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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


The term was going quite well all in all - all four boys were getting good grades, even Peter now that he’d gotten back into the swing of balancing school work and the adventures that the others dragged him on. James was practicing at Quidditch frequently, and the other three attended every practice to root him on. Halloween was approaching and they were looking forward to the feast. With only a week left to it, the entire castle was decorated festively and smelling like pumpkins and sweets already, and outside the grounds were frosted at night and chilly even in midday. Remus returned from the Shrieking Shack with a bit of a flu that made him sound stuffed up in the nose from the cold that had whistled in the windows for hours the night of the full moon.

Remus was falling asleep in Defense Against the Dark Arts - something he never was known to do, as the star student - when he was jolted awake by the sound of Professor Blythe announcing that their topic of study for the week would be Werewolves. “How to identify and how to defeat,” she said, smiling about at them, “After all, Werewolves are among the most dangerous creatures in the world. They may be part human most of the time, but when they change, they change completely and they lose their human minds, their spirits suspended within themselves, as the beast inside of them tears loose. A werewolf, in wolf form, would kill even their best friend, if the opportunity were presented.”

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances with raised eyebrows. Peter trembled as he clutched his book before him on the desk. “Well, professor, don’t you reckon some wolves might be better at keeping their mentals about them than others?” Sirius asked.

Professor Blythe looked at him, a bit startled, “No,” she said, “I don’t.”

“Well, I do,” Sirius said. Lily, James, Peter, and Remus were all staring at him. Remus’s face was rather red around the edges. “I mean, maybe not naturally, but there’s got to be something that actually would make them remember who they are, right? Like maybe some wolves have like a - a will power of some sort, one that’s stronger than most wolves?”

Professor Blythe leaned against her desk and pondered. “Well, there was a student here at Hogwarts not that long ago - he’s a potioneer now, full time at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies - but he had this theory with Aconite and Silver, that it could be mixed to create a potion that might tame the brutal instincts of the wolf and allow the mental capacity of the human within to dominate the instincts of the wolf. But Damocles’ potion is a bit far from being an over the counter prescription, I’m afraid,” she added with a shrug, “It’ll be a bit of time before he can fully prove his theory. He needs a werewolf that would be willing to try it, and it’s an awfully dangerous procedure as well. Nobody dares be that close to a werewolf.” She shivered, “Imagine.”

Remus stared at his desk top, doodling very hard in the margin of his text book.

“I certainly can’t imagine that,” Lily whispered, “Could you?” she looked over at Remus. He looked quite uncomfortable… pale. “Are you alright?”

“I… I’m not feeling well,” Remus stammered.

James and Sirius were quite concerned looking indeed. Peter was biting his tongue and copying the notes Professor Blythe was writing on the board, oblivious to the sheen of nervous sweat that had sprung up across Remus’s forehead.

Lily stood up,” Professor. Remus isn’t well. May I take him to the hospital wing to see Madam Pomfrey?”

“I’ll be alright,” Remus said, waving Lily off.

Professor Blythe turned around and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Remus, “Merlin’s beard! Are you alright Remus?” She withdrew a handkerchief from her desk drawer and quickly crossed the room to the desk where Lily and Remus sat and quickly swept the kerchief over his forehead, “You’re burning up with fever.”

He always ran warm for a day or so after turning, it was part of the process. The sweat was from the nervousness that ran through him whenever someone spoke about werewolves in his presence. The feeling of being about to pass out, though, that was entirely based on Lily’s horrified tone when she’d whispered that she couldn’t imagine being close to a werewolf.

Professor Blythe announced, “Class is dismissed. Be sure to read the textbook chapter on werewolves, and we’ll talk more about identifying them and treating a bite next class. Come along, Remus, we’ll go to the hospital wing.” She took Remus’s hand gently and her cool touch made him shiver.

Lily looked on wide-eyed as Professor Blythe led Remus out of the room quickly, her arm supporting him. She turned to Sirius, James, and Peter the moment the door closed, “Did you lot know he was still sick?” she asked.

“Still sick?” James asked.

“Well he just missed two days of classes -- wasn’t he sick?” Lily asked.

“Oh yeah!” James remembered the full moon had been the past two days and yes, indeed, Remus being ill had been the excuse, again. “Yeah. He was.”

