Resting in bed had never been so irritating. Well, maybe once before, but his mind had been far more addled two years ago than it was now. It seemed that was the constant source of comparison. Then and now.

Now, though, he was back at Spinner's End, he really needed to make sure he stopped the cycle before it got bizarre again, and he was waiting for the Full. He'd been irritable, and the thought that some of it could have been the infection only served to make him more so. Of course, had he stopped to think about it, he'd realize that at least part of the irritation could be that he was, in fact, bedridden, and was awake and aware. Mostly.

June had spent a fair amount of time with him, then had left, allowing him to doze slightly, fitful half-dreams filled with Greyback and pain. He'd woken by something, he'd thought it was howling, and he looked at his bare hand, knowing, that had Greyback wanted to, had he planned it better, Draco would be bearing white-blond fur tonight.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected of himself. No inexplicable desire for red meat, no fur, no heightened smell, nothing wolfy as they termed it. Though he'd tried to stand with his father's cane that morning and it had hurt. Turning his palm up, he remembered how much it had stung and itched. No, he wasn't a wolf, but he hadn't told them what he had become.

Oh, there was no doubt in his mind. Cruel trick of fate that. He'd picked the damn thing up several times, handle, shaft. He knew what had made his hand hurt, and it wasn't the weight he'd placed on it. It was the silver snake that adorned the head of the cane.

He heard the door open, then claws. His heart stopped for half a second, then he smiled, even if his memory of the overly large puppy dog was two years old, he remembered how friendly she'd been then. Playful too, but Remus hadn't wanted that. But in the dark, he couldn't tell who else was there. He grabbed his wand.

"Lumos." Dim light filled the bed, and far enough to see only one wolf form.

"You can come closer, I don't mind." Though everything in his voice pleaded for her to come closer, for her to come and not leave him alone tonight.

The form held no horror for him. He understood, of course, that without the wolfsbane, he'd be dead already, but having faced death once this week, he was a bit more prepared to face its distant cousin. And though it was Greyback who had hurt him. It wasn't a werewolf proper, and he'd hurt June too. June, who was blind in this form because her magical eyes wouldn't work, who was full of life and joy and resilience.

Maybe he could learn something from a Gryffindor.

Maybe.

Thoughts of playfulness were far from her mind tonight. She only knew that, as often Zak needed her company when he was hurt or upset, now Draco may need the same. Both young men were like brothers to her, and he was very nearly pack now, too. Even the wolf sensed it: that although this was a human sitting here, there was wolf in him as well.

She still had trouble discerning human speech in this form, but the tone of his voice said enough. Her ears perked up and she glided to the bedside, her head and shoulders easily clearing the edge of it. He still didn't smell of fear, not at all, so she took a chance: she leaned forward and gently butted her head against his arm.

I'm here.

As the wolf approached, Draco watched in rapt amazement. Despite her size, she was still so gentle and graceful. Beautiful creature.

The word-thought froze his mind and he shook it away. No, even June wouldn't be adverse to the comment in this form. And despite the fact there were no eyes to recognize her by, her behaviour was enough. He knew it to be enough.

Carefully, he lifted his arm and stroked her fur, fascinated with the softness of it. Amazing that she could make her curse look good.

"You're so soft," he commented. "And beautiful. I know you may not think so, but you are." That he had ever thought her human form this beautiful wasn't a question, wasn't in consideration. All he cared about was the here and now and because she was here he wasn't alone.

"Stay?" He patted the bed next to him.

Despite the wolf form, despite everything, he just needed someone there, and somehow, as this, she didn't irritate him. Somehow, having her wolf form here brought comfort.

Soft, he said. And beautiful. The word startled her too - she had never seen what her own wolf form looked like, but weren't werewolves supposed to be hideous and terrifying, not beautiful? But Severus had also mentioned that he found them lovely at times. Maybe they were less dreadful when they weren't snarling for your blood.

Thank Merlin and Severus and whatever-his-name-was-that-
created-the-potion-in-the-first-place for Wolfsbane!

She heard the sound of his hand on the coverlet and wondered if she were interpreting it right. It seemed as though he wanted her to join him on the bed, but if she were wrong and jumped up there with no warning, she was liable to give the poor boy a heart attack!

