Chapter Four: A Warning
A cool wind swept through the sleeping village. The trees rustled their leaves and the dark grey clouds sped overhead. A few breaks in the clouds allowed brief glimpses of the stars, shining brightly against the velvet black of the sky. An owl swooped over the roofs of the cottages, a dead mouse clamped in its beak. Flaring its wings, the bird dropped silently out of the air and landed on the boughs of a young apple tree. The barn owl folded its brown and white wings to its sides and greedily tore a chunk of warm meat off the dead rodent with its sharp beak. Swallowing the tender morsel, the owl surveyed the darkened street, the amber eyes penetrating the dark like it was day. Spying something moving stealthily among the dancing shadows, the owl hesitated to continue its meal. Hunching over, the owl gripped the mouse tightly with its talons, ready to take to the air. Poised, the owl waited.
A gust of wind whipped through the trees, sending the branches swaying. All along the street, slender saplings bent and waved their thin branches in protest. A half-coconut, charmed to a window, swung wildly and collided with the glass. Remus jerked his head up at the resulting bang. It took a moment for him to register what had made the noise and when he saw the coconut bang against the windowpane again, he calmed down, his heart rate slowing from a panicked drum roll back down to a more steady rhythm. A cold draught blasted through the open window, raising goose bumps on Remus' exposed arm. Shoving it under the quilt, Remus watched the curtains flutter for a minute before the wind died down a little and ceased playing with the birdfeeder, the curtains falling back into place. Slowly, Remus returned to staring blankly up at the ceiling of his bedroom.
It was past midnight and Remus still hadn't been able to fall asleep. After the traumatic events of the past day it had taken a long time for him to calm down and even now he still felt deeply shaken. Unable to bear the thought of eating, Remus had refused the food his mother had offered him throughout the day. The smell alone, normally enticing enough to set his mouth watering, had done nothing but make him feel queasy. Now his stomach was churning painfully from hunger, but he didn't dare go down to the kitchen for something to eat.
Rolling onto his side, Remus curled up in a ball and pulled the quilt up to his chin. His eyes were itching with tiredness, yet he didn't want to sleep. Remus knew that if he closed his eyes the wolf would come back in his dreams. Desperately, he fought to stay awake and to keep his mind blank, to block out everything he'd learnt that day. To acknowledge any of it would make it real.
Following the attack by the village children, Remus had been so badly shaken by the experience his mother had tried to give him a bath, hoping it would calm him. But it had had completely the opposite effect. The moment Remus was in the water, it jolted a painful memory of lying in the stream with the werewolf holding him in its powerful jaws, shaking him like a rag-doll as it meant to kill him. Screaming in blind panic, Remus had thrashed violently to escape the water, fighting his mother and scaring her out of her wits. He'd spent the next few hours wrapped in a warm blanket on the couch by the fire. Despairingly, his parents tried their best to explain to Remus what little they knew of lycanthropy, but the terrified child didn't seem to want to listen.
But Remus had paid some attention, after his father had stated how important it was to understand what he was if he ever wanted to have some semblance of a normal life. Normal: the word struck home and Remus did his best to listen to all they told him. It wasn't pleasant listening.
The Healers at St. Mungo's had warned Diane and Julian that Remus had developed an allergy to monkshood, a plant often used in potions. It wasn't clear as to how sensitive he was likely to be as there were varying degrees; some werewolves fell dangerously ill, while others only came up in a nasty rash. Either way, Diane had shown Remus a photograph of the plant and empathised the importance of never touching it or drinking any potion that contained any part of it. Since the plant was known by several names, Diane made Remus recite them all until she was satisfied that he'd remember them.
Silver was also very dangerous to someone with lycanthropy. There were no two ways about that element. It was a lethal poison, which could kill a werewolf within a few painful hours if it entered the bloodstream. There was little chance of recovery. A mere touch was enough to result in burns that could take months to heal, if at all. When Julian had explained this to Remus, Diane had sadly gone through her jewellery box, removing from her few treasured pieces everything silver and placing them in a small black bag. Remus had seen the look of longing as his mother had slowly removed her silver locket and put it with the rest, sealing the bag with a Permanent Sealant Charm. It had been a Valentines Day gift from Julian many years ago and contained two small photographs, one of herself and Julian on their wedding day, and another of Remus when he was a toddler. Diane couldn't bear the thought of transfiguring the precious gift into gold; it just wouldn't be the same. She'd never taken it off until today.
