Lupin's Tale Chapter 1: Dreams were not supposed to hurt, a harry potter fanfic - FanFiction.Net
I won't post the whole story in here, just the first chap. The rest of "Lupin's Tale" is posted on fanfiction.net.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6856696/1/Lupins_Tale
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor any of its characters and places. No profit is being made.
AN: This is the story of Remus J. Lupin through episodes corresponding to important moments in his life. Although this is a stand-alone story, it is also companion to Tonks' Tale. At some point, predictably, they will cross.
January 1965
This was an awful strange dream. Dreams were not supposed to hurt. Or maybe they were…
Remus opened his eyes, he was awake all right.
Why did it felt as if he had run? He was breathing fast and he was sweating. And he was feeling very tired, which was odd. He was lying in bed after all.
Do people sweat when they dream? He did not remember.
And there was the pain. His leg was hurting so badly he was whimpering softly. Even though he was almost five years old, he was a big boy now and he was not supposed to whimper anymore; he was no baby.
Do dreams hurt? Was he awake?
He tried to raise his head. At least he could do that. Groping around, he looked for his teddy bear. There it was, right at the end of the bed. Remus clasped his hand around it and hugged it tight.
Why did his leg hurt this much?
Suppressing another whimper, Remus looked down his sheets. It was too dark to distinguish anything, there were only dark shadows. The only light came from the big moon through the window.
He reached with his fingers and felt the fabric of his pyjamas. And then…
This was really odd. Why were his pyjamas ripped? Was he wearing a bandage?
Remus whimpered again, but tried his best to muffle the sound. Dropping his head back on the pillow he closed his eyes shut.
I am dreaming. He decided. I am having a nightmare. Maybe some nightmares hurt.
He tried to remember what had happened before in this dream of his. He was lying in bed, there was this odd pain. He whimpered again and bit his fist. There had been a monster in his dream!
Now he remembered. He had been lying in bed and the monster had come through his window.
He opened his eyes again. He was awake, there was no point trying to fall asleep again.
But there had been a dream and there had been a monster in it.
The monster had come through his window, he had even smashed the glass, and had jumped into his bed. And he, Remus, had tried to fight him.
He remembered the heat coming from the monster's body, his teeth. He had bitten his leg! Now he remembered.
But then… then…
If it had been a dream, why did his leg still hurt, now that he was awake?
He stretched his fingers again to touch the fabric. Yes, that was a bandage. And somebody had ripped his pyjamas.
There was something sticky on them too.
He pushed gently on the thing even if that made his leg hurt even more.
He raised his hand and put it in front of the light coming through the window.
It was dark red.
Remus whimpered again.
Maybe he was not such a big boy as he thought. Maybe it was alright to cry.
"Mum! Dad!"
He was ashamed that his voice sounded like a sob.
-------------------------
"And I'm telling you my kid is calling for me!"
Mum's voice sounded really angry and a second later she opened the door. Dad was following her. Both were wearing their night clothes, though Dad had also a jacket on.
"Oh Merlin, he's awake," he said.
"What is it, honey?" she sounded worried.
Crouching near his little bed she put a hand on his forehead.
"He's not so hot anymore," she said to Dad.
"I…" Remus started, feeling both scared and confused. "What happened?"
He was sure his parents had glanced at each other, really quick. His leg hurt badly, but something was telling Remus there were more important things going on, and that might need to wait.
"Everything is fine," Mum said, kissing his forehead.
"What happened?" he replied. He was not sure about many things but it was obvious not everything was fine.
Another shadow made him look at the door. Somebody else was there, a man apparently, but he could not recognise his face.
"Who is he, Mum?" he asked, pointing at the estranger with his finger.
Both his parents turned his heads.
"He's just… he's a friend, honey," Mum said, but her voice sounded weak.
"Would you wait for us in the sitting room?" Dad told the man.
He was using that tone Remus knew too well, the tone than meant he was to obey. The man at the door did not seem to know that, because he did not move. But there were more important things that this man who would not obey Dad.
"Mum," Remus tried again, making efforts for his voice to sound strong. "My leg is hurting. What happened?"
