Chapter III
Parchment Letter Day
Remus John Lupin had arrived home at his mother's house, and his dad had returned home as he would usually do after a good days work, except it hadn't turned out to be a great day after all.
Consumed by boredom and wondering curiously more about what had gone on at the hearing, Remus lay motionless, gazing absentmindedly at his bedroom ceiling. He could hear the muffled voices of children on the street shouting and laughing, playing a game between themselves, which just made the young werewolf feel worse and worse.
There was nothing to do, besides talk to his mother, but she was bust with debts and bills downstairs and he'd hate to interrupt her from it. Instead he'd have to find something to keep himself occupied with; waiting for a fateful time of the day he would be able to roam free.
'Maybe I should send a letter to Sirius?' Remus thought. 'But then again, he told me his family don't accept mail 'the muggle way' but what's the wizard way?' Puzzling as it all was, the hazel eyed boy grew sleepier and sleepier every second, feeling he should get some rest, he lay over, cleared his throat, and pulled the covers over him.
They were still freezing cold, sending Goosebumps down Remus' arms, he shuddered and closed his eyes, determined to sleep, but all failed. It was mid-day, and he couldn't even keep his hazel eyes shut for five minutes, filled with restless energy he rose from his small, cold bed and paced up and down his dingy bedroom, yawning every now and again, before walking up to the window and peering out onto the dim, damp street of his house.
The young werewolf stabbed a clenched fist at the dark wall, generating a loud, rough banging sound. Remus shook his hand due to the shock sent up it from the punch, after the pain had ebbed away, he walked back over to his bed near his clock as it read four p.m. in the afternoon. Breathing out in a disheartened sort of way, he dropped floppily back down on his springy bed, and shut his eyes tight, attempting to fall asleep again.
After what seemed like an hour, he'd already bolted back up and walked swiftly and restlessly down the stairs, taking no care whatsoever to see where he was going. He jumped the last three steps and landed with a thud on the ground, he half-collapsed, but regained himself and walked to the kitchen, where his mother was cooking something.
"Hi" Remus said shortly, jogging thirstily to the refrigerator and opening the top compartment where he grabbed some orange cordial and re-shut the door to it.
"Oh, hello Remus. I'm making tea, do you want any?" His mother enquired, keeping and close eye on the pan with sweltering sausages in.
The young werewolf poured a small amount of orange into a glass cup he'd reached, effortlessly from the cabinet, and walked hastily towards to sink.
"Um ... OK, I am hungry after all. Also mum, I was wondering. How did dad find out he was a wizard?"
Remus' mother stopped stirring the spatula around the pan, and turned slowly about with a quite bothered look concerning her. She sighed, and opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again. A mystified appearance fixed itself onto her face as she attempted to speak again, but shut her mouth quickly.
"What? Can't you tell me? I need to know, because may be one!" Remus murmured, there was somewhat thing about her, that indicated she didn't want to tell him, but in the end the blonde haired adult ran her hand through her untidy hair and begun to speak.
"I cannot tell, I know nothing of the sort what your on about, your not a wizard, I rest assure that! If you were a ... a-!"
"Magical being?" Remus finished for his mum; he could feel himself on the verge of grinning, but if he started laughing out loud at this point of time he might have well not asked her about it.
"Yes! A Magical Being. If you were one, then you'd of performed magic yet! And I don't think you have! Have you-?" his mother, Alice asked.
Not expecting himself to answer, he turned with a slight frown on his face and very disappointed that his mum thought no more than mud of a wizard. He turned the tap, and cold water poured into the glass, filling it up to the top. He walked slowly, turning around to see if his mum had changed her mind, but she didn't.
Back in his room, he felt mortified, disillusioned and felt he should not have mentioned it under this roof. Him mum was stressed if anything, he'd thought, just yelled and backfired his words back at him because she was stressed from bills and cooking.
'If that's how much my mother really hates them, then why didn't she argue with my dad this morning? Maybe that was why they broke apart, because he was a magical person ... but if I'm a wizard, what will she do to me? Chuck me out on the streets?!' The hazel eyed boy thought, he lay once again In bed, a half-empty glass of orange juice besides him he had drank from, thinking over the day made him tired. And soon, he nodded off to sleep.
õ
Remus awoke to the sound of pecking at the window, the curtains were widely open, to reveal an undersized, brown, lustrous haired bird. An owl. Its beak was slightly blunt at the tip, which held an envelope and at a small gap where a red symbol had been stamped down to seal it.
Still pecking wildly at the window, the owl hooted furiously, creating a small crack in the glass. Remus walked confused towards the sill, leant a firm grip on the handle and pushed the window open.
The owl came soaring inwards the house, fluttering its wings madly and flying rapidly around the room, knocking objects over as it passed them. The young werewolf's face rose with shock, ducking as the owl swooped down over his head, the letter had dropped at his feet and the wild owl and seen its way out of the house. Looking around the chaotic room, where his glass of orange and spilt over onto his bed, and a desk ornament had smashed, glass over the floor. He'd gotten the ornament off his granddad who was a muggle, but had died two months after giving it to him.
Picking the letter up furiously, he tore open the envelope, unravelled the letter and began to read, seen as the covering had been addressed to him.
Dear Remus John Lupin,
You have now been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and wizardry. You are a wizard underage, and will be joining us here at Hogwarts on the third of September, with your fellow classmates.
