Year One: Skeletons, and Other Flying Things

Time seemed to speed up after Remus’ birthday. The days lengthened, and spring rushed into the castle, flooding it with sunlight and fresh air after the long winter. Remus enlisted Sirius and Peter to help him prepare the prank for James’s birthday. They practised two times a week when James went out to the Quidditch pitch to watch the Gryffindor team.

Sirius nicked the invisibility cloak from James’s trunk the night before his birthday, and Remus got up before dawn to set up the surprise. He and Sirius donned the cloak and headed into the entrance hall.

On their way, they passed Mrs Norris sitting by a suit of armour, idly licking her paw. Remus prayed she wouldn’t hear them when they cast the spell. They stopped on the marble staircase overlooking the entrance hall.

“How do you want to do this?” Sirius whispered.

“We need to transfigure each tile separately. I say, start from the other end and work our way back. You do the right ones, and I’ll take the left.”

They muttered the incantations under their breath, turning the entire entrance hall floor into soft, springy mats. Remus hoped the spell would last long enough. They hurried back, the first students already sitting at the common room tables hunched over their books.

James stirred when the door fell shut behind them, and Sirius deposited the cloak back in his trunk. Quietly, Remus slid into bed, hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

James seemed to have different plans. He sat up, stretching. “Morning, lads,” he said. “What time is it?”

Remus groaned. He glanced at the alarm on his bedside table. “Almost seven?”

“Today is going to be an awesome day,” James said, jumping out of bed.

“Happy birthday,” Remus murmured, resting his head on the pillow.

Peter jerked awake when James slammed the door to the bathroom. “What’d I miss?”

When they arrived in the entrance hall, students from all houses had already discovered the bouncy floor. A few older students hurried across the swaying tiles, clutching their books tight to their chests, muttering.

The rest bounced happily on the floor, formerly made of stone.

“What is this?” James asked, grinning.

“Happy birthday, Potter,” Remus murmured.

“Lupin, you absolute genius!”

James ran down the stairs and launched onto the floor, bouncing across the hall. The other Marauders grinned, following his example.

In the Great Hall, Remus glanced at the staff table to find a host of sour faces chewing their breakfast. In the middle, Dumbledore sat, smiling out into the crowd. He seemed to be the only teacher who found the ordeal amusing, and Remus could swear he saw a wink in his direction.

Half of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class was late, which made for an interesting morning. With nearly fifty house points lost by both houses, they split into pairs to warm up for the duelling. They’d learned the Knockback Jinx in their last lesson and were now assigned to implement it in their strategy. James regained his place on the scoreboard, although Remus suspected Sirius had gone easy on him.

During potions, Slughorn stopped by their table, wished James a Happy Birthday, and told them an anecdote about James as a little boy. James sat through it with his lips pressed into a thin line and broke into a false bout of laughter that stopped the moment the professor turned his back. Remus shook his head. Slughorn was definitely the weirdest of their professors. Sirius convinced him to let the class leave early out of respect for ‘the occasion’—Remus was impressed.

The trampoline spell still worked in certain areas of the entrance hall, and James enjoyed a last round of bouncing before the rest of the school arrived for lunch. After eating, the Marauders stood.

“Haaaaaaaaaahhh-ppy birthday to you!” Remus bellowed along with Sirius and Peter. It helped that James was the last of them to turn twelve, and Remus had largely overcome the embarrassment that came with singing in front of the entire school—not that he could be heard. Sirius sang loud enough for the three of them. “Haaaah-ppy birthday to youuu! Haaaaah-ppy birthday, dear Jaaaaaaaaa-mes!”

The rest of the hall joined in, “Haaaaah-ppy birthdaaaaay toooooo youuuuuu!”

“Hip, hip!” Sirius yelled, standing on the bench.

“Hooray!” the Gryffindors chorused back.

Since they all knew how to fly, Sirius had borrowed brooms from Madam Hootch. Remus hovered about ten feet off the ground, high enough to keep the others from asking questions. It was the first really fine day they’d had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

A light breeze ruffled his hair, and Remus watched the dark trees of the Forbidden Forest swaying in the distance. He was still trying to wake up completely after one of the most boring lessons of History of Magic he’d had to sit through.

Above him, James and Sirius raced, play-wrestling and trying to push each other off their brooms on every occasion they got. Peter floated down to meet him.

