A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes.

~Mark Twain

Chapter One

An Unexpected Visitor

It was almost completely silent expect for the quiet ticking of the clock that hung above his warm and beaten desk. His room was almost pitch black, only lit by a streetlight from outside. Counting the ticks, he could tell it was well past midnight. It was now later than he'd ever stayed up and officially his eleventh birthday. This would be the year that would define his life from that point forward.

This would be the day, his birthday, that he would receive his Hogwarts letter and embark on his journey into the wizarding world; or he wouldn't receive the letter and finally and officially be shut out of the magical world forever. There was a lot of pressure, granted it was mostly self-imposed, put on the next few hours. As a result, Remus Lupin lay completely and utterly awake in his small bed.

Getting into Hogwarts would mean, on some level, acceptance of every part of his being, even those less savoury parts. It would mean friends and peers to surround him for the first time. It would mean everything.

Images of running through halls at Hogwarts and staying up late doing schoolwork in the common room, relayed to him from his parents, filled his head. Each new joy filled moment created in his mind featured Remus surrounded by groups of his friends. They were extremely comforting and, despite their limited possibility of coming true, Remus still fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next morning, Remus awoke from his peaceful and even joy filled dreams. The sun filtered through his window and warmed the floor of his room. Cheerful songbirds chirped and sang from outside his house. Even the sounds of children playing and enjoying the early spring morning air made it up to where he lay. Overall, the day seemed to predict happiness and good times. Remus, though not particularly a fan or believer in the arts surrounding divination, hoped it was an omen for what would be awaiting him downstairs.

At least he hadn't awoken to a dark and brooding storm. That would definitely be a bad sign.

Hoping to find more information on whether or not he had received a letter, Remus strained his ears. He was attempting to discern sounds of an owl in flight from the other bird sounds. However, all he could hear were melodic chirps and a mash of bird wings. There were no distinct owl sounds.

Despite the unlikelihood of him actually being successful in searching out a nearby owl, his failure still caused a pit to form in his stomach. What if he couldn't hear an owl because there wasn't one in the vicinity? No owl meant no letter. No letter meant no acceptance to Hogwarts. No Hogwarts meant he would never become a full-fledged wizard and would be relegated to the status akin to, or even below, that of a squib.

Terrified by the prospect of having no future past his current existence, Remus decided to put off his discovery. Instead of getting out of bed, dressing, brushing his teeth, and heading down to breakfast as would be the norm for him, he continued to lie in bed. He picked up his most current novel, about a young boy solving mysteries and over-coming immense odds. The fact that someone so similar to himself could battle against such difficulties as a skilled Legimens trying to figure out the numerous secrets the young boy held and successfully keeping the older wizard out, gave Remus great hope for his own battles.

He quickly lost himself in the exploits of this young and talented wizard. For the briefest of moments, he didn't have to worry about his problem ruining and ending his life and potential. He didn't have to stress about what his future would be like, even if he got into Hogwarts. He could just focus on the wizard in his books and his always resolved problems. In books, life could be just as complex and messy as it was in real life, but it was usually resolved in a nice, neat bow by the end.

This was of great comfort for a young boy with such uncertainty over major life decisions and events.

Spending hours on end in his room quietly reading was not uncharacteristic for Remus. Ever since his fourth birthday he'd lived a fairly solitary life. As a result, his parents left him alone and allowed him to be with his books. The fact was the main reason why, when his mother burst into his room, he'd assumed something terrible, like a death or disfiguring accident, had occurred.

"Remus, darling!" she exclaimed, shaking as she stood in his doorway. His mother, Hope, was a fairly petite woman, in both height and general build. She had a heart shaped face, with a warm smile and stunning green eyes. Her eyes at that moment seemed to be darting around the room, not able to rest in one place. Her hair, a shimmering dark blonde, was currently whisked up into a messy do, most likely a result of her doing housework only moment before. She wore a simple frock that was well worn, even tattered and ripped in some places and patched together as best as Hope could. Despite the slightly shabby state of her clothing, Hope Lupin still seemed to exude a presence and beauty.

