I do not own any of these characters (they belong to J.K. Rowling) other than the original ones.
Chapter 2. The man in the brown patchwork cloak
Moony...
Moony...
MOONY! WAKE UP!
Remus suddenly awoke to find that James had begun throwing his dirty laundry on top of Remus's head in an attempt to wake him.
"James, go away..." he mumbled, turning over. It wasn't like him to be the last one up after the full moon has passed. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't feeling his best these past few days. However, he simply shrugged it off and thought it was the moon. Now, the werewolf wasn't so sure.
He had had the same dream that he had been having the past few weeks. It would be very dark, he was transformed and he was chasing a girl down the passageway towards the wimping willow, and right when he was about to reach her, he would wake up, his forehead shining with sweat and his heart racing.
Not to mention he didn't have the energy to do anything, and his stomach was always churning, causing him to lose his appetite quickly. To be perfectly honest, he didn't feel so swift right now.
"Come on Moony! Get your arse dressed so we don't have to be late to breakfast like we were yesterday!" yelled James whose voice was muffled from the T-shirt he was putting on.
"Stop yelling, James..." Remus cringed, feeling another migraine coming on; really not wanting to go to bed.
"Just get up you ol' stick in the mud," said Sirius from the other side of Remus's bed.
"Go away, Sirius..." A muffled, yet very irritated voice came from underneath the blankets.
"Fine then...I'm hungry so I guess we'll just see you in history of magic," replied James as he threw one last sock at Remus's head.
The werewolf mumbled something too muffled to hear, and curled back up again.
Remus fell gently back to sleep and again saw the girl in the passageway, who he noticed had dark hair. He came about an inch closer before waking up to a startled shriek of a house elf.
"I is sorry sir! I thought that this room would be empty seeing as it's almost noon..." said the frantic elf.
"Wha-?" Remus slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "oh! Don't worry... Its I who should be sorry..." he apologized sleepily, slipping on a pair of shoes and his jacket.
"Dolach is still sorry sir...he should knock before entering student rooms to clean," apologized the little elf.
"It's ok." Remus said, heading towards the door. "You can continue." slowly, Remus made his way down to the grounds. Knowing that everyone would be at lunch, he figured that it would be better if he recuperated in the shrieking shack.
Remus walked down into the deserted common room and through the portrait hole. 'Everyone must be in classes' he thought seeing as the halls were deserted. He made his way through the large oak doors and down the grounds toward the tree that had a mind of its own. Not that other trees didn't, but this was the only one that would act on its will.
He grabbed a long branch and poked it at the familiar knot in the Whomping Willow that calmed it down for a reason that no one knew. He then walked down the passage, which spooked him a bit because of his recurring dream, and then went into the shack and plopped down onto an old dusty chair
Feeling all energy completely drained from him, it wasn't long before he drifted off once again; going through the same cycle.
This time when Remus awoke, the afternoon sun was peeking at him through the tattered curtains of the nearest window.
"Are you kidding?" he muttered, feeling his voice coming and going. "James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily had better not be having a panic attack; considering most classes are over with before dinner."
He moved into a sitting position and then was hit with a wave of dizziness. "What the bloody hell is wrong with me?" he murmured to himself. He then rubbed his neck and stood to leave through the passageway back to Hogwarts.
Classes were still in session by the time he got back up into the common room. Seeing no one around, he trudged back up to the dorm, knowing that he'd need all the rest he could get.
But before he could make it all the way up, he heard Lily's voice calling to him from the bottom of the staircase.
"Remus?! Are you alright?" she asked with a slight hysterical tone.
"Lily, I'm ok..." he answered, not wanting her to worry and cause a fuss over him. Growing up as a werewolf has made Remus extremely independent: even if it leads to trouble sometimes.
"Are you sure? You've missed most of your classes...I've never seen you like this, even after a full moon." She said in a shaky voice.
He nodded, not sure if he could actually say anything or not at this point.
"I'm worried about you Remus," she said, walking up to meet him on the staircase, "Would you fancy taking a walk with me? The fresh air might do you good."
