16 February 1965

"…and no witch or wizard was ever persecuted in the kingdom again," Daddy finished, smiling at Remus and closing the large, leather-bound storybook.

Remus grinned at his father, bouncing excitedly on his knees and making his pillows jump up and down on his bed. "Read it again, Daddy!"

Daddy laughed and shook his head, carefully placing the storybook on Remus's bedside table. "You've heard me read this story a hundred times, young man. Aren't you bored of it yet?"

Remus gasped in horror. "No! Babbitty Rabbity is my favorite!"

Daddy smiled. "If you say so," he said softly, leaning forward and smoothing Remus's flyaway fringe out of his eyes. "How about this? If you sleep now, Daddy will read you Babbitty Rabbity tomorrow morning before he leaves for work."

Remus's eyes lit up. He almost never got to spend time with Daddy before he left for work. "Yes!" he cried happily, leaping up and flinging his little arms around his father's neck.

Daddy chuckled, lifting Remus up and squeezing him in a tight hug. Then, gently, he lowered Remus back down to the bed and tucked him securely beneath his blankets. With a flick of his wand, Daddy sent the leather-bound storybook soaring back into the bookshelf in the corner of the bedroom. Then, with another flick of his wand, Daddy blew out the gas lamp, so that the room was suddenly bathed only in the moonlight that was glowing radiantly from the outline of the large, full moon outside, just visible over the tips of the oak trees in the front garden.

Bending down, Daddy kissed Remus's forehead. "Goodnight, son," he murmured.

"'Night, Daddy," Remus said sleepily, his eyes already growing heavy.

Daddy turned around and walked toward the bedroom door. But then, just as he heard the creak of the doorknob and the soft groan of the door opening, Remus suddenly remembered something.

"Daddy?" he called.

Daddy paused in the doorframe, glancing over his shoulder. "Yes, Remus?"

"What's…what does p-persecuted mean again?"

Daddy was quiet for a moment. Remus frowned, peering through the darkness at the outline of his father in the doorway. Then, finally— "It means…to treat someone unkindly, because they're different from you," Daddy said. "It's not a nice thing at all, and we should never do it. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Daddy," Remus replied, very seriously.

Daddy chuckled quietly. "Sleep tight, love," he whispered, before slipping out of the room and disappearing down the hallway.

Remus closed his eyes, his mind dancing with visions of cackling tree stumps, foolish kings, and unfair punishments. Then, he rolled over in bed and was instantly asleep.

It snowed that night. Gentle flakes, glowing luminously in the moonlight, drifted down from the black sky and blanketed the enormous front yard of the Welsh cottage. The branches of the oak trees shook in the biting wind, which was whistling very loudly—loudly enough to muffle the heavy footsteps of the gray blur that had suddenly appeared at the edge of the nearby forest and was now speeding down the Lupins' long drive, toward the house.

The gray blur—an enormous, four-legged animal, with large amber eyes—paused at the front porch of the house, gazing up at the second floor. Then, suddenly, with an impressive, almighty leap, the animal seized a nearby tree branch and ricocheted lightly onto the rooftop of the cottage. Stealthily pawing its way down the gutter, the animal made its way toward the window directly overlooking the front yard.

For a moment, the animal simply stared through the window, its breathing so raw and ragged that it was almost a snarl. The amber eyes were lit up by a glimmer of manic anticipation. Then, at last, the animal licked its lips, digging its hind legs into the gutter as though preparing to pounce—

CRASH.

Remus shrieked loudly, tumbling out of his bed as his window was blasted open. Tiny pieces of glass flew everywhere, and Remus shivered as cold wind blew through the open frame. But before he could see through the darkness, a big, gray, hairy dog leaped on top of him and knocked him over, grabbing his throat and pinning him to the ground. Then, the dog bent over, snarling—and suddenly, a horrible, horrible pain tore through Remus's neck—he saw yellowy teeth—long nails—orange eyes—

"BOMBARDA!"

With a loud BANG, the big gray animal was flung away from Remus, and onto the bed.

