Moony

Lupin Cottage
Welsh Countryside, Near Crickhowell
28 October, 1964

Remus woke up with the sun streaming in through a window and a sudden pain running from his toes all the way up to his head. He didn't cry; a weird calmness was over his body as he felt something wet under him that could only be his blood.

The room he had been using for the moons was already ruined; and he knew that by looking at the wood floors previous blood stains and the scratches that tore the wall paper.

It would make any four year old cry if they woke up like that, but he just couldn't. He knew he wasn't getting used to it, but he just didn't feel the need.

Footsteps getting closer alerted him of someone approaching and he listened closely. A small ache in his bones as he moved to sit up, only to fall back down with a small whimper of pain.

When the door opened the calm air around him shattered. He felt the cold, hard pain hit him again like it did every day after a moon. His vision swam with tears as he curled up into his naked form; whimpering as the wounds scraped against the wood.

He could barely hear his mother's reassuring words, or feel his father's arms pick him up before he faded into the darkness to escape the pain.

When his eyes opened again he was back in his plain little room, staring up at the ceiling. He was starting to wonder if this is how his life would be forever.

Yesterday, before the moon, he had been sitting on this very bed. Throwing up whatever his mother gave him even if it was a few crackers.

He had asked if they were going trick-or-treating for Halloween and his mother only shook her head no. Telling him he wouldn't be feeling well enough.

His argument that with all the bandages he could pretend to be a mummy and they wouldn't need to put a lot into a costume. The answer then was changed to a 'I'll speak with your father.'

His life was just this room, that other room, and the swing out in the back.

Remus body ached in protest as he sat up, using the head board of his bed to keep him up. He looked down at himself to examine the damage.

A stained bandage was wrapped around his left arm, his leg was in a splint meaning walking to get something to eat or using the bathroom would be no fun, and he could feel bandages wrapping up his torso.

Another bad moon, not extremely bad like the first two had been, but still bad.

The clock on his wall showed that it was past three in the afternoon. He had been sleeping off the pain for a good long while.

"Mummy?"

He coughed, his throat feeling scratchy. His ears picking up on the sound of his mother hurrying to the room.

"I'm right here, baby," she pushed open the door with a cheery smile, "What do you need?"

"…Can I go trick-or-treating still? Please, I promise I won't be out long."

Hope looked at her son, bandaged and broken; sitting in bed with wide hopeful eyes and as pale as a ghost. She remember only a few hours ago, his small form clutched to her husband's chest covered in red and all her thoughts just being that he bay had died.

That little boy only asking for the smallest little thing that her husband was too scared to say yes to.

"Yes, baby, anything my Remmy wants."

She sat next to him and pulled him close to her gently; petting his light brown hair.

Remus smell the familiar sent that was his mother; a sigh escaping him as the petting.

"Thank you."

His eyes fluttered close again as he listened to her heart beat and was rocked back to sleep.

Llanbedr Village
Northwest of Crickhowell
31 October, 1964

Remus smiled happily as he walked up the street with his mother; the extra gauze working well to disguise his wounds as being a mummy.

The little basket he had brought was filled halfway with candy; some of it already getting eaten.

Hope Lupin was wearing some of her husband's old robes that she had tailored, and when she had revealed to her husband why she was tailoring him he had protested loudly. Remus was lucky to even be out there tonight.

And boy did he feel it.

Everywhere kids ran around, asking for treats in their costumes.

As he limped up the walk way to another house he bumped into a boy dressed as a ghost. The boy was taller than him, probably about a good two years older making him around six.

After they go their candy they both started talking.

"So you are a mummy?"

"Yep, my Mummy helped me."

"That is cool, I wanted to be the ghost of Nearly Headless Nick but my brother said that was too hard to make."

Remus kept walking with him toward the next house; his mother trailing behind and watching closely.

"Nearly headless? How can someone be nearly headless?"

The boy only shrugged, "My brother won't say; says I have to find out when I get to go to school."

Remus listened as the boy told him about things as they got candy, both of them sharing weird stories and talking about the shows they saw on the television, even getting into a small fight about which super hero was better.

The boy's stories were all about the stories that his brother 'made up' about school.

What Remus got from what the boy told him was that he was a wizard but wouldn't say it out loud, his brother was older and went to Hogwarts, and that he really liked him.

"I'm Remus by the way."

"Bart; where do you live? I have never seen you around and I mostly know everyone around here since this place isn't so big."

"I live just out of here and up a hill. My family has a cottage up there."

This is where Hope decided to interfere weirdly.

"Okay, Remus, I think it is getting late."

It wasn't a lie, lights were starting to turn off and people were going in.

"But Mummy-!"

"No buts, say good bye to your friend."

Remus pouted and looked at Bart, "I guess I got to go."

Both boys stopped outside a house, Bart only smiling.

"It is okay, this is my house anyway. You should come over sometime. I could show you my comics or something."

Remus nodded, a smile working its way onto his face.

"Yeah! Alright!"

He waved as he ran back to his mother, both of them making the walk back to their house. Remus talking to his mother excitedly, and Hope listening with small nods.

She was just happy that he made a friend.

A/N: I am speeding this up a little more because Remus' life PRE-HOGWARTS gets a little repetitive so if it seems jumpy please don't mind. The first two years are the most important but still things are hard to write when the main character is four and nearing five.

But I have things planned so this isn't going to be too boring I hope.

PS: I am still VERY American so all English-Welsh-Scottish culture is still foreign so I am going off google when I get names for things in Wales and how things work on the Island of Great Britain. So please excuse me if I get things wrong I needed a name for a village.