The Wolf Among Us

Chapter 1: Unwanted Passengers

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Lupin had been lurking near the entrance to platform nine and three-quarters for the last forty-five minutes. He'd made sure he stayed hidden in the shadows so as not to attract any more attention to himself than was absolutely necessary. When he'd first arrived he'd checked the scarlet train front to back and had seen no sign of Harry. He smiled slightly to himself, seeing the looks parents gave him, as he passed different families on his way across the platform to his current station.

He was used to the horrified looks because of his state of dress and general appearance. Yes, his robes were shabby and mended more times then he could count, but he just hadn't seen the need to buy new ones over the years. Then to top it off there was his physical appearance: to put it bluntly, he looked like hell. He hadn't slept much in the past two weeks, not at all in the last 40 hours, and the trip to London had been trying to say the least. His smile quickly faded as the dark thought crossed his mind, They thought I was Sirius, at least until they had really looked at him and then the looks had turned to relief and pity.

How had he gotten to this point? It seemed like just yesterday he was on this very platform with friends and family exchanging goodbyes and then boarding the Hogwarts Express for another year of teenage adventures. Four friends who thought they'd be together forever, never knowing the tragedy that would befall them in a few short years. He still couldn't believe that two of those friends were dead and that the third one was responsible.

Lupin was brought out of his reverie when the platform clock chimed the quarter hour. He looked up, saw that it was quarter to eleven and was now starting to get worried since there was still no sign of Harry. Just then he saw Arthur Weasley pass through the barrier followed closely by Harry. He was startled to see how much Harry looked like James at that age. The same skinny build, the unruly black hair, the glasses, but the thing that brought a lump to his throat was Harry's eyes. He definitely has Lily's eyes. The sound of running feet brought Lupin's attention back to the barrier.

Four of the Weasley children had entered the platform soon followed by Molly Weasley, another Weasley and a bushy haired girl. She must be Hermione. Lupin smiled again at the sight of the Weasleys; the bright red hair was always a prominent feature in the family, going back centuries. He tried to sort out who was who. The twins of course were easy to pick out, as was Ginny, being the only girl. That must be Percy heading towards the front of the train, which left Ron, Lupin thought. He then noticed Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed towards the rear of the train.

He slowly crept along the platform until Harry and company stopped at an empty compartment at the very back of the train. Lupin waited until they exited the compartment to say goodbye to Arthur and Molly before boarding the train and taking a seat by the window. He had intended to stay awake long enough to introduce himself, but the comfort of the seat, along with the gentle swaying of the train as it started to leave the platform, was all it took to put Lupin fast asleep.

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Sirius had intended to head straight for Hogsmeade but after the incident on Magnolia Crescent he felt he should make sure Harry was all right. I hadn't meant to scare Harry. I only wanted to see him. He was looking around for a place to hide when he noticed a storage shed at the far end of the platform. The roof of the shed was several feet below an overhang from the main building and about seven or eight feet off the ground, all in all a perfect hiding place, Sirius thought. Fortunately there weren't many people on the platform and none of them paid the big dog any mind as he trotted by.

Climbing onto the shed's roof would be too hard for Sirius in his present weakened condition, even with the crate next to it. However, for the big black dog it would be an easy leap from the crate to the roof. When he settled on top of the small roof he decided it would be better to stay in his Animagus form since he blended so well into the shadows. From this vantage point Sirius could see the whole train and the platform.

Slowly the platform began to fill with the hustle and bustle of families sending their children off for another year at Hogwarts and Sirius began to scan the crowd for Harry. While he was looking around, someone walking towards the front of the train caught his eye. Moony, I knew you wouldn't let me down. Sirius was shocked to see how old and worn down Remus looked. If Sirius hadn't known any better, he would have sworn his old friend had spent the last twelve years in Azkaban also. Of course, now he wasn't sure if he could call Remus his old friend, after all that had happened.

