Chapter 133

The Werewolf

The night was darker than most, though the sky was cloudless and the stars would have been visible if not shielded by trees. The moon was nowhere to be seen.

And Remus wanted to be in bed.

The one night he was guaranteed a full night's sleep and instead of taking advantage of this he was trecking through a forest and ruining his trainers. If Taylor wanted him to be civil tonight she had another thing coming.

As though she knew he was thinking of her she stepped out from behind a tree, ending his unwanted hike.

Lissa Taylor's bright blond hair was almost black in the dark of the night, it was just as messy as ever, though. Remus was sure that she hadn't picked up a hairbrush since she was seven. Her clothes were ripped and dirty and her iris' were wide despite the darkness emphasizing her untamed look. And he knew she was every bit as wild as she looked.

She was the type of werewolf everyone feared when the subject was brought up. Half-crazed and not afraid to eat human meat even while one herself. She frightened even Remus at times.

"You couldn't have picked a better time?" Say, noon? We're in the middle of a forest, it's not like anyone's going to find us." Remus yawned to emphasize his point and gave her a glare.

"I'm nocturnal," she shrugged not fazed by his rudeness. She was used to it as that was his usual state when she was around.

The first time she'd found him playing in the lake by his house when he was eight he'd pitied her. He'd never seen what normally happens to a person after they get bit. She was no more than a year older than him yet their lives couldn't be any more different. He had a home he felt safe in, a family who loved him enough to not only keep him but do everything in their power to make his condition easier on him going as far as financially ruin themselves in a desperate attempt to find a cure, and now he had friends who cared enough to risk their very lives to make his transformations each month safer and less painful. She, on the other hand, had nothing but bitterness, bad memories, and a pack with the same.

All sympathy he had for her faded with time and her own refusal to let him help her. He hadn't been able to do much since she'd asked him to not tell his parents about her, but he'd tried. They had a garden that sometimes produced more food than their small family could eat and his mother wouldn't have noticed if a bit of it disappeared before she could pickle it, but she refused every offer. It was hard to have sympathy for someone who was too proud to accept it.

"Well, I'm not," he argued looking around the area more out of boredom than interest. It was a forest, nothing special there.

"You should try it, it's a lot easier," she suggested leaning against the tree she'd appeared behind.

"Kinda difficult to go to morning classes when you're sleeping all day," he looked back at her reaction, she hated when he brought up school but he didn't shy away from mentioning it. He wanted her to understand that he wasn't like her and there was nothing she could do about it. It was something she didn't seem to be able to comprehend.

"You're not even at school," she snapped at him rolling her eyes.

"True," he agreed with a passive nod, "but there's also the fact that I hate nighttime and have no intention of spending the rest of my life in it."

He wanted to remind her that they were different but he had no intention of rubbing it in.

"Oh but why not, the moon is so pretty this time of year, " she laughed, accepting the truce.

"Don't go there," he said in a grumpy tone that he didn't often use when the moon wasn't almost full and she smiled at him in amusement.

"You know, you're kinda adorable," she said with a mocking grin. No fifteen-year-old boy wanted to be called adorable and she knew it.

"So I've heard," Remus grumbled thinking of all the times Sirius, and even James every once in a while had called him the same thing.

"I think, if you weren't so stubborn, we could actually be friends." Her smile faded into the straight face he was more familiar with.

"I'm sorry, I'm not willing to give up everything to become the cold and bitter monster everyone expects us to be," Remus rolled his eyes sourly wishing he was in bed now that the conversation was going down this path.

"You're so nieve I pity you." her eyes narrowed and she looked offended when he laughed at the irony. He was the single luckiest werewolf on the planet and she couldn't afford a hairbrush yet she was pitying him? The world could be a cruel place.

"I appreciate the concern, but you've made your opinions on my family and friends very clear, don't do it again," he warned, she may have been more used to combat and struggle but he had a decided advantage, being attacked by a werewolf was an accepted excuse for underage magic use no matter who you asked.

