Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Authors Note: I haven't written a Luna/ Lupin story in a long time. Therefore I will write this one and hopefully have it up in a couple of hours. This is just going to be a one-shot. The story will take place in the winter that would take place in book 7. Please read and please, please, please leave a review.
Summary: It's a particularly cold winter's morning, and Lupin stumbles out of a forest, not knowing where he is or how he has sustained so many injuries, but the only thing he knows is that he need's immediate help. But will he get more then he was asking for? Luna/Lupin one-shot.
Scarlet Snow
Remus Lupin fell on his knees as he exited a forest that he didn't recognize and furrowed his brow. His whole body was aching and he knew that he was bleeding in several different places. His head was throbbing and there was blood pouring down along the side of his face and he was shivering from the cold, sitting with absolutely naked in the snow. All he remembered of the previous night was the moment of his painful transformation, but he had no idea how he wounded up without a wand in the middle of nowhere.
Remus shivered, thinking that if he didn't find somewhere soon that he would either bleed to death or freeze to death. He groaned as he stood up and looked around him, something hard to do with a little blood in your eyes. Remus held his side; his ribs felt like there were severely bruised or worse, broken. He squinted as he looked around, but he could see nothing, but snow and behind him there was nothing but forest; bared trees covered in snow.
However, he had no energy to stand and did not know where to go. Remus looked down at his body, full of bleeding scratches, some deeper then other. There were bruises all over his body, his hair was wildly disheveled and his feet were cut and bleeding. Remus licked his lower lip and was not at all surprised to taste blood on his lip as he once more collapsed in the snow. He couldn't go on, and he didn't well see a reason to, considering the fact that he didn't know where he was or if there was anything nearby that he could go to.
Resigned he huddle there in the snow, thinking that this would be his end and held on tight to his sides, wishing that he could steady himself from shivering so much. He was at least relieved about the fact that there was no wind and that he didn't feel any colder. And just before he lost consciousness from either exhaustion, loss of blood the cold or all three factors, he vaguely heard the sound of bells jingling.
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Luna stepped out of the cabin early in the morning, a thick white cloak around her shoulders and walked around the back of the house to where the horses stall where and smiled at the white horses as she pet them. "Hello Phillip, Pegasus. Ready for a morning ride?" she asked as she stared at the two horses. They both enthusiastically shook their miens as they looked at her. She smiled as she pulled out her wand and opened the stall doors, before the horses were magically tied to the sleigh where she sat down and took the reigns.
Luna steered the sleigh along a course that she was rather used to and made her way through the thick forest, the horses reigns and harness' jingling softly with the bells that hung from it. However, she pulled the horses to a halt as she spotted what looked like a red trail in the snow. Luna furrowed her brow at this a she jumped off of the sleigh and walked over to the scarlet trail in the snow. She bent down and inspected the snow and stood up immediately as she realized that the trail on the snow was blood.
She immediately ran back over to the sleigh and rushed the horses to follow the red trail, knowing that someone or something must be severely injured and as she'd never before seen a dangerous creature of human in the forest she had no reason to believe that it was something dangerous. Luna sat and steered the horses, pushing them as hard as they could go, making their way through the forest quickly, the wind whipping her face.
Just as she was nearing the edge of the forest she spotted a man, huddle in the snow, wearing absolutely nothing and shivering so mightily that she was surprised that he did not move the earth. Luna's eyes filled with worry, there were many large, deep cuts on the man's back, like he'd been viciously attacked by a creature with very large claws. She slowed down a little, not wishing to alarm him as she steadily drew closer; however, he collapsed before her eyes.
Luna climbed down from the sleigh when they were close and ran over to the unconscious man lying in the snow and was infinitely surprised that she recognized the man. She felt her eyes fill with small tears as she took off her heavy white, furry cloak and placed it over his body as she pulled out her wand and made him levitate to the sleigh where she had him comfortably situated on the soft, warm cushions of the seat. "Come on fellows, we have to get him home quickly before ….something horrible happens to him."
