A Year in the Life of a Wizarding Werewolf

A Year in the Life of a Wizarding Werewolf

- A New Term Begins

His mother's stream of last-minute instructions pelted down onto Remus's head as he hauled his trunk onto the Hogwarts Express.

"I hope you won't get into mischief this year Remus. It is a very important year, with the OWLs and career choosing coming up. You will focus your energies on that, right?" she reminded him anxiously. "It is--"

"My whole future," Remus droned mechanically. He had gotten multiple versions of this same piece of advice throughout the summer. "I know."

He understood why his mother was so concerned. After all, the OWLs were the gateway to whatever career one wanted to go into later on in life. Naturally all parents would be keen that their kids applied themselves more than ever. But Mrs Lupin had another reason for her fretfulness. Remus was a werewolf, and there really weren't that many job openings for a lycanthrope. The options open to him were few and far between, and to get those, he would have to very much prove himself, more so than the average wizard.

Remus turned round and gave his mother a smile and a hug, reassuring her that he got her message. He didn't really need the incessant cascade of advice. After all, he always gave his best shot in all his classes. It was his way of proving to himself that being a werewolf didn't necessarily stunt his academic abilities, and to show the professors that Professor Dumbledore's belief in him was justified. His mother knew that of course, but that never stopped her worrying.

"Hey Remus!" A voice carried over the crowds at the platform.

Remus whirled round, and saw a tuft of unruly hair making its way through the groups of kids saying their final goodbyes to their parents. It belonged to a thin-faced, bespectacled boy. Following him closely was an extremely handsome dark-haired boy who was grinning cheekily.

"James! Sirius!" Remus cried happily. "How are you? Need help with the trunks?"

"Yes, if you won't mind," said Sirius, struggling with his trunk, while stuffing a few packets of Dungbombs and Fizzing Whizbees into his coat pocket.

Remus took a hold of one end of Sirius's trunk and dragged it onto the train. "What about you, James?" he asked, turning round to his friend.

James was busy eyeing a crowd of girls standing around a few feet away from him, one of which was a fellow fifth-year, Lily Evans. Remus met Sirius's gaze and rolled his eyes as James gave a low whistle.

"No, I'll be fine," replied James distractedly. He hoisted the trunk up deftly and shoved it onto the train in one swift action before sneaking a peek at the girls out of the corner of his eye. A few of them were staring at him, looking rather impressed. James threw them a cheeky grin and ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand up even more startlingly. He was panting slightly, betraying the effort exerted in that one moment of bravado. Lily however, shot him a contemptuous look, and the smile on James's face faltered.

"C'mon!" growled Sirius impatiently, prodding him in the back and propelling him onto the train. "Bloody Casanova!" he muttered under his breath.

Remus followed them, calling to his mum over his shoulder. "Bye mum! I'll send an owl over the weekend to let you know how I got on."

With that, he hopped onto the train. A rumble and a shudder told him the train was starting up. The crowd of students chatting outside hurriedly scrambled onto the train, and as the guard slammed the doors shut and the train pulled away from the platform, Remus caught a last glimpse of his mother waving at him, mouthing the words, "be careful!"

Remus chuckled to himself as he hastened to catch up with the other two. It was sage advice, what with impetuous friends such as James and Sirius. They-who-were-permanently-up-to-something. In comparison to them, Remus was positively angelic.

The three managed to find an empty compartment a couple doors down and settled in. Remus, however, stood up almost right away.

"Sit down, Moony. Have a sugar quill," said Sirius, taking a stash out from his pockets.

"And a Chocolate Frog," came a higher-pitched voice from the doorway.

It was Peter. He came in, tossing down about a dozen Chocolate Frogs onto where Sirius had piled his sweets.

"I am so glad I found you lot," he breathed, relief evident in his voice. "I was looking all over for you. And then I just had to bump into Snape on my way up here," he muttered, lowering his voice to a whisper, looking slightly uneasy.

Peter had mousy hair, and a rather heavy frame, especially when compared to James's athletic build, Sirius's slender one and Remus's thin one, kept rather slight and frail due to his monthly transformations. His voice, rather high-pitched, had a tendency to go squeaky when he was nervous.

