109

Lupin let out a haggard sigh and used his forearm to brush a lock of his bangs that had fallen in front of his eyes out of his line of sight and off his forehead.

He was utterly exhausted and on his last leg of strength for the night.

It had taken both him and Professor Snape the better part of an hour to treat Miss Jameson's various cuts and bruises.

However, the worst injuries had taken up most of their time.

The young blonde werewolf's burnt leg, now mended, though in a cast, and would be for quite some time. A few weeks, at a minimum, and then the wound at her right ribcage, where Greyback's own claws had pierced and dug into Norah's flesh.

The infection had indeed set in, just as Snape had predicted it would, however, with some quick thinking on his part, murmuring an incantation of his own creation that Remus was not admittedly familiar of, the men estimated Norah Jameson's infections would clear in about a week to two weeks, though it could be as long as a month if she weren't careful.

He did not want to lie to Norah when she woke up, or to Ollie, it was going to be a long, arduous, and painful recovery for the young witch.

Norah was not going to be allowed out of bed for roughly two to three weeks at a minimum, and even once she had regained full mobility, Lupin did not think it wise to permit Miss Jameson to travel.

And that was assuming that all went well, and the infection ran its natural course, but if it persisted, the young werewolf's recovery could take much longer.

Remus sighed, carding his fingers through his hair, wincing as the locks of his light brown hair came away sticky in his fingers, and he realized a fraction of a second too late his palms were still stained with the young woman's blood.

Severus spoke up from the corner of the room, in the middle of stowing his wand back in an interior pocket of his robes and rolling his sleeves back down.

"I daresay you may as well find Mr. Brennan, Professor Lupin, wherever he is in this wretched little hovel you dare to call your house," he grunted, in a voice that sounded admittedly less than enthused at the prospect of seeing Ollie so madly in love with Norah, and the Potions Professor scrunched his nose and pulled a face that Remus could describe as only immense disgust.

Lupin merely grunted in response.

Snape continued, despite Remus's growing indignation towards Snape's insult of his home that he was quite proud of, and did not appreciate Severus degrading his family's home.

"Though if you ask me, I am more than content to spend the rest of the evening free of the boy's sniveling over this dog. The only thing I wish for what remains of this evening is to be left in sweet, blessed silence, of which this girl has ruined and now I hear her screams ringing in my eardrums, even now, long after she's unconscious," he spat, a hint of contempt towards the young blonde witch laying on the bed.

Remus nodded, feeling only slightly annoyed by the Potions Professor's unnecessary comments regarding Mr. Brennan's distraught behavior over Miss Jameson.

Though the man offered up no verbal confirmation towards Snape, thinking that to do so would be fruitless, as Severus, to the best of Remus's ability, did not know what it meant to truly care for another human being, to love and cherish that other person, to lay down your entire life and risk everything for them, and he was beginning to doubt if Severus Snape would ever understand.

For that matter, he wasn't even sure if he himself understood Snape's distant and somewhat cold and uncaring ways.

He kept himself at a distance, and yet did not hesitate to come to the aid of a young witch he barely knew.

The man was something of a contradiction and a mystery, though Remus could not manage to pretend to care about the man.

He was too tired to.

Lupin heaved a tired sigh and glanced towards the sleeping figure resting on top of the mattress, wincing as in her sleep, Norah violently convulsed and trembled.

Her beauty, however, on the brink as she was, was never in question, even with her short blonde hair matted and tangled against her ashen and clammy skin and her breaths shuddering, rattling every few seconds.

Her right wrist was heavily bandaged, a cut above her left brow had required medical stitches, though Snape had been able to use his wand and enchant them of their own accord to work with a firmer hand than he could if the Potions Professor were to attempt to do it on his own with his bare hands.

Norah's burnt leg, however, was another matter entirely. Though her leg had been fully restored, it was not, however, going to be without its pains.

She would walk with a rather profound limp, Professor Snape informed Remus, for how long, even he could not say.

A few months, possibly for the rest of her life.

Even worse, though, were the bruises littering her hips and waist, they had discovered, the moment Severus and Remus had lifted what was left of Norah Jameson's shredded and charred black t-shirt, claw-shaped in the form of Fenrir Greyback's hands and mottled together.

