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harbourstarwilling-blog · 7 years ago

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The Marauders and the Hollow Hill: Dumbledore’s Plan (4)

Remus didn't want to put his book away. As the train whistled and shrieked louder than ever, found that his stomach was twisting with nervousness. His shoulder seemed to agree with the pang - his shoulder ached - but then again, his shoulder always ached.

He was tempted to pull down his shirt and glance at it, hoping halfheartedly that he would see nothing there, just smooth skin, like there should be. But he knew there wasn't. His left shoulder was practically mauled; three deep gashes right down to the bone, torn flesh and popping veins. It seemed to bleed regularly - once a month. At the full moon.

Remus frowned as his shoulder twinged a bit more. It always seemed to when he was nervous.

Sirius, meanwhile, was staring out the window, a combination of eagerness and edginess etched on his face. "We'd better get our robes on," he said, his lips pursing. "Ah. I've gone and left mine in the other compartment."

"Mine's in my trunk - in the middle of the corridor," James muttered, almost embarrassed.

Remus heard himself laugh. "How'd you do that?"

"It was Sirius's fault!" James prompted.

"Was not!"

"I'll change here," Remus said quickly, trying to look as casual as he could. But Sirius and James just shrugged and wished him farewell as they left the compartment, slamming the door shut firmly behind him. Remus watched them leave, then practically collapsed, sighing with relief. He was glad he had been acquainted with some of the boys in his year, he really was, but... it scared him that they had been so friendly. Shouldn't they be frightened of him, shouldn't they shrink back with fear?

They don't know, Remus thought sadly. And he couldn't let them know. Not ever.

Slowly, he got to his feet, hissing with pain as he rolled his sore shoulder. It wasn't agreeing with him, not like it ever did. It ached and burned, feeling as it always did - like it was going to fall off. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to examine the windows of the compartment facing the hall. Thank God they had shades. He yanked them down with unnecessary force, causing them to snap and fall to the floor; he repaired them with a wave of his wand. To be honest, he felt odd, having to wave a wooden stick in order to do magic. Remus had grown up around magic, of course, but his father refused to use his wand, as they were living like Muggles. Remus, however had used "extraordinary magic," Dumbledore had said, well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level since he was three. Both wandless and non-verbally. Dumbledore was very impressed.

"Wonderful!" he remembered Dumbledore exclaiming, watching as Remus lit his father's cigarette from across the room. "But of course, once you know the incantation, the spell will be stronger, you know..."

Remus, in turn, was very impressed by Dumbledore. He had come all the way from... wherever he came from, just to see Remus and personally give him his Hogwarts letter! Remus recalled flushing with pride. He had felt like he was meeting a celebrity.

"Well, I am on a Chocolate Frog card..." Dumbledore had started, winking.

Remus turned round now, tugging his robes out of his duffel bag. They were remarkably shabby and ancient; his parents hadn't bothered to hide the fact that they couldn't afford new ones. But Remus was honored to wear these to Hogwarts. They had been his father's when he had gone to school there. But he had been bigger than Remus was. And by a lot, Remus thought as he pulled on the robes. Yes, he had been about the same height, because length wasn't a problem. The sleeves, however... They hung about two inches below his hand - he had to roll them up three times. But Remus wasn't bothered much by this. After all, they hid the scars and cuts crossing over his wrists and hands.

There wasn't a mirror in the the compartment, and Remus was grateful. He hated looking at his reflection. His mother always told him what a handsome little boy he was, but he never had believed her. His blonde hair, always scruffy and rumpled, hung in misshapen curls around his face, and his face was just as scarred as his hands - perhaps worse. There were long, unhealed scratches that rode along his cheekbones, which stood out unnaturally far. And his eyes - to him, at least - were the worst of all. They were the features he despised, because they... in a way... revealed him...

They were abnormally large, and grey, a deep grey. His mother always said that she saw bits of blue in them. But flecks of bright amber stood out in them, not noticeable at first. But as the day of the full moon approached...

Remus shoved his Muggle clothes back into his bag and strode out of the compartment, trying not to wince as his shoulder twinged. The last full moon had been his worst yet...

Screaming. Scratching. Heavy thuds and bangs. Howls. Blood.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

He kept his head down as he passed the other compartments, as he didn't want to draw attention to himself. He didn't want anyone to look at him, he didn't want anyone to come near him. If they were smart, they would know already, the symptoms were too obvious. September 1st was only a week after the full moon, and Remus was still struggling to recover from the torturous night, shackled to a cabinet, all alone in a tiny, dug-out basement.

He shuddered just thinking about it.

The train screamed again, its whistle shrieking like an irritated banshee. Hastily, Remus left the Hogwarts Express, the scarlet, smoke-bellowing steam engine. But he had entered, quite unknowingly, into a large pod of very confused first years. They clumped together, practically frozen, staring up at the other students leaving the train, leaving the platform -

"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!"

