September 71’
September 1st 1971
"Where's Cherry?" Susan licked the pad of her thumb and wiped something from the corner of Remus' mouth, and for the first time he didn't try brushing her off, he just shrugged his woolly-jumper-clad shoulders. Cherry often disappeared, but she always came back, "You've got all your bags, yeah?" Susan gave him a once over while brushing nonexistent lint off his shoulders.
At five in the morning, she had shown up at Norma's house in her bitter green Hillman Hunter with Cherry in the passenger seat and honked its horn until Remus came outside. He threw his new brown trunk and old crumbling duffle in the boot and hopped in the backseat. It was a long four-and-a-half-hour drive from Blackpool to King's Cross station but Cherry had made it slightly bearable with her constant talking. He had no idea why but the sound of her voice comforted him greatly.
Norma hadn't bothered making the journey with them to wave her only grandchild off for the next two and a half months, and Remus concluded this
was probably because she was too busy throwing a party to celebrate his leaving. So, he stood on platform nine with just Susan as they waited for Cherry to reappear.
"I've only got one bag and this big, fuck-off trunk so they'd be pretty hard to lose track of," He muttered, feigning indifference at the idea of leaving. He was scared that if he told Susan he was utterly terrified to go he'd psych himself out of leaving, so he played it cool and tried to push the fears out of his mind.
Susan rolled her eyes at his answer but still nodded and pulled her hands away from him.
"Oh Remus, I do wish you the very best with your life," She smiled at him kindly "I always knew you'd do well," As far as Susan and Cherry were concerned he was accepted into some fancy private school for 'above average' children, this was because Dumbledore had ordered him not to tell anyone else about the wizard thing, not that he planned to tell them anyway. Norma knew, but she hardly had any friends to tell.
"Cheers Susan, means a lot, I'll miss ya'," He really did mean it, he would miss her a considerable amount, "Will you write?" He knew how he sounded asking that but Susan meant a lot to him and maybe he was desperate for a letter, for any communication with her, she always knew exactly what to say.
Susan tilted her head and smiled, and for a moment he thought she might agree to, agree to keep in contact with him this time, despite not speaking to him for over six months before now, but then her head began to shake and she held his chin like he was four again, "Oh no, I shouldn't think so. No, you won't be seeing me until next summer now," And he really did feel four again, because deep down he knew he wasn't going to see Susan, his mother in all ways but biologically, for a very long time.
It wasn't until half eleven that Cherry came back, wearing the tiniest scarlet shift dress Remus had ever seen and glossy lipstick in the same shade of red to match. On her feet, she wore her mother's heels, which were obviously too big for her, and rollers in her hair fashioned out of old loo rolls. She looked ten years older than Remus knew her to be but that wasn't due to the slap or the outfit, it was the confidence she carried herself with.
"Remmie, I nicked this for ya from the off-licence outside, I know Milky Ways are ya favourite," Cherry had a very deep voice, deeper than Remus' and every other boy's in their year, and she spoke with an extremely thick northern accent, her dad would say she sounded as if Elvis Presley was born in Lancashire, this was not well-received by Cherry. She opened her fist to show the chocolate bar in her hand, only it had her favourite necklace coiled around it like a golden snake, when he didn't immediately take it she pushed it into his chest "Don't be daft Remus, ya can giv' it back int summer, and if ya don't tek it now I'll start skrikin' and you'll feel 'orrible,"
He took the chocolate and the necklace and pushed them into his pocket, "I'll be fine Cherry," She stepped closer and bent her knees a little to kiss him on the cheek, her lips pressed against his face for a beat too long and when she pulled away her face remained close, so close he could smell the peppermint flavoured rock she'd been eating in the car on her breath. He would miss her the most, and even though Susan wouldn't write he knew for certain that Cherry would, and if he finds a way to call her when he arrives he will, he'll call her every day, because if he doesn't he'll really miss that deep northern voice. He met Cherries eyes in all their green glory as her face hovered close by, he stared blank-faced at her and she stared right back, for a while neither of them moved, and when they did it was Cherry who looked away first. She winked and she smiled, and then she pulled away.
