In the days that followed, Diana could barely eat. She barely slept. She couldn't even speak. From crying in the shower, to constantly checking the scar on her shoulder in the mirror.

Remus tried being there for her, but nothing he did helped her much. He wished the earth would swallow him whole. He wished he could disappear forever. The Order of the Phoenix found out the news soon when Remus and Diana missed the first few meetings. And afterwards, Remus started going to them without her, not wishing to bother her.

James, Sirius, and Peter tried telling Remus that it wasn't his fault, but he knew that wasn't true. He was the one to blame for bringing Diana into his life, for putting her in danger.

He could never forgive himself for what he did to her.

But could she? Could she forgive him?

Remus knew the pain it took to transform, the way he had to break every bone in his body every single night. And just imagining Diana having to go through all that pain made him wish to die. He wished he could double his own pain, only to take away hers.

Only a week was left to the next full moon. It was a quiet Thursday night that a knock came at their door. But Remus wasn't startled. He was expecting it.

     When he opened the door, Layla was standing on the other side, a big basket in her hands and a strange look across her face. He felt as if she was looking at him with despise.

"How is she doing?" Layla asked directly, not bothering to say a single hello.

"Not very good," Remus muttered, standing aside from the doorway as a gesture to invite her in. "She's in the bedroom."

Layla nodded at him, and then, without another word, she began to walked toward the bedroom's closed door, knocking at it gently. Remus didn't follow, wishing to give them some privacy.

Layla didn't hear an answer, so she slowly began to open the door, walking inside. There, she found Diana, as pale as a ghost, standing in front of the mirror, staring at the scar on her shoulder with little to no emotion across her face. But that all changed when she saw her best friend's reflection on the mirror, standing behind her at the door.

Abruptly turning around, Diana paused for a second, and then suddenly ran into Layla's arm, hugging her tight as she finally burst into tears.

"What are you doing here?" Diana asked, her voice weak and shaky.

"Remus. He asked me for a little favor. And of course I had to agree." Layla pulled away from the hug, deciding to get straight to the main reason she was here for.

Diana frowned, wiping away her teats. "What reason?"

With that, Layla opened the basket and took out a bottle, handing it to Diana. "This is a Wolfsbane potion."

"A what?" Diana asked, starting down at it in confusion.

"This potion was recently recovered. Very hard to brew, bur I guess Remus knew I've always been a good Potioneer; that's also what I always wanted to be. But what was harder was to get my hands on the instructions of how to make it. But thankfully, Damocles Belby owed many favours to my father from years ago, so I managed to persuade him."

"I... I still don't understand. What does it do?"

"This potion relieves all the symptoms of... you know... Lycanthropy."

She avoided saying the word.

Werewolf.

"Like what? Could it stop me from —"

"No, no," Layla cut her off quickly, before Diana could get false hope. There was no cure for becoming a werewolf. "If you drink this potion, theoretically, you won't have the pains of transformation. And theoretically... you'll have your full human consciousness."

She kept saying theoretically, because this potion was considerably new, and it hadn't been tried that many times to be sure. They could only hope.

"I... I don't know what to say..." Diana whispered, looking back up at her friend in gratitude.

"How about you curse off that Lupin," Layla said grudgingly, folding her arms. "But as much as I hate him now for what he's done to you, there's enough potion in this basket for both of you."

Diana shook her head slowly, walking back toward the bed and sitting down by the edge of it. "You shouldn't hate him for this. I know I don't. This wasn't his fault. The creature I saw that night... that wasn't Remus. He had no control over it. Just as I won't, from now on."

There was silence between them for a few moments.

"I've been thinking about it and..." Diana began to say. "I have been receiving warnings about this since the day I met Remus."

"What?"

"Don't you remember? The first day I met him in Diagon Alley, the moment my hand accidentally touched his, I began feeling a sharp pain on my shoulder." Diana then touched the spot where her scar now was. "That was the first vision I ever had."

Layla look startled. "For a while, I had completely forgotten about your Seer abilities."

"Believe me. I had, too. Dumbledore had tried so hard to push me to take lessons so I could grow my powers. But I think a part of me never wanted that. I hated the visions that I got. I hated them. They were dark. Numbing. They always left me feeling horrible. But the one vision I always had was this sharp pain in my shoulder. I could feel grief. Horror. Everything that I did on the night I was transformed. It was as if I was always warned that this would happen if I continued being with Remus."

"Oh..."

Diana quickly shook her head. "But I think I'm ready for this. I've had weeks to think it through. And yes, I'm scared. But I think I'm ready; not that it would change anything."

