Disclaimer : All rights reserved to J. for creating the amazing world of Harry Potter.

A/N: I've become attached to the character of Remus Lupin ever since I read Deathly Hallows, and noticed how under-developped the Marauder plot-line is exploited. Seeing as it is my favourite timeline in the Harry Potter universe, I've decided to write a story on Remus' life at Hogwarts, with interesting plot twists and conflicts between him and his friends. This will not be a typical love story.

Please review, follow and favourite, and help me make the story better!

-S.


30th of August, 1975

Staring at the tiny, red badge was no other than 15-year-old Remus Lupin, feeling confused and utterly excited at the same time. He would have never imagined himself as a Prefect. Albeit, he was top of his class, but his mischief and troublemaker reputation kept him for maintaining a clean record, and everyone knows Prefects are supposed to be perfect know-it-alls, preferably disciplined and stern. Examining the contents of the package his Prefect badge came in, Remus found a letter from no other than the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

Dear Remus,

I have chosen you as Prefect for an infinite number of reasons, although I am sure you will doubt each and every one of my words, seeing as you are a bright, humble, and unfortunately unaware-of-his-extraordinary-endowments young man. Alas, I will not enlarge much more on this subject, and I will proceed to request that you keep an eye on your beloved, yet mischievious friends, namely Mr. James Potter and Mr. Sirius Black. And remember this, my dear Remus: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.

Yours faithfully,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,

Headmaster of Hogwarts Scholl of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Post scriptum: I hope you will find your way to the Prefect's compartment 30 minutes before the train's departure.

"So that's why Dumbledore chose me as Prefect," Remus thought to himself as he was neatly packing his Oxford shirts and v-neck sweaters into his trunk. "Whatever his reasons, I certainly doubt that James and Sirius will ever listen to me, even if I am a Prefect and thus can get them into serious trouble,"

Remus put the letter away, and attached his badge to his well-kept Gryffindor tie, so that it would be hard to misplace. His trunk sat on his small, simple bed, inside his small, simple room, an idealy-designed chamber for a young man, having all his necessities in his proximity : books, a desk, a wardrobe, a bed, and of course, more books. Despite the fact that his family was not poor, his room, and his house as well, was a small, functional dwelling, unlike other wizards' home, vibrating with oppulence. This may be due to Mr. Lupin's modest nature, but Remus could not consider taking into consideration their constant moving as a contributing factor.

When his black, common Griffyndor robes reached his hands, he could not resist the urge to put them on, remembering all the laughs and good times he had had in them at school, and ecstatic over the prospect of a new year and new adventures awaiting. As he placed his last pair of black jeans into his trunk, along with several other abnormally elegant and mature clothes for his age, the door creaked and a frail, blonde woman entered the room with a cup-full of pitch black tea.

"Remus, honey, I've made you tea. I know how it soothes you in the afternoon," his mother said gently while she placed her hand on Remus' bony shoulder, "My, honey, you've grown too tall for your robes! Good thing you tried them on today, 've still got time to buy some new ones. I'll tell your Father when he gets back from the Ministry,"

Remus and his mother were looking fixedly into the large mirror placed on Remus' dresser. He was at least 6 feet, which could be considered quite a lot for a boy of fifteen. Sadly, he could barely sustain all this height with his slender frame and scrawny body. His remarkable hazel eyes, filled with sadness and self-loathe, analyzed his skinny self and wished he could be more like his friends, James and Sirius, who had quite normal, if not muscular physiques. His sand-coloured hair was messy and tangled, which obviously annoyed his mother as she was trying to smoothen it out.

"I swear, hon, you should take better care of your hair, you are not a small boy anymore. How would you expect girls to like you if you don't make the slightest effort?"

Remus was staring at the ground silently. He had never thought of girls, not because he didn't like them or something or sorts. It was just too much for him to handle, especially considering what he was . He was incapable of comprehending how a girl would possibly like him, Remus Lupin, considering.

"It's ok, Mum, I'll sort it out," he smiled feebly, "Oh, speaking of girls, I think they will go bonkers after seeing this attached to my new robes," Remus spoke ironically, and then took his shiny Prefect badge and handed over to his Mother.

She stared at his at first, trying to figure out its meaning, mostly because she had never gone to Hogwarts, being a Muggle. Then, she let out a gasp, "Remus! You're one of those Perfect boys, aren't you honey?"

Remus chuckled, "Prefect, Mum. And yes, I've just received an owl with a letter from Professor Dumbledore, and the badge came with it," he smiled genuinely.

His mother hugged him lovingly, "Oh, honey, I am so proud of you! Wait 'till your Father hears this, he'll be over the moon!"

Remus gave his Mother a suggestive look after her comment, and went on to saying, "I thought James was going to be Prefect, but I don't mind having a little more authority over those two! Maybe this way I'll be able to make them listen to me before they end up blowing up the school, or dying all the Slytherins' hair green!"

His mother brushed his hair, "You will be amazing at it, I am absolutely positive. And I bet James and Sirius will be proud of you, too. Oh, by the way. Do you know who will be your partner?"
"You mean the other Gryffindor prefect?" Remus responded startedly at the question. To think of it, it didn't even cross his mind. Could it be her... ? No, it couldn't be, she's to nice to be given such a position, she wouldn't have the necessary authority over notorious troublemakers and even worse, evil Dark Lord minions. "Well, could be Molly Prewett," Remus spoke evasevely, "She's not exactly the best in our class, but she is very austere, and she screams. A lot,"

His mother laughed, "What about that girl you've been talking about since you started school? The one who's as good as you are?"

