There it was, a small, clear bottle of Wolfsbane Potion. Remus stared at it with a mixture of sadness and gratitude washing over him. This was the fourth month in a row. Whoever it was, was going leaps and bounds to make sure he wouldn't hurt himself.
James had picked up the bottle, looking around the floor to see anything that might indicate who had left it there.
"Still no note." He sighed, then turned to Remus. "You're too lucky, mate. Whoever it is obviously doesn't want anything back."
Remus pulled a face. "Don't make me feel worse."
Sirius flopped down onto the worn out mattress. "He isn't. This isn't something to feel crappy about, Moony. You should be happy. These last four full moons have probably been the most peaceful in your life."
He was right, of course. The Wolfsbane was brewed to absolute perfection. It was some of the best he had ever taken. It only added to his negative feelings, though. Why would- who would invest so much time and energy in him?
"I still think you should talk to McGonagall." Peter spoke up from behind him. "Maybe she's making Slughorn brew it for you."
James scoffed. "Don't be stupid Wormtail. If McGonagall could manage Wolfsbane every month, she'd hand the potion to Remus,rather than dropping it off at the Shrieking Shack herself."
Remus took the bottle from James' hands. "Whatever. We'll talk about this later, okay? Let's just get through this full moon."

Sighing, Remus rubbed his eyes as he pushed the scrambled eggs around his plate. His stomach wasn't really craving food. He knew it was because of the recent full moon, but it didn't do anything to ease his discomfort. He was exhausted, though not overbearingly so, like most full moons. The Wolfsbane had worked perfectly, as expected. He had slept peacefully through his transformation, and even though his bones felt weary, he had no pains or aches to worry about. He hadn't injured himself in four months. His more shallow scars were almost completely gone.
Classes that day were particularly exhausting, given Remus's already tired state. He barely survived Charms, and slept through all of History of Magic. Now, he was sitting in Potions, waiting for class to start.
An elbow nudged him and he sat up, looking to his left to see Y/N Y/L/N. She was a fellow Gryffindor, as well as probably the most beautiful girl Remus had ever seen. He had an embarrassing crush on her. She was smart, cute, shy yet fun to talk to. She was everything he wanted.
She gave him a smile that quickly faded to concern. "You alright, Remus? You don't look so well."
Remus gave her a small smile, trying to calm his racing heart. "I'm fine, just a bit under the weather."
Her eyebrows were still furrowed. "Did you go to Madame Pomfrey?" She asked.
Remus couldn't help that his insides were squirming. He tried to tell himself she was just worried because they were friends, sort of. But his erratic heart wasn't listening.
"Yeah, I took some Pepperup. I'll be fine." He felt his gut twist when he lied to her, especially when she was being so genuine, but he tried to diffuse the feeling.
His friends had insisted various times that Remus ask her out, but he had adamantly refused, his reason being "I don't want to drag another person into this furry mess". James and Sirius had booed, saying Y/N would never be shallow enough to reject him because of his "problem". Remus knew that, Y/N was too nice. But he wouldn't budge.
James and Sirius had then taken to not-so-subtly dropping hints every time Y/N was around, embarrassing Remus beyond belief. It was what they were doing right now, throwing extremely obvious looks and grins his way. Remus flushed red and cringed, praying to whatever god was listening that Y/N wouldn't turn around. She was humming as she set up her ingredients and equipment. Remus felt himself relax as he listened to the sound.
Maybe Potions wouldn't be as unbearable as he thought.

Remus bit his lip and huffed, this wasn't good. Panicking, he pulled more bottles out of the bag, trying to look at the very bottom of his stash. It wasn't there.
He ran out of his dorm room and into the common room. Lily was sitting on the couch, recounting her own ingredients.
"Hey Lils, do you have an extra helping of essence of comfrey? I can't find mine." Lily looked up, bright eyes shining with regret.
"Sorry Rem, but no. I only have enough for one concoction." Then, her eyes brightened. "But Y/N does! She's already headed down for her practical exam but I'm sure she won't mind you getting some from her stash. Here."
Before Remus could say anything, Lily took out her wand and walked over to the girls' dormitories stairs, taking the charm off them. "Go ahead, her bed is the first one on the right. It's in her trunk."
Remus looked at Lily incredulously. "I'm not going through her things!"
Lily rolled her eyes. "She won't mind, Remus. She just has potion ingredients in that trunk. Her dad's a potioneer, he sends her all kinds of stuff. And she'll understand that you were desperate."
Remus still hesitated, though. It was everything he stood against. Sighing, he realized it was either this, or failing his N.E.W.T. He had to do it.
He rushed up the stairs and to the dorm he knew Lily shared with Y/N. Opening to door, his eyes immediately fell to the first massive trunk on the right, at the bottom of the bed. He fell to his knees in front of it, again feeling guilt wash over him. It vanished, though, when he open the lid.
He gasped as he saw the extensive potion ingredients in the trunk. It was filled with them. About thirty or so bottles of various items, some they didn't even need for their potions, all arranged methodically in rows. He mentally shrugged, maybe she was a collector.
He quickly located the essence of comfrey, sighing with relief when he saw there was copious amounts of it. Grabbing enough of the powder to make one complete potion, Remus went to shut the trunk, when his eyes fell on another bottle.
It was small, compared to the rest of the ingredients, with withering flower petals inside it. It was strangely shaped, Remus had never seen something like this before. His curiosity got the best of him and he lifted the bottle to read the title on it.
Wolfsbane flowers.
Remus's blood ran cold. With a gasp, he placed the bottle back quickly, as if it had poisoned him, and it very well could. Wolfsbane flowers were illegal to possess by underage wizards because of their disastrous venomous effects when taken in high doses. And here was a bottle full of them, looking painfully innocent.
Wolfsbane flowers were also a crucial ingredient of a very familiar potion.
Hands shaking and breaths heavy, Remus slammed the trunk lid shut. Then, like clockwork, he got back to his feet and left the room, essence of comfrey in one hand.

