"She could only care for the twins because of Auron... Now that he is dead..."
"Why did she keep the newest one after he died? She knows she doesn't have the money..."
She was once a beauty beyond words. Though presently only twenty three, her eyes were darkened and her hair licked with shocks of white in their golden-brown depths. Zella-Marrie, an aging woman who appeared to be well over her prime of forty, gazed down to the bright golden eyes of her third born. The child seemed enchanted with its mother's hands and callused fingers, which delicately danced along in front of its blurred vision.
"Boys?" her voice was sweet, almost sweet enough that even the toughest of children could run to it. Her own golden gaze slid to the year-old twins seated on the small couch near her bed, watching with their own matching eyes of bright gold, as their mother welcomed the addition to their family to the world. "This is your sister..." She went on the to curious boys, who watched without a sound as she angled the small bundle to show them. " Remus, Romulus? This is Lanris... Your baby sister."
If money was a massive issue with the four, it was not shown as the two boys giggled, watching the odd creature hiccup in the arms of its mother. The smile remained on the woman's face as she looked to her boys, then her daughter, who was conceived only a month before her husband was mauled by a wild beast terrorizing their small Wizarding town near Liverpool; even eight months later, the beast was never stopped, nor found.
*~*~*
Remus Lupin never regretted having a younger sister, who was then five years old and as wild as the younger of the twins, Romulus. Of course, children were children and Remus did join into their adventures in a small set of woods behind their cabin, even if himself and his brother often played tricks on the youngest of the Lupin children. Their main trick was pretending to be the beast which was said to have housed itself in the woods they often played within. The beast that, only five years before, had killed Auron Lupin.
The beast that murdered their father was never found, said to have ran off when the hunting parties went off into the darkness to hunt for its hide; nothing kills the famous Transfiguration Professor Auron Lupin and remains unnoticed. Did Remus know of his father's demise? Of course, he heard it from other children who played with his siblings and himself; their families spoke in hushed whispers of Professor Lupin and his lovely young wife. The main cause of the whispers was, originally, why a man who was a well-known Professor would wed a girl born to a daughter of a Quill-Maker, one who dressed in shabby robes and could not afford her own items for school, let alone be able to support a family. Zella-Marrie was at her first year at the small Wizarding School "Hinkerie's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" when she met Professor Lupin, who, like many of the girls, found a fancy for him. It was not until she reached her seventh year when it was rumoured that Lupin fancied her as well. This was not a surprise, of course, as she was a beautiful and full-figured witch. From the day of graduation on, they were together as lovers, then in turn, as husband and wife.
Lupin loved her dearly and when she told him of her pregnancy with their first child, he could not have been happier. They were making a family, even though he was twice her age. The age bothered not the pair, but those they knew: friends, neighbours, co-workers and even some family. Did the two care in the least? No. They remained happy together even after the twins were born, thus taking much of her time and his.
Upon Auron's death, whispers flew rampantly; many accused Zella-Marrie of having an affair, then of marring him for his money, which to everyone surprise, was nothing. Auron had not saved, or perhaps he had, though when proceeded to find some to care for her children, Zella-Marrie was shocked to find all the vaults empty, completely void of money.
*~*~*
"C'me on, Remmy! Stop bein' so slow!" The six-year-old Romulus called as he leapt over the stream, soon followed by the raven-haired Lanris, or called by everyone: Laney. Romulus, in all ways, was healthier than the slightly sickly Remus, who was much thinner and always seemed to have a sniffle to his health. Romulus, on the other hand, could keep going, even when the eldest twin would have to stop and cough, struggling to catch his breath.
"Guys! Wait up! Mum said we gotta be back before dark!" Golden-brown hair masked along his vision as Remus struggled, splashing in the small stream after falling short of the leap that would have carried him over the ditch. He was used to not being able to keep up, but he did not enjoy being left behind so close to dark.
"Guys?" The laughing and taunting of Romulus was fading as was the giggles of Laney. Remus couldn't help but gulp down the lump in his throat as the cool spring air stiffened on his neck. Where did they go? He remembered asking as he grasped the side of the small ditch, which fell just above his head. His boots sunk a bit into the soft mush of mud, making an odd sucking sound as he tried to pull himself free. "Guys," he tried again, though this time his voice was tight with his growing fright. He did not like being left by the stream alone at night. His father died by that stream. Fear was starting to tingle in his throat, though only slightly.
The howl forced him to push back from the bank... The howl, or was it the blazing orbs staring at him through the bush? Remus landed hard on the rocks and water, skinning his young hands on the stones and mud which broke his fall. "R-Roms?" his voice whimpered out, breath fogging before his pink, trembling lips. He wasn't frightened anymore; he was terrified. Thoughts of what it could be raced through his mind, frightening him with the images of the massive beasts himself and his brother read about in the many books their father left in the small cabin.
Another howl greeted the young boy, who by this time was pressing his back as hard as possible to the muddy bank of the ditch, his hands searching for something, anything, to protect himself with. "Roms? Laney? Is that you guys? It's not funny anym---" Whatever the poor boy was going to say would never be known. The beast leapt from the bush, tearing free from the leaves and spider-like branches binding it from reality and open-space.
Before the boy could even attempt to scream, massive paws pressed to his upper thighs at his pelvic bone on either side of him, tearing downward through his trousers to leave three identical slashes from the pelvic bone downward to half a foot down his thighs before it landed, pinning him against the rocks and stream. The shock knocked away the pain, as Remus was more intent on gasping as he struggled, pulling his slender, boyish figure from the monstrous beast, which reared back to toss out a deafening howl at the revealed full moon.
Almost... there... The boy urged as he pulled himself towards the edge of the ditch, managing to crawl back to the trees before the beast could note he was scampering away. If the claws' pain did not register within his mind, the next attack did. Remus shrieked, crying out as teeth clamped down at his groin, tearing flesh and clothing as it locked onto him, bottom jaw only an inch from making the young boy sterile at his youth. The mouth held him, angled slightly to the right to focus on his right thigh, with the top maw embedded into the top of his thigh, side pressing through the flesh at the crease of his lap.
His shoulder left the ground, forced up by the jerking of the beast pulling him upward into the air, shaking him as if he was nothing more than a rabbit or other prey animal to feed upon. Hands flailed with arms, clawing at the tree in vain attempts to pull himself free from the maw tearing him apart. Remus saw nothing but raven and scarlet as he felt his quickly numbing body fall, landing hard on the carpet of dirt near the trees. The beast had dropped him, glowing eyes staring wildly into the darkness around it while its nose twitched, blood dripping from the dilating nostrils and rolling tongue flopping from its angry mouth.
Crawling back slowly, legs lifeless, Remus pulled himself into the hollow of the large tree himself and his brother played in, trying to hide as the beast continued to stare out into the darkness, large ears perked curiously to all sounds. Something frightened it, or became more interesting than the dying boy, who managed to curl up into a fetal ball, his golden hair resting in a pool of his own blood. Breathing became shallow and Darkness enveloped him, hiding him from everything... or was it hiding everything from him? Remus did not wake, even to the blood-curdling howl sounding off in the trees in the direction his siblings had disappeared into...