Hello there! So I've done a little bit of tweaking to this first chapter and I've added to it in some places, just to tie you all over till the next chapter comes out (which won't be too much longer I promise!)
That is all …
The lingering sounds of the attack faded into white noise compared to the sound of his beating heart that filled his ears. He tried to see through the pockets of flames that surrounded the battered house. He shouted out the same two words that echoed over and over again in his mind.
'Remus! Toria!'
From somewhere in the distance he could hear his wife's voice calling out the same two words, the same two names.
Things had been tense enough that evening, it was every night of the full moon when Remus was home from Hogwarts. And even though he knew that their arrangement was safe, that Dumbledore himself had had a hand in reinforcing the room in the cellar Remus used to transform every month, a part of him would always be uneasy. He knew this made him an awful father.
But it turned out he had other things to worry about.
They didn't think much of it at first, a couple of low, faint pops from somewhere in the distance outside. Probably just the local muggle kids with some fireworks. So John and Helen hadn't thought much of it, instead going back to their dinner with a roll of the eyes and a soft smirk.
And then the screaming started. They were the kinds of screams that cut right through you, the kind that had a scream of your very own clawing it's way up the insides of your throat. John and Helen were frozen, heads turned towards the right side of the kitchen, staring unblinking out the window.
A sudden burst of flames and the impossibly high pitched, trembling cry of 'Toria!' had both of them grabbing their wands and making for the front door, but something had beaten them to it.
Now John stopped on the threshold of his neighbour's property, panting heavily, looking helplessly around, trying to see past the house that was still alight in some places, trying to think, desperately. Where could they be?
The light of the full moon was a mere shadow that was trying its best to push against the intense glare of the fires and of the shadow of the sun that was rising softly but swiftly in the horizon.
A group of Aurors extinguished flame after flame around and within the house. He could hear them calling out to each other.
'John!'
John spun around at the voice. An Auror, a man John knew well, had detached himself from the rest of his colleagues. He had patches of black over his face and robes from the smoke and his skin was covered in a thin layer of grimy sweat.
He looked at John with the grimmest of expressions. 'We found two adults, both deceased.' John felt his legs weaken. 'There's no sign of anyone else.'
John's heart gave a painful ache. Two adults, deceased. That poor girl. No sign of anyone else.
In the next few moments, John Lupin thought so hard that his head started to throb.
Remus, who wasn't himself, not in his right mind, had broken free of the enchantments they used on the cellar. John had never seen the likes of it, Remus had been but a blur as he ran past them tonight, towards the sound of the yelling, the screaming, of the bangs of the explosions that resonated from next door.
No sign of anyone but the adults. Toria was missing, just as John had thought she might be. They should have prepared better for this! They had all known that it was a possibility that something like this was going to happen. But where was Remus/
Remus, he must have taken her, pulled her away from the fighting. But where? Some place safe he hoped.
'John!'
From across the yard, John's wife caught his eye, the panic that had gripped hold of his heart shone bright on her face.
'John, the tree house!' She screamed, not waiting before taking off, back towards their own house.
Of course!
John chased after her, barely registering the fact that the Auror he had been talking with was following him. Even if Remus wasn't himself, the beast still had all of Remus' memories, he should've thought of it sooner.
John's wife had not waited for him and as he reached the base of the tree he heard the cry that stilled his aching heart.
'No! Remus!'
John's legs were numb as he climbed. His hand landed in something wet as he gripped the edge of the landing. Pulling himself up onto the landing, his hand came into view, it was covered in red liquid.
Helen was crouched over her son's unconscious form. She had lifted his head into her lap, her fingers pressed firmly over the point where her son's pulse met his skin. Tears streamed down her face as she looked over her son, and all the red that coated it. She looked up at John as he came into view.
The appearance of her husband seemed to make her come out of her stupor. Quicker than he had seen anyone move, Helen examined her son's body, checking for any wound that would cause the amount of blood that now covered him. After mere seconds she raised her wide eyes to his before looking over to the other unconscious form in the room.
'The blood's not his,' she said loudly in a single, shaky breath, holding her son even tighter as she began to rock slightly.
John rushed over to the girl lying on the floor. Her hair stuck to her one side of her face and the lack of colour in her skin made his own pale. As gently as he could, John rolled Toria over so that her torso was exposed. If panic hadn't been driving him, he would have been sick. A long, deep and jagged gash tore down the girl's side. Another cut curled itself around her neck, it started from somewhere John couldn't see.
In the years to come, John would marvel at his own nerve, for when he relived it, he found himself in desperate need of a drink.
'Helen!' Helen snapped her head up at the sound of her name. 'We need to get them both to Mungos.' John leant out of the tree house, the Auror who had followed him was halfway up the ladder. 'Reg, we need to get my son and the girl to St Mungos!'
