Chapter 4: The silver ink.

Then.

Remus and Rose stopped before professor Umbridge's door and looked at each other. Rose removed the bandage that covered her hand and tucked it inside her robe. They smiled softly at each other and then Rose knocked on the door. Umbridge opened it immediately, like he was standing right behind the door, waiting for them. Remus thought that he probably stood just there, lurking in the dark…

And indeed, the room was extremely dark. Remus immediately entered some kind of defense mode and he noticed that Rose seemed very unease with the darkness that surrounded them. They sat once again next to the long desk and waited for him to give them their parchments and quills. When he didn't, they stared at each other with worry. He stared at them for a long few minutes. They tried no to respond to his penetrating gaze and that fact seemed to bother him most. He moved closer and touched Rose's shoulder. The witch had to restrain herself from flinching at his touch and Remus felt his temper rising. How dare he lay his finger on her…bastard…

"Well?" Umbridge question startled Remus from his inside ranting.

"Yes?" Rose asked.

"Have you reconsidered your false statements from yesterday?" He asked.

Rose and Remus shared a look. Was it possible that he was giving them a way out? Rose shook her head slightly. No, Remus, we are right. It doesn't matter he won't let us out from here until we'll write the lines. Remus nodded to her and they both shook their heads at Umbridge who turned red with anger. "Very well…" he sneered and handed them their quills and parchments."Start writing."

Rose sighed inwardly and started writing that same horrible line from yesterday. The moment she finished writing her first line the sentence appeared clearly on her right hand, dripping with blood again. Remus picked up his own quill and started writing as well. The sharp pain he felt in his hand alerted his mind to the fact that his cuts no longer healed themselves. Umbridge will be pleased, he thought bitterly. He didn't even bother to look at the back of his hand where he could actually feel each and every letter he wrote on the parchment. There was no point looking, the writing on the parchment was red and bright…his own blood.

But a few moments later he had the strange feeling that something was very wrong.

Raising his head from the parchment, he looked around and then immediately closed his eyes, trying to block the dizziness that attacked him out of nowhere. It started to scare him; he no longer saw anything clearly. His hand stung and it felt like it was on fire. and that heat seemed to be spreading everywhere around his body.

Rose raised her head noticing there was something very wrong with him. His eyes seemed distant and unfocused. His breath came in shallow gasps and his brow creased with pain. She nudged his knee slightly and he met her eyes with the emptiest gaze she ever saw in her life. His eyes were dead and he didn't really see her. She dropped her quill from her hand and caressed his face slowly, trying to receive any kind of response.

"Ms. Haunter!"

She received nothing from him and that scared her even more. He was moaning softly now and his eyes grew wide from the pain. They were brighter then usual, bright grey, shining…

"What the hell is going on here?" Umbridge rose from his seat.

…like silver…

"Ms. Haunter!"

…silver…SILVER! Gasping, she reached out and grabbed his hand. It was swollen and the area around the cuts was nearly black from the burn. But the cuts…they were not red like hers…they had the color of silver. Her eyes grew wide and she got up so quickly her chair fell to the floor with a loud noise. She pulled her wand so fast that Umbridge didn't even saw her movement.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" She screamed.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT TO ME?" Umbridge turned red again.

"Drop the act…" She sneered. "I know who you are. I knew since the beginning of the year. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to make sure you won't associate with monsters like him! Now, Rose…get the wand away. It's for his own good…"

"Shut up!" Rose screamed and then hurried back to Remus who rested his head on the desk and shivered. "Remus? Can you hear me? We have to get you out of here, can you walk?"

He groaned and winced with pain but tried to get up. Slowly, with Rose's help, he got up and walked with her to the door. Umbridge didn't stop them. Rose managed to drag Remus upstairs to Gryffindor tower where he collapsed right in front the fat lady portrait. He leaned against the wall, sighing, unable to stop his body from shaking. He felt cold sweat covering his body and heard Rose's voice like it came from miles away.

"Remus? You have to get up! Come on, were right next to the portrait!" she was begging him, shaking him but he couldn't move anymore. His body wouldn't respond his brain's orders. There was only one thing that could cause him such reaction and the only question his mind asked was WHY? Why did he do this to him? Rose disappeared from his range of hearing; he couldn't really see her anyway. He wanted to call her name but he couldn't even work out his own mouth. Closing his eyes, he allowed the poison to spread around his body.

Now.

His three eager listeners gaped at him, their eyes wide open and their mouths hanging down to the floor. He looked at them, feeling a bit amused at their reaction. He frowned…but this wasn't really a story, wasn't it? This was his life.

"How could he?" Tonks was the first one to explode, rising from her seat and pacing.

"How could she leave you out there, like that?" Harry asked.

"Don't be daft." Hermione retorted. "She went to get help, right? Right?"

Remus smiled slightly.

Then.

Rose hurried inside the common room to find it empty except for two Gryffindors who sat with their back to the portrait hall and seemed like they were in a middle of a very intimate discussion. Rose swallowed hard. "Ah…help…" She gasped; panting from the effort it took her to drag Remus up the stairs.

James and Lily turned around and hurried to her. "What happened?" Lily asked.

"Remus, he's outside…he can't stand." James's eyes widened and he ran outside. Lily and Rose followed him and helped him carry Remus inside. They put him on the couch in front of the fire. He was still shivering and now muttered words no one could understand.

"What's wrong with him?" Lily asked, still holding James's hand.

No one answered her. James stared at his friend; he was in a bad shape. Rose looked at Remus's hand and James gasped at the dark burn on the back of it. Fear crept inside of him when he realized that he only saw that burn once before…it meant one thing.

"He's allergic to silver." He blurted.

Rose snorted. "Of course he is. All werewolves are allergic to silver." James stared at her and then back at Lily who seemed concerned.

"How did you find out?" He asked sharply.

"What difference does it make?" Lily asked. "Can you help him?" she asked urgently.

"I…I never worked on burns like that…" Rose mumbled and then rested her hand on Remus's burn. She moved it around the burn, trying not to pressure it too much. James's breathe caught in his throat when he realized what she was doing. She was healing his wound and poisoning herself with the silver.

She took long, deep breathes and Remus's pain seemed to ease a bit.

"Lily, stop her…silver poison is very hard to heal, she might hurt herself…let him do part of the work." He whispered.

"I could get rid the side affects by tomorrow, Remus won't be able to do this. The silver is definitely not pure. That's why he suffers so much pain…" she sighed and started shaking, removing her hand from his, she collapsed next to him on the couch.

"Rose?" Lily and James hurried to her.

"I'm alright…" She whispered. "I…everything burns…it'll pass."

Remus groaned and opened his eyes slightly. He closed them immediately and groaned again. "What happened?" he asked.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask." James said softly. "How did the silver get inside your blood system?"

Remus frowned for a moment and then opened his eyes again. "Umbridge." Looking around him, he noticed Rose. "What happened to her?"

"She healed you." Lily said.

"What? You let her heal a silver poisoning! James! How could you let her do this?"

"I swear to you, when I'll get my hands on that bastard…" James made a violent gesture in the air and completely ignored Remus's words.

"That won't be necessary." Rose spoke softly. "He'll be gone by Christmas…and I'll probably go as well…"

"What?" Remus asked sharply. "What do you mean?" but his anger soon turned to worry when she passed out. "Rose? Wake up…Rose?"