There were bruises all around her arms and her waist, and Remus could see Norah had bit her lip hard enough to bleed.

"Her wrist, Professor?" Lupin murmured, and he barely heard himself breathe out a tense exhale as Professor Snape gingerly took said already-bandaged wrist and examined it for what Remus knew to be a third time.

"Not broken anymore. Obviously," Snape said to Remus's immense relief, and Lupin felt himself exhale shakily. "But very fragile while it heals. You of all people should know, Lupin, given the nature of your lycanthropy. Our magic can only do so much. The rest is up to her body to put itself back together. It should be pained for at least a couple of days and it will need to stay wrapped. She should be careful with it for a few days, so as to not worsen it. I will leave you with more than a few vials of a Sleeping Draught and Calming Draught. I have a feeling the girl is going to need them to aid her recovery. You will inform Mr. Brennan that he may see her now on one condition," he added, hardening his tone and there was a hint of icy steel throughout his usually droll baritone that told Remus he had to listen to him.

"And that is?" Remus asked, already feeling that he knew the answer.

"That he remains calm," Professor Snape emphasized darkly through gritted teeth. "The wolf cannot heal properly if the boy is unable to maintain control of his emotions, and Merlin help that lust-filled little cretin if he cannot control his urges or I should jinx the boy myself," he growled.

Here, he spat the word as though it were poison that had settled upon his tongue, though the sudden shift in the man's countenance caused Remus to quirk a brow Severus's way in suspicion.

He swore, he couldn't be sure, but he was fairly confident that there were the briefest hints of affection laced throughout the Potions Master's dulcet tones, and he wondered if something had transpired once between Severus Snape and Norah Jameson.

Lupin offered a curt nod, inclining his head slightly to show to Severus he heard his soon-to-be fellow colleague's words, though several questions remained on the tip of his tongue as he glanced at the unconscious woman.

"And what about the rest of her?" Remus asked in agitation, thinking how minimally he had been able to help Severus, who had adamantly requested Lupin stay out of his way while he had worked, bidding him wait near the other side of the room.

A request that, given Professor Snape's already sour mood, Remus had been only too happy to oblige and stand back and watch Severus heal Norah, though he had remained on standby for those few occasions where Severus had required Remus's assistance.

"Bruises, very severe bruising all over her body, as you saw for yourself," Severus announced in an unusually grim and somber voice that, for a moment, Remus thought, sounded like someone else. Someone who actually cared one iota about the werewolf.

"And Greyback's…bite marks and the cuts?" Lupin acknowledged, feeling his lips press into a tight and angry line as a surge of anger coursed through his bloodstream.

Professor Snape sanguinely lifted his head and brushed the palms of his hands on the front of his billowing black robes.

"Her abrasions and cuts are quite shallow," he offered with a little sigh. "And will heal along with the bruises. The bite marks, too, will heal, Lupin, though you'll want to watch her. Or shall I say, the boy can handle it?"

Here, he allowed himself a moment to roll his eyes and snort.

"Something tells me the way that boy fawned over this girl at your wedding in the Forbidden Forest that Brennan will be more than up for the task."

Lupin slowly nodded his head at all of Snape's information, his brain processing the Potions Master's advice.

Anger simmered in the back of his mind at what Greyback had done to the very young witch who had saved not only Teddy's life, but also his and Tonks's as well, several times now, and it caused a coil in his churning gut to twist and churn sickeningly at thinking there was little he could do to repay Norah.

Severus lifted his chin and met Remus's gaze, his darkened eyes regarding Remus with a look that he was not at all sure what to make of, and as such, felt himself stiffen, but neither changed their stance.

"Anything else, Professor?" Remus asked.

His words towards Severus escaped his chest, throat, and lips with no previous hint of his calmness and usual disposition that he prided himself on carrying as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, had fled him for tonight.

His wife had just given birth to their son not even a few hours ago, and he wanted more than anything else to check on Tonks, make sure she and Teddy didn't need anything, and then for the two of them to get some much-needed and much-deprived sleep while they still could.

