A trip into the world of knowledge

Remus John Lupin was waking with meaning towards Flourish and Blotts, taking massive steps alongside his father. His mother had bailed out on the trip to Diagon Alley, believing that the night of the full moon was enough paranormal activity for a lifetime. The young boy had been rather excited for the visit to the bookstore, having been a well reader since the early stages of his life. He could feel the few galleons his father had appointed to him, juggling in his pocket, occasionally slipping his hand into it to feel their engravings.

He had new pair of scars on his face, a fact he was sure was the reasoning behind why he got so much attention from passerbys. But it didn't bother him, he had grown accoustamed to them. If he chose to look at his father, he would see a wide smile on the man's face. And there was every reason for it, he was actually going to be able to have a normal childhood, one where he could actually attend school, and one where he would have the chance to make friends.

Taking a sudden stop when they reached he shop, his father allowed Remus to take the first step inside, knowing how important that simple action would be to the boy. Pushing open the door, the eleven year old let himself in, whilst a huge grin spread across his face. The mixture of scent from old and new parchment, the rows and rows of books, the magic was enough to make anyone content. Leaving his father behind, Remus walked forward to a corner of the store, picking up the first book that he could lay his hands on.

Hogwarts, A History.

James was perusing though the different texts on medicinal plants - which was as boring as watching Flobberworms grow, in James' opinion - when he heard the door to the store open. It wasn't so much the door opening that held his attention, but the expression a boy was wearing as he entered. James smiled slightly at the sight. It reminded him of a similar expression his own face adorned when he entered Honeydukes for the first time, but this was a Book store for Merlin's sake. James was only in here for one reason, school supplies. He wouldn't voluntary be seen within five metres of the place normally.

The boy was walking towards the History section, which was near enough to the Potions collection where James was wasting his time. Being at a close enough range, James blinked a couple of times when he saw the boy's complexion.

"Blimey," James said. "Lose a fight with a Hippogriff, did ya?"

The sound of someone talking quickly snapped Remus out of his daze, and made him drop the book. Bending down, he let his fingers snake themselves around the book once more, and looked at the newcomer, nervously. "I … I don't know what you mean, what is a Hippogriff?" he allowed himself to question, intrigued by this new thing. He could gather that it was some type of animal, because that was the only logical explanation that would fit the context. And he had half a mind to start looking for it in one of the books, after all it was a book store.

Stealing a glance at his father, he returned his eyes to the boy again, awaiting a reply.

James wiped a finger above his upper lip, thinking how to respond to the obviously nervous boy. He had Muggleborn written all over him. James kinda felt sorry for him, not for being a Muggleborn, but for being so obviously out of place. James had to remember that it wasn't as easy as it was for him being in the Wizarding World.

"Sorry," James apologized. "A Hippogriff is, erm..." James scratched his head, thinking how best to describe one. "Well... They're kinda like a... Erm... A large eagle, I guess, but with the backhalf of a horse." James' sentences tailed off so that he was speaking in a very hushed tone. He had a feeling his description would leave the boy more in the dark than before.

"Urgh, don't listen to me, yeah? I haven't even seen one in person before." He extended his hand to the boy. "I'm James, by the way. James Potter."

"A eagle with the backhalf of a horse," Remus repeated. He could work with that. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to give a mental image of the creature. The boy before him seemed to have a rare confidence about where he was, and it made Remus a little jealous, having always been an outcast if you could call it that. But what he had gathered in the short time of their meeting was that it wasn't a Hippogriff that had mauled his face, it had been him. He shuddered at the thought of the beast he became, and his parents had always made sure they never spoke of it. But he couldn't ignore it, not when he was the one to experience it. Just like having a cold except much worse.

Taking the boys extended hand, Remus outstretched his, "Remus Lupin," he introduced.

James shook the boy's hand confidently, grinning. He was always keen for meeting new people, and he hadn't met a Muggleborn before. It could be an interesting experience, helping someone learn about a world that was so familiar to him. He still hadn't got to the bottom of the origin of the scars on the boy's face, but he didn't press it. It might be a sensitive subject, and James wasn't so clueless to ignore that.

"So, Hogwarts this year?" James asked, almost sure that Remus was a first year. He hoped he was correct in that assumption, as then they could see more of each other at school. James reckoned having some familiar faces he could pick out of a crowd wouldn't be a bad thing at all, in fact, he'd prefer that to be so.

Remus was glad that the boy hadn't brought up his scars again, he didn't want someone to be scared of him, someone to look at him with judgment in their eyes. And so smiling back sincerely, he nodded, "Yes, first year to Hogwarts, father has been telling me so much about it".

