I Never Knew I Could Fly

A/N: This was incredibly difficult to write, and by the end, more than one tear had been kicked out of the well I call my eyes. Poor Remus... Please review and tell me what you think of this dreadful little piece, and whether or not I should have toned down the darkness and pain of the little child.

I'm trying my best to stick to canon, so if I messed up, help me out a little, 'kay? I will do my best to fix any mistakes as long as it doesn't completely alter all story line.

Did anyone else notice how on pg. 370, paragraph 5 of paperback US edition of PoA, Sirius says that Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, when he was only defeated by Harry twelve years previously, and he was most certainly not in hiding the three years preceding that?

Now just a few notes about how canonically correct this is:

James's cousin is the child of Dorea (née Black) and Charlus Potter. Her name is Esterina.

Remus is a half-blood, and, although I didn't make any mistakes, I just want to avoid any confusion. His father is pure-blood, and his mother is a muggle-born.

Walburga Black (Sirius's mother) mentions that the whole Potter family has been Gryffindors, although her aunt, (or was it great-aunt?) Dorea Black, married Charlus Potter, so is that including or excluding her? Although it probably has no impact on the story, she will have been in Ravenclaw, and therefore not count as a Potter. Walburga will just be talking about Charlus, the other Potters, and James's cousin, Esterina. Terry is Esterina's nickname.

Disclaimer: WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DH: If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't have made Lupin's life so very painful, in fact, he and Tonks would have lived until they were 85, (Although either she would've been younger, or Remus would have been older), a potion would have been made to cure lycanthropy when he was 42, and he would have had two children, five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and everything would have been just peachy for him, except for the deaths of his best friends, but then again, I probably wouldn't have killed Sirius either. But, no, J.K. Rowling had to go and kill them! As if Fred, Colin, Dumbledore, Sirius, Moody, Hedwig, Dobby, Ted Tonks, and like a hundred others weren't good enough!

Chapter One

"Mummy! Mummy!" a small boy yelled with the excitement only a 5 year old can harbor.

His mother smiled sweetly, "What is it, honey?"

The tiny, rosy cheeked boy shifted his weight nervously before explaining the reason for his poorly concealed excitement. "Mummy, I know it'll be dark soon, but can Daddy please, oh please go on a hike with me, please?"

She shook her head. Hard as it was to say no to her child, Delilah Lupin knew that it was harder to imagine what could happen if-

No, she told herself firmly. She had been lucky all those other times that she had melted under her son's cherub's face and his adorable, innocent smile. He was a perfect combination of the two. He was incredibly intelligent, like herself, and he was implausibly brave, as was his father.

She remembered with an amused smile the time that he had woken up to find a huge, hairy, red spider staring at him with its eight beady little eyes, perched directly on his nose. However, unlike a red-haired boy that we all know and love, though he hasn't been born yet, he did not panic. Instead, he casually addressed the monstrous thing. "Why hello there, little fella! I'd imagine it's rather uncomfortable on my nose, so let's go find you a nice comfy box," he grinned as he lifted her up off his nose, and cradled her gently in his hands. "I think I'll call you Valentine." he added as an afterthought.

Mrs. Lupin still shook her head in disbelief whenever she thought of that little event. "Valentine, really? Valentine?" she couldn't help but exclaim whenever she thought of it. Only her son could wake to a spider on his nose and call it Valentine and keep it as a pet! I mean, really!

"But Mummy! Please! Just last night I was outside with Daddy, what makes tonight any different?" her little five year old begged, his locks of soft brown hair framing his tiny face in a fairly adorable fashion.

With a simple smile, Delilah's heart didn't just melt, it evaporated. How could she possible say no to him?

However, her subconscious said something was horribly wrong this time. That little voice in the back of her mind was screaming, "NO! NO! NO!"

But that was just in her head, and her voice was saying something else entirely.

"Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you!" Remus Lupin shrieked, jumping into his mother's arms. Outside the window, you could just see the faint outline of a full moon beginning to show itself.

"Mother," another boy, the same age as Remus, complained. "I know how to tie my shoes perfectly well, thanks. You don't have to use magic!"

