Work Text:
Remus J. Lupin waved his wand and his small trunk levitated onto the rack above him. He settled into the corner of the bench, desperate for some sleep. The last full moon had really taken its toll on him and he was determined to present himself well at the Opening Feast.
The Hogwarts Express wasn’t precisely the usual mode of transport that teachers took to get to the school, but Dumbledore had asked for a volunteer to be on the train just in case. Heightened security was a point of order this year and Remus had offered immediately. He was so tired recently he was afraid he'd splinch himself if he tried apparating so it made the most sense. Also... he had many fond memories of riding the train with his friends. Maybe thinking of days long past could help calm his sleep-deprived mind. And as a professional at napping in odd places, he drifted off almost immediately.
A sharp tinny noise woke him from his sleep – sounded as though he wasn’t lucky enough to keep the compartment to himself. He listened closely: it sounded like two boys and a girl. And they had just put a sneakoscope away. He didn’t want to startle the children he was sharing space with, nor force them to deal with the awkwardness of sharing their journey with a teacher. He could easily pretend that he wasn’t disturbed. That was best for everyone.
Remus tried to fall back asleep but he couldn’t help but listen in again. He heard the children talking about going to Hogsmeade. Must be third years if they’re so excited. But one of them couldn’t go? Because of Sirius Black? Hang on…
The girl.
She called one of them Harry.
Harry.
Remus felt his chest tighten as he realized just whom he’d ended up in a compartment with. The kids began arguing loudly – about a cat of all things – and Remus shifted enough to let them know they might be getting too loud. Sure he was already awake, but that didn’t mean he wanted his eardrums blown out. Plus he really needed a few moments of peace with his thoughts.
Oh James. I’ve found him again.
Remus had gotten so little time with his basically nephew after he was born. They were always busy with the Order and then Lily and James had to go into hiding. But those few moments he did get were some of the best in his life. Remus had decided long ago he would never have children of his own; he could never risk passing lycanthropy onto another, but being an uncle was a notion he had taken to the moment James had told him that Lily was pregnant.
I wonder if he still has the stuffed crup I got him?
No how foolish. He had to get a hold of himself. The Potters’ house was completely destroyed and Harry was immediately hidden away in the Muggle world. No one would have been looking for a single toy. This wasn't fair. He had hoped for pleasant memories on the Hogwarts Express, not these… Not this.
Just then, he heard the compartment door slide and a familiar voice ask if they wanted anything off the trolley.
The Trolley Witch!
The girl tried to wake him to see if he wanted food, but luckily the old witch moved along before she got too close. Remus was trying his best to hide his smile in the corner. Now this was the type of memory he had been looking forward to.
“No. I’m not leaving and you’re both out of your skulls.”
“C'mon Moony! Live a little. You know you’re going to be jealous of us after the fact.”
Remus looked up from his Arithmancy book and cocked an eyebrow in Sirius’ direction.
“No Padfoot. You mistake exasperation for something else. Besides you know it’s Wormtail who will be jealous. Why don’t you ask him?”
James sighed. “He’s way up the train trying desperately to flirt with Brianna Whatsername from Ravenclaw. I peeked in on him a few minutes ago. S’not going well.”
“He’s still in her compartment.” Sirius shrugged. “Can’t be going too poorly.”
“Well regardless, she’s been his mission since like fourth year and he wrote me and Sirius way back in July telling us that he was planning on getting to "know her better" on the train and I just don’t have the heart to pry him away from his plan no matter how it’s going.”
Remus squinted at James. “And you think if he came he’d get you caught.”
James gasped dramatically. “You wound me! You dare y-- “
Sirius jumped in between the two. “Listen my darlings, as much as I love to watch you put on a show, we’ve got to make our move now or we’ll just end up in Hogsmeade with the rest of these squibs. Remus? Are you sure you’re not coming?”
“As sure as I am that you’ll both be caught.”
Sirius smirked. “You’ll eat those words my fine wolfy friend. Let’s go, Prongs!” James saluted at Remus and the pair dashed from the cabin.
