Disclaimer: If Ms. Rowling wants it, she can have it.
Note: The title is not necessarily an indicator of Remus' house, read, you'll see. Mostly focused on character exploration.
Slytherin Remus
The muggle orphanage had been only too glad to be rid of him when his letter came. There had been much debate among the Hogwarts' faculty concerning him and it had come later than the other letters that had gone out to prospective first year students. Because term started only two days after the full moon, one of that same faculty arrived at the Home to escort Remus to the school before that event.
Remus had entered the child welfare system at the age of six and he had been shifted around it so many times; he must have seen the inside of almost every Boy's Home in the country. Never staying long enough in one place to develop any lasting friendships, survival within a system where the system itself both despised and feared him remained his highest priority.
So accustomed was he to ugly reactions that he had taken to hurting potential friends and enemies alike before they could hurt him, just to get the one-up. He had decided a few months ago that he was through with his "friends" always betraying him once they found out. To stand alone without friends was indeed lonely, but by his eleventh birthday, it seemed to be his permanent lot in life. Those wizards who knew and cared to do so speculated that he was fast becoming a Dark Creature. Most people who become werewolves are not born this way, but the two worlds; both wizarding and muggle, by their hatred shape many Weres into the very thing they fear. In the Nature versus Nurture debate concerning Weres, the advocates for Nurture inevitably won.
~
Ms. Bayliss, the matron of the Home Remus was currently staying at, stared at the parchment letter on her desk without touching it. The last time she had seen something in that style of writing had been in a museum; nobody used fountain pens anymore, much less goose quills, and the script was too irregular to have come from a pen. Parchment too, she had seen in that same museum, but it had been dry and crisp looking, not soft and supple like this almost velvety material. Must be a dream to write on. But that was only its appearance! The contents, well that didn't bear thinking about.
Remus was what she would call a "problem child" even without the odd note that had accompanied his arrival here, shortly after the full moon last week. He was often moody and quiet, repelling any attempts at friendship by the other boys. Sometimes it seemed like he was deliberately trying to scare them off.
Ms. Bayliss liked to think she was open-minded, but that note disturbed her. Werewolves were only stories like the boogeyman, told to frighten children into behaving. Still, she couldn't help but be relieved to have Remus off her hands before he caused any trouble. The manila file labeled Lupin, Remus and placed neatly beside the letter on her desk was quite thick.
Maybe this was an elaborate prank by one of her boys, but no, none of her boys had the resources to pull off a prank that included the small brown owl preening itself on the peeling windowsill. It was pouring outside and he was reluctant to leave her relatively warm office. She glanced at the line near the bottom of the letter, "because the full moon occurs so soon before term starts, Professor McGonagall will come soon to escort our new student here before that event." Even though she felt some trepidation at meeting someone who communicated by tying notes to owls, she was relieved. Werewolf or no, Remus would no longer be her problem.
~
Minerva McGonagall tried to conceal her shock at the emaciated appearance of her young charge. Well versed in history, both muggle and wizard, she knew his name referred to the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, a pair of orphans who had been raised by a she-wolf. She watched him throwing his few things into a plastic shopping bag and snorted quietly, forgetting already that his hearing was not as dim as hers and reminded of that fact when he turned for a moment and glared sullenly at her. She met his shadowed gaze levelly, thinking, "Raised by a wolf indeed. I'd rather be raised by a wolf than an orphanage." Still, while an orphanage was not the best place to grow up, she knew it could have been worse. A lot worse.
~
Upon their arrival at the school the professor had taken him straight up to the headmaster's office. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it hadn't been the wizened old man that greeted them. "Remus, welcome to Hogwarts. Minerva, thank you. I trust your trip went well?"
"As well as can be expected, Headmaster." She spoke tiredly and Remus glanced at her, surprised by her fortitude. Even though Ms. Bayliss had clearly been glad to be rid of him, she had given the professor a lot of red tape and forms which had taken hours to fill out and conjure the right credentials for in order to satisfy the matron's superiors. They had gone from there to a hidden back alley full of shops to buy school supplies and funny clothing the professor had called "robes". Looking down at himself now, he had to admit they were much more comfortable than what he was used to, even if they did look a bit odd. Oddity, he saw, looking around the cluttered office, was something he was going to have to get used to.
"Remus, this is our headmaster, Professor Dumbledore."
If he was really going to be here for the next seven years, he decided he'd better make a good impression. "It's a pleasure to meet you Sir." He said, holding out his right hand as he'd seen others do. Dumbledore's handshake was firm but bony, not frail, and Remus thought he must be older than he had first appeared. He seemed to think about every word before speaking, as though he would never act in haste. Telling himself to be cautious, he wondered if he might be able to trust the man. From the letter he'd sent, he already knew his secret anyway. He had said that he had made arrangements for his transformations during the full moon. In his mind, Remus questioned what those might be.
"Forgive me Headmaster, I have to work to do before our students descend on us next week."
"Of course Minerva, I won't keep you."
"Good day, then."
"Please sit down, Remus." The headmaster said, gesturing towards two comfortable-looking chairs in the corner. "Lemon drop?" He asked, offering a bowl of brightly wrapped candies. "Can't hurt." Remus thought, taking one and politely thanking him. After having spent the last five years in one under-funded orphanage after another, candy was a real luxury. Rather than risk the awkwardness of asking where the can was, he pocketed the wrapper to throw away later. For someone who knows I'm a werewolf, he's being awfully nice. Come to think of it, how had he gotten into this school, and who was paying for it?
