Chapter Four - Onwards, to the Hogwarts Express

Remus was wondering around Diagon Alley with his parents. It was scarcely the beginning of July, and they were taking him to get his school supplies for Hogwarts. The whole atmosphere of wizardry in broad daylight fascinated him. The plenty and diverse shops and stores interested him. But still, deep inside, he felt kind-of bad about leaving Alanze back in Kent. Ever since the incident on his birthday, nearly a month ago now, he and Alanze hadn't spoken much. And truth be told, he missed seeing her on a daily basis.

'Oh well,' Remus thought to himself, eying the Quidditch Supplies shop eagerly, 'She probably wouldn't be able to see anything, being a Muggle and all anyway.'

Selena, who was humming absentmindedly humming to herself as the family walked, sensed something wrong with her son. Behind Remus' back, she shared a soft smile with her husband, before pulling up her skirts and stooping down to Remus' level. Prying his eyes off the broom display, Remus turned and looked at his mother. He always thought she was beautiful, her golden blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She smiled as she began to talk to him.

"Here." Selena spoke clearly, opening Remus' hand and depositing a small sack of money into his palm. "This is a late birthday present. From your father and I."

Remus grinned, and opened the sack immediately to see how much money his parents had gave to him. Just a week ago, his parents explained to him some common Wizarding knowledge. He knew all about the strange currency that Wizards had. Quickly, Remus counted out each separate stash of coins to find that he had eleven Galleons, eleven Sickles, and eleven Knuts even. He beamed at his parents, then through his arms about his mother.

"Thanks!"

"It's not a problem, really," answered Artemus, chuckling as Remus hugged him next. "Your mother and I also thought you'd like some sort of pet," Artemus led his wife and son into a store called the Magical Menagerie. Just the noise of the shop perked Remus' senses. Without actually meaning to, he sneezed.

"Thanks dad!" Remus said, wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve. His mother looked horrified as the boy then launched himself into looking around at all the different animals in the store. After a few moments of deep thinking, Remus pried himself away from a large tank of toads.

"I think I'll get an owl."

Selena smiled at Remus, sighing that he didn't get a cat. There were enough felines about the neighborhood as it was. "What type of owl? We'll pay for it."

"I don't know," Remus said softly. He was ready and willing to spend his birthday money on his animal. He knew the family funds were tight and that beyond the money his parents gave him, there wasn't much more left in their bank account.

Slowly, Remus made his way about the small store yet again. He spotted many owls around the store, and couldn't tell which one to get. Just when he was about to give up hope, a flash of… something caught his eye. He allowed his instincts to follow the light to a cage near the back of the store. A small, golden owl caught his eye. It had bright brown eyes, and a swooping yellow beak. Remus pointed to it, pleased.

"I want that one!" he told the assistant in the store, who went to retrieve the owl right away. Once the owl was checked for mites, and fully cleansed, the man behind the counter handed the cage to Remus, who took it rather gingerly. Remus' father hesitantly paid five galleons for the owl, and they left the shop.

"Thank you," Remus told his parents eagerly, with a kind smile as they gathered up mostly everything they brought to travel back home.

"Got all your bags, Remus?" Artemus asked him, picking up a few other bags.

"I think so." Remus looked about for any sign of missing supplies. "Are we ready mum? Sure you can apparate both of us?"

"Not a problem." said Selena lightly, grabbing Remus' hand and a few bags of supplies herself as she and her husband apparated home.

-x-

Remus rapped on the door loudly. He was starting to become very annoyed. In honest truth, he had been standing outside the house for at least five minutes. It already was the end of August, and still, Alanze wasn't speaking to him. Things were starting to get very uncomfortable, and this was primarily because he had something hidden behind his back. Finally, after minutes someone had gotten around to opening the door.

Alanze's eyes widened, but looked pleased nonetheless as she saw Remus on her porch. Often Remus would come down to her house and try to visit, but she often ignored him.

"What?" she asked bitterly, the metal from her braces shining in the setting sun.

"Look, I came to show you my wand," Remus said in a low voice, shifting whatever was behind him. "I want to prove to you what I said was true. I have it in my pocket. Let me in and I'll show you."

Alanze just snapped the door right in his face. Remus grumbled angrily, wanting to throttle the young girl. With a few moments of hesitation, Remus sighed and started to rap on the door once more.