"Okay, well, I best be on my way," He told the both of them, blinking back tears, and then he turned around and walked away before he could change his mind about leaving.
He shuffled down the platform, his shoes too large to take any proper steps, and he talked himself out of turning around, even when Cherry yelled from behind, "Ta-rah!" He heard her heels clicking against the floor as she jumped up and down and he could imagine the way she was wildly waving, he held a bag in both hands so he couldn't wave back, but he nodded so she knew he heard her.
She called out again, "I'll miss ya, ya big numpty," He felt the same way, "I'll realleh' miss ya Remus Lupin!"
———
The platform he was looking for, 9 and 3/4, proved nearly impossible to find.
He'd asked numerous snotty London businessmen and train attendants about it and each time he just earned himself the same bewildered look and he couldn't understand why. Eventually, he put it down to the wand poking out of his sock and the trunk in his right hand, he supposed the wand was a strange bit of kit for him to have on him. He was tempted each time to shoot back with how if they thought he was mad they should see the school's headmaster, that guy was a real nutcase. He sought out and invited a werewolf to attend his school. Remus had reiterated multiple times that he was dangerous and that when the full moons came he would be difficult to control, especially as he got older. He's a safety risk, to others, and himself, he has plenty of scars and injuries to prove that. Still, Dumbledore insisted.
It later, after asking upwards of fifteen people, became painfully obvious to Remus that the platform he was searching for did not exist to 'normal' people. It was one of those weird magic things, like how the trunk in his hand weighed absolutely nothing despite it being packed to the brim. If it hadn't been for the teen boy in weird black robes who Remus was sure he saw running through the wall, he might've just given up.
It took a while for him to build up the confidence but once he had he was absolutely pegging-it, straight through the brick wall, like a madman, and on the other side he found himself wrapped up in a whole new world.
It was a very hot summer day and the sun beamed through the plastic roof, illuminating the scarlet train, the Hogwarts Express. There was little magical about it on the surface but as Remus studied his new peers he picked up on some very strange things, like their odd pets, their embellished black robes, and of course, the wands they held.
Remus watched the people around him and wondered whether any of them knew his dad. Lyall Lupin rarely spoke about work-related matters at home but sometimes he would mention the people he worked with in passing, like if he grabbed lunch with a man who worked in his office. Hope had always urged Lyall to keep work and home separate, to leave his troubles at the door, and when he was young he had assumed it was because she didn't like hearing about it, but now he was left wondering if she didn't want Remus to know about it all. It was Dumbledore who revealed where Remus' dad had worked, The Ministry Of Magic he had said, and Remus laughed in his face. It had seemed unbelievable at first, and even now Remus wasn't sure he was entirely convinced. Dumbledore also informed Remus of his dad's current whereabouts, prison, where he would serve a minimum of twenty years for the murder of his wife. Curiously, it was Lyall who made the claim and pleaded guilty in court.
On the wall beside him a huge clock displayed the time, and as it was nearing eleven Remus decided to board the train.
He walked down the train aisle slowly, searching for somewhere he could sit alone, in silence. However, it was his first time on a train so when the pistons beneath his feat hissed and the train began to move he flung himself into the closest compartment and took a seat. Thankfully, he was lucky and landed inside an empty one.
Once he was comfortable standing, he gently, taking much care of his only belongings, hoisted the trunk above his head and slotted it into one of the overhead racks before sliding his duffel bag below the bench and then dropped back down onto the seat closest to the window, a cloud of brown-gray dust rising as he did so. He was beyond nervous by now, so pent up he felt like he might burst. There was no backing out anymore, no turning around and running back to Susan and Cherry.
He had missed out on an hour of sleep by waking at five that morning so once he was comfortable he pulled his sleeve over his hand and used it as a barrier between his head and the window. He closed his eyes for a second but he didn't manage sleep, not with the intrusion.