"Here, sit down," said Remus, guiding Peter to where he had been.

"So, what was ole Snivelly up to?" drawled James, slithering down his seat and propping his feet up onto the one opposite him, his long legs stretched across the width of the carriage. "Hexing the girls while leaving a trail of grease in his wake?"

Sirius roared, Remus frowned slightly, while Peter gave a flustered laugh, gnawing at a Chocolate Frog nervously.

"No. He just glared at me, through that greasy curtain of hair he has," he replied, loosening up, relaxed now he was in the safety of the compartment with his friends. "Lots of beady eye work, with a fair amount of nostril action as well," he added.

James laughed heartily while Sirius tried to mimic Snape, using the description Peter had just provided. Remus, slipping out the door, tried to suppress a smile.

"Hey, and where exactly are you heading off to?" asked James, turning towards the doorway.

Remus self-consciously fingered a small shiny badge on his robes. "Er," he stammered a little, "I just remembered I have to go to the prefect's carriage, you know, to get instructions and stuff."

"Oh yes, of course!" exclaimed James, grinning widely. "I totally forgot about the prefect honour you were given, mate."

"It would only go to someone as studious and responsible as you," added Sirius with a very solemn face.

"Which was why none of us three were in the running for the position," finished Peter.

Remus gave them all a withering look and turned to leave, calling out after him, "I'll be back in a bit."

"Take a quill with you, and a Frog," called Peter, sticking his head round the door and handing him one of each.

"Thanks," said Remus, accepting the sweets, and dashed off.

He fingered his Prefect's badge, pinned tightly onto his robes, as he made his way up the length of the train to the prefect's compartment. He would never say it out loud, nor explicitly show off about it, but he was secretly really very pleased at being assigned a prefect. Not because of having the right to keep people in check and to make sure they behaved themselves, nor to use his power to get back at old enemies (who shall remain nameless). No, the disciplinary duties that come with the job would most likely be his least favourite part. But what warmed him was that this was yet another gesture that demonstrated Professor Dumbledore's trust in him. Remus will admit he did go an awful lot by others' opinions of him and took too much to heart both the praise and the criticisms. It was a character flaw in which his mum had often warned him about and tried to ease him out of. But it was dreadfully difficult if you were a creature people feared and hated. Feeling inferior and carrying around with you the fear of rejection was like a complimentary package that came with the werewolf curse. And he didn't ask for either.

Breathing a bit heavily from his brisk walk up the train, he slid open the compartment door to the prefect's carriage. He was joined by Ravenclaw's Cheryl Boot, rushing up behind him.

"Sorry I'm late," she said apologetically to those gathered inside the carriage as the two of them filled up the remainder of the seats. "I had to make sure my little brother was settled in before I could come up."

The Head Girl, Twyla McVeigh gave her a curt nod, and took up the piece of parchment she had in front of her without waiting for Remus's excuse. She started listing out the duties prefects were to have.

"First and foremost, you are to set an example of good behaviour for the other students. You are to see that decorum is observed at all times, and be prepared to step in when things get out of hand."

She paused, glancing down her sheet. "You will also have the responsibility of providing the passwords to your own common rooms, changing it when necessary, and ensuring that it is keep secret among those in your respective houses."

She droned on, with the occasional interjections from the Head Boy Jonathan Keating. They went on talking about certain seasonal duties the prefects had, such as that of decorating the Great Hall for Christmas, arranging seating and ensuring civility during Quidditch matches (yeah right. Not when the Slytherins were involved, no.). His mind drifting, Remus cast his eyes over those seated in the carriage.

Lily Evans was the other prefect from Gryffindor. Remus made a mental note to tell James that. He smirked inwardly, thinking of James's face when he told his friend that he had been in the same carriage with Lily. His eyes passed over the others. The boy from Ravenclaw was Mark Millen, then there were Thomas Zeller and Kathryn Morrow from Hufflepuff, and finally Artemis Slickwit and Suzanne Rockwood from Slytherin. Remus was shamelessly relieved that Snape was not a prefect. He wasn't keen on the idea of spending extra time with the Slytherin during prefect duties, not when he generally tried to avoid face-to-face confrontations with him under normal circumstances.