"It won't last, Lupin, it never does. I've seen it before. They will turn on you, just like they did on all of us," her face was hard and he knew she was speaking from experience.

"You don't know them," Remus let out an unintentional growl, not just a measly rumbling of his vocal cords but a full on wolf growl. He'd been doing that more lately, puberty was having weird effects on him. His voice didn't crack, instead, it made weird wolf-like noises at inopportune times.

"I don't have to, they're wizards and wizards are all the same," she shook her head with a snarl.

"Is there an actual point to me being here or are you just trying to keep me awake on a new moon?" he asked not hiding the irritation in his voice.

"Grayback is angry," her face went blank and she tried to make her voice sound ominous.

"I don't care," he replied and started to walk away deciding his time was being wasted, but she followed him.

"He's angry you keep refusing to join us, it's really a kind offer, Lupin, please reconsider." she was begging by now. It didn't make the offer any more tempting.

"For the last time, no. I've read the newspapers I've seen what Grayback has done, and if you think for one second I'm going to join his little murder club then you're more stupid than I thought." Remus continued walking not even looking back.

"He protects us," she defended him and Remus rounded back on her.

"He's a monster! And people like him are the reason everyone else is so afraid of is to begin with." His tone was sharp and angry and he didn't like using it on a girl, but he continued anyway. "And when you go back make sure you tell him exactly what I said." He turned right back around and stormed off. It was only because of his acute hearing that he heard her reply.

"I won't, I promise."

He appreciated it more than she knew and he felt bad for getting upset. Her concern for him was genuine, she just didn't understand. She didn't know what his parents had sacrificed to find him a cure, what Dumbledore was risking allowing him to come to school, or how hard his friends were working to protect him from the beast inside of him. So many wizards were fighting for him that he couldn't give into the monster. His life wasn't his own but it was spread among the people who loved him, it had never really been his own.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Remus groaned when he saw the forest begin to brighten the entire night was wasted and he was still tired.

By the time he'd gotten back to the house the sun was bright in the sky and the kitchen curtains were open, both sure signs that his mum was up and about. Hope was the only morning person in the family but she wasn't obnoxious about it. The curtains had to be open the moment the sun was fully up and she liked to have the door open when the weather was nice so she could hear, what she called, the sound of the morning, but so long as they were up before eleven she'd made sure to keep the noise down.

If you weren't up by eleven, however, she'd dump water on your face. The only exception being when Remus was genuinely ill, and she always knew when he was faking.

"Remus? What on earth are you doing outside this early? I thought you were in bed," she asked when he climbed into the kitchen with a yawn.

"It was nothing mum, just needed some air," he told her, it wasn't a very good excuse since the entire house screamed 'fresh air,' but she'd accept it. She knew there were some things he just didn't want to talk about.

"Have you been up long? You really should get some rest while you still can," she didn't look happy about his vague answer, but let it go nonetheless.

"That's not gonna happen so long as the house smells like that, is that bacon?" he asked, inhaling deeply to take in the scent. It was heavenly, the defining smell of meat.

They didn't eat meat a lot. It was expensive and required a trip to the supermarket which required petrol which was also expensive, and they had a perfectly good garden outside, so it was usually fruits and vegetables for them. He didn't complain as he didn't want them to feel bad but as both a werewolf and as a fifteen-year-old boy going through puberty he missed meat.

"I found some in the back of the freezer, would you believe it, I considered saving it for the day before you left for school, but..." she gave him a smile that told him enough on its own. "I'm also curious if the smell will get your father out of bed before ten."

Remus laughed, "probably will. Can I help?" he asked moving up to where she stood at the stove. He was tired but... bacon! It was impossible to sleep through the smell of the greasy meat, or it's beautiful sizzling sounds.

"Sure, sweetheart, go wash up and you can start on the hashbrowns," her warm smile morphed into a cocky grin. "But don't think I'm not going to notice if you nick some of the bacon young man."