Remus dropped his book and quickly stood. He began moving towards his mother, planning to offer her comfort as she relayed her horrible news. "A most amazing this has happened!" Hope continued, moving in to her son's small room.

Remus froze at her very unexpected words. He had begun preparing himself for bad news. The word amazing was most unanticipated. Amazing meant good, wonderful, miraculous. It was not a word usually used in relation to Remus.

"What do you mean?" Remus managed to force out. Along with his physical progress, the strangeness of his mother's message had caused some sort of malfunction in his brain. He found it extremely hard to process words and thoughts, having to work extremely hard to get out even simple thoughts.

"A most unexpected visitor has arrived with some fantastic news. Hurry and get dressed; wear your nicest clothes, Remus. Your father and I will keep him company while you prepare. You mustn't doddle either. Quickly dear, quickly!" His mother pushed him towards his dresser, then turned and left as fast as she'd arrived in his room. The shaking that his mother had been doing was not out of sorrow, but out of anxiety, excitement, and nervous anticipation.

Not sure what awaited him, but feeding off his mother's energy, he quickly dressed in his best suit. It wasn't a fancy or high-end suit. It was frayed and stained in a few spots. However, it was the most expensive suit his parents, with their limited means, could afford. As a result, it was one of his most treasured items.

Standing in his small room in his suit, Remus took a moment to appraise himself. He was short, though he had no real reference of what the average height of a ten or eleven year old should be. He just felt short. He was extremely skinny, though not to the point where his bones were clearly evident under his skin. Speaking of his skin, it was pale and gave him a sickly appearance. The sickliness got worse once a month, but he never really looked healthy. He spent so much time indoors that his skin rarely received any colour. His hair was sandy brown and hung just to his ears. It was messy from lying on his bed and he made a mental note to run a brush through it before he headed downstairs. His eyes were by far his favourite feature. They were the same colour and shape as his mother's stunning green ones and they had a slight mischievous and inquisitive quality to them that Remus thought was an excellent parallel to his personality.

Once dressed in his nicest suits, his hair combed and his teeth brushed, Remus took a deep breath and then headed down the stairs to meet the visitor that had sent his mother into such a tizzy. Halfway down the steps, Remus paused. A realization had just come to him.

Like him, his parents were most likely concerned about whether or not he would get his letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. What if they'd believed that the odds were he would not get his letter? They would probably want to distract him or make him feel better, and would set up a surprise to accomplish that. Was this mystery visitor some sort of surprise to make him feel better about not getting into Hogwarts?

But when his mother had come up to retrieve him, there hadn't been a trace of sorrow or disappointment. Had he actually gotten a letter?

Questions and opposing ideas and thoughts rattled around in his head. Feeling overwhelmed, Remus had to sit down on the steps and calm himself. He had so much riding on this moment that he was afraid it would consume him. He took a few slightly rattled breaths before he was able to take a full deep breath. He continued to sit on the stairs, breathing deeply until his mother called out.

"Remus, darling, are you nearly ready?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. It was time he stopped hiding from his future, time he stopped putting off the inevitable. There was only one way that his questions would be answered, that the uncertainty, and the stress it caused, would finally go away.

With a newfound resolve, Remus stood from the stairs and headed into the small sitting room, ready to face his future, whatever that may be.

He honestly wasn't sure what he had expected to see in the sitting room, but the sight that played out before his eyes was one of the strangest. His father, a tall man with long spindly limbs, was crammed next to his shorter mother on the small sofa. Remus had always enjoyed the similarities between his father and him. They had the same hair colour and the same skinny build. Lyall had light grey eyes that held the same inquisitive quality as Remus'. That morning he was wearing slacks and a button up short sleeve shirt, his least threadbare outfit and one that Lyall only wore when meeting important people.

