The Last Marauder (Part Two)
 Six years later, and Remus had his teeth gritted. Shirtsleeves pulled down by clenched fists, and him trying to desperately sink into the collar that was too big for his scrawny neck like some kind of turtle.
âCome on, lad.â Lyall said, but his voice was just as stony and nervous as Remus felt. Sure, Dumbledore had promised everything would be fine, but the eleven year old just couldnât see his way to believing him. A quick mental calculation and he realised that there was no way he was going to be able to have a compartment to himself. There were too many students and students-to-be milling about on the platform.
âMama. I donât mind not going.â Remus looked up at his mother. Hope had changed in the last six years. She still smiled, but it was a drawn one. Her skin was grey and her eyes heavy with worry for her only child.
âDonât be silly, Remus, of course youâre going. Youâll have an amazing time.â Like Lyall though, her voice didnât hold the sincerity it should have. Other families on the platform were smiling and laughing, everyone helping each other to get trunks onto the train. Remusâs own trunk was sitting forlornly on a trolley. Even his brand new owl had picked up on the atmosphere of the little family and looked downcast. There were ten minutes before the Hogwarts Express would be pulling out of the station, and yet Remus still hadnât made a move to get on. Half of him was hoping the train would pull away and heâd be forced to go home and continue his life of secrecy.
The other half remembered just how sturdy a castle would be. How Dumbledore had promised to protect him. How his mother had looked lying in her bed, abdomen wrapped in bandages. Â
âMama,â he had sobbed, âMama, Iâm sorry!â Every day since the full moon after his ninth birthday he had come in here, crying and wishing he could take it all back. And every single time, his mother would pat the space in the bed beside herself, and break a bar of chocolate in half for them to share.
âIt wasnât your fault, my darling, and I am healing fine.â She would say. âLook how much better Iâm doing today!â And he would curl into her side, ever mindful of her injuries. She would run her fingers through his sandy hair, and they would listen to the Wizarding Wireless Network while they ate chocolate.
âHello there!â A boy already dressed in Hogwarts robes strode up to the small family. He had a yellow tie and a shiny badge with a big âPâ on it pinned to the front of his robes. âWould you like any help getting your trunk onto the train?â Hope automatically smiled and thanked the lad, whilst Lyall chewed nervously on his lip and Remus shrank back into his parentsâ shadow.
âUm, okay. Thank you.â He almost whispered. His mother pecked him on the head and hugged him tightly. This was their goodbye. Lyall briefly embraced his son, before Hope pushed the young boy off in the direction of the prefect now pushing his trolley.
âWe love you.â She gave the same strained smile. Remus just wondered if heâd manage to accidentally kill himself before someone else at Hogwarts got hurt.