A giant of a man was standing a few feet away from Remus, with a wild matted mane of dark hair and bright, beetle-black eyes under bushy brown eyebrows. From the looks of it, he seemed to wear a huge, weather-beaten old coat, and carried a lantern about as big as Remus. Some girls standing behind Remus squealed with fright. The man just chuckled. "No need ter be frightened!" he laughed. "I'm Hagrid - Keeper o' Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts. Now you'll want ter follow me - we'll be leavin' for the boats in a few..." His voice faded as he pulled out a rusty pocket-watch that was more square than it was round. "That's them! Let's go," Hagrid declared, and, raising the lantern a bit higher, descended from the platform and headed towards what looked like a dock. The first years obeyed, but ruefully. For a moment, there was just the sound of robes swishing through grass and wind whistling through hair. Then the almost haunting noise of water lapping the shore...

"Aright, head in, no more than four to a boat!" Hagrid bellowed; the first years jumped and swarmed the rickety old boats tied up beside the dock. Remus glanced around nervously for a nearly-empty boat, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius and James already seated in one, beckoning. Well, James was flailing more than beckoning, but still.

Suddenly, he felt a hand slap his shoulder - a hand the size of a dustbin lid. Remus almost fell over. Startled, he turned round to see Hagrid standing there, somehow managing to look both fascinated and concerned at the same time. "Yer Remus, aren't ya?" he asked, in an unusually gentle voice.

"Y-yes," Remus squeaked, staring up at him. True, he was very large and rather intimidating, but there was a flicker of kindness in his beetle-black eyes.

"I've heard 'bout ya."

Remus nearly choked on his own tongue.

How did he know? How could he possibly know? Remus tried to relax himself. He hid his panicked expression with a mask of calm. "What?" His voice was still shaky.

"I know what ya are."

Oh, no. Oh, no. Here it comes, Remus thought, with the all-too familiar feeling of oncoming dread. This giant of a man had discovered his secret. Now Remus was going to be forced to leave the school no doubt... his mother would be so disappointed... she had believed he'd finally found a place where he could learn and make friends... at Hogwarts...

This had to be a new record. Hagrid had found out his secret in five seconds flat.

Remus felt himself sag with disappointment. "I'll go now," he muttered, turning round against the sea of first-years. Behind him, Hagrid made a strange sound in his throat as he whipped Remus around again, almost sending him straight into the water.

"Hold on ther'! Yer not goin'! I just... well-" Hagrid paused awkwardly, then said hurriedly, "If yer ever are lonely, ya know, feel free to come on down and have a cup 'o tea."

As Hagrid turned away, Remus frowned at his retreating back. So... he wasn't going to be sent away? But... he knew! Hagrid knew!

The whole staff must know, Remus thought painfully, and something like fear jumped in the pit of his stomach. But the man... he didn't seem to be scared of Remus at all. It was almost like he was pleased. In fact, when he had just invited Remus to tea... there was something like understanding in his voice.

"Come on, budge up, make a space!" Hagrid bellowed at some frightened-looking first years, who quickly cleared a path for him as he made his way towards his own boat. Remus, surprisingly, found himself smiling after him.

At that moment, someone smashed into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. The dock, scratched and wooden as it was, scraped Remus's hands even worse. He winced as he felt new wounds rip the old ones open, blood slowly running down between his fingers.

"Move it, runt!" A thick-necked, muscley boy sneered. He and his cronies, each one just as big as he was (or bigger), pushed themselves forwards, shoving other first-years out of the way. No one stood up to them - that is, until they came face to face with a very short girl with thick red hair and bright green, almond-shaped eyes. Even from his place on the ground, Remus could see that freckles dotted her thin face. He recognized her... she was the girl who had been crying in his, James, and Sirius's compartment.

The girl didn't move. A stubborn look of resilience was on her face; it didn't twitch a bit. The girl behind her, however, looked very frightened. She tugged on the girl's arm, her straight brown hair flapping limply around her face. "Leave him be, Lily, he's not worth it!" she cried desperately. But the red-haired girl stood her ground.

The boy who had pushed Remus over (obviously the leader) got a sick, twisted smile on his face that made Remus's stomach turn. "Look lads, here's a catch!" he laughed, flicking a stray hair out of Lily's face, leaning in close. Immediately, Lily shrieked and did the first thing that came to mind - she slapped him. He was sent flying backwards.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed. The boy snarled - his hand went into his robes for his wand and brandished at Lily. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then -

"Flipendo!" he shouted. There was a loud bang, and all of a sudden, Lily was gone, and there was a loud splash. It all happened in seconds - Lily had fallen into the lake.

"LILY!" The boy with greasy-hair and a hooked nose (Snivellus? Er... Severus) dashed to the edge of the dock, peering down into the depths. James, Remus could hear, wasn't worried at all. In fact, he was laughing.

"What's the matter, Snivellus?" James called loudly. "Have you lost your girlfriend?"

"I expect she's gone to go out with the giant squid - I would, rather than go out with you," hollered Sirius, roaring with laughter.

Wiping his bloodied hands on his robes, Remus pushed himself to his feet and went to stand beside Severus, who was staring down at the water anxiously.

"What do you want?" Severus murmured angrily; he sounded both furious and panicky.

