They entered the spring-house with Tonks in the lead. For all of Remus' determination, he suddenly felt very unsure of himself and his decision. If Tonks hadn't arrived to remind him why he was doing this in the first place, he just might have backed out. Poppy greeted he and Tonks warmly with no hint of trepidation on her face or in her manner; she was the consummate professional. Remus was surprised to discover that Severus had retained the iron fencing that bisected the room, only now it was further divided. The side where Remus' bed lay was divided in half, with the other part of the room full of medical supplies that could easily be locked in the event that Remus was to change into a werewolf. The iron gate between the tiny rooms was presently open, and Poppy has conjured a screen for Remus to change into pajamas.
The second Remus walked from behind the privacy screen, it disappeared. He meekly walked across the room to lie on the hospital bed; its metal framed creaked and the bed-springs squeaked as the bed took his weight. The noises were barely perceptible to everyone else, but Remus found them jarring in his agitated state. When his head touched the pillow, a host of medical monitors appeared above him. Poppy often used her wand to monitor a patient's vital signs, she obviously thought the situation was serious to warrant extra diligence.
Tonks was standing on the other side of the bars, and Severus was giving her instructions. She was so nervous that her hair had taken on Severus' deep blue-black coloring and her skin became sallow. Severus ignored the change. Remus smiled to himself and planned on teasing Tonks about it later. Poppy came to his side to check that he was comfortable and to fuss over him. He pointed to Severus and Tonks and Poppy stifled a laugh. Tonks was seated at Remus' side holding his hand and patting his hair as soon as Severus released her.
"Are you ready, Lupin?"
"Whenever you are, Severus."
Severus waved his hand and a great length of parchment rose into the air, a quill accompanied it and stood at attention with an open bottle of ink next to it. The quill was charmed to record all of Remus' vitals signs and reactions to the new potion. Poppy left Remus' side to attend to Severus, who'd turned his back and was fiddling about the table that was lined Potions equipment. Poppy returned with her wand in hand and flicked it at the corner of the room, a tray of medicinal potions zoomed out of its hiding place and hovered at her side.
"Record the time, Severus," said Poppy.
"Done," was the only reply.
Poppy handed Remus a shockingly small goblet. Remus smiled and said, "Bottoms up." But when the sulfuric odor from the potion hit his sensitive nose, he was repulsed and had to turn his head and gag. The look of the potion was just a revolting as the smell; it was heavy, very thick, and a putrid greenish-yellow color. "Not to be insulting, Severus, but this is disgusting."
"That is the most palatable formulation I could make. It's best to drink it quickly."
Remus closed his eyes and tilted his head back as he tried to gulp the vile potion. It slid out of the goblet with ease and plopped onto his tongue in a foul-tasting blob. It was so thick that it was actually difficult to swallow, so it lingered on his tongue making him gag and choke. He could feel Tonks squeeze his hand more tightly. She dabbed at his eyes with a hankie as they were watering profusely. Remus' body was determined to hurl the potion out of itself. He placed his hand over his mouth to keep from retching. The nausea settled and he relaxed. Tonks leaned forward in her chair and wiped his sweat-beaded forehead.
"So far, so good, Severus."
"Give it time," came the silky reply. Tonks shot him a viciously angry look.
"It'll take a few moments for Remus' body to fully absorb the potion," clarified Lin, whose arm was tensely wrapped around Severus' wand arm.
Poppy, who was seated next to Remus, checked the watch pinned to her blouse. Lin and Severus appeared to be expecting something so Remus braced himself. Tonks saw him tense.
"Okay, Darling?"
Remus couldn't answer her. As soon as Tonks had uttered those two words, the most profound and violent fit of nausea Remus had ever felt stormed his body. His face turned ashen, his lips paled, and his abdominal muscles spasmed painfully. He tried to turn over, but couldn't move.
"What's happening?" shouted Tonks.
"Hush!" scolded Poppy, who pointed her wand at Remus and turned him on his side. She positioned his head so that he didn't choke on his own saliva, which oozed out of his mouth in frothy-green puddles. "Severus, is this normal?"
"Yes," was the calm yet silky reply. The quill floating in the air behind him scratched furiously on its length of parchment. "You may treat the nausea when his saliva becomes clear."
"Shh, Remus," said Poppy gently while caressing Remus' arm, "not long now. You're being very brave, my boy."
Remus was groaning and no one could tell if he was trying to speak, or if the groans were the result of the violent abdominal spasms. Tonks began to cry. Her hair had turned white, and her skin turned such an alarming shade of bluish white that Poppy asked her to leave.
