Hello! Thank you for choosing to read 'Beginnings at Hogwarts'!
I would just like to say that Hogwarts is owned by JK Rowling. This is her world, not mine; her characters that I have just put in certain situations.
I hope you like this story.
Reviews are most welcome, even if they do not say good things.
The first thing Remus realised was that he was small, smaller than nearly all of the first-years around him.
They were clustered together in a claustrophobic room, and it was hot. The other first-years were talking excitedly, arguing about the sorting. Two dark haired boys were talking loudly about having to fight a dragon to prove that they were worthy and decide what house they would be in for the rest of their lives.
Remus was pondering the fact that thanks to his being a werewolf, he might not have been there at all.
Remus didn't come to Hogwarts on a train like the other students. As a matter of fact, he was completely out of it when he came to Hogwarts three prolonged months ago.
They don't like revealing the whereabouts of Hogwarts to just anyone, even if they can erase your memory afterwards. Remus was very battered and bruised, the day he arrived being only a couple after the recent full moon. The spell they put him under gave him relief from his pain, which was a big incentive for him to not argue against it.
Remus' being a young werewolf meant that it was very unlikely he would remain at Hogwarts long enough to even start out the year.
Remus found himself feeling extremely sorry for the girls getting worked up, claiming that they couldn't fight dragons, and hadn't been expecting to. He wanted to reassure them, but what could he say? He was trying hard not to laugh.
Werewolves are a danger to themselves and to anyone who comes near them during a full moon, when they have transformed. They attack humans, but oddly enough leave animals alone. For that obvious reason, a werewolf had never before been accepted to Hogwarts.
Professor Dumbledore had taken a chance on Remus when he rescued him from St Mungo's.
The doors finally opened and Professor McGonagall appeared, beckoning the first-years forward. The other first-years ran to get out of the stifling room, but Remus waited, trying to collect himself. He moved to follow them when he realised they had mostly all left. Professor McGonagall caught his eye knowingly.
As a werewolf, Remus had never hurt anyone, and Professor Dumbledore said he saw something within him, something good, though it was probably just Remus' desperation for a chance.
They were let into the Great Hall, a grand room Remus had only ever seen not one-twentieth full. He had eaten his lunch that day with the elves that worked in the castle kitchens, so that was why he hadn't seen the decorations and tables being moved in.
That was his advantage. He knew what the sorting was really about. He knew what some of the Professors were like. Remus knew Hogwarts like he knew the back of his hand, and yet, he was still nervous.
Professor Dumbledore's willingness to let Remus into his school meant precautions had to be taken. For a start, only a few would know about his 'condition'. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn and Matron Pomfrey would be the only teachers to know. Remus was to keep his 'condition' from all of the students. He was to abstain from making friends since if anyone got too close to him they might start asking questions.
The Great Hall was filled with students who hushed at the entrance of the first-years. The students sat at one of four long tables. Each table represented one of the four houses; Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Griffindor. The flags of those houses were strung up above that houses respective table.
He had permission from Professor Dumbledore to access all areas of the library when Professor Dumbledore found out that Remus' passion was reading. Remus was given the password to the Professor's office, in the case Remus ever needed someone to talk to. Remus would have to leave if anyone found out what they were all trying to hide.
Professor McGonagall led the first-years towards the table at the far end of the Great Hall. This table was facing them and the heavy double doors they had walked through. It was the table at which the many Professors sat, with Dumbledore in the middle.
It was decided that Remus would instantaneously begin to take a concoction of different potions. The potions, made by Professor Slughorn (who was the potions master), would be administered to him every single day by Matron Pomfrey. One the days before, during and after the full moon he would have to take the potions twice.
Those three days Remus would also have to spend in the infirmary and then in a shack.
Remus took all of the colourful decorations in whist trying to avoid the eyes of those who stared curiously at the 'newbies'. He tried not to think 'fresh-meat'.
Professor Dumbledore invested in a Whomping Willow, a great big tree that attacked anyone to come within ten metres of it. The Whomping Willow was placed strategically over the entrance of a tunnel that led to the shack, where Matron Pomfrey would leave Remus on the night of a full moon to turn into a wolf. He would stay in the shack that night and then Matron Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore or McGonagall would escort him back to the castle the next day. Remus would have to stay in the infirmary and heal from whatever wounds he had inflicted on himself.
