Written for DADA (Write about a character who has been contaminated with either Lycanthropy or Vampirism. The Catch: The character you use must not be a werewolf/vampire in canon)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This is an War!AU. Going to keep the war going, just pretend the Battle of Hogwarts didn't happen. Death Eaters are still out and Voldemort is still waging war.
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The first thing Luna noticed as her eyes cracked open was that she was laying on a bed. And a soft one at that. She ran her hands along the warm material, the touch seeming unfamiliar under her cracked and pained fingers. She breathed a sigh of relief, wondering if maybe it had just been one long bad dream.
There was a muffled sound of commotion in the distance. Luna, after having been dwelling in fear of sudden noises over the last few weeks, jutted upright in the bed. A spike of fear took to her chest. Her breath hitched, waiting for that wooden door to fly open and her tormenter to enter. The door remained closed and her heart rate began to slow.
Adrenaline no longer coursing through her veins, Luna's body began to feel the pain. It started just below her left knee and spread on. Running shaky and unhealthily boney hands over her leg, she realized that there was no brushing the last few weeks off as a dream.
The binding around the bite mark was tight, stained slightly in various places with dried blood that she knew was hers. She half wanted to rip the bandaging away and scream in rage. She knew better. It wouldn't help. And did she really want to see the bite mark?
She didn't.
Laying back into the bed, she tried to turn her attention from the injury. Her gaze fell upon the sleeping blonde form in the chair beside her and she had to smile. He looked so peaceful. Years ago she never would have imaged Draco Malfoy as peaceful, but as she looked at her savior, she had to admire how far he had come.
The door to the room opened and Luna froze. Her eyes darted rapidly to the entering form and was instantly calmed to see Neville and Mrs. Weasley.
"Good to see you're awake dear," Mrs. Weasley said walking over. Luna caught sight of the tray she carried. She could smell the Shepard's pie with a crisp detail that she hadn't been able to prior. The smell alone made her sick. Not because it was horrid, it smelled fantastic. But between the heightened senses, and the fact that her stomach had been running on fumes for a while now, food just didn't seem like a smart idea.
"You doing okay?" Neville sat on the edge of the bed. He smiled at her but it was a bit strained. For a moment Luna was offended at the distance between them. She didn't blame him. Drawing the blanket over her leg, she tried to hide her disappointment.
Neville noticed her actions but knew better than to speak on them. He looked away, smirking at the other male in the room. "At least one of you is awake. Honestly, what use is he if all he does is sleep?"
Luna wanted to reprimand him for the comment. She owed Draco her life. After all they had been through he deserved a little sleep. She didn't speak though. Her throat burned with each breathe, she could only image the pain of speech.
Mrs. Weasley took the moment to sit the tray of food beside Luna. She smiled at the young girl with a smile only a mother can give. "You need to eat. And I need to see your leg, sweetheart."
Luna drew back, bundling the blankets around her.
"Luna," Neville's voice was soft. There was the presence of a touch on her ankle. Looking down, she saw his hand rested carefully on her skin. She wanted to tell him to back away. She was dangerous after all.
"It's going to be okay," Neville said. "I promise you Luna, you are going to be okay. We just want to help."
Mrs. Weasley drew the blanket away. Luna didn't fight her, only looked away. She could feel the bandaging being fiddled with, but couldn't bring herself to watch. She instead turned to Neville.
"How long," Luna's voice was raspy from lack of use. Her throat felt like she had swallowed nails. She pushed past the pain. "How long was I asleep for?"
A dark light hit Neville's eyes. "About three days. What do you remember?"
Luna thought for a moment. There was a flash of blood coated teeth, of blonde white hair before a stark blackness took over her mind. Her eyes danced over towards Draco. "His cover is blown."
"We know. It's fine though. It was getting pretty dangerous for him to spy for us anyway. Remus was talking about pulling him out soon. At least this way we don't have to worry about him getting himself killed."
Luna looked down. "I almost did that for him."
"Don't think like that." There was a rustle of movement as Neville moved closer. He sat beside her, his hand resting on hers. "What happened wasn't your fault. The only one to blame for this is Greyback. And I assure you, Luna, he will pay for this."
Luna only looked away once more. She half watched Mrs. Weasley rewrapping the bandages around her leg. It felt good to have clean wrappings on it. It felt good to have the bite mark covered.
"I'm tired," Luna said once Mrs. Weasley was finished with her work. Two sets of eyes looked onto her with concern. "I just…"
"We get it," Mrs. Weasley said, the smile still on her face. "Do make sure you do try to eat something dear. There's Shepard's pie, and I brought some juice. It'll help your stomach. And a bit of chocolate. Remus says it always helps him."
