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TIs But A Scratch


The full moon was a Thursday and the morning of it, Remus couldn’t get out of bed. He lay with his face pressed into the pillows, gritting his teeth as the muscles of his legs and back tightened and the bones of his spine cracked menacingly with every move he made. His head hurt so badly he could barely open his eyes. “Go on without me,” he told the boys when they tried waking him up to go to breakfast. “Please take notes in the classes for me…”

Sirius lingered in the doorway longest, his hands on the knob, staring back at Remus as he moaned in discomfort. He thought about skiving off classes - not a lot of help that one class would do for making him pass or fail the O.W.L.s anyway, right? If he stayed, he could rub Remus’s back, could work at unknotting the muscles that pained him… could alleviate some of ache in the bones… could help make aconite tea and maybe draw a hot bath in the Gryffindor prefect’s toilet before it was time for Remus to go out to the Shrieking Shack…

He doesn’t want you, Achlys whispered. He doesn’t want your help. You’re a nuisance to him, and will only make his suffering worse if you go back. You’re a nuisance to everyone, but especially to Remus Lupin after all you’ve done that he can never forgive you for… last thing he wants is you touching him.

Sirius turned and pulled the door shut behind him.

Remus lay there on the bed, his brain feeling as though it were throbbing against the inside of his skull, a constant dull ache that pulsated and robbed him of his mental capacities. He could barely remember to breathe through the haze of the ache. His eyes were squeezed shut tight and he kept his back to the door.

He heard the door open a few moments later and he whispered, “Sirius?” hopefully.

“Sorry to disappoint but, alas, it is only I,” came Dumbledore’s voice calmly from behind him.

Remus might’ve been embarrassed for Dumbledore to see the state of the dormitory as it was if it hadn’t been for the massive headache. He felt the bed shift as Dumbledore sat on the edge by his feet and there was a cool touch to his forehead - Dumbledore’s wand - and Dumbledore whispered, “Alleviate”, and it was like a cool breeze rolled through Remus’s skull, drawing away the pain that clouded it.

Remus opened his eyes slowly as the pressure subsided. “Merlin’s beard, you’ll need to teach me that one,” he whispered gratefully.

Dumbledore smiled and patted Remus’s hip gently. The pain in Remus’s muscles and bones were still there, but at least he could think again, and he felt hot tears drying on his cheek bones. “I do apologize for having not shown it to you sooner,” Dumbledore replied. He smiled sadly at the trembling form of the teenage boy before him and he said, quietly, “I’ve come to help you in getting out to the Shack,” he explained, “And I also have something rather important to discuss with you in addition.”

Remus blinked up at him.

“About this summer and the arrangements we shall be making for your placement.”

Remus sighed and closed his eyes again.

Dumbledore continued on, “I’ve several prospects once again this year. You’ll be most disappointed to learn, perhaps, that Walburga Black has not renewed her offer, however.”

“Whatever will I do with myself?” Remus murmured.

Dumbledore’s lips twitched at the sarcasm. “Unfortunately, neither has the Weasley family, as Molly is rather pregnant and expecting over the summer.”

“Couldn’t have gone with them anyway with my furry little problem,” whispered Remus.

“Too true,” Dumbledore murmured.

“What about Mr. Scamander?” asked Remus hopefully.

“Yes, Mr. Scamander was the next person I was about to bring up. Newt and Tina did extend the offer once again, however, they have since encountered a very personal issue in the United States, which will be keeping them overseas for sometime. It seems their son - their biological son, named Lyall, after your father in fact (not the young werewolf Bradley) - has become rather ill and they had to withdraw him from the university he is attending in order to care for him. In your name, I have kindly declined their invitation for the summer and told Newt to go and focus on his family.”

Remus’s heart sank.

“However,” said Dumbledore, “The final solution is the best anyway. Ned Veigler has requested your assistance in Iceland, he says he could use some help in tidying up the castle he has purchased in the interest of founding a school there, including small chores like painting walls and repairing windows and emptying out old artefacts from the past owners and the like. I thought that you might like to go and live with Mr. Veigler there until after the full moon in August and spend the remaining two weeks with Ted and Andromeda Tonks, and their lovely little daughter Nymphadora, who have also opened their home to you.”

