Author's note: Now that I have the attention of my adoring fans once more, I shall continue with the story! Oh, I hope my last chapter didn't scare you!
Warning: Sarah Snape will not be liable for any of you who suffer psychological damage whilst reading the last chapter. She will also not fork out cash for any psychiatric help that you may receive! You have been warned!
Disclaimer: This chapter skips ahead to the Marauders first year. We start off with Remus feeling very nervous (can you blame him?) about getting on the train to Hogwarts, but once he starts talking to James, Sirius and Peter he suddenly feels at ease.
Chapter 2: New friends
Remus sat silently in his garden, letting the cool evening breeze ruffle his hair, and sooth his skin. He couldn't help but smile to himself. All the stories he had heard of Hogwarts had made him more eager to begin his first years, and considering that he had only the day before got a letter of acceptance, made him ten times more excited than many other young witches or wizards who were about to start. For you see, Remus' parents had worked very hard to get him into Hogwarts. It was only until Professor Dumbledore overrode the Ministries decision to bar him from going to Hogwarts was he allowed to attend. Great man, Dumbledore, thought Remus to himself.
The reason for all this difficulty in getting him to attend was because Remus was a Werewolf, and the Ministry had come to the conclusion (and rightly so, thought Remus) that he was a danger to himself and those around him. This is where Headmaster Dumbledore had intervened; he said that as long as the school took certain precautions, there was no reason for him not to attend. Remus grinned inanely when he remember opening the letter. He couldn't recall in his whole life being so happy, although he had never been that happy since he had received the bite. His parents had tried everything, but had to come to the same dismal conclusion; there was nothing they could do for their son.
"Remus," said his mother from behind him.
Remus jumped, not knowing that she had been there the whole time.
"Yes mother." He replied, standing up to face her.
"What are you doing out here this late?" She asked sternly.
"I was just thinking." He answered truthfully.
She smiled and pulled Remus into her arms, hugging him tight. Since the arrival, she had tried her hardest not to burst into tears whenever she saw him getting ready. Remus had never been out of her sight for a minute, let alone months on end. But she had realised that he would have to live with his condition and that there may come a time when she wouldn't be around. He had to learn to cope by himself.
"Looking forward to your first day?" She smiled, letting go of him.
"Yeah I suppose." He replied sounding a little deflated.
"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.
"It's just that, well," he sighed, "what if the other students find about – you know?" He said, not able to say truly what he was.
His mother smiled and lay a comforting arm around his shoulder.
"They won't find out my darling," she whispered soothingly, "Professor Dumbledore has assured me that. The only way that they could ever know, is if you decide to tell them."
"No danger of that then." He replied shortly.
"Why don't we go in," she said, changing to subject, "you had better have an early night, you've got a long day tomorrow."
Remus nodded, and allowed himself to be steered inside by his mother.
"Right, have you got everything?" Asked his father for about the tenth time that morning.
"Yes Father!" Replied Remus in an exasperated tone.
His father nodded and grabbed Remus' trunk with both hands. Remus ran to hold the door open for his father, who took his belongings down to a violent purple bus, with three levels. On the front read; The Knight Bus.
"Let me 'elp you wiv that!" Asked the conductor.
"Thank you." Gasped his father, as the conductor took the trunk from his hands.
Remus walked over the Knight Bus and waited for his parents to join him. He couldn't believe that this day had finally come – that it had ever come. He put all his doubts to the back of his mind, and let the excitement take him over. He heard the front door of the cottage slam behind him, and was soon boarding the bus with his parents. They took a bed next to one of the windows and settled down. The conductor, making sure they were safely seated, tapped on the glass window behind him. All of a sudden there was a tremendous BANG and the Knight bus shot forward as if being pulled by charging Elephants with rockets attached to their feet. Remus felt himself being pinned to the wall, and immediately began to feel quite nauseous. He looked out the window and saw that they were no longer shooting along a narrow country lane, but twisting in and out of cars and buildings in a cramped inner city area.
"Right, where you folks off to then?" Asked the conductor politely.
"K-Kings Cross station." Replied his father, struggling to make himself heard over the roar of the engine.
"Okie dokie." He said. "Kings cross Ern."
"Hold your horses, Bill!" Replied the aged bus driver.
Seconds later the bus screeched a halt outside Kings Cross station.
"Righty ho, here we are!" Said Bill the conductor, clapping his hands together.
Bill helped them down the steps, and slowly and carefully dropped Remus' trunk to the floor. He bade them goodbye, and the Knight bus flew past them in a rush of wind, before disappearing entirely. Remus looked at his watch, it was almost eleven o'clock, he nudged his father and they quickly ran to grab Remus a trolley. They dashed through the station and located platforms nine and ten. Remus' mother told him to walk to straight at the wall. He gripped the edge of his trolley tightly and ran at full pelt through the wall. All a sudden a scarlet steam engine appeared, waiting next to platform 9¾ which was filled with chattering people. Seconds later, his mother and father appeared from nowhere behind him.
"Come on Remus," urged his mother, "let's go and find you a compartment."
The first few carriages were already packed tightly with students; some were still hanging out of the window to talk to their families. Remus, led by his parents, pushed his trolley down the platform until they located probably, the last remaining empty compartment near the end of the train. His parents help him load his trunk into the compartment, and then Remus turned sadly back to his them.
"Now you take care Remus." Said his father quietly.
"I will." He replied, shaking his fathers hand furiously. Then, he turned to his mother, who had tears welling up in her eyes.
"You know that if you ever want to come home," she choked, "just send us an owl and well will be there straight away!"
"I know." He answered.
He wrapped his arms tightly around his mother's neck, and tried to fight the urge to cry. Nothing would ever make him want to come home, not now that his parents had tried so hard to get him into Hogwarts. Remus let go on his mother as the train whistled and began to move. He waved furiously at his parents, and leant out of the window until they were out of sight completely.
Remus closed the window and flopped back onto his seat, breathing a sigh of relief. For the first part of the journey, Remus stared absently out of the window. He watched the landscapes roll by in a flash of green and brown. He reached into his bag and took out one of his school book and began to read; Newt Scamander's 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them'. He purposely skipped the nocturnal beast section, not really wanting to read about the horrors of being a Werewolf; he got that enough as it is, without it being in a book.
At around one o'clock, a plump, smiling lady pushing a trolley, opened his compartment door.
"Anything off the trolley my lovely?" She asked sweetly.
Remus searched his pockets for some change, and leapt to his feet. Buying almost one of everything, as he hadn't been in the mood to eat any breakfast. While he ate silently, strange noises could be heard from outside his compartment. Curious, he slid the door open and poked his head out, but was immediately pushed back inside by a boy with messy black hair. His round glasses were in danger of slipping off his nose entirely, and his dark brown eyes glittered mischievously.
"What are you –" started Remus, but the boy overrode him.
"Shhh or he'll hear me!" Whispered the boy ecstatically.
But barely a second later, another boy burst into the compartment. He had the same ebony hair as the first boy, but this was combed neatly, and his short fringe brushed lightly over his eyes. His blue eyes were also glittering, but not with mischievousness, but with a playful fury. Then Remus suddenly noticed that he hand was about the size of a dustbin lid.
"James you pillock!" He shouted at the boy, waving his enlarged hand at him.
"I didn't mean too Sirius honestly!" Replied to boy earnestly.
Suddenly noticing that they had company, the two boy turned to face Remus and introduced themselves.
Author's note: Hope you liked! Can't think of anything interesting or funny to say so, read and review please!