love, lupin

eighty-five

August 18th, 1978
Friday

Hope had fairy flu.

Remus wasn't sure how, muggles weren't supposed to be able to catch it because Fairy Flu attacked a wizards or a witches magical essence, not their health.

So what really killed a person with Fairy Flu was the moment their last bit of a magic was ripped from their soul. That rip sends the body into a shock- a ten day shock which the person with the flu would act like they did before they lost their magic. They'd seem fine.

A false hope.

Then on the tenth day they'd drop dead.

There was no cure because there was no way that a healer or any skilled wizard could access a persons magical essence.

There seemed a prevention of death though. A shock at regulated intervals, as what was happening to Evan. While he was technically dead the shock sent him into that ten day overdrive over and over but at larger intervals then ten days.

So Hope Lupin having that illness didn't make sense. She was a muggle, a muggle with no magical heritage.

She was however experiencing all the stage of Fairy Flu that's how they knew it was infact the wizarding illness.

"How do we know it's not some muggle illness?" Remus remembered asking.

"We went to a muggle hospital, the best one we could find and Remus- she came out healthy."

It tore Remus.

He'd broken a vase in the room and Sirius had to take him out of the room to calm down.

And he'd cried. He'd cried hard and he'd cried long. He'd only just gotten her he didn't want her to go.

"Remus?"

They weren't sure whether she was going to die though as she had no magical essence to get snapped away. But whatever it was attacking inside was eating away at something inside her. But even the best healer Dumbledore could find couldn't figure out what it was.

"Remus, hey we've got to go!"

Sirius had been by his side the past couple days.

He'd bathed Remus and he'd fed him and he'd talked even when Remus wouldn't respond. He understood he was grieving for a death that hadn't passed.

"Come on you puppy dog." Sirius said as he grabbed Remus' hands and pulled him to his feet.

Remus looked down at Sirius and he lifted a hand to his face and cupped his cheek. His thumb brushed the edge of the eyepatch and Sirius flinched away.

Him and Moody looked more alike everytime Remus saw them together.

Their appearances hadn't changed but now he knew Moody had a hold over him there were the small things and of course the big things.

Sirius was as agitated as Moody was, he was as snappy, he developed the same quirk in scratching his leg except Sirius' was there and Moodys wasn't. Phantom itch.

Then there was the eyepatch of course.

Remus had a feeling Moody was just scared. That's why he was so harsh. Remus hoped that's what it was because he knew Moody couldn't be such a bad person when he had such great ideals surrounding the rights of witches and wizards.

His view on werewolves and other creatures alike could be tweaked but Remus understood the precaution.

That was just him hoping.