Hogwarts Express, Platform 9 ¾ …

Remus watched with growing apprehension as the last few passengers boarded the Hogwarts Express. His father had helped him up with his own trunk before leaving and even though it seemed like years, it was only a few minutes ago when he'd successfully managed to find a seat. He wished his mother could have been there too, but being a muggle, she couldn't get past the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

He had been sitting alone for quite sometime until an older boy had come in and asked if any of the seats were taken. Remus had said no of course, relieved that he had some company. However, if Remus had been expecting any sort of information or reassurance from this boy, he was sadly disappointed because the boy had fallen asleep as soon as he'd settled down.

Remus turned away from the window and stared at the sliding door to the compartment. He could see a badly distorted image of himself on the shiny metal and inwardly smiled to himself. Quite an improvement, Remus Lupin. To his distaste, he could even make out the reflection of the tiny sapphire hanging around his neck. He had tried to remove it before, but his mother had slapped his hand lightly and told him that it was considered good luck to hang your birthstone across your neck. It's not good luck, it's a bully magnet. His father had just laughed loudly at the sight and charmed the damn thing, just in case he tried to take it off again.

Sometimes, Remus thought, I think my parents do it on purpose, just to watch me suffer.

Of course, he knew better. If anything, Remus Lupin's parents smothered him like there was no tomorrow, especially John Lupin. For reasons Remus could not understand, his father always held himself responsible for his injuries during the full moon. He'd be bursting through the doors of the garage at the crack of dawn, trying to heal his son's mangled body and holding back dry sobs at the same time. Delilah Lupin had even once admitted at being astounded at how someone as rigid as John Lupin could be reduced to an emotional mess at the very mention of his son. It was a psychological anomaly, she'd declared. And of course, there would be times when his parents would just come up to his room all of a sudden and hold him in a tight embrace, or tell him how much they loved him, and if there was anything he wanted, anything at all, all he had to do was ask, and they'd give it to him.

To any normal child, these gestures would have seemed suffocating, overwhelming at the most. Remus suspected it was one of Delilah Lupin's experimental therapies, but he wasn't the one to complain. After all, he was anything but normal. There was no way of putting it subtly, the world hated people like him, and he knew for a fact that he was not going to receive any sort of affection from them. So, he craved their love and when his parents got their sudden attacks of overwhelming affection, he clung on to them and returned their embraces and small declarations of love.

But here he was again, diverting away from the topic. I think too much, Remus concluded, before turning his head back to the window.

He got the shock of his life when his father's face suddenly loomed up in front of him. When he'd picked himself up from the floor, his father grinned back at him. His face was a bright red and his hair stuck out at odd angles, as if he'd been running all the way here. Remus grinned back and placed his hand, palm facing outwards, on the glass. His father returned the gesture, pressing his own hand against Remus's. And for the first time, Remus realised how small and insignificant he really was. He'd always thought of himself tall for his age, but his father's hand was massive against his; rough and callused from all these years of hard work. A few of them were battle scars, from his days as an auror, long before he was demoted. Remus stared at his own hand, smooth and pale in comparison. It barely came up to his father's central lifeline.

The whistle of the train rang noisily across the platform, and Remus's smile fell to a frown, as he rested his head on the smooth glass of the window. John Lupin stared into those soft amber eyes, and he let his hand slide, caressing his son's face through the thin glass.

'Love you,' he mouthed before moving away, and Remus nodded.

Remus's eyes followed his father even after the train had started moving. He'd watched and waved to a point until the figure of John Lupin had reduced to nothing but a black dot and finally, just air.

XxxxX

'Aunt Walburga!' squealed the blond figure of Narcissa from afar. 'It's so wonderful to see you.'

Sirius cringed at the shrill tone of his cousin's voice and watched distastefully as she kissed his mother's bony cheeks. Narcissa Black was the most annoying cousin to be born on the surface of the earth. She was beautiful, yes, but she was also nasally, high pitched, and incredibly stupid. The very definition of a dumb blonde. Sirius figured she had a good heart in there somewhere, deep, deep, deep inside. That's what Andromeda said anyway.

When Walburga Black smiled, it never reached her eyes. 'Cissa, you look positively lovely. How are you?'

Narcissa smiled charmingly, displaying a full set of shiny white teeth. 'Never better. As you know, I'll be completing Hogwarts this year and already, mother has started preparing for the marriage. She can hardly contain herself. '

Mrs. Black waved a dismissive hand. 'Ah, yes, of course. How is Lucius, then?'

Narcissa's face lit up like the sun as she nodded vigorously. 'He's well, thank you.'

