The Difference Between Prejudice and Discrimination

The Difference Between Prejudice and Discrimination

July 26

The Lupin family sat somewhere between the normal middle class wizarding family and the very rich, high class, pure-blood family. They weren't overly wealthy, but they certainly had enough money to live quite luxuriously. Although, the surname of Lupin originally derived from a Muggle-born wizard a number of centuries ago, the family was now considered mostly pure-blood and thus had their respectable place among society. At least... they did. The son of the two most talented Lupins' in the family had a terrible down fall. And this is where all of it begins.

Clara and Edward Lupin had a son, and for six wonderful years they lived happy and respectable lives. They had named their son Remus, and they were very proud of him. He showed signs of being just as talented at magic as his mother and father, and he got along with all the other children at Sally McLeod's Witch and Wizard Daycare Centre. Both his parents worked: his dad worked at the Ministry for Magic and his mum owned her own café. Everything was going smoothly, their lives were good. It is amazing how one night can change everything...

Edward Lupin was on the back porch barbequing hamburgers for dinner in the heat of a bright summer late-afternoon, while his wife was lying, stretched out on a chaise lounge in a bikini, sun-tanning. Their six year old son, at the moment, was playing with a bright red ball that would roll back to him if, at any time, it got more than five feet away from him. Every few minutes Clara would lift her head, shade her eyes and check if Remus was safe and sound.

Remus kicked the ball as hard as he could, overbalanced and fell over giggling. He picked himself up and wiped his hands on his clothes before looking around for his ball. It was nowhere in sight. Maybe it had rolled into the forest? Slowly, he walked up to the tree-line and looked down at the shadowed ground ahead of him. His parents had always told him never to go into the forest alone, but his ball couldn't have rolled very far in, could it? He took a hesitant step onto the needle strewn forest floor. It wasn't very scary inside the forest, he noticed as he looked around him. He'd been in here before, but he'd always been with mommy. It felt different to be without her, but not scary. Maybe he'd be able to catch a bug or something after he'd found his ball.

After a few seconds, the small boy spotted the red ball: it was trapped within a large bush and seemed to be trying to fight to get out. The bush had a cage-like structure in the center--where it was holding his ball--and he recognized it as the bush that would reach out and try to grab things that moved. Fortunately, it would only do that if there was nothing already in it, so he was safe to approach it. As he neared, though, the ball stopped struggling and he walked part way around the bush looking for the best place to reach in and get it. Carefully, he stuck both his arms into the bush and managed to press his palms to each side of it. He pulled as hard as he could to get the ball out of the bush. It didn't budge. Stopping for a moment, he tried to get a better grip on it and pulled again. Suddenly, his hands slipped from around the ball and he toppled backward. But he couldn't feel hitting the solid ground beneath him. Instead, he felt himself start to roll down a very steep hill. He squeezed his eyes shut, he couldn't stop from rolling; he was going too fast! It felt like forever that he tumbled, and he was starting to feel sick. Then, it stopped. A sharp pain shot through his head and everything went black.

Clara lifted her head to check her son was alright. Almost instantly she sat up, he was nowhere to be seen! She glanced over at her husband--he was still cooking dinner.

"Edward, he's gone!" She frantically stood and threw her clothes on. Edward was at her side a second later. Her light brown eyes met his and there was panic in them. "He must have gone into the forest."

His lips a grim line, he nodded his agreement and they both hurried toward the tree-line. Anything could happen to him in there!

As the hours went by and the sun sunk lower toward the horizon, they still hadn't found him. Frantically, the parents searched the upper part of the forest, lighting their wands as the sun disappeared. Finally, as the moon started to peak above the horizon, they found the first sign of what had happened to their son. His red ball was struggling to get itself out of a bush that stood barely two feet from the edge of the steep ravine that led to the lower part of the forest. Both adults Apparated to the bottom of the hill and continued their search.

Slowly, groggily, Remus started to wake up. There was a piercing pain at the back of his head that made black spots dance in front of his eyes when he managed to open them. Tears started to run down his cheeks at the pain and slowly he began to lift his head. Instantly everything around him started to spin and wobble, and he had to put his head back down; although, as he did that, he found he had shifted slightly and the back of his head came to rest on a patch of dirt, the pain lessened.