It was a large bed, as she remembered, so with a questioning whine she moved away from him, down to the foot. There, she hopped her front paws up onto the mattress and paused a moment. No sudden surge of fear or cry of alarm came, so she finished the motion, the mattress sagging a bit under her weight. She circled 'round where she could sense him lying, and cautiously lay down beside him, curling her tail over her hind feet.

Sniffing, she reached out again until her cold, damp, wolfy nose touched his hand.

He watched her move to the end of the bed and whine. That wasn't right. He hadn't meant for her to whine. He hadn't meant to upset her. Then she put her paws on the bed, like an overgrown puppy dog begging permission of her master. The thought made him chuckle. Somehow seeing something that could destroy him as a puppy would likely indicate the insanity that ran through his mother's family.

As she move towards him, he marveled at how she seemed to know exactly where he was despite her blindness. Then she nuzzled his hand.

He chuckled. "Thank you." He stroked her fur, closing his eyes.

He marveled at her strength, her resilience. Despite her curse, despite the double curse of her blindness, she was there, holding him together, keeping him from going out of his mind.

"Can't wait til I can walk again. Really." Could she even understand him? Or was he talking to hear himself talk? Not that that would be any great surprise.

Still, this difference, this one change, was important. That he was here, at Spinner's End, convalescing, was the same, but now, it was different. Now, he'd changed something.

HOlding to her fur more tightly, unconsciously, he tried to push away the fear he'd felt rising at the memories.

"It's not you. You...you're helping," he said, trying to speak very clearly for her benefit.

Interesting how differently he acted toward her human and animal forms. She would have been happy to hold him as a human, to offer comfort that way, but there would have been awkwardness. Complications. Pride involved, maybe concern about his girlfriend... all the things humans brought to clutter up relationships with other humans. But when she was effectively an overgrown canine - even though she was essentially the same person underneath - all of that disappeared.

Interesting.

Not that it particularly mattered. What mattered was that what he was reluctant to accept from her as a human, she could offer as a wolf. Physical comfort. A hug. A soft, furry hug. Right. Friend and stuffed animal all in one.

She could sense the rising fear in him, but she knew it wasn't because of her. Simple enough: if it had been, he would hardly have been pulling her closer, now would he? She responded instinctively, shifting over, trying to be cautious of his still-healing wounds as she settled her solid form snugly against his side. Half curled around him as if he were a sort of overgrown pup himself. The wolf grumbled a bit, but June silenced it.

This wasn't prey, this was family; and family took care of one another.

She curled against him and he smiled, then leaned down and kissed her nose, an odd gesture, he realized only after the fact. It would have been fine had she been an actual canine as opposed to the girl who had become his confidante and best friend in Pansy's absence.

He would have looked into her eyes for forgiveness, but instead, he just had his good arm wrapped half around her, snuggling into the warmth.

"How is it you make problems seem so light? So much easier?"

He thought about how she always had a ready comeback, even if not the most witty. How she always seemed to bring out the most human part of him, despite the fact that many thought her less than human.

They thought him that too. He chuckled.

"You know, I should have asked, but Remus didn't care that you came up here, right?" Somehow the twisted idea of her Alpha finding them here and deciding it was compromising her was more than he could stand and he began chuckling more.

"Not that your virtue is compromised." No, if anyone was compromised in this situation it was the one who wasn't fully werewolf. Wasn't much of one at all. Just the bloody allergy. He'd have a few words to say to Severus and Ginevra when they'd calmed from the Full.

Calling her that, even in his mind was satisfying, imagining her face turning purple and her hands balled up as she wanted to hit him.

Still, a slight shift from the wolf beside him brought tonight back to the fore. He'd never spent the night with a girl before. Oh, he'd had sex, but sharing a bed, and sleeping? Yeah, no. But this was June. And more, this was June as werewolf.

The kiss on her nose startled her; she'd sensed him coming, but not what he intended. Her nose wrinkled and she gave a little sneeze, though she tried not to do it right in his face. In retaliation, she licked his cheek, and then he snuggled closer to her and she tucked her head over the top of his, letting him rest on the warm fur ruff across her shoulders.

