Disclaimer: The characters in this fiction are based on the wonderful workings of Ms JK Rowling. She wins.
Authors Note: Well here is the beginnings of my first fully fledged story. Lordy knows how this one will turn out but I hope you enjoy it. Please note that it hasn't been beta'd, but should any of you lovely readers find mistakes (of which I'm sure there will be many), do let me know and I'll edit it accordingly. And by the way, I have every intention of slash to follow. Whoop whoop! Here we go...
Prologue
Two Fell, Two Hung, One Lost, Five Flung
It was unusually cold for a September morning and the wind managed to make it through platform 9 and 3/4s, blowing straight through Rhea's bones. She pulled her robes tighter around herself and then smiled fondly as her son craned his neck to survey past the abundance of students littering the platform.
"Calm yourself Remus," she sighed, picking a hair from his robes. The Lupins may be poor, but she prided herself on making the best of what they had. Her mother had always said it never did to give people further reasons to pity you, and Rhea stood by that.
Remus barely spared her a glance and continued scanning his surroundings. Rhea shook her head contentedly. Hogwarts had done nothing but good to him. Her beautiful child, where had he gone? Where was the timid little boy who was barely able to speak in front of others, with wide eyes and soft baby hair? Remus had now become more than she ever had dared to hope for, standing tall and strong – now a good head above her. He had the build of his father, slender and lean with a well-defined face and soft amber eyes.
Remus suddenly relaxed. She actually felt all the tension leave his body. He grinned as he saw a tall raven-haired boy make his way over.
"Your father would have been so proud of you, you know." Said Rhea softly.
Remus glanced at her gave her a brief smile. "Not right here, Mum, please."
'I know, I know. But I'm not going to see you for a good few months. Allow your mother a few moments of sentimentality."
Remus laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "I promise I'll write regularly."
Rhea would have nodded but instead emitted a little scream of surprise as someone knocked into her from behind.
"What ho Rhea!" cried Sirius, giving her a tight hug.
"Mr Black, Merlin, detach yourself at once!" said Rhea fondly pulling away. "And it's Mrs Lupin to you."
Sirius let her go and grinned, and Rhea hated to admit she almost blushed. The boy had grown substantially since she had last seen him, and was truly beautiful now. All aristocratic grace with black hair, pale skin, high cheekbones and clever grey eyes that sparkled with warmth. Merlin help the girls at Hogwarts, she thought.
"But Rhea, surely we're on first names terms by now. For I am a gentleman, and you are gentleman's daughter: so far we are equal." Sirius mimed taking off his hat as he performed a smart bow.
"Reading Muggle books again, Master Black." Laughed Rhea, pulling out her cigarettes and lighting one with her wand. "What would your mother say?"
If she had blinked, she might have missed the look that flashed across Sirius' face, but it was gone just as quick as it came and instead he commenced in pulling Remus into a headlock.
"Hello Sirius." Said Remus, as though this was not an unusual form of greeting.
Sirius grinned. "Ha ha Remus you son of a gun! Damn it feels like months!"
"It has been- ahhh! For merlins sake Sirius-" Remus shouted his hair was amply ruffled. "Oi cut it out!"
"What do we say?" Said Sirius, as he proceeded to swing Remus around.
'You're a son of a bitch?" said Remus gasping and hitting Sirius a couple of times.
"Remus!" exclaimed Rhea.
"No no, Rhea; he has a point. But that's not the right answer. Remus…"
"I'm not saying it!"
"Come on admit it!"
"It's all lies! Lies!" Remus tried to pull out of the headlock, but Sirius' hold was firm. Several other parents shot them looks of disdain. Rhea smiled at the glares. Let them disparage: her son was happy.
'Not letting go any time soon…"
"K, ok ok!" growled Remus. "The Wasps will beat the Cannons this Cup!"
"Too bloody right! And? What else?" cried Sirius, sounding triumphant.
"Sirius Black beats James Potter in everything, including exploding snap, long-distance dungbomb flinging, flying brooms and general suave panache." Remus growled out through his teeth.
"There now," said Sirius letting Remus go and smirking, "that wasn't so hard was it?"
Remus scowled and tried to flatten his hair. Sirius tutted.
"Leave it Remus, it looks better that way. And poor show my friend, I'd expect you to be better then that with two weeks to go."
Rhea raised her eyebrows. So this boy knows the lunar calendar. More attentive one would appear.