Remus breathed, “Yes. Yes I’d love to go to Iceland with Professor Veigler, I’d love to help fix up that castle of his!” He pictured happy days painting and working alongside the Professor and comfortable nights around fireplaces and full moon nights when he ached such as this in those wonderful hot springs that Ned had talked so fondly of. He nodded, “Oh please, please let me go with Professor Veigler.”

Dumbledore smiled, “Very well. I shall make the arrangements with Mr. Veigler.”

“Thank you,” Remus replied, teary-eyed. “Thank you.”

“Do not thank me, but thank Mr. Veigler,” Dumbledore replied. He stood up and looked around the messy room. “Now… let me see here. Have you packed for going out ot the Shack?”

“Yes sir. The bag at the foot of the bed is mine.”

Dumbledore nodded, picked up the bag and slung it upon his shoulder. He bent over and took up Remus’s hands, tugging him up from the bed, carefully as Remus winced against the pains rolling up his spine as Dumbledore moved him. “Let us get you out to the Shrieking Shack, Mr. Lupin, safe and sound.” He smiled and Remus fell against him and Dumbledore supported him up with a surprising strength for a man of his age, and he helped him along out of the dormitory.




Lily looked across the row in Transfiguration as Sirius kept his eyes down on his parchment - refusing to get in trouble again with McGonagall - and saw Remus was missing. She glanced at James, but he, too, was focused, taking what looked like meticulous notes. She chewed her lower lip turned back to McGonagall. On the way out of the classroom, Lily overheard Sirius whispering to Peter to meet him and James in the entrance hall and Peter scurried off the opposite direction from the way the other two were headed, working hard at both keeping her in their sight and keeping her out of eavesdropping range, shooting glances back at her over their shoulders.

Suddenly there was a sharp push that knocked Lily to the floor, right to her knees on the carpet, giving her rug burn on them. James and Sirius both turned about, running to lift her up from the floor, each grabbing an arm to tug her up, and lean her gently against the wall, and they looked back to see Mulciber disappearing ‘round the corridor and James scowled. “Are you alright?” he asked and he took a step toward her, palm outstretched to dust her off and Lily screamed.

“NO!” she yelled, “Don’t touch me!” and she slapped his arm down and away violently, slapping Sirius away from her side, too, her eyes instantly filled up with tears as she had a bit of a flashback, “Don’t touch me! Get away!”

People were looking from around the hallway, whispering to each other, giving Sirius Black funny looks as they passed by, as though he were attacking her, and one boy, Bran Johnson, a Ravenclaw, stepped up, glaring at James and Sirius, “Are you okay?” he asked her gently, as though he were rescuing her from them, but Lily was sobbing by now and James gaped helplessly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, unsure what he’d done to make her lash out at him, and he raced ‘round the Ravenclaw boy to Lily’s side. “She said to get away!” Bran snapped at James.

“Oi, I didn’t do anything, I just was helping her up, it was that Mulciber bloke that’s pushed her down!” James snapped at the boy.

And Sirius said, “Yeah, it was Mulciber.”

“Yeah I’m sure you’re completely innocent, Sirius Black,” said Bran with a snide tone to the name.

Sirius looked taken aback.

“Leave them be,” Lily gasped, shaking her head, “Oh leave it be, it’s not them, it’s me. Really. I’m alright, Bran.”

He looked wary.

“Really, I am,” she said, “They were just helping me and I - I don’t know. They’re fine, leave them be.”

Bran looked about, unsure what to do to help now, and bent to pick up her books. “Here, you dropped these.”

“I’ll have them,” James said, taking the books from the boy.

“Yes, we’ll take care of her, thank you, Bran,” Sirius said the name back with the same tone that Bran had said his to him a moment before as he took Lily’s hand up in his own.

Bran flushed, looked one last time to be sure Lily was alright, and when she nodded he turned and hurried away.

Sirius looked at Lily in concern, “What the fuck was that about, Evans? You know we wouldn’t hurt you.” He said it in a scolding manner.

