Remy walked quietly beside Mad-Eye. The path was dark and it was raining and he could think of a dozen places he'd rather be right now. Mad-Eye kept going at a constant pace, skilfully avoiding the worst of the puddles without even breaking stride.
The turrets of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry swam up out of the darkness. Remy thought it looked more like a castle than a school. They walked up the main path through the gateway. The door was opened, shining a light into the courtyard. Remy could see a tall figure silhouetted in the doorway. Mad-Eye didn't slow his pace. The figure stepped forwards to meet them.
"Good evening, Alastor. Remy. Terrible weather I'm afraid."
"Evening, Albus. Worst of the storm is just about to hit. Should pass in an hour or so."
"Well, come on in. Get dry." They followed Dumbledore inside. "The place is quiet right now. There is a concert in Hogsmeade. Most of the students were eager to go to brighten up their weekend. The majority of the staff thought it was a good idea to accompany them."
"Sorry if we altered your plans, Albus."
Dumbledore waved his hands dismissively. "No, not at all. I'm actually glad of the excuse not to go. The high spot of the evening is a soprano who managed to shatter the glasses of our old Astronomy Professor last year." He shuddered. "I prefer my hearing to remain as intact as possible, thank you."
Mad-Eye had handed the briefcase he was carrying over to Dumbledore, and slipped his travelling cloak off and shook it to get the worst of the rain from it. "Remy …"
Remy was too busy staring around to hear. There were paintings on the walls, but all the characters in them were chattering away to each other. A ghost floated past and tipped his head in greeting.
"Good evening."
Remy watched, open mouthed.
"Remy!"
Remy spun around, wide eyed. "Huh?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Alastor, please tell me the boy has seen ghosts before."
Mad-Eye sighed. "Yes, he has, and moving pictures."
"That ghost. His head is barely attached."
"Ah yes," explained Dumbledore. "That was Nearly Headless Nick."
"Cool!"
Mad-Eye rolled his eyes. "And that's his favourite word."
Dumbledore smiled as Remy shook the rain water from his cloak. "Shall we head to my office?"
He set off down one of the corridors with Mad-Eye beside him, chatting about people Remy had never heard of and places he'd never been. Remy trailed along behind them slowly, still fascinated by the all the new sights.
"Remy!"
Remy looked around and realised he'd fallen well behind. He ran quickly down the corridor and slid to a halt by the two men.
"Cool. These corridors would be great for skateboarding."
"No, Remy." Mad-Eye glared sternly at him. "No skateboarding down the corridors. Or inside here at all. Got that?"
Remy hung his head. "Got it."
Mad-Eye ruffled his hair. "Good. Now keep up."
Remy walked into Dumbledore's office and looked around in wonderment. It wasn't the fact that the room was circular that was amazing him. It was the books. He'd never seen so many books outside of a bookshop before. The walls were lined with them. There were portraits all around the room and a roaring fire was blazing in the fireplace. The large desk to one side had a pile of paperwork on it and various quills, yet it was neat and uncluttered. There was a short flight of steps to a raised area with more books and a globe of the moon, similar to the one Remus had bought him for Christmas, yet bigger, and older too from what Remy could tell. He looked around, trying to take it all in.
"Remy." Mad-Eye sounded a little exasperated.
"He's fine, Alastor. Leave him looking. Tea?"
Remy examined the bookshelves, noting the extremely wide range of topics covered. One of the portraits smiled at him.
"Hello there."
Remy blinked. "Um … hi."
"Welcome to Hogwarts. I haven't seen you before. New student are you?"
"Um, maybe. Dunno."
"Ah, well, this is an excellent school. You'll fit right in."
"Thanks."
The portrait smiled again and resumed his position. Remy carried on his explorations, completely oblivious to the fact that Mad-Eye and Dumbledore were both watching him while they talked.
Suddenly Remy stopped dead in his tracks and looked up the flight of steps. The golden bird on the perch looked back down at him. Remy tilted his head to the right. The bird copied him. Remy looked round excitedly at Mad-Eye and Dumbledore.
"Is that …?"