Remus was silent for a moment. But suddenly, someone spoke on the other side of Remus.

"Er... isn't someone going to go get her?"

Remus turned. A second boy was standing off to his left, staring up at Remus expectedly. He was wider than Remus, and about a head shorter, but his small, watery eyes were wide and eager, in a way.

Severus heard him. Embarrassed, he lowered his head and muttered something about not being able to swim. Remus ogled him. "You can't swim?" He was honestly surprised. Even his parents had managed to find time to teach Remus how to swim; he remembered being confused and asking his mother why it was so important.

"It's an essential part of childhood!" she had replied playfully, slapping him with a dish towel. That had been one of the better years. They didn't have to move away for the best part of six months.

The boy on Remus's left ran a hand through his thick pale hair. "I can't swim either," he said pointedly.

By now, Severus was practically hopping up and down. "Someone has to get her, she's going to drown!" he screamed.

Finally, Hagrid glanced over at them. "What's goin' on here?" he grumbled, lumbering towards them.

"Lily's fallen in the lake - " Severus started.

"I'm getting her, sir," Remus heard himself state. Calmly, he pulled off of his robes, still wearing his loose white T-shirt and brown slacks underneath. He stepped out of his worn but warm sneakers - the cold wind ruffled his hair and bit his nose, causing his arms to erupt with goosebumps.

Severus eyed the scars on Remus's arms warily. "What happened?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing.

Thankfully, Remus was used to people asking about his scars, that is, if they ever saw them. "I have a cat," he said convincingly, and with that, dived straight into the lake.

He regretted it the moment he'd done it. The water was absolutely freezing - his hands and feet were completely numb. He couldn't even feel his own face. The blood in his veins seemed to have turned to ice.

Focus! Remus told himself firmly. He had to find Lily, and fast. He didn't have much time; either he would run out of air, or she would. He suspected the latter, as she had been underwater longer than he had. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

But Remus was in luck. Far, far below, he noticed a flash of red hair. It was her! But she was very pale, she wasn't moving, and her lips were blue. She floated lifelessly, her eyes closed and her mouth slack.

She was unconscious. That was never good. Furtively, he swam towards her and seized both her arms, dragging her behind him in a tow. As quickly as he could, Remus turned towards the surface of the lake and paddled upwards. At first, he had thought that this would be much slowly, as he was not able to use his hands because he was carrying Lily, but in fact, Remus found himself swimming faster than he normally would've been able. Bemused, he turned to look behind him, and was startled to see a huge, sucker-covered tentacle gently pushing Lily and Remus forwards, moving them along. Remus had heard rumors of a giant squid in the lake near Hogwarts, but he would have never believed it to be true…

Splash! He broke the water's surface, panting and choking and gasping for air. Lily, however, remained limp and lifeless, like a rag doll.

"Get outta the way!" roared Hagrid, who had seemed to take charge at last. One-armed, he tugged Remus and Lily out of the way. While Remus tumbled clumsily onto the dock, Severus hurried forwards.

"Will she be alright?" he yelled anxiously. Nearby, James and Sirius sniggered.

Hagrid didn't answer; he merely reached inside his moleskin coat and whipped out a large pink umbrella - he pointed it at Lily - she coughed - water came gushing out of her mouth -

"LILY!" Severus leapt forwards, rushing to her side. "Lily! Lily, are you alright?" Remus watched as Lily furtively flushed a bright pink, obviously embarrassed. But she clutched Severus's arm for support as she struggled to stand.

Hagrid, meanwhile, glared angrily at the boy who had jinxed Lily. "And I'll report ya later," he was saying. "I'll make sure to have a word with yer Head o' House once yer Sorted." At this, the boy's stubborn expression flickered; Remus chuckled a little as he reached down to retrieve his robes. No doubt the boy was frightened about the Sorting. He had probably heard that each first year had to battle a mountain troll in order to be Sorted. But Remus knew better. Dumbledore and his father had filled him in.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, right on the place where he had been bitten. Instinctively, he jerked away, almost falling over, only to see the girl with the red hair standing there with wide eyes. Now she was wrapped in Hagrid's jacket, looking very small in the oversized coat. She was frowning slightly, staring down at Remus with those big green eyes.

Remus might've thought she was pretty if he wasn't so scared. "What?" he asked. His shoulder burned.

To Remus's surprise, her frown melted right off her face. "Thanks," she murmured, her gaze dropping. "For saving me, I mean."

Remus laughed a bit and stooped down to pick up his robes. "That's alright. It's these robes, isn't it? They're so heavy; it's impossible to swim in them, am I right?"

It took her a moment to realize that he was sparing her from embarrassment. "Oh…" She took on a serious expression. "Yes. Well."

"Yes," Remus repeated, lips pursed.

"Yes," she said again, trying her best to keep a straight face. Then, at the exact same time, they burst out laughing - she looked quite strange, flapping her arms in the too-long sleeves of Hagrid's moleskin coat. She smiled at him, extending a freckled hand. "I'm Lily. Lily Evans."

He saw himself grasp her hand and shake it warmly. "Hullo, Lily. I'm Remus."

