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Chapter Ten: Cure

Remus tugged at his cloak, and Harry laughed. "Geez Moony, it's just a cloak!"

Remus looked up with wide eyes. "Well, yeah, but it's a really, really nice cloak. You shouldn't have..."

Harry waved it aside. "For one thing, I Transfigured it, and for another, even if I had bought it, it would have been worth it."

Remus smiled gently at him. "Thank you, Harry."

"Don't mention it." He screwed his face up in thought. "Nimi, you said the Castle had an expansive library, right?" The girl nodded. "Could we go check that out today? There was something I wanted to look up."

Nimi shrugged. "Sure, why not? You want Luna to come too?"

Remus started. "Luna's here?"

"Yes. She's my other Secondary Advisor." He turned back to Nimi. "Sounds good. Let's stop by her room on the way."

Harry, to his surprise, managed to lead the way to Luna's room without any guidance. Even more surprising was the sound of voices through the open door. Knocking on the frame, he looked inside to find Luna conversing with a boy that looked to be about Harry's age.

The boy immediately stood and bowed low. "My Lord," he said in a shaky voice, "I- I n-needed to ask you- the guards said it was alright-"

Harry nodded. "Alright. What's wrong?"

The boy, seemingly gaining courage, said "My name is Nikolai Nadreski. My father, he serves the Town Council of Kharerre- he asked me to relay a message."

Harry inclined his head. "May I inquire as to what the message was?"

"Of course, my Lord. He asked me to tell you that- that- he asked me to tell you that he thinks we should side with Voldemort in this coming war."

The boy winced, as if excpecting a blow, and all in the room, including Luna, looked surprised. All, that is, except Harry. "Do you agree with your father?" he calmly asked.

The boy hesitated, then shook his head. "But please don't tell him!" he cried out. "He- he would beat me, and-"

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry, I shall not." He paused, an idea occuring. "You said he served on the Town Council?" Nod. "So, people listen to him?" Nod. "Do people listen to you?" Hesitant nod. A broad grin broke out on Harry's face. "Then I have the perfect solution."

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The two women were lead out into the blinding sunlight. Both moved to cover their eyes but were stopped by the Death Eaters holding their arms in place.

"Remember, you are to be silent," Lucius hissed, "Or I will silence you." The two women nodded grudgingly.

'Melly' looked around, tears in her eyes. The gardens were filled with roses. He had always brought her roses. Whenever she was feeling down, he would give her a rose, any color but yellow. She noticed that once, and asked him. He told her that yellow roses were the symbol of friendship, and what they had far surpassed that.

'Ari' watched her remaiing best friend cry and felt tears prickle her own eyes. At least the one 'Ari' loved was still alive, even if he thought her dead.

After a few more moments in the glorious outdoors, they were roughly dragged inside and chained back up. "Melly?" 'Ari' whispered once the guards had left. "Melly, are you okay?"

'Melly' sniffled. "I'll be alright eventually, Ari. I just need to think."

The other woman nodded and left her friend to her thoughts, wondering idly how her goddaughter and other best friend's son were doing.

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The Lord of Caer Azkaan and the Druid Isles' new Liason to the Azkabanians nervously knocked on the door to his father's council chambers with his hood pulled up. "Nikolai?" his father growled, standing up. "What took you so long? What did the Lord say? And where did you get those robes?"

Feeling a burst of courage, Nikolai Nadreski stood tall. "Our Lord Azkaban has denied your request," he said calmly, "Taken away your position on the Council, and only did not remove your Citizenship because I asked him. He has done nothing to the others on this Council, as they only went along with you because you bribed and threatened them. You will be attending a trial for disruption of public affairs, bribery of public officials, and child abuse on the fifteenth of November."

His father stood with a snarl. "What did you tell him, boy?" he yelled, standing.

"Whatever I felt I needed to tell him," Nikolai said sweetly. "As Liason to the Azkabanians, I respectfully request that you leave these chambers now and inform you that I will be staying with you no longer. My new place of residence is the Castle Azkaban."

His father had paled more and more as his son spoke, and was soon shaking. "My- my son-can't we- I'm sure, that with a position like yours, you can put in a good word-"

Nikolai smirked. "I could, but I won't. You have three days to remove your things from the council chambers."

He walked outside into the rain, his cloak swirling, and stepped inside a carriage to return to the Castle Azkaban, ignoring his fathers plaintive cries from behind him. As the carriage left, he smiled broadly.

He hadn't felt this good in years.

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Harry was browsing through the Library randomly when he finally found the book he was looking for. "Maxime Moste Potente Potions" was possibly the most sought after book in the Wizarding World; there had originally been seven copies in circulation, but four had since been destroyed and the other three missing. Harry knew that if anywhere had it, it would be the Library of the Castle Azkaban.

Hurriedly shrinking the book and placing it in his pocket so no one would see, he grabbed the copy of plain old "Moste Potente Potions" that was on the shelf and walked to where he could see Nimi and Remus talking with a grin on his face.

"You find what you were looking for?" Remus asked him.

Harry nodded and displayed the copy of "Moste Potente Potions". "I wanted to look through some theory on a few potions," he explained. "I'm going to head back to my room; I'll be out for dinner." At their nods, he did so.

Casting a few powerful locking charms on his door, along with charms so that no one could see or hear what he was doing, he pulled out "Maxime Moste Potente Potions" and resized it, holding it reverently. "Now, let's see here," he muttered, gently opening the book and flipping to the Index. In a moment, he had found the five potions he was looking for, five that had been lost for over five hundred years- the Silver Remedy potion, the Permanent Sticking potion, the Anti-Transformi potion, the Reversus potion, and the Anti-Viral potion.

