YOTC Ch25 NC17 version
Hi folks! We have an SR first for you – this chapter comes in two versions. One is R-rated. One... is not.

That's right, we have porn. :) Right here, right now. Under the cut. NC17 rated. Filth. Het, vanilla (with a possible BDSM subtext if you look hard enough), consensual. With dirty talking and swearing. Crossgen. Telling you the pairing would be cheating though. You'll have to read and find out.

Anyway, summary: Christmas dinner goes well... unless of course you're a sullen-faced Slytherin fifth year who'd been led to believe a certain someone would be there. Of course, Marlie's not one to take this lying down, but she gets more than she bargains for when she drops in to see just how Lupin's doing.
That's nothing, however, to what happens when Sirius finds out where she was...

NOTE: Due to length reasons, this will have to go into two parts. This part's actually R-rated. Part 2 has the smut.


Slytherin Rising Four: Year of the Cat

by J. L. Matthews

Chapter Twenty Five

Close Encounters of the Marauding Kind

Marlie made her way swiftly towards the Great Hall, Sirius no longer
occupying her thoughts for once. Her attention was currently focused
on a certain Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, one she'd not
even seen since term ended. In fact, with Sirius demanding her time
and energy, she'd barely been able to think about him.

Well, that was about to change, Marlie promised herself. If she was
honest with herself, at least part of the reason she'd stayed had
been to see if she could snatch some quality time with her favourite
teacher, in between entertaining fugitive Animagi, of course. Time to
see if she couldn't make up for lost time. She dashed into the Great
Hall, heart beating rapidly. Any second now, she'd see his eyes, see
him smile at her, hear him wishing her a Merry Christmas...

She stopped dead. He was nowhere in sight. Six members of staff at a
small table set for twelve, and two first years, with four empty
seats. One for her, and the other three presumably for the three
Gryffindors staying over. No space for Lupin.

Trying to hide her disappointment, she took the empty chair next to
Professor Snape. He knew, he must have known Lupin wasn't going to
be here, and yet he led me on, letting me believe he would be.
Bastard! Glaring, she slumped into the chair, pointedly ignoring
him.

"Good morning, Miss Lovegood," she heard him say, and she could tell by the tone of his voice that
he was quietly laughing at her. "Glad to see you with us at last."

"Morning," said Marlie sulkily. Finally, she turned to look at him, and she was right, he was secretly laughing at her. The smirk gave it all away.

"I don't see any sign of Professor Lupin," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. "Is
he not here? You said he was staying over for Christmas..." You
also said that he'd been asking after me, that he was worried about
me, you implied he'd bloody well be here! You greasy haired
bastard.

"Professor Lupin is indisposed," said Snape smoothly, bland expression concealing
the sadistic gleam in his eyes that was always there whenever he was
having fun at another person's expense. "Unfortunately, he is
likely to be under the weather for the next few days or so, and is
confined to his rooms until he recovers."

"You... didn't mention this earlier," said Marlie, bitterly cursing Snape's name.

"You did not ask," Snape replied, a smug grin playing around his mouth. "And also it is
not any of your business," he added, unfolding a napkin and
spreading it on his lap.

Marlie, seething, turned away. Thanks for nothing, sir. There
went any chance of an interesting Christmas dinner. Her best hope was
to eat fast and slip away early, calling in at the kitchens en
route to get some food for Padfoot. Honestly, could things get
any worse?

And then the Gryffindor Three, as Marlie had quietly dubbed them,
tumbled into the room, and Marlie felt her heart sink as they poured
into the seats next to her. Apparently she'd been wrong.

Dumbledore got to his feet and called for attention. "Merry
Christmas!" he announced cheerily. "As there are so few
of us, it seemed silly to use the house tables." He picked up a
cracker, offering one end to Snape. Marlie bit her lip, trying not to
smile. From the look on Snape's face, it appeared he suddenly didn't
want to be here either. Still, he took the end of the cracker and
half-heartedly pulled it. With a bang, it flew apart, revealing a
witch's hat with a stuffed vulture on top.

