Hi, Raven here. This is the start of my Marauders fanfic. I'll admit that it's mostly about Remus and Sirius (sorry, but they're my favourite)! I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: No characters in this belong to me. All belong to J.K. Rowling.

"Would you like to come to Hogwarts, Remus?"

How had this happened? His parents had always told him that, although it was his dream, he would never be able to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before that dreadful night seven years ago, his father - Lyall Lupin - had told him everything about the school. How he'd be able to have his very own wand, get sorted by the sorting hat, probably into Ravenclaw like Lyall, make lots of new magical friends. Remus had been so excited when he was a kid to learn about actual real life magic.

After the accident, however, they had had to tell him the bad news: he now had an illness that affected him every month and there was no cure. There would never be a cure. He couldn't be around people during that time, not even his won parents, as it was too dangerous for them. This illness was called Lycanthropy. Also known as being a werewolf...

When the man had arrived at the door to their cottage that afternoon, Hope and Lyall had looked confused. They hardly ever had visitors and nobody else knew about their son's condition, so it couldn't be a Healer or anything. The old man had knocked on the door, and when nobody had answered, he'd knocked again, the same number of times and no louder than before. Hope glanced at her husband, who nodded, still looking unsure, though, and she went to answer their door.

"Good evening, Mrs Lupin," the man had said. He had a long white beard and wore a pair of black wizard robes. He was old. Very old. His eyes sparkled behind his half-moon glasses and he smiled politely.

Mrs Lupin gasped audibly but didn't stand aside for the man to come in. She stood frozen in the doorway, still clutching the door handle like a lifeline, debating whether or not to close it in the man's face.

"Who is it?" called Lyall from the kitchen.

Remus had been in there with them. They had been eating dinner at the table whilst Lyall read the most interesting storied from the latest issue of The Daily Prophet out to the others and Remus told his mother about his new favourite book he had read that week: Treasure Island. When Hope didn't answer his question, Lyall stood up from the table, hardly looking at his son, who seemed to be daydreaming anyway, and strode out of the room into the hallway.

"Ah, nice to see you again, Mr Lupin," said the old, bearded man. "How are you?"

He never got a reply to his question as Lyall had gone as quiet as his wife, frozen in his place as well. They were both stood, blocking the doorway from the old, strange man. Lyall couldn't seem to take his eyes off him, his mouth hanging open slightly in a small, comical 'O'.

This didn't seem to bother the man at the door as he just smiled and said cheerfully, "May I come in?" ignoring the hints from Hope and Lyall that he was unwelcome.

After a while, Hope and Lyall nodded, giving in, and stepped out of the way of the doorway. Hope kept glancing anxiously at her husband, though and didn't seem able to keep her hands still. They fidgeted nervously with her skirt as the led the man into the living room and he sat down in an armchair. The other two sat on their sofa, but they looked much more awkward, neither knowing quite what to say.

"Is Remus in?" asked the old man, turning his head as if expecting him to be hidden behind the door.

"Yes, yes he is," said Hope quietly, startled out of her wonder. She stood up and hurried out of the room. She came back in, just ten seconds later, holding her son by the hand.

Remus was smaller than his mother, who was about average height. He had scruffy, tawny hair that had been brushed in an attempt to neaten it, and a fringe that feel just above his light brown-amber eyes. He was wearing muggle clothes - a pair of blue jeans and a plain brown-grey coloured jumper that was too big for him.

The eleven-year-old looked at the man in the armchair nervously. He looked familiar, but he couldn't think where from. He wasn't a relative or a friend. Mind you, he'd never had a friend before, so that was never really an option. Even so, he was wary and sat on the floor, in the corner, facing the bearded man at all times. His back was against the wall and his knees were scrunched up into his chest, watching the old wizard over the tops.

"Do you mind if Remus and I have a little chat?" the man asked Remus' parents, who, after a small glance at each other, nodded, stood up obligingly, and left the room, smiling encouragingly at Remus. Lyall even put his thumbs up as he grinned. They closed the door behind them.

"Hello, Remus," said the old man. He sounded kind, trying to comfort the nervous little boy sat in the corner of the room who was staring at him uncertainly.

"Who are you?" asked Remus quietly, not moving from his position in the corner.

"My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore," said the man, smiling, never taking his eyes off Remus. "I'm the headmaster at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?" said Remus, creeping out of the corner. He was curious now. He could remember most of his father's stories off by heart by now and he always used to ask to hear them again and again.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "It's a school for magical children. Like you."

"Me?" said Remus.