"A phoenix? Yes, Remy, it is. That's Fawkes, my familiar."
Remy gazed at the phoenix in awe. "I didn't think they really existed. I've read about them in books, but I thought they were extinct."
Dumbledore smiled. "Oh, he's real, Remy. So what have you read about the phoenix?"
Remy tilted his head to the left, thinking. Behind him, Fawkes copied his head tilt. "Well I know it appears in a lot of cultures. It's a mythical bird, a fire spirit, usually colorful with a gold and scarlet tail. Builds itself a nest and ignites it, reducing itself to ashes, and then it's reborn. Never really worked out how that happens, but I guess that's why the Japanese call it the Immortal Bird. Oh, and their feathers are said to be magical, which is why they make good wand cores."
Dumbledore nodded appreciatively. "Well done, Remy. You really have been reading books, haven't you?"
Remy colored slightly and studied the floor.
Mad-Eye chuckled. "Remy only reads if he's really, really bored. Or if he thinks no-one's watching."
Remy pulled a face at Mad-Eye and turned his attention back to the phoenix.
Dumbledore smiled. "Would you like to see him fly?"
Remy spun around, his eyes shining brightly. "Yes please!"
Dumbledore stood up and motioned to Fawkes, who took off with a couple of quick wing flaps. He glided across the room, circling the main area, before dipping and flying past Remy, back to his perch.
"Wow! He's amazing."
"Thank you, Remy. It's not that long since his last Burning Day, and he is looking especially bright at the moment."
Fawkes took off again, this time calling in a rich, mellow tone. He circled Remy's head. Remy tilted his head back and whistled in return, before holding his arm straight out. Much to Dumbledore's amazement, Fawkes landed on Remy's arm and slowly walked up towards his shoulder. Remy gently stroked Fawkes neck.
"You're beautiful, fella. You really are."
Fawkes tilted his head back and squawked. Remy grinned and tickled him under the chin. Fawkes reached round and plucked a medium length golden red feather from his back and offered it to Remy.
"Thanks, fella."
Remy stuck the feather behind his ear as Fawkes flew back to his perch. He beamed at a non-plussed Dumbledore.
"He's brilliant."
"I've never seen him act like that with a complete stranger before."
"Remy has a way with animals," offered Mad-Eye, with a grin.
"So I see."
Remy grinned sheepishly and sat down on the chair Mad-Eye pointed to.
"So how old are you now, Remy? Thirteen by my reckoning." asked Dumbledore.
"Yeah. Thirteen."
"Alastor tells me you have a flair for the Dark Arts?"
Remy shrugged. "S'pose so. Dunno."
Mad-Eye frowned. "He's a quick learner, when he wants to be. And a pain in the arse when he wants to be too."
Remy just grinned.
"I seem to remember you telling me once that you weren't keen on the idea of school."
"I'm no good at school stuff. Never have been. Too boring. Rather be skateboarding."
"Hmm. Well, that remains to be seen. This isn't your average Muggle school."
"Uh huh." Remy looked unconvinced.
"So, at thirteen, that makes you a third year, although with no educational background to speak of, no offence, Alastor, I think we should keep a close eye on your progress. You may need extra classes to catch up."
Remy still looked unconvinced.
Mad-Eye reached over and ruffled his hair. "We've talked about this, Junior. I have to go away for a while for work, and this time you can't come with me. I need to know you're in a safe place. If you really can't settle, we'll rethink it when I get back."
Remy sighed. "Yeah, I know."
Dumbledore shuffled some papers on his desk. "So, as a third year, you get to chose some of the subjects you take. Any preferences?"
Remy shrugged. "Dunno. What's the choice?"
Dumbledore peered at his papers. "Well, Care of Magical Creatures seems like it may be a good choice for you."
Remy nodded a little more enthusiastically. "Fine by me."
"Very well, you just need one more. We have Arithmancy, Divination, Muggle Studies, or Study of Ancient Runes."
Remy frowned. "Arithmancy … is that like maths?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, Remy, it's the magical equivalent I suppose. Arithmancy is the branch of magic that deals with numbers, exploring their magical properties."
