loup d'amour

I Got My Letter

  Renée and Remus had been awaiting their letter from Hogwarts for about two weeks now that they had both turned 11. Remus turning 11 about a week before Renée.
Ren and Rem were sitting on the front porch of the Lupin house hold when an owl flew in and landed a foot away from Rem. He looked at Ren knowing exactly what it was by the seal on the flap. He scrambled to his feet and pet the bird gently before grabbing the letter from it's beak. He quickly tore it open, there was a pause as he read the letter and then a shout of excitement as he told Renée he was in. He hugged her tight and spun her around. "Let's run to your's! Your letter is bound to have come in as well!!" The two ran hand in hand to the Moreau house hold. Sure enough, there was a letter sitting on the welcome mat with the same seal as the one Remus had just received. She too tore into the letter wanting nothing more than to know what it said. There was a pause and then Renée practically jumped into his arms yet again as she chanted that she too got in.

They were both going to Hogwart.

  The following week their mothers took them to Diagon Alley to gather the school supplies they would be needing in 2 weeks. Their mothers had a list and they wanted to stick to it in order to make afternoon tea.

List for Renée & Remus

1. Eeylops Owl Emporium

2. Flourish and Blotts

3. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions

4. Ollivander's

5. Potage's Cauldron Shop

"So, to Eeylops Owl Emporium first?" Renée said looking between the list and her mother. She nodded her head before Renée and Remus took off towards the shop. Both were scoping out the owls pointing out ones they liked to each other. After about 25 minutes Remus found his owl, a Northern Saw Whet Owl. But Renée couldn't decide between a rather large grey owl or a smaller tawny owl. "Rem, which owl better suits me?" She asked as she grabbed onto his arm. He tilted his head to the side, then began to look back and forth between her and the two owls. "I think the tawny owl suits you best." She put her hand out towards the owl and he nudged it lightly with his beak as if he were approving of her. She turned to her mother with a smile and the two purchased their owls.

  Soon they had their books and their robes. Now, they were off to Ollivander's to get their wands. Both Remus and Renée were beyond excited to see what kind of wand's they got. "Ah, Mister Remus Lupin. Welcome, welcome!! I presume you are here for your wand?" Remus nodded eagerly. "Alright then, let me see. Let me see." The old man hummed to himself as he went in search of a wand. "Ah ha! Try this one. 10 and 1/4ths of an inch, cypress wood, and unicorn hair." Ollivander handed the box to Remus and he carefully took the wand out admiring it before twirling it around and sparks shot out in elegant spirals. "Well, well, well, first try. I must say I do get better over the years!" Remus turned to Renée showing her his wand when Ollivander spoke again, "Ah! Miss Renée Moreau! I almost missed you behind Remus there!! I suppose you need a wand as well then?" Renée nodded shyly before stepping forward. Ollivander began humming again as he searched the shop, it took him a little longer than it did to find Remus' which worried Renée slightly but soon he came jogging back towards them with a box in hand. "12 and 3/4ths of an inch, yew wood, with a dragon heartstring core." Renée gingerly took the box from the older man's hands and opened it. She looked up at Ollivander and he gave her a nod. She whisked the wand around like she had done it a million times before and sparks danced across the store. Her face lit up and she turned to Remus. "We're really wizards now aren't we?" She beamed at him. "Yes, petit loup. We're really wizards now." He beamed right back at her. The last stop was Potage's Cauldron Shop in which they didn't really spend a lot of time. "Finally done, now we can make it back to the house before tea." Kendra said as she clapped her hands together looking towards Remus' mother who clapped with her. The two new wizards rolled their eyes and grabbed on to their mothers, they used an apparition spell to get home.

  Renée and Remus laid around for the next two weeks, the excitement of school was just too much for them to do anything else. They daydreamed of what it would be like and what house they'd be in. "I bet we'll be in Gryffindor, maybe Ravenclaw, but I hope Gryffindor." Renée spoke from her spot in the window seal. Remus lifted his head off her pillow and spoke from his place on her bed. "Ren, what house were your parents in?" Renée hadn't wanted to think about it but she decided that Remus was right, even though he didn't know it, she needed to think about it. Her father was Gryffindor, through and through. But her mother, her mother was Slytherin. She hadn't realized in her youth how much her mother had pressed her to become a Slytherin and how she would tease Renée's father for being a Gryffindor. He never said much about it, he was too in love with her to do so. It was odd, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin that much Renée knew was true. She also knew that based on the past few years that she would be a disappointment to her mother if she wasn't a Slytherin. 'Keep your lip in. Slytherin's don't pout, Renée.' or 'My daughter is bright, yes. But she'll be a Slytherin without a doubt.' and Renée's least favorite, 'Renée, dear, Slytherin blood courses through your veins. Do not waste it.' Renée had always thought her mother to be a kind soul and not a dark one. But the more she remembered her mother's words the more she began to realize that her mother was not the woman she thought she was. She was something else, something Renée did not like. Something she did not want to become. "Ren?" Remus called to his best friend as he took a seat beside her. She was so lost in thought that she never saw him get up. "My father was a Gryffindor. Brave and strong willed. When I was younger, I told him I wanted to give up my art lessons he looked me in the eyes and told me that if that is what I wanted, I could give up. But he knew that if I pushed myself and believed in myself I could do it." Renée paused and sighed, remembering her father's gentle smile and kind words. "My mother was a Slytherin. When I told her I wanted to quit piano lessons she told me that Slytherin's never quite and if I didn't practice I would never be the best. I always knew that Gryffindor's and Slytherin's didn't mix, I just never realized how much. I also never thought about how evil and twisted my mother is until the past few years. I always thought that she didn't care about that stuff, all the pureblood and Slytherin House or die nonsense. But as I've gotten older, I remember more. I remember the things she says to me. The way she scoffs when she meets muggleborns or half-bloods. The way she smiles and glistens when she meets purebloods. It's horrendous, Rem." She leaned into his shoulder as a few tears trailed down her cheeks. "Don't worry, petit loup. I'll be there every step of the way. And if you don't get into Slytherin we'll see what your mother does then and go from there. No sense in worrying about the future."
Renée lifted her head and smiled, "On a more upbeat note, you keep calling me 'petit loup' like my mother used to when I was younger. But you don't have a nickname." He chuckled at her, "Do I need a nickname? You call me 'Rem' is that not enough?" Renée gasped in faux shock, "Rem, is just a shortened version of your given name. I could argue that Ren was enough of a nickname too." She pointed a finger at Remus. "Okay fine. Give me a nickname then, petit loup." He said as he sat up straight and looked at Renée. She looked deep in thought with her finger on her chin. "I've got it! Moony! You know because of the...situation." She said before playing with her fingers, she knew it was a sore subject but she really did like the nickname. Remus grabbed her hands so she would stop picking at her fingernails, "I like it. Moony and Loup." She smiled up at him before laying her head in his lap as he played with her hair. Soon they'd be on their way to Hogwarts and there was nothing Remus wanted more than to be learning all that he could with his best friend by his side.