A/N: I decided that I love writing fanfiction and wanted to post another one shot. Mainly because I want to get your opinions on my writing and how I can improve it.
Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing some characters from JK Rowling's world, and that would mean that I am not JK Rowling. This is just for entertainment purposes (I really need to come up with a more creative line than that.)
Confronting Mary McDonald
It had been long enough. He couldn't continue to date Mary without her knowing. It just wasn't right.
Remus was patrolling the corridors with one Lily Evans, when this thought occurred to him. It had been seven months of him dating Mary McDonald, and it was now time for her to know the truth. But how would Mary react to the news? Would it be worth it?
There would be no better person to ask but Lily Evans, who was friends with Mary for six years. She'd probably tell him what her reaction would be.
"Rem?" Lily asked suddenly, stopping in the middle of a corridor. "You're very quiet. Is everything alright?"
"Lily," Remus said. "I have to tell you something."
"Okay…" Lily said, slowly, in her mature and motherly tone. She made her way to a small corridor, and stood against the wall. "What is it?"
"You, er, know about my condition, right?" Remus said, more as a statement rather than a question.
"Yes," Lily said, unsure of where this was going.
"I should probably tell Mary now, it's been awhile. I can trust her."
"Oh, Remus! That'd be great!" Lily said, giving Remus a small hug.
"Yeah. I mean, things have been getting more serious…she has the right to know."
"Yes, she does! Oh, that'd be wonderful, Rem!"
Remus nodded.
"But I've no idea what her reaction would be. I'm nervous."
Lily's gaze softened, but she replied without hesitation.
"You don't need to worry about that; Mary isn't prejudiced."
"So she wouldn't care if she dated a werewolf?" Remus asked, his heart pounding.
"No, no she wouldn't," Lily said confidently. "She never would care. After all, you're still Remus, aren't you?"
"I should be, my name wouldn't change," Remus said, with a small smile.
"No, I mean, personality wise," Lily said, her emerald eyes sparkling with amusement.
"It shouldn't…" Remus said, before getting serious once more. "But you don't think she'll reject me?"
"Nah, it'll be perfect," Lily said, grinning.
Remus' heart leapt with excitement, "Yeah…"
The two sat in silence for a couple of moments, and then the silence was broken.
"You sure it'll be perfect?"
"Yes, Rem, I'm sure. Don't worry."
"How perfect?"
"As perfect as perfect can be," Lily said, rolling her eyes, missing the mischievous glint in Remus' eye.
"As perfect as you and James?"
"Ye – no! No, the opposite of Potter and I! Damn it, Remus! The opposite!"
Remus grinned, "So not good at all, then?"
"Potter and I are not perfect for each other. You and Mary are. She'll love you for who you are, she'll admire you more for your…condition."
"Excellent," Remus said. "I'll tell her tomorrow. Evening."
"Sounds good. It'll be so much better to not have to keep the secret from her, I'm sure."
Remus nodded, and held out his arm for Lily to hold. Lily let out a giggle, but accepted, and continued their patrolling.
"But still, James and you would be perfect together," Remus said slyly.
"REMUS!"
It wasn't surprising for Remus that when he walked in after patrolling, his fellow marauding friends were still up.
"MOONY!" Sirius yelling, jumping on top of Remus.
"Damn it, Padfoot, give the guy some space," James said, laughing.
"Padfoot," Remus growled. "Off. Now."
Sirius got off of Remus, still jumping up and down, as if he had too much sugar. Of course, this was Padfoot normal behavior. James helped Remus get up, who now looked amused at this greeting.
"How was patrolling?" Peter asked from his bed.
Remus let out a small smirk in James' direction.
"It was absolutely lovely. Lily and I had a lovely time."
James rolled his eyes, jealous over Remus' time he got with Lily.
"Okay," Peter said. "Now, be serious."
"Why would I want to be serious?" Remus asked. "That would be bad for my image."
"HEY!" Sirius said, taking mock offense. "I'll have you know that no matter how much you want to be me, you'll never do a good enough job! And it'll add to your image!"
"Calm down, Padfoot," James said, snidely. "I'd like to hear about this lovely patrol."
Remus rolled his eyes, "I have a girlfriend, Prongs, and I assure you, I am not cheating on her."
James visibly relaxed on this note. Sirius snickered.
"Lovesick Prongsie!"