"Drat!" he giggled as he ran to take a quick shower, he heard her laugh behind him.

By the time he finished up, Lyall had emerged from his bed, Remus checked his watch, eight-thirty, it had to be a new record for him.

"Hi dad," Remus greeted when he entered the kitchen, moving towards the sack of potatoes by the fridge.

"Hands off," hope smacked Lyall's hand with a spoon as he tried to snatch a strip of bacon. "Just for that you can do the dishes, by hand, " she added when he gave a small grin at her apparent lack of foresight.

"What? Why?" he complained and Remus giggled at his misfortune.

"I found a layer of grime on a plate yesterday so you're either bad at magic, most likely, or that spell isn't as good as you say." She waved the spoon around as she spoke he looked at it as though it was more dangerous than any wand.

"Sirius says scourgify is an awful cleaning spell, and he's a neat freak; so he'd know," Remus added in his father's defense, Hope shrugged.

"Well, they can both be true."

"You didn't think I was so bad when I was rescuing you from that boggart when we first met." Lyall had a teasing grin but his eyes were on his son. When Remus met his gaze, his eyes flickered to the plate of bacon and back in rapid succession.

"Oh, you mean the monster that you , conveniently, forgot to mention was harmless?" the sarcasm in her voice made Remus want to laugh but he was halfway to the heavenly meat and it would have given him away. "Yeah, that before you spent six years telling me that, no, of course, you have no idea what attacked my son, but somehow you knew someone who would and, no, of course, werewolves don't exist but just in case..." she ranted distracted enough that Remus wiped a small handful of the succulent strips and turned to make his escape.

"You're the one who believed me," he muttered under his breath and Remus stuffed a strip of bacon in his mouth. It tasted better then it smelled.

She gave a frustrated groan. "I swear, one of these days... Remus!"

Remus froze and turned around, hiding the bacon behind his back.

"Wha?" he tried to sound innocent but it was hard to be convincing when he couldn't talk properly because of the bacon in his mouth.

"You get away from that bacon!" she smacked Lyall again as he tried to take advantage of her distraction. "Now really! I feel like I have two misbehaving toddlers running around." She half-jumped when Remus held a strip of bacon in her face, which didn't actually require him to reach up, weird.

"You know you want it," he said after swallowing his own piece, "you don't want to wait until all the other food is done, either."

"Remus, it isn't going to work." She gave him a stern look, but he continued.

"But doesn't it smell good? Doesn't it look yummy?" he wiggled it around, no one in the family liked hard bacon, it was nearly a sin to make crunchy bacon in their house.

"Fine! Give it to me, but let it be known I tried to be a good parent... to both my toddlers." She grabbed the strip of bacon and took a bite out of it in an over-dramatic manner before turning back to the stove muttering about impatient wizards despite the smile on her face. Lyall gave Remus a wink and the werewolf laughed returning to his hashbrowns. He tried to make the potatoes well, but that one bacon strip made him want more so he may have rushed through them a bit, but breakfast was great, regardless. He'd always been impressed by his mother's ability to make great food with so few ingredients. Ger her some cornbread and beans and she could still make them look forward to dinner, she'd done it more than once. When he asked she said she'd learned from her grandmother, who died before she was married. That and she had practice.

Yet she still couldn't stop jumping every time an owl flew into their house, be it Romulus or the unrecognizable owl that interrupted their breakfast.

"For heaven's sake, it wasn't that funny!" she rolled her eyes at Remus' hysterical laughter even Lyall was laughing at her, though his was more controlled.

"Is that James?" he asked getting up to retrieve the envelope, but Remus beat him to it, despite the protesting the sudden movement made in his bones.

"No, James' owl is brown, it's my booklist," Remus answered noticing the seal on the outside.

"Oh, I see," Lyall nodded.

