Time Knows Us All

There was not much in life that Remus Lupin was unprepared for. At age 11, he had faced enough for a lifetime. At least, he thought this was true. Now, there seemed to be one exception to this thought. A small, pale 11-year-old boy much like himself, with black hair and eyes that seemed to glow silver in the golden light of the train car they were both sitting in. He had a small grin on his face, but overall, he did not seem too excited to be sitting in the shared compartment.
Ok.
Maybe there were two exceptions.
Beside the first boy sat another. Together the two seemed to complete a set. The second boy also had dark hair. While the first boy’s hair was wavy and fell just above his shoulders, his friend’s hair was shorter and, quite incredibly, seemed to be sticking out in every possible direction. Maybe this was a wizarding style that Remus had yet to discover. He had not seen much of wizarding London, or wizarding anywhere, he thought to himself. The second boy had glasses that brought attention to his brown doe eyes, and he seemed to be overjoyed at the idea of the train. Or maybe it was more about the destination.
In the view of the train window, a giant castle sat on a hill. Remus thought that the site should scare him. It felt large, too big for the amount of students on the train. However, when the lights glowed in the windows and the lake reflected the moon rays onto the castle’s towers…
There was only one word that came to Remus’s mind.
“Home.”

“Did you say something?”
Remus looked at the second boy. He had a large smile on his face as he asked the questions.
“Uhm, no. Sorry.”
“James Potter.” The boy said as he stuck out his hand.
Remus, tentatively, reached out to return the handshake.
“Remus… Remus Lupin.”
“That is Peter,” James said pointing at the third unknown boy in the train car. Peter was shorter than the other two boys and was intensely focused on the book in his hand. His hair was a sandy blond color, and his eyes were a murky brown. He seemed shy, much shyer than James, and did not look up to greet Remus, instead opting to wave his hand in a small “Hello” motion. Remus hadn’t taken much notice of Peter at first. He had slumped in behind James and the other boy and quickly fallen into his seat. Remus, selfishly, had hoped to have the car to himself, but who was he to say no when James flashed a smile and asked if they could sit with him.
Remus didn’t like making quick decisions but saying “yes” felt easy in the moment. There was a weight to the word that he couldn’t quite decipher. But it was the curiosity behind that weight that made Remus feel that he knew these boys. That he was supposed to know them. Remus didn’t much believe in past lives, but suddenly he felt like he had lived this moment before. The feeling guided his thoughts for the first hour of the train ride, but the more he sat with the boys the more he felt that he quite liked the two across from him. Peter, as he had been introduced, was another story. Remus felt uneasy next to the boy. Silly, he thought. To make such an instantaneous judgment. Peter had done nothing to him, yet Remus felt the need to protect himself. Maybe it was instinct. He had been protecting himself since he was five. He could still feel the imprint of teeth if he thought about it for too long. James said something else.
“…and this is Sirius.” The first boy met Remus’s eyes and grinned.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
Now Remus was sure he had experienced this before. He knew it was impossible, but there was this little voice in the back of his head saying, “Him, its him.”
He tried to shake the voice, smiling at the boy across from him.
“Did your parents like wolves?”
The hair on the back of Remus’s neck stood straight up and he felt his throat close. “Wh- What?”
“Remus Lupin. It is just quite a name- so lunar.”
“And Sirius is much better, is it?”
Remus bit the words as they came out, sharp and rude. He hadn’t meant to be. That was a lie. He had, just a bit. But there was a sort of regret he felt as soon as he said it. He looked down. He always did this. He always started a fight when there didn’t need to be one. That is what his dad had told him at least.
“I wasn’t insulting you, it’s a good name. Not like Sirius.” The boy laughed.
Remus met Sirius’s eyes. “Sirius isn’t a bad name. I’m sorry.”
“No, it sort of is. Don’t worry, wasn’t my choice. Simply a family thing.” He laughed again. Remus thought he had a funny laugh, but when it was over it sounded kind of forced.“Way more original than something like James, wouldn’t you say?”
