Two Mistakes
The next night after everyone went to sleep, James kept Remus downstairs with him in the common room.
Remus stared into the dying embers, his hands placed neatly on his lap, a contemplative look on his face.
"I didn't keep you down here to stare at the fire, Moony. You can do that on your own time," James said with a flicker of a smile.
"What do you need, Prongs?" Remus asked, sighing.
James ran a hand through his hair and breathed out. "I've been thinking about what…what Melissa was saying," he said slowly.
Remus frowned. "Why are you thinking about that now?"
"I…I don't know," James said, shaking his head. "It's just... I guess I really took it to mind. What if she's right?"
"I still don't think Peter would go on the Dark Lord's side," Remus said. "But I also have been thinking about it. I will admit it comes to me every so often."
"Do you think he would?" James asked, staring at Remus.
Remus sighed again. "I don't want to say, because either way I am going against someone close to me. If I agree he is up to something it's going against Wormtail, if I agree he isn't that's going against Melissa."
"I mean we're the only people she told about her suspicions, right?" James said.
"I think so," Remus said, rubbing his forehead. They both sat silently for a few moments.
"Wormtail wouldn't go to the Dark side," James said, though it sounded more as if he was trying to convince himself. "No…he wouldn't."
Remus nodded his head, though said nothing. Him and James went up to their dormitory without another word about Peter or anything. They had both silently agreed not to speak about if it was not necessary.
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The beginning of November was slowly passing them by and the schoolwork was getting harder. Peter was still frequently disappearing, but no one thought of it anymore, even Melissa had just ignored the issue now.
Thanksgiving was around the corner and everyone was getting excited, though the girls didn't know why because you didn't get any school off. Sirius and James were excited though.
"There's so much food! And it's so good!" James and Sirius would say.
The next day was going to be a full moon and Remus was showing it. He looked as if he had the flu and looked extremely tired because he was convinced he didn't need to get extra sleep.
The Marauders and the rest of the crew were all down in the common room studying for a Transfiguration test, with an exception of James and Sirius, and Remus was barely able to focus.
"Remus, you should go to sleep," Melissa said, laying a gentle hand on his arm.
Remus looked at her. "I can't, I have to study for this," he said stubbornly, looking back down at his book.
Melissa brought a finger under her chin and faced him so he was looking at her. "Remus, you look really tired. Go to sleep," she ordered gently.
Remus sighed in defeat and stood up. "I'm going to bed guys."
James and Sirius nodded, and Ariel and Lily were too busy studying to notice. Melissa smiled as he went up to the boy's dormitory.
Melissa looked back down at her book and continued to study, half of her mind focused on the words on the page, the other half on the werewolf upstairs.
After Lily and Ariel declared they were finished studying, they headed up to the girls' dormitory. Melissa, instead of going with them, followed James and Sirius up to the boys' dorm, keen on checking Remus. They walked in and James collapsed on his bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning loudly.
"You didn't even study, James. How are you tired?" Melissa whispered, laughing.
"It's tiring watching you people study," he retorted, smirking. Melissa shook her head laughing and walked over to Remus' bed. She slowly pulled back the curtains and saw him sleeping. A smile crept on her face.
"He's sleeping," she said, sighing. "Okay, goodnight guys."
"Goodnight, Lissy," James and Sirius said in unison.
In the morning Remus looked worse than he did the day prior. He felt even more tired and it was beginning to show. Dark bags underlined his dull amber eyes. During free period, Remus had to take a nap while everyone else went outside. James and Sirius came up with an excuse and told Ariel and Lily that Remus had a cold and that was the excuse as to why he was looking so sick.
That night everyone was all in the library doing homework. When the time came the boys said they were going to sleep and left the girls in the library. James subtly winked at Melissa as he and Sirius left, an impish grin on his face. Though, Melissa was so consumed in her work, she didn't even notice them leave.
"Poor Remus, he should really go to Madam Pomfrey," Ariel said, watching them leave. Melissa nodded her head, not paying the least bit of attention. When she finished Charms homework, Melissa pulled out her bag and dug through it, looking for something else to work on.
"Where is it?" she said, sticking her head in the bag.
"What are you looking for?" Ariel asked, the scratching of her quill stopping momentarily as she looked up at Melissa.
