Wolf With a Lamb's Heart (Young Remus Lupin x Reader)

Chapter 18

                           Your POV

     You hear voices. They fade in and out, never fully comprehensible. Your eyelids feel as though they weigh a thousand kilograms, which keeps you from opening your (E/C) eyes. Finally, you gather the strength to open them. You are lying in a bed in the hospital wing. At first, you are confused as to why you are here. You then remember the incident at the Quidditch match. Something had flown at your head after you won, perhaps a bludger. Your whole body aches, but the worst pain is rooted in your skull.
     Your eyes find the owners of the voices you had heard. Surrounding your hospital bed are five faces, peering down at you. You aren't happy to see them. Even through the Quidditch incident, you remained cold toward Lily, James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus. You are most angry at the latter.
     "Morning, gorgeous," Sirius says sarcastically. You narrow your eyes at him, lips drawn into a frown.
     "Shut it, Sirius," Lily responds for you, annoyed. She turns her attention to you, saying, "(Y/N), we're really sorry about what we did at Hogsmeade."
     "Yeah, we just wanted you to know the truth behind why Remus couldn't meet you," Peter adds.
     "Sorry, (Y/N)," James finishes, an ashamed look on his face.
     You and the rest look at Sirius, who looks at all your faces and says, "Oh, right, I'm next. Sorry, (Y/N)," cracking his signature cocky grin at you.
     You manage to smile through the pain in your skull, unable to stay mad at your friends any longer. Plus, Sirius' apology really was laughable. Your smile does not extend to Remus, however.
     "We'll let you rest now," Lily says, turning to go. Everyone leaves, with the exception of Remus. You want to ask questions about what happened after the Quidditch match, but you don't want to ask Remus.
     "Now that you can't run, can we please talk?" Remus asks with a smile. His smile fades as you narrow your eyes at him, without saying a word. "Well, I'll talk and you can listen."
     "I want to apologize for what happened that night. I tried to ask you if we could change the date, but I didn't get a chance that day. Sirius went to talk to you, even though I told him not to. But- I didn't want to tell you the truth at first- but the reason I wasn't there is because it was a full moon." Your eyes cloud in confusion, wondering if this is his idea of a joke. "I-I'm a werewolf." Despite the pain in your head, your eyes widen and your jaw drops.
     Remus avoids your eyes, continuing, "I didn't want to tell you because I thought you would think less of me. I'm used to the harsh treatment because of what I am, but I cared so much for you that I was scared to tell you. I didn't want you to dislike me. I'm sorry."
     You try to speak, but your tongue feels heavy, making your words distorted. "I would never dislike you for being a werewolf. I just wish you had told me sooner. I can't believe you wouldn't trust me," you say, hurt, but no longer angry.
"I know. I'm really sorry. I just really like you and don't want you to not like me back," he says.
"I like you a lot, too," you say, smiling, wincing a bit at the pain.
The fear and sadness disappears from Remus' face and is replaced by a small, carefree smile. "Before that night, we weren't really- official, I guess you could say. I should have asked you this sooner, so will you be my girlfriend?"
You immediately reply, "Of course, Remus," your smile brightening. Remus smiles back, a larger smile on his face. He hesitates for a split-second before leaning down and lightly kissing you on the lips.
After a moment, you break apart, once again smiling. "So I suppose you want to know what happened?" Remus asks you, gesturing to your right temple, his smile fading. A look of concern and weariness replaces his smile.
"Yes. All I remember is something flying at my head, pain, and then feeling like I was falling. Then everything went black."
"After Gryffindor won the Quidditch match, one of the Ravenclaw beaters was so angry that he hit a bludger your way. It shattered your skull. The blow knocked you unconscious and you fell almost 50 feet. You had so many broken bones and you had a punctured lung. Madame Pomfery says you are lucky to be alive. I was so scared when that bludger hit you." He takes a deep, shaky breath in. "All your injuries are fixed, but you have to stay here for a while more. It's evident you're still in pain, so you're only just in recovery," Remus tells you, a look of fear on his face.
"How long was I unconscious?"
Remus answers, "Just under three days. If you hadn't woken up today, you would have been transferred to St. Mungo's."
You are shocked that you were out for that long. You gather your thoughts and say, "What happened to the Ravenclaw beater?"
"He was kicked off the Quidditch team and lost his house 100 points, but no one knows what else happened. No one's seen him since his parents were summoned to Hogwarts. Most think he was expelled. Sirius is convinced that he was killed by being sent into the forest alone, wand-less. Obviously, that's not too likely," Remus explains, smiling and rolling his eyes at the last part of his explanation.
     You now notice how tired he looks. His dark circles are extremely pronounced against his dull skin. With a look of concern, you simply say, "You look tired."
     He responds, "I barely slept for the past two nights. I stayed here in case anything happened or you woke up." He motions around him to the hospital wing.
     Remus surprises you, once again, with this. "You didn't have to stay," you respond quietly, surprise and concern written on your face.
     "I wanted to." Remus smiles a small, weary smile as you stifle a yawn. "You need to rest or Madam Pomfery will kill me."
     "Okay, but you need to sleep too. Why don't you stay here?" you ask him.
     "I was planning on it," he replies, the smile never leaving his face. "Sleep well, (Y/N)," he adds softly.
     You move over in your bed, leaving a space, smiling and saying, "When I said stay here, I didn't mean in the chair next to my bed. There's plenty of room, make yourself comfortable."
     "If you insist," he answers, chuckling quietly. He lays down next to you, not even getting under the sheets. You throw the extra blanket over him. You close your eyes and almost immediately fall asleep, but not before you feel Remus plant a kiss on your forehead. You both sleep peacefully in each other's arms.
                                -----