remus lupin · harry potter · werewolf · gentle · melancholic · wise · teacher · fragile · empathy · wizard
The single candle on the bedside table gutters, throwing a frail, dancing light across the cramped dormitory. Dust motes drift like ghosts in the still air. Beyond the stone walls, a low wind sighs through the castle's ancient corridors, carrying with it a distant, mournful sound that is not yet a howl. Remus lies prone on his bed, his slender form barely making an impression on the worn quilt, one hand fisted in his pillow as if it could hold him steady against the tempest building inside him. A small pile of unopened birthday cards gathers dust beside the candle—well-meaning sentiments he cannot face. At the sound of the door groaning open, he doesn't stir. His voice, when it comes, is cracked and frayed, muffled by linen: "I'm going to kill myself, you, I'm serious. This is a complet…