The Tameness Of A Wolf

People said strange things about the Lupin family.

They'd lived in town for nearly five years, and the rumors about them had been circulating for as long. No one was sure where they'd come from or why they'd moved, but from the moment that they arrived, the townsfolk had been wary of them. Mr. and Mrs. Lupin seemed friendly enough, and if they tended to keep to themselves a bit, it was no great worry. No, the couple were nice enough; it was their son Remus that was something else.

He was a scrawny little thing, short and skinny with an alarming pallor to his face. His blue-gray eyes hinted at something fey and unearthly, and his piercing gaze had spooked more than one of the village children. He avoided them from the start; more than once they had tried to befriend him, but he met all offerings of friendship with a stubborn silence.

From the moment he'd arrived in the village, the whispering had begun. Some said he was ill, with not long to live; others preferred to revive old legends and claimed that he was not a boy at all but a changeling, a fairy child. The opinion favored by most of the town was that he simply wasn't right in the head. Little did they know that the truth was far, far darker than any of their wild guesses.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

Like most catastrophes, the bite had been sudden, swift, and unexpected. Many years earlier, Remus had somehow managed to sneak out of the house at night to catch fireflies in the backyard. He had failed to notice the wolf creeping up behind him until it was nearly upon him. In a desperate attempt to run, he had tripped, fallen, and was bitten on his left shoulder. He was five years old.

This was not the first difficulty to befall the Lupin family. At one time they had been wealthy, respected, and powerful to a certain degree. But as time passed, their influence gradually disappeared. Reckless gambling, irresponsibility, and ill luck had all taken their toll. By the time Remus' father, Samuel, inherited what remained of the family fortune, barely more than a hundred Galleons remained. Yet somehow the family had managed to get by.

Remus' bite was the final straw. Somehow word got out that the Lupin boy was a werewolf, and their neighbors forced them out of their ancestral home. With barely any money, no reputation, and a werewolf on their hands, the Lupins found their way to the tiny village where they now lived. Despite the villagers' negative attitudes, it proved to be an ideal place to live. The family had found an empty house on the outskirts of town where they were rarely bothered. Both Samuel and Amaryllis worked at home, and they were able to educate Remus themselves.

But after nearly five years of peace, it was time for things to change again. Soon Remus would turn eleven, the age at which children with magical talent went to school to study their gift. Before he was bitten, it was almost guaranteed that Remus would be admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the finest school of magic in the country - but with his bite all of that had changed. Still, his parents were painfully aware that he couldn't remain cloistered indoors for much longer, and they couldn't give him the education that he needed. Something had to be done.

Yet at the moment, Remus was blissfully unaware of his family's problems. It was late at night, and he was sitting up in bed, intently scanning a large leather-bound book. The room was completely silent.

"Remus, may I come in?"

In spite of himself, Remus' head jerked up. Oh - it's Mum. He closed the book, carefully marking his page with a finger. "Sure."

A moment later, the door opened and Amaryllis Lupin entered the room. She wore plain light blue robes that complemented her long, sandy hair, which hung in a braid down her back. "What are you reading?" she inquired, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

"Dad's old copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide for Self-Protection." Remus unconsciously reached up to brush a strand of light brown hair out of his eyes. "It's the textbook that Hogwarts first-years use in Defense Against the Dark Arts," he explained. "I found it in the attic the other day, and it looked interesting. Maybe I'll be ahead when I start school."

At the mention of school, his mother looked down, avoiding his eyes. I shouldn't have said that. Mum's been so worried about Hogwarts lately . . . I've got to remember not to bring it up. But his curiosity got the better of him, and he continued, "Have you heard from Dumbledore yet?"

"Actually, we have. An owl just arrived ten minutes ago." Remus looked up, eyes wide. "He said that he's almost gained the approval of the school governors. He wants us to come and see him tomorrow - he'd like to meet you."

Remus' stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. "Meet me? But - " Remus broke off. Even before he'd received the bite he had been shy, and it didn't help that he'd hardly seen anyone other than his parents for the past five years. A werewolf couldn't have friends; everyone knew that.

He took a deep breath. Stop this nonsense, he admonished himself. If you're going to go to Hogwarts, you can't be afraid of anything. If this is what Dumbledore wants you to do, you've got to do it. "All right." His voice quavered slightly; he cleared his throat and tried again. "Okay, then. What time?"

"Around ten o'clock." Despite Remus' best efforts to hide it, Amaryllis noticed his fear, and she smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. He said he has a plan that he'd like to explain to us."

"Oh." Well, that wasn't so bad. "But - even if the school board lets me go to Hogwarts, how can Dumbledore be sure that all the other students will be safe?"

Amaryllis sighed, and Remus smiled slightly; he knew that although she encouraged him to learn, she did grow tired of his incessant questions. "I don't know, Remus. He said that his plan will take care of everything, but he didn't explain how."

"May I read the letter later?"

"Later," Amaryllis agreed. "I don't have it with me now, and anyway it's time you were in bed. It's late, and you need to rest."

"Mu-um," Remus complained, but he marked his page, set the book on his bedside table, and lay down. "When I go to school, I'm going to stay up as late as I like," he added.

"When you go to school, you're going to be very tired."

"I'm ten years old. I can look after myself."

Amaryllis laughed as she pulled the blankets over his shoulders. "I don't know about that! I think you'll soon learn that it's harder than it looks. But that's another matter for another time," she added. "Right now, just sleep. Good night, dear."

"Good night. I love you."

She bent over and kissed his forehead, then turned out the lights with a flick of her wand and slipped out the door. The room was eerily silent when she left. It was past ten o'clock, but Remus wasn't tired at all. Dumbledore's letter had piqued his curiosity, and he lay awake long into the night, pondering the Headmaster's plan and wondering what it could possibly be.