"Hello!" A stubby boy with huge emerald eyes and yellowish-blond hair appeared before Remus, jam sandwich in one hand, wand in the other, but no bags in sight. Remus blinked at the unknown boy, his mind racing with the amount of anxiety he felt. The boy wore a white button-up shirt, a pair of white lace-ups, and some flared white-and-blue-striped trousers which were an undoubtedly loud statement, he couldn't be sure what exactly they were trying to say, but they were hardly quiet.
"Do I know you?" Remus murmured dismissively, instantly feeling rude. When he'd told Cherry about the sort of school he'd be going to she was certain he'd be bullied, repeatedly calling them all 'snobby twats', so advised him to be rude and scare the other kids off before they had the chance to do anything to him. Plus, people had never really been a strong point for Remus so he had little choice but to follow Cherries advice, despite his prior resistance.
The boy didn't seem fazed, not by anything, not even by the fact his own trouser zip was down and his pink boxers were exposed. He was either incredibly lax or not the brightest, he instead laughed, surprising Remus.
"No. My name's Peter," Peter passed the sandwich to his other hand and held out the now free one for Remus to shake, jam coated his index finger, Remus shook his head, feeling even meaner for it. Remus did not like to be touched, especially not by jammy fingers, "Have you thought about which house you'll be in yet?" He continued, ignoring Remus' attempts to shake him off.
Remus had forgotten all about that part. From what he could recall from the meeting with Dumbledore there were four of them, though he couldn't remember the names of each. He hadn't thought about which one he'd be in when they'd spoken because he had assumed it didn't matter, now he was second-guessing himself. He shook his head again. Peter nodded. "I'm gonna be in Gryffindor, I can feel it," Remus did not know what that meant, so he ignored Peter.
Peter opened his mouth again to speak but was swiftly cut off by a familiar girl who poked her head inside the compartment "Have you seen James anywhere?"
"He's supposed to be following behind me, I'm sure he'll be here in a sec," Peter bit into his sandwich and a big blob of sticky strawberry jam fell onto his foot. Remus winced.
"Grand," The girl nodded, her eyes flickering down and landing on the gap in his trousers, "You look like if Andy Pandy was a flasher," She pointed at the zip which Peter hastily pulled up, face flushing red out of embarrassment.
"Thanks Marlene," He mumbled, turning his back on her, she giggled and looked over at Remus. While he might not have known Peter he had some idea of who Marlene McKinnon was.
When Remus was just a baby the Lupins had lived in Ireland, they had been neighbours with the McKinnons, and his mother loved the family, for years after they moved she still regularly spoke about them all, in fact, there had been a framed photograph of the family displayed in their living room. It included Dave McKinnon, his wife Shirley and their daughter Marlene. He'd recognise that shaggy brown mop anywhere, despite the two families losing touch after the move. He somewhat surprised himself with how well he remembered it all, after all, he had been a few days away from turning five when his mother died, still, he saw the photo, and heard his mother speaking about them as clear as day in his mind.
"Who's this Pete?" Marlene jabbed a thumb in his direction. Clearly, the McKinnons had not held the Lupins in the same regard Hope had them, this crushed him a little actually, sometimes it felt like he was the only person in the world who remembered his mother, even when Norma spoke about her it was not the Hope he knew. Though he did suppose it was a little weird how often his mother spoke about their family when they had only lived next door to each other for a few months. Peter focused back in on Remus,
"I don't know, he hasn't told me yet," The boy's voice was very squeaky Remus thought, even for an eleven-year-old. He sounded like a dog toy.
"Remus," He informed them shortly.
"Nice to meet you, Remus," Peter replied, taking a seat beside him and polishing off his sandwich, starting with the crust and ending with the centre, sighing as he swallowed the last bite. Marlene nodded and pulled a very bizarre expression that Remus couldn't decipher, and then she exited the carriage without another word. Maybe she did remember him. Maybe she knew about his condition and she hated him.
Eventually, Peter's friend, James, found his way to their compartment by shouting out in the aisle, "Peter! Pete! Petey boy!" Remus sighed and closed his eyes, hoping he could keep them shut this time until they reached the school.
