They had to drive to King's Cross in Hope's old Austin Mini. Lyall had bought it for her years ago so she could travel around the muggle way. She loved it, but Lyall always complained about it being too slow, and in this case, Remus agreed with him. The journey was long. Hours long. 5 hours to be exact, to travel all the way from Wales to London. Remus spent half the journey sleeping and the other half worrying.
As much as he was desperate to get out of his house, sleep somewhere new and meet new people, he already missed the safety and security that being at home brought him. At least at home he didn't have to hide, or lie, or pretend, and he didn't have to worry about the consequences of not hiding or lying or pretending.
"What house do you think you'll be in?" asked Lyall, suddenly. The question felt weirdly unexpected, and Remus didn't respond right away. They had all been so focused on the big things, the secrets, the anxieties, that they hadn't really had a chance to discuss the normal aspects of Hogwarts. The Sorting Ceremony, the lessons, the activities, none of it had really crossed Remus' mind, except when he was younger and he made up games of make believe, usually involving him already being at Hogwarts. In those games he'd sorted himself into Gryffindor, because that was his father's house, and he wanted his father to be proud of him.
"Um... I don't really mind," replied Remus, and it was true, he didn't mind. He'd read about all four houses and he thought that they all had good qualities.
"Well, Gryffindor's the best of course," continued Lyall. "But Ravenclaw's good too. I was nearly in Ravenclaw."
"What if I'm in neither?"
"Oh I'm sure you will be. We're very similar you and I." Remus took his statement as a compliment, and he felt quite proud about it. His father had never compared Remus to himself before; he usually claimed that Remus and his mother were like two Bowtruckles in the same tree.
"Don't put pressure on him about houses, Lyall. I never did see what the big deal was. Why do they have to divide all the kids up anyway? It just creates animosity, surely."
"Not animosity, darling, healthy competitive spirit. Quidditch matches were a riot."
The station was fairly busy, so they had to wait until enough people had cleared from platforms nine and ten before going through the barrier. Lyall had already warned Remus about the barrier, but that didn't stop Remus' natural instincts from telling him that nothing good could come from launching himself head on at a solid-looking brick wall. Lyall had suggested giving a bit of a run if he was nervous. Remus thought that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. If he was nervous about slamming face first into a wall, why would he... run at it?
He took it slowly, ambled up to the barrier and pressed his trolley into the bricks. The front of the trolley disappeared. With the integrity of the barrier now confirmed, the rest of the trolley and Remus himself followed suit. He re-appeared on the other side in a haze of steam. It cleared after a second and he could take a good look at platform nine and three quarters...
"Merlin, that's a lot of people," he said. His parents were behind him now.
"It's more daunting than it looks," encouraged Lyall. Remus didn't think so. All he could hear was shouting and laughing and animals and parents and students. It was all very overwhelming. Hope was by his side, his father on the other.
"Come on," Hope said. "Let's get you on the train."
They fought their way through the crowd and found a fairly empty carriage near the end of the train. Remus jumped on, and his father handed him his trunk and Arianrhod's cage, the owl hooting softly from inside.
"Do you need any help?" asked Lyall.
"No, I'm alright, thanks." His trunk was heavy but he didn't think he'd do himself any favours if his parents followed him onto the train.
"Now be careful, okay," reiterated his father.
"I know."
"And write every day." That was his mother. His father shook his head in amusement.
"You don't have to write every day. Every week."
"I will. I promise."
"And if anything happens," continued Lyall. "Tell Dumbledore, then tell us."
"Yeah."
"But don't let anything happen. Lay low."
"But socialise. Make friends," said his mother.
"You're there to learn, Remus."
"But have fun as well."
"You're getting confusing now," Remus concluded. They finally released him, though not before the exchanges of I-love-you and be-safe, and Hope embarrassingly kissing Remus on both cheeks and his forehead.
Remus dragged his trunk down the train corridor, one hand on the leather handle, the other holding onto Arianrhod's cage, quickly stepping back as a bespectacled boy his age came charging down the corridor from the opposite direction, closely followed by his friend, a rather long-haired boy, also his age.
" 'scuse me!" said the boy.
