Disclaimer: I own them not. JK hath created them and owneth them. I
claim them not, nor do I seek to profit from this work. I wish only to
amuse myself in this most fascinating of worlds; therefore, I beg, sue me
not, for I am destitute.
3. Dysgeidiaeth
James Potter came slowly awake, experiencing a moment of confusion as he registered his unfamiliar surroundings. He laughed a little at himself when memory rushed back to him- he was at Hogwarts, of course! How on Earth could he have forgotten? He had been looking forward to this his whole entire life; he had grown up on his father's stories of the magnificent castle, the mischief he had gotten up to with the other Gryffindor boys, and the classes he had taken. James couldn't remember a time when he wasn't sure he would attend Hogwarts himself.
He climbed out of bed quickly, unwilling to waste a moment of his first day in bed. It was only seven o'clock, though, so he restrained himself from waking any of the other boys up. He looked around the dorm in the near silence. There was Sirius, completely hidden under a pile of blankets; Sirius was not an early riser, generally, and James knew he would not take kindly to being woken just yet. Peter was lying in the bed nearest the door, his snores the only noise audible. James snickered quietly as he caught sight of a stuffed teddy bear clasped in the boy's arms. Blackmail material if he had ever seen it!
The fourth bed, next to the window, was occupied by Remus. The night before, Remus had collapsed on his bed as soon as they had reached the dorm. He hadn't said a word or moved as the other boys prepared for bed, so Sirius had wandered over towards him to say good night, and had whispered, grinning, to the others that Remus was asleep already! James saw that he was in the exact same position he had collapsed into last night, curled up into a little ball in the center of his bed, not having changed into his pajamas. He had looked awfully tired on the train, James reflected, so it wasn't really surprising.
James had a shower, got dressed, and went through all of his belongings, searching for something to do. Finally, at seven-thirty, he decided he couldn't take it any longer and went to wake Sirius. James and Sirius had been friends since before they could remember; their houses were only feet apart, and they were practically inseparable. Sirius spent most of his life at James' house to escape his horrible family, and James was happy to share his own family with his friend. James was an only child, and he considered his parents ideal. They didn't hover over him, but they were very affectionate, and he was close to them. They had accepted that Sirius was James' adopted twin, and treated him no differently from their own son.
James crept up to Sirius' bed, and with a loud, wordless yell, launched himself at the lump of bedcovers that was his friend. Sirius yelled equally loudly, and struggled to sit up, shoved James over the edge of the bed onto the floor, then, as he gained consciousness, jumped on top of James. After only a few seconds of scuffling, it was wordlessly established that James was very sorry for waking Sirius up in such a manner, and would never do so again. With that out of the way, the boys disentangled themselves from the bedclothes that had accompanied Sirius onto the floor. James tried to shove his messy hair out of his eyes- needed a trim, he thought- and looked around the room again. Peter had managed to sleep through the entire thing! Remus was sitting up on his bed, rubbing sleepily at his eyes with his fists and struggling not to yawn.
"Morning!" James was always cheery in the mornings, and liked to spread it around to all those near him. Sirius glared at the back of his head, not nearly as chipper, then shifted his glare to the bright sunshine streaming through the window.
"Is it? Is it really? I couldn't tell. I thought you just decided to pounce on me in the middle of the night for no reason! That is a horrible way to wake a guy up, James, you know that!" Sirius' voice was annoyed as he threw his covers back onto his bed messily, but he didn't sound angry. Remus was climbing out of his own bed, looking half asleep still.
"Good morning" Remus said quietly to both of the others as he took a new uniform out of his trunk and made his was to the showers. Not a new uniform, James corrected himself; the robes had clearly been worn many times and looked rather faded, but they were neat and clean. James and Sirius' families were both very old and very rich, and they were used to having the very best of everything. James reminded himself that most students were not as well off as they were, and that it would be very rude to comment on the state of someone else's clothes.
"D'you think we should try to wake Peter up?" Sirius asked James. "We've got to go to breakfast before long- I think he'd be upset if he missed it."
"Yeah, think you're right." James agreed, and he and Sirius began to attempt to wake Peter. It was a difficult task, as Peter was a very sound sleeper, and Sirius finally became very frustrated, and rolled him right off of his bed. Peter woke up at that, and was quite upset; he stomped off in a huff just as Remus came back into the dorm. The three boys were all silent for a few minutes as they gathered up their school supplies and put them in their bags. When Peter rejoined them, all four boys headed off towards the Great Hall- or at least they tried to. James was leading the way, and managed to get them all quite lost. Remus finally stepped forward and took the lead, and managed to take them all straight to breakfast.