"SHUT UP! I am not lovesick!"
"Yeah, not at all," Peter said. "You are as protective as a boyfriend should be."
"Besides, doesn't she have a boyfriend?" Remus asked, knowing it would anger James more. "I can assure you that Miss Evans has better morals than that."
James let out a small grunt.
"Anyway," Remus said. "As I conversed with the lovely Miss Evans, I asked her about some things pertaining to Miss McDonald."
"Get to the point, Moony," Peter said, though smiling at James' jealousy.
"We decided that I'm going to tell her tomorrow about the fact that…that…" Remus trailed off.
"Your furry little problem?" Sirius asked.
Remus nodded.
"You talked to her before us?" James asked, sourly.
"Bloody hell, James," Remus said. "Yes I did. Stop taking this in the wrong way. She's been best friends with her since First Year. I'm certain she knows her very well."
"Okay, yeah, then?" Peter asked.
"She said that Mary isn't prejudiced and it'll all go perfectly," Remus declared.
"That's great!" James said, much better with advising about feelings than the rest of his friends, as Sirius and Peter had burst out laughing.
"Thank you, Prongs," Remus said, smiling. "Just…things are getting more serious, she really should know."
James made his way over to Remus' bed and put his arm around his shoulder.
"It'll work out great, Moony. Don't be nervous, and don't self-deprecate yourself in front of her."
Remus nodded.
"Be confident, and she won't care," James said. "If Evans said she wouldn't, I'd believe her. Just don't get the jitters, and if you made the decision to tell her tomorrow, then do it. Don't hold it off."
Remus nodded again.
"We'll give you your privacy. We'll wait for you up here."
"Okay," Remus said.
"It can't be any worse than Prongs asking Lily-Flower!" Sirius announced.
"This is true," Remus said, nodding.
Abruptly, James got up from Remus' bed.
"Wow! Moony, I thought we were friends!"
"Take a joke, Prongs," Remus said, laughing. "Anyway, I'm going to bed."
The Marauders copied Remus' actions, and did the same.
Remus had brought Mary to the Room of Requirement, where they had always met.
"I've always loved this room," Mary said, smiling as the door came into view.
"Yeah, it's perfect," Remus said, his stomach doing flip-flops.
They walked into the empty room.
"Been waiting all day for this, Remus," Mary said, pushing her brown hair off to one side.
Remus hadn't wanted to get too far into anything with Mary until he got what he wanted to say out, but sometimes his desire would get the better of him. He was a teenage boy, after all.
"I love you," Mary breathed as her lips touched Remus'.
It was perfect. Remus didn't want to stop, but he suddenly pulled away, knowing he could not let his emotions get the better of him.
"Mary, I, we, I can't do this. Not right now."
"What?" Mary stepped back, confused.
"No, it's not you…I have to tell you something…"
Mary gave a warm smile.
"Don't hesitate, you can tell me anything."
"Well, er, I, er, I love you, Mary," Remus said for the first time.
Mary embraced Remus.
"Aw, Rem, I love you too. Thanks, I needed to hear that from you."
"Yeah," Remus sighed, but broke apart once more. "But, I have to tell you something else."
Mary grinned, "Okay. What else?"
"We probably, should, er, sit down," Remus said.
"But there aren't any cha—"
Remus grinned when Mary realized the chairs had appeared.
"Right, the room," Mary said sheepishly as she took a seat. "Okay, we're sitting. Now what is it?"
"Erm…you love me, right, Mary?" Damn it! Stop beating around the bush!
"Yes…" Mary seemed completely baffled.
"Okay…me too…"
"Remus, what is it? Is everything alright?" Mary asked, placing her hand on Remus' shoulder.
"It's…" Merlin, what's she going to say? Damn it, Remus, don't get cold feet.
"Remus?"
"Have you ever wondered where I've been going every month?" There, I said it.
"Er," Mary hesitated. "Wondered, yes. Made a big deal, no. Should I have?"
"No…"
"Am I about to get the answer?"
"Mary," Remus said, standing up. "I have to tell you what I am."
Mary looked up at Remus, trying to make eye contact with him.
"And what, pray tell, are you?"
"I…I…" Remus dropped his gaze to the floor and mumbled. "I'm a werewolf."
"I'm sorry?"
"I'm a werewolf."
"Stop mumbling, I can't hear you."