Marlie immediately dropped her eyes, staring fixedly at her plate. If
she looked anyone else in the eye now, anyone at all, she'd burst out
laughing, and you didn't need the Sight to know that Snape would not
thank her for that at all. Fortunately, Snape just thrust the hat at
Dumbledore with a growl, the scowl on his face matching her own.
Marlie allowed herself a quietly smug smile. You so deserved that
one, Professor.

A small voice on Marlie's other side coughed. "Did you want me
to pull yours with you, Marlie?" It was Hermione, who had
seated herself next to the Slytherin, presumably in need of some
female company after five days spent cooped up with two Gryffindor
males. For once, Marlie knew exactly how she felt. Admittedly, Sirius
was only one Gryffindor male, but he made up for it with sheer force
of personality.

"Go on then. My only other
option's Snape, and to be honest, I don't think he's really in the
mood at the moment." The two girls shared a conspiratorial
grin, before taking hold of one end of the cracker each and pulling.
Once the smoke had cleared, Marlie examined the contents. The cracker
contained a glittering tiara, which Marlie wasted no time putting on,
a joke on a bit of parchment... and a cuddly toy in the form of a
shaggy black dog.

"Oh, it's so cute!"

Hermione breathed, scratching it behind the ears. The dog yapped and
bounced up and down. "Oh, and it's charmed to move as well! You
lucky thing!"

"You ain't seen the joke," said Marlie, reading the parchment. "What's
orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot. I mean, bloody hell,
who writes this crap?" She screwed up the parchment, and cast a
Disintegrating Hex on it. "Rubbish." She looked at the
toy dog, which looked alarmingly like Sirius. "But the dog is
rather sweet." She placed it to one side, before a noise from
the door distracted her. She blinked at the figure who drifted
in. It was Professor Trelawney, dressed up to the nines in a green,
glittering dress.

"What the hell?" Marlie heard Hermione whisper on one
side, at the same time as she heard Snape mutter "Oh my god,"
on the other.

"Sybill," Dumbledore cried. "This is a pleasant surprise!"

"I have been crystal-gazing, Headmaster," said
Trelawney in her usual faraway tones, "and to my astonishment,
I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and coming to join you.
Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate?"

"Dear god, Marlene, she's as bad as you," Snape
murmured to Marlie with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Marlie asked, confused.

"Well, not being gifted with the Sight, I may be wrong, but
I do believe she was prompted by the same reason you were; the
presence of a certain Defence professor."

"What, you mean Professor Lupin?" Marlie turned to
stare at Trelawney, eyes narrowing.

"Precisely."

"But he's not here, he's ill, surely she would have seen..."

She noticed the look on Snape's face. "Oh, right." Jealousy turned into smug superiority. "Sucks to be her, eh?
Sight on the blink, and no Professor Lupin. Dear oh dear."

"Indeed," Snape murmured. "As long as she does
not sit near us, this is going to be a very interesting meal."

Snape's smile increased even more as Dumbledore conjured a chair
between Professors Sprout and McGonagall. "Oh yes. Very
interesting indeed."

Snape was not wrong. What with Trelawney's mystical babbling, and
Professor McGonagall's tart ripostes, Marlie was kept well
entertained throughout and on several occasions had to look away and
fake a coughing fit to avoid laughing. Next to her, she could tell
Hermione was enjoying herself too.

"She's good, isn't she?" Hermione whispered to Marlie.

"Who, McGonagall?" Marlie asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah, of course. You think I take
Professor Trelawney seriously?"

"You?" Marlie had to smile at the thought of someone
as level-headed and reasonable as Hermione looking up to Trelawney.

"Never. Trelawney makes my cousin Luna look normal."

Hermione frowned. "I don't think I know your cousin Luna.
What house is she in?"

"Ravenclaw. And count yourself very, very lucky."

Hermione wisely chose not to pursue the topic, deciding that
someone who could be compared to Trelawney was not someone she really
wanted to spend too much time dwelling on. Instead, she decided to
sound out Marlie on what had been troubling her all morning.

"Marlie, listen, can we talk?" Hermione whispered, lowering her voice and glancing at Ron, who was too busy chatting to
Harry about Quidditch to listen.

Marlie glanced at Snape, who was occupied spearing a roast potato
and alternately glaring at Dumbledore's hat and sneering at
Trelawney. "Go on then."

