Remus Lupin awoke Sunday morning on 1 August groggy, to say the least. His whole body ached and he mechanically reached through his temporary prison bars to grab his wand. With a flick, he was warm and the cage door swung open.
Normally, Remus did not remember the nights of his transformations. He cannot afford the high cost of the Wolfsbane potion so he truly loses himself to the wolf. However, last night was different. As he laid on the cold dirt floor of the basement of his muggle home in the country, he tried to sort out the feelings and emotions he brought back with him.
Sad. Lonely. Pup. Rescue. Needed.
He ran his hand over his face and gave a long, weary sigh.
"Stats?"
[GOOD MORNING USER! YOUR STATUS AFTER YOUR SUBCLASS TRANSFORMATION IS THE FOLLOWING:]
REMUS LUPIN
SPECIES: Wizard - Lvl. 37
SUBCLASS: Lycanthropy (LOCKED) - Lvl. 12
HP: 57/697
MP: 250/800
STATUS: Twisted Ankle (left), Various Lacerations, Fatigue
Remus read through his status and while he was fairly uninjured, he still felt like he had been hit by a lorry. He carefully lifted himself up off the floor and up the stairs into his main house where he quickly drank the laid out potions on the kitchen table. Health and magic potions were ones that he could brew himself from easily collected ingredients. He pulled up his status again.
HP: 500/697
MP: 500/800
STATUS: Fatigue
Better. Not best, but it will get him through the day. Sleeping will bring up both of his statuses to full again, but Fatigue was an affliction he carried with him most days. Only 32 years old, Remus was a weary man. His light brown hair was dusted with grey and his hazel eyes held an aged look that showed far more years than they should. His transformations left him covered in scars, but thankfully he had no new ones after the healing potion. Actually, compared to most nights, he didn't feel quite as awful upon waking this morning.
He sat at the kitchen table and ate himself the light breakfast he had prepared the day before.
Trees. A fire. Sadness. A desire to rescue. Packmate. Pup.
Remus rubbed his temples trying to sort out what his inner wolf was trying to tell him.
[PERHAPS A TRIP TO DIAGON ALLEY WOULD GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK.]
Remus stilled at the glowy message before him. He could count on one hand how many times the guide had provided him with any sort of help that wasn't directly related to the situation before him. For the guide to suggest as much….perhaps he would go to Diagon Alley today after all, after a short nap of course.
Harriet gulped as she walked up to the humongous three storied building that was Gringott's Bank.
"Gringott's Bank is run by goblins. They are a bit startling to look at at first if you are not prepared. Do try not to stare, they are proud people who don't think much of your kind. Although, wizards don't think much of goblins either. Be respectful to them and they shall show you the same in kind."
Harry gave a curt nod to the goblins out front and proceeded inside. She had never seen anything quite like the inside of the bank either. The white marble shown with a polish she was sure had to come from magic. She looked behind her to make sure she wasn't leaving dirty footprints with her shoes, and let out a relieved breath when she saw no such marks. She assessed the counters, and headed to the one goblin without a person already speaking to them.
"Um, hello. I've been told I should come and claim my class and inheritance," she said to the goblin once he acknowledged her.
"Name please," he requested with a show of his teeth.
"Harriet Potter."
"Oh are you now? Follow me then. Either way this will be sorted outside of the main lobby." And he hopped down from his stool and walked down a hallway to their right without even a look back to make sure she was following. She hurried after him.
After a few winding tunnels, he stopped outside an office door that had a goblin guard standing at attention next to it.
D. BLOODAXE
Account Manager
The goblin she followed gave the door a harsh tap, and then left her with the lone guard of the account manager's door. The door opened inwards and the guard gestured for her to step forward. She also gave that goblin a nod and tried to project as much confidence that she did not currently have, and walked into the room.
The office, much like the outer lobby of the bank, was white marble and gold in colour, and opulent in design. Sitting at the desk was an older goblin wearing a monocle, at her entrance he looked up and pointed her to the chair in front of his desk. He then pointed to the bowl in front of him.
"Blood please. To verify your lineage."
Harry leaned forward and seeing the atheme on the table, pricked her finger and let a few drops fall into the bowl. Thankfully, the guardian spirit was aware of this process and told her how to proceed. A piece of parchment in front of the goblin filled in slowly with a great looping motion.