Very little of what he was saying made sense, which was a little frustrating. But she could make out enough, combined with the feel of his breath and his laughter, to work out what he was thinking. She couldn't laugh with him, but she gave an amused snort. Remus knew perfectly well where she was; they'd all seen her come up here. Admittedly, the pack alpha had once been skittish about their friends getting too used to physical contact with their wolf forms, but things had changed. Draco knew full well how dangerous an unfettered werewolf was. And although they trusted the Wolfsbane, they also took every precaution each month in case it should fail.

As for her 'virtue', it wasn't as though she was going to stay here long enough for that to be a problem. The transformation back would find her securely closed in her room as always.

For her part, June had spent the night with others before, though not in a very long time, and not in her wolf form. But she didn't tend to sleep very much during full moon nights anyway, not when the wolf - even suppressed - wanted so badly to be out and running free. So she might as well be not-sleeping up here where he could use her as a pillow.

Truth be told, it felt nice to have him curled up against her. Different from holding someone as a human, far different, but still somehow soothing. She sighed heavily, her tail giving a flick and settling against his leg.

He laughed as she licked him. "Hey!" He smiled though, snuggling into her more. The fur was warm and inviting.

"Thank you, June," he spoke clearly, feeling her heartbeat against him. "I didn't want to be alone."

An admission of weakness. Part of him recognized that fact. More of him realized he didn't care. June wouldn't hold it against him. She'd hold him close and it wouldn't be awkward in the morning. June was...June.

He really needed to stop avoidign her. He needed to just enjoy the friendship. June cared about Draco. Not about the heir, not about the money. Just Draco.

It felt amazing to be here, resting with someone who didn't have any expectations aside from him being himself. Someone who encouraged the strength he felt.

As she flicked her tail onto him, he smiled and stroked her tail. "Thank you."

He began to doze, breathing deeply, evenly. "So...sweet.." he murmured.

She sensed him gradually falling asleep, snuggled up against her like a trusting child to a teddy bear. Good. Though he'd had plenty of time to rest the last several days, she didn't believe he'd been sleeping all that well, and if her presence helped him get some actual rest, she wouldn't move a muscle all night.

The hours drifted past. Keeping still wasn't as difficult as June had anticipated; her inner demon felt quiet and oddly content, and though it was still too alert to sleep through the night, she even managed to doze off now and again.

All too soon, though, she felt the tug of approaching moonset. Her charge was still soundly asleep, and she was reluctant to wake him, but obviously she had no choice. If she dallied and ended up transforming here, her uncontrolled thrashing about would certainly wake him, would undoubtedly hurt him, and could potentially even do what Greyback had failed to accomplish - so close to him, if she moved in the wrong way, she could accidentally infect him for real.

Aside from all that, she had no intention of ever transforming in front of any but the others of her pack. It was something she never ever wanted anyone to witness. Especially a friend.

As carefully as she could, she began to ease herself out of his arms, knowing there was little chance she could avoid waking him but doing her best nonetheless. Freeing herself from his arms, she made her way to the opposite side of the bed and leapt soundlessly to the floor. Pausing there, she tilted her head, trying to tell how badly he was disturbed.

He felt cold. Well, he wasn't cold, but the warmth that had been enveloping him was leaving. NO. NO!

He shifted and moaned, then felt towards where the warm sheets were empty next to him. Wait. Empty sheets? Why would this be different?

Consciousness slowly returned and he remembered June there. He'd fallen asleep. He'd fallen asleep with June there.

"Stay?"

He wanted to thank her. He wanted to not go back to being Draco Malfoy. He just wanted to be some other Draco with a trusted friend, with someone who he knew wouldn't judge him.

He heard a whine, which he knew meant no, despite not speaking 'wolf'. Slumping back on the bed he nodded, completely forgetting for the moment that she couldn't see it.

"I'll come to you after," he commented, staring at the ceiling.

He'd fallen asleep next to a girl. Well, next to June.

June is a girl, stupid.

Well, yes she was, but in this form she was a wolf. It wasn't the same. It couldn't be.

