Chapter Two: Introduction to Hogwarts
After their voyage across the lake, and their first awesome view of the Hogwarts castle, the first years were led inside the magnificent building and up a flight of stairs. There Professor Carter left them in the capable hands of deputy headmistress McGonagall.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the tall blonde lady in flowing purple robes. "I trust you all had a good journey here. In a few minutes, I will lead you all into the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. There are four houses, all of which are equally respected. Your house will be like your family while you are at Hogwarts. I'll be back in a moment, please wait quietly."
Remus took the opportunity to talk to James and Sirius about the four Hogwarts Houses. "Which house do you think is the best?" he asked.
Sirius answered, "Slytherin is for people with ambition, but every witch or wizard that has turned bad has come from there."
Remus shuddered. "Not Slytherin then."
"Hufflepuff is for people who work hard, and are loyal," James said. "Ravenclaw is for the most intelligent and Gryffindor is for the bravest people."
Remus thought for a second, then said, "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sound best. I just hope I end up with one of you guys."
"My family has always been in Gryffindor," said Sirius.
"Mine, too," added James.
Just then, Professor McGonagall returned. "Follow me," she announced.
All of the first years filed after her into the Great Hall. They lined up in front of all of the students, with the teacher's table behind them. Between the first years and the student tables was a stool, upon which was a very old, shabby wizard hat.
Remus was glad to see he wasn't the only one staring at the hat, wondering what it had to do with what house you belonged in. As he and his classmates stared, the hat began to sing:
"At Hogwarts, Great Hogwarts
We have four houses, all unique
What makes them different, you ask?
Listen as I speak!
In Ravenclaw, wise Ravenclaw
Boy those kids have smarts
You'll see honesty and intelligence
and really big hearts!
In Gryffindor, brave Gryffindor,
I'm sure that you will find
lots of courage, good friendships
not to mention a good mind!
In Hufflepuff, sweet Hufflepuff
I think that you will see
lots of really hard workers
and lots of loyalty!
In Slytherin, oh Slytherin
These folks can be mean
But they are more ambitious
than any kids I've seen!
All four houses at Hogwarts
are really really great
So step right up to find your house
I know you just can't wait!"
All four long tables in the Great Hall erupted with applause. A few of the more exuberant students even threw their hats up into the air, which made Remus look up and notice the ceiling for the first time. It looked exactly like the sky outside. There were stars and light clouds and there didn't appear to be a roof at all. "Look at the ceiling," he whispered.
"It's enchanted to look like the sky," Peter said, always willing to please.
Professor McGongall was standing with a scroll, ready to read off names. "Could the first years remain silent, please?" she said sternly.
Farther down the line, a kid with black greasy hair and a large nose looked at Peter and Remus and laughed. Remus was angry. What had he done to deserve to be made fun of? He had the urge to punch the greasy kid in his abnormally large nose, but he was distracted by what was happening in front of him.
McGonagall had called "Adams, Edward" to come forward and she placed the sorting hat on his head.
Edward sat there for a minute before the hat yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" A cheer came from the Hufflepuff table as Edward ran down to join them.
Two students later, it was Sirius' turn. He sat on the stool for only a moment until the hat screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius went to sit at their table, next to Arthur Weasley.
When Lily Evans was called up, Remus could feel James' gaze, so he tried to look uninterested. The hat had barely settled on her head before it yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"
Before he knew it, it was Remus' turn. He walked over and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on his head and he could hear it talking. "What do we have here? Lots of loyalty, but yes, lots of bravery." Then it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!", for the whole hall to hear and Remus ran off to join Sirius at the Gryffindor table. He sat opposite him, next to a red haired 6th year girl. "Well done, Lupin," she said. "I'm Meg Weasley. Arthur here tells me you two met on the train. I hope he didn't bore you with his Muggle stories." Remus was spared answering, because just then a loud cheer rang from Slytherin as a brunette girl ran to join them.
