Chapter Text
1971
s.o.s to my mother, take the hinges off the door
r
Remus Lupin turns eleven and receives his letter from Hogwarts.
He's thrilled for a brief moment, reading the letter over and over as his heart beats a quick tempo inside his chest. He had been waiting, not really for his birthday, but more for the present that wouldn't come from either of his parents or relatives. He had been waiting for the screech of an owl outside the window, the shakiness of his hands as he would untie the letter, the excitement released as he would read the letter to himself: first in his head, then out loud, and then to himself again- silently, radically and unabashedly filled with an elation that only seems to affect lighthearted children.
Things don't go necessarily as planned, really, because Remus lounges outside their house in the grass for most of the day, trying to read his book but ending up reading the same sentence over and over due to his excitement. The early March weather isn't forgiving and it starts to rain so he runs back inside for an umbrella and continues his vigil outside. Remus doesn't enjoy the outdoors, he'd much rather be sat up in his room, but he feels as though it would be unfair to himself if he read the letter any later than it was delivered. The owl appears at half past four and Remus leaps to his feet, eyes bright, and runs over to the bird perched on the windowsill of their house, looking confused.
Remus's hands do shake as he unties the letter from the tawny owl's leg, and as soon as the string is undone, the owl flies away into the rainy afternoon. And Remus does read the letter over and over again, holding it under his umbrella so the ink doesn't run.
"Dear Mr. Lupin, we are pleased to inform you of your acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The sentence brings a bright grin to his small face, and he runs inside almost bouncing with delight.
"Mum! Dad! Look! Look, look what came!" He tracks dirty footprints around the floor, waving the envelope wildly. "Hogwarts! They want me, and term starts in September, and they do want me, after all!" Truthfully, Remus had had his excitements dashed about the Hogwarts letter all year long, with his parents telling him kindly but firmly that they didn't know how he would be able to attend the school. As a werewolf.
Only eleven, and Remus's life had already been ruined, in his parents' eyes. They love their son, love him more than anything, but being a werewolf in the wizarding world isn't something that can easily be hidden. Not in the muggle world, either. Hope and Lyall Lupin had been moving around the UK ever since Remus had been bitten, staying in a place only long enough to get situated before neighbors would become suspicious of the events that took place in their house every month, and they would move again. Still, they believed that sending their son to muggle primary schools would help him make friends and feel more normal, if only a little bit.
Remus had made a few muggle friends, none of them very close except for a choice few. Still, Remus couldn't tell his friends about his excitement regarding Hogwarts, or why he missed a few days of school once a month, or why he had rather gruesome scars all over his body. Once, in their P.E. class, when Remus was dressed in his kit, one of his teachers had gotten worried about his scars, and called home about it. His parents hadn't known what to say, and had considered simply homeschooling Remus to also teach him some magic, but Remus had cried and begged to stay in school and they had let him, although reluctantly.
His parents are sat in the kitchen where Hope, his mother, is icing his birthday cake. Remus bears a resemblance to his father, Lyall, who leans forward in his chair with a curious expression on his face, taking the letter from his son's hands.
"What do we have here?" Lyall asks as he unfolds the envelope, biting his lip nervously as he reads over the message with furrowed eyebrows. He had received the same letter on his own eleventh birthday and had felt a similar excitement to his son, except there hadn't been anything holding him back from going. There's a sinking feeling in his chest as he looks at his son, who wears an infallible, innocent smile on his scarred face. "Remus..." Lyall starts, and Remus's face hardens as his father lets out a heavy sigh. His wife pretends not to listen to the conversation, but he can tell that she's upset too.
Lyall and Hope had fallen in love easily, simply, the best way possible. There had been little drama, little to worry about, and they had married after a year of dating- so hopelessly in love that they couldn't bear to think about living life without each other there. Hope had known about Lyall's magic and had accepted it, considering it something that didn't have a negative effect on her life, and therefore wasn't worth fretting about. With a beautiful young son and a happy marriage, nothing had been wrong until February of 1966, when a five year old Remus had been attacked.
