Moon Fishing.
Chapter Two: Retrograde.
Something woke Remus later that night. The house stayed silent and still. He lay quietly watching the points of light dancing on his ceiling. He was just about to fall asleep again when he remembered. His eyes snappped open and trained on the tiny dot that is Mercury. It was in retrograde. He watched it as it seemed to move bacwards through it's orbit. This was one of those things that had fascinated Remus since he heard about it. He decided that the little bright speck on his ceiling wasn't enough. He must see it for real. Out in the cold of the neighbouring paddock, the weight of his telescope against his eye. His cheeks pinched and reddened by the night air. He slipped out of bed and carefully put on his slippers and dressing gown. His small hands reached out for the telescope in the dark he found it. Holding it to his chest he disappeared out into the hallway. Above the bed the dogstar blinked an unseen warning.
The small boy silently padded down the stairs. Excitement prickled at the back of his neck. He was about to open the kitchen door when he suddenly stopped. With a glance at the door he turned slightly and reached for the fruit bowl with his free hand. The crisp, green apple was a little sour, just the way he likes them. soon he was out and making his way across the paddock with an apple in hand and a smile on his face. Remus looked ahead and saw the small hill he was heading for. Between him and it there lay an old wooden fence. To both sides of the paddock there were rows of trees. The night settled onto his shoulders. The grass crunched beneath his small feet. The wind sighed through the trees. Remus was at the fence now. As his soft hands kissed the rough wood and he crawled through the gap the breeze brought him a new scent. This one was heavier than the others and he couldn't place it. He glanced up to check again how clear the night was when in the corner of his eye he saw movement. A massive shadow moved impossibly fast as the new scent filled his head.
He flew back into the fence a warm and heavy weight propelling him. Confusion pulled at the corners of his mind before fear took hold. His eyes opened wide when he saw the wolf. He silently witnessed the thick brown fur against the soft milk of his skin. He watched disbelieving as the huge teeth ripped into his right side. His clothes soaked with blood, saliva from the monsterous maw mingled with it and the attack continued. He could still smell his soapy hair, and the crisp green grass but it was now mixed with the musk of the beast and the metallic tang of his own blood. He realised that he could taste blood as well, thick and hot in his mouth. Finally he screamed. His eyes thrown wide and pleading at the ivory orb above. He hoped it would end soon. He whimpered and screamed and it wasn't until he heard the beast running away that he realised it had let him go. He pulled his tiny frame into a ball and cried. The beast stopped on the hill and howled triumphantly as two frantic voices floated across the night. Footsteps approach as Remus screwed his eyes shut against the blinding wandlight. Against the fence, next to a broken and forgotten telescope Marelda and John Lupin found their son covered in cooling blood, crying hot tears.