Potions OWL #1:
Write about running away. (from the place)
Write about a child giving something to someone they trust. (mental age, their story)
Add ten random prompts from the prompt list below in any order through the story.
Write about two or more people splitting up.
Extra Prompts:
Word: Help
Word: Kid
Colour: Silver
Colour: Pink
Action: Run
Action: Reach
Action: Pull
Restriction: Don't have any physical children in your story. (IE, you can have ghosts of children or adults that have a young mental age, but no live children.)
Restriction: Don't mention Hogwarts.
Restriction: Don't mention any famous wizards. (Remus isn't that famous right? Or Sirius? And they're not magical in this so they wouldn't count as famous wizards, right?)
Pin the tail: (colour) white
Pokemon Go Challenge, started Pokemon: Squirtle. Water type, water included in story.
Non-magical!AU, mental ward!AU, modern!AU. Warnings for mentions of suicide/attempted suicide. Warnings for insulting of gay people.
Word Count: 1281
Close to Crazy
He sat down by the lake at the edge of the garden, his hand skimming against the water. He shouldn't be here, he knew that much, but he didn't care. He had to escape for a moment, to get away from their pitying stares. He had to escape; even if he was trapped in by the fences of the garden, it was better than being outside.
"Oi, Lupin. What are you doing here? You're not supposed to leave the building without a member of staff."
He looked up. "I had to get out. It was doing my head in. Besides, you're not one to talk."
"How did you get out? And I'm allowed out now."
"The door was unlocked. I opened it. I ended up here."
Black rolled his eyes. "You better get back, before they notice that you've gone missing," he said, reaching out his hand to Remus. "You wouldn't want to get in trouble."
Remus pulled himself up, ignoring Black's outstretched arm. He brushed himself down, pulling his cardigan closer to his body, attempting to block the cold air. Slowly, he made his way back to the building, ignoring the young man behind him. He could deal with himself. He didn't need anybody.
"Wanna run back?" Black called after him. "It will be fun! We can act like kids again!"
Remus didn't turn back,.
A week later, Black approached him again. "What do you want?" Remus asked, not looking up from his hands.
"Can I sit with you?" Black asked, sitting on the sofa next to Remus without waiting for the answer.
Remus glanced at Black. "Sure, you can sit there, if you want. I don't mind."
"Thanks," he grinned, his silver-grey eyes twinkling. "So, what you in here for?"
"Why should I tell you?" Remus shot back. He wasn't over-keen on the excitable teenager, as he contradicted his own personality massively. Also, his story was personal.
"We can trade. Story for a story?"
"Only if you go first." He always loved a good tale, and he was curious as to why Black was in here.
Remus leaned back, resting against the sofa. "Okay," Black said, his voice light. "So, basically, I was always the unwanted child. My brother, Regulus, was always the favourite, but that didn't stop us from being close. Anyways, a few months ago he died, big shooting in London at the time. I fell into a deep depression and my parents found the scars I left behind. I ended up in here."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Remus replied.
"Don't worry, I'm okay now. That git was part of a gang anyway. He harmed lots of people." Sirius—when did he become Sirius?—tried to laugh, but it came out broken. "Now it's your turn to tell me your story."
His story… Did he want to tell his story?…
… "Get out of the way," some kid barged past him, even though there was a large space behind him.
"Watch where you're going," Remus retorted.
"Why would I, Ugly?"…
… "Oi, Ugly, what are you staring at?" The same kid asked a few days later.
"Nothing, why?"
"Because you're freaking me out with your creepy eyes. Stop staring at me like that."...
… "Whoops, I slipped," he said, just before he pushed Remus down the stairs.
He tumbled down, but it didn't hurt that much. What hurt more was his pride, as everyone laughed at him...
… Remus slowly fell for the teen who insulted him at every turn. He couldn't help it, the boy, Sam, was so cute. He was good-looking, with his deep blue eyes and cute smile, his beach-blond hair and defined cheekbones. "Pull yourself out of it," Remus whispered to himself. "Use your head, not your heart."...
