Chapter ten: Adventures in Diagon Alley
*** Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Peter Pettigrew was wandering around the school all alone. All of his new friends, Snape, Evan Rosier, Wilkes, Avery and Lestrange, had gone home. He was desperate to talk to someone, but even all of his old friends had gone home for the holidays. Feeling depressed and rejected, he headed to the library to work on homework.
The only other person in the library, besides the elderly librarian, was a seventh year girl who appeared to have fallen asleep. Peter sat quietly at the next table, trying to concentrate on his Herbology homework. Suddenly, the girl sat up. Peter looked over at her, but her eyes were still shut. He was about to go back to his work, when a deep voice came from the girl.
"You have left your friends to seek more powerful allies," it said, though the girl still looked asleep. "But you will be of great help to the greatest Dark Lord ever if you stay friends with Potter, Black and Lupin."
Peter stared in amazement, his mouth hanging wide open. What did this girl know about him and his old friends? Who was this Dark Lord she referred to? He waited in breathless anticipation for her to continue, but another girl came into the library. She looked around, and when she saw the sleeping girl, she came over and shook her.
"Sybill! Wake up!" the girl said, still shaking the sleeping form.
Sybill, the sleeping girl, opened her huge eyes slowly. "What?" she said sleepily.
The second girl looked furious. "Sybill Trelawney! You scared me half to death, I didn't know where you were! Honestly, don't you sleep at night?"
Sybill looked sheepish. "Sorry," she said, gathering her books. "I didn't mean to."
"Let's just go," the second girl said. "The feast will be starting soon."
The two girls left the library and Peter began to gather his belongings slowly. 'What am I going to do?' he thought.
*** Remus awoke on Boxing Day with a faint feeling that something was not right. He couldn't figure out what it was, but as Aidan flew back in the room with several notes on his leg, Remus thought that he had just been worried about Aidan getting back ok. He pushed the worried thoughts from his mind and opened his notes.
Remus opened the first note. It was from James.
Remus,
You got a Comet 50? That is so cool. Bring it to my house so we can all try it. Also, tell your dad thanks for trying to get us World Cup tickets. I got a pretty neat Christmas gift myself, but I have to show it to you for you to believe it!
James
Remus shook his head. James couldn't help trying to outdo Remus' gift. The next two notes, from Sirius and Austin were similar to James', except they didn't try to brag about the presents they had received. The last letter was from Lily. Remus had saved it for last on purpose. He opened it, feeling nervous, but not knowing why.
Remus,
It's good to hear you've had a nice holiday so far, and that your dad is getting us quidditch tickets. I wish we were all together at James' already. My sister Petunia is being a major pain. She never liked me in the first place, but now she hates me because I'm a witch and mom and dad are so proud of me. I miss my mom and dad while I'm at school, but being at home is driving me CRAZY!! I'll see you in two days!
Yours, Lily
Remus was glad that Lily wanted to see everyone again, but he felt bad that he had to put up with a sister like that. A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in," he said.
It was his mother who poked her head into his room. "You had better get dressed so we can be on our way to the Weasleys. What have you been doing in here for so long?" she asked.
"I kinda slept in and then I was reading the letters that Aidan brought me. I'll be ready in a few minutes." Remus smiled at his mother who smiled back.
"Alright," she said, closing the door.
Quickly, Remus considered what he should wear. He thought about his school robes, but decided on a pair of jeans and a nice striped shirt. He combed his hair and went to join his mother and father, who were standing near the fireplace.
"I'm all set," he announced cheerfully. "How are we getting to the Weasley's house?"
"By floo powder," his father answered.
"What's that?" Remus asked, puzzled.
"You simply throw the powder into the fire, say where you want to go and step into the fire. You will be taken to the fireplace of your destination, which in this case is the Burrow," his father explained.
Remus looked at him in alarm. "You step into the fire?"
Nick smiled. "It won't hurt you. Watch, your mother will go first, then you can try it."
His mother looked very nervous, like she'd much rather walk across England to the Burrow than go by floo powder, but she threw some onto the fire, and stepped in, saying "the Burrow" as she did. She disappeared.
"Wow," Remus said, amazed.
"Your turn," his dad said, giving him some floo powder. Remus threw it on the fire and said "the Burrow?" very hesitantly as he stepped into the flames. He only had a moment to be surprised that his legs weren't burning before he was whisked away to a strange fireplace. He stepped out and saw his mother being embraced by a friendly looking woman with red hair.