Flinging himself onto his other side, Remus struggled to get comfortable. He had pretended to be asleep when his mother had opened the door to check on him. He didn't want to be the reason she started crying again. Diane had crept quietly to his side and planted a soft kiss on his forehead, smoothed his bedclothes out and silently retreated from the room, lingering in the doorway before shutting herself away in her bedroom, her muffled sobs barely audible, but Remus heard them clearly enough. His father had looked in on him too, but had stayed in the doorway, just watching him for a while, before closing the door and making his way down the hall to bed. As soon as Remus was sure that both of them were in bed, he'd resumed tossing and turning, afraid of what he'd see in his dreams if he closed his eyes for too long.
The ticking of the clock on the bedside table was growing more noticeable in the quiet of the night, and steadily more irritating as it approached two in the morning. Remus yawned, his eyes drooping. Abruptly, he forced himself to sit up and gave himself a pinch. The pain revived his exhausted mind for a moment as he fought to stay awake. But in his sleep-deprived state, it was getting harder and harder not to listen to the voices his memory callously recalled for him.
You're cursed … should have let the monster eat you … he's not welcome here … wolf-boy's crying!
Wolf-boy. Remus' stomach clenched. He was going to throw up. Hastily, he threw off the quilt and rolled off the bed, kneeling beside the bowl his mother had left. Coughing, Remus dry-retched for a few minutes but failed to bring anything up. His empty stomach growled loudly. Slumping against the bed, Remus sniffed and hugged himself. He felt the scar tissue tentatively beneath his nightshirt. Though it had not caused him any pain, it was a sufficient reminder of the wolf's teeth, and the immense pain it had caused …
They make others by biting them … am I gonna be a wolf too?
No! Remus scrunched up his face and shook his head hard, as though to rid himself of the voices. No, it wasn't true – he didn't believe it … he didn't want to believe it …
… Becomes a wolf at night, when there's a full moon in the sky …
Through the small window, the stars were barely visible through the cloud cover. A blanket of dark grey hid the moon from view, but Remus knew it was there. As though in answer to his fears, the cloud shifted and the glowing body of the half-moon emerged from its hiding place. Remus blinked and swallowed hard, hugging his knees. His father had explained to him about how the moon changed shape and when you could tell a full moon was coming. The moon was like a large silvery 'c' against the darkness, like the satellite had been sliced neatly in half. It was getting smaller. Over the following week it would disappear from the sky entirely before returning a few nights later and to grow again, to grow round and full.
There were twenty-eight days between each full moon. By using a calendar, Diane and Julian had shown Remus how to predict when a full moon would fall. To Remus they looked miles apart, but to his parents they felt far too close. It had been over a week since Remus had been bitten. There were only nineteen days to go until the first transformation.
Despite everything Diane and Julian had told their son, there was little they could tell him off the transformation. They had no idea what it would be like, or how Remus would cope with it. Would he even survive it? From what the Healers were able to tell them, the change from human to animal was a painful one. The change from animal back to human was believed to be worse. It was becoming clear that another question was whether Diane would be able to cope with it. At any mention of the actual transformation, she would burst into tears and beg Julian not to say any more. Remus was in two minds about it. On one hand, curiosity demanded he find out at least something about it, but the other part dreaded to know. His parents had compromised and had told him only that the physical change would be very uncomfortable, though Julian's personal feelings were that softening the blow now would only make it much worse when Remus actually felt it.
Remus had staved off sleep for as long as he could. The moon was blurring before his eyes and his head fell forward onto his knees.
A screeching hoot pierced the night like a banshee cry. Torn away from the edge of sleep, Remus opened his eyes just in time to see a large barn owl soar pass the window at speed. The curtains were caught in another gust of wind, the pale material fluttering like ghosts fighting to get out. Shivering, Remus picked himself up off the floor, crept to the window and slid the pane closed. The curtains fell limply back into place.
Gazing out across the quiet street, Remus wondered why everything looked so normal and peaceful when there was a storm raging in his heart. Why did everything have to change? What had he done wrong? None of the village children liked him anymore. Even the Muggle children had joined in taunting him, though they knew nothing of werewolves. Remus rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. It wasn't fair. He hadn't asked for it to happen; so why did they feel it was a punishable offence? Touching the bump on his forehead, Remus cringed at the thought of the stones being thrown, and the malicious verbal abuse.
The thought of going back to school was unsettling. Remus liked school very much. He was often praised for his neat handwriting and the pictures he drew, and the teachers were nice. But how would they be towards him now that he was ill? They might be Muggles but if the other children could turn against him so easily what was to say the teachers wouldn't do the same? They would never understand what was wrong with him.
