Chapter 4: Chapter 4 – Remus Lupin
Harry was in Diagon alley, Sirius had received his Hogwarts letter today, Sirius had gotten his wand yesterday when they had a day out. Harry had told him to stay home today and have fun, he would do the shopping and buy him a present while he was at it. Harry went in to the book stop first to buy the books for himself and Sirius, he'd also buy Regulus something nice to read.
As he was scanning through the books, he noticed someone on his right doing the same. It was a boy with sandy brown hair and a few scratches on his face and a small scar under his left eye. Realization hit Harry and he realized that it was Remus Lupin! Harry was careful and acted like he didn't know him, Remus reached up and picked out a book but it slipped out of his hand. Harry quickly reached out and caught it.
"Thank you" Remus said
"No problem mate" Harry handed him the book "first year?"
"Yes" Remus answered shyly
"I'm a second year, my brother is starting his first year as well. Maybe you two could become friends"
"I doubt it" Remus sighed but then realized he said it out loud "I...I don't mean..."
"Don't worry about it" Harry laughed "I can guess that you don't have many friends"
"I don't have any" Remus whispered
"That's a shame" Harry replied "but you could make some if you tried hard enough, a lot of times you don't even have to try. What's your name?"
"R...Remus Lupin"
"Well Remus, if you can't find any friends after your first week then come and find me"
"I don't mean to be rude but who are you?"
"My name is Hadrius, but you can call me Harry if you want."
"Do you have a last name?"
"Yes" Harry replied before taking the last of the first year books he needed "but with the reputation that comes with my name, it'd probably make you uncomfortable. See you at Hogwarts" Harry walked away and brought the books, he called Kreatcher and told him to take the books back.
Remus Lupin was a bit confused, but he decided to continue shopping and kick his feelings out of his head. He couldn't have friends, he just couldn't. He still didn't even know if he was going to Hogwarts, he still had to have a meeting with Dumbledore and see if he could attend.
He quickly brought his books, and went out of the shop. As he walked his thoughts went back to who he met in the shop, was he offering him friendship? No, he couldn't have been, no way someone like him could've been offering friends.
That boy was a second year, he looked cool as well. Remus could tell that he was one of those popular kids who is loved by everyone, the girls definitely loved him and he was probably rich. Like Remus would ever be able to become friends with somebody like him. He wasn't sure if he'd even get into Hogwarts, he brought his supplies just in case. Even if he didn't then he could still keep them.
Remus was brought out of his thoughts by a sudden scream, before he could see what had happened he was thrown on to the floor. He slowly got up and started wishing he had pretended to be dead. In front of him were five death eaters walking towards him, the people we running, nobody was coming to help him.
He wanted to point out how stupid it was that all of these people were running from five death eaters but was too afraid to do it. He heard more laughing, he realized that two more death eaters were behind him. He saw too on the rooftops of the shops as well, he was screwed.
Tears fell out of his eyes, not just because he was dying, but because of how he would die. He would die defenseless, a defenseless little scared werewolf. He didn't even get to go to school or even make a friend. He would die lonely, lonely and afraid.
"Don't cry" A voice got his attention, he looked up and saw Harry standing in front of him. Looking ridiculously calm, he even had a smile on his face. "You just stay calm and I'll deal with them"
"But...but that's impossible!" Remus was a bit worried about the confidence coming off from the boy in front of him, was he really that good or is he just incredibly delusional? He hoped it was the former.
"I'm possible" He shrugged before turning his back on Remus and looking at the five death eaters that were making their way down the alley. "If you all give up now then I won't hurt you"
The death eaters laughed at the sight of Harry, Remus wasn't that surprised, he would've as well. Two of them fired the same spell at Harry, they were stunners. In the blink of an eye, Harry flicked his wrist and his wand came to his hand. He pushed the stunners behind him with a quick motion and they flew behind him and hit the two death eaters that were standing behind Remus.
Before anyone could react Harry started moving forwards and shooting a collection of spells, everything from binding curses to stunners. Remus was shocked at the speed and precision of Harry, two death eaters went down before the rest could even raise their wands. By that time Harry had taken out another two, the final standing death eater shot a dark curse at Harry who dodged before firing a reducto curse at the ground below the death eater.
As the death eater flew into the air, Harry ducked to avoid a killing curse from one of the two rooftop death eaters. Harry aimed his wand at the death eaters and a flock of birds shot out of his wand and at the death eater, Harry then turned and quickly fired a stunning curse at the other rooftop death eater. The death eaters who was currently being attacked by birds was frantically trying to get rid of them, so much so that he didn't notice he had gotten close to edge of the roof and fell off, breaking his legs as he landed.
Remus was amazed by how easily Harry had taken out this group of death eaters, so much so that he barley noticed the aurors arrive. Harry walked over to Remus and helped him up.
"You okay?" Harry asked the shy boy who seemed to be speechless.
"Hadrius Black" One of the aurors said and he was looking at Harry. "Should've known you'd be here.
