Remus Lupin stood nervously on the platform; his mother and father giving him hurried advice. "Now smile, dear," his mother told him, straightening his collar. "You're going to be fine. But remember, you have to go and see Professor Dumbledore as soon as the feast is over."
The train's whistle blew and Remus picked up his small suitcase. His mother gave him a brief hug and turned away, tears running down her cheeks. Remus's father shook his hand and smiled encouragingly. "We'll see you soon, Remus. Have a nice term!"
Remus nodded mutely and turned away, following the crowd of students onto the train.
Once inside, he looked around for a compartment, finding most of them to be crowded and full. Walking along the hall, Remus finally found an empty one and stepped inside, pushing the door closed. He settled down on the seat next to the window, pushed his suitcase underneath his chair and opened his book, quickly finding himself sucked into the story.
"Excuse me," a young female voice said, interrupting Remus's reading and startling the boy.
"Yes," he asked her. "What is it?" Remus smiled at her slightly. She seemed nice enough, though rather timid. Her hair was a rich, auburn red and she was quite tall, only an inch or two shorter than he was and he himself was abnormally tall for an eleven-year old.
"All the other compartments are full, so I was wondering whether I could sit here?" She seemed nervous and was toying with her hair as she waited for his response.
"Certainly," Remus said courteously, nodding at her. "I'm Remus Lupin, what's your name?"
"Lily Evans," the girl told him and sat down across from him. "Have you ever done magic before? I never even knew it existed until I got my letter. My parents don't do magic."
"You're a muggle?" Remus asked in slight surprise. He knew there were muggles who went to Hogwarts, but from what he had read it was rather rare. There were many half bloods at the school, but the population of muggles was miniscule.
"A what?" Lily asked a puzzled look on her face. "I've never heard that word."
"It means someone with non-magical parents. A muggle-born witch or wizard is the opposite of a squib, someone with magical parents but no magical ability." Remus explained, smiling amusedly at her confusion.
"Oh," Lily said thoughtfully. "So am I a muggle or a witch?" She asked curiously.
"You're both," Remus told her. "You're muggle-born but a witch also, because of your magical ability"
"Right," Lily was slightly confused by this and so she changed the subject. "What are you reading?" She asked, lapsing into a more comfortable topic for her.
"Reflections in Blood," he told her, blushing slightly. It was a rather advanced book for his age and he had gotten quite a few odd looks on the platform.
"Oh!" Lily exclaimed delightedly. "I read that book this summer! Isn't it wonderful?" She beamed at him; happy to find someone she had so much in common with. Not that she necessarily knew that they had that much in common but it certainly seemed like they did. And even if they didn't, he did seem like a nice person to talk to.
Remus nodded earnestly and smiled back at her. "What's your favorite part?" He asked. "I really like Dianna's talk with her mirror at the end of chapter 11."
Lily nodded at him. "That is a good part, but my favorite is in chapter 29, where she finally tells her parents what's happening. It's really touching."
The boy nodded at Lily. "What do you like most about the author's writing style?" He asked her, eager to see if she would agree with him.
"Evans, Lily," called out the imperious voice of Professor McGonagall.
A quivering Lily walked slowly up to the stool and sat down on it, allowing the Sorting Hat to be set on her head. It was silent for a long time and then, it opened its brim like mouth and yelled out for all to hear, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus applauded politely, though inside he was slightly disappointed. He knew he was going to be in Ravenclaw, both his parents had been and didn't houses run in families? That was what everyone said, anyway.
Remus had hoped they would be in the same house since Lily was his first real friend but he supposed he would have to make new ones. He would probably be seeing very little of the auburn haired girl, since the various houses didn't have much to do with each other.
The call of, "Lupin, Remus," startled him out of his thoughts and he walked nervously toward the sorting hat. What if he was sorted into Slytherin? Remus knew that the odds of that happening were very slim, but still, it could happen. He shuddered as the hat was placed on his head and then there was another voice in his brain.
"Remus Lupin, eh?" it told him. "I've heard of you, you're the little werewolf." The boy stiffened and it laughed. "You'd fit nicely into Slytherin with that ability." No! Remus thought desperately. I don't want to be in Slytherin! "Oh, really? Then how about Ravenclaw; you have the brains for it. No, I know what you want," it said pushing away the idea instantly. "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled out and a happy grin formed on Remus's face. He took the hat off, put it gently on the stool and walked off to the cheering Gryffindor table.
Lily smiled widely and gestured to the seat next to her. "Congratulations!" She told him as he sat down next to her.
Remus smiled back at her and sat down. "I can't believe it, my parents swore that I'd be a Ravenclaw. Wait till I tell them!"
A boy with long black hair who had been watching them coolly offered the other boy his hand. "I'm Sirius Black, I guess we'll be sharing a dorm." He said.
Remus took the offered hand and shook it lightly, an expression of unease passing over his face. "I'm Remus Lupin," he replied curtly.
Sirius raised an eyebrow at him. "What, don't you recognize my last name?" He asked sarcastically. "Yes, I am a Black, and from your reaction it seems that you know exactly who I am. The question is, who are you?"