Alanze's mother answered the door this time. Like her daughter, she was also deep olive-skinned, with brown eyes. She had short lighter hair, unlike Alanze whose hair was a dark coffee, nearly black color. Remus never knew her first name.

"I'm sorry, Remus, but Alanze doesn't wish to speak to you right now." Ms. Haru told him. "She said she is still mad at you and wishes you'd go away."

Remus sighed heavily. "Okay. Tell her that I have to talk to her before tomorrow. It's an emergency."

Ms. Haru only nodded, sneering down at the younger boy. "And stop pounding on my bloody door," she told him sternly, "And go do something else. My daughter doesn't need any male callers. She's only nine."

And Ms. Haru snapped the door right in Remus' face, leaving the young boy stunned. With an angry wail, he just gave up hope and retreated across the street, to his house, slamming his own front door as he entered.

-x-

Remus was once again rapping on the Daniels' front door. Even though Ms. Haru's warning scared him half to death, all he really wanted to do was talk to Alanze before he left before the train. He knew she was awake, too. It was nine in the morning on a Tuesday and Alanze's mom usually had her up and about by seven.

"Alanze!" he literally yelled, "Alanze, really! I need to talk to you!"

The day was September first, and Remus was supposed to be making his way to the Hogwarts Express. Surprisingly, Alanze wasn't starting school until the fifth. This made Remus a bit annoyed, but he paid no mind to it as he pushed the door buzzer for the twelfth time. As stubborn as he was, Remus knew his train left at eleven sharp. Still, he was determined and was demanding on seeing his friend for one last time before going off into some new world.

Alanze opened the door five minutes later. It was kind-of amusing to have Remus pounding down her door almost every day. She glared at him as ferocious as he could muster. "What's so urgent you have to beat down my door to tell me?"

"I have something for you," Remus said, picking up his owl cage and handing it to her. The littler girl blinked at him in surprise.

"I reckon you've must have liked that present I gave you for your birthday if you buy me a bird in return," Alanze said simply, purpling in her cheeks. She batted her eyes behind the glasses at Remus. "I like this bird."

"It's an owl," Remus said matter-of-factly. "Look, if you want to talk to me, all you have to do is write me a letter. It's simple, just address it to 'Remus Lupin, Hogwarts School' and the owl will deliver it. She knows where the school is. It's the only way we can keep-in-touch while I'm off at school."

Alanze smiled at Remus, stubbing her toe on the outstretched doorway threshold. "Thank you. I'll write you every week."

Remus shot her a confused look, "You really don't have to write that extreme. Write whenever you feel like it or every now and then."

"I'm sorry for not talking to you for the past few months." Alanze apologized grasping Remus' hand shortly. "I'm really daft for trying to avoid you. I wasted the whole summer and now we're not even going to the same school."

Remus nodded, frowning at her. "Yeah, you're definitely daft. But we can't undo the past, now can we?"

"I guess not." Alanze smiled feebly. She eyed Remus up and down. "You've gotten taller from the last time I saw you."

"Er…" stuttered Remus. He hadn't expected her to say anything like that. "I'm growing, I guess."

There was an awkward pause between them.

"Can you really do magic?" Alanze questioned, going inside of her house. Remus watched, curious about her house's interior as she placed the bird under a shabby wooden end table near a shabby loveseat. Remus had a sudden feeling that everyone in Mainland Place was lacking in funds just like his family was.

"No, not right now," the boy exclaimed, as Alanze returned back to the door. "But when I come back in June, I'm sure I'm going to have lots of things to show to you."

There was another awkward pause, as Remus smiled softly at her. He placed a strong hand on her shoulder. "I have to leave now. I have to go catch my train or I'll be late."

"Oh." Alanze replied quietly, going back for her door. "I guess this is goodbye… then?"

"Reckon so." Remus said simply, waving a bit. "Don't forget to write, okay?"

"I promise," the girl said honestly, pouting at him. Remus nodded at her once, and then turned his back on her. He was nearly five steps away from his picket fence before he heard his name being shouted.

"Remus!"

Remus turned about, eagerly, looking at the direction of Alanze's house. To his surprise, the girl wasn't there. Instead, she was eagerly striding across the dirt road, trying to get to her friend. And then, without warning, as she drew level with him the 9-year-old flung herself around Remus' chest. Taken completely by surprise, Remus toppled over, and she fell on top of him.

