the true haunting (Remus/open)

[Anya Kresimir]

Anya awoke on the floor of the shrieking shack the chains holding her now loosed enough that she pulled easily out of the cuffs that had bound her. Well it wasn't as bad as the dungeon cells from Durmstrang had been. She felt tired and hungry but, it was better than being let loose on the area and she knew it as well as any other.

When she had received her transfer approved, along with her brother's, she'd had to make special agreements for the safety of herself and the school grounds. The whomping willow had already been planted and enchanted last year when another student had similar needs for the full moon. Dumbledore had informed her of a secret spot to touch on the whomping willow that would allow her to safely pass into a tunnel to take her to the shack where she could chain herself up.

And of course her first night in this new landscape was a full moon. She hadn't even been to her first class, but ... this was better accommodations than she'd received before and she was grateful. She suddenly became aware of another sound from across the room and adjusted her vision to the darkness to see who was there.

[Remus Lupin]

Since joining up with Zander's pack, Remus didn't always choose to spend the night in the Shrieking Shack. There was now Kris to contend with, and she was not at all comfortable with the Shrieking Shack. More often than not, she chose to remain in the secret passage under the shack, or to go with the rest of the pack to hunt deep in the forest. Usually Remus did the same, but not tonight. The past month had been stressful and exhausting. On such occasions, he needed to be restrained. So to the Shrieking Shack he went.

He woke feeling worse than usual. His throat felt raw, and his wrists and ankles felt wet and sticky. He groaned and tried to stretch as best as he could against the restraints. That was when he heard movements on the other side of the room. "Who's there?" he called hoarsely.

[Anya Kresimir]

Anya said something softly in Romanian. Her restraints were not quiet however as she managed to slip them off and rubbed her raw skin, realizing some spots were cut and bleeding but she didn't think much of it.. wouldn't be the first nor the last time. She replied softly to the boy voice she heard as she finally began to see a boy about her age in the darkness. Surely he wasn't a threat, he must be the boy that the Headmaster had told her about. "I'm Anya Kresimir... I'm.. new here." She spoke in a heavily accented but gentle voice.

[Remus Lupin]

A girl's voice. It was not Kris, which he would have expected. Although she had gone with the pack, she could have changed her mind. But this was not Kris, nor was it Madam Pomfrey. It was a stranger with a very thick accent that he could not identify.

Chained, bleeding, and naked, he felt very vulnerable in that moment. Who was this girl? What was she doing here? He craned his neck and tried to squint in the dim light of early morning to see if he could get a look at the girl.

"Anya.... hi.... I'm Remus. Wish I could say nice to meet you, but this isn't exactly a nice way to meet. What are you doing in here."

[Anya Kresimir]

Anya wasn't ashamed of her body, she was quite naked herself, but she didn't think about it at all. She still hadn't completely filled out yet, being only twelve but her body had started it's adolescent changes this past summer. She saw the boy then, her eyes finally registering the room in the near darkness. He was in worse shape than she was, but not by much.

"The same thing as you I suspect... You're the Lupin boy right? Dumbledore told me about you, well a little but not much. Only that I shouldn't be surprised to see you here occasionally for the same reasons as he told me to go here on the full moon." She paused a moment before asking him "..how long have you been like this...?" she meant how long had he been a werewolf, but she didn' tthink she needed to say it for him to understand.

[Remus Lupin]

As if it wasn't disconcerting enough already to be talking to a stranger while naked and chained, now she knew his name when he knew nothing about her. It might have been nice if Dumbledore had told him about this girl before he met her in such circumstances.

"Yeah... that's me... I've been a werewolf since I was 6. Who are you again? I mean, where did you come from? I didn't know there was anyone else, except my sister."

[Anya Kresimir]

Anya spoke softly to the boy across the room. She looked down at her wrists which seemed bloodier than her ankles were, while she spoke. "Anya Kresimir, I'm a new transfer student from Durmstrang. I am to start classes after the full moon in ...Gryffindor according to that talking hat. I'm the daughter of Valdir & Drayna Kresimir of Romania, who died the night I was biten. I have a brother Ivan who managed to escape unscathed. ...And.. here I am... but.. it's better here than hurting someone."

She had only recently truely come to terms with her past and it was easier to tell him now rather than later, she didn't figure she had anything to hide than he could already figure out on his own. After all she already felt a type of understanding considering the circumstances they were in to tell him and just get it over with. All she provided were minor details taht wouldn't matter to anyone but herself. But it was part of her healing to try to tell someone who might possibly understand even if she didn't know him at all. She lothed what she was, but she was learning to accept that it wasn't going to change and the best she could hope for was to protect others from herself.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus sighed. It was a sad story, as were most stories of werewolves. Especially the younger ones. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I was bitten by Fenrir Greyback, have you heard of him? He had something against my father, so he got revenge by biting me."