Though his mind had no inclinations of being calm or pleased with anything whatsoever, even if Snape were to tell him right here and now that Jameson would make a full recovery, which, he could only pray to Merlin for.

Severus heaved an exhausted sigh and pinched at the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"For now, I think it is safe to say she is out of the woods, so to speak. The boy may visit her, providing he stays calm, and for the moment, Fenrir Greyback's despicable treatment towards Miss Jameson is taking a toll on her body. I believe, however, if you are to suggest to Oliver that he…that he leave her alone for a while, that they not engage in anything too ah, shall we say, strenuous, and if she doesn't rut with that boy like a bitch in heat like the stubborn dog I know her to be, then I think she stands a chance of recovering much faster," he began hesitantly.

A hint of his usual sardonic nature returned to him in a moment of exhausted anger as the man wildly gesticulated with his hands as a light pink blush speckled along his cheeks, feeling somewhat relieved as Lupin quickly nodded upon receiving the message Snape was trying to privately convey.

"And you did not hear this from me, Professor, and if word should get out around the castle following your reappointment as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, then I'll vehemently deny every single word, but…given how your help tonight in treating Miss Jameson's wounds has proven to me that you are an invaluable asset to both the Order and Hogwarts as a Professor, there are things that have remained unsaid between you and I for years, and I…wish to clear the air, if you and I are to work alongside each other once more," Snape allowed himself a moment to pause to collect his thoughts. "While you and I will never see eye to eye on most things, and thank Merlin for that, I do not hate you, Professor, despite what you might have thought of me over the years. As I said before, of your entire group of wretched friends, you were the best of them, and always will be."

Severus fell silent, his baritone voice more calm and subdued than Remus was sure he had ever heard the Potions Master speak in this manner before, which was really saying something.

"Thank you, Professor Snape," Remus murmured, not sure what else to say in this regard, incling his head as a show of respect.

"Remember, Professor Lupin," he added, almost as an afterthought, his listless tone returning to him once more, though Severus did not turn around to look Remus in the eyes. "Try to ensure that Miss Jameson rests as much as possible, and tell the boy, hands-off until she's well enough to move," he added, his voice a low, threatening growl.

He turned his back on Remus, though not before offering a slight inclination of his head and turned on the heel of his boot and Disapparated without so much as another word to Lupin, leaving the poor man stunned.

"I'll have it done, Professor. We're going to look after Norah, Snape. I promise," Remus murmured, moments after the Potions Professor had already Disapparated, though he had a feeling the skilled Legilimens could hear his thoughts.

He let out a tired sigh and carded his fingers through his thick tuft of hair, turning towards Norah resting on the bed.

Sleep, Norah. Rest, he thought, opening the door to go tell Tonks and Ollie that Norah would, in time, make a full recovery.

We're going to look after you.


Ollie woke up to someone shaking his shoulder.

Hard.

Though he felt his eyes fling wide open, he could think of why. His heart was pounding and his mind blank.

It was as if a surge of adrenaline had been emptied into his lean chest.

He strained into the utter darkness of the Lupins' living room, his breathing rate beginning to steady.

Colors swirled as he groggily sat up, then his vision slowly but surely cleared, and he heard Tonks let out a groan as she woke up too.

Lupin was standing in front of the sofa, in front of the two friends, a concerned look on his prematurely lined features, and Ollie's first thought of her best friend's husband was that perhaps for the first time since meeting Remus, the man looked his true age of thirty-six, perhaps even older now.

"Rem?" Tonks's voice coming from right beside him sounded hoarse. "N—Norah," she murmured sleepily, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. "How is she? Is there any change?" she whispered, and suddenly, Ollie felt awake, all semblances of drowsiness now gone from his system as he stood.

"Miss Jameson is well enough," Lupin replied, hardening his face, his expression taut and his wife did not fail to notice the slight twitching of his jaw as he reflected back over the long and arduous process of healing the witch. "Her life is in no immediate danger, Dora, though she sports some rather heavy bruising and her leg and the wound at her side where Greyback attacked her is proving to be the most problematic. Professor Snape believes we can handle it. If you are agreeable to it, love, I'd like to offer them the opportunity to stay here if they want. Something tells me we won't need to persuade them too much," he urged, lowering his voice so that only Tonks could hear him.

