ROTRUFIN

CHAPTER 15-NEW FRIENDS

1 WEEK LATER.

CHELSEA MAVERICK

I happily entered the Rec room at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I heard a new patient had arrived the other day. He was very quiet and seemed withdrawn.

He was sitting near the window, staring out.

He was wearing a pair of jeans and a burgundy shirt that buttoned up the front. He had short, wavy, thick dark brown hair and blue eyes. He was cute.

"Hey, Chelse? Where's Jill?" asked my other friend Lisa Brann.

"Not sure," I replied as I headed over to the guy sitting next to the window.

I sat down in front of him.

"Hi," I said brightly. "I'm Chelsea Maverick."

The guy looked at me.

"Hi," he said quietly. "I'm Remus Lupin."

"So you're new here huh?" I said gently. "What are you doing in here? You seem sane."

Remus' lip twitched.

"I did something that was horrible,"

"I'm a good listener," I said smiling.

So, he launched into the whole story.

When he was done, he swallowed.

"Oh man," I said. "But you couldn't help it. You had no idea what you were doing. Blaming yourself for something that you had no control over isn't healthy either. And I'm sure Emma will realize that too."

REMUS.

Somehow talking with Chelsea was relaxing. She was a pretty girl with shoulder length dark auburn hair and blue eyes. She reminded me somewhat of Lily.

She was dressed in a dark plaid skirt, a white V-necked shirt and a red V-necked vest over it. She had on Mary Jane shoes.

Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. In her ears were small sapphire dangling earrings and a matching necklace around her neck.

"Why are you here?" I asked tilting my head.

Chelsea's expression darkened.

"I was bitten by a dog last month," she said biting her bottom lip. "Now I've picked up the dogs tendencies."

Realization dawned on me.

She was a werewolf too.

"You're a werewolf?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah," Chelsea said quietly. "Most of the other kids here make fun of me. My parents sent me here because they think I'm making it up or something…but the Healers showed them proof that I am. Now, they want nothing to do with me until I'm cured."

"That's horrible," I said.

"What about your parents? Did they shun you when they found out that you were a werewolf too?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "They were rather good about it…they understood and helped me through it."

"You're lucky," Chelsea said sadly.

There was silence for a bit, but then she spoke.

"Listen, we're late for a session. Would you like to sit next to me?" she asked.

"Sure," I said.

We got up and headed to a room. There were chairs set up in a circle. Girls and boys of all ages were sitting talking.

Chelsea and I took our seats next to each other. She leaned close.

"Most of them are here because their memories have been either damaged by magic, tragedy or accidents," Chelsea explained.

She pointed to a girl twirling her blond hair around her finger.

"That's Megan Woods…she took a memory spell for her brother who was cornered by Death Eaters a few weeks ago…Anne Walter…slipped and cracked her head on the edge of a counter…Rick Tyson…saw his mum tortured by Death Eaters…and David Ambrose…tried to do a Memory enhancement on himself but it backfired….Lisa Brann is here because someone put a Mages Charm on her. She thinks she's a unicorn."

A Healer entered the room.

"Okay guys," she said pleasantly and took a seat in the center of the circle. "Today we have a new friend. His name is Remus Lupin. Let's all give him a warm welcome."

They all said "Hello" in unison.

I just smiled.

"Remus, why don't you tell us about yourself?" the Healer said gently.

I cleared my throat. I glanced at Chelsea. She beamed back at me.

"Okay, well," I began slowly. "I'm a student at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm also a werewolf."

"A freak just like that one," said Rick Tyson pointing to Chelsea.

"Rick," the Healer said scolding. "Enough."

I then launched into the whole story about the war, Emma and Ellie and the Imperius Curse.

When I was done, the Healer smiled at me sympathetically.

