I felt bad about not posting for a while, so I thought I'd give a bonus chapter today. A pretty great bonus chapter, too, if I do say so myself. Enjoy!
I was thrilled to find on Sunday evening that Remus would be back to teaching the following morning. My morning madness seemed just that much more bearable when stopping by Remus' class was part of the routine. Also, after the crazy weekend, I very desperately needed to talk to him. There was just something about the way he spoke that never failed to calm me down. He also seemed to know exactly what to say to keep me from doing anything that might get me sacked. Therefore, it seemed only natural that Sunday evening after dinner, I found myself with a tray prepared by the house elves, on my way to my friend's quarters.
"Just a moment," I heard from inside after I knocked. He sounded tired, as he always did after he came down with something. For a grown man, he had a surprisingly poor constitution. Maybe I'd talk with Poppy later in the week about giving him some sort of preventative serum. The door opened, and I was faced with a haggard looking Remus. He smiled tiredly at me, glancing at the tray in my hands. "Is that for me?"
"No, I was just going to make you watch me eat it," I replied, and he chuckled. I smiled at having made him laugh. "You missed quite a bit of excitement, Lupin. Care to let me fill you in while you eat?"
"I get the distinct feeling that you aren't going to give me much of a choice, Miss Fraser," Remus replied. I grinned.
"Damn right, I'm not. Now scooch aside and get comfortable. This soup is hot and if you keep chatting me up in the doorway, it'll get cold."
"I'm chatting you up, am I?" I blushed as I realized what I'd said.
"Ah, no. Not what I meant. Just let me in, you arse."
I made myself busy, gently pushing Remus down onto his sofa and levitating a few blankets onto his lap despite his protests that he didn't need them. The tray fit nicely on his coffee table, and I pulled an armchair so that he could put his feet up. Finally satisfied, I made myself comfortable on the other side of the sofa.
"I said mean things to Snape." Remus blinked at me.
"Why?"
"Because he assigned your classes to write an essay about werewolves and caused poor Hermione Granger to have an absolute meltdown." Remus stared at me for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. He looked down into the steaming mug of hot chocolate I'd been sure to include on the tray.
"Well, she shouldn't worry. I won't make them complete the assignment," he said evenly, a hint of something constricting his voice. Before I could inquire about it, though, he continued speaking. "How did the Quidditch match go?"
I retold the entire story, stopping just after Hagrid and I parted ways. Remus knew I was a bit off, but if I told him what I did to get Harry's broom, he'd think I was completely bonkers. Remus listened carefully, looking worried.
"And is Harry alright?"
"He's perfectly fine," I replied, patting Remus' blanket roughly where I thought his knee would be in a comforting sort of gesture. "He woke up surrounded by his teammates, though I'm sure his Gryffindor ego is a bit bruised from losing to Hufflepuff. Though obviously with a perfectly legitimate excuse!"
"If anyone knows about Gryffindor ego, it would be James' son," Remus laughed. "I remember once when Gryffindor lost to Hufflepuff on a fluke, and James was in a sour mood for weeks. He kept going on about dishonor and all other sorts of nonsense."
"Quidditch is very serious, Remus," I said, sniffing a bit. "It's no laughing matter to see a quality team defeated by a bunch of overly friendly cuddlers. If Quidditch were a matter of who can be the most polite while passing gas, I'm sure Hufflepuff would deserve to win."
Remus snorted into his hot chocolate. Apparently, he inhaled a bit as well, as he started coughing and managed to drop the mug, scalding both of us. I hissed as the hot liquid made contact with my legs, while Remus let out a yelp and leapt off the sofa.
"Merlin, Lottie, could you warn me next time you're going to say something ridiculous?" he exclaimed, gathering the now wet blankets into a heap. I saw him wince.
"You know, I'm no Poppy Pomfrey, but I've gotten very good at healing burns. I've spilled more than my fair share of coffee on myself in my twenty three years."
"You aren't twenty three."
"Yes, but it's nice to pretend I'm not an old maid sometimes, Remus," I sniffed. "Now can I take a look at those burns? I noticed you wincing and-"
"I'll be fine Lottie-"
"I insist! It'll only take a min-"
"Really, Lottie, I'd rather-"
"Remus John Lupin, I swear to Merlin and Godric Gryffindor and Albus Dumbledore that I will bat bogey hex you once a day for the rest of term if you don't let me look at-"
"Take care of yourself first, and maybe we'll discuss you healing my burns." I narrowed my eyes at the stubborn man, trying to very hard to bend him to my will. Unfortunately, Remus was immune to my glares by now. I sighed dramatically.
"Fine. If you don't want to be blinded by my bare legs, though, you should probably turn around." Remus chuckled and obligingly did so, placing his hand over his eyes so as to mock me. I pulled off my robes and tossed them aside, leaving me in a dry blouse and some very well destroyed trousers. I winced as I started to wiggle them off, grimacing at the bright red and pink of my thighs. I inhaled once through my nose and held my wand to the burn areas, exhaling as I felt them cool. I saw the red fade to pink, and pink fade to lighter pink. The spots were barely visible now, and the pain was mostly gone.
I muttered a quick spell to dry the trousers, and started to shimmy them back on. However, I'd forgotten about the spot where the Whomping Willow had grabbed me, and as the fabric scratched against the welts, I'd hissed in pain. Instinctually, Remus turned to check on me, gently grabbing my calf as if to examine it.
