Ch.3: A Package for Remus
There was a feeling that was almost desperation that people noted when Remus Lupin
walked past. They saw, even when he was only eleven and in his first year at Hogwarts, the
gray hairs that streaked his auburn hair. The hair was another cause of speculation within
the Gryffindor house; no one had gray hair before, much less at this young of an age. The
only person who had any full, accountable amount of gray hair was the Headmaster, and he was
old, older than most people could count.
But when Remus Lupin walked past, whispers followed. Though some were about his
hair, his small, lithe stature, those were not the bulk of the rumors. Some said he was a
sorcerer who could conjure animals out of nowhere, for in the class Care for Magical
Creatures, he always had a quiet ability to almost talk to, and most certainly understand,
the animals that students were taught about. Some said that he was a genius in disguise,
some reincarnated form of a brilliant Muggle scientist, unnamed, but still brilliant. He
was smart, brilliantly so, so much that it was said Professor McGonagall had no more
curriculum to teach him in Transfiguration. His specialty in that class was transforming
anything inanimate into an animal. But surely, more people might have noticed his affinity
for animals sooner than he did?
He tried his best to quiet the whispers that followed Remus, but whatever he seemed
to do, the ripples in the pool just got bigger and bigger, until Dumbledore himself had to
discourage them. He almost gave up when Remus' monthly disappearances became noted and
people began to wander around, looking for the supposedly secretly hidden passage that
concealed Remus Lupin when he performed secret dark spells that insured good grades and
increased brain waves and intelligence. But he couldn't stop these. There was just too
much speculation already.
James clapped a hand to his shoulder the other day. "Give up", he saidto him.
"Remus can protect himself, Sirius."
But he couldn't stop hanging around that smart (brilliantly so) ) boy that, on the
other hand, didn't seem to grudge his appearance every 3 steps. Sirius didn't want to
admit to himself, nor to anyone else, that he had an uncanny attachment to Remus, even
though they had only met on the train a few weeks earlier. Sirius never really took to
anyone immediately like he had taken to Remus; people wondered what Remus had done to
appear so highly on Sirius' tab.
Sirius simply could not stay away from that (brilliant) boy that, on the other hand,
didn't seem to grudge his appearance every 3 steps. Sirius didn't want to admit to
himself, nor to anyone else, that he had an uncanny attachment to Remus, even though they
had only met on the train a few weeks earlier. Sirius never really took to anyone
immediately like he had taken to Remus; people wondered what Remus had done to appear so
highly on Sirius' tab.
Sirius, on the other hand, was not exactly the opposite of Remus, but he was
certainly different. He had the knack for getting in trouble (as opposed to Remus' perfect
record and knack for blending in with the rest of the population) and at the same time,
getting caught. Already he, James and Peter had already been caught off-grounds three
times, and all three times they were found deep (and hopelessly lost) in the Forbidden
Forest. But Sirius "assured" everyone (who didn't believe him firsthand) that he was not
looking for Remus' hideout for some devilry or another, and enforced that rule with as much
discouraging of the "many rumors of Remus" as he had begun to call them. Remus'
disappearances did not go unnoted by him, nor any other Gryffindor, as they tried to crack
the case and get to the middle of the secret that was Remus Lupin.
Remus did not talk to him, nor to anyone else. He seemed oblivious to the rest of
the world when there was work to do. The library was his sanctuary, to be sure, and no one
could approach him while he was there. He had a peculiar way of sending people scuttling
away when he didn't want to be disturbed: he would just stare at them, and they would
distinctly get the impression that he did not want company at the moment. But Sirius was
the exception; he could stay as long as he wanted to near Remus and Remus never did
anything.
James didn't exactly resent this sudden attraction Sirius had for Remus. Instead,
he looked at it as a chance for Remus' social life. Remus didn't seem to have any friends
other than Sirius, and occasionally, him and Peter. But mostly they stayed apart, except
for Sirius, who acted as an in between friend. James did, though, miss Sirius' hanging
around, but it seemed to help Remus, so he let the matter be.
