Moon Howling
Chapter One – The Aftermath
Gaea Blackwell
"Remus! Hurry up before your breakfast goes cold!"
Ten-year-old Remus Lupin stuffed his arm through the sleeve of his jacket in a valiant attempt to dress himself in under ten seconds, making a mad dash towards the staircase and charging down the stairs into the kitchen. A warm muffin and a glass of milk were set upon the table, awaiting him. He plopped down to the table, snatched the muffin, and began scarfing it down.
Rowena turned from the sink, just as Remus was finishing off the last bite. "Honestly, Remus," she wondered aloud, "I didn't know you could inhale food…"
"Mmargahum," Remus replied, swallowing the muffin and taking a swig of the milk.
Rowena sighed, stealing a glance at the calendar on the wall. "28 days again…" she murmured quietly.
"What's that, Mum?" Remus asked, a filmy white mustache lingering on his upper lip.
"Nothing, dear," she answered quickly, turning on the faucet and rinsing off her own breakfast dishes. "You be sure to get all of the schoolwork that you missed, all right?"
Remus rolled his eyes, looking heavenward as though he was the only sane person left upon the face of the earth. "Yes, Mum. We've been through this every month for however many years now, haven't we?"
"I know…but I'm always afraid you'll forget…"
"Oh, honestly, Mum!" Remus groaned, draining his glass of any remaining milk, and bounding up from the table. "'Forget…' Please! How could I?"
Rowena shrugged innocently, progressing to drying the dishes. "I worry about you, Remus. You know that."
"Of course. You're a typical mother. I expect it, Mum. But I am capable of some things by myself, you know."
"I know. Just don't grow up too quickly, hm?" Rowena turned to him, then, leaning against the kitchen counter as she smiled lovingly. "We all grow up too fast, anyway. Why not try to hold onto it for a bit?"
Remus rose a single eyebrow, snatching his books, and gathering them in his arms. "You must have completely forgotten your childhood."
Grinning lopsidedly, Rowena moved away from the counter, crossing to her son, and rumpled his hair. "No, no. I'm still living it, dear. Don't you forget that." She grasped his shoulders and turned him completely around, facing him towards their front door. She smacked him with her dishtowel as he moved towards the door. "And don't you miss that bus, because I'm not getting out the car to take you to school!" she called after him.
"Yes, Mum," Remus groaned back, grasping the doorknob, and swinging open the door. He suddenly leapt back as a flurry of feathers streaked past his face. "What the - ?"
Rowena turned back to him at the noise, and gasped, clasping a hand over her heart.
Remus shut the door, tilting his head to the side as he watched the large bird circling overhead, unsure of where to land. "What is it? An owl?"
Rowena suddenly ran towards the owl, slapping her dishtowel at it. "Go on! Get out!" she barked at it.
The owl squawked in answer, flying closer to the ceiling, swerving away from the threatening towel.
"MUM! Stop it! You're going to hurt him!"
Rowena didn't listen. She went back to the kitchen, opting for a better weapon. She came back only a second later, brandishing a frying pan. Remus stared at her, aghast.
"MUM!"
The owl had clearly gotten the point, and landed on the stair rail, gripping the banister tightly to keep from slipping down. Remus stared at the great bird in disbelief, glancing at his frenetic mother every so often, trying to make sure that she wasn't about to pull out a BB gun. A sudden glint of parchment attached to the owl's leg caught Remus' eye, and he drew closer, out of curiosity.
"What's that it's got on it's leg…? Is that a letter?" Remus questioned, arms reaching out to grasp the parchment.
He didn't move fast enough. Rowena's frying pan came whizzing by his arm, nearly smacking the owl off the banister. Remus withdrew his hand immediately, scowling. "Honestly, Mother! What are you on about?"
Rowena snatched the letter from the owl, and shooed the owl out of the house. It obliged, hooting back indignantly at its unjust treatment. Remus stared after it, still unable to believe what had just happened.
Rowena stuffed the letter into her pocket, and returned, calmly, to the kitchen, frying pan still in her grasp. "You better go, Remus dear. The bus'll leave without you," she called over her shoulder.
Remus hung his mouth open with questions, but sighed to himself. Ten years of experience had taught him that having Rowena Lupin as a mother tended to starve a child's curiosity. Shoulders sagging with submission, Remus Lupin opened the front door once again, and disappeared out into the front yard, clicking the door shut behind him.
The letter was on his mind all throughout the school day. It wasn't as though he needed to pay attention, anyway. He had read through all of his school books during the summer, even going so far as to compose his own essays. His mother had never allowed him to go anywhere during the summer, and he lacked in friends as a result. Boredom could do crazy things to the mind, he discovered early on. He might even go so far as to say that he enjoyed school work.
At least it took his mind off the full moon.
He propped his chin up with a fist as he sat in history class, listening to the elderly teacher drone on and on about the Vikings and Greenland, mulling over the events of the morning. First of all, he had been sure that his mother had been muttering something about 28 days left…which meant that his transformations had as much effect on her as they did him. He sighed quietly, glancing down at his blank notes. She hadn't deserved a werewolf for a son. She had to live in constant fear of him turning on her. She was also the only person that knew his secret.
I could never keep a secret like that,
Remus thought to himself. Though he already did, of course. But it wasn't as hard for him; he didn't have anyone else to tell. But Rowena had everyone from the milkman to Remus' teachers to whisper it to, and she never did. In fact, she helped him make up half of the lies about his frequent absences.But she kept quite a few other secrets, he remembered. There was the question of his father, for one. Remus had never known his father. Rowena had always told him that he had died in a car crash, just after Remus was born. But then she had let slip the fact that the Lupins hadn't owned a car until Remus was four or five. It just didn't make sense.
Then there was the owl that morning, of course. He hadn't the slightest idea what any of that meant, and he was itching to read the letter it had delivered. He had thought, in the quick second he had before Rowena had tucked the envelope away, that he saw his name glittering on the address. If it were true, he figured he must have some right to the contents of that envelope.
But then again, he could just be wrong about everything.
"Mr. Lupin! What North American country did the Vikings discover?" the history teacher barked, snapping Remus out of his dream-state and back to the brightly-lit classroom.
Yawning, Remus answered, "Newfoundland."