Better - The Marauders

NINETY-SIX

"Remus..." She said softly, gaping after her single word whilst her brain tried to configure something to say but even her valued intelligence couldn't seem to find anything to comprehend what was happening.

He dropped her arm, letting it fall back to her body limply as he took a step back and put his hands behind his head with a breath of incredulity. Across the kitchen he backtracked, staring at the blackened skin with an air of consternation. His hands left the back of his head and he ran them through his hair a couple of times before he started lightly pacing and moved his hand to cover in mouth as he took hesitant steps back and forth.

Elladora still stood near the door, frozen and motionless whilst she let Remus have his small freak out whilst her brain worked tirelessly to make something up. Every piece of her body itching for it to hurry up but the only thing it seemed to make her do was pull her sleeve back down so it covered the mark, hiding it from view once more.

Remus froze in his pacing, facing her again as she brought her hand away from the sleeve she had just pulled down. His arm came up to point at her clothed sleeve and he didn't say anything for a while before he finally let it all out with one breath.

"What the fuck?" He asked, letting his arm fall down to his side as he continued to stare wide-eyed at her arm he had seen the mark on. It was covered now but he knew it was there and Elladora looked down to the floor in terrible shame. "Dora, what the fuck?"

"I-" She cut herself off, still staring down at the floor with the sustained turning of the cogs in her brain. Despite the lack of emotion in the past week, her anxiety for the moment was causing a lump to form in her throat. "I...can explain."

"Oh, explain?" He asked loudly and she glanced up, frowning at his tone and the action of his throwing his hands up like he was exasperated with her but knowing she deserved everything he threw at her at that moment. "Explain? Seriously? Explain? Okay, sure, explain to me why exactly you're a fucking Death Eater!"

"It was a mistake-"

"A mistake?" He asked and she looked up properly this time, feeling the need to shrink back into herself at the blazing look in his eyes but his anger was perfectly valid and she stayed unmoving and silent whilst he looked at her. His was messy and his face red with emotion. "What, did You-Know-Who just trip over and his wand touched your skin?"

"No, but it's not what you think." She pleaded, taking a step forward and stopping when he stepped back, starting to hold up a hand as to protect himself from her. He paused when he realised what he had done, but made no move to take it down as they stared at each other.

"Not what I think? You have the Dark Mark on your arm! You're one of them." His voice cracked as he stared at the same arm that the permanent mark was purring satisfactorily on from under the sleeve. As though hit with a sudden realisation, he stood up slightly straighter. "It wasn't remedial defence, was it?"

"Remus-"

"Oh my god, they were meetings." He put his hands on his head again, gripping his hair tightly with a laugh of disbelief whilst he started to pace again. "You were going to Death Eater meetings and coming back like everything was normal! I-I hugged you and- and I took you on a date after you'd been in a meeting! You looked Lily in the eyes and smiled after being at a meeting."

"I have never once thought about hurting Lily!" She defended herself on a whim, slightly angry that he could even think that she would do that to her. He couldn't exactly be blamed but Elladora was nearly in physical pain at the thought of Lily coming to harm by her own hands. "I would never do that to her!"

"Would you do it to others?" He asked her, looking her in the eyes again and letting his chest heave with his heavy breaths. "Would you do it to Ernie? He's a muggle-born. Would you do it to Sirius and James? They're blood-traitors, aren't they?"