Sorry it took SO LONG to update, but it's worth it, I promise!!!

Characters that are mine in this chapter:

Peter Lupin

Susan Lupin

Sebastian Potter

Elizabeth Potter

Charles Black

Avril Black

THANKS!

P.S. If you haven't read my other chapters, then you must in order to get this one!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 3: WANDS, DINNER, AND A TRANSFORMATION

All four of the figures turned quickly to see who had entered the aged shop, "Oh hello Peter!" said and old, shriveled man standing next to Lily. "Ash, eleven and a half inches, dragon heartstring, superb for Charms. Oh, and dear Susan. Yours was oak, ten inches, unicorn hair, am I right?"

Susan beamed back at him, "Yes Mr. Ollivander."

"Oh, this must be Remus." He edged closer to Remus, gazing fixedly at him with silvery eyes. "Yes, yes, yes, I have been waiting to meet you. Very interesting your wand will be.... Yet, the Ms. Evans is first of course." The ancient man returned to where he had been standing previously. "Why don't you three just wait a moment while I attempt to find a wand for Lily."

The trio moved away from the doorway and next to a set of battered shelves, holding an unfathomable number of slim, long boxes. "...here, try this dear." This man, Ollivander as he was called, handed a small ebony box to Lily. Inside contained a wand in evergreen velvet upholstery, she awed at its beauty. "This is a very special wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. It's excellent for Charm work."

Lily took the wand from Mr. Ollivander and made one long swish through the air. Golden and scarlet sparks blasted into the space where she had traced.

"Excellent." Dumbledore spoke softly to himself.

"Yes, very excellent. Now that'd be seven galleons please." Lily paid the man while watching him putting her wand back in its case and wrapping it. Remus felt that sickness to his stomach again, the same nervousness taking over his brain as before. This man seemed to know something about him and he didn't like it.

Lily, Hagrid, Dumbledore moved toward the exit but instead of opening the door, and heading out to the street, they merely turned about and seemed intent to watch Remus receive his wand.

"Ah, now Mr. Lupin, shall we?" Ollivander procured a silver measuring tape, he stretched it out and approached Remus. "Wand hand?" he inquired.

"Right." he replied nervously.

The silver measuring tape extended itself from his fingers to his elbow, then his elbow to shoulder and kept measuring until Ollivander said annoyed, "That's good enough."

He made his way behind the counter and disappeared behind another set of shelves, mumbling to himself incoherently. "Ah, no... no... here we go." He emerged from the dark beyond pulling a short, slim wand from an ancient box. "Twelve inches, dragon heartstring, made of Elder wood."

Remus took the wand from the withered hand and mimicked what Lily had done earlier and waved it through the air. Boxes suddenly shot out of the shelves which Remus was next to. Dust filled the room like a giant puff of smoke. "Sorry."

"No, no, no, don't worry young man." The dust had cleared somewhat, and he could see the outline of Ollivander. "Repairo." The dozens of boxes which laid on the floor filed back into the places, all was right once again. Remus placed the wand cautiously into the box it came from. "No... dragon was definably NOT the right choice. Hmm... how about this one."

Once again Remus took a wand from the aged wizard. Swoosh, the wand this time set a fire to Ollivander's robes. "Dreadfully sorry." Remus replied feeling utterly embarrassed. Again he placed the wand into the box of its origin.

He took the box and set back upon the shelf. Ollivander muttering to himself again, went to far corner of the shop, and spotting a locked cabinet, slipped a key within the lock and turned it sharply. The glass door opened abruptly and Ollivander searched each shelf, concentrating very hard. Finally finding the wand he was looking for, he returned and said quietly, "Try this Mr. Lupin."

Remus took the wand from the hand, and grasped it. He felt a pleasant warmth fill his arm and he streaked the wand through the thick air. Instead of gold and red parks, his wand emitted black streaks. He heard Lily and Susan awe at their beauty.

