evans²| r.lupin

Chapter Forty-Two

Cassiane could hear her friends, -those that were still alive-, talk inside in her room. They were worried, scared that she wouldn't recover from everything that had happened to her a few nights ago.

They were hurt and the pain in their voices, especially Remus', made her heart ache. She fought whatever drugs they had put her on and opened her eyes, as she groaned something that sounded like; "I'm okay."

Remus jumped up from the chair he had been sleeping on the past two nights and kneeled next to her bed, carefully grabbing her hand and holding it against his heaving chest. "Hey... Hey Cassie. No, don't try to talk, we all heard you, we know you're here." He whispered, wiping the tears from his face. "I... I missed you, Cas."

The corners of her lips twitched, letting him know that she was still there and that she had missed him too. "Sorry." Cassiane added, meaning that she wished she could have done something to save her friends.

"You have nothing to feel sorry about." Lily said with a stern tone on her voice. "We're all so relieved to hear your voice again, Cassie. Wait a second, I'm going to tell your mum that you woke up."

"Thanks."

Remus sighed in relief and kissed her on the forehead. Over the one week Cassiane had been hospitalized he had barely left her side or slept, but being there when she woke up was so worth it. He thought he would never see her beautiful smile or her eyes open again and he blamed himself for everything that she had went through.

Maria and Robert Evans hesitantly stood next to her bed and spoke quietly to their daughter. They had lost their son two weeks ago and watching Cassiane in that state broke their hearts. Then, after Maria's instructions, they all left the room, in order to allow the patient to rest.

"Is she awake?" Sirius asked Remus who nodded.

"Yeah. I'm... I'll go to sleep for a while so tell her that I'm just resting." He mumbled, feeling the exhaustion of the whole week.

"Of course." Peter stated and along with Maria they found an empty bed for Remus. Later that day, he woke up and immediately searched for Cassiane. She was talking with Lily, and she looked much better than the morning.

"Hey Rem.'

He smiled and sat at the edge of her bed. "How are you, Cas?"

"I've certainly been better but, hey, according to mum I'm doing well. Lily was helping me catch up with everything." Cassiane explained and then morphed as she felt a sharp pain at the spot she had been stabbed.

"Don't move, Cassie." Lily advised her and placed another pillow under her head. "You have to be patient for a little longer."

"Rem, are you still planning to leave?" She asked, terrified of the prospect of being alone. Remus lowered his head and stroked her hair.

"Not yet. I talked with Dumbledore and he said we could wait for another week or so. You won't be alone, though. You can stay with Lils, Sirius or Peter, they all offered to give you a hand while I'm gone." He assured her. Remus wished he could avoid the mission the Order had for him, however, he was the only werewolf they felt they could trust for something so dangerous and difficult. On the other hand, he had to do his part, to honour the members they had lost.

"When can I go home?" The brunette wondered.

"Soon." Lily promised. "Maria mentioned that they might let you go the day after tomorrow."

Truly, Cassiane was allowed to leave and spend the rest of her recovery at her house. It wasn't easy for her and Remus, though. Apart from her injuries, she also had to face the nightmares and the thought that she wasn't safe anymore. She would flinch at the tiniest noise and wake up many times, when she managed to sleep.

Remus did everything the healers had adviced him to do. He was patient and careful not to upset or make Cassiane feel guilty for her behavior, because she wasn't. Few people had survived after Bellatrix Lestrange tortured them and to be fair, it was without a doubt, an extremely traumatic experience. On top of that, two of her best friends were gone and she had witnessed Marlene's murder.

"Why are you up so late?" Remus asked, as he spotted her sitting at the kitchen, all alone. "And most importantly, why didn't you wake me up?"

"I can't stand the nightmares." The woman explained, taking a bite of a sandwich she had made. "There's nothing I can do to stop them."

"Come here." He called, opening his arms. Cassiane happily lied in his lap and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know I can't really offer you a lot of help about that, but, try to remember that the things you see in your dreams are not real. I also want you to keep in mind that you did your best. No one could've handled that situation better than you."

She gave him a small, reluctant smile and inhaled deeply. No matter what they said, she still felt guilty, especially when Michelle or Sirius were around. Deep down, she knew that he was angry, that he blamed her and Cassiane couldn't stop thinking that she could have done more. "I appreciate it, I really do. Do you think that Sirius will forgive me?"

Remus crossed his arms and sighed, knowing that Sharon's death wasn't the only reason that Sirius seemed to have distanced himself. "No, Cas, I don't."

"What?" Her jaw almost dropped to the floor. Even if he truly believed that, he shouldn't have put so blantly.

"I think he's the traitor Dumbledore was talking about and Sirius believes that I am."

Cassiane frowned and slowly rose to her feet. "You have to be kidding! Sirius would never betray us, you know-"

"I know that his whole family worships You-know-who. It's not that unlikely that he decided to follow him too."