The Hogwarts Invite
Harry Lupin woke early that morning, though he wasn't sure why. He went quietly to the kitchen and began breakfast. Last night had been bad on his dad, so he wouldn't be able to get up anytime soon.
Harry had known that his dad was different than any other, he hadn't known why until his father had sat him down and explained. Remus, Harry's dad, was a werewolf. He was also a wizard, which just made him even more distinct.
Harry's father had said, "you are a wizard as well, but it's not something you should advertise." When Harry asked why, his dad responded, "the wizard world hides from the non-magic world out of necessity and fear."
So Harry had kept this information from his best friend Hermione Granger. This turned out to be a good thing as Hermione was the type to only believe what she could see, she was very like her parents in this. The Grangers were very grounded people. while they didn't hate what is different, they liked everything to have an explanation.
Returning his attention back to breakfast, Harry noticed that his dad had come in and started making breakfast with him. This was odd as last night was the full moon and his dad usually could barely keep his eyes open for a few minutes afterwards.
Harry heard the mail drop and went to get it. Setting the mail on the table, Harry set the table. As the two of them sat down to eat, dad decided to start a conversation. "So is Hermione coming over?"
Harry nodded, "She said she would be over about ten. Why are you up, usually you rest after a full moon."
Dad shrugged and continued sorting through the mail. He slid a letter across to Harry that was addressed to him, sort of.
Harry Potter
Second bedroom
7 Florence Lane
Harry looked at his father with questions on his face. "Why is the letter for Harry Potter? I'm Harry Lupin."
His dad shrugged, "because that was the name put down for you." The letter read:
Mr. Potter,
You have been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry beginning the next school year. Enclosed is a list of materials that you will require for your time at Hogwarts.
Please send your owl with your response no later than August first.
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy HeadmistressThe list was:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver with fastenings)
1 wand
1 caldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set of brass scales
The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshott
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
A flash of disappointment went across Harry's face, this would be one more thing he couldn't tell his best friend. His dad caught the look but said nothing. While Harry was happy about going to Hogwarts, he didn't want to leave his best friend.
Remus had explained that while Harry didn't have his father's disease, many of the traits that a werewolf had were passed on. The physical results were that Harry had excellent reflexes, sharp hearing and better than average sight. The mental advantages were that Harry was nearly immune to any form of mental attacks and could remember things he had only glimpsed.
The downside was that when Harry felt someone was a part of his 'pack' he was loyal to them unto death. Currently the only people who qualified were his dad and Hermione.
Harry saw the sad look on his father's face but neither said what weighed down the happiness that should be there. After cleaning up and pulling out the notes he had made on a reading project he and Hermione had been working on, he finished setting up in time to hear the sound of someone approaching the door.
Arriving at the door and hearing Hermione's voice, Harry waited until she rung the door bell and a minute afterwards to open the door. Hermione was standing with her mother who was looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Is Remus home Harry," asked Mrs. Granger. Harry nodded and directed them to the sitting room while he went to get his dad. After telling him that Mrs. Granger wanted to talk to him, Harry returned to the sitting room in time to pick up a conversation between Hermione and her mother.
"I still want to tell Harry, after all if he lives with Mr. Lupin," Hermione started.
"We don't know if Harry even knows about it," Mrs. Granger replied. "Let's talk to Remus first, then if Remus wants to we can tell Harry."
Harry's heart rate jumped through the roof. Could Hermione be going to Hogwarts as well? He was so distracted in his thoughts that he didn't hear his dad come up behind him. After realizing that he had been eavesdropping for awhile, Harry dropped his head and went in before his father.
Once everyone was comfortable, Mrs. Granger tried to be discreet. "Remus, we received a letter this morning inviting Hermione to a boarding school in Scotland. The letter recommended that we talk to you as you are an alumni."
Harry could have let out a shout of joy when he heard this, but decided that it wouldn't be appropriate. Seeing as Mrs. Granger assumed that Harry didn't know what school she was talking about, Harry decided to enlighten her. "You mean Hogwarts Mrs. Granger," Harry asked with a smile.
Hermione's face lit up when she realized that Harry knew. After throwing her mom a triumphant look, Hermione said, "yes it is Harry." Once it was out in the open that Harry knew about the wizard world, Mrs. Granger started asking various questions, while Harry and Hermione went though Remus's old books to learn a few of the things that they would be learning at Hogwarts.