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Remus slowly opened his eyes, his vision was slightly hazy but he guessed that had to do with his fever. He slowly looked around him, once more not knowing where he was. He was lying down on a very comfortable four-poster bed that felt like a cloud and was very large and he was very warmly tucked beneath heavy scarlet covers. Over his head hung a crimson canopy and beneath his head he felt soft silk pillows. The room was lit by a large fire in front of the bed and the room looked quite small because of the oversized bed in the room.
Remus slowly turned his head to the left: there was a window looking out into a darkened forest and he guessed that someone had found him out of the forest and brought him to their home and by the look and feel of it had cleaned and mended his cuts. However he still felt a bit soar and he very well knew that he was burning with a fever, despite the fact that he felt still felt a little cold.
He slowly tossed his head to the right and was take a back when he spotted a small figure, sitting on an uncomfortable looking chair. The girl seemed to be about seventeen years of age and was very thin, but he could not see her face for it was covered by her wispy blonde hair. She was wearing a very thin, long white dress with long sleeves, which had been rolled up. Her dress seemed to have little patterns of dried blood here and there and he knew that it was his blood.
"Please, don't," the girl mumbled. Remus furrowed his brown at this, but she did not stir and he guessed that she was dreaming. "Please stop," she mumbled again. Remus furrowed his brow, thinking that he recognized the soft voice that was speaking; however he didn't remember who it was. He guessed that if he did know whoever she was that he hadn't seen her in a very long time. "No," she said as she sat up bolt upright and found herself staring at her old Professor. Remus took in a sharp breath as he realized that it was Luna Lovegood.
"Luna?" he said as he stared at her. She smiled warmly as she looked at him. The last time that he'd seen her was the night of Dumbledore's death and the morning after when everyone was in the hospital wing looking after Bill. If it was possible she had aged must in the several months that had passed and had grown into quite the attractive young woman.
Luna stood up and sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on his forehead. "You gave me quite the fright Professor Lupin, for a while I thought you might not make it, but your fever is going down and you are lucky that broken rib did not puncture your lungs. What happened?" she said as she stared at him. Her voice contained a mixture of relief, concern and little bit of what madam Pomfrey had when she was cross with one of the students.
"I don't know. The last thing I remember was the transformation. I don't know I came to be in the forest or to be so hurt. I don't even know where I am," he said as he stared at her. She furrowed her brow at this and wondered how he had gotten to be where he was. She also began to wondered how it was that he had sustained so many injuries when there wasn't anything in the forest that could have posibly caused him to be in the state that she found him in. She'd never before ran into anyone in the forest before and never had she seen a dangerous creature in the forest.
"Well I don't know how you came to be in the forest or how you got injured. There is nothing in there that could have caused you harm. And so you know where you are, you are in Russia and in case you are wondering it eight in the evening," she said as she stared at him. "I found you just outside the forest, you were unconcious. So I brought you home and cleaned and tended to your wounds and laid you in my bed. I have been trying to get your fever to go down, which it has been going down slowly."
"You found me?" Remus asked a little horrified with embarassment as he rembered how modestly he was clothed.She blushed lightly as she seemed to remeber as well and turned to look away. Even though he'd been unconcious when she cleaned his body wounds and healed them, she coudlnt' stop blushing at the fact that she was staring at him wearing absolute nothing. She's never before realized that he had quite the musular arms, chest and such a fine stomach. And the thin tail or brown hair beneath his navel leading down... it was simply very enticint. Luna blushed furiousyly as she shook her head of the thoughts.
"Yes. I always go out every morning for a sleight ride and I found the trail of blood and traced it back to you," she said as she stared at him. Remus slowly pulled himself up and tried to sit up, however she put a hand on his bare chest and pushed him softly back down on the bed. "You're not ready to get up."
Remus enjoyed the feel of her thin fingers on his chest despite the fact that they felt slightly cool on his hot skin. "Are you here alone Luna?" he asked as he stared at her, wondering where her father was. She smiled as she looked down at him and slowly nodded as she stared into his amber coloured eyes. Her blue eyes were sparkling like the stars and he wondered how it was that he'd never before noticed just how beautiful she truly was.
