The Losing One || Sirius Black

4. The Moon

Remus Lupin

August 1971.

Lupin Cottage

Remus John Lupin. The only child of Hope and Lyall Lupin. The heir of the Lupin family, born on the 10th of March 1960. The light of Lyall and Hope's lives, even after the incident in 1965.

It was a late night on the 16th of February, the weather was just starting to get warmer. Remus saw the look of concern on Lyall's face for days at that point and, even as a four-year-old, he knew something was bugging his dad. He figured it was something to do with work, but Remus was taught to never ask questions about work related stuff, so he didn't. Unfortunately, that night he found out what the concern was all about. That night the life of Remus John Lupin was changed forever. That night a four-year-old boy's life got destroyed by werewolf, Fenrir Grayback.

Remus was confused at first because, seconds before, he was peacefully sleeping. Of course, the pain was brutal, Greyback bit him on the left shoulder so Remus was not able to move his left arm. It was even difficult to move his head due to the skin of his neck pulling at the wound.

He does not remember much, but he remembers blood. At first, he thought it wasn't his because how could a kid be alive after losing so much blood, but then everything started to blur together. Eventually, he fainted from the pain and blood loss while hearing his father's screams and the sound of curses being thrown.

When he woke up, the pain was still there, just as brutal as the night before, but at least he didn't feel dizzy anymore. He barely managed to open his eyes, but the second he saw the white walls of St Mungo's hospital every memory from the night before started invading his brain.

He remembered the pair of evil yellow eyes, he remembered the blue and green wand lights, he even remembered falling from his bed. It was all too much for the little boy to handle, so the machine measuring his pulse started beating rapidly. That's when he saw a women dressed like she worked there hurrying towards his bed. She managed to calm him down a bit, then gave him some potion and he fell asleep again.

A lot of time has passed since then, but, to Remus, it felt like he was made to watch the same scene from that night every full moon. There was no escaping the screams and the pain he felt. Sometimes he wondered what it was like to look at the moon and see something beautiful. He wondered if he would be able to see it again in full form when he died, or would the curse follow him even to the other side.

Before everything, he loved to stargaze, but now, of course, the simple thought of the night sky startled him. He was only able to enjoy stargazing on the nights when the thing he feared the most was nowhere to be seen. On those nights Remus was able to forget about his problems. Even if it was only for a short time, he was still grateful for it.

Tonight wasn't one of those nights. It was the 6th of August, the day of the last full moon before he left for Hogwarts.

He still couldn't believe that he was really going. It was right before his 11th birthday celebration that an old wizard showed up at the Lupin Cottage doorstep, and not just any old wizard, it was Albus Dumbledore himself. At the time Remus didn't know who the man was, but he figured he must have been important when he looked at the way his dad was addressing him. Long, grey beard and half-moon glasses somehow added to man's mysterious aura, but then he smiled at Remus and, somehow, that small gesture made the uneasiness inside of him disappear.

Dumbledore offered Remus to go to Hogwarts. The old wizard said that he will have a chance at normality by attending Hogwarts, a chance to really be a child for once, to have friends. Remus was scared of course, he was thinking of all the students he will be putting in danger. Lyall and Hope were concerned as well, but you could see the hope and happiness in their eyes just at the thought of Remus having this opportunity.