'And Bella?'

Narcissa frowned a bit, distorting her pretty face. 'I don't know. She seems to be quite fond of Lestrange, but I personally don't share the feeling. He's a little too…' She scrunched up her face even more, trying to think of a suitable word to describe her sister's husband. 'Loud,' she concluded inanely.

Takes one to know one, thought Sirius and chuckled a bit.

Narcissa's eyes immediately darted down to Sirius, and she emitted by far, the most earsplitting squeal imaginable. Even Walburga Black, who was known to be as rigid as stone, cringed. She would have to talk to Kiera Black about Narcissa's behaviour. Honestly, the child had no sense of dignity whatsoever.

Narcissa bent down and pinched Sirius's cheeks hard. 'My god, look how cute you've gotten!'

Sirius shoved her hand away roughly, and Walburga Black inwardly beamed at the gesture. Haughty, egoistic, and rude – Sirius was going to be the perfect Black heir, unlike Narcissa…

'I am not cute,' he huffed, standing straight to make himself seem taller.

'Now, now, Sirius. Cissa is only trying to be nice,' his mother reprimanded, but she was smiling.

'Well,' he shot back. 'Cissa has chosen the wrong person to be nice to.'

Narcissa watched her cousin fold his arms over his chest haughtily and stare at her with eyes that could make a grown man cringe. Brat, she thought, if it wasn't for your mother's will, I would have stabbed you the day you were born.

Walburga Black put a hand on Sirius's shoulder and looked at Narcissa with smouldering grey eyes. 'Sirius will be joining Hogwarts this year. Another Slytherin in the family, no doubt,' she said proudly. 'I trust you'll be taking good care of him?'

Sirius snorted, before Cissa could reply. 'Mother, she can hardly form coherent speech. Surely you do not intend to entrust the life of your eldest son in the hands of someone so incompetent.'

Walburga Black tried very hard not to smile at the look of incredulity on Narcissa's face. It wasn't that the Blacks were misbehaved. In fact, every Black in the family is tutored in proper etiquette and language at the age of four. No, the Blacks were quite courteous, thank you very much. They just happened to have a slight intolerance for people below their standards.

'I'll be leaving now,' said Mrs. Black, dusting imaginary dust from the shoulder of her robes. 'I have an urgent meeting to attend to. Do pass on my regards to your parents and tell them to spare me a visit once they're done with the wedding plans.'

Narcissa nodded, fighting the urge to strangle her young cousin right there on the platform. She watched her aunt leave through the barrier, black robes billowing gracefully behind her. She had always wondered how her Aunt Walburga managed this with such ease and without any kind of wind at that. The last time she tried something like that, she'd ended up sprawled on the ground.

She reached out a hand to her cousin and sighed heavily. 'Come, Sirius. Let me help you up the train.'

Sirius did not take her hand. 'I can make it on my own, thank you. Now, run along and sing around trees, or whatever it is you Neanderthals do in your spare time,' he said before walking away.

The Hogwarts Express, Sirius concluded at the end of the day, was boring. It posed very little opportunities for mischief and was just like sitting in a cardboard box on wheels. He had ended up sharing a compartment with a small blond boy, who had snot running down his front like a tap. Disgusting. If that had not been enough, the boy's entire family had put up a theatrical show by entering into the compartment and crying over each other, making sick little declarations of love and pride.

His mother had been right after all. The wizarding world was truly going downhill.

It had gotten so bad at a point, that Sirius had actually gotten up to find another empty compartment. To his dismay, he had found none. Well, that was not entirely the truth. There had been one with only a single occupant in it. The boy (or girl. One could never tell with such long hair) had been staring outside, so Sirius had never gotten the opportunity to see his face, but at that moment, when he had looked through the small glass window of the door, he had had a flash. A vision of white sheets and angry red scars. It sounded stupid now but back then, Sirius had been scared for reasons unknown to him. So scared, that he had run back to his initial compartment, and tolerated the ongoing family drama, until the whistle mercifully blew.

XxxxX

BlackMercifulFaerie: Yeah, this chapter's longer…I think. I had to cut down on the HP reading cuz my exams are comin up…but I've never cared much for studying anyway…lol. Tyleet27: I figured I might as well start from the first. After all, a relationship takes time to build. I won't be elaborating much on their past lives…just small snippets. Fire x Ice: Thanks for reviewing. Here's the next chapter for you. Leafyaki: Hey, Hogwarts Express, before Hogwarts. I especially like Sirius in this chapter. Anyway, thanks for reviewing. Cheers!