He stared at the ceiling harder, trying to force all other thoughts from his mind.

Guilt.

She couldn't stay, of course. There was no question of staying. But somehow that didn't stop her feeling bad. She gave her head a shake, with a whined apology she hoped he could interpret. Well, she could apologize later, when she could speak. Even if he seemed like a 'pup', he was an adult, and he'd have to understand.

Turning silently, she started toward the door, then paused. He'd said something. Come..? After? No, wait. There was no way he was planning to try and make it down to her room later. He could barely make it down the hall to the loo! To try to get down the stairs - no, she'd misunderstood him. Because if she was correctly interpreting what she'd heard, she would have had to find a way, even as a wolf, to lecture him senseless. So of course that wasn't what he'd meant.

Perhaps he was asking her to come and see him after she'd recovered. She could do that. Of course she could.

A sudden tremor shuddered through her, threatening to buckle her knees. Too close - it was too close. Without further hesitation, she slipped out of the room and back downstairs to her bedroom.

Nudging the door closed behind her, she huddled in on herself in the center of the floor and waited, safe behind walls and silencing charms, until the change came.

Draco stared at the ceiling smelling the lingering scent of June on the sheets. It took no special lycanthropic nose. He rolled over, reaching for his wand. He had fallen asleep next to her. He'd never fallen asleep next to a girl.

He hadn't. Right?

Having issues accepting that you actually trust her, Draco?

Bloody hell, there was that other voice again. He groaned aloud. This was not good. He had to silence that monologue again.

"Lumos." The light filled the bed and Draco frowned. Bloody alone. He wanted to apologize to her. What had he said to her? What had he done? A quick check and he knew he hadn't done anything overly stupid. At least there was that.

Still, he couldn't handle sitting here doing nothing. She'd been there for him. He would be there for her.

He took a deep breath and began levitating. He wouldn't bother Severus to help him with this. He desperately wanted to not make things worse on his friend. Dressed only in silk green pajamas, he moved slowly, concentrating hard on the task.

His mind on getting to June's room, he didn't think about how long after moonset it was. He didn't think about what would happen if Severus found him levitating. He focused solely on whether or not he was able to get to her.

At her door, he knocked on it. "June? Can I come in?"

He bit his lip, trying to focus, trying not to fall as he waited for her response.

June, too, could not have said how much time had passed since moonset. Little enough: she still lay, half-curled in on herself on the floor, face pressed against the rug, in a grey semiconscious haze. Trying to rouse herself; trying to find the strength to drag herself into some clothing and into bed. Warm blankets and soft sheets awaited, along with the usual potions Severus would have left on the bedside table. She just had to reach them.

Easier said than done. The fire was crackling in the hearth and the room wasn't cold, but she was still shivering like mad, damp with sweat, and weak as a newborn kitten. The only thing to be grateful for was that she was used to this, and insofar as it was possible to prepare for it, she had.

With painful slowness, one hand crept across the floor, feeling around until it found the blanket she'd left by the foot of the bed. The bloody heavy blanket, or at least it seemed to weigh far too much, but eventually she managed to drag it haphazardly over herself. She huddled beneath it, waiting for her muscles to settle, for enough strength to return that she could get herself properly into bed.

And then the knock came.

Never had it crossed her mind that Draco might turn up down here, let alone so soon. She was lying on the floor, for Godric's sake, with a blanket barely covering enough of her for any decency. She couldn't have him finding her like this, but what was she supposed to do? Enough time may or may not have passed for the silencing charms to fade, but even if they had she didn't have the breath to call out for him to stay out. And her wand was beside the potions on the table.

Stifling a moan, she tried to draw herself in tighter beneath the blanket. Maybe if he didn't hear anything from inside he'd go away. Fat chance if he'd gone to the immense effort to get down here, but it was the only hope she had.

Draco felt the door give under his second set of knocks. He poked his head in, "June?"

Hearing no response, he entered further, expecting her to be in bed. She hadn't told him no before. Even as a wolf, he hadn't heard her tell him no. He'd told her he would be by.