The next of Remus' group to go was Peter. He sat on the stool for three full minutes while the hat decided what to do with him. Eventually the hat must have found some bravery buried deep inside because he went into Gryffindor. James was the very next student to be sorted. Without much debate, the hat placed him in Gryffindor. James sat next to Sirius and got high fives from the whole gang. "We all ended up together," he exclaimed. "We're gonna have fun!"
As the sorting ended, a huge feast appeared on the tables. All talking ceased, the students were much too busy stuffing their mouths. Remus was having so much fun, he couldn't remember a better day back in the boring Muggle world. Then he looked up at the ceiling again and noticed this time the moon was shown in the sky. The moon was waxing, in a few days it would be full. Remus almost choked on his pumpkin juice.
James looked over at him. "Are you ok, Remus?"
Smiling weakly, Remus replied, "Sure, James, I'm fine." James looked at him for another moment before turning back to his food.
It seemed like hours later to Remus when the feast finally concluded. As the students followed their prefects to the common rooms, Headmaster Dumbledore stopped Remus.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Lupin," he said.
"Thank you, sir," Remus said respectfully.
"I think we need to have a little talk before you join your classmates in your dormitories." Dumbledore smiled at Remus.
Remus tried to smile back. He knew what this was about and he just wanted to forget about it and have fun with his new friends. "Yes sir."
Dumbledore walked quickly through many hallways and stopped suddenly in front of a statue. Remus stopped as well, and turned to look at the hallway behind him. Across from the statue was a large portrait of a witch. As he wondered who she was, he thought he heard Dumbledore whisper "candy cane" but he wasn't sure. All of a sudden, the wall in front of Dumbledore opened, and they walked up the stairs to a well-furnished office.
Remus looked around in wonder. His attention was caught by a very small and featherless bird on the headmaster's desk. "What kind of bird is that, sir?"
"Oh that is my phoenix, Fawkes. I've had him a long time," Dumbledore said, leaving Remus wondering how an old bird could look so young. "Please sit down."
As Remus sat, Dumbledore continued. "I am sure you have noticed that it is almost time for a full moon and I'll bet you are wondering what precautions we are going to take for you."
Nodding Remus answered, "Yes, sir. I have. I would like to thank you, too, for allowing me to attend Hogwarts. Not many headmasters would allow a…a…"
"It's better to say it Remus. Not naming a thing makes it worse than it is," Dumbledore said gently.
Remus gathered his courage and continued, "…would allow a werewolf to attend their school."
"Well Mr. Lupin, your condition is not your fault, it does not affect your wizarding abilities and it can be handled so as not to bring harm to anyone else. I don't see how any reasonable person could keep you out of school."
Greatly relieved, Remus said, "Just the same, sir, thank you. What are we going to do when it gets to be a full moon?"
"Did you see the huge tree planted on the grounds, the one waving wildly?" Remus nodded. "It has been planted this summer especially for your arrival. The Whomping Willow covers the entrance to a tunnel that leads to a shack just outside of Hogsmeade. Every month, the day before the full moon, we will take you to this tunnel and leave you there until it is safe for you to come out. No villagers will stray there because we have started rumors that it is haunted. You will not be able to harm anyone," Dumbledore explained.
"But how will I get to the tunnel if the tree is thrashing about?" Remus asked.
"Ahhh," Dumbledore said. "You are a quick one. There is a certain knot of the tree, if poked with a long stick, will stop the trees movement for a few minutes. That will be long enough for you to get in."
"Thank you so much, headmaster," Remus said, standing. "Is it alright if I go and join my friends now?"
"You're quite welcome, Remus. I am sure you will make us all proud. You may go now, but meet Madame Pomfrey at the front doors tomorrow night at 9. She will escort you to your tunnel."
Remus thanked Dumbledore again and left the office. Out in the hall, he promptly ran right into a older girl.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
She smiled. "A first year, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" he grinned back.
"What house are you in?" she asked.
"Gryffindor."
"Me, too," she exclaimed. "I'm a second year. Do you need help finding our common room?"
"Yes," Remus answered. "By the way, my name's Remus Lupin. What's yours?"
"Arabella Figg," she said, as she started to show him to his new home.