Looking through their ingredients, he saw that they were indeed compatable with each other and began to brew. Fortunately, none of them took over an hour, and after five hours and forty seven minutes he was sitting in front of six cauldrons containing the potions, along with the Wolfsbane potion that he had looked up in the regular "Moste Potente Potions".

Carefully transforming a new cauldron, Harry thought once more on what he was doing to make sure he had it right. The Silver Remedy potion would get rid of the allergy temporarily, the Anti-Transformi potion would stop the monthly transformation temporarily, the Reversus potion would return the wolf to is original state, the Wolfsbane potion would allow the wolf to keep its mind, the Anti-Viral potion would temporarily be able to flush out the disease with the help of the others, and the Permanent Sticking potion would make it all, well, permanent.

He couldn't think of any reason it wouldn't work, and, very carefully, he began to mix the potions together in the final cauldron, aware all the while that he might very well be changing the Wizarding World as he knew it.

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Remus felt horrible. The full moon was in three days, and though he would never admit it, he couldn't afford the Wolfsbane potion, nor did he know how to brew it. The thought of asking Harry had fleetingly crossed his mind, but he had beaten it down as soon as it had popped up.

He wasn't the type to accept charity, nor to ask for it. He would just ask Harry to put some strong charms on his room on the night of the full moon so that he wouldn't hurt anyone. Hopefully Harry would forget that the moon was approaching and not try to get Wolfsbane potion, for Remus knew that if he remembered he would.

Harry was that sort of person, the kind that could hand out unconditional love like candy. He reminded him of his Arianrhod, the way that she had forgiven him for not telling her the truth at first and surpassed his greatest expectrations of her, still loving him even when his inner darkness had been revealed.

Harry was the same. He had stuck by Remus even once he found out thast Remus was a werwolf, and he considered the boy a nephew. He loved him as much as a son, a son that he had never had the chance to have since Arianrhod died at twenty. He missed her so much, every moment of every day. He didn't know how he went on without her.

No, scratch that, he did. For years, since Lily and James and Meliara had died and Sirius had gone to Azkaban and Peter betrayed them, Harry had been his reason for living. If he weren't a werewolf, he would have taken the boy in right away. As it was, the Ministry refused to allow him custody.

And now Harry no longer really needed a guardian. He was grown up, a young man. In about nine months, he would be a legal adult, and maybe he wouldn't need Remus anymore.

He shoved his depressing thoughts aside. For now, he would concentrate on the full moon.

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Another two hours later, Harry sat back, tired but elated. He had done it. The potions had bonded together perfectly, and unless he was horribly wrong, it would work.

Unless he was horribly wrong, Harry James Potter had just discovered the cure to lycanthropy.

With a huge grin on his face, Harry ran down the hall to Remus' room. "Remus!" he shouted, pounding on the door, which was immediately opened.

"Harry, is something wrong?" the worried werewolf asked.

Harry shook his head with a huge grin. "Remus, I think I've done it."

He looked incredibly confused. "Done what, Harry?"

The smile on Harry's face grew, if that was even possible. "I think I've discovered the cure."

Harry would have paid a million galleons to have a camera at that moment. Remus' face went rapidly through the stages of shock, disbelief, amazement, and hope into a mix of all of them. "What?" he whispered.

"I didn't show you the real book I found because I didn't want to get your hopes up. I found a copy of 'Maxime Moste Potente Potions', Remus, and I mixed a few of the potions and the Wolsfbane potion, and I really, really think it will work."

Remus stared at them. "A... a cure?" he said hoarsley.

Harry nodded. "It's your decision about whether or not you want to test it though, Remus. I don't know if it will work or not, and I'd be happy to give it to the Lycanthropy Relief Society and have them test it first."

Remus hesitated, and then grinned. "Sirius and James would ask me where my sense of adventure was. I'll do it, Prongslet."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Then its back in my room." They walked back to Harry's room in silence, and when they got there Harry gave Remus the goblet of potion he'd prepared. Remus looked at him with trusting eyes and, in one motion, downed the potion.

What happened next would stay in Harry's memories forever. Remus doubled over in pain, and glowed with a golden light. He arched his back and let out a howl, and something silver flew out of his mouth. The glowing stopped, and Remus collapsed onto the floor.

Harry hurried over and flipped Remus onto his back, checking that he was breathing and had a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized the man did. Concentrating on the man before him, Harry pictured him waking, and in a moment he did, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Ow. Harry-" There was hope in his voice. "Did it work?"

"Only one way to find out," Harry said nervously. "Revealus Lycanthropy."

Remus glowed gold for another brief second, and then the mist surrounding him turned red.

Harry let out a yelp of joy. "Yes!" he shouted.

Remus was staring at his glowing red arm in shock as the spell faded. "I'm cured," he muttered. "I'm cured."

Remus J. Lupin was a werewolf no longer.

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The man in the grey mist slept, and the man in the grey mist dreamed.

In his dreams, he was back at Hogwarts with his friends, laughing and holding his girl's hand. But the dreams quickly turned to nightmares.

He was running, and yelling, but no one could hear him. Red eyes followed him everywhere, and he could hear his friends cursing him and his girl crying out to him in pain. Every fear he'd ever known, every horror he'd ever experienced, all were in his nightmares.

He dreaded what his inner clock knew as night, for there was no day or night here in the grey mist. When he slept, he was haunted by the inner demons of his very soul. He longed for escape.

Dead or alive, why could he not just be gone?

A/N: And so ends chapter ten.