"Hey I think he's waking up!" Sams loud voice rang in his ears. His vision became lighter and blurry objects appeared, they slowly came into focus. He saw all of his friends crowded around him "Mark?! If you can hear us say something!" Sam shouted loudly.
"I bet I still look better than you." he said softly and everyone smiled. He still had his sarcasm, he was okay by their standards. Marcus winced in pain and looked down, he wasn't wearing a shirt and he could see a number of deep nasty rips into his chest and stomach. He tried to move his arms and cried out in pain when he moved his left arm, he removed the blanket and saw even more slashes riddling his arm.
Madame Pomfrey walked in caring a number of potions and ingredients "Out of my way! Mr. Dine needs time to heal!" she said as she set everything down. She stated examining his wounds "Luckily no bite wounds seem to be evident. Consider this a miracle Mr. Dine." she said as she waved her wand. She handed him a potion, which he took with his good arm "One quick swig." she said and he quickly downed the liquid. He gagged at the disgusting taste and Pomfrey rolled her eyes "Why do you kids always think it will taste good!?" she asked as she continued to heal him.
After nearly an hour it was clear that nothing was working, the bleeding had stopped but they wouldn't vanish. Soon Dumbledore, Mcgonagall, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, and Lupin all walked in. As soon as Marcus saw Lupin his heart rate spiked, he kept his breathing under control as the professors ushered his friends out. Dumbledore looked at the scars and for a quick second glanced at Lupin "Professors I want you to make sure all fo your respected houses have all their students accounted for." he said and the four house heads left with Snape glaring at Lupin before leaving the room.
Pomfrey had left to care for some other students, now it was just Marcus, Dumbledore, and the man that had nearly killed him. Dumbledore sighed heavily "It is alright Marcus, I know of his condition. With that in mind I think we should all discuss this." he said and Marcus gulped before he nodded.
"Mr. Dine I cannot express how sorry I am for putting you through that. The pain and shock you must have endured...truly I could not control myself. That is no excuse for my actions, I am truly very sorry for this Marcus. I'm just glad your quick thinking and strength kept me from infecting you. Although I am sorry to say that your appetite may change a bit, and that these scars I gave you...they cannot be healed. Marcus once more I am so very sorry for this, you are a bright and caring student and I never meant to harm you." Remus rambled as he sat on the students bed.
Marcus had heard enough "Professor Lupin, it's alright. That wasn't you that attacked me, that was something that you couldn't control. Also, I'm not infected so no real harm done. You know besides the large amount of scars that can't be healed and my sudden craving for meat. I would love a bit of steak right now actually." Marcus said suddenly finding himself famished.
Lupin clicked his tongue and nodded to Dumbledore "I know that this is so much to ask of you Marcus but we were hoping...that you could keep Lupins condition a secret for the time being. I know you have no reason to do this especially after what has happened to you." he said softly.
Marcus looked at the new professor, he wasn't a bad man or even a mean one. He was just a poor fellow who was sick, Marcus looked at the Headmaster "Okay, I won't say anything, but something tells me someone is going to figure out sooner or later what happened to me." he explained as he leaned back and tried to get the pain under control whenever he breathed.
Dumbledore sighed and looked at Lupin again before returning his gaze to the student "I'm afraid that has already happened. News of your attack has spread through the school already, some students have even informed their parents. They are scared that their classmate might try to hurt them at night, we have doused those fires however and made note that you were not bitten and are not infected. With that I urge you to exercise caution for the time being." Dumbledore explained and Marcus nodded.
"And one final thing, we found your wands beside you when we rushed you here. I'm sorry but wands cannot be repaired once broken." Dumbledore said as he handed him a wrapped up object. Marcus used his good arm to remove the fabric to show his destroyed and splintered wand next to his other one. The second wand was perfectly fine aside from a few splatters of blood on the wood.
He wasn't a dual wielder anymore, he had to train with one wand now and he already had a ruined arm and leg. Dueling was going to be incredibly difficult now with his injuries. He carefully, and painfully, got out of his bed and saw that his injured leg was in a cast. His scarred arm was quickly put into a cast and and he threw on a shirt before grabbing a pair of crutches and making his way out of the Hospital.
Lupin and Dumbledore gave Marcus one more reassuring smile before they both left him and he started down the hall. As he slowly made his way into the Great Hall all commotion stopped, it was around lunch time so a large amount of students were eating. As soon as he entered through the threshold of the door everyone turned to look at him, he saw Malfoy and his gang smiling and many students looked scared as he made his way to the Hufflepuff table.
He sat down with a wince and he saw all of the Hufflepuffs around him smiling or patting him on the back. He smiled back as he grabbed a large chunk of steak and began to eat.
"Oh look guys! The mutts having a snack!" someone yelled behind him.
"Look out I bet his bark is worse than his bite!" another laughed out.
A second year Hufflepuff was next to him and he pat his shoulder "Don't listen to them. They have nothing better to do but find someone to make fun of. They are all just a bunch of jerks, most of us know you're a good guy no matter what." he said in a squeaky voice. Marcus nodded but those insults people were throwing at him hurt more than his scars.
He finished his meal without a word and grabbed his crutches and started for the door. Before he got there he felt something slam into him and he lost his footing, he hit the ground hard on his bad arm and cried out in pain. Marcus looked up to see Goyle standing there, Malfoy walked up and crouched next to him. He glared at him "Watch yourself this year Dine, you ruined my fathers name and I'll make sure you pay for it." he growled.
"Hey back off!" someone said.
"He isn't hurting anyone!" another said.
"Shove off Malfoy!" a girl spoke.
Marcus looked over and saw all of the second and third years standing behind him looking like they were ready to fight. All of the Hufflepuffs were glaring at the Slytherin until finally he just grunted in annoyance. Malfoy walked away and his cronies followed him, a few of the Hufflepuffs ran over and helped Marcus up "Thanks guys, I owe you big time." he said with a chuckle.
A few of them looked at each other "Maybe, you could let us in the Dueling Club?" one asked.
Marcus grinned and nodded "Sure thing." he answered and the students cheered before going back to what they were doing before. Marcus was astounded at how accepting his house really was, he balanced himself on his crutches again.
Then he walked out the door with a smile.
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