✓ | EPISKEY → remus lupin [ discontinued ]

Chapter Nineteen

Arriving at King's Cross Station, Alanna was definitely excited to get home and see her family for the Christmas holidays. She couldn't wait to see her sisters, Emily especially, and her parents.

Alanna had picked out a small something from Honeydukes for each of her family members. She had gotten her sisters the same thing and her parents the same thing, and she was very excited to give them to her family members.

As she passed through the barrier betwen platforms nine and ten, she saw her family waiting on the other side. She grinned widely and rushed over to them. She met her mother first. Harena hugged her daughter tightly and kissed her hair multiple times.

"Oh, I missed you too much!" Harena said. "You can't leave again!"

Alanna gigggled. "Sorry, Mum, but I have to go back."

Harena raised a brow. "So you did make friends?"

Alanna nodded with a grin. "Yeah! There's Tiffany, Remus, Luke, Peter ... James and Sirius, sort of, I guess ..."

Harena chuckled as her daughter named off people using her fingers. Her husband grabbed the girl's trunk and they headed out of King's Cross and towards their van in the carpark.

"Alright, darling, we'll talk more at home."

Alanna glanced around. "Where's Mel?" she asked, not seeing her older sister. Stephan made a face as he hauled Alanna's trunk into the trunk of the van.

"On a date," he grumbled. Alanna's eyes went wide. All she could think of at the word 'date' was Remus, and she knew exactly why.

"Are you alright, honey?" Harena asked, patting Alanna's head. She looked at her daughter in concern. "You look a bit pale."

Emily giggled. "She's probably hoping Dad didn't murder Josh. Don't worry, Al, he's okay."

Alanna managed a small smile, though her face was still quite pale. Joanne climbed into the van first, leaving the front seats for her two younger sisters. Alanna climbed in, followed by Emily.

When Stephan left the carpark, he began questioning his daughter of her school life.

"So what is Hogwarts like? Magical?" he teased.

Alanna giggled. "Dad! Of course it's magical!"

Stephan chuckled.

"But really, what's it like?" Emily asked. "Are there actual classes like Math, or is it just flying around on brooms and brewing potions and stuff?"

"Well, there is Potions, actually. That's pretty fun. Tiffany's no good at it though; she once tipped her cauldron all over James' robes and they turned blue."

Emily's eyes went wide, but Alanna didn't notice. She continued to talk about Hogwarts.

"There's have a bunch of cool classes. There's Potions where you make heaps of cool things using really weird ingredients like Lacewing Flies. Professor Slughorn teaches that class. He's a bit ... strange, for one."

Joanne snorted. "I reckon I'd be quite strange as well if my name was Slughorn."

"Don't be mean, Jo!" Alanna scolded her sister. "He's a good teacher and that's what matters!"

"Tell us more about the classes, sweetie," Harena said quickly to avoid the squabble between her daughters.

"Well, there's Charms, which Professor Flitwick teaches. He's a really good teacher, and I think Charms is one of my favourites, along with Transfiguration."

"Ooh, what's that?" Emily asked in awe. She loved the idea of magic and was delighted when she found out her sister was a witch. Although she'd never experience the magic for herself, she could get mighty close.

"Transfiguration is where you turn things into other things. Like ... we turned a pincushion into a hedgehog once! That was fun!" Alanna giggled. "Remus' one ended up as a hedgehog with pins on it's back."

Emily giggled. "I would've named him Needles."

Alanna grinned. "That's really cute! I like that! Needles it is! I'll have to tell Remus that when I write to him."

"What about your friends?" Stephan asked. "What're they like?"

"Tiffany's my best friend. She's in my house--"

"Ooh, what house did you get into?" Emily asked excitedly. Alanna laughed.

"I got into Ravenclaw, which is apparently the house of the wise and knowledgeable."

Joanne snorted again, but Harena gave her a warning look for her to keep her mouth shut. Joanne bit her bottom lip to keep herself from making a crude remark.

"Wow!" Emily gasped. "I wish I could go there! What house do you think I'd get into?"

Alanna shrugged. "Maybe Hufflepuff. I can see you as a Hufflepuff."

"What about me?" Joanne asked.

Alanna studied her sister for a moment. "Well, based on what the Sorting Hat said about the houses, I think probably Gryffindor. Or maybe Ravenclaw, like me."

"And Melanie?" Harena asked.

"Probably Gryffindor. I can see her in Gryffindor."

Harena chuckled.

"You'd definitely be a Gryffindor, Mum. I think Dad would probably be a Ravenclaw."

"And what did this hat say about Gryffindor?" Harena asked.

"That they were brave and daring."

Harena nodded thoughtfully.

"What about Hufflepuff? What are they like?"

"They're known to be kind and loyal," Alanna answered. "Tiffany has a friend in Hufflepuff, Elise. All she does is talk about boys!"

Stephan made a face. "Do you hang around her much?"

Alanna crinkled her nose. "Not really. I don't like Tiffany's friends much. Elise is too talkative. Brooke's quite mean to people who aren't in her house, and Maddi has a horrible brother. She thinks she's the queen or something."

Stephan smirked. "It seems I have taught you well, possum."

Alanna giggled. "Of course, Dad."

"So what are your friends like?" Harena questioned again. Alanna smiled.

"Tiffany's my best friend," she repeated. "We're quite close and we talk about everything. We share all of our classes together, which is pretty lucky, because I don't share all of my classes with Remus."

"Isn't that the boy we met at the train station?" Joanne asked. "The one you crashed into?"

Alanna nodded with a smile. "Yes, that's him."

Joanne nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face. Harena caught the expression and gave her daughter a look and her eyes went wide.

It seemed Joanne had already figured out what was going on between Remus and Alanna.