Remus Lupin
Thursday, 2nd September 1971.
Hogwarts
"Rise and shine!", James yelled.
Remus could barely open his eyes, still exhausted from yesterday's events and due to the full moon getting nearer by the second. Not even bothering to respond, he tucked himself further into the duvet, draping it over his head.
"James, its 6 in the morning...", he heard Peter complain.
"You, personally, told me to never let you sleep in again Pete, so wake up! We have a lot of things to do today.", you could literally hear the smile in his voice. It made Remus feeling sick at the thought of someone being so energetic and positive this early.
There was the sound of curtains being pulled open, presumably from Peter's bed and by force. You could hear the little boy complaining as he closed the bathroom door.
Unfortunately, James decided that Remus will be next, "Remus! Come on! It's a new day! We have to explore our new home! Dumbledore said yesterday there will be no classes."
The overly excited steps were inching closer and closer to his little paradise of warmth. There was, again, the horrifying sound of the curtains being forced open before Remus felt James yanking away his duvet. This resulted in him being brutally attacked by morning rays of sunshine.
Trying to hide from the overly bright light, he turned around burying his head back into the duvet, "Leave me alone, you prick.", Remus barely managed to utter. Perhaps this was the first downside of having friends.
The boy just whined tugging again at the duvet, "Come on guys, this is our first breakfast at Hogwarts. We don't want to be late. Sirius! You as well!"
Finally feeling like he wasn't the target anymore, Remus pulled down the duvet realizing that the yelling boy was kind of right. This is their first day, plus there are no classes. His gaze followed James who neared Sirius' bed and, in the same fashion, yanked the curtains open revealing the curly haired boy.
"Come on, princess. We have work to do."
Sirius made an attempt similar to Remus', he turned around burying his head back to the pillows, "Ugh... if you weren't that stupid you would know that princess' need their beauty sleep.", the boy grunted.
This made all of them laugh except Sirius.
Remus watched the boy prop himself on elbows still with eyes closed. He had very nice hair. Remus wished that his hair looked like that the moment he wakes up. The black curls were effortlessly falling down his temples, framing Sirius' face. Suddenly, like he felt Remus watching, grey eyes locked with amber. Embarrassed, Remus immediately diverted his gaze, attempting to pretend that he was just looking around the room, but he could still feel the other boy watching him.
In the end, James managed to make all of them get up. They got ready and started the journey towards the Great Hall.
To Remus, this was still some kind of dream. He really was walking in the corridors of the Hogwarts castle, not only that, he was walking with his new friends. The fear that he was going to wake up from this beautiful dream never seemed to leave.
Once they passed the same knight armor for the third time, James stopped in his tracks, "Guys, I think we are lost".
Sirius rolled his eyes and with a playful tone bumped James' shoulder, "First you drag us out of bed at six in the morning when we don't even have classes to go to breakfast and now you don't even know how to get to breakfast?"
Pushing his glasses up his nose, James laughed, "Well, it's not my fault that this castle is so massive and that each corridor is identical."
Peter gestured around them with his hands, "Guys, let's just ask one of the portraits."
Remus watched as James bumped fists with the smaller boy and turn to one of the portraits, "Yes, smart one Pete. Excuse me, do you maybe know the way to the Great Hall?"
James was asking the portrait of an old witch dressed for some kind of formal event. She was sitting at the dining table probably having dinner.
When she registered that the boy was talking to her, she looked at him with disgust, "You are meaning to tell me that you have made it to Hogwarts, but you don't even know how to orientate yourself? The standards have really fallen throughout the years.", she huffed.
Sirius stepped beside James, putting on a fake smile and even taking a slight bow, "Excuse my friend, it is our first day here madam, I am sorry for interrupting you during dinner, but can you please help us?", Remus saw that he was trying to manipulate the portrait with his impeccable manners.
Although the manipulation would have worked on Remus, the portrait seemed to have a different opinion, "Sorry? You are sorry!? Where is your respect! I can't even eat this food and you dare mention that I am supposed to be dining!? Go away you wicked children! They should have invented a map for dense students like yourselves!", she screamed at them.
"Charming, this one.", Sirius said as they turned away from the screaming portrait. They walked for about five more minutes when they finally saw a familiar face, the blonde boy from yesterday.
