WOLFSBANE (PART ONE)
Remus Lupin hates me.
Though I’ve never done anything bad to him.
Maybe, I did because I saw him as a werewolf before.
I didn’t mean to. I was just in the forest catching some wolfsbane for our potions class. Every supply Professor Slughorn had was already reserved and I was too late to get one. I took my complaint to the Professor and he suggested that I’d go to the Forbidden Forest when the full moon was at its last day. I took my house robes and scarf and found the ingredient I was looking for. Unfortunately, someone was there as well.
In the darkness, I saw an animal writhing in pain behind the trees, its howls bellowed through the forest. Sweat came running down my face with fear and my mind couldn’t decide whether to run and hide or help the poor creature. The creature, which I’ve figured was a wolf, still groveled in pain. I took all my might and started walking toward the animal and as I came closer, the canine shapeshifted into a human.
Fuck.
It’s a werewolf.
The creature snapped to my direction then suddenly, it lunged itself towards me.
My throat felt dry, and my heart was beating loudly. I quickly backed out but unfortunately, I tripped on a root and fell. The fall hurt but I couldn't take a second; adrenaline was already pushing me to run as fast as I could. The effects of lycanthropy haven’t fully vanished once the person has transformed into a human. Its feral madness still lingers. Even if the person has already fully changed, it could still run and hunt faster than a human being. And most difficult of all, its hunger is still as powerful as its beast counterpart.
“I can see you!” The beast sang through the forest, sending chills down my spine. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.
I quickly cowered behind the trunk of a tree and held my breath. Beads of sweat and tears came rushing. I was shivering!
I clamped my mouth, took enough courage, and slowly looked to my side. I scanned the dark forest, and the werewolf was nowhere to be found.
He was gone.
“Boo!”
FUCK!
I ran as fast as I could away from him. He was beside me all along. The sound of his laugh echoed through the forest.
I trampled through every bush and tree until I saw the castle. I could see the glimpse of the lamps flicker in the night, and I let out a sigh of relief. I was only I few steps from the fields when something trampled me over. My head was throbbing, and my eyes faded in and out several times.
Maybe I was dead.
Finally, I focused on my surroundings and felt the moss underneath me. I was lying under a mound of grass and moss and as I looked up and the man (or was it a boy?) on top of me was snarling.
“What the fuck are you doing here?!”
“I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me! I-I am not the healthiest thing in the forest. There are d-deers in the meadow, far corner of the Forbidden Forest. Please! I still have my school tomorrow -!”
“Y/N?”
How did he know my name? I focused my gaze on him. He was full of scratches, some were bleeding, and the other were cuts from his past transformations. His hair was of light brown color, almost platinum, under the moonlight. His lips quiver a little with cuts at the bottom, making them red. As I slowly met his eyes and saw they were green. Even without seeing him in his normal Gryffindor robes, I knew who he was, but I couldn’t believe it.
“Remus?” I gasped and before I could say anything more, he held my face, his nails digging through my skin.
“Answer me.”
“I-I was- R-Remus-!”
“Fucking answer!”
“Aah – I was picking up wolfsbane!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face. His grip was getting tighter, “It’s for our Potions class next week. Remus… you’re choking me.”
“You’re very lucky, Y/N. You could be dead right now.”
“I won’t tell anyone, I promise. Just please let me go-.” I gasped, trying to take his hand off me. He laughed under his breath and under a clenched jaw; he said, “You think I’m afraid of what you’ll tell them?”
With inhumane speed, he quickly held unto my collar, making the skin underneath bleed, lift me up until his lips were close to mine and said, “Tell them who I really am, Y/N! Run and tell the whole school I am nothing but a monster!”
“You are not, Remus Lupin!” I shouted, catching him off guard, “You are not a monster! You’re still the one who helped Peter with the mandrake because he always fainted. You debated with Professor Slughorn because Rat Tonic was too advanced for us in our second year. You, Remus Lupin, are still the smartest student in Hogwarts. You are kind and gentle and being a werewolf doesn’t make you less!”
