Eclipse: Chapter Two
Title: Eclipse
Rating: R
Main Characters: Severus Snape, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter
Pairings: Severus/Lily, Remus/Sirius, one-sided!Remus/Lily, one-sided!James/Lily
Setting: Hogwarts castle, Marauder's fifth year
Summary: When Sirius Black's prank goes horribly awry, Severus Snape is forced to concede to a future he never imagined. While change makes some improvements in his life, including an unlikely friendship with a Marauder and a romantic relationship with his best friend, Severus learns not everyone is entitled to happy endings. AU. Severus POV. Multi-pairing.
Spoilers: PoA and beyond
Challenge: Sky Samuelle proposed an AU Sevily where "Sirius' prank on Snape in fifth year go awry when James doesn't reach Severus in time: Lupin bites Severus, almost killing him. Lily realizes her feelings for her best friend might not be only platonic". The challenge is posted on FictionAlley Park.
Chapter Word Count: 2,095
Happy reading!
i "I am the acquaintance and the friend
The lover and beloved in the end
I am the flower and the thorn, don't fear, don't fear
I am the season and temporal train
I am the minor, I am the main
I am the mind and the story, be here, be here." -- Rumi 146
ii. "Dangerous
The way you leave me wanting more" - Depeche Mode; Dangerous
iii. "How do you feel?
How do you feel?
I can't seem to breathe with a rusted metal heart
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes" -- Sparklehorse; Piano Fire
The next time I opened my eyes, I was looking into Lily Evans' distressed face.
"Severus, you’re awake," she gasped, jumping up from the chair that had been placed near my bed. A book fell from her lap, landing on the floor with a thick thud; she ignored this, and let her quill and ink slip from her hands as well as she stared anxiously at me. Her green eyes were wide with horror, but she hid her shock well, touching my forehead gingerly with the palm of her hand like one checking for a fever. "Are you -- er, how are you?"
I tried to speak, but nothing emerged from my throat except for a hoarse gasp. My hands flew up to my neck; I felt a thick swatch of bandage, and my fingers came away slightly damp. There was blood on my fingertips, I saw, and I clenched my jaw against the sudden rise of bile in my throat. The hospital wing suddenly seemed far too cold; I could barely twitch my fingers through the chill that invaded my body. Thoughts flooded back to my mind, visions of the werewolf's improbable form and the thick coat of unkept fur that had obscured his skin. I could still smell the horrible stench of his breath. Panic coursed through my body, traveling along my veins as I looked at Lily, bewildered and afraid, my lips forming a hundred questions I knew she could not answer.
"You were attacked, a few nights ago," she said softly, confirming the dark suspicions I had hoped were only lingering nightmares, “by a werewolf. By Remus Lupin." I was suddenly aware that she had taken hold of my uninjured hand, because she gave it an unconscious squeeze as she spoke his name. Her bottom lip trembled. Indicating a bed across the way that was enclosed by a sombre white curtain, she frowned. "He's over there, resting. Madam Pomfrey gave him a draught for dreamless sleep - you’ve had some too, for all the good it’s done,” she clarified when I blinked. “She’s keeping him. He - he was quite a mess when they brought him in."
It took significant effort to reclaim my voice, but I managed, my words emerging raw and painful from my hoarse throat.
"He - Lupin - he is the one that did this to me?" Holding up my bandaged left hand, I shuddered, wondering what sort of damage Remus could have possibly endured in his werewolf form. He loomed invincible in my mind, the proof of his virtual immortality evident in my ruined body. I vaguely remembered fighting him, pummelling him with hands while James Potter fired luminous spells in my defence, and still, Remus had savaged me as if my protests were nothing more substantial than a mosquito’s whine. Irregardless of James’ curses and my own fists, Lupin had carried on his macabre attack, and the damage was thorough. The taste of Skele-gro lingered in my mouth, but my hand was still resolutely broken.
Lily nodded gravely. "Yes, it was Remus," she informed me softly. "But he didn’t mean to, Severus,” she added quickly, “and I’m sure he feels terrible. He’d never have wanted anything like this to happen to anyone.” Not even you, I imagined her thinking, though of course, she said nothing of the sort.
I burned with indignation, frustrated and hurt by how quickly she came to Lupin’s defence. You’re my friend, you belong to me, Lily, I thought bitterly, remembering the girl-child of eleven who had wept in my arms after a fight with her sister. She had been mine then, before the Sorting and the Houses and the inevitable Gryffindor friendships loomed as obstacles to separate us. I thought of Remus Lupin and hated him. She’s mine, only mine. There was a time when she had eyes only for me.