"Sirius Black!" Mrs. Black shrieked. "You think I am going to allow my eldest son to tie his shoes manually like some kind of- of- of-"

"Muggle? House elf?" Sirius suggested, "Half blood? Any other family in the world?"

"Oh, shut up!" she yelled ferociously. "Anyone who wouldn't use magic whenever possible is as good as a mudblood in my opinion! You are not going to be a blood-traitor! Never! I named you after a star for a reason, you shall shine out from the Black!"

"Okay, I get it," he shushed, exasperated. "Just tie my shoes and get it over with, I really want to see James!"

"I don't understand why you like those Potters so much!" she exclaimed. "They're a right bunch of Gryffindors. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of one of them that wasn't! Oh, well. At least they're pureblood. That's what counts when it comes down to it. Unless they're muggle lovers like those Weasleys. My sister was telling me how one of Andromeda's awful friends, Arthur Weasley, was as good as a muggle himself. Talented wizard, but wasting it all on muggles." She shook her head and whispered, almost to herself, "I just don't understand it!"

"Okay, whatever, can we go now?" he asked impatiently, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, of course," she said, and held out her arm for Sirius to take. Sirius winced. What is wrong with Floo Powder? he asked himself before grasping her arm and mentally prepping himself for the awful experience that is side-along apparation.

"Hurry up, Mum! They''ll be here soon!" a young boy with untidy black hair yelled, peeking out the window.

The child's mother was rushing about the house, ridding it of any sign of companionship with muggles. Why did my son have to become best friends with Sirius Black! Mrs. Potter asked herself frequently. It wasn't that Sirius wasn't a nice boy, it was just that family of his. A right family of muggle-haters, that's what they were. Slytherins indeed. Sirius, however. Well, he was nothing like them in every aspect of his life other than his name, his appearance, and his arrogance. But, then again, her own James was quite arrogant himself.

She sighed and went back to the de-muggling of her home.

"They're here!" James screamed in a cross between delight and terror.

Mrs. Potter adjusted her robes as she walked into the hallway. "Hello, Mrs. Black," she said kindly, attempting a welcoming smile.

"Potter," Mrs. Black replied stiffly. "I will back at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, on the mark. Sirius is to have his robes on, teeth brushed, and hair combed. He knows this, although he is sure to protest."

Mrs. Potter attempted to act normal. "Okay, I'll make sure he's ready on time. Good-bye!" she called as Mrs. Black turned on the spot and disappeared.

"And goood riddance!" Sirius exclaimed happily.

"Daniel?" called Delilah, "Danny?"

"Hmm?" A man, a year or two older than her looked up from the book he'd been immersed in, glasses on the brim of his nose.

"Remy wants you to go on a hike with him."

Daniel sighed, "You know it's dangerous out there. Even though I work with some truly viscous magical creatures all the time in my work, I'm still fairly nervous about going into those woods!"

"I realize this," she began carefully. "It's just that you two have been out there so much that I don't think it can really be too perilous. However," she added, "living with Remus might be if you don't let him go out."

"I guess you're right," Mr. Lupin said, grinning at his wife's totally true joke. "Tell him I'll be ready in a minute. In the meantime, give him some chocolate, that'll keep him occupied for a while."

"That kid sure loves his chocolate," Delilah smiled, shaking her head softly.

"Well, look on the bright side, at least the dementors will steer clear of him!" Daniel joked.

"Mum," another little boy said, "Why can't I do any magic yet?"

"It's okay Petey," his mother, a woman with short, mousy hair, soothed. "Not everyone can do magic at such a young age. I'm sure you'll get your powers in a few years."

"But what if I'm a squib like Uncle Ernie? I don't want to drive the Knight Bus!"

Mrs. Pettigrew sighed. "Peter, if you're a squib, you won't have to ride the Knight Bus. In fact, you would probably be a major asset to the Wizarding World! You could become the Muggle Prime Minister, and communicate with the Minister of Magic from time to time. You could be the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts, after getting an education at the muggle schools. I'll never get over the day that my Muggle Studies teacher called a telephone a fellytone. It's just too funny for words!" It must have been, because little Mrs. Pettigrew burst out laughing and couldn't stop for quite a few minutes.

