Beyond Rumours | Remus Lupin x Reader

Chapter One

Y/N MALFOY

Thursday, 1st of September 1977

The familiar sound of train whistles and people bustling around filled my ears. Students hurried across Platform 9 and ¾, some of whom I'd met and seen previously at school, as well as a few first years that I'd never seen before, their eyes wide and trunks ready to go. I remembered when I was like that – eleven years old and ready to learn magic.

I stood silently beside my brother, Lucius, and his girlfriend, Narcissa. Both of them stared across the platform boredly, showing no emotion. I was pretty sure my brother was going to propose to Narcissa soon. She was nice enough, but... this was an arranged marriage. At least they looked happy.

"Ah, there are the Blacks," Lucius said, spying a group of three people across the station. "Come along."

I followed after my brother and his girlfriend across the busy platform. A few people parted to let us through, and I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. We stopped in front of the Black family and greeted each other.

"Y/n," Regulus acknowledged stiffly.

"Regulus," I said with a nod.

I looked at Regulus's parents. Orion Black wore a smart set of midnight-blue robes, each button polished to perfection, no doubt shined by their house elf, Kreacher. Regulus's mother, Walburga, was wearing a modest set of black robes, her hair up in a tight bun, no stray strands. She was looking over at someone in disdain, and after a quick glance, I saw Sirius Black standing with his Gryffindor friends. My stomach coiled. Sirius had left the Blacks behind about a year ago, cutting ties with his family and the rest of the purebloods.

"Well, you'd best be getting on the train," Lucius said.

I nodded quickly.

"Goodbye, Lucius," I said.

Lucius smiled at me, and that's all I got. Not a hug - affection was never shown in public in the Malfoy family. Not that my brother and I were that close anyway. I glanced at Regulus and the two of us walked together to the train in silence. We found an empty compartment, the seats as cushiony as always, and put our trunks away before sitting opposite each other, still in silence. The train began to move, and it was only once the station was out of sight that I tackled Regulus into a hug. Regulus laughed and hugged me back tightly.

"I missed you, Reg," I said, pulling back to look at my best friend.

Regulus laughed.

"'Course you did."

I smacked him lightly and he laughed again.

Regulus and I had been friends from a very young age. Our families were close, and we basically grew up together. We'd stopped hanging out at home, though, because once we'd turned fourteen, our parents had begun hassling us to agree to an arranged marriage together. I loved Regulus, but just not like that, and I knew he felt the same about me.

"How was your summer?" I asked, sitting down beside him now.

Regulus shrugged, stretching his arms.

"Not as bad as it could have been," he admitted. "You?"

"Same," I sighed.

I hated going home in the summer. My parents and my brother had such high expectations of me, and I hated the way they spoke about Muggleborns and 'blood-traitors'. I could only pretend to agree for so long.

I had been raised to believe that I was better than everyone else because I came from a pureblood family. While it was true that my family had a lot of influence, I honestly didn't believe that my blood-status made me better than anyone else. It had taken me a few years at Hogwarts to realise it, and I was disappointed in myself that I hadn't figured it out sooner. Regulus shared my views, but we didn't dare talk about it with our parents. They'd call us disgraces, blood-traitors, and then they'd kick us out and disown us.