Hide and Seek || Remus & Benjy
Date: November 2nd, 1974 Time: 7:38am Location: Hogwarts; the Hospital Wing
Remus Lupin was quiet as he lay down in bed, eyes tracing the small print of a Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook as he listened to the noises of the castle at night. The words had seemed to blur together in the dim lighting, the patterns for counter-curses blending wearily together with hex-deflection, a small part of the wizard wondering if the wolf part of his brain was still being rewired back again somehow.
He wouldn’t mind this part, the boy imagined, if only he could sleep through the entire thing. To sink into a dreamless slumber and emerge as though nothing had ever happened. They could all just pretend like everything was normal and get on with their lives without all of the unnecessary worrying. Oh, how easy that would be.
However, Madame Pomfrey held very tight regulations within Hogwart’s infirmary, and she wasn’t keen on making exceptions to this rule, even when it came to the young werewolf who she had grown to favor over the past four years. He was allowed one sleeping potion the morning after the moon, maybe a second one if it was a particularly nasty night. Otherwise, she figured that it was best to let these sort of things take care of themselves. There were dark and disturbing stories about witches and wizards who grew addicted to sleeping droughts. Besides, he would have to go without during the holidays anyways.
The thin fabric of his hospital dressing gown had stuck to his skin where a few of yesterday’s bandages appeared to have bled through overnight, and Remus hadn’t yet bothered to try and move the arm that Pomfrey had broken and reset before bed. Bruises stained his skin like a child’s watercolor set and fresh cuts adorned the pale expanse of wrists and hands where his good arm stuck out from beneath his blanket to turn the page of the book perched in his lap. To the werewolf, this was a normal scene, just an ordinary Saturday.
There would be no lessons today, he reminded himself in an effort to be positive. Less work that he would need to catch up on later. Perhaps the others might be able to drop by as well. Last month, Sirius had brought his deck of exploding snap with him and they had spent the entire evening together on his bed. Of course, Pomfrey hadn’t been too happy about the mess, but Remus had loved it.
The sound of voices in the distance caught his attention. The first was distinctively recognizable as the matrons as she clucked her tongue, footsteps sounding from the main door on the far side of the room. The second was something new, though. Definitely male, but not any of the Professors that Remus had heard visit before. Perhaps another older student?
With a mixture of curiosity and fear, the young werewolf was tempted to try and peer around the veil of curtains that surrounded his bed. In the middle of contemplating this, however, he heard the voices of the matron and the other man grow nearer. It wouldn’t be wise for Pomfrey to catch him awake and reading again tonight, especially since she had scolded him so harshly for doing so last month.
Moving as quietly as possible, the wizard lifted the textbook with his good arm and tried to tuck it under the edge of his blanket, his sore wrist protesting the movement as he bit his lip. He had almost managed to get it hidden when the sound of someone pushing aside the curtains caught his attention. Squeezed his eyes shut, the werewolf froze just a moment too late, squeezing his eyes shut just as a glimmer of light fell upon him, leaving the boy to simply hope that the matron wouldn’t notice the corner of the book popping out from beneath his blankets or the way that his breath was unnaturally still for a sleeping person. It was hard to believe sometimes but he was, after all, only fourteen years old.
