Four broken boys

Home

Remus stepped into the cosy little cottage he called home. He breathed a sigh of relief at not having to lie to his friends anymore.

"How was school?" His father asked.

"Good."

"Did you make any friends?" His mother asked, ignoring the pointed look her husband sent her.

"Yes, some." Remus replied, before looking at his father. "But not too close obviously." He added quickly.

"Good." His father nodded.

Remus then went upstairs to pack. Walking into his room he felt more at ease, with the books on their shelves and his drawings on the walls. He sighed it was good to be home but, it just wasn't the same as Hogwarts.

During dinner Remus told his parents all about Hogwarts. His father would smile knowingly while his mother, being a muggle, was curious. Remus was happy to be back. He missed his parents.

He just couldn't get his mind off Sirius' family. Remus was worried. He was worried about how they would react to him and what they would do. He remembered seeing them at the train station. Cold, stony expressions. They didn't greet Sirius. They just acknowledged him.

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Three days later it was his first full moon at home since he left for Hogwarts. They had got worse since his mother wasn't there for him. This is what Remus didn't tell his parents. He told him that his moons had been fine, normal, getting better. While he'd been slowly gaining more and more injuries.

Remus did the usual: Go into the shed outside while his father put on extra protection charms. He knew his mother was sitting just outside the shed. That thought comforted him.

Remus sat in a corner where he could see out the window into the clear sky. Is soon began to get dark. This was the worst part. The wait.

He watched with fearful amber eyes as the sky got darker and a silvery light emerged from the clouds. He would often hear people say about how beautiful the moon was. Remus had never really seen the moon enough to appreciate it. He had been bitten too young. To him now the moon was a sign of fear. A sign of pain. His entire life revolved around it. He shivered. Close to the moon he always got a lot colder.

A silvery light spilled out onto the scratched floor of the shed. Remus shook uncontrollably as the pain in his bones got worse. The sounds of bones breaking and his own screams filled his morphing ears. His screams soon turned to howls as his body painfully changed to house the wolf inside. Claws emerged from nimble, shaking fingers as fangs replaced teeth.

The werewolf sat, whimpering until looking up at the moon and letting out a blood curldling howl. It heard a woman's sobs outside the shed. It scratched at the walls, wanting, needing to get out. It needed blood.

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"It's not your fault Lyall." A woman's voice said. "You didn't know."

"It is my fault!" A man exclaimed. "If I hadn't been so ignorant it wouldn't have happened!"

Remus slowly opened his eyes to the familiar smell of his bed and the sight of his room. Seeing that everything was blurry, he blinked his eyes a few times.

"You can't blame yourself forever." Came the woman's voice again.

Remus opened his eyes fully to see his mother and father at the doorway to his bedroom. Remus noted that his father looked absolutely distraught.

"Mum...Dad..." His voice came out as a croak.

His mother rushed to his side, cradling his head in her hands.

"Oh my poor baby, my poor Remus, why didn't you tell us it was getting worse!" She said, wiping tears.

"I didn't want to worry you." Remus croaked.

"He transformations will get worse now he's older." His father said, looking out the window while his mother softly stroked his hair.

His parents told him that the healer said he'd broken his wrist and two ribs. He was to stay in bed rest for the rest of the week due to bruises on his skull. His mother spoke softly so he was soon lulled into a deep sleep where he dreamt of Hogwarts and his friends.

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Throughout the next week Remus noticed that his father was in a sort of depressive mode. He'd seen his father like this many times before: when he was bitten and whenever he had a hard full moon. Remus didn't know why, it wasn't his fault he was a werewolf, or as far as he was concerned.

Five days after the full moon Remus had grown tired of staying in his bed. He never used to be so annoyed at having to stay in his bed before Hogwarts. He guessed it was just the fact that Hogwarts was full of surprises and never boring.

Remus walked into the study to get a book, only to find his father slumped over the desk with his head in his hands. Remus quickly started to walk out, not wanting to disturb him. His father's head suddenly shot up as Remus walked into a bookcase.

"Remus." He muttered.

"I-errrr-I was just..."Remus trailed off as he couldn't find a valid excuse for not staying in bed.

His father beckoned him closer and took his arm gingerly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Sorry for what?" Remus asked.

"For you being a werewolf."

"Dad, you have no reason to be sorry, it wasn't your fault that he broke through my window." Remus consoled his father.

His father just shook his head and attempted a smile.

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Mr and Mrs Pettigrew listened patiently to their son. Peter was talking about Hogwarts and about how he had so many friends, how good the food was and how the staircases move on their own. They were very happy until they heard that he found classes hard.

"I'm not very good at charms, or defense, or transfiguration, but Remus always helps me! He's really smart." Peter said enthusiastically, blue eyes lighting up.

"But you are trying, aren't you?" His mother asked sternly.

"Yeah but, classes get boring at times, Sirius and James always make them a lot funner!"

"More fun." His sister, Clara corrected him.

Peter shot her a dirty look and carried on. "Sirius and James are really smart too! They're also so funny!"

"It's great you've got friends Peter, but I'd really like you to focus on your classes." His father frowned at him behind horn-rimmed glasses.

"I know I know, but still, I'm only in first year!"

His parents exchanged a look of concern that quickly passed. They asked Clara how the term was while Peter went up to his room. He wished he had an owl like James so he could talk to his friends. No doubt James and Sirius would have owled each other.