Chapter Text
“Got everything you need, dear?”
“Yes, Mum.”
Remus swung his duffle bag into the backseat of his mother’s car with a final, heaving sigh. Only this morning had he been able to scrounge up every single last belonging he thought he would need for the year ahead. Packing had never been easy for Remus, though. He tended to overthink quite a lot, and when he wouldn’t be home till Christmas, he had to be thinking a bit more than usual to make sure he wouldn’t leave anything of even the smallest importance behind.
Remus’ mother, Hope, didn’t seem too convinced. “You’re sure you have everything? You know I won’t be able to bring anything up once you realize you’ve forgot,” She caressed the silver hood of her car wistfully. “I don’t think poor Tessie’ll be up to making this journey more than twice a year.”
Remus let out a laugh. “I think this drive alone will surely be putting Tess through her paces. And yes, I know I have everything. I made a list and checked everything off.” He pulled a scrap of paper from his pant pocket and thrust it into her free hand. “See for yourself.”
His mother tore her rapt attention from her car and studied her son’s careful writing, eyes roving up and down repeatedly. After half a minute, she nodded in defeat. “Alright, you’ve been rather thorough. Shall we get on the road, then?”
Remus hesitated, one foot pointed back toward the front door. “You know what,” he began. “Let me just do one more quick sweep of the house, make sure there won’t be anything I’m missing.”
Hope’s mouth tilted up at the corners in an understanding smile. “Of course, I’ll start the car while you do that.” She moved around to the driver’s seat and popped open the door.
As she slid into the seat, Remus jogged back to the house that until now, he had lived in alone with his mother. He exhaled in a worried sigh as he thought about his mum returning here after they had separated. Returning to an empty home.
He shook his head from side to side, attempting to rid his mind of negative thoughts as he surveyed his home one last time. His gaze slid from the cluttered but cozy living room to the bright kitchen where he and Hope had often engaged in cooking competitions. A single, dwindling line of thinking in his head reminded him that they hadn’t happened quite as frequently since the injury. He closed his eyes breathed deeply as he imagined that troublesome notion as a simple cloud passing by, until it was far out of sight.
After a few seconds of careful deliberation, Remus decided not to go look at his bedroom again. He was quite sure that if he entered it again, he’d have a hell of a lot of trouble making sure he went back down to the car.
So he locked up quickly, in an effort to force himself back to the driveway where his mother’s head was hanging outside the car window. “Ready, Remus?”
He nodded in earnest and hopped into the passenger seat. Hope put the car into drive and they were off. He snuck a peek back at his house through the side mirror, but quickly snapped his gaze away. No hesitating. None of that.
Hope looked at him sideways nervously for a split second, then reached to turn the stereo on. By default, it was set to a popular radio station, on which an upbeat pop song that Remus vaguely recognized began to blast through the car speakers. He grimaced and quickly grabbed the aux cord to plug his phone in. Remus got onto Spotify and shuffled the playlist he had deigned to play when his mother was in the car. David Bowie’s “Lady Stardust” interrupted the radio song and he leaned back into his seat, content.
“Good thing I can depend on you to play some proper music,” Hope chuckled, head bobbing to the tune.
Remus was out cold not long after the drive began. In truth, he had stayed up half the night packing and worrying about the next day. What would it be like at this new school? Would he be able to make any friends? Was he going to try out for the football team? Did this school even have a football team?
Then, at about 3am, he’d decided he would cross those bridges when he came to them, and had finally dozed off. Unfortunately, Remus was the type of boy who needed at least nine hours of sleep to come even close to properly functioning, and the measly four hours he’d salvaged had resulted in his current state.
——————————
Hope shook Remus’ shoulder, causing him to jerk abruptly awake. “We’re here,” she said gently, pointing to a building up ahead.
Remus’ eyes widened in awe. The pictures he’d seen on the school website were nice, but they didn’t nearly do the institution justice. It looked like a castle. No, it just was a castle. Hogwarts Boarding School sat atop a sprawling courtyard, several large towers reaching multiple stories pointed high towards the sky.
