Something was wrong with Ianto.
While it was quite normal for the Welsh boy to become sullen with the approach of the full moon, that time was still a ways away. There were weeks until the moon reached its fullest, so that couldn't possibly be it. If not that, then what?
The only reason Louis even found himself caring was because no one else was noticing. Not even Albus, who was considered a close friend of Ianto, or Scorpius, who was the boy's cousin. Even the professors paid no mind to his unusual behaviour, which was very odd.
Ianto was hardly ever seen outside of class, and was keen on avoiding everyone. He was no longer even sighted in the Great Hall for meals. This puzzled Louis infinitely, because he had never known Ianto to miss a meal.
It wasn't just that he wasn't appearing anywhere. Whenever Ianto did show his face, he always looked quite downtrodden, and the usual spark of amusement was notably absent from his aura. No longer was he fun to fight with, and Louis dearly missed his sparring partner.
As the days passed, Ianto started to look worse and worse. It got to the point where Louis couldn't stand it anymore, and had to intervene.
He confronted his sort-of friend one day after Potions class, making sure to catch him away from everyone else. It wouldn't go over well for others to witness Louis showing some sort of kindness. They might begin to that that (God forbid!) he had a heart.
"Hey," he started, grabbing Ianto roughly by the shoulder. "What the hell is going on with you, git-face?"
With weary eyes, Ianto opened his mouth as if to speak, then thought better of it.
"Nothing," he said quickly, trying to tear himself from Louis's grasp.
But Louis wasn't going to accept that as answer. He held on tight to Ianto, and refused to let him go. Ianto then grabbed his arm and inadvertently dug his fingers into Louis's skin.
Louis hissed in pain, and instinctively swiped at Ianto. The other boy swiftly evaded the punch and threw a kick right back. This sent Louis stumbling back far enough to where his head hit the wall.
"Bastard," he breathed, before running after the boy who had been trying to escape and tackling him to the ground. With one hand up and poised to hit right in Ianto's face, the Welsh boy bit as hard as he could into Louis's shoulder.
Once more, Ianto tried to escape, but yet again, his attempt was futile. Louis picked Ianto up by the collar of his shirt, and this time, his fist made a successful landing. He let go to allow Ianto to stumble backward, and thought the fight was over.
And it was, until Ianto gathered his left hand in a ball and aimed for Louis's eye. He hit his expected target, but with unexpected results.
Louis released a primal growl and grabbed Ianto's wrists. He lead them toward a wall, where he pinned Ianto's hands above his head. Their faces were now inches apart, and they had their eyes locked in a fierce conflict.
"So," he spat, breath barely with him. "Care to actually answer my question this time?"
Ianto's gaze fell to the floor. Louis was so infuriated at the idea that he was being ignored that he almost kept his undamaged eye from wandering. It wasn't Ianto's broken and bloodied nose that stopped the words from coming to his mouth. It was the opened wounds that covered Ianto's arms, the likes of which Louis couldn't have caused.
A bolt of shock ran through him. Louis dropped his arms and took a step back, his eye wide at the blood that now covered his hands. Ianto used this chance to escape, and ran down the nearest corridor to an unknown location.
Dread was an awful feeling. Louis was starting to find this out firsthand as he contemplated what had just happened. What had just happened? He and Ianto hadn't gotten into a fist fight since their third year, and certainly not drawn blood since their second. His head was spinning every which way at the implications of all the information he had, including the cuts on Ianto's arms.
When he heard footsteps, Louis thought it was Ianto returning, and walked toward them. Only, he came face-to-face with Professor Malfoy instead. The Potions master proceeded to yell at his ass all the way to the infirmary, where he left him with a month's worth of detention, and a promise for equal punishment to whomever he had been fighting. There wasn't much Louis was willing to do to counter whatever Malfoy had to say, so he kept his mouth shut.
After getting bandaged up, Louis made his way up to the Great Hall for supper. He noticed with little surprise that Ianto was missing again. The nagging voice in the back of his mind (Which sounded a lot like Rose) wouldn't let him eat in peace, and kept him with one thought:
"What the fuck is going on?"
It was the night of the full moon, and that alone had Louis on edge. That he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Ianto made his worry even worse.
Not that he would ever admit to even thinking about the fur ball in his spare time.
Just before dinner, he and Albus were sitting in the Gryffindor common room attempting to work on their Transfiguration assignment, as two normal students would be doing at that hour. Louis felt a twinge of something not quite right where his heart was rumoured to have been, and that was his first sign that something was off. Given the current circumstances, his first thoughts went to Ianto, and that's when he knew that something deeply horrid was afoot.
His first instinct was to ask Albus for help, and though he did go through the motions of asking his cousin to do something, Louis decided against it halfway through. First of all, Albus was as thick as a brick, and didn't even notice something was up with Ianto in the first place. How was he going to believe Louis when he said that Ianto's life was currently in danger, especially when Louis had no concrete evidence? Secondly, what could Albus do? He wasn't strong, or tough, and would probably run away crying at the sight of blood.
After thinking through his options, Louis thought of going to Professor Malfoy. But, then again, where was he going to find the professor at this time of night? He had no time!
Louis figured it was his sole job to seek Ianto out, and maybe laugh at him later because this time he was the hero.
"'m gonna go to the library," he told Albus, and the other boy simply nodded. He was too into his work to care, or remember that the whole reason he was there was to help Louis with his homework.