Remy shuddered and shook his head. "Definitely nothing to do with maths. I'm useless at maths. Oh, and Divination is bogus. Not going there either."
Dumbledore smiled and drew a neat line through those choices.
"Ancient Ruins? Like studying old buildings?"
Dumbledore laughed. "Not ruins, runes. It's a mostly theoretical subject that studies the ancient runic scripts of magic."
Remy frowned. "Sounds like a lot of reading and not much else."
Dumbledore drew another line. "Muggle Studies it is then. You could always add Muggle Art or Muggle Music to that if it sounds a little too boring for you."
Remy shook his head. "Nah, it'll be fine as it is thanks, Professor."
"You like music," mused Mad-Eye. "Always listening to his music."
Remy frowned. "I like listening to it, not learning about it."
"Can you sing?" asked Dumbledore. "The choir are always looking for new members."
"Nope. Definitely not." Remy's face was set in a determined fashion. "I don't sing."
"You play the guitar," offered Mad-Eye, earning himself a baleful glare from Remy.
"Not to an audience I don't."
Dumbledore smiled. "Well you can always elect to take those classes later if you wish. They're extra curricular anyway. Can you fly?"
"You mean on a broomstick?"
Dumbledore nodded patiently. "Yes, Remy, on a broomstick."
"Yeah. I s'pose."
Mad-Eye rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I swear, Remy, sometimes you try my patience so far past the point of breaking … Yes, Albus, he can fly. He's not too bad at it either."
Remy shrugged and stared at the floor.
Dumbledore suppressed a smile. "Well I think we'll pencil you in for flying classes anyway. Just to make sure." He made a few more notes. "So, the morphing. Is that under control now?"
Remy shrugged and kept staring at the floor.
Mad-Eye chuckled. "Mainly under control, yes, Albus. There are times when he doesn't mean to transform, but they're getting rarer. If he's too tired, then he has problems changing back, but usually if he goes to sleep as the wolf, he can wake up as himself. As long as he can morph if he feels the need to, he should be fine."
Dumbledore nodded and smiled. "I'll bear that in mind. However, I believe it would probably be in Remy's best interests if he did not advertise the fact that he's an Animorph. There are some students here whose parents may take the view that a wolf in the school could be dangerous, and I feel it would be best for all concerned if as few people knew about this as possible." He looked questioningly at Remy.
Remy met his eye, thinking about that. It probably would be better if he wasn't considered to be the local freak show before he'd even started. He nodded. "Fine by me."
"Well, I think that's all I need to know for now. We'll take good care of him, Alastor. I'm assuming if we do have a problem, contacting you will be impossible?"
Mad-Eye nodded. "Aye. At least for a few weeks anyway. I'll send word when I'm back. If you do have a problem, there are a few at the Ministry who can help. Fitz would be a good start. Or Remus, although he's currently out of contact too."
"And I assume from the lack of luggage that Remy does not have a uniform, or any of the books or equipment he'll be needing."
Mad-Eye shook his head, somewhat sheepishly. "Things moved too fast. He has the backpack, and that's it. He probably has some of the books at home, but I didn't have time to go get them. Remus can probably send them on when he gets back. And Fitz could possibly sort out a uniform. I'll send him a message."
"I'd appreciate that, Alastor. In the meantime, I'm sure Remy can find the books he needs in the library."
Mad-Eye stood up. "So that's sorted then. I'll leave that with you." He nodded to the briefcase beside Dumbledore's desk.
"I'll take good care of it." He looked at Remy as he spoke, and Remy wondered whether Dumbledore was referring to him or the briefcase.
"Any objection to my using your floo to get on my way?"
Dumbledore waved his hands. "None at all, old friend."
Remy sighed quietly. This was the part he'd been dreading.
"Ok, Junior. Time for me to go. Now you remember what we talked about. Just try your best, and try to stay out of too much trouble. Ok?"
Remy nodded. "I'll try."
"Good boy. Come here." Mad-Eye hugged Remy to him tightly and whispered in his ear. "I'll be back before you know it."
Remy hugged him back tightly and managed a grin as he whispered back. "Give 'em hell."