1st September 1971 - Beginning of Hogwarts
1st September 1971
Remus and the rest of the first year group were waiting in a chamber off of The Great Hall. That's what the stern looking woman, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, had said anyway. Apparently, the rest of the school was on the other side of that door, waiting to watch them all get sorted.
Remus noticed he was on the receiving end of a few looks — presumably for his scars — but he pointedly ignored the weird stares that he was getting.
Once they had been led inside, Remus and Sirius had quickly reunited with James and Peter. They had shared a boat with a girl with long dark hair and a fringe who was of Asian descent, and a boy with a hooked nose and black, shoulder length greasy hair. The girl's name was apparently Emmeline, the boy’s, Severus.
According to James, Severus didn't seem to like James at all , or Peter, or even holding a conversation altogether. James pointed Severus out for Sirius, where he was scuffing his shoes off the floor beside Lily, who was talking to another girl. The girl Lily was talking to was pretty, in Remus’ opinion, with curly dark brown hair and dark skin.
Remus quickly realised that was probably the ‘Sev’ Lily was on about earlier. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. The only thing that made it hard to believe was the fact she was friends with him.
Poor girl. Remus thought. She seemed so nice and sweet, trying to make new friends and he was just following her around like a particularly pissed off shadow.
When Sirius pointed out the two girls they shared a boat with for James and Peter, James had developed a particular interest in Lily. He kept giving her glances while trying to discuss what houses they would be in with Sirius.
“Should I go over and say ‘hi’?” He asked Sirius, cutting off the boy’s rant about Gryffindor. “She seems to be talking to everyone.”
“Go for it, Potter.” Sirius replied, a smirk playing on his lips, he wasn’t at all fussed with being interrupted.
James nodded and grinned back at Sirius. He took a deep breath and went over to say hello to the redhead who was now talking to Marlene again. Severus was lingering behind her looking more annoyed than before when he noticed James walking towards them.
Once James was out of earshot, Sirius turned to Remus, still smirking.
“Already trying to make an impression with the birds, he is.”
Remus saw nothing funny about that in the slightest but let out a dry laugh nonetheless. Sirius, who didn't pay any mind to how fake Remus’ laugh sounded, turned back to watch James’ interaction with Lily.
James confidently walked up to the girl and tapped her on the back. Sirius snorted at that while Remus felt severely embarrassed for James and the redhead. Lily, who was still conversing with Marlene, turned around to see who interrupted her. James then held out his hand to shake hers. She gave him a half-amused, half-unsure look but in the end shook his hand too.
Their mouths were moving so Remus assumed that they were giving introductions. James then nodded and stepped away from Lily, who then turned back to Marlene. Laughing a bit at the weird interaction with her.
Sirius was trying to control his laughter and as a result was now going red in the face. He hadn’t seemed to realise not laughing didn't mean not breathing.
James started to walk back to the group, running a hand through his hair as if he were fifteen, not eleven.
“Oh, he's walking back now!” Sirius commentated for Remus, roughly grabbing his arm and laughing as he did so.
I’m not blind, you twat. Remus thought. He didn't voice that to Sirius though.
When James finally reached them he looked a tad bit dazed and held a slight blush.
“How did it go?” Sirius asked, finding this way funnier than it actually was. Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius.
This is stupid, he thought.
“Her name is Lily. Lily Evans.” James said, giving them information Sirius had already told James.
“Yeah. We know. We shared a boat with her, mate.” Sirius deadpanned.
James ignored him and told Remus and Sirius about Lily, one of which was now clutching his sides laughing. It wasn’t Remus. He told them about where she lived and that she was friends with Severus.
“We already know that.” Remus said to James. Lily had asked them where they were from just before they got off the boats. She had told Remus that she herself was from a town called Cokeworth, somewhere in the midlands.
James rolled his eyes jokingly at Remus and ignored Sirius.
“Where’s Pete?” James asked. Remus assumed James was asking him since Sirius was in no state to answer any questions, too busy laughing over something that wasn’t even funny.
Remus realised that he hadn’t actually seen Peter since James had caught interest in Lily. They looked around — bar Sirius, who had finally finished laughing and was now wiping a bloody tear out of his eye.