James shoved Sirius’s shoulder. “Oy, I didn’t do anything to you, man.”
All of the boys laughed now. Even Peter chuckled as he closed his book.
“Do you think we will be arriving soon?” He asked.
James nodded and checked his watch. “I hope so. Hope they have dinner ready, too.”
Another round of laughter filled the train car.
It was another 15 minutes before the train arrived in Hogsmeade, and an additional 30 before the children were standing outside what they had been told was the Great Hall.
Now they all waited on the steps surrounding a large set of oak doors. They had been told to stay quiet while the last few details of the sorting were A woman stood before them.
“Children, Children, Quiet. My name is Professor McGonagall, as head of Gryffindor House, I am happy to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
An air of excitement ran through the crowd. James nudged Remus’s arm. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until that moment.
“Its alright, I’m nervous too.”
The words washed over Remus, and he realized he wasn’t alone.
Not here.
“Think I’ll be a Gryffindor. You?”
Remus thought it over for a second. He hadn’t thought about houses. He hadn’t really known much about Hogwarts at all. His mum hadn’t known much, and his father didn’t speak about Hogwarts. Not more than a few mumbles here and there. A look of fear when Remus opened his letter. His father had been a Ravenclaw. Though he didn’t have many memories of Lyall talking about his childhood, he had found an old jumper crammed in the back of the hallway closet. It was faded and tattered. But the blue was still visible, and a small bronze R was embroidered on the right sleeve.
“Not sure.”
Remus looked back at McGonagall.
“In a few moments, these doors will open, and you will be escorted inside. After the Sorting Hat places you in a house, go and sit at their table. That will be your house for the next 7 years while you are here at Hogwarts, though I often find that it follows even afterward.” She smiled politely, “Alright everyone, after me.”
The doors opened and Remus felt his jaw drop. He had seen his father use magic before, but this was no comparison. The ceiling was gone, or there but not. He could see the stars. Four long tables took the expanse of the room, children clad in house colors lined the benches. At the front of the room was a raised area. Professors, Remus thought. He hadn’t liked school before. School hadn’t liked him. This felt different. A small stool sat in front of the head table, and on it was a rather raggedy old hat. The crowd started to move forward, and a shoulder brushed against Remus.
“I don’t want to do this.” He heard Sirius whisper to James.
Remus looked at the boy next to him.
“I don’t want to be like them,” Sirius said.
Remus didn’t know what he was talking about, but he followed the boy’s eyes to the table furthest to the left. It was surrounded by a wash of green and black robes. A banner floated above it clad with a silver snake.
He understood a little better now.
“You don’t have to be. You aren’t like them.” James had said, looking at Sirius.
The boy nodded and gave Remus felt his eyes drift back down to the floor.
“Okay.” Sirius had said “Okay.”

They were at the front of the room now. A small girl was already sitting on the stool, hat on her head. Remus didn’t know how this worked. Would the hat change color? Would it float over to the table? How would the hat even know what house to put you in? Did you actually have to wear the hat? Remus recalled the previous year when one of the boys in his class had gotten lice. Pretty soon everyone in the school could be seen madly scratching their heads. He cringed. Remus had a million questions, but the hat answered them first. The girl placed the hat on her head, and to his shock it began to mumble.
“Hmmm. Wise, yes. Smart, yes. Many options here. Kind, even. I think you’ll be… Gryffindor.”
Remus watched as the girl smiled. That was good. Gryffindor was good. James said he would be in Gryffindor. Maybe Sirius would follow him. Remus decided in that moment that that was where he wanted to be. In that house, by their side.
He watched as the girl stood up, a spring in her step. She had fire-red hair. It had been hidden by the hat at first, but now it framed her face like a flame. She looked warm, in the same way tea was warm after a day in the snow. Remus had an odd thought.
Friend.
She was a friend- a flower in a meadow along the bank of a river.
“Lily.”
He hadn’t realized he was speaking. Had the hat said her name? He must have heard it somewhere.
“Lily.” James said.
