I Survived You

It had been three years since Remus Lupin had taught at Hogwarts, but he could remember every detail about it. That had been one of the best years of his life, but like all others good things, it had come to an abrupt end, leaving his head spinning and his heart aching.

The latter partly had something to do with a certain student of his: Hermione Granger. Though he realized that he was much older than she, he could not stop the warm feelings he harbored for her in his heart.

He stood atop a grassy hill overlooking Hogwarts. Dumbledore had kindly allowed him to come and get settled a few months in advance. Was he ready to teach again? Was he ready to see her again? He had no answers for himself, and that left him feeling unsettled. He was usually the cool, collected one but now his mind was whirling away from him at light speed.

He was in love with her: he knew that, and accepted it. However, after what had happened to him this summer, he didn't know if he could trust his heart with anyone. She was good. She had you fooled he thought bitterly. How could he have been so blind? It had all started in the middle of May...

The forest was glorious that morning, and Remus decided he had to talk a walk out in nature. Breathing in the clean, crisp air, he felt content. Suddenly, his keen wolf hearing picked out a strange noise coming about 50 yards to his left. Following the sound, he came into a glade, and found a woman, seated on the ground. Her clothing was torn, and she looked like someone had beaten her.

A branch creaked underneath his foot, and her head swiftly whipped around. "Hello." He said in a calm, soothing voice. "Who are you? Do you work for Tony?" the woman asked quickly and fearfully. He frowned. "No, I don't work for Tony. My name is Remus Lupin and I live in a cottage not far from here."

The woman let out a sigh of utter relief, and smiled shyly at him. He felt his breathing beginning to speed up slightly. "I'm Alice Turner. You have no idea how happy I am to see someone who isn't out to get me!" she laughed. He returned her smile. She was a beautiful woman.

He invited her back to his cottage for some food, and as they walked along, she explained why she was there. "Tony is my ex-boyfriend, but he won't leave me alone! He's had other men that have tried to date me beaten up. The police can't do anything because there's no proof, and I'm scared of him."

Remus felt a certain rage building up inside of him. He never could stand men who were mean to women. "Well, it's pretty isolated out here, and you're welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like." He said. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." She replied, moving slightly closer to him. "Yes. I'd enjoy the company. I've been a hermit too long!"

Alice laid her hand on top of his, and he could feel heat coursing through him. "I think this could be a very good summer..." she purred. Dear heaven, what on earth have I gotten myself into?

Coming out of his thoughts, Remus snorted in disgust. He should have known she would turn out to be trouble. Glancing down at his hands, he could see the still healing wounds on them. There were also marks around his wrists and cuts across his handsome face. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to fight the tears, but they came anyway. Why? Why me? he asked silently. What did I do to deserve this? Deciding to go back to the hall and eat something before Minerva was on his case again, he looked up at the moon. "Bruja! Vete al demonio!" he yelled. He hoped that one day she would get what was coming to her, and he wanted to be there to see it.