With a fast movement, his Mum waved her wand and turned on the lights. With her other hand, she was moving the blankets in order to get a better view at Remus' leg.
The bright light made him cover his eyes for a moment, but he wanted to see what was wrong with his leg, so he forced his hand out of his eyes. The first thing he saw was the face of the man at the door. He was strange, with scars all over, and somehow he looked menacing, like the pictures of bad wizards he often saw in his books. The man was looking at him with bright black eyes.
But he could not pay the stranger much attention. His mother was removing the bandages. They were dark red.
He could not suppress a soft sob.
"It's going to be alright, Remus," Dad said, ruffling his head.
Remus tried to sit and look at his leg.
There was a big wound in it. Much bigger than the one he had gotten last week when he had fallen down the garden tree. This wound had a funny shape too… it looked almost like a half-moon in his thigh and there was a lot of blood on it. How had he managed to get this hurt?
"Mum, what happened to me?" he asked.
She did not answer but tapped her wand lightly at one side of the wound.
"John, get the Dittany," she asked, her voice sounded urgent.
Dad reached for a bottle in Remus' desk and gave it to her. Remus looked at him, but he was looking away at the wound.
Using the parts of the bandage that were not covered in blood, she started applying the ointment to the reddish surface of the thigh.
"It doesn't work on that kind of wounds," the stranger at the doorframe spoke with a harsh voice, almost like a grunt.
"I know it doesn't," Mum said and she sounded really angry this time. "It relieves the pain of my son nonetheless, and that is my first priority right now."
"You have to take him to St. Mungo's," the man spoke again.
"Listen, Mister- whatever your name is-"
"Moody," said the man.
Mum stood up and thrusting the ointment into Dad's hand, faced the strange looking man on the door. Remus looked at him too and gasped out loud. One of his legs was missing and he had a wooden stick ending in a claw instead. Remus could not help to wander if that was going to happen to him, was he going to lose his leg as well? Mum's voice distracted him from this idea.
"Listen, Moody. He's not going anywhere. I'm a Healer, I know what there is to be done; I know this will take a while to heal but I'm fully qualified to take care of it."
The man named Moody shook his head, while her mother turned again to face Remus' leg.
"It would be better-" he started to say.
Mum turned to the man again, approaching him and pointing at him with his finger. He did not move.
"What is better for my son right now is not being treated like a monster, not by anybody, least of all by your Ministry lot! do you hear me?"
A monster?
Remus raised his hands hastily to look properly at them. He was almost expecting to see claws instead but they looked just like always. Why was he a monster?
He looked at his Dad for an explanation of what Mum had just said but he did not meet his eye. He was covering his eyes with one hand, and seemed to be really sad.
"He's not going to be studied, or reported, or treated in any different way!" Mum was saying.
"Unfortunately, Mrs. Lupin," Moody replied, "he is different. Somebody has informed us about the attack, and by the looks of the wound, I don't need further proof of what he is. I'm…" he cleared his throat, and his voice came a little kinder this time. "I'm afraid I must report the case to the Registry."
"Mum?" Remus asked again.
When she looked at him he saw, for the first time, that she was crying. He did not even know grown-ups cried!
"Mum, what's happening?" he repeated.
She crouched near his bad again, and took his hand on hers.
"Remus," she said, "you're a big boy now, aren't you?"
He nodded.
"You have to be very brave now."
Remus wished that the stranger would go, because he was sure he was going to cry. For some reason he did not want this Moody person to see him crying.
"You had an accident," Mum continued. "And… because of that, some things are going to happen to you."
"Like the wound?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Like the wound, yes. But you need to rest now, all right? I'll change the bandages and it will stop hurting in a bit."
Remus cleaned his tears with an impatient move.
"Am I going to be a monster?" he whispered.
At his other side, his father made a very strange noise. It was almost as if he was also crying, but Remus did not turn to check. He was more concerned about his question.
"No, Remus. You're not going to be a monster, never. Do you understand?" Mum said with a very stern voice.
"Yeah," Remus replied, nodding.
Her mother finished with the bandages and his father and Moody exited the room.
"I need to know, Mr. Lupin," Moody said, "if you had any suspicions, any at all, on this matter."