"Remus what?" she asked jokingly.

"Lupin," he said, grinning. He noticed how small her freckled hand was in his pale, scarred one.

Just then, he heard James shout nearby. "Oy, Remus! Are you coming over here, or are you going to get married?"

Remus noticed Lily wrinkle her nose and depart for a separate boat with Severus while Remus headed over to Sirius and James; James's glasses were broken and Sirius had obviously been hit with a Tickling Charm. He was bent over, shoulders shaking with laughter.

Remus came over. "What happened."

"What happened?" James asked angrily, fingering his broken glasses. "Sirius is a prat, that's what."

"Finite," Remus muttered with a wave of his wand, pointing it at Sirius. He ran a hand wearily through his hair. "Something tells me I'm going to regret being friends with you two."

Sirius sat upright, grinning like a crazy person. "Nah," he said convincingly, flicking his dark hair out of his eyes. "Come on, get in, we'll be leaving in a second."

Remus stumbled into the boat and seated himself between James and Sirius ("So you won't kill each other," he told them.). It was hard to believe that the boats were magical; they were extremely rickety and looked like they might fall apart any second.

"Excuse me," someone murmured behind them. "Is there any - I mean, could I sit with you?" A boy stood there, the same boy who had spoken to Remus earlier. Quite short. Pale, blonde hair. Small watery eyes.

Remus smiled. "Sure." He watched as the boy clambered into the boat with them. "What's your name?"

"Peter," the boy said, returning Remus's smile. "Peter Pettigrew. Yours?"

James grabbed Peter's hand and shook it with both of his. "Pleasure to meet you, good sir. My name, which is much better than yours, by the way, is Sirius, after one of the stars in the noble constellation Canis Major-"

"I don't sound like that!" Sirius yelled, roughly shoving James, who was still talking.

"... and, if I might add, is the most admired constellation in the entire universe-"

Peter glanced at Remus. "Are they always like this?" he asked unnecessarily.

"Yes," Remus groaned.

Peter's grin widened, and he laughed a little. "Then we'll have to put up with them together, won't we? At least, for the time being."

Remus laughed too, a bit unnerved that everyone was being so friendly. But, as Peter had said before, he could enjoy himself… for the time being…

"I'm Remus," he said with an air of finality. "That's James, and he's Sirius, if you haven't figured that out already."

Peter smiled, Sirius grinned, and James chuckled. Remus leaned back, resting his hands on his knees. Perhaps this friendship would last longer than customary - for him, at least…

Hogwarts loomed over them. To Remus it seemed quite solitary, a huge, dark thing hidden in a shimmering cloud of mist, almost like it was waiting to be discovered. But despite looking cold and gloomy, the small windows and holes dotted around the castle's pointed towers glowed cheerfully, welcoming them to the magical school.

Remus had a sudden thought. I belong here.

Sirius, meanwhile, was complaining.

"I'm freezing," he muttered, folding his arms over his chest. "Could do with a hot water bottle right now, eh?"

Remus turned to him. "At least you didn't fall in the lake," he replied, just then realizing how cold he was. His teeth were chattering.

Peter grinned at him. "Blimey, looks like you just swallowed a whole box full of Ice Mice! Don't worry-" he added hastily, after seeing Remus's unamused expression. "I'm sure someone will dry you off before the Sorting."

They were interrupted by a loud knocking; Hagrid was pounding on a great door at least four times taller than he was. He banged three times on the huge oak door, and on the third time, it opened. A tall, severe-looking witch stood there, with spectacles perched on her nose and a black pointed hat sitting atop her head. "Yes, come in," she said, and the first years trickled inside, gazing around in awe at the entrance hall. The tall witch led them towards a second door, just as large as the first. She motioned for them to halt, and looked around at them with an expression that suggested extreme impatience.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said shortly. "I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, and it is my duty to inform you about the Sorting. Hogwarts is divided into four houses - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin (she paused dramatically after each one). Each House has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and I assure you, there is no "best House" or anything of the sort."

James snorted obviously; McGonagall glared at him. "Your House is to be like your family ("I hope it's not like my family," Sirius murmured.). And here at Hogwarts, we have a points system. Each triumph you achieve will gain your house points; any rule-breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will be awarded the House cup, which is a great honour."

Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Sirius lean over towards James. "Five Galleons I can get more detentions than you by the end of the year."

"You're on," James said, his face oddly slack.

Peter frowned at them. "But you don't want to lose points, you want to get points! Didn't you just hear-"

"Yeah, but what fun is that?" Sirius said, grinning.

McGonagall cracked the door open and peeked through the crevice. Then closed it, smiling slightly. "We are ready for you now," she announced. Throwing open the door, she marched forwards, the awed first years trailing behind her.

What a sight. A gigantic, enormous room, ten times bigger than Remus's entire house stretched out before him. On the tiled marble floor stood four long wooden tables, each one seating several hundred students, and each one decorated differently. The one farthest to Remus's left was bedecked in green, then bronze, then blue, then red. Candles hovered above, shedding light upon the hall, illuminating the enchanted ceiling which appeared to look like a starry sky. The students seated at the tables, all different ages, whooped and cheered as the first years approached the front of the room, where a lone stool sat. Resting atop it was a very old, very wrinkled-looking hat.

