Moonstruck | A Remus Lupin Love Story

Chapter 20: Werewolf

As the glow of the full moon loomed over the group, all eyes fell onto Remus. He had forgotten to take his Wolfsbane potion that night, before he had been whisked away by the moving figures on his map. He cast his eyes towards Esmeray, who he still held in his arms, and offered her an apology through his stare. Esmeray only tightened her grip, wanting desperately to help him through the transformation. Everybody began to draw back as Remus's eyes filled with black. His jaw unhinged and his ears began to shift and grow. He tilted his head back and let out a blood curdling scream. Still, Esmeray held on, hoping to pass some of the love within her, to him. But, with the swipe of a now clawed and hairy hand, she was flown back, a large gash across her chest.

'Get..away...from...me' Remus strained between grunts. Soon Sirius ran towards Remus and enveloped him in his arms. Esmeray watched as Remus continued to twitch and flail in agony. His nose elongated into a snout, his feet shot through his shoes, and eventually all of his clothes were reduced to shreds. Where her loving professor once stood, now heaved a gigantic wolf-like creature. The creature let out a ferocious howl before setting its eyes on the others, drool pooling from its lips. It staunched forward slowly towards where Esmeray lay. She looked deep into its eyes, trying to find a slither of Remus in there. She knew he was there, deep down. She knew that he would never intentionally hurt her. In fact, she was more afraid of him hurting others, or himself, or what was worse, was him thinking that he didn't deserve to live because of this. She slowly rose onto her shaking legs and stood her ground. She could hear the trio behind her quivering in terror, but she would not let anything bad happen to them. The werewolf crawled a little closer, investigating the bloody and beaten-up woman. Esmeray took a small step forward, her hand out-reached. She was hoping, praying that she could make some connection with Remus. Praying that he could maybe gain some control of his human senses if he felt her presence, if he knew that she was okay, and that she trusted him, and that she saw him as anything but a monster. The wolf stopped and sniffed her hand curiously. Esmeray froze with her hand out, staring light into the wolfs eyes. 

'Come on Remus, I know you are in there,' she whispered. Her hand began to tremble as the wolf snapped its teeth together. It closed in, but just as it was about to make contact with Esmeray's hand, a large black dog pounced from behind her and threw itself at the wolf. A scuttle of howls and barks could be heard tumbling down the hill. Esmeray instantly chased it, fearing for both the wolf's and dog's life. She watched on as she saw each creature nip and bite at each other, each one letting out a howl with each attack. Eventually, the wolf gained the upper hand, snatching the dog by its waist and tossing it aside like a ragdoll. She squinted her eyes shut as she heard a crunch, a squash and a horrific howl. When she opened her eyes, she realized that the wolf was making its way back to the group. Ok, it's now or never she thought. She had to do something to lead the wolf away from her friends. Though it meant potentially exposing her entire identity, something she had been fearing from the moment she stepped onto schoolgrounds. But her mind had been made up since she began to see Remus turn. With one quick glance at the terrified group behind her, she bolted to the edge of the forest.

As soon as she was under the cover of the shady trees, she began to feel for her power. She felt the heat begin to brew at the edges of her skin. She concentrated on it, forcing it to bubble and boil. She collapsed to the ground as she felt her bones begin to break and shift. Her fingers dug into the dirt as the fiery power swelled inside of her, pulsating greater and greater with each breath. She tried to do what she had done previously in her many lonesome practices, but she had to find control. She scrunched her eyes shut, attempting to ground herself. She smelt the earthy soil beneath her, she smelt the sweet breeze of pine trees, she felt the fresh gusts of wintery air whip through her hair. The tension that was building within her seethed, and churned and eventually pierced through her skin, erupting in a surge of power. Esmeray let out a huge scream, offering an outlet for her rush of power. As she opened her eyes, she saw two snowy white paws dug into the mud below her. She had transformed.