Remus Lupin was a smart boy. He knew that the spiders in the garden would normally not hurt him. He knew to stay away from bees because they would sting and he was allergic, whatever that meant. Whenever he asked, his father would tell him that he would be best off if he never knew. He could read better than most of the people in his class, and he could multiply through his sevens, even though he was only six. So why was he being punished? His parents had pulled him out of school, saying they would manage on their own. The townspeople, those who were like his father, they just shook their heads knowingly and looked at Remus with pity in their eyes. Why?
The nuns at school said that the people who sinned (whatever that was) would be punished. They said that those that were evil should be shunned. But he hadn't sinned. All he had done was go outside to get Skitters, their cat, when he heard a dog get too close. He knew that it was dark, but the full moon made it easy to see the cat. He ran out, picked her up and started back to the house when the dog rushed up and bit him. He thought he was doing something good. He had forgotten that his parents had said never to go outside during a full moon. It was just a mistake, right? He was a little boy, he could make a mistake.
His parents were horrified. His mother cried, his father cursed. They treated the bite easily enough, so Remus was confused as to why they were so upset.
A month later he knew. He knew why his parents were upset. He knew what the nuns meant by wrath. And he knew, oh yes, he knew, exactly what pain and punishment were. And all he could think was... why?
Outside the Lupin home, 28 days after he had bitten the boy he had chosen, Greyback smiled. He heard the pain, the weeping, the wails, the growls, the newly born werewolf throwing himself against his restraints, and he knew, he just knew, that he would have a new addition to his pack soon. Those parents would tire of the agony their son was going through, and when they put him out, he would be ready. Why? Just because.