His jaw was still hanging as Hope pulled into a nearly empty parking lot off to the side of the school and stopped the car. There was a man stationed at a gate with a trolley on the other side of the lot, and when they exited the car, he strode up to meet them. He could have been a tall fellow, but had an enormous slouch. His skin was very creased and wrinkly, while his scraggly grey hair hung in unflattering knots.
“My name’s Mr. Filch, and I’ll be bringing your things and taking you to the headmaster’s office.” He gestured to the car’s trunk. Hope quickly unlocked it and lifted up the door. Filch started to load Remus’ luggage onto the trolley. An easy job, really; Remus didn’t like to keep too many things. Once he was finished, Hope locked the doors and they set off on a brisk walk behind Mr. Filch to the school.
“It looks magical, almost” Hope mused. Remus hummed agreeably.
Filch took them through a large door and then led the way down an empty corridor. The inside was even better; the ceilings and windows were super high, and lit lanterns dotted the walls. Remus’ head swiveled around, trying to drink in every detail.
It wasn’t long until Filch stopped by a small alcove where there appeared to be a set of stairs spiraling up into an unknown room. “I’ll be taking these into your new dormitory,” Filch rasped, waving at the trolley. “Professor Dumbledore’s just up these stairs.” With that, he turned and was off.
Remus and Hope looked at each other, then started to climb the stairs. It was a short flight, and soon they found themselves at another door, which opened at their arrival to reveal a man, which Remus could only guess was the aforementioned Professor Dumbledore.
He was a tall, wizened man with long silver hair and matching beard. Half moon spectacles were perched on the tip of his long, hooked nose. Behind them twinkled searching blue eyes. He wore a brown tweed suit and a matching green tie. Remus snickered inwardly, as he thought the getup was a bit interesting when combined with the headmaster’s long hair.
Dumbledore extended a hand to Remus. “Hello, Mr. Lupin, it is wonderful to meet you at last.” His voice was soft and kind, and Remus shook the man’s hand firmly. Dumbledore turned to Hope. “And this must be your lovely mother,” He shook her hand in turn, while Hope blushed.
The professor stepped back into his office and motioned for the mother and son to follow. “Come in! We have just a little bit to discuss before I can send you off to begin term here. There’s some licorice available if you would like.” He glided across the room to go sit behind his desk, while Remus and Hope sat in the chairs stationed on the other side. Dumbledore surveyed a few papers on his desk before shuffling them up and handing them to Remus.
“As you can see, Mr. Lupin, mostly everything has been sorted for you already, there is simply the matter of confirming what classes you are registering for in order to ensure that you are in compliance with the terms of your academic scholarship. Another round of congratulations for your achievement, by the way. You’ll find a list of the requirements and the available courses for you to choose from on that first page. Just check off the ones you’d like to do.”
Remus looked down at the paper. He was starting Year 11, so he needed to take one English, one maths, one science, one social science, one language, one art, and one physical education block. He scanned the selection of classes he was able to choose from. He ticked off Year 11 French, World Literature, Trigonometry/Algebra II, Advanced Biology, First Year Psychology, and Year 11 Phys Ed. More reluctantly, he checked off Pottery for his art choice. He’d never been good at art, but maybe something hands on would work better for him.
“Excellent, excellent,” Dumbledore murmured as Remus passed back his choices to the teacher. “I’ll have one of your new teachers pass on your schedule at breakfast first thing tomorrow morning. Now, I trust you remember the sorting test that you took after you had received admission to Hogwarts?”
Remus nodded. The so-called Sorting Test had been a grueling ten-page packet full of short answer prompts asking about his personality, likes, dislikes, things like that. The packet had taken him several days to complete. He’d never really liked those kinds of personality tests; he wasn’t quite sure who he was yet and he didn’t want to have to tell random strangers who he thought he might be. It didn’t feel right.
