I awake with a jolt. “Alexia!” someone yells. I run down the stairs to find Remus holding a letter in one hand and his orange juice in the other.
“It just came. It looks like you're going to Hogwarts,” Remus announces. I look at him, speechless. Before I could respond Teddy comes down the staircase.
“Good morning Dad, Alexia.”
I respond, “It is a good morning, isn’t it?” I practically melt into a chair as I sit down.
Remus adds, “She just got accepted to Hogwarts!”
“That’s great! I hope you're in Gryffindor, like me,” responds Teddy.
“I hope so too Teddy, is all I reply. Just as I finished talking, another owl flies through the open window and lands on the table, causing it to shake. Two letters are tied to its legs. “Who are the letters for?” I ask. Remus takes them from the owl’s leg, hands one to Teddy and opens the other. He starts reading his while Teddy pulls a Head Boy Badge from the envelope. “Congrats Teddy,” I say excitedly. “What’s in your letter Remus?” I ask, trying to see what it says. Remus folds it back up and hands it to me. I scan the letter quickly. “Dumbledore’s coming tonight,” I announce, astonished.
“Yes,” Remus replies, “at seven, so you better be ready to meet him.”
I press on, “Did it say why?”
Remus responds, “I have a hunch, but you’ll find out soon enough.” Teddy takes a seat at the table and asks for the marmalade. I happily pass it, my mind a whirl of thoughts. After eating a breakfast of toast and eggs, Remus and Teddy start talking about the Ministry and the Daily Prophet, so I take that as a cue to get dressed. As I walk up the stairs, I take a look at the photos hung on the wall. The first one is a wedding photo with Remus and Nymphadora Tonks smiling happily back. The next is a picture of a baby Teddy in the bath, splashing while Tonks and Remus are trying to wash him. Then you see an eleven year old Teddy boarding the Hogwarts Express, waving back. In the last picture you see a seven year old me being carried by Remus as Tonks takes the photo. She lights her wand, causing seven year old me to squeal. In the background you can see a frowning twelve year old Teddy. He didn’t like me when I was first brought home. I head down the hallway and pass three doors, the guest room, Teddy’s bedroom, and Remus and Tonks’ before getting to mine.
I throw open the door and look around. The walls are a lavender purple and all the furniture is white and simple even though there is very little. I have a white desk, a white twin bed frame with a dark blue comforter, a white dresser with a mirror and a black empty cage where Nim would be. Nim is my female barn owl with beautiful, full feathers. I got her for my tenth birthday. She’s out flying some letters to Lily, then Rose, some of my only friends. I walk past the empty cage and select a navy blue robe from my dresser that matches my blond hair perfectly. My feet hit the edge of the soft area rug layered over the hardwood. I then pick up my astronomy book off the dresser and throw myself on the bed, reading about the moon happily. After a while I sit up and walk the short distance to my desk. I grab a piece of parchment out of the drawer in the dresser, dip my beat up quill in my inkwell and start writing and calculating when the next full moons are. As I finish and check the dates, someone knocks on the door.
“Come in,” I declare as I swivel my chair towards the door. Remus comes in and sits on my bed, smoothing out the comforter. “When are we going to Diagon Alley?” I ask.
Remus fiddles with his hands before responding, “We can go right now actually.”
I answer, “Great, let’s go.” As I get out of my chair Remus motions for me to sit back down.
He hesitantly asks, “Are you sure you want to go to Hogwarts?”
I reply, a bit hurt that he even asked, “Yes. I’ve wanted a letter forever. Nothing will or has ever changed that.” I add a look that convinces him to give in.
“Fine, just asking. I don’t like the idea.” he says, thinking.
“Why, you let Teddy go.” I counteract.
“You know this is different.” he breathes deeply. I stand up and walk out of the room, leaving Remus with his thoughts. I find Teddy sitting on the couch in the family room, reading Hogwarts, A History.
“Did you know that you're going to be the second werewolf to attend Hogwarts after our father?” Teddy randomly states. I grimace at the term ‘werewolf’ and correct him.
“I’m not technically one, don’t call me that and it's your father not mine.” I huff.
He explains, “Oh, come on, you’ve lived with us for five years now. He’s basically your father and I’m your brother.
“Yeah, whatever,” I add tired of this conversation that occurs a lot. My eyes wander to Remus, grabbing a shabby cloak from the closet.