Reg was standing on the landing seconds later.
'Please, take my son.'
'No!' Helen's grip on Remus became a vice grip. 'I can't leave him.'
'Reg, take my son and my wife to St Mungos.' Helen whimpered out a grateful 'thank you' at this. 'I'll follow with Toria.'
They all stood together, with Toria in John's arms and - a testament to the strength and amount of adrenalin coursing through her veins - Remus was firmly held in Helen's. Reg placed an arm on Helen's shoulder and with a crack they dissapparated. A heart beat later, John twisted.
The ground floor of St Mungos was quiet when the three adults appeared suddenly, two of them holding two very bloody teenagers. They had just made eye contact with the witch behind the front desk when two teams of Healers appeared before them. Four Healers rushed to Helen and Remus whilst five rushed towards John.
John and Helen were ushered towards the elevators. John couldn't make out what they were saying, he couldn't make out their hurried words over the throbbing in his ears. He tried to find the fair hair of his wife and son through the cloud of yellow Healer's robes.
The elevators opened, the atmosphere on this level was humming and even more healers were waiting for them when the doors opened. One of them tried to take Toria from John's arms, but he couldn't let go, he wouldn't let go.
He caught sight of Helen, she had relinquished Remus to one of the Healers, a strong looking, tall man, and for that John was grateful, for anyone else would have been powerless at what happened next.
Remus let out a howl of pain, his back arching and John's blood ran cold. The sun had risen fully by now but the effects of the full moon still lingered, as it so often did the day after. As the pain subsided, Remus' howls turned into roars, feral and confused. John inched closer to his son but stopped dead in his tracks when his son found him, glowing amber eyes narrowing on the girl in John's arms. Remus gave another almighty roar of anguish.
'Toria!'
The team of Healers assigned to Toria redoubled their efforts in ushering John away from his wife and son. They formed a wall of yellow between Remus and Toria. Remus' yells, snarls and struggles followed them into the small room down the hall.
'Quick, put her on the table.'
John did as the voice told him to do.
'Now, Mr Lupin,' the voice was a lot closer to him now, it was a business-like calm with just a thin layer of concern, 'I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We'll look after her now. Go to your wife, we'll be out when we're done.'
John took a step back and was surprised to see how much his hands were shaking as they let Toria's slip out of his grip. He looked into the girl's face, taking in everything he could, one last time as he stepped back out into the hall.
He was immediately met with the snarls of his son. He let the sounds guide him down the corridor. Whispers followed him as he moved and one word seemed to be louder than all the rest.
'He's a werewolf!'
'Yes, the boy they just bought in, a werewolf.'
'They're not supposed to be allowed on this floor!'
There was a muscle twitching in John's jaw when he arrived at the room the Healers had taken his wife and son into.
Helen stood by the door, sobbing violently, her back bent and shaking. When her husband appeared at her side, she clung to him, her eyes never leaving those of her son.
Remus was thrashing on the bed, he called out Toria's name, spit flying from his mouth, and snarled when a Healer got too close, his eyes shining menacingly around the room.
John's throat tightened and he would never forget the fact that he had looked at the tall, muscular Healer with a tried, relieved gratitude, when he stunned his son into silence.
XXXXXX
'I must have misheard you, Rourke, for I thought you said that she escaped.'
The cool, high pitched voice lofted through the room. From the firelight, Rourke could only make out the silhouette of the speaker, but Rourke could still feel his eyes boring in through his skin.
'There was no way we could have, foreseen, such a circumstance, my lord,' Rourke, despite himself, found his voice quavering. He attempted to swallow back the nervousness he felt. 'The boy was not supposed to be there.'
'And yet he was,' the cool voice from before cracked like a whip. 'And he was no mere boy, was he, Rourke?' The figure rose from the high-backed chair he had been sitting in, it looked down at Rourke. 'Your assignment was a simple one, kill all those who stood in your way. And yet you were outsmarted by a beast!'
Rourke gave a yelp as he was overcome with pain, he dropped to the cold floor before the figure.
'And now, she will go even further into hiding!' The smirk in the voice was unmistakeable as it said, 'I warned you not to disappoint me when you volunteered for this assignment, Rourke.'
Rourke's pain was excruciating now, he writhed on the floor, pulling at his skin, as if he could simply rip the pain from him, shed it as if it were a second skin. He wished for it to be over, any punishment he would have to face would be a luxury compared to the one he was already facing, even death. Death would be a comfort compared to this.
'Be careful what you wish for,' said the figure softly as it stepped into the light
The last thing Rourke ever saw were the glowing red eyes and cool smirk of Lord Voldemort, towering above him, and lazily flicking his wand in the direction of Rourke's wide, watering eyes.
