The Wolf of Change
Chapter 3 - Preparation
Roland went through the list once more with Remus before quickly patting his son's shoulder and racing off, briefcase in hand, through the busy streets of London to his job at the Ministry of Magic.
Remus slipped through the crowds just as expertly, blending in with the unsuspecting Muggles. None noticed him vanish from their world as he entered The Leaky Cauldron. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he looked over at the barman, Tom, who smiled in recognition.
"Ah, young Lupin! Glad to see you here! You'll be wanting in the Alley, I suppose?"
"Yes, please, sir." Remus grinned. Stepping through the widening hole in the wall, the boy bid thank you and good day to Tom, and relaxed into the warm, friendly atmosphere of Diagon Alley. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be young witches and wizards exploring the street, and trying to convince parents of the need for certain objects not on the school list.
Remus first went to pick up his set of pre-ordered robes from Madam Malkin's, then headed towards Flourish and Blotts for his books. As he roved the huge bookcases for the textbooks on his list, he glanced warily at a pair of girls about his age giggling over a book entitled Bewitchingly Beautiful Love Spells by I. M. Eures.
Collecting the necessary items, he made his escape and entered the dark library of wands, Mr. Ollivander's. A pair of penetrating milky blue eyes peered at him out of the gloom. "Ahhhh...Remus Lupin...you shall be an interesting one..." After setting his enchanted tape measure on Remus, Ollivander moved between shelves with the speed and efficiency of one long used to everything being in its correct place, and brought several boxes to his desk, opening one and holding it out. "Teak, unicorn tail, 15 inches."
Remus took the proffered wand and 'swished and flicked' as he had been taught. Ollivander's glasses flew off his nose.
Suppressing a giggle, the boy quickly put the wand down as the wand- maker bent to reach his glasses, muttering, "No, no, no...I think not.
"Mahogany, dragon heart string, 14 and a half inches."
Again, Remus gestured with the wand, but this time the lamp on the desk merely trembled.
"Mmm, mmm, closer...maybe...maybe phoenix feather this time...and a little shorter...
"Mahogany, phoenix feather, 13 inches."
Gingerly taking hold of the wand, Remus felt its power as soon as his scarred fingers wrapped around it. The tip began to glow with an inner light, and gold and orange sparks danced around it. "Wow!"
"Ah, perfect." Ollivander seemed relieved. "Now then, that will only be 4 galleons Master Lupin."
Feeling guilty and a little embarrassed at paying so little when others had to pay full price, Remus handed over the money and thanked Ollivander, before moving back into the brightness of Diagon Alley. Thinking to just have a quick glance around the Magical Menagerie, Remus squinted into the dank display tanks in the window. He was only distracted from the rats' antics when a loud, croaky voice announced just behind him, "Who's been through a hedge backwards, then?" followed by the same, slightly embarrassed giggle that he'd heard in Flourish.
The two girls were there, one with a grey parrot perched on her right shoulder. In between laughs, she admonished, "Shh! Henry, that's not nice! I'm terribly sorry. He's rather...free-minded." The girl looked apologetic, at least.
Her friend added, "And free-tongued!"
Remus smiled shyly a little intimidated by their boldness. "Oh, no it's okay. It's certainly different from your average parrot line."
Relieved, the first girl grinned broadly, her blue eyes shining. "Yes, he's not average at all. Are you starting at Hogwarts this year?"
"Yes." Remus was glad of the simple question.
"Oh good! We are too, we thought we were the only first years in Diagon Alley today. I'm Sephine Winters and this is Lily Evans. What's your name?"
Again, the answer was easy, "Remus Lupin."
"Nice. We were just heading to get some ice cream, you want to join us?"
Remus glanced at his watch. "Sure, why not."
They squirmed through the crowds, until as they passed the Quidditch supplies shop, Sephine leapt to the window, nose against the glass. "Whoa! Take a look at that! The Cumulus 5000! God, what I wouldn't give for one of those!"
Remus looked at the broom and felt his stomach lurch. He felt sick just thinking of it. He held his stomach and looked away, not paying heed to Lily's complaints about how boring Quidditch sounded.
"...And honestly, from what Seph says, it sounds so confusing! I don't...Remus? Are you all right? You look a bit pale..."