“Come on, let’s go,” he says as he grabs the letters off the kitchen table and stores the one from Dumbledore in the cookie jar. Teddy and I head out the door and start walking down the street, towards the alley. Remus locks the front door and hurries to catch up with us. He grabs our hands. I feel the familiar squeeze and tightening and close my eyes. When I open them I see that we are in Diagon Alley. A couple shops ahead I see my best friend, Lily Potter with her family. I run up to her and say hello. Remus chats with Lily’s parents, Harry and Ginny.
“Have you done anything fun this summer?” I ask Lily. She looks very excited when she tells me that she visited her uncle Charlie in Romania. She asks what I’ve done this summer but I tell her we didn’t go anywhere. James walks over to bother me.
“Hi James.” I say sarcastically. He’s playing with a snitch, throwing it up in the air before catching it. To me, I feel that he is arrogant and honestly annoying.
“Hi Alexia.” He continues catching the golden snitch until I grab it from him.
“You are annoying,” I huff. Throwing the snitch back at him, he grabs it before it flies away.
“You should join the Quidditch team. Of course, only if it’s Gryffindor’s team though.”
I roll my eyes saying, “Maybe next year.” I would never play a sport with him. James walks away, equally annoying. Sometimes I go over to Lily’s house to play Quidditch, and I always catch the golden snitch before James does. We love each other like brother and sister though.
Remus walks over and tells me that we have to continue on. I wave Lily bye before walking away with Teddy and Remus. I ask, “Can we go to Flourish and Blotts first?”
“Sure,” Remus replies, “but don’t you have some of the books?”
“I already have Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the book needed for astronomy.” I add that I need the rest. When we enter the shop we meet the Minister of Magic, Hermione Granger and her daughter, Rose Granger-Weasley. “Hi Rose!” I shout. She runs towards me. She’s two years older than me but our families are friends.
“You look a bit pale,” she says. Since she doesn’t know about my ‘furry little problem,’ I wave it off. Rose is incredibly smart but she hasn’t figured it out yet. Hermione on the other hand knows but I think Remus told her. She is the Minister of Magic so it is her right to know about the werewolf population, but I would never announce it out loud.
Remus and Hermione chat about werewolf laws and legislation while Rose and I walk around picking up books that we need. I tell her about the letter from Dumbledore. Rose ponders, then replies, “He probably wants to talk to Lupin.”
I think about this but respond, “Then why was my name mentioned in the letter?” Before she could form a retort we reach the checkout counter. I hand over some sickles and knuts Remus gave me while Rose gets change for a galleon. I say goodbye and tell her I’ll see her on the train. Teddy, Remus and I head out and walk the short distance to Madam Malkin’s. There I am fitted for new robes. While being fitted I hear the bell on the door jingle. My eyes flit over to the door and I see Scorpius’ parents. Scorpius isn’t with them though. He’s okay as long as he’s with Albus. Scorpius doesn’t know anything about my wolfish-ness or his parents would be all over it. They vote against werewolf legislation and all the laws that would help us live a normal-ish life. Just seeing them makes my blood boil and I know it is the same for Remus. Remus turns around to keep them from recognizing him but it's too late.
“Stop moving dear,” whispers madam Malkin. She spins me around so I can’t see the adults arguing. I catch small bits and phrases of what they are saying until madam Malkin shouts, “No duels in my store!” I turn around and see Malfoy and Remus with their wands out.
“Another child Lupin?” Malfoy says with very little surprise in his voice.
“Let’s go,” Remus says, looking defeated. He pays and takes the bags with the robes in them.
“I hope she’s nothing like you.” Malfoy adds.
I snap at this. “I. AM. ADOPTED!”
“Even better,” Malfoy boasts. “How did you afford this one, let alone the first one?” Thank goodness Scorpius isn’t here. He’d be avoiding his parents' gazes, silently asking him to join in.
“How dare you!” Remus roars. “At least I don’t spend every moment and every gold coin against werewolf laws!” Draco Malfoy pales. Madam Malkin tells everyone to get out of her store. Draco mutters something about werewolves and robes before leaving with his head held high. We followed suit and left, meeting up with Teddy at Ollivander’s.
