Among The Stars --- Remus Lupin

•eighteen•

Remus checked on Ara in the hospital wing whenever he had a spare minute. Lily and Peter and Sirius and Mary and James visited, too; bringing flowers and chocolates and balloons and cards and other silly things.

Ara hadn't fully gained consciousness yet. She had only been awoken to eat or drink or be given medicine, and no on else was allowed in during these times. She was still too fragile to be talked to and there wasn't any point because she wouldn't remember these awakenings anyway.

It wasn't until a week and a half after the incident that Ara awoke on her own. She sat up, confused, and quickly laid back down as the flood of memories surrounded her. The horrors of Remus' thoughts continued to haunt her mind.

The nurse rushed to her bedside at the sound of her groans.

"Shh, shh, you're alright. I'll get you some medicine to help with that headache," Madam Pomfrey soothed.

As if summoned by her words, an earsplitting headache erupted in Ara's skull. She could barely feel the spoon of syrup being poured down her throat, and almost instantly the ache reduced to a dull pain.

"There, there," Pomfrey cooed, patting Jones' back.

A glass of water was pushed into her hands and Ara drank it with much gratitude.

"Professor Dumbledore said that he wanted to speak with you as soon as you were awake. If you feel too tired to talk, though, I can easily override his wishes. Your health is much more important then any conversation he wants to have," the nurse bustled.

"No, no that's fine. I need to know what happened."

"He's been here to see you, you know. Mr. Lupin. He's a good boy, he thinks this whole thing is his fault. Can't believe he agreed to let you practice on him after what he's been through."

"Do you take care of him? When he comes back from transitioning?"

"Of course, dear."

"When can I see him?"

"I think we should wait. An encounter that happens too soon could seriously damage your still healing mind."

Ara was too tired to ask what that meant.

"Go to sleep, dear. I'll wake you when Albus arrives."

The sheets tucked themselves around her with a wave of Pomfrey's wand, and Ara drifted off to sleep.

-----

She was awoken after what felt like minutes. Dumbledore sat at a chair at the end of her bed, peering into a box of jelly slugs.

"The red ones were always my favorite, you know? Mind if I take one?"

Ara waved her hand in permission and pushed herself into a seating position.

"How are you feeling Ms. Jones?" Dumbledore asked, chewing thoughtfully on the candy.

"Not my best, sir."

He chuckled, and popped the tail end of the slug in his mouth. They sat in silence for a minute, until the headmaster finally spoke.

"Your talents are like nothing I've ever seen before. To be able to travel so far into someone's mind without any prior practice is extraordinary. Natural born Legilimens are only supposed to be able to read what is on the surface, anything more advanced than that takes years of training. Even some of the most dedicated Legilimency practicers cannot achieve what you did."

This did not make Ara feel any better.

"Professor Trelawney is deeply sorry for what happened, and as much as I'd like to say it wasn't her fault... well, let's just say I'm going to be taking your extra lessons into my own hands. I'm assuming you knew about Remus' condition prior to the incident?"

Ara nodded.

"Mr. Lupin is in quite a vulnerable state of mind. It might seem as though his true feelings are hidden on the outside, but his mind is utterly incapable of resisting 'intruders'. If Sybil had known about his situation I'm sure she wouldn't have let him participate. Really the blame falls on me, for not overseeing her teachings."

"Don't you need to know about what I saw?"

Dumbledore smiled patiently, "I already had a talk with Mr. Lupin, from him I was able to get the gist."

"Does he know exactly what I... 'discovered'?"

"No, but you're not the only one who can 'read people,' to use your words."

"What did he say? What did you ask him?"

"Nothing to be concerned about, Ms. Jones. I just wanted to ensure that he hadn't been injured during the lesson; an inexperienced Legilimens can cause damage to the mind when traveling so deep."

"Is he okay?"

"Remus is perfectly fine, another reason why I am so impressed. But Ms. Jones I'm especially worried about you. Such an, ah, adventure can be scarring. How are you?"

Ara shook her head and she knew, that somehow, he knew what she was feeling.

Dumbledore nodded, "Although Poppy disagrees, I think it would be wise for you to see Mr. Lupin. He's quite anxious to see you, along with Ms. Evans, Ms. MacDonald, Mr. Black, Mr. Pettigrew, and Mr. Potter. You have made quite the impression on my students, Ms. Jones."

Ara blushed.

"I'll see if I can convince Ms. Pomfrey to let Mr. Lupin visit you for a little while tomorrow. For now, get more rest. The headache should subside soon. We will discuss details of your missed classes later, I know you're worried about them."

Ara thanked the headmaster and waved him goodbye.

-----

Remus practically ran to her when he was allowed behind the curtain.

"Can I hug you?" he asked.

Ara barely had time to nod before he threw his arms around her in a firm, yet careful hug. She hugged him back just as tight. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought back to Trelawney's horrific lesson, how could she think of anything else?

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, trying not to let the tears fall.

"No, I'm sorry. I knew I would hurt you and I did."

"Stop it. I completely invaded your privacy."

"I don't think you could control it."

The scary thing was, somewhere deep inside her, she did think she could control it. A part of her was worried that she had set off a power-hungry spark.

Ara pulled back and looked him in the eyes, "How do you live with it?"

The tears finally fell and he wiped them from her face.

"I just do," he replied.

"That's lame."

He laughed and pulled her into him once more, letting her cry.

Pomfrey soon came and forced Remus out. Ara really didn't want him to leave. He promised he'd visit soon.

"Remus?"

"Hmm?"

"You know this isn't your fault, right?"

The sad smile he gave in response scared her.

He kissed her cheek and she watched him walk through the opaque white curtain the nurse held open.

~~~~~

A/N: this chapter is sooo boring, sorry

BUT HEY I'M GONNA ADD SOME SHAMELESS SELF PROMO ANYWAY

The Fanfiction Awards of 2017 are officially open!!! If you love this book and want to nominate it for a cool sticker on the cover then you should go read my last chapter.

Thanks for reading! (: