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Author: Cambryn Story: The Wisdom to Know the Difference Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: WIP Reviews: 1 Words: 8,979
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference - Reinhold Niebuhr It was the strange, pungent odour that first led Remus to realise he wasn't in his room. The sheets weren't as soft, the bed was much harder. As he opened his eyes it took little time for everything to come into focus. It was all a very sterile white and the bright light from the window was nearly blinding. He looked down to see that his arms and chest were bandaged, and he was wearing some sort of paisley smock. It took a moment longer for him to recognize his hand was being held by his sleeping mother, whose head was lying on the bed. She looked tired and her hair was in a shockingly untidy state. His father, who was awkwardly propped up in a nearby chair, looked just as worn as his mother. His face was unshaved and his clothes were more rumpled than Remus had ever seen them before. 'Mum?' Remus fairly croaked. In an instant, both his parents were wide awake and hugging him with teary eyes. 'Oh Remus!' his mother started, almost sobbing into his frock, making him feel more overwhelmed than comforted in any way. Her tight grip was almost painful, but she looked so sad he couldn't bring himself to stop her. 'Can I go ride Helios, now?' he hoarsely asked. He couldn't tell if his mother had let out a small laugh or not, as her barely quelled crying made most sounds indecipherable. 'Not right now,' his father smiled, though his red eyes looked anything but happy. 'Where 'r we?' 'We're at St. Mungo's. It's a rather large hospital in London,' his father replied. 'Oh...' he answered feebly. A strange silence permeated the room. It wasn't like the comfortable stillness he enjoyed with his parents at night when they read books in the den, or the amiable quiet he shared with his mother as they gardened side by side in her patch of begonias. This silence was uncomfortable and disquieting, as if there was something that everyone needed to say, but couldn't. He had never heard such a silence in his life. 'Remus, would you like some water?' his mother managed to say, as she wiped some tears from her face and tried to act as if nothing was wrong. 'Alright,' Remus answered. His mother held a glass to his lips and he greedily drank down most of its contents. He hadn't realised how much his throat was hurting. 'Can we go home, now?' Remus asked quietly, looking to his father who was pursing his lips in discomfort. His mother responded by starting to cry again. She was quieter than before, but her shoulders were shaking just as hard. He couldn't remember ever seeing her cry like that. She'd cried when she chopped onions, and when she read some of her books, and she'd cried when Grandpa Thomas had died two years ago, but this was very different than any of those times. She was crying so hard and his father wasn't comforting her at all. 'No. Not yet. You were bitten badly- you still need some time to recover,' his father said haltingly, with no hint of happiness, only a sad weariness. They were both acting so strangely it frightened him. Were they mad at him? What was wrong? Did they even want him anymore? They weren't talking with him. They were paying attention to him, but it wasn't like the usual attention. Nothing was right anymore, nothing at all. Suddenly, Remus realised why things were so strange. A sense of panic grew in his chest. 'I'm sorry I snuck out of the house. I knew I shouldn't. I knew it. I k-knew it,' Remus started sobbing, unbidden tears rolling down his cheeks. 'You told me not to go out at night alone b-before, I know. I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Please stop being mad. I d-didn't mean to make you so ma-ad,' Remus tried to stifle his sobs, but couldn't. His parents had both surrounded him in a tight hug, and he continued to cry into his father's shoulder. 'Remus, we're not mad with you. How could you ever think that?' his mother asked him, firmly kissing the top of Remus' shaking head. 'We love you very much.' 'No matter what,' his father said, almost fiercely, with tears in his eyes as he hugged him. 'No matter what, because you're our son, and nothing will change that. Nothing.' They sat huddled together in silence, but now it was comforting. All their tears were just beginning to stop, and their breathing was returning to normal. 'I need a tissue,' he sniffled, and both his parents began to laugh the warm laughs that he'd heard before. 