A/N: This is the first story I've written in a long while! A one-shot about Remus and Tonks for the First Aid: First Aid Kit Task #1 - Plasters: Write about making someone feel better temporarily.
He woke up to a deep ache in every bone of his body as he opened his eyes carefully. Panic rushed through his body almost immediately and his breathing quickened. He had no memories of the night before. He hissed as he felt a slicing pain in his shoulder as he attempted to sit up. He took a deep breath and looked at his body. He pressed his hands against his face and breathed a sigh of relief there were no added cuts. His shoulder had not been so lucky and three ragged gashes ripped his skin from shoulder to elbow, pouring blood that dripped to the floor. Before checking this out any further he picked up his wand and checked that none of his wards had been tampered with. He let out a sigh of relief when he knew for sure that he hadn't hurt anyone but himself. He half-heartedly waved his wand towards his shoulder and the bleeding minimised to a gentle ooze although the ragged edges of the slashes had by no means been healed. Everywhere else on his body was easily fixable and after making sure he was healed just enough that he wouldn't splinch, he mustered what little strength he had left and apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place and immediately lay on one of the softer beds downstairs.
As he lay down, less panicked about having hurt anyone now, the immediacy of his pain came thrusting down on him and his body felt as if it had been trampled on by a thousand angry Hippogriffs, not least to mention the searing burning pain in his shoulder. Much more than the physical pain however, was the worsening feelings of anxiety and shame that flooded through him. With every passing Full Moon, the feelings seemed to intensify further. He attempted to slow his breathing as the room continued to spin and eventually, half-hoping he would pass out from the pain, he shut his eyes.
He must have fallen asleep because he woke up groggily now to the sound of mumbled voices coming from what he supposed was the kitchen. The voices became clearer as he suddenly heard his own name mentioned.
"Where is Remus anyway?" He recognised the voice of Nymphadora Tonks and his stomach jolted, his mind somehow now fully awake. He hadn't expected guests this early and the last thing he wanted was her to see him like this. Remus supposed that he and Tonks had become friends now, although she had only found out about him being a Werewolf a few weeks previous and that had been a rather awkward exchange.
"He's through in the bedroom down here. The full moon is always hard on him." He heard Sirius say with a sigh.
"Yes I know." He heard Tonks reply and he couldn't decipher the tone of her voice. "I'll go and see him hold on".
He gasped slightly as he heard her say this and wondered what possible reason she would have to see him right now. He wanted so much to tell her not to come in, not to see him like this. He wanted to prevent the humiliation he knew he faced and didn't want to see the disgust on her face when she saw him in this wretched state. He had seen that look many times from many different people through the years but for some reason, there was something much more painful when he imagined it on the young Auror's face. As it happened, he had no sooner found his voice than he heard Tonks walk in to the room.
"Wotcher, Remus." She said softly. He took a deep breath and forced himself to turn his head and look at her. Her hair was its usual bubble-gum pink and she wore Dragonhide boots and a leather jacket over her Weird Sisters t-shirt. He mumbled a "hello" which sounded croaky even to his own ears. She appraised him thoughtfully.
"Your shoulder needs healing," she said. Her brows knitted together and she looked at him again. "Didn't you have Wolfsbane?". He looked at her again. He found it surprising when he saw what looked like worry etched on her face.
"No. Severus didn't make it this month." He told her carefully. "He er… didn't have the time for it." He looked at her and she seemed to be contemplating this. Truth be told Snape and Sirius had an argument two weeks ago and Snape had not been seen at Grimmauld Place since, sending Remus a simple letter to state he was unable to make the potion this month. Sirius was furious. Remus had always been grateful of Snape making the potion at all (even under duress of Dumbledore) and had never expected this would be a long-term arrangement. He couldn't deny, however, that the fear was much more unbearable without Wolfsbane.
"Well that sounds like bullshit," Tonks stated carefully, an edge of anger in her voice. Her brown eyes met his and she gave a small smile. "Let me see your shoulder," she said, her tone softer now.
"Really, it's fine, you should go. I'm sure you have much better things to do than this," Remus told her truthfully, wondering why she could even stand to be in the same room as him, let alone look at his injuries.
