The Untold Story of Remus Lupin (and Tonks)

t h r e e

Apparating into a vast green field, Remus Lupin stood at the top of a mound, looking over stretches of forest and tall green grass.

A light breeze ticked his hair, and swayed the long grass to and fro. The morning sun felt warm on the back of his neck and the air was fresh with the last nights rain.

Remus closed his eyes and held his breath. Maybe if he willed hard enough, time would pause, just for him, so he could enjoy this moment of peacefulness.

He stole a few moments to stand there and surround himself with this feeling.
But time ticked on, he was very aware of it. His eyes flickered open again, and he reminded himself of what he had come here to do.

Dew seeped into the top of his boots as he trudged towards an old well at the opposite end of the field. It was nothing but a hole in the ground surrounded by a high brick wall. There would be no way out if a man were trapped inside.

The tired looking man pulled himself with much effort over the strong grey rocks that made up the wall, before grabbing onto the coarse rope which fell a good ten feet below.

Grappling down about half way to the floor, he dropped the last five feet. Weathered boots hit the dry earth with a thud. It was littered with dead leaves and twigs.

Chains had been left hastily on the ground, and Remus, looking rather ill, bent to pick them up. At the end of the cold metal there were thick iron manacles, stained a deep scarlet.
He fastened them tightly around his scarred wrists and then backed up to the furthest wall of the cave, and slid down it, sitting uncomfortably on the hard floor.

Knowing his wandwas safely hidden between the cracks of the stones, he allowed himself to slowly close his eyes, and began the wait for the night to come.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, Remus tried to sleep. The nightmares on the night of the full moon were awful. He dreamt of Lily and James, the night they were murdered, of the day he thought Sirius had betrayed them, and the moment he realised he was all alone.

The realisation that he had nobody anymore was as bad as the transformations themselves. As bad as the overwhelming guilt he felt afterwards about putting those be loved in danger.

Remus Lupin awoke from his nightmares only to find they were a part of his reality. And this, was worse than any transformation he could possibly endure.

The day stretched into night and the air became chilly. The young man shivered in tattered robes. Droplets fell from the sky and soaked his hair and his skin. Rain water fell into his eyes and his vision blurred so that could make out the wavering orb amongst the dark cluster of clouds. It shone brightly and seemed to burn his eyes.

Pupils dilated, he made a terrible snarling noise, and as his head lengthened, his body followed. His shoulders hunched, hair began to sprout on his face and hands, and his hands started to curl into clawed paws. Screams of pain erupted from his mouth, and tears rolled down his scarred cheeks.

But now, with every trace of humanity gone, the wolf-man turned its attention on the manacles binding him. Sharp canines tore at the scratched metal, but it would not budge, the animal only succeeded in tearing at his own skin. Howls of pain could be heard as he desperately tried to free himself. Wolves eyes glinted scarily in the moonlight, it was clear there was no trace of his human form. Still the rain poured on, washing the crimson blood away, and drenching his thinning grey fur.

Howls turned into growls of rage, his anger was now directed at himself. His instincts were to kill, to hunt, but with no prey, he began tearing at his own skin, scratching himself and biting his arms, intent still, on freeing himself.

Through the night seemed to last forever, at last dawn broke, revealing a warm sun drifting over the horizon.

In the well, and exhausted Remus lay curled in a ball, still drenched and covered in his own blood. There were fresh wounds littering his body. The swollen red flesh was exposed and still dripping with blood.

Whimpering, and breathing shallowly, he curled around himself even more and fell into a deep dreamless sleep. The kind brought on by pure exhaustion.

His last thought before drifting off was how could anyone ever love a monster like me?

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