"Anyway, as I was saying," she continued, still chuckling a little. "Hogwarts hasn't had a good Muggle Studies teacher in decades. In fact, I'm not sure if there ever was a good one. So there's a possibility if you're a squib. Anyway, you aren't a squib."

"How do you know?" Peter asked, looking at the floor.

Mrs. Pettigrew smiled. "Just look in the mirror," she replied, holding up one she had just conjured out of midair. He did as he was told and was surprised to find that his hair, instead of it's usual sandy blonde, was electric green.

"WOW!" he yelled, eyes nearly bugging out of his skull. "Did I do that?" he asked quietly. When his mother nodded, he began to happily dance around the room singing, "I'm not a squib! I'm not a squib! I'm not a squib!" He laughed and sang until finally he stopped, slowly turned to his mother and said, "Now how do I turn it back?"

As all of his excitement went on, no one noticed Peter's older sister, Susie, smiling happily to herself while stroking the wand she had gotten a year previously.

"So, Jamesie, what do you feel like doing now that your mummy dearest is out?" Sirius asked excitedly, glad to be away from all of those Slytherin ideals for once. "Mayhem, or mischief?"

"Hmm, good question my friend. How about we finally decide on nicknames first, then we move on to the bigger decisions. First off, I am not vase, or any other type of pottery!"

"Well, I am not Star, Constellation, or anything else to do with the night sky!"

"Well, fine! How's Dog or Puppy, Mr. I'm Sirius, the Dog Star!"

"Fine, then I'll call you Jimmy! Or Jim if you ever get taller than me, which you won't," Sirius grinned, knowing already that James despised being called Jim or Jimmy.

"No Dog or Puppy, got it. Hmm, how about we just skip the nicknames for now, and go back to them in a couple years," James suggested with a grin.

"Years?" Sirius asked. "Why years? Why not months, weeks, days, or hours?"

"I don't know... maybe third year at Hogwarts. That's about seven years away. Hmm, seven... lucky wizarding number. Yes, that sounds good to me," James said, smile widening even as he spoke. He didn't know it then, but it will be in third year that they become animagi, and give each other nicknames.

"Oh, alright. Now, James, I've got the perfect piece of mischief to play on your dear cousin, and believe you me, it will cause much mayhem," Sirius said, laughing maliciously.

Even as five year olds, those two were infamous throughout their families for being the most troublesome troublemakers ever known to Potter and Black.

"If we aren't back by ten, owl the ministry, but stay inside. If you hear screaming, do the same," Daniel told his wife. She nodded, that little voice in the back of her head now reduced to a little whisper, "No, no, no, no..." but she ignored it and filed it away as irrational motherly concern.

"Love you," she said, hugging him before turning to her son. "Remus, don't give your father a hassle. You're only going for a walk. Be careful!" she reminded him firmly.

"Yeah, yeah," he said quickly, grinning. "I will, Come on! Let's go!"

Remus's parents chuckled before Daniel walked out the door, closely followed by his son, who, although they'd been on many a hike, seemed near to exploding with excitement.

"There you go, honey," Mrs. Pettigrew smiled. "Good as new!"

Peter's hair had given everyone in the family trouble, until finally, Mrs. Pettegrew simply washed it, and it was back to normal. A temporary, wash off, color changing charm. And that's only his first spell! Not to mention unintentional! she thought with extreme pride. She knew in her heart that Peter would make a very big difference in the world someday. However, if she had known how, she wouldn't have been so joyful.

"Thank you Mummy!" Peter said, checking his hair carefully in the mirror. It was back to normal. Thank goodness!

As Remus and Daniel hiked through the woods, Daniel kept checking his watch. It was only 7 o'clock on a summers night, but there was a chill in the air. A chill that said "nothing is well."

Suddenly, just as the sun began to set, a branch cracked behind them.

"D-D-Daddy?" Remus asked nervously. "What was that?" But Mr. Lupin was not listening to his son. A man was approaching them. A man from his past.

"Daniel," the stranger said calmly.

"Fenrir? Is that you?" Daniel asked.

