moony ~ remus lupin

Chapter Twenty Three • Marauders are Missing

After a few days of PDA from James and Lily, the full moon was right around the corner. Remus was getting restless the day before and could barely eat even though he was definitely starving, and Claire could tell.

They had been in the Great Hall eating dinner, listening to the tapping of Remus's foot as he picked around his food. Claire, Remus, and Lily had been studying late all last week for O.W.L.S. and hadn't got much sleep anyways, so Claire couldn't  imagine how tired he was right now. Claire and Lily were slowly nodding off at the table, Lily leaning against James.

Claire rested her head on her fist, closing her eyes as she too picked at her food. She never really had much of an appetite the night of the full moons, just because of the anxiety that came with dating a werewolf. A teenage werewolf. The lights had slowly started to fade and she was only tuned into her thoughts, not Sirius and Peter arguing. Claire thought about Remus, and Marlene, and Lily, and Mrs. Potter, and Christmas. It was only November now though.

Eventually, she was laying her head on Marlene's arms on the table. Marlene didn't seem to care or notice. Claire could still hear the faint tapping of Remus's foot against the floor, the way the soul of his shoe hit the ground was like lullaby as she tried to stay awake. "Don't fall asleep on me now," Remus whispered. She jerked up from the table and said, "Right. Sorry."

"Remus, are you alright? You seem worried," Dorcas asked. Her eyes narrowed on him as he ran his hands through his hair. "No, actually. I'm going to go to the Hospital Wing..." he started to get up, eyeing James, Sirius, and Peter but they were deep in conversation. "Bye, Remus! Hope you feel better," all the girls said, waving to him as he left. He gave a forced smile to Claire before disappearing into the hall.

"I wonder what's up with him," Mary said, flipping through the Daily Prophet. "Yeah...what are you reading?" Claire said, trying her best to change the subject and stay awake at the same time. "Oh, just the Daily Prophet. They've got a knew writer you know. Rita Skeeter's her name. Personally, I think she writes loads of shit," Mary said, running her finger along the page. "Ooo! I have to check it out!" Marlene said sarcastically. They all sat there for a while, Claire leaning over to read the paper with Mary.

Lily fell asleep against James and was no longer in either conversations. "Hey, James?" Claire said, kicking his feet. "What?" He said, still paying attention to Sirius and Peter. "Remus is in the hospital wing." James didn't even turn away from the boys, only nodded and waved his hand at her. "Yeah, yeah, okay," he mumbled, not paying any attention to her at all.

"He never listens," Claire muttered, getting up from the table. "I'm going to the Library for some last minute studying." The girls that were awake nodded and let her go, Marlene following because she needed the Transfiguration answers. "If you see Remus, tell him to feel better!" Mary and Dorcas called as they walked away.

"What is up with Remus anyways?" Marlene asked. "Probably just a twenty four hour thing. Pomfrey will fix it, I'm sure," Claire replied, nonchalantly. "Oh, I thought you'd be a little more worried." Claire turned to face Marlene, her blonde hair shining in the sunset.

"Normally I would be, but I know Pomfrey fixes him up every time."

"Right."

A few other students were already at their usual spots in the library, so Marlene and Claire took the empty one by the window. Claire pulled out all of her books, Marlene waiting for Transfiguration. "I thought you had good marks," Claire said casually, stacking her books on top of each other. "Not since second year. I'm good at History, not Transfigur- ation." Claire nodded, handing her the homework.

They worked together for hours before Marlene left. Claire stayed behind to finish her Runes essay, glancing out the blackened window. The full moon was bright, staring right into the library. Throughout the night, she heard a few howls but tried not to think about it. The thought of Remus in pain was unbearable.