Frankie wasn't sure what he had been expecting to see - something between the mother he knew who had waved him off from King's Cross a month or so ago, and a total stranger. There was nothing strange at all in her face, however - she reminded him instead of the old pictures he had seen of her with him and his younger siblings as little children. "Mum," he said gladly. He was more than used to her hugging him in public, and while back home he might have shrugged her off after a moment claiming embarrassment, right now there was nothing he wanted more than a proper hug from his mum.
"Missed you too," he mumbled into her shoulder. He felt bad that there were tears in her eyes - he hated making her cry. And she might have looked a little different but the smell was perfectly familiar - she smelled like home. "You all right?" he asked, when her arms around his neck finally loosened. It was a bit odd - he was just ever so taller than her. He must have put on half an inch since the start of the school year.