Ollivander held out for the wand and quietly spoke, "Remus, you have a very special wand here. It's eleven and a half inches, made of ebony wood from Africa, and instead of a phoenix feather, unicorn hair, or a dragon heartstring, it has a single hair from the hide of a werewolf. It is very rare, as you may know, retrieving a hair from a werewolf is very difficult indeed. It is a very, very powerful wand, I believe you are a responsible young man so I will save you from the speech I usually give." He puttered back to his counter and retrieved from below brown wrapping paper. He wrapped the case and said, "Seven Galleons please."

Peter walked to the counter and pulled seven Galleons from the depths of his robes. "Have a good day everyone." Ollivander beamed.

The company walked out of the shop, and into the bright alleyway which dazzled their eyes. Lily said uncertainly, It's about-" she checked her watch, "four o'clock now. I've gotten everything on my list, so do you mind if I walk about the place and look in some of the shops?" She looked to Dumbledore inquisitorially.

"I don't mind Lily. Have fun." He replied the deep sapphire eyes twinkling.

"Just remember to meet us in the Leaky Cauldron at five." Susan interjected.

Lily giggled, "Of course. Well, as soon as I can get into the crowd without being stampeded...."

"Well... where should we go next? I've only got one item so far." Remus suggested.

"How about let's go get your books. The store is just across the way." Peter pointed.

"Excuse me, sorry to intrude-" A boy interjected the group. He had black hair, hazel eyes, and wore glasses. "-but I need to get into this shop."

Dumbledore turned to face him, "Why, hello James."

"Hey Professor!" James replied.

"Where are your parents?"

"Oh, well they're back there, " he pointed behind him, indicating the crowd, "they can't catch up with me." James grinned. "I'm going to try to convince them later to take my to the Quidditch place. My mum swore to never take dad and I there again."

Dumbledore chuckled, "Well I'd like to talk to them at any rate today. Peter, Susan, Remus, Lily, would you mind if the Potters', Hagrid, and I join you for supper, five o'clock in the Leaky Cauldron later?"

"Of course not." Peter said, grinning, "Is your father Sebastian Potter."

James looked taken aback, "Yes, how do you know him?"

Peter laughed, "We went to school together, haven't seen him in years. I'm looking forward even more so to supper. Tell him Peter Lupin said hi won't you?"

"Of course!"

Susan tugged at her husband's shoulder, "If we never leave the shop, we'll never get Remus's things before supper."

"Right, well nice meeting you James. See you later." Peter waved Dumbledore, Hagrid, and James away.



* * *

They entered the Leaky Cauldron with four shopping bags and a new barn owl for Remus an hour later to find four people gathered between two joined tables. Dumbledore waved toward them and motioned for them to sit down. "We waited for you three and Lily to order."

"Hey Pete! How are you?" A handsome man turned to face them, he had black short hair, his eyes were hazel, and his face looked as though it never had a sad look upon it. His wife also turned, she had long auburn hair which came to her waist, sparkling sapphire eyes behind wire-framed glasses examined them, rosebud lips, and her smile was warm and inviting.

"Hello Sebastian, it's been about twelve years hasn't it?" Peter replied, shaking his hand sitting down. "You remember Susan don't you? You've never met my son, Remus." Susan and Remus shook Sebastian's hand beaming.

"Well, this is my wife, Elizabeth, and I believe you've already met James."

"Yes, we had a polite conversation in front of Ollivander's." Peter said, situating himself on Sebastian's left side. Looking around expectantly, he said, "Does anyone know where Lily is?"

"I don't believe so. But if someone would kindly look for her...." Dumbledore trailed off.

"I will." Remus said, happy for an excuse to see Lily again without everyone with him.

"Do you mean that red-haired girl who was with you earlier?" James glanced up at Remus.

"Yeah, that's her." Remus replied.

"Well, d'you mind if I come with?" James addressed, half-raising from his chair.

"Of course not." Remus grinned. They waved to everyone and headed towards the courtyard. James dug out his new wand from beneath his robes and tapped the bricks which opened up the alleyway again.

"So... er... I guess our dads knew each other." Remus trailed off, in hope of starting a conversation.

