Chapter 17
"James!" Lupin's voice rang through the house and all three were quick to leave the living room, Lupin had blood smeared across his neck and hands but it was Jem that had the three boys freezing. The younger shivering in Lupin's arms, a bite mark marring the skin of his throat. "James get the first aid kit, Sirius help him find the dried wolfsbane in my bag then tell Euphemia we'll need blankets."
"Moony..."
"Now." Sirius grabbed James' arm and they ran down the hall.
"Lupin-"
"Come here, take a moment and be as calm as you possibly can."
"Lupin-"
"You can panic after you help. Come here." Regulus listened as the werewolf laid him on the dining table, "His senses are haywire right now, and his animagus form is fighting the venom that is destroying his blood."
"What do I do?"
"Take a deep breath and think happy thoughts."
"Really?"
"Really." Lupin took the box James held out to him before running after Sirius
"What happened?"
"Can you think happy thoughts while I tell you?" Regulus nodded watching Lupin calmly cut through Jem's shirt. "We ran into Fenrir on the way back."
"Greyback?" Lupin nodded opening a package of something that smelt sharply of disinfectant. "He works for Voldemort though. He doesn't have a reason to...the whiplash it would bring back for hurting him..."
"Wolves don't think like that." Lupin corrected softly, wiping blood from Jem's chest. "He saw me and jumped into the aggravating territorial wolf shit. And a Pack listens to the Alpha without question."
"Like Sirius and Jem listen to you."
"Similar." Regulus watched carefully as Lupin made quick work of cleaning the claw marks marking Jem's chest, ripping through the tattoo of the now snarling lion, the gold ink moved along his skin hiding it's teeth when Lupin dragged the cloth over it. "I understand," he murmured as if to the art. "We mean you and your owner no harm, dear." The lions ears flicked before it settled back into his skin.
"Wow..." Lupin glanced up, "I've never seen any of his tattoos move before."
"Happens sometimes, the lion moves depending on his mood. The paw prints move when any of us are close. Jem still with us?"
"Fuck off mate." The words were slurred and sounded half animal. "It's like my blood's boiling but it's cold." He mumbled eyes opening slightly and pausing as he took in Regulus, "Hi..."
"Hey..."
"He's fine Jem." Lupin says it in a way that's sharp and almost final. His shoulders drop against the table, "I can't reverse it." Regulus felt like he had no place in this conversation but stayed when Jem's hands found his, Regulus uncaring about the blood smearing his skin as he threaded his fingers through Jem's. "It's too late."
"What happens now?"
"You change in a few days. First full moon is a nightmare. I'd like to tell you it gets easier but it doesn't." Jem nodded slowly, eyes flashing a gold that Regulus had seen on Lupin a few times. "The potion does more harm than good and it hurts like hell to use magic to stop it."
"So I'm in pain or in pain. Fun."
"Jem," his voice was firm and Jem's eyes opened again looking at Lupin. "There isn't a way out of this and you're gonna feel terrible."
"I'm scared, Moony." Jem's voice broke when he admitted it.
"I know."
"What do I do?"
"You power through. You're strong, Jem, but this stuff, it'll rip you apart."
Jem was asleep, now moved into his room and Lupin was dozing in a chair surrounded by books, "He's gonna sleep till the full moon." Lupin muttered from his spot, eyes opening slightly. "It's working its way through his system, sapping his energy."
"Can I help?"
"You can stay. Jem knows you, the wolf has yet to be acquainted. You're calming the man while the wolf takes it's toll on him." Regulus nodded and rested his chin back on his knees, watching Jem breathe, how his body tenses now and then in his sleep. "If there's anything he doesn't want you to know it's going to come out." Lupin added softly, "The wolf pulls out the worst parts of it's counterpart. He'll be snappy and scared, but it'll come out as anger not fear. He's not angry at you and when it starts you need to remember that."
"What happened, Remus?"
