Remus Lupin took one look towards the bustling train station, and knew right away he was in for a long year. People were walking in every direction, and children were shouting over one another excited to see each other again. His father leaned down and attempted to whisper words of encouragement to his son. "I know it seems hard right now, but you are going to do well this school year. It is a blessing you even get to go to school," the older man whispered to his son. Remus spaced out as soon as his father brought up his condition. He had only been six when he was bitten by a werewolf, inflicting him with the pain and misery which came every month at the full moon. The transformations were difficult enough, but the discrimination he faced was almost worse. Many people with his condition were not allowed to go to school, or receive any sort of training. He was one of the few lucky ones, Dumbledore decided that Remus deserved a chance to go to one of the best wizarding school, Hogwarts. Remus' father had attempted to accept him as he was, but he found it very difficult. His mother on the other hand still accepted and loved his son, even in spite of his condition. Remus started listening to his father again just as he was giving his son one last warning. "Do not let anyone know about your condition," he said with a stern edge in his voice.
"I know," Remus responded in a quiet voice, that could barely be heard over the roar of people on the platform.
The boy's father wished him farewell and an awkward hug. Remus took a deep breath and another step towards the train which would take him to Hogwarts. Once he got on the train he found an empty compartment towards the back of the train. After a few minutes of struggling with weight of his trunk, he managed to get it in its proper place above his head. He sat down in the seat and closed his eyes enjoying the quite of the train car. The concept of people actually wanting to be that loud was foreign to him and he could not believe the rowdiness of the kids at the station. However, he also knew that being around other kids in general was a new concept to him.
He had never had friends before, and was not a social kid. Although he thought almost bitterly, he never had the chance to. His father had always said he could not have friends or else he would be discovered. So instead, Remus spent his days reading, studying, and helping his mom at home. He had not even been allowed to go to school, instead being home schooled by his parents. It hadn't meant much to him at the time, being that in the first couple years after being bitten, his family moved many times due to his father's fear. Now he wished he had spent more time around other kids so he would know how to interact with them.
Well, there is nothing I can do about that now, Remus thought bitterly. He quickly corrected his thought knowing that his parents had done what they thought was best for him. Someone easily could have found out, the young boy thought. Then it occurred to him that this year he would be living at the school and it would be much easier for anyone to find out. Maybe it would be best if no one noticed me, then no one would find out my secret. He knew that was not truly what he wanted, but it was much easier to be alone then it was to have the school know his secret. If they found out he would be kicked out of Hogwarts, Dumbledore would receive angry letters and maybe even be forced to resign. No, I will not let that happen. Remus decided no one would figure out his secret.
With that decision he laid his head down on the cushion of the train compartment and shut his eyes, enjoying the quiet and calm environment.
It was only a few minutes later when Remus heard a light knock on the compartment door. He eyes drearily opened just as door started to slide forward. The boy standing in the doorway quickly asked, "Can I sit here, I heard the back of the train is the best..." He trailed off nervously at the end of his sentence. He had dark brown hair which was standing up on his head in messy spikes as if he hadn't brushed it.
It took Remus a couple of seconds to respond. He was shocked that someone had asked to sit with him. "Um s-sure, of-f course," the boy barely whispered back, nervous about talking to the other boy.
Before Remus had even finished talking, the boy plopped down onto the seat across from him and stuck out his hand. Remus nervously shook his hand. The boy, now filled with confidence, introduced himself, "I'm James. James Potter."
"Remus Lupin," the other boy said, still nervous around the boy, apparently named James.
"What house do you want to be in? I want to be in Gryffindor like my parents. Gryffindor is by far the best house," James asked all in one breath. He looked up at the boy across from him expectantly.
Remus didn't know how to respond. "Um," he started nervously, "I'm not sure. My dad was in Ravenclaw..."
James interrupted him, but Remus was not upset about it. No matter how energetic James was, it was nice to talk to someone his own age. "So your dad was in Ravenclaw, but where was your mom?" James asked curiously bouncing up and down in the seat.