"Divination book," Melissa said, raising her head suddenly. "Oh, bugger! I left it outside! I'll be right back, let me get it quickly."
Melissa was walking through the halls with a quickened pace. She just wanted to get the book and get back inside. As soon as Melissa reached the large oak doors, she roughly pushed them open, a cold, crisp air hitting her face. She saw her book lying under the tree and ran to go retrieve it.
"There you are," said Melissa, slowing her pace as she reached the shadow of the tree. She bent down and picked up the book.
Out of nowhere Melissa heard a low growl. Her body froze and her fingers stilled around her Divination book. She didn't dare move a muscle, nor did she take the slightest breath. After she gathered up enough Gryffindor courage, she slowly turned around and was face to face with a werewolf. Melissa's head shot up, looking up to the sky, and saw the full moon shining in a proud light down onto Hogwarts grounds.
"How could I forget?" Melissa scolded herself.
Remus was inching closer towards her growling louder. His teeth were bared and for once Melissa admitted she was frightened. It's just Remus, she kept telling herself. All of a sudden he went up on his hind legs, flew forwards and pinned her against the tree. Melissa gasped at the hard impact and the pressure of his claws pushing into the flesh of her shoulders.
Remus brought up his paw and swiped at her face with a feral growl. She felt a stinging sensation and bit back tears. Melissa tried to squirm free, but it was no use, the werewolf was too strong. He threw his head back and howled. She winced, biting her lip and turning her face away from him.
From afar Melissa heard bounding hooves, hoping it was James. It was. A brilliant stag was running towards them. It hit Remus squarely on his sit with his antlers. Remus was pushed off Melissa with such force, he scratched her arm in attempt to catch his balance.
Melissa was fighting the urge to scream as James fought to keep Remus away from her. She caught James' eye and knew to run. The book slipped from her hands, and before she could comprehend what was happening, she was sprinting off towards the Forbidden Forest, as they were blocking her way back to the school. Melissa just kept running, tripping occasionally on a root or two.
The dark forest was merely a blur around her as she passed through, ducking from low tree branches, her breath coming out in short gasps. Melissa was running so fast she didn't realize where she was heading, and suddenly there was no floor beneath her feet. With a high-pitched scream she fell into a ditch. Suddenly the world around her closed into darkness as her head collided with the forest floor.
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In the early morning, Remus had transformed back into his human self, and was badly scratched and bruised. James was beaten up pretty bad as well, seeing the fact he was fighting Remus off. Sirius wasn't as bad for he had missed the fight by a mere few seconds, running a few feet behind James.
Peter and Sirius had Remus' arms slung around their shoulders, holding him up and helping him walk without collapsing to his knees. James hadn't said a word all morning, not ready to voice what had happened the previous night. He knew it wouldn't help Remus. Eventually, James would have to tell him, just not at that moment.
The four walked around the Forbidden Forest, everyone knowing except Remus what they were looking for. James glanced behind trees and under bushes. After they couldn't find her after about a half an hour he began to worry.
"How do you know… it's is in here?" Sirius said, fearing to say 'she', though Remus was far too tired to have any idea what was going on around him.
"Because it ran in here," James said, scanning the forest. "It couldn't have gone to the school because we were over there."
James looked over and saw a ditch in the distance. He broke into a run, leaving the rest behind. He hesitantly peered into the ditch and saw Melissa. She was laying on her side, covered in dirt, scratches visible across her skin. James took a sharp intake of breath. He lowered himself into the trench and carried her out bridal style, her head lolled back slightly.
Once Sirius saw her, he mimicked James and his eyes widened. James was in the lead as they were walking back to the school.
Remus looked up as the school came into view. His head was pounding and he was aching everywhere. He saw a blurred James walking ahead of them, holding something. Remus just hung his head back down, not having enough strength to hold it up any longer.
Later that morning Remus awoke in the infirmary. He looked at the bed next to him. The curtains were pulled around it and he saw the silhouette of Madam Pomfrey bending over the patient. Remus raised an eyebrow, wondering who was in the infirmary with him. Madam Pomfrey exited the curtains and looked over at Remus.
"Good, you're awake," she said, handing him a plate of food. Remus stared down at it. "Well, eat it."
"Um, excuse me?" Remus said, stopping Madam Pomfrey before she walked into her office.