"I was out earlier..." Remus had taken the opportunity to grasp the banister right before another dizzy spell came on.
She caught his arm as he was about to stumble. "You are not fine Remus...I'm taking you to the hospital wing...this shouldn't be happening, even for a werewolf after the full moon."
Despite hating the place, though he practically lived there, Remus didn't complain as Lily dragged him to the hospital wing.
"Hello Remus dear...what seems to be the problem?" asked Madame Pomfrey as the two walked into the room full of empty beds.
"Long story..." he muttered, feeling his voice start to leave him again.
"He slept through his transformation during the full moon yesterday, and he can't remember a thing about it. Then, he wouldn't wake up today, and he says he's been feeling dizzy ever since this morning," answered Lily.
Remus nodded, just wanting all of this to be done and over with.
"Hmm...I've never heard of symptoms like that before...I shall ask the headmaster his opinion of the matter and see what he thinks should be done," said Madame Pomfrey, "You dears just stay here...I'll be back in a moment. Mrs. Evans, why don't you help Mr. Lupin into a bed?"
The werewolf, grateful that he got to sleep more, crawled into the nearest hospital bed without hesitation. Slowly, yes. But still.
Remus was roused awake by a gentle hand, and then he sat up and waited for his blurred vision to clear. It was early in the morning, nearly 2 o'clock, and he looked around to see James, Sirius, Peter, Lily (who had stayed the entire time), headmaster Dumbledore, and a man he didn't recognize.
"What's going on?" he mumbled, his speech slurring due to the fact he was still half asleep.
"Ahh Mr. Lupin...nice of you to finally join us," said Dumbledore in a gentle voice. He had always had a soft spot for the boy werewolf.
Remus smiled weakly, glad to know that they could finally get to the bottom of all of this.
"'Bout time Moony! We were about to start arranging for your funeral!" said James, whom Remus was glad could still keep a sense of humor in a time like this.
"Wow... Thanks James." he said hoarsely.
Lily embraced him tightly. "Thank gods you're alright," she said. Sirius punched him in the arm. "Damn Moony...you're going to get all the girls acting like a sick puppy in the hospital wing," he said.
Remus winced as soon as his friend's fist made contact with his arm, but simply rolled his eyes at the remark, too exhausted and weak to make a decent comeback.
"Yes Mr. Lupin...so about your strange symptoms...I'm afraid that they cannot be helped with any kind of treatment, so I've brought in an old friend and colleague of mine, Professor Rotnem Vârcolac from the wizarding academy in Romania. He'll help you with your..."furry problem" as Mr. Potter puts it," said Professor Dumbledore who was gesturing to the man that Remus didn't recognize. He had long matted black hair, a thin pale face with many scars, and a wooden walking stick with a carved handle in the shape of a wolfs head. His robes were brown, tattered, and patched in places. He looked to Remus as if he had seen far better days.
"Nice to meet you, sir."
"Thee pleasure is all mine Meester Lupeen." He spoke in a thick accent and his voice sounded slightly hoarse; contributing to the seen better days thought he had a moment ago.
A wave of uneasiness settled over him. Yes, Remus was happy they could figure all this out, but everything it was going to take and what was wrong with him; THAT was the unnerving part.
"Now, I believe we should let Mr. Lupin get back to sleep so he can be well rested to make it to his lessons tomorrow, or rather today I suppose, seeing how it is so late," Dumbledore said as he smiled down at Lupin. Remus felt his face grow hot and gave a nervous smile in return. "You will start your lessons with Professor Vârcolac will start this Friday at 9 pm. You will go to his new office on the west side of the fourth floor corridor. Professor Vârcolac will explain more to you about the content of your lessons at that time. Good night Mr. Lupin."
Remus slowly shifted himself, as to not have another brief spell again and settled back into bed; hoping to be able to get over all of this.
"'Night Moony. Don't let the fleas bite...buggers hurt," said Sirius as he left the bedside. Peter, James, and Lily said their goodbyes then left with Sirius to leave Remus to sleep in peace.
The werewolf burrowed down and curled up, resting up for whatever his lessons were to bring.