"Well, hopefully this potion would help you through it," said Layla, sitting back down beside her.

"So how are things back in the Order, Miss Dorcas Meadows?" Diana joked with a little grin, making fun of Layla's new fake name that she now went by.

"Tense." Layla heaved out a deep sigh. "With Order's secrets leaking out, no one is trusting one another anymore. It's like everyone is turning against the other. Specially Remus and Sirius. It's ridiculous."

Diana took aback. "What? What about Remus and Sirius?"

Layla's eyes widened. "You — you didn't know?"

"No. I haven't really been talking to Remus much these past couple weeks — it's not that I don't want to — I just wanted to be alone while trying to come to peace with who I am now — but forget about that. What is it with Remus and Sirius?"

Layla tried to speak a couple time, but closed her mouth again, trying to think about how she could break this to Diana.

     "It's just that... everyone's worried that there's a spy in the Order. And one night, when Sirius and Remus were out on a mission on hideout, the Death Eaters came after them and ambushed them. They knew exactly where Remus and Sirius was. And that... is when it all started; this stupid fight between them. Sirius lashed out, saying Remus had to be the spy, because of his connection to werewolves, and Remus snapped back, saying Sirius had more chance of being as spy, given his family background and how most his family already are Death Eaters. Like his cousins."

"But — but that's insane!"

Layla shrugged. "Tell that to them. And what is more insane is that this was not a silly little argument. You had to be there to see the look on their faces... you would've thought they were mortal enemies, ready to kill each other. Luckily Dumbledore came in and put a stop to it and sent them both home. It was intense."

Diana placed a hand over her face. With Remus's mother sick, his best friend and brother turning against him, and the guilt of what he had done to Diana tormenting him, Diana didn't know how Remus was surviving. How he would bring her breakfast every morning, trying to comfort her, trying to be there for her, not even once talking about how his own world was crumbling down.

"Thank you, Layla. For everything." Diana leaned in to hug her friend one last time before walking her to the door, bidding goodbye.

Diana gulped, closing the house door. She knew that it was time to talk to Remus. They had to face each other.

She walked into the kitchen where he was, making tea. He was trying to keep himself busy while the girls talked, but the door to the bedroom was open. Diana could tell he had heard everything spoken between them. And she was glad that he had.

"You don't hate me?" Remus whispered, repeating Diana's words. He had his back to her, waiting over the stove for the kettle to boil.

Without speaking, Diana took careful steps forward, placing a hand gently on his shoulder, making him turn around until he was facing her. But he was avoiding looking at her.

Diana then moved her hand until she was cupping his face, gently caressing his cheek with her thumb until he finally looked back into her eyes.

The silence between them remained unbroken as Diana suddenly brought him into a tight hug, burying her face into his arms. Remus could no longer hold back his tears as they began streaming down, hugging her back and placing a kiss over her head.

"I'm so sorry, Diana. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, look at me," Diana pulled slightly back, gazing into his brown eyes with a half-smile. "It wasn't your fault. You hear me? It wasn't your fault."

Remus began shaking his head.

Diana hugged him again. "We'll make it through."

***

In the days that followed, Diana immersed herself in research, seeking knowledge about werewolf transformations and strategies to mitigate the risks. She read as many books as she could get her hands on about Lycanthropy, but they only horrified her more. Her only hope was that the potion Layla had brought for them would work.

As the full moon approached, Remus enchanted their home with protective spells and wards, creating a secure space for the impending transformations. The tension in the air was palpable as the night descended, casting a shadow over the small cottage. They had begun drinking Layla's potion. It tasted sickening.

The hour drew near, and Diana felt a knot of anxiety tightening in her stomach. She stood beside Remus, their hands clasped. He had told her every detail; of what she should be expecting, how the transformation would begin, things she could do to help.

As the first light of the moon began searing into their house from the windows, Diana suddenly felt a pang of pain in her bones and muscles. Remus, too, felt the familiar pull of the moon, his features shifting as he transformed alongside Diana. The wooden walls of the enchanted room seemed to close in, confining them within the protective barriers.

Diana's body convulsed, her vision blurred with the agony of the change. The sound of her own howls echoed in her ears as she fought against the primal force that sought release. But the horrifying pain that Remus had gone through for years and years never came. And when Diana finally looked around her once the transformation had taken place, she felt nothing.

No change in her self. No thoughts were there but her own. No animalistic instinct. Nothing. Only when she looked down, she saw white fur covering her paws. She looked up, seeing a grey werewolf before her. But his eyes were familiar. They were Remus's kind eyes, instead of a vicious beast.

The potion had worked.