After a short time Lupin exited the train and Sirius watched him cross the platform. He noticed several things about his old friend: the ragged but neatly patched robes, the tired look that made him appear older than he was, and the slight cringe after passing two families before he took a position in the shadows near the barrier entrance. A pang of guilt and sadness hit Sirius as he watched his friend. It never should have been like this, Remus, never.

Sirius had been drifting in and out of sleep when the train whistle startled him awake. He saw Harry standing with a group of people, most of whom had to be Weasleys; he recognized Arthur and Molly and the red hair was a tell-tell sign. He watched Molly kiss all her children goodbye, then a bushy haired girl, and finally Harry. The others boarded the train but he saw Arthur pull Harry off to the side. I'm sure I could guess what they are talking about.

Sirius had thought about jumping onto the roof of the train when it passed the shed. However, with so many children leaning out of windows and parents waving back, he thought better of it. It would be hard not to notice a big black dog jumping onto the roof of the train. Suddenly he remembered the water tower around the bend and out of sight of the train platform.

Quickly he jumped from the shed and ran towards the tower. Climbing the tower ladder Sirius crawled out onto a small service platform that extended part way above the track. As the train passed beneath the platform he timed the jump so that he would land on a baggage car. However Sirius misjudged the speed of the train and almost tumbled over the other side of the car before regaining his footing. That wasn't one of your smarter ideas, Black. He picked a spot in the middle of the car to lie down. Even though it was a bit cold and very windy it beat walking all the way to Hogsmeade, and in his dog form it really wasn't all that bad.

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Lupin could hear voices but they sounded very far away. One of the voices he thought sounded like James, but the others he couldn't quite make out and they sounded like they were underwater. Maybe he was dreaming, after all it wasn't the first time he'd fallen asleep on the way to Hogwarts, especially if the trip was the day after a full moon. He fell deeper and deeper into sleep and the past and present seemed to become one.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up already!"

Slowly Remus brushed the sleep from his eyes, only to be greeted by a grinning Sirius, who was still shaking him awake. He looked around the compartment but didn't see James or Peter. "Enough Padfoot, I'm awake," Remus sighed as he brushed Sirius off. "You know you wouldn't be so awake if you hadn't gotten any sleep last night either."

"My, my but aren't you cranky today. I guess that means you didn't receive the dancing shewolves I ordered to be sent to you?" Sirius grinned. "And here I was hoping you would be having some wild orgy last night or at the very least a wild party, I'm sorely disappointed."

Remus gave Sirius a lopsided grin. "The wild orgy would be your department-- not mine. I seem to recall last year that you had quite the harem revolving through the astronomy tower, various unused storerooms, any empty room."

"Sir, you besmirch my sterling reputation. I shall be forced to call you out. " Sirius said while trying to look properly offended, which was hard to do since he had a devilish glint in his eyes and was trying to keep from laughing.

Remus loved his friends and considered them family. However, Sirius and James were like brothers to him whereas Peter seemed more like a cousin. He couldn't really explain why; after all, the three of them had accepted him for what he was, a werewolf. They didn't run away six years ago, didn't call him a horrible beast, a monster that didn't deserve to live. They stood by him and eventually learned how to be Animagi so that they could be with him during the transformation. Still, Remus had never really felt as close to Peter as he did to James and Sirius, especially Sirius. Off in the distance he could hear a faint tinny whistling, but before he could comment on it, James came bounding in. "'Lo Remus, I see Padfoot couldn't resist waking you up after all?" James asked as he plopped down into one of the seats. "I told you not to bother him Sirius, he needs the rest."

"What, and let him miss out the torment I have planned for ickkle Sevvie," Sirius said. As if he had just spoken a Summoning spell, the compartment door slid open and there stood Severus Snape. No one said anything at first; they just glared at each other. The hatred between Snape and Sirius crackled in the air. Remus suspected Snape hated James more, but the feud between Sirius and Snape had been going on much longer. Snape was the one to break the silence. "So where's your chubby little friend. Finally expelled? Potty and the Professor here couldn't save his grades after all?"