"Really, Dear," said Poppy in her most soothing Medi-Witch voice, "there's so little room in here, and you'll just be on the other side of those...um...bars."
Lin rushed in and took Tonks' arm to lead her out. "I thought I could do it...I thought I could..." snuffled Tonks.
"Let's go get some fresh air," said Lin.
"I don't want to leave him."
"You're not leaving him. You're just getting some air. Poppy will take good care of him." Lin's arm was around Tonk's trembling shoulders. She felt cold to the touch so Lin used her wand to take a blanket from the heap of medical supplies; it came zooming from a dark corner and wrapped itself around Tonks' shivering body.
Remus' saliva quickly turned clear and Poppy wasted no time spelling an anti-nausea potion into his stomach. After three minutes and no change in Remus' condition, she spelled a second potion into him. Remus' body temperature was steadily rising, and his heart-rate was getting faster by the minute. After another three minutes and no change in Remus' condition, Poppy gave him a third and final potion; any more and she'd risk poisoning him. Within seconds of administering the third dose, the abdominal spasms stopped and Remus was able to move his head and limbs. He was semi-conscious.
"There," said Lin, "he's settling down now." She glanced at the medical monitors above Remus' bed and felt the knots in her stomach become tighter. She was very grateful that Tonks had no idea what any of it meant.
Poppy waited for the two women to exit the spring-house before speaking to Severus. "Can I give him something to slow his heart-rate."
"Not yet," replied Severus.
"When?"
"Not until phase two."
"What in Merlin's beard is that?"
"The effects of this potion are divided into three phases to reduce toxicity and to combat the complexity of the curse."
"Well," said Poppy with some exasperation, "how long until phase two?"
"Undetermined."
"Can I give him something for the fever?"
"Yes, but no more than one dose every four hours."
"This potion is too weak. It's meant to be dosed every hour," protested Poppy.
"Higher doses will interact negatively with the anti-lycanthropy potion."
Poppy's shoulders fell. "If only I could give him some Fever Down."
"That would kill him."
"You didn't have to say it, Severus," scolded Poppy.
"My intention was to remind you that you're already giving Lupin the best care possible."
"Thank you, Severus."
The potion Poppy used was formulated for babies and toddlers who were too young to take Fever Down. Poppy didn't expect the weaker potion to do anything at all, but it did bring Remus' fever down to a safe, yet still alarmingly high, level where it stubbornly lingered. Poppy watched the thermometer slowly come down a few degrees and was disappointed that it refused to budge any further. She noticed something odd hovering in the air under her nose and rubbed her eyes thinking she was seeing things. She looked down at Remus and saw pea-sized opalescent droplets forming on his skin; they didn't run or pool like sweat would have, and they didn't soak his clothing. Hovering above Remus' body was a cloud of opalescent vapor that was billowing out of his skin; it would've been beautiful had it not been accompanied by such a powerful scent of rotten eggs. Tonks and Lin picked this moment to re-enter the spring-house. Tonks still looked very pale and shaken, but had otherwise composed herself.
"What is that?" said Tonks as she moved to get nearer to Remus. Lin held her back.
"Don't touch that, Tonks," said Lin.
"But what is it?"
"Phase two has begun," said Severus.
"And the potion, Severus?" said Poppy, who had been deliberately vague due to Tonks' presence.
"When the vapor has dispersed."
It took only seconds for the vapor to disappear. The opalescent droplets lingered a few minutes longer. The potion Poppy administered lowered Remus' heart-rate a little, and his body visibly relaxed though he didn't regain full consciousness. Lin released Tonks, who then sat uncharacteristically meekly at her husband's side.
"It's safe to touch him now," said Lin. Tonks placed her hand Remus' shoulder and talked softly to him, hoping that he could hear her and be comforted.
"And the third phase, Severus?" said Poppy.
Again Severus said, "Undetermined."
"What's all this 'phase' nonsense?" said Tonks.
"The potion is formulated into three parts that attack the curse in three separate intervals, with the idea that separate phases would be less taxing on the patient. Remus is in a resting phase now," replied Lin. Tonks nodded, but didn't appear to be as relieved as Lin had hoped.
"How long until the next phase?" said Tonks. Severus rolled his eyes in irritation. Lin placed her hand on his arm.
"We don't know," said Lin.
"You don't have any idea at all?" said Tonks. "Not even a guess?"
"You know this is an untested potion," said Severus.
"Patience, Severus," whispered Lin. "We've taken every possible precaution, Tonks. Remus is in good hands."