“Enjoying yourself?”

Remus smiled. “Flying’s not really my thing.”

“It’s not so bad,” Peter said. “I wish I could fly like the professionals, though.”

“I’ve never seen the professionals,” Remus admitted.

Peter floated several metres forward. “What?”

“My dad thinks it’s rubbish,” Remus said. “A show to distract the wizarding world from the real problems.”

“What are the real problems?”

Remus shrugged. He’d never asked his father. They ended the afternoon with a slow flight over the lake. Occasionally, Remus could spot a great shadow beneath the water’s edge. He was careful not to stray from the shore. He could deal with broken bones if he fell, but drowning, on the other hand, he wanted to avoid.

***

Remus was running late. The others had shaken him awake several times, but after every attempt had failed and he’d threatened to hex them, they left for breakfast without him. It was the morning of a full moon, and the night before, the Gryffindors had stood atop the astronomy tower and recorded yet another star chart.

Remus’s knees ached as he sprinted down the stairs, hoping to make it in time. He’d just gained some good footing with Professor Bracegirdle and didn’t want to lose that.

Heaving for breath, he skidded to a halt outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, pulled the door open, and dashed inside. But it wasn’t Professor Bracegirdle who looked up at him from the teacher’s desk—it was Dumbledore.

The class stood assembled in the middle of the classroom and turned to look at him. Remus tried to slow his breathing and walk steadily. “I’m sorry I’m late, Professor—”

“No need to worry,” Professor Dumbledore said, chuckling. “Class hasn’t started yet.”

Remus hurried to stand by the other Marauders, who eyed him with concern. “I think this is enough nostalgia for one day,” Dumbledore said.

“Where is Professor Bracegirdle?” Benjamin Cattermole asked.

“Ahh.” Dumbledore got to his feet. “Yes, Professor Bracegirdle has been called away on rather short notice. I expect she will be back before your next lesson.”

“Where d’she go?” another boy asked.

“We will continue where you left off. I have been informed you are currently duelling?” Half the class nodded in response. “Break up into pairs. Mr Black with Mr Finch, Mr Pettigrew and Mr Young, Mr Potter with Miss Evans, please. Miss MacDonald, you will pair up with Mr Leek, Mr Lupin and Miss McKinnon.”

Remus turned, smiling at Marlene. He’d beaten her before, but not by much.

“Don’t go too hard on me, will you?” she asked.

“Promise,” Remus said.

They stood silently face to face until Dumbledore had finished assigning partners. Marlene tapped her foot rhythmically. Remus wanted to scream. The murmur from the crowd and the relentless tapping sped up his heartbeat—he struggled to focus on anything other than the noise.

“Face your partners!” Dumbledore called. “And bow!”

Remus bowed deep.

“Wands at the ready!” 

The air crackled with anticipation as Remus faced Marlene, wands raised. They didn’t know enough spells to inflict real damage, so duelling was more about quick thinking than skill.

Remus sent a Knockback Jinx square at Marlene’s chest, ducking the flash of red sparks coming his way. 

She was fast; her shield charm absorbed most of the impact, and she was thrown off balance only for a moment. It was all Remus needed. 

He cast a disarming spell, and Marlene’s wand flew toward him in a high arch.

“Are you alright?” Remus asked, immediately returning her wand.

Marlene nodded. “I don’t know what gets into me. Usually, I’m good at this sort of stuff.”

Remus shrugged. Marlene was good. She’d beaten nearly half the class—most in record time by ducking their first spell and retaliating. She had incredible reflexes, but they seemed to lag behind Remus’s.

“You’ll beat me,” he said.

“Do you think so?”

“Maybe?”

Marlene giggled. Professor Dumbledore stood by Bracegirdle’s desk, observing the last duel—James stood opposite Lily, panting. She’d given him a run for his money all term and wasn’t about to let him win. Remus stared, amazed. James barely had time to retaliate, too busy ducking Lily’s spells. It was almost as if he’d forgotten that he had a wand. 

The entire class had formed a circle around them, watching in awe. Mary cheered for Lily, and Sirius looked as if he was about to rip his hair out. James ducked another spell, and the crowd parted as the spell knocked a few books off the shelves. Peter had his hands clasped in front of his eyes.