Half an hour later, the prefects filed out of the carriage as the Head Boy and Girl sent them off to patrol the corridors of the train. Remus strolled along, occasionally peeking into a carriage to ensure things were okay, until he reached the one his friends were in. With eight prefects on the prowl, he figured they couldn't all slack off at the same time. He would stay here with them for while before patrolling again.

He found the other three playing a rather boisterous game of Exploding Snap. Empty sweet wrappers littered the carriage and a small pile of Chocolate Frog Cards were stacked on the seat beside Peter.

"Hiya Prefect," greeted out Sirius loudly. "Finished with your Royal meeting?"

Remus gave him a friendly shove, picked up the Chocolate Frog Cards and began going through them.

"Oh, shut up," he said amiably. "I am supposed to be patrolling the corridors." He paused as he came across a card he didn't have.

"So you are blowing that duty off then?" asked Peter, staring at him.

"I am going to start up again in a while," argued Remus. "Here, does anyone want the one of Bowman Wright?" he asked, showing he others the card he wanted.

His friends shook their heads. Remus pocketed the card and grabbed the last of the cauldron cakes. He was quite ravenous and it seemed as if he had missed the food trolley.

"Here," said James, throwing him a packet of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans. "We kept these for you too."

"Fanksh," said Remus, his mouth full. He suddenly remembered his mental note to tell James about Lily and swallowed hard. He was just about to open his mouth when James gave a jolt and sat straight up in his seat, sending the cards flying in each and every direction, much to Peter's annoyance (who was, for once, winning). James's hand shot up to his unruly hair, and Remus could see him fighting to steady himself as he said in a deep, mature voice.

"Oh hi Lily. How have you been?"

"Fine," she replied curtly. She gave Remus a stern look. "Lupin, you are supposed to be patrolling the corridors, not playing card games and stuffing yourself with sweets."

Remus got up and shuffled towards the door, sighing.

"You want a Fizzing Whizbee, Lily?" asked James, slipping his hand into Sirius's coat pocket and pulling out a handful, as Lily turned to follow Remus out the door.

"No thanks, Potter," she declined haughtily. "They rot the teeth."

Remus pretended to brush the hair out of his eyes in order to hide the fact that he was chortling. Inside the carriage, James stared incredulously at Lily's disappearing back. With a final glance, before he was hustled off by his fellow prefect, Remus saw Sirius grinning wickedly at his astounded friend while Peter had dissolved into helpless snorts of laughter.

The journey wore on. Remus popped by to chat with his friends every so often, while keeping a sharp look out for Lily. He didn't want to be reprimanded by her again. As the train neared its destination, Remus returned to the carriage to get ready to leave. He skimmed the floor with litter strewn all over it and with a quick flick of his wand, Banished the sweet wrappers into the bin. As the Hogwarts Express pulled in at Hogsmeade station, the four of them exited the compartment to join the throng of students out in the corridor, waiting to pile out of the train.

Once disembarked, the four of them weaved their way through the mass of students to get to where the stagecoaches stood outside, ready to take them to Hogwarts Castle.

Remus stared at the black skeletal horses, positioned in front of each coach. Eerily elegant, with white, pupil-less eyes and giant leathery wings, the creatures looked rather sinister at first glance. Remus had been able to see them since his second year at the school though, when he had first encountered them. Thestrals. One could only see them if they had seen death in person. James, Sirius and Peter couldn't. Only he could as he has seen someone die. It was a kindly old witch he had met quite often in the cafeteria at the hospital where he was often admitted as a young boy to act as a guinea pig for werewolf cures. She didn't know what was really wrong with him of course, he never told her. She just took pity upon a seven-year old boy being stuck in a hospital and took to slipping him a Chocolate Frog each time she met him at the café. He hated every second of the time he had spent in hospitals trying out experimental cures, none of which worked, he thought dryly. But the chocolate had been nice.