They couldn't look for Peter any longer, though, as the big doors connecting them to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall stepped inside. She was holding a big scroll of parchment and was still wearing a stern expression on her face.
“Welcome to Hogwarts.” She said. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.”
She sounded like she had said this a million times before. Which she probably had.
“The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.” She finished and looked at the first years.
They all stared back at her, some nervously, some just wanting to get this over with. James yawned beside Remus, and Sirius, on the other hand, had gone back to being sickeningly nervous. This boy was astoundingly good at switching from one emotion to another.
He’s like a bloody lightswitch. Remus thought.
“Well then, let’s go inside.” McGonagall said to them, turning around to open the massive doors and then lead them into the Great Hall.
The first years scuttled after her and Remus became extremely aware of every single student staring them down from the four long tables they were sitting at. Remus just wished they would go back to minding their own business so he could go back to being a nervous wreck in peace.
McGonagall led all the first years to the very front of the hall, and stopped right in front of a stool with a hat on top. The hat looked old and battered, like something Remus would wear. Remus wouldn’t be surprised if the hat was over a thousand years old.
The stern-looking woman then turned to face the students. She unrolled a scroll and then spoke to them.
“I am going to read out your names in alphabetical order. Once you hear your name, you will sit on this stool. Then I will place the Sorting Hat on top of your head. It will sort you into your house, and you will go and sit at the corresponding table.” McGonagall explained, her voice clear. “Do you understand?”
They all nodded.
Remus let out a sigh of relief when McGonagall mentioned the “alphabetical” part. That meant there were at least a few people going up before she got to the “L”s.
“Bennet, Catherine!” McGonagall called out to the whole hall.
A small girl with dark brown hair nervously stepped up onto the platform and took her seat on the stool. McGonagall then placed the Sorting Hat atop her head. It was so large that it fell down past her eyes.
The Great Hall was silent, waiting for the Sorting Hat to speak. Even Remus was intrigued, holding his breath. James, from beside him, had a completely opposite effect. He was busy shuffling and moving around, presumably looking for someone.
“D’you know where Lily went?” He turned to whisper to Remus.
Remus shrugged. He didn’t care.
“Shh!” McGonagall strictly shushed James. He looked apologetically at her, and nodded.
Suddenly, came an old sounding voice from the top of Bennet’s head. It was raspy and hoarse, but at the same time calm and sensitive, and you couldn’t help but listen closely to what it had to say.
“ Hmm… Well there’s no doubt about this. ” The hat was saying. “ Ravenclaw !”
The Ravenclaw table erupted into claps and cheers as Catherine hopped off the stool and went to join the table that was welcoming her enthusiastically.
One or two first years later and it was Sirius’ turn.
“Black, Sirius!” McGonagall announced. The whole hall burst into quiet muffled whispers as Sirius nervously made his way to the stool.
The Black’s were more well known than Remus thought, then.
The professor placed the hat atop Sirius’ head and after a few seconds, the hat yelled out:
“ Gryffindor !”
Sirius immediately looked like he was going to vomit. The whole hall went dead silent. Even Remus was shocked. The only people left looking confused were the younger, and even some of the older, muggle borns.
Remus threw James a worried look and mouthed ‘ Is he okay?’
James shrugged, equally shocked and worried, and mouthed back ‘ I don’t know.’
McGonagall, hiding her surprise well, went up to Sirius and whispered into his ear, nodding at the Gryffindor table. Sirius was paler than a ghost but moved his head, showing he understood what she was saying.
After a few seconds, he got off the stool and made his way to the silent Gryffindor table. They weren’t clapping or cheering, presumably from the shock.
The only table who was more confused than the Gryffindor one, was the Slytherin table — who were very sure yet another Black would join their ranks.
Remus looked over to see Sirius taking a seat beside Frank, who had invited him over to sit next to him. Probably to make sure the younger boy wouldn’t throw up or something.
Remus, who had recovered from the initial surprise, internally rolled his eyes about everyone being so dramatic just because a Black was sorted into Gryffindor, until he remembered the deep marks on Sirius’ back and the fact that this had never happened before.
He then realised that Sirius was probably so nervous about the sorting because he thought he wouldn’t get into Slytherin. Is that what his parents would do to him when they found out?