Remus took a deep breath, "I'm a werewolf."
Mary looked as if she could not believe her ears.
"Come again?"
"It's true."
"Look me in the eye and say it," Mary demanded, exerting much superiority over Remus.
Remus slowly looked up and met her gaze.
"Mary McDonald, I am a werewolf. Have been, ever since I was six."
Remus could no longer look Mary in the eye, and dropped his head down. So much for the confidence James told me to show, Remus thought wryly. Had he kept eye contact with Mary, he would have seen her flinch and the disgust grow across her face. She was furious.
"REMUS LUPIN! A WEREWOLF!"
Remus was absolutely ashamed. He looked up at Mary, and his heart sank when he saw the disgust ridden face.
"You let me love you? You let me kiss you?" Mary wiped her mouth furiously with the sleeve of her robe. "An animal!"
"Look, Mary…" Remus said, but Mary whipped out her wand, doing some curse that knocked Remus to the ground as though punched. Remus could feel his eyes water.
"You fiend! Wooing girls like me, to some monster!"
A monster.
A monster.
A monster.
Mary hit Remus with more curses, curses that caused him to start bleeding. Remus whimpered in protest.
"A monster! That's what you are, Lupin! A beast!"
A beast.
A beast.
A beast.
"If I knew an unforgivable curse, I wouldn't hesitate to use it! Monsters and beasts like you deserve to die!"
Deserve to die.
Deserve to die.
Deserve to die.
Remus winced as Mary put her foot on top of his chest.
"Why don't you fight, huh? You think I'll forget your sins, think you're not a monster? Lupin, you are a monster. Nothing can change that. You're not a human being, you're evil."
Not a human.
Not a human.
Not a human.
"The school should know, before they are confronted with a thing like you. I'll do the noble thing and let them know…you beast. You monster. You deserve nothing less than death. That's who you are. A werewolf. Soulless, evil…you deserve nothing but death. Not love. I…I don't love you, Remus Lupin."
Don't love you.
Don't love you.
Don't love you.
Mary kicked Remus once more, just below his ribcage, before storming out of the room, leaving a very injured Remus, both mentally and physically, laying on the floor. Mary's harsh words rang in his ears, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was a monster, after all.
Mary stormed back into her dorm, after wiping some of the blood off her shoes. Damn Remus Lupin. How dare he let her fall in love with some Dark Creature? The cunning, evil, soulless creature he was, ready to lure her in one night, to join his clan. Everyone deserves to know, before they make the same mistake she did.
She opened the door to her dorm, only to see one of her dorm mates.
"Mary!" Lily said, looking up from her book. "Didn't expect to see you back so fast! Had a good time with Remus?"
Mary didn't look at Lily, and threw down her robe. Damn, everything didn't go okay with Remus…Lily thought.
"Remus Lupin is a werewolf!" Mary blazoned furiously.
"Ssh! Not so loud," Lily said, panicking, placing some silencing charms around the room. "Do you want the whole world to know?"
"I BLOODY WELL DO!" Mary screeched. "HE'S A BLOODY WEREWOLF!"
"Mary, what the hell! Calm down, this isn't your secret to tell!"
"You don't seem shocked. Perhaps I haven't been clear enough. Remus Lupin is a werewolf!"
"Yes, I know—"
"You know? You know?" Mary rounded on Lily. "You let me date a werewolf?"
"Yes I did!" Lily said, not backing down. "It doesn't make a bloody difference!"
"Not a bloody difference? Lily Evans, he is a werewolf! He will not hesitate to kill you! He is a monster!"
"SHUT UP! You bloody fool, SHUT UP!"
Mary flopped down upon her bed. Lily before had never told her off before.
"Did you tell him this?" Lily asked, softening her tone, although the fury could be seen blazing in her eyes.
"Yes, I did," Mary said, although calming down, the anger and betrayal was still evident in her voice.
Lily groaned.
"Do you have any idea of what he has to go through every month? Do you know how much courage it took for him to tell you this? Did you have to shoot him down?"
"You talk about him as if he's got feelings like us," Mary said.
"He's got feelings! He loves you, Mary! He truly does! It took him ages to tell you, because this rejection was his worst fear!"
Mary was breathing heavily, but didn't say anything.
"Look, Mary, I thought you loved him."
"I did. But this is stupid."