Before we reach Teddy, I ask, “Has it always been this way for werewolves in society?” It takes Remus a minute to figure out what to say. He explains that it was worse when he was a child. The wolfsbane potion hadn’t even been invented yet, werewolves had to follow distinct rules and they were prejudiced. At least I’m hidden and no one knows, I thought. When we reach Ollivander’s, Remus tells me to go inside and that they’ll wait out here. I walk into the musty smelling shop and try not to sneeze from all the dust. Ms. Ollivander walks out from the store room with a small box in her hand. She hands me the wand from inside and instantly I know it's perfect. I wave it around, getting a feel for it. She tells me that it is 10 ⅛ inches long, has a unicorn hair center, it is quite flexible and is made of birch. I hand her a galleon and walk out of the store, wand in my pocket. Teddy and I grab Remus’ hands, ready to go home.
Remus spins and suddenly we're on the doorstep to our house. Remus unlocks the door with the key, because we live close to some Muggles and he charmed the door so Alohomora doesn’t work. I glance at the clock to see that it is three o’clock. “Is Dumbledore coming for dinner?” I ask, patiently waiting for an answer as Teddy and Remus put the school supplies into our trunks.
“Why, yes. I suppose he is. He’s like that,” Remus replies. Great, I think. Dinner with the eccentric and mad headmaster of a magic school. Remus opens the fridge and pulls out a pack of steaks. “How would you like yours tonight?” he asks.
“I kind of want one rare today,” I respond.
“Well, it's better than raw,” he adds with a smile. Teddy asks for a medium-well and I know that Remus likes his medium-rare. Tonks on the other hand is less predictable and change it up a lot. She’s out with the Aurors office undercover somewhere. I know everyone misses her but she owls from time to time. I head upstairs and go to my room, leaving the door a jar a bit. I check my moon chart with the dates on it one more time before copying it down onto another piece of parchment. I take both parchments downstairs, taping one to the fridge and placing the other in my trunk. Remus eyes the chart on the fridge and says, “You don’t have to do that.” He continues marinating the steaks while I tell him I enjoy it. He places the bowl of steaks in the fridge and takes a seat at the kitchen table.
I walk through the narrow entry into the family room. The walls are a light blue, and there is an old orange and yellow patterned sofa. I grab the Daily Prophet from the coffee table and start reading it. I take a seat on the sofa, tuck up my legs and start reading. I flip through the pages but find nothing interesting except one article on a revision of old anti-werewolf laws. At least I know that Mrs. Granger will try to change them despite rich, older, pure blood families petitioning to keep them the same. An hour later Teddy comes down stairs and sits on the couch next to me, still reading, Hogwarts, A History. Not wanting him to talk about my lycanthropy, I head to my room, passing Remus sitting at the table reading and writing something on a piece of parchment.
“What is it?” I ask, looking over his shoulder at it. He quickly folds it back up and puts it in his pocket.
“Nothing,” he rushes out. Hmm, I think. Something mysterious.
“Okay,” I say, continuing my journey to my room.In my room I find that Nim is back from her journey and is sitting in her cage. She hoots with acknowledgement. “Hello,” I whisper as I stroke her head lightly. I grab some treats from my desk and hand feed them to her. “Do you ever feel that someone is not telling you something?” I ask, knowing she won’t respond. Her large yellow eyes stare back at me. I leave the cage door open for her. I tell her she can go hunting but she’s got to be back in three days. She hoots with agreement and flies out the window.
I grab a new book that I have, Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live, and begin to read it, amused. I can be a perfectly happy werewolf-kind -of-not-werewolf-person. I hear the clock strike six and I come downstairs, bringing the book with me. Remus spots the book and asks, “Is it any good?”
“Complete rubbish. I mean, look at us, we’re happy.” I point at him and myself. His lips twist into a small smile. I walk into the family room and continue reading on the carpet covered floor. Teddy is still there, sitting on the couch. Another long period of time passes, and the large clock downstairs chimes seven times. I sit up and stretch out, leaving my book on the coffee table. Remus appears in the doorway and opens his mouth to speak but the doorbell chimes.
“That’ll be him.” Remus says as he moves towards the door. Teddy and I follow him into the kitchen and wait there. I brush off my robes, wishing I wore something better today.
“Remus!” Dumbledore exclaims.
“Good to see you too, Dumbledore,” he replies. Dumbledore walks in and takes off his hat. I can see that he has brilliant blue eyes and a crooked nose. He is wearing a silver set of robes and has a long white beard.
“Good evening Ted” he states.
Teddy straightens up before replying, “Good evening Professor.” Dumbledore nods curtly and asks to be called Dumbledore in our home.
I greet him next. “Good evening sir.” Dumbledore smiles with recognition.