Hermione glanced around and leaned closer to Marlie. "Harry...
Harry got sent a broom this morning. A really fast, expensive broom.
And we don't know who it's from. There's no label or anything."

"Lucky him," Marlie commented, trying to sound
neutral. Then she remembered she was on the rival team. "Lucky
him," she muttered, glaring.

"No," Hermione whispered, betraying her inner fears. "Not lucky at all! Marlie, I think it's from him! You know,
Black! I think he's hexed it so it'll throw Harry off and kill him
when he tries to ride it!"

Marlie carefully schooled herself not to react to this. Why, why,
did Hermione have to think like this? The broom was in fact perfectly
safe and Sirius hadn't even seen it, but how to tell Hermione that
without giving them both away? The best she could do was at least try
and talk her round.

"Hmm. Could be... but to be honest, I think you're worrying
over nothing."

"Nothing??" Hermione hissed. "Marlie, Harry
could die! Sirius Black would stop at nothing to get his hands on
him, you know that!"

Which was true, but not for the reasons Hermione supposed. Sirius
was in fact most anxious to get to meet Harry, but only so the boy
could finally get to know his adoring godfather.

"Exactly, Hermione. Exactly. He wants to get his hands
on Harry. He doesn't want to kill him from a distance. Not his style.
When Sirius Black wants someone dead, he likes to do it personally.
Much more satisfying that way. He wouldn't send Harry a hexed broom.
Not Sirius."

And the best part was, every word was true. If a little
misleading.

"Sirius?" said Hermione curiously. "Since when
have you been on first name terms with him?"

Oh. Bugger. That was all she needed, to slip up in front of one of
the most observant people in the school.

"Mum still calls him that sometimes," Marlie said
carelessly, hoping her slip wasn't too major. "Must have picked
it up off her. She used to know him quite well, you know."

"Not well enough, obviously," said Hermione pointedly. She sighed. "Oh bloody hell, I don't know. I don't want to
spoil Harry's fun, but it's his life at risk here! You try telling
him that though. Honestly, boys!"

"Couldn't agree more," Marlie replied diplomatically,
thinking of Sirius, another one given to plunging in first and
thinking it over later, if at all. "You know, I sometimes think
life would be a lot more straightforward if men would occasionally
think."

---

Marlie, however, was not fated for a straightforward existence, no
matter what happened to the men in her life. Indeed, at least half
the time, it was her own decisions that got her in trouble. Such as
the one she made after dinner to go and drop in on Lupin. A visit to
the hospital wing proved fruitless, and her newly enhanced senses
told her that he wasn't there in any case. So she tried his office.
A knock on the door went unanswered. Well, that was to be
expected. He was ill, after all. She tried again though, just to be
sure.

"Hello? Professor Lupin? Are you there? It's me, Marlie."

Still nothing. She was on the verge of leaving, when extra
sensitive hearing picked up a noise. It was the sound of something
heavy falling to the floor, followed by the sound of something
tapping against stone. It sounded oddly like Sirius leaping off the
bed or sofa in his dog form and padding over, claws tapping against
the ground... but Professor Lupin didn't have a dog, surely?

"Professor?" she called out. "Is that you?"

Still no answer, although she could hear scuffling. Frowning,
Marlie intensified her sense of smell. He was there all right; she
could smell him quite strongly. However, there was something odd
about him, something off. She could smell another scent intertwined
with his, a feral aroma that once more reminded her of Sirius...
except there was something about it that was far darker, far less
controlled than Sirius ever was. Marlie felt the hair on the back of
her neck start rising. Something was very wrong here.

"Professor..." she whispered, wondering what to do. She should really fetch a teacher... but Snape was the only one who
sprang to mind as an obvious candidate, and he was well known to
dislike Lupin intensely. Besides, even in cat form, it would take her
a good five minutes to find Snape, and then she'd have to convince
him to come with her and bring him back. In the mean time, Lupin
could be dying for all she knew. Taking a deep breath, she made her
mind up. Producing her wand, she cast an Unlocking Charm on the door.
To her surprise, it swung open at once. It must have been cast in
haste, presumably to allow staff members to get in to tend to Lupin
in an emergency. He must be ill, if he couldn't even deal with his
own wards. Wand in hand, she stepped inside.

