The two Lupins arrived in Hogsmead one week after the letter had arrived at their home. They had wanted to get to their son as quickly as possible, but at the same time were terrified as to what they would find.
Their little Remus had been through so much in his short life. Not even ten years ago he had been diagnosed with lycanthropy thanks to that no good scumbag Frenrir Greyback. Then, he had begun to face discrimination. After his first transformation, he was so upset he had locked himself in his room for two days and not allowed anyone to come in. He finally came out when the hunger proved too much to bear. Then, he had been terrified about not being accepted to Hogwarts due to his condition, and finally about not being able to make friends. Now this! It wasn't fair for him, not at all.
They were greeted by a lively young Hufflepuff girl with honeysuckle blonde hair that fell in curls down to her shoulders.
"Hi!" She said, a bit enthusiastically considering the reason the couple was there, "my name is Melody Brown, and I'll be your helpful little Hufflepuff today! We brought down a carriage just for you two! Well, and me of course!"
She lead them up the road a ways before stopping in front of a horse drawn carriage, with no horse. Hope gasped slightly, and Lyall gently rubbed her back. He knew Hogwarts was a lot to take in right away. They all clambered in, Melody helping with their bags, and we're off to Hogwarts.
"Did you know," Melody said, leaning in close to the pair sitting across from her, "that the carriages are supposedly drawn by Threstrals, a horse that can only be seen after seeing death. Isn't that so cool? Some students have claimed to see them, but not me! No sir!"
They rode the next ten minutes in silence, well, almost silence. Melody was spitting off facts her Ravenclaw friend had shared with her. Hope had grabbed Lyall's hand early on in the ride, and silent tears were running down her face.
The three Marauders stood in the entrance hall. Them being Remus' best friends, they considered themselves the, "House Representatives of Gryffindor, and Representatives of Messr Moony while he is unable to perform his usual tasks,"
Peter straightened his tie, James cleaned his glasses, and Sirius yawned. They had snuck out late he previous night to tell the werewolf that his family was on the way. Unfortunately, it was all for not when they realized that Remus was asleep again, so they left a note, played Wizard Chess for half an hour, and then returned to the common room.
"Hey, you two!" Peter said, pointing outwards, "I think they're coming,"
Suddenly, James felt something run into him. He turned around quickly to find Lily Evans and Severus Snape, panting and out of breath.
"They're not here yet, are they?" Lily said in between gasps. James shook his head.
"No," he said, quickly putting his glasses back on, "I mean, they're almost here, I mean, what in Merlin's pants is Snivellous doing here?"
"He wanted to come," Lily replied, "You know, meet the parents of the one tolerable Marauder and find out what they did right,"
Sirius laid a hand over his heart in mock hurt. The two groups glared at each other for a moment longer before the chattering of a girl, probably a Hufflepuff, was heard.
"And the ceilings magic, it is! It's charmed to look like the sky. I personally think the sky is prettier, but that's just me! Oh, look, we're here!"
Immediately, the three marauders ran forward.
"Hi, Mrs. and Mr. Lupin!" James said. The boys had met Remus' parents the summer after first year, when they had come over for a few days. Ever since, they had gotten into a habit of hanging out with their lycanthropic friend at least every day after the full moon, if not more often. And every time, Remus would say,
"You guys are the best, you know that? The biggest idiots, but the best!"
And they all knew that they wouldn't hear it again next summer if they didn't help Remus. Each marauder reached up and grabbed one of the bags, slowly lowering it to the dirt road. Lily stepped over, and Severus stayed behind.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin," she said, "it's truly a pleasure to meet you. I'm one of Remus' friends, Lily Evans,"
Each marauder turned and stared at her. Lily considered herself one of Remus' friends? When had this happen?
Mrs. Lupin gently shook Lily's hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lily," she said. Hope Lupin was truly a beautiful woman. She kept her frizzy brown hair tied back, and had a bandana folded across her head, like a headband. She had soft blue eyes that were timeless, and smile lines around her eyes. She wore a soft, light purple shawl over her shoulders, and a light brown cloak that obviously was well loved. Lyall Lupin was a handsome man, with short, dirty blonde hair, stubble across his chin, and playful brown eyes. He too had smile lines creasing the corners of his eyes. He usually wore a light grey tweed jacket and a black tie over a white shirt, and a pair of grey trousers. He always wore muggle Nikes, though for some unknown reason. Both parents had a sad look to them, though, and a sort of feel to them that expressed a happy/sad vibe.
"Well, you can come on in, then," Lily said, "Mrs. Lupin, you're a muggle right? Well, I can assure you Hogwarts will live up to every fantasy you had about wizards as a little girl. It did for me. I'm a muggle-born, you see,"
And with that, Lily lead the couple into the castle.