The Cursed Creature

Chapter 1

Once Upon a Time

There was once a wizard, a famous expert on magical creatures of the spiritual type, like Poltergeists and Boggarts, that were never truly alive. Lyall Lupin was an intelligent and modest man and during his occupational journey through the Welsh forest, which was rumoured to harbour an extremely malicious Boggart, he came across a particularly beautiful Muggle woman.

Despite being able to sense their presence to some degree, most Muggles are incapable of seeing non-beings and spiritual apparitions like Dementors or Boggarts. However, precious few Muggles seem to have a higher imagination and sensibility, which enables them to experience the visual appearance of the Boggart.

Hope Howell was one of these Muggles. During her stroll through the Welsh forest after a long day in the office, she felt increasingly uncomfortable due to a strong sense of being watched. The Boggart assumed the form of a tall, dangerous-looking man that approached her threateningly.

Hearing her scream reverberating through the woodland Lyall rushed to Hope's aid and transformed the Boggart into an inconspicuous mushroom. Hope, who did not grasp the magic that had taken place, thought that Lyall had chased the big scary man away.

While feeling somewhat guilty with the false praise, because Hope had never been in actual danger, Lyall decided not to contradict the beautiful Lady he just met. Instead he offered to escort her home safely and this was how their relationship began.

It wasn't until some months later that Lyall admitted to the actual facts of the event. He was relieved that Hope did not love him any less for it and overjoyed when she accepted his proposal.

They celebrated a beautiful marriage with a Boggart-topped cake and one year later their first and only son was born. As a way to give their child a name linking him to both his magical and his non-magical side they followed an ancient wizarding tradition and consulted a Naming Seer.

Henceforth, he would be called Remus as suggested by the Naming Seer as well as John, after Hope’s father.