The day since the letter had arrived, his father had taken it upon himself to tell Remus all about Hogwarts, from the classes, to the Professors and the beauty of the castle. He already felt like he knew the place, it was just a matter of returning back home, if you could call it that. Somewhere his father promised that he would have friends, have the chance of a proper childhood, and Remus hoped more then anything that it was true.

Choosing to take a glimpse at his father who was still ordering the books, he continued, "I haven't seen him so happy in years". He wondered whether James would like to hang out once they did get to Hogwarts, though him asking that was not part of the triangle.

James raised an eyerbrow at the boy's statement. 'Father has been telling me so much about it.'

So the boy wasn't Muggleborn after all. James was confused as to what the boy actually was. Lupin.... Lupin... James racked his brain but the name wasn't familiar to him. That, of course, meant nothing substantial. He was shocking at remembering names at the best of times. The fact that he couldn't remember if Lupin was a 'Pure' name lead James' inquiry none the further. James shook his head slightly to clear the thoughts. He really should be focussing on getting to know the actual boy and quit wondering about his origin.

"That's great. My folks are pretty chuffed about me going too. Then again, they weren't all that surprised when the Letter arrived. I've had my name down since before I was born. Could have been a Squib, I suppose..." James rambled, going off on a slight tangent before training is thoughts back in. "So, yeah, positives all round."

Remus nodded, wanting to ask what a Squib was, but didn't for fear of annoying the boy; instead however he chuckled at the last bit. "Have you been here before?" he asked, noticing that the boy was quite comfortable with his surroundings, something Remus hoped he could get used to aswell.

Remus' father had finished with the buy a long time ago, but having seen the boys in conversation didn't want to distract them. Instead he had chosen to have a look around, so that it still seemed like he was in the process of purchasing.

James was momentarily confused as to what he was referring to before remembering that they were in Flourish. James smiled. Though reading was the bane of his existence, James had been here before, albeit against his will.

"A couple of times before. Mum often dragged me here when she needed new reading material. She'd plonk me down in the children's section, thinking I'd keep myself entertained." James smiled at the memory. He did find entertainment, though not necessarily in the children's section. It's amazing the places one can get into when people don't notice what's in front of them.

"How about you?" he asked. James was still interested in whether he was a Pureblood or not. James supposed he might be a Half blood, which would explain his knowledge on somethings, and his lack of others.

In their short meeting, Remus was already jealous. Jealous of the type of childhood the other boy had had. Jealous that James hadn't been bitten by a werewolf at a very young age. Jealous that James didn't have to experience the transformation every full moon; jealous that he'd had a normal childhood. What if neither of those things had ever happened to Remus? Would he be where James was today? A confident young boy, allowed to wander off alone, and someone that wasn't a outcast. Though he never blamed his father for what had happened, it was still the older man's fault. His fault that Remus had lived a life of fear.

Shaking his head, he smiled, "First time this is, though I know it won't be my last".

James was no further along on his path to finding out what blood type Remus was. He supposed it didn't really matter, however intriguing the boy was. His scars led James to believe he was a Muggleborn, for surely, with Magic, those would heal right up, but the boy had said his father described Hogwarts to him, which then led towards him being Halfblood at the least. James didn't think Pureblood anymore. He just didn't seem... like the rest of them. James was very confused but didn't let the confusing come across on his face. He'd find out soon enough, he was sure.

"Nope. We'll be back here every year for the next seven years. If that doesn't excite your socks off, I don't know what will,' James said sarcastically. Books were so not a matter to be excited about, but James had a strong feeling - if Remus' entrance to the bookstore was anything to go off - that they would differ in opinions.

"What house are you hoping for?" James asked, thinking that if his father had explained the school, than the houses would have also been discussed.

Remus beamed at the boy, "Surely that does excite my socks off," he smiled, oh the excitement. He loved reading, ever since he had been small, he could always count books to be there with him forever. Them, and his parents. They had never left his side, either of them, and Remus was grateful for that. Every once in a while, his father would bring him something new to read, he supposed that was really how it had truly started. They took him away from reality, for that time that he did read, a place where happiness lived. And now that they had come so far together, he wasn't going to let them go that easily.

"Well I suppose Hufflepuff sounds rather welcoming, I'm not brave to be placed into Gryffindor, neither am I brainy for Ravenclaw. And lastly, I'm not cunning to be placed into Slytherin". Remus supposed that in the end, it really didn't matter where he was placed, at least he had something to call of his own. The House and its colour were all for him to keep; and that too for the rest of his life.

