Boys Will Be Bugs

Chapter 5: Sorting

They had to drive to King's Cross in Hope's old Austin Mini. Lyall had bought it for her years ago so she could travel around the muggle way. She loved it, but Lyall always complained about it being too slow, and in this case, Remus agreed with him. The journey was long. Hours long. 5 hours to be exact, to travel all the way from Wales to London. Remus spent half the journey sleeping and the other half worrying.

As much as he was desperate to get out of his house, sleep somewhere new and meet new people, he already missed the safety and security that being at home brought him. At least at home he didn't have to hide, or lie, or pretend, and he didn't have to worry about the consequences of not hiding or lying or pretending.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" asked Lyall, suddenly. The question felt weirdly unexpected, and Remus didn't respond right away. They had all been so focused on the big things, the secrets, the anxieties, that they hadn't really had a chance to discuss the normal aspects of Hogwarts. The Sorting Ceremony, the lessons, the activities, none of it had really crossed Remus' mind, except when he was younger and he made up games of make believe, usually involving him already being at Hogwarts. In those games he'd sorted himself into Gryffindor, because that was his father's house, and he wanted his father to be proud of him.

"Um... I don't really mind," replied Remus, and it was true, he didn't mind. He'd read about all four houses and he thought that they all had good qualities.

"Well, Gryffindor's the best of course," continued Lyall. "But Ravenclaw's good too. I was nearly in Ravenclaw."

"What if I'm in neither?"

"Oh I'm sure you will be. We're very similar you and I." Remus took his statement as a compliment, and he felt quite proud about it. His father had never compared Remus to himself before; he usually claimed that Remus and his mother were like two Bowtruckles in the same tree.

"Don't put pressure on him about houses, Lyall. I never did see what the big deal was. Why do they have to divide all the kids up anyway? It just creates animosity, surely."

"Not animosity, darling, healthy competitive spirit. Quidditch matches were a riot."

***

The station was fairly busy, so they had to wait until enough people had cleared from platforms nine and ten before going through the barrier. Lyall had already warned Remus about the barrier, but that didn't stop Remus' natural instincts from telling him that nothing good could come from launching himself head on at a solid-looking brick wall. Lyall had suggested giving a bit of a run if he was nervous. Remus thought that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. If he was nervous about slamming face first into a wall, why would he... run at it?

He took it slowly, ambled up to the barrier and pressed his trolley into the bricks. The front of the trolley disappeared. With the integrity of the barrier now confirmed, the rest of the trolley and Remus himself followed suit. He re-appeared on the other side in a haze of steam. It cleared after a second and he could take a good look at platform nine and three quarters...

"Merlin, that's a lot of people," he said. His parents were behind him now.

"It's more daunting than it looks," encouraged Lyall. Remus didn't think so. All he could hear was shouting and laughing and animals and parents and students. It was all very overwhelming. Hope was by his side, his father on the other.

"Come on," Hope said. "Let's get you on the train."

They fought their way through the crowd and found a fairly empty carriage near the end of the train. Remus jumped on, and his father handed him his trunk and Arianrhod's cage, the owl hooting softly from inside.