"I already told you-"
"No, how did this happen?"
"Greyback got him." Lupin answered with an honest expression. "They pinned me down and made a show of biting him."
"Why?"
"Because I was able to resist him after he turned me and he thinks that if he can get his claws deep enough into Jem, I'll turn too. He doesn't know Jem, not enough to know that no matter what he does it won't work."
"You know what happened...that night after the meeting." Remus looked up slowly before nodding. "What was it?"
"That's not for me to share."
"I don't know how to help if I don't understand. He won't tell me so much, it...I don't know how to help because he won't share."
"Regulus...Dumbledore convinced him to go under as a spy when he was 12."
"Voldemort wouldn't take any of us until we were 16."
"He didn't get the mark until he was 14. He spent 2 years god knows where doing god knows what. All I know is that when he came back he...was wrong."
"Wrong?"
"There was something wrong about his scent it was foul and acidic. Now he smells like lavender and chocolate and tea and you. And his eyes are clear now, not clouded with rage and humiliation. He's human, or as human as I he could be. I'm scared that this is gonna, destroy all of the progress he's made to return to himself."
"And if it does?"
"Jem isn't going to be Jem. He's going to fade back into Julian and it's going to scare everyone including himself."
"So we've got to stop that."
"It's up to him. He has to fight his mind. And if he doesn't...well lets cross that bridge if we come to it."
"Jem, shh," Regulus kept his voice soft and warm while running his fingertips down Jem's back his skin was hot to the touch but he acted like he was cold. "Hey," he called out for his attention finding panicked eyes struggling to meet his. "Jem, it's okay. Breathe for me." A soft stuttering breath was drawn in until he lightly tugged Regulus towards him. "What's wrong?"
"Someone in my head."
"It's the wolf." Lupin said leaning against the doorway with a yawn, "That's your new best friend." Jem hummed under his breath while wrapping his arms around Regulus, "You're not supposed to be awake yet."
"Hurts." He mumbled pressing a kiss to Regulus' shoulder.
"Like your entire body aches?" He nodded, "It's gonna feel a lot worse soon, you're straining, go back to sleep Jem." Regulus ran his fingertips along Jem's arms as they tightened slightly, Lupin snorted out a laugh, "He's not gonna disappear. Relax."
"You're worried I'm gonna leave?"
"He knows you'll have to when the moon comes. He doesn't want to be left alone with the wolf."
"How do you know?"
"Moony knows the wolf." Jem murmured, "He has his own to deal with."
"Wolfy fits you better now." A soft laugh, it was breathy and amused. "I'm surprised you're coherent enough to talk."
"Crucio doesn't have a thing on this yet."
"Just you wait."
"Oh, looking forward to it Moony."
"I'm sure." For a moment they sat like that, Jem hugging him from behind and drawing patterns on his skin, Lupin lounging in the doorway. "You're not gonna be alone. But it's too dangerous to ask him to be there too."
"I know, that doesn't make me feel any better."
"I know."
"How'd you do it the first time?"
"I was locked in a room, there were bars on the windows and my arms were chained to the ceiling. Yours is gonna be much easier, I promise."
"Moony I've seen-"
"I know."
"Is it...?"
"Yeah. But I think yours might be different, because you used to be an animagus."
"I can't feel that anymore."
"I'm sorry."
"Not your fault Moony."
"I should've told you take take Sirius or James."
"I felt better with you at my back. Sirius is good James is too but if something really bad were to happen, I preferred having you there. You could keep me in line if it was needed, none of them could do that, not even Regulus."
"I can still do that now."
"Wanna bet?"
"I think I could win." Jem's lips curled up into a smile against Regulus' shoulders. "What? Wolfy thinks he'll put up more of a fight?"
"How are you so calm?"
"Practice, I've been doing this for years." Jem huffed and Regulus smiled at the warm breath fanning against his skin. "Go back to sleep Wolfy, you'll need it."