The full force of his predicament hit him suddenly and tears streamed down the sides of his face and into his hair, his lower lip quivering, but he didn't make any noise. He remembered what mommy had said just a little while ago. The forest was dangerous and he should always be quiet when he went into it. She'd said that to him just before they had gone into the forest to collect some plants. But he was lost, now. Should he still be quiet when he is lost? Where were mommy and daddy? How come they hadn't found him yet? Were they lost too?

His head gave a painful throb and he whimpered quietly. He couldn't make noise... He jumped slightly when he heard something else make noise. It came from near-by: a low, haunting note he recognized as a wolf howl. It sounded almost the same as the wolf in his animal book sounded. That was one of his favourite pages; he loved to watch the dark wolf roam around its picture then tilt its head back so his nose pointed at the moon and that was when it howled. He liked the sound when it came from his book, but right now it just scared him.

Slowly, he tried to roll over onto his stomach so that he could push himself up and maybe crawl under a bush but he stopped when he heard a noise that sounded like a twig breaking in the bushes to the left of him. The little boy started and turned on his hands and knees, looking cautiously toward where the sound had come from, slowly backing away from it. He heard a rumbling growl and two glowing amber eyes reflected the light of the moon in the darkness.

Tears streamed down his face, he didn't like this. He shuffled backward again when a loud gunshot rang through the night. The glowing eyes disappeared and whatever it was gave a loud whine. More twigs snapped as a loud thud could be heard from the darkness ahead of him. A foreboding quietness followed that was only broken by the soft whimpers of the--what Remus guessed was a--wolf. A few moments passed and Remus started to calm down. He stopped shaking from fear and the pain and dizziness had lessened a little.

He started to look around: he had to get away from the wolf. Wolves were not very nice to meet in person--he knew that--so he couldn't stay. He had to find mommy and daddy. Where were they?

Suddenly the wolf whimpered loudly and the little boy started. Was the wolf hurt? Slowly, the child rose on his hands and knees, and started to crawl toward it. Maybe it needed his help? As quietly as he could he moved around the bush. The wolf was lying on its side, fur a steel grey, bathed in moonlight from a gap in the trees ahead. Remus moved closer. He could see the wolf was having trouble breathing, each breath now a constant whine in its throat. But it didn't look like the same as the wolf in his book. Its face was different, thicker with a shorter muzzle and visible sharp, white teeth below the lips, and thicker legs, and a bigger more muscular body.

Could he help it? He shifted closer and sucked in a quivering breath. Its body was covered in little wounds. Each soaking the fur around it in dark blood. Should he get help? Suddenly, something cracked behind him. Remus turned and scurried backward away from the noise--nearly knocking into the wolf--looking for its source.

The outline of a tall, thick set man stood in between two trees. The shotgun in his hands pointed down at the ground.

"Get away from there!"

The man's voice was gruff and sounded old, but he scared him and Remus wasn't sure where to run. On one side was the bush, behind him and on his other side was the wolf and in front of him was the man, where could he go? Very slowly he started to stand up. The man wanted him to move away from where he was, but Remus wasn't going to go toward him. Who was he?

"Remie!"

"Mommy?" Remus could hear her calling. He had to get around the bush! "Mommy!"

"Where are you?" The voice was getting closer.

"Here!" He could hear footsteps now, moving toward him. Glancing at the man, he took a tentative step forward. The man didn't move, but Remus wasn't sure he saw him. He took another step and listened for his parents' footsteps. It sounded as if they were just on the other side of the bush. He hesitated, and a second later he could see the outline of his mother and then his father, coming up behind the man. He took one step toward them when a sharp pain in his side stopped him and the weight associated with the pain pulled him down onto the ground.

The wolf--which had been thought of as unconscious by the man with the shotgun--had been woken by a sound very close by. Pain coursed through its body and weakness was running like poison through his muscles but he could sense something which made him ignore this. Without moving or opening his eyes he sniffed the air. Suddenly, an incredibly powerful urge started to rise up within him. He must get it! Sink his teeth into it, claw it, kill it! It made another sound and the wolf managed to pinpoint exactly where it was. He wanted to taste its flesh, lap its blood... No, he didn't just want to kill it, he needed to kill it. With the last bit of strength the wolf could muster, it hauled itself forward and sank its teeth into the warm skin.

