Remus' POV: Remus Lupin was the first student on The Hogwarts Express, he arrived early and chose a compartment at the end of the corridor. Remus was in a constant state of exhaustion and never felt fully rested. So he chose what he hoped to be a quiet place to sleep before arriving at Hogwarts. He thought about how just weeks before he had had no plans of being here.
When his Hogwarts letter arrived Remus kept it under his pillow for a week before showing it to his parents. He knew what they would say "With your condition, we don't think it would be appropriate." That's what their answer was to anything, not that he got it a lot. He mainly stayed to himself, who was he kidding he only stayed to himself. He had never had a friend, he had never been to school and he had most definitely never left home for almost a full year. Remus had accepted his lycanthropy, he despised it and resented it everyday, but he accepted it. So when any opportunity came along that he had to say no to because of his problem his heart broke just a little. But the Hogwarts letter had felt worse than anything ever had, he felt like his heart had been ripped out and torn apart which is why he kept the letter from his parents. He wanted to delay the inevitable disappointment. After a week he showed it to his parents and they gave him their unfailing answer. So he sent back a "No" and went back to his routine life. Soon after he got another letter with the monogrammed "H" on the front, this time it was a personal letter from the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. It explained that Professor Dumbledore was aware of Remus' "inconvenience". Remus had heard many epithets of his condition but an inconvenience was a new one, and he liked it. It seemed less scary, more of an annoyance opposed to the horrific circumstance it actually was. Dumbledore, somehow aware of the inconvenience, expressed in his letter that he was quite sad when he learned of Remus' refusal of admission to Hogwarts. With elegance and taste the letter asked Remus to reconsider and attend Hogwarts in the fall. When he showed the letter to his parents they explained that it just wasn't enough to convince them and that the answer still had to be no. So with even more regret than the previous refusal Remus sent back a short reply making it clear he was not allowed to go to Hogwarts. The next day Professor Dumbledore arrived on the Lupin's doorstep and after some short pleasantries with the three Lupins, Dumbledore politely asked Remus to leave the adults to chat. Back in his room Remus put his ear against the door hoping to hear the conversation but all he heard was radio silence, which he assumed was from a charm the headmaster cast to keep Remus from listening in. After the longest hour of Remus' life there was a light tap on his door, when he opened it Dumbledore was standing there and before Remus could ask what happened Dumbledore exclaimed "Well, I must be off but I'll be seeing you on the first of September!" Just like that he left the house and after a minute he heard a small "pop" and realized the Headmaster of Hogwarts had just disapparated. Slightly astonished Remus made his way to his parents who were sitting in the drawing room whispering. "What happened?" Remus asked. "Apparently Professor Dumbledore has already made preparations for you to come to Hogwarts." his mother replied, then faded off and looked at her husband who continued, "He has planted some tree with a secret tunnel which will lead to a safe spot for you to, well do what you do. Truthfully, I don't understand it all but I'm sure he will explain once you get there." "Wait a second so you two just changed your mind? You've never done that." His mother started silently weeping and while his father tried comforting her Lupin became very confused but also angry because obviously he was missing something. "What's going on?" Finally making eye contact with Remus, Mr. Lupin replied "Professor Dumbledore thinks that we have been too protective of you. He argued that we are being unfair and that we should let you have a normal life. He made a point, we've sheltered you and now we have to let you go. Your mother and I just need a little time to process it." Remus didn't know how to reply, he had never had anyone to back him up but it seemed like Dumbledore made the case that Remus had long ago given up making. Not sure how to proceed Remus just asked "So I'm going to Hogwarts?" His father nodded and Remus left, going back to his room.
Over the next few days his parents didn't talk a lot, Remus could barely control his excitement but understanding that his parents did not feel the same way he kept to himself and left them to figure things out. Finally, his father told him they would take a trip to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies. The next day the two of them made their way to the shops that had never seemed so exciting. After a quiet walk there and very little talking while picking up books and potion supplies Remus' father unexpectedly asked what house Remus was hoping to be sorted into, during his robe fitting. Remus replied that he wasn't sure. Mr. Lupin told him that he was a Hufflepuff but he wasn't a very loyal one. He told him how he always wished he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, the Gryffindors always seemed so confident and sure of themselves and he envied that. He told Remus that he could see him being sorted into Ravenclaw because he was so "brilliant" and of course he took after his mother who was a Ravenclaw. Lupin relished in the compliment and the proud way his father looked at him when he said it. He couldn't remember the last time his father looked at him like that. Enjoying this new attitude his father seemed to have, Remus asked more questions about his time at Hogwarts. They conversed the rest of the day about the past and future, letting themselves temporarily forget the present. Remus realized at a certain point in the day that he had never had such a great time with his father, they'd always been distant and had never really spent a lot of time together. After that day Remus noticed his mother becoming happier and happier and soon they were back to normal.