Caught up in his thinking, it was a few moments before Remus noticed anything unusual in the street below him. It was only when the clouds had obscured all sources of natural light that the flare of light across the road caught his attention. Frowning, Remus sat up and squinted into the shadowy pathway between two of the cottages. Then, a tiny flash of red and orange, so small it was barely noticeable, briefly illuminated the fencing before being swallowed up by the darkness. Remus leaned forward, trying to discern the location of the source of light. It was most peculiar. Why would someone be walking through the village this late at night? Was there even someone there? Remus stayed where he was, watching and waiting. But nothing happened. There was only blackness. Nothing was moving but the gently swaying shadows of the trees.
Remus hesitated, and then slowly retreated from the window. He must have imagined it. The lack of sleep was playing tricks on his senses. He couldn't focus his eyes on anything. Everything was gaining a blurry quality, his legs were shaking and the warm, comfortable bed was far too inviting for him to fight any longer. Sinking down onto the mattress, Remus curled up with the quilt and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, Remus' eyes snapped open and he sat up; abruptly awake as though someone had doused him in cold water. Feeling disorientated, Remus couldn't be sure if he'd fallen asleep, nor how much time had passed since he'd laid down, but somehow he knew something wasn't right. Shivering, Remus' eyes searched the darkness without any idea what he was looking for.
A faint sound reached his ears.
There was something moving around outside.
Twisting his head to look, Remus leapt back as something came hurtling through the window, the glass shattering, sending glittering shards flying everywhere. Remus yelped and flung up his arms to protect his face, but not before he saw the large rock fall to the floor with a heavy thud. A split second later, a bottle came hurtling through the window, propelled by a burst of dark green sparks. The bottle itself was glowing brightly, a swirl of red, orange and yellow pulsating within the glass, flying like a small comet into the room. The bottle smashed as it hit the floor, and with a shower of sparks, exploded with a tremendous bang, releasing a torrent of flames swarming across the floor. A small mushroom shaped cloud thumped up into the air, the black smoke hovering just below the ceiling like a dark swirling cloak.
Remus screamed. Somewhere outside there were noises, shouts, then came the sound of more glass breaking, other windows being smashed. The roar of the fire drowned out the distant sounds as the flames leapt higher. The remains of the broken bottle glowed green, and then disappeared without trace. The bed of embers left behind ricocheted off the floor, seeking out wood and fabric in a frenzy. Remus scrambled backwards into the corner, watching in open-mouthed horror as a swarm of fire-sprites, freed of their glass prison, gloried in their release and eagerly leapt upon the rug, their white-hot bodies igniting it in moments. The small, fairy-like creatures cackled and squealed their delight as the fire engulfed the room.
When one of the sprites sprang from the wardrobe to the bed, Remus yelled and flung the quilt off the bed, whipping the sprite off and sending it flying across the room. It landed in the waste bin with an indignant cry. The rest of the sprites' silvery laughter rang out accompanied by the crackling of the fire.
The room was full of smoke. Some of it was billowing out of the broken window, but not enough. Trapped in the corner, Remus opened his mouth to shout for help but all that came out was a harsh cough. His eyes were watering so painfully he could barely see. The heat was building fast but he had nowhere to go. Shrinking as far back into the corner as he could, Remus tried to yell but his throat was so raw he only succeeded in a weak cry, punctuated by hacking coughs.
'Mum!' he croaked. 'Dad!'
Dissolving into another fit of coughs, Remus sank down onto the bed.
The bedroom door crashed open in a blast of purple sparks, banging off the wall with such force the fire-sprites squealed in fright and sprang away up the walls. The fire roared and the black smoke discovered a new outlet, billowing out into the hallway. In the doorway, half crouched on the floor, was Julian. Beyond him, the house was full of smoke. His face blackened with soot, Julian was holding a cloth over his face, aiming his wand with his other hand at the flames.
'Exstinguere!' he croaked.
A shower of blue-green sparks sprayed from the tip of his wand. The fire-sprites hissed angrily at the sight, retreating quickly. Sweeping his wand in a wide arc, Julian repelled the flames, destroying the bed of embers on the floor, from which another fire-sprite was emerging. An anguished cry came from the drenched pile of embers, two tiny, spindly arms waving their clenched fists. It slumped as the embers died, cutting the cries short. The rest of the fire-spites set up a keening wail, their white eyes narrowed into slits as Julian took a step into the room.
Remus heard the sounds and blinked hard, trying in vain to see through the curtain of smoke. Transfixed by the dancing flames, Remus only just heard his father's shout.
'REMUS!'
Shaking, Remus tore his eyes away from the flames. There, on the other side of the leaping wall of fire, his father was beckoning to him frantically.