I, professor Albus Dumbledore am your headmaster, and you will be studying magic for five straight years.
Items list:
A wand
A Cauldron
A pet, (if desired)
A Quill, Ink and Parchment
Books List:
Defending yourself against the dark arts: Grade 1: By Jillian Clospork.
Brewing Potions and antidotes: By William marshling
Transfiguration: Grade 1: By Markus Lillonus
A History Of Magic: Grade 1: By Alan Smirkright
And, Charm: Grade 1: By James Funderlan
We will look forward to seeing you soon. After boarding the Hogwarts express at platform nine and three quarters at Kings cross, you will arrive at Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
You sincerely
Albus Dumbledore
Astonishment to the up most surprise in his life had just happened. Staring down at the piece of parchment, written in ink, he read the letter thoroughly over and over again. He was accepted at a wizarding school for eleven-year-olds through to five, long years, learning magic under the study of Albus Dumbledore, the man his father spoke most about.
Glee was flowing into his body and mind, he was the happiest he'd been in a long time, he'd be meeting all sorts of people. He tucked the letter in his pocket and made a run for the door, stopping dead he thought about the previous day.
His mum had threw everything back in his face about being a wizard, maybe it was best if he contacted is father instead. He had no time to pause, he rushed downstairs, smiling appreciatively, jumping the last three steps once more, and running ecstatically into the front room. He made a dash to the phone, when the croaked voice of his mum sounded through his ears. He closed his eyes, inpatient and exited as he was, he always listened and answered his mum, if he didn't she'd know something was wrong.
"Remus? Is that you?" She asked, peering her bony face around the doorway.
"Yeah its me, do you mind if I ring Sirius? I mean, I've got something to tell him, real urgent! Please!" He begged, putting on a determined face, his mother sighed, smiled and nodded her head forcefully, turned on her heal with out a word and made her way back to the kitchen.
Remus let out a long breathe of relief, and turned back to the phone.
Was ringing his father wise? He'd be busy with work from the ministry, sorting out Remus' werewolf problem. But there was no time to spare, he was inpatient and in high spirits, nothing could break him away from it now. He began typing in his dads phone number on the phone-pad, placed the white, cold phone to his ear and waited.
The strong, creaky, familiar voice of his dad came, he sounded far distant for some odd reason, as if it wasn't his dad, and he thought he'd made a mistake, until his dad said, "Remus?"
"Dad, I've just got a letter! Very, very, very good news! It's a letter off Dumbledore, I'm a-!" Remus began, hastily, barely breathing in between words.
"A wizard" his dad finished for him, unexpectedly, "You should inform your mother, I am far too busy to take you to Diagon alley and kings cross in London! Good bye, I have not the time" His dad answered as if he wasn't bothered in the least, but before his father could put the phone down on him, he spoke quickly.
"But wait! I had an argument of a sort with mum last night. She said that Wizards are mud to her, I can't go with mum, dad! You have to take me!" Remus protested, eager to get his fathers attention, he went on about really wanting to go to a wizarding school and didn't want too miss it out for the world. His insides were jumping with anticipation and glee, his dad would say yes in the end, he always did.
"well ... if all you say about your mum is true, then of course I will take you, but you have too make it clear with your mother or else she'll wonder if you've died or something. After – if – she agrees, I'll find you at your house at nine a.m. outside the house. Make sure you pack your clothes and that ready OK? I'll be there to pick you up on time, mark my word. The Hogwarts express doesn't leave till eleven o'clock, so we'll have plenty of time, hopefully. Put your mum on will you?" His dads voice rang through the phone. He obeyed his father the instant he said it, and rushed to find his mum, Alice.
Remus Lupin paced up and down the hallway, waiting for his mum to emerge, smiling and say, "of course you can go to Hogwarts, why didn't you ask me in the first place?" but she didn't, not a moment too soon anyway. But when she didn't materialize from the front room, she boomed loudly at him, yelling and stressing over the fact.
"Why didn't you tell me first?" His mother asked, trying to consume her anger, he couldn't understand why she was so irritated over the whole thing. He only told his father that he was a wizard and was expecting to arrive at Hogwarts sometime soon, why did his mother stand out as if she detested the thought of his dad undertaking the job?
"I don't see your problem with it! My dad would have been the perfect one for it, because he's a wizard!" Remus argued back, from all the restless energy he'd had locked away in his room, he couldn't control himself from shooting off, shouting and arguing with his mother. It had just seen another, drowsy, to-be remembered day.
"My problem is you should be able to trust that-!"
"I didn't think you liked Wizards and witches! You wouldn't answer yesterday! It was as if you hated them, like mud to you!" Remus barked back.
Tomorrow would have seemed to be a pleasant day, overjoyed, glad to make a fresh start, but his mother had ruined that moment, he was absolutely thankful his dad had agreed to take him. The young werewolf stomped his left foot down solid on the ground, elbowed the side of the staircase and ran up them as fast as he could, trying not to lock eye contact with his mum for the rest of the night.
When Remus reach his destination, his bedroom, he sat down, troubled about what he'd said. Nothing of the words he had shouted had to be mentioned, not one. A silhouetted tree blurred across the bedrooms misted window as he stared out of it idly, forgetting what had gone on, and what tomorrow may hold. He sighed, turned around, and lay restlessly on his bed.