He knew from Dora that Ollie did not exactly have a place to go, and from what he could tell, especially now given the extent of her injuries, neither did Norah and even if she did, Remus was not about to turn their friends out of his home, not when Norah was in need of looking after in such critical condition.

Not when they needed a home.

Tonks shot him a grateful little nod, and he could tell that his wife had already been thinking of making the offer herself.

Of course, what she didn't know yet was that, when Norah was well enough, he fully intended to ask if Norah and Ollie would be comfortable remaining here in their home when September finally came to London, and he and Tonks were due to move into Hogwarts for the start of the school term once repairs were made following the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, if the castle was even left still standing.

He could think of no two better people to house sit for them while they were at Hogwarts.

Lupin visibly cringed and took a step backward, thinking of what a mess the castle must be in, and first thing in the morning he would set out for Hogwarts to see if there was any way he could lend a helping hand, but for tonight, he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in Dora's arms and bask in the proud fact that he was now a father to their son, Teddy Remus Lupin.

Ollie woke up faster than a cat in ice-water, every sense urging the young man to claw his way to standing, and before he could even fathom what was happening, he rose to his full height of 6'1, a head shorter than Remus, and seized onto fistfuls of the man's shirt and shook it slightly.

"How is she? Norah! Has she…has she woken up yet? What of her wounds? Is she…is she…dead?"

A heavy hand found its way back to his face, and he was barely aware of Tonks wrapping her arm around his waist and pulling him close.

His bright blue eyes were left unblinking, his breaths hitching in his throat, and he froze.

Ollie swore he heard Master Crouch's voice inside his head, that damned snakelike voice he wanted to stamp out more than anything else in this world.

This is your fault. You didn't catch the girl, boy. You killed her. You don't deserve her.

"No," he whispered, his cracking voice breaking as he uttered the word, so faint, that Remus felt sure he missed it, and he exchanged a worried glance with Tonks, who quickly nodded, sensing the two men needed a moment alone.

"Come to bed soon, Rem. You're looking exhausted," Tonks murmured, barely managing to stifle a yawn of her own with the back of her hand as she reached up on her tiptoes and gave her husband an affectionate kiss on the lips, and cast Ollie one last longing glance over her shoulder before padding barefoot down the hall, out of their living room and towards their bedroom.

Remus waited to speak until he heard Tonks close the door behind her.

Ollie made a sudden movement and an odd little strangled noise at the back of his throat, taking a half step forward and moved in the direction of their spare bedroom where Lupin and Tonks were putting up Norah for the remainder of the summer, though before he could so much as take another step, Lupin's arm shot out and caught Ollie firmly by his forearm and tugged him back roughly.

"Wait. I know you want to see her, Ollie. Trust me. I do," he began hesitantly, speaking concisely, though slowly, as if unsure how to phrase exactly what was on his mind. "But before I can allow you in her room to see her, I have something that I need to say, and right now, what I need from you, Ollie, is for you to listen to me. I'm going to have to ask you that you remain calm," Lupin instructed Ollie in the middle of his full stream of panicked and agitated thoughts as they swirled around maddeningly in his exhausted state of mind.

His strong, slightly calloused hands came to grip firmly on either of Ollie's shoulders, keeping him in place, with Remus noticing Ollie swaying slightly.

Remus's voice had hardened, with just a hint of steel that suggested his patience was on the brink, and Ollie fell silent, knowing he had to listen to him.

Lupin fixed Ollie with a somewhat pointed glower before exhaling a tense, but relieved breath through his nose and continuing.

"Miss Jameson is going to make a full recovery, in time. She is asleep. Norah has not woken up yet that I know of, and I think it best for now if we allow her to rest. You should sleep too. The wounds were relatively minor, save for her broken wrist, which, though we've mended it, it's going to cause her to be sore for a few days at least, and of course, the stab wound at her side and her burnt leg are going to be the most difficult for Norah to overcome, but her life is no longer in immediate danger unless the infection in her side worsens, but her burnt leg should heal easily, though Professor Snape did advise she may walk with a limp for a time."