"Yeah, I've heard him talk about your dad before, I remember him saying that they lost contact over the years since Hogwarts. He said that he knew your dad had a son and that he'd be about my age... well, I guess he was right wasn't he?" James replied, smiling.

"So, I'm taking it that this is your first year also?"

"Yep, hope I get sorted in Gryffindor when I get to school. Anything but Slytherin, by what dad tells me there's some pretty bad people who come out of there...." James trailed off, stepping over a basket in the middle of the alley.

"I hope I get into Gryffindor too. Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, yet I've heard Gryffindors are some of the best of their years at school." Remus smiled and turned to look at James.

"Well, here we are carrying on a conversation and we don't know ANYTHING about each other except our names." James laughed, "What Quidditch team do you support?"

"Well, England is pretty good, yet I'd have to say that I am an Ireland fan."

"Me too! ...Hey, isn't that the girl we're looking for?"

Remus careened his neck over the thinning crowd to spot where James was pointing, "Yeah, that's Lily. HEY LILY! OVER HERE!"

Lily looked up, slightly startled to hear her name called. She too scanned the street, looking for the origin of the shouting. "Oh. hi Remus!"

Remus and James trotted up to the Magical Menagerie where she was standing in front of. "Everyone's waiting for you back in the Leaky Cauldron."

"Oh dear! I must have lost track of time. I'm dreadfully sorry! I was just looking for a new owl and I haven't bothered looking at my watch whatsoever!!" Lily squealed.

"Oh it's fine. We just wanted to know where you were that's all. Oh, and here's James Potter if you haven't met him already. He and his family are dinning with us tonight."

When Remus said James's name, James took his hand and rumpled his hair in the back of his head. He inclined his hand toward Lily, "Hello."

She smiled and shook his palm, "Hi."

"Well, erm, should we get going then?" Remus inquired politely.

"Yes," replied Lily tearing her eyes away from James, "Let my just pay for my owl." Lily entered the shop and a few seconds later, emerged with a snow-white owl. In her hands she was carrying many shopping bags. "Um, Remus? Could you give my a hand for a second?"

"Sure." Remus took from her two of the five bags.

"I can help too." James piped up.

"Thank you!" Lily graciously thanked them.

The trio, arms tied down with shopping bags and an owl cage, made their way up the street in the fading light. "I just hope we're not too late." Lily whispered to herself.

The warmth washed over them as they entered the brightly lit pub. "There they are!" exclaimed Dumbledore, clearly watching the door, awaiting for their arrival.

"Thank goodness!" Sebastian tilted his chair back on four legs, "I'm staving!"

Elizabeth smiled and shook her head slightly, "Sometimes, I can't tell whose the father or the son."

"I see your point." Susan replied, smiling.

It was a very enjoyable meal. The nine occupants seated at the conjoined tables laughed as Sebastian and Peter recounted their times together, Remus even heard Dumbledore chuckle at the occasional joke they played. Half an hour later however, four people entered the pub and changed everyone's sleepy, relaxed mood entirely.

"Sirius, let go of Regulus. Stay behind us you despicable child, next time you touch your brother I swear...." What exactly the dark man swore was a mystery to Remus for the man and presumable wife suddenly spotted Professor Dumbledore, both their pairs of eyes contracted to slits.

"Hello Charles, Avril. These are Sirius and Regulus I imagine?" Dumbledore spoke to them in a soft tone.

"Hello Dumbledore, yes these are our children." The man Charles replied jerkily.

The boy named Sirius popped his out from behind his father, his face full of curiosity, "Are you really Professor Dumbledore of Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore turned to face Sirius, "Yes young Sirius, I will see you September 1st."

"Goodbye Dumbledore." Avril replied, brushing the ebony curtain of hair out of her black eyes and starting to march off, leading Regulus by the hand.

"Goodbye Professor." Sirius chirped following his father out the door.

James looked inquisitorially at Dumbledore, "Is that boy, Sirius, a first year too?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply, "Yes, but his parents feel strongly about his acceptance."