Most of the first years stared up at McGonagall in surprise, and she stared back down at them. "Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words." Right on cue, an elderly man rose from the main table and glided towards the podium set feet behind the stool with the hat. Remus recognized him immediately. It was Albus Dumbledore, no mistake.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. " I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce. The first years please note that the Forbidden Forest is strictly…" He smiled. "... forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch-" He signaled towards a very ragged, very grumpy looking man clutching an equally testy-looking cat. " -would like express his feelings about the behavior of students past curfew. Unfortunately, I am unable to tell you this, as most of the words he uses are inappropriate. But as a matter of fact, I found the whole situation extremely amusing-" Dumbledore broke off, his eyes twinkling. "Thank you."

James watched as Dumbledore descended from the podium. "Is he always like that?" he asked. He sounded a bit worried.

"Yes," Remus said immediately. "Yes, he is."

Peter opened his mouth to reply, but abruptly, a burst of song was heard from the front of the hall. A large rip in the rim had opened widely, almost making the hat appear like it had a mouth - apparently it did, because it was singing gaily now perched atop the stool.

There once were two wizards

Two witches there were too

They brought themselves together

And made a magic school.

Each founder's goals were different

As was how they achieved their ends.

Born was Gryffindor, Hufflepuff,

Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

The lion's house is Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart

Ravenclaw is for the clever ones, the logical, the smart

The badger claims the loyal, the friendly and the true

While Slytherin takes the cunning, no matter what you do.

This is my job, my work, you see

To Sort you, through thick and thin

And with these four Houses noble

Let the Sorting now begin!

Tentatively, the first years applauded, while the rest of the school cheered loudly. The hat, in response, bowed, then went back to looking like it was supposed to look like - an old hat. Remus was quite unnerved. Dumbledore had informed him about the Sorting Hat, of course, but it was still a hat. It wasn't supposed to talk.

McGonagall came forward again clutching a long piece of parchment; this time, she snatched up the hat and held both the hat and the parchment aloft. "When I call your name, you will come forth. I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your Houses." Casually, she glanced down at the list. "Albright, Priscilla!"

A very frightened little girl went to go sit down on the stool; McGonagall neatly place the hat on her head and stood back. For a few moments, everything was still. Remus watched the girl closely. Her mouth was moving, but her eyes were tightly closed. It looked like she was talking to herself. But suddenly, the hat sitting atop her head twitched.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted. The girl smiled, obviously relieved, and went to sit down at the table clad in bronze. The students seated there shook her hand and patted her on the back, welcoming her to their House.

McGonagall peered through her square spectacles at the parchment before her. "Black, Sirius!"

Beside Remus, Sirius paled visibly and slowly made his way towards the Sorting Hat. James watched him go, frowning.

Peter noticed. "Did you know he was a Black?" he whispered.

"No," Remus and James said at the same time. Even Remus had heard of the Blacks; his father had often raved angrily about them. They were pure-blood obsessed, snotty, and extremely disrespectful to anyone who wasn't a pure-blooded witch or wizard. The Blacks were horrible, terrible people. At least, that was what his father had said.

"What?" James said hoarsely, staring after Sirius. "He can't be a Black; the Blacks are evil!" Apparently, James's parents had filled him in too.

Sirius slid awkwardly onto the stool, now looking as white as a sheet. Peter watched him, one eyebrow raised. "He doesn't look -" He paused. "Well, he isn't nasty, is he? Like a Black?"

James shook his head. "No." Then said darkly, "But he might turn out to be."

McGonagall set the Sorting Hat on Sirius's smooth black hair and swiftly stepped backwards. An argument had seemed to erupt between Sirius and the Hat: Sirius had his eyes screwed shut and has murmuring something very fast; the Sorting Hat was muttering audibly, though Remus couldn't make it out. Finally, the Hat nodded. It's rim opened wide-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Suddenly, the hall was very silent. Frantic whispering broke out among the four tables, while the one farthest to the right, decorated in red, exploded with hollers of triumph. Sirius's grin couldn't have been wider as he descended from the stool and dashed towards the Gryffindor table. He took his seat quickly and waved at James, who seemed to have forgotten that Sirius was even related to the Blacks.

"He's gotten into Gryffindor! Well done, mate!" James called from across the hall; Sirius gave him the thumbs-up.

"He must have swallowed those Every Flavor Beans after all," Remus added, smirking.

Meanwhile, the Sorting continued.

"Braithwaite, Noah!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Barclay, Olivia!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Calveley, Ava!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

The first Slytherin. But the applause remained as loud as ever; the mass of green sitting at the table farthest to the left cheered the loudest. Remus watched Ava hop off the stool and go join the Slytherin table. He wondered whether or not she knew about Slytherin's notorious reputation.

"Dolan, Harper!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Evans, Lily!"

Lily flashed a wide smile at Remus and practically sprinted up towards the Sorting Hat; she wasn't wearing Hagrid's coat anymore and she seemed almost dry, though her hair still looked a little damp.