"Sorry!" said his friend. Remus didn't have time to reply before the two had disappeared off down the long, thin corridor.
Remus slid open the door of the nearest empty compartment. He had a right struggle getting his trunk onto the overhead rack and by the time he sat down he was out of breath. Arianrhod hooted indignantly. Her cage had been placed on the rack too, and she was itching to get out.
"Sorry," said Remus, craning his neck upwards towards the rack. "Can't let you out till we get there." He opened up the window and searched for the faces of his parents, just as the train began to leave the station. He quickly spotted them and waved. They waved back, his mother rather frantically. They kept waving until the train finally departed through the tunnel and they were out of sight. Remus sat back down. He stretched himself out, stood up again, and had to take his shoes off to climb onto the seat and get a book out of his trunk. He needed something to pass the time. He also got out his uniform, ready to change when they were nearing the school.
He spent the journey reading. It calmed his nerves, distracting himself with descriptions of spells, history about the castle, working out what he'd be learning that year.
No one bothered him on the journey, except for the trolley lady.
"Anything from the trolley, dear?" She asked, sliding open the compartment. His father had given him a few galleons to spend, something that Remus had tried to protest against. They weren't very rich, but his father had insisted.
"Just some chocolate frogs, please," replied Remus. Chocolate Frogs were his favourite. He was able to buy quite a few for just a galleon.
The only other person he met was a red-haired girl who was looking for her cat.
"Hi," she greeted. "I'm Lily. You haven't seen a cat have you? A little tabby thing. Goes by the name Tabby."
"A tabby cat called Tabby?"
"Short for Tabitha."
"No, sorry. Haven't seen her."
"Blast! She's always wandering off." Just then, a boy her age came up beside her.
"Come on, Lily." He was a very skinny, pale boy with black hair that hung over his eyes like curtains.
"Hang on, Sev, I'm talking to... what's your name?" She turned back to Remus.
"Remus," he said, eager to share his name.
"I'm talking to Remus." The boy— Sev— stared at him. He appeared unimpressed. He didn't even smile.
"What happened to your face?" was all he asked. Lily stared daggers at him.
"Severus, that's rude."
" 's alright," affirmed Remus, a little awkwardly. "I was attacked, by a dog. When I was little."
"Heavens," said Lily. "That must have been scary." Remus shrugged, as if the thought never occurred to him.
"Can't really remember it." Severus tugged impatiently at Lily's sleeve.
"Come on, Lily, let's go."
"Okay, I'm coming. But I've still got to find Tabby." She followed her friend out of the compartment. "Bye!" She waved at Remus. Remus waved back, and then she was gone.
It was almost night time when the train arrived at Hogsmeade station. Remus departed with everyone else, straightening his tie and finding his bearings. A voice boomed across the platform
"Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years this way!" Remus looked in the direction of the voice and was met by a giant of a man. He was holding up a lantern and signalling to any first years to follow him. Remus entered the crowd of eleven year olds and was able to get a closer look at the man: he had a brown, scraggly beard, so wild and bushy that only his eyes were visible. His hands were about the size of Remus's entire torso, and the height! The more Remus looked up at him, the more his neck started to ache.
"Firs' years follow me!" The man led them down a rocky path, in the opposite direction to the other students. "Righ' then. Just over this rock yer gonna get yer firs' glimpse o' Hogwarts." Gasps met Remus's ears as the castle came into view. Remus, too was in awe. The place was huge and every window and tower was lit up, making the pitch black scene look like a million candles had lit up to guide them. Remus couldn't quite believe he was actually seeing this, thinking for all those years that he'd never be standing here.
"We're travellin' by boat, so get into groups of four, an' don't touch the water. Not if you want the Giant Squid to pull you in." A couple of children laughed, either the wizarding children who were familiar with the Giant Squid, or muggleborns who couldn't tell if the man was joking or not.
Remus ended up in a boat with three kids he didn't know. Two of them clearly knew each other, as they were whispering fiercely into the other's ears. The other kid was very small and very shy looking. As the boats set off, Remus decided to try and befriend the boy.
"Hi," he greeted. "I'm Remus. Remus Lupin." He held his hand out. The boy took it nervously.
"Peter," the boy replied. "Pettigrew."
