Mischief Managed Year Two Part One: The Poisoned Truth

Chapter Fifty-Nine- An Unusual Approach

.................................................

"It...hurts...can't...breathe...." Remus wheezed, staring at the darkness around him. A voice from far away was trying to talk to him but he couldn't seem to focus on it.

How long had he been with Greyback? Something about the lesson was bothering him...about how Greyback was raising kids and seemed to have been doing it for a long time. So how had Remus been found so quickly?

After asking himself that, everything had begun to feel...staticky...unreal. He was sure the floor was shifting underneath him. Everywhere he looked there was just a distorted room that seemed to be filled with nothing but shadows. He knew he was crying now, and he pleaded to the far-away voice for his momma and daddy.

"They hate you. Why would they come for you when they hate you, little snack?"

"Please...I want...to leave...," he whimpered brokenly, knowing he never would be able to.

"Remus...you can. I know it's scary, but you can leave. If you can hear me nod your head," came the persistent voice, repeating the sentence several times. However the voice sounded kind so Remus obeyed it, and was told he was doing a very good job.

"Tell me five things you see...I know it all seems dark, but try to find five things that stand out to you. Anything at all. Nod your head if you think you can do that."

He nodded again, knowing he wanted to please this man, his professor. He now recognized the voice as Professor Corbyn. A shadowy figure appeared in front of him, causing Remus to fling himself away with a shout of horror, reaching for his wand.

"Get away from me! Stay away, Shadowman!" he hollered, before realizing he didn't have to call Greyback that anymore. However, he could not find the nerves to address the monster in front of him as anything else.

Was Mr. Howell actually Greyback? Weren't all the werewolves basically the same?

"I won't come nearer. I'm not going to hurt you, Remus. I just need you to find five things," came the patient voice that didn't sound at all like the rough gravelly tone of the werewolf who had stolen his childhood. Even finding the different-sounding voice weird didn't cause Remus to stop cowering on the floor. He kept his wand in his shaky grip, pointing it at the shadowy figure. It was only when he realized it wasn't coming closer that he started looking for more things again.

"...desk..."

"Very good, Mr. Lupin, very good!" The voice sounded pleased and relieved. Remus tried to focus on the familiar voice, rather than the scary shadowy figure.

"...C...Corbyn?"

"Yes, that's right. It's just me, Remus. You're safe lad, you're in Hogwarts and you're safe."

"Hogwarts..." Saying the name of the school seemed to make some of the shadows fade and he was able to state in a shaky voice that he saw the chalkboard, his books on the floor, and his professor who no longer looked like a creepy shadow man, instead now a faint outline.

"Very good, Mr. Lupin. Now four things you hear."

Remus wondered what the point of this was. He now knew he wasn't in Greyback's clutches but the DADA classroom, even if things still seemed hazy.

....Only he could almost feel Greyback's breath on his neck, could nearly smell the musty smell of that horrible cave...So he obediently listed four things he heard, wondering if he really should have counted his hammering heart as one of them. But Professor Corbyn accepted it as an answer.