Silvia and the Rising Moon [EDITING]

4. A Makeshift Moon

     It did not take long for Lyall and Hope Lupin to discover what had happened to their children that day. As soon as the children stepped over the threshold of their home, it was blatantly obvious that something was wrong. A horrifically similar story was written all over Remus and Silvia's faces. Lyall and Hope responded with glances of visible disappointment to one another as their anxiety rose to its peak. The two immediately decided that it was time to search for answers once more. As Hope carefully took Remus to his bedroom, Lyall hurried to the floo, desperate for an explanation.
     As her father disappeared, Silvia stood there, alone in the quiet lounge, staring at the beige wall in front of her. She couldn't even begin to explain what happened out there aside from the obvious: her brother turned in front of her. It happened as a result of nothing but sheer anger. He turned in an effort to defend her. It was her fault. Hot tears filled her eyes. She desperately tried to wipe them away. "Don't cry," she muttered to herself in frustration. "Don't cry. All you do is cry like a big, stupid, dumb baby!"
     Just then, Hope's footsteps echoed down the stairs as she hurried to her daughter's side.
     "Silvia, what happened?"
     Silvia shook her head. "It's my fault, mum," she said, tears unleashing themselves onto her cheeks.
     "Lucius Malfoy was bugging me, and Remus— Remus—"
     Hope's face paled. She sighed and placed a hand on Silvia's cheek. "Now, that's not your fault at all, is it?" she asked as she wiped a tear.
     "It is my fault. It's all my fault."
     Just then, Lyall appeared in a cloud of green smoke through the floo. He looked utterly shell-shocked. "What happened?" he demanded, moving quickly towards Silvia. "Did anyone see you? Did anyone get hurt?"
     Silvia backed away quickly, sputtering incoherently.
     "The Malfoy boy," Hope began softly, "did he see Remus?"
     Silvia nodded slightly. Hope and Lyall exchanged a worried glance. They paused for a moment before turning back to their daughter.
     "Upstairs with you, then," Lyall said in an attempt to cover up his obvious concern. "Go play with your dolls, Silvia. Your mum and I will figure this all out."
     She obliged, quickly running up the stairs and ducking into the corridor. Silvia stood still, out of sight from her parents, as they discussed what Lyall had learned.
     "That lying sack of weasels!" Lyall hissed to his wife. "He tricked me. Wolfsbeard doesn't actually eliminate the chances of a werewolf transforming during full moons," he explained quietly. "In actuality, the herb only managed to upset the balance of Remus's cycles. The herb makes lycanthropy easier to control in the sense that a sufferer can pick and choose the opportune time to transform, which is what Remus had done, unfortunately."
     "So, what does that mean for him?" Hope asked softly.
     "Well," Lyall added sadly. "It does not guarantee that transformations will be prevented during full moons."
     Silvia's heart sank.
     For the next six days, Remus was placed on an all Wolfsbeard diet. On the day leading up to the full moon, the family surrounded the eight year old boy with the herb, desperately hopeful that it would work its magic.
     Nonetheless, when the full moon drifted across the ink black sky, Remus had once again painfully transformed.
     The events that had taken place that night were pivotal in a major decision. The Lupin household no longer provided a safe living environment for Silvia.
     Lyall and Hope sat their children down the next morning. Hope baked cookies for the kids. Lyall had taken the day off from work to spend time with them. She placed a plate of cookies in front of her two exhausted children as they sat down at the dining room table.
     "Eat up, darlings," she said, patting Remus on the head as she walked around the table to take a seat. Neither of them ate, let alone dare look at the plate of cookies in front of them. Silvia hadn't spoken to either of her parents since the night of the incident. They were all stressed beyond belief, but were relieved to find out that Remus was never spotted by a single muggle or a wizard who posed a threat.
     This did not include Lucius Malfoy, who had kept his word about not speaking on the event. Silvia received a letter from the owl asking her to testify for his trial with the Ministry of Magic on Saturday. Today was Wednesday.
     Their father strolled casually into the room, whistling a once popular song that Hogwarts students would sing when he was young. There was a falsified bounce in his step. He sat next to Remus and reached for a cookie. "Absolutely delicious," he said as he took a bite. "Well, come on, you two, eat up before they get cold. Your mum did an excellent job on these."
     "We're not hungry, dad," Remus said forlornly.
     Lyall immediately turned to his wife. "Did you already tell them?" He hissed.
     She shook in her seat. "No, no, no, I didn't, no," she replied frantically.
     Silvia suddenly burst into tears. Her mother instantly turned to comfort her. "Oh, darling, what's the matter?"
     "S-something's about to happen, mum. I just know it. You're going to tell us something. I know we're not going to like it," she sobbed.
     Her father sighed. He turned to his wife. "I'll just tell them," he said, before turning back to the kids. "Silvia, we are sending you to my sister's family's home just north of Wales. You'll be there until we find an effective cure for Remus. We can't have you staying here any longer after what happened. You two are aware of what dangers you put yourselves in that day, aren't you?"
     They each nodded slowly. He berated them about what consequences they could have faced every day since.
     Silvia sobbed harder as she desperately wiped the tears from her face. Remus watched her helplessly.
     Their mother took a deep, shaky breath. "Silvia, please! This is not the appropriate time for crying! Just do as we tell you for once and know we're doing this for you! Look at you, look what's happening, Silvia! This isn't safe," she exclaimed.
     "You're sending me away," she sniffed, "I'm going away forever and ever and I'll never see Remus again."
     Hope shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows sympathetically. "Oh, no, darling. You'll be back as soon as we find him a safe cure. I promise you."
     Silvia slammed her fists on the table. "Mum!" She yelled. "You do this all the time! You think Remus will get better and you make me so happy! And then it's all gone and we start all over again. But Remus will never get better! You know that as much as I do, mummy! Please, stop doing this to me. Stop lying!"
     This time her father spoke. "That's enough out of you. This is why you're going to your Aunt Lita's. We can't hurt you any longer, sweetheart. Please. This is for you. It's not forever."
     She put her arms around her father. He picked her up and cradled her. "I'll go," she said softly, "but, please, don't let me lose my brother."
     "You'll never lose him for as long as you live, Silvia," he said as he kissed her on the forehead. "We won't let that happen." She closed her eyes and only minutes later, she was sound asleep.
     This was the first of many nights that she would sleep decently since she was three years old.