Remus climbed into one of the carriages, followed by James, Sirius and Peter. The door slammed and the carriage lurched into motion. The journey was rather smooth, with minimal swaying, as there was only a light breeze blowing that night. Despite their emaciated look, Thestrals were hugely powerful creatures, and these, which were pulling their carriages, soared through the night in swift yet graceful strokes. After a short while, they pulled to a halt outside the large oak doors that lead into the castle.

The four of them climbed out, with Peter promptly tripping over Sirius, who'd bent down to pick up a Dungbomb that had fallen out of his pocket. This sent the boy flying face down onto the stone steps leading up to the front doors. Heaving himself up, Peter caught sight of Snape looking down at him with a leering smirk. He flushed, picking himself up clumsily as the Slytherin swept off up the steps.

"You all right?" asked Remus, as he gave Peter a hand.

"Yeah. I hate him. As if he hadn't tripped up stairs before," muttered Peter furiously, obviously quite affected by the sneer he'd just gotten.

"Oh forget it Peter," said Remus cheerfully. "The guy probably was born with a scowl stuck on his face."

"Who ya talkin' 'bout?" asked James perkily, bounding up to them.

"Snape," replied Peter sulkily.

"Oh, but who cares about Snivellus?" Sirius started pulling faces - scowling, frowning, leering, glaring, then finally, shoulders hunched over, he dipped his head down, as if engrossed in a book.

Remus silently marvelled at how good the impersonations were. Sirius was a rascal, and Merlin help whoever who happened to be the subject of his mimicry or wrath.

"All I need is a hooked nose and grease. Lots and lots of grease," Sirius told the others as they went through the doubled doors to the right of the Entrance Hall.

The four long tables that ran down the length of the Great Hall were rapidly filling up with boisterous students. There was a great deal of shouting and laughter as accounts of the summer holidays were exchanged. The ceiling, enchanted to look like the night sky, was littered with stars, which gleamed and sparkled against the dark hue of midnight blue.

The four of them made their way to the Gryffindor table. Remus had been looking forward to this feast, ever since he had missed that food trolley on the train. He glanced round the Hall, and caught sight of Snape hunched over a book, his curtain of hair veiling his face, oblivious to the pandemonium surrounding him. Remus smiled inwardly, recalling Sirius's impression a few moments earlier. A short while afterwards, he caught sight of Professor McGonagall herding the new first years through the doors and up the Hall. They all looked petrified. Remus could still remember the terror and nervousness he had felt upon his first arrival. His mother had been shocked (but delighted) that Dumbledore had accepted him into Hogwarts. Remus had been excited about going to Hogwarts - everyone in the wizarding world talked about the school - but reluctant as well. He honestly couldn't see how he could keep his lycanthropy a secret. Surely someone would see, or find out one way or another, or guess. And then it would be the fear, disgust and rejection all over again. He had met James, Sirius and Peter that first day and instantly got along with them fabulously. But of course, had told them nothing. He spent his first term being rather quiet and secretive, especially around that time of the month. His friends had asked him where he frequently disappeared off to, and he had managed to get away with little stories and lies until Sirius and James, being so smart, had guessed his secret. They had blown up at him one night, after Remus had come back from the hospital wing. Peter, although rather silent, had been alongside them, nodding every so often in agreement with the other two. Remus remembered all too well how he had thought his world had come crashing down, until he finally realised his friends were mad at him for not telling them, and not trusting them, rather than being disgusted at him for being a werewolf. It had been a revelation, as no one, outside of his parents, had ever treated him like a real person who had all the complexities of human thoughts and emotions. The Healers he had come across, and the professors at Hogwarts, had been kind and caring too, but that was different. There was some difference between adults doing their job, and kids voluntarily sticking up for their friend. Remus hadn't looked back since. He was, of course, still highly conscious of his condition, still nervous about his secret being leaked out to the general public, and still painfully aware of the limitations he would have when he graduated from Hogwarts, but at least he could talk it over openly with his friends now, and sometimes talking alone helped a lot.

