Remus Lupin was, for all intents and purposes, a perfectly normal, happy, and healthy five-year-old boy. He was playful and loving and incredibly sharp-witted for such a young child, if not just a little on the mischievous side.
He liked to read and to help his mother in the kitchen, and he was fascinated by the work of his father, a wizard who worked for the Ministry of Magic in the Regulations of Magical Creatures department.
Always curious, Remus would flip through the pages of his father's books, and although he could not yet read the complicated words, he was a never-ending stream of questions when he found pictures of interesting creatures.
Most children would want a normal bedtime story from their parents. Muggle stories like Little Red Riding Hood or Cinderella were alright he supposed, and he did on occasion ask to be read a wizard tale like Babbitty Rabbitty, but most of the time he would beg and plead for his father to tell him about the strange and dark creatures from the books he stored in his study.
"You'll get nightmares, Remus." Lyall would advise, even as he sat on the edge of his son's bed and opened to whatever page the boy demanded to know more about. Remus was brave, though. He wasn't afraid of the dark or whatever could be lurking in the shadows.
Remus would sit up in his bed, propped up against his pillows, and listen to his father go on and on, chocolate brown eyes wide with fascination and not even the slightest hint of fear or, to his father's dismay, exhaustion.
"It's getting late," Lyall would eventually say, closing the book. "We can continue tomorrow." He would stand up, kiss the boy goodnight, and turn to leave the room.
Every night without fail Remus would yell, "Wait!" and Lyall would sigh and turn back. Remus' face was a mixture of deep thought and mischief.
"There's… a hiccuppunk under the bed." The boy said definitively.
Lyall laughed and shook his head. "A hinkypunk."
"Yes," Remus nodded. "One of those. It's under the bed. I heard it."
"Remus, there is nothing under your bed. You just don't want to go to sleep."
"But I heard it, Dad!" Remus insisted. "Can't you check?"
And of course, Lyall would oblige, knowing that Remus hadn't heard a thing. "They are quite easy to get rid of," he would explain, as he did about any creature his son claimed was hiding in the room each night. He crouched under the bed, brandishing his wand, and Remus would lean over the edge of the mattress to watch. "Do you remember how?"
"The lumos spell," Remus answered with a pleased expression on his young face for having remembered. "And then a knockback jinx 'til it dissolves."
"That is correct." Lyall sighed, emerging from under the bed and fixing his son with a knowing look. "And if there was a hinkypunk hiding beneath your bed, that's exactly what I would do. But you and I both know there isn't, and it's time to go to sleep, Remus."
It was the same routine every night. Remus would pick some interesting new dark creature, claim it was hidden somewhere in his room, and wait for his father to tell him how to properly defend himself against it.
One night Remus didn't ask for the book at all. He had overheard his father speaking to another wizard from work over the fireplace. Something had been causing the Ministry quite a bit of trouble and Remus, being the curious child he was, was determined to know more about it. That night, before Lyall could open the book, Remus made his request.
"Werewolves."
Lyall stared at him in disbelief. "Werewolves? Remus, no." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, son. That's too scary for you."
"It is not!" Remus argued. "I'm five now! Come on Dad, please? I won't get scared, I'll go right to bed I promise!"
For the first time, Lyall hesitated. Werewolves weren't only a terrifying subject, one which he firmly believed no five-year-old should concern themselves with, but they were also a rather sensitive topic at the Ministry at the time. In fact, only earlier that week he himself had had a confrontation with a werewolf; the leader of one of the only real packs in Britain, a particularly dangerous and unhinged beast by the name of Fenrir Greyback who was causing quite an uproar for Lyall and the rest of his department.
Running a hand through his hair anxiously, Lyall gave his son an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Remus. I just don't think you're old enough to really understand-"
But Remus had that determinedly stubborn look on his face, one Lyall was certain he had inherited from his mother, and his argument fell flat. He gave the boy as little information as he could, skirting around public and personal beliefs and sticking to the hard facts as they were written in his books. Remus, as always, listened in awe, stopping him a few times to ask questions but careful not to push his father any more than he was being given, sensing that this, beyond all other things, wasn't something the older man felt comfortable discussing.
"But if a werewolf is only a werewolf when there's a full moon, isn't he just a normal person the rest of the time?"
Lyall gave him a grave look and shook his head. "A werewolf is a werewolf whether the moon is full or not, Remus. From the moment the bite is received, he is no longer considered human. It changes the entire physiology of a person. They're cursed. Dark magic is transferred into their blood."
"So they wouldn't even be able to live like a normal person anymore? Go to school or have a job or a family?"