In the confusion, Alanze gave Remus a great hug. "I'm going to miss you Remus!" she was nearly in tears.

Remus blushed scarlet, but grinned and nodded. "Yes, and I'll miss you too."

"You won't forget me?" Alanze questioned. Remus noticed that when they fell, Alanze's glasses fell off. His stomach clenched and unclenched, as he looked deep into her eyes. They weren't brown, as Remus suspected, but instead, a really mysterious looking dark jade green.

"I won't forget you." Remus tried to reassure her, putting another hand on her shoulder and trying to ease her off of him. He didn't like being straddled to the ground by a nine-year-old girl. "Just think of things this way. Just as long as you write to me, 'Lanze, I'll always write back."

"You promise?" Alanze asked, looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"I swear it." Remus told her, yanking at the braid he liked so much rather playfully. "Stick a needle in my eye, swear it."

Alanze laughed, and fumbled for her glasses in the dirt. There was a very awkward moment, as Remus wanted the girl to get off of him but neither child really wanted to move. Remus nearly felt electrocuted as his mother came off of the porch and in their direction. It seemed as if she had been watching them by the amused look she had on her face.

"Honestly, Remus! At the rate you're going, we're never going to get to Hogwarts!" Selena told him, hands on her hips. "Your father's got your trunk – and get off of that filthy road."

Remus rocketed up instantly, brushing off his denim jeans and tee shirt. "Sorry mum," he apologized, scuffing his trainers a bit on the gravel of the street.

"I guess things are all in earnest." Selena replied, climbing into the family car. It really wasn't a nice-looking vehicle, but it got the family place-to-place when they needed to go somewhere with Muggle transportation. "But in the meanwhile, it's nice to see you've been mature and actually made up with Alanze."

"Yeah." Remus said simply, blushing as he brushed a bit of dirt off of his face. He turned slowly to his friend, wondering if June would come swiftly.

"Well, see you, 'Lanze. I have to go." He bid her, smiling one last time and turning his back to head towards the car.

"Wait!" Alanze shouted suddenly, grabbing Remus by the wrist. Surprised once again, Remus goggled at her. "May I go too? To see you off to your train? Please, Mrs. Lupin? May I go?"

Selena and Artemus exchanged a look as he loaded Remus' baggage into the rear of the car.

"If it's alright with your mother, Alanze…. I guess there's no reason why you can't go." Selena reasoned gently. Remus snorted. He often told his mother how tyrannical Alanze's mother often was toward her daughter. It would be a miracle if Alanze actually could go.

Alanze was highly overjoyed and immediately went to go ask her mother for permission. It took nearly twenty minutes of waiting very frustratingly in the car, but Alanze did return. It was obvious she gained permission and she slid into the backseat of the Lupin's car. Remus eyed her wearily as they drove towards King's Cross Station.

"She hit you again?" the boy whispered, scooting closer to Alanze. "What'd you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything!" Alanze whispered back, covering her purple cheek with her tiny palms. "She just said I shouldn't be following a boy around every where he went. She also said I was getting too attached to your family and it is best for me that you're going off to another school, anyways."

Remus slid back over to his seat, and began to stare out his window, fuming. How dare his mother say something like that about her? And about him?

It took nearly forty-five minutes to get to the station. Once the Lupin's got there, Artemus led everyone towards the right platform.

"Mum!" Remus whispered. "Alanze won't be able to get through the platform!"

Selena, to Remus' great surprise, smiled. "Are you sure about that, Remus?" she questioned, watching her husband walking through Platform 9 and ¾.

"I-" Remus gazed at the invisible platform, wearily. "I don't think I'm following your thinking."

Selena smiled once more. "Follow your father, Remus."

Shrugging, Remus did as he was told and ran through the invisible barrier. He closed his eyes as he went through and opened them up as he passed. A huge smile appeared on his face as he read the large scarlet sign above his head, indicating that he was in the right place.

And what surprised him even more was that his mother and Alanze was standing right behind him by the time he had had a good look around.

"Wow." Alanze exclaimed. She had been holding Selena's hand. "This… is… amazing."

