Hi, Raven here. This is the start of a Marauders fanfic. I'll admit that it's mostly about Remus and Sirius (sorry, but they're my favourite)! I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: No characters in this belong to me. All belong to J.K. Rowling.
"Would you like to come to Hogwarts, Remus?"
How had this happened? His parents had always told him that, although it was his dream, he would never be able to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before that dreadful day seven years ago, his father - Lyall Lupin - had told him everything about the school. How he'd get his very own wand, get sorted by the sorting hat, make new friends. Remus had been so excited.
After the accident, however, they had had to tell him the bad news: he now had an illness that affected him every month. He couldn't be around people during that time, as it was too dangerous for them. This illness was called lycanthropy. Also known as being a werewolf...
When the man had arrived at the door to their cottage, Hope and Lyall had looked confused. They hardly ever had visitors and nobody knew about their son's condition. He had knocked on the door, and when nobody had answered, he'd knocked again. Hope glanced at her husband, who nodded, and she went to answer their door.
"Good evening, Mrs Lupin," the man had said. He had a long white beard and wore a pair of black wizard robes. He was old. Very old.
Mrs Lupin gasped audibly but didn't stand aside for the man to come in.
"Who is it?" called Lyall from the kitchen. Remus had been in there with him. They had been eating dinner at the table whilst Lyall read The Daily Prophet out to the others and Remus told his mother about his new favourite book: Treasure Island. When Hope didn't answer him, Lyall stood up from the table, hardly looking at his son, and strode out of the room into the hallway.
"Ah, nice to see you again, Mr Lupin," said the old, bearded man. "How are you?"
He never got a reply to his question as Lyall had gone as quiet as his wife. After a long pause, he eventually managed to stutter, "Well, thank you."
"Good, good," the man at the door had said. He cheerfully added, "May I come in?"
Hope and Lyall nodded and stepped out of the way of the doorway. He followed them into the living room and sat down on a fairly comfy sofa. The other two sat, but they looked much more awkward.
"Is Master Lupin in?" asked the old man, turning his head as if expecting Remus to be hidden behind the door.
"Yes, yes he is," said Hope, startled out of her wonder. She stood up and hurried out of the room. She came back in, just ten seconds later, holding her son by the hand.
Remus looked at the man nervously. He looked familiar, but he couldn't think where from. He wasn't a relative or a friend. Mind you, he'd never had a friend before, so who knew? Even so, he was cautious and sat on the floor, in the corner, facing the man at all times. His back was against the wall and his knees were scrunched up into his chest, watching the old wizard over the tops.
"Do you mind if Remus and I have a little chat?" the man asked Remus' parents, who then stood up obligingly, and left the room, smiling at their son. Lyall even put his thumbs up as he grinned. They closed the door behind them. "Hello, Remus," said the old man. He sounded kind like he was trying to comfort the nervous little boy sat in the corner of the room.
"Who are you?" asked Remus quietly, not moving from his position in the corner.
"My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore," said the man, smiling, never taking his eyes off Remus. "I'm the headmaster at Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts?!" said Remus, creeping out of the corner. He was curious now. He could remember most of his father's stories off by heart now and he always used to ask to hear them again.
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "It's a school for magical children. Like you."
"Me?" said Remus.
"Yes. So, would you like to come to Hogwarts?"
"Pardon?" said Remus. For a moment, he thought he had misheard. Why would he be asked to go to Hogwarts? Did Dumbledore not know?
"Would you like to come to Hogwarts, Remus?" he asked again, patiently.
"I'd love to, but... but I can't."
"And why would that be?" asked Dumbledore.
There was a long pause. Remus didn't say anything. His parents had warned him a lot that he shouldn't tell anybody about his condition. They had moved houses a lot and Remus wasn't allowed outside with other children. He'd never been to a proper school. Everything was too dangerous. All his life, he'd wanted to be normal. Maybe, this was his chance. But, could he trust this man? Would he tell anyone?
He looked up at him from the living room floor, into his bright blue, glistening eyes, behind his half-moon spectacles. The man was smiling, but looks can be deceiving.
"Are you any good at Gobstones?" asked Dumbledore, smiling again.
Remus nodded eagerly. He stood up and opened the wooden chest at the side of the room. It was full of board games - mostly muggle games, like Monopoly. There were, however, some wizarding games too. These had been used a lot more. There was a pack of Exploding Snap cards, Wizards' Chess and, of course, Gobstones. Remus picked up the last box and sat back down on the floor, a bit nearer to Dumbledore this time, who shuffled off the sofa and joined him.
Remus won all three of their first games. They were halfway through their next round when Dumbledore asked him again, "So, would you like to come to Hogwarts, Remus?"
The boy rolled his next stone before answering. "Can I really go?"
"Of course," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as he smiled. "Why shouldn't you be allowed?"
"Because... because... Sir, maybe it isn't a good idea... I have... I'm different..." said Remus hesitantly. He didn't know what to tell the man in front of him. Would he be scared or angry when he found out the truth?
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked patiently and kindly.
"I'm a... a monster."
Dumbledore looked mock panicked and spun around. "A monster? Where? I don't see any monster!?"
"No, sir! I'm the monster. I'm a werewolf," he said the last sentence quietly and looked at the floor. He could feel tears in his eyes, but he didn't want the headmaster to see. He had to show he was stronger than he looked.
"Oh, I see," said Dumbledore, calm again. "Let me tell you something. Right now, all I can see is Remus Lupin: a clever, young wizard who cannot wait to prove his worth. So, Remus, I'll ask you again, would you like to come to Hogwarts?"
Remus looked up at the man, beaming. "Yes! Thank you, thank you!" He was grinning from ear to ear, which made Dumbledore beam too. After a moment's pause, Remus spoke again, quieter and more nervous this time, "What about my...?"
"Transformations?" said Dumbledore. "Let's invite your parents back in, first."
The headmaster explained the situation to Remus and his parents. He had planted a Whomping Willow - a big, looming willow tree. It was designed to attack anyone who came near it and only Remus and the teachers would know how to get past the defence. There was then a long tunnel under the tree that led to an old house in Hogsmeade, where he could transform safely. Dumbledore had also spread a rumour that the house was haunted so that no one would be suspicious of hearing any noises like howling. Dumbledore answered any questions the Lupins had, then left, saying he would see Remus in September with all the other first years.
Lyall put his right arm lovingly around his wife. They were smiling down at their beloved son, who was grinning excitedly up at them.
"Now all we need to do is take you to Diagon Alley!" said his dad.
Okay, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm going to aim to write a chapter a day, but that may vary cause of exams and school etc. I'll update as regularly as I can. Let me know what ships you'd like me to include (I only will if I ship them too). Also, let me know how far you want me to write. I could write up to when Remus meets Harry or up to they're all dead. Anyway, I really love this era, thanks for reading.
Raven xx