"Well, the Ministry is trying to set rules for those sorts of things. You're right, they do spend most of their lives in human form but unfortunately, there just isn't enough evidence to support that they are safe to be around. Better to be safe, keep them away from the public in case the animal part of their mind cannot be controlled and they hurt somebody, right?"
"Aren't there bad people anyway? People, who aren't werewolves who hurt people? There must be werewolves who don't want to make any trouble?"
"There are," Lyall agreed. "But why take the chance? There are bad people in the world, you're right. But a werewolf has more of a chance of being a bad person. It's in their nature."
Remus frowned, clearly deep in thought and Lyall suddenly felt uneasy with the conversation.
"It's late, son. Time for bed." He stood up and kissed the boy on top of his head, tucking the covers around him, despite the contemplative look on his face that suggested he wanted more information. "You promised. Straight to sleep, now." He watched for a moment as Remus settled down, still seeming unsatisfied. As Lyall headed out of the room and flicked off the lights, Remus sat up.
"Dad, wait!"
Lyall didn't turn the lights back on, but he paused in the doorway. "We go over this every night, son. There's nothing under your bed."
Remus bit his lip, his eyes full of worry rather than the usual spark of playfulness. He shifted uncomfortably and looked up at his father. "Could you check?"
But Lyall was tired. "You promised you wouldn't be scared if I told you about these monsters, Remus. There's nothing there. You know the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, don't you?"
Remus shook his head.
"The little boy claimed time and time again that there was a wolf out to get them and there never was. He lied so many times that people just stopped listening. And one day when he told the truth, and the wolf was really there, nobody believed him anymore."
"But-"
"Goodnight, Remus."
Not even an hour later, a piercing scream ripped through the house and Remus Lupin would no longer be a perfectly normal, happy, and healthy five-year-old boy.
—-
Sirius stood on the lawn, arms folded over his chest and eyes gleaming with pride, quite the contrast to James and Peter, who were standing just behind him looking a little exasperated at the source of their friend's newfound joy.
"That is a pile of scrap metal, that's what that is," Peter muttered, shaking his head. "You inherited all that money and this is what you do with it? Must be nice to be rich."
Sirius' grin faltered and he glared sideways at the shorter boy. "Shut up, Wormtail. It's bloody gorgeous!" The scrap metal in question was a 1958 Triumph Bonneville T120 motorbike… or at least it had been at some point. Currently, its paint was chipped and faded, there was a thick layer of rust covering the handlebars and it looked like it hadn't been touched for at least a decade before Sirius, accompanied by a reluctant James, pushed it out of the previous owner's shed, down the bl0ck and finally managed to apparate it home with them. "It just needs some work, that's all," Sirius said defensively.
"You don't know the first thing about riding one of these things, let alone having to practically rebuild one," James said for the twentieth time since Sirius had dragged him off to help him acquire the monstrosity. "You'll end up dead in the streets and who's going to have to be the one to tell Moony that his boyfriend is a highway pancake? Me. It's always bloody me."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Don't be so bloody dramatic, Prongs. If I can learn how to become an animagus, I can read a book on Muggle Auto Mechaniatics."
"Auto Mechanics," Peter corrected under his breath, and Sirius either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him, choosing instead to step forward and try to scratch off the rust with his nail.
Peter grimaced. "I wouldn't worry, mate." He nudged James with his elbow. "He'll die of tetanus long before he gets that thing running."
"No one is going to die!" Sirius snapped irritably and the other two merely rolled their eyes and stayed silent.
Sirius had been a little more moody than usual, having to leave Remus alone with his parents for the full moon. Realistically he knew that was no different than every other summer when Remus would return home for his transformations, but something just wasn't sitting right with Sirius. He figured it had something to do with this new bond between them, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. That was why he and James had gone off to find a distraction and had come home with the bike. Peter arrived shortly after.
"Ten Galleons says he forgets about the bloody thing in a week anyway," James snickered to Peter who grinned widely.
"A week? I give him two days. Once Moony shows up he'll be too busy following him around and whining about what a terrible 78 hours it was without him- HEY!"
James howled with laughter as Peter, who had been hit with a jet of light from Sirius' wand, struggled to hold his rapidly swelling tongue with both of his arms.
"Laugh all you want, but when I get her working don't come asking me for rides," Sirius said smugly.
James snorted and shook his head. "No bloody way I'd let you drive me around on that thing, Padfoot. I value my life too much."
Sirius ignored the comment and busied himself with rubbing down the old bike with a rag. Peter was still making distressed sounds as he tried to counter-jinx his tongue and somewhere in the distance, there was a loud POP.
"OOEYYY!" Peter exclaimed. "'ADOOT! OOOK!"
James chuckled, turning around to help him. "Oh for Merlin's sake, Pete. Hold on, I'll set you ri- Shit!" He suddenly bolted off.
