She wasn't unconscious, but she wasn't conscious either. She was stuck on the edge, teetering from left to right, light to dark. She had no idea where she was, but she could sense that she was not alone. A hand brushed the hair away from her face, and another hand rested on the back of her thigh. The stranger's hands were warm, with familiar calluses. They caressed her skin lovingly; the thumb working her skin into soothing circles. It was enough to make her sigh… but then she screamed. Something was being done to her back, and it felt like her skin was being torn apart…
"Lupin, stun her," Severus said through gritted teeth, working a greenish salve onto the wounds of his cousin's back.
"I can't—"
"I don't care what you do, but make sure she stays still!"
Remus took in a deep breath and took out his wand. He pointed it at his beloved, and softly whispered, "Petrificus totalus."
Isabella stopped moving.
Her eyes were opened, and tears trickled down her skin, but her face remained motionless, a blank expression. She was screaming on the inside, crying out for the pain to stop, and there was nothing Remus could do expect cup her cheek and brush away the tears with his thumb.
"You're going to be okay," he said softly, a sob nearly escaping his lips, "It'll be over soon, I promise you."
Isabella, of course, said nothing. Her eyes looked so empty, staring off into nothingness, and it made Remus' wolf cry. It whimpered and howled desperately, making tears brim his eyes; her pain was their pain, and it burned him down to his very core…
A knock at the closed bedroom door took his attention off Isabella for just a moment, but it was enough for him to smell the air and know that at the other side of the door stood his daughter.
Severus seemed to know this as well.
"Ignore it. Isabella needs you right now," the Potions Master said quietly, walking over to a small table where he had spread out his needed tools. Gingerly he set down the jar that contained the salve he'd poured into his cousin's wounds; the salve was going to burn away the slowly growing infection, and he knew from experience that to do so, it would literally burn away the bad blood, which was why it was causing Isabella so much pain.
All that was left was for Severus to use his wand to seal Isabella's wounds, and then it would be over.
"You can go to her after I finish here," he told Remus, as the knocking on the door had turned into continuous pounding.
With a heavy heart, Remus nodded, and watched as Severus drew his wand and began to trace the wounds on Isabella's back, muttering softly, "Vulnera sanentur…"
The counter-curse was said once to stop the blood from flowing out of the wounds, and then a second time to stitch the skin back together.
Sectumsempra was a very vile curse… Severus would know.
After ten minutes, there was nothing on Isabella's back. Her wounds were healed, and the only thing left from the ordeal were the smears of green salve that had once covered gashes.
"Finite," said Severus, and Isabella moved once more.
A gasp left her lips, and then she said to Remus, "You bastard!"
The corner of Remus' lips twitched up into the smallest of smiles, and he couldn't help but to lean down and cover Isabella's lips with his own, silencing whatever else she'd been about to say to him.
I knew it, Severus thought as he watched his cousin embrace the werewolf. He'd known that Isabella and Remus' relationship had taken that extra step, and for once, he'd kept that knowledge to himself instead of confronting Isabella with it. He owed her as much.
"I thought I was going to lose you," Remus admitted breathlessly as he buried his face in the crook of Isabella's neck, his arms wrapped tightly around her, pressing her to his chest as he sat at the edge of the bed.
She was nearly on his lap.
"You know me better than that," Isabella said in return, stroking his hair back, but then she weaved her fingers into his locks and tugged back sharply, causing a startled gasp to leave Remus' lips. She stared into his eyes, the loving look gone from her face, and she said very slowly, "If you ever petrify me again, Remus John Lupin, I will end you. Understand?"
"Y-yes."
Severus smirked.
"Now," said Isabella with a small, tired smile, letting go of Remus' hair, "hand me some robes, I've flashed you long enough, and I'm sure Severus would appreciate it if I had more clothes on than just my knickers."
Remus turned beet-red, and then quickly nodded, rising from the bed and walking towards a dresser that was in the corner of the room. From the top drawer he produced a cotton nightgown that belonged to his mother, and although it would fit Isabella a bit big, it would do for now.
"What time is it, by the way," Isabella asked Remus as she accepted the nightgown, holding it up to her chest to cover herself.
"A little after seven. The sun set not too long ago."
Isabella nodded, and then said, "Go pacify Talia while I put myself together. I'll be down in a moment."
Remus nodded, and with a final kiss on her forehead, he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leading a protesting Talia down to the kitchen.
Once Remus was gone, Isabella sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging. She looked over at Severus, who was currently in the process of putting his tools away, bottling his potions and putting all his things inside their leather carrier. His shoulders were hunched, and she could see his hands tremble—Severus was panicking, deep down, and Isabella knew this.
"Help me put this on, please," she said softly, "my back still kind of stings whenever I move."