Lily took a deep breath and looked away from Mary. She tightly shut her eyes, feeling the pain Remus was going through.
"Did you know he came to me to ask me what your reaction would be?" Lily asked softly.
"No," Mary said, her heart beating quickly. "I don't know anything of the sort. The monster never told me."
Lily ignored Mary's insults on Remus.
"I told him you wouldn't care, that you weren't prejudiced," Lily said, turning back to face Mary. "You didn't see the happiness and hope in his eyes. He truly cares about you, he wanted this to turn out well so badly."
Mary looked down at her hands.
"I was so confident you wouldn't reject him, Mary. He was so happy. It turns out that I was wrong. I don't know you, yet."
The room fell silent. Mary was feeling excessively guilty now. There were just no words to describe what she was feeling.
Lily looked Mary in the eye, and broke the silence.
"What did you tell him, Mary? How did you reject him? Did he say anything?"
Mary fidgeted with her wand. She was not proud of what she had done to Remus, not anymore.
"I'm so damn close-minded," Mary said, putting her face in her hands.
"Mary, what did you do?" Lily asked, her voice sounding pained.
"I called him names…and cursed him…and kicked him…told him I'd tell everyone…" Mary said, sounding on the verge of tears. "I'm so sorry, Lily! I didn't mean all that!"
Lily shrugged, no longer looking at Mary.
"Did he say anything?"
"No…no…he didn't."
There was another pause.
"You were the monster in this situation."
Those words hit Mary like a slap in the face. But she didn't retaliate.
"You're right, Lily. Please, I want to apologize to him!"
"You hurt him more than you think, Mary. Verbal scars don't heal. He may never trust someone with his secret again."
"I'M SORRY!" Mary screamed, truly meaning it.
"You can try to tell him tomorrow…I don't know if he'll forgive you…he's got friends now. People he trusts. He won't come running to you for your apology…he's a Gryffindor."
"I know…I'll try anyway…I'm so sorry."
"Mary, you can't keep telling this to me. Just go to bed. Tell him tomorrow."
Sirius sat drowsily on his bed. James had just fallen asleep waiting for Remus to show up. Peter had been asleep for a while now. Sirius was close, but he knew he had to wait for Remus, as Remus would have done for him.
The fact Remus was late could mean two things: he wanted to be alone for some time or he was enjoying his time with Mary greatly. Either way, Sirius knew he should wait in the dormitory for Remus and not go and find him.
Sirius cast small charms over James and Peter's bed so he wouldn't wake them for whenever Remus came. The two looked purely exhausted and Sirius was getting a bit hyper, probably on the verge of a laughing spree. It would be terrible if he woke them up.
A little past midnight, Sirius heard the door creak open. Remus walked in, his eyes red.
"MOONY!" Sirius cried, pouncing on Remus.
Remus did not respond with his usual reply. He just sat there, silently.
"Moony? Moony, mate, what took you so long?" Sirius asked concerned, helping Remus up.
Remus did not reply.
"Moony?" Sirius asked. "Damn it, Moony, I'm not good at this reading feelings business."
Remus did not answer. He had taken awhile to regain the strength to get back up, and then awhile to heal himself. After sitting alone for some time in the Room of Requirement, he came back up to the dormitory.
"Moony? Moony? Answer me, Moony! What happened?"
Remus sighed and flopped down on top of his bed. Sirius followed and did what James normally did, and that was put his arm around Remus' shoulder.
"Moony, what's up, mate, what happened? You can tell me…"
"That's what she said," Remus said quietly, so quietly that Sirius almost missed it over the sound of Peter's snores.
"She rejected you?"
Remus nodded.
"Remmy, I'm…I'm so sorry…" Sirius said, not calling Remus by his nickname, and giving Remus a small hug, knowing that when James did that, Remus would open up more.
Remus put his arms around Sirius, and let a few tears fall out.
"It's okay, Remus…"
"She said she'll tell everyone," Remus choked out.
Sirius let out a dry chuckle.
"We won't let her, Remus, we won't let her."
After a few minutes, Remus broke apart from Sirius.
"All done, Remus?" Sirius asked, giving a sad smile.
Remus smiled, although it seemed more like a grimace.
"Ready for bed, then?"
Remus nodded, and changed his clothes. Out in the open as opposed to behind the curtains as he preferred.
