Bejeweled

Remus assumed things went like they usually did. He assumed his friends snuck him out of the Shrieking Shack, that they messed around in the forest all night, and then snuck him back in time to transform and pass out, where Dumbledore and Pomfrey would hover his sleeping form all the way back to the hospital wing where he’d sleep for a few hours before waking up to take some healing potions and recover. He assumed it was a fairly standard affair. As uneventful as a werewolf transformation could be. 

He assumed wrong. 

When his eyes fluttered open to late morning sunlight flitting through the windows of the Hospital Wing, his friends were waiting around his bed. This wasn’t wholly uncommon. He usually woke up around the same time each morning after transformation, so sometimes they’d crash for a few hours and be there for him. Most times, actually, unless the full moon fell on a school day and they had class. But this time it was clear they hadn’t slept a moment. Except Peter, he was currently crashed out on top of the hospital bed next to Remus’s own. 

But Sirius and James rushed to his side the moment his eyes opened. 

“What happened?” Remus asked right away. 

“She’s fine,” Sirius started, which was not the consolation he clearly was trying for. 

“Who? What happened?” Remus demanded. 

“Is he awake?” came Bella’s voice from the bed on Remus’s other side. 

His eyes jerked over at the sound, to where Bella was coming around the curtain. With a bandage across her chest. A bandage. Which meant it was a wound that Pomfrey couldn’t heal easily. Or maybe at all. Like something caused by a werewolf. 

Remus felt his stomach drop, his face and neck become warm, his hands start to shake. “Did-“ the word caught in his throat. He swallowed and tried again. “Did I-“

“You didn’t bite me,” Bella answered as soon as she realized what he was about to ask, without even letting him finish. 

“Then what…?” he asked, finding it hard to choke out any words, let alone a full sentence. 

Bella came over and sat on the side of his bed. He didn’t like how his friends were giving a respectful space to them. They only did things like that when shit was serious. 

Remus watched as his girlfriend gently removed one corner of the bandage and pulled down to separate more of the adhesive from her skin. Revealing four long, nasty claw marks running across her chest. Werewolf claw marks. Scars that couldn’t be healed. 

Remus was going to be sick. He shut his eyes tight, forcing himself to take long slow breaths through his nose to keep down whatever was in his stomach. 

Once he was fairly sure nothing would come up, he opened his eyes again. He traced the scars with his gaze slowly, forcing himself to take in every bit of pain he’d caused her. 

This was the reason he didn’t get close to people. The reason he never should have a girlfriend in the first place. He would always hurt them in the end. 

“I…I’m so sorry. I-I-You’ll never have to see me again, I-“ 

“Shut the fuck up,” she snapped at him. 

Remus could see Sirius and James flinch, clearly they wanted to step in and defend them, but they stayed out of it this time. 

“I’m not losing you over this. I’m not. It wasn’t your fault, so I’m not blaming you and neither will you,” Bella told him flat out, like it was a simple matter. 

Remus shook his head. No. No, she had to see that he was at fault. He was a monster who had done this to the woman he loved! He reached out and gently ran his middle finger between two of the gashes. “These are magical scars. They’ll never go away,” he said in a small voice. She would see him for the monster he was, she would. 

“Good,” Bella answered. “They’re a reminder of the time I fought a werewolf and kicked it’s ass,” she grinned proudly. A genuine, proud grin. 

This woman was insane. 

He finally looked up to meet her gaze. “You…did?” 

“Yeah,” she was still grinning all cocky, “you’ll feel it for a week. Sorry about that, but I bombarda-ed you half way across the forest. It was pretty sick.” 

Remus felt like time slowed as his mind ran a mile a minute. Here was this woman who had seen him in his worst state, who had been attacked by the wolf, would live the rest of her life with scars because of it, who was grinning proudly and bragging about winning the fight. Who hadn’t hesitated out of fear she would hurt him. Who never treated him like he was fragile because of his condition, but didn’t treat him like a monster because of it either. Who wouldn’t let him push her away, wouldn’t hear a word of it. Because she wasn’t fragile either. In fact, she was the strongest person he’d ever met. 