Tonks fell silent and busied herself with fussing over Remus. The wait for the potion's third phase began and continued...and continued...and continued. Tonks went to work on Monday morning, but was only gone for a few hours. She said Arthur Weasley was covering for her. Lin brought meals and snacks every few hours. Everyone took turns watching Remus while others went to the house for a nap and to wash up. Remus remained semi-conscious the entire time. Poppy turned him every two hours to rest his sore joints. The wait was excruciating. Time slowed to a crawl and tensions ran high. Lin tried to burn some energy by pacing the small space.
"Bloody hell, will you stop pacing?" shouted Tonks and immediately apologized for snapping. "I didn't mean it, Lin."
"No harm done," said Lin.
Tonks was understandably more anxious than anyone, and her patience had worn thin. "The third part is obviously not working. Can you wake him up now?"
"The potion can't be counteracted," replied Severus. "It has to run its course."
"It's been three days already," shouted Tonks. "The potion doesn't work."
"It does work, and Lupin's present condition proves it," countered Severus.
"Severus, will you walk in the garden with me? I need some air." Lin interrupted hoping to deflect the angry outburst that was waiting to be unleashed. The last thing Remus needed to hear was four people screaming at each other.
"Call me immediately if there's a change," said Severus to Poppy as he rose from his seat at the table. The quill and parchment still hung motionless in the air above him. Poppy nodded and tried to rub the soreness out of her neck.
Lin and Severus stepped outside into the cool, damp, early morning air. She waited for Severus to close the door behind him before speaking. "We can't let Remus go on like this."
"Lupin knew the risks."
"But he's been in the same condition for three days."
"We can't interrupt the process."
"It's a full moon tonight. He'll never survive the change."
"We don't know if he will change."
"But we need to be prepared if he does. I was thinking—"
Severus didn't use legillimency, but he knew Lin well enough to read her intentions. "You can't help him, Lin. Lupin isn't ill, he's cursed."
"I know that, Severus. I just thought that I could bolster his strength a little."
"You can't risk contact with the curse."
"We can restrain Remus if you're worried about him biting me."
"Lupin is suffering from one of the darkest curses known to the magical world. It's origins are so ancient they've been lost to time," began Severus. "We treat it like a disease because it's transmitted like one, but that's all we know about it. It's not an illness that we can medicate into oblivion. We can't tiptoe around it like a sore wound. It mustn't be trifled with."
"I'm confident that I can strengthen Remus a little without triggering it."
"I forbid it!" growled Severus.
"I don't need your permission, Severus," spat Lin. Being fit and agile and angry, Lin was able to get around Severus, and her hand was nearly on the doorknob when he grabbed both her arms and pulled her away.
"I'm your—"
"What, Severus?" said Lin. "Were you going to say 'husband'? That would require you to actually make a commitment."
Severus released his grip, and his tone changed from angry to pleading. "Lin, please; it's too dangerous."
"I can't watch Remus continue to decline and just wait for the inevitable. I think if I'm careful, my natural defenses will protect me."
Severus sighed in exasperation. "How can I make you understand?"
"I'm listening, Severus."
"Dark Magic isn't just an artificially constructed thing that can be thwarted with the correct words and wand movements. It's a living being. It adapts. The only constant about it is that it's in a perpetual state of change. If that curse feels threatened, it will protect itself. It will survive."
Lin's determination began to waver, and Severus could see in her face that she was beginning to understand. "I thought my natural defenses would be enough to block it."
"Something as ancient and prolific as lycanthropy won't be so easily thwarted. It would be like trying to shield oneself from the Dark Lord in armor made of tissue paper. Not to mention interfering with a potion that has extremely volatile magical properties of its own. Your attempt to help Lupin could end up killing both of you."
Lin's eyes filled, and her voice began to break. "I can't bear to see him like this, Severus."
Severus wrapped his arms around Lin, and she snuffled into his shoulder. His voice was soft. "You once told me that you didn't go into medical practice because you couldn't control your emotional involvement. You've grown a great deal since then. Lupin needs you to be strong. He needs you to be objective. He already has one emotional basket-case hovering over him, he doesn't need a second. And...and I need you to help me. I need help analyzing the effects of this potion."
"Alright," said Lin as she straightened up and wiped her eyes. "I just need a little time to compose myself. I need busywork. I think I'll make sandwiches."
"Good, I'm famished. And splash some cold water on your face before Nymphadora sees you." Lin nodded and gave him a weak smile. "I need to get back inside before Poppy strangles her."