He strained against the cuffs, but couldn't quite move. His wrists were thicker than they used to be, and he could no longer slip out of the cuffs as easily as he used to. "Er... can you help me with these? Try not to look at the fact that I'm naked, though, OK?"

[Anya Kresimir]

"No.. I.. I don't know much about any of the others in this area.. I barely know anything except about myself. I've never been around others until now, luckily my brother Ivan has always managed to take care of me. I still have a lot to learn I guess." She was sincere and her voice remained as soft and gentle as before. She actually was interested in knowing more and hoped he would share. She had never known the werewolf who'd bitten her as a child, nor known any others until now... until this boy who seemed like he had a goodness about him that she felt she could tell anything to.

As the boy strained against his restraints and asked for her help she slowly stood. She should have been embarrassed, but she wasn't standing there walking towards him slowly. She wasn't coy or showing it off either. She was comfortable in her human form, and didn't even cross her mind to be embarrassed especially considering the circumstances they were in.

"sure let me find the key..." She searched the table which was nearby but too far away from the restraints to be safe. She picked it up gingerly and walked over to the boy. "I think it's a little late for that that but I promise not to look too much. At least it's an even trade, it's not like there's much else for me to hide from you now is there?" She wasn't nervous around him, though she likely would have been in another situation with someone else. But this boy made her feel comfortable.

"There we go... are you hurt badly?" She spoke with concern as she unlocked the final shackle.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus sat up and rubbed at his wrists. They were raw and bloody, but the cuts didn't appear to be too deep. "No, I think I'm OK," he replied. "Um, thanks."

Reaching over to the pile of clothes he'd removed before having the chains put on, he quickly pulled his robe on and looked up at her. Now that he could see her clearly, she was pretty. Pale skin, dark hair, and electric eyes. In the dim light of the shack, he couldn't be sure of the color, but he thought they might be green.

"Hi," he said shyly.

[Anya Kresimir]

Anya nodded when he said he was okay and replied to his thanks with a very quiet whisper "you're welcome." And as he turned to his clothing, she walked back over to her own robes and put them on quickly in silence with her back towards him. She still didn't have the self awareness to blush, but that was mainly because she had a feeling this was going to become a fairly regular occurrence each month anyways she might as well get used to it. As she turned back towards him he was already dressed and watching her.

Her eyes were green and they almost glowed in the darkness as she looked back at him. "Hi," Anya now looked rather shy though she was not embarrassed. "So is this where you always come on a full moon then? Sorry for sounding so ignorant." Dumbledore had told her that she 'might' run into him here but that meant that he must not always be here and that had her curious. She wondered if he was locked into a cage sometimes too like she had been before this.

She was still very insecure about some things though, and that was the fact that there were others out there and she hadn't a clue how to react to that. She'd hated knowing she was the same as what had killed her own parents, that she herself had almost killed her own brother during her first changing. Thank goodness she'd never managed to bite Ivan though. She would have been devastated. That was when she'd been locked up in a cage, she hated cages. She was still surprised by Dumbledore's assurances that she had nothing to fear from Remus Lupin and this made her curious.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus stood up and stretched his legs. His wrists hurt like hell, and he wanted to get them cleaned up as soon as possible. There was a little bathroom that opened up into the main room and he eyed it quickly. He wasn't used to having company in here, and he didn't want to be rude.

"I don't come here every month," he replied. "There's a werewolf pack... I sometimes hang with them. My sister does, too. They're actually really nice... they figured out that the pack mentality can control them better and keep them from hurting people. They just hunt for deer in the woods, that's all."

Eying the washroom again, he added, "Mind if I go in there and wash up? You can come, too... you look like your wrists are a little sore, too."

[Anya Kresimir]

Anya nodded to his question and after looking at her herself she followed behind him. She wasn't used to shackles, she was used to cages. This was a new experience for her in truth and she hoped it wouldn't leave scars. She almost laughed sardonically at that irony, considering her brother DID have scars.. because of her. She sighed and followed him into the little room and waited for him to use the wash sink first.

"A werewolf pack can.. be nice?" she looked at him with doubts clear in her eyes, "a pack mentality? I don't understand, I've never heard of that before.. but then you're the only other werewolf I've ever really met." She wondered how it was possible that they could become ...essentially harmless to humans.. hunting deer? she wondered if he was pulling her leg or teasing her somehow. "how did ... how do..." she trailed off... how did someone join a pack if it was even true? Surely he was joking... she'd always been locked in a cage and when she was she was dangerous to everyone around her. She hated it, but it was the truth and she didn't see how werewolves, let alone a pack of them could be ... nice.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus ran some water over his wrists, cleaning the blood away. Some of it was fresh, and he found one of the cuts was still bleeding. There were some cloth bandages on one of the shelves and he reached up to pull some down to wrap um his wrists. It looked rather grimly as if he'd attempted suicide... it was a good thing Sirius, James and Peter knew his secret now, or they'd be worried.