Severus stopped what he was doing and silently walked to his cousin, stopping once he was standing in front of her. Isabella sat at the edge of the bed, and with a very delicate touch, Severus helped her into the nightgown.
"You can let go, Severus," Isabella said softly, grabbing his hand and looking up at him.
It came out as a ragged breath, which soon quickly turned into a strangled sob. Severus fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around his cousin's waist, burying his face in her lap as a howl of a sob shook his shoulders. Tears came to Isabella's eyes as she watched her cousin let go of all his emotions, and softly she sung to him, running her hands through his hair, not caring how greasy or uncombed it was.
"Human, behave yourself, you have burst at the seams, let it all fall out; open your mouth," Isabella sung gently, her fingers running through Severus' hair to sooth him, "Often I lie wide awake, think of things I can make, but I don't seem to have the parts to build them.
"Human, I wonder why you're a better make than I could even build or create, you know not love or hate. I am so scared of what will kill me in the end for I am not prepared. I hope I will get the chance to be someone, to be human—look what we've done, look what we've done…"
Softly she sang, finishing the song, and Severus calmed down. She kept running her hands through his hair, whispering words of comfort, and when Severus finally looked up, she cupped his cheeks and gave him a smile.
"My ever faithful Severus," she said softly, "what would I do without you?"
Severus sighed, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes, ridding them of lingering tears.
"Get yourself killed, that's what," he retorted bitterly, narrowing his eyes at her.
A chuckle escaped Isabella, and she shook her head, her hands sliding off her cousin's face.
Getting to his feet, Severus began to pat his pockets, muttering, "I have something I was supposed to give you once you'd come home from the Weasley's."
Isabella looked at him curiously, and watched as he pulled out from his pocket a wrinkled piece of parchment. Thrusting it at her, he said coolly, "Here, take it."
Isabella took it, and then unfolded it. She recognized Severus' elegant script, but the words on the page didn't make sense to her. They were ingredients, and instructions… he had given her a recipe for some kind of potion. Some herbs stood out to her, and others didn't, and there were mentions of the full moon and Wolfsbane… which made her nervous.
"Severus, what is this?" she asked him, looking up at him.
Severus rolled his eyes, saying, "It's all you'll ever need to know for when you make Lupin his Wolfsbane."
Isabella was confused for a moment, his words having gone right over her head, but then she grasped what he'd told her, and she looked up at him, astonished. Was Severus giving this to her as a form of forgiveness because of what he'd done at the end of the school year?
Wolfsbane was no stranger to her, but it was always Severus who made the potion for Talia, because Isabella did not know how, and when at Hogwarts it was Severus who made it for Remus. However, now that Remus wasn't at school anymore, he went without the potion because only a select few knew how to brew such a difficult mixture (and it was expensive), but now with this list…
"Oh Severus," she gushed, rising quickly and throwing her arms around his neck, ignoring the twinge of pain that came from her back, "thank you so much."
Severus said nothing. He simply held his cousin in place, burying his nose in her hair and breathing in her scent. She was safe and sound, and tonight, he'd be able to sleep without having worry keep him awake.
"You will tell Talia that you and Lupin are an item."
"Damn it Severus! Must you always ruin the moment?"
Talia had heard her mother screaming earlier, and she was furious when she hadn't been allowed into the room, but her father had told her that Isabella was safe, and that Severus was making her better. Begrudgingly she'd let her father take her down to the kitchen for a quick snack, and then after, to distract her, Remus had taken her out back, to the stables.
The Lupins owned horses; four beautiful Gypsy Vanners—the mares were white, while the only stallion was black. With a flick of his wand, Remus turned on all the lights inside the stables, and he then laughed upon seeing his daughter's star struck expression.
His horses were no unicorns, but by the look on Talia's face, they were as good as.
"Are you going to stare all night, or would you like to brush one?" he asked her, walking towards one of the meres, and opening the gate to her stall.
"I can brush one?" asked Talia as she quickly followed after him.
Remus nodded, saying, "What's mine is yours, darling. Think of it as a belated birthday present. This one here is yours."
Talia squealed and nearly tackled her father, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Remus laughed and hugged her back, kissing the top of her head before stepping back.
"Her name is Clover," he informed her, walking up to the mare and patting her neck, "she's the youngest out of all the mere's."
"Hello Clover," Talia told the horse with a grin.
"Stick your hand out," said Remus, "towards her nose."
Talia did as she was told, and then giggled as the mare nudged her hand with its nose.
"This is so cool," Talia gushed, looking up at her father with twinkling eyes, "I've never owned a horse before."
"I bet you haven't," Remus chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Stay here while I go get a brush, and a stool for you to stand on."
Talia simply nodded her head, too entranced with Clover, who was currently sniffing her hair curiously, to respond.