Peter, in all words, had no opinion of this. He knew that Sirius was acting
strange, hanging around that boy Remus, who was smarter than most but just tried to hide it,
but he didn't resent Sirius or Remus. Instead, he was glad for the attention James paid to
him instead.
Remus and Sirius had their secret agenda that was all in their head and not written
down. It included a few hours after dinner that was spent in the library. If James had
asked, Sirius would have answered that Remus did not talk during these "sessions", as James
had begun to call them, but worked alone and apart, even though they were sitting at the
same table. He wouldn't say anything, usually, unless Sirius asked him something, and even
then it was usually only a one-or-few worded answer, curt and to the point. Sirius never
asked anything of Remus unless he had to, not because he didn't want to bother Remus, but
because Remus didn't like to answer questions.
Sirius tried to be equal. He tried to spend equal time with James and Peter and
Remus, but it didn't quite work. James knew this, and tried to make the time with Peter
seem interesting enough so that Sirius wouldn't feel too guilty about spending time with
Remus instead. Remus didn't seem to have anyone other than Sirius and his parents. James
knew that his parents, at the very least, cared for their child.
The packages came almost weekly by an old but strong-looking owl who fluttered and
hovered over Remus even after all the other owls were gone. Remus never opened the packages
in front of the other students, even when they asked. He would answer, "A book", or ,"Some
clothes", and continue eating his breakfast. James could see that this answer worried
Sirius, who knew mostly likely Remus was lying, because more often the packages did not
look like books or clothes or anything else James had seen. Several times there was no
package; rather, there were envelopes that looked as if they had been stuffed with
everything that could be fit in that limited amount of space. He didn't wonder as much as
Sirius did about this, partly because Remus had not paid any attention to him, nor did he
harbor a feeling close to *fascination* like Sirius did of Remus. But he did worry; nothing
good ever seem to come in those packages. He had seen Remus after he had gone into the
room they shared as first years, and open the packages in secrecy. He never saw what was
inside, but it never seemed to bear good news; Remus was always frowning or looked neutral
when he came back out. This only seemed to provoke Sirius' interest even more, but James
could not be sure this was a good thing. Remus was a private, conservative type, and he
could not imagine Remus pouring his heart to Sirius or himself or Peter anytime soon.
Gradually the whispers in the school about the old child died down, and Remus became
a very familiar sight in the library. People ignored him, and he didn't grudge the
inattention one bit.
Softly the three were padding down the corridor, looking left and right for Filch
and Ms. Norris, but they didn't seem to be out tonight. Nevertheless, they were quiet, and
on the alert all the time. It was Sirius, who had the keenest ears, that first heard the
talking from one of the classrooms. James thought for a moment. If his memory had served
him correctly, that was the classroom of Claudius Lornium, the former Advanced Study
teacher. There were no advanced classes anymore at Hogwarts; the year after Lornium had
been taken by the Ministry, the advanced system ended, and all people were set back down in
the same classes.
The second voice that answered the first was soft, smoothly restrained, but very
subservient-sounding to James. In fact, even from that distance, it sounded like Remus.
James remembered something that Sirius had told him a few nights ago. As they were
best friends, James had realized that something was pricking at Sirius' conscience. If
James had been a little more observant, he would have realized that Remus' monthly package
had not arrived by owl, and was now very overdue. But Sirius did notice, and when James
asked just what was irking him, Sirius answered plainly, "Remus".
"Just what about him?", James had asked. He hadn't seem much of a change in Remus'
rather brooding behavior in the last few days. He wondered just what Sirius was getting
riled about. But when Sirius was plainly serious, he leaned forward and asked more
conspiratorily, "Is it because Remus sneaks out every now and then?"
Sirius' head had snapped up quickly, and he answered far too quickly, "Yes". Then
he looked down again and repeated, "yes. He hasn't gone out. I think it has something to
do with those packages he gets by owl. He gets one every month or sometimes week or so, but
nothing has come for him for over three weeks now." He looked up wearily at James. "But
he snuck out tonight, as you can see."
Even from the little slit of moonlight from the window, James could see Remus' bed
was empty. He nodded, and frowned. "But no package has come for him by owl, correct? So
you're wondering if your theory was wrong, and that his nightly disappearances aren't based
on packages."