Ollie slowly nodded, though he swore he felt his heart plummet to the pit of his churning stomach.

"I—infection?" he whispered hoarsely, slowly, steadily, with a tone of disbelief lacing into his voice that Remus thought sounded much like it had the night Dora's best friend revealed himself to her at Bill and Fleur's wedding that Crouch and his posse of Death Eaters crashed.

His voice was faint, so much so, that Remus felt sure if he were not already hanging onto Ollie's every word that he might have missed it completely.

Lupin flinched as Ollie Brennan's voice cracked and wavered on the word itself, his fears resurfacing tenfold this time, and Remus knew if he could not manage to talk Ollie down from his panicked state of mind, there was no telling what Dora's best friend would do to himself right now.

He knew by the heart-wrenching, hopeless, anguished look in the man's glistening blue orbs that he blamed himself.

For all he knew, Ollie might be so wracked with guilt that he would manage to find a way to hurt himself if Norah did not fully recover. And that, he could not allow it to happen, given Norah needed Ollie to be strong for her.

It was going to be a grueling road ahead in terms of her recovery, and, having seen the one look several times in his face whenever he looked in a mirror, Remus was quick to recognize the panic-induced swell of terror that pricked at the Legilimens' heart and was brimming, glistening as unshed moisture, fresh tears, in his darkening cerulean blue eyes the more upset the man got.

The last thing Norah needed was Ollie unable to control himself.

Not now. Steeling himself, Lupin breathed deep and clenching his jaw, he gave him a sharp shake by his shoulders.

"Ollie. Listen to me," he commanded, hardening his voice and he heard for just a moment, the voice of his father consoling his wife's best friend to stay calm. "Norah will be just fine. In time, but in good faith, I cannot allow you in that room to see her if you are unable to reign in control of your emotions, Mr. Brennan. Norah is still sleeping, at least, she was when I left the room to come and get you both, but if she wakes up and she senses you panicking over her in her current condition, the only thing you will succeed in doing is causing her copious amounts of stress, which will only further exacerbate her injuries, and I don't think you want that for Norah, Ollie, but regardless, I need you to understand what I'm telling you. You need to remain calm," Lupin instructed, still continuing to keep his tone quite firm.

Ollie blinked, nodding his head slowly at all of the information as his overworked and exhausted mind attempted to process Remus Lupin's advice.

The man was right. As usual, during the short time that Ollie had come to know Dora's husband.

Norah needed rest, comfort, and care, and if he could not manage to tamper down his panic, he was only going to make things worse for Jameson.

The last thing he wanted right now was to cause Norah any further stress and pain.

Remus just said her life wasn't in any danger. She—she's going to live. She's going to recover. Jameson's going to be just fine. She'll be just fine.

Ollie repeated these phrased to himself like a mantra in his mind, hoping it would calm him down.

"Please," he begged, his grip on Remus's arm loosening slightly. "H—How long did Professor Snape think her recovery would take, Remus?" he asked, unable to hide the note of desperation in his tone.

"A few months," Remus replied cautiously, not wanting to sugarcoat the truth and skirt around the issue of the werewolf's recovery was going to be an arduous and painful one for the young witch, and that was assuming all went according to plan.

He paused and drew in a breath, all the while never averting his gaze from Ollie Brennan's to try and gauge the younger man's reactions, to see if his response would further incite any more panic in Dora's best friend.

When it did not, at least, not any visible signs of further distress that Remus could see, Lupin felt himself exhale a tense and shaking sigh of relief.

He pinched the front of his temples, fighting back his wave of sudden exhaustion, and continued.

"If the infection at her side and in her leg clears up, then a few months, but if it persists, it could take even longer than that, Ollie."

Ollie grimaced, swallowing down hard past the growing lump in his throat that hollowed and constricted, feeling like it was cutting off air to his passages.

Lupin continued, sensing the rising danger welling within his wife's best friend. He sighed tiredly and gave the younger man's shoulder a light squeeze.

"Severus informed me that other than her current injuries, Miss Jameson is in otherwise extraordinary health, all things considered. He's left us with several vials full of Sleeping and Calming Draughts to help aid in her recovery. She's not to move around much at all these first few weeks, Mr. Brennan."

