I don't know how long this story is going to be, but it's definitely going to keep going. Any suggestions for plot or anything else are more than welcome. Please review this, and feel free to email me at stanzi82@aol.com
~*Moony*~
Chapter 4
Remus looked up and saw a rather elderly-looking wizard with long, silvery hair, beard and moustache, dressed in flowing dark blue robes and wearing half-moon shaped spectacles. There was a certain playful glint in this man's eyes that Remus noticed. This must be Dumbledore, he thought. He didn't think that the real Dumbledore was anything different from what he had pictured.
The wizard spoke. "Hello, young sir." There was a loving, kindly smile on his face now, along with the ever-twinkling eyes.
"Sir?" Remus asked timidly. This was the headmaster of the school, and Remus had to make a very good impression. But he was very nervous.
"I am Professor Dumbledore, headmaster here at Hogwarts. You must be Remus Lupin."
Remus' heart beat faster. He wasn't afraid of Dumbledore, but he was nervous about meeting him. And he was nervous about what they were going to tell him. He almost thought he could hear a stern voice saying, "If just one thing goes wrong, young man, the whole school will be in ruins…" Remus' worries were interrupted by Dumbledore saying,
"Let's go up to my office, shall we?" the old wizard smiled and began to walk out of the Great Hall, with Remus following close behind. They walked up a short flight of steps, and then up another adjoining one. Remus was amazed by the labyrinth of halls, stairways and corridors. They really did seem to go on forever.
"You reside in the country, I believe, Remus?" Dumbledore asked after the two had walked in silence for a few minutes.
"Yes…" Remus answered quietly.
"I
love the country myself," Dumbledore went on pleasantly. "I've always found it very refreshing for
the lungs."
Remus didn't know how to reply
to that, so he grunted some sort of answer. It occurred to him in a hurry that grunting probably wasn't the best way
to answer the headmaster of the school—especially under these
circumstances. So Remus answered, "The
country's nice, I guess. I've always
lived there, with my parents. And I've
never really gone anywhere, because…" Remus stopped. What a gorgeous way to start a conversation. Go right for the touchy spot. He felt as though he'd said too much…which
was dumb, really, since of course Dumbledore already knew everything. Remus was saved, however, with Dumbledore
announcing:
"Ah, here we are!" They had arrived at a large statue of a gargoyle. "Wallingford toffee," he said pleasantly to the gargoyle. Apparently that was some kind of password, for the gargoyle sprang to life and scampered to the side. The wall behind it opened into a door, revealing a massive spiral staircase…that was moving.
Remus, utterly amazed by the staircase and wondering what spell had made it do that, followed Dumbledore onto the moving steps. They spiraled upward for what seemed like forever, until finally they stopped in front of a massive wooden door that towered above them. It had a shining brass knocker that was shaped like a griffin. "Well, shall we step in, and see if anything's changed since the last time I was in here?" Dumbledore said. He took hold of the knocker and rapped on the door several times. The door opened itself and together the two entered.
It was quite possibly the most amazing room Remus had ever been in. It was gigantic, and circular, with portraits all over the walls. They all hade titles beneath them, each one beginning with "Headmaster" or "Headmistress." There were little tables all over the room too, with hundreds of interesting gadgets making noises or moving around…any of which Remus would have been content to spend hours examining.
Dumbledore went to his desk, and settled himself in the large chair behind it. He motioned for Remus to sit in the chair in front of the desk. Remus sat obligingly, but rather stiffly. He was still anxious about what Dumbledore would be telling him. However, he didn't have very much time to wonder.
"Well, I suppose we ought to get down to business, Remus," Dumbledore began. "I'm sure you want to get to Gryffindor Tower and see your Common Room, and your dormitory as well.
"Now I would like first of all to tell you that we are all very happy to have you here at Hogwarts. It is a wonderful place, and I hope you will find it as much fun as I have." Dumbledore's face was merry with these words. "And still do. The charms, and indeed mysteries of this place never fail to amaze me."
Remus smiled uncertainly, half waiting for the other shoe to drop, and half hoping that Dumbledore might get caught up in reminiscing and forget all about talking to Remus about the "arrangements" that he had said would have to be made for him.
"And so now, Mr. Lupin," he continued cheerfully, "I am just going to inform you of a few things." Dumbledore took a breath, and began. "Seeing as you will be needing certain privacy at the full moon of every month, a place has been provided for you.