"CONFRINGO! EXPULSO! PROTEGO TOTALUM!"

There was a blaze of fire and another loud BANG—Remus heard a yelp of pain, but it sounded very far away—he tried to gasp for air—but a hot liquid filled his mouth—and he choked, eyes filling with tears—and the room begin to spin—

"It's running for the forest!" Remus heard his father's voice, very loud and very angry. "I'm going after it!"

"NO, LYALL!" Mummy screamed, and suddenly, through his half-closed eyes, Remus saw her white face appear above his, tears pouring down her cheeks. "REMUS! REMUS!"

Remus wanted to cry out to her, but he couldn't move his face—or his arms—his legs—

"Hope, don't leave his side!" Daddy's voice was worse than Mummy's. "I need to get some potions!"

Heavy footsteps thundered out of the room and echoed down the stairs—a warm hand suddenly clutched Remus's—and he forced his eyes open—looking up at Mummy's face—

"Please stay with me, baby," Mummy begged, her entire body shaking. "Please, love…please, Remus…"

Remus tried to focus his attention on Mummy's face—her brown eyes—her soft, blond hair—warm sunshine in a field of flowers—a dusty old record store—but the pain was too much, and Mummy's voice was so far away—Remus couldn't keep his eyes open—he slipped into total blackness.


Remus's eyes felt very heavy and his head kept banging against his skull. His neck and his chest felt very hot; he couldn't move his arms at all. A line of dreadful pain extended from one corner of his throat down to his collarbone.

Remus blinked slowly, opening his eyes. It took him a moment to realize where he was. He was in Mummy and Daddy's bed—in their bedroom—and sunlight was shining through the large windows. It was daytime. But for some reason, looking at the light coming through the windows caused Remus to feel very sick, so he looked away. Suddenly, he heard voices from outside the door.

With a jolt of relief and happiness, Remus recognized his father's, low and soft.

"Daddy," he whispered—but then, he immediately stopped talking. A horrible pain was ripping through his throat—it felt like a knife. He whimpered, closing his eyes, and two tears slipped down his cheeks and into his hair.

The door swung open and Mummy and Daddy ran into the bedroom, toward the bed.

"Remus!" Mummy gasped, sitting down beside him on the bed and holding his hand. "Oh, my baby…my baby, you're awake…you're all right…"

Remus looked over Mummy's shoulder and saw Daddy standing right behind her. His face was white and filled with something that Remus had never seen before. Tears welled up in Remus's eyes.

"Daddy," he whispered again. For a second time, pain exploded in his throat, and he gave a sob, tears cascading down his cheeks.

"Don't talk, Remus, please," Daddy said hoarsely. He leaned down and gently smoothed several tufts of hair away from Remus's face. Then, suddenly, he stepped backwards, sniffing. "I—Hope, I-I'm going to go get him another pain potion—" he broke off, hurrying away from the bed and out of the room.

Remus looked at his mother, his eyes filling with tears again. "Daddy," he mouthed.

"He'll be back, love," Mummy's voice sounded very weak, and suddenly, all Remus wanted was to curl up in her arms and cry. "He'll be right back, I promise."

Remus looked into Mummy's warm, brown eyes, his chin trembling. "It hurts," he mouthed, and two more tears slid out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

Mummy closed her eyes and released a shaky breath, scooting closer to Remus on the bed. Then, very, very gently, she slipped an arm around Remus's shoulders, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. "I know, baby," she whispered, stroking his hair. "I know it does, and Mummy is so sorry. But you're my brave boy, remember? You're my strong boy…you're my sunshine boy…"

Remus nodded, his face glazed with hot tears. He closed his eyes and tried to take big, deep breaths, listening to Mummy's soft, warm voice as it filled the room…

"…You'll never know, dear, how much I love you…Please don't take my sunshine away…"


Author's Note:

I'm sorry, everyone! I know this was a sad chapter, but I promise you that the next chapter will be much happier. :)

Hugs and cookies,
Ari