Ollie nodded, a scattered sigh managing to escape his cracked lips, his hand moving to his neck as the man rolled his neck to crack it, grimacing at the stiffness of his entire body from sleeping uneasily for an hour on their couch.

He lazily circled his head to glance down at his outstretched palm, and Ollie blinked owlishly at his hand in shock.

Somehow, by means of nonverbal magic, he had caused a single, pristine, pure white and gorgeous lily to materialize out of thin air, and the small thing laid calmly in his large hand. In the soft lightning of Remus and Tonks's hallway, the tiny plant's colors looked luscious and bright.

He felt the beginnings of a faint smile tug at his lips.

He would put the flower in a small vase, assuming Tonks had one he could borrow and put it on the night table in Norah's room, so that she would see it when she woke up, though if Ollie were being perfectly honest with himself, he wanted his face to be the first thing Norah saw when she woke up.

"She's strong, Mr. Lupin. Stronger than…stronger than most give her credit for," Ollie whispered in a low, hoarse voice that cracked as he spoke.

Remus smiled for perhaps the tenth time tonight since the birth of his son earlier, though his first time since seeing Ollie following the Battle of Hogwarts.

"That she is," he uttered, sounding thoroughly exhausted, though Ollie could tell that the gentle smile Remus was offering him was genuine and not strained or forced. "Trust me when I tell you that everything will be fine. Norah is going to pull through this, with your help, Mr. Brennan. She'll be just fine."

"May I see her?" Ollie asked, at last, unable to quell the note of hope from his voice or tamper down the small ember flame that had started out as a flicker against the winds of despair and hopelessness, from spreading like a sudden, fiery warmth into the pit of his churning, slightly nauseous stomach. "Please..."

Remus paused, though upon sensing the sudden shift in the younger man's attitude, this new countenance, caused the older wizard to let out a sigh and offer a curt nod of his head.

"You may," he said at last, relenting, and he stepped aside and out of Ollie's way to allow him entry into the small bedroom.

Ollie offered Remus a small, somewhat lopsided smile, though before he could move past Tonks's husband and gingerly open the door to Norah's bedroom, he heard Lupin's quiet, reserved voice call out to him a second time.

"Remember what I mentioned, Mr. Brennan," he advised, a note of caution lingering in his tone, as he proceeded to fix Ollie with a pointed stare of his own that would have had, had Remus Lupin the ability, turned a fully-bloomed flower to wilt. "You have to stay calm. Norah cannot heal if constantly exposed to stress. If you need anything through the night, don't hesitate to wake Dora or me, and while you stay with us, our house is as good as yours. Feel free to help yourself to whatever you would like, you never have to ask. Dora and I think of you as part of our family now, Mr. Brennan. And Norah too. If you need anything, or if Miss Jameson's condition worsens, please don't hesitate to wake us up and let us know immediately. Besides," he added, almost as an afterthought. "With Teddy, I doubt we'll be sleeping much anyway," he joked, turning away, sensing Ollie wanted his needed moment alone with Norah, started to walk away, before Ollie could offer his gratitude for all they've done for Norah, and headed down the hall to his bedroom without so much as another word to Ollie, leaving him with no choice but for Ollie to not open the door to Norah's room until he heard Remus close the door to his and Tonks's bedroom.

Ollie stifled the tiniest of smiles as before he heard the door close all the way, he heard the light cooing of baby Teddy.

He's beautiful, Tonks. Kid's going be the best of both his parents as he grows up, Dora, you'll see, he thought, wondering if Tonks could hear him or if she was already asleep.

He hesitated a moment, seeing if she would respond in their impossible telepathy, and when Tonks didn't, he took that to mean she was asleep, and he felt guilty for possibly waking her up.

Ollie shook his head to clear it, needing a moment to compose himself before entering Norah's room, not wanting to wake her up.

He glanced down at the simple white lily in his palm, resting it, all the while staring at it with thoughtful blue eyes.

His thoughts wandered to Norah for a moment while he continued his mindless staring at the beautiful flower.