"James! There you are!" Peter yelled. Remus listened as the boys greeted each other and lifted their trunks into the overhead racks, he could hear James quietly asking Peter who the boy sleeping in the corner was, and he did not indicate that he could hear a thing. Maybe if he ignored them they'd leave him be.
"I don't think I've ever heard of a Remus before," James whispered, his breath hitting Remus' face. Apparently, he had moved much closer, so close that Remus was sure if he opened his eyes they'd be nearly kissing.
"No, neither, seems nice enough. Bit jumpy, but nice," Peter responded, his whisper more of a yell.
"Think I should poke him?" Christ, could they not just leave him alone? It had been a long day, no, a long few weeks, and all of this Hogwarts stuff was already hurting his head.
"I dunno James, he didn't seem to be in a great mood," Peter told his friend, then "Oh! Guess who I saw on the platform!"
"Who?" Remus could feel James moving away from him and was very grateful that Peter changed the subject.
"Sirius Black," Peter said the name in a spooky story-telling voice, like it might summon whoever he was talking about, like it was a curse. Whatever James replied with went unheard by Remus because another voice thundered above his.
"Hey, I know you, you're a potter, right? You've got that Potter look about you, messy hair, glasses, weird teeth, and I don't say that to be mean. Couldn't if I wanted, I'm living in a glass house here as a Black, most of my family members look a bit inbred," Maybe names do summon their owners, "To be fair though most of them are inbred, suppose you'd know something about that,"
"Yeah, I'm a Potter, James Potter, you got that right, not sure about the inbred stuff though," James sounded very uncertain about what he was saying, but curious too, and Remus would be lying if he said he wasn't a little intrigued about whoever Sirius Black was, he spoke very animatedly and Remus could practically feel him filling the room with his presence. He heard someone drop into the seat across from him, then the one beside him, and finally, the fourth seat.
"And I'm Peter Pettigrew, nice to meet you," Peter sounded equally as interested as he did utterly petrified.
Remus was very happy to be left out of their conversation, but it seemed not everyone was. A great force plummeted down and stomped on Remus' toes. His eyes shot open and immediately found the perpetrator. The boy across from him had a mop of shaggy black hair on his head, cut just above his ears in a jagged DIY'd manner, he was thin with inspecting gray eyes on a porcelain base, and the largest, snarkiest smirk Remus had ever seen. He was pretty, Remus had to admit that, but Remus had been conditioned by his friend to not tolerate shit from anyone. Shit, by Cherries definition, was being: hit/punched, kicked, shoved, stomped on, spat on, called names, and anything else that felt even mildly disrespectful.
"Morning sleeping beau-" Remus punched the boy in his face before he could finish speaking, feeling a satisfying crunch beneath his knuckles as he did so. Peter gasped, glasses too, only peters gasp was accompanied by a look that could only be translated to 'What the fuck have you just done!'
For some time it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the compartment, like they were all suspended in the moment, glasses and Peter were staring in disbelief, Remus was unable to take his eyes off the boy he'd just punched, and he met Remus' eyes with a dumbfounded expression as blood gushed from his very likely broken nose and pooled on his lap, staining his flared jeans and the seat below him.
It was all incredibly awkward.
Until, finally, Bloody Nose began to laugh.
"I'm so sorry. I dunno why I've just done that," Remus hurried to say, hastily pulling his jumper up and over his head leaving him in his polo shirt, "Ere', use this for the bleedin'"
The boy took the jumper and held it over his nose, staining the gray a horrible dark red. He was still laughing but Remus felt terrible.
"You orrite?" He asked worriedly, the boy nodded,
"I'm fine," He replied, and although his voice was muffled by the jumper Remus was sure this was Sirius "You punch like a girl," Remus laughed, wiping his bloodied knuckles on his trousers, feeling slightly less terrible than he had before.
"To be fair, you were sorta asking for it," Glasses, James, piped up, and Remus was pleased to hear he took his side.
"Sirius Black," He asserted, holding his free hand out, Remus thought, and was sure Cherry would disagree, that he had been enough of a bully for one day,
"Remus," He replied, taking his hand and shaking it firmly.