Crossroads | Marauders

Chapter 02: The Lesson

— 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟓

        You'll never forget the day of the incident. It was just a week before Remus' fifth birthday. 

        The two of you had grown very close even when his parents had explained to you that you weren't siblings, and that your own parents weren't around. But you didn't mind, you enjoyed your life being with them, even in spite of the times Remus would pull on your hair just for fun then you'd run to his mom to tell her about what he'd done. And yet, every time she scolds Remus and apologised to you, you knew better than to believe him right away. He wasn't at all sincere as he'd always stick his tongue out at you after Hope turns to leave.

        There were days when he'd really push you to the edge. You'd get so angry at him, that your clouded emotions turned to rage as the magic inside you conjured whirlwinds in your shared bedroom.

        And this was one of those days.

        You were in a fight with Remus. He'd just destroyed your only and favorite toy that his father, Lyall, gave you. It was your most prized possession. Remus, however, thought it'd be laughable to step on it.

        The broken pieces, other wooden toys, and the contents of the beds flung high and soared across the room. Your emotions were too strong, and you couldn't hear Remus and Tibly trying to calm you down over the sound of harsh words unceasingly coming out of your mouth.

        Angrily, you faced the bedroom window, unable to look at either of them, but also desperately trying to diminish your anger. The evening looked peaceful as opposed to the chaos you made inside. And then you saw it, a glint of two golden orbs beyond the darkness of the night. Something inside you stirred danger, but you were too blind with great resentment at that moment to listen to it.

        Remus placed a hand on your shoulder, fighting against the wind, "Y/N, I'm so—"

        Before you could even stop the words that flowed out of your mouth, you had already regretted it.

        You turn towards him, sharply snapping, "No. I hate you, Remy."

        It tasted vile in your mouth because you knew deep inside it wasn't true, and yet you could see the hurt you caused in his eyes. Immediately, the wind had come to a halt and dissolved, dropping everything that flew mid-air with a loud thud on the floor.

        You could see Remus' frame slowly shrinking even further than it already did. How did it come to this? You loved him, yet you were hurting each other. He reluctantly took a step back, suddenly interested on the floor as he avoided your burning gaze. He knew what he did was wrong, he didn't know how he'd come to the idea of what he did, but it didn't mean that what you had said didn't sting.

        Fighting the tears that welled up in behind your eyes, you left the room in a huff with Tibly closely following behind you, leaving Remus alone in the clutter.

        Strolling down the hallway, you sat atop the stairs, holding onto one of the wooden spindles. You could feel Tibly place a small hand on your shoulder as you silently cried your tears out.

        "How could you say such a thing, Lyall?" Hope fumed.

        You jump in surprise at the sudden voice. You hesitantly looked down at the living room to see Remus' mother and father raising their voices at each other. The reason why they weren't able to hear the sound of your destruction inside your bedroom was because they were having their own heated argument. That was the first time you'd really seen them furious with each other, and the fear that replaced your anger almost petrified you.

        "Because it's true! They're vile creatures." Lyall shouted, raising both his arms in exasperation.

        "They're misunderstood! And here I thought you of all wizards would understand."

        "How would you know anything, Hope? You're a Muggle!"

        "I know enough, Lyall!"

        And then it was quiet for a moment. But that one moment was all it took to notice a loud crash from your room — where Remus was. And then you hear him screaming. You quickly jumped to your feet and ran towards the sound. Hope and Lyall finally snapping out of their argument in alarm, quickly followed and dashed up the stairs.

        Once you reached the door, your breath hitched at the horrific sight. The man in front of you stood by the shattered window. He was large, vicious-looking. Grey hair spread across his facial features. His teeth were bared, but it wasn't any normal human teeth, they were long and pointed. And then you turned to look at the floor in front of him, Remus was unconscious. His arm was bleeding out profusely on the floor.

        "Remy!" You screamed, running to him.

        The man quickly noticed your presence, snarled and waved his arm to send you flying against the wall across the room. You hit your head as you landed hard back on the wooden floor. 

        "Master Y/N—" Tibly cried out, attempting to run to you but only to be sent flying out through the door and out the room.

        "Get away from them!" You hear Lyall shout and cast a spell at the large man.

        "You had this coming!" Growled the man as he stumbled back, "Let this be a lesson to you humans, and see how you can judge us so easily." He snickered, giving one last look at the two small bodies on the floor before fleeing out the window.

        Your vision and hearing were quickly fading, but all you could see was Remus. He laid there in front of you, unmoving. Tears spilled from your eyes, regretting ever having to argue over a stupid little thing in the first place.

        You weakly tried to reach for his hand, "Rem..."

        And then everything went black.

        The day Remus was bitten by a werewolf — it was your fault.

Mischief Managed