The hat barely touched her dark-red hair. "GRYFFINDOR!" it announced. Lily grinned as the whole hall exploded with applause.

"Garrad, Logan!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Halliday, Sebastian!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Kilbee, Addison!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Lupin, Remus!"

Remus's heart leapt up into his throat. His turn, already? His gaze locked onto the Sorting Hat, sitting there helplessly atop the tall wooden stool. Now that it was his turn… he was scared. He didn't want to be Sorted. What if he was Sorted into Slytherin?

Your House doesn't define who you are, Remus told himself defiantly, and advanced towards the front of the hall. It was then when he noticed that something odd had happened. All the wizards and witches seated at the staff table had swiveled round towards him, craning their necks and squinting, attempting to get a good glimpse of him. One tiny wizard with a shock of white hair was practically hopping up and down, trying to see. Remus felt himself go red. The whole teaching staff knew. Worriedly, he caught Dumbledore's eye; he just nodded and winked. Swallowing hard, he stepped up towards the Sorting Hat and clambered up onto it. Wringing his hands in his lap, Remus felt McGonagall place the hat on his head. It was so large it slipped down until it covered his eyes.

"Ah," the hat said immediately; Remus almost jumped. The hat was speaking to him! "Well, well, well. This is a first."

Remus didn't know what to say. "You know -"

"Of course I know," the hat snorted. "I can see inside your head, how else am I supposed to Sort you?"

Remus said nothing. He was embarrassed that he had been outspoken by a hat.

"Cleverness, lots of it, I see… Very talented for your age, but… hmm, not there, no… ah, there's something there, I see it, so perhaps… yes…

Remus's hands grew sweatier and sweatier in his lap. He gripped his wrist so hard his whole hand turned white.

"Good luck," the hat muttered suddenly, in a very different tone of voice. "You'll need it."

"Wait," Remus started. What did the Sorting Hat mean? Was it trying to warn him? "Wait what - ?"

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat proclaimed. Remus heard himself gasp with relief; he had been Sorted into the same House as Sirius and Lily! At that very moment, Sirius stood up at the Gryffindor table and, putting two fingers in his mouth, whistled. Lily stood up too, clapping and beaming.

Remus went to go sit beside Sirius, who had recalled a solemn demeanor. "Did the Sorting Hat say anything to you?"

Sirius paused for about a minute before answering. "Nah."

"You're a bad liar," Remus pointed out, turning back towards the Sorting.

"Mann, Lucas!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Am not," Sirius shot back loudly.

"Shh!" Lily scolded, applauding as Meadowes, Dorcas and McKimmon, Marlene both joined the Gryffindor table. They seated themselves next to Lily, who promptly struck up conversation.

"Nesbitt, Carter!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Ottley, Scarlett!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

Peter squirmed uncomfortably on the stool as the Sorting Hat was set atop his head. A full three minutes passed before the hat finally reached a conclusion.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Thus Peter joined them at the Gryffindor table.

"Potter, James!" James, now visibly pale, strode forwards. Only a few seconds later -

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"YES!" James shouted, pumping his fist. He dashed over to the Gryffindor table and smashed himself between Remus and Sirius. "I knew it, I knew it, I just knew it!"

"Snape, Severus!"

The hunched, bat-like boy Remus had seen in their compartment loped forward. The Sorting Hat was placed on his greasy black hair.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"No surprise there," Remus heard James mutter.

Peter grinned at them all from across the table. "Fantastic, isn't it?" he asked Remus, watching as Spack, Craven was Sorted into Ravenclaw. "We all know each other, and we've all been Sorted into Gryffindor. It's like fate, eh?"

"HO!" James said loudly before Remus could answer. "There's a looker - see her, Sirius?"

They all looked. St. Claire, Celia had just walked up to be Sorted, and McGonagall was now placing the Sorting Hat upon her blonde curly head. James was right, she was very pretty. Red lips and sapphire eyes that seemed to glimmer brightly, like two stars.

James spoke first. "She's mine."

"Is not!" Sirius objected.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat burst out. James swore under his breath as he watched the girl smile happily and flounce over to sit at the Ravenclaw table.

The Sorting quickly passed after that, and after Vance, Emmeline was Sorted into Gryffindor, Dumbledore returned to his place behind the podium once again. He was smiling broadly.

"If you are all as famished as I am," he started, winking. "There is no more need for words. Let the feast - begin!" With this word, he lifted his arms into the air; suddenly, all four House tables were groaning under what seemed like pounds and pounds of food. Whole roast turkeys sat on platters, soups and stews simmered in silver tureens, fruit, vegetables, all kinds of crisps, pitchers and jugs of sparkling drink… Remus felt his mouth fall open. He'd never seen this much food in his entire life.

James, Peter, and Sirius, meanwhile, were cheerfully helping themselves.

"I can't believe it - I wasn't Sorted into Slytherin!" Sirius shouted triumphantly, helping himself to onion stew. "I can't wait to see what Mother and Father will say-"

"Congratulations, mate," James said, a very odd look on his face. Remus caught his eye; he was still pondering Sirius's pure-blood relatives, Remus could tell.

