▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

CHAPTER FORTY THREE - 🍂 ୧ full moon. . .
troubles ও🦌

REMUS WOKE UP ON THE MORNING of the 27th of October 1977, expecting the same pattern that he had become used to every time it was the day of the full moon. However, surprisingly, this time, he felt just fine.

Instead of the fatigue, weakness and illness that he was accustomed to, he felt this desire for closeness and this hunger to be near someone, and he knew who exactly that someone was.

And so, once he had gathered himself and found the strength, Remus set out to find Raven Summers.

Remus kept these thoughts firmly locked away in his subconscious, aware of what they truly meant but too terrified of facing them to let them come to mind.

Raven, however, he had grown increasingly fond of, and yet, his affliction held him back. His fear of pursuing her because of his condition held him hostage and prevented him from openly admitting his feelings and trying to pursue something deeper with her.

Although the idea of her thinking him a monster was far removed from Remus's mind, he knew that she cared for him deeply. As they had grown closer, she would visit him in the hospital wing when he was admitted before the full moon, and she would be the very first to check in on him the next morning as he was recuperating.

It had become a routine for the two of them since the beginning of their sixth year, as the two of them had begun to develop a close bond, one in which they cared deeply for one another.

While the admission of feelings was not solely a one-way street between Raven and Remus, she had initially kept her feelings to herself due to her desire to focus on her studies and the feeling that she wouldn't be able to properly balance being in a relationship alongside it.

However, as time went on, and she grew closer to Remus and developed genuine feelings for him, she reached a point where she could no longer hold them back, but she got scared after her friendship with Elliot came to an end and feared change.

Raven, in a state of pain and anger, felt torn between protecting herself from the risk of getting hurt again and her feelings for Remus.

When Remus was patient with her during that time of hardship and pain, it made her feel deeply conflicted, as the wall she had built up to protect herself from hurt was still strong and still blocking her feelings for him, making it feel almost impossible to cross it despite the fact that she knew how she felt.

Raven was surprised and confused when she saw Remus waiting for her outside the Ravenclaw tower. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up, and she noticed a burst of energy from him that she hadn't previously seen before on the day of the full moon.

"Remus?" she wondered, walking over to him, unable to comprehend the dramatic difference in his mood and demeanour compared to how she had always known him on the day of the full moon previously.

Remus flashed a warm smile at Raven as she approached him, greeting her casually, saying, "Hi, Rave, good morning!"

She gave him a look over as well, noticing his upbeat and energetic demeanour, and she asked, "Right, morning, uh..." She hesitated before finally settling on her question, "Are you feeling alright?"

Remus laughed, his tone elated and light, joking, "Yeah, odd, isn't it? Especially since you know what day it is."

Raven continued to stare at him curiously, feeling her confusion growing as the normally stoic, reserved and gloomy Remus was quite the opposite today.

She had so many questions, but she wanted the first one answered, so she hesitantly asked, "Right, yeah..."

Remus then began to lead the two of them to the Great Hall, leaving Raven temporarily unable to question him any further, although she had a feeling she would have many questions once they were all seated..

Autumn and James came upon the sight of Remus and Raven in conversation, and the two exchanged a curious glance with one another before deciding to walk over and join them at the table.

James greeted Remus with a casual voice, "Hey, Moony," his eyebrow lifted as he questioned, "You okay, mate?"

Autumn took a seat close by to Raven and gave a slight nod in silent acknowledgement as she joined them. Raven's shrug of her shoulders in response only reinforced their confusion, and they were at a loss for what to make of Remus's sudden burst of energy and optimism on the day of the full moon.

Remus quickly shifted his attention away from Raven as if looking away from her was causing him some kind of agony, and he chose to instead face James and reply, "I am well, funny isn't it?"

James raised a brow and squinted at him, saying, "It's the full moon today, right?"

Remus answered promptly, "Yes, it is."

When Remus turned back to look at Raven, she had her mouth filled with food and was on the verge of choking, prompting his instant reaction of reaching over to her and patting her back, saving her before Autumn could.

Autumn, who had been preparing to step in and assist Raven, suddenly felt a tense, almost hostile energy from Remus and instinctively scooted a little away, deciding to take no further action and simply pretend to be oblivious.

Seeing Autumn standing abruptly and trying her best to put on a smile, the trio immediately turned their attention to her. She attempted to conceal the tension she could feel from Remus by diverting them, telling James, "Right, James we should go and finish our rounds for the morning, yeah?"

"Huh, I thought we—"

"James"

James tried to retort again, but before he could, Autumn quickly cut him off and gave him a look that sent chills down his spine, making him understand that he had said too much, and without any further argument, he willingly complied and stood up with obedience.

James nodded in compliance, "I'll see you later, tonight, Moony," as he followed close behind Autumn, who was dashing out of the great hall.

Remus was left alone with Raven, who continued to eat her food, and he decided to wait a little, giving her a short moment to compose herself and finish her meal before talking to her.

Raven had completed her breakfast as carefully as she could, her heart fluttering with the warmth still lingering on her back from where Remus's hand had briefly touched her earlier, although he had since removed his hand from her, but it was as if she still could feel his touch.

She was flustered and struggling to keep her composure, but she had to give herself credit for managing to do so, as she hadn't entirely lost her wits in the face of such unexpected closeness with him.

Remus spent the rest of the day, all the way up until the late evening, in Raven's company, unable to explain the feeling of comfort with her and the ache that he felt when they were apart.

He was completely at a loss as to how he was going to explain these unfamiliar and puzzling sensations that had consumed him, as they had no logical or reasonable explanation. They just were. And he didn't have the foggiest idea how to make sense of it all.

