Tale As Old As Time (A Remus Lupin Fanfiction)-completed

.1

My first two years at Hogwarts had been normal to say the least. Or however normal a magic school can be. Things took a turn just two days after I got home from break; a werewolf had found its way into my house and savagely attacked me, leaving me with a curse I will never be able to forget for the rest of my life. The summer had been spent trying to cope with this new me and the beast I became on the full moon. My parents had extensively talked with Dumbledore as to whether or not I would be able to still attend Hogwarts. Thankfully he said that the situation would be taken care of with the utmost caution and safety that he could provide. I had his assurance it would be alright, but that did nothing to calm my nerves in the slightest. I still hadn't notified my friends about what happened and it was only a matter of time before I would be forced to. I already had a huge scar on my shoulder and a few on my stomach that would raise suspicion among them. All of my nerves intensified the closer we got to platform 9 and 3/4. My nerves shot through the roof the moment I passed through the barrier. I was taking deep breaths as we slowly walked through the crowds of people that stood all around us. We stopped outside the first entrance to the train that we could find.

My mother gave me one of the saddest looks I've ever seen on her face. "It's going to be perfectly alright sweetie. Dumbledore will make sure everything goes fine and that no-one gets hurt, including you." She said with what looked like tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't cry mum. I'll be fine." I said, though I was really trying to reassure myself.

My parents both tackled me into a hug that none of us wanted to let go of. It was going to be extremely difficult going through this so far away from home. After a long and heartfelt hug, we finally separated and said our goodbyes. I looked back one last time before entering the Hogwarts Express.

Immediately, I went in search of my favorite redhead, Lily Evans. I waked up and down the hallways multiple times to no avail. Eventually, I just settled into an empty compartment, pulled out a book and curled up I'm the corner of the seats with it. I was reading for quite some time before I heard a commotion outside. Three rowdy boys I recognized from my year were arguing outside the compartment door. I tried my best to ignore them but was unable to when they suddenly barged in.

"Hope it's alright if we sit here." The one with glasses, James I think said.

"Yeah all the other compartments are full sorry." The one with long black hair said not sounding sorry at all.

The third, a plump boy with sandy hair, Peter I think he was called, just stood quietly behind the other two and gave me a small wave.

I timidly glanced at them, conscious of my scars they could see as I was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt. I regretted my decision to not wear a long sleeved shirt, although the summer heat would've made me miserable. I merely nodded in response and returned to my book. They began to converse about god knows what until I heard the compartment door open once again. Who could possibly be disturbing me again?

I looked up just in time to make eye contact with a rather tall boy with light brown messy hair. I immediately looked away and began reading my book once more, although with increasing difficult as the group seems to increase in volume at the arrival of their fellow friend. The longer they went on babbling they more irritated I became. They were the ones to barge into my compartment, so the least they could do was lower their volume slightly. I looked up and glared at the two boys across from me who were making a joke about some poor bloke from Hufflepuff. They didn't seem to catch my glare, but the tall one seemed to and he let out a small chuckle. He himself was previous lost in a book much like myself. Unfortunately, his friends heard his laugh and looked at him curiously.

"What's so funny mate?" Asked James.

"Nothing" Brown hair replied quickly before speaking again. "Although it could do you some good to keep it down a bit. You two aren't they only ones in this compartment you know."

They went on arguing for a few more minutes before I decided to just try and get some sleep. If I couldn't concentrate on reading, then I could at least attempt to get some rest. Although with the volume not decreasing in the slightest, it might be in vain.
I gently set my book down in my bag and curled up into an even smaller ball than before, this time with my head resting on the window. After a bit of staring at the passing countryside, I closed my eyes. With their bickering in the background, it probably took me about 30 minutes to fall asleep. Gratefully, once I finally fell asleep, I was out for the majority of the ride.

****
I felt something shaking me gently. I opened my eyes only to find four pairs of eyes above me. I let out a small yell which sent them sprawling back.

"What did you have to go and yell for?" Black hair (Sirius?) said with a huff.

I didn't trust myself to speak properly but I managed to get a sentence out. "To be fair I had four pairs of strangers' eyes looming above be. I'm sure you'd be spooked as well." I said trying not to meet anyone's eyes.

"Strangers? We're in the same house and year how can we be strangers. We've known you for 3 years." James said exasperated.

"Well I know two of you then." I said with a frown. "You're James and you're Sirius, right?" I asked curiously

He nodded vigorously before introducing the rest. "This is Peter and this handsome fellow is Remus!" He said excitedly. Damn this kid had energy.

"Nice to meet you I guess.." I started nervously. "I'm Annabelle Halley."

"Yeah yeah we know." Sirius said impatiently. "Anyways the train is almost to Hogwarts." He continued excitedly.

"School hasn't even started and I'm already ready for the weekend." James said with a whine.

With that, my mood plummeted. The very thing I had been dreading had to come on the weekend, just 5 days from now. I noticed Sirius sneak a glance at Remus before his face fell as well.

"Oh man sorry...I didn't even think about it." Sirius said with a stricken look on his face.

Remus winced before replying. "It's fine, not like I'm not used to missing out on things."

I gave them a curious look before starting to gather the few belongings I was carrying with me. A few minutes later, the train pulled to a stop and everyone shuffled out. I saw a flash of red hair through the crowd and began to excitedly push through the mass of students before I finally reached Lily.

"Lily!" I screamed as I ran up to her and hugged the life out of her. "I missed you so so so much."

She squealed before returning my hug and walking with me to an empty carriage that would bring us to the school. It's going to be a long year.