUPID IDEA!"
"Severus Snape!" Dumbledore's voice snapped him out of his rage for a brief moment, shocking him with the force of power behind the words. "Sit down and drink this!" He held out a small glass bottle - not tea but a potion.
Momentarily under control and shocked at his own behavior, Severus took the bottle from him, opening it and giving it a careful sniff. Calming Draught, he noticed. He quickly downed the potion, feeling it settle the itching rage racing through his blood. He sank gratefully down into one of the cushioned chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk, relief washing through him.
"Albus," Severus asked in shock. "What's wrong with me?"
"Severus," Albus asked very carefully, but his voice brooked no argument. "Is Harry injured or harmed in anyway?"
Horrified Severus looked up at him. "No, of course not!"
"You said you attacked him. Touched him," Albus reminded him.
Severus felt himself flush red with humiliation. "I grabbed his arms, yelled at him. And last night, I . . .I kissed him, but he was asleep. He doesn't even know."
"You kissed him," Albus repeated and then sank down into his seat, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Oh, good grief, Severus. You made it sound like-"
"He's sixteen years old, Albus!" Severus protested in outrage, surprised Albus wasn't more upset.
"And a month ago I found three fourth-year Hufflepuffs going at it hot and heavy in the Room of Requirement - together! All three of them! I think Mr. Potter will survive a kiss! Especially one he slept through."
Severus blanched at his words. "Hufflepuffs?"
"It's always the quiet ones," Albus just shook his head.
"Albus, you don't understand," Severus protested.
"I do understand, Severus," Albus said with a tired sigh. "And I am sorry I didn't warn you. I should have realized that this might happen. You're not the only one affected." He held up his left hand, which had a rather nasty series of scratches running down the back of it. "I actually had to break up a cat fight between Minerva and Mrs. Norris last night," he explained. "And Arthur Weasley called me this morning in a panic when he found his wife outside in the back yard blowing up snowdrifts with her wand - apparently she was convinced the Garden Gnomes were plotting against her."
Severus' eyes widened in realization. "It's Lupin, isn't it? He's doing it? Somehow he's affecting all of us."
Albus nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so."
"But why! Does he blame me for -"
"Oh, Severus, he's not doing it on purpose!" Albus quickly cut that train of thought off. "He can't help himself. It is just the nature of werewolves. Their moods can affect everyone around them."
"You knew?" Severus asked in disbelief.
"Of course I knew, Severus," Albus replied. "Why do you think I was always so lenient with the Marauders?"
"Are you saying Lupin was feral even back then?"
"Of course not!" Albus snapped in exasperation, slamming one fist down on the surface of his desk in a display of temper. He caught himself then, and sighed, opening up his desk drawer and pulling out a tin of lemon drops. Severus recognized them as the ones he made special for the Headmaster - laced liberally with Calming Draught. The old man popped one into his mouth before continuing with what he'd been about to say. "Remus Lupin is one of the kindest, most controlled men I have ever met. And no, he was not feral back then."
"But you just said-"
"You, like a lot of people, have a great many misconceptions about werewolves," Albus interrupted again. He rubbed at his eyes from beneath his glasses, looking for once his age. "Remus is a good man, and what has happened is most unfortunate, and unexpected. And we must find a way to protect him while we try to straighten all this out. I've been reading through the Black Family Cognatus Conscriptus to see if there is a loophole somewhere - though I rather suspect Lucius Malfoy has already done so as well."
"Albus, I don't understand," Severus said quietly, wanting to know why he was being affected like this. "What is happening? Why is he able to affect us like this?"
"He has always been able to affect you, Severus," Albus smiled. "You just never noticed. You only notice now because the feral transference is so violent - you feel out of control."
"What do you mean he has always affected me?" Severus asked in alarm.
Albus sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Perhaps I should start at the beginning - do you think it odd that I allowed a werewolf to go to this school in the first place? Or that I knowingly hired a werewolf to teach our students?"
"We've had this conversation before," Severus replied flatly.
"Well, then would you be surprised to learn that he was not the first werewolf who went to this school, that in fact there was a time in Hogwart's history when werewolves were specifically sought out and brought to this school as both students and teachers?"
Severus fell silent at that, disbelief holding his tongue. Albus would not have said it if it were not true, but it made no sense to him. He had always believed that the risk of having a werewolf around the students was extreme.
"The reality is Severus that the fear of werewolves is a fear passed on to us by Muggles," Albus explained.
"Muggles?" Severus shook his head. "It's the exact opposite, Albus. The purebloods are the ones most outspoken about werewolves. It is always the Muggleborns who are so quick to accept them. Take Harry and Hermione - they didn't even think twice when they learned Lupin was a werewolf."
But Albus just shook his head. "Severus, logically speaking, why would a wizard really fear a werewolf when they know that as long as they are not feral they are only dangerous for one night out of the month? There was a time in our history when wizards didn't fear werewolves - they understood it was curse they could not control and everyone took steps to protect themselves against the threat. The only time the werewolves were considered truly dangerous was when they turned feral - and then they were typically destroyed for the good of society. No, it was the Muggles who really feared werewolves. They didn't understand the nature of the curse, and could not protect themselves against them when the moon was full. It was they who began hunting them indiscriminately, and over the years their fears were spread to our society."
"What does this have to do with having werewolves at Hogwarts?" Severus cut in, wondering where Albus was going with this.
"Severus we graduate between 40 to 50 students every year from Hogwarts," Albus stated. "How many of those students do you suppose go into the Auror Academy every year?"
Severus just shrugged. "Around five or six of them, sometimes more, sometimes less. What does this have to do with anything?"
