12.
It really was a shame that Remus had no idea where he was or even where he was going, as it was he was moving farther and farther into a little used portion of the gigantic castle. He had been walking for a good three quarters of an hour, staggering and limping down corridor after corridor before finally slumping against a wall and sliding down to the floor, his body shaking from pain and exhaustion; Remus pulled his injured leg towards his chest and wrapped his good hand around it. He felt more than heard Severus and Lily sit down on either side of him, he jumped when they both placed a comforting hand on his shoulder; his breathing was rather erratic as he tried to calm himself down and managed to lift his head and smile tentatively at both of them. They were watching him with such concern and pity that Remus immediately felt guilty that they had followed him on his wandering of the castle, he wanted to reassure them that he was fine but he didn't think that he could or if it would even work.
They sat together in companionable silence for a while before Lily got up and said that they should head back to their dorms or at least to dinner, Remus struggled for a moment before finally making it to his feet and following her after Severus also stood. In a surprisingly short amount of time they came upon the entrance to the Great Hall, they had to part ways in order to sit at their proper tables and Lily sat with the girls from her dorm while Remus slowly made his way to sit alone at the end of the table. He didn't mind sitting alone, he didn't dare eat anything though as he remembered what had happened the last time he had eaten something that Peter hadn't given him; Remus unconsciously rubbed his arm over the burn that had been earned that day. He ducked his head as he noticed the teachers staring at him, wishing that the others would hurry and finish eating, he got down from the table and hop-limped out of the Hall and towards the stairs to wait for Lily and Severus to be done. Remus really didn't want the teachers involved; he knew that if they got involved then things were only going to get worse.
Days later there was a clamor coming from the other end of a corridor and up a flight of stairs, Lily and Severus had been discussing what they should do about Remus when they heard yelling and running footsteps, they both turned and moved forward to see what the commotion was about.
Peter was angry, well he was always angry lately but this time he was more angry than usual and that scared Remus, so when Peter had come towards him with his wand raised and that cruel glint in his eye, Remus had done the only thing he could think of…he ran. He had run from their dorm, through the common room, out the portrait hole and down a corridor…not an easy feat with a twisted leg but he'd had to run as fast as he could; all the while hearing Peter behind him and hearing the insults that Peter sent after him.
"RUN FREAK, JUST LIKE A COWARD. YOU AREN'T EVEN BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE A PROPER HALF-BREED ARE YOU? WHY DON'T YOU COME BACK HERE SO I CAN HAVE SOME FUN WITH THE MONSTER, YOU OWE ME FOR WHAT I DO FOR YOU! GET BACK HERE FILTHY HALF-BREED!" Peter was running after Remus as fast as his legs could take him and he was swiftly gaining and he would have overtaken the creature if it hadn't been for the fact that a certain Slytherin had placed the full-body bind curse on him, making him topple to the ground and land on his face.
Lily had followed Remus after she and Severus had seen and heard what was going on, they had quickly decided that she would follow Remus while he dealt with Peter. It was shocking to her that Peter, little-fat-thick Peter was the one tormenting Remus, he may not be doing it alone but the fact that he was helping was quite a shock to both Lily and Severus. It took a while for Remus to stop running and when he finally did, he collapsed against a wall and sat there shaking with his knees pulled up to his chest and a hand wrapped around his slightly twisted leg. When Lily got close to him she noticed that he had blood running down his arm and dripping from his fingers, this was quickly overshadowed by the fact that at her approach his head swung up and his eyes were wild and afraid, even after she knew he recognized her. Remus shrank away from her touch, wrapping his arms tighter around his legs and shaking violently, his breathing ragged and fast; he couldn't seem to catch his breath and he wouldn't let her or Severus close to him when he arrived. They glanced at each other and exchanged worried glances, both of their attentions returning to the cowering boy before them as he began to cough and choke, still unable to catch his breath; he coughed into his knees and shrank into the wall as they attempted to come nearer. Resting his face against his knees he closed his eyes and turned slightly away from them, tensing as though waiting for something to happen to him, they didn't notice the blood now on his cheek nor the way his body shook more and more violently.
Remus was tired of running and tired of keeping his promise to Peter, he knew he couldn't do anything about it but he was so tired of being afraid all the time. He was even afraid of Lily and Severus and they had never done anything to him, but they would. Remus knew that they too would turn on him as soon as they knew the truth, just like Peter, just like James and just like Sirius. There was no other course of action, no other possible reaction; they would hate him too as soon as they found out, he couldn't stay here…he would have to leave school after this year and be on his own when he grew up, just like the others of his kind. For all he was, was a disgusting, evil thing; a werewolf who was doomed to be hated and turned against for the rest of his life, a boy who would become a monster once again tonight and he could do nothing about it...he was only a monster.
Thank you for reading, I do hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Please R&R.