Chapter Fifteen
Home At Last

The next day Remus woke up to water splattering all over him. He darted his head up and looked around. He had fallen asleep outside; worst part was he was going to miss the train if he did not get ready quickly. He ran as fast as he could into the house darted upstairs, catching a minute's glance at the clock that read 10:15. He went to his room, put on some dry clothes, grabbed his trunk looked through it once and then went back downstairs to see his relatives sitting in the living room. They were apparently all waiting for him by the looks on their faces when he entered the room.

"Finally!" Aunt Judith shrieked. "We've been waiting forever!"

"Well you could have woken me up," Remus muttered. Then in a louder voice he said, "or maybe you just thought 'let me leave my nephew out in rain. He won't mind.' You have to be really stupid to think that!" Aunt Judith then started shouting a whole bunch of words that I don't think are appropriate to list. Remus did not flinch once; he just looked at her evilly in the eye. Finally they managed to cool her off and they drove off to Kings Cross.

They arrived and had to dash to the platform. Bertha took a long time to say goodbye to her sister. Remus did not have time to waste so he just went through the platform. He emerged on the other side and saw the Hogwarts Express in front of him. He headed to the back to the luggage compartment (having difficulty bringing his trunk).

"Remus need some help?" came a voice from behind. He turned around and saw Lily Evans approaching him with Alice Gordon. They were already wearing their Hogwarts robes while Remus was still in his crummy muggle clothes.

"Um... yeah thanks," Remus answered as Alice took his trunk and brought it to the back leaving him with Lily.

"What happened to you?" Lily asked.

"Nothing, just a broken leg. Have you seen James or Sirius?" Lily scowled in disgust at the mention of James and Sirius.

"No I haven't," she snarled. Remus looked at her curiously and she said, "I don't understand how a boy as nice as you wants to hang around with little mischief makers like them."

"They're the only ones who want to hang around me. I'm going to find them, tell Alice I said thanks for her help." Remus turned and headed for the train. He walked down the corridor peering into the compartment door windows to find his friends. He then heard some cackling coming from the compartment beside him. He then heard someone say, "Snivellus," he wondered what that meant. He looked inside and saw James, Sirius and Peter laughing hysterically. Remus grinned and went in.

"Hey Remus!" Sirius said looking at his friend. "How's it going?"

"All right," Remus answered taking a seat next to James.

"Did your aunt have her baby yet?" Sirius asked.

"Yep."

"Boy or girl?"

"Girl. I pity her. She looks so much like me that my aunts going to think that there's two of me! Although I wouldn't mind seeing her go insane every now and then." His friends grinned evilly and then the compartment door slid open. They all turned their heads and saw the last person they wanted gawking at their compartment doorstep, Severus Snape.

"Well look," said James happily, "it's the person we were talking about right Sirius?" Sirius stood up and walked over to Snape.

"Yes if it isn't little Snivellus! How was your summer?" So, Remus thought, that explains why he heard the word Snivellus. Snape just looked at them all and his eyes fell on Remus.

"Is little Lupin feeling ill? You certainly look it!" Snape snarled.

"Leave Remus out of this. He doesn't need to deal with you before the year even started," James yelled and then joined Sirius in standing right in front of Snape. James and Sirius raised their wands but Remus pushed them down.

"That's all right," he said. "I'll deal with him myself. Outside Snape!" Snape sniggered and left the compartment with Remus followed. James, Sirius and Peter poked their heads out of the compartment but Remus and Snape had vanished down the hall. Remus was wandering just what he was going to do to Snape. Snape was twirling his wand casually between his fingers and Remus was fumbling through his robe pockets to look for his when he remembered that he packed it in his trunk. Now he could just kick himself! They were at the back of the train and Remus had nowhere to run, Snape was blocking his only way out.

"So Lupin," Snape scoffed, "you want to fight me?"

"Well I wouldn't say fighting," Remus stammered, "more like...um... teach you a lesson?"

"You lie through every word you say! You wanted to fight me but you're chicken!"

"Chicken? Chicken? I am no chicken! Who was it that threw you down and escaped the Whomping Willow at the same time? Huh? By the way Snivellus, the name suits you only too well!" Remus tried to shove past Snape but he was pushed to the ground. Snape was ready to throw his fist into Remus but Remus hooked his foot around the back of Snape's and pulled him down to the ground. Remus stood up and looked at Snape and shook his head disapprovingly. Remus went back to the compartment and saw that Sirius, James and Peter had been listening and ran back to their seats. When Remus got back in and sat down they looked at him surprised.

"He's back in one piece!" James said in a rejoicing way.