“So what did you let him come to class for?” she snapped at him.

James looked speechlessly at Sirius, utterly flabbergasted. “He he was better,” Sirius replied with a shrug.

“Yeah, he said he was better,” James echoed.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Obviously he wasn’t. He looked peaky even before class.” She sighed, a worried look on her face as she collected her books.

“Look, Evans, Remus is going to be fine,” Sirius said.

They all waited for Peter to gather his things together - he was always the slowest at doing so. They made sure the classroom door shut tightly behind them and started up to Gryffindor Tower together. They were on the rotating staircases before any of them spoke again.

Lily took a deep breath, “He’s always sick. It seems like every month he’s ill. Does he have a condition?”

“A condition?” James asked.

“Is there something the matter with your ears, Potter?” Lily asked, eyebrows raised, “Everything I say, you repeat like you’re a giant parrot.”

James scowled.

Sirius supplied, “He just doesn’t feel well Lily, that’s all. He’ll be alright. Stop worrying so much.”

“I can’t help but worry,” Lily said, “Did you see how peaky he got? One minute we’re all talking about werewolves, the next Remus is about to pass out!”

James snickered, “Maybe he’s afraid of wolves.” Sirius and Peter chuckled. Lily looked quite agitated.

When the staircase finally connected with the landing, Lily stepped off quickly and shaking her head, muttered, “You lot are the worst friends ever!” She clutched her books to her chest with one hand and pointed accusingly at them, “You don’t even care that he’s sick!”

“We care,” James said defensively.

Lily rolled her eyes, “All you care about is yourself.”

James looked flabbergasted once again. “What’re you attacking me for!”

Lily didn’t reply, instead, she turned on her heel and started off down the corridor in a huff.

“You’re going the wrong way, Evans,” James called, “The tower’s this way.”

“I know where the tower is, you toerag!” Lily called over her shoulder, “I’m not going to the tower.”

“Where are you going?” Sirius called.

“To check on Remus!” she called back.

The boys watched her disappear around the end of the corridor. James sighed, “Everything’s an argument with her. Why’s she got to be like that?”

“You’re both like that,” Sirius replied, “You always start it with her.”

“I didn’t!” James squealed a bit in defensiveness. “She called me a parrot!” Peter laughed - at least until James glared at him, then he stopped abruptly. “How is that me starting it?”

“It’s just the tone you use with her,” Sirius replied, “You always sound a little bit annoyed with her or something.”

“Well I am! She’s annoying!” James answered, “Which is why I don’t understand why you lot think I fancy her! I don’t fancy her - I can hardly stand talking to her at all. She’s so sassy and rude and --” James continued on with his rant all the rest of the way up to the common room. Through his entire tirade, all Sirius could think was that James wouldn’t be going on and on so long about anyone else.




Remus was sitting up on one of the hospital beds with a cup of strengthening potion by the time Lily got to Madam Pomfrey’s office. Pomfrey let her right in to see Remus without any argument, since he was the only one in the hospital wing. He still looked a bit peaky, but the potion was doing wonders. Lily walked tentatively over to the bed, but when Remus looked up to see her there, he smiled a little. “Hi,” he said.

“Are you feeling better?” Lily asked.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” he replied as she sat down in a little chair next to the bed, “I’ve been worse.”

Lily watched as he took another sip from the cup of potion Pomfrey had given him. She smoothed her robes over her knees and took a deep breath, “Are you sure? You looked ready to pass out in class.”

“I was just hot is all.”

“Professor Blythe said you had a fever.”

Remus shrugged, “Not a bad one.”

“And you were just sick, are you sure you’re okay?” Lily asked.

“I’m quite sure,” Remus answered.

Lily sighed and leaned forward, taking Remus’s free hand in hers and squeezing it reassuringly. “You can talk to me, you know,” she said, “I know the other boys are kind of rude and don’t seem to care as much as they should… but… Well, Remus, you’re sick a lot and I’m worried about you.”

Remus swallowed a rather large gulp of the potion. Every nerve in his body had shut down except the ones in his hand where she was touching him, it seemed. He felt like all his blood was in that one spot. He shifted a little on the bed nervously. “I know you’re worried… I appreciate it… Really. I’m okay, though.”

