AN: This is literally my first fanfiction. Don't expect high quality content because I certainly don't. In the future I will probably read this and think it is a piece of garbage. But right now, I am proud of it. Therefore, advice is not only allowed but encouraged. I shall also warn you, I am going to change most canon events, so don't expect the timeline to be precise.
On a happier note, please join the Haphne server! Link: discord dot gg/pKSdvJQvhU
We do several weekly activities such as a discussion club, Care of Magical Creatures lessons and our own movie/anime club!
4th of September 1993, Gryffindor common room
Harry was searching his trunk for something important. Ever since the train incident, there was something Harry had been curious about: Professor Lupin. Harry didn't know exactly what it was, but he felt as if he knew him from somewhere. But he couldn't remember. And since he couldn't remember, he tried the best solution he could. He tried to find out by himself.
And since he knew he wasn't famous or anything similar (somebody would have reacted) Harry thought that maybe he had something to do with his family. And that is why he was now looking around his photo album. Once again, Harry admired the collection Hagrid had gotten for him. And that is when he found it.
It was a photo of his parents' wedding. They were standing in front of the altar, with several people around them. What surprised Harry the most were the men around his father. Sirius Black was in that photo. The Death Eater that was trying to kill HIM. And he looked happy. What had happened? Was he that good of an actor, or had someone corrupted him along the way? He didn't know, and it was quite likely he would never find out…
And Harry confirmed his feeling about Professor Lupin. He was in that picture as well. He seemed to be quite friendly with his father too… If he knew his parents that well, why didn't he try to contact earlier? Why hadn't he said anything to Harry, or try to visit? He would need to have a conversation with him soon.
There was a third man in there, but Harry didn't know anything about him. He wasn't as tall as the others, and he was overweight. He had an odd look too…
The fourth man surprised him quite a bit. He looked a lot like Neville. Could it be that their parents were friends? But why hadn't they come to visit either? And why did Neville never say anything about it? Did he even know about that?
After this 'research' Harry didn't know what to think. He had tried to get answers, but instead he only got more questions. The only thing he knew is that he would need to have a few conversations soon, starting with Professor Lupin.
9th of September 1993, DADA classroom
Things had been going well for Harry this first week of the year. Despite his injury during Care of Magical creatures, all of his classes had been enjoyable so far. Except for History of Magic, that is. Harry had grown tired of goblin rebellions a long time ago.
Potions was slowly becoming one of Harry's favourite subjects. Turns out having a polite teacher helped massively. The students from other houses felt it too, and Professor Greengrass had become quite popular between the students.
But now they were sitting in the Defence Classroom. Harry was afraid of having another useless teacher for the third year in a row. Muttering across the room could be heard, and from what Harry could understand, several students shared his thoughts.
That is when Professor Lupin came in. He was wearing some ragged clothes, but he was looking a lot better than when Harry first saw him on the train. Glancing around his students, Professor Lupin said something no one expected to hear the first day:
"Everyone stands up please and follow me. You will only need your wands. Today's lesson is going to be completely practical."
Once again, the students started whispering. They could all remember Lockhart's memorable class about the Cornish Pixies. Neville could be seen watching the chandelier warily.
They followed Professor Lupin around the hallways, until they eventually made it to the faculty room. Before they could enter, they saw Professor Greengrass leaving, with a stack of essays under her arms. Once they were all finally in, Professor Lupin spoke again:
"Good afternoon students. Since I've heard of your lack of practical skill from your previous years, I have decided to remedy that since day one. And for that reason, we will fight against the creature currently trapped on that wardrobe."
Said cupboard started shaking, but no discernible sound came from it. Luckily, it didn't open by itself, which was quite the relief…
"Anyone would like to take a guess at what we have in there?" Lupin asked the class.
"I believe it is a boggart sir." Hermione answered.
"Five points to Gryffindor Miss Granger. For five extra points, could you describe a boggart to us?"
"I could not. It would take the shape of your greatest fear Professor, and I do not know what it is."
