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The sun was hanging low on the horizon, painting the summer sky in an explosion of pink, yellow and orange. On a usual night, Bill Weasley would have marvelled at the colourful spectacle unfolding in front of him; but it wasn’t a usual night.
Instead of the burning sky, his eyes were fixed on the black sea below as he leaned against the window sill of your little cottage. He’d always thought the sea looked mysterious, full of secrets and ancient stories waiting to be explored. Tonight, the only thing that came to his mind looking at the water was one word: Darkness.
Not much longer and the inky blue of the coming night would eclipse the dazzling sunset and with the coming of the dark, the full moon would start making its ascent.
His insides twisted into a burning knot at the thought; it had been a few weeks since the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. The wounds on his face had healed, but were still shining in a deep, aggressive red that stood out against his pale skin. But the visible wounds weren’t the thing that worried him.
Tonight was the first full moon since Fenrir Greyback had sunk his teeth into him.
Bill craned his head from side to side to distract himself from the memories of that night, the tight tendons of his neck giving a sharp crack that seemed to echo through the silence of the room.
They had told him it was unlikely that he would transform because Greyback had been in his human form when he had been bitten; but no one had been able to tell him for sure. As the night of the full moon had drawn nearer and nearer, the knot of fear inside his guts had grown every day until it had consumed all of his thoughts.
He had taken precautions, of course. He had been drinking Wolfsbane Potion every day for a week now, the bitter taste of the aconite never really leaving his tongue. Lupin had given him some tips on how to handle a transformation should it occur after all; if anyone knew how to keep his sanity, it was him.
And he had made sure, no one would be near him on this night. His mother had raged and cried as he had sent her away but he wouldn’t make any exceptions.
Except for one.
Bill gripped the windowsill tighter as the door opened and he heard you shuffle into the room. He had told you time and time again that he didn’t want you to be there when he had no idea what would happen, but every time he had suggested leaving him to you, you had flat out dismissed him, up to the point where you had started to become angry.
“I am not leaving you on the scariest night of your life, Bill Weasley. We’re in this together, for better or for worse. If you were thinking for a second that I would be running, you clearly don’t know me at all.”
Although he had been furious at your stubborn willingness to put yourself in potential danger, he couldn’t deny the comfort your presence gave him. The calm you radiated as you joined him at the window immediately eased his agitation, enveloping him in a wonderful sense of peace.
“I brought you your potion.”
With a small smile, Bill took the flask from you and gave you a mock salute before upending it in one big swallow. He grimaced as he fought to keep the viscous liquid down and shuddered at the aftertaste.
“You’re really sure you want to stay?” he tried one last time.
“We’ve talked about this,” you huffed indignantly and crossed your arms, “I’m not going anywhere.” Your features softened as you reached out to him and took his hand. “I’ll be with you. I know you won’t hurt me.”
He brushed a strand of your hair behind your ear with a loving gesture, gratitude written in his blue eyes. He pulled you into an embrace, burying his face in your soft hair, illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun.
The room was getting darker by the minute and you could feel Bill tensing even further under your touch. You pulled away from him but his attention wasn’t on you anymore; his gaze was fixed on the bright, perfectly round shape of the moon rising in the east, it’s light reflected in the inky waves crashing on the shore.
“Bill?” His name fell from your lips as a whisper and you cursed yourself for the uncertainty ringing in your voice.
“Bill, look at me,” you repeated, this time making sure to ban the tremor from your words.
His head whipped around to you in a sudden motion that made you jump; the silver moonlight illuminated one side of his face, his scars cutting across his handsome features in dark lines. Despite your resolve, you had to swallow a lump of fear building in your throat as his eyes bored into yours with a feral intensity you had never seen on him before. They took in every inch of your face with a sharpness that made you shudder; all of a sudden, the image of a rabbit sitting in front of a predator flashed in front of your inner eye.
As if in trance, he raised his hand to your throat, his calloused fingers coming to rest on the soft skin where you knew he could see your racing pulse. Your eyes widened in shock as his eyes darkened and a shadow crossed his face, twisting the features of the man you loved into something more sinister and dangerous. You inhaled sharply as you felt the pressure of his hand against your throat increase.
His eyes flickered at the sound of your breath, and he immediately let go of you. He staggered backwards, disgusted by the thoughts he’d been having only a moment ago. He turned his back towards you; he didn’t want you to see how scared he was.
“Go, please,” he growled, surprised by how much more aggressive his voice sounded than he had intended. “This is not safe for you.”
But he wasn’t the only one that had broken out of their spell. You closed the distance between them and turned him around so he had to face you. You reached up to him and took his face into both of your hands, your eyes locking on his.
“No,” you said with determination in your voice. “I’m not going anywhere; I promised you.”
You let go of his face and embraced him again, one hand running through his long hair while the other rubbed his back in slow, soothing motions.
Bill fought against your touch but slowly you could feel him relax under your hands. You felt his racing heartbeat slow as he concentrated on you. The hammering of your heart sounded unnaturally loud to him and he could sense the blood rushing through your pulsing veins under that soft, delicate skin of your throat.
He chose to concentrate on the gentle pull of his roots as your fingers tangled in his ginger hair and the shivers than were running down his spine as you brushed over the sensitive parts of his back you knew better than anyone else. The adrenaline coursing through his body that had left him feeling uncontrollably on edge gradually subsided. He lost himself in the calming scent of lavender as he buried his face in your hair.
You stayed like this for a long time, long after the full moon had risen past his zenith, entwined with each other. None of you spoke, no words were needed; it was just you and him, his safe haven among the fire raging inside him.
When he felt in control again, he pulled away from you, raising his hand to your chin to make you look at him.
Your eyes were soft and steady and for the first time since he had been injured, Bill didn’t feel scared by the silver light glowing around you anymore.
He felt you smile as he kissed you with all the love and tenderness he felt, eclipsing every trace of the anger and tension that had threatened to consume him earlier.
“Thank you for staying with me,” he murmured as he rested his forehead against yours.
Your lips curved into another gentle smile as you cupped his cheek with your hand.
“I told you,” you repeated your words for the third time that night, “I’m not going anywhere.”