"Hey! Anthony! Wait up!", James yelled after the prefect.
The boy turned around and when he recognized them, started walking towards them as well, "Hi guys, having fun on the first day?"
"We would be if we knew how to get to breakfast.", James said with pleading eyes.
Anthony waved a hand at them, "Oh, don't worry, its normal for first years to get lost. Here on the right is Grand Staircase. Go down the stairs until you see the first corridor on the right, that is the entrance for the Reception Hall. From there you will manage easily.", he informed them and continued his way like his instructions weren't the most impressive thing Remus had heard all day.
The boys watched him go in awe.
Sirius was the first one to break the silence, "What the hell was that and how do we remember it?"
Peter just shrugged, "Maybe we do need a map."
Still looking at the end of the corridor Anthony just disappeared from, Remus nodded a bit dazed, "Yeah, maybe you're right."
* * *
It took them about 20 minutes but, in the end, they did manage to get to the Great Hall and eat some breakfast. Remus was fascinated with the selection of food. There was everything from boiled eggs and toast to porridge, from pancakes to fruits and vegetables...
All of them stuffed their plates and started eating. James got the eggs and bacon along with some vegetables, Peter got pancakes with honey while Remus and Sirius both got porridge with fruit. Still laughing at their inability to navigate the massive castle and having to ask the painting for help, Sirius started telling them a story about his family's portraits back home.
The enjoyment was short-lived when they heard a voice from behind them, "Khm-khm."
The four of them looked up from the table and saw the witch from yesterday's Sorting Ceremony, Peter still with the fork in the air.
"Good morning.", they all said the same time, a bit awkwardly.
The witch nodded, "Good morning gentlemen. These are your schedules for the rest of the year, I advise you to study them carefully. We don't want anyone being late for the classes tomorrow.", she handed a schedule to each of them, but then she turned to look only at Remus, "Mr. Lupin, I'd like to have a chat with you in my office after you finish breakfast."
Remus swallowed thickly, "Yes, Ma'am", there was a hint of panic to his voice. Maybe they changed their minds about him? Surely, that couldn't be true, could it? He even made friends, he can't go back home now. But at the end of the day, he is dangerous so he wouldn't blame them if they decided that he should leave. He should be thankful he even got to have one breakfast here.
The witch nodded again and went her way.
Immediately, everyone's attention was on him, with James being the first to ask the question floating between them, "What's that about, mate?"
"No idea.", Remus shrugged and returned his gaze to the porridge, being afraid the boys will somehow know that he lied. He already hated lying to his new friends, but what choice did he have.
Still looking directly at him, Sirius poured him a glass of water, "Do you want us to walk you there?"
At that, James huffed jokingly, breaking the tense atmosphere that fell over the table, "Like you would know where there even is. We don't even know her name."
Peter sighed pointing at the schedules, "It says it on here, idiots."
It really did, on the top right were small letters spelling Professor Minevra McGonagall, head of the Gryffindor House.
Sirius looked at it for a bit, examining the letters, "Wow, cool name."
James facepalmed himself, "Either way, we'll find her office. It can't be that difficult."
* * *
It was in fact, that difficult. With every step the portrait from that morning seemed to be more correct about them, they really were terrible at orientation. Peter was starting to significantly slow down before acknowledging their inability to remember directions, "It looks like the dinning witch had a point after all."
Even James looked disappointed in them, "I don't think that's her name, but I agree."
Remus was tired from all the walking and the full moon being in three days didn't help the matter. Like a light at the end of the tunnel, his eyes caught on the statue with the name One-Eyed-Witch, "No, I think I know where we are. We passed that statue when we exited the third floor corridor this morning and on the schedules it said that the head of house office was on the first floor. We just need to go down two floors and we will get to the first floor again."
He saw Sirius jump from happiness, "Yeah! You're right Remus! I just don't know how we even managed to climb up three floors without even noticing, but great job.", he patted Remus on the back.
So, with that plan in mind, the four boys continued their search. After another 10 minutes and Merlin knows how many steps, they were finally standing outside a big wooden door with the golden plaque. On the plaque was engraved:
Minevra McGonagall
Head of the Gryffindor House
James patted him on the back, "Well, good luck, mate. We'll wait for you in the common room if we manage to find it and after you're finished, we can go explore the grounds a bit.", his statement was accompanied with the groaning sounds from all the other boys.
