Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my original characters and anything you might not recognize.
Harry Potter and everything that pertains to it belongs to J. K. Rowling.
A mixture of the books and movies will be included in this story.

No copyright infringement intended.

October 31st, 1981

Isabella Eileen Prince paced the small apartment where she and her lover had spent the past year living together. It was a small apartment, of a single bedroom (which was also the living room), with a bathroom, kitchenette, fireplace, and closet. The walls were covered in yellowing wallpaper with a pattern of vines and roses, and the room was bare save for a small bed in the corner, and two chairs at opposite ends of a small circular table near the kitchenette. There was a single window near the dinner table, which had green curtains that were currently shut. It gave way to a dirty and poorly paved muggle street down below; the few street lamps that were working kept flickering on and off, casting the street with an eerie yellow glow.

Isabella had a hand on her barely bulging (and stealthily concealed with a jumper) abdomen, rubbing it in circles subconsciously as she kept glancing at a specific corner of the room. Her lover was shaking and had crumbled to the floor; his head was down and his sandy brown hair swept messily over his forehead.

Remus John Lupin had seen better days despite it all, yet on this Halloween evening, everything was falling apart.

"Remus, they're gone, aren't they?" Isabella whispered brokenly as she cautiously walked towards him, placing a hand on her lover's shoulder.

They'd been her friends, her best friends, and now they were gone…

With a gentle pull, Isabella managed to make Remus turn and look at her. His eyes were empty, welding up with tears of pain and loss. Isabella took in a deep breath, pulling Remus into her arms after sitting with him on the floor. It hurt her to see him like this, so broken and vulnerable.

Remus rested his head on Isabella's shoulder while he had both arms wrapped tightly around her middle, unaware of the small bulge on Isabella's abdomen.

He cried silently, his shoulders shaking as if he were going through his monthly transformation. All Isabella could do was hold him reassuringly, an arm wrapped around his shoulders to rub his arm while her other hand was tangled in his hair, soothing a headache she was sure he had.

"I should have been there," whispered Remus, his voice hoarse.

You could have been killed as well, and then what would have become of me and your unborn child, Isabella thought, though chose to remain silent, as Remus kept rambling softly.

"He killed them," he whispered. "Sirius served James and Lily to Voldemort on a silver platter… it's because of him that they—"

"Shh…," Isabella tried, kissing his temple, "stop talking and relax. The full moon is in a few nights and I don't want you weak for when we have to leave for the forest."

"B-but it's true," he kept on, "it is because of Sirius' big mouth that James and Lily are—"

"Remus, sweetheart," Isabella said softly, "don't torture your-self over this. James and Lily wouldn't want to see you like this… I don't want to see you like this."

Remus gave out a bitter laugh and pulled away from his lover's embrace, staring straight into her honey colored eyes and shaking his head.

He never understood why Isabella thought of him so highly. He was a disgrace to the Lupin name, a freak to modern wizarding society. Isabella was a mystery to him. He was blessed to be with her, he had to admit, though it was also a sin having someone as pure as Isabella be in love with the monster that he was.

"It amazes me that you're stubborn enough to stay in this relationship," Remus muttered, raising from the ground and patting down his brown trousers. "I don't understand why you put up with me."

Not this again; not now, Isabella thought, staring straight up at Remus, her hands on her lap, why must your mood change at the most unconventional of moments?

"I can't offer you anything, yet you're still here," Remus went on to say, pacing the room as his lover had been only moments before. "The Ministry won't allow witches and wizards to marry werewolves since we now have been classified as beasts, nor can I at least indulge in buying you the simplest of gifts for special occasions because of my unsteady income. Can you see that it is not right to be with me? You won't gain anything from this relationship—"

"None of that matter to me," Isabella said softly, getting off the floor to stand on her feet, "I love you, and you love me. That's all that matters."

"With me you're in danger 100% of the time," Remus sighed, "You need someone who will make you happy and who can give you everything that you deserve. Think of what might happen if... no."

Remus sighed once more and stopped pacing, looking straight into the fireplace of the small apartment. It pained him to say what might happen for he knew it was the inevitable truth. He just kept his eyes glued to the small fire, ignoring with all his might the pleading look his lover was giving him from across the room.

"What might happen, Remus?" Isabella asked cautiously, wrapping her arms around herself. "Tell me."

