Bitten

Chapter One--The Bite

"Remus? Remus, where are you?"

No answer.

"Remus, come on. I give up. Anyway, it's getting late. We should go home now."

Audrey Primrose scanned the forest around her, looking for any sign of her friend Remus Lupin. When he did not answer her calls, she began to worry.

"Remus!" she called at the top of her lungs.

Her shout was answered by a horrible scream of pain somewhere in the distance. A shiver went down Audrey's spine. Something was hurting Remus.

She ran as fast as she could in the direction of his scream. Tearing through the forest as fast as her legs would carry her, she hurried to the aid of her friend.

"Remus? Where are you? Oh no--Remus!"

Finally, she came to a clearing, and the sight that met her eyes would haunt her dreams for years to come.

An enormous wolf was standing over a crumpled figure, bearing its teeth and growling. Audrey stared at the blood covering its snout, unable to move. She stood there for what seemed like ages to her, but was probably only a few seconds. Suddenly, she heard footsteps thudding quickly behind her. She heard a voice cry, "Stupefy!" and the wolf fell over to the side of Remus. A tall man, Remus's father, hurried forward towards the injured boy. His mother soon arrived at Audrey's side.

She turned to Audrey and said, "What happened?"

But Audrey couldn't speak. The sight of her friend lying there, covered in blood, had rendered her numb and speechless. She continued to stare at Remus, wide-eyed, while his father turned him over.

"Is...is he...?" said Mrs. Lupin.

"He's still breathing," Mr. Lupin said quietly. "But it's bad... really bad...."

Remus's mother took Audrey back to the house, while his father conjured up a stretcher. They rushed Remus to St. Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies and Injuries. Audrey insisted on going, despite the adults' objections.

"She's too young," said Mrs. Lupin. "She's only eight. She doesn't even understand what is happening."

"Yes, I do," said Audrey adamantly. "And I want to see Remus."

When they arrived at the hospital, it was hours before the Healers would let them in. When they finally admitted the Lupins into Remus's room, they were reluctant to admit Audrey.

"We usually don't let children in," said the Healer. "She might upset him."

But Mr. Lupin assured him that Audrey would be on her very best behaviour. They were let into the room at one o'clock in the morning. Audrey timidly followed Mr. and Mrs. Lupin and stood a good distance from the bed. A curtain separated Remus's bed from another man's and blocked him from Audrey's view. Remus's parents talked quietly to him for a few minutes, while Audrey stood back awkwardly. After a short while, Mr. Lupin came back from behind the curtain and said to Audrey, "Remus would like to see you, Audrey."

Trembling slightly, Audrey approached the bed.

"Don't be afraid, dear," said Mr. Lupin kindly. "He's going to be fine."

Audrey nodded dumbly. Remus's parents stepped back to let their son talk to his best friend.

"R-Remus?" said Audrey tentatively. She noticed, to her relief, that his wound had been cleaned and wrapped in bandages, so that she could see no blood. "A-Are you all right, R-Remus?"

"Yeah," said Remus in a weak voice. "But it hurts a lot."

"Your daddy says you'll be fine," said Audrey trying to assure both Remus and herself.

"Yeah," said Remus. "I know."

"W-was that a werewolf?" asked Audrey.

"That's what my parents said," Remus replied. "So now... I'm one too."

Audrey didn't know what to say to this. She looked uneasily at her pale friend.

"Audrey, will you still be my friend, even though I'm a werewolf?" asked Remus nervously.

Audrey nodded her head vigorously.

"Of course, Remus," she said. "We'll always be best friends. I don't care if you're a werewolf."

Relief spread across Remus's face. But little did he know that this would be the last time he would see Audrey for a long time.

Chapter Two--Separated

Audrey's parents came to pick her up. She was sitting in the waiting room on the first floor when her father appeared at her side.

"Daddy!" said Audrey.

"Audrey," said her father, "what happened? We got an owl saying that you were waiting in the hospital because Remus was hurt."

Audrey nodded.

"Hello, John," said Mr. Lupin, coming over to them.

"What happened?" asked Mr. Primrose, skipping the pleasantries.

"Werewolf bite," Mr. Lupin replied grimly.

Mr. Primrose's expression changed.

"Werewolf, you say?" he repeated.

"Yeah," said Audrey. "We were playing hide-and-seek in the forest, and then he went to hide, but I couldn't find him, and I heard him scream... and... and-- "

"It's okay, sweetheart," said Mr. Primrose. "So-- er -- is he... is he one, now?"

"Yes," said Mr. Lupin heavily. "He got the bite. There's nothing they can do...."

"Well, then, you'll understand that I won't be allowing my daughter to play with him anymore."

"What?" said Audrey, certain that she had misheard her father.

"I'm sorry, love, but it's too dangerous-- he's too dangerous."

"No he's not!" said Audrey loudly. "He's my best friend!"

"He's also a Dark creature now," said her father. "One that kills for fun."

"No he's not!" Audrey repeated even more loudly, attracting the stares of several other patients who were waiting in the room. "Remus wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"I won't argue about this with you," said Mr. Primrose sternly. "Now come along, we're going home now."

He took her by the hand and began to pull her toward the lift.

"No!" said Audrey, struggling against her father. "I want to stay here with Remus!"

But it was no use. Audrey cried all they way home and stormed up to her room without a word to her father. Her mother, who was a Muggle, knew little about werewolves, but agreed with Audrey's father that her friendship with Remus should end.

Audrey collapsed onto her bed and cried herself to sleep. She dreamed that she was walking through the forest that she and Remus had always played in. She heard something growling. Turning around, she saw a werewolf hovering over someone who was lying on the ground. There was blood everywhere. Then the wolf turned into Remus. He turned to Audrey and said, "You'll still be my friend, right, Audrey?"

Then the person on the ground stood up. It was her father.

"He's dangerous, see?" he said. "I told you, and I was right."

"Noooo!" yelled Audrey.

She woke up several times, just to fall back asleep and dream about the werewolf again. This happened every night for the next few weeks. But as time went by, the nightmares lessened. Audrey never so much as saw Remus from a distance anymore, and soon she and her family moved far away. However, Audrey never forgot her best friend, and she never had any close friends after that.

Meanwhile, Remus was adjusting to being a werewolf. It was hard, especially because he was so young. He often thought about how much easier it would be if he had a friend to talk to. But the only close friend he had ever had was Audrey, and now he couldn't even see her. Every month, he painfully transformed into the werewolf, and none of the other children in his town wanted to be his friend because of what he was. He didn't go to school; his parents taught him at home. He saw no hope of ever leading a normal life.