After the Moon

After the Moon

*

Lucius

***

Remus whimpered quietly as he woke. He was cold and in pain - in other words, no surprises there.

He forced his body up from the cold stone floor, groaning in pain as he did so. The werewolf dragged himself to sit against the cold wall, examining his wounds. The result was not encouraging. He found at least three major wounds, several deep gashes, and many smaller wounds, including a few fractured bones. Nothing that would kill him immediately, but enough that he required medical treatment, and soon.

Too bad that he currently lay in the Death Eaters' cell, where no help was to be expected.

Remus flinched as he remembered the previous night. It wasn't hard to recall his transformations before the invention of the Wolfsbane Potion. Even less difficult it was to know that this time had been even worse. After using the potion for over three years, the wolf had been raging frantically as it had got free at last. This was proved by the unusually bad wounds and the fuzzy feeling in his mind as the wolf was still partially retaining its grip on his mind.

Remus pressed his head on his knees and wrapped his arms around his legs, trying to retain at least some warmth. The little of his clothes that had remained on him even after the Death Eaters' "fun" had been ripped off in the transformation. So, here he was, naked in the corner of a little stone cell.

A slight breeze made him shiver, and he curled into an even smaller ball. He didn't know what he'd die to - his wounds, cold, thirst, or the Dark Lord's followers' torments. At this point, he didn't even care anymore; he just hoped that it would happen fast.

"Remus?" asked a quiet voice.

Remus's head shot up. Now, he realized that the breeze had been because somebody had opened the door to his cell.

A tall, lean frame stood in the middle of the square of dim light that marked the open door. All Remus could see was that the mysterious person was dressed in black robes. Almost instinctively, he drew further away into the corner.

"Don't be afraid," the person said, and this time, he recognized the voice. He watched as Lucius lowered his hood, casted a Lumos spell, and closed the door. Then he approached slowly the corner Remus was sitting at.

"Remus," Lucius repeated softly, kneeling down next to him. "Are you okay?"

Remus was too tired to voice his response, so he just shook his head. No, he was definitely not okay. It was cold and he was in pain, and Lucius...

Oh, Merlin, Lucius...

The werewolf turned his head away, unable to face the other man. His mind was maybe still fuzzy, but he did remember some of the events from the previous evening. And those memories were enough to make him flinch away as Lucius reached out to touch his shoulder.

The Slytherin's expression turned grave serious as he saw Remus's reaction. "I'm sorry," he whispered apologetically. "I'm so sorry it had to happen... I couldn't prevent it, they'd killed us both."

Remus nodded wearily. Of course Lucius was right, he knew that. Lucius would never have hurt him if there'd been any options. Also, Lucius had tried to make it less painful to him. Unfortunately, it hadn't worked - as it'd been the day before a full moon, any act of sex was merely raping to Remus, leave alone one brought to action by Voldemort's orders of rape.

Even though he couldn't voice his thoughts aloud, Lucius seemed to understand. The blond man nodded slowly, then whispered a quick charm to keep Remus warm. Once that had been done, he conjured a soft blanket and spread it on the floor, telling Remus with a silent wave of his hand that the werewolf ought to lie down. The Gryffindor obeyed, relieved because it was at least warm now, even if he was still in pain.

After Remus had relaxed and regained some kind of control over himself, Lucius began examining his wounds. The blond man muttered curses under his breath as he saw the worst wounds, making Remus flinch in shock.

As Lucius noticed his reaction, he immediately caught on the situation. "I'm not angry at you for hurting yourself. Nor am I angry at the wolf, since I know the wolf can't help himself, and he's a part of you," he reassured the distressed werewolf. "No, I'm angry at Voldemort for hurting you, making you hurt yourself, and... And making me hurt you." Lucius didn't quite hang his head in shame, that was unfamiliar to the proud man. But, he did lower his head in something very similar to regret and quilt.

Then, he started to act fast, but carefully. Drawing vials from the pockets of his robes, he poured several different healing potions down Remus's throat.

"Severus gave these to me," he answered to Remus's quiet, questioning gaze. "And don't worry about the other Death Eaters - they're not going to come here for a while." In fact, Lucius knew very well that the upper floors of the building would soon be echoing the sounds of a full-blown battle. The only way any Death Eaters would come down there was that they'd won - and if that happened, it didn't matter whether they were down in the dungeons or somewhere else, since they'd die anyway.

However, there was no way he could tell Remus that. So, he simply kept quiet until he'd have to tell him.