"Do you hear someone talking? I, for one, wasn't aware that a weasel-faced greasy git was capable of advanced speech? I thought you only communicated in grunts, Sevvie." Sirius glared at Snape, and Remus grabbed his wrist to keep him from advancing. Remus noticed Peter sneak up behind Snape and a malicious smile spread across Sirius' face.

"Aren't you afraid to be in here without your bodyguards, Snape? You might meet with an unfortunate accident," Peter whispered in his ear.

Snape spun around so quickly, he lost his balance and fell towards Sirius, who then feigned to catch the falling boy but at the last minute moved so that Snape fell in a heap on the floor. Snape quickly sprang to his feet and tried to recover what was left of his dignity. The four boys were laughing at him and Sirius patted Peter on the back. Snape just glared and headed towards the door. "Good one Wormtail. That was worth having to put up with this slimy git for even two seconds." Sirius was still laughing.

Snape spun around and snarled. "You may think you're all so clever, but mark my words-- you'll be getting what's coming to you very soon. And then will see how much you all laugh." "Ooh I am so scared. Aren't you scared Remus? Sirius? Peter?" James said, looking to each of his friends.

"I'm positively beside myself with fright, I think I may even faint." Sirius chortled and promptly fell against the wall, sliding to the floor. The back of his hand was pressed to his forehead for added melodramatic affect. Remus just rolled his eyes and snorted, but James and Peter burst into another fit of laughter. Snape whirled around, robes billowing behind him, and left the compartment. The sound of delighted laughter followed him down the train corridor. "That was better than anything I had planned. The look on his face when you whispered in his ear was completely priceless, Wormtail," Sirius said, as he lay sprawled on the compartment floor.

Remus yawned, noticing James scowling at Sirius. The transformation always took a lot out of Remus, however he felt worse than normal, and he was now trying to keep from nodding off.

"Oi Peter, let's go see what the girls are up to." James said. "Sure, I need to ask Lily a question about Arithmancy before we get to school." Peter said. "You know I could help you Peter," Remus said through another yawn.

"Oh Moony, haven't you figured it out yet? He has a crush on one of Lily's friends," Sirius said from the floor. "Arithmancy is just a excuse to see her. Why anyone would think you're the cleverest wizard in our year is really beyond me."

James smiled and rolled his eyes as he and Peter turned to leave. Remus accidentally knocked a rather large book off the seat next to him, which landed squarely on Sirius' stomach. Sirius released an oomph and tried to look properly wounded, which sent everyone into another fit of giggles. "You coming, Padfoot?" James asked. "I've been mortally wounded and I think I shall stay here on the floor if you don't mind."

"Do try to stay out of trouble at least for five minutes," James said as he glanced again at Remus. "I said I was mortally wounded, by one of my best friends, no less -- how much trouble could I get into?" Sirius said looking wounded. " Besides it's quite comfortable here on the floor. I think I'll take a nap." "How about you Remus? Want to come along?" James asked.

"No, I'll stay here and take care of the drama queen." Remus grinned. Peter started out into the corridor. James turned to leave. Remus called out and James turned back. "Hey Prongs, thanks." James gave a slight smile and closed the door behind him.

Remus laughed to himself as he heard Sirius snoring. I guess I'm not the only who needed to get some rest. Slowly he started to notice the steady beat of rain against the roof of the train car. That coupled with the gentle sway and Remus drifted back off to a fitful sleep.

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It had been raining lightly for an hour or so, but now it had turned into a complete deluge. Sirius was starting to get soaked to the skin, which wasn't good considering the amount of fur the water had to penetrate. To top off the rain, the wind had also picked up considerably and the leisurely trip atop the train car had become quite miserable now.

Just as he was considering trying to enter one of the baggage cars, to stay warm and less wet, the train started to slow down. Looking around at the surrounding countryside, Sirius could see that they were still at least 40 miles or so from Hogsmeade. Sirius was wondering why they were stopping when a cold, not related to the weather, started to wash over him.

