A brown barn owl flew low over Kynder Lane. As it passed number eight, it released the letter it held in its legs with practiced accuracy. The letter flew straight through the flap on the front door with a small clink.
Meanwhile, inside number eight, that innocent clinking noise had been the cause of chaos.
“One of you girls, get the mail,” said Mr. Evans without so much as looking up from his newspaper.
“I’m older. You have to get it,” Petunia said to her sister.
“I’m younger so you have to get it,” Lily shot back.
“You’re only two years younger.”
“And you’re only two years older!”
“Just get it!”
“No!”
“All right! All right! Petunia, pick a number between one and five,” their father sighed, tiring of their bickering.
“Four,” said Petunia.
Lily, who knew how to play the odds better than her sister, said, “Five.”
“Petunia, go get the mail. The number was two,” said Mr. Evans.
Petunia shoved her chair into the table and stomped moodily down the hall. A minute later, she plunked the mail in front of her father, took her lurid pink gossip magazine and disappeared behind it.
Lily’s parents both took a mixture of bills, junk mail, and catalogues, leaving only one envelope. Lily took it out of curiosity.
It was made of what appeared at first glance to be paper, until you realized that it was in fact parchment. Even more interesting was that it was addressed, in bottle green ink, to
Lily Evans, The Second Bedroom, Upstairs, Number Eight Kynder Lane, Newcastle.
Lily turned the envelope over to open it and saw that it was sealed with red wax. Funny, she thought. I didn’t know anyone did that anymore. She broke the seal and took out the two sheets of parchment inside. Lily began to read.
Dear Miss Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
Five o’clock found Lily Evans flopped on her bed, having a silent, furious argument with herself.
I can’t be a witch!
Yeah I can!
No I can’t!
Then explain the letter.
The letter was a prank.
No it wasn’t!
Yeah it was!
No it wasn’t!
Prove it.
How?
Do some magic.
All right then.
Lily reached over and took an empty glass from her bedside table and wished it was full of water. Nothing happened. She sighed and conceded that her pessimistic side had been right.
“Oi! Freak! Dinner!”
Lily climbed halfheartedly down the stairs and listened to Katrina Evans telling Petunia off for having called Lily a freak.
“Well, she is a freak! She actually believed that she was a witch! Of all the””
“Put a sock in it, Petunia,” Lily snapped irritably. To everyone’s shock, especially Lily’s, a dirty gym sock hurtled from a laundry pile into Petunia’s mouth. Her eyes widened in horror and she spat the sock out and ran from the room, screeching. Maybe I am a witch, she thought. Now back to that letter…
Sirius Black was awoken extremely early by a loud tapping noise on his window. His reaction was not what you would expect of someone that had been woken at such an ungodly hour. He leapt out of bed, ripped aside his curtains, and let the owl in. The handsome tawny animal held out his leg haughtily. Sirius untied the thick letter quickly and slit the seal.
Dear Mr. Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
“YES!” Sirius yelled at the top of his voice, forgetting exactly how ungodly early it was.
“SIRIUS BLACK, SHUT UP OR I’LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT!” yelled Mrs. Black’s voice. Sirius rolled his eyes.
“Charming, Mum,” he called back.
Actually, his mother was part of the reason Sirius couldn’t wait to get to Hogwarts. At least there he wouldn’t be treated like a traitor because he didn’t think Muggle-borns were scum. Unlike most of his family, he didn’t engage in Muggle baiting, didn’t consider him above anyone else just because he happened to have pure blood, and would have considered it the deepest shame if he were in Slytherin House. He sat down at his writing desk and wrote a quick letter to his best friend.
Hey James,
I just got my letter, how about you? Who would’ve thought a nasty little blood traitor like me would ever get into “Salazar’s noble school”? Wish I could see Mum’s face when I get put in Gryffindor. What’s the money on a heart attack?
Haven’t seen you in ages! Want to meet in London to get our stuff in a week? That’s when I’ll be going. See you then (or on the train if you can’t make it).
Sirius
He folded it twice and gave it to his owl, Godric.
“Take this to James, okay?” Sirius said to the bird, who nipped him on the finger and flew out the still open window.
The rapping of an owl’s beak on his window came as a surprise to Peter Pettigrew. He put away the picture of a lion he was drawing and unlatched his window. The eagle owl that had caused the disturbance swooped through and landed on Peter’s desk. Peter untied the letter with trembling fingers. Is it what I think it is, he wondered. The Hogwarts crest jumped out at him and his heart began to beat a little faster.
