iDisclaimer: I do not own Remus or Dumbledore, whom are both property of
J.K.Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Books, and other
Harry Potter sources. As far as I know no profit is being gained from this
publication.
Author's Message: This title was inspired by the wonderful song I derived it from. Can anyone guess what it is? As usual, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it - well, sort of./i
Chapter 3 Seeing Red Again
Remus Lupin lay naked in a ditch. Blood covered every last inch of him - but it was not his own.
"Holy shit, where am I," he whispered in a barely audible voice. His mind was overflowing with thoughts of the worst. "Moeris. kid. Moeris, where are you?" Frantic in desperation his fears gave him the strength and incentive to move, which he managed to do by grabbing onto a loose root and pulling himself up.
He certainly wasn't in the shed anymore. However, he wasn't in Carlisle either. He balanced unsteadily and tried to begin walking but overbalanced and fell to his knees. Sweat mingled with tears that deluged his face. iI made it, but did he?/i
Without his wand, which he had left at his house, he couldn't apparate or conjure a stretcher or anything to find Moeris somehow. He attempted scrubbing off some of the blood by using a dry leaf as an ice scraper.
Other than the ground about five feet around him each way, Remus couldn't make out anything through his dismantled vision. He knew he had to go search for his young companion, but he just couldn't make himself budge. The world was swirling in his presence. Collapsing from all the burdens upon him at the moment he lost all of his endurance. iI wonder if Dumbledore found the note./i
* * *
When Remus woke up again, he wasn't stuck in a bloody ditch. He was stuck in his bed with a very weary fifteen-year-old staring at him.
"You're awake!" he shouted as he nearly jumped up off the chair beside Remus's bed.
"You're alive!" breathed Remus, expressing his relief. "How did you find me? And how did you get me here?" This is all too suspicious. iHe certainly couldn't have gotten me here all by himself./i
"Actually,' he admitted, "I didn't find you. An - an old man found me and then you and - and he brought me here." Remus sensed uncertainty in his voice. 'What old man? Was he named Dumbledore?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Tell him to come in if he's here." At this, Moeris left for a minute or two and came back with a quite elderly wizard with a white long dazzling beard that hung to his belly, and was a great contrast with the dirty people in his company. His eyes sparkled as he politely asked Moeris to leave the room.
"Headmaster! How'd you find me and is everything alright?"
"Relax, boy, relax. Everything is as it should be. We can't turn back time now, can we?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with hidden meaning as he lightly chuckled to himself.
"If only we could," cried Remus. "Seriously - no, not seriously but iearnestly/i," he said instead because he couldn't help but think of Sirius when he spoke the first word. "What happened?"
"How I found you is not your concern. What is your concern is if you are safe. Also, this." Dumbledore reached behind his cloak and found the letter Remus had written the night before. "Let us discuss this."
Embarrassed, Remus pretended to cough - but not too successfully. "You weren't supposed to see that," he finally murmured.
"I couldn't help it. It was addressed to me was it not? Besides, I decided to visit you earlier than you had arranged since I had my own affairs to attend to on the second day after the full moon. Good thing too." He dropped the parchment onto the sheets so that Remus could have easy access to it. He chose to ignore it and tried to sit up more comfortably as the old man continued.
"So you have made a friend I see. Fine lad."
"I'm not sure if I can call him a friend yet. Professor, why did Moeris happen to come to me now? Yes, I know he came because he was a werewolf but why inow/i?" As Remus finished he realized that Dumbledore hadn't heard the story earlier so he couldn't be making too much sense. Or had he heard?
"None of us know why things happen when they do and to whom and why. Some call it fate, others just coincidence. But I say that it's our own selves. We decide unconsciously. We decide what we need and when. And then somehow all of our purposes fit into the huge puzzle that is our life."
Absorbing the meaning of his speech, Remus followed to a more deadly thought. "I didn't hurt anyone, did I? I tried to keep us safe from breaking out but we did. What happened?" Remus conveniently forgot to mention that he didn't charm the shed as a whole and only charmed their stables.
"I so far know nothing of the potential damage you and Moeris caused. The only harm I have witnessed is on the shed and on you and Moeris." Remus sighed heavily in relief, but still had his doubts. Dumbledore had the habit of pretending not to see things that would be quite important and prominent to every other normal person.
"About your money difficulty," started Dumbledore as Remus sighed once more but in despair. "It's fine, Headmaster. I don't want charity in addition to what you've already done. I won't ever be able to repay you."
"Well, I don't know about that. But I assure you, I will help you with that little tidbit. Soon,' he promised. Remus gave a twisted self-disgusted smile in return. iI can't let him continue getting me charity./i
Suddenly wholly pepped, the Headmaster of Hogwarts stood and checked his watch. "Looks like I've spent enough time here. Oh, and one last thing. I'll be inspecting Azkaban with Cornelius this Sunday. You want to wish Sirius the best in person?"
iPlease review and tell me what you thought!/i
Author's Message: This title was inspired by the wonderful song I derived it from. Can anyone guess what it is? As usual, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it - well, sort of./i
Chapter 3 Seeing Red Again
Remus Lupin lay naked in a ditch. Blood covered every last inch of him - but it was not his own.
