I told Sirius that I would check on Remus, but the room was warded against everyone. Remus was good in Arithmancy, I remembered. However, I wasn't Head Girl for nothing. Realizing that the wards would take a while to de-activate, I chose a very Muggle method of getting in: simply breaking down the door. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't to find Remus on the floor, sobbing, with something clenched in his hand. I knelt down beside him, ignoring my gut feeling that something was very, very wrong. "Um... Remus? What's wrong?"

"I'm a monster! I'm a monster, that's what, and I could have killed him! I could have killed Padfoot, and he was hurt, and- I can't do this anymore."

He gasped for air, and I saw that he was shaking.

"Breathe, Remus. You're not a monster, and Sirius knows the risks. It was only a scratch, and you know Madam Pomfrey fixed him in an instant."

"I can't!" he sobbed. "It's not worth it."

Suddenly, I saw a streak of crimson on his sleeve. "Did Madam Pomfrey forget to fix that?" I asked gently. "I can do it for you now." I pulled down the offending sleeve, and his eyes got wider and wider until I thought they would fall out. He yanked it back up in a heartbeat, and yet again I got that foreboding sense.

"Remus? What's wrong? I'm just fixing that…"

As much as I had calmed him down, he began to freak out again, as I struggled to figure out what was wrong, for Remus was the calm one, yet he was sobbing so hard right in front of me. Then, as I thought things couldn't get any worse, I was proven wrong, as Remus went still. I was suddenly very glad that I was apprenticing with Poppy to become a healer. I checked his vitals, and realized he had passed out, presumably because of his panic attack. Then he began to stir, and called sleepily, "Siri?"

"Remus, it's me, Luna. Sirius is in the hospital wing."

"What happened?!" He bolted upright so fast that I didn't see it.

"You don't remember? He just went for a Pepper-Up and for Madam Pomfrey to fix a scratch."

"Oh," he looked around sheepishly."Because of the full moon yesterday?"

"Yeah… He was just tired." I failed to tell him that Sirius also had several broken ribs from when Remus had thrown , I decided to try something. Hey, Remus, could I fix that thing on your arm? You're bleeding."

"Oh, this? Just a scratch… I can do it…"

"Remus, that's your wand arm. Now stop being such a man, and let me do it."

I pulled down his sleeve, and gasped. "Oh, Remus."

He had started hyperventilating again, and I realized that was a more pressing matter than the lines on his skin. "Remus, relax. Breathe in, breathe out. I'm not gonna hurt you, or snitch."

That seemed to have done the trick for now.

"But, why?"

"They're from my transformations," he said, not meeting my eyes.

"Remus, do you really consider me to be that stupid?"

"Well… Sirius bought it."

Sirius hasn't had to heal a hell of a lot of people. Remember, I'm Poppy's apprentice?"

He suddenly went very pale. "Oh. Crap."

Suddenly, Sirius came bounding through the door. "Good as new!"

Meanwhile, I had cast a silent, wandless glamour charm on Remus's arms, who looked like he was going to start panicking again, then looked down, and was considerably more relieved.

"Sirius," I started, just as he said,

"What? A guy can't tell his boyfriend that he's back?"

"Sirius," I tried again, giving him a look. "Can Moony and I have a few minutes?"
"Fineee," he grumbled, good-naturedly, "Just don't steal my boyfriend."

Remus gagged, and I looked at him, slightly offended. "What? You wouldn't snog me?"

There was silence for a few seconds, and then everyone burst into laughter, Sirius literally rolling on the floor, laughing.

Then he spoke. "Luna, you've scarred me for life. Yeah, yeah, I'm going. Just know, that we have lunch in an hour."

Remus spluttered, "We just ate!"

I looked at my watch. "Correction: We ate almost four hours ago."

Sirius gasped, and left.

"Now… Remus, why?"

"Why do you want to know?" he spat.

"Remus…"

"Sorry. Fine. Because I'm a monster, and I can't cope any other way."

"Remus, I swear, you're not a monster. Yes, you turn into a werewolf once a month..." Then, inspiration struck. "But, honestly, I think us girls are a lot worse during… you know, that time of month."

Remus started hysterically laughing again. "Thanks, Luna. I kinda needed that."

Then the mood turned somber again. "Remus, you need to stop this. You could get seriously hurt."

"Siriusly?" Remus attempted to lighten the mood, but once he realized he failed, he turned bitter again. "What the hell would you know about it?"

"Yes, Siriusly." I rolled my eyes at him. "I'd know a lot more than you'd think," I said, "considering…" I raised my own sleeves. On the olive skin, there were hundreds of perfectly straight lines carved into my skin.

"Oh," was all Remus could think of saying. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out how long he had been wearing long sleeves. I realized that he had always worn long sleeves, because he was self-conscious of his werewolf scars, so he didn't even have to hide his cuts.

"How long, Remus?" I needed to know.

"Ummm…" he gulped. "Two years?"

"Oh, god, Remus. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Sirius and James wouldn't have understood… Wizarding culture doesn't typically deal with self-harm. You weren't an apprentice yet and hadn't taken Healer Oaths yet, and would've had to report me as a prefect. I didn't know Lily as well, and Peter… isn't the best at keeping secrets. I couldn't tell anyone."

"Remus, yes, I was a prefect, and now I'm Head Girl, but before all that, you're one of my best friends. I would do anything for you. Now, can I heal that?"

He simply nodded in reply.

'Episkey.'

"Now what?" Remus asked.

"Well, it's really hypocritical, but I think you should stop cutting. And maybe talk about it if you feel like doing it? You can talk to me. I wouldn't tell.