"My father and I come here every winter holidays. My mother used to love it here. However, there was an emrgency at the Quibbler and he left last night and said that he might not return for quite a couple of days," she said as she stared down into his eyes. Remus stared down at the dress that she was wearing and remembered the fact that he had gotten blood on her dress and that he was taking her bed. He forced himself to look away, causing a mild headahce. He winced in pain. "You should get some rest Professor Lupin"
Luna slowly stood up and turned away, but Remus reached out fo rher hand and held onto it, causint her to slwoly turn around and look at him. "Luna, I can't take your bed. I've already been enough of a pain to you and i've gotten blood all over your dress.," he said, propping himself up on his elbow, groaning for he still felt a little soar. The covers slipped off him slightly as he looked up at her. She imediately turned around to look at him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder and lay him back down on the pillows.
"You haven't been a pain Professor," she said as she pulled up the covers to tuck him back into bed. He smiled lightly at this, he hadn't been tucke dinto bed since he was a very small child. "It has been my pleasure to take care of you," she said with a smile as she getnly caressed his cheek. "Please get some rest Professor.I'll be right back."
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Remus awoke a couple of hours later and found that once more Luna was sleeping, however she was reasting her head on her arms on the bed. He smiled lightly at this, wondering why she was going through so much trouble to take care of him. He reached out a hand and ran it through her hair, which was very soft. Absent mindedly he ran his finger through her hair, thinking about his history with her. She was always a very sweet, albeit, strange girl. When he'd met her when she was about twelve years old, she was a brilliant student, yet she always saddened him because she was so lonely and her mother had died when she was young.
But that did not stop him from thinking that she was the sweetest thing. And she proved to be quite brave when he'd seen her at the Ministry of Magic over a year ago and then the previous year. There had always been something about her that had drawn her to him and despite the fact that he hated to admit it, he had fallen in love with her. However, after now seeing her in quite sometime, he had forced himself to completely forget about her anda Tonks had been a relieving distraction, just as he was her distraction.
Neither one had seen it at first, but they both came to realize rather quickly that they were both just with each other to try and to fill the void left by the one's that they truly loved and while Remus wasn't sur eof who it was that Tonks truly loved, he kew that for certain he was in love with luna, despite the fact that he knewthat nothing could ever happen with her. He sighed as he pushed her hair aside and looked at her face. She looked so peaceful in her sleep.Remus reached out and lightly carresed her milky white, creamy soft cheek. How often had he felt like caressing her face.
Luna slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him. He pulled his hand away as she sat back and stretched. He couldn't imagine that sleeping like that was very comfertable and once more felt awful about the fact thta he'd taken up residence in her bed and that she was sitting on an uncomfertable chair while he was free to enjoy the luxury of her bed. "What time is it?" Luna asked as she stretched. He stared at her and shrugged for he had no idea. She smiled and checked her wrist watch and her brow's shot into her hairline. "It's barely mindnight. Merry Christmas Eve Professor."
"Is it Christmas Eve already?" he asked, feeling like he was completely lost.. She merely smiled as she got up and once more sat on the edge of the bed. She leaned over him and placed her hand on his forehead and smiled as she looked at him.
"Well, your fever is gone, but I still want you to stay in bed. I may have meded you wounds and broken bones, but you still need a little more bedrest before you can be up and about. Would you like something to eat or drink?" she said as she looked at him. He stared at her with a furrowed brow, wondering why she was acting like a professional medi-witch. However, he did not think of it as he wanted to get out of bed; more so he wanted to get out of bed, not because he was tired of being bed-ridden for it had only been a day, but he wanted to get out of bed because he didn't want to continue to take her bed from her.
Luna stood up and headed towards the door. Remus sat up in bed and called out to her causing her to turn around as he whipped off the covers to make a move to get up. However, he then realized that he hadn't ever bothered to check if he was clothed or not, and the rosy color that was rising in Luna's cheek before she spun around told him that he wasn't clothed. Remus imedaitely covered himself up again as he looked over at her. "I had a feeling that you might want to get out of bed before you were ready to. Therefore I did not dress you because the only way to keep you in bed would be your own chastity as I am much smaller and weaker then you are."
"Very ingenious," he said as he tried to get the heat that had risen to his neck and cheeks to go away. However, he could not helpt but smile at the fact that her statement was said with what sounded like a smile in Luna's voice.