Ollie gently closed his strained eyes, hating how dry and burning they felt, pressing the little flower to his chest.

The memories of the night swirled in his mind, visions of the fire, of Norah falling off the roof of the Astronomy Tower.

He shuddered as a cold tremor went up and down his back twice, and he squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, trying to will himself to forget tonight.

But he knew he would never be able to.

Ollie let out a haggard sigh. He was bloody confused and utterly lost, though something good came out of it.

Norah was alive. He continued to hold the plant to his chest, and he glanced over his shoulder as he hovered outside of Norah Jameson's room, as though half expecting Master Crouch or even Greyback to rise from the dead and stalk him and take Norah away from him for a second time in one night, before slowly twisting the doorknob and disappearing into the darkened room.

He drew in a sharp breath that pained his lungs, though he forced himself to focus on the only thing that mattered.

Norah.

She was sleeping peacefully, or appeared to, at the very least. Her previously broken wrist, now mended, was, as Remus had said, heavily bandaged.

There was a stitched cut just above her right eyebrow that would probably in time, scar.

Her burnt leg now healed, thanks to Severus Snape's efforts, though in a heavy cast.

He stifled a small smile, thinking the German werewolf wasn't going to like that at all when she woke up and would have plenty of foul, poisonous curse words to spit at him and Remus and Tonks once she learned how long exactly her recovery was really going to take, and the fact she wouldn't be allowed out of bed for at least three weeks or longer.

It was going to be up to him and the others to ensure she didn't try to tax her body beyond its limitations while she healed these next few weeks.

Norah's already pale skin had lost its healthy sheen, causing it to look quite peaky, and he knew for a fact the full moon wasn't approaching anytime soon, otherwise, he would have chalked up her unnatural paleness to her condition.

Deep purple bags clung underneath both of her eyes, and a sheen of sweat had started to perspire on her brow.

Her breathing, Ollie was relieved to see, was normal. Her chest slowly rose and fell, the only indication she was alive.

Occasionally her eyelids twitched slightly, and her lips parted to give a light little pain-filled moan. The lilt of her voice caused his heart to clench and tighten in his chest.

If she was dreaming, he hoped selfishly that she was dreaming of him.

Of the good life that he planned to give her starting tomorrow the moment she woke up and saw him right next to her bedside, ready to help her through this.

He did not want Norah to suffer any more nightmares, to continue to live her life in the shadows. No more fear. No more pain and regrets.

She had seen and lived through more than enough.

Tentatively, as Ollie gingerly sat on the edge of the bedside, careful not to disturb her wounds, he raised a shaking hand and tucked back several stray wisps of her blonde hair behind her hair, and smoothed her sweat-soaked bangs off her forehead, hoping it would provide a small modicum of comfort.

As he did this, the pads of Ollie's fingertips accidentally grazed against the contour of Norah's ear, and he froze as the young blonde witch mumbled something inaudible in her sleep, though she didn't wake up at his light touch.

The raven-haired former Slytherin immediately stilled his movements, cursing himself, locking his jaw in annoyance for his foolishness.

He shouldn't be in here right now, he should let her sleep in peace and see her first thing in the morning, though a white, jagged scar near her collarbone caught his attention, causing Ollie to abandon any thought of leaving her alone.

Intrigued, he leaned forward slightly and barely succeeding in stifling a gasp as he dared to pinch at the fabric of her t-shirt with his thumb and forefinger.

Delicately, he traced the outline of the vicious-looking scar with the pad of his fingers with a delicate, featherlight touch, careful not to wake her.

Ollie could tell they traveled down and probably extended throughout her torso and seemed to go even deeper.

He could tell Norah's scars were old, by the color, faded white, and he could tell from years of experienced abuse at Father's hand that these had been made when Norah was younger.

Just a girl, he thought, clenching his jaw shut and squeezing his eyes closed, not wanting to look any longer than he had to, feeling as though he had no right to see her in such a way, and yet, unable to tear his gaze from Norah.

Who did this to you?

