Hello again! Thank you for reviewing! This chapter has a curse word a few chapters in - just a warning. Also, the scene with Lily and Snape is adapted from The Prince's Tale in The Deathly Hallows, with the dialogue taken straight from the book, so isn't original at all. Just putting that out there!

The carriage was quiet - silent almost, except Remus' breathing. He watched the countryside fly past outside, the greens of the trees and grass blurring together. The entire morning so far felt almost like a blur to him, and he couldn't believe he was really on The Hogwarts Express. As stupid as it made him feel, Remus pinched his arm just to be sure that he was here. It hurt, and he didn't wake up, so he assumed it he was safe. He really was going to school!

Remus pulled a book from his bag, Murder on the Orient Express - he had felt the setting suited his current surroundings, although he did hope that the plot certainly didn't. He had a habit to choose "inappropriate books" as his mother had repeatedly told him, but the lycanthrope always shrugged it off. He was rarely bothered by the content, he faced much worse every full moon anyway. There was very little that could faze Remus by now - he was his own worst nightmare after all.

Today wasn't the day to dwell on that though, Remus told himself, he should try to enjoy today. It was his first day of freedom - or the closest he would ever get to freedom. Of course, the ministry would keep strict tabs on him this year, there was no way they would ever let a werewolf enter Hogwarts unmonitored! Although, Remus knew he shouldn't complain, being the only werewolf ever to actually attend Hogwarts - not that most of them would want to anyway. Most werewolves were wild, ferocious creatures even when the moon wasn't full - including Fenrir Greyback. Even the thought of his name made Remus shudder, the man terrified him. He was perhaps the only thing which rivalled himself in terms of his biggest fear, although Remus was pretty confident that not even a monster like Greyback could truly rival his fear of himself. Although a mere eleven, Remus already valued the lives of others above his own - until now, his own had been barely worth living anyway. Dumbledore had changed that of course, given him a chance to obtain a life worth living.

Remus knew he should try to put these thoughts to the back of his mind, but the more he tried to ignore them, the stronger the urge to think them became. He didn't belong here, he wasn't like the others, it was a mistake to come here. He was filth, a horrible, rabid creature who didn't deserve education. He was a piece of shit who would hurt everyone around him, he could kill them if something went wrong. And yet he was selfish enough to come anyway? All because he - an animal - wanted a slightly better life? He couldn't stay, he just couldn't. As soon as they arrived, Remus was going to tell Dumbledore that he had made a mistake in coming and return to the family farm. He was sure that life as a farmer wouldn't be so bad anyway - he could grow crops and keep livestock for a living. A few renovations and everything would be good to go. Of course, the farm wasn't in use at the moment, but Remus wouldn't be allowed to work with the public, so he had no choice. He just had to go home, he shouldn't have come.

Tears rolled down Remus' cheeks, one by one, splashing the pages of the book on his lap. They pooled, but Remus took no notice. He couldn't stay, he knew he couldn't. Remus shook violently, rocking back and forth. He was an idiot, thinking that a werewolf could really go to Hogwarts, of course he couldn't! Why did he let Dumbledore convince him otherwise? He had got his hopes up for once - a mistake, werewolves couldn't afford to have hopes. Werewolves weren't worthy of hopes.

The compartment door slid open with a violent "THUD!" and three boys swaggered in. Remus attempted to hide his tears - his stupid, weak, pathetic tears - but he wasn't fast enough. Their jolly laughing stopped immediately, and they glanced at each other. One of them, a boy with shaggy dark hair arranged around his face rather like a lion's mane caught his eye, "What's wrong mate?" Remus tried to shrug it off, but another - this one with shorter dark hair and glasses - was watching him too. The third, a timid-looking boy with dirty blonde hair, was staring awkwardly at his feet, an uncomfortable expression on his face. "It's okay, we're not going to laugh at you," the boy with the glasses told him, a genuine smile on his face.

