Four To The End (prev Shifting Lines) - Book One (Marauder Era)

Chapter Seventy-Six - Sucking Out The Life Force

Remus took a sip. It tasted like bacon and eggs. He took a deep suck at the straw. It was... good? Sorta? Just weird drinking breakfast like that. However McGonagall was on the right track: it didn't take very much energy and also didn't really hurt him like it sometimes did to mess with forks or spoons (or even his shaky hands, when he tried eating toast). He just had the glass set against his chest while he sleepily slurped the meal down.

"It's b-brilliant," he said once he got the last bit gone, nearly asleep as Pomfrey took the empty cup away. "Th--thanks..." Then he drifted off.

*

Remus felt pretty good when he woke up at lunchtime. Better than normal, even when he had lesser wounds than this. Must have been the fact I ate something. Drank something. He peeled back gauze to check his wounds. Some were scars, some were still gaping open. When he went to the bathroom connected to his room he saw in the mirror that while he still looked impossibly pale and deathly ill, he thought perhaps it was slightly not as bad as normal? He wasn't sure. He'd have to wait till a really bad night to find out for sure which he hoped would take a long, long time to test out.

When Pomfrey brought lunch she also brought a small bouquet of flowers with a card attached. Remus gobbled down the food (proper food, not liquid) then looked at the card figuring it was from the other Marauders or something though flowers didn't seem very them.

Remus,

I'm so sorry for everything. I wanted to talk to you Thursday night but Potter told me you were practically needing to go to Saint Mungo's. I tried to come see you but Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let me near you. I really am sorry. I was acting so dumb. I have so much more to say but I'd rather say it to your face. I don't know if I'll be allowed to see you soon. I hope so. Just please get better soon. I hope you're not having to go off to the hospital.

Love, Lily

PS: Black told me it was my fault you had a relapse cause of what I said to you. I don't think he's telling me the truth but if he is I am very sorry

He asked Pomfrey for some paper so he could reply back, thinking carefully about his words before writing them down because he was super mad. Not at Lily but at Sirius for telling her that. How could he?!

Lily,

I'm sorry too. I wrote a letter to you but didn't get a chance to send it before I was locked up in the hospital wing. I'm sorry for what I said too except I was telling the truth. I try to give Snape a chance but I don't think he wants one from me. As for what James & Sirius may or may not have done trying to stop them is like a Muggle trying to stop a storm.

He had liked that analogy in his original letter so of course he had to bring it back.

I guess we both were acting dumb. And while it did really hurt me how you acted it is NOT why I got sick again! It has NOTHING to do with that! Sirius is just being an ogre. I'm feeling a little better already. Pomfrey says I'll probably be allowed to leave on Sunday or Monday depending how today goes rest-wise. So we can talk when I can, yeah?

Remus

*

On Sunday morning Remus had quite a few nasty wounds though he tried the food-being-left-out thing again just for another experiment. Not an excessive amount of gore... not any less than a typical night. He had some deep wounds on his chest making it difficult to breathe, pain stabbing every time his chest moved. After a quick(ish) scrub down he tried to patch himself up with the spell he learned the day before. He cried out in pain when the bandages tightened them around his chest and when Pomfrey arrived she did some diagnostics to find out he had a broken rib.