Rating:
PG
House:
The Dark Arts
Characters:
Remus Lupin
Genres:
Angst
Era:
1944-1970
Spoilers:
Prizoner of Azkaban
Stats:
Published: 02/08/2007
Updated: 02/08/2007
Words: 1,088
Chapters: 1
Hits: 168

Doubt of the Moon

Next DADA Teacher

Story Summary:
Remus is bitten by a werewolf while he is at Camp Green Lake. Will anybody believe him? (Not compatible with HBP.)

Chapter 01

Posted:
02/08/2007
Hits:
168


Disclaimer: The name "Camp Green Lake" was borrowed from Louis Sachar, author of Holes.

Author's Notes: This was started before HBP came out. However, I only got around to writing the last chapter after it came out, and I've been lazy, so it's a tad bit late. Since I'd inadvertently twisted so much of Remus's life, the wrong parent remains magical, since I had really based this whole thing around that idea. So here's a slightly nicer alternative. There will be total of three short chapters.


Little Remus smiled. His parents had finally agreed to send him away for the summer and, although reluctantly, they let the 6-year old spend July in a reputable summer camp. Today was the 1st day of July and his little group had just arrived at the camp site.

The excitable little kids ran out of the bus to meet the camp counselor. "Hi, kids!" They let out a loud "hi" and after they had quieted, the young woman spoke again. "Welcome to Camp Green Lake! My name is Rachel. I'm sure you're all going to have lots of fun here. First I want you to all get settled and then we'll meet each other formally by the campfire. How's that sound?" Some kids shouted a reply, but most seemed happy.

"Alright," she said this very cheerfully, dragging it out into two words, but not annoyingly, in a very cute way that the kids all giggled appreciatively at. "I'm glad you're such a cooperative group. Listen carefully; I'm going to assign you to your cabins.

"If your last name begins with 'a,' 'b,' 'c' or 'd,' I want you to come up here." Four boys came up to her and she smiled kindly. "Go with Andy," she pointed out a likewise young man who had approached the group quietly while she talked, "he will be your councilor while you stay here. If you have any questions, make sure to ask him." That group trotted off.

The woman kept going through the list and Remus listened carefully the whole time, unlike most of the other kids. After three other groups had left, only Rachel, two boys and two girls remained. "The rest of you will be staying with me. Take your backpacks and you will be staying in cabin 'E.' I'll be in the councilor's cabin right next to it, so if you have any problems you can always find me. Follow me."

Remus spent the rest of the day talking to his cabin mates John, Meg and Mandy and getting used to the camp. When the sun set, all twenty kids met again around the campfire, full from just eating their dinner. (Remus discovered there were 2 Johns, 3 Amandas and 4 Roberts sharing the camp with him.) The meeting went by uneventfully, though Remus enjoyed the ghost stories they heard very much.

Now it was past the campers' lights out and Remus was possibly the only child who was still awake. He wanted to fall asleep, but however much he tossed and turned, he could not. He wandered out of the cabin, carefully opening and closing the door so that it would not creak. Remus fully planned to just wander around a bit or go to the councilor's cabin before returning to his own. But as he passed the woods, something seemed to draw him in. Giving in to temptation, he went in under light of the full moon.

Remus still didn't know what had happened that night. He had woken up the following morning safely snuggled up in his bed with no recollection of the events in the woods. He was perfectly fine except for a wound on his left thigh that was quickly healing. He supposed he had just tripped in the woods and after cleaning it rather messily by himself, he thought no more of it. But how did he get out of the forest and into his bed? Probably one of the camp councilors had found him and took pity on him. Remus was not in any trouble and nobody seemed to suspect him of doing anything wrong, so he quickly forgot about the incident, learning how to have fun and play with other kids his age in the outdoors.

All was fine until the last day of camp. The morning was spent with a little party with a lot of food that everyone enjoyed. The afternoon was free and kids could go around the camp, basically doing anything they wanted to. Remus had fun chatting and playing around until one of the bigger kids from Cabin A started bothering him.

Remus was sensitive about his big teeth and he did not appreciate the boy making fun of them. After having to put up with taunts until the sun set, which actually wasn't more than fifteen minutes, Remus gave in and started to cry, quietly at first than tears flowing freely. That only gave the boy another insult, so Remus quickly ran away in embarrassment. He ran as far as he could run, into the darkness and quiet of the woods.

Quietly sniffling, Remus took the chance to explore the forest. He knew that the night was a "blue moon." He knew from his father that this was a term for the second full moon in a month, and he was eager to see it. Remus knew it was rare and wanted to know if his mother had been truthful in saying that the moon was really looked blue than. He was almost positive his mother had been joking, but wanted to see it for himself.

Remus had barely calmed himself after his little ordeal when he felt a strange tingling behind his eyes. When he tried to rub them, the pain only moved as his skin tingled and hair grew. Remus quickly became terrified as his bones started to change. They became -- different. They were much more thin now, but somehow stronger. Hands and feet also started changing -- changing to look like paws. The pain became too much for the young boy as he collapsed on the moist ground, shaking with the sensation.

Then, as suddenly as the pain had begun, it ended. Remus tried to get up, but found himself on all fours, with drastically different eyesight tuned for night hunting. He took shaky steps before smelling a rabbit. Unable to control himself, Remus sprang on his feet and ran after his poor victim as if that was all he knew how to do.