Remus panicked, he couldn't tell them why he had been crying, he just knew he couldn't! He had sworn not to tell anyone, and even if he hadn't, he wouldn't want to. He wouldn't want these boys to abandon him, looks of disgust thrown in his direction. They might seem genuine, but if they knew the truth about him, Remus knew they would quickly turn on him.

In an instant, he made a decision. He had been given an excuse to use in order to explain his absences during his transformations, so he might as well bring it into play a little early. "I'm just w-worried..." he began, quivering his voice slightly, "About my m-mum, she's a muggle you s-see, and very s-sick. I'm just worried that I won't s-see her again, s-she took a b-b-bad turn recently..." He trailed off, trying to keep calm and look upset. The faces of the other boys fell, and they looked at him sympathetically. Remus felt a stab in his heart - he felt awful about lying to them. They seemed so genuinely concerned for him, someone they didn't even know, and he was spinning his web of lies already.

"I'm so sorry mate," the lion said to him, and smiled sadly.

"It's o-okay, although c-can we p-pretend we didn't talk about t-this? I'd rather just d-drop it?" Remus told them, desperate to end the conversation. The other nodded.

"We promise to never bring it up again, unless you want to talk about it, deal?" the boy with the glasses said. Remus nodded, and smiled weakly.

"If you ever need to talk to any of us, even if we're in a different house from you, then feel free. Even if you're in Slytherin," said the lion once again, "I'm Sirius by the way."

"Remus Lupin," he replied, and reached out to shake Sirius' hand. The boy with the glasses turned out to be called James Potter, and the other boy who hadn't said a word until this point introduced himself as Peter Pettigrew in a nervous whisper. Remus tried to put the thought of leaving Hogwarts from his mind, as there was no use worrying about it now. Instead, he told himself that he would keep himself to himself for the rest of the journey, then sort it out.

At first, he did, half-listening to the antics of the other three boys, mainly James and Sirius, and half-reading his book. It wasn't until the Honeydukes Express came along the corridor and James announced that they would "take the lot" that Remus joined in with the conversation a little more. Remus had always been a little too much of a chocoholic, so the promise of free chocolate was not one he refused. And of course, you couldn't just eat someone's chocolate without conversing.

Soon Remus found himself talking and laughing along with the others, and the thoughts of leaving Hogwarts began to disappear. He didn't want to leave, as selfish as that was, he wanted a chance to have some fun for once. James and Sirius still domineered in the conversations the group had, although both Remus and Peter had started joining in more frequently. James and Sirius were both purebloods, though neither seemed bothered about blood status. Peter was a half-blood, although both of his parents were magical. Remus of course had a wizard father but a muggle mother, making him too a half-blood. Both James and Sirius seemed to have a mischievous streak, and Remus felt himself loosening up around them. He was laughing more often than usual and found himself feeling a lot happier - he was even forgetting about his furry little problem as he was so engrossed in the stories they were telling. Both James and Sirius had owls with them, and the two birds hooted contently at all of the laughter. Remus' cat flicked her eyes open and hissed, looking less amused at the prospect of being woken up. The boys laughed at her and she hissed once more before closing her eyes again.

Around an hour later, a redheaded girl raced through the compartment down and threw herself down beside the window without a word. The boys looked at her curiously, but she didn't seem to be the type for conversation. "Are you okay?" Remus asked, as the others looked on concerned, but she just ignored them. The four continued talking, glancing subtly at the girl every so often. Apart from a few sniffles she stayed quiet, pressed up against the window.

Remus was particularly concerned, especially after how he had felt earlier, and frequently tried to get her attention to no avail. Eventually, she turned around briefly and gave him a fleeting smile before shaking her head. Her emerald green eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and her cheeks were stained from the tears that had run down them. Remus reached into his pocket, retrieved a tissue and handed it to her wordlessly. She smiled gratefully and took it, wiped her eyes and passed it back. She returned to staring out of the window wordlessly, although this time the sniffling had stopped.

All four boys felt awful at leaving her alone, but the redhead did not seem keen to talk, so eventually they grew used to her presence and carried on, determined not to spoil their first journey to Hogwarts. Remus was especially glad for his company's happy outlook as he didn't want his mood to deteriorate again.