"Nice to meet you Peter Pettigrew." The boy gave a small smile. "Do you know what house you'll be in?" Peter shook his head.
" 'spect I'll be in Hufflepuff or something. Me grandad says it's the worst one."
"Don't be so hard on yourself. Besides, Hufflepuff's a great house. They all are I think."
"Ain't Slytherin the evil one? 's'one You-Know-Who was in."
"That's not the house's fault."
"Think you'll be in it then?"
"Nah. I'm hoping for Gryffindor. Or Ravenclaw. But I don't mind."
"Nah, mate, Pettigrew's right," interjected the other boy, who must have been listening. "Get sorted into Slytherin and you're guaranteed to end up a dark wizard." Remus looked at him with amused scepticism.
"If you're not already a dark wizard, I don't see how a House would turn you into one," he said calmly.
"Yeah but that's the point, innit? All the dark wizards are sorted into Slytherin, because it's all dark magic in that house. Everyone in Slytherin is in cahoots with You-Know-Who, take my word for it." Just then, the boats bumped gently onto the shore, and the giant man signalled them all to follow him up the grand front steps of the castle.
"Everyone alrigh'?" he checked, before opening the doors to lead them inside. The entrance Hall was huge, bigger than Remus was expecting, and standing in the middle of it was a stern looking woman with black hair scraped tightly into a bun. Square glasses framed her eyes.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. McGonagall nodded her head.
"Thank you, Hagrid," she replied in a thick Scottish accent. Hagrid left them with the woman, and she looked at them over the frame of her glasses.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began, launching into a speech that gave off the impression she had said these same words hundreds of times already. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will be like your family. You will have classes with your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend your free time in your House common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose points. At the end of the year, the house cup will be awarded to the house with the most points, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"The Sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She looked at them pointedly, and Remus self-consciously smoothed his hair down and adjusted his robes. McGonagall then instructed them to follow her, and the students were led into a small and rather dark room just off where the Great Hall was.
"I will return when we are ready for you," she said. She left them standing there in the room, looking around themselves and waiting nervously to find out what the Sorting Ceremony entailed. Peter, who was by Remus's side, nudged him.
"D'you know how we get sorted? Me family wouldn't tell me."
"Neither would my dad," replied Remus. "He just said it was some sort of test." Remus had taken this to mean a knowledge-based test, so he had poured through his new schoolbooks to try and learn as much as he could, but he hoped that they wouldn't be asked to duel or anything. Theories of spells from books could only get you so far.
Suddenly, Remus heard a yelp from behind him. He looked round, and spotted a translucent figure ambling through the crowd of first years, who ducked out of the way to avoid the freezing cold sensation of having a ghost walk through you.
"Good evening," greeted the ghost. "Waiting to get sorted are you? Well, I hope to see you in Gryffindor. My old house, you know." Remus quickly figured out that the ghost was Nearly Headless Nick, but before he could say hello, the ghost disappeared through the closed doors and Professor McGonagall reappeared a moment later.
"You may enter," she instructed, opening the door and leading them through. They were at the front of the Great Hall. All eyes from the four long tables were fixated on them. Remus felt rather self-conscious and hung back a little so that he was safely hidden among the group of first years. McGonagall stopped halfway and went to stand by a stool which was in front of the teacher's table. On the stool sat an old hat. Everyone seemed to be staring at it, so Remus joined in, though he was very confused. What kind of test was this? Were the test papers under the hat?
Suddenly, the seams of the hat split open into what looked like a mouth, and to Remus's surprise, the hat began to sing:
A thousand years gone by it's true,
You stand before me young and new.
Your destiny today will mark,
Your future lain before you stark.
As Gryffindor welcomes the bold and the brave,
Slytherin the ambitious and the cunning knave.
Hufflepuff greets the just and loyal,
Ravenclaw congratulates hard work and great toil.
And on your head I must be placed,
To decide the path that you must face.
For at Hogwarts your house shall be your home,
And whichever is picked, you mustn't moan.
The Founders of Great determined to teach,
All students, as one, to great heights you shall reach.
And dangers you'll battle, the unknown beware,
Your houses are here to help you prepare.
And while you are divided still, when all is said and done,
The houses shall come together, they will, ready to fight as one.