"Correct again. But we also have a considerable advantage against this creature. Could you clarify Harry?"
Harry looked at his professor. He could only think of one thing at the moment, so he would give it a try.
"That we are so many people, it is not able to take a choice?"
"That is indeed correct. Take five points for yourself. What should the boggart do? Turn into a slug, or a decapitated corpse? I once saw a boggart try to scare two people at once. It turned into a decapitated slug. It wasn't scary at all. So yes, if you have to fight a boggart, doing it in group helps a lot." Lupin then reflected on something and began his speech again.
"Sorry for the questioning. I promised a practical lesson, didn't I? We are going to fight the boggart, and luckily all of you should have a try. The incantation is Riddikulus and it does not require any specific wand movements. If you could repeat with me, Riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!" The class repeated. Except for Malfoy, who seemed to think the class was ridiculous.
"Excellent." Professor Lupin said. "But the most important part is the mental effort you have to do while you say this word. Boggarts are the representation of fear, so, in order to fight it, we need the exact opposite: laughter. Right now, I am going to give you five minutes to think about your greatest fear, and a funny way to get rid of it."
Whispers were heard across the classroom, but they soon died down. No one wanted to make a bad impression.
Harry started thinking about his own fear. What could it be? The basilisk had been pretty scary, but he had killed it… Voldemort was frightening as well, but he defeated him three times, right?
In the end, Harry knew what his biggest fear was. Something that had him shivering at the mere remembrance of itself. The dementors. Now about trying to make it funny…
Next to him, Ron was also thinking about his fear. How could he make spiders funny? They were not a cute animal on itself… With those eyes, and their many hairy legs… Hmm, the legs. It would be funny if it could not stand right. Maybe he could use the rollerblades he saw his dad playing with once… That would be quite funny…
Hermione knew her greatest fear for a long time. Being called a failure was something that haunted her for a long time. Despite her parents' efforts, Hermione still felt insecure around other people, especially in the magical world… Now about turning that into something funny… She wasn't the funniest person to be around, she knew that. What would the Weasley twins do?
Soon enough though, Professor Lupin interrupted their thoughts once again.
"The time has passed. If anyone isn't feeling confident about it, go to the back of the class, your grades won't suffer from it."
A slight shadow of doubt could be seen across some of the students' faces. No one moved away from the front of the class, however.
Professor Lupin looked around, about to choose the first one to go, but looking at Parvati, he said:
"You are Parvati Patil, right? Padma's sister? Would you mind going first?"
Parvati was feeling slightly uncomfortable, but she answered in the positive. She would give it her best.
At the end of the class…
Harry was quite disappointed with how the class had developed. He wasn't disappointed with Lupin's knowledge, don't get him wrong. In fact, the new professor had exceeded everyone's expectations. He was disappointed because he had not been able to fight the boggart. Professor Lupin had stepped up before he could get on with it, and both him and Neville had been left out.
Did he think Harry wasn't able to do it? Or was it some kind of plot, like the previous DADA teachers? It was yet another question he needed an answer to. How would he get a chance to ask him though? Maybe he could come to his office to ask for something related to class?
He would need to have a talk with Neville as well… He knew the boy grew up with his grandmother, but what had happened to his father? Had he been another of the casualties of the war?
Remus Lupin did not know what to think. When he had received the acceptance letter for the position, he had been ecstatic. For the first time in years, he had a secure job for almost a year. He would be getting his Wolfsbane, and a nice amount of money as well.
His main concern involved his students, mainly one Harry Potter.
The students he was supposed to teach had suffered through years of inappropriate instructors, specially the last two years. When they told him that they were forced to read Lockhart's books… He would like to hex the man, but he was already at St. Mungos.
And Harry… He had not seen the boy in over a decade. He looked so much like James… He looked a little bit thin, but nothing too critical. He would prefer to hear it from himself though… But how could he arrange a meeting? More importantly, how could he arrange a meeting without looking like a paedophile or a psychopath?