And came face to face with a full-grown wolf. Marlie froze,
stunned. Whatever she'd expected, it had not been coming face to face
with a dangerous wild animal. It was standing in front of her, its
head nearly level with her waist, staring at her with wide eyes. As
yet, it seemed too surprised by her sudden entrance to do anything,
but Marlie had no illusions of that lasting for long. She remembered
the three-headed dog from third year all too well. She slowly looked
up, hoping to see Professor Lupin somewhere - she could smell
him, but where was he? She couldn't hear anyone other than the wolf.
Then she noticed the door at the other end of the room, swinging on
its hinges, clearly leading through into Professor Lupin's private
quarters. Behind the door, she could see a double four-poster bed,
looking like some wild beast had been at the bed covers. Ever so
slowly, her eyes drifted back to the wild beast in front of her...
and her mind jumped to conclusions. Panicking, she began to scream.
This was enough to shock the wolf into action. Yelping, it ran
towards her, looking equally panic-stricken. Marlie, in her own
fright, completely failed to notice this little detail, and ran for
the door, darting into the corridor before the wolf could reach her.
Gasping for breath, she forced the door shut as the wolf tried to
follow her out, bruising its nose in the process. The wolf fell back,
whining. Marlie reached for her wand and gasped out the charm to
secure the door again, before stepping back, reality sinking in.

"Oh god!" she whispered to herself. Turning away, she
stumbled down the corridor... straight into Professor Snape, who
immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her to her feet.

"Marlene!" he snapped, with something almost like
concern in his eyes. "I heard screaming - are you
alright? Are you hurt?"

Marlie shook her head, still too upset to really process this.
"N-no, I'm, I'm OK," she breathed, before remembering
what she'd been running from. "Professor Lupin..." She
put her hand to her mouth, fighting tears. "Sir, a wolf's eaten
Professor Lupin!"

Silence followed this outburst. Hesitantly, Marlie looked up, only
to see that, far from being upset, or even shocked, he was actually
smiling.

"It's not funny!" she shouted. Far from stopping him
smiling, it only made matters worse. Snape actually started to laugh.

"Stop it!" Marlie shrieked. "Professor Lupin's
been killed, how can you just stand there and laugh??"

"Oh god," Snape breathed, wiping his eyes. "You're
right, it's not funny, I - oh god, Marlene, you will be the
death of me one of these days." Straightening up, he motioned
for her to follow him. "Marlene, while your concern is
touching, it is wholly unnecessary. Professor Lupin is perfectly
fine, or at least he was. Did you do anything to the wolf?"

"I think I hurt its nose when I slammed the door on it,"
Marlie faltered, now completely confused. Snape just nodded.

"Easily healed." He studied her carefully, seemingly
weighing up what to do next. Finally, he shrugged. "Well, you
have seen this much, I may as well tell you all. However, before I
do, I want to make it very clear that what I am about to tell you is
to be discussed with no one other than Professor Lupin or myself. Not
your friends, not your family, no one. Understand?"

"OK," Marlie whispered, not fully understanding at
all, but prepared to do what it took to get to the bottom of this.
Professor Lupin was clearly not dead, which was the main thing. In
fact, come to think of it, there would have been blood, surely, if
Professor Lupin had been killed by a wolf, and she'd not smelt
anything of the sort in the room...

Snape opened the door with a few words, and watched with a grin as
the wolf emerged, looking small and pathetic and not nearly as
frightening as Marlie remembered. Blood was dripping from its
nostril, and it was whining from the pain, trying to nuzzle against
Snape.

"No, not my robes!" Snape snapped irritably at it.
"Damn wolf, stop bleeding over me!" Still grumbling, he
reached for his wand and cast a few quick healing charms to fix the
damage, before ushering the wolf back inside. "There, you're
healed. Now stop whining and get inside before anyone else
sees you."

Funnily enough, the wolf seemed to
understand every word, because it dived back into the office at once.
Snape turned back to Marlie.

"Well? Are you joining us?"

Speechless, Marlie nodded and followed
him in.

