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By the Light of the Moon	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 1963 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 4

He was warm. That was the first thing he felt. Warm and dry. And there were foreign scents all around him. Female scents. Somewhere in the back of his mind he noted the presence of another person in his vicinity. Very close. Too close. He turned his head and observed the woman lying next to him��in bed. He was laying with a woman in an unfamiliar bed. And he had no memory of her. This couldn�t be good. He noted the shiny, long black curls that played around her porcelain face. Black hair��like Sirius�s. The thought floated absently through his mind. He noted her high cheekbones, her soft lips. He listened to the rhythm of her breathing until her eyes fluttered open. His heart rammed into his chest. There was no mistaking those eyes. He�d know those dark brown eyes anywhere��Sirius�s eyes.

It must have been a dream. The woman lying next to him with Sirius�s eyes. But that remote thought was pushed out of his mind as his body jolted awake. He felt like his insides were on fire. They burned. His mouth, his behind, and everywhere in between. Oh God. He clamped his eyes shut as he tried to remember what had happened. He searched around in his foggy brain for any hints. The first image that popped up was Harry. Harry screaming. Sirius. Sirius, dead. Harry running after Bellatrix. Harry, dead. Himself leaving. Running. Away. Anywhere. Alone. So alone. The forest. Empty. Like he was. Alone. And Empty. Ending it all. Forever. The gun. The silver bullets. And then, the voice. Remus, please. Don�t do this. His gun, evaporating. The vial. The vial of silver. He wasn�t supposed to be here. He was supposed to be dead. Dammit! Why was he still here? He groaned. Fingers curled around his wrist like hot straps of leather. He tried to jerk free, but her grip was very strong.

�Remus? Are you awake?�

That voice again. Not that voice.

Suddenly he felt nauseous. But she wouldn�t let go. He sat up, dragging her with him over to the side of the bed where he wretched. Dry heaves, the worst. She let go then, smart woman that she was. But then she was back, putting a cool, wet cloth against his forehead, wiping his face, rubbing his back. Words of comfort slipped from her mouth. As if she knew him.

�You should� have let� me die,� he rasped.

�Shhh�.� she said, wiping his face with the washcloth.

He pushed her hand away and ran his fingers through his hair, breathing hard. �It would� have been better� than this.� When the nausea finally passed, he collapsed back on the bed. He would have protested if he had the strength. He should have protested. He really should have. But he couldn�t. As he drifted back to sleep very disturbing thoughts played on the edge of his consciousness��the full moon must be approaching.

The late afternoon sun threw shadows against the far wall. He should care. His logical mind was knocking frantically. The full moon. He startled awake, throwing the covers back. He had to leave. The moon would be up within the hour. He got to his feet, but his legs collapsed beneath him. Damn. His insides were on fire and his outsides weren�t very cooperative. The wave of nausea came again, mixed with light-headedness. The world was fading to black.

When he came to again, Sirius�s eyes were staring down at him. It either wasn�t a dream, or he was still dreaming. The last slivers of light were showing through the window. Instinctively, he pushed her away, scrambling towards the door.

�Remus, Stop!�

�No, you don�t understand! I have to get out of here, I have to leave�� Her hands were on his shoulders. He was clutching his throat, the fire burning stronger from the words he�d screamed. His head was spinning. He had to get out of here before he hurt her or anyone else.

�Remus, it�s okay. You�re okay. You�re safe now.�

He pushed her away again with surprising strength, and lunged for the door. She was saying something, but he couldn�t understand. Voices in his head, voices everywhere. He was screaming now too, trying to get away from her, away from humans.

As he reached for the door handle, she grabbed him from behind, spun him around, and pinned him against the door. The look in her eyes was something he�d never seen in a person before. Not anger, not fear, something primal. Her stare was penetrating, as if searching for something within him.

�Remus, the full moon was two nights ago. It�s over.�

As her words sunk in, his knees gave way. He sunk to the floor, shaken by the revelation.

�But, but� Where? How?� Confusion plagued his mind. She knew, somehow she knew.

