the_debt_of_time

"It looks like he clawed himself up pretty badly this time." Madam Pomfrey sighed
as she helped Mia close the wounds quickly.
"Oh, Remus." Mia frowned, blinking away tears. "Where's the Calming Draught?"
"Right here, dear." Madam Pomfrey placed the phial in her hands. "And the Pain
Potions are in the drawer as usual; he'll need a Blood-Replenishing one as well when he
wakes," she insisted before stepping out of the room.
"Come on, love," Mia whispered to Remus as his eyes began to open. "Drink this
for me." She held the phial to his lips and let the liquid slip down his throat.
He coughed and reached out, gripping her arm to steady himself. "Mia.. ."
"I'm here," she promised him, kissing his forehead. "I'm going to fix you all up."
Remus turned his head away, but she still saw his eyes were wet as he tried to hide
his face from her. "It's getting worse."
"It's because you're growing up. Hitting a growth spurt. You're a good two or three
inches taller this year than last." She reached for the Pain Potion. "Not to mention...
other changes, I assume."
Remus closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "I hate my life."
"Don't say that." Mia frowned, handing him the Pain Potion and letting him drink
it on his own, which he did begrudgingly. She cupped his jaw. "Here, let me look at your
face. These don't look too bad. I can use Dittany and they won't even scar."
"I'm so tired, Mia. I don't want it to hurt anymore. My skin breaks open, my bones
shatter, and I lose my... myself." He refused to make eye contact with her, turning his
head away from her gaze once again.
It had only been a year ago that he had opened up and let her see the vulnerable
parts of him, but things were different now. As uncomfortable as the words were, she knew
was right, they were growing up, and she did not just see Remus as her best friend anymore.
There was something... something else lingering just beneath the surface. Something that
she could not quite place. Remus must have sensed it too because he was pulling away
from her and had been for some time. She wondered if it was just a boy thing—as she
recalled Harry and Ron behaving differently at this age as well—or if Remus's wolf had
something to do with it.
"You're in there still. I promise you," Mia whispered. "You're not alone in this."