"Haven't seen you in so long, dear," Mrs. Weasley said to Remus' mother. Then she noticed Remus standing in the cluttered kitchen and said, "You must be Remus. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Remus smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Mrs. Weasley."
Just then, Nick stepped forward out of the fireplace. "We all made it ok?" he said, looking around.
Mrs. Lupin smiled at him. "We're all here, dear."
Mr. Weasley said to Remus, "Arthur is up in his room if you want to go join him. It's the first to the right at the top of the stairs."
Remus took his time finding Arthur's room. He wanted to see the house first. It was small, but it was well kept up and looked very happy. Downstairs there was a kitchen and a sitting room, and as Remus climbed the stairs, he discovered there were three bedrooms. He knocked on Arthur's door. He heard the noise of something being shoved under a bed as Arthur called out "Who is it?"
"It's Remus," Remus answered.
The door opened. "Oh, come in, Remus. I thought it was my mother and she doesn't like my Muggle collections. I was trying to hide them."
"What are you collecting?" Remus asked, very interested.
"At the moment, Muggle soda cans. See how many I have?" Arthur looked so proud of his collection that Remus had to force himself to look excited. After all, the soda cans Arthur had were the same kinds Remus had been around all of the time for seven years of his life.
To hide his laughter, Remus coughed into his hand. "I might have a few more at home I could bring you," he managed to say.
Arthur's eyebrows shot up. "Really? I'd appreciate that a lot. But don't say anything to mother, she thinks these things are a waste of time. So does Molly, actually." He appeared to be lost in thought.
"Who is Molly?" Remus asked curiously.
"Oh, you'll meet her today. She's my girlfriend, but she graduated last year," Arthur said, only turning a bit red.
Soon, the other guests arrived for dinner and they all sat down to eat. Remus met Molly, who had hair as fiery red as Arthur's. Also in attendance was a Mr. Diggory, a widower with a grown son named Amos. Apparently, he lived close by the Burrow.
Remus loved every minute of the dinner. He really enjoyed the people, the food and the family feeling. He was sorry to have to say goodbye, but after dessert, he and his dad could tell his mother was ready to go home. They politely excused themselves and used the floo powder to get back to their home. Seeing all of his nice presents around reminded Remus of something.
"Hey dad," he said. "Will you take me to Diagon Alley tomorrow morning? I didn't have time to get gifts for my friends and I'm going to James' tomorrow afternoon."
Remus' father looked at his mother as if asking a question with his glance. She nodded and his father answered, "Sure, son. I'd be happy to take you there."
"Thanks, dad!" Remus said, throwing his arms around his father.
"You're welcome, Remus, but you'll have to get to bed now so we can make an early start."
"Sure, dad. Goodnight!" Remus called as he ran off to his room. As he fell asleep, he tried to figure out what to get each of his friends.
The morning came quickly and after a nice home cooked breakfast, Remus and his dad used floo powder to get to Diagon Alley. Once they were out on the street, Remus couldn't help but marvel at the strange people and shops. He still wasn't used to seeing large numbers of adults dressed in colorful robes. The shops were interesting enough to hold any wizard's attention for days, no matter how many times he'd seen them before. There was a quidditch shop, an ice cream parlor, Gringotts Bank, Ollivandor's Wands, Flourish and Blott's book store and many others. Remus didn't even know where to start; he just stared.
Luckily, his dad noticed that Remus wasn't going to make a choice on his own, so he said, "Didn't you say James and Sirius are big quidditch fans? Maybe we should start in the quidditch supply shop."
Remus nodded and followed his dad to the shop. In the window was another Comet 50, as well as a copy of the robes England's quidditch team wore. "Wow," Remus gasped.
Nick laughed. "Wait until you get inside."
Inside the shop were racks of multicolored quidditch robes, shelves of racing brooms and miscellaneous merchandise from all of England's quidditch teams. Remus wanted to look at everything, but he knew he didn't have hours to spend browsing. After looking around for a few minutes for the perfect gifts for James and Sirius, Remus came across a book of quidditch plays. It covered every player, from the seeker to the keeper. Remus knew that James would love it. Now he just had to find something for Sirius.
Remus looked all around the store, but nothing caught his eye except for the expensive items, like the brooms and robes. He decided to look for a present for Sirius at another store, and he took James' book up to the register to pay for it. On the counter in the front of the store were packs of quidditch trading cards, featuring international quidditch players. The wizard on the front of the pack was smiling and waving at Remus. Remus smiled back. The cards looked amusing and he was sure that Sirius would love seeing players from around the world. He purchased several packs for Sirius and one for himself. The player on the front of the package was cheering and waving his arms about as the store-owner put Remus' purchases in a bag.
