I don't own Harry Potter. I do own a younger, quite alive Remus Lupin. O.K, maybe own isn't the best way to describe the way I'm currently holding him hostage in my guest bedroom, but that's just semantics. HE'S MINE!

This will be mostly canon at the beginning ('cept the rat. In my mind, Peter exists, but he's like, hibernating or something. I don't actually know where he is in my mind, but it seems like he'd nap a lot. Anywho, you won't be seeing much of him.) Near the middle it'll begin to be a bit not-as-canon-as-in-the-beginning and the end will be pretty much my own imagination.

Also, I am absolutely in love with the work of Edgar Allen Poe. The main title is the same as that of one of his poems which I feel conveys the idea of the basis of this fic quite well. Each chapter will also be named with a quote from his poetry. Unlike the main title, the poems that the chapter titles come from hold no resemblance to the chapters themselves. For example, if a title comes from Annabel Lee, it does not mean that someone will die a seaside death (or have anything to do with a boat; my mom is convinced that Annabel Lee was a boat with a broken sail who was put in a dry dock)

Chapter one's title comes from For Annie (one of his more beautiful poems, in my opinion).
At the end, I'll add a final chapter that will cite each of the following chapter names. But like I said, they're all Poe's, not mine.

Shorn of My Strength

"Wait." He heard Sirius behind him, but he kept going. He knew he should be soaked due to the torrents of rain hitting his back, and he knew that at 1:00 AM in February, he should be shivering on his hasty way into the castle, but he was numb. Even if he could experience either sensation, he wouldn't care. All that mattered at the moment was getting away from Hogwarts, away from the memories.

"Moony, wait!" he heard James yell out "this isn't what she would have wanted!"

He didn't slow down.

Somehow, through the white noise of the storm and the pounding of his pulse in his ears, he heard their footsteps as they made their way across the brick walkway after him. He didn't change his pace; even if they did catch up to him, their words couldn't make him stay.

"Moony!" Sirius yelled as he ran. Their footsteps turned squishier sounding, indicating that they had moved past the brick and on to the dirt, or in this case mud, walkway that continued the rest of the way off school grounds. Good, he hoped they slipped.

They did catch up with him, running past him and blocking his path. Instead of going around them, he stopped. They'd move eventually.

"Remus, you're being impulsive." Sirius said

It was then that Remus did something he would never have imagined doing to one of his best friends. Still, the feeling of his fist colliding with Sirius's face was a lot more satisfying than he expected.

"Don't you dare try to deny me impulsivity." Remus said, more menacingly than he thought himself capable. "You have no right. I have been the reasonable one for years!"

"Let us return the favor then." James spoke up.

"What if it were Lily?" Remus countered. "You'd be doing exactly what I am."

"And you'd be in my place." James said after a moment.

"And we're not saying you shouldn't go after her, mate." Sirius said, his hand still covering his cheek where Remus had punched him.

"You shut up." Remus snapped.

"But he's right. We know you'll go after her. Just wait until we have a plan. You're always saying we need a good plan, and once we've got one, hell, we'll even help you execute it."

"I can't just let her go."

"You're not letting that girl do a damn thing," said Sirius, "Not Tillie."

At the mention of her name, Remus fell to his knees, not caring that his clothes were now muddy. They were already wet. Remus felt the rain for the first time. It was kind of poetic. Tillie was gone, and the world was weeping.

For a moment, they were all still. Then a loud crash of thunder and a very visible lightning bolt got Sirius and James moving again.

"Moony, man, it's friggin' dangerous out here. Let's get back to the castle." He and James all but dragged their friend inside.

This time, he didn't protest

So there it is. Did you enjoy it? I know we don't know much about Tillie (who she is, why she left, why Remus has gone batshit crazy over it, etc) but I'm planning on doing a flashback every even chapter (though there will be exceptions) and building her character like that.

Anyway, I hope you liked chapter one. Chapter two will be here shortly