Memory of a Wolf
Chapter 9 - Getting Closer
Remus and Hans spent the next thirty minutes chatting about their daily lives. The man made the child eat another sandwich. He said Hans was too thin and that was not healthy. The child, of course, tried to protest that he was not thin. Remus ignored him and watched the child like a hawk to make sure that Hans ingested the whole sandwich.
Hans licked his fingers clean and watched as the clock struck four. However, there was no sound coming from the batter-looking device. He frowned and turned to Remus.
"Why doesn't the clock sing?" the child asked curiously.
It took five seconds for Remus to figure out what Hans meant. He looked at the boy and shrugged.
"It's not working, I guess. The clock has never chimed before."
Hans looked at the clock thoughtfully. He could feel that there was something wrong with the clock. May be he could help Remus repairing it. He had made Dudley's broken alarm clock sing before by shaking it violently.
"Do you want me to fix it?" Hans asked shyly.
"You can repair a clock? You must be pretty bright!" Remus smiled as he saw the child practically glowed in pride. Children really needed lots of encouragement in their development. Remus noticed that Hans always blamed himself when something bad happened. May be the kid's relatives had something to do with that.
After he had put the pitiful clock on the table, Remus watched with interest as the child started to examine the timing device. Hans checked the batteries first, but there was nothing wrong. Then the child fingered the creak at the side of the clock. He dug his nails into it skillfully and bit his lower lip. With a soft click, he lifted the cover of the clock.
There were a few feathers and leaves inside the clock. Hans looked at the metal components, not knowing what to do next. Recalling how he managed to 'fix' a clock last time, the boy picked up the electronic device and began to shake it vigorously.
Remus did not expect that Hans would shake the clock out of desperation. He was about to snatch the device away from the child's small hands when a bright blue streak caught his attention. The werewolf swallowed a gasp of surprise as he recognized the creature. It was a faerie! The tiny being was definitely a female. She had two thin, pointy ears and her silver hair was gently swaying in the air. Her wings were beautiful. They were transparent, but carrying a slight electric blue tint. The most enchanting feature of hers was the calming blue glow that surrounded her body.
Unfortunately, the little being's beauty was totally ruined by the angry features on her face.
Remus saw the faerie shaking her tiny fists angrily. She let out a series of annoyed humming sounds. No doubt that she was complaining about how her living place was being disturbed. She shook her tiny fists at Hans' nose and flew through the open window with a furious buzz.
Hans blinked and shook his head, trying to convince himself that he was not dreaming. Then he realized that he was gaping. He closed his jaw hastily.
"D-did you see that?" the boy squeaked. His childish voice was higher than normal.
Remus gulped. How come there is a faerie in a muggle house? He looked at his charge's hysterical expression. The man didn't want to make Hans think that he was crazy. He tried to keep his face blank as he nodded carefully.
Hans' green eyes widened as he exclaimed, "So that's the alien who's living here!"
Remus raised an eyebrow. An alien? The faerie would be very upset if she hears this...
"There's really an alien in this house!" the little boy started to babble. "That's why Ms. Zimmer was so scared! The alien must have threatened her! Dudley is right! It causes a lot of strange things to happen!"
Remus nearly laughed aloud. He doubted that the tiny being would cause such disturbance. The werewolf recalled that faeries liked to observe and study magical folks. May be there was a wizard or witch resided in this house some time ago. Remus wondered whether there were some enchanted objects left in the house. He pushed the thought aside as he realized that Hans was still babbling madly.
"Enough already! It's okay! She's gone." Remus chided.
The boy cringed and shut his mouth with a snap. Remus nearly cursed himself aloud- he frightened Hans again.
"Hans, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just you wouldn't stop talking. I'm afraid that the little alien will come back and fly into your mouth." Remus said gently, hoping he could calm the boy.
"Oh." Hans gave a hesitated smile. The fear within the green orbs turned to uneasiness. The child lowered his head and played with his battered jeans.
"Why don't you teach me how to fix the clock? I'd like to learn that." Remus said awkwardly after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
Hans brightened up a bit. He started showing the structures of the clock to Remus. Remus couldn't help smiling as the child pointed at the moving gears and proclaimed that they were circles with lots of teeth. After pulling a few leaves (which looked horribly like the faerie's dress) away from several unmoving gears, the clock gave a soft click and all the tiny structures rotated smoothly again.
"I think that should do." Remus said as he tested for the sound system of the clock. It chimed a beautiful song as once.
"The 'London Bridge'!" Hans piped as the music echoed through the house; all thoughts about the 'evil alien' were forgotten.
"You're really brilliant!" Remus scooped the kid into his arms and swung Hans in the air. The child squealed in surprise.
The man held the child in front of him. Hans' emerald eyes seemed to be glowing with happiness. His face was flushed and his messy hair was all over his face. The boy was panting a little, but he didn't struggle to get out of Remus' grip.
"Wanna try something more exciting?" Remus asked jokingly.
Hans grinned widely. Remus chuckled and without warning, he threw the skinny boy up into the air. Hans cried out frantically at the first time, but quickly calmed down when Remus caught him before he hit the ground. Then he started to enjoy the feeling of free falling. It really felt like flying. The child opened his arms widely, allowing the wind to caress his skin and ruffle his hair. It was the first time he played with other people.
Remus laughed joyfully as the child tried to mimic a flying bird. He hadn't felt this care-free since James and Peter died. If he wasn't so busy throwing and catching the raven-haired boy, he should have noticed that there was an odd scar on Hans' forehead... in the shape of a lightning bolt.
Sorry for the delay... Hope you will enjoy this chapter!
Thanks to all reviewers:
TheDreamerLady, gohan/videlgoten/trunkslover, Moonmage, Von, enb2004, Gia, Adenara Yatman, Tara, Signe, kianie, Eizoku, Jarvey, samyjoc, LALALALALA LiZ, Drigpawz, BlackPotterGrl, KC, Doneril, rena, Joulez, Kemenran, PhoenixPadfoot89 and k00lgirl1808.