With one final sigh, Remus turned to Isabella and gave her a sad look, a look that a lover would give his mate if one of the two were dying. He looked so broken, so confused and lost. He was fighting an internal battle with the wolf that resided deep within him, doing all in his power to detach the protective beast away from his mate, from Isabella.

Remus needed to break away from Isabella so that she could live her life, and not be held back by a no-body like him.

Isabella wanted to run to Remus and wrap him in her arms, she wanted to pull him close to her and to tell him that in spite of all the horrible things that were happening that there was a small window of hope for them. She wanted desperately to tell him that she was pregnant and that everything would be brighter for them, yet what he said next killed her inside…

"We can never be the happy couple that James and Lily were. I can never give you what they gave each other… what they made together."

"Remus, but I'm—"

"We cannot have children Isabella... Our love was never meant to be. We can never be happy!"

Isabella felt tears run down her cheeks, a sob escaping her lips. So this was it? This was how things were going to be… Remus John Lupin, the bravest man she'd ever known, the man she'd kill and die for, was giving up?

Isabella couldn't help but nod, looking down at the ground and un-wrapping her arms from around herself, sliding a hand on her abdomen. In that moment she cursed herself for not having had the guts to tell Remus sooner that she was expecting. Maybe it would have stopped all this…

"Remus…," whispered Isabella. "Is it over—you and I? Are we done?"

Remus sighed, saying, "I'm not sure… what I mean is—this relationship—"

"Forget it, Remus," Isabella mumbled, her voice wavering, "we're both out of our minds and not thinking straight. We've had too much excitement for one night. We'll talk about this seriously in the morning. For now let us just… let's just enjoy what we have before it's too late."

Remus sighed, losing the battle with his inner wolf and striding over to scoop Isabella in his arms, holding her as if his very life depended on it. She was his rock, his life force, his strength, his everything. He would be a complete mess if it were not for her presence at his side. She helped him go through his monthly transformations—she became an Animagus just to be by his side on those dreaded nights where the moon pulled the wolf out of him… how could he be so foolish to think he'd be able to leave her?

She was the only woman that had ever loved him—the only woman that had accepted him fully and wholeheartedly despite the baggage that he carried.

Isabella was one in a million. He would make it up to her in the morning. He would lavish her with kisses and chocolates—he'd beg for forgiveness on even suggesting that they end their relationship.

"I love you," he whispered against her neck, "I truly do, even if… even if I always push you away."

Isabella held back a sob and pressed her body against Remus', feeling the length of his torso, his shoulders, his hips… a shiver went down her spine at the warmth that radiated from his skin and at the closeness they were both in. She wanted him, she needed him, and she wanted to feel his bare skin against her own.

"I… I need you," she said breathily, pulling away from him to look up into his shimmering blue eyes that were specked with gold (a side effect of his condition). "I want you inside of me…"

"Isabella, we can't…" Remus trailed off, trying and failing to conceal the reaction his body was having at hearing her utter those words.

"Don't you find it funny how it is always I that seduces you rather than the other way around?" Isabella asked innocently, snaking her arms around his neck and drawing him close to her face.

She needed this; they both needed this. It was her way of saying goodbye.

"That is because we risk the chance of conceiving," said Remus huskily. "We can't… I can't let that happen. If I were to pass down my condition to—"

"Trust me," Isabella said almost sadly, "there is no chance that you'll get me pregnant tonight."

They had gone down this road from the very beginning, agreeing that no children could ever come out of their relationship (among other things) due to Remus' illness. He had spoken strongly about children specifically, telling Isabella that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he knew that he'd passed on his affliction to an innocent being. It had taken Isabella months of persuasion to get Remus to consider even allowing her to move in with him—he was still reluctant about it, she was sure.

He considered himself too dangerous to be around with.

Remus was embarrassed with himself, always saying that she could do better and that all he was doing was holding her back, closing doors for her for being associated with a werewolf. As always, Isabella would say she didn't care, and as always, Remus would subtly push her away.

As Isabella kissed Remus' neck, sucking and biting the sensitive skin near and around his Adam's apple, Remus shakily whispered, "The bed."

"Lead the way," whispered Isabella huskily, tightening her arms around his neck and jumping up to wrap her legs around his waist.

Why didn't I take more precautions? We've never been careless, so why now? I have to do something. He doesn't want this… I should just save him the trouble and save myself the humiliation…