Hey guys!

Wow, this really is exciting. I've been working on this story on and off for a few years, and now I finally have something ready to publish.

I can't promise you that I'll be able to update this story regularly, but I will try hard to keep writing on a regular basis.

This story will include all four marauders, Lily and Severus as main characters. The first few parts will mostly feature Remus.

Please note that I am not a native speaker and feel free to correct every grammar/spelling mistake I make. If there's anyone interested in beta reading/proof reading the following chapters, feel free to contact me!

A very big thanks to my sister who already is beta reading this story.

I hope you enjoy this story! :)

1 Lycanthropy

When Remus woke up, he didn't know where he was. He was lying in a bed, but it didn't feel like his own. And he was lying on his left side because his back hurt. He slowly opened his eyes, but almost instantly closed them again. The room was bright and the light made his head hurt.

"Remus! Are you alright, dear? Lyall, he's awake!" The voice seemed to be coming from afar, but he definitely recognized it has his mother's. He heard movement and then felt warm hands taking his own. He opened his eyes again, this time prepared for the light and after blinking a few times, his surroundings came into focus. Remus looked into his parents' faces, which were pale and worried. They looked like they hadn't slept for at least two nights.

"What happened?" Remus croaked. "My back hurts so much."

Hope exchanged a look with her husband before answering. "You ... you had an accident, dear. But your back will be alright." Lyall and her had agreed that it was too early to tell Remus the truth. He was only four years old, after all. Only two days ago, Remus had been attacked by a werewolf. His back was severely injured, but otherwise he was fine. Except for the fact that he would turn into a werewolf himself at the next full moon.

His parents knew that they would have to tell him before then, but right now they just couldn't face it. The relief that Remus had survived the attack was too big.

During the next days his wounds slowly started to heal. As they were werewolf-inflicted wounds, there was no potion or other magical medication to speed up the process. They also were likely to leave big scars.

But it didn't matter to Lyall and Hope, as long as their only son was still alive. While Hope stayed most of the time with him at St. Mungo's, Lyall was at home, taking all necessary precautions so Remus and themselves could be safe during the transfigurations. He reconstructed the spare bedroom, using all magical and non-magical purposes he could think of to prevent Remus from getting out of the room during full moon. The ministry workers, to whom they had been forced to report the issue, had told them that, due to his young age, Remus' wolfish self would be small at the beginning, but growing with the boy. Therefore they might have to reinforce the precautions or think of another place to stay for Remus when he was older. But for now, Lyall and Hope figured, the room should be sufficient.

Remus meanwhile still was confused. He still didn't know what had happened, but sensed that something more was different than just his back wounds. His parents were more tense than before, but still more loving. Remus couldn't make any sense of it.

He was frustrated with lying in bed all the time, but he wasn't allowed to stand up, as that might cause his wounds to rip open again. Remus didn't understand why they couldn't just heal his wounds like his father did every time he had torn open a knee while playing with his friends.

He missed Gary and Brutus with whom he had spent every possible minute in the last years. They had grown up together, their mothers being friends for years. They all lived in the same village. And Remus didn't understand why they didn't visit him once during the time he lay in St. Mungo's. He had visited Brutus in hospital when the latter had broken his leg.

It lasted two weeks until Remus was allowed to get out of bed for the first time, and that was only for him to go to the toilet alone again. One week later, on his fifth birthday, he was allowed to spend the whole day out of bed, playing games with his parents, opening his presents, but he still was under close observations by the healers. And the more time passed, the more tense his parents got. Like they were dreading something. He didn't understand it and he was confused, but every time he asked his parents what was wrong, they always told him everything was alright. He didn't believe them, but as they seemed to be so troubled, he didn't want to cause them more distress and stopped asking eventually.

Lyall and Hope still hadn't had the heart to tell Remus that his whole life had changed. The next full moon was drawing closer, but they didn't want to frighten Remus more than necessary. So they had decided to wait until the very evening to tell him. The healers had promised them that Remus would be released before full moon, so Remus could undertake the first transformation in his familiar environment.

It lasted until one day before full moon that the healers were finally content enough with the state of his wounds to release Remus. They traveled home by Floo powder, Lyall alone and Hope with Remus in her arms. Remus was glad to be home again and immediately wanted to go out and play with his friends, but his parents told him that he still had to rest. So they spent the rest of the day reading to Remus and Hope prepared his favorite meal, lasagna.

On the next day, Remus felt the tension within the house as soon as he was awake. It felt strangely silent and when his mother came to his room to wake him up, she looked worried. During breakfast, nobody spoke a word, but Lyall and Hope shared worried looks and Remus noticed. He was afraid, but didn't really know why. His body somehow felt different and his back began to hurt again.

He spent the morning looking at the pictures in his books and trying to read what was standing underneath the pictures to distract himself. After lunch, which he barely touched, he was feeling even worse. Every contact with his skin hurt and he could hear his blood rush in his ears. He didn't know how much of this he imagined because of his fear, because of the almost visible tension within the house, and how much was real.

By afternoon, he was shivering. His mother tried to hug him, but Remus pushed her away, as the touch hurt. His eyes were filled with tears. "Mom, what's wrong? What is happening to me?" he finally dared to whisper, his voice weak.

Hope knew she couldn't delay telling Remus anymore. She wished Lyall was with her, because he understood it all much better than her, but he had escaped to work in the garden after lunch, and Hope could understand it. He was feeling guilty and couldn't see his son suffering from what he felt was his mistake.

Hope now knelt down in front of Remus and looked him in the eye. "Remus, dear ... a month ago, when your back was injured, you were attacked by a werewolf."

Remus stared at her, shocked. He knew what werewolves were but he always had considered them part of lurid tales. "They are real?" he whispered.

Hope nodded, and she felt tears rising into her eyes. She felt so sorry for her son, for what he would be going through. "You ... you are one of them now. Every full moon, you will transform into a wolf."

Remus felt panic raising inside him. His breaths came short and hectic. "It's full moon today, isn't it?" he breathed. Suddenly it all made sense. Why his parents had been so worried since his accident. Why his body felt so much different today from everything he had experienced before.

Hope nodded again and could only barely refrain from hugging Remus. She knew it would hurt him. But he looked so lost, so afraid, and she wanted to comfort him. But she couldn't. And the knowledge that she couldn't be with him during his transformation, probably the worst night in his young life, almost broke her heart. "I'm so sorry, darling."

As the day continued, the pain intensified. At one point, Remus had to take off his clothes because he couldn't stand them touching his skin anymore. Shortly before dusk, his mother lead him to the spare bedroom, showed him, how his father had reconstructed it for him. The walls were upholstered and there were no sharp edges anymore. The window was boarded, and the door could be heavily locked. Lyall had built a magical barrier nobody but Remus could cross.

When Hope had closed the door behind her son and had left him alone in the room, she sank to the floor outside the room, leaning against the door. But she knew it was too dangerous for her to stay there in case that Remus broke through the door, so when she heard Remus' faint whimpering inside, she slowly stood up and walked downstairs, her heart aching. Lyall already sat at the kitchen table, waiting for her. They wouldn't sleep that night.

In his room, Remus felt agonizing pain. His skin was burning, his muscles felt like they would be torn from his body, and every bone felt like it was broken. At first he only cried and whimpered, but in the end the pain made him scream. He was afraid, lonely and hurting. He couldn't remember ever feeling worse than this. He felt his body slowly transforming. Fur was growing on his skin, his teeth were getting larger, and his human feelings slowly grew more and more distant, replaced by instinct. But the fear and the pain stayed.