The Comfort of Knowledge, Chapter 2
The cold, chilling air whistling about the castle was strangely reminiscent of a day not long ago.
Accompanying the sounds of the wind, the silence was broken only by loudly trotting feet splashing through the mud.
A black carriage could be seen in the distance.
The graceful horse leading the way kept its pace fairly quick, until it finally neared the front steps of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
A young boy, neatly dressed in dark gray traveling robes and a thick wool scarf, stepped down from the carriage in silence. He turned his head up, studying the tall towers that, despite their height, were somehow welcoming.
He closed his eyes, breathing in the cool, fresh scent of the rain.
Soon the sound of cheerful voices and bustling students burst through the peace and reached his ears. He reluctantly opened his eyes, stepping hesitantly towards the waiting figure.
"Remus Lupin?" she asked sharply.
The boy nodded.
"Follow me."
He trailed after the stern looking woman into a dimly lit hall and saw a busy rush of students flowing into what looked to be a much larger room.
"Professor Dumbledore informed me that you were sorted last month when you visited with your father."
The boy nodded once more.
"Good. I'll see to it that your possessions reach your dormitory safely." She strode off outside, leaving the quiet boy alone once again.
He took a deep breath and walked calmly into the room.
His entrance went unnoticed at first, but the further he stepped into the hall, the more the students, chatting animatedly about one thing or another, quieted.
The tawny haired boy kept his eyes focused on the ground in front of him. In his peripheral vision he could see the faces turning towards him, curiously watching his every move. The whispers spread throughout the room as he approached the front of the hall.
The headmaster stood and offered him a kind, if somewhat amused, smile. It momentarily eased some of the trepidation the boy felt at the attention.
The older man cleared his throat.
"Welcome, welcome, I know that you are all anxious to eat but first I have someone I would like to introduce. Over these last few months your professors and I have been discussing a very particular issue and we have recently decided to admit a new student."
The hall immediately began buzzing with murmurs of surprise. Hogwarts never had transfer students.
The headmaster cleared his throat again. "Let us all welcome Remus Lupin. He will be joining the fifth year Gryffindors and I am sure that as he gets settled in, he will be warmly welcomed by each and every one of you."
Smiling down at him once more, the headmaster lowered his voice and nodded pointedly at one table in particular.
"Why don't you take a seat, Mr. Lupin."
Remus smiled back slightly before walking towards the table indicated to him.
As soon as he reached it, a couple of young first years made room for him on the end of the bench. Although they smiled encouragingly, he could tell that they were too shy to start a conversation with him.
Remus heard Dumbledore make a few more announcements before absently waving a hand around the room.
Only slightly surprised at the sight of food appearing atop all of the tables, Remus politely waited while the others served themselves.
When it finally came, his first attempt to reach for the food was interrupted by the sound of two rowdy voices making their way into the hall.
Looking over the heads of the other students, all he could see was an incredibly unruly mass of hair, followed by a much neater head of midnight-black hair. Unable to understand the reason for the immediate whispering upon their entrance, Remus turned back towards the food.
It wasn't long before he heard a squeal and looked up to see a short, curly-haired brunette squeezing her way between two of the first years.
"Hello," she smiled sweetly. "Remus, right?"
"Yes," he replied quietly. "Remus Lupin." He reached across the table, offering his hand politely.
She seemed taken aback—as did everyone else who had heard his quiet, smooth voice. It was the first time they had heard him speak and unbeknownst to him, they were all pleasantly surprised at the sound.
The curly-haired girl eagerly shook his hand, giggling softly as she did so.
She looked as if she intended to continue the conversation—if only to hear his sweet, honey-toned voice again – but just as she was opening her mouth on a question, another strangely familiar voice came from behind him.
"Aw, you haven't gone and replaced me, have you Abby?"
The girl blushed slightly and blinked up at a figure over Remus' head.
Suppressing the urge to frown at the familiar tone, Remus turned in his seat to meet the newcomer.
He blinked.
There were two of them.
He understood at once that they must be the two dark-haired boys who had burst in earlier. He nodded politely at the bespectacled boy and received an amused but friendly nod in return.
Remus turned to acknowledge the other boy in a similar manner but failed.
He felt shock course through him at the sight of the taller boy's face.
As their eyes met, the charming smile fell from the older boy's face and the overconfident youth quickly sobered.
Much to the surprise of everybody within the vicinity, the sixth year's normally quick wit had vanished—leaving his vocabulary in possession of only one word.
"Remus."