"Zander... he's the pack leader... found out that when a group of werewolves with a similar mindset get together during the full moon, that becomes the pack mentality and they can keep themselves under control. A werewolf alone, even if he has no intent to harm another, is actually more dangerous to humans than a pack of werewolves with a pack mentality not to attack humans. They're all there keep each other at bay. One of the werewolves in our pack, Karl, even saved my sister Kris from being taken in by Greyback."

[Anya Kresimir]

"So they are all like you? This pack.. they are like us.. they don't want to kill humans?" She was a bit shocked by this actually, she was still trying to grasp that there was someone else like her, another kid who didn't want to hurt others. The fact there was a pack of them like that and that they could possibly control those urges almost made her weak in the knees with shock and an sense of... relief. She wasn't alone.

"um.. " Anya wasn't sure the best way to approach it but she was very intersted in this.. pack. "How did you join his pack? Zander's pack."

[Remus Lupin]

Remus nodded. "Yes, they are all like us. They live like humans, they have a house together in town, they keep a garden and chop wood and bake bread. Zander has a job, he works at the Hog's Head in town. We all worked together to stop Greyback's pack from attacking and killing innocent people in Diagon Alley last year. That was when we all came together, really. Pearl--that's Zander's mate--she taught me how to trust my instincts and to control my impulses better. She says werewolves don't have to attack people if they don't want to."

He sat down on the toilet and looked up at her. "They came to me, actually... Zander saw Greyback harrassing me and stepped in to help."

[Anya Kresimir]

"They helped you?" Her look was one of almost innocent wonder at this thought. To have someone.. no ...to have another werewolf come and help him. She looked at him with her soft, gentle green eyes that almost glowed in the dim light.

She wanted to ask him more, she wanted to know so much.. so much that she didn't know, had never known. Her mind was racing with new ideas and thoughts, things she'd never considered. Not to have to be caged up.. she almost shuddered with the thought of the cages she'd been kept in many times throughout her life.

"...can you teach me that? how to control my.. impulses?" She wanted to know if she could meet his pack, if she could find solace in it too. But she was afraid... she was afraid to ask, afraid her newly found hopes would be dashed somehow that it would be all a joke or a dream. But maybe he could show her... maybe.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus nodded. "Yeah, Zander helped me. Although, that was when we were in human form. Zander just figured out by the way Greyback was talking to me that I was a werewolf." He gave her a look out of the corner of his eyes, appraising her. "Greyback... he's someone you'll want to watch out for. He's a creep. He lives like he's a wolf all the time. And he likes biting children... although, I'd guess you're safe."

Rubbing his head tiredly, he glanced at the door, wondering when Madam Pomfrey would be coming for them. "I can't really teach the control thing... but Pearl could. She likes teaching... pups... as she calls us. She'd like to help you."

[Anya Kresimir]

"Pearl.. is she.. kind?" She wasn't really used to nice people to her, except her quiet brother. He'd never quiet gotten over what happened to her and the deaths of her parents and though he was gentle and sweet, he was also very protective and quiet. She felt and odd sense of connection with this boy though. He was very.. kind so far. And she wondered if Pearl would be too.

Anya had begun cleaning of her wrists and ankles when he sat down to wrap his wrists, now she turned off the sink and turned back towards him and instead of asking for the wrap she held her wrists out gently since he seemed to know better what he was doing than she did. They were still lightly bleeding, her skin was soft and almost delicate. It was obvious that she wasn't quite used to shackles yet, if that was ever possible.

"Do you really think they .. Pearl would help me? I can't imagine what it must be like not to be alone and .. savage." She looked at his eyes and in hers was almost a fear of herself.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus understood her fear and confusion; he had been where she was now for most of his life. Never a kind word, an understanding gesture, no one understanding the true nature of the beast within. Until he'd come to Hogwarts, he'd been alone with his parents, and just his father after his mother's death. All along, he'd never known that his father had hidden Kris's existence from him, that he had lied to him. He still had yet to forgive his father for that.

They'd moved many times, as neighbors began to suspect, and he'd lost friends who'd found out. He had never known another werewolf like him until the day he had met Zander.

"Pearl is wonderful," he declared, as he began to wrap up her wrists with the bandages. His eyes shone when he spoke of her; though she was Zander's mate and, in a sense his "mother," Remus couldn't help but have a bit of a crush on the fiery-haired werewolf with the gentle eyes and caring heart.

"I'm sure she would be glad to help you," he said as he secured the bandage on her one wrist with a bit of tape, then started on the other one.