July 1971

Diagon Alley was a busy as ever under the heat of the sun. Remus liked it very much there, being surrounded by wizards and witches, even if they would not stop and chat with them, going inside the many wonderful shops, looking at the owls and the brooms, and the many books displayed on the windows.

Her mother was walking at his side. Just a moment ago he had asked her not to hold his hand anymore and she had chuckled a little. He was pretty sure no eleven-year-old would walk down the street holding her mother's hand. That was stuff small kids would do, and he was quite fine on his own thank you very much.

Finally they reached the Apothecary, and while her mother talked to the shop keeper, he got distracted looking at the many ingredients on the shelves and hanging from the ceiling.

"Move over, boy," the harsh voice made him jump sideways.

A tall wizard was trying to reach for some alligator skin hanging right over Remus' head and he was getting on the way.

"Sorry, sir," he muttered, looking at him.

He gasped out loud and instantly felt ashamed of it. The wizard, fortunately, seemed to have not noticed it, concentrated on choosing the best piece of dried skin. His face was the most bizarre face Remus had seen in his life. He had mismatched eyes, one of them was black and the other was much larger and bright blue.

Suddenly that very eye looked at him, even though the black one was still sorting out skins.

"Give us a hand, boy, would ya?" grunted the man.

Remus just nodded.

"Keep these for me for a sec."

And the wizard threw a couple of skins on Remus arms, still looking for some more.

"There's no need to stare at me like that, you know?" said the man and, embarrassed, Remus looked down.

What he saw made him almost gasp out loud again. It was not only his eyes: this man had a wooden leg, instead of a normal one. This was odd but somehow not entirely unfamiliar. When had Remus seen somebody with a leg just like that one.

"Remus, we're leaving," his mother called, approaching them.

The wizard spun around and looked both at him and at his mother, his blue eye spinning fast on its socket.

"Remus?" he asked, and his voice was now much softer, although it still sounded like a grunt.

Amy Lupin was also looking at him.

"It's you," she said on a flat voice.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Lupin," the man said, extending a callous hand.

His mother hesitated for a moment and then shook it.

"And you are Remus," the man said again.

"Hello," Remus said, also taking this man's hand. Against his skin, it felt as if that too was made of wood.

"I must say, you've grown a lot all right," he said. "How old are you?"

Remus frowned again. So he had indeed seen this man before.

"I'm eleven."

Moody looked at his mother now and Remus felt it was as if they were communicating silently.

"We have to go, Remus," she suddenly said, putting an arm on his shoulder.

"Right," he said, and gave the alligator skins to the wizards.

"Thanks for your help, young man," he replied.

"No problem," Remus said, but he had to turn around. His mother was pulling him away from the man with the bright blue eye.

August 1971

The newcomer was one of the most strange-looking wizards Remus had seen in his life. He was tall and had white hair and bear, long enough to tuck them in his belt. He was not unknown to him either, even though he had to think for a couple of minutes why this face did seem so familiar to him.

His parents had been really surprised to see the tall wizard on their footstep, but they were pleased with the visit nonetheless and beaming nervously they had shown him into the sitting room.

Mum had not even allowed Remus to greet the visitor. She had ordered him to go to his room; they were going to discuss grown-ups matters. At this news, he had to make an effort not to groan out loud. Now he knew what this was about. How many times had he been forced to wait while they parents discussed 'grown-ups matters', just to have to come to him later and test something new. It could be a potion, spells, even funny food, but so far it all had been pointless.

No matter how many wizards or witches were consulted by their parents, no matter how many funny things he, Remus, were forced to make, there just was no cure for lycanthropy. And even though he wished, more than anything, to have a normal life and do normal things, he also wished his parents would give up. He, at least, was tired of raising his hopes.

Still, there was the fact that the face of the tall wizard was familiar and Remus could not be content until he found out where he had seen that face before.

In a book? Nope, it was something recent, something smaller… That's it!

He fished under his bed for a small carton box. It was full of Chocolate Frog's cards. He had been right, there he was: the wizard's name was Albus Dumbledore.

Remus read the card with interest. Other than being the current headmaster of Hogwarts, he had defeated Grindelwald and had been working in alchemy.

Eww, I do hope they don't make me drink dragon blood next! He thought with a grimace. I've had worse… but I don't want to repeat the experience!

He looked at the picture for a long moment. The Dumbledore in the card winked at him, and Remus decided he seemed to be friendly enough. It was no use getting impatient anyway, he would find out what this visitor wanted soon enough. The figure did not seem to agree with him; a couple of seconds later, Remus saw him walking out the frame.

Just as well, he thought.

Grabbing a batted old book that was lying open and face down on his bed, he resumed his reading.

He was still processing the first sentence when his mother's voice carried down the hall.

"Remus, come here, honey!"

He dropped the book and stood up at once. There was a ringing in her mother's voice he had not heard for a long time. It seemed she was… excited. Giving one look at the still empty Chocolate Frog card, he headed to the sitting room.

Dumbledore and his parents were sitting around the coffee table; the three of them were smiling broadly.

"This is Remus," Dad said, "Son, this man is Professor Dumbledore."

Remus approached the tall wizard, his hand outstretched.

"How do you do, sir?" he said quietly.

"Very fine indeed, Remus. How are you?"

In a very quick glance, almost instinctive, he looked outside the window. The moon was almost inexistent; it looked as a small fingernail hanging on the back sky.

"I'm very good, sir."

The gesture did not go unnoticed to the visitor and he looked outside the window as well.

"Ah," he just said. "Please, Remus, sit down," he added, pointing at the chair closest to him.