“It is a good evening Ms. Alexia.” Mystified on how he knows my name, I smile back gently. Remus tells everyone that supper will be ready in a couple minutes and to wait patiently. Teddy leads Dumbledore into the family room. Dumbledore looks at the photos on the wall before taking a seat in Remus’ leather chair. I take a seat on the couch next to Teddy and grab my book off the coffee table. “How is the book?” Dumbledore asks.
I think about what to say to him, remembering that he is the headmaster of the school that I’m going to and respond, “Terrible. I believe that werewolves can be happy, just like normal people with hardships. But I understand where the author is coming from.” Dumbledore nods. I ask him if he has read it.
“No, but I’ve talked to people who have.” I continue reading while Teddy has a turn at the ‘conversation-with-the-headmaster’ thing. A couple minutes later Remus announces from the kitchen that supper is ready.Teddy and I lead the way. I take a seat in my normal chair next to Teddy while Remus sits across from me and next to Dumbledore. The steaks are already on plates, so I start cutting mine up. I see Teddy out of the corner of my eye repulse at the sight of my rare steak. He usually brings it up during dinner, but I can tell he won’t in front of Dumbledore.
A quick glance at Dumbledore shows that he is lost in thought until he asks, “Who calculated the lunar calendar chart over there?” He points to the one taped to the fridge.
I sheepishly answer, “I drew that this morning.”
“That’s advanced Astronomy work for third years,” he adds. I feel my cheeks grow red so I look down at my plate and fork a piece of rare steak. Dumbledore presses on, asking about my rare steak.
“I don’t know how to explain it but closer towards the full moon my wolfish traits come out. You’re lucky I didn’t ask for a raw steak.”
Dumbledore ponders this before responding, “So this is a side effect of your bite.” He says it like a question but it's a statement. I don’t answer but I continue eating silently. Teddy shifts uncomfortably in his chair. He’s lucky he didn’t get lycanthropy through his parents. Dumbledore stirs up conversation with Remus about the underground werewolf movement. They discuss it quietly, but I think they don’t want me or Teddy to hear. I ask Teddy what Hogwarts is like and he launches into a whole verbal tour. I interject his stories with questions and mutters of awe. I can’t believe I’ll be there in a couple days. Dumbledore sees this and chuckles gently, “Ah. . . I forget the young minds and wonder of new students.” I look at Remus for some direction but he merely shrugs.
I look around the table and see that everyone is finished. “Should I. . .?” Dumbledore cuts me off. With a quick movement of his wand, all of the dishes and utensils fly slowly into the sink.
Dumbledore stands up and asks me, “Do you have a private room somewhere?” Remus points upstairs.
I respond unsurely, “Ummm. . . We can go to my room.” Dumbledore nods.
Remus and I stand up at the same time but Dumbledore adds, “Alone.” Remus flinches, but sits back down. I walk over to the staircase and motion for Dumbledore to follow. I look over at Remus who looks anxious and nervous, but nods me on. Dumbledore follows me up the staircase, pausing to look at the photos on the staircase walls and in the hallway. I lead him to the last door and push it open slightly, suddenly remembering I forgot to clean. Dumbledore sees the expression on my face and suggests, “Do you want me to clean up for you?” I nod, eager to see more magic. He waves his wand and everything spirals together before flying towards their correct places.
I take a seat at my swivel chair while Dumbledore conjures a soft armchair. After sitting down, Dumbledore asks “When did your magical ability first show?”
I think about this, recalling when it happened before answering, “I was seven and a half. Teddy stole my Christmas chocolate which made me very mad. Tonks tells me that his new broomstick flew into my hands and he gave back all my chocolate.”
“Nothing before?”
“Not that I remember. I doubt I would have remembered it if it was before I was seven. Why?” I question, clearly confused.
“Just pure curiosity of an old man,” he replies. Uh-huh, I think. There’s got to be another reason.
“When were you attacked?” Dumbledore asks after a moment. Wow, I think, that just turned dark. I swallow nervously.
“I was seven,” I vocalize, suddenly more quiet. Dumbledore urges me to keep going. I look down at my lap before continuing, avoiding his watchful gaze. “My family negotiated something with Fenrir Greyback, help or something. I don’t remember what.”
“Quite understandable,” Dumbledore interjects.