The two Gryffindors talked and laughed all of the way through the maze of corridors and moving staircases. Remus was very glad he had run into Arabella, and not just because he would have gotten hopelessly lost. All too soon they stopped at a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.
The lady smiled and said, "Password?"
Arabella laughed at Remus' surprised face. "Came from a Muggle family, didn't you?"
"Sort of. I'm half and half, but we lived in the Muggle world," Remus looked away, suddenly embarrassed.
"Oh...I guess you'll appreciate all of the magic more than me and the other wizard born kids will," Arabella said thoughtfully.
Staring at her in amazement, Remus nodded. "I guess so. " She didn't ask why, he thought. She just accepted it.
The fat lady interrupted his thoughts. "Are you going to give me the password or not?"
"Sorry," said Arabella. "Porcupine quills."
The portrait swung open, revealing a large room decorated in red and gold. A large fire was roaring in a massive fireplace, and many Gryffindors still sat around it, despite the late hour.
"Remember the password so you can get in again," Arabella said. "And don't be surprised when people in pictures move. That's how wizard pictures work." With a smile, she was off with some other second years.
Looking around, Remus spotted James, Peter and Sirius crowded around a small table in the corner. "Hello guys," he said, walking over.
"Was Dumbledore mad at you already?" James asked. "We were worried."
"Oh..." Remus thought quickly. He didn't want anyone to know he was a werewolf, no one would want to be his friend then. "No, he got an owl from my dad. My mom's fallen ill and he wants me to come home and see her tomorrow after dinner."
"Is she going to be ok?" Peter asked anxiously.
"Yeah, I think so," Remus said. He thought he detected a faint look of disappointment cross Peter's face.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked.
James groaned. "Getting beat by Sirius at chess."
"Chess?" Remus repeated. "Finally something I'm good at." He watched intently as James made his next move. Sirius' queen seemed to grin maliciously as Sirius commanded it to take James' bishop. To Remus' surprise, the queen moved across the board herself and smashed James' bishop with her sword. "What is that?" Remus exclaimed.
"Wizard chess," said James sadly. "Never was much good at it."
Soon James had lost completely and it was getting late, so the boys headed to their dorm.
After their voyage across the lake, and their first awesome view of the Hogwarts castle, the first years were led inside the magnificent building and up a flight of stairs. There Professor Carter left them in the capable hands of deputy headmistress McGonagall.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the tall blonde lady in flowing purple robes. "I trust you all had a good journey here. In a few minutes, I will lead you all into the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. There are four houses, all of which are equally respected. Your house will be like your family while you are at Hogwarts. I'll be back in a moment, please wait quietly."
Remus took the opportunity to talk to James and Sirius about the four Hogwarts Houses. "Which house do you think is the best?" he asked.
Sirius answered, "Slytherin is for people with ambition, but every witch or wizard that has turned bad has come from there."
Remus shuddered. "Not Slytherin then."
"Hufflepuff is for people who work hard, and are loyal," James said. "Ravenclaw is for the most intelligent and Gryffindor is for the bravest people."
Remus thought for a second, then said, "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sound best. I just hope I end up with one of you guys."
"My family has always been in Gryffindor," said Sirius.
"Mine, too," added James.
Just then, Professor McGonagall returned. "Follow me," she announced.
All of the first years filed after her into the Great Hall. They lined up in front of all of the students, with the teacher's table behind them. Between the first years and the student tables was a stool, upon which was a very old, shabby wizard hat.
Remus was glad to see he wasn't the only one staring at the hat, wondering what it had to do with what house you belonged in. As he and his classmates stared, the hat began to sing:
"At Hogwarts, Great Hogwarts
We have four houses, all unique
What makes them different, you ask?
Listen as I speak!
In Ravenclaw, wise Ravenclaw
Boy those kids have smarts
You'll see honesty and intelligence
and really big hearts!
In Gryffindor, brave Gryffindor,
I'm sure that you will find
lots of courage, good friendships
not to mention a good mind!
In Hufflepuff, sweet Hufflepuff
I think that you will see
lots of really hard workers
and lots of loyalty!
In Slytherin, oh Slytherin
These folks can be mean
But they are more ambitious
than any kids I've seen!