He nodded briskly and swallowed. "Mm. Fine. Must just have caught a whiff from Knockturn."
That started Lily off again, as Sephine practically drooled on the windowpane. "Ooh! Sephine's told me all about there! Have you ever been? She says she hasn't, but she seems to know an awful lot about it. Have you ever been there, Remus?"
Frowning, thinking her enthusiasm unnatural for any witch used to Diagon Alley, he changed the subject. "Is this your first trip to Diagon Alley?"
"Gosh, yes!" Lily looked surprised for a moment, then apologetic. "Oh, I didn't tell you, both my parents are Muggles! I've been friends with Seph for ages, though, and when she found out I got a place, she practically spent the whole summer holidays explaining everything to me. It's awesome, don't you think?"
Remus had to laugh at this girl who was so relaxed around people she didn't know at all. "Yes, I suppose it is. I can't remember the first time I was here, though. I've been so often with my dad that it's all become a bit normal to me."
"Oh, I think that's sad. I want this feeling of awe to be here every time I enter Diagon Alley. So are both your parents...magical?"
Remus hesitated, then nodded. "Yes," and before Lily could question him further, he added, "Are we going to get any ice cream, then?" with what he hoped was a friendly smile.
"Ooh, yes! Seph! Can you marry the broomstick some other day? We want ice cream!"
Sephine turned round, a mischievous grin on her face, "Alright, if you're that desperate." The thinning crowds were getting easier to move through as lunchtime approached and witches and wizards alike headed to cafés and restaurants dotted around the Wizarding Community Alley System. The ice cream parlour was jam-packed by the time the three got there. Most tables were completely occupied, but just as Sephine and Lily turned away from the sea of people in disappointment, Remus' sharp eyes picked up a table occupied by only one person. A boy, probably ten or eleven years old, with his feet up on the table, and his shopping bags taking up the rest of the table space. His eyes were closed in bliss as he sucked on a straw coming from his ice cream soda, and black curly bangs fell in disarray over his forehead.
Remus turned to the girls. "Hey, look, there's a space, you see?"
Lily peered, hand shielding eyes from the midday sun, but shook her head. "I don't see anything, Remus, are you sure?"
"Yes, there, look."
Sephine squinted at the crowds. "Oh, I see. The one lounging in the sun?"
"Yes, there are three spaces not used at his table."
Lily sighed. "Seph, is this another of those thingys? Those that only wizard-born can do? Cause how come you guys could see him, but I couldn't?"
Sephine frowned, the first time Remus had seen her do so, and she immediately seemed to burst with power and defiance as she looked at Lily. "Lily, anything a wizard-born kid can do, so can you, and don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise. If anyone, and I mean anyone so much as suggests that they are better than you because their parents can do magic too, don't you believe them, because you're a much better person than many people from pure wizarding families that I know."
Lily nodded, obviously already having heard this from Sephine and worrying slightly about what her friend meant. Remus, slightly taken aback, gestured to the table. "Shall we go then?"
Sephine nodded and brushed past him, weaving a way for them through the tables. "Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?"
The boy lifted his eyelids to reveal startling blue eyes. He smirked around his straw. "Yeah. Me."
Sephine raised an eyebrow, picked up an armful of his bags, and placed them on the floor, before seating herself on the chair she had cleared. "Is there any room for anyone else here?"
The boy grinned. "Nope. You can have all the space you want, though, Sephy."
She half smiled. "How about my friends, fly boy?"
Remus wondered what she meant by friends for a moment, then realised with a shock that she meant Lily and him. He stared at her for a moment, then frowned in thought. He hadn't...known he'd make friends so quickly. He hadn't known he'd make friends at all. He didn't think any one would have wanted to be friends with him.
Meanwhile, the boy had removed his feet from the table with a sigh and replied, "Honestly, Sephine, you're always cramping my style."
"Well, Sirius, no-one's easier to cramp than you." She retorted. "This is Lily Evans, the girl I told you about, and this is Remus...uh sorry, what's you're second name again?"
He smiled, "Lupin."
"Thanks. Remus Lupin. We met him by chance when Henry insulted him."
Now Sirius raised his eyebrow and addressed Remus. "Poor you. Was it the old 'hedge' one?"