He had a wide smile painted on his face. There was something behind his eyes that Remus didn’t quite recognize. Overall, however, his face looked quite dopey all the sudden
“Oy, James- feel alright there?” Peter had asked him.
“Good.” He said, smile still bright. “Better than good.”
Sirius snorted, but before Remus could weigh in another name was called.
“Sirius Black.”
The smile on James’s face vanished. Sirius’s too.
The boy walked in small steps. Shuffled really. He found his place on the stool and sat almost expressionless. Almost.
Remus could tell that he was uncomfortable. He looked at the table across the room. A group of teenagers caught his eye. They were on the edge of their seats, all surrounding one slender boy with icy blond hair. He seemed to have a permanent snarl engraved on his face, but he took watch, expectantly.
“Brave.” The hat said. “Very brave indeed, yesss. But there is more isn’t there. Cunning, Slick. A Black heir. A Prince.”
Sirius’s eyes shot to the table.
“No,” he said. “Not there, please. Please not Slytherin.”
Remus heard the words clearly, he wondered if the crowd around him heard the same or if it had just been a result of his…ailment.
“Not Slytherin then? No. No I see, hmm. Not their Prince then, no. Another will come along. Ahh yes, must be… Gryffindor.”
Sirius looked confused, but there was a flash of relief across his face. He stood up and walked over to the table. The flame haired girl offered him the seat next to her.
Remus watched as the other children went ahead. Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and so on.
The hat had barely been placed on James’s head before its voice boomed. He took his seat next to Sirius. They looked right, next to each other like that, he thought.
When it was Remus’s turn, he felt the pit in his stomach widen. The stool was uncomfortable, and he had a sudden realization. What if it said he didn’t belong here. He wasn’t welcome here, not him. Not what he was. What if the hat told everyone?
“Lupin. Let’s see. Where do you belong? Smart like your father, yesss. But odd. Not Ravenclaw. You’re angry. Too angry for Hufflepuff. Weighed down by that chip on your shoulder. What burden do you carry, boy?” Remus could feel a bead of sweat roll down his neck, he felt uncomfortable and quite curious why the others didn’t get the fifth degree. What did I do to you? He thought to himself. The hat laughed.
“An angry little Slytherin then? A boy with something to prove.”
No. Remus thought. Not there.
“Not Slytherin then. Though I think you could be great there. They would welcome you, Remus. Don’t you want to feel welcome? Don’t you crave it?”
For a moment he considered it. They would take him. He could be at home there. Then his eyes drifted back to the pair of boys sitting at the Gryffindor table.
“I said no, not Slytherin.” A chatter ran through the crowd, he hadn’t meant to say it so loudly.
“Ahhh, could it be. Yes. Yes, I see now. Must be… Gryffindor.”
Remus smiled as he took off the hat and walked to the table.
The rest of the sorting went quickly, though Peter seemed to have a bit of trouble getting the hat to sort him with his friends. Many of the Professors had given speeches, welcoming the new students, but Remus couldn’t take his focus from the older man making his way to the podium.
“Students, let me welcome you again to Hogwarts. For our first years, I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts” he launched into a short but descriptive speech on the grounds. “It will please you to know that Hogwarts is a safe and beautiful place. What you ask for she will hold. It matters to me greatly that you know you all belong here.”
Dumbledore’s eyes met Remus’s. It was quick, but he suddenly felt the bench fall out from under him. He was no longer in the castle, but sitting on a small stump outside of an old cottage. He looked down at his hands. They were older and covered with more scars. A woman approached him, hair a brilliant pink shade. “Remus, he’s dead. Albus is dead.” He felt himself stiffen. Pain shot through his temple, and he went still. “How?”
Before the woman could answer, Remus was back at the dining room table. The boys around him seemed entranced in the words of Dumbledore. He tried to wipe the confusion from his brow.
“Are you alright?” The girl next to him asked. He turned to look back at her, she had the greenest eyes Remus had ever seen. “Yeah, just tired I think.”
“Right. Sorry, what was your name again?” she whispered.
“Remus.”
“I’m Lily.” She smiled.
