Chapter 6: Professor Lupin

Harry was so excited that he barely slept during his first night at Hogwarts. He was pleased to be sharing a dormitory with his new friends Ron and Neville, as well as two other first year Gryffindor boys named Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. The five of them had stayed up much later than they should have, and despite how tired he now was for his first day of classes, Harry regretted nothing.

Their first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lupin's class, which Harry couldn't have been happier about.

"I can't believe you already know Professor Lupin!" said Ron.

"Do you think he'll give you better grades just because he knows you?" asked Hermione.

"Sirius really stressed that I should treat him like any other professor while I'm at school, I'm sure he said something similar to Rem- Professor Lupin," said Harry. "It's nice to already know one of the teachers, though. Makes class a little less intimidating."

The students all filed into their classroom and took their seats, and before long Professor Lupin made his appearance. He emerged from a door at the top of a staircase in the corner of the room and looked down over the railing at his pupils.

"Everyone up on your feet!" he exclaimed. The students looked around at each other to see if anyone was following this instruction, but nobody did. "Up! Everyone up!"

Finally, everyone decided that their professor was serious about his request and got up from their seats and stood beside their desks.

"Wands out, now!" This time Professor Lupin's orders were carried out more quickly. Harry pulled his wand out from the wand pocket that came standard in wizard's robes, his school uniform included. He was still amazed by the feeling of holding it in his hand, like he could practically feel little sparks of magic running down his arm and through his fingertips, ready to be channeled through his magical instrument like a reverse lightning rod.

Professor Lupin descended the stairs and stood at the head of the class, his own wand in hand. "If you learn one thing from my class this year, let it be this. One defensive spell that you're confident about and can perform well, even under pressure, is more valuable to you than a whole book of defensive spells that you kind of remember learning about in class that one time but haven't performed since."

Everyone's undivided attention was trained on their professor. It was easy to think of this as just another class they all took as part of their magical education, and another to remember that the things they learned in this class might just protect them from real danger one day.

"In this class you are going to learn defensive spells, but you will spend a great deal more time practicing those spells until you can perform them in your sleep. Though, I wouldn't recommend you do that, I don't want to hear about anyone sending their roommate to the hospital wing over a bad dream." This got a few chuckles. "Today we are going to learn the force spell, 'depulso.' This spell pushes an object away from its caster. It can be used to push away an enemy, allowing you time to get away, or to follow up with another spell. It can be used to push an object toward an enemy, knocking them over or blocking their path. Now, everyone watch my wand movements closely, and try it for yourself."

As the students practiced the wand movements for 'depulso,' Professor Lupin walked around the room, observing their progress and making corrections where needed. "Well done, Harry," he said with a wink as he walked past. Harry beamed. "Try putting a bit more energy into the movements, Mr. Longbottom." Neville attempted to comply, throwing off his balance a bit in the process. "Maybe not that much energy," Lupin said with a wink. When he was finally satisfied that everyone had the wand movements down, Professor Lupin returned to the front of the room.

"Well done, everyone! Well done. Now we add the incantation, and I'm going to ask that everyone puts their wands in their pockets for now while we practice." Lupin paused until this was done. "Now, repeat after me. Depulso!"

Lupin had the students repeat the incantation back to him a few times. Once he was satisfied with everyone's pronunciation, he told everyone to pair up so they could try the spell for themselves. Ron and Harry immediately partnered up, and Hermione partnered with Neville. Harry noticed that Malfoy was in their class as well, and had paired up with one of his fellow Slytherins. Lupin cleared the desks from the center of the room with a flick of his wand, and had the partners stand on either side of the room, facing each other.

"Now, keep your wands in your pockets until I tell you otherwise," Lupin warned. "We're going to do this one at a time."

They started with the pair closest to the front of the room and worked their way back. Most students needed a few tries, but ultimately were able to push their partner at least a bit off balance. Then Lupin got to Malfoy, who managed to push his partner onto his bum on the first go.

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy, is it?"

Malfoy smirked and looked around at his classmates as if daring them to mess with him. Nobody seemed interested in doing so.

"Alright there, Mr. Goyle?" Lupin asked Malfoy's partner as he helped the boy to his feet. Goyle merely nodded.

When Lupin got to Neville and Hermione, Neville needed quite a bit of help to even rustle the hem of Hermione's robes. Hermione, on the other hand, knocked poor Neville back without any issues. He fell to the ground and slid until he hit the wall behind him.

"An excellent cast by Ms. Granger!" exclaimed Lupin.

"Beginner's luck," Malfoy muttered.

Ron went next. Nothing happened with his first attempt but, after a minor correction from Professor Lupin, his next attempt knocked Harry off balance, forcing him to pinwheel his arms to keep from falling over.

Then it was Harry's turn. He was a bit nervous about casting his first spell, and wanting his old friend Remus to be proud of him. After taking a deep breath, he pointed his wand at Ron, focused on doing the wand movements the way Lupin had shown them, and clearly spoke the incantation.

"Depulso!" To Harry's surprise, Ron lifted a few inches off the ground as he flew backward and hit the wall, only to bounce off and be caught by Professor Lupin who helped to steady him as he recovered from his shock.

"Alright there, Mr. Weasley?" Ron nodded. "I always cast a rubber charm on the walls when we practice this spell," Lupin explained, demonstrating by pressing a hand into the wall, which squished around him as if it were made of a rubbery material. "It helps prevent injuries, but causes quite a bit of bounce." He turned to Harry as Ron regained his balance. "Well done, Harry, that's the way of it! Five points to Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindors in the room cheered while the Slytherins sulked.