Unaware of my thoughts, she went on. The words tumbled from her mouth in an urgent rush.
“Remus can't control what he does when the moon is full, Severus, you must understand, no werewolf can. I know you’ve read about them in Defence Against the Dark Arts; were-wolves are a terrible threat because they cannot even prevent themselves from attacking a loved one. If someone gets in their way, the have no power over themselves. It’s a terrible situation, almost unimaginable. Please don’t blame him.” She tossed an apologetic glance at Lupin's closed curtain, as if worried my anger would injure him.
“I blame Black,” I managed to spit. “Black and Potter.” Their names sounded unspeakably filthy in my ears, and I could taste the cold, metallic hatred that suffused my mouth as I spoke.
Lily did not understand. “What, Sirius and James? They haven’t been in here teasing you, have they? I wonder where they are, anyway.” She sighed impatiently and looked around the wing as if to catch them hiding behind the stacks of clean bed-sheets or among the bottles of curative potions that covered bed-side table.
“Those boys,” she continued in a tone that bordered on tolerant affection. I uttered some swear my teeth, but she blithely appeared not to notice. “I haven't seen the two of them since last night after supper. Neither of them were at breakfast today, nor did they come to any of our joint classes. I suppose they must have been given detentions for something; I don’t think Sirius can sit through an entire class of anything except Transfiguration without causing some sort of mayhem.”
Lily drew a deep breath and looked me over, suddenly serious. “I didn't know where you were either, until Professor Slughorn told me he’d had word that you were here,” she added, a note of regret in her voice. “I'm sorry, I’d have liked to visit sooner. I asked about you over the weekend, but no one had seen you, and I assumed maybe you had gone home. I would have come up immediately if I'd known what had happened, but of course, none of your friends bothered to tell me. Not even Slughorn knew precisely what had happened. I had to get the truth out of the Headmaster.” Returning to the subject at hand, she frowned deeply. “But how can you blame Sirius or James for this, Severus? Of course, I understand they can be idiots at times -“
“Idiots!” I croaked, sounding unhinged in my abrupt anger. “It was Sirius Black who lured me out there, knowing exactly what I would find!”
Ignoring Lily’s sudden expression of doubt and confusion I went on, desperate for her to know the truth about the boys she shared a House with. Just the knowledge that she had ever considered Sirius a friend of hers made me shake with fury. She opened her mouth to protest, shaking her head wildly, but I cut her off, already guessing at her explanation.
“Before you dare try to convince me it was all a terrible prank gone wrong, you ought to know precisely what happened. He laughed in my face when Lupin charged. Black asked if I was happy, knowing what he really was.” My uninjured index finger jabbed the air in Lupin's direction. “Sirius didn’t simply mean for me to know the truth about Remus, he meant for this to happen. He meant for me to be killed!”
“No,” she said slowly. Her voice was desperate, begging me to take back the accusation. “Sirius is a good person. He would never - never -“
“Don’t give me that,” I snapped back at her wildly. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on his face. He wanted me killed, and I very nearly was!”
Her hand had gone cold in mine, her skin icy. “I don’t believe -“
”Believe me!” I crushed her hand in mine as I hollered, letting her wince at the pain of my grip, hoping she would see the light. “You think just because they’re Gryffindor that makes them good, Lily? Because it doesn’t; Black was a willing accomplice to Remus’ werewolf. Attempted murder, that’s what it was.” Glowering at her, I shook. “They’re dangerous, Lily -“
”Out! Get out!” came a sudden stern voice. We both turned as Madam Pomfrey strode into the room, clutching a number of potions' phials and looking furious. She glared at Lily. “He’s awake, is he? No wonder! I can hear the racket you’re making all the way in my office. You know the rules. The sign is posted clearly outside. Absolutely no visitors until further notice. These boys need their rest.”
“But Severus is my friend, as is Lupin, and it's always been visiting hours until dinner time in this wing,” retorted Lily, bristling almost at once. “I brought some Transfiguration books for Remus - it’s his favourite subject, he’ll be loathe to fall behind - and I was told to deliver Severus his Potions homework,” she added, indicating the book that had been left on the floor. “Professor Slughorn meant for him to have it.”