"How on Earth did you find the way back here?" James asked in frustration. "I had us wandering around lost for half an hour, and you find the way just like that! Why didn't you tell us how to get here before?"
Remus shrugged lightly. "I wasn't quite sure I knew where I was going, really- I tried to pay attention last night, but I didn't know if I had it right."
The four boys took their seats at the Gryffindor table, helping themselves to the food in front of them. James noted that Peter went directly for the sweet foods, while Remus seemed to have every kind of meat offered piled onto his plate. James and Sirius tried some of just about everything- amazing how soon the appetite returned full force, even after the huge feast of the night before. The first year schedules were handed out a few minutes after they began eating, and James looked at his with interest. They had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, followed by Charms, History of Magic and then Transfigurations.
"Full schedule today." Sirius commented, looking at his own paper. "I suppose we should get moving- Defense starts in half an hour, and we're likely to get lost trying to find our way there." The others boys agreed, and after a quick stop in their dorm room to pick up their textbooks and bags, they headed in the direction they believed their classroom to be in. True to Sirius' prediction, they did get lost, finding the classroom only moments before class was supposed to begin. The four boys darted inside and took the first seats they could find, which put them in the very front of the classroom, under the penetrating stare of the teacher.
James recognised him from the previous night- Professor Muerno, if he recalled correctly. He said he was the head of Slytherin House, and Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Sirius said he was "creepy". James had to agree. He was quite tall, with dark hair and icy blue eyes. Muerno fixed the four boys with an evil glare, causing Peter to shrink in his seat and let out a little squeak of fear. James swallowed nervously, and was very relieved when the professor turned and moved behind his desk, picking up a piece of parchment that lay on it.
"Good morning" Muerno said, his voice calm and less than friendly; James thought it sounded like he would rather be wishing them a "highly painful and annoying morning". Muerno continued, "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. This is one of the most important classes you will take while attending school here, so I insist that you all pay strict attention. I will not tolerate any mischief making in this classroom. It is my job to educate you all in all areas of Defense, including Dark Magic, curses, and of course, Dark Creatures." Muerno's eyes glittered, and James shivered. The man looked ready to pounce; James felt quite sorry for any Dark Creature unlucky enough to find itself in the classroom.
Muerno smiled suddenly, though it was not an entirely pleasant expression. "So" he said cheerfully, "let's begin, shall we?" He began to call the roll off of the parchment that he held, staring at each student as he called their name, looking as though he were trying to memorize their faces. There weren't many students in the class- there were only four Gryffindor boys in the first year, and five girls. James tried to remember their names as the professor called them off, but the only one he could remember was Lily Evans, a pretty redhead with bright green eyes. James hadn't much use for girls, and didn't see any real point in attempting to remember their names- he's learn them in time.
When Muerno had finished his list and memorization, he looked the class over carefully for a moment before speaking again. "In this class, you will be taught about a great number of creatures and spells that you may find frightening. You will learn to face your greatest fears- beginning today." He reached for something behind his desk, and straightened up with a large box in his arms, which he carefully placed on his desk. "Today, we will see how each of you reacts when confronted with the thing you fear the most. I wish to see what it is you fear, and how you respond to fear. You need not worry- I will be here to assure that no one is harmed, no matter what you may see. Who would like to begin?"
James looked around quickly, and saw that the rest of the class, like he himself, had gone dead white. How did Muerno know what they feared? What were they expected to do? What, in fact, did he fear most? There was no way on Earth that James would volunteer to be the first, and it seemed the entire class shared his sentiments.
"Very well then" Muerno said in an icy voice a moment later. "Since we seem to have a lack of volunteers from the House of the Brave, I suppose I will have to choose. Mr. Lupin."
Remus started, and went even whiter- a feat that James would have sworn ten seconds ago was not possible. Now he looked like a ghost, and his eyes had gone huge in his face. He grabbed his wand and stood, slightly shakily, facing Muerno.
"Yes, Mr. Lupin, this will be an... interesting sight, I'm sure." Muerno said coldly- why was he glaring at Remus like that, James wondered. He had looked unpleasantly at all of them, but the look he was giving Remus seemed only just short of murderous. The professor moved behind his desk, turned the box so its opening faced Remus, and quickly opened the box. There was a loud cracking noise that made James blink, and when he looked again, he saw only a large, shimmery orb floating in the air in front of Remus. It was shining with a silvery light that made it look incredibly familiar to James, but he didn't know what it reminded him of.
Remus raised his wand, pointed it at the orb, and said shakily "Riddikulus!" There was another cracking noise, and the orb was gone. James looked around the room, and finally saw a large round wheel of cheese which was being nibbled at by a mouse lying on the floor in front of Remus, who was now looking apprehensively at the teacher. Muerno looked livid. He glared at Remus with an incredible amount of hatred.
