Prologue
Remus called it his wandering.
Everything that happened to him took the form of a small pebble, that was added to his back, which became more and more weak with each new experience.
Maybe it wasn't the most accurate comparison, but when he thought about his own life, about everything that had happened to him and what was going to happen to him, he couldn't compare it to anything other than an ordinary stone. In fact, he fit perfectly into such a landscape - gray little Remus in a gray big world.
It was the hardest in the beginning, because as he grew up, a large boulder called the "furry little problem" made it difficult for him to stand up. His small, fragile body could barely cope with such a serious problem. He didn't blame his parents for this, he understood that he didn't deserve to be treated like other children. He listened to it for so long that over time he began to believe how repulsive he was and he didn't even think he would ever be able to change it.
As he grew older and his parents could no longer keep him a secret, three rules were created that he promised to follow.
1. Don't answer questions about the full moon.
2. Don't hang out with naughty kids.
And the last one,
3. Never leave the Shrieking Shack at night.
Well, he broke the last one pretty quickly.
The first one was actually next, and the second one... He wasn't sure about the second one, but in the end he didn't become a very good promise keeper.
However, all this became irrelevant when he realized that apart from his parents, there are people in the world who accept him.
He looked terrible. Covered in scars, as if he had survived a battle with a terrible dragon, but in truth he wasn't even brave enough. He accepted his fate and just added more and more stones to his already heavy shoulders.
No friends? He'll be fine, it'll just be a bit harder. No approval? Well, you can't always be admired for everything. Even the lack of support - it could be explained somehow. Constant fear, uncertainty of one's fate, threats, parents' disappointment, uselessness, a stain on the family, endless... ah Remus, come on! Stop.
Breathe.
He somehow lived with it, maybe he had many things on his mind, and he was afraid that one day his neck would be broken, but he lived, right? He was doing fine.
Well, he wasn't a disgusting, trash-hungry werewolf like Greyback, he was just himself. Boring, quiet and unattractive Remus Lupin, who only wants peace and a good book to read.
However, whenever a new problem, difficulty, or unfavorable circumstance appeared, Remus imagined it as another oval or, on the contrary, a very angular stone.
And one of them was Sirius Black.