The Marauders: Year One (female)

52. Fix Her

Remus woke up in a dark, comfortable room. Her eyes hurt when she tried to open them, but she kept blinking. She felt groggy and dull, but at least her body and head had stopped aching. The world was blurry around her, but she was vaguely aware of a presence by the foot of her bed.

'Whoozit?' she asked weakly.

The person in the white lab coat stepped forward hesitantly. 'Remus? Remus, it's me. Damocles.'

'Oh. It's good to see you,' Remus told him croakily.

'You might not say that in a minute,' he muttered. 'Anyway, how are you feeling? Is everything... okay?' He held a clipboard in his hands.

Remus scratched her forehead. 'Err... Better than before, I'd say.'

Damocles scribbled something down on the clipboard.

'I've never had a Transformation like that one,' said Remus wonderingly. 'I didn't bite or hurt myself, but my head hurts instead, and I feel really dizzy when I sit up.'

Damocles looked at her over his glasses. He was slowly coming into focus. 'Lie down, lie down.'

Remus looked at him uncertainly. 'Umm.. Do you know why... I mean, why was my Transformation so different?'

Damocles swallowed. 'There was a Potion... It was supposed to be completely safe... I don't -- I don't know what happened.'

Remus recoiled in shock. He'd given her a Potion without telling her? One that was supposed to be safe? She had come here to be looked after, not to be a test subject. Dahlia had made it sound like it was optional. 'You -- you tested a Potion on me?' she asked incredulously. 'Without asking?'

'Well, my dear --' Damocles blustered, ' it is -- well, it is a facility for testing Potions, or rather, should I say -- a laboratory.'

'Right,' said Remus. 'Only I didn't know you'd be testing stuff on me, and from what the others said, it sounded like it was optional.'

Damocles winced. 'I've owled your parents. They should be here any minute now.'

He sat in a chair, and held his head in his hands, looking miserable.

Remus had hardly felt so violated in her life. The fact that someone had had the audacity to treat her like a lab rat. Like she wasn't human at all, not even just a tiny bit.

She didn't know what to say to Damocles. She'd actually rather liked him.

He looked up from his miserable slump as he heard a loud "crack" in the distance. 'That'll be your parents come to collect you,' he said dismally.

Remus sat up as she heard her parents' worried voices getting nearer. 'Where is she? How is she? Is she all right?'

They burst into the room, led by a harassed-looking elf. They both gasped in horror and anger as they saw their daughter. 'How could you?' shrieked Hope angrily at the cowering Damocles.

'Fix her!' bellowed Lyall. 'Fix her, right now.'

'We trusted you!' shouted Hope, backing Damocles into the wall.

Remus sat up straight, despite the fact that her head spun. 'What's -- what's the matter?' she asked. From how her parents were behaving, something must be seriously wrong. Something worse than headaches and blurry vision.

'I'm sorry!' Damocles said, not meeting their eyes. 'I'm sorry! I can't do anything.'

'MUM!' Remus yelled. 'DAD! What in Merlin's name is going on?'

They all turned to her sheepishly. 'Remus, we're sorry,' Lyall said. 'We're so, so sorry.'

'Her eyes!' gasped Hope.