Remus looked at his mother incredulously, but she just smiled. He was about to ask her a question, when his father caught him by surprise.

"I found you an empty compartment. It's in the middle of the train."

"Thank you, dad," responded Remus, almost automatically.

"Remus," said Artemus suddenly, "Where's your owl?"

"I - lent it to Alanze so she could owl me at Hogwarts," Remus told them as he made sure everything was loaded in his empty compartment. He turned back to his parents and marveled the fact that he was actually going to the school of his dreams.

"Thanks mum. Thanks dad!" he hugged them both in turn. Slowly, he turned back to Alanze, and Remus' mother let her hand go. Remus watched, in further amazement, as Selena then led her husband away from the two young kids.

"So this is really it, then?" Alanze asked, in awe. "This is amazing. Your school is going to be much better than plain old Mainland Primary."

Remus laughed, and opened his arms to embrace Alanze in a tight hug. Once in his arms, Remus noticed something that he hadn't before.

"You've grown taller too!" he admitted, scraping his chin on the top of Alanze's head now. "You've grown past my collarbone!"

"So what if I did?" Alanze giggled back, still wrapped in Remus' arms.

There was nothing else to it. Remus didn't care who saw him, but in that moment, he didn't know what possibly possessed him to do it…

Gently, tilted Alanze's head up towards his face. Then, doing something he had only saw his mother and father do in times when they were supposedly "alone", Remus quickly slid his lips across Alanze's.

Alanze was speechless, and actually started to shake as Remus let her go. He was quite nervous himself. The two stared at each other in utmost-awe, until a grinning Artemus Lupin returned back to them.

"Oh!" said Artemus too cheerfully. Remus blushed once more, knowing that they both had been watching him. "Alright. Well! It's almost eleven o' clock. Better board the train."

Remus complied, his heart stuck in his throat. He moved his legs, but they felt like planks of wood. How could he have done something so stupid?

Inside the compartment, Remus opened the window and hung out of it to face his parents.

"Have fun at Hogwarts!" his father bid him. "Get sorted into Gryffindor!"

"Artie!" scolded Selena, playfully tapping her husband on the shoulder. "You'd never know. He could be in my old Common Room, Ravenclaw."

"Gah," Artemus joked as he hugged his son through the glass. "No matter where you get sorted, still have fun at Hogwarts. It's a good place."

Remus nodded, his voice too constricted for him to speak correctly. "Alright." He murmured, "And I'll send you both letters to tell you where I got once I get there... oh... and use a school owl or something."

Though confident, Remus eyed his strong-willed mother. After all she had done for him this morning, he noticed that she seemed hesitant to let her son go off to Hogwarts. Through the window, Selena hugged Remus for a rather long time, and then turned to her husband fighting off tears.

"My only son, off to Hogwarts. Off you get then," Selena told him, sniffling. "Get out of the window and back inside your compartment before the train takes off. We wouldn't want you to get injured."

"Oh mum." Remus complained, grinning.

"Bye Remus!" Alanze piped up. Her voice seemed oddly strained, and she bit her lip, staring up at Remus as he stood in the window. "I'll miss you!" she added, rather awkwardly. She wasn't tall enough to give her friend just one last hug, but she walked up to the train and jumped as high as she could. Remus reached down to her and their two palms grazed each other's. Remus was sure they both felt it; there was no other excuse for the electric-like shock that ran through their fingertips as soon as their touch disconnected.

"Bye, all of you!" Remus told them, trying to get a grip on his self, and actually climbing out the window. The scarlet steam engine let out a wail of fury, and started to drag itself off.

Remus watched in amusement as Alanze raced the train to the edge of the station. He stuck his head out of the window and saw that when the young girl could run no more, she just stood back and waved at the train.

Once again, Remus realized that at the platform, his hormones got the better of him again.

He didn't want to face anything like that again, anytime soon… even though the feeling was new… it was still… nice…

But on the bright side, Remus was finally leaving the Muggle world! No more sneaking off into the forest as if not to hurt the townsfolk, no more discretions about talking of magic whenever he felt like it, no more simple arithmetic or reading comprehension or phonetics…

Grinning once more, Remus settled himself down upon one of the compartment chairs and prepared for the best times of his life. He knew things were going to get better for him… especially with no more Muggle things holding him down.

And personally, Remus was glad to be gone from it all.