Hope doesn't like thinking about that night, but remembers the overwhelming fear and the anger, how the mothering desire to protect her only child had been overcome by wanting to lash out against her husband, who was, essentially, (other than the werewolf itself) the only reason that Remus had been bitten. And then things just hadn't been the same.
"I'm not sure why... Remus, this is boarding school, I don't know what you're supposed to do on the full moons." Lyall is saying, and Hope doesn't want to see or hear her son heartbroken, especially on his birthday, but she knows not to get his hopes up.
"But this can't be a mistake, right?" Remus pleads. "They wouldn't've sent it if they were worried about me, they sent it for a reason." He crosses his arms and pouts his lip and Hope wants to give in, to tell him that of course he can go and there was no mistake, but she doesn't know how this works. She keeps quiet.
"Remus, no one can know that you're a werewolf." Lyall says in a somber tone. "This is very serious, and sending you to a school where there are hundreds of kids who could find out, and know the consequences, well..." He trails, not wanting to discuss the things that could happen if Remus were found out about.
Remus and his father argue a little more before Hope stops them, suggesting that Lyall write to the headmaster. This seems to quell the brunt of the tension, but dinner is a quiet and relatively joyless affair. They're about to light eleven candles on his birthday cake when there's a loud knock at the door. The three of them fall into a tense silence and Remus gazes up at his parents, only momentarily, before sprinting to the door and throwing it open- not knowing what he had been expecting, but being shocked by the sight of the man on the doorstep nonetheless.
He's a tall, old man. He wears a funny sort of silvery hat on his head, a silver that matches his great long beard that stretches all the way down his chest. The man wears a set of wizard's robes, the kind Lyall wears to work, in a rich deep purpley color. There are half moon glasses in front of his glittering blue eyes, and a wide smile breaks on his face when he sees a wide eyed Remus standing in the doorway.
"Happy birthday, Remus!" He greets, and Remus whispers an unheard and surprised 'thank you' as his father appears behind him, wearing an expression almost identical to his son.
"Prof- Albus." Lyall corrects himself, shocked at this unexpected visitor. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
s
"Just look at it, Reg! Look how cool, it looks so posh, all black! Don't you think?" Sirius Black has just come back from a trip to Diagon Alley with his parents, where they had bought him his first wand. Admittedly, the Blacks had waited until almost the latest possible date to buy their oldest son his wand. Sirius is a mischievous boy, and they hadn't been confident that he would keep his magic under control at home and not try to perform all sorts of spells that he had already been studying.
Sirius has been showing off his wand to his younger brother Regulus, who looks at it with an awed expression.
"What's it made of?" Regulus asks curiously, watching as his older brother swishes the wand back and forth with great gusto.
"It's thirteen inches long, and it's made of ebony, and it's got a dragon heartstring core, which is the strongest kind of core." Sirius brags, waving the wand and making his brother's hair blow back.
"Wow, Sirius, can I hold it?" Regulus wonders, and Sirius immediately brings the wand to his side, looking defensive.
"No, you can't. You get your own next year." Sirius says coldly, in the way that older brothers do, and Regulus looks disappointed.
"Please, just to hold, I won't mess with it-"
"Don't whinge, Regulus, it's mine and I don't want your grubby little hands all over it-"
"I can wash them! They're not so dirty-" The brothers' squabbling is interrupted by their older cousin Bellatrix, who pokes her head out from the room down the hall, with an awful expression on her pale face.
"Shut up, both of you!" She snaps, slamming the door shut, leaving the brothers staring after her- wondering about her. Girls are somewhat of a mystery to the pair of them. Bellatrix is going into her seventh and final year at Hogwarts while Sirius is eager to be starting his first one. They're both leaving the very next day, and Sirius can hardly contain himself with excitement.
"What's got her so worked up?" Regulus asks, quickly forgetting their fight.
"Probably finishing up her holiday work, she always leaves it to the end of the summer." Sirius responds. "Bitch." He adds, a little quieter, and Regulus looks up at him with the awe of a younger sibling. Although the brothers have their fair share of arguments, they do get along at the end of the day, and it's better to have each other than to have no one.