The night of the full moon was proving to be even more difficult for Remus than the day had, with his transformation happening and his aggression skyrocketing to levels that his three friends had never witnessed before.

He would normally have a playful nature to him, and they had all grown accustomed to dealing with this each time around, but this time, he fought against them with every fibre of his being, and his rage had reached an all-time high.

On top of his other feelings, he wanted to be close to Raven, and it brought him pain to be apart. His aggression towards his friends only increased as the full moon approached its peak, and he couldn't shake the intense need to be with her and be near her.

Remus was painfully aware of the aggressive swipes he had made at his friends and it caused him immense hurt to have wanted to hurt them like this.

After hours of attempting to harm them, his frustration had finally gotten to a boiling point, and he turned to harm himself, clawing at his own body, leaving scars in his wake.

Upon seeing their friend lying scarred and worse for wear from his desperate attempts to hurt himself, the trio quickly attempted to pull him back and restrain him before they succeeded, watching with pain and sorrow as he shifted back into his human form.

RAVEN FOUND HERSELF UNABLE to put into words her feelings and worries about the night of the full moon, and while she had typically been able to rest easy and trust in her friends in dealing with Remus, especially since they had been at this for years, this time was entirely different.

She could not shake the unsettling feeling that something was off, that things weren't alright, deep in her consciousness.

In addition to Remus's strange elation on this day, her uneasiness grew and festered into genuine worry and concern, as if it was trying to tell her that something was not right, something she could not quite put her finger on.

Unable to contain her worry any longer, Raven snuck out of the dorms and ran for the hospital wing in the sense that she had been "called there", drawn toward the location for reasons unknown.

Unconvinced by any other excuse she could come up with, she went with her own instincts and her feet led her to the hospital wing at breakneck speed.

Raven's eyes widened at the sight of Remus lying in the hospital bed, surrounded by the Marauders, all seated and alert.

Peter was the first to notice her and stand as she entered, which immediately drew the attention of the other two, who shifted their gazes toward her in response to his action.

James quickly attempted to halt Raven's forward march as she moved toward the bed, warning, "Uhm, maybe you shouldn't—"

However, his warnings came too late, as she brushed him aside and sat down next to Remus on the bed and glanced upon the injuries covering him.

As she stared in horror at the wounds littered across his body, Remus stirred awake at the creaking sound of the bed chair, and his eyes slowly opened and met hers.

Remus's smile was slightly strained as he whispered, clearly trying to ignore his pain, "Hey, there, I've been wanting to see you."

Raven's smile was equally forced, unable to muster any real joy, as despite understanding Remus's hatred of pity, the sight of his injuries was enough to send her emotions spiralling out of control.

All she was able to say in reply was a quiet and hoarse, "Hey."

Remus continued to stare at her for a few moments, a faint warmth spreading throughout his body as he found comfort in her presence.

Remus reached out to softly caress her cheek, causing her to suddenly freeze in place, her heart skipping a beat and her breathing stalling for a moment as his gentle touch travelled across her face, his fingers running lightly along her cheek.

James had evidently learned his lesson from earlier that day when Autumn berated him for his poor understanding of the situation, and so he swiftly chose to intervene when he realized that a moment had arisen between Remus and Raven.

"We'll go on ahead and head out."

Sirius scoffed," What?? but things were getting inter—"

Grabbing Sirius by the ear and dragging him off along with Peter, he walked to the door.

"See ya later, Moony!" Peter waved as he was dragged away

Sirius snickered, despite being dragged by the ear," Don't do anything that'd make the injuries worse, mate!"

Now that they were alone, Remus took his hand from her cheek and leaned back, a slight sigh escaping his lips. He let out a quiet, strained laugh and admitted, "Today I was... strange, wasn't I?"

Raven nodded, her voice carrying an uncertainty that still remained, "Yeah... Are you okay now?"

Remus glanced down at his torso, now swaddled in bandages, before turning to look at her once more, taking a moment to think before speaking.

"Honestly, physically, no, but... mentally, I am." Remus spoke carefully and with consideration, adding, "I don't know why today was different. But... just being with you today, it helped"

"Wh—What do you mean?" Raven's voice seemed to convey that she could not quite understand his statement.

Remus shrugged but then, winced when he shifted his body unintentionally, and Raven reached out to rub his arm gently, easing the pain, causing him to let out a soft hiss.

The next moment, his words hit her like a ton of bricks, and she froze solid at the words he spoke.

"I want you, Raven."

The last thing she was expecting from him at this moment was to declare his intention to be more than they were. She could not quite reply, her chest suddenly feeling tight and her heart beating rapidly.

Remus spoke urgently, his tone tinged with slight desperation as he locked his eyes on hers.

"I don't want to just be friends anymore. I want to be together."

Raven looked down and bit at her bottom lip, clearly not sure of how to reply at that moment.

"Remus..."

He cut her off by immediately saying, "I will wait." Remus's words were resolute as he declared his intention to wait for her answer, no matter how long it took him.

Raven sounded troubled as she raised yet another concern.

"But... what if it takes longer than you think?"

Remus's smile remained when she rubbed his hand, his words reassuring her as he stated, "I don't care how long it takes. It can be days, weeks, or even years. I will wait."

His words seemed as resolute as ever without an ounce of hesitation, even at the prospect of the wait being extended to years. His hand gently brushed her fingers as he continued to hold her hand.

She didn't need to explain anything, because his mind already read her every thought and knew all that she felt at that moment.

"I'll try not to make you wait that long," she said with a chuckle, and Remus knew that she truly meant every single word she said at that moment.