“We’ve concluded you would fare best at Gryffindor during your time here,” Dumbledore continued kindly. “So you’ll be sharing a dormitory with three other boys, also in Gryffindor. Your uniform has already been sent up there, and I can guess that Mr. Filch has also been able to bring your possessions to your room as well. And that’s all we have to sort out.” He eyed Hope and Remus both. “So now’s the time to say goodbye, I’m afraid. I’ll wait outside until you’re ready to go.” He stood from his desk and exited the office swiftly.
Hope’s arms were around Remus at once. “I’m so excited for you, dear,” she whispered into neck. “You’re going to do great here.” She pulled back and looked up into her son’s eyes. “Are you nervous?”
Remus shook his head in an attempt to soothe her. “No, I’m feeling great about it all, actually,” he lied through his teeth. “Just as excited as you.”
Hope rested her hands on his shoulders. “Try not to let last year get to you,” she murmured. “Doctor and PT said you’re completely healed, and you’ve been training all summer without a hitch. Don’t worry and just do your best, okay? That’s all I can ask you,” she brought Remus into another tight hug. “I love you, Remus.”
“Love you too, Mum.” They stayed like that for a minute, until he finally pulled back and guided his mother outside the office where Dumbledore was waiting. The three of them descended the stairs and the headmaster motioned back down the hallway which Filch had led them down. “Just that way, Mrs. Lupin, and you’ll be able to find the parking lot from there. Safe travels to you.”
Hope looked at her son. “Goodbye, dear, I’ll see you at Christmas.”
“Bye, Mum.”
Once she was gone, Dumbledore turned to Remus. “Come now, Mr. Lupin, and I’ll take you to your dormitory. The students have not yet finished their final lesson of the day, so you might even have some time to unpack and settle in before you’re bombarded by a warm welcome from your fellow classmates.”
Remus thought he didn’t like the idea of being bombarded by anything, but he nodded in assent and followed Dumbledore down a new corridor. At the end of it, they entered what he guessed was one of the towers he had seen from the outside, because inside was another winding staircase. He and Dumbledore continued up this huge stairway, until they reached a door at the top. A small, old-looking keypad was embedded in the wall to the side.
“We’re about to enter the Gryffindor House common room and dormitories,” Dumbledore explained. “To get in, you simply enter the passcode and the door will unlock. The code is scheduled to change every few weeks, to which you’ll be alerted by your Head of House, Professor McGonagall. The current code is 327.”
Remus punched in the code and grabbed the handle to open the door. His eyes bulged as he took in the vast room. It was mostly red; squashy maroon armchairs, sofas, and tables were sprawled throughout the area, and large fireplace stood off to the side. It looked incredibly cozy and reminded Remus somewhat of his own living room. He felt a pang in his chest as he thought of his mother, driving back to that lonely house, but quickly shoved it away.
“Boys dormitories are on the left, girls on the right,” the headmaster continued. “You’ll find your own dormitory two flights up, first door on the right.” He stroked his beard absentmindedly. “I suppose I’ll leave you to it then, Mr. Lupin. Make yourself at home! I expect your roommates will be back up soon. Good luck.” Before Remus could muster out a ‘thank you’ to the old man, he strode out the common room and closed the door with a soft thunk.
Remus observed the common room for a bit longer, then decided to make his way upstairs. Once he found his dorm, he was pleased to see that all his bags had already been brought up, placed a little haphazardly around one of the four beds he saw. He took a seat at the end of it, taking in the rest of the dorm. It was a bit chaotic, to be frank. Various posters were tacked up over most of the wall space, and there were a lot of clothes strewn about the floor and spilling out of the other three trunks.
While he waited for his mystery dorm mates to make an appearance, Remus began slowly unpacking and moving some of his clothes into his designated dresser. After some deliberation, he gave his football things their own drawer, gazing at some of his old jerseys fondly. He had his own little bookshelf, where he proceeded to place some of the favorite novels he’d brought.
