Author's Note: This story is set in September 1981, just before Lily and James's death. Both Remus's parents have been murdered because of his involvement in the Order of the Phoenix, so he is at their house, taking care of some last business.

The Letter

Remus sat at his father's desk. The house was empty and dark, oppressive darkness threatening to engulf him. The deep shadows of the room crept slowly upon the solitary candle; they would consume it in the end, he knew.

In front of him, lay a letter in his father's handwriting.

The last he would ever receive.

He read through it slowly, painfully, wading through the fog that clouded his mind.

Remus,

First, let me ask you to forgive me for not telling you this in life. I did not have the courage you have, so please, my son, keep that in mind and do not think too poorly of me after you have finished this letter.

I told you, once you were old enough, that it was my fault you were bitten, but I did not specify how. I believe that you assumed since then that I meant that I had not kept as close an eye on you as I should have; that I should have made sure you stayed safely inside the house on the nights of the full moon.

But now it is time for me to admit that your condition is much more my fault than you ever believed.

As you know, I was active in the Ministry of Magic until your bite, trying to tighten regulations on magical creatures, especially regulations concerning werewolf rights. As much as I hate to admit it, I was all for stripping werewolves of every right I could.

My actions angered one of the most powerful werewolves in Europe, a beast by the name of Fenrir Greyback. He tracked me down and threated to destroy me, but i did not take him seriously. I admit that I considered his intelligence to be subhuman, and therefor incapable of harming our family.

The following page contains my confrontation with him, exactly as it took place. I do not want you to feel that you must (or even should) witness this. I just want you to have the option if you feel that you need to understand.

I love you, Remus, and I hope that it was obvious to you that I changed after you were bitten. I never stopped loving you. I realized that, even though Greyback did what he did out of anger and hate, it did have its benefits. I realized afterward that werewolves are no different from the rest of us, save for one night a month.

I am proud of you, Remus. Always remember that.

Love,

Julius Lupin

Carefully, fearfully, Remus put the letter aside and picked up the page behind it. He stared at the blank parchment for a moment, wondering whether his father had actually gotten around to imprinting his memory into it. He and his mother had been murdered so suddenly...perhaps there hadn't been time.

A small black dot appeared in the center of the page and diffused outwards, as if someone had overloaded a quill and let a drop splash onto the page. The dot continued to eat up the parchment until it stopped, about an inch from each edge. As Remus stared at it, he began to notice figures moving inside the black square. The contrast between them and the parchment was slight at first, but they grew clearer as he watched. The background faded to light grey and the figures gradually acquired dimensions. It was now as if he were watching a muggle black and white movie now.

Remus had had experience with this sort of this before, though second hand. Sirius had told him of the time that he had fallen into Dumbledore's pensive while awaiting punishment for telling Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow. Cautiously, he touched the center of the picture with his index finger. The study dissolved around him.