"Okay, then, Remus, go to bed," Sirius said, sounding rather awkward.
Remus got into his bed, but didn't lie down. Sirius had got up from the bed and was making his way to his own when he heard Remus give a small whimper.
"Yes, Moony?" Sirius asked, reverting back to the nickname to keep the conversation lighthearted.
Remus didn't say anything.
"Oh, Merlin, Moony, I'm reminded of the first trip to Hogwarts. Where we had to interpret your silences!"
Remus still didn't say anything.
"Well, I'm getting better at that game," Sirius said, before walking over to Remus' bed. "You're afraid of getting a nightmare, aren't you?"
Remus gave a small nod.
"It comes whenever I get rejected…"
"Okay, then, I'll stay awake and watch you sleep and wake you up if I see the signs that you are having a nightmare," Sirius said, knowing that the words were sounding awkward coming out of his mouth; it never sounded awkward when it was James speaking.
Remus didn't do anything. Sirius had a sudden idea and got into Remus' bed.
"There we go. I'll sleep right here, and you'll be safe," Sirius said.
Remus gave a small grin and let his head fall into his pillow. Sirius did the same and let his arm cover Remus protectively in a brotherly fashion.
"Padfoot?" Remus said softly.
"Yes, Moony?" Sirius said, although groaning inwardly that he still couldn't get to sleep.
"Do you think I'm a monster?"
These words stung Sirius more than they would to the average person.
"No, of course not, Moony, why?" Sirius suddenly felt a bout of anger approach him. "Did McDonald say so?"
Sirius felt Remus nod. He bit his lip, trying to stop whatever tears were threatening to fall out of his eyes.
"Remus," Sirius said. "I don't want you to think about anything that girl said. You've got us. Prongs, Wormtail, and me…we'll never leave you Moony. You'll never be alone…not if I can help it. You're my brother, Moony…the brother Regulus never was. I would never leave you…or think you as a monster. Most people are more of a monster than you, you're such a good person, who very bad things have happened to."
Remus hugged Sirius tightly, and slowly felt himself drifting off to sleep.
"Sirius?"
Sirius gave a small nod of acknowledgement.
"I'm so lucky to have met you."
James woke up the next morning, surprised to find Peter had been awake before him.
"Hey, Wormtail, g'morning!" James said.
He saw Peter open his mouth but no sound came out.
"Oh, damn, it seems Padfoot put a silencing charm on our beds. I can't hear you!"
Peter opened his mouth again, but James still couldn't hear him.
"Oh, right, the charm…" James muttered, reaching for his wand and performing the counter charm.
"Good morning, Prongs," Peter said quietly. "Padfoot and Moony are still sleeping."
"Oh, damn! I left Padfoot with Moony to deal with him! How could I have fallen asleep? Merlin…"
Peter walked by Sirius' bed on the way to Remus'.
"Wait," Peter said, and James turned around. "Padfoot isn't there."
"What?" James said disbelievingly, but saw what Peter had said was true. "Alright…let's go wake Moony then, and we'll go find Padfoot…"
They pulled the curtains around Remus' bed, and saw something that seemed photo-worthy. Of course, Peter took this opportunity to get a picture.
Sirius had his limbs over Remus, who had his head amongst Sirius' chest. Had you not known the context, like James and Peter, one could get the very wrong idea.
James and Peter shared a look, and dragged Sirius to one end of the bed, leaving his arm hanging over the edge. They put Remus sleeping comfortably on the other edge of the bed, leaving one very large gap in the middle. Then, James and Peter put on some music, at a very loud volume, causing the two friends to wake up really quick.
Remus and Sirius glanced at each other, and then the gaping gap in the bed. Remus and Sirius shared a look, to further tease James and Peter.
Remus pouted, "Aw, Paddy, was it really that bad?"
James and Peter whipped around.
"It?" Peter asked.
"No," Sirius said softly, coming closer to Remus. "The euphoria was too much for me."
"Nonetheless, I love you, Paddy," Remus said, hiding his smirk in Sirius' shirt.
"Me too, Moons," Sirius breathed.
"AUGH! Get a room!" James exclaimed, panicking.
"You guys actually did it?" Peter asked earnestly.
This was too much for Remus and Sirius, and the two of them burst into laughter. It took a few seconds for James and Peter to understand they had been tricked, thus commencing a large pillow fight.
