The Fifth Marauder

Year One: The Hogwarts Express

Percy clutched his trunk tightly in his fist, the knuckles of his scarred hand turning pale. His trunk was heavy, the large wooden thing was big and stuffed with nearly everything he owned. The other kids at the platform seemed to have multiple trunks each, which made sense considering they would be gone at this school all year. Although Percy's mom worked hard, she had never graduated from high school and could not get a great job. And it wasn't as though Smelly Gabe was bringing in anything significant. A pang of guilt rippled through him as it had been for the last few weeks ever since he found it he'd be going to Hogwarts. He felt awful about leaving his mom with Smelly Gabe back in New York, but there wasn't anything he could do. Leaving was the only way to keep her safe.

He stumbled forward as an older kid knocked into his shoulder. Percy regained his footing in time to see the kid waltz into the crowd, calling for a friend or sibling. There were at least a hundred people on the platform and probably at least that many students already on the huge, burgundy train. There were lots of families hugging their children, helping them board the train, or yelling reminders through the windows while the students tried to leave and talk to their friends. Percy wished his mom had been able to come through the wall, but muggles couldn't get through the barrier. Besides, there was no way that Gabe would have let her come all the way to London just to go right back. It had been hard enough getting him to save up for Percy's ticket.

Percy walked towards the Hogwarts Express nervously, his hands clammy with fear. Professor McGonagall, who had come to give him his letter three weeks ago, had told him Hogwarts was a place where he could finally belong. But Percy didn't know if that was true. Most of these kids were running around and laughing with their friends. He was still an outsider—he'd only known he was a wizard for a few weeks! Even though his father was apparently a wizard, Percy had grown up with his mom and no knowledge of the Wizarding World. He was a fish out of water here.

He heaved his trunk up and through one of the doors and was almost knocked over again by a trio of students rushing down the corridor chasing a large cat. There were dozens of compartments with sliding glass doors filled with students. The youngest students he saw looked ten or so and the oldest maybe eighteen. Many of the compartments near him were full, and Percy started to panic. He did not want to be that one kid pitifully walking up and down the hall until someone took pity on him.

Thankfully, he spotted one with only two students, and they even looked around his age. Hopefully, they were first-years, too. "Can I sit here?" He asked, pointing to the seat next to one of them.

The girl nodded, turning her face away to wipe away tears. She had probably just said goodbye to her family. He could understand that--he'd cried when he left his mom. Percy busied himself with tucking his trunk above the rack, giving her time to finish crying. He hated when people stared at him when he cried. When Percy had taken as long arranging his trunk as could be justified, he turned back to the two and sat back down.

"I'm Percy Jackson," he introduced with a half-smile, trying to quell the butterflies in his stomach. He held out his hand limply.

The boy hesitated but then shook it with a grasp that was surprisingly strong for his size. Percy could feel rough skin and calluses, too. "Remus Lupin," he replied. He had buzzed hair, a skinny frame, and a few scars on his arms. His clothes looked worn with the shirt somewhat faded and his jeans with some smaller holes. The kid also had a troublemaker look to him, somehow, and Percy felt an odd sort of connection to him. His clothes were old, he had some scars, and was always getting into trouble. He noticed Lupin observing him, sizing him up, and knew instantly that he had also come from the same type of rough schools.

"I'm Lily Evans!" The girl smiled, having finished sniffling. Her red hair was braided back and her eyes and cheeks were also a little red from crying. She was pretty short and quite chubby for her age, and her green eyes--though a different shade from Percy's looked nice. "Are you from a muggle family too?"