Hogwarts?
The sunshine was not what awoke the boy in a bright Yorkshire home that summer morning that Lily had received her letter. This boy was awake because he had just had an extremely difficult evening (and night), and was currently nursing several nasty cuts, scabs and bruises that he had acquired. He could hear birds awaking with the dawn, and the ripples of the wind seeping through his curtains into his bedroom, although he had not spent the night there.
Feeling the early morning sunshine on his face after such a difficult night was like drinking the Elixir of Life every time. The boy loved the sunshine, it was so warm and soft on his delicate skin and he regarded it almost as a second mother, for it were nursing to his wounds and a painkiller to his heart. His real mother, he heard, was getting up in the next room. He heard her mutter a few spells in several different directions, and then heard her muttering about how worn her robes were.
She knew, of course, that her son was awake. He was every month, but she knew better than to disturb him by now, he always liked his privacy after full moon. And so Remus Lupin sat quietly in his room with a book balanced on his uninjured knee, reading quietly. She went about her usual morning without the boy, preparing breakfast, cleaning the house, putting the books that Remus had to leave last night away the Muggle way. Remus didn't like the way that magic was rather clumsy with things like books, and he insisted she put them away manually as he called it. She sighed heavily, thinking of her sons love for books and how he would probably never be given the chance to study at Hogwarts the way she had.
But Albus Dumbledore, the new headmaster as of last year was coming round to visit that afternoon. She hoped beyond belief that he would somehow help her son, maybe get him a little private tutoring. there was only so much she could teach him after all, and he had so much potential.
Just then she heard her son leaving his room and going into the kitchen to wash up. She left him for a few minutes, and then brought a goblet of a potion to heal his wounds into the room.
"Thank you mum" he said almost without looking up. There were a few silvery tears in his eye. The potion stung for a few seconds until soothing the cuts and bruises on his skin, and sealing them. His pale, fragile hands trembled as he added a bit more of the potion into his thigh, where an ugly gash was seeping wine-red liquid onto the floor.
"Sorry, I got a bit of blood on the floor mum, I'll go and clear it up once I've done with this," Remus muttered, almost embarrassed. "Don't worry about it son," she flicked her wand, "I've already taken care of it."
Remus giggled, he wished he could do that, but the chances of him ever learning proper magic were very slim, he wouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts, although he wanted to so incredibly much, and there was no way in wizarding hell his mother could afford to get him private tutoring.
After breakfast his mother always let him do his own thing, which usually involved him cuddling up with a book on the battered old sofa, while it groaned and complained that he was too bony and snapped at him if he put his feet on it, and reading a book. However, this time she kept talking to him as she cleared away the dishes, and they were quite happily joking about in the kitchen as if it were the evening. Suddenly Remus had an idea.
"Mum, please can you teach to me a simple spell." He looked at her pleadingly, " just one, a really simple one."
His mother sighed. She really shouldn't, but her son looked at her with such a face that she couldn't resist, however bad a time it may be. Swishing and flicking they slowly went over the basics of a levitating charm. At first Remus used a spoon instead of his mum's wand, because he didn't want to break anything (they had too little money as it was). By lunchtime he was confident enough to try with a wand.
For some strange reason, though she had been enthusiastic all morning his mother was now trying to talk him out of taking the wand and levitating one of the feathers that Remus had carefully removed form a very bemused sofa in the sitting room.
But now he was determined to do this and determination was not something this shy boy lacked. Grabbing his mothers wand he swished and flicked and said "Wingardium Leviosa"
What happened next was a bit off a muddle and .well actually it was a lot of a muddle.
Remus dropped the wand in shock as a tall wizard with an incredibly long beard that was tucked into his belt Apperated in front of him where the feather was. The feather caught light setting the wizards beard on fire, while the wand fell to the ground and, with a bang, made the stone bubble and mould into strawberries and bananas, while becoming as slippery as ice and causing everyone in the kitchen to end up straddling a strawberry while nursing bruises and cuts.
"Good Afternoon Larentia, it's a lovely afternoon is it not?" the tall man said to Remus' mother, while casually flicking his wand to restore the kitchen back into order. Everything apart from the strawberries was back to normal. "Rather comfortable these things aren't they?" The old wizard had a twinkle in his eye, and smiled at Remus mother.
"Good afternoon Remus. It seems you will make a rather powerful wizard after a little training."
Remus was positively terrified. Who was this man and more importantly, how had he just appeared out of thin air like that? And where was the feather?
"What are you doing here?" Remus asked feebly, and realising a second later how rude he had been.
The old man smiled at him, his eyes again mischievously twinkling, and said, "Well, now that you ask, Remus, I suppose I should tell you the purpose of my visit."
