Headdesking - Remus Lupin/OC

Chapter 21: Anything But Human, So Much More Than Monster

A young boy lay sleeping in one of the beds of the hospital wing. His face was turned sideways and buried deep into the pillow. The duvet reached so far as to cover his shoulder.

There was a girl sitting on a chair close by his side. Her hand had found its way on top of his. She was presently paying acute attention to the marks on his face, counting each one with growing distress, only somewhat settled by the sound of his slow breathing hitting the pillow. Each scratch she made note of was inspected and followed up with an imagined enactment of its inception.

What she didn't want to imagine was the time when the tear streaks on his face would have occurred.

When James, Sirius and Peter entered the hospital wing, they saw something they had yet to be met with before upon their visits. A girl, already sitting by his bedside.

"How long have you been here?" James asked her.

She couldn't make out if he was in a good or bad mood, but assumed that he and his friends were probably pissed off at her. "Not that long." she said, moving her hand into her lap while examining the rest of the incoming crowd.

She knew that she should probably be pissed off at them still. But whenever her eyes found the boy lying in the hospital bed so vulnerably, and with the knowledge of what they were trying to do for him, she couldn't find it in herself to resent them anymore.

"I see." He exchanged a minor glance with Sirius. She could see the process of thoughts in their eyes, and was about to ask what was up when Sirius spoke.

"Remus had a... pretty bad fall yesterday."

Her mouth had opened to respond, but when amusement began tugging at the corners of her lips, she had to close it by way of stifling it.

They arrived by Remus' bed. James put his hands in his pockets and Sirius looked out across the empty beds.

"Was that before or after the wolf took over?"

She relished in the reaction her words had. The boys all looked at her with mixes of shock and disbelief.

"You know the truth?" came Peter.

"Did Lily tell you?" James demanded, like he was already planning the moment when he was going to take out his grief with her in his head.

She nodded toward Remus. "He told me."

James laughed without really seeming that amused. He crossed his arms with a superior expression. "No way."

"Hey, I'm not the liar in the group." she sputtered defensively.

Everyone's heads turned to Remus then.

With a wicked smile Sirius bent toward the bed. "We should wake him." he suggested, indicating a newfound investment in the unfolding narrative.

James pressed him back with his hand. "No! Don't wake him."

"Madam Pomfrey wouldn't like it." Peter stammered.

"'Think I care what Madam Pomfrey says?" he countered. Though a glance behind his back confirmed it to the rest of them.

"Hi."

Everyone turned back to the boy in the bed. Remus was mostly directing his greeting at Hazel. He turned over on his side and pushed his hand against the mattress in a shaky-at-best effort to sit up. He made it about halfway into an upright position before settling.

"Hi."

James rolled his eyes dramatically. "Can you be quiet for even one minute?" He took Sirius and dragged him over to the neighbouring bed, directly followed by Peter. The three of them sat down in an effort to give the two some space.