Camp AU || Narcissa&Remus
Narcissa hadn’t slept a wink. She knew that her night would go like this even before the incident - she just hadn’t expected that she would stay awake in horror.
She spent hours roaming the forest, fretting over every little noise, looking over her shoulder constantly and apparating whenever she thought she was able. Eventually, she made her way back to the tent, kneeling by the only bed and resting her head against the mattress, not feeling brave enough to close her eyes despite her tired state.
The minutes blurred together, and she couldn’t say exactly how long she spent there, but, before she realized, it was morning.
She lied there motionlessly, not motivated to get up, and still too scared to try and get some sleep, even though she knew that Lupin wasn’t a threat anymore. Maybe if she closed her eyes something else would show up, like a Death Eater, or a dementor or… She had no idea, but the fear she felt the past night was still all too present. Then again, she didn’t think she’d be able to protect herself from anything in her current state.
It was not long until she heard steps approaching, and she searched for her wand, pulling it from her vest. Maybe she should just keep apparating; hopefully she wouldn’t lose any limbs.
The figure that stepped into the tent surprised her. It was Lupin, looking disoriented, his clothes bloodied and ripped in multiple places. The question he asked when he noticed her would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so absurd.
"Hurt me?" She let out a shrill laughter, with a hint of hysteria behind it "Had I tried to apparate a moment later, I would be dead!” She screeched. No, he hadn’t hurt her, but that was only because she hadn’t given him the chance.
Narcissa stood up, wobbling for a second. ”I appreciate your… concern, but, as you see, I am completely fine.” There was a smile on her face, but it soon morphed into a scowl “Except that, oh, wait, I am not! I spent the whole night running from a bloody werewolf!”
She eyed his clothes, scrunching up her nose. At first, her reaction to his wardrobe had been of disdain for how cheap and rugged it was, but now, it was for something else entirely. “Did you have fun last night?” The woman asked, her eyes were wide and there was a twitchy grin in her face. She didn’t feel like herself, but then again, who could blame her? “You look like you did. Let me guess… You exterminated the wildlife of the forest in one night? I wonder… how does it feel to always fuck everything up?!” As her sentence progressed, her voice became louder and louder, until she was shouting at him.
Remus winced when she screeched.
Ow. That hurt his eardrums, but the sound grounded him a little more and brought him out of his haze. Not only did it hurt his eardrums, but it...Well, it hurt him. He knew he was a monster, and he knew that she disliked him, but one of his greatest fears was hurting someone or scratching them whilst he was in wolf form. He couldn't deal with the idea that he could potentially pass this affliction onto another, especially since he himself hated it - it'd made his life hell, and Sirius knew how much it bothered him, as had the rest of the marauders.
He listened to what she said, and all he did was nod, his lips pressed together. There was a look on his face that said he agreed with everything she was saying, and he just looked down and off to the side as she continued.
On a good day, he'd protest and reassure her that he had high self-esteem and he wasn't any less deserving of common courtesy than she was, just because he was a werewolf. But, right now, the day after the full moon was always hard and his emotions always ran high afterwards. Plus, he was exhausted and had racked up an array of injuries over the course of the night, so he wasn't in the best mindset right now.
Remus didn't verbally reply after that - he just limped as best he could into the tent and awkwardly sat down on one of the chair, unable to stop the sharp intake of breath as he did so. It was polite to stay standing whilst having a conversation, and he was a polite person, but he was sure a moment longer and he'd collapse.
There was tears in his eyes now, but he wasn't actively crying - they just seemed to rest there until he sniffed and wiped them on his sleeve, running his hands over his face and leaving them there. "I know. I'm sorry - I'm a monster." He replied, his voice quiet, "frankly, Narcissa, you'd better take your chances with the death eaters."