Remus's eyes nearly popped out of his head, Harry was THE Hadrius Black! The wandless wonder of the wizarding world and pureblood prince of the Black family and he had just saved him from death eaters. What the hell is going on?
Soon the aurors arrived, and took the two in for questioning. Once the interrogation was over, Harry and Remus were left in a room so they could talk while the aurors went over everything.
"So Remus, looking forward to Hogwarts?"
"Yeah" Remus nodded but avoided looking at Harry, he was a little sad knowing that he could have been friends with Harry but once he finds out about his condition then he'd probably hex him.
"I imagine it'd be hard for you" Harry commented "being a werewolf and all" Remus's head snapped up and he looked at Harry.
"How...how did you...?"
"It's a gift" Harry shrugged "I can sense magic and werewolves give off a different signature to non-werewolves. I think you can probably transform in the forbidden forest if you don't have anywhere else to do it. It'd be great for you there, there are tons of animals and it's forbidden to go there at night so you won't bite anyone."
"What?! You don't care that I'm a werewolf?!" Remus said with disbelief
"Should I?" Harry said calmly
"Yes! I'm a monster!" Remus was very confused about how the pureblooded heir to the Black family had no problems conversing with a werewolf. "I could hurt you!"
"So could any human, half the things in the forest, a dog, a cat and even a very dedicated duck. You're not special" Remus did not know how to react to that so he settled with the dropped jaw look. "Besides" Harry continued "it's only for one night a month, I'm sure nobody would get hurt if you put in the effort. Have you talked with the headmaster?"
"Yes" Remus said after a short pause "he said he'd consider letting me in"
"He can't do that" Harry said "there's no considering it, you're magical and you're allowed in even if he doesn't approve. There are no Hogwarts or ministry laws that forbid werewolves from attending, I'd still keep it secret if I was you but he can't not let you attend"
"I've got a meeting with him tomorrow" Remus said as he thought over what Harry had said
"Who is coming with you to the meeting?"
"I'm going on my own"
"No you're not, I'll come with you"
"Wait, what?!"
"I'll come with you" Harry answered "you might need some help from somebody who knows the rules"
"You don't have to help me, I..."
"I didn't have to save you either" Harry interrupted " and I didn't save you so you could go about life being depressed. Are you familiar with the concept of life debts?" Remus nodded, it was traditional to honour a life debt and that meant doing something to make up for saving a life. "In that case you will honour your life debt to me by allowing me to accompany you tomorrow, when's your meeting?"
"T...ten o'clock"
"Good, I'll meet you in Hogsmead and I can walk you up to the castle."
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you helping me?" Remus said curiously "I'm just a werewolf, but you're insisting on helping me"
"Remus, do you know what you and me have in common?" Remus shook his head to say no "we're both judged for who we are, you're judged to be an evil monster who probably kills for fun. Now forgive me but you don't exactly seem the type of person who would do that, I am also judged but for different reasons.
I am a member of a pureblood house that's known for being mad and discrimination, I also am famous for what I can do and I'm tired of people thinking they know me. I'm a good person, or at least I like to think I am. And I think you're a good person as well, you looked so shy and afraid when you first saw me" Remus blushed a little in embarrassment.
"No I didn't" He mumbled
"Remus you made me feel like I had to protect you from a bully or something, you remind me a bit of one of my younger brothers. He can be very shy around new people, unfortunately for you he is not going Hogwarts yet so you'll be stuck with me and my loud brother. He's loud and a bit of a prat but he can be very nice if you give him a chance. Everyone deserves a chance, and that's what I'm giving to you. A chance to have friends and a chance to prove that you are more than just a mindless beast, what do you say?" Harry stuck out his hand.
A thousand thoughts and emotions flew through Remus as he looked at the hand in front of him. Could it really be possible? Could he actually have a friend? He couldn't help but feel that Harry was being honest with him, and Harry was definitely not what he was expecting from the Black family heir. He even gave him advice on where to transform for Merlin's sake! He did his best to hold back the tears that forced their way on to his face, Harry noticed but didn't say anything which Remus appreciated.
"O...okay" Remus wiped his eyes and shook the hand.
"Great" Harry said, a scream was heard outside. "Brilliant, that must be my mother. I'll meet you in Hogsmead tomorrow at half past nine and walk you up. See ya mate" Harry got up and walked away, leaving a very emotional Remus behind. Harry couldn't pat himself on the back because no sooner than he got out he had to hear his mother shouting at the aurors but she immediately quietened down upon seeing him.
The next day Harry arrived at Hogsmead and met up with Remus, he walked him up to the castle. Remus was quite but Harry didn't want to push, if Remus wanted to say something then he would. As they reached the gate they were intercepted by Professor McGonagall.
"Minne!" Harry said as a form of greeting
"Mr Black, I wish you would refrain from calling me that"
"Please, you love it" Harry said confidently, McGonagall turned to hide the small smile on her face and walked, the two followed her.