Ollie could not say for certain if Norah, during one of her transformations as a fully-fledged werewolf, had done this to herself in painful spasms and fits, as she, like Remus, no doubt had been separated from the company of other humans upon what she called the Turning (the change of a normal human being to a fully-fledged werewolf once they became bitten), or if someone else did this to her.

Someone close to her, even.

He shuddered at the unpleasant thought that sent a chill of fear down his spine at the thought of anyone harming this bright young witch who had so quickly captured his heart before he'd even known it was gone, lightly running his index finger along the surface of the largest and most prominent of her dozens of scars on her collar.

He felt the misting of fresh, hot, and burning tears begin to sting, pricking at the edges of his vision, which he tried in vain to fight down the salty liquid, having previously been led to believe that his tears earlier had all been spent, but he guessed not.

Tears rapidly fell from his eyes and drenched his black woolen robes. He stared at his finger, still tracing the abrasion of its own accord, no longer taking directions from his mind.

Before Ollie knew it, he knelt and kissed the tender, scarred flesh.

This was technically his first real kiss to a woman, and she wasn't even awake to tease him for it, and he wasn't even sure if it counted, considering he was kissing the area near her neck, her collarbones, her scars, but he thought that it did.

To him, it came from his heart, as broken and put back together as many times as it had been throughout his miserable life, and it was that thought that caused Ollie to decide that in his mind, this counted.

He kissed the scarred surface of Norah's neck, another tear slipped free of his lids and landed in his lap.

Ollie tilted his head to the side, hot tears marring the edges of his vision as Norah moved slightly in her sleep, her head lolled back against the soft while cotton pillowcase beneath her head.

All he saw was red. Hundreds of red, pink, jagged scars littered Norah's pale skin, a shocking contrast against her almost sickly, translucent skin.

He leaned down and nuzzled his nose against hers, basking in the warmth, and cried quietly. Despite his efforts to control himself, his tears grew in frequency and left the bridge of his nose, and fell onto Norah's bruised cheek, dampening her skin.

"I—I'm s—so sorry…I'm…so…sorry," he managed to gasp out in between continuing to plant small little kisses, leaving a trail, starting at her collarbones, moving to her cheeks, and he finished by pressing his lips to her forehead.

He wanted nothing more than to truly kiss Norah, to feel her lips pressed against his in his first kiss, to feel for himself if her lips were truly as soft as they looked, though he wanted her to be fully awake and cognizant for that.

Determination and resolve to do whatever it took to make Norah's recovery as swift and smooth as possible, Ollie vowed he would be the first thing she saw when she woke up in the morning, and he didn't hesitate to scoot as close onto the queen mattress as close as he could, and nestling on her arms in her lap, forcing himself to adopt the position of a bear cub curled on her lap.

He did not want to risk accidentally grazing her injuries during sleep, so as awkward as he was sure that it looked, Ollie knew that she needed the comfort.

Ollie clung to Norah as a frightened boy would to his mother, selfishly keeping her, absorbing the blonde werewolf's heat and radiance for himself.

He drew in a sharp breath as he swore that he felt her fingers twitch and weave themselves in between the mats of his thick raven hair.

Though he had never experienced the physical love of a good woman for himself, just the thought alone plastered a quiet vibration under his skin and caused it to crawl in nervous anticipation and a sense of euphoria, knowing when the time came, he'd cherish the experience, and would cherish her.

Ollie didn't know what it was like, though, in this moment, he imagined that if he could be in two places at once, or if he were to one day revisit this memory in a Pensieve, and he could look upon himself resting his head in Norah's lap, that it looked as though their very souls were making love, the pleasure heard in their barely audible breathing and sleep became their shield from the eyes of the world. How the facade they showed the rest of the world, at least for poor Ollie, melted behind this closed bedroom door.

Ollie felt himself suppress a breath as he felt Norah's hand slowly stroke across his thick matted mass of black tangles, and he let out a content little sigh, feeling the tension in his muscles slowly start to leave his broken body.

He stayed at Norah's side all through the night, keeping his head firmly planted on her lap. No matter what happened, he'd be here for her when she woke up.

He promised Norah, and this time, he aimed to keep that promise.

I promise, Nor, he thought in his usual impossible telepathy. I'll always be here for you.

I promise...