The words his father said next were totally incomprehensible to Remus.
"Fenrir Greyback."
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6856696/1/Lupins_Tale
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor any of its characters and places. No profit is being made.
AN: This is the story of Remus J. Lupin through episodes corresponding to important moments in his life. Although this is a stand-alone story, it is also companion to Tonks' Tale. At some point, predictably, they will cross.
January 1965
This was an awful strange dream. Dreams were not supposed to hurt. Or maybe they were…
Remus opened his eyes, he was awake all right.
Why did it felt as if he had run? He was breathing fast and he was sweating. And he was feeling very tired, which was odd. He was lying in bed after all.
Do people sweat when they dream? He did not remember.
And there was the pain. His leg was hurting so badly he was whimpering softly. Even though he was almost five years old, he was a big boy now and he was not supposed to whimper anymore; he was no baby.
Do dreams hurt? Was he awake?
He tried to raise his head. At least he could do that. Groping around, he looked for his teddy bear. There it was, right at the end of the bed. Remus clasped his hand around it and hugged it tight.
Why did his leg hurt this much?
Suppressing another whimper, Remus looked down his sheets. It was too dark to distinguish anything, there were only dark shadows. The only light came from the big moon through the window.
He reached with his fingers and felt the fabric of his pyjamas. And then…
This was really odd. Why were his pyjamas ripped? Was he wearing a bandage?
Remus whimpered again, but tried his best to muffle the sound. Dropping his head back on the pillow he closed his eyes shut.
I am dreaming. He decided. I am having a nightmare. Maybe some nightmares hurt.
He tried to remember what had happened before in this dream of his. He was lying in bed, there was this odd pain. He whimpered again and bit his fist. There had been a monster in his dream!
Now he remembered. He had been lying in bed and the monster had come through his window.
He opened his eyes again. He was awake, there was no point trying to fall asleep again.
But there had been a dream and there had been a monster in it.
The monster had come through his window, he had even smashed the glass, and had jumped into his bed. And he, Remus, had tried to fight him.
He remembered the heat coming from the monster's body, his teeth. He had bitten his leg! Now he remembered.
But then… then…
If it had been a dream, why did his leg still hurt, now that he was awake?
He stretched his fingers again to touch the fabric. Yes, that was a bandage. And somebody had ripped his pyjamas.
There was something sticky on them too.
He pushed gently on the thing even if that made his leg hurt even more.
He raised his hand and put it in front of the light coming through the window.
It was dark red.
Remus whimpered again.
Maybe he was not such a big boy as he thought. Maybe it was alright to cry.
"Mum! Dad!"
He was ashamed that his voice sounded like a sob.
-------------------------
"And I'm telling you my kid is calling for me!"
Mum's voice sounded really angry and a second later she opened the door. Dad was following her. Both were wearing their night clothes, though Dad had also a jacket on.
"Oh Merlin, he's awake," he said.
"What is it, honey?" she sounded worried.
Crouching near his little bed she put a hand on his forehead.
"He's not so hot anymore," she said to Dad.
"I…" Remus started, feeling both scared and confused. "What happened?"
He was sure his parents had glanced at each other, really quick. His leg hurt badly, but something was telling Remus there were more important things going on, and that might need to wait.
"Everything is fine," Mum said, kissing his forehead.
"What happened?" he replied. He was not sure about many things but it was obvious not everything was fine.
Another shadow made him look at the door. Somebody else was there, a man apparently, but he could not recognise his face.
"Who is he, Mum?" he asked, pointing at the estranger with his finger.
Both his parents turned his heads.
"He's just… he's a friend, honey," Mum said, but her voice sounded weak.
"Would you wait for us in the sitting room?" Dad told the man.
He was using that tone Remus knew too well, the tone than meant he was to obey. The man at the door did not seem to know that, because he did not move. But there were more important things that this man who would not obey Dad.
"Mum," Remus tried again, making efforts for his voice to sound strong. "My leg is hurting. What happened?"
With a fast movement, his Mum waved her wand and turned on the lights. With her other hand, she was moving the blankets in order to get a better view at Remus' leg.
