The Princess and the Pauper
Summary: "Mr. and Mrs. Lupin," Dumbledore said, "may I introduce you to your godchild, Sariah Alycone." Remus gets a new sister; Sariah gets her first taste of normality. But can a half-blood princess and a werewolf pauper actually get along?
Rating: K for now; in later chapters, T
Genre: humor ; friendship ; angst ; romance
Canon Character(s): Remus Lupin ; Lily Evans ; James Potter ; Sirius Black ; Severus Snape ; Fenrir Greyback ; Harry Potter ; Peter Pettigrew ; Albus Dumbledore
OC Character(s): Sariah Alycone ; Remus's parents
Set During: Part One will be during Remus Lupin's school years at Hogwarts; Part Two will follow the actual Harry Potter books and then meander into my own dash of non-canon
Note: Warning: This story does not follow the storyline of the actual fairytale The Princess/Prince and the Pauper. I have simply borrowed this title because it is convenient for the story.
Now, moving on. I posted this story at the, uh, urging of my best friend Crazytenor42. This story is still going under major construction; however, it will no longer be on hiatus, as my writer's block has finally lifted. So I will be pulling and revamping all of the chapters before I continue with the storyline.
Also, be aware that Sariah Alycone is not getting adopted right away.
Chapter One
First Year at Hogwarts
~ Sariah Alycone ~
"Excuse me?"
I looked up, surprised. A young girl about my age with long dark red hair and almond-shaped green eyes was standing outside the compartment, a shy yet polite expression on her face. A black-haired and black-eyed boy, already clad in the Hogwarts robes, stood beside her, looking wary, sour, and bored all at once – a feat I regarded as quite impressive.
And yet . . . And yet somehow, despite their differences, they seemed as though they were comfortably friendly. They were the kind of people who happen to have the temperaments that make them really good friends without much effort.
I stood. "Yes?" I asked in reply, curious.
In my experiences in the Muggle world, it was rare for girls and boys to be good friends at our age. Then again, I didn't spend too much time among Muggle kids anyway, so perhaps I was wrong.
The girl slid the door open more. "Can we sit here? Everywhere else is . . . occupied." The way in which she spoke the last word told me that she had just had a rather nasty experience with someone else on the train.
"Sure," I answered. "No one else is here."
She smiled at me and walked in. The boy entered behind her. He didn't smile, but I almost doubted he even could; his appearance spoke wonders about him, and those 'wonders' weren't exactly appealing.
"Your first year here?" I inquired.
The girl nodded. "I'm Lily, and this is Severus," she said, introducing herself and the boy sitting next to her.
"I'm Sariah."
I glanced out the window briefly, trying to wonder how to phrase my observations. Lily seemed somehow even newer to this world than I did, more than one should. . . "You're a Muggle-born, aren't you?"
The boy she called Severus tensed. "So what?" he snapped, rising to her defense at once. "She's probably better at magic that you are."
I raised my hands. "I didn't mean it as a condemnation, Severus Snape," I shot back, emphasizing the name.
Oh, yes, I knew who Severus Snape was – I definitely knew who he was. His mother, Eileen Prince, and my mother had gone to Hogwarts together . . . and they hadn't exactly been best friends, either.
"Who are you?" Severus demanded, starting to rise.
"Sariah. Sariah Alycone."
I saw understanding flash across Severus's face at once, and he sat back down. "Oh. Sorry." The words didn't sound real.
But that didn't really bother me.
"How did you know I was Muggle-born?" Lily asked, drawing my attention.
I shrugged. "My mother is a Muggle-born, and my dad is a pure-blood. I listen to their stories a lot. My dad always says that he knew my mom was a Muggle-born because she acted new to things, just like you. There's no problem with being Muggle-born. You can't help being born that way." I leaned forward. "By the way, who'd you run into earlier?"
Lily blinked. "I don't really know. . . I've never met them before."
"Let me guess – two arrogant boys, both with dark hair and both condemning Slytherin," I said, scowling.
"Um, yes."
I snorted. "James Potter and Sirius Black. I ran into them earlier. Unfortunately, we're stuck with them – they're first years too."
Lily laughed. "Well, we'll all be suffering together, won't we, Severus?"
She nudged him when he didn't respond, but only succeeded in getting an answering noncommittal grunt in return.
The train ground to a smooth halt just then as we finally arrived at Hogwarts, smoother than any Muggle train ever would be. I grinned. I love magic. I stood, giving them polite nods.
"See you at the feast then, Lily, Severus."
~ Lily Evans ~
"GRYFFINDOR!"
I returned the Sorting Hat to Professor McGonagall and set off for the Gryffindor table, which was letting out applause to greet me as they had greeted all of the other new Gryffindors before me. Polite applause, but I welcomed it all the same.
But just before I sat, I cast a sad smile over my shoulder at Severus, whose pained expression made it clear how sad he was.
