From The Past, Chapter 4.
Rev: You're right, it is hard writing with the time difference!
On with the show…
Remus Lupin walked into the kitchen to find an entire party of friends. Everyone who had been in the house the day before was sitting in the kitchen, eating Molly's delicious meal. Everybody watched him as he came in, and Tonks took his hand softly.
"Oh, Remus, you're back down. Breakfast?" Molly asked him, as happy as she was earlier.
"Please," he answered quite simply. He sat down slowly, then noticed that the entire room was staring at him.
"Sir," Sirius Black was the first to speak. "When can we go see him?"
Lupin stayed very quiet long enough for Molly to set down his food. "I'm afraid that you can't. He's not ready for any visitors yet."
"Yeah, whatever. That's just what Madame Pomfrey always tells us. When can we talk to him," James rolled his eyes.
"I'll only repeat what I just said - you can't go see him."
"But, we always do after transformations! You of all people should know about that!" Peter squeaked annoyingly.
"Look, you may not go see him until he is ready, do you understand? Please make no attempt to do so. He is not well."
"What do you mean he's not well!" Sirius yelled, surprisingly loudly. "Gosh, we try to be polite and all, but you're making it really, really difficult. Mad-Eye was the one to reply.
"Hey, if Lupin says he's not well, he's not well. I suggest that you boys go somewhere else. Hermione, Ron, keep them out of trouble."
Ron and Hermione nodded at Mad-Eye and walked out the room. The Marauders reluctantly followed, each of them with crossed arms. Ginny also followed, not wanting to be left behind. Before she walked out the doorway, she asked her mother,
"Mum, when will Harry be here?" Molly checked her watch.
"He should be leaving just now, dear."
"That means he'll probably take about two hours Ginny, knowing the way he flies around," Arthur said to her. Ginny nodded and ran out of the room after the others. The adults, including Fred and George, who would never leave during talks that the adults would have, all took a seat at the table around Lupin.
"How is he, Remus?" Tonks finally asked, still holding his hand. Everybody else leaned in very slightly to listen.
"There is something wrong with his body. Last night, while he was scratching himself, I was receiving scars wherever his wounds are," Lupin touched his face where one of the scars was. Tonks frowned as he continued. "Then, this morning, after he had gone back into human form, he started turning back again," the room gasped. "Not fully back into a werewolf…just partly there. His bones are re-arranging themselves, but aren't moving directly into place. They seem to be going back and forth, making his skin bubble."
He stopped for a moment. Mad-Eye Moody spoke.
"Why?"
"I think…I think that his body doesn't know whether it should be a werewolf or a human. Last night was not the full moon in our time, but it was in his. He'll probably transform on our full moon also. Now that he's here, his body doesn't know exactly when the moon is. So, it stays in a sort of limbo period, not human, but not beast either."
"That's why he doesn't want visitors," Fred and George whispered simultaneously. Fred spoke next. "But wait, if he's going to transform on our full moon…who will help him?"
"What do you mean. I will, of course," Lupin answered. George and Fred exchanged a look of understanding, and George spoke.
"How can you without the potion, Professor Lupin?" Remus suddenly understood. He could not take care of his younger self in wolf form while he himself was in wolf form.
"We'll think about that later," he said softly. "Besides, we have a few days to think about it."
The full moon was only 3 days away.
"What if…" Arthur Weasley began. "What if the boys-"
"Arthur, you know they couldn't handle two werewolves. Not even in animal form. Besides…I have a feeling that both of us will be rather…difficult on the next full moon." Tonks then lifted up her head to him.
"I could transform too, though! I can turn myself into an- an elephant or something! I can't be that hard!" Lupin laughed for the first time in the past day.
"Nymphadora, you're a delight, you know that!" She smiled as well. "Still, as enjoyable as that sounds, I couldn't endanger you like that. Haven't any of you seen the lounge?"
Nobody replied. Lupin's face became more serious.
"Well, come on then…I'll show you."
The group walked out of the kitchen and down the halls into the lounge. Many of them gasped, but most of them simply gaped at the sight.
"As you can see, I can't allow any of you in here while two werewolves are."
There was extreme silence at this comment, until that silence was broken by Hermione's voice.
"You're not allowed in there! Are you deaf! Get- oh my goodness!"
Lupin's hand carried up to his forehead and stayed there for a moment. "Please, excuse me," he asked the group as he left the lounge. He walked up the stairs and to his own room where his younger self sleeping. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were standing by the open doorway frowning.
