Prologue to Hidden, which is entered in the Original Character Competition and Twin Boot Camp Challenge on HPFC (Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges).

So, this is the story of Remus Lupin, his brother Romulus, and their life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There will be laughs, heartache, drama, and now I'm starting to sound like a really cheesy soap opera commercial or some shit WOW. Okay, anyways, this has been in the works for a while but never got written until I entered it in a challenge with a due date. No way it will be finished by the due date (which is January first of 2013, by the way) but I've been told that it's fine.

Enjoy.

"I don't care what you think, they're not going to one of those stupid Muggle schools and that's that!" John Lupin shouted, banging his fist on the table. His face was red with rage. Serena Lupin, however, stood calmly with her arms crossed, not shouting. This was just as dangerous though; the angrier she was the quieter her voice became and the more severe the punishment for disobeying her.

"John, if the boys doesn't go to school the authorities will be after us."

"Then we'll leave! Move to Godric's Hollow or some place like that!" John protested. "Whatever happens I'm not having either of them mingling with Muggles! What happens when their magic bursts out in the middle of class? What then?"

Remus and Romulus's parents were always fighting like this, especially now that their 5th birthday was just around the corner. Whenever they argued it was always about them. Always, and neither, Romulus especially, could understand why. They hid together around the corner, only light green eyes and mops of tawny brown hair visible. Remus clutched his brothers hand. He was frightened of his father, afraid that he would see him and drag him out, involving him in the conversation like he often did. He would grab him by his arm hard, painfully, and pull him out of his hiding spot.

"Tell her, Remus. Tell her that I'm right." he would say. He would always just shake and stare at the floor, waiting to be hit and pushed away to the floor while the arguing resumed. Romulus would rush out from the hiding spot to check he was okay and they would dart off again, out of sight.

Before this could happen yet again, Romulus backed away from the doorway into the shadows, pulling his brother with him. They ran down the hallway, their tiny feet pattering on the wood floors but not loud enough that their parents would notice. He reached the back door and, after a bit of a struggle, managed to twist the doorknob and fling it open. They ran out the door, the cool night air whipping at their faces. Their house was right near the forest and they often wandered through the paths made by people who lived here long ago and kept from over growing by those who lived now.

Romulus walked slowly, relishing in the feeling of the grass between his toes, the cool breeze tickling his face and lifting his long hair out of his eyes, the sight of the gleaming stars above him and the full moon, bright and sparkling and magical catching his eye. Remus followed behind him, still clutching to his hand.

"Rom, we're not allowed." he said.

"They're not gonna see us." Romulus said. "They're too busy fighting."

"But..." Remus struggled to come up with an argument, brow furrowed. None came to him.

They reached the end of the field and the beginning of the wood path, and the sensation beneath Romulus's feet changed from smooth and soft to crinkling and hard, but it wasn't unpleasant. In fact, he preferred it this way.

He walked along the path, listening to the twittering of the birds and crickets, the low croaks of frogs. He picked up a stick on the ground and brandished it at his brother.

"This is my sword." he announced. Remus grinned and looked around for another stick.

"Let's be knights." he suggested. "Like in the book Mummy read us."

"Hyah!" Remus shouted, swinging his stick-sword at a nearby tree, the general of the enemy army. Romulus protected his brother by fighting the weeds so no one could hurt Remus while he was fighting. He was a brave knight prince who had escaped the evil king and queen who tried to keep him away from the world. He and his brother now worked to destroy evil, and these were the soldiers of the evil king and queen's army.

He swung at the countless soldiers until Remus managed to disarm the general and defeat him. Without their general, the soldiers were no threat. Romulus laid down his arms, the battle won. He dragged his feet as he walked over to his favorite rock, a large gray stone covered in soft moss. When he lay on it and looked up, he could see the moon in the distance, surrounded by the stars. Remus liked to think that the moon was the mysterious queen of the night and the stars were all her children, her tiny sons and daughters for all eternity. Romulus didn't understand; how could the moon have children? It was a moon. Remus only huffed and looked cross when he pointed this out, ao he stopped.

The wind blew a bit more forcefully, and a leaf was blown down onto his face. It also carried the sound of a low growl. The twins knew the sound of every animal that lived in this woods, and this was one they did not recognize. They exchanged worried glances and Romulus propped himself up on his elbows and listened hard. Without warning, something clamped down on the back of his shirt. He screamed, terrified, as he was thrown to the ground. Remus had jumped up and back into a tree, away from the snarling mass of fur and teeth that now stood over him, eyes glowing amber and teeth dripping with what must have been its previous meal. Romulus could do nothing but shake, eyes wide with terror as he stared at the beast. In a move quicker than the eye could follow, the animal lowered his head and sank his teeth into the soft skin of the boys shoulder and throat. Pain ripped through his tiny body and he screamed as loud as his lungs could possibly let him. Blood poured from the gaping wound and the combined blood loss and trauma caused Romulus's small body to lose consciousness after only seconds.

Remus could see his brothers chest rising and falling and so knew he was not dead, but this did not bring him any relief. He was still frozen in terror, pressed up against the tree as the monster turned towards him. It seemed to be grinning, and that scared him all the more. It lunged toward him and Remus made to jump out of the way, but he was too slow and far too small to get far enough. Razor sharp teeth clamped down on his leg, and his skin and muscles were torn as he was dragged backwards. Remus heard screams and thought maybe his brother had woken for a moment before realizing they were his own. His leg dropped to the ground with a thud, intensifying the pain the throbbing pains that racked through him. He was again dragged forcefully along the ground, no longer comforting and familiar but now hard and unforgiving. Remus felt another warm body against his, and something wet seeping though his shirt. His head hit a stone and he cried out again.

The terrain changed from hard and soft and, finally, he was dropped just outside his house. He tried to flip himself over, but his leg screamed in protest every time he tried to move it. He saw out of the corner of his eye four large legs moving in front of him, pacing back and forth. Suddenly, they stopped and a howl, laced with pride and bloodlust, rang out. He saw a light go on in the kitchen; surely it was his father, who went to check outside anytime an animal made a loud noise, surely he would save him and wake up Romulus...

Sure enough, his father and mother came running out. He heard his fathers voice, laced with anger and fear, shout "Grayback! You get away from my sons!"

But the thing called Greyback was already leaving. Remus felt his eyelids growing heavy. It would be nice to just sleep right now. When he woke up it would all be better, Romulus would be okay, his leg wouldn't hurt anymore, everything would be fine. It was probably just a bad dream anyway, he told himself. That's what Mummy always said whenever he woke up and bad things had happened. That it was just a bad dream and it wasn't real and he should go back to sleep. So he laid his head upon the ground and closed his eyes even though Mummy was kneeling next to him, begging him to keep his eyes open and Daddy was swearing a lot and pressing a cloth to Romulus's shoulder. It was only a few seconds before the welcome darkness found him and everything floated away.

Oh yeah! Before I go, I originally wrote this as something else and then altered it to be a prologue. If you notice anything strange (for instance, some place where Romulus should be that he has mysteriously disappeared from), please let me know. Thanks!