Lily nodded and let go of his hand, which he regretted, and she sat up and smiled. “Well then, I’ll keep you company until you’re ready to go back to Gryffindor tower.”

“Thank you,” Remus answered.

They sat chatting for some time before the conversation rolled back around to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. “It was an interesting class so far,” Lily said, “I hope Professor Blythe doesn’t forget to pick it back up where we were. Werewolves are fascinating.”

“Fascinating?” Remus asked, “How are they fascinating?”

“Just the idea of them,” Lily answered, “How they could be anybody. You could pass a werewolf just walking down the street twenty eight days in a row and not even know it and on the night of the full moon --- totally different! They’re a wolf that will kill you as look at you. It’s a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

“Come again?” Remus asked, feeling the heat rising up him again. He took a long sip of the strengthening potion quickly.

“It’s a book,” Lily said, “About a scientist who has a split personality of sorts, and he transforms into this brute of a man, Mr. Hyde, and he beats people to death and all sorts of horrible things, but then he mixes a potion and drinks it and it turns out all along he’s been the kind doctor that they all know around the village - Dr. Jekyll, who they had all suspected Mr. Hyde of having killed. It’s a rather good book, I can’t believe you haven’t read it.”

Remus shrugged, “We didn’t read a lot of muggle literature in my house. Mum was all about Beedle the Bard.”

“Beedle the Bard?” Lily asked, “Who’s that?”

“He writes children’s fairy tales,” Remus replied, “Like Babbity Rabbity and the Hopping Pot and the Fountain of Fair Fortune.” He could tell by Lily’s unknowing expression that she hadn’t read them. “You ought to read it some time,” he said, “It’s rather good, you’d enjoy it, I expect.”

Lily nodded, “I’ll have to sometime. You ought to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde sometime, too. And maybe some of the other muggle books.”

Remus nodded.

“I can’t think of any books about werewolves that I’ve read, though. Although I saw a film once where a werewolf fought Frankenstein. It was brilliant. I love the cinema. Do you ever go to the cinema?” Her eyes sparkled.

Remus shook his head. He’d thought they’d got off the werewolf topic, but apparently not. He took another gulp of the potion.

“It’s brilliant. Movies are one of my favorite things. It’s such fun going to the cinema, too. There’s popcorn and it smells like butter and chocolate everywhere in the theater and it’s dark and the chairs are covered with velvet and everyone’s excited. It’s a lot of fun.” She smiled, “Maybe on holiday we could go to one together. I’m sure there’ll be something interesting playing.”

“Okay,” Remus agreed, “That sounds fun.”

Lily smiled, “It does.” She paused. “If you’re afraid of werewolves, we don’t have to go see any flicks with them in it, either, don’t worry. There’s plenty of movies we could see that don’t have them in it.”

Remus laughed, “I’m definitely not afraid of werewolves.”

“Okay. James had said that might be why you looked peaky in class.”

“James is a git,” Remus answered.

Lily laughed, “Definitely.”

When Madam Pomfrey finally came round, she gave him a small bottle of potion to take just before bed, and dismissed him back to Gryffindor Tower. “Get some rest,” she commanded, “Don’t be frolicking about the castle with your friends.”

“Yes Madam Pomfrey,” Remus said, nodding.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Lily promised.

They walked back up to the tower together, and it was somewhere ‘round the fourth floor corridor when Lily reached out and took hold on Remus’s hand. He felt that same rush of his nerves but he took a deep breath, thanking Merlin that he’d had all that strengthening potion, and squeezed her fingers, quite happy that she was there. They didn’t say a word all the rest of the way up to the tower.

Deep inside, however, Remus couldn’t help but wonder if Lily would be holding his hand if she knew what he was. A small voice told him she would be, though… if for no reason besides she would apparently find him fascinating.

That night, Remus had nightmares about himself with Lily Evans trying to mix a potion that would turn him into Dr. Jekyll. “You simply must turn to Dr. Jekyll,” dream Lily said to dream Remus, “If we’re going to go to the cinema and eat popcorn, you must be Dr. Jekyll!” But then the wolf in him had taken over and he’d transformed right there and eaten her whole… He awoke with a start, sweating once again, and quickly gulped down the whole bottle of potion that Pomfrey had given him in one swallow.