Team: Holyhead Harpies

Position: Keeper

Prompt: Write about a character joining a group

Muggle Studies: Write about someone with a bad memory (approved by Lizzy)

Insane House: Support Group AU (250)

Disney: Guilt - Write about someone feeling guilty.

Em's Emporium: Write about character growth.

Seasonal Challenge (Days of the Year): Moon Day: Write about Remus Lupin

Seasonal Challenge (Flowers): (word) Heart

Seasonal Challenge (Element - Fire): (word) Dry

Seasonal Challenge (Shay's Musical Challenge): Write about someone making a change in their own life

Seasonal Challenged (Gryffindor Themed): (Character) Remus Lupin

Fairies: (Air) Gentle, (Water) Tears, (animal) Small, (Autumn) Green

Word count: 2335

Everyone Needs A Little Support

"Hi, everyone, my name is Remus Lupin," the brunet said, casting his eyes around the circle, "and I am a cult survivor."

"Welcome, Remus," the group replied.

He shuffled nervously, cast his eyes to the ground and pulled at a loose thread on his cardigan as he tried to work up the courage to share his story. It had taken him a long time to get to this point; to be here in this room for the very first time was an achievement in itself. If truth be told, he probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Sirius.

~o~o~o~

"No, no! I won't do it!" he screamed, thrashing around in his bed. "Please, don't make me."

A light shaking roused him from his fitful sleep, and his eyes shot open. He was sweating and fearful. His eyes were damp, and his heart was pounding in his chest.

A gentle hand started rubbing circles on his back, and his heart rate slowly returned to normal.

"Another nightmare?" a voice asked.

Remus turned over in the bed and was met by the concerned grey eyes of his boyfriend, Sirius. He nodded his head, his mouth too dry to speak.

Seemingly sensing his need, Sirius hopped out of the bed while announcing he would get them both a glass of water and hurried off to the kitchen.

Remus shoved the duvet back and pushed himself into a sitting position, trying to shake off the last remnants of his nightmare.

He had been back there again—the night he had been forced to witness horrors no one should ever have to see in their lifetime. It had been so horrific that he still hadn't shared the full extent of what he had seen the night his parents had been killed on the orders of Fenrir Greyback.

Shaking his head, Remus tried to rid himself of those thoughts before he started to dwell on them too much. The last thing he wanted to do in this life was burden Sirius with even more of his baggage. As far as Remus was concerned, Sirius had more than enough emotional trauma from his childhood to cope with, courtesy of his mother, without needing to know the darker aspects of Remus' experiences.

Moments later, Sirius returned with two glasses of water and a bar of chocolate which he promptly handed to Remus.

Remus smiled as he took the bar of chocolate from Sirius. The man knew him so well. He tore into the bar of chocolate, suppressing a moan as he savoured the taste.

"Remus," Sirius whispered. "I've been thinking. Your night terrors are getting worse."

Sirius took a sip from his glass, appearing to be contemplating his next words. "I hate seeing you struggle so much. I hate that all I can do is sit by and do nothing to help."

"You do help me," Remus refuted, placing the bar of chocolate down. "By being here with me and loving me, despite my clear faults; it means everything to me."

"But it's not enough," Sirius said sadly. "I think you need to be around people who understand what you've gone through in ways that I can't." Sirius paused and took another drink. "I saw a poster on the wall at that cafe on the corner we love so much. There's a support group, at the community centre, who meet every Tuesday afternoon. It's for people who have had similar experiences to you. I think it could help you."

Remus closed his eyes. He knew Sirius wanted what was best for him, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to go to a support group.

"Just think about it," Sirius said, noticing Remus' uncertainty.

"I will," Remus agreed, picking up his bar of chocolate and breaking another piece off.

It took four consecutive weeks of turning up at the community centre and staring at its dated exterior before he worked up the courage to enter, and join the support group for a meeting.

~o~o~o~

"In your own time, Remus," the support group advisor said, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder, drawing him out of his memory. "This is a safe place. You can say as much or as little as you wish, or nothing more. Just through being here now, you are taking a step in the right direction. No matter what you choose to say or not say today, we are here to listen and support you. No one will judge you."

Remus took a deep breath as he made the decision to share his tale. After witnessing the courage of other members of the group who had shared their own experiences, how could he not?

"I was five years old when I was taken by the cult," Remus said quietly. "My father had just sentenced their leader, Fenrir Greyback, to three years in prison for extortion. They didn't take to kindly to it — especially Greyback."

Remus felt a lump in the back of his throat. He crouched down and picked up his plastic cup of water and took a sip before he continued.

"Greyback ordered the higher ranking members of his cult, his most trusted and devoted followers, to kidnap me in revenge," Remus continued. "I was conditioned to believe that Greyback was my father—that my parents weren't my real parents. I was a young and impressionable child and, as much as I fought against it, I believed their lies."

Remus paused and wiped the tears from his eyes. He hated himself for being suckered in by Fenrir's cult and their lies.

"His cult worshipped werewolves and were—still are—devoted to becoming lycanthropes," Remus explained. "They give up their lives, give all their money and material belongings to the cult when they join. There are many stages of membership, and they believe that once they reach stage seven, they will be gifted lycanthropy by Greyback."

Remus fought against the instinct to laugh at that. Greyback had never given anyone the gift—how could he when he wasn't a lycanthrope? What he did was far worse… what he made Remus do was far worse.

~o~o~o~

"Welcome, my followers," Greyback said, spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement. He placed his hand on Remus' shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Today marks the day when you ascend and reach level seven. It also marks the day when my son will bear witness to you receiving the gift."