"Remus, that must've been very hard for you," she said gently. Her blue eyes were filled with kindness. "But blaming yourself isn't the answer. I'm sure Emma cares a great deal for you too…but seeing her baby killed by someone she loved put her into a 'mistrust' phase. Give her some time. But I know how you must feel. Trust me you could not help the situation. How did it make you feel?"

"Angry…enraged and literally sick to my stomach," I muttered. "That was the last thing on earth I would do when I change…is hurt the people I care about."

"I bet it tasted like chicken," Rick snickered. "Chelsea, do you like it raw, or well done?"

Chelsea had tears in her eyes.

Rick was being a complete asshole.

"RICK," the Healer snapped. "Go on."

She said her tone softening when she spoke to me.

"I pride myself in not hurting people when I change. I've never harmed anyone up until that incident. I killed the school nurse and an innocent baby," I continued swallowing. "I'm not sure I'll ever be the same again."

"That's what I'm here for," the Healer said. "To make you better and the same."

I slumped into my seat, actually feeling slightly better getting that off my chest.

The session continued. When it was done, Rick threw a dog biscuit at Chelsea's head.

"Nothing can compare, can it?" Rick laughed.

The others snickered except the girl named Lisa Brann.

Chelsea pretended not to notice as she got down on one knee to adjust the leather strap on her Mary Janes.

Rick kept tossing the biscuits at her head. They bounced off.

Feeling my anger boiling, I walked up to Rick and grabbed him lightly by the shirt collar.

"Would you like me to stuff those down your throat?" I growled putting my face close to his.

"N-no," Rick stammered.

"Good," I said. "Then leave her alone."

I released his shirt collar. He and the others scurried out of the room.

Chelsea straightened up.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

"No problem," I said softly.

We headed back to the Rec room.

"My friends are probably wondering how I'm doing," I said thoughtfully. "They're really great."

"What about Emma?" Chelsea asked curiously. "Do you think she would come and see you?"

"I'm not sure," I said quietly.

We were silent then.

Later on, I headed into my room.

I fell asleep peacefully for the first time.

The next morning, I got showered and dressed and headed out into the corridor. The rest of the other patients were already up and sitting in the common room watching TV. Chelsea met me eagerly by the water fountain.

"Morning! Today's Visitor's Day," she said eagerly.

"Morning," I said.

Today she was dressed in dark blue jeans and a white peasant style blouse. Her hair was slightly curled and hung around her shoulders framing her eyes.

"Are you expecting anyone?" I asked.

Chelsea snorted.

"What do you think?"

I felt bad for her. She seemed like a really nice girl. I couldn't understand her parents' behavior.

The Healer named Lucy Bowen rounded us all up in the common room after breakfast. Parents and family members began filing in.

"REMUS!" I heard a familiar voice cry. I looked. It was James, Sirius and Lily.

"Guys!" I said breaking into a huge grin.

They came rushing forward. I got hugged at least 3 times by each of them.

"You're looking great!" Lily said eagerly checking me over.

"Thanks," I said beaming.

Once the other students went off with their families, I turned around. Chelsea was sitting in a corner with her legs crossed staring at the floor.

"I want you to meet someone," I said.

They followed me over to where Chelsea was sitting.

"Chelsea? These are my best friends…James Potter, Lily Evans and Sirius Black," I said proudly. "Guys, this is Chelsea Maverick."

'Hello's' went around.

Lily took a seat next to Chelsea.

"So, may I ask why you're here?" Lily asked.

"I'm a werewolf," she said quietly.

CHELSEA

Remus was busy talking with James and Sirius.

"Aren't your parents coming?" Lily asked softly.

"Neh, they've shunned away from me. They don't want anything to do with me until I'm cured," I said bitterly.

"That's horrible," Lily said outraged.

"Yeah well," I said shrugging.

"So," Remus asked slowly. "Have you even heard from Emma lately?"

"Nope," Sirius said. "Dumbledore wants you to be better so you can return back to Hogwarts in September."

I saw Remus' expression.