“I know. Err- I heard the hat say your name.” He fumbled for the words.
“Oh, okay. Umm, do you know who that boy over there is?” she asked, pointing to James. “He has been staring at me for the last 20 minutes, and it is really starting to freak me out.”
“Yeah, that is James. We met on the train.” She gave the other boy a quizzical glance and turned back to the speech.
“For all students,” Dumbledore said, “It is imperative to note the new addition of a teenaged whomping willow to the grounds, just off the charm’s hallway. The tree was donated by an old Hogwarts student this summer and, as beautiful as it is, should be avoided by students for their own safety. You will find that is particularly protective of its personal space.”
“Say that five times fast,” Sirius whispered across the table.
He wanted to laugh, but all Remus could think about was the tree. Why have a dangerous thing like that on school property at all?
Dumbledore finished his speech and wished the students to enjoy the feast.
The tables that had previously been empty sprung to life with plates and platters of everything Remus could imagine. Roast Tukey, Potatoes, four different kinds of bread, a small soup tureen, mince pies, and steamed vegetables were all within his reach. He loaded his plate. The turkey reminded him of his mother a bit and the Sunday roasts they often had. Across from him Sirius and James were doing the same. Next to him, Peter had picked out one of everything with a large smile on his face.
On his other side, Lily smiled. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get used to all this.”
“You don’t do roasts at home?” James had asked, mouth full and all too eager to talk to her.
“Not the roasts,” she offered flatly, “The magic.”
“Do your parents not do magic at the house? Don’t think my parents could function without it,” Sirius asked.
Lily’s face flushed and she looked down at her plate.
“My parents aren’t wizards.” She said softly. She suddenly looked uncomfortable, like she didn’t think she belonged at the table.
“Oh.” James responded.
“So, your parents are muggles?” Peter questioned. Remus thought that the way Peter said it was quite rude. He turned to offer the boy a sideways glance, but someone else at the table moved first.
“And what about it?” The girl next to Lily said sharply. “My parents are muggles, too.”
“No, sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it, I promise,” Peter responded quickly, staring down at his plate.
“It’s okay, Mary. He wasn’t trying to be rude.” Lily told her.
Mary was definitely a Gryffindor. Remus noted that he did not want to be on her bad side. She smiled at Lily, and Remus took a moment to look at her. She had brown skin, that looked as if it had been tanned by the summer weather, and nice black curls. Her eyes were large and soft, and Remus decided that he would be friends with her, too, one day. Next to Mary was another girl, much paler with a mess of blonde layers and sharp blue eyes. She was looking at Lily, clearly concerned for her feelings as well.
“My mum’s not a wizard.” He turned towards Lily.
Sirius, James, and Peter all looked at him. None of them seemed to do so in a mean way, but he could tell the curiosity was there. “Dad is, but Mum’s ways cooler and she never had any of this.”

Lily smiled at him and nodded. They all went back to eating their dinners until James brought up quidditch, which seemed, to Remus, to be some kind of wizarding deathtrap. This topic, however brought the whole table together in conversation, especially the blonde girl next to Mary. He had learned that her name was Marlene, and her brother, Darren, was a professional quidditch player for the Cannons.
They all finished their dinners and pudding before following their prefect, a rather tall 5th-year boy named David to the Gryffindor dorms. Once inside, Remus felt himself let out a small gasp. The room was beautiful, warm, and distinctly cozy. It felt incredibly large while also appearing perfectly small. There were soft red couches and armchairs scattered around the room making up perfect group spaces. There was a large fireplace and a few large stained-glass windows that caused the moonlight to dance with the firelight gracefully. Remus has never felt so happy to be somewhere. He followed David up the stairs as boys were splitting off into their rooms, the girls had already left with David’s counterpart, Susan. When they got up to the third landing David pointed to a room to the left and said, “Black, Pettigrew, Potter, and Lupin” This is you four. James and Sirius turned to him with large smiles on their faces.
“Don’t just stand their Lupin. We have got some unpacking to do.” James said as the boys raced inside. Remus took one more second for himself and then walked through the door.