"Oh s-she was a-a muggle," Remus stuttered nervously. What if James hates me now. I bet he does -
Before the boy could even finish his thought James started speaking once again. "Oh that's cool. Maybe we could both be in Gryffindor. That would be amazing. Maybe we could even share a room. That would be so much fun." Remus was so happy that James actually wanted to be his friend. Maybe he would end up in Gryffindor with James.
"Now remember, you never know who might not be a pureblood family. The mudbloods should be fairly easy to identify, but its harder to tell with half-bloods," Walburga Black lectured his son. "Now run along with Narcisa, she will make sure that you sit with the right people. You are the heir to the family. If you make friends with the wrong people it will bring shame to the entire family."
"I think I can decide who to sit with for myself, thank you very much," Sirius responded bitterly. He knew he would be sorted into Slytherin and only be able to talk to his family, but maybe he would at least get one train ride before that started.
He let out an angry sigh and started walking towards the train. Narcisa, his cousin tried to get him to sit in a compartment with her and her friends but Sirius refused. Instead he made his way into the back of the train and tried to find an empty compartment. There weren't any but one of the ones in the back only had two younger kids sitting in it. It was the last compartment on the train and the boys seemed to be around his age. The door was open so he stuck his head in. "May I sit in here, I am trying to avoid some of my family."
One of the boys had hazel eyes and dark hair that stuck up in every direction. He appeared to be endlessly talking, while the other boy sat quietly listening. The second boy was small and had light brown hair. As soon as he had spoke the first boy turned around and exclaimed with a grin on his face, "Of course. I'm James Potter and this is Remus, uh, you said Lupin, right?" The second boy nodded looking somewhat nervous but the first boy, James, continued, "What's your name?"
Sirius made his way to one of the seats sitting next to James. "Um its Sirius." He didn't add his last name hoping James wouldn't ask.
Luckily, he didn't and instead asked another question. "What house do you think you'll be in?"
The question filled Sirius with fear. IF he answered honestly the two boys would probably resent him. On the other hand, if he lied, at the sorting ceremony he would look even worse. Sirius knew he would be okay with being in Slytherin, it would make his family proud and that was what was important. However, he also wanted to make his own decisions which is why he sat away from his family on the train. Sirius debated how to answer the question. "Well, my family, they've all been sorted into Slytherin, but who knows maybe I will be sorted somewhere else," Sirius answered, nervous for the reaction he was going to receive.
James didn't batt an eye when the other boy said that, and Remus knew too little about the houses to even know how to respond. James just continued talking to the other boys. The train lurched into motion making all three boys jump and then burst into laughter. At first, only James was talking, but eventually Sirius joined in once he felt comfortable. The train ride was full of laughter.
A little way later, the sweets trolley came through the train and both Sirius and James nearly screamed when they heard Remus had never heard of, much less eaten, a chocolate frog. "What do you mean you've never had a chocolate frog?" James exclaimed, his mouth hanging open in shock.
"We'll take twenty chocolate frogs, please," Sirius said to the trolley lady. He handed her five golden galleons.
"And a box of Bertie Botts, too, please," James added, after recovering from his shock.
The boys threw a chocolate frog to Remus. He attempted to refuse the candy, but the other two boys were fairly persistent. Before long he gave in and opened the chocolate frog box. When the sweet chocolate entered his mouth, his eyes grew in amazement. Both of the other boys laughed at his expression, throwing him a few more frogs. Once Remus finished his first piece he simply murmured, "Wow," getting another wave of laughter from James and Sirius. He eat three more the delicious candies before finally sitting back in his seat with a sigh. There were ten frogs left once they had all eaten their fill.
"Hey, I have a deck of exploding snap, if you guys want to play," James implored still lounging in his chair.
Sirius agreed quickly, and after they explained how to play to Remus he agreed too. The boys spent most of the bus ride playing exploding snap, until a Hufflepuff prefect came around informing them to change because they were almost to the school.