Remus glanced up at Fenrir; his green eyes wide with curiosity.

"Kneel," Fenrir instructed the small group of four men.

Remus' eyes followed Fenrir as he approached the altar behind him and retrieved a knife. He furrowed his eyebrows wondering why he needed a knife to give the gift of lycanthropy. In all his reading on the subject, Remus had never come across this method. His understanding was the gift could be given when a lycanthrope transformed on a full moon and bit someone.

His eyes moved across to the window and he saw the full moon. They flicked back to Fenrir who was still in his human form as he approached his followers.

"Remus, come," he whispered, beckoning the thirteen year old to approach.

Remus allowed his feet to carry him closer, and once he was by Fenrir's side, his hand was grasped and placed upon the knife with Fenrir's covering it.

~o~o~o~

"Anyone who reached level seven was murdered in a ritual sacrifice," Remus continued, feeling sick to the stomach over the part he had played. "Greyback would inform the group that those who had ascended had gone to spread the gift. No one was ever the wiser."

Remus took another sip from his cup of water. His eyes surveyed the group. He was expecting to see a look of disgust on their faces, but instead he saw sadness and understanding.

"It was last year when I finally uncovered the truth about my family and the kidnapping," Remus whispered. "And I wish I hadn't because what happened as a consequence is all my fault."

~o~o~o~

Remus walked down the street towards the shops. It was the first time since moving in with Fenrir that he had been allowed out on his own. Whenever Remus had asked in the past, Fenrir had expressed his concern that the imposters would take him back and always insisted that he have an escort.

But today, Fenrir had agreed, citing that he was old enough to make his own decisions now that he was eighteen.

Remus had never felt so free, even if he was only going to the corner shop to buy himself a bar of chocolate.

He pushed open the door to the shop and collided with a mousy looking woman, knocking her over.

"I'm so sorry," he said, offering the woman a hand to help her up.

The small woman took his hand gratefully and when her eyes locked with his she gasped and let go.

"Remus," she whispered.

He frowned and took a step back. "How do you know my name?" he asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Hope Lupin, your mother," she told him, placing her hands on his cheeks. "I thought you were dead. I can't believe you're alive. You look so much like your father."

Remus shook his head. "No you're not. My mother died in childbirth. Whoever you are, you're mistaken."

~o~o~o~

"I ran away before she could say another word. I tried to put what she said to the back of my mind, but I couldn't forget. I dreamed about her at night—I wasn't sure if they were suppressed memories from my childhood or a fantasy. I eventually decided I needed to know the truth. I started doing some research, trying to find a way to disprove what she said so I could forget about this woman I believed had to be a liar," Remus told the group. "It didn't take long for me to discover every word Hope had said was the truth."

He paused again and took another drink of water. Opening up to this group of strangers was the hardest thing he had ever done but, with every word he said to them, he felt as though a weight was being lifted off his shoulders. He wasn't alone.

"I eventually confronted Greyback with the truth," Remus continued, "and I wish that I hadn't. He decided to take me on a 'little journey' in the dead of night. He took me to my parents' house. He made me—watch—as they were bound and tortured to death. The next day, the front page of every national newspaper was covering the murder of Judge Lyall Lupin and his wife Hope—my mother and father. I knew then that I had to get away. I ran away from the cult—I left with nothing but the clothes on my back and got as far away as I could."

Remus glanced around at the group, expecting to now see disgust on their faces. How could they not, knowing that he had caused his parents to be murdered?

"You are so brave," the redhead next to him said softly, smiling at him. "It wasn't your fault. None of it was."

Remus glanced at her nametag which said Lily. He offered her a smile back.

"Thank you, Lily," he replied, "and thank you all for listening to my story."

The support group advisor stood up from her seat and asked anyone else if they would like to speak.

For the rest of the group meeting, Remus sat there and listened to everyone else's story, astounded by their immense bravery. They had all been through so much—like he had—and survived.

He heard one story, from a man called Barty who recounted how he had finally opened up to his fiancee about the full extent of his experiences—how he had expected her to leave him, and how she had surprised him by explaining it didn't change her opinion of him.

It helped Remus come to the decision to tell Sirius the whole story. He deserved to know.

When the meeting ended, Remus stood up from his chair and walked towards the exit.

"Remus," a voice called. The redhead, Lily, who had been sat next to him jogged towards him. "I just wanted to ask if you would be coming back next week."

He stopped in his tracks and smiled at Lily. He thought about how the group meeting had gone and how, despite thinking he would be, he didn't feel judged for what he had done.

"I think I will," Remus replied. "Despite having my reservations, I already feel so much better for coming."

"That's great," Lily told him, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I remember feeling exactly the same way after my first meeting." Lily placed her hand into her pocket and passed Remus a card. "I'm a sponsor now. Someone who is there to offer support outside of the group. If you'd like I could be yours."

Remus thought about it for a few moments. "That would be great, thank you."

Lily hugged Remus. "Call me anytime, day or night, if you need to talk," she informed him, pulling away from the hug.

"I will," he agreed as they made their way outside. "I'll see you next week."

"See you next week, Remus," Lily replied, giving him another hug before they parted ways.

~o~o~o~

As Remus made his way up the flight of stairs towards the apartment he shared with Sirius, he started to feel nervous about telling him about the full extent of his experience in Fenrir's cult.

When he reached the door, he placed the key into the lock, took a deep breath and opened it.

He smiled brightly at Sirius who was sitting on the couch waiting for him, and he felt his nerves disappear instantly. He was ready to tell Sirius the truth and as he locked eyes with his boyfriend, he knew no matter what he said, nothing would change between them—their relationship and love could only become deeper as a result.