"Yup."
"Ooh." Sirius winced. "She taught the damn thing how to say that ages ago, and now unless she tells him otherwise, he'll just pop out with it at random. It gets really annoying."
Sephine pretended to pout and stroked the moody bird that had made its way down her arm and onto the table. "Oh, Henry's not that bad, are you, sweetie? You're just insecure around huge male egos, aren't you?"
"So now you're saying it's the bird that cramps my style and not you?"
She grinned. "That's about it."
After ordering their ice creams and relaxing in the sun, the four sat idly chatting about everything from end of term exams to wizard chess, and Remus felt happier than he'd ever been. Just hanging out with others his own age made him feel almost normal. Until about four o'clock, when he saw the white ghost of the child's moon hover in the blue sky. He sighed; feeling once more isolated, and excused himself. "I've got to go meet my dad from work. See you guys on the train, maybe."
"Sure!"
"Yeah, c'ya Remus!"
"We'll save a compartment for you if you're late!"
* * *
Remus had cheered himself up a lot by the time he had reached the Muggle streets once more, and when his dad saw him, he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey, son! How was your day?"
"Dad, it was great! I met these other kids who're starting this year, and we went to Fortescue's and just talked and talked all afternoon, and they're gonna meet me on the Express, and they're called Sirius Black, Sephine Winters and Lily Evans. Lily's parents are Muggles and she's got a sister who's already at Muggle school and it's so weird all the stuff she says they make her do! And Sirius is saving for a motorbike, he's gonna make it fly like a broom he says! And Sephine's got this evil parrot called Henry who's a complete nutcase, just like her, and it always tells people that they look like they've come through a hedge backwards unless she tells it not to, and then it's really cool. And Sirius is from another big wizarding family, but he's really cool, he doesn't let it go to his head or anything, and Seph's teaching Lily to stand up to people who think they're better than her, and her mum's a healer but her dad's a Muggle and it's really weird. And ace. And..."
Roland laughed. "I see you'll do fine at school, then, Remus?"
"Yes! I can't wait! There's enchanted ceilings and candles and ghosts and..."
Chapter 3 - Preparation
Roland went through the list once more with Remus before quickly patting his son's shoulder and racing off, briefcase in hand, through the busy streets of London to his job at the Ministry of Magic.
Remus slipped through the crowds just as expertly, blending in with the unsuspecting Muggles. None noticed him vanish from their world as he entered The Leaky Cauldron. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he looked over at the barman, Tom, who smiled in recognition.
"Ah, young Lupin! Glad to see you here! You'll be wanting in the Alley, I suppose?"
"Yes, please, sir." Remus grinned. Stepping through the widening hole in the wall, the boy bid thank you and good day to Tom, and relaxed into the warm, friendly atmosphere of Diagon Alley. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be young witches and wizards exploring the street, and trying to convince parents of the need for certain objects not on the school list.
Remus first went to pick up his set of pre-ordered robes from Madam Malkin's, then headed towards Flourish and Blotts for his books. As he roved the huge bookcases for the textbooks on his list, he glanced warily at a pair of girls about his age giggling over a book entitled Bewitchingly Beautiful Love Spells by I. M. Eures.
Collecting the necessary items, he made his escape and entered the dark library of wands, Mr. Ollivander's. A pair of penetrating milky blue eyes peered at him out of the gloom. "Ahhhh...Remus Lupin...you shall be an interesting one..." After setting his enchanted tape measure on Remus, Ollivander moved between shelves with the speed and efficiency of one long used to everything being in its correct place, and brought several boxes to his desk, opening one and holding it out. "Teak, unicorn tail, 15 inches."
Remus took the proffered wand and 'swished and flicked' as he had been taught. Ollivander's glasses flew off his nose.
Suppressing a giggle, the boy quickly put the wand down as the wand- maker bent to reach his glasses, muttering, "No, no, no...I think not.
"Mahogany, dragon heart string, 14 and a half inches."
Again, Remus gestured with the wand, but this time the lamp on the desk merely trembled.
"Mmm, mmm, closer...maybe...maybe phoenix feather this time...and a little shorter...
"Mahogany, phoenix feather, 13 inches."