The practical N.E.W.T. exam went by in a haze for Remus. He worked mechanically, like a robot, as he mixed and crushed and heated ingredients. His mind was on a certain bottle of wilted flowers. And the possessor of said flowers.
It was Y/N. Y/N had been laboring continuously, month after month to provide Remus with the perfectly brewed Wolfsbane potion. How did she know? But more importantly, why did she waste so much time, and energy and concentration to give Remus this comfort? He knew now where she got the ingredients, her father sent them to her. He probably didn't even think it was a big deal. She had loads of other things, so why not Wolfsbane flowers? But... why?
As soon as Remus exited the dungeons, his mind kicked into overdrive. He felt a sudden rush of emotions. Sadness, gratitude, shock and... love. Yes, he was in love with Y/N. This was beyond unbelievable. She had gone to such lengths, and she didn't expect anything in return. She kept her gift anonymous so Remus wouldn't feel like his privacy was invaded. She had figured it out, and instead of attacking him with questions, she had done something Remus would never have imagined.
He ran all the way to the Gryffindor tower, wanting nothing more than to talk to Y/N. He looked around the common room, and when she wasn't there, raced up to her dorm, ignoring his friends' calls. Then he burst through the door.
Y/N yelped and stood up from her bed, surprise clear on her face.
"Remus?! What- What are you doing here?"
Remus didn't break his stride. He walked straight over to where she was, grabbing the sides of her face and pulling her into a searing kiss.
It has heavenly. It was beautiful. It was soft, and sweet and everything he had imagined... and more. She kissed back, albeit slowly, before getting more comfortable with it. Remus gripped her hips, pulling her closer so his body was flush against hers. His heart was pounding, he was sure she could feel it. Her hands tugged on his hair, making him sigh in her mouth and kiss her harder. He couldn't think, his mind went blank, every train of thought focused on this one moment, the feel of her lips on his, of her tongue sliding against his, of her hands running down his chest and of her hair as it ran through his fingers. He revelled in the sounds of her sighs, the quiet whimpers escaping her mouth, falling onto his lips as he swallowed them greedily, the feeling of her body as it moved against his. It was all too perfect, it all felt like a dream.
It was an eternity when they pulled back, the need for air too strong. Their breaths mixed together as they kept their bodies joined, breathing into each other's mouths. Finally, Remus opened his eyes.
"You brewed the Wolfsbane." He murmured. "Why?"
Her smile was almost serene. Her hand moved up his chest, over his neck and to his jaw, she leaned forward to place feather-like kisses over it, stopping to nibble at his earlobe. His breath hitched.
"Isn't it obvious?" She whispered, breath tickling his ear. "You don't give me credit for how smart I am, Moony. It wasn't hard to figure out after the first few full moons."
Remus had a tough time trying to register Y/N's words, thoughts too focused on her lips, gliding over the scar that ran down his neck. Her hands were fiddling with the buttons of his shirt.
He pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. He was at a loss of words, but he needed to tell her. "I..... thank you. So much."
She smiled, knowing what he meant, how much he wanted to say. Her eyes held a softness he had seen there before. She always looked at him like this. He had always misunderstood that look. He had always written it off as platonic care. He was wrong.
"Tongue-tied, Remus?" She was smirking now, obviously realizing how overwhelmed he felt, trying to diffuse the heavy atmosphere.
He caught onto her playful tone, pulling her closer so her hips grinded against his. Her smile vanished, breath coming out in a shaky sigh. Remus grinned.
"Why don't I show you just how grateful I am?"