Settling into his chair and giving him a direct look, the headmaster began, "I have had werewolf students here before, Remus; you are not the first, and be it in my power you will not be the last. To be honest, not all of the faculty here have been entirely supportive of my decision this time, but I firmly believe that you have as much right to a magical education as any other student here. Only the faculty and staff will know where you go every full moon, and whether anyone else knows will be entirely up to you." He sighed and told the wary boy in front of him what he already knew, "I must caution you to choose wisely whom you tell, for your own safety. You know that many people would hate and fear you if they knew, and so they must not know. Do you understand?" Of course he understands, Albus. Far more than you do. Older than his years, he is. Watching the eleven-year-old's guarded nod, he filled him in. "Madame Pomfrey is our school nurse and will watch over you every month during the full moon. There is an abandoned building just off school grounds where you will be safe during that time. Traditionally, the other students do not arrive until the first of September, when they come into Hogsmeade by train. The new students are sorted into their separate houses in a ceremony at that time. You will join them for the sorting at that time, but for now you can stay in one of the guest rooms. This is a very large school, and I'm sure you will find many things to occupy you in that time" He said this last with some inner laughter, not bothering to keep his face straight, the slight crinkling at the corners of his eyes betraying him as he remembered the labyrinth of secret passages and tunnels running through the ancient fortress.
Remus let out a sigh of relief, thinking maybe things at his new home would be better than he had dared to hope.
~
Two days before the other students arrived, the full moon prepared to rise over Hogwarts. Ensconced inside a spell-guarded abandoned building and wearing an old robe, Remus felt safe from fear of harming others for the first time since he had been bitten and his parents killed. His brother had survived, but after the child welfare system heard about his first transformation, he had lost any shred of hope of ever seeing him again. They had separated the twin boys, seeing no value in keeping them together, one so cursed as he was.
The light that had come in through the cracks in the boarded up windows when Madame Pomfrey left him was fleeting all too soon. Since that fatal night, he had never had to turn his eyes to the sky to know exactly where the moon was at any time, now he knew with a terrible certainty that it had cleared the horizon as his very brain was reshaped to fit inside the wolf's elongated skull, bones popped, stretched and broke to form new joints. Before the transformation from boy to half-grown wolf was complete, he had forgotten his own name.
Dawn's break brought no relief, it was only when the sun's rays actually banished the moon from the morning sky that an exhausted Remus returned to himself curled amid a ruin of furniture and shredded wallpaper. A soft knock at the battered door was Madame Pomfrey. Calling through the door in a hoarse voice, he assured her it was safe to enter. Well-oiled hinges made little sound as she approached from the dark tunnel. "Remus, good morning." She said, handing him one of his robes and tsking over the one he had shredded during the night. "Put this on over that one, and its up to the infirmary with you, no exploring today Dear, you've got to rest." At the thought of mustering the energy to explore, he shuddered and didn't argue. The walk back to the castle seemed to take forever, and when they finally reached the infirmary, he was only too glad to crash headlong into one of the beds.
~
The day when the other students were to come finally arrived. Professor McGonagall caught him after lunch to tell him to meet her just inside the front entrance at six, no later, or he'd miss joining the other students and the sorting ceremony. Remus had no intention of being late, so he kept a close watch on the clock that afternoon and was at the front entrance before she was.
"There you are. Good. You may join me where I'll be looking out for the first years from that window." she said, pointing to one a few feet to the left of the door and walking to it. "When I go out to greet them, you are to stay here and slip in behind them when they have passed though. You should be able to do that without being noticed."
He hoped he could. If they asked questions… he didn't know what he'd tell them. Maybe McGonagall would cover for him; she seemed decent enough, despite his first impression of the very stern teacher. He'd been certain that she was that way because of him and he'd resented it, but now he knew that wasn't true; she was like that with everyone. He didn't want her help though; he could to take care of himself. Who am I kidding? That's all I've been doing these past five years.
~
Remus rolled over on his bed in his new dorm with a groan. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten so much, indeed, overeaten. That was stupid, why'd you have to eat like a ravening wolf in front of all those strange people? They probably think you've been through famine, or worse. How had he gotten into Gryffindor? When he'd put on that old hat, he'd felt sure it would automatically place him in Slytherin, no matter what. But it had told him, "Remember Boy, its not what people think of you that makes you who you are, it's who you decide to be." He hadn't been able to tell if it was laughing. "I think some of your teachers expect me to put you in Slytherin, shall I surprise them?" Trying hard to keep his jaw from dropping, he gave his assent and heard it shout, "GRIFFINDOR!" The last thing he heard before he left the stool was a quiet, "Who will you be?"
Sitting up in bed to punch at his pillow, he spotted two other boys sitting up talking. How he would have loved to join them. Despite the late hour, it didn't look like anything secret, so he wouldn't be intruding, would he? They hadn't stopped talking when he made noise sitting up, but then one of them laughed softly and he stopped. Was it really such a good idea to make friends? The more people who knew him, the more likely it was that someone would find out his secret and betray him. With an inner sigh, he turned back to punching his pillow. I'll just have to choose my friends carefully. Very carefully. No one must know until I am sure I can trust them with my life.
I want to write this into a full-length RIAW, but I don't know if this is a good start, so please review and let me know! I know there are already 20zillion of these out there, but (hopefully) mine will be a bit different (I live in hope).