Remus shook his head and went back to his book. They were so going to get caught. He couldn’t understand why on Earth they wanted to escape from the train. There was food here. And warmth. And friends. If they did manage to get away they’d have a story to tell, but they’d also end up with at least a pair of detentions and would probably have to suffer the indignity of sending an owl ahead to the school after being stranded in the remote Scottish countryside.
Didn’t matter. They’d certainly be thwarted before all that.
Just 20 minutes had passed when the compartment door slid open and his two most troublesome friends stumbled back in. Remus slowly closed his book as he took in the pair of them: pale, wide-eyed, labored breathing. They both slid into the seat opposite him.
“Are you both al-“
“Don’t ask. Please.” Sirius screwed his eyes tight. “It’s not worth it.”
James’ mouth was slightly slack. He swallowed once and looked Remus right in the eyes. “Besides… I’m not sure you’d believe us.”
Remus furrowed his brow and leaned forward. “Every month I turn into a savage beast and you both turn into different beasts in order to keep me in check. Why don’t you try me?”
James and Sirius looked at one another. Sirius shook his head. James shrugged. Sirius groaned and fell back against his seat. “We’re never going to live this down.” He clamped his right hand over his eyes and gestured at James with his left. “Go on then.”
It had taken the duo a good long while to make it to the back of the train. They kept getting stopped by people they knew who wanted a chat. The Trolley Witch got in their way once, seemingly desperate to get them to buy something. They passed Lily Evans’ compartment and James couldn’t help but stick his head in to tease her (really just to get a glimpse, the boy was hopeless). Finally they made it outside and stared at the train tracks rushing by beneath them.
“Boy, that’s moving kind of quick.”
“Nah James it’s not so fast… Is it?”
“Maybe we didn’t think this through.”
“What if I used levicorpus on you-“
“Sure but by the time I got to the ground to cast it on you the train might be too far away.”
“Ok. Not levicorpus. Cushioning Charm?”
“That’s definitely better. How’d you do on your charms O.W.L.?”
“You were there when I got it and you know it was an E same as you so I think we can handle this.”
“Right. It’s just that Remus got an O and maybe if we asked him for his help-“
“He’s not going to-“
Sirius was cut off as the door to the last car swung open and a cart full of sweets appeared.
“What in the name of Merlin is she doing here?”
James waved at Sirius to keep quiet. “Hi. We were just getting a bit of fresh air.”
The Trolley Witch smiled at the pair of them, “Anything off the trolley, dears?”
Sirius shook his head as if there was water in his ears. “Um no? No, thank you? We er… still don’t want anything?”
The Trolley Witch pushed her cart forward further and the door slammed shut behind her. “Come now dearies, nothing off the trolley?”
James felt a tingling go down his spine. This was getting too strange too quickly.
The witch pushed her cart forward once more and both boys stepped back instinctively; suddenly they found themselves leaning against the railing.
“If you don’t want anything from the trolley I’d suggest you both return inside.”
The tension left Sirius’ shoulders as he realized that the old dear was trying to keep them from skiving off. “Oh come off it miss, we were just grabbing a bit of air, no harm done.”
The witches’ smile turned from sweet to sadistic in a moment. “You do not fool me Sirius Black. Nor you James Potter. No student has ever left my train and none ever shall. Now please return inside before I force you there.”
“HANG ON-“ James stuck his arm out across Sirius stopping his rebuttal. “Sirius. Look. Look at her hands.”
The pair watched in horror as the witches fingers slowly began to extend. And extend. And they began to writhe as if they were- snakes? Her fingers were snakes! She reached down into her cart and pulled out a Cauldron Cake. She held her palm up and as the snakes hissed and snapped around the sweet, it began to smoke.
“What’s going on?” James’ voice shook.
The Cake burst into flames and the witch lifted her arm up as if to take aim with the fireball. “NO ONE LEAVES MY TRAIN!”
“RIGHT YOU ARE!” Sirius grabbed James’s robes and yanked him around the woman. He threw open the door and the pair sprinted back down the train towards their compartment, towards safety, and tried desperately not to scream.
