Most people don't have a clear memory of a day when they were four years old. But for me, there was one day that I'll never be able to forget.

The 16th of February, 1965 was the worst day of my life — and what I thought would've been the last. At the time, I was four years old — almost five.

It started as a normal day — I woke up, ate some breakfast, spilt the breakfast, cried over my spilt breakfast, then my parents read me Babbitty Rabbity And Her Cackling Stump, just the usual day for a four-year-old wizard.

Dad went to his work at the ministry and when he got home that evening I remember him talking to Mum about some trial of someone called Fenrir Greyback (who, at the time, I didn't think too much of).

He was talking about how he suspected Greyback was a werewolf, but Greyback said he was just a muggle and didn't know why he was at the trial. Everyone else believed Greyback but Dad was saying how he was a monster and was fooling them.

Eventually, Greyback was set free as no one else agreed with Dad.

"Maybe the others were right," Dad shrugged. "I just wanted to keep him in the detention overnight, because it's a full moon tonight. Then we'd be able to find out the truth."

"I hope he is human," Mum said, her voice shaking a bit. "Because werewolves are dangerous… they're monsters…"

While I was half listening to their conversation, (not understanding what was going on at the time) I was reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard and came across a word I didn't know. I brought the book into the kitchen where my parents were.

"Mummy, mummy, what does this word say?" I asked.

She looked at Dad, looking scared about the conversation they'd just had.

"That word is twilight, honey," she said.

"Daddy are you OK?" I asked, looking at Dad's stressed face.

"What?" he said, rubbing his face and putting on a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine, just grown-up stuff."

"I think it's your bedtime, Remus," Mum said and picked me up upside-down. I screamed in delight as she shook me around.

"Daddy! Daddy! Do the fly thing!" I screamed out.

Dad smiled and grabbed out his wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

I was levitated from Mum's arms and was rising up to the roof.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" I cried, laughing. Then I slowly floated down and landed gracefully on the ground. "Again! Again!"

"No, Remus, it's bedtime!" Mum said, taking my hand.

"Can we play outside?" I said grumpily, folding my arms.

"Tomorrow," she said, leading me to look out the window. "Look — it's dark outside! Oh, and it's a full moon — how beautiful!"

"Yay!" I giggled. "I love the moon! We should go to the moon!"

Mum laughed. "Perhaps when you're older. But for now, you need to get to sleep!"

She walked me to my bedroom and tucked me in, sang a lullaby, and then Dad came in.

"Nighty-night, son," he said, smiling. Both my parents kissed me then they left.

I got to sleep and slept peacefully for quite some time until I heard a scraping noise on my wall.

Gasping, I woke up, looking around. Then I noticed that my window was open and the curtains were blowing to reveal the night sky and the huge, bright, full moon. A sight that from that day onwards has forever been haunted in my mind.

Shaking, I climbed out of bed and walked over to the window to investigate. Standing on my tip-toes, my tiny little self looked through the window.

Then all of a sudden, something jumped out at me from outside the window. All I could make out was some grey fur and sharp teeth, but I screamed out in fright.

Before I knew it, I was on the floor with the huge creature over the top of me. Then I felt something sharp sinking into either side of my stomach.

Excruciating pain shot through my body and I screamed out again. I looked down to where the stabbing was happing and saw my entire pyjama shirt had changed from yellow to deep red.

I felt myself weaken. I couldn't move, then whatever had been stabbing me before started to stab my neck, when I heard someone yell.

"BOMBARDA!"

My door smashed open and I caught a glimpse of Dad storming in with his wand.

"STUPEFY!" he screamed, pointing his wand at the creature that was killing me.

It was blasted off me and out the window.

"HE'S GETTING AWAY!" Dad yelled. "I WILL NOT LET HIM GET AWAY WITH KILLING MY SON!"

My vision was blurring, and I could make out another figure kneeling next to me.

"HE'S NOT DEAD, LYALL!" Mum's voice screamed. "CALL AN AMBULANCE — ST MUNGOS! NOW!"

"HOPE, I'M A WIZARD NOT A MUGGLE!" Dad screamed. He ran over to us and took both our hands.

I felt a dizzy sensation and I probably would have vomited if I hadn't been so focused on the pain in my torso.

"Mummy…" I breathed.

"It's OK, Remus, it's gonna be OK…" she said, her voice shaking.

"He's been attacked and bitten by a werewolf… we need urgent help!" I heard Dad say frantically.

"Yep — apparate upstairs right away," said a voice I didn't know.

I felt that dizzy sensation again, but it was less nauseating that time as my entire body was feeling numb. I heard echoing noises all around me. I could barely feel my parents holding me anymore.

I was placed on some bed and a lot of different things were on my body, I felt a needle stabbing through my wounds, and then I stopped breathing.

I couldn't see or feel anything, but I could faintly hear my parents screaming.

"REMUS!"

"BREATHE!"

"PLEASE!"

"PLEASE!"

Then there was silence.

And then I felt air come through my lungs — I started breathing desperately. My sight came back and I could see my parents crying.

"He's going to be alright," said the nurse. "Everything's going to be fine—"

Then I felt excruciating pain split through my body. It felt like being bitten all over again. I let out a scream.

"Remus?" Mum said faintly.

"Oh, no…" Dad said. "NO!"

I let out a huge sob as the pain I'd never imagined possible came through my entire body.

"Remus…" Dad sobbed. "No…"

"What's happening?" Mum cried. "I thought we fixed his wound! Is this a side effect of the medicine?"

"Hope, he's turning into a—"

My face felt like it was on fire.

Then Mum screamed. "HE'S GOT A SNOUT! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MY BABY BOY!"

My legs felt like they were being ripped off.

"Um… if someone survives a werewolf bite, they turn into a—" the nurse started.

My arms felt like they were being stabbed.

"Werewolf…" Dad finished quietly.

Then the pain I was feeling stopped at that moment. And at that moment, I didn't feel like an innocent four-year-old boy at all. I felt like I should kill… that I needed to kill…

My eyes were set on my sobbing mother. She was so defenceless, as a muggle… I wanted to kill her so badly at that point… just one bite…

I started charging at her when Dad stood in front of her with his wand and shouted, "PROTEGO!" An invisible shield came out in front of him, Mum, and the doctors and nurses. I crashed into the invisible force and was shot back against the wall.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" Mum screamed.

Dad turned to the doctors and nurses. "Get out of here. Get out now. And put some silencing spells around the room once you're out."

They nodded, drew their wands, and walked out the door. Then Dad spoke to Mum. "Do you want to stay? We're going to have to do this all night."

"Yes, I want to stay," Mum said, her voice strained, tears in her eyes.

After recovering from the hit to the wall, I tried charging at them again, only to be bounced back against the wall again. This went on for quite some time.

Then I thought: I need to kill someone, and there are other people in this hospital. So I started trying to bash down the wall.

This went on for the rest of the night until I ended up collapsing and I was human again.

I was curled up into a ball at this point, sobbing.

My parents ran over to me and embraced me.

"I-I'm so s-sorry," I sobbed, crying harder than I'd ever cried in my four years and eleven months of living.

"Remus… it's OK… it's going to be OK… shhh…"

And that was just the beginning.