At only eleven years old, Sirius has already become bitter with the burden of being the lesser favored child. He's rebellious and has a wicked, sharp sense of humor that tends to upset the rest of his family. They're a well regarded wizarding family, the 'Noble and Ancient Wizarding House of Black', a title which Sirius has grown used to making fun of. Regulus tries to please their parents but laughs at Sirius's jokes in private, and they sometimes spend nights discussing their family, and how terrifying some of the members are.
And how terrifying some of their magic is.
They're too young to know about how the Blacks are famous for their dark magic and obsession with blood purity, but Sirius can tell for himself that he won't grow up to be who his parents want him to be. Dinner takes place later in the evening, and both Sirius and Regulus put on uncomfortable shirts and ties to look presentable in front of the extended family.
Their aunt and uncle are there, along with their cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa, the latter of whom has brought a date with her, a pale faced man named Lucius. Sirius has another cousin named Andromeda, but she had been shunned from the family after she married a muggle born called Ted. Sirius thinks that she's rather cool, though, and misses seeing her quite badly. She was never as serious as the rest of them.
They sit down to a dinner prepared by their house elf, Kreacher. Sirius and his brother are younger than everyone at the table and sit at the end, talking to each other for most of the night. At some point, the event of Sirius starting Hogwarts the next day is brought up.
"First day, eh?" His uncle Cygnus asks with an attempt at a friendly smile. "The sorting ought to be exciting, you'll make us proud in Slytherin!" He beams proudly at his daughters, both of whom had been sorted into Slytherin. The whole family had been.
"Of course," Sirius replies, trying to hide his hesitation. "I'm quite excited. Can't wait to start flying." He adds, changing the subject from houses.
"Are you going out for Quidditch?" Narcissa asks politely. She has a soft face but still bears a resemblance to her younger sister Bellatrix, who is as dark as her sister is light, and has smeared eyeshadow and dark lipstick onto her face.
"Yeah, though I can't try out until second year. It would be great, though, to get on the team."
"Would make a rather good beater, with the way you and your brother fight." Sirius's father, Orion, says, and the rest of the table laugh, including Regulus. The rest of dinner passes without any blow ups or fights, and Sirius heads back to his room afterwards to pack. He tends to leave things until last minute, similar to his parents in regards to buying him a wand, which is tucked safely into his pocket. Regulus follows behind and watches as his brother tosses things haphazardly into his trunk. The night gets late as the brothers chat with each other in their shared bedroom and Sirius checks and rechecks the packing list out of general anxiety.
Finally, he assumes that he has whatever he'll need, puts on his pajamas, and gets into bed. Him and Regulus lie on opposite sides of the room, awake, thinking their own private thoughts that Regulus decides to share first.
"Aren't you nervous?" Regulus asks. He's a worrier, always has been, and Sirius tries to convince himself that he's not nervous, not at all.
"Nah." He replies bravely. "Maybe about the sorting, though. Haven't you wondered what would happen if we were sorted somewhere else?" Regulus snorts as though this is a completely foreign concept to him.
"Where else? Hufflepuff? You, in Ravenclaw?" Regulus giggles a bit and Sirius frowns, thinking about the unspoken house.
"I mean, Gryffindor might not be awful..."
"Just stick with Slytherin, Sirius. It's what everyone wants." Regulus doesn't say anything after that and while his younger brother sleeps, Sirius lies wide awake, doing his share of worrying.
j
"Goodbye, darling, I'll write you every day, okay? And write to us, too, of course, let us know how it all goes! I'm so proud of you!" Euphemia Potter kisses her son and he fights to step away from her, face red.
"Okay, mum, I've got to get on the train." James Potter steps back from his parents, trying his best to board the Hogwarts Express, but his mother feels incapable of letting her only son leave, (if it is only for a school year) and she pulls him back for another hug.
"Last one, I promise." She sighs as she hugs him tightly. "I love you so much, James, okay? Have a good year! Write to us tonight, I want to know-"
"Everything, mum, I know. The train is going to leave without me!" James exclaims, and Euphemia wipes tears from her eyes as her husband claps James on the shoulder, having less trouble with seeing his son off.