Remus continued to look anxious, while Larentia smiled weakly and drew in a hopeful breath.
"I was wondering where you intend to study magic Remus, because you haven't been entered for Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. You name has been down for Hogwarts ever since you were born."
Remus looked up at the man in astonishment, this couldn't be. couldn't.he was a werewolf; they would never let him. he pinched himself. He didn't wake up. Hardly daring to think anymore he said slowly "Well, as you can see my mother is beginning to teach me magic, we can manage."
Dumbledore chuckled, and looked Remus right in the eyes. Dumbledore had very bright blue eyes, and although Remus was usually very uncomfortable with looking into people's eyes, even his own mothers at times (he assumed it came from the werewolf part of him) Dumbledore's were so full of good, so pure that he didn't flinch once. There were narrow and yet bright as the morning sky, and filled him with similar warmth to that of the sunshine.
His silver hair didn't frighten Remus as silver things usually did, instead he saw in it the light of one thousand stars, and was in awe. Although he didn't know him, he already respected him.
"Remus, do you really want to be stuck in the house for the next 7 years while all those your age are out enjoying their youth?"
"N...no sir" Remus could believe the excitement brewing in his stomach. His vision was blurred his hearing fuzzy he couldn't feel, he couldn't smell, his mouth was bone dry. Next thing he knew Dumbledore handed him a big letter, with all his schoolbooks and details. Remus' eyes were moving so fast that he couldn't hear what his mother and the Headmaster were saying, and as he skipped merrily round the kitchen he heard snippets of
"Werewolf.willow.perfectly safe.yes, no need to."
Remus didn't care! He was going to HOGWARTS!
***
Several miles away in a small village in Devon, a young boy with very messy hair was chasing an owl around the yard on a broomstick. The owl obviously had a letter for him, because it wasn't going inside, but it was quite obviously terrified of the boy as he zoomed between trees and walls after the owl.
"JAMES!" he heard his mothers voice and attempted to land softly at her side, however he was going at a rather rapid speed and therefore ended up in a heap in the rosebush, with the angry owl sitting on his head and furiously nibbling his ear for attention.
"Oh what's this. I never get mail!" James grabbed the letter and tore it open, and let out a yelp. "Hogwarts! No one told me it was Hogwarts letter day today!"
His father snorted. "We didn't know if you'd get in boy" and James Potter promptly fell off his broom yet again.
The sunshine was not what awoke the boy in a bright Yorkshire home that summer morning that Lily had received her letter. This boy was awake because he had just had an extremely difficult evening (and night), and was currently nursing several nasty cuts, scabs and bruises that he had acquired. He could hear birds awaking with the dawn, and the ripples of the wind seeping through his curtains into his bedroom, although he had not spent the night there.
Feeling the early morning sunshine on his face after such a difficult night was like drinking the Elixir of Life every time. The boy loved the sunshine, it was so warm and soft on his delicate skin and he regarded it almost as a second mother, for it were nursing to his wounds and a painkiller to his heart. His real mother, he heard, was getting up in the next room. He heard her mutter a few spells in several different directions, and then heard her muttering about how worn her robes were.
She knew, of course, that her son was awake. He was every month, but she knew better than to disturb him by now, he always liked his privacy after full moon. And so Remus Lupin sat quietly in his room with a book balanced on his uninjured knee, reading quietly. She went about her usual morning without the boy, preparing breakfast, cleaning the house, putting the books that Remus had to leave last night away the Muggle way. Remus didn't like the way that magic was rather clumsy with things like books, and he insisted she put them away manually as he called it. She sighed heavily, thinking of her sons love for books and how he would probably never be given the chance to study at Hogwarts the way she had.
But Albus Dumbledore, the new headmaster as of last year was coming round to visit that afternoon. She hoped beyond belief that he would somehow help her son, maybe get him a little private tutoring. there was only so much she could teach him after all, and he had so much potential.
Just then she heard her son leaving his room and going into the kitchen to wash up. She left him for a few minutes, and then brought a goblet of a potion to heal his wounds into the room.
"Thank you mum" he said almost without looking up. There were a few silvery tears in his eye. The potion stung for a few seconds until soothing the cuts and bruises on his skin, and sealing them. His pale, fragile hands trembled as he added a bit more of the potion into his thigh, where an ugly gash was seeping wine-red liquid onto the floor.
"Sorry, I got a bit of blood on the floor mum, I'll go and clear it up once I've done with this," Remus muttered, almost embarrassed. "Don't worry about it son," she flicked her wand, "I've already taken care of it."
Remus giggled, he wished he could do that, but the chances of him ever learning proper magic were very slim, he wouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts, although he wanted to so incredibly much, and there was no way in wizarding hell his mother could afford to get him private tutoring.
