Remus Lupin scanned his surroundings. There had to be a way out, there just had to be! Another quick look around, however, proved him wrong. There truly was no way out.
He thought of everyone in his village—his mother, his father, his brothers, and even his old nemesis, Peter—trying to identify the face of this creature. But he was unfamiliar. Remus had no idea who this man was, but he did know what he wanted.
"Y-you're not going t-to bite me...a-are you?" His voice cracked as he spoke.
The werewolf before him licked its chops hungrily, then bared its teeth, revealing sharp, pointed canines. He let out a hungry snarl.
"B-but...w-why me? I-I don't want anything to do with you! I d-don't want to be a-a w-werewolf...I-I'm too young! P-please—"
The werewolf seemed to smile as he let out a low, dark cackle.
Moments passed before suddenly, to Remus's great surprise, the werewolf spoke, breaking the silence. "Take a look around, child. Do you know where you are?"
Remus gasped at the familiarity of the voice. He tried to remember a name, a face, anything, that he could place with it, but his mind was in a whirl.
"Y-you c-can...t-talk!" It was intended as an exclamation but ended up sounding more like a question. The fear shone behind his voice.
The wolf laughed, then let out a growl. "Of course, child...now, tell me, do you know where you are? Do you know who I am?"
The small, frightened boy stared around and gasped. "Y-yes...and no. I mean, I know where I am...I'm in the Abandoned Shack."
A nod.
"But you...I don't know who you are."
"Dearest nephew, you don't recognize me?" Nephew. That was all it took.
"You!" The small child exclaimed. "U-uncle Brady..."
The wolf seemed to grin even wider. "Yes..."
"S-so you d-don't want to bite me?"
"Well...that, my nephew...that's not...entirely the case...while I don't want to bite you...I do have my deadline and regulations, you see..."
The young child let out a startled scream.
"SILENCE!" The werewolf suddenly boomed. Young Remus watched, frightened, as all the soft, considerate features of his uncle were replaced with hard, sharp features.
"U-uncle Brady—"
"I SAID SILENCE!" The whole shack shook.
"Uncle Br—"
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?!" All human features of the werewolf vanished as he became total animal. His mind had been taken over, and now his thoughts were only wolfish. The creature lunged at the child, who was panick-striken.
Remus reached for something, anything. His shaking hand finally grasped a large stone. He picked it up, his arms weaker than lead, and aimed to throw it at his uncle's head. The wolf, however, was too quick for him.
Remus screamed in agony as he felt the werewolf's fangs clamp around his left arm. He struggled to free himself, but with both of his uncle's arms holding his behind his back and his uncle's teeth clamped on his left arm, he couldn't. The werewolf's teeth sank harder into his arm...and then, the wolf released him.
The werewolf tossed his head back in a victorious howl, then dashed off, away from the village and into the far-of mountains.
Remus almost smiled. He thought he'd won. His heart was pounding, and as soon as his thoughts finally made sense, he couldn't ignore the unbearable pain in his arm and shoulder...
Looking down, he gasped as realization occured to him.
In the center of his arm was a large gash from the bite. He'd been bitten by a werewolf, and there was no known cure.
He knew that soon, he, too, would be like his uncle.
The small child pondered for a moment what he should do before deciding one thing: he'd tell his parents. He had no other choice. And when there was a full moon...he would run. Run as far as he could. But what if he was too late? What if he resulted in killing someone? Or turning them into the monstrosity he was?
Already, Remus began to feel very...strange. A hot sensation surged through him. It was like poison fangs and hot branding irons, pressing hard against his internal and external organs. He let out an agonized scream. Unaware of the noise he was making, Remus continued to scream and shout in agony and fear.
"What's—happening—to—me?!" He managed to growl out, the last part becoming more of a growl.
"Someone—help—me!" Pain like he'd never felt before surged through his body. He felt his spine and bones shift, as absurd as it sounded, and watched in awe as brown hair sprouted over his skin. His teeth extended and sharpened into sharp, pointed fangs. His ears pointed at the ends and grew hairier.
At last, he omitted a loud, remorseful howl as the pain increased.
Then, it stopped.
Remus looked around.
He couldn't remember much of the prior events; all of it came to him in a blur: is uncle had bitten him, he had felt a great pain, he transformed...and now, he was a werewolf.
Trying to imagine his father's startled words once he discovered his secret and trying to avoid the thought of his mother's sobs that were sure to come, Remus made a decision. He had to return home. But was he safe? Or, most importanly...was his family safe?
He could stay in the Abandoned Shack overnight. That would be perfect. Then, in the morning, when the full moon had vanished, he would return home. How worried his mother would be when he never returned, though.
Ignoring the burning sensation that lingered beneath his skin and curling up in the center of the Abandoned Shack, Remus's eyelids suddenly grew very heavy and he felt himself slip away into a slumber...