"So, you are the lost Potter heir. Welcome back to wizarding Britain," he said the last while flashing his teeth in a tight grin as he slid the paper over to her.
Harriet Jamie Potter
Father: James Charlus Potter - Pureblood Wizard
Mother: Lily Jade (neé Evans) Potter - Muggleborn Witch
Species: Magical (Witch)
Available Subclass Options:
The Girl Who Lived (+10 to all stats, +50 Luck)
TBD Quest Dependant (Obtain Quest Item First to Unlock)
More information available upon Blood Verification for Subclass Selection upon magical maturity.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONFIRM YOUR SPECIES OF MAGICAL (WITCH) AT THIS TIME?]
Harry nodded just barely.
[SPECIES CONFIRMED! TO SEE CURRENT STATUS AT ANY POINT, ASK FOR STATUS.]
A secondary menu popped up in Harry's side view. It wasn't in her direct line of sight like the glowy words are, but instead slightly off to her left peripheral.
HARRIET POTTER
SPECIES: Witch
SUBCLASS: N/A TBD
LEVEL: 1
HP: 85/100
MP: 100/100
STATUS: Fatigue, Hunger, Extreme Culture Shock
It slowly faded from her view and she turned back to the goblin, wincing when she realised she had just been staring into space for a good while.
"Do you want to go to your vault now?" The goblin asked her. If he was angry at her for spacing out on the strange windows that keep popping up, he didn't show it.
"Yes, please. Thank you."
He seemed surprised at her words, but gave her a curt nod and led her back out and towards the carts to take her to the Potter vault.
One intense cart ride later, and she and Bloodaxe were standing in front of her vault. He handed her a golden key and she fit it into the lock.
Harriet stepped inside and almost fell down at the sight before her. Mountains and mountains of golden coins. Silver coins. Bronze coins. There were stacks of books and scrolls and antique furniture and art. The space must be bigger on the inside for the cavern of possessions went on for as far as Harry could see. She sat down in a chair by the entrance for a moment.
"Here. Fill it with the silver and bronze mostly, with a few gold ones. Buying your school supplies shouldn't take too much, and you don't want to carry too much on you just in case. Since you clearly live in the muggle side, I will give you an ATM card connected to the bank for your usage outside of Diagon Alley." Bloodaxe handed her a small pouch and gestured towards the piles.
"There are a lot of things here you are going to want to go through, but I wouldn't suggest that for today. I will get a list together and do some inventory of items for your next visit, Heir Potter."
Harry nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Bloodaxe. I am a bit overwhelmed, I just found out about everything yesterday so I am still processing it all. You wouldn't happen to know if my parents had any other family or friends, do you?"
Bloodaxe gestured her towards the coins again and she got up and started grabbing while he began talking again.
"We can arrange for another visit next Sunday and I will have more prepared for you then. Your parents had a few friends listed in their will, but I am sorry to say your grandparents all passed before your parents and your father was an only child. We will go over the will next week during your visit then."
Harry nodded again, and they went back up to the main lobby of the bank. She thanked him for his help as well as the ATM card she could use in the muggle world and left the bank.
Remus woke up from his short wolf-nap and showered before going into the Alley. He was still Fatigued, but he didn't ache quite so bad anymore. He grabbed his cloak, stepped out into the sunshine, and apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.
He could still feel the strange urge pulling him along and it unsettled him that he wasn't sure what it was. He found himself ambling down the alley, before it flared unexpectedly. He turned to see Florean Fortescue Ice-Cream Parlour and a lone figure sitting outside slowly eating an ice cream cone. Remus took a subtle sniff of the air. Vanilla. Waffle cone. Chocolate chips on top. His senses were telling him this figure was female, but the baggy, worn clothes were definitely of the boys variety. The strange warm feeling he was feeling was emanating from this small child, and Remus was very uncomfortable with this fact, at first. It isn't harmful to use an Identify Skill on someone, but in most circles people considered the action to be rude. But, Remus had to settle this feeling he had.
'Identify.'
[SCANNING…..IDENTIFIED.]
