The Monster Under the Bed (A Remus Lupin Fanfiction)

The Monster Under the Bed

   Since before he could remember, he had had this feeling. The feeling of eyes watching him, through the darkness of the woods, the open door of the garden shed, the space under his toddler bed... He had the feeling that something, someone, was coming for him.

    He crawls into bed, yanking the striped sheets up to his chin, making sure that the closet door was wide open. The light from his closet spilled out into the room, illuminating the scattered socks and toys that were tossed across the floor; however, it only seemed to make the darkness under the bed look even darker...

    The feeling was stronger tonight, stronger than it had ever been. His chubby little finger plucked at the hem of his blanket, unable to stop trembling.

   "Daddy!" he squeals, his voice going shrill as a tree branch scraped across his window like long claws. Lyall  sticks his head into the room, a patient smile on his face. He was used to being called into Remus's room at least once a night, and affectionately called him "the boy who cried wolf".

"Buddy, it's just the wind, just like every night. Just go to sleep."

"No! Something is there this time! Or in here, I know it is! I can feel it!"

"Buddy, there's nothing anywhere. There was nothing here any other time you called, and there's nothing here tonight."

Remus just shakes his head, his heart pounding so fast it felt like it was going to break right through his ribs, little tears dripping down onto his favorite pair of Gobbstone printed pajamas. Lyall just gives him another patient smile before ruffling his hair and returning to the living room with his usual "It's just your imagination..."

    There's a moment of silence, only broken by Remus's terrified breathing. Then, another sound joined.

   It started so slowly that he wasn't sure if it was even real, a slow, deep breathing seeming to come from right below him...

    As it slowly grew louder and louder, faster and faster, till it was almost a frenzied panting, Remus yanked the covers up over his head, covering his ears. Then, the breathing was interrupted by a screeching, creaking scratch across the floorboards, like claws raking over a chalkboard. He knew that that wasn't just his imagination, it's couldn't be. "Daddy!" he screamed again as the covers were yanked off of him and thrown to the floor.

   His voice then froze in his throat as he stared up at the man towering over him. The light from the open closet made his eyes glow neon blue as they stared down at him, a grin revealing sharp, yellowing teeth...

   Only when Greyback lunged did he manage to scream again, but by then, it was too late. Far too late.

    By the time Lyall reached the bedroom, Greyback was ducking out through Remus's window, only stopping to flash Lyall a blood splattered grin. All he could do was stare helplessly after him, before scooping Remus up in his arms,  his Gobbstone pajamas soaked in blood.

    Remus doesn't remember much else from that night,  just a blur of being rushed into St. Mungos , his parents crying while healers fussed over him.

   Laying in the hospital bed, he actually felt relieved... The watching feeling was gone, it was over. The monster had come, and now he was gone.

   His relief faded quickly however, as a healer strode into the room, backed by his parents. He laid a hand on Remus's uninjured shoulder, and Remus noticed his eyes were puffy, and unshed tears made them shiny unusually bright. He wondered anxiously what was so awful that it would make a healer, someone who faced tragedy on a daily basis, cry.

    "Remus... I have some news for you. I need you to be brave, okay?" The healers voice was rough, starting to break, but Remus nods. He was trying, really trying to be brave, but tears were trickling down his ashen cheeks, and his hands were shaking again.

"Am I-" his voice breaks, "Am I going to die?"

"No, no, you aren't going to die..." the healer coughs, then swallows hard, trying to get the words out, "I'm sorry to say, the man who bit you... He was a werewolf."

   At this, Remus's breath caught in his throat, and he stared first from the healer, then to his father, his words about werewolves seeming to ring in his ears.

"They deserve nothing but death!" he had said... Was it true? But it wasn't his fault! He had no one to save him, and nowhere to run!

   The healer stood up, coughing to hide the fact that fresh tears were pouring down his cheeks too, and excused himself.

   Lyall stepped forward, and Remus flinched, pressing himself back as far away from his father as he could, more tears streaming down his cheeks. "Is it true?" he squeaked, "What you said? Is it really true?"

"No, no, of course not buddy, of course not. I was wrong, I was so wrong..."

   Remus had never seen his dad cry, but now he was crying just as hard as Remus. "You deserve so much more than this..."