Dancing with a Werewolf

Chapter Seven – Reality

Remus P.O.V.-

Remus stared down at her face. She hadn't woken up yet. He had been sitting beside her bed all morning, and she hadn't so much as stirred.

Dumbledore had been informed immediately, and when she woke up, both her and Remus were to go see him. Remus dreaded this visit. It would mean that she'd know. She wouldn't just know that he was a werewolf, she'd know that he had bitten her.

She'd know that she was now one, too.

Remus put his face up to his hands. He hated himself so much. All those people were right. He never should have come to Hogwarts.

"I don't care what he said! We're his friends! He'll want to see us!" Remus awoke to the sounds of Sirius and James shouting at the nurse.

He looked up at the bed in horror. Rozlyn was shifting a bit. The shouts were waking her.

He stood up abruptly, and yanked back the curtain that cut he and Rozlyn off from the rest of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomphrey, Sirius, and James all turned towards him in shock.

"Keep it down," he said, hoarsely. All the crying had weakened his voice. "You'll wake her."

James and Sirius came over to him. He let them in, then pulled the curtain closed again.

"Moony – " James started.

Remus cut him off with a hard look. "Don't call me that," he hissed.

James took a step back in shock.

"Remus," Sirius said, sending James a quick look of worry, "we just wanted to see how you were, mate. Dumbledore told us about Jenkins and – "

"How I am?" Remus glared at him. "How do you think I am?"

"Well, you look awful," James intervened, earning a death glare from Sirius. "Sorry," he muttered.

Remus sank into the chair he'd been sitting in before they came in. "No, I'm sorry," he said in a voice that sounded hollow, even to him. "It's not your fault. It's all my fault. I-I . . . I bit her." He put his head in his hands as the tears threatened to fall again.

"I'm going to be there when Professor Dumbledore tells her," Remus whispered. "She'll know about me. She'll know I did this to her. She'll hate me."

His friends were clearly at a loss of things to say. Finally, James spoke up, "She won't hate you."

"How could she not?" Remus said, miserably. "I'm a monster."

James fixed him with a stern look. "First of all, Remus Lupin, you are not a monster. I don't hang around with monsters. Second, Jenkins will not hate you because . . ." He seemed to hesitate and he looked at Sirius.

". . . she's in love with you," Sirius finished.

Remus stared in disbelief from James to Sirius, and back to James. "What are you talking about?" he asked softly.

James and Sirius looked at each other uneasily. "Well, remember last night when we told you about that incident in the Great Hall?" James began. Remus nodded. "Well, Snape read this part aloud, to the whole school, and . . . um, it was about you, and how perfect she thinks you are. And how she's in love with you."

To say he was shocked would have been an understatement. He really was truly horrified now. Not only had he bitten the only girl he'd ever had a crush on, but he had also bitten the one girl he stood an honest chance with.

His life was truly over now.

Rozlyn P.O.V.-

She was floating again, but this time she wasn't on a broomstick. No, she was a bubble. She was a bubble that would very soon pop. And then she'd feel the stinging sensation of breaking down into a million pieces . . .

And there was the pain. It was in her right shoulder. 'Wait, shoulder? Bubbles don't have shoulders,' she thought, vaguely. She winced. And thank Gryffindor bubbles didn't have shoulders. They were saved from having to feel this awful pain –

Rozlyn's eyes snapped open. 'Where am I?' she thought. She looked around, then realized that she was in the Hospital Wing. 'How?' she thought. She closed her eyes and tried to remember. What she remembered made her shudder - the cold eyes of a monster coming toward her in the darkness.

She winced as she tried to lift up. Her right shoulder was agony. She glanced pitifully around the room again, and almost jumped out of her skin. Remus Lupin was kneeling next to her bed, and had his head resting on it. He was obviously asleep, or else he would have felt the bed slightly shake when she had struggled to get to a sitting position.

Rozlyn moved her hand slowly across the covers. She'd always wanted to . . . Her fingers came in contact with his hair. The texture of it – it was thick and soft. She stroked his hair gently. She could just do this for the rest of her life and she'd be happy.

"Remus?" she whispered. "I think I – "

His eyes suddenly snapped open and she snatched her hand back in shock, hurting her shoulder again in the process. "Rozlyn? You-you're awake," he said softly. Then for some reason, he frowned.

"What's the matter?" she found herself asking in confusion.