A small pop up hovered over the figure that was pulling his very soul to it.
HARRIET J. POTTER
SPECIES: Witch Lvl. 1
SUBCLASS: N/A
Remus was so taken by surprise he nearly collapsed onto the street. Instead, he tried to nonchalantly walk towards the young girl so as not to frighten her. He couldn't make out her face, she had a large sun hat pulled down, and her baggy clothes swallowed her. He could see some dark red hair peeking out from under the hat, not quite as bright as Lily's but red none the same. He went inside and ordered himself a chocolate Sundae, and then sat down at a neighbouring table to Harriet.
Harry had felt a bit lost after coming out of Gringott's, and the first shop she saw that she understood had been the ice cream parlour. She had never been in to one before, but Dudley had made her wait outside of one for him many times before.
She ordered plain vanilla with chocolate chips on top, and decided for a waffle cone. She sat down outside for a while, simply enjoying her ice cream and trying to plan out her next steps. She was also keeping an internal count of the time, he had to return to the Dursley's before they came back from after church lunch.
After sitting for a little while, Harry noticed a man of middle age, greying hair, and with his own fair share of scars take a seat near her. Never being comfortable around adults, Harriet tensed and began to eat a little faster. She turned her head to get a better view of the man when a warm feeling washed over her.
Safe. Pack. Family. Trust.
Her eyes widened as she made eye contact with the man. He seemed just as surprised and unsure as her. Harry could feel nothing but familiarity and trust from the man, which was a new feeling for her. She thought briefly of the guardian spirit telling her of guiding someone to help her.
"...have we met before?" She asks him quietly. He appears to jolt at her words, but after a moment of consideration he nods his head. She watches him struggle for a moment and he seems to make up his mind as he gathers his now mostly empty ice cream cup and walks to her table.
"Do you mind if I sit? I'd rather not shout across the patio here, but I have some questions for you, and obviously you probably have some from me as well. I apologise for using my Identify Skill on you, but I needed to know your name." He said this all rather fast and nervously.
Harry nodded and gestured to the chair next to her. He sat down, and smiled at her softly.
"My name is Remus Lupin, and well, your father was one of my best friends."
—-
Harry and Remus spent a little while sitting at the parlour quietly getting to know one another, their ice creams long eaten. After a slow and a bit rough start, the two magic users soon were talking like they had known one another much longer. Harry, for the first time in her short life, was enjoying the company of another.
"Enough stories about Hogwarts and our silly adventures, tell me about yourself Harriet. How do you like living with your muggle relatives?" Remus asks her after their giggles subside. Her sudden stiffening and complete change of deposition alerts Remus to the original reason he felt tied to the young witch. He had started the conversation with a little about himself and some fun stories about the Marauders' days at Hogwarts to try and make her comfortable and trust him, but now it was time to broach the hard subjects.
"Is there a reason why we have never met before Mr. Lupin? If all these stories are true and you were my dad's best friend, why am I living with the Dursley's?"
Remus looked a bit taken back and his face paled a bit at her line of questioning. Harry could tell he was struggling with himself on how to answer.
"Have you learned the Identify Skill yet? That might tell you more than I like admitting out loud," a dejected Remus told her. He was ready for her to not want anything to do with him once she saw the monster he was forced to become.
"No, I haven't learned any skills yet. I only confirmed my species class a few hours ago, I'm still pretty new at all of this," Harry replied.
"Well focus on me and you must want to know more about me on a deeper level. Once you successfully Identify someone for the first time it will unlock the skill and it becomes much easier to use. Although, don't just go around using it on people. A rather popular skill is that of Perception and those that have it will know if you use Identify on them, and honestly people don't always take very kindly to the intrusion."
Harry nodded and focused so hard on Remus her eyes went squinty and her forehead wrinkled with concentration.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE SKILL IDENTIFY! YOU CAN NOW CAN KNOW LOW LEVEL INFORMATION ABOUT A CREATURE OF YOUR CHOICE, BUT KNOW THEY MIGHT NOT ALWAYS WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THEM. USE SKILLS WITH CAUTION.]
REMUS LUPIN
SPECIES: Wizard Lvl. 37
SUBCLASS: Lycanthropy Lvl. 12
Harriet sat for a moment and thought back to the words of the guardian spirit the night before on werewolves.
