The Shrieking Shack || The Marauders (Book 1)

6. REMUS

Remus breathed on the windowpane and drew twisted curly patterns on the foggy glass. The countryside outside the window was a haze of green, yellow and blue, dotted here and there with tiny herds of cows. Now that Remus was aboard the Hogwarts Express, tucked safely in his lonely compartment, he was beginning to feel quite jittery. 

What if he wasn't good in his lessons and Dumbledore realized that all the trouble he had gone through to make Hogwarts possible for Remus was a waste of time and energy? Will he kick him out? Or what if he couldn't make a single friend? He hadn't really ever talked to anyone his age, it had always just been his parents. What if the other kids made fun of him, of his frail body and his scarred pale face? Or- or what if someone found out that he was a werewolf? Would they chase him off to the forbidden forest with pitchforks and torches? Or worse still- what if he actually bit someone?

There was a sharp tapping and the compartment door slip open forcing his attention away from his train of thoughts.

"Is this seat taken?" the girl asked. "Everywhere else is full."

Remus shook his head and she heaved her trunk into the compartment. She then slopped down on the seat opposite to Remus's and brushed her black hair away from her face.

"Hello," she said. "I'm Selena Nightshade."

She had to be around Remus's age only- just a nervous first year like himself. Though she really hid it well. With her straight back and high held head, she might as well have owned the train. 

"Remus Lupin," he introduced himself.

There was a loud THUMP! from the corridor at this exact moment. Remus slid opened the compartment door curiously and discovered a stout little boy, who had apparently stepped on his own robes and fallen down right in front of his compartment. The boy got up at once and started sputtering about his trunk- trying to move it with all his might. But it didn't seem like the trunk wanted to go anywhere and it stayed stuck stubbornly to the spot.  A few other kids stuck out their heads from their compartment snickered at the kid's expense.

"Need a hand?" Remus asked starting to bend down and help the boy with his trunk.

"Thank you," he said gratefully, looking up at him through his small blue watery eyes. Together they dragged his trunk into their compartment.

Remus noticed that Selena Nightshade had now opened a big book and was busy reading.

"Oh Hello," she said once she saw the boy. "Did you fall out there? Are you hurt?"

At once, his cheeks turned a dark shade of pink and he shook his head as he sat down. He cleared his throat. "Petahpetahgew," he croaked, then cleared his throat yet again. "I'm Peter Pettigrew."

"Remus Lupin," Remus said and gave him what he thought was an encouraging smile.

"Selena Nightshade," said the girl and dug her head back into her book again.

"What are you reading?" Remus asked her curiously.

She looked up at him and then in one swift motion closed the large book and showed him the cover. "Hogwarts: A History," she said. "But it's no use, is it? I just wanted to do some background reading, you know. I don't really know much about the Wizarding World."

"And why is that? Are you a Mu- a Muggle-born?" Pettigrew asked.

"Oh no," she said turning to him. "Well, actually I don't really know exactly. Are your parents magic?"

"Yes," he said, a little too proudly. "Both of them."

Selena's striking gaze seized him as if assessing his worth and Peter Pettigrew froze nervously.

"I'm a half-blood," Remus said.

"What's a half blood?" she asked turning towards him at once.

"You know, those whose parents aren't both magic. My father is a wizard."

"See, that's what I'm talking about. I barely know anything."

Remus spent the rest of the journey talking with Peter Pettigrew- discussing the house they would get into, the number of chocolate frog cards they had or their favourite Quidditch team. Selena didn't talk at all through the rest of the journey except for when the food cart arrived. She pointed at different sweets asking "What's that?" and "What does it do?"

Soon enough, a voice echoed through the train "We'll be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Remus looked out the window and realized that it was already dark outside and that the train had slowed up considerably. They slipped their robes on and wore their pointed wizard's hats hurriedly as the train stopped at the Hogsmeade station.

Remus stepped down the train, amidst the chattering crowd of other Hogwarts' students. The prefects were going about shouting orders at the other kids. "Don't push around the first years' Avery!" Remus heard one of them yell as he was pushed forward with the crowd.

"All firs' years to me! Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" boomed a loud, gruff voice across the station. Remus scanned the crowd looking for the source of the sound and faltered.

A giant of a man was standing in the middle of the station. Not even in his wildest dreams could Remus imagine a man that big. In fact, he didn't even think that it was humanly possible to be that big. For a second Remus entertained the thought that maybe it was three whole people stacked one top of the other, but then he got close enough to see him. His face was covered in a tangled mane of black shaggy wild hair and beard. In one of his huge hands he was holding a lantern.

It was definitely just a great big man. 

"All firs' years ter come here!" he shouted over the crowd again.

Peter whimpered behind him but Selena crossed them without any hesitation. "C'mon!" she said excitedly to the both of them.

"All righ' there, James?" said the giant to another first year with jet black hair and glasses.

"Hello, Hagrid," the boy replied cheerfully.

"Are all firs' years here? All righ' then, follow me!" Hagrid's voice boomed again.

He led them down a steep and narrow path, his lantern barely making any difference to the darkness surrounding them. Peter stumbled once and then held on to Remus's robes as they moved on, following Hagrid's lantern.

"You will get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a mo'," Hagrid called over his shoulder. "Jus' over this corner."

And suddenly, the narrow path opened onto the edge of a great black lake. Remus's gasped as he looked across at the magnificent castle on the other shore. It was even better than the castles in the fairy tales his mother used to tell him about when he was little. He really was here- Hogwarts. 

The sound of a gleeful squeal caught his attention and he turned around in time to see Selena Nightshade with her mouth wide open in awe. Peter was standing right next to him, no longer holding the end of his robe and staring stunned at the castle with his eyes the size of the moon.

"On'y four in a boat!" Hagrid called and Remus noticed a convoy of small boats waiting for them in the water by the shore.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid, who had a boat to himself, shouted after everyone had climbed up on their boats.. "Righ' then- FORWARD!"

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A/N: I know what you're probably thinking. 'Well that parallel was cute but how the hell does Hagrid already know James?!?!' 
Well, jeez guys calm down! I have it all explained in one of the later chapter. :) =P

Thanks for reading! Please comment and vote if you liked this chapter. :) xx