The last five years Remus had smiled few times, and laughed even less times. But when he got his letter from Hogwarts, nothing could take always his smile. After a few days the parchment was completely wrinkled because he had opened and re-read it at least twenty times every day.

He had been accepted in Hogwarts! The best wizarding school in the world! He was going to learn, to make friends, to see places!

For the first time in five years he was going to be a normal kid. He would have homework, go out with his friends, get in trouble, he was going to do mischiefs, he was going to study for tests...

It was such a nice relief to finally be considered as just a kid more, a normal one. To be seen for whom he was, and not as a werewolf.

In the Hogwarts envelope, along with the supply list and the acceptance letter there was a letter from Dumbledore himself. In which he said it was a pleasure to invite him to Hogwarts, and that he would like to meet Remus three days before the classes started at ten o'clock in the morning. The last line of the letter was "You prefer chocolate or vanilla cake?"

Remus replied, carefully. Remembering to thank him for accepting him in his school. And of course he didn't forget to mention that his favorite dessert in the whole world was chocolate cake.

A week before September 1st Mr. and Mrs. Lupin took Remus to London for the first time in his life. Remus just couldn't get enough of the city. Though he was born in Oxford he hadn't seen a city since his accident. And London was just so big! The Clock Tower, the London Eye, Piccadilly... Remus fell in love with the city, but his favorite part was for sure the Diagon Alley.

After his accident the Lupin family had abandoned Oxford, they abandoned a lot of things, their house, their memories, their, friends and acquaintances, their jobs, their dream of having a daughter...

Maybe, Remus thought. Now that I will be gone most of the time they will be able to have a daughter. Maybe they will stop sighing sadly when they see a baby girl and they will stop pretending that they wish had gone differently. Maybe they can fulfill their dream now that they won't be scared of me... killing her.

Every night Remus' cheeks hurt from smiling too much during the day. The day before meeting Dumbledore they went to Ollivander's to buy his wand. He was so happy once he had his. He had a wand! Like any other 11 year old boy. He was a wizard; he was part of the community. People in the Diagon Alley smiled at him as he walked through the crowd. They only saw a smiling boy that was going to Hogwarts for the first time. A young woman even approached to congratulate him for getting into Hogwarts when he was buying his robe. He smiled and she asked if he had his wand already. He showed her his wand, proudly.

"That is so great!" The woman said. "Mine is a willow wand too!"

"Really? Mine is 10 ΒΌ in, unicorn hair core and it's slightly yielding." He said beaming at her.

She shook hands with him before leaving him with his newly acquired wand.

For the first time he felt at home, he felt accepted. For the first time he felt like a boy, not like a monster.