---

Closing the door behind her, Marlie sat down next to the desk.
Snape was occupying Lupin's chair like he belonged there, especially
with the wolf at his feet, cutting a rather pitiful figure. It was
gazing mournfully at Marlie, head leaning against Snape's knees.
Marlie wondered why she'd ever been afraid of it. It looked no more
dangerous than Padfoot; although, her wiser half reminded her, Sirius
was by no means as harmless as he looked. However, the wolf didn't
look threatening at the moment. Snape was actually scratching it
behind the ears almost affectionately.

"So, Professor Lupin is all right, then?" she asked
hesitantly.

"As well as can be expected," came the reply. Snape
noticed the concern on her face and sighed. "He will be fine in
a day or two. You do not need to worry about him."

"OK." Marlie glanced towards the door to his bedroom,
still partly open. "So, er, where is he then?"

Snape patted the wolf on the back, ruffling its fur. "You're
looking at him."

Marlie stared at the wolf. That was Professor Lupin? Well,
that would explain everything. She felt her heart sink. Not only had
she invaded his privacy and run screaming from him, she'd slammed a
door on him and hurt him in the bargain. How was she meant to face
him when he turned back?

"Is he a wolf Animagus?" she asked, that being the
first thing that sprang to mind. However, even as she said the words,
her brain was thinking, no, not possible, he would have changed into
human on seeing me if he was, besides he doesn't smell right... "But
he would have to be stuck somehow, or he'd have turned back when he
saw me. Is he under a curse or geas or something?"

"In a manner of speaking." Snape hesitated, the
fingers that had been fondling Lupin's fur halting their movement.
"Well, Lupin? Should I tell her or Obliviate?"

The wolf's sad eyes turned from Marlie to Snape, then back to Marlie.
It stared at her for a long while, before turning back to Snape and nodding once.

"Is that a yes, I should tell her? Bark once if it is."

Lupin barked once. As soon as he'd done
so, he seemed to shrink, cowering away and edging closer to Snape.
Snape patted the wolf's neck as if to reassure it, and turned back to
Marlie.

"Marlene, Professor Lupin is a werewolf."

Werewolf. Strange how one simple word could change
everything so abruptly. Marlie sat there, frozen in shock, her mind
lost in tales of werewolves savaging innocents, killing any human
that crossed their path, and worst of all for a family as rationalist
as hers, turning others, attacking but leaving you alive, and making
you one of them, doomed to lose your reason every month and become a
monster yourself. Werewolves - about the only thing she'd ever
seen her mother really frightened of. Even Sirius Black's escape had
made her mother more annoyed than anything else, but every full moon,
she'd been nearly obsessive about making sure everyone was in by dark
and didn't go out again unless by Floo. Werewolves were bad news. And
Professor Lupin was one? Sweet, kind, goodnatured Professor Lupin?
Not possible. Not possible! Marlie fought to keep the rising feeling
of revulsion from overwhelming her - and then another memory
came to mind, of Sirius frowning and telling her "Werewolves
are people too, you know!"

Werewolves are people too. Slowly, she began to calm down,
staring at the wolf, reminding herself that it was still Professor
Lupin in there. Still Professor Lupin ... and he looked safe enough.
Right now, he'd buried his face in Snape's robes and was whimpering.
Poor thing, he sounds so lonely. With a jolt, she realised
that Lupin was not only in that wolf's body, he could understand
every word that was going on. And with a wolf's heightened senses to
boot, he'd also be very good at reading her physical responses and
emotions.

Oh god, he must think I hate him. Which wasn't true, she
didn't hate him, couldn't hate him, only what he was... and when she
thought about it, not even that. It wasn't his fault, after all.

"Is it safe?" she asked. Well it must be, surely,
Snape wouldn't get that close to a werewolf if he didn't think it was
safe, would he?

"Perfectly. Professor Lupin is under the influence of a
powerful potion, one I aided in the development of by the way, which
renders him harmless. He still transforms into a wolf, but he keeps
his human mind for the duration. As long as his saliva does not come
in contact with your bloodstream, you are quite safe."

"Sure?" asked Marlie, still slightly nervous.

