Chapter Thirteen: Consequences Revealed
Remus picked disinterestedly at his breakfast the next day, unable to muster up the will to actually eat anything.
Finally giving up all pretenses of eating, the werewolf pushed his full plate away and got to his feet, unable to shake the nagging sensation of dread that he'd been feeling ever since he'd woken up that morning.
Remus was just approaching the Grand Staircase when his path was blocked by a highly pissed-off Blaise Zabini.
"How could you?" the Slytherin teen burst out wildly.
The werewolf raised an eyebrow.
"I beg your pardon?" he queried lightly.
Blaise let out a vicious snarl and lunged at him, a pair of black and gray feathered wings sprouting from his back and razor-sharp claws extending from his fingertips.
Before he could make physical contact, however, a pair of strong arms quickly grabbed him around the middle and dragged him backwards.
"Mr. Zabini, what exactly do you think you're doing, attacking a Hogwarts Profesor?" the Potions Master questioned silkily, his fathomless black eyes glinting dangerously.
The Slytherin hissed in rage.
"He rejected her!" Blaise growled venomously and Snape reared back as if he had been slapped, his head whipping around to face Remus.
"You did what?" he hissed murderously.
"What in Merlin's name is going on?" the frustrated werewolf wanted to know.
The Potions Master pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Did you or did you not reject your mate?" he demanded urgently.
Remus frowned.
"Why would I reject my mate?" he asked in confusion.
"I love Dora, I could never hurt her like that!"
Snape and Blaise glanced at each other in concern.
"Excuse me, but did you just say that the Metamorphmagus is your mate?" the Potions Master pressed.
Remus nodded in confirmation and the two Slytherins shared a look.
"How long have you two been together?" Snape demanded.
"About six weeks," the werewolf responded.
The Potions Master abruptly grabbed Remus' arm and dragged the protesting werewolf down to the dungeons where he shoved a large goblet into his hands.
"Drink!" Snape ordered harshly and Remus obeyed, grimacing heavily at the sharp, bitter taste.
Almost immediately, his face cleared.
"What was that?" the werewolf asked curiously.
"Antidote to Amortentia," the Potions Master stated impassively.
"Amortentia?" Remus gaped incredulously.
But before he could say anything else, Snape interrupted.
"Lupin, who is your mate?"
Remus' brow furrowed.
"Layla, of course, I told you that four months ago!" the werewolf answered matter-of-factly.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in horror and his face paled as he remembered the events of the last six weeks.
"FUCK!" Remus growled furiously.
He grabbed hold of Snape's robes.
"Severus, what are the consequences of a Shadow Veela being rejected by their mate?" the werewolf demandeded urgently.
The Potions Master sighed heavily.
When he finally replied, his voice was grim.
"Death."
Remus swore viciously before rushing off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.
Barking out the password, he practically tore up the narrow, twisting staircase leading to the girls' dorms and burst through the door marked 'Sixth Years'.
For several agonizing seconds, Blaise heard nothing but silence.
Then there was a loud, heartbreaking wail of raw pain and anguish and the Slytherin teen quickly rushed up the stairs and into the dorm where he saw Professor Lupin kneeling next to one of the beds, desperately shaking Layla's motionless form as he begged and pleaded for her to wake up.
Blaise stumbled and would have fallen if Profesor Snape hadn't caught him in time.
His dark gray eyes filled with tears.
"Lupin?"
The Potions Master's voice was barely audible.
The werewolf lifted his head and just stared blankly at them, his eyes filled with pure agony and heartbreak.
"I can't wake her, she's hardly even breathing!" Remus choked out miserably.
"Her heartbeat's so weak..."
The werewolf's voice broke and he buried his face in the crook of his mate's neck, his shoulders heaving with the force of his sobs as he wept bitterly.
Oh Merlin, what had he done?