When the day came for Remus to board the Hogwarts Express, his parents drove him to King's Cross Station and took him through the barrier to Platform nine and three quarters. From afar they looked like any parents saying goodbye to their son until Christmas but in reality as they hugged and kissed Remus' mother spouted that it was okay if he wanted to come home and if someone found out he would have to leave right away and to write everyday and be careful not to draw attention and so on and so forth. Of course they were also the first ones on the platform due to Remus' excitement as well as his desire to find a place to sleep before other students boarded the train. Eventually his mother let him go and they walked away leaving Remus to find his way for the first time in his life. Now dozing off he reflected on these last few weeks slowly letting the tiredness overcome him.
"No!" Remus awoke with a start. Someone was shouting not two feet from him. Waking up he slowly started taking in what was going on in the small compartment that was now full. Still half asleep Remus missed the mumbling that followed the shouting but figured out where it came from. Sitting next to him was a good looking boy with dark hair who looked deathly embarrassed. Across from the now quiet boy was another slightly darker haired boy who seemed astonished by the outburst. Finally directly across from Remus was an odd looking boy who looked more frightened than anything else but also slightly confused. Remus sat looking around trying to figure out what had just happened. He didn't ask questions because he never asked questions. He was comfortable in silence, he even liked silence but he soon noticed the boy kiddie corner from him was not a fan of silence. He was fidgeting and looking around, eventually his eyes found Remus' and the boy, who introduced himself as James, seemed to ease up a little. Remus politely responded with his name and that was it. He didn't really know how to converse with people other than his parents. He also wasn't sure if he wanted to. He was okay with staying to himself so he did. But again James became uncomfortable and Remus realized that the silence was quickly becoming uncomfortable. He, of course, did not do anything to pacify the situation because he could tell James would and right on cue James asked Remus about Quidditch. Now Remus might've been a shut in but he still knew the difference between the Holyhead Harpies and the Chudley Cannons. In this sense he was just like any other boy who had grown up in the wizarding world, he loved Quidditch and could talk about it for hours. But when James asked who his favorite team was Remus replied with the name and forwent the very detailed reasoning behind his choice. James did not give up, he happily took the brunt of the conversation until Remus finally came around and balanced it. At a certain point the boy who had woken him up joined in and after James invited the odd boy in by way of asking his name, which was Peter, the four boys talked for hours. Each boy contributing as many stories and opinions as the others, covering a range of topics. Remus, who was quite observant, did notice a few odd glances sent from James to Sirius, who had turned to Remus and introduced himself after James asked for Peter's name. Remus recognized the Black name but being who he was couldn't form any prejudices against someone just because of their name. However, Remus could tell that there was something looming over James and Sirius but he just couldn't figure it out until James announced "Potters have always been in Gryffindor, there's no doubt I will be too." and Sirius pitifully replied "I wish I could say that." Remus quickly realized that Sirius assumed he would be sorted into Slytherin but wasn't happy about it. He understood and felt a bond with Sirius, he too had an unfortunate future that he had not control over. Wanting to take the attention off Sirius, Remus offered that he reckoned he'd be sorted into Ravenclaw. But he couldn't think of anything else to say, however he didn't need to because Peter easily took the heat off Sirius when he claimed he was lucky he even got a Hogwarts letter. From there three of the boys reentered their groove but Remus noticed James seemed to be somewhere else. Occasionally he laughed and added a little bit to the conversation but he wasn't really there. At a certain point he started coming back and before long the whole foursome was talking and laughing like old friends. When the train pulled into the station Remus, unsure of how to proceed, got up and left the compartment with Peter following behind. He realized James and Sirius stayed behind and Remus hoped that they were resolving whatever issues they had. With that hope Remus realized he actually like these boys, he had made friends. He hadn't even started classes yet and he had already done what he had ruled out he would do. He had promised himself that he would not get close to anyone. He decided that if he could barely accept who he was how could anyone else and he knew he did not want to deal with the anguish of a person he trusted turning their back on him. But somehow he had become part of a group and he liked it. He didn't know what would happen if these boys found out about his "inconvenience" but for the moment he didn't care, he relished in the sense of belonging he had.
He privately rejoiced when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor and as he walked up to the stool on which the Sorting Hat would be placed on his head he thought of how natural it had felt to be with those three boys. He wasn't thinking of where he would like to be sorted but when the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR" just seconds after it was placed on his head it felt right. He walked to the long table of cheering older students and sat next to Sirius who proudly patted him on the back. As the other two boys joined the table sitting next to Remus and Sirius, everything seemed surreal and for the night Remus was just a normal boy, embarking on the rest of his life.