Sirius gave a wry smile. "You know me too well, James." On the other side of the
room, Peter gave a snort and turned over. James tiptoed over to Sirius' bed, clapped him
lightly on the shoulder, and returned to bed. After a minute, he heard the rustle of
blankets and knew that Sirius had also gone to sleep. Thinking no more of what Sirius had
said, he had dropped off into sleep.
Huddled under the invisibility cloak, they leaned against the door and listened.
James felt Sirius bristle with anger when he identified the first voice immediately as being
the voice of Lucius Malfoy.
James could remember the rather unfortunate encounter Sirius had with Lucius just
the day after they had arrived at Hogwarts. It was the first day in classes, and it seemed
Lucius was threatening Remus with something awful in the Potions class the Gryffindors and
the Slytherins shared. Sirius had gone up, much to the amusement (and shock) of some of the
other Gryffindors and demanded that Lucius should pick on someone his own size. Of course,
that would have been Sirius; Remus could hardly be considered the same height as either
Sirius or Lucius. In fact, Remus was a full half a head shorter than most of the other
first years in the school. Being said an insult to Lucius (comparing Lucius' height with
Remus' height), Lucius had demanded that Sirius duel like a wizard gentleman with a wand
instead of with fists. But Sirius was already halfway across the classroom, where none of
the Slytherins could reach them in a crowd of Gryffindors. James never knew what became of
that wizard's duel. Had Sirius invited Remus to be his second?
He could almost hear Sirius' thoughts: "How dare that scum threaten someone!" And
when James found his ears had not deceived him and the second voice was INDEED Remus, Sirius
began to stand up. James and Peter quickly pulled him back down.
"What do you think you're doing?", Peter whispered fiercely from one side of Sirius.
"Do you want to get us all caught?", James hissed furiously at Sirius. "We need a
plan for this, Sirius. We all know you love Remus, so can you just calm down about Lucius?"
When Sirius attempted to get up again and Peter and James pulled him down, Sirius shot James
a heated look and said coldly, "Would you go after me if I was getting beaten up?" And
before James could react, Sirius had gotten up and opened the door.
, James groaned inwardly.
It seemed, when James and Peter finally had the courage to look inside, that all
thoughts of wizardry had flown out of the window when Sirius entered the room, for Remus was
in one corner, shirt torn and clad in only underwear, leaning over Sirius concernedly.
Adorning the room were 3 unconscious boys, "unconscious" via Sirius, who seemed very dazed
and out-of-whack. As the two newly-arrived passed the last line of desks towards Sirius,
James chanced a look at Lucius. The rich Slytherin was currently sporting a new yellow-
greenish looking bruise on one side of his jaw. James winced at the sight and moved on.
Remus had already taken his wand out and healed Sirius' cut on the side of one
cheek. Sirius deliriously muttered several phrases that sounded vaguely like "McGonagall
gonna catch us, Sirius" and "take the wand and aim it at the stump, Sirius. Say
'Abracadabra' nice and loud". Remus paused uncertainly at the last comment, but then took
his shirt and ripped the rest of it. He waved his wand over it, and James could have sworn
his lips had not moved in a spell before the cloth was wet and Remus began dabbing Sirius'
face with it.
James had to admit it was a touching scene. Remus' face was narrowed in fierce
concentration, and Sirius was taking this coddling-over more patiently than any other time
James had seen him get healed.
"Remus!", Sirius shouted suddenly. "What happened to you?"
The amber-eyed Gryffindor just slowly met James' eyes, and James could see something
other than the calm indifference that Remus usually showed in there. Was he pleading?
Yes, that must be it. He was asking James not to tell. But James didn't know what he was
asking not to tell. What secret of Remus could he possibly harbor without knowing it?
Then the gaze broke and Remus turned back to Sirius, with his black eyes wide with
apprehension. Remus began to dab at the taller Gryffindor's face again. "Nothing", he said
quietly after a moment. "Nothing happened."
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
Author's note:
Another boring chapter. I have no idea where this story is going. Just bear with
these muses, please.
