Chapter 2/?
Life was in fast forward. He ran, hearing her voice calling after him. More voices joined hers and he heard footsteps behind him, splashing in the puddles. He rounded the corner trying to ditch his pursuer. But his ankle stung and the person was gaining on him.
A hand wrenched his arm and he fell. But whoever had caught him held on, pulling him back up. He twisted and writhed, finally freeing one hand. He wildly flung a fist at his attacker, hitting the man in the face. To his horror, the man's eye flew out of its socket and landed in a puddle. He took advantage of the man's distraction and ran. But he only got feet before the man yelled, "STUPIFY!" and something struck him in the small of the back. As he fell, he realized the blackness was nice. He could stay there for a bit.
"Enneverate."
The word pulled him irresistibly, reluctantly, out of the calm void he'd been in. His eyes slowly opened. Several people were hovering over him, all with identical grave expressions.
"Remus?" one of them, a red-haired woman, said. Her voice was familiar. She was the one who'd found him.
"What happened?" the man next to her, another redhead, asked. The man was looking directly at him. He must be speaking to him.
"I don't think it's really him." The other man growled. "Lupin'd be talking right now."
"Is there some way we can test him?" the red haired man asked.
"I don't suppose there's any Veretiserum in the house, is there?"
"Of course not." The woman snapped. "It's him, Alastor."
"He could be a Deatheater in disguise, Molly. All it would take is some Polyjuice Potion."
"Then what should we do?" the woman snapped, "Kill him now?"
A wave of panic crashed in his stomach. They were going to kill him! In one movement he pushed himself off the bed and darted for the door. His stunned captors took only a second to move. By then he was already out the door.
He ran down a dank hallway, lit only by a few candles. A staircase loomed up ahead. He ran down it, followed closely. Ripping open a door on the first landing, he managed to buy a little time. But then his foot caught on the hem of his robe and he tumbled down the last twenty or so steps, landing in a heap at the bottom.
His ankle flared back to life, screaming. The woman also screamed and came toward him with a terrified expression on her bloodless face. He got to his feet and hobbled away from her.
The front door opened and an elderly man rushed in. Though he did not know the man, he felt that this was someone to trust. This old man with his long gray hair and pointed hat, he would save him.
His leg gave out as he reached the old man. Clutching the man's robe he yelled, "They're going to kill me!"
The man's pale blue eyes connected with his own for a long moment. They seemed to be searching him intently. Finally the man held out a hand and stopped the woman, who had been inching tentatively forward.
"He fell to his knees, sobbing into the man's robes. The man stooped down and took him into his arms with surprising strength. "It's okay, my boy." He said, "We'll help you."
The man smelled of lemon drops. The word Father came into his head. He knew this wasn't his father, but the same kind of love radiated off of him. The man waited patiently until the last of the wracking sobs subsided, then sat him gently on the floor.
"Let's have a look at that leg." He said.
He stuck out his leg. One foot was bent oddly. The man took out a long stick and tapped at the wound. I was healed. He looked at the man in wonder as he helped him to his feet.
"Are you a wizard?"
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To be continued soon. Thank you to boredanddelirious for reviewing. Hopefully this chapter answered your questions. You'll have to wait and see, yes, yes, and yes.
Lupin may have seemed a little OOC in this chapter. That's intentional. He'll be back to normal soon.
Bye! ; )