Lucius watched as Remus, still very much hurt but better than before, curled up on the blanket and slowly fell asleep.

The blond Slytherin knew that he was playing a very dangerous game. Only a few - that was, Remus, Severus, and Dumbledore - knew that he was in essence loyal to the cause of the Light Side, and spying for them. Any other Order members would in a battle kill him at sight. And, if any of the Dark Lord's supporters found out about he and Remus's relationship, they'd both be dead before the day was out. If they were lucky, that was. The only thing Lord Voldemort hated more than traitors were traitors who slept with "the wrong sort."

And Remus was as wrong as it went - a halfblood, good, gay, and a werewolf. It was a true wonder that he hadn't been downright killed as soon as he'd been caught.

Right now, however, they both were alive. And that was just enough for Lucius.

*

Remus awoke to a loud crash. He snapped his eyes open, looking warily around. In the middle of the room he saw Lucius, his wand drawn and in full alert. The blond Slytherin was watching the door closely, obviously listening for any more sounds.

"Lucius?" Remus whispered in a raspy voice. Immediately, a pair of silver eyes gazed at him.

"You're awake," Lucius observed in a quiet voice. "Good. That means you're getting better."

"What - what's happening?" the werewolf asked quietly. "Why the noise?"

"There's a battle going on in the house," replied Lucius gloomily. "Order forces are attacking the Death Eaters. Severus knows that we are here, and the Dark Lord's followers won't come here. So don't worry, we're safe."

"The others don't know," Remus reminded. "That you're on our side, I mean. They might... hurt you."

"Then I just can't let them hurt me, right?" Lucius said, smiling reassuringly. Then he added, "Don't worry. I'll be on guard. Nothing will surprise me - and nobody will hurt either of us."

Remus didn't look like he really believed Lucius's words, but he nodded. Yawning, he again settled on the blanket. He absently noticed that Lucius had dressed him into new robes, and that another blanket lay on the floor next to him, having obviously fallen there as he'd jumped to a sitting position.

Then the exhaustion took over him, preventing any further observations as he fell asleep.

*

To say that Lucius was worried was well underestimating his state of mind. During the last half an hour he'd four times tried to contact Severus. Each time, he'd only got silence in response. Therefore, there were only two options. His friend's Contact Pendant either had been broken or had fallen away... Or Severus was dead.

Knowing Severus, the possibilities that he'd let his only way to contact Lucius be disabled were very slim. Therefore, Lucius now feared the worst - the worst for both Severus and himself. If the other spy was dead, there was practically no one who could stop the Order members killing him as they explored the hose - most probably they'd think that he kept Remus as a hostage.

The blond wizard had done everything he could to ensure their safety. Special charms would warn him immediately if somebody approached the cell. He'd cast the Phoenix Mark on the door and in the middle of the room - it was a sign Dumbledore had invented the previous year so the Order members could identify each other. The last precaution was one that he'd never tell to Remus. If more than two people with the Dark Mark passed his wards, everyone inside them would die immediately - including Remus and himself. His reasons for this were simple. Severus was the only Death Eater but he on the Light Side. One other Death Eater could be a captive, but three would mean that they'd lost the War - and then, it was better for them to die instead of going to the Death Eaters' hands. Also, if only one or two hostile Death Eaters came, he'd have to end their lives himself - a task he didn't want to commit, but would, if he had to.

He'd do anything so Remus wouldn't have to suffer any more than he'd already had to.

Lucius turned a bit to look at Remus. The werewolf was now sleeping, even though he flinched in pain every now and then. All in all, he looked very weak and vulnerable - and very much hurt.

Lucius winced as he remembered his own part in hurting Remus. He knew that he'd had no options, and that Remus understood and had forgiven it. Still, he couldn't remember anything else but Remus's pained cries as he forced himself to a penetration, and the cruel laughter of the Death Eaters.

Severus hadn't laughed, that he remembered - the other spy had just watched him with his unnerving beetle-black eyes, showing no emotion at all. That was just like Severus - to the outside, he was cold and calculating, but inside he was swirling with emotions.

Suddenly, the wards went down. Lucius shot his eyes back to the door, his wand pointing at it.

The door creaked slowly open. A pale face peered in through the doorway.

"Severus," Lucius sighed in relief, letting his wand lower. "When I couldn't contact you, I thought you were..." He swallowed, unable to finish his sentence.

"Dead? Not quite yet. Although, I have to admit I got a couple of close calls today." Severus entered the room. "The others will be here in a minute. I was just sent here beforehand to ensure that you won't attack your rescuers." A tight-lipped smile appeared for a while on Severus's face, then faded away. "Anyway... Is Remus okay?"