The first-years and Professor McGonagall came to a stop in front of the table of teachers, and the Professor went to stand by a wooden stool. She began to talk, and Remus found himself drifting. He began to study the other first years, apprehensiveness racing through him.
The arrangement would work, they assured Remus. The potions, while absolutely vile, keep him separate from the werewolf. He does not remember anything that happens on the full moon, something Professor Dumbledore considers to be a good thing. It is good, Remus supposes, not to remember all of the pain. The potions cannot stop him from injuring himself in the process of destroying his surroundings, though. When Remus wakes up he has to deal with the repercussions.
The two dark haired boys who had been trying to convince the other first-years that they would have to fight a dragon were shoving each other good naturedly, laughing quietly at the death stares they had realised they were receiving from most of the first-years. The two boys had the ease of familiarity between them, and Remus found himself wishing that he had that. A best friend to joke around with. Remus had his books, but books couldn't laugh. He sighed. Someone like him having a best friend was an impossibility, but Remus couldn't half help himself.
The potions Remus had to take were still very new, and need improvements. They make Remus very sleepy when it gets closer to the full moon. They also make him irritable and nauseated, particularly on the dreaded days when Remus has to take two doses of them.
Remus watched as all eyes of the first years followed the Sorting Hat Professor McGonagall now held with one hand, her speech over. The Professor was a formidable figure, her serious expression leaving the majority of the first-years silenced. She began to read off a scroll their names.
Remus was a test subject for his first three months at Hogwarts, but when they decided he wasn't too terribly ill and the potions worked as well as they could, Remus was able to leave the infirmary to discover the great, big castle.
Remus saw a red haired girl still glaring angrily at the two laughing boys, a sallow skinned boy standing protectively beside her. She lived up to the stereotype of red-heads, he found himself thinking, absent-mindedly.
Remus learnt every nook and cranny. He found the library and the kitchens, the gamekeeper's hut, the Owlery and the dungeons. Remus sat in the empty stands of the Quidditch pitch and walked the boundaries of the Forbidden Forest. He wandered through the Trophy Room and learnt the stories of the ghosts and the talking portraits, hoping that, one day, ghosts would be replaced with flesh and blood.
Remus was very lonely, being the only boy in the entire castle, but too grateful. If he hadn't had the lucky chance of catching Dumbledore's eye, he would still be in St Mungo's. Or maybe he would be dead.
One by one the called first-years went and sat on the wooden stool, the Sorting Hat precariously placed on their heads. After a moment or two, the Sorting Hat would call out a house name. The people in that house would cheer and clap loudly for their new addition, and said person would run, most times, happily, to join their new house.
A month before the other students would arrive, Remus was told he would be allowed to stay at Hogwarts.
"Sirius Black."
One of the two boys who had been shoving each other walked confidently to the stool.
He was beautiful, Remus found himself thinking. Sirius had silky black hair that looked lovely and soft even from where Remus stood. He was wearing robes that looked especially brand new in Remus' eyes. He looked down at himself, embarrassed.
Remus had been given schoolbooks and a second hand uniform and taken to get his very own wand by Professor Dumbledore himself. Remus couldn't pay Professor Dumbledore back for any of it, but the Professor had waved away his concerns.
"Griffindor!" The Hat roared. Remus clapped and watched as Sirius jumped down the steps and practically raced to join his house, an odd look of relief crossing his face briefly.
Remus had read everything he could get his hands on, which helped relax and distract him from his worries. Books had always been his friends. Remus practised spells, knowing that he would have to work exceptionally hard to keep his place at Hogwarts.
More names were called, more eleven year olds sorted into the houses they would be in for the rest of their lives.
Remus had practised conversations, planning what he would say to those who asked about his scars, who asked where he went every month for three days, who asked why he was often sick, who asked why he didn't come to Hogwarts on a train like the rest of the first-years.
"Remus Lupin." Remus jumped, startled, at the calling of his hated name, and, to his horror, blushed.
The day before the students returned, Remus had felt sick with anticipation, but excited.
Remus mumbled 'excuse me', again and again, trying to get through the diminishing crowd of first-years who kept on inching closer to each other, effectively blocking his way. Remus had been standing, alone, at the back. He curled in his shoulders slightly, trying hard not to brush up against anyone.
