The Moon and the Festival
Remus woke up with a throbbing headache, he had closed the curtains before he fell in bed last night so that he wouldn't be woken with the painful bright light of the morning sun.
He grumbled and pulled the blanket closer to him, dripping with sweat but feeling freezing cold.
He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, reading it to be 3pm already. He had slept for half the day.
Remus buried his face into the pillow and proceeded to lie there for the next few hours.
Once the sun started to set, he reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and slowly got changed before leaving his room.
He walked through town feeling like he was about to throw up at any moment, when he spotted decorations littering every street.
As he came into the town centre, the decorations got more and more. He spotted Lily, putting up even more decorations as she chatted to someone else who was holding a tray of cakes.
"Remus! God, you look absolutely awful. Are you alright?" Lily said, as she caught sight of him.
He nodded in reply, "Just a little ill. I'm fine, it'll pass."
Lily didn't seem to buy it, but luckily didn't press further.
"What's going on here?" He asked.
Lily took a moment to answer, carefully picking her words. "It's for this monthly festival we have. They're usually on the full moons, and we have peope volunteer… to help out. Then we drink and eat loads and dance until the sun starts to rise."
Remus nodded, "right. I'm afraid I'm not going to be here for it, I'll be away till tomorrow."
Lily visibly relaxed, "Great. Well I'll see you later then."
They waved goodbye, and Remus carried on walking. It took him a couple of hours till he found a safe place to transform. He was deep in the woods, the festival luckily meant no one would be in the woods apart from him.
His body shifted and he started to scream.
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He woke up to the bright morning sun blinding his eyes, and quickly checked over the damage on his body. His arm had been dislocated, and there was blood pouring from around his stomach.
He slowly stood up, clutching his hand to his stomach and picked up a stick to help him walk back.
As Remus got back into town, he saw many of the villagers fast asleep in the streets with blankets and pillows around them. Nobody seemed to be awake, and the decorations from last night blew in the wind.
He noticed strange symbols painted on the streets; rainbows, hands, and dripping blood were drawn onto the ground. A few flags tied to trees and buildings had the same symbols on.
He got back to the inn; Peter and Lydia were both out, likely asleep in the streets with the many others.
He slowly walked up the stairs to his room, and started treating his injuries before resting.
He grabbed a bucket and sponge and quickly cleaned the wounds before tying a large, long bandage around his waist. He shoved the sleeve of his coat into his mouth before pushing his arm back into place, the scream muffled.
As soon as he was finished, he crawled into bed and fell fast asleep.
Sometime later, a loud bang woke him up. Remus opened his eyes to see the sun rising again, and Peter by the door with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry. I didn't know you were still asleep. Mum came to see if you needed anything yesterday and apparently you looked really ill. Are you alright?"
Remus groaned and sat up, "Just a passing illness. I'm better now, I just needed a little rest."
Peter nodded, and caught sight of the overwhelming amount of news articles on the desk, and the bloodstained clothes on the floor.
Remus answered before the questions could slip out, "I went on a walk in the woods a few nights ago and slipped down a hill. Got a little injured."
"Those woods are dangerous", Peter nodded again, "What's with those newspapers though?"
Remus turned his head slightly to see the articles in question.
"My job," He answered. "Speaking of which, I should get going."
"Right. To do what, exactly?" Peter asked, a hint of suspicion blending into his eyes.
Remus laughed, getting up and quickly putting some cleaner clothes on.
"Wouldn't you like to know, Pete."
"I would, actually."
Remus grabbed his jacket and strolled closer to the door. He leant against the wall and folded his arms, "I'm a researcher. I discover new plants and animals, that's why I was in the woods the other night."
"I thought it'd be a lot more interesting than that."
Remus shrugged, "Sorry to disappoint."
Peter set another suspicious gaze around the room before sighing and walking back down the stairs.
Remus quickly grabbed his weapons from under the bed and stuffed them in his pockets.
He left the room, bringing the long stick from his return after the full moon with him, to help get up the large hill to the castle.
He was determined to get in today.