As Remus drifted out of his reverie, he found that the Sorting Hat had finished its song and the Sorting had begun. The tiny first-years hurried up nervously to the Hat as Professor McGonagall called out their names. Remus recalled too, how relieved he was when he was Sorted into Gryffindor. He had been terrified the Hat would see the wolf in him, scream out "Werewolf!" to the entire hall and yell at him to get packing and leave. But it didn't. He gazed at the queue thoughtfully now. I don't recall being this small when I was a first year.

At that moment, Sirius leant in towards him and whispered, voicing his thoughts. "Those first years, they get smaller and smaller each year!"

A few places down from them, two girls were cooing and clucking,

"Oh aren't they adorable!"

"So cute!"

Sirius rolled his eyes while James gagged. Twittering Tamsin and Gushing Gertrude, James dubbed them. Two girls who were as fond of gossip and frivolous airs as James was passionate about Quidditch, they cooed and clucked over every fluffball or pixie-like creature during their Care of Magical Creatures lessons. Remus ignored the nauseating mother-hen squeals of cuteness and concentrated on squelching the rumble in his stomach. He wished the Sorting would hurry up and be over and done with so he could eat. He was so focused on his hunger that he paid only partial attention to the Sorting. But finally, that was over and Professor Dumbledore's much welcomed words, "let the feast begin!" rang through the Hall and plates and plates of delicious food appeared on the tables.

There was silence except for the clinking of cutlery for a while, as the students busily tucked into the feast. Remus filled his plate with everything, except for the olives (he hated those). Next to him, Sirius was gnawing hungrily at a chicken leg, and at the top of the table sat Near-Headless Nick, looking wistfully at the food. He was being badgered by a tiny first-year girl, and Remus could guess the gist of the questions she was asking as the ghost proceeded to do his party-trick of flipping his head off his neck, much to the horror of the girl. Tamsin made a face.

"I wish he wouldn't do that," she grumbled.

"What's the matter?" teased James lazily. "Worried his silver blood and innards would get into your chicken pie?"

"Urgh!" squealed Gertrude, pushing away her own plate of pie in repulsion. "That is disgusting!"

"Oh stop being so squeamish," said Jean Talbert, a no-nonsense fourth year girl who was a Chaser along with James on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "And James, will you please stop grossing all of us out here?"

"Well, the more they are grossed out, the less they eat, and the more for me," James replied slickly, earning a derisive look from Jean.

When the last scraps of food were consumed and the final dregs of juice swallowed, Professor Dumbledore went through his start of term announcements, which included the annual warning that the Forbidden Forest was off-limits to any student of the school. Yeah, yeah. Right, thought Remus, having a fairly firm impression that Professor Dumbledore was aware that this rule was broken every school year and that the Headmaster reeled it off just for the sake of principle and formality. James was already winking and smirking in his seat, and Remus was sure he was well intending to plan more jaunts into the forest this coming year. He returned James's wink, though now a voice in his head buzzed around annoyingly. You are a prefect! It's high time you behaved like one. What kind of model behaviour is it gallivanting around the Forbidden Forest at nights? What will Lily say? What will Dumbledore say?

Remus argued a bit with himself before banishing his conscience to the back of his mind. He will think about it later, on another day, when he wasn't so full or tired or sleepy. As the students got up to leave for their respective common rooms, Remus went to gather up their group of first-years. He and Lily led the way to the Gryffindor Tower, through the corridors and moving staircases, until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Frothing butterbeer!" said Lily to the portrait, her clear voice carrying down the corridor, so all the Gryffindors queuing down along it could hear the password.

The portrait swung open and the group filed in. The common room was cosy and welcoming. Remus went round it, immersing himself in the familiarity of the place. He loved the look of it, the smell, the feel of the comfortable armchairs and the books on the shelf. Then he gazed out of the window at the Hogwarts grounds below, softly lit by the pale moonlight.

"Hey, are you coming?" A hand clapped on his shoulder and he turned round to see Sirius, who was jerking his head towards the stairs that led up to the dormitories. James and Peter were already heading up, stretching and yawning loudly.

"Sure," he replied. With a warm glow starting to spread from the pit of his stomach up through to his chest, he followed Sirius up the stairs, feeling extremely at home upon returning to Hogwarts and looking forward to another year of fun and work.