Hurt | Remus Lupin

~8~ Crippled Finnigan

I was discharged from the hospital wing the next morning, but due to me having broken the same leg multiple times over the years, it took longer for it to fully mend so I had to walk around on crutches for a week.

Harry still had to stay in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend, so the entire team and I kept popping in and out trying to cheer him up.

Ollie finally visited Harry too after I yelled at him to get off his arse.

"I still don't know why he fainted!" Ollie said irritably. "No one else did."

"You idiot." I sighed. "Don't you know the things Harry's been through? He's gone through so much trauma in his life it's normal the dementors would effect him more than us."

"Yeah I suppose so." Ollie mumbled.

Even though I was on crutches, I still liked walking around the castle to help clear my mind, so I walked endlessly until I found myself in an unknown corridor. "Where the fuck am I?"

I turned back to go back the way I came when I heard someone call out my name. I awkwardly turned with my crutches to see Lupin. 

"What are you doing down here Miss Finnigan?" he asked, approaching me with his hands in his pockets.

"Just going for a walk professor. Or a hobble  I might say." I gestured to my crutches.

Lupin raised his eyebrows. "Going for a walk in the professors sleeping chamber hallway?"

"Oh, so that's where I am."

Lupin chuckled. "Would you like me to show you the way out?"

Before I could respond, the door I was standing in front of opened and there stood Snape.

"Why are you down here?" He asked me coldly.

"I got lost professor. I took the wrong staircase." I replied.

"I'm helping her find her way back." Lupin said.

Snape pursed his lips. "I find it strange that you two are always together."

"That's.....that's not true." I frowned. It was kind of true.

Snape slammed his door in my face and Lupin gestured me to follow him down the hall.

"I wonder what Snape does in his room all day." I said.

Lupin was walking super slowly so that I could use my crutches comfortably. "What do you think he does?"

"Probably plots ways to get Harry expelled."

Lupin laughed as we reached a large staircase.

"Oh Merlin here we go." I sighed.

Lupin watched me struggle for a moment. "Here why don't you just get on my back?"

"Are you sure?" I asked, after hesitating.

He nodded and took my crutches. "Come on."

I hopped onto his back and was surprised that this frail man was able to hold me so easily. I wasn't exactly a light person, with my tallish figure and the muscled I'd developed playing quidditch. I wrapped my arms around his neck and put my chin on his shoulder as he climbed up the stairs.

I breathed in, as his soft hair brushed my cheek. He smelled like a mix of hot cocoa, warm cashmere (like a hint of vanilla musk), citrus, and parchment. I wanted to take it all in.

Get over yourself you idiot, I thought to myself. He's your professor. 

When we got to the top of the stairs, he put me down gently and handed me back my crutches. I balanced myself on them. "Thanks." I mumbled, letting my brown hair fall over my face to hide my burning cheeks.