With a final spell, Lily sent James stumbling backwards onto his ass. Dumbledore clapped slowly, as Mary burst forward, hugging Lily, almost knocking her over too. Remus held a hand out to James, who shuffled to his feet, roughing up his hair and smirking.

“I let her do that,” he whispered. “It’s good manners, innit?”

Remus nodded, grinning. They shuffled along, and Remus faced Caleb Woodcroft, a tall Gryffindor boy he’d spoken to only once.

“Face your partners!” Dumbledore called. “And bow!”

Remus bowed, his eyes never leaving the other boy.

“Wands at the ready!”

Remus held his wand high, but Woodcroft had already started on ‘two’—his spell hit Remus so hard he felt as though he’d been hit over the head with a saucepan. He shook his head, and, wasting no time, pointed his wand straight at Caleb and shouted, “Rictusempra!”

A jet of silver light hit Woodcroft in the stomach, and he doubled up, wheezing. Remus had hit him with a Tickling Charm, and he could barely move from laughing. Remus hung back, with a vague feeling it would be unsporting to bewitch a person while they were on the floor.

Professor Bracegirdle had never specifically forbidden the use of spells they’d learned on their own, but she’d had a sour look on her face when Sirius had used a Full Body-Bind Curse on Robert Young. Remus had no idea how Dumbledore would react.

“Finite Incantatem!” Dumbledore shouted—Woodcroft stopped laughing and glared at Remus. He tried an apologising smile, but Caleb moved along red-faced and muttering. Remus won his next duel, too. He sunk against the wall, waiting and studying the suspended skeleton.

A thin layer of sweat covered his skin. His stomach growled, earning a comment from Peter. He’d lost to Sirius but was elated because he’d won his third duel against a Hufflepuff girl.

Dumbledore hummed, standing by the scoreboards. He clapped his hands. “Enough of a break,” he said. Remus was paired with Hugo Leek, a blond Gryffindor boy, who looked nervously around the room.

They bowed, and before Dumbledore had counted past one, Hugo shouted, “Flipendo.”

Remus instinctively cast a shield charm. The jinx rebounded, a blinding white flash shooting toward the ceiling. The spell hit the skeleton, which swayed and groaned dangerously.

Time slowed as cords snapped, one after another, and the skull lurched dangerously, falling toward the floor. Chaos erupted as students screamed, scrambling out of harm’s way. Remus stood frozen, unable to move.

“Arresto Momentum!” Dumbledore roared, and the skeleton ground to a halt an inch from Remus’s nose.

The room fell into an uneasy silence, the air heavy with a mix of relief and lingering tension. Still rooted to the spot, Remus slowly exhaled, his eyes meeting Dumbledore’s.

The Marauders rushed to Remus. James shook him by the shoulders.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you alright?”

“Remus?”

“EVERYBODY,” Dumbledore shouted. “Mr Leek, Mr Lupin. Come with me.”

He waved his wand, and the skeleton lifted back up, the cords attaching themselves. Remus stumbled toward the stairs, following Hugo. He wished he could sink into the floor.

Professor Dumbledore towered over them. “Mr Leek, what you did was foolish and dangerous. Ten points from Gryffindor for your unsportsmanlike conduct. You may leave.”

Remus glanced at the boy. He was trembling, his head hanging, as he left the office.

Remus straightened. His heartbeat drummed in his ears, and he swallowed, feeling his stomach flip. Remus still had his wand clasped, his fingertips tingled, and his joints ached.

“How have you been finding Hogwarts, Remus?” Dumbledore asked, finally.

That wasn’t a question Remus had anticipated.

“Er… ok, I s’pose?”

“You seem to have had no problem making friends.”

It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t answer it. “What will happen? If they find out?” The question left Remus’s mouth before he could stop it.

“None of us know what the future holds for us,” Dumbledore said, his eyes sparkling. “Although I find it wisest not to test the bounds of what we’ve been given.”

Remus nodded, clenching his jaw. The hairs on the back of his neck stood, and he still felt like he might puke. Dumbledore’s gaze only agitated him more. He’d taken a chance on Remus, and Remus owed him everything.

James fussed over him for the entire day. Remus struggled to slip away to get to the hospital wing on time. Madam Pomfrey was already pacing by the door, lecturing him on his tardiness. Dumbledore was there, too, observing. He accompanied them until they reached the Willow. Remus didn’t bother asking why. He was far too distracted by the nagging in his stomach.