Lily looked over at Remus in confusion. "What's he talking about?" She asked, inspecting the boy with a critical eye. He didn't look particularly bad (though his hair was a bit too long for her liking), so why was Remus being so cautious and what did he mean about his last name?
"The Blacks are well known half blood and muggle haters." Remus told her matter-of-factly, a slight frown forming on his face. "Best to stay away from him, no matter what his house."
"Oh, and why is that?" Sirius asked, his tone unreadable. "Perhaps this lovely young lady is a half blood, or even a muggle," but his ironic tone indicated that he knew exactly what Lily's parentage was and the girl felt a chill go down her spine. Then Remus stiffened and Sirius laughed softly. "Not to worry, Lily," he said winking at her. "I didn't inherit my parent's hatred for muggles as you can probably see from my house placement."
Lily stared at him, his odd attitude and the fact that he knew her name bewildering her. Unable to think of a reply she kept silent, hoping that something would keep her from continuing the conversation.
The arrival of another black haired boy with beautiful clear hazel eyes served just that purpose, since he sat down next to Sirius and quickly engaged him in a conversation about something called "Quidditch".
Just then, Lily noticed that an old man with a very long beard had stood up and from the whispers all around her it seemed that his name was Dumbledore and that he was the headmaster.
"Welcome," he said, beaming around at the students. "Welcome, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, before we begin our excellent feast I have a few announcements to make. Fanged Frisbees, Exploding Yo-Yos and Enemy Targeting Boomerangs are banned due to a few unfortunate incidents last year, as are all other potentially dangerous items. As always, magic in the corridors is prohibited and also in the bathrooms." Dumbledore smiled at this, and winked at five Gryffindors at the end of the table. "And the Forbidden Forest is off limits to students. Now, let us eat!" He clapped his hands together and the golden plates suddenly filled with food.
Lily gasped at the sudden appearance of the food and the Sirius laughed quietly at the look on her face. "Never seen magic before, have you Lily?" He asked, smiling good-naturedly. "The food is real you know." Sirius told her, loading his plate with chicken and mashed potatoes.
She blushed and ladled some soup into her bowl as the second boy looked at her with interest. "Lily…" He said thoughtfully. "That's a pretty name. I'm James Potter. Nice to meet you."
She nodded back at him and smiled politely. "Nice to meet you too. What's Quidditch?" Lily asked him curiously.
James laughed slightly. "Quidditch is a sport played on brooms," he told her. "It's rather hard to explain. There are seven players. One Keeper, two Beaters, three Chasers and one Seeker. The Chasers play with the Quaffle, which is a big red ball. They have to get the Quaffle past the other team's Keeper who guards the three hoops. The Beaters play with the two Bludgers, those are big black balls that fly around trying to knock players off their brooms. The job of the Beaters is to keep the Bludgers away from their team and to hit them towards the other team. Then there's the Seeker, who plays with the Snitch. The Snitch is a tiny, golden ball that's really hard to see. The Seeker's job is to catch the Snitch. If they do, the game is over and their team gets 150 points. I'm a Chaser," James told her proudly.
"The school has Quidditch teams, so you'll see a match soon enough." Sirius said to Lily. "It's actually a fairly easy game, you should get the hang of how it works pretty quickly."
Lily nodded, trying to process the information. "I guess so…" She said doubtfully.
The girl next to Lily looked over at them with interest. "You're a muggle?" She asked with surprise. "So am I. My name's Katy Harris. Nice to meet you."
Lily blinked at the girl. "I'm Lily Evans, it's nice to meet you too. Are you a first year also?"
"Yes, and so's my twin sister. But she's in Hufflepuff; frankly, I'm surprised they even let her in here at all, though." Katy rolled her eyes, which were a remarkable shade of blue that looked almost purple. "Moron…"
Remus looked at her with interest. "You have a twin? What's it like?" He asked eagerly.
"Horrible," she told him. "Her name is Melissa and we're identical, so everyone's always confusing us. We're nothing alike whatsoever though. She's a fashion obsessed idiot."
"I know the feeling." Sirius muttered under his breath. "Try having Regulus for a brother…"
"At least you have a sibling." James pointed out. "I'm an only child and it's bloody boring."
"Try having five."
The first years looked around for the source of the voice in bewilderment. It was low and quiet and try as they might they couldn't figure out who had spoken.
"I'm right here." A petite dark-skinned girl who was sitting next to Katy said. "My name is Anna."
"Do you really have five siblings?" James asked as Lily simultaneously said. "Sorry, we didn't see you."
"Yes, I do and that's all right. No one does." She sighed sadly, poking at her food.
Remus smiled sympathetically. "It's nice to meet you, Anna. I'm Remus."
"I know," she told him. "I've been listening to you talk. And frankly, James, I don't see what you're complaining about. At least your parents notice you."
"Yes, but you have all those people to talk to and play with. How can you not like that?" James asked, a bemused expression on his face.