Sirius rolled his eyes, still focused on the bike. "It'll wear off on its own, let him-"
"SIRIUS, IT'S REMUS!"
Bike forgotten, Sirius dropped the rag and spun around. James was rushing across the yard, followed by Peter who was struggling to keep up while dragging his enlarged tongue along. Sirius sprinted to catch up, blindly flicking his wand in Peter's direction with the counter jinx.
Remus was kneeling on the ground looking disheveled and breathless as both James and Sirius came skidding to a stop in front of him.
"Remus, what the hell are you doing here!" James demanded, bending to try to help the other boy stand.
Remus shook his head, declining assistance. He held his hand up. "I'm fine."
"Like hell you are!" Sirius growled as he dropped to his knees, his eyes scanning over his boyfriend for any sign of injury. "What were you thinking, trying to apparate right after the full moon? You could have gotten hurt! You could have splinched yourself!"
"I'm alright, Padfoot," Remus insisted lightly, his eyes firmly on the ground. "Just a little dizzy. Just give me a second and – ugh, hold on." He turned his head away from them and vomited in the grass.
James bit his lip and he and Sirius exchanged concerned looks. "Pete, go tell my mum that Remus is here and he's ill."
Peter had only just caught up with them, but he nodded and ran off towards the house.
"I'm really fine, Prongs," Remus said, taking a shaky breath and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.
"What were you thinking!?" Sirius repeated urgently. Remus attempted to stand which made both James and Sirius flinch before they both put an arm around his shoulders and helped him up.
Remus forced a laugh and shrugged. "Oh, you know. Just missed you, lads."
Sirius clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing with a look that clearly said he was not amused when Remus risked a glance at him.
Remus sighed. "Look, it doesn't matter. I'm alive and in one piece, eh? Just… drop it, alright?"
"I most certainly will not 'just drop it,' Remus, you could have-"
"What Sirius means is," James loudly interrupted Sirius' outburst, glaring pointedly at him. "It's your business, Moony. If you don't want to discuss it right now, that's fine with us. We're just happy you're here and you're okay."
Sirius huffed in annoyance but mumbled somewhat of an agreement as they helped Remus into the house and sat him down on the sofa in the Potter's sitting room.
Trinket entered the room not a moment later, holding a tray with three teacups and some fresh biscuits as she scurried along.
"Mistress told Trinket that Master Remus had arrived and was feeling ill. Trinket fetched some tea," she squeaked breathlessly as the boys took the offered refreshments.
Remus smiled back at her, curling his hands around the hot teacup appreciatively. "Thank you, Trinket. That was very thoughtful."
"Trinket is hoping Master Remus is alright. Mistress went to get the medical aid. She will be here soon, she told Trinket to say."
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Remus reassured her gently. "Just had a bad apparition, that's all."
Trinket bowed to all of them and hurried out as quickly as she had come in. The room was filled with an awkward silence as James busied himself with the biscuits and Remus sipped his tea, his eyes set determinedly, avoiding eye contact with his friends.
Sirius didn't touch his tea. He leaned against the mantle over the fireplace, his grey eyes nearly burning into Remus from across the room. He could sense a million different scents on the other boy, he could practically see the emotions and pain coming off of him.
What's wrong with you? He thought desperately. For a second he thought perhaps he had accidentally said it out loud because Remus' eyes shot up to look at him. His eyes looked tired and sad and he shook his head, clearly telling Sirius 'not now'.
Thankfully, that was when Mrs. Potter, followed closely by Peter, came in and shooed James off of the sofa so she could sit beside Remus to examine him, hurrying through her usual greetings as she began to look over him.
"Hello Remus, dear."
"Hi, Mrs. Potter."
"How's your mother? Everything alright at home?"
"Yes, ma'am. She said to thank you for the truffles you sent."
"Hmmm…." Euphemia hummed in disapproval when she took Remus' temperature. "You know you really shouldn't be apparating when you aren't well, Remus, especially when you're still new to it. I'd have thought you were wiser than that." She gave him a look that reminded all four boys of Professor McGonagall when they misbehaved. "Happy as I am to have you here, you're lucky you didn't have a worse reaction."
"Yes, ma'am. I know. I guess I thought I had been better and I didn't want to be sick around my mum, so…"
"Perfectly understandable, love." Euphemia nodded. She uncorked a small vial and poured some of its contents onto a spoon. "This should take the fever down, but I want you to go straight up to bed. Do your parents know you're here?"
"Yes, they know." Remus took the spoon and swallowed the potion down without a fuss. "Thank you."
Euphemia smiled warmly and patted Remus' hand. "You're quite welcome, Remus. Now, off to bed with you. And you three," she looked at James, Sirius, and Peter, "Let him rest, will you? Help him up to bed and then back outside with all of you. I won't have you yelling and getting riled up while the poor thing is sick."
