Remus Lupin drank his potion. It was THAT time of the month again! Soon he would be feeling the all too familiar changes that his body went through every full moon. Thanks to Snape it wasn’t such an ordeal lately, but he was chained to these monthly transformations for the rest of his life, thanks to Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf that bit him when he was a child.

When Snape brought the potion he had made a strange request, but he would do as he was asked without question. Hopefully he would remember to save some of his saliva. The Potions Master seemed to be in a good mood tonight. He was probably making progress in his work. In fact, he looked in such good spirits, Lupin had been daring enough to drop Tori’s name. He had heard the rumors about a confrontation between Snape and Sirius in the Great Hall and he asked Snape why he had been so hostile towards Sirius that evening, bad idea.

Snape had given him a fierce look. “I came back early from the Ministry and Dumbledore persuaded me to go with him to Hogsmeade, under Harry’s cloak of course. When we were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, Tori and Black walked in. Instead of joining Dumbledore, they went to sit on their own, Black looking very pleased with himself. Anyway, I stayed up late that night and I didn’t see them return, so I assumed Tori had spent the night with him.”

Lupin chuckled, thinking that only a man in love would reason like this. Apparently it hadn’t occurred to him that he just didn’t wait up long enough or he might have missed them.

“Turns out that I was wrong, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it. He’s no good for her, he doesn’t understand her.”

“Severus, as I recall, you told me that you weren’t interested in any involvement with Tori yourself, so why are you so worked up about this?”

The black eyes turned cold and he clenched his fists when he answered: “I have told you my feelings for Tori are irrelevant. She must never be linked to me. Don’t you realize? It would be just the thing Voldemort is waiting for? She would never be safe again.”

Lupin saw the struggle on his face and wanted to comfort him, but did not know how, what he said was true. But…

“Severus, if I’m not mistaken, you are working on a means to destroy Voldemort. Then there won’t be an obstacle anymore. Can’t you explain this to Tori? I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“We have already come to an understanding to forget about what happened and I would say she’s doing a great job.” The bitterness in his voice made Lupin’s heart go out to him. “Do me a favor Remus, and do not ever mention this issue to me again.” He had left leaving Lupin feeling guilty about trying to interfere.

So all Lupin had to do now, was sit this night out. He had just finished drinking the potion, when Sirius entered his room. As usual, he would keep him company tonight. Lupin was still thinking about Snape and Tori. They were so right for each other and he was sure that Tori felt as strongly for Snape as he did for her. He recalled seeing her running through the passage in tears and assumed this had been after her ‘understanding’ with Snape. Noticing she had been looking happy earlier today, he concluded she had come to terms with it. Either she had found solace with Sirius like Snape was thinking, or she had found a way to let Snape see some sense. Knowing Tori, it would probably be the latter.

Had he been so obsessed with the Snape/Tori thing…or…did he hear Sirius mentioning her name?

“Remus? I just told you that Tori wanted me to ask you to come with use to Hogsmeade on Saturday.”

“Oh, that would be nice.”

“Actually…err, I’d appreciate it very much if you would accept to come with us and then dig up some excuse on the day itself.”

Lupin raised his eyebrow. “What on earth for?” Although he knew very well what Sirius had in mind.

“You see, I think I might stand a chance with her if I can just get her alone one more time. Remus, it’s like old times again. The Black-charm still works!

He was really getting excited now and he smiled widely.

“Err, Sirius, are you sure Tori doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

Sirius looked a bit confused, but shook his head. “No, I’m pretty sure there’s no one in her life at the moment. Why?”

“Oh nothing, I was under the impression that she had some feelings for someone, but I could be mistaken.”

“Well, a little competition never hurt anyone and, if I recall, I’m the master at this game.” He looked very confident and Lupin got a very bad feeling about this.

“Sirius, I once told you that your little game would backfire some day. I think you should make sure that she is completely unattached before you go stirring things up.”

“You think I don’t have it in me anymore don’t you?” Sirius seemed to think this was all a game and stealing girlfriends had always been his favorite pastime, but Lupin feared Snape would not be able to control himself, Voldemort or no Voldemort.

“Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” He sighed as he sensed the transformation was about to begin.

The next morning, Tori bumped into Lupin on her way to the dungeon. Apparently he was heading in the same direction.

“Good morning Tori. You look radiant today.” Lupin smiled, she did look good.

“Thank you Remus, it’s just that our work is really progressing.” Especially since I’m also making progress with Snape, she thought by herself.

“Good for you. Oh, by the way, I’d be happy to come with you and Sirius on Saturday.”

She looked confused. “What are we doing on Saturday?”

“Err, Hogsmeade?”

Now she seemed to recall something. “Oh right, I didn’t think it would be so soon. I’m not sure I’ll be able to go next Saturday. It depends on our work.”

Lupin laughed, thinking the Black-charm wasn’t what it used to be. “Hey, we can do it some other time. Maybe we can go when Harry comes to visit.”

“Oh yes, that would be great. Will you tell Sirius?”

She looked very relieved and if Lupin were to have had any doubts about his assumptions, he was absolutely sure now. Sirius didn’t stand a chance!

“I will. Oh, could you give this to Severus for me; I have a class to teach.”

He gave her a little jar and turned the other way.

When Tori entered the dungeon, Snape was standing next to the cauldron. She gave him the werewolf’s saliva and he instantly put it in with the filtered bleach. Next he added the leeches and she saw the mixture was boiling now. He cast a spell to keep it at the same temperature and picked up something from the table. It appeared to be a syringe with a little container attached to it.

Tori rolled up her sleeve and went to him.

“Are you feeling at ease? You know you will experience some discomfort.” He spoke softly, like he was trying to soothe her.

“I’m ready.”

She gave him her arm and looked into his eyes. She felt calm. He kept looking at her when he drew the blood. She didn’t feel a thing, only aware of his stare and it was like she floated in some kind of fluffy cloud where the pain couldn’t get to her.

When he looked away she felt deserted for a moment and followed his movements. He put the blood into the cauldron. She heard a hissing sound, but no sparks emerged from the brew.

“How do we know it’s ready?”

“We don’t. Neither do we know if it’ll work. This potion doesn’t work that way. We have to let it boil for a few days and stir it regularly to keep the blood from clotting.”

He took the cauldron from the table and put it in a corner of the lab.

Tori began to collect their notes, as she suddenly felt very strange. Her head felt rather fuzzy and her legs went all wobbly. She saw the panic on Snape’s face when he reached out to her and she could feel being lifted by strong arms right before everything went black.