Chapter Two: Wizard
Professor Remus Lupin, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor House, and professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts looked down the long winding dirt lane and frowned. He was still sore and tired from the full moon only two days before and he really didn't feel like walking a mile in the heat of the day. He was tempted to just apparate to the front door, but he knew the muggle family he was visiting would not appreciate such a bold introduction to the magical world their son would soon be entering. Sighing resignedly, he continued on.
Mal stared up at the clear sky, deep in thought. Today was the day Professor Lupin would come and explain about Hogwarts and magic. Today was the day he would finally understand. While Mal had had many friends over the years, he had never truly fit in. Knowing that he could never trust them with his deepest secret, his true self, he had always felt like a bit of an outcast. Part of him, the solitary predator, was okay with that; another part of him longed for a pack, a pride, a flock, a gaggle, anything. He longed to belong and to truly fit in, and he hoped this was his chance. He breathed in deeply, savoring the fresh air and the smells of trees and flowers, grass and dirt, animals and…He's here!
As the breeze blew through his shaggy hair he caught the unfamiliar scent of an unfamiliar man. There was something strange in the scent. It was different from a normal human, but Mal passed it off as having something to do with Lupin being a wizard from a magical school.
Quickly, he gracefully leapt from the branch he was resting on and dove headfirst to the ground, shifting his form as he fell so that a red-tailed hawk glided down to the ground in the direction of the house. As he neared the ground he flapped his broad wings once, almost lazily, and turned upward, making himself parallel to the ground. As he did so he shifted again, this time to a medium sized grey wolf. Without breaking stride or slowing at all, he ran full-out across the meadow that his home was in. As reached the back door he heard a firm knock at the front of the house and his father moving to open it. A few feet from the door he slowed, rearing onto his hind legs and shifting back into human form, again without breaking stride. Just as he reached the door his mother called through the open kitchen window, "Mal, the professor is here."
"I know, Mom," he said as he walked in, closing the door softly behind him.
"Just checking, Sweetie."
Remus reached the front door of the small, but cozy looking cottage. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand to knock. He heard a muffled conversation, then footsteps heading towards the door as another set headed in the opposite direction. The door opened to reveal a tall man, slim and fit-looking, who appeared to be in his mid-thirties and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He smiled tightly, clearly nervous about the meeting.
"Professor Lupin, I presume," the man said, sizing up the somewhat raggedly dressed wizard. "I'm Patrick Crowley, Malachi's father. Please come in."
Lupin smiled and nodded in return, offering his hand as he stepped through the doorway. "Thank you. I'm Remus Lupin. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Patrick accepted his hand warmly enough, though Lupin got the feeling he was being studied carefully. "My wife, Angela, went to call Mal. Why don't you sit down."
Lupin nodded again and was ushered into a bright sitting room. There were two couches, set against the walls in the corner, and several comfortable looking armchairs spread out in front of them. The room was fairly open and the two outer walls were mostly made up of large, floor to ceiling windows, which were all open to bring in the cool breeze. Lupin sat on one of the couches with Patrick took an armchair. Just then Lupin's sharp ears picked up the sound of a woman, presumably Mrs. Crowley, calling for Malachi to come in. He heard the door close and two sets of footsteps headed for the door on the wall opposite him. As Mrs. Crowley and Malachi entered Lupin stood, offering his hand to first Mrs. Crowley and then to the young boy.
"Mrs. Crowley, Malachi, I'm Remus Lupin. Thank you for seeing me today," he said with a warm smile.
"Thank you for coming Professor Lupin. Please, call me Angela," she responded, shaking his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you Professor Lupin," said Mal confidently as he shook the man's hand. He was dressed in a plaid flannel shirt and cargo shorts and was, to Lupin's surprise, barefoot. The boy opened his mouth to say something else but as he did a breeze came in through the window behind Lupin and he froze, staring into Lupin's amber eyes.
Remus saw the boy freeze, still holding his outstretched hand, and felt him stiffen. Amber eyes met hazel and somehow Remus knew this boy was different.
Mal tried to process the information pouring into his brain. The professor smelled mostly human, but there was something else; something wild and powerful. The wildness in himself rose up, recognizing the predator before him but not knowing how to react. Mal breathed in deeply, trying to reason with his own instincts. This man was a professor, not a predator. Perhaps this meant he could understand Mal even better. Building up his courage, he decided the best way to find out was to come out at ask.
"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you?" He watched closely to judge the man's reaction, ready to fight or flee as the need arose.
"Malachi Nicodemus! Where are you manners?" Angela scolded. Turning to Professor Lupin she started to apologize but stopped when she saw his face.
Remus was shocked. Shocked and even a little scared. This boy, this eleven-year-old, muggle-born boy, knew he was not entirely human. How? He struggled to recover his composure.
"It's quite alright, Angela," he said, his eyes not leaving the boy in front of him. "It's a fair question."
Seeing their confusion he released Mal's hand and motioned for everyone to sit. Once they were all seated he spoke again.
"I don't know how you know this Mal, but you are right," pausing, he took another deep breath. The wizarding world already knew so the Crowley's were bound to find out eventually. "I'm not entirely human. I'm a werewolf."
He paused again, waiting for the panicked gasps or looks of disbelief. With muggles he'd seen both. But they surprised him by taking it in as if it weren't the craziest or most terrifying thing they'd heard today. Mal was the first to speak.
"So werewolves and vampires and all that are really real," he said enthusiastically. At Remus's tense nod he went on. "Wow, that's so cool! So do you have enhanced senses? Like, can you hear and smell stuff really good? Do you only change at the full moon or can you do it whenever? I've read lots of werewolf books and they are all different."