"So, why were you in the same bed?" James asked.
Sirius glanced at Remus.
"Mary and I broke up," Remus whispered.
James understood immediately, but Peter looked confused.
"So you decided to get together with Sirius instead?"
"No!" Remus said, his eyes wide. "No, of course not! Padfoot did a good job with comforting me, since you and Prongs fell asleep."
James and Peter looked very guilty at this.
"You see," Sirius said. "Without you, the conversation was very awkward, but it did the job. McDonald called Remus some terrible things…and claimed she was going to tell the whole school about his furry little problem."
"Oh," James said lamely. "We won't let her."
"That's what I said."
"Oh."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Uh huh."
"Guys, shut up," Remus said, rolling his eyes in amusement.
The four boys sat together in the Great Hall, eating silently. Every couple of moments James would bring up Quidditch, but other than that, nothing much was said. The most interesting thing that had happened so far was James staring down Lily in some sort of staring contest, and that wasn't all that interesting.
In the midst of all this silence, Mary McDonald made her way over to the Sixth Year Gryffindor boys. She sat down next to Remus, and, as if they had been sitting on a seesaw, Remus immediately stood up.
"Hey guys, just remembered I had to work on a Transfiguration paper, be back soon," Remus said quickly, trying to run out of the room.
"Remus," Mary said, and Remus flinched.
"McDonald," he acknowledged. "Sorry, would stay to chat, but got the essay…"
With that, Remus bolted out of the Great Hall.
James and Sirius shared a meaningful look, and Sirius stood up, grabbing Mary by the arm.
"Stop it, Sirius, what the hell?" Mary said, trying to loosen the grip.
Sirius took Mary out into the hall, and pined her against a wall.
"Stop it!" Mary moaned.
"What did you do the Remus?" Sirius growled, rather menacingly.
"Let go of me!"
Sirius gave her a shake on the shoulders.
"What did you do?"
Mary felt her eyes start to water.
"I'm sorry…that's why I sat with you. I did some things I'm ashamed of…"
"Quit groveling!" Sirius said, no remorse evident in his voice. "I admit, I've done stupid things to hurt Remus, he doesn't need anymore of it!"
"I swear I won't tell anyone about his…condition!"
"That's not enough, you fool!"
"I want to apologize to him," Mary whispered, taking in all the insults Sirius was throwing at her.
Sirius dropped his firm hold on Mary, who was breathing heavily.
"I don't know if I want you going near Remus," Sirius said, his tone softer. "For his own good."
"I just want to ask for his forgiveness," Mary said, standing up.
"He probably won't forgive you," Sirius retorted.
"He doesn't have to…I want him to know, that's all."
"Go, then!" Sirius said, stepping back from Mary. "Go. I personally hope he doesn't forgive you, though."
Mary furiously wiped away the tears that were pouring from her eyes.
"When I see him, I'll apologize. I'm a Gryffindor for a reason."
As Mary turned around back into the Great Hall, Sirius called out to her.
"Gryffindors are also noble! Can we say the same about you?"
Sirius made his way to the dormitory, knowing Remus was probably in there. His suspicions were correct, and he saw Remus stabbing his quill at the parchment in front of him.
"Holy…Moony, what'd that parchment ever do to you?"
"'Lo Padfoot," Remus muttered.
"Look, Moony, I know you're upset…you can't let this take over your life."
"I know."
"Look, Moony," Sirius said, sitting next to Remus. "Don't worry about anything she said. You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to."
"I know that…" Remus said, putting his quill down. "But I don't know…what should I do, Padfoot? I loved her, I really did, I can't just drop her! But I don't know if I want to forgive her, either!"
"It's okay, Remmy…" Sirius said softly, starting to get a knack for this emotions business. "You don't have to forgive her now…you don't have to forgive her ever…just…come back, Moony. Life won't be the same without your usual tearful – sorry cheerful – self."
Remus gave a small smile.
"You're right. Padfoot, Moony'll never leave…I'll always be here," Remus said.
"That's the spirit! Now, I'm awful with this sappy stuff, so can we get back to being Marauders?"
Remus grinned and stood up.
"Of course! Prank time…"
When Remus said he'd be okay, he never figured it would be as hard of a task as he made it out to be. He couldn't look Mary in the eye, and he never let himself be alone without his friends, for the mere fear of being confronted by Mary. It was odd, and Remus obviously didn't like to be afraid.