The entire Hall erupted into applause, the first years following suit, despite their plain bewilderment. McGonagall cleared her throat and stepped forward.
"When I call your name, you shall place the hat on your head and sit on the stool to be sorted." She held out a roll of parchment and began to read.
"Alderman, William." A blonde boy emerged from the crowd, looking very nervous to be the first one to get sorted. He sat hesitantly on the stool. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head. A few moments later the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the Hufflepuff table erupted into applause. William smiled in faint relief as he joined his fellow Hufflepuffs. Remus was incredulous. All they had to do was try on a hat? His father had lied to him! All that time spent studying! He felt almost cheated, but the relief at not having to take a test immediately after arriving was greater than his sense of annoyance, so he spent little time thinking about it and refocused on the sorting, just as "Avery, Alexander" became the first Slytherin.
"Black, Sirius." A boy eagerly stepped up to the podium, grinning as the hat was placed onto his long, dark hair. Remus recognised him as the boy who charged past him on the train with his friend. The hat stayed still for a minute, before eventually shouting "GRYFFINDOR!"
A murmur went around the Hall before the Gryffindor table cheered the new arrival. Remus knew why. Sirius Black; must have been related to the infamous Black family, insanely proud of their pureblood status and every one of them— as far as Remus could tell— had been in Slytherin. Remus noticed that Sirius' grin faltered ever so slightly, and his eyes darted over to the Slytherin table, but he seemed to quickly pull himself together, and as he walked to the Gryffindor table he high-fived his glasses-wearing friend. Remus was a little nervous now in case he was sorted into Gryffindor. If Sirius was anything like his family, Remus would at once be seen as an enemy, just for being half-blood. And if he was found out to be a werewolf... and on top of that, a boy who had secretly been born a girl... he hoped sharing a dormitory with a member of the Black family wasn't going to end up jeopardising his entire future at Hogwarts.
"Evans, Lily," called McGonagall. Remus straightened slightly at the name Lily, watching the bright red hair flutter past him to the podium. The hat was placed on her head and very soon the hat yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" More cheering as Lily smiled and almost skipped over to the table. Remus wondered if she had managed to find her cat.
Soon, it was Remus's turn.
"Lupin, Remus." Remus gulped nervously, not even stopping to enjoy the fact that Remus was listed as his name. He walked up to the stool, head down, and as the hat was placed on his head, he jumped slightly as an unfamiliar voice sounded in his ear.
"Well, well, what an interesting student we have here." Remus realised that the voice must have belonged to the hat, and that only he could hear it. "I see a lot of Ravenclaw in you. Intelligent, very intelligent. Just like your father. But... you also have secrets. Such big secrets. Such things you've been through, things that would surely break a weaker person, yet you're here against all the odds. Very impressive. And as for your house, well... I think it had better be... GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was yelled to the rest of the Hall. Remus exhaled a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and joined the Gryffindor table as the applause died down. He couldn't wait to tell his father that he was in Gryffindor. He sat next to Lily, Sirius across from him. Sirius held out his hand.
"Sirius Black. Nice to meet you." Remus took it, suppressing any slight hesitance he felt.
"Remus Lupin. Nice to meet you too," he replied amicably.
"McKinnon, Marlene" was sorted into Gryffindor, and "Mulciber, Cassius" became the next Slytherin.
"Pettigrew, Peter," called McGonagall, and Remus sat up to watch the small blonde boy scuttle over to the stool, looking like he'd faint with nerves. Remus couldn't help but sympathise. The hat went right down over Peter's ears, and the Hall hushed. Waiting.
They waited for ages. Sirius started fidgeting after a few minutes.
"Bloody hell," he muttered. "What's taking so long? Did the hat fall asleep or something?" Remus was resting his head on his hand. It must have been at least five minutes by now.
"Is it possible to not get sorted?" whispered Lily to Remus. Remus thought about it.
"I'm not sure," he whispered back. "Surely it wouldn't be."
Eventually, as the Hall started to buzz with murmurs and some outbursts of taunting, the seams of the hat split open and yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table clapped in response, mainly out of relief if anything. Peter walked over to the table, head bent low, but looking relieved to have bagged a place at the Gryffindor table.
