CHAPTER ONE:
Remus Lupin
Being a werewolf, Remus had been told and understood that he wouldn't live the same lives as other children his age, so he was more than surprised than most children when he found out that he was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Being a late sleeper, Remus wasn't even awake when the letter was owled.
It was about 11am when Remus had finally gotten out of bed and gone downstairs in his pyjamas to find his parents quarreling in the kitchen.
"Don't you want the best for your son?" he heard his mum, Anne, shout.
"Of course I do! But I don't want any of his classmates hurt, if he bites somebody you'll know he'll hold it against himself forever!" his dad, John, retorted.
"Remus!" Anne smiled sweetly suddenly when she saw her son standing in the doorway.
"Morning," Remus mumbled, taking a seat at the wooden table next to John.
"Hey, son," said John, casually, as if he hadn't noticed that Remus had just partly overheard their conversation about him.
"Hey," yawned Remus.
"Do you want any breakfast?" Anne fussed over her son.
"No, thanks, I can manage,"
"Oh, well, if you want anything, anything at all, just ask, alright?"
"I'm pretty sure he can manage," John interrupted.
Anne gave a sad smile.
"Remus," John continued. "How about you go over Michael's for a little while? You haven't been seeing him much lately, I reckon it'd do you good to see one of your friends."
"Um, yeah, sure…" Remus nodded, mornings weren't his best time of day. After properly waking up and getting ready, Remus made his way over to Michael's house.
Michael was a family friend's son, he was Remus' age and was a wizard just like him, and had quite long dark brown hair and grey eyes, unlike Remus' thin light brown hair and dark brown eyes. Remus had known him since forever, he was definitely Remus' best friend, but Remus hadn't known that many children his own age so it didn't count as much.
"Remus!" Michael jumped excitedly when he saw Remus at his door.
"Hello," Remus began, before being dragged into Michael's house by Michael himself.
"Guess what?" beamed Michael.
"Uh, wh-" Remus began before being interrupted.
"I got my Hogwarts letter! I'm going to Hogwarts!"
Remus' mouth was a perfect 'o' and just stared at Michael.
"I… wow," Remus managed to say.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Michael asked, frowning slightly.
"No, I-" began Remus, once again, before being interrupted- again.
"You didn't get your letter?" Michael's face fell.
"No, I didn't," said Remus, sadly. It wasn't as if he didn't expect not to get accepted, his dad had warned him that, as there'll be a lot of students at Hogwarts and so it wouldn't be safe, but nonetheless, Remus hadn't thought that Michael would be going to Hogwarts without him…
"Aw, well that sucks…" Michael muttered, not making eye contact with Remus.
"Yeah, well, you'll make other friends. You'll be a great wizard." Shrugged Remus. He tried to not let his disappointment show for Michael's sake, but inside he was deeply upset.
Michael looked up at Remus. "I'm really going to miss you," he sighed.
"We've still got the rest of the summer," Remus smiled.
"I guess… are you sure you didn't get your letter?"
Remus thought for a moment. "I might have,"
"What do you mean you 'might have'?"
"My mum and dad were talking earlier when I got up," Remus explained. "My mum was saying something like 'Don't you want Remus to be happy?' and my dad said something along the lines of 'Of course I do, but I don't want him to hurt anybody'. Maybe they were talking about Hogwarts. But, I mean, even if I did get accepted, my dad wouldn't want me to go, he'd think I was too dangerous."
"Screw your dad," Michael said, suddenly a lot happier. "If you got your letter then maybe the headmaster doesn't mind your, er, condition,"
"Maybe he doesn't know about my condition." Remus corrected.
"You're kidding me, right? We're talking about Dumbledore, he knows everything!"
Remus shrugged again. "I guess only time can tell. Do you want to go to the park or something?"
"Yeah, alright."
Still in the kitchen, John and Anne Lupin were still arguing about their only child.
"Anne, do you understand what would happen if he bit one of the other students?" said John, irritated.
"Of course I do!" Anne retorted. "But I also want the best for my son! Just because he's a werewolf does not mean that he should be treated differently! You just seem like another person from the Ministry!"
"Well, I am a person from the Ministry, do you know what would happen if he hurt another child? I'd get sacked, Anne!"
"John! Is that all you care about?" Anne said, close to tears now. "Your job? Doesn't your family count for any more?"
John was breathing heavily and looking at his wife. "Anne…" he started slowly. "If he goes to Hogwarts, he will bite another student. If the other children know he's a werewolf, he'll be bullied."
"But what if they don't know? We should at least invite the headmaster round to discuss it," Anne suggested.
John studied his wife hesitantly, then slowly nodded. "Very well, then. We'll invite Professor Dumbledore over and discuss it with him then."
Anne smiled and hugged her husband, still crying slightly. "But John, should we tell Remus?" she said quietly, pulling away.
"No," said John, quickly. "We'd better not get his hopes up or anything, it might not happen and I don't want to be the one to tell him it isn't."
After Anne had sent a letter requesting the headmaster's visit, she'd spent practically the whole day tidying up. She'd asked Michael's parents to let Remus stay over for tea, so it would just be John, Anne and Professor Dumbledore.
At 5pm, the Professor arrived.
"Ah, Headmaster!" said John, seeing the professor at the door. "Please, do come in."
"Please, you aren't my student anymore, John. Just call me Albus," he smiled.
"Of course, er, Albus." Said John, politely.
"Oh!" came a voice from the kitchen doorway. "Professor!"
"Anne, my, you've grown. Just call me Albus, please."
"Take a seat, Albus," said John, leading him into the living room. After everybody was properly sat, John began the conversation. "So, we invited you here to talk about Remus', um, condition."
"Yes, I presumed so," replied Dumbledore.
"So you know about it then?" John frowned.
"Of course," Dumbledore replied, calmly.
"And how do you plan to handle it?" said John, intently.
"John, have you ever heard of a Whomping Willow tree?"
"No, Herbology was never my strong subject…"
"Well, it's a plant that sheilds an area within the perimeter, in this case, the place that your son will go every full moon. The tree will block entry to any other student who is foolish enough to go near it in the first place, as the tree will, er, shall we say 'push' the student out of the way before they get too far."
"So Remus really is allowed to go to Hogwarts then?"
"Yes,"
"And you'll treat him like any other student?"
"Yes,"
"Will the other students know about him, then?" Anne quickly said.
"No, we'll try and keep it a secret. If Remus feels he can tell anybody he well and truly trusts, then they'll be the only ones to know; but I suggest you talk to him about who he tells, if he tells the wrong person then it will not be guaranteed that nobody else will know."
"Well Remus is a very careful person,"
"Well that's settled then." Dumbledore beamed. "Every full moon, our matron, Madam Pomfrey, will escort him to and from a shack, where Remus will transform. The day after, he'll miss out on schoolwork and classes, and will recover in the hospital wing."
"Thank you so much!" Anne said, crying tears of joy. "I never expected him to get enrolled, he'll be so happy!"
Dumbledore simply smiled before getting up and saying, "Anyway, it nearly being the beginning of the new School Year, I'm quite busy so I must get going. Good Evening,"
"We're so grateful, thank you so much, professor, you won't regret it, I promise," John shook his hand.
"I'm sure I won't." replied Dumbledore before leaving.