Because the Lupins did not have a lot of visitors, they'd bought just enough furniture for their small family. The sofa was usually where Remus sat and it was too small for him, even at just eleven, to lie across. When he did, his head and feet hung off either side. As a result, seeing two adults, one at least six feet and the other about five feet five inches was quite the sight to behold.

The small room held only three other pieces of furniture. The small, warn coffee table that sat in the middle of the room was laden with treats and sweets and a steaming teapot. Two very comfortable armchairs, the usual places of his parents, took up the rest of the room. His mother's pink, floral armchair was empty, and Remus took it as the spot where he was to sit. Sitting in his father's green, fairly battered chair was on older man. He looked vaguely familiar to Remus, but he couldn't place from where he might know him. The man was of a comparable height to his father. He had on long, elegant royal purple robes. They were probably the most expensive things Remus had ever seen. This man, whoever he was, obviously held an important position that afforded him a fair amount of wealth. He had a long silver beard and equally long, equally silver hair. His eyes were a twinkling, shimmering blue, though partially hidden by half-moon spectacles.

Overall, he looked kind and welcoming. Despite the fact that he was a stranger, Remus felt at ease in his presence. All the worries and questions that had been swirling around in his head only moments prior were suddenly gone. At peace for the first time in about a month, Remus slowly made his way to sit in his mother's chair. He glanced over at his parents one final time. Both radiated with excitement and had huge smiles on their face.

"Hello, Remus," the older man spoke. His voice was as kind and welcoming as his face looked, "my name is Albus Dumbledore. Do you know who I am?" The addition of the name to the somewhat familiar face sparked a memory for Remus.

"You're the Headmaster of Hogwarts!" he exclaimed, excitement building in his thin form. Surely the headmaster wouldn't have come, in person, to his small house if he was delivering bad news. His rejection of entry into Hogwarts could have come in a letter, or even been communicated through the lack of an acceptance letter. No, Albus Dumbledore had to be in his sitting room to deliver good news.

"Yes," Dumbledore responded, a chuckle in his voice that reached up to his eyes, "indeed I am. Do you know why I have come to visit you today?" Remus, with his growing excitement, was a little annoyed that Dumbledore was drawing this process out. Why couldn't he just come out and say whether or not he would be going to Hogwarts in a few months time?

"I guess that it has something to do with Hogwarts. Today is my eleventh birthday; the day I am supposed to get my letter welcoming me to the school. Are you here to give me my letter?" Hope, something that he hadn't truly let himself feel in years, filled his voice. His eyes grew large and he moved to sit on the edge of his seat.

Dumbledore chuckled once more. He then reached into his deep purple robes and pulled out a medium-sized tan envelope. Remus nearly jumped from the chair and flew across the room, but managed to restrain himself. Instead, he anxiously waited for the older man to hand over the envelope. Remus then tore into the parchment and greedily read its contents.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sor. Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Lupin,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term beings on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours Sincerely,

Cornelius Greensleigh

Deputy Headmaster

Remus finished the letter and looked up at Dumbledore, disbelief clear across his face. His mother, from her place squished against his father, began softly crying.

"Is this- is this true?" Remus asked softly.

"Of course, Remus. Hogwarts would be honoured to have you learning in our halls." A genuine, warm smile crossed Dumbledore's face. However, despite the letter in his hand and the words Dumbledore had just spoken, there was still a feeling in the pit of Remus' stomach that didn't allow him to be truly excited.

"But what about," Remus leaned towards Dumbledore and dropped his voice, "my problem? Surely that would disqualify me. I could be a danger to the other students." A knowing smile crossed Dumbledore's face.

"Don't you worry, Mr. Lupin. We have figured it all out. You will have nothing to worry about." At that Remus collapsed back into his mother's soft floral chair, clutching the envelope close to his chest. He would be going to Hogwarts! He was a wizard! His problem didn't disqualify him; it had been dealt with. He couldn't believe it.

"Hogwarts," he whispered, enjoying the sound and shape of the word. He then turned to his parents, his mother still softly crying and his father absolutely beaming. "I'm going to Hogwarts!"