Gingerly taking hold of the wand, Remus felt its power as soon as his scarred fingers wrapped around it. The tip began to glow with an inner light, and gold and orange sparks danced around it. "Wow!"
"Ah, perfect." Ollivander seemed relieved. "Now then, that will only be 4 galleons Master Lupin."
Feeling guilty and a little embarrassed at paying so little when others had to pay full price, Remus handed over the money and thanked Ollivander, before moving back into the brightness of Diagon Alley. Thinking to just have a quick glance around the Magical Menagerie, Remus squinted into the dank display tanks in the window. He was only distracted from the rats' antics when a loud, croaky voice announced just behind him, "Who's been through a hedge backwards, then?" followed by the same, slightly embarrassed giggle that he'd heard in Flourish.
The two girls were there, one with a grey parrot perched on her right shoulder. In between laughs, she admonished, "Shh! Henry, that's not nice! I'm terribly sorry. He's rather...free-minded." The girl looked apologetic, at least.
Her friend added, "And free-tongued!"
Remus smiled shyly a little intimidated by their boldness. "Oh, no it's okay. It's certainly different from your average parrot line."
Relieved, the first girl grinned broadly, her blue eyes shining. "Yes, he's not average at all. Are you starting at Hogwarts this year?"
"Yes." Remus was glad of the simple question.
"Oh good! We are too, we thought we were the only first years in Diagon Alley today. I'm Sephine Winters and this is Lily Evans. What's your name?"
Again, the answer was easy, "Remus Lupin."
"Nice. We were just heading to get some ice cream, you want to join us?"
Remus glanced at his watch. "Sure, why not."
They squirmed through the crowds, until as they passed the Quidditch supplies shop, Sephine leapt to the window, nose against the glass. "Whoa! Take a look at that! The Cumulus 5000! God, what I wouldn't give for one of those!"
Remus looked at the broom and felt his stomach lurch. He felt sick just thinking of it. He held his stomach and looked away, not paying heed to Lily's complaints about how boring Quidditch sounded.
"...And honestly, from what Seph says, it sounds so confusing! I don't...Remus? Are you all right? You look a bit pale..."
He nodded briskly and swallowed. "Mm. Fine. Must just have caught a whiff from Knockturn."
That started Lily off again, as Sephine practically drooled on the windowpane. "Ooh! Sephine's told me all about there! Have you ever been? She says she hasn't, but she seems to know an awful lot about it. Have you ever been there, Remus?"
Frowning, thinking her enthusiasm unnatural for any witch used to Diagon Alley, he changed the subject. "Is this your first trip to Diagon Alley?"
"Gosh, yes!" Lily looked surprised for a moment, then apologetic. "Oh, I didn't tell you, both my parents are Muggles! I've been friends with Seph for ages, though, and when she found out I got a place, she practically spent the whole summer holidays explaining everything to me. It's awesome, don't you think?"
Remus had to laugh at this girl who was so relaxed around people she didn't know at all. "Yes, I suppose it is. I can't remember the first time I was here, though. I've been so often with my dad that it's all become a bit normal to me."
"Oh, I think that's sad. I want this feeling of awe to be here every time I enter Diagon Alley. So are both your parents...magical?"
Remus hesitated, then nodded. "Yes," and before Lily could question him further, he added, "Are we going to get any ice cream, then?" with what he hoped was a friendly smile.
"Ooh, yes! Seph! Can you marry the broomstick some other day? We want ice cream!"
Sephine turned round, a mischievous grin on her face, "Alright, if you're that desperate." The thinning crowds were getting easier to move through as lunchtime approached and witches and wizards alike headed to cafés and restaurants dotted around the Wizarding Community Alley System. The ice cream parlour was jam-packed by the time the three got there. Most tables were completely occupied, but just as Sephine and Lily turned away from the sea of people in disappointment, Remus' sharp eyes picked up a table occupied by only one person. A boy, probably ten or eleven years old, with his feet up on the table, and his shopping bags taking up the rest of the table space. His eyes were closed in bliss as he sucked on a straw coming from his ice cream soda, and black curly bangs fell in disarray over his forehead.
Remus turned to the girls. "Hey, look, there's a space, you see?"