"About just as okay as he can be, considering the circumstances." Lucius glanced warily at Remus over his shoulder. "But, he'll be okay... Or at least I hope so." He was quiet for a moment, then added, "I don't want to lose him..."

Severus observed him for a while. Then, the other Slytherin stepped closer, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Who could have ever guessed?" he said quietly. "The great, noble Lucius Malfoy has fallen in love!"

"Even the highest can fall," replied Lucius calmly. "When will the others arrive? I did my best, but he requires proper medical help."

"They'll come soon," Severus promised. "In fact, I think -"

He was interrupted as the door was again opened. Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt came in, closely followed by two white-robed mediwizards. After taking a quick glance around the room, and sending a wary gaze to Lucius's direction, the mediwizards went right to Remus.

"What have you given to him?" the older of the mediwizards asked from Lucius. As the blond Slytherin listed the potions he'd administered to his lover, the man nodded and started giving quick instructions to his younger colleague. They set to work, completely oblivious to anything but their patient.

The Aurors, however, were eyeing him suspiciously. Of course. The only thing that proved his innocence was Severus's, and possibly Dumbledore's, words.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Tonks asked from Severus, nodding towards Lucius.

"Absolutely," Severus replied levelly. "The information Lucius has given to us has saved numerous lives - yours included. The truth that he's been taking care of Remus, risking his own life with it, only confirms that."

"But what if he's only faking?" the young witch argued, not wanting to give up so soon. "What if he in fact hates us, and just tries to convince is of his loyalties? Maybe he's poisoned Remus, most people hate werewolves anyway!"

Now, Lucius had got enough. "Miss Tonks," he said with a dangerously silky voice, "if my true loyalties still lay to the Dark, I'd most probably killed Severus before he could give you any fatal information, leave alone pass on that information to you myself. And, if I truly despised Remus as much as you suggest, I don't think I'd stood him in my bed for the last four years, even less let him live to tell about it."

Both Aurors gaped at him, wide-eyed. Severus was suppressing a smirk despite the seriousness of the situation.

"You - you are lovers?" Shacklebolt blurted out at last. The black wizard looked dumbfounded for once.

"Yes," Lucius replied curtly. Then he turned to watch Remus, showing that the conversation was over.

*

Remus slowly woke up. Not opening his eyes yet, he did a quick self-examination. The results were truly encouraging: his wounds were wrapped with soft bandages, none of his bones felt broken anymore, and he felt practically no pain at all. Even his dislocated arm seemed to be on its place again. All this could only mean one thing: They had got help. Much encouraged by this realization, he opened his eyes, very slowly.

At first he had to blink because of the bright light. Then, the light became more bearable - or had somebody made it dimmer?

"Good morning, love," somebody said right next to him. Remus blinked again, trying to get some sense to the blurry picture in his eyes. As the world again came to focus, he saw Lucius sitting next to his bed, watching him intently.

As Lucius noticed Remus watching him, the blond man smirked. "At last, you're awake," he said. "I've been waiting for a while now."

"Lu - Lucius?" Remus asked, feeling still rather tired. "Are we - are we -"

"We are safe, love," Lucius told him. "Severus is safe also, and Tonks and Shacklebolt."

"What about the others?" Remus demanded. "Who are dead? You can't make me believe that there were no losses!"

"I'm not even trying to tell you that," Lucius said smoothly. "It's just that the list of dead hasn't been published yet. I'll make sure that you'll be the first to know once that happens."

Remus thought about that for a moment. Then he said, "The War is finally over... You don't need to keep up your facade anymore."

"No, I don't," Lucius agreed. "That means that I can at last divorce Narcissa and openly be with you."

Remus gave him a bit sad smile. "I feel like a home-wrecking slut," he sighed.

"Don't," Lucius chuckled. "There was nothing between us but a marriage contract made by our parents. I would divorce her even if it meant that I'd be left completely alone - it's not only about you, it's just as well about her. The only thing she'll miss is my fortune." The Slytherin reached out a long-fingered hand to lightly stroke his cheek. "Once they release you from the hospital, you can move to the Manor right away. If you want, that is," he added quickly.

Remus broke into a warm smile. "I'd do nothing rather," he replied.

"Good." Lucius leant forward and lightly kissed him on the temple. "Now, rest. I'll take care of everything." A quick smile, then, "Especially, I'll take care of you."