Peter, however, had noticed nothing, and had dived into the small mound of potatoes heaped on his plate. Remus watched him for a smile, slightly amused, but in the end decided to take a bit of soup and what he thought was a peach. He scanned the hall. Everyone, unsurprisingly, was helping themselves to food and drink. Snape was looking around at the table with wonder, just like Remus. Celia had made friends almost immediately at the Ravenclaw table; she turned to look over her shoulder, caught his gaze, and smiled. Remus felt himself blush and dropped his peach into his soup.

The feast vanished and desserts appeared. Remus abandoned his soup-soaked peach and took a sponge cake. "What do you think happens after we're done?" he asked the others, taking a bite.

James waved one airy hand, the other being covered in treacle tart. "My dad said that we follow our House prefects to the Common Rooms, then our dormitories. Five to a room, I think he said?"

Remus could feel his smile vanish. Dormitories. He would be sharing a room with four other boys for the rest of the school year, no doubt through his entire time at Hogwarts. Remus's mind raced… he wasn't sure he could keep his secret if things were kept like this…

Mouth still full of food, Peter leaned across the table towards Sirius. "Oy, who's that?" he asked, nodding at the back wall. A pale girl with wavy brown hair stood there, still dressed in her Muggle apparel and looking distinctly out of place. "She's looks a bit old to still be going to Hogwarts, doesn't she?"

James turned. "Andromeda!" he said brightly, waving. She saw him and waved back.

"That's 'cause she is," Sirius murmured, somewhat cross. "My cousin - Dumbledore sent her a message along with my Hogwarts letter - urgent, apparently." He stabbed a baked potato with his fork. "I think he wants her help with something."

So Sirius disapproved. Remus didn't know why. He might've been protective of her, but she was well older than he was. Perhaps Sirius had a grudge against Dumbledore…

"Alright, that's the time!" A very tall, big-eared boy called near the end of the table. He stood, and the rest of the Gryffindors stood with him; Peter, James, Sirius and Remus all stumbled to their feet. "Gryffindor first-years, follow me! The rest of you - well, you know where you're going!" The hall echoed with laughter as three-fourths of them departed.

The big-eared boy spoke again. "My name is Liam, Liam Haverstock. I'm one of your House prefects, and I'll be showing you your dormitories along with the Gryffindor Common Room, where you'll be spending most of your time."

"Told you," James hissed elbowing Sirius in the stomach. Sirius hit him.

"Right then, follow me!" Liam announced, and promptly turned on his heel, leading them quickly towards a spiral staircase. The gaggle of first-years noisily followed, but Remus felt a warm, long-fingered hand tug on his shoulder and spin him around. Professor Dumbledore stood there, smiling once again.

"Do you mind, Mr. Lupin?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly.

"Not at all," Remus began, a bit confused. Peter, James, and Sirius were as well. But Remus shoved them forwards, muttering out of the corner of his mouth, "It's fine," and followed Dumbledore up a different spiral staircase, made of marble and decorated elaborately with decorative carvings. Suddenly, the staircase seemed to lurch, Remus toppled over, and everything shifted, everything seemed to be moving, everything was spinning - !

"Professor!" Remus shouted, panicked.

Dumbledore was still standing beside Remus, hands folded in front of him. "Not to worry," he replied calmly. "It's just the staircases, they like to move. We'll be there in a moment."

Moving staircases and talking hats! Remus couldn't believe it.

After ascending another moving staircase, Dumbledore and Remus found themselves standing before a rather ugly gargoyle in front of a blank wall. No other students were in sight.

Dumbledore leaned forwards as if to speak to the gargoyle. "Pear drop," he said, very slowly and clearly.

"Correct," the gargoyle muttered hoarsely, and, to Remus's astonishment, shifted aside to reveal a huge oaken door. Dumbledore pushed open the door without hesitating and marched inside.

"Come in, Mr. Lupin. This is my office."

"Your office…" Remus strode inside after him; the door shut by itself - very gently, but he could hear the resounding click! that seemed to echo all around him. Dumbledore's office, was, in fact, very large and circular, and was no doubt one of the most fascinating rooms Remus had ever been in. It was a beautiful place, with gold-trimmed portraits on the walls and a floor made of marble. It was also full of odd little sounds. Many curious silver objects sat on short, flat tables, whirring and spinning and emitting puffs of smoke, each one shaped differently. Tucked in the corner was an enormous claw-footed desk, made out of a wood that looked very expensive. On that desk lay a large piece of parchment, obviously written upon earlier that day.

Dumbledore was standing in the center of the room, watching Remus very closely. "Do you know why you're here, Mr. Lupin?"

"Yes," Remus said immediately. "Er… actually, no. Well…" He paused embarrassedly. "I have an idea." His secret. His… condition.

"You are correct," Dumbledore said without questioning Remus further.

At that moment, the oaken door sprang open again and two women hurried inside - one, tall, and dressed all in white and carrying something heavy in her pocket, the other, dumpy, with flyaway grey hair and a patched, frayed hat. There was also an excessive amount of dirt under her fingernails.