Madam Pomfrey shook her head and gave her wand a stern flick, summoning the discarded book. She pointed to the open doorway with her index finger. “The ban on visitors is absolute. If Horace has additional assignments, he may deliver them to me in person, and I will pass them on in turn. You may instruct him, young lady, to summon me before attempting to enter this ward again. No visitors will be tolerated for the time being, and that includes professors!”
Her voice dropped slightly as if to disguise what she was saying; no matter, I could hear her perfectly. Despite my exhaustion, all my senses were keen. “It isn’t safe to be wandering around these corridors, not with these two in here. They could cause serious damage to anyone who crosses their path. We aren’t sure what to expect, especially from this one, here,” she whispered, nodding towards me. “The other boy has never given me trouble, but I've never had to deal with a situation like this. Now go on, young lady, and I don't expect to see your face around here again until Dumbledore has given permission for the wing to be opened to visitors.”
“But why?” came Lily's petulant voice. She hovered near me a moment longer as though she assumed if she held onto my body she would not be thrown out.
“Because they are dangerous, that's why,” stated Madame Pomfrey forcefully, guiding her away from the bed with one hand on her back. “Don't you know the least thing about werewolves?”
My heart froze mid-beat when I heard her speak the plural. Ever since I had awoken to the pain that came in the aftermath of the attack, I’d wondered what the consequences of being bitten would be, but I had never accepted the worst. My hands began shaking in earnest and my stomach seemed to twist upon itself as if I'd swallowed something that was still very much alive. Craving only Lily’s touch and a reassuring promise that Madam Pomfrey's words had been a slip of a tongue, I watched as Lily glanced over to Lupin's closed curtain.
“Remus is a werewolf, that is true,” said Lily gently. She spoke in such a calm voice that I was certain she had known about the important fact much earlier than I had, perhaps even since first being sorted in Gryffindor. “But what that has to do with Severus I hardly -“
“He was bitten by a completely transformed werewolf in the light of the full moon,” interrupted Pomfrey. Her eyes narrowed and she clutched her bottle of Skele-gro against her chest like a weapon. “A bright girl like you can certainly understand what that means for him. He has been infected, and now, he is a werewolf. My main concern now is what effect the transformation will have on him. I’ve never worked with a newly transformed werewolf; most are bitten in infancy, the rest rarely survive being savaged,” she snapped. “Now run along. As you can see, I have important work to do.”
Rating: R
Main Characters: Severus Snape, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter
Pairings: Severus/Lily, Remus/Sirius, one-sided!Remus/Lily, one-sided!James/Lily
Setting: Hogwarts castle, Marauder's fifth year
Summary: When Sirius Black's prank goes horribly awry, Severus Snape is forced to concede to a future he never imagined. While change makes some improvements in his life, including an unlikely friendship with a Marauder and a romantic relationship with his best friend, Severus learns not everyone is entitled to happy endings. AU. Severus POV. Multi-pairing.
Spoilers: PoA and beyond
Challenge: Sky Samuelle proposed an AU Sevily where "Sirius' prank on Snape in fifth year go awry when James doesn't reach Severus in time: Lupin bites Severus, almost killing him. Lily realizes her feelings for her best friend might not be only platonic". The challenge is posted on FictionAlley Park.
Chapter Word Count: 2,095
Happy reading!
i "I am the acquaintance and the friend
The lover and beloved in the end
I am the flower and the thorn, don't fear, don't fear
I am the season and temporal train
I am the minor, I am the main
I am the mind and the story, be here, be here." -- Rumi 146
ii. "Dangerous
The way you leave me wanting more" - Depeche Mode; Dangerous
iii. "How do you feel?
How do you feel?
I can't seem to breathe with a rusted metal heart
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes" -- Sparklehorse; Piano Fire
The next time I opened my eyes, I was looking into Lily Evans' distressed face.
"Severus, you’re awake," she gasped, jumping up from the chair that had been placed near my bed. A book fell from her lap, landing on the floor with a thick thud; she ignored this, and let her quill and ink slip from her hands as well as she stared anxiously at me. Her green eyes were wide with horror, but she hid her shock well, touching my forehead gingerly with the palm of her hand like one checking for a fever. "Are you -- er, how are you?"
I tried to speak, but nothing emerged from my throat except for a hoarse gasp. My hands flew up to my neck; I felt a thick swatch of bandage, and my fingers came away slightly damp. There was blood on my fingertips, I saw, and I clenched my jaw against the sudden rise of bile in my throat. The hospital wing suddenly seemed far too cold; I could barely twitch my fingers through the chill that invaded my body. Thoughts flooded back to my mind, visions of the werewolf's improbable form and the thick coat of unkept fur that had obscured his skin. I could still smell the horrible stench of his breath. Panic coursed through my body, traveling along my veins as I looked at Lily, bewildered and afraid, my lips forming a hundred questions I knew she could not answer.
