*Disclaimer* Everything Harry Potter related etc belongs to JK Rowling etc
P.S. I have no idea what London is like, so go with me here.
Former Professor, Remus Lupin climbed into the carriage and sat his battered suitcase down next to him. He took one last look at the place where he had spent the whole year, teaching the son of one of his old and greatest friends, a year that had reunited him with another of his greatest friends and revealed the truth of the past. But now, with his own past revealed, Hogwarts was no longer open to him. The carriage started forward and took him to the Hogwarts Express. Professor Dumbledore had suggested he should take the train back to London rather than fly or even Disapparate after last night's activities and had made the necessary arrangements. Alone on the train, Lupin shut his eyes and sighed as the whistle sounded. He slipped into sleep, and his memories invaded his dreams.
James sat by the lake of Hogwarts and joked with Sirius about the day, about classes and teachers and girls. Lupin sat with them, smiling every so often at a remark of James' or a comic gesture of Sirius'. There was no Peter Pettigrew, not in this memory. That was the best part of dreams; they can be whatever the dreamer wants.
Sirius nudged James' arm and pointed as he said smugly, 'Hey Prongs, isn't that Evans over there?'
'Where?' asked James' quickly, running a hand through his already scruffy hair.
Lily Evans had just exited a corridor. The sunlight caught her thick red hair as she walked across the grounds to a group of girls sitting on the grass. Lupin watched James' head follow her the whole time.
'Why don't you just ask her out, Prongs?' he questioned.
'Yeah Prongs. The worst that can happen is that she'll reject you in public and the whole school will know about it by the end of the day,' added Sirius as a second thought. He received a punch on the arm and a look from Prongs.
'Thanks Padfoot. That really makes me want to go and ask her.' Through the sarcasm, Lupin could sense his uncertainty and maybe ever a little fear, an unusual emotion for the Gryffindor Seeker. He put a hand on James' shoulder for reassurance.
'It'll be fine. Things have changed. It's our last year. Lily actually talks to you now, in a civil manner,' Lupin said.
James looked at him gratefully for that reminder. 'Yeah, you're right Moony. Thanks.'
The bell rang and the group of girls rose and headed back to class. Lily walked behind them with another girl, a dark-haired girl from Ravenclaw.
James saw his chance and jumped to his feet. Sirius winked and they both wished James' luck as he headed over to the girls.
'Hey Evans!' called James as they neared them. Lily stopped, her mouth breaking into a big smile as she saw him.
'Hello James.'
'Listen, I was wondering if I could talk to you in private...' The two walked off, leaving the girl from Ravenclaw standing on her own.
Sirius said goodbye to Lupin as he walked off to his next class and Lupin stood to follow, but hesitated. He watched the girl intently, her back was facing him, and her black hair was in a long plait. She turned as if she knew that she was being watched and smiled at Lupin.
Lupin awoke sharply at the face of a girl he hadn't seen in years, but who haunted his dreams regularly. He massaged his temples and breathed deeply. The Hogwarts Express chugged to a stop and the steam hissed and poured from, it seemed, everywhere. The station was deserted as Lupin carted his one tattered suitcase off the train. He knew that within weeks it would be teaming with family and relatives waiting for their beloved wizards and witches in training. The shabbily-clothed man smiled faintly at the thought and headed towards the barrier. Lupin slid through inconspicuously to Muggle eyes. They were all too preoccupied with their own unmagical lives to notice a man walk through a wall. He headed to the front of the station and hailed down a black cab. The door opened with a creak and he occupied the seat behind the driver.
'Where to?' asked the cabbie without looking back at his customer.
'There's a place called Moony's Hideout on the outskirts of the south of London,' Lupin informed him wearily.
The cabbie raised his eyebrows as he started off. 'The south, eh? That's a rough part of town to be livin' in.'
'Indeed it is,' replied Lupin in a non-committed manner as he dozed off again. It was the roughness that had drawn him to live there. Due to the high amounts of vandalism and robberies, many houses were abandoned, though one or two were used as a school gang's headquarters. The screeching of car tires at night and police sirens were very useful in hiding the howls of a werewolf during a full moon.