"Ah, Poppy, Pomona!" Dumbledore said, smiling cheerfully. "I was just speaking to Mr. Lupin here-"

Both women's pleasant expression's melted, and they gazed at Remus rather sadly. He felt himself frown.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "This is Madam Pomfrey, Mr. Lupin - the Head Nurse here at Hogwarts - and this is Professor Sprout, your Herbology Instructor. These are the people who will be helping you with your transformations during the school year."

Remus's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. "What?"

"Oh, don't worry." Dumbledore took on a more serious tone. "You won't be transforming inside the school." Silently, he crossed the room and turned to face an open window; he motioned for Remus to come closer. "You see here?"

Remus looked. The fogged glass and the misted grounds made it hard to see anything, but he managed to make out a huge, looming shape nearby. He could see roots about as thick as his own body, a mammoth trunk, and branches that were twisted, but looked surprisingly limber.

Remus frowned. "It's a tree."

"But not just any tree!" Professor Sprout piped up eagerly. "That's a Whomping Willow."

"A Whomping - ?"

"Willow," Dumbledore finished, yanking the curtains shut, blocking the tree from view. "It was planted solely for you, Mr. Lupin. On the evening of the full moon, Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey will lead you out of the school and towards the Whomping Willow."

"The tree will react, of course, it's in its nature-" Professor Sprout began again.

"Er - how, exactly?" Remus asked nervously.

Madam Pomfrey frowned over at Sprout. "It's called "whomping" for a reason," she murmured; Remus gulped.

"Professor Sprout has devised a way to calm the tree momentarily. When she has, Madam Pomfrey will lead you down into a tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow," Dumbledore continued, locking eyes with Remus. "She will lead you into a shack in a small village near here - Don't worry, it will be perfectly safe," he added, when Remus opened his mouth. "We've taken all the necessary precautions."

Remus could feel himself getting warmer and warmer. He had never heard a plan where so many things could go wrong. What if they didn't get to the tree in time? What if Sprout couldn't calm the Whomping Willow? What if He broke out of the shack and attacked someone? Remus shuddered. He could barely think about it.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, was steering Remus towards the door. "It's late, you ought to get off to bed," he said coolly. "Gryffindor, yes? The password, I believe, is 'Dictum Factum'... true, very true indeed…" And just like that, Remus found himself on the opposite side of the office door, standing there, startled and quite confused.

He headed up the next staircase in a dreamy state; it took him a while to realize that he actually didn't know where he was going. And he didn't until a portrait of an irritating monk screamed at him and gave him directions, demanding that he stop clumping up and down the stairs like an elephant. Flushed and sweaty, Remus finally arrived at the so-called Gryffindor Common Room entrance - a framed painting of a Fat Lady. She frowned down at him, her brown acrylic eyes narrowing.

"Password?" she demanded.

Remus was breathless; he had ran up and down several stairs. "Wha - oh, yeah, Di- Dictum Factum."

The portrait swung open and Remus rushed inside. How late was he? Late enough, apparently, because the Common Room was completely empty. The squashy, red armchairs were bare, and the fire in the fireplace had gone out - it was still smoking. Remus found the whole situation rather sad.

At that moment, Sirius came sliding down something out of nowhere; a banister of a staircase, leading up to somewhere Remus couldn't see. Sirius, of course, wasn't looking where he was going, and didn't bother to slow down. He fell right on top of Remus.

"OOMPH!"

Sirius glanced down. "Oh, there you are. We were wondering where you'd gone to."

"So was I," Remus muttered, pushing Sirius off him and getting to his feet. "Is this the Common Room? Do you know where my dormitory is? Who are my roommates?" He did his best not to sound anxious while asking all these questions, but he knew he failed miserably. Sirius, thankfully, did not seem to notice. His face lit up like a beacon.

"OH! Yeah, I know who your roommates are. In fact, they're the best people ever, and… oh, oh, there's this one guy who's really good-looking, and I think his name is Sirius - !"

Remus groaned. "Are you kidding me?"

Sirius frowned. "No! I swear, he's really good-looking!"

Remus found himself smirking. "Fine. Let me guess - I'm sharing a dormitory with you, James, and Peter?"

"Yep."

Remus counted on his fingers. "Then… who's the other one? Didn't James say that there were five to a dormitory?"

Sirius's grin, if possible, got even wider. "That's the best part! See, James was right, there are five to a dormitory. But the thing is - we got the very last room, and that one only has space for four…"

"I'm not going to survive the first semester," Remus murmured, beginning to ascend the winding staircase leading to his dormitory. It was, in Sirius's case, a joke, but Remus meant it literally as well. He was already friends with the four boys in his dormitory… no doubt they would tell everything about themselves… no secrets, no lies…

Remus swallowed. He just had to make sure they didn't find out his biggest secret of all.

#jamespotter #siriusblack #remuslupin #peterpettigrew #lilyevans #severussnape #mmkierkegaard #hollowhill #thelastcompartment #themarauders #maraudersnovels

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