"Goodnight, Remus." His mother kissed him on the forehead and left his room. Remus pulled his covers up to his chin and laid his head down upon the pillow. Holding his teddy bear close to his chest, he fell into a deep sleep.
What a strange dream . . . He hadn't remembered ever having a dream quite like this ever before . . .
The dream-wolf had pounced onto his bed.
Remus buried his head deeper into the pillow, waiting to fall into dreams once more. That dream had been so real . . . It was like he could feel the weight on top of his legs.
His leg hurt. His leg burned! It was on fire!
"Mummy! Daddy!" Remus screamed, as the dream-wolf made its way closer to his head.
His mother's frightened face appeared in his doorframe, his father close behind. His mother shrieked, pushing his father to the front. Wand drawn, he sent a burst of red light towards the strange wolf. The wolf was thrown back into Remus's bookshelf, subduing it. His mother ran forward, gathering him up in her arms and running out of the bedroom. He screamed when she bumped his leg, sending flames of pain rushing up his body, turning his vision red. He could hear his father shouting, and bright lights streaming out from his bedroom.
His mother laid him down on the sitting room floor. Furiously ripping back his pyjama pants, she looked down at the wound. Remus felt sick looking at it. He stifled a sob, telling himself that he was a big boy now, and that he mustn't cry. His mother clapped one hand over her mouth and nose, and ran to the kitchen. She came back holding a large brown bottle of funny-smelling liquid and a large roll of bandages. She poured the entire bottle over the profusely bleeding wound. It did nothing to help. She unrolled the gauze and tightly wrapped it three times around the gash. Sitting back on her heels, she wiped her forehead. Remus winced in pain, and that slight movement made fresh blood spot through the bandages. Remus felt light-headed. The color drained from Hope Lupin's face.
"LYALL! Lyall, help me! Help me! Please!" She shouted in a strangled voice.
There was a crash, then an almighty roar. Lyall Lupin came sprinting down the narrow hallway, stopping dead when he saw his wife and son. He rushed to their side, pulling out his wand as he went. Pointing his wand at the palm-sized wound, he muttered, "Episkey!" Remus gave an involuntary shutter. The pain made his sight go hazy, and the world seemed muted. "Episkey! Episkey! Episkey!" His father bellowed at his leg.
His father raised his wand. "Accio Dittany!"
There was a thud, and then a small glass vile came shooting into the room. Remus could vaguely remember being told to never, ever touch that vile unless Mummy or Daddy told him too. Lyall uncorked the vile, and, after taking a steadying breath, poured a few drops of liquid into the deep wound. Remus's flesh smoked as the medicine seeped through it. His skin turned from an angry red into a sensitive pink. His mother breathed a sigh of relief, but his father did not.
"We'll need to take him to St. Mungo's. This bite will not heal, no matter what we do. The healers might know what to do." He said quietly.
"Will they let me in? Are Muggles like me allowed?" His mother asked.
Remus's father didn't respond.
Lyall reached over his wife and picked up Remus gently. He got to his feet, and walked quickly over to the fireplace. Tucking Remus's limbs close to his frail body, he ducked his head and stood in the fireplace. His wife took a small handful of Floo powder from the dish on the mantel, and joined him inside the fireplace.
"St. Mungo's!" She shouted, tossing the powder onto the grate.
Their tiny sitting room disappeared in green flames.
What a strange dream . . .
His pyjamas were all wet. They were covered in a dark, sticky liquid. He wondered briefly why Mummy hadn't changed them yet.
What a strange dream . . .
The world spun. He turned his head and opened his eyes wide enough to see a frightened looking witch standing behind a desk, screaming for help. What was this place? A tall man in strange white robes approached his father, holding out his arms and gesturing. Remus felt himself being moved, and suddenly, he had left his father's warm arms, and was now in cold, sterile ones. The owner of these arms spun on his heel and marched away with Remus in his arms.
What a strange dream . . .
Where was he? Remus felt awfully light-headed. There were strange tubes attached to every limb, with fluid being pumped back into his body. He looked up to see his parent's frightened faces. Why was Mummy's face tear streaked? Why was Daddy crying? Why did these strange people look worried? And, why did he hear Daddy yelling, "Please! Can't you save him? He's not even five years old! Please!"
What a strange dream . . .
When Remus finally regained full consciousness, he awoke to see his mother and father's anxious faces. When he blinked, his mother yelled and rushed forward to hug him. His father hung back, his puffy eyes blinking fast. His mother pulled away, taking a deep breath and sitting back down.
Remus peered down at himself. He was in hospital gowns, with stark white covers pinning him down to the bed. Remus had never been to a hospital before. A healer approached his bedside.
"Remus? How do you feel?" She asked kindly.