James almost rolled his eyes, before he stopped himself. Even though he found reading as dull and dry as the pages the print was written on, doesn't mean that everyone does. He smiled at the boy instead, as he listed the houses and their attributes.

"You don't want Slytherin, trust me," James said, shuddering. "But you might be wrong about you and Ravenclaw. They tend to like reading too. No way would I belong in that house. As far as Hufflepuff and Gryffindor go, I have to say that I prefer Gryffindor over Hufflepuff. Nothing wrong with the house of Badger, but I think I belong 'where dwell the brave at heart," James beamed and held up an imaginary sword. "Like my dad."

Remus nodded, listening carefully to James and smiling. "My father was in Gryffindor too now that I remember, but you don't necessarily get placed into the same House as you're relatives, do you?" Seemed like James knew quite a bit about everything in the Wizarding world, perhaps he could show Remus around? He'd appreciate it, and it'd be nice to have his parents not worry.

"Do you think you could show me around?" he asked in a small voice.

James thought about his question. "I'm not too sure about that. My granddad was in Gryffindor and so was my dad, but that doesn't mean anything." He thought about the families that he knew and the more and more he thought about it, the answer led towards the 'stays in the family' track.

"Who knows. I think you might have a good chance at being a Gryff though, so that's awesome. We might be in the same house!"

James looked around the store. "Around here?" he asked without waiting for a response. "Sure. Erm... Well we're in the Potions section, and you were just in the History section. We can get our textbooks from over there, and that's that dreadfully boring children's section that I mentioned before." James pointed to an area in the corner.

James gave the boy a glance and saw his expression. "Or did you mean something else? Like Diagon Alley or something?"

"Uh no, I meant if you could just show me around Diagon Alley in general," he said, his voice a little quieter then it had been throughout the conversation. He didn't really want to force himself upon the boy but knew that he'd have fun, kind of like a taste of what was to come. Smiling slightly, he kept hold on the book about Hogwarts, having decided that he wanted to buy it.

"You don't have to though, I'm sure you have other things to do," Remus added.

James laughed at himself for thinking the boy meant the shop they were in. He brushed it off and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"No worries! I'd be happy to," the youth exclaimed happily. "There's heaps to see. The Joke shop for one. Oh, oh and the Quidditch store! You have to check that out. They've got a new Cleansweep that I so badly want to buy. I don't think my parents would let me though. I have a perfectly good Three at home." James sighed dramatically.

James smiled at Remus, who seemed to look nervous. He wondered if that was just his nature to be so, or if James was making him nervous. Probably the latter. When James was excited about something, he didn't do it half-asked.

Remus was glad that James had accepted the offer, letting out a sigh of relief. Indeed, there did seem to be quite a few places he had to see, especially the Cleansweep that made the other boy so excited. It was bound to be a sight, after all he knew what Quidditch was, and loved the sound of the sport. As for the joke shop, it didn't sound so bad, was worth the shot.

He wished he was as passionate about something like James was for Quidditch, though the only think he could think was of books. Smiling at that, he let himself speak, "I'd love to see this Cleansweep".

James grinned from ear to ear.

"Ah, mate. It's a beauty. The craftmanship..." James sighed, pausing, his hands raised shoulder height in awe. "Ruddy amazing, in my opinion. The Nimbus range are quite spectacular though. Probably better than the Cleansweeps they've got there, but pricy! 1000 came out about four years ago and I am dying to get my hands one on."

James shook his head to stop his mindless babble about Quidditch. He was probably boring the boy to death.

"Anyway, you definitely should see it." James was still smiling, as he looked around the book store. There were a few more students now, and James could see that they were busy getting their textbooks. James knew that he should get his own whilst he was there, or else he'd have to make another trip, and that wasn't a pleasant thought.

"Looking forward to classes?" James asked, as he walked towards the textbook section, looking behind him to see if Remus was following.

Remus gave a soft smile at the other boy as he prattled on about brooms, having scanned the quidditch sections a bit he decided to give his own input into the conversation "I've read somewhere that the Nimbus Racing Broom Company is already working on their next Nimbus product, you might want to keep saving up for that one instead. Devlin Whitehorn said that the new Nimbus is going to be even better then their Nimbus 1000."

James lead them through the lines of shelves and brightened instantly at his question, "It should be interesting, I'm looking forward to defence and potions the most." He commented lightly as he scanned the shelves for the needed texts.