Remus walked up the steps, legs shaking. He collapsed onto the stool, praying to whoever was above that no one could see his scars in the light.
Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head, and Remus closed his eyes, knowing thanks to Professor Dumbledore what to expect.
Sure enough, the Sorting Hat began to hiss into his ears.
"Smart. Very smart. Dangerous." Remus stiffened at that. Worried that maybe someone had heard that accurate word, he shot a quick glance at Professor McGonagall, but she showed no reaction or, worse, alarm. The Sorting Hat continued.
"Ravenclaw? Not Hufflepuff, surely. You aren't nearly dangerous enough to be in Slytherin. Griffindor? A yes or no would be appreciated, here, you know."
Automatically, Remus mumbled Griffindor, thinking of the beautiful boy, Sirius, who still sat on one of that house's benches alone.
"Griffindor!" The Sorting Hat shouted deafeningly.
Remus removed the hat reverently and placed it on the stool. At Professor McGonagall's look of pride, he smiled. He was happy to be in Griffindor, but Remus didn't think himself all that brave, as Griffindors were. Honestly, Remus had no idea why he had even said 'Griffindor' to the Hat in the first place. He would have been far better suited to Ravenclaw, a house notorious for academic students. Remus' fetish with books and reading might not have stood out so much, he mused, irritated at himself for not have thinking about that before he opened his mouth.
Remus kept his head down as he sat carefully on one of the Griffindor benches, waiting for the applause to stop and attention of everyone to divert off to someone else. He went instinctively to touch the scar on his left wrist. Just the cool touch of his scar reassured Remus, ironically.
It was minutes before he felt able to look up. When he did, Remus was startled to find himself staring directly into the eyes of Sirius who he had, unknowingly, sat opposite.
Sirius was grinning at Remus, and Remus found himself captivated by that unbroken, overly bright smile.
"About time! I thought I would be the only Griffindor first year! I'm Sirius. Black," he added, carelessly. Sirius held out his hand to Remus and Remus shook it, noting how Sirius took in his scars. Sirius didn't say a thing, and Remus found himself liking Sirius for that.
"I'm Remus John Lupin," Remus said, formally.
"Nice to meet you." Sirius looked like he actually meant it. No one had ever said they were 'pleased' to meet Remus before.
"Excited to be here? I am! I have been waiting forever," Sirius drew out the word forever, and Remus grinned at his dramatics. Sirius was so unlike him.
"It's rather big, isn't it? I think I am going to get lost. The professors look a bit mean, don't they?"
Sirius had an exuberant way of talking that made the heads of the other Griffindors turn. Sirius was even more beautiful close up. He had steel coloured eyes that reflected strangely, and his skin was not marred like Remus' was. There was a crest on Sirius' robes that Remus wondered about.
"I was so glad I got into Griffindor, you know. My whole family has been put into Slytherin, I am the only abnormality!"
What did Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall say about getting too close with people? Remus' inner voice piped up out of nowhere and unbidden, but Remus shoved it down. He was allowed to talk to people, wasn't he?
"I cannot imagine what their faces will look like when they find out!"
Sirius was patently delighted about being a Griffindor. Remus told him he was glad he was in Griffindor too, and they smiled at each other, Remus shyly; Sirius knowingly.
They turned their attention back to the front, just in time to hear Professor McGonagall call another name.
"James Potter."
"That's my friend! We only met today, but he's awesome. He will like you, I can tell!" Sirius was no good at whispering, Remus noted. He couldn't contain his grin back.
"Griffindor!" Cried the Sorting Hat after a mere brush against James' head.
"Yay!" Sirius stood on his bench and clapped wildly. He wolf-whistled as James hurried to Sirius' side, yanking Sirius down with one hand to sit beside him.
"Sirius, I cannot believe you just defied your family." The boy, James, was wearing glasses. He had messy black hair and a wide smirk. He looked like a troublemaker. Remus liked him immediately, not quite as much as he liked Sirius, but well enough.
"I'm James, by the way. James Potter." Remus knew that, but he nodded like he didn't and told him his own name.
Sirius grinned at James.
"I told you I would. Oh, and Remus here is cool."
"Named after the moon?" James guessed as Remus tried not to gulp.
"Unfortunately."
"It's a cool name, if you ask me," Sirius said, matter-of-factly.
Surprised, Remus sent Sirius a confused look, but he didn't seem to be mocking him. Remus relaxed.