'I think we're all in need of one,' his father grinned as he conjured some handkerchiefs for them to use. Just then the door opened, and a man Remus had never seen before stuck his head into the room. He did not appear agreeable in any way. His thinning hair reminded Remus of the steel wool he'd seen his mother use to scrub a particularly dirty pan. His eyes were dark and beady, and his face was both grotesquely fat and red. The man's face held nothing but disdain and unpleasantness, and his expression was so sour he looked as if he were suffering from a permanent case of indigestion. 'You are the Lupins, correct?' he asked, slightly out of breath. The fat man's second chin wobbled whenever he talked, and he looked as if he sweated more than other people. 'We are,' Remus' father said a bit cautiously, as he rose to properly greet the man. 'I'm John, this is my wife, Linda, and my son, Remus.' 'Yes,' the man said in an unctuous voice, as he wiped his brow with a chartreuse handkerchief. 'There are some matters that need discussing. I am Mr Maxwell Tapling, from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, more specifically with the Department for Werewolf Registry.' 'Are you here to talk about the werewolf that attacked Remus?' his mother asked unsurely. The man gave her a withering look before setting his briefcase down on a desk and opened it to reveal a large amount of papers. 'I, Madam, am here to discuss many things,' he said sententiously, continuing with his silent shuffling through the papers for a good period of time. Remus thought it odd that he claimed he'd be discussing many things, but hadn't talked about anything at all. 'Forgive me for being forward, Mr Tapling, but could you please be prompt. We've all had a very trying few days and our nerves are very frayed,' John asked with as much decorum as one could ever muster with such a man. 'Do not rush me,' Tapling said authoritatively, wiping his face again with the lurid cloth. 'Now, at approximately five forty-five am, on the 3rd of October, Remus John Lupin was bitten on his right shoulder, and subsequently infected by werewolf 96732, correct?' 'What is the man's name?' Remus heard his mother ask. 'His name, not that it particularly matters, is...' Tapling had to shuffle through many papers to find the name of the man. Remus supposed they didn't have it written in very many places. 'Bevan Teague McDermott. You can be assured that we've confined the creature in a secure cell. An investigation is taking place to see if the attack was premeditated.' 'I highly doubt it was premeditated,' John began. 'There is a thorough investigation underway that is being conducted by professionals. Your suppositions will not serve to change the outcome of this investigation in any way.' 'It couldn't have been premeditated. There's no way he could have known Remus would go out. It's ridiculous,' John said, a look of disbelief on his face. Remus didn't know what premeditated was, but he knew better than to ask now. 'The man was beside himself with grief,' Linda stated quietly, anxiously wringing her white handkerchief. 'Be that as it may, the investigation is in progress,' Mr Tapling said in a manner that held no room for argument. 'The account of the events on October the third is all in order?' 'Uh- Yes,' answered John. 'Here are his registration forms that you need to have filled out and returned to my office within five days. His ID number is 10642. Remember that number; you'll need to fill it in on all but three pages of the forms. You are probably unaware of what all the bite entails,' Mr Tapling said in a hollow, all-business tone. 'First of all, there is no cure for the bite. There is nothing on record that can alleviate any of its symptoms, such as the transformation itself, the pain of the transformation, or the bloodlust of the transformed beast for human prey. Upon every full moon, he will transform. Your son is a dark creature now. He,' Mr Tapling said, giving Remus a look of barely hidden disgust, 'will have all of those symptoms. If you are determined to keep werewolf 10642 in your custody, you will need to find a secure habitat to keep the creature from attacking any victims.' 'Our son's name is Remus, Mr Tapling. Please address him by his name,' John said, his teeth gritted, but Mr Tapling went on, as if he hadn't spoken: 'A representative, either from the W.S.S. (the Werewolf Support Services) or my office will come to your home to see if you have a secure environment for the creature. When a werewolf is confined, it tends to turn to self-mutilation in order to slate its thirst to attack. Some have sufficiently injured themselves to the point of death and-' 'Mr Tapling, I don't think this sort of talk is appropriate for Remus to hear,' Linda said as she tightly grasped Remus' hand. Remus didn't really understand what Mr Tapling was talking about, but none of it sounded good. 