"Good luck, James, you're going to have a great year. Go make some new friends, okay?" Fleamont Potter instructs, and James nods brightly before dragging his trunk onto the train. Inside, there are students everywhere and James navigates him down the halls, searching for a carriage. Most of them are full of older students greeting each other after the summer, laughing and joking as they catch up. James can't help but feel a bit nervous, but straightens his shoulders and marches further down the hall, carrying his trunk under one arm and holding his brand new broomstick in the other.
He enters a new car and finally finds a carriage with two boys who look around his age in it. James takes a closer look through the glass to see that one of them is his neighbor, Peter Pettigrew, and he feels a sense of relief as he opens the door to the carriage.
"Alright, Peter?" He asks the blonde haired boy who smiles when he sees him.
"Hi, James! How was your summer?"
"Great, and yours?" James asks, not bothering to wait for an answer as he introduces himself to the boy sitting next to Peter. He has light brown hair and a rather large nose, but James is more fascinated by the scars across his face. "I'm James, nice to meet you."
"You too." The boy says, eyeing James' broom. Then, as though he had forgotten, he starts and says- "Sorry, I'm Remus. Remus Lupin."
"Cool name." James says, heaving his trunk onto the shelf overhead.
"Cool broom." Pete says, shifting forward in his seat. "What make is it?"
"A Silver Arrow." James says proudly as Pete oohs and aahs over it. "It's quite fast, but I'll have to learn how to put a cushioning charm on it, because falling off hurts rather badly." He says with a laugh.
"I bet you never fall off." Peter says and James smiles at him.
"Cheers, Pete. So, Remus, do you come from a wizarding family?" James asks. Before Remus can reply, the door of the carriage opens again and James looks up to see two more people standing there. He first lays eyes on the girl, who has long ginger hair and beautiful green eyes. Standing next to her is a greasy haired boy, with a miserable expression on his face.
"Mind if we join you?" The girl asks politely, and James invites them in, though he'd rather just talk to her than the boy behind her. "I'm Lily, and this is Severus." She says, gesturing at her dark haired companion. "What are you lot up to?"
"Just getting to know Remus." James says, which makes Remus blush. Lily and Severus look at the brown haired boy with interest, and he clears his throat before speaking.
"My dad's a wizard, mum's a... a muggle, I guess you call them." Remus says as though unfamiliar with wizarding terminology.
"You haven't been around many wizards, hm?" James replies. Remus shakes his head.
"Did you go to school with muggles?" Peter inquires. Severus leans in with a smug sort of look on his face that James doesn't take to.
"Yeah, primary school. I've only met some of my dad's coworkers, from the Ministry, you know. But no other kids, not really."
"Wow, I couldn't imagine going to muggle school." Peter breathes.
"Me neither." Severus says in a cold, drawling voice.
"I did." Lily pipes up. "Me and my sister." She hesitates, and then adds- "I'm muggleborn." James looks at her with interest. The conversation stops, again, when there's a disturbance outside the carriage. A loud argument carries down the hallway and James gets up, always interested in any developing dramas. He cracks their door and looks down the hall, hearing a girl's angry voice shout. There's the slam of a door and a dark haired boy tumbles into the hall, his trunk making a loud bang against the floor. Before anyone can act, the door to the next car opens, and a broom gets thrown on top of the boy, who shouts
"Good riddance!" At the top of his lungs, before the door gets slammed again. James can hear loud footsteps on the other side and looks with pity at the boy, who gathers his things with some effort.
"You alright, then?" James asks, stepping out into the otherwise empty hallway. The boy looks up. He has black hair that reaches his shoulders, and high cheekbones. Despite his proud face, James sees a wicked sparkle in his eyes.
"Fine." The boy replies, his broom slipping from his full arms.
"Here," James offers, "Let me help." The boy hesitates for a moment, but eventually hands his broom to James, who leads the way back to his carriage. Everyone inside is wide eyed as James leads the boy back inside. There's not much storage space left, so they pile his things near the door.
"Thanks." The boy says in a rather posh accent, looking firmly at James. "I'm Sirius." He says after, addressing the entire carriage, at this point. "Sirius Black."