the_debt_of_time

"Dumbledore says that Severus is willing to make my Wolfsbane Potion again but,
just in case, we'll need to keep a large stock of Calming Draughts and Essence of Dittany
in addition to the usual Pain Relief Potions." He made a mental checklist, purposely
ignoring the shocked look on her face. "I'm not the best at Healing Charms, and Sirius is
no better." He sighed in frustration. "I wonder if Madam Pomfrey would be willing―"
"Remus, how bad is it?" she inquired, interrupting him with her whispered question.
He took several minutes to reply, knowing what she was asking: the pain.
His parents had seen him transform when he was young but, even then, after the
first few times, they would shut him away in the basement of their home so they would
not have to watch. That was always easier—at least on them. Even at Hogwarts with Mia,
Sirius, James, and Peter there with him each moon, his friends had always stayed in another
room while he completed the transformation, listening on the other side of the door as he
screamed, cried, and sobbed his way through the anguish. No one had seen him transform
in decades except, of course, a little over a year ago when Sirius, Harry, Ron, and Hermione
had all been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He tried to focus on the memory of
their fear, strangely enough, to avoid the looks of pity that had quickly followed.
"Depends on the Wolfsbane," he finally answered. "Being in a new environment
with numerous people coming and going—not to mention a cage—it's not the best-case
scenario. But as long as my mate is safe, and my pack is with me, I'll be fine."
"Pack?"
"Yes, Sirius and―" He stopped as he realised his slip-up. Did he even really have a
pack anymore? Sirius was there, of course, still marked as he had been for almost seventeen
years, and though Moony considered both Tonks and Harry as pack members, it
was Hermione that Remus had been thinking about when he said the word aloud. Hermione,
whom Moony still recognised as his Beta.
"It's a long story," he confessed.
"Well," Nymphadora said and took a seat on a nearby trunk, "you've barely told me
a thing about me being your mate since Sirius outed the secret. Do you plan on telling
me anything?"
"I'll answer any questions you have."
She immediately blurted out, "How do you know I'm your mate?"