I don't own Harry Potter or any of those characters. Terry Lupin, Melissa Lupin and Albert Lupin are mine. Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores!!!!
I yawned as I looked around my room. I'd been at Uncle Remus's house for about two weeks now and everything has been going fine. The full moon was in a few days and Grandfather was coming tomorrow. Someone from the Ministry of Magic sent an owl saying that they were going to be present during the experiment.
Sighing, I stood up and put on some of my muggle clothes. Most of the time I don't wear wizard robes unless I have to. Growing up in Salem, though crowded with magic folk, there still are a lot of muggles so I had to wear muggle clothes. Besides, I greatly prefer them to robes.
Ten minutes later I headed downstairs. Uncle Remus was sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet and sipping from a steaming mug. He smiled when he saw me come in. I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter before sitting across from Uncle Remus.
"You got some things." He motioned to a couple letters on the table.
I picked them up. The first one had a strange crest sealing it. Interested, I opened that one first. Inside there were two pieces of parchment. One of them read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
Of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Miss. Lupin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. You will be joining the sixth year class.
Minerva McGonagal,
Deputy Headmistress
The other piece had the list of things that she needed:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
Of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
Students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One set of dress robes for formal occasions
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
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
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
I looked up at Uncle Remus when I finished reading the list. He had put down the paper and was now reading a piece of parchment. On the table was another envelope with the Hogwarts crest. It was addressed to Uncle Remus. When he finished, he looked up at me.
"That is your school letter no doubt." He smiled.
"Yes." I replied.
"Well we can both go shopping together, for Hogwarts requires black uniforms while your old school required green."
"What do you need?"
"Some books. I need to catch up on my Dark Arts. Prof. Dumbledore is expecting your potion to work and wants me to return to my post as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"So you're going to be my teacher?"
"That's right."
"That's so wicked."
"You sound like a true New Englander Terry." He smiled. "You have another letter."
He was right, there was another letter on the table. The handwriting was familiar. I opened it and pulled out a sheet of parchment. It was a letter, from my father.
Dear Terry,
I know it has been a long time since I have written, but I thought it would be good to send a letter before you went off to Hogwarts. Good luck, I know you will do well. I remember going through Hogwarts myself and I know you will do fine.
I also wanted to let you know that I love you. I wish I could tell you in person, but I am afraid that is impossible. Good luck at Hogwarts, and remember, you can write whenever you wish, your owl will find me. She is a bright thing, so don't doubt her. I leave you with this bit of advice: Never doubt that we are all given second chances, but always remember that sometimes they are just as dangerous as the life we have left. I love you, good bye.
Love Your Father
My eyes were watering after I read it and I quickly wiped them with my sleeve. Uncle Remus didn't speak for a while, nor did I. Finally, I broke the silence.
"When would be a good time for us to go shopping?" I asked him.
"Today, since tomorrow is when your grandfather is coming and the full moon the day after that. In his last letter, he said that you had your own money." He looked at me with a questioning look in his eyes.
"Yeah." I smiled. "In Salem, I used to make Wolfs bane and other potions for people. The people who requested the Wolfs bane paid me 2 Galleons for a vial."
"You must have made good money."
"About 100 Galleons a year. 25-30 went to school stuff and the rest was put in the Gringotts Salem branch."
"You can get some when we get to Diagon Alley."
"When are we leaving?"
"Thirty minutes."
It took us twenty minutes to get to Diagon Alley via muggle transportation. We entered through the back of a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Diagon Alley wasn't much different than the shops in Salem. In fact, it was just as crowded and just as noisy. I felt right at home.
Our first stop was to the Gringotts Bank where I took out about 30 Galleons out of my vault. Next we went into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. There I stood on a stool for about twenty minutes while Madam Malkin pinned a robe the right length. I paid for the robes and we walked out of the store.
"I need to go Ollivanders. My wand is too out of shape to teach." Uncle Remus told me. "Why don't you go to the Apothecary and I'll meet you outside."
"Alright." I replied happily.
The Apothecary was about the same size as the one in Salem. It had a lot of potion ingredients. I smiled and walked up to the counter.
"Do you have any aconite?" I asked the plump witch behind the counter.
"Well, you're a little late for the full moon aren't you." She said as she took some from behind the counter.
"Not yet," I smiled. "How much for three scoops of newt eyes?"
"Six knuts."
I exited the store a few minutes later and saw Uncle Remus talking with three teenagers. One of them had bright red hair and freckles. The girl had dirty blond hair and the last boy had jet black hair and a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead.
Uncle Remus saw me and motioned for me to come over.
"I'd like you to meet my niece." He said to the teens. "This is Terry. These are some of your fellow students, Harry, Ron and Hermione."