The man called Fenrir smiled, or at least showed his teeth. "Yes, it is me. As you can see, I've quite changed since last we met. And who is this little fellow?"

"This," Daniel said, placing himself in front of Remus, "is my son, Remus. Now, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, just enjoying the scenery. Out for a little walk in the moonlight," he grinned as he spoke.

"Well, I think you should go. You shouldn't be anywhere near people, especially with your condition, and seeing as tonight is the full moon!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Fenrir clucked. "Testy are we? How was I to know anyone would be in the woods tonight. I simply came to warn my best friend to get out, fast," he frowned as he added, "Speaking of old friends, how's Lila?"

"My wife is fine. Now, leave, Greyback!" Daniel growled.

"Alright, I will. No need to be so rude! Especially, to your old best friend," the man rolled his eyes and strolled casually into the stretch of woods to his left

"Come on Remus, I think it's time we go home."

"Daddy, who was that?" Remus asked, concerned. "Won't he get lost?"

"That was an old... friend of mine, Fenrir Greyback. We sort of... grew apart," Daniel explained, struggling to find the right words. "And he'll get lost in the woods the day an all powerful dark wizard gets beaten by a one year old on Halloween." But that's a story for another time.

"AHHHHHHHH!" a girl, maybe nine or ten years old, shrieked. "AHHHH! MUM! AH!"

Why was she screaming you ask? Well, this nine or ten year old girl has a cousin. This cousin has messy black hair, hazel colored eyes, and a certain knack for trouble. This cousin has a friend. This friend has longer messy black hair that always falls in his eyes, and a sense of humor that is nothing like his name, Sirius Black. This cousin and his friend were outside of her doorway, giving each other high fives. Now, why do you think she was screaming?

"Beetles in the underwear drawer. Sirius, my good friend, you are truly a genius," James grinned, patting his best friend on the back. "Why hadn't I thought of that?"

"Easy, you didn't think of it because I have more experience in the pranking sector than you, what with my evil family. I guess I'm predisposed to horrible ideas," Sirius said, grimacing.

"Well, maybe. But, I think you, unlike them, will put your evilness to good use. Besides," James said, actually being remotely serious for once, "I'll be there for you to make sure you don't get too evil. Unless," he continued, grinning maliciously. "You're in Slytherin. Then I'll just turn my back on you and befriend a Hufflepuff who will follow me to the ends of the earth just so long as I say they're my friend."

"Wow," Sirius said, grinning slightly at his friend's joke. "Someone has a big head!"

"How do you think my glasses stay on? Now let's go to bed before Mum figures out what we did. If she thinks we're asleep she'll just say Terry was being careless."

What a strange man, Remus thought as he walked, staring at the ground. When he finally looked up, his father was no where to be seen. "Daddy, where are you?" he asked, voice quavering. He looked left and right, desperately trying to find his father. He heard a crack behind him, and turned around. Then, he was staring directly into the savage eyes of a huge, grey wolf. Overhead, the moonlight glistened as it peeked out from behind the clouds, revealing its full pale face.

"Mummy," Peter said, "I'm tired, can I go to bed?"

"Go ahead, little one. I'm so proud of you."

James tossed and turned in his sleep. He was dreaming about a kid his age on a hike with his dad. He had gotten lost, and was now face to face with a giant wolf.

Delilah snapped her book shut at once. She felt had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then, she heard a scream, a scream that belonged to her son.

"DADDY!" Remus shrieked as the wolf lunged right at him and bit him on the shoulder.

Daniel turned on the spot. His son wasn't right behind him anymore. He had been so lost in his memories that he hadn't noticed when Remus took the wrong turn. He ran in the direction of the scream. "Remus?" he called. "REMUS!"

No matter how hard he tried, Sirius couldn't sleep. Horrifying images kept popping up in the young boy's mind. There was no sound, only images. A boy about his age on a hike with his dad. A creepy dude that the dad seemed to know. The kid took a wrong turn, and was now being attacked by a wolf.

Sirius couldn't sleep, he had to find out what as going to happen to the boy, even if he didn't truly want to.