***

The Hogwarts Express was due to leave Saturday morning and take the few students who had signed up to spend the Easter holidays at home back to London. Sirius was miserable, moping the entire week. Of course, he’d been signed up by his cousins. The only commemoration Remus found in Sirius’s misery was that he was far too busy to notice his extended stint in the hospital wing after the full moon and wouldn’t be around to ask questions.

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be convinced that they wanted to spend the entirety of their holidays in the library. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren’t nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. Remus, Peter, and James spent much of their free time in the library, trying to get through all their extra work. Professor McGonagall seemed pleased with them. Remus had lost count, but he supposed this was the longest the Marauders went without at least one of them in detention.

One evening on their way back from the library—James had insisted they use the invisibility cloak for even the most mundane trips—they happened across Mrs Norris prowling in the corridors. It seemed to be the perfect time to put their revision of the Projectile Jinx into practice. They chased the cat nearly two floors, pelting her with odd objects the students had left lying around in the corridors. Smirking, they entered their common room twenty minutes later, where they were promptly shushed by five different seventh-years crouched over their exam revisions.

Remus’d finally shown the map to the Marauders after he returned from the hospital wing and found the others bent over a rudimentary sketch of the dungeons he’d left on his nightstand. It proved to be the perfect distraction after his absence. Ever since then, all the Marauders were obsessed. They spent the entire week leading up to the holidays, putting Remus’s sketches into order. It was a relief to have the others know about the map. Remus couldn’t explain the feeling. He was glad to have one less thing to hide from the others.

Over the holidays, nearly every night, the Marauders left the safety of their common room to wander the halls. They sketched the corridors and classrooms on rolls of parchment. James had wanted to wait for Sirius to return before they continued mapping, but Sirius had insisted the others use their time wisely and work ahead. Remus had promised not to explore any new passages they might happen across.

“I’ll never remember this,” Peter burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window.

The pressure on Peter was all too evident. He wasn’t a bad student by any means—in Herbology and Astronomy, he even flourished, often beating James. But he was nervous, and it made his incantations sloppy.

“Peter, calm down,” James soothed. “You’re going to be fine—you know the theory backwards now. It’s just putting it into practice.”

After spending more time in the library than ever before, Peter still murmured about his failing halfway through the second week of the holidays. James couldn’t hear it anymore and had taken him out to fly his worries away.

Remus, who’d been wanting a moment to himself for several days, gladly stayed behind in the library. Ever since the disastrous March moon, he was interested in what books had to say about his condition. He’d combed through his personal textbooks already, but he could hardly check out copies of books on werewolves from the library without arousing suspicions.

He sauntered through the Magical Creatures section of the library, idly looking at the titles that could offer some information he didn’t already know. He was vaguely aware that he’d been bitten—as his textbook had confirmed. Remus supposed he was too young to remember the event clearly, and his parents never spoke about it.

Remus ran his hand along the spines, stopping when he spotted a book titled ‘Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live’. He swallowed and was just about to pick up the book when he heard a snigger behind him.

“If it isn’t Loony Lupin. Where are your little friends, eh?” Snape lounged against the shelf.

“None of your business, Snape,” Remus said.

“You know, we should stop meeting like this?” Snape sneered. “Or have you forgotten what happened last time?”

“I completely agree,” Remus said, tightening his fist. “I suggest you leave.”

Remus supposed he could take Snape if they were both on their own, but Snape rarely went anywhere alone.

“Mr Snape.” Snape’s eyes flicked down the aisle. Remus turned. “And Mr Lupin, what a surprise.”

Professor Bracegirdle stood between the shelves, straight-backed. Remus hadn’t seen her since she’d been called away before Easter. Reluctantly, Snape left without another look at Remus.

“Why don’t you join me?” Bracegirdle asked.

Remus didn’t want to, but he followed her out of the library nonetheless. She took him down a corridor and into a large room. It looked like the other classrooms, except it had fewer desks.

“Where are we?”

“One of the practice rooms,” she said. “It is only open to the older students, although the ones near the library have been closed. It is quite loud if an entire fourth-year Charms class practises Explosion Charms.”