Remus widened his eyes, "Lily? Lily Evans?"

Lily Evans was, undoubtedfully, the single most extraordinary person in that entire bloody school. She was, as his mother said, an excedingly bright witch, with an remarkable aptitude for Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration, and almost every subject you could imagine. She was taking so many classes, you could barely see her in the Common Room or anywhere outside classrooms and the Library. But most importantly, she had a rare kindness inside of her heart, which made everything about her even more beautiful. She did not judge, did not harm and did not offend anyone. Even more, she was always helping those in need and stood up for the defenseless. He admired her so, and throughtout their years at Hogwarts, Remus had put Lily on a sort of pedestal, looking up to her in everything he did. For him she could no fail, she was flawless.

Remus focused once more on the conversation, "Umm, yes, well… She is perfect, no doubt, and top of our class to add… But I don't know, Mom, she is so gentle, I doubt she would be able to shout or punish anyone if it comes to it."

His mother giggled, "Remus, you might wear only grown-up clothes, and be the brightest wizard of your class, but you still have a lot of growing up to do. Girls can be more scary than you think, regardless of their sweet appearence,"

The young man blushed, "I did not say she was angelic or anything or sort, or ravishingly beautiful... Although she is you know! Angelic and ravishingly beautiful… But you know what I mean, Mum, I think she's too good a person to be a watchdog for all the people lurking in our school. Some of them are extremely dark and twisted,"

"Then that would make two of you. Two people who are too good, too gentle. Although I doubt the Headmaster would put you in any kind of danger or uncomfortable position, it's something to be proud of. Well, enough with this blabber, honey, we shall see the day after tomorrow who your partner will be, but I'm betting on Miss Evans," she smiled kindly.

A slight noise was coming from downstairs, and the two could hear someone climbing the stairs slowly, right up to Remus' room. The door opened again, this time with a male figure behind it.

"Father,"

Lyall Lupin was a middle-aged man, but his troubles and worries had aged his appearence, lossing almost all of his hair colour and vigour. He had a kind nature to him, althought he could lose his temper once in a while, he would never raise his voice at his son or wife. He removed his coat and kissed his wife's cheek, "Hello, darling. Remus, I see you've already started packing,"

"Yes, I'm almost done,"

"Lyall," his wife spoke, "Please take Remus tomorrow to Diagon Alley. He needs new robes, school books and I think you should buy him a present, considering,"

"Considering?" His father looked around the room and saw the letter, "Aah, I see you've received your letter, son,"

Remus nodded, "Yes, that and…" But his father cut him off with a warm hug, after reading the letter and finding out the news, "Congratulations, Remus! I cannot express properly how proud I am of you. Taking into account your condition, and everything, really, your intelligence and extraordinary nature did not fail to shine," his father smiled kindly.

"Father, I think it's a bit of an overstatement," Remus smiled modestly.

"Oh, hogwash! You deserve it, and don't you think otherwise. To think, I did not want you to go to school four years ago, I am so sorry for that, Remus," his father looked away.

"It's okay, Father, I know you're only looking after me. I told you at the start of this summer, too, I don't mind. I didn't mind moving to Surrey this summer, either, it was a pleasant experience," Remus lied.

"You don't mind anything, that's your problem. You should get angry once in a while, you know, it would be good for your health," his mother suggested.

"Hope, I think Remus is good the way he is," his father laughed, "Thought he might be better off adding a couple pounds here and there, have you been eating properly?"

"Well," Remus confessed, "I've been negligent of that lately, and I'm quite missing my chocolate,"

"Then it's settled. Tommorrow, 8 o'clock, we get up, have breakfast, and then Apparate to Diagon Alley and buy everything you need for school, and of course, a lot of chocolate! All kinds of chocolate, if you may, and maybe new dress robes. I've overhead someone talking at the office 'bout a Halloween Ball at Hogwarts."

Remus's eyes glittered, "Thank you, Father! I shall wake up by 7 then," he said as his father and mother were leaving the room, "We'll have a long day ahead of us."

"Of course, son," his father smiled kindly as he close the door.

Remus threw himself on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking of his new year at Hogwarts. He looked out of the window beside his bed, and looked over the peaceful Muggle neighbourhood they have been living in for this summer. Since he was five, they had been moving frequently, due to his condition. He was suprised to find his father choosing Surrey as their next destination, seeing as it was packed with Muggles and be endagered by having someone like Remus around. He missed his friends dearly: James, the star of their year, a tall, handsome, athletic and exceptionally bright wizard, Sirius, a mischievious, kind-hearted, loyal friend, and the bravest man he knew, and even Peter, the plump short friend that chased James and Sirius around as if he was their pet. Remus longed for the nights they had in their bedroom, chatting the night away, talking about the latest Quidditch match, what their next prank will be, and of course, Lilly Evans (which seemed to be the only subject James payed attention to). But most of all, he needed the support he had from the three when he … transformed. He had become dependant on James and Sirius to keep him company and support him when he was becoming what he dreaded the most. He seemed lost without them, and his last transformation didn't go too well because of that (Remus was gently running his fingers over the new scars on his face, looking as gruesome as an Azkaban prisoner).

Finally, with his head full of thoughts, fears, and desires, he close his eyes, pulled his covers, and fell into a peaceful, quiet sleep, awaiting restlessly his day in Diagon Alley.