An Empty Seat
It was all honestly very unexpected.
The instructions were clear enough. Matron told Remus to just make his way to the train the ticket was marked with. He wasn't very much counting on the fact that said platform 9 & 3/4 didn't exist. King's Cross station was otherwise flooded with people, oceans of them, and none of them seemed helpful to Remus, they were all rushing to their own--existing--platform.
"Hurry, the least time we spend here the better," he heard a girl about his age say coyly. Her father was carrying a big trunk and an owl for her, and a boy who resembled her enough to be his brother pushed a car with an even bigger trunk for her as well, "I just need to get on that train, father." What a brat, a daddy's girl, thought Remus.
But the owl she carried was a lead solid enough to follow. He started to see a few other people cross in that same direction, enough kids his age for Remus to believe he was in fact headed for the right direction. That was, of course, until they all seemed to disappear. Somehow, he'd managed to lost their track between platform 10 and platform 9. How could he commit such an idiotic mistake, maybe it was the proof he needed to turn back to Matron and head back to St. Edmund's, where he belonged, with the problem children, not the magical ones.
Remus couldn't believe he'd fallen for the words of that con-man Dumbledor, surely even that was part of his con, who would ever be named Albus Dumbledor. Remus couldn't raise his head as he turned back, he felt like an absolute fool. And then he felt the smack of his head with another boy's.
Lupin stumbled back, his suitcase fell to his side, lightly, he didn't have much in there.
"Fucking hog's ass that hurt!" the boy rubbed down on the impact point. He hadn't fall down like Remus, but he seemed to have taken quite the hit, "I'm jumping in front of the train if this doesn't wear down before I get to Hogwarts."
"You're heading to Hogwarts?" The pain suddenly took a second place on Remus' mind. Maybe he hadn't been conned.
"Well I was trying my best, but you kind of knocked me in place." The boy hadn't bother to make eye contact, still focused on the bump in his head.
"You know the way?" Remus couldn't waste this lucky bump.
"Yeah, I do, I came drop off my older cousin last year, it was his last year. Shame, he could've trafficked me candy from Hogsmade." Remus still couldn't seem to manage to get the boy to look away from his forehead. He seemed to be trying to twist his eyes up enough to actually see the bump.
"Mind showing me the way?" Remus thought a direct approach might be his only solace.
"Oh, right," the boy grabbed his cart from behind him, he seemed to have quite the fancy trunk, every side of it was covered in black leather, and he had a cat on a cage on top of it, couldn't be comfortable thought Remus. "We ought to go through the wall, my cousin says it's better to just run through, but I reckon we might crash into someone, you seem to have a proclivity for that."
"Ar- Sorry mate." Remus apologized. The boy then held the handles on the cart like he was driving a bike and started to sprint towards the pillar between platform 9 and platform 10. And much to Remus' surprise, he actually went through it. Half thinking it was some sort of fever dream, Remus figured if he followed suit, he would either get a concussion and wake up from his dream, or, just perhaps, get to enter a world of magic and wizards, a world where Dumbledor said his father had been a part of.
It wasn't a fever dream, or he hadn't woke up yet, at least. Lupin managed to cross through the pillar, and another flooded station appeared in front of him, but it was totally different, not the station itself, but the people, they wore hats and robes, something that did not even occur Halloween in St. Edmond's. And more than that, it seemed to be full of parents parting ways with their kids, tears and snot sound everywhere around Remus. Another reminder that-well, that he'd rather not think about it.
Remus had managed to lose the weird boy he'd met so he decided that rather than look around and miss the train, he'd just find an empty compartment, and lay low, this was nothing like anything he'd seen before. Schooling at St. Edmund's wasn't half- not even a tenth of this, and they hadn't even got to school. He was used to thirty kids from six to twelve and one of the nuns trying to get them all to understand the same thing, Remus had not gotten anything at any time. It was more of a sit at the back and don't make a noise situation. Sleeping was on the table most of the time and as long as he kept quiet, no one messed with him.
He walked through a few wagons, everyone seemed to either still be waving to their parents or already making friends, a dreadful through. He passed a compartment where the daddy's girl he'd seen before was sitting alongside a few kids that seemed way out of Remus' social means, all posh and sitting with their back straight. Though her bags seemed to be taking up most of that space.
He finally caught sight of an empty compartment, maybe if he sat with his back to the door people would let him alone, or if he closed his eyes they'd think he's sleeping and leave him alone. He wasn't certain what was his best course of action, but that was swiftly interrupted by a quick and determined knock at the glass next to his ear that sent a shock wave throughout all of his body.
A pretty redhead girl peeked her head through the door, "do you mind if I grab one of these seats? I can't seem to find any other." Remus nodded in defeated acceptance of his destiny. "I'm Lily Evans. You're a first year as well? Your robes don't have any house emblem."
Remus wasn't about to let her know he didn't know what she was talking about though, "I am. Remus Lupin. I am I meant that I am also a first year." Not as confident as he'd expected.
"Are you nervous? I am feeling a little jittery myself, I'm the first every witch in my family so I feel like I'm sailing through uncharted waters." She seemed well spoken, Remus thought, a little too comfortable talking for the first time meeting someone else, he also thought.
"A little." Remus tried saving face and not let it be known he was almost petrified by the whole notion of Hogwarts and magic, even if his father had been a wizard and he was a--rather not think about it today.
"Do you come from a wizard family? You name does sound a little magical." Lily's green eyes seemed to unintentionlly want to hit his every fear.
"Kind of--" Remus was fortunately interrupted by an attempt to open the door, a boy with black hair and an unfortunate look on his hair finally opened the door.
"Lily! There you are, I didn't see you at the station." Completely disregarding the presence of Remus, which he was most thankful for, until he did look at him, shooting him an ugly glance, like he was looking at a bag of trash someone had left in the room a little too long.
"Severus. This is Remus, we were just talking about-"
"You shouldn't be talking to someone like him, just look at him Lily, he even smells like trash. Surely he's not good company." And just like that Remus felt the blood runing through his face, he might've been short, but if he knew something it was how to land a blow on a prick. A thought interrupted by that weird boy passing the hallway and hitting Remus with an attempt at recognizion. Remus was just now thinking the boy probably hadn't even looked him in the eye because he kept trying to see the bump on his head.
"I'm changing carriages." Remus took that window before he was expelled for hitting someone before even arriving at school.
"Are you sure Remus?" She shot a look at Severus, "I'm sure Severus wants to apologize for his nasty comments."
"He can save it." Remus said, already halfway out of the carriage.
"It was nice to meet you!" Lily said from behind, surely she was just as bad ad Severus, just better at hiding it. Remus had leant not to trust so easily, that's how you ended up beat up and without toys in st. Edmonds.
This was surely going to be a long, long ride. He thought to himself as he started looking for a new place to seat.