A/N: I don’t own anything you recognise…
Prologue – The Darkness of the Moon
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I never saw the full moon. Ever since I was a small child, I was never in a state to appreciate or even look at it when it was the right time. I’ve been told that it’s beautiful.
I’ve seen pictures, of course, but as realistic as a picture or a painting may be, the real thing is still said to be much more impressive. The full moon’s light is like no other. It is very different from the sun, the light of a flame, or any artificial lighting. It somehow seems pure and ethereal. Very light and delicate, fighting a never ending battle with the darkness of the night and always being overpowered by the daylight.
***
A lonesome figure was standing in front of a window, creating a single shadow on the stony floor of a dark corridor. Remus Lupin stared outside, observing the effects of the moonlight on the winter scenery, and reflecting on his unique relation with this satellite of the Earth. He had a love-hate relationship with the moon; admiring its pureness and fearing the power it had over him. But on this late January night, he couldn’t help but remain silent and appreciate this delicate veil of sheer light with which it covered the grounds of the castle.
The sound of distant footsteps brought him back to reality, and Remus readjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder before reluctantly stepping away from the window to make his way to the end of the corridor. His prefect duties were over for the night but, as it was always the case, he wasn’t feeling tired. The night was just beginning; the best part of the day was approaching.
Soon after he had reached the end of the passage and turned the corner, he found an empty classroom and unlocked the door. Silently entering and locking the door behind him, Remus looked around. He hadn’t used this particular classroom in a long time. It wasn’t one of his favourites, as he much preferred smaller classrooms and those which had windows that he could open. But it would do for tonight.
The Gryffindor prefect dropped his bag on a table at the back of the classroom and slowly walked around the room for a few minutes. He didn’t think that this particular room was being used this term. The furniture was a bit dusty and there was a very subtle odour in the air. There was still no light in there, but this was no problem for the young man; Remus had always had excellent night vision. He could easily find his way around in the darkness, and even now, he was navigating around the stools and the tables with great ease.
Once he was familiar with the environment, Remus went back to sit at the table where he had dropped his bag earlier. After wiping the surface of the table with one of his sleeves, he took out his wand. He then used it to conjure several candles that he sent hovering over him in one fluid movement of his wrist. Finally, he lit them and stored back his wand in an inside pocket of his robes. The light of the candles was very soothing and instantly covered the walls of the room with impressive shadows.
Remus emptied his bag on the table, setting books, parchment rolls, ink, quills and other supplies in front of him. He then opened one of the books to the chapter that would help him with his essay and dipped his quill in the inkpot. After writing the title at the top of the parchment, he began to read with his quill poised in the air. Another long but enjoyable night was starting for Remus Lupin.
A/N: I first have to thank lily_evans34 for her great job on beta-ing this prologue. Thank you for your wonderful help! On a completely different subject, I just wanted to let you know that this is my first try at a fanfic in this category. I haven’t read that many either, so if this plot seems old to you or if you’ve seen it somewhere, it is completely unintended. I just love Remus so much that I had to write something involving him. I’d very much like to read what you think of it. Reviews are always a great source of motivation. This is only the short prologue to what will be a succession of short chapters.