Another path for Remus lupin

Coward

Remus's eyes flew open, his bones ached. Everything hurt. His face was stuck to the leaves and twigs that were lying across the ground, they were piercing his face with pain. He wanted to get up but he couldn't get up as every time he tried his bones would scream with pain and he would collapse back on the ground. He tried to force himself up, tried to ignore the pain that seared through his bones, but, despite the leaves and the pointy twigs, the ground felt comfy.

He wanted to drift back to sleep, but he wanted to go away from the woods. He knew that he was close to the werewolf hideout, one of the werewolves could come across him and recognize him. Then they would take him back to Greyback and...well, greyback would punish him terribly.

Then something struck him, Charlotte!

Remus suddenly didn't feel tired anymore, he forced himself to get up. He finally stood on the twigs and leaves, pain exploding inside of him. But, he didn't care. He wanted to get out of here, along with Charlotte of course.

Remus walked along the woods, pain stabbing him every time he put some weight on his feet. He walked along, looking everywhere. He knew Charlotte would be close by. After all, he had told her to stay close by and not wander off too far. But, some strange voice told him he was wrong.

Remus looked around. He expected to see Charlotte's face, poking out from the trees or her lying on the ground in a deep sleep. He didn't see either. Panic soared through Remus. Where was she?

Okay, Calm down, maybe she went a little bit further than I thought

Remus ran through the woods, looking behind every tree and bush that he could find. Pain stabbed him like a knife every time he put his foot on the ground. But, his panic outweighed that pain. His breaths came out sharp, and it caused even more pain to stab his ribs.

He ran even farther than he expected, searching everywhere, shouting, "CHARLOTTE!" but, since he was so tired, it came out like, "Charlotte,"

His breath was ragged, he was so tired, so full of panic that he didn't know where he was going. He just stumbled around, looking for Charlotte's face.

He only stopped when the pain was too much and he put his hands on his knees and started wheezing. He looked up and what he saw made him freeze.

It was the werewolf hideout. Two werewolves with gnarled faces and an intimidating presence were laughing, but, it wasn't a joyful laugh, it was a sickening laugh that made Remus stop in his tracks. And, in between those two werewolves, was Charlotte.

It took a few seconds for Remus to process it all. And when he finally did a mixture of emotions churned through his head. Confusion, anger, and fear. 

Remus wanted to run into the hideout, grab Charlotte and bolt out of there. But, some invisible force made him not do that. He was juggling between two options, Free Charlotte or Runaway.

Charlotte's face was covered in new, fresh scars that were bleeding. She was sitting on the ground, hugging her legs to her chest, trembling out of fear. 

"You couldn't even run away from here for a week! You're hopeless!" One of the werewolves told Charlotte. He turned to look at the other werewolf, "Go get Greyback! He'll know what to do with this idiot!"

The other werewolf, clenched his jaw, obviously not used to being demanded like this. He nodded stiffly and went away,

Charlotte turned her head, her eyes landed on Remus. They were filled with fear. Charlotte then mouthed the words, "Go,"

Remus stood still, still unsure about what to do. Would he not listen to Charlotte and go free her and most likely get caught by the hundreds of older and stronger werewolves, or, listen to Charlotte and run away like a coward and leave Charlotte alone to face whatever punishment she would face?

He chose the latter.

Remus turned and ran. Pain coursing through his bones, twigs stabbing his bare feet. His surroundings were a blur. He didn't care about the pain, he just wanted to run, determined to get away from the hideout.

Remus broke out of the hideout, but he kept running, he ignored all of the adults asking him, "Where are your parents?" or "Slow down boy! You almost ran into me!"

Remus finally stopped and he sat on a park bench. Replaying all the events that had happened in his head. He only just realized how tired he was. He wanted to curl up in a little ball and sleep. But, his body wouldn't allow him to.

He had left Charlotte alone. All alone, to face whatever punishment she would face.

He didn't know what Greyback would do. He could kill-

No, don't think like that, she'll be fine. Besides, she told you to go. Remus scolded himself.

Yeah, well, what if she wasn't telling you to go? Maybe, she was telling you 'Help'? You can't be sure

This realization sunk into Remus. They were supposed to escape together and live on the streets together. It wasn't fair! She didn't want to live there!

Guilt coursed through Remus' veins. It outweighed the fear, pain, and panic he was experiencing just a few minutes ago. He looked at the smiling children, playing with other children. Tears welled up in Remus' eyes.

"What are you doing here young man?"

The voice caught Remus by surprise that he fell off the bench and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Remus looked up. 

He saw a plump woman who wore too much red lipstick and pink blush for her own good. Her brunette hair was done in a pixie cut. She frowned at Remus,

"Oh, well, I-"

"Where are your parents?" the woman asked him. She looked him up and down, frowning even deeper, "And the state of your clothes! My, my, no child should have to wear-" She scrunched up her nose, "that,"

Remus appreciated her concern for his well being. No, he really did. He had never had anyone be concerned about his clothing. Well, there was that guy with the sandwich, but, he seemed more annoyed at Remus than concerned. But, this woman was a muggle! If she knew that Remus was a werewolf, she would probably get him to burn at the stake. He wanted to get away from her or maybe, attack her. But, he was a scrawny ten-year-old and this was an overweight middle-aged woman. Guess who would win that fight?

"Yeah, um-"

"And your face!" the woman did a very dramatic gasp, "You looked like you attacked a bear!"

More like I attacked myself, but, Remus was not going to say that to her. She would think he was a scrawny ten-year-old, with terrible clothes and a deranged child!

"Well, I-"

"My, my! Where are your parents? I need to speak to them about the way they are treating you!"

"Oh, my parents are dead," Remus told her. Then, he decided that he sounded a bit too casual like he was saying what he had for lunch. So, to add some effect, he started crying crocodile tears.

The woman looked a Remus, her face full of pity, "Oh. I'm so sorry!" She said.

Remus nodded his head, "T-they di-died 2 wee-weeks a-ago," Remus wiped his nose, "I-I've had to li-live o-on the str-streets ev-ever since,"

The woman nodded her head and she gave Remus a tissue, which Remus blew his nose in. "Do you have any aunts? Uncles?"

"N-No. T-They we-were my la-last liv-living rel-relatives," 

The woman nodded her head (again). "Well, my name is Susan Clawberry. What is your name?"

Remus was not about to give his real name, so he said the first name that came to his mind, "Bobby Findlestick,"