Over the Edge [ Lupin x Evans ]

Chapter 6: A childhood memory

A little boy slept in a small room on the first floor. On the shelves were stuffed toys of dragons, hippogriffs, and various other fantastic creatures. He was set to receive a few more plush toys in just a month, on his fifth birthday. At some point during the night, something stirred restlessly outside the window. However, the child did not wake. A few seconds later, the front door of the modest house in Yorkshire was blown off its hinges by the Bombarda spell.

Lyall Lupin drew his wand and quickly tried to subdue the intruder. The assailant, however, was defending himself expertly. Meanwhile, Hope, hurried to her son's room.

"Remus, wake up! We need to hide!"

The little boy rubbed his sleepy eyes, looking blearily at his terrified mother. She was about to shove him into the wardrobe when the door to the room was also blown apart. Hope let out a terrible scream as a massive man stood in the doorway. He was tall and muscular, with a crazed look on his face. Gray hair stuck out in all directions, and thick sideburns spread across half his face. In truth, he looked more like a predatory beast than a human being. Right behind him, the much shorter Lyall Lupin was trying to enter the room, casting various curses.

"Hope, run!" he shouted.

The woman couldn't move and clutched her equally terrified child tightly. The werewolf strode freely into the room, still maintaining a shield spell. His face twisted into a grin at the sight of the fear he evoked. Hope and little Remus backed against the wall, leaving them with no escape.

"This is how it ends when you mess with me, Lupin!" Greyback shouted, turning to Lyall. "I didn't throw words around carelessly when I said you would pay for what you did!" The werewolf stepped a few paces closer to Hope and Remus. The child was already crying pitifully, not understanding what was happening.

"I didn't mean to say that, Greyback! I regret it! Please, leave my family alone!" the wizard pleaded.

"Well, I don't know..." Greyback mused. "After all, I'm the 'soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death'" he quoted the words Lyall had once uttered about werewolves at the Ministry of Magic. "Maybe I should decide who truly deserves death, hmm?!" he hissed, tugging the small Remus towards him.

Hope screamed at the top of her lungs and fell to her knees. She sobbed loudly. Fear washed over Lyall, causing him to pale as he watched his crying child in the clutches of the beast.

"Let's make a pact, Greyback!" the panicked wizard cried out.

"A pact?" Greyback drawled, contemplating.

"That's right. You leave us alone, and I will never speak ill of werewolves again. I won't testify against you before The Wizengamot. I'll retract my previous statements and wash my hands of it! Just leave us alone!"

Greyback considered this for a moment, and then a disgusting grin spread across his face.

"I'll go even further!" he chirped enthusiastically, sending chills down everyone's spine. "You will never speak ill of werewolves again, because you will have to raise one of them. That way, you won't dare oppose us ever again," he hissed ominously.

Lyall didn't have time to respond, as Greyback sank his fangs into the child's arm, causing Remus to scream with all the strength his small body could muster. Blood spurted onto the floor, and in the next moment, Fenrir Greyback leapt out the window and disappeared into the night.

⤝°♦°⤞

Remus Lupin awoke, trembling, lying on the floor of the Gryffindor Common Room. Once again, he had dreamt of that fateful night when he became a werewolf. Though he had been only five, he remembered that night with terrifying clarity, as if it had happened just yesterday. The trauma from those events would never leave him; it had marked him for life.

"Everything alright, Mooney?" James' voice broke through his thoughts. He hopped onto the couch, grabbing Remus' hand to help him sit down. Remus mumbled something under his breath, staring blankly ahead, and took a seat next to his friend.

"Did you hear what that first-year Ravenclaw mythomaniac was blabbing about?" James asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Lockhart, innit?" Sirius chimed in, hopping over the back of the couch and stretching his legs comfortably toward the fireplace.

"It surprises me you even know what 'mythomaniac' means, James," Remus remarked, his tone flat.

"Very funny," Potter grumbled, though there was a small smile on his face. "Anyway, Gilderoy claimed he was in the Forbidden Forest last weekend and single-handedly defeated a werewolf."

At the mention of the word werewolf, Remus immediately stiffened, his face paling. Was it possible that this child had truly encountered a werewolf in the forest, just like he had years ago? His mind raced, wondering if things had nearly taken a tragic turn for that Ravenclaw.

"Calm down," James reassured, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Everyone knows he makes it all up. It's too unbelievable to be true! Besides, there's no way he met you out there and... well, survived."

Remus looked at James, his thoughts still clouded by the memory of that night, but he managed to sit back down.

"Can we drop it?" he asked softly, wanting to leave the subject behind. But as he tried to stand up, he wobbled dangerously and fell back onto the couch. Sirius and James exchanged worried glances before turning back to Remus, who looked pale and unsteady.

"Are you aight, mate?" Sirius asked, his voice filled with concern.

Remus mumbled something incoherent, waving his hand dismissively. At that moment, James pressed his palm to Remus' forehead.

"Bloody hell, you're burning up!" James exclaimed.

"Yeah, he mentioned feeling off after the full moon. Pomfrey wouldn't let him leave the Hospital Wing, but he insisted on coming back for exams," Sirius said, rolling his eyes at Remus' stubbornness.

"Why are you talking in the third person? I'm still here, you know," Remus muttered weakly.

"Aight, enough discussion. You're going back," James said seriously, standing up. Remus opened his mouth to protest, but James cut him off. "I don't care about your exams. If you keep this up, you won't even make it through Hogwarts, so what's the point?"

Remus grimaced, frustrated by James' persistence. The Gryffindor was known for being relentless, and sometimes his determination was more annoying than helpful.

"Listen, I'll go to bed," Remus sighed. "I'll be fine by morning. I don't want to bother Pomfrey at this hour. Besides, I have my Care of Magical Creatures exam tomorrow. You know how important that is to me."

"You'll be a magizoologist one way or another," James said earnestly. "You're great at it, but you've got to be healthy." Sirius immediately echoed the sentiment. "Now march to the Hospital Wing!"

Reluctantly, Remus agreed, knowing deep down that he had been lying to himself about his condition. In reality, he felt like his insides were boiling, and his skin itched like never before. He tried to brush it off as a simple allergy, but in the back of his mind, he knew something was terribly wrong. Unfortunately, he was right.