The room was dark and smelt odd. The sheets felt rough and the bed uncomfortable. The pillow had gone flat and useless. The pyjamas didn't have any buttons and didn't fit him. Remus tried to move his right arm, but gasped when a searing pain hit it. Just to make sure he could still move, he wiggled his toes a little. Then his fingers, and tried to move his arm again. His left arm ached, just like the rest of him. But his right arm still wouldn't move. Remus' mind started to have paranoid thoughts about what might have happened. His breathing hitched when a headache hit him.
Tears started running down his cheeks and soaking the flat pillow. He tentatively lifted the arm he could, and felt the other. A thick, tightly wrapped bandage was wrapped around it. So heavy that he didn't have the strength to move. The bandage was wet, and Remus' fingers came away sticky with liquid. His eyes adjusted to the light slightly, a lot better than usual. The liquid was dark and had soaked through the bandage. He let his hand fall with a dull drop next to him.
Light rays peeked through the gaps in the trees. The grass that sprouted out the ground mingled with daisies, lilies and the occasional daffodil. Where the light shone through there was a clearing. Around it, the trees stood tall and kind to anyone who wanted to lean against them. A few leaves flaked to the ground off the branches. There was no noise, expected for the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves in the calm wind. The picturesque scene would set any heart at rest.
And that is where Remus found himself. Sitting on the grass amongst the daisies in his usual striped pyjamas. He was leaning against the tallest, most comfortable tree. Basking in the sunlight, he looked around. His hands roamed the ground, content with the tingling of the grass.
This forest was his favourite. It was just outside the village where he lived. Remus always remembered it as being one of the most beautiful forests he'd played in. His mother had been a nature enthusiast when she was younger, and despite having her nose in a book half the time, she always took him out. Remus was sociable. He would love to make friends while on the swings in his local park. Since most other four-year-olds were imaginative, they would enjoy playing together.
After a while, a wolf appeared in the middle of the clearing. Not a villainous wolf. A positively beautiful wolf. It stood majestically, watching him with kind blue eyes. It's fur was thick and grey, and the snout was a cute white. Remus stood up, feeling very in awe of the wolf. He walked, until he was three feet away from it. They both stood the same height, so he could see it's blue eyes. Remus tilted his head slightly to look at it. The wolf did too, so Remus smiled at it. It took a step forward, carefully, as to not scare him. Remus nodded slowly, and raised his hand.
The wolf pushed it's head forward and rubbed it's snout into his hand. Remus stroked the fur through it's eyes, carefully. When it took a few more steps forward, Remus stroked over it's head and the lovely coat of grey fur. The fur was surprisingly soft, and calming to touch. It was nice to feel a living creature in the forest, since there was no one else here.
The wolf sat down and beckoned Remus to sit down with it. Remus yawned, and lay down on a soft patch of grass. He smiled at the wolf. It lay down with him, and Remus rested his head on it's stomach as is curled around him.
The sudden glaring light hit his closed eyes painfully. Remus screwed them shut. An ache in all his bones his him unexpectedly and his dry throat let out a high wail. Footsteps of people coming into the room made it even worse. And he couldn't stop the scream at someone trying to touch the bandage on his arm.
Remus opened his eyes to the sight of a blurry woman inspecting his face. He blinked out a few tears so he could see clearer. His lips were so dry he could barely open his mouth.
"Mummy?" He croaked softly.
The healer looked at him with pity in her eyes. She tutted and smoothed his hair down a bit rougher than he would have liked. "Oh, poor little boy." She said, and stepped away to let another healer look at his arm.
Remus jerked his arm out of her grip with a sound like a hurt animal. "It's ok, I just need to check your wound." She said gently.
Remus swallowed and opened his mouth again. "Where am I?" He asked.
The healer looked at him. "St Mungo's dear." She patted his hand at his look of confusion. "Don't worry, your parents will be here soon."
Not quite understanding what she meant, Remus shut his eyes and tried to snuggle into the flat pillow that wasn't his.