"Yes. So, would you like to come to Hogwarts?"

"Pardon?" said Remus. For a moment, he thought he had misheard. Why would he be asked to go to Hogwarts? Did Dumbledore not know? Dumbledore knew everything, how could he not know?

"Would you like to come to Hogwarts, Remus?" he asked again, patiently.

"I'd love to, but... but I can't."

"And why would that be?" asked Dumbledore.

There was a long pause. Remus didn't say anything. His parents had warned him over and over again that he shouldn't tell anybody about his condition. They had moved houses a lot and Remus wasn't allowed to play outside with any other children. He'd never been to a proper school, either. Everything was too dangerous. All his life, he'd longed to be normal. Maybe, just maybe, this was his chance. But... could he trust this man? This man he'd only just met, but seemed to recognise somehow. Would he tell anyone?

He looked up at him from the living room floor, into his bright blue, glistening eyes, behind his half-moon spectacles. The man was smiling at him, but that didn't mean he was trustworthy. Villains in books smiled. It was always described as a creepy smile, but that's still a smile. Professor Dumbledore's smile wasn't like a villain's smile, though.

"Are you any good at Gobstones, Remus?" asked Dumbledore, smiling again.

Remus nodded eagerly, smiling shyly. He stood up and opened the wooden chest at the side of the room. It was full of board games - mostly muggle games, like Monopoly and Snakes & Ladders. Him and his mum often had mini tournaments before and after full moons when he was too ill to get out of bed properly. There were, however, some wizarding games too. These had been used a lot more. There was a pack of Exploding Snap cards, Wizards' Chess and, of course, Gobstones. Remus picked up the last box and sat back down on the floor, a bit nearer to Dumbledore this time, who shuffled off the sofa and joined him.

"Let's have some food, shall we?" said Dumbledore, conjuring up some warm, steaming crumpets with melted butter and syrup.

The boy rolled his next stone before answering the earlier question. "Can I - can I really go?"

"Of course," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as he smiled. "Hogwarts is for every magical student, if they want a place. That includes you. Why shouldn't you be allowed?"

"Because... because... Sir, maybe - maybe it isn't a good idea... I have... I'm different..." said Remus hesitantly.

His smile had faded and he wouldn't take his eyes off the Gobstone he'd just rolled. He didn't know what to tell the man in front of him. Would he be scared or angry with him when he found out the truth?

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked patiently and kindly.

"I'm a... a monster."

Dumbledore looked mock panicked and spun around. "A monster? Where? I don't see any monster!?"

"No, sir! I'm the monster. I'm a - I'm a - a werewolf," he said the last sentence quietly, his eyes locked stubbornly on the floor. He could feel tears in his eyes, but he didn't want the headmaster to see. He had to show he was stronger than he looked.

"Oh, I see," said Dumbledore, calm again. "Let me tell you something. Right now, in front of me, in this room, all I can see is Remus Lupin: a clever, young wizard who cannot wait to prove his worth. So, Remus, I'll ask you again, would you like to come to Hogwarts?"

Remus looked up at the man, beaming. "Yes! Thank you, thank you!" He was grinning from ear to ear, which made Dumbledore beam too. After a moment's pause, Remus spoke again, quieter and more nervous this time, "What about my...?"

"Transformations?" said Dumbledore. "Let's invite your parents back in, first."

The headmaster gently explained the situation to Remus and his parents, stamping down any worries they had. He had planted a Whomping Willow - a big, looming willow tree - on the ground of Hogwarts. It was designed to attack anyone who came near it and only Remus and the teachers would know how to get past the defence.

There was then a long, winding tunnel under the tree that led to an old house in Hogsmeade, where he could transform safely. Dumbledore had also aided the spread of a rumour around the local villages and the school that the house was haunted, meaning no one would be suspicious of hearing any noises Remus made such as howling. It would also mean they wouldn't dare investigate it, either, if anything was heard.

Dumbledore answered any other questions the Lupins had, then left, saying he would see Remus in September with all the other first years.

Lyall put his right arm lovingly around his wife. They were smiling down at their beloved son, who was grinning excitedly up at them, looking truly happy for the first time in ages.

"Now all we need to do is take you to Diagon Alley!" said his dad.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm going to aim to write a chapter a day, but that may vary cause of exams and school etc. I'll update as regularly as I can. Let me know what ships you'd like me to include (I only will if I ship them too). Also, let me know how far you want me to write. I could write up to when Remus meets Harry or up to they're all dead. Anyway, I really love this era, thanks for reading.

Raven xx