Safest Place in the Wizarding World

Chapter 6

Remus's chest throbbed; every breath filled his lungs with needles piercing his flesh. His body trembled as the cold beads of sweat dripped into his eyes. A warm, damp towel wiped his brow. The smell of incents, woodsmoke, and a woman's perfume filled his nose and lulled his anxieties. He could hear hushed voices but his body was so weak, too weak to even discern the conversation. He lay motionless for a moment before the loud clamoring of cast iron hitting stone tore his eyes open. He drew a sharp breath and tried to pull himself from his sweat-drenched mattress but his body was stiff as stone. A delicate set of hands laid him back to the pile of pillows, followed by a hush.

"Remus it's alright, you're okay now." His eyes came into focus on the gentle voice that cooed him like a mother to a child. Alexandra sat over him in a small chair by his bedside. Her hair was messy and she looked as though she hadn't slept in days but the light of the morning sun backlit her face making her look heavenly, as though he had died and was being cared for by an angel.

Without a word he reached out his hand to touch her to see if she was really there, or if he was just dreaming. He grazed the skin of her cheek. She took his hand in hers and laid it on her lap. Slowly he came out of his hazy dream back to reality as his ragged breathing shot bullets into his chest.

His eyes tightened as he cried "It...hurts..." Alexandra continued to shoosh him and she motioned for someone to come and bring her something.

"Here, give him this. It should help with the pain." Hagrid lumbered from across the shack to bring Alexandra a small vial with no label. She shoved her hand under Remus's head and pulled him up to the lip of the vial. The taste was sweet, like cloves and cinnamon. He could care less what was inside, anything to dull the pain. In the next moments, his breathing grew steady and the pain grew duller. Alexandra continues to hold his hand and wipe away the sweat from his forehead.

"Remus I'm so sorry." She whispered as her voice cracked. Remus's mind was more coherent than before but he didn't understand quite what she meant.

"If I had known it was going to hurt you I wouldn't have done it. I never meant for that spell to hurt you but I didn't- I didn't have any choice." Alexandra inhaled heavily as she successfully fought back tears that welled in her eyes.

"Don't apologize...please," Remus muttered. "I've been through worse." Remus's eyes were drawn to her right arm, which was wrapped up in bandages and hung in a sling. His heart sank to the floor.

"Oh God no...please..." His grip on her hand grew tighter as he tried to pull himself closer to her "Please tell me it wasn't me! Tell me I didn't do that..." He was shaking. Alexandra did her best to lay him down and calm his nerves.

"Remus it's okay it wasn't you; you didn't hurt me, I promise." Alexandra was more successful at keeping herself together than Remus, whose tears were falling freely. He pulled at his hair and tried to hide his face, filled with shame.

"I hate that you had to see...me. I'm so sorry." Alexandra didn't say a word. She ran her fingers through his hair and managed to pull together a smile. She held onto his hand as tight as she could and pulled herself close to him. As soft as a whisper, she placed her lips on his forehead. Remus quickly relaxed and sighed. Her actions told him all he needed to know or at least all he cared to know for now.

She whispered close to his face, "I know how to handle magical creatures Remus, you aren't the first." When she smiled, Remus could feel his heart turn to water in her hands. She couldn't be serious? She knew what he was and was willingly accommodating him as no one else had before, caring for him after a transformation and near miss with death. She brushed off her first encounter with his werewolf like it was just part of her job and his mind was staggered.