Andrea Weiling
There was a feeling that was almost desperation that people noted when Remus Lupin
walked past. They saw, even when he was only eleven and in his first year at Hogwarts, the
gray hairs that streaked his auburn hair. The hair was another cause of speculation within
the Gryffindor house; no one had gray hair before, much less at this young of an age. The
only person who had any full, accountable amount of gray hair was the Headmaster, and he was
old, older than most people could count.
But when Remus Lupin walked past, whispers followed. Though some were about his
hair, his small, lithe stature, those were not the bulk of the rumors. Some said he was a
sorcerer who could conjure animals out of nowhere, for in the class Care for Magical
Creatures, he always had a quiet ability to almost talk to, and most certainly understand,
the animals that students were taught about. Some said that he was a genius in disguise,
some reincarnated form of a brilliant Muggle scientist, unnamed, but still brilliant. He
was smart, brilliantly so, so much that it was said Professor McGonagall had no more
curriculum to teach him in Transfiguration. His specialty in that class was transforming
anything inanimate into an animal. But surely, more people might have noticed his affinity
for animals sooner than he did?
He tried his best to quiet the whispers that followed Remus, but whatever he seemed
to do, the ripples in the pool just got bigger and bigger, until Dumbledore himself had to
discourage them. He almost gave up when Remus' monthly disappearances became noted and
people began to wander around, looking for the supposedly secretly hidden passage that
concealed Remus Lupin when he performed secret dark spells that insured good grades and
increased brain waves and intelligence. But he couldn't stop these. There was just too
much speculation already.
James clapped a hand to his shoulder the other day. "Give up", he saidto him.
"Remus can protect himself, Sirius."
But he couldn't stop hanging around that smart (brilliantly so) ) boy that, on the
other hand, didn't seem to grudge his appearance every 3 steps. Sirius didn't want to
admit to himself, nor to anyone else, that he had an uncanny attachment to Remus, even
though they had only met on the train a few weeks earlier. Sirius never really took to
anyone immediately like he had taken to Remus; people wondered what Remus had done to
appear so highly on Sirius' tab.
Sirius simply could not stay away from that (brilliant) boy that, on the other hand,
didn't seem to grudge his appearance every 3 steps. Sirius didn't want to admit to
himself, nor to anyone else, that he had an uncanny attachment to Remus, even though they
had only met on the train a few weeks earlier. Sirius never really took to anyone
immediately like he had taken to Remus; people wondered what Remus had done to appear so
highly on Sirius' tab.
Sirius, on the other hand, was not exactly the opposite of Remus, but he was
certainly different. He had the knack for getting in trouble (as opposed to Remus' perfect
record and knack for blending in with the rest of the population) and at the same time,
getting caught. Already he, James and Peter had already been caught off-grounds three
times, and all three times they were found deep (and hopelessly lost) in the Forbidden
Forest. But Sirius "assured" everyone (who didn't believe him firsthand) that he was not
looking for Remus' hideout for some devilry or another, and enforced that rule with as much
discouraging of the "many rumors of Remus" as he had begun to call them. Remus'
disappearances did not go unnoted by him, nor any other Gryffindor, as they tried to crack
the case and get to the middle of the secret that was Remus Lupin.
Remus did not talk to him, nor to anyone else. He seemed oblivious to the rest of
the world when there was work to do. The library was his sanctuary, to be sure, and no one
could approach him while he was there. He had a peculiar way of sending people scuttling
away when he didn't want to be disturbed: he would just stare at them, and they would
distinctly get the impression that he did not want company at the moment. But Sirius was
the exception; he could stay as long as he wanted to near Remus and Remus never did
anything.
James didn't exactly resent this sudden attraction Sirius had for Remus. Instead,
he looked at it as a chance for Remus' social life. Remus didn't seem to have any friends
other than Sirius, and occasionally, him and Peter. But mostly they stayed apart, except
for Sirius, who acted as an in between friend. James did, though, miss Sirius' hanging
around, but it seemed to help Remus, so he let the matter be.