Luna nodded, not bothering to speak. She looked to Neville who clearly didn't want to leave her. Pleading with her eyes, she finally got him to sigh in defeat.
"If you need anything, don't be afraid to get ahold of someone." Neville rose, his eyes full of concern as he took in her small form.
"Okay," said Luna.
Neville nodded, still not seeming fully convinced. He motioned towards Draco. "If there's any problems, throw something at him to wake him."
"I'll be alright," Luna said, forcing a smile onto her lips. "I just need a bit to deal with everything."
Neville nodded and followed Mrs. Weasley from the room. The two stopped in the doorway. Upon realizing that space was what Luna needed now, they left.
Silence took to the air. In it, Luna couldn't help but breathe a quite sigh. She looked over at the food. Her stomach convulsed with sudden hunger; maybe it wasn't sudden, she had after all be starving for weeks. Carefully moving the tray onto her lap, she had to suppress the urge to simply dig her hands into the meal and eat like a dog. It had been so long since she had a filling meal.
She wrapped her hand around the glass of juice, bringing it up to her lip. The juice burned a bit as it went over her cracked lips, but as it slid down her throat she found the muscles there loosening. She tilted the glass back, desperate to take in the cold liquid. It went too fast through. She barely had time to set the glass down before she started chocking on the drink.
A firm pat was on her back, helping her free her lungs from the liquid. Once able to breathe, and after whipping the tears from her eyes, Luna looked up at the figure that loomed over her.
"You need to be careful," he said. "Death by apple juice seems like a horrid way to die."
"Thank you," Luna told him as he sat back in his chair. He looked so relaxed sitting there with his legs spread and elbows rested on his knees. His hair hung around his face in an unbrushed mess that she could almost call curls.
"How are you?" It was such a simply question.
"Okay," Luna shrugged. "As okay as I can be. What about you?"
His grey eyes darkened. "I wasn't the one who was bite."
"Maybe not. But I blew your cover. I can't imagine the Death Eaters being too pleased with you."
Draco chuckled, shaking his head. "You just got bite by a werewolf. Take a moment to worry about yourself and not me."
"What about your parents?" Luna didn't want to think about herself at the moment. She wanted to push the conversation away from her and the fact that she was now an eighteen year old werewolf.
"They're safe," Draco answered, trying to better understand her reservations. "The Order managed to get them out of there shortly after I arrived. My father wasn't too pleased with learning his son had been a spy against them for years now. Mother was just relived to finally be out of that house."
"Are they staying here?"
"Don't know yet," Draco shrugged. "Mother most definitely. She's agreed to help. Father not so much. I think he's still convinced he can walk out of here whenever he pleases. Anyways, now that you are awake, onto the important topic. Remus has been desperate to talk to you. He told me to get him the moment you woke up."
"Can it wait?" Luna asked, surprised by the tightness in her voice.
Draco repositioned himself in the chair, leveling her with a hard frown. "You can't shell yourself in her forever. You'll have to come out eventually."
"And I will," Luna tried to sound reassuring, both for his sake and her own. "I just. I don't know how I am supposed to face them."
"The same way you normally would."
"You don't get it," Luna shook her head. "I'm not the same. I'm a… I'm a mon-"
"If you dare say that you're a monster," Draco's voice was edged, his gaze cold, "I will be forced to hex you."
"But I am." Luna's voice was low, but still clear.
"You are not a monster," Draco told her. "You are nowhere near a monster."
"I'm a werewolf. I got bite."
"Through no fault of your own. What happened was Greyback's doing. He is the monster. Not you. So I don't want to hear you calling yourself that."
Luna couldn't help but to smile a bit. "We've been telling you something similar to that for years."
Draco adjusted the sleeve on his left arm as he stood. "I'm going to go get Remus. He probably already knows that you're awake."
He left without another remark. Part of Luna regretted saying what she had. She knew how sensitive he was about the mark on his arm. Another part of her didn't care. She had never been afraid to speak her mind after all. Why change now.
Silence.
There wasn't even the sound of people moving outside her room. Sighing, Luna tried to get comfortable on the bed as she dug a fork into the mashed potatoes on her plate.
She didn't really feel any different. A little sick, and kind of in pain, but not different. Had she not been awake to see Greyback's jagged teeth digging into her lower leg, Luna might have figured she'd simply bumped a bone or two during the attack. She couldn't deny the change that had occurred through her body though. Even though she didn't feel any major differences, she couldn't deny the presence of them.
Sitting in that room, Luna pushed her leg back under the blanket. She wasn't in the mood to look at it, or deal with this new situation right now.
