Late [open]

[remus john lupin]

Remus wasn't really late. He couldn't be. One of the things he prided himself on was his time keeping. And if he was late, it definitely was not his fault. His father had left for work the night before, leaving Remus with his mother to get him to the station on time. He'd set an alarm, he'd packed his trunk the week before, all that was left was to actually get in the car and drive to the station. And his mother had had one problem after another with the car. Caitlin Lupin had only learnt to drive during the summer, so this was her first outing since passing her test without her husband to lend a hand if she freaked out. That fact alone had hardly filled Remus with confidence, but after she stalled the car twice and managed to demolish a line of cones, he had buried his head in his hands and was just hoping death would be swift.

Just as the sixteen year old was wondering whether Pads would come to his funeral without getting off with one of his cousins, his mother clapped her hands together, announcing they were at the station with a whole three minutes to spare. Three minutes for Remus to get his things and sprint to the barrier, before boarding the train and being free of his overprotective parents until July. He hadn't gone home for Christmas since third year. Not because he didn't want to spend time with his parents, he did, really. Remus loved his family, they were a warm bunch, but they were very protective and he just couldn't handle their constant questioning for two weeks when he could be spending time with his friends. It was almost a survival tip for teenagers- if faced with family or friends, always choose the latter for a peaceful Christmas.

Running through the platform, Remus barely registered the barrier as he dove through it and slung his things onto the train. He turned and touched his hands to his mother's forehead briefly, giving a slight smile and murmuring a swift farewell before climbing aboard himself. He didn't mind the fact that his mother was losing her hearing, but it had meant he spent much of the Summer studying sign language and developing a means of communicating with her involving touch and minimal words. She had yet to work out how to lip read, so they were cautious with trying any form of verbal communication in case there was a mistake that could cause issues later.

Shaking his head slightly to clear his mind of such thoughts, Remus took his things down to an empty compartment, trusting that the marauders would find him later. Despite being a prefect, he didn't tend to go to the meeting held at the front of the train. The other prefects didn't grass him up on the condition that he kept Sirius and James from causing too much mayhem before school even started. He almost wished he went to meeting sometimes. His friends were not easily controlled.