Chapter 1
Owl Post
Everyone was fast asleep in Godric's Hollow. Everyone, that is, except a small boy with messy, jet-black hair. This little boy was James Potter, and he was sitting on the floor in his pajamas, shivering. He was very cold, and very tired, but he couldn't go to bed, because he was waiting for something very important to arrive. But he was more than a little anxious that it wouldn't arrive, which was why he was up in the early hours of the morning waiting for it.
James was just beginning to think it wouldn't be arriving today, after all, when suddenly, through the slot in the door, popped a thick, heavy envelope made of yellowish parchment. On it, in emerald ink, were written the words:
Mr. J. Potter
The Floor
27 Magus Lane
Godric's Hollow
James's heart gave a little leap as he turned the envelope over, seeing a purple wax seal with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter "H". After staring for quite a few minutes, James ripped open the envelope, reading:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)
James smiled to himself. So he was in. He had known of course. He hadn't been worried at all.
Well, maybe a little bit…
Petunia Evans hoisted her thin body into her second story window, and into her room. The clock by her bed said 4:00 am. She had just come home after spending the night with her best friend, who lived next door, but she wasn't worried about her parents finding out. They probably wouldn't even notice. They were too involved with their own perfect lives to notice anything their twin daughters did.
Suddenly, Petunia noticed a large grey owl soaring over the rooftops. It was carrying something. It wasn't so odd, until Petunia noticed that the thing it was carrying wasn't a dead mouse, or whatever it was that owls ate, it was a letter.
Even stranger, though was the fact that this letter-bearing bird seemed to be heading straight for Petunia's house. Petunia watched in awe as the owl sent the letter right through the mail slot and took off into the early morning.
Overcome with curiosity, Petunia tiptoed down the stairs to the front door. She picked up the heavy envelope on the floor, and, unconcerned with the address on the front, tore it open quickly and quietly. Her bony hands carefully pulled out the yellow piece of parchment that lay inside, and she began to read the letter.
Dear Ms. Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagoll
Deputy Headmistress
Witchcraft? Was this a joke? Well, she had seen with her own eyes an owl delivering this letter. It did seem the sort of thing…
Hogwarts? It sounded more like a disease than a school… something like chickenpox. But Minerva was a strange name too. Maybe everyone had strange names there. It did seem the sort of thing…
But to do magic was something Petunia had only dreamed about. It would be amazing, exciting, and just plain cool. And then her parents would notice her. They would be so proud. And Lily would be wonderfully supportive about it, of course. They had always been best friends, and even though Petunia was sometimes jealous that her sister was smarter or prettier than she was, she always bit back those feelings because of the kindness Lily showed her. But it would be better now. Now that Petunia had this magical gift, she would never have to be jealous of her sister again. They would be best friends forever.
She stood there for a few moments thinking of her parents' and sister's proud faces, but the words on the front of the envelope knocked the smile right off her face.
Ms. L. Evans
Sirius Black rolled over in his bed, nearly falling onto the floor before waking suddenly. He had slept surprisingly well; unlike most of the other witches and wizards his age, he was not worried about receiving his Hogwarts letter. He would definitely get it-he had to. He had everything going for him: he was intelligent (although most of his brain power went into pranks instead of school), he was good looking (although that wouldn't really affect him being accepted to Hogwarts), but most importantly, he was a pure- blooded wizard of the noble and most ancient house of Black, of which generations had been Slytherins at Hogwarts. With his family history, he was practically royalty.
Casually, Sirius stood up and got dressed. Even in his room next door, Siius could hear his little brother, Regulus, snoring.
Dressed in all black robes, Sirius left his room and walked down the stairs, passing dozens of stuffed house elf heads on his way to the front door. And there it was, on the floor, just as he knew it would be. His mother would be so pleased. Seeing Kreacher, Sirius barked, "You! Go and tell my mother that I've received my letter."
"Yes, Young Master. Mistress will be so pleased," Kreacher replied as he bowed himself from the room. Sirius smiled. He couldn't wait for the Sorting Hat to place him in Slytherin.
Lily awoke suddenly with the pressing feeling that there was something she needed to do. Quickly rolling out of bed, she pulled her auburn hair into a loose ponytail, and made her way down the hall to the stairs. She stopped suddenly at the top, seeing Petunia standing by the front door with an envelope in her hand. Her gaunt face was pulled into a scowl, and then she looked up, giving Lily the dirtiest glare she could muster.
Lily stopped mid-yawn and looked at her twin sister with concern. "What's wrong Petunia?" she asked cautiously.
Petunia gave a short, very-forced laugh, and turned abruptly, storming into the kitchen without a word.
Lily distantly heard the door slam, but she was too preoccupied with the envelope Petunia had left on the floor to care.