I blurted out things that could save me: all the things I’ve seen and some that I’ve kept. Like how he ruffles his hair as he tries to hide his embarrassment from the tricks his friends do, or the way his lips curled up a bit when he smiles or how he takes his tea with two lumps of sugar and a bit of milk or how he loves to read under the oak trees in the square or how he always gently tap my shoulder three times before talking to me because I told him since we were eleven that I was jumpy.
It never occurred to me how observant I was with Remus Lupin, but I was.
A gust of wind came wafting through us. It felt cold but underneath the smell of moss and dirt, Remus smelled like oak and honey, like autumn. His face suddenly softened; his snarl slowly dissipated. I winced as his grip loosened. I fell to the ground a muffled thump but kept my eyes on him. Everything was silent.
“I should let you go, Y/N…” he shamefully whispered. He hung his head low and unclenching his muscles. The tension between us was finally gone but it was too early to celebrate. As a breathed a sigh of relief, glad to live another day, my movement snapped him back to lycanthropy. It was fast and I felt my heartbeat stop as he came in rushing to me again, his fangs protruding lunging towards my neck. “Or maybe I’ll just take a bite-!”
“Remus-!
“Gotcha!” Before Remus Lupin could dig in through my skin, two boys lunged himself towards him and held his arms. The long-haired one who I assume was Sirius Black was taking out a blanket from the enchanted satchel and gave it the bespectacled boy, James Potter. From the distance, they felt annoyed.
“Son-of-a-bitch, just won’t quit!” Sirius complained, as he tried to take a hold of his friend.
“Remus, you cunt, it’s already over!” James laughed as he held unto the blanket, trying to cover his friend. “Padfoot, would you do the honors?”
“Certainly!” Without hesitation, Sirius held his hand high and slapped Remus Lupin. That shook him off. Remus' eyes were wide and finally he stopped struggling and slumped.
“Finally got you back, Moony. This is the last time we’ll let you in the open on your last day.” James told his friend in which Lupin didn’t reply. He stared at James, too tired to respond. He finally took his gaze out and wandered to me. His stare startled me, and I felt a chill down my spine. Fear shot through me, but I realized in that moment that I was staring his eyes. I could see he was sorry. His brows were furrowed with worry and that gave me a sense of relief.
Or was it anger?
I hope it wasn't. I didn't know.
I wish he is worried.
I lay on the mossy bed. It was wet but the cold was a relief. The dews of the night fell on my dirt-covered face. I looked up to the sky and behind the silhouette of the trees, I could see the last glimpse of the full moon. I chuckled under my breath. I was just supposed to get Wolfsbane.
A shadow silently nudged and sat beside me. He took something out of his pocket and poured a liquid on it from the bottle he held. Under the faint light of the night, I could see the bottle was Wound-Cleaning Solution. He gave me the damp cloth and I obligingly took it. I wiped the medicine on my face and underneath my shirt. I winced as it touched my bruised-up skin.
“You should come with us, Y/N.” James softly spoke, “It was my fault. Sorry. I agreed to let him out of the Shrieking Shack since it was the last day of the full moon. We didn’t think he’d go this near to the castle.”
“We didn’t think any civilians, especially Y/N, would be here, though!” Sirius shouted from a distance.
“Fuck off, Black!” James offered his hand. I took it, and he helped me walked away from Sirius and Remus and headed towards the meadow to the castle. “You can sleep in the Gryffindor dormitories for tonight. I’ll tell the professors you’re sick. Lily will help you with your wounds once we get to the castle.”
“Lily Evans? she knows?”
“Unfortunately, yes. She’s nosey, getting on people’s business. I love that about her.”
“What will happen to Remus?”
“Shitty.” He laughed under his breath, “But it’ll get better, I promise. It takes about a week to recover but he’ll be back to normal. You’ll get used to it eventually, his certain cravings and all.”
“What – get used to what, James?” I asked him, confused. He laughed under his breath again and smiled naughtily.
“You’re one of us now, Y/N. Our secret is safe with you.”
“Huh.” I was just supposed to get Wolfsbane.