"Yes, Mrs. P," Peter said while James and Sirius both muttered, "Yes, Mum."
Remus insisted once again that he was fine when James and Sirius went to help him stand, but that didn't stop Sirius' arm from sliding protectively around his waist as they all moved upstairs to Sirius' bedroom.
Once upstairs, Peter closed the bedroom door while Remus made himself comfortable on the bed, and James and Sirius perched themselves at the foot of it.
Noticing that all eyes were on him and that his friends had no intention of leaving to let him rest, Remus' eyebrows shot up. "Oh, is this outside now?"
"We'll go if that's what you really want," James said. "It's just that if we do, I might have to tie Sirius up to a tree or something to keep him from coming back in and harassing you, so you might as well just tell us what's going on now."
Sirius glared at James for a moment, but he didn't deny that it would be nearly impossible to take him away from Remus' side.
"Is your mum okay?" Peter asked, locking the door and soundproofing the room with his wand before coming to join the others on the bed.
Remus nodded, looking down at his lap. "She's fine." He met his friend's eyes and sighed heavily. "Merlin, seriously guys. It's not that big of a deal. I… had a bit of a row with my dad this morning when I woke up after the full. I just couldn't… I had to get away. It's really fine." He glanced around at all of them; they didn't seem convinced. "Really." He added when he caught Sirius' eye. "It was nothing. Just the moon and mum's health and just… being home is a bit of a stress right now. I couldn't… I didn't- ugh." He groaned and ran both hands through his hair, resting his forehead on his knees. "I just couldn't stay there. I'm sorry I worried you all. I should have taken a moment to think it through and sent an owl explaining when was happening and I could have used the floo instead of just apparating here like that. It was stupid and-"
"It's alright, Moony." The gentle tone of Sirius' voice surprised him and he looked back up. Sirius' entire expression had changed to one a lot softer and sympathetic. His lips twitched up in a sad sort of smile and he shrugged. "I get it. Sometimes you just can't be somewhere for a second longer."
James and Peter both nodded in agreement and Remus smiled and relaxed once again.
"Do you reckon you and your dad will be alright?" Peter asked carefully, not wanting to intrude too much. He reached into his pocket to retrieve a chocolate frog and he tossed it across the bed to Remus.
"Thanks, Wormtail," Remus said gratefully, opening the packaging and biting off the head. He nodded as he chewed. "Yeah. We'll be fine. I just wanted to get some space, that's all." He picked up the card out of the wrapper to read it, then held it out to James. "Edric Vosper."
James' eyes went wide and he snatched the card excitedly, nearly falling off the bed as he did. "He's the only member of Puddlemere's 1964 World Cup team that I was missing…" he explained sheepishly as he stuffed the card in his pocket and fixed his glasses while his friends stared at him.
He cleared his throat and nodded at Remus. "Thanks, mate." Then he hopped off the bed. "Well, then, we should probably let you rest before Mum comes up to drag us all out of here. C'mon Pete, Sirius…"
Peter got up to follow dutifully, but Sirius' only move was to crawl from the foot of the bed up to where Remus was to sit beside him, taking the werewolf's hand in his own.
James rolled his eyes. "Come on, Padfoot. Time for your walk." Both Peter and Remus chuckled.
Sirius lifted his chin defiantly. "I'm staying-"
"If you stay here, I'm transfiguring that rusty piece of tin you call a motorbike into a parakeet and watching it fly away," James smirked, folding his arms as Sirius gasped.
"You wouldn't dare-!"
"Wait, what?" Remus questioned, pulling his hand away from Sirius' and turning to gape at Sirius. "What motorbike? Who on earth would let you drive a bloody motorbike?"
Sirius went pale and then slightly pink. He quickly kissed Remus' cheek before he leaped off the bed, out of his boyfriend's reach. "Y'know what, Prongs is right. You need your rest, Moony. I'll just be running along then, such a lovely day outside. Shame you've got to stay right here. Love you, sleep well!" He rushed out the door, grabbing a laughing James and Peter by the sleeves and dragging them out with him, leaving a very confused Remus behind and shutting the door just as his boyfriend shouted:
"SIRIUS BLACK GET YOUR ARSE BACK HERE!"
As the door slammed shut and Remus heard the sound of his friend's footsteps rushing down the stairs and James and Peter's laughter, he sighed and laid back down against the pillows, wondering what it must be like to have a normal, quiet life.
The first half of this chapter is literally my favorite thing I have ever written so I hope you all enjoyed it!
YOu can find my Podcast The Marauders (Olivias' Version) on Spotify and Google Podcasts as well as on Instagram at themaraudersoliviasversion
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