"You were attacked, a few nights ago," she said softly, confirming the dark suspicions I had hoped were only lingering nightmares, “by a werewolf. By Remus Lupin." I was suddenly aware that she had taken hold of my uninjured hand, because she gave it an unconscious squeeze as she spoke his name. Her bottom lip trembled. Indicating a bed across the way that was enclosed by a sombre white curtain, she frowned. "He's over there, resting. Madam Pomfrey gave him a draught for dreamless sleep - you’ve had some too, for all the good it’s done,” she clarified when I blinked. “She’s keeping him. He - he was quite a mess when they brought him in."
It took significant effort to reclaim my voice, but I managed, my words emerging raw and painful from my hoarse throat.
"He - Lupin - he is the one that did this to me?" Holding up my bandaged left hand, I shuddered, wondering what sort of damage Remus could have possibly endured in his werewolf form. He loomed invincible in my mind, the proof of his virtual immortality evident in my ruined body. I vaguely remembered fighting him, pummelling him with hands while James Potter fired luminous spells in my defence, and still, Remus had savaged me as if my protests were nothing more substantial than a mosquito’s whine. Irregardless of James’ curses and my own fists, Lupin had carried on his macabre attack, and the damage was thorough. The taste of Skele-gro lingered in my mouth, but my hand was still resolutely broken.
Lily nodded gravely. "Yes, it was Remus," she informed me softly. "But he didn’t mean to, Severus,” she added quickly, “and I’m sure he feels terrible. He’d never have wanted anything like this to happen to anyone.” Not even you, I imagined her thinking, though of course, she said nothing of the sort.
I burned with indignation, frustrated and hurt by how quickly she came to Lupin’s defence. You’re my friend, you belong to me, Lily, I thought bitterly, remembering the girl-child of eleven who had wept in my arms after a fight with her sister. She had been mine then, before the Sorting and the Houses and the inevitable Gryffindor friendships loomed as obstacles to separate us. I thought of Remus Lupin and hated him. She’s mine, only mine. There was a time when she had eyes only for me.
Unaware of my thoughts, she went on. The words tumbled from her mouth in an urgent rush.
“Remus can't control what he does when the moon is full, Severus, you must understand, no werewolf can. I know you’ve read about them in Defence Against the Dark Arts; were-wolves are a terrible threat because they cannot even prevent themselves from attacking a loved one. If someone gets in their way, the have no power over themselves. It’s a terrible situation, almost unimaginable. Please don’t blame him.” She tossed an apologetic glance at Lupin's closed curtain, as if worried my anger would injure him.
“I blame Black,” I managed to spit. “Black and Potter.” Their names sounded unspeakably filthy in my ears, and I could taste the cold, metallic hatred that suffused my mouth as I spoke.
Lily did not understand. “What, Sirius and James? They haven’t been in here teasing you, have they? I wonder where they are, anyway.” She sighed impatiently and looked around the wing as if to catch them hiding behind the stacks of clean bed-sheets or among the bottles of curative potions that covered bed-side table.
“Those boys,” she continued in a tone that bordered on tolerant affection. I uttered some swear my teeth, but she blithely appeared not to notice. “I haven't seen the two of them since last night after supper. Neither of them were at breakfast today, nor did they come to any of our joint classes. I suppose they must have been given detentions for something; I don’t think Sirius can sit through an entire class of anything except Transfiguration without causing some sort of mayhem.”
Lily drew a deep breath and looked me over, suddenly serious. “I didn't know where you were either, until Professor Slughorn told me he’d had word that you were here,” she added, a note of regret in her voice. “I'm sorry, I’d have liked to visit sooner. I asked about you over the weekend, but no one had seen you, and I assumed maybe you had gone home. I would have come up immediately if I'd known what had happened, but of course, none of your friends bothered to tell me. Not even Slughorn knew precisely what had happened. I had to get the truth out of the Headmaster.” Returning to the subject at hand, she frowned deeply. “But how can you blame Sirius or James for this, Severus? Of course, I understand they can be idiots at times -“
“Idiots!” I croaked, sounding unhinged in my abrupt anger. “It was Sirius Black who lured me out there, knowing exactly what I would find!”
