Chapter 6
"How old were you?" Remus asked, as he stared at his reflection in the still water. He and Ava were sitting at the edge of the Great Lake, with their bare feet dangling in the water. Well, both of Remus's feet were in the water. Ava's right foot was in the water, with her left leg out, since her cast couldn't get wet.
It was 2 a.m., and it was freezing, but neither of them payed that any mind. Between them sat two glasses, and an almost empty bottle of Fire Whiskey.
"I was seven," Ava replied, moving her feet slightly in the water. She watched as it caused the water to ripple and made Remus's reflection waver. "My birth parents left me in a forest on the Full Moon…"
"Ava, get down here!" Ava's father yelled from downstairs. Seven-year-old Ava ran from her room to the stairs as fast as she could. She knew it was best to do what her father wanted right away. Bad things happened when she didn't.
Unfortunately, she was running in very slippery socks, and the stairs had just been washed. She had only gone down two steps, when she was suddenly flying through the air, with the stairs coming close to her face. Then she was tumbling, falling every which way, feeling stabbing pain everywhere. The world had gone black before she reached the floor.
"I woke up in a forest," Ava said, without any trace of emotion in her voice. "There was nothing remotely close to me. No villages, no houses, nothing. My parents made sure of that."
"Why didn't they just kill you themselves?" Remus asked. "It would have saved them a lot of trouble."
Ava shrugged, "Didn't want to get charged for it, I guess. This way, it seemed like an accident."
The snow on the ground glistened in the moonlight, as Ava screamed and cried for help, terrified out of her mind. If she had looked down, she would have noticed the dots of crimson that stained the white snow. If she and been paying more attention, she would have felt the blood dripping down her back. If she had been listening more closely, she would have heard the howls that rang through the air, as the moon rose.
But she didn't.
She was only a child, after all.
"I didn't take notice of anything except my own fear," she whispered. "I didn't even hear the wolves approaching. I just turned around, and they were there."
Ava forgot how to scream when she saw them. Huge wolves, at least double her size, were staring down at her from all sides.
"I turned around, hoping I could escape, that I could run. But there were even more behind me. I was surrounded."
Ava turned around in circles slowly, looking for any way to escape, but there were none. There was nothing she could do.
The wolves all started inching forward, as poor little Ava cried.
Then she screamed when the wolf suddenly lunged at her.
The last thing she saw was the wolf's snarling teeth, before she lost consciousness.
"I thought I was going to die that night," she told Remus. "I should have died."
"But you didn't," he reminded her. "Let's just be thankful for that."
The white surrounding her was quickly turning crimson as the blood seeped out of her veins. Her blood was the only warmth in the cold night, but even if was starting to get cold. She wouldn't be surprised if it froze.
"I was dying," Ava whispered, staring out at the calm waters. It seemed so wrong for the outside world to be so quiet and peaceful, as she told the story of how she was turned into a monster. She took a shaky breath, "It was slow and painful, and most of all, horrific."
"That's horrible," Remus whispered, taking her hand.
"Yeah," she agreed, "it was. My body temperature was probably 30 degrees (celsius) by then. I read somewhere that you can stay conscious until your body temp. is 28 degrees. You'll be unconscious until 20 degrees. Any lower than that, and you're practically dead. I was pretty damn close."
White was all around, dotted by only one colour, sprinkled here and there. It was her blood, becoming quickly covered by the still falling snow.
Ava shivered, the ice biting into her skin, the snow settling in her hair. She was freezing, yes. But she was still alive.
"How are you alive then?" Remus asked, as he poured each of them another glass of Fire Whiskey.
"My adopted parents found me," she explained. "Can't say I remember much about that, though."
Remus handed her one of the cups, and they both tipped they're heads back, downing the contents.
"We've nearly finished the bottle," Remus commented, as he poured himself yet another glass.
"Huh," Ava said, picking up the bottle. She looked at Remus thoughtfully, "You know, you don't strike me as a drinker."
"I don't normally drink," he replied. "But when someone brings up lycanthropy… well, I don't really want to have that conversation sober." Ava smiled faintly.
"What's your story then?" she asked. "How did the great Remus Lupin become a werewolf?"
Remus stared up at the moon over their heads that was so close to full. Just the night before, it had caused him to turn into a werewolf for the tenth year in a row.
"I was four," he told her. "Well, actually, I was nearly five. It was just before my fifth birthday. Fenrir Greyback attacked me. It's not a very interesting story. It wasn't that bad."
"Not that bad?" Ava echoed in disbelief. "Remus, you were four! You never had a real childhood, a real life!"
"Neither did you," he countered. "You were just seven, and your parents hated you when you grew up."
"You had it worse than me," he argued. "Being turned wasn't that horrific for me. We all knew I wouldn't die."
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Because his aim wasn't to kill. Fenrir Greyback is a monster. He wanted to infect as many people as possible with lycanthropy. He wanted to build an army to overthrow the wizards."
"Isn't that what most creatures want?" Ava asked. "What makes him so different than the rest?"
"He specialized in children. He wanted to raise them away from their parents, so they grew up learning to hate ordinary wizards. No one dares to insult him, afraid of what he might do to their family. My father told him that werewolves deserved nothing less than death. Needless to say, his opinion has changed."
"Greyback attacked you just because your father insulted him?"
"Yep," Remus replied, pouring himself some more fire whiskey. "Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I died that night. I know Greyback would never have killed me, but it would have been a lot different if he did."
"I've wondered about the same thing for so long," Ava answered. "How different it would have been if my adopted parents never found me. It would have been easier."
"But I never would have met you," Remus pointed out. "My life could have changed drastically without you." Ava shook her head, with tears in her eyes
"I was supposed that night in the forest, Remus," she whispered.
"No you weren't," Remus said wisely. "If you lived, then you were never meat to die."
Ava smiled a bit. Somehow, drunk or not, Remus Lupin could make anyone feel better.
"We better back," Remus said, standing up, and brushing dirt off his robes. "The teachers will kill us if we fall asleep in class tomorrow."
"They're going to kill us anyway because of our hangovers," Ava muttered, but she stood up all the same. Remembering the bottle of FireWhiskey, she poured them each a glass, effectively finishing the bottle.
"Being werewolves suck," she said lifting her glass.
"I'll drink to that," Remus answered, lifting his glass as well, before they both tipped they're heads back, finishing off the FireWhiskey.
Remus grabbed the bottle and both the cups. The boys had a stash in their dorm, and in the Shrieking Shack.
"I'll escort you back to your room, ma'am," Remus said, in a posh accent.
"Why thank you, sir," Ava replied in the same accent. "Unfortunately, I can't take your arm, since I am on crutches."
"Well, that's very unfortunate indeed," he said. Ava grabbed her crutches and they started heading back up to the Common Room. It took them a lot longer than it should have, and they banged into a lot of walls, but they made it, unnoticed.
Remus walked Ava all the way to her dorm, and they stopped in front of the door, staring at each other for a few seconds. So much had been said that night,
"Goodnight Ava," Remus said. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek, before heading back to his own room.
I am so so SO sorry for the long wait! I hope it was worth it :) I'll try to update more regularly now. I've finished writing my Percy Jackson, so I should have more time for this story now.
Hope you have an awesome day/evening/night,
~Percabethlives4ever