All too soon, class was over and students began to file out of the classroom.

"Harry! A quick word, if you don't mind?" Lupin said as Harry was turning to leave.

"Of course… Professor Lupin," Harry said, remembering at the last minute not to call him 'Remus.' He told his friends he would catch up with them later and went to have a chat with his teacher.

"Permission to drop the teacher/student relationship for a moment?" Lupin asked.

Harry grinned. "I won't tell Sirius if you won't."

Lupin chuckled as he gave Harry a hug. "It's so good to finally have you here at Hogwarts, Harry. And a Gryffindor as well? I always knew you would be, of course."

"Thanks, Remus. And you're a really great professor . Lee told me you're one of the best teachers, it's easy to see why."

"Well that was very kind of Mr. Jordan to say." It was clear that the complement meant a lot to him. "I trust everything is going well with you so far?"

"Everything's been great except… There was this kind of weird thing that happened at the start of term feast."

"Oh?"

"I caught one of the professors at the faculty table glaring at me. Just for a moment, and then he looked away and I didn't see him do it again, but I don't think I imagined it."

Lupin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as if fighting off a headache. "Did this professor happen to have straight black hair?"

"Yeah, that was him. How did you know? He hasn't been talking about me, has he? I can't imagine that I've already done something to upset him, I've never even met the man."

"No, Harry, you've done nothing wrong. That was Professor Severus Snape, the potions master. He was in the same year as your parents, Sirius, and me when we were in school, but we didn't exactly get along with him. Your dad in particular. I certainly didn't expect him to take out old school grudges on you, but I can't say that I'm entirely shocked."

Harry, on the other hand, was shocked. "I've never heard of anyone not liking my dad. Everyone always told me what a great person he was."

"He was, Harry, one of the best men I've ever known. And come to think of it, you do remind me a lot of him, more and more the older you get. I can see how seeing you might bring back old memories, but that's no excuse for him to treat you badly."

"Why does he hate my dad so much?"

Lupin thought for a moment before answering. "I really ought not to get into it, the man is your teacher, after all. And it was all so long ago, besides. Personally, I think it all came down to jealousy. Of course James had a big group of friends to back him up on his side of the argument, looking back now I'm certain that Professor Snape felt ganged up on. I've apologized privately to him in hopes of a cordial professional relationship, and I've been led to believe we've achieved that. But if he's targeting you? Perhaps I ought to have a word with him."

"I don't want him to hate me more than he already does," Harry said quickly, worried that Lupin might accidentally make things worse. "Besides, maybe it was just the shock of seeing me for the first time. Everyone always says how much I look like my dad."

"Well you certainly do that," Lupin agreed, smiling at the memory of his late friend. "Alright, then, but if he gives you any trouble you let me know, okay? And Sirius has a right to know as well, especially if it becomes a habit."

Harry nodded. "I'll let you know if anything else happens."

"Good, be sure that you do. I'll be checking it with you about it from time to time. Now before you go, I do have a message to pass along to you." Lupin reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment paper. "It's from Professor Dumbledore."

Puzzled, Harry accepted the note from Lupin. "The headmaster? I haven't gotten myself into trouble already, have I?"

Lupin chuckled. "No, Harry, you're not in trouble. Read the note."

Slowly, Harry unfolded the note and began to read.

Dear Harry,

I know that we have not properly met, and so it may surprise you to learn that I have been keeping a secret from you for many years. Please forgive me for this, as I believe that I have good reason for doing so. If you come to disagree with my reasoning, please know that at least my intentions were good, and I've done the best I can with whatever information I had. Now that you have arrived at Hogwarts, it is time for all to be revealed. I request that you meet me in the Clock Tower Courtyard this evening after dinner. Come prepared to hear long-buried details about your parents, and the family the three of you built together.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Harry read the letter a couple more times before looking up at Lupin, who was waiting patiently for him to finish. "Do you know what this says?"

"I do. Professor Dumbledore wanted me to know what was going on. He thought you'd want some support."

Harry nodded but stayed silent for a moment, trying to let Dumbledore's words sink in. He'd been wondering for years about the unknown assassin who'd killed his parents. As far as he knew, nobody knew anything about the murderer's identity, or even a possible motive. Was he finally about to get answers? That was the last thing he ever expected to happen when he went away to school.

"Do you know the secret he's talking about?" Harry asked, his voice quiet.

Lupin nodded. "Some of it. Professor Dumbledore thought that you would be safer if certain things were kept a secret for a while. We'd just lost 2 of our best friends, nobody was about to do anything to risk losing you too."

"We? Sirius?"

"Sirius. Neither of us know as much as Dumbledore, but we trusted his judgment when he asked us to keep what we knew a secret for a while."

"Do you know who killed my parents?"

Lupin offered Harry his open arms, and Harry stepped into them. "No, I'm afraid I don't. I don't think anyone does, it's not as big as all that. I know this is a lot to take in for your first day of classes."

At that, Harry couldn't help but laugh. Lupin joined him and they pulled apart. "Don't worry too much over this, okay? Professor Dumbledore wanted to give you time to emotionally prepare for a conversation about your parents, is all. It's nothing to worry about. We'll talk soon."

Harry left to go and finish out his first day of classes, wondering how he was expected to concentrate on lessons when this huge secret was hanging over his head.