"Just try me in two days Sirius, then you'll be sorry." Remus muttered.
"Don't insult my intelligence Remus, I don't do kamikaze."
"Huh."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means: huh."
"Hey Remus!" came a call from behind them.
Rhea had barely time to dodge out of the way as a blur of red dived for her son. Remus grabbed the girl and wrapped his arms around her happily.
"Lily! How are you? You look amazing." Said Remus stroking her hair and planting a kiss on her head.
Lily pulled back and smiled, turned, glanced at Rhea and blushed. Rhea smiled encouragingly. Well now, Remus never mentioned her.
"Lily, this is my mother, Rhea Lupin."
"Nice to meet you." Said Lily, straightening and holding out her hand.
"And you." Said Rhea shaking hands with the girl. She looked up at her son, not quite managing to hold back a smile. "Remus, have you been keeping secrets from me?"
"What?" said Remus, looking genuinely confused. "You think- Lily and me?" Amidst his shock, Remus heard Sirius snigger.
Lily shot Sirius a look and pushed her hair behind her ear as she recomposed herself. She smiled sheepishly at Rhea. "Although Remus is the only gentleman in the school, Mrs Lupin, I'm afraid our relationship is purely platonic."
"Hitting on my girl again, Lupinio?" said James strolling towards them, with that smaller boy in tow. What was his name? Patrick? Paul?… James tried to kiss Lily on the cheek, who neatly ducked out of the way.
"In your dreams, Potter," Lily said, brushing down her robes as though she had just been stepped into a cloud of dust.
"Why Mrs Lupin! You look simply ravishing!" said James grinning at Rhea.
"Thank you, I'm sure." Said Rhea dryly.
"Weird," said the boy next to James. Percy? Something beginning with P… "It's like you talking, Remus, exactly the same. Except its your mum, and not you. Like you if you were older and female and something, that's what you would be like."
Remus nodded. "Uh-huh."
Sirius laughed and clapped the boy on the back. "Once again, enlightenments and insights from Master Peter Pettigrew!"
Peter. I knew it began with P. Peter blushed and muttered something under his breath.
"Remus did you read that book for Charms?" said Lily happily.
"Amazing wasn't it? But lord know how we're going to tackle the charms in chapter four. Relocation and disorientation looks like it will be a pretty precise..." Remus stopped and Rhea followed his gaze too Sirius and James.
They were both huddled together and turned slightly to look at a boy who stood a way down the platform with rather lank hair and a slightly oversized, hooked nose. Simultaneously, they nodded and took out their wands.
Remus coughed loudly.
"Well Mother, I think we best be getting on the train now. We don't want all the good seats going DO WE?"
Sirius and James' gazes snapped back to Remus, and then to Rhea.
"What?" said James. "Yes, oh. Well, Mrs Lupin it was lovely seeing you…"
Rhea blinked. At the back of her mind, she was barely conscious that her cigarette had fallen from her fingers. Everything had stopped, had gone grey, had grown bitterly cold. The wind blew in from behind the children and catching their hair and robes, but nobody moved an inch. Everyone around them faded and dissolved, and the five children stood alone all staring at her.
Then the floor of the platform started to shake. Rhea looked around her, but Remus and his friends seemed unconcerned and continued to gaze at her. Then behind them a tree pushed its way out of the concrete. It grew at an alarming rate, but when it unfolded its arms it stood as still and as looming as though it had always be there. It was not a tree of beauty or virtue or life. It was twisted, old, corrupted. And then Rhea saw in its depths: a movement. And it was more terrifying then anything she had ever witnessed. A serpent was there, winding its way down its branches. It looked at Rhea, and she shuddered with cold.
Both Lily and Peter turned it and began to approach it. Rhea wanted to call out to them, to run forwards and pull them away from it because she knew it was evil. But she could only watch in awed silence as they approached the tree. Peter spoke to the serpent, something Rhea could not catch. The boy picked up a staff and a lantern, and pulled the hood of his robes up so it covered his face. Rhea thought that Peter now turned to look back at her, that he was trying to speak to her, but the hood shadowed his eyes and no sound reached her ears. Silence hung heavy, it pulsed as though it lived and breathed. Peter turned back and nodded once to the serpent, unhooked some rope from a branch, and then proceeded to wind it around one of his feet.