As Remus was left alone in the corridor, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door, ready to face his fears.
"Come in.", the voice came from the inside of the room, so he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The room was oval with the big desk in the middle accompanied with two little cushion chairs. Big arched windows, similar to those in the common room, were bringing the light to the place. There were a lot of bookcases filled to the brim. Some bore old dusty looking books, while others bore new ones.
His attention was brought back to the professor as she addressed him, "Good to see you again, Mr. Lupin. Please, take a seat.", the witch didn't lift her gaze from the stack of parchment in front of her, but she gestured him to one of the chairs with a single nod.
Taking a big gulp, he nodded politely, "Hello, professor.", you could hear the nervous tone in his voice as he took the seat. She didn't even look at him, maybe she hates him? His friends don't hate him so why would she? Although, they don't know about his lycanthropy. Would they still be friends with him if they knew? Did Remus even deserve to have friends with his problem? Was it wrong to—
The witch finally lifted her gaze to look at him, "No need for panic, Mr. Lupin. We are here only to discuss the way in which we will be dealing with your problem."
"Oh... okay, thank you.", the heavy stone was lifted from his chest with that sentence, along with his eyes shrinking in size.
She put her quill on the side and intertwined her fingers on top of the wooden table, "I know professor Dumbledore had already told you and your parents everything, but we have to discuss some details now that you are actually here. I assume you have seen the hospital wing by now?"
Needless to say, Remus hasn't. He barely made it to breakfast.
"Yes, of course."
The professor seemed satisfied with his answer, "Good. On the day of the full moon, you are expected to be there at 6pm sharp. You will meet with Madam Pomfrey, our healer, and together the two of you will make your way over the school grounds towards the Whomping Willow. The tree is located just a bit further from the Greenhouses. Then you will take the secret passageway together towards the shack near the village. There, she will leave you be to transform."
He listened to the witch carefully, absorbing every word. So far, everything sounded good to Remus. He wondered what Madam Pomfrey is like and how they will actually get to the passageway. McGonagall continued:
"After the full moon Madam Pomfrey will come back to the shack to aid to your injuries. Together you will make your way back to the hospital wing where she will determine the rest of the healing process. Of course, if the transformation is a bit harsher, you will be excused from classes that day."
When she finished, Remus felt relived. It was everything he expected and even more. He will even have the time to rest. A bright smile made its way on his face, "Thank you so much professor."
Remus saw the corners of her mouth were quirking a bit upward, but she still tried to keep her serious expression, "No need to thank me, Mr. Lupin. You may go now. I think your friends are waiting for you."
Yes, he thought, my friends.
All the panic he had after breakfast deflated in an instant. He hurried to meet with others again, still bearing a big, bright smile.
Remus got to the portrait of the Fat Lady and said "Snidget". With that, the portrait reveled the beautiful Gryffindor common room. It was now full of students, but he was looking for specific three boys who were sitting on one of the couches.
As they saw him, James immediately gestured for him to sit beside them while the other two grinned, which warmed Remus' heart. To him this was some kind of a sign that they did like his company and that they weren't just nice to him because they had to be for the sake of their dorm.
"Hey there, that was short. What did she want?", Sirius was the first to question as Remus sat between him and Peter.
Foolishly, he didn't think of an excuse. His brain was so occupied with all the relief that Remus completely forgot to come up with something, "Oh... something about... my owl. Yeah, she went missing yesterday, but they found her.", he knew that was the worst lie of all time, but after all of the stress from breakfast he could hardly blame himself.
Sirius quirked an eyebrow at him, "Your owl went missing?", he didn't sound very convinced.
Even Peter was looking at him questioningly, "How did it go missing? They don't do that, mom told me that owls aren't released to be sold before a lot of training and testing."
Remus mentally facepalmed himself for forgetting that Peter's mother is literally an owl trainer, "Yeah, they lost her cage yesterday after the train ride, she didn't just fly on her own.", he made another poor attempt at clearing his name.
At least James seemed satisfied enough with his excuse, "Great, they found it, that's what matters. Now come on you lot, let's go explore the grounds!", thank Merlin for the oblivious James Potter.