"What did you think you were doing?" Muerno's voice wasn't loud, but cold and dangerous.
"Fighting that Boggart." Remus replied evenly. James saw his hands clenched tightly on his wand, knuckles white.
"Encountered them before, have you?"
"No. I read about them in our textbook, though."
Muerno looked incredulous. "You are trying to tell me that you, a first year student, read about Boggarts in the textbook, and from that, you were able to recognize and defeat one? The Riddikulus spell is advanced magic; Boggarts are usually not introduced until third year."
Remus looked upset, but didn't seem to know what to say. He stood in silence.
"Well" the professor said after a moment. "Well, well. That was certainly a unique approach to the problem, Mr. Lupin. Presumptuous and flashy. Take your seat."
Remus sat down, now flushed and miserable-looking. James and Sirius, however, were both livid. This was ridiculous! Remus had known what he was fighting, had defeated it, facing his fears and performing an advanced piece of magic in the process, and Muerno was acting as if it was a bad thing!
James saw Sirius grab his textbook from his desk and begin to flip through, James quickly understood what he was doing, and copied him. Thankfully, Muerno didn't notice, as he was calling up the Gryffindor girls one at a time. The girls all saw the things they most feared, and reacted by screaming at the spiders, dragons, vampires and other specters. Remus still sat with his head down, looking miserable, while Peter looked as though he might faint.
James elbowed Remus in the ribs "Remus!" James' voice was a low whisper that he desperately hoped wouldn't carry. "Remus, show us what you did."
"What?" Remus was incredulous. "You'll get in trouble!"
"I don't care." Sirius hissed. "We're going to do exactly the same as you did- you were great!"
Remus stared at them for a moment, then shrugged, and began to speak very quickly. "It's a Boggart- it'll make itself look what you fear the most. You have to make it become something unthreatening- something amusing. Think of something to do to your worst fear to make it funny. That's what the spell does- you say 'Riddikulus'."
James thought quickly, running through different ways of making scary things funny. By the time Muerno called on him, he had several ideas to try. He clenched his wand firmly in his hand as he walked to the desk. AS Muerno released the Boggart, it became a huge green snake, slithering towards James.
"Riddikulus!" James shouted, pointing his wand at the snake. Nothing happened, and he began to panic a bit. "Riddikulus!" He grinned in amusement as it suddenly tied itself into a bow, from which it struggled to escape, hissing menacingly. Muerno quickly Banished it back into its box, and stared down at James. James tensed, but stood straight and looked him in the eye.
"Well done." James gasped in shock at the words; how on Earth could he say that after what he had said to Remus? "Take your seat, Mr. Potter." James did as he was told, still staring at Muerno. Sirius was called next, and gave the same performance as James had, receiving the same response. He also struggled a bit to get the results Remus had achieved so easily. Peter was the last student to be called, and to his relief, the class period ended just before he had to face to Boggart. Peter left the classroom at a dead run, obviously desperate to get away from Muerno.
As they all stood to leave the classroom, Muerno said coldly, "Mr. Lupin, a word if you please."
Remus put his books back down on his desk, and walked to stand before the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. James and Sirius paused in the doorway, looking back in towards their friend.
"You may go, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black." There was no arguing with that tone, and the two walked out of the classroom, closing the door behind them. Sirius was still fuming.
"What was he playing at? Really, what was he thinking? Yelling at Remus for fighting the Boggart, and then praising us for the exact same thing? That's- that's ridiculous!" James nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything- what was there to say?
James moved as close to the door as he dared, Sirius close behind him as they strained to hear the conversation inside. Muerno's voice was low and dangerous sounding, and they couldn't hear much of what was said.
"...do not belong here. I will not tolerate any behavior from you that is less than perfect. I will not hesitate to have you removed from this school given the slightest provocation- and you know I can. I will not make any allowances for you in your work, either. You will perform to the same standard all of your classmates are held to. Also, I trust that when we are discussing matters of ...personal significance to you in this class, you will not be offering any defiance as to the methods or content of my instruction. Are we clear on all of this?" James looked quizzically at Sirius to see if any of that made sense to him; Sirius shrugged, looking as confused as James felt.
"Now get out of my classroom." Muerno said coldly. James and Sirius dashed away from the door to stand a few feet outside, looking casual. They waited as Remus emerged, looking positively ill.
"Hey!" Sirius said, dashing over to him. "What'd he say?" Remus looked up at him, a look of shock rushing over his face.
