Moony's Girl

your deepest nightmares

Lily Hope Lupin tries to navigate how to deal with death and her past as they collide.

TW: Mentions of SA Mentions of Death

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Remus woke up to screaming coming from the bedroom across the hall. He rushed out of bed and ran into the other room, turning his wand into a flashlight. He placed it on the nightstand beside the bed and groaned softly, distressed that his daughter was troubled. He touched her arm softly. When she didn't wake, he began shaking her. When she finally woke, she sat up faster than she should have and her eyes snapped open. She instantly groaned, clutching her head and laying back down with tears in her eyes.

"Daddy!" She called out, not realizing her Dad was already there. He crawled in beside her bringing her closer to him. "Daddy," She cried quietly.

"Shh, I'm here baby girl. I'm here." He began running his hand up and down her arm to try to soothe her. She continued to cry, breaking his heart. Knowing her nightmares caused this much distress bothered him. He wanted to help as much as he could, but unfortunately, this was a battle she had to face alone. Her mind needed to work out this itself. He could be there to help her through the pain, but he knew he couldn't take it away from her as much as he had wanted to. "It's alright, my love." He said as he began humming a soft tune to help her relax. He could feel her body grow less tense as she melted into him but then she was alert again. This happened a few more times before he realized that she had been trying to not fall asleep. "Sleep baby, I'm here. I won't let anything hurt you." She sniffled a little, still distraught. After a little bit, she sat up straight and grabbed her dad's arm.

"He....he...touched me." She said quietly. He gave her a questioning look. "Greyback. He touched me and wanted to as he called it, 'play with me'." She paused for a moment. "He said he wanted to wait till I was of age, but I don't think he did."

"Baby, I'm so sorry. I should have protected you."

"Don't be ridiculous, Dad. It most definitely wasn't your fault." He frowned and leaned in kissing her hair.

"I will always feel responsible for that." He said softly, moving some hair away from her face. He sighed as he noticed her cheeks were still wet from crying. "Oh baby," he said softly, pulling her into his chest. He felt her flinch at the sudden movement.

"Sorry." She mumbled as she forced herself closer to him.

"That's never happened before." He said quietly, rubbing her back slowly. He was starting to realize that maybe working out the memories while she was sleeping wasn't a good idea. He removed his hand from her back, which resorted to a whimper escaping her lips. He chuckled softly and rubbed her arm to reassure her. "I'll be right back, love." He got up and kissed her on the forehead.

"Take your damn flashlight with you." She mumbled. He laughed again and grabbed his wand from the nightstand. He walked to his room and opened one of the drawers on his nightstand. He grabbed the vile that had the potion in it and sighed. He hated resorting to such extreme measures, but he also knew that she needed a good night's rest. Gods only knew how long it had been for her to not wake up crying. He pocketed the potion and walked back into Lily's room. She was lying on her side and had been crying some more. She looked up and tensed when she saw him and he frowned.

"Can I crawl in with you?" He asked softly. She nodded watching his every move as he placed the potion on the nightstand and climbed in beside her. "I want to try something different tonight." He said as he brought her into his lap. "First, I know you don't want to, but I want you to talk to me about this nightmare. We don't have to have a full conversation about it now, but that way it's at least out in the open. Next, I want you to tell me something ridiculous about the dream. I want you to prove to yourself it's not real. Even if you have to make it up, I want you to believe it yourself." He began stroking her cheek lightly with the back of his hand. "And lastly, I want you to focus on my touch. It won't hurt you or harm you in any way. This way, you can separate your dreams from what's reality, yeah?" His voice seemed to soothe her and he smiled. "It looks like we're off to a good start." He said quietly as he continued stroking her cheek. "When you start talking about the dream, I need you to release all that negative energy. Cry if you need to. Yell if you want to. Get all your feelings out about this dream. Okay?" She nodded. "Whenever you're ready."