Remus had the feeling that if he didn't stop the excited boy now the questions would never end. Holding up his hand to stop the rapid questions he smiled, relieved.
"Yes I have enhanced senses and no I cannot transform whenever I want," he answered. As he continued his voice grew somber. "I only transform at the full moon and it is only then that I am any danger to anyone. There is a potion, Wolfsbane, which allows me to keep my human mind so that I am less of a threat." Turning to Mal's parents he said, "I take every precaution to ensure the student's safety and I guarantee you your son will be in no danger from me." He studied them careful to see their reactions. Finally, Patrick spoke.
"Well of course you do. How would you teach otherwise," he said, confused. Remus gave a relieved smile.
"You should understand that in the wizarding world there is much prejudice against werewolves. Many believe us to all be mindless bloodthirsty beasts." This did not get the reaction he expected. Instead of staring openly at him, both parents turned to look worriedly at their son, who continued to stare at Remus. Finally, Mal tore his gaze away to look at his parents, a question in his eyes. Both adults looked at their son for several seconds, then at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation. Mal watched them intensely, as did Remus, who sat on the couch as if forgotten. Finally, Patrick shook his head and Angela, after a few seconds, nodded, relying on her husband's judgment. Looking back to Remus, she smiled, as if trying to dispel the tension in the room.
"Would you like some tea, Professor?" Lupin studied them for a moment more, noting the disappointed look in Mal's eyes.
"I'd love some, Angela," he finally said. "And please, call me Remus."
She went off to get the tea and Patrick cleared his throat.
"Well, I figure if you were any kind of threat to the students you wouldn't be teaching, so don't worry about any of that prejudice stuff from us," he said firmly, glancing meaningfully at his son.
"Right," said Mal, "anyone can see you're not a mindless beast." Remus smiled.
"Thank you. That means a lot." Turning to face Mal directly he said, "Now I bet you've got a few questions."
Mal nodded eagerly as his mom reentered the room, carrying a tray with four glasses of ice tea, a bowl with little yellow sugar packets, and other of lemon slices.
"Here we go," she said cheerily, setting the tray on the coffee table. Mal saw Remus trying to hide his confused look and grinned, holding in a laugh.
"Mom's from Texas," he said, as if that explained everything. At that Angela looked at Remus and smiled.
"I know it's not the custom here but I can't break my old Southern habits," she said. "I can heat up some water if you'd like hot tea, Remus."
"No, this is fine, Angela. I was just surprised," he said as he hesitantly reached for a glass. Mal grinned again, betting himself that the professor had never had ice tea in his life.
"It's good," he finally said, feeling sorry for the professor. "Just add some sugar and lemon, then stir it up. It's a lot better than something hot in the summer." Lupin smiled slightly and took a hesitant sip. His smile widened and he nodded.
"Quite good," he said. "Thank you, Angela." She smiled.
"Now, back to the topic at hand," turning to Mal he said, "You, Malachi, are a wizard." He paused here, waiting for the usual denial. When he didn't get it he went on, slightly confused. "Most young witches or wizards have incidents were, under stress or extreme emotions, there magic reacts instinctively. We call this accidental magic. Usually it's something like objects moving around or falling from high up without getting hurt or changing someone's hair color. Did anything like that ever happen?"
"No," Mal grinned, "Nothing like that," he stated simply, leaving Remus the distinct impression that something else had happened.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Not at this time." This time it was Patrick who spoke. He was watching Lupin closely, like he was trying to decide whether or not to trust him.
"Okay. I guess that's up to you. Well, when a magical child is born to non-magical parents, what we call muggles, they are automatically sent letters on their eleventh birthday. My job is to introduce you to the magical world and then to accompany you all to the wizarding shopping district in London—Diagon Alley—and help you purchase all of your supplies." He paused again, this time for breath. "Any questions?"
"How long will I go to Hogwarts?"
"Seven years."
"Is it a boarding school?"
"Yes. Term starts on September first, when the Hogwarts Express takes students from King's Cross Station to the station in Hogsmeade, a wizarding village near the castle." At that Malachi frowned a little and Remus assumed he was worried about being homesick. This next question threw him off guard a little.
"Is there a forest?" Mal asked it as if this was the deciding factor. Lupin, confused, looked to his parents. Patrick just took on a long-suffering look and shook his head slightly while Angela laughed softly.
"Um…yes," Lupin replied. "But it is dangerous and off limits to students."
"Why?"
"Because there are dangerous creatures in there."
"Like what? Magical creatures?"
"Yes. There are centaurs, hippogriffs, unicorns, threstles, and many others."
"Wicked," was Mal's one word response. Then he turned excitedly to his parents. "Mom, Dad, do you think I could tra…"
"Malachi," Patrick cut in sternly, looking pointedly at his son, then at Remus, then back.
"Oh…sorry." Lupin was now utterly confused. They were hiding something, that much was obvious. With some muggleborns, the parents tried to hide the magic, scared or ashamed, but the child almost always convinced them. This was different. They had accepted magic and Hogwarts and even that their only son was a wizard. So what were they hiding? To make matters worse Moony had caught sent of some animal or creature that he was unfamiliar with and the wolf wanted to investigate. He was more docile after the full moon, but still a wolf and wolves are curious. It was making it difficult for Lupin to concentrate. Mal was once again watching him closely, like he knew what was going on. Suddenly he looked to his parents and said confidently, "He can smell me."