Chapter Three
It was a short walk to the Great Hall, but they stopped short just outside of it. A slender woman in sweeping emerald robes greeted them, her dark hair pulled back in a sleek bun, and a tight, firm smile on her lips. The beginning of wrinkles showed at the edges of her eyes, which were dark, but kind.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began, her voice clear and crisp. "Now, before you can join your classmates, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points, any rule-breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup."
Even though Remus was very awarded of these rules, he listened rapturously. This had to be Professor Minerva McGonagal, head of Gryffindor House and the Transfiguration teacher. It had been her name signed at the bottom of his Hogwarts letter. It was so strange to see someone in real life that he had only read about before. Her eyes briefly fell to him and she smiled tightly. There was a knowing look in her eyes, it seemed to him, but it didn't appear fearful or prejudice- only welcoming. He smiled nervously back.
"Please gather at the front of the room and await instruction," she directed, as the large double doors opened behind her.
Chattering softly, the group of first years filtered into the room and down the wide center aisle. On the left and right, broad wooden tables housed hundreds of students, already safely sorted into their house. Above, a mimic night sky stretched over them in place of the ceiling and below the stars, a multitude of flickering candles filled the open space, hovering over the tables and providing warmth and light to the room.
At the front of the room, the professors sat on a short platform, their own long table spread in front of them. In the center, the Headmaster, with light gray hair and long beard, smiled at us from behind twinkling half moon glasses.
A bright-eyed red-headed girl leaned in toward her friend, an angular boy with shoulder-length black hair, and whispered, "Is that Professor Dumbledore?"
Remus moved up beside her and chimed in, "Yes, that's him. He's been Headmaster here for a while now. He already has a reputation for being one of the best."
She smiled gratefully, though her friend looked a little put out that had answered before he could. On the platform, a simple wooden stool was set up with a large, brown hat set atop it. The first-years pooled to the front as Professor McGonagal stepped up onto the platform, unrolling a large sheet of parchment. She called the noisy room to attention and adjusted her glasses, looking down at the page.
"Avery, Silas," She called out.
A hefty boy with short-cropped hair and a slack, large-featured face ascended to the stool. After sitting down, Professor McGonagal placed the hat on his head.
A moment of silence passed before the hat broke open at the stitched mouth and shouted, "Slytherin!"
The red-headed girl gasped with delight and her friend, the black-haired boy grinned, "You see? Loads of people get in. It'll be alright."
After a few students had gone, three sorted into Hufflepuff and one more into Slytherin, Professor McGonagal called out, "Black, Sirius!"
A small uprising of laughter ensued before a very handsome boy, taller than most of the others gathered in the group, with wavy dark hair stood up. His eyebrows were expressive and thick, and he smiled down at the crowd before sitting confidently on the stool. A small frown formed on Sirius's brown, but he kept his face steady as the hat mulled on his head. A moment passed and then two, before the hat called out, "Gryffindor!"
The red-headed girl, a "Evans, Lily," was called up not long after, her frame clearly trembling, but her face full of excitement. The hat barely touched the top of her head before it called out, confidently, "Gryffindor!"
Several more students ascended, with a fair amount of every house, earning cheers from every table in the room. Pretty soon, there were only about half the students left. Preparing himself with shut eyes, Remus waited anxiously. And then, McGonagal called out, "Lupin, Remus?"
He moved shakily forward, squeezing his hands into fists to keep them still. The short platform felt like a very long walk as he made his way forward. Peter shot him a thumbs up as he passed and smiled weakly, sitting down on the wobbly stool. The brim of the old had slipped down over his eyes and Remus was grateful for the haven of darkness.
A voice spoke directly into his mind: Ah, I wondered when we would get another of your type here. Let's see. Certainly a wealth of intelligence and yet cunning too. Loyal, I see, and an eager protector. More than that, you have bravery in spades. Yes, I think there is no question where you belong… A moment passed before the voice shouted aloud to the room, "Gryffindor!"
Remus's face split into a relieved smile, a wave heat flushing through him and brightening his pale face. Nodding his thanks to Professor McGonagal, Remus hurried down the steps and joined the cheering Gryffindors, thankful to officially be a part of the school. Sitting down beside the handsome boy, Black, Sirius, Lupin allowed the reality of it all to wash over him. He was here, among normal children, accepted and just as much a part of this new school year as they were. He couldn't help but recall what that hat had said- "another of your type." That meant there had been at least one more werewolf to attend Hogwarts before him. No matter how long ago, it had happened. That meant that Dumbledore's plan might work. That meant he wasn't alone.