"What are you guys doing here? I- I thought you'd have gone to our next class."
James snorted. "Not likely! You thought we'd walk off while you were still in there with that git?"
"What did he say?" Sirius persisted.
Remus shook his head, looking upset again. "Umm, nothing much- he said he didn't appreciate me getting 'uppity' and messing up his class."
Sirius looked ready to scream. "How can he say that? You're the only reason we learned anything at all in that lesson!"
James said, "Guys? Can we discuss this on the way to our next class? We're going to be late if we don't hurry!"
Remus nodded agreement, looking relieved to not have to continue answering Sirius' questions. Sirius didn't seem to realize this, though.
"How did you know what it was? And what was that that your Boggart turned into? I didn't recognize it."
Remus sighed and answered quietly and politely, not looking at either of the others. "Like I said, I read about it. I was interested in Defense more than any other subject before I came here. And I'd really rather not discuss my Boggart, if you don't mind."
Sirius looked like he wanted to pester Remus about it, but they had just arrived at the Charms classroom, so he didn't have the opportunity. The Charms lesson went well enough, although it seemed quite dull after the previous class. Lily Evans, the redhead James had noticed earlier, was clearly the best in the class.
As soon as class let out, the four boys made their way towards the Great Hall for lunch, only getting lost three times. Sirius continued to try to get information from Remus about the DADA lesson and their professor's reaction, without much luck. James noticed that Remus was very, very good at carefully not giving information without making it obvious he was doing so, all the time being incredibly polite.
The four sat together to eat lunch, but had only been sitting for a moment before a tall seventh year Gryffindor boy came up behind them.
"Rumor has it that a first year figured out Muerno's Boggart trick and beat it on his first try. D'you lads know anything about that?"
"Yes!" Sirius looked thrilled that the news had spread so fast; Remus looked as though he would like to disappear. "That was Remus here. Then he taught James and me how to fight it, and we beat the thing too, but he's the one who figured it all out."
The older boy looked very impressed. "Way to go, mate! I'm Caradoc Dearborn- pleased to meet you."
Remus inclined his head politely. "Remus Lupin. Likewise."
"Lupin?" Caradoc asked curiously. "Not like the Aurors Lupin?"
"Umm, yes, actually, they're my mam and da."
"What's this, Remus?" James asked curiously. "What about your parents?" But Caradoc answered quickly.
"His parents are world famous Aurors! I grew up hearing stories about them."
James was puzzled. "My dad's an Auror- why hasn't he ever mentioned your parents? I mean, he tells me about the people he works with all the time, and I'm pretty sure he's never said a word about any Lupins."
"They haven't worked as Aurors for quite a while. My mam's been out of it for ten years, my da for six. Dumbledore just asked them to come back a few months ago, and they agreed."
Caradoc looked like he was about to explode with excitement. "Really? Mabyn and Nicholas Lupin are coming back? That's incredible! Wait'll I tell Frank- he wants to be an Auror as much as I do! Great meeting you, mate- congratulations on this morning!" With a quick wave at the four, Caradoc was gone. James and Sirius stared at Remus.
"Your parents are famous? Really? And you didn't mention it to us?" Sirius was curious to know.
"I didn't realize. They've been out of the field so long, I figured everyone would have forgotten."
James and Sirius accepted this, and went back to eating. Peter didn't seem to have paid any attention to the conversation whatsoever. Suddenly, a thought struck James.
"I've been meaning to ask you- who was the guy you were talking to on the train yesterday? He seemed a right git."
Remus looked a little sour. "That pleasant fellow was my brother Romulus. He's a Slytherin. We don't get along. I haven't seen him in three years- he lives with my Uncle Romulus."
Sirius looked at him curiously. "You knew he was coming before he walked in, didn't you? You said something about it, I remember."
"I heard him coming" Remus said, shrugging uncomfortably. James bounced on to another subject that he'd been curious about.
"Why did the two of you have to talk to Dumbledore? And what wasn't Romulus supposed to talk about?"
Remus now appeared to be very interested in examining his plate as he muttered, "Umm, I can't talk about it either. It's nothing important."
James doubted that; it certainly seemed as though Remus wasn't telling them the entire story. But then, it was his business, wasn't it? He could tell them if he wanted. Satisfied with this thought, James turned back to his food. The events of the morning had certainly given him an appetite; he barely noticed the suspicious looks Sirius was giving Remus.
A/N Would you look at this, I managed to update fairly quickly! This is mainly due to my dear muse being incredibly annoying until I sat down to work, and the fact that I just got a new computer, one that actually works. Again, many thanks to those who reviewed- it's so nice to know that someone is enjoying this! Welsh Word of the Day; today's chapter title means "Learning". Please leave a review- please? You will have my undying gratitude!