She turned to look at him. “What do you know about the laws dealing with werewolves?”

Remus shrugged. “Not much.”

“Have you read anything? What have your parents told you?”

“My father said it would be difficult for me to find work.”

“Yes, yes,” she said, her mouth twisting. “Listen to me very carefully now. The ministry is increasing its measures against dark creatures.”

Remus nodded. “Like werewolves.”

“Yes,” she said. “Werewolves. And vampires, and a whole list of creatures. I have to tell you to be careful. No doubt, your parents or Dumbledore will inform you when the measures are officially announced.”

“Do you know what they are?” Remus asked. “I have tried to find information in books, but there is nothing.”

“Most books are ill-informed,” she said. “I myself have been ill-informed. Starting next year, I have taken a position on a task force in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The ministry plans to regulate werewolves and other dangerous beings more closely.”

“What do you mean, regulate?”

“I think you know very well what that means, Mr Lupin.”

Remus’s head buzzed. Was he getting locked up?

“Over the course of this year,” Professor Bracegirdle said, stepping closer. “I have learned much. When I first saw you, I—I didn’t have faith in Dumbledore. I didn’t have faith in you, but now, Mr Lupin. I wanted you to know how very sorry I am.”

Remus looked at his feet. He couldn’t bear the look on her face. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

***

Peter bombarded him with enough questions on each section of their textbooks until Remus’s head spun. He rarely had time to research his lycanthropy—even if he’d been brave enough to return to the library.

James was convinced Remus had caught a bad case of nerves about the exams and tried to get him to relax—with no luck. Worry crept through his mind and into his legs, and he spent the entire last day of their holiday pacing the halls. He couldn’t forget Professor Bracegirdle’s words. If he were going to be hunted, he’d have to be careful.

How easy his life had been a year ago, reading books and helping his mother around the house. The lazy afternoons in the garden wading through a sea of flowers and hiding beneath the old apple trees until it was time for dinner. He’d been safe.

He passed a group of ghosts several times. Remus supposed he was going in a circle. He wasn’t paying attention to where exactly he went; he was surprised he hadn’t run into Snape yet. Sirius would be back in the evening, and with him came all sorts of hiding and sneaking around.

It was easier with James and Peter. Peter was too worried he wouldn’t pass his exams to notice anything out of the ordinary, and James didn’t seem to care much about anything beyond Quidditch and pranks. He had asked some questions in the past—more than Sirius when Remus thought about it—but he’d always been satisfied with the easy explanations.

Sirius, on the other hand. He wouldn’t let up. He’d been like a shadow, observing, always there. He’d seen the scars—he was bound to suspect something. Remus tried to push it to the edge of his mind.

He was tired, tired of pretending to be normal, but there was no other option. Not if he wanted to keep his friends, and he did. More than anything. James had started planning for the summer and hinted at the possibility of the other boys visiting him. Remus wanted to say yes. He wanted to send an owl to his parents and ask for permission, but it was hard enough to keep his secret at school, and Remus didn’t even want to think about the challenges he’d have at James’s.

Remus slowed. It was the second time he’d passed the hospital wing. The doors stood wide open, and he could see Madam Pomfrey bent over the foot of a bed. He edged closer to the door, leaning against the frame.

“Remus!” she said, smiling at him, surprised. “Shall we pop into my office for some tea?”

Remus nodded. She closed the door to her office and handed Remus a cup. Madam Pomfrey inquired about his classes and his friends.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” she said. “Two full moons fall onto the holidays. I would like to come by and check on you afterwards. Would that be alright?”

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

“W—What?”

Remus was surprised by the question himself. It had popped into his mind, and he couldn’t stop it. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“No, no. It’s quite alright. Are you doing well?”

Remus shrugged. “Yeah. I did a bit of reading. Almost every book—”

“I am aware of what the books say. And that is not you. Something awful has happened to you, Remus, but it does not define you.”

He looked down at his hands, at a loss. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, and there was a hard lump in his throat. “Will this be the rest of my life?”

“Progress in the wizarding world has always been slow,” she said. “But I firmly believe there will be a day when your condition will be understood properly, and you will have a normal life.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Absolutely. Now, would you like to borrow one of my books? I find they are more helpful than the ones you will find in the library.”

He nodded, finally bringing himself to look up at her.