"Well, let's see. Besides the fact that I share a bedroom with my two little sisters and my three brothers are right next door, I have to help take care of them all the time, I never get any time to myself and my parents don't even know I exist it's just great." Anna said sarcastically, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Oh," James said stupidly, trying (and failing) to imagine a life where he was not the center of attention. "I guess that makes sense. But why don't your parents just hire a nanny, or something?"
Anna sighed loudly. "Never mind, it's not something you'd understand," she told him, shaking her head, half amused, half frustrated.
Lily looked over at the brown-haired boy next to her. "And what about you, Remus? Do you have any siblings?"
"No, my parents decided they couldn't handle any more after the-" Remus cut himself off abruptly; suddenly aware of what he was about to reveal. "Never mind," he told them, staring down at his plate. This was his only chance at having friends, and he had almost ruined it!
Lily cast him a concerned look, but looked away quickly, engaging Anna in conversation. What had he been about to say, and why did he look so scared?
The plates cleared and Dumbledore stood up again. "Well, now that we are fed I would say that it is high time to be getting to bed. Off you go!"
The group stood up, still talking noisily and walked towards the Gryffindor prefect who was beckoning them.
James, who was still discussing Quidditch with Sirius, turned around, looking for Remus. Unable to find him, he resumed his conversation with the other black-haired boy, an expression of confusion on his face.
Remus slipped away from the group, hurrying towards Dumbledore's office. "Acid pops," he told the Gargoyle quietly, and it leapt aside to reveal a stone wall that was rapidly splitting apart and an upwards-spiraling stone escalator.
The brown haired boy stared for a second and then got onto it, looking around him with interest. Quite soon, he was deposited on the landing and walked over to the door, knocking on it loudly.
"Come in," Dumbledore's gentle voice called and Remus opened the door, walking slowly into the room, staring at it in slight shock.
It was a large circular room, with portraits lining the walls and loose odds and ends placed all over. What captured Remus's eye though was the beautiful bird sitting on a perch next to Dumbledore's desk. It had fiery plumage and the boy gasped at the sight of it. "Is that a Phoenix?" He asked reverently, unable to take his eyes off it.
"Yes, indeed he is, Mr. Lupin, his name is Fawkes. But come now, we have things to discuss." The old man beckoned towards Remus and the boy sat down in the chair across from Dumbledore's desk. "I trust you had a pleasant trip, Remus?"
"I did, sir, the train was quite nice." Remus told him, allowing himself to examine the office carefully.
"Excellent, now let us get down to business. As you know, Remus, we have made some special arrangements in order to ensure that your studies at Hogwarts are as normal as possible. However, I believe you have not been told what those arrangements are?"
"No, sir, I haven't." Remus told him simply, looking at the portraits with interest.
"Very well. Do you see that tree on the grounds, Remus?" Dumbledore asked, pointing at it. When the boy nodded, he went on. "That is a Whomping Willow, a magical tree that defends itself whenever approached. Underneath that tree, there is a tunnel that leads to a long deserted house. Every full moon, thirty minutes before moonrise you must go to the hospital wing and meet Madame Pomfrey. She will take you to that house, using the tunnel I mentioned before. You will spend your night there. Madame Pomfrey will return for you shortly after sunrise and escort you to your dorm. Do you understand, Remus?"
The boy nodded, picturing the route in his mind. "I do, sir."
"Excellent," Dumbledore said, smiling benevolently at him. "I have every confidence in you. You may go now. Good night."
"Good night professor." Remus said getting out of his chair and walking towards the door. "Oh," he said turning back around to face Dumbledore. "And thank you. I really appreciate all this, I'll do my best to make up for your efforts." The old man smiled at him and chuckled. The boy smiled back earnestly and left the office.
Remus hurried along the corridors, quietly making his way to Gryffindor tower. Stopping in front of a portrait of a woman in a pink dress the boy nodded cordially at her. "I'd like to get in please."
The woman shook her head, clucking her tongue slightly. "I don't think so, dear. You need the password."
Remus stared at her desperately. "You don't understand, I had to go talk to the headmaster and I'm a Gryffindor, I swear! Can't you just let me in this once?"
"I'm sorry dear, but you need the password to get in. Problem or not." The portrait smiled down at him, folding her arms staunchly.
"It's 'Veritaserum'," a female voice said and Lily Evans stepped into the light. "Come on, Remus," she said gesturing him to follow as the portrait lifted to reveal a gigantic hole in the wall through which Remus could see a large, comfortable looking room.
He stepped through obediently, following Lily inside. The auburn-haired girl turned to face him and stared straight at him, an accusatory look on her face. "What did she mean by 'problem', Remus?"
Remus looked down at her desperately, attempting to formulate a lie that was convincing enough. "I can't tell you. It's nothing, really," he said, unable to meet her eyes as he attempted to pull away.
Lily grabbed his arm and looked squarely at him. "I don't believe you," she told him, and released her hold on his arm. "Your dorm is up the staircase on the left, there'll be a sign on the door that says 'first year boys'. Good night, Remus." She told him, and, turning, walked away.
Remus stood there for a minute, and then walked over to his own staircase, climbing up the stairs quietly, his mind filled with thoughts about the auburn-haired girl.