3. Dysgeidiaeth
James Potter came slowly awake, experiencing a moment of confusion as he registered his unfamiliar surroundings. He laughed a little at himself when memory rushed back to him- he was at Hogwarts, of course! How on Earth could he have forgotten? He had been looking forward to this his whole entire life; he had grown up on his father's stories of the magnificent castle, the mischief he had gotten up to with the other Gryffindor boys, and the classes he had taken. James couldn't remember a time when he wasn't sure he would attend Hogwarts himself.
He climbed out of bed quickly, unwilling to waste a moment of his first day in bed. It was only seven o'clock, though, so he restrained himself from waking any of the other boys up. He looked around the dorm in the near silence. There was Sirius, completely hidden under a pile of blankets; Sirius was not an early riser, generally, and James knew he would not take kindly to being woken just yet. Peter was lying in the bed nearest the door, his snores the only noise audible. James snickered quietly as he caught sight of a stuffed teddy bear clasped in the boy's arms. Blackmail material if he had ever seen it!
The fourth bed, next to the window, was occupied by Remus. The night before, Remus had collapsed on his bed as soon as they had reached the dorm. He hadn't said a word or moved as the other boys prepared for bed, so Sirius had wandered over towards him to say good night, and had whispered, grinning, to the others that Remus was asleep already! James saw that he was in the exact same position he had collapsed into last night, curled up into a little ball in the center of his bed, not having changed into his pajamas. He had looked awfully tired on the train, James reflected, so it wasn't really surprising.
James had a shower, got dressed, and went through all of his belongings, searching for something to do. Finally, at seven-thirty, he decided he couldn't take it any longer and went to wake Sirius. James and Sirius had been friends since before they could remember; their houses were only feet apart, and they were practically inseparable. Sirius spent most of his life at James' house to escape his horrible family, and James was happy to share his own family with his friend. James was an only child, and he considered his parents ideal. They didn't hover over him, but they were very affectionate, and he was close to them. They had accepted that Sirius was James' adopted twin, and treated him no differently from their own son.
James crept up to Sirius' bed, and with a loud, wordless yell, launched himself at the lump of bedcovers that was his friend. Sirius yelled equally loudly, and struggled to sit up, shoved James over the edge of the bed onto the floor, then, as he gained consciousness, jumped on top of James. After only a few seconds of scuffling, it was wordlessly established that James was very sorry for waking Sirius up in such a manner, and would never do so again. With that out of the way, the boys disentangled themselves from the bedclothes that had accompanied Sirius onto the floor. James tried to shove his messy hair out of his eyes- needed a trim, he thought- and looked around the room again. Peter had managed to sleep through the entire thing! Remus was sitting up on his bed, rubbing sleepily at his eyes with his fists and struggling not to yawn.
"Morning!" James was always cheery in the mornings, and liked to spread it around to all those near him. Sirius glared at the back of his head, not nearly as chipper, then shifted his glare to the bright sunshine streaming through the window.
"Is it? Is it really? I couldn't tell. I thought you just decided to pounce on me in the middle of the night for no reason! That is a horrible way to wake a guy up, James, you know that!" Sirius' voice was annoyed as he threw his covers back onto his bed messily, but he didn't sound angry. Remus was climbing out of his own bed, looking half asleep still.
"Good morning" Remus said quietly to both of the others as he took a new uniform out of his trunk and made his was to the showers. Not a new uniform, James corrected himself; the robes had clearly been worn many times and looked rather faded, but they were neat and clean. James and Sirius' families were both very old and very rich, and they were used to having the very best of everything. James reminded himself that most students were not as well off as they were, and that it would be very rude to comment on the state of someone else's clothes.
"D'you think we should try to wake Peter up?" Sirius asked James. "We've got to go to breakfast before long- I think he'd be upset if he missed it."
"Yeah, think you're right." James agreed, and he and Sirius began to attempt to wake Peter. It was a difficult task, as Peter was a very sound sleeper, and Sirius finally became very frustrated, and rolled him right off of his bed. Peter woke up at that, and was quite upset; he stomped off in a huff just as Remus came back into the dorm. The three boys were all silent for a few minutes as they gathered up their school supplies and put them in their bags. When Peter rejoined them, all four boys headed off towards the Great Hall- or at least they tried to. James was leading the way, and managed to get them all quite lost. Remus finally stepped forward and took the lead, and managed to take them all straight to breakfast.
"How on Earth did you find the way back here?" James asked in frustration. "I had us wandering around lost for half an hour, and you find the way just like that! Why didn't you tell us how to get here before?"