'Could we continue this discussion out in the hallway?' 'No. It is of vital importance that he understand the repercussions of his injury, and more importantly, it is clearly stated in the law that he must be informed of all this by an official from the Werewolf Registry.' 'But he's only a child,' Linda protested, standing at eye level with the man. 'Madam, with you being a non-magic citizen, I can understand that you do not fully understand the laws of our wizarding community, but you must abide by them.' She had a look that promised an argument, but John placed a staying hand on her arm. 'Fine,' he sighed, though his scowl didn't leave his face. 'Continue.' Taking a moment to clear his throat in his kerchief, Mr Tapling did just that. 'The injuries obviously result in the need for medical care, which can be rather expensive if no one in your household is medically trained. Also, you'll find that many institutions do not treat werewolves, which makes it even more difficult. The W.S.S. can provide some monetary assistance, but it is not a very large sum of money. If you don't have the means to provide him with medical care and a secure habitat, know that the Werewolf Capture Unit, or W.C.U., can dispose of the creature for you.' At this statement, both his parents' eyes went wide, but they remained speechless, their faces wore identical masks of horror. 'The form for that is on page...twenty-six. I would fill it out if I were you. You all will suffer for it if you don't,' Mr Tapling said in tired way. 'Mr Tapling, it's time you left,' John said, his voice a barely contained growl. 'I have yet to read you all the laws and bi-laws, Sir, and if I don't. a representative from the ministry will be sent to discuss your indiscrete breaking of the law and monetary fine you will have to pay for breaking it,' he replied superiorly. 'Damn the laws! I will not have my boy listen to your prattle one instant longer!' 'He might look like your boy, but upon closer inspection you will find that your eye is deceived. That dark creature on the bed is no boy.' 'How dare you!' Linda cried angrily. 'You have never seen a werewolf in its full fury, I have. To willingly keep that thing in your household is lunacy,' Mr Tapling said calmly, with narrowed eyes and a knowing bitter smile. 'Get out of this room!' With that having been roared rather loudly, John ripped the required forms out of Mr Tapling's hands and pushed him out of the room, throwing the paper laden briefcase out behind him, and slamming the door so hard, the walls shook. Remus shrunk back into his mattress. 'The Ministry will hear of this!' Mr Tapling called through the door. 'I'm sure they will as I'll be telling them about it!' John yelled back through the door. For a few moments, the only noises in the room were the unsteady breaths of Mr Lupin and some stray papers of Mr Tapling's being blown about the room. Remus had never, in all his life, seen his father conduct himself in such a way. He decided there and then that he never wanted to give him a reason to be angry with him. 'Well, I think you told him, alright,' Remus' mother said with a bewildered look on her face. 'That pompous, fat idiot... Next time I see him he'll be sprouting another knob out of his face,' he growled, sitting in a chair rather angrily. 'John,' she said warningly, giving him a glass of water before dropping into her seat with a sigh. They both sat in agitated silence. 'You don't want to get rid of me, do you?' Remus suddenly asked in a small quivering voice, slowly drawing his knees to his chest. He hoped they wouldn't say yes with all his heart, but didn't dare to look at them for fear of seeing their disgust. 'Of course we don't want to get rid of you,' his mother said kindly, holding both of Remus' arms and looking him in the eyes before wrapping him in a warm hug. 'You're our son. We love you and wouldn't ever do anything to harm you, ever.' 'But I'm a- a dark creature now. Tapling said so,' Remus said, rubbing at his eyes. 'Don't think it for a second. You are the same person you've always been,' his father said quietly, placing a hand on top of his son's. 'We'll always love you and care for you. You're stuck with us for life, laddie,' his father said with a small smile, ruffling Remus' hair, making Remus smile for the first time since he'd become a werewolf.
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