Like Beauty's Beast
Description:
Carina Black was like Beauty, a dark, tempting mystery with cherry-red lips. Remus Lupin was like the Beast, scars littering him from his own claws. The words on their arms declared them two halves of a whole, soulmates, but will the beast allow himself to be loved? And will beauty love her beast? Part 2 of the Soulmates Series.
i.
I'm a Beast.
Those were the words that had appeared upon Carina Black's arm at four years of age. She had spent many nights deliberating the meaning of her soulmate's words – words that would be his or her first words to her – and never came to a solid conclusion.
She never showed her parents her words. She knew they would disown her for fear of her soulmate being a half-blood or some muggle-born who was freaking out over the idea of being a witch or wizard, they wouldn't take another chance.
Not after Andy.
When Andromeda Black had turned four she had proudly shown off her words: what's a Slytherin? To their parents.
Cygnus and Druella had been appalled, for there would be no way that any pureblood – hell, even half-blood – would not know what a 'Slytherin' was.
So they had declared that if Andromeda was to find her soulmate then she could not have him regardless, that they would marry her off to the Nott Heir and she should never see him.
In her first year at Hogwarts, on the train in the way there, a Muggleborn by the name of Edward 'Ted' Tonks had overheard Andromeda speaking to her friends about hpuses and had swiftly asked them, "what's a Slytherin?"
Andromeda was now in her last year of Hogwarts and had ran off with Ted, much to the devastation of the then nine year old Carina.
From then on, after dear Andy had left, Carina had nobody. Narcissa was with the Malfoy's, learning how to be a true Malfoy after her soulmate mark – much to the delight of the Malfoy's – matched with Lucius' (Narcissa's had been wait until my father hears about this!).
Bellatrix remained at home, she hated her husband – who wasn't her soulmate – after all. And Bellatrix swiftly began her work on trying to begin to lull Carina over to the dark side, permanently.
Without Andy there was nobody to save her from the darkness.
ii.
By the time Carina began to attend Hogwarts she was her parents ideal daughter, a Black to the core unlike her rebellious cousin: Sirius. And she had long since befriended the likes of Estella Malfoy, Artemisia Nott and Genesis Mulciber, and she was the only one who knew about Estella's soulmate mark.
That Estella's soulmate was the said rebellious cousin.
And yet, that year, or even the year after that, or the year after that, Carina Black never met the soulmate who called himself 'a Beast'.
iii.
In fourth year, alongside Estella, Carina received her dark mark. She knew that Estella had done it to spite Sirius more than believing in the cause but Carina's reason was to prove herself to her family.
For she was beginning to lose hope that she would ever meet her soulmate, and if she did then if she could have them. For those who didn't meet their soulmates in Hogwarts meant that their soulmates were either older, muggle or foreign. And she doubted that her pureblooded, prejudice parents would settle for muggle.
iii.
It was sixth year when she found him.
She had always been a curious person, and, rather admittedly, a bit of an earwigger. After all, why pass up the ability to have information that you can use for leverage at a later date?
She had heard the Marauders talking about meeting up at the Womping Willow that night, of how they wanted to try something out.
They were very secretive about it. And she was very intrigued.
So that night she donned on a dark, hooded cloak and began to make her way out of the dorm room, glancing back to ensure that all of her friend's were sleeping before she slipped off into the night, into the realm of darkness and heading towards the tree that never sleeps.
She was shocked to see James Potter turn into a stag in front of her very eyes, she observed as her cousin turned into a grimm and Peter into a rat, all guiding a wolf – a werewolf – through the night, towards the looming trees of the forbidden forest.
Silently she followed them, cloak billowing, and when she arrived she saw the animals fighting to contain the strong werewolf as it attempted to head towards the castle, as the wolf clawed unsympathetically at both itself and the other animals.
When the stag was thrown dramatically to the side – near to where she was hiding – she instinctively took a step backwards, only to have a twig snap under her heeled boot.
All animals – well, at least temporary animals – turned their heads to where she was, the wolf letting loose a howl before surging towards her.
The grimm – her cousin: Sirius Black – tried to block it's way only to be flung into a tree in a manner that must have broke something, and the werewolf continued on towards her.
She didn't run. She couldn't.
She had fallen back to the ground and there was no way that she could get up back in time.
But she didn't need to. For the rising sun peered over the horizon, and the second it's rays collided with the werewolf the wolf turned to human once again.
It turned to Remus Lupin, perhaps one of Hogwarts' brightest and kindest students, who was coated in a thick layer of crimson blood, new and old scratches all over him, hair matted.
"W-what are you?" She knew, of course, yet she awaited confirmation. She awaited to be hit with the realisation that a werewolf had attended Hogwarts with her all these years, and that they actually existed. Her parents had refused to allow her within a hundred mile radius of any half-breed.
At her words he gaped at her, before she began to see tears pool in his eyes. Fear. Fear seemed to consume him within this moment, although she didn't quite understand why, as he spoke, "I'm a beast."
It had been fear of rejection.
iv.
Both had avoided each other like the plague for the month following.
Neither knew what to say or do, he did not think himself worthy of her – he was a beast for Merlin's sake! He had often thought to himself – and she had constantly feared of what would happen to her if she did give this, them, a shot.
Would her friends leave her? Would her family disown her?
On the day of the next full moon she had thrown down the book she was reading and purposefully stormed through the hallways of Hogwarts, feeling Estella's smirk upon her (like with Estella and Sirius, Estella was the only one who knew of her and Remus).
She didn't stop her stride until she was in the Shrieking Shack, approaching a shocked and worried looking Remus, "Carina, you need to get out of here, it's not saf-,"
His words were finished by her cherry-red lips upon his silencing him, before, with much effort, she pulled away, "you're no beast, Remus Lupin. Never say that."
All he could do was nod.
And for the rest of their days together, until death do them part, Carina never forgot – not for one single night – to remind him that he was not a beast or a monster.
And every night he believed her that little bit more.