"What's the matter? Did something-" He froze as he realized what he was doing. For the briefest second, his eyes trailed down from my face to where he held my leg in his hands. He dropped my leg and covered his eyes. "Do we need to go to the hospital wing? Poppy would-"
"I'm alright, Remus," I replied, feeling the heat rise in my neck and cheeks. I tore the trousers just above the knee to avoid having them rub the welts again and pulled them back on. "Just a bit of a previous injury. You can stop acting like I'm stark naked. My trousers are back on."
He uncovered his eyes and sat down on the sofa, again pulling my leg toward him
gingerly. He held my calf in his lap, carefully examining the injuries.
"How did this happen?"
"I had a bit of a run in with the Whomping Willow," I admitted sheepishly. "Y'see, I saw Harry's broom nearby after the match. I knew it was stupid, but I had to save it for him. I don't know what I thought it would help, but I had to. The bastard of a tree managed to get me at the last second, though. On the bright side, I got the broom!"
Remus looked at me for a minute, and then another, puzzled to no end. He opened his mouth, then shut it again, unsure of how to respond to my shenanigans.
"Also, I bribed the Gryffindor Quidditch team not to tell anyone about me screaming profanities at a tree."
Remus lost his composure, and laughed harder than I've ever seen him laugh before. He shook, and consequentially ended up shaking me as well. I waited it out as he continued, tears streaming down his face. After what seemed like ages, he was finally able to catch his breath, and he looked at me with the most ridiculously bright expression on his face.
"You are insane," Remus said plainly, the smile still in place.
"I should probably be locked up," I agreed, allowing the smallest grin. "But hey, at least I'm insane for a good cause."
"That you are," Remus agreed. We were both quiet for a moment as we looked at each other. Remus' smile softened a bit from amusement into something else, something I couldn't quite define. "You are the most insane woman I've ever met."
"And you certainly know how to sweet talk a girl," I joked, though I couldn't quite stop myself from smiling back sweetly. I was hyper aware of his thumbs absentmindedly tracing circles on my calf, and I felt like my lungs were shutting down. Realizing what was happening, I coughed, and the moment was broken. "So, Healer Lupin, will I live?"
"Most certainly," Remus replied, looking down and barely hiding the blush rising in his cheeks. "You took care of it quite nicely. However, you'll probably have some scarring."
"I'm alright with that," I said, swinging my leg out of his lap and restoring the small distance between us. "Scars are cool."
"You are insane," Remus muttered, and I swatted him in the chest. "Ouch!"
"Oh! I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, hands going to my mouth. "I forgot! Here, pull the jumper off so I can take a look."
"Lottie, I'd rather-"
"BAT BOGIES!"
"Fine!" Remus snapped, yanking at the jumper in question. I could see immediately that his burns were worse than mine. However, I also saw a good deal of other injuries. Most were just scars, some thin, like spiderwebs on his skin, others knotty and raised. What was strange, though, were the more recent injuries. Cuts and scrapes littered his skin, some obviously deeper than others. They were all scabbed over already, but they were still there. I took in a breath and reached to gently touch one of the larger wounds, careful not to put much pressure on it.
I looked up at Remus's face. "What happened?"
"Grindylow," he replied brusquely. "I didn't want to get my shirt wet while I transferred it to its new tank, and it managed to get me."
"But the scars-"
"You do realize that I was a good deal older than you when You Know Who was in his prime," Remus interrupted. "You might've still been in school, but I was fighting, Lottie."
"I forget about that sometimes," I murmured, removing my hands. "Which is strange to say, but I do. I'll be going about my day as usual, and something will bring back a memory, and I'll be shocked. It's strange now to think about what things were like then; so dark and dangerous." I shrugged, reaching for my wand. "But that was the past, just like your scars are old news. For right now, you have some nasty burns that need treating."
I worked mostly in silence, save for the quiet muttering of incantations. Remus' eyes were closed as I worked, though I couldn't quite tell if it was from pain or just exhaustion. The rain was back, gently pattering against the windows. I could hear the fire crackling, feel the warmth on my bare lower leg.
"Done." Remus' eyes opened slowly, and he raised a hand to his chest. He pressed down gingerly, and, upon finding that there was no pain, pulled his jumper back into its rightful place.
"You really are quite good at burn healing."
"Did you doubt me?" I questioned in mock offense, a hand going to my chest. Remus chuckled.
"Not for a moment," he replied sincerely, and I grinned. A clock chimed, signaling midnight.
"I should really get going," I said after a moment, ignoring the voice in my head that was begging me to stay a while longer. Remus nodded, and stood to walk me to the door.
"I forget too, sometimes." I turned to see Remus just behind me, eyes weary. "About before. I forget for a moment, and then I see Harry and I remember."
"I'm sorry," I replied softly, leaning slightly against the door frame. "I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you."
"His parents would be proud," Remus continued, not really speaking to me anymore. I raised my hand to gently squeeze his arm, offering a kind smile.
"And I know they'd be so thankful for how well you've been watching out for him this year." I slowly pulled my hand away. "Goodnight, Remus. Please get some rest."
"Goodnight, Lottie," he responded, his eyes boring into mine. I caught my breath for a moment, then turned and left the room, heart pounding.
Will Lottie and Remus ever kiss? How long will Lottie believe the Grindylow story? Will Lottie risk her career for the possibility of- well, maybe not love, but a pretty great relationship? Find out in future chapters of Fresh Laundry and Ink!