"Holy shit, where am I," he whispered in a barely audible voice. His mind was overflowing with thoughts of the worst. "Moeris. kid. Moeris, where are you?" Frantic in desperation his fears gave him the strength and incentive to move, which he managed to do by grabbing onto a loose root and pulling himself up.
He certainly wasn't in the shed anymore. However, he wasn't in Carlisle either. He balanced unsteadily and tried to begin walking but overbalanced and fell to his knees. Sweat mingled with tears that deluged his face. iI made it, but did he?/i
Without his wand, which he had left at his house, he couldn't apparate or conjure a stretcher or anything to find Moeris somehow. He attempted scrubbing off some of the blood by using a dry leaf as an ice scraper.
Other than the ground about five feet around him each way, Remus couldn't make out anything through his dismantled vision. He knew he had to go search for his young companion, but he just couldn't make himself budge. The world was swirling in his presence. Collapsing from all the burdens upon him at the moment he lost all of his endurance. iI wonder if Dumbledore found the note./i
* * *
When Remus woke up again, he wasn't stuck in a bloody ditch. He was stuck in his bed with a very weary fifteen-year-old staring at him.
"You're awake!" he shouted as he nearly jumped up off the chair beside Remus's bed.
"You're alive!" breathed Remus, expressing his relief. "How did you find me? And how did you get me here?" This is all too suspicious. iHe certainly couldn't have gotten me here all by himself./i
"Actually,' he admitted, "I didn't find you. An - an old man found me and then you and - and he brought me here." Remus sensed uncertainty in his voice. 'What old man? Was he named Dumbledore?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Tell him to come in if he's here." At this, Moeris left for a minute or two and came back with a quite elderly wizard with a white long dazzling beard that hung to his belly, and was a great contrast with the dirty people in his company. His eyes sparkled as he politely asked Moeris to leave the room.
"Headmaster! How'd you find me and is everything alright?"
"Relax, boy, relax. Everything is as it should be. We can't turn back time now, can we?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with hidden meaning as he lightly chuckled to himself.
"If only we could," cried Remus. "Seriously - no, not seriously but iearnestly/i," he said instead because he couldn't help but think of Sirius when he spoke the first word. "What happened?"
"How I found you is not your concern. What is your concern is if you are safe. Also, this." Dumbledore reached behind his cloak and found the letter Remus had written the night before. "Let us discuss this."
Embarrassed, Remus pretended to cough - but not too successfully. "You weren't supposed to see that," he finally murmured.
"I couldn't help it. It was addressed to me was it not? Besides, I decided to visit you earlier than you had arranged since I had my own affairs to attend to on the second day after the full moon. Good thing too." He dropped the parchment onto the sheets so that Remus could have easy access to it. He chose to ignore it and tried to sit up more comfortably as the old man continued.
"So you have made a friend I see. Fine lad."
"I'm not sure if I can call him a friend yet. Professor, why did Moeris happen to come to me now? Yes, I know he came because he was a werewolf but why inow/i?" As Remus finished he realized that Dumbledore hadn't heard the story earlier so he couldn't be making too much sense. Or had he heard?
"None of us know why things happen when they do and to whom and why. Some call it fate, others just coincidence. But I say that it's our own selves. We decide unconsciously. We decide what we need and when. And then somehow all of our purposes fit into the huge puzzle that is our life."
Absorbing the meaning of his speech, Remus followed to a more deadly thought. "I didn't hurt anyone, did I? I tried to keep us safe from breaking out but we did. What happened?" Remus conveniently forgot to mention that he didn't charm the shed as a whole and only charmed their stables.
"I so far know nothing of the potential damage you and Moeris caused. The only harm I have witnessed is on the shed and on you and Moeris." Remus sighed heavily in relief, but still had his doubts. Dumbledore had the habit of pretending not to see things that would be quite important and prominent to every other normal person.
"About your money difficulty," started Dumbledore as Remus sighed once more but in despair. "It's fine, Headmaster. I don't want charity in addition to what you've already done. I won't ever be able to repay you."
"Well, I don't know about that. But I assure you, I will help you with that little tidbit. Soon,' he promised. Remus gave a twisted self-disgusted smile in return. iI can't let him continue getting me charity./i
Suddenly wholly pepped, the Headmaster of Hogwarts stood and checked his watch. "Looks like I've spent enough time here. Oh, and one last thing. I'll be inspecting Azkaban with Cornelius this Sunday. You want to wish Sirius the best in person?"
iPlease review and tell me what you thought!/i