All of the anxiety Remus felt in his stomach melted away.
The room was nice, covered in dark wood and soaked in warm lighting. Two beds were lined up on opposite walls so that they were all facing each other. The bedding was a dark red and matched the curtains hanging from each bed’s posts. On the outer-most wall was a large window with a sill just deep enough to perch on. The other three boys had already claimed their beds, leaving Remus the one closest to the window. He didn’t mind and probably would have picked that one anyway. In the corner of the room was another door, through it, Remus could see a small bathroom. His trunk was stacked in the corner with the rest of the boys’. James and Sirius were busy jumping on the bed, as Peter was trying to drag his case towards his bed.
“Let me help you with that,” Remus said, picking up the other side of the trunk.
“Thanks, I was just going to set it by the bed.” Peter smiled.
The two boys carried the case the short distance and sat it on the floor. Remus went to walk back toward his bed, but his robe snagged, on the clasp and he felt the arm of his shirt rip underneath.
“Damn.” He said pulling off the outer layer to reveal a tear in his white button-down sleeve. The fabric was sagging and his entire upper arm was exposed.
“Dirty mouth there, Lupin. Pete, get the soap.” James laughed, but his smile quickly fell. The rest of the boys joined him in silence as they looked at his arm.
“Remus-” Sirius began to say, but the other boy cut him off.
“They are just scratches, played too rough in school.”
None of the boys shifted their gaze.
“Stop looking. My shirt is ruined.”
James and Peter turned their heads, looking at the floor. Sirius held his gaze, “Leave it for the house elves.” He said, “It will be fixed by morning.”
Remus nodded and walked over to his trunk. “Ok.”
He grabbed the pair of pajamas he had packed on top and went into the bathroom. He could hear the others whispering in the bedroom, but he tried to ignore it as he stared at himself in the mirror. Silver scars ran down his arm.
“This is impossible. I’ll never be like them,” he thought as tears welled in his eyes.
The rest of the night was fairly quiet, and Remus felt a bit guilty for ruining the mood. Peter had tried to get them to play a game of gobstones, but Remus was quite bad at it and went to bed early. The other boys followed suit.
The entire first few days seemed to fly by. Having arrived at Hogwarts on a Thursday, the boys spent most of the weekend exploring the castle. They all seemed nice enough, but Remus was starting to miss his mother and could not stop worrying about the coming Monday. Of course, neither could the rest of the students. All around him 1st years were scrambling to unpack textbooks while the older children were all discussing the start of study groups for exams. Remus did much worry about his classes. He father had taught him a good bit already. Talking to the other boys he learned that this was not always the case for wizards. He wondered why his lessons had started so young, but the memory of the shock painted on his father’s faith when he opened his letter told Remus that he probably didn’t think Remus would ever go to Hogwarts. This made Remus even sadder, and by Sunday night he was a mess of aches and sorrow. He was supposed to find Madam Pomphrey in the morning so they could discuss the plan for that night, but the more he thought about it the more he wanted to waste away in his bed.
“Ready for classes in the morning?” Sirius asked falling on the bed next to Remus’s foot. He winced at the shift in the mattress. “Yeah, think I’ll need to see the nurse first, though.”
“Oh.” Sirius said, “Do you need to go now? I can walk with you.” He moved to stand up, again shifting the mattress and causing Remus to flinch.
“No, I’m good for now. Just want to go to sleep, really.” He twisted to pull the sheet up to his shoulders.
“Peter and James are playing chess in the common room. I can leave if you want quiet.” Remus had learned that Sirius was very polite when he didn’t know what to say, like he was often shocked into his manners. Something about it made his stomach hurt. “No.”
“No?”
“You can stay. Its fine, you won’t bother me.”
Sirius nodded and made his way to his bed. For a few moments, they laid in silence, listening to the faint conversations in the hall and downstairs. Remus would turn every once in a while, trying to get comfortable. Finally, he felt sleep start to pull on his eyelids when Sirius mumbled.
