We Were Forever

It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. It even hurt to think. Remus mentally sighed with the sad realization that he was indeed awake. Every inch of his body was screaming in agony and he was sure he had several more broken bones and, judging by the burning feeling in his side, some new permanent scars as well. There was a ringing in his ears that only made his headache more unbearable and someone was causing quite a racket on top of that…

"No, Mister Potter, he is not awake! No, Mister Black, you can't just see him anyway- Mister Pettigrew! I can see you trying to sneak past!"

To his surprise, Remus felt a smile tug at his lips. Even though he felt anxious about the idea of his friends seeing him in this state, it felt nice to know that they cared so much and he knew that if they were determined to do so, there was nothing Madam Pomfrey could do to stop them. After a few more moments of arguing, he heard the healer let out an exasperated, "Fine!" and the sound of three pairs of footsteps came rushing in.

At first, there wasn't a sound. Remus knew that silence very well. It was the same stunned kind that everyone had the first time they saw him after a full moon.

"Wow…" Peter breathed.

"He looks awful," James said painfully.

"You're no catch yourself, Potter," Remus croaked, managing a small smirk.

"Remus! You're awake!" Sirius' voice sounded thick and full of worry. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

Remus blinked a few times, letting his eyes adjust to the bright white light of the hospital. "Oh I'm great, just peachy…" he shifted and flinched. "Ouch."

"Careful, Mister Lupin!"

"Sorry, Poppy…" He struggled to roll onto his side and Sirius made a motion to reach out. "Calm down, Sirius. I'm alright. You're acting like someone's mum," he squinted, something looked different. "...Are you wearing eyeliner?"

"MARLENE SAID-"

"It's very punk rock…" Remus smiled weakly and saw Sirius relax. "It looks good."

"McKinnon did it," said Sirius, blushing a little.

"Right before they snogged!" Peter announced excitedly.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "You snogged Marlene? Eyeliner, snogging… Merlin, I'm away for one night and Sirius goes wild."

"You're a git," Sirius laughed shakily. Remus watched his friends as they stood awkwardly, avoiding his eyes.

"Hey… I'm alright, really," he assured them. "I'm pretty used to it. I just need to rest, that's all." But the other three didn't look convinced.

"We want to help you," James said quietly.

Remus shook his head. "That's really nice of you… but there's nothing you can do. I appreciate you all even being my friends. It's all I could ever ask for." But secretly, he wondered just how long their friendship could last. If they were to ever see just how much of a monster he really was, there was no way they would ever stay with him.