Entering the room, he looked around, and nearly collapsed to the floor as her form appeared to his vision. She was on the floor, partially under a blanket which covered just about as much as he'd been covered when she came to visit. Well, except she had more vitals to cover.

"June," he breathed. He'd been told they were weak, were helpless after. He'd known they stayed in their rooms, but he hadn't imagined this.

Lowering himself quickly, he moved to her side with the levitation and covered her with the blanket more, being very careful and very gentle. His own injuries forgotten momentarily, only barely registered as how he couldn't move certain directions, but his mind focused entirely on making her comfortable.

Which was far better than focusing on how embarrassed he should be.

Damn it all, she couldn't bat his hands away. She tried, but her fingers barely twitched against the floor. I'm all right, she struggled to tell him, I'm fine.

You shouldn't be down here. You should be in bed.

Stop helping me. Take care of yourself. I'm fine!

What she actually managed to voice was a strangled sort of "nnngg" noise from low in her throat. Though she couldn't see his face, she suspected it was somewhat less reassuring than she'd intended.

Worse yet, the tiny burst of alertness from his unexpected arrival couldn't last. Even as he was tugging the blanket carefully over her unresponsive limbs, the blanket of fog was setting back over her thoughts. It was only the pain in her joints and muscles that was preventing her from falling asleep right here.

Wouldn't be the first time.

Draco. He was still here. June wasn't one who liked being taken care of, but she'd come to accept the necessity of it on the day after the Full. However, she'd prefer to be clothed and tucked up in her bed! Now even if she found the strength to try and crawl there, she couldn't. Couldn't risk losing the blanket in front of him - more importantly, couldn't let him see just how utterly pathetic she was.

Because it was possible to be more pathetic than collapsed on the floor unable to move or speak. Right.

At least it was Draco. She thought that if anyone not of the pack had to find her like this, she could do a lot worse than him. And not just because with his own current condition, he was less likely to be judgmental of her, but just because... he was Draco. He had just become the first human after Severus to touch her in wolf form - the first to hold her, in that form. She couldn't be uncomfortable around him after that.

Her thoughts drifting, she never noticed when she began to lapse back into unconsciousness.

He continued to pull the blanket over her, despite what he presumed were protests. Carefully making sure the blanket was tucked securely, he shook his head.

He'd never seen June this weak, this out of it. He'd never seen her incapable of taking care of herself. Weakness bothered him, but this...wasn't weakness. She'd survived this every month for the past six years. She was far stronger than nearly anyone.

He retrieved the potions, then sighed and smirked, just slightly, perhaps a touch softly, realizing she was sleeping.

"So nap time, hmm?"

He allowed himself to finally dwell on how close he'd come to sharing her curse instead of the little irritation he had. He'd been days away, and the knowledge caused him to shudder. Had he been bitten tonight instead of Sunday, he'd share this experience every moon.

"All right," he breathed, using his wand to bring over another blanket, settling it over both of them as he laid down next to her, making sure the first blanket was securely between them.

"I'll be here when you wake. You did that for me. It's the least I could do. Besides, I need to talk, and I don't know how to tell Severus."

That he was talking to her unconscious form didn't matter. It felt good to talk.

He curled next to her, but this time was careful not to put his arm around her.

"I'm allergic to silver, June. Me. Draco Malfoy. Prince of Slytherin, and I'm allergic to silver. I know I'm lucky not to be a werewolf, but how?" His voice was soft and low as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift.

He opened his eyes up some time later, noting that June hadn't really moved, but she seemed to have shifted somewhat.

"June? Are you up?"

For a while she floated below the surface, but she couldn't completely relax. Her body gradually settled, accepting that it was back in the shape it was meant to be and done with changing for a while, but something was still off. She felt warm, more so than she expected, almost as if she were snuggled under two blankets and sharing one of them with another person.

That was it - she wasn't alone.

As if on cue, he spoke, and she remembered. Draco. He was still here? Now she thought he'd been speaking before, talking to her as she'd been drifting. She edged one hand out toward where she could feel his body heat only a few inches away.

"Mmm..." It was the best she could do as far as an answer to his question. Words. Words would be helpful. "P- po... tion..?" That'd be a good start. As long as he was here, if he could Summon her pain potions over here, that would go a long way toward her being able to get herself into bed.