He looked towards the passenger cars and saw the all-too-familiar dark shapes gliding towards the train, the cold starting to wash over his very soul. NO! He thought, they can't find me now! Not when I'm so close. Looking around wildly, Sirius tried to find a way to get off the train without being noticed. He saw the dementors enter the train and transformed back into human form so he could climb down the ladder at the rear of the car. Once he reached the bottom he quickly transformed back into the dog and ran from the train as fast as he could. When he could no longer feel the effects of the dementors, he slowed down to a trot, looking for some place to wait out the storm. Fortunately, the train had stopped in an area that had several farms, if memory served him right, and it wouldn't be too hard to find a barn to sleep in for the night. If he was lucky, a family might take pity on a poor dog and give him some scraps to eat.

After a few miles Sirius spied a barn in the distance. It looked abandoned, and as he got closer he could see that the small house next to it was in shambles. He decided to stay away from the house just on the off chance someone actually lived there, and headed straight for the barn. As he first suspected, it appeared to be abandoned; there were no animals inside and several of the stalls had fallen into disrepair. The loft looked sturdy enough and the ladder capable of holding a man's weight.

He transformed and slowly started to climb the ladder. It creaked a couple of times and once he thought it might just break, but he made it to the loft without incident. There was still some straw on the floor that he pushed towards the farthest and darkest corner to make a bed of sorts. Exhaustion had started to take over and Sirius sank down on the makeshift bed. He knew he should transform back into the dog just to be safe, but he was just too tired. Soon Sirius was fast asleep.

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Lupin could feel the train slowing down but it didn't quite register through his sleep-induced haze until it lurched to a stop. When he finally opened his eyes the compartment was dark and he could clearly hear that the children were becoming frightened.

"Quiet!" He said, a little more harshly then he had intended but it had the desired effect. Waving his wand over his left palm he whispered 'Cereus ignis' and a ball of flames appeared in his hand illuminating several startled faces.

"Stay where you are," he said hoarsely and got up to walk towards the door, holding the handful of fire out in front of him. Before he could reach the door, it slid open and his worst fear about why the train had stopped stood before him. Bloody hell. Dementors. Lupin hadn't thought they would dare try to stop the train, let alone board it, but it seemed that Cornelius Fudge had given the vile creatures free reign. He wondered how many of them were actually on the train. Suddenly he heard a thud and saw Harry on the floor of the compartment, stiff as a board but twitching slightly. Lupin stepped over Harry and started toward the dementor. "None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go." The dementor didn't move at all so Lupin pulled his wand from his belt and said "Expecto patronum!" Silver light shot from Lupin's wand and formed into the shape of a wolf. The dementor started to glide away followed by the silver wolf. Not long after the dementor left the cabin, the lights came back on and the train began to move again.

Hermione and Ron were on the floor kneeling next to Harry. Hermione was lightly slapping his face and calling his name. Lupin stood next to a boy, who was very pale and resembled Peter, and watched as Harry started to wake. He saw Ginny Weasley sitting in the corner shaking and looking extremely pale, as did Harry.

Lupin pulled a large bar of chocolate out of his pocket and began to break it up. He made sure that Harry and Ginny received two of the larger pieces as he handed them out to the children. "Here," Lupin said to Harry. "Eat it. It'll help."

"What was that thing?" Harry asked.

"It was a dementor." Lupin said. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

He crumpled the candy wrapper and put it in his pocket. The children continued to stare at him but none of them had started to eat the chocolate. "Eat," he repeated, "It'll help. I need to go speak to the driver, excuse me." With that, Lupin exited the compartment and head down the corridor to the front of the train. He checked on the other students on his way to the front of the train. The majority of them were frightened but none the worse for wear. He stopped the food cart witch and asked if she wouldn't mind passing out bits of chocolate to the students, and where the owls were kept. Quickly he wrote a note to Professor Dumbledore relaying the events on the train.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

Dementors boarded the train. The majority of the students are frightened but otherwise unhurt. Harry was deeply affected by the dementors and passed out. I think Madam Pomfrey should check on him as soon as we arrive. I've given him a large piece of chocolate but I'm deeply concerned over his reaction. We shouldn't be more than twenty minutes from Hogwarts by my estimate.