Remus couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Sirius. No one deserved that.
After Sirius was a girl called Greta Catchlove, a plump girl with light brown hair who got sorted into Hufflepuff.
Then there were a few more, mostly Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, with one Ravenclaw.
After them was:
“Evans, Lily!” McGonagall read from her scroll.
Lily looked extremely nervous while walking onto the platform to sit on the stool but tried covering it with confidence. It didn’t work very well.
The sorting hat waited for a minute or two before shouting out, “ Gryffindor !”
The Gryffindor table started clapping and welcoming Lily over. The redhead got off the stool and happily took her place at the table. Remus spotted Sirius again who hadn’t recovered much from his sorting.
James looked positively delighted Lily was in Gryffindor, as the boy had stated earlier on the train during their card game that he was fairly sure he would end up in Gryffindor, as his whole family had been there.
Unless he pulls a Sirius, he’ll be grand. Remus thought.
There were a few more sortings, including a girl called Candace Forbes who had shockingly ended up in Ravenclaw, since she had fallen twice on her way to and from the stool, and went to the Hufflepuff table before she was redirected back to the Ravenclaw table with a burning red face.
Then McGonagall got to the ‘L’s’. And in less time than Remus had hoped, he heard his name being called out.
“Lupin, Remus!” His name was called out to the whole hall. Remus took a deep breath and walked up to the platform, sitting on the stool. He clenched the sides with nerves as he knew all eyes were on him at this very moment.
McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat atop his head. It went down past his eyes and Remus was thrust into darkness.
“ Well, who do we have here?” Remus flinched slightly at hearing a deep voice. It sounded like it was coming from right next to his ear.
“I can see you’re a smart one, yes.” The voice said. Remus stopped himself from smiling slightly.
“ You also have a lot of courage in you.” The voice continued. “ Ravenclaw would be a nice suit for you, but in Gryffindor you could do well too.”
The voice pondered for a moment before shouting out.
“ Gryffindor!.”
Remus ripped the hat off of his head and thrust it to McGonagall. He made his way to the Gryffindor table that was clapping and cheering at its newest member.
One or two people stared at his scars but other than that he just got claps on the back and shook a few hands.
Lily waved him over to where her and Sirius were sitting. She had sat across from Sirius, who was looking less pale now. Lily smiled at him, taking her attention away momentarily from the next person getting sorted — Mary McDonald.
“Hi, Remus.” Lily said to him. Even Sirius managed to give him a weak smile.
Remus felt sympathetic once again for Sirius and decided to ask the boy if he was okay.
“Alright, Black? You look a bit pale there.” He asked Sirius. To his own horror, he was actually genuinely concerned for the raven haired boy sitting beside him. Well, to be fair, he wasn’t a monster. In some aspects.
Sirius looked down and nodded. “I’m fine- I’m fine. Thanks, don’t worry about me.”
Remus nodded, not fully convinced and shared a look with Lily.
The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers again and the three of them looked up. Mary had gotten sorted into their house, then.
Lily waved Mary over and the chestnut haired girl came to sit next to her. She smiled at the two boys, paying Sirius an extra glance, and then turned to look at the rest of the sorting ceremony.
There were a few more sortings, including Marlene, who was sorted into Gryffindor too and took her seat on the other side of Lily.
It was James' turn after Peter. The sandy haired boy had gotten sorted into Gryffindor. To Remus’ shock. Peter had then seated himself beside Remus.
“Potter, James!” Was called out and James walked with barely concealed nerves to the stool and sat down.
Barely a second after the hat touched his head it yelled out:
“ Gryffindor!”
The Gryffindors started clapping and cheering, welcoming James with open arms. James made his way over to the three other boys and sat down beside Sirius. He smiled awkwardly at Lily, who returned him a tight lipped smile back.
“Hiya, mate.” James said cautiously to Sirius. Like the boy was going to bite him if he didnt tread carefully. “How are you doing?”
Sirius nodded at him. “I’m fine, honest. Just a shock is all.”
James scanned Sirius one more time and then turned to Remus and Pete.
Remus gave a small smile to him and Peter looked delighted that he and James were in the same house.