Yet his fear came true. For the first time, a couple days before Easter Break, he walked out of the Common Room alone to go to the library, while the rest of his friends were off doing their own business. He was humming softly to himself, not thinking, when he heard a soft voice call his name.
He didn't stop. He kept walking, some newfound rage filling within his body.
"Remus?"
He kept walking; he didn't turn around.
"Remus, please, look at me."
Needless to say, Remus didn't turn around. That is, until he felt the girl grab his arm.
"Remus, look at me, please!"
"What do you want?" he spat, unsure where this rage was coming from.
"…I, er, I wanted to say, er…sorry, for, er…that day…hurting you…"
Remus refused to make eye contact with Mary.
"Some things just can't be forgiven."
"I know…I just wanted you to know…"
"Leave me alone, Mary," Remus said, yanking his arm out of the girl's grasp.
"Remus, I love you."
Remus flinched at these words. He turned around, and stared at Mary, who was using all of her will power not to break eye contact with Mary.
Remus' gaze did not soften; instead, he spoke rather coldly and shortly to Mary.
"Monsters aren't capable of love."
With that, Remus stalked off to the library, leaving Mary to start sobbing once more.
"I'm so sorry, Remus," she whispered.
The Marauders were staying behind on Easter Break, and it seemed that Lily was too. Remus was more at ease than he had been for a while, merely because Mary had gone home for the break. He watched and laughed when James chose to follow Lily asking her multiple times if she'd go out with him. He watched Peter run in with his bag fearing it was a school day. He watched Sirius stuff his face with all the food he could. He watched as the owls came in to bring mail.
As always, Remus received the Daily Prophet, and he would flip through it absentmindedly. However, today there was something that caught his eye.
McDonalds Found Dead
Another family murdered brutally by You-Know-Who has been found dead by Ministry officials. The Dark Mark was spotted above the crime scene.
The McDonalds had given birth to a witch, and, in attempts to purify the wizarding race, they were killed.
"There doesn't seem to be any signs of torture," Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "It appears to be the work of the Killing Curse."
The McDonalds' daughter, Mary McDonald, was only sixteen, and attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Remus could not read on. He felt his heart twisting and turning within his body. He felt as though someone had ripped his soul out of his body.
Lily Evans was sobbing uncontrollably at the table. James made furtive attempts to comfort her, which she had not resisted. McGonagall was crying softly in her arms. All in all, it was complete chaos.
Remus wasn't sure what he was feeling. He remembered the fights they had only a couple weeks ago, and he remembered the pleasure he had felt in her company. Remus didn't know if he should be angry or not. He let a few tears fall subconsciously, and Sirius tried to comfort him.
"Remus…it'll be okay…" Sirius mumbled.
"NO!" Remus lashed out at Sirius, which he never did. Sirius backed away, hurt.
"Is it all going to be okay?" a Sixth Year asked, aware of the relationship of Mary and Remus.
"It's fine," Remus said harshly.
"Oh, okay, it's just…I know how much you love her…"
"I DO NOT LOVE HER!" Remus yelled, burying his face in his arms.
Sirius sent the Sixth Year away, but was then brought with one of Lily's friends.
"Hey, Remus…just wanted to know how you're doing…"
"I'm fine," Remus repeated, trying to keep his emotions in check.
"Alright…if you ever need anything, I loved her just as much as you—"
"I DO NOT LOVE MARY MCDONALD! SHE WAS A JERK WHEN SHE WAS ALIVE!"
The girl stepped back. No one had expected such a thing from Remus Lupin. Many students filed out, unsure of what to say to the grieving boy. He had seen Lily's face when he shouted that out…the pain was unimaginable.
But worst of all…he wanted to forgive her. He really did. But it was too late, he'd never get a chance to see her smiling face ever again. She was gone. And it was at that time Remus made the decision to never fall in love again. The monster in him would never allow it. Love was not something monsters were allowed to experience.
THE END.
A/N: Sorry, I just had to have Remus rejected once because of his lycanthropy - I always feel like people don't do it enough and it doesn't give a realistic view of the wizarding world. As well, I know Remus appears to have got over the rejection quickly, but remember that he's always been one to hide his emotions. And no, Sirius and Remus are not gay in this story, just very very close friends.
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