He couldn’t help it, he laughed. 

He laughed in relief. In love. In all the emotions bubbling over. And then he leaned forward and kissed his Bella. 

“I do love a woman who can kick my ass,” he grinned when they pulled apart. 

“You better,” she winked. 

~

“Ah, young love,” they all jumped when Dumbledore spoke. No one had noticed his approach, and he now stood behind James and Sirius, who quickly turned to face him. 

“Headmaster,” James nodded politely. 

“Potter,” he nodded back. “I thought I’d catch all of you together, as it seems there was much excitement last night.” 

Bella tried to subtly stick her bandage back in place, as if hiding it could somehow protect Remus. She didn’t care that it had happened. She didn’t blame Remus at all. None of them would dare breathe a word of the truth to anyone. But none of that changed the fact that a student had been hurt in a werewolf attack. 

None of them said anything for a moment, eyes darting to each other and back to Dumbledore. 

Bella cleared her throat nervously. “There was,” she finally agreed. 

“Can anyone explain to me what, exactly, happened?” Dumbledore asked with the tone of a man who seemed to know, but wanted to hear their explanations anyway. 

“Well,” Sirius began, “I was out of bed, um, supposed to meet with….someone. Then when I looked out a window I saw Cousin Bella walking towards the Forbidden Forest. I knew about the full moon, of course, so I ran after her. But it was weird, she wasn’t reacting. I kept calling her name and trying to get her attention, but…nothing. Like she was in a trance of some sort. 

“Then she stopped in a clearing where there was a werewolf—not Remus. It couldn’t have been Remus, it was a fully grown one not a teenage one. I paid a lot of attention during that unit in Defence, you see, so I’m good at identifying that,” he rambled, lying through his teeth. “I tried to stun it of course, when it ran at us, but it…” he gestured towards Bella’s chest. 

Dumbledore watched Sirius carefully, and then when he appeared to be finished, Dumbledore looked to her. “And your experience, Miss Black?” 

Bella took a deep breath. At least she didn’t have to lie….about much. She knew damn well it was Remus, but she’d keep that to herself. And about the Marauders being Animegi of course. “I…don’t really know. It was…really strange. One second I was in my dorm, writing in my diary, and the next…I blinked, and there was a werewolf attacking me. I have no memory of anything in between.” 

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you believe one of your dorm-mates could have cursed you?” 

“I mean, maybe? But I don’t think so.” And she was a Slytherin. If there was any reason to suspect her dorm-mates, she would know it. 

“Is there anything special about the diary then?” Dumbledore asked. 

“I mean, it gives me advice,” Bella shrugged. 

Dumbledore tilted his head. “It writes back to you?” 

“Yeah,” Bella nodded, a creeping feeling starting up her spine. 

”Where did you get this diary? Do you know how it works?” 

Bella slowly shook her head no. “It was a gift from Cissy, from the Malfoy’s artifact collection.” One chalk full of dark magic objects. 

“I think, perhaps, I need to see this diary. Once you’re out of the hospital wing, bring it to me right away. Understood?” Dumbledore instructed. 

“Understood,” Bella nodded quickly. 

“Wonderful,” Dumbledore nodded, switching back to relaxed in an instant. 

“And Mr. Black? You have detention on Friday for being out of bed past curfew. And 50 points to Gryffindor for saving your cousin. Though I think we’ll have to sound proof the Shrieking Shack to ensure Mr. Lupin’s cries don’t accidentally attract another werewolf. A swift recovery to you both,” he nodded to Bella and Remus, and then swept out of the hospital wing. 

“Well,” James started once Dumbledore was fully out the door, “that could have been much worse.” 

“Mm?” Peter grumbled, finally waking up. “What could have been?”