Moonstruck | A Remus Lupin Love Story

Chapter 35: An Escape

It was almost ready. Esmeray had been confined to her room for the last two days and had simply refused to leave. She had barely even slept. It just had to be perfect.

After the full moon, and after a morning of consoling the embarrassed and regretful werewolf, Remus had once again turned to isolation as a resolve for his self-hatred. The more time Esmeray had spent with Remus, the further she understood the nature of his being. She understood how his past and his disease had molded the man he was. And while he was a generous and kind soul, he was also an extremely troubled and despondent being. Something that broke Esmeray's heart upon witnessing it. Remus continued to see the light within her but failed to see the light within himself. She also pitied his ailment, and worried that his discontentment for it would transverse to her, if he ever found out what she truly was. All Esmeray had wanted to do these last few days, was to care for and support Remus in his time of hurt, but he was rarely to be found. There was evidence littered about of his existence; old tea mugs, open books, the scrunched up and slept in blankets on the couch, but she could never catch him. She had even wandered into the woods on a few occasions, but it was to no success. If she had wanted to, she could have left, and escaped, running back to the others to check on their situation. However, her heart was deeply knitted to another, and her love and care for Remus cemented her to the cottage. She couldn't leave. And then, she had an idea. Remus had struggled so much due to his lack of control during changes, something that was fixed by a wolfsbane potion. That was why Esmeray had been locked in her room for two days straight, desperately trying to concoct the elixir. From her extensive reading and study, she remembered how to make the potion, the only thing that had been troublesome were the ingredients. She found a few things within the cottage, and also buried in her trunk of trinkets, however some of the rarer and more expensive ingredients (that were needed to be purchased) were the tricky part of her plan. However, thanks to the knowledge and lessons she gained when she went and explored the wizarding world, she was confident that she could figure out satisfactory supplements using ingredients from Remus's garden. Her room had transformed into a smokey swamp, covered in slimy oils and goopy liquids that caked the wooden floor. It was as if a bomb had exploded in her very room, as the air was lathered in a heavy mist. There were bottles and saucepans and vials scattered around, each smeared in their own unique colored sludge. However, after much experimental brewing, she had finally done it. She grabbed the bottle of viscous black slush and ran out of the room, a trail of violet smoke following her. She was eager to give it to Remus, in hopes of relieving his strain and fear of himself. But as she glanced around the room, as usual, Remus was nowhere to be found. She decided to leave it on the coffee table by his current sleeping arrangement, in hopes he would find it. She slumped back into her room to clean up the atrocity she had caused to the state of Remus's bedroom and herself, but she knew, it would be worth it.

The next day, as Esmeray left her room, she was startled to find Remus standing in the kitchen. He had been staring out of the door and into the forest as he twiddled his fingers. Upon hearing her footsteps, his eyes had then found Esmeray, and his face relaxed.

'Morning,' he offered.

'Good morning,' Esmeray smiled softly as she slowly stepped closer. Remus scratched his head as his eyes scattered around the room for a second, before intently landing back into the clutches of Esmeray's eyes.

'Thank you,' was all he said.

'For what?' Remus reached into his pocket, pulling out the bottle of Wolfsbane and placing it on the kitchen bench, before shoving his hands into his pockets, and deepening the stare. He had to make sure she knew, how much this meant to him.

'I don't know how you did this, but thank you, Esmeray.'

'You're welcome,' she smiled again, moving closer to stand on the other side of the bench.