All four houses at Hogwarts
are really really great
So step right up to find your house
I know you just can't wait!"
All four long tables in the Great Hall erupted with applause. A few of the more exuberant students even threw their hats up into the air, which made Remus look up and notice the ceiling for the first time. It looked exactly like the sky outside. There were stars and light clouds and there didn't appear to be a roof at all. "Look at the ceiling," he whispered.
"It's enchanted to look like the sky," Peter said, always willing to please.
Professor McGongall was standing with a scroll, ready to read off names. "Could the first years remain silent, please?" she said sternly.
Farther down the line, a kid with black greasy hair and a large nose looked at Peter and Remus and laughed. Remus was angry. What had he done to deserve to be made fun of? He had the urge to punch the greasy kid in his abnormally large nose, but he was distracted by what was happening in front of him.
McGonagall had called "Adams, Edward" to come forward and she placed the sorting hat on his head.
Edward sat there for a minute before the hat yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" A cheer came from the Hufflepuff table as Edward ran down to join them.
Two students later, it was Sirius' turn. He sat on the stool for only a moment until the hat screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius went to sit at their table, next to Arthur Weasley.
When Lily Evans was called up, Remus could feel James' gaze, so he tried to look uninterested. The hat had barely settled on her head before it yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"
Before he knew it, it was Remus' turn. He walked over and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on his head and he could hear it talking. "What do we have here? Lots of loyalty, but yes, lots of bravery." Then it yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!", for the whole hall to hear and Remus ran off to join Sirius at the Gryffindor table. He sat opposite him, next to a red haired 6th year girl. "Well done, Lupin," she said. "I'm Meg Weasley. Arthur here tells me you two met on the train. I hope he didn't bore you with his Muggle stories." Remus was spared answering, because just then a loud cheer rang from Slytherin as a brunette girl ran to join them.
The next of Remus' group to go was Peter. He sat on the stool for three full minutes while the hat decided what to do with him. Eventually the hat must have found some bravery buried deep inside because he went into Gryffindor. James was the very next student to be sorted. Without much debate, the hat placed him in Gryffindor. James sat next to Sirius and got high fives from the whole gang. "We all ended up together," he exclaimed. "We're gonna have fun!"
As the sorting ended, a huge feast appeared on the tables. All talking ceased, the students were much too busy stuffing their mouths. Remus was having so much fun, he couldn't remember a better day back in the boring Muggle world. Then he looked up at the ceiling again and noticed this time the moon was shown in the sky. The moon was waxing, in a few days it would be full. Remus almost choked on his pumpkin juice.
James looked over at him. "Are you ok, Remus?"
Smiling weakly, Remus replied, "Sure, James, I'm fine." James looked at him for another moment before turning back to his food.
It seemed like hours later to Remus when the feast finally concluded. As the students followed their prefects to the common rooms, Headmaster Dumbledore stopped Remus.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Lupin," he said.
"Thank you, sir," Remus said respectfully.
"I think we need to have a little talk before you join your classmates in your dormitories." Dumbledore smiled at Remus.
Remus tried to smile back. He knew what this was about and he just wanted to forget about it and have fun with his new friends. "Yes sir."
Dumbledore walked quickly through many hallways and stopped suddenly in front of a statue. Remus stopped as well, and turned to look at the hallway behind him. Across from the statue was a large portrait of a witch. As he wondered who she was, he thought he heard Dumbledore whisper "candy cane" but he wasn't sure. All of a sudden, the wall in front of Dumbledore opened, and they walked up the stairs to a well-furnished office.
Remus looked around in wonder. His attention was caught by a very small and featherless bird on the headmaster's desk. "What kind of bird is that, sir?"
"Oh that is my phoenix, Fawkes. I've had him a long time," Dumbledore said, leaving Remus wondering how an old bird could look so young. "Please sit down."
As Remus sat, Dumbledore continued. "I am sure you have noticed that it is almost time for a full moon and I'll bet you are wondering what precautions we are going to take for you."
