Bitten

Chapter Three--Letters

"Audrey, dinner's ready!"

Audrey, now eleven, tramped down the stairs from her bedroom, looking cross as usual. She went into the dining room, where her mother and father were already sitting at the table.

"There you are," said her father. "Come, sit down. I have something for you."

Audrey took a seat and looked emotionlessly at him. But when she saw what was in his hand, her face lit up.

"This came for you today."

He handed her an envelope of parchment with bright green writing on it. Audrey took it eagerly, ripped it open, and read aloud:

"Dear Miss Primrose,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress"

Audrey could barely contain her excitement. She would be able to leave home, leave her smothering parents, and go somewhere wonderful... Hogwarts.

"I got in!" she said gleefully. She could not remember a time when she had felt so happy.

"We're very proud of you," said Mr. Primrose. "Now let's have dinner."

"I made your favourite, dear," said Mrs. Primrose.

"Great, Mum," said Audrey happily.

"And I heard that Rita got in too," said Mr. Primrose.

"So?" said Audrey indifferently.

"I thought she was your friend."

"Sure," said Audrey, "because friends call you a freak behind your back and spread rumors about you."

"Well, maybe at Hogwarts you'll make a friend," said Mr. Primrose, failing to disguise the implication that his daughter had no friends. Audrey was reminded of Remus, the only friend she had ever had. "And tomorrow we'll go into London to get your things."

"Great," said Audrey, cross again after thinking about Remus.

After dinner, she returned to her bedroom to look at her booklist. She sat down on her bed with the letter, but her mind wandered. Her dark room was unlit, except for a beam of moonlight that shone through the window. Audrey looked out the window and expected what she saw: the full moon was shining brightly, illuminating the other houses around the Primroses'.

Audrey had kept track of the full moons ever since Remus had been bitten. Every month, she imagined poor Remus transforming. She shuddered, having read that it was very painful.

"It's okay, Remus," she whispered, staring at the moon. "You'll be all right."

~*~

Remus woke up quite sore. He was covered in self-inflicted, bloody scratches and bruises. He had spent the night in the cellar of his house, having told his parents that he didn't want to run loose in the forest, for fear of hurting someone.

He went up the stairs and opened the door leading to the kitchen. His parents were already up, his father reading The Daily Prophet and his mother cooking breakfast. When they heard him come in, they immediately stopped what they were doing.

"Remus, are you all right?" his mother asked, hurrying over to him.

"Yeah," said Remus hoarsely. "I'm fine."

"Oh dear, you look terrible," said Mrs. Lupin. "Let me fix you up."

She sat him down on a chair and went to get bandages for his cuts. His father, who had put down the Prophet, looked at him closely.

"All right there, Remus?" he asked, trying not to look too worried. "You know, you wouldn't hurt yourself if you would go into the forest."

"No," said Remus firmly. "I don't want to hurt anybody else."

"Everyone knows it's dangerous at night. No one is ever out there."

"I don't care. I don't want to risk it."

Remus's mother came back in, carrying an armful of bandages and an envelope. She was looking at it with an odd expression on her face.

"What's that?" asked Remus.

She didn't answer him immediately.

"I don't understand," she said slowly. "I thought... because of his... condition..."

She showed Remus's father the letter, and his expression changed too.

"What is it?" Remus asked again.

"Give it to him," said Mr. Lupin.

"Oh, but--"

"Anna, Dumbledore knows, so he must have found a way."

"Well, all right."

She handed Remus the letter. Puzzled, he turned it over and saw his name written in bright green ink. He opened the envelope and pulled out one of the two pieces of parchment inside it. He read:

"Dear Mr. Lupin,

We are please to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Because of your individual situation, necessary precautions must be taken. Please come to Hogwarts tomorrow to discuss the special arrangements with Professor Dumbledore.

Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress"

Remus reread the letter to himself to make sure he had read it correctly. He looked up at his parents and said, "Does this mean... I can go to school?"

"Well, Remus," said Mrs. Lupin, "we'll have to see what precautions Dumbledore has in mind, and see if it's safe."

"You say it like you don't want me to go," said Remus.

"Oh, Remy, of course I want you to go," said his mother. "I just want to make sure you and your friends are safe."

"Dumbledore's a smart man," said Mr. Lupin. "He'll be able to think of a way."

"Well, I guess we'll write back telling him we'll be there tomorrow," said Mrs. Lupin.