Peter, in all words, had no opinion of this. He knew that Sirius was acting
strange, hanging around that boy Remus, who was smarter than most but just tried to hide it,
but he didn't resent Sirius or Remus. Instead, he was glad for the attention James paid to
him instead.
Remus and Sirius had their secret agenda that was all in their head and not written
down. It included a few hours after dinner that was spent in the library. If James had
asked, Sirius would have answered that Remus did not talk during these "sessions", as James
had begun to call them, but worked alone and apart, even though they were sitting at the
same table. He wouldn't say anything, usually, unless Sirius asked him something, and even
then it was usually only a one-or-few worded answer, curt and to the point. Sirius never
asked anything of Remus unless he had to, not because he didn't want to bother Remus, but
because Remus didn't like to answer questions.
Sirius tried to be equal. He tried to spend equal time with James and Peter and
Remus, but it didn't quite work. James knew this, and tried to make the time with Peter
seem interesting enough so that Sirius wouldn't feel too guilty about spending time with
Remus instead. Remus didn't seem to have anyone other than Sirius and his parents. James
knew that his parents, at the very least, cared for their child.
The packages came almost weekly by an old but strong-looking owl who fluttered and
hovered over Remus even after all the other owls were gone. Remus never opened the packages
in front of the other students, even when they asked. He would answer, "A book", or ,"Some
clothes", and continue eating his breakfast. James could see that this answer worried
Sirius, who knew mostly likely Remus was lying, because more often the packages did not
look like books or clothes or anything else James had seen. Several times there was no
package; rather, there were envelopes that looked as if they had been stuffed with
everything that could be fit in that limited amount of space. He didn't wonder as much as
Sirius did about this, partly because Remus had not paid any attention to him, nor did he
harbor a feeling close to *fascination* like Sirius did of Remus. But he did worry; nothing
good ever seem to come in those packages. He had seen Remus after he had gone into the
room they shared as first years, and open the packages in secrecy. He never saw what was
inside, but it never seemed to bear good news; Remus was always frowning or looked neutral
when he came back out. This only seemed to provoke Sirius' interest even more, but James
could not be sure this was a good thing. Remus was a private, conservative type, and he
could not imagine Remus pouring his heart to Sirius or himself or Peter anytime soon.
Gradually the whispers in the school about the old child died down, and Remus became
a very familiar sight in the library. People ignored him, and he didn't grudge the
inattention one bit.
Softly the three were padding down the corridor, looking left and right for Filch
and Ms. Norris, but they didn't seem to be out tonight. Nevertheless, they were quiet, and
on the alert all the time. It was Sirius, who had the keenest ears, that first heard the
talking from one of the classrooms. James thought for a moment. If his memory had served
him correctly, that was the classroom of Claudius Lornium, the former Advanced Study
teacher. There were no advanced classes anymore at Hogwarts; the year after Lornium had
been taken by the Ministry, the advanced system ended, and all people were set back down in
the same classes.
The second voice that answered the first was soft, smoothly restrained, but very
subservient-sounding to James. In fact, even from that distance, it sounded like Remus.
James remembered something that Sirius had told him a few nights ago. As they were
best friends, James had realized that something was pricking at Sirius' conscience. If
James had been a little more observant, he would have realized that Remus' monthly package
had not arrived by owl, and was now very overdue. But Sirius did notice, and when James
asked just what was irking him, Sirius answered plainly, "Remus".
"Just what about him?", James had asked. He hadn't seem much of a change in Remus'
rather brooding behavior in the last few days. He wondered just what Sirius was getting
riled about. But when Sirius was plainly serious, he leaned forward and asked more
conspiratorily, "Is it because Remus sneaks out every now and then?"
Sirius' head had snapped up quickly, and he answered far too quickly, "Yes". Then
he looked down again and repeated, "yes. He hasn't gone out. I think it has something to
do with those packages he gets by owl. He gets one every month or sometimes week or so, but
nothing has come for him for over three weeks now." He looked up wearily at James. "But
he snuck out tonight, as you can see."
Even from the little slit of moonlight from the window, James could see Remus' bed
was empty. He nodded, and frowned. "But no package has come for him by owl, correct? So
you're wondering if your theory was wrong, and that his nightly disappearances aren't based
on packages."