The bright light made him cover his eyes for a moment, but he wanted to see what was wrong with his leg, so he forced his hand out of his eyes. The first thing he saw was the face of the man at the door. He was strange, with scars all over, and somehow he looked menacing, like the pictures of bad wizards he often saw in his books. The man was looking at him with bright black eyes.
But he could not pay the stranger much attention. His mother was removing the bandages. They were dark red.
He could not suppress a soft sob.
"It's going to be alright, Remus," Dad said, ruffling his head.
Remus tried to sit and look at his leg.
There was a big wound in it. Much bigger than the one he had gotten last week when he had fallen down the garden tree. This wound had a funny shape too… it looked almost like a half-moon in his thigh and there was a lot of blood on it. How had he managed to get this hurt?
"Mum, what happened to me?" he asked.
She did not answer but tapped her wand lightly at one side of the wound.
"John, get the Dittany," she asked, her voice sounded urgent.
Dad reached for a bottle in Remus' desk and gave it to her. Remus looked at him, but he was looking away at the wound.
Using the parts of the bandage that were not covered in blood, she started applying the ointment to the reddish surface of the thigh.
"It doesn't work on that kind of wounds," the stranger at the doorframe spoke with a harsh voice, almost like a grunt.
"I know it doesn't," Mum said and she sounded really angry this time. "It relieves the pain of my son nonetheless, and that is my first priority right now."
"You have to take him to St. Mungo's," the man spoke again.
"Listen, Mister- whatever your name is-"
"Moody," said the man.
Mum stood up and thrusting the ointment into Dad's hand, faced the strange looking man on the door. Remus looked at him too and gasped out loud. One of his legs was missing and he had a wooden stick ending in a claw instead. Remus could not help to wander if that was going to happen to him, was he going to lose his leg as well? Mum's voice distracted him from this idea.
"Listen, Moody. He's not going anywhere. I'm a Healer, I know what there is to be done; I know this will take a while to heal but I'm fully qualified to take care of it."
The man named Moody shook his head, while her mother turned again to face Remus' leg.
"It would be better-" he started to say.
Mum turned to the man again, approaching him and pointing at him with his finger. He did not move.
"What is better for my son right now is not being treated like a monster, not by anybody, least of all by your Ministry lot! do you hear me?"
A monster?
Remus raised his hands hastily to look properly at them. He was almost expecting to see claws instead but they looked just like always. Why was he a monster?
He looked at his Dad for an explanation of what Mum had just said but he did not meet his eye. He was covering his eyes with one hand, and seemed to be really sad.
"He's not going to be studied, or reported, or treated in any different way!" Mum was saying.
"Unfortunately, Mrs. Lupin," Moody replied, "he is different. Somebody has informed us about the attack, and by the looks of the wound, I don't need further proof of what he is. I'm…" he cleared his throat, and his voice came a little kinder this time. "I'm afraid I must report the case to the Registry."
"Mum?" Remus asked again.
When she looked at him he saw, for the first time, that she was crying. He did not even know grown-ups cried!
"Mum, what's happening?" he repeated.
She crouched near his bad again, and took his hand on hers.
"Remus," she said, "you're a big boy now, aren't you?"
He nodded.
"You have to be very brave now."
Remus wished that the stranger would go, because he was sure he was going to cry. For some reason he did not want this Moody person to see him crying.
"You had an accident," Mum continued. "And… because of that, some things are going to happen to you."
"Like the wound?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Like the wound, yes. But you need to rest now, all right? I'll change the bandages and it will stop hurting in a bit."
Remus cleaned his tears with an impatient move.
"Am I going to be a monster?" he whispered.
At his other side, his father made a very strange noise. It was almost as if he was also crying, but Remus did not turn to check. He was more concerned about his question.
"No, Remus. You're not going to be a monster, never. Do you understand?" Mum said with a very stern voice.
"Yeah," Remus replied, nodding.
Her mother finished with the bandages and his father and Moody exited the room.
"I need to know, Mr. Lupin," Moody said, "if you had any suspicions, any at all, on this matter."
The words his father said next were totally incomprehensible to Remus.
"Fenrir Greyback."