A loud bang ripped through the quiet night air as the man reacted as quickly as he could to the movement. The wolf--this time shot by a handheld pistol--released the boy as it staggered sideways a couple steps then collapsed to the ground. Clara rushed forward and knelt down beside her son, Edward close behind her. Careful not to hurt him anymore than he already was, she gathered him gently into her arms and stood up. The child seemed to be in shock at what had just happened for he was silent, though tears ran down his cheeks. She lowered her head and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

"You'll be alright, Remie baby... you'll be okay..." she whispered softly into his hair. He started shivering and she hugged him closer. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together... she knew what bit him.

From behind her, she could hear Edward speak to the man, "Thank you for saving our son, Mr...?"

The man sounded impatient, "That there was a werewolf. By biting the boy with his dying breath he not only passed on the curse to 'im, but he also passed on some of his powers. If you wan' I can put 'im out of his misery."

Clara spun around angrily, with tears in her eyes. The man was now pointing the handheld gun straight at her son she carried lovingly in her arms. Edward jumped forward and ripped the gun from his grasp.

"Thanks for your offer but no thank you." His voice was steely as he tossed the gun onto the forest floor. He turned around and wrapped a protective arm around his wife's shoulders, throwing the man a daggered glance as they started to walk away.

The man grunted, turned his back on them, bent down to pick up his gun and walked toward the dead werewolf.

Once they were well out of the view of the man they Apparated back into their house with a pop.

"We need to get him to St. Mungo's." When silence was her only reply she turned to face her husband.

Slowly, he nodded, "Go ahead, I'll get Muggle clothes and go in by the front entrance." Before he left the room he pointed his wand at the empty fire place and muttered under his breath, igniting a fire.

Nodding once, she turned, walked over to the fire place, shifted the now limp form of her child so as she could hold him with one arm, grabbed a handful of powder from a brass vase, threw it into the fire and a split second later, she'd shouted the name and disappeared from the living room.

Barely pausing after stumbling out of one of the three fireplaces, she raced out of the back room, into the main area. She scarcely paused to glance at the floor guide as she hurried toward the doors at the opposite end to the main floor. She needed to get to the first floor. Taking the flight of stairs as quickly as she could without jostling her son too much, she reached the landing of the first floor and took the first door on her left, after entering the hallway.

It was labeled Waiting Room and was extremely small with only four chairs, in pairs against two of the walls. A thin bored looking witch sat behind a counter that acted as a barrier between the Waiting Room and a file room. Clara walked toward the woman who was so absorbed in filing her nails that she didn't notice her until she was standing right in front of the counter. The other woman looked up at Clara, then pulled toward her a piece of parchment which had a chart on it.

"His name?" she asked unemotionally, indicating her son with the quill she'd just picked up.

"Remus J. Lupin." Clara answered impatiently.

"Uh huh. And... what was he attacked by?"

"A werewolf."

The thin woman, who had been looking down at the parchment, quill poised to write, suddenly, looked up at Clara with a distasteful expression.

"Most of our Healers are uncomfortable treating - werewolves." She spoke as though that ended the discussion.

Clara narrowed her eyes, "This is where they treat 'Creature-Induced Injuries'. My son was injured by a creature. They damn-well better treat him!"

The woman, whose name she could now see on a name plaque as being Janet, looked taken aback and seemed to be ready to retort when someone spoke from behind her.

"What's going on?"

Clara turned to find a young, dark-haired Healer standing in the doorway of the Waiting Room, looking pleasantly curious.

"This boy was bitten by a werewolf," Janet said testily waving her hand toward them as though trying to make them go away.

The Healer nodded, understanding setting his dark eyes. "Well, I can only see that being classified under our section so - if you'll follow me?" He gave her a small smile then left the Waiting Room.

She followed him, quickly, out of the doors and down the hallway a little ways until they reached the fifth door on the left.

"Just lie him down over there." The Healer indicated the only bed in the room as he shut the door behind him.

Clara did as he ordered, then looked around the room. The walls seemed to be made up of cupboards and a large counter stuck out from one wall with a fireplace at the end of it. She turned to watch the Healer as he pulled her son's shirt up to look at the wound, and she gasped. The bite was large, deep, bleeding, and starting to turn brown as though it had been terribly infected for days. She placed a hand on his head, worry etching her features.