He could arrange a detention… But Harry had given him no reason to give him one, and he couldn't be unfair to his students… Maybe Minerva could help him in some way? Yes, Harry would probably lose concentration at her class at some point (because everyone has done it) and then she could give him 'detention', which would be a good chance for them to talk together.
Yes, and as Harry's head of house, she would be able to intermediate between the both of them, in case of any confrontation.
14th of September 1993, Ancient Runes class
Harry was waiting for Professor Babbling, to start the Ancient Runes class. Next to him was Hermione, and surprisingly, Justin Finch-Fletchley. The Hufflepuff had been very polite to Harry, something the black-haired boy suspected was to apologise for his past behaviour again.
On the first row, sat Daphne alongside Pansy and Tracey, who were chatting animatedly about what the new class would entail. Soon enough, they would get their answer.
"Good morning class. My name is Bathsheda Babbling, and I am the Ancient Runes professor."
She looked around the class, evaluating her students. When said inspection was done, she continued:
"This year we have a few more students than usual, and I am glad to see it! It should enable us to do more interesting things as well…"
Students started whispering amongst themselves, some worrying over the class's level.
"For now, let's start with the basics. Runes have several different uses, all of them practical. They were used as language by old civilizations, therefore the ancient part. They can also be used to enchant objects. This is reserved for more complex cases, since the basic one's can be achieved by Arithmancy. This will be taught during your NEWT classes. And finally, there are wards. These ones are not taught at Hogwarts, and they are taught in the cursebreaker's courses."
She paused for a second, letting the students reflect on her statement. Soon after, she spoke again:
"I hope you have all brought your books. This year we will be treating the Norse runes. They inhabited the region of Scandinavia, as well as the north of what is known as Finland. They were known for their experimentation with temperature and their inscriptions in ice. If you could open the book on page 15… "
17th of September 1993, Transfiguration class
Minerva McGonagall was doing something she never thought she would have to do. She was about to send a student to a detention, for something that didn't deserve it. It was not the first time she heard of that (she had taken over several of Severus' absurd detentions) but it was the first time she was doing it herself.
And the so-called 'victim' would be one Mr. Harry Potter. Minerva had seen a change in behaviour in the boy during his second year. She didn't know exactly what prompted that change in attitude, but she suspected Ms. Greengrass for that.
The reason why she was doing this was a favour from fellow teacher Remus Lupin. Minerva remembered James Potter and his gang as if they had graduated yesterday. Those friendships had lasted during the war, all the way to the end. After that, Minerva knew of Harry's disappearance, and she also knew Remus felt ashamed for not being there for the young man.
She could only hope that young Mr. Potter would be understanding. Poor Remus would never forgive him for that… Looking at the boy, she realised he was looking for something in his backpack. This was her chance.
"Mr. Potter, you should learn to pay attention in my class. This will mean detention with me this evening."
The boy looked at her with a bewildered expression, but just accepted it without complaint. This expression reminded her of his father… Oh, well. She had done her part, and now it was up to Remus to connect with the boy.
That evening…
Harry was on his way towards McGonagall's detention. He didn't even know what he had done to deserve it. He was looking for an inkwell to take notes… So unless she wanted him to write without ink, he didn't get her point, and Ron didn't either.
Hermione seemed to agree with her. Harry was about to counter but decided against it. They had clashed recently due to her over enthusiastic schedule, and she was showing the first signs of stress.
So, with these thoughts in mind, Harry made it all the way to McGonagall's office. Since the door wasn't open, Harry knocked.
"Come in, Mr. Potter." 'How did she know it was me?' Harry thought. She must have something like what Dumbledore has in his office… Or she didn't have anything scheduled, as simple as that.
Harry entered the office, only to find out that Professor McGonagall was not the only person in it. Professor Lupin was there as well, and he was looking at him almost impatiently. The transfiguration professor received him:
"Good evening, Mr. Potter. If you could take a seat, please, we shall begin with the 'detention'." Harry's eyebrows furrowed at that. 'What is going on?'
Professor McGonagall saw his expression and said: "You really didn't do anything to deserve detention Mr. Potter. It was just an excuse for us to have a conversation with you."