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied, after a moment. His voice was as small as Rozlyn had ever heard it. "You're hurt."

Rozlyn stared at him in shock. 'Did he really just say that?' she asked herself. 'Am I dreaming?'

She winced as pain shot through her arm. "What's going on?" she asked Remus.

He stared at the floor, and didn't answer her.

"Remus?" she whispered. A million questions ran through her mind. 'What are you doing here?' being one of them. He continued to stare at the floor. A sick feeling filled her throat making her feel as if she would throw up.

"Am I going to die?" she asked weakly, fearing the answer.

The look he gave her was one of pure shock. "No," he answered, surprised. "No, you're not going to die."

"Then, what's going on?" she asked again.

And again, he avoided her gaze. "Um, we have to go see Professor Dumbledore. He said as soon as you woke up. We should go now."

Rozlyn felt a chill run up her spine. If they had to see Professor Dumbledore, than this was serious.

Remus P.O.V.-

Remus stared around Dumbledore's office. To him, it represented some unhappy occasions, all of them having to do with his being a werewolf. From the look on Rozlyn's face, he could tell that she had never been here before.

"Oh, wow," she kept saying. "Are those all of the previous Headmasters?" she asked, grabbing his arm.

Remus stiffened at the sudden contact. He nodded without a sound. Here she was, touching him, just like he wanted her to. He sighed, miserably. She wouldn't want to touch him after – He held his breath; his sharp ears (a special ability that came with being a werewolf) picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the office.

'Dumbledore,' he thought, terrified.

He quickly turned to Rozlyn. She was staring at him in confusion. Obviously, she had heard the footsteps, too. Her werewolf senses were already starting to take effect. Without warning, he leaned forward and placed a feather light kiss on her lips. "Please don't hate me after this," he whispered.

Rozlyn P.O.V.-

She couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Remus – as in Remus J. Lupin – had kissed her. He had actually –

The door behind them opened suddenly, making Rozlyn jump. She knew someone had been approaching (having heard them coming, and all) but she was dazed from the kiss. She spun around, her face as red as a tomato, to face a grim-looking Dumbledore.

He swept around the room and stood behind his desk, still looking grave. "Please, both of you, have a seat," he said gently.

Rozlyn sat down, sneaking a look at Remus. She almost gasped in surprise when she saw his face. It was completely drained of blood, leaving him as pale as the moon. He looked almost . . . lifeless.

"Miss Jenkins," Dumbledore started, "there really is no easy way to tell you this – " He paused and glanced at Remus. "Would you like to tell her, Mr. Lupin?"

Remus shook his head vigorously. He seemed to have lost his voice. Rozlyn really was confused now. She looked up at Dumbledore again.

"Mr. Lupin here is a werewolf," Dumbledore said quietly.

The entire office went silent. Even the portraits stopped whispering amongst themselves. Rozlyn stared at Professor Dumbledore in shock. It seemed as if her vocal chords stopped working, too. Finally, she managed to croak, "You're joking."

Professor Dumbledore sighed. "My dear child, I wish I were."

Rozlyn stared at him for a while longer, then her gaze shifted to Remus. He was staring fixedly at the wall behind Dumbledore's head. The color still hadn't returned to his face. Something suddenly clicked in her brain: the sickness that came every month . . . the trips to visit relatives . . . all the secrecy . . .

"Ah," she whispered. "It all makes sense now."

Remus P.O.V.-

He refused to look at her. Even if she accepted the fact that he was a werewolf, it would be completely different when she found out that she was now one, too. As much as he hated to tell her, he wished Dumbledore would get on with it, already, so he could leave the office.

"What . . . um, what does this have to do with me?" Rozlyn asked, hesitantly, breaking the silence. Remus squirmed uncomfortably. He could feel her gaze upon him.

This was the bit he dreaded. He sank down into his chair, and closed his eyes waiting for the storm to hit.

"The wolf you encountered in the shrieking shack last night was Remus," Dumbledore explained. "And you were bitten."

"I was b-bitten?" Rozlyn asked, her voice trembling. "R-Remus bit m-met?"

Remus felt a tear slide down the side of his face. He wiped it away hastily.

"B-but th-then d-d-does that m-mean . . .?" she trailed off.

"Yes," Professor Dumbledore answered warily. "You are now a werewolf, too."

Ariana S.