"So, you're a werewolf then? Is it like the movies?" Remus was surprised to find himself bombarded by questions from the curious preteen. "Why does that mean you couldn't visit me?"
"Well, in the eyes of the ministry I am a dark creature and in no way fit to raise a child. I filed for custody, but was rejected. Twice." He sighs and gently places his hand on her shoulder, "I would have taken you with me in a heartbeat if I knew where you were. You are part of my pack, and I would do anything to protect you Harriet. Not only was your father my best friend, but your mother was the kindest soul I have ever met. She treated me just like she did everyone else."
Harry is overwhelmed with the emotion in the older man's, pseudo uncle she supposed, voice.
"Well…you know where I am now. Do you still want me?"
"What goes on at your relatives that has you asking me this after just meeting? Now, of course I would have you but I'm not sure if the ministry would allow me though…"
For the first time since he sat down, Harriet pulled her hat off slowly and placed it into her lap. It took everything he had not to visibly react to what he saw in front of him.
She had a chin length bob in a deep red, and the same bright emerald eyes of her mother. Remus had not seen her after the attack that killed her parents, though he had heard the rumours of a lightning bolt shaped scar. Harriet did have a sort of lightning bolt scar, though it was a more natural lightning strike that had many jagged tendrils. Instead of just being daintily placed above her eyebrow though, it went across her face from the tip of her hairline on the left side, and down across her brow to the right. It was a stark white scar on her light caramel skin, marring her right eyebrow and making her eye tilt up slightly with the tautness of pulled skin. While the visible reminder of the death of his pack was hard to swallow, Remus looked further and saw the skin and bones under the dirty, old, and obviously too big clothes.
When Harry noticed he was taking in her facial scar, she pushed up the sleeves on her button down shirt. It took him a moment, but Remus noticed those scars too. Those scars however, we're not from the attack on her parents.
The wolf inside of Remus raged at seeing his pup so brutally handled in his absence. He thought for a moment and made a quick decision.
"If you came to live with me, would they even notice?"
Harry put her hat back on and shook her head. "If they did, it wouldn't be because they missed me, but because they missed their servant."
Remus, mind made up, stood up and gathered their trash.
"Alright then. Your mother would never forgive me if I let you go back to that horrid aunt of yours. I remember meeting her once and she was rather unpleasant. Do you have anything from there you need? Have you done your school shopping yet?"
Harriet shook her head and looked down, not making eye contact with him still.
"All I have are more of Dudley's cast offs and a dirty cot under the stairs. I don't want any of it. I got a bit overwhelmed in Gringott's and then just got some ice cream, so I haven't really started shopping yet."
Remus smiled softly at her and held his hand out to her.
"I know we don't know each well yet, but I will happily take you home with me and make sure you are raised in the way James and Lily would approve. I promise you I will never hurt you, and I will do anything in my power to protect you. I'll tell you all about your parents and grandparents, your dad's at least I'm afraid I did not know Lily's well. Would you like that? Do you think you could come to trust me?"
[USER REMUS LUPIN HAS SENT YOU A PARTY REQUEST. WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN 'THE MARAUDER'S WOLF PACK'? ACCEPTING A PARTY REQUEST WILL OPEN A NEW PARTY MENU AND AN OPEN LINE OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PARTY MEMBERS. ONLY THE PARTY HEAD CAN INVITE NEW MEMBERS. THE LONGER YOU STAY IN A PARTY WITH USERS, THE MORE OPTIONS IN YOUR PARTY MENU WILL UNLOCK.]
Harriet was still a child, but it did not take her long to come to a life changing decision. A life of brutality and full of hate with her relatives, or the promise of a warm future with someone she hoped wasn't having her on.
She gave him a small, bright smile and gently put her hand in his.
"Alright, I feel like I can trust you. What's our first stop?"
Remus softly squeezed her hand and began to lead her from the shop.
"I think our first stop should be to get the most important tool of your new life, your wand."
The odd duo, still with their nervous hands clasped, headed to Ollivander's and Harry had never been so excited for her future.
[CONGRATULATIONS ON JOINING YOUR FIRST PARTY USER!]
