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chapter four, aurora borealis [ april, 1977 ]
One week before a full moon, Remus tells Charis about his furry little problem. They have been together for a year now and it was an awkward relationship like any other teenage ones.
It was an anxiety-reeking experience, his breaths uneven and eyes wide with fear of her leaving. Charis Black is a Black; the all-powerful family who hates half-breeds, hatred ran in their blood. Remus knows Charis is not like that; she's far too sweet and charming, her scent of caramel and fresh fruits lingered in his sleep. The same smell that lingered in his mind when he would turn on the full moon — that last shred of humanity. Last shred of love as he turns to a ravaging beast.
It was the first time Charis saw Remus cry, eyes blood-shot red and hands shaking. She held him in her arms and told him she would stay with him forever.
"I'm afraid of hurting you," he said, "I'm afraid of myself."
"You could never hurt me, sweetheart," she told him softly, running her hands through his golden-brown hair. He wrapped his fingers around her waist and brought her hand to his lips, kissing it. "I'll always be here."
"I'll be here too," he says, kissing her lips, "always, through everything."
Charis knows Remus keeps his promises.
After the full moon, Charis was not allowed to talk to Remus for quite some time. He wasn't in the right mind as James said. So she found herself helping Poppy Pomfrey with the potions and medicines.
Seeing Remus after dusk settled really was an otherworldly experience. It was the complete opposite of what she expected mainly because she knew nothing about it. How lycanthropy truly affects people, the books were always so cruel and discredited their pain.
He seemed out of it, his normal charming self gone as he toyed with a piece of bandage that came loose around his waist.
"Hello, darling," she greets with her best smile, and Remus flinches at the sudden voice.
"Hello, you," he relaxes the second he sees her, those beautiful hair and beautiful eyes. The figure that reminds him that his life is worth living. Just because it has her in it. "Come in."
"Let me help you," she says, "Poppy says I make a pretty great healer."
She reached for the loose bandages around his waist, and her fingers brushed his skin — leaving behind a glacial sensation — as she fixed it. Remus held his breath the entire time, as thorough if he moved an inch, he might collapse in her arms.