"Sorry Professor Lupin, but it is for your own good," she said as she turned around and smiled at him. He could still see the vague remnants of pink on her pale cheeks. Luna smiled at the fact that he was also still blushing, and rather more furiously then she was. Then again he was the flashy and not the person flashed. "Would you now like some tea and something to eat Professor. I haven't given you anything before now because I thought that the fever would make you queasy, but your fever is gone now and I'm sure that you are dying to eat something."
His stomach suddenly growled as he suddently realized that he was starving. He looked up and smiled to her. "Yes, I guess I am a bit hungry, now that you mention it," he said as he stared over at her. She smiled as she nodded and told him that she would be back soon. Remus sighed in resignation as she steped out of the room and closed the door behind herself and sat up in bed, so that he'd be able to eat. He pulled up the covers so that they were covering him to his lower waist and looked around Luan's room. He was surprised to see that her room had no other furniture than the bed and was surprised to see that her walls were a burgundy color. He'd always imagined that her room's walls would be either green or blue.
It wasn't long before Luna came back holding a tray in hand with a tea pot, a cup for tea and a plate with food and a little basket with rolls. She smiled as she clsoed the door behind her with a foot and walked over placing the tray on the nighstand that was next to her bed. "This is all I made today, I hope that you like it," she said as she smiled at him and poured the tea. Remus looked at the food, which both looked and smelled very good, and thuoght that she could have brought him a raw peace of meat and a roll or bread and he would have be satisfied by it quite fine for he was so hungry.
"It's looks wonderful Luna, thank you so much," he said as he stared at her causing her to blush very lightly. "Did you cook it?" he asked causing her to smile and nod. "I can't cook to save my life. Therefore it is no surprise that I was always horrid when it came to making potions," he said as he put a spoonful of food in his mouth. Smiling in satisfaction for it was more then just good. Luna laughed lightly as his comment about his lack of cooking skills and wondered that if he were so horrid when it came to cooking however did he manage to live.
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"Nothing I have ever done has embarrassed me. I believe that I am too loony to care," she said with a somewhat bitter sweet smile, referring to the nickname that people called her. She really didn't care what people thought about her, but it did at times hurt that she had no friends and that she was so lonely. The only person that she had in the world was her father and that was why she cared so much about him. That was also the main reason that she cared so much about Lupin, because he wasn't in her family and she knew that he didn't think her insane.
"You are not loony," Lupin said as he reached out to her chin and lifting it so her eyes would look into his. He offered her a reassuring smile, before turning his gaze to the fire and pulling away his hand to place it in his lap. "I wish I could say that flashing you has been the most embarrasing thing to happen in my life, but the truth is that with the friends that I had when I was in Hogwarts I suffered worst, but none that come imedaitely to mind," he said as he blushed once more at the thought that he had accidentally flashed Luna. She blushed lightly at this.
Luna suddenly yawned and stretched, as she did so she tilted her head to look at her watch. "Wow it's nearly two in the morning," she said as she slowly turned to look at him. They had spent the past two hours mostly talking. After he finished eating she'd taken the tray back down and returned and they'd speant the rest of the time talking. Luna yawned again, causing Remus to crease his brow.
"Luna, you look very tired, you should get some sleep. And I do not mean that you should sleep in that chair. I mean proper sleep," he said as he stared at her.
"I can't leave you alone. Besides I need to take a shower," she said as she got up. "However, the only way I see that I'd be able to sleep is if I lay down with you in my bed. I don't like to sleep in my parents bed, because of my mother. I fear that I might wake and see her and the rest of the house is rather cold. So I guess it is the chair for me because you are not moving out of that bed," she said as little bossily as she stared down at him. "Unless.."
"Unless what?" he asked as he stared at her. She looked thoughtfully at the bed spread.
"Well I could sleep over the sheet, that way we'd both be comfertable," she said as she slowly turned to look at him. He stared at her for a moment, wondering if that meant that technically they would be sleeping together. "I personally wouldn't mind either or, Professor, but if that makes you in anyway uncomfertable I completely understand."
"No! Not at all," he said as he stared at her. She merely smiled as she looked and him and turned around to leave the room, telling him that he should get some sleep and that she would be back shortly after taking a shower.
