The magical world this story takes place in belongs to J.K. Rowling but the majority of the characters belong to HolyMae and myself.
AN: I should have said this at the start of the prologue but I didn't think about it at the time. As a reviewer reminded me, Remus' father's name is Lyall. Yes I know it is, but for the record my character Matt Lupin existed before that information was released. HolyMae and I started creating Two Halves of My Whole before books six and seven were published so I created Remus' parents during that time. This story, along with any Lupin Chronicle stories that follow, is a complete AU. Any information about the Lupins that J.K. Rowling has told us after the books and movies were released, are not being followed or included.
You do not have to read Two Halves of My Whole to follow this story but some of the Lupin family background is mentioned and talked about in a couple of parts.
With that being said, enjoy the chapter!
Part One: Growing up Lupin
Chapter One
The Lupins tend to have large families but not all of them do. Some only have a few children while others have five or six. Looking back through the generations, however, the families with ten or eleven children were more prevalent. Both my father and grandfather were the oldest of twelve. I, on the other hand, am third out of ten; two older brothers, five younger brothers, and two younger sisters. Add in a couple of Bernese Mountain dogs and our home was filled with laughing, barking, and, sometimes quite often, yelling.
The house we grew up in was nestled in the Swiss Alps and is the original ancestral Lupin home. There are a number of ancestral homes now actually due to my ancestors buying a new house and passing it down through the generations.
Life was never boring in that house and you were almost never lonely. There was almost always someone else to play with, human or animal.
Ana and I were playing outside in our backyard when she started running towards the good climbing tree.
"What are you doing?" I called as I started to run after my five year-old sister.
"I'm going to climb the tree," she answered as she reached the tree and to make her point, she started reaching for the lowest limb.
It was out of my mouth before I could stop it, "you can't climb a tree."
Ana turned towards me, the tree forgotten for a second, "why not?"
Well I couldn't not answer her now. I might as well say what I had thought, "you're a girl. Girls don't climb trees."
Ana's eyes grew big like she couldn't believe what she just heard and before I could say anything more, she pushed me to the ground shouting, "Forget you! I'm climbing the tree!"
I stayed on the ground for a second before lifting myself up. Ana was grabbing the limb and pulling herself up into the tree.
I should have known better. My sister wasn't like the other girls I knew, mainly our cousins who wouldn't be caught dead in a tree. It would tear their dresses and pull the bows out of their hair. Ana might as well have been a boy but then she wouldn't be Ana.
I dusted the dirt off myself before joining Ana in the tree. I wasn't going to miss out on climbing a good tree because I said something stupid. If that was the case, I'd miss out on a lot. It seemed I was always saying stupid things, not able to keep my mouth shut. Mueti and Vatihave been telling me I need to learn when and how to keep my mouth shut but I was only six. What were they expecting?
We were only playing in the tree for a few minutes when Vati came outside telling us it was time to come inside for dinner. Amadeus, like usual, was by his side.
Friends of my parents had an interest in not only magical animals but muggle as well. The couple found the Bernese Mountain Dog, fell in love with the breed, and ended up with a house full of them. They even started breeding them occasionally.
My parents got Amadeus through them and he was the first Bernese Mountain Dog I remember. He was, without a doubt, my father's dog. He loved the whole family and was good with us kids but we knew who his favorite person was because it was rare to see the two of them apart.
Amadeus' son was Ambrose and my parents brought him home as a small puppy when I was about eight. My parents had not been planning on getting another dog due to my sister Lia only being a year old but I had fallen in love with Ambrose when I first saw him at just a few weeks old. It seemed my parents couldn't say no.
As soon as Ambrose was brought home, we were always together. He either followed me or I carried him but Mueti and Vati told me I wouldn't be able to do that for long. Ambrose would grow to be the size of Amadeus and he was a big dog.
I let Ambrose sleep in my bed and Mueti was not pleased but it didn't bother Vati. He seemed to understand and said it was good for a young boy to be close to his dog.
Mueti didn't mind when I offered to help feed him. In fact she agreed and encouraged it, telling me it was a good way for a boy my age to learn responsibility. I didn't know about that since she had already told me I was helpful with taking care of my baby sister. I didn't say anything though. I was getting what I had wanted, making sure my brand new friend didn't starve.
At first my parents had to remind me when to feed him, how much to feed him and even to make sure he went outside. They slowly stopped, as I started to remember and do it on my own. Ambrose completely became my responsibility and I didn't mind at all. He was, after all, my best friend on four legs.
And for the quote:
"Lupin sprang to his feet: his chair toppled over backwards, and he glared at them so fiercely that Harry saw, for the first time ever, the shadow of the wolf upon his human face."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