Remus nodded dumbly. As he sat there with his mother tending to his injuries, his mind was racing. He might get the chance to go to school, to learn magic with children his own age. Of course, he wouldn't be able to tell them he was a werewolf, but maybe he could still make some friends. After all, he hadn't had any since Audrey....

~*~

The next morning, Audrey got up very tired, having slept badly. The dreams about Remus and the werewolf had returned that night, and several times she had woken up covered in sweat and shaking. She had taken her father's wand secretly and learned a Silencing Charm to put around her bed, so her parents wouldn't hear her scream in her sleep.

That afternoon, Audrey and her parents took a Muggle taxi to London. They entered a dingy pub called the Leaky Cauldron, where her father was greeted by the bartender.

"'Lo, John! Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, yes, several years," said Mr. Primrose. "When Audrey here was just a baby. Now's she'll be going to Hogwarts this fall."

"Hogwarts, eh?" said the bartender, looking closely at Audrey. "Yes, my son Tom just graduated last year. I trust you'll study hard?"

"Yes, sir," said Audrey.

"Well, we'd better get to Diagon Alley," said Mr. Primrose. "We'll be back for dinner. See you later, Jim."

Audrey followed her father out a door that went behind the pub. Mr. Primrose took out his wand and tapped a brick on the wall, and Audrey watched as the bricks began to rearrange themselves into an archway.

"Here we are," said Mr. Primrose.

First they went to Ollivander's to get Audrey's wand. Then they got her books, parchment and quills, a cauldron, robes, and a telescope. While her parents were getting ice cream for the three of them, Audrey went into the Apothecary for Potions ingredients. The shop had a horrible smell that made Audrey feel sick to her stomach. She looked around for a few minutes, while the witch at the counter was busy with another customer. She examined the barrels of scarab beetles and jars of powdered unicorn horns. As she bent down to get a closer look at a vial of some red liquid that looked eerily like blood, a black cat shot out from under the shelf. Startled, Audrey leapt back and bumped into someone behind her.

"Hey, watch it!" said the person.

"Sorry," Audrey muttered, turning around.

Before her stood a boy about her age, with long, dark, greasy black hair, and cold black eyes that had a look Audrey didn't like.

"You should be," he said coldly. "Going to Hogwarts?"

"Yes," said Audrey.

"Me too," said the boy. "I'm going to be in Slytherin. My whole family has. I'm glad. I'd hate to be in any other house, especially Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. They say Gryffindors are all noble and brave, but my father said that they're just foolish and reckless. And Hufflepuff's just for the ones who are too stupid to even hold their wands the right way."

"My father was in Hufflepuff," said Audrey coldly, her eyes narrowing into angry slits.

"Was he?" said the boy with a sneer.

"Yes," said Audrey. "And he said that most Slytherins turn out as Dark wizards. And it seems to me that that's how you're going to end up if you don't start being nicer to people."

"Well, it looks like you're going to end up in Hufflepuff just like your father because you're too stupid to know what's good for you."

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," snapped Audrey.

The door to the shop opened and a man with the same black hair as the boy walked in.

"Severus, what are you still doing in here?" he said in a cold, unfriendly voice. "Get out here this instant, boy. We don't have time to dawdle."

"Yes, father," said the boy called Severus.

With one last look at Audrey, he followed his father out of the Apothecary, leaving Audrey to wonder about what he had said about the Houses at Hogwarts.

~*~

"This is the Whomping Willow. All you must do to pacify it is to prod this knothole here with a branch. Madam Pomfrey will escort you on the evenings of the full moon, but you should still know how to get in on your own, should you ever need to."

Remus listened closely, determined to remember it all. The Whomping Willow whipped its branched threateningly, making Remus shudder.

"You will find a hole that leads to a tunnel under the tree," Dumbledore continued. "The tunnel with take you to an old rundown shack in Hogsmeade, where you will transform."

Remus nodded.

"I believe that covers everything," said Dumbledore, as he, Remus, and Remus's parents returned to the castle. "I hope we will be seeing Remus here in September."

"We'll need to talk this over a bit at home more," said Mr. Lupin, "and see what Remus thinks...."

"Of course," said Dumbledore.

But Remus had already made up his mind. He was going to Hogwarts no matter what. All he'd have to do would be to go to the Whomping Willow a few nights a month. The rest of the time he'd be fine... he hoped.