After a bit, Remus checked his phone, and the clock read 3:00pm. Perhaps the final lesson of the day was finished? He strained his ears to see if he could hear the telltale footsteps and chatter of any students, but for naught. He decided he may try to have a quick nap and catch up on some of the sleep he had lost last night. As his head hit the pillow, he exhaled softly and slouched deeper into the mattress. The bed was really comfortable.
“Who the hell are you?!”
Remus jerked awake, eyes wide in both fear and surprise. Three pairs of eyes stared unflinchingly back at him: light hazel, ice blue, and stormy grey. He blinked a few times to regain his bearings. “I’m y-your new roommate,” he replied, yawning widely. “Remus Lupin.”
“Oh, brilliant!” The boy closest to him, with the hazel eyes, gave him a huge grin. He seemed to be only a bit shorter than Remus, had thin framed glasses and unruly black hair that stuck up in all sorts of directions. He stuck out a hand towards Remus, which he shook. “I’m James Potter. These are my mates Sirius Black,” he pointed to the pair of grey eyes, which adorned a pale, slender figure with black hair that curled elegantly below his ears, “and Peter Pettigrew.” He pointed to the third boy, who was short, stout, and had straw blond hair.
Remus nodded at them both. “Cheers.”
James flopped down beside Remus casually, propping himself up on his elbows. “So, where you from? Do you live close? Why’d you come to Hogwarts?”
“Lay off him, Potter, or he’ll be requesting to change dorms any minute now,” the boy Sirius drawled good-naturedly, sending Remus a smirk. He was very good-looking, and held himself with an air that seemed kind of majestic, almost royal. He gave Remus the impression of one of those ancient statues you could maybe find in a local museum. No, a national museum, actually.
“Nah, don’t worry,” Remus reassured the bespectacled boy, relaxing back into the mattress a bit more. “I live pretty far from here. It was a six hour drive, felt like a bloody year. I went to a public school in my town but I got an academic scholarship here before summer started.”
“So you’re like, smart,” James gushed. “Bloody scholar, you must be. Don’t remember the last time they let a kid in here on an academic scholarship.”
“Not in the years we’ve been here,” Peter added.
Remus shrugged noncommittally. “I mean, I do well in school, but I guess I just know to get the good grades. Suppose it doesn’t hurt that I play football as well.”
The three boys eyes bulged in interest.
“You play football?” James gasped. “That’s brilliant, all three of us play too! We’re on the Gryffindor team.”
“Wait, are there four teams here then?” Remus asked. “One for each, er, House?”
Sirius nodded. “During the fall the four teams at Hogwarts all play each other a few times,” he explained. “and whoever has the best record gets to represent the school in the spring when we play against other teams.”
Remus nodded slowly. “That’s actually really nice. So you guys possible get two seasons if you end up winning here.”
The boys responded with a chorus of “yeahs”. James bit his lip nervously, as if he was itching to ask Remus a question. “What position do you play?” He burst out.
A soft laugh escaped Remus’ throat. “Center midfielder mostly, but I’ve also played defense.”
James and Sirius pumped their fists in the air triumphantly. “That’s so lucky!” Sirius exclaimed. “Our center mid graduated last year and we don’t have anyone to fill his spot.” He eyed Remus gratefully. “I’m starting to think that there was some divine intervention at play in getting you to transfer here, Lupin.” The other three murmured their agreement.
For the next hour, the three resident Gryffindor boys pestered Remus with more questions as he continued to unpack his things. In all honesty, he was surprised how pleasant it was to talk with them and tell them about himself; he had never had much ease with getting to know others and making friends. But James was so easygoing and enthusiastic, Sirius inquisitive and witty, Peter agreeable and open, that it seemed like it would be difficult to stave them off.
“So how about a grand tour of the most magnificent institution of Hogwarts Boarding School?” James suggested charismatically, lunging into a deep bow and swinging his arm in an exaggerated motion.
The corners of Remus’ lips turned up involuntary smile, but he rolled his eyes all the same. “I would be most honored, Mr. Potter.”