"We tried to keep them in the parlor," Ginny told Lupin, who nodded. He walked into the room to see three of the Marauders standing over a lump of bed sheets, staring down at their friend. The young Remus Lupin was sound asleep, and had no idea of what was going on around him. The elder Lupin walked towards the group.
"Now do you see why you couldn't come in?" he said to the boys.
"He- he knows that we don't care. W-we understand his problem…" Sirius tried to speak.
"Why couldn't he trust us…he knows that we're his friends," James continued, sounding hurt.
"He's embarrassed…I never liked being seen like that."
"What does this have to do with you?" Peter said angrily. Sirius nudged him hard in the arm.
"It has everything to do with him."
"No it doesn't," Peter replied. "Not anymore- he's old now! He's-"
"Peter, shut up," James whispered, still looking at his friend, but falling softly to sit on the ground next to the bed. "Sir…he's still…human, right?"
"His mind is," Lupin said to the boys, sitting on the floor next to James. He put a hand on his friends shoulders, making him twitch a little.
"Can we- can we stay with him?" Sirius finally asked.
"I don't know if that's a very good idea. He asked me to not let you in."
"Please let us," James whispered to Lupin. After a moment, Lupin nodded. I'll get some food for when he wakes up again. I have a feeling that he will be a bit hungry."
The boys smiled at Lupin as he left the room, and Sirius sat down in the spot Lupin had just left. Peter remained standing, until he got lazy and decided to move the sit on the foot of the bed. After a few moments, they heard Hermione, Ron and Ginny walk down the stairs after Lupin.
"I don't really get it…why is he like this," Peter finally said.
"He never said," James replied.
"Well, what are we going to do when he wakes up?" Peter asked. "We don't really even know what's wrong with him."
"Well, first we'll have to see what happens when he wakes up, won't we," James replied. Suddenly, Sirius noticed something.
"Hey, guys, what's wrong with his skin? It's bubbling…"
"That can't be good…" James answered.
"You're right, it's not."
The boys shot around to see Remus Lupin walking in with a tray of soft foods and water. He set it down on his drawer set.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Peter asked.
"He's transforming…" Lupin replied. The boys began to move away. "Don't worry, he's not fully transforming, just part way. See, he's changing back."
The younger Lupin was moaning softly in his sleep, and looked as if he was just on the brink of waking up.
"Does it hurt him?" Sirius asked. Lupin stayed silent for a few moments.
"Yes," he answered as he left the room again. The boys looked at each other and moved close to the bed again. James reached out slowly, to the surprise of the other boys. His index finger was moving towards a bubble on his arm. As soon as it hit the bubble, Remus Lupin yelped and woke up, a cold sweat starting to form on his forehead. The other boys leaned in. Finally, Lupin's pain stopped and he opened his eyes to see his friends beside him.
"I knew you'd get in," he said, like always, but without his usual smile. The boys were surprised by this, and remained silent.
"Is this what you wanted to see?" he asked with a silent passion in his voice. He was still lying entirely still. "Is this what you hoped the-the freak wou- would look like?"
"Moony- what?" James started.
"That's right…I'm Moony. That's all I am- I, I'm Moony…" his fists clenched and he stopped speaking suddenly. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have…shouldn't have said anything. I'm so sorry…"
"Don't apologize, Remus," Sirius said to him. "We're the ones who are sorry." Peter opened his mouth slightly, as if he was going to say something, but it closed. He looked surprised at himself, but nobody seemed to notice him at all.
"No, I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to see me like this."
"We don't care," James told him. "We really don't."
"We do, however, have a delicious breakfast ready for you!" Sirius tried his best to sound as bright as he could. He picked up the breakfast tray and set it slowly onto Lupin's lap. Lupin began to try and sit himself up, but he couldn't. He tried again, and raised himself a little bit, but fell back down almost instantly, spilling a bit of the water. He frowned.
"Don't worry, I've got it," James told his as he moved the tray to the floor. Sirius and James helped Remus sit up, which was a difficult task due to his strange bone structure.
"Thank you…" he began, but stopped when James rolled his eyes as he put the tray back onto his lap. Remus lifted his hand slowly and picked up the fork that was sitting on the tray. He grasped it and lifted it up, then dropped it. His hand moved to his forehead, which he felt in a way very reminiscent of how the older Lupin did. "Sorry…my head hurts a little bit."
"It's alright. We're just glad that you're still you," Sirius said to him. Remus took the fork again and began to eat. The other boys watched him carefully, making sure nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the older Lupin came in.
"James, you might want to come down. Harry's here."