"Us? What do you mean by that Professor?" Harry asked. He was looking at McGonagall, but she was not the one to answer.
"Because I have desired to have a talk with you for a long time, Harry. I was a close friend to your parents, and they asked me to help take care of you, something I have not been able to do until now." Lupin answered.
"That is why you were at the photo, right? During my parents' wedding, along with Black and the other two?" Harry countered.
"Aaah, you mean the one in Hagrid's album? Yeah, I was the one who gave it to you. Though I must say I am surprised you didn't recognise Peter and Frank…"
"Who are Peter and Frank?" Harry asked. Why didn't anyone tell him about them?
"Peter is Peter Pettigrew Mr. Potter. He is the wizard murdered by Black twelve years ago. As for Frank, we are talking about Frank Longbottom." McGonagall replied.
"Is he Neville's father? Why didn't I know that? What happened to him?" Harry questioned.
"You don't know about Frank and Alice? Did no one tell you?"
Harry nodded. He had to know.
"Alice Longbottom was a close friend of your mother. She was the maid of honour at her wedding actually. She was also your godmother. Lily was also Neville's godmother if I remember well… As to what happened to them… After Voldemort vanished, some Death Eaters attacked them at their home. They are not dead, but it is not much better. They are at St. Mungos, at the spell damage floor. They have no recollection of who they are, and are no longer able to walk either…"
Some tears could be seen across his face, and even McGonagall was holding a handkerchief now. It was a very sensitive topic for them…
"You said you were a close friend of them, but when did you meet them?" Harry thought this was a vital question, could he finally get some stories from them?
"I met your father in Gryffindor. We were on the same year, on the same dorm. Your mother was also on our year, but she didn't get along well with James until sixth year. She said he was too arrogant and immature for her…"
"And you were not much better Mr. Lupin." McGonagall interrupted. "I know that some of the pranks you did were actually your idea, and they would put the Weasley twins to shame!"
Lupin blushed at that. Harry was genuinely surprised. He didn't expect him to be that kind of guy.
"But we grew out of it eventually, Minerva. About Lily, I started getting along with her during our fifth year. We were both selected to be prefects, and we had plenty of time to talk during our patrols…" Harry was happy to hear that. Finally, somebody who knew them well, and didn't feel bad while talking about them. He still had an important question to ask:
"If you knew them, and you wanted to talk to me… why wait that long? Why didn't you come earlier?" Almost instantly, Lupin's mood soured. Harry was afraid of the answer…
"Well, I was not able to reach you until I came to teach here Harry. As to why I couldn't come before… I am not a normal person Harry."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "You seem quite normal to me."
"Are you sure you want to do this, Remus? Is it not a little bit too soon for that?" McGonagall interrupted.
"I am sure indeed. He is James and Lily's son, and he needs to know. Harry, I am an actual werewolf, and I transform once every four weeks."
Harry felt speechless for a while. He knew they were a real thing in the magical world, but he never thought he would encounter one. And from what he had gathered in the last three years, creatures such as werewolves were not very appreciated by wizard society.
"That is … surprising. It probably explains why you couldn't take care of me, but why didn't you say anything before?"
"That may be mine and Dumbledore's fault Mr. Potter." McGonagall said. "After you were given to your aunt's care, I told him to make sure to protect you against all mail, in case any Death Eater attempted to harm you that way. Such fears were confirmed, when I found out I apparently tried to kill you a dozen times while you weren't six years old yet. Death Eaters were trying to use other people's names to try and kill you."
Harry listened to McGonagall attentively. But he still had another question.
"But you could have still come for a visit? I was basically left alone for over a decade there!"
Lupin looked at him with sadness. "Maybe, but no one apart from Dumbledore and Minerva knew where you were. I suspected your aunt, but there are several women named Petunia in England. Even then, I spent most of my time in other countries, trying to get a job for more than a month. I didn't have a lot of money back then. This is my first stable job in the last four years!"