Remus left the store with his father who asked him who he had left to shop for.
"Austin, Lily and Arabella," Remus replied.
"Who is Arabella?" his dad asked, smiling.
Remus could feel his face growing hot, but he didn't know why. "She's a second year who helped me find our tower on the first day of school. We talk sometimes."
"Oh. Do you know what you want to get her or Austin or Lily?"
"I want to get Austin a wizard chess set so he can really learn how to play, and I want to get Lily a pet, a cat maybe."
"Ok, well we can get the chess set first and then go browse the magical creatures store," his father said.
It didn't take long to pick out a chess set, and father and son were soon in the magical creatures shop, surrounded by owls, cats, toads and several kinds of animals Remus couldn't name. Remus looked at the cats first, but decided against one, since they were a lot of work and Lily's Muggle family might not appreciate the gift. He browsed a little while longer, then he came upon the toads. They were cuter than he expected, despite the fact that they weren't furry. He picked out an intelligent looking orange toad for Lily. He took it to the counter where he also purchased a cage and some toad food. Then he dragged his father away from the dancing rats that held his attention and they went back out onto the street.
"Where do you want to look for Arabella's present? We don't have much longer if you want to stop for ice cream sundaes before we go home," Remus' dad said, looking at his watch.
Remus thought for a moment. The only interest he knew Arabella had besides quidditch was in their Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. "Is there a store that sells Defense Against the Dark Arts stuff?" he asked his dad.
"I think so," he replied. "Down that way." He pointed.
"Well, let's look there and then go get some ice cream," Remus said. His dad agreed and they walked in the direction he had indicated.
The shop was called Smith's Defense Shoppe, and it was filled with all sorts of interesting things. There were sneakoscopes, some horrible looking restraining devices, books how to defeat certain creatures as well as biographies of famous dark wizards and aurors. In the background was a humming noise, which Remus realized was coming from an odd looking machine called a Secrecy Sensor. He wanted to look at absolutely everything, but he knew there wasn't time.
He was glancing over everything when a mirror caught his eye. It didn't show the store, instead there were several shadowy figures in the background. Remus watched in amazement as one of the figures walked out of sight and one grew close enough to make out its features. A voice behind Remus said, "Interested in the Foe Glass, are you?"
Remus jumped three feet in the air, he was so startled. "What does it do, sir?" he managed to reply calmly.
"It shows your enemies. When they get close enough that you can tell what color their eyes are, you'd better watch out, because they really close," the man replied.
"Cool," Remus said under his breath. He asked the man how much they cost and he decided to buy one for Arabella. 'Not that she needs to watch out for enemies, but it will be fun, and she could probably use it later,' Remus reasoned.
As the man wrapped up the mirror, he asked, "What is your name? Your dad does look familiar, but I can't figure out how I know him."
"I'm Remus Lupin, and that's my dad, Nick," Remus answered.
"Nice to meet you Remus, I'm Mr. Smith. I thought your dad left the wizard world."
"He did, but when I got accepted at Hogwarts, he thought he'd give me a chance to decide," Remus explained.
Mr. Smith smiled. "Well tell him I said hi. And enjoy your Foe Glass."
Remus grinned back. "Thanks, sir, I will."
Remus and his dad enjoyed ice cream sundaes at the ice cream parlor while watching all of the interesting people walk by. Then they traveled back to their house.
Remus' mother looked very relieved to see them. He wished he had time to tell her about their shopping to reassure her before he left, but there just wasn't time. He quickly wrapped up the presents he had bought his friends and put them in his trunk along with some of his new presents, like his chess set. He grabbed his broom and went out to join his parents in the kitchen.
"I'm ready to go," he announced.
His father gave him a big hug. "It's been nice having you back, Remus. Have fun at the Potters' and be sure to thank them for having you."
"I will dad," Remus answered. Then he turned to his mom. She gave him a huge hug that threatened to break his ribs, but there were no tears in her eyes.
"Have a nice term, dear," she said.
"Mom, I'll be back here for a day before I go back to school," Remus said.
"Oh," she said smiling. "You're right. Be on your best behavior and have a good time."
"I will," Remus said as he took some floo powder and threw it on the fire. He stepped in, taking his trunk and broom with him and yelled, "The Meadow!"
Instantly, he fell out of a fireplace into a large and luxuriously furnished sitting room. Remus stood up and brushed himself off. "Welcome to the Meadow," James said, smiling.
*** Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Peter Pettigrew was wandering around the school all alone. All of his new friends, Snape, Evan Rosier, Wilkes, Avery and Lestrange, had gone home. He was desperate to talk to someone, but even all of his old friends had gone home for the holidays. Feeling depressed and rejected, he headed to the library to work on homework.
The only other person in the library, besides the elderly librarian, was a seventh year girl who appeared to have fallen asleep. Peter sat quietly at the next table, trying to concentrate on his Herbology homework. Suddenly, the girl sat up. Peter looked over at her, but her eyes were still shut. He was about to go back to his work, when a deep voice came from the girl.
"You have left your friends to seek more powerful allies," it said, though the girl still looked asleep. "But you will be of great help to the greatest Dark Lord ever if you stay friends with Potter, Black and Lupin."
Peter stared in amazement, his mouth hanging wide open. What did this girl know about him and his old friends? Who was this Dark Lord she referred to? He waited in breathless anticipation for her to continue, but another girl came into the library. She looked around, and when she saw the sleeping girl, she came over and shook her.
"Sybill! Wake up!" the girl said, still shaking the sleeping form.
Sybill, the sleeping girl, opened her huge eyes slowly. "What?" she said sleepily.
The second girl looked furious. "Sybill Trelawney! You scared me half to death, I didn't know where you were! Honestly, don't you sleep at night?"
Sybill looked sheepish. "Sorry," she said, gathering her books. "I didn't mean to."
"Let's just go," the second girl said. "The feast will be starting soon."
The two girls left the library and Peter began to gather his belongings slowly. 'What am I going to do?' he thought.
*** Remus awoke on Boxing Day with a faint feeling that something was not right. He couldn't figure out what it was, but as Aidan flew back in the room with several notes on his leg, Remus thought that he had just been worried about Aidan getting back ok. He pushed the worried thoughts from his mind and opened his notes.
Remus opened the first note. It was from James.
Remus,
You got a Comet 50? That is so cool. Bring it to my house so we can all try it. Also, tell your dad thanks for trying to get us World Cup tickets. I got a pretty neat Christmas gift myself, but I have to show it to you for you to believe it!
James
Remus shook his head. James couldn't help trying to outdo Remus' gift. The next two notes, from Sirius and Austin were similar to James', except they didn't try to brag about the presents they had received. The last letter was from Lily. Remus had saved it for last on purpose. He opened it, feeling nervous, but not knowing why.
Remus,
It's good to hear you've had a nice holiday so far, and that your dad is getting us quidditch tickets. I wish we were all together at James' already. My sister Petunia is being a major pain. She never liked me in the first place, but now she hates me because I'm a witch and mom and dad are so proud of me. I miss my mom and dad while I'm at school, but being at home is driving me CRAZY!! I'll see you in two days!
Yours, Lily
Remus was glad that Lily wanted to see everyone again, but he felt bad that he had to put up with a sister like that. A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in," he said.
It was his mother who poked her head into his room. "You had better get dressed so we can be on our way to the Weasleys. What have you been doing in here for so long?" she asked.
"I kinda slept in and then I was reading the letters that Aidan brought me. I'll be ready in a few minutes." Remus smiled at his mother who smiled back.
"Alright," she said, closing the door.
Quickly, Remus considered what he should wear. He thought about his school robes, but decided on a pair of jeans and a nice striped shirt. He combed his hair and went to join his mother and father, who were standing near the fireplace.
"I'm all set," he announced cheerfully. "How are we getting to the Weasley's house?"
"By floo powder," his father answered.
"What's that?" Remus asked, puzzled.
"You simply throw the powder into the fire, say where you want to go and step into the fire. You will be taken to the fireplace of your destination, which in this case is the Burrow," his father explained.
Remus looked at him in alarm. "You step into the fire?"
Nick smiled. "It won't hurt you. Watch, your mother will go first, then you can try it."
His mother looked very nervous, like she'd much rather walk across England to the Burrow than go by floo powder, but she threw some onto the fire, and stepped in, saying "the Burrow" as she did. She disappeared.
"Wow," Remus said, amazed.
"Your turn," his dad said, giving him some floo powder. Remus threw it on the fire and said "the Burrow?" very hesitantly as he stepped into the flames. He only had a moment to be surprised that his legs weren't burning before he was whisked away to a strange fireplace. He stepped out and saw his mother being embraced by a friendly looking woman with red hair.
