Chapter Text
Babe, there's something tragic about you
Something so magic about you
Don't you agree?
Sirius is the first person Remus meets on his first day of school.
Remus has never been as overwhelmed as that day. Platform 9 3/4 feels like something out of his worst nightmares: the crush of bodies, the cacophony of owls and cats, the steam puffing out of the shiny red train blurring everyone to incoherent smears. His father guides him distractedly towards the train, and it's all Remus can do to keep ahold of his trunk.
"Remember, Remus," his father says. "You must not be found out - "
"I know, Dad," Remus mutters. As if his own anxiety wasn't enough.
He sighs. "Right. No - I know. I - "
"Lyall!" someone calls, and his father turns around instinctively. The crowd heaves, smoke plumes into the air - Remus coughs, closes his eyes, and a second later his father is gone.
"Dad?" His voice is swallowed by the clanging of the train. "D - Dad! DAD!" Panic rises in him, thick and heavy. If he can't even stay with his father before getting on the train-
"Need some help?"
Remus whirls around.
A boy leans out of the window, long dark curls falling over his face. He grins, and Remus' heart stutters. He has the kind of easy confidence Remus envies horribly.
"D'you need help?" the boy repeats.
"Uh - oh, yes," Remus stammers. "I lost my father - "
"He'll show up soon enough," the boy says breezily. "Need help getting your trunk up here?"
"I - sure?"
The boy's grin just grows, and he leaps deftly from the train. With a jolt, Remus realizes how polished the boy's shoes are, how new his robes look. Remus' mother had patched together his robes, and his trunk had been his father's old one - but the boy just grabs one of the handles and gestures for Remus to do the same. "There!" the boy says, helping Remus push it onto a luggage rack. "I'm Sirius. You?"
"I'm...joking?"
The boy laughs. "No, that's my name. My family's always been named after stars, for some reason."
"Oh." Remus feels his cheeks burning. "I'm Remus."
"Remus," Sirius repeats. "Nice to-"
"Sirius Black!" a voice shrills.
"Shoot," Sirius mutters. He peers out the window, pulling a face. "Yep, that's my darling mother. Well, nice to meet you!" He shoots Remus another smile, then leaps off the train.
Remus doesn't move for a long moment. He's on the train. He's made it on the train. Worst comes to worst, at least he'll make it to Hogwarts.
"Remus!" Suddenly, he hears a loud, panicked cry from outside. "Remus!"
"Dad!" Remus vaults off the train, crashing into his father's arms.
"Oh - " Lyall pulls Remus against him. "I see you made it onto the train?" He pulls back, and Remus can with a jolt him fighting to keep his voice steady.
"Y - yeah. Some boy named Sirius helped me."
"Sirius?" His father frowns. "Do you know his last name?"
"Yeah, Black - oh. Oh." He's heard of the Blacks; everyone has. A son of the Blacks would not be kind to a werewolf.
Lyall gives him a half smile. "Just be careful with him, alright? And you two won't be in the same house. Steer clear of him, if you can." Lyall crushes Remus into a hug again. "I love you, Remus."
Remus swallows past a sudden lump in his throat. "I love you, Dad."
The train's bell begins to toll. All of a sudden, everyone around him is hugging their parents, kissing their younger siblings, hoisting their trunks over their shoulders. "Be careful!" Lyall calls, as Remus swings onto the train. "The nurse knows - "
"Yes, Dad!" Remus shouts. "I lo-" The train groans to a start, and Remus' words are lost in the clamor. He presses his face to the glass, waving wildly, until the train swings around the corner and the platform fades out of view.
Remus swallows heavily. He feels tears start to prick at his eyes - but before they can progress beyond general mistiness Sirius comes loping down the corridor. "Remus!" he exclaims. "We've got a compartment over here, want to join us?"
Steer clear of him, Lyall whispers. But Remus has nowhere else to go, and it's not like sharing a compartment before arriving at school makes them best friends. So he smiles, nods gratefully, and follows Sirius down the train.