“Remus?”
He tried not to be annoyed with the other boy and opted to glance in his direction. Sirius was curled up on his side, facing away from him.
“Did your parents do that to you?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“You know.” He paused. “The scars.”
Remus thought for a second, utterly confused before he remembered the first night and his torn shirt sleeve. He tried to respond but the words felt clunky in his mouth.
“What? No!” He stuttered, “It’s like I said…the boys at my school played rough.”
“You don’t have to lie.”
“Mm’ not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“It's not my parents, ok? They wouldn’t do that to me. Drop it.”
He felt his cheeks burning, this was not something he wanted to talk about right now. He had known this boy for 4 days, what gave him the right to ask something like that?
The room was silent for a moment.
“Ok, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” his voice sounded sad, and for a moment Remus felt bad about snapping at him. He waited for the other boy to say something else, but he didn’t. He thought, though he wasn’t quite sure, he could hear him crying, but he decided it wasn’t his place to comfort him. He rolled back over and shut his eyes again, falling asleep to the sound of distant laughter and Sirius’s breathing.

When Remus woke up, Sirius was gone. James and Peter were still asleep, and he tried to make as little noise as possible while he got dressed. He had a stitch in his hip that made moving hard, but once he managed to slip on his boots he quietly shuffled to the door.
“Whutimeisit?” James mumbled, still half asleep. He sat up slightly, eyes still closed, and Remus almost laughed. He didn’t think it was possible for James’ hair to be any more unruly, but it was now sticking straight up as if he had just stuck been struck by lightning.
“Hour ‘til breakfast, you’ve got time to sleep.”
“Mmkay.”
With that, he fell flat back down onto his pillow. Remus waited a moment then continued for the door. Once he was in the common room he picked up his pace and soon was halfway to the infirmary wing. The halls were pretty much empty and walking through the arches felt eerie. When he arrived at the set of double doors he took a breath. He didn’t know what was going to happen next. Dumbledore hadn’t said much of anything, other than a time and place to be on that morning. He raised his hand and pushed through.

The wing was large, with rows of beds lined up on the walls. Past that was a small office with a large window, so that you could almost entirely see inside. Shelves of potions lined the walls and there was a large bookshelf in the corner. Next to each bed was a small divider and table. Remus looked around before heading towards the back office.
“Remus Lupin?” A small witch said, walking out from behind one of the curtains.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Dumbledore sent you, yes?”
“Yes ma’am.”
She reminded him of his year 2 teacher back in London. Rosy cheeks and a kind smile, grey hair that was pulled into a tight bun under her nurse’s cap.
“I’m Madam Pomphrey. It is so nice to meet you. Why don’t you come sit in the office, and we can talk there.”
He nodded and followed her into the side room. Once he entered, she gestured to a chair in the corner, and he took a seat. She moved to sit in the chair behind her desk.
“Would you like some tea, Mr. Lupin?”
“No, it's okay, don’t need any.” He didn’t want to feel like any more of a burden than he already did.
Her smile fell a bit. “I’ll make some for myself anyway, it is no trouble for me to make you a cup as well.”
“Ok. Thank you, then.”
She flipped her wand upwards, and the teapot behind her rattled slightly. Remus watched as the cups and saucers danced in midair. Slowly, she dragged her wand downwards and the cups lowered to the desk. He had seen his father do this a few times before, for him and his mother; but his father was always too rough, and their teacups had acquired a number of chips and cracks.
She took a sip of her tea and raised her wand again, “Sonoro Quietus.”
“We may speak freely now without worry.”
“So, umm… Dumbledore told you then…about me.” Suddenly, Remus could not peel his gaze off the floor tiles. They were withered and dark and a great place to hide his shame.
“Yes, Mr. Lupin, and I assure you I will do my best to keep you safe and comfortable while you are at Hogwarts.” The tone of her voice sounded a lot like a promise.
This confused Remus.
No one had ever aimed to keep him safe or comfortable. For as long as he could remember, his changes were painful and cruel and all-consuming.
