Anything recognizable is the property of J.K. Rowling. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.
Please do not read if you are not of legal age in your country. There are adult scenes, however short and to the point.
Prologue
There once was a boy who never dreamed. He spent the nights in darkness and the cold, but never did he fear the night. Until a shadow came from between the trees of the forest that bordered his home and taught him what it was to be truly afraid. The moon, once a delight to watch wax and wane, was now a thing of nightmares. But with the terrors, there came dreams. Bright and real and always the same.
He followed a figure with great black wings, wrapped in midnight, and shrouded in shadow. Even though he could never see the face of what he followed, he never faltered.
As he grew older, the boy learned that there were many things to fear in the world, many dangers and many mean people. Despite keeping him safe from the full moon, the winged creature never saved him from the bigger boys that hit him with sticks, or the old women that warded the evil eye at him.
And so the dreams faded. They lost their color and their power, and simply became memory. He became wild and dangerous for fear of the full moon. But a kindly old man gave him a chance, a way to be like all the other magical 11 year old children. It didn't matter that the winged figure was no longer there because he had his own friends. The stag, the dog, and the rat kept the fear of the moon at bay.
But it all ended when the rat killed the stag and blamed the dog, leaving the wolf alone again. No longer a boy, the young man never shied from the moon, but cursed it and blamed it for taking everyone away from him.