For a while the compartment stayed like that, the four boys chattering away loudly, and the silent girl staring out of the window. Eventually, a greasy haired boy of around their age entered the compartment, ignored the four boys and sat down directly opposite the girl. The girl looked up, caught his eye and looked away again quickly.

"I don't want to talk to you," she told him, her words slow and cautious. It was the first time Remus had heard her talk, and he felt like her voice was missing a gentle, melodic sound. The other boy's face fell, and everyone else in the compartment fell silent - listening.

"Why not?" he asked her dejectedly.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." the girl blurted out, trying to hold back tears. Remus had no idea who "Tuney" was, but whoever they were, they seemed important to Lily. And a letter from Dumbledore? Clearly the girl was not an average student at Hogwarts either, though Remus had no idea what exactly made her different. Though perhaps it was best that way, since he wouldn't like anyone knowing what made him stand out.

The boy's expressed remained unchanged, "So what?"

Hurt flashed across the girl's face, but she quickly hid it with a scowl. "So she's my sister!" The girl burst into tears again, violent sobs taking over her body. She convulsed in her seat, but the boy made no move to comfort her. Remus reached out, but withdrew his hand quickly after Sirius' sharply shook his head. He supposed this wasn't his business really, so he should stay out. It would probably make life a little simpler, though he felt bad about leaving the girl alone.

"She's only a-" the greasy haired boy began quietly, but stopped mid-sentence. Remus wondering what exactly her sister was, but he wasn't about to find out. Lily did not seem to catch what he had said, as she was too busy fumbling with the sleeve of her top in an attempt to dry her eyes. Remus passed her another tissue wordlessly, and she took it without turning around. "But we're going! This is it! We're off the Hogwarts!"

The boy sounded excited, and the girl perked up a little, nodding her head slowly. She smiled a little, and the boy looked relieved.

"You'd better be in Slytherin!" the boy told her eagerly, seeming glad that she had come around a little.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" butted in James, directing his question at Sirius. Remus knew James was only trying to lighten the mood a little, but he had picked the wrong time and wrong joke to do so. As much as he meant well, Remus wished that James would just shut up.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," Sirius told him seriously. He didn't laugh for once, and this was the first time Remus had seen him so serious in the short time they had known each other.

"Blimey," said James, "And I thought you seemed alright!"

Sirius laughed, "Maybe I'll break the tradition! Where are you headed if you've got the choice?"

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. Like my dad," James told him, pretending to wield a sword. Remus grinned, and wondering which house he belonged in. He wasn't too sure that he would fit in any of them, perhaps they wouldn't even sort a werewolf? Surely not though, after Dumbledore had promised that he could attend...

The greasy-haired boy snorted, and James whipped around, "Got a problem with that?"

"No," the boy sneered, "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where're you hoping to go seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius cheekily. James laughed aloud, and Remus grinned. Remus knew they shouldn't get into an argument, but at the same time, Sirius was awfully funny.

The girl glared at the pair, "Come on Severus, let's find another compartment." She got up, and so did Severus, and the two headed out. The redhead flashed a smile at Remus, as if to thank him for the tissues, before leaving. James tried to trip Severus up as he walked by, which Remus felt was a little too far, but he stayed quiet anyway.

After they had left, the next hour or so was spent discussing them, and doing many impersonations of Severus. Remus felt a little guilty laughing, but he did so all the while. After all, James had only meant to lighten the mood and Severus had taken it personally, right? It was their fault, although he supposed that the tripping up of Severus was a little too far. Remus wondering what the girl was called, as he hadn't caught her name. He hoped that she was okay and that her sister didn't really hate her. He wished that he knew where she had went, just so he could go and check up on her. He didn't though, instead he spent the rest of the journey laughing with the others, eager to reach Hogwarts.

However selfish he was being, Remus knew in his heart that there was no way he was ever leaving Hogwarts voluntarily. Never.