After breakfast his mother always let him do his own thing, which usually involved him cuddling up with a book on the battered old sofa, while it groaned and complained that he was too bony and snapped at him if he put his feet on it, and reading a book. However, this time she kept talking to him as she cleared away the dishes, and they were quite happily joking about in the kitchen as if it were the evening. Suddenly Remus had an idea.
"Mum, please can you teach to me a simple spell." He looked at her pleadingly, " just one, a really simple one."
His mother sighed. She really shouldn't, but her son looked at her with such a face that she couldn't resist, however bad a time it may be. Swishing and flicking they slowly went over the basics of a levitating charm. At first Remus used a spoon instead of his mum's wand, because he didn't want to break anything (they had too little money as it was). By lunchtime he was confident enough to try with a wand.
For some strange reason, though she had been enthusiastic all morning his mother was now trying to talk him out of taking the wand and levitating one of the feathers that Remus had carefully removed form a very bemused sofa in the sitting room.
But now he was determined to do this and determination was not something this shy boy lacked. Grabbing his mothers wand he swished and flicked and said "Wingardium Leviosa"
What happened next was a bit off a muddle and .well actually it was a lot of a muddle.
Remus dropped the wand in shock as a tall wizard with an incredibly long beard that was tucked into his belt Apperated in front of him where the feather was. The feather caught light setting the wizards beard on fire, while the wand fell to the ground and, with a bang, made the stone bubble and mould into strawberries and bananas, while becoming as slippery as ice and causing everyone in the kitchen to end up straddling a strawberry while nursing bruises and cuts.
"Good Afternoon Larentia, it's a lovely afternoon is it not?" the tall man said to Remus' mother, while casually flicking his wand to restore the kitchen back into order. Everything apart from the strawberries was back to normal. "Rather comfortable these things aren't they?" The old wizard had a twinkle in his eye, and smiled at Remus mother.
"Good afternoon Remus. It seems you will make a rather powerful wizard after a little training."
Remus was positively terrified. Who was this man and more importantly, how had he just appeared out of thin air like that? And where was the feather?
"What are you doing here?" Remus asked feebly, and realising a second later how rude he had been.
The old man smiled at him, his eyes again mischievously twinkling, and said, "Well, now that you ask, Remus, I suppose I should tell you the purpose of my visit."
Remus continued to look anxious, while Larentia smiled weakly and drew in a hopeful breath.
"I was wondering where you intend to study magic Remus, because you haven't been entered for Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. You name has been down for Hogwarts ever since you were born."
Remus looked up at the man in astonishment, this couldn't be. couldn't.he was a werewolf; they would never let him. he pinched himself. He didn't wake up. Hardly daring to think anymore he said slowly "Well, as you can see my mother is beginning to teach me magic, we can manage."
Dumbledore chuckled, and looked Remus right in the eyes. Dumbledore had very bright blue eyes, and although Remus was usually very uncomfortable with looking into people's eyes, even his own mothers at times (he assumed it came from the werewolf part of him) Dumbledore's were so full of good, so pure that he didn't flinch once. There were narrow and yet bright as the morning sky, and filled him with similar warmth to that of the sunshine.
His silver hair didn't frighten Remus as silver things usually did, instead he saw in it the light of one thousand stars, and was in awe. Although he didn't know him, he already respected him.
"Remus, do you really want to be stuck in the house for the next 7 years while all those your age are out enjoying their youth?"
"N...no sir" Remus could believe the excitement brewing in his stomach. His vision was blurred his hearing fuzzy he couldn't feel, he couldn't smell, his mouth was bone dry. Next thing he knew Dumbledore handed him a big letter, with all his schoolbooks and details. Remus' eyes were moving so fast that he couldn't hear what his mother and the Headmaster were saying, and as he skipped merrily round the kitchen he heard snippets of
"Werewolf.willow.perfectly safe.yes, no need to."
Remus didn't care! He was going to HOGWARTS!
***
Several miles away in a small village in Devon, a young boy with very messy hair was chasing an owl around the yard on a broomstick. The owl obviously had a letter for him, because it wasn't going inside, but it was quite obviously terrified of the boy as he zoomed between trees and walls after the owl.
"JAMES!" he heard his mothers voice and attempted to land softly at her side, however he was going at a rather rapid speed and therefore ended up in a heap in the rosebush, with the angry owl sitting on his head and furiously nibbling his ear for attention.
"Oh what's this. I never get mail!" James grabbed the letter and tore it open, and let out a yelp. "Hogwarts! No one told me it was Hogwarts letter day today!"
His father snorted. "We didn't know if you'd get in boy" and James Potter promptly fell off his broom yet again.