Please state for the record how you wish to be identified.
R, please. Just R.
Thank you. Now, can you first describe the immediate effects of the permanent wolfsbane potion?
Well, it made me sleep for a week (laughs)—a literal week! Will said afterward the concentration of the valerian must have mimicked hibernation as my body underwent its changes. Either way, I've never felt so well-rested in my life.
No negative side effects?
So far, none. It's only been five weeks, so I'm still being careful, paying attention to my body and all that. But I feel fine.
And what, if any, changes did you undergo on the night of the last full moon?
None. Well, I did experience some pain, mostly confined to my arms and legs—Will said this was a possibility, that my body is so used to the transformation every month for the last thirty-plus years that I might feel… I guess a kind of phantom pain, is the only way I can think to put it. But I remained human.
Excellent. Can you talk about the ongoing project you've begun work on with Werewolf Support Services at the Ministry?
Sure. Thanks to really generous donations from a fundraising campaign your dad—er, Mr. McClane—spearheaded, we're going to be able to open and operate a fully functional clinic out of the department by the end of the year. We're going to distribute the cure to everyone, for free. Will just wanted to run few more tests, but the final product ended up being much less expensive than initially projected. And we're lucky to have gotten the financial backing we did—I'm still so grateful for that.
Yes, that's—ah—great news. Now I'm just going to ask one more question, about your retrospective thoughts on the condition. For research purposes.
Sure. Merlin, Cora, so formal, we're going to miss lunch reservations with your dad—
(Laughs) Remus, please, just one—
Right, okay, sorry. In the name of research! Go ahead.
Thank you! Uh, right then—now that your lycanthropy has been cured, can you share what got you through the years you were afflicted?
Oh, that's simple enough—people. The ones in my life who stuck with me, even when I was at my worst.
Can you talk more about these individuals?
Sure. My parents, of course, who stood by me through everything. I never doubted their love for me, even after the bite.
Dumbledore—he's the one who got me into Hogwarts, made all of these changes and allowances so a werewolf could walk through his doors—and he hired me again, years later, gave me work when I needed it most.
My friends from school, James and Sirius, who learned how to transform their own bodies to support me through my monthly changes.
The Order of the Phoenix, who collectively welcomed me with an openness and warmth I hadn't experienced since Hogwarts, and gave me purpose I never thought I'd have…
And then, Cora, you know, there's you.
Me?
You.
A/N: This is the ending I've always wanted for Lupin—one where he lives, and can finally learn to love himself again. Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, favorited—your support has meant a lot to me. Thanks for sticking around!