Mischief Managed Year One: Mayhem of the Moon

Chapter Thirty-Eight- Suspicion Smells Like Werewolf

TWs: Mentions of Past Traumatic Experiences and Kidnapping

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They only had a few hours before detention with Professor Blavatnik started and they wasted no time. They had gone to their dorm where Remus had been forced to relate everything he had heard, remembered, seen, and suspected. It truly felt amazing to get, at least one of his many secrets, off his chest.

"You moron!" Sirius shouted again, and Remus still was surprised they all hadn't declared they wanted nothing to do with him. Not only had he been terrible this week, unable to do much of anything besides worry about the shadow man and his schoolwork, but he was now involving them in something very dangerous.

It took some convincing but they were able to make him realize they were still his friends and that oddly enough they weren't mad at him for being irritable the past week, but for not saying anything sooner.

"You don't get to play the hero!" Sirius had shouted as he continued pacing back and forth, twitching slightly in anger.

"YOU don't get to protect us! That's what all this had been about, hasn't it? Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Well...well I didn't want to get you involved in anything dangerous," Remus had protested only to be drowned out by complaints.

"Bollocks! The four of us are a team! We handle danger together!" James cried indignantly.

"That's right," Sirius repeated firmly.

Remus nodded because they expected him to, but he wasn't sure he had done the right thing. If one of them ended up in a coma, or worse, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

At least his friends were convinced he had been scared about Professor Blavatnik and only him. But Remus was more afraid of the shadow monster...of...of...Fenrir Greyback.

Dumbledore had talked to Remus a long time the night Lily had fetched the headmaster.

She hadn't gotten in trouble, but as soon as Remus had hinted his fear Dumbledore had excused her. Then he had told Remus the name of the monster that had plagued Remus' mind all these years.

"Fenrir Greyback. That's the name of the man who bit you, Remus. Calling him by his name gives you more power over him. He is not a monster, Remus. He is a man."

Remus had found the truth hard to swallow, found it almost impossible to say the name even in his mind. At the mention of Fenrir, something in his memories seemed to unlock and he knew with certainty that Dumbledore was right about who had bitten him, who had taken him.

"I don't know...don't know if I can, sir," he had admitted, fearing the name would make the monster, man, whatever he was, more alive.

"Always use the proper name for things, Remus. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

Remus knew Dumbledore was wise, but that particular advice still seemed rather ludicrous to him. Dumbledore had assured him that Greyback wasn't in the castle nor had he ever been as Dumbledore had checked once informed of the matter by Remus. That they had checked for that terrified Remus because he didn't want to think that the shadow monster would ever come after him again.

He had asked Dumbledore what he thought had happened to him after he had finished recounting what he remembered. Dumbledore had pointed out that the full body curse reminded Remus of Greyback and that his brain probably filled in the missing pieces.

"Make no mistake, Mr. Lupin. Someone attacked you just like someone attacked Ms. Roong, and we will find out who."

Remus had felt a little reassured by that, but he kept thinking he'd run into Greyback, made worse by his persistent nightmares on the subject.