Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I profit from this fic. All creative rights go to Rowling.
"I don't think I can do it-" Pain. "Not this month… not ever!"
She doubles over and grasps her middle. The pains only got worse each time.
"You can, Lavender. You've got this." She feels Bill Weasley grasp her hand.
She goes to him now, every month. She finds comfort in him. Maybe it's because he's going through it too.
She's not alone.
"You said it goes- ahh!-" She gasps. "You said it gets better! It isn't getting better!"
She can't take it now. The pain rips through her body. Her limbs are on fire. It feels like she's going to Change. It feels like she's becoming the beast that constantly threatens to surface. But it won't happen. It never does.
She falls to the floor.
"No Lav. It never goes away." He whispers. Watching her suffer hurts him. Her writhing body reminds him of himself, on his first full moon. Only, he had no one to help him through the pain. "You just get used to it. You learn to deal with it."
He wipes her sweaty fringe from her face. He feels the pain too, but he's learned to get past it now, to ignore it, to push it away.
She's overwhelmed by it. It's all she feels. Her bones are splintering. They are trying to shift, to bend, and grow. But it's like they're not sure how to. They want to change their shape, but they can't figure out what the shape is. It's agonizing. She squeezes Bill's hand, the pain lessens a little when he squeezes back.
She's not alone.
"Distract me!" She begs him.
"I have a joke, if you want to hear it?"
"Your jokes are – argh! – terrible." She pants. He chuckles.
"They are indeed."
She feels her body arch of it's own accord. She's not in control, she never is.
She's aware of a darkness, creeping and slithering around her. She doesn't want to welcome it, she's scared of the darkness. It presses in on her, makes it hard to breathe. But when she accepts it, the pain goes away. She always succumbs to it, every month. This month will be no different.
Her eyes flutter open, and she locks them on his. She asking him for his approval. She can't talk, it hurts too much to talk.
He understands.
He gives her a tiny nod, and leans in close.
"You're not alone, Lavender Brown. You're not alone." He presses a kiss to her temple.
She gives him a tiny smile. Then her world goes black.
She knows she's okay. She knows she's safe with him.
She's not alone.
A/N: Just an idea I thought of earlier. It's my take on what happens to Bill and Lavender each month. I hope you like it! Reviews always welcome of course.
emlb x