Author's Note: Many thanks to Liza for helping me work through this story, and everyone at Hogwarts for sprinting with me :)

Written for…

Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Team/Position: Montrose Magpies, Captain. Task: Write about someone learning something about themselves

Who I Am Inside

1,365 words

Remus woke in a cold sweat, his whole body aching with every move he made to get out of bed. It was still night, it seemed, so he stumbled his way through the dark bedroom, stifling a moan as pain shot up his spine.

He wrenched open the door, leaning against the frame as he weakly called out into the hallway. "Mum?" He waited for a reply, but none came. "Da?"

His body felt too heavy for his sore legs, and he felt himself sliding down the wall. "Help…"

:-:

"You're sure this is normal?"

Remus felt a damp cloth dabbing at his feverish forehead as his mum spoke in little more than a whisper. He was too tired to open his eyes, but too hot to sleep. Stuck in an uncomfortable limbo, he had no choice but to hear the conversation his parents had around him.

He felt the bed dip under his father's weight. "It's a bit early, but otherwise completely typical," Da said in a matter-of-fact tone that would usually calm Mum down.

It was nearing morning now, almost three hours since they'd found Remus passed out in the doorway. Despite everything his mum had done to try and make him feel better, nothing seemed to be working.

She paused in her insistent dabbing as his father continued. "It won't help. He must suffer through the change, just as we all do."

"Not all of us," she murmured.

"You know what I mean. You knew that this was coming, you knew what he'd become."

"I thought I had a week at least. It wasn't supposed to happen before his fifth birthday." Remus felt a fleeting rush of excitement at the thought of his coming birthday. He was supposed to have a party, and he wondered if he still could.

"Would it matter? He would still go through it regardless."

Mum sighed. "I'm sorry. I just hate seeing him in pain."

"I know, dear. I promise you, he'll be fine. His body has to learn to adapt to the powers—I remember I had a horrible migraine. A day or two and he'll be back to normal."

Mum scoffed. "'Normal'. As if anything around here is going to be normal again."

Remus heard them both chuckle, and his mind wandered to what sort of power would come from this. Would he inherit his father's ability to sense a lie, or something else entirely? He wasn't sure what he wanted.

:-:

It was three days before Remus could sit up without wanting to vomit. The aches and fever had finally subsided, leaving him feeling drained and hungry, but otherwise no different to how he'd been before.

His mum was cautious of letting him out of bed too soon. She brought him pancakes in bed while his da left for work at the Ministry of Might.

"You're sure you feel well enough to eat?" she checked halfheartedly, both of them knowing Remus wouldn't turn down chocolate chip pancakes if his life depended on it. He nodded excitedly before digging into his breakfast.

He noticed her moving to the window to wave goodbye as his da pulled out of the driveway, but Remus was more interested in digging the chips from his pancakes. He was startled a moment later as her loud sneeze echoed throughout the room. Cutlery slipping from his hands and clattering to the plate, Remus felt his whole body tingle strangely.

His mum looked back at him with a surprised expression. He opened his mouth to apologize but no sound came out. She cautiously approached the bed, as if she were approaching a scared animal.

"Remus?"

Again, he struggled to speak. Frustrated, he tried to reach out a hand to her but found a small, brown, furry foot instead. He looked down at his body, moments ago dressed in his favorite pyjamas, but now the body of what he guessed to be a bunny.

He was a bunny!

"Oh dear." His mum said, seeming to be stifling a laugh. "I'll call your da's office and have them send him back. I'm sure he'll know how to fix this. Stay here, alright?"

As excited as he was to show off his new ability, Remus didn't want to bother his da, who already worked so hard. He'd probably be a bit annoyed at being called back. Squeezing his eyes shut, Remus thought as hard as he could about being back to his normal self. The tingling returned, spreading quickly over his body.

He opened his eyes quickly, holding up his hands to examine. They appeared to be back to normal—less furry at the very least.

"That was fun!" he said, giggling. He looked up at his mother with a grin on his face.

His mum let out a sigh of relief as she fell into the chair at his bedside, looking more exhausted than he felt.

"Well, I suppose we know what your ability is now."

"I wanna do it again!"

"Let's hold off for a little while, darling. Your body needs rest, and I'd like for your da to be here too."

:-:

It was a long day waiting for his da to come home. At some point he managed to talk his mum into letting him watch cartoons downstairs, though he spent most of the time looking out of the window for their car to return.

Remus barrelled into the man the moment he finally came through the door.

"Da! I got my power, I'm a bunny!"

At a loss for words, Da looked over Remus' head for a better explanation.

"He transformed this morning, into a rabbit of all things." She smiled fondly at the boy, who was bouncing excitedly.

"Can I do it now?"

"Wait, wait." He took a step back. "You're a shifter? There must be a mistake."

But Remus had stopped listening. He stood between his parents, eyes closed and face scrunched in concentration as Lyall tried to get his attention. Then suddenly, as his body tingled, he found himself much closer to the floor, standing on tiny cat paws. He looked up at his da proudly, but it didn't seem that they shared the same feelings.

"No one can know!" Da said firmly, rushing to close the drapes.

"Lyall…"

Da seemed to be in pain, unable to even look at Remus. "Turn back this instant."

Remus did, looking to his mum for direction the moment he was back on two feet.

"Go upstairs, sweetheart. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

He did so quickly, but not fast enough to miss the beginning of a lengthy argument.

:-:

Bright moonlight shone through Remus' window, falling on his plaid bedspread as he tossed and turned well into the night. Finally he sighed and turned on the lamp by his bedside. It was just past eleven, but it felt like much later.

He heard floorboards creak outside his bedroom. The door opened slightly, and his mum peeked inside. Finding him awake, she smiled and entered the room, shutting the door behind her.

"What are you doing up?"

"Does Da hate me?" Remus wondered, frowning. His mum sat at the edge of his bed, biting her lip as she considered the question.

"No. Neither of us could ever hate you, Remus. We love you more than anything and we just want to protect you."

"But he doesn't like what I can do. He says I have to hide."

"Your da's a clever man, and he knows more about powers than I do. We know you just as you are, but others might not understand. They might get scared."

"Cause I'm a freak?"

"No, of course not. Where did you hear that?"

"Da said the shifters on the news are freaks."

His mum turned away for a moment, and Remus noticed her hands clench into fists. She was smiling when she turned back to him.

"You're not like those people. You're good, with or without powers. Understand?"

Hesitantly, Remus nodded. He let his mum tuck him in once more. She kissed him goodnight and turned off the light, and when she was gone, he closed his eyes tightly and wished to be anything but Remus for a little while.