�It�s okay, you were here, with me,� she said, squatting down in front of him.

Confusion was quickly replaced by anger. �What?!?�

Remus listened to her explanation in disbelief. Surely he was dreaming now. This wasn�t possible. He expected to wake up any minute.

�Who are you?� he demanded.

She sat back, her eyes meeting his distrusting ones. �I�m Amera Perkins.�

He studied her for a moment longer, shaking his head in disbelief. �I feel awful,� he finally said, instinctively wrapping his arms around his ailing body.

�I bet,� she said, as she retrieved a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around him. She picked up a tray of various concoctions on a nearby table and offered him one of the bubbling mugs. �Here, drink this. Madam Pomfrey says it should help with the burning sensation in your gut.�

�Madam Pomfrey?�

�Yes, her and Dumbledore came by yesterday to drop these off.�

He leaned back against the closed door, his knees to his chest. �So everyone knows.�

�I needed help. Here, drink up.�

He took the mug from her and forced the foul tasting liquid down his aching throat. Damn this is not how it was supposed to happen!

�I need a shower.�

�How about a bath?�

�Fine.� Anything to clear my head and figure a way to get the hell out of here. To finish what I started.

�I�ll start the water.�

After she left the room, he considered his options. Perhaps he could slip out while she was getting the bath water ready. He couldn�t believe what a mess he�d made of his life. And now he was stuck with a self-proclaimed healer who wanted to save him. Save him from himself. He rolled his eyes at the thought. He didn�t need saving. He needed to get the hell out of here and away from her. He struggled in vain to get up. Dammit! He struck the wall next to him, infuriated by the injustice of it all. Was there no mercy in the world? He wasn�t even allowed to die in peace.

He watched her as she reentered the room, hoping that she�d see the anger behind his gaze, his clenched jaw, his fisted hands. He didn�t know what she was doing with him, but he wanted it to stop. Why would anyone risk their own life to save someone they didn�t even know, much less a werewolf? It didn�t make sense.

He watched as she stopped in her tracks and swallowed against the swell of fear rising within her. He felt a momentary pang of guilt for trying to intimidate the one person left who was willing to help him. But was she not also the same person who openly defied him by saving his life? She turned and left the room. When she returned, she had a towel and his robes, freshly cleaned, in hand.

�I�ll help you bathe.� Her eyes met his. During her short absence, she�d seemed to regain her courage. He admired her for standing up to him.

�I think I�m quite capable of bathing myself.�

She took a deep breath, as if trying to explain the obvious to a small child. �Actually, you�re not.�

�Forgive me, but I don�t typically parade around naked in front of strange women.�

�I think we�re a bit beyond modesty. Do you have any idea what silver does to your body? I�ve been taking care of you for the last four days. Believe me, it�s nothing I haven�t seen already.� Her voice was even and held no pity, her hands were on her hips.

He knew damn well what silver did to a body such as his; the body of a werewolf. The thought of her having to clean up after him was not comforting in the least. Disgusting was the best he could come up with. Like a small child with a nasty case of the stomach flu. But he wasn�t a child, he was a full grown adult.

�I didn�t ask you to save me,� he spat at her. �I didn�t want to be saved.�

�Yes, I know. You were too caught up in your own self pity.�

�How dare you! How dare you tell me�� He stopped. She was baiting him. She knew more than she was letting on. He could feel it. �Why were you even looking for me?�

�Oh, it�s a hobby of mine, risking my life in search of strange, suicidal werewolves.�

Her words struck him as odd until he realized just where he�d been that night. �You came through Knockturn Alley, at night, to find me? Forgive me,� he said, looking her over, �but you don�t look the type to be well-versed in the Dark Arts to be traipsing around a place like that, much less the Muggle neighborhood I ended up in. Speaking of which, how did you find me? I didn�t even know where I was going.�

She sighed. �Let�s get you into the tub and then I�ll explain, okay?�

He looked skeptically at her before she rolled her eyes and added, �I put in lots of bubble bath��it�s a Muggle thing��so you won�t have to feel so self-conscious.�

He struggled to his feet, determined to prove to her that he didn�t need her assistance. He managed all of two steps before doubling over in pain and falling to his knees. He gave her a pained look, unwilling to admit defeat. The odd expression on her face now complimented the hands that remained on her hips; he wondered if she was going to laugh at him.

