A Snake's Secrets ~Draco&Hermione FF~

Chapter 15 ~ Slave to the Moon

Draco’s POV

               I tilted my head back as I downed the little vial of Wolfsbane, shuddering slightly as its warmth spread through my chest. My fingers trembled as I placed the cork back into the opening, and I forced them to steady with some difficulty. The full moon was tomorrow, and I had felt its power over me growing with every day. I already felt disconnected from reality somehow, and it scared me.

               I placed the vial on the nightstand and lay back on the bed, staring at the cracks on the ceiling of Remus’ spare bedroom. The smell of Tonks’ cooking wafted up to me, and I could hear Teddy’s high-pitched giggles from the living room, where I knew Remus was playing with him. It sounded like what a typical family evening would be like, and here I was, a newly changed werewolf taking up space in their home. I always felt like I was intruding, but I knew I needed Remus’ help if I ever wanted to manage my transformation around my own family.

               Teddy squealed in delight, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sound. I let the image of my child take over my mind, this time picturing a beautiful little girl with eyes like Hermione’s. I slipped into the fantasy of what my family would be like, and left reality for a while.

               Tonks’ voice eventually broke through my dream. “Draco, dinner is ready!”

               I pushed myself off the bed, but then had to put a hand on the wall to steady myself as a tremor passed through my body. My muscles clenched tightly all over for a moment. Then it was over, and I went downstairs without difficulty.

               I ruffled Teddy’s hair when I passed him in his high chair, and it changed to match the color of mine as he giggled. I took my usual seat and rested my elbows on the table, trying to stop the twitching of my muscles under my skin. Tonks set a plate in front of me, and I caught the look of sympathy in her eyes before she sat down to feed her son.

               Remus took his seat across from me, and I noticed that he wasn’t looking that well either. I was sure I looked worse, but it just showed me that I would still be suffering under the weight of the moon for many years to come.

               The table was quiet as we ate, and my eyes kept straying back to Tonks feeding Teddy. I imagined Hermione doing the same for our child, and the thought made my chest constrict with pain. Remus was making things on the table fly around, and his son reached for them with a smile of amazement on his face.

               I shoved back from the table, suddenly unable to watch this happy family. I felt their eyes on me as I left the room hastily, and Teddy began to cry. They didn’t say anything to me and just worked on shushing their son. It created a pit of jealousy in my chest, and I had to force myself not to slam my bedroom door shut.

               I spent the rest of the evening pouring over the books Remus had given me about werewolves. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for within them, but at least it gave me something to do. The ingredients for Wolfsbane were already branded into my mind so that I could make the potion on my own when I left Remus’ care, but I still kept reading through all the information, mostly all things that Remus had explained to me himself.

               The next thing I knew, I was jerking awake where I had fallen asleep at the desk. The screaming from my nightmare seemed to follow me until I realized Teddy was crying in the next room. I watched Tonks’ shadow through the crack in the door, and I soon heard her singing to her son softly. My back ached in protest when I stood up, but I finally collapsed on the bed and fell back asleep instantly.

               When I opened my eyes again, Remus was shaking me. Relief broke the urgency on his face, and he stepped back. I noticed he used the wall for support.

               “I couldn’t get you to wake up,” he said quietly.

               I sat up slowly, trying to catch my breath as the movement sent pain through my body. “What time is it?”

               “The moon will be up in an hour,” he said. “You’ve been asleep all day.”

               I rubbed my face, letting that sink in. I hadn’t meant to sleep so long, but I had a feeling it had been out of my control.

               He watched me for a moment before he spoke again. “We need to get down in the cellar.”

               I nodded and staggered to my feet. He put a hand on my shoulder as he guided me through the house, and I noticed that Tonks and Teddy didn’t seem to be home. I didn’t know whether that was a good or bad sign, but I tried not to linger on it as I descended down into the cellar.

               The chains sent a shiver down my spine as I remember the time I spent locked in the cellar of my own home, but I knew they were necessary. Remus put them on me silently, then went across the room to bind himself as well. I tested the strength of the chains absentmindedly, listening to them rattle against each other.

               “Will these hold?” I asked. I felt stupid asking that, but they fit snuggly already, and I knew that my arms and legs would change shape.

               “They are enchanted to change with you,” Remus explained, his voice sounding a bit raspy. He was mostly hidden by shadows, but I knew that he had finished putting the chains on himself. “Trust me, you won’t be going anywhere.”

               I leaned back against the wall as my muscles contracted beneath my skin. “Will the Wolfsbane help the pain?”

               “Regretfully, no,” he said. “But you should at least be more yourself when you change.”

               “So we won’t kill each other, then,” I muttered.

               “That’s the idea,” he said with a painful chuckle. “But we can’t reach other anyway.”

               I clenched my fists and shut my eyes as another surge of pain went through me. I remembered the first time I transformed, alone in the cellar. It had terrified me then, and it still terrified me now. But I felt a little better knowing that I wasn’t going through it alone this time.

               Remus’ breaths were becoming labored, and I could just make out his shape moving haphazardly in the shadows. My knees gave out beneath me, and I dug my fingers against the floor in pain. I could already feel my bones shifting, preparing to take on a completely different shape.

               I saw the moonlight slipping across the floor through the window above my head. My eyes found Remus’ glowing yellow ones in the darkness. Then the snapping started, and I tossed my head back on a scream that turned into a howl.

               The sunlight made the hair in my face shine, and it made me forget about the darkness I’d been drowning in. I looked across the cellar and saw Remus buttoning his shirt, a clean one that Tonks must have left for him. I saw clean clothes lay next to me as well, and I realized I was only wearing what was left of my pants, which wasn’t much.

               Remus walked over and touched my chains with his wand, and they fell to the floor. “Tonks has breakfast ready,” was all he said before he went up the stairs.

               I lay on the floor for another minute before I forced myself into movement. I pulled on the fresh clothes and headed up the stairs, but I continued on past the kitchen, deciding to clean up a bit before I faced them.

               I went over what I could remember from the night before as I let the water wash over me. My wrists ached from how hard I had jerked against the chains. It had taken a while before I could control myself. When I finally realized what was going on, I managed to focus on Remus, who had been watching me the whole time. His gaze seemed to calm me a little, and I didn’t go crazy trying to kill him as I probably would have.

               If the Wolfsbane had kept me that sane, then maybe there was hope for me when I had to transform around Hermione and the baby.