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Luna softly opened the door and peaked into the room about fourty five minutes later and found that though Remus was laying down he appeared to be wide awake. She sighed as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind herself. "I couldn't sleep," he said as he looked over at her. Her hair looked damp and he could smell it all the way where he lay, it was very citrusy. "Nice pajamas," he said with a smile as he looked over at her.
"Thank you," she said with a small smile as she looked down at herself. Her pajama bottoms were red and had little green chirstmas trees all over them. The shirt she wore was a spaghetti strap shirt with a red Santa Clause in the center. She slowly walked over and jumped on her side of the bed, pulling away the coverlet and laying over the sheet. For a moment she sat up in bed, fluffing her pillows before she lay down and as soon as she did, she lay in bed, wide awake for quite sometime, both of them a little uncomfertable and unable to sleep because of the fact that they were in close proximity. "Are you awake Professor?" Luna finally asked after listening to the soft rustle of the bed covers as he turned onto his back and after listening to the fire's soft cracking.
"Yes, I see that you can't sleep either," he said as he stared up at the cieling. Luna looked across her bed pillow and stared into his face. "What do you do up here when you are all alone?" he asked as he looked over at her. She smiled and turned to look up at the cieling.
"Well I read alot, I go down to see my horses alot, Phillip and Pegasus. They are very sweet, but there really isn't much to do when I'm alone, but I remember that when I was younger, mother, father and I would go out and make snowmen, snow angels or have snow fights and we would all go together on a sleigh ride while drinking hot chocolate with little marshmellows. I miss those days," Luna said as she slowly turned on her side and stared at Lupin. "You know, every Christmas morning we'd all run downstairs and open presents and then we'd all lay together on the couch, staring into the fire and telling each other stories. My mum always loved to tell me the story about how she and my dad met. My father's favorite was about the day I was born."
"Sounds very nice. Reminds me of what my families Christmases were like. We lived in a rural village and there was a forrest behind our house and in winter a lot of snow would fall and we would do those very same things. I miss those winters too," he said as he turned on his side and looked into Luna's blue eyes. She was smiling as she stared at him, wondering how many famlies like theirs did the very same thing. "We weren't that well off and my mom would always knit me sweaters for Christmas, but they always fit perfectly and were always very warm."
"My mom used to knit me sweaters too," Luna said with a smile. '" have every sweater she's made me since I turned a year old, but they don't fit anymore. I just keep them because if I think about her hard enough, I could still smell her."
"I do the very same thing," Remus said with a smile on his face as he looked into her eyes. "I remember distinctly that my mother used to smell of apples and cinamon and hot chocolate," Remus said as he stared at her. Luna smiled at this. "You smell somewhat like her, except for the cinamon. I can smell you from here and you smell like fresh country apples."
"So I've been told," Luna said with a smile, remembering what someone else had said before but unsure of who. For a moment she closed her eyes and thought about her mother. "My mum smelled like Citrus fruits, always. Like oranges and lemons and many other things. I used to bury my face in her hair and take in deep breaths and I'd picture being somewhere far away, on a beach where the water was warmn and the air was lazy with hotness. Strange is it? Whenever I smell citrus fruits, I now think of her arms and nothing else."
"I don't think it strange. Sounds quite natural," Remus said as he stared into her eyes. She smiled at him before looking down, though really staring towars the fire. "Luna, I do very much apreciate everything that you have done for me and if I could do anything at all to repay you do not hesitate to ask," he said, causing her to turn her blue gaze to him. For a moment, she stared at him in thought, before rolling onto her back and staring up at the cieling.
"I'm sorry Professor Lupin, but I don't think that there is anything that you can do," she said. "Unless..."
"Unless... what?" he asked as he stared at her.
"Unless you promise that you will stay here and keep me company, at least during Christmas. I don't want to be alone," she said as she turned around to look at him and gave him a pleading gaze. He merely smiled and nodded to her, he had nothing else to do or no one else to be with, nor did he want anything else or anyone else. Just Luna.
"All right," he said as he stared at her. Luna smile warmly at him.
TBC...
A/N: Well this was completely unforseen. I was hoping to keep this a one-shot, but oh well. Hopefully it will be a short story. Please Review.