R. J. Lupin

Lupin attached the hastily written note to an owl and sent it off through the window. He then made his way to the train engineer to find out exactly how far from Hogwarts they really were. He thanked the food cart witch again for her help as he made his way back to Harry and the other children, periodically checking on the other students along the way.

He entered the compartment and looked around, a small smile starting to spread across his face. "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know. We should be at Hogwarts in ten minutes." Lupin looked at Harry and saw that he had finally taken a bite of the chocolate. "Are you all right, Harry?" he asked.

"Fine," Harry muttered, looking slightly embarrassed.

The final ride into Hogsmeade Station was fairly silent. Lupin wasn't sure if they didn't want to talk in front of a professor or they were just contemplating the previous events. Harry and Ginny still looked very shaken, although the chocolate had seemed to help a bit. Ginny and the boy who looked like Peter, Neville they called him, left as the train slowly came to a stop. Soon all the chaos and commotion of earlier in the day started up again.

Quietly Lupin watched as Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered up their belongings and headed out of the compartment. Harry threw him a sideways glance and a slight smile of thanks before walking out. Outside he could hear Hagrid calling for the first years to meet him at the front of the platform.

Lupin smiled; as he listened to Hagrid explain the journey across the lake to the first years. He thought back to his own days as a first year. Hagrid had terrified him at first, for he'd never seen anyone so enormous before, but he soon learned that Hagrid was one of the sweetest and most nonjudgmental people he'd ever met. He'd learned over the years that you couldn't judge a person based on looks alone. Some of the most innocent looking people he'd met had turned out to be the nastiest.

Pulling his battered case from the luggage rack, he stared at the flaking gold leaf lettering. He remembered the day Sirius had given him the case. Sirius was so happy for him when he'd gotten the teaching job at St. Bonaventure's School of Wizardry in Ireland, he bought Remus the traveling case. Lupin closed his eyes.

"Well, now that you're a proper professor you should have at least one thing that looks nice," Sirius said teasingly as he pulled on Remus' sleeve.

Remus grinned and opened the package Sirius handed him. Inside was a rather expensive brown leather case; the embossed gold leaf lettering read Professor R.J. Lupin. Remus ran his fingers across the case and then looked at Sirius. He looked so pleased that Remus couldn't bear to tell Sirius he'd lost the job when they had found out he was a werewolf.

"It's a wonderful gift, thank you Padfoot, but you really shouldn't have spent so much money," Remus said, trying not to show his sadness.

"Nothing but the best for my friends." Sirius said, a scowl began to appear on his face. "Okay, I know that look. What's wrong?"

Remus looked at his friend and sighed. "As I much as I like it, I can't accept the case."

"Why on earth not! I know you think sometimes you don't deserve nice things, but damn it, Moony, you need to stop thinking that you're not good enough!" Sirius yelled. "Well, a werewolf is not good enough to be teaching at St. Bonaventure's. I no longer have a teaching job, so therefore I have no need for the case." Remus said sadly.

Sirius went into a tirade about narrow-minded people, and the general state of Ireland and its wizarding community. His language became quite colorful and very descriptive. Remus had to grin in spite of himself.

"That sounds like it would hurt, and I'm not sure you can do the second thing," Remus said, laughing slightly. "Oh sod it, Remus, how can you take this so lightly? Don't you ever get angry when people who don't know you treat you like some monster?" Sirius glared at him. "A troll gets better treatment!"

"Sirius," Remus sighed again, "if I react angrily to people's comments then I prove their point. I have to be in control all the time. I can't be like you. I can't react like a normal person because, I'm not."

"I don't know how you do it, day in day out, I wouldn't last 2 hours let alone the last fourteen years," Sirius said, the anger draining from his face. "Please keep the case, it'll mean a lot to me."

"Fine, I'll keep the case. I'd hate to see you sent to Azkaban for doing some of those more descriptive things to anyone. And by the way, I don't want to know where you learned about such things either." Remus gave Sirius a sideways glance.