'You must move!' Julian bellowed over the roar. 'Get off the bed – NOW!'
Jolted into action, Remus scrambled blindly towards his father.
'NO! MOVE TO YOUR LEFT!'
But Remus didn't stop. He tumbled off the bed and landed on the floor. He barely missed the flames, and his father's sudden shout had scared him. A pair of sprites dropped out of the air and crouched before him, their pupil-less eyes glowing white, and the flames of their bodies flaring. One emitted a high-pitched wail of glee. Remus stared at it as the little creature slunk towards him on its long, spindly limbs.
'Get away from me!' Remus cried, snatching up a shoe from under the bed and swatting at it. There was a muffled squeak as the shoe thumped down on top of it. The second sprite appeared to change its mind about attacking Remus, abruptly spinning round and bouncing away, though not before pausing to hiss at him. A jet of blue-green sparks suddenly caught the sprite in the face. A puff of white steam erupted from the fire-spite's head as it tumbled backwards, screaming in a panic.
Remus left his shoe where it was, gently smouldering, and tried to stand up.
'No, Remus, stay down!'
Turning, Remus caught sight of his father once more, battling with the fire. Sweeping his wand furiously, Julian forced his way steadily across the room, keeping his head down and coughing fiercely. When another cast of the Extinguishing Spell cut a narrow path through the fire in front of Remus, Julian fell to his knees.
'Remus, please, you must move! Crawl towards me!' he commanded, removing the cloth from his face for a moment so that Remus could hear him clearly, before he started to cough violently.
Eyes wide, Remus stayed rooted to the spot and shook his head. The flames were converging again, eating away the route to his father. Julian raised his wand and tried again.
'Exstinguere!'
The fire receded, but it wouldn't stay back for long. The fire-sprites were gathering, edging closer. A few were scaling the walls, the ominous wailing making the hairs on the back of Remus' neck stand up. Julian's ashen face drew his gaze as his father tried to come closer, but the fire-sprites sprang forward, bringing the fire together to cut them off from each other. With an enraged cry, Julian jabbed his wand the nearest sprites. One exploded into ashes, leaving a blackened ring on the wooden floor. Two sprites that had been narrowly missed dived back into the relative safety of the fire, with only their white eyes visible among the flames. Remus watched with mounting trepidation as his father cut him a path through the fire for a third time.
'Come on, Remus, you can do it!' yelled Julian, the despair seeping into his voice as Remus cowered on the floor, out of reach, yet only ten feet away.
'I can't! I'm scared!' Remus cried. If he moved, the fire would surely touch him. Julian dropped to his hands and knees.
'I know you are – but it'll be all right,' he called, stretching out a hand. 'I promise. Trust me.'
Remus' eyes went from his father's hand to the narrow path and back again. Julian's soft brown eyes were wide and pleading, brimming with tears.
Then, getting to his hands and knees, Remus started to crawl towards him.
'That's it; that's the way! Just keep your eyes on me … keep going …'
Not daring to even glance at the fire shimmering on either side of him, Remus kept his eyes locked on his father, fighting down the terror of the mounting heat and smoke. The air was being choked out of the room and he was getting dangerously dizzy. His father's outline was blurring and the room seemed to sway like a ship. He was only a few feet from his father when a thunderous crack rent the air. Both Remus and Julian froze and looked up just as a large wooden beam began to break away from the ceiling.
It appeared to descend in slow motion. Remus was frozen where he was, mouth agape as the beam fell towards him. Julian bellowed and lunged forward, closing the gap between them, and pointing his wand skyward.
'WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!'
Nearly crushed by his father's weight, Remus screamed and covered his head. Julian's free arm wrapped around him in a fierce grip, both of them falling to the floor as an explosion of light erupted above their heads.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Then, when nothing landed on top of them, both lifted their heads, blinking hard.
Barely a foot above them was the beam, floating on the air. Several fire-spites clung to the splintering wood, howling their displeasure.
'Come on! Move! GO, GO, GO!'
Shoving Remus ahead of him, Julian spun round and together they scrambled for the door, the fire spreading across the floor in deadly waves of scarlet and orange. Diving through the open door, Remus glanced back to see the beam crash to the floor as the spell died. Julian slammed the door behind him.
The hallway was full of smoke. Remus couldn't have felt like he would ever be more frightened than he was when the werewolf had attacked him, but this was worse. He couldn't see where to go.
'Dad!' he cried, panicked, and scrambling on his knees. Squeezing his eyes shut against the stinging smoke, Remus bumped into his father and clamped onto his arm.