"Haven't seen you in so long, dear," Mrs. Weasley said to Remus' mother. Then she noticed Remus standing in the cluttered kitchen and said, "You must be Remus. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Remus smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Mrs. Weasley."
Just then, Nick stepped forward out of the fireplace. "We all made it ok?" he said, looking around.
Mrs. Lupin smiled at him. "We're all here, dear."
Mr. Weasley said to Remus, "Arthur is up in his room if you want to go join him. It's the first to the right at the top of the stairs."
Remus took his time finding Arthur's room. He wanted to see the house first. It was small, but it was well kept up and looked very happy. Downstairs there was a kitchen and a sitting room, and as Remus climbed the stairs, he discovered there were three bedrooms. He knocked on Arthur's door. He heard the noise of something being shoved under a bed as Arthur called out "Who is it?"
"It's Remus," Remus answered.
The door opened. "Oh, come in, Remus. I thought it was my mother and she doesn't like my Muggle collections. I was trying to hide them."
"What are you collecting?" Remus asked, very interested.
"At the moment, Muggle soda cans. See how many I have?" Arthur looked so proud of his collection that Remus had to force himself to look excited. After all, the soda cans Arthur had were the same kinds Remus had been around all of the time for seven years of his life.
To hide his laughter, Remus coughed into his hand. "I might have a few more at home I could bring you," he managed to say.
Arthur's eyebrows shot up. "Really? I'd appreciate that a lot. But don't say anything to mother, she thinks these things are a waste of time. So does Molly, actually." He appeared to be lost in thought.
"Who is Molly?" Remus asked curiously.
"Oh, you'll meet her today. She's my girlfriend, but she graduated last year," Arthur said, only turning a bit red.
Soon, the other guests arrived for dinner and they all sat down to eat. Remus met Molly, who had hair as fiery red as Arthur's. Also in attendance was a Mr. Diggory, a widower with a grown son named Amos. Apparently, he lived close by the Burrow.
Remus loved every minute of the dinner. He really enjoyed the people, the food and the family feeling. He was sorry to have to say goodbye, but after dessert, he and his dad could tell his mother was ready to go home. They politely excused themselves and used the floo powder to get back to their home. Seeing all of his nice presents around reminded Remus of something.
"Hey dad," he said. "Will you take me to Diagon Alley tomorrow morning? I didn't have time to get gifts for my friends and I'm going to James' tomorrow afternoon."
Remus' father looked at his mother as if asking a question with his glance. She nodded and his father answered, "Sure, son. I'd be happy to take you there."
"Thanks, dad!" Remus said, throwing his arms around his father.
"You're welcome, Remus, but you'll have to get to bed now so we can make an early start."
"Sure, dad. Goodnight!" Remus called as he ran off to his room. As he fell asleep, he tried to figure out what to get each of his friends.
The morning came quickly and after a nice home cooked breakfast, Remus and his dad used floo powder to get to Diagon Alley. Once they were out on the street, Remus couldn't help but marvel at the strange people and shops. He still wasn't used to seeing large numbers of adults dressed in colorful robes. The shops were interesting enough to hold any wizard's attention for days, no matter how many times he'd seen them before. There was a quidditch shop, an ice cream parlor, Gringotts Bank, Ollivandor's Wands, Flourish and Blott's book store and many others. Remus didn't even know where to start; he just stared.
Luckily, his dad noticed that Remus wasn't going to make a choice on his own, so he said, "Didn't you say James and Sirius are big quidditch fans? Maybe we should start in the quidditch supply shop."
Remus nodded and followed his dad to the shop. In the window was another Comet 50, as well as a copy of the robes England's quidditch team wore. "Wow," Remus gasped.
Nick laughed. "Wait until you get inside."
Inside the shop were racks of multicolored quidditch robes, shelves of racing brooms and miscellaneous merchandise from all of England's quidditch teams. Remus wanted to look at everything, but he knew he didn't have hours to spend browsing. After looking around for a few minutes for the perfect gifts for James and Sirius, Remus came across a book of quidditch plays. It covered every player, from the seeker to the keeper. Remus knew that James would love it. Now he just had to find something for Sirius.
Remus looked all around the store, but nothing caught his eye except for the expensive items, like the brooms and robes. He decided to look for a present for Sirius at another store, and he took James' book up to the register to pay for it. On the counter in the front of the store were packs of quidditch trading cards, featuring international quidditch players. The wizard on the front of the pack was smiling and waving at Remus. Remus smiled back. The cards looked amusing and he was sure that Sirius would love seeing players from around the world. He purchased several packs for Sirius and one for himself. The player on the front of the package was cheering and waving his arms about as the store-owner put Remus' purchases in a bag.