"Yes?" she said.
"Who…" Remus started but was cut off when the door opened and James and Sirius barged in
"Hey, Moony," said James, walking over in long strides and hiding Remus' vision of the bed next to him. He smiled nervously down at Remus. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay," Remus said, eyeing James with a confused look. While James was trying to preoccupy Remus, Sirius slipped behind James and looked at Melissa. She was peacefully sleeping, her scratches cleaned and bandaged and her broken leg in a cast. He felt someone kick the back of his leg. He abruptly turned around and saw James' back.
"I was just telling Moony about how messy our room was when we walked in this morning," James said through gritted teeth.
"Oh…yeah!" Sirius said, smiling.
"What's up with you two?" Remus asked suspiciously, frowning.
"Nothing," they said at the same time, causing James to bring his hand around and hit Sirius in the back of the head, but covered it up by putting his arm around his shoulder. Remus raised an eyebrow.
"We'll be going now," James said, dragging Sirius by his neck.
Remus' frown deepened. Something was up with them. Another thought was lurking in front of his mind, though. He looked back at the mysteriously occupied bed next to him. Who was that? Perhaps he was just nosy, and it was none of his business who was also in the hospital wing…though, somehow, he felt like it was.
Madam Pomfrey came out again and checked on the unknown patient. Remus heard her muttering something, and then another voice spoke. The voice was oddly familiar, though it was hoarse and sounded very strained. Remus then saw Madam Pomfrey nod and pull back the curtains.
"I need to give you something for that leg," Madam Pomfrey said. Remus saw the back of the patient's head as her gaze followed Madam Pomfrey. "Would you mind telling me how that happened?"
Remus saw the girl look down.
"I…I can't remember," she mumbled.
Madam Pomfrey shook her head disbelievingly. She found sometimes she preferred not to know with some of these students. "Well, at least you'll have company today," Madam Pomfrey said, still digging through the cabinet. The girl nodded her head slowly, still not looking up. Madam Pomfrey pulled out a potion and handed it to the girl. "Here, drink this."
The girl hesitantly took the goblet and drank it slowly. When she finished she practically threw it back to Madam Pomfrey, coughing and gagging loudly.
"Well, you don't expect it to taste good, broken bones aren't fun to fix," Madam Pomfrey said, sighing exasperatedly. She then went into her office. Remus was still watching the girl; she still had her head down and was shaking considerably.
"Um, are you alright?" Remus asked quietly. The girl nodded her head, not speaking. "Are you sure?"
The girl nodded her head again. Remus couldn't see her face, her head was hanging down and her hair was covering her face. The door squeaked and Remus looked over and saw James and Sirius again, standing in the doorway. James' head was almost touching the top of Sirius' for Sirius was bending down, both looking quite like they were in a spy movie.
James saw that Melissa was up, and wondered if Remus knew already.
Sirius, clearly assuming that Remus knew already walked over to Melissa. "How are you feeling?"
Remus looked oddly at Sirius. He didn't even know this girl and he was asking her how she was feeling. Leave it up to Sirius…
Melissa bit her lip and looked up with her eyes.
"Okay," she muttered quietly.
"Sirius," James said, rushing over. "Leave the poor girl alone."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. Then a sudden realization came over him. He mouthed an 'oh' and turned back to Remus.
"I was just being friendly," he said, smiling innocently. "She says she's okay."
"No," Melissa said, shaking her head. "He should know."
James bit his lip. "Me and Sirius are just gonna go now. We'll see you later, Moony." Sirius and James ran out of the infirmary, slamming the door behind them.
Melissa sucked in her lower lip, a tear falling out of her eye.
"What should I know?" Remus asked, starting to worry if he attacked this girl. The girl slowly raised her head and Remus' eyes widened and his mouth was open slightly. "Melissa?" Remus' voice came out slightly higher than usual.
"Yes, Remus," Melissa said, breathing out.
"What…what are you doing in here?" asked Remus, staring at the scratch marks across her arm and cheek. "I didn't…"
Melissa didn't answer as she looked down at her lap. "It's my fault. I was stupid. I completely forgot it was a full moon and I went outside to get my book," Melissa said, raising her head, feeling tears falling down her face. "It's not your fault at all, Remus."