With a happy sigh, Remus walked out of the stall, and over towards the back of the stable. There was a utility closet there, along with a workbench, and racks that had bridles, reins, saddles, and all other things his horses needed. Their grooming equipment was on a shelf besides one of the racks, and quickly he took down a brush.
Turning on his heels, he took a step forward to walk back towards Talia, but stopped in his tracks upon seeing a figure standing by the entrance doors.
Isabella was in the stables.
"Oh, this takes me way back," she said, smiling fondly, making a smile appear on Remus' lips. She had a woolen shawl wrapped around her shoulders, and cotton slippers on her feet. Her hair looked like it had been washed, and it was currently on top of her head, wrapped around her crown in an intricate braid that he had seen his mother sport many times in the past.
"What makes you say that?" he asked, walking towards her, but not before stopping to peek into the stall that Talia and Clover were in. His daughter was so entranced with the mere that she hadn't even noticed her mother's presence, stroking Clover's cheek lovingly.
"It's been a while since I've been near one of your horses," Isabella said, walking over to the stallion's stall. Softly, she spoke to the horse, "How have you been, Nightshade?"
Nightshade simply blinked his eyes. It made Isabella chuckle.
"How's your back?" Remus asked softly as he walked up to her.
"Better now. Your mum made me drink some tea before coming out here—it helped with the pain," Isabella informed him, reaching a hand over the gate of Nightshade's stall to pet the stallion's nose.
"That's good."
Isabella nodded, drawing her hand back and turning to look at Remus. Softly she said, "I told my parents about us, along with your mum."
"You did? What did they… what did they say?" asked Remus softly, hesitant to know her answer.
"Our Mums were overjoyed. You know how much they always liked the idea of us together," Isabella said with a chuckle. "Dad on the other hand… he isn't opposed to us, don't get me wrong, but you know how overprotective father's can be."
To that, Remus smiled as he thought of Talia. He was just dreading the day when Talia would find someone to bring home to him.
"So what's the plan?" he asked gently.
"We tell Talia that her parents are a couple."
"How do you think she'll react to it?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Talia's voice cut into the conversation.
It made both her parents turn to look at her, seeing her standing outside of Clover's stall with her hands on her hips. She had a smile on her face, a little… knowing smile. It made Isabella look at her disbelievingly—Talia had known all along!
"How long have you known?" Isabella asked her daughter.
"Just a little after Hogwarts," said Talia.
"But how?" asked Isabella, genuinely confused. She had taken care of keeping her relationship with Remus a secret.
Talia shrugged, saying, "You've been smiling more, and that's how I knew something was going on."
Isabella looked at Remus, who was trying not to smile, and then back at her daughter. "You are so much like your father."
"I know," said Talia, before rushing to her mother and enveloping her in a hug. "I was so worried," she said softly against her mother's chest.
Isabella sighed, wrapping her arms around her daughter as she softly said, "I was worried too, my love, but I'm back now—you've nothing to fear."
Talia stayed latched onto her mother for a few more minutes, breathing in her comforting scent and reassuring herself that this wasn't a dream, that her mother was really there, in her arms.
It broke Isabella's heart to see her daughter so worked up, but then a smile graced her lips as an idea popped into her head.
Oh, Talia will love this…
"Remus," Isabella began, looking up at Remus with a tiny grin, "how about we take the horses for a nighttime stroll?"
Talia immediately squealed in delight, rushing off towards Clover as she proclaimed, "This is Clover! She's mine—I'll ride her!"
Isabella smiled, and then she pursued her lips as Talia's words slowly began to make sense to her. Turning sharply, she glared up at Remus as she exclaimed, "You gave Talia a horse!?"
Remus chuckled nervously, saying, "Well, you see, I thought that—"
Isabella silenced him with her lips, grabbing the collar of his shirt and bringing him down close so that they were pressed tightly against one another. The kiss lasted only a moment, and then Isabella pushed him away, saying lowly, "You are an amazing father, Remus Lupin—but don't you even dare think that this horse is coming back home with us. Severus would flip!"
Remus shook his head, chuckling. "Of course; wouldn't dream of it."
"Right. Now," Isabella said, marching over to the mere whose stall was beside Nightshade's, "I'll ride Snowdrop."
"You were always fond of that one," Remus said thoughtfully as he walked back to the racks to get the reins.
They would ride without saddles tonight.
"You do you why, right?" Isabella said, a small smile on her lips.
Remus shook his head.
"Her name means hope, dearest. And hope is a synonym of trust."
Remus just stared back at Isabella, his face blank for a moment, before a large grin split his lips. "I love you, Isabella."
"I love you more, sweetheart."
AN: I don't like this chapter... oh well.
Song used: Human, by Ellie Goulding