Remus shrugged lightly. "I wasn't quite sure I knew where I was going, really- I tried to pay attention last night, but I didn't know if I had it right."
The four boys took their seats at the Gryffindor table, helping themselves to the food in front of them. James noted that Peter went directly for the sweet foods, while Remus seemed to have every kind of meat offered piled onto his plate. James and Sirius tried some of just about everything- amazing how soon the appetite returned full force, even after the huge feast of the night before. The first year schedules were handed out a few minutes after they began eating, and James looked at his with interest. They had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, followed by Charms, History of Magic and then Transfigurations.
"Full schedule today." Sirius commented, looking at his own paper. "I suppose we should get moving- Defense starts in half an hour, and we're likely to get lost trying to find our way there." The others boys agreed, and after a quick stop in their dorm room to pick up their textbooks and bags, they headed in the direction they believed their classroom to be in. True to Sirius' prediction, they did get lost, finding the classroom only moments before class was supposed to begin. The four boys darted inside and took the first seats they could find, which put them in the very front of the classroom, under the penetrating stare of the teacher.
James recognised him from the previous night- Professor Muerno, if he recalled correctly. He said he was the head of Slytherin House, and Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Sirius said he was "creepy". James had to agree. He was quite tall, with dark hair and icy blue eyes. Muerno fixed the four boys with an evil glare, causing Peter to shrink in his seat and let out a little squeak of fear. James swallowed nervously, and was very relieved when the professor turned and moved behind his desk, picking up a piece of parchment that lay on it.
"Good morning" Muerno said, his voice calm and less than friendly; James thought it sounded like he would rather be wishing them a "highly painful and annoying morning". Muerno continued, "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. This is one of the most important classes you will take while attending school here, so I insist that you all pay strict attention. I will not tolerate any mischief making in this classroom. It is my job to educate you all in all areas of Defense, including Dark Magic, curses, and of course, Dark Creatures." Muerno's eyes glittered, and James shivered. The man looked ready to pounce; James felt quite sorry for any Dark Creature unlucky enough to find itself in the classroom.
Muerno smiled suddenly, though it was not an entirely pleasant expression. "So" he said cheerfully, "let's begin, shall we?" He began to call the roll off of the parchment that he held, staring at each student as he called their name, looking as though he were trying to memorize their faces. There weren't many students in the class- there were only four Gryffindor boys in the first year, and five girls. James tried to remember their names as the professor called them off, but the only one he could remember was Lily Evans, a pretty redhead with bright green eyes. James hadn't much use for girls, and didn't see any real point in attempting to remember their names- he's learn them in time.
When Muerno had finished his list and memorization, he looked the class over carefully for a moment before speaking again. "In this class, you will be taught about a great number of creatures and spells that you may find frightening. You will learn to face your greatest fears- beginning today." He reached for something behind his desk, and straightened up with a large box in his arms, which he carefully placed on his desk. "Today, we will see how each of you reacts when confronted with the thing you fear the most. I wish to see what it is you fear, and how you respond to fear. You need not worry- I will be here to assure that no one is harmed, no matter what you may see. Who would like to begin?"
James looked around quickly, and saw that the rest of the class, like he himself, had gone dead white. How did Muerno know what they feared? What were they expected to do? What, in fact, did he fear most? There was no way on Earth that James would volunteer to be the first, and it seemed the entire class shared his sentiments.
"Very well then" Muerno said in an icy voice a moment later. "Since we seem to have a lack of volunteers from the House of the Brave, I suppose I will have to choose. Mr. Lupin."
Remus started, and went even whiter- a feat that James would have sworn ten seconds ago was not possible. Now he looked like a ghost, and his eyes had gone huge in his face. He grabbed his wand and stood, slightly shakily, facing Muerno.
"Yes, Mr. Lupin, this will be an... interesting sight, I'm sure." Muerno said coldly- why was he glaring at Remus like that, James wondered. He had looked unpleasantly at all of them, but the look he was giving Remus seemed only just short of murderous. The professor moved behind his desk, turned the box so its opening faced Remus, and quickly opened the box. There was a loud cracking noise that made James blink, and when he looked again, he saw only a large, shimmery orb floating in the air in front of Remus. It was shining with a silvery light that made it look incredibly familiar to James, but he didn't know what it reminded him of.
Remus raised his wand, pointed it at the orb, and said shakily "Riddikulus!" There was another cracking noise, and the orb was gone. James looked around the room, and finally saw a large round wheel of cheese which was being nibbled at by a mouse lying on the floor in front of Remus, who was now looking apprehensively at the teacher. Muerno looked livid. He glared at Remus with an incredible amount of hatred.