"Are you aware of the fact that when you were a student every single one of the Gryffindors in Remus Lupin's class, as well as all the Gryffindors in the class above and below him all became Aurors? Every last one of them - male and female. Along with that so did fifty percent of all the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws from those same years. Were it not for the fact that Voldemort recruited heavily from those same classes of Slytherins I am certain their numbers would have been similar. As for the rest of the students both younger and older, of those present at Hogwarts while Remus Lupin was in school - nearly half of them became Aurors."
Severus found himself thinking back to all the students he knew from the other classes while he had been in school. He knew James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had all gone into the Auror program, though granted it hadn't stopped Pettigrew from betraying the Ministry and his friends. Lily had been in the Auror Program as well up until she had learned she was pregnant with Harry. And Alice and Frank Longbottom had been in the year above them.
"Three classes of students have graduated from Hogwarts since Remus Lupin taught here three years ago," Albus continued. "Of those 124 students, 59 of them have gone into the Auror program. Under normal circumstances we could have only expected about 15 to 20 instead of 59. And the one thing we need now more than anything, considering the difficulties ahead of us, are competent Aurors - as many as we can get. We lost a lot of Aurors last year in the battle."
"You're saying that Lupin has affected all of them?" Severus asked in disbelief.
Albus nodded. "Just being around a werewolf tends to make people more aggressive. It doesn't change their personalities or make them do anything they don't want to do - it just gives them the courage or the strength to go after the things they want with more energy and conviction. It is only when a werewolf turns feral that they become a danger to those around them."
"By making them do things they don't want to do?"
But Albus shook his head at that. "By breaking down the inhibitions that control rage, lust, dominance and possessiveness and making you do things you would normally stop yourself from doing. Remus didn't give you the emotions inside of you, he merely amplified them. It's rather like being drunk. And an angry drunk at that."
Not certain he wanted to deal with the idea that the lust that had gripped him last night, or the rage that overwhelmed him this morning had been entirely of his own making, Severus focused on the Hogwart's issue. "Then you're saying you purposely put Lupin here in this school to affect the students?"
"I purposely did it, as did countless other Headmasters before me," Albus agreed - he motioned to the hundreds of portraits on the walls of the room, all the figures in them watching this conversation intently. Several raised their hands and waved to Severus as if owning up to the task themselves. "One of the main purposes of Hogwarts was to produce Aurors. The four founders didn't just set this school up to educate the elite of society - they wanted it to be the making of society. To produce the men and women who would govern our world and protect it from all threats. Ironically the purebloods of our society have unknowingly embraced a Muggle fear and werewolves have become outcastes, as have many other creatures in our world that could benefit our society as a whole. Hagrid is a perfect example of this - magical creatures instinctively trust him, and yet he's looked down upon by wizards because he has giant blood in his veins."
Severus shook his head and stood up, not ready to process all the information right now. "This is all well and fine, Albus, but what do we do right now? How many people has Lupin's feral mood affected? Is the whole school at risk?"
"No, only those who were in the room with him last night or who have come into contact with him since then," Albus assured him. "And of the group last night, I think we're safe enough. Most everyone in that group has a fairly good grip on their darker emotions. Minerva would have been fine if she hadn't transformed into her Animagus form last night and tapped into her animal nature. Most of the other teachers will be fine - Flitwick and Hagrid have non-human blood in them and will hardly be affected. Madam Sprout seems to have channeled her aggression into her plants - she's been repotting Greenhouse Five all morning, apparently waging a vicious war on the weeds. Madam Hooch has been flying it off all morning. And while the Weasleys are certainly volatile enough, they all have various healthy outlets to help control their emotions. I'm just grateful the twins were not in the room at the time."
"And what about me?" Severus demanded. "How am I supposed to control myself?"
"The same way you always have, Severus," Albus explained mildly. "You have always been prone to violent rages. And you have always managed to overcome the impulses. Now that you know what is going on, I expect you will handle it as you always have."
Severus glanced at the lemon drops still sitting open on the Headmaster's desk. "You're being affected?"
"Of course," Albus replied. "It is not widely known, but I have a terrible temper myself. Why do you think I asked you to make these special lemon drops for me? You try dealing with not only every issue that comes up in a school full of powerful children but also the insanity that is the Ministry of Magic every day. There are days I'd just like to lock myself in a room and disappear."
Severus smiled wanly at that. "What are we going to do about Lupin?"
Albus tugged thoughtfully on his beard. "I'm hoping that Slytherin's potion will solve the feral problem, and in the meantime I'll continue searching for a way out of this ridiculous marriage. As it is, the alliance between the Black family and the Malfoy family seems set in stone according to the Conscriptus and obviously it hasn't been change since Narcissa married Lucius. I was hoping there was a Degree of Blood clause since Sirius and Draco are first cousins once removed, but apparently that is considered an acceptable degree of separation by both families."
"First cousin marriages are common enough among Purebloods," Severus agreed.
The Headmaster's floo flared suddenly and Madam Pomfrey's head appeared in the fire, interrupting their conversation. "Albus," she called. "You had best come down here as soon as possible. Mr. Potter is here and I can't get him to leave Lupin's room."
Severus turned to glare at the headmaster. "Now what?" he demanded. "Won't Harry be affected as well!"
Albus just sighed sadly at that. "We shall see, Severus. Considering the way Harry was raised by those horrible Muggles, I suspect he's had more practice than any of us controlling his emotions. But we best get down there before he finds it in himself to free Remus from his bonds. I have no doubt Remus would kill Mr. Malfoy if he got loose now."