"It's kinda thick," Remus moved to sit back down, feeling bashful. He hated how much they spent on him, both past and present. Hope gave Lyall a quick, worried glance but her husband's expression revealed nothing.

"Well go on and open it, no point in holding it off." Lyall took another bite of his breakfast looking calm as ever. That was one thing he admired about his father, nothing scared Lyall Lupin, that's why he was so good with boggarts, his worst fear was Mickey Mouse of all things. Not really the most dangerous thing for a boggart to turn into. No matter what happened Remus knew his dad would know how to handle it. From major financial troubles to the other kids kicking him off the playground Remus knew his father would handle it somehow.

Remus opened the letter after stuffing another piece of bacon in his mouth, but it wasn't just a letter that came out. Both wizards stared at the scarlet and gold badge that had fallen out of the envelope when he'd tried to dump the letter on the table. The muggle, however, was looking at the two of them with an impatient expression.

"As much fun as it is to see the both of you with such stupid expressions on your faces it would be nice if someone would tell me what is so fascinating," she grabbed the badge and looked at it closer. "What does P stand for?"

"Prefect," Remus answered now looking at the letter that came with it, there were two.

"Oh, and what's that mean?"

"They're sort of like a student council. Only two students in each fifth-year class are picked, one male and one female. They are usually at the top of their class." Lyall explained picking up the badge to examine it himself.

"Oh, that's good, though, right?" her face brightened at the news and she gave Remus a beaming smile.

"Well yes, but..." Lyall trailed off and Remus hid a bashful smile behind the letter and read it.

"Dear Mr. Remus J Lupin, we are pleased to announce that you have been selected to represent your year as a class Prefect. This honor is given only to those with exemplary performance and behavior," Hope choked on her drink as he read, "both in class and outside. Responsibilities of a Prefect include but are not limited to: setting a good example, maintaining control of both your classmates and those younger than yourself, and handing out punishment to those who threaten the order of the school. You are requested to meet with the Head Boy and Girl on compartment 1-B on the Hogwarts Express September first for a further debriefing and explanation of the expectations of your esteemed position, please direct any questions to the Head Boy or Girl or to your Head of House. Yours Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress."

"Wow, they must be desperate," Lyall said what both parents were thinking, though Hope had enough tact to not say it in front of Remus.

Remus' first thought wasn't about the likelihood that the badge had, in fact, been given to him as a desperate attempt to control Sirius and James, it wasn't even about how awesome it was that he, of all people, got picked. No, his first thought was much less deep.

"Well, this makes it easier to get into the prefect's bathroom, I wonder what color of dye we should put in the tub this year," he said not meaning for it to be said out loud. He jumped when Hope's head it the table and she let out a groan, Lyall just managed an awkward sort of laugh as Remus realized his mistake, "hehe, oops."

After breakfast Remus raced back to his room to send a letter to James informing him, and by extension Sirius and Peter, of his shiny new badge. Too excited now to do anything resembling sleep he chose to pull out one of the animagus books he'd brought home. All Remus could do outside of Hogwarts was research, due to the limitations on underage magic actually affecting him, but that was what he was good at anyway. James had asked in his last letter if Remus could find out what the spell on a certain page was and what it did and how they could do it without blowing up his house and Remus was happy to oblige. In the margin of this particular book, Sirius and James had written notes or comments on just about every page, ranging from "any chance we won't kill ourselves doing it this way" to "Prongs if you draw Evans' initials in this book one more time I'll murder you myself." There were no doodles of Evans' name, though, so Sirius must have magicked them away. Remus read through the notes, many were written long before he'd known what they were up too and they distracted him from his purpose. One conversation, in particular, had him grinning like an idiot, the two marauders were arguing about the exact definition of a blackberry and somehow transformed into a discussion of their favorite foods, when James' handwriting mentioned their werewolf the both of them easily agreed his was chocolate.

It was strange. In the span of a few hours everything Taylor had attacked, his family, education, and friends, had been proven to him.

Why on Earth would he ever give any of this up?