Remus bit back angry tears and clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. "No. It's my fault. I shouldn't have let you stay with me." He turned his head and looked away, down at the floor. He glared at it as if it caused all his problems. "I'm sorry I put you in danger for so long…"
"No, Remus, it's not your fault!" Melissa said, slamming her hand down onto the bed. "It's mind! I shouldn't have been outside! I shouldn't have forgotten!"
Remus took a deep breath. He didn't want to yell, it certainly was not going to help. Plus there was a feeling deep down in the pit of his stomach. Remus could never yell at Melissa…even if he was furious with her…how could he possibly yell at her?
"I knew I was endangering you," Remus whispered. "Maybe we should…"
"NO!" Melissa yelled, crying harder. "Remus, it's not your fault! It's mine! You did nothing wrong!"
"I attacked you, Melissa," Remus said, covering his eyes with his hand.
"And I'm fine now!" Melissa shouted.
Remus took another deep breath. "I still attacked you, Melissa. I hurt you, and that's the last thing I ever want to do."
"You couldn't control yourself! You had no idea what was going on!" screamed Melissa, letting the tears fall freely, not wiping them away. She wanted him to see he was hurting her. The problem was no longer that he hurt her physically. Remus was now hurting her emotionally.
"What if it happened again?" Remus asked, more so to himself.
"I wouldn't be near you again! I wouldn't make the same mistake twice!" Melissa said, slightly angered that he thought she was stupid enough to do so.
"You made a mistake by falling in love with me," Remus mumbled, shaking his head. He looked up at her. His heart broke over and over again seeing her so distressed because of him.
Melissa shook her head. "No! Remus you're wrong!"
"I think it would be better if we weren't together. You would be safer and…it's for the best. I don't want to—I never want to—hurt you, Melissa. I love you and if I ever…did something horrible I would never forgive myself," Remus said, looking down, not wanting to look at her because he knew he would take back every word he just said.
"If you love me you would stay!" Melissa cried, furiously wiping away tears.
"It's better this way," said Remus, staring at the palms of his hands.
"No it's not! It's not better this way!"
"I won't be endangering you anymore and you can just forget me. Go find a good young man who can give you everything you deserve," Remus said, fighting back tears. "I can't love someone; werewolves aren't supposed to be with people."
"How can you say that!?" They are normal people that have feelings when it's not a full moon!" Melissa argued, absolutely appalled he would think of himself as such.
"It's better if we aren't together," Remus said in a final voice, he was still looking down and he heard Melissa sob.
"Fine!" she sobbed. "You know what? I hate you! Okay? Are you happy now? I HATE YOU!"
Those words stung Remus, but he knew they were for the better. He closed his eyes and sighed.
Melissa looked away from Remus, crossing her arms, tears burning her eyes. This was all her fault. If it wasn't for her they would still be together and she wouldn't be in the infirmary with a broken leg. All she wanted to do at that moment was slap some sense into Remus.
The office door opened and Madam Pomfrey walked back in. "Would you like something to eat, Ms. Ross?" she asked.
Melissa looked up and forced a weak smile. "No, no thank you I'm fine," she said, waving it off. "Do you know when I will be able to leave?"
"When that leg is fixed," Madam Pomfrey said. Melissa frowned slightly and loosened her tightly crossed arms.
"Well, how long do you think that will be?" Melissa asked, running a hand through her hair to push her bangs out of her face.
"You might be able to leave tomorrow," said Madam Pomfrey, looking up from the bed she was making.
"Alright," Melissa said, tangling her hand in her mess of a bed head.
Madam Pomfrey sent Melissa a small smile and walked back into her office. They both sat in complete silence; Remus looked up everyone so often and glanced at her. She sat looking down, one arm folded across her stomach, the other in her hair, holding her bangs back.
Later that day, around lunch, James and Sirius came back to visit. Sirius opened the door and peeked inside. That is until James shoved him in. "Just go!" he shouted, shuffling his friend into the infirmary.
"How are you guys doing?" Sirius asked.
Melissa looked up at him. "Fine," she said, looking away. Sirius looked over at James who shrugged. Sirius then looked over at Remus.
"I'm okay," Remus muttered.
James inched over by Sirius. "Do you think they had a row?" he whispered.
