Into the Unknown
"Mum, what am I going to do? What if the other children-" Remus gulped, "-what if the other children don't like me?"
He had been fretting about it all morning, and even now, standing on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, he grasped his mother's hand tightly as though he planned to drag her off to Hogwarts with him.
"Remus John Lupin, listen to me." Hope Lupin tilted Remus' chin up with her hand, forcing him to look into her eyes. "You are kind and intelligent. Anyone would be so lucky to call themselves your friend." His mother's voice was firm, yet tender.
"But, Mum," he said shakily, the urge to cry suddenly overwhelming, "I'm a-I'm cursed." That last part was whispered against his mother's chest.
"You're special," his mother corrected gently. She wrapped her arms around him, enveloping him in her trademark lavender fragrance. Remus inhaled deeply, hoping to commit the scent to memory.
"I don't want to be special," he whimpered, his eyes squeezed shut.
His thoughts drifted to his stuffed dog, Romulus, whom he had been forced to leave at home, and he clung to his mother even more fiercely. He couldn't bear the idea of sleeping amongst strangers without his trusty companion.
"I know this is scary, Remus. I'm scared too," Hope admitted, stroking his hair. "But we have to remember that Professor Dumbledore worked very hard to make it safe for you to attend Hogwarts. He'll look out for you, I know he will. If you're having any problems, I'm sure he would want you to let him know."
Remus bit his lip and nodded, turning away to rub his eyes. He knew that his mother was right about Professor Dumbledore being an ally, but he was still worried about his huge secret and the potential harm he could inflict.
His eyes followed the steam billowing from the Hogwarts Express and fell on a boy with messy black hair and glasses who was standing with his parents, laughing. He wished he could be that happy and carefree. Instead, he felt like a huge rock had taken up residence in his stomach, weighing him down.
The whistle blew and Remus jumped, jostled out of his thoughts. He turned back to his mother, who gave his hand a quick squeeze.
"Sounds like it's time to board the train." She helped him carry his luggage towards the train door, but before Remus could wonder how they were going to lift the heavy trunk, another boy with dark, messy hair jumped out. Remus wondered if he might be a first year as well.
"Need some help with that?" The boy nodded at the trunk. Remus blushed.
"A little."
"Alright then, on three," the boy said, and together, he, Remus, and Hope were able to get the trunk onto the train.
"Thank you," Hope said. "What's your name, dear?"
"Sirius," the boy replied.
"Well, thank you, Sirius. Look after Remus here, won't you?"
"Mum," Remus whispered, mortified.
"I'll do my best, ma'am," Sirius winked, and Remus watched his mother's face turn pink.
"Have a good semester, boys."
Sirius clasped Remus' shoulder as the doors closed. "Remus, was it? What do you say we find a compartment together?"
Remus looked out the window at his mother. She was waving to him now, a big smile on her face, but Remus thought he could see worry in the way she bunched and unbunched her navy dress with her other hand. He pressed his forehead against the cool glass and watched as she became a speck in the distance.
Sirius cleared his throat and Remus glanced at him. He seemed unconcerned, even excited, about the prospect of going off to school. He was bouncing on his toes and grinning as he looked around at the compartments.
"Right," Remus said quickly. "I'm game."
Dragging his trunk behind him, he followed Sirius through the train corridor. Sirius was chattering excitedly about the food trolley, but Remus wasn't really listening. There would be another full moon in a little over a month, which didn't give him much time to acclimate to his new environment before-
"Is this seat taken?" Sirius was asking the bespectacled boy Remus had seen laughing on the platform. The boy shook his head, glasses glinting. "Cheers, mate. I'm Sirius, and this here's Remus."
The boy nodded at them. "I'm James."
Remus smiled shyly and shook hands with James. He couldn't quite believe that he had met two people already and they hadn't mocked or excluded him. He had never been much of an optimist, but as he sat down next to his new acquaintances, he began to entertain the idea that his experience at Hogwarts just might be a positive one.
He was going off into the unknown, and he was going to be okay.
Word count: 801
Prompts used are as follows:
Writing Club
Showtime - More Than Survive (dialogue): "I don't want to be special."
Hogwarts Gym
Oliver Wood's Quidditch Training Camp Level 1 - Glute Bridge (dialogue): "Is this seat taken?"
Paint by Numbers
Yellow (items): stuffed dog
Yearly Challenges
Insane Prompt Challenge #439 (occasion): first day of a new school
HPFFC
Who/What/How: Hope Lupin, navy, admit
A/N: I had fun reimagining the Marauders' first Hogwarts Express journey. And yes, I realize it would make more sense if Remus' stuffed animal was a wolf, but a) the prompt was for a dog, and b) I thought it was funnier that way.