A second boy sat beside Remus and introduced himself as Peter. This boy had light brown hair and was twitching. He was skinnier than even Remus, and there was something in his eyes that screamed 'desperate to please'.
In comparison, James and Sirius looked almost fat, when they were normal-sized.
The Sorting Ceremony ceased to the great gladness of Remus who was ravenous. He doubted he was alone in that feeling.
"Oh, thank the Heavens, I am dying of starvation…" moaned Sirius.
Professor Dumbledore stood up, drawing the attention of the talkative students. James, Peter and Sirius looked at him in deep awe, and Remus could understand why. Professor Dumbledore was world famous. He was a great Headmaster, some claiming the best. Headmaster Dumbledore had a long white beard that was tucked into his belt at his waist. He had merry blue eyes that twinkled as they roamed over the students before settling on Remus and the other Griffindor first-years.
Was Remus imagining the warning he saw as he looked into the depths of the Professor's eyes?
"Welcome! Now that the Sorting Ceremony is over for another year, let the feast begin!"
XXX
Professor Dumbledore had reassured Remus that he would be fine sharing a dormitory with the other first-year boys, as long as Remus didn't show off his scars and kept largely to himself. Now that Remus had met the other first-year Griffindor boys he was less anxious.
The meal ended after an age, the never ending food disappearing back to where it came from, the entire student body stuffed and full.
Professor Dumbledore spoke a few words before he dismissed them. The Griffindor Prefects led the first-year boys and girls to the Griffindor Tower, a place Remus hadn't yet been since the four houses were 'hidden'.
Peter, James and Sirius exclaimed over the ever changing staircases and moving portraits the entire trip, and Remus tried hard to pretend they were just as new to him, too.
He wished that, the first time Remus himself had seen them, he had had someone there to share his own interest.
They met a ghost on their way, Nearly Headless Nick, who bowed gallantly at them and winked at Remus. He was creepy with the whole half cut off head, but nice. Sirius saw the exchange, but the look Sirius gave Remus was bewildered and not at all suspicious.
Their mini procession stopped at the portrait of a fat lady in an expensive looking gown. The boy Prefect gave the ever-changing password, warning the first-years to memorize it and to never, under any circumstances, tell any of the students from the other houses it.
"Ravaging chimeras."
The fat lady's portrait swung backwards and they entered, everyone except the Prefects exclaiming at the red and gold draperies and couches and paintings and fireplace and lamps.
"This is the common room. It is expected that homework and other recreational activities will be done here." The girl prefect explained.
"The girls dormitories are to my left, boys to my right. Bathrooms are in the middle. Tomorrow the breakfast bell will sound and you should all make your way to the Great Hall as quickly as you can. Your suitcases and trunks will need to be unpacked."
The Prefects left them at that, and the first-years split up. Sirius, James, Peter and Remus bounded up the stairs to the dormitories, Remus pleased to not have to fake his enthusiasm.
They entered the door with a plaque reading 'First Years' on it.
It was a round room. There were four beds, four trunks, four night stands and two windows. The beds had scarlet-red covers and scarlet-red curtains that could be drawn all the way around; the windows overlooked the Forbidden Forest and the Whomping Willow. It was all ideal for Remus, something Professor Dumbledore must have factored into his plans.
How would he ever pay the Headmaster back?
Remus glanced at the new moon out of one of the windows regretfully. Full moon was two weeks away. Fourteen days away. 336 hours away. 20, 160 minutes away. Sirius and James' cries thankfully drew him back to his present, otherwise he might have continued and have started counting the seconds.
"I bags this one! James, take the bed next to mine. Remus, you can go over there!" Sirius ordered them about, and they complied uncomplainingly.
Remus went to the bed Sirius pointed at. It was the one directly across from Sirius' own, and was right next to a window. Sirius was far more astute than Remus had given him credit for.
Remus J Lupin was stitched neatly in gold thread on the handle of a small suitcase that contained all of Remus' meager belongings. Sirius and James had between them nearly ten times the amount of suitcases and trunks Peter and Remus had, but none of them said anything.
"My, I am full," Peter groaned, and they all heartily agreed. Peter's statement incited a conversation about the feast and the other first-years and the professors.
It was well past midnight when Remus fell asleep, beaming, purely so, so cheered to not be spending the night alone.