"What did you think you were doing?" Muerno's voice wasn't loud, but cold and dangerous.
"Fighting that Boggart." Remus replied evenly. James saw his hands clenched tightly on his wand, knuckles white.
"Encountered them before, have you?"
"No. I read about them in our textbook, though."
Muerno looked incredulous. "You are trying to tell me that you, a first year student, read about Boggarts in the textbook, and from that, you were able to recognize and defeat one? The Riddikulus spell is advanced magic; Boggarts are usually not introduced until third year."
Remus looked upset, but didn't seem to know what to say. He stood in silence.
"Well" the professor said after a moment. "Well, well. That was certainly a unique approach to the problem, Mr. Lupin. Presumptuous and flashy. Take your seat."
Remus sat down, now flushed and miserable-looking. James and Sirius, however, were both livid. This was ridiculous! Remus had known what he was fighting, had defeated it, facing his fears and performing an advanced piece of magic in the process, and Muerno was acting as if it was a bad thing!
James saw Sirius grab his textbook from his desk and begin to flip through, James quickly understood what he was doing, and copied him. Thankfully, Muerno didn't notice, as he was calling up the Gryffindor girls one at a time. The girls all saw the things they most feared, and reacted by screaming at the spiders, dragons, vampires and other specters. Remus still sat with his head down, looking miserable, while Peter looked as though he might faint.
James elbowed Remus in the ribs "Remus!" James' voice was a low whisper that he desperately hoped wouldn't carry. "Remus, show us what you did."
"What?" Remus was incredulous. "You'll get in trouble!"
"I don't care." Sirius hissed. "We're going to do exactly the same as you did- you were great!"
Remus stared at them for a moment, then shrugged, and began to speak very quickly. "It's a Boggart- it'll make itself look what you fear the most. You have to make it become something unthreatening- something amusing. Think of something to do to your worst fear to make it funny. That's what the spell does- you say 'Riddikulus'."
James thought quickly, running through different ways of making scary things funny. By the time Muerno called on him, he had several ideas to try. He clenched his wand firmly in his hand as he walked to the desk. AS Muerno released the Boggart, it became a huge green snake, slithering towards James.
"Riddikulus!" James shouted, pointing his wand at the snake. Nothing happened, and he began to panic a bit. "Riddikulus!" He grinned in amusement as it suddenly tied itself into a bow, from which it struggled to escape, hissing menacingly. Muerno quickly Banished it back into its box, and stared down at James. James tensed, but stood straight and looked him in the eye.
"Well done." James gasped in shock at the words; how on Earth could he say that after what he had said to Remus? "Take your seat, Mr. Potter." James did as he was told, still staring at Muerno. Sirius was called next, and gave the same performance as James had, receiving the same response. He also struggled a bit to get the results Remus had achieved so easily. Peter was the last student to be called, and to his relief, the class period ended just before he had to face to Boggart. Peter left the classroom at a dead run, obviously desperate to get away from Muerno.
As they all stood to leave the classroom, Muerno said coldly, "Mr. Lupin, a word if you please."
Remus put his books back down on his desk, and walked to stand before the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom. James and Sirius paused in the doorway, looking back in towards their friend.
"You may go, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black." There was no arguing with that tone, and the two walked out of the classroom, closing the door behind them. Sirius was still fuming.
"What was he playing at? Really, what was he thinking? Yelling at Remus for fighting the Boggart, and then praising us for the exact same thing? That's- that's ridiculous!" James nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything- what was there to say?
James moved as close to the door as he dared, Sirius close behind him as they strained to hear the conversation inside. Muerno's voice was low and dangerous sounding, and they couldn't hear much of what was said.
"...do not belong here. I will not tolerate any behavior from you that is less than perfect. I will not hesitate to have you removed from this school given the slightest provocation- and you know I can. I will not make any allowances for you in your work, either. You will perform to the same standard all of your classmates are held to. Also, I trust that when we are discussing matters of ...personal significance to you in this class, you will not be offering any defiance as to the methods or content of my instruction. Are we clear on all of this?" James looked quizzically at Sirius to see if any of that made sense to him; Sirius shrugged, looking as confused as James felt.
"Now get out of my classroom." Muerno said coldly. James and Sirius dashed away from the door to stand a few feet outside, looking casual. They waited as Remus emerged, looking positively ill.
"Hey!" Sirius said, dashing over to him. "What'd he say?" Remus looked up at him, a look of shock rushing over his face.
"What are you guys doing here? I- I thought you'd have gone to our next class."
James snorted. "Not likely! You thought we'd walk off while you were still in there with that git?"