"Of course I'm sure," Snape snapped tersely at her.
"Do you doubt the abilities of not only myself but the entire
Miskatonic University Lycanthropy Research Unit?"

Marlie smiled at that. No one doubted Professor Snape's expertise
in Potions. "No, sir." She got up and approached the
still hiding werewolf. "Can I touch him?"

Professor Snape shrugged. "If you must."

Marlie reached for the werewolf's fur and began to stroke him.
"Ssh, it's alright," she whispered. "It's OK, I
won't hurt you." The wolf peeked out at her, still looking
rather fearful. Marlie smiled nervously at him.
"Professor? Can you hear me? I mean, do you understand?"
There was a human mind inside there after all, and it was Professor
Lupin's mind at that. Marlie tried to ignore the part of her that was
all too happy to take the chance to get in some legitimate physical
contact with him.

Lupin turned to face her fully, although he was still not meeting
her eyes. It was a gesture Marlie recognised instantly as a sign of
submission - Sirius sometimes used it when he was trying to get
in her good books. She gave him an encouraging smile.

"It's OK. Don't be afraid. I don't mind, you know. I mean, I
was a bit shocked at first, who wouldn't be, but if Professor Snape
says you're not dangerous, then I don't have any problems with it. I
mean, I'm not going to treat you any differently. And I promise not
to tell anyone else."

Lupin blinked, and edged a little nearer, the fear receding. He
now looked almost hopeful, an expression she'd seen on Padfoot many
times. Her heart went out to him.

"Ohh, you're so sweet!" she breathed. Impulsively, she
reached out and hugged the wolf, resting her head against him,
running her hands through his fur. Lupin's fear seemed to melt away
as she did this, muscles visibly relaxing as he leaned into her,
letting out a soft bark. Marlie felt her heart melt as she held him.
He likes this. He really does. Poor Professor Lupin, this must be
the first time anyone's ever shown him any affection while he's like
this. She certainly couldn't imagine Professor Snape doing this
to him. She watched as Lupin lowered his body to the ground and
rolled over, clearly wanting his stomach tickled. Marlie obliged,
laughing as she did so, wishing she had the opportunity to do this
sort of thing more often. Odd really that she never played like this
with Padfoot - somehow it just didn't feel right treating
Padfoot like an ordinary dog. However, with Lupin, it seemed
different somehow, mainly because he was stuck that way, and
definitely different to his human form, werewolf control potion
notwithstanding. And so she fussed over the grateful werewolf,
completely oblivious to the troubled look in Snape's eyes.

---

"So how long's he been a werewolf then?" Marlie asked,
as Snape walked her back to the common room. "Is this a new
thing, or...?"

"Most of his life," said Snape, his voice hollow. "He
was already turned when he began school."

"Poor thing," said Marlie softly. "To go through
that every month, for nearly your whole life, all on your own."

"Don't feel sorry for him!" Snape snapped, turning on
her. "While his condition is to be regretted, I'm sure, he is
more than used to it by now!" Noticing the surprise on Marlie's
face, he softened a little... but only a little.

"Listen, Marlene, he does not need your pity, or your
sympathy. While I am sure he is grateful that you haven't turned from
him in disgust, this does not mean that your relationship with him is
to change in any way. He is still your Defence teacher, you are still
his student, and if I find that either of you are acting in a manner
inconsistent with that relationship, there will be consequences.
In short, you are to keep your mouth shut, and act as if nothing
has changed. Do you understand me, Marlene?"

"Yes sir," said Marlie quietly, wisely choosing to
rein in the sarcasm for once. As they reached Snape's quarters,
however, Marlie turned before leaving. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Will he really be OK?"

"He will be fine," Snape replied, the earlier menace
fading. "Because of the potion's effects, he'll remain as a
wolf for tonight, and all of tomorrow, before changing back on the
morning of the 27th. He will no doubt be tired and
uncomfortable afterwards, but I shall be on hand to assist. You do
not need to worry, we have dealt with this before."

"Yeah, suppose," said Marlie softly. "Bye, sir."

Turning away, she made for the common room. Sirius would be amazed to
hear about this...


Want to read the rest? Part Two is this way, but be warned - it has smut.