Summary: The Sorting of Remus John Lupin.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other characters. They all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Remus Lupin stepped forward when his name was called, feeling downright scared but when the hat was placed on his head, he had already doomed himself to join the Slytherin house. There was just no other place for him with his condition.
"Hello, Remus Lupin. Let's see, which house shall I place you?" Remus closed his eyes, ready for the blow but it never came. "Hmm, plenty of intelligence, I see. You have a strong desire to learn as much as possible, to come top of the class. Oh, I see why – a werewolf, eh? Well, well, well . . ."
Please just get this over with thought Remus. There was no point in waiting when he already knew what his house was.
"Not so fast, not so fast. Yes, indeed, you would do well in Slytherin naturally, being what you are. However, I'm not sure if that is the best place for you." The hat went deep into the mind of Remus Lupin, determined to find out what was bothering it about this person.
But I'm a dark creature – a werewolf. Doesn't that automatically make me a Slytherin?
"Not necessarily," replied the hat. "There has not been a werewolf here at Hogwarts before, or at least not while I have been sorting students. You would do well in Slytherin because you are cunning, have a strong ambition to do something with your life and a determination to make it through Hogwarts. You also are incredibly resourceful and you look out for yourself. These are the traits that make up a Slytherin."
Thinking about it, Remus could see what he meant. Knowing that things wouldn't look good job-wise in the future, Remus was looking to do as best he could with what little he had – academics. He was also very conservative with other people so as not to give away the wolf in him and he was determined not to let people find out he was a werewolf.
So I should be in Slytherin!
Remus could almost feel the hat sigh.
"You have a vast intelligence to go with the ambition and determination and you have a great wit and sense of humour. You enjoy learning things and using that knowledge to your advantage in debates and arguments even."
Remus was surprised. He hadn't really thought about Ravenclaw. That wouldn't be a bad house to be in.
"Of course not. But there's more." Remus was beyond shocked now. He could be in another house?
"You are very loyal to those you meet and keep your promises to the best of your ability. You are very hardworking to get where you want to go in anything you do and you try to be just and fair to everyone. I believe that is from experience of not being treated fairly because of what you are?"
Erm, I guess so.
The Sorting Hat continued, "Hufflepuff would also suit you then. But I don't think that's right either." The hat trailed off again, thinking. Remus was feeling more than nervous. As long as he could remember, he had always wanted to be in Gryffindor – it was by far the best sounding house to him (Ravenclaw would be nice too, but, but, Gryffindor?!). He had never thought he might fit in that house.
"Yes, yes. I believe that's right. You would do exceptionally well in Gryffindor. You are very brave – I can see that just because you came here. You are chivalrous and would not let down others in their time of need. You are strong and will do anything for those you care about, and more remarkably, those you don't."
Excitement was building up inside Remus as he listened to the hat. Was he really all those qualities? Was he really good enough to be placed in Gryffindor?
The hat chortled in his ear. "Good luck, Mr Lupin, in GRYFFINDOR!"
Smiling, Remus Lupin went to join his fellow first years at the Gryffindor table, believing for perhaps the first time that these seven years would be the best years of his life – and he was right.