"What did he say?" Sirius persisted.
Remus shook his head, looking upset again. "Umm, nothing much- he said he didn't appreciate me getting 'uppity' and messing up his class."
Sirius looked ready to scream. "How can he say that? You're the only reason we learned anything at all in that lesson!"
James said, "Guys? Can we discuss this on the way to our next class? We're going to be late if we don't hurry!"
Remus nodded agreement, looking relieved to not have to continue answering Sirius' questions. Sirius didn't seem to realize this, though.
"How did you know what it was? And what was that that your Boggart turned into? I didn't recognize it."
Remus sighed and answered quietly and politely, not looking at either of the others. "Like I said, I read about it. I was interested in Defense more than any other subject before I came here. And I'd really rather not discuss my Boggart, if you don't mind."
Sirius looked like he wanted to pester Remus about it, but they had just arrived at the Charms classroom, so he didn't have the opportunity. The Charms lesson went well enough, although it seemed quite dull after the previous class. Lily Evans, the redhead James had noticed earlier, was clearly the best in the class.
As soon as class let out, the four boys made their way towards the Great Hall for lunch, only getting lost three times. Sirius continued to try to get information from Remus about the DADA lesson and their professor's reaction, without much luck. James noticed that Remus was very, very good at carefully not giving information without making it obvious he was doing so, all the time being incredibly polite.
The four sat together to eat lunch, but had only been sitting for a moment before a tall seventh year Gryffindor boy came up behind them.
"Rumor has it that a first year figured out Muerno's Boggart trick and beat it on his first try. D'you lads know anything about that?"
"Yes!" Sirius looked thrilled that the news had spread so fast; Remus looked as though he would like to disappear. "That was Remus here. Then he taught James and me how to fight it, and we beat the thing too, but he's the one who figured it all out."
The older boy looked very impressed. "Way to go, mate! I'm Caradoc Dearborn- pleased to meet you."
Remus inclined his head politely. "Remus Lupin. Likewise."
"Lupin?" Caradoc asked curiously. "Not like the Aurors Lupin?"
"Umm, yes, actually, they're my mam and da."
"What's this, Remus?" James asked curiously. "What about your parents?" But Caradoc answered quickly.
"His parents are world famous Aurors! I grew up hearing stories about them."
James was puzzled. "My dad's an Auror- why hasn't he ever mentioned your parents? I mean, he tells me about the people he works with all the time, and I'm pretty sure he's never said a word about any Lupins."
"They haven't worked as Aurors for quite a while. My mam's been out of it for ten years, my da for six. Dumbledore just asked them to come back a few months ago, and they agreed."
Caradoc looked like he was about to explode with excitement. "Really? Mabyn and Nicholas Lupin are coming back? That's incredible! Wait'll I tell Frank- he wants to be an Auror as much as I do! Great meeting you, mate- congratulations on this morning!" With a quick wave at the four, Caradoc was gone. James and Sirius stared at Remus.
"Your parents are famous? Really? And you didn't mention it to us?" Sirius was curious to know.
"I didn't realize. They've been out of the field so long, I figured everyone would have forgotten."
James and Sirius accepted this, and went back to eating. Peter didn't seem to have paid any attention to the conversation whatsoever. Suddenly, a thought struck James.
"I've been meaning to ask you- who was the guy you were talking to on the train yesterday? He seemed a right git."
Remus looked a little sour. "That pleasant fellow was my brother Romulus. He's a Slytherin. We don't get along. I haven't seen him in three years- he lives with my Uncle Romulus."
Sirius looked at him curiously. "You knew he was coming before he walked in, didn't you? You said something about it, I remember."
"I heard him coming" Remus said, shrugging uncomfortably. James bounced on to another subject that he'd been curious about.
"Why did the two of you have to talk to Dumbledore? And what wasn't Romulus supposed to talk about?"
Remus now appeared to be very interested in examining his plate as he muttered, "Umm, I can't talk about it either. It's nothing important."
James doubted that; it certainly seemed as though Remus wasn't telling them the entire story. But then, it was his business, wasn't it? He could tell them if he wanted. Satisfied with this thought, James turned back to his food. The events of the morning had certainly given him an appetite; he barely noticed the suspicious looks Sirius was giving Remus.
A/N Would you look at this, I managed to update fairly quickly! This is mainly due to my dear muse being incredibly annoying until I sat down to work, and the fact that I just got a new computer, one that actually works. Again, many thanks to those who reviewed- it's so nice to know that someone is enjoying this! Welsh Word of the Day; today's chapter title means "Learning". Please leave a review- please? You will have my undying gratitude!