Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor would I ever claim to own Harry Potter. Sad fact of life.
Remus hurtled through the darkness, his legs pumping with the adrenaline caused by the sight of the monster. His thoughts were muddled and confused- he knew only one thing-he mustn't let the werewolf catch him. The werewolf must be right behind him, he could almost feel its breath on his neck. Then, the worst thing that could have happened did. Remus tripped. He felt the werewolf sink its long fangs into his leg and was struck with the realization that he, Remus Lupin, was going to die, at the pitiful age of eight, as he let out a blood-curdling scream.
Remus woke with a start and gazed in wide-eyed shock at his surroundings. He was in a bed in the children's ward of St. Mungo's. Stars glittered merrily on the ceiling in an attempt to cheer the luckless patients. It was only a dream. It wasn't real, he thought to himself. But as soon as he thought this, he knew he was wrong. It was real, and he was living the nightmare.
Remus remembered last night as a sort of daze, very much like the dream he had just woken from. Except that yesterday there had been no escape. He hadn't awoken yesterday because the dream was real. Remus could try to forget the events of last night with all his might, but that didn't change the facts. He had been bitten by a werewolf, and now, he must face the rest of his life as the very thing that had destroyed all his hopes and dreams: life as a werewolf.
Born to a family of wizards, Remus knew the harsh truth about life as a werewolf: it sucked. Werewolves were despised by wizards; they were persecuted, treated as subhuman, and they certainly, without a doubt, weren't allowed to go to school to train as a wizard with normal children. Remus remembered how happy his parents had been at his notable signs of magic as a child. He recalled how they had laughed and cried with joy the first time he made a book levitate toward him. And it was all for nothing. Remus felt bitterness fill him, bitterness toward his parents for letting him wander, bitterness toward himself for being so stupid, but mostly bitterness toward the world for giving him such bad luck. For it was definitely bad luck that had made the werewolf roam so far into town, and even worse luck that, of all people, it should find the only one who couldn't possibly defend himself: a helpless eight year old, happily reading a book by the moonlight. Remus couldn't stand all the anger, couldn't bear to face reality, so he simply stared at the twinkling stars on the ceiling and fell into blissful unconsciousness.
Remus woke hours later to find that he was no longer alone in the children's ward. In the next bed over was a pretty girl with long dark brown hair and striking greenish-blue eyes. Her face broke into a warm smile when she saw he was awake, and ringlets of hair framed her face as she introduced herself. "Hello. I'm Alexandra Black, but everyone calls me Alex. What's your name?" she asked brightly, as if they were strangers meeting on the street, not two injured children in a hospital ward.
"I'm Remus, Remus Lupin," Remus replied, somewhat taken aback by the girl's friendliness.
Alex smiled again, and her face seemed to light from within. Remus wondered how such a happy girl came to be in a hospital in the first place. As if guessing his question, Alex said, "My evil cousin Bellatrix cursed me when my back was turned." Alex spat out Bellatrix's name like it was a curse itself. Then, in a slightly lower tone, she added, "Used the Cruciatus Curse too, the twit. I was lucky Sirius walked in when he did, otherwise I don't know when Bellatrix would have stopped." At Remus' shocked face, she said, "Well, it wasn't the first time either. Family parties are just a good excuse for Bellatrix to attack me. Anyway, Sirius attacked her, he can get fair protective of me sometimes, and when she fell to the floor, the curse lifted. And that's how I ended up here. What about you?"
Remus was left speechless at the wealth of information that had just poured from such a tiny mouth, not to mention her last question. Should he tell her? What would she think? She would probably scream and run from him, scared to death that he would bite her…and how could he blame her? He was a monster now. But, looking into Alex's trustworthy face, Remus decided to chance it. She'd probably just find out from a healer if he didn't tell her. Remus steeled himself for her scream and said calmly, "I was bitten by a werewolf."
Alex, however, did not scream. She simply looked at him with mingled shock and pity and managed to squeak out, "I'm sorry," in a voice that was suddenly hoarse.
Remus smiled ruefully. "So am I."
An awkward moment of silence ensued, broken finally by Alex clearing her throat and asking in a voice that was much steadier, "So, how old are you?"
"Eight."
"Really? So am I! Are you going to Hogwarts?" she blurted. A look of immediate horror alerted Remus that she realized her blunder.
"I mean, I'm sorry…didn't want to offend you or anything…" Her voiced trailed off as she looked up hopefully at Remus, her eyes begging him to forgive her.
"It's okay, really," Remus said at once. His voice, however, betrayed his regret.
"I'm sure it'll be alright," Alex quickly interjected, attempting to soothe her newfound companion. "Dumbledore is the new headmaster after all, and besides being the greatest wizard ever, I've also heard he's kind. If anyone can help you find a way to get into Hogwarts, Dumbledore can," Alex said confidently.
Remus felt his mood lighten at her words. He doubted that even the kindest and most understanding of headmasters would let a werewolf into a school full of helpless students, but it was a glimmer of hope, though faint, and he hung onto into it like a life preserver.
"Of course, my whole family hates him, excluding Sirius of course, who hates our whole family. They think he's nothing but a no good muggle lover, but I've never listened to my family anyway. Sirius is right, bunch of pompous old purebloods, think they're so wonderful just because our family's old! The only thing they've got to show from being pureblood is a high occurrence of insanity! I mean, honestly, just look at Sirius' mother…don't know how he stands her…" Alex looked up and realized that Remus was lost.
"Sorry, just ranting about my family again…you would understand if you had to live with them."
Remus nodded. From the sound of it, Alex was in worse trouble with her family than he was with being a werewolf. Or, at least equal trouble, which brought his mind back to his problem with a start.
"Alex," he said urgently in a low voice, "you won't tell anyone that I'm a …you know…will you?"
"Of course I won't. That would be horrible of me," Alex said fervently.
"And Remus?"
"Yes?"
"I really hope you come to Hogwarts."
Remus smiled, a joy he had never felt before warming him. It was almost worth being a werewolf to make his first friend.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think (especially helpful since this is my first story)! I plan to update as soon as I can, since I know from personal experience that no one likes to be kept waiting. Thanks again!