Nodding Remus answered, "Yes, sir. I have. I would like to thank you, too, for allowing me to attend Hogwarts. Not many headmasters would allow a…a…"
"It's better to say it Remus. Not naming a thing makes it worse than it is," Dumbledore said gently.
Remus gathered his courage and continued, "…would allow a werewolf to attend their school."
"Well Mr. Lupin, your condition is not your fault, it does not affect your wizarding abilities and it can be handled so as not to bring harm to anyone else. I don't see how any reasonable person could keep you out of school."
Greatly relieved, Remus said, "Just the same, sir, thank you. What are we going to do when it gets to be a full moon?"
"Did you see the huge tree planted on the grounds, the one waving wildly?" Remus nodded. "It has been planted this summer especially for your arrival. The Whomping Willow covers the entrance to a tunnel that leads to a shack just outside of Hogsmeade. Every month, the day before the full moon, we will take you to this tunnel and leave you there until it is safe for you to come out. No villagers will stray there because we have started rumors that it is haunted. You will not be able to harm anyone," Dumbledore explained.
"But how will I get to the tunnel if the tree is thrashing about?" Remus asked.
"Ahhh," Dumbledore said. "You are a quick one. There is a certain knot of the tree, if poked with a long stick, will stop the trees movement for a few minutes. That will be long enough for you to get in."
"Thank you so much, headmaster," Remus said, standing. "Is it alright if I go and join my friends now?"
"You're quite welcome, Remus. I am sure you will make us all proud. You may go now, but meet Madame Pomfrey at the front doors tomorrow night at 9. She will escort you to your tunnel."
Remus thanked Dumbledore again and left the office. Out in the hall, he promptly ran right into a older girl.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
She smiled. "A first year, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" he grinned back.
"What house are you in?" she asked.
"Gryffindor."
"Me, too," she exclaimed. "I'm a second year. Do you need help finding our common room?"
"Yes," Remus answered. "By the way, my name's Remus Lupin. What's yours?"
"Arabella Figg," she said, as she started to show him to his new home.
The two Gryffindors talked and laughed all of the way through the maze of corridors and moving staircases. Remus was very glad he had run into Arabella, and not just because he would have gotten hopelessly lost. All too soon they stopped at a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.
The lady smiled and said, "Password?"
Arabella laughed at Remus' surprised face. "Came from a Muggle family, didn't you?"
"Sort of. I'm half and half, but we lived in the Muggle world," Remus looked away, suddenly embarrassed.
"Oh...I guess you'll appreciate all of the magic more than me and the other wizard born kids will," Arabella said thoughtfully.
Staring at her in amazement, Remus nodded. "I guess so. " She didn't ask why, he thought. She just accepted it.
The fat lady interrupted his thoughts. "Are you going to give me the password or not?"
"Sorry," said Arabella. "Porcupine quills."
The portrait swung open, revealing a large room decorated in red and gold. A large fire was roaring in a massive fireplace, and many Gryffindors still sat around it, despite the late hour.
"Remember the password so you can get in again," Arabella said. "And don't be surprised when people in pictures move. That's how wizard pictures work." With a smile, she was off with some other second years.
Looking around, Remus spotted James, Peter and Sirius crowded around a small table in the corner. "Hello guys," he said, walking over.
"Was Dumbledore mad at you already?" James asked. "We were worried."
"Oh..." Remus thought quickly. He didn't want anyone to know he was a werewolf, no one would want to be his friend then. "No, he got an owl from my dad. My mom's fallen ill and he wants me to come home and see her tomorrow after dinner."
"Is she going to be ok?" Peter asked anxiously.
"Yeah, I think so," Remus said. He thought he detected a faint look of disappointment cross Peter's face.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked.
James groaned. "Getting beat by Sirius at chess."
"Chess?" Remus repeated. "Finally something I'm good at." He watched intently as James made his next move. Sirius' queen seemed to grin maliciously as Sirius commanded it to take James' bishop. To Remus' surprise, the queen moved across the board herself and smashed James' bishop with her sword. "What is that?" Remus exclaimed.
"Wizard chess," said James sadly. "Never was much good at it."
Soon James had lost completely and it was getting late, so the boys headed to their dorm.