They all turned back to look at the rest of the sorting. Remus, now that he had gotten sorted, had realised that this ceremony was going terribly slowly — especially since he was starving for food. The lycan also had to meet with the school nurse to discuss future full moons with him. This was all too tiring.
After a few more nervous students, mainly Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Severus Snape’s name was called out. Lily quickly looked up from examining her empty plate to watch her grumpy friend get sorted. She had a small smile on her face, quietly encouraging him while he’s getting assigned to his house.
Remus didn’t like this Snape one bit. Lily seemed so sweet and kind, so it was beyond him that she was friends with this sulky faced boy. He had a sour expression plastered across his face any time Lily spoke to someone that wasn’t him. He looked like such a snob. The hooked nose and greasy hair didn’t help his case, either.
Snape walked up to the stool and the hat was placed upon his head. His long and crooked nose stopped it from sliding down his face even further.
It wasn’t even a full three seconds before the Sorting Hat bellowed out:
“ Slytherin!”
And so, Snape walked over to the Slytherin table, glancing at Lily as he did so. He sat down beside the other Slytherin first years, which included a girl called Dorcas Meadowes and Wulfric Mulciber.
Slimy git, Remus though. Of course he’d be in Slytherin. Why he hated Snape so much, he didn't know.
Lily’s face fell as soon as Snape’s assigned house was called out. She had a look of disappointment on her face and was playing nervously with her fingers. Remus felt bad for her but for the life of him couldn’t understand why she was sad.
Who would want to be in the same house as Snape? Especially if he seemed so controlling over her.
There were a few more sortings and then the headmaster, Dumbledore, as his father had told him, stood up and said a few words. He had a long silvery-grey beard and was wearing robes of a beautiful periwinkle blue. In Remus’ opinion, he looked like he was wearing a nightgown.
“For the new students, welcome. And for the older, welcome back to Hogwarts. I look forward to spending a new school year with you all.” He said. “I would like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds as you can hear from it’s name.”
Dumbledore rambled on for another minute or two until he stopped and food appeared on dishes in front of them. Remus, who would’ve sworn he could’ve eaten a cow in that moment, wasted no time in digging in.
Lily, who had shaken her small disappointment off quickly, was chatting enthusiastically to Mary and Marlene.
James and Sirius were also talking. Remus caught a word or two and it seemed they had resumed their Quidditch debate. And Peter was eating his food, seemingly content with not conversing at the moment. Remus respected Peter for that.
Remus ate in silence too, listening to Sirius and James’ rapid conversation about the school quidditch team. He wasn’t particularly interested, he just had nothing better to do.
After a while of the new Gryffindors talking amongst each other, Dumbledore wished them and the rest of the students goodnight — sending them off to their dorms.
Everyone started to get up and exit the Great Hall and Remus looked around, a new panic setting inside him when he realised that he had no idea of where to go. The boy soon noticed he was not alone in this panic as he saw Peter's face. Even James and Sirius looked a little confused.
Suddenly, Frank came behind James and tapped him on the shoulder, making the bespectacled boy jump. James’ face quickly developed a light blush when he realised who it was.
“Didn’t mean to scare you there, mate. I’m supposed to take you lot to your dorms with the others.”
Frank nodded over to another Gryffindor prefect who was with Mary, Marlene and Lily. She had straight, light brown hair and held a kind look on her face. She looked up at Frank and smiled at them all. The group was then led over to her and the girls by Frank.
“This is Alice Fortesque.” Frank introduced the girl to them. “She’s another one of the Gryffindor prefects.” Alice smiled again and greeted the four boys.
“Right, let's go.” She said, specifically to Frank. They all made their way out of the now mostly empty hall.
Frank and Alice were leading the group, talking to Lily and answering James’ excited questions. Peter was trailing slightly behind James, listening intently to the two prefects. Mary and Marlene were walking a few steps behind them. The two girls had their heads pressed together and were whispering and giggling, mostly Mary. Sirius and Remus were left walking at the end of the group in a silence that wasn’t particularly awkward but wasn’t all that comfortable
There were older students still walking to their common rooms so Sirius and Remus had to keep close to the group so as to not get lost. Hogwarts was undeniably huge and it was extremely easy to get confused by the corridors that were identical to each other.