“Which is where you come in what with us walking back in here and sitting down praying we didn’t piss ourselves.”
“So.” Sirius sat straight again to look across at his friend. “Believe us?”
Remus blinked twice. He slowly inhaled. Held it. Tried to exhale slowly as well but it came out as a snort. He clasped both hands over his mouth and stared desperately at his friends as his shoulders shook.
“Are you laughing?”
“We could have been fireballed to death!”
“SNAKES. FOR. FINGERS.”
Remus moved his hands down to reply, but he simply could not contain himself any longer. He burst out laughing. He was gasping for air, and his stomach hurt, but he simply could not stop himself. Of course Hogwarts had some sort of over-complicated security system. They had portraits with passwords, and trees that could pulverize a person, and suits of armor for hall sentries: there was no way they would simply cast a charm to keep the kids on board. Charms: a smart student could break. Something told him this ancient woman would be able to stop any mischief maker in their tracks.
Remus slowed his laughter, wiped tears from his eyes, and focused enough to see that James and Sirius were smiling in a defeated sort of way.
James ran his hand through his hair. “I suppose now that my heart has resumed existing in my chest again, it is all pretty funny.”
Sirius nodded at him. “And you know this story is probably even better than anything we would have had after jumping off the train. I can not WAIT to tell Wormtail.”
James grinned. “I can’t wait to tell Evans.”
Remus’ shoulders started to shake again, “I can’t wait to tell your children: ‘Gather round kids and I’ll tell you the tale of the time your fathers nearly got killed by the kindly old woman who sells treats!’”
The trio all started to laugh once more at the absurdity of it all. They had barely calmed when the door slid open and Peter stood in the doorway looking a bit downcast. He peered at the three of them and saw their flushed faces and grins. “What’re you all so giddy over?”
“Go on then Sirius. It’s your turn to tell it.”
Remus leaned back in his seat with Peter next to him and closed his eyes as Sirius began to regale the room with their harrowing adventure.
Seventeen years later, Remus was still hiding his grin and he could feel the water forming beneath his shut eyes. The sway of the train threatened to make them spill but he couldn’t let the children in the compartment see. He’d never forget that day. The story that almost no one else believed. The look of terror on his friends’ faces. The raucous laughter that filled their compartment with each retelling.
The train slowed to a halt and the smile dissolved from his face. It was too soon for them to be stopped. The young girl in the compartment echoed his sentiments. Suddenly the lights went out and more children began to file inside – bumping and tripping as they looked for comfort. Well he was a teacher. He’d better get up to help or he’d be trampled on. He silenced the lot of them intending to go out and investigate when the door began to open once more.
The chill he felt was the only split second alert as to what he now saw. A dementor. A dementor? On the Hogwarts Express? He knew they'd be present in the village but here? He had experienced unbelievable things on this train before but this just might be the oddest. His friends would never…
His friends.
Peter. Dead.
James. Dead.
Sirius…
He heard a small squeak from behind him and shook himself out of his own misery. He was a teacher. He was a grown wizard. He was a Marauder. He would not let this foul creature any closer.
He cast his eyes beside him for a split-second, just in time to see James’ son begin to slide down in his seat.
James.
James.
Remus called back the memory of the Trolley Witch encounter. Before the war and before death and before betrayal. Before any of that there were just four friends. Laughing. Together.
He fired his patronus at the creature and it made its hasty exit. The lights slowly came back on and he helped the room get itself sorted. He watched as Harry (god he looks just like James) was roused by his friends. Remus passed out a bit of chocolate, made his excuses, and left the compartment.
He paused in the corridor and closed his eyes. Harry fainting had shaken him. He could only imagine the terror he must have relived in order to be affected so deeply. Remus turned, slightly, as if to make his way back, but then stopped himself.
No. No it did not matter how badly he wanted to pull the boy into his arms and console him. To tell him who he was, what their relationship should have been. It wasn’t his place. They were on the Hogwarts Express. And the Hogwarts Express was a place to make memories with your friends. Happy or sad.