Where we begin
Remus ambles along the train station, a little confused and practically shaking with nerves.
Platform 9 and 3/4 his ticket says. Strange. He sees platform 9 and platform 10 but no platform 9 and 3/4.
Dumbfounded, he looks around for his platform, when he sees it directly across platform 12. How strange, putting it there instead of in between platform 9 and 10, Remus thinks to himself. But he doesn’t have time to dwell on it, before he hears the sharp whistle of a train arriving, cutting through the air.
That’s his cue to hurry.
He sees all the parents on the platform, wishing their kids a good time, telling them to remember to call when they arrive, that they love their kids. He scoffs at the thought of his mother ever saying such a thing to him. She would sooner die.
She hadn’t even been able to stomach dropping him off at the station, to bid him farewell. Only sending him off with a “Atlaa Remus, if your train leaves you, wallahi maa mushkila, te safir be nafsik”
Remus did end up making it on time, however regardless of if he’d miss his train or not, he’d still, of have ended up coming alone.
Whatever. He pushes those thoughts to the back of his head to dwell on when he’s feeling masochistic.
Hawthorne would be new beginning for him. He can keep to himself. Pass his classes. Leave school. Leave home. Never speak to her ever again.
He just needs to get through his first year.
A stranger bumping into him snaps him back into reality.
Now he really needs to hurry if he doesn’t want to miss his train.
Remus makes his way along the train corridors, awkwardly shuffling past people.
He’d given up his hope of finding an empty carriage to sit alone in and wallow in his misery. Now he only hoped to find a carriage with an empty seat.
He continued his awkward shuffling, for a little while longer, and just as he’d all but given up hope, he spotted a carriage with 3 boys in, right at the end, and one empty seat.
The way he could have collapsed with relief.
He gingerly opened the door to the compartment and awkwardly mumbled out the words “mind if i sit.” “all the others are full.”
A friendly looking boy, wearing thick, black glasses and a mop of chestnut brown hair, hanging just past his eyebrows, looked up and suddenly smiled the biggest smile Remus thought anyone had ever smiled at him, and even worse, it was genuine. Not pity, Not regret, genuine happiness.
How strange.
“ of course, there’s a free seat next to me”, he said before shuffling over, indicating the free space next to him.
Remus, a bit taken back, paused abruptly, staring for a few seconds before regaining his senses and moving to sit next to him.
Across from Remus, sat a quieter boy with a judging look on his face, eying Remus skeptically, with one eyebrow arched.
Remus instantly didn’t like him.
He could tell just by looking at him that the boy came from money. His clothes, formal and pristine, not a single strand of long raven coloured hair strayed. Even just the way he sat, and carried himself couldn’t be described as anything other than elegant.
Everything about him just screamed rich snob.
Remus’ least favourite kind of person.
The raven haired boy only arched his brow even higher, when he noticing remus staring, as if daring him to say something. Remus didn’t bite, he only tilted his head, gave him a one over, then slowly looked away, as if bored and unimpressed by what he’d found.
He made a mental note to avoid him.
Next to the rich kid, sat a friendlier looking boy, clad in a more simple outfit of a grey polo and black jeans.
They would change into their uniforms specifically made to represent their houses, once they’d been sorted into them, which Remus thought was absolutely ridiculous. The whole idea of why schools created houses was just lost on him.
Regardless, he’d do what he had to, to graduate and leave.
The friendly boy in the polo, with sand brown hair, cropped closely to his skull, simply waved to Remus in acknowledgement. Remus returned the gesture. Simple, he thought. Now the awkward first interactions were over he could sit and quietly read for the rest of the journey to Hawthorne.
Oh, how wrong he’d been…