tw ‼️ anorexia
lupin's pov
everyday, every meal, professor lupin and y/n sat down together to eat. the great hall was too stressful for her, with the loudness and people looking at her. but in remus' quarters, she was able to focus on challenging her anorexia.
they talked about everything: school, quidditch, trivial gossip, the future. one day, lupin brought up the prospect of y/n spending the summer with him.
"if you would want to, i'd love to have you," he said.
y/n smiled. "really? i could really stay with you?"
"yeah!" his face faltered, for just a second, but it was enough.
"you don't want a burden like me." her voice hollowed out immediately.
"no! that's not what i'm worried about. you are not a burden. but if your going to stay with me, there's something you need to know." his heart was pounding in his chest. it never went away, the fear. he would always be the shy little boy afraid of rejection. but y/n needed to know; there was no way around it.
her eyes flashed. "what?"
"i-" his voice caught in his throat. say it. "i'm a werewolf." he saw in slow motion as his words registered in y/n's head. werewolf. monster. killer.
"oh! ok, that's ok," she said. he smiled back at her weakly. it really was not at all ok. what if he hurt her? what if she wasn't any better off with him than with her stepfather? lupin felt the panic rise in his chest.
"professor?"
"yeah?"
"it's not your fault."
"what?"
"it's not your fault."
everything is my fault. "i know."
"it's not your fault."
"i know."
"no, professor, professor, it's not your fault."
his eyes pricked with tears and he had to force himself to not cry. y/n walked around the table to give remus a hug.
"i won't tell anyone, i promise. and i still want to stay with you," she said.
"are you sure? what if something happens and you get hurt?"
"i'll still be better off than i was with my stepfather." her words had a ring of truth about them that calmed some of lupin's panic.
"ok," he exhaled. "ok we're doing this." he started to make a plan in his head. dumbledore would have to know, obviously, and the logistics of his official guardianship were quite ambiguous at the moment. lupin made a mental note to meet with dumbledore at his earliest convenience. he would not mess this up. he would be a good dad. he vowed to give y/n the love she deserved.
ok so this chapter is a little shitty and short but whatever it's been forever since i posted. if you liked it please comment and star! i need motivation and depression is depressioning right now. love you all 🫶🏻