Azkaban. The word brought Lupin back to the present. Sirius where are you? Slowly he descended the stairs and walked across the platform to a waiting carriage. He had always liked riding in the carriages and had determined that they were enchanted, instead of being pulled by invisible horses. He remembered encountering an invisible horse once, right before his first year at Hogwarts; the experience was not a pleasant memory. He had learned over the years after that encounter that most animals, magical or not, tended to be a bit skittish around him.

The ride up to the castle was pleasant enough, save for the dementors stationed outside the gates. Lupin gave an involuntary shudder as the carriage passed, the feel of oppressing cold washing over him. He couldn't imagine how Sirius had managed to survive in Azkaban for the last twelve years with that lot walking around. He has to be mad as a hatter by now and yet he had managed to escape somehow. A swirl of dark and confusing thoughts ran through Lupin's head as the carriage pulled to a stop in front of the castle.

Retrieving his battered case from the seat next to him Lupin exited the carriage and looked around. Nothing had changed in the last eighteen years since he'd been a student himself; Hogwarts looked the same as it had the day he graduated.

Walking slowly toward the door he spied Harry and company in a bit of a tussle with the Malfoy boy. There was no mistaking whose child he was when Lupin had first seen him on platform nine and three-quarters. Malfoy had the same arrogant sneer as his father and the same nasty demeanor. In fact he reminded him of a light haired Snape. "Is there a problem?" Lupin said. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, Malfoy said, "Oh, no -er-Professor," he smirked at his two cronies and led them up the steps into the castle. I guess some things never change, Slytherins and Gryffindors always having a tussle, Lupin thought. Walking through the oversized oak doors he ran directly into Snape, who had been making his way to the Great Hall. They stared at each other for several minutes. Lupin broke the silence first.

"Hallo Severus," Lupin said trying to sound cordial or at least civil.

"Lupin," Snape said coldly.

"I'd like to thank you for agreeing to make the potion for me. It is very gracious of you." Lupin tried not to smile, let alone laugh, at the look on Snape's face.

"I'm only doing it out of respect for Dumbledore. I think it's a big mistake allowing you to be here. I'm sure you and Black are working together. Dumbledore will regret that he ever placed any trust in a creature like you," Snape hissed. A few students gave them curious looks as they passed but were soon lost again in the excitement of being back at school. "I haven't seen nor heard from Sirius since he was sent to Azkaban." A twinge of guilt tugged at his lie. "Speaking of Dumbledore, do you know where I might find him?"

"I don't know where he is. Why don't you try sniffing him out, that's something you're good at isn't it?" Snape snarled and then turned on his heel, leaving Lupin standing in the entry hall.

"Well that went better than expected," Lupin said under his breath. He decided the best place to start looking would be Dumbledore's office. You lied to Snape.

He doesn't need to know.

You had a letter from Sirius not two weeks ago. What are you going to tell Dumbledore? Are you going to lie to him as well?

Oh sod off!

You should have told him when you accepted the job. I said SOD OFF! The nagging voice kept picking at the back of Lupin's mind and he was so lost in his personal battle that he ran right into Dumbledore when he rounded a corner.

"Ah Remus, I see you made it."

"Professor Dumbledore, sorry. I guess I was lost in thought," Lupin said slightly startled, but if Dumbledore noticed he didn't indicate it.

"Come, I'll show you to your rooms and you can tell me about the train ride along the way."

Dumbledore smiled.

As they walked Lupin relayed all the details of the train ride. Lupin told him that he slept through most of the ride, although he did pick up bits and pieces of the conversation, the dementors boarding the train and Harry's reaction. He noted that the old wizard didn't seem overly surprised by Harry's reaction to them. They came to a stop in front of an oak door on the second floor.

"Well here we are. I think you'll find these accommodations much nicer that your previous ones." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he opened the door. "This is your office and just beyond that door is your living quarters. Now if you'll excuse me Remus, I need to get ready for the feast."

"Thank you Professor, for everything," Lupin said. The voice started up again.

Tell him. Tell him about Sirius.

I can't, not yet. "I'll just put my case down and walk down with you."

To Be Continued...