As soon as his left foot was on the other side of the portrait hole, Louis ran swiftly and silently through the castle. He prayed that he wouldn't be walking right down the same corridors as the caretaker Tovey or any of the professors.
Luck was on his side tonight, for Louis made it to the grounds without issue.
Racing to the Whomping Willow, he ignored the sting of cold against his bare skin. Curse his inattention for leaving the castle without even a jumper in the middle of winter. It mattered little, as the adrenaline pumping through his system kept him warmer than he needed to be.
Reaching, at last, the dreaded monster of a tree, Louis brushed off the pain from the Whomping Willow's lashes as he slipped through the passageway. After what seemed like 1,000 kilometres of running, he came to the opening where the Shrieking Shack was.
Immediately, the pungent smell of blood flooded his nose. Louis whipped around, looking everywhere in the few moments he had, but could not find Ianto. He set off, looking through room after room for the werewolf.
It was in the last room he checked - a dusty old bedroom - that he found Ianto. The boy was lying on his back in the middle of the bed, a knife gripped so tight his that his knuckles were pale. As he was dressed down to his pants, Louis could see a great many new cuts in addition to the ones he had seen before during their fight. They stretched horizontally up both his arms and stopped just below Ianto's shoulders. Identical lines patterned his legs and abdomen.
The sight made Louis gag, and the smell was beyond overpowering. Surely, Ianto was in a great deal of pain, for the wounds weren't at all shallow. Through some of them, he could see small slivers of bone.
His breaking point, however, was seeing the dagger Ianto clutched pointed at his chest, positioned to his right for his heart.
"IANTO!" Louis screamed. Tears were unexpectedly running down his face, but he had no time to question them.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!"
Ianto looked at him with eyes that were full of… nothing. Not pain, nor sorrow; simply empty.
"Lou‒" Ianto gasped, and then his hands started to shake quite violently. He looked back at Louis, and this time, there was definitely something in his eyes:
Fear.
"H-help…"
His hands were slowly lowering, and Louis could see that he was definitely struggling. Wiping his tears with the back of his hand, Louis jumped on the bed and attempted to wrestle the knife out of Ianto's grasp. It was not easy, but when he managed a good hold on the hilt, he threw it across the room and wrapped his arms around Ianto.
Louis didn't want to ever let him go.
"You fucking idiot… what the hell were you thinking?"
The tears were running down his face in full force, and his breaths were ragged. Ianto then started sobbing, and Louis completely forgot about the blood that was now covering them.
"Sorry," Ianto said. "Sorry. So sorry. Really, really, sorry." It was hardly understandable in the mixture of tears and gasps for breath, as well as with his face being buried in the other's shoulder. Louis understood him nonetheless.
"D-don't know what came over me… just… felt so cold… so alone…" He began to cry hysterically and was wheezing. Louis attempted to calm him down by rocking him back and forth, and whispered into his ear.
"It's alright, minot, it's alright. I'm here for you now. Everything's going to be alright." Ianto fell asleep in his arms. Louis, meanwhile, couldn't sleep, and just kept whispering to the boy over and over again.
Strangely enough, when Ianto was transformed by the moon that night, he stayed sleeping in Louis's arms instead of waking and attacking him. Perhaps it was that he was much too exhausted to wake, but whatever it was, Louis was thankful. At least he wouldn't have to deal with another difficult situation in the same night.
They didn't return to school the next day, nor the day after that. The two of them were content to remain in each other's arms despite the chill ‒ after Louis had cleaned them off and dressed Ianto's wounds.
It was much too painful for the werewolf to try to move, and Louis didn't want to attempt to carry him. The wounds were much too deep, and he was afraid without proper healing, he might permanently damage his ‒ what were they now?
He also didn't want to leave Ianto on his own for any amount of time.
So, the two of them spent the next two days in each other's company, talking peacefully for once, and making sure Ianto's wounds healed alright.
"So… how did it happen?" Louis asked out of the blue.
"Huh? What? Oh… you mean my lycanthropy." Ianto did not look too upset to be talking about it. "Well, it happened the night I lost my parents."
"They took me to live with Uncle Draco and Aunt Astoria not just because they were my closest relatives, but since Uncle Dray is a potions master, he's able to brew the antidote for me every month."
Louis nodded, for once, actually understanding something. "So, you've been a werewolf for as long as you can remember, then?"
"Yes, sadly. I wish I could remember a time before I was cursed, but I do not." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Or my family." Tears were starting to form in Ianto's eyes, and Louis did the only logical thing he could think of: he kissed them away.
When they made love, Louis was of course, very careful to not reopen any of Ianto's wounds. Surprisingly, he noticed, that the boy's cuts were healing much quicker than normal. Louis didn't pay it much mind, however, as he was too caught up in the moment and more focused with ravishing his lover.
On the third day, both of them were much too hungry to stay there. Ianto especially was having trouble dealing with his ravenous appetite while away from any food. They returned to the castle, where they were promptly taken to the hospital wing and questioned thoroughly.
Given the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, neither of them were punished, but the headmaster and matron forced Ianto to stay in the hospital wing for a week after his wounds had completely healed to make sure he was feeling alright. Louis visited him every possible chance he could get. Soon, the two became inseparable.
It was an odd sight for a while to see the two of them strolling down the halls holding hands instead of at each other's throats. Eventually, everyone became used to it. Except, that is, for Albus, who didn't realise until after leaving Hogwarts that his two friends were dating.