"Don't be stupid Remus, I may be a clutz but I am actually good at healing spells," she grinned at him now and he couldn't help but smile back at her.
Remus contemplated her carefully for a moment and realising she wasn't going to leave; he sighed and revealed his shoulder and the extent of his injuries. He appraised her anxiously now although he noticed quickly that there was no fear or disgust in her eyes and she carefully examined the lacerations with a look of concern on her face. Tonks handed him three small potion bottles. He looked at her, confused and she laughed.
"It's not poison y'know. Blood replenisher, painkiller and antibiotic" she explained, misreading his confusion and he looked at her dumbly. "It will make you feel better," she said staring at him now. He started to argue with her about not wanting to use her potion supplies but she shut him down immediately.
"I get them from work. It's no big deal."
He drunk the potions carefully and found that he immediately felt better. The fog in his brain cleared and he let out a sigh. He watched Tonks now and couldn't hide his surprise at her actions. Most people were repulsed by Werewolves. He was repulsed by himself. Yet here she was, giving him potions as if that was a normal thing to do. As if it was normal for your friend to turn in to a monster. As if it was normal that your friend could kill you at the wrong time and place. He shook his head now as if trying to shake this thought from his mind and instead looked at Tonks. Her attention had moved towards his shoulder now and her wand was pointing towards him. With a look of intense concentration, she muttered an incantation and he felt a hot tight pain in his arm before an immediate release of this pain. He moved his shoulder and found that he could do so now without wincing.
"Thank you. That was… you really didn't have to do that," he told her carefully, wondering if that statement could really cover how he felt about what she had done. She smiled at him again. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was when she smiled. As he contemplated this, her brows furrowed again as she looked at towards his shoulder.
"Actually, that will still need some dittany I reckon," she said and poured some on to her hands. As she was about to transfer this to his shoulder, he suddenly covered his arm with his other hand and she looked up at him in surprise.
"Blood!" he said quickly. "There's still blood" he stated looking towards the mostly dried up blood that covered his shoulder and arm. Most witches and wizards did not trust Werewolves and certainly didn't want to be their friend. However, even more so was the superstition about Werewolf blood as most people believed (incorrectly) that contact with the blood could infect them and could turn them in to a Werewolf. Tonks simply raised an eyebrow at him.
"Come on, that's an old superstition," she said with a grin and moved his hand out of the way to apply dittany to the wounds. He could hardly believe that she would do something like that and in the midst of contemplating her actions towards him, he barely noticed the hot sizzling pain as the Dittany healed his wounds.
"You really surprise me," he managed to say eventually.
"Why?" Tonks replied.
"Most people can't stand being around a… Werewolf" he grimaced. "I don't understand it." He told her honestly.
"Most people are stupid. I just thought I would try and help you feel better. I do care about you y'know" She told him and his heart raced at this statement. "I brought chocolate too. I remember you saying that chocolate cures everything." She laughed now and handed him a bar of Honeydukes chocolate.
He smiled, already feeling much better. He wanted to say more. He wanted to tell her that he didn't deserve her kindness. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him even in the short space of time he knew her. He wanted to tell her how he was seriously impressed by not just her skills but just her. He said nothing more, however, and she smiled at him, her eyes meeting his again and he felt a jolt in his stomach that had nothing to do with the moon.
Tonks eventually managed to persuade Remus to join her and Sirius in the sitting room and the three of them spent time playing Gobstones and sharing stories and memories. Sirius enjoyed talking about becoming an Animagus. Remus could hardly believe that Tonks, an Auror no less, had stayed with him throughout the day, not only healing him but making him laugh. It was a temporary fix before next month's Full Moon but it was also the best he had ever felt after a Full Moon without Wolfsbane and Remus knew this had more to do with the company than the healing spells and potions. As the night wore on and he found himself getting sleepier, Tonks said goodbye and as she was leaving, she turned towards him and said something even more surprising.
"By the way Remus, tell Snape you don't need him. I'm brilliant at potions and I can make Wolfsbane." He opened his mouth to say something in return but found he couldn't find any words. She smiled as she walked through the door and added, "and there's no bullshit from me either".