Birds sang in the distance and the leaves rustled in the wind. Remus opened his eyes from where he was sleeping. The wolf beneath him stirred and Remus put a warm hand on it's paw. He looked around and, once again, marveled at nature. He felt warm and light. He looked down at the wolf, which was now sitting upright. It pushed it's head against Remus' hand again. Asking for a stroke.
Remus put one hand on it's head. The wolf smiled at him, so Remus smiled back. He opened up his short arms as much as he could, and encased them around it. His little fingers threaded their way through the thick fur and gripped on to it tightly.
A low growl alerted Remus and he leaned back to look at the wolf.
Except the eyes that were looking back at him, weren't blue, they were amber. And the wolf was no longer grey, but black, thin and human looking. It growled again as Remus backed away, frightened. It suddenly bared it's teeth and jumped.
Remus screamed.
Remus woke up to the sounds of voices. This time, everything was less hazy. The limp, numbness he'd felt in his arm before was now replaced with an incessant ache. He used his other arm to push himself up slightly into a sitting position. Blinking around blearily, he could make out the same room with the same potions and the same bed that was not his.
The door in front of him opened and Remus got a glimpse of a white hallways with people walking up and down wearing equally white uniforms. A man wearing the same thing walked in with his parents. His mother's reddened eyes stopped him from crying out to her.
"Remus," The Healer began. "I see you're awake, very well, I shall explain to you everything."
His parents sat down on the left side of his bed after the Healer conjured two chairs. Remus felt a warm hand take his own and squeezed it for comfort.
"When you were first taken into St Mungo's we explained to you your new condition." She started. "But because of the shock you didn't quite have the chance to process what we were telling you. A werewolf, is what broke into your room that night and bit you. See, when a werewolf bites you during the full moon you become one too, as they inflict the illness onto you." She paused, letting it sink in.
Remus swallowed. He knew what a wolf was, definitely. They were beautiful, majestic creatures that lived in the wild and roamed in packs. The muggle photos he'd seen of them had been black and white wolves captured while conversing or drinking water. They were known to be placid and calm. Remus had always liked wolves. He remembered a painting of a grey wolf he'd once seen in a window of Muggle London. It was in a picturesque forest with sunlight peeking through the tree branches. Remus supposed the artist had been especially talented to capture such a lovely animal. What was so bad? Unless...
The healer carried on. "Since you were brought in here we have discussed with your parents how to handle your situation. You will have to make numerous visits for a very long time, maybe even for the rest of your life. But here at At Mungo's we have potions that you can buy to handle the...the transformations." She managed the word. "For now you must be obedient to the treatment we will be giving you, and don't worry, nothing here is dangerous."
Remus nodded slowly.
A werewolf was different. A werewolf broke his window and growled menacingly. A werewolf had glowing, terrifyingly haunting amber eyes. A werewolf had sunk huge, razor sharp teeth into his arm. A werewolf jumped at him and pushed down on his chest with a huge paw so hard he couldn't breathe. A werewolf was human-like and it went feral at any moment. A werewolf was not the painting he saw in Muggle London.
Suddenly the healer, still speaking had fur all over her snout. She looked at him and bore her teeth with a huge snap of the jaw. He couldn't feel his mother's hand holding his anymore. The room was now gone, and replaced with his bedroom. The window was broken and the shattered glass lying everywhere. He saw the moon, beaming at him in great distaste. Remus turned his head over to the wolf, advancing upon him. He shuffled backwards in a panic and hit his head on the wall behind him. The wolf had cornered him. He screamed, mouth open wide and eyes screwed shut.
"REMUS!" The shriek snapped him out from his bedroom and back to St Mungo's.
His mother wrapped him in her arms as he continued to sob against her. Remus couldn't breathe he was drowning and there was no air. The wolf flashed repeatedly in his mind. Those eyes and those teeth that inflicted so much pain. He could still feel the wolf pressing down on his chest. His lungs were constricted.
A soft, familiar hand stroked his hair just the way he liked it. A soothing voice in his ear Mummy's here, it's ok, mummy's here. The air started to thicken. His lungs were no longer in pain. He could breathe.
AN I know it's a short chapter, but I worked pretty hard on it so please review!