Bound In Darkness

Disclaimer: all Harry Potter names, characters and locations belong to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing that you recognize.

Written for the Torture the OTPs competition.

Prompt - One half of your OTP dies saving the life of their child. The remaining half of your OTP blames their child for their partner's death and takes their anger out on the child. (Your OTP's child can be either naturally born or adopted, but must be their child together, not have one of them being a step-parent.)

Remus Lupin held the child in his arms, his eyes scanning the ruins of Hogwarts as the dead were brought in on stretchers. He placed his hand behind the infant's head, cradling the boy against his chest. He was thankful for the fact that Teddy was too young to remember what had happened here. This child, born of a relationship that had blossomed before the war began, would never know the horrors his father witnessed on the battlefield.

"It's alright, son," he whispered. "Everything is going to be fine."

Sirius Black sighed heavily and sat down beside him. He glanced at the infant before looking back at the woman whose body had been placed near the entrance of the Great Hall. "He has her hair, Remus," Sirius murmured, nodding in the direction of the fallen witch.

"It doesn't matter," said Remus, pausing to adjust his hold on the squirming infant. "I didn't love her, Sirius. I tried doing everything people expected of me. But all this time I was lying to myself."

Sirius reached over and put his hand on Remus' knee. He gazed into the werewolf's eyes, his tone gentle as he looked at him and said, "Do you want to try starting over?"

Remus looked at the hand on his knee, his gaze slowly traveling the length of Sirius' arm until he reached his face.

"The war is over," Sirius continued. "You can put everything behind you and start living life the way you want. You don't have to change in order to be loved and accepted. There are plenty of people who love you for exactly who you are."

"Who?" Remus queried, looking somewhat hopeful as the dark haired man leaned a little closer.

"You know who. And I don't mean that worthless pile of scum my godson defeated."

A smile slowly spread across his face. Remus knew from the beginning that he wanted to be with Sirius. And so he decided to leave past behind, abandoning his failed relationship in favor of one that seemed more promising. Together they would raise his son in a better, brighter world. One where they could live their lives in peace, and not have to worry about what sort of future their son would have.

But not everyone who supported Lord Voldemort had been arrested or killed during the battle of Hogwarts. There were survivors, witches and wizards that went into hiding to avoid capture. Some, like Fenrir Greyback, retreated into the bleak caverns of the underground werewolf society, where he remained hidden for a number of years. The only sign that this vicious werewolf was still alive was the bizarre and brutal crimes that occurred during the full moon.

There were multiple victims. But this particular werewolf wasn't satisfied with killing and eating random people on the street. He had a goal in mind, a plan to infect others and drag them into his underground society of werewolves. Some would call it a recruiting mission. And anyone who got in his way would be eliminated.

This included the more passive werewolves and their offspring. Because in his mind a werewolf who suppressed its natural instincts was useless. They didnt serve a purpose, and they didn't serve his cause. So when he discovered that one of his more passive victims had spawned a child and was now raising it with his mate, Greyback decided to pay them a visit and eliminate this worthless wolf and his pathetic pup.

.oOo.

That night, along with the screams that could be heard coming from the child's bedroom, was a night Sirius Black would never forget. Teddy was barely two years old at the time. Old enough to stand up and cling to the railing on the crib, his eyes wide and staring out the window at the animals fighting on the lawn. The floor was littered with broken glass, minute shards scattered from one end of the room to the other, the walls splattered with blood.

Remus had taken his potion and settled down beside the crib, his furry form resting comfortably on the floor while his son gurgled and cooed. The child reached towards his father, giggling as the werewolf lifted his head and allowed his son to pet him. Remus smiled, nuzzled the child with his snout, then folded his paws and went to sleep. All was calm for several minutes, when a dark figure leapt at the window, shattering the glass as he burst into the room. And by the time Sirius arrived his partner was lying in the grass, his broken body surrounded by a dark stain that was slowly spreading across the ground.

He moved towards the window, looking out at the prone figure lying on the ground. Teddy was crying, but the noise seemed distant, muffled, as though the world around him was slowly falling away. None of this was real. No, it couldn't be happening. Remus didn't just sacrifice his life to save their only son.

Teddy's anguished wails faded completely as Sirius ran outside, leaving the child alone in the house as he went to check on Remus. He made it halfway across the yard before noticing the ragged strips of flesh torn from his partner's side. There was blood covering almost every inch of his body, with broken bones protruding from his skin.

Sirius sank to his knees, and all at once the sound of Teddy's crying came rushing in like a tidal wave of noise. He could hear the noise drifting across the yard, cutting through the stillness of the night as Remus' eyes opened. The werewolf shifted slightly, steam rising from his lips as he shuddered and exhaled one last time before passing through the veil.

In time he would come to see Teddy as the reason his partner was dead, his grief turning into anger and frustration which was channeled through acts of hatred and violence. But why? Why would Sirius lash out at the child for something that wasn't his fault? The answer came in the form of a dark shadow that had been slowly creeping across the valley of his mind, looking for a foothold so it could sink its claws into his subconscious. The time he spent in Azkaban had changed every aspect of his personality, from the way he laughed to the way he handled pain.

To him it made perfect sense, because the child was a magnet for people like Greyback who were known for their violence and cruelty. It was no secret that Greyback sought to create an army of werewolves for the purpose of overthrowing the magical community. And the last thing he wanted was for someone like Remus to pass on their good qualities to their offspring.

Sirius' anger and frustration continued to grow as the years slowly past. If the child misbehaved, Sirius would grab him by the hand and drag him to his room, ignoring the cries of pain as he twisted Teddy's arm. It wasn't until later that he realized the child's arm was broken.

This was the first of many injuries Teddy would sustain while in the care of his father. And even then Sirius refused to take him to the hospital. He would quietly heal the injury himself, threatening more violence should the child choose to tell anyone. It wasn't long until Teddy entered the halls of Hogwarts, claiming that his bruises were the result of Quidditch practice during the summer.

In the end Greyback succeeded in luring another victim to the dark corners of the wizarding world. Teddy learned violence not from his father's killer but from Sirius Black. He learned hatred and resentment, enough to twist his mind into believing darkness was the only path to take because it was all he'd ever known.