Sirius glimpsed over at them; they were both avoiding each other's gazes completely. "Maybe," he whispered back. "Do you think he found out what happened?"
"Most likely," James said, sighing.
"Am I missing a lot in classes?" Melissa asked suddenly. She was looking up at them, her arms were wrapped around her drawn up leg and she sat slightly hunched in a defeated way. Tear streaks traced themselves down her flushed cheeks.
James turned and looked at her. "No." Melissa nodded. "Do you want us to stay?"
"You can," Melissa said, staring out the window, watching the rainfall.
"Do you want us to get Lily and Ariel?" Sirius offered. Melissa turned back to them. Her face, all except for her eyes, was expressionless. She shrugged.
Sirius wanted to know what happened. He was about to ask, but something in the back of his head that sounded oddly like James was telling him not to.
The next day, Melissa was allowed to leave after a lot of persuasion that she was absolutely fine. Remus, on the other hand, had to stay in the lonely infirmary.
He felt strangely empty, like a whole part of him was missing, and he did not like the feeling. Remus looked over at the bed next to him, the one Melissa had currently occupied a mere couple hours ago. Her body indent was still there and the wrinkles were in place on the blindingly white sheets. He sighed and stared down at his hands.
Did I do something wrong? No…it was for the best. Remus sighed. No one knew yet that they had split up. James and Sirius were smart enough to realize they had a fight, and no doubt told Ariel, Lily, and Peter, but all of them thought it extended no more than that.
Melissa was keeping to herself, acting like nothing was wrong and everything was perfectly fine. She knew if she told everyone they would be feeling sorry for her, and that was the last thing she wanted, pity. Melissa went on her daily basis as if she had skipped the period in her life when Remus was a large part of it.
The scratches were fading and her leg was fully healed. She barely limped anymore. Melissa was glad that her injuries were healing quickly; therefore she wouldn't have to go through curious stares and questions.
The next day Remus left the infirmary and was back in classes, healed for all except his broken heart.
That morning, the Marauders and the girls were walking the corridors to breakfast. Melissa, Ariel, and Lily were walking in front of the boys, holding a whispered conversation.
Remus watched Melissa's every move despite the sensible part of his brain shouting at him to cut it out. He quickly turned his attention down to the floor when she turned around and spoke to James.
"We have that Transfiguration test today, right?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah," said James, sighing. She laughed, turning back around. Once she had, James and Sirius both simultaneously turned and looked at Remus.
"Are you guys still having in a row?" Sirius asked nosily.
Remus looked down at his feet. "I guess you can call it that," he muttered, not wanting to talk about it. His heart was beating a million miles a minute in his chest. He was surprised James and Sirius didn't hear it. Melissa seemed perfectly fine without him, and surprised him how much it hurt.
"Well, you guy's will make up soon. Knowing you two, nothing can keep you apart for that long," James said, trying to make light of the conversation. When Remus remained silent, James' eyes widened. "You didn't…" He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Sirius to stop too.
Sirius looked from James to Remus and suddenly caught on. His mouth dropped open. "Moony, why did you do that?"
Remus continued walking, trying to ignore them, though he felt their burning stares at his back. He sighed and stopped.
"Remus, she made you happy. Why throw all that away for one night?" Sirius asked quietly.
Remus looked at his two best friends. "I hurt her, Sirius."
"You can't control yourself. And you saw with your own eyes, she is fine now," James pointed out.
"It's better this way," said Remus, slowly turning away from them. He took a deep breath and began walking down the hallway again. James and Sirius stared after Remus as he walked down the hall alone.
"He's being stupid," James mumbled, turning away from Remus' retreating form and looking at Sirius.
Sirius nodded. "Come on, Prongs." He sighed, nodding his head forward. The two followed after Remus to meet everyone else in the Great Hall.
As they reached the Gryffindor table, they saw Remus with his head in his hands, Lily trying to talk to him.
"Leave him alone. He's not talking to anyone," Sirius said, sitting down. Lily glanced worriedly at Remus once more before she turned and joined Melissa and Ariel's conversation.
James took a glimpse over at Melissa, seeing that she was looking at Remus. She had a concerned expression on her face. James shook his head at how ridiculous they both were being, mostly Remus, though.
A/N- Sorry that it's sad. Read and Review!