"You alright?" asked Remus, as the boy sat down next to him. Peter nodded.
"It was weird though," he said. "The hat went quiet for ages."
"You had us worried there, mate," Sirius chimed in. "Thought they were gonna have to chuck you out."
Before anyone could say anything more, McGonagall read out the next name.
"Potter, James." A messy-haired boy strutted up to the stool with a confidence that Remus could only dream of having. When the boy turned round to have the hat placed on his head, Remus recognised him as Sirius's friend. Sirius grinned as the minute ticked by before the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" and cheered the loudest out of anyone else. James was grinning too as he sat down next to Sirius and began introducing himself.
More and more students were sorted. The boy Remus had talked to on the boat— "Stebbins, Joseph" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and "Snape, Severus", Lily's friend from the train was sorted into Slytherin. He didn't look very happy about it, but then Remus had yet to see the boy look happy about anything. Lily, too, looked a little disappointed, and she clapped along with the Slytherin table as he walked past.
As the last students were sorted ("Williams, Owain" and his sister "Williams, Anwen" became the next Gryffindors), the Hall grew more and more restless. Everyone wanted their dinner.
The last student, "Yaxley, Corban" was sorted into Slytherin, and at last the Hat was taken away, and McGonagall resumed her seat at the teacher's table. A hush fell over the students as Dumbledore stood up to address the school.
"Welcome to a new term at Hogwarts," he announced, smiling down at them all. "And welcome especially to this year's first years. I am certain you will enjoy your stay here. But now I understand we all want to eat, so I shall not keep you waiting any longer. Let there be food!" He held out his arms, almost as if he was summoning the food himself. And perhaps he was, because all at once mounds of food appeared before their eyes. Chicken, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes. There were even chips. The thick, crispy kind that Remus loved. He had never seen so much food. It was hard to hold a conversation with all that choice to eat.
They tried though.
James and Sirius took over the conversation, talkative as they were, while Remus was happy to listen and chime in when needed.
"The Chudley Cannons are the best team," James was saying, opening up an argument that he'd clearly already had with his friend, who sighed dramatically.
"The Chudley Cannons haven't won since 1862!" exclaimed Sirius. "You couldn't get a worse team if you tried."
"What are the Chudley Cannons?" asked Lily, who had been trying to talk to Anwen, but James and Sirius weren't easy to ignore.
"It's a Quidditch team," replied Remus.
"Oh right. My friend told me about Quidditch... that sport you all play."
"Only the best sport ever," claimed James.
"I take it you're a muggleborn," said Remus, turning back to Lily.
"Yeah. I'm still getting used to everything. I was supposed to be going to my sister's secondary school before I got my letter." Remus glanced at Sirius. He looked perfectly fine at the mention of Lily's muggleborn status, if anything he barely noticed. Remus at once relaxed. He was good at figuring out when people were hiding something, being so used to doing it himself. He would have been able to tell if Sirius was only pretending to be okay with Lily so as not to cause a scene, but was later going to ambush the girl, but Sirius showed no sign of caring, and was clearly only interested in discussing Quidditch. Remus felt a sudden wave of respect for the boy, with him having to grow up in such a prejudiced family yet still was able to conduct a perfectly normal conversation with those he was supposed to be prejudiced against. Remus wondered how Sirius's parents were going to react when they found out their son was in Gryffindor. But if Sirius was worried about it, he was doing a good job at hiding it.
"Your sister isn't magic?" asked James.
"No..." Lily looked sad all of a sudden, and Remus tried to divert the conversation.
"My mum's a muggle," he said. "My dad isn't."
"She must have got a bit of a shock when they married," joked Sirius.
"Not really. She pretty much takes everything in her stride."
The feast went well in Remus's opinion. He was already making friends and no one at the Gryffindor table had even asked him about the scars on his face. He was feeling very optimistic by the time Dumbledore stood up to mark the end of dinner.
"Ahem—" he began. "Now that we've all been fed, I'd like to add a few more words, as well as give a few start-of-term notices.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. I'd also like to remind you all that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes.
And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he flicked his wand, golden ribbons twirling out of it, rising above the tables and twisting into words.