"Why in the world would his parents feel strongly about his acceptance to Hogwarts?" Remus stuttered to reply to this outrageous statement.

"Well, let me just say that his parents went to Hogwarts some years ago, and to make a long tale short, they really do not approve of me." Dumbledore gazed down at his half-eaten pork chops and began eating again. "I wish for Sirius to come to Hogwarts. He is very intelligent and open-minded, contrary to his up-bringing of course."

After a while of lounging about the table (all forgetting the incident earlier with Sirius and his family, except for Remus and Dumbledore) all were feeling stuffed to the brim.

"Well, you'd best be getting home soon. I've got a report due tomorrow for Stewart." Sebastian rose from the table, yawning largely and started to shake everyone's hand across the table. "Good night everyone. Oh, and Peter, don't forget to send some post. We catch a Quidditch match or somethin' sometime." He smiled and turned to James and Elizabeth, "Did you say goodbye?"

James stood up and turned to face Remus, "Bye Remus." He shook his hand, "I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September 1st. Find me, alright?" James grinned and Remus mirrored him.

"Sure." The three of them walked to the exit into the muggle London. The candle light danced on Remus's face as the wind blew in. Someone had obviously just came into the pub. It was the Black family again, working its way through the gaggle of people, trying to avoid Dumbledore. Sirius trailed them, looking moody and sulky. Remus saw him look to see if the company was still there. He smiled slightly and waved. Remus and Lily waved back, being the only two who saw him as he dissipated into the crowd again.

"Well, we had better follow suit. I've got work tomorrow, so do you Susan."

It was very hard for Remus to leave the warm, cozy pub. Lily was staying the night there, but Hagrid and Dumbledore had to get back to Hogwarts. Everyone exchanged goodnights and byes.

"I guess I'll see you September 1st then." Remus blushed a little but didn't know why.

"Yes." She smiled that wonderful smile again. "Goodbye Remus."

"Bye Lily." They waved to each other and Peter, Susan, and Remus stepped outside into the warm summer's eve.

* * *

Three weeks passed by in a flurry of excitement and apprehension for Remus. True, the unbearable summer heat beat upon Remus but he did not mind. Nine more days until September 1st... nine more days.... He couldn't wait to see James and Lily again. I've never really had any friends.... He thought of Sirius and his family. At I least I have a reason for people to hate me he thought often. Remus was NOT looking forward to the seventh day from now. It was the full moon, the night of his transformation. When he DID think of it, he shuddered. At least I get to go to school now... at least there's a plan.

The next week passed as slow as molasses in January. Remus checked and triple checked several times to make sure he had all supplies and that his new owl- Ruby- was in good shape. His parents were nervous too, not just Remus's first day of school, but the transformation before it. Remus felt the sickness again the constant nausea, the blinding headaches, it was all coming back.

August 30th arrived and Remus walked into the forest around the house, trying to steady with breath. The sun was tearing the sky and was bleeding among the vibrant hues of sapphire. The brilliant gold clouds were smeared among the canvas of the heavens. He walked faster among the cold, he could see his breath forming in silver vapor clouds before him.

The sun was resting her head in the mountains that Remus could see before the thick vegetation blocked his view from sight. A jewel appeared above, right above him it seemed. The violet was conquering the blue, over taking the sky. He started to run, hoping he was miles away from his parents, his home. The tree roots and over hanging moss was hard to sight when more diamonds penetrated the ebony velvet curtain. He felt a seizing pain in his chest and he collapsed to the ground, yelling all of the agony out of him. He saw it, the silver orb hung before him, the spotlight hitting him as though he was the star of the show. He screamed louder if it was possible but it was morphing, melting into a great snarl. His sweater started to shrink, tearing itself as he grew twice, three times his size. His handsome face lengthened, and started to sprout hair. Then his eyes, his sand colored eyes turned to a pale gold and a merciless hate grew behind them.

Remus Lupin was lost behind the monster that had been within him for a month, finally free of its prison.