After an hour, Mrs. Granger came and said that they would be going to Diagon Alley in a couple of days and to enjoy themselves. Harry and Hermione read through the various books Remus had collected and began to learn a little bit about the wizard world. While Harry was aware that it existed, he did not know the extent of it, or any magic other than the time he turned his teacher's hair blue and jumped on a roof to get away from bullies even though he was simply jumping over a trash can, but all of those were accidental.
The next day, Harry sat down and talked to his father. "Dad, should I tell Hermione about what you are?"
Remus seemed surprised, "it doesn't bother me, why?"
Harry shrugged, "I don't like keeping things from her. She knows that you get sick sometimes, and that you are involved in the wizard world. Knowing her it won't take long for her to figure out that you are a werewolf."
Remus agreed and decided that Harry should tell her when he felt it appropriate. So Harry sat and explained to Hermione about what his father was, and how that related to him. Hermione sat in shock for awhile before asking, "if he's a werewolf, does that make you one as well?" Harry was glad that he sensed that she was surprised, but not scared.
"No, while I have various benefits and detractors because of it, I am not a werewolf."
Hermione was curious about the benefits and detractors, so Harry told her. While he told her that he had a tendency to be fiercely loyal to any he considered apart of his 'pack', he left out that werewolves had a tendency to mate for life.
Harry knew that the only reason his dad was able to go on was because of him. If you were to say that Remus felt that he would never fall in love again, you would mostly be right. While he could be with another person, she would always be second to his mother.
After explaining the various things about being the son of a werewolf, something he still didn't understand why he was such a rarity, he and Hermione started to read again.
Before they finally left for Diagon Alley the next day, Harry's father gave him a letter that brought tears to his eyes.
My son,
It seems odd to call you my son even though I know that you aren't. If you're reading this, it means that I, your mother, and Sirius are unable to take care of you. I left this in Remus's capable hands as a precaution against us dying.
You might ask what about if you had been raised by Sirius, well we told him and explained why we named him as your godfather, no one would contest him taking custody of you. He would have sat down with Remus and explained all of this to you, making this letter unnecessary by default.
I know Remus has already explained to you about his role and why we did things the way we did. I want to say that I understand that you don't know me, and that if you are your parents son, you don't want anything from me. Still you are the heir to the Potter fortune, whether you use it or not.
I ask you to use the fortune as you wish and to take care of any family you have. I wish I could have watched you grow up, I'm sure that you will do your mother proud.
James Potter
Harry looked at his father with a look that he never had before, pride in what those that loved him had sacrificed. Harry dried his eyes and they went to meet up with the Grangers to go to Diagon Alley.
Anyone who knew Harry as well as Hermione did would know that he was upset, but she didn't say anything. Remus showed them exactly where to go and how to get into Diagon Alley. Hermione was amazed, but noticed harry seemed distracted.
Remus showed them to Gringotts and which tables were used to exchange money. Remus and Harry got into a line to get money from the vault that James Potter had left for him. Harry was surprised at the amount that was there, but would have gladly exchanged it for all his family.
Getting enough to cover the days shopping, Harry returned to the surface to face a world in which he was no more than just a boy. Harry and Hermione both agreed that they wanted to go and get the school books first, however Remus and the Grangers both said robes.
After getting their robes, they spent a good hour in the bookstore as Harry and Hermione wandered around looking at the various titles. Harry decided to pick up a book on various jinxes and minor curses, while Hermione picked up a lot of books about the history of the wizard world.
As they walked into Ollivander's (Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC), Remus said that he wanted to get something and that he would be right back. Once they walked inside, Harry could feel a prickling along the back of his neck. It was much like lightning about to strike, Harry could feel the potential waiting for an outlet.
After a couple of minutes, an older man walked up and said, "hello there, ready to enter a new world?" Harry, as he heard him walk up, was the only one that didn't jump. Harry gestured for Hermione to go first with a sardonic bow, to which she replied with a mock curtsy. Hermione stood as Mr. Ollivander started picking various wands down off the shelves. He rambled on and on about the various types of cores he used, "dragon heartstring, unicorn hair and phoenix feather" being the main ones.
He went through at least fifty wands, looking happier every time he had to discard one. Finally he pulled down a wand, "ten inches, vine wood and dragon heartstring." The look on Hermione's face, which had been becoming more and more despondent as they went through wands, brightened considerably. Taking the wand, she slashed it through the air as it gave off green and gold sparks.
Stepping up as Hermione showed her wand to her parents, Harry noticed that Mr. Ollivander was looking at him strangely. "Is something wrong sir?"
