Dark Side of the Moon

Chapter 1: New Moon

The night was still and quiet. The whole world seemed to be watching the beauty of the silver light cast down form the Moon onto the Earth, as if the whole world expected it to disappear at any moment. The only thing that stirred that night was a young boy. As he sat on a fence at the edge of a large field a soft, warm breeze blew his tousled, mousy hair out of his eyes. This was his favourite kind of night. The air carried the warmth that only summer brings, but the cooling breezes and wonderful scents of spring. There were no clouds and the Moon was full. It cast it's eerily beautiful light over the boys' small face. Remus looked up into the heavens and sighed.

'I wish I could stay out here.' He thought. 'I wish it would always be like this. No one here to pick on me.' He sighed again, hauled himself off of the fence and began his walk back home. He caught one last glimpse of the Moon before he pushed open the back door of his house.

"It is so beautiful." He said to himself, not knowing that one day he would be its' slave.

"Ha ha ha!" Remus laughed as he ran around his garden the next day, being chased by his friends. One of them, a boy with dark brown hair and grey eyes, tapped him on the shoulder.

"IT!" he cried, and he ran away from Remus as fast as he could.

"Hey! I'll get you for that, Daniel!" Remus called after him.

"Nerr nerr! Bet'cha can't catch mee!" taunted Remus's other friend, Hazel. She had shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes. She was also quite tall for a girl of her age, as she was a year younger than both of the boys, but the tallest of the three friends. Remus chased after her and snatched at her hair.

"IT!" he cried.

"Hair doesn't count." Hazel said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone of voice, and she stopped running.

"Yes it does." Daniel said, coming over. "It comes out of your head."

"Yeah, but that's not fair." Hazel replied. "My hair's longer than yours'."

"Cut it then." Remus said simply.

"Nuh uhh, I don't wanna look like a boy!" Hazel retorted.

"Uhh huh, you so do. Boys are better than girls!" Daniel argued.

"Nuh uhh!" Hazel said, pushing her face closer to Daniel's.

"Hey look! A Squirrel!" Remus cried, feeling the need to break up the argument. Daniel and Hazel stopped arguing and went to watch the small, grey creature. The three friends all laid down beside each other and stayed there for quite some time.

It was the Easter holidays. Remus, Daniel and Hazel would soon be going back to school for their last term of year 3. At the end of the following year all of the year four's would be mixed up and put into different classes for their final two years at Beechwood Primary. It was a thought that scared Remus greatly. If he wasn't with Daniel, or Hazel, he didn't know what he'd do. And after year six there would be the small matter of telling them that he was a wizard and he would be attending, instead of a secondary school, a school that would further his magical education.

'Ah well.' He thought. 'That's waaay in the future. I've gotta keep my mind here, it's Hazel's birthday soon. She'll be eight. What a weird thought.' Remus sighed and looked at his two friends. Then he picked up a cherry blossom from the slightly damp carpet of moss that he was lying on. He looked at the flower for a while, twirling it between his fingertips. 'I wonder whether I should start that project yet?' He thought. 'Hey! I could do it on Squirrels!'

Remus had always been the brightest out of any group of friends he had had. He seemed to be able to pull his work out of thin air almost. He had also always been the oldest of any group of friends he had had. It would be his 9th birthday in September and he was really looking forward to it. Hazel sighed. She was very good at sports and never kept still for very long. Lying watching the Squirrel was making her restless. She kicked her legs about behind her and one foot brushed Daniel's leg. He looked at her. He had large 'puppy dog' eyes that made him look quite sad, although he was really a warm hearted and happy soul.

The friends' silence was broken by Remus' mother calling out "Iced buns!" The Squirrel jumped about a foot in the air, dropped the peanut it had been holding and scuttled off as fast as its' little legs could carry it. Remus, Hazel and Daniel scrambled to their feet and rushed into the kitchen.

"Thankyou Mrs. Lupin." Daniel and Hazel chorused when they received their iced buns and orange squash. Diana Lupin smiled down at them as they ran back out into the garden.

"Thanks Mumma." Remus said, hugging his mother.

"They're only iced buns dear." Diana said, placing a hand on her son's shoulder. He looked up at her with his pale shining eyes.

"It's not just that Mum." He replied. "It's really great of you to let them stay when you're not feeling well and when dad's away."

"Oh, that's alright sweetie." She said, pushing the tousled, mousy hair out of her eyes. Hair that Remus seemed to have inherited from her. "But, you remember what to do if Mummy calls you, right?"

Remus nodded. "I call 999 and ask for the ambulance and tell them where we live." He recited.

"That's right." Diana said, messing up Remus' hair a little and handing him his plate and cup. "Now, go on with you! Your friends'll be wondering what's happened to you. Go on, vite!" and she pretended to poke him with a broom handle. Remus hurried to the back door, evading the broom, and smiled at his mother. She was great!

That summer passed quite quickly for Remus and his friends. He got an 'A, well done!' for his project on Squirrels (which, might I add, he had done at the last minute as per usual). School wasn't usually that bad in the summer term, the bullies were too busy playing football on the field to notice the 'boffins' walking round the edge. The occasional insult was thrown like 'four eyes' (to Remus), or 'stupid', or 'cry baby' (usually to Daniel). But these didn't really worry the three friends as hey knew that the weren't true, and even Daniel and Hazel called Remus 'four eyes' once in a while, he had gotten used to this and it didn't bother him at all. Hazel's birthday came on the 5th of May. Her mother had booked a bouncy castle for the day and they all had great fun playing Popcorn and Bouncy Musical Chairs. Infact, they bounced until they felt quite sick. They still had room for jelly and ice cream though! And on June 31st Remus' sister, Aster, was born. When the time came Remus had indeed been on his own and he had done exactly what his mother had told him to. The paramedics let him ride in the back of the ambulance with his mother. With the news of his daughter's birth Remus' father returned home from India and the Lupin's were like a proper family again. Douglas said that, for the baby's sake, he would not go on any long or far away trips. He would stay and look after his family.

Normality had returned again and Remus felt happy. He was sure his future was a lot brighter now, with his father home, his mother, his friends and his new born sister. He began looking forward to the next year. But, things were about to take a turn for the worst.