𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 || 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧

•𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕•

"Mr. Lupin, you're late," Slughorn observed the boy in surprise. Almost every head in the class turned to Remus, who was leaning against the door frame. Aurora noticed how tired he looked, like he wasn't getting any sleep for the last week. She also peeked at the rest of the Marauders who were throwing worried looks at each other.

"I am sorry, sir," Remus said, out of breath. He made his way to his seat after Slughorn nodded and pointed him to come in. He slowly sat next to Aurora, without acknowledging her. His pale face and the bags under his eyes made him look like he was dying. She examined the drops of sweat on his temple. "What could've possibly happened?" she wondered. Not that she cared, she was just feeling curious about what made the boy resemble a corpse over one night.

"Are you finally dying?"

"Don't be on cloud nine. I will haunt you even if I die," Remus said wearily, laying his head on the desk.

"Then why are you looking like you're finally dying?" Aurora ignored the boy's reply.

"To see if I look more attractive this way."

"You don't look attractive in any way."

"Love letters from every one of your girl friends have been saying the otherwise since the fourth grade." Remus's mocking tone made Aurora roll her eyes. She was aware of all the attention he was getting from the girls of Gryffindor, which was another reason why she hated the boy. The girl didn't like the way Remus was able to wrap everyone around his finger when he wanted.

"There won't be any love letters if you look like this."

Remus, on the other hand, did not appreciate the way the conversation was heading. He knew how stubborn Aurora could be in getting the answer that she wanted.

"I see you switched your seat." He decided to attempt to change the subject. The boy had noticed that Aurora was sitting on the left side of the desk immediately when he stepped into the classroom but decided not to say anything to the girl- by anything, he meant 'thanks'.

"I simply couldn't bear the thought of touching your arm again," The girl said glancing at his right arm. The deep scar that she had noticed a month before had healed, however, there were new fresh cuts.

"Yeah, so dreadful," Remus muttered closing his eyes. Usually, he would try to annoy her at the moments like this, but today his whole body was hurting, making it hard to mess with Aurora.

Aurora knew something was up with Remus; entering the class late once a month, looking worn out. Moreover, new wounds and scars made the situation look even more mysterious. Because of her nature, she was dying from curiosity to know what was happening.

"What are those scars?"

"A cat scratched."

"Doesn't look like a cat scratch."

"Are you worried for me, Martin? That's sweet." Remus raised his head and looked the girl right in the eye. There was no softness, mocking, or annoyance in his voice, just tiredness.

"I'm worried for myself, Lupin. What if you had been attacked by a werewolf and now you want to hurt me? After all, it was a full moon yesterday."

"I wouldn't want to eat you if I was a werewolf. You stink," the boy said, breaking eye contact. He was starting to feel anxious and annoyed. It was just a stupid and sarcastic comment, he had no reason to feel aggrieved. Right?

Did she know something?

He roughly ran his hand through his hair, like he wanted to pull it off. After the gesture, he saw three or four strands of hair around his fingers.