Lily peered, hand shielding eyes from the midday sun, but shook her head. "I don't see anything, Remus, are you sure?"
"Yes, there, look."
Sephine squinted at the crowds. "Oh, I see. The one lounging in the sun?"
"Yes, there are three spaces not used at his table."
Lily sighed. "Seph, is this another of those thingys? Those that only wizard-born can do? Cause how come you guys could see him, but I couldn't?"
Sephine frowned, the first time Remus had seen her do so, and she immediately seemed to burst with power and defiance as she looked at Lily. "Lily, anything a wizard-born kid can do, so can you, and don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise. If anyone, and I mean anyone so much as suggests that they are better than you because their parents can do magic too, don't you believe them, because you're a much better person than many people from pure wizarding families that I know."
Lily nodded, obviously already having heard this from Sephine and worrying slightly about what her friend meant. Remus, slightly taken aback, gestured to the table. "Shall we go then?"
Sephine nodded and brushed past him, weaving a way for them through the tables. "Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?"
The boy lifted his eyelids to reveal startling blue eyes. He smirked around his straw. "Yeah. Me."
Sephine raised an eyebrow, picked up an armful of his bags, and placed them on the floor, before seating herself on the chair she had cleared. "Is there any room for anyone else here?"
The boy grinned. "Nope. You can have all the space you want, though, Sephy."
She half smiled. "How about my friends, fly boy?"
Remus wondered what she meant by friends for a moment, then realised with a shock that she meant Lily and him. He stared at her for a moment, then frowned in thought. He hadn't...known he'd make friends so quickly. He hadn't known he'd make friends at all. He didn't think any one would have wanted to be friends with him.
Meanwhile, the boy had removed his feet from the table with a sigh and replied, "Honestly, Sephine, you're always cramping my style."
"Well, Sirius, no-one's easier to cramp than you." She retorted. "This is Lily Evans, the girl I told you about, and this is Remus...uh sorry, what's you're second name again?"
He smiled, "Lupin."
"Thanks. Remus Lupin. We met him by chance when Henry insulted him."
Now Sirius raised his eyebrow and addressed Remus. "Poor you. Was it the old 'hedge' one?"
"Yup."
"Ooh." Sirius winced. "She taught the damn thing how to say that ages ago, and now unless she tells him otherwise, he'll just pop out with it at random. It gets really annoying."
Sephine pretended to pout and stroked the moody bird that had made its way down her arm and onto the table. "Oh, Henry's not that bad, are you, sweetie? You're just insecure around huge male egos, aren't you?"
"So now you're saying it's the bird that cramps my style and not you?"
She grinned. "That's about it."
After ordering their ice creams and relaxing in the sun, the four sat idly chatting about everything from end of term exams to wizard chess, and Remus felt happier than he'd ever been. Just hanging out with others his own age made him feel almost normal. Until about four o'clock, when he saw the white ghost of the child's moon hover in the blue sky. He sighed; feeling once more isolated, and excused himself. "I've got to go meet my dad from work. See you guys on the train, maybe."
"Sure!"
"Yeah, c'ya Remus!"
"We'll save a compartment for you if you're late!"
* * *
Remus had cheered himself up a lot by the time he had reached the Muggle streets once more, and when his dad saw him, he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey, son! How was your day?"
"Dad, it was great! I met these other kids who're starting this year, and we went to Fortescue's and just talked and talked all afternoon, and they're gonna meet me on the Express, and they're called Sirius Black, Sephine Winters and Lily Evans. Lily's parents are Muggles and she's got a sister who's already at Muggle school and it's so weird all the stuff she says they make her do! And Sirius is saving for a motorbike, he's gonna make it fly like a broom he says! And Sephine's got this evil parrot called Henry who's a complete nutcase, just like her, and it always tells people that they look like they've come through a hedge backwards unless she tells it not to, and then it's really cool. And Sirius is from another big wizarding family, but he's really cool, he doesn't let it go to his head or anything, and Seph's teaching Lily to stand up to people who think they're better than her, and her mum's a healer but her dad's a Muggle and it's really weird. And ace. And..."
Roland laughed. "I see you'll do fine at school, then, Remus?"
"Yes! I can't wait! There's enchanted ceilings and candles and ghosts and..."