Remus shifted underneath the covers, crying out in pain when he tried to move his leg. There were thick bandages wrapped tightly around his leg, binding it. The healer turned to his parents.
"In fifteen minutes, please have him take his medication." She pointed to a bottle full of unpleasant looking, bubbling green fluid. She left the ward.
Remus looked around. He had never been in this place before.
"Mummy? Where am I? What happened?" A single tear ran down his mother's face.
"Remus, sweetheart, you where in an accident. You were very, very brave. But, because of this accident, something is going to happen to you. You must continue to be brave."
Remus desperately wanted his teddy bear.
"Daddy, what is going to happen to me?" He asked in a quivering voice.
The color drained from his father's face.
"You- you will turn into a creature." His father said quietly. Lyall's wife shot him a warning glance. He, almost unfathomably, shook his head. "Mummy and I will have go away for a little bit, when this happens."
Remus was confused. Why would Mummy and Daddy have to leave?
"Why do you have to leave?" He said, voicing his concerns, forgetting about the mysterious 'creature' that he would become.
"Because, Remus, during that time, you could accidentally hurt Mummy or Daddy, and we wouldn't want that, would we?"
Remus shook his head. He couldn't imagine a scene where he would want to hurt Mummy or Daddy. He loved them.
"Mummy, what will I turn into?"
"A-a werewolf." His mother buried her face into her hands.
Remus's world spun. The oxygen seemed to have been stolen right out of his lungs. He had heard what his father said about those things. They were dirty. They were evil. They were monsters. At the Ministry, Remus knew that his father worked to find them, to report them, so the Ministry would know about all of them. Remus's father had told him about them before. Remus had been disgusted by the thought of something so horrible. His four-year old brain quickly came to a decision.
He was the monster now.
"Daddy, I'm so sorry!" Remus called out. He thought he had let down his father; the person he looked up to most was now disappointed in him.
His father looked up revulsion in his eyes.
"It was my fault. I provoked one of them, and they came after you. This is all my fault." Remus's father buried his face into his hands.
"Lyall, this is not your fault. This is no one's fault. I- I'm sure that the animal had no idea what he was doing." Remus's mother said quietly. Remus's father shook his head violently.
Remus flung himself backwards onto his pillow. His eyes swam with tears. What ever was he going to do?
The little family sat in silence for many minutes. Remus was thinking of his options. Would he run away? He must.
The healer returned. Frowning at the full bottle of medicine, she conjured up a glass and poured the frothy liquid in, then held it out to him. He took it, and took a small sniff. It smelled horrible.
"What is that?" His mother whispered to the nurse.
"Blood replenishing potion." She replied. Turning, she indicated for him to drink.
He took a sip. It tasted like sour milk. Gagging, he coughed down the rest of the potion. Once he had swallowed every last drop, he laid back onto his pillow under the healer's watchful gaze.
Remus stayed at St. Mungo's for another week. He was sent home with a large bottle of the disgusting potion, and instructions to drink a glass every night for a month. Each of the healers had given him a quick hug before he left. They had all grown quite fond of the clever little boy.
It was bedtime when they finally arrived home. Remus avoided his room until the very last moment. When his mother came to tuck him in, she found him, in his pyjamas, sitting outside the doorway, waiting for her.
"I'm scared." He said. He could remember the burning pain from that night very clearly.
He took his mother's hand, and, together, they entered his room. His eyes immediately went to his window. The glass was smashed out, and the screen was ripped.
"Repairo."
They spun around to see Lyall standing in the doorway, his wand pointed at the window.
With the window now repaired, Remus felt much safer. He slid underneath his covers, and looked up at his parents. They gave him kind smiles.
"You'll be fine, Remus. Nothing will hurt you." His mother said gently.
Lyall and Hope both kissed him on the forehead, and, with a backwards glance, turned off his light. Remus closed his eyes tightly, gripping his teddy bear for dear life. Remus drifted off to sleep.
He was awoken many hours later by a long and low howl. Panic rose in his chest. His lights flipped on, but he had not touched them. Not bothered by this magic, he looked frantically around his bedroom. There was nothing. He was safe.
Shaken by this, he got out of bed, clutching his bear in one hand, and a blanket in the other. He padded down the hall towards his parent's bedroom, and upon seeing their sleeping forms, felt much better. He climbed onto their bed, and curled up into a ball at their feet. He fell asleep quickly and quietly.
Lyall Lupin nudged his wife sleepily. Pointing silently at their sleeping son, he smiled gently. Remus was fast asleep, with a peaceful expression on his face. Hope smiled, knowing that for now, Remus was safe.
These are Remus J. Lupin's most important memories throughout his life.
The next chapter will be up in a 2-3 days!
Please leave a review with any comments/requests for future chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor any of its characters or places. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.
xx
bandeall