"If I may, why are you here Mr Black?" McGonagall asked
"I'm here to assist Remus, I'm sure that you all know Remus's furry little problem"
"Yes" McGonagall nodded "the staff were informed and told not to tell anyone"
"Not like you could do it anyway"
"What do you mean Mr Black?" McGonagall asked and Remus paid attention as he too was curious.
"If you revealed Remus's condition then that could put him in harms way" Harry answered "and a teacher that intentionally causes harm to a student would be fired, even if they're not then I will make a complaint. You should let the other staff know, Mr Lupin here is under my protection and any harm intended to him will be considered as harm intended to me."
"It's such a shame you weren't a member of my house" McGonagall sighed. As they walked she thought about how she wished her lions showed the same sense of loyalty as Harry did. Harry was a a brilliant student, the best in every class and was friendly with nearly all of the school. At least she wasn't the only one who wished he was part of their house, Sprout and Flitwick also had nothing but praise for the boy. But it was very irritating to see the look on Slughorns face every time Harry was brought up.
Remus tried to discreetly wipe his eyes, he wouldn't cry, he would stop crying in front of Harry and he would impress him. In fact he was starting to look up to Harry, he had heard quite a few rumours about Harry's talents and the fact that many purebloods wanted him. Apparently quite a few had tried to set up marriage contracts with him and their daughters, despite all this Harry was nicer to him than anybody had ever been.
Soon they arrived at Dumbledore's office, McGonagall sent them inside and left. Remus entered first, and Dumbledore smiled at him but his face then adopted a shocked look when he saw Hadrius Black come in. He did not expect him to come in here.
"Harry, my boy, I don't recall inviting you here" Dumbledore said in a voice that was meant to be kind and grandfatherly
"And I don't recall permitting you to call me Harry sir" Harry responded "and I am not your 'boy', which is another thing I'll kindly ask you to refrain from calling me. Please refer to me as Mr Black sir, and I am here to assist my friend Remus Lupin."
"Assist H...Mr Black? I'm not sure I understand"
"I doubt Mr Lupin will require my assistance but I am here to provide it should it be needed, I know about his condition and he has permitted me to be here and I'm sure you'll have no objections."
"No, of course not" Dumbledore shook his head and the two sat down. "Now Remus, I wanted to let you know that I will be able to allow you to enter this school. I have set up a building in Hogsmead for you to use, it's abandoned and nobody will bother you there. There is a secret passageway directly to it, it's under the whomping willow tree outside, simply have your father contact me to discuss some matters."
"What matters sir?" Harry interrupted
"It's nothing important" Dumbledore waved a hand
"Clearly it is if you need him to contact his father, but if you're unwilling to answer then I must guess that it is probably relating to the cost of the building and making the passageway"
"How did you know that?" Dumbledore blurted out
"I come from one of the richest families in Britain, I know a thing or two about how the world works, I also know that you can't charge him anything."
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore said calmly but inside he was a bit annoyed.
"I mean a couple of things. First of all you have no right to decide if Mr Lupin can attend or not, Hogwarts is open to any and all magical beings. I don't see you personally evaluating every first year before they enter Hogwarts"
"Yes, but unfortunately Mr Lupin is a werewolf and..."
"Precautions must be taken" Harry interrupted "and I agree. However, like I said all magical beings are allowed. You can't refuse him access unless he has been charged with a crime by the ministry, you also can't reveal his nature as that is personal and confidential information. And if it got out, more than one person would be in trouble headmaster, that's including you.
Besides, all of this can be covered by Hogwarts accommodation fund which should be able to spare enough galleons or your own personal money. You have no right to charge students or their families anything more than the acceptance fee, something Mr Lupin can pay." Remus was stunned, the headmaster was about to charge his family more money than he needed to.
"Ah, of course you are right" Dumbledore said, hoping to salvage the situation. He needed to get Lupin on his side, a werewolf would be valuable in the future "forgive me, I don't usually handle the financial side of Hogwarts. But rest assured I would've confirmed that facts before I did anything"
"Of course you would" Harry did his best to not sound like he didn't believe him "is there anything else you wish to discuss with Mr Lupin?"
"No, you two can be on your way"
"Lovely" Harry stood up "come on Remus"
The two walked out, Remus was unsure if he should stay silent or not. In truth he was a little pissed off because Dumbledore was prepared to charge his working class family extra money and caused him to be scared shitless over the past few weeks while he was wondering if he could ever go. But he was also touched by the lengths that Harry had gone to.
"Would you like to do anything while we're here?" Harry asked once they reached Hogsmead.
"No" Remus shook his head "if it's all the same to you, I'll go home now."
"If that's what you want" Harry replied "see you in Hogwarts, I predict you'll be in Gryffindor"
"Me? I always thought I'd be in Ravenclaw"
"Why?"
"Well, I like to read"
"So what if your smart? Gryffindor's can be smart too. But my reason for saying Gryffindor is because you're willing to enter a new environment with new people and you're doing it despite the fact that you're scared, you're facing your fears and you face them every full moon. Where better to put you then the house of the brave? See you at Hogwarts." Harry waved goodbye before entering the floo and making his way back home.
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