The Healer inspected the wound closely for nearly a minute before he straightened and pointed his wand at it muttering something under his breath. An aura appeared around the bite, glowing a dark silvery blue. The man continued to speak quietly and the blue began to lighten and slowly change to purple. He stopped speaking and the aura faded, he turned to Clara.

"Your son has indeed been bitten by a werewolf and I'm afraid the infection has already begun to spread through his blood. It's too late, there is no cure."

Clara took a deep steadying breath and then bent down to kiss his forehead gently.

"Oh, my baby..."

-*-

As Remus woke up he began to feel incredibly ill. His head throbbed, his stomach churned and he hurt, everywhere. Swallowing hard, he opened his eyes. His mommy was sitting beside him in a chair, but she was twisted around watching his daddy talk to a dark-haired man with a piece of parchment in his hand. He looked around the rest of the room and didn't recognize where he was. The walls were wood and the room was lit by shining bubbles that were clustered in the centre of the ceiling. A small window near-by showed that the sun was high in the sky.

He shifted slightly to get a better look around the room and let out a small cry. A searing pain had just burned through his left side. Almost instantly he had the attention of both his parents and the dark-haired man.

"How do you feel, honey?" His mommy looked at him sadly and her voice was soft.

He paused thinking about it for a moment.

"Sick." His voice was unsteady.

"Do you feel sick to your stomach?" asked the dark-haired man who was now standing next to his bed.

Remus nodded, not really caring who the man was at the moment. "And my head hurts. And right here hurts." The child pointed to his left side just below the ribs.

The man nodded. "It's going to hurt for a little while. Can you remember why it hurts there?"

He scrunched up his face in an effort to try to remember what made him hurt so much. A flash of being alone, scared, in the dark, in the forest came to him. Then there was a wolf, and a man, the man scared him but so did the wolf. Tears came to his eyes he didn't want to remember this...

"I don't want to..." His breathing had sped up and he could feel his heart going faster.

His mommy stroked his hair gently.

"Do you remember the wolf?" she asked softly.

He could feel himself calming down at her touch and nodded.

"He bit you. Right there." She pointed at his left side.

He nodded again and then turned to look up at the ceiling. Suddenly, he realized something.

"Where are we?" Looking back at his mommy curiously he saw a little smile.

"We are in St. Mungo's Hospital. And this," she indicated the dark-haired man, "is Healer Smethwyck." She paused and the man smiled at him. Then, all at once, she became very serious. "Now honey we have to tell you something about the wolf that bit you." She had his full attention. "It wasn't just a normal wolf, like the one in your book. It was different." Pausing, she looked over at his dad and then back at him. She now looked sad. "It was a werewolf."

Remus was confused. A werewolf? He didn't know much about them. Actually, he had only heard that word a couple of times and didn't know anything about them. "What are those?"

His mommy was stroking his hair again and his eyelids began to get heavy.

She smiled softly when she noticed this. "We will explain it later. You should go back to sleep."

Clara watched her child nod slightly and then kissed his forehead as his eyes drooped. "We'll do everything we can to get you better... I promise." Tears appeared in her eyes. An arm wrapped gently around her shoulders and, accepting the embrace, she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.

Silently, they held each other, the same thoughts running through their minds. He was still there son and they would help him as much as they could, no matter what...

After a few long moments, Edward spoke quietly to her, "Healer Smethwyck gave me some names of people that might be able to help..."

Slowly, Clara pulled back from her love and sighed, gathering her emotions as much as she could before speaking.

"What are we going to do? Everyone knows there isn't a cure..."

Edward cradled her cheek in his palm. "There might be something that could make it easier. I'm not sure..."

She shook her head slightly. "How are we going to handle this? We have to tell him, soon. He has to know..."

"When? Should we wait a few weeks?" he asked gently.

She nodded. "I suppose... but not too long. Maybe, a week before the full moon, or... two."

There was another soft silent pause as Edward looked at his wife, knowing they were both hurting from this.

"We'll figure it out." He met her gaze with a distant determination. "All of it. We'll figure it all out."

She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"I know we will. And we won't give up...ever." Her voice was a whisper and he nodded in agreement.

~^~