Mischief Managed Y2 Part 2: The Truth of the Tournament

Chapter Seventeen: A Ruined Spell

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Remus had never expected Peter to come back to the hospital wing the following night. He hadn't expected Pettigrew to take time out of his Saturday to bring him a powerful magical concealer that he had nicked. And he especially hadn't expected Peter to stay for more than a few seconds. It was almost like the lad had actually found it bearable to be around the werewolf. Peter's hand had even brushed Remus' when he handed him the round container that would hopefully allow the liar to convince all his friends they didn't need to visit him, and the younger boy hadn't even flinched! 

Better yet, the concealer had worked and other than looking a bit pale Remus was able to convince Sirius and James he was just a bit queasy but otherwise fine. He actually seemed to convince them and Lily, when she visited him later on in the day, and it had never been easier. Having a sheet covering the scars and his legs which were still mending, not just having been broken but also mauled, made it almost easy to persuade all his friends he was fine. Well, all his friends besides Peter that was...

Remus, when he was able to utter a word without pain, attempted again to convince Peter it had been an especially bad moon, because it really had been. But even after a week of trying to convince the smaller boy of that fact, Remus knew he didn't believe him. However, Peter kept his word about not telling James and Sirius. So other than the rather tense moments when the werewolf and the boy who knew the extent of his injuries found themselves alone, their dorm remained as peaceful as it could possibly be with James and Sirius being two of the occupants. At least everyone was more or less back to normal, even the fear that had been consuming Remus before the first moon had all but disappeared when he realized his roommates were still his friends.

"Hey, you...you come here." An older girl's voice called out to someone. Remus paused in the hallway, turning side to side, trying to find where the voice had come from. He was just on his way back from studying in the library after a long day of classes. Even with it being nearly four days after the full moon Remus was still really sore and felt exhausted. Though he supposed studying with Lily and Severus hadn't helped. At least Snape had decided to completely ignore Lupin as if he wasn't there. Which was fine by him.

"Up here, come here kid," the voice shouted, and he was forced to consider she was trying to get his attention as there was no one else around at the moment. Remus hesitated, glancing up the stairs at two older females dressed in their Digores uniforms. But he made the mistake of making eye contact and either had to approach them or rush away rudely. Neither of the older girls seemed angry or upset but neither did they seem overly friendly. Figuring they had gotten lost or had a question, Remus cautiously approached them, ignoring the slight twinge of pain in his leg that appeared every time he climbed stairs.

"You keep damaging your nerves, Remus, and there will be lasting damage if we can't get you to stop. You must be more careful." Madam Pomfrey had gravely discussed the unpleasant topic after this last bad moon in which the wolf had seemed particularly intent on crippling him for life. But no matter what Madam Pomfrey said about the matter it was not like Remus had any control over the outcome. So he tried to forget about it, for the time being, not wanting to entertain the thought that the wolf could take more away from him than it already had.

"Well, we aren't gonna bite you. Come here boy, what's your name?" a tall blond witch asked while smirking. It was as if she expected Remus to blush and run away. It took the werewolf a second to realize that the second teenager present was none other than the Digore champion, Mihaela Balan.

"I'm Remus Lupin. Can I help you with something, Miss Balan?" he asked politely addressing the champion as he figured that's what her friend had been trying to get his attention for. As Mihaela looked him up and down, he was struck by how the look in her eye reminded him of Patricia. Both girls seemed extremely keen on knowing what made Remus tick and unbearably bored with the matter at the exact same time.