SABAISM | H. POTTER

| PROLOGUE | HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

REMUS LUPIN-BLACK FELT AS THOUGH HE WAS DROWNING...ALL EMOTIONS HAD ALREADY OVERWHELMED HIS SENSES. The man occasionally exhaled labored breaths while he descended deeper into despondent thoughts. He sat numbly in front of an expiring fire, folded within himself, while his eyes gazed toward the quivering charcoal. Perched on the leatherette ottoman, his only discernible expression of sentiment was his unwavering hold of the bundle in his grasp. It was apparent that he was completely engulfed by astonishment, but the infant in his arms was his sole means of anchoring him through this horror.

The reality that the scarred man hadn't ever envisaged any possibility of this rendered the actuality all the more horrifying. This occurrence was equivalent to a powerful blow to the face, and it prompted him to reevaluate every detail he presumed he understood.

Who precisely was Sirius Black? For the man he had embraced night after night previously—the man who continued to be tormented by the events of his past, and the man who wept when Remus proposed, the man who wailed alongside their child—that man was beyond capable of perpetrating such an atrocious crime. His spouse was so fond of Lily and James Potter that his werewolf mate felt estranged at times. In light of the above, Remus struggled with conceptualizing the conduct of the man he treasured. Sirius Lupin-Black wouldn't have been able to freely provide his brother's whereabouts, correct?

He was lured out of his inner turmoil by the clearing of someone's throat. Amber eyes, polished with unshed tears, met those of Albus Dumbledore.

"Remus," the older man acknowledged with care, "I am certain that neither of us were expecting the events of this day, and I deplore becoming the one responsible for informing you of what transpired.  Before I retire, I would like to reassure you that Harry resides safely with his aunt and uncle. In legal terms, you are Harry's Godfather by means of marriage, but considering Mr. Black conferred the designation upon you, Harry is unable to be left in your charge without his oversight. Due to Lily's shielding, it is in his best interests that he stay at Petunia's, notwithstanding everything. It also goes without saying that not anyone can truly comprehend what you are currently going through, but if inquired about, I would swear by the capacity of caring for the young Gemini. I'm hopeful that these assertions supply emotional solace."

It was as if he had just been erratically pelted with bitterly cold water.—Attesting to his competence to cater for his daughter? What might the old man potentially mean?— These claims failed to console him, and instead only fueled his nasty primal instincts. As quickly as he comprehended that someone aimed to acquire his daughter, he and his wolf became overcome with rage.

"Whatever do you mean, Albus?" the werewolf gnashed defensively. Remus clutched his daughter exceptionally close to his bosom while retaining an enhanced level of readiness.

Gemini Lily Lupin-Black was a reflection of something that Remus believed to be honest love. Taking into account what earlier transpired, he found himself less inclined of this claim, but her very being was everything to him. Her mildly pigmented fingers were frantically entwined around his, and her brows were furiously twisted together as if she herself were in profound thought. Tufts of caramel brown curls were sent about her in wild directions, and behind those eyelids were the eyes of Sirius Black himself.
Gemini resembled her father in appearance, but she acquired her mother's irises.

Remus had not heard any word that Dumbledore utilized in the preceding few moments, in part because of his dearth of care. Thus, he radically imposed his head and cut off the unheard reproach by declaring, "With the greatest of respect, sir. As a direct consequence of my impairment, I became considered undependable and therefore blind to Sirius's aims. I am conscious of my conditions, but I am also cognizant of the fact that nobody will be taking my daughter from me. I wouldn't ever deliberately wound her, and I love her without condition. Therefore, whatever the Ministry assumes they know, they are greatly erroneous. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pack up my belongings and spend an extended period of time with my father. If anyone judges it essential for whatever cause to seek me out, I'll be there." 

Truthfully, the man couldn't bear the sight of his own cottage. It was the home him and his true love had built from the ground up. The home he had shared with a murderer. Though, he himself didn't know if that was fully true.

Remus swiftly arose to his feet and proceeded toward the lumber staircase, unwilling to receive chastisement for his brusque interruption. "Mr. Lupin-Black," Dumbledore patiently asserted to the cautious man, "I am not here for the purpose of inflicting any additional pain. Gemini is in excellent hands with you, and I look forward to seeing her attend Hogwarts in the near future. She already wields formidable magical abilities. I did not intend to bring about added dismay, and I intend to carry on defending your expectations for her. Furthermore, I earnestly wish you discover respite at your father's, as I am well aware of the heartache that betrayal can produce."

The father stalled in his tracks. He wouldn't have been startled if Albus Dumbledore were, in fact, a mind reader as well.

Albums Dumbledore was, of course, correct. Dumbledore was never erroneous. At that moment, Remus experienced a level of despondency he had never anticipated. It was an unfathomable setback; the man had just begun to arrange his mind around the notion that he could be entitled to a pleasant fate. It had taken him twenty-one years to arrive at that point, only to have it shatter within seconds. Despite the abrupt accumulation of odds against him, he refused to let hopelessness engulf him. He no longer had any of his acquaintances or a partner. One would anticipate that a person who had just lost everything would lament... Especially now that Lupin's greatest dread of being alone has returned with a vengeance. However, even though those who had authentically accepted him were gone, he still had his daughter. There was no room for melancholy in his life; he would pour himself into providing for her. The diminutive girl in question received a brief gaze from her father. The exhausted man regarded his sleeping cub with a thoughtful expression, and then he turned and glanced over his shoulder at his previous headmaster.

The two exchanged gentle smiles because there were no words that could minimize the circumstances.

"Thank you, Professor," the younger male expressed in an uneasy demeanor. He exhaled a tear of deceit before departing with, "But...I presume it is simply Mr. Lupin once more." If his prior tormenting musings hadn't entirely demolished him, the piercing reality beneath that statement certainly had.