�My head is spinning and my insides feel like they�ve been turned inside-out.�

She nodded, returning momentarily with the appropriate potions as well as a pain killing tonic.

When he was able to straighten up, she put his arm around her shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. Together, they stumbled to the bathroom where she directed him to sit on the ledge while she helped him undress.

�How ironic. I�ve never been undressed by a woman before but I�d always hoped it�d be under different circumstances.� He smiled shyly at her before looking away.

She smiled back at the flush of embarrassment that colored his cheeks. �It�s nothing I haven�t seen before, Remus,� she repeated.

He grunted at her comment as he slid into the warm water. He blew a swath of foamy, white bubbles away from his face. �Interesting, these,� he said, motioning to the mountains of bubbles floating atop the water, providing him a measure of privacy.

He felt her guide his head back against the cool porcelain tub.

�Relax, Remus. I won�t do anything to embarrass you, I promise.�

�It�s a little late for that,� he muttered.

Her gentle laugh helped him to relax a little. He leaned back and closed his eyes. His head was still spinning and there wasn�t much he could do about his situation at the moment.

His breath caught in his throat as he felt the soapy washcloth descend down his chest. Instinctively, he grabbed her hand. �I can wash myself.�

�Are you sure?�

�Yes. Why, do you think I�ll drown?�

She wrinkled her nose. �No, but you might fall asleep.�

He rolled his eyes and managed to wash himself before collapsing back against the tub exhausted.

�Are you okay?�

He nodded, not opening his eyes.

�Would you like me to wash your hair?�

He looked at her with the same pained expression on his face. He hated admitting defeat. But the truth was, he was too exhausted to do anymore. �If you must.�

She laughed and muttered something under her breath, something that sounded suspiciously like, �Proud, aren�t we? �

He inhaled sharply as her fingers made contact with his scalp, massaging the shampoo into a lather. Sighing, he leaned into her hands, allowing himself a small bit of comfort from her touch, human touch. Something he experienced rarely in his life. He hated to admit it, but her touch felt wonderful.

�You have very nice hair; soft and silky.�

He raised his eyebrows, his eyes still closed. He�d never thought much about his hair before. It was just something that was there, something that he was told he didn�t cut often enough.

He noticed the sudden absence of her touch when she�d finished washing and rinsing his hair.

�Feel better?� she asked.

�Yes, thank you.� The part of him that was angry with her for saving his life had drifted away, leaving behind a calm contentedness. The warm water was soothing against his sore body. Comfortable in her tub, he met her eyes. �Now that I�m clean, please, explain.�

�Where should I start?�

�From the beginning. I want to know everything. You saved my life. I haven�t a clue why. You don�t even know me, and I certainly don�t know you.�

�I�ll give you the short version now. When you�re less exhausted, we�ll talk more. Okay?�

He nodded, closing his eyes and listening to the soft syllables of her voice as they caressed his weary mind.

He awoke in her bed warm and dry under the covers. She was propped up next to him reading a book, a small reading lamp next to her the only light in the room. �I don�t remember getting out of the tub.�

She looked over at him, smiling. �You didn�t, exactly. I drained the water, dried you off, and levitated you here. I couldn�t wake you.�

�I�m naked.�

�Yes, I�m getting quite fond of you that way. It will be a shame to see you with clothes on when you�re feeling better.�

The twinkle in her eyes and the teasing smile on her face raised a blush on his cheeks. �Do you always hold naked men captive in your bed?�

�No, you�re the first.�

�I see,� he nodded, not seeing at all. Was she flirting with him? When was the last time a woman flirted with him? A woman who knew what he was.
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By the Light of the Moon