Savage Beasts
Remus Lupin sat on the floor, a lamp beside him. The shadows cast eerie glows on the walls and floor of the shack, it looked haunted and sinister.
He wasn't as scared now as he used to be, when he was in first year he would sit and cry until the moon hit him, but now he was fifteen not eleven and he would not let it scare him so much.
He looked back down at his battered leather-bound copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula and slipped in an old bookmark. His stomach was churning and felt empty, his head began to spin, The moon would be up in a matter of minuets, that he was terrified of, he hated what he would become, more than anything, and he couldn't stand himself for it.
A glow lit the room and he felt as though he was being ripped to shreds…
Remus Lupin shakily pulled himself up from the floor. He looked around nervously, his whole body ached, and scratches covered his pale skin.
He shivered and pulled his tattered robes around himself, the cold prickled him bitterly, like millions of small needles and stung his wounds like salt.
He braced himself and began to stand up, the shrieking shack didn't look so sinister in the dusky light that filtered through the cracked windows.
The copy of Dracula lay beside him.
"Stop being wimpish, if you hadn't of been such a prat we would have made it!" Sirius Black snapped hauling himself upwards through the hole in the floor.
"Why don't you just stay there Pete," James Potter said following Sirius up.
"I'm going back," Peter Pettigrew mumbled and set off back down the tunnel.
Remus looked up from the copy of Dracula he was reading as Sirius and James entered the room.
"What are you doing here?" Remus asked warily. He was sat leaning against a wall, new gashes punctuated his skin.
"We found out what you are…" Sirius replied quietly.
"You can't have…" Remus said sacredly.
"We did and we want you to know you have our support," James informed him softly.
Remus buried his head in his knees.
"Oh Remy," Sirius went over and knelt down next to him.
"Hey, mate, it's not going to change anything," James said following Sirius' lead.
Sirius tenderly wrapped his arms around Remus and James did the same from the other side. Slowly and almost unnoticeably at first Remus began to cry.
"Aw, Rem don't cry, we're here for you," Sirius whispered.
"And it doesn't matter what you are," James continued.
"We still love you," Sirius finished.
Remus slipped his arms out and wrapped them around Sirius and James, "You too," he sniffed.
The old battered copy of Dracula fell forgotten to the floor.
"I'm a savage beast," Remus sniffled.
"Probably why you like Dracula so much," Sirius teased.
"Yeah I identify with Mina," Remus said joining in the joke.
"And Sirius is Lucy," James laughed.
"Shut up," Sirius told James prodding his arm.
Remus grinned and picked the book up tenderly closing it, "You two should read it again, you know, it's a good book!"