Ms. L. Evans
Largest Bedroom
9 Wisteria Walk
Little Whinging
Surrey
Lily removed the parchment inside, her breath catching in her throat as she realized her life was changing forever.
Remus was exhausted, but not because of the full moon-that wasn't for another week. Remus Lupin was exhausted because he hadn't been sleeping at all lately. He had applied to all the best wizarding schools, and even all of the not-so-good ones, and the message had always been the same: "We regret to inform you that due to your condition, we are unable to accept you to (name of school)." They didn't want a werewolf to scar the name of their school. There was only one school that Remus had yet to hear from. Hogwarts.
The letter would come today. He had to get in. If he didn't, he would have to live life as a muggle, and Remus didn't think he could do that. Not after being so close…
With a feeling of utter dread in his gut, Remus pulled himself out of bed, and, still in his pajamas, made his way to the front door, where his fate lay. Or didn't lie… there was nothing there.
Great, he thought. They didn't even have the common decency to tell me I wasn't accepted. Oh well, I guess I could always be a lawyer.
But Remus Lupin would never have to be a lawyer, for at that very moment, three very soft knocks were heard at his front door. So soft, in fact, that Remus wasn't sure if he had imagined them or not. But when they sounded again, louder this time, Remus knew they must be real.
His parents appeared at the top of the stairs looking very puzzled. Yawning, his mother mumbled, "Was that someone at the door, dear?"
Slowly, Remus turned toward the door, which creaked as he swung it open. Remus was suddenly aware that he was wearing nothing but his pajamas when he saw who was standing outside his front door. One look at the half-moon glasses, long, crooked nose, and long, flowing silver hair told Remus exactly who this man was. It was Professor Dumbledore. Standing on one side of him was a squat little witch with very dirty clothes and flyaway hair, and on his other side, was a strict young witch in a Healer uniform.
"As you may know," the old wizard began, "I am Albus Dumbledore. It is a pleasure to meet you here in your lovely home."
Remus' mother made an odd, panicked, squeaky noise, and looked as if she might faint. His father however, cleared his throat and said, "Well, yes, thank you. Umm, won't you come in, er, Sir?
Dumbledore smiled, and the three people made their way into the Lupin's living room.
Once seated, Dumbledore continued, "After very careful consideration and planning, we have decided to accept Remus into Hogwarts."
Mrs. Lupin gasped and looked like she might cry, but Mr. Lupin simply sat, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. The only sound to be heard was the ticking of a clock until Remus asked, "What about my… er… condition?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Professor Sprout (he indicated the witch with the squat witch on his left) and Madame Pomfrey (he indicated the strict witch on his right) have assured me that there is an easy way around this complication."
Professor Sprout launched quickly into her explanation as if she had been rehearsing it in her head the whole time. "You see, we have spent a good portion of the summer holiday creating a passageway from the Hogwarts grounds to a small deserted hut in Hogsmeade. I, being the Herbology teacher, was assigned the task of finding a way to make sure no student comes across this passageway, and I am happy to say I have found one."
Here, she removed a small photograph from her pocket and handed it to Remus. It was of what looked like a large willow tree swaying in the wind. Upon looking at it closely, however, Remus saw that it was swaying quite violently, while the other trees in the area were still. "It's called a Whomping Willow," Professor Sprout continued, "and trust me, no one will even consider poking around underneath that, at the risk of being seriously mauled."
She smiled proudly, but Remus' insides were squirming. "Umm, so you say, that thing is really dangerous?"
"Absolutely."
"So, umm, how would I, umm, get past it then?"
"Oh, dear! Did I forget to mention the knot? Goodness, how silly of me!" she giggled, but Remus failed to see what was so funny. "There is a knot on the tree that freezes it so that you can creep by unharmed."
Madame Pomfrey continued, "You will, of course have to miss some classes before and after the full moon to come to the hospital wing for treatment, but as long as you are willing to work hard, this shouldn't present a problem."
All three teachers rose from their seats, and Dumbledore handed Remus a letter, smiling. "As long as none of these arrangements present a problem, we would be very pleased to see you at Hogwarts next year."
As soon as they were gone, Remus' mother burst into tears, but Remus didn't hear. He was too busy reading his letter.
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Peter trudged down the stairs and over to the front door, thinking, Don't get your hopes up. Don't get excited... but when he saw the letter sitting on the floor, it was all forgotten. He was in.
Now all he had to worry about was getting into a good house. He wasn't clever enough for Ravenclaw; he knew that. Slytherin would be good, but he wasn't nearly talented enough. Gryffindor would be great, but he knew he was nowhere near brave enough. And then there was Hufflepuff. That was where he would probably end up. Being valued for kindness was all well and good, but when you're surrounded by people who are courageous, ambitious, or sharp, it's just doesn't compare. He could hope for Gryffindor, but he didn't want to get too excited, in case he was disappointed.
Don't get your hopes up. Don't get excited...
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