Ollivander's eyes seemed to be weighing him, "my boy, were you ever under an appearance changing potion?" As Harry was surprised that it was obvious, he nodded. Ollivander must have noticed because he said, "don't worry my boy, very few have the observational skill I have. I just noticed that your magic has a trace of something that seems to be fading, it was most curious."
And off Mr. Ollivander went. Harry heard the door open and heard Remus's familiar sounds that were distinctly his father. Ollivander went through half the store before stopping at a box and muttering, "I wonder." No one but Harry and Remus would have been able to hear him however, and for that Harry was grateful.
Returning to Harry, Ollivander placed the wand in his hand saying, "holly, 11", supple, single phoenix tail feather." Once he had it in his hand, he knew that this wand was the one for him. Giving it a wave, a bright trail of read and gold sparks came out. Mr. Ollivander looked mildly surprised and muttered softly as he took the money, "curious, very curious."
Although Harry wanted to find out what was curious, he didn't want to have the conversation in front of Hermione's parents. As they were browsing the various stores, Harry asked Remus what he got. With a smile he said, "it's a surprise, which has an interesting story." Harry's father wouldn't say anymore until he saw it.
The shopping ended after they picked up the ink and parchment. Harry and Hermione talked about the interesting things they saw, and were discussing what they would do when they reached Hogwarts. At one point Hermione asked, "Mr. Lupin, how do the place people at Hogwarts? Is it like a large dorm with all the girls in one and boys in the other?"
Remus smiled, but shook his head. "Each person that attends Hogwarts is sorted into one of four houses. They stay in those houses for the entire time they attend Hogwarts. It's better explained in that book you got, Hogwarts: A History."
Hermione nodded and returned back to the discussion of where they would end up, and how they were to be sorted. Soon enough, they arrived at Harry and Remus's home and said goodbye. Harry walked in with the purchases and sat them in his room.
He walked out of the room before running back in. There, sitting on a perch, was a large female snowy owl. He heard his father clear his throat. "Strangely, when I went to buy you a owl, as you are allowed to have a pet at Hogwarts, she came and flew down and landed on my shoulder. She is extremely intelligent, when I asked if she wanted to be yours, she acted like you do when Christmas comes. Once I purchased her, I asked her if she could find her way here and she gave me a look that said 'of course'."
Harry looked back at the owl and said softly, "you want to be my owl?" She, though Harry wasn't sure how he knew she was a she, bobbed her head up and down and hooted happily. Harry gave his father a hug and said thank you repeatedly till he finally decided that he should give her a name.
Harry spent a couple hours until supper looking through books for a good name, he finally found Hedwig from his History of Magic book. After Setting the table, Harry told his father about his name for his owl. Remus smiled but decided to talk about what they would do on his birthday.
Harry was never one to ask for much, as he still had memories of living with his aunt and uncle. At times he woke up in cold sweats from nightmares of screaming directed at him, though they had become less as more time went by. So as usual, he simply wanted a small gathering of people, mostly because he felt uncomfortable around large groups.
Remus nodded his understanding, but wished there was more people to invite than the Grangers. While they were great people, he knew that Harry's loyalty to his pack, which consisted of Hermione and himself, was the reason that Harry had few friends at school.
Remus sometimes wondered what would have happened if Hermione wasn't the first person to befriend him, and whether or not his son realized that when his werewolf heritage asserted itself, it would cause him to want to mate with the alpha female in his pack. While Remus was his father, in Harry's mind Harry was the dominant male. He wondered when he should give him the birds and the bees talk, and when he should explain about the mating desires of a werewolf.
Remus began planning for the usual crowd, The Grangers, mostly Hermione, Harry and himself, for the party. It had taken a few years for Harry to get used to receiving presents, but at least now he would was able to receive them without a look of shock. He still was immensely grateful, but had lost they look of surprise at the sight of them.
Time passed quickly, Harry's birthday was mostly noted in that there was a party, and that it was a bittersweet occasion. Harry felt bad about leaving his father alone to endure his monthly transformations, but Remus wouldn't hear of him staying.
The day before Harry was to leave for Hogwarts, Remus and he both packed his trunk. It was a somber affair, neither wanting to say goodbye and simply enjoying their last day together. The supper that night was interesting, mostly because the Grangers came over and threw a going away party for Hermione and Harry. Soon enough, the next day dawned, and Harry was off to his first year at Hogwarts.
A/n: 3094 words. Hmm, well I'm glad that I didn't want approval before continuing this. Many thanks to Bobboky for my one solitary review for this story.