"I am," Remus sighed. "Snape's in the back of the train lying on his butt, but other than that nothing happened." Remus yawned widely and leaned his head against the window. James and Sirius went onto discuss this year's pranks with Peter and let Remus be. Outside the window there was nothing but rolling green hills on the countryside. Remus must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew someone was saying his name and he heard snapping noises. Remus jerked awake Remus and saw James had been snapping his fingers in front of Remus.

"We're there already?" Remus said tiredly.

"Yep," said James grinning widely. "Hurry up and change!" James, Sirius and Peter ran out of the compartment while Remus hurried to change. Remus came out of the train one minute later and saw a bunch of carriages lined up on the grassy slope he saw James, Sirius and Peter standing in front of one. He went over and they saw him and went inside. Inside the carriage it smelled of musty and wet hay. The invisible horses started galloping up the hill and pulling the carriages towards the front of the castle. When they pulled up in front of the castle the giant double doors flung open and they all went inside. As they were making their way towards the Great Hall Remus heard the Transfiguration teacher Professor McGonagall calling his name. The four boys turned around and she was walking through the crowd to get to them.

"We can't be in trouble yet," Sirius, whispered, "the year hasn't even started!" Finally Professor McGonagall got to them (after shoving a third year out of the way). She saw that they thought they were in trouble she smiled and said

"You're not in trouble yet Mr. Black," she laughed. She then turned to Remus. "Mr. Lupin would you like to go up to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey can sort out your broken leg?"

"All right," Remus said awkwardly. He followed Professor McGonagall up the grand staircase in the Entrance Hall and up into the chamber where the moving staircases were. All the way up to the top they got off at the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was in her office preparing to head down to the feast and came bustling out when she heard Professor McGonagall call her name. She saw Remus and frowned.

"Its not a full moon already is it?" she moaned.

"No Poppy," McGonagall said exasperatedly, "that was few days ago. I was just wondering if you could heal Mr. Lupin's damaged bones so he can go down to the feast?"

"All right! It won't take but a minute." Madam Pomfrey sat Remus down on a vacant bed and whipped her wand out. She knelt down and pointed it at his leg and muttered an incantation. Remus felt a tingling sensation spread throughout his leg as the bones magically mended themselves. When the sensation subsided Madam Pomfrey stood up and put her wand in her pocket.

"Is that better?" she said. Remus swung his leg back and forth and found that the bones were no longer broken. He stood up and swayed a bit but managed to keep himself steady. He went with the two adults down to the Great Hall. The sorting was evidently over because Professor Flitwick was carrying the three-legged stool over to a corner and all the empty seats at the house tables were filled with the first years. Remus saw James, Sirius and Peter sitting at the end of the table next to a few first years and they had left a space open for him. He went over and sat down next to Peter and a little first year boy with black hair and a mysterious air about him. Remus looked at him a little wondering why the boy had stared at him when he sat down but then Remus just turned to his friends.

"What happened?" Peter asked jumpily. "You're not in trouble are you?"

"Of course not," Remus answered. "Madam Pomfrey just had to heal my broken leg, that's all."

"Are you sure that's not all?" said the boy next to Remus. Remus turned his head and looked curiously at the boy.

"What do you mean?" Remus said. "Why else would I be in the hospital wing?"

"Many reasons," the boy mused. "Each more bizarre than the next. By the way I'm Julius Mangorn."

"Pleasure, Remus Lupin." After that the boy spoke no more to them and frankly Remus did not want to talk to him. Dumbledore made his usual start of the year announcements. All the usual like no practising magic in the hallways or on other students, that the forest was forbidden and when Quidditch trials would be starting. James was particularly happy about Quidditch, after winning the cup last year he had become excessively smug about it. Full to bursting with food all the students were getting up to leave when there was a cry of terror coming from the Slytherin table. Not needing to wonder whom the scream came from Remus looked directly at Snape. Remus had to do a double take before he realised that Snape was rising slowly into the air. Trying to prevent himself from laughing Remus tried to make his way out of the hall. Sirius and James were laughing hysterically behind him and Peter was sniggering silently.

They followed the Gryffindor prefect up to Gryffindor Tower. They gave the Fat Lady the password, "unforgivable" and went inside the common room. While the prefect was explaining everything about the common room to the first years the four boys went up to their dormitory. Up there they saw Frank Longbottom already changed into his robes. He said a merry hullo to them while they changed into their pyjamas. Remus lay down on his bed after he changed and pulled the curtains around him. He smiled widely at the ceiling thinking to himself that he was finally home.