Dark Moon {Remus Lupin}

Chapter 4

“Watch it!” I heard someone yell. I had been pushing through the crowd of students headed up to where I had just left. Nothing made sense right now. It was like time had slowed to a complete stop without any warning. The air around me had turned thick making it difficult to breathe as I ran through the halls, unsure of where I was headed. Anywhere would be fine, anywhere but here, although I’m not entirely sure where here is. A flow of warm tears had started streaming down my reddening face. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide from the words running rampant in my mind.  

The floor beneath me felt like a marshmallow bouncing at every step, turning my legs into a wobbly mess. An echo of my steps ricocheted off of the stone walls, adding to the panic bubbling inside of me. If I was being honest right now, nothing was going through my mind. Not a sliver of a thought, just sheer panic. I could feel the fuzzy feeling on my face growing as I continued to sprint through every hallway, every corridor, and every door that I needed to in order to get outside. Not watching where I was going, I slammed into someone's side. Slightly dazed and unable to focus on anything but my destination, I continued running without stopping for a second. 

“Miss Wright?” A voice yelled after me. A few sobs escaped my mouth involuntarily. There was no way I could stop. If I stopped now I would simply collapse and let the darkness consume me. 

Finally, I felt the door in front of me give way and a ray of light blind my eyes. Yet, I didn’t stop. I just kept going.The soft grass made it even more difficult to run, but I couldn’t care less. As I ran towards the Black Lake, I felt a resistance in one of my steps, launching me forward. The ground looked soft, but the force of my fall and several rocks cut my hands up as they hit the ground, my face following suit. Despite the pain I was in and the blood now gushing from the palm of my hand and cheek, I simply just accepted it and curled up. Every part of me wanted to disappear. 

What is the normal response to being told you are going to die? Could there ever be a normal response? Perhaps it is something that requires a complete release of emotions with no holding back. 

Trelawney's words started to get louder in my head becoming an unbearable volume, deafening any other noise. My body was shaking uncontrollably, my breathing hitched, and my cries became louder. I don’t want to die. Not only do I fear the idea of death, but I was so young and had so much that I wanted to do. I’ve never been in love, never been married, never had children, and I hadn’t seen Weslie do any of that either. I wanted to be there for every beautiful moment in her life as well as every low. 

Every part of me told me that what Professor Trelawney said was true. I had never seen her act like that before. Her voice sounded so foreign, nothing like her usual sweet and quiet tone of voice. Each word that escaped her mouth frightened me more and more. A transformation? 

Her prediction of my death wasn’t the only thing that sent me into a panic. She had said the Dark Lord would rise again. Never once did she say when, so it could truly happen at any moment. Voldemort could come back at any moment and steal everything that has ever made me feel whole or complete. I’m not sure I could survive that form of damage.

 You will die. The Dark Lord will rise again. No one is safe.

“Please. Please. I can’t-” I got out in between sharp inhales. The air I was inhaling felt like blades against my lungs. In a desperate attempt to ground myself I looked up at the sky. It was spinning at a rapid rate, further escalating my already deteriorating mental state. A scream-like sob escaped my lips as I pressed my hands against my ears, trying to silence the words being played on repeat. 

You will die. The Dark Lord will rise again. No one is safe.

I felt a hand on each arm try to pull my hands from my ears. It startled me at first, but I succumbed to it and allowed those soft, warm hands to pull me out of the dark - the same hands that were now pulling me up. I crashed into the person’s chest and let go entirely. Every sob I had left in me was let out, tears streaming consistently down my red face. I felt so comfortable there in their arms, like all of my worries simply washed away. The shaking started to slow down and my breathing returned to normal.