The rest of the Sorting seemed to pass in a blur, and I watched as the line of my classmates became shorter and shorter. I watched as the boy from the train – the one who had insulted Severus – joined our table and sat on the other side of the boy who sat beside me. I also watched as Severus was Sorted into Slytherin.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the Sorting was over and the feast had begun.
"Have you and Severus been friends for a long time?"
I looked up, startled. The girl we had met on the train – Sariah, I remembered, was her name – was looking at me.
For the first time, I noticed that her eyes weren't gray as I had thought, but silver, really silver in color. But then again, I hadn't really looked at her either when we had met on the train. Still . . . With her long black hair tumbling about her shoulders to join her black Hogwarts robes, her eyes looked like stars shining against an inky night backdrop.
And there was something in her soft yet commanding voice and her almost perfect, regal posture that made one automatically begin to answer, as if she was a teacher . . . or a princess, as her name implied.
"Yes, we grew up together," I answered.
Sariah smiled, but her expression was slightly wistful, as if she was feeling as self-conscious of her friendlessness as I was of my lesser beauty. "Lucky you. I didn't know anyone coming in – except my parents, of course."
I shrugged. "Yeah, but you have more experience in the magical world. I bet you know a lot more than I do when it comes to spells and stuff."
Sariah raised an eyebrow. "I don't, actually," she said. "Even though my parents came to Hogwarts, we're not allowed to do magic in front of Muggles. I went to Muggle elementary school just like my parents did before me. So I really don't have much of an advantage."
"Wasn't it weird, going to Muggle – " I'm never going to get used to using that word to describe my family " – school, yet knowing that magic existed?"
"I was too young to know about it," Sariah said in an almost sheepish manner. "Or remember."
"Same here."
We both laughed. It was nice to have someone else to compare to, someone who didn't scorn me for being different like Petunia had. Severus had been like that. But obviously, I couldn't just have Severus as a friend; Sariah would be a nice friend to have as well.
"You say you don't know anyone," I said once we stopped laughing. "But don't you know some of the teachers, at least?"
Sariah turned to the High Table, her eyes flashing across the wizards and witches seated there. "Yeah. That's Professor Dumbledore – he's the headmaster of the school. They say he's the greatest wizard ever to live."
I eyed the wizard she had pointed out with newfound interest. He looks a little too old to be such a great wizard, I found myself thinking. And that white beard is really, really long. "How old is he?"
"Uh . . . old."
"Great answer," I said between laughs. Sariah rolled her eyes and returned to her eating. Eyeing her, I thought, I think we're gonna be good friends.
~ Remus Lupin ~
"Hey – you all right?"
The question startled me out of the doze I'd fallen into. Sitting up, I looked wildly around before my eyes settled on a girl who was sitting across from me, a concerned expression on her face. Her long nightgown was covered by a small shawl that wrapped around her shoulders, and her long hair fell unbound down her back.
"Yes, just – uh – tired."
Well, it wasn't really a lie. I was tired. More than tired, more like. There had been a full moon the day before school had started, and I had transformed back into a human just in time to pack and get on the train.
The girl's concerned expression didn't go away.
"Why don't you go to bed, then?" she suggested, her voice filled with friendly concern. "You'll get a better sleep there than here."
I smiled. "Point taken. I'm Remus, by the way," I said, offering my hand.
She grasped it at once. "Sariah. Nice name. It has an interesting history behind it. Good night, Remus." Then she let go and made her way up the girls' staircase.
I looked down at my hand. It was still tingling from when she had held it. And the air was still swirling with her delicate, flowery scent.
I shook my head sharply to clear away that scent and chase it away from my memories. My senses were still heightened from the full moon, apparently. Hopefully, though, the heightened abilities would go away soon, like they always had.
I wonder if she would have held my hand so quickly if she knew I was a werewolf, I thought miserably. No doubt if my secret slipped to her, she'd be the first to run.
"What was that about going to bed, Remus?"
Sariah was back, her hands on her hips, and a bossy expression on her face. The light from the fire danced on her slim figure, making her nightgown turn an auburn color.
I pretended to groan. "What, are you preparing to be a prefect?" I asked mulishly, clambering out of the comfortable sofa.
Sariah grinned. "Yep. And you're being a wonderful test subject."
"Great. Now I'm a guinea pig."
Sariah started laughing. "No, I meant you're being stubborn. Perfect situation for me to practice bossing you boys around." She turned around and started up the stairs.
I started to the stairs too.
"Oh, and Remus?"
I turned around. Sariah had stopped on the stairs. The waning moon's light perfectly illuminated her figure, as if she had a faintly glowing corona.
"You wouldn't be a guinea pig, Remus," she said softly. "You'd be a wolf, just like your namesake."
I stared at her as she disappeared. Has she guessed? Does she – Does she know what I am? With these troubling thoughts, I went off to bed, in search of a sleep that probably would never come now.