'It's all right, Remus, it's all right!' Julian yelled. 'Here, breathe through this.'
Remus weakly lifted his head as his father pressed a wet cloth over his mouth and nose. It made it easier to breathe and his lungs heaved as he gulped down a few shaky breaths.
'Okay, now I need you to stay still, Remus, can you do that for me?'
Slumping semi-conscious against his father's side, Remus nodded, welcoming the strong embrace as Julian pinned him to his side. Satisfied that his son wouldn't move, Julian waved his wand and muttered an incantation. Remus blinked and the smoky interior of the house vanished to be replaced a moment later by the front garden. The sudden supply of cleaner air brought on another coughing fit for both of them. A relieved shout echoed through the night behind them.
'Remus! Oh, Julian!'
Diane fell to the ground and flung her arms around them both. Her hair was in a tangle and her face was smudged with ash, streaked with tears. Her nightdress was frayed and partly burnt.
'Oh, thank goodness you're all right!' she sobbed. 'I thought – I thought …'
She broke down and hugged them, kissing them both.
'Di, please,' croaked Julian. 'Remus …'
Diane drew back and hastily turned to her son. Remus was fighting for breath, his face pale beneath the ash. Holding her wand steady, Diane touched it to Remus' chest.
'Respirator,' she commanded firmly.
The pain in Remus' chest eased slightly. Feeling better, Remus was taken aback when the pain suddenly returned worse than before. A violent spasm rocked his body and after a few hacking coughs, Remus gave a horrendous cough, and a large cloud of black smoke billowed out of his mouth. Waving the smoke away hastily, Diane rubbed his back firmly. Remus coughed weakly, but the worst of the smoke had been expelled from his lungs making it easier for him to breathe. Diane repeated the spell with Julian, bringing up a large cloud of smoke and ash from his lungs, before Julian insisted on doing the same for her.
Once they were all breathing acceptably without assistance, Remus rubbed his eyes and turned to survey the cottage. The beautiful little cottage was ablaze. There was a deafening crash as part of the roof caved in. Diane clapped a hand over her mouth. Julian wrapped his arms around her. Both were shaking uncontrollably. Wide-eyed, Remus gazed as the great funnel of smoke and ash rose higher and higher into the sky, the fiery glow illuminating the night sky.
None of them could speak. Quivering, Remus turned away from the despairing sight and clung to his mother. Looking over her shoulder, Remus stiffened. At the sound of a number of sharp cracks, both Julian and Diane whipped their heads round, only to catch fleeting glimpses of distant shapes in the shadows as they disappeared into the night.
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To Be Continued …
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Please leave a review. All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.
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Author's Notes.
Emma – Hiya, Emma, thanks for reviewing! You've been reading Heart of a Star too? That's great, I love to hear that people are checking out the rest of my work. Heart of a Star has been completed if you haven't finished reading it yet. This one could be going on for quite some time, so I hope you'll drop in sometime for the updates.
Aerlalaith – I'm going to start handing out tissues if people keep crying (lol). I have a feeling that later chapters are going to have a similar effect. I have quite a lot of pre-Hogwarts stuff planned, something like twenty chapters or so. It may end up being more as I'm trying hard to cut down on the length of the chapters (My Beta has been hinting for a while that having chapters ten or so pages long isn't always a good thing – plus it takes so much longer to write!) I dutifully cut this one down so chapter five shouldn't be too long in coming.
Evil spapple pie – Hi Pie! I was so pleased to see your name on the review page; haven't heard from you in a while – how've you been? I've wanted to write a Lupin fic for ages, but couldn't bring myself to do one when there seemed to be so many around. Though not many have much on his life before he attended Hogwarts, so I've taken it as an opportunity to get one started. Hey, I suffer from writer's block just like every other author! I've got a major block on my sequel to Tell No Lies – spent ages figuring the plot out, got several chapters written and found myself stuck for no apparent reason. So that's been lying around untouched for a while, but this fic is getting plenty of attention in its place. Admittedly, it does take a while to edit chapters. This one (chapter four) started totally differently, but I stopped writing halfway through, re-read it, came to the abrupt conclusion that it was a pile of crap, mentally screwed it up and threw it in the bin (it was on my laptop, so I had to do it mentally!) and started all over again. That's what takes up most of the time! Rewrites! I do have a wonderful Beta in Lil Lupin who finds all the mistakes I don't, and gives me lots of pointers. I learn something new nearly every time she sends a chapter back to me. So don't be envious – I have lots of help.
Cookie – Cheers Cookie, I love a good angst myself. Hope you like the rest of the fic.