I Solemnly Swear

Chapter One

On a hot summer's day, four boys received a letter. The letter did not arrive by mail. Instead, it came from an owl. From the outside, the letter did not look different from any other letter one would receive. After all, it was just a letter with green ink and a slightly odd seal on the back of it. However, it was the inside of the letter that mattered. Those few words inside told those boys where they would spend the next 7 years of their young lives. And each of those boys took this letter as a symbol. A symbol of what was to each his own.

Freedom. That was all Sirius could think of when he saw the letter engraved with the Hogwarts seal. Once he stepped foot into the Great Hall, his parents would no longer have control over what he did. If he made a mistake, chances were they wouldn't find out. He could be himself, his true self, not the stuffy, pompous, entitled, rich boy he was told to be.

His father, Orion Black, opened the letter at breakfast. After silently reading the letter, he nodded his head. Sirius knew that was going to be the only approval he ever got from him. Orion passed the letter to Sirius' mother, Walburga Black, whose mouth was forever set in disapproval.

She read it once and looked over at Sirius. "Come on boy. We are going to Diagon Alley after breakfast."

Sirius nodded his head to show his understanding. His parents never liked it when he spoke at breakfast. He could still feel the bruises from the last time he dared to speak. However, for some reason he felt his voice begging to say something.

"May I please see the letter Mother?" he asked quietly. Immediately, he wished he could take the words away.

Silence. No one spoke for a moment. His younger brother, Regulus, looked up at him with wide eyes. Then, his mother came over to him and slapped his face, hard, with her rings hitting his cheek. Sirius' face was sent reeling back and he knew the spots where her rings hit would bruise.

Mercifully, before anything else happened, his father spoke. "Go to your room Sirius. Your mother cannot stand the sight of your face any longer, and frankly, neither can I. Because of this, Kreacher will be taking you to Diagon Alley. There will be no room for your frivolous behavior, am I understood?"

"Yes Father," Sirius replied, thankful his punishment wasn't worse, and headed upstairs to his room.

Adventure. James Potter loved his parents, he really did, but being an only child made things quite boring and lonely at times. Anything he asked for was given to him with a gentle warning not to blow the neighbor's backyard up again. There was only so much an 11 year old could do before he got bored.

And so when the letter arrived, James was beyond excited. He was going to be in a brand new place in just 7 months! There would be so many places to explore, so many pranks to pull, and of course, so many friends to make. He was going to make sure James Potter was a name you remember once he was through with Hogwarts. He was sure of it.

A chance. A chance to make friends. A chance to show his mother he wasn't a squib. A chance to show his sister she was right to help him. At the young age of 11, Peter Pettigrew knew that his mother cared more about his perfect older sister, Enid, to ever think of believing or supporting him. After all he was just Peter, the boy who never stood up for anything, the boy everyone thought was a mistake.

The only person who had ever stood up for Peter was Enid. Enid was the reason Peter's mother hadn't thrown him out of their humble home. That was why Peter was ready for Hogwarts. He was ready to prove to everyone, including himself, that he wasn't nothing. That he had deserved his sister's support. Everything Peter ever did was for Enid. She deserved this much. And so Peter grabbed onto that chance as hard as he possibly could. He was ready.

A new, fresh start. That was what Remus was thinking about when he read the letter that had arrived instead of the regular Daily Prophet article. With this new place to stay, Remus would make sure that no one knew what he truly was. A monster. Dumbledore himself had come by to tell the Lupins that all preparations had been made for every full moon Remus would ever spend in Hogwarts.

One look at his father's face, though, had Remus considering the fact that he might not be going off to Hogwarts in September. It was hard for Remus to forget that his father had told him that no one would ever be proud of what he was. He was a nobody, a monster. It was a miracle that he had lived this long without any consequences. At least, that's what his father always said.

His mother, on the other hand, was the best person Remus had the privilege of knowing in his short meager life. It was also because of her that Remus was even going to Hogwarts on September 1. Hope Lupin did not approve of her husband's ways, especially when they hurt her son. And that was why she stood up to Remus' father. Remus watched in awe of her as she told Lyall Lupin that if he did not let Remus go to Hogwarts, there would be severe consequences. After all, she reminded Remus' father, it was his fault in the first place that Remus was so lonely and scared of reaching out to other people. It had been Lyall's fault that Fenrir Greyback had come into their home and bitten Remus. Remus' mother had never forgiven Lyall for that.

And so, his father agreed to let Remus go as long as he remembered the rules. Remus would never forget the rules and there was a high chance that he would break some of those rules at Hogwarts but he agreed to them all the same.

Rule one: no friends. If anyone became too close with Remus, they could find out about his secret. That was not something that could be done. No one could find out.

Then there was rule two: no one could find out. It was quite obvious but Remus knew his father wasn't taking any chances.

And finally, rule three: good grades. That one was something Remus had planned on doing anyway, but he just smiled and nodded at his father.

There was no way Remus would ever follow rule one. He had been alone for too long and it wasn't like his father was going to be there to find out. And if those friends found out his secret, so be it. He would protect his secret, but Remus knew that he would rather have friends who betray him than be lonely any longer. After all, Hogwarts was his new, fresh start.