The problem of how she was going to do that without exposing anything she oughtn't - she wasn't worrying about that just yet. One step at a time, that was the secret to getting through today.

Besides, he was already dealing with limp eyelids over empty eye sockets, and that was at least as embarrassing as anything else she might inadvertently show him.

He lifted himself slightly and smiled at her movement. When she managed to ask for the potions, he grabbed his wand and retrieved the potions carefully, levitating them as opposed to accio'ing them.

The eyes bothered him somewhat, but after having heard about the scars she'd once borne, he wasn't going to make a sound. He did, however, wince, but he was reasonably confident she didn't notice. Beside, it could be passed off as having hit a spot on his leg.

"Here," he offered quietly, pressing a potion into her hand. "Be careful. It's open." He held the blanket over her to preserve her propriety. "When you've had them, I'll help you to the bed."

He needed to get her in a more appropriate place, somewhere Severus wouldn't skin him alive when if he discovered them.

Severus knew well enough to make sure the two little bottles were distinctly different to the touch, so as soon as Draco pressed the potion into her hand she knew it was the right one. Fumbling it to her lips as carefully as she could, she managed to swallow it down, then unceremoniously let the bottle fall.

"Not... th'other," she managed, finding that breath for speaking already came a bit easier, though her voice was a hoarse ghost of its usual self. Explaining that taking the muscle relaxant now would make it flat-out impossible for her to get herself into bed anytime within the next four hours was too much work. Just let the pain potion work its magic, so to speak. "...one minute..."

It took several minutes all told, but gradually the potion snaked warm tendrils through her exhausted limbs, easing the pain of the transformation. Finally she was able to shift her weight, drawing her knees up until she could ease herself onto them. Then she cautiously pushed herself to a kneeling position, leaning heavily on one shaking arm as the other clutched the blanket around her.

Dizzy, ohMerlin...

"There's a... shirt..." she mumbled, trying not to slur her words though her tongue felt thick and clumsy. "Qui'itch shirt... on th' bed..."

What would Oliver think if he knew the old Puddlemere jersey that he'd given her had become her preferred post-transformation garment? The thing was just so soft, and nicely loose so it didn't bother oversensitive skin. She liked it, what could she say?

Not much right now, at any rate. This was too bloody embarrassing. The sooner she could be in bed, the better - even if it was too late to preserve any dignity at all.

Draco frowned in confusion as she insisted he not give her the other potion. Still, he did as she asked as she had him wait.

"June, let me help you," he muttered, flushing as she raised to her knees, holding the blanket around her. He helped to secure it around her more as she asked for a shirt.

Draco looked around, finding the shirt and retrieved it with his wand, unwilling to leave her, and not entirely sure he was able to.

"June, hold still, sit back down. Let me help you." He didn't think about dignity then, or anything but helping her with as much care as she'd shown him the night before. He tried to pull the shirt over her head, but his hands wouldn't obey the commands. Finally, he gave in.

Turning away from her, he put it in her hands. "I'm not looking, June. Just go ahead and get it on. I promise I won't look."

When she'd gotten it on, he used his wand to levitate her to the bed. "Just let me help you. Please? Stop arguing."

He levitated himself to the bed as well, holding the second potion in his hand carefully.

Despite her exhaustion, June felt herself flush as he struggled to help her get into the shirt. Probably just because her skin was still sensitive - or because she was used to being self-sufficient - but it was a relief when he gave up and let her pull it on herself. She felt a little better once she was (sort of) clothed.

The bedclothes were already turned back, so once he levitated her up there, she was able to crawl underneath them and give them a halfhearted tug so she was at least partially covered. She sensed his weight settling onto the mattress beside her, and offered him a shaky smile.

"'m not arguing..." Admittedly she wasn't very good about letting others take care of her, but right now she could hardly deny the need. Her nonexistent strength was just about spent, and the hand she lifted an inch or so from the sheet was shaking madly. After a moment she let it fall to rest on his leg, palm turned up, waiting for the second bottle to be placed in it. "You should be... in bed. Have th' other potion..?"