It'd taken him QUITE a while to find an empty compartment (just HOW MANY students were there?!) but he succeeded at last towards the end of the train with his family following him from the windows outside. His tears had just dried off and he was glad to say a final goodbye to his family tear-free. So, hands on the window, he grinned at his brother, father and mother as they waved at him back. His brother and father were discussing something he couldn't hear (he couldn't think of opening the window) so he held his mother's gaze instead with both of them smiling broadly.

Smiling until the train started, that is.

As it started to move, his grin was replaced with a face fighting to keep the smile as new tears formed in his eyes. He'd promised himself not to cry, but he couldn't help it and he even sobbed once, believing he was still alone inside the compartment. He started to wave frenetically as he craned his neck to see them (but he failed). He saw them all saying something, but he couldn't read their lips and before long, it was stupid to keep standing at that funny angle as they weren't visible from his compartment. He fought the urge to run out to the very end of the train, and simply sat next to the window, looking out and silently sobbing to himself.