He would need a bloody map to get around this place.
“A map would be handy.” Sirius groaned quietly to himself, seemingly reading Remus’ mind.
They weren't so different, then. Maybe this Sirius lad wasn’t as bad as Remus thought. He is in Gryffindor, after all. But Remus wouldn’t purposefully make friends with him, anyway.
The 1st year Gryffindor group continued on their walk around the school, closely following behind Frank and Alice, and intently checking all their surroundings. Remus’ favourite bit about Hogwarts so far were the portraits and tapestries. And all the fancy architecture that he’s never seen before. He hadn't been anywhere fancy as of yet, and all the different pillars and arches made for a very new view of life.
Remus was sure however, that once he saw it, the Hogwarts library would be his absolute favourite. He made a mental note to go visit it when he had free time.
After another long but interestingly not boring few minutes, the two Prefects stopped in front of a portrait. The small group of 1st years stopped too, and there were muffled whispers heard as they wondered why the walk was over, and why they stopped in front of what seemed like a normal wall.
“This is the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.” Frank Longbottom announced. He made sure to make his voice very loud and very clear, so even the ones at the back could easily hear too. “It is the portrait of the Fat Lady.”
“Is that not offensive?” Sirius giggled, turning his head to whisper to Remus. Remus rolled his eyes back.
“It’s her name, Black.” He whispered.
But Remus couldn’t deny that The Fat Lady was indeed… fat, and Sirius was still laughing to himself about her name.
So immature, Remus thought.
The Fat Lady wore her light brown hair in a bun and curls and was wearing a pink silken dress. In her left hand she held a wine glass filled with red wine.
“There is a password that you have to tell her in order for her to open the common room.” Frank continued. “It changes every few months or so.”
Alice noticed the worried expressions on the young 1st years’ faces, and seemingly reading their minds, quickly added,
“You will get notified when it changes, don’t worry.” She smiled.
Frank nodded, and continued. “For now, the password is,” He turned towards the portrait and cleared his throat. “ Oddsbodikins .”
The Fat Lady nodded, and the portrait swung open, revealing the Gryffindor Common Room.
The common room was decked out in red, from the tapestries on the walls to the red furniture. The room had a lit fireplace with some of the couches and chairs surrounding it. There was a massive red rug underneath them.
Some of the older students were still up, hanging out catching up with their friends. The first years were paid no mind by them bar a glance or two. Remus appreciated that.
Marlene and James raced each other to sit on one of the free couches near the fireplace, Lily had decided to look at the engravings on the mantle above the fireplace and Remus went to see what books were on offer on the bookshelf. No muggle books, he noticed. He’d have trouble reading without his mother, the train ride was hard as he didn't have her when he got stuck on words. It’s not like he couldn’t read. It was just difficult. It felt like the letters rearranged themselves on the page and back in front of his eyes.
Mary, Sirius and Peter stayed with Frank and Alice, looking either exhausted or bored.
“Okay, listen up!” Frank clapped, gathering the attention of the first years back to him and Alice.
“First year girls, your dormitories are upstairs and on the right.” Alice called out. “Boys, yours are on this floor on the left.” She pointed in the direction of each dormitory. “You will find your trunks in your dormitories.”
Remus wondered who had to lug all those trunks up here. He pitied them.
All of them either nodded or thanked the two Prefects, and went off to find their dorm rooms. James came pushing past Mary and Marlene to reach Remus and Sirius, Peter trailing behind him.
“We’re all in the same dormitory, lads.” He grinned.
“Brilliant!” Sirius grinned back. “Let’s go?”
James and Peter nodded, but Remus suddenly remembered he had to go to the matron first.
“Sorry, I have to go…er, check on something. I’ll be back.” Remus told his new-found friends.
“Where?” Sirius questioned. Remus almost rolled his eyes at the nosiness of the boy.
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll see you in a bit.” He tried again. Hoping this time he’d be successful in shaking Sirius off.
“I can go with you. In case you get lost.” Sirius just would not give up and it was driving Remus up the wall.
“I’ll be fine.” Remus had started to make his way to the portrait hole but Sirius followed after him, leaving James and Peter to stand at the end of the stairs to their dorm. At least they knew how to mind their own business.