Once that was clarified, Harry continued speaking with Professor Lupin (or Remus in private) until it was almost curfew. He got his information, as well as a promise to meet regularly to speak about Harry's parents. In the end, everything was going well.
31st of October 1993, Hogwarts grounds
Harry was on the queue to get out of the castle. Today was the first Hogsmeade weekend, and Harry was going to the village for the first time. In front of him stood Ron and Hermione, who were busy arguing about Scabbers, again.
Harry was starting to get tired of their arguments this year. Both were being unreasonable at this point. It almost didn't happen today. This was because Harry and Ron had to beg Hermione to come with them and stop studying. It was becoming unhealthy at this point. They had tried to point out the bags under her eyes and her behaviour before, but she simply scoffed at them. She even tried to make Harry stay because of Sirius Black. Harry countered that it would be more difficult for him to attack in the middle of the crowd, and Hermione was forced to leave it.
They were in the carriages now. Harry was looking through the window, while listening at Hermione talk about the history of the village. Ron seemed more interested in the activities you could do there. The several shops you could visit, and the pub where everyone met…
Harry was happy to see it was not an exaggeration. The village was truly a sight to behold. Even though it lacked some of the vitality of Diagon Alley, it still felt magical.
They decided to go to the quill shop first. Hermione was looking for self-inking quills, and Harry bought regular ones.
After that, they went to the pet shop. All of them bought something for their pets, Ron getting another rat tonic. Harry was particularly proud of his premium bacon-flavoured owl treats, which would make Hedwig quite happy.
Honeydukes was also a sight to behold. Once inside, Harry saw an incredible diversity of sweets, and he let Ron guide him around the shop. He bought such a enough sweets he was confident that they would last for a month.
Eventually they made their way to the Three Broomsticks. Harry was eager to try the butterbeer. The amount of people inside was truly amazing. There were dozens upon dozens of students, and Harry had to push his way into the only empty table he was able to find in the pub. Soon enough, Ron and Hermione arrived with their butterbeers, and they began talking about how the day had gone.
An hour later…
Harry was leaving the Three Broomsticks by himself. Ron and Hermione were left inside, bickering for one thing or another. From what Harry could muster, Hermione didn't want to talk about her mental health or her mysterious disappearances this year.
Harry was still intrigued about those. How did she manage to be at two places at the same time? According to Parvati (who heard it from her sister Padma) Hermione hadn't missed a single Arithmancy lesson yet. And she had attended all of the Muggle Studies lessons as well, despite both of them happening simultaneously as Divination and Care of Magical creatures. There was something she was hiding from them, and Harry couldn't stop himself from feeling disappointed. Hadn't him and Ron trusted her so far? Hadn't they shown that they were someone she could rely on?
Harry was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't realise he was going to bump into someone until it was too late.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going you… Harry?"
"Sorry about that Daphne, I was concentrated and didn't see you there… Are you alright?"
"Yeah, don't worry Harry. I am feeling okay, just a little cold…"
"Is there anything I can do for you? Do you want my scarf?"
"No no no. I can't take it. Thanks though."
"Don't be stubborn. Here you have!" With a swift move, he wrapped his scarf around Daphne's neck. He wasn't able to notice her blush.
"Thank you, Harry…" She still wasn't able to look at his face.
"You are welcome, Daphne. Astoria wouldn't forgive me if I let you catch a cold!" he added.
"Have a good day!"
"Yeah, you too…" Harry was busy thinking about her perfume to notice she had already left.
A few hours later…
Harry and his friends were making their way up to the Gryffindor tower. They had just finished dinner, and they had been caught in the middle of the rush to the tower. There were dozens of students around them, all trying to enter the common room as well.
Before they could even try to ask what was going on, Percy Weasley made his appearance:
"If you could step aside, please. Step aside please! I am the Head Boy!"
Students moved around him trying to make space for the Head Boy. Percy made his way to the portrait, when he suddenly stopped. He stood there for about a minute until he turned to speak to Wood:
"Oliver, I need to ask you a favour: Go to Dumbledore and tell him that the Fat Lady is … gone."