He looked at his parents, both nodded encouraging and he did as he was told.

"Is it possible for you to leave as alone, just for a short moment?" he asked to his parents.

Still beaming, they exited the room without a word, and Remus felt uneasy. What is this about?

"I would like to introduce myself," Dumbledore spoke again. "I am Headmaster-"

"At Hogwarts," Remus prompted.

Dumbledore looked a bit puzzled at him.

"I read it in a Chocolate Frog card," he explained hastily. "You face seemed familiar."

The old wizard chuckled.

"I see," he said. "And what do you know about Hogwarts, Remus?"

He looked at his hands when answering. This was a question whose answer he knew very well, but still he was not eager to say it.

"It's a school for magic," he muttered. "They train young wizards and witches in different areas such as Charms and Potions, while teaching them how to control their powers."

It was a very sad question indeed.

"How would you like to attend Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked softly.

Remus stopped looking at his fingers and focused his gaze on the man's eyes instead. They were blue, and piercing even though he was wearing half-moon spectacles; it seemed as if he could read into his thoughts. It was a question with a very obvious answer. Too bad he was not allowed to that sort of answer this time.

"I… I'd very much like that, sir. The thing is…" he looked at the closed door, knowing that his parents were nearby, and then back into Dumbledore's eyes. How much should I tell this man? "The thing is, sir, I'm ill. And I don't think I would be able to… to carry on with the work… at the school. I… my father is planning to teach me at home, he's even going to get me a wand, and teach me how to use it… because I'm ill."

Dumbledore looked at him intently.

"I see,"

"I am sorry, sir," Remus felt he had to say something else. After all, he had just refused the Headmaster! "I would very much go, sir, honestly! But, as I just said-"

"You're ill," the old wizard completed the sentence.

"Well, yeah," Remus nodded.

Dumbledore looked out the window again.

"Our sentimental friend, the moon," he said, the tips of his long fingers pressed together, as if he was about to pray.

"I'm sorry?" Remus asked. Does he know?

"Nothing important," Dumbledore replied, "just a line of a Muggle poem that came into my mind all of a sudden. Your father tells me you have accomplished some pretty good wandless magic," he added and the change of subject was so sudden it caught him off guard.

"Yeah…" he said, slowly.

"Would you show me?"

Remus stretched out his hand, and frowning slightly, concentrated on it. Golden flames erupted from his palm. With a quick wave of his hand he made them disappear in thin air.

"That is very nice, very nice indeed," Dumbledore was beaming. "I don't know if somebody has told you this, but there are very few wizards who can perform that kind of magic."

Remus smiled.

"Dad mentioned it," he said, carried away by the old wizard encouragement. "And I can make things move… but not always, that one is much trickier."

"Indeed it is," he said.

Both stayed silent for a moment.

"Listen, Remus," Dumbledore spoke again, leaning forward a little, "what if I told you your being… ill… would not be a problem at Hogwarts?"

Remus thought his answer for a moment. His parents' not being there was beginning to be a problem. The question formed again inside his head. How much should I tell this man?

"I'd say I'd have to explain you a little more about my… illness."

"And what if I told you I know all about it?" the old wizard actually winked at this statement.

"Did my parents tell you that?" Remus asked surprised.

"Not your parents, no," Dumbledore said calmly. "An old, very good friend of mine came into my office a couple of days ago. He said he knew you and that, according to his calculations, it would be about time for you to go to school. He also told me about that problem of yours and asked if there was anything I could do about it. About you being able to attend school, that is."

Remus looked at him curiously.

"Who is that friend, sir?" he asked.

"Alastor Moody… he goes by the name of Mad-Eye these days."

Remus racked his brain but he could not recall having heard of him before. Dumbledore seemed to have noticed it, for he spoke again.

"He knew you, long ago," he said slowly, "precisely the night you got that nasty bite on your thigh."

He frowned, lost in his thoughts. There was very little he remembered from that night, he had been very little and after that, many other painful events had passed, blurring his memory. But then… there had been.

"I…," he said slowly, "I don't think I remember…"

"If I tell you he has one very bright blue eye, does that ring a bell?"

Remus opened his mouth in surprise.

"The man of the alligator skins!"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled.

"I make sure he knows that you've called him that," he said, and then, in an earnest tone, he added, "what brings me tonight is the question I asked you moments ago: would you like to attend Hogwarts?"

Remus shook his head slowly. This was turning into the most bizarre, yet pointless conversation of his entire life.

"I'm… I'm a werewolf," he said simply. "I can't be around people, let alone sleep in the same dormitory with them during a full moon!"

"You won't," Dumbledore said. "We have made many especial arrangements for you to be able to attend, such as a secure location for your transformations and special cares of our Matron. The teachers, of course, would be informed about your condition, but you would not have to tell anybody else, and thus, you could lead a normal life most of the time."

Remus' eyes opened wide.

"Really? And could I… attend lessons? And live in the castle and…?"

The man in front of him was smiling widely.

"And many more things as well, you'd be amazed." Suddenly his tone became much graver. "I would have to ask you to be really very careful, Remus. Even though we will make our best to keep you and everybody else safe, it is also up to you to behave responsibly about your lycanthropy. I need your word on this matter. We will accept you if, and only if, you promise you won't do anything that might risk others both inside and outside the school. Do I have your word, Remus?"

He looked into the man's blue eyes, through his half-moon spectacles. He was sure he was somebody with whom he could not mess around.

Solemnly he stretched his hand, and Professor Dumbledore took it.

"I promise, sir."

AN: And this tale is back on track too! Thank you very much for your patience!

Cheers!