“I don’t care about what happens to me. I need you to promise me that I won't hurt anyone else.” He urged, finally meeting her eyes. They crinkled at the edges, and her smile dropped. They sat in silence for a moment, and suddenly her spell didn’t matter much.
“Such a heavy burden to carry. No more than eleven, and already you have the weight of the world upon you. I’m sorry, Remus. I am sorry that this happened to you. It is not your fault, and it shouldn’t be your responsibility.”
He felt tears press on the back of his eyes, and before he knew it, Madam Pomphrey was up and wrapping her arms around him.
“You are going to be ok. I will make sure of it.”
He sat for a moment, tears running down his cheek and thoughts swirling in his mind.
“I can’t hurt anyone. Please, don’t let me.”
She smiled at him and held him a bit longer. “You won’t.”
He knew that this was a promise she would keep.
“Poppy.” Remus straightened out in his chair and wiped his eyes. Professor McGonagall was standing in the
“Will you give me a moment, Remus?” He watched as the two women exchanged glances before convening outside of the door. Silent now, he could hear the ticking of the small clock on the wall.
Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick…
“Remus would you follow us, please,” the Professor asked.
He nodded and followed her outside of the wing. They walked past the doors and down a small path toward the edge of the grounds. Remus stopped in his tracks.
“The Whomping Willow?” he asked. Before anyone answered, Professor McGonagall raised her wand, “Arresto Momentum. Revelio.”
The tree’s branches stilled, and a small passage revealed itself at the base of the trunk. He followed the two women as they made their way inside.
No one said anything for the rest of the walk, and after a few minutes, they were standing in a small room with wooden floors and a small bed in the corner.
“You can transform here, and no one will bother you.”
Remus’s eyes widened. “You know?” he asked looking up at the Professor.
“Yes, Remus. Headmaster Dumbledore has clued me into the situation.”
The situation. What an understatement.
“Oh. Uhmm. Who else knows?”
“Just the three of us and Headmaster Dumbledore. No one else.” She smiled slightly.
Suddenly, Remus felt the weight of it and his body began to ache again.
“Will you be alright to attend classes today? Madam Pomphrey can excuse you, if not.”
“No.” He rubbed his shoulder, “No, I want to go to class.”
“Alright then, Mr. Lupin. I expect to see you in Transfiguration after lunch.”
He agreed and the three of them made their way to the door.
“I believe Mr. Potter was looking for you. You will find him in the Great Hall. 10 minutes to lunch.”
He thanked her and made his way back to the castle.
Approaching the table, James and Peter were arguing over something.
“I am not saying the cannons are the best in the league, just that they would beat out the Harpies in their sleep.”
“You’re wrong, Dear Peter. You underestimate their abilities,” James said in a haughty accent.
Remus slid into the seat next to James, “Where is Sirius?”
“Don’t know, mate. Thought he was with you.”
Across the room, a small commotion occurred. Hushed whispers clouded the space and Remus looked up. Sirius was standing at the Slytherin table, arguing with a rather angular, blonde woman.
“It is an invitation, Sirius. You must attend. It is not a question.”
Sirius dragged to the toe of his boot across the floor as if he were kicking a rock.
“Tell my mother that I will be there.”
She agreed and he made his way back to the other boys.
“What was that?” Peter asked.
“Some stupid dinner my mother wants to me be at. I’ll have to miss the first Quidditch game.”
Remus watched him sit down, more specifically he watched James watch Sirius. He had a sad look in his eyes. “It’ll be alright, mate. Gryffindor doesn’t play till next weekend anyway.” He offered a shallow smile. Sirius nodded and the rest of the breakfast was somber.
After they had cleared their plates, James clapped his hands, “First day of class, my friends. Shall we get a move on? Don’t want Slughorn to think we aren’t thrilled to see his cauldrons.”
Sirius laughed, followed by Peter. Remus finished his juice and looked at James, “Who is Slughorn?”
“Remus, my dear lad, have you even read your schedule? Off to potions, we go.”
With that, the four boys left the hall and officially entered their first year.