"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore. "And off we go!" And all around where Remus sat, the school began to bellow:
Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please.
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees.
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air
Dead flies and bits of fluff.
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot.
Just do your best, we'll do the rest
And learn until our brains all rot.
From where Remus was sitting, James and Sirius were singing the loudest, standing up as if they were performing. Remus smiled at the sight, although the level of noise in the Hall was rather overwhelming to his sensitive hearing. He covered his ears and quietly joined in, picking a tune his mother sometimes sung to him, something familiar. It was quite slow though, so he had to cut himself off at the last few lines to avoid being left the last few singing.
Dumbledore conducted until the Hall fell briefly silent, and then he, along with everyone else, applauded.
"There is nothing more magical than music!" He stated. "And now, off to bed!"
The first years were herded out of the Hall by the Gryffindor prefect, who was named Amanda Haighton, and she explained the journey to the Gryffindor common room to a group of students who weren't really listening. Remus was avidly taking in his surroundings, at the moving paintings that greeted them as they walked by to the moving staircases that his father had warned him about. Everything was moving, and rather than making him feel anxious as was usually the case, the din and bustle of the school simply made Remus feel more and more excited at being there. For the last few hours he had let go of his worries and felt... almost free. But as they got closer to the common room he felt the familiar dread that crept up into him as bedtime drew closer. Alone with his thoughts in the dark and quiet always scared him. They were always rather oppressive and overwhelming and exhausting, and he usually read for as long he could until he was so tired that he fell asleep without a single internal distraction, but by then the clock had usually already struck three in the morning.
The Gryffindor common room was entered through an archway, guarded by a painting of a very fat lady.
"Password?" The lady asked Amanda.
"Aeno ignis," replied the prefect. The painting swung open and the first years followed Amanda through into the round, cosy room. A fire was burning in the grand fireplace and comfortable looking armchairs dotted the room.
"Boys' dormitories are on your left," informed Amanda, pointing at the foot of a thin-looking staircase on the left hand side of the room. "Girls' are on your right." Remus followed the rest of the boys up the stairs towards the boys dormitory. He felt slightly hesitant before the staircase. He'd read that the girls dormitory had some sort of enchantment on it, so that the stairs would turn into a slide if a boy tried to climb them. He knew the boy's dormitory didn't have the same thing, but all the same, he couldn't help but think what would happen if he tried to walk up the stairs and they wouldn't let him. That Dumbledore had lied to him, and that Hogwarts really did see him as a girl. He almost flinched when he placed his foot onto the first step.
Nothing happened. He tried the second step. And the next, and the next. Soon he was in the dormitory. He'd made it.
Feeling even more ecstatic than before, he began unpacking his trunk, which had somehow been brought up to his bed. He only took his pyjamas out, not wanting to fully unpack his trunk until the rest of the boys were asleep— he still had various things to take out and hide. He also wasn't too keen on undressing in front of them. Not yet anyway. So he undressed behind the scarlet curtains of his four poster bed and re-emerged when he was safely in his pyjama shirt and bottoms.
It took a while for the dormitory to wind down. James and Sirius were messing about, throwing pillows at each other. Owain was telling them to shut up, and Peter was hiding in his own bed. Remus decided to read until the others were safely asleep.
It was around ten o'clock when the dorm became silent. Remus stuck his head out of the curtains, the darkness of the room hitting him, though he didn't have much trouble seeing: his senses had been heightened ever since the attack, a side affect of his lycanthropy, although he could usually use this one to his own benefit.
He rummaged around in his trunk, unpacking his clothes and books, then he reluctantly pulled out the products his mum had packed, as well as the "just in case" sports bras. There weren't many hiding-place options, and Remus was certainly not going to risk sneaking out on his first night at the school, so all he could do was stuff them under his mattress and hope that no one would have any reason to look there.
Once he'd done that, he returned to his warm bed and lay on his back, staring at the wooden covering. He could always tell when his thoughts were going to lead him into an unfavourable direction, so he could decide whether to read or not, but for once his mind was fairly quiet. The optimism he'd gained from the Great Hall was still lingering around him and by the time the clock had struck eleven, Remus was fast asleep, dreaming of the school days to come.