𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. ʀ. ʟᴜᴘɪɴ

twenty-seven

Evangeline had never been happier living with Remus. 

She loved everything about living with him, she liked learning about his funny habits and quirks that came with sharing a space with him. From books constantly littering their bed to mugs of half drunken tea being left around the cottage, she loved it. 

On the week leading up to the first full moon, he was more on edge than normal. 

A: for obvious reasons

B: he had a cold

"Sometimes I think the universe hates me," he sighed as she pressed her hand to his forehead, frowning at how abnormally warm it was. 

"Have you ever been sick in your wolf form?"

"No, though I reckon I'll just be more miserable than normal."

She handed him a cup of Wolfsbane, "drink up."

His face soured at the taste, "Merlin, this somehow tastes worse while being sick."

She took the cup from him and placed it on the bedside table, "can I get you anything?"

"A glass of water would be much appreciated."

She got up from the edge of the bed and walked to the kitchen, retrieving the glass of water for him. She walked back into the bedroom as he coughed into a tissue. She handed it to him, "go away, I'll get you sick."

"I'm not very concerned about that at the moment."

"You should be," he groaned, kicking the covers off of his body, "it's so hot in here."

"Air conditioning is on."

He let out an exasperated sigh, turning on his stomach. She rubbed his back gently, "you turn into such a baby while being sick. I like it."

"You enjoy my pain?"

"I enjoy taking care of you..." she hummed, getting up. She got a wet wash cloth and came back to his side of the bed, laying it over his neck. 

He sighed, "thank you."

"Feel good?"

"Amazing."

"I suppose you being sick has cancelled out how horny you always get," she said, earning a small laugh from him.

"What? You don't want to be sneezed on while I go down on you?"

It was her turn to laugh, "not exactly, Remus."

"I'll make it up to you when I feel better."

"I don't think I'm the one who needs to be made up too."

He peeked an eye open, "what? You don't miss having sex? I'm hurt."

She rolled her eyes and kissed his temple, "you'll be alright."

Evangeline kept a close watch on Remus leading up to the full moon. She brought him Wolfsbane, tea, water, food, and plenty of cold wash clothes. 

On the day of the full moon, he was sleeping all day. 

She walked into the bedroom with Wolfsbane, sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. She ran a hand over his back, "Remus, wake up."

He let out a huff, "let me sleep."

"Wolfsbane."

He sighed, "I don't even think I can move. Just leave it on the nightstand, I feel like I might throw up if I ingest anything right now."

"Alright," she said, placing the cup on the nightstand. 

She left him alone to sleep for the rest of the day. She spent her time in the living room reading and napping. The sun began to set, and Evangeline stirred awake on the couch at the sound of groaning coming from the bedroom. 

Her mind had yet to catch up with what exactly was happening. 

She stood up, stretching lightly, her ears perking up at the sound of sounds coming from the bedroom. 

"Remus?"

It went silent. She crept towards the bedroom, slowly opening the door, eyes widening when she didn't see Remus. 

And his wolf form was not of what she saw months prior. 

It was no wolf, it was what she saw in countless books on lycanthropy. Something that made the blood rush cold, a creature. 

Her eyes snapped to the nightstand, seeing the cup still full with Wolfsbane. 

"Oh... shit."

He turned towards her slowly, Evangeline couldn't see any part of him behind his eyes. They were full of fury, full of thirst. 

She backed up slowly as he, no, it, stared at her. She turned and ran just as it lunged at her, slamming the door shut. It growled and scratched frantically at the door, nothing like he did when he was on Wolfsbane in his wolf form. 

Her breathing became erratic as she reached for her wands and slipped into a pair of boots. 

The door bursted off of its hinges, and Evangeline bolted for the door. She ran outside as fast she could, heading for the woods. She threw soft curses at it, but nothing worked. 

It pounced on to her, causing her to fall to the ground. She turned and struggled to hold it back, its fangs wildly snapping at her. She felt a sharp pain in her hip, feeling its claws break through her skin. 

She let out a scream, trying to reach for her wand that was knocked out of her hand. 

Just before her arms gave out from trying to hold it back, a large black dog knocked it off of her. She turned on her side, watching the dog tackle it further into the forrest. 

Its attention was now on who she knew to be Sirius. She pressed her hand to the wound on her hip, her chest heaving as blood pooled around her. 

She didn't know what to do or what to focus on. Focus on not bleeding out? Focus on standing up and running? Focus on trying to help out Sirius?

She crawled on the ground, hand reaching for her wand before blacking out.