Remus left the store with his father who asked him who he had left to shop for.
"Austin, Lily and Arabella," Remus replied.
"Who is Arabella?" his dad asked, smiling.
Remus could feel his face growing hot, but he didn't know why. "She's a second year who helped me find our tower on the first day of school. We talk sometimes."
"Oh. Do you know what you want to get her or Austin or Lily?"
"I want to get Austin a wizard chess set so he can really learn how to play, and I want to get Lily a pet, a cat maybe."
"Ok, well we can get the chess set first and then go browse the magical creatures store," his father said.
It didn't take long to pick out a chess set, and father and son were soon in the magical creatures shop, surrounded by owls, cats, toads and several kinds of animals Remus couldn't name. Remus looked at the cats first, but decided against one, since they were a lot of work and Lily's Muggle family might not appreciate the gift. He browsed a little while longer, then he came upon the toads. They were cuter than he expected, despite the fact that they weren't furry. He picked out an intelligent looking orange toad for Lily. He took it to the counter where he also purchased a cage and some toad food. Then he dragged his father away from the dancing rats that held his attention and they went back out onto the street.
"Where do you want to look for Arabella's present? We don't have much longer if you want to stop for ice cream sundaes before we go home," Remus' dad said, looking at his watch.
Remus thought for a moment. The only interest he knew Arabella had besides quidditch was in their Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. "Is there a store that sells Defense Against the Dark Arts stuff?" he asked his dad.
"I think so," he replied. "Down that way." He pointed.
"Well, let's look there and then go get some ice cream," Remus said. His dad agreed and they walked in the direction he had indicated.
The shop was called Smith's Defense Shoppe, and it was filled with all sorts of interesting things. There were sneakoscopes, some horrible looking restraining devices, books how to defeat certain creatures as well as biographies of famous dark wizards and aurors. In the background was a humming noise, which Remus realized was coming from an odd looking machine called a Secrecy Sensor. He wanted to look at absolutely everything, but he knew there wasn't time.
He was glancing over everything when a mirror caught his eye. It didn't show the store, instead there were several shadowy figures in the background. Remus watched in amazement as one of the figures walked out of sight and one grew close enough to make out its features. A voice behind Remus said, "Interested in the Foe Glass, are you?"
Remus jumped three feet in the air, he was so startled. "What does it do, sir?" he managed to reply calmly.
"It shows your enemies. When they get close enough that you can tell what color their eyes are, you'd better watch out, because they really close," the man replied.
"Cool," Remus said under his breath. He asked the man how much they cost and he decided to buy one for Arabella. 'Not that she needs to watch out for enemies, but it will be fun, and she could probably use it later,' Remus reasoned.
As the man wrapped up the mirror, he asked, "What is your name? Your dad does look familiar, but I can't figure out how I know him."
"I'm Remus Lupin, and that's my dad, Nick," Remus answered.
"Nice to meet you Remus, I'm Mr. Smith. I thought your dad left the wizard world."
"He did, but when I got accepted at Hogwarts, he thought he'd give me a chance to decide," Remus explained.
Mr. Smith smiled. "Well tell him I said hi. And enjoy your Foe Glass."
Remus grinned back. "Thanks, sir, I will."
Remus and his dad enjoyed ice cream sundaes at the ice cream parlor while watching all of the interesting people walk by. Then they traveled back to their house.
Remus' mother looked very relieved to see them. He wished he had time to tell her about their shopping to reassure her before he left, but there just wasn't time. He quickly wrapped up the presents he had bought his friends and put them in his trunk along with some of his new presents, like his chess set. He grabbed his broom and went out to join his parents in the kitchen.
"I'm ready to go," he announced.
His father gave him a big hug. "It's been nice having you back, Remus. Have fun at the Potters' and be sure to thank them for having you."
"I will dad," Remus answered. Then he turned to his mom. She gave him a huge hug that threatened to break his ribs, but there were no tears in her eyes.
"Have a nice term, dear," she said.
"Mom, I'll be back here for a day before I go back to school," Remus said.
"Oh," she said smiling. "You're right. Be on your best behavior and have a good time."
"I will," Remus said as he took some floo powder and threw it on the fire. He stepped in, taking his trunk and broom with him and yelled, "The Meadow!"
Instantly, he fell out of a fireplace into a large and luxuriously furnished sitting room. Remus stood up and brushed himself off. "Welcome to the Meadow," James said, smiling.