Rhea was then distracted by Sirius, who picked up a sword in his left hand and some weighing scales with his right. He held them up aloft for Rhea to see. Peter yanked on the rope now attached to his foot, hoisting him up and leaving him to dangle upside down from a bow. Sirius gazed at Rhea, his face a picture of fear as he slowly dropped his sword and his scales and fell backwards against the ground.
Again, Rhea wanted to call out, to run forwards, terrified for Sirius as he lay there on the ground staring up blankly as though he couldn't see. Next to him James caught her eye, and he staggered forwards as though pain. His face was determined, his hands out-stretched as he blindly tried to grasp at something. But before Rhea's eyes she saw hope leave him, and then slowly he sunk, face down, to the ground. Ten swords stuck out of his back and the blood poured from him, and that deep burgundy colour seemed to seep into everything around Rhea.
Her gaze moved to Lily, who was still standing by the tree. The girl took another line of rope, and Rhea watched in horror as the girl began to thread the rope around her neck and pull herself up. Rhea barely registered as Remus dropped five golden goblets, even though the sound of their clattering to the ground cut through the terrible silence and seemed to pound at her scull. All her concentration was fixed on Lily, as she slowly pulled herself to hanging, tears running down her pale cheeks. The girl did not kick though, she didn't even fight for breath. Then all around her small tablets with runes carved into them fell from the tree. This seemed to anger the serpent, but try as he might to stop them they continued to fall around Lily until they piled so high that the obscured her completely from sight.
The serpent twirled and wound its way around the branches, it's hissing as shrill as screams. Peter let go of his staff and lamp, and Rhea saw him hold his hands behind his back before the lamp smashed to the ground, plunging the platform into darkness. All was black and empty. Rhea looked around her, and felt her fear graduate to a new high. Where was Remus? What had happened to her Remus? Where had he gone? Her breath was catching painfully in her chest and she flailed around sightlessly in search for her son.
Then finally there was a light, a soft light that hung above her, and she saw him not so far away. Rhea was gasping, and clutched her side in relief. She thanked the heavens for the light, so terrified had she been that she would never see her son again. But the relief was short-lived. Remus looked at her and it was a different Remus to the one she knew. For although all his features were the same- his hair, his shoulders, his stance- all the same; his eyes were lacking. Their depths that had held so much laughter, so much energy and hope were now totally void. Rhea felt tears sliding down her cheeks at the sight.
He broke her gaze and looked up into the sky, and Rhea realised with increasing dread what the light she had been so grateful for was that of the moon. Before her eyes her son changed from a man into the dreaded wolf, and he clawed and bit himself. Rhea was screaming now, fully crying, sobbing, but there was nothing she could do as the wolf launched itself forwards and began to run away. Although Rhea did not move, no matter how far and long the wolf ran, he was always in sight. And she felt the wolf's confusion and fear and anger as he continued to run, for what felt like years.
Just when she thought she couldn't take it any more, she saw it in there in the distance. Lit clear and pale by the moon, two pillars that stood strong and sure, and she knew that was where the wolf must go. She tried to call out to the wolf, but she had no voice to tell him. Soon she gave up, and began to will it with all her might. Go to the pillars, please, you have to pass through those pillars. But the wolf didn't hear her, and he kept on running. Please! You must go through those pillars, Rhea cried out in her head, until she could feel the blood pumping through her head and bells ringing in her ears with the effort. Go through the pillars...
"Mother! Mother, please wake up!"
Rhea opened her eyes to see Remus looking at her with his amber eyes, his hands bracing her arms- almost restraining her. She looked around shakily, and saw James, Sirius, Peter and Lily all staring down at her, worry etched into their faces. Staring. They were all staring at her.
"It's alright Mother, I'm here."
"Remus!" said Rhea with some difficulty.
"Shh Mother, you've just fainted." Cooed Remus as he saw panic light her eyes.
"Remus, you have to pass through the pillars."
Remus glanced back nervously at his friends. They seemed nonplussed. He broke his hold to stroke her hair.
"Mother, we need to get you home."
"No Remus! Promise me! When you come to the void, look for two pillars." Rhea felt her voice grow more steady. She had to tell him. She had to make him understand. "The moon will light them, and you must go through. You must pass through the pillars. Promise me, Remus!"
Remus eyes watched her searchingly. Then he nodded. "I promise."
Rhea smiled and reached up to Remus. "It will all be ok, Remus."
Author's Note: Well there you go. I hope to be updating soon. Please do review, I would love to hear what you think. And ten points if anyone can guess what book Sirius quoted from!