I smiled at them, and a few seconds later a plump, redheaded witch had called them over. Uncle Remus then took me to Flourish and Blotts. Fortunately for me, my old school used the same books as Hogwarts so all I needed was The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6). We were in and out in a few minutes.
"Why don't we get something to drink before we head home." Uncle Remus suggested.
"Okay." I replied as we walked toward the Leaky Cauldron.
The next morning the squeak of the door woke me up. I yawned and sat up. When I looked out the window, I saw that the sun was already above the clouds. Sighing, I dragged myself out of bed and put on some clean clothes.
As soon as I was finished, I set up my cauldron. The potion I had created needed to simmer overnight. I pulled the aconite from under my bed and the rest of my potion making stuff from under the table. Yawning again, I opened the window and sat down on my bed. There was a knock at the door.
"Come in." I said, sleepily.
Grandfather entered and sat on the bed next to me.
"Your Uncle said that you were up here." He smiled as he hugged me.
"It's good to see you again." I replied, hugging him back.
"I wanted to see how you made this new potion of yours. I remember in your letter you said that it had to simmer overnight."
"Yeah, I wanted to get it done early so it would be ready by tomorrow afternoon."
"It really can be delivered that close to the full moon?"
"Of course. May I ask a favor?"
"Certainly."
"Could you please put a flame under that cauldron, underage wizards aren't allowed to do magic in England."
"Sure thing."
It was the day of the full moon and it was only a few hours until dusk. The potion had been simmering all night and it was finally ready. Uncle Remus had told me that we were going to wait for the representative from the Ministry of Magic. At about 4 o'clock, there was a knock at the door. Grandfather answered and a few seconds later, he led three men into the living room.
Uncle Remus stood up to greet them, and I followed his example.
"It is good to see you again Remus." One of them, who seemed to be the oldest, said.
"It is good to see you too Professor Dumbledore." Uncle Remus replied. "This is Terry."
"I am glad to meet you Terry." Prof. Dumbledore shook my hand. "This potion is your creation, correct?"
"It is." I responded.
"The Minister of Magic wished to see this." Prof. Dumbledore turned his attention back to Uncle Remus.
"That I did." the Minister of Magic said. "Remarkable if it works. Will change everything to do with the werewolf laws."
"I'm glad you think that Minister." Uncle Remus seemed a little uptight.
"If you gentleman will make yourself comfortable." Grandfather must have sensed the tension in the room. "Terry and I will go get the potion."
I saw Grandfather pat Uncle Remus's shoulder before we made our way up to my room. When we got to the cauldron, I couldn't even pour the potion into a goblet. Grandfather smiled at me and did it for me.
"It'll be alright Terry." He told me soothingly as we made our way over to the door.
Downstairs, Grandfather handed the potion to Uncle Remus and he drank it all in one gulp. I plopped down on the couch next to him and Grandfather stood on the other side of the room.
Dark came before I knew it. Soon the clouds parted and the light from the full moon lit up the living room. I could feel Uncle Remus's heart from where I was. He was tense and so was everyone else in the room. After a few minutes of nothing happening, everyone started to relax, including myself.
Nothing happened in the next few hours as the clouds covered the moon and then moved away, again bathing the room in moonlight. Around 2 a.m. I felt my eyelids become heavy and soon I welcomed sleep.
Slowly, I drifted back into conciseness. It was still dark and there was a blanket around me. My eyes soon adjusted to the light. Uncle Remus was sleeping next to me and the Minister of Magic had fallen asleep in one of the armchairs. The final man, who I assumed to be the representative from the Ministry, was also asleep in his chair.
Suddenly, my stomach rumbled and I sighed. Getting up, I headed for the kitchen. There was a light on inside and when I entered, I saw Grandfather and Prof. Dumbledore playing wizards' chess.
"Good morning Terry." Grandfather said as he saw me enter.
"Good morning, Grandfather, Professor." I nodded to Prof. Dumbledore as I got a banana from the counter.
"Sit," Grandfather told me as he pulled out a chair.
I sat down and watched the game. It was pretty clear that Grandfather was going to win.
"Your Grandfather is very good at this game Terry." Prof. Dumbledore commented to me.
"He is." I agreed. "I have yet to beat him."
"Your Grandfather tells me that you used to live in Salem. Did you go to the school there?"
"Yes I did."
"What is your opinion of it?"
"It's a great school with the exception of the Potions teacher.'
"Oh?"
"He didn't know much more than what they taught us in class. A couple of times the Headmistress asked me to fill in for him when he was sick."
"I hope you will find the Potions teacher at Hogwarts better. The two of you should get along well. You will also have to teach him how to make that new potion of yours."
"I look forward to it sir."