“It’ll be an adventure! Where are you off to anyway?”
“None of your business.” Remus snarled, absolutely done with Sirius’ pestering. The moon was in four days, and Remus’ aching bones made him very irritable.
Sirius was taken aback, even looking a little hurt, but nonetheless, nodded and turned to walk back over to James and Peter, who were waiting to go to their dormitory.
Remus didn't have the energy to feel guilty for snapping at Sirius. He could deal with those feelings after he had some rest.
He left the common room and went to make his way to the Hospital Wing, before he realised he had no clue where it was.
The boy wandered around for at least ten minutes before accepting defeat and going to find someone to give him directions. All he could find, though, were groups of older students and he was not going to ask directions from them. It was embarrassing enough to ask one person but multiple was too far.
Soon enough, Remus spotted a Ravenclaw boy walking by himself. He seemed to be in either fifth or sixth year — pretty tall, not tall enough to be 17, but not short enough to be 14. Not the worst person to ask then.
“Hello. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the hospital wing?” Remus asked, trying to push down the thought of how pathetic he looked. Even though he probably didn’t.
“‘Course I can.” The Ravenclaw boy replied, smiling kindly at Remus. He was seeing a first year wandering the corridors and wanted to help. That pissed Remus off. “I’ll walk you there.”
Remus was about to protest but saw no point. He was bad with directions anyways. They started to walk.
“Sick already, ey?” The boy questioned, smiling down at Remus. All he did back was nod. He didn't want to have a conversation so he just decided to agree with everything this boy asked.
After a few more minutes of silence, the Ravenclaw spoke again.
“I’m assuming you’re a first year?” The boy asked. Why couldn’t people just stay silent?
“Yeah.” Remus nodded again.
“Name’s Leo, by the way.” The boy announced.
“Remus.”
Leo nodded awkwardly. “So, how’re you liking your first day?”
This boy just would not leave him alone. How hard is it to just keep your mouth shut?
“Fine.” Remus responded dryly. He didn’t have the energy to try at a conversation. His social skills ran out at the Hogwarts Express.
After another few minutes walking in awkward silence, (Leo seemed to finally catch on that Remus had zero interest in pursuing a conversation with him) Leo stopped in front of big wooden double doors.
“I’ll leave you here then.” Leo nodded his head towards the doors of the hospital wing.
“Thanks.” Remus responded up at Leo.
Leo smiled, turned, and walked away, leaving Remus standing outside the hospital wing.
He took a deep breath and entered.
The hospital wing was bright. Too bright. And very, very white. It had white floors, white walls, a white ceiling, and white beds lined up against said white walls. The only non-white things Remus could see were the light green privacy blinds. Remus appreciated the fact they had those. He didn't need people seeing how beaten up he was after every full moon.
The matron, Madam Pomfrey — as he was told — came bustling out of a room at the end of the wing. Remus assumed that was her office.
“Remus Lupin?” She asked, peering over at him. He nodded in return. “Oh good, you’re here. I knew it was you, I just wanted to make sure. You're the spitting image of your father, you know.”
Rage bubbled inside of Remus at the comment Pomfrey had obviously intended to be nice. He pushed down his snappy reply, though. She just wanted to make small talk, that was it.
He still hated to be compared to his father in any way. Remus would much rather be compared to his loving mother. Who paid him attention and wasn’t so distant all the time. She still loved him, even though he was a werewolf.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Madam Pomfrey leading him over to her office. She stood in front of him, not sitting down at her desk. Just staring at him. Remus was about to buckle under their watchful eyes, but he quickly became acutely aware of how tall he was, even for an eleven year old. He was a good few inches taller than the plump Madame Pomfrey, and it made him feel extremely uncomfortable, standing there, towering over her. He looked behind him, and found a chair that he quickly plopped down on. There. Now they were the same height. Madam Pomfrey nodded happily at him, supposedly because he found a chair, and sat down across from him behind her desk.
“So, Remus. Do you know why you’re here today?” She asked, smiling kindly at him.
Remus nodded. “Yeah, I’m s’posed to be told the plan for the next moon in four days.”
“Yes, exactly. I’m terribly sorry that I have to pull you away from your bed, especially since you need your rest as classes start tomorrow. I just need to go through all of this with you as soon as possible. We will be quick, don't worry, dear.”