Sirius gave a wry smile. "You know me too well, James." On the other side of the
room, Peter gave a snort and turned over. James tiptoed over to Sirius' bed, clapped him
lightly on the shoulder, and returned to bed. After a minute, he heard the rustle of
blankets and knew that Sirius had also gone to sleep. Thinking no more of what Sirius had
said, he had dropped off into sleep.
Huddled under the invisibility cloak, they leaned against the door and listened.
James felt Sirius bristle with anger when he identified the first voice immediately as being
the voice of Lucius Malfoy.
James could remember the rather unfortunate encounter Sirius had with Lucius just
the day after they had arrived at Hogwarts. It was the first day in classes, and it seemed
Lucius was threatening Remus with something awful in the Potions class the Gryffindors and
the Slytherins shared. Sirius had gone up, much to the amusement (and shock) of some of the
other Gryffindors and demanded that Lucius should pick on someone his own size. Of course,
that would have been Sirius; Remus could hardly be considered the same height as either
Sirius or Lucius. In fact, Remus was a full half a head shorter than most of the other
first years in the school. Being said an insult to Lucius (comparing Lucius' height with
Remus' height), Lucius had demanded that Sirius duel like a wizard gentleman with a wand
instead of with fists. But Sirius was already halfway across the classroom, where none of
the Slytherins could reach them in a crowd of Gryffindors. James never knew what became of
that wizard's duel. Had Sirius invited Remus to be his second?
He could almost hear Sirius' thoughts: "How dare that scum threaten someone!" And
when James found his ears had not deceived him and the second voice was INDEED Remus, Sirius
began to stand up. James and Peter quickly pulled him back down.
"What do you think you're doing?", Peter whispered fiercely from one side of Sirius.
"Do you want to get us all caught?", James hissed furiously at Sirius. "We need a
plan for this, Sirius. We all know you love Remus, so can you just calm down about Lucius?"
When Sirius attempted to get up again and Peter and James pulled him down, Sirius shot James
a heated look and said coldly, "Would you go after me if I was getting beaten up?" And
before James could react, Sirius had gotten up and opened the door.
, James groaned inwardly.
It seemed, when James and Peter finally had the courage to look inside, that all
thoughts of wizardry had flown out of the window when Sirius entered the room, for Remus was
in one corner, shirt torn and clad in only underwear, leaning over Sirius concernedly.
Adorning the room were 3 unconscious boys, "unconscious" via Sirius, who seemed very dazed
and out-of-whack. As the two newly-arrived passed the last line of desks towards Sirius,
James chanced a look at Lucius. The rich Slytherin was currently sporting a new yellow-
greenish looking bruise on one side of his jaw. James winced at the sight and moved on.
Remus had already taken his wand out and healed Sirius' cut on the side of one
cheek. Sirius deliriously muttered several phrases that sounded vaguely like "McGonagall
gonna catch us, Sirius" and "take the wand and aim it at the stump, Sirius. Say
'Abracadabra' nice and loud". Remus paused uncertainly at the last comment, but then took
his shirt and ripped the rest of it. He waved his wand over it, and James could have sworn
his lips had not moved in a spell before the cloth was wet and Remus began dabbing Sirius'
face with it.
James had to admit it was a touching scene. Remus' face was narrowed in fierce
concentration, and Sirius was taking this coddling-over more patiently than any other time
James had seen him get healed.
"Remus!", Sirius shouted suddenly. "What happened to you?"
The amber-eyed Gryffindor just slowly met James' eyes, and James could see something
other than the calm indifference that Remus usually showed in there. Was he pleading?
Yes, that must be it. He was asking James not to tell. But James didn't know what he was
asking not to tell. What secret of Remus could he possibly harbor without knowing it?
Then the gaze broke and Remus turned back to Sirius, with his black eyes wide with
apprehension. Remus began to dab at the taller Gryffindor's face again. "Nothing", he said
quietly after a moment. "Nothing happened."
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
Author's note:
Another boring chapter. I have no idea where this story is going. Just bear with
these muses, please.
Andrea Weiling