… "What are you doing?" Remus asked, as Sam grabbed his hand and led him into an abandoned classroom.
A pair of soft lips ambushed his. Remus felt his cheeks go pink. He wasn't complaining, however, as that was one hell of a kiss. He might have kissed him back, just a little bit. "What was that for?" Remus asked as Sam pulled away.
"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," Sam said breathlessly, before leaning in for another kiss…
… How did this happen? He was so confused. He hadn't done anything, yet this boy was mocking him. Annoying him.
"Gay boy, gay boy," the boy was chanting. "Do you want to kiss me, gay boy? Do you?"
"Not really, no," Remus said.
"Are you sure, gay boy?" The boy leered at him.
"You're not my type."
The boy scoffed. "I'm not your type, yeah sure. I thought you liked bullies."
Sam came out of the shadows. "I thought you liked bullies, Babe," he said in a mocking voice.
Remus shook his head, taking a step backwards. "No," he whispered, horrified. "You said—"
"I lied."
"Why? Why lie to me?"
"Because it was fun. And easy."
Remus turned away. "Please."
"Go away, gay boy." Sam spat at him.
Remus burst into tears as the chants of "gay boy" followed him out of the room…
… Remus sat by the edge of the river, watching as the water flowed by. His world was grey. Everything was dull.
His phone flashed with insults that he didn't read. He knew what they said: a variation of "gay boy" from people at school that he had never even spoken to. He didn't deserve this. Only because he was attracted to men, everyone hated him. So what? It didn't give anyone the right to insult him on Facebook.
He briefly looked at his phone.
Deana: I used to think you were cute, before I found out you were just another faggot.
Myles: To think, a bender was in the same room as me at one point. Disgusting!
Sam: I'm not sorry.
Lyra: Ew, you fag.
His heart was racing, tears pouring down his cheeks. He once thought he was strong; he once thought he was brave. He now knew differently.
The phone curved into a perfect arc and landed in the water. He wished he could do that with his life.
Why couldn't he do that with his life? Wait—why couldn't he do that?
Almost as if he was in a daze, he stood up, putting his hands in his cardigan pocket. He stepped forward, falling off the edge of the river bank. His legs scraped against the rocks, but he was sinking now. The water was surrounding him in a comforting way…
… He woke up in a hospital. His throat hurt, his vision was blurry, and his nose felt clogged up. The walls around him were white.
Someone was holding onto his hand, so tight that it felt like the circulation was going to be cut off. "Remy, baby, everything will be okay," his mother was telling him. "You'll be fine, baby. We'll help you get through this."...
He was brought out of his memories by Sirius, who was waving his hand in front of Remus' face. "Are you alright?" Sirius asked. "Your eyes glazed over for a minute."
"I'm fine."
"Are you going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"Your story! You promised!"
Remus sighed. "Some promises are made to be broken."
Sirius crossed his arms angrily. "You don't seem like that kind of person."
Remus turned away. "You don't know what I'm capable of. But I'm in here because I attempted to drown myself. That's all."
He stood up and walked away. Maybe, in the future, he would open up more. Sirius was a nice guy, even if he acted like a kid sometimes. He was only trying to help. Remus just needed more time.
Never been in a mental hospital, never attempted suicide, so I don't know if the facts are right. Obviously not canon, and I obviously don't think the things that Remus were called are correct. Never insult someone for not being heterosexual.
~Buttercat
Gringotts Prompt Bank:
Pitch Perfect—(item) cardigan
Titles taken from Country Songs—(title) Close to Crazy
CSI: New York—(colour) grey, (dialogue) "Why? Why lie to me?", (dialogue) "Use your head, not your heart.", (action) scoff
Sons of Anarchy—(colour) pink, (colour) silver
Diana Palmer—(eye colour) silver-grey, (action) burst into tears
Lord of the Rings—(OC name) Sam
A-Z list of AU prompts—modern, non-magic
OC Name Prompts: First Names Only—Lyra, Myles