Remus nodded mutely.
“Okay, before we begin, do you have any questions for me, sweetheart?” She asked him, pulling out a file — probably his.
“Uh, just one.” He answered. “Where am I going to stay? Y’know, when I’m..”
Pomfrey looked up from his file to answer Remus. “Oh, don’t worry about that. You’ll be away from the students. Did you by any chance see the tree on your way into the castle?”
Remus shook his head, worry was building inside of him. They were going to tie him to a tree?
“I’ll show you how to get inside on the actual day. Everything is already set up. You don't need to worry about it.”
Remus was even more confused. Were they going to put him inside a tree?
He didn’t voice his worry to her and she bustled on about safety precautions, how long he would stay in the Hospital Wing after the moon and warned him to not tell anyone. — Half an hour later he found himself being led out of Pomfrey's office.
“Will I walk you to your common room, pet?” She asked him. Remus was grateful for her offer because he would not have asked her himself.
“Oh, yes, please.” He nodded at her.
She smiled and opened the door for him to walk out, following after him.
“I knew your father in school, you know.” Pomfrey told him after they had been walking in silence for a minute or two.
Remus didn't know how to react to that. In all honesty, he didn’t care, but the matron was so nice to him and he didn't want to be rude, so he replied to her.
“Was he in your year?”
“Oh, no, he was a few years ahead of me. Outstanding wizard.” She told him.
Remus nodded. He smiled at her as to not look rude, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask more about his father. The topic bored him.
Another few minutes of walking later, in which Remus was focusing hard on remembering which way they were going, the two reached the Gryffindor Tower and stood outside the Fat Lady’s portrait.
“Do you remember the password?” She asked him. Remus happily nodded, as he did remember it.
“It’s, uh, Oddsbodikins.” He told the portrait. The Fat Lady smiled at him and swung open.
“Well, I’ll leave you here then. See you in a few days, Remus.” Pomfrey smiled.
Remus smiled back and bid her goodnight, climbing in the portrait hole and letting it shut behind him.
He decided that he liked Madam Pomfrey. She seemed like she wasn’t too bad to talk to when he is bedridden after the full moons.
The Gryffindor common room was fairly more empty than when he had left it — only a few more students were left, talking to each other quietly on the couches in front of the fireplace.
Remus went over to the staircase leading to the boys dorms and walked up them. Then he found the door to his dorm and opened it.
James and Sirius were fighting over the bed closest to the window and Peter was happily sitting on the one nearest the door. When they heard the door open and looked at it, they saw Remus was back and instantly harassed him.
“Mate, where were you?” James asked him.
“Lupin. Tell Potter that this bed is mine.” Sirius whined.
“Doesn’t matter.” Remus dismissed James and ignored Sirius, walking over to the bed next to the one the two boys were fighting over and flopped down.
Black and Potter erupted into shouts at each other once again and Peter, who was most likely done with their shit, threw one of his pillows at them.
“Shu’p will you?” Peter grumbled. “I’m trying to sleep.”
Remus chuckled at Peter, who seemed so timid and shy but apparently, exhaustion changed him.
James and Sirius glared at him but did as told and shut up. James, with a look to Sirius, moved over to the other free bed and Sirius, triumphant, jumped onto his.
“Night lads.” James called out to them all after they had gotten into their pyjamas and the lights were turned off.
“Night.” Sirius called back. Peter had fallen asleep, evident by the soft snores coming from his bed, and didn’t answer. Remus decided to feign sleep and didn't answer either.
He turned over in his bed, trying to find a comfortable spot and felt a lump under his pillow. Pulling whatever it was out, Remus found a small snakeskin pouch. Inside were some of the sweets from the train that he had declined. He then turned the pouch over in his hands and saw S.B stamped in gold near the bottom.
He rolled his eyes at that but couldn’t help the small smile creeping onto his face. He thanked every single one of his stars that Sirius wasn’t able to see him smile at the kind gesture.
He looked over to Sirius’ bed and the lump underneath the covers that was on it. Yes, Sirius was terribly annoying. But maybe he wasn’t all that bad.
He lay back down and rolled over, falling asleep.