RUNNING WITH WOLVES remus lupin

OO9. 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐍

𝐍 𝐈 𝐍 𝐄

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

OCTOBER THIRTY - FIRST WAS STARING REMUS DEAD IN THE FACE.

The irony of it never escaped him, he hadn't even realized what had been happening that night, and he hadn't found out until Dumbledore had called him and Andromeda Black into his office the next day to tell them that Lily and James and Peter were dead because of Sirius.

And Remus remembered barely anything of the following days. But every year, October thirty-first loomed on the horizon, marking the time between before and after.

At least the thirty-first fell on a Sunday this year. Remus didn't think he'd be able to face a classroom full of students that day. He could never be sure how he would react, really.

But there was a full moon on November sixth, so the familiar, horrible ache was creeping back into his joints. And, he reminded himself, he would have to start taking Wolfsbane today.

When he woke up that morning, it was on the edge of something that could have been a nightmare. Breathing hard, he lay still for a moment, trying to chase it, to remember.

Sirius had been cold with him for the last few months before it had happened, at the time Remus had thought it was because Sirius suspected him of being a double agent, with all the time Remus spent spying on the werewolves. Remus thought he had seen Sirius's glare as he slept.

Enough! Remus shoved himself out of bed and scrubbed his hands across his face. Breakfast. If he ate something, he would feel better.

The Great Hall was more crowded than it should have been, for a Sunday morning, and it was only as Remus scooped an egg onto his plate that he remembered that it was Halloween too, a Hogsmeade weekend.

He then begins to wonder, will she be going with her friends? He's noticed that she seems to hang out with the Weasley twins as much as Penelope. Then he feels a flash of jealousy. No. I won't be jealous of her friends... I need to calm down.

The students would be queueing up in the entrance hall soon. He took a seat much further along the table than he was used to, knowing he wasn't up to any sort of conversation. He was thankful when he was left alone.

Deciding that the best option would be to keep himself busy, Remus stood and rolled his shoulders, forcing his mind to his lesson plans. He slipped out the side door so as not to have to pass the length of the house tables.

Remus had been back in his office for only about an hour, forcing himself to work but not getting anything done, when he sighed and shoved his chair back from his desk. A different approach was what he needed, surely. He should just... completely scrap the lesson plan he'd begun, and start over. Yes. That would work.

He hadn't even noticed that he'd left the door to his classroom open, but as he kneeled before the lower shelf of one of his bookcases, he heard footsteps in the corridor. The castle was empty enough that this struck him as odd, and he straightened up and leaned out the door.

Harry was wandering along the corridor, alone, eyes cast down so that his glasses slipped down his nose. Gods, he looked so much like James...