"There is a tunnel leading out of the castle. A secret tunnel, which leads to a small building in which you can stay while you are transformed. Nobody in Hogwarts, save the other professors and myself, know about the tunnel, and nobody from the outside shall discover you. We have planted a special tree in front of the building where you will be. Rather a charming tree, except that it delivers a nasty blow when one comes too close. It's called the Whomping Willow."
Remus, in spite of everything, had to chuckle at the name "Whomping Willow." However, he felt overwhelmed by all of this. He felt guilty that Dumbledore had gone to all this trouble for him…and Remus wondered once more if he really should be at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore rose from his seat and reached into a jar on his desk. He drew his hand out of the jar, holding a fistful of silvery powder. He walked over to the fireplace and tossed the powder into the leaping flames.
"Poppy?" he called into the fire. "Can you come up to my office, please?"
Remus watched, fascinated and anxious at the same time, as the figure of a plump, bespectacled woman appeared and stepped out of the fireplace.
Dumbledore spoke first. "Poppy, this is Mr. Remus Lupin. Remus, I would like you to meet Madam Pomfrey, head of the Hogwarts infirmary."
Remus stepped forward. "How do you do, Madam," he said timidly. The woman smiled with pursed lips and pitying eyes. She was rather plump, with horn-rimmed glasses and short, curly brown hair. She looked to be younger than his parents. He wondered why Dumbledore had sent for this woman.
"Dear," she said, more to herself than to anyone else. She made a soft tsk-tsk noise with her pursed lips. "Remus Lupin, I am pleased," she said finally. "Now I, as Hogwarts Mistress of Magical Injuries and Illnesses, will be assisting you on days when you'll need to be using the tunnel. I'll be leading you to and from the Shack—''
Remus widened his eyes. Shack? Before he could ask anything, Dumbledore jumped in. "I haven't explained that part yet, Poppy."
Madam Pomfrey looked at Dumbledore, waiting for him to continue. "You may not know this, Remus, but the building you will be in for your transformations is near the outskirts of Hogsmeade. There are houses nearby." He paused for a moment before going on. "Your transformations, well—they do generate quite a bit of noise, do they not?"
"Yes," Remus said quietly. He was sure that they did, for he could always hear god-awful screams right before he blacked out during those nights. He was silently grateful to Dumbledore for not using the word "werewolf." To him it was a hurtful term, since the word was only spoken in fear or hatred.
"Right," Dumbledore went on. "We have tested the building where you'll be, and have found that loud noises can sometimes be heard inside Hogwarts and in several nearby farmhouses. We want to make sure that no Hogwarts student or Hogsmeade resident will feel the need to investigate."
"The Whomping Willow helps," Madam Pomfrey interjected, "but there are spells to get past it."
"So," continued Dumbledore, "The other professors and I will spread the rumor that the place is haunted by restless spirits who often feel the need to make an inordinate amount of noise. So…we've named it the Shrieking Shack."
Remus didn't know what else to do, so he nodded. Dumbledore went on.
"You have no reason to worry, Remus. None of the Hogwarts professors, apart from myself, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey here, know of your condition as of yet. We will keep it quiet for the time being, but if one of the teachers should have a suspicion, we have decided to let them know the truth immediately. I'm sure you can see how it would be better thus."
Remus remembered all the rumors that had circled—and probably still did—in his village. For a moment he was revisited by that old pain he would feel any time he heard neighbors speak of the mad beast that ravaged the town at night.
"Remus," Dumbledore continued, looking him straight in the eyes, "I am not going to tell you that you cannot inform your friends here about your condition." His tone was grave. "However, I want you to be cautious. There are a great many people in this world who are fearful, and prejudiced because of this fear."
How well Remus knew. He was suddenly overcome with the realization of what Dumbledore and the others were doing for him. Feelings of gratitude and love overcame him, and he felt his face become hot. He tried to speak before tears came. "Thank—thank you…" It was all he managed to say before he had to look at the floor.
Madam Pomfrey rushed over to him, and put her arms around his shoulders. Remus felt ashamed to be crying in front of the Hogwarts headmaster. They probably thought he was scared, or tired, or unhappy. They must be thinking what a selfish boy I am. When he dared to look up at Dumbledore again, Remus felt a strange sensation. It was as if Dumbledore could see right into him, and knew his thoughts. He was smiling knowlingly, and in his gaze Remus felt his worries melt away as if they had never existed.
"Remus," Dumbledore said, "You are the same as every other child here at Hogwarts, and just as privileged as they to be attending this magnificent, challenging, and sometimes utterly extraordinary school."