"How can I return after what happened? I'm going to be poked, prodded and probed in every area,"

"Well, not every area," Sirius said with a deadpan expression.

Lily smacked Sirius on the arm.

"What?" Sirius asked innocently.

I had to smile.

"Dumbledore assures us that no one holds you responsible," James continued.

"Only Emma," Remus said darkly.

Remus' dark expression lightened when his eyes landed on me. He gave me a wink.

"Chelsea has been a real help since I got here," Remus continued.

"That's nice," Sirius said absentmindedly. "So, how's the rest of the fruit loops here?"

At that, I abruptly got up and began stalking off down the corridor.

I heard Lily, James and Remus hissing curses at Sirius.

I exploded through the double doors separating the common room, to the Rec room. I began playing a furious game of Muggle pool.

I leaned over the table and thrusted the rod into one of the balls in a pyramid formation on the center of the table. All the balls scattered, heading into separate pockets in each corner.

I heard the door opening. I quickly looked up. Remus and Lily had entered.

"Chelse, I'm so sorry about Sirius," Remus said apologizing earnestly. "He can be insensitive sometimes."

"It's fine," I said quickly and moved around the table to stand in front of him.

"I would move," I said gesturing to the other end of the rod, which was an inch from Remus' stomach.

He didn't budge.

"Suit yourself," I said shrugging and thrusted the rod into the eight ball. I heard a 'woof' behind me.

I turned around. The other end of the rod had poked him in the stomach.

"I warned you," I said as I put the rod back.

"Chelsea, please," Remus wheezed. "Sirius can be a real prick sometimes. I know he didn't mean it though."

I folded my arms over my chest and faced him. I had tears forming in my eyes.

"I'm used to being called a 'freak', 'fruit loop', 'wacko', 'crazy' and even a 'monster'…but your friends seemed different. I guess I was wrong which means you're exactly like them," I said.

"No," Lily said shaking her head. "Remus is nothing like Sirius. He cares about people. He's the most sensitive guy I know. Trust me."

"You heard what Rick called me," I continued.

"Rick's an asshole," Remus said bluntly. "Nothing more."

Lily came over to me and put her arm around my shoulders. "Any friend of Remus is a friend of ours. Don't pay any attention to Sirius okay? Once he gets to know you he's fine,"

I smiled and quickly wiped the tears away.

Lily gave me a squeeze before heading back out of the room.

Remus stood in front of me.

"Are you okay now?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," I said taking a deep breath.

Remus put a hand on my shoulder.

I realized I started to like him…a lot.

Remus took a hand off my shoulder and we turned and began walking out of the room, our shoulders occasionally bumping.

Sirius apologized to me immediately when he saw me. I totally believed them now. They were good people.

They were allowed to stay for dinner too. We all sat at the same table and enjoyed the hospital food.

"This actually isn't bad for hospital food," Sirius replied. "Normally, it's labeled BIO HAZARD."

We laughed.

"Chelsea, can I ask if you're a witch?" James asked curiously.

"Now there's a question you don't hear often," I teased.

They laughed.

"Sure…yes I'm a witch," I replied. "My parents are also from the magical community."

"How'd you get bitten?" Sirius asked.

"My parents and I were coming home one night. We live in the outskirts of Manchester. Some huge dog attacked our car and I was bitten when it thrusted its head through the window. The moors were dark that night. We really couldn't see clearly what it was. But soon, I began developing strange tendencies. My parents thought I was acting out, but when I attacked the neighbor's dog one time, they put me here to be cured and didn't want me to come home until I was."

"Wow," Lily said her emerald green eyes wide.

"Unfortunately, there's no cure," Remus said quietly. "I've been living with it for almost 10 years now."

"Oh," I said quietly feeling all my hope vanish.

"But there are potions you can take to slow down the transformation," he continued leaning close. "You can live with it perfectly fine."

"Looks like I won't be returning home anytime soon," I said even quieter.