Lily was shaking.

“C’mon, let’s get out of the corridor at least,” James said and he nodded to the tapestry down the hall that concealed the mouth of the Trophy Room Passageway. Sirius put his palm against Lily’s back and gently guided her down the corridor and behind the tapestry, ducking quickly before anyone noticed them go. The moment the tapestry had fallen shut behind them, James raised his wand. “Lumos,” he said and the glow of it illuminated the three faces as Lily sank against Sirius Black.

“Bloody hell, Evans,” Sirius said, “What’d he do to you?”

“Did the spell hit your back?” James asked, thinking of the time the Slytherin gang had branded Remus Lupin back in third year and worrying they might have done something similar to Lily now. “Do we need to get you to the hospital wing?”

Lily shook her head, “It was just a shoving hex.” Her voice trembled. “I’m sorry I shouted, I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”

Sirius said, “My bleedin’ face is going to have a big red print of your hand on it for the next decade, Evans.”

“Yeah, pretty good punch for a girl,” James said with a smirk.

“Shut up the both of you,” she said, choking a laugh over her tears. “I didn’t really hurt you, either of you, did I?” she looked apprehensive.

James smirked. “Tis but a scratch.”

Lily looked up at him. “A scratch? But your arm’s off.”

James’s grin grew, “No it isn’t.”

“Well what is that then?” Lily pointed to his arm, where there was indeed a bit of a reddish blush coming up from where she’d slapped him but nothing to be concerned about, really.

James shrugged, “I’ve had worse.”

“What the fuck are you two on about?” Sirius demanded.

“Frank would get it,” James said. Lily laughed, tears still pouring down her face and James said, “Seriously, though, Evans. You are alright, yeah? We don’t need to bring you to Poppy or anything?”

Lily shook her head.

“Darling, would you like for us to go and fuck the Slytherin bastards up, then?” Sirius asked in a sweet voice, as though he were asking if she should like him to throw them a tea party rather than inflict mass carnage on the gang of Slytherin bullies.

“No,” Lily said.

“Please?” Sirius pressed. “I so want to fuck them up.”

James nodded, “At least push them down.”

“Shoot firecrackers at their balls again, perhaps?” Sirius smirked, remembering how the Slytherin table had lit up with the fireworks after he and Frank had set off those Filibusters upon hearing about what happened to Mary Macdonald. “That was great. Explosions and ballbusting the Slytherins all at once.” He smiled nostalgically as James laughed.

Lily shook her head, sniffling ,“No, you needn’t be shooting firecrackers at anybody’s… nether regions.”

NETHER REGIONS!!!” Sirius gasped, “Merlin’s beard.”

James’s mouth had quirked into a grin as well.

Lily sniffled again, “Stop making fun. I’m not going to say dirty words like you boys do with your filthy mouths…”

Sirius grinned.

“Okay. I’m alright. You boys don’t need to babysit me. I know you’re busy getting ready to go and take care of Remus, he needs you,” Lily said, as James handed her his handkerchief.

“You’re sure, Evans? At least let us walk you back to the common room,” James said.

Lily shook her head, “No, no that’s okay. I’m okay. I’ll take the passageway here up. I’ll be alright. Go and take care of Rey.” She drew her own wand, “Lumos,” she whispered. She paused, hovering there a few feet away from them, her eyes red, but dry now, thanks to James’s handkerchief, which she held in her fist. “Thank you for making me feel better,” she said thickly.

“Blimey, like we could leave you blubbering,” James said.

“Yes, that would deserve a swift kick in the nether regions if we were such arses as not to cheer up at least,” Sirius said, smirking.

Lily smiled sadly, then turned and hurried away. When she’d disappeared from eye sight, the light of her wand blinking out of view, Sirius looked at James.

“Those fuckers did something to her,” Sirius said.

James nodded, he was staring after her down the passageway, an intense look in his eyes, something between fear, anger, and longing... “I was thinking the same thing.”

Sirius said, “Obviously we can’t let them get away with it.”

“Obviously,” James murmured.