Disclaimer: I own $2.47, a skateboard, and a violin. Not JK's characters.

Firstly, Another Author's Note: Wow, I'm really pleased and flattered. 137 hits in less than 3 days since this story's publishing. And 1 review. Wow. Call me easily impressed, but I am very grateful to anyone who has read this story's first chapter. So here's the 2nd. Enjoy!

Feelinfawkesy; thank you so very much for the wonderful review. I know, I love slash a lot too. XD

Twisted Hearts and Anguished Howls

Chapter 2;Thoughtful Pain

Remus slowly opened groggy eyes the next morning, squinting at the broken shafts of golden sunlight streaming through the dirt-covered and boarded windowpanes, and wincing in pain as he tried to sit up. As he did so, Remus took in his surroundings. The familiar walls of the Shrieking Shack were once again splattered lightly in blood the young werewolf knew was his. The furniture piled in a corner of the adjacent dining room was marred with deep gouges and seemed to all be in a state on the edge of collapse. Much like Remus. He began to feel slightly nauseous when he looked down at his bloody arms, which bore deep red bite-marks and angry scratches. Remus' slender legs looked much the same, and he looked down at his heavily scarred abdomen to see an angry red welt filled with sharp splinters. Remus groaned in pain as he tried to remove the sharp, bloodstained wood from the toned muscle, and looked outside wearily to see Madam Pomfrey striding purposefully down the lane. As he tried to remove a rather large sliver from its position, buried at an awkward angle deep into Remus' stomach, the amber-eyed boy felt a jolting pain in his abdomen before dizziness overcame him, his vision blurring, and finally going black.

There was a hand. A hand on his head, gently stroking his light brown hair lovingly.

'Who is that?' Remus thought. The werewolf didn't know where he was or how he got there, his mind was foggy and his memories of the previous night indistinct. Pain filled his aching body. Nothing made sense. The only thing he knew at the moment was the hand, the slender fingers running through the silken strands of brown. He strained to see the unknown person at his bedside, but his vision was still clouded with black. Suddenly, he heard brisk footsteps, and the hand jerked away, and Remus felt a kiss hastily pressed to his forehead, and then he heard voices talking.

"Visiting hours are over! Out! This boy needs his rest!" That voice was definitely female, filled with strict geniality and caring.

"But can't I stay just-"

"For the last time no! Visiting hours were over 15 minutes ago, and you are not to spend another minute in this ward! Out, now, before I call your Head of House!"

"Please, Madam Pomfrey, I just wanted t-"

"I don't care what you wanted to do, I want you to get out! Now go!"

"But I-"

"OUT!"

The timid mumblings subsided, as did the authoritive female shoutings, and Remus felt a glass being pressed to his lips. He sputtered and choked at the bitter taste, but no sooner than he had swallowed the last drop of the nasty liquid than the black started to subside from his vision and he could see once more.

Remus found himself on a bed in the hospital wing, and saw Madam Pomfrey's familiar face hovering above him. Everything was starting to come back to him now, the especially torturous transformation and the awful awakening he had had the following morning.

"Ah, I see you are finally awake, Mr. Lupin. Your latest transformation was…afflicting to say the least. I gave you a potion for your sight, but I'm afraid I can't do much for the pain. You're going to have to stay for at least another night."

Remus was greatly enraged by this.

"But I have classes! Homework!"

"Now don't you just worry about school, Mr. Lupin. This full moon has taken quite a toll on you and I will not let you out of here until you are healed, which will take another day at least. I'm sure those friends of yours can bring you your work, and you have never had trouble making it up before, now should be no different."

"But Madam Pomfr-"

"No." The young healer cut Remus short in a firm voice, and pushed him back as he tried to rise from his bed. "You are staying here as long as I keep you here, you need rest, you need to heal. Now lay back down and take this potion."

Remus' mumbling protests were quieted as another cup of steaming, bitter potion was pressed to his cracked lips. He took it without dissent and passively layed on his pillows once more, feeling the throbbing and shooting pains throughout his body, but not truly caring.

He might have been angered by Madam Pomfrey's insistence to keep him in the hospital wing, but his thoughts weren't occupied with the young healer at the moment. What he was thinking about, however, was the slender, gentle hand that, before Madam Pomfreys' interruption, had been stroking his hair so lovingly. And the chaste kiss quickly pressed to his forehead. And the voice that had been arguing with Madam Pomfrey, which had been filled with compassion and care. But one thing about that voice bothered him. It had defiantly been male. A young male that sounded about his age, but male nonetheless. This wasn't so bothering for any reasons of homophobia, for Remus had considered himself bisexual since his 3rd year. He hadn't, however, told anyone of his closeted sexual orientation and couldn't think of any boys in his year besides the Marauders that were friends with him, let alone like him in that way. So that left Peter, James and Sirius. And however strange Peter Pettigrew was, the young werewolf highly doubted his timid, mousy friend swung in that direction. Which left Sirius and James. Remus's heart leapt at that thought. He hadn't really developed feelings for either of his best friends but he sure wouldn't mind if one of them liked him. James was tall and lanky, good-looking in a very wild sort of way, and had an endearing habit of running his hands through his thick, shiny black hair till it stood on end, looking stylishly messy. His hazel eyes sparkled with friendliness at everyone he saw, save for the Slytherines, and burned with anger when anyone did anything to harm his friends. James was a compassionate, loyal, and wild spirit, as noble as his Animagus form of a stag. Rest assured, he was a little arrogant, but that endeared him to his friends even more. James also was extremely persistent, which showed in his never-ceasing chase of Lily Evans, which, in Remus' opinion, brought down the possibility that James was the one that had been at the werewolfs' bedside, and Remus didn't think the black-haired boy was homosexual in any sense of the word, although anything was possible. Yes, Sirus was definitely the more possible culprit. The young Animagus was a dog in every sense of the word. Sirius was very good looking, with shaggy ebony-brown hair that fell over his deep gray eyes, shot with green, with a casual, mischievous elegance. And even though Sirius had never come out of the closet, it was common belief he was bisexual, if only for the reason he could screw twice as many people that way. Sirius was loyal, mischievous and scheming, the source of most of the ideas for the Marauders' ingenious pranks. Yes, it was possible that Sirius liked him. But how could Remus find out? And what would he do if Sirius did like him? Remus had never harbored any feelings for his doggy friend, but now he wasn't so sure. And it was with these thoughts floating through his head that the young werewolf finally surrendered to his fatigue, and slept.

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