“Anyway,” I continue, “they ended up in debt. They couldn’t pay Greyback for his help. He told them something along the lines of that if he wasn’t paid by the full moon, he would prey on the innocent. He must have gotten hungry because he attacked the day before the full moon.” I shudder and show him the claw-like scars on the back of my arm, higher up near my shoulder. I have more down my back, but I don’t reveal those. Dumbledore looks at them, gingerly holding my arm. I wonder if he’s had any healer experience and knows how to understand these things. Whom am I kidding, he’s an awesome wizard. He lets go of my arm and asks me to keep going. I nod weakly. “After that I was given some kind of draught and I woke up on Remus and Tonks’ bed, my wounds tended to. Later that night, I woke up to find a twelve year Teddy scowling at me.” Dumbledore cracks a small smile. “Remus knows more, but he won’t tell me until I’m older,” I add.
“And what happens when the full moon rises?” Dumbledore asks, breaking the silence.
“Well, Greyback wasn’t transformed so I don’t transform like Remus. I transform mentally, not physically.”
Dumbledore adds, “That would explain the lock on the outside of your door.” I nod. I guess he saw that when he was looking in the hallway.
“Also there’s the raw meat thing.”
He considers this before adding, “Have you had any reactions to the Wolfsbane Potion before?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary besides drowsiness and fatigue.”
“I’ll have Severus make you some Wolfsbane before each full moon. Since the full moon is a week away, here’s some.” He digs in his robe and pulls out ten capped goblets of wolfsbane potion. “Give these seven to Remus,” he points. I take them and place them gently on the desk.
“Thank you,” I beamed. We can’t always afford fourteen goblets, so this is really great. “Can you see if Professor Snape can add some mint or honey?” I add without thinking, “It tastes really bad.”
Dumbledore laughs and adds, “Yes, I’ve heard it tastes quite gross. No promises, I don’t know how it’ll affect it. And thank you for telling me all of this,” Dumbledore congratulates. I nod, as he stands up, walking towards the door. “Oh, and one more thing, you need a last name.”
I think about this for a minute before responding, “Lupin. I’ll take on Lupin.” He smiles and walks out, closing the door almost all the way. I hear Remus and Dumbledore talking in the hallway in front of my door.
“You were eavesdropping,” Dumbledore says, not flustered or mad.
“Yes, it’s my right to know. I’m her guardian, I have to protect her.” Remus whispers harshly.
“Yes, but you can do it in other ways. Tell her about her past.” Dumbledore persuades.
“No, she’s,” Dumbledore cuts him off.
“You have to tell her eventually. She is similar to you but you can’t spare her your hardships. You are both so similar and I don’t know if that’s good for her.”
Remus sighs heavily. “Can you at least promise me you’ll look after her?” I can’t see Dumbledore’s face but I know it's a yes.
He hints, “I might drop in around the winter holidays.” I hear him walk down the steps and out the door. As I peek out, I watch Remus run his hands through his thin hair before turning towards my partially closed door. I shut the door soundlessly and get changed into a nightshirt. As I’m pulling my arms into the sleeves, I hear a gentle knock on the door.
“Come in,” I answer. I pull back my covers on my bed and sit back down at my swivel chair. Remus walks in looking very tired and old. He sits down on my bed. Remus looks at me before sighing again.
“There’s some much to say, but you're too young to know about it,” he says reluctantly. I push off my desk, causing my swivel chair to move away, revealing Dumbledore gifts. “Of course,” he chuckles, “Dumbledore knew I wouldn’t accept his charity easily.” I count out seven goblets and ask where he would like me to place them. “Downstairs in the locked potion cabinet.” I stand up, leaving Remus who stands up and looks at some photos on my desks.
I walk down the hallway and down the stairs, arms cradling seven bottles. Teddy is sitting on the couch reading. I place most of the bottles in the cabinet and leave two out. Remus comes down, carrying the rest of the bottles. He places them in the cabinet and turns to me. He grabs one bottle that I left out and I take the other one. We pop off the caps together.
“Cheers!” I sarcastically toast. We tap our goblets togethers and gulp down the potion. “Urg,” I mutter. I can never get over the taste. Teddy walks in and sees my look of disgust.
“Ah. It’s that time again I see.” Teddy says smuggly.
“Yes, it's that week where you don’t get any sleep, you feel terrible, and look even worse. Consider yourself lucky,” I tease. I instantly grow nauseous and sit down. “I think I’ll go to bed and sleep it off.”
“Good choice,” Remus yawns. I say goodnight to Teddy and follow Remus upstairs. Remus is about to walk into his room but kisses my forehead before turning in. I climb into bed and fall into a dreamless sleep.