Dear Mr. Pettigrew,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
Peter didn’t need to read any more. He was in. His dream for as long as he could remember had come true! After all those years of thinking he was a squib! He ran to wake his parents.
“Mum! Dad! Guess what!” he cried excitedly, shaking them awake.
“Wassamatter?” Mr. Pettigrew asked, still in a heavy stupor.
“Nothing’s the matter! I got into Hogwarts!” Peter exclaimed.
“That’s lovely, dear,” said his mother, who hadn’t even opened her eyes.
“I- GOT- IN- TO- HOG- WARTS!” Peter repeated, loudly and slowly. Suddenly both his parents were wide awake.
“Well done, Peter,” Michael Pettigrew said heartily, clapping his son on the back.
“Oh, that’s lovely, dear!” Sophie Pettigrew repeated, but this time she seemed to mean it a lot more.
“Can we go get my school things today?” Peter asked.
“Hold your hippogriffs, son!” Mr. Pettigrew laughed. “You’ve still got a month before school starts! Don’t you want to enjoy your vacation?”
“I’m ready for school to start, actually,” the boy answered.
“Oh believe me, when they start with the homework, you’ll be ready for it to end,” his father said with a knowing wink.
Peter went back to his room and took out the lion again. He sat staring into its eyes. The next time I work on this I’ll be a Gryffindor, he vowed, then closed the drawer on the proud face of the lion.
James Potter seriously debated letting the owl in. If it was another Howler from Auntie Georgiana that he would have to blow up…
Groaning, he realized that the owl would probably peck a hole in his window before long, so he let it in. To his surprise, there were two owls flying into his room. One he recognized as Godric, his best mate Sirius’s bird. The other he assumed had come from Hogwarts. He went for Sirius’s first.
Hey James,
I just got my letter, how about you? Who would’ve thought a nasty little blood traitor like me would ever get into “Salazar’s noble school”? Wish I could see Mum’s face when I get put in Gryffindor. What’s the money on a heart attack?
Haven’t seen you in ages! Want to meet in London to get our stuff in a week? That’s when I’ll be going. See you then (or on the train if you can’t make it).
Sirius
James laughed. He would have been willing to place several Galleons on Sirius’s mum having a heart attack. He wrote a hurried reply to Sirius and opened the other letter.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
James looked up from the letter, wearing his customary smug grin. He knew they couldn’t reject him. Not the great James Potter. That would have been downright scandalous. Besides, where else could you hex people, let off Dungbombs, and generally party all night? He could see it all: he and Sirius would be the most accomplished troublemakers ever to walk the halls of Hogwarts. He sighed longingly. Even though willing September first to come sooner wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever, he did anyway.
Remus Lupin’s parents woke him at a time so remarkably early that he couldn’t even begin to fathom how remarkably early it really was.
“Remus, we just got your letter!” said a jubilant Nancy Lupin. Remus rubbed his eyes, wondering how she could possibly be so energetic.
“What letter?” he asked stupidly.
His father rubbed his chin. “Well, it couldn’t be the one we’ve been trying to make sure you got for five years, could it? That would be way too obvious.”
Remus jerked out of his sleepy state. “You mean my Hogwarts letter? They accepted me?”
“See for yourself,” Mr. Lupin said, tossing a piece of parchment paper to his son.
Dear Mr. Lupin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
Remus looked at his father. “What about my…” he searched for words, “…lycanthropy?”
“Dumbledore knows,” said Mrs. Lupin. “He said he’s made arrangements for your transformations. Don’t let being a werewolf get in the way of enjoying school, sweetheart.”
“Don’t worry,” Remus promised. “I won’t.”
He watched as his parents left the room and gently closed the door behind themselves. Excitement was building within him. I’m going to go to school. I’m going to make friends. I’m not going to let being a werewolf ruin that for me.
In that moment, he was not Remus Lupin the werewolf. He was Remus Lupin who in a short time would be going away to school and had every intention of crashing whatever party he might find there and of thoroughly enjoying himself while doing it. He was Remus Lupin the kid.
Thanks for the Memories by tiger_lily821
Chapter Notes: Hope you enjoy it! Oh yeah, the characters aren't mine *sigh*.