Daniel ran through the woods, eyes wide, looking for his son. What he found instead, was blood. He followed the trail until he found a wolf, leaning over a small figure, a figure that was barely breathing.

Without a thought, he lifted his wand and yelled, "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

The wolf stopped in it's tracks, and fell over.

"Remus?" Daniel asked with a quaver in his voice, but he recognized the small shape. "Remus!" he yelled before running forward and lifting up the unconscous child. "Oh my God, Remus!" he cried, looking at his son's ravaged shoulder.

"I've got to get you to St. Mungo's," he whispered, more to himself than his half-dead child. "Just, don't die. Please, please, son, don't die."

Delilah had just finished sending an owl to the ministry when she heard her husband yelling. "Daniel?" she called, "Remus?"

She ran to the doorway, clutching her chest. "Oh thank God," she whispered when she saw her husband. But then, she saw her son in his arms.

"Remus?" she whispered. "Remus!" she ran forward. "Oh no!" she yelled. "What happened?" she asked as she looked at her child. "Is he okay? Is he even alive?"

"He's not okay, but he's still alive," Daniel explained quickly. "I'll explain more at St. Mungo's, right now I have to go. He won't last much longer without treatment."

As soon as he finished talking, he apparated, closely followed by his wife.

James woke with a jolt to see Sirius rocking back and forth on his sleeping bag whispering, "It's not real, it's not real, it's just a dream, it's just a dream," and the likes.

"Sirius?" he asked with a small voice.

"Oh, James! I thought you were asleep! I was just, erm, sleep talking!" Sirius stuttered quickly.

"No, you weren't sleep talking. Just out of mild curiousity, what on earth had you seen?" James asked.

"You won't believe me," Sirius said shamefully. "I myself find it insane."

"Oh, just tell me!" James demanded.

"Okay, okay! Hold your hippogriffs!" Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Well, there was this boy about our age, and he was on a hike with his dad, and this really creepy man came-"

"Then, once the weird guy left, the boy took a wrong turn without the dad noticing, and-

"The wolf attacked him," Sirius finished. They stared at each other in shock.

"Either you are a practiced Legilimens, or we just had the same dream," James said solemnly.

Sirius replied, "I'd go with the latter. But the real question is why, was it real, and did the kid survive?"

"I don't know why, or if that person survived. I really hope he did, he was only our age. However, I'm pretty sure it was real. Maybe we should ask Mum about it!" James suggested.

"Well, I for one cannot deny that asking your mum is a pretty good idea, but what if she just thinks we made it up?" Sirius asked.

"If she does, she does, and if she doesn't, she doesn't, but I'm tired now, so let's go back to sleep," James replied, "We'll ask her in the morning."

Peter Pettigrew slept soundly that night. Although, when he woke up, he felt that he remembered two men laughing. One was fairly hairy and looked like he belonged in a horror movie, the other looked as though he may have been handsome, once, but there he looked fairly snake-like. This man, although Peter didn't know it, was Lord Voldemort, with four Horcruxes already made, although that is a different story that I was not the one to pen.

A/N: So, that's Chapter One. Not the easiest thing I've ever written, that's for sure. And, just in case you'd find this more interesting, I wrote a completely different version of the Remus bit of this chapter in which his dad get's mauled and killed by the wolf first, of course with little Remy watching in horror. I only changed it because I was rereading PoA at the time, and he says that his "parents" were looking for a cure, keyword being parents, as in more than one. I also came up with a whole back-story to why Fenrir bit Remus in particular instead of some other random child. Did you notice how friendly Fenrir is with Dan and how he grows almost cold when he asks how "Lila" is? As in Delilah. So, if you want to read the other version or the back-story, I still have it, and could easily post it in a one-shot or something.

Last thing, PLEASE REVIEW!

I wrote this and posted it on 8-10-2009. It is now 7/22/2010. Want to know what happened to make me delete and repost it? NO ONE REVIEWED! I literally wrote this and posted almost a YEAR ago, proud that I had written something that I cared about this much, and the only review it has I wrote ANONYMOUSLY SO THAT I WOULDN'T FEEL SO BAD! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!

Now then. Please review. Seriously!