Ignoring Lily’s sudden expression of doubt and confusion I went on, desperate for her to know the truth about the boys she shared a House with. Just the knowledge that she had ever considered Sirius a friend of hers made me shake with fury. She opened her mouth to protest, shaking her head wildly, but I cut her off, already guessing at her explanation.
“Before you dare try to convince me it was all a terrible prank gone wrong, you ought to know precisely what happened. He laughed in my face when Lupin charged. Black asked if I was happy, knowing what he really was.” My uninjured index finger jabbed the air in Lupin's direction. “Sirius didn’t simply mean for me to know the truth about Remus, he meant for this to happen. He meant for me to be killed!”
“No,” she said slowly. Her voice was desperate, begging me to take back the accusation. “Sirius is a good person. He would never - never -“
“Don’t give me that,” I snapped back at her wildly. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on his face. He wanted me killed, and I very nearly was!”
Her hand had gone cold in mine, her skin icy. “I don’t believe -“
”Believe me!” I crushed her hand in mine as I hollered, letting her wince at the pain of my grip, hoping she would see the light. “You think just because they’re Gryffindor that makes them good, Lily? Because it doesn’t; Black was a willing accomplice to Remus’ werewolf. Attempted murder, that’s what it was.” Glowering at her, I shook. “They’re dangerous, Lily -“
”Out! Get out!” came a sudden stern voice. We both turned as Madam Pomfrey strode into the room, clutching a number of potions' phials and looking furious. She glared at Lily. “He’s awake, is he? No wonder! I can hear the racket you’re making all the way in my office. You know the rules. The sign is posted clearly outside. Absolutely no visitors until further notice. These boys need their rest.”
“But Severus is my friend, as is Lupin, and it's always been visiting hours until dinner time in this wing,” retorted Lily, bristling almost at once. “I brought some Transfiguration books for Remus - it’s his favourite subject, he’ll be loathe to fall behind - and I was told to deliver Severus his Potions homework,” she added, indicating the book that had been left on the floor. “Professor Slughorn meant for him to have it.”
Madam Pomfrey shook her head and gave her wand a stern flick, summoning the discarded book. She pointed to the open doorway with her index finger. “The ban on visitors is absolute. If Horace has additional assignments, he may deliver them to me in person, and I will pass them on in turn. You may instruct him, young lady, to summon me before attempting to enter this ward again. No visitors will be tolerated for the time being, and that includes professors!”
Her voice dropped slightly as if to disguise what she was saying; no matter, I could hear her perfectly. Despite my exhaustion, all my senses were keen. “It isn’t safe to be wandering around these corridors, not with these two in here. They could cause serious damage to anyone who crosses their path. We aren’t sure what to expect, especially from this one, here,” she whispered, nodding towards me. “The other boy has never given me trouble, but I've never had to deal with a situation like this. Now go on, young lady, and I don't expect to see your face around here again until Dumbledore has given permission for the wing to be opened to visitors.”
“But why?” came Lily's petulant voice. She hovered near me a moment longer as though she assumed if she held onto my body she would not be thrown out.
“Because they are dangerous, that's why,” stated Madame Pomfrey forcefully, guiding her away from the bed with one hand on her back. “Don't you know the least thing about werewolves?”
My heart froze mid-beat when I heard her speak the plural. Ever since I had awoken to the pain that came in the aftermath of the attack, I’d wondered what the consequences of being bitten would be, but I had never accepted the worst. My hands began shaking in earnest and my stomach seemed to twist upon itself as if I'd swallowed something that was still very much alive. Craving only Lily’s touch and a reassuring promise that Madam Pomfrey's words had been a slip of a tongue, I watched as Lily glanced over to Lupin's closed curtain.
“Remus is a werewolf, that is true,” said Lily gently. She spoke in such a calm voice that I was certain she had known about the important fact much earlier than I had, perhaps even since first being sorted in Gryffindor. “But what that has to do with Severus I hardly -“
“He was bitten by a completely transformed werewolf in the light of the full moon,” interrupted Pomfrey. Her eyes narrowed and she clutched her bottle of Skele-gro against her chest like a weapon. “A bright girl like you can certainly understand